Chapter Nine

Hey guys! Well, I've been second guessing myself about this one and whether to include this subject matter or not, and I decided to go ahead with it after some encouragement with a couple of my reviewers (thanks kursk and sapers6024!). Please know that I mean no disrespect to anyone, but I knew the Lymans would be very much affected by 9/11 since they live in D.C. and the Zieglers of course living in NYC. I backtracked a little with some of the details about the Zieglers. Toby is a political science professor at NYU and Huck goes to Stuyvesant High School. I've tried to research extensively to get things historically accurate but I also don't know NYC's layout at all. I tried my best to be as accurate as possible, so please give me some leeway!

One of my readers also brought up Audrey's behavior and specifically her language. Her profanity in the last chapter may have been a little over the top and I will probably go back and change it, but her bad behavior is also a major part of the plot of this story and my original fic. I think we all know that Josh and Donna would be wonderful parents, but even the best families with the most loving parents have trouble with their kids. Even when things seem perfect, many families struggle with how to raise children. I've tried to write the story in a way that Josh and Donna have seemed to try everything with Audrey, but they are still having problems and don't know what to do. Also, in the last chapter Audrey was defending her sister after a personally crushing day. Thank you for bringing this up, and I hope this helps explain a little.

Without further ado…here's chapter nine!

Walk blindly to the light

And reach out for his hand

Don't ask any questions and

Don't try to understand

Open up your mind and then

Open up your heart

You will see that you and me

Aren't very far apart

Because I believe

That love is the answer

I believe

Love will find a way

Violence has spread worldwide

And there's families on the street

We sell drugs to children now

Oh, why can't we just see

That all we do is eliminate our future

With the things we do today

Money is our incentive now

So that makes it okay

But I believe

That love is the answer

I believe

Love will find a way

I believe

That love is the answer

I believe

Love will find a way

The next morning, Tuesday, Josh and Donna were still talking down Audrey from trying to kick Amanda and Alicia's butts that day. They couldn't tell if she was really joking or not. After all, she was the infamous kindergartner who punched a boy in the face for kissing her on the cheek (he had cooties). They didn't think she'd actually do it, but Audrey was a bit of a firecracker. Even in the best of families, they were always there to push buttons. Finally, at 7:00 when the family left for D.C., Josh and Donna finally felt like they had talked some sense into their daughter. Violence wouldn't solve anything. They convinced her that even though she was so angry at them for hurting her sister, hurting them wouldn't do any good. Audrey reacted with her heart and her gut instincts. Most of the time, it did her good, but sometimes it got her into trouble.

Donna still noticed the subtle twinge of anger and hurt in Katie's face as they got into the Jeep. Together, they had all soothed her fears last night and tried to boost her back up. However, now she was looking defeated again at the thought of having to see Amanda and Alicia at school today. Would they try to make fun of her again? What if Audrey really did kick their asses? Sure, it would be kind of cool, but then everyone would find out what was going on and she'd be embarrassed all over again. As the family of four pulled out of their driveway in Manassas, Virginia, Josh smiled at the clear, blue sky as the sun shone down on the perfect fall day that it was.

Donna had already called the girls' school that morning to set up a meeting with the principal about Katie's incident yesterday. Katie was nervous about having to tell other people about it. She was still mortified. She was afraid she'd start crying again, but at least her mom would be there with her. Her dad would drive on to work in the Jeep and then her mom would get a taxi from school after the meeting.

The three women entered the New School of Northern Virginia together at about 7:20. Surprisingly, Audrey didn't pull away when Donna decided to give her a hug before they parted ways in front of the main office.

"Have a good day, sweetheart. And please use words, and appropriate words, if you must and not actions." Donna told Audrey seriously. She nodded meekly and let out a sigh of annoyance. With the way that Katie and Audrey had been growing apart lately, it was somewhat nice to see how much Audrey really cared about her sister.

"I love you."

"I love you too, mom. Love you Katie."

Audrey departed and slowly made her way to her first period class. Today would be a long day full of catching up on notes and checking her accuracy on assignments.

