"She does need her rest, Mrs. Montgomery," Kendall's nurse Taylor said softly to Erica as they stood outside Kendall's room. "She's had a difficult day and the best thing for her is a good night's sleep."
"But… but I don't want to leave her here all alone… she needs me to take care of her," Erica protested half-heartedly. "I do need to go home and see my other children, though. I shouldn't neglect them. I've only been Reggie and Lily's mother for a short time, you know… and my daughter Bianca and her daughter Miranda are staying with us. Are you certain that Kendall will sleep through the night? That she won't miss me while I'm gone?"
"She'll be fine, Mrs. Montgomery," Taylor answered in the same soft tone. "Someone will be checking on her regularly… and her bodyguard is right outside the door to make sure that no one disrupts her sleep."
"And to make sure that odious man doesn't try to sneak into her room when no one's looking," Erica interrupted. "You have to promise me that you'll be vigilant against his intrusion… and that you won't let him talk you or any of the other nurses into allowing him to even watch her sleep. Despite his name… he's a Cambias… and they can be silver-tongued devils when the mood strikes them. I will not have that… that… ohhh! Don't let him in whatever you do. I will find out about it."
"Dr. Martin has made it very clear to the staff that Mr. Slater is not permitted to be even on the same floor of the hospital as your daughter. Besides, Kendall's well-being is why we're here," Taylor answered, hoping that her words sounded sincere.
Erica frowned, "Don't think I'm not aware of how you've all been falling all over yourselves… duped by his little act. You may have been fooled by him, but I wasn't. Behind that marginally pretty face is the heart and mind of the devil… and you'd do well to remember that."
"Thank you, Mrs. Montgomery," Taylor sighed. She glanced at her watch before continuing, "I need to check on another of my patients. Just let someone at the desk know if you leave and when you'll be returning."
Erica placed a hand on Taylor's shoulder before she could leave the room, "Alright. I guess I'll just have to trust you. I'm leaving my daughter in your care. I'll be back in the morning to feed her breakfast. Remember… no therapists until I decide that she's ready."
"It's noted on her chart, Mrs. Montgomery. Have a good night," Taylor replied before departing to see another patient. She nodded briefly to the private bodyguard that Erica and Jack had engaged to ensure that Zach would not sneak in to see Kendall.
Erica returned to Kendall's room and observed her daughter lying in the bed with her eyes drooping. She had no idea that Kendall had been feigning fatigue to get rid of her, and fluttered over her daughter for a few minutes before finally telling her goodnight. Erica left the darkened room and Kendall breathed a sigh of relief. After waiting a few minutes longer, she pressed the button to turn on the bedside lamp and picked up some pictures of Miranda to study them. Determined to practice her speech even without therapy, she tried to say her niece's name several times before Taylor came into the room, but only succeeded in pronouncing the first letter.
"I see that you aren't as tired as you looked before," Taylor said brightly. "Would you like me to find you something to read? I'm afraid the book you were reading with… um… is gone. I can probably come up with a magazine, though."
Kendall shook her head and extended her arm toward the nurse, palm upward. She waited a moment and then repeated the gesture, hoping that her nurse understood the gesture of query that she and Zach had developed.
"You want to know what happened today. Why your husband left and didn't return?" Taylor asked quietly.
Kendall nodded her head and repeated the gesture with her upraised palm. Taylor seated herself in a chair next to Kendall's bed and placed a finger over her lips. Kendall shook her head and raised her palm again, becoming more insistent in her gesture.
"Okay, okay," Taylor said. "I planned to tell you this anyway, but we must be very quiet. If anyone overhears me… especially that new bodyguard… then you won't be seeing me again either."
Kendall gave the nurse a half smile and placed the forefinger of her left hand over her lips and nodded her head before laying against the pillows and leaning as far towards the nurse as the bed allowed.
"Some of this I know… and some of it I've pieced together by listening to others… but I'll tell you everything that I can," Taylor began. "It appears that your family has never liked your husband." Kendall nodded as Taylor continued, "I guess he did something before the accident that upset them even more. When Mr. and Mrs. Lavery told your mother and her husband… well, let's just say they were quite angry. Mr. Montgomery spoke with Dr. Martin and your husband was asked to leave the hospital."
Kendall's eyes looked troubled and she lifted her palm again. Taylor replied, "I don't know. I would have guessed that you and he were happily married based on his devotion and your games."
Kendall's eyes grew wide with surprise as the nurse continued, "I've been a nurse on this unit for nearly twenty years. I can tell when a patient is truly uncooperative and just faking it for attention… besides… we enjoyed it when he laughed, too. He was very kind to us."
Kendall nodded her head and smiled for a moment before looking as if she was going to burst into tears. She opened her mouth and said, "Zzz—aaa—K Ssss… aaa-D."
"That's it! You did it!" Taylor said in excitement.
Kendall's face brightened and she looked at her nurse in wonder as she repeated the word again. At Taylor's nod of encouragement she tried again, "Zza…aaa-K."
"It looks like you're beginning to overcome the aphasia. This is wonderful progress… but you'll have to practice on your own. No therapists for a while – your mother's orders," Taylor answered. "Now that you've got the right idea, we'll be happy to help when we can."
Kendall reached out and touched the nurse's hand before saying, "Zz… aaa-K."
