Chapter 9

Two long hours later, the Presidential motorcade pulled up to the side Emergency Room entrance in an attempt to shield the President from the massive press presence already gathered in front of GW.

It hadn't taken long for the press to find out why he had abruptly canceled his trip and headed back to Washington. His staff hadn't found out about the reason for the abrupt change in plans and the emergency departure from Florida until they were already in the air. Everybody's belongings were left behind in their hotel rooms. The Service would make sure all the bags would make it safely back to Washington and returned to their rightful owners.

The press bus had changed directions with the rest of the motorcade. The press had pressured CJ to know why the sudden change in plans, but she was in the dark as well until after they had boarded the plane coming home. However, once the reason was known, no complaints were heard from the press. CJ had to give thanks for that small blessing.

Ignoring the gathered press, the President quickly entered the door to greet Millie, who was standing by the door.

"Millie, why didn't Abbey want to me know about this?"

"Jed, you know she's a stubborn woman. No matter what I said to her, she refused to tell you before it was over. This should have been routine but it wasn't."

"Damn straight, it wasn't. Next time, don't follow her directions. Tell me anything I need to know. Will you promise me that?"

Millie shook her head. "I can't Jed. She told me in confidence. I can't break that confidence."

Jed knew Millie was right. It wasn't hers or Ron's responsibility to inform him on what Abbey was doing. It was Abbey's job to do that. But right now he had a higher priority.

"How is she now?" He looked as anxious as he felt.

"No change. Her blood pressure has stabilized, but she's still not breathing on her own. And now the doctors are worried about something called DIC."

"What the hell is DIC?"

"It's called disseminated vascular coagulation. Basically, Abbey's blood tries so hard to clot after something like the hemorrhage she had in the OR that it over compensates. Instead of too much clotting, there's not enough clotting and she can bleed to death quite rapidly."

Jed stopped walking and turned to Millie. "Oh my God! Is there any treatment? Can anything be done to prevent it from occurring?"

"No, sir. The doctors have given her some medication to help her blood clot, but it will take a while to work. So if DIC occurs, all we can do is replace the volume and hope for the best."

Jed leaned against the wall for a minute. He had hoped the danger was over.

Straightening, he pulled back his shoulders and started walking again. "Okay, let's go. I need to see my wife."

"Yes, sir."