Jed walked over to Abbey, who turned and put her arms around him, pulling him close. He rubbed her back, kissing her hair gently. He helped her walk over to the bed, reaching for the phone to call Dr. Hackett.
She woke up to the sound of gunshots, flinching as bullets came through the door, marking the wall just above her head. Tears fell down her face as she screamed, straining against the ropes that bound her. She screamed as she hear bodies falling to the floor. Blood began to seep in through the crack at the bottom of the door.
It fell silent and all she could hear was the sound of her muffled sobs.
Jed left his wife's side as she slept. Dr. Hackett had administered her a sedative not long before.She'd fought it as long as she could, then finally succumbed to sleep. He kissed her softly on the forehead, then left to go down to the West Wing.
He walked down the long hall, passing the rooms the rest of his family slept in. He thanked God that they, at least, were alright.
It was midnight before he returned to the residence. He stood standing with his hands in his pockets, looking out the window over the lawn.
His daughter had been given a case number that day. Seven digits. That's all seventeen years of her life had come down to.
He heard movement behind him and turned to see Abbey slowly walking towards him, stumbling from the drugs in her system. "You should be asleep," he said, feeling her take his hand.
"I slept some," she said, her voice slightly slurred, "Anything new?"
"She's been given a case number," he replied, "But, no, there's nothing new." She nodded, sitting down on the couch. "I'm envoking the 25th. I can't keep being a president and a father who's searching for his daughter."
"When do you sign the papers," she asked.
"I already did," he replied. "How's Liz and Ellie?"
"Fine," she said, "They're fine. They're all asleep." He nodded, looking over at his wife. Her brown hair was mussed up from sleep, her eyes red and raw from crying. He prayed their daughter was returned soon. He didn't know how many tears there were left to cry.
She didn't know how many hours had passed. Alex's arm throbbed and white spots floated in front of her eyes as she fought to stay concsious. She hadn't heard anything else from the other side of the door. Suddenly, there was a loud crash and shouting as light flooded in through the crack of the door in front of her.
She blinked as the door flew open and light flooded into the dark room she had been in.
The insistent knock on the door startled Jed and Abbey as they both slept, finally succumbing to drugs and exhaustion. "Come in," he said, pushinghimself up.
"Sir, they've found Alexandria," Ron Butterfield said, walking through the doors.
Helicopters, cop cars and ambulances surrounded the area where Alex was being held. Jedclutched Abbey's hand as they climbed off Marine One, a spotlight following their movements through the field.
"Where is she," Abbey shouted as they walked through the field.
"Just ahead," Ron shouted back.
"Mom, over there," Ellie said, pointing towards an ambulance.
"Alex," Abbey shouted, spotting her daughter sitting in the back of the ambulance. She had a large bandage over her forehead and as she drew near, she could see her daughter was still under the effects of drugs. She kissed her cheek gently and held her close, whispering softly to her as she rubbed her back, comforting her. Jed walked over after speaking to her doctor and kissed his daughter's forehead gently.
Ellie, Liz and Zoey stood nearby, watching their mother and father care for the girl in their arms. Zoey smiled wistfully as tears fell down her face. Looking at Alex now was like looking at a completely different person. Her skin was white, blotched with blood, a bruise marred the skin of her forehead. Even from a slight distance, she could tell the girl's eyes were unfocused as she laid her head on her mother's shoulder.
Alex couldn't focus her vision. She knew that Abbey and Jed were with her. She could feel Abbey's arm holding her close, while Jed stood nearby. She leaned her head to the side, resting it gently on Abbey's shoulder. She knew the close contact would be gone the minute they found out that she wasn't really Zoey, but all she wanted was for someone to hold her and tell her it would be alright.
She was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was placed in her own room after being checked out by the doctors. She had a broken arm and a concussion from being tossed to the floor. She had lost even more weight, leaving her malnourished and dehydrated. But the important part to everyone, was that she was alright.
Abbey watched as she slept, an IV hooked into her arm, providing her with a saline solution with extra nutrients to help her body regain the nutrients that had been lost. Ellie, Liz and Zoey sat by the bed, watching over their sister.
On screen, her husband was at the press conference, talking about Alexandria's safe return, having resumed his term as president.
Abbey opened her eyes at a quarter of midnight when she felt a slight tug at her hand. She looked up to see Alex's eyes open, blinking as she tried to orient herself. "Hey," Abbey said, grasping her hand. "You're at Georgetown Medical. How do you feel?"
"Hurts," Alex said, tears rising to eyes.
"We have you on some morphine, so you it should be kicking in. What hurts? Your head," Abbey asked, reaching out to touch her. She couldn't stop touching the girl in front of her.
"Head and arm," Alex said, her voice cracking slightly.
"I have some ice chips for your throat," Abbey said, holding up a cup. She rang the button for the nurse to alert her that Alex was awake. She spooned a chip out for Alex and slipped it into her mouth. Alex sucked on it, closing her eyes as she laid back against the pillows.
A nurse entered and began to take her readings. Abbey stayed by her side, looking on as the nurse took her blood pressure and temperature. She had come in with a slight infection, but the medicine had already started to take effect, lowering her fever.
The nurse left a minute later, leaving Alex and Abbey alone again. "I'm sorry," Alex said, her voice gaining some of it's strength back.
"For what," Abbey asked softly.
"I'm not Zoey," Alex said, "I pretended to be her, but…" She trailed off as Abbey shushed her, taking her hand gently.
"Get better, then we'll talk. Everything's okay right now. Everything's alright. Just go to sleep," Abbey said softly. She pressed a gentle kiss to Alex's temple, trying to reassure the girl that everything would be alright.