Part 2. This was a great epi. I loved myself some Costas Mandylor back in the day. Yummy, yummy, yummy.


"Rachel? Are you okay?," Jill asked, as he friend came into her office, "Are you sick?"

She shook her head, "No . . . I saw the most awful thing last night. Am I a fool? An old fool, just trying to hang on to my youth?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What do you think I'm talking about. I knew it wouldn't last, I'm twice as old as he is. I just didn't think that he would be over me that fast."

"Are you talking about Kenny? Did you two, um, breakup?"

"Yeah. It wasn't going anywhere. I wasn't someone he wanted to spend his life with. I tried to delude myself that I was. Do you think that he was cheating on me the whole time? Maybe I was just another body in is bed?"

"Rachel," Jill sputtered, "He's not the type to cheat. Did you see him with someone else? Doing, uh, stuff?"

Rachel nodded slowly, "With someone, but they didn't see me. I went over last night, to surprise him. So maybe we could give it a second chance. I put on his favorite outfit, and when I opened the door . . ."

"Then what?"

"He was with Max, and they were most definitely naked."



"Hi again," Kenny whispered in ear at work the next morning, after Father Barrett's gathering, "Hmm. You smell good."

Max smiled, and was grateful for the nearly empty office, "Hi yourself."

"You ready for tonight?"

"Tonight? Where are you taking me tonight?"

"I want to surprise you."

"Really?," Max replied, with a sly smile, "I like the sound of that. Is there a dress code for this evening?"

Kenny grinned back at her, and wanted nothing more to kiss her at that moment, "Yeah. Why don't you put on one of those little dresses that you have? Something that shows some leg?"

Max bit her tongue at the teasing glint in his eye, "Some leg? I guess that rules out the long underwear."

"It's not that cold anymore, it's May."

"There is still snow out there. I'm starting to think that it will never melt."

"What's going on over here?," Littleton asked, joining them, "I was expecting to see you two in my office five minutes ago."

"Sorry," Kenny replied, as he watched Max suppress a grin, "We were on our way."



"What?," Jill gasped, "You're kidding right? Kenny and Max? That isn't possible, I mean they work together. They're friends. They wouldn't be together that way. Last night, or ever. I just can't picture it."

"Well I can," Rachel replied bitterly, "More then I want to. And they seemed pretty well invested in each other. They couldn't even keep their hands off of each other before they went into the bedroom. Right on the floor Jill. How long do you think that it has been going on for?"

"I don't know. I just can't believe it. What are you going to do?"

"It was over, and maybe it was stupid of me to go back on more time. It still hurts though. I don't know what to say to them. Especially if it's been going on for awhile."

"It couldn't have been. Kenny is a good guy, and I don't think that his conscious could handle it. Maybe it's a rebound thing. Max hasn't seriously dated anyone since Danny, and he just broke up with you . . . maybe it just happened?"

Rachel sighed, "I'm not sure I want to know."



"So that about covers it," Littleton summed up, "Anything else?"

"I've got nothing," Kenny replied, glancing over at Max across the room. Shit she's pretty, he thought, no it's more then that. Hell, she's beautiful. And intelligent, funny, strong, and sexy. How am I supposed to keep my hands off of her for the rest of the day?

"I'm good," Max agreed, feeling Kenny's eyes on her. Oh I want him to touch me right now. Well maybe not with all of these people around, she thought, but later. What are we supposed to do on patrol?


"I've got to talk to you," Jill said, closing the door behind her, "I just had the weirdest conversation with Rachel."

"Rachel," Jimmy repeated, trying not to groan, "What now?"

"You know that she and Kenny broke up?"

Jimmy nodded, feeling secretly glad that they had, "Yeah. He doesn't seem to upset about it."

"Apparently not," Jill replied dryly, "She is, and she wanted to make up last night. It didn't go so well."

"Do I really need to hear this?"

"Yes. She went to his apartment, and saw him and Max together."

"Together? So what? They're friends Jill."

"Not like friends Jimmy! Together, like a couple together."

Jimmy sat back, and processed what his wife just told him, "What?"

"She's hurting Jimmy, but is it even possible? Couldn't she be mistaken? They wouldn't do that."

Jimmy gritted his teeth, and glanced at the clock, "They both left for the day, but if they're together, that way, I want to know about it. It opens up a lot that I'm not sure I want in this office."



"You look amazing," Kenny stuttered, drinking her in, "Wow."

Max ducked her head so he wouldn't see her blush, "Is this enough leg for you?"

"There's no such thing as enough leg. You sure you're not going to be cold? I know you like your long underwear."

Max wrapped her arms around his neck, "Won't you keep me warm?"

Kenny bent his head so their foreheads touched, "Do you know how hard it was for me not to touch you all day? Being stuck in that car with you for six hours drove me crazy."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I can't stop thinking about you."

"I've wanted to kiss you all day. And touch you."

He ran his fingers through her hair slowly, "We should probably get going. If we don't . . . I don't think I can handle holding you like this for much longer without doing more."

Max nodded slowly, tempted to just jump into his arms, "Okay."


"Neither one of them is answering their phone," Jimmy confirmed, not liking the sinking feeling in his stomach, "Lets run by both of their places . . . maybe they'll, uh, be there."

"Is this such a bad thing?," Jill asked hesitantly, "Rachel is hurting, a lot. But for the two of them? I just can't picture them that way Jimmy, as a couple."

Jimmy nodded slowly. I can, he thought, thinking of his two young deputies. I should be happy for them, wondering how long this thing between them had been going on for, "Lets go take a drive. Who else knows?"

"Knows what?," Littleton asked, as he came in with Skeeter, "What's going on?"



"Could you check again? It's under Lacos," Kenny asked, trying not to sound exasperated, "For seven?"

"I'm sorry sir, it's not there," the hostess confirmed, "We're full, and it will be a three hour wait if you would like to put your name in."

"Three hours," he repeated, shooting Max a look. I wanted this night to be perfect for her, and now this, "Is there a way we could get in now?"

"Three hours minimum," she repeated.

"Hey," Max interjected, laying her hand on his arm, "We can go. Find another place."

He look over at her, clad in the black halter dress with red piping and wanted nothing more then to sweep her off of her feet, "Are you sure?"

"Positive," she said with a grin, as she squeezed his hand, "Come on."

"I wanted this night to be perfect," Kenny said, as they stepped back outside into the night, "And this is supposed to be the best restaurant in the area."

Max glanced back at the building, "I've heard good stuff about the food, but . . ."

"But what?"

"Look at us,"she continued, "You're wearing a tie, and these heels are killing my feet. Are we trying to impress each other? You know what my idea of the perfect date is?"

"Can it be watching football and drinking beer?"

"Close. Beer is always a good choice, and something simple. Whether it's dinner, a hike in the woods, pizza. You don't have to impress me Kenny, with stuff like this. I know you, and like you for . . . just being you."

He laid both hands on her shoulders, "Well I like you too, and hell I want to impress you. I wanted our first date to be special."

"It is! Because it's us."

Kenny leaned in and kissed her quickly, "You want to go and find something to eat?"



"Do you know what is going on with Kenny and Max?," Jimmy asked.

"Jimmy!," Jill cried.

"What do you mean?," Littleton asked, "They were acting odd this morning."

"How odd?"

"I don't know. Just the way they looked at each other, and they seemed, well, really happy."

"What? You think that they're," Skeeter trailed off, "Didn't he just break up with Rachel?"

"So you both don't know anything," Jimmy stated, "If something is going on, why doesn't anyone know?"

"Maybe you shouldn't jump to conclusions until you know for sure," Littleton replied, "Where did all of this come from?"


"This is amazing," Max groaned, savoring the pizza, "Mmm."

Kenny wrapped his arm around her shoulders, as they settled into the bed of the truck, "It's not the only thing."

Max smiled up at him, "You're sweet."

"No one has ever called me that before," he replied, running his hands up and down her arms, "You're freezing. Here."

Max snuggled into his coat, as she leaned back against him, "That's better. It's a beautiful night."

"Yeah," he agreed, swallowing the last of his pizza, "It's getting to be summer."

"Hmm. The sun," Max replied, "What a concept."

"You've lived here for years. You're not used to the winters yet? Why are we talking about the weather?"

"Nerves maybe? We're on a date Kenny . . . it's kinda weird. Did you ever think that we would be?"

"Did you?"

Max turned to look at him, "I don't know. You know how a first date is supposed to be sort of awkward and stuff? This really isn't. I love feeling your arms around me, and I know I can tell you anything. It's like we're starting on the 10th date."

Kenny paused, and kissed the top of her head, "We're going to take it slowly, right? I know we skipped a few steps, but I don't want to rush. Not with you."

Max pulled back slightly, and tried not to feel offended, "Okay."

Kenny groaned internally, "I don't want to screw this up, like every other one. I want to do this, treat you right."

Max nodded slowly, and sunk back into his arms, "You already do. Slowly is good. What are we going to tell people?"



"Rachel," Skeeter repeated, "Oh shit. Is she sure?"

"Very," Jill confirmed, "And that isn't to leave this room. She doesn't want anyone to know, and they didn't even see her."

"Wow," Littleton added, "I still think we shouldn't jump to any conclusions until we talk to them. Still, it has a lot of potential complications for here."

"I know," Jimmy agreed, "They both have the next two days off. I'm going to try and find both of them tonight, and figure this thing out.



To be continued.