It is now December. Lucy flies to Rome to visit Leah and Jack. On Christmas Eve, they attend a party before going to midnight mass at St. Peter’s. Jack allows Leah to wear Shyla’s pearls and some lipstick, even though Lucy thinks it inappropriate for Leah’s age. Leah is shocked and hurt by Lucy’s sharp reprimands.

On December 27, Jack, Leah, and Lucy are at the Rome airport, checking in for their flight to South Carolina. They are caught in a terrorist attack when four men fire machine guns into the crowd. Jack tosses Leah to safety behind a ticket counter, then rushes to help his mother. Jack tackles Lucy and covers her body with his own. He is shot multiple times and passes out.

The news of the terrorist attack is televised; Jordan sees the live footage of emergency workers rushing Jack out of the airport on a stretcher. Jordan hurries to the hospital. Images of Jordan praying over Jack appear on TV, further blowing Jordan’s cover.

Jack has surgery and is in a coma for six days. When Jack wakes, Leah asks him to tell a “Great Dog Chippie” story about the shooting. Ledare and Lucy fill Jack in on the details that he doesn’t know or can’t remember.