Houston after the 4th of July

Leo is at the Santos'. He and Matt are in the backyard. Helen and the kids are leaving with Helen's parents to go to a party at the neighbor's house.

Helen: "It was good to see you, Leo."

Leo: "You too, Helen. Enjoy the party."

Helen: "Yeah, nothing like bringing an entire SWAT team with you to say 'Happy birthday!' to a ten year old."

Leo: "The kids don't notice after a little while."

Helen: "I guess I wish I was a kid, then."

Helen squeezes Matt's hand. "See you later."

Leo and Matt watch Helen walk back into the house. They sit down on the Santos' patio.

Leo: "Helen's struggling with this life."

Matt: "Yeah."

Leo: "I need you to talk to me, Matt"

Matt: (sits back in his chair and rubs his face) "I don't know what to tell you, Leo. It's good to see you, but it's also hard to see you. The last time we saw each other…not a time I am proud of."

Leo: "I'm still struggling with it too."

Matt: "I knew this was going to be hard, but I feel like I'm drowning. And the night I showed up at yours. You have to believe that I came there for you. I had no idea you were out of the country or that Annabeth would be there."

Leo: "Why did you come looking for me?"

Matt: (stands up and looks into his yard, away from Leo) "Who the hell else can I talk to, Leo? There are, what, 42 other men in the world who know what it is like to be me, and most of them are dead."

Leo: "You started drinking?"

Matt: "No. I mean, yes, the night I ended up at your house. But, no, not regularly."

Leo: "Ok"

Matt: "I talked to Annabeth."

Leo: "Yeah, she told me."

Matt: "She wanted to forget it."

Leo: "Yeah."

Matt: "I felt like a monster, Leo. I woke up the next morning and I couldn't…I went to shave and I looked in the mirror and my lip was busted and I just…I couldn't believe it was me."

Leo: "I wanted to do much more than bust your lip."

Matt: "Yeah. I deserved much more. Is Annabeth really ok?"

Leo: "I think so."

Matt: (sits back down) "What the hell do I do, Leo? How do I…how do I not totally lose myself in all of this?"

Leo: "What's the hardest part?"

Matt: "The isolation. I can do the job. I can be a good President. But, a good man? A good husband? It feels like it's…like I'm shouting at my real life from inside a locked cockpit."

Leo: "Your Chief of Staff is meant to be your lifeline, Matt. He's meant to be your connection back to your life before all of this. He pushes you forward as President and he pulls you back as a man. You chose Josh. Use him."

Matt: "Josh…he's…uncertain."

Leo: "You both are. But, if you lean on each other, you get steadier. Josh is a good guy. It's why you chose him