(no subject)

[krazykitkat]

Surfacing 4/?
By Katrina McDonnell

Leo and Jed had lapsed into silence. There was nothing more they could say, talking about it only made it more distressing.

Leo looked at his watch. He should really try to get some work done; he wasn't achieving anything just sitting here. He'd advised the others to keep going, yet here he sat. He doubted any of them would be productive.

A knock on the door echoed through the room, startling them both. Jed called out, "Come in."

Leo turned to see Margaret enter.

"Leo, Mrs. Bartlet is on the phone."

"Please put it through to my phone, Margaret." Jed cut in before Leo could answer.

After seeing her boss's agreement, she left. Jed and Leo rose as one and walked over to the President's desk, just in time for the phone to ring. Jed pressed the button for speaker phone.

"Abbey?"

"Jed? Leo there?"

"I'm here, Abbey. How is she?" Leo got straight to the point.

There was a moment's hesitation, and when she answered, they could hear how close she was to tears. "Not good. They're just taking her into surgery. It is a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, probably ten weeks. Her condition has deteriorated, the shock is worse and there's massive blood loss. The surgeon doesn't think he can save the tube, but if they can't stop the bleeding, it won't matter either way." A sob reverberated down the phone line.

They looked at each other, their faces matching studies in grief. Jed fought to keep his voice steady. "Sweetheart?"

"I'm all right. She'll be in surgery for at least a couple of hours. Danny's given permission for you to tell the senior staff. He wants Carol to know as well, and he also suggested that Donna be included." Her voice was still unsteady.

They all knew why that was. Josh was particularly vulnerable when it came to loss. Donna had become adept at managing him.

"Abbey, how's Danny?" Leo questioned.

"I'm really worried about him. He's shutting down. Can you find out whether he has any close family here?"

Leo wished his suspicions hadn't been correct. "I'll see what I can do."

"I'll stay here and will let you know when there's any more news."

"Do you want me to come over?" Jed asked.

"You'd better not, Hon. That would attract too much attention."

"I want someone to be there for you."

Abbey's tone spoke of how much she loved him. "I'll be okay."

"I'll be there as soon as I can organise things here." Leo broke in, answering the plea in Jed's eyes.

"Won't you be needed there?"

Jed silently thanked his best friend. "I'm sure I can manage things, Abbey. You need some support."

Leo could picture her nodding. "All right. I'd better go, I don't want to leave Danny alone for too long."

"I love you, Abbey."

"I love you, Jed. I'll see you soon, Leo."

"Bye, Abbey."

The phone call ended. For a moment they stood there, silent, grieving, lost.

Jed coughed to clear his throat. "Better get them all in here."

"Yeah." Leo picked up the phone and punched in the extension number. "Margaret, could you please ask Toby, Sam, Josh and Donna to come to the Oval Office. Then, you and Carol come here. Thanks." He hung up and addressed Jed, "Anyone else we need to tell?"

"No, I think that's all."

"What about Mrs. Landingham and Charlie?" Leo queried.

"So they can keep an eye on me?"

Leo answered Jed with a cocked eyebrow.

"All right. You're in cahoots with my wife." Jed went to the door and opened it. "Mrs. Landingham, Charlie, could you please come in here?"

Within a couple of minutes the rest of the group had filed in. Immediately on entering, Josh began to ask questions. "Is CJ okay? What's wrong with her?"

"Josh, I'll tell everyone in a minute." Leo looked at the people, their White House family, in front of him. Margaret and Carol were seated close together on one couch. They were waiting for their suspicions to be confirmed. Toby was sitting stiffly on the other couch, next to Mrs. Landingham. Josh was standing between the couches, book ended by Sam and Donna. Charlie stood behind Mrs. Landingham. Eight pairs of eyes, all begging him for good news.

Leo glanced over at Jed for a moment to see him nod his head. He took a deep breath before starting. "First thing. This is not to go outside this room. It's a very private matter and I have been given permission to tell you the details. Everyone understand?" He watched as they all nodded. "Abbey called a few minutes ago, CJ was just being taken into surgery."

