"Annabeth!" Donna squealed.
"Yes," Dr. Morgan replied. "She was very shaken up, so she asked not to tell any of the other Secret Service agents she was here except for the one that accompanied her." He looked at Donna, whose face was one of pure confusion. "I'm sorry, should I not have let her in? You look surprised, Ms. Moss."
"Oh, it's not that," Josh recovered for Donna. "We just didn't think Annabeth was in town today. We thought she was getting here tomorrow. Could we go talk with her?"
"Yes. I think that would be fine. If you go down this hallway and take a left, you should see her. Last I checked she was still outside. I'll meet you there with Mr. McGarry's file."
"Thank you," Josh said as he and Donna walked off towards the operating room.
"Annabeth told the doctor she was Leo's sister?"
"It makes sense," Josh replied. Donna glared at him. "—sort of, I guess."
"What was she thinking?"
"Probably that she wouldn't be able to get in to see Leo as quickly if she didn't say she was a family member."
"But Leo was able to see the President when he was shot! Leo wasn't his family."
"No, but everyone knew who Leo McGarry was. No one knows Annabeth Schott."
"I guess, but it just seems strange."
"Well, she said she was going to meet me here," Josh reasoned, "and then we didn't see her. I was too – caught up with what was going on, I forgot about how she said she was coming. Didn't you?"
"Honestly – yes."
They turned the corner, and saw her sitting down in front of the window of the operating room. A Secret Service agent stood over against the opposite wall. She was shaking a little bit, holding on to tissues. Josh and Donna walked in, but she didn't hear them. They stood, staring at her, wondering what to do. Donna got up the courage to first speak to her.
"Annabeth?"
She turned around, her face stained with tears, and started crying harder.
"Oh, Annabeth," Donna sighed, walking towards her and embracing her in a hug. "I'm so sorry, Annabeth. I'm so sorry."
"They tried – they tried to help him," she said between sobs. "After – after I talked to Josh, I – I sped all the way here and got here before they – they – they brought him into surgery. They – tried – but it – but it was too late, Donna. It was too late. I should have been in the car with him, but I didn't go. I decided to stay back and organize some things – I should have been there before it all ended. And now he's gone and there's nothing I can do."
Josh stood still, not knowing what to do next. It was funny, he thought, how Annabeth's reaction seemed to be the same one he was feeling right now. That he should have been in the car rather than Leo. He and Annabeth were two people completely dedicated to someone, though in different ways. Josh in the manner of a son, Annabeth in – well, there was always something about Leo and Annabeth, but no one really ever mentioned it.
"I didn't know what I should do when I got here, so I said I was Leo's sister," she said with a laugh. "I was going to call, explain what had happened, but I couldn't do it. I just couldn't. I knew you'd be here soon enough, and – oh, I'm just so sorry you have to see me like this, Donna." She dabbed at her eyes with the tissues again. "Where's Josh?"
"Right here," Josh answered.
"I'm sorry I didn't call, Josh. I'm really sorry –" She started to sob again. It was Josh's turn to walk over and give her a hug.
"Don't even worry about it. We found out, everything's fine."
"No, everything isn't fine," she replied. "But I'm sure we'll figure out what we're going to do next."
The doctor walked into the room and handed Donna the folder with Leo's information, to which Donna replied with a quiet "Thank you."
He left again, leaving the three, plus the Secret Service agent, to themselves. And as they remained in that part of the hospital, all three thought the same thing: Where do we go from here?