"Ma'am. There's a phone call for you. It's your daughter."

Abbey took a deep breath and listened to a very worried Liz.

"The children are fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Gus swallowed some water but the doctor says he'll be fine."

"Dad?"

Abbey paused, trying to maintain her composure. "We won't know anything for a few more hours. They have him in the OR trying to warm him up."

"We're on our way back. We should get there in about two hours."

"No, really, there's no need to cut short your trip." Abbey halfheartedly tried to persuade them to stay. But with Ellie and Zoey still hours away, she needed her oldest daughter's support. "Gus is fine. And you can't help your father right now."

"Mom, you would be right there if it was one of us. No discussion. We're on our way. We need to be there not only for the kids, but also for you and Dad. Bye." With that, the phone went dead.

Liz ran down the hall when she saw her mother pacing. "Mom! How's Dad? Any news?"

Abbey shook her head. "No. I guess that means he's still alive."

Abbey reached out to hug her daughter, only then catching the wide eyes of her grandchildren. She pulled back and whispered to her daughter. "Liz, I think it would be best if Doug took the children back to the White House. They've been through enough. If Jed doesn't make it…" the rest of the sentence was left unspoken.

Liz looked at the kids, who were obviously frightened over what had happened. They needed at least one parent with them tonight. Liz needed to stay at the hospital with her mother.

"I think that's a good idea. Doug, let the Service take you and the kids back to the Residence. The Service will bring their suitcases back to the White House before you leave in the morning."

"Okay." He turned to Abbey, placing his arms around her and giving her a hug. "Jed will be okay. He's tough."

Abbey nodded. "I know Doug. But this time…" Again, Abbey left the words unspoken.

He motioned to the children to follow him, trying to maintain some sense of calm. He knew it didn't look good for his father-in-law and he knew the children needed a parent with them in case the worse happened.

"Keep me informed." One last hug and the group disappeared down the hall.

"Dr. Bartlet, I have news."

Two hours later, Abbey and Liz looked up from the waiting area when she heard Dr. Howard's voice.

"How is he?" Abbey prayed to hear a positive report.

"He's stable for the present. It has taken us four hours to get his core temperature up to 96 degrees. It is still below normal, but much better than it was. We have placed him a drug-induced coma so his vital organs won't need as much oxygen as if he was awake. His heart rate has stabilized but of course, he's still on the ventilator."

Abbey only wanted to know the answer to one question: "Will he be all right?"

Dr. Howard shook his head. "Truthfully, we don't know yet. He was underwater for a very long time, but the cold water sometimes is a friend and helps to minimize the need for oxygen. So even if he does live, there still might be some brain damage. We'll just have to wait this out."

Abbey nodded her head and squeezed her daughter's hand more tightly.

"Thank you. When can we see him?"

"There's still at least another hour on the bypass machine before we'll be able to transfer him to ICU. Once we get him there, I'll make arrangements for you and your family to have access."

Abbey pushed open the doors and saw an agent at the far side of the unit. As she walked over to where Jed was lying, her knees got shaky and she stopped to regain some measure of control.

She came into view of the bed and tried not to show the fear she felt. Jed had the breathing tube in, IV inserted, heart leads snaking over his head to the monitor, and other tubes coming out of every opening. She looked closer and noticed that a catheter had been inserted into his neck to measure heart pressures. Dr. Howard had failed to mention this. Abbey wondered if Jed was showing signs of heart failure. That's what this catheter is used for—to assess the strength of cardiac output.

She walked to the bed and reached for one of his hands. She noticed how cold it felt. That was also a sign that the heart wasn't able to pump well enough to get warmed blood to the extremities.

'Damn! Why do I have to know this stuff?' It was only hurting her to know so much.

She brushed her hand over his hair. Between the wind, the water, and everything else, it was going hundreds of directions. She brushed it off his forehead and planted a kiss there.

"Oh, Jed. You have got to be all right. You have to be okay." Tears falling from her face dropped onto his forearm. "You will be okay."

Finally, she released his hand and turned to leave. As she did so, she leaned against the wall, her demeanor finally cracking with muffled sobs.

A nurse quickly came to her aid and placed an arm around her. "Mrs. Bartlet, is there anything I can do?"

Abbey shook her head, tears still flowing down her face. "No. Not unless you can bring my husband back."

There was no response. Both women knew that the medical staff had done all they could. The President's condition was now up to a higher authority.