I'm going to try to do weekly updates, but we'll see. It's getting to be the busy time at work...

Max rolled over on her side, feeling Kenny trying to get up without waking her. I didn't here him come home last night. "Hey."

He froze, sitting back down. "Hey. It's early, go back to sleep, Honey."

She smiled sleepily through her hair. "How bad is it?"

"Don't worry about it."

She gulped back her resentment at his coddling. Throwing back the covers, she pushed him back on the bed and straddled him. Hearing his yelp of surprise, as his arms came around her. Sitting back, she watched him for a long moment. "I don't want to have sex."

"Could of fooled me."

Max cocked her head to the side and studied him for a long moment. "I want to talk to you. Every time I try to, you rip my clothes off. Not that I don't love our sex life, but we always had more then that. Talk to me."

"What? We talk all the time."

"You telling me to take my pants off and groaning in my ear isn't what I'm talking about. I'm not looking for a fight, I miss you. I know you have a job, we have four kids, but we still…I miss you."

"Max, come on."

She groaned internally, trying to break through the wall he had put up. "I'm not asking you wax poetic to me. We used to tell each other everything. What happened to that?"

That I'm terrified of what you're going to tell me, he thought, that there is so much I want to tell you. I can't fall apart. "You said it. Work, kids, we have a lot going on."

"We have enough time to be having sex in the bathroom."

"Max, I have to get up."

This hurts, she thought, I could handle him pulling away from me. He barely acknowledges the kids. Just so distant with us all… "Is there someone else?"

"What? Come on, Max," he groaned. "Of course not."

She bit her lip, knowing that was a low blow. "I'm here, okay? Whatever is making you pull away from me, the kids, all of it…Kenny, I'll always listen. I'll understand. Please, come back to me."

He felt his heart freeze up in his chest at her soft words. She would, he thought, she knows. She gave up so much for me, and has given me everything I've always wanted. "Nothing is wrong, except you're making me late for work."

Max wanted to scream, as she climbed off of him. Gulping back her tears and hurt, she watched him make his way to the bathroom. I'm not giving up on us.

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"I think I am ready," Samantha said, in hushed tones. "Really ready, Zach."

"You mean," he yelped, before dropping his voice. "Yeah?"

She nodded. "I've never…have you?"

He shook his head. "No. I mean, there hasn't…Really?"

She nodded, breaking into a grin. "Yeah, really."

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"I expanded the search," Kenny said, reading through the reports. Dead two year olds, he thoughts, shake it off. "Nothing yet."

Jimmy nodded, keeping a close eye on him. It has to hit home for him, he's the one who opened the box and saw his dead son. "No one came forward to id him yet either."

Who could just abandon him, Kenny thought, let him die like that? Who wouldn't know he was missing. "Maybe he wasn't a kidnapped."

"And that's why there is no missing person's report," Jimmy finished. "Okay, local pre-schools and daycares, see who hasn't had their kids in class in awhile."

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"I haven't seen you in weeks," Jill commented, as she gave the 16 month old her check up. "She's getting big, Max."

"You're telling me," Max replied, amazed that her squirmy, rambunctious, and wild child was so calm, at Jill's prodding hands. "You must have the magic touch because this one never sits still."

Jill smiled, as she took her temperature. "And how are you? I hear you're in the cool Mom group."

Max groaned. "Do we ever get out of that high school mentality? They're great, our kids do the same classes and stuff…It's been good. I'm good."

Jill glanced back over at her. I never thought that she would do this. Jimmy is still in shock over it, and I know he blames Kenny for her quitting. I don't know though, she does seem good. "Well this one is doing great. Booster shots next time. Do you want to go get a cup of coffee?"

Max glanced at her watch, and wanted nothing more to crawl back into bed and cry. "I can't. We have swim lessons this morning, gymnastics and soccer in the afternoon and then I promised Samantha that I'd take her shopping for something for her big date this weekend. I'm exhausted already."

Jill smiled, as she watched Lindsay run over to her Mom and Max pick her up. "You're good at this."

Max gave her daughter a squeeze and inhaled the scent of her baby shampoo. "They're pretty great."

"Hey, how's Kenny?"

Max faltered, smoothing back Lindsay's hair before replying. Lie, I can't deal with whatever is bothering him now. "What?"

"The case? The 2 year old boy they found?"

Max gulped, realizing that was what he didn't want to tell her. "Oh, he's doing his job."

