Zach was so lost in thought that he nearly missed the doorway to the physician's lounge. When Erica had made her parting comments as he left Kendall's room he noticed an edge to her voice that he hadn't heard before, but he would not give her the satisfaction of knowing just how much she irritated him. I'll come back when I damn well please, he thought. Noticing the now familiar doorway from the corner of his eye, he paused and entered, relieved to find it empty. He seated himself on the sofa and checked his watch before resting his head on the cushions. Erica had become a difficulty that he would have to handle carefully. Her continued disdain for him and their marriage did not bother him, but he could not allow her to persistently interfere with Kendall's treatment. Despite Kendall's stubbornness, he knew without a doubt that she would not want to spend her life as she was. She had been a vibrant and vital woman, and he was determined that she would be again. Somehow he and Bianca had to light a spark in her that would give her the desire to work toward that goal.
And that was the true purpose of the phone call he would be making. He allowed Erica to believe it was business related, but in actuality it was to consult with an out-of-town specialist about Kendall's condition. Dr. Marie Geoffrey was one of the foremost experts on brain trauma and recovery, and she had graciously agreed to consult in Kendall's case. He was hoping that he could convince her to visit Pine Valley and meet with Kendall herself, or at the very least recommend a new treatment. Since Dr. Geoffrey had not yet agreed to accept Kendall as a patient, he did not consider this consultation to be a betrayal of the promise he had made to Livia. Should he be successful in persuading her to do so, he would of course completely brief them. He admitted to himself, though, that the real reason he had kept this confidential was because he no longer trusted Erica to act in Kendall's best interests as her own seemed to lean toward making Kendall completely dependent upon her.
In preparation for his phone call, he opened the locker he had been using and shook his head in chagrin. He had always been precise and orderly, and anyone that knew him would have been surprised at the state of his locker. He honestly didn't remember when or how he had allowed it to become so disorganized, but assumed that he had been too tired to take the time to keep his things in order. He leaned down and picked up some papers that had fallen to the floor of the locker, straightened them up and pulled out his briefcase to put them away. As he was glancing at them, he noticed his copy of the legal document Livia had filed to rescind his divorce petition. It felt like a lifetime ago that he and Kendall had so warmly parted after their celebratory lunch. His failure to stop her from running out into the rain was something that he would probably never forgive himself for, but also caused him to be even more resolute that he would assist her in regaining all that she had lost.
He decided to straighten up the locker while he waited until the appointed time for his call, and found that it was not nearly as chaotic as it first appeared. Surprisingly, only documents and paperwork had been scattered through the locker… all of his clothing was still neatly folded in the suitcase that Edie brought him every few days. He finished putting away the last of the papers, pulled out a yellow legal pad and a pen, and seated himself once again on the sofa. He had already programmed Dr. Geoffrey's number into his telephone and hit the speed dial button as soon as he was situated. After only a few minutes delay, he was in conversation with the physician and making copious notes.
Half an hour later, Zach disconnected from the telephone call and leaned back against the sofa with a deep sigh. After reviewing her records, Dr. Geoffrey had agreed to take over Kendall's case and direct her treatment. That was the good news. The difficulty in the negotiation was the physician's unwillingness to leave her current patients to care for Kendall in Pine Valley and Zach's very real concern that neither Bianca nor Erica would permit Kendall to be transported to Dr. Geoffrey's clinic out of state. He had finally prevailed upon the physician to make an initial trip to Pine Valley to convince Kendall's mother and sister that it was in her best interests to be moved… because Zach had no illusions about his ability to convince them of it. He could only hope that the credentials of Dr. Geoffrey would speak for themselves and that she would be as eloquent in convincing them to move Kendall as she had been with him.
He gathered his notes and placed them in the locker before using the lounge's phone to call Kendall's room. He was hoping that Bianca would answer so that he could speak with both she and her mother right away about Dr. Geoffrey's impending arrival. The sooner that Kendall began receiving the aggressive treatment that the physician proposed, the sooner she would begin to have real progress on her journey toward recovery… and the better chance that he might be able to share a life with his wife. He did not feel guilty for the selfishness of his wish. He knew that he was prepared to walk out of Kendall's life if that was her choice, but until she banished him he would cherish the hope that they might one day have a life together.
When there was no answer in Kendall's room, he placed the receiver in its cradle and began to leave. He paused and turned to look back at his locker once again, bothered by something that he couldn't quite put his finger on. There was something strange about the fact that the only items he had failed to keep organized were documents from Slater-Hart Gaming… but somehow it didn't seem nearly as important as making arrangements for the new specialist to examine Kendall. He shook his head and told himself that he was just being paranoid after his recent run-in with Erica.
Zach let himself out of the lounge area and sauntered down the hall towards Kendall's room, feeling optimistic that this new turn of events would be the break that Kendall deserved. Unfortunately, his optimistic mood was short-lived as he approached Kendall's room and found Ryan Lavery and JR Chandler lounging on either side of the closed door.
