Thursday Night
8pm

From where she sat, Abbey took in the sight before her. Toby, dishevelled and covered in blood, was slumped in a chair. He hadn't moved or talked since she arrived and Abbey wasn't entirely sure how to comfort him. Jed had gone with Zoey and Leo to the chapel down the hall, and Abbey was left with Carol, Toby and Ginger. Without thinking she began to chew bite her nails, a nervous habit she hadn't done since she was a teenager. Her eyes lingered on Toby's hands. He was rubbing them together as he sat alone, and for a moment it reminded her of Lady Macbeth. Except that there was literally blood on Toby's hands, but he wasn't tying to remove it. Abbey stood up, frustrated, and left the room, heading for the information desk. "Excuse me?"

"Can I help you ma'am?" The young nurse asked as she looked up, the compassion in her eyes quite obvious.

"I'd like to speak to the Doctors that treated Claudia Cregg." Abbey said quietly, her eyes flicked up to the clock on the wall. It had been an hour since CJ had arrived at the hospital. So much could happen in sixty minutes.

"Dr Thatcher will be with you in a minute, if you'll just take a seat."

"Thankyou." Abbey replied, moving to sit down. As she looked up at the television she found herself watching CJ speaking to the Press, as the news bar explained that she had passed away. A montage of video clips and photos were being shown, and Abbey found herself comforted by that familiar smile.

"Dr Bartlet?" She stood up as the Doctor approached her. "I'm Dr Thatcher. I was told you wanted to speak with me?" The two took a seat and Abbey took one more look up at the television before she spoke.

"I'd like to know what happened in the ER."

"Ma'am, I'm sorry but, as you know, we should be speaking to a family member…"

"Dr Thatcher, CJ's family won't be here until the morning. Her fiancé is sitting in there trying to work out why God has taken away the love of his life. Meanwhile, there is a room full of media that is trying to get details to find out how they lost someone they admired, and the President of the United States feels like he's just lost one of his own daughters," Abbey growled quietly, noticing her Secret Service detail watching her. "I just want to know how a strong and healthy person like CJ Cregg is suddenly on her way to your morgue." She clenched her jaw, waiting for the information she wanted and she wasn't about to leave until she got it.

"Stress, ma'am." He replied simply.

"Stress?" Letting her defences drop, Abbey suddenly found herself even more confused then she had been.

"Were you aware that Miss Cregg was pregnant?" Dr Thatcher asked quietly.

"No I wasn't," Abbey admitted, thinking about the last few times she'd spoken to CJ. "I do know that she suffered a miscarriage earlier in the year. How far along was she?"

"Ten weeks, ma'am."

"And so the blood loss was from another miscarriage?"

"Yes ma'am, we can't say for sure what happened to her physically until an autopsy has been carried out. But we do know that the wall of her uterus ruptured, and she lost a lot of blood before the paramedics got to her."

"Is she in the morgue?" Abbey asked after a moment, not sure what to say.

"Her body was taken down there a few moments ago. I can organise for you to view the body if you'd like, the autopsy won't take place until a family member has signed the paperwork. So she hasn't been touched."

"Yes thankyou," At the thought of CJ lying on a slab ready for an autopsy, Abbey was suddenly feeling nauseous. "I'll head down there in a moment, thankyou for your help."

"If there's anything else I can do for you Dr Bartlet…" He let the sentence hang as they both stood.

"Thankyou," Abbey nodded and headed back into the family room. "Toby?" She at down next to him and he looked up at her, dark eyes unsure and distant.

"Yes Ma'am?"

"Have you seen her?"

"No Ma'am." He says quietly, but there's a desperate look in his eyes that says he wants to.

"Okay, they've moved her down to the morgue," Abbey told him quietly, trying not to disturb Carol and Ginger. "But I'd like you to come with me to see her." He nodded slowly and she took his hand in hers. "It's going to be okay." She promised him. Slowly they began the long walk down to the morgue. His hands were shaking, and she had the worst feeling that she was going to throw up. But it had to be done.

There was a deafening silence, interrupted by the slate being rolled out of the freezer. The room was cold and sterile, a horrible place to say goodbye. The nurse left them alone, and Abbey stood silently as she watched Toby. They stood on either side of the body, neither willing to remove the white sheet. But they had plenty of time. The secret service had agreed to sand outside the room after securing it, and it was just them. "Are you ready Toby?" She asked quietly, she didn't want to rush him into anything.

"Is anyone ever ready for this?" He asked. His attention was on the feet sticking out from underneath the sheet, a white tag hanging from one of the toes.

"Alright…" Abbey gently folded the top part of the sheet down. There were a few blood stains on her face, from where Toby had brushed hair out of her eyes and caressed her cheek. Her makeup was still there, and she looked like she would have been okay to just get up and go to the party. That seemed to bother Toby too, and Abbey watched silently as he gently wiped away what little makeup she had on.

"She's not very cold," Toby muttered, placing his hand against her cheek. "I guess though I expected her to be more…" He couldn't think of how he intended to end his sentence, and gave up. His hand lingered on CJ's cheek.

"She hasn't been down here very long." Abbey said, touching CJ's shoulder softly. A chill spread through her, and she was tempted to take a step back. There was something unsettling about being in a morgue and seeing a friend dead.

"Goodnight," Toby whispered, pressing a kiss against CJ's forehead. "I love you." He took one last look at her peaceful expression and covered her face with the sheet.