Clarksburg, MD - October 2014

Elizabeth can't breathe. Stevie is holding her so unexpectedly and so tightly. The door had opened, and within two seconds, her oldest daughter was clinging to her like a lifeline.

"Stevie," Elizabeth whispers, her voice cracking as she pulls the blonde tighter against her. Her arms wrap around the girl, and her hand cradles her head.

She's overwhelmed as she holds her oldest child against her. The feelings coursing through her aren't unlike the feelings she had when she gave birth. The emotions she feels as she holds her firstborn are nearly indescribable. The only way to describe them is a mix of love and fear.

"Oh, my sweet girl," She whispers. Her voice is thick, and she can't stop her tears.

She searches past Stevie, laying her eyes on Allie and Jason. She feels her heart flutter and break all at once. Jason is clinging to his father. Henry helplessly holds their newly teenaged son, and Elizabeth can't help but think that Henry will not let him go anytime soon.

She pulls away from Stevie and meets Allie's eyes. She sees a mixture of pain, relief, and anger, and she understands. She tentatively reaches out a single arm as if testing the waters. Her daughter is hesitant but eventually steps forward, hugging her mother.

"Hi, Noodle," she whispers, wrapping her arms around her youngest daughter. She holds her close, breathing her in. Her heart breaks when she doesn't smell the Green Apple Kids detangler she used to use on the girls' hair.

"Mommy," Allie says, her voice a mixture of confusion and relief.

"I know, baby," Elizabeth assures her so plainly and so softly.

She looks at her ex-father-in-law, who has a kid on either side of him, "Hi, Pat," she tries so nervously. She knows how badly she's hurt his family.

"Hey, Elizabeth," Patrick offers a gentle smile, but he makes no move to embrace her. She knows he can't. Neither can Henry as he clutches Jason.

She focuses on holding both of her daughters as she and Henry meet eyes, "Hey, Elibet," He says softly with a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

"Hey," She smiles, "I have sodas and pizza for everyone in the dining room. We have a lot to talk about before things get crazy tomorrow,"

Her words finally pull her son out of his shock, "Crazy!" he yells, "Because this isn't crazy?"

"Jase, buddy, let's just relax," Henry says softly.

"You're not our Mom," Jason says, pointing an accusing finger at her, "Our mom is dead,"

"Jason," Henry tries, his voice firm.

"It's okay," Elizabeth says, "Jason, I can't imagine how hurt and confused you are right now. But I can promise you I'm your mother, and I've never stopped loving you,"

"Then where have you been?" He demands, "And why has everyone been lying to me my whole life?"

"Jase, can we give mom... er... Elizabeth, time to explain?" Henry tries. He gets a small nod from his son, "Okay, I need team McCord to go with Grandpa to get your pizza and drinks while I speak with Elizabeth, and then we'll all talk. Okay?"

"Okay," Jason whispers.

Elizabeth watches Henry pull Jason in for a hug. He kisses the top of his head and whispers something into his ear. Jason nods, and Henry points him and the rest of his children toward the dining room, her daughters each taking a twin. Henry waits until their kids are not in sight before putting his arms around her.

She sighs and wraps her arms around him. Her heart flutters when his lips touch her forehead, and she buries her face in his neck, inhaling his scent. She closes her eyes as she feels his hand gently stroking her back.

"Thank you for getting to us," He whispers.

"I was never going to let them get to you," She says, "I'm sorry I missed a variable,"

He nods, knowing she's talking about Jess, "I'm not ready to go there. We need to talk about what you're going to tell the kids,"

"I'm going to tell them the truth," She says almost shyly. She still hasn't fully formed the words in her mind, and she hasn't considered the possible repercussions of her plan, but she knows her children need to know the truth.

"The whole truth?" He says with a hint of concern. He's not sure how he feels about the kids knowing certain things. He still hasn't fully wrapped his head around everything that has happened to their family.

"Not details, no, but um... part of getting to Conrad... this whole thing will be public... Extremely public," She says. Jay, Mike, Isabelle, and Isacc Bishop are in the kitchen of this house, solidifying the plan for the media assault.

"They are going to find out the truth. All the details are going to be leaked or printed or broadcasted," She takes a breath, "I need them to hear it from me first,"

"So, we're going to have to tell them everything," Henry whispers. The working part of his brain knew this was coming at some point. She was never going to be able to walk right back into their lives as if nothing had happened. But it's still difficult for him to consider.

"Everything," She nods, "They need to hear everything. If you think they can handle it," Elizabeth says bowing to him on the parenting choice. She doesn't want to overstep. She recognizes that she's been gone for a long time. She knows that he has a much better grasp on what is best for their kids than she does at this point.

"They can," He nods, "They're smart and old enough to understand safety concerns, and um, we have to do what needs to be done to keep them safe. We'll get them the help they'll need to process all of it as soon as they're safe. And they can't be safe until Conrad's no longer the President of the United States. So, um, tell them."

"You're going to be in the room?" She asks. She doesn't want to be thrown back into the fire alone. She can't do it. Not yet.