"Max?" she pushed, seeing the shadow pass over her face. "You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Jill, really, I am. Do they knew who he is? What happened?"

She still thinks like a cop, Jill thought, I think she always will. "Not yet. You sure you're okay?"

Max nodded, thinking back to Josh. No one can hurt him again, that I can hold onto. I could throttle Kenny for this. I can't believe he didn't tell me, it has to bother him, and he won't talk to me anymore. "I'm fine, and of course it brings stuff up to hear that. No one can hurt Josh again, and that helps me sleep at night."

But not Kenny, Jill thought, knowing there was stuff she wasn't saying. She loves him, Jill thought, she's bending over backward for him. She's throwing herself into the mom and wife thing, and I think she's enjoying it. Oh, Kenny, what are you doing to her? "It's hard."

Max smiled sadly. "It's harder then I thought it would be. I have to go, we're going to be late."

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"Carter is running his DNA, seeing if they can match it to anyone in the system," Kenny stated. "No cases of child abuse, of that age brought in to the hospital?"

Skeeter shook his head. "None. He's too young for pre-school, looks like he was dead for at least two weeks. Daycares?"

"They're expensive," Kenny said, remembering when they looked at them. "If someone has their kid in one, and they just disappear?"

"Unpaid bills? Or still paying them to throw people off?"

"Or they just yanked their kids suddenly?" Kenny said. "We have Sunrise and Kids Inc."

"You just happen to know the town daycares?"

"We used Sunrise a couple years ago."

Skeeter nodded, seeing the shadow pass across his face. Ignore it, I know there is stuff he hasn't dealt with yet. "You want to take them then?

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Kenny stood in the doorway and watched his wife for a long moment. God, she's gorgeous, he thought, does she really have any idea? Even in those old flannel pajama pants and tank top, that hair up in a ponytail, folding laundry…all she wants is an actual conversation, and I don't know what to say to her. She's the only one I can talk to.

"Now it's getting creepy," Max said dryly, feeling his eyes on her and turning around. "I'm way too tired for this tonight."

"What did you do today?"

Max looked at him for a long moment. "What?"

"Come on," he said. "I want to know. What's up?"

"Really? Since when?"

He looked at for a long moment. She's pissed at me, and she has been for awhile. "Kids asleep?"

"It's after 10."

"What's your problem?"

"My problem?" Max replied. "My only problem is my husband, who I love and don't know what I would do without, is freezing me out. He won't talk to me. He ignores our kids. And it isn't fair to any of us."

"So what? You want a divorce?"

"What?" she asked again, staring at him like he lost his mind. "I want you. Our life was never perfect, but it was pretty close. We were so happy and…I miss you, us…You can tell me anything. I'm so sorry you're hurting, that you feel the need to shut me out…I love you, Kenny, please, you can tell me, trust me, we were partners and friends before we were anything else."

"You think I ignore our kids?"

Max gulped, not liking the look in his eyes. Don't goad him, she thought, he's always been so strong for me, my rock. Screw it. "I know you do, and don't think they don't notice. I think you're afraid to be alone with them because of what happened to Josh. That you're distancing yourself from them, so if the unimaginable happens again, you won't be hurt again."

"You're delusional."

She shook her head, letting it all spill out. "I think you're pushing me away because of the same reason. You know I won't let up until you tell me what's bothering you, why you're doing this to us. I think you feel guilty, that you haven't gotten over the loss of Josh, and that you're afraid to really deal with those feelings. That being with me, talking to me, brings it too close to home."

"Are you done?"

"Not even close," she retorted. "This isn't fair, Kenny. I can't do this without you. I need you, I love you, please just let me help you."

"I don't need your help, Max. I'm fine and you're full of crap. You want to make this my problem because you'd rather be working then being a stay at home mom."

"Oh, no, you're not turning this back on me," she retorted. "You pushed it on me, but I don't regret the decision. Nothing is more important to me then our family."

She hates me, he thought, she should. "You could of fooled me."

"Will you stop?" she cried, gulping back her tears. "Please, Kenny, stop, I can't keep fighting with you. Please, I miss you, the way we used to be. I really need my best friend because I don't know what is wrong with my husband."

He ached to wrap his arms around her, hold her, tell her he loved her. How much he needed her. Apologize, talk to her. She's right, she won't let up. Ever since I first saw her, he thought, I knew…The other half of me. I can't…She's practically begging me to. "Max, Honey, wait."

"For what?" she said, wiping her tears away. "If you don't want to be with me, just tell me."