It had been an hour and a half – an hour and a half since he became a dad. 'Dad' he thought to himself. He never ever imagined that he would ever be someone that would be called 'Dad', especially not after the childhood that he had had. But then, Kendall and Will came along and that all changed. Will may not be his in the biological sense, but he swore to himself that he was going to be a Dad to the child the instant he saw Kendall take him in her arms.

Anita had split her take out with him about 45 minutes ago and since then he had just sat in the chair, watching his wife sleep. 'She is so beautiful' he thought to himself. 'And brave and so giving'. He had been in awe of her the whole time she had been in labor. The normal Kendall who hated more than anything being told what to do had listen to Dr. Madden's words about what she needed to do. When Will started to cry, so did she. Seeing her cry sent tears down Zach's face and by the time Will had finished his initial cry, there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

Zach heard a soft knock on the door and turned to see Anita pop her head in. "How is she" he whispered, nodding toward Kendall.

"Out like a light. Has been for about a half hour or so" he whispered back.

Anita looked over her shoulder then back in the room. "Well, I've got someone here who wants to see you."

Zach looked confused until she rolled Will into the room. Zach got out of his chair and stood over his son, just staring at him.

"You want to hold him?" Anita asked.

Zach kept staring at this child. Normally, holding a child was something he would have shied away from, making excuses about expensive suits and needing to be somewhere else, but that was before Miranda and way before Will.

"Well, yeah, but…"

"What?"

Zach looked back at Kendall and then at Anita. "Can we go for a walk? Kendall's exhausted and I don't want to wake her up."

She just smiled. "Yeah, it's fine, but don't be gone too long. Kendall really needs to try to feed him when she wakes up."

Zach nodded and reached out to Will. He picked him up with a skill he didn't know he had inside of him and quickly found himself holding the baby comfortably. Anita just smiled and held the door open for the two of them.

Zach looked around before smiling at Anita and heading down the hallway. The hospital had slowed to a dull hum and Zach didn't see a lot of people around. He suddenly found himself in the empty sun room and sat down on the one of the couches. He looked down at Will, who was cooing and wiggling around in his arms. Zach sat still for a moment and let Will get comfortable.

"Well, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm your dad. I'm the voice you've been hearing for the last 6 months or so. The higher voice, the one that was screaming this afternoon – well, that was your mom and you'll get used to the screaming." Zach could have sworn that the baby chuckled and smiled at his joke.

Zach felt the tears welling up in his eyes as he stared at this child. "You will never know what a gift you are. You were supposed to be a gift to someone else. Your mother is the most unselfish, most giving person in the world – so giving that you were originally her gift to someone else, but now… well, you are her gift to me. I am making you a promise right now little one – I'm going to be a great dad and give you and your mom all that you deserve. You may not like all my decisions, especially in about 15 years or so, but always know that I love you and have only your best interest and well being in mind. Your dad didn't have the greatest childhood or the greatest role model for a father. My dad and brother – your grandfather and uncle, well, they aren't around anymore – weren't the greatest example of a family, but I'm making a fresh start, here and now. I know I've got it in me and you coming into my life – well, you just brought it out of me. We'll do all these great father and son things. I'm going to teach you to play ball and poker – but, let's keep that one a secret from your mom for awhile. And most of all, I promise to be around when you need me. No more absentee dads, not anymore. People may try to tell you bad things about me and my dad and brother, but don't listen to them when they try to tell you that you are going to wind up like them. You have your mother in you and I'm here now." Zach could barely keep the tears at bay and he leaned down and placed the lightest kiss on Will's forehead.

"Zach?"

Zach looked over his shoulder to see Lily standing in the doorway. "Hey Lily" he said.

"Am I bothering you?"

"Not at all. You can come over here."

Lily walked over and sat across from Zach. "Is that Will?"

"Yes it is."

"He's very cute. I thought it was Will because you are holding him. Simone called Danielle and Danielle called me and Reggie and said that Kendall had gone into labor at lunch. Reggie had to explain exactly what labor was to me, but once I understood, I was excited."

Zach just smiled at her as she stared at the baby. "Have you ever seen a baby before?"

"Only in books in my life skills class."

"Well, you can come sit next to me if you want so you can get a closer look?"

"Will I bother him?"

"Not at all."

Lily moved to sit next to Zach and just stared down at the baby and he cooed.

"What was that?"

"I think he was trying to say hello."

"Oh." Lily looked up at him. "You are going to make a really good dad, Zach."

"Thanks Lily. I think you might just be right."

