Fraught with tension, Jimmy thought as he observed Max flip through the case file. They had looked around in Gina's past, and they had found nothing to suggest that she had been abuse or raped in any way, but they all knew that meant nothing. Her prints were all over the knife, but they had no motive for her doing this. She had insisted that she had picked up the knife, and collapsed by her husband's body. Deep down Jimmy was proud of his deputy, but he knew that there was nothing to be found on this woman, and he didn't want to let a murderer back out on the streets. He knew that Max didn't want to talk to Gina, but they were running out of options and Georgia was considering subpoenaing her.

Max felt Jimmy watching her from his office, and she had been avoiding him for days. How could one day change everything so much? Going from telling Kenny I'm pregnant, then 24 hours later this. Oh, we're being civil to each other, but we're not saying anything. I would rather pick a fight with him then have this distance. At least I know that we're connecting on some level then. Knowing she couldn't avoid the inevitable, she turned to look at him and he waved her in.

"You have to talk to her," Jimmy said without preamble. "Max, she's going to walk. There is enough reasonable doubt with her statement and lack of motive to sink a ship."

"Okay," Max agreed because she knew that Gina needed help not to be put in prison.

Jimmy was surprised by her easy agreement, anticipating an uphill battle with Max, but he saw the weariness in her face and the careful way she and Kenny had avoided each other at work lately. "Problems at home?"

She shook her head. "It's like we've been ignoring the pink elephant in the room, and we're so damn polite to each other."

Recalling his own fights with Jill, he knew better then to get in the middle of this one. "Talk it out then."

Max nodded, not wanting to get into this again. "We will. With Gina though, I'm not her favorite person at the moment, but it's worth a shot."

So much drama, she thought, walking back to the cell block. It'll keep Pete entertained, Max thought wryly, although if I have to live another day with this wall that Kenny and I've built, I'll scream. We're having a baby, we should be happy right now. Haven't we earned that? Shaking off her moment of self pity, Max ventured to Gina's cell. Seeing the woman curled up in a ball on the cot, Max didn't want to exploit the relationship, but like Jimmy she didn't want to let anyone dangerous back out onto the street. Gina jerked her head up, and her mouth curled back feral expression when she saw her there.

"What do you want?" she sneered, sitting up.

Stay calm, Max told herself. "I thought you might want someone to talk to Gina. You may not trust me, but no one sent me to that group. I went because I was raped and needed help."

"Right," she replied sarcastically. "And you didn't happen to mention you're a cop?"

"That's not what we were there to talk about," Max replied softly. "It didn't matter what my job was, and I know your history Gina. I promised you and everyone else there what we said stayed in that room, and I'm not breaking that promise. Tell them what happened, please, we just what to help you."

"You want to put me in jail."

"No. You need help, and this investigation isn't just going to go away. I've worked with these people for a long time, and I know them. They care about what they do, and the victims in the case. Tell them what happened to you, with Kurt and your family," Max pleaded.

"You won't tell," Gina asked seriously.

Max shook her head. "I keep my word. All of you helped me put my life back together."

She trembled in the cell, and Max ached for her knowing what she went through. Doubt and confusion swam in her eyes, and Max prayed that she was getting through to her. Listening to Gina talk last year, she wanted to do something then, but life just seemed to spin in a different direction. Think like a cop, Max told herself, you've always been good at that. Damn these hormones.

"Gina," she asked tentatively. "Help yourself here."

"I don't want anyone to know," she whimpered, curling back into a ball on the bed. All of Max's prodding couldn't get her to speak again, and she reluctantly went back to tell Jimmy the bad news.

222222222222222

"You want to get something to eat?" Kenny asked a few hours later standing by his truck, both clad in jeans. He wanted nothing more then to hold her then, but for the first time in awhile he didn't know how to approach her. "You're eating for two."

"I'd like that," she said pausing and thinking a second before continuing. "I'm starving. I can't remember the last time we went out."

"We won't be able to in a few months," he replied, trying to lighten the mood.

Max smiled at him, and they slowly closed the distance between them. "Yeah, we'll be surrounded by dirty diapers."

Kenny reached out to brush her hair back, and realized that this was first time in days that they had been this close. "We said that we wouldn't let work effect our personal life."

