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kzinlove06
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(7/24/06 1:30 pm)
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Do No Harm ~~ Zach & Kendall Centric
This is a Zach and Kendall centric story which jumps off from the point where Dr. Greg Madden has decided to leave Pine Valley meaning that the man in the box scenario did not happen. Everything else up to that point is the same.
Chapter 1 ~~
He opened the rear car door and reached inside to unbuckle the infant carrier, all the while talking to the little boy it carried who responded to him with the customary gurgling and cooing of a typical four month old. He smiled at him, something which he found very easy and natural to do and followed it along with something silly and a face to match as he closed the car door and they began the walk through the parking garage to the elevator. Perhaps he would have noticed the footsteps behind him sooner if he hadn’t been so preoccupied with the little boy and the multitude of things which always traveled with him. When he finally heard them it was too late, his assailant was upon on him, armed with a hypodermic syringe in one hand and a scalpel in the other. At that moment, he knew why he was here and what he had came for. Determined to protect the little boy at all costs, he swung his arm, knocking the needle from his hand, relieved to see it roll under a vehicle parked nearby.
“I want the child!” yelled the attacker who raised the scalpel above his head before bringing it down, slicing through the man’s flesh with ease.
Although he did not feel the initial strike, the heat seared in his arm as the open wound began to bleed, and soon it was met with another and another as the attacker continued with determination to gain his prize. The baby began to wail, piercing screams which echoed throughout the parking garage as the jostling of his carrier continued. He was determined to keep hold of him at all costs, by no means would he give him up without a fight. He made one final attempt to disarm his attacker, swinging at the precise moment to capture his wrist which wielded the blade. It was a small victory indeed. He smiled at his assailant, knowing that his plans had been thwarted when a noise erupted from behind him, followed by a clouding of his vision.
As the smile fell from his face, it appeared on his attacker’s as he released the hold on his wrist, unable to keep his grip. Everything slowed in those moments as he turned to see the carrier fall from his other hand, crashing onto the garage floor. The baby’s screams grew more intense as his seat bounced with him in it, and soon those were muffled as well. He fell to his knees and then forward to the ground, his face landing on the cold pavement with a thud, unsure of what was happening. As he lie there, he watched the floor turn from gray to red, as the little boy in the carrier was picked up and taken from his sight.
***************
Two hours earlier
“Be prepared to sit awhile,” Zach Slater said to his wife as he seated himself next to her in the Radiology waiting area. “One of the machines is down.”
They had arrived late for the appointment, but things were running behind schedule as usual in the Radiology Department. But today, the wait would be even longer. Kendall Slater, having suffered a brain injury and subsequent coma only months before, was here for a follow up CAT scan to ensure that all problems from her previous accident were behind her for good. They brought with them their four-month old son, despite the fact that they assumed the wait would be long. Kendall had found it difficult to be away from him for even the shortest amount of time since his release from the NICU following his birth.
“Did they say how long it might be?” She reached down to unbuckle the little boy from his carrier, placing him in her lap before pulling a small rattle from the bag.
“Well, it’s only 9:30 and they are already running an hour behind, so it’s anyone’s guess.” Zach took the rattle from her hand and put it back into the bag, and pulled from it a small yellow duck, which squeaked when it was squeezed. “He likes this better.”
“No he doesn’t….” she protested until Zach gave the duck a squeeze which precipitated a small grin from the baby boy. He gave her an ornery smirk and then returned his focus to the little boy, entertaining him with repetitive squeaking and large smiles from him, the kind which were usually hidden from anyone outside of the Slater household. Kendall shook her head, “Okay. So you were right.”
Zach straightened himself in his chair, giving her a look of surprise. “Wow. Really? I was right?” teasing her. He then looked back to the baby, “Make note of this, Spike, this is a rare occurrence indeed.” He continued squeezing the duck as the boy’s smiles only grew larger with each annoying squeak.
“You were right about us probably having to wait a long time for the CAT scan. I wasn’t talking about the duck.”
“Look at him,” gesturing to the baby. “How can you say he doesn’t like the duck? He loves the duck.” Zach returned his face to the baby’s level and resumed with the silly faces as he continued to squeeze the duck, over and over, much to the annoyance of the other patients in the waiting area.
Unable to take any more of the squeaking, Kendall grabbed the duck from his hand. “Trust me. He doesn’t like the duck. He’s smiling at you, you big goof, because you get this silly grin on your face every time you squeeze this damn duck.”
“Not true. He likes the duck.”
“Fine. See for yourself.” She pushed him to sit back in his chair so that he was out of the baby’s view. Kendall squeezed the duck and enjoyed the sweet taste of victory as the little boy looked away from it and then yawned. “Satisfied?”
“Damn.”
***************
More than an hour had passed and there was still no end in sight, only a handful of patients having been called for their appointments. The baby grew more and more restless, even the duck no longer amused him, its magical powers now lost, Zach thought. He placed the little boy over his shoulder and began pacing the hall near the waiting area as he quietly hummed “Hush Little Baby”.
As he turned to retrace his steps, he soon found a familiar face standing in front of him. “They let you back in this place, Slater?” Ryan Lavery said jokingly, referring to the police standoff that Zach staged while Kendall was comatose in the ICU.
“They kind of got over it when I made a sizeable donation to their new Brain Trauma Rehabilitation Unit.”
“Yeah. It’s kind of funny how money can forgive a multitude of sins.” Ryan reached out and patted the little boy on the back. “And how are you little man?”
“He’s restless. We’ve been waiting a long time for Kendall’s follow up appointment.” Zach continued to rock back and forth in place, doing his best to keep the baby pacified.
“Could I?” Ryan said pointing at the baby. “Would you mind if I held him?”
Zach smiled and handed him the little boy as Ryan began swaying and whispering to the baby. Zach had felt bad for Ryan when it was found out that he was not Spike’s biological father. They were all quite upset to find out that Dr. Greg Madden, Kendall’s obstetrician, had violated her by inseminating her with his own sperm, thereby creating a child with the daughter of his obsession, Erica Kane. But Ryan took it especially hard. He, along with Kendall and Zach, had spent an enormous amount of time standing vigil over Spike as he remained in the NICU. He had bonded with the little boy just as much as they had, then all of a sudden, he no longer had a valid reason to be a part of his everyday life.
After Spike’s parentage was revealed, Ryan slowly backed away from the Slaters, not wanting to be an added distraction in what was already a tragic scenario. He would occasionally visit Spike in the NICU, usually at times when Zach escorted Kendall to follow up appointments; something they were both comfortable with as they preferred that Spike not be left alone. But since his discharge from the NICU, Ryan had only seen the little boy a couple of times; once when he was christened, and a few weeks later when he ran into the Slater family having dinner at the Valley Inn.
“Hey, you,” Kendall said to Ryan, as she joined them in the hall. “What brings you to the hospital?”
“Well, it would seem that your husband wasn’t the only one suckered into making a sizeable donation to the new rehab unit. The hospital board shamed me into donating because of all the services my brother utilized following his brain surgery.”
“Oh… the shaming. Yes, they are pretty good at that when they want some money.” She reached out and rubbed the back of the little boy. “Sorry, Spikester, but it seems we have a really long wait in front of us.”
“What’s the status?” Zach asked.
“Well, there are still five more scans in front of me. No telling how long those will take. Personally, I think it’s a ploy to get you to pony up some more money for new radiology equipment.” She went to him, laying her head upon his chest and hugging her arms about his waist. “You were right. I should have had someone watch Spike instead of dragging him along.”
“Wow,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her even closer. “Twice in one day. This has to be some kind of record.” She pulled from him just long enough to playfully slap at his chest before returning her head upon his chest. The waiting made her crazy as she was not one to stand still.
“Why don’t you take Spike home, and I’ll wait here by myself. Or maybe Ryan would be nice enough to wait with me then give me a ride home.”
“I could do that if you like. It’s not a problem.”
“No,” Zach replied, “I want to make sure that everything in that gorgeous head of yours is okay. I’m not leaving you here.”
After the conversation had reached a stalemate, Ryan offered a solution. “I could take Spike to my place, that is if you don’t mind. You could pick him up on your way home?”
“I don’t know, Ryan. I wouldn’t want to impose….”
“Kendall, really, it wouldn’t be an imposition. I’ve missed seeing him. And he must remember me because he’s not upset with me holding him.” Ryan nodded to the baby on his shoulder who was now asleep.
“Don’t you have to go to work?”
“Kendall, if you don’t want me to watch him, just say so. But really, it is no problem for me. I would love to keep him. As a matter of fact, the crib I bought after he was born is still set up. So he could take a nap and everything. Really, it’s not a problem.”
Kendall looked to Zach who nodded his silent approval. Although Spike wasn’t Zach’s biological son, Kendall regarded him as Spike’s father and always consulted him. “Well, then, okay. If you’re sure it’s not a problem. Let me just grab his bag.”
