Ch. 5

"ok…don't panic. I'm sure he is fine. Dad would have told you if he wasn't…" cooed Alison McCord. Her sister was losing her mind. She was a little pissed at her dad too as he had left a weird text about going to see Mom and to not watch the news. That was never a good thing. But then Stevie couldn't get a hold of Mom, Dad, or Blake. Even the security detail was giving them weird looks.

Stevie stopped passing her and Blakes apartment long enough to cry "But Blake never misses my texts. Even when he is supper busy, he will send me something even if it's just a punctuation so I know he is ok. Something is wrong. I can feel it in my bones. I love him so much and I feel that he is not right. Something has happened. Why else would dad tell us and the detail not to let us watch the news. The last time this happened was during that assassination attempt drill." Stevie was past the point of logical thinking. And Alison was at her wits end of what to do. She just hoped that everyone was ok. Especially her Mom and future brother-in-law.

Blake had been a part of the family for a while, but with him and Stevie getting married next year after the election, he was finally going to be a permanent member. That's when she got an idea. She could call the President. Surly he would know how to get a message to her dad. So, she picked up her phone and dialed the president's personal number.

*ring…ring…ring…ri* "Hello? Allison are you ok?"

"Uncle Conrad… I'm sorry, I know I'm not supposed to call you on this number unless its and emergency, but I think it is an emergency…" Alison spoke so fast that the president had trouble keeping up.

"Ali…Ali, calm down. I'm not mad. You know you can call me whenever you need to. Now slower this time, what's going on?" President Dalton was pretty sure he knew what was wrong, but on the off chance he was wrong, felt he should get her to say it out loud.

"Ok…ok…um…so, Dad sent us all a weird text about going to see Mom yesterday, but didn't say anything else other than not to watch the news. And apparently, he said this to the detail because we have been cut off from the internet and everything. Well, at first, I thought it was one of these annoying drills, but now we can't get Dad to respond to texts, Mom is not responding, and neither is Blake and Stevie is about ready to lose her mind. We haven't called Jason since he is on that trip to Australia. But do you know what is going on…We just want to know if everything is ok?" …

Conrad knew it was not his place to tell them, but figured he could play dumb long enough to get a hold of Henry or Elizabeth. "Ok, Ali, I will find out what's going on. Until then, I'm going to call your detail and have them bring both of you to the white house. That way you are not alone. Lydia would love to see you both."

"Thank you, Uncle Conrad," Alison said in relief. We will be ready to go in about 5 minutes.

"Ok sweetheart. Lydia will meet you at the east entrance." Conrad said this with as much care as possible. When he was actually rather pissed at Henry for not keeping his kids and especially him in the loop. All he knew was there was an attempt, but it would appear that he did not receive all of the information.

**Back in Memphis**

It was just going 7am. *ring…ring…ring…ring…*

Henry was jarred from sleep by both the phone and Elizabeth jerking into his ribs.

"Henry…get the phone…it's on your side" Mumbled Elizabeth as she was still not with it yet.

As he picked up the room phone, he realized he didn't have his cell phone, and had no idea where it was. "Hello…"

"Hello, is this Henry McCord?" asked a slightly familiar voice.

"Yes, it is… who is "asked Henry but was cut off by the words "Hold for the President". Well answers that question he thought.

"Henry…are you with Elizabeth?" asked the Conrad. The time for pleasantries was over. "Yes, Mr. President, she is right here…" Henry turned to Elizabeth who for her part was much more alert at that statement.

"Good…Put me on speaker. You both need to hear this!" Conrad demanded.

"Yes Sir." As henry put the phone on speaker. Elizabeth said "Good Moring Mr. President. Is everything ok?"

"It's good to hear you Bess, but No, everything is most definitely not Ok…now I realize that being shot at is not a fun experience and that is probably brought up some bad memories, but to not call your daughters. They were both about to lose their minds in worry. All you did Henry by sending the text you did was cause them both to worry more than if you had just taken them with you. Now, I want to know what is going on and why I have been left out of the loop. The news said there was a shooting, but nothing else. Apparently, the area you were in was all but deserted. So, there is that, but Alison called me about to hyperventilate because neither she or Stevie could get ahold of anyone and the Detail wouldn't say anything per Henry's instructions. So, while I am extremely glad you are both ok, I really what to know what the hell is going on!" said Conrad in full presidential mode.

