Author's Note: Happy Tuesday! Here's another chapter.

"Let go, Henry," Elizabeth said while attempting to walk to the bathroom on her own this time. Her leg was getting stronger with each trip.

"You sure?"

"I have to try."

Henry nodded and let go of her arm and shoulder, hovering close by just in case the strain was too much for her left leg. He watched as her legs shook and she shuffled more than she walked, but it was progress nonetheless.

"Good job, Babe!" Henry praised when she made it all the way to the bathroom door from the bed. "You'll be running again in no time."

Elizabeth looked back at him and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah," she said, closing the bathroom door.

Henry chuckled to himself and walked back toward the bed to sit down. He mindlessly flipped through the channels on the TV and paused when a story about Elizabeth came up on the international news channel.

"Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord was spotted being wheeled into Saint Andrew's Hospital in France two days ago. President Dalton's Chief of Staff Russell Jackson has declined to comment when asked what the reason was…"

She is going to think this makes her look weak.

"Henry?" Elizabeth called from the bathroom.

"Yeah, Babe?" he asked, walking over to the door.

"Something's wrong…" she muttered.

"What? I didn't hear you."

He was met with silence.

Unwilling to wait, he pushed the door open and saw her passed out on the floor of the bathroom.

"Elizabeth!"

He gently stroked her cheek, trying to rouse her. When that didn't work, he knelt beside her and felt her neck for a pulse. It was weak, but there.

Thank God.

Henry frantically looked around the bathroom for some sort of call button so he could get some help. Finding one near the toilet, he reached up and pushed on it several times in a row, desperately needing it to work.

Come on, Babe. Wake up.

He placed her head in his lap, and stroked her hair. "Wake up for me, Baby. Please."

BEEP.

"Did someone call for help?" a voice asked from a speaker near the call button.

"Hello? Yes. My wife passed out in the bathroom. Please hurry. She's unconscious," Henry said.

"Sending someone now," the voice replied.

"Come on, Babe. Please wake up. I need you to be okay," Henry whispered while rubbing her arms.

Elizabeth remained unconscious.

Footsteps entered the bathroom and broke the deafening silence. "Sir? We need you to step aside."

Henry looked up from his position on the floor with Elizabeth and was met with two pairs of eyes. One was a male nurse he had never met before and the other was Dr. Green.

"Please help her," he pleaded.

"We will, but we need to make sure she's breathing. Did you see her fall?" Dr. Green asked Henry.

Henry moved Elizabeth's head off his lap carefully, and let Dr. Green and the nurse take over. "No, she was in here alone. She called out to me for help and I came in and found her like this."

"That's okay. We'll take care of her. Do you want to wait outside the bathroom?" the nurse asked.

"No! I'm not leaving her," Henry replied.

She can't wake up alone. I'm not doing that to her.

The nurse put smelling salts under her nose and Elizabeth moved her head slightly away from the scent.

"That's a good sign," Dr. Green said.

The nurse took her blood pressure. "BP is 90/60."

"Henry, was she dizzy at all before she passed out?" Dr. Green asked.

Henry shook his head. "Not that I noticed. She walked to the bathroom by herself and seemed fine. I know her legs were shaking, but I assumed that's because her left leg was in pain. What do you think happened?"

"Not sure yet."

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose and her hand flinched. "I think she's waking up," Dr. Green said.

Thank God.

As her eyes opened, she moaned softly.

"Elizabeth? Can you hear me?" Dr. Green asked.

She blinked several times before her eyes went wide and she gasped. "No! Get away from me!" she shouted, attempting to push herself up off the floor and away from Dr. Green and the male nurse.

"Mrs. McCord, you're in the hospital. You passed out on the bathroom floor. I'm Dr. Green. Remember? We met two days ago when you were brought in."

Elizabeth looked frantically around the tiny bathroom, her breath coming in short pants.

"I don't…where's Henry?" she asked, desperation written all over her face.

Henry leaned down so he was in her line of sight. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "I'm right here, Babe."

Her eyes met his and relief flooded her face. "Henry? What happened? Why am I on the floor?"

