Chapter 12
"Mrs. Weston?"
Liz stood up and said, "I'm Mrs. Weston."
Jed unconsciously moved to his daughter's side.
"Mrs. Weston, I'm sorry to inform you that your husband just died. His injuries…"
Liz would have collapsed if Jed hadn't grabbed her arm as her knees gave way. He guided her to a chair, and gently lowered her into it.
"Continue please, Doctor."
"Yes, Mr. President. As I was saying, Mrs. Weston, your husband's injuries were just too severe. His heart couldn't handle the crushing of his chest and just stopped. We tried several times, but he did not respond to anything we tried. I'm so sorry."
By now, everybody was crying.
"I want to see him."
"Certainly."
Jed asked, "Do you want me to go with you?"
"No thanks, Dad. I need to go by myself. How am I going to tell Annie?" Liz hesitated for just a second. "Well, right now she is asleep and I will not wake her up. She'll need her strength for what's ahead."
Liz turned and left with the Doctor.
Jed walked to Abbey's side, and reached over to hug her. Both cried together.
"Oh Jed! What if this had been you? I know how Liz feels."
"Shh. Just let it out. I'm not going anywhere and neither are you. We'll be here together to help Liz and Annie."
Jed drew back and grabbed her hand. "Right now, you need to rest. We have a long road ahead of us. We all have been though a lot today and the road ahead will be tough. But we'll get through it as a family."
She knew Jed was right. The road ahead would be tough, but they could get through anything as long as Jed and she had each other.
Abbey finally nodded off to sleep.