This chapter is a little sappy. Forgive me :)

Elizabeth stared at the black screen in front of her, frozen. Heart pounding in her ears, she blinked to keep the tears at bay.

"Is there a bathroom in this bunker?" Henry asked President Dalton, reaching for Elizabeth's hand.

Hang on, Babe. I'm getting you out of here.

"Yeah, through that way," he replied, pointing to a door on the right behind where they sat.

Henry nodded, and gently tugged Elizabeth up out of her chair to follow him. She resisted momentarily and then shook her head, as if coming back to the present. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Come with me, Babe. Please."

She closed her eyes and then nodded imperceptibly. Elizabeth stood, gripping Henry's hand, and leaning her body into his. Her legs were wobbly and he wrapped an arm around her to keep her upright.

"We'll be right back," Henry said to President Dalton, Ephraim, and Lydia.

"Take your time," Conrad said.

They walked through the door that the president had pointed to and entered into a small hallway with another door immediately on the right. He reached for the door knob, and helped Elizabeth inside.

"Henry…" Elizabeth said, her voice cracking.

"I know, just hang on a minute."

He pulled the door shut behind him, and felt Elizabeth wrap her arms around his midsection as she buried her face in his chest. Tears soaked his shirt as he wrapped his arms fully around her.

"I can't…"

"I know. You don't have to say anything right now. It's okay. It's just you and me," he said, rubbing her back.

I cannot believe everything Teresa Hurst has orchestrated. The blatant disregard for Elizabeth and our kids is completely disgusting. If she wasn't already dead, I would kill her.

"I just want this to be over," Elizabeth said, clinging harder to him.

"Me too. I wish I could make all of this stop."

"How are we supposed to move on knowing that there might be more threats?" she asked.

Henry could feel her shaking against him. "Come on, let's sit you down for a minute," he said, leading her over to the toilet. As soon as she was sitting on the closed seat, he pulled away so he could look in her eyes.

"No! Don't go!" Elizabeth pled with him, gripping his forearm hard.

"I'm right here, Babe. Just thought you might want to sit down because of your leg."

Silent tears ran down Elizabeth's face. "It feels like—"

"Like what?" he asked, squeezing her knee.

"Like nothing will ever be normal again."

It will. We've been through worse. We can get through this.

"I don't feel safe anywhere and I can't imagine how you and the kids must feel and I never should have gone to Geneva or taken this job as Secretary of State all those years ago because then we would still be on the farm in Virginia and the kids would be living normal lives out of the public eye and Teresa Hurst wouldn't even know who I was and—"

Henry cupped her cheeks gently, wiping away tears. "Whoa, Babe. You're rambling. Slow down a second."

She took a shaky breath in. "Henry, what are we going to do?"

"We're going to take a minute to let you process everything you just learned. You don't have to have all the answers right now. That's okay."

"But there isn't time!" Elizabeth said a little louder than she meant to.

Henry smiled at her, and leaned in to give her a quick kiss. "We have as much time as you need."

"President Dalton will get suspicious of us in the bathroom together," Elizabeth said, trying to make a joke.

"I don't really care what he thinks right now. I care that you're okay."

I need you to be alright. If you're alright, I'm alright.

She linked his hand with hers, smiling at him. "I take it back."

Henry frowned, confused. "Take what back?"

"That I don't feel safe anywhere. I feel safe with you."

I will go anywhere and everywhere with you, Babe. Forever.

He pulled her in for a hug. "I'll just keep you with me at all times. It's a win-win situation for both of us," he said, chuckling.

She sighed contentedly, relishing in the moment with Henry. "As much as I would love that, it's not feasible forever. The kids have lives. You have a life outside of being my security blanket."

He kissed her temple. "I really don't mind, Babe."

Elizabeth beamed at him. "I love that you don't mind. And I love you." She looked down for a second, turning serious. "But right now, I need a plan to stop the next thing from happening."

"I know, Babe. We'll make a plan once we know what's in the rest of those encrypted files."

She nodded, leaning back into the hug. Henry rubbed her back and Elizabeth closed her eyes, exhaustion overcoming her. He listened to her quiet breathing for a while and let his thoughts wander.

She always needed a plan for everything. From the time we were dating, she needed to know the plan for when we were getting married and having kids. I screwed that up when I left for those three days, but her kind heart and that discount skywriter helped her forgive me. Having all the facts makes her feel like she is in control, and I know that right now, she feels like things are spinning out of control. And I can't blame her. They are. Getting the information from the files will help settle her mind and formulate a plan so we can put all of this behind us.

