Joe was still leaning across the bed, holding her hands, speaking softly when the doctors returned.
'Let me put your mask back on honey', he said, reaching out to settle the loop back around her ear.
'No, wait', she stopped him.
He cocked his head a little to the side, giving her every ounce of his attention. 'Joe, I'm scared', she said quietly.
He gently gripped her hands. 'I know you are babe, but I'll be here. I promise I won't let anything happen', he said, dropping a sweet kiss on her lips. He pulled back a small bit 'and if it gets too much the docs can put you asleep, ok?' he said, taking the opportunity to explain the options now while she was calm. 'Honestly', he said, grasping the moment, 'you're going to have to stay as still as you can my love, we don't want anything happening to your beautiful eyes' he explained, his voice sincere. 'I won't lie to you Jilly, it's gonna be difficult, especially that one', he said, indicating the bump visible on her eyelid.
Wondering silently to himself how the hell they thought they'd ever get that one off without movement. Nobody could stay still in that scenario, especially someone afraid of needles.
'But let's just take it step by step ok' he said quietly, kissing her one last time before replacing both their masks. A deep and beautiful kiss, full of love and strength and partnership. The moment was so intimate the doctors in unison turned away from the couple, giving them at least the sense of privacy in a tightly packed space. The ping of the ECG alarm was quickly quieted by the technician. The rate spiked until the president sat back a little and placed his hand across her chest. In that moment, under his touch, the patient's heart seemed to settle back into its natural rhythm.
It was time now to begin to execute the plan Joe and Dr. O'Connor had discussed. Job one, get the cannula into her hand in case they did need to put her under quickly. Joe stayed where he was but turned his head slightly, catching the Doctors eye he nodded almost imperceptibly. He leaned over his wife again, began talking to her quietly while also aware of what was happening behind him.
In the reflection of the glass window he could see the needle in the doctor's hand.
'The secret service aren't too happy about the elevator incident in the palace in Mexico City' he said, referring to their trip together last week. 'I overheard a rather spicy conversation between our security team and theirs', he said, mimicking the conversation and actions, causing her to laugh so much she never even realized the needle was in and that the instrument trays were all brought closer.
'I think we should protect your hair babe', he said, reaching for the light mesh covering the nurse had left, ready for the moment. In an instant he had her sitting up just enough to deftly gather her hair in one hand and fix it in place. The soft scrunchie he had on his wrist, hidden under his sleeve since early morning, was easy to fix in place. He was grateful now he had insisted on her teaching him how to do Ashley's hair for school all those years ago.
'It'll just be easier to brush it out later, stop it getting tangled, if we tie it up now', he said, covering for the real reason which was to keep it from contaminating the open wounds on her face the doctors would soon be dealing with.
'I'm gonna have to move a little now' he explained. 'They're gonna work on the one on your chest first ok, so I'll move over here to his side', he said moving to her right, still holding her hands.
The procedure took some time but it was manageable. The murmur of conversation as the doctors instructed the nurse, the technician, checked vitals, checked in with Jill, was a constant. Their own conversation; his and Jill's was rambling and mostly quiet, at times raucous when he needed to distract her. Their own little protective bubble worked so well she never even realized the needles and scalpels had been so busy.