She walked back into the waiting area, grabbing the infant carrier and baby bag, and began reviewing the contents to make sure anything Spike could possibly need was in there. “There are a couple of ready-to-feed bottles in there. Just like the kind they had in the NICU, so all you have to do is shake it and put the top on. And there a few outfits just in case he decides to spit up all over the place, and there’s diapers and wipes and….”
“Kendall, we’ll be fine. If I have any questions, I’ll call you.”
Zach took the little boy to put him in the carrier, but not before Spike received kisses both from his mother and him. Once, he was secure, Zach handed the carrier back to Ryan who then took the baby bag from Kendall’s hand and hung it over his shoulder. “We’ll be fine. It’s just for an hour or so, right? We’ll see you later then.”
They stood in the hallway and watched Ryan walk away with their son until he disappeared into the elevator. Zach could sense the tension as he wrapped his arms around her. “He’ll be fine,” he whispered before nuzzling her ear and placing a gentle kiss upon her neck.
“You’re right. I’m worrying about nothing.”
***************
After the CAT scan was completed and Kendall received the all clear from the Neurologist, they headed to Ryan’s apartment to pick up Spike. As they rounded onto the third deck of the parking garage, Zach slammed the brakes when they saw him lying motionless on the garage floor. He threw the car into park, and as he opened the car door, pulled his cell phone from the inside breast pocket of his jacket and handed it to Kendall. “Call 911.” Kendall stared in disbelief at the scene in front of her. “Kendall!” waiting for her too look at him. Once he had her attention he motioned the phone to her, “Call 911.”
He left the car and ran to him, kneeling in the large pool of blood which surrounded him as Zach rolled him over and onto his back. A gunshot wound had pierced his left shoulder, but the excessive bleeding made it difficult to see if it had exited the front or was lodged somewhere inside. He placed a hand upon his throat and was somewhat hopeful when he found a pulse, although it was very weak.
In hopes of stopping the bleeding, he tore open Ryan’s shirt looking for a potential exit wound. When he found it, he sat back upon his knees, pulled off his suit jacket and then pressed it to the wound into his chest cavity. “Ryan!” Zach placed his other hand on his chin, trying to shake him to consciousness.
“They’re on their way,” Kendall said as she reached their side.
Zach knew he needed to get information from Ryan as time was definitely not on his side at the moment. But at the same time, he had to keep Kendall out of the way. “Check the car, Kendall. Go check on Spike.” Zach hoped that his instincts were wrong and she would find Spike sleeping soundly in the car parked a short distance away. But something about the scene, the distance that Ryan was between his car and the elevator, led him to believe that Spike was not in the car when the attack occurred. He rubbed his knuckles against his sternum, hoping that a pain response might jolt him awake.
Ryan’s eyes opened wide and he sucked in a great deal of air into his lungs as Zach did his best to calm him. “Ryan, the ambulance is on its way. Hang in there.”
As if he knew his time was limited, he began to turn his head from side to side. At first the words were inaudible but his voice grew louder as he spoke between the gasps for breath, always repeating the same word --- Spike.
“What happened to Spike, Ryan? Where’s the baby?”
“He’s not here, Zach. Where’s my son?” Kendall, having found the car locked and empty, she had returned to kneel by Ryan’s head, holding his face between her hands. The tears were streaming down her face as she began to realize that she was now living every parent’s worst nightmare. “Where’s my son?” she screamed.
Zach did his best to remain calm knowing that if he panicked the situation would only become worse. “Did someone take Spike?” Ryan nodded his head in response.
“No… no… NO!” Kendall shook her head, her screams echoing through the parking garage. Soon her wails were met with those of the ambulance, the sirens signaling that help was indeed on its way.
“Who took Spike?” Zach stared into Ryan’s face as his eyes began to roll back into their sockets. “Ryan!” Zach smacked his face, and shook his chin hoping to get one last answer from him because without it, he knew they could loose Spike forever. “Who took Spike?”
Once again, Ryan’s eyes shot open and as he realized that this may be the last chance to tell him, he grasped Zach’s wrist which was placing pressure on the wound in his chest. With all his strength and might, he gasped for breath and prayed that Zach would understand the words as he exhaled….. “Greg Madden.”
“Madden?” Zach repeated back to him. “Greg Madden took Spike?”
Ryan again shook his head in acknowledgement, relieved that at the very least he was able to tell them who had taken there son. “I’m sorry,” was whispered from his lips as he took one last gasp and closed his eyes.
Edited by: kzinlove06 at: 7/25/06 7:18 am
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kzinlove06
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Posts: 166
(7/24/06 1:32 pm)
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Re: Do No Harm
Chapter 2 ~~
He stood there, his hands stained red and his clothes covered in another man’s blood, and watched the ambulance pull away with the sirens blaring. Zach had ushered Kendall into the ambulance, urging her to stay with Ryan and travel with him to the hospital so he would not be alone, but more importantly, removing her from the gruesome site where their son disappeared.
He answered all the questions Derek Frye, the Chief of Police, had for him, and although they knew who the person was that committed this heinous crime, it wouldn’t make finding him any easier. Greg Madden was a man of wealth, someone who had lived all over the world, enabling him to run almost anywhere and blend in.
The stress was starting to show as Zach rubbed his brow, trying to relieve some of the building tension in his head. “Did the security tapes show anything?”
“Unfortunately not a lot,” Frye told him. “They knew where the cameras were located and waited to move when they were pointed in the other direction so their faces couldn’t be detected. The car driven was a common make and model and the license plate had been removed. So, the tapes are a dead end. Luckily, you arrived in time to help Lavery and have him tell you that Madden was behind all of this. Otherwise, we would have nothing.”
A uniformed police officer approached them, interrupting the conversation. “I found this on the parking deck below. Do you recognize this?” In his outstretched hand, the officer held the small yellow duck, the same one that he and Spike had played with only hours earlier.
Zach took it from his hand, his eyes now burning as he fought the tears which welled in his eyes. “Yes…” his voice breaking, unable to clearly project his words. He cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure, “Yes. It was in his diaper bag.” Until now, he had been able to remain calm, his reserved demeanor having raised suspicions from some. But this small toy brought forth the horrific realization that their son may be lost forever.
He held it to his face, the soft terry cloth exterior catching in his stubble, the delicate scent of baby lotion emanating from it, assaulting his senses. He pulled it away to look at it in his hands as he turned it over and over, all the while fighting the urge to scream out loud, to curse the gods in the heavens for stealing his son. He tried to compose himself by walking away from the two men, but the flashes of his son’s smiling at him only hours before compounded with the shrill of his wife’s screams went with him. Soon the echo of his own words on their wedding day haunted him, making it more than he could bear…“I pledge to you, to your child, a life and a future.”
Without warning, his surroundings began to spin, a sickness rose high into his throat until he was forced to kneel to the floor, placing a hand on the pavement to steady himself, as he clutched the duck to his chest with the other, and tried to catch his breath. “Get another ambulance out here!” Frye shouted at a subordinate as he approached him, placing a hand upon his shoulder. “Take a deep breath, Zach. Help is on its way.”
Hearing Frye call him by his first name was surprising indeed, the use of it alone showing a great deal of concern. “I just need a minute, Derek. I’ll be fine. Really, just give me a minute.”
Obliging his request, Derek stepped away from him, calling back the officer to cancel the EMS call and amending his task. But he stood watchful, concerned that the shock could be more than even this man could take. He and Slater had crossed paths numerous times, and Derek had taken personal enjoyment in throwing him in a cell more than once. But his opinion of Slater had softened somewhat when Zach barricaded himself in Kendall’s ICU, determined to protect her unborn son at all costs. But watching this, seeing this man suffer in this manner, no man on earth, no matter what his past transgressions were, deserved this kind of pain and torment.
The officer returned from the Chief’s car with one of Derek’s dress shirts, fresh from the cleaners, in his hand. When Zach stood and faced them Derek offered him the shirt. “Here, change into this.”
“Derek, thank you but it’s not necessary.”
“Do you have a change of clothes in your car, Slater? Because I sure don’t want you to be wandering around Pine Valley with that shirt on. People will start thinking we have a serial killer in our midst again. So do me and all of Pine Valley a favor, take the shirt.” Begrudgingly, Zach took the shirt from him, trading him the little duck for the interim.
“I’ll take that from you, sir.” The officer had returned again, this time with a plastic evidence bag in hopes of retrieving the one clue he had found that day.
Panic washed over Zach’s face at the fear that the small toy would be taken from him. “Derek, please.”
“Listen here.” Derek turned his back to Zach and lowered his voice as he spoke to the officer. He was definitely going against protocol and by no means did he want Slater to know he was bending the rules on his behalf. “This man’s son has just be kidnapped. I’ll be damned if I take the one last reminder of his son. There is absolutely no need to put this in evidence lock up. No information pertinent to the investigation will be gleamed from this toy. File a report if you like and I will sign it, showing I authorized its release to the owner.” Derek handed the duck back to Zach once he had changed and took from him the bloody dress shirt. “Here,” handing it to the officer, “take this instead. This will make the crime lab happy and give them something to do.”
“Thank you, Derek. I appreciate it,” Zach said as the officer walked away.
