Zach looked up from his desk with a smile as Erica entered without knocking, "Thanks for coming by so quickly." He stood and walked across the room to greet her and indicated a table near the sofa saying, "I ordered tea…"

"You invited me all the way over here for a tea party?" Erica asked in stunned surprise. She would never understand Zach Slater, no matter how long she knew him.

"No… but I thought you might enjoy some while we talked. Would you prefer I have it removed?" he said quietly, his face impassive.

Erica smiled, "We might as well enjoy it since you went to so much trouble…"

"No trouble. Would you like to pour… or shall I?" Zach replied, his eyes dancing, enjoying the way he irritated his mother-in-law even as he knew better than to threaten their tentative ceasefire.

"I'll pour… you talk," she said quickly and seated herself.

Zach sat in a chair opposite her and leaned back placing his fingers together, observing her mood carefully before he began. Once he had determined that she might be receptive to his conversation, he began softly, "You once gave me a lesson in parenting… something about a stick and a two-by-four… I was wondering if you could help me with a similar problem."

"I don't think a stick or a two-by-four are appropriate playthings for the baby," she answered coquettishly. She continued with a smile, "Are you really coming to me for parenting advice? I didn't think you approved of my style."

"Considering that I'm married to one of your daughters and in business with the other… I don't think you've done too badly," Zach observed. "However… I never said it was parenting advice I was looking for… just assistance with a problem."

"And the nature of this problem would be?" she said with a laugh and a flip of her hair. When Zach continued to look at her without comment, she decided to test him, "Zach… let me ask you something. Is this a conversation between Zach Slater, owner of the Seasons Hotel & Casino, and Erica Kane, owner of New Beginnings? Or is it between a mother and her daughter's husband?"

Zach answered quietly, "Which would you prefer?"

She placed her cup on the table and looked at him sharply with a glimmer of an idea about why he had asked her there. She paused a moment and looked him straight in the eyes before asking a final question, "Or is it between the son of Alex Cambias and the daughter of Eric Kane?"

"You can be very perceptive when you want to be, Erica," Zach said softly. "You are exactly right… from one abused child to another I need to erase the Cambias curse from existence before my child is born."

"Zach… I don't know… You may need a professional to get you over this belief in a ridiculous curse. Have you considered therapy?" Erica said.

Zach let out a rare expletive before answering, "You know the answer to that… and if you plan to waste my time discussing it then I obviously underestimated you."

"You don't underestimate anyone, Zach Slater. You know exactly what you're doing," she answered coolly. "What makes you think I want to discuss my pain with you?"

"Because you love Kendall… and you know that I love her, too," he answered quietly.

Her look softened immediately, "That's the first time I've heard you say that… thank you for being honest with me."

"You're welcome," he said without wasting any more time sparring. "Has Kendall shared with you that I have a recurring nightmare?"

"She mentioned you weren't sleeping well… I'm not surprised," Erica answered. "I think you might have been alright if Ethan hadn't turned into such a little creep. When did it start? When you found out that Kendall was pregnant… or when you realized that you had to actually become a father?"

"The latter… when we found out Kendall was pregnant, all I knew was that I wanted this child… you can imagine how much that surprised me," he answered honestly.

"I can… considering how you've always felt about Miranda, though, it didn't surprise me," she answered with equal candor. "But I don't want my daughter Kendall… or her baby… to suffer from your family's warped sense of 'love'. I've had a hard enough time accepting that both of my daughters' children are Cambiases, and I certainly don't need you to hurt my family anymore than you already have."

"Would it help to say that I don't want to hurt them either? Kendall, Bianca and Miranda… they are the only ones who truly matter… and our baby… she needs to enter this world without the taint of Cambias threatening her happiness," Zach said earnestly, opening his hands toward her.

"Zach… much as I want to hear what you have to say… I'm going to be honest with you… this is something you should be telling my daughter, Kendall—not me. Go home… tell your wife…" Erica urged him.

"I wish I knew how… but every time I think I've found the words, I remember Kendall as she was the night of the murder game. I can't forget that madness… and I won't risk her or the baby... I'm not worth their pain," he sighed deeply. "This is something I have to do myself… she shouldn't have to fight my demons when she has barely overcome her own."

"She's stronger than you give her credit for, Zach," Erica answered quietly. "My daughters may look fragile, but…"

"…but they are Kane women—and they are fierce," Zach finished her sentence for her with a smile. "I know… but I will not allow her to bear my burdens, especially not when she is pregnant with my child."

Erica sat quietly for a moment before saying, "…so… tell me about this dream."

