Note: Thank you so much for the reviews! This is my first story and I love this fandom so much! Happy reading!
"I will not have you threaten the Secretary of State," President Dalton told Teresa Hurst. "That's enough."
Vice President Hurst backed out of Henry's face quickly, straightening her blazer as if nothing happened.
Good, I hope she's embarrassed. That was a ridiculous thing to say to me about Elizabeth. Blaming her for this is completely uncalled for.
Teresa Hurst looked directly past Henry to speak to President Dalton. "I'll be in my office. Let me know if I need to resign later or if you work something else out." She pushed through everyone in the Situation Room and no one said a word.
Good riddance.
As soon as the door closed, Henry turned his attention back to the screen. It was split down the middle where one side showed Elizabeth en route to the hospital in the backseat of a van, and the other side showed Farhad Azimi surrounded by American soldiers.
Henry studied his wife, taking stock of all her injuries. Her left eye was bruised and swollen. Her forehead was creased, telling Henry that the sleep she was getting right now was not restful. Elizabeth's wrists were red from the ties that held them behind her back and Henry covered his mouth in disgust when he saw what looked like a cigarette burn on her collar bone.
I cannot imagine how scared you were, Babe. I should have been there to protect you.
Elizabeth was jostled roughly when the van went over a large bump and her eyes flew open, wide with panic. The realization that she was being held in a moving vehicle by a stranger caused her to hyperventilate and it was like watching her have the panic attack after Iran all over again. Elizabeth pushed at the hands that held her. "Get away from me!"
"Madam Secretary, please calm down," the soldier said, raising his hands in surrender. "We are taking you to a hospital. I'm here on an official extraction mission to retrieve you from Farhad Azimi. President Dalton authorized this."
Her short breaths intensified. Elizabeth's eyes welled with tears, and she pleaded with the soldier. "I want my husband."
The solider bent down and reached for something on the floor of the backseat and Henry's heart nearly broke when Elizabeth flinched.
"I'm not going to hurt you ma'am," he said. "The ear piece I gave you earlier must have fallen out. Do you want to talk to your husband again?"
Elizabeth nodded. Henry watched as tears ran down her face while she reached for the ear piece to put it in her ear. Once it was in place, Henry spoke.
"Hey Babe. I'm here. You're safe. I love you."
"Henry?" she asked, still clearly in shock and not breathing normally.
"I'm right here. Breathe with me." He took an exaggerated deep breath in and then released it. In. Out. In. Out.
Elizabeth tried to copy Henry's breaths and several minutes passed while she collected herself and calmed down. In. Out. In. Out.
"You're doing great. Tell me how you're feeling, Babe."
Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut against the waterfall of tears that threatened to spill over. "Like I want you here," she responded on instinct.
Henry smiled, touched that she knew he would make everything better just by being there.
"I know, I wish I was there too. And physically?" he asked.
"My leg is throbbing. My left eye hurts and I have the headache from Hell."
I hate that she's in pain, but she's aware of her injuries which means she's grounded back in reality.
"I know it hurts, Baby, but the hospital will give you good medicine. You just have to hang on until you get there."
Elizabeth winced while attempting to sit up in the backseat. "Henry? Can I ask you something?"
"Of course, Babe. You can ask me anything."
"Are Blake and Matt and the rest of my detail dead?" she whispered.
Henry's heart sank . Should I tell her the truth about Blake? It's going to break her heart, but it would be worse if she heard it from someone else.
He took a deep breath before breaking the news to her as gently as he could. "Matt is alive. He was taken into surgery a little while ago."
Relief came over her face on the screen. "That's good. I was worried about him. He tried to stop Farhad…"
"Yeah, we talked to him and he filled in some of the details for us."
Elizabeth nodded and leaned her head back against the seat with her eyes closed.
"Babe, you have to try and stay awake."
"I'm so tired Henry…"
The van slowed to a stop and Henry watched on the screen in the Situation Room as the passenger side door to the backseat was opened. Elizabeth's eyes remained closed.
"Elizabeth, you're at the hospital. Can you wake up for me?"
She made a soft humming sound in her throat, and Henry couldn't help but smile. I'm so glad I could help her relax with just my voice.
As soon as the soldier stepped out of the van and a doctor from the Hospital Transport team reached inside to grab Elizabeth by the arm, she flinched and panicked, now wide awake again. "Don't touch me!"
My God, what did Farhad do to you? Life in prison would never be enough for this monster.
Henry tried to calm her down. "Babe, it's okay. The doctor is trying to help you."
A tear rolled down her cheek. "I hate this, Henry," she whispered, putting her arms around herself to seem smaller.
I wish I could hug you right now.
"I know. I'm so sorry that this happened. But you have to let them help you so you can get better, Babe."
The doctor reached for her arm again. "I can do it myself," she responded. Her wince said that she was putting on a brave act for everyone else that wasn't Henry. He was the only person who knew all of her tells. And right now he knew she was terrified.
"I know you can. No one is doubting that. But I also know that your leg hurts. Just let them help you so you don't injure it any further. Please," Henry pleaded.
Elizabeth nodded. The doctor reached back into the van to help guide her into the wheelchair. It was a slow process and Henry could see her shaking the whole time. He didn't know if it was shock or fear. Honestly, it was probably a mix of both.
