Series: Snapshots of the Past

Story: Crossroads

Chapter 9

Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this story belong to NBC, WB, Aaron Sorkin, and John Wells. We're just borrowing them for some fun :)

Previously: The conflict between Ellie and Zoey worsened; a quick trip to the market resulted in a car accident with Abbey and Liz

Summary: Jed learns the accident was a hit-and-run; Abbey is critically injured; Jed has a run-in with Alex; the family is shocked by yet another consequence of the accident

AN: Sorry for the delay in getting this out!

Jed paced the kitchen floor as he glanced down at his watch. It had been an hour since Abbey and Liz left the farmhouse headed to the grocery store, double the time he estimated they'd be gone. Doug had kept Zoey entertained with a game of Monopoly at the kitchen table and both remained oblivious to the silent panic that turned Jed's stomach. Being late wasn't a big deal, but something was wrong. He could feel it in his bones.

Another 20 minutes would pass before the phone finally rang. He answered it in the other room, a decision that turned out to be the best one he'd made that day.

"Daddy!" It was Liz, short of breath and crying.

"Lizzie? What's wrong?"

"We were in an accident. We're at the hospital."

The next several minutes were a haze. Jed dialed Mrs. Wilburforce and asked her to sit with the girls. He then hung up the phone and got himself together before heading back to the kitchen to calmly inform Zoey that he and Doug needed to step out. He did his best to mask his frenzied movements; telling Zoey about the accident was a non-starter. He couldn't do that. Not yet. It would scare her. Traumatize her. He had to get to the hospital and see both Liz and Abbey before he could share the news. Fortunately, his youngest daughter's attention was focused solely on the game in front of her and she loved Mrs. Wilburforce so much, that she was too excited for a visit to complain or even question where her father was going.

Then, there was Ellie.

Jed dashed up the stairs and into Ellie's room, explaining that he and Doug had to leave and that Mrs. Wilburforce was on her way over. Still angry about being sent to her room, Ellie ignored him. Who knew the argument earlier would be a blessing in disguise and that for once, he'd be grateful for her silence because it meant he didn't have to lie to her. She sighed in that melodramatic way Lizzie used to do when she wanted to send a message that she was angry. Jed didn't react. Instead, when Ellie turned her back to him, he backed out of her room and closed the door.

Doug waited at the foot of the stairs. He was still in the dark, but the worry and sense of urgency that had gone over Zoey's head had registered and Doug knew something was very wrong. He had his jacket on and car keys ready to go as Jed jogged down the steps to grab his own jacket. They waited for Mrs. Wilburforce and left the second she arrived.

"Where are they?" Doug finally asked as they hurried to the car.

"The hospital."

Liz was in a fog. She sat in a chair in the ICU waiting room, now in a pair of scrubs a nurse had given her in favor of the standard hospital gown she had changed into in the emergency room. She played with her necklace, a silver cross that Abbey had given her for her birthday one year. She just happened to be wearing it that night and now, she was thankful she did. She fought hard against the memories of the last two hours, but no matter what she did, she couldn't rid her mind of the flashbacks. It was like she was there again, reliving it over and over.

It had happened so quickly. The blinding headlights of the other car. The seconds of fear. The scream. Her scream. In her flashbacks, it didn't even sound like a human scream. It came from deep inside her lungs, a scream that seemed to outlast the screeching impact of the collision. The Bartlet sedan careened off the road and into a shallow stream. Her life flashed before her and she remembered catching her breath when she realized she was still alive.

It was quiet. So quiet. Too quiet.

The sound of rain, so soft and unintrusive moments earlier, now echoed as it hit the roof of the car. The driver's seat was to her left and Liz was afraid to look. The possibility of what she'd see was too overwhelming; yet, she was just as terrified of not looking. She had to call out for Abbey. She cried softly and managed to squeak out a sound.

"Mom?"

It was almost a whisper.

Just as she feared, there was no response. Still too scared to look, she cried harder.

"Mom?" she called again, louder. Still no sound. No movement even. "MOM? MOM, ANSWER ME!"

The tears fell from her face and soaked her hair. She sobbed helplessly. She didn't know if she could muster the courage to look. She was terrified of what she'd find. Was Abbey hurt and bleeding? Was she...dead? She had to look. She took a big breath in and forced herself to stop crying. Then, she turned her head slightly. Slowly, she looked to see Abbey with her eyes closed, unconscious. Liz reached for her hand, put her own finger to her mother's wrist, and let out another round of tears when she felt a pulse.

"Mom, wake up! Please, wake up!"

