Sequel to Into the Woods…A quick six chapter sequel.

Littleton Home – Oregon

"There is my lovely wife."

Max smiled, leaning back in his arms as he wound them around her. "Hmm, I missed you."

John gave her a long squeeze and kissed her cheek. "It's quiet…where are they?"

"Ssh, if we say their names they'll appear," Max teased, turning to look at him. Almost nine years, she mused, married to this man. I made my choice to commit to being Maxine Littleton, raising my children in this world, defying my father's expectations. Cana Whittaker is dead…this is my pack. John, Kara, Gracie, Noah and Anna. God, they're 16, 10, 7 and 5…I did what I did for them…the pack will never have my children or me. They did do a nice job on Kimberly thought and punishing Kenny for being with her. Smiling up at John, she kissed him for a long moment. "Anna and Noah are in bed. Kara and Gracie are doing homework."

"And you?" he smiled, tilting her face up to his. "How are you, Detective Littleton?"

Three years of being a stay at home mom, Max mused, before heading back to work. John supporting me all the way, telling me he knows me, that I can be a wife, mother and cop all in one. We make it work, the six of us, it's the perfect life here. Maxine Littleton is a role I became…I deserve to be her. "Nothing major. I clocked out at four, took Anna and Noah to swim lessons, Gracie to gymnastics and picked Kara up from soccer. There aren't enough hours in the day."

"My case is wrapping up. I'll be around more."

She held his gaze, loving his attentions and gentle kisses. "I don't hold that against you. I love you."

God, John thought, what she does to me. How did we get to this point…almost 10 years of marriage, four kids, I'm glad she went back to work, as much as she loved being a stay at home mom, it sparked something in her I missed. We're better for it. "I love you too. Ten years this weekend, huh? Are you ready to celebrate?"

"How has it been so long? We're getting old, John."

"You are just as gorgeous as you were when we first met. Even more so," he said, brushing back her long hair. "Is that gray?"

"Stop," she groaned, as he hugged her tightly. "You're the one who is 42."

"You're not too far behind me," he said, pressing his lips to the top of her head. "You and me this weekend? No kids, just me and my lovely wife?"

"Oh, I'm looking forward to that."

"Really, guys?"

John didn't let her go at Kara's sigh. "You should be happy your parents still like each other."

Kara shot him a look. "Mom, can you help me? I need to finish this lab report. Dad, stop kissing Mom, I need her."

"Go," he smiled, letting her go. Still close, he mused, Max and Kara…since she was four. I gave my kid a mom and a family. Max is her mom in every way that matters and never treated her any differently than the other three. "I hope it's an A, Kid."

"Dad, it's always an A," she sighed. "Mom, come on."

She smiled over her shoulder at him. Where I belong. My family. I have it all.

Rome

"Those kids are getting grown up," Jimmy said, looking at the picture of the Littleton kids on Jill's phone. "They seem really happy out there."

"I talk to Max the other day. I think they're very busy, their kids are in a lot of sports, but…Max sounded really good. She and John are going away this weekend to celebrate their 10th anniversary."

"They do look happy," Jimmy admitted, scrolling through the pictures. "It's nice for them to end up like this."

Gracie, Jill thought, looking at her, so very different from Amy and Jacob. Kenny and Kim's twins, the kids who stayed silent for their first year with us. The kids who slowly opened up to the world and are thriving. I wonder if them and Gracie would have been friends…if Kim and Kenny, if none of this happened, I bet Kenny and Max would have loved for their kids to be friends like they were.

Littleton House

Max looked out at the woods beyond their house. Never, she thought, I don't belong there. Even if there is a fully stocked bunker…waiting for me. A place to raise our kids, a safe place to have our pack. Stop it, not again, I'm not Cana. Solomon doesn't control me.

"You're a million miles away."

Max turned away from their bedroom window and smiled at her sweet husband. "It's a beautiful night."

"You're beautiful."

"You make me feel that way."

In little sleep shorts, t-shirt, her long hair loose down her back, radiant, smiling at me, ah, it's gone by so fast. How did I get to be 42, with four kids, us married for almost 10 years, it's crazy, but we have fun. Pulling her back to him. "Want to fool around?"

She kissed him for a long moment. Not the woods. Never the woods. John. My family. Ignore it calling to me. "Why don't you lose your pants?"

"I was thinking," he said, as he kissed her. "What would you think about renewing our vows?"

She broke into a grin at that. "You want to marry me again?"

"We eloped with Kara as our witness when you were seven months pregnant with Gracie."

"Uh, I loved eloping with you. No one saw me ball my eyes out."

"Yeah, Kara thought you were sad, you are a hormonal mess when you're pregnant."

She groaned at that. "I know. I would have had a dozen kids with you if I didn't burst into tears over spatulas and puppies when I was pregnant."

"A dozen, huh? You want to go again?"

"I'm 41, John."

"If you want a dozen we need to get a move on."

"I'm good with our four. No more diapers or midnight feedings."

"Ah, I loved watching you feed our babies. The first time you held Gracie? God, Max, you looked so…you gave me and Kara a family again."

