-1I don't know what I did to deserve her, Max thought, as she tickled Kaylee's stomach. She's perfect. "You're getting so big sweetie. What happened?"

Kaylee giggled, as she swatted at her mother's hair. "Mommy, up!"

"Umph," Max said, lifting her into her arms. "Should we go get that puppy now? A big one?"

"Yea!"

"One that you can ride around on, like a horse?" Max continued, as Kaylee giggled and the phone rang. "Or a dinosaur? Hello?"

"Glad to see that you're answering your phone now," Kenny said cautiously, not wanting her to hang up on him.

"It's not a good time."

"Come on Max. You've been avoiding me for three days. I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that. No pressure, okay? I want to get to know Kaylee, in whatever way that you see fit."

Max sighed, as she set Kaylee back down on her own two feet. "Okay. Tell you what, we're going to the pet store on Gulf Boulevard. Do you want to meet us there?"

"Nothing would make me happier. When?"

"We're leaving now," Max trailed off. "So, whenever."

"I'll be there. Thanks Max."

"Bye," she replied, as she turned back to her daughter. "You ready Kay? Let's get that puppy."

1616161616

"I want to go see her," Skeeter said. "Maybe we should all go, and make peace with this situation."

"I don't think I can ever be at peace with it," Kim replied, as she settled back into Littleton's arms. "She killed my father."

"She didn't kill him Kim," Littleton replied, hugging her close to him. "He was drunk and he drove."

"Because of her."

"I'm sure she blames herself as it is," Skeeter offered. "And I think having Kenny storming into her life right now is going to stir it all up again. She is suffering to Kim, maybe more then you."

"How so?"

"She fled to a different part of the country, with no friends or family. You still have all of that, and you should be thankful for it."

"I guess I do," Kim said softly. "I never thought about it that way."

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Kenny paused as he watched Max and Kaylee walk toward him. That could have been my family, he thought, except that I was an idiot. She's over me. She said it. I don't think I'll ever be over her though.

"Hi, Max, Kaylee," he said standing up. "How are you?"

"Who you?" Kaylee asked, looking up at him.

"Um," he said, shooting Max a look, before settling. "An old friend of your Mommy. Are you getting a pet today, Kaylee?"

"A doggie! A big one!"

"Really?" Kenny said. " Does your Mom know that? I remember someone having trouble keeping fish alive."

"Very funny," she retorted, not taking her eyes off the pair in front of her. "If I can raise a kid alone, a dog should be a piece of cake."

"I don't know how many times I can apologize to you."

She looked up at him. "I didn't mean it like that. Really."

He longed to brush her hair back off of her face. "Still, sorry. I'll keep saying it until you believe me."

"I do believe you," Max said quietly. "Can we just forget it for now? I promised Kay a puppy."

"Okay," he agreed, "Let's go."

1616161616

"Maybe I need to make peace with it too," Kim said. "A trip to Florida and a Rome reunion? I bet Kenny is still there too."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Littleton said.

"He seemed dead set on righting things between them," Skeeter admitted. "I'm just curious if she is going to let him."

"Aren't you afraid that it's going to maul her or something?" Kenny asked anxiously, watching as Kaylee chased the golden retriever puppy around the kitchen. "She's so little Max, shouldn't you separate them?"

Max smiled at Kaylee, as the newly named Meatball slid across the floor toward them. "Look at them Kenny. She's so happy."

"You're not worried?"

She shook her head. "It's a puppy, and not a lion. Look."

He turned back to see a giggling Kaylee, hugging Meatball to her chest. "You've done a good job with her, Max. You make it look easy."

"It isn't, or it least it hasn't always been," she admitted. "We've had our rough spots, at least until we settled in here."

"Why here?"

"I stayed in Philly, until after I heard about Jimmy," she said quietly. "I couldn't go back there, not for the funeral or ever. It would have made things worse for everyone. He would have wanted me there though."

"He loved you."

She nodded. "Yeah. I sent flowers, not that it means anything now. I just went to the airport, and the first flight out was to here. I had some money saved up, so I rented this house. The child advocacy job was more of a fluke than anything else. Aaron is friends with someone who works there, and he helped me out. The pay isn't great, but it keeps us going. We're doing good here, Kenny."

"I know you are. You're capable of anything Max," he said softly, not liking the forlorn expression on her face. "What are you thinking?"

"Skeeter called me the other day," she said. "I haven't heard from anybody from Rome in so long, and . . . he called to warn me about you looking for me. Everything is getting stirred back up again, and I'm not sure . . . I'm not capable of anything Kenny. I've tried so hard to start over, and I can't. The past is always going to come back."

"It makes you who you are," he countered. "We all make mistakes Max."

She nodded. "I know. I really screwed everything up."

"Did you love him?"

"I was alone, scared, pregnant. I needed someone . . . I think I could have, if the circumstances had been different. I used him Kenny, and it killed him."

"You didn't kill him," he insisted, as he laid a hand on her shoulder. "He made a stupid decision to drink and drive, Sweetheart."

"He wouldn't have."

He cut her off. "Stop blaming yourself."

"It isn't that easy."

"Mommy!" Kaylee called. "Watch!"

Max shook off her dark thoughts, as she watched her daughter chase Meatball across the floor. "That's great, Kay."

"Read?"

Max smiled despite everything. "Sure. Why don't we put your pajamas on, and we'll see how everything turns out for Cinderella tonight."

