"Don't walk away from me, Jack."

Nick turned towards the sound of the familiar voice, shifting his body slightly as Jack pushed the glass door open to step outside. Billy barreled through the threshold close behind him.

"Jack!" Billy yelled again, stopping short as his brother halted suddenly in front of him.

"We're not doing that in there." Jack nearly growled as he stared at him, his face tense. "You heard the doctor. Phyllis needs things to be calm. She certainly doesn't need to hear us out here arguing."

"We wouldn't be arguing if you -"

"What did the doctor say?" Nick stepped over quickly, far more interested in Phyllis' medical status than whatever Abbott brother drama was on the agenda today.

Billy drew in his fists as tightened his jaw. "How about you stay out of this," he muttered, keeping his back to him, afraid of what he might do if he actually had to lay eyes on his face again. "It's none of your concern."

Jack opened his mouth to speak, to try and diffuse the situation, but it was easy to see the die had already been cast.

Nick stepped beside him, now forcing the eye contact Billy had been seeking to avoid. "Phyllis and I have a child together," he said quietly. "More than that, we're friends. We've been friends for years and I have every right to ask about her condition. I'm here because I'm concerned about her."

"The doctor said her vitals are stable. They still want to do more tests. They'll be coming to get her for some additional scans in a bit, but for now, she's awake and he said early indications are positive." Jack could see the relief on his face.

"That's good, right?" He ran his hand across the back of his neck. "So, we can see how now? Has she said anything? Did she say what happened?"

"She's still kind of out of it, but they said that's not abnormal. Summer's in with her now. They said we had to keep everything calm and stress free." Nick watched as Jack's voice rose towards the end of the sentence.

"Save it, Jack. If I want to see her, I'm going in there and there's nothing you can do to stop it. You can think whatever the hell you want, but I'm not going to let you keep me from seeing her." His eyes shot towards Nick for a moment before moving back to his brother's. "And just to save you the trouble when I leave, I'll see if I can summarize it for you." He turned to face the man who quite literally had upended his entire life in the span of one day. "My brother here believes that I'm the one responsible for putting Phyllis here, and we're not talking in a figurative sense. He actually believes that I would be sick enough and angry enough to try and kill her. That's the kind of man he thinks I am."

He felt the fury welling up inside him again and he began to pace back and forth, needing the movement to manage the nearly overwhelming heat within. "And he's so damn sure of himself that he actually doesn't think I'm stable enough to be in the room with her. What do you think I'm going in there to finish the job?"

"Billy," Jack's lips pressed into a thin and he struggled to keep his voice at a manageable level. "I didn't say that. I don't think that. I just … I don't think it's a good idea for you to go in there as upset as you are and with everything that went on today. I just …"

"I heard the things you said to her today. I was standing there in the parking lot when she was practically begging you to just give her a chance, to just stand there and listen for a minute. It wasn't just what you said, it was the way you said it."

"I was angry," Billy admitted. He could still hear the words he'd screamed at her echoing in his mind. The last thing he needed was to be reminded by the man that put all of this into motion. "People say things when they're angry that they would never say otherwise. No matter what I said, no matter how angry I was, I would never ever hurt her."

"You've hurt in a million different ways," Nick retorted. "You've lied to her. You've …"

"I don't need to explain myself to you." His eyes shot back towards Jack. "To either one of you."

"No, you're right, you don't." Nick's eyes narrowed as he glared at him. "But it does look like you'll have some explaining to do to the police because I'm gonna make sure they know exactly what you said and what you did today. If your own brother believes that you could be capable of this, I'm sure the police will take a special interest in what you have to say for yourself."

Summer stood still at the foot of the bed. Her mother had been described as many things by many people, but weak and still and fragile were never among the words they'd used. It was frightening to see her like this. Their relationship had been complicated recently. They'd fought and said horrible things to each other, but never in a million years had she imagined she would be facing this moment. There was supposed to be more time, more time to fix things, more time to find her way in life and settle down and figure out who she was and what she wanted.

She was, after all, her mother's daughter and Phyllis Summers had spent the greater part of her younger years setting fire to things simply to watch them burn.

Her legs shook beneath her as she stepped tentatively towards the side of the bed. "Mom," she managed, her mind instantly harkening back to years ago when she stood by a bedside just like this after another of her father's interrupted weddings. Everything worked out that day. Her mother came back to them. She came home and things were right for a while. Silently she wondered if that was even possible now.

"Mom," she repeated again, "It's me. I'm here. It's Summer. Can you hear me?"

She felt tears burn her eyes as she watched her mother's eyelids flutter and finally slowly open. It took only a moment, though it felt like an eternity, before her lips relaxed in a weak smile.

"Summer," she whispered, "You're here."

"Of course I'm here." She reached for her hand, the guilt weighing so heavy now that she needed to let her body rest on the edge of the bed. "I love you, Mom. I'm sorry if I've been …"

"Shh…" Phyllis shook her head slowly, the room swimming at the slightest movement. "No, no," she managed, "Don't say that. You've young. You're just having fun. You should. It's good. I'm just glad you're here. You're here now. I've missed you." Her entire body seemed to rise and fall as she tried to draw in a breath. Upon exhale, the relaxed expression that had settled on her face suddenly changed, and her eyes opened a bit wider.

"Where is he?" she said, the weak whisper now a bit more frantic.

Her neck tensed at the question. Even now, she was worried about him, worried about where he was and what he'd do. The things Jack had said still played in her mind and she couldn't help but wonder if it was possible, if Billy could possibly do …

"Summer." Her mother's voice held a hint of desperation now. "Tell me he's okay. Please tell me he's not …"

"He's here. He's fine. He's just outside." She watched as relief flooded her mother's face, as her entire body seemed to relax.

"Thank God," she whispered. "Thank God they got him out."