Max slouched forward in the uncomfortable plastic chair he was sitting in and slowly swirled around the remaining inch and a half of cooled coffee left in his cup. The stale, bitter taste of it still lingered in his mouth, making him wish he had been able to brush his teeth this morning. He sloshed the liquid in his cup a little higher. Typical hospital fare. Bad coffee was usually something he'd steer clear of, but because no one was answering his questions about what had happened last night, he'd already asked about Kris's leg twice, and didn't know what else to do with himself, he tilted the cup back and took another sip.

Across from him, Kris did the same. She'd been quick to escape Kelly and Alan's tension but had failed to realize just what poor company she was making today. She peeked up and watched Max's face pull into a grimace as he took another sip of his coffee. He wasn't any better.

Well, one of them was going to have to say something.

"So," she started uneasily. "You and Kelly used to be a thing, huh?"

Max looked up sharply, an odd look on his face. "Huh? No, not since... not really."

"Oh."

Kris found something interesting about her fingernails, Max did the same with his coffee and the two lapsed into another bout of awkward silence. This time though, to Kris's great relief, she didn't have to endure it very long.

"I wanted it to be a thing." Max admitted finally, with a soft laugh. "I kinda thought it would be a thing, maybe eventually."

Finally. Some insider information. Pleased to, at last, have some light shed on Max and Kelly's history, Kris leaned forward in her chair. "And? What happened?"

Max sighed heavily. "This happened. I mean, I knew about her doctor friend. But, she said they weren't together and he was already out of the picture when, you know, we started talking. I thought things were going good." He looked troubled. "But, she's pregnant now. I had no idea. And it's not my place. What's his face is the one that's gonna..." Suddenly worked up, he glanced up at Kris. "And you know what? I'm starting to think that it's not even... I mean, I think it's-"

"What?" Kris asked, when his flustered stumbling went on a bit longer than usual.

Max stopped himself and gazed moodily downwards. "Nah. Nothing." Dejected and not trusting himself to go on any further, he stopped and stared into the dregs of his coffee.

Kris reached over and gave his hand a sympathetic squeeze. "I'm sorry, Max."

"Oh, it's fine." Max said quickly. He gave a sad little laugh and pushed away his coffee cup. "Anyway, it was probably all in my head. We never really dated, so what am I complaining about, right?"

Kris smiled sympathetically. "Doesn't mean it can't hurt."

"Hey, who's hurting?" Max bluffed with a confident smile. "It's for the best."

"So, you're okay?"

Max puffed out his chest. "Me? I'm indestructible." Rattled by how pathetically close he'd come to falling to pieces right here in front of Jill's little sister, he straightened up and flipped his hand toward Kris's uniform, more than eager to switch topics. "So, you. You're a cop, huh? When did that happen?"

The moment the question left his mouth Max wished he could take it back. He saw the crestfallen expression on his friend's face and assumed it was due to her past several months' worth of discretion.

"Sorry. I forgot about all that." Max said quickly. Too late to back up and start over, he decided to take a different route with her. "For what it's worth, I bet you're a great cop."

Kris gave a derisive little laugh that Max mistook for lack of self confidence. "No, really." He pressed on. "And when Jill finds out and you girls figure everything out, then she'll be alright with it. I think she'll be proud of you."

"I'm not too sure about that." Kris sighed.

Max grinned at her. "I remember when Jill was a cop. It just suited her, you know? And I bet you're the same way. Once everything settles down, she'll probably be all for it."

"Well," Kris responded flatly. "If I don't get fired before I have a chance to tell her."

Max's grin melted away. "Fired?"

"I just got suspended. I guess there's a rule against borrowing your boyfriend's squad car without permission to go out of your precinct to rescue your sister and friend."

Max blinked. "That's… that's a very specific rule."

"Tell me about it." Kris muttered. "Anyway, long story short: We were both suspended, my boyfriend is now my ex-boyfriend, and by this time tomorrow, I'll probably be looking through the classifieds for work." Unable to look at him, she picked at the rim of her coffee cup miserably. "Not sure how Jill will feel about that, but I'm pretty sure 'proud' isn't one of the words she would use."

"Ah." Max replied awkwardly after a brief bout of speechlessness. Apparently, there wasn't anything he could bring up that wasn't a sore subject. Noticing her companions obvious discomfort, Kris let herself laugh softly to lighten the mood. "Hey, your shop wouldn't happen to be hiring, would it?"

Max smiled. "It's been awhile since I've looked through the classifieds. I could put in a good word for-"

"I'm playing, Max." Kris gently waved him off. "I don't know the first thing about motorcycles. That's always been Ke-... Anyway. So, that's what's going on with me."

Max rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. I'm so glad I brought it up. I'm sorry, Kris."

Kris looked up and smiled softly. "For the best, right?"

Was it?, Maxwell wondered. For the sake of the conversation he decided to agree. "For the best." He repeated. "Anyway, you don't know for sure about your job situation yet. If you're not getting in trouble, you're not doing it right, isn't that what they say?"

