It appeared in every newspaper in the country, the three year old daughter Alexandra of Senator Josiah Bartlett of New Hampshire was kidnapped from Manchester, during Halloween Trick or Treating activities when her older sister Elizabeth Westin who was also taking her 7 year old sister Zoey, and her own infant year old daughter Annie trick or treating. Elizabeth only turned her head for a minute and Alexandra was gone.
Liz blamed herself of course, losing her youngest sister, Jed blamed himself not being able to protect Allie, of course the woman that took her only wanted a daughter of her own, and didn't care that he was a senator, and her mother a doctor, she had been finger-printed, in Kindergarten and when he became president it was one of those Restricted files. So when 15 year old Lexie Maxwell, of Philadelphia was arrested and fingerprinted at a Sit in Protest at her Private School because of banning books, her finger prints had been flagged and it was kicked up to the FBI field office, which meant she was not going back to her mother Lydia Maxwell. She was as soon as the FBI got the request taken to the FBI headquarters and taken to an FBI briefing room instead of an Interrogation room, she was given free access to food, and Root beer since it was her favorite, and a Gameboy one of the agents happened to have, but her cell phone was taken away. The FBI Agents knew exactly who she was suspected of being, and they didn't want to piss off the president by mistreating his long lost daughter.
Meanwhile it was the middle of the night, and Leo was called by the FBI director, the FBI director never called him in the middle of the night, the FBI director never got called in the middle of the night, this had to be big. He got into the office, and the FBI director was sitting there. He didn't look stressed he look happy.
"We have Alexandra, She's currently at the Philadelphia field office, she was in Philadelphia with a former Intern of Abby's named Dorothy Loren Harris, and she changed her name to Lydia Maxwell. She lost a baby, and left the program, and took Alexandra two months later, The fingerprints match, and other than her getting arrested at a sit-in for banning books at Eleanor Roosevelt School in Philadelphia and she is all advanced placement classes, according to her physicals and lack of suspicious ER visits she is not being abused, I have no new information."
"You woke me up in the middle of the night and that's all you have, Bob?"
"Leo, what do you think the president would do to me, if I didn't wake you up in the middle of the night the second we confirmed his daughter was alive, I may be every bit the ass everyone says I am, but I am a father…"
"Let's go wake them up." An hour later, Abbey, and Jed were in the Living room in the Private residence. Leo came in.
"The FBI director woke me up, came to me, Alexandra has been found."
Abbey started crying.
"Where is she?"
"She is in the Philadelphia Field office for the FBI, She was picked up in a sit in protesting banned books at Eleanor Roosevelt Private School and her finger prints were kicked to the FBI as a recruited file, and a kidnaped child. She hasn't been told who she is yet, but she know she's was kidnaped as a child."
"Who took her?" Jed asked.
"Abby's former intern Dorothy Loren Harris, she changed her name to Lydia Maxwell, and is now A Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Or was until she was arrested. Alexandra wasn't abused, physically at least, we have no idea how else she was raised."
"When can we go get her?" Jed said.
"Tomorrow first thing, Air force one will be ready, you two, the Deputy White House Counsel…Sam can draft a statement from here….."
"I don't want the press to know yet." Abbey said.
"Abbey, they'll know."
Meanwhile, Lexie slept, she had been suspecting up something was up with her mother for over a year, since Governor Josiah Bartlett starting running for President and she noticed the similarity in appearance to Mrs. Bartlett. She always liked her mother, but there was always something about her that told her not to trust her. And she was never emotionally invested enough to love her adopted mother. Lydia spent thousands on plenty of new age therapies to find out why they never bonded, and all the newest toys to buy her affection but never good old fashioned talk therapy, which most likely would have helped her, but never would have helped her feel what wasn't there. It wasn't if she didn't like Lydia she did a lot, it wasn't if she didn't have great affection for Lydia, and tell her she loved her, she did, but Lydia knew it wasn't the real deal, she knew what was missing even if Lexie didn't. And Lexie had been having Memory flashes since the election started. She knew something wasn't right. She also wasn't the typical looking Political daughter. I mean she was a good 80 pounds overweight, Jet black hair, multiple piercings and a few tats, she had no idea how to play conservative, or political. Harris or Maxwell was upper crust, but she did have money. When she woke up, a Therapist came up, and started talking to her about what was going on, then a social Worker, from Children and family services, she talked with the Therapist for hours. She was actually relieved that Lydia wasn't her mother, she always wondered even though her mother was wonderful to her, did all these amazing things for her, she didn't trust her. Not really. That there was always something about her, that she fundamentally off about her, that inspired this feeling in her stomach that she shouldn't trust her. The therapist asked when she first had that feeling and she couldn't answer that, she said it'd always been there. She never crawled in bed with her if it was storming she comforted herself, she always comforted herself no matter what. If she got her she went to her. As she got older she forgot why she didn't trust her, but she just got that feeling of just not sharing things with her, at an extra early age, which became a rebellion.
