Part 6
Some part of him heard his wife call out to him for help. Abbey was in danger and he had to help her.
"Jed."
Again, he heard her pleading voice. He shook his head trying to awake. As things began to clear he felt something in one of his hands. The moment he saw the knife in his hand he dropped it and simply stared at it as it now lay resting on the floor. There was blood dripping next to it and he raised his hand in horror closer to his eyes. His hand was shaking. Had he tried to kill himself again?
She wasn't sure what he was doing. She slowly walked a few steps to the door but stopped as the pain stopped her. "Aaaa..."
Jed's head jerked up and what he saw made his entire being sick. Abbey was leaning against the doorframe holding one hand to the side of her stomach. Blood was on her shirt, hand and on the floor. He had never been this afraid in his entire life. He saw her move and instinctively hurried over to her to catch her as she fell towards him. "Oh God, Abbey." Panic was all he could feel. "No, no... What have I done? Oh God..." Her eyes were closed and her hand had slipped from the wound. He put his own hands on her wound to try and keep it from bleeding. "God... HELP! HELP ME!" In seconds there were agents in the room. He didn't pay any attention to the buzzing around him as he focused on Abbey's face. "Abbey, please. Stay with me. Don't leave me." For a few moments he was reminded of what it must have been like for Abbey not even 24 hours ago.
----
"That's it." Leo finished explaining to Ron about what Abbey had discovered.
"And his full name again is..?" Ron inquired.
Leo took up the piece of paper from the desk. "Dr. Richard Hannah." When Ron's hand suddenly to his ear Leo went completely still.
Ron listened closely before turning his attention back to Leo. "You better come with me."
Leo did not waste anytime as he followed Ron. As they walked down the hall Leo felt a wave of nausea washing over him.
----
Jed was standing by the bed as the paramedics worked to stop Abbey's bleeding. All he could think of was that he was the one who caused this. His legs gave out and he felt an agent help him to a chair. He looked down at his hands. Abbey's blood was on them."Let's move."
Jed jumped out of his chair to follow them.
Ron and Leo came closer and saw who was on the gurney. They noticed the bloodstained sheet over her.
Leo was the one who reacted. "Oh my..."
Soon they saw Jed hurrying out after the paramedics.
"Sir!" Ron moved first.
Jed did not even try to stop. "I have to go with her."
"Jed." Leo tried holding him.
Jed turned to Leo trying to fight him off. "I have to go with her. It's my fault that...." Suddenly the realization of what he really had done hit him like a ton of bricks. "I...I did that."
Leo kept his emotions in check. He couldn't not even begin to know how Jed must feel but Leo knew he would do anything he could to help his best friend.
Jed felt Ron and Leo's arms hold him as he almost fell. Together they walked with him back into the bedroom. He fell into a chair as tears broke out from his eyes. "What the HELL is wrong with me?" Soon he rose again and tried for the door when Ron stopped him.
"Sir, I know you want to be with your wife but you can go anywhere like this."
Jed looked down and saw he was in his pyjamas and it was full of blood. "It's Abbey's blood. I HAVE ABBEY'S BLOOD ALL OVER ME." He turned and ran to the bathroom.
Leo hurried after him and once inside saw that Jed was working franticly to tear his clothes off. Then he got in the shower. Leo kicked the clothes aside as he walked up to Jed in the shower.
Jed tried desperately to wash the blood of him. He quickly took his bandage off not paying any attention to the stitching. He continued to scrub.
"Sir!"
"I have to get it of me. I have to get her blood of me." He continued to scrub his hands as hard as he could.
"JED!"
Jed stopped and through the water he saw Leo. "It's not going to work is it?"
Leo shook his head.
Jed could feel his tears mixing with the water. He saw Leo grab a big towel and gesturing for him to get out of the shower. Jed sighed as he did so and Leo soon wrapped the towel around him. "What's wrong with me?" He turned to face Leo. "You know how much I love Abbey?"
"Yes." That was one of the things Leo had never doubted.
"Why? I don't understand." He shivered as tears ran down his face. The image of Abbey holding on to the doorframe and the blood dripping from her hand was etched in his mind.
Leo put both his hands on Jed's shoulders. "We will find out. You get dressed and then we are going to Bethesda. Abbey will be there and we need to take some tests on you."
"It won't matter, Leo."
Leo tried to understand what Jed was saying but he could not. "What do you mean?"
"If I....you saw her... what if..." he couldn't even say it.
Now he understood. "No, don't even think that. She will be ok and we will find out what is causing you to do this." Leo squeezed Jed's shoulders to try and reassure him.
"But if..." He refused to say it. "If it happens then I don't care what's wrong with me. I will have ruined so many lives. So many..." Jed's thoughts drifted to his daughters. He couldn't even imagined how he would survive if they wanted nothing more to do with him. He wouldn't blame them at all but it would be devastating. But nothing but be more devastating then if his wife.... No, he could not thing that way. "I'll get dressed." He said dejectedly.