"My brothers are holding me while I'm forced to watch my father taking Kendall and the baby away from me… and I fight them all."

"Do you ever win?" she queried.

"I beat them to a bloody pulp," he answered with a grin. "At first I would wake up just before my father got to them, but every time I fight harder and hurt them more. Last night I got to the old man… but then something strange happened."

"Mm-hmmm… go on," she said noncommittally.

He looked at her for a moment before continuing, "When I turned back to them—to save them—they were gone… and in their place stood my mother."

"Your mother? Didn't she…?" Erica said in surprise.

"Yes, she did. He tried to cover it up, but it didn't work. Poor Alex Cambias… to lose his wife and his son within a year… the bastard is just lucky I didn't kill him myself," Zach answered grimly.

"And you haven't told any of this to Kendall?" she prompted.

"I can't… how can I tell her that in my dreams I'm terrified that she'll become my mother and our child will turn into my brothers? My mother was beautiful, and she loved us… but she left anyway. And Michael… he was the best… the best brother… until my mother and I left him alone with my father," Zach said with raw emotion. "He turned my sweet and loving brother into a monster, the kind of monster that did such unspeakable things…"

"Zach… it's alright, Zach," Erica said with concerned surprise, placing a hand on his arm. She had been unprepared for this depth of emotion from a man she had considered to be ruthless despite his occasional kindnesses. He looked at her in equal surprise as she had moved from her chair to sit on the arm of his.

"… but the fault lies with my mother and me. We both left him… I even made him help me leave… and he was all that was left. I thought I had come to terms with what Michael became… but I can't come to terms with what I have become," he said, each word an agony to speak.

"Zach… I knew Michael and your father, many years after you had gone. I had some idea what your father was really like, and I don't believe for one minute that Michael was his willing victim. He liked it too much… just like Ethan, he enjoyed other people's suffering," Erica said calmly as she stood and returned to her own seat.

Zach looked at her intently, trying to find words that would explain, "No… Erica… I wish you had known Michael when we were younger. We were a team, us against that old tyrant. He had my back and I had his… but only one of us could escape. If we had both tried to run, my father would have found us. No. One of us had to stay behind, and Michael did that for me. I owe him my life."

"Are you sure about that? Tell me… whose idea was it to run away? Was it yours? …Or was it Michael's?" she asked pointedly.

"Well… I knew that I had to get away, and we had no secrets… but Michael is the one who told me to go. He knew that our father was always breathing down my neck, always pushing me…"

"Zach… I'm going to ask you something very important, and I want you to think about it carefully before answering me," Erica said. He looked at her and nodded. She continued, "Did Michael ever offer to run away? Did he ever say that he wanted to leave?"

Zach sat quietly and thought about Erica's question. After a few moments, he looked at her and shook his head, "No… Michael never said he wanted to go with me. He always pointed out that the old man would catch us if we both tried it, so he offered stay behind and watch my back."

"When did you decide to fake your death instead of running away… and whose idea was that?" she prodded him softly.

Zach looked at her for several minutes, realization dawning on his face, "Erica, I've got to get to Kendall… I'm sorry; I've got to go now… I need to see Kendall…"

Erica stood as Zach jumped up and rushed out of his office, speaking to Edie quickly, "I'm going home… and I don't want any interruptions, even if the place is on fire. Get Mrs. Montgomery anything she needs…"

Edie answered quickly, "Right boss!"

Erica stood in the doorway of Zach's office with a satisfied expression on her face.


Kendall woke from a sound sleep, wondering what had caused her to wake up so suddenly. She lay still, listening to the quiet house, not feeling rested despite the afternoon nap. Her burden had lowered and she had a constant ache in her back. Once again, her mind warred with the wish to have her child born and fear of what would follow… but she sighed softly, knowing that Zach would be by her side. She felt certain that it would be all right as long as he was there to support her.

She turned at a slight noise from a dark corner of the room. I hope we don't have mice, was her first irrational thought. Of course, the house had been completely checked for any infestations… and she knew that Zach would have never consented to move into the house unless it was in pristine condition. She almost laughed aloud, but instead gasped in surprise as someone stepped out of the shadows.

"I didn't think you'd ever wake up, Kendall," said Ethan softly.

"Ethan… what… what are you doing in here?" she said in alarm. She was fully aware of all the measures that Zach had taken to keep him away from her and out of their lives. She wondered to herself how he had gotten past the bodyguard that Zach kept on duty at all times. She rolled toward the bedside table and reached for the phone… but it wasn't there.

"Sorry… I couldn't risk having our conversation… interrupted," Ethan said as he held the phone up to show her it had been disconnected.