"Is it her appendix?" Josh interjected.

"Josh, please, this is hard enough. Let me finish what I have to say and then I'll take questions at the end. I'm starting to sound like CJ," he mumbled the last sentence, but it brought a slight smile to Carol's lips. "No, it isn't her appendix. As you know, CJ passed out in her office. She had a severe pain in her abdomen. Abbey diagnosed shock and possible internal bleeding. She also had her suspicions of what was causing it. The hospital has confirmed those suspicions."

An audible sob erupted from Carol. Margaret put her arms around her, shifting Carol's head to rest on her shoulder.

Leo closed his eyes for a second, opening them to see crestfallen expressions. It was only going to get worse when they knew the truth. Maybe if he went into politician mode he'd be able to get through this. "CJ has a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. Before any of you ask, that means the egg implanted in the fallopian tube instead of the uterus. It started to grow and when the baby reached a certain size, it ruptured the tube. She has massive internal bleeding and probably a lot of damage. We're not going to know anything more until she's out of surgery."

Stunned silence pervaded the room, only broken by the sobs Carol was trying to muffle. He could see the effort to process the information reflected in each face. Josh sank to the floor, Donna kneeling next to him, hand on his shoulder.

Sam asked the first question. "Did she know she was pregnant?"

Jed answered, giving Leo a much needed break. "We don't think so."

"How many weeks?" Donna inquired.

"They seem to think about ten." Leo was back to being the front man. Everyone else went back to their private contemplation.

Leo was about to speak again, anything to break the silence, when Toby did it for him.

"Concannon's the father, isn't he? He just wouldn't give up."

Well, that wasn't how Leo had been planning to bring up this particular topic. Vintage Toby, why tiptoe around the gorilla sitting in the corner, when you can bash it over the head with a baseball bat.

"How is Danny?" Carol defused the situation slightly with her concern for the reporter.

"He's very upset. Abbey's staying with him at the hospital. Does anyone know whether he has family here?" Leo asked.

They all shook their heads.

Toby couldn't leave the gorilla alone. "How could she be so stupid? Danny doesn't surprise me. But CJ? How many times did we warn her?" He was more mumbling to himself, rather than addressing the room. "Is he worth losing her job over?"

"Shut up, Toby." They were the first words Josh had uttered since his early questions. His tone held a warning signal, which Toby simply ignored.

"As Deputy Chief of Staff, you should be worried about the consequences of their relationship on this administration."

Leo attempted to intercede. "Toby..."

Josh stood and moved closer to Toby. "I'm her friend first."

"And I've been her friend a lot longer." Toby also rose to his feet.

Sam and Donna simultaneously called out, "Josh", as Leo stepped towards the combatants.

Josh ignored them and his voice reached a dangerous level. "You could have fooled me. Claudia Jean is dying and Danny's worried sick. They've lost their baby. And all you care about is frigging conflicts of interests and appearances." Josh pointed his finger towards the left side of Toby's chest. "Do you even have a heart in there, Tobias?"

"Josh, Toby," Leo warned.

Toby brought his arm up and smacked away Josh's hand. Josh grabbed Toby's shirt as Sam lunged for him and Leo stepped between them.

"I will not stand for this kind of behaviour in the Oval Office," bellowed the President. "Sit down, Toby. And Josh, you sit over there. We're all upset and worried, don't take it out on each other."

Leo placed his hand on Toby's shoulder and forced him to sit. He turned to watch Sam placing Josh on the other couch, next to Carol and Margaret. Upon seeing Josh about to speak, Leo cut in, "Keep that thought to yourself, Joshua."

Leo had known Toby for long enough to realise this was the way he coped with distressing situations. He was as worried as the rest of them, he just showed it in a different manner. Unfortunately, it was a manner that led to friction and made Toby appear uncaring. Leo shook his head at the thought that CJ would know how to handle him.

