Abbey left her oldest daughter and the plate of sandwiches in the living room, telling Elisabeth she'd be right back. Making her way to an empty bedroom, she collapsed on the bed and located CJ's number in her cell phone.
"Claudia Jean?" she asked, tears working slowly down her face.
"Abbey?" CJ stood quickly and closed the door to her office. "Abbey, sweetie. How are you holding up?" She could hear the other woman sniffing quietly.
"Did you know? About Sharif?" Abbey's voice cracked.
"We just got told about a week ago. I thought…Did you just find out?" CJ exclaimed.
"From the television report." Abbey said bitterly. "Like so many other things in my life."
"Oh, Abbey" CJ had no idea what to say.
"Can you come up for a few minutes?" Abbey asked beseechingly. CJ looked at her watch.
"Where are you? I'll be there as soon as I can."
CJ walked into the spare bedroom to find Abbey sitting on the bed with tears leaking down her cheeks.
"Abbey…" she murmured, moving to crouch in front of the woman and take her hands, stroking them softly. She moved to sit beside her on the bed, wrapping the other woman in her arms. Abbey clung to her, sobs beginning to wrack her body.
"They took my baby….My Zoe…" she wailed.
CJ's own eyes overflowed, her tears running into Abbey's hair. "I know." She whispered, rocking her gently. "I know."
Abbey pulled away to look up at CJ's now tearstained face. "Will they kill her, Claudia?" she asked, her face looking desperate.
CJ shook her head, unable to give the woman comfort when she didn't know what was happening on Qumar. "I don't know, Abbey." She replied honestly "If we go into Qumar, it becomes a much higher possibility." Tears continued leaking down her face. "And with Walken…" CJ's voice gave out.
Abbey leaned back into her chest, and CJ wrapped her arms around her as tightly as she could, pressing her cheek into Abbey's hair. "We'll find her, Abbey. I promise we'll find her, no matter what." She murmured fiercely to the other woman. Abbey nodded into her chest, still crying, but calmer.
"Okay" she whispered. "Okay."
Unseen by both, Jed watched from the door. Both saddened and made happier by the fact that at least someone could give his wife the absolution she needed, if it couldn't be him.