"Are you feeling okay?"

Katie was looking a little pale again and she looked like a deer in headlights.

"I'm fine." She replied, which most definitely meant that she wasn't when she used that tone and looked down. Donna reached over and took Katie's hand to comfort her. The difference between her and Audrey oftentimes was Katie's still apparent and open want to be around her parents. Audrey had been avoiding being around her mom and dad especially for over a year now, but Katie still adored both her parents. Donna treasured her connection with Katie especially.

Finally, Mrs. Burrell, the school's principal walked in and closed the door behind her. Katie imagined that she was thinking she didn't want to start her day off like this. Katie hardly ever had any contact with the principal, so she wasn't feeling too comfortable with the situation. Only bad kids went to the principal. Was Mrs. Burrell mad because she hadn't told them yesterday? Katie felt like a pain in the ass, but then Mrs. Burrell spoke as she leaned on the desk behind her and took Katie's hand.

"Katie, I am so sorry about what happened. Amanda and Alicia will be called down to the office as soon as our meeting here is over and will face disciplinary action for what they did. How are you feeling?"

Katie tried to give her a small smile. Was this supposed to make her happy and make it all go away?

"Better, I guess." She said softly. Katie figured she must have not sounded very convincing when Mrs. Burrell sighed and walked around her desk and sat down.

"Katie, what they did was totally disgusting and unacceptable at this school and anywhere else. What I need you to do is to write down, as best as you can remember, exactly what they did and said to you yesterday. Can you do that?"

Katie wondered what would happen if she bolted out of the office right now. The thought seemed appetizing but then realized it would be even more embarrassing to face Mrs. Burrell later on. She dreaded the thought but after an encouraging nod from her mother, she knew it had to be done.

"Yes. I think I can."

"Okay. Good." Mrs. Burrell smiled from behind her desk. "I'll need to speak with your mother for a few moments, so if you would like, you can start on that in Ms. Downey's office." She said.

Katie got up and looked at her mom as she headed for the door. Donna gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll be out in a minute, okay?"

Katie headed to the office of Ms. Downey, the secretary. Apparently, she knew exactly what was going on also as she offered a few comforting words that made Katie feel like she was even more in a hot spotlight. She wondered what everyone was thinking about her. Katie did the best she could to write down everything she could remember about what happened. She finally finished about the same time that her mother was done talking to Mrs. Burrell. Zipping up her backpack and holding her report in her right hand, Katie went to stand by her mother. Donna stroked her daughter's hair as Mrs. Burrell began to talk.

"Katie, thank you for doing this. I will read it over and then I'll be calling the two girls down to speak with me. Do you feel okay to go back to class?"

Katie glanced at her watch – it was almost 8:00, halfway through her first period of the day.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"Let me know if they give you any more problems whatsoever." Mrs. Burrell told her. Katie was also afraid of the backlash; of what they would say after she had gotten them in trouble. Would it get even worse?

Donna watched with a heavy heart as Katie hugged her goodbye and headed out the office door away to her first class of the day. She always worried greatly about Katie's personal strength. This was a serious blow and she ached to think of what it was doing to her confidence.

"Thank you again, Mrs. Burrell."

"Thank you for encouraging Katie to speak up. A lot of girls don't ever tell anyone, I'm afraid. I'm glad she has such a great relationship with you that she felt comfortable coming forward."

"Me too." Donna smiled. She knew she'd be thinking about her daughter all day and wondering if she'd run in to Amanda and Alicia and what would happen. As the girls got older and older, it got harder, of course, to protect them from certain things. She and Josh could protect them from things like the media and criminals and rated 'R' movies, but not things as seemingly simple as evil teenage girls. So ironic, she thought. Donna had a taxi called for her and she finally made her way to Capitol Hill a little after 8 a.m.