Jed continued, "Yes, Toby. Their relationship could cause us big problems. But, at this moment, it doesn't matter. What matters is CJ getting through this. If--When she wakes up, she's going to need her friends. Most of all, she's going to need Danny. The rest of it can wait. As long as the whole story is kept within this room, we have time. Everyone understand?"

Leo glanced around at his colleagues, his family, as they nodded. Holding them all together, until they knew whether CJ was going to make it, was going to be difficult. He'd never realised what a binding force CJ was. She could handle every single one of them, even him. Now, he needed to get everyone back to work.

"Sam, are you okay to do the rest of today's briefings?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah."

Leo next looked to Carol. "Carol. Can you prepare him and clear any other business CJ had?"

Sporting a brave smile, she answered. "Yes. What do we say about CJ? They'll probably have heard about her being taken to the hospital."

"The usual. 'She has an emergency situation that is potentially life-threatening. The White House asks the people to join her family and colleagues in prayer for her speedy recovery.'"

"What if they ask for more?" queried Sam.

Leo turned to directly face him. "Remind them that the White House does not comment on the private lives of staff. Ask them--No, tell them, to respect her privacy."

Margaret spoke for the first time. "What about the rest of the staff?"

"Same story. They can be given updates, but no specifics. Josh, Toby, continue with whatever you're doing."

"I want to go to the hospital," Josh protested.

Toby grudgingly backed him up. "CJ needs me--us."

Josh continued, "Danny needs me."

"You are staying here." Leo glared at both of them. "You can't do anything for CJ. And Danny needs quiet and calm, which is in no way inclusive of you two."

"We can be quiet," Josh pouted.

"And calm," Toby added.

Leo just gave them his 'you've got to be kidding' look. "Don't bother arguing with me. You're staying here. I'll let you know when you can go."

Jed coughed to get everyone's attention. "If you need anything, come and see me. Leo is going to the hospital."

"Do you really think that's wise, Mr. President?" Leo indicated the people around him.

"You're going. Abbey and Danny need extra support. We can manage here, can't we?"

A chorus of affirmatives answered him.

Leo decided to try again in private. "All right, people. Back to work. I'll let you know when there's any more news."

Slowly everyone rose and began to file out. Leo grabbed Sam and Donna as they passed him. In a quiet voice he instructed, "Keep those two apart. Donna, please take care of Josh. Sam, keep an eye on Toby. He does care."

"I know he does. He just isn't very good at expressing it," Sam replied.

Donna quipped, "And Josh is too good."

"If we crossed the two of them, we might end up with someone we can handle." Leo couldn't help a small smirk. "Thank you. Look after yourselves too."

They both nodded as they left. Leo made his way over to Carol and Margaret before they exited the room. He placed his hand on Carol's arm and asked, "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. I've got a lot to keep me busy. Give Danny my love. I can't imagine the pain he must be feeling. I'll try to come to the hospital after work." Her eyes glistened with tears.

"I will." Leo glanced at Margaret, who just nodded. They had a non-verbal shorthand, she would look after Carol. "I'll be in my office in a few minutes."

He waited for everyone to leave, before turning back to Jed. "I should really stay here."

"Do you want me to make it an executive order? We can cope without you. I want someone to be there for Abbey and Danny."

"No need for a decree, Mr. President." Leo had taken the argument as far as he could and knew when to give up.

Jed strode to him and placed his hands on Leo's shoulders. "Give Danny our love and tell him we're praying for her. We can't do anything more for CJ, but we can be there for him. She'd want that."

"Yeah," Leo replied.

They embraced, finding their own support within their friendship. Pulling apart, Jed spoke once more.

"I'll await your call."

Leo nodded, before leaving through the President's outer office. Closing the door to the Oval Office, he saw the two people he needed to deputize.

"If anything happens that he can't cope with, call me. I don't care if he thinks he can, I don't want to have to worry about him too. I'll take the flack. Just keep an eye on him."

Mrs. Landingham and Charlie indicated their understanding.

"Give them our love," Mrs. Landingham requested.

"I will."

He walked back to his office to find Margaret already sorting through the day's remaining business.

"Let's get this over with."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*