"Ethan… you need to leave… Zach will be very upset if he finds you here… or my bodyguard," Kendall tried to reason with him.

"The bodyguard is on a wild goose chase, thought he saw me tampering with your car," Ethan said with a laugh. He glanced at his watch, "And your husband is much too busy to be bothered with you. Any minute his entire empire is going to come crashing down… and he won't even remember you exist."

Kendall gasped as the baby gave a sharp kick, almost as if he or she knew that they were in danger. She looked at Ethan, wondering what he was up to, and hoping that he hadn't done anything to harm Zach. Maybe she could talk him out of whatever he had planned… it was certainly worth a try. "Ethan… my… my mother… she'll be here any minute… Why don't… why don't we go downstairs… and… and I'll make some… some tea… and we can talk… over tea… with my mother…"

"No… I don't think so… I'm not in the mood for tea right now. And you better hope for her sake that Ericer doesn't show up… because it won't be pretty if she attempts to interfere…" Ethan said menacingly.

"Okay… Ethan… that's fine… no tea… mmm-hmm…" Kendall continued as she tried to think of another way to get him to leave her room. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Our child… Zach has completely cut off my access… and I can't have that…" he started.

"Our child?" Kendall said incredulously.

"Yours and mine… you know… I understood why you felt you had to marry him… we were apart at the time… and our child needed a father, and a name… and Zach was convenient… but I don't understand why you insist on pretending that he is the father…" Ethan said in growing agitation. "Once you knew that I was willing to accept our child you should have ended this farce with Zach… but not only did you allow it to continue, you allowed him to cut me out…"

"Ethan… you're confused… this child is mine and Zach's… it's your niece or nephew, just like Miranda…" Kendall spoke softly, as if to a small child.

"NO!" Ethan said explosively. "It's MY child and ZACH will not steal it from me… he's taken everything else… he will not STEAL MY CHILD!"

"Okay… okay… Ethan… calm down… okay… I'm sorry," Kendall said soothingly, rubbing her hand across her abdomen as if to assure her child of its safety. She had to think of something… anything… to say that would defuse the situation… to give Zach's security people time to get to her. She knew they would… he was much too cautious to not have backup arranged. She just needed to buy some time.

"I will not have you perpetuating this LIE!" Ethan continued to rant.

Kendall thought for a second longer, and then plunged forward, "Okay… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to upset you… you're right… Zach made me promise I wouldn't say anything… but I'm sure… I'm sure… just between us… that we can… we can admit the… the truth…" She felt physically ill in having to say those words, but they were a small price to pay if it protected the baby. She would say anything… do anything… if it would protect her child.

"That's better… now you're making sense…" Ethan said more calmly. "You can't make promises like that… you can't agree to his LIES…"

"You're right, Ethan… I'm so sorry… no more… no more lies… why don't you… why don't you sit down… we can talk…" she said cajolingly.

An alarm on Ethan's watch sounded, and he suddenly looked more alert and aware of his surroundings, "Kendall… it's time… we need to leave… NOW."


His cell phone ringing, Zach quickly hit the button for the speaker and continued to drive toward Pine Valley, "Slater."

"Hey Boss," Edie said, sounding very agitated. "I know you said not to bother you… but we have a situation."

"I said I didn't care if the whole place burned down," Zach said in irritation. "Go on… I can talk and drive."

"A few minutes ago, every single piece of electronic gaming equipment in the casino started paying high dollar jackpots," Edie told him. "And that's not even the best part… we've got calls from the other casinos and the same thing is happening at all of them."

"WHAT!" Zach barked. "How did that happen? Alright… shut everything down… ALL the games… even the tables. Tell the cashiers not to pay out anything until we get this straightened out."

"Okay, boss… Consider it done. What next?" Edie said, efficient as ever.

"Keep everyone calm while this gets sorted out… Get someone looking at those damn machines… and you better report this to the Gaming Commission, keep them off our backs… offer complimentary food and drinks to the patrons—and rooms if you have to… you know the drill," he answered. Suddenly he had a thought, "Is Mrs. Montgomery still there?"

"Yes, she is… said she'd finish her tea before she left… I hope you don't mind," Edie answered in concern.

"No… that's fine… listen… explain the situation, and ask her if Erica Kane could provide some assistance. I'm sure that she's more than capable of keeping the customers happy while they wait… I'll be there as soon as I can," Zach told his assistant.

"You got it, boss!" Edie answered before severing the connection.

Zach laughed softly to himself, thinking that he would have never expected Erica's brief stint as a Seasons employee to be useful.