The President's Men


December 22

7.42 am

The Rotunda of the United States Capitol

"Mrs. Bartlet?" Donna asked hesitantly.

The woman, looking quite older than she was, turned to face Donna and a smile lit up her face. That smile made the years melt away.

"Donna, honey, what are you doing here?" Abbey asked.

"The President asked me to look out for the VIPs who are coming to pay their tribute," Donna explained.

"I've heard you made Deputy Chief of Staff. Congratulations," Abbey said and then shook Donna's hand.

"Thank you, ma'am," Donna said touched, she would have never thought that Abbey was interested in her career.

"Don't look surprised, honey. I've never told anyone what his last words were but I'll tell you," Abbey said, tears appearing in her eyes. Donna's eyes became moist almost immediately. She had already been crying this morning, the memories of 'her' president lying in state only a year ago brought tears to her eyes. "He asked me to look out for his family too," Abbey told Donna, almost choking on her words.

"I'll treasure his words, ma'am," Donna said, and Abbey hugged her.

"Mom?" Zoey asked, and Abbey slowly let go off Donna.

"Zoey Patricia Bartlet, what are you doing here?" she asked her daughter and threw an unfathomable look at Charlie who stood next to Zoey and held a little girl in his arms.

"I remember telling you that I was coming," Zoey said, squeezing Charlie's hand.

"And I remember telling you not to come," Abbey retorted but then hugged her daughter. "I just wanted to spare you the memories, precious," she whispered.

"The memories don't go away, no matter if I'm here or at home," Zoey whispered back.

"Look at you, Hannah!" Abbey then turned to her granddaughter. "You are a little princess, you know that, right?" she cooed to the little girl who then reached out, indicating that she wanted to be held by her grandmother.

"Oh, she knows that, her daddy never fails to tell her," Zoey said pouting.

"And I told you you were my queen," Charlie whispered to her and then gently caressed her belly.

"How are you, Zoey?" Donna asked the younger woman.

"Considering that I'm the size of a baby whale, I'm fine," Zoey said, making Donna smile. "How are Josh and Leo?"

"Leo has the flu, my mother-in-law is with him. Josh is at Georgetown, he had a meeting with the dean," she added.

"Is he okay?" Zoey asked concerned. She and Josh were always close, but they even became closer when Hannah was born, Josh being the one driving Zoey to the clinic when her water broke.

"Yes, he is okay. He told me you phoned him but he forgot to call back," Donna said apologetically.

"Yeah, Charlie already told me that. I was a bit worried," Zoey confessed.

"He is okay," Donna reassured the younger woman. "Sorry, I have to go," she mouthed and then hurried away.

"She is so pigheaded," Zoey said, referring to Donna.

"Pigheady," Hannah repeated, making Abbey and Charlie chuckle. She then reached out her hand to Charlie and her father took her back from his mother-in-law. Abbey spotted Mrs. Marino then and she too went away.

"That's just great!" Zoey cried out indignantly. "My daughter doesn't even know what the difference between the words Daddy and Mommy is and her third word is 'pigheaded'."

"Pigheady," Hannah repeated, this time with her thumb in her mouth and in this moment Charlie decided to whisk his daughter off to safety.

"Fine, leave me alone," Zoey told to no one in particular as Charlie already left with their daughter.

"Zoey? Is everything alright?" Ainsley asked, touching the younger woman's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm peachy," Zoey told her brusque but then almost immediately regretted the way she said it. "Sorry, Ainsley, it's just…" she said and then gestured around.

"Your memories, your pregnancy and your husband," Ainsley summed up the situation.

"Exactly," Zoey said, letting out a long sigh. "How did you know?"

"Let that be my secret," Ainsley told her with a wink. "Come on, I would like you to talk to Claudia."

"Is she alright?" Zoey asked worried.

"No need to worry, but I thought the two of you should meet," Ainsley said as they approached Sam's daughter who was standing around with one of her bodyguards.

"She is so small," Zoey whispered and then she sent a smile towards the young girl. Claudia returned the gesture hesitantly.