Henry cleared his throat. "You just let me know when you're ready to go back in and see President Dalton. No rush at all. I'll sit in here all night with you if it helps."

"Hmm. Thanks," Elizabeth replied, still holding onto Henry.

"I mean it, Babe. You know I can sleep anywhere."

She laughed. "Yeah, and it's not fair."

"The Marines trained me well. This isn't even the worst place I've slept." He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. "A clean bathroom with you is a dream come true."

Elizabeth turned in his arms so she was facing him. "I don't know why you think that. We're stuck in an underground bunker because of me…"

Henry shook his head. "Not your fault, Babe."

She frowned. "It's a little my fault. You can admit that Henry."

"Not a chance." He shook his head.

Elizabeth buried her head against him and breathed in his scent, making herself comfortable. "I'm so tired."

"We can go in the room with the kids and try to get some rest," Henry suggested.

She scoffed. "I don't think I can sleep. Not with all of this floating around in my head."

None of this is fair to you.

"You don't have to sleep, Babe. Just rest."

"Using logic on me at this hour? That's just mean," Elizabeth said, smiling against Henry's shirt.

Henry laughed and pulled her closer.

"There really isn't anything we can do right now anyway. Ephraim and his team are still trying to decode those files. Even if you don't sleep, relaxing can help with the stress."

Elizabeth said nothing and her body tensed against his.

"Babe?" Henry asked, worried she was hurting or that he said something that upset her.

"It's nothing."

He kissed the top of her head and rubbed soothing circles on her back. "It's obviously something."

"I'm tired of feeling helpless. It isn't fair to you. Or the kids. Or President Dalton," she mumbled against him.

"Hey. I don't think you're helpless. None of us do. Okay, Babe?"

"How can you not?" Elizabeth said, tears soaking his shirt again.

When is she going to realize that she's the strongest person I know?

"I think you're someone who has been through something traumatic, who happens to be the Secretary of State. You're allowed to take some time to feel whatever way you want. I'm not judging any of it. I love you so much and I am proud of you for making it back home to me. Surviving what Farhad—" his breath hitched and he paused "—did to you does not make you helpless at all. I need you to see that, Babe."

She clung to him harder. "I'll try."

Henry stroked her hair and pulled her flush against his body as best he could while she sat on the toilet in the bathroom. "You're incredibly strong. And brilliant. And capable. And beautiful. And deserving."

"You're just saying that because you made babies with me," Elizabeth replied, holding back a chuckle.

"That's one of the reasons. But it's still true. All of it."

She sniffled and let go of Henry to run her hand down her face. He reached for a piece of toilet paper and handed it to her so she could wipe her tears.

"Thanks," she said, taking it from him and drying her cheeks. "You know people think being in President Dalton's inner circle has so many perks, but here we are trapped in a bathroom inside a bunker. So glamorous."

Henry laughed and reached for her hand. He kissed her palm, his face turning serious. "Nowhere else I'd rather be."

They sat in comfortable silence for several minutes, Henry rubbing circles on Elizabeth's knee.

"Henry?" she asked.

He paused the motions he was making on her knee. "Yeah, Babe?"

"I'm ready to go back in the other room."

"You sure?"

She nodded.

"Alright." Henry stood up and pulled Elizabeth from the toilet seat with him.

He opened the bathroom door, and walked down the short hallway with Elizabeth holding onto his arm. As soon as they entered the room President Dalton spoke.

"Russell called. He wants to talk to you."

"Really?" Elizabeth asked, confused. "I thought he was resting since he was concussed."

Henry led her to the table and took a seat next to her. She reached for his hand and linked their fingers together.

Conrad nodded. "Yeah. He's supposed to be resting. But he said it was urgent."

Elizabeth tensed, and squeezed Henry's hand.

I'm right here, Babe.

"Did he say what it was about?" she asked President Dalton.

"No. He insisted on talking to you."

Elizabeth racked her brain for a reason that Russell would need to talk to her right now, especially from the hospital where he was recovering. She came up with nothing.

"Okay, did he leave a number?"

President Dalton nodded. "Yeah, I have it right here." He held up a slip of paper in the air and then slid the phone and paper across the desk to where she was sitting.

She stopped it with her hand.

