46 tests positive

Telling Jill

He fixed his mask and made his way to his private office. It was more secure and no one would disturb him while he was on a call in here. He sat heavily in the leather chair and paused a moment before reaching for the phone. He sighed. His basic instinct was to turn to Jill. He smiled as he thought about how she would go into full care mode. She would reassure him that everything would be fine. He'd be fine because she'd look after him. They'd soldier on together like they did every time one of them was sick. Thankfully that was a rare occurrence. He thought back to the last time one of them was unwell. Jill had a nasty cold in the January before the campaign launched and, although not really unwell just feeling miserable, they had holed up at home together for three blessed days. It was freezing outside and they had told the kids that they shouldn't visit, using the excuse that it wasn't safe to travel. Joe had piled up firewood inside and had kept the fire blazing for three days and nights, he'd fetched and carried everything Jill could possibly need from a glass of water to her books to read, to extra blankets, her medicine, her phone, he even took over the kitchen. They ordered food for Joe to collect and he'd served it to her fixing the take out on plates so she could hold it on her lap on the comfy sofa he had moved closer to the fire for her. They enjoyed long lazy mornings in bed together, chatting and drinking coffee and sharing the newspaper.

It made him think of when he'd had surgery on his shoulder and she'd done everything for him, helped him shower and dress, cut his food for him, carry anything he needed, changed his dressing, she had even helped him in the gym when he had physio to do. He thought back to when she had her arm in plaster when he was VP. Those had been really special days. Once the shock of the accident had worn off he had thoroughly enjoyed looking after her. At that time he used to be up at 6.45 every morning but while she was in plaster he'd set his alarm for an hour earlier to help wash her hair and dress. He learned so much about what colors to put together, what shoes and accessories to put with her dresses, and more importantly what didn't work together. He'd been so proud when she had let him wash and style her hair, she'd even let him use the curling tongs and her hair straightener and he'd managed to do a decent enough job. And as for the way she had cared for him when he'd been so sick with the aneurysms all those years ago. She'd been absolutely marvelous. That day when he'd first woken up from the surgery and felt her hand in his he knew she would be there for him through every single torturous step of his long recovery and it had calmed him immediately. He'd never once doubted her. The fact that Jill still choked up whenever that subject came up was a testament to how much she had feared for him, and how deeply she loved him.

He made a conscious effort to stop this line of thought. All it was doing was just making his next call so much harder. Anytime he was ever sick in the past fifty years she was there with her love, patience, and kindness, her reassurance and, he smiled sadly, her chicken soup. Whenever he was sick she'd make all of his favorites for him, pasta and brownies and her fabulous garlic bread, mix drinks for him, and take special care over how she made his coffee.  His eyes filled with sudden tears. All he wanted was Jill, all he ever wanted was Jill and now when it finally happened, when the damn positive test came through after all of the precautions they'd taken for the past two and a half years, all the sacrifices, all the time spent together during lockdowns, now he had to ring her while she was a thousand miles away and tell her to keep away, tell her she couldn't even come back to the White House.

He thought back to the earlier conversation among senior staff. Karrine had been adamant. 'As soon as you've finished your call with the First Lady I'm your first call, sir. We need to get the news out. This cannot come from any other source but directly from us', she had stated firmly. 'The more people know the higher the chance of this leaking. You have to tell her before she leaves the hotel, anywhere else and people will guess something is wrong from her reaction', she said.