Jimmy sat in his Explorer after his confrontation with Pete Hunter, and longed to bang his head on the steering wheel. The young man had all but fallen on his knees and begged for forgiveness. He hadn't wanted to hurt anyone, and it had seemed like a good idea at the time. Jimmy thought back to Kimberly's expression when she had told him about her affair with Kenny, and was utterly shocked and disappointed that his daughter could lie so easily to him about people he considered friends. How she could want to hurt them so badly.

Turning the key in the ignition, he didn't want to go home and talk to her about this. Immediately contrite about his yelling spree with Kenny and Max, he knew he owed them an apology for what he had said. Unable to handle that now too, he began to drive aimlessly around town. I need a drink, he thought. Jimmy felt like he had lost his footing somewhat, and wasn't sure how he should handle the situation at hand. The world didn't seem to make sense anymore, and Jimmy knew he could deal with serial killers more easily then his daughter out right deceiving him. He was also still a little pissed at Max and Kenny for not being straight with him to begin with. With a deep sigh, he headed home to face his wife and daughter.

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"Do you think he believed us?" Max asked tentatively after Jimmy had stormed off. "He looked as mad as I've ever seen him."

"I'm not to sure," Kenny replied. "Who'd want to believe that about their own child? Hell, I don't want to even remember it happened. Max?"

"Yeah," she asked hearing the question in his voice, and seeing the sudden look of apprehension in his eyes. "Kenny, what is it?"

He looked away quickly before turning back to her. "Did you mean it? I mean really, when you said that you believed me? Before and tonight… because honestly I had my doubts that you would."

Max didn't say anything for a moment and she studied her husband thoughtfully, surprised that he would even ask her that. "Because I know you would never hurt me like that. We've been through a lot together Kenny, sometimes I think more then most people. You know I've got trust issues, but never with you."

"I'll never forget the way you looked at me that night… I never want to see that expression again," Kenny said softly. "I thought I'd lost you."

"As you said, we're stuck with each other," Max said with a small smile.

"There are worse people that I could be with," Kenny replied, feeling part of his guilt lift. "I promised myself that I would never hurt you."

"You can't promise that because life doesn't work that way," Max replied honestly. "People hurt each other unintentionally every day."

"Not like that," Kenny argued before caving in as he gazed at his beautiful wife. "You'll never know how much I regret the whole thing."

Max nodded, and held out her hand to him. He grasped in between his, and pulled her tightly against his chest.

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Jimmy paused at his front door, and tried to calm his raging emotions before going into speak to his wife and daughter. Never in his entire existence had he felt more betrayed by anyone at that moment then he did by his daughter. He never would have even considered that she was capable of such treachery, and Jimmy realized that he didn't know who she was anymore. His little girl had grown up into a treacherous woman. Jimmy gathered all of his inner strength, and pushed the door open to silence. Straining, her could hear Jill and Kim's faint voices in the kitchen, and Jimmy was dreading going into face them. For once in his life, he didn't know what to say at all. How does someone call their child a liar that went out to maliciously hurt people like that? Taking one more deep breath, Jimmy made his way into the other room.

Jill looked up and saw her husbands defeated expression and sad eyes. He regarded them both in stone cold silence for a moment before he could even find the words to speak.

"I had an interesting conversation with Pete Hunter," Jimmy said flatly watching Kim's face. "And the man would have given me his left leg if I forgave him for what he had done. For what both of you had done."

Kim blanched at her father's bluntness and struggled to respond. "Dad, I, they're all lying! You've got to believe me!"
"Believe you? I've got three of my deputies telling the exact same story! I know that it wouldn't be that consistent if they were lying about it! What the hell we're you thinking! You don't go out to maliciously hurt and manipulate people like that," Jimmy exploded, not able to control his temper any longer. "Pete was a misdirected dumb ass who had a crush a married woman that you exploited! And that same woman is pregnant, and you go and start necking with him! I thought your mother and I raised you better then that!"

"My mother," Kim spat. "You want to talk about ruining relationships? Weren't you the one that had an affair while you we're still married to Lydia?"

"That was different," Jimmy sputtered. "I was in love with Jill, not Lydia."

"So, I love Kenny," Kim shouted back as Jill stared speechless at the two.

Jimmy fell silent and looked desperately at his wife for guidance in this, and Jill fought to reply. "You love him? Kimberly… It didn't work out then… He's married, and Max is four months pregnant."