Our wonderful blended family, she thought, the family I never thought I would have…and this was never the one I pictured. My biracial children and black husband. The looks we get, even now, the comments when people hear them call me Mom. I was supposed to marry Kenny, it would have been so much easier if he chose me and not Kim. They would all be alive if he hadn't broken my heart. I love my life as a Littleton…it wasn't what I planned. His and Kim kids with the Brocks. When I go to the woods…they'll be coming with me. No, never the woods. Never again. The pack is gone.

"Honey?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, I zoned out. I don't want to have another baby. I love our family like this. And I will totally marry you again. Us and the kids? Our families?"

Max's parents who have softened a bit at their dark skinned grandchildren, John thought, and her reluctantly accepting them back into her life. My mom who adores her grandchildren with us, who moved to Oregon to be closer to them. "Kara is going to gag when I kiss you. Marry me again, Maxine Littleton."

She kissed him again. Maxine Littleton. Who I am. "Yes, a million times, yes."

Rome

"Morell."

"How are your grandchildren?"

Jimmy looked back at the living room. "They're doing fine. They love school, they've really come out of their shells."

"Something interesting popped up in the case. A DNA match."

"With those kids and their families?"

"Not those kids. With Maxine Littleton and Solomon Whittaker. She submitted one in Oregon to clear a scene and it pinged. Maxine is Solomon Whittaker's daughter."

"What?"

"It's possible she never knew," Morell continued. "Her adoption by the Stewart family, they adopted all their kids from an illegal baby broker, was well buried. We picked up her parents, they're refusing to talk about buying their children."

"Max is that monster's daughter? There is no way…she couldn't have known. She's a police officer, she's a mother…she married Littleton. She isn't…"

"She either knew or she didn't."

"She would have said something."

"I'd like to believe that. I'm heading to Oregon."

"Let me come with you."

Littleton House

"You're already married," Kara stated. "I went to your wedding."

Max looked up from where she was reading with Anna and Noah. "We're doing it again. You were adorable at our first wedding…I want you to be my maid of honor this time around."

"Mom, really?"

"Of course really."

"Are you and Dad going to be all gross and kiss and say how much you love each other and us?"

She smiled at that. "Yup. We may even hug you."

"Mom!"

Gracie giggled as she came out with her dad. "Can I be in the wedding too? I was in Mom's tummy the first time."

John shot his wife a look at that. "I think we can handle all four of you in it. I'm trying to convince your mom to wear a big dress."

"So not a ballgown person."

"Mommy, you'd be a princess," Anna stated. "You'd be so pretty."

"Not as pretty as you, Kiddo," she teased, tugging on her braided hair. "You guys will show me up every time."

"Please, Mom," Kara sighed. "Dad drools over you."

"I got it," John said, as their doorbell rang. "Ballgown, Honey. With lots of jewels and ruffles."

Max bit back a retort at that. Never a ballgown. Simple, easy, like us. Marry John again? I can do that. I can be his bride again. "What about that word, Anna?"

"Honey?" John called. "Can you come here?"

"Mommy, don't go."

"Here," Kara said, taking the book and smiling at her. "I bet you're better than this at me, Anna-Banana."

My kids, she thought, they are pretty great. Pausing in doorway, she caught John's look. "Jimmy. Agent Morrell. Hi."

"I hear you're a detective," Morell said, looking at her.

Max crossed the room to John, relieved when he wrapped his arm around her. "Yeah, I went back to work a few years after I had Anna. Did something happen?"

No way, Jimmy thought, she wasn't a part of this. A cop, wife, mother, I know her, an illegal adoption. This is going to destroy her. But if…she wouldn't have done this. "We need to talk. You submitted a DNA sample?"

"Yeah, the scene was tainted. We all did."

"It pinged," Morell said watching her. Her ease, unassuming, the closeness of her and her husband. "Maxine, it pinged you as Solomon Whittaker's daughter. Cana Whittaker."

She froze in John's arm, clinging to him at that. No one knows. Play it. Feeling him clutch her tightly to him, she struggled to speak. Cana is dead. Shaking her head, she stood there in shock. Let John. He likes to take care of me.

"What?" John said, not letting his shell shocked wife go. "It has to be a mistake. A tainted sample or something. Max isn't…I've met her parents. She isn't related. She isn't."

"The Stewart's bought you, and all your siblings, from a baby broker," Morell said. "It was well hidden."

Max shook her head, wiping her conjured up tears at that. They know. Play the victim. "What?"

"You're Cana Whittaker."

"No."

"You are not Cana Whittaker," John said, tilting her head and forcing her to look at him. "You're not. This is ridiculous. You know her. Max isn't….No."

"My parents bought me?"

"They aren't saying anything. They bought three babies."

She clung to John, playing the shocked vicitim. "How….They never…Oh, God, this isn't….Oh, God."

"How did you end up in Rome?"

"Does she need a lawyer?" John interjected. "Don't say anything, Max."

"Why would she need a lawyer?"

"If she is the daughter of a serial killer, she may need one. Do you think she had something to do with this?"

