"Kendall? Are you ever coming out of there?" Simone called as she knocked on the door of the restroom at Fusion. "Hello? Nature is calling out here!"

Kendall glanced at herself in the mirror, noticing that she was still pale but at least presentable, and opened the door for Simone. Simone marched straight into the empty stall without another word, and Kendall merely closed the door and went back to repairing her make-up.

"Have you seen a doctor yet?" Simone called to Kendall.

Kendall just groaned and continued what she was doing, not bothering to answer the question she was tired of hearing from Zach. She seemed to have become Zach's little project and he wasn't going to leave her alone until she had seen a doctor about her stomach—and she was just stubborn enough not to do it because she was being pushed. The fact that she had been nauseous and unable to keep food down for a couple of weeks concerned her, but no one—especially not someone as irritating as Zach Slater—was going to push her to do anything.

Simone came out of the stall and elbowed Kendall away from the sink to wash her hands, "You know, Kendall, it could be an ulcer or something. You've been under all this stress… I mean look at the year you've had… first you almost get sent to the electric chair for killing Michael Cambias… and then you lose Ryan to Greenlee the minute you get acquitted… those Carey tramps let you believe your niece was dead for months… and your mother… well, Erica in Vegas, need I say more? … and we can't forget shooting Ryan… and then Ethan, the newest cute Cambias boyfriend… another psycho for our dear Kendall… I'd be more worried if you weren't throwing up."

"Gee, thanks, Simone… just what I needed… a blow-by-blow account of all my screw-ups over the last year. You're not helping, you know," Kendall said while jockeying to see her face in the mirror.

"I thought we were supposed to be friends… and it's not like I've never helped you in the past… I did put that truth serum in Jonathon's wine… and I was fabulous, if I do say so myself," Simone retorted.

"Yes… you were fabulous, but all that got us was more misery as the Lavery brothers combusted right before our eyes. And now Greenlee and this baby kick…" Kendall answered.

"Yeah, the next Dynamite Kiddo… I hope Greenlee gets her wish soon so that we can have some peace… of course, she'll be locking herself in the bathroom to throw up like you've been doing… so I don't know how peaceful…" Simone stopped speaking abruptly and looked at Kendall who stared at her with an expression of horror on her face.

"No… no, no, no, no… that is not it… it's an ulcer like you said… Ethan and I have been apart for a while… I'm not having a baby… I can't be pregnant… I'm not with anyone…" Kendall protested, trying very hard not to remember a single night of romance and passion in Paris.

"No… of course not… you and Ethan have been over for too long… but if you were… wouldn't Greenlee be a sight?" Simone said with a laugh.

"Simone… whatever you do… keep this to yourself… Greenlee will completely lose it if she even hears about this conversation… and besides… it's not like I am anyway… you know that things have been a little… dry… lately," Kendall said urgently.

Simone sighed, "Don't I know it… my last three dates were completely unacceptable. Did I tell you about…?"

"Not now, Simone. I think I'm going home for a while… I'm just a little wiped out from this flu… tell Greenlee that I'll be back tomorrow…" Kendall said as she practically flew out of the restroom and onto the Fusion elevator.

"Well… I guess I told her that one already… I'm sure that Dani will be interested, I'll find her," Simone said to herself as she left in search of an audience for her story.


Kendall juggled the grocery bag and her purse, trying to pull out her keys to the condo. She had gone straight from Fusion to the store, picked up a home pregnancy test and a few other items, and headed home. She didn't know if she wanted to take the test or not… but she was already realizing that the not knowing was going to kill her. What would she do if she was pregnant? Show up at Zach's door with a tray of soup and tea… have some casual banter about Ethan and Hannah… and say, "Oh, by the way… I'm pregnant with your baby… you just got rid of one child you didn't want and now you get another?"

Kendall groaned as the groceries slipped from her hands and spilled all over the ground. She got down on her hands and knees and started picking things up, when she saw an elegant, masculine hand…

"Here… let me help…" Zach said as he started to gather her things. Before Kendall could stop him he picked up the pregnancy test and read the label as he started to put it into her bag. He paused and looked her straight in the eyes… and she found herself unable to make a coherent sound.

"Um… uh…" Kendall muttered as he crouched next to her, staring at her intently.

"Kendall? Is there something you need to tell me?" he said softly.

"No… no… of course not… you mean… oh, THAT! It's for Greenlee… I was just picking it up for her…" Kendall prattled, hoping that she didn't sound as rattled to Zach as she did to herself.

Zach reached out and took Kendall's hand, saying softly, "Shall we go inside and find out?"

Kendall just looked at him, swallowed hard, and nodded her head. She wished that she didn't feel so suddenly shy around him… but she couldn't find the words or the energy to argue with him. She just looked at him, her eyes as large as saucers, as he helped her to her feet. Zach took the key from her hand and unlocked the door, opening it for her to enter. After they were safely inside, he pulled the test kit from the bag and handed it to her. Without a single word he started putting away the groceries that she had purchased and pulled her teapot from a cupboard.