“Do what, Slater? I didn’t do anything.” When Zach was going to speak, Derek interrupted him, needing to change the subject before he changed his mind about the duck. “You can go now. There’s no need for you to stay here. And just so you know, I have already contacted the FBI for assistance with the case. Let them handle it, Slater. I don’t need a one-man army running around looking for vengeance. You will only get in the way.”
Zach considered his words thoughtfully, but knew that there was absolutely no way he could just sit at home waiting for the phone to ring. “You do what you need to do, Derek, and I’ll do what I need to do.”
***************
There was no time to stabilize Ryan before transporting him to Pine Valley Hospital. He was slowly bleeding out, his heart, when it was pumping, continued to push the little remaining blood he had left from his body. Kendall sat helpless, pushed to the very back of the ambulance as the paramedic shocked his heart back to life more than once while they were in route. She grasped his ankle and squeezed, silently urging him to hang on to life.
Although the drive lasted only a matter of minutes, time seemed to stand still during their ride, each passing second agonizing in length. They arrived at the emergency bay where she was yanked from the vehicle and pushed to the side as a group of doctors and nurses gathered around the stretcher and rushed him inside. She followed the crowd inside, no one taking any notice of her as she surveyed the waiting area for Ryan’s sister, Erin. The last thing she was told as she boarded the ambulance was that the police were sending an officer to her work, in hopes of finding his sister and bringing her here.
She stood in the hall and waited for news as more and more medical personnel rushed past her and into the room Ryan was being worked on. When there was a mass exodus from the trauma room and all of those passing by her refused to make eye contact, she knew he was dead. She took a deep breath and steadied herself before she pushed opened the door to go inside, just as the one remaining nurse began the process of covering his lifeless body. Before she covered his face, Kendall reached out to touch her arm, stopping her. The nurse let go of the sheet and walked out of the room, leaving her alone with him.
His face, although it showed no signs of trauma, was covered in blood and somehow didn’t resemble the man she knew. She took a towel from the counter, ran water over it, and began washing it all away in hopes to recognize the face she adored, long ago. She delicately wiped his brows and his cheeks as her thoughts recounted their tumultuous relationship. For years the pendulum swung from love to hate, back and forth, again and again. But when Spike was born, the pendulum centered and stopped, as she, Zach and Ryan decided to focus on what was best for the baby, enabling them to all have an amicable relationship with each other.
“You gave your life to protect my son,” her voice breaking as the tears began again. “For that, I will never be able to thank you enough. But I have one additional request.” Having cleaned away all the blood, she dropped the towel to the floor and gently stroked his cheek with her hand before leaning down to whisper to him. “Wherever you are, I need you to watch over my son. I know it’s wrong for me to ask you for more than you have already given, but please, Ryan, keep him safe. Watch over Spike until Zach brings him home to me.” She placed a kiss upon his forehead and whispered a final goodbye.
She returned to the waiting area, and when there was no sign of Erin or Zach, she began to wander aimlessly, not knowing where to go, what to do or how to react. Soon she found herself at the door to the chapel and decided that while she may not have been the most religious of people in the past, perhaps now was a good time to start. She walked to the front of the room and sat in a pew, noticing only a few burning candles and a large wooden cross in the darkened room. The silence of the chapel was her enemy, enabling her to do nothing but reflect on the day’s events. As they played over and over in her mind, she came to one conclusion: Spike being kidnapped and Ryan being killed was all her fault.
Zach asked her more than once to leave Spike with the nanny that day instead of dragging him along to her appointment. If she had left the baby at home, it was reasonable to think that Madden would have never attempted to kidnap Spike as he and Kendall always had an armed bodyguard with them, the only exception being when they were with Zach. And if she hadn’t let Ryan take him home, her friend would still be alive.
***************
When he finally arrived at the hospital and found out that Ryan had died, he searched almost everywhere looking for her. He called home and work looking for her and had almost given up hope of finding her still here until an elderly volunteer suggested he check the chapel, having seen a young woman sitting alone in the quiet only minutes before. He raced the halls, hoping it was her while at the same time he dreaded finding her and telling her the news that Spike was still missing.
Zach stood at the doorway of the chapel and watched her a moment before calling her name, waiting for her to respond. As he walked closer, saying her name over and over, his concern for her grew as she never once reacted to the sound of it. He knelt in front of her only to find that the shock had consumed her and that what remained was a blank stare upon her face. Just as he was about to call for a doctor, she finally spoke. “They haven’t found him, have they?”
He feared the answer he was having to give; there was no way to sugar coat it, no way to soften the blow. One little word would strike her with an unimaginable force and he was unsure how she would react. “No,” he whispered. There was no movement, no screaming or yelling, not even a gasp for breath. Her eyes remained averted from his as the only physical response was the dam breaking as tears flooded her eyes, spilling over the rims to stream down her face.
“Spike will come home, Kendall. Just remember Madden wants him as his son. He will not hurt him.” He was unsure if he was trying to convince her or himself, but Zach needed her to hold onto the belief that Spike would be found and brought home just as happy and healthy as he was when he left.
She shook her head, his words failing to comfort her. “Spike is gone and Ryan is dead. It’s all my fault, Zach. I am being punished for my actions. For weeks, I debated even carrying him to term, then even after I decided to have him I didn’t love him enough and was determined to give him away; I even signed adoption papers.”
He took her hands in both of his, holding them to his heart. “If anyone is to blame for all of this, it would be me. I convinced you everything would be alright for Spike to go with Ryan. You were concerned from the moment they entered the elevator and your instincts were right. I should have called one of the bodyguards to go with them, but I didn’t think it was necessary. I thought it would be okay.” He took her face into his hands, hoping she would look at him. “You would give your life for that little boy. No one has ever loved him more than you, no matter what you said or did months ago.”
“I don’t deserve him, Zach.”
“God, Kendall, please don’t do this. No one deserves him more than you. Please, I need you to be strong. I need you to believe that we will soon have our little boy home and this nightmare we are living will be over. Because if you give up hope, I don’t know how long I will last without you. I had almost given up when you were in the coma, because I didn’t have you to help me through. I need you to be strong…. for me.” For the first time since he had arrived in the chapel, Kendall looked into his eyes, his own tears now being shed, the fear of the unknown evident on his face. “I need you to believe, for me. And if you do, I promise, Kendall, I will bring Spike home to you if it’s the last thing I do.”
***************
The baby continued to wail in his carrier as his captors rushed him away from the scene, the intention of fleeing from Pine Valley with him the ultimate goal. For months, he had hidden himself in Pine Valley, waiting for the opportunity to steal away his precious son, the very one he shared with whom he thought to be a weak and pathetic woman, her only redeeming quality being she had the correct DNA. As far as he was concerned, she did not deserve the child since she failed to have an emotional connection to him from the moment of conception.
For many months he manipulated Kendall, convincing her that what was best for the child was giving him up for adoption, something he would arrange personally, leaving her to worry of nothing. It could have been so simple. But instead, he had to set an alternate plan in motion when Ryan Lavery decided he wanted to be a father to the boy, a child that everyone thought was biologically his, including the mother. Madden succeeded in taking her to his private island, the place where his most sadistic of experiments came to fruition, as he awaited the day that he would hold his son in his arms, taking him from his mother at her own request. But Slater had managed to find her and steal her away from him, managing to manipulate her with thoughts and dreams of mother love, which ultimately led her to the decision of keeping his child from him, or so he thought.
Kendall’s feelings suddenly changed and plans had to be rewritten, his second plan now became his only hope. He had almost written off his nefarious plot, but then he received the phone call which set the day’s events in motion. Never would he have attempted such a plan with Slater in the picture as he new the man was always armed; and when he was not with Kendall and the baby, there was always security personnel with them. But circumstances worked in his favor today, and although killing Lavery was not his primary intent, he did relish a silent satisfaction from his death as his involvement over the past eight months had only made his wait much longer.
His accomplice was easy to manipulate. So easy, in fact, that he didn’t even find gratification in a job well done, like he typically did. He used the man’s own family history, to twist and distort the truth, to question even the most genuine of intentions, making every word or conversation mean something completely different. And he played his insecurities, his fear of another controlling his life, his fear of being locked away, his fear of losing the person he loved. And although his situation had changed, Madden continued to work on him, chipping away at the sanest part of him until he had returned to his ways of old.
They pulled onto the tarmac near the private plane which would whisk he and the baby away; Madden laughed to himself, unable to believe his good fortune. As he exited the vehicle and scanned the area around them, he was somewhat surprised that in the end it was all so easy. He reached back inside and took the baby from the car along with the diaper bag he also grabbed from the parking garage. But before boarding the plane he pulled an envelope filled with cash and handed it to his accomplice. “As promised,” he said. “But if I need your assistance in the future, I expect it as part of this deal.”
“Haven’t I done enough for you? I mean, not only did I help you steal the baby, but I think I have killed Ryan.”
Madden laughed at the man. “Oh, no. You did not do that for me. You did that for yourself.”