Katie was terrified of what may happen in her second period class. Alicia was also in pre-algebra with her during this period. She'd already been called to the office by the time the bell rang, but Katie was terrified that she'd return later and be vengeful. Katie tried her best to concentrate on the damn algebraic equations she was trying to solve, but her mind kept wandering. She spent most of the period dreading the return of Alicia. Thankfully, Amanda wasn't in any of her classes until last period with Audrey. Katie didn't think they'd try anything now that Audrey was back.

Josh Lyman sat in his kooshy office in the Capitol Building reading up on a few resources his assistant had given him about the republican he would be meeting with later in the day. The Senator didn't usually have his television turned on, but it was somewhat helping him keep his mind on his work. He knew that worrying all day about Katie wouldn't help her at all, but he couldn't stop thinking of her. Donna would probably be back in the city by now; it was almost quarter to nine. They'd agreed to meet for lunch at noon to talk about what happened and what they should do next, if anything. At the commercial break on CNN, he got up to stretch and walk around his office a bit to get his blood flowing back to his brain a bit. He stopped to look out the window and again admired what a beautiful morning it was. What a perfect day. Josh had just sat down and picked up his pen when a Breaking News bulletin caused him to drop it suddenly on his desk.

"Yeah. This just in. You're looking at obviously a very disturbing live shot there. That is the World Trade Center, and we have unconfirmed reports this morning that a plane has crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. CNN Center is just beginning to work on this story, obviously, calling our sources and trying to figure out exactly what happened, but clearly something relatively devastating happening this morning there on the south end of the island of Manhattan. That is once again, a picture of one of the towers of the World Trade Center."

"Donna!" Yelled Sam from the next room over. Donna spun her head around from her desk to see her friend's face plastered with worry. "Donna! Turn on your TV!"

Seeing the urgency in his request, Donna reached for the remote and turned on the TV, which was set to CNN as usual. On the screen, Donna saw the two tall, graceful Twin Towers with spoke billowing out from one of them.

"What happened?" Donna quickly read the ticker at the bottom of the screen, catching words here and there as she listened to Sam but didn't really take it in.

"A plane crashed into the building just a few minutes ago. They think maybe it was in trouble and tried to ditch in the water and missed."

Donna made a face as she watched the picture and thought about what her assistant just said. Something wasn't sitting right.

"Sam, how could a plane have all that sky and accidentally hit the tallest building? A couple hundred feet in one direction and it would be clear."

"I don't know Donna."

Both of them continued to watch the screen as the reporters continued to comment on what they were seeing and what they thought was going on.

"What's that?" Donna asked a few minutes later. Out of the corner of the screen, they could both begin to make out a small object that was moving across the TV. As it moved closer, they soon reasoned that it was another airplane. "Sam? What's going on?"

Neither said anything and just watched the screen. The airplane moved closer and closer to the two towers. They both stood up as it got close enough and at such an angle that they knew it was going to hit the second tower. Donna and Sam both gasped in horror as they saw a cloud of fire engulf a large part of the tower.

"Oh my God!" They both screamed over and over again. Donna felt tears begin to burn in the back of her eyes.

Josh Lyman picked up the telephone seconds after witnessing another jet plane crash into the World Trade Center. Donna picked up almost immediately.

"Hello?" She was crying, so Josh knew she was watching.

"Donna? Sweetheart are you watching the TV?" He asked anyway.

"Yes." She cried. "Josh, what's happening? It wasn't an accident! What the HELL is happening?"

"Calm down, sweetheart. Take some deep breaths, okay?"

"Oh…" She gasped. "Okay…" Donna tried her best, but she was failing miserably as Josh heard her choking on her tears. Josh just listened and waited as his eyes remained glued on his television. What the hell WAS going on? Was this really happening? His mind was running everywhere – what was there to even compare this to? As the shock was wearing off from what she had just witnessed, Donna's breathing steadied and she wasn't crying anymore, but she was shaking.

"Donna?" Her husband's voice was low and concerned.

"What?"

"Donna, I'm coming over, okay?" Josh decided. He could tell she was terrified and so was he. At least they could be together. Their agendas would have to wait because the world was standing still.

