Henry reread the text from Russell Jackson at least three times before finally coming to terms with what it meant on a deeper level. Thoughts raced through his brain as he held the phone in one hand and carefully avoided disturbing Elizabeth sleeping in his arms.
How could Teresa Hurst be dead? Did someone kill her? Did that mean Farhad would have lesser charges brought against him? How would Elizabeth take this news?
He sent a text to Russell telling him that he would call him later for more information about Hurst's death when Elizabeth was awake.
She needs all the sleep she can get.
Holding her safe in his arms while she slept should have quieted the images that played on repeat, but Henry found sleep elusive the longer he laid there. He kept picturing Farhad violating his wife in every way imaginable. He heard her voice calling out to him in desperation when she was in tremendous pain and scared that she was about to die.
I should have protected you. I'm so sorry.
Henry pulled her closer and placed a kiss to the top of her head. She made a soft humming sound in her throat and readjusted herself against his side. He drifted off to sleep thinking about how lucky they were that she survived.
You're safe now. I love you so much.
"Mr. McCord?" a voice said, startling him awake. He instinctively pulled Elizabeth closer in his confusion.
Go away.
"We need you out of the bed."
What?
Henry opened his eyes and was met with a new nurse. "What's going on?" he asked, still not letting go of Elizabeth.
"We need to take out her catheter and help her to the bathroom. It's time she tries walking on that leg."
Henry nodded. "Let me wake her up."
She must be exhausted to be asleep through all of this.
"Babe? Can you wake up for me?" he said softly, rubbing her arm.
Elizabeth wrinkled her nose and buried her face in his chest. "This better be good, Henry," she replied with her eyes still closed.
He chuckled. "A nurse is here to take out your catheter."
Her eyes popped open, embarrassed that they were no longer alone. "What?" she asked.
"I'm Jasmine, and I'm here to take out your catheter and then you need to try walking to the bathroom," the nurse replied.
Elizabeth groaned but then nodded. "Okay."
Henry rubbed her arm again. "Come on, Babe. The sooner you walk on that leg, the sooner we can go home."
She gave him a small smile.
He gave her a quick peck on the lips and then got out of the bed. "You want me out of the room again?" he asked the nurse.
Jasmine shrugged. "If you want to stay, you can. It's up to Mrs. McCord."
Well, this is a nice change.
Elizabeth linked her hand with Henry's.
I'm right here, Babe. Always.
The nurse lifted the covers and Elizabeth's hospital gown. "Okay, you're going to feel some discomfort while I take out the catheter," Jasmine explained. "Let me know if it's too much and I'll get you some pain medicine."
Elizabeth squeezed Henry's hand and winced.
"Babe, you don't have to be a hero," Henry said.
"It's not that bad."
A few minutes passed while Henry rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand in comforting circles.
"All done," Jasmine said, pulling Elizabeth's hospital gown back into place. "Want to try and walk to the bathroom?"
Elizabeth nodded and carefully moved so her legs were dangling over the side of the bed.
Henry wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Just lean on me."
You got this, Babe.
She pushed herself up and placed her feet on the floor. Jasmine grabbed one of her arms while Henry grabbed the other. Legs shaking, she took a tiny step forward before collapsing into Henry's side.
"Are you in pain?" he whispered.
"My left leg is just numb. Give me a second," she replied, out of breath.
Henry kissed the top of her head. "Take your time."
She took another tiny step forward with Henry and Jasmine's help. "Very nice, Mrs. McCord, keep going."
Eight steps later, Elizabeth sagged against Henry. "I need to stop."
"You're almost to the bathroom, ma'am. You can do it," Jasmine encouraged.
Elizabeth turned her head into Henry's shoulder. "It hurts…"
"I know it does, Baby. Just a few more steps."
I hate seeing her in pain but I also want her to feel like herself again.
She took five more steps until the three of them made it inside the bathroom. "I need to sit…" Elizabeth said between breaths.
"You have her from here?" the nurse asked Henry.
He nodded and Jasmine stepped out of the bathroom, closing the door.
Henry led Elizabeth to the toilet and helped her sit down. "You did great, Babe."