Henry and Elizabeth both looked at each other in horror. Elizabeth was the first to speak. "Oh…God Conrad. Everything happened so fast, when Blake was shot, all I could think about was him. Then at the hospital I handed my phone to Matt, but only found out last night that my phone had been broken. When Henry got to the Hospital, all I could think about was him and Blake. I am so sorry Mr. President. I will have Matt send you a report of everything and periodic updates. As for Henry…" she looked toward Henry who then began "I'm sorry too sir. I had intended to call the girls especially Stevie as I know she would want to know about Blake, but until I knew what was going on, I kept it vague. But I just realized this morning actually, that I have no idea where my phone is. I more than likely lost it while traveling."

Conrad's heart was breaking as he listened to his two best friends chastise themselves. He was also worried about Blake. He knew it was probably bad, if all they were saying was Blake was shot and not Blake was hurt but is doing better. But what was more concerning was the sounds of defeat in their voices. Not many knew, but Conrad had been read into the troubles Blake had a few years back and was aware how much he meant to the McCord family, even before his engagement to Stephanie. Conrad in that moment had made a decision.

"Well, you both worry about Blake and I have the girls. Since Jason is in Australia till next week, the girls, Lydia, and I will be flying down to Memphis today. I can remove this small bit of stress. I will also have you two new phones, so that this little debacle doesn't happen again." Conrad was already sending a text off to the pilots of Airforce One that they were going to Memphis, TN when Elizabeth tried to cut in…

"Conrad, you don't have to…" but that was as far as she got before being cut off by the Commander in Chief in all his Glory… "I don't care what I have to do…Blake is Family and like I told you all those years ago…

**Flashback CIA Directors Office**

Elizabeth McCord was nervous. She had never been a nervous person, but when she got a summons to Director Daltons office this morning, she wished Henry was home so, she could call him to calm down, but he was on the tail end of his first deployment overseas. So, she took a deep breath and knocked on the door. "Enter"

When she went in, she saw director Dalton in his funny bow tie and gave a small smile "You wanted to see me sir…"

"Yes, I did Bess, please, have a seat." He waved her over to the seats. He hated having to give bad news especially to Elizabeth as he thought of her as niece. She was so smart and sharp. He admired her. But now he was going to have to break her heart. It's no easy thing to have to do to tell you that your husband has been shot down and is missing in action. It's not an easy thing to begin with, but he knew that Elizabeth didn't have anyone to lean on. Henry had told him before he was deployed that if anything were to happen to him, that he wanted Conrad to keep an eye on Elizabeth because his own family was less than supportive. He had given his word, and now he would have to act on it.

"So…how have you been?" he started off trying to seem nonchalant. But as his friend was very perceptive, caught on right away.

"I'm fine Sir, but what's going on? With all due respect, you didn't call me up here to ask how I've been." She stated while nervously twisting her hands together, while keeping her face unreadable.

"Bess…" Conrad sighed, "there is no easy way to say this…" he looked Elizabeth in the eye and she gasped and tears filled her eyes, but they did not fall.

"Conrad, tell me…" she begged.

"Henry's plane was shot down. He ejected but his location beacon was damaged and he is now missing in action. There is a search and rescue mission already happening to locate him. But he did have to eject over enemy terrain. It is possible that he survived and is waiting for evac, or there is also the possibility of him being held prisoner." As Conrad spoke, the tears fell. Elizabeth listened with rapt attention. Never loosing eye contact. It was only after he stopped speaking that he realized that Elizabeth was barely breathing, she wasn't blinking, and she had gone very pale.

"Shit…. Elizabeth?... can you hear me? damnit" Conrad was unsure what was happening, but knew it was not good. Just as he was about to shake her, her eyes rolled back in her head and she fainted. He helped her down to the ground and then ran the few steps to his office phone and paged medical to his office. It took less than 4 minutes. As the medical staff entered the office, Elizabeth had yet to regain conciseness. That was troubling. Her heart rate was too slow, her breathing too shallow, and she was not responding to painful stimuli. The medical staff loaded her onto a stretcher and put her on a monitor, put her on oxygen by mask and took her to the CIA infirmary, which was the equivalent to an emergency room. All four doctors on call surrounded her and began to do tests to determine what was going on. Conrad had followed as they transported her down stairs to the infirmary and watched as they worked on her. After about 10 minutes, they moved Elizabeth into another room and one of the doctors walked up to Conrad to ask some questions.

"Director Dalton, I'm Dr. Fishbern."

"Hello Doctor. How is Agent McCord? Is she awake yet?" asked Conrad.

