"What the hell are you doing?" Skeeter repeated dumbfounded, as he peered into the backseat of the car. "Oh, hell. This can't be happening. I'm having a nightmare. Right? What are the two of you thinking?"

"Skeeter," Max replied numbly, as she struggled to sit up. "Shit. Wait."

"What are you doing here?" Jimmy cut in, as he looked at the other patrol cars pulling up. "What are all of you doing here?"

"There is another body down at the river," Skeeter replied, not knowing where to look. "So yeah . . . We'll go look into that. Go back to whatever you were doing."

"What?" Carter yelped, from behind. "Whoa. What is this?"

"Just go," Jimmy replied through gritted teeth, as Max straightened out her shirt. "We were . . ."

"Yeah, I think it's obvious," Skeeter interjected, well aware of the other deputies taking in the situation. "Max? You okay?"

She shook her head slowly. "No . . . I think my water just broke."

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"Why isn't he waking up yet?" Carol asked. "The surgery was over hours ago, almost a full day. Why is it taking so long?"

"Ssh," Tom whispered. "His body has been through hell. It's going to take some time."

"What if he doesn't . . ."

"You can't think that way. Kenny is strong, and he'll pull through. He has too."

Carol shook her head. "I've prayed and prayed. I talked to Max yesterday . . . I want her to come Tom. Kenny will want her here when he wakes up."

Tom sighed. "I know he will. Despite what he says. Is she coming? I know she must be angry at him."

"She said that she would, and she talked to him. Right before he went down. I'm not sure that he understood it was her, but he kept saying that he loved and wanted her."

Tom nodded. "Call her Carol."

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What the hell is this, Joey thought, they can't be screwing around? Max and Jimmy? No way, except they've both been through hell lately with Kenny and Jill. It makes sense in a warped way, and he seems awfully concerned for her.

"You're definitely in labor," Joey declared, shooting a look at both of them. "And you're dilated at about six inches."

Max shook her head. "It's too soon."

"Only by a few weeks," Joey countered. "It's going to be fine, and I want you to lie back and relax. It's going to be a long day."

Max nodded, and she felt Jimmy squeeze her hand. "Okay."

"I'll be back soon. Make yourself comfortable."

"You're doing great," Jimmy offered, as Joey left.

She looked up at him, and then back at her pregnant stomach. "Jimmy, um, maybe you shouldn't be here."

"You're not doing this alone, Max."

She shook her head. "Um, yeah. There are doctors and nurses here. This is going to cause, well you know. A definite reaction to say the least."

"Don't worry about that now," he countered, smoothing her hair back. "We'll work it all out later."

Max swallowed, as she tried to forget the looks on everyone she worked with faces. They looked at me like I was some kind of whore, she thought, and maybe I am. Pregnant with Kenny's baby, and sleeping with Jimmy? What is wrong with me? Shit. And Kenny's surgery! I have to know if he's okay.

"Can you do me a favor?" Max replied hoarsely. "I need you to call the hospital in Philadelphia, Kenny's hospital. I need to know . . . I need to know if he pulled through his surgery."

"You shouldn't worry about all of that now," Jimmy countered, as her words hit him like a punch to the gut. "Concentrate on the baby for now. Your daughter."

"Please," Max practically begged. "Jimmy, I need to know."

"Okay," he conceded, wanting to do anything to ease the pain he saw in her eyes. "If it's what you want."

Max nodded. "Please."

"I'll be back."

Max collapsed back onto the pillows, as Jimmy departed. What am I doing, she wondered, as contraction hit. "Shit!"

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"So wow," Skeeter said quietly, as the body was loaded into the van. "What do you think?"

"The body or the, you know?" Carter replied numbly.

"The you know."

"How long has it been going on? Is it why Jill left, or became a lesbian? Or bisexual, or whatever she is doing now?"

Skeeter shook his head. "I don't think so. I bet it happened afterward, but what if the baby is Jimmy's? What were they thinking?"

Carter shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe they weren't. Do you think that it's serious?"

"I'm thinking rebound."

"What if it isn't?"

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"Looking good," Joey commented. "How are the contractions?"

"It's like my stomach is on fire," Max replied. "Why didn't you tell me that it was going to hurt so much?"

"Why didn't you tell me a lot of things? Is this what you meant when you said that you were a terrible person?"

Max sighed. "Yeah."

"How long has this been going on for?"

"A few months. After Kenny and Jill both left. It just happened."

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

"No . . . Shit!"

"Breathe," Joey coaxed, as Jimmy came back in. "It looks like somebody is ready to have a baby. Are you coming?"

"Of course," Jimmy replied. "If you want me to."

"Shit," Max cried again, as another contraction hit. "Yes. Come. Can we get this over with? Shit!"

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"It's just wrong," Littleton said, joining the gathering at the Sheriff's station. "They should know better. And now she's having the baby?"

"It makes sense in crazy world," Skeeter interjected, still numb from it all. "Jimmy's marriage fell apart, and Kenny ran off without a word. Sexual convenience?"

"It screws everything up," Carter argued. "What are they going to do? Get married? Somehow I don't see that working out. The whole thing is going to blow up in their faces."

"I just heard," Wambaugh announced, barging into the office. "Jimmy and Maxine? Now, that's interesting!"

