In the single-bed hospital room; Marissa, Bianca, Krystal, AJ, Miranda and little Gabby all visit with each other. They hug, laugh, catch up on the latest events at the children's schools and truly enjoy each others' company.
"It is so great to see you all." Marissa explains. "But, I'm afraid that you'll have to survive a few more days, at home, without me as the doctors say I still cannot come home yet."
"Oh!" The kids all groan with their displeasure.
"As soon as they remove the bandages, from my arm, I can come home with you." Marissa continues.
AJ hugs Marissa and begins to quietly wipe forming tears from his eyes. "I hope you come home soon, Mom. I'll take care of the girls, and Winifred, until you get better."
"I know you will, Sweetie. You're my brave man." Marissa assures him. "It won't be long now. Maybe even tomorrow?"
His voice starts to shake as he says, "I'm glad, you'll be home soon, Mom. I miss you. I'm glad that you're going to be okay." AJ puts his head down; wipes his eyes again, staring at his shoelaces, and says nothing more.
Seeing that something is clearly bothering him, Marissa probes. "Is something wrong, baby?"
A moment passes in silence and then AJ quietly says, "I just don't understand what happened to you? Or Miranda's Grandma and Officer Natalia? I don't understand at all." He looks deep into his mother's face. "Why would someone shoot you?" AJ's face shows his child-like confusion and fear as he asks his questions.
"Sweetie, sometimes bad things happen – even to good people. The rain falls on, and the sun shines on, both the good and bad people. We don't know who did this bad thing, but the police will find out and they'll be punished." Marissa struggles to answer such hard questions, in a manner that he can understand.
Krystal places her arm around AJ and says, "Erica will be fine and soon she'll be coming home to all of us too. I promise you, we are all safe and you don't need to worry about anything happening to us."
"Is that why we have the new guards at our front gate?" AJ asks.
"Yes. That is why." Marissa tries hard to assure him and the other children, yet occasionally looking to Krystal and Bianca with worried and uncertain eyes that she'll say all the right things.
Krystal interjects, "Sometimes things just don't have an easy answer. Sometimes we just don't understand things. It is a terrible thing that happened and we may never completely understand it, but maybe we shouldn't understand it either?" Krystal pauses and looks at Marissa and Bianca, both of them, now looking at her with even more confusion.
Krystal continues, "What I mean is; who can really understand the mind of someone so sick that they would hurt or kill people? If we did completely understand them, then we'd have to be pretty sick ourselves, in order to understand such a tortured mind, right?"
Bianca and Marissa give looks of relief that Krystal's statement makes good sense to them all. "That's absolutely right." They both agree.
"And none of us ever want to be that sick!" Krystal completes her thought.
Marissa continues, "We want them stopped so that they never do something like this again – that is why we have laws and policemen and soldiers – but, really sick people need help too."
Bianca interjects, "We pray that they are caught and get the help that they need." Then she adds with raised eyebrows and an affirming nod of her head, "We pray that they get that help, far away from us!"
"Some people are just sick in their minds. If you're tummy is sick, you get medicine, right?" Krystal asks.
"Yes." Gabby answers her.
Looking to Gabby and Miranda, Krystal continues. "And if you're head hurts you take medicine too, right?"
"Yep." AJ adds.
"So, whoever hurt Marissa, Erica and Officer Natalia, their brain is very sick." Krystal explains as she scans the face of each child.
"So they need to see a brain doctor? Like, Dr. Santos?" Miranda asks.
"Well, yes. Sort of. A doctor that specializes in their kind of mixed up brains." Bianca tries to explain in terms that the children can understand.
"Like that place where, Auntie Marion, had to go for awhile?" AJ asks.
"Yes. Like that place, AJ." Marissa confirms.
"Some people cannot be helped though. They don't want help." Miranda says.
"That is true too, Miranda." Marissa continues. "We don't understand them; we pity them, because they are so sad and sick that they want to hurt others."
"So, we stay far away from them." Bianca adds.
Krystal ties up the conversation by saying, "It is nothing that you three kids need to worry about. The grown ups in your lives work hard to keep you safe and, for the most part, the world is a very wonderful place with families trying to raise their children, work their jobs and survive just like all of us, but there are 'strangers' who we all need to be aware of and stay far away from."
"Like the Johnston's dog?" Gabby asks.
All three women stop and look at the tiny girl with complete confusion. All of their feelings of satisfaction, up to this point, in explaining the situation to them and clearing up the children's confusion surrounding the issue, was now quickly fading into their own confusion. Panicked looks are shared with each other, wondering what their explanation should be. All wondering, what the Johnston's dog has to do with the subject?
AJ excitedly answers Gaby's question with, "Exactly, Gabby! Just like the Johnston's dog, Bo."
All three women look at AJ in confusion and say to each other, "Bo?"
AJ continues with his explanation. "Sometimes Bo is really nice, but sometimes he bites. Since we never know what he'll do, we just stay far away from him at all times."
All three women give a sigh of relief and a chuckle. Marissa says with a smile, "That's right, AJ. Some people are like Bo. You just never know what they'll do. That is why children need to stay close and listen to the adults in their lives so they can protect them."
"Just like, Dad." AJ says.