Lily shot up out of her seat. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I volunteered to come find you when Anita said you had taken the baby for a walk. You and Kendall and Will have visitors. There's me, Reggie, Dad, Danielle, Simone, Ethan, Babe, JR, Opal, Myrtle. Oh, and Dad said that he called Bianca and she said that her and Maggie and Miranda were going to try to get out here in a few weeks to see you and Kendall and the baby."

Zach smiled at her and sadly noted that Erica had been left off of Lily's list of visitors, but hopefully once Jackson reported back to her, Erica would quickly change her mind. "Well, Lily, I guess we should head back to the room."

Lily opened the door for Zach and, the room that had been dark and empty when he and Will left was now filled with flowers, balloons, and people that cared about this new family.

Zach sat down next to Kendall on the bed and handed Will to her.

"Where have you two been?"

"Having some father/son time – get used to it" he said as he placed a light kiss on the top of her head. Kendall smiled brightly at him before turning her attention back to their visitors.

It had been about a month since Will had been born. Kendall and Zach were sitting in their home office, reading over the latest reports from the casino when a loud wail came over the baby monitor. They both sighed and looked at each other.

"Paper, Rock, Scissors" Kendall said, smiling at her husband. He nodded. "On three. One… two… three…" Kendall stuck out a rock while Zach came up with paper.

"Sucker" he said, kicking back in his chair and returning to his report. Kendall groaned and got out of her chair and headed up the stairs to the nursery. Zach was really only half reading the report – he was keeping one ear on the noises outside the house. Bianca had sworn to him last night that her and Jackson and Opal would get Erica out to the house to see the baby today and that he and Kendall needed to stay put. That was easier than he thought it was going to be since Will had kept them up half the night and neither one of them had any desire to leave the house.

He heard some cars pull into the driveway and he shot out of his chair. He got to the front door as Bianca and Erica were coming up the walk. He opened the door for the two women. He leaned down to give Bianca a kiss as Erica took in her surroundings.

"Erica, it's good to see you." She just huffed and walked into the house. Zach stood behind the two women as they looked around the house.

"Oh, Zach, it looks even better than in the pictures that Kendall emailed" Bianca squealed. "Mother, isn't it nice?" Erica just sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Hey Zach, I think our whole not leaving this house today plan just got shot to hell cause we need more…" Kendall stopped halfway down the steps when she noticed her mother standing with Zach and Bianca. Kendall smiled at her sister, glared at her mother and strode into the living room. Erica just stared at where Kendall had been.

Bianca turned back to Zach, who just shrugged. "Zach, will you go help Jack and Reggie with the stuff from the car while I…"

"Yeah, no problem" he said as he turned toward the door. 'Good luck' he mouthed to her before he headed down the steps.

"Mother – GO!" Bianca demanded as she pointed her mother in the direction of the living room. When Erica didn't move, Bianca turned on her heel and headed toward her sister while Erica reluctantly followed.

Kendall was sitting on the couch staring that large group unpacking bag after back from the two cars as Bianca sat down next to her. Kendall looked over and smiled at her sister.

"We weren't really expecting visitors."

"Well, maybe you weren't but Zach…"

"Figures" Kendall mumbled to herself as she shifted Will in her arms. Bianca leaned over her sister's shoulder. "He looks amazing" she said. Kendall was about to respond when they both her Erica sigh loudly.

Kendall took a deep breath and looked at Bianca again. "Do you mind Binks" she said, holding Will out for her sister to take. Bianca immediately did so and tried to get as far out of the way as she could by moving to the chair across the room. Kendall slowly got off the couch and took a deep breath before squaring her shoulders and facing her mother.

"What?" Kendall spit out, glaring at her mother.

Erica took a couple of steps toward Kendall. "OK, look, I talked to Ryan this morning and…"

Kendall closed her eyes and let out a loud scream. "DAMMIT MOTHER, KNOCK IT THE HELL OFF!" she roared as she opened her eyes to look at her mother and the new group that had assembled behind Erica. Carrying a ton of bags, Zach was currently leading Jackson, Reggie, Lily, Myrtle, Maggie and Miranda into the house when they all stopped as Kendall roared at her mother. They all stared at Kendall before Zach cleared his throat. "So, the kitchen is through here…" he said, walking toward the back of the house, quickly followed by the rest of the group.

Bianca also decided that she and Will should also be out of the line of fire. "Good luck" she whispered into her sister's ear as she walked out of the room.

After the room had cleared out, Erica took a few more steps toward Kendall. "Goodness, Kendall. There's no need to scream like that."

"Well then, quit pissing me off, Mother." Kendall was tired and could bring the bitch just as well as Erica could, if not better after having been up all night with Will.

"Kendall, look. I've talked to Ryan a lot of the last few months…"

"Well, good for you. Next time you talk to him, tell him I say hello."

