"Alex… Alex… wake up, Alex!"
Zach was standing in a dark room with Michael and Ethan each holding one of his arms. In front of him were Kendall and their baby, his father approaching… He pulled out of his brothers' hold, punching Michael viciously across the nose, causing him to howl in agony as he fell to the floor bleeding. He quickly turned and struck Ethan in the gut with his left and a right across to the jaw, "Yeah… you didn't see me telegraph that one did you?" Zach said with a wicked smile.
He quickly pivoted toward his father, throwing himself against the old man before he could touch Zach's family. As his father screamed in rage, he threw punch after punch until he disappeared. In the silence he rose and held out his hand to Kendall, but they had gone and in their place stood a beautiful woman with golden hair and sad eyes. Zach turned in circles, looking for his family screaming, "NOOOOOO!"
Zach sat up in bed and looked around the unfamiliar bedroom of their new home. He reached out and found Kendall, curled towards him in sleep. He climbed out of bed, got a drink of water from the tap and rinsed his face before rejoining her. Another piece of the puzzle, he thought to himself. He smiled as he lay down, pulling Kendall into his arms.
Zach had been busy making up for all the wasted time spent revisiting a past he had abandoned. He wasn't going to sit by idly and allow a birthright he had rejected to destroy the life that he and Kendall were building. The morning after they bought the house, he had arranged to have his condo completely emptied and had both condominiums put on the market. Over the course of a few weeks, they hired a decorator and quickly purchased furnishings for their new home. He and Erica had come to an understanding at least for the duration of Kendall's pregnancy and she had been useful in getting everything ready for them to move in record time. Zach was wise enough to express his gratitude to Erica, which she had graciously accepted without too much gloating.
Ethan had made a few attempts to circumvent Zach's security, but quickly learned that Zach only hired the best to protect his family. He had one meeting with Ethan, in the dining room of the Valley Inn, and explained very succinctly that a few strands of DNA were all that they would ever share. He had given Ethan more chances than he deserved, and now chose to completely sever himself from any type of relationship. He had thoroughly enjoyed handing him a note penned by Bianca, stating the exact same wishes for herself and Miranda. Ethan had merely mocked him, and Zach knew that his actions had no impact on him, but had hoped Bianca's harsh words might cause him to reconsider his behavior. Unfortunately, Zach had recently heard that Ethan and J.R. Chandler were working together on some project. Those two boys were loose canons, but there was little imagination to their schemes. Hopefully they would only hurt themselves, but his only feelings were pity for J.R.'s young son should they be foolish enough to go after Zach.
And the dreams continued… nearly every night Zach had the same recurring dream that woke him. Each time he dreamed, though, he fought his father and brothers as hard as he could, and each time they were a little more beaten and bloody—soon perhaps the dreams would end altogether. Kendall had asked him about them a few times, but gave up trying to find out when he assured her that it was just the stress of business and moving into the new house preying on his mind. He only had two secrets from his wife—the nature of his recurring nightmare and the depth of love he felt for her. They had just moved into the house, and the baby was due in a few weeks. It was long past time to tell her the truth…
Kendall lay quietly listening to Zach's labored breathing as he endured another nightmare. It was becoming more and more difficult for her to sleep through the night, and she often woke to find Zach in the throes of his terror… whatever it was. But she had quickly learned that he didn't want her to be aware of it, and so she kept quiet about it. She was hurt that he wouldn't share his pain with her, but she realized that he was trying to protect her from whatever haunted him and tried to be accepting of his reticence in discussing it. However, she was determined that one day he would tell her everything and she just had to wait patiently for him to be ready. She nearly laughed aloud as she once again amazed herself with the patience she exhibited toward this man… because everyone knew that she was not a patient person.