"I was hoping you could tell me." He cupped her cheek and she closed her eyes, welcoming the contact.

Elizabeth looked around the bathroom. "I remember feeling dizzy when I stood up from the toilet…"

"You called out to me. Do you remember that?"

She shook her head, and a tear escaped, rolling down her cheek.

"That's okay, Babe."

"Mrs. McCord, do you think you can stand?" Dr. Green asked.

Elizabeth flinched at the sound of his voice as if she forgot other people were in the bathroom with her. Her cheeks flushed red, suddenly embarrassed.

"I'll help you, Babe. Just lean on me," Henry said, trying to make her more comfortable.

He put his hands under her armpits and she leaned forward into his chest. Elizabeth buried her face in his shoulder, taking a moment to brace herself before standing. Henry helped hoist her up and she melted into his side while standing on shaky legs.

"Nice and easy," said the male nurse.

"Ready to walk to the bed?" Henry asked her.

She nodded and took a very small step forward with Henry supporting most of her weight. When they made it out of the bathroom, she sagged against Henry. "It hurts…"

"I know, Baby. Just a few more steps. We're almost there."

When they reached the bed, Henry helped her sit back against the pillows and got her situated under the covers again. "You feeling okay?" he asked, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Just tired…"

Dr. Green looked over her chart. "Mrs. McCord, I would like to test your blood sugar levels. When is the last time you ate?"

Elizabeth looked down at her hands, avoiding the question.

Henry put his arm around her shoulder in comfort.

"I haven't really been hungry. And my throat is hurting again," Elizabeth told Dr. Green.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Henry asked, concern in his eyes.

"I didn't want to be a bother…"

Babe, you're not a bother. I want you to feel better.

"I'll get you some stronger medicine for your throat," Dr. Green said. "In the meantime, I want to draw some blood and run a full panel to see if something else is going on."

"You got it, Dr. Green," the nurse replied and then turned to Elizabeth. "Can I see your arm? I need to draw some blood."

Elizabeth nodded and then stuck out her arm. Henry didn't want to watch the needle go in, so he focused on his wife's face. Bruises in various shades of purple and yellow covered her eyes and cheeks. The swelling in her left eye had gone down some, but it still looked painful. The handprint-shaped bruise around her throat was not completely hidden by her sweatshirt, and Henry took a deep breath to stop himself from punching a wall in anger.

I hate that he did this to you.

He kissed the top of her head through her hair, and waited for the nurse to finish drawing blood. Elizabeth smiled up at him and bent her arm toward herself to stop the blood flow from the needle prick.

"You're all set," the nurse said, while putting a Band-Aid on her arm.

"Thanks," Elizabeth replied.

Dr. Green looked Elizabeth in the eyes. "I'm going to have a protein shake sent up for you. I suspect part of the reason you passed out is that your body needs food to sustain itself. Even more so when it's trying to heal. Try to finish the shake. I don't need you passing out on me anymore. You want to go home don't you?"

She nodded, looking like a small child who got in trouble by their parents. Henry rubbed her shoulder.

"Medicine for your throat should be coming in about ten minutes. I just put the order in."

"Thanks, Dr. Green," Henry said.

"No problem."

As soon as Dr. Green and the nurse left the room, Henry made himself comfortable on the bed next to Elizabeth. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

"Not really. I feel like all of my healing is one step forward and two steps back."

"Don't think like that, Babe. You were shot and beaten two days ago. Not to mention violated. Of course the progress you're making is slow. I'm just glad you're alive and here with me to make progress," he said, reaching for her hand to link it with his.

"I love you," Elizabeth said.

"I love you too, Babe."

Several hours and half a protein shake later, Henry stared at the ceiling of the hospital room while Elizabeth slept. The results from her blood test showed that her passing out earlier was due to low blood sugar and nothing more serious.

Thank God for small mercies. She's been through enough.

Henry pulled Elizabeth closer as he tried to rid his mind of the racing thoughts about what would happen when they returned home.