Molly Ziegler stood in awe and utter fear at the window of her classroom at Nightingale-Bamford School in New York City. On 92nd Street, the Towers were quite a ways off, but they could make out the shadows of the buildings and billowing smoke coming from both. At about 8:45, they'd all heard a loud boom coming from the South. All the students rushed to the window where they'd now been for a little over an hour. No one had known what had gone on, but it scared the living hell out of all of them. They'd learned just a few minutes ago that another plane had crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Her thoughts had immediately gone to her brother and father who were also in the city at the time. They had no reason to be at the World Trade Center, but there was always that chance that for some freak reason one of them would be nearby. Huck's school, Stuyvesant, was mere blocks from the towers. She had no doubt that he and his classmates were doing the exact same thing as they were right now at a horrifying distance. But what about her dad? Where was he? She looked back at the television playing in the background, making it all too real that this was major. This was major and she was watching it with her own eyes. As she watched the television, suddenly she saw that one of the towers was starting to fall. Molly snapped her head back to the window where she checked the live image. Her head darted back and forth between the TV and the skyline as the south tower crumbled floor by floor against the beautiful blue sky, leaving a huge cloud of smoke and dust where it stood, quickly bleeding through the streets. Classmates all around her were screaming for their parents, some of whom worked in one of the two buildings. Kids her age complained all the time about hating their parents, but she'd never seen so many of them crying for their moms and dads before in her life. Many were on their cell phones trying frantically and desperately to reach them. Molly wondered how much of the country and world knew what was going on.

Audrey Lyman looked up at the clock in her classroom during third period. 10:07. Would this class ever end? She decided this was the most boring day of class ever. The teacher was babbling on about the Constitution when a student walked in and handed the teacher a note. Mrs. Downey had being acting kind of weird all period long, as her last teacher had. Audrey figured someone important to the school must have died or something. Her classmate Jared had mentioned something to her during passing period about there being a plane crash in New York and that it had hit a building. He'd heard it from his older brother who was in the other wing of the school – the high school. Audrey thought the message was kind of weird but what the hell did he mean that the plane had hit the building? She shrugged it off, not knowing anything to reference it to, figuring it was some tiny plane knicking one of those giant buildings in New York. What kind of damage could it have done? It probably wasn't a big deal…back to the Constitution…

"Audrey Lyman." Mrs. Downey called her. "The principal would like to see you." She waved the note around in her hand, signaling for Audrey to come get the hall pass. Audrey figured it had something to do with what had happened to Katie yesterday. The principal probably wanted to ask her a few questions and to make sure she was looking out for her sister.

When Audrey got to the principal's office, she could see a group of six or seven people crowded into the secretary's office. She didn't know what they were doing, but she thought it was really weird. Maybe it was about the plane accident. Audrey stepped into the principal's office to see both her sister Katie and Amanda Reynolds sitting in two chairs in front of Mrs. Burrell's desk. The principal didn't look too happy; she almost looked upset. Maybe something else had happened between them this morning.

"Close the door please, Audrey, and we'll get started." Mrs. Burrell requested in a shaky tone that she was obviously trying to hide. Audrey did as she was told and took the third seat next to her sister Katie. She decided not to look at Amanda.

"Girls, the reason I called you down here…" Mrs. Burrell started, and then cleared her throat. "The reason you're here is because we've been notified by your parents to let you know about a situation."

That could mean anything to the three girls – coming from political families, there was always that chance. Their parents were all important people. All three hearts started beating faster and the looks on their faces must have prompted Mrs. Burrell's next statement.

"They're all okay. They're fine." She cleared up. "But I wanted to let you three know in person here in my office before I tell the rest of the school. There's been some terrorist attacks in New York City and in D.C. Two airplanes hit the World Trade Center at 8:45 and a little after 9, and one hit the Pentagon at 9:40. They think the Capitol Building or the White House may also be a target and they believe there's still one other hijacked plane in the air, so they're evacuating. Your parents are all safe. They didn't want you to panic."

All three girls were frozen. What to say? Huh?

"What?" Audrey finally said out loud.

