Author's note: I'm so sorry for the extremely long delay. I've had a lot of things going on in my life recently - mostly good stuff, just time and brain consuming. Then there's the fact that I've experienced complete burnout with my writing. I won't be writing any more fanfic after this. It was my intention to finish this last fall and then start on my novel, but with my life getting complicated and the encroaching burnout, it all got dragged out for far too long. It may be awhile before I get to that novel. Anyway, there's only three chapters left. I've written them already, I just want to have a buffer of a few days between each. I always planned to have 25 chapters, with everything happening as outlined in the beginning – nothing changed or got cut short because of the burnout. Anyway, enough blathering from me - on to the show.

Chapter 23

Greenlee mechanically assisted David and Bianca as they tried to keep Leo alive until the ambulance came. Leo… Leo... It really was him. When she'd seen Chris, alive, she'd been unable to deny it to herself anymore. But why? Why had Leo faked his death? Why had he stayed away from her for four years? She suspected it had something to do with Vanessa also being alive. She shuddered inwardly as she recalled meeting the woman who called herself Sophie, but who was in fact her worst enemy. She wondered where Vanessa was at the moment. Hopefully nowhere nearby. One psycho at a time, please.

She snapped out of her reverie when she heard Jack crying. David looked up. "Go attend to your baby, Greenlee. We've got things covered for the moment."

Greenlee gazed into the drooping, pain-filled eyes of her husband – the only part of his face that wasn't permanently changed. Swallowing hard, she got to her feet and went into the kitchen to get her son. She scooped him into her arms and checked his diaper. Then she remembered that it had been awhile since he'd eaten. "Are you hungry, my sweet? That's easy enough to take care of." She sat down and shifted her robe slightly so that he could latch on to her breast. She made sure that she could still see Leo through the open doorway.

After a moment she heard the door leading to the outside of the house open. A voice called out, "David! Bianca!" It was Ryan. Footsteps sounded and then he came into view, his back to her. "Leo?" Bianca looked up and nodded. Ryan let out a breath. "Zach called the ambulance and the cops. They're on their way, and they'll come directly to this door. Have any of you seen Greenlee and Erica?"

Bianca looked up again. "Erica took off to find Kendall, and Chris went after her. Greenlee's in there with her baby." She pointed towards the kitchen.

"Her baby?" Ryan whirled around and spotted Greenlee nursing their child. She watched his face turn from surprise to relief to tenderness. He slowly walked towards her, the man she fell in love with when she thought there was nothing left in her heart to feel. Tears started to roll down her cheeks, and as he knelt down beside her and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, she started to sob. The heaving of her chest disturbed little Jack, and he pulled away, starting to whimper. Ryan sat down and gathered her to him, stroking her hair. "Shh…shhh…it'll be alright, Greenlee. You're safe. You and the baby are safe."

She drew a shuddering breath. "What about Leo? Is he going to die? Am I going to lose him again?"

Ryan shook his head. "Are you kidding me? David will beat the crap out of the angel of death before he lets that happen. He'll be fine, Greenlee."

She grimaced. "Promise me, Ryan."

"I promise."

Bianca handed David another towel and then looked down at Leo. He was gazing into the kitchen. She glanced over and saw Ryan with his arm around Greenlee, stroking the baby's head with his fingers. She looked down at Leo again and sighed softly. She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. Then she whispered in his ear, "Don't for a minute think that just because Ryan is here to take care of Greenlee, that gives you permission to die. She still needs you. I still need you. Your brother most of all – he's all alone in the world." David's only acknowledgement of her words was a fiercer scowl.

Leo rolled his eyes. "I'm bleeding to death…and you still browbeat me…"

Bianca chuckled, and then gasped when she heard what sounded like a gunshot from upstairs. She looked towards the main hall, her mouth agape. She looked back at David, whose concentration was solely on stopping the bleeding. She turned to the kitchen and saw Ryan frowning back at her, as if he too had heard the noise. Another gunshot rang out. Bianca leapt to her feet. David frowned up at her. "Bianca, I need you to keep holding the towel in place." Reluctantly, she kneeled back down, but she looked pleadingly at Ryan. He nodded and eased to his feet. As he was coming out the door, they heard Chris shouting Erica's name. Ryan headed towards the main hall.

Bianca said a prayer for her family. Kendall, Erica and Spike – any one of them could be hurt or worse. She swiped at the tears starting to roll down her cheeks, her nerves stretched to the breaking point. Just when she felt like she would start screaming to cut the tension, she heard the sound of a helicopter getting closer. Then Ryan came back down the hallway. "They're okay, Bianca. Erica shot Madden and then she fainted. Chris is bringing her down the stairs. Kendall and Spike are just fine. Madden is dead."

Bianca half laughed, half cried in relief. She looked down at Leo. "See? This could be a completely happy ending if you just hold on." She heard another noise, a faint sound that slowly got louder. It was a helicopter. She smiled beatifically. "Help is on the way!"

Chris came into the hallway and gently laid Erica down. "Make sure the paramedics examine her, too, and send one up to look at Spike. He should be fine, but his little ears had to deal with gunshot blasts at close range. I'm going to go meet the cops and take them to Madden."

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Kendall sat next to Zach, her head cradled against Zach's shoulder. They had just gotten through sharing their recent adventures with each other. He murmured, "I need to watch Madden's body until Chris gets back with the cops, but if you want to take Spike downstairs, go ahead."

