Part 14: (Zak's POV) 2 months later….

We learned we'd be investigating the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO. This was the hotel Stephen King's The Shining was filmed in, actually it was where he got the idea to write the book (room 217). It was definitely going to be interesting. AJ and Cassidy really wanted to go, but Aaron and I thought it's better if they wait awhile yet. So AJ's staying with her Grandma in Milwaukee, and Cassidy going to hers, also in Milwaukee. The girls and Nick, Aaron and I, on the other hand, had to get ready.

At a first glance the Stanley is a beautiful hotel nestled in the Colorado Rockies. No-one would suspect ghosts inhabit it. But they do, from the reports and stories that are being told. It's easily said more people came for the ghosts then the view. Like us. We got our stuff unpacked from the truck and lugged it to our rooms. Kenzi and I were staying in 01, Nick and Emily in 407, and Aaron and Brittany in 412.

Upon entering 401, Kenzi dropped her stuff on the bed and headed into the bathroom. I smiled when I heard her complain about how it always looked like she was blushing. Well, it kinda did. It was just the effects of the hormones in her body, giving her that 'glow'. I mean, she was seven months pregnant after all. We'd learned she was carrying twin boys, so we'd had names sort of picked out. She really liked the name Dakota, so we came up with Dakota Ryan. His brother was going to be named Casey Elliot.

"Zak, I'm getting in the shower, okay? I need to wash up; I'm soo sick of traveling." She said. I nodded, yeah; we went from place to place a lot. So as she got the shower going, I flopped down on the bed, realizing that, yes, we were at the Stanley Hotel. This was going to be one of the best nights of my life.

(Kenzi's POV)

I closed my eyes and tipped my head back to wash my hair. The water just felt so good. And the shampoo I'd packed was the one scent that I absolutely loved. It was warm vanilla sugar. So I ran the suds through my hair and rinsed, and opened my eyes, leaning forward to dry my face in the towel. But I didn't see the towel. I saw something that made me scream. I saw what looked like a little girl. Suddenly I thought of Nick at Linda Vista Hospital. It was the same kind of thing here.

"Ow, shit!" I cursed. The water had gotten hot. Very hot. I stepped forward, trying to avoid the spray. Damn, were we being screwed with already? But I hadn't turned the spout, and I knew the sink wasn't on. I heard a little girl's laugh and then somehow, my ears picked up a disembodied voice saying, "Sorry, Mommy." I screamed. Again. I turned the shower off, got out, wrapped up in a towel, and got out of the bathroom. Zak was sitting up at the edge of the bed, his face asking 'what the fuck just happened to you?' It took me barely a second to deicide to throw myself into his arms. I'd started crying. So he just held me, and rocked me back and forth, asking what'd happened as gently as he could put it.

"Aw, honey, what happened? I've never heard you scream like that…well, asides from Bobby Mackey's. Did you see something? C'mon, tell me. I'm here." He whispered, kissing my temple and then my cheek. I shivered and took a deep breath.

"Zak…this place is a-active. I-I saw a little g-girl in the shower when I opened my eyes a-after w-washing my h-hair. I c-could see the dress she w-wore and the p-pigtails in her h-hair. Then the water got really hot and I t-think I heard her l-laugh. Then I heard her say s-something l-like "Sorry, Mommy." And that's wh-what happened." I looked down instantly. Zak knew I hadn't said something. Because I had left one part out. He tipped my chin up and gently kissed me, taking his time to tell me he knew what was going on. I blinked, and he broke the kiss.

"That's not all." I said slowly. He nodded, "Go on."

"Baby, the girl I saw…she…she looked like AJ."

It was time to go to bed. Tonight was the night before the lockdown, tomorrow we'd actually get locked down in the carriage house, the so-called dark side of the Stanley. We still kept our night vision cameras by our side. I remember lying down at around what I think was 1 AM, and I felt Zak's arms find their way around me. His left rested on my hip, his right under my neck. I curled up against him, enjoying the stillness in the room, leaving only the sound of our breathing and heartbeats acting as white noise. I felt Zak kiss my hair and I sighed, "I wish AJ could've come along. She would've loved this."

"Yeah, you're probably right. We should go to that place in East Troy out by your grandma's old place and investigate for her birthday."

"Oh, the Cobblestone? Yeah, that'd be great. But won't Dakota and Casey be with us by then?" I asked. Zak laughed softly, "Uh, forgot about them. When's your due date, anyways?" He asked.

"I think the OBGYN said something like July 24th or something like that. So maybe they won't be. But then again, AJ wasn't supposed to be born when she was so…"

"I know you're worried they're gonna come early like she did. But whatever happens, you know I'm always going to be there. I think they'll be fine. I know it." I smiled, and even in the still darkness of the room, I knew Zak was smiling back. I felt him sit up, and then he lifted my shirt up and leaned down, gently pressing his lips to my stomach. I giggled; this was what I'd missed about being pregnant. The bonding that would occur, bringing Zak and I closer together. He sat back up and was quiet for about five minutes before he asked, "Kenzi, are you bored?" I smiled.

"I just like lying here with you, considering this hotel is supposed to be one of the most haunted ones in the states. So no I'm not bored." But they it clicked, and I moaned.

"Zak…no. What's the point if I'm already pregnant?" I knew he was smiling as he replied,

"Because…" he paused to twine his legs with mine between the sheets. "It's fun." I sighed, turning over to untwine my legs, curling them up against my swollen stomach. I felt Zak's hand follow, resting right where he knew he'd get kicked.