“But you tried to stop him and you couldn’t. If I was going to help you, I had to do it. I did it for you. I shot him because you needed me to.”
“You could have done a hundred different things to help me steal this child away from him. But you chose to use a gun. You alone aimed it for his heart. You alone wanted him dead for what he has and might do to you. I did not fear Ryan Lavery. I was not worried about him coming after me. It was you who fired that gun and you who killed him. I had no part in it.” Madden could see his manipulation of words and twisting of events were working. Now he needed to make sure that his accomplice would fear prosecution for his role and eventually leave Pine Valley. “So you go back to your home, go on with your life as it should, and then in a few weeks… leave. Do you understand? No one will suspect a thing.”
The young man nodded at him before sliding back into the car and pulling the door closed behind him. Madden knocked on the window, motioning for him to lower it as he had one last piece of advice. “You’ve fooled them before, you can do it again. Make it look good and don’t forget the stutter, Jonathon.”
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kzinlove06
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(7/24/06 1:33 pm)
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Re: Do No Harm
Chapter 3 ~~
Zach searched all of Pine Valley, looking for the one person who could help him find Greg Madden. He had spent the better part of the night and far into the morning at the FBI command post becoming quietly frustrated as he watched people move at an excruciatingly slow pace. Time was of the essence and it seemed that they were going about this investigation all wrong, no matter how many databases they researched or profiles they made. It was Zach’s guess that Madden wouldn’t run to one of his clinics or his private island; he would run to someplace either brand new or that only a select few knew of.
He finally tracked him down at the beach, making a public display of himself along with an innocent girl who would soon become the next tick on his scorecard. Zach cleared his throat in an attempt to disrupt them, and when subtle didn’t work he decided to take a more direct approach. “Josh,” he said loud enough to get his attention. “Do yourself a favor. Get off the girl and let her go home. I need to speak with you.”
“Fuck off, Slater. It’s my day off and I’ll do whomever or whatever I damn well please.”
“Nice,” shaking his head incredulously. “Way to talk in front of the young lady. Heather,” turning his attention to the young girl in a scantily-clad bikini, “I think your father would be a little less than thrilled if he new what you were doing, in public, with someone who is nearly ten years older than you. It’s probably best you headed home.” She didn’t know who this man wearing an expensive suit and tie at the beach was, but he knew her name and mentioned her father. Using her wiser judgment, the girl grabbed her towel and her bag, and quickly left the scene.
She was barely out of ear-shot when the smart-assed first-year doctor began popping off. “What the hell do you want? Are you doing the Kane family dirty work now? Doing your part to make my life miserable?”
“Hey, I just did you a favor, because the way things were looking, your ass could have been in jail by sundown.”
Josh jumped to his feet, bowing his arms in his best attempt to look threatening. “What the fuck are you talking about? I’m having a perfectly good time with….” he paused, “and you show up and chase her off? And what did you mean when you said ten years older? I’m not...”
“You don’t even know her name let alone how old she is,” interrupting him. “Christ, do you have no fucking sense at all? That girl, and I emphasize girl, is in high school. Her father is one of my high rollers and he was showing me her junior prom photos only two weeks ago.” Zach sighed aloud, shoving one hand in his pocket as he raised the other in surrender. “Hey, I really didn’t come looking for you to ruin your day. I need to find your father, and I need your help to do it.”
“And which supposed father of mine would that be?” His comment dripped with sarcasm as he reached to the ground, grabbed his towel and shook the sand from its fibers before tossing it over his shoulder.
“Greg, of course. Has no one from the Pine Valley PD or the FBI contacted you?”
“No. Why the hell would they want to talk to me?”
Zach looked to the sand, shaking his head and rubbing his brow as he did his best to decrease the growing tension building in his head. “I knew it,” he hissed under his breath.
“You know, Slater, I haven’t talked to my father since he left town in May. He didn’t tell me where he was going and I didn’t ask. I knew something was up between he and Erica and he still didn’t tell me anything. Then, low and behold, two months later, I find out that I’m not his son, but instead, his lifelong science experiment. Well, pardon me, but I don’t give a shit where he is and I sure as hell don’t care to go looking for him.”
Josh turned his back and began walking away from him, determined to distance himself not only from the conversation, but the recollection of his parentage. He hated being the focus of idle gossip, and it seemed everywhere he went, people reminded him that he was Erica Kane’s stolen embryo, the one she tried to abort to pursue a modeling career, all of this despite being married to someone from the storied Martin family.
“Greg stole my son.” The words stopped Josh in his tracks. He turned to face him, uncertain if what he heard was right. “Yesterday, while he was on his way to his penthouse with Spike, Ryan Lavery was attacked in the parking garage of his building. The police think two people were involved in the kidnapping, but they have no evidence, no leads, nothing to tell them where my son is.”
“What makes you think my… I mean, Greg, was involved?”
“When Kendall and I went to pick up the baby, we found Ryan lying in a pool of his own blood. His arms had been slashed with some kind of razor, a scalpel, maybe, and he had been shot in the back. But he was coherent and he told me that it was Greg Madden who took our son.”
“How is Lavery? Is he okay?”
“He’s dead,” Zach said as matter-of-factly as possible. “And my and Kendall’s son is missing.”
“This can’t be right. You must have heard wrong,” shaking his head, not wanting to believe the accusations. “My…, Greg may have done a lot of things, but he’s not a murderer.”
“Right,” Zach said shoving his other hand in his pocket with frustration. “He just goes around impregnating women all over the world with his own sperm, conducting experiments that belong only in science fiction, and manipulating women into giving away their own children if he deems them to not be a fit parent. He’s committed so many crimes against so many already. What’s one more?”
“I can’t help you, Slater.” Josh turned his back to him again and began making his way through the dunes to the parking area nearby.
Zach was determined to find Spike, and if he had to coddle this walking egomaniac to get him to help, he was going to do it. He jogged up behind him, grabbing his shoulder to stop him. “You are the only one who may know where Greg ran to, and without your help, we may never see our son again.” Zach softened his tone, showing compassion for his situation. “Listen, I get that your life has been less than perfect these past few months, and most of that is due to Erica. But Kendall, she is your sister, your flesh and blood, and that makes her son your flesh and blood, as well.”
Josh stood silent, carefully considering his words. “God damn it,” he mumbled. “Alright. I don’t know if I can really help you, but I’ll try… for Kendall.” He shook his head, not able to believe the words which just came from his mouth. “I’ve got to tie some things up first; my residency is supposed to start next week. Can you give me until tomorrow morning? I’ll meet you at the casino first thing, say around seven? Is that okay?”
“Josh, thanks. I’ll tell you right now, we cannot leave it up to the authorities to find Spike because they’ll fuck it all up. So I’ll have my people gather everything they can and we’ll go over it first thing in the morning.” Zach patted him on the shoulder and headed for his car, a little more hopeful than he was several hours ago. He was about to slide into his car on the driver’s side when Josh called out to him.
“Slater, just promise me you’ll keep Erica as far as hell away from me.”
“That’ll be easy,” he said with a slight chuckle. “Because if your with me, that’s where she always is.”
***************
She had spent the past several hours sitting in the oversized chair which was placed in an isolated corner of the living room. This was “their” chair. Throughout the day, Kendall and Spike would sit here, as she softly hummed lullabies to him while gazing either upon his face, or out the large bay window which projected into the garden. Mornings were one of the best times in this chair, specifically the view from it as the sun would break through the trees, and it was as if you could see all the flowers and insects wake at the same time to bathe in its warmth.
Evenings in this chair were just as exceptional, because they would be joined by Zach. Often he would snuggle in next to them, usually with one arm around her and the other around Spike, as he read to them fairy tales, poetry, classical literature; anything and everything. He even read an article from Sports Illustrated once, and they enjoyed it just as much. It didn’t matter what he read as it was the tone of his voice, the reverberations it created as he projected, soothing their minds and their bodies like a gentle massage.
But now, this chair was so empty, reflecting the feeling in her heart. Just when she felt that all the tears were spent, she would close her eyes and remember a smile, a touch, a smell, something which would cause the memories to come flooding back, along with another ocean of tears. It pained her, the not knowing where their son was, where her husband was. She dared not call him, because she knew, each time he had to tell her that their little boy had yet to be found, he felt a pain in his chest just as real and severe as if someone had driven a stake through his heart. Zach had left her in the night, hoping, that by the morning dawn, she would be sitting here again with their son, all of them able to reflect on the past few hours with a new appreciation for their lives together. But the sun rose and now it was setting, and still their chair was empty.
***************
The car circled the drive and stopped in front of the large home they bought together just before they brought their baby home from the hospital. He knew he was wrong to have left her here, essentially alone to deal with the continuous reminder of their little boy lost; but he couldn’t stay sitting, wondering, idly waiting for someone to bring Spike home to them. She had promised to believe that their son would come home, and, in return, he promised to bring him home and that was exactly what he was going to do.
