"CJ! CJ!"
"Okay folks. One question at a time." She and the President's doctor were facing the press for the first time since the release of the information of the President's and First Lady's trauma at the hand of the terrorists.
"Why didn't the Secret Service know about the background of the kidnappers?"
"The Secret Service does not comment on security measures."
"How did the White House find out about the kidnapping and why weren't we told about it?"
"I will not discuss how we found out and you weren't told about it until now because we didn't want to place the President and First Lady in any more danger than they already were in."
"Is this incident related to the shooting of the President in the church a few months ago?"
"No comment."
"CJ! How serious are the injuries of the President and First Lady?"
"I'll let the doctor answer that question."
The doctor took his place at the microphone. He had already been told not to mention the waterboarding the President had experienced. That information was strictly on a need-to-know basis. "Both the President and First Lady are in fair condition. They both had bruises and minor scratches and were extremely dehydrated, which were treated by giving both IV fluids. The President was admitted on a cautionary basis to observe him over the next few days. We don't anticipate any complications. We are doing it only out of extreme caution."
"What about any MS symptoms?"
"We haven't seen any signs of that since his admission."
"Was the First Lady sexually assaulted?"
CJ stepped in quickly. "That's personal. And there will be no comment. This press briefing is over." She turned and escorted the doctor behind the stage.
While the press briefing was occurring, the President had been transferred to a heavily guarded room surrounded by his three daughters and his Chief of Staff.
"Where is Mom?" Liz was asking.
"She'll be here in a few minutes," Jed replied. "I saw her before I was transferred here. The doctors wanted her to have a couple of bags of IV fluids before they discharge her. She was dehydrated, but otherwise in good condition. She promised to come right up when they let her go."
"It was amazing that both of you came out in such good shape," Leo replied.
"Well, I guess they didn't want to kill us or we would have been dead much earlier. But it still wasn't a walk in the park."
"Oh, I believe that."
Zoey squeezed her father's hand. "Let's not talk about the bad things, okay? You both are alive and safe, that's all that counts, right?"
"Yes. That's all that counts." Jed glanced over at his Chief of Staff, trying to get the message across that they would go into details later. Leo nodded.
The door to the room opened and Abbey, dressed in hospital scrubs, walked in.
The girls rushed to hug her.
"I'm fine. See." She smiled at all of them. Leo noted the fatigue lines in her face and the lack of makeup, but otherwise she looked like herself. He was grateful that only minimal harm had come to her. It could have been so much worse for both of them.
"Listen, girls, would you mind leaving us alone for a few minutes? I need a few minutes with your father."
"Sure." They left the room.
Leo stood and walked over to the door. "Abbey, I'm so thankful you're going to be fine. You both had us all worried."
"Thanks, Leo."
After Leo left, Abbey walked over to the bed, leaned over and kissed her husband on his lips.
Her emotions then got the better of her and tears started rolling down her face.
"I was so scared. For me. For you."
He scooted over and made room for her. "Come here. Lay beside me."
She gratefully lay down beside him and cuddled as close to him as she could. The tears continued to flow.
"I…I…I…thought I had lost you. I…they wouldn't tell me anything."
"Shh…I'm fine. Those bastards did the same to me. They told me they would do unspeakable things to you if I didn't cooperate. They pitted us against each other. They knew our weaknesses."
"But when I heard what they did to you, Jed. The waterboarding…that had to be horrible. I mean…how…"
"Shhh. Don't think about it. It's over, I'm fine. It won't happen again. They're dead."
They both lay there, trying not to think about the past few months. But both knew that as long as he was President, there was always going to be someone out in the world wanting to use the President as target practice and there was very little that could be done to stop them from doing so. Ron and the Secret Service would do their best, but at some point it wouldn't be good enough. Jed and Abbey would have to go on living their lives the best they could and hope they would survive until January 20, 2007.
THE END