She stood and watched him for a few minutes, until he turned around and looked at her intently… then she went into her bedroom and prepared to take the test. She kept thinking to herself that she wished he would leave… but then she didn't know what to do or to say, and she found herself unable to lie to him about this. After doing all of the steps according to the directions, she set her alarm for the required waiting period and re-entered the living room. There she found Zach sitting on the sofa with a pot of tea and plate of crackers setting on the table next to him. He looked at her questioningly, and she shrugged her shoulders in response.

Kendall sat on a chair and said, "Thank you. It seems that your tea is just about all I've been able to keep down… you really don't have to take care of me, but I do appreciate it."

Zach answered with a noncommittal, "Mmm-hmm." Then he stood and walked behind her chair, massaging her shoulders with his hands, turning her bones to liquid. She sighed and laid her head back against the chair and closing her eyes as his fingers worked their magic. They remained like that for several minutes until the alarm sounded from her bedroom. Kendall jumped beneath Zach's hands and looked up at him with an expression of terror.

"I think you need to get that," he said softly. As she rose and walked toward the bedroom, he resumed his seat on the sofa, allowing his head to drop. He had been trying very hard not to allow her to see the fear that had been residing in his own belly since finding that test kit outside of her door. He knew enough about Kendall's current situation to know that if she was pregnant that the child would be his—and he didn't know how to feel about it. After everything he had been through—thinking he was Ethan's father, finding out that he wasn't—he didn't feel ready for another surprise twist in his life. And with Kendall… did he really want to be tied in this way to Kendall… it was all more than he could handle… so he concentrated on making her as comfortable as possible.

He looked up from his musings as Kendall fairly stumbled out of her bedroom, a look of shock and horror on her face. Without a word being spoken, he knew that the test was positive and that he and Kendall were going to be parents… together. But his immediate concern had to be for Kendall as she looked like she would pass out altogether if he didn't get to her quickly. He rushed over and helped her to a chair before resuming his seat on the sofa, allowing her all the time she needed to say whatever she felt.

"Aren't you… don't you have anything to say?" was the first thing out of Kendall's mouth.

"It's up to you, Kendall… I assume that I'm… I mean you haven't mentioned anyone else…" Zach said awkwardly.

"No… and right now I wish I'd been very active…" Kendall answered without thinking.

"Oh… so that's it then… I understand… if you'd like me to leave…" Zach said with a touch of sadness. He rose from the sofa and turned toward the door.

Kendall called out to him, "No… that's not what I meant… oh, hell, I don't know what I meant… it's such a shock… please… don't go…"

"Not if you want me to stay, Kendall," Zach answered. "But… you have some decisions to make… and they are your decisions… I respect your right to make them… but I'm here, and I'd like to help you if I can."

"You mean…? You haven't said you want this baby… but you haven't said you don't want it either…" Kendall said in confusion.

"I don't know what I want, to be frank. I've only had a few minutes to get used to the idea… and us as parents… it's a pretty scary thought," Zach answered.

"Zach… we're friends now… and I'm glad of that… but you said… the night you found out about Ethan… you wanted to have a child… with a woman you love…" Kendall said brokenly. "I know you don't love me… and now you could be saddled with another child you don't want…"

"Do you want it? Or do you think you'll terminate the pregnancy?" Zach asked her in barely more than a whisper.

"I don't know… it's one thing to say I never want to have a child, but then to be faced with actually being pregnant… it's different somehow… but there is more to this decision than just me… I have to know if you want this child, if you could love this child…" Kendall answered. "If you feel that you can't be a part of its life… then I would understand… and there will be no strings… but it helps me to make a decision."

"No strings…" Zach said with a smile. "Kendall… as confusing as all of this is… the answer is yes… I could love this child… I loved… I love Ethan and you know how I feel about Miranda… it would be no burden to love our child, and if you decide to go forward with this… I want strings… I want to be part of my child's life."

"Oh boy… Erica will completely lose it… I can hear her now…" Kendall said with a laugh.

"Yeah… 'I can't believe you're bringing another Cambias into the world' is I believe the direction she'll take," Zach laughed along.

"And we'll have to remind her that Miranda is a Cambias… oh boy… do you think we could do this? As friends?" Kendall asked him.

"As friends? Sure… I don't see why not… and it would be convenient… I mean with us living right across the courtyard from each other visitation would be a snap…" Zach said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Friends without benefits," Kendall said emphatically.

"Of course… because we'd have never gotten into this mess if it wasn't for those damn benefits…" he laughed.

"Zach! I'm not joking," she giggled.

"I can tell!" he said with a smile. "But seriously, I want to be a part of your life and our child's life… if you intend to have this baby, we will be bound together forever… you need to keep that in mind as you make your decision. However, I will respect whatever decision you make."

"Thank you, Zach. I… I need some time… to myself… do you mind?" Kendall said.

"I understand… I'll be at my place… just call if you want me… or need me… for anything," he answered as he let himself out of the condo. Although he had been heading to the casino when he had helped her with the groceries, he decided that a day of working at home suited his mood much better.