"I love him," Kim said firmly, trying to regain her composure. "It's not different from your affair, Dad. You didn't let Lydia stop you from hooking up with Mom. Why should I let Kenny's marriage to Max stop me? He wouldn't have kissed me back if he hadn't felt something."

Jimmy felt trapped, and he knew he sounded like a hypocrite at that moment. He did have an affair 20 years ago, and it resulted in a much happier life then he was living back then. He thought of his two deputies, and the casual loving ease of their marriage and he knew deep down that it was right for them. They couldn't get any happier, and he knew better then anyone how hard they fought to get where they were. Turning back the fire in his daughter's eyes, Jimmy couldn't help but want her to be happy as well.

"You're a beautiful young woman," Jimmy replied carefully. "Kenny would've had to be dead not respond to a beautiful woman kissing him."

"Oh, so now I'm just another whore," Kim snapped. "I'm just following the family example."

"Kimberly, you're not a whore," Jill said gently. "And it was different with your father and me. His and Lydia's marriage was over, at least emotionally, before we ever got involved. Kenny and Max's isn't, and it isn't like you to intentionally hurt someone like this… she almost miscarried her baby over it. Think about it."

Kim stood shakily and grabbed her coat. "I have thought about it. I love him, and I intend to be with him."

Jimmy and Jill watched as Kim stormed out of the house and screeched away in her car.

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"Everything looks fine Mrs. Lacos," Dr. Meadows, Max's OBGYN, said checking the ultrasound results the next morning. "Your almost miscarriage didn't damage the fetus at all, and it's growing at a healthy rate, so you don't have to worry about that."

Max smiled in relief, glad that everything was okay. With the way life had been going, she expected to hear that their baby had two heads or something. Glancing down at her slightly expanded stomach, she was still somewhat in shock that there was a tiny person in there.

"Well, that's good then," Max replied finally. "Is there anything else I should be doing? I know the whole avoid stress thing, but life as been one huge jumble of it."

"Get rid the mess then," Dr. Meadows instructed. "Keep taking your vitamins, sleep, you'll need it in a few months."

"I can handle sleeping," Max said grinning. "The stress though… I think it's getting better."

"Good," she replied, closing her chart. "Go on, get dressed and I'll see you at your next appointment."

Max watched her go, and quickly shed her paper gown. Pulling her jeans up, she inhaled sharply to fasten then. Vowing to but some maternity clothes soon, she pulled on a baggy sweater to hide her waistband. Wandering out into the hospital corridor, she turned a corner and collided with Jill. The two women eyed each other warily for a moment, neither knowing what to say.

"Appointment?" Jill asked finally, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Max replied carefully, knowing that Jill had to know what had gone on last night, and Max really didn't know how she would have reacted to it. Or how she felt about it now.

"Everything still alright?" Jill continued, searching for a conversation topic because she didn't know how to approach Max after the story Jimmy told her last night. Jill still couldn't believe that Kim would do something like that, but after listening to both Kim and Jimmy, Jill felt like she didn't know her daughter anymore.

"So far."

"Kimberly stormed out last night," Jill blurted out. "Jimmy and I have both tried calling her, but she isn't interested in talking to us. Max… We didn't know… Why didn't you guys say anything?"
Max sighed, tired of the topic she wanted to bury forever. "What would we have said? You guys are our friends, we couldn't tell you this. She's your daughter, she has, and should have, priority over us."

"You're defending her?" Jill asked, astounded.

Max shook her head. "Not her actions… I felt like I was dying when I saw them together."

"She says she is in love with him," Jill said carefully. "And intends to be with him. Are you two alright? Really, is everything okay?"

"Yeah. It happened, it's over. We're both moving on, and if Kim is in love with my husband, too bad for her. We're both in it for the long haul," Max replied truthfully. "I want to know though, why is she acting like this now? What brought it on?"

Jill shook her head. "That's what we need to find out."

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Jimmy stared down at the Gina Troy case file on his desk, and pretended to read Georgia's prosecution notes for the trial that started next week. Gina refused to give any information about Jen's involvement in the murder, and adamantly denied that she was any part of it. After matching Jen's blood type to the one found on the body, they tossed her in the cell down the hall from Gina's. He was awaiting Skeeter's arrival with Gina's case file, which they finally had access to because the therapist was the co-murderer in this case. Jimmy turned his head to the window, and stared blankly outside. He wanted to talk to his daughter, but she kept hanging up on him. He also knew he had to talk to Kenny and Max, but Jimmy didn't know what to say to them. He felt like he owed them an apology for Kimberly's actions, but he didn't know how to put it into words. Turning towards the knock on his door, Jimmy swiveled his chair around as Skeeter came in waving a folder stuffed with papers.