She rubbed a hand against her swollen abdomen as the baby kicked. It had become very active over the past few days, and her discomfort was increasing. But every time that she caught herself wishing the baby would be born, she remembered that she was going to be a mother… and then wished to remain pregnant forever. As long as she was carrying their child, she knew that she was a good mother. She took care of her body, ate the right foods, got the right amount of exercise and rest… her child was thriving. Despite her petite frame, she was carrying the baby relatively easily, and had little difficulty beyond the initial morning sickness. When the baby was born that would quickly change. She, Kendall Hart Slater would be responsible for that tiny life… she would have to feed it, and bathe it and make sure that it felt loved. Which was fine for a baby, but what happened when it learned how to walk and talk? Considering her own wayward nature, did she have a chance of having a meek and pliable child? She glanced briefly at her sleeping husband and admitted that the chances of having an easy child were infinitesimally low. And she was so ill equipped to be a mother… she had always known that she lacked maternal instincts, but somehow she had found a yearning for this child after it had been conceived.
If she had one wish for their child, it was that he or she would grow up in a house filled with love. She knew that Zach loved their baby by the way he had wanted it from the very beginning… the way he had accepted them both into his life, and changed it to accommodate them… and she knew that he would be an amazing father. With the bad example of his own father, he would always know the right choices to make in raising their child. Zach had been right to risk that a friendship could be enough to build a marriage with. But now she wanted more. He showed her daily in his constant care and consideration, in the way he spoke to her and held her and kissed her… just as she knew that she loved him, she also knew that he shared that same love toward her. If only he wasn't so stubbornly determined that friendship was all they needed—she was anxious for him to surrender to their love, and admit it to her before their baby was born.
Now that she knew what love felt like, she knew that she had never experienced it with any other man… and what she had once called love wasn't even close to describing the emotion. She had told Zach that love made her crazy, and she never wanted to feel that way again… but it hadn't been love at all, and now she knew love made her strong and confident, and more patient than she knew she was capable of being. She wanted the whole package, what Erica had with Jackson, and Greenlee had with Ryan. She smiled as she thought about Greenlee, and how she and Ryan were finally expecting a baby. There had been some tense moments between the women when Kendall had become pregnant while Greenlee was the one that wanted a baby, but all was forgiven the minute Greenlee's own pregnancy was confirmed—in typical Greenlee fashion. Jackson was beside himself with pride, and had been very annoying in encouraging a lot of sisterly bonding between them. He would never understand that she and Greenlee's relationship only worked if they could mask their genuine affection with spite towards each other. Zach and Ryan had also reached an understanding—when Ryan finally accepted that they were both victims of their fathers and brothers… to expect friendship between them was more than they were willing to give, but they tolerated each other and were working on calling each other by their first names.
After Zach had gone into the bathroom, she waited for him to settle into bed and pull her close before letting him know that she was awake. With her advancing pregnancy it was more difficult to do much except hold each other, but they kept finding creative ways to please each other. She rolled over and placed whisper soft kisses over his chest until he pulled her to him and kissed her with the passion she desired. They loved each other slowly and tenderly, taking their time to enjoy each other and the physical release before drifting back to sleep.
Zach had been avoiding the phone call he knew he had to make all morning. Finally, he picked up the phone and dialed the number, almost hoping that it would not be answered at the other end.
"Hello," Erica answered.
"Hello, Erica," Zach answered. "I was wondering if you had some time for me today. I have something that I need to discuss with you… in private."
"Is this about Kendall?" Erica asked anxiously. "Is there something wrong with the baby?"
"No… Kendall and the baby are fine… but… um… I'd rather explain in person if you don't mind," Zach answered.
"Alright… I can meet you right now. I'll come to you… at the casino?" Erica said.
"Yes… my office. I'll tell Edie to be expecting you," he answered. "And Erica…
"Yes?"
"Let's keep this between us for now…" he answered sternly.
"Of course, Zach… I'll be right over," she answered before disconnecting.
What is Zach up to now? Erica wondered to herself as she turned her car around and drove toward the casino and away from a planned visit to Kendall, who was only working half days at Fusion until after the baby was born. She hoped that Zach was being truthful that there was nothing wrong, but if he was… what is going on with that man? And why am I running to him just because he called?