"How did you hear?" Carter asked.

"It's all over town. People like to talk. Really talk."

"What about the kids?" Littleton asked. "They're not going to like this, especially with all of the gossip already going on about Jill and Rachel. They don't need Jimmy and Max talk on top of that."

"I don't think that they're going to have a choice in it," Skeeter replied dryly. "Jimmy and Max? Having an affair? I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it."

"So it's true?" Kimberly whispered from behind them. "Our father is sleeping with Max?"

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"Push," Joey demanded. "Now, go."

"I can't do this," Max cried, as she pushed and Joey counted. "Damn it, Kenny! What did you do to me?"

"You're doing great," Jimmy encouraged her, as he wiped the sweat from her forehead. "It's almost over."

"I can see the head," Joey verified, as she tried to ignore the strangeness of what was going on around her. "You're almost done, Max. Ready, push!"

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"Kim," Littleton said, turning around. "Matthew, Zach."

"I wanted to ask him if what I heard was true," Kim continued, staring at the group in front of her. "It is? Dad and Max? Why?"

"I don't know," Littleton offered. "Sometimes adults . . . these things just happen."

"Is he the father of her baby?" Matthew asked.

"No," Skeeter cut in.

"How do you know?" Kim asked. "Maybe that's why Mom started with Rachel. She knew that Dad . . ."

"We'll have to ask them," Littleton conceded.

"Where is Dad?" Zach asked. "I want to go home!"

"At the hospital," Carter interjected. "Max . . . she's in labor. He went with her."

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"Push," Joey cried. "One more! Just one more!"

Max gritted her teeth, as she pushed with everything she had left. "Ahh."

"Oh, she's beautiful," Joey said softly. "A beautiful baby girl. She's perfect Max, absolutely perfect."

Max smiled sleepily, as she looked at the baby in Joey's arms. "Oh . . ."

"She looks like you," Jimmy added. "Max?"

"Hmm," she mumbled, unable to take her eyes off of her daughter. "Wow."

"Here," Joey said, laying the newborn in Max's arms. "How does it feel, Mom?"

"Weird," she whispered, as she stroked the little limbs in wonder. "Wonderful."

"Any names in mind?"

"Not yet," Max replied, as she fought to stay awake. "I'm so tired . . ."

"Max?" Jimmy asked, as she closed her eyes, "Max? Joey!"

"Shit," Joey cried, looking at the monitors. "Get me the paddles!"

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"There is brain activity," Dr. Chalmers declared. "That is a plus in this situation, but Kenny is in a coma. He needs time to recover because the surgery we did was quite complex and invasive. He needs time to heal."

"How much?" Tom asked. "Days? Weeks? Months?"

"This is a new procedure," Chalmers replied. "It could be any one of those. Give him time, and we'll be performing brain scans every few days to see how he progresses."

"What if he doesn't progress? If he stays in the coma forever?"

"We'll have to wait and see," Chalmers said. "You can't rush these things. I suggest, for now, that you go and get some rest. You can't do anything else here. We'll talk again tomorrow."

"Thank you Dr. Chalmers," Carol replied. "For all of this."

"We're losing her," Joey cried, "Hang on, Max! Fight, damn you!"

"B.P. is falling," the nurse called. "So is her heart rate."

"No," Jimmy whispered. "Joey! Do something!"

"Get back," she yelled, as she placed the paddles on Max's chest. "Now, go."

"B.P. is stabilizing," the nurse called. "She's back."

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"What's happening?" Max spoke aloud, as she watched Joey and the others work on her from her vantage point. "Shit . . . Am I dead?"

"You're not dead," a voice said from behind her. "Me neither. Yet."

Max turned around slowly. "Kenny."

"Max."

"What? Where are we? This is a dream . . . , isn't it?"

"Not exactly," he replied, just looking at her. "I'm still not sure what it is, but we're not dead. It's not a dream."

"There are so many things I wanted to say to you," Max whispered, as he reached out slowly to stroke her cheek. "This isn't real, it isn't happening."

"It is," he whispered back. "Whatever it is, Sweetheart, it's happening. I've missed you, I was an idiot to leave. I need you."

"Kenny," Max whispered, as he pulled her into his arms. "I . . . Oh, it feels so good to have you hold me. There is so much I have to tell you."

"Later," he promised, lowering his lips to hers. "Later."

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"Max hemorrhaged quite badly," Joey informed Jimmy. "And she's in a coma as of now."

"Will she wake up?" Jimmy asked quickly, not wanting to lose her so soon after finding her. "How bad is it?"

"The next 48 hours are critical," Joey trailed off, looking at the people coming up behind them. "Hello."

"Hi Joey," Littleton replied. "Jimmy. How's the new Mom?"

"Not good. She's in a coma. Hemorrhaged."

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"I've wanted to kiss you again for so long," Max whispered. "I wanted to forget how it was with us, but I couldn't."

"Ssh," he whispered, kissing her again. "I love you. I never stopped loving you."

"I know."

"Max?"

"What's happening?" she cried, fighting to hold onto him, as the darkness began to move in. "Kenny! Don't go! I can't lose you again!"

"I love you," he yelled, as they were torn apart. "I'll always love you!"