Chapter 9: Finally some progress

Alex hangs up the phone looking frantically around the cabin for the gun her shoes and a coat. She didn't know how he found her but she trusted Hannah, she trusted her all this time, trusted her with her life. The image of Tom and their kids in her head steadied her hands and she put the magazine in the gun leaving the cabin not looking back or caring that she left the phone on the table behind her. The air was still cold even though all the snow had melted away by now. Her heart was beating loudly in her ears, looking around her she couldn't see why Hannah urged her so strongly to leave but she knew she could and should trust her Hannah was never irrational when someone's life was on the line.

The cold air was hitting her merciless on the face as she was running through the trees, she could feel the leaves and branches breaking under her feet the adrenaline pumping in her veins, she knew that she would be exhausted soon if she just keeps running, and she's fairly sure that she's running on the opposite side of the nearest village, but even if she isn't the nearest village is too far away for her to just run to. Looking around she finds a large tree with a cavity big enough that she could hide inside.

Curling inside she brings her knees to her chest trying to calm her breathing, the gun still clutched tightly in her hand. She felt sick probably from all the adrenaline and felt the tears burning her eyes. Was this how she was going to die? Alone in a forest miles and miles away from her family? Being hunted like an animal by a sociopath?

He was drunk, Tom knew that he should stop drinking but he couldn't, it was as if the alcohol had a strong hold on him that was making him turn to it at every chance. Alex would be so disappointed in him if she saw him like that, sitting on the corner, hugging a bottle of whiskey close, too numb to even cry.

"You are pathetic you know that?" he looks up, his eyes take a while to focus on the figure on the other side of the room, she was familiar, the blood on her face, the cuts and the bruises, he had grown used to seeing them. "And you are a bitch." He whispers bringing the bottle to his lips again. He looks up and sees her smiling at him, there's something sinister in her eyes that Tom just doesn't care analyzing anymore.

She breaks the silence first, again, just like she always does. "What a pathetic little human being, hiding behind the bottle instead of facing your problems." He rolls his eyes, looking at the bottle he realizes that it's nearly empty. "Have any better way?" he asks sarcastically. Tom gets up with some difficulty and walks to the drink cabinet, there's another closed bottle there which he takes off smiling. "Cat got your tongue?" he asks, his own voice shocks him, there's such venom in it, so different than his normal tone, but he is good enough to hide it from her.

"No" she slowly stands up and starts walking towards the window. The sunlight shines in her hair, and for a small moment Tom feels his breath getting caught in his throat. If she stayed like that, with her back turned to him then he could almost pretend that she was just Alex. He blinks a couple times, trying to erase this picture from his head, it was just a week after they had moved to the white house, he came upstairs a little after 7p.m. a first, and found her standing by the window, looking outside, the sun was just setting and the light fell so softly on her, he could swear that she was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen after his kids, but now this shadow was marring it turning this memory into a horror story. "Leave." The word comes out with difficulty, through his teeth.

"What?" she asks turning around slowly, she looks at him, her eyes challenging.

"I said leave!" his scream scared him too, but she stayed there, a sardonic smile on her lips the whole time. "Leave!" the empty bottle he was holding crashes on the wall behind her head, she once again disappearing before it hit her. He falls to his knees and screams, he screams until his throat hurts.

There's a hand on his shoulder, and someone is calling his name, his actual name this time not his title, when he can finally hear again. He blinks a couple times and sees Mike's large figure hovering over him.

"Mike?"

"Mr. President," he sounds relieved.

"Why are you here?"

"I heard the glass breaking, I knocked you wouldn't answer, I thought you were injured sir." Tom looks at him perplexed; this was confusing his clouded brain.

"I'm fine, get out." He almost winches for the way he talked to his friend, he was sure that his sober self would be horrified by him but right now he can't find it in himself to care much.

"Good night sir." Mike closes the heavy door behind him and for a moment Tom wanted to scream at him to leave it open, as if this would make him any less alone.

It takes him some time to get himself up from the floor, bottle in hand he walks to the bedroom. The bottle leaves his hand and crashes on the wood floor, she is sitting on the bed, the covers around her waist, the laptop, her laptop on the bedside table next to her, her arms are crossed over her chest, as she tries to looks stern but the smile on her face betrays her.

"Alex" her name leaves his lips softly.

"What a mess." She rolls her eyes, the smile on her lips all the sign he needed to tell him that she was amused. "Come here you big dummy." She opens her arms and for a moment Tom takes a step back, he knows if he touches her she'll disappear, and he wants to savor this sight for as long as he can. "Tom!" She smiles wider and gets up from the bed, throwing the covers off her, she standing in front of him and her hands reach forward, he yelps when he feels her skin touching his. This was so weird, for a moment he felt like losing his mind.

"Will you come to bed now? It's late I have things, first lady things to do in the morning." He opens and closed his mouth, not sure what to say, so he just nodes and follows her to the bed.

It takes her no time to get settled under the blankets, it takes him a little longer. "Wow, stiff as a board Mr. President." She jokes, Tom turns to his left and sees her smiling, her head propped up by her hand, "Wanna talk Tom?" he finds himself unable to speak at all in front of her so he just nodes again. "No?" the smile on her face turns into a sad one, "Wanna cuddle?"

He can't stop the laugh leaving his lips this time "Sure" he says, this time his voice barely coming out.

He closes his eyes and can feel her hair tickling his chin, her hands around his waist, clutching his shirt tightly. Slowly, almost scared, he wraps his arms around her waist, the skin under her silk gown is warm, soft and so familiar it hurts. He doesn't know what god to thank for this, getting to spend just a little while longer with her but he is thankful for it.

