A/N: I'm wrapping up this story quicker than I thought I would be, so this is the second-to-last chapter. Hope you enjoy, please read and review!
Chapter 7: Breakthroughs
It was a warm Thursday in March when Dr. Addison finally broke through Anna's memories. In that same week, Josh and Donna's guilt and problems came to a head.
It didn't start out as a bad week. In fact, the beginning of the week showed extra promise for Abby as the doctor was incredibly pleased with the progress of her recovery.
"Hello." Dr. Kendall said, greeting Donna and Abby as he entered. "How are we doing today?"
"Okay." Abby answered. Donna had noticed that she, thankfully, seemed to have avoided most of the psychological trauma that plagued her sister.
"And have you had any pain?"
"Sometimes."
"Sometimes?" Abby nodded. Dr. Kendall turned to Donna. "What do you usually give her for pain?"
"Well, she hasn't needed the stronger meds they gave her at the hospital for a while, but she does take Tylenol when she needs it. She's usually pretty good about telling me when she's in pain."
"All right. If Tylenol's working for her, then we probably don't need to prescribe her anything else. Now, let's take a look at these x-rays." Dr. Kendall said, pinning Abby's most recent X-rays to a lighted board.
"Well, Miss Abby, these look really good. I really think we can get that cast off and get you in the brace today. How does that sound?"
Abby gasped and nodded enthusiastically. Donna's grin was equally wide, but she was also a little worried.
"It's only been three weeks. You don't think it's too soon?" she asked.
"No. One thing we're learning as medicine progresses is that it's sometimes better to allow the bones to heal naturally through increasing the blood flow, rather than keep it encased in a brick-and-mortar cast for three months." He explained.
"Ah." Donna replied, understanding. "I guess I knew that, I just thought you would want to keep her in the cast for a little while longer."
"I understand your concern, but she is actually healing much better and faster than I thought she would. This is a good thing."
Donna nodded. "Okay." She turned to Abby. "What do you think, sweetheart? You ready to get this big cast off?"
Abby nodded again. "When can I walk again?"
"Not for a while." The doctor explained. "This will just allow the physical therapists to work more closely with your legs so your muscles don't get weaker than they already have."
"Oh." Abby said, trying not to betray that she was disappointed.
"Now," he continued. "Let's call the nurse in and get this cast off, shall we?"
Twenty minutes later, her large white cast was gone, replaced by a flexible black leg brace.
"It looks...different." Donna commented. "I was expecting something a little less...dominating."
"I don't mind." Abby chirped up. "I can move!"
To her surprise, Donna laughed aloud. "Just be careful, honey. Don't overdo it."
"Okay." Abby stilled her leg, and Donna lifted her back into her wheelchair.
"So, I will see you in two weeks, unless something comes up." Dr. Kendall said, smiling. "And remember to call the office if she seems to have pain that Tylenol isn't helping, or if her leg is swollen abnormally."
"Thank you!" Donna said gratefully as the doctor left. She grabbed the handles of Abby's wheelchair and headed out.
...
The next day, Abby headed off to school for the first time since the shooting. She was a bit nervous, though not nearly as frightened as her twin, but quickly relaxed when she saw her friends.
"Hi, Chloe! Hi, Madeline! Hi, Noah!" Abby greeted enthusiastically as Donna wheeled her to her spot.
"Abby!" All three of the children cried. Donna blinked back tears as Abby's friends enveloped her from her wheelchair.
Abby's teacher, a forty-year-old woman named Miriam Noonan, came over and gave a kiss on the forehead. "Welcome back, Abby. We're all very happy to see you."
"Thank you, Mrs. Noonan." Abby replied.
Miriam turned to Donna. "Mrs. Lyman, can we talk outside for a moment?"
"Sure." Donna agreed. A woman with thick brown hair in her mid-twenties was waiting by the doorway. Donna also couldn't help but notice that the Secret Service detail at their school had increased. She didn't know whether to be unsettled or relieved.
"Mrs. Lyman, this is Amy Hopkins. She'll be the aide working with Abby until she get back up on her feet."
"It's nice to meet you." Amy said warmly, shaking her hand. "I'll be happy to do whatever Abby needs over the next couple of weeks."
"Well, that's very nice of you." Donna replied. "Thank you."