Her panic grew. Abbey needed help. But how? They were on the side of a dark country road. The closest pay phone was at least a mile away.

Liz remembered all those first aid lessons she'd been taught as a young girl. She was afraid to move Abbey and also afraid to leave her. But she couldn't just stay there either. Her mother needed medical attention and she had to do something. She put her hand in front of Abbey's mouth and felt her breath. Relieved once again, she opened her car door and jumped out, starting immediately up the hill and around the bend.

It was raining lightly now and the stars were hidden by clouds. It was cold, but Liz never even felt the air. It took her a moment to find her bearings, and just as she crested the hill, she saw something - a car navigating the curve in the road from the opposite direction. Liz waived her arms. The driver stopped and she pleaded for help. He offered a ride, but she sent him away; she couldn't leave her mother. The driver sped to the nearest gas station to call 911 and minutes later, she heard the sound of sirens. She thought it was the sweetest sound she'd ever heard.

Abbey struggled with her breathing. It was explained to Liz that she needed to be intubated. Liz reached out to hold her mother's hand, but when they pushed her away, she was forced to watch from the sidelines.

"We need to examine you," one of the EMTs told her as soon as they boarded the ambulance.

"I'm not hurt."

"Your baby..."

Liz cried again. She was in such a daze, it hadn't even occurred to her that she couldn't feel anything, not even her baby. The EMT pressed her stethoscope to Liz's belly and Liz awaited reassurance. The next several minutes were a complete a blur.

By the time they reached the hospital, Liz was so overwhelmed by what was happening, she nearly passed out. Abbey was rushed into a trauma bay in the ER and Liz begged to stay with her, but she was pulled in the opposite direction. She allowed for a quick exam of herself and her baby before she hopped off the bed and paced the floor waiting for news about her mom. They told her that Abbey would be transferred to the ICU and Liz backed up, scared, until the backs of her knees hit a chair and she collapsed into the seat. She couldn't wait for her father. He'd know what to do, she told herself. He'd make this nightmare end.

She didn't even remember how she ended up in the ICU waiting room or what happened to the clothes she'd been wearing. If she was completely honest, she didn't care. Right now, the only thing on her mind was Abbey. She wrapped the chain of her necklace around her fingers as she waited for her father.

It would be several minutes before Jed finally arrived at the hospital. He and Doug frantically rushed to the ICU, where they found Liz in the waiting room just outside the ward. Jed was in front and in her haste to crash into his arms, Liz didn't even notice her husband behind him. It was like she had regressed to a little girl, wanting so badly for her father to protect her and chase away the memories of what just happened.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" he asked.

"No," she cried. "I'm okay."

"The baby?"

"The baby's fine. She's kicking now."

"Did someone examine you?"

"Dad, I'm fine." She lowered her head and pulled from his embrace.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. A car...it came out of nowhere. I don't even know if Mom saw it."

"Was he arrested?"

"Who?"

"The driver."

It dawned on Liz that she didn't even know who the driver was. It was too dark. She never got a good look. "The driver left. I don't know who it was."

"It was a hit and run?"

"I guess."

"The police haven't talked to you?"

"No, I told them it was an accident. They asked if anyone else was hurt and I said no," she admitted as she leaned into his arms again. "I'm sorry."

"Shh, you have nothing to be sorry about." Jed stroked her back the way he used to when she was a little girl having a nightmare.

"I don't even know that it was a man. They left. They just...left."

"It's okay. We'll deal with that later."

Liz pulled back enough to see his face. "Dad, Mom was hurt so badly. I thought she was dead."

"It's okay, Angel. She's not dead. Far from it."

"You haven't seen her."

"I don't need to see her to know that. I'd feel it if she was dead. If she was dying, I'd know." Liz nodded as if in agreement. "She'll be okay. I'll make sure of that."

Liz looked up to see Doug then and as Jed headed to the nurse's station, Liz stepped into Doug's arms. He grabbed her by the shoulders and held on in a fierce embrace, his hands softly caressing the back of her head and the silky chestnut brown locks of hair. On the way over to the hospital, a multitude of scenarios had run through Doug's head. He didn't dare say it out loud, not realizing that Jed was thinking the same thoughts, but now, holding Liz, the emotional release of answered prayers was too much for him and he started to feel the sting of tears in his own eyes.

The double doors to the ICU were locked, but that didn't stop Jed. Conveniently, a janitor had just swiped in and Jed followed him, scanning the unit for his wife. A nurse attempted to intervene. She jumped from her seat and ran in front of him, her hand up to signal him to stop walking.