"Well, the sergeant said a lot of things, I guess that could have been one of them." Kris answered gamely before smiling sadly. "Any other wise words of wisdom?"

Max grinned. "Your ex sounds like an uptight prick. How's that?"

For the first time since receiving her reprimand, Kris genuinely laughed in amusement. It had been a long, stressful stretch of time between receiving Sabrina's phone call and now and laughing felt surprisingly good. Kris giggled a bit longer before leaning over the table.

"Thanks, Max. You're sweet. It's been a long day for both of us hasn't it?" She said sincerely. Max nodded his agreement and, still grinning, Kris reached for her coffee cup and raised it in the air. "To good luck in love and life and all the times we don't have it."

Chuckling to himself, Max tapped his own cup against hers. "I'll drink to that." He laughed. His eyes found his cup and he cringed. "But, maybe not this. You wanna grab a soda and head back to the room? Hopefully, what's his face and-" Realizing something had caught Kris's eye over his shoulder, Max trailed off and twisted around in his chair. "What?" he asked nervously.

Kris lowered her voice. "Look, Sabrina's over there. And that's Bosley with her."

"Bosley?" Max whispered. "The guy that works with them?"

She nodded without bothering to turn around. "Yup. And the guy in the suit is her ex-husband."

"Oh, the cop?"

Yeah." Kris answered him, unmindful of her staring. "I wonder what they're talking about."

They watched in silence for a few moments longer before Sabrina suddenly pushed out her chair and rose to her feet. Bosley, Bill, and the other officer followed suit, the men shook hands and then their group was heading out of the cafeteria. Their strides seemed anxious to get them somewhere and their urgency made Kris uneasy.

"Maybe we should give them a headstart, what do you think?"

Max nervously chewed the inside of his cheek. As much as he wanted to know what had happened to Jill and Kelly, he wasn't particularly eager to get in the middle of them and a police investigation. Or them and Sabrina. After listening to her rant all last night, he wasn't sure which would be worse. Kris took his thoughtful silence as an affirmative.

"Thought so." She said quickly, pushing away from the table. "Why don't we get a soda and give them about twenty minutes before we go back? Sound like a plan?"

Max smiled faintly to himself as he stood. "Sounds like a great plan."

The door clicked shut with an air of finality, putting an end to Alan's dreams of their future together. Kelly let out a long shuddering breath and forced herself to stare as hard as she could at the wall in front of her to keep composure.

A powerful wave of self-loathing suddenly washed over her. It wasn't supposed to be like this, she thought to herself bitterly. Alan was such a caring, honest man, so much more deserving of any of this, so much more deserving of someone like her. He'd been so good to her and hurting him was the last thing she'd ever wanted to do.

Kelly felt sick to her stomach and was glad she'd not had much to eat since arriving. Miserable and disgusted with herself, she wearily sank back into her pillow, keeping her eyes focused on a slightly off colored ceiling tile above her bed. She stared at it for several minutes longer, lost in her world of guilt and regret, until a slight rustling sound from Jill's bed caught her attention.

Breathless, Kelly rolled over on her side and was overjoyed to see that Jill was beginning to stir. As Kelly watched, the tired blonde finally opened her eyes and, blinking for clarity, listlessly took in her surroundings.

"Jill?" Kelly chanced hopefully.

She watched Jill's blue eyes roam around the room in confusion, a familiar look she'd seen many times before. Just seeing her eyes open brought a smile to Kelly's face. Poor Jill wasn't completely alert but this was much better than nothing.

"Jill? Hey, are you awake?"

Jill's eyes darted around the room in search of Kelly's voice. "What?" she croaked weakly. She made a move to sit up and looked distressed to discover the IV connected to her arm. Her expression became even more confused. "What the fu-"

"Hey, it's okay." Kelly tried to calm her. Deciding Jill wasn't alert enough to find the source of her voice herself, Kelly slowly and carefully swung her legs over the edge of her bed and made her way to her friend's bedside. Even that much walking was pushing it and Kelly was grateful to sink into the chair Kris had conveniently left by her sister's bed. And not a moment too soon. Jill was confused and reaching for the IV and afraid she was mere second from ripping the needle out of her arm, she took her friend's hand and leaned over her.

"Whoa, you're okay!" Kelly attempted to calm her, waving her bandaged hand in front of Jill's face. "Jill! It's me. Look, see? We're okay now."

Jill blinked at her. "Kelly? How… where are we?"

"In the hospital."

The confused blonde blinked again and let her eyes roam around the room once more. The hospital? Her blue eyes widened and Kelly suddenly realized she'd chosen her words poorly.

"Oh my God, Kelly, how in the hell di-"

"No, no , no!" Kelly laughed, patting Jill's hand. "A real hospital!"

Jill fixed her with a doubtful stare . "A real hospital?"

"A real hospital. A good hospital, I promise."

Jill stared at her a few moments longer before finally relaxing. She turned her head and frowned at the IV in her arm. "What the hell is this? I didn't get opened up did I? I'm okay, right?" she asked nervously.

"You're okay."

"And..." Jill's eyes swiveled up and found the crisp white bandage covering Kelly's forehead. "…you're okay?"