"You've got to read this," Skeeter said. "This is Gina/Troy's whole history, most of which we know now, but it is tangible proof. And this disc is saved e-mail files… and from what we've been able to determine there is one referring to Kurt Campbell's murder, with phrases like, the knife slashed through his body like it was made of Jell-O. Maybe Wambaugh will opt for 40 years in prison instead of a life sentence for a deal now."

"Maybe," Jimmy agreed, trying to focus on work instead of his personal problems. "I'll read through it all, and would you get Wambaugh on the phone for me? Oh, and send Max or Kenny in to see me when they get here."

Skeeter didn't want to pry, but to him Jimmy looked somewhat lost to him. Distracted, and like he really wasn't all there. "Uh, Sheriff? Are you alright?"

Jimmy nodded, and reached for the case file, "I'm fine, Deputy. Just go do your job."

Skeeter reluctantly handed him the folder, and wondered if he was actually going to read it. He backed out of Jimmy's office slowly, and went to call Wambaugh.

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"You wanted to see me?" Kenny asked, as he stood in Jimmy's doorway an hour later. "Jimmy?"

Jimmy beckoned him inside, and Kenny shut the door behind him. "Where's Max? I need to talk to the both of you."

"It's her day off, and she had a doctor's appointment," Kenny said carefully, not wanting another explosion after last night. "She needed a break, Jimmy."

"I'm sure she did," Jimmy replied. "I talked to Pete. And to Kim… she ran off and won't talk to Jill or me. She's planning on carrying on the family tradition of breaking up marriages… she told us she was in love with you. And that she's going to follow my example."

Kenny stared at him, and had no response for that.

Jimmy took a deep breath at Kenny's silence before continuing. "I owe you and Max a big apology for the other night… and for Kim's behavior. I don't know what has happened to her."

"You don't owe us an apology," Kenny finally responded. "I hope that Max and me will have the same unconditional devotion to our kid that you showed us last night. Why wouldn't you believe her? She's your daughter… I just want to know why she decided to do this now."

"Don't we all?" Jimmy agreed before pushing the new case information to him, and changing the subject. "Read through this, I think we just nailed our murderer."

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"You're serious? Jen actually sent Gina an email referring to them murdering Kurt," Max asked Kenny that same night as she tried to process this break. "Is it really going to be that easy? Is she really that dumb?"
"Apparently," he said dryly. "You want to hear the rest of it?"
"How much more can there be?"

"Plenty. Kurt wasn't the first person that Jen helped murder. A lot of the abusers and rapists of the women that came to her center were killed," Kenny said, trying to hide his disgust. "And in digging around in her computer files, we found synopses of them all. So far were up over a dozen."

"And no one caught on because it was all confidential information," Max finished for him. seeing where he was heading with this. "Wow."

"We told Gina, and she broke down. God Max, she really thought that Jen did this for her because they were meant to be together. She, he, whatever, would have taken this to the grave with her to protect Jen," Kenny replied, letting some of the venom creep into his voice. "Jill had to sedate her."

"Therapists have a lot of influence over their patients," Max said softly. "And these women were in so much pain… I almost understand how they can be talked into it."

"You're not like them," Kenny insisted seeing a shadow cross over her face.

"I know. I wonder why she didn't try to kill Danny," Max asked thoughtfully. "He raped and killed four women, and me… he seems like the perfect target for her."

"He was locked up. These men got away with it," Kenny said.

"That explains it. I really liked her Kenny, and she helped me a lot, all of those women did. A common bond, you know? Leave it to me to pick the Counseling Center with the killer therapist," Max said sarcastically. "Is this thing going to trial?"

"Yeah, Wambaugh's doing back flips. He still thinks he can win it all," Kenny replied pausing. "I talked to Jimmy too... about Kim. He knows it all, and she ran off."

"Yeah, I saw Jill at the hospital. She apologized for Kimberly's behavior, and they don't know what to do about her."

"Why now?"

"That seems to be the question of the day."

