"Where is my daughter Bianca? Or Zach, at least," Erica complained loudly. "One of them should have come out and let us know what's happening. They've been in there for hours!"
"Babies take hours, darlin'," Myrtle said to Erica as she sat watching her pace the waiting room. "And Zach and Bianca are right where they need to be…"
"I know that Kendall wants them with her… but why didn't she want me?" Erica said plaintively. "I would like to be there when her baby is born."
"Erica… you need to calm down," Jackson answered her. "Babies have a way of coming into the world on their own schedule. All we can do is wait here. Kendall wanted Bianca to be with her… And Zach belongs right next to his wife. Tell you what… I'll go to the desk and see if they can get someone to check on things… okay?"
"Oh… alright… Maybe I'll call Greenlee and check on Miranda, or better yet, I'll ask her to bring her here. I know Bianca will want Miranda to meet her new cousin," Erica answered.
"You do that… and hopefully we'll hear something by the time you finish your call," Jack said.
Before either of them could leave the waiting room, double doors opened and Bianca walked in wearing a hospital gown over her clothing. She was beaming with a huge smile, and her eyes were alight with happiness, "It's a boy!"
Erica and Jackson rushed over to Bianca, followed closely by other family and friends who had been anxiously waiting for news. "What? A boy? They had a little boy?" Erica inquired frantically. "I thought they were having a girl!"
"Zach never agreed to find out, and they got quite a surprise!" Bianca laughed.
"How's Kendall?" Erica asked. "Is she alright? I remember the day you were born…"
"Kendall's fine, mom. She and Zach are with the baby now, getting to know him, and trying to figure out what his name will be," Bianca answered. "I've got to get back… I promised I wouldn't stay out here for long. How's Miranda?"
"Miranda is just wonderful, sweetheart. Greenlee took her home for a nap and she'll bring her back in a little while," Erica answered her. "Give Kendall and the baby a kiss for us..."
"I will, mom. I'll be back to get you soon, they just need a little more time," Bianca answered as she left through the same doors.
Kendall lay holding their newborn son, while Zach looked on in awe and wonder. It had been difficult to watch as she labored to bring their child into the world with such pain and determination … but so very rewarding to be part of the miracle. This small scrap of humanity was part of him and part of Kendall—and he hoped it was the best parts of both of them. He had once feared having a son, fearing that he might pass on his father's warped values. But he had finally realized that it had nothing to do with blood or DNA—it was about real love, the kind of love he had found with Kendall. Together they would be amazing parents, because they knew so much about pain. At that moment, he felt invincible… a condition that he was sure his son would quickly disabuse him of, but a wonderful feeling nevertheless.
Kendall looked from husband to son, so completely in love with them and with life. She had never experienced such joy and contentment in her life… and never expected to. Giving birth had been so hard, but Zach had been there by her side encouraging her. And Bianca had been there too. They hadn't been able to share the miracle of Miranda's birth, but they had shared it with her son… the son that she loved so very much. She had given Zach a son that he could love, that he could teach to be a caring and honorable man. She looked from her son to her husband and whispered softly, "I love you both, so very much."
Zach leaned down and kissed his son's tiny head and then kissed Kendall, "I love you, too. We've got a problem, though."
"What kind of problem?" she asked softly, concern showing in her eyes.
"We forgot something important," he answered seriously.
"We did?" she asked. "Maybe my mother can run to the house…"
"No… it's not there either…" he answered with a smile. "We forgot to get a name for this little guy… we need to work on that…"
"Well… we could still use Keagan…" she offered.
"Yeah… that would work, and it's got that 'K' for Kendall," he answered still smiling.
"And we need something for you… now that we're not using Shakespeare, I'd like his name to have something from you as well," she smiled softly.
"No!" he answered more sharply than he intended. "I have nothing to give him in the way of a name… I will not burden him with Alexander and Zachary is not my name to give. Anyway, I have an abhorrence of juniors."
Kendall laughed, "One Zach in the family is plenty… I didn't mean that I wanted to name him after you… I was looking for just a letter… 'K' for Kendall and 'Z' for Zach. Find him a name that begins with 'Z'."
Zach looked at her in amusement, "What a funny request. All the names in the universe and you want to limit our boy to the letter 'Z'?" She answered with a nod of her head, before he continued, "Your wish is my command… the letter 'Z' it shall be. I'll try to find a computer while you're napping."
