PRESENT DAY
Belle Hastings was Sophia Edwards Twin sister and from the moment they were born, they were complete opposites, Belle was the practical one while Sophia was the dreamer and while Sophia searched for love and found it often , Belle was content on making something out of herself, She managed to get into medical school at 16 because of her grades and graduated within four years to become one of the top Doctors at Seattle Grace.
She was happy in her role and very rarely saw her twin, until a call came in that Sophia Edwards had been killed in a wreck with her four year old daughter. Belle didn't even know she had a niece until that call and when it did, she did the proper thing and went to Hill-Haven to be with them.
Stephen Edwards distraught over the death of his wife and the idea of bringing up a child was too much for him, When Belle offered to take young Jennifer back to Seattle with her at least for the duration, Stephen agreed thinking it would only be temporarily but never knowing it would become a permanent situation, over the years He would visit his daughter but he was never fully able to the proper caregiver she desperately needed.
And when he died before her twelfth birthday, the loss was tremendous but not as quite if he'd be more in her life.
Belle had done an extraordinary job with Jennifer, she was bright, insightful and most of all, willful, it was as if She was the carbon copy of Belle except she shared her mother intuition when it came to boys and men. She was overly flirty and sometimes it got her into trouble
A few times Jennifer was caught under the bleachers with members of the football team and Belle was forced to ship her off to Gresham Hall to ensure that someone was watching over her niece at all times
Except being there caused Jennifer to run wild even more and after a minor chemistry fire, Belle took her back to Seattle and homeschooled her until she was put into a Private School in Paris and finally she seemed to settle down.
For many years It was Belle and Jennifer except when Jennifer met Jonathan and suddenly Belle's role in Jennifer's life began to subside, her life began to revolve to around Max and Jonathan in California and it was if Belle didn't exist for her, Belle supposed she could have made a better effort but she also reasoned that Jennifer could have as well.
Belle didn't even realize she was a great Aunt until the news report that their daughters had nearly been born in the Capital Building and even then she only received a birth announcement with a picture and when Jennifer went missing, she wasn't informed until a member of the Press called to see how she was holding up and if she wanted to a make statement
And even then when she called the White House, She was given a standard statement and watched with the rest of the world when Jennifer was recovered.
She was surprised when Jonathan called her saying that Jennifer wasn't bouncing back from the kidnapping and he was struggling and he needed her.
As much as she wasn't fond of Jonathan, she was thrilled when he called and came immediately.
When Belle arrived at the White House and taken up to the Residence, she was shocked at how much her niece had changed, from a vibrant woman who was capable of great things to a shell who couldn't even function. It broke her heart and she knew that rebuilding her niece would be one of the greatest achievements.
"Belle," Jonathan kissed her cheek
"Jonathan" She didn't move, she remained stoic "Jennifer Charlotte, How are you?"
"It's just Jennifer, Aunt Belle and I'm fine" Jennifer hugged her aunt awkwardly
"Where are the babies?"
"Sophie and Tess are with the nanny" Jonathan smiled uncomfortably "Well, I have to go, Ladies, I look forward to seeing later"
"Jonathan"Jennifer warned her eyes flashing
He kissed her head and made his escape, just before he got to the door, He flashed his famous dimple and front teeth while she stared him down
"Sophie?" Belle asked surprised, she hadn't known the names of the girls all the announcement she'd been sent was written as The Harty Girls
"Yes, Sophie after Mommy" Jennifer wasn't sure what she was supposed to say "Look, I know you don't want to be here and Frankly, I don't think I want you to be around my girls"
"Your Husband made his request and I'm honoring it, whether you want me here isn't up to you, It's clear you are incapable of making rational decisions"
"Excuse me?!" Jennifer became angry "I don't hear from you for nearly a decade, you refused to come to my wedding, you didn't show up for the birth of my daughters and when my husband was fighting for his life, I didn't get a phone call!, how can you accuse me of being incapable of making rational decisions?"