He trudged up the steps to the door, his legs weighing heavy as his body recognized his own unwillingness to go inside. He had hoped, when he left in the night, that upon his return he would be carrying their little boy in his arms, a magnificent gift for the woman he loved. Instead, all he had to give his wife was more heartache and he dreaded seeing her suffer, helpless only to watch her heart shatter once again. For now, he had no choice but to return home as there was nothing left to do but wait and hope that investigators on three continents would find something, anything, which would lead them to the whereabouts of their son.
With a deep breath, he summoned the strength to go inside, looking first in the living room only to find it empty. But a rustling of papers came from the kitchen, as he walked in there to find her friend and business partner, Simone Torres, sitting at the island, reflexively flipping the pages of an outdated magazine. When she heard his shoes on the tile flooring, she turned towards him, hopping down from the stool where she sat, and walked towards him. “Is there any news?”
“No,” he said, tossing his keys onto the marble top of the island. “Where’s Kendall?”
“She went to take a shower. Come to think of it, she’s been up there quite awhile. I decided to stay because I didn’t want her to be left alone.”
He pulled a glass from the cabinet, intending to fill it with a large pour of his favorite scotch, but decided against it just in case he received a call. He went to the refrigerator, pulled a bottled water from it, and upon closing the door was eye to eye with the beautiful face he hadn’t seen in over a day. He gently ran his fingers over the glossy picture, somehow hoping that it would have the same feeling of his soft angelic skin. He pulled it from the magnetic holder and held it to his nose, wondering if this image captured his soft powdery scent. Disappointed, he glanced at it once again, and placed a gentle kiss upon it before carefully putting it in the breast pocket of his suit jacket, needing to keep him as close to his heart as possible.
“This is just all so crazy, you know?”
She had been rambling from the moment he entered the room, but these were the first words he actually comprehended. “I’m sorry, Simone. What were you saying?”
“Well, it’s just that we were in this same place with Ryan a year ago, mourning his death. But instead, this time it’s real, and he won’t be coming back.” She paused only a moment as the memories played out in her mind. “And if a year ago, someone would have told me that you and Kendall would fall in love and have a son and a real marriage….well, I just wouldn’t have believed it. But somehow, you did. And now it seems that fate is playing out this cruel hoax on the two of you: Kendall is reliving the horror of Miranda being stolen and you are reliving the loss of your son.”
“I haven’t lost this son.” His words were stern and unforgiving and instantly, Simone realized that she had said completely the wrong thing.
“I’m sorry, Zach. I didn’t mean it in that way. Truly, I didn’t. Please accept my apology.” She waited for his response, and when he silently nodded his head, she knew she was forgiven. “Well, I’m going to go. I should see Erin, and then I need to check in at Fusion just to make sure Babe hasn’t decided to seize this opportunity to revamp the entire fall collection.” She grabbed her purse from the counter and walked towards the door, stopping only a moment to lightly rub his arm. “Take care, Zach, and tell Kendall to call me whenever.”
He called her name just as she was leaving the kitchen. She turned towards him wondering what it was that he needed. “Thank you, Simone.” She merely smiled at him before closing the door behind her.
***************
He knocked on the bathroom door with the back of his hand, concerned with the amount of time she had isolated herself in there. “Kendall?” he called to her. When there was no answer, he opened the door, a waft of steam greeting him as he made his way into the bathroom in search of her. She was crouched in the corner of the shower, arms wrapped around her legs, her face buried in her knees. Only when he touched her, did she realize she was not alone. He reached in, turned off the water before taking her cotton robe from the hook nearby and wrapped it around her. She attempted to stand on her own, but when her body failed her, he wrapped her arms about his neck before scooping her up and carrying her from the bathroom.
He placed her on the edge of their bed, kneeling on the floor in front of her as he used the long hem of her robe to wipe away the droplets of water from her legs, as he remained focused on her knees, not wanting to look her in the eyes. As if she could read his mind, her hand stroked his cheek and glided under his chin before raising his face to look at her. The tears in his eyes were met with her own, as was the same fearful look, wondering if they would ever see their son again.
She took his face in the palms of her hands, and with a gentle pull, guided him to stand on his knees, resting his head upon her chest. He reached inside the open robe which hung from her shoulders, his hands sliding from her hips around to her back, pulling her closer to him as he nuzzled his face against the warm wet skin between her breasts and began to cry. From the heaving of her chest, he knew she was crying, too, as she wrapped her arms around his head, each of them clinging to the other.
Moments passed before she bowed her head, placing a gentle kiss upon his forehead, causing him to raise his face to hers before returning a kiss upon her lips. She cupped the nape of his neck, pulling him to her again, needing to feel his lips on hers, to taste his tongue; she parted her lips encouraging him to do the same as their kisses grew hungrier -- needier.
His hand raked over her ribs to her breast, cupping it gently in the palm of his hand, her nipple hardening in response to his touch. His lips left hers as his mouth traveled down her neck, stopping to suck the droplets of water which remained in the hollow between her collarbones before it replaced his hand, now gently kissing and sucking as she gasped for breath.
His body tightened in response and he stopped suddenly to look at her, unsure if they should be doing what they were. “We shouldn’t,” he whispered. Their son was missing. He was taken from them, far from Pine Valley for all they knew, and here they were taking pleasure in one another.
She knew what he was thinking because they were her thoughts as well. A voice screamed in her head, chastising her for wanting him at a moment like this. But her heart needed to be as close to him as possible, needed him to soothe the ache, needed him to show her that she was not alone in this nightmare. “I need….” she whispered, “I need to feel you. Please, Zach. I need you to take the emptiness away even if it is just for a moment.”
He wiped a tear from her cheek with the back of his hand and placed a kiss upon her lips before rising to stand in front of her. He had never denied her and he wouldn’t start now, as he hoped that she, too, could do the same for him, to take the emptiness away. She remained sitting on the edge of the bed, watching him as he slowly undressed; first removing his suit jacket which he laid over the arm of the chair nearby, followed by his shoes and socks, before unknotting his tie and pulling it from the collar of his shirt. There was no seduction, no ravenous removal of clothes, no flaring of passion; instead there was only sadness. He unbuttoned his shirt, slowly slipping out of it, letting it drop to the floor before stroking her face once again to brush the tears from her cheek.
She reached for him, unfastening his belt and the additional restraints of his pants, tugging them below his hips and finally freeing his legs. He now stood completely undressed as she leaned forward, lightly grasping his hips and placing a gentle kiss on his abdomen before he knelt down in front of her. She caressed his cheek which was dampened by his own tears, before he raised his hand to cover hers, pressing it to his face, as her other hand gently teased the waves of his hair. He kissed her wrist and her forearm, working his way up her arm to her neck, his kisses soon replaced with his hand as he watched his fingers lightly trace the contours of her body from her collarbones to her bellybutton.
He splayed his fingers to massage her stomach, his thumb tracing the scar low on her abdomen, the permanent mark from their child’s birth. He closed his eyes, not wanting to look at it, not wanting to be reminded of their missing little boy. But the images flashed in his mind: the c-section, the NICU, Spike smiling at the little yellow duck.
He backed away from her again, bracing his hands on his knees as a fury of emotions ran through his head. She shrugged the robe from her shoulders and slid off the edge of the bed to kneel in front of him. Taking one hand from his knee with both of hers, she gently kissed his knuckles before turning it over and kissing the palm. She continued to hold it while the fingers of her other hand lightly rubbed the dimple in his chin before sliding down his chest, across his abdomen, slowly making their way to his groin. She cupped him in her hand, gently stroking him as his body responded to her delicate touch, despite the protests in his brain and the ache in his heart. She wrapped her arms about his neck and straddled his legs, slowly lowering herself onto him, all the while hoping beyond hopes that he could fill the emptiness in her soul.
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kzinlove06
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Posts: 168
(7/24/06 1:34 pm)
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Re: Do No Harm
Chapter 4 ~~
He relished the silence as he sat in his new home enjoying the view of the moonlight on the water through the clusters of large palm trees. He had forgotten how time consuming a newborn could be, not that he had ever spent any real time caring for one, despite his profession of populating the world with them. Luckily, he found a young local woman, Noami, who was available to be his housekeeper/nanny, and based on her lack of English, it would appear she would do a fine job of keeping his secrets as well.
Greg had found this place years ago while attending an international conference. Away from the hotels and resorts, it was the kind of place which not only respected your privacy, but assisted in keeping it. Here, people kept to themselves and rarely asked one’s reasons for moving here, especially when lots of money helped to answer any questions one might have.
He now took the name of Luke Gerard, a name which amused him each and every time he said it, a name which told more of his history than one might suspect. Although he was brought up in the church and felt it was his calling to become a man of science, something changed in him when he accomplished what many believed only God in heaven could do --- create life. Now that he was as talented and powerful as the Almighty, he scoffed at those who blindly worshiped the heavens and found entertainment value in religion, the Catholic Saints in particular. His new first name was for St. Luke, disciple of Jesus, writer of Gospel, patron saint of physicians and surgeons. His last was for St. Gerard Majella, a man invoked as a patron of expectant mothers as a result of a miracle effected through his prayers for a woman in labor. Yes, it was the perfect name.