"Ephraim and I are going to look through files again and see if we missed anything," Conrad said, offering some privacy while Elizabeth called Russell. Ephraim sat Teresa Hurst's computer next to President Dalton and started typing.

She nodded, and then dialed the number on the paper.

Henry squeezed her hand.

This team of people the CIA and FBI have working to decode the supposed last of the files better figure it out quickly. I want to take my wife and kids home.

The line rang three times before Russell answered.

"Hey Russell, it's Elizabeth. The President said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Bess! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm a little banged up from the accident, but otherwise fine. So is Henry. How are you?"

"Worried that I was in the car that killed another Secretary of State."

Elizabeth shut her eyes and let the phone dangle away from her mouth momentarily, processing what he just said. "Do you know something Russell?" she whispered, sounding slightly out of breath.

Henry searched her face for understanding, but since he couldn't hear the other side of the conversation, he could only read her reactions. And right now, she was on the verge of panic.

"I saw the car barreling down the road, headed straight for us. You want to know what my first thought was?" he asked.

Elizabeth shook her head and then seemed to remember that she was on the phone and whispered "What?"

"That this administration couldn't handle another Secretary of State dying."

"Russell..."

Henry put his hand on her back now and rubbed slow circles. What did he say to her to make her sound like that?

"I wanted to apologize to you, Bess. I've been so wrapped up in how Conrad's second term is going that I didn't even take the time to think about how you were doing and how this has really affected you and your family," Russell said. "I'm sorry that you were brought into this mess by Teresa Hurst. No one deserves all of this."

"Thanks," she replied into the phone.

"You are the best Secretary of State this country has ever seen. I needed you to hear that."

A tear rolled down her cheek, and she reached up to wipe it away, hoping that she could hide it from Henry.

"Babe? What did he say to you?" he whispered, concern written all over his face.

Elizabeth gave her husband a small smile, letting him know she was okay.

"I appreciate that Russell. You know, I have to ask. What's got you so sentimental?"

Henry shot her a confused look.

Russell chuckled on his end of the phone. "Painkillers, mostly."

Elizabeth snorted. "I see. How's the leg?"

"It's broken in a few places, so I'll be hobbling around for a while. But it's nothing we can't work around. Did we get any more information about Teresa Hurst from that personal computer?" Russell asked.

"I thought you were concussed and resting?" Elizabeth asked, teasing.

"I know everything President Dalton knows, Bess. So what did Ephraim find?"

"A whole bunch of plans to kill me and make sure I would never get to run for president. Which I still don't plan on doing, by the way."

Russell Jackson rolled his eyes. "Keep telling yourself that, Elizabeth. I see it in your future."

Elizabeth's face turned serious and Henry wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him.

She lowered her voice. "Did you know about what Teresa Hurst said on her suicide video?"

There was a beat of silence on the phone.

"Russell?" she asked, unsure of if the connection went bad or if he hung up.

He sighed, loudly. "I'm still here. Yeah, I knew. But I wanted to keep you from hearing about it. I actually argued with Conrad about telling you because I thought it would make the situation worse. I was trying to let you have some time to recover before laying that on you."

She put a hand up to massage her temples. "Well now the media has the video. So that backfired spectacularly."

"I'm sorry, Bess. I really hate this for you."

"You mentioned that a few times. I hate this too. But the only thing we can do now is move forward with the information we have," Elizabeth said, effectively dismissing Russell.

"Understood," he said on the other end of the phone.

"Feel better, Russell. We'll talk soon."

"Thanks, Bess. You too."

Elizabeth hung the phone up and immediately found herself enveloped in Henry's arms. "Babe are you okay?" he asked.

She took a second to draw comfort from Henry. "I'm fine. Russell was apologizing."

"For what?"

"It's a long story," she mumbled against Henry's chest.

Which means she'll tell me later. When we're alone.

"Okay, Babe." He gave her one more squeeze and then released her so they could face the room.

President Dalton looked at Elizabeth over the top of the computer. "How's Russell doing?"

"He's fine."

Conrad nodded. "Glad to hear it."

"Any progress from the team on the other files?" Henry asked, anxious to move on from whatever caused Elizabeth to be short with the President.

Ephraim shook his head. "Nothing yet. Believe me, Dr. McCord. You both will be the first to know if anything turns up."

"Good. If there's nothing else, I think me and my wife are going to try and rest for a while. Come on, Babe," Henry said, tugging her hand.