"Never, no," Max said. "I'm not that monster's…no. Jimmy, I would never do anything to hurt Kim. You were like a father to me."

"Max, shut it," John said. "My wife has nothing else to say without her lawyer."

"John," she started. "I have nothing to hide."

"I know. We're still getting a lawyer. It's not just you."

She nodded, thinking of their kids. Serial killer grandfather…they don't need that. I'll protect them again from it. "Okay."

"Unless you have a warrant, you can leave."

"John, it's okay," Max interjected. "I want to hear what they have to say. How I'm….my parents lied to me my entire life and…no, I can't be…How?"

"It's too much of coincidence that you ended up there with him."

Max shook her head. "I…You recruited me. I'm not…no."

"Max," John said, forcing her to look at him. "We need to talk about this. Now."

She looked at her husband, his love and concern and arm holding her tightly. "I don't need you to coddle me."

"Too bad. A FBI agent comes here and tells us…We need to talk. Now."

She glared at him for a minute before letting him drag her off toward the kitchen. "John."

"Max, what the hell is going on? Stop being so stubborn, if what they're saying is true…I know you weren't involved. I know you. I love you. Honey, look at me, we'll figure it out."

Dumb, she thought, I couldn't get out of submitting that to clear the scene. Dumb, Max, dumb. John is always on my side. I need him on my side. "John, I…I don't know what to believe. My parents, they…they're my parents. They bought me? From a serial killer? What Solomon Whittaker did…that isn't me. That is never me…is it? If he's my…is that in me? Is it in our kids?"

"Look at me," he said. "You are a wonderful mother, a wife I still can't believe is mine some days, a hell of detective, you aren't…Max, you're not talking to Morrell without a lawyer. Not about this. And I'm not your lawyer…I'm way too emotionally invested in you."

She nodded. "They're still here."

"Don't move," John said, not taking his eyes off his shell shocked wife. She didn't know, look at her, she's shaking. "I'll be right back."

Maxx nodded as he walked back to Morrell and Jimmy. The bunker…we'll be safe there. They won't ever find me. No, play along. Be shocked Maxine Littleton…not devoted Cana Whittaker.

"Jimmy," she heard John said, before he shut the door. "You two need to leave. Now."

"She's Cana Whittaker," Morell said. "We need to speak with her."

"She's Max," John stated. "She's in shock. Our kids are here. You know she wasn't a part of that. You need to go."

"She's Cana Whittaker. Her parents aren't talking. Her DNA doesn't lie. Solomon Whittaker lived in those woods and she picked that small town to be a cop in."

"He lived in the woods that was surrounded by a dozen towns like Rome. Even if Max is biologically his, it's a freak thing…listen she's my wife, the mother of my children…I know Max. I would know if she was in some crazy cult. We barely have 10 minutes a day to ourselves. She was pregnant with Gracie when all that happened. You don't get to talk to her without a lawyer. God, she's a cop down to her bones."

Morrell just looked at him. "What if you're wrong? Is that who you want raising your kids?"

"I'm not wrong. You can get out of our house."

Littleton House

"Max?"

She looked up from where she was standing and watching Anna doze off. "I can't."

"They're all conked out. Come here."

She sunk into his waiting arms, forcing herself to turn off her Cana thoughts. "How do I do this to them? They can't know they're related to that monster."

"They're our kids. They have nothing to do with him. They know that they're loved and safe with us. You're not, even if he's you're biological dad, Max, I…it doesn't change who you are."

"I thought my dad was bad enough. Does Jimmy think…he always treated me like a member of his family. I would never…God."

"I love you. I trust you."

He does love me…and I never planned on falling in love with John but I did. He gave me what I wanted to have with Kenny. A loving husband, children, a family…and I'm happy. No one is taking that away from me. "What if…I don't care what most people think. I want our kids to be safe from this."

He squeezed her tighter with that. "They will be. They have us. Come to bed, Honey."

Hotel

"She looked shocked."

"I don't want to believe she knew," Morrell said. "She's a good cop."

"She wouldn't do that to Kim. Kenny vanished …she wouldn't do that to either of them. Jill always thought," Jimmy trailed off. "She thought Kenny and Max would end together. It was a shock when she and John got together. When Kenny started in on wanting to be with her…she's the one who pushed him away."

"Did Max think she and Kenny would end up together before she got together with her husband?"

Jimmy looked up at that. "I'm sure they both had thoughts of it, they were very close. I don't know why they didn't pursue it, and once Max and John started dating, neither of them looked back. They've been married for 10 years, they have four kids, they are both pretty straight-laced…She wouldn't have hurt Kim."

"Even if it meant pursuing a relationship with Kenny?"

"She could have easily ran off with him. He wanted her to."

"It was too late, she was already pregnant with Gracie. She was engaged to John. If she knew she was Cana, if she had a role in this…that makes her very dangerous. We're watching her now."

Littleton Home

Max lay spent in John's arms, feeling safe and content there. They have no proof. Morrell will never catch me. I won't allow him to hurt my family.