Kenny stared at her like he had never seen her before, and he couldn't believe that she had actually said that. Stunned, he couldn't think of a reply, and all he could do was look at her. Her flushed face, the face that he had fallen in love with on day one, and saw the same shock in her eyes as well.

Shit, Max thought, as the words had rolled off of her tongue, shit. "Kenny."

"Don't," he replied lowly, tossing the covers and reaching for a shirt. "Just don't."

"I."

He cut her off again. "Max, I really don't want to hear it!"

She scrambled out of bed, as he headed for the door. "Wait. Please?"

He turned back to look at her, as her words echoed in his mind. "I'm going out for a while. I can't stand to be in the same room with you right now."

Max swallowed, as she choked back the tears that threatened to spill. Oh god, I did that, seeing the torture and pain in his eyes. How could I have said that, or even think it? What is wrong with me?

Kenny watched Max as she tried to collect her thoughts. "Get some sleep, I'll see you later."

Max watched his departing bulk, and she sunk down onto their bed. Closing her eyes at the sound of his pounding and departing footsteps, all she could do was pray that everything would work itself out. Jumping at the slamming door, she wasn't so sure that it was possible.

444444444444

"I'm sorry I didn't come in earlier," Marjorie Parks declared, the next morning. "We went on vacation the next day, and I didn't really think of anything until I saw the news when we got home."

"Where were you vacationing? Siberia?" Skeeter muttered under his breath. "What did you see that night?"

"Well Cynthia and I were walking around the lake, when we saw the boat dock. And there was a white van parked near the boathouse. I remember thinking it was strange because it looked so large and industrial, and not like something someone would be driving for normal life. So I figured that maybe the boathouse was being painted or something."

"Did you get the licence plate?" Jimmy interrupted as she stopped her babbling.

Marjorie shook her head,. "It was one of those weird ones. Not normal, but what is it called? A government plate . . . no . . . A business one? I think that is correct."

"What sort of business?" Skeeter asked. "Anything would help here."

"It started with," Marjorie said softly, thinking. "C. M.H. and then a bunch of numbers."

"Thank you," Jimmy said swiftly. "We've got some work to do."

4444444444444

"Sleep? Right," Max said to herself, wondering where Kenny had spent last night. "Morning, sweetie."

Looking down at Emily's angelic face, Max prayed that she hadn't torn her family apart with one unforgivable, thoughtless remark. She deserves better then that, Max thought, how could I have done this? How could I say that Josh was dead as well? Trying to ignore the gnawing feeling in her gut, she lifted a fussy Emily up into her arms. "Ooh, you're wet."

Stifling a yawn, Max snatched a clean diaper from the bin, as she laid Em down on the changing table. Going through the motions on autopilot, her thoughts returned to her missing son and absent husband. I can't do this by myself, she thought, securing the diaper in place. Come home, Kenny, please, I need you. Hefting a dry and dressed Emily into her arms, she nearly jumped out of her skin when the phone rang.

Please be Kenny, she thought as she snatched in up. "Hello?"

"You've been a bad girl," Danny sneered in way of greeting. "You didn't call off the search."

"Danny," Max replied quietly.

"We gave you two weeks. We have a plan, and it has been difficult to follow with all of these people out there looking for us. Jen and I can't even turn on a television without seeing our faces on it," Danny continued. "We can't go anywhere, so now we have to alter it a bit."

"Alter it?"

"You see, my love," he said, sounding happier then Max had ever heard him. "If you had done what I had asked, even just once, this wouldn't be happening."

"Please Danny," Max begged. "I'll do whatever you want, but please don't hurt Josh. I'm begging you. He's only a child."

"He shouldn't have even been born!" Danny raged, coming out of his happy stupor. "He should have been ours!"

Max heard faint cries in the background that brought relief to her heart. "Is that him? He's still alive?"

"For now," Danny spat. "I can't promise on how much longer. Get rid of the police. And you'll do anything that I ask to have your son returned? Anything? We can work with that, my love, but it is time for me to go."

"Wait!" Damn it, Max thought, listening to the dial tone. Damn it, ten more seconds and they could have had a location. Grabbing the ringing phone again, although she knew who it would be this time. "Hello?"

"We got closer that time," Skeeter said in way of greeting, as he watched the commotion in the office around him. "But the good news is that the signal is still coming from the Green Bay area."

"He said they couldn't go anywhere," Max replied, placing Emily down by her feet.

"And that is something to hold onto," Skeeter continued. "And the fact that Josh was crying in the background. I wish it was a noise other then that, maybe laughter or something."