He rose from his chair, deciding that a nice brandy would be the perfect accompaniment to the silence and ocean view. As he poured his favorite from the crystal decanter into the glass, his eye caught a glimpse of the only photo he kept from what had now become his past life, a photo of Josh. He had so many regrets with the boy, but despite his nurturing techniques, the child was determined to let nature take over, to be ungrateful for all that he had done for him, to be like the biological mother who never wanted Josh for her own.
Perhaps if he hadn’t opened an office in Pine Valley, all of this would have been avoided. Josh would still be his prodigy, someone who would take the reigns of his medical empire, leading the way in cutting-edge technology and research. Josh would still be everything he had hoped and dreamed he would one day be, but it was not to be. Josh’s words from their final conversation still rang in his head, their sting still potent.
“The all-great and powerful Greg Madden -- all hail him! You know, you can play God all you want with your patients, but it won't work with me. I don't owe you a damn thing.”
“As your father, I think you owe me. The least you owe me is respect.”
“Well, I'm sorry, Dad, but I want the truth right now, or I'm walking out that door, and I don't give a damn what the hell happens to you.”
“Alright, I'll tell you the truth…Your mother never wanted you to be born.”
“How could you -- how could you trash my mother's memory like this? She loved us till the day she died. I don't even give a damn about the truth anymore. You can just go to hell.”
No longer wanting to be reminded of his failures, Greg drank the remaining brandy from his glass, took the photo from the shelf and hid it away in the cabinets below. While he had not succeeded with Josh, he was determined to succeed with his new son, his creation in every way. His son. Greg knew he was not going to be able to tell anyone that. His story was that his son and daughter-in-law were killed in a crash, leaving him the only relative to raise the child. Such a story would garner sympathy for his loss, and saying that the baby was his grandchild instead of his son would raise fewer suspicions.
He placed the empty glass on the bar and walked the hall until he reached the room where the baby now slept. He watched over the baby and studied his face bathed in moonlight from the window nearby. “You are my son, my flesh and blood,” he whispered, “and you are my favorite of all my children. I will shape you, mold you, teach you all that you will need to know so that you, too, will one day make your mark on the world. You will be my greatest creation.”
***************
It was nearly midnight by the time he arrived home, but he was in no mood to sleep as the day’s events played through his head, only angering him more. Josh slammed the door closed behind him and then stormed into the kitchen, never bothering to turn on any lights before he yanked open the refrigerator to pull from it a couple of beers. He twisted the top off the first, tossed it on the counter before bringing the bottle to his lips and proceeding to pour it down his throat, leaving him gasping for breath when it was emptied. The second he studied a moment before he removed the top, again tossing it on the counter before returning to the darkened living room where he plopped himself into his leather recliner and switched on the television.
He hated Pine Valley. Why on earth he stayed here he would never fully understand, but he wasn’t sure where else to go. His biological mother spent her days loathing his existence, always full of venom and ready with some kind of snide remark when they would cross paths. Erica’s current marriage was on the rocks and she laid the blame directly on him, despite that he was the one who was lied to for months by her. His biological father was determined to shape him and mold him into another sanctimonious member of the fabled Martin clan. He often wondered if Jeff would have such an interest in him if it weren’t for the fact that he, too, was a doctor.
The parents who raised him, whose name he still carried, were both gone; Emily by her own doing, and Greg had run off months ago, or so he had thought. Despite all of Greg’s declarations of love and adoration, he had single-handedly succeeded in making Josh’s life a living hell. Because of him, Josh was not regarded as a miracle of science as Greg had hoped; instead, Josh had become the joke of Pine Valley, something which evolved from science fiction and psychosis. Now it would seem that there was no limit to his father’s craziness, having stolen a child, his own biological child, who he created with an unsuspecting woman. A woman, Josh only learned several weeks ago, was biologically his half sister.
He glanced towards the bookcase where a framed photo of he and his father continued to be displayed. Even with all the accusations and revelations that had come to pass, he found it difficult to completely turn his back on him. After all, Greg was, for the most part, a wonderful father, someone whom Josh had admired a great deal as a child, someone at one time whom he wanted to emulate, that was until he learned of his father’s secrets. Secrets that went against everything he was ever taught. Although it had been months since he had last seen his father, his words continued to haunt him. “I gave you life… If it wasn't for me, you would never have been born… I'm the reason you are here on this earth.”
“Did he really save me for noble reasons or merely to perpetuate his god-complex? Did he want a son or an experiment? Did my father ever really love me?” he wondered. As his father’s words echoed in his head, Josh began to feel his blood boil, the anger rising to the surface as he raised the bottle in his hand. “God damn you!” he yelled as he threw it across the room, striking the picture frame and knocking it from the shelf, the photo now laying amongst the shattered glass upon the floor.
He rose from his chair and went to the small balcony off the living room, hoping the fresh air would give him some sense of peace. As he looked out at the lights of Pine Valley, he took notice of the Fusion building in the distance, and immediately his thoughts turned to Kendall. She, unlike the mother they shared, had been kind when their paths had crossed, never bitter or resentful towards him, even after it was found out that Greg had violated her. She was the one person in Pine Valley who was the most accepting of him, and yet, she was the same one who had every reason to hate him the most. Josh himself had done so many things which directly or indirectly caused her harm, but she hadn’t turned her back on him. Perhaps she was the reason he stayed in Pine Valley, the only reason. They had never forged a deep and meaningful relationship, but he always knew there was something about her that he liked. When Zach asked him to help find their son for Kendall’s sake, he knew he couldn’t refuse. She, like Zach said, was his flesh and blood; quite honestly, she was all he really had.
***************
They had spent the night clinging to each other, unwilling to let go of what remained, afraid that the other would somehow disappear as well. Occasionally, the exhaustion would overcome them and one would sleep while the other watched over, but it never lasted for long as the nightmare that was their reality would haunt their dreams as well. He must have dozed off again at some point in the night, because the ringing of the phone on the nightstand startled him. Instantly he was awake, grabbing the phone and speaking his name into it, hoping that whomever was calling had news of their son.
“This is Jared, sir. Sorry to wake you but I thought you should know that some of the sensors at the back of the property are picking up movement.”
Zach quickly turned to find her side of the bed empty, and panic set in once again. He disentangled himself from the sheets and ran to the window which overlooked the back yard, the woods which bordered, and the ocean beyond. There in the distance, in the dim light provided by the half moon, he saw her, running. “I can see that it’s my wife, but thank you for calling.” He hung up the phone as he watched her run, at least until she reached the narrow trail into the woods when she then disappeared from his sight.
***************
When fatigue finally consumed him, she watched him for awhile, studying the contours of his face, the tension still evident although he was sleeping. Even though she hadn’t slept for nearly 48 hours, she was extremely restless and decided that she could no longer just lay there. She carefully slipped from his grasp, slid off the bed and headed towards the closet through the master bath to pull on some clothes and shoes.
Kendall quietly opened their bedroom door and headed for downstairs; that was her intent, at least, until she found herself at the doorway of his room. She pushed the door open and walked towards his crib, hoping that by some miracle of miracles she would find him sleeping soundly. Instead, the moonlight through the window only amplified the desolation and suddenly she felt the need to run; away from this room, away from the memories, as fast and as far away as she could get.
***************
He knew where she was headed, and with the advanced start, he would never catch her on foot. Pulling on a shirt, shorts and his running shoes, he then grabbed his keys from the dresser and decided that he would take the car and beat her to her destination. As he drove the coastal highway in the darkness, his mind flashed back to the image of her. He had seen her walk at a fast pace, even jog, but never had he seen her run like this before; running like she was trying to get away from someone or something, or perhaps she was running after someone instead.
***************
She could barely see the trail in the darkness before her, only the occasional beam of moonlight made its way through the trees to light the way. Luckily she knew it by heart, but even then she would trip over some of the downed branches which crossed the trail or would veer off the path just enough to be struck by the occasional limb. Although her lungs were burning as she gasped for air, she wouldn’t slow her pace, determined to escape the voices in her head. “Is he hungry or crying? Is he wanting us to hold him, wondering where we have gone? Does he know how much we love him? Does he know that we would do anything for him? Will we ever see him again?”
The tears welled in her eyes, making the trail in the virtual darkness even more impossible to see. But with the light in front of her she knew that she was reaching the trail’s end and soon it would bring her out to the rocky cliffs which met the ocean below. She broke through the trees, into the full light of the moon, the roar of the ocean crashing on the rocks further down, and for a split second, part of her wanted to continue running to the edge and beyond, to rid herself of the pain of losing her son. Her screams echoed in her head, his angelic face flashed in her mind as she no longer wanted to feel the despair that consumed her. Her pace quickened as she approached the edge when his voice interrupted her thoughts. “I need you to believe that we will soon have our little boy home… I need you to believe for me.”
***************
He made quick time of the few miles down the coastal highway where he reached the turnoff, an overlook at the ocean’s edge where the woods ended. He knew it wasn’t possible for her to have made it here yet, even in the light of day the three miles on the trail took longer than fifteen minutes. She should be arriving soon, especially if she continued at the pace she was going, but just in case he had the security guard keeping watch at the other end in the event that she double backed home due to the darkness.
