"Sam!" Ainsley struggled against the Secret Service agents that were around her. "Josh! SAM! Let me go!"
"Mrs. Seaborn..."
"Don't Mrs. Seaborn me! SAM!"
"It's not safe." the agent tried getting Ainsley back into the limo. She peered over his shoulder, seeing agents swarming around Sam and Josh.
"Is he okay?"
"We don't know." the agent said.
"Well let me go to him!"
"We don't know where the shooter is. We can't risk you getting shot. You need to get back to the White House."
"No!" Ainsley yelled. "The only place I need to be is with my husband. Now let me see him!"
---------------TWW-----------
"Ainsley!" Josh went to grab her hand but she pulled out of his reach and he grabbed her again. "Ainsley, hold on."
"You're telling me to hold on? I have to see him."
"Ainsley, you have to let them do their job. You're only going to get in the way."
"Josh, I have to."
"Listen to me. Okay? I'm not going to lie to you. It doesn't look good. He may die. I'm not saying he will but he may. They need to work fast and you wanting answers and demanding to see Sam isn't going to help the process go any faster. I got here before you remember? They got him straight into surgery. The doctor said someone would come down and tell you what's going on. Just relax for a few minutes."
"What if he does die?"
"If I survived a gunshot wound, Sam sure as hell can but we have to have a little doubt so the doctors are happy." Josh joked. He saw the tears welling up in Ainsley's eyes and he pulled her into a tight hug. "He's going to be fine."
Will Dougherty, a Secret Service agent, walked up and Josh saw the grave look on his face.
"What's going on?" he asked. Will sighed and scratched the back of his head.
"Mrs. Seaborn, I know this is a horrible time but..."
"But what?" Ainsley asked.
"That was Alex." Will said.
"And?"
"Mrs. Seaborn, your daughter is missing." Will said quietly.
"No." Ainsley shook her head. "It's not possible."
"I'm afraid it is. Gracie went to the concession stand to get popcorn apparently and Alex was knocked unconscious. Gracie hadn't come back but after looking around, Alex found Gracie's pocketbook near a dumpster behind the movie complex."
"So someone just... someone just took my daughter in the middle of a public place and no one saw anything?" Ainsley choked out.
"We don't know."
"Ainsley..." Josh said quietly.
"What?"
"When Sam was elected he typed up a letter saying if something were to happen to him then I would be in charge. I called Bridget. She found the letter in Sam's desk. It's signed so we're invoking the 25th amendment. I'm in charge."
"Josh, find my daughter."
He nodded.
"Will—"
"Mr. Vice President, the... the problem is... this was about halfway through the movie according to Alex. The movie ended four hours ago. If whoever took Gracie wanted to get out of DC, he or she is long gone." he said. "I'm sorry."
"I don't care!" Ainsley cried. "Do you have any idea what the past hour has been like?"
"I..."
"I might lose my husband and there is no way in hell that I am losing my daughter too. I don't care if you shut down the whole goddamn United States. I don't care what you do but..." Ainsley cut her sentence off with a sob and Josh saw her gag slightly. He steered her towards the garbage and she emptied her stomach in it. Josh sighed and rubbed her back slowly. Ainsley sobbed quietly and sunk onto the floor, leaning against the wall.
"Will, get to work." Josh ordered, glancing over his shoulder at the younger man. He nodded and Josh sat down next to Ainsley.
"This is too much." she cried, burying her face in her hands. "First Sam and now Gracie..."
"Ainsley, they're related somehow."
"He's her father. Of course they're related."
"I mean Sam getting shot and Gracie going missing."
"You think... you think whoever is threatening them..."
"Yeah."
"But why not me? Why them?" Ainsley asked. Josh shrugged.
"I don't know. You can't stay in this dress all night, even though you look great. Why don't you go back to the residence."
"No. I need to be here Josh."
"Go Ainsley. I'll be here."
"Josh..."
"Alright. Donna is there. You want her to get you some clothes or something?"
"Okay." Ainsley nodded. It was going to be a long night.
-------------TWW------------
Gracie groaned as she sat up. Where was she? She glanced around the darkened room and fear gripped at her.
"Mom? Daddy?"
"Mom? Daddy?"
Gracie jumped as a voice mimicked her.
"That was easier than I thought it would be."
"What was?"
"Kidnapping you."
"WHAT? Who are you?"
The person that the voice belonged to finally stepped into view and Gracie's mouth dropped open. It was Ryan Greene.
-------------TWW----------
"Has there been any news on Gracie?" Ainsley asked. Donna shook her head and rubbed Ainsley's back.
"I'm sorry Ainsley." she said. "I know how you're feeling. I went through this with Josh but Sam's gonna be fine."
"You didn't lose your daughter." she whispered. Her eyes traveled up to the TV and she grabbed the remote and turned it up.
"Late last night after attending Senator Allen's birthday party at The Hilton, President Seaborn was shot by an unknown assailant. The president was speaking with Vice President Lyman after the party outside before he left to go back to the White House. The president was immediately taken to the hospital, where the doctors began surgery immediately. Sources say that President Seaborn is still in surgery and his condition is critical. Mrs. Seaborn was unharmed but the drama doesn't end there for the First Family. The president's daughter, Gracie, fourteen, was at the movies with a few friends last night while her parents attended Senator Allen's party. She left the theater for a few minutes to go out into the main lobby of the cinema, where she went missing. Alexandra Denton, Gracie's Secret Service agent, went to follow her but was knocked unconscious. There has been no news of where Gracie is but Vice President Lyman, who is currently the acting president while President Seaborn is incapacitated, has ordered for Washington DC to be shut down. A few Secret Service agents have said there was a time lapse between when Gracie was last seen and officials were notified." Donna turned the TV off and looked at Ainsley.
"You don't need to listen to that." she said. "Sam's gonna be fine and we'll find Gracie."
"I hope so." Ainsley murmured as a doctor walked towards her.