"We were optimistic," Max replied softly. "We're not going to agree on this, and we both know it. Since when do we agree on anything? I always thought at least half of the time we were fighting anyway. You know how to push my buttons better then anyone."

"You know how to piss me off," Kenny admitted, knowing they were working their way up to the big issue. "This kid… he's getting some stubborn, opinionated parents. He doesn't know what he is in for."

"We keep saying he," Max realized then. "What if he is a she?"

Kenny shrugged. "We'll have to see. Boy, girl, who cares? As long as it's healthy, I'm happy."

"I wouldn't mind it being cute," Max tossed in smiling.

"Well if it looks anything like you, that won't be a problem," Kenny replied. "I wouldn't a mind a little girl who looked like you."

"Well, at least we agree on that," she teased, as some of the recent tension melted.

"We're going to be okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she agreed, as they climbed into his truck. "She shouldn't go to prison, Kenny. She needs help there's something not right with her, more then I know."

"Help her then," Kenny said cautiously. "Max, Honey, give us something to work with here. Anything."

Max nodded, thinking back to the group, and the things they discussed. Looking for a loophole, she knew if anyone was a danger to themselves or anyone else that the counselors could report them. I should have done something earlier, she thought, I should have realized what was going on with her. Knowing that he was waiting for an answer, Max sighed.

"The counselors there have to report if they think if someone is a danger to themselves or anyone else," Max said slowly. "I don't know if Gina still goes to the group, but if she did they could evaluate her and give you her back story."

"You want to go check it out?" he asked.

Max nodded reluctantly, and reached for her phone to call the center. "Let's do this."

222222222222222222222222

"It's so good to see you again," Jen Davis said as Max and Kenny walked into the lobby. "You look wonderful."

"Thanks," Max replied, feeling guilty about being here. "It feels good to back as a visitor though."

"I was surprised to hear from you, and who is this?" Jen asked.

Max felt Kenny's arm tighten around her waist, and he knew how nervous she was. "Jen, this is my husband Kenny. Kenny this is Jen, one of the counselors here."

"What brings you back here?" she asked, "It's been over a year."
"I know," Max replied. "But I need to tell you something and ask for a favor. Did you hear about Gina?"

"Gina," Jen replied. "She hasn't been in to see me for a few weeks. Something about a vacation I believe."

"She's in jail," Max said. "It's probably not the vacation she had planned, but Jen she's not saying anything. She killed someone, and there is enough physical evidence there to link her to it. She won't talk to me, but she needs someone. I for one don't think she should be back out in society without some kind of help, but getting a life sentence to prison isn't going to provide that."
"How do you know all this?" Jen asked carefully, watching the two people in front of her.

Max and Kenny exchanged a look before he responded. "I work for the Rome Sheriffs Department, and my wife stopped by that day as we were bringing her in."

Max could have kicked him for omitting the rest of it, but it was too late now. Go with it, she thought, noting how he was avoiding looking at her.

"You're married to a cop," Jen asked surprised. "You never mentioned that."

"Oh, it's a recent event," Max said truthfully. "We've been friends for years, and we decided it was time to take the next step."

"You think Gina's dangerous," Jen asked. "If she killed this man, I have to agree with you. I'll evaluate her, and let the police know what I think. I know she's had a tough time, and I don't want her to be kicked around by the judicial system again."

Max felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "Jen. I know they would appreciate all the help they can get. And she trusts you."

222222222222222222222222

"What did she mean kicked around by the judicial system?" Kenny asked, as the exited the building. "Or is that one of those things that you can't talk about?"

"You think I feel good about that?" she asked. "I can't keep doing this with you."

"Hey, she let it slip, not you," Kenny replied, seeing that Max was gearing up to fight.

Max paused for a second. "She also said man. We didn't tell her that Gina killed a man, we said person. I guess it's a reasonable assumption, but we're talking about a Rome Wisconsin murder. I can't think of one time where anything reasonable happened."

"True," he said. "She's going to find out you're a cop to at some point. Later would be better."

"We probably should have been upfront with that," Max replied knowing why he kept her from saying it. "I'll just duck in back when she shows up."

"Hey, you were great in there," Kenny said honestly, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "I know this is eating you up inside, but you gotta know that I love you."

"I love you too," she replied softly. "A year ago I'd be after this woman like a pit bull, but Kenny I don't feel right about this. Even what we did in there… these are good people."