"You seem to forget who raised you, Jennifer Charlotte I gave you everything and you are treating me like this, and I'm sure this is Jonathan influence otherwise you'd have never spoken to me like this,"
"Do not drag Jonathan into this; He is the best thing that ever has happened to me! This is between you and me, you never wanted me, I was just an inconvenience. The most important thing in your life is your career and you've made that clear time and time again!" Jennifer had never released such emotion at once and it felt good, she felt like if she could wail on her aunt, she'd release even more stress and anger
Just then there was a knock on the door and Charlie poked his head
"Ma'am, Leo was wondering if you'd have a minute to spare"
"Send him In," Jennifer nodded
Leo walked in and stopped short when he saw the woman next to Jennifer "Sophia?"
"No, Belle …Leo?"
"How do you two know each other?" Jennifer was confused, how could have Leo known her aunt
"She doesn't know? You haven't told her?" Belle was surprised, she had assumed since Leo was working he would have confessed to being Jennifer's biological father
"It hasn't come up yet" Leo shifted his weight
"Tell me what?" She had a feeling she was being left out of something tremendous
"Ma'am, I think you'd better come, Tess is having a meltdown" the new nanny Ellie poked her head in
"I'll be right there" Jennifer pointed to the two of them "I'll be right back, Stay here both of you" and left
"Well, Leo it's been a long time," Belle nodded smugly
"Apparently not long enough"
"Well, we knew that we were going to run into each other eventually"
"I was kinda hoping it would be one of our funerals" Leo remarked bitterly
10 MONTHS AGO WHITE HOUSE-55 HOURS STILL MISSING
Jonathan was beginning to lose hope, the Agents on the scene of the bombing had no new information, all the bodies had been accounted for and there were no traces of either his son or Jennifer.
The idea of having to admit to himself as well as the rest of the world that his entire reasoning for living was gone and he was completely responsible, if He hadn't dragged her to Washington, Hadn't gotten shot and she hadn't had to step up, they would be home with their girls playing in the yard with Freeway Jr, happily carefree and being in love together. He would never forgive himself but he would do what Jennifer would want, to be a dedicated father and make sure his girls grew properly in the memory of their mother.
He found himself wandering the White House Communications Pen, after the girls had been put to sleep, finally together after so many hours apart, they refused to let go of each other during dinner, a bath and screamed during diaper changes when they had to be separated, Tess kept patting her twin's head as if to make sure it was actually her and Sophie would mirror her twin's actions.
Jonathan kept himself busy with both the girls and making phone calls, he knew if he let his mind wander he'd go crazy and start to dismantle Washington piece by piece.
He took the baby monitor with him so in case the girls cried, he knew it was wrong to leave them alone but with four agents outside the door, they weren't truly alone.
He found himself just outside Sam's office, when he knocked on the door and found no answer, he was curious especially since Sam's light was on and he could hear a computer humming, when Jonathan opened the door, he found Sam asleep with his pen still in his hand as if he only intended to put his head down for a second.
"Sam!" Jonathan called, no answer "SAM!"
Sam jumped 10 feet in the air and knocked over a cup of coffee that had long since gone cold.
"Sir Uh Uh I was just working on" Sam stammered
"A gift for the Sandman, Relax, Sam, You're off the clock" Jonathan attempted to smile
"Is there something I can do for you sir," Sam asked curiously
"I just needed to clear my head for a bit, With Mrs. Hart gone and the girls asleep, I don't know what to do with myself" Jonathan settled himself into Sam's oversized couch "Leo says that you've got two speeches"
"Yes but I'm still working on them"
"Can I see the second speech?" Jonathan put on his glasses
"Sir I don't think.." Sam didn't want to make his boss face something unless it was absolutely necessary
"Please Sam" Jonathan stumbled over his words "I know she's still alive but for the sake of my girls, I need to face reality"
Sam handed him the speech declaring the search for his wife over and that when she was recovered, she would be laid to rest in California next to their beloved Max. That her time on earth was something special, that she gave as much love as she was given and nothing else mattered in her life as much as her family and that she would be remembered for her kindness.
Jonathan realized that he'd begun to tear up, the realization had hit him that she was gone.