"Me too," Max said softly, praying it was a hungry or wet cry, and not a stop torturing me one. "Thanks for letting me know."

Skeeter watched as the units mobilized, but held his tongue on Jimmy's orders. "Hang in there, okay? I gotta go."

"Thanks, bye," Max replied, before turning back to Emily. "Oh sweetie, I wish your Dad was here."

4444444444444

"Skeeter," Jimmy called. "You're taking team one in through the construction. Pete and team two are going through the front. Green Bay is meeting us there."

"Okay," Skeeter agreed, as Danny and Max's conversation grated on his nerves. "I really hate that guy."

"Josh is alive," Jimmy said firmly, hoping that it was true. "And if he is there with them, I don't want anything to happen to that child."

"I know," Skeeter nodded. "Are you sure that you don't want to tell Kenny and Max about this? I mean he is their kid . . ."

"I don't want to give them false hope," Jimmy admitted. "And they are the last two people that I want there at the moment. I know them, and they're both way too emotionally invested in this to think about it objectively. That's how it should be too, I'd be more surprised if the two of them weren't a mess over this."

"Yeah," he agreed reluctantly. "I just hope we bring him home to them."

4444444444444

Danny glared at the screaming child, and for once was glad for the sound proof walls of Cornerstones. Why doesn't he just shut up? It's not like I can go out and buy more diapers.

"What do you think she meant by anything?" he asked Jen. "Anything? Hmm."

"I can't believe you still want her," Jen snapped. "After everything that she has put both of us through. For gods sake, Danny, she put you in jail, this place, and stabbed you."

"She is just confused, and I know she loves me. When this is all over we'll be together," Danny declared. "She knows it too."

Jen shot a death glare toward Josh. "Well, they know that the brat is alive now. We've got to get out of this state Danny, or we can't keep him much longer."

"I know, I know, but we can't even get out of Green Bay. They're searching every car that leaves this place now. Shit."

Hearing the sirens wailing, Jen flew to the window as the squad cars surrounded the premises.

4444444444444

"Kenny!" Max practically cried as he came through the front door looking as exhausted as she felt. She bit her tongue as he regarded her silently, and she tried not to grimace at the coldness of his gaze. "Um, I was getting worried."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she replied, not too sure what she should say to him.

"Em asleep?"

"Yeah, morning nap time."

"You look like you could use one too."

"I'm not the only one."

"I've thought of a thousand things to say of you," Kenny began, not moving any closer to her. "Max . . . shit. I don't know where to start."

"I'm so sorry," she practically whispered. "I don't blame you . . . I was so upset and frustrated . . . I know that you would have never allowed anything to happen to Josh."

"I think you did mean it," he countered.

She shook her head. "No."

He ached to touch her. "Max. I wish like hell that I had been up there, and I've run that night over so many times. What I should, could, have done to stop this."

"It's not your fault," she cut in. "It's not."

"Yeah? When our son was being kidnapped, I was downstairs drinking beer and watching football."

Max took a tentative step closer. "How many nights have we put them to bed, then come back down here? This isn't your fault, and I didn't mean to hurt you. I need you, Kenny."

Kenny took a deep breath before replying. "I should have been there."

Oh god, Max thought, as she crossed the rest of the room, I made him feel worse then he already did. He's going to cry, I can't remember the last time that happened. Shit, he's been my rock for the past few weeks and what do I do? I blame him for having Josh kidnapped? What kind of person am I?

"No," she said softly, but firmly, taking his hands in his.

"It happened so fast . . . we got up there less then a minute later," Kenny trailed off. "I should have been able to stop it! I couldn't stop him from hurting you, or from taking our child!"

"From hurting me?"

Kenny shook his head and tried to control his emotions. "When he raped you! I shouldn't have left you that night either."

"Hey," Max said for lack of a better word, shocked that he felt that way. "Kenny."

"I can't protect you, or our family. What good am I?"

"You're wonderful! I don't know what I would do without you! After the rape . . . Kenny, you made me want to live again, instead of hiding out under a rock. We'll find Josh too, and there was no way we could have known what was going to happen."

"Don't you think that he's . . . dead?"

Max shook her head. "I was wrong. Danny called this morning, and Josh was crying in the background."

4444444444444

"Let's go," Skeeter called to his team as the pummeled through the partly constructed building. Shoving the tarps aside, they burst into the empty rooms. "Spread out!"

"I suggest all of you drop your weapons, and let us leave," an unseen calm voice stated.

Skeeter and Kneelson exchanged a glance, as they heard footsteps moving around them and the wail of a child.

"That isn't an option," Skeeter called back.

