"Oh my… oh… just… oh my… Zach!"

He loved watching her in this moment, as her skin flushed and she closed her eyes and threw her head back. She always had a wisp of a smile on her face in this moment and it was that smile that always sent him over the edge and this time was no different. It had been three weeks since their New Year's Eve reconciliation and he couldn't have been happier than he was in this moment as she stared down at him and ground her hips into him, bringing him to his finish.

She collapsed on top of him, breathing heavily as they both tried to regain their senses. Kendall rolled off of him and lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to catch her breath. She felt him shift and turn toward her. After a moment, she turned her head and looked at him, smiling at her.

"Ok, let's never go a week without doing that again."

He laughed and threw his arm across her stomach, feeling the slight bulge of the baby boy growing inside of her. He pulled her into him and kissed her on the cheek.

"Deal. Care to join me in the shower?" he said, not really waiting for an answer as he pulled her out of bed and toward the bathroom.

A week earlier

Kendall smiled as she rounded the corner and walked into their shared courtyard. While they still had the separate residences, they had yet to spend a night apart and she more than liked it that way.

She saw that his light was on, and that surprised her. She had planned on beating him home tonight. She looked down at the bag of take out and shrugged – 'guess it won't be much of a surprise' she thought as she opened the door to his condo.

He was in the process of talking on the phone and packing a bag when she walked in.

"No, it's fine. Edie's got the casino's jet waiting on. Yeah… yeah… I realize and believe you me, that imbecile is fired when I get to Vegas tonight. Yeah… ok… make sure you are waiting for me… see you then."

He snapped the phone shut and dropped it into his pocket. He saw her standing in the doorway, looking confused. He walked over and kissed her on the cheek.

"Good, you're early tonight. Pack a bag. There's a problem in Vegas and we've got to… well, let's just say that Alan is completely fired when we get there tonight and…"

She put her bags on the counter top and walked over to him. She stilled him by placing her hands on his arms. He sighed and looked at her.

"Yeah, you are going to have to slow down and start over."

"Alan, our former casino manager in Vegas, screwed up not only the tax stuff for the year, but also managed to piss off all the investors in the new facility we want to build in Atlantic City, so we've got to go out there and fix this mess. Run and get packed – the plane's waiting."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "Zach, I can't go."

He stopped mid stride and turned back to her. "What?"

"Well, Simone and Babe decided to run with this whole vintage/tribute line. It's actually not a half bad idea, but they are off and running and I need to be around to help and they want to get this done in the next few weeks. Apparently, the stores love the idea and have had people requesting the rest of the line, so we've bumped up production and…"

He walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You can't go."

She looked up at him with a sad smile. "No, I can't."

He laughed at the look on her face. "Now, what's that look for?"

"Well, it's just… we haven't… how long do you think you will be gone?"

"A few days, week tops."

"A WEEK!" she yelled loudly.

"Well, hopefully just a few days, but probably a week…"

"I don't like that one bit" she said, pouting.

He couldn't help himself when she pouted. That pout just begged to be kissed off her face, so he obliged. He leaned in and gave her a less than chaste kiss.

She pulled back and looked at him. "I think I'm going to miss you a little bit."

"Are you now?"

"Yeah" she said, smiling shyly.

"Well, I'm going to miss you more than just a little bit."

She sighed and pulled him into a hug. "It's just that we haven't spent a night apart since New Year's."

He smiled and kissed her on the temple. "That's true, but I'm not going to the middle of the Congo or anything, just to Vegas, where they have phones and everything."

Kendall giggled.

"Plus, when used correctly, phones can be very naughty things. As can imaginations."

She pulled back and looked at him. "I like how you think, Mr. Slater."

He just smiled as he pulled her into another kiss. Things heated up very quickly and he knew that if he didn't stop now, that plane was going to be waiting for awhile.

She pouted as he pulled out of her embrace, but he did his best to ignore her as he grabbed his bag and coat.

She grabbed her purse and the take out and walked over to her door as he locked his. He walked over to her as she opened her door and turned on the light.

"I'll call you tomorrow. I'm probably going to be busy tonight and…"

"It's alright, Zach. You should have fired Alan a long time ago."

He smiled. "You aren't kidding. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Try to get some sleep. I love you" he said as he leaned in to kiss her again.

"I love you too" she whispered as he pulled back. He took off to the waiting car, looking over his shoulder at her again before rounding the corner.

She waited till he was out of sight before shutting and locking her door. "OK, I can do this" she said to herself as she pulled out some of the food.

