Kendall walked down the short hallway from bedroom to kitchen and found Zach sitting with a cup of coffee reading the morning paper.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," he said with a smile.

"Why didn't you wake me?" she asked.

"You were sleeping so peacefully—and looked so beautiful—I just didn't have the heart," he answered softly. "Come here."

He quickly stood and pulled her into an embrace, kissing her lingeringly, "Rough night?"

She nodded and answered, "I could ask you the same question."

"I'm sorry… I really am… sometimes I feel like I'm caught in quicksand and the harder I struggle the deeper I sink… but I promise, this will be over one day soon," he answered as truthfully as he dared. "What time is our appointment?"

"One o'clock… you're not going into the casino this morning are you? I was thinking you could stay home today?" she said with a hopeful look.

Zach knew that he had an early meeting, but couldn't resist Kendall when she looked so disheveled and enticing. Now that her pregnancy was starting to show, he was even more entranced by her beauty. He made a split-second decision to remain with her, and pulled out of her embrace to call and cancel the meeting. Unfortunately, Kendall misunderstood and immediately withdrew, the moment lost in their mutual discomfort.

"I just have to call and cancel…" Zach began as he dialed.

"No… no… I don't want to… it's okay… we can just meet at the doctor's office," she interrupted.

After what had happened when he had returned to bed that morning, though, Zach realized they were fast approaching a crossroads. He quickly dropped the phone and pulled her into his arms, kissing her passionately. When they came up for air he whispered against her ear, "… and miss out on this? They'll figure out soon enough that I won't be there." Without another word he lifted and carried her to their bed and made love to her as he had wanted to earlier. Later, as she slept in his arms, he whispered softly against her hair, "I love you, Kendall."


"Alex… Alex… wake up, Alex!"

Zach heard the voice and opened his eyes, looking into the face of his brother, Michael. Before he could say anything he turned to another voice, "It's about time you woke up… we've been waiting for you."

Zach found himself in a dark room, flanked on each side by Michael and Ethan, with no idea of how he had arrived.

"Alex… we really need to talk," Michael said, followed by Ethan, "Yeah… what do think father will say about Kendall?"

Zach answered, "He doesn't have a say in my life… and neither do you…"

"Hahahaha!" Ethan laughed.

Zach turned from one to the other, and then he heard his father's voice, "You cannot deny your birthright… if you are not a Cambias… then you are nothing!"

Zach turned and faced his father, feeling all the rage he had felt as a teenager against the man who treated them all so cruelly and said, "My child will never be a Cambias… it's you who are nothing!"

Suddenly, as if down a long hallway, he saw Kendall standing alone, bathed in light, and he breathed her name. He looked at his father and brothers once before running toward Kendall, but the harder he ran the further away she appeared to be. He ran so hard that he felt his heart would beat right out of his chest, but he could get no closer to her. Finally, Michael and Ethan grabbed his arms and held him saying, "Watch…"

Zach looked toward Kendall and saw his father step into the light, his hand lifted as if to stroke her hair and she became a small child—his child. Zach jerked out of their hold shouting, "NOOOOOO!"


"Zach? Are you okay?" Kendall said as he looked around and saw they were sitting in their bed. He looked at her with dazed eyes, still not sure where the nightmare ended and the day began.

"It was a dream! Just a dream…" he muttered to himself, pulling Kendall close and kissing her.

"More like a nightmare, I'd say," she answered, pulling away. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… just a little disoriented. Give me a minute," he answered.

"That's what happens when you stay up half the night," she answered. "Why don't you take a shower to clear your head, and I'll make you some fresh coffee."

"What… what time is it?" he asked.

"It's almost eleven, I guess we both needed more sleep," she answered as she headed toward the bedroom door.

"Kendall," he called after her, don't leave me, he thought to himself, but he only said, "Thanks for being here."

"You're welcome," she said with a smile as she walked out the door.

"Kendall," he called again. "I'm… I'm sorry I've been such an ass."

She stopped in mid-stride pivoting around to stare at him… "Thank you," she said quietly and returned to lay a soft kiss on his lips. "Now get in that shower, I'll bring your coffee as soon as it's ready."

Zach stood in the shower, leaning on his arms and letting the water rush over his head. The dream had been so real… and he knew that he was afraid for his child… how did he stop history from repeating itself? Could he be the kind of father his child deserved? He needed to get hold of himself…

At the aroma of coffee, he opened his eyes and saw Kendall's hand holding a cup beneath his nose. He took the cup while Kendall slid into the shower beneath him, wrapping her arms at his waist as the water continued to wash down. She smiled and pushed the cup toward his mouth, urging him to take a sip and then taking the cup and setting it on a shelf outside of the shower. Zach pulled her into his arms, feathering kisses along herneck and caressing her back with his hands. He turned briefly without relinquishing her body and poured some shampoo on her hair. She lifted her hands and pulled some of the foam onto his head, and kissed him passionately while massaging his scalp. He groaned against her as she began to wash the rest of his body, each touch of her fingers and lips igniting his desire. He lifted her body and she wrapped herself around him, lost in her own need for release. As their breathing relaxed, Zach took the shower head and rinsed her off before doing the same to himself, smiling broadly at the sheer abandon she exhibited in his embrace. After she slid from the shower, he realized that he could not surrender without a fight… and he knew just where to start. They were moving out of that accursed condo and into a home of their own, and he knew just the person who could help them do it quickly.