It was a short flight to Philadelphia they were checked into the hotel, then they, the White House Deputy Counsel Greg Hallman and their agents went to the Philadelphia field office, they were immediately went to the room where they were keeping drawing she was a gifted artist, a borrowed CD player in her ears listening to Credence Clearwater Revival and belting out the lyrics to Proud Mary and One thing she did agree with Lydia was music. Lydia was a Music lover. She loved all music from Classical to 90s Alternative and all the genres in between and that was a love that she passed onto Lexie.
The President and the first lady was introduced to the agents on her daughter's case. Agent Michaelson and Agent Noonan.
"Well, we know considerably more than we did before the FBI director did last night, Mr. President. She's never been abused, if anything Ms. Harris was overly permissive, she is 80 pounds overweight, her hair is died black, her nails her black, she has multiple piercings."
"Where is she now?"
"In the conference room we'd thought she'd be more comfortable than interrogation, but since the charges have been dropped by the school, you can take her back to the hotel."
"We understand that Agent Noonan, When can we take back to Washington?" Abbey said.
"Tomorrow."
Abbey and Jed were led into the conference room, and they saw the chubby girl, who looked like the poster child for Punk rock rebellion. Toby, CJ, and Josh would have collective heart attacks. She looked up.
"You're my parents." She said.
"Yes." Abbey said.
"I look like you." She said to Abbey. "But I have his eyes."
"Yes, you do." Abbey said.
"Let me shower and change and we can talk." She said.
"You're talking this very well."
"I didn't expect my parents to be you, but I've been suspecting something was wrong since the election started two years ago. Truth is I never trusted her, I never really loved her, I liked her and I cared about her a lot she took care of me, I wanted for nothing, she was there for, and she was a really good friend, but pit of my stomach there was something that made me not trust her completely, I never went into her in the middle of night no matter how bad my nightmare was, I just couldn't…..I'd studied history and Politics so I knew who you were, long before the Election but I never talked about it with Lydia, I never talked with a lot things with Lydia as soon as you started showing up in the news, she started acting like she had DOD. Like she had 14 different personalities and I never knew which one I was going to get. That's when I started I guess rebelling, with the tats, and the piercings, not that she cared, she didn't, she thought it was a great way to express myself. I should get showered. I'll be right back."
She went back to the lockers rooms, and changed into a second set of FBI sweats they'd provided for her. Then came back out to her waiting parents. "Hi, I'm all set."
The Bartlett's went back to the hotel, an female Secret Service agent went to shops to get clothes for Lexie, since most of her clothes and things at Lydia's was evidence. The President was on the phone most of the time. Lexie watched the 11 O'clock briefing.
"At 7pm last night, a Sit-in spear-headed by students protesting 122 classic literature titles recently banned by the administration and another 200 de facto banned books that just don't stock in the library at Eleanor Roosevelt Academy in Philadelphia, came to head when 17 students were arrested when the all-day protest beginning at 8:15 yesterday morning in the school's library reached it peek and the Philadelphia Police Department was called. the 17 students were processed and Booked, when one of the students fingerprints was fingerprinted and her prints added to the system, she was identified as Alexandra Bartlett, the President and Mrs. Bartlett's kidnapped daughter, the FBI took custody, and as the charges were dropped she has been reunited with her parents, Mike…."
"Were the charges dropped because who her father is?"
"The Charges were dropped for all 17 students, Eleanor Roosevelt hasn't changed its policy on, on campus protests since 1967, which is to have the students arrested, booked and processed then the charges dropped, and they consider it a learning experience. Katie….."
"Does the FBI know the Identity of the Kidnapper?"
"The FBI does not comment on ongoing investigations, Danny….."
"When will Ms. Bartlett be home with her family?"
"The President, the first lady and their youngest daughter will be returning to the White House Tomorrow."
She watched the rest of the briefing. She'd watch them before when she had time. Now it occurred to she would know these people.
"Sweetheart, is there anything you particularly need from The House." Her Mother asked.
"Well, My Music collection, and My Book collection a lot of those are first editions, my stuffed dog…it's old, and I've had it forever its black with Brown spots…"
"You still have Spots." Jed said from where he was reading briefings.
"Yeah, I always wondered where I got him….."
"Well you were Dorothy that year." Her Mom said.
"I'm not exactly what the American People want to see when they think of the first family."
"That doesn't matter." Jed said.
"I'm thinking it matters….I have to change the I look which I don't mind I'll take out the piercings, I'm not getting my tats lasered because they're a part of me, I always struggled with my weight, one of the reasons I never tried drugs or alcohol is I always had food, and it's not like Lydia paid for a real accredited therapist where I could talk about my issues, although I did a lot of Yoga, and Meditation…and chanting in a circle at midnight, under the full moon…."
They took her to a Salon and kept the black but changed the hair style, they got rid of all but one of the earrings, and the nose ring, they got all new clothes, and most of her things from the house. Her parents talked to CJ on the phone. They loaded Air force one, and she was given a tour of the plane. She listened to her music and drew. They flew toward the white house with Purpose. She was scared this was her life now. Part of her was scared, and part of her was angry, and part of her was excited and part of her was hungry, the hungry that would never be satisfied, and part of her wanted to self-harm, Alexandra Bartlett was pretty confused and messed up by life and she was pretty honest with herself by that, but she was also, taught by life not to trust adults, part of her knew she could trust these people trust her parents, but part of her wasn't sure.