"I'll just go introduce myself to her." Amy decided, bidding farewell to Donna and to Miriam.
As soon as they were alone, Donna said, "Do you know how Katrina Murphy is?"
"Apparently she's still in the hospital." Miriam said quietly. "But she can have visitors."
...
Two days later, Katrina Murphy was watching TV in her ICU room when there was a knock on her door.
"Come in." she said quietly. It was still hard for her to talk, because in order to talk she had to painfully draw in air, but she felt stronger.
Donna entered. "I don't know if you know me, but my daughter is in your class."
Katrina looked blank. Then, realization hit her. 'You're Anna's mom." At Donna's surprised look, she added, "We met at Back to School night. It's kind of hard to forget the kid with a Secret Service detail."
"Yes, I suppose it is." Donna said, laughing a little. She sobered a little. "How are you feeling?"
"Um...not that great. But they say I'm stronger."
"Have you started physical therapy yet?"
"Yes, actually. They say that I might be able to go home next week."
"That's wonderful!"
"So...how's Anna doing?" Katrina had been worried about the little girl ever since she had become aware of what had happened in her classroom.
"She's.." Donna hesitated, unsure of how much to divulge. She didn't want to make Katrina feel worse. But at the same time, she needed to talk to someone. "She's still pretty fragile, emotionally. We have her working in therapy, and we have seen a little bit of progress, so hopefully a breakthrough happens soon."
"That's good." Katrina said. "I've been worried about her. And her twin sister? How's she doing?"
"Slow but sure progress." Donna reported.
Katrina smiled softly at this good news, but then sighed.
"Everything OK?" Donna asked, concerned. "Do you need me to get someone?"
"No, no." Katrina said reassuringly. "I just...seeing you just brings back all the thoughts I've had since this whole thing started."
Donna stayed quiet.
"Everyone in the media calls me a hero. Everyone in my family thinks I'm a hero. All they see is the teacher that threw herself in front of her students and took a bullet. But I didn't keep them safe, like I was supposed to. I couldn't save my kids from witnessing tragedy. I couldn't save Tyler." She began to cry.
Stepping over to the bed, Donna carefully wrapped her arms around the young woman, switching gears from guilty to comforting. After a couple of minutes, she pulled back.
"It wasn't your fault." Donna said firmly. "You did everything you could to protect your students, and...sometimes things just happen."
"Yeah. Even with the Secret Service, they weren't safe."
"But you tried your best." Donna reiterated.
"Yes, I did." Katrina said, trying to convince herself as much as Donna. She paused, looking at her student's mother thoughtfully. "It wasn't your fault, either."
Donna looked taken aback. "How did you know?"
Katrina laughed, a feat that caused her to wince in pain. Donna was reminded all too well of the struggles Josh had faced after Rosslyn.
"You think I have a monopoly on pain? I can see the guilt in your eyes. The same guilt I've felt for the last month."
"It's different for you." Donna said. "It really is our fault."
"No, it isn't."
"But it was our-"
"It was your what? It was your jobs that put your kids in jeopardy?"
Donna nodded. Katrina had hit the nail right on the head.
"But that wasn't your fault, either. Even if you and your husband weren't Chiefs of Staff, your kids might have still been hit by a car, or shot in a drive-by. This was an act of malice, and of…"
"Madmen?" Donna asked quietly.
"Yeah." Katrina agreed. "It would've happened even if you and your husband weren't in the positions you were in."
Donna was quiet for a minute, letting her own tears begin to fall. "You know something?"
Katrina nodded for her to continue.
"This is the first time I've cried over it since the day it happened." And then, Donna began to truly sob. Katrina leaned forward as best she could and held Donna as she cried. "It's OK." she whispered. "Just let it out."
Donna left the hospital that day feeling like the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders.
…
Later that afternoon, Anna was in therapy, and Dr. Addison was trying very hard to get Anna to open up.
"Your mom tells me you had another bad dream last night. Do you want to tell me about it?"
Anna looked up, and for a second it looked like she might want to open up. But instead, she shook her head. "I can't."
"What do you mean, you can't?"
"I can't tell anyone."
"Who told you you can't tell anyone?" Dr. Addison leaned in closer, sensing they were closer to a breakthrough.
Anna hesitated again.
