Part 11. Thanks for your reviews.


Kenny intertwined his fingers with Max's, as he stared at his parents standing in the doorway, "What are you doing here?"

"Well when we hear that our son got shot we wanted to come make sure he was in one piece," Jeff Lacos replied, "You had us worried. Especially your mother."

"Those are the phone calls that I dread," Mary added, "I was a wreck the whole way here."

"I didn't want to worry you," Kenny offered weakly.

"Who is this?," Mary asked, gesturing to Max, "And what did you do to make her look like she is about to cry?"

Kenny squeezed her hand before replying, "Mom, Dad, this is Max. Um, we work together and stuff, and we're, uh, we started dating a few months ago."

"So you're Max," Mary said with a nod, "Our son has spoke highly of you, but I didn't know that you two were dating. When did this happen?"

"Not too long ago," Max offered, finding her voice, "About three months I suppose, and he isn't making me cry."

"This isn't how I wanted you to meet," Kenny interjected, knowing his parents would have a bad reaction to Max's pregnancy, "I'm fine, really, Mom and Dad. Nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about? We get a call in the middle of the night telling us that our son was shot, and you tell us not to worry?," Jeff asked, "Although I'm sure your girlfriend is taking care of you."

"I"m trying to," Max replied, still reeling from her and Kenny's earlier conversation, "It's great to meet you both though."

Jeff nodded, "How did this happen?"



"What are you talking about?," Rachel asked, looking away from the two men, "I didn't do anything."

"Then explain it,"Littleton replied, "Do you have an alibi for last night?"

"I was walking alone. Of course not."

"No one saw you?," Skeeter asked, "No cars drove by, your neighbors, anybody at all? What time did your car breakdown? What time did you get home? Give us something to go on Rachel."

"I don't want to say anything without a lawyer."



"So they person who shot you is still out there?," Mary asked, "Why?"

"They're looking Mom," Kenny offered, shooting an exhausted looking Max a glance, "Jimmy and everyone won't stop until they get him."

"When are you getting out of the hospital?," Jeff asked.

"In a few days. I'd go now, but Jill won't let me," Kenny replied, "Although I can't wait to get out of here."

"Well you seem to have a willing nurse," Mary added, looking at their intertwined hands, "Although she looks tired herself."

Max bit her tongue at the nurse comment, as Kenny answered, "Yeah, and I don't want her sleeping in that chair again."

"Hey," Max replied, "I don't mind that chair, and I can think of worse places to be."

"It's getting late," Jeff added, "We have a hotel room, and we want you to get some rest."

"We're so glad that you're okay," Mary added, "And Max it was so great to meet you, but I wish it was under better circumstances."

"Me too," Max replied, thinking that they both had the same warmth in them that she loved about Kenny."

"We'll be back tomorrow," Mary promised, glad to see for herself that her son was okay, "Get some rest, both of you."

"They seem nice," Max offered, as his parents departed.

"They are," Kenny agreed, wondering how he was going to tell them that they were going to be grandparents in six months, "I think they liked you too. After all you are my nurse."

Max bit her lip, "Really?"

Kenny pulled her down closer to him, and kissed her softly before replying, "Yeah. You should get going too. It's late, you're pregnant, and it's not a good combination."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

He kissed her again, "Yeah. Go. I love you. I'll see you later."



"You need a lawyer," Skeeter agreed, "I know Wambaugh is handling your lawsuit, and I assume that you'll want him for your attempted murder trial as well. That's just speculation on my part."

"Are you doing all of this just to get your boss out of trouble? It's not going to work."

Littleton shook his head, "Unless you can give us an alibi, it doesn't look good."

"Where is my lawyer?"

Littleton sighed, "He's on his way."



"Excuse me," Mary said, stopping Jill in the hallway, "You're my son's doctor? Kenny Lacos?"

"Yes," Jill replied, "I didn't realize his family was here, or I would have sought you out earlier. Have you seen him?"

"We have," Jeff confirmed, "Is he going to be okay? He says that he is, but we wanted to make sure."

"He's going to be sore for awhile, and I'm not sending him back to work for at least two weeks," Jill said, "He's young, strong, and has everything to live for."

"Ah, yes," Mary replied with a smile, "He seems very taken with his girlfriend, who is lovely by the way."

Jill couldn't help but smile, "They're really happy together. Kenny adores her, he always has."

"He didn't tell us he was seeing anyone."

"It came up suddenly between them, and it took them by surprise," Jill replied truthfully, "And I know that they were trying to figure out exactly what they were doing before they told people. They're still doing that, although with Max being pregnant, it changes things."

"She's pregnant?," Mary choked out, "He got her pregnant?"

"What?," Jeff spat, "He should know better then that! We raised Kenny better then that!"

"Oh, I . . . I figured they probably told you," Jill offered lamely, "It's okay though, and they're both dealing with it."

"Dealing with it? Do you understand what a big deal this is? This is a life long commitment, and one that shouldn't be entered into lightly. He has to marry this girl now, after a relationship of only a few months?," Mary babbled, "Why didn't he say anything before?"

"I'm sure they were going to," Jill offered, "But I take it that you took them by surprise, and Kenny has just been through something traumatic."

"When is the wedding?"



"This is ridiculous," Wambaugh blustered, "My client wouldn't have ever shot anybody, and your accusations are unfounded."

