Chapter 9
While Jed was in surgery, Abbey took a shower and changed her clothes.
Everybody had urged her to get some sleep while she could, but she had to know Jed was going to be okay.
She telephoned Leo with updated information and asked him to please call the girls. They would be listening to the news, but she wanted them to be personally kept up to date.
Four long hours later, Dr. Barnes appeared in the room that had been set aside for her.
"The President is doing well. We put pins in his ankle and that will take a while to heal. His pelvis wasn't as bad as we initially thought. We inserted a plate and some screws. His recovery will be long, but I feel sure he will not have any problems with the fractures.
"But the problem was the blood loss. We had to give him two more units during surgery, but his current vital signs are strong. We're worried about infection, but will give him antibiotics to hopefully stop that from occurring. And we are very relieved to know that his EEG was normal. There's been no brain damage from that temporary interruption in his oxygen supply."
Abbey had only one thought on her mind. "May I see him?"
"Not yet. We're keeping him in the Recovery Room until we're sure his vital signs will remain stable. Why don't you rest for a while and someone will come and get you when he's transferred back to ICU?"
Abbey was so tired she didn't fight Dr. Barnes' suggestion. After he left, she made a quick call to Leo, and then lay down. She fell asleep instantly.
Abbey awoke with a start. What time was it? How long had she been asleep? She looked at her watch and realized that she had been asleep for eight hours. Why hadn't anyone come to get her?
She went directly to ICU.
An agent was standing outside so she knew Jed must be in there.
She pushed the doors open and immediately saw her husband. No breathing tube. A cast was on his ankle and he still had the wedges around him so he couldn't move his pelvis. He also still had the chest tube and a morphine drip for pain. Although pale, he looked beautiful to her.
Abbey walked over to the bed and lightly touched his arm. Jed opened his eyes to see who was doing the touching. A weak smile appeared on his face as he realized who was standing there.
"Abbey." He closed his eyes, too weak to look at her.
"Yeah babe. I'm here. Don't try and talk. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."
"What happened?"
"A missile shot down your helicopter in Iraq and they transferred you to Germany."
"Who else?"
Abbey knew that she had to be the one to break the sad news. "CJ broke her leg, but she's going to be okay. Toby suffered a mild concussion, but he's already back to his ornery self. And Ron,…" Abbey paused while she tried to control her emotions.
"Jed, Ron didn't survive. His injuries were so severe that he couldn't be saved." Abbey knew this was going to tear Jed apart. Ron had become almost a member of the family over past few years and it had devastated Abbey to hear the news about his death.
Tears started to flow down the side of the President's face. Between fatigue, pain, and emotion, Jed couldn't hold them back.
"I know how you feel, Jed. But he died doing his job. He died protecting you. When the two of you were finally located, he had covered you with his body. The investigators think he was sheltering you from the fire."
Opening his eyes, Jed just looked at Abbey. She leaned in to hug him and they both had a good cry.
"I want to write a note to his widow. Can you write it for me?"
"Why don't we wait until tomorrow, when you're a little stronger?"
"Okay. Ron meant a lot to me, to us and I want his wife to know just how much. He served his country well."
Jed just looked into his wife's eyes until his eyes got so heavy he had to close them.
"That's right, Jed. Just rest. It's the best thing for you."
After a gentle kiss, Abbey sat down by his bed and allowed herself to cry.
But this crying was from relief.
Relief that Jed had come back to her.
He had kept his promise.