"Let's go into the next room where there's a television. It's hard to imagine, I know. It's not something anybody ever imagined." Mrs. Burrell gestured towards the door and the three girls stood up. Audrey and Katie looked at one another, communicating their confusion and worry. Katie caught a glimpse of Amanda's face. She didn't look scared, she just looked confused like they were.

In the secretary's office, the same group of people was gathered around a small television, and Mrs. Burrell tried to push her way through.

"Excuse me, everyone, can you let these three young ladies through?" When everyone looked back to see who it was, all their faces immediately changed from shock to empathy. They all knew who their parents were and knew they could possibly be in danger. All six people stepped aside quickly, giving them a reassuring nod as they exited the room.

The first thing they saw on the television was one tall building standing, battered, in the morning sunlight, and a huge, ever-growing cloud of gray engulfing countless other buildings. As they tried to take the image in, Katie put a hand to her mouth and Amanda had to sit down, while Audrey looked outraged. It seemed like it was happening in slow motion. Katie didn't feel the shock of it all until Amanda muttered, "Oh my God..". It was then that she understood exactly what was going on. Someone had deliberately just killed probably thousands of people. A one hundred story building had just collapsed. Katie began to process that there were people inside when it had fallen. God, what had they been thinking? How horrible for your last moments to be filled with utter chaos and terror.

"The other tower's gonna fall." Audrey stated decidedly, but her voice was shaking. The camera view shifted and the girls thought what they thought was debris falling falling from the remaining tower, but soon the realization came that it was people jumping. This was too much for Katie to bear finally, and she broke down sobbing, falling to the floor. Was it that desperate that they saw no hope? Forgetting what had happened yesterday, Katie gave in to the kind, caring hand that was now wrapped around her shoulders – Amanda's hand. She was just as scared right now. Everyone was scared.

Huck Ziegler and his classmates had been told minutes ago that school had been cancelled for the day and to flee the area near the World Trade Center. The school administrators decided the students would be safer the farther they could get away from Ground Zero, so they were released. They didn't need to see what was going on, and the building was damaged. Huck opted to stay with several of his friends, all of them not really knowing what to do. His friend Tom lived two blocks from WTC and he couldn't go home, so they all decided to walk to New York University where Huck's dad taught while continuing to try to get a hold of any of their parents on their cell phones. Molly was a long way away from Ground Zero so Huck reasoned her school would not be released. If he thought he knew his dad, he would be heading straight to Huck's school to get him after making sure Molly was safe at school. None of the boys could get a signal on any of their phones. As Huck looked around at all the other citizens walking – just walking – he realized why. Everyone was trying to get a hold of their loved ones.

"Do you think Huck and Molly and Uncle Toby are near there?" Katie asked her sister after she'd calmed down somewhat.

"I don't know" said Audrey honestly. All they knew was the name of the two schools where Huck and Molly went. Whether they were near the World Trade Center or not was a mystery to them both. Katie wondered if her parents knew anything and told the principal not to tell them. Audrey fished her cell phone out of her backpack, which she wasn't supposed to have in school. As fast as her fingers would move, she dialed Huck's cell phone number, hoping that he had it on him. A voice came on saying the wireless customer did not have service.

"He doesn't have any service." Audrey choked out. Their minds immediately turned to the worst. Was his school close enough to be affected by the blast? Was he lying there dead – one of the faceless victims?

As Huck walked down the crowded street that had turned into a giant sidewalk, his mind couldn't wander far from his sister and his dad. He hoped that his sister was still safe and sound at her school, that they hadn't released them like his school had. New York University was a long hike from where they were. Huck had no idea where his dad would be, but he had no doubt in his mind that he would be looking for him. The boys all walked silently together, not knowing what to say. It was all still too unreal. They felt like they were in some horrible Hollywood movie. From behind them, they suddenly started to hear a horrible, booming, screeching groan. They all stopped and looked behind them to see that the other tower was beginning to fall. Even though they were already far enough away, they started to run again, anxious to get further and wanting to find their families.