Once she was settled into the wheelchair, Henry spoke to her again because he knew it brought her comfort.
Maybe I can distract her from the pain and the fear.
"Remember our first apartment? We had to turn off the TV in the living room for one of us to take a shower with the light on," Henry said, reminiscing.
Elizabeth smiled softly. "Of course. I loved that apartment."
Henry chuckled. "You complained every day that it was dirty and drafty, if I remember correctly."
Elizabeth closed her eyes, slightly more relaxed again. "It was dirty and drafty, but it was also ours."
What did I do to deserve you?
As the doctor pushed the wheelchair into the hospital, the soldier that rescued Elizabeth stopped him in the waiting area. "Madam Secretary, I'm afraid this is where I must leave you to the highly capable doctors."
Elizabeth seemed to pay no attention to him at first, until he gestured for her to return his ear piece.
"What? No! I want to keep it. Please." She covered her ear with her hand as if that could keep him from taking it. The ear piece was her connection to Henry and it pained him to see her so upset about not being able to talk to him anymore.
"You can't wear it while getting an x-ray or MRI or around any other medical equipment. We need to see if you have internal injuries, ma'am," the doctor explained.
She shook her head. "But I need…"
Henry spoke to Elizabeth in soft whispers. "Babe, you have to give it back so the doctors can help you. I promise I'll be on the next flight out. I love you. It will be okay. I'll be there before you know it."
She let out a heavy sigh and then whispered back, "I don't want to be alone."
Henry's heart shattered right there in the Situation Room.
Of course she doesn't want to be alone. She'd been alone with Farhad Azimi for hours and look what he did to her.
"Baby…I'm so sorry. I would give anything to be there with you right now. All I can do is promise you that if you let the doctors figure out how to help you, I'll be there when you wake up."
Elizabeth's posture deflated, slouching in the wheelchair. "I love you, Henry. Please hurry."
"I love you too. More than anything."
Henry watched as Elizabeth pulled the ear piece out and reluctantly handed it to the soldier. She was pushed down the hallway out of range of the soldier's video feed meaning Henry no longer had any audio or visual of Elizabeth.
Please God, protect her. I need her to be okay.
"Dr. McCord, I'll stay at the hospital with her until you arrive," the soldier promised.
"Thanks. I appreciate that."
"Henry," Russell Jackson said, bringing him back to the reality of the Situation Room. After seeing Elizabeth in distress, Henry wanted nothing more than to be with her so he could make her feel safe. She needed him.
"We booked your flight to Geneva," Russell continued. "It leaves in forty-five minutes."
Henry nodded and glanced back at the screen containing footage of Farhad Azimi. He was so preoccupied with Elizabeth and helping her through her pain and fear that he forgot the other side of the screen existed. When he saw that her kidnapper was nowhere to be seen, a small part of him wondered if he escaped custody.
"Where is he?" Henry demanded. He needed to know that Azimi was being dealt with for his own peace of mind before getting on a plane to join his wife.
President Dalton met Henry's gaze. "We're trying to get some answers from him. They took Azimi to a nearby military base. Don't worry Henry, we won't let him get away with this."
"No offense, Mr. President, but nothing your soldiers do to him will ever be enough to atone for the damage done to my wife."
I want him dead. Tortured. Burned. Beaten. Everything he did to Elizabeth should be done to him two-fold.
The president looked down in shame before glancing back at Henry. "I'm sorry this happened. We wouldn't have sent her to Geneva if we had any knowledge of something like this occurring while she was there."
"I know that, Sir. But it did, and now I have to help her pick up the pieces. If you'll excuse me, I'm going home to pack a bag and then I'm heading to the airport. I'll be in touch when I land in Geneva," Henry said, matter-of-factly.
President Dalton nodded and then turned his attention back to Ephraim Ware, Ellen Hill, and Gordon Becker. "What other information do we know now?" he asked of the three of them.
Ephraim spoke first. "Well, it looks like Farhad Azimi was radicalized three months ago by someone named…"
Moving toward the door, Henry tuned them out and made his way through everyone in the Situation Room. As much as he wanted to know what caused Elizabeth's kidnapper to treat her like she was a piece of trash and not the most important person in Henry's world, his desire to get on a plane and be with her was stronger. He weaved his way through the halls of the White House until he reached his car. He pulled out his phone to see a missed call from Stevie.
Crap. I need to tell the kids.
As he started the car and went to look at his text messages, he saw a text from Blake dated yesterday telling him what Elizabeth ate for lunch. He was Henry's eyes and ears when he couldn't be there, and Henry was forever grateful for how much Blake cared about her well-being and making sure she got enough to eat when her schedule was so full she didn't have time to sit down for a meal.
His heart twisted in pain when he thought back to earlier when Elizabeth asked him about the fates of Matt and Blake and the rest of her detail. He never told her about Blake. He got distracted when she said she was tired and then he was focused on keeping her awake and cooperative with the doctors.
I'll have to tell her in person that Blake died. She needs to hear it from me.
Henry put the car into gear and pulled out of his parking spot while dialing Stevie's number. It rang three times before she answered.
"Dad? Where are you? There's been some stuff on the news…"