"I couldn't walk twenty steps without help, Henry. Not exactly amazing," she replied, still trying to catch her breath.
"You were shot two days ago. Just give it time."
Elizabeth sighed. "It feels like a hundred years have passed. And then other times it feels like it all happened an hour ago. I know that makes no sense…"
"No I get it. You've been through a lot. Your brain is trying to process it all," Henry said.
"I just want to be home. With you and the kids. I'm tired of the hospital."
"I know you are, Babe. Let's talk to the doctor and see what he says about getting you discharged, okay?"
She nodded and finished using the bathroom.
"Ready to walk back to bed?" he asked.
"Help me up," she replied, blushing.
Is she embarrassed?
"Of course," he replied, trying to make her feel comfortable about needing to ask for help. Before Farhad Azimi and the pain he inflicted on her, Elizabeth was strong, independent, and in charge of the entire State Department. All of those things were still true, and Henry vowed to make sure she still felt that way when they eventually returned home.
Henry gently lifted her from the toilet and adjusted her so that she was leaning against his side. She took small steps, and together, they shuffled out of the bathroom and back to the bed. Elizabeth sat down and attempted to breathe normally.
Nurse Jasmine wrote down a few things on Elizabeth's chart, and then spoke. "Walking is huge progress, Mrs. McCord. I will talk to Dr. Green, but you might be able to go home the day after tomorrow," she said, smiling.
"Thanks," Elizabeth replied.
After the nurse left the room, Henry rubbed Elizabeth's shoulder. "Hear that, Babe? Maybe we'll get to go home soon."
"And then what?" she said, bitterly.
"What do you mean?"
"I can't go back to work yet. I can't even walk or use the restroom on my own. I can't be seen in public with these bruises. It'll make the United States look weak."
I was wondering when she would get angry.
"Well you don't have to go back to work right away. You could take time off to heal. I think Conrad would understand."
"So you would have me hide away forever?" she asked, her tone accusatory.
"I never said that. Where is all this coming from?"
Can't she see I just want to protect her and keep her safe?
"I feel helpless! Like my life will never be normal again!"
Henry took a step toward the bed, and gently put his arms on her shoulders. "Babe," he said softly. "What's this really about?"
"I just feel…"
He met her gaze and let her take all the time she needed.
"I feel like everyone at home is going to be looking at me like 'Poor Elizabeth' and I just can't take their pity. It's already hard enough being a woman in charge and this is just going to add a layer of everyone feeling like they have to walk on eggshells around me which makes me feel weak and fragile. That's what Farhad…"
Her breath hitched and her eyes shone with unshed tears. "…what Farhad said the President and Vice President thought of me. That I was weak."
Henry cupped her cheek and wiped away one of her tears. "I can assure you, they do not think that. Azimi was just trying to get in your head."
"You don't know what it's like to always have men question your decisions and ask if you are behaving emotionally because of hormones. Everything we do as women is scrutinized and I think being taken and overpowered by a man is going to make Conrad and Russell worry about me more and not trust me to liaise with other countries as much as they used to."
I hate that she is made to feel that way.
"We don't know that to be true, Babe."
"And when we go home I'm going to have to look for new DS agents and a new assistant. How am I going to find someone as good as Blake? He knew me so well and I don't think…"
Henry pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back. "Whoa. Breathe. You don't have to do all of that right now."
"It's my job, Henry. Who else is going to do it?" she asked into his chest.
"The Undersecretary. Nadine. Jay. They'll take care of it. I'll make sure of that."
"It's too much right now," Elizabeth replied.
"I know. But you don't have to have all the answers. One step at a time, Babe."
"And what about my report to President Dalton? I have to debrief him on everything if they put Farhad on trial."
"He can read the police report and you can answer questions when you feel up to it. I'll make sure he doesn't pressure you." Henry rubbed her spine, attempting to soothe her with his touch.
"I'm the Secretary of State. The public is going to want answers…"
He kissed the top of her head, her hair tickling his chin. "And they'll get them. When you're ready."
Elizabeth clenched the back of his shirt in her fists. "Not to mention, I can't even think about talking to Teresa Hurst after what she did…"
Henry tensed.