He's almost asleep when he heard her whisper something in his neck, he can barely make out what it was and he didn't want to believe what he did hear.

"I'll be back soon."

Kendra hears the phone buzzing on her desk; she hopes this isn't some emergency that she needs to go to trial for. She honestly needs a quite Friday afternoon.

"Daynes."

"Kendra it's Mike, I need you to come to the residence now!" Kendra drops her pen on the desk, his voice sounds worried, she isn't sure if she had ever heard him like that.

"Why what's wrong?"

"It's the president, he wasn't well, please come, I don't know what to do and lately it seems as if you are the only one he'll listen to." She bites her lip hard and feels the blood on her tongue. She grabs her bag from the floor and writes a note to Seth, she knows he will come looking for her here in thirty or so minutes.

"I'm coming just," she stops and looks back at her office, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. The tears escaping her lids are rolling down her face, burning their path on her skin. "Just make sure he doesn't kill himself will you?"

"Yeah just hurry."

This was the tenth time Hannah called Alex's cell phone but once again it went straight to voicemail. She's waiting for the car outside of the airport and every minute feels like an hour. "Come on, come on!" she says to the mic of the phone as if Alex was going to hear her. She hangs up and redials the number almost immediately, Damian was probably already in the cabin by now, so she at least hoped Alex had done what she told her and got the hell out of there.

"Pick up the phone dammit!"

Kendra looks around as soon as the elevator doors open, Mike is sitting on a chair next to the living room door, he looks tired, his eyes bloodshot.

"Mike!" he looks up a faint smile grazes his lips.

"Kendra!" he stands up and walks to her, Kendra takes his hand in hers.

"What's going on?"

"He is," she sees him biting his lip, trying to stop what she's sure is a sob from leaving his lips. "He is getting worse Kendra. I went in because I heard glass breaking and he was drunk screaming, crying," he stops and looks away for a moment, almost unable to look at her "He seems to still listen to you, so I thought I should call you."

"You did good Mike, don't worry." She smiles softly, it's a small smile barely grazing her lips bit for the moment it seemed to be enough for him.

"I'm sorry to burden you with this too." She waves his concern away.

"It's not a burden, it's," she freezes what exactly can she call this. If she was honest it was a burden, everyone else would call it a burden after all. "I made a promise" she softly drops his hand from hers and walks closer to the door. "Just, don't worry."

She walks in slowly, closing the door behind her, the living room is in disarray, walking inside she sees the glasses next to the window, looking around, there's pillows on the floor, plates, broken under the table, and strikingly the alcohol cabinet is empty. She tears her eyes away from it and walks towards the bedroom, the door is halfway open and she peaks in, the room is in even worse condition than the living room.

She walks in and sees Tom on the bed; his face is buried into the pillow which he's hugging close. She walked to the bed and sat down next to him. She takes her time to study him, he looks peaceful for the first time in a while the lines around his forehead soften. She feels bad to wake him up but she needs to talk to him.

"Tom?" she lightly shakes him, he groans lightly and buries his face deeper in the pillow. "What the hell did happen here?" she wonders looking around.

"Tom!" this time she shakes him harder calling his name again. Tom opens his eyes slowly, rubbing his face. The smile on his face drops as his eyes land on her.

"Kendra? What are you doing here?" Tom sits up on the bed, the pillow falls from his hands pulling the blanker closer to him.

"The question here Tom is what are you doing here?"

Hannah looks at her phone, she's frustrated, last thing she wanted at this point was to talk to John, he didn't really need to get involved, she didn't want him to but right now, as she can't reach Alex on the phone she can't see another way.

"Forstell!" he sounded calm, slightly whispering, she guesses that he was in the office by now.

"John, I do need help"

"Hannah." She cut him off before he said anything else, she knew that he had things to say first, probably he wanted to ask if Alex was alive but she didn't have a lot of time to chat.

"I can't reach her, she has a weapon, a gun she can protect herself I send you the coordinates, can you get agents there?" there's a sort silence from the other side of the line.

"Let me see" there's another silence, the sound of the keyboard made her flinch; he was typing fast, hitting the keys merciless. "I can have a team there in about an hour maybe less."

"In less John, his plane already landed" she urged him looking around for the car.

"I know Hannah!" she freezes, his voice is cold, she can hear his frustration, she knows, somewhere in the back of her mind she does know that it wasn't frustration with her, more with the situation he was in. "Does she know how to shoot the gun?"

"My rental is here, I'm leaving, please get them there as soon as can." She pleads him, getting in the car, slamming the door behind her.

"Ok." He said, she bites her lip, the words leaving her lips with some difficulty.

"Good luck John"

"Good Luck Hannah." She smiles hanging up the phone and throws the phone on the seat next to her.

Alex could hear the footsteps coming closer, she knew that the cavity wouldn't conceal her for long. Her heart was beating fast in her ears. She felt something wet on her cheeks and raised her hand wiping the tears away. A soft sad chuckle left her lips her hands shaking reached inside her shirt taking out a white gold locket. It was of the shape of a heart with three small diamonds in the center. Opening the locket the pictures of her family faced her. She couldn't help but smile seeing the smiling face of Tom with their kids, Leo and Penny. She knew that she didn't have a lot of time left, she had to leave, run again. She brought the pictures closer to her lips, placing a soft kiss on the two small pictures.

"I love you" she whispers before hiding the locker under her shirt and getting out of the cavity.

A/N: Thank you for reading, please leave a review behind!

And as always,

SNEAK PEEK:

Alex was running, she could hear Damian's footsteps behind her, he was running after her, and it seemed that no matter how fast she was running he was always closely following her.