"Of course, I'm going to be in there," he says softly. She doesn't know if he means to comfort her or remind her that she has no parental knowledge of how to handle the kids and their emotions anymore. She doesn't know, but either way, she is thankful he'll be there.

She swallows, and a nervous breath escapes her lips.

"Elizabeth, are you okay?" he asks reaching a gentle hand to her bicep.

She shakes her head, "I'm not... I'm really not,"

He nods. He's not surprised by her admission, but it still stings to hear her say, "Do you need to step away and regroup?"

She wants so badly to be able to tell him no. She wants so badly to be the person she was before all of this happened. She used to believe herself to be nearly superhuman when it came to caring for her kids. She used to be able to compartmentalize so much more effectively. She used to have the strength to push the pain and the fear aside. She's not that person anymore.

"I don't know," She admits, and she can feel her cheeks growing wet, "I don't know what to say to them, and I don't want you to have to carry all of this for them. That seems so unfair."

"Hey," He says softly, taking her hand in his, "You've done nothing but carry everything alone. Let me help. Please,"

"You can't carry the burden of the children's emotions alone. That's not fair," She says, and her words sound like a plea. She can't bring herself to look at him, too afraid of his response.

"I've had a lot of practice carrying the emotional burden of our family," He says. He hears the harshness of his words after he says them. He takes a deep breath of his own, "Elizabeth, I don't mind being their father. When this is over- when we can get them help. Well, then, I can have my turn to process. Right now, I need to help them through this. We have to finish this. We've come too far. The kids are going to have to trust us and listen to us. So, I'm here, and I will stand beside you,"

"Why?" She whispers. She had visions of carrying all this on her shoulders as she always has. His words are a stark reminder that one, she is not truly trusted to take care of her children's feelings, which she believes is valid, and two, that even if she wanted to shoulder this burden alone, he wouldn't allow it.

"Because no matter what's happened to this point or where we all end up going from here, you and I are family." He says without any room for doubt.

"Family," she repeats. She had forgotten what family feels like. She forgot what it was like to have a support system. She forgot how nice it felt. She nods, "Okay,"

The tension in the dining room turns from a ten to an eleven when she walks in behind Henry. She feels the heat on her cheeks. She feels the pressure in her chest. Her fingers are trembling, and she has no idea what words are going to escape her mouth.

She clears her throat, and her eyes look to Henry for what she's not sure- help, support, a lifeline?

"Hey, Dad," Henry speaks, "Elizabeth and I need to talk to the older kids. Can you take the twins to watch TV in the living room while they eat?"

"Of course," Patrick says. He gathers the twins and leads them into the next room.

"Jason, come sit down with me and your sisters," Henry instructs his son, motioning toward a chair, "Elizabeth, why don't you grab a seat, too, huh?"

Elizabeth nods, pulling her eyes to the empty chair instead of the gloomy and terrified faces of her children. She takes a breath as she sits on the wooden dining chair. She has purposefully avoided wooden chairs since she got out of Iraq, but right now, she's thankful she has the physical distraction.

"Okay," Elizabeth starts. She looks at her children, and a soft smile forms on her lips. They are all still her babies, no matter how grown they are, "Okay, I know all of this is very scary," She takes a deep breath, and the next sentence is barely above a whisper, "I know all of this is very hard."

She stops herself from going on, not wanting to turn anything into a rambling mess. Instead, she takes a deep breath, steeling herself to tell her children the truth. She organizes her thoughts as she looks over her children.

She looks at her daughter, who is staring at her hands. She is clearly fighting the tears forming in her eyes.

"Stevie," Elizabeth says, reaching her hand across the table.

Stevie is hesitant but eventually takes her mother's hand, "Yes?"

"I'm so sorry," she whispers, looking at all of them, "I'm so sorry, you guys. I'm sorry that I have hurt you. I'm sorry that I left, and I want you to know that I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you."

"You left," Jason says, his tone harsh.

"I know I did," She says, looking at her son, "I know I left, and that is probably the hardest decision I have ever had to make. And I have reasons. I believe it was absolutely necessary. But I know that doesn't mean that you all didn't get hurt. I know you're hurt."

She stops speaking once again to gather her emotions. She can't let herself get overwhelmed. Not in front of them. She needs this to be calm and organized. She needs to be strong for them. She doesn't want them to see how deeply affected she is by everything that's happened. She wants to protect them from as much of her pain as possible.

"I also know you're probably confused and scared and angry and a lot of other things. I have a lot to tell you, and I'm going to try to explain everything," She pauses. She is stalling. She is trying to give them a chance to stop her and ask questions, but none of them do.

Henry can sense her hesitation. He knows how hard it was for her to tell him all of the things she's gone through. He can't imagine how difficult it will be for her to tell the kids, especially when she has to tell all of America soon, too. He's not sure that the kids are ready for all of it, but he has no way of knowing how ready the kids are for anything. The only thing he does know is he needs to help her through this conversation.

"It's okay," Henry says, placing his hand over hers. It's a small gesture, but it's one meant to support her. It's not something the kids will recognize from them- they were much too young to remember the affection of their previous marriage. He knows she'll draw strength from it, and that is enough of a reason to hold her hand through this, literally.