Should she go to therapy? Every time a man that isn't me gets near, she panics. That is not going to be good for her work in the State Department. Will she want to testify against Farhad Azimi? And what about the kids? What are we going to tell them happened? Should I ask her to quit? I know that's not fair, but I want her safe. But then again, crazy people are everywhere. Ray Merchant threatened her when she was a professor and that was well before she was known in the public eye.

Elizabeth shifted, and rubbed her nose in Henry's shirt, inhaling his scent. "Hmm. What time is it?" she mumbled.

"Late," he replied, rubbing her back. "Go back to sleep."

"Why are you awake?" she asked.

"Just thinking."

"Well I can hear your thoughts they're so loud. Care to share?" Elizabeth asked.

He wrapped his arms around her more tightly. "It's not important right now."

"I don't believe you, but I'm tired, so I'll worry about it later," Elizabeth said, burying her head back into his chest.

Henry chuckled. "Sounds like a plan."

His phone buzzed on the table next to the bed, and Elizabeth groaned.

"Now what?"

Henry reached over and grabbed his phone to see that President Dalton was calling.

This late? Probably not a good sign.

"Who is it?" Elizabeth asked, eyes still shut and face pressed against Henry.

"Dalton," Henry replied, answering the phone and pressing the button to put it on speaker.

"Hello?"

"Henry. Sorry to call so late where you are. Is Elizabeth awake?"

She opened her eyes and pushed herself up so she was sitting next to Henry. "I'm here, Mr. President."

"Elizabeth. It's good to hear you. How are you holding up?" President Dalton asked.

"I'm doing okay. What's this about?"

"We have an update on Farhad Azimi. He's being charged with the kidnapping and attempted murder of the Secretary of State. His trial date has been expedited due to the fact that taking you hostage is a war crime. It's in two weeks. Just wanted to give you the option to testify."

"Thank you for the information, Sir," Elizabeth responded.

Two weeks? Testify? That's a lot to ask of her.

"Also, there was a leaked photo of you being wheeled into the hospital in France. Russell has said that we aren't releasing an official statement, but I thought you deserved to know."

I knew this was coming and I didn't tell her. Damnit.

"How did anyone even get that photo?" Elizabeth asked.

"You know how the press can be," President Dalton said.

"And we can't stop the photo from being circulated in the news cycle?"

"We're trying, Bess. Believe me."

"Thanks, Conrad. Anything else?"

Henry heard President Dalton sigh on the phone. "We received the police report that you gave. I wanted to personally apologize for everything that happened to you because of Farhad Azimi and Vice President Teresa Hurst. I'm horrified. Believe me, if murder was as easy as a presidential pardon, it would already be done."

Elizabeth's eyes filled with tears and Henry rubbed her shoulder, while holding her gaze.

Same, Babe. If I could kill him, I would.

"Thanks. We appreciate that." Henry said into the phone.

"Have they said when you can come home? I know you're missed here," President Dalton asked.

Henry squeezed Elizabeth's hand, and smiled at her. "Not yet. We're hoping soon."

"Take care of yourself, Bess."

"Thanks. I will," Elizabeth replied.

President Dalton ended the call and Henry put the phone back on the table beside the bed. "How do you feel about testifying?" he asked, stroking his thumb over the back of her hand.

"It sounds overwhelming at the moment, but I know it's going to make the evidence more clear and the charges stick."

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. It's entirely your decision."

"I know. The thought of being in the room with him again…"

Henry pulled her against his side. "You won't be alone, Babe. I promise."

"My hero," Elizabeth replied, half joking.

"Damn straight."

Henry closed his eyes, shifted so Elizabeth was fully in his arms, and attempted to grab a few hours of sleep.

Her stomach growled loudly and Henry opened one eye. "Babe?"

"Sorry," she said, smiling.

"Don't apologize for being hungry. I'm actually glad that you're feeling well enough for your stomach to growl. Want me to go see what I can find you?" he asked.

Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm too comfortable in bed right now. Let's get a big breakfast in the morning. Eggs, hash browns, pancakes with lots of syrup…"

Finally. She sounds like herself. I missed this.

"It's a date."