Chapter Six

"When will my daughter Kendall wake up?" Zach tilted his head listening to Erica and Joe in the hallway outside the hospital room. 'When will Kendall wake up?' that was the question on everyone's minds these days. The drugs that had induced her coma had cleared her system yesterday and they had all waited with baited breath expecting her to wake up but they'd been disappointed.

"We knew this was a risk," Joe explained to Erica for the third time. "When you induce a coma in a patient whose condition is less than completely stable, sometimes – sometimes it takes a while for them to come out of it."

"Takes a while to come out of it," Erica repeated. "Well, when will my daughter wake up, Joe?"

"Erica," the doctor was more patient with Erica than Zach would have been able to manage, "Kendall's been through a severe trauma and she's healing. She'll wake up when she's ready."

Zach tuned out the rest of their discussion, grateful that he was behind closed doors and Erica wouldn't be able to badger him with her worries right now. He looked down at the sleeping woman who had excited everyone's concern. "Whenever you're ready, Kendall," he said quietly. "I'll be here."

Eyes closed Zach stretched, turning his head both ways to pop out the kinks that came from sleeping sitting up in a chair. He'd been sleeping in this chair every night and it wasn't getting anymore comfortable. When all of this was over he was going to have to schedule some time with a chiropractor to repair the damage he'd probably been doing to his back. Despite his physical discomfort Zach had woken up to an unaccustomed feeling of peace. He blinked sleepily wondering what had caused the change. The moment he opened his eyes Zach understood why he suddenly felt so much better. Kendall was awake and watching him. "Zach," he saw his name on her lips, but she didn't quite say it out loud.

He drew in a quick breath and exhaled shakily before reaching out to take her hand. "You're awake," he whispered softly, afraid that just saying the words would destroy their truth.

Kendall snatched her hand away before he was able to grasp it. "Don't touch me!" she hissed.

Each word hit Zach like a physical blow. He dropped his hand back into his lap, taking a moment to gather himself before he spoke again. Finally, "I'll go get your doctor," he said, deliberately keeping his voice even so she wouldn't know how deeply her words had cut him. Zach allowed himself to glance at Kendall one last time before rising to his feet and walking from the room.

Kendall watched him go, unable to explain to herself why she was so disappointed when he left. She shouldn't want him here. This was his fault – she knew that much. So why was she so hurt that he was leaving without a fight? Part of her wanted to call him back, but her pride prevented it – if he didn't want to stay she certainly wasn't going to beg him.

Stepping out into the brightly lit hallway, Zach rubbed a hand across his eyes, telling himself that the wetness his hand encountered there was the result of the sudden change in lighting not Kendall's rejection. Zach grabbed a passing orderly and sent him to fetch Dr. Martin then sent a nurse into the room to begin checking her over while they waited for the doctor. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he started down the hall towards the waiting room that the Kane-Montgomery clan had commandeered that first night Kendall was brought into the hospital and subsequently refused to relinquish. Any of Kendall's family or friends that happened to be in the hospital at the moment would be there.

Erica, Simone and Greenlee were alone in the waiting room when Zach entered. They all looked up at him in shock – it had been days since he'd left Kendall's side without being pried away. "Kendall's awake," he announced simply. For a few moments he endured a torrent of questions that he was unable to answer before cutting them off. "Joe Martin's with her now. I'm sure he will come out here and update you all on Kendall's condition as soon as he's finished."

Finished delivering his news Zach turned to go but was halted by Erica's shrill inquiry, "And just where do you think you're going?" she demanded to know.

Zach didn't turn around refusing to meet what he knew would be Erica's triumphant smile at what she perceived as his retreat. "Work," he said. "Kendall's awake now so my presence is no longer necessary, and - as everyone has made it clear that it's also unwelcome - I will inflict myself upon you no longer. If I'm needed for anything you should be able to reach me at the casino."

Zach managed to hold onto his stoic demeanor until he reached the sanctuary of his office, not losing control of his emotions until he was safely behind closed doors. Concerned when he didn't return or even acknowledge her greeting, Edie followed at a discreet distance as Zach walked through the lobby. She had just reached his office door and was about to knock when she was stopped by a crash and then the sound of breaking glass. Edie had seen the boss in a rage before – not often but twice before in the years that she'd been working for Mr. Slater he'd felt the need to vent his frustrations by destroying his office. The first time it happened she had rushed in, concerned that he was hurt, and had received the most brutal dressing down of her career. She hadn't repeated that mistake, from then on she'd learned to be wary of the boss in that type of a mood. Now she stood guard outside the office, making sure that no one else would disturb him until he'd had the chance to calm down.

A few minutes later she knocked quietly on the door. Edie's knock went unanswered but she pushed the door opened anyway taking in the devastation – this was beyond anything she'd witnessed before. Most of the furniture had been upended - indeed one wooden chair had been reduced to fragments, papers were strewn across the room, the glass shards scattered at the base of one wall and a dripping stain made it clear that not only a single glass but an entire decanter had been hurled against the wall. And Zach was sitting on the floor slumped against the far wall of the office.

"Sir," Edie managed to say, "Is there anything I can do?" She didn't dare to ask any of the other questions that were running through her mind, especially not the one in particular that worried her the most – 'Was Mrs. Slater alright?' Edie knew what had kept Mr. Slater away from the casino for so long; indeed, she had been the one to deliver his changes of clothing to the hospital along within any documents requiring his immediate attention. She could only assume that his outburst now resulted from a change in his wife's condition. And, given his rage, she assumed that the change had been for the worse. If that was the case, then mentioning her name was likely to provoke another explosion.

Zach looked up at her in surprise, registering her presence for the first time. Using the wall to support himself he rose to his feet. He took a few deep breaths, struggling for composure. "Do you know if Mr. Corinthos is upstairs?" he asked.

Edie blinked, that wasn't the response she'd been expecting. "I believe so, sir," she answered. "He used your office this morning to make some phone calls, but afterwards I believe that he returned to the suite."

Zach nodded, starting out of the room. He paused in the doorway, turning back towards Edie, "Send someone in to take care of this mess," he ordered, "and tell them to be careful of the broken glass."