"Too bad . . . you should have listened when we told you to back off before," another voice called. "Now you're not really leaving us with too many options."

"The building is surrounded, you're not going anywhere," Skeeter replied. "Don't make it worse for you!"

"Look under the tarp deputy!"

Skeeter nodded toward Kneelson, who threw off the canvas tarp to his right. "Crap!"

"I have a remote detonator that'll blow this place up with one push of a button, so I suggest you listen to our demands this time."

4444444444444

"He called," Kenny asked dumbfounded. "After two weeks?"

"Yeah. He said they were altering their plans," Max said softly. "I really don't know what to make of that."

"Are you sure it was Josh?"

"Positive, and Danny confirmed it . . . not that his word means anything."

"I wish I was here for it."

"I gave you every reason to leave," Max replied softly.

Kenny shook his head. "I know how upset and tense you've been."

"So have you, you don't have to hide it from me. You take care of me so well, let me take of you too."

Max saw his brave facades begin to crumble, as she pulled her husband into her arms.

4444444444444

Shit, Skeeter thought, shit. "I doubt you want to blow yourself up as well."

"Drop your weapons! Now! Here is what I want," Danny said calmly emerging from the curtains. "Transportation out of here, and a clear path. If anyone follows us, the child dies."

"No deal," Jimmy replied, coming up behind Skeeter. "You want to go, fine. The child stays here."

"Not good enough, Sheriff," Jen chimed in, gun pointing toward Josh's head. "It's all three of us, or nothing at all."

"I need something to work with," Jimmy replied evenly.

"We tried earlier, but you wouldn't call off the search! We have plans, big plans, for this child. Ones that all of you are making this much more difficult," Danny snapped. "We couldn't get out of this damned state because of you!"

"You have exactly one minute to make up your mind," Jen said calmly, joining him with a fidgeting Josh. "Or this place gets blown up."

Jimmy and Skeeter exchanged a glance, as time ticked away.

4444444444444

"Max, I," Kenny choked out, not wanting to fall apart on her.

"Ssh, it's okay," she whispered, as she held him tighter. "Everything will be okay."

"Last night," he trailed off, as he pulled her down on the couch with him so he could look at her. "All I did was drive around for a while, and thought about you, Josh and Emily . . . Max, the three of you . . . When we got married I didn't think anything could be better then that, after all I got to spend the rest of my life with you. When you told me you were pregnant, as terrifying as it was, and then when they were born . . . I realized that I had everything that I could ever ask for." He absently stroked her hair, the silky strands falling between his fingers, as his other hand intertwined with hers. "I ended up at the park, where I proposed," Kenny continued quietly. "And all I could think of was you giving up on it. I couldn't, . . . I still can't imagine you giving up on anything, and how could you? This is our family, Max, and Josh is our kid. How could you give up on him?"

She lifted her head from his shoulder, and studied his tormented expression before sighing softly. "I don't want to give up. Kenny . . . The thought that Josh might be lost to us forever terrifies me more then anything I ever thought possible. I don't want to believe that he's gone, and I want him here with the three of us. We've had our ups and downs, but . . . I'm scared. Danny and Jen, we don't what they're going to do. It hurts so much to hold onto that hope sometimes."

"That's what they want. For you to give up."

"I know, I know. And I won't."

Kenny tilted her head up, so he could look at her. "I missed you last night, as pissed as I was, I wanted you there."

"I love you," Max said in a ragged whispered, as they lapsed into silence in their dim living room.

4444444444444

"Your minute is up," Danny declared checking his watch. "What's it going to be? The three of us leave, or who we all get well done? Your choice."

"We'll get you a car," Jimmy growled through clenched teeth, hating the fact that Josh was 10 yards from them, and he couldn't do a thing about it.

Danny let a grin creep onto his face, as he nodded. "I thought so. Now all of you get the hell out of here. I want you all at least 100 yards from this building. Except for you, Sheriff. Your buddies here can radio you when our car is ready."

"Go," Jimmy demanded, not taking his glare off of Danny.

"Jimmy," Skeeter interjected, not liking the wave of defeat washing over him. "We can't"

"We don't have choice. Now go."

"Oh there are always choices, Sheriff," Jen drawled. "Some just aren't as pleasant as others."

Jimmy heard the departing foot steps behind him, and the slamming of doors before he replied. "We'll never stop hunting for you."

"Oh you will," Danny countered. "If we ever see a police officer so much as look in our direction, this beautiful child will die. I don't care if it is 10 years from now, but he'll die."

"What do you want?"