Kelly smiled. "I'm okay."

"The baby?"

"The baby is okay too."

Seemingly satisfied, Jill let out a breath and relaxed into her pillow. "Okay. Okay is good."

"How are you feeling?"

Jill blinked and her gaze again found the IV tubes connected to her arm. "I'm not sure yet. What happened?"

"Well," Kelly sighed and scooted her chair closer so she could lower her voice. "What do you remember?"

Jill made a face. "Uh…I remember that fat nurse. And I remember you pulling me down some stairs and …" Jill's eyes suddenly narrowed. "Someone got killed. That other nurse. The one you hit. Irene killed her, didn't she?"

Kelly frowned. She'd hoped Jill's memory would be a little less clear on that subject. "Yeah. She did."

"And then there was a cop and the window." Jill continued quickly. "…and that's all. I - what happened? The cop took us in?"

Kelly bit her lip. Of course Jill hadn't recognized her sister. But that was up to Kris to explain, not her. She had enough scandal going on herself without getting between the Munroes. Instead, Kelly gave her head a non-committal nod. "Yeah, the cop brought us here. Sabrina's here too. She'll be in soon. And Max and… Kris."

"Kris?" Jill echoed. "Who called Kris? She's all the way in… Wait, how long have we been here?"

"Since this morning. It's about three now. Sabrina called her." Kelly answered quickly. She could hear the muffled sound of voices and footsteps beyond their door and their presence intensified her urgency to make sure Jill was on the same page as she was. "Listen, Jill, I need to tell you something."

Her sudden change in tone alarmed Jill, but the blonde detective was quiet to let Kelly talk.

Kelly cast a nervous glance towards the door and then leaned forward and further dropped her voice to a low whisper. "That nurse that was killed? She was killed with your gun, Jill. And I couldn't get it back, I tried… but your si- I coulnd't get it. They'll find your gun there."

"With her fingerprints on it." Jill argued. "They'll know it wasn't me."

But Kelly shook her head. "No, Jill, she had on gloves. She said she'd make it look like you did it."

"What are you getting at, Kelly?"

"That you shouldn't say anything about it."

"What?!"

Kelly shook her head harder. "No. You can't, Jill. She's got your gun with your fingerprints and your blood is all over that elevator. We left all of our stuff there. Our I.D., my gun, everything. And you're the one that hit that other psycho in the face, remember? It'll be our word against theirs."

Jill stared at her in disbelief, waiting and hoping for this sick joke to be over. But, Kelly's face did not falter. She was dead serious. Frightened now, Jill let out a nervous laugh. "Kell, you can't be serious. Let them get away with… they tried to kill us, Kelly! Your baby! It was all self defense!"

"I know." Kelly whispered. "But, we can't say anything. At least until we know what we're up against."

Jill raised her head and narrowed her eyes at her friend. There was something else, there had to be. "What are you not telling me?"

The question was enough to pull a derisive laugh from Kelly's throat. There were so many ways to answer that question, but she could hear Sabrina's voice outside now, talking to someone in the clipped tone she used when she wanted to end a conversation. Jill had to know and she had to know now.

"Remember the elevator?" Kelly started quickly and watched her friend give a quick nod of her head. "The guy nurse, Bruce, he… he tried to come in through the roof panel and I knew he couldn't. You were out and if he had come in then-"

Jill felt her stomach turn uncomfortably. "Kelly, what happened?"

"I killed him." Kelly blurted out as Sabrina's voice grew louder outside. "With the elevator. It was accident, I swear. But who's gonna believe us, Jill?"

Jill's mouth fell open. "Kelly… I - why wouldn't they? I mean… what a stupid way to... how in the hell would we get a guy that size on top of an elevator?"

"I don't know!" Kelly interrupted her quickly "Just-"

Jill shook her head. "No. This is stupid. Does Sabrina know?"

"Not yet. But, I'll only tell Bri if she's alone. She called Bill. He came to talk to me but I told him I didn't remember."

"Bill? What? Kelly…"

"Just until we figure it out." Kelly pleaded. "No more cops until then. Please, Jill. Promise me."

"Kelly, we can't-"

The door opened just then and Sabrina backed slowly into the room, the sound of Bosley's voice now mingling with hers as they talked with someone in the hallway out of their sight.

"Promise me!" Kelly hissed desperately, giving Jill's hand a squeeze. "Just until we know it's safe. Jill, please!"

Against her better judgment, Jill pursed her lips and gave her head the slightest nod she could. She felt Kelly squeeze her hand again.

"Hey, look who's up!" Sabrina's cheery voice called to her. The door closed, the hallway chatter was muffled and Sabrina and a sickly looking Bosley were alone in the room with them.

Sabrina was in the lead, striding towards their beds, a look of relief on her tired face. "Hey, how are you feeling, Jill?"

The question required a bit more thought than usual. Just how in the hell was she feeling? Jill forced a wide smile and caught sight of Kelly's pleading eyes. Honesty was the best policy, she thought to herself.

"I honestly have no idea."