"Yes, she regained consciousness, but was very foggy on details. We have determined that she has suffered an emotional shutdown. It is an isolated incident. Basically, she was so emotionally distressed by the situation, that her brain decided to protect itself. It caused her heart to beat slowly, her breathing to go shallow, and her nervous system to not transmit signals. We gave her supplemental O2 and a medication to speed up her heart. She is now awake and is asking for you. We are going to keep her here for a few hours, let her sleep off the light sedative we gave her, then will release her to her husband."

"Thank you, Doctor. There is a problem with her release as her husband is deployed. Can she not be released alone?" Conrad had a feeling he knew the answer to that last question. He would have to call Lydia.

"No, she cannot be allowed to be alone yet. She could have a relapse and that could be fatal if she were to be alone. If I may be so bold Sir, is her husband the reason for this incident? That would make much more sense. She does not strike me as a person who would get this worked up about analytical work" the Doctor replied to Director Dalton.

"You would be correct Doctor. I had just told her that her husband was just listed as MIA. She did not handle that well, but then again, I didn't expect her to." Said Dalton. "Would there be a problem if she were to stay with someone else? Say my wife and I. We are friends outside of work. Would she be safe to stay with us for the weekend?" asked Dalton.

"Yes, that would explain the episode. I read her file. She lost her parents at a young age, the prospect of losing her husband would definitely check all the boxes required for this type of episode. And Yes, if your wife and yourself can keep an eye on her over the weekend, then I would feel comfortable releasing her to you." The Doctor was very glad Director Dalton was an understanding man. He was also glad that Agent McCord had someone in her corner since her husband couldn't be. "Well sir, I will let you go in to see her. She is sleeping, and we have her on a nasal canula just for precaution. She is doing much better" said Dr. Fishbern as he left Director Dalton outside Agent McCords room.

"Thank you again Doctor. I am going to go call my wife to let her know we will be having a house guest and I will come back since she is sleeping" said Conrad.

About an hour and a half later, Conrad entered Elizabeth's room to see her awake and sitting on the side of the bed. She looked up at him as the door opened and gave a shy embarrassed grin.

"Conrad, I am so sorry. I don't know what happened. You were talking about Henry and then everything just when silent and then dark. The next thing I remember was waking up here" Elizabeth nervously spoke.

"Bess, its fine. You are fine. That's all I care about. And before you ask there is no news on Henry. But as you know, that is good news. Now, are you ready to go" asked Conrad.

Elizabeth looked at him confused, "Go? Uhm…I still have work…its only 1:15pm."

Conrad smiled and shook his head, and spoke slowly and clearly "Elizabeth, you fainted in my office. You were barely alive for close to 6 minutes, and you needed medical treatment. Not to mention you have just been made aware that you husband is MIA. You my dear are going home…with me. The doctor does not want you to be alone incase this happens again. So, hop to. Lydia is expecting us."

Elizabeth had gone very still. She had known she had scared Conrad, but not to this extent. "Sir, I can't do that. You're my boss. I will be fine on my own. Really…" but she was cut off my Conrad who was now in Boss mode.

"Agent McCord! Do I need to make this an order? because if that is what you require, then by all means. I order you to get you behind up and follow me to my car where my driver will be taking both of us to my home where you will reside for the next two days. Is that understood?" Conrad knew he was hitting below the belt, but knew it was needed.

"Yes, Sir…" Elizabeth replied. She was no longer making eye contact she was so embarrassed. And she wanted Henry to be ok and to be found.

Conrad saw her shrink a little and sighed. He loved this young woman. And it was time she knew too. He grabbed her into a hug and said, "Bess, we are family. And family looks out for one another no matter what the circumstances. I know that you feel alone. But please know, that you will always have me. Not all families are traditional. Some are made of miss-matched parts."

For the first time since her parents had died, and Henry had been deployed, she was safe. She hugged Conrad back hard and then took a deep breath and said, "ok. Thanks Conrad. I needed that reminder. Now let's go before Lydia is pissed."

They both laughed and headed out…

**End Flashback**

Both Henry and Elizabeth got dressed and headed back to the hospital. She had had Matt send a full report to the President on Air Force One. As they were entering Blakes room, they saw Susie sitting at a small desk in the room. She looked up at them both when they came in, "Good Morning. So, good news overnight. Blake has begun to respond to painful stimuli. What that means is he is able to feel. So, we can rule out many neurological side effects of the hypoxia or lack of oxygen. So, depending on how he does today, we will be reducing his sedation and if his oxygen saturation stays in the high 90's, we will even start to remove him from the ventilator. Also, we were able to remove his chest tube as he had no more drainage overnight. So…all good news this morning" Susie said with a smile.