Toby felt like he'd been punched in the stomach for the second time today seeing the north tower collapse. He'd been trying to get to Huck's school ever since he saw the first tower start to fall half an hour ago. Not knowing what kind of damage was being caused around the towers, Toby's mind was going ballistic wondering if he had just watched his son die from a distance. He ran – he never ran – towards lower Manhattan. He'd been there at Bartlet's assassination attempt; he'd been terrified for his own life, but this was difference. HIS SON was in danger and nothing else mattered right now – not the blisters on his feet, not the lecture room full of students he abandoned, not the human instinct that told him to run from the cloud of billowing smoke. He needed to hold his son.

"This is like this generation's Pearl Harbor." Amanda said softly, all of their eyes still glued to the set. Amanda's comment set in stone that what was happening was major and historic. They will now forever remember this day; where they were when they heard the news; what their initial thoughts were. "Everything's going to change."

The three girls had been watching the television for almost an hour now. They'd witnessed the second tower collapsing and listened to the newscasters struggling for words for the first time in their memory. Everything was uncertain – was it over? What kind of sick people would do this? Why?

"I can't stop thinking of the Zieglers." Audrey spoke softly. "Do you think they would have called mom and dad?"

"I hope so."

"You have friends in New York?" Amanda asked them both, displaying a level of concern Katie thought not possible yesterday.

"Yeah, family friends. We don't know how close they are to it." Katie explained.

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks."

As the girls continued to watch, amidst the feelings of terror and disbelief, a new emotion emerged: pride. Heroism, something that wasn't seen very often, was everywhere today. Strangers helping each other, stores giving out water to anyone walking by, firemen and police officers rushing to the scene without hesitation. Amidst the inhumanity of the day, true humanity surfaced.

Huck Ziegler dialed his cell phone for about the twentieth time that day, trying to reach his sister this time. He must have found a pocket of good reception, because he finally heard the phone ringing. Not wanting to ruin this opportunity, Huck stopped dead in his tracks so he wouldn't lose the signal.

"Hello?" Molly's voice had never sounded so sweet.

"Molly!"

"Huck, is that you?" Molly cried, standing up and going straight to the window as if she might be able to see him amidst the thousands in the streets. Her school had been wonderful about letting students make phone calls and receive them, no matter where they were. Molly happened to be sitting in her precalculus classroom. None of the teachers had actually tried to teach anything since the first plane hit – they all understood, having families in New York as well, and let the students talk about their feelings and make phone calls.

"Are you okay? Are you at school?" Huck asked her.

"Yes, we're fine. I'm still at school. Where are you?"

"I'm making my way to NYU to find dad."

"He called here. He went to look for you."

"I thought he would. I'm gonna try to call him again now."

"Huck?"

"Yes, Molly?"

"Are you okay? I mean, did you see things?"

Huck tried to push back the rush of memories that still didn't seem real in his head. He'd seen things alright – things he never cared to see again.

"I'm fine." Huck tried to hold back tears that were threatening to spill over. "I'm safe. I gotta try to call dad, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you, Molly."

"I love you too."

Huck hung up the phone and immediately started dialing his father's cell phone. He hoped that he was also in an area that was getting reception. Huck didn't even hear the phone ring, because his dad picked up immediately.

"Hello? Huck?" Toby's frantic voice asked.

"Dad! Dad, it's me!" He basically yelled.

Toby stopped and leaned over, catching his breath from jogging down the streets of New York.

"Oh, thank God!" Toby panted, overtaken with emotion from relief. "Huck, are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm fine, dad. I…I was trying to head to NYU to find you."

"What street are you on? I was heading towards you."

"I'm on Broadway. I just passed the Holland Tunnel."

"Okay, just stay right there where you are. I'm almost there."

"Okay, dad. I'm standing next to a payphone."

"Don't hang up, okay? I think I'm close."

Huck could hear that his dad was jogging again, knowing that his son was nearby and wanting to get to him as soon as possible.

"Dad, I got a hold of Molly at school too. I talked to her a few minutes ago."

"Good! How's she doing?"