---------
The ride to the hospital had been quiet. Now, as Leo sat alone in the waiting room, he thought back how Jed had kept staring at his hands. No doubt seeing the blood that was no longer present. He was grateful how, so far, the fact that the First Lady had been injured seemed to be a secret. When they had arrived Jed had demanded to see a doctor but nothing much came from that. He looked at his watch wondering just how long it could take to have an X-ray. No sooner had that thought left his mind when he saw Jed approach him. "Sir."
Jed indicated to Leo to stay seated as he joined him. "Results should be in a few minutes. Anything?"
Leo shook his head.
"Damn it!" Jed wringed his hands and was not sure what to do. All he could think of was the fact that Abbey was in surgery because of him. He stared down at his hands. He knew the blood was not there but it was all he could see.
"Stop doing that."
Jed looked up at Leo and sighed. "I can't help it." He got up and started pacing. "What is taking them so long?"
Leo rose as well. "Sir, we haven't been here that...."
Jed just waved his hand. "Look, I'm going to go to the chapel. Let me know when..."
Leo simply nodded as Jed walked away.
With heavy steps he made his way down the hall. He knew he should call the girls but not until he knew how Abbey was. Ellie and Zoey were on their trip and Liz was away with her family. He never did like it when they travelled. He was overprotective Abbey would say. For the first time he felt relieved that they weren't home.
He entered the empty and very quiet Chapel. Picking the rosary from his pocket he walked over and kneeled down. He clasped his hands with the rosary between his palms. "Please God, don't take Abbey away from me. Don't take her away from her children and grandchildren. She's a good person, a wonderful person and she doesn't deserve this." He took a deep breath as a small tear found it's way down his cheek. "I.. you know I love her more then anything in the world and for the life of me I don't understand what's happening to me." Images flashed before his eyes. His hands around Abbey's throat, blood on his hands and Abbey standing by the bathroom door with blood dripping to the floor. "I don't know what to do but I do know I want Abbey back. I'll do anything. I'll....if you let her stay I'll give you this promise. I promise to stay away from her until I figure out what's wrong with me." He swallowed hard as he clasped his hands tighter. "If I can't then I'll...then I'll stay away from her permanently." He bowed his head lower.
His voice was now a low whisper.
"It's going to be the most difficult thing I've ever done but I have to. She has to be safe. That's the most important thing." There were more tears falling down his cheeks as he continued to pray.
Leo entered the chapel and silently observed Jed. He could only see the back of Jed but there was no mistaken that he was crying. Leo took a few steps closer. "Sir?"
Jed heard him, put his rosary back in his pocket and in no time he was up on his feet and in front of Leo. "Any news?"
Leo silently scolded himself. "About Abbey, no...I'm sorry I should have... The results of your X-ray is.."
Jed slumped down on one of the benches. "Oh."
Leo followed suit. "Oh? Don't you want to know?"
He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. So what is it?"
"From what the Doctor told us you have something in your neck."
Now his interest was peeked but more then anything, he was afraid. "I have something in my neck?"
"Yeah, it's incredible small but there is something there. Doctor Berenson said he could remove it right away."
"I am not going anywhere until I know how Abbey is." He crossed his arms as to make a point.
"Sir, the procedure takes five minutes at the most and all you need is something so you don't feel anything when they take out, whatever you have in your neck. You will be awake the entire time."
Jed pondered this for a moment. "What about that Doctor that Abbey suspected?"
"Richard? Ron is making sure he doesn't know anything about it."
"I don't know. I....." Jed stopped as he saw Ron enter the church. He jumped up. "Ron?"
"Sir, there is news about The First Lady." Ron moved aside as a Doctor approached.
"Mr. President."
Jed couldn't remember the mans name so he settled for the title. "Doctor, how is my wife."
Doctor McKenzie looked at him. He hated what he was about to do.
Jed braced himself. The grim look on the Doctor's face and the fact that he had not answered him told him the news was not good. "Doctor?"
"Sir, I am so sorry but there was nothing we could do."
Jed staggered as Leo gripped a hold of him. "Are you saying...?" This had to be a nightmare.
Leo glanced over at Ron. Was this for real or was Ron behind this? As usual the look on Ron gave nothing away.
"Yes, I'm sorry Sir but your wife's wounds were too much."
Jed held on to the bench. "Wounds?"
"Yes, she was stabbed twice. Didn't they tell you?"
Jed felt his leg's give away and he fell back on the bench. Twice. He had stabbed his own wife twice and now, now she was.... He buried his face in his hands. He felt sick, overwhelmed with sadness, angry, devastated.... All emotions at the same time played through out his body all the while he could only see one thing. Abbey, her face, all the blood.
Ron thanked the Doctor to then proceed to escort him out as Leo felt like following them and force Ron to tell him it this was real or not. The loud sobbing stopped him from doing so. He sat down next to Jed not sure what to say.
When Jed felt someone next to him he looked up with tears in his eyes to see Leo.
Leo had never seen his best friend the way he looked now. Completely defeated and utterly destroyed.
Jed took a deep breath, trying to control himself. "Leo, you need to call the police." When he saw the confused look on his face he continued. "Tell them, tell them that the President has a murder to confess to."
TBC...........