Chapter 6
"Leo, it's been a long time. Have you heard anything?"
"Yeah. I just got word." Leo motioned for Abbey to sit down on his office sofa. "From what I'm told, he's still critical. I don't have a complete list of his injuries, but I'm told that he has a broken pelvis, a collapsed lung from a broken rib, and many cuts and bruises. They performed emergency surgery at a triage unit and, as soon as he's stable enough, he will be airlifted out to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany."
"I'm going."
"Well, I kind of figured that so I'm making arrangements as we speak. Abbey…"
Leo didn't finish his statement. Margaret came flying in the office and yelled at Leo to turn up the volume on the TV.
"What the hell?"
"Just do it Leo."
Leo ran over and turned up the volume.
"Again, we are just learning of the death of President Josiah Bartlet as a result of injuries suffered today in a helicopter crash in Iraq. We do not have confirmation from the White House on this, but our sources in Iraq do confirm the story."
"NO!"
Abbey's piercing scream was heard all over the West Wing. "Leo, you just said he was alive. How can he be dead?" Tears started flooding down Abbey's pale face. She was visibly shaking.
"Abbey. I just talked with the agents on the ground. Let me get them back to confirm again what they have told me."
"He can't be. He can't be. Oh my God! The girls! I need to call them right away."
"Abbey! Let me confirm this. Just wait a second." Leo ran to the phone and pushed a couple of buttons. He talked with someone and then waved Abbey over to the phone. "Abbey, this is the agent that's with the President in Iraq. You need to talk with him."
She looked at Leo with eyes full of fear. Was the agent going to tell her that her husband, her best friend, her lover was dead? But she had to know, one way or the other. Somehow, somewhere she got the courage to find out.
Abbey hesitantly took the phone from Leo. "Yes?"
"Ma'am, this is Agent Smith. I'm here at the triage center and the President is alive. He's critical, but he's alive. We're waiting to be transported to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany."
"Oh my God!" Abbey dropped the phone and collapsed in Leo's chair.
Leo picked up the phone and thanked the agent.
As he hung up, a little color returned to Abbey's face.
"How could the media get it so wrong? The girls? Our families and friends? The American people? How could they report something so terrible and so wrong?"
"I don't know, but I'm going to correct this right now. Margaret! Get me Carol right here, right now!"
In a few minutes, the news channel retracted the story and apologized for reporting unconfirmed information. But it was left up to Abbey to put her daughters back together.