She did not move. Mike, kneeling beside her, panicked. Since Andrew had slammed the door behind him, there had been no sign of life from her. His eyes were wide open and the panic was now compounded by fear. She had been there for far too long and had not moved. Quick-witted, he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. She did not react. With one hand he grabbed her wrist and felt for a pulse. There it was. Faintly, but it was there. With the other, he fumbled his cell phone out of his pocket and typed hurriedly on it.
A woman's voice answered on the other end "Hello, 199. What's your emergency?" Only now did he respond to the voice. "Yes, 'scuse me. An unconscious woman. She's not responding. From what I could feel, though, she has a pulse." He swallowed.
"Who am I talking to here, and where are you?" "Michael Barnow." He hated having to say his full name, it only brought up memories he'd banished from his mind ages ago. "Watergate Hotel at 2650 Virginia Ave NW." Mike could hear hurried typing on a computer keyboard through the receiver. Then the silence was interrupted again by the voice. "A team is already on the way. Do you know the woman?" "Yes, yes, it's the Secretary of State." Now there was silence on the other side. He didn't even hear the computer's keys. "Oh. Um. Listen. I'll stay on the line until the response team gets on site."
"Okay." "Do you have anything you can use to elevate her legs? That should get the blood flowing to their head faster and help them regain consciousness." Mike looked around. The pillow on the sofa caught his eye and he reached for it. "I put a pillow under her feet."
"Good." The woman sighed. "Try talking to her again." As he knelt beside Bess again, he felt nauseous. All the blood was hitting his stomach and the sight of her, so helpless on the floor, hurt his heart. „Bess? Bess wake up, please!" No reaction.
He reached out a hand and brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. Softly he muttered, "Oh my God. Bess what did he do?" Immediately the voice sounded again from the phone. "What did you say? Who did what?" Mike didn't know what to say. Should he tell the truth? Or would he rather keep quiet? But the clearly visible handprint on her face would raise questions, so why not tell the truth? "She... Her nose is..." he had to swallow hard and pull himself together strongly to suppress his nausea. "It's crooked. So very crooked...there is blood coming from that."
"Do you know how that happened? Who did that to her?" The lady repeating her question. Mike fumbled before he could get the words past his lips. "She was hit. Not by me! I just saw it..." "Listen. The team is on the scene. I'll send the FBI over, too. They'll take a closer look." Mike wanted to protest, but then had to admit to himself that was probably the most sensible thing to do. He was about to reply when the phone on the wall rang. "Thanks. The phone is ringing, I'd better answer it, I'm sure it's the front desk. Thank you for your help! Without waiting for the woman's reply, he had hung up and snatched the receiver from the fork. After a brief moment, he answered "Yes yes, send them up! Hurry!"
He sat in his car following the ambulances as they pushed their way through the crowded D.C. streets with blue lights and sirens on. Fortunately, there had been no press outside the hotel when the Secretary of State had been loaded into the ambulance on a stretcher. Mike sent a prayer to heaven that this story would remain hidden for a while and not fill the headlines tomorrow morning.
As he drove through the darkness toward Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, he quickly dialed a number on his cell phone that was only so familiar. It rang and he put the call on speakerphone, only after a brief wait did a voice answer. "What can I do for you?" It took him a moment before he could get anything past his lips. "Elizabeth. She... There's been an incident." He swallowed. "I'm on my way to Walter Reed. The FBI is still in the suite."
Through the receiver he heard a rustle and a soft voice in the background, then she spoke into the receiver again. "Mike! What happened?" That her voice still sounded so firm and calm impressed him. He had to fight the tears that had already gathered in his eyes. He was so afraid. Afraid of what had happened, what would happen, and afraid for her. For his Bess. "At the Watergate Hotel. She was -no, I think is still- unconscious and bleeding. That's all I know." He sobbed. Tears streamed down his face and he had to wipe his eyes with his hand. "FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! I'm not a doctor. She could die because... because..."
"Mike. That doesn't help her or me. What happened?" "There was a private incident. If it goes bad, it'll all come out and she'll have to explain herself. The FBI is there looking at the crime scene. Then she has receipts in her hand..."
"Wait! Crime scene? Did you just say crime scene?" "Yes." "God in heaven! How bad is it?" "Bad! But like I said before. I -Bess- is on her way to the hospital. Everything as discreet and unexciting as possible. I haven't discovered any press yet, either. So if you -"
"Already done. Daisy knows about it. We'll see us right there." There was silence after that. Mike sobbed a few more times and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He could barely make out the road, everything was so blurry. Actually, he shouldn't be driving a car like that...
"Mike, it's going to be okay." "It's been so awful! You know, I was standing right next to it. I saw everything...everything...and I...I didn't do anything. Nothing at all!.." "I know. Mike, it's going to be okay. I'll see you in a minute."
The burning was there immediately. The surprise that he had actually dared to hit her, and in Mike presence, made her feel the pain only a moment later. At the same time as the pain, she felt a warm liquid run down her face. She didn't get to instinctively stroke her face, wiping away the blood and feeling her nose, because the darkness came. It literally overwhelmed her. The world around her seemed to dissolve and leave her alone. First her knees became weak, then all strength left her body and she fell. She fell to the ground and much further into the deep darkness. Her head hit the ground and a loud bang of a glass froze her. Eyes closed, body paralyzed with fear and pain, panic rose in her. So trapped in her body, she was defenselessly at its mercy.