"I can't do that… but I can give you a message from him. He asked me to tell you that he's sorry he made you sad and that he only wants you to be healthy and happy," Taylor answered.
"Zz… aaa-K – hhh… aaa-Pp-EEE," Kendall said haltingly as she smiled and pointed to herself.
"I know," Taylor said, patting her on the hand. "He doesn't, though. You need to get better so that you can tell him yourself. I'll just find you that magazine I promised."
Kendall watched as the nurse walked over to the corner and picked up the whiteboard and marker from the floor and placed them within Kendall's reach before leaving the room. After the room was empty, Kendall continued to practice saying her husband's name several times before her throat became too irritated from disuse to continue. When a nurse's aide entered the room with a magazine, Kendall had her pour a glass of water and she read until she was tired enough to sleep. Despite Zach's absence, she was so pleased with her progress that she fell asleep with a smile on her face, imagining that she would be able to voice her wishes to have him visit her very soon.
Kendall stood by the window of her condo drinking a cup of tea and looking across the courtyard at the condo owned by her husband. She was standing quietly in the dark clad in a short, bright pink robe, but the lights were blazing from his condo and she could see him moving between the living room and dining room as if he was pacing the floor. Imagining him wearing the tank top and running shorts that he wore early each morning for a run, she found that the temperature of her own condo was beginning to stifle her.
She paced over to the kitchen, placed the teacup on the counter and resumed her place by the window to continue watching. As her imagination got the best of her, she found that her current state of celibacy was wearing thin. She had not been with anyone since JR Chandler months earlier, and she had never been one to deprive herself of physical pleasure. When she had told Zach the day that he proposed that she liked sex, she had been very honest… and thinking about her husband in a state of semi-undress aroused her more than she could have imagined. Besides, if she had to have insomnia, it was certainly easier to cope with if shared by another who was as afflicted as she. It only seemed right to walk the few steps between their condos and offer him companionship and perhaps a nightcap… or a cup of tea. It was the neighborly thing to do after all.
Acting on impulse, she opened the door to her condo and found herself knocking on the door to Zach's without being consciously aware of the trip across the courtyard. The door was pulled open and she found herself standing very close to her husband… and he was clad in the very same tank shirt and shorts that she had imagined. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead she reached up a hand and gently stroked his cheek.
Zach caught her hand in his and looked at her quizzically before asking, "What's wrong, Kendall? Is something the matter?"
Kendall found herself unable to break her own silence and slowly shook her head. Instead of replying she reached with her free hand and wrapped it around his neck, pulling him to her as she leaned towards him. He opened his mouth to speak again but before the words were uttered she had placed her mouth against his in a passionate kiss. She felt him stiffen in surprise before he groaned against her lips and pulled her into his arms, molding her body against his as he responded wholeheartedly and with equal passion to her open-mouthed kiss. Kendall ceased conscious thought as she wrapped her arms around his neck and abandoned herself to the kiss as they stood in the doorway for several minutes.
Zach broke the kiss finally and stared at her for a moment before saying in a voice raw with passion, "Are you sure? Is this what you really want?"
Still not able to give voice to her desires, she looked at him with wide eyes and nodded her head. She took his hand in hers and kissed his fingers one by one without ever breaking eye contact. He fisted his other hand into her curls and pulled her close against him before lifting her from the floor and carrying her into his condo. He used his foot to kick the door closed and then walked over to the sofa and seated himself with her on his lap. He didn't ask again but instead held her head gently between his hands. He searched her face with his eyes and, satisfied with what he saw, leaned forward and placed his lips gently against hers. She responded by opening her mouth and intensifying the kiss between them as she stroked her hands down his torso and began to roll his shirt up his body. Once it reached his neck, she pulled away briefly to lift the shirt from over his head and then resumed the kiss. He meanwhile untied the belt at the waist of her robe and slipped it from her bare shoulders, placing gentle kisses along her neck and shoulders and then leaning her backwards so that he could continue lower.
Kendall purred low in her throat as he worshipped her body, laying her against the cushions of the sofa and then standing to remove the last of his own clothing and pull the robe from beneath her. He kneeled on the floor next to her and used gentle hands and lips to further ignite her passion as she responded in kind. Kendall felt as if the small fire she had imagined from her own living room had suddenly become a raging inferno and her own body was the source of the heat… until she touched Zach and found his warmth to be as great as her own. She cried out as he touched her intimately and finally found words to encourage him… before long they had lost themselves completely to the all-consuming passion.
Relaxing from the enervation wrought by Zach's exquisite lovemaking, Kendall found herself gently touching back to earth… his hands lightly stroking her body as his lips tenderly kissed her neck, her face and her lips. She pulled him close and they lay entwined upon the sofa, a tangle of arms and legs replete with contentment after the firestorm of lovemaking they had just finished.
Finding her voice once again, Kendall whispered against Zach's ear, "I love you… husband."
Zach lifted his head and looked into her eyes, finding the truth of her words reflected in his own, "I love you… wife."
Pulling each other as close as two people can, they kissed deeply and found that their passion was renewed by their confessions and they once again began the dance that was older than time.
Zach woke in a cold sweat, his sheets rumpled and his pillows fallen to the floor. He looked down at his empty arms and realized the truth of his loneliness. Just another dream… and one that was unlikely to ever be fulfilled. At that moment, though, he could not exercise the strict control that he usually exerted on himself and cried out in anguish, "Kendall!"