"Can I help?" Kenny asked, reluctant to leave when she just started to open up with him again. "I haven't heard Cinderella in a long time."

"Stay!" Kaylee chirped. "Please!"

"I never thought of you as someone who like fairytales," Max commented.

"I always liked the happy endings."

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"I don't know," Kim trailed off, "It seemed like a good idea last night. Now, not so much."

"We don't have to go," Littleton replied, stroking her hair. "I know it still hurts."

"It's been almost two years. I should be able to let go of the pain."

"It doesn't mean that we have to rush in and meet it again."

1616161616

He's wonderful with her, Max thought, thinking back to the other night. He just sat there, and read story after story. I always thought that Kenny would be a fantastic father. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the fond feelings creeping into her thoughts. I can't let myself think of him that way again, she vowed, it won't work. It'll never work again.

"Come on, Sweetie," she said, as Kaylee ran into the room, with Meatball trailing behind her. "Let's get you to daycare."

1616161616

"Yeah," Kim agreed, leaning back in her chair. "Maybe I should just write it all down, let it all out. We all need to move on now, and stop living in the past."

Littleton nodded. "We do."

"I can't wait to get married, and start a life with you, Jon. Can we just forget everything else, and do it?"

1616161616

"Maxine? Your daughter's daycare is on line one," Heather said, through the intercom.

"Thanks," Max replied, glad to have a distraction from the files in front of her. "Hello?"

"Ms. Stewart? This is Helen from Sunrise Day Care Center. Kaylee is running a high fever, and you need to come pick her up."

"Is she okay?" Max asked, snatching her coat and purse. "She was fine this morning."

"She needs her mother right now," Helen replied. "And a trip to the doctor, her temperature is around 103 degrees."

"I'll be there in 20 minutes."

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Maybe instead of sending Kaylee to daycare tomorrow, Max will let me take her for the day, Kenny thought, enchanted by the little girl. I've missed so much of her life, and I don't want to miss anymore. Maybe it's time to think about finding a place to live and a job down here. The weather is great, and Max is here. She'll probably have a fit, but . . . we're going to work this out. I practically came back from the dead for that woman.

"Hello?" he said, picking up the phone.

1616161616

"Kaylee? Sweetie?" Max said, not liking her flushed cheeks. "It's okay. She's burning up."

"She needs a doctor," Helen replied.

"We're on our way," Max replied, lifting the little girl into her arms. "Thanks for calling. Ssh, you're okay, Kay. Kay? Sweetie? Are you awake?"

"I thought she was sleeping."

"Kay?" Max asked again, laying her hand on her forehead. "Sweetie? Shit. We're going to the hospital."

1616161616

"Max!" Kenny called. "What's going on? Are you okay? Is Kaylee?"

She shook her head, and tried to clamp down on her panic. "I don't know . . . Kaylee. She has a fever, and isn't waking up."

"Oh, Max," he said softly, wanting to hold her until she stopped shaking, but not wanting to upset her any more then she was. "Hey, she'll be fine. Kids get sick all the time, and she's tough like you."

"She's only a baby," Max whispered. "She never hurt anybody."

"Don't panic. Kids get sick all the time. It's part of growing up."

"You didn't see her."

"Here, sit down," Kenny said gently, leading her over to the chairs/ "Breathe. Kaylee needs you to be strong for her now. You're her Mom, and she's going to need you when she wakes up."

Max merely nodded, as she sunk into one of the chairs. "They won't tell me anything. Hospitals . . . I can't do this again."

Kenny swallowed, knowing that she was thinking of what they went through earlier. "She needs you Max, don't think about what happened before. One thing doesn't have anything to do with the other."

She looked over at him, and vowed not to fall apart. "Kenny?"

"Ssh," he whispered, tentatively wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "It'll be okay, Sweetheart."

"Ms. Stewart? I'm Dr. Thomas," a man said, walking up to them. "I have some information pertaining to your daughter Kaylee."

"Is she okay?" Max asked, jumping to her feet.

"We're still waiting for some of the blood tests to come back, but my preliminary diagnosis is smallpox."

"Smallpox? How?"

"A new strain has been recently uncovered, that the vaccination doesn't protect against."

"Will she be okay? Can I see her?"

"We're going to get her on antibiotics, and try to lower her fever. She's still unconscious, but we're making her as comfortable as possible."

"When will she wake up?"

He paused. "I'm not sure. It depends on how fast or if the antibiotics work."

"What do you mean if?" Kenny asked, laying his hand on Max's shoulder. "They will, won't they?"

"I'm hopeful that they will, but we have to give it time."

"Can I see her?" Max asked again. "Please?"

"Follow me."

"She'll be fine," Kenny whispered in her ear. "Believe it Max."

1616161616

"Are you sure that you're ready for all of this? Burying the past in all?" Littleton asked.

"I think so," she verified, as she let out a sigh. "Yes."

"Good, then we'll do it."

1616161616

"You don't have to stay," Max said softly, not taking her eyes off of Kaylee.

"I'm not going anywhere," Kenny replied, as he plopped down in the chair by the bed. "Hey, they have treatments for this Max."

"She looks so small . . ."

"She's tough like you, and won't give up without a fight."

Max swallowed. "I wanted to keep her safe from all of the badness in the world. I never wanted her to be hurt or sick like this."

"Do you want me to call anybody for you? Or have someone bring anything for you or Kaylee? Something that might make her feel more at home when she wakes up?"

Max nodded. "Yeah . . . Aaron has a key. Could you?"

"I'll be right back."