Disclaimer: Dick owns 'em.

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Hey sweetie, sorry to keep you waiting," Alex said as she kissed Max on the cheek and they headed out to lunch.

"No problem. You still up for Applebees?"

Alex took a deep breath. "Yea. I, um, I want to talk to you about something though. It's kind of important."

"Alex, if your Aunt Mary really wants to sing at our wedding, I'm sure we can figure out something-"

"No, it's not that. It's…well…let's just wait until we get there."

Max stopped walking and grabbed her shoulder gently. "Honey, are you okay?" His voice was full of concern.

She nodded, though unconvincingly. "Yea. I'm fine. Let's just get to the restaurant. I'll tell you everything once we're sitting down."

Max wasn't sure how to react, so he just allowed her to lead. He was apprehensive about what she was going to tell him, and he didn't even try to repress his fear. Something wasn't right, and he was going to get to the bottom of it. When they finally arrived, Alex insisted on sitting in the back, which only added to Max's nervousness. She usually wanted to sit up at the bar and talk with the other customers. Max knew she sometimes liked her privacy, but this was too much. "So, Alex, what was it that you wanted to talk about?"

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She knew she had to tell him. She had to tell him about Jessica. There was also something she hadn't told Jessica. When she was fourteen, she'd had a baby. That was what was haunting her the most. Max had to know that, too. She prayed he would understand. She'd already told him about her first husband. Jack had hit her a few times before she'd finally gotten the courage to leave him. Max had seemed so proud of her when she told him, which wasn't easy for her to do. Now, hating that she was keeping this from him, she struggled to find the right words. "Lets just get our drinks first."

"That bad huh?" He asked, annoyance creeping in slightly. "Look, if you're thinking about leaving-"

Alex looked up, her eyes wide. "NO! No, no, no…That's, that's not it. I mean, if one of us is leaving, it'll probably be you."

He held her hands in his and tried to sound concerned, though he was worried that whatever she was going to tell him was going to destroy their relationship. "Alex, honey, what's going on? Talk to me."

She squeezed his hands, but before she could answer, the waitress arrived with their food. They thanked her and told her that they were fine when she asked if they needed anything else. As soon as she left, Alex looked up at Max again.

"Before I say anything Max," she told him nervously. "I want you to know that I love you so, so much. You were my rock while I was trying to deal with Jack and everything he did. I love you more than I love anything else in this entire world. Do you know that?"

"Baby, you're scaring me. What's wrong?"

"I haven't been completely honest with you." Alex said, trying to keep her voice steady.

"What are you talking about?"

This was even harder than she thought it was going to be. She took a deep breath and decided to just get it over with. "I had a baby, Max."

"What?" Max asked, anger beginning to rush in.

"Max, I am so, so sorry."

"When?" He demanded, already so angry with her for not telling him something this big that he wanted to storm off.

"When I was fourteen."

"What the hell were you doing having unprotected sex when you were fourteen?"

Tears filled her eyes as she tried to ease his anger. No, Max, it's not what you think. I-I was-"

"You were stupid enough to get caught." He stood up, ready to leave.

"Please, Max, just listen! I-"

"You were sleeping around and you made a mistake." He began gathering his things. "I knew you were too good to be true."

"Max, it's-" she pleaded, tears running down her cheeks.

"Just," he said as he raised his hand to quiet her. "Explain why you waited so long to tell me. We've been together for eleven months! Why did you wait until after I proposed to you to tell me?"

"I was scared!" she could feel her voice rising but she didn't care. "I was scared of what you'd think of me if you know. I always wanted to tell you. When that girl walked into my office today-"

"You mean she wasn't a client?" Max yelled. "That girl I saw was your daughter?"

Alex looked away as realized she was so upset she could barely breathe. "She's my niece. My daughter was…she was stillborn." She knew his first wife had cheated on him several times, so he had trust issues, and she knew this wasn't helping at all. She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Look, Max, it wasn't my-"

"Good bye, Alex." He said, dropping his money for lunch on the table, then turned to leave.

"No! Please Max, I was-"

"Good bye Alex." He said definitively, then left.

She watched him leave, tears falling down her cheeks. "I was raped." She said, so quietly she wasn't sure if she'd even said it aloud.