The Georgetown University Medical Center looked different than normal. Instead of average families filling the waiting rooms; the two private waiting rooms were filled with people dressed in formal business attire some of whom were being questioned by FBI agents; and instead of doctors lining the hallway, the sterile halls were lined with secret service agents.

In one private waiting area; Henry McCord sat with his elbows resting on his knees and his head bowed. His three children in sat beside him the uncomfortable chairs silently, trying their best to keep from breaking down. So they looked down; not making eye contact with the members of Elizabeth's staff who were sending them sympathetic smiles.

"Ladies and gentleman if you are just joining us, we can confirm that the President Dalton and Secretary McCord have suffered gunshot wounds. The extent of their injuries is unknown and they are currently being treated at Georgetown University Medical Center. We can also confirm that Vice President McInery was pronounced DOA at the hospital." the news anchor stated solemnly. "Just hours ago, the three were leaving an event in which President Dalton had announced his plans to run for re-election next year when gunfire erupted…." They had been repeating the same information for the last 15 minutes and Henry was sick of hearing it. He hastily rose from his chair and turned off the television; ignoring the looks of the others in the room; they had never seen him lose control of his emotions. But he didn't want his children to keep hearing that their mother had been shot, he didn't need to be reminded either. .

A long hour later the surgeon came into the waiting room and everyone looked to him with bated breath as he spoke, "Dr. McCord?"

Henry stood when he heard his name; motioning to his children to stay seated while he followed the doctor into the hallway to speak to him in private. Henry noted the doctor's positive body language and was hoping for good news. Shaking his offered hand Henry asked, "How is she?"

"Your wife is going to be just fine." he began with a small smile and Henry let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"That's a relief, thank you doctor. Let me get the kids before you continue."

The doctor nodded and Henry walked back into the waiting room as hopeful faces looked to him for news. "She's going to be ok." he announced, and relieved sighs and smiles quickly formed on the faces of Elizabeth's staff. Stevie, Allison & Jason ran to him and hugged him at the good news and he hugged them back, just as relieved.

He lead his children back out to the hallway where the doctor was prepared to walk them through her injuries. Allison clung to her father as she waited for the doctor to speak.

"Hello there," the doctor greeted the children, "As I told your father, your mom is going to be just fine. She does have some injuries though and she'll need lots of rest for next few weeks." he assured them.

Allison nodded into her father's chest. "It's ok Noodle." Henry whispered as he kissed her head while Stevie and Jason shared a hug when they heard again that their mother was ok.

"We were able to remove the bullet from her abdomen, and she has a couple stitches but that should heal quickly. It did cause some damage; internal bleeding which we were able to stop. Some fluid seeped into a small part of her right lung, which we did drain. However her fall to the ground crushed a couple of her ribs; which is the most serious of her injuries and will take the longest to heal." he explained and Henry nodded his understanding. He suffered a very similar gunshot wound when he was in the Marines and he knew all too well the physical pain and his wife would be in from her broken ribs; not to mention the mental and emotional scars she would have from the attack.

"Can we see her now?" Stevie asked, anxious to see her mother.

"You may, but please keep in mind she just got out of surgery, so she's not awake yet. She lost quite a bit of blood, so she's very weak. And due to the fluid on her lungs we have her on a ventilator for now."

Allison broke down at the word ventilator and Henry steadied her in his arms and assured her it was ok as the doctor continued to speak. "It's just until she wakes up." he said softly, offering Allison a gentle smile before turning his attention back to Henry. "We've put her into a drug induced coma to ensure she remains still for at least 24 hours. We don't want her re-activating any of her injuries, and the ventilator is just to help jump start the healing process. This way her body doesn't have to use energy on breathing and can use that energy to produce blood. As soon as she wakes up we can remove it. I just didn't want you to be alarmed when you saw her."

"Thank you doctor," Henry said

The doctor led Henry and the kids down the stark white hallway, lined with secret service agents to Elizabeth's room. "I'd advise you take turns visiting. It's possible that she can hear and process what's going on around her. It's important not to overwhelm her right now." the doctor added before leaving them alone to observe outside the window.

Henry took in the condition of his wife from the viewing window. She looked so fragile, so unlike the strong, confident woman he married. Even though he was warned about the ventilator it really threw him, it made her look worse than he imagined; like she was dying. He swallowed the lump in his throat; he had to keep it together for the kids and for her when she awoke.

