"Bess, see if we can get Minister Chen on board before we reach out to the Russians," President Dalton addressed Elizabeth. After a long discussion between Conrad, Russell, and herself, Elizabeth nodded and rose from one of the two blue couches in the middle of the prestigious Oval Office, turning to head toward the door. Russell Jackson followed, never taking his eyes off his phone, undoubtedly answering one of the hundreds of texts and emails that he received daily.
"How's Stevie feeling?" Russell mumbled before Elizabeth rounded the corner. She turned to look at him, confusion evident on her face. Crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes at Russell, Elizabeth stepped toward him.
"Why don't you tell me, Russell? You've had her stay so late and coming in so early, I haven't seen my daughter in 3 days. You talk to her way more than I do now." Prepared for an argument, Elizabeth was taken back by the incredulous look Russell was serving. She raised her eyebrows as a request for Russell to let her in on what he was thinking.
"What the hell are you talking about? Stevie called saying she was sick on Monday. I haven't heard from her since." Russell looked at his phone, "It's what, Wednesday now?"
Elizabeth felt a wave of nausea roll over her, followed by a sting of anger that her oldest daughter had once again decided to be rebellious and defiant. With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, Elizabeth took off at a quick pace to get to her motorcade and back to her office at the State Department.
"Tell her if she values her job at all, she'll be here tomorrow!" Russell called after her.
"Blake, my phone please?" Blake jumped up from the chair he'd been sitting in waiting for the secretary's meeting to end and pulled Elizabeth's cell phone from his jacket pocket while jogging to catch up with his speed walking boss.
"Here you go, ma'am. Everything okay?" He'd known her long enough to be able to decipher the many looks she wore. This one was a mixture of a few, which alerted him to something being off. Without answering, Elizabeth took the phone from her assistant and dialed Stevie's number. When it went to voicemail, she ended the call and climbed into the black SUV waiting for her.
"Turns out, Stevie hasn't been working a ton of overtime like I thought. She's not even working at all. Russell said he hasn't seen her in a few days." Elizabeth threw up her hands as Stevie's outgoing message played in her ear again. "And now she won't answer my calls." Blake twisted his face into a look that said yikes while pretending to thumb through the calendar book he was holding.
"Henry? Hey, have you heard from Stevie lately?" Elizabeth gave up on calling her daughter and had gotten through to her husband.
"Hey baby. No, I haven't talked to her probably since Sunday. Haven't you seen her around the White House?"
Elizabeth took off her glasses and rubbed her forehead. "I just got out of a meeting with the President. Russell said she called in sick on Monday and he hasn't heard from her since. I tried calling her and she won't answer. You're the 'Stevie Whisperer.' Can you please try calling her? I'm getting a little worried, Henry."
"Wow. Yeah, sure babe. I'll call her right now. I'll let you know what happens." Elizabeth put her phone in her lap and looked over at Blake.
"Blake, has Stevie tried calling the office or anything? Any messages or any word at all?" Her assistant looked at her and shook his head. "No, ma'am." Blake answered apologetically. He knew that Stevie liked to push boundaries and buttons, and the toll that her escapades have taken on Elizabeth over the years. Blake had always admired the way Elizabeth could juggle all the trials of the world with being a wonderful mother without missing a beat. He knew he was obligated to "serve at the pleasure", but he genuinely felt honored to work for her. Before he could offer some words of encouragement, Elizabeth's phone rang.
"She's not answering my calls either." Elizabeth sighed heavily at Henry's news.
"Henry, I know she's an adult, and it's time to start treating her like one. But, after that RPG attack that almost killed her, and did kill June, she just hasn't been the same. Not that I expected her to be perfectly fine, but."
"But she at least usually puts up the facade of being okay." Henry finished his wife's sentence. "I tried to talk to her about it the other night, but she said she was tired and needed to lie down. Maybe I should have kept pushing."
"Henry, we don't need to go there right now. For all we know, she could be off on another one of her little rendezvous with Harrison. You know how she likes to just make us crazy."
"Maybe you're right. But I still don't like the fact that she won't answer our calls."
"I know. I'll keep trying her. Love you." Elizabeth ended the call as she stepped into the elevator at the State Department. As always, there was a welcoming chorus of "Good morning" from the rest of her staff as the elevator doors opened. Jay, Daisy, and Kat were all standing in the entryway anticipating Elizabeth's return from her meeting at the White House.
"Good morning, guys. Listen, I know we've all got a lot of work to do, but I just need a couple of minutes in my office and then we can get started. Okay?" They all nodded their heads, but looked to Blake for some clarity as to why the Secretary was hurrying off to her office without first addressing them as was the norm. He shook his head, hoping they wouldn't push the issue any further. Although it would become common knowledge soon enough, given the fact that nothing seemed to get past the media these days, Blake still felt like it was his duty to shield the Secretary from their avalanche of questions as often as possible. He breathed a sigh of relief as they all departed to their own offices to await word that they could begin their usual morning proceedings.
Elizabeth shut her office door behind her and made her way across the cream colored carpet, shedding her coat and tossing it, along with her bag, onto the couch. She settled into her oversized desk chair, ran her fingers through her short blonde locks, and stared at her phone. Something wasn't right. As much as she'd like to just brush off her motherly instinct and chalk it up to Stevie just "being Stevie", her heart just wouldn't let it go. After going through the attack at the White House, Elizabeth knew Stevie was going to have a hard time processing it. She knew how she felt after coming back from Iran, and a shiver ran through her body at the thought that her daughter could be having the same nightmares, flashbacks, and panic that she'd gone through. Guilt coursed through her veins every time she remembered the fact she wasn't there. She'd been running just a few minutes late and that had been the difference between possibly being able to shield her daughter from the blast, or taking her place in the hospital bed instead.
Snapping out of the web she was spinning in her mind, Elizabeth hastily grabbed the phone on her desk and hit the speed dial button with Stevie's number saved to it. It rang three times, and just as she was about to hang up, the ringing stopped.
"Hello?" Elizabeth melted into her chair when she heard Stevie's voice. At least she's alive.
"Stevie? Baby, where are you?" She tried to keep her voice calm and leveled, although she felt like she'd been jolted by electricity with all the emotions running through her head. Elizabeth was so relieved to hear her daughter's voice, but was angry, concerned, confused, curious why her daughter had been lying to everyone. When Stevie didn't answer, Elizabeth tried again.
"Stevie? Are you okay?" There was a short pause on the other end of the phone, and Elizabeth suddenly realized she was holding her breath waiting for her daughter to respond.
"I don't think I can do this anymore." Stevie mumbled in a quiet, hollow voice that Elizabeth had never heard before. Her heart ached and a wave of panic crashed hard over her. Something definitely wasn't right. Her normally strong-willed and animated daughter sounded like she had no life in her words.
"What do you mean, sweetheart? Is it the job? I know Russell is probably the worst boss on earth," Elizabeth laughed jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. But she was met with silence. Her brow creased, and she felt her hands begin trembling ever so slightly. She cleared her throat and straightened up in her chair. Her stomach had begun to turn, as realization started to settle in. Although she'd never heard that emptiness in Stevie's voice before, she'd heard it somewhere. It had been in her own voice, shortly after Iran.
"Stevie, what do you think you can't do anymore?" Elizabeth closed her eyes, pushing the phone hard against her ear as if it would allow her to be closer to her daughter.
"Just…live." The phone fell from Elizabeth's shaking hand.