"Claudia, I would like you to meet Zoey," Ainsley said when they reached Sam's daughter. "She was a First Daughter too," she added then.

Claudia's face lit up and then shook Zoey's outstretched hand.


December 22

7.42 pm

The East Room

"Look at that hat!" Jessie whispered to Donna. Both of them were standing near the door in their black gowns.

"Shh! Someone might hear us," Donna shushed Jessie.

"Forget the hat, look at those shoes," Jessie said in a whisper, referring to the Crown Princess' shoes.

The East Room held the official funeral reception for the royal and state guests and Sam asked Donna and Jessie to be on the lookout if any of the guests needed something.

"They don't need us," Donna complained ten minutes later. "I should be at home with Leo."

"Come on, Donna, what would I do without you?" Jessie asked her.

"Probably squealing over every hat and shoe you find interesting," Donna murmured. "Sorry, that was mean. I just really want to be home," she added wishfully.

"Should I ask the President…?" Jessie offered.

"Don't you dare, Jessie Parish!" Donna hissed to her and smiled a little when Ainsley looked at her while she was leaning over to Sam.

"Honey, maybe you should let Donna go home," the First Lady-to-be whispered.

"I might need her," Sam explained.

"You have me. Jessie and Will are also here. Let her go home," Ainsley said, looking into his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked then.

"Nothing is wrong. Leo has the flu and Mrs. Lyman is there, probably Josh too, but she is his mother, honey," Ainsley explained, speaking really fast.

"Okay. I can't go to her, it would draw too much attention to her when she leaves," Sam pondered and then waved Jessie to her.

"Yes, sir?" Jessie asked, flashing a little smile at Ainsley.

"Tell Donna that she should head home," Sam told her and was rewarded with one of Jessie's biggest smiles.

"Thank you, sir, I'll tell her," Jessie said and Sam and Ainsley were looking after her as she approached Donna.

Donna's and Sam's eyes found each other while Jessie told Donna what the President said. Donna mouthed 'Thank you' to Sam and Sam nodded, acknowledging her services. He then turned back to Ainsley, while seeing from the corner of his eye that Donna turned and left the room.

"Let's marry," he suggested to his fiancée.

"What? Right now?" Ainsley asked mockingly.

"Yeah. We have the guests, they wouldn't be required to come again," Sam explained.

"Sam…" Ainsley said, playfully slapping his arm.

"Okay, not right now. How about tomorrow?" Sam inquired.

"The funeral is tomorrow," Ainsley reminded him.

"Okay, day after tomorrow," Sam pressed on.

"That's Christmas Eve," Ainsley pointed out.

"We would marry in the morning," Sam retorted with a boyish grin. "How would I be able to persuade you into marrying me the day after tomorrow?"

"Well, fly in my sister and my brother plus my maid of honor, and then we are good to go," Ainsley said and knew that Sam wouldn't be able to do it for the day after tomorrow. Her maid of honor was on a diplomatic mission in Africa. "But I would like you to invite our friends for the 25th."

"By our friends you mean…?" Sam asked back.

"The Lymans, the Zieglers, the Youngs and your other senior staff. And don't forget to invite Margaret," she added hastily.

"Margaret?" Sam asked back.

"Margaret, your executive secretary," Ainsley clarified. "She is an odd woman, so we are good friends."

"I didn't even know you two ever spoke to each other," Sam said quite perplexed.

"Well, honey, what did you think with whom did I plan your last birthday?" Ainsley asked mockingly. "She was your exec as a Vice President, I knew I could count on her," she added with a grin. "She is great with the details."

"I know, that's why I made Will replace Mrs. Kellerman," Sam told her proudly.

"To tell the truth, she was a bit cold to me," Ainsley confessed.

"Really?" Sam asked, sounding a bit angry. "I should have sent her to Siberia or probably Kazakhstan," he muttered then.

"Where is she now?" Ainsley asked, another grin appearing in the corner of her mouth.

"Governor of Hawaii's office," Sam imparted. "She was more than happy to go."

TBC