Both Roy and CJ made calls on their way to the station.

For his part, Roy called Hoyt and Mattlock, giving both men a heads-up as to what was happening. Hoyt wasn't too happy that CJ had left the scene, but he didn't sound overly upset in light of the circumstances. Mattlock was looking at security footage and figured he would be at the park for some time to come; as such, he was happy to have had even a small part in CJ's 'escape.'

While Roy made his calls, CJ phoned Dicky to give him a synopsis of what had transpired, where she was now headed, and with whom. Dicky was concerned but also expressed his appreciation that the Houstons had been there for her, even while he felt guilty for being nowhere around. CJ would hear none of it, and let him know that she would call him, after she was done at the station.

"Good," Dicky said. "CJ...are you alright? Really alright?" He was hinting at not only the attack but her dealings with the Houston men.

She easily answered in the affirmative. "Yes, Dicky, I'm alright. I promise to call, when this is over, tonight. Love you," she surprised herself by saying, but she'd felt the overwhelming impulse to do so; he had come to mean so much to her.

If he was surprised by her verbal declaration, he didn't miss a beat. "And, I love you. I'm coming to the station as soon as I can get to my car. It may be a little while, since most people are taking their leave, now, I'm coming to be with you as soon as I can."

CJ teared up. "Thanks."

"No thanks necessary. I want to make sure you're alright. I know you're a big girl, so let's call it a kind of paternal need..."

"Okay, Dad," she joked but felt a pang at having said the word; she'd missed it so much. While it wouldn't become habit, she welcomed the moment.

Dicky wasn't her father, but their relationship mimicked what she hoped would have existed between her own father and herself – and it was healing what she hadn't, until this moment, recognized as a hole in her soul.

She hung up and sighed, but it was one of contentment.

"How are you doing?" Roy asked.

She hadn't realized he was no longer on the phone, as she'd been caught up in her own thoughts.

"I'm okay. The incident shook me up, but I'm fine – and holding out hope that they caught the guy, and it'll be an open-and-shut case."

If they did catch him, she felt it could be that simple. There was security footage, physical evidence, and several witnesses besides the security recordings. Even if his lawyer or public defender was able to lessen his sentence to a fine with time served, he'd at the very least have a record – and a restraining order in effect. Not that she trusted a piece of paper, but it would help to put him behind bars, if he violated it.

She had a flashback to Christian Dean and wrinkled her nose as the bile rose. She'd worked her way through the past, including Carl's death – God rest his loving soul – but she wasn't immune to the heartache of losing him.

She wasn't the same woman she had been back then, and this time, she determined to contact a couple of friends who worked for the FBI. She was going to ask them to train her, in the event history might repeat itself. She was also going to hit the shooting range and sharpen her skills. She'd been pretty ignorant to think things like this were all in her past and would no longer be in her future.

"There's a good chance they caught him," Roy offered, hopeful.

"Yes. Though, it was a large crowd, which can make things difficult. Plus, it was dark; he could have blended in and lost them. But, I'll stop thinking that way. I prefer to think it's over." She looked at Roy and smiled.

"Are you sure you're not hurt?" he asked. He'd glanced her way, when she smiled at him, and noticed the bruising on her shoulder was darkening.

"They're only bruises, Roy. I'll be fine. Compared to a bullet in the gut, this is a piece of cake," she tried to laugh it off.

He harrumphed but said no more about it.

Shortly thereafter, they made their way into the station. Though Hoyt was at home, he'd called in ahead of them, and an Officer Davidson was waiting to take CJ's statement. He asked her to follow him to his desk and began asking questions straight away. She told him everything she remembered in as much detail as possible. The interview took awhile because he was thorough about taking it all down, which she appreciated; the more details noted now, while still fresh in her mind, the better. She hoped Mike would be able to give his statement to the police tonight, as well.

When Davidson was done asking her questions, she thanked him and started to get up.

"Miss Parsons?" he halted her.

"Yes?"

"Would you mind following me? I need a few photographs for evidence."

Somehow, she'd forgotten about that. It didn't make her happy, but it was a necessary evil. She just hoped the photos wouldn't be leaked and printed in some rag.

She nodded her acceptance, not trusting herself to speak, and followed him to a private room. A female officer joined them, and the requisite photographs of her shoulder, arm, and torn dress were taken.

"We'll call you, if we have anymore questions," he said.

"Okay. Thank you." She picked up her purse, then remembered to ask,"Do you know if they caught him?"

"No, I'm sorry. But, I will call you, when I do know."

"Thank you very much. I'd appreciate it."

"No problem."

She also thanked the female officer and preceded them out of the room and back to where Roy was waiting for her. Only, he wasn't the only one in the small area. Dicky and Matt were also waiting.

"I thought you were looking at Security footage?" she asked Matt.

"I was, and I saw what happened." He looked tense. "I asked them to send the compressed files of every camera for the entire day to me via email. That way, I can watch every angle available...other views in the park that might be overlooked by the police."

She knew he would need to look at more than the incident, itself, to determine when and where this guy had entered the event. Along with his actions throughout the night.

"Okay," she answered. She immediately surprised herself by asking, "May I look at the footage with you? I'd like to see if I can place him. Maybe, if the lighting or the angle is better, depending on which camera caught sight of him, I'll be able to place him. I don't think I will, but you never know..."

He didn't make her wait long for his answer. "I think that would be a good idea. Would you like to meet me at the office in the morning?"

"It'll have to be late morning; I have an appointment at eight. But, I'll head straight to the office, when I'm done."

"Sounds good."

With that, Dicky threw his jacket over CJ's shoulders to cover both her bruises and torn dress. Matt had thought of doing the same thing, earlier, but didn't think she'd be receptive to the offer from him.

They said their goodbyes, and he watched her go.

This sure as hell wasn't how he'd hoped the evening would turn out, but if he let himself think of silver linings, he could admit that he was happy she would be back in the office with him in a matter of hours. Prior to tonight, it was something that would have fallen under the title of "when hell freezes over."

He was concerned about this incident, though. Another man who'd seemingly been stalking CJ. He wanted to get to the bottom of it and make certain there wasn't a repeat of the Christian Dean case. In no way would he allow that to happen.

Matt felt he had a lot to make up for, and this was part of it. He hadn't been there for CJ as much as he could have been – should have been – during that particular time. She was suffering but trying to forge ahead, and though she'd had the help of other friends, he should have been there for her, too. He'd left town, again, and had inquired as to how she was doing, when he returned, but that had basically been the extent of it. Pretty sad, if he did say so, himself.

The two situations weren't the same, but he was here for her as much as she would allow, considering the circumstances. He also knew that he had two older men who would be watching him like a hawk – and making damned sure he towed the line.

Uncle Roy had already expressed his feelings loud and clear, and he was certain that Dicky Bevac felt even stronger than his uncle; he hadn't missed the older man's quiet attention to every movement, word, and nuance that had transpired between himself and CJ.

Yes, he would have to be on his toes.

Game on.