{{Our episode title comes from the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' song The Waiting.—tmw.}}
"It isn't fair!" Ben Twist complained once again.
It had been the same observation the whole trip back to the Andersons house, and while those present could sympathize, they were starting to get a little tired of the gripe.
"It's hard on all of us," commented his friend, Nate Anderson.
"I know. Your dad's at risk. Heck, the whole town's at risk if the existence of were's gets exposed when Dieter Wilhelm and the Harpers go storming the church to attempt dragging that poor girl Jennifer back with them to Alabama.*," observed Ben. "But my biological parents died when I was young. I barely have even the slightest recollection of them. Samantha and Frances are the only parents, the only family, I've ever known," he realized, before slumping down on the Anderson family's living room couch.
"I know," said Martha Anderson, sitting next to him and putting a motherly, consoling arm around Ben. "But it's going to be all right. Samantha and Frances will look out for each other. Heck, between them and everyone else there, I kind of feel sorry for this Wilhelm character and the Harpers. For them, it's going to be like bringing a water pistol to a forest fire, what with all the security and everything else in place."
"I don't feel sorry for any of them," replied Alex Ramsey, Nate's boyfriend, who had dragged a chair from the dining room table to sit across from those on the couch. "What kind of parents act the way these Harpers are reported to, let alone that Wilhelm character?"
"What about the other Harper siblings?" asked Nate in return, sitting next to his mother. "From what I hear, they are the true innocents. It's just the adults who are the villains in this case, and I for one am certainly glad you and dad are not like them," he added, before leaning his head on his mother's shoulder.
"Thank you honey," said Martha, before giving her son a quick kiss on top of his head. "Your dad and I have had our differences and problems over the years," she added, briefly thinking about their past before moving to Moon Lake, "but we have always been united on trying to do the best we can for you and Eric."
"Speaking of which, I wonder how he's doing right now?" wondered Nate.
The answer to that question could be found at the Stovall residence, where Eric sat silently on the couch in that living room, being lovingly held by his fiance Julie Stovall, while her father the Mayor of Moon Lake awaited word on what happened at the church.
"Dear..." quietly began Mrs. Stovall, looking at her husband. "It's been almost an hour now."
"I know honey," he said, "but what if they're busy over there? My calling might interrupt something. Besides, Chief O'Hara promised to call me as soon as he could."
"My dad wasn't always the greatest," said Eric in a very low voice, "cheating on my mom the way he did before we moved here, but he's still my dad."
"I know beloved," replied Julie, while holding him closer. Eric had always been the more... sensitive of the two, a trait the young weremermaid had found quite endearing and part of his charm. But now all she wanted to do was to hold him close until all his pain disappeared, no matter how long that took.
"If we're exposed..." whispered Melissa Stovall to her husband.
"Everyone at ground zero is prepared and know what to do. But if they can't control the damage at the church..." began Martin, just as his cellphone began to ring.
Everyone in the house looked at him anxiously as the Mayor answered the call.
MEANWHILE...
"Any word?" Akane no Tachibana asked Yamoto, as she entered Moon Lake General Hospital. Except for leaving the sword that was hidden inside the left sleeve of her formal kimono within the trunk of her private car, she was still dressed the way she was at the Harper-Jenkins wedding.
"James Harper Senior is out of emergency surgery and in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit now," responded Yamoto, looking at both her and Daisuke Tachibana. "At the very least, Tora is not hopeful for a speedy recovery."
"I see," replied Akane solemnly. "And the rest of the Harpers?"
"The children are still united in their position against their father's idea of... parenting. Mrs. Harper still feels pressed upon and will not acknowledge the truth. But otherwise, our secrets remain safe, for now."
"Then all we can do for now is find someplace to stay nearby in case we're needed, and wait."
IN THE WAITING ROOM FOR VISITORS OF INTENSIVE CARE PATIENTS...
"This day isn't going how I pictured it," began Mrs. Jennifer Harper-Jenkins, while holding her new husband's hand. "Sure, I wanted Dieter Wilhelm taken care of and stand up to dad. But this?"
"I know," began James Junior, trying to comfort his older sister. "I'm glad Wilhelm and his henchman are in jail. I hope they throw them into the deepest cell available and lose the key after locking them in. I also knew dad would be a stubborn..." but then he stopped himself from cursing in front of his younger siblings. "Yet I still hoped mom might come around and realize the truth."
"Does she even still know what it is?" asked Jennifer in return. "After all these years under dad's thumb, even before we started coming along?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," admitted her brother.
"Err... I hate to be a bother right now, but what happens to us?" asked John Harper, while holding his younger sister's hand.
"Depending upon what happens with dad, and how mom feels afterward, my offer of emancipation still stands," promised Jennifer, "unless you were planning to keep an eye on them somehow?" she asked James Junior.
"Me and my girlfriend have been trying to figure that one out, but truthfully, even with graduating college and starting our careers together, we'd just be making ends meet as it is," he admitted. "So, depending upon mom, maybe your idea is the best option."
"So, what's this Moon Lake place like anyway?" asked Janice Harper.
AND OUTSIDE A CERTAIN ROOM IN ICU...
"I'll be right here. Take your time, but do not touch anything," cautioned Doctor Tora Tachibana, as he stood near the foot of the hospital bed where James Harper Senior rested.
His wife Elizabeth just stood at the side not occupied by all the cables and monitoring equipment, staring at her husband.
"This isn't him," she said, her voice barely audible, but considering all the Tachibanas were werefoxes, he heard her clearly. "My James is alive. A strong and vibrant soul. James, please come back to me. puh-please come back and prove to our ungrateful children how wrong they are!"
And then Elizabeth Harper stood beside her husband's bedside and began to cry.
Just how deeply does her denial run? wondered Tora. The worried wife grieving for her ailing husband I understand well, but Yamoto told me what happened at the church. Does she totally deny all her husband's rough and abusive ways?
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*A very brief recap of the last few episodes, although you already know what happened at the church.—tmw.