The room becomes deadly silent. Marissa looks at Bianca with a panicked look. Not wanting to speak badly of JR, to the children, they wonder where AJ's thoughts are going.
AJ continues, "When Dad is drinking alcohol, he becomes like Bo and he gets real mad. But when he isn't drinking alcohol, he is like the nice Bo." AJ says with the wisdom and knowledge of someone much older then himself.
The entire room grows quiet, surprised by AJ's wisdom about his father, yet unsure of what to say next.
Gabby breaks the silence with her tiny and innocent voice and says, "I like Bo when he is nice."
"I do too, Gabby." Bianca says as she hugs the little girl.
Krystal gives Marissa a hug and says, "Okay, kids. It's time for me to go down the hall and check on Erica. You cannot go to that part of the hospital yet – as they don't allow kids there – so, you all stay here and I'll be back in a little while to take you all to the park."
"Okay, Grandma, Krystal. Please, tell, Grandma Erica, 'that we are all praying she feels much better real soon?" AJ responds.
"I will and I'll leave your flowers with her too." Krystal gathers up a separate bouquet of flowers along with her purse and moves out of the room.
Krystal exiting the elevator onto the Intensive Care Unit's floor sees Jackson talking with Dr. Maria Santos in front of Erica's window. She is unable to hear what they are talking about and as she moves closer to the pair they both turn and look to her.
Seeing an opening she asks, "How is Erica today? Is she awake yet?"
"No. Not yet." Jack says with disappointment in his voice.
"Krystal. Nice to see you again. How are you?" Maria speaks.
"I'm good. Thank you. Glad to see you in town again, especially on this case." Krystal tells Maria.
Maria smiles at Krystal and looks back to Jackson saying, "So, like I was saying, Jack, if you will meet me in my office, with Kendall and Bianca, at 1 o'clock, I will have a full diagnostic report for you by then? I'll have all the tests' results back by then and we'll have a better idea of what we are dealing with as well."
"We'll be there, Maria. Thank you." Jackson replies.
Maria shakes Jack's hand, gives a pat on the arm to Krystal and says, "It is good to see you again, Krystal." Turning back to Jack she says, "I'll see you then."
Jack nods his head in the affirmative as Dr. Santos walks away from him and Krystal.
Standing next to each other, both looking blindly at Erica's room window, neither of them speaks.
Suddenly, Krystal breaks the silence between them, and says, "I'm glad you got some rest. I hope you're feeling better today?"
Jack quickly scrambles his mind, trying not to trip over his words, and says, "Krystal, I am so very sorry for my behavior last night. I don't know what the hell I was thinking? I - I am very sorry if I -"
Krystal interrupts him, "—Jackson, please? There is no need to apologize. You've had a rough few days – weeks – and I completely understand."
"But, Krystal, I -"
"—Jackson. It is over. I've forgotten all about it. Why don't you do the same?"
Jack studies her face for a long moment and finally says, "Thank you, Krystal. I truly appreciate our friendship."
"I appreciate you too, Jack. If a person cannot be silly, with a friend once in awhile, then how good of friends are we really? I don't expect you to be perfect and, thankfully, you don't expect perfection from me either."
"Some days, I think you just might be." Jack says, looking at her as if he'd never truly seen her before.
"What is the news on Erica's condition?" Krystal asks eager to change the subject.
Startled to see the conversation's subject make a drastic change, Jack says, "Jake has turned Erica's case over to Maria. She doesn't have all the test's results yet, but says she thinks that Erica will come out of this coma very soon – we'll know more when we meet with her later this afternoon. Would you like to be at that meeting, Krystal?"
"I would, Jack, but I'm babysitting the kids today over at Marissa's and Bianca's house. They've really been struggling to understand all of this." Krystal continues, "I'm trying to give them as much of my time as I can. It is so hard for children to understand such darkness and evil."
Jack sighs and says, "It is damn hard for me to understand it too, Krystal. I don't understand why some people are just evil? Why does life have to be this way sometimes? It seems no matter what – who you are in this world – that there is always someone out there who is angry with you just for living, and for no other reason, and wants to take that from you? Selfish controlling bastards! Me, my and I… seems that is the root of it all sometimes. Selfishness!"
"Kind of like that original sin in the garden, eh, Jack? You're starting to sound like my preacher." Krystal chuckles. "Without the colorful language though."
"Maybe. I'm sorry." Jack replies, "We don't understand this so, how can we expect children to?" Jack says in a defeated tone.
"I think you should talk with Gabby, Jack? She seems to have this figured out better then all of us."
"Gabby?" Jack questions.
"Yes. She says some people are just like the Johnston's dog, Bo. Sometimes they are a mad dog and we need to just lock the mad dogs up." Krystal summarizes the earlier conversation.
Jack studies the thought for a moment and says, "That does make a lot of sense doesn't it. Mad dogs? Interesting!"
He then looks at his watch and says, "Will you excuse me for a moment? I need to call Kendall and make sure she can be here at 1 o'clock. Will you talk with Bianca, and tell her about the meeting with Maria, for me?"
"Yes. I'm going back to Marissa's room to pick up the kids now. I'll tell her." Krystal says.
Giving a hug both Jackson and Krystal each separate and go in different directions down the hospital's main hallway.