193. He’s a bad, bad boy!

Bridgeport, present day...

Krisis was nodding off to sleep in his uncomfortable chair beside Leigh’s bed when his cell phone rang.

He left the room to answer it. It was Krimsyn. They’d heard on the news and they were taking the first flight home.

“There’s no need. Leigh’s okay,” he lied as he paced the quiet corridor. He didn’t want to deal with his sister. Didn’t want to deal with everyone’s devastation, he barely had a handle on his own feelings.

“You honestly don’t expect me to stay in Twinbrook, Leigh’s like a sister to me. We’ll be there soon!” Krimsyn was having none of it.

“The tour…” he tried to get her to change her mind.

“The tour can wait. We’ll have to push it off by a few weeks. Stan and Natalie will handle the media backlash. This is a family crisis, it’s unavoidable.” After a few more minutes of assurances on her part that the band and their fans would be fine, Krimsyn rang off.

Krisis had just returned to Leigh’s ward and sat down when the door creaked open. Eloise and Devon sprung in with a large bouquet of irises and a goody basket.

“From my mom,” Eloise explained the basket in her hands. The bouquet was from Devon’s colleagues, they all wished Leigh a speedy recovery.

“Thanks,” Krisis murmured as he rolled his shoulders, trying to shake off his fatigue.

They sat in silence for some time, all three just content to watch Leigh’s still form on the narrow cot.

Eloise, in a subdued voice, suggested Krisis should go home and get some rest. But he was reluctant to go, and he made them promise they’d call him as soon as Leigh regained consciousness.

“Of course,” Devon promised him as he walked him out.

At home, all his kids were still awake and they were driving Patty crazy with demands for their mommy. They stopped crying the moment they saw him, Leigh was temporarily forgotten.

After a round of hugs and kisses, Krisis took them all to the living room to break the news about Leigh.

He explained as simply as he could that Leigh’s in hospital but she’d be home soon.

As soon as Lily heard “hospital” she burst into tears, she’d heard on the radio on their way from the zoo that Leigh was in a car accident and she’d died.

It took Krisis a long time to assure her that Leigh was okay, and the news reports were wrong.

Kristian was a little more optimistic; he thought his mommy ate too many sweets, but she’d be okay.

“Yes, she did,” Krisis smiled tearfully at his son, remembering Leigh always told their kids too much junk food was bad for them and they’d end up in hospital.

Azalea and Ariel left the room hand in hand; when they came back they had Patches and Puzzles with them.

They didn’t say much when they handed the dolls to him, but Krisis understood their gesture. They thought Patches and Puzzles would make Leigh feel better.

An hour later, all four kids were ready for bed; they’d brushed their teeth and changed into their PJs. They huddled in the triplets’ nursery and Krisis read them a bed time story. He tried to make the Three Little Pigs as much fun and entertaining for them as possible, he even did the voices, but he knew he’d never be as good as Leigh. By the time he closed the book, they were all fast asleep.

With Patty’s help he tucked them in and turned off the lights. “Krisis, the missus will be fine. She’s a fighter, she’ll pull through, you’ll see!” His housekeeper patted his arm as they left Lily’s room.

 Krisis just smiled and nodded his head, he truly hoped she was right…

It was early dawn when he decided to finally head to his bedroom and try and get some sleep. But he stopped in the nursery to check on the kids first. And he was surprised to find Ariel awake, trying to sing herself to sleep.

“Hey darling, you can’t sleep huh?” He cooed at her as he picked her up from the crib.

They went to his study and he sang to her for a while, but that seemed to excite her instead of lull her to sleep.

Ariel touched his cheek affectionately and told him about her new cousin. She couldn’t wait to meet him.

“Ariel, darling, is Aunt Eloise having a baby?” Krisis asked her.

Ariel shook her head, “no daddy, Syn!”

“Ah!” Krisis nodded, but didn’t say anything.

Ariel leaned in closer and asked him not to tell anyone. It had to be a surprise for Krimsyn and J.D.

“Okay, I won’t tell,” Krisis assured her as he planted a kiss in her hair.

He knew he probably shouldn’t. But he had to know. He had to be sure that the danger was over.

“Baby, was this what you saw in your dream, about mommy?”

“No, daddy! No!” Ariel yelled at him then. But Krisis wasn’t sure if she saying no to the accident, or if she didn’t want to talk about her premonition.

“Honey, I have to know. You have to tell me if this is what you meant. Is mommy still in danger?” Krisis tried again, and Ariel kept right on screaming 'no'.

Patty came in then when she heard the commotion. She gave Krisis a very angry look and shook her head disapprovingly, “Really, Mr. Frost. She should be sleeping.”

“Daddy, Josh is bad. He’s a bad, bad boy!” Ariel told him just before Patty snatched her from him.

Krisis slowly walked to his bedroom, thinking about Ariel’s words, wondering what she’d meant about Joshua. She’d only met him once, and his own dealings with Michaela’s fledgling were very few. He wondered if Joshua was connected to Leigh’s accident, or if he was involved in something much more sinister.

“Shit!” Krisis growled as he slipped under the covers. 

He hated not seeing the bigger picture, but he couldn’t fault his daughter for her limited visions…