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Kimberly sat in her college apartment, after another day of skipping classes. Her mind raced, and she was afraid to answer the phone and talk to her parents. Everyone had someone, but her. Matthew had a girlfriend, and even Zach thought girls had something to offer besides cooties. Carter and Laurie had begun to date, and all around her people were paired off like it was going out of style. Kenny was the only man that she had ever dated, well almost dated, that ever made her feel like a women. Most of the boys that she knew were just that, boys. She needed a man, and if her Dad could find happiness after destroying a marriage, Kim thought maybe she could too.

Rising from her couch, she went to take a shower before giving him a call. She wanted to make herself all pretty before she invited him over.

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"I intend to prove that my clients had nothing to do with these atrocious murders. Jen Davis is a competent therapist and Gina Troy was a victim of abuse. They were two people deeply in love that stumbled upon a terrible accident, and our Sheriff's department just loves to cry murder every time someone dies in this town," Wambaugh proclaimed in court two weeks later. "Kurt Campbell was killed by someone stronger then two women, and instead of prosecuting my clients, they should be out looking for the real killer."

"The real killers are in the courtroom today," Georgia said rising. "The state intends to prove that Gina Troy and Jen Davis did kill Kurt Campbell, and while the severity of the wounds do look harsh for two women to complete, we have evidence that will show the contrary. This was a malicious and violent death, and not the first that these two ladies had caused."

"First witness," Bone said, as Georgia beckoned Skeeter to the stand. The trial had begun.

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"Thank you Deputy Skeeter," Bone said, as Skeeter stepped down after testifying about finding Gina kneeling over the body. "Next witness."

Jimmy watched the trial began from the back of the courtroom, and he knew Wambaugh was planning on tearing into Max about breaking her confidentiality agreement with the therapy center. He had pulled her aside earlier to warn her about it, and she assured him he could handle it. Looking at the pretty young woman be sworn in, Jimmy hoped that she was right because he knew that pregnant women got a little emotional from time to time. Glancing at her swelling stomach, he couldn't see how the jury couldn't believe her.

"So, you decided to break this agreement because you thought that Gina Troy was a murderer? What gave you the right to make that decision?" Wambaugh demanded, as Max tried to control her anger. "Your department wouldn't have been able to obtain this evidence if you hadn't had to go to rape counseling to begin with! Isn't that right?"

"Objection, he's badgering the witness," Georgia argued.

"Sustained," Bone snapped. "Wambaugh, control yourself."

He merely nodded. "Fine. Would the department not have this evidence without your personal relationship to my clients?"

Max wanted desperately to lie, but responded. "Probably not."

"And you had your doubts about giving Sheriff Brock this information," Wambaugh stated. "Why is that?"

"I… I thought this place helped people, and I didn't want to see Gina get hurt anymore then she had. I promised I'd keep what I learned secret, but she had killed her husband/brother, and no matter how much someone hurts you, murder is never the answer."

"So you lied to these women. Why should we believe that you're telling the truth now?"

"Objection," Georgia called. "Your Honor?"

"Wambaugh," Bone growled.

"No more questions," Wambaugh said returning to his seat.

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"He's trying to make us look like the bad guy, but it's not going to work," Georgia told Jimmy, Kenny, Max and Skeeter, after court ended that day. "We have enough evidence to send them both to prison for their next 50 lifetimes."

"What if it gets thrown out? Wambaugh is gunning for that," Jimmy ventured. "Bone won't give in, and Wambaugh has a point. Without Max's relationships with them, this case would have been over awhile ago."

"He's pushing for a conflict of interest," Georgia replied. "We all know there wasn't one, but it's Wambaugh's one chance to get his clients off. Tomorrow we focus on Jen's computer files. The jury knows Gina's history, so we have to put the final nail in the coffin."

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Jen Davis couldn't believe this was happening, and now Gina wouldn't even talk to her. She tried calling down the cell to her, but Gina just sat there in silence.

"You've got to understand. You're different, I love you," Jen pleaded. "Please Gina, will you just talk to me?"

Jen slammed her hands against the bars, hating everyone for putting her in this place. She had important work to do out there. She had clients that couldn't get away from their abusers, and she had to make them pay for the way they treated their wives. Just like Kurt, and all of the others.

"Gina," she called again. "When we get out of here, we'll be together. I love you, and promise you that."

Jen blamed Max, and she knew that if that woman had never come to her center, this would not be happening. She wanted to wrap her hands around the red head's neck, and choke her. Jen also couldn't believe that she was pregnant, and she didn't understand how she could want to toss her into prison after being so brutally raped herself. Jen vowed that she would make Max pay when she had the chance. As soon as she was free….