"It's been an hour. I'm going in."

"No, Leo. Leave him alone."

"Well, someone needs to go in."

Outside, in the hall there was a heated discussion on who was going to go in and get the President. Once the doctors had come down the hall and told Leo and CJ that the monitor had shown that Abbey's heart had stopped beating, they knew that the President was not going to be separated from his wife very easily. The doctors had gone in the room and within minutes the girls had come running out, sobbing. Shortly afterward, the doctors and Father Mike had come out, but it had been over an hour and the President was still in there. CJ had yet to make an announcement because she thought it best for the President to be at the farm before the press descended on Manchester.

"Maybe one of the girls would be best."

"Who?"

"Why don't we ask them?"

Leo and CJ searched the hall and finally found them together in an empty room.

"We need a favor."

Ellie responded. "How can you ask us? We just lost our mother. And probably our father as well."

Leo nodded. He only knew too well what she was talking about. "I know Ellie. Believe me, I KNOW. Your father has been with your mother for over an hour now. We need to get him out of there and to the farm before the press gets here. CJ has withheld the announcement, but really can't much longer. Can one of you help us?"

Ellie looked at her sisters. "You know he's right, don't you? Dad doesn't need the press right now. He really needs to get home and get his head on straight."

"Ellie, he'll never get his head on straight ever again," Liz replied. Both Ellie and Zoey knew she spoke the truth, but they had to try to get him back on some kind of path.

"How about all of us going in there? There's strength in numbers." All three sisters had a brief laugh. They knew their father only too well.

The other two nodded and headed out the door with Leo and CJ following. By the time they had made it back to Abbey's room, Leo saw Josh, Toby, Charlie and Margaret heading up the hall. Zoey ran to Charlie and started crying all over again.

When the group made it to Leo and CJ, they knew that Abbey had passed.

Josh was the first to say something. "How's the President?"

"Not good," Leo replied. "He's been with her for the past hour. The girls are going in there now to try and get him to come out." Leo noted that Josh raised his eyebrows. He just nodded in response.

Zoey wiped her eyes and went back to her sisters. Once she was calm, they opened the door and went in the room.

The door closed too quickly for those in the hall to get any glance in the room. But those entering the room got too good a picture. Jed was in the bed with Abbey's body, still hugging it as he had for the last hour. He was still murmuring "I love you, Abbey" over and over again.

The girls paused, looked at each other. They had never seen their father so upset. So disturbed. Their mother's death was hitting their father very, very hard.

Walking quietly over to the bed, they stopped next to it.

Liz made the first move. She touched her father's arm and quietly said, "Dad, Dad, its Liz. Mom is gone. You need to leave." He kept murmuring.

Next, Zoey bent down and looked into her father's blank stare. "Dad, it's Zoey. You have to release Mom. She's gone. You have to let her go and come home." Still no response.

Finally, Ellie tried. She leaned down and kissed him on his cheek. "Dad, it's Ellie. Mom wouldn't want you to be like this. We need you. Mom wants you to take care of us. You have to take care of us. Please come home and take care of us. That's what Mom would want."

Something in her statement broke through his haze. He looked up at her and connected with her eyes. He thought 'Yes, that's what Abbey wants. She wants me to take care of her girls.'

He raised up and looked back at Abbey. He leaned down, kissed her one last time and got out of the bed. "Let's go home."

As they made their way to the door, he stopped. "Wait, there's one more thing I have to do." His daughters watched him go back to the bed and take their mother's limp hand. He fished in his pocket for something. They watched as he slid his Christmas present back on her left hand and leaned down to kiss her one more time. He said something to her that they barely heard, "Abbey, please take these with you so you will always know how much you were loved here on earth."

With that, he turned to his daughters and said, "Now, I'm ready."

The door to the room opened. The President came out, hugging Ellie, and followed by Liz and Zoey. Leo and CJ were grateful that someone was able to get the President of the room. Jed didn't say a word. He just walked down the hall, holding his daughters' hands and continued to the lobby. The family got in an SUV and were driven to the farmhouse.

The rest of the Senior Staff were taken into Manchester and registered at the Old Inn. Tomorrow, they would start the task of planning the First Lady's service and begin the difficult task of healing. And being there for the President.

It was going to be a long road, but then that was what family was for.