"No they aren't," Littleton replied, passing Wambaugh the report on Rachel's car, "I think we may have something here."

Wambaugh skimmed the report quickly, before tossing it back on table, "Rubbish! Unless you're planning on arresting her now, we're leaving."

Littleton and Skeeter exchanged a look before Skeeter sighed, "Go ahead, but we'll be watching."



"What?," Max said the next morning, as Littleton filled her in on what was going on with Rachel, "You aren't serious. This whole thing is getting carried away."

"I wish I wasn't," Littleton vowed, "We just got a search warrant for her house, and hopefully we'll find a gun. How is Kenny doing by the way?"

"Good, but he's ready to get out of there. He hates hospitals," Max replied, as she buttoned her jeans, "His parents showed up last night."

"Oh, I'm not surprised. Did you two tell them your big news?'

"Not yet."

"I'll keep you updated," Littleton promised, "The good thing that happened was that this postponed Rachel and Jimmy's sexual harassment hearing until further notice."

"Thanks, bye," Max replied, as they hung up.



Shit, Kenny thought, as his parents continued their tirade, "Would you just listen to me?"

"You got a woman pregnant," Mary replied, "What else is there to say? Our priest is going to be so disappointed."

"Is this how we raised you?," Jeff continued, "You were supposed to be a good Catholic Kenny! What happened?"

"Max and me . . . we didn't plan on it," Kenny offered, "But I love her, more then I ever thought I could love anyone. There isn't anyone else that I would rather have a baby, a family, or a life with. We're gonna make this work."

"How do you know that it is even yours?," Mary asked, "Women like that . . . it could belong to anyone."

"Max isn't like that," Kenny snapped.

"What are your intentions toward her and your responsibility?," Jeff asked, "Is she catholic?"

"She isn't," Kenny replied pausing, still feeling stung from his Mom's comment, "We're talking about getting married, but we don't want to rush it."

"You don't want to rush it? You got her pregnant," Mary argued, "It's probably what she wanted all along."

Kenny shook his head, "She was as shocked as I was, neither of us planned on having a baby. Don't judge her. She's wonderful. Give her a chance."

His parents exchanged a look, as Jeff sighed, "I think the four of us need to sit down and talk."



"We found the gun," Skeeter verified, after the search of Rachel's house, "And it's been fired recently. What do you bet the bullet that Jill pulled out of Kenny matches the ones in it?"

"It can't be a coincidence," Jimmy replied, trying to process what was happening, "What happened to her? It can't be just because of a broken relationship . . . I don't get it."

"Neither do I," Skeeter agreed, "We're running ballistics, and should have an answer in a few days."

Jimmy nodded, "Keep the tail on her, and I want to know if she even sneezes. Wambaugh is coming in later, to discuss our options. Keep me updated."

Skeeter nodded, as he left, "Will do."



"Max," Jill called, catching her friend in the hospital hallway, "Wait, I've got to tell you something. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. What's going on?"

"Last night," Jill begin, "I ran into Kenny's parents as they were leaving, and . . ."

"Jill?," Max asked, ignoring the apprehension building in her, "What happened?"

"I told them you were pregnant . . . I figured you two already had, but they didn't take it to well."

"Jill! Of course they didn't! They're strict catholics, and an out of wed lock pregnancy . . . I think it's some sort of sin with them. Shit. Does Kenny know? Do we not get to tell anyone that we're having a baby?"

"Max, I'm sorry," Jill trailed off, "They were here earlier, but I saw them leave."

"Great," Max replied flatly, "Thanks. I'll see you later."

Max walked to rest of the way to Kenny's room slowly, and tried to control her pounding heart. When did life get so complicated, she wondered, and now what? They probably hate me. Pausing, she listened for voices inside, before pushing the door open, "Hi."

"We need to talk," Kenny said, as he sat up a bit, really glad to see her, "I tried to call you, but I guess you left."

"I talked to Jill," Max offered.

"So you know?"

"Yeah. How did they take it?," Max asked, studying his expression carefully, "Not well?"

He paused, not wanting to upset her, "Not really. They want to know what we're going to do."

"Do they hate me?"

"No! Of course not," Kenny replied, not sure if he was lying or not, "Uh, I didn't know what to tell them though. About our, uh, plans."

"Our plans," Max trailed off, thinking of what they had talked about yesterday, "What did you say?"

"Just that we were talking about getting married," Kenny replied, wishing there was something he could do to make this easier for her, for all of them, "And that you were wonderful, and that I love you. Who cares what they think?"

"You do," Max countered, sinking into the chair by the bed, "Is this really worth it? Look at everyone that has gotten hurt because of us. Rachel even shot you over it."

"What?"

"Shit. That's at least the angle that they're working on," Max blurted out, "It's not definite yet."

Kenny regarded her carefully, as he reeled from the new revelation, "She shot me?"

"I don't know," Max trailed off, "I guess we just have to wait."

He reached out for her, and grasped her hand in his, "If it was her . . . you, be careful."

"Ssh, don't worry about me," Max said softly, "I'm okay, and I'm more worried about you."

"I want you," he blurted out, "All of you. I don't want anything to happen to you, and to hell with anyone else. Marry me Max. Not for my parents, our friends, our baby, but for us. Lets just do it."

Max felt a grin creep across her face, as she nodded, "Yes."


To be continued.