Henry couldn't get Elizabeth's voice out of his head. Her telling him that she was hurting broke something in him that he wasn't sure he would ever recover from. Every time he closed his eyes, he pictured her in pain and he wanted to comfort her more than he wanted oxygen.

Why did she have to go on this trip? The worst thing is that I don't even know the extent of her injuries. Was she shot? Stabbed? The cough sounded like she might have a punctured lung or broken rib, but I can't know for sure until I see her. Please be okay, Babe. I need you to be okay.

As people in the Situation Room continued to talk and gather more Intel, Henry let his thoughts drift back to a time from many years ago when he and Elizabeth were still just dating and they had gone to a coffee shop later than normal. She had been craving some fancy cappuccino and he would have given her the moon had she asked for it with that adorable smile. On their way out of the shop, some guy grabbed Elizabeth's arm and she was so caught off guard that her hand was forced out of Henry's grip. The man pulled a knife and put it against her throat as he demanded her purse and his wallet. The whole incident was less than a minute long, but Henry remembered the terrified look in Elizabeth's eyes and how she clung to him at night for weeks afterward. It had really shaken her up. He couldn't imagine how she was feeling now without him there to comfort her.

"Mr. President?" Ellen Hill said to Conrad, breaking Henry out of his thoughts and back into the present.

"What do you have, Admiral Hill?" President Dalton asked.

"Communication with one member of Secretary McCord's detail is live. Would you like me to patch him through onto the screen?"

"Yes."

Henry sat up straighter and waited to hear what Elizabeth's DS agent had to say. Maybe it would help them piece together what happened.

Ellen Hill nodded at Ephraim Ware and an image was projected on the screen, showing Matt, Elizabeth's Diplomatic Security agent. He was sitting down in what appeared to be an alley and he panted as he spoke. "I'm so….sorry….I was….shot...I lost….her."

"Do you need medical attention?" Conrad asked.

Matt nodded on the screen and then spoke again. "I….tried….so hard to….stop him…."

Conrad Dalton and Henry both moved closer to the screen to focus on every detail of Matt's story, but Henry stayed behind the president.

If Matt was shot, does that mean Elizabeth was too?

President Dalton spoke again. "What happened exactly?"

Matt drew in a deep breath and then began. "We walked….outside of the….embassy and…..there was a…..man that approached…..Secretary McCord from…..her right. I stepped….in between….and he shot me in…..the stomach. I fell down…and then he….shot the other….DS agents and Blake….in the head." There was a terrible look on Matt's face. He winced and Henry could have sworn Matt was holding back tears. "The rest of….the team didn't make it…I'm so sorry….I failed…"

"We know you did everything you could to protect Secretary McCord," President Dalton said.

"I tried to….reach for her….and stop the man…but he shot her….in the leg….and then carried her…into a car."

Oh, God. She could be bleeding out. Please just hang on for me, Baby.

"Matt, I have to ask. Did you get a good look at the car? Anything that could help us identify the man?"

"It was a….black SUV…I didn't see….the plates….I'm sorry…."

Henry stepped out from behind President Dalton to address Matt. "Did the man say who he was or what he wanted with Elizabeth?"

"No…I'm sorry…Dr. McCord."

Henry's heart sank. I wish we knew who this lunatic was. "You did the best you could, Matt. She's alive thanks to you. I can't be upset at that."

Matt looked down and winced again.

"Are you still close to the embassy?" President Dalton asked.

Matt nodded. "I can't….really feel….my legs…."

"We are sending an extraction team for Secretary McCord. They should be at her location in about an hour. Have you contacted anyone at the US Embassy to see if they can help you?"

"I've been trying….to call you….the whole time," Matt replied.

President Dalton looked at Russell Jackson. "Call the embassy and let them know what happened. Have them send someone to pick up Matt."

"Yes, Sir," Russell replied.

"Thank you….Mr. President," Matt said.

The closer that Henry looked, the more apparent it became that Matt wasn't doing well. Sweat poured down his forehead and his face had a grayish tint. This man had been shot trying to protect Elizabeth and now he was bleeding in some alley in a foreign country. The other agents and Blake gave their lives to protect hers. The level of sacrifice for Elizabeth brought tears to his eyes and Henry decided that he needed a moment. He turned away from the screen and pushed past everyone in the Situation Room until he was outside in the hall.