"Sir, are you alright?" Sam was so uncomfortable
"Sam, have you ever been in love?" Jonathan wiped his nose
"Yes," He had hesitated for a second
"You haven't really if you have to think about it, Love isn't something to think about, it's instant, you get one love in your life if you're lucky to find it. I found it when I wasn't even looking and now.." He trailed off, cleared his throat and nodded to Sam, he couldn't speak, and he barely made it to the South Lawn before he began to cry.
"How could you just leave me?! How could you leave Sophie and Tess?! We were supposed to grow old together!" He screamed into the night air "Come back to me please" he crumbled onto the lawn while the agents looked on helplessly
OUTSIDE OF GEORGETOWN
Jennifer had come to after something landed on her head, she later concluded it must have been August, When Elliot made his appearance, she'd been so startled that she let her hands go from underneath August and he must have belly flopped on her.
She started to open her eyes when she heard voices, familiar
"Darlin," A woman's voice, a familiar southern voice that Jennifer would know anywhere "What do you want to do with her"
"Give me 20 minutes alone with her and then we'll get rid of her" Elliot said, she could almost hear the sneer in his voice
"Only 20 minutes, do you really think it'll take that long?" Sally smiled that nasty smile of her, Jennifer didn't need to open her eyes to know it
"That's funny you seemed to enjoy it last night" She could hear them kissing and it turned her stomach
"Go on," Elliot said after a few minutes and she heard a door slam and someone shake her
"Hey! Wake up!" Elliot ordered her and untied her hands
"What are you doing with me?!" Jennifer cried
"What I've wanted since you ditched me in Australia" He climbed on top of and began forcibly kissing her neck
She knew he would sexually assault her and she needed to escape somehow
He leaned over to the side dresser table, reaching for a condom when she noticed a lamp beside the bed, thinking quickly she grabbed the lamp and slammed it over Elliot's head
He collapsed on the bed, she scrambled off and ran to where August was lying
"August, we gotta go, August!" She shook him but there was no movement, his skin was grey and when she checked for a pulse, she found none "I'm sorry, son" She kissed his face and ran for the door, she pulled it open and ran into the cold night
Jennifer immediately became disoriented; she'd been in the dark for nearly 3 days but she kept running until she was sure she was far enough away from where she'd been kept.
She ran until her legs ached, until her extremities were cold and when she reached a dirt road, she slowed down her pace but still kept running
She ran until the sun came up and when she saw a house set back, with a man in a robe coming to get the morning paper
"Help me! Please!" She cried
The man looked at her bloody face, torn dress and the fact she was barefoot, he saw that this woman was clearly in trouble
"Come in please," He extended his hand, she felt relief and as soon as she reached the porch, she collapsed
"Adeline!" The man called, "What's your name?"
"My name is Jennifer," She whispered and everything went black again
Back at the White House-ONE DAY LATER
Leo was waiting for Jonathan's press conference in the briefing room to discuss Jennifer's disappearance, when Margaret approached him
"Leo, I have the file you asked for" She whispered "Can I ask why you wanted a file from so long ago"
"Mind your business" He said quickly and went to the hallway
"Hey Leo, what're you looking at?" One of the interns, Ginger asked
"Nothing" He closed the file
"Are you okay?"
Leo nodded and walked away, he went to his office and closed the door
He opened the file to read an auto accident report from the 1960s
"Car seemed to have lost control; the Occupants had to be extracted and the driver of the crushed vehicle died on their way to the hospital" He read out loud, "What the hell happened?"
The accident report mentioned that a small child was pinned in the backseat and that firefighters nearly missed her, she'd called out for her mother and a firefighter happened to hear her, it was lucky because moments later, the car exploded.
An examination of the car revealed that the car could have possibly been tampered with but it was impossible to tell
Attached to the car report was also an autopsy report that said Sophia Hastings Edwards was two months pregnant and that she died of massive internal trauma.
But what was most troubling was that her report said that her face was badly bruised that wasn't due to the accident and that she appeared to have a history of broken bones
"Son of a bitch beat the crap out of her," Leo was getting angry and when Margaret knocked on the door "What?"!
"There's a phone call for you, I think you'd better take it"
He picked up the phone, "Leo McGarry"
"Leo..I need your help" a voice cried
"Jennifer, oh my god" He whispered