"I'm so glad they helped you. I didn't know what to do for you then, or what to say. You still don't talk about it."

"I...It still hurts, I think it always will. You did anything I could have possibly asked for then, and I know I wasn't the easiest person to deal with."

"You still aren't."

"Thanks," she replied sarcastically. "I thought you we're going to feed me after all I'm eating for two."

"You getting those cravings yet? Pickles and ice cream or something like that?"

"If you weren't driving now," Max replied flippantly relieved that they were actually relaxed enough with each other to talk like this.

Stopping at the light, he leaned in and kissed her quickly. "You'd what?"

Grinning wickedly, she whispered in his ear.

2222222222222222222222

"You didn't think that she would tell you," Jill asked Jimmy as he lamented on Max's stubbornness. "She has a point, and I know she feels a lot of gratitude towards those people."

"The woman murdered her husband," Jimmy repeated. "I know where Max is coming from on this, but there is a good chance that Gina Troy is going to walk if we don't have a motive."

"Confidentiality," Jill repeated. "You've wanted me to break it so many times with my patients, and now you're asking the same of you're deputies? You're a stubborn jack ass sometimes, Jimmy, so why doesn't your department just investigate this woman instead of taking the easy way out and having Max roll over on her?"

"We have," Jimmy shot back. "We ran her prints through records, and there is no record of a Gina Troy anywhere. She just didn't exist until now. Her prints aren't on record, and her first appearance on paper was her marriage to Kurt Campbell."

"She could be running from something," Jill interjected. "It sounds like if someone hurt her, she might have been trying to disappear. She probably thinks it's better to sit in jail then to go back."

"I'm not letting her back on the street, and even Max had to agree with that," Jimmy replied, as he snatched up the ringing phone. "Hello?"

"Jimmy," Kenny asked holding Max in his arms after some make up sex. She rested her head on his shoulder, and ran her fingers across his chest.

"What's going on?" Jimmy asked him, mouthing the Kenny to his wife.

Kenny filled him in on their impromptu visit to the counseling center, and Jen's comment about Gina's troubles with the judicial system.

"That's interesting," Jimmy conceded exchanging a look with Jill. "How did your wife take the news?"
"Max? I don't think she felt good about it, but she doesn't want Gina back out there is she's dangerous," Kenny said running his hand through her red hair.

"Has she said anything?"
"No, she's being stubborn about this one," Kenny replied honestly, as Max playfully jabbed him with her elbow. He was just happy to see her with a smile on her face. He rested his hand on her stomach. "We don't agree on it, but Jimmy she is torn up over this. Cut her some slack."

"Is she around? I want to talk to her for a minute," Jimmy asked.

"Hold on," Kenny said, passing the phone to Max. "He wants to talk to you."

"Think if I tell him I'm pregnant, he'll back off a bit?" Max asked, reluctantly taking the phone. "He's not going to tell me anything that I haven't heard this week already."

"We'll have to tell him that eventually, but now probably isn't the best time."

"And it wouldn't make any of this go away," Max replied, uncovering the receiver. "Hi Jimmy."

"Kenny tells me to cut you some slack on this," Jimmy started off. "Any chance that this counselor will turn over her records?"

"I know why you're pushing me on it, and Jen said she'd evaluate and go from there," Max replied. "She doesn't know that I'm a cop, and we didn't tell her, so keep that in mind when she shows up."

"Did she say anything else? What kind of problems with the judicial system did she have?"

Max groaned inwardly. "I'm not sure exactly, it was when she was a kid and she never elaborated on it. Something about a Fort Lauderdale Pier. Shit. I wasn't supposed to say that."

"Is that where she's from?"

Max felt like banging her head on the wall for her slip. All that bravado about keeping it confidential, she thought. Some friend I am. "Well, it's a start at least."

"Did she ever go by another name?" Jimmy asked, now that he got something out of her, he wasn't about to stop.

"Another name? Honestly Jimmy, I don't know," Max said truthfully. "Talk to Jen tomorrow. Or Gina, or Kurt's family. They knew her better then me."

"Apparently not," Jimmy argued. "None of them knew anything about her past, or where she came from. She and Kurt kept to themselves, and didn't go out much."
"Really," Max said doubtfully, sitting up a bit. "That is strange."

Kenny saw the furrowed expression on his wife's face, and he wondered what she was putting together.

