It was close to four in the morning when Jed walked up to the residence. His hands were jammed in his pockets and his head hung low. He didn't look much like the president the world had always seen. In the place of that strong, brave man, was a person who had fear and worry in his eyes.He looked like a father who's daughter was missing.

He opened the doors to the bedroom and walked in. He saw Abbey sitting in a chair, looking out the window, towards the lawn of the White House. "Have they found her," she asked, turning towards him. Tears fell down her face, her mascara marred and streaked under her eyes. Her speech was slightly slurred. Jed wasn't sure if it was a sedative or from crying.

"Not yet," he said, "Milly leave?"

"Yeah," Abbey sniffled, "She left me with a sedative." She watched as he sat down across from her, his hands folded in front of him. "Why'd they take her?"

"We don't know yet," he said, "No demands have been made. The entire city's shut down while planes and cars are checked." Abbey nodded, looking down at her hands. She had twisted the tissue she'd been holding into shreds. "Did they leave you here?" She nodded slowly, tears welling up in her eyes.

He stood up and pulled her into his arms, holding her close as she cried. Her sobs wracked his body, tearing at his already torn heart. He kissed her gently, trying to be reassuring but he couldn't. He wasn't reassured himself.

It was dark and cold when she woke up. She could feel bruises on her arms and legs; her vision blurry from what she knewto bedrugs. She tried to speak but couldn't- a rag had been tied over her mouth, behind her head. Her arms and legs were bound. She couldn't move if she wanted to. The drugs affected her entire body. The best she could do was lay there in pain and fear, seeing everything, but not able to do a thing about it.

Abbey had finally succumbed to sleep around five in the morning, having curled up in bed with a picture of Zoey clutched in her hand. Jed lay on the bed next to her, body weary but unable to sleep. He held his wife close, providing what strength he could. His mind kept going back to when he had told her about the secret agent's worst night- her disappearing without even a trace. He had scared her then. He had told her she'd be safe with the secret service. It was the first time he'd ever lied to his daughter.

A soft knock on the door moved him from his place on the bedand he opened it, walking out into the hallway so at least his wife could sleep. He kept the door cracked, should Abbey wake up and need him.

"Sir, securities checked all outgoing flights. They haven't found a sign of her," Leo reported, "Cars have been searched, but they haven't found anything."

Jed nodded, sitting down in one of the chairs close to the entrance of the bedroom. He sat with his arms on his knees, his hands clasped tightly together. His head hung low. Leo sat across from him, facing him. "How's Abbey," he asked, his voice full of concern.

"Asleep. Milly gave her a sedative," he responded. "Have we heard anything else?"

"You'd know if we had," Leo responded, "Jed, we have people working on this situation. There's nothing else you can do right now."

"You don't need to remind me of that," he said, looking up at him. "I run one of the most powerful nations in the world, have an army at my command, have one of the best security forces in the world and yet, my daughter is missing and there's nothing I can do. I've never felt more helpless in my life."

"We'll find her, Mr. President," Leo said.

"Keep me updated," Jed said, standing back up.

"We will, sir," Leo said. He patted his best friend on the back gently, then walked down the hall.

A bright light shining in her eyes woke up Alex with a start. She heard a voice talking, but couldn't make out the words. The light, like a flash, went off and she was shoved to the side. She tried to scream out, but couldn't. Tears of fear fell down her face as she felt herself being pulled to her feet. Her muscles wouldn't work and she fell hard to her knees. She cried harder as she heard a sharp crack. A man stood behind her, holding her by her hair, a knife pressed to her throat. The light went off again and she felt the cold steel slide against her skin, reminding her that the blade was still there. She felt it cut into her skin and blood began to trickle down her throat.

The man threw her forward and she hit her head against the concrete, losing immediate consciousness.

Down in the bullpen, the communications department worked furiously, trying to keep updated on what was happening with the kidnapping.

"Have we had any demands yet," Josh Lyman asked his assistant as they headed towards his office.

"Not yet," Donna said, "Toby's been keeping a phone line open in case they call in."

"Okay," he said, "When's the next briefing?"

"Fifteen minutes," Donna called from her office. A fax caught her attention and she picked it up, her hand trembling as she realized what it was.

"Donna," Josh called, "DONNA!" He walked outside of his office and saw his assistant standing by her desk, her skin whiter than usual, clutching a fax. He walked over to her and when he saw the fax, he grabbed it from her, running down the hall towards Leo's office.

It was half past noon when Abbey woke up, pushing herself up in bed. Even though she had slept for six hours, she felt like she hardly slept at all. She heard the door open and slam shut from her husband's entrance.

"Jed," she called, her voice weak from crying. Her head pounded as she spoke, wincing at the light coming in from outside.

"Hey," he said, walking back into the bedroom. "How're you doing?"

"Have they found Zoey," she asked, ignoring his question.

"No," he said, sitting down on the bed. She knew he was keeping something from her. He wouldn't meet his eyes and she could see he had been crying. She could count the number of times he had cried on one hand.

"Jed, what aren't you telling me," she asked. She was almost afraid of the answer, but not knowing was worse at the moment.

"We got a fax," he said, looking up at her. "They want us to release some political Qumari prisoners we have."

Abbey gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as more tears filled her eyes. "Oh God," she said, "What're we going to do?"

"You know the White House doesn't negotiate with terrorists," he said, with such sadness of what those words meant.

"Jed, this is our daughter," Abbey said, her voice trembling as she fought to keep control. "We can't just let them kill her."

"I know," he said. He hadn't shown her the picture of their daughter with the knife pressed up against her throat. He didn't want her to know that their daughter may already be dead.

Abbey walked out of the room, needing to get away from him. It wasn't the first time that she cursed her husband for the job he had worked so hard to get. Her daughter was missing and she'd be damned if they weren't going to negotiate to get her daughter back.

Jed heard Abbey walk into the bathroom and felt tears rise to his eyes again. He had lied to Leo when he said he'd never felt so helpless in life. He looked back down at the picture of their scared daughter, the knife to her throat and read the demand below it. Now, he was helpless.