It had been two days since she had had a chance to talk to Zach and it was beginning to drive her - along with Simone, Babe, and Danielle - crazy. He had called as promised the morning after he left, but since then, they had done nothing but play telephone tag. She had received two dozen red roses yesterday afternoon with a note that only said 'Miss you'. She had not slept well the last two nights and had gone back to sleeping on the couch at night like she had before New Years.

Dani and Simone had run to BJ's to get lunch for the three of them. Babe was… well, all that Kendall cared was that she wasn't in the office. She was reading the latest report from production when the phone rang.

"Fusion, this is Kendall."

"What are you wearing" she heard growled from the other end of the phone.

She smiled at the sound of his voice and leaned back in her chair, kicking up her heels on the desk.

"Would you believe just a negligee and a pair of three inch heels? Simone thought I was crazy coming into the office in just that, but hey, I'm the boss so…"

She laughed as she heard what sounded like the phone clattering on the floor.

"Zach? Zach, you still there?"

"Yeah, sorry, it seemed the phone slipped out of my hand."

"Yeah, right."

"You are an evil, evil woman, Kendall Slater."

"Hey, you asked!"

"Only because I had a very naughty, very hot dream about you last night."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "Do tell." She knew he was smirking on the other end of the phone, but she didn't care at this point.

"Well, we were at this great chateau in France. We were standing on the balcony, looking over the mountains when you spied the hot tub out of the corner of your eye. Without a word, you dropped all your clothes and jumped in, dragging me along with you. I jumped in right behind you and you waded across the hot tub to where I was sitting. You planted the hottest kiss on me and then I…"

"LUNCH HAS ARRIVED!" Simone yelled as she and Dani walked back into the office. Kendall swore under her breath as Zach started to laugh.

"So much for that" Kendall said as Simone started to unpack lunch while Dani grabbed the other ringing phone.

"So much for what?" Simone asked.

"I swear to God, if I could still fire you…"

"Calm down Kendall" Zach said from the other end of the line. "I need to get going anyway. I've about got this mess figured out, so hopefully I will be back in the next few days and then I can show you the rest of the dream."

She sighed. "Alright. Call me later?"

"Of course. I love you."

"Love you too" Kendall said as she hung up the phone. She glared at Simone, who had a sheepish look on her face.

"I take it that was Zach."

"Yeah, and I swear, if you got my food wrong, I'm throwing you out a window."

Simone just smiled as she handed Kendall her order. "Calm down girl, he'll be back soon enough."

"So you say" Kendall grumbled as she bit into her sandwich.

Zach and Kendall spent the next four days trading messages and having short, but very hot and inappropriate phone conversations. He was concerned when she let it slip that she had been sleeping on the couch, but she assured him that it would be better when he got back. She refused to tell him that she had resorted to sleeping in a worn dress shirt she found in her condo.

She had just fallen asleep, in bed for once, when she heard knocking on the front door. She grumbled to herself as she tied her robe around her waist and walked to the front door. She was not at all pleased when she threw open the front door to see him standing there.

She sighed and leaned against the door. "What, Ryan?"

"Were you sleeping?"

"Yeah."

"Oh God, Kendall, I'm sorry. I can come back tomorrow."

"No, forget it, I'm up now. Come in."

He walked in and stood in the middle of her living room, just staring at her.

"What Ryan? I'm kind of tired and…"

"Yeah, sorry about that again, but I've been trying to get in touch with you for the last few weeks. Haven't you gotten my messages?"

She thought back to the deleted messages on her cell phone and the stack of balled up messages slips in her trash can at work. "Um… yeah… it's been busy and I really haven't had a lot of time for much. Did you need something?"

He walked over to her and ran his fingers down her arm. "Let's sit down."

'Funny' she thought to herself. 'A year ago that would have turned me on completely and now… well, now I feel like I need a shower'.

She let him guide her over to the couch and stared at him confusedly as he tucked the cover around her legs.

She watched as he looked her over. "Spit it out Ryan."

"How are you? Everything alright? You been feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Is that all?"

"No. Um… well, have you talked to Bianca?"

Kendall just stared at him. "Yeah, you know, a few times, considering she is my sister and all. She left for Paris after New Year's. You need her number or something?"

"No. Well, it's just that… well, I came to the casino on New Year's to see you and…"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Well, I can't imagine you got an invite to the party, so why did you even come to the casino?"

"Well, Erica said that…"

Kendall groaned as she got off the couch. "Figures. Erica pushing her agenda again."

"Erica said that you wanted to see me."

"No, Ryan, Erica wanted me to see you. I didn't ask her to get you out there, nor did I want you there."

"Look, Kendall, I know I haven't been the greatest over the last few weeks, but I've been thinking a lot about you, me, this baby and I thought…"

"Oh no" she said, holding up her hand.