"Mr. President? Is there anything else you need from me right now?" she asked.

"No. I'll come get you if anything changes."

Elizabeth nodded and then stood up to follow Henry into the living area where the kids were sleeping. They entered the darkened room quietly, trying to avoid waking anyone up. Henry pulled the door shut behind him.

"Madam Secretary? Is everything alright?" the Secret Service agent said from his position along the back wall.

Elizabeth froze and clutched Henry's arm.

It's okay, Baby. I'm right here.

"Ma'am?" the agent asked again.

"Sorry, you just startled me. I'm fine."

"There are blankets over here if you and Dr. McCord want one."

"Thanks," Elizabeth replied. The two of them walked over to the wall and grabbed a pillow and a blanket.

"So, floor or chair?" Henry asked, pointing to the available spots near the kids. He hugged her from behind, comforting her while she made a decision about which place sounded less crappy to attempt sleep.

She's overwhelmed and exhausted. I just want her to try and rest.

"Floor is fine. Maybe we can lean against the couch?" she suggested.

"Works for me," Henry replied, throwing the pillow down and moving to get down on the floor.

He groaned as his knee popped. "Man, we are too old for this, Babe."

"Speak for yourself, Henry," Elizabeth said, chuckling.

He situated himself against the couch, leaning with the pillow behind his back and head. Elizabeth got down on the floor and moved so that she was between his legs, leaning against his chest. She pulled the blanket over the both of them and Henry wrapped his arms around her. She let out a sigh of contentment and he kissed the top of her head. "Try and get some sleep, Babe," he whispered.

"My thoughts are so loud."

He tightened his arms around her.

I'd talk forever if it would calm your racing thoughts.

"Remember that time we went camping in Wyoming a few months after we got married and slept in that tiny tent?" he whispered into her ear, trying to keep his voice from carrying. The kids were deep sleepers, but even they had their limits.

Elizabeth snorted. "Yeah. And it rained and everything inside the tent got wet. Including our clothes."

"And it was freezing so we shared a sleeping bag," he continued.

"That part I remember quite well, Dr. McCord."

I can hear the smile in her voice.

"Let's keep it PG, Babe. There is Secret Service in the room. Not to mention the kids."

"You started it!" she said, turning around to kiss him softly on the lips.

My distraction tactic worked.

They righted themselves with Elizabeth leaning back against his chest. They sat in silence for several minutes, while Henry attempted to relax and control his breathing. She let out a long sigh, trying to calm down enough to rest.

"I'm right here, Babe. I promise nothing will happen. We're in the White House bunker. You're safe."

"The bunker is the opposite of safety, Henry. We're here because of the threats I brought into our lives with my job."

He kissed her temple and pulled her closer. "Hey, none of that. We've been over this. It's not your fault."

She turned to face him and could just make out where his eyes were in the darkened room. "If one of Teresa Hurst's threats is against you or the kids, I'm quitting."

Henry cupped her cheek. She closed her eyes at the contact.

"Let's hope that's not true," he replied.

"I mean it, Henry. I will not let anything happen to you or the kids. That's where I draw the line."

And where do you think my line is? I can't live with myself if something happens to you.

"Understood," he said. "Now can you please try and go to sleep?"

She nodded and turned back around to get comfortable. He pulled the blanket tighter around them and made sure that she was indeed closing her eyes and at least feigning sleep. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms, trying to make sure she was warm enough. She buried her face into his chest and inhaled deeply. He stroked her hair gently with one of his hands, knowing that this was a sure-fire way to get her to doze off.

He felt her body relax against him as her breaths slowly evened out. Henry kissed her hair. "I love you, Babe."

She hummed against him, too close to sleep to form real words. He smiled, and then closed his eyes and followed her into sleep minutes later.

Elizabeth jolted awake against him and Henry tightened his arms around her on instinct.

What's going on? What time is it?

"Madam Secretary?" Ephraim said from across the room, standing with the door open.

Who is talking so loud? And what is that bright light? I finally got her to go to sleep.

She tensed and moved her body closer into Henry. "What is it?" she asked, sleepily.

"Madam Secretary, sorry to disturb you at this hour, but we decoded the other files."

Elizabeth sat up more fully. "You did?" she asked, still not completely awake. Her eyes were squinting against the light and it made Henry want to laugh with how cute she looked.

Ephraim Ware nodded. "Yes. You need to come see this."