She shook her head. "I'm not leaving your side ever again. Hopping on that airplane without you and everything that followed – it was so awful. I had Bianca and Leo with me, but I was scared to death. I wanted your reassuring touch more than anything." She sighed. "I also felt guilty for making you worry about me. I'm so sorry."

Zach rubbed his hand up and down her arm. "It drives me crazy when you take risks, but it's also one of the things I love about you. Your strength, your fierce determination. You did a wonderful job finding Spike. Timing is everything, it seems. If it weren't for you and Bianca and Leo, Madden might have gotten to Erica and Greenlee. As furious as he was, who knows what he might have done to them before anyone got here."

Kendall shuddered, and Zach pulled her closer. She whispered, "You and Ryan were almost killed by Vanessa. As if one freak on the loose weren't bad enough." She squeezed his hand. "If Chris and David hadn't stumbled across your cell phones…."

Zach chuckled. "When it came down to the wire, Stamp pulled a few rabbits out his hat."

"As well he should, since he started this whole mess in the first place."

Zach stared at Madden's still form. "Chris dug up Madden to get answers about Dixie's daughter. His actions were noble…but ultimately a failure." He was silent for a moment. "Dixie called earlier – the little girl that Madden told them about was another false lead. She wanted us to make sure that he stayed alive so he could be questioned again." He sighed.

Kendall bit her lip. "Oh God, that means she'll never know about Kate."

"You know what, though, it's possible he has a vault here, similar to the one he had on that island of his. I can't believe the information wouldn't be written down somewhere. I'll get somebody to search this place. In fact, I should get in touch with Tad and Dixie to let them know what's going on. But first I'll call Jackson. I'm sure he'll want to know that everyone is okay."

Zach made the two phone calls, and all three thanked him and made plans to book flights to France. He tucked the phone back in his pocket, and leaned down to tenderly kiss Spike's little head. Then he gently grasped Kendall's chin and lifted her face to kiss her.

They were interrupted by the arrival of Chris and the police. He smirked at them. "Okay, you two kids can go downstairs and get Spike checked out. We'll take it from here."

One of the cops held up his hand. "Do not leave the grounds until you have been questioned."

Zach and Kendall nodded their heads, then wearily made their way down the stairs. When they entered the hallway to the kitchen, they saw Leo being carefully lifted onto a gurney. Kendall approached one of the paramedics. "I'm worried about my baby's ears. He was exposed to gunshots at close range."

The paramedic spoke in a French accent. "An ambulance has just arrived – they will examine the child. If his ears are damaged, it would not be good for him to ride with us in the helicopter."

Kendall tilted her head. "Ya think?"

Zach hid a smile and steered her away from the harried paramedic. He paused when he saw Leo….Max as he had last known him. Leo's eyes shifted and met his. "Zach Slater," he croaked.

Greenlee was standing nearby with Ryan, who was holding a baby in his arms. She frowned at Zach. "How does he know you?"

Zach cleared his throat. "I used to do some work for Chris Stamp. I was the one who prepared Leo and Vanessa for their new identities. When they came to me, they already had their new faces, and I had no idea who they were before."

Greenlee walked up to Zach. "You mean to tell me that you helped Leo fake his death? Just like you helped Ryan fake his death?"

Zach gave her a pained look. His voice rough, he replied, "Yes."

She launched herself at him and started beating his chest with her fists. "You son of a bitch! How could you do such a thing?"

Zach grabbed her wrists to stop her blows. Kendall glared at her. "You think this is Zach's fault? He only helped them after they already made their decision to leave."

Greenlee's face crumpled, and her shoulders sagged. Zach let go of her wrists, and she lowered her head to her hands, crying. Kendall regretted her outburst and handed Spike to Zach. She pulled Greenlee into a hug. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Greenlee wailed, "What's wrong with me? What did I do to drive both Leo and Ryan away?"

Kendall rubbed her back. "No, no, no, Greenlee. You didn't drive them away. They loved you so much that they didn't want to see you hurt. Like typical chauvinistic men, they decided they knew what was best for you. Their intentions were honorable, even if their choices were stupid."

Zach looked over at Leo again, who was being wheeled out the door to the helicopter, David by his side. Leo was gazing at Greenlee as she sobbed on Kendall's shoulder. The expression on his face mirrored the one from four years ago, the one that had haunted Zach. He took a deep breath and then went over to where Ryan was standing. Ryan shifted the baby to his left arm and held out a hand to touch Spike's little fist. "I heard Kendall say his ears might be hurting. I hope he's okay."

Zach's tone was gravelly. "I think he'll be fine." He nodded at the bundle in Ryan's arm. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

Ryan looked down. "It's a boy. Greenlee named him Jackson."

Zach smiled wearily. "His grandfather will be ecstatic. I called him earlier to tell him everyone was okay." He looked down at Spike and then looked over at Jackson. His voice cracking, he said, "Do you think we can teach these two boys not be control freaks like their dads?"

Ryan chuckled. "Considering who their moms are, I don't think they'll be content until they've taken over the world. Hopefully they'll do it together."

Zach smirked. "You mean not compete with each other? Riiiight."

Ryan shook his head. "Okay, let's shoot for them at least being the good guys."

Zach nodded. "The good guys. I think that's doable."

Bianca, who had just walked up, put her hands on their shoulders. "If nothing else, you can bet that Miranda will keep them in line."

Zach burst out laughing. "Being lorded over by a Kane woman? Oh, I'll take that one to the bank."