"Look, just one more chance. I know that we can make this work. I think we need to, for the baby's sake. Greenlee's not coming back and this child should have both parents around."

"Ryan, I can't tell you that you can't be involved in this child's life, if I choose to keep him, but are you saying that…"

He put his hands on her shoulders. "A family. I think we should give it a real go."

"Really? Me, you, baby, upstairs while your clingy sister and psycho brother live where, in the basement, out back in the guest house. No thanks."

"Kendall, what are you going to do? You really aren't considering doing this alone, are you?"

"I'M NOT ALONE" she roared before she could stop herself. The forcefulness of her tone made him take a step back and he took a good look at her. That's when he noticed the men's shirt she was sleeping in and the diamond ring on her left hand.

"Oh my god…" he said.

"Ryan, look…"

"Please tell me that you and Slater…"

"You need to stop right now. Fine, Zach didn't get the divorce. We talked New Year's Eve. I love him, Ryan, and he loves me. We decided to stay married and make a real go of this."

Ryan snorted at that idea. "Right. Slater confesses his undying love and you fold right into his arms? Why, because Greenlee and I rejected you out right. God, Kendall, are you really that stupid and naïve!"

She was shaking in anger at this point. She walked over and threw open the front door. "GET. OUT." She said, grabbing the door with all her might.

"With pleasure" he said, storming out the door. "But it's your funeral. Hope you have someone left when he crushes you into the ground."

She slammed the door and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. When counting to 10 several times didn't work, she looked at the clock and quickly figured out what time it was in Paris before picking up the phone and dialing her sister. She needed to talk to someone, because it was just a matter of time before Ryan told Erica about her and Zach.

The next day was a blur. She managed to dodge Erica's calls and ducked out the back of Fusion as Simone kept Erica distracted in the office.

Her phone rang off the hook at home. After about 45 minutes of the incessant ringing, Kendall pulled all the phone cords out of the wall and closed all the blinds in her windows. She shut her cell phone off and stretched out on the couch, wishing for nothing more than for her husband to be there, protecting her from the rest of the crazy world who thought she had lost her mind.

It was late when she thought she heard a click in the back of her mind. She felt the couch shift slightly and she cracked her eyes open, only to see Zach, sitting on the end of the couch, staring at her.

"Zach?" she asked, groggily.

"Why are you sleeping on the couch?"

Hearing him talk brought her out of her sleep and she launched herself at him, landing in his lap. He laughed as she held onto him with all her might and let the tears fall that she had held in since Ryan left earlier.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked, pulling back to look her in the face.

She sighed and smiled at him. "I'm fine. I missed you so much. I thought you weren't flying back till the morning."

"Yeah, what can I say, the thought of sleeping alone for one more night… well, I just couldn't bear it. Everything was finished, so I headed back early. Surprised?"

"More than you know" she said, leaning back into him, placing her head back into the crook of his neck.

"I brought you something" he whispered in her ear.

"Later" she said, planting her lips on his. After a few minutes of kissing, she pulled back just a wisp. "Take me to bed" she whispered. He latched onto her lips again and carried her back to the bedroom.

After a long and passionate bout of sex, she told him about Ryan's visits and about avoiding Erica. He let her yell and scream and promised that she wasn't going to have to deal with any of this alone. She managed to talk him out of going over to the Pine Cone and killing Ryan with his bare hands. As the sun started to rise, they fell asleep, holding onto each other like they were the only concrete thing in the world.

Zach got out of the shower before Kendall after they managed to make love without falling on the soapy floor. She shut off the shower and threw back the curtain to see her wickedly handsome husband leaning against the door, holding the shirt she had been sleeping in.

"Nice nightshirt. Is it new?"

"Shut up" she said, grabbing it away from him and slipping it on over her head.

The sight of her in his shirt was too much to bear. Before she knew what was happening, he lifted her up onto the sink and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"I think this is the sexiest thing I have ever seen you wear" he growled as he plundered her mouth with his tongue.

She was about to slip the towel off his waist when they heard banging on the door and Erica yelling for Kendall to open the door immediately.

Kendall pulled back and groaned, dropping her head to his shoulder.

He laughed and kissed the top of her head. "You are going to have to deal with her eventually. Go answer the door, while I get dressed."

She sighed as she slid off the counter top and headed toward the front door.

She threw it open to an angry looking Erica and an exasperated Jackson.

"Morning, mother, Jackson. Come on in."

Erica glared at her as she stalked into the condo. Kendall sighed as she closed the door, knowing there as a battle brewing insider Erica Kane.

TBC…