"He thought he realized what was going on, but the situation . . . broke him down," a source says of Jamie (on Jan. 3). Photo by: NEILL J. SCHUTZER / RAMEY
Britney in Crisis| Britney Spears, Jamie Spears
By all accounts the circumstances of that now-infamous Jan. 3 night are harrowing: After a scheduled visitation with sons Preston, 2, and Jayden, 16 months, was up – as usual, ex-husband Kevin Federline's bodyguard had come to retrieve the children – Spears locked herself in a bathroom with Jayden, where she was "screaming out the window while Jayden cried," says a source. (Preston had already been strapped into the car when the ordeal began and "wasn't really aware of anything that was going on, thank goodness," says a source.) Federline's attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan was summoned to provide police with the court's visitation order. The scene at the house "was intense – no doubt about that," says Kaplan.

The four-hour standoff finally ended with police breaking down the door. Paramedics then restrained Spears and delivered her to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was forcibly committed for evaluation under California's 5150 Hold, in which a medical professional deemed Spears a danger to herself or others. (Per protocol Jayden also was taken to the hospital but was not injured.) Once there Spears was "causing a ruckus . . . like a caged prisoner," says a source familiar with the situation. Then, in perhaps the saga's most shocking turn of events, Spears – who had been expected to remain hospitalized for a standard 72 hours – was released after just one day, much to the dismay of horrified friends and family. Dad Jamie Spears, 55, "was in tears," says a source. (Dr. Phil, who has been in contact with the Spears clan, later cancelled a planned episode on Spears "out of consideration for the family.")

Meanwhile, Spears' mom, Lynne, 52, and pregnant sister Jamie Lynn, 16, anxiously watched the situation unravel from the family's home base in Kentwood, La. Says Britney's aunt Linda Ann Brandon-Kjos: "It was very upsetting. We are just praying for her." Adds Britney's former assistant Felicia Culotta: "My heart and prayers are with her and her family."