Jed looked over her, still searching for Abbey. "Where's my wife? Abbey?"

"Who are you looking for?" the nurse asked.

"My wife, Abigail Bartlet."

The charge nurse approached then. She calmly escorted Jed to an alcove for a bit more privacy as she broke the news. "You can't see her right now. The doctors are with her."

"I don't care, I want to see her."

"Sir..."

"It's Congressman Bartlet! I want to see my wife, Dr. Bartlet!" Jed didn't like to throw around his title, but he was so desperate to see Abbey, to see with his own eyes that she was still alive, that he didn't care.

The nurse didn't miss a beat. "I know who you are and you still can't see your wife right now, not while she's being examined. Unless you want to delay her care, you'll have a seat in the waiting room."

It took several seconds for it to sink then. Jed took a breath, defeated. "I'm sorry. I just..."

"I know," she said. "You're not the first spouse who's barged through those doors like he owned the place."

"I imagine it happens a lot."

"I promise we'll let you know when you can see your wife."

Jed reluctantly accepted that. He retreated out the doors and turned down the short corridor to the waiting room to update Liz. It felt like the longest walk of his life. He, too, was in a daze, assaulted by a collage of memories. He was the one who was supposed to go to the grocery store that night. But at the last minute, they'd traded places. "You go," he'd told her. He and Abbey had exchanged keys and through a cruel twist of fate, she was the one fighting for her life now. He must have replayed tossing her the keys a million times since he arrived at the hospital and as he approached the waiting area, the words "you go" echoed over and over in his mind.

He made an effort to hide the pain he was feeling before he saw Liz, but it was impossible. The second their eyes made contact, Jed was immediately distracted. His in-laws had arrived and he realized that Liz had called them to tell them about the accident while he was driving to the hospital.

When she saw her father, Liz hopped out of her seat. She hoped for some news, but by the look on his face, she knew that any news she got in that moment wouldn't be good. His expression was tight, the lines that had begun to show on his forehead were even more defined than usual. It was almost a relief when he had nothing to share except to assure his family that the doctors were examining Abbey.

"It's okay," she told him, sensing the weight of his worry. "She's going to be fine just like you said."

Jed fought to keep his composure. "You're listening to me for a change."

"First time for everything, right?" Liz joked as she embraced him. "Mom wouldn't let us down. She loves you too much."

He always loved being a father, but never had Jed been more grateful for his daughter. He hugged her tight and when they broke contact and pulled away, everyone noticed the tears that pooled in his eyes.

"Lizzie's absolutely right," James added.

Doug spoke up again. "Am I missing something? No doctor has told us how Abbey is. How do we know it's that bad?"

Jed clenched his jaw. 'She's in the damn ICU! How bad do you think it is?' he wanted to shout, but he stopped himself. It wasn't the time to remind everyone that his son-in-law had an uncanny knack for always being the one to ask the stupidest questions.

The question, seemingly innocent, lingered in the air as no one wanted to say it out loud and resign themselves to what was actually happening.

Jed fidgeted in place. Uncomfortable, he finally mumbled, "I need some air."

He crossed the entryway to the ICU waiting area and what happened next was a trigger he never saw coming, the one thing that could cause the sense of helplessness and rage he had well-contained for the sake of his family to finally erupt. In the hallway directly adjacent to the ICU, where his wife lay fighting for her life, Jed came face-to-face with Alex Foster.

Just seeing Alex within sight of Abbey made him crazy. Had he been in her room? Was he headed there now? Was he the one examining her? After everything he'd done, how did he have the nerve to even attempt to see her? He felt his temperature rise, knew his face must have been flushed with anger. And then, he realized. He flashed back to what Liz had told him, the words that changed everything.

'A car...it came out of nowhere...the driver left. I don't know who it was,' she'd said.

'It was a hit and run?' he'd asked.

'I guess. I never got a good look at them.'

Before anyone could get in his way, before any intervention, Jed exploded. He grabbed Alex by the lapel of his white coat. "You son of a bitch!"

James grabbed a hold of his son-in-law, pulling him back with all his might until Jed lost his grip on Alex and the lecherous doctor stepped back with slow and deliberate steps as if in shock. He'd heard about the crash. He headed immediately to Abbey's room, but he never turned the knob. He couldn't bring himself to go in, to see her like that, in her hospital bed, her eyes closed, her face bruised.

