Marissa stood in the waiting room not quite believing what had happened. Tonight had started out amazing; Marissa was in love and it was wonderful. When she and Bianca were together it just felt right. They laughed, they talked, they kissed and now… now it didn't seem real.

Marissa kept wishing she could wake up and for all these last moments to be some horrible nightmare. In her head all she could see was Bianca in the hospital bed, the whole left side of her beautiful face had been distorted by cuts and bruises, her eye so swollen she could barely open it and her lips puffy and scabbed. Marissa kept wondering how many times JR must have hit her to do all that damage.

JR had really hurt Bianca; tried to kill her and just the thought of it made her feel sick.

…

"Is there any word?"

Marissa looked up to see Kendall and Griffin approaching.

"Dr Hubbard seems to think she is going to be alright, but he's waiting for David to give a second opinion. He is still worried about her neck injury." said Marissa, her voice flat. She felt so numb. "They wanted some privacy right now. Bianca's being examined for the police report at the moment."

"Are you alright?" asked Kendall, placing a hand on her back.

"I don't know..." said Marissa honestly. "How could JR..? Why would he..? I don't know…"

Kendall sighed and pulled her into a hug. Marissa rested her head on the older woman's shoulder grateful for the comforting gesture.

"David can be here in a few hours." said Griffin. "We won't have long to wait."

Kendall gave him a look.

"I keep forgetting you know the location of his secret lair."

"He'll come for Bianca." said Griffin. "I know he will."

There was a sound of quick footsteps in the corridor and they all turned to see Krystal hurrying towards them.

"Marissa. I just heard. Are you alright?"

As Kendall handed her over to her mother's arms Marissa nodded her head in reply. It wasn't true, she wasn't fine but compared to Bianca…

"We are waiting for the doctors to be finished." Marissa explained, trying to stay strong for Bianca's sake. "I promised I'd go back as soon as they were done."

"I'm sure she would like that." said Krystal with a sympathetic smile.

More footsteps came hurrying towards them. It was Ryan and Cara. Ryan's nose was now properly dressed and he had the beginning of two black eyes. Despite his injuries, Ryan and Cara looked excited as they approached.

"Have you heard the news?" asked Ryan. "They've got him. They've arrested JR."

"That's brilliant." said Kendall delight in her eyes. She engulfed Griffin in a triumphant hug and Krystal let out a cheer. Marissa was the only one not celebrating.

"Honey what's wrong." asked Krystal concerned.

"It doesn't change what he did. It should never have happened."

"No, no it doesn't." said Krystal, looking for the others for support. "But Bianca is strong you know, stronger than she looks…

"Yes she is." said Kendall. "She's a Kane and us Kane woman are made of tough stuff."

"But it's my fault…" sobbed Marissa. "I should have been clearer with JR. I should have seen this coming…"

"Sweetheart you've been through so much lately yourself. I mean you still have no memory. You were not equipped to deal with the machinations of JR. I should have warned you."

"You did… I just didn't want to listen. I mean have I really changed that much? Have I always been this gullible? How could I not see JR for who he really is."

"Because he can be charming, I've fallen for it myself… and I know him of old. I should have tried harder."

"No," interrupted Kendall. "No. She's my sister. I should have looked out for her." She looked sorrowfully to Griffin for moment for support. "I knew when you two got back together JR was going to cause trouble. I should have stayed with her."

"No one could know how this would pan out guys." said Cara trying to inject some grounding to the conversation. "I mean the last I heard JR was the hero of Pine Valley. There had been talk of a medal! This came out of no where."

Marissa looked into Kendall's eyes, they didn't believe that. There were signs, there must have been, and they missed them. The guilt seemed to fill the air between them. There had to be something they could have done to protect Bianca. What did they miss, what could they have said to stop this cruel attack?

"What are we doing?" said Griffin forcefully, breaking their mournful mood. "Why are we playing the blame game? This is the fault of one person and one person only – JR. We are not taking on any of his garbage. We just have to hope he gets what's coming to him."

"Hear, hear." agreed Krystal. "They should lock him up and throw away the key."

"They damn well better." swore Kendall, "Because if I ever get my hands on him he's not only going to be sorry; he's going to be dead."

…