Part 12. Enjoy.


"Yes? We're really going to do this?," Kenny asked, some what shocked, "I wanted to give you a ring and everything first."

"Don't worry about it," Max replied, feeling giddy despite everything going on around them, "I can't believe that we're doing this."

"And soon. Jill is letting me out of here tomorrow," Kenny said with a grin, "So how about this weekend?"

She sat back, "That's only four days, five until Sunday. That soon? Can we even plan one in a few days?"

"What is there to plan? We'll get a judge, throw on some nice clothes, go to the courthouse, and just do it."

"That's how you picture our wedding?"

"We don't have a lot of time to waste Max. You're going to be showing soon."

"So? It's not like everyone doesn't know I'm pregnant already. I always pictured . . ."

"What?," Kenny asked, seeing her look away, "Talk to me."

She turned back toward him, "I always had an idea of what my dream wedding would be like, and it never involved a courthouse. I also never thought I'd be pregnant before getting married either, but . . . can't we dress it up a little? Something that we'll remember."

"Max. I'll always remember marrying you, without all of the fancy stuff."

She smiled at him, "Thanks. Still . . . don't your parents want you getting married in a church? The whole Catholic thing?"

He shook his head, "We can't now, with uh the baby and everything."

She nodded, "Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah . . . And they will be too. What's your dream wedding? It doesn't involve harps and doves does it?"

"Doves? No," she replied, "I just pictured wearing one of those long white dresses, and carrying a bouquet of white roses and lilacs. No harps, but having a small orchestra playing while my husband and I shared our first dance. Having my parents there, actually looking proud of me. I pictured it outside, maybe on a beach somewhere, with everyone I care about around. I guess it seems kind of silly now."

"No it doesn't," Kenny argued, "I'd love to see you in one of those white dresses, with flowers in your hair. If that's what you want, we'll do it."

"This is what I was afraid of," Mary said, as she and Jeff came back, "He's going to give her everything she wants because she's having his child. You ruined my sons life!"

"Mom!," Kenny exclaimed, looking at Max's stricken expression, "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Mary," Jeff said a bit more calmly, "Sit down. I know that this is a shock, to both of us, but we're all going to be family soon. In some way or another."

"This little hussy is ruining his life. He's stuck with her instead of some nice Catholic girl."

It could have been worse, Max thought, you could be meeting Rachel right now, as she struggled to find her voice.

"We're going to talk about this," Jeff replied, "Obviously this isn't the most ideal arrangement, for anyone of us. It is a shock, that said, there is a child involved now and that changes things."

"Mom, Dad," Kenny cut in, squeezing Max's hand in his, "Listen to me. I love this woman. She is the world to me, and we're getting married. On our terms though. The last thing we expected was to have a baby in six months, but we are. And we're happy about, so be happy for us. Max isn't a hussy, and she isn't ruining my life. She makes it better by just being here. There isn't anything to talk about, we've got it planned out."

"Just like that?," Jeff asked.

"Does our opinion not matter?," Mary cut in, "You're just going to marry this woman?"

"Hey," Max finally interjected, "It's not like I'm not in the room. I happen to be in love with your son, and I want to make him happy. I wish you believed that." "You think having an out of wedlock baby will make him happy?," Mary sputtered, "I'm sure that this wasn't an accident!"

"Mom," Kenny snapped, "Stop it. You can either support us or not, but I'm not letting you talk to Max this way. She doesn't deserve it, and her being pregnant was as just my doing as hers. She's gonna be your daughter in law, so just get used to it!"

"Mary," Jeff added, eyeing the way that his son had his arms wrapped around his girlfriend protectively, "Leave the girl alone. You liked her well enough yesterday before this news came out, and so did I. Lets give this a chance."

"I need some air," Mary declared, "Jeff?"

He shook his head, as he turned back Kenny and Max, "I'm going to stay and get to know my soon to be daughter in law."


"This is a ridiculous way to get out of a lawsuit Jimmy," Wambaugh declared, "Shouldn't you be out looking for the real person who shot your deputy?"

"We know who shot him," Jimmy countered, "And when the ballistics report comes back, everyone else will know it too. Your client is guilty Doug."

"That's for the courts to decide, and I'm going to get the sexual harassment case to court despite this!"

"Do you really think that I did that?"

"That isn't the point! She deserves representation!"



"Are you gonna stay and play nurse?," Kenny asked, as they entered his apartment, "You'd look pretty hot in one of those nurses outfits."

Max shot him an amused look, as she watched him move stiffly toward the couch, "Are you okay? Really? Do you need anything?"

"Max. You don't want to be coddled, and neither do I," Kenny replied, sinking onto the couch, "I'm good. You don't have to worry."

"Of course I'm going to worry," she replied, sitting down next to him, "You just got out of the hospital."

"Is that the only thing you're worried about?," he asked, as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

She snuggled in closer before responding, "What do you think?"

"My parents don't hate you. Mom will come around, and my Dad started to warm up after the three of us talked yesterday."

She looked up at him, "Yeah . . . I still have to tell my parents . . . plus the person who shot you is still out there."