"Excuse me, gentlemen," Zach said quietly as he reached for the door handle.
Ryan Lavery placed a hand on Zach's shoulder, "Not so fast, Slater."
Zach's response was to stop, but not to withdraw. He glanced at the hand on his shoulder and then gave a piercing look to Ryan. After a moment, Ryan dropped his hand but JR slid in front of the door and continued to bar Zach from entering Kendall's room.
Zach took one step backwards and folded his arms across his chest. He stared at both men but made no comment. He could stand there all day if necessary, but he doubted that they could.
"Mr. Zachary Slater?" said a voice from behind him.
Zach turned around and nodded his head at the young man who had addressed him.
"You've been served," the voice continued as he placed a folded document in Zach's hand and quickly departed down the hallway.
Zach turned back towards Kendall's room and addressed Ryan and JR without opening the document, "I suppose this is why you've been blocking Kendall's room?"
"Just read it, Slater. I'm sure even you should be able to comprehend it," Ryan said condescendingly.
Zach had no intention of reading whatever was in that document with those two men as witnesses so he merely cocked his head to one side, gave both men a smirk and waited. Eventually something would change, but it wasn't going to be him. He knew that neither man was patient enough to wait him out, and he was feeling amused and exhilarated by their decision to challenge him.
After several minutes of the standoff, Jackson Montgomery approached Kendall's room from the opposite hallway that Zach had used. He looked from Zach to Ryan and JR with surprise before commenting, "Slater. What are you still doing here?"
"I came to see my wife… but it seems that your friends have other ideas," Zach answered calmly.
"I can see from the papers in your hand that you've been served… so why don't you just leave quietly? This is a hospital. I'm sure you don't want Kendall upset by a scene," Jackson said in a quietly intense voice.
At Jackson's words, JR and Ryan moved to stand shoulder to shoulder in front of Kendall's door with their arms crossed and matching grins on their faces. Zach glanced at Jackson and then at Ryan and JR before returning his attention to the older man, favoring him with an enigmatic expression while waiting for him to continue.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you won't leave quietly… at least not after the way you have insinuated yourself into my family. The truth is out now, Slater, so you can just pack up your things and go home. You won't be spending any more time with Kendall… and very soon she will not be your wife. I'll never understand how you convinced Livia to disregard Kendall's wishes so blatantly but it's done now. Your masquerade as the caring husband is over and done with. We know all about Kendall's petition for divorce… and the papers that you both signed the morning of the accident. The judge was very quick to sign the temporary restraining order – and rest assured, it will become permanent in record time," Jackson's voice rose as he spoke with indignation while Zach continued to look at him without expression.
"Time to leave, Slater," said JR Chandler sarcastically. "Kendall doesn't want you any more."
"Yeah, Slater… do we have to call security?" Ryan taunted.
Zach favored each man with a pointed look before turning and walking down the hallway he had entered from, giving no indication to any of the men just how he felt about their revelations. They could have at least let him say goodbye to Kendall, but they were too determined to make him pay for his deception. Consideration for Kendall's feelings – or even the fact that she might have feelings about his sudden disappearance – had certainly not occurred to them. He was confident, though, that they would cast his departure in the worst possible light. He had no illusions that they would allow her to believe he had abandoned her rather than telling her the truth… and any hope he had of maintaining even her friendship would be impossible given the current situation. He was angry with himself – he had allowed himselt to begintrusting Bianca, believing that they were working together to help Kendall, but that had obviously been a lie. It must have been her job to keep him distracted and off guard while they put their little plan into motion. As for himself? He deserved everything they did to him, and he would not deny it. But his actions had all been for Kendall… for her health… for her recovery… and for her happiness. He could only hope that his eviction would not be the setback that kept her from becoming the woman she once had been.
"Mr. Slater," a woman said to him from the nurse's station. He turned and waited for her to continue. "I have your things. Mrs. Montgomery asked me to return them. She said your wife wouldn't need them any more. Can you please sign here to acknowledge?"
Zach looked at the desk and saw his MP3 player and speakers, a few photographs (but none of the photographs of Miranda that he had left in the room), the book that he had been reading and the vase of pink roses that had been delivered that morning.
"Please keep the flowers, Taylor. You've been very good to Kendall," Zach answered quietly. Taylor slipped a sheet of paper across the desk to Zach before she began placing his things in an empty box.
Zach pulled a pen from his pocket to sign his name. He looked up in surprise at the nurse, but she merely shook her head and pointed to the paper. He pretended to be signing his name as he read, I'll be taking my break on the smoking patio in half an hour. Please meet me there. Zach handed the paper back to her after writing his reply that he would meet her. He picked up the box, gave her a smile and a nod, and said quietly, "Thank you, Taylor."
"You're welcome, Mr. Slater," she replied with her own smile before picking up the vase of flowers and turning away from the desk. Zach paused for a moment and glanced back at the three men still standing guard at Kendall's door before turning his back on them and heading toward the physician's lounge.