"Mariah," Nikki stepped aside and pulled the door open wider to allow both girls to step through. She hesitated, mindful of Faith's presence, "Is everything alright?"
Mariah scoffed slightly, careful to keep her tone even. "I told Faith that maybe she could go brush the horses for a bit. I thought it would be good for her." She locked eyes with Nikki, widening her stare to indicate there was far more to the visit than she could say at the moment.
"It's probably a bit cold out for that," Victor countered, as he strode over to join them by the door, "But I have an even better idea. How about we can find some hot cocoa and cookies in the kitchen?"
Faith beamed and happily headed off behind him. Mariah watched gratefully as she moved quickly out of earshot.
"Okay," Nikki said as soon as she was sure her granddaughter wouldn't be able to overhear. "What's going on? Why are you really here?" She followed Mariah's shuffling steps to the living room and watched as allowed her body to collapse onto the sofa.
"I don't even know where to start," Mariah admitted.
"I think we all know where it started," Nikki sneered. "Phyllis and the wreckage that always seems to follow her around."
"That's an interesting way of putting it," Mariah said slowly. "Phyllis is …" She shook her head, realizing the backstory was of equal importance. "Wait, you haven't seen Sharon, have you?"
Nikki's face grew serious. "What do you mean? I thought she was at the house with you and Faith. She's not?"
"She was, but I went upstairs to help Faith get changed and when I came back down she was just gone."
"Did you try calling her and …"
"Of course I tried calling her," Mariah snapped. She stood to her feet, letting her fingers run through her still tangled hair. "She's not answering her phone and I have no idea what she's doing or where she would have gone and …"
"She probably just needed some space. God knows today didn't go how any of us were expecting, so I can't really blame her if she needed to blow off some steam."
"Right," Mariah sighed. "Yeah …" Her body folded back onto the sofa as her face went slack.
"What?" Nikki asked, a sense of dread washing over her. "What's going on?"
"Nick came by the house looking for Sharon. He wanted to talk to her, wanted to try to explain, and then he got a phone call. It was Jack and he told him that Phyllis had been rushed to the hospital. There's been an accident and apparently it's pretty bad."
"Oh …" The words failed her. Phyllis was Summer's mother and she knew how much Summer loved her even if their relationship was complicated at best. And then there was Nick. This would only further complicate things for him and …
"There's more."
Nikki stilled, swallowing hard at the words. "She's not?"
"No, I mean … I haven't heard how she's doing, but that's not what I mean. Nick called back once he was at the hospital and he said that Detective Rosales had been by. He needs a list of anyone that was at the church today, guests, staff, anyone." She watched as realization seemed to flash behind the blue eyes. "They've investigating this as attempted murder. They don't think this was an accident. They think someone deliberately tried to kill Phyllis."
The intake of breath was audible, followed by a slow shaky sigh. Nikki Newman stood and walked across the living room, stopping when she reached the mantle. Her eyes froze as she stared at a picture from years ago of the family taken many years ago. Sharon stood beside Nick in the frame. She touched the image briefly, before whispering. "And now you can't find Sharon."
"I'm done with both of you." Billy threw the glass door open and headed down the hallway towards the hospital room.
"Billy," Jack bellowed, "Do not go in there and cause a scene. I …"
Summer shook her head in confusion. "Got him out?" She searched her mind for potential meaning. Could Billy have been with her in the car? Or was it someone else?
"Got who out?"
"Billy," Phyllis breathed, her voice still raspy and weak. "You're here."
Summer turned, the confusion instantly turning to anger as she saw Billy standing in the open doorway of the room. She let her mother's cool hand drop from within hers as she stood to her feet and instantly thrust her body towards the door. "I told you," she hissed. "Stay out of here."
"No." Phyllis struggled to push herself up in the bed, the pain instantly defeating her. She drew in a sharp breath and groaned.
"Mom." Summer was beside her in an instant. "Just relax. Everything's going to be fine. They've going to give you some time to rest now."
"No." Trying to shake her head was a mistake and it took a moment to regain her equilibrium. "I …" She opened her eyes, finally able to focus on the image of his still silent frame by the door. Her voice cracked a bit as she spoke. "You're okay?"
He stepped towards the bed slowly, watching Summer's expression become more menacing with each passing inch. "I'm fine," he said softly. "You don't need to worry about anything but yourself right now. You just get better. You're what's important right now."
She grimaced as she swallowed, the dryness of her throat and mouth now becoming painful. Summer moved to stand, but found a pink glass filled with water already waiting by her hand. Billy's eyes looked almost pleading as he offered it, and she snatched it from his grip without a word.
Holding it to her mother's lips, she allowed her to take a small sip, her eyes still trained on his.
"Did anyone else …" She'd never known talking to be this exhausting before. "Is everyone else okay? Was …" Her voice trailed off as the door swung slowly open again and yet another figure appeared.
"Jack," she sighed. "I'm glad you're here. You're okay."
He stepped towards the foot of the bed, his hand lightly brushing her leg. "I'm just fine. You just rest, okay? Don't worry about anything."
"But the others … What about the others?" She could feel her heart beating faster as breathing became more and more difficult to manage.
"Mom. Mom, calm down. It's …"
The bedside monitor beeped sharply and within moments, a nurse had entered the room. "Okay," she said as she turned to face them. "I'm going to need everyone to clear out. She's had a bit too much excitement right and we need to take her up for more tests anyway, so we're going to be moving her now."
Summer nodded, leaning down and giving her a half hug before stepping back. "I'll be here waiting when you get back okay."
"We all will," Billy said, feeling Jack's glare on him as he said the words.
Phyllis nodded, still struggling to get her breathing under control as she felt the bed begin to roll. As they entered the hallway, she spotted him.
"Wait," she said softly. "Can I have just a second with him, please?"
Nick quickly approached her, smiling gently as he leaned down to hear her words. "It's good to see you," he said earnestly. "You're going to be fine. Everything's going to be okay."
She reached out to find his hand and squeezed it with as much strength as she could muster. "It is," she said, "I'm sorry, but just remember things can be fixed. Everyone's okay and that's all that really matters."