Kendall and Zach entered the doctor's waiting area hand-in-hand and laughing together. She was so happy with the change in Zach's attitude, and how he seemed so relaxed. Today was to be their first chance at seeing the baby on ultrasound, and they were still bickering over whether to find out if it was a boy or a girl. Zach was so adamantly certain that she was carrying a daughter that she wanted to find out for sure before she risked him decorating their son's nursery in pink and ruffles.

While waiting to be shown to the examining room, Zach tickled Kendall's neck and whispered risqué jokes in her ear. Her eyes were dancing with delight as she giggled, feeling more at ease with him than she had in weeks. This was the man she had married, and she was grateful for whatever nightmare had jolted him back to reality. When the exterior office door opened, they looked up at the sound and were more than a little surprised to see Ethan enter the room.

"Oh good, I'm not too late," he said to them.

"Too late for what?" Zach asked in irritation.

"Today's the day of the ultrasound, isn't it?" he answered.

"And who told you about that?" Kendall snapped at him. She knew without asking that Zach wouldn't have shared the information, and she didn't know anyone else who might have.

"I was visiting at Fusion and overheard Simone and Greenlee discussing it," Ethan answered. "You really should keep me better informed of your doctor's visits, Kendall. You know that I want to be involved in the baby's life…"

Kendall looked at Ethan, raw hatred flaring in her eyes as she realized what he was intimating, "Get out! Right now! For the last time, I want you to stay away from me!"

Zach looked at Ethan and without another word grabbed him by the arm and physically dragged him to the door, "I think you know the way out." He continued in a low, menacing tone, "From this day forward you stay away from MY WIFE! Or I will cause you more pain than you could ever imagine!"

Ethan merely laughed as he looked from Zach's angry face to the tears running down Kendall's cheeks, "Well… I see my work here is done. Do let me know if we're having a boy or a girl, Kendall." And with that ugly comment he exited the waiting area.

Zach turned to Kendall and pulled her out of the chair and into his arms. He allowed her to sob against his shoulder for a moment before gently lifting her chin with a finger, "I don't believe him, Kendall… he is evil, just like my father and Michael… I'll make sure he never hurts you or our child… shh… please don't cry…"

"I'm… I'm… sorry, Zach. So sorry," Kendall hiccupped. "I told him to stay away from us… but he won't do it. It seems like the more I ask him to go away the more he comes around… he wants to hurt us… Zach, he wants to hurt our baby…"

"I know, Kendall, I know. But don't worry, I'll take care it… Ethan will never bother us again," Zach said soothingly. Another man might have misconstrued her words, but Zach knew with absolute certainty that Ethan was only trying to cause trouble. What worried him was that Kendall might believe that Zach believed Ethan. It would be the ultimate payback for Ethan to destroy their marriage and their life together over this lie.

Neither of them had noticed that the nurse was waiting for them. "Do you need a few minutes?" she asked once they were in the examining room.

Zach started to answer in the affirmative, but Kendall interrupted, "No… I just want to get this over with."

Once they were settled, with Kendall lying on the table in a paper gown, Zach tried to cheer her up, but only caused her tears to start anew. He looked at her sadly, "I'm so sorry… please let's forget about Ethan. This is our first chance to see the baby. Don't let him ruin it for us." Kendall nodded her head, doing her best to control her crying as a few more tears slid down her cheeks.

At that moment, the doctor entered with a portable ultrasound machine. He smiled at the couple and squeezed Kendall's hand before commenting, "I understand we had a little incident in the waiting room. Is there anything you'd like to discuss?"

Kendall's face turned red and she started to sob softly, but Zach answered for her, "My brother has a sick sense of humor. But I can guarantee that there will not be a repeat performance. I'm sorry that we caused a scene."

"Oh, no… it's fine. My concern is for Kendall, but it sounds like you have things well in hand. Don't you worry about those tears, I see them all the time… especially when you see your baby for the first time. Are you ready?" the doctor continued with a cheerful smile.

Kendall nodded, and the physician looked at Zach, "Dad, why don't you stand right here and hold mom's hand while we take some pictures. Have you decided if you want to know the sex of the baby?"

Zach said, "We don't" at the same time Kendall answered, "We do."

He looked from one to the other questioningly, before Kendall said, "Zach thinks he already knows, but if he wants to wait I guess that's fine with me. Doctor Simms… um… will you be able to pinpoint the due date better with this test?"

Zach looked at her, feeling such sadness that she felt the need to prove to him that this was his child just because of Ethan's outburst. He didn't know what to say, so he squeezed her hand and kissed her on the forehead while stroking her hair, trying to let her know through his actions that he trusted her.

"Yes… that's one of the reasons we do these tests," the doctor answered.

They were both happy to hear that the baby was strong and healthy, and looked at each other in awe as they saw and heard its tiny heart beating steadily. When the test was over, the physician left the room to allow time for Kendall to dress. Zach kissed her lovingly, and held her for a moment before the nurse returned with a picture and a videotape of their child to take home with them.

This ends now, Zach thought to himself as they exited the examining room. No more chances, Ethan. While he waited for Kendall to schedule their next appointment, he made a brief call to his security firm directing them to physically bar Ethan from getting within 100 yards of Kendall, their home or their places of business, and instructing them to call the legal department and get a court order of protection. And just to be safe, he also gave the same command for Bianca and Miranda.