"She sounds pretty scared, but I think she's better now that she knows we're both okay."

"We'll go get her as soon as I find you. We're going home."

"Dad?"

"Yes, son?"

"What about Uncle Josh and Aunt Donna. Have you heard from them?"

Toby hadn't even thought of what was going on in D.C. because he had been so dead set on getting to his kids. He knew the Pentagon had been hit, but there was no reason for them to be there.

"No, I haven't, Huck. We'll call them as soon as we get home, okay?"

"Okay." The phone went silent for a few moments and Huck could hear his dad panting. "Dad! I see you! Keep walking straight!"

"Where are you?"

Huck felt himself about ready to cry from joy. He'd never been so happy to see his dad in his life.

"Dad! Dad, keep walking!" Huck starting cutting across the street, filled with people, to his father that was on the other side. His heart was beating so fast he thought it would burst out. He'd never seen his dad looking so vulnerable – looking around everywhere for him, so worried but now with so much hope. Finally, Huck jogged and he was in feet of his dad. Toby turned his head to see his son and Huck knew he'd be okay. The fifteen year old ran into his father's arm harder than he expected he would, finally allowing himself to cry.

Toby felt himself start to cry, squeezing his son tight, feeling that he was safe there with him.

"You're okay now." Toby whispered to Huck. "We're okay."

He'd confessed to a friend once before the twins were born that he didn't think he'd love his kids the right way; that he wouldn't love them like other parents did. At this moment, his capacity of love for his son and daughter seemed never-ending; infinite; unbreakable; the deepest kind.

After learning the building was being evacuated, Josh and Donna Lyman decided they just wanted to get the hell out of D.C., pick up their girls and go home to be a family. While many of their colleagues waited around in diners outside the city and such, they felt the calling that they needed to be with their daughters. Knowing them, they'd probably be second-guessing and worrying if their parents were okay. They wouldn't be able to do much at school anyway today.

Josh was speeding down the highway as quickly as he could, though it was filled with people trying to get out just like they were.

"Josh, slow down. We want to get there alive."

Josh noticed his speed and slowed down a little.

"Sorry. I just want to get there."

"I know." Donna reached over and put her hand over his. "We'll all be together and everything will be okay."

"Toby hasn't called yet. I'm getting really worried about them, Donna. Isn't Huck's school right near the site? Stuyvesant, isn't it?"

At the reminder of the danger the Zieglers were in, Donna felt her stomach tighten again.

"Yeah. I'll keep trying."

Donna continued to try on her cell phone to reach Toby but was still getting no luck. Finally, they reached the girls' school and headed to the principal's office where Donna had been earlier.

When Mrs. Burrell saw Donna and Josh walk in, a smile came to her face and she stood to greet them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Lyman. I thought I'd probably be seeing you today. The girls are actually in the secretary's office. I let them stay because they were so upset." Mrs. Burrell gestured towards the room with the door closed and walked them over. Knocking the door, she called the girls gently.

"Audrey? Katie? Your parents are here."

Like five year olds after their first day of kindergarten, both twins leapt up from their seats with a look of pure relief and infinite love all tied together. The hug turned into a large, four-person hug, everyone smiling to see each other.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Audrey said, sniffling a little.

"Us too, sweetheart." Josh told her, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

Amanda looked on to the family of four. She wondered why her dad wasn't here. Josh looked over momentarily and caught her worried expression.

"Amanda, your dad's fine. He's actually on his way over. We talked to him before we left."

Her face immediately lit up.

"He is?" She asked hopefully.

"Yes." Josh knew Senator Reynolds quite well from the Hill and knew he was just as anxious to get to his daughter as they were. As a single father, he was probably ever more anxious to do so. About a minute later, he walked in the door.

"Daddy!" She called and ran into his arms. It was hard yesterday to picture Amanda as a little girl who needed her dad like she did now. Katie could see that even though she'd done something horrible to her yesterday, she was really the same as her right now.

After a minute or so of hugging, Amanda finally released herself from her father's arms to look at Audrey and Katie. Slowly, she walked towards the twins standing with their parents.

