I KNOW THIS ONE-SHOT A DARK ONE DIRECTED TO MOSTLY TEENS & ADULTS, BUT I SAW AN EPISODE OF "DEXTER" THAT I THOUGHT WOULD SHADOW BRIAN'S PROTECTIVE INSTINCTS WELL. SO, WATCH FOR ADULT CONTENT & ENJOY!
The O'Conner family were back at the supermarket doing their monthly shopping where Ava is sitting in the high seat on the shopping cart and is innocently dropping some of the things they have picked up. Luckily, the things she was dropping weren't made of glass. But now, the latest thing she dropped was a plastic bag of apples that now has rolled away.
"I got it!" Jack said as he chased after the apples until a man stopped the apples from rolling any further with his foot. The man is tall with dark hair and deeply-tanned skin and is wearing a purple casual dress shirt with khaki pants and dress shoes.
"Are these your apples?" he gently asked Jack handing them to him.
"Yes. Thanks, mister," Jack politely said to the man.
"No problem, buddy. So, what's your name?" the man asked.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," Jack politely replied.
"Well, aren't you a smart and good little boy?" the man commented as he smiled. "Okay. But before I go, do you know where the Cheerios are?" At the same time he asked that question, Brian came over to check on Jack when he sees the man talking to him and begins to have an uneasy feeling about him.
"Did you catch the apples?" Brian asked Jack.
"Actually, I did," the man answered.
"Now, he's asking where the Cheerios are, Daddy," Jack told Brian to which the man nodded.
"In the middle of Aisle 3," Brian answered not taking his eyes off the man who also stared at Brian with unease.
"Thanks," the man said and left the father-son duo alone, but not before giving Jack one last smile as he walked away. Now, the man was seriously giving Brian the creeps but didn't say anything to Jack as he didn't want to scare him. After the family has done their shopping, Brian noticed the man getting into his car and took a picture of his license plate, so he could investigate him further at work later. Later at the police station, Brian typed in the license plate number and sees that the car is registered to David Walsh, who happens to be a sexual predator previously convicted of molesting young boys. Recognizing him as the man who was talking to Jack at the supermarket, Brian sighed in relief that he came to Jack in time before anything were to happen.
The next day, Brian and Mia decided to take the kids to the beach as it was a bright and sunny day. Brian was starting to relax and forget about Walsh, until he suddenly spotted Walsh sitting in a beach chair taking pictures of Jack who is in nothing but his swim trunks, and is beginning to feel threatened.
"What are you looking at?" Mia asked her husband.
"Nothing. Don't worry about it," Brian lied and kissed his wife for reassurance before turning his attention back to Walsh. A little bit later while Mia was leaving with the kids to get some ice-cream, Brian decided to approach and confront Walsh.
"Do I know you?" Walsh asked Brian.
"Yeah, we met at the supermarket yesterday. Remember? You asked my son where the Cheerios were," Brian reminded him.
"I don't recall," Walsh lied.
"Then, why were you taking pictures of him?" Brian asked beginning to feel angry.
"I'm a professional photographer," Walsh lied to Brian's face again.
"Shut the hell up," Brian said angrily but quietly, so that he doesn't draw attention, then showed Walsh's criminal record on his phone. "I know who you are and what you are".
"That was me once," Walsh replied. "But guess what? I've moved on and I've changed. That's not me anymore".
"Sick guys like you never change. So, leave my son the hell alone" Brian expressed his opinion and threatened angrily.
"Well, there's a first time for everything," Walsh said as he smiled sinisterly. "And speaking as a former pervert, I must warn you. Threatening is never going to stop anything. You won't be able to keep track of your little boy forever. One day when you least expect it, your boy will just...Poof! Disappear," Walsh threatened, then packed his beach chair and left. Now, Brian is feeling true fear, anger, and terror inside, but decided to not tell Mia as he doesn't want to see her feel exactly the way he's feeling right now. Later that night...
"I'm going out for some drinks with Dom, Roman, and Tej," Brian said to Mia who was washing the dishes. "Don't wait up and kiss the kids good night for me, okay?"
"Oh, okay," Mia said as Brian kissed her then left. Brian then met up with Dom, Roman, and Tej at their favorite bar where they see that Brian is feeling strangely uneasy.
"You okay, man?" Tej asked Brian.
"Can I trust you guys with something? I didn't want this to get to Mia because this is really going to scare her," Brian asked his family to which they confirmed with a nod. "Yesterday, Jack ran into this weird guy at the supermarket and he started talking to him. Then earlier today at the beach with Mia and the kids, I saw the guy again taking pictures of Jack..."
"You think that guy is a kiddie pervert?" Roman asked very worried.
"I don't think. I know. This is his criminal record. Said he has a history of molesting young boys," Brian replied as he showed the other guys Walsh's record on his phone.
"Well, what did you do?" Dom asked.
"I confronted him alone. He denies that he has a thing for Jack, but he subtly threatened me that he will get Jack at every chance he's got. And now I'm starting to feel scared," Brian pointed out his fear.
"You're a cop. Why don't you just arrest his ass?" Tej asked.
"I may have his record, but, I don't have solid firm evidence that he's up to it again, so I can't," Brian said. "What the hell am I gonna do?" Suddenly, Dom had an idea and paid for their drinks.
"Come on," Dom said as they all stood up.
"Where are we going?" Brian asked.