"You are such a typical guy, Zachary. Having sex just because 'it's fun' does not make it a valid reason." I then quoted something from an old anime I used to watch with Emily when we were littler.

"Yami ni madoishi awarena kage yo hito o kizutsuke otoshimete
tsumi ni oboreshi gou no tama Ippen shinde miru?"

Zak laughed, saying the English translation just as fast as I'd rattled off the Japanese.

"Oh pitiful shadow lost in the darkness. Bringing torment and pain to others.

Your damned soul wallowing in your sin. Perhaps, it is time to die.

So…about being bored. You in?" He asked softly, his lips brushing against mine. I nodded, he wasn't going to quit unless I said yes. And he had a point, it was fun. And I was already pregnant, so nothing would happen. So as his lips met mine, oddly enough I got the Sakura No Hana song from the same anime stuck in my head.

But as soon as the song ended, I felt Zak kiss the scar between my breasts, one I'd gotten right after AJ had been born. I never found out how I got it, though. As his lips touched my skin, I heard the little girl laugh. I knew Zak had heard it too, because he'd lifted his head at the exact moment I'd heard it. He smiled, and my hands moved to rest behind his neck, playing with his hair. He growled softly, starting to kiss me again. But then the little girl laughed. And I knew we were being watched. By a child ghost, no less.

"Honey?" I asked softly.

"Huh?" Zak said, his voice giving away what I figured was his 'aw-totally-not-fair-its-just-a-ghost-let-it-go' one.

"I think we should stop. We're being watched." He laughed, kissing my lips again, pressing himself against me, his abs touching my swollen stomach. As a response, my hands found his shoulders, and even though I knew I shouldn't, I did. I let myself get the way he got on Poveglia. I let myself dig my nails into his shoulders, as hard as I could. Within five seconds, Zak had stopped kissing me all together, instead laying back down. He'd gotten the message. Good. I sat up and turned around, curling into him, my head on his shirtless chest, thankful for how warm his skin was against mine. Because it seemed the room had gotten colder.

I lifted my head to sit up against him, and whispered an, "I'm sorry" as I kissed both his shoulders. He laughed, "I knew you were gonna do something like that eventually. Guess it's better now than when you're in labor…prolly just jinxed myself. Damn it. You better get some sleep. I've got a camera and a digital recorder rolling while we sleep, so….night, sweetie." I moaned as I felt his fingers start running through my hair again. It felt so right, like the first night we'd slept together in Italy, and then the night we really slept together as a married couple in NYC. I'd remember this for awhile. Even the nightmare, which woke me up later. This was the dream:

Emily, Brittany and I were somehow parked on a bridge. Brittany was driving, and I was in the backseat. Somehow she hit reverse and accelerator at the same time, and we went over the divide, the car falling toward the water. As it fell, Emily and Brittany opened their doors so when the car hit the water they could get out right away. I didn't think so quickly. So when the car did hit the water, the backseat windows broke from the pressure. I took a deep breathe as the car began to fill with water, and then kicked the shards of glass out of the window so I could swim through. I started heading toward the surface like Emily and Brittany had done. But then I noticed the water was turning red. I looked at my legs and arms. They were covered in cuts. Suddenly I felt myself sinking into a watery grave I knew I'd never escape. I screamed, and woke up.

"Hey, c'mon Kenzi, relax. It's just a nightmare. Sshhh, c'mon, it's not real. Sshhh, baby, calm down." I opened my eyes, and for a split-second the darkness confuses me. Have I really woken up? But then I feel Zak's hand rubbing my back and I know I'm awake. That's when I realized he must've been doing this for awhile. He was cradling me, my head against his shoulder, my arms locked around his neck, like he'd disappear if I let go. I started crying again, it'd just seemed so real. He sighed, kissing my hair.

"What happened, huh?" he asked gently. "Your dreams aren't normally this bad. Was it about the twins? Baby, c'mon, tell me." he pleaded gently. I shook my head no to the twins question, and the wailed, still crying: "Emily…Brittany…car in water…so many cuts…all that bl-blood!" Zak smiled and gently unlocked my arms from around his neck, and I let them drop to rest in my lap, and then made me look at him, even though I tried not to.

"Kenzi, look." He said, holding one of my hands (where in the dream it had been slashed more than a few times) "No cuts." And just to prove it, he lifted my hand to his lips. "See?"

"But…even m-my l-legs. I-it was s-so real, Zak." He grinned, and ran his hand along the length of my bare legs. I shivered, and I knew he was watching the goose bumps come up. I giggled as he leaned in to kiss me.

"Nah, none here ether. But you're skin's so smooth". I smiled, and gave a sleepy moan as his hands started to run over my legs again.

"Honey, I think that's because I shaved in the shower today." He looked up, his face showing the exact 'yeah-that's-what-you-think-but-I-think-they're-like-that-anyways' look I knew he'd have. He kissed my forehead, before adding a, "See? Those cuts weren't real. It was all a dream." I lifted my head from where it rested against Zak's shoulder to kiss his neck. I smiled; I couldn't help saying what I was about to.

"I love that about you, you always know when something wrong, even when it's a nightmare like this. But the thing I know that's true now is that those cuts in my dream might not've been real, but I know you are. You're real, and you're mine."