Now that he was alone, Henry let himself go. Tears poured down his face as he thought about Elizabeth and how scared she must be right now. Knowing her, she was probably putting on a brave face for the man, trying to negotiate with him using logic. Only Henry was allowed to see her fall apart and it took him years before she finally trusted him with her heart enough to talk about her parents' death. Sliding down the wall, Henry sat on the ground and brought his knees to his chest so he could bury his head should someone happen to walk by.

Henry's mind replayed Elizabeth telling him that she loved him and the kids which meant she thought it was the end. The pain that she must be in…

Elizabeth. Please don't give up. I need you.

Henry also knew that she would blame herself for the deaths of her DS agents and Blake, even though she did nothing wrong. This would be similar to when she was in Iran. Henry vividly remembered the conversation on the couch where she told him that Fred died because of her and her decision to go to Iran. He held her all night while she cried because he knew there were no words that would change her mind about feeling guilty.

He longed to hold her now and help ease the pain. Elizabeth once told Henry that his arms were her favorite place to be because he made her feel safe and loved.

Please, God, let me hold her again.

Henry's head snapped up as he heard footsteps approaching from the other end of the hallway. Teresa Hurst walked toward Henry and stopped short when she saw the wetness on his cheeks.

"What happened, Dr. McCord? Is Elizabeth…" she asked.

Henry sniffled and wiped his face quickly with his sleeve. He made no attempt to get off the floor just yet.

"She's not dead. But she's been taken," he replied, not wanting to elaborate further. He knew that Elizabeth and Vice President Hurst didn't see eye to eye, and he felt no compulsion to be polite at the moment. He didn't owe her anything.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," she said, stepping past Henry and opening the door to the Situation Room. Her tone indicated that she didn't really mean what she was saying and it took everything in Henry to not yell at her in the hallway. How dare she act this way when his wife was in grave danger?

No wonder you hate her, Babe. She's awful.

Feeling a little better after his cry session, Henry rose to his feet, opened the door, and followed Teresa Hurst back into the Situation Room. Upon entering, Henry saw President Dalton, Russell Jackson, and Vice President Hurst all huddled in front of the screen, speaking in low tones.

"What do you mean, he wants us to resign?" Teresa Hurst asked. "Who is this guy?"

"We don't know his name yet. But that's what his demand is, otherwise he is going to kill Secretary of State McCord live for all to see on the internet," President Dalton explained.

"And we are sure this threat is legitimate?"' Hurst questioned.

Russell spoke first this time. "We thought the same thing at first, but we talked to the guy and he seems pretty serious. He shot and killed two of her DS agents, as well as her personal assistant, Blake Moran. That is confirmed by her one surviving DS agent, who was also shot."

"Is he making a play for power?" Hurst whispered.

"We believe so, but that doesn't matter. We have an extraction team loaded with heavy artillery headed Elizabeth's way and they should be there in about forty minutes or so."

"That's good. Let's hope this plays out the way we want it," Teresa replied.

"What the hell does that mean?" Henry asked, anger beginning to rise.

President Dalton shot him a look that said "easy, now."

Henry's body was vibrating with the need to punch something. Or someone.

"I just mean that I hope Elizabeth is rescued, the guy is detained, and President Dalton and I get to keep our positions."

"You're seriously worried about your position when my wife is being tortured by some lunatic?"

"We have the future of the country to consider, Dr. McCord," Teresa replied, smiling sweetly.

Henry scoffed. "Of course. I was mistaken. I thought you cared about other people. I see now that I was wrong."

"Henry…" began Russell Jackson, trying to ease the tension.

"No, it's fine, Russell. He's entitled to his opinion. So is his wife. Even if her opinions got her taken in the first place."

Henry took a step forward on instinct. He couldn't stand by and let Teresa Hurst talk about Elizabeth like this when she was hurt and not here to defend herself.

"Excuse me?" Henry challenged.

"Everyone just calm down," President Dalton said. "A lot has happened in the last hour or so. Let's take a breath."

Henry stared at Teresa Hurst until he made her uncomfortable. How dare she say that about Elizabeth in front of him?

"Sorry to interrupt," Ephraim Ware said. "But we are getting word from an American asset in Champfromier that the person who took Elizabeth and overwhelmed her DS team was seen at the embassy earlier that day. She thinks she has a picture. It's coming through now."

All eyes in the room shifted to look at the screen.

Once the picture came in, Ephraim Ware addressed the room. "This should be enough to run his face through our system and ID him. We'll know very shortly who is holding the Secretary of State hostage."

Henry let out a breath.

Finally. Progress. Hold on, Babe.