"Anna, look at me." She looked up, her clear blue eyes meeting the therapist's.
"Have I ever told you a lie?"
Anna shook her head.
"Then listen to me. No one can hurt you. You're safe here, and you're safe with your mom and dad. You can tell me what it was about, and nothing bad's gonna happen to you."
"Do you promise?" she asked quietly.
Dr. Addison nodded. "Yes, I promise."
"Okay." Anna said. She was silent for a minute, then, before the psychologist's very eyes, it came pouring out. "The bad man was in my classroom, and I couldn't find Mommy and Daddy."
"What was the bad man doing?" Dr. Addison asked carefully.
"He had a gun, and he hurt Tyler, a boy at my table. Um...Mommy said he went to heaven."
"That's right, he did. What happened next, Anna?"
"He…" Anna trailed off. At Dr. Addison's encouraging glance, she continued. "He had the gun, and he pointed it at me, but someone hurt him."
Dr. Addison kept her face neutral, but inside, her heart was breaking for this little girl and what she had gone through.
"That's it." Anna said.
"Thank you for telling me." Dr. Addison told her. "How did it make you feel?" Suddenly, she had an idea. Pulling out the "feelings board" they had worked with before, she held it in front of Anna.
"Anna, can you point to the picture that shows how you felt that day?"
Anna hesitated, then pointed to the sad and scared faces. "And bad."
"You feel bad?" Anna nodded. "Why?"
"It's my fault. The man wanted to hurt me. He said."
"No, no. It wasn't your fault. It was that man's fault. Don't ever blame yourself for this."
Anna nodded, maybe not totally accepting it, but starting to understand.
Dr. Addison knew that Anna still had a long way to go, but the dam had been broken, and the first steps toward healing had been made.
…
Donna and Anna returned home from Anna's successful therapy appointment to find Josh at the kitchen table, working.
"Hey, girls." he said, smiling. Donna could tell, though, that he was not smiling with his eyes.
Anna was happy to see her father. "Daddy! I had a-a-what did you call it, Mommy?"
"A breakthrough." Donna filled in.
Josh looked surprised and happy. "She did?"
"Yes, she did. Dr. Addison said she has a long way to go, but she made some progress today."
"Wow." Josh said. "That's-that's great."
"Mommy, can I go play now?"
"Of course you can, sweetheart." Donna said, nodding her assent. Anna ran upstairs, leaving Josh and Donna alone in the kitchen.
"I can't tell you how relieved I am." Donna started to get dinner ready. "I was beginning to worry she would never get better."
"Yeah." Josh said, noticeably detached.
Donna turned around, noticing something was off. "Honey, are you OK?"
Josh sighed, running a hand through his hair. He wanted to be honest with his wife, but was afraid of how she would react. "I almost resigned."
She turned around in shock. "What?!"
"I said almost."
"What do you mean?" Donna asked, perplexed.
"Matt wouldn't accept my resignation."
"Okay, fine, but why would you want to resign in the first place?"
"IT'S MY FAULT!" He exploded. He hadn't meant to yell at his wife, but the stress had been cooking inside him for longer than he'd realized.
Donna's face softened. "Oh, honey." She walked over to him and touched his cheek. "It wasn't your fault."
"Yeah, it was. It was my job."
"And Abby still might've gotten hurt even if she wasn't being directly targeted." Donna paused to gather her thoughts. "This just happened."
"It just happened?" Josh said.
"It just happened." Donna repeated, kissing his hand. "There's no easy answers as to why. And there's no magic cure. We just have to learn to live with it."
Josh nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry if I shut you out."
"I'm sorry I shut you out." Donna admitted. Her face grew serious. "You need help, Josh."
"Yeah, that's what Matt said, too."
"You need to call Stanley."
Josh looked up. "You think he'll take my call?"
"I know he'll take your call." She kissed him. "I love you."
"I love you, too. More than anything." Josh said, hugging her close.
"I'm gonna go check on the girls." Donna said, excusing herself. Josh paced around the kitchen for a few minutes, then sat down, took out his cellphone, and dialed a familiar number.
"May I talk to Stanley Keyworth, please?"
A/N: They're all getting help! I'm gonna wrap this story up in the next chapter with Josh's phone call to Stanley and a quick epilogue. Please let me know what you thought!