"I don't think you'll need to do that," whispered Erica as she entered the room. "They said we could come in…"
Zach rose and embraced his mother-in-law before quickly stepping aside and allowing her to greet Kendall and meet their son. Jackson walked in and handed Zach a stack of books. He looked at the older man questioningly and received the reply, "Erica called and had these delivered… from somewhere. This way you can look for a name without having to leave."
Zach looked down and found four different books about baby names, with meanings and horoscopes and other trivial information. "Thanks," he said and sat in a chair by the window to start finding a name for his son. He listened as Erica and Jackson exclaimed over Kendall and the baby, a feeling of belonging washing over him. For the first time in his life he was a part of a family… at times an extremely dysfunctional family… but a real family… something he had never expected or realized how much he wanted. And he had Kendall to thank for it… as they marched in and out of the room… Bianca, Erica, Jackson, Lily, Reggie, Myrtle, Greenlee, Ryan… Miranda… he felt like he had been given the greatest gifts of his life.
"Zach?" Kendall called, and he woke from a light doze in the chair. "Why don't you go home and get some sleep?"
"I'm not leaving until our son has a name," he answered.
"But you've been poring over those books for hours… take a break," she answered. "He'll be just fine as 'Baby Boy Slater' for a few more hours."
He stood and walked over to the bed, laying a book face down to mark the page as he leaned forward to kiss her, and then pulled her into a close embrace. He inhaled the fragrance of her hair, closing his eyes and experiencing once more the sense of peace and contentment that she had brought to his life. She pulled gently away and picked up the book, examining the page he had laid open when her eyes grew wide.
"What is it?" he asked in curiosity.
She laughed and pointed to a name in the middle of the page, and he glanced at it before looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She let out an exasperated sigh, "Zane… It rhymes…"
"With what?" he asked in confusion.
"Wait a minute… let me look at something," she said as he continued to favor her with a perplexed look. She thumbed through the book, looking for a specific name and found it, showing it to him and pointing it out with her finger.
He glanced down at her, understanding dawning and said with a smile, "Okay… I get it now… and I think it's a wonderful idea… and this means we don't have to have a name that begins with 'Z'."
"Uh-uh… you don't get off that easy," she said with a giggle. "We still need that one, too."
Zach groaned, "It's really not important to me… we've agreed on the perfect name… let's just leave it at that."
"It's important to me, and one of these days it will matter to him. We have to find something else… didn't I see…" she said thoughtfully, turning to the back of the book. Once again she pointed out a name to which Zach immediately shook his head.
"No… no… absolutely not…" he said emphatically.
"But Zach… it's okay…" Kendall said pleadingly. "It's not like anyone ever used it… and it would mean so much to me…"
"I don't think so, Kendall," Zach said quietly. "It's a bad idea."
"I want our son's name to be part of both of us… this is the part your father didn't use… so it's not tainted by him… but it is a part of you. We could make it his middle name… Would you agree to that?" she asked with a look of entreaty.
He couldn't resist her when she looked so beautiful, and she had worked so hard to bear his son. He would let her have her way… and maybe it could be a way to continue the healing they had started together. Slowly he nodded his head, "I give up… if that's what you really want… I'm fine with it."
She laughed in delight as the baby stirred in his bassinette, making tiny gurgling sounds as if he was preparing to cry at any moment, "Will you do the honors? I want to tell our son his new name."
Zach smiled and lifted their son, whispering softly to the babe as he placed him gently in her arms and seated himself on the bed beside them. Kendall looked lovingly at her husband before they both gazed on their son as she said, "We've finally picked your name, little one. I hope you like it—Kane Zander Slater."
Zach stroked his son's head while Kendall leaned against him and Bianca stood in the doorway holding Miranda, both of them smiling. Zach held out an arm and Bianca joined them so that Zach could hold the family he loved so much in his arms.
The End
Edited to remove song lyrics.
Thank you to everyone who has read this story, your support and encouragement have been wonderful. I'd like to say a special "thank you" to KB & CS -- without you this story would never have happened... you gave me the confidence to do this and opened my eyes to the possibilities. Thank you for your friendship, your honesty and your belief.