"Mom was almost killed in Iraq," Henry starts for her. He's not going to let her get too lost in her head. They have a lot to get through, and he's not going to let her fall down a rabbit hole, "We were told she had died. But she didn't,"

Elizabeth gives him a small grateful smile, "I was in an explosion," she confirms, "I was hurt pretty badly. My memory is a little spotty. I don't remember everything."

"What do you remember?" Jason asks. He's still unsure of his mother. He's not ready to trust her or forgive her.

"I was scared," Elizabeth keeps it simple. She doesn't know how she could tell any of them the full truth. She's not ready to share the depths of her trauma.

"But you made it," Stevie says, "You made it, and you left,"

Elizabeth can see the pain on her daughter's face, "I was in Iraq for another almost eighteen months after I was in the explosion," she says, skipping over the details of Rodriguez. Though she knows she can't fully skip over them. She knows there will be detailed accounts of it when she testifies before Congress. She knows she'll have to answer the questions when the news is exposed. She's not ready for any of it, but she doesn't have a choice.

"Mom went through a lot while she was in Iraq," Henry offers, not wanting to force her to speak but also wanting to offer her a little assistance, "She was taken captive, and some really terrible things happened to her,"

"What?" Allie says.

Elizabeth nods, "Yes, um, yes. It was pretty awful," She again offers no details. How could she? How is she to look them in the eye and expose just how sadistic some people can be? She knows they will see it. The whole country will see it. They will see everything, and her children will know all of it, but she isn't ready.

"Why didn't you come home when you got out of Iraq? The CIA got you out, right?" Stevie asks. Elizabeth admires the innocence and trust in people that still exist in her twenty-year-old.

"The CIA did not get me out, no. I got myself out," Elizabeth says, "I got myself out and ended up in Germany at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center."

"So, why didn't you come home?" Allie presses.

"I couldn't," Elizabeth shakes her head, "I was told that I was not welcome home."

"That doesn't make any sense," Stevie says.

"It didn't to me at the time either," Elizabeth says quietly, "I was in the hospital. I was still very hurt. I was sick. I was having a really hard time. I was not thinking very clearly. I was scared. I didn't know what to do, so I went where they told me to go, which was back to DC with Uncle George."

"Who told you?" Allie asks.

"Conrad Dalton," Elizabeth says. She notices Jason bring his eyes up to look at her for the first time since sitting down at this table.

"Wait, the President of the United States kept you from coming home?" Jason asks.

"He did," Elizabeth nods, "And it was more complicated than that,"

"Mom, I'm confused," Stevie says.

"I know, baby. I was too," Elizabeth swallows, "It turns out that Conrad has a lot of dirty little secrets. And I know about them. And to keep me quiet, he's threatened my family. He's threatened all of you. I didn't know how to fight him back then. All I knew was I couldn't let him kill my babies. And he would have."

"Are you saying the President tried to have us killed?" Jason says.

"Yes," Henry steps in once again, looking at Stevie, who had a gun held on her seven hours ago, "It's no secret that these last couple of days have been weird for you guys. And confusing. But you need to know that Mom and I have made decisions to protect you. There have been attempts to hurt you, and we have done our best to stop it. You have to trust us. We are going to have a few more weeks of nothing but hard, confusing days. I know it doesn't feel like it, but we are almost at the end. Just stay strong a little longer, okay? We are going to make sure that this never happens again. But we need you guys to work with us, okay?"

"Why? What happens next?" Stevie asks. She has known since the bathroom in the Watergate restaurant that her life was changing course. She had known something was up, and now that she knew the President was behind it, the pieces started to fall into place.

"You're going to hear and see a lot of really hard things about Mom," Henry says, and he watches the look on his ex-wife's face shift. Her eyes look down, and her cheeks get red.

She nods, "Yes. We... me and my team in the kitchen, really Congressman Hirst's team are going to take on Dalton. And the truth will come out. And it's going to be bad."

"But not as bad as the alternative," Henry says, squeezing her hand. There is an understanding passing between the two parents. Anything is better than losing their children.

"No, it's nowhere near as bad as the alternative," Elizabeth echos.

"I don't get it. What's the alternative?" Allie asks, and it's the question Elizabeth has been dreading since the beginning.

"He would have had you killed," Elizabeth says, looking at her daughter, "All of you. Dad and your grandpa and your little brothers too. He will clean house. He would have no other choice- there are too many of us who know now. There are too many loose ends. But listen to me. I have not let him hurt you before, and I will continue to fight for all of you with everything I've got. I swear."

"And what if you lose?" Jason says, his voice still hard.

"She's not going to lose," Henry says, a new edge to his tone, "Do not be silent; there is no limit to the power that may be released through you. Howard Thurman said that. And he's right. She has the support of her team, and she will have the support of the American people. She's going to win this, Jason. We all need to have a little faith." Henry says. He knows he's asking a lot of his children to keep the faith for a while-at least a few more weeks. He understands that they have been through so much, and they have so many fears. He's asking a lot of them, but he can't see any other option.

Elizabeth feels her breath catch at his words, "Maybe Aquinas did have a point," she mumbles.