"Kendall, he said that he feels really bad about that night in your condo and he's willing to forgive you and…"

"FORGIVE ME? And what exactly do I need to be forgiven for, Mother?"

"He wants his family and he's got a right to want that. He is willing to do whatever…"

Kendall groaned and threw her hands over her face. Erica quickly crossed the room and pulled her hands off her face. Erica held onto her hands with all her might. "Kendall, do you not see that I want what's best for you! I love you so much and I think you deserve…"

"What? That I deserve to be happy! That I deserve all the best things out of life! That I deserve unconditional love and affection from a great man!"

"All of those things" Erica said, smiling at her daughter.

"Then would you open your eyes and look around, I mean really look!" Kendall pulled back and threw her arms out in front of her. "Look at this. Zach did all of this for me and our son – he did this out of the goodness of his heart, not because he had something to gain. He built this house for us. He spent hours putting together the nursery – yeah, he paid people to do the rest of the house, but he was adamant about doing the nursery himself. He painted the walls and put together all of the furniture himself because he loves us. The first night we were home, I woke up and found him just standing over the crib. When I asked him what he was doing, he said he just wanted to look at the little guy. Mother, why can't you see that this is everything I deserve and so much more!"

"But Kendall…"

"Mother, please, I am begging you." Kendall grabbed her mother's hands and brought them up between the two of them. "I love him, Erica, I love him so much and he loves me more than I could ever deserve. He's not who you think he is. He's so not a Cambias. He's not even the same Zach Slater he was when he originally came to town or when we entered into that original sham of a marriage. I'm not the same person I was, either. I believe now – I believe in me, in him, in us, in love and hope and a happy future with our son. He made that happen for me. Not Ryan Lavery, but Zach Slater. It's him, Mother, the man of my dreams, the father of my children. It's Zach."

Kendall could see that her mother was starting to thaw. "Mother, I'm not asking you to become his best friend. You don't have to love him or even like him, but I'm asking you as your daughter to please, please, please be civil to him and open your mind a little bit. You might just see what Bianca and I have seen all along."

"What about Ryan?"

"Mother, I told Ryan months ago that he could choose how involved he wanted to be with Will. I put the ball in his court and I haven't heard anything from him. It's his play, not mine. I've got so much more to worry about than what Ryan Lavery is thinking."

"Kendall, I can't promise anything, but I will try."

Kendall pulled her mother into a hug. "That's all I want, Mother, that's all I want."

Zach and Bianca had been listening to Kendall and Erica from the hallway and Bianca could see how much Kendall's words affected Zach.

"She's a good woman, isn't she?"

"She's a great woman. Much better than I ever deserve."

Bianca was about to respond when they heard Erica ask Kendall "Can I… do you mind if I… where's my grandson?"

"He's right here Mom" Bianca said as she rounded the corner with Zach following her. Erica sat down on the couch and smiled widely as Bianca handed Will to her. Zach stood next to Kendall and threw an arm over her shoulder. Once Bianca made sure that Erica and Will were settled, she turned to Zach and Kendall.

"OK, you two, get out of here. We don't want to see you till dinner."

"Dinner?" Kendall asked, looking up at Zach.

He smiled down at her. "Yes, apparently your entire family decided that they were cooking dinner for us tonight."

"Yes, yes we are" Bianca said, advancing on them. "Jackson is taking care of the salad, Myrtle is cooking dinner, and Lily is in charge of dessert since she learned how to make brownies in her life skills class last week. Maggie is setting the table and I think Miranda is out back chasing Reggie around. Mom and I are all over Will, so you two… GO" she said, pointing at the steps.

Kendall was about to protest when Zach threw her over his shoulder and turned toward the stairs. "You don't have to tell me twice. How long till dinner?"

"At least an hour" Bianca yelled up to him.

"See you then" he yelled as he rounded the corner to the master suite. He kicked the door closed with his foot and set Kendall down in the middle of the room. Before she could get a word out, he pulled her into a deep and sensual kiss.

He pulled back when he could feel his lungs near their exploding point. He sighed and smiled as she kissed him on the neck. "You said some very nice things about me down there."

Kendall pulled back and smiled. "You heard that, did you?"

He gazed lovingly into her eyes. "You know you are so much better than I deserve, right?"

She smiled back at him with the same look he was giving her. "Right back at you there, Mr. Slater." She leaned back in for a kiss and ran her fingers through his hair. She trailed a line of light kisses to his ear and whispered "So, whatever will we do for the next hour?"

Zach pulled back and tore off his shirt, then her shirt. He picked her up off the ground and she wrapped her legs around his waist. "Well, how about we start with a shower and see where things lead from there" he said as he walked into the master bathroom as he placed hot open mouthed kisses all up and down her neck.

TBC… one more left!