Henry nodded to the kids as he entered the room first. He walked up to her bed and bent down to kiss her forehead gently as he stroked her soft hair. "Hey baby." he whispered to her. "It's all over now, and you're going to be ok. So just focus on resting," he continued as he sat in the chair beside her bed. He grasped her hand, holding it between his while being mindful of the IV's taped there. It surprised him cold her hand felt. "The kids are here too" he offered, looking to the window where his 3 children stood, observing. He motioned to them that they could come in now.

Stevie was the only one that budged from the window, tentatively entering the room. Henry stood and rubbed Stevie's shoulder when she reached her bedside. She sat down, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Hi Mom." her voice cracked. She wasn't sure what else to say, so she just sat silently and held her mother's hand.

"Stevie, can you stay with mom a few minutes?" Henry asked as he saw Allison and turn away from the window before running down the hallway. Jason stared back at his father with a sad look in his eye, then he shook his head no and turned to run, following the path of his sister.

Henry found his youngest children slumped in a chairs sobbing in the waiting room; Nadine was sitting between them; rubbing soothing circles on their backs. Henry's tired eyes met Nadines, silently thanking her before he took her chair and pulled his children to his chest. "Mom's going to be fine." he whispered; trying to comfort them.

Jason quickly stopped crying; but Ally continued to sob, unable to speak for a few minutes. "Ally," Henry tried. "Ally, you have to talk to me ok?"

Allison finally stopped crying for a moment and pulled back to look at her father. He cupped her face, wiping tears from her splotchy red cheeks. "Dad, she's on a ventilator, how can you say she'll be ok? She got shot! She's….she looks so awful laying there, I don't think I can go in."

"Ally, listen to me. She's going to be ok. You heard the doctor say so. I know it's hard. I know it's a lot to process. And it's hard to see her lying there. It's hard for me too. But you know your mom, she's going to be up and demanding to go home soon enough. She's a fighter."

Ally smiled slightly. "I know she is."

"If it scares you too much to see her like this, you don't have to go in. You come visit her tomorrow when she's awake."

"Okay." she sniffled, giving her father a hug. "I love you Dad."

"I love you too Noodle." he whispered, kissing her forehead. "She's going to be ok. I promise she will be ok." he repeated firmly, giving her one last bit of reassurance before turning his attention to Jason. "Jason, what about you buddy? Talk to me."

Jason shrugged his shoulders. He would never admit it to anyone, but Jason was definitely a momma's boy. He only would show his soft side to Elizabeth; never his sisters. But occasionally Henry noticed it. Jason always acted cool and coy, such as the lonely journey of the anarchist as they said. But when no one was around, he was always very sweet to his mother, always the first to have his mother's day gift ready, or hug her good morning, always the first to defend her, and always seeking her approval. It scared him think about how much different the situation could be, what if that bullet hit her someplace else? What if he lost his mother? "I just….I don't know what I can do for her. I want to do something."

It made sense to Henry now. He knew Jason was not only scared to see his mother in this condition like Allison, but very much like his father, he needed to be doing something to help her or protect her. Like Henry, Jason very much felt like the man of the house and that it was his duty to protect his mother and now that she was lying in a coma, there wasn't a single thing Jason could do to help her. "Well, when she wakes up you can be here for her. Right now that's all we can really do."

Jason nodded. "I guess you're right."

"Tomorrow when you come back to visit, why don't you bring her one of those organic smoothie things she likes. I'm sure it will feel good on her throat; because it will probably be sore after they take the ventilator out." Henry suggested.

"Yea, that's a good idea." Jason agreed. "Thanks Dad."

He shared one more hug with his Dad as he rose from the chair. "I'll go get Stevie, and have the agents take you home."

At her father's nod through the window, Stevie left the hospital room, kissing her mother's cheek on her way out. Henry put an arm around her and led them back to the waiting room where Allison and Jason were waiting. The three joined for a group hug and Henry spoke to them. "I think you guys should go home and get some rest. Come back in the morning when your mother is awake, and I'll call you if there's any news. And don't turn on the TV news. Any news you will get from me, ok?"

