Fitz did not hear what the news anchor was saying and he had to grip the kitchen counter to stop from falling over. He was aware that Olivia was now staring at him, but he couldn't look at her, he couldn't speak. After what seemed to be hours, but was only a few minutes he snapped out of his stupor. He rushed back into her bedroom to find his cell wondering why no one had called him. He found his cell on the floor and realize that it was dead. Fitz grabbed his suit jacket and headed for the door. He remembered Olivia and turned to regard her.
"Go." Was all she said. He was angry and scared in this moment. Angry that no one had bothered to come find him, to at least tell his Secret Service what was going on, a part of him was wondering if this was just another ploy by Mellie to gain sympathy. He quickly put that thought out of his head knowing that she would not go to these lengths. He was whisked to his car and he immediately called Cyrus ready to chew him out. The phone barely rang 1 time when an out of breath Cyrus answered the phone.
"Where have you been?!" Fitz winced at his tone.
"That's not important. What is important is have you heard anything about Mellie and why wasn't I informed of this? Why did I have to hear that my wife's plane crashed from the news?"
"I have not heard anything about Mellie. I have been sitting here trying to keep hysteria from taking over and trying to cover for the president who seemed to be MIA while his wife is possibly somewhere in a field, in North Carolina, snapped in pieces after her plane crashed! I called you several times, but you were too busy fucking your mistress to answer the damn phone!" Cyrus did not have the patience or the time to keep decorum with Fitz. He was angry and scared. A feeling that they both shared. Fitz had no comeback and he hung his head in shame.
"Call me if you hear anything I will be there shortly." He hung up the phone with Cyrus and immediately thought of his children, Karen and Gerry. By now he was sure they'd heard about their mother's plane. He took a deep breath and called Karen's cell. She answered sobbing.
"Dad, what's going on?" Fitz's breath caught in his throat hearing the anguished tone of his daughter.
"I don't know yet honey? I am on my way to the White House to find out." Fitz realized that he'd let it slip that he had not been in the White House when it happened and the silence on the other end alerted him that Karen had noticed as well. She sniffled, but did not say anything else. "I just wanted to check on you and your brother. Have you seen him?"
"He's right here with me. We were taken out of class right before the news broke. Why did we have to hear about this from school officials and not you?"
"I...I was working honey." The explanation sounded lame even to him, but thankfully his daughter was too upset about her mother to call him to the carpet on it.
"Dad she can't be dead." Karen sounded less like the teenager that she was and more like a scared little girl.
"I know baby I know." For so many reasons that Fitz wasn't ready to admit to. Fitz spoke with a even more distraught Gerry briefly before exiting the car as he headed to the Oval Office. Cyrus was waiting on him with the latest.
"A body was found..." Fitz's heart stopped. "It was that of the pilot we are being told. They are still searching for the First Lady." Fitz winced when Cyrus referred to her as the First Lady, she was so much more than that. He nodded and went to stare out at the lawn. "Sir I think it would be prudent for you to head to North Carolina." The thought had crossed his mind, but he did not want to freak his children out by getting on a plane.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Cyrus looked at him like he had two heads.
"Sir I know that your marriage was not the best, but at the very least you can pretend like you care." Cyrus's remark was said snidely. Fitz whirled around from the window and stalked over to him.
"Don't you dare stand there and make it seem like I do not care that the mother of my children might be dead! I am not a cold heartless bastard like you Cyrus! I don't have to pretend, she is my wife and I do care." The last part said softly as Fitz stepped away from Cyrus and sunk down onto the sofa. He laid his head in his hands as tears began to stream down his face. Cyrus was shocked at the scene before him. He stood silently. Fitz took a deep breath and looked up at Cyrus.
"Get Air Force One ready I'm going to North Carolina." He stated with a steady still voice. All traces of emotion gone.