"We're going to get your evidence and kick this guy's ass. Nobody threatens you and Jack and gets away with it," Dom explained to which Brian slowly smiled. The four then got into Tej's surveillance van and drove to Walsh's address which is shown in his records. Tej then put out his toy truck which has a mini-surveillance camera inside and they drove it to the front door and gave it a knock getting Walsh's attention. Walsh opened the front door and noticed the toy truck, but doesn't see anybody around, so luckily, he decided to keep it for himself. As Walsh walks around with the truck in his hands, the men noticed through the camera that he has numerous pictures of random young shirtless boys taped to his walls along with some kiddie toys.
"What did I tell you?" Brian said. Walsh then placed the truck on the desk next to his computer where the men see that it is full of pictures he took of Jack on the beach which got their mouths wide open. Then, they see that Walsh is taking his pants off...
"Is he doing what I think he's doing?" Roman asked horrified and indeed Walsh is. He's "giving himself a treat" from watching Jack's pictures.
"Okay, that's it! I'm going to kill this guy. I might get in trouble with my supervisor later, but who cares?! You guys got my back?" Brian asked more aggressive now than ever.
"We always got your back, man," Roman said. Pulling out his gun, Brian, followed by his three family members, managed to pick the lock on the front door and the foursome slowly and quietly crept up behind Walsh, and very slowly, Brian pressed his gun on Walsh's neck.
"Step away from the computer and put your hands where I can see them, you sick son of a bitch," Brian ordered Walsh who quickly turned around and reacted cowardly to the four men near him. "Tej, take his laptop. We need it for evidence". Tej did so and got out of the house, but Dom and Roman still stood by Brian.
"A lot of sick shit in there, man!" Roman shouted angrily and started ripping the shirtless photos off the walls. Brian then took out his cellphone and started dialling his fellow officers at LAPD.
"Hi, this is Detective Brian O'Conner requesting emergency assistance at 101 North Lynn Street in East L.A. There's a beaten-down injured pedophile that needs to be taken into custody immediately," Brian reported to LAPD and confirmed that they're on their way.
"Injured?" Walsh asked and then realized what's going to happen. Brian first hit him in the head with his gun, then he, along with Dom and Roman, started punching and kicking him until he is finally unconscious and coughing up blood.
"Feel better, O'Conner?" Dom asked.
"Hell yeah! Nobody hurts my kids!" Brian said. The LAPD arrived and arrested the beaten-down injured Walsh. Meanwhile, Brian, Dom, Roman, and Tej were taken into questioning by Brian's supervisor as their actions were against police protocol. Once they explained that Jack could've been Walsh's next victim and luckily, the supervisor, being a father himself, took it easy on Brian and suspended him with pay for a couple of days, so he can put this whole nightmare behind him. Brian then returned home and went into his bedroom where he sees Mia still up reading a book in their bed.
"Hey, I told you not to wait up," Brian said as he kissed Mia.
"I think I know you better to not wait up," Mia replied and then saw Brian's knuckles are a bit scraped. Nothing serious, but still enough to question him. "Brian, your knuckles! What happened?"
"Ah, me and the guys got into a little brawl with this crazy guy at the bar. Nothing serious," Brian lied.
"Oh, are you okay?" Mia asked still concerned.
"I feel pretty great right now actually. I'm going to go check on the kids," Brian said smiling then left to go check on Jack and Ava. He first went into Ava's nursery where she is sleeping peacefully in her crib with both Pinky and Dolly Molly in her arms. Brian then gave her a goodnight kiss on the forehead and made his way to Jack's room. Once he opened Jack's door, he sees Jack fidgeting and quietly sobbing in his bed.
"Jack! Jack! Are you okay, buddy?" Brian asked waking Jack up who then cuddled his father still sobbing.
"I had a bad dream, Daddy," Jack said. "A monster came into my room and wanted to eat me. I got out of my room and he was chasing me. But, you, Mommy, and Ava aren't there. I was all alone. And the monster won't stop trying to eat me".
"Oh, I'm sorry, buddy. Don't worry. I'm here. I've got you," Brian said as he continue to cuddle Jack and wiped away his tears.
"But, monsters aren't real. Right, Daddy?" Jack asked with hope and without their knowledge, Mia stood beside the door eavesdropping on the conversation.
"I'm afraid monsters are real, buddy. Not those big furry ones with sharp teeth that you're thinking. Those are fake. But, there are monsters everywhere. Even when you don't know it. Like the strangers you learned about at school? They could be monsters too," Brian explained to his son truthfully who then looked scared. "But even though monsters are real and can get you, you are never alone. You have your Mommy, Ava, Tiger, Uncle Dom, Auntie Letty, and everyone else fighting the monsters with you".
"And you, Daddy?" Jack asked.
"Especially me, buddy. Because I love you, Ava, Tiger, Mommy, and the others more than everybody else in the whole world. And I will always protect you guys from the monsters no matter what," Brian said which brought out a beaming smile from both Jack and Mia.
"I love you, Daddy," Jack said as he cuddled his father one more time.
"And I love you. Now, get a good night's sleep," Brian said as he kissed Jack on the forehead and tucked him in.
"Good night, Daddy," Jack said before he went back to sleep.
"Good night, my little boy," Brian said and then sees Mia next to the door where she goes to kiss Jack good night too. Then, she went with Brian and they both closed the door hoping that Jack will now have good dreams from now on.