The children agreed and Henry walked them to the secure SUV with their secret service agents. "Dad?" Jason turned to his father before getting into the car. "Take good care of her tonight."

"Buddy you know I will." Henry promised. Jason nodded. If there was one thing in his life he was sure about; it was his parent's incredible love for one another. He knew that his father wouldn't leave Elizabeth's side all night.

After seeing the children leave with Frank & Richard, Henry walked back to Elizabeth's room. Fred, who was faithfully guarding her Elizabeth's door stopped him before he went in. "Dr. McCord," he asked.

"Yes Fred?"

"I'm so sorry I didn't push her down in time. It should be me in there." Fred apologized, feeling very guilty.

"Fred, don't go there. You made sure she didn't take a second bullet, and got her here quickly." Henry said, "Thank you for taking good care of her when I'm not around. And don't let her hear you apologize - you know she won't have any of it."

"I know. I just wish -"

"Fred." Henry sighed. "Now is not the time. You go get some rest. There's plenty of secret service agents surrounding this hospital tonight." he encouraged shaking Fred's hand.

Henry was about to enter in the room when he noticed Nadine lurking nearby. "Nadine?" he called.

"How is she?" Nadine asked gently, moving to stand beside Henry as they looked at Elizabeth through the window.

"She looks worse than it is. But they said she'll be just fine."

"That's a relief." Nadine nodded.

"You can go in if you like." Henry offered

"You should be the one with her." Nadine countered. "But, there's one piece of business I wanted to talk to you about. The white house would like an update on her condition for their evening press conference."

Henry nodded. "How is the president?"

"Still in surgery, it's touch and go." Nadine said, trying to pass by the subject; now was not the time to discuss it, but she had been thinking it all night; and she knew Henry had thought of it too. What would happen if the President died? The Vice President was already dead. The house speaker was on the verge of retirement and she was pretty sure that if push came to shove the Senate pro temp would resign; due to his knowledge in Secretary Marsh's death if it ever was made public. If for some reason President Dalton didn't make it; would Elizabeth become President? Neither could bare the thought of burdening her with that decision now; especially if it was one she wouldn't have to make. But it was clear that it was a possibility, and why the verbiage in the statement released about her health was of utmost importance. They had to make it clear that she needed time to fully recover, but that she would have no physical or mental limitations that would affect her ability to assume the Presidency. .

"I drafted an update, I'll have Daisy get it out if you approve. Secretary McCord suffered a single bullet wound to the abdomen which did not cause damage to any major organs is out of surgery and resting comfortably and doctors at Georgetown University Medical center expect her to make a full recovery." Nadine read from her notebook, it was informative but not overly specific.

Henry shook his head. "That's fine Nadine. I'm not 100% sure she's comfortable right now, but…"

Nadine smiled at his comment. "I'm sure she'd be more comfortable if you went in to see her instead of standing out here. Thanks for approving the press statement."

"Thanks Nadine." Henry said, as they shared a gentle hug. "And thanks for helping me out earlier with Ally & Jason."

She smiled,. "You're welcome. We've all grown so very fond of you and your children." Nadine added, alluding to the fact that she and her staff had become very close with the McCords since Elizabeth took office.

Nadine left to get the statement to Daisy, as Henry finally re-entered the hospital room. He sat in the chair beside her bed and picked up her hand, bringing it to his lips for a kiss. For the first time in his life he felt helpless, just as Jason had earlier. But then it occurred to him what he could do for her, he could lie down beside her and kiss her goodnight, just as he did every night.

He slid off his shoes and gently sat on the edge of her bed, slowly contorting his body so it was touching hers without disturbing her position, or any of her IVs. He rested his head beside hers on the pillow and whispered in her ear as he closed his eyes, "I love you, Liz. Sleep well my love."

He pressed a few gentle kisses to her temple and protectively draped his arm over her middle; finding a comfortable spot between her ribs and stitches, comforted by the steady beeps from the monitors indicating that she was calm. Henry didn't know it, but since he lay beside her her heart rate had slowed, and her breathing became deeper, indicating that Elizabeth had fallen into a deeper rest.

When the doctor came to check on her, he took note of the slight change in her heart rate and smiled when he saw the reason for her improvement was lying beside her in a light sleep. He pulled an extra blanket from the cabinet and placed it over Henry, dimming the bright fluorescent lights as exited the room.