Abbey's accident brought back all those dark memories and reminded Alex of his Julia, the sweet, beautiful woman he'd been married to for 25 years. It had only been 3 years since Julia was killed in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. He was suicidal after her death and the only thing that kept him alive was the overwhelming need to see her killer punished.

"I would never hurt Abbey," he said to Jed, his voice somber, but his words sincere.

"You've done nothing but hurt her since she rejected your sleazy, pathetic ass!" Jed threw back at him as he shook out of James's arms after catching a glimpse of Robert Nolan approaching.

Rob knew about the conflict between Abbey and Alex, and in his capacity as Chief of Surgery, he'd had a very painful conversation with Abbey regarding the allegations against her. Still, professional obligations aside, Jed never once doubted that Rob knew Abbey on a personal level, knew that she'd never done the things Alex accused her of, knew that when all was said and done, Rob had Abbey's back.

"Jed," Rob began with a sympathetic tilt of his head.

"Rob, you know Abbey..."

"I know."

"I want to restrict her visitors. I can't do that, right?"

Alex continued to back away, then ducked into the shadows and disappeared around the corner.

"Yes, you can do that."

"And I want an officer posted outside her door until we find out who did this."

"I'll talk to hospital security. I'll see what we can arrange."

"Have the police questioned Alex?"

"Jed, Alex was here. He couldn't have done it."

"You don't know that."

"He was in the OR, Jed. I checked the logs as soon as Abbey came in. He scrubbed in at 4:10 this afternoon and left the OR 30 minutes ago. There are about 10 other people from scrub nurses to a PA who was first assist. They all vouched for his presence the entire time. It wasn't him."

"You talked to them?"

"Of course," Rob assured him. "Abbey is rushed to the hospital, injured, while all this crap is going on. I had the same thought you did. But it wasn't Alex."

Confused, James spoke up. "Jed, what's going on?"

It was too complicated a story for Jed to explain now. How would he do it anyway? Would he really tell James that Alex assaulted Abbey and then accused her of having an affair with him? It wasn't the time or the place to get into the drama of the past few weeks. Instead, he acknowledged James's question with a shake of his head as if to say he'd explain later.

Then, turned to Rob. "Can I see her?"

"The neurology team is in with her now. She's still unconscious. They want to get to an MRI of her brain."

"Her brain? They think..." his voice hitched.

"No, no, they just want to rule everything out. They did a CT scan of her head when she first got here and it was normal. No blood, no abnormality at all. We don't know if she hit her head."

"But she might have. She could have a brain injury."

"We just want to rule it out."

"Why an MRI if you already have a CT?"

"Better pictures. Neuroimaging is standard in an accident like this when someone loses consciousness." Rob's demeanor was intentionally optimistic. "The MRI should take about an hour. You can see her after."

Jed nodded in response. He then looked over at his family and calmly but sadly excused himself. He needed to be alone. His mind was in overdrive and he couldn't regain control of his thoughts and racing speculation. Who did this to Abbey? Was Alex really innocent? Was it just an accident, a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time with a hit-and-run driver, or was it someone else, someone who had targeted her?

He felt a jolt, a rush of adrenaline followed by a nauseating pit in his stomach as he wondered if this could have been an act of political retaliation. He'd certainly had his detractors in the past. He even had a stalker who sent him a death threat in his first term in Congress. Could it be one of them? And where was Frank Crews these days? If the police talked to him, he'd point them in Frank's direction first and then help them compile a list of suspects, though admittedly, the list would be filled with his enemies, not Abbey's. Abbey didn't make enemies, he told himself. She was well-liked and respected, seen by those who knew her as a fantastic physician and a wonderful person. The fact that someone would hurt her enraged him, but what made it almost impossible to comprehend was the possibility that the person who harmed her could be someone who was targeting him.

The time passed agonizingly slow that night. Jed felt as if he'd visited all the waiting rooms. The minutes dragged and in every room of that hospital, the sound of the clock ticking echoed just a little bit louder. There was no real purpose to his wandering; just passing the time with the growing list of suspects still weighing on his mind. He'd been gone just under an hour by the time he returned to the ICU waiting room. He hoped there'd be an update, but he knew that Abbey was still in the MRI and that he wouldn't yet be able to see her.

He walked in and instead of the large gathering that had been there when he'd left, he was surprised to see only James. He sat in a chair staring out into space.

"James?" Jed called out to him.

"Jed, thank God. Where have you been?"

"What happened? Is she okay?"

"There's no update on Abbey. It's Lizzie."

"Lizzie?"

"She began having pain."

"What? She was fine when I left!"

"We had her sit down, but it didn't help..."