"What do I want? I want the life that was stolen from me five years ago! This should be my child, and Maxine should be my wife. She knows that," Danny snapped. "She does!"

"We're just reclaiming what is ours," Jen interjected. "They put us in this hell, and I hope they like theirs."

"Max wants her kid back? And she'll do anything? Send her to me, let us have the life we deserve," Danny demanded.

She'll do it too, Jimmy thought, thinking of the woman that he had known for almost 10 years. Max would walk through fire to get him back, and not really think about the consequences until it was too late. Shit. Shit. Shit.

"That isn't an option," Jimmy finally said evenly, not wanting to have to drag his already fragile deputy and friend to her lunatic ex-boyfriend. "Listen to me, both of you, if anything happens to Josh, and I mean anything, I will personally not stop until your in jail or dead."

"Threats," Jen asked. "I thought that you high morals put you above those."

Jimmy listened as his radio crackled to life. "What? Fine. Stand back. Your car is here."

"Great," Jen chirped, hoisting a squirming Josh up. "Remember, if anyone is following us he dies."

"You made that clear."

"Walk with us," Danny demanded, pointing his pistol at him. "I wouldn't mind getting a shot off at you either. We'll play follow the leader."

Sorry, Jimmy thought, as he led them out onto the driveway where their car waited.

4444444444444

"Door or Emily?" Kenny asked, as a simultaneous wail and knock at the door intruded on their solace.

"Hmm, I think I was sleeping," Max sighed, reluctant to move from where she was. Feeling Kenny's warm body pressed against hers, and sitting there holding each other seemed to block out all of the nasty demons out there.

"Rough night."

"Yeah."

"I haven't changed a diaper in awhile," Kenny commented, untangling himself from her. "If you want to take care of our guests."

"Sure," she agreed, as he pulled her up. "Ah, I'm stiff."

Kissing her quickly on her temple, Kenny tilted her face up. "Lets hope for good news."

Max nodded, as they reluctantly parted at the stairs. Please be good, she prayed, seeing the cruiser in the driveway, oh please be good. Taking a deep breath, she yanked the front door open to reveal a defeated looking Jimmy and Skeeter.

"Hi," she said quietly, searching for any sort of news on their faces, and not liking the information she was getting. "Um, do you want to come in?"

"That'll probably be best," Jimmy said, trying to sound impartial. "Is Kenny around? He needs to hear this too."

"Upstairs," Max trailed off. "Uh, changing a diaper."

"Done," his voice said behind her, as Emily made much happier noises now that she was dry. "What's going on?"

Jimmy studied the young girl in Kenny's arm before saying anything, and silently cursed the fact that he didn't bring her brother home today. He will come home, Jimmy vowed, I won't let him just disappear forever.

"I have some news," he began. "Let's go and have a seat."

4444444444444

"Morons," Jen spat. "Stupid dumb ass. I can't believe they let us walk out of there. Like we were going to blow up that building. With what? Those fake explosives and sparklers from the dollar store?"

"I wonder if he had gotten Max to come to me," Danny mused. "If I pushed him on it more? Anything she says? She could have come away with us."

"Focus Danny," Jen countered, not liking his obsession with his ex-girlfriend. "We're already running behind schedule, and we have people waiting for us."

"I know. I've been waiting for this moment."

4444444444444

"You just let them drive away?" Kenny asked dumbfounded, "Why? How?"

"It was rigged with explosives," Skeeter explained. "Or at least it looked that way."

"Looked that way," Max asked slowly, feeling overjoyed that Josh was alive. "Then what was it?"

"Toys, fireworks," Jimmy confirmed, hating the fact they had been set up. "If we had known . . . They did one hell of a job setting it up."

"Josh . . . He was okay? He wasn't hurt?" Max asked tentatively. "He was okay?"

Jimmy nodded. "Yes. He looked well fed, healthy, and he's fine. He will be fine."

Kenny pulled Max closer to his side, and felt her tremble next to him as he processed the fact that they had been so close to getting him back, but the chance had slipped away. Not again he vowed, never again.

"Now what?" he demanded.

Jimmy and Skeeter exchanged a quick look, as what they had debated about in the car came into both of their thoughts. I hate myself for this, Jimmy thought before he spoke. "He wants you to come to him, Max."

"No," Kenny cut in. "No way, Honey."

Jimmy nodded. "My thoughts exactly."

"But if it gets Josh back safe," Max started.

"Don't be crazy," Skeeter commented. "You of all people know what he is capable of, Max. Think about it."

"Nothing else has worked," she said quietly. "I know Danny's obsession, and it is his weakness. Why not use it?"