"Katie, I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday. I really hope you can forgive me. I was really stupid."

The four Lymans were impressed that Amanda had the character to walk up and apologize to Katie in front of all of them. That was pretty big of her. Katie felt her dad's hand on her shoulder in encouragement.

"Thanks, Amanda. I'd like to talk about it some more, but I think I can forgive you."

Josh and Donna were proud of Katie for still sticking up for herself. What Amanda had done really hurt her and the issue still needed to be addressed. They were glad to see that she was able to stand up and take charge of what was happening in her life.

"Okay. We'll talk, after….all this." She gestured to the TV.

"Alright. See you tomorrow."

"Bye guys." She offered a smile to Josh and Donna, who smiled back. They weren't sure if Senator Reynolds knew what had gone on yet, but were sure he'd know in the near future. He was a good man and they had no doubt this issue would be resolved.

Josh, Donna, Katie and Audrey all piled into the Jeep Grand Cherokee outside the school. It was a little after noon now in perhaps the longest day in memory.

"Have you heard from the Zieglers?" Audrey spoke up in concern for their friends, who were really practically family.

"We've been trying to get them, but the cell phones are having trouble working there, apparently, because everyone's trying to use them. But we'll keep trying."

Immediately, Donna pulled her cell phone out again to do that. No signal again. They were all talking about where they were when they found out what was going on. Josh and Donna were impressed at how the school handled the Senators' daughters.

"We were pretty sure the second tower would fall too…"

Katie's sentence was interrupted by Donna's cell phone ringing. She looked at the caller ID to see that it was Toby Ziegler.

"Hello? Toby?" Donna answered, her heart racing.

"Donna, yeah, it's me."

"I've been trying to get a hold of you."

"I've been trying to reach you, too, but the phones are just…awful. I just wanted to let you know we're all okay. Huck's fine. His school was right there by it, but he got away fine. Molly's school was far away, so she was safe, and I was a good distance from it."

"Oh, thank God, Toby." She told him, then she leaned back to share the news. "They're all okay. They're fine."

"How's it your end?"

"We're all fine. Josh and I went to go pick up the girls and we're heading home now. They evacuated Capitol Hill and the White House, so we just left as soon as we found each other."

"Good. Yeah, just go home. That's what we're doing. There's people everywhere. It's chaos."

Toby's phone was cracking up even now as they neared their home near Central Park. He was walking with both Huck and Molly now, with his daughter sandwiched safely between her father and brother.

"I can't imagine, Toby. But you're all okay. Thank God you're okay."

"Yeah. Give Katie and Audrey kisses for me. Tell them Huck and Molly do too."

"I will. And you do the same from us."

"Alright. Take care."

"Bye, Toby."

Donna let out a huge sigh as she hung up the phone.

"They're on their way home now." Donna told the rest of the car.

"Good." Josh said as he stared ahead at the road. It took a little longer to get home today, but it was home. They had their family and they had their home, unlike some of their fellow Americans today.

Later that night, the Lymans were all gathered in their living room around the television, like almost virtually all the nation. The members of Congress who had opted to stay, perhaps those without school-aged children, were now gathered outside the steps of Capitol Hill. A good number of Senators or Representatives had been giving speeches and reading poetry for about the past 45 minutes, many of whom either Josh or Donna knew personally.

"The duration of our present conflict and its price may be in doubt, but there can be no doubt as to its outcome," said Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, "From this city's day of horror and all of the loss and sorrow has come strength."

The Lymans thought the session was over when the last person spoke. The four were huddled close together on the couch with Josh sitting in the middle, his left arm clutched around his wife while she leaned on his chest. Audrey was laying just in front of her mother, feeling safe beneath her mom's protective arm and resting her head on Josh's knee. Katie was on the other side of Josh, his other arm gently pulling her to him. They lay together silently, like much of the nation, as they all began to sing.

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free,
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

God bless America, land that I love
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night with the light from above
From the mountains to the prairies,
To the ocean white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home.

God bless America, My home sweet home.