Sorry it's been so long since I updated...jsut been really busy lately! More is to come and I thank all of you for your reviews and comments!

And just to make it clear, I own:

Kristi and Shannon

Chapter 10

Zack woke up the next morning with Cody staring over him.

"Whoa, back away! What do you want?" He asked, obviously startled.

"I was just wondering what the heck you were doing!" Cody answered. Zack was curious. Then Cody talked again and he figured that the look gave it away.

"You were talking in you sleep all night! I had to go sleep on the couch at 1 o'clock in the morning! All you kept saying was 'Kristi this, Kristi that'. I couldn't take it anymore! I even threw a pillow at you and you still didn't wake up!" Zack thought that was pretty funny and smiled to himself.

"This isn't something to laugh over! I'm tired!" Cody announced.

"Then go to sleep, I'm leaving now anyway," he said proudly.

"Where are you going?" Cody was glad that he could now finally get some rest.

"To see Kristi, durr." Then Cody remembered Zack's promise to her.

Zack quickly gathered some clothes from his draw to wear, changed in the bathroom, and hurried out the door to find his mother. After all, he did need a ride to the hospital. The only problem was he couldn't find her. It was already 10:50 a.m., and he knew that they wouldn't make it to the hospital by 11. He didn't want to waste any time. He wanted to spend the whole day with Kristi. He heard music coming from the practice room, so he quickly jogged in there. His mom was on stage practicing for her show tonight.

"Mom!" Zack shouted over the music. The band stopped playing and Carey looked at her son.

"What Zack?" she asked.

"You need to drive me to the hospital, remember?" He tried to make her feel guilty for him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry honey, but I can't right now. Call Kristi and tell her that you'll be there in about an hour." Obviously the guilt trip didn't work.

"An hour? Oh come on, Mom!" Disappointed, Zack walked back out of the room and back upstairs to the apartment. He plopped down on the couch and called Kristi. The phone just kept ringing. No answer. Hmm, Zack was curious. He called again 10 minutes later, and still no answer. Now he was starting to get worried. He figured to try one more time in a few minutes. So he waited and then he decided to call. Again, no answer. Now he was really worried.

He ran back down the stairs. He remembered that Esteban had his drivers license.

"Hey Esteban, do you think you can give me a ride to the hospital?" Esteban knew what had happened to Kristi. Almost everyone who worked and was staying there at the time knew.

"I don't have a car. I am so sorry," he said.

"It's ok. Thanks anyway." Zack was disappointed again. Then he remembered that he could take the bus. He checked his pockets to see how much change he had. Just enough. So he headed out the front doors of the hotel and ran quickly to the bus station. He got there as the doors were about to close, and luckily the driver was nice enough to let him on. He took a seat in the way back of the bus, next to an older woman with a bad cold. Great, now I'm sitting next to a germy sick person. He spotted a seat up a little further and decided to take that one instead. He sat down. He had the whole seat to himself. He sprawled out and relaxed. He kept wondering when Kristi would be allowed to come home. He knew that staying there was better for her, but he missed her so much!

It started to rain on the ride there. The stop was at least 2 blocks from the hospital, so he would have to walk there in the rain. He was hoping it would stop by then, but it didn't. So when he got off the bus, he began to run. When he got tired, he stopped and just kept walking at a fast pace. An old lady on the side walk stopped him.

"My young man, where are you headed?" Her voice was shaky but friendly.

"I'm going to the hospital to visit my girlfriend," he replied.

"Oh how sweet. Well you look like you could use this more than I can." She handed him a big black umbrella and walked off.

"Thanks!" he called after her, and he kept walking. Well, that was nice of her, Zack thought.

He finally got to the hospital. He went up to Kristi's room to find an older man wrapped in a body cast. He went to the front desk to ask where she was. They told him that she was gone.

Zack stood there. Oh my God! How did this happen? When did it happen? I never even got to say goodbye!

He walked back to the bus stop and got on. He cried the whole way home, thinking that she had died. When he walked into the Tipton, he was very pleased with what he saw. It was Kristi. He ran up to her and hugged her. He was still soaking wet.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming home? I thought you were dead!" He said in one breath.

"I wanted to surprise you! I came home all excited to see you, and you weren't here! You made me so nervous! Where did you go?"

"To visit you...in the rain, until a nice old lady gave me an umbrella. Kristi smiled. She kissed him.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too and I'm so glad that you're home," Zack said back. They kissed again.

"Let's go get you into some dry clothes! You are soaked! My poor baby," Kristi said. She smiled and they went upstairs.

Kristi waited in the living room while Zack got changed. He came out without his shirt on, since he needed to get one out of the dryer. He was a little shy about it.

"What's the matter? Lost your shirt?" Kristi asked jokingly. Zack just smiled.

"No, I need to get one from the dryer." He walked over to the dryer looking for his a shirt. "Where are they all? I know we have more than one shirt between Cody and me!" He searched around the washer and dryer. "Something is definitely weird."

"That's ok, ask Cody when he gets back. You can't go in the lobby like that," she said.

"Like what?" he asked.

"Well, without your shirt on," she said.

"Why not? 'Cause I look like a weakling...?" Zack was upset. He knew that he wasn't built or muscular and he felt embarrassed.

"No! I think you look adorable!" Kristi said. She ran up to him and put her arms around him and kissed him. Zack felt a little better, but he was still embarrassed.

"You love me even though I'm weak and ugly?" he said. Kristi couldn't stand to see him doubting himself that much. She couldn't stand it at all.

"Zack, your not ugly. And your not weak. And of course I love you! You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Zack, don't even say that you are ugly. You are adorable and you know it! And so you might not be built like 50 Cent, but I don't CARE! I love you!"

Zack felt a lot better. He was happy that he had such a great girlfriend. He knew that she didn't have to worry about things like that, since she already was so beautiful.

"I love you too," he said. He layed down on the couch and Kristi came up and layed next to him. He put his arm around her and kissed her. They just sat there for a while, enjoying the presence with each other.

Cody came back about an hour later, and wouldn't tell Zack what happened to the clothes. When Carey got home, she told Zack that she didn't have time to do wash, so she had them dry cleaned. She found a t-shirt for Zack to wear, then Kristi stayed with them for dinner.

I hoped that everyone enjoyed it! More is on it's way! If you need me, email me or if you would like me to email you when I post a new chapter, email me to let me know that you would like that! Thanks again and please review telling me what you thought of the chapter in order for me to write more!

Love, Boop