Kendall found the trail which led to this spot not too long after they moved into their home and almost instantly it became her therapy. Once, when they had disagreed over something not so important, he made the mistake of following her to this place which only seemed to anger her more. “This is my place,” she told him. “The journey here and the journey home helps me to clear my head, to get out my frustrations, and return home to you. And I promise, I will always come home to you and Spike.” But the way she was running, the pace of it, combined with the fact that Spike wasn’t there to return home to, he wondered if she intended to come home. He wondered if his love would be enough to bring her back to him.
He shut off the engine, leaving the headlights shining towards the path into the woods some 80 yards away. Before exiting the car, he leaned over to the glove box and popped it open to pull a small flashlight from it. When he arose, he caught a glimpse of her in the headlights, still running at an unimaginable pace. She didn’t seem to notice the headlights shining on her as she continued to race towards the cliff’s edge. “Oh, God! Kendall!”
Zach bolted from the vehicle, and began to run towards her as he pleaded with God in his head to stop her, to not let her do this. “Kendall!” he screamed to her, “Kendall!” But the ocean was in a fury and the waves crashing on the rocks at the base of the cliffs, along with the wind, drowned out his words, even to his own ears. He watched helplessly, knowing he wouldn’t reach her in time as she approached the edge and feared witnessing her leap into the ocean below. He screamed her name one last time and without warning she collapsed to the ground on her hands and knees, the edge just within reach.
Finally, he had made it to her side as she buried her face in her hands, her forehead resting on the grass beneath her. He knelt beside her, taking her shoulders in his hands as he pulled her towards himself, holding her as tight as possible, unwilling to release her. “You promised to always come home,” he whispered into her ear as he fought the tears and tried to hide the tremor in his voice. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
She sat up to face him, the tears now mixed with sweat as it beaded upon her skin. He reached for her face, gently wiping the moisture from beneath her eye with his thumb before she covered his hand with her own. “You promised to bring Spike home,” now raising her eyes to meet his. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
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kzinlove06
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(8/1/06 2:40 pm)
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Re: Do No Harm ~~ Zach & Kendall Centric
Chapter 5 ~~
“Come work with me, Josh; unlimited budget, cutting-edge technology. Come, work with me. This is all going to be yours someday, anyway.”
His eyes shot open, trying to focus in the darkness of the room to assure himself that his nightmare wasn’t real. His breathing was still rapid as a result of the terror in his head and when he shifted a bit trying to get comfortable he realized that the air conditioner combined with his sweat had made the sheets cold and damp. Josh rose to sit on the edge of the bed, a glance of the clock showing him that is was just a little past 4:00 am. But when he closed his eyes momentarily, the images from his nightmare returned. There was a room full of women, their bellies in the various stages of pregnancy, and in the corner of the room was his father, smug and proud, admiring his handwork.
A sickness rose high into his throat as he unsuccessfully tried to push the image from his mind. He quickly ran to the bathroom and turned on the faucet, hoping that the cold water he splashed upon his face would help to abate the nausea. “What is it going to take to make this stop?” Somehow he knew he would never escape his father’s actions, especially since he was still out there, somewhere, perhaps still providing his “services” to hundreds of unsuspecting women.
He grabbed a towel to wipe his face dry, and afterwards he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. There was no doubt that he resembled his mother, the great Erica Kane. Her genes had definitely won the battle as there wasn’t a bit of Martin in his appearance. He could always go by that name instead --- Dr. Josh Martin. But no matter how much he looked like his mother, or even if he changed his last name to match his father’s, he would forever be regarded as Greg Madden’s son; a title which no matter how hard he fought against it, he would never be able to run from.
Soon his thoughts turned to Spike and how his future might be, especially here in Pine Valley as it was the kind of town where memories were long. No matter how great the Slater family would be, no matter how many father/son events Spike and Zach participated in, society would never allow Zach Slater to be his one and only father. There would forever be someone willing to remind him that his father wasn’t the one who raised him and loved him and cared for him. As long as Greg Madden was alive, there would always be someone willing to remind Spike that his “real” father was a sadistic freak who gave him life.
His thoughts caused the nausea to return and once again he was splashing cool water upon his face. Although it was several hours before he was to meet Zach, he decided he might as well head to the casino. Odds were that if he wasn’t sleeping because of this whole mess, then Slater wasn’t as well. “Shit. Would Kendall be there as well?”. Admittedly, the thought of seeing her worried him, after all it was Zach who had asked for his help, not his sister. She might very well lay eyes upon him and decide to tell him to f*ck off for all he knew. Josh hadn’t given her any reasons to trust him, and for all she knew he could be very much a part of this plot, serving up a wild goose chase to keep them off the trail of the good doctor.
He could only hope at this point, that somehow she would see him befitting her trust.
***************
When she opened the shower door to grab her towel, she found him leaning against the counter with a glass of juice in one hand and what she could only imagine was some kind of medication in the fist of the other. She did her best to ignore him and went about her business of drying herself before wrapping the towel around her.
“You need sleep, Kendall. I think you will feel better if you take a couple of these.”
Finally, she looked at him with weary eyes, one half of her wanting to oblige him while the other knowing that it wasn’t the solution. “I don’t want them, Zach, because it’s a slippery slope. If I take those today, then tomorrow, and the day after that…. What happens a month from now if Spike is still not home? How much of that do I take to help me deal with it then?” He knew she was absolutely right. No pill would take away the heartache she felt -- that either of them felt. He walked to the toilet, threw the pills into the bowl and flushed them down, effectively ending the conversation.
He crossed the room back to where she stood, pulling her into his embrace, holding her tightly to him. “Why don’t you get out of the house, at least?” he whispered. “I think it would help… change of scenery and all.”
“I’m not sure I really want to be around people either, Zach.” She pulled away from him and headed into the closet, searching for something to wear, something that was as un-fabulous as she felt.
“Come to the casino with me. Hide out in the office.” Still there was no response from her, so he followed her to the closet doorway, leaning against the jamb, unwilling to let this conversation go. He needed to get her away from this house, a break from the constant reminders of Spike even if it was just for a few hours. “I’m hoping there will be some new information from the investigators. I need you to be my second set of eyes. Maybe you’ll find something that we’ve all been missing.”
***************
She was standing in front of the desk, sorting through the stack of printed pages and corresponding photos strewn about it, everything seemingly leading to another dead end. “Zach was wrong. I’m absolutely no help.” From the reports, it would seem Greg Madden had simply fallen off the face of the earth along with their son. Her eyes traveled to the frame placed at the corner of his desk, a picture of the three of them sitting in their oversized chair, taken by Bianca during a recent visit. Even here at the casino, she was unable to escape the memories.
He opened the door to the office. “Shit. Here she is. Where’s Slater when I need him as a buffer?”. Her appearance surprised him, probably as much as his being here surprised her. She looked tired, frail, which was to be expected under the circumstances, but more than that she appeared as if she’d almost given up. This was not the Kendall that Pine Valley knew. She was wearing plain khaki pants, a simple white tank top and flip flops, which were in sharp contrast to her designer dresses and trademark stilettos. But that wasn’t the only striking difference. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she wore very little makeup and no jewelry. Even the large diamond which was always worn on her ring finger was missing; only the simple band remained and was now her only adornment.
Kendall was surprised to see not Zach, but Josh, standing in the doorway. “What the hell is he doing here? I can’t deal with this now. No people, I specifically said no people. Where is Zach when I need him?”. She hadn’t seen him in months and quite honestly wouldn’t even know he was still in Pine Valley if it weren’t for the fact that he’d been spotted at the casino bar on occasion. From the look on his face, it was apparent that he had heard the news, that the man who had stolen him from another had now done the same with her son as well.
“I‘m ready. Come on, Kendall, tell me to f*ck off. You‘ll feel better and I deserve it.”. Josh kept waiting for her to say something, anything, as the perplexed look upon her face seemed to indicate she had a million questions and absolutely no answers. He turned to glance down the hall, hoping by some chance that Zach would be there soon to save them both from this awkward silence. No such luck. “I’m sorry if I startled you, Kendall. I saw Zach downstairs and he asked me to wait for him here.” He paused a moment, expecting some kind of response before he continued to slowly walk towards her. “Kendall, I’m so very sorry that...” The words had barely escaped his mouth when she diverted her eyes away from his, choosing instead to turn her back to him as she pretended to return her focus to the items laying upon the desk.
“Why didn’t I try in the past? She was nothing but kind to me and yet I pushed her away as if she were Erica.” He knew saying that he was sorry by no means helped her pain and she had every right to turn her back on him. She needed comfort and he felt unable to find the words which would do that. It seemed to be too little, too late. What his heart really wanted was for him to be her brother right now, to be the kind of sibling she so deserved to have, to take her into his arms and swear vengeance against anyone who harmed her, even if it was against the same man who raised him and claimed to love him.