Nadine had just finished gathering the documents for tomorrow and was about to call it a night with Blake and Daisy so she wouldn't be alone in the office. She still didn't feel comfortable being here alone at night. It reminded her too much of the nights with him here together.
The moment she had pulled the door to her office closed behind her, it suddenly rang. Inwardly cursing the newly installed forwarding, she unlocked the door again and stepped back into the room. She reached for the receiver on the desk. As soon as she picked it up, the ringing of her cell phone also stopped. She had recognized who was calling her by the number, so she spared herself the usual formal greeting. Instead, she asked him point-blank. It wasn't long before she was slumped pale in her desk chair, beckoning Blake and Daisy, who were already eyeing her anxiously, through the window. As soon as they were standing in front of her, she just mumbled a few words and Daisy turned on her heel to attend to her work, Blake immediately understood and hurried off to get his coat. No sooner had she hung up the phone than she looked at Blake, who was standing in front of her again. Without having to voice his question, Nadine answered him. "Badly. I think very bad, actually." Then she turned her head away and looked out the window with a blank expression. Blake nodded slowly. After a while he said "We should be on our way. Nadine broke out of her stupor and looked at Blake. Then she nodded curtly. "Yeah then. Let's go." She forced herself to smile, after all she knew how much the Secretary meant to Blake and she wanted to try everything not to make it even harder for him. Together they left the office after Nadine poked her head in at Daisy for a moment and talked about what had happened. Daisy would get back to them as soon as anything happened and promised to take care of the FBI matter.
As he slammed the car doors behind him, he caught a brief glimpse of the gurney before it disappeared behind the swinging door of the emergency room. Jogging, he pulled the car keys from his pocket and pushed the button. It clicked, and Mike started running. As fast as he could to reach the paramedics before they followed the gurney inside the hospital and he lost sight of them. He was about to open his mouth to say something when a paramedic already turned his head toward him. He seemed to recognize him and waved his arm down the hall. "She's in the back on the left. In the private treatment room."
"Thanks." Mike kicked it up a notch and ran down the hall, past doors and startled orderlies who hurriedly cleared a path for him. All the way to the end of the hall. Stopping briefly, he couldn't decide which door to go through. Left or right? What had the paramedic just said? Left? Cautiously, he took a step toward the left door and reached out for the handle. Before pushing it down, however, he tentatively rapped his knuckles three times against the heavy wood of the door. After waiting a moment, he pushed down the handle and slowly entered the room.
Nadine had gone to Walter Reed together with Blake. Neither of them dared to say a word. Blake looked like he was about to burst into tears and Nadine didn't dare tell him that everything would be all right. She had no idea what Elizabeth's situation was. Mike hadn't been very helpful either. And before she promised him something that wouldn't come true, she'd better not say anything at all. Doggedly, she steered the car through the crowded streets of Washington, D.C. She honked and overtook rapidly. The goal in front of her eyes. When the turned into the parking lot of the hospital, she spied a parking space near the entrance. Fortunately, there was one not far from the entrance doors. Hastily, she pulled the car into the spot and parked it. Blake already had her coats and bags ready. Nadine had to grin inwardly. Once an assistant, always an assistant. She nodded gratefully to him and without saying a word, they entered the entrance hall of the hospital together.
She looked around and was about to head for the reception desk when she spotted Mike. She was startled. Mike was standing there with red eyes, deep circles under his eyes, disheveled hair and a rumpled jacket. He looked terrible. Terribly exhausted and frightened. Blake seemed to have seen him, too, because he gave Nadine a worried look and held out his hand for her purse. Gratefully, she gave it to him and walked hurriedly toward Mike. "Mike!" she had almost run the last few meters. As she hugged him, she felt him press his face into her hair, tears streaming down his cheeks into her hair. "Woah. Mike. I'm here." Again, she didn't dare bring the words 'It's going to be okay' past her lips. She knew Blake was with them, but she didn't care. She held him tightly until his tears had dried up again. Slowly she stroked his head and murmured again the words 'I'm here. I'm here. Mike."
Later that evening, Mike sat by Elizabeths bedside and watched her sleep. She had regained consciousness during the drive to the hospital and then had undergone dozens of tests at the hospital. Among other things, the doctors had done a CT scan. It had taken some time to analyze and evaluate the images. In the end, however, serious damage to the brain could be ruled out on the basis of the images. As soon as Mike had received this news, he had collapsed. All the tension, fear and stress had been too much. Then, when Nadine had hugged him, he had just been exhausted and relieved.
For hours the three of them had stood at her bedside and talked quietly to her. In between, Bess' eyes had fallen shut and finally the attending doctor had sent them home. Nadine and Blake had gone back to the office to review the FBI's findings and discuss further steps with Daisy. And just as Mike was about to rise to head home as well, he felt a hand rest on his. "Please stay. Don't leave me alone. Please." It was little more than a whisper.
Mike lowered his head and looked at her. Slowly, the reached out and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Bess..." "Please." He couldn't keep anything from her. And she knew that. Slowly, he sat back down next to her in the chair and let his gaze roam over her. Over all the cables and monitors...