Chapter 10

Hawk, Polly, and Constance were present when I regained consciousness. Presumably, we were at Bethesda Naval Hospital. We were definitely in a hospital, and the beeping machine was going great guns. The room was dark, but I could see the enormous security presence outside the room.

I must have been feeling the effects of anesthesia because my first words were, "Mr. President, do lots of people work for you?"

I saw their heads swing to my face when I spoke. Hawk leaned in close and said, "I am so glad to hear your voice, little one. Thank you for coming back to us.

"Yes, by the way, lots and lots of people work for me." He sounded relieved, and exhausted.

"Then please tell one of them to kill the man that invented that beeping machine. It's driving me crazy."

Hawk and Polly laughed at that one, not realizing how serious I was. Constance kept her thoughts to herself in the company of the Commander-in-Chief. Polly took my hand and said, "How do you feel Angela?"

How did I feel????

"I hurt. It hurts everywhere from the top of my head to my feet. What happened? Why did that man try to kill me?"

Hawk stiffened but took the question head on. "I am so sorry, little one. That man was a White House employee. Or I should say that he was an impersonator of a White House employee. The real employee was murdered, apparently after being tortured to give up the details of how to get by security using the badges and codes necessary. Our men found his body just a little while after the helicopter brought us all here."

Polly interrupted. "The man who did this to you, my darling, was one of those Outpost people. He wasn't present when you and Noah were there, and when he saw Hamilton give the speech about your courage and Noah's sacrifice, he decided to sneak in and kill you.

"We are so sorry that this happened ... Please forgive us for not protecting you better." She was heartbroken, and I was the reason...

"There's nothing to forgive. Those people were terrible, and this is just more proof. Did he hurt you ... Mother?"

You could hear a pin drop in that room. I guessed right. Polly needed encouragement. She needed me to recognize her as she asked me to, and when I did, it affected them all. I saw Hawk smile and put his arm around Polly, and Constance took my free hand and squeezed.

We were all silent for a little while, and I didn't want to spoil Polly's moment, so I waited until the moment passed, and then I asked, "Is it bad? Did he hurt me very badly?"

That made Polly cry, and hearing her made me terribly sad.

Hawk cleared his throat, and said, "Your jaw is broken, which is why you can't move it. The surgeon says it will heal up fine. Your other injuries are almost all cosmetic, but he hurt you inside your ... your ... when he shoved his fist inside you, he tore things up pretty badly. The doctor says you might never be able to have children because of it, but we won't know that for some time.

"Right now you are comfortable because of the pain medication. Without it, you'd be in a lot of discomfort. Constance has volunteered to stay with you tonight, in case you wake up and need her, and as you might imagine, there are a good number of Federal agents keeping this floor secure. I am so sorry, little one. Please forgive me..."

He sounded so sad.

I reached up and pulled him towards me, then kissed the side of his face. He needed it.

Polly was still crying, and Constance waited just behind them, giving them both all the privacy possible under the circumstances.

"Sweetheart, my doctors are staying here while you heal up. No matter what, do not hesitate to ask for their attention. I pay them a lot of money to take care of us – all three of us – and they will, by god, stay here as long as you are in this bed, or I will have their heads."

He was mad all over again and looking for someone to take it out on. Polly and he already kicked the attacker where it would do the most good, but that wasn't enough for Hawk. He needed to spill blood, like a good warrior, before things would settle down in his head.

To change the topic and see if it would calm him down, I asked, "Do you think there are any more out there that want to hurt me?"

Polly rushed to my side and said, "Baby, we are done trusting anyone. Not one soul will come near you without our permission. This hospital is on a military base, and the Admiral has tripled the guard force. All non-military, non-medical personnel have been ordered off the grounds, and the property is closed until further notice, which won't be until you come back home." She was the Amazon Princess now. Like Colleen, you didn't mess with her loved ones, without understanding the terrible price you were going pay.

Hawk took my hand, and said, "We need to get back to the White House, little one. Are you going to be Ok without us for a little while?"

"Of course," I said it encouragingly. "I'll see you when you come back from England."

That stopped them both. Polly spoke first, "Surely you do not think we would leave you here in this condition. Do you? I assure you, my darling, we are going nowhere until you are going with us."

She looked dead at Hawk and continued. "And that's final."

And it was.

Constance stayed in a bed brought in by the staff, right beside me. There were very few needs for her to fulfill, because the hospital staff was all over me. But it was nice to have a friendly face present throughout those first terrible days after the attack.

My face ... When I finally got to look in a mirror, my face looked like I had been used as a personal punching bag for George Foreman. The swelling took days and days to go down, before I even recognized the face that stared back. One eye was swollen shut, and the other one was completely black and blue. My jaw ached non-stop, and I was fed through a straw for weeks.

Once my jaw started to heal, I was wheeled out for more surgery on my insides. The pelvic surgery had healed sufficiently so that the attack didn't undo Doctor Abrams hard work, but apparently my ovaries were damaged beyond repair, and finally had to come out.

The morning of that surgery, Polly was with me until they wheeled through the operating room doors, and she was the first thing I saw when I woke up. She knew how to be a mother, and loved doing it, even if it was to a broken, ruined fourteen- year-old child.

Constance never left the hospital or my room, unless it was accompanying me to x-ray or the OR. The White House had divvied up responsibility, and everyday different secretaries visited with a change of clothes and some personal things for Constance, because her bosses made it perfectly clear to everyone that she wasn't leaving me for any reason.