"Anything else? From the visit?" Jimmy asked.

"Let me sleep on it," Max replied. "Something isn't adding up for me, and I need to think for awhile." After hanging up, she buried her head in Kenny's chest. "I hate this."

"Fort Lauderdale?" he asked. "It's not like you gave away nuclear codes."

. "Gina and Kurt. Fort Lauderdale. I didn't know she was married, in fact I thought…"

"Max?" he asked carefully. "What are you thinking?"

She shook her head. "I'm not sure, but I think there is a lot that she never said. And her never showing up on paper until she and Kurt got married, no prints, so social security number, nothing."

"You want to talk about it?"

"I'd love to," Max replied truthfully, thinking about all of the cases they had talked their way through. "What I tell you though, does it stay between us? Kenny, I need to talk about this, and I know that it's unfair to ask you to do that."

"I can't do that anymore then you can tell what you learned about her in counseling," Kenny replied holding her close. "We're stuck in this one."

"I feel like a hypocrite. I'm helping a murderer go free," Max replied. "I've been a cop for 10 years, I should know better then to get my emotions involved."

Kenny caught the hitch in her voice, and kissed the top of her head. "You're being human Max, and you'd have to be pretty cold not to have this get to you."

Max leaned up against him, and he wrapped his arms tighter around her. Closing her eyes, she knew that tomorrow she would have to make some pretty big decisions. If Jen refused to release the information about Gina's past, Max felt obligated to. She hated herself for it, but the whole situation was screwed up. Sleep, she thought, it might look better in the morning.

2222222222222222222222

"Hide," Kenny whispered the next morning, catching Max as she rounded the corner. "Your friend just came in."

Catching sight of Jen, Max let him drag her into the coffee room. Not wanting Jen to discover their little deception yet, she watched Kenny close the door behind them.

"She's certainly early," Max said, watching Jimmy lead her back to the cellblock. "I hope she can help."

"What happens when she finds out you're a cop?" Kenny asked. "Think it'll make a difference?"

"Definitely," Max said. "They don't trust them because so many rapists go free. We know how hard it is to make a rape charge stick, even with physical evidence. Kenny?"

"Max," he answered, as he saw that she was debating telling him something or not.

A sharp knock came, and Jimmy came in. "Well, she's talking to her. We'll just have to wait it out. Did either of you find anything on a Gina Troy from Fort Lauderdale?"

Kenny shook his head. "There's not one in the any of the school records, and the only Troy family we found was black."

"What about Campbell?" Max asked suddenly. "We don't know where Kurt came from. Could he be a Florida import too?"

"It's worth a shot," Jimmy said, as Jen came storming out of the cellblock. "I think she knows about you now. I'll be back."

Jimmy led her into his office, and they both knew that they would be getting nothing from her.

2222222222222222222222

Max sat out on the back porch later that night, thinking about what she should do now. The case went to grand jury in two days, and there was still no motive. Reviewing the facts quickly in her mind, they had prints on a knife, Gina kneeling by the body. Her claim to find it that way, but her refusal to cooperate with the police and her erratic behavior. Scrapes on her arms, and skin under Kurt's fingernails, they didn't have the DNA match yet, but Max was pretty sure that they would soon. Tapping the pen against the pad of paper, Max knew there was enough reasonable doubt to have this case kicked out of court. Taking a deep breath, she began to write.

That's where Kenny found her an hour later, with her hand all cramped up from writing down Gina's story. He could see the tear stains on her face when she looked up at him. Tearing the pages from the pad, she folded the bulk in half, and looked at it for a moment.

"I wrote everything that she said in that group down. I know it's just hearsay, but as much as I want to keep the confidentiality of the group, I can't let her go back out on the street. Yeah, it may deter woman from going, but maybe it might cause them to think before they go out and kill someone too," Max said quietly. "There is no right answer here, and maybe getting her committed some place is the right thing for her."

"Max," Kenny began, as she handed him what she had wrote. "You don't have to do this."

"Take it," she insisted. "I just need to be alone for awhile."

Kenny watched her walk back into the house, and heard the front door close as she picked up her keys. He looked at the folded sheets that his wife gave him, and wanted to chase after her. Hearing her car peal out of the driveway, and knowing how she drove, he knew there wasn't much chance of that happening. He settled down on the same step that Max had been sitting on, and unfolded the sheets.