Page 82 of State of the Union (First Family 3)

“I’ll try not to. Just hold on to me. I’ll be right there with you through it all.”

“You’ve got your security briefing.”

“Only because that briefing can’t be done just anywhere, I’ll go to the White House while you’re in surgery and be back by the time you’re out. You won’t even miss me.”

“Yes, I will.”

Anderson returned with a nurse he introduced as Mindy. “She’ll be setting up your IV and getting you ready for surgery. And yes, I warned her about you.”

“I’m not worried,” Mindy said with a peppy smile that had Sam gritting her teeth, even as she appreciated that Mindy didn’t freak out the way people normally did when encountering the first couple. “What happened there?” She pointed to Sam’s upper arm.

“Oh, I got shot right before Christmas. The stitches come out in six days.”

“You’re having a week!”

“I’m giving you ten punches on your frequent-flier card for the busted hip,” Anderson said.

“Go away,” Sam said. “You’re enjoying this too much.”

“Nah, not really,” he said, chuckling. “We’re all better off when you’re out catching killers.”

“Exactly! That’s why I don’t have time for this.”

“Trevor has a statement ready to go out to the media,” Nick said. “What do you think?” He handed her his phone.

First Lady Samantha Cappuano slipped on ice yesterday afternoon, fell and fractured her right hip. She’s undergoing surgery this afternoon at the George Washington University Hospital and is expected to make a full recovery within four to six weeks. The first couple asks for privacy as the first lady recovers.

“Is that okay?”

“No, but I guess you can release it. People will find out soon enough that I’m a klutz with a busted ass.”

Mindy giggled.

“Don’t repeat that,” Sam said.

“My lips are sealed, ma’am.”

“And don’t call me ma’am. My name is Sam.”

“Sam, I need to start an IV. Have you had one before?”

“Unfortunately, yes, and I hate them.”

“We’ll do it in your hand, and I’ll numb it up for you. You shouldn’t feel a thing.”

True to her word, Sam didn’t feel a thing, and thank goodness for that, because needles freaked her out on the best of days, and this was certainly not the best of days.

“Have you had surgery before, Sam?” Mindy asked.

“Nothing like this. Just a few unpleasant fertility procedures that didn’t work.”

“They’ll ask you a hundred times which hip they’re operating on, so be ready for that. It’s how we keep mistakes from happening.”

“What kind of mistakes?”

“Like operating on the wrong hip.”

“That happens?”

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