Kendall entered the darkened courtyard between their two condos and smiled to herself. Light was streaming from the windows of both condos, which meant that Zach was still busy going through the boxes and papers that Ethan had left behind. They had spoken earlier and he had suggested that she have dinner with Bianca and leave him to his little project… and if he was still working in both places then it had either turned into a very profitable treasure hunt or a much bigger headache than they had anticipated. She stood for a moment and debated which condo to enter first, finally deciding to enter Zach's condo and change clothes before pitching in to help.
When Kendall opened the door to Zach's condo, she burst out laughing. All of the furniture had been moved to the edges of the room, leaving a large expanse of floor that was covered with papers. There were stacks of papers everywhere, some being held down by plates and others by cups, bowls or glasses. In the middle of the mess sat Zach, looking a little disheveled with his sleeves rolled up and his shirt mussed, cross-legged and eating Chinese food from the carton with mother-of-pearl inlaid chopsticks while reading through a document lying in his lap.
He looked up and grinned broadly, "Hey… how was your dinner with Bianca?"
"Zach… what have you done to this place?" Kendall asked, still laughing.
He chuckled, "Just sorting through a few papers."
Kendall started to carefully step between the stacks of papers to reach Zach, but he held up a hand to stop her. "Wait… this is a very delicate operation. Why don't you sit on the chair by the door and I'll make a path to you?"
Kendall shrugged and seated herself on the chair, dropping her purse to the floor and kicking off her shoes, "Sure… why not? Heaven forbid I screw up your filing system."
"Actually… I've got a pretty good system going here," Zach said as he took another bite of his dinner. "Let me explain. I went through all the boxes in your condo and pulled every piece of paper that the PVPD didn't take. Then I received a few boxes from the PI that's been looking for Hannah. I've been sorting them out based on timeline and subject. The stacks with plates on them have to do with Ethan, and the stacks with bowls have to do with Hannah. The other stacks are interrelated and I know by the dishes where they fall chronologically over the last twenty-two years."
Kendall giggled, "And have you come up with any conclusions yet?"
"No… mostly it's just sorting right now. Nothing has jumped out at me, but I think they'll start to make sense when I get them in order. Of course, when I add the PVPD's papers tomorrow… we may need to sleep somewhere else because I'll probably have to expand this into the bedroom," he answered with a smile.
"I don't know whether to keep laughing, yell at you for taking on an impossible task by yourself, or kiss you for trying so hard," Kendall said.
"Kiss me… I definitely think you should kiss me," he answered. He carefully stepped between the stacks and set his food on a table before pulling her into his arms for a very satisfying kiss.
After she had seated herself once again, he sat on the floor opposite her and said, "You didn't say how your dinner went… everything okay between you and Bianca?"
"Eat your dinner and I'll tell you about my interesting evening," Kendall answered with a smile.
"Uh-oh… and I thought that we'd smoothed things over with her," Zach said, his face falling as he picked up the carton of Chinese food.
"No… Binx and me… we're great, and Miranda's great… and you're great, too," Kendall assured him. "No changes on that front… other than being royally pissed off at JR Chandler."
Zach smiled and nodded, "Good… I was hoping last night wouldn't be the last time our niece visited."
"It won't be, don't worry. After today I'm sure that Bianca's seen the light," Kendall answered. "We had dinner with Mother."
Zach choked on his chicken and sat still for a moment before commenting, "I see… that must have been interesting."
"You don't know the half of it. Of course… this entire mess is your fault. If you had just stayed out of our lives, then Ethan wouldn't have been hell bent on revenge," Kendall told him.
"I hate to agree with your mother on anything… but she does have a point," Zach answered between bites. "I doubt that he would have gone after Bianca and Miranda if you and I hadn't gotten married… and then rubbed his nose in our wedded bliss."
"But Zach… tell me honestly… would you trade our 'wedded bliss' for what we would have had if we'd gone our separate ways that night at the Valley Inn?" Kendall asked him.
At that comment he ducked his head and placed the carton of Chinese food on the floor before saying softly, "Your whole family would have been better off if I had gone back to Vegas and stayed there… but I can't tell you that I regret a single minute of our marriage, despite the price we're paying now."
"Thank you," Kendall said quietly.
Zach looked up at her in surprise, "For what?"
"For being honest with me… for admitting that you enjoy being married to me every bit as much as I enjoy being married to you… and for making this so much better than any business arrangement could ever be," Kendall answered candidly.
He thought for a moment before answering simply, "You're welcome."
"Anyway… that wasn't even the best part of the night. The best part was when Erica defended JR's role in this mess," Kendall went on with her tale. "He showed up at New Beginnings to ask Mother for help in persuading Bianca. Would you believe that Mother actually tried to talk her into accepting JR as Miranda's trustee and not fighting Ethan's will?"
