Sighing, JR looked away from his driving and to a silent Kendall. "I'm sorry it's taking so long getting to the hospital, I don't know what's going on with all this traffic," he said softly. Kendall's only response was to nod silently as she stared out the window. "I'm going to have to have a talk with Derek. They should've sent someone to pick you up."

Kendall laughed hollowly at that: "guess it doesn't matter when the victim's marriage is one of convenience, or maybe they're just too busy running after St. Julia."

Shaking his head as he pressed the accelerator and took a turn off for a back road he asked softly: "how long have you known she's been back in town?"

"Long enough," Kendall shrugged. "You know I warned him. I told Zach that she'd get him killed, but, well, I was only Kendall Hartless, what did it matter? The contract wife! G-d it sounds like I stepped out of a romance novel, doesn't it? These last few months have been nothing more than melodrama. And Zach, he. . . he doesn't even know. . ."

"What? That you love him?" JR asked, then laughed at Kendall's gasp and outraged look: "what? You think I didn't know? Why do you think I've been so mad? Or that I gave up so quickly. You're my best friend, Kendall, and you were a great partner in a multitude of areas. Believe you me, if I didn't think you loved him I wouldn't have given up so easily."

"And here I thought you were so enraptured with Babe again," she shot at him.

JR rolled his eyes: "please, I'm on to her games. She's only around for one thing. Lord knows it's the only thing she's ever been good at."

"And it doesn't hurt that by being with her your sticking it to Jamie?" she wondered knowingly.

"He helped her try to kidnap my son; he deserves what he gets, especially since they tried to make me out to be the bad guy."

"You're not totally innocent, JR," Kendall sighed as she shifted to stare back out the window.

"I gave Be--- Miranda back when the time came. It's not like I knew."

"You also threw my sister off a balcony and almost killed her."

Breaking hard, JR stared at Kendall: "you know. . ?"

"You really think that after all she put my family through that the fact that she interceded with Jonathan was the only reason Bianca testified on her behalf? She remembered and told me."

"Sh!t," JR muttered as he started the car again. "Is she gonna, you know?"

"Don't know," Kendall answered truthfully as she leaned her head against the window, "although I think she'd think you were paying for it in ways that even she couldn't have come up with."

"I guess," he sighed. "I can't believe my Dad was right, and that I was too blind to see it."

"You wanted your mother back, JR."

"And look what it cost," he said sadly. "She's going to go down, Kendall. For all of it."

"JR. . ."

"No, I mean it," he insisted as he pulled into the ER Parking Lot, "its bad enough what she did to my family, but. . "

"But what?"

"I overheard enough to know that she could've prevented a lot of things."

"Zach could've not played hero. He could've turned Julia over to the Feds, like I asked him to. Now. . .I went to Mimi with deal. He could've had immunity. . .but. . ."

Turning off the car, JR turned and put a hand over hers: "It'll be ok. Consider it my way of making up for what I did to Bianca. I'll take care of things for you."

"JR, I can't. . . there are so many things crashing in on me right now, you know? I mean, the last words Zach and I had were. . ."

"A fight?" he prodded.

"Yeah. Minutes after I got served with Ryan's petition for custody, Zach called to check in. We fought because Ryan had a note sent with the petition. Zach helped him fake his death and he was going to use it against me. Said it showed all of it was premeditated. We were arguing and then. . .he was calling out to Julia. . .and I heard. . .I heard. . ." she tried unsuccessfully to finish as her voice cracked and she broke down in tears.

"Christ, Kendall. . ."

"His phone went dead. I prayed that he had just hung up on me. That he was annoyed that I had interrupted him. He got that way. Thought I interfered with the Julia thing too much. . . and then when the phone rang, and I saw his number on the caller ID. . .I was. . . only it wasn't him. It was the police. . .it had me listed as his ICE number. . .And I. . . they wouldn't tell me anything. JR, what if he's already dead? What do I do then?"

"I'll take care of it, Kendall. I promise you. I'll take care of it. . ."