“Why didn’t I try harder with him once Erica finally told him that he was a Kane? I should have been there for him, to help him.” She stared at the papers in front of her, trying to blink back the tears in her eyes, the emotions starting to swell inside of her. The last thing she wanted was for anyone, especially him, to see her this way. Kendall knew the past couple of months he was hurt and confused and unable to trust those closest to him. She knew all the emotions he was feeling, she knew his pain. She had been through all the same trauma when everything that she thought she knew about herself was suddenly a lie. Yes, she had offered him support, a half-hearted attempt at best before she went about her business, living her happy life, with her happy family, leaving him to drown in a sea of misery. She was ashamed of her actions, or really, her lack thereof, and now he was here, showing her kindness and it was almost more than she could bear.
She wrapped her arms around her middle, thinking that if she squeezed hard enough she would be able to stop her body from shaking as the sadness and regret overtook her, the tears once again streaming uncontrollably down her face as her body was rocked by her sobs.
“Kendall,” softening his words as he walked closer to her. “God. What did I do to her?” He saw her body convulsing as she was suddenly falling apart in front of his eyes. “I realize that I shut you out of my life, but I hope you will let me into yours.” He continued walking towards her, stealing yet another glance behind him hoping for Zach to appear in the doorway. Realizing that this was his problem to solve, he knew what had to be said. He needed to tell her exactly how he felt and if she kicked him out of this office and out of her life, so be it.
“I’m so sorry, Kendall. I want to help. I need to help.” Standing close enough to reach her, he wanted nothing more than to touch her, somehow hoping it would signal that in addition to Zach and Bianca, she could count on him for anything. “I want you to know that I will do anything… anything to bring my nephew home to you.”
The burden of guilt was already heavy upon her, and when she heard him refer to Spike as his “nephew” it was as if it all came crashing down with the heft of a thousand tons. She placed her hands on the edge of the desk, trying to defray the amount of weight supported by her legs when her body gave way, her knees buckling under her. She would have fallen into a heap upon the floor if it hadn’t been that Josh caught her before she crashed, his arms wrapped completely around her.
He slowly lowered both of them to the floor, where he pulled her head to his chest as he instinctively began to rock back and forth, softly shushing her when he wasn’t whispering what he hoped to be words of comfort. When she reached for his arm grasping the sleeve of his shirt, he pulled her closer as she continued to cry, his shirt now damp with her tears. He was obviously the final straw, the emotional stress too great when added to her already weakened state. When the sobs ended, he continued rocking them until he felt her body relax and she finally succumbed to the exhaustion.
***************
He led the way to their private suite as Josh followed, carrying a still sleeping Kendall in his arms. Zach had offered to carry her, not wanting to wake her, and not certain if he would have been able to anyway. But Josh insisted, saying that the less jostling, the more likely she would stay asleep.
At first it was an odd sight to see this man carrying his wife, and he needed to keep reminding himself that he was, in fact, her brother. Occasionally Zach would glance back at them and with each passing glance he became more and more relieved that Josh had decided to be the kind of brother she so deserved.
For most of his life, Zach had been an island unto himself, requiring no constant companionship, no confidants. But despite what Kendall may lead others to believe, she very much the opposite; she needed to feel love, not from Zach alone, but from all of those she loved as well. She could always use another person in her corner, and seeing Josh carrying his sleeping sister through the halls of the hotel proved to Zach that he at least appeared to be worthy of her love.
He opened the door to the suite and held the door open for them while silently directing them to the bedroom. Zach followed along after quietly closing the door behind them, arriving at just the right time to witness another moment of kindness. As arrogant and egotistical this man had acted in the past, and may continue to act around others in public, Zach was glad to have been given a glimpse of what he hoped was Josh’s true self.
He held his breath, hoping he would not wake her as he laid down upon the bed. He lightly brushed the stray curls which dangled over her face, tucking them behind her ear when she stirred a bit. Instinctively, Josh laid a hand upon her shoulder hoping it would still her motion. He then noticed Zach standing in the doorway of the room, and he stepped away from her, somewhat embarrassed to show a softer side in front of another man. He nervously rubbed his hands together before spotting the throw at the end of the bed. He grabbed one corner and suddenly realized that Zach had the other corner, his intent obviously being the same. Josh released his hold and silently raised his hand apologetically and decided to leave the job of tucking her in to her husband.
Zach unfolded the throw and lightly covered her, carefully tucking it in around her feet after removing her shoes. He gently kissed her head and softly brushed her cheek with the back of his hand, lingering to watch her for a moment, her slow rhythmic breathing signaling a deep sleep. Hopefully she would find peace in her dreams, a well deserved break from the hell that was their reality.
He pulled the door closed behind him and crossed the room to the phone on the bar, taking a moment to order room service. After hanging up the phone he returned his focus to the stack of reports he carried with them and began laying them out upon the coffee table. “Have a seat. Breakfast is on its way.”
He was unsure if should stay, his presence earlier obviously upsetting for Kendall. “I’ll help you if I can, Slater, but I really don’t know that I should stay. I wouldn’t want Kendall to…” his words trailed off as he looked towards the closed door of the bedroom. “I mean she was pretty upset and I hadn’t even said anything before she started crying.”
Zach place a heavy hand upon Josh’s shoulder and once again directed him to the sofa. “It’s not just you, it’s everything. Combine that with the fact she hasn’t slept since Spike was taken and Ryan was murdered… well, it was bound to happen sometime.”
“Ryan. Shit.” He settled into the sofa and wondered how he had completely forgotten about Ryan being murdered. “Was she there? I mean, did she see what happened to him?” His thoughts returned to his first stint in emergency medicine, how the faces of the trauma patients used to haunt his dreams. And those were people whose names he didn’t even know.
“Yeah. It was pretty gruesome. I’ve see quite a bit over the years, murders, suicides, a lot happens in Vegas hotels. But I have to say that even this bothered me. Probably because it wasn’t some random gambler, this was someone I knew. Even worse for Kendall, it was someone she loved once upon a time and believed to be the father of her child.” In an instant, he was taken back to that moment and the sound of his wife’s screams echoing throughout the parking garage. He shook his head, before rubbing his brow, trying his best to will the silence to return.
***************
They had spent the last four hours going over all the investigative reports, considering each and every detail. Greg Madden had fourteen clinics, located in various cities the world over including London, Geneva, Sydney and New York, all of which Josh was familiar with. The private island, however, came as a complete shock. He had heard rumor of it, hospital whispers of sorts, but never really believed it was real until Zach told him that not only had Kendall been there, but he had as well, twice.
The island had since been cleared out, all the expectant mothers most likely moved to another undisclosed location as opposed to returning to their normal everyday lives. While finding where these women were sent may not lead them directly to Madden, perhaps it was a location where he felt it safe enough to hide some of his personal information. But unfortunately, there were no leads on possible locations, so this had become another dead end.
Zach then turned his focus to the crime scene. “Now, Greg obviously had someone helping him if Ryan was shot in the back while facing him. The security tapes from the parking garage were of no help. So, who can you think of that would have helped him? What about that nurse of his?”
“Hazel?” Josh said incredulously. “No way. Hazel wouldn’t be a part of anything like that.”
“Have you talked to her? Where has she been working since Greg supposedly left town in May?” Zach studied his expression as he took another drink of his coffee.
“I don’t know. I’m not sure she’s still in Pine Valley. But it doesn’t matter. Hazel didn’t have anything to do with this.” Josh felt as if he was trying to convince himself even more than he was trying to convince Slater. Just a week ago he wouldn’t have believed that Greg was capable of murder and kidnapping, but obviously, he was.
“No. She may not have had anything to do with it, but perhaps she knows where Greg is hiding now.” He picked his cell phone up from the table and dialed his lead investigator. “Slater…. Yeah. I need you to track down Madden’s nurse, Hazel….” Zach looked to Josh when he realized he didn’t know her last name.
Even though he knew Zach was waiting for an answer, Josh decided to take pause, not wanting to believe that she would be part of any of Greg’s misdeeds. A stern look from Slater and he knew he’d better cooperate. “Johnson. Hazel Johnson.” He felt the sickness rising again in his throat as he heard Zach repeat his words to the investigator.
“There‘s no stopping this now.” He leaned over, resting his head in his hands as he silently prayed that her hands were clean. If she were part of this it would be as if both parents betrayed him, because after Emily died, Hazel was the closest thing he had to a mother. She sent him care packages when he was away at school, always called him on his birthday, and when he was in town she always had a hug for him the moment he walked through the door. “Surely she didn’t have anything to do with this.” Or at least he hoped not.
Zach closed his phone and tossed it back upon the table. “Well, we’ll see if Hazel leads us anywhere. But there has to be something we’re missing. It has to be here, we’re just not seeing it.” He began shuffling through the photos again, thinking that there had to be a clue within them. “The key is going to be the private clinic. If we can find it, I’m sure it will lead us to Greg.”
“Mountains.” Her voice startled them as it broke the silence, neither of them having realized she was standing in the bedroom doorway. “I remember something about a place in the mountains.”
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