"Your mother's got a soft spot for the Chandler men… she did help JR get his son back – and went against Bianca's wishes to do it," Zach answered. "I never did understand how she gave him a pass when he almost ran away with Miranda."
"Trust me… neither does Bianca," Kendall answered. "I've rarely seen my sister as angry as she was when Mother tried to plead JR's case. Did you know that Binx believes he pushed her off that balcony?"
Zach stopped eating, his eyes growing cold and a dark, dangerous expression transformed his face, "No… I suspected it at one time, but there was never any proof… or any witnesses."
"I hate it when you get like that," Kendall shivered. "She never told us. She doesn't believe he intended her to go over the balcony, but he did push her to keep her away from Miranda. That's enough for me. JR and I might have been friends for years… but between that and everything he did today… I'm done with him for good."
"I'm glad to hear that… Junior is a loose canon. What else did he do today?" Zach asked.
Kendall paused a moment before answering, "He went straight from Livia's office to Fusion and rubbed Ethan's will in Greenlee's face. I hadn't been at the casino an hour before Ryan was there threatening us both… and spreading the blame pretty thickly as well."
"Why didn't you call me? I'm always happy to put Lavery in his place," Zach said, standing up and placing the empty food carton in a waste receptacle before creating a pathway through the papers from the front door to the bedroom hallway.
Kendall smiled, "I've been observing your technique… you always treat Ryan like he's an annoying child. This was my first chance to try it out on my own… and I must say… it worked great. I handled him all by myself, and he was as flustered with me as he always gets with you. You would have been proud of me."
Zach laughed and then paused to look at her intently, "Kendall… don't you know that I'm always proud of you? Last year you fell apart because Lavery married Greenlee and stole Cambias from you… look at you now. I bet Lavery still doesn't know what hit him."
She turned pink at Zach's compliment and laughed before answering, "You're right about that. Binx and Miranda showed up just before he left… and when he tried to hold Miranda she sobbed for her Uncle Zach."
"She did not," he said with a broad smile and a hopeful expression.
"Well… she cried, but she hasn't figured out how to say your name yet. I think she wanted you, though… I certainly did," Kendall answered with a sultry glance.
Before she could say another word, he scooped her into his arms and placed his lips on hers… the kiss starting out gentle but blazing quickly to the point where Kendall wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her tightly. After several minutes, Kendall drew back and looked at Zach with passion. He continued to hold her tightly against him, his fingers loosening the muscles of her back and eliciting a small moan of pleasure as she responded to his soothing hands. Kendall stood with her head cradled against his chest, occasionally uttering a sigh of pleasure, while he massaged her and made her feel warm and relaxed. He leaned his head down and she turned her face to him and met his lips with her own… igniting the passion that always smoldered between them with an urgent and forceful kiss.
As his hands became more purposeful she felt molten beneath his touch. Her own hands hurriedly pulled at his clothing so that she could reach his skin and rediscover the taste and texture that had become almost an addiction. Soon their clothing was lying in small puddles over and around the stacks of papers and Zach lifted her in his arms to carry her to their bed… so that they could once again lose themselves in each other.
A good while later they lay entwined in each other's arms and discussed what they had accomplished over the course of the day. Zach explained to Kendall about his visit with Derek and what he had learned from the private investigators. She was very interested in Ethan's juvenile record, as it was another secret he had kept from her while she had been honest about the skeletons of her own past.
"Zach… if it's up to me, I choose to fight," Kendall told him. "I've been thinking about this all day. There's no way I want to withdraw your petition and let Ethan win. Even if the court rules against us, I want to be able to say we fought the battle and didn't give in."
"I don't disagree with you, but this isn't just our fight anymore. We have to take Bianca's wishes into consideration… and remember that this is for Miranda more than any of the adults," Zach reminded her.
"I know… but that's why we have to fight. How do we explain to her when she's all grown up that we rolled over and played dead for her sake? How do we teach her that bullies are overgrown cowards if we give in?" she asked.
"Bianca has the final say… she is the person who decides what she can live with for Miranda's sake. I will fight this as hard as I can for as long as I can… but in the end I will abide by Bianca's wishes. You know that you'll do the same," Zach said with resignation. Kendall nodded her head as it rested on his chest before he continued, "Let's hope that we can find something that will lead us to the truth, and that it can be used to end this."
"Okay," she answered drowsily. After a few moments of silence she said, "Zach… you still awake?"
"Mm-hmm," he mumbled sleepily.
She whispered quietly, "I trust you… and Bianca does, too. We talked a lot today. No matter what happens to Cambias… we're going to be okay."
Zach pulled her tightly against him and laid his lips against her hair as he succumbed to sleep. He didn't give a damn about what happened to Cambias… only what happened to the beautiful woman in his arms. He sincerely hoped that they would be okay, and that the gnawing concern he had over the tests that Maria had ordered would magically dissipate overnight. His last conscious wish was that no doctor would call Kendall… not knowing that his wish was already too late.