Chapter 11

The days blended together while my body knitted itself back into one piece. True to her word, Fran reported that the prosecutors recommended life without parole for all Outpost members, and the Federal Judges imposed the death penalty across the board. The entire group was moved to Indiana to take up residence on death row, awaiting their mandatory appeals. Included in that group was my attacker, who had an additional death sentenced imposed for the murder of a White House employee and another life without parole, to be served consecutively, for attempted murder.

The doctors finally cleared me for physical activity, and therapy began on the thirtieth day.

It didn't go well.

"Angela??? Angela?? Angela? Can you hear me, Angela?"

My eyes opened and I was laying on the floor with my right leg underneath me. Where I was and how I got there was a complete mystery, but I chalked that up to passing out from the pain that overwhelmed me when I tried to lift myself up out of the wheelchair and walk with the aid of the parallel bars.

Renata and Rodney had me by the arms, and once it was determined that I wasn't about to stroke out, they lifted me to my feet and helped me back into my chair. Another Secret Service Agent called Polly, and I could hear her from across the room, demanding to speak to Renata.

Renata relinquished her hold on me, when – and only when – I was safely back in my chair, and took the proffered phone. "Mrs. Dryden? Yes Ma'am. Angela didn't take to physical therapy as well as the doctor hoped, and she swooned on us. She is fine, sitting up in her chair, and being attended to, but everything looks Ok. She just got woozy on us without warning.

"Yes ma'am ... Yes ma'am ... No ma'am ... The doctor is here now ... Yes ma'am. I will have him phone you the moment he is satisfied that nothing more than a little lightheadedness occurred here ... Yes ma'am ... I will ... Absolutely ... Thank you ... I will ... Of course, ma'am. Here she is now..." And she handed me the phone.

"Hello..."

"Angela, what happened?" Polly sounded like she was about to hop a chopper to the hospital and tear someone a new body opening.

"I thought I was stronger than I was, and against the advice of my therapists, I grabbed the parallel bars and pulled myself up to walk. When I did, I ended up on my behind, because my head swam like my brain thought I was Michael Phelps. Don't worry. I feel fine now, and learned that I am not the Iron Lady." I laughed to sell it, and Polly bit hard.

"You, young lady, need to slow down, be more careful, and refrain from scaring my hair white before my time..." I was pretty sure her hair was colored, or it would already be gray, but who's counting.

I thanked her for caring, and told her I looked forward to getting out and coming back to the White House. Polly made me promise to take it slow and do what I was told. We both got what we wanted. Polly had me to fuss over, and I had someone who wanted to fuss over me. It was the perfect arrangement.

When she and Hawk came in after supper that night, I was showered, fed, sitting up in a clean bed, and the owner of some very good news. "They say I can get out tomorrow!" I nearly giggled.

Polly lit up, and Hawk smiled like he really did want me back in the residence. "Are you sure? What kinds of limitations are they putting on you? Does anything still hurt? Are you all recovered from fainting earlier today?" Polly hit me rapid fire, so I was pretty sure she wasn't expecting answers.

Hawk was.

"What do you mean Angela passed out today?"

Uhh-ohhh - Someone was going to get bawled out.

Polly stepped into the breech. "Angela tried to do too much when they cleared her for physical therapy today. She, let's see if I have the right phrase, our Angela 'swooned' on them, and Renata called immediately to let me know everything was fine. And I spoke to Angela, and she explained the circumstances. It was her first time on her feet, and she tried to pretend everything was just like before she was ... injured." Apparently Polly wasn't about to use the word 'attacked.'

Hawk looked at me with an expression of respect and said, "You wanted to be all the way better to impress us with your determination and drive, didn't you?" He smiled and continued. "Angela, we are happy with you exactly as you are. Let yourself heal up. Don't over-do it, trying too soon to be what you were. We want you home with us. God knows, I feel like starting a war every time I think about that man hurting you, but you have to get well to be well. So get well, but don't hurt yourself hurrying.

"That's my advice. Now hug me and let me go get some sleep. If we are bringing you home tomorrow, I need to be up early and plow through my day, so I can be here to pick up my daughter and take her home!"

Polly wiped tears out of her eyes, and I hugged them both.

So be it. In this life, I was the adopted daughter of Hamilton and Polly Dryden. Come hell or high water, that was what I intended to be.

Polly kissed me a second time, held my hands, and asked, "Did the doctors say when they want to clean up your facial injuries? I hope they don't wait too long..." Hawk dragged her out, and as they turned the corner, she blew me a kiss.

Constance appeared almost as soon as the elevator doors would have had time to close behind them, and saw that I was emotional. Instead of talking, she climbed up into bed with me, and held me while I thought about the people I'd lost and the roads I'd traveled, that brought me to Bethesda Naval Medical Center and the Dryden family.

"Angela, we still need to reduce the swelling around your eyes before we can fix the damage, but you are making remarkable progress. Just don't sit in the front seat of any vehicle with an air bag. If you got hit with one as it deployed, instead of relying on a seat belt right now, you would do a lot of damage that we might not be able to fix.

"Your eye socket is fine, as are your cheek bones, but the rest of the damage needs attention. We'll get it all taken care of quickly, and you won't be able to tell by looking that anything happened. Such is the advantage of young skin and bones."

The doctors crowded around me, as I got ready to exit the hospital and head back to the White House. Polly was beside me, clucking like a mother hen, and Hawk was speaking with the Secretary of State about something that did not sound important.

Listening to Hawk going over what he expected the Sultan of Brunei to decided, made me want back in the game, and I figured it was worth a shot. On the way to Marine One, I said, "Would there be any way that I could work in the White House for you, while my face gets fixed?"

Polly took a deep breath and started to object, but Hawk beat it to her and asked, "What do you have in mind, little one?"

I had to sell this very carefully, so I said, "Let's be honest, I look like a movie monster, and it will be a long time before it gets any better, but the people who work for you won't make me feel like a monster, because you'd fire them. Right?

"Well, if I had a job, then I could be around people, but not people who will make fun of me, hurt my feelings, or make me want to dig a hole and pull it in over top of me, and I could be doing something to help ... you ... Dad."

That clinched it, as I thought it might. Hawk turned to Polly and said, "You find out who is saying ugly things about our daughter and when you do, I will fire them so fast they won't know what hit them. Put the fear of you so deep in everyone else that they wouldn't DARE insult our child after what she's been through.

"I don't care who it is, or how high up in the government they are. Anyone that is making our Angela feel ... THAT WAY, is going to answer to me, so find out and tell me." He was nearly shaking. I had hit the right nerve, but way too hard.

"People think it's easy to do the things that Angela has had to do, and face the things she's had to face, and then she has to be mocked after what happened right under our nose in the Residence?

"Polly, find out and make sure that I find out, and there will be HELL to pay..." he held me tightly against him as the car stopped beside his helicopter. "Angela, sweetheart. Nobody will ever make an unkind comment about you ... ever again ... That is my promise to you.

"Now smile for the cameras. We made sure that the White House photographer can't get any closer to you than he is right now, and he knows how to frame the shot so your injuries don't show..." Then Polly hoped out of the car, stalked straight up to the photographer and loudly explained how it was going to be.