"Well, actually, you don't have to worry about that anymore."
Elizabeth pushed away from his chest to meet his gaze. "What do you mean?"
"Russell texted while you were sleeping earlier. Vice President Hurst is dead."
"What?! How?"
"He didn't say. I told him I would call him later when you were awake."
Elizabeth playfully slapped Henry's chest. "Well let's call him."
Henry reached for his phone and scrolled to find Russell's name. He sat down on the bed next to Elizabeth and dialed the number. It rang several times before he answered.
"Russell, I'm here with Elizabeth and you're on speaker phone."
"How are you Elizabeth?" Russell asked.
"I'm fine. What's this I hear about Teresa Hurst being dead?"
There was silence on the other end of the line.
"Russell?" Henry asked into the phone. "Did we lose you?"
"No, I'm still here. You're not going to like this."
Elizabeth exchanged looks with Henry. "I don't like that she hired someone to sabotage my detail and attempt to have me killed. Spit it out, Russell."
"We had Hurst in custody after Farhad told us she was involved. She denied all of it during the interrogation. Hours later, her lawyer went home for the evening and we assigned someone to watch over her in the interrogation room, as is standard procedure."
"Get on with it," Elizabeth said.
"She hung herself. The whole thing is caught on video."
Elizabeth covered her mouth with her hand in shock. "How did this happen? Someone should have been watching her from outside the room."
"President Dalton believes that more people are involved in this plot than we think. The FBI is looking into why the guy assigned to watch the interrogation left his post and allowed this to happen," Russell replied.
Elizabeth shook her head, trying to make sense of what Russell was saying. "None of this makes any sense. Why did she kill herself? Was she not given a psych evaluation?"
"Of course. She was cleared."
Henry stood up from the bed abruptly with the phone in his hand.
Elizabeth watched him with wide eyes.
"Let me get this straight," he said into the phone, beginning to pace inside the room. "The President of the United States, the FBI, and members of his administration allowed the Vice President to kill herself on their watch after discovering a plot to kidnap and kill the Secretary of State. How does that happen?" Henry asked, barely containing his anger.
"Look, Henry…" Russell Jackson began.
"What kind of government is Dalton running? How am I supposed to trust that my wife will ever be safe there again?"
Elizabeth locked eyes with Henry. "Babe, calm down."
Henry ignored her.
"Explain it to me Russell. Because I would like to know. What if it was Carol that this happened to? How would you feel then?"
How would you feel if the person who means everything to you was taken and beaten and violated and in pain and feeling like it was all her fault because you couldn't protect her?
"I know you're upset, Henry, but we are trying everything we can to…"
"I don't want to hear what you're trying!" he shouted into the phone. "I want to hear solutions!"
"Hand me the phone, please," Elizabeth said, holding out her hand to Henry.
Henry sighed. He passed the phone to her and slumped into the chair beside the bed.
"I'm sorry about that, Russell. This is a lot to process. We'll call you and President Dalton tomorrow so we can get more information then, okay?" Elizabeth asked.
"Sounds good. Take care, Elizabeth. Sorry about all of this," Russell replied.
"Me too," she responded. "Talk to you tomorrow."
As soon as she hung up the phone, Elizabeth looked at Henry. "Babe, I know you're upset but you can't talk to Russell Jackson like that."
Henry balled his hands into fists, needing to punch something. "I didn't mean to. But this whole thing is ridiculous. Teresa Hurst isn't even going to face any consequences for the plot to kill you and I hate that. You deserve justice for everything you went through," he said, softly.
Elizabeth smiled at him briefly. "I love that you want justice for me. I really do. But yelling at President Dalton's Chief of Staff isn't going to get justice served any faster."
Henry stood up and approached her bed again. "I'm sorry. All of this makes me feel powerless to help you."
"You're helping me so much. Just by being you," Elizabeth said.
"I'm glad, Babe."
Elizabeth brought her lips to his, desperate to show him how much he meant to her. Henry tangled his fingers in her hair as he deepened the kiss.
"Mmmm. That helps too," she said, sucking on his bottom lip.
"I know several other ways to be helpful…"