"You mean Rachel?"

"I really didn't want to say it, but yeah. If it was her."

He kissed the top of her head, "Yeah. You want to call your parents?"

"No . . . but I guess I don't really have a choice."

"I've never seen you this scared before, over anything sweetheart."

"I'm not scared," she retorted, reaching for the cordless phone, "Although I know how they're going to react. My mom is going to cry, and dad is going to yell. Tell me what a big disappointment I am, and how I let down the entire family. It isn't anything new. Promise me that we won't treat our child like that."

"Max," he said gently, stroking her cheek, "Never. You're not capable of that."

She turned the phone over in her hands slowly, "I hope so. Here it goes."

Kenny tugged her closer to his side, as she punched the numbers, "Good luck."

She smiled up at him, "Hi, Mom? Yeah, it's me . . . uh, huh, it has been awhile. How are you? Uh, huh . . . That's great, I'm glad that you had fun in London . . . Oh, Dad is getting on the line too, great. Hi Dad . . . Yeah . . . I have something to tell you both, and I really need you to listen and not say anything until I'm done, please . . . Okay then. Um, well I met this great man, who means everything to me, and well we're . . . we decided to get married . . . Can I finish please? . . . Okay then, I work with him and he is wonderful . . . When? Soon . . . Why? Well, I'm pregnant too . . . Would you stop yelling at me? This is why I was afraid to call. Is this how you reacted to finding out you were having grandchildren before? I gotta go . . . Bye."

"You okay?," Kenny asked after a minute, "You look like your going to pass out."

She shook her head, "At least it's over with. What did I tell you?"

"Maybe we should just leave our families out of this, until," Kenny trailed off, "Well until we get this marriage part settled. After that . . . who can resist a baby?"

"You want to use our child as a bargaining chip?"

"It's either that, or Christmas is going to be kinda lonely."

Max laughed despite herself and the situation, "Okay, okay. So when is the big day?"



"Ballistics is back," Skeeter confirmed, a few days later, dropping the folder on Jimmy's desk, "The bullets match. We've got her cold Jimmy."

He nodded, as he rose to his feet, "Let's go get her. Do we know where she is?"

"I radioed Smith and Quinn, and they've been parked out front of her house all morning. She hasn't left."

"Okay. We'll go get the warrant from Bone, and then we'll go pick her up."



"Where are you taking me?," Max asked, as Kenny led her to his truck, "Are you sure that you're okay to drive?"

"Will you stop asking so many questions?," he replied, "I want it to be a surprise."

"Want what to be a surprise?"

"You know that you drive me crazy sometimes," he said, as she smiled up at him, "Indulge me Max. No more questions, please."

He opened the door for her, as she replied, "Not even one?"

He kissed her quickly, "Ssh. Just trust me, okay?"



"Let go of me! Do you know how much trouble that you're going to be in when we go to court? This is ridiculous," Rachel screamed, as Skeeter led her out in cuffs, "You will all pay for this!"

"I don't think so," Jimmy replied flatly, as he stared down the woman who tried to destroy his marriage and shot his deputy, "Wambaugh is waiting for you at the station, and I suggest that you save your rants for him."

"My rants! I'll send you to prison for what you did to me! You probably shot Kenny, just to get me out of the way! Sick bastard!"

"Get her out of here," Jimmy commanded, as Rachel was led away in handcuffs.



"You like it?," Kenny asked, leading Max up to the gazebo.

She nodded slowly, trying not to be concerned about how pale he was and the slow way he moved, "It's beautiful . . . It's like being in a secret garden or something."

"I thought that you would," he replied, taking in the woman that he loved and placing his hand on her stomach.

Max laid her hand on top of his, and smiled up at him, "So . . . why are we here? I know you said no more questions."

He smiled back at her, as he broke a flower off one of the bushes, and tucked it into her hair, "You're beautiful. Max, we haven't had the easiest few months here, and I know that you didn't want to elope in a courthouse. So what about here? It's got some flowers, it's outdoors, I know it isn't the beach, but . . . you look like you're going to cry."

She shook her head, and tried to swallow her tears, "I'm not, well I am. You're so wonderful . . . I don't know what I've done to deserve you."

He wiped her tears away, and kissed her forehead, "I feel the same way about you. Don't cry sweetheart, I have something for you."

Max took a deep breath, "It's the hormones."

He smiled down at her, as he pulled the ring out of his pocket, "I don't know how many times I proposed to you in the last month, but I never gave you a ring. I figured one more time wouldn't hurt. So, Maxine Stewart, what do you say about marrying me here?"

She nodded, as he slipped the ring on her finger, "Oh, Kenny."


"I'm not confessing to anything," Rachel spat to Wambaugh, "Jimmy Brock is out to get me."

"The ballistic report shows that the bullet that shot Kenny came from your gun," Wambaugh replied, "Do you have any idea how that could of happened?"

"No. I wouldn't have shot him. I love him."

Wambaugh nodded slowly, "If you say that you didn't shoot him, we'll use it. Here is what we're going to do."



To be continued.