"What happened to my daughter?"

"She began bleeding. They rushed her downstairs."

He could barely comprehend what he was hearing. He rubbed his hand against his forehead, hoping and praying this was just a nightmare. Finally, he said, "The baby?"

"The placenta...it ruptured."

"What do you mean it ruptured? You mean her water broke?"

"No," James said firmly. "It ruptured, Jed. She started hemorrhaging. They said she lost a lot of blood. She needed a transfusion. They had to take her into surgery.

"I was gone 40 minutes!" Jed felt his knees buckle. He had to sit. He was so confused. "How?"

"The doctor said it sometimes happens after trauma to the abdomen, like the kind sustained in a car accident. Maybe the seat belt. Maybe she lurched forward against the dash. We don't know." Jed was silent, his breathing hard. James felt the need to keep explaining. "They said sometimes it starts small. The placenta may have separated right after the crash without her even knowing and it then progressed and ruptured a couple hours later. Lizzie never really had a decent exam because she was so worried about her mom. She wanted so badly to be with Abbey."

"Lizzie's..." Jed cleared his throat and uttered a question he never imagined he'd have to ask about one of his children. "She's alive?"

"She is, yes."

"Did she lose the baby?"

"I don't know. Mary and Doug are in the OB waiting room. Mary said she'd come up as soon as they know anything."

Jed could barely breathe. When would this hellish night end and the string of bad news finally be over? He suddenly remembered, "The transfusion. I have to sign consent forms. I know she's an adult now, but she couldn't have been in any condition to sign. She couldn't have understood."

"Doug signed," James told him.

"Doug?" The question was rhetorical. Of course it would be Doug. He was her husband now, but Jed was incredulous. "The guy who doesn't know his right from his left is making life and death decisions for my daughter."

"I was there, Jed. He asked all the right questions. He weighed the risks."

"Not like Abbey would have. If Abbey was here..."

Abbey always signed forms for the girls. Medical consent forms didn't come their way often, but when they did, Abbey helped Jed understand the medical lingo and, together, they made a decision. It was incomprehensible to him that Abbey couldn't be there this time and that Lizzie's fate was left up to Doug and his limited knowledge of anything, let alone medical science.

Jed stood up slowly and started down to the obstetrics floor. Lizzie needed him.

The OB waiting room was just around the corner from the elevator. Jed heard laughter and cheers before he even arrived and he knew exactly what was happening - another child had been born and another family was celebrating. Sadly, he knew it wasn't his family. He peeked into the room and when he didn't see Mary or Doug, he immediately rushed out into the hall, his tears barely contained until he was out of sight. It was a crowd of strangers, two older couples and a younger man, the person he assumed was the father of the baby who was just born. He'd never begrudge them their celebration, but on a night like this, he couldn't bring himself to witness their overwhelming joy, a joy he remembered all too well from the birth of his own daughters.

He wandered the opposite way and found the much quieter OB triage room that sat empty down the hall. There, he collapsed onto a chair. He couldn't understand how this could be happening. It was supposed to be a quiet night at home with his wife and all three of their girls under one roof and now, here they were, in the hospital. Abbey was in the ICU, Lizzie was in surgery, and he had no idea what was happening with his grandchild.

As he sat in that chair, alone, powerless, and hunched over, he finally lost control and sobbed.

The chapel was on the first floor of the hospital, down the hall from OB triage. It was small and cozy, Abbey used to say. She rarely had time for the daily noon service, but she often stopped by at the start of the day or in between surgeries to pray for her more fragile patients clinging to life. On that night, it was Abbey - and Lizzie - who needed the prayers, Jed realized.

He had become restless in the OB waiting room and remembered the chapel was nearby. He prepared to enter, but as he opened the door, he saw something that stopped him dead in his tracks. He stood in the back and watched Doug in the second pew tearfully praying for Lizzie and their baby.

"She's a good person, such a good person," Doug desperately pleaded. "Please don't take her from me. She's going to be such a good mom. Please give her the opportunity. Please."

It had fallen on deaf ears, all those times Liz insisted how much Doug loved her. But Jed saw it for the first time that night, not in the words Doug spoke, but in the anguish and desperation that came out in his voice. He was in pain. Real, genuine pain. Agony, really. He was a man brought to his knees by a twist of fate that threatened to destroy his family. He was petrified and for once, Jed knew exactly how he felt.

Jed took soft and deliberate steps toward the altar and stopped when he reached Doug. He put a comforting hand on his son-in-law's shoulder, then sat beside him. Together, they prayed.

TBC