Kendall stepped out of the bathroom after taking a shower to find Zach seated on the bed holding some stapled papers in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. She gave him a questioning look as she asked, "What's that? Did you find something?"

"Mm-hmm," he answered. "I think I did… This might be the report on Ethan's mother."

"WHAT? You found Hannah Nichols in the group that your PI's rejected?" Kendall asked in surprise, stopping short as she was pulling a dress from the closet.

Zach smiled, "Based on what we know now, I think they would have considered her differently. They originally eliminated her because she's dead."

"Hannah could have died over the last twenty-two years… even I can figure that out," Kendall answered with a frown.

"Ah… but this Hannah Nichols died two months before Ethan was born," Zach said. "Everything else fits. She would be the same age as me and her British passport shows that she was in the United States the summer we were seventeen. She returned to England about six weeks after I went back to school."

"But if she died two months before Ethan was born…" Kendall said in confusion.

Zach laughed, "So? I died six months before he was born… and look at me now!"

"So you think she faked her death," Kendall responded.

"I think it's a distinct possibility… at least worth checking out. According to this report, they never interviewed her family or actually verified that there was a body. I've called and asked them to check into it and get back to me as soon as possible. Of course, if she did fake her death it will take time to pick up her trail…"

"How did she die?" Kendall asked quietly.

"Car accident," Zach answered.

Kendall drew in a sharp breath, "That is just too strange… all three of you… Zach – do you think there's something missing? Something that's staring us right in the face, but we can't see it?"

"Yeah… that's exactly how I feel. Maybe I'll find something in the papers I'm picking up from Derek later this morning," Zach answered. He stood and pulled her into an embrace before asking, "What are your plans for the day?"

"Well… after you take me out to breakfast I'm going into Fusion to do some damage control. After that I'll probably spend a few hours at The Seasons," she answered as she returned his embrace. "Unless you have something I can help with?"

Zach smiled as he drew back and looked at her face, "When did we decide I was taking you out to breakfast?"

"When I walked into the condo and found you had redecorated last night," she answered. "The only thing I'm planning to do is walk straight through the living room and out the door."

"I think you'll be pleasantly surprised… I got up early and finished sorting. While you were still sleeping I boxed them according to category," he said with a proud grin. "So eating here is no problem at all."

Kendall pretended to pout and said with a hint of laughter, "And here I was planning to show off our happy marriage at the Valley Inn."

Zach kissed the pout off of her lips before laughing himself, "If it's that important to you…"

"It is… and knowing that JR and Ryan are running around town telling the tale of Ethan's will… I just want everyone to see that we're happy and not worried one little bit. I bet I could even talk Bianca and Miranda into joining us – that would show them," she answered.

"There's only one problem…" Zach said in a teasing tone of voice. He looked pointedly toward the window and Kendall followed his glance. On a table sat a tray filled with a breakfast of coffee, juice, cereal, and fresh fruit.

Kendall looked at him with a warm smile, "Did you make that for me?" After Zach nodded she continued, "That was so sweet... Thank you."

Kendall picked up the tray and seated herself on a chaise to eat the breakfast Zach had prepared while he commented, "You're welcome. I figured it was the least I could do after making such a mess of the place yesterday. Would you like me to come with you to Fusion? I can rearrange my day… that way you don't have to face the firing squad alone."

Kendall paused in mid-bite and shook her head, "No… I'll be fine. The most important thing is for you to solve the mystery of Ethan. Besides, I've got an appointment…"

"An appointment… where?" Zach said when she didn't finish her sentence. At her continued hesitation he asked pointedly, "Did you hear from someone at the hospital?"

"Bianca and I… we decided… well…" Kendall stammered while Zach looked at her expectantly. She reddened under his gaze before finishing quietly, "We're having a spa afternoon. Massages, manicures and pedicures… you know… girl stuff."

Zach smiled affectionately as he let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, "I think that's a good idea… and certainly nothing to feel guilty about. You didn't really think I'd be upset?"

"No… not upset exactly… it just… it seems so… selfish when… when you're working so hard," she answered.

"I'm working hard to fix a mistake that I made. A mistake that hurt a lot of people… including you," he answered seriously. "Taking care of yourself is not selfish. I'm glad Bianca talked you into doing something fun."

"Yeah… me too," Kendall said softly and continued eating her breakfast in silence. After a few minutes, Zach went into the bathroom to take a shower.

While Zach was in the shower, Kendall called her sister who was staying at the Valley Inn. Although Erica had wanted Bianca and Miranda to stay with her, the young woman had insisted on the freedom and privacy of the hotel. When her sister answered the phone Kendall said, "Hey, Binx… this afternoon… I hope you're not busy – because I just told Zach we were doing the spa thing. Can you set it up? Anytime after two o'clock… thanks Binx… see you later."

Kendall sat for a few minutes staring at her breakfast, and not feeling hungry enough to take a single bite. The last thing she wanted to do was lie to Zach, but he already had so much on his mind that she couldn't bring herself to tell him about Maria's call the previous afternoon. Something had shown up in her tests, and Maria wanted her to see a new physician right away. The fact Maria refused to discuss the results over the phone and insisted that she couldn't see her to go over them had caused her to have a difficult night's sleep. She had been awake when Zach had gotten up and she listened to him moving around the living room, but she hadn't had the energy to join him. She was very afraid that he would be able to tell that something was bothering her if he spent the day with her – plus she didn't want him to go with her to the appointment she had scheduled that morning although she knew he would insist on it if he knew.

What's wrong with me? Why won't Maria tell me what it is? She thought to herself. It couldn't be some life threatening disease if all they did was take a few test tubes of blood… or could it? For the first time in her life she was really happy… marriage to Zach had been the best thing that had ever happened to her, and he was so easy to love. Their life together was good… great sex, a wonderful friendship, thriving business partnerships… everything she had ever wanted in life and more. Why does everything always have to end badly? How am I going to tell Zach that there's something wrong with me? Even as she reminded herself that she was jumping to conclusions, there was one conclusion that she couldn't ignore. She had the worst luck of anyone she had ever known. If something bad was going to happen – it would definitely happen to her, and of course it would happen at a time when she was feeling the happiest. But this would hurt Zach, too. It wasn't fair that her bad luck was going to cause him pain.

She heaved a sigh and carried her breakfast tray into the kitchen. As good as his word, Zach had gathered up the papers and placed the furniture back in its proper position. She took a few minutes in the kitchen to compose herself as she cleaned up the breakfast dishes. When Zach came out a little bit later, she had a ready smile for him with no sign of the fretting and worrying she had been doing since Maria's call.

Zach walked up behind her and pulled her against him laying his cheek alongside her own as he said, "Have I told you lately what a lucky man I am?"

"Mm-hmm," Kendall responded before turning her head and seeing the sadness of Zach's expression, realizing that she hadn't made her usual response. Even though she wasn't exactly feeling that way at the moment, she placed her hand on his cheek and whispered, "No luckier than I."

Zach brightened and kissed her once more before releasing her from his arms. She glanced at her watch, only two hours until her appointment – plenty of time to go to Fusion and vent all her frustrations at her best friend and worst enemy, Greenlee Lavery. Thank goodness for Greenlee.