Part 10.


"Can I use your phone?," Jill asked, as she picked up her beeper, "I'm on call tonight."

"Go ahead," Max offered, rising to her feet, as she wondered where Kenny was, "I'll be back in a minute."

Jill punched the numbers in the phone, as Max disappeared into the kitchen, "This is Dr. Brock. Jimmy! Hi. Why are you paging me? What happened now?"

Jill paused as Jimmy rattled off what had just happened, "I'm there now, and we'll meet you at the hospital. Max!"

"What?," she asked, really wishing that she could just crawl into bed, "Jill? Are you okay?"

"Come on, we're going to the hospital. I'll tell you on the way."



"How could this happen?," Skeeter asked, pacing around the waiting the room, "Right outside the station . . ."

Jimmy just shook his head, "I don't know. Everyone is on it, but what the hell do we say to Max? I know the words, but it's Max."

Skeeter nodded, "She's going to be devastated. I know that they haven't been together long, but if he . . . and the baby. What's going on in this town lately?"

"Jill," Jimmy said, turning to the two women who walked into the waiting room, as he gave a pale Max a look over, "Can you find anything out?"

"I'll try," she replied, before turning to Max who hadn't said more then three words on the frantic car ride over, "Sit, relax. It's going to be awhile."

"What happened?," Max finally asked, trying to make sense of it all, "Is he going to be okay?"

"They're doing everything that they can," Skeeter offered, as Jill went to consult, "He has a lot to fight for. Namely you and the baby."

She wrapped her arms around herself, and sunk onto the sofa, "I don't . . . what happened?"

Skeeter and Jimmy exchanged a look before Jimmy sighed, "Okay. Max, as he was leaving tonight, a shot was fired, and it hit Kenny. A car sped off, but I've got everyone on it. They won't get away with this."

Max bit her lip, as she tried not to cry, "Why?"

"We don't know why," Skeeter offered gently, "Wrong place, wrong time, but we'll figure this out. The waiting is the worst part. You know that."

Max nodded, and tried not to picture Kenny slipping away from her. We just figured this out. I don't know how to do this without him, and he'll never know our child. We'll never have a life together. A marriage, she thought a bit startled from that thought, oh why didn't I say yes when he proposed? I love him, and want to have a life together.

"Excuse me," the doctor said, coming back into the room with Jill, "The operation is complete. We removed the bullet, and it ricocheted around, and did some damage to his kidneys. We repaired that, and the internal bleeding. He's going to be soar for a while, but he should be fine in a few weeks. Lots of bed rest."

Max let out a deep breath that she didn't that she was holding, "Really? Can I see him?"

"Are you family?"

"I'm his girlfriend," Max answered softly, just wanting to see for herself that he was okay.

"His pregnant girlfriend," Jill added, "Katelyn, it's okay. His family is in Chicago, and he would want her there."

"Okay. He'll be out of recovery soon, and I'll bring you in."



Max curled up in the chair by Kenny's bed, and watched his chest rise and fall as he slept. Who, she thought, who would do this to him? He wasn't even working. It just happened on his way to the car. Oh, Kenny, you scared me tonight. I'm not ready to say good bye to you yet. We've barely started. Leaning back against the chair again, she continued her vigil.



"We found a grey sedan abandoned by Ferris Rd.," Skeeter confirmed, "And it matches the description of the one pulling out of here last night. It's a rental too, and I just got the rental papers faxed over. Guess who?"

"Is it someone we know?," Jimmy asked, "This isn't going to be good."

"Yes. No. It was rented to a Rachel Harris, and we're running the prints we picked up now. Remember when she wanted to fingerprint the whole town, and she was the first to volunteer? Well, I guess her system is coming in handy now."

"Shit."

"Yeah."

Jimmy sat up straighter, "Is Max still at the hospital? If Rachel's gone crazy I want someone on Kenny's room and with her."

"I'm on it," Skeeter promised, "Do you think this might affect your, uh, problems with Rachel as well?"

Jimmy shook his head, "It certainly puts a different spin on things. Keep this quiet for now, until we know for sure. And put a tail on Rachel."



"Hey," Max said softly, as Kenny cracked his eyes open to look at her, "You had me worried for a while."

"Max," he answered hoarsely, as he came back to reality, "Where am I?"

"Ssh. The hospital," she replied, her relief knowing no bounds, and she wanted to throw her arms around him, "You're okay now."

"What happened? Everything is fuzzy."

"Don't worry about it yet. Just rest for now," she answered, as she took his hand in his, "I love you."

Jill smiled as she joined them, "I'm glad to see that you're awake, you gave everyone quite a scare last night. Especially your girlfriend over here."

"What happened?"

Jill paused, as she exchanged a look with an exhausted looking Max, "You were shot, coming out of the sheriffs station last night."

"I was? I don't remember it. Max? You weren't there, were you? You're not hurt?"

"No. I'm fine," she trailed off, "I promise."

"What's the last thing that you remember?," Jill cut in, "Short term memory loss is common, but what is it?"

"Talking to Littleton," Kenny replied, as his haze began to clear, "Yesterday morning I guess?"

"A few hours then," Jill confirmed, "I want to run a few tests later, so I want you to get some rest. Max, take care of him. I'll be back soon."

"Did you sleep here last night?," Kenny asked, trying to shake off his drowsiness, "That can't be good for the baby."

"Ssh. The baby is fine. I stayed because I needed to be here. Concentrate on yourself for now."

"Max. Do you know who did this?"



"Fingerprints match to Rachel Harris," Skeeter verified, "Enough for a warrant?"

"It's just a car," Jimmy replied, "But we're going to go over it with a fine tooth comb for anything that might link it to Kenny's shooting. That said, I want a tail on Rachel until we know for sure."

"Yeah," Skeeter agreed, "Someone is at the hospital, and I don't think Max is leaving anytime soon. They'll be fine."

"She needs to get some rest, being pregnant and all," Jimmy argued, "She shouldn't over extend herself in that condition."

"Don't tell her that because she'll probably kick you," Skeeter replied with a grin, "We have a team working on the car now, and someone following Rachel. Does she even own a gun?"

"We'll find out, but first I want to hear why her car was abandoned on Ferris Road to begin with, and why she didn't report it as missing."



"Jill, is this really necessary?," Max asked, "I'm not the one who was just shot."

"I want to double check some things after all the stress of last night," Jill countered, "Just lay back and relax. You can go back in a few minutes. Humor me Max."

Max stifled a groan, as she laid back on the table, "Okay, okay."

"Thank you," Jill replied, positioning the sonogram bulb on her friend's stomach, "See look at that. There is the head, and that curve is the body."

"Oh my god," Max whispered, "Wow. It didn't seem real until now. That's really our baby?"

Jill smiled, "Yes . . . Do you want to know the sex?"

Max paused, "No, not yet at least. I want to wait. Is everything okay?"

Jill nodded, "So far, but I want you to eat more. And get some rest because sleeping in the hospital isn't the best idea for a pregnant woman."



"This is ridiculous," Rachel snapped, as Skeeter followed her into the station, "And I don't want your sheriff anywhere near me until we have our case settled."

"Then you'll deal with me," Skeeter agreed, as they filed into the interrogation room, "We found your car out by Ferris Road last nigh, abandoned with the keys in it. Why is that?"

"It broke down," Rachel responded cooly, "I walked back to town because I didn't have a phone."

"What about the keys?"

"I forgot, and I was upset about having to walk five miles home."

"Why haven't you called a tow truck yet?"

"I was going to, but you dragged me down here."

The door opened and Littleton came in, "The report is back Deputy, if you would like to read it before you continue your questioning."

"Sure," he agreed, "I'll be back in a minute Ms. Harris."



"I think the medication is starting to wear off," Kenny said, wincing a bit at the pain in his chest, "You look exhausted sweetheart."

"I'm good, I promise," she countered, stifling a yawn, "You don't look to great yourself."

He reached out for her, "Hey, I just got shot. I have an excuse. Have you heard anything yet?"

Max shook her head, "No. I don't know what is going on."

"I'm so glad that you weren't there last night. I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you, or to our baby. I want you to stay safe."

She smiled at him, "I will. Don't worry about me."

"Max?," he asked, seeing her look away quickly, "What is it?"

She bit her lip, "I don't even know how to say this. Last night, after I heard that you got shot, all I could think was . . . promise you won't laugh."

"Max."

"All I could think was that we had barely gotten started, and that you would never get to know our child. That we would never have a life together . . . or a marriage."

Kenny squeezed her hand in his, as he saw the flush creep up her cheeks, "Hey, I'm not going anywhere and neither are you. You're the most important person in my life Max, and we're going to be together for a long time."

"You're going to make me cry."

"Blame it on the pregnancy," he countered, "And you know I want to get married, to you. You change your mind on that?"



"Interesting," Skeeter mused, studying the preliminary reports in front of him, "Do you think that this will scare her into talking at least?"

"I'd bet on it," Littleton agreed, as he shook his head, "What is wrong with this woman?"

"A lot. You want to come with me?"

He nodded, as the two men filed back into the interrogation room and Rachel snapped, "What now? Can I go? I never shot anyone."

"We weren't talking about a shooting," Skeeter replied calmly, "We were discussing your car, but if you would like to talk about what happened to Kenny last night, we'll be happy to listen."

"You'd like that wouldn't you? Can I get my car back now? I have some appointments."

"Not yet," Littleton cut in, "We've impounded it because it matches the one that fled the scene last night. We even have a witness who can make out part of the plates."

"So? Maybe someone stole my car after I left."

"Then returned it to the exact spot where you left it?"

"I didn't do anything! I wouldn't shoot Kenny! I'm in love with him!"

"Then why is there gun powder residue all over your steering wheel?," Skeeter asked.



Max regarded him carefully before replying, "Things have been so strange between us, since the pregnancy, and I didn't know what I wanted. Marriage . . . the word scares me more then I'd like to admit. My parents, although they're still together, never seemed happy. Like they just stayed together because it was the right thing to do. I think that's why I'm so resistant to marrying you. I mean, getting married because I'm pregnant, is considered the right thing to do. I don't want to end up like them. Am I making any sense?"

Kenny wanted to hug her, and tell her everything would be all right. Ignoring his aches in pain, he tugged on her hand, so she sat down on the edge of the bed, "You are. I don't know what else I can say to convince you. We're not your parents, and we never will be. If I didn't love you, I would have never proposed to you. Max, I want to spend the rest of our lives together. I love the idea of waking up with you every morning. Raising a family together. Hell, I want you, now and forever. I love you sweetheart."

Max fought back her tears, "I was so afraid that I lost you."

"Never," he promised, "Never."

She nodded, as he placed his palm on her stomach, "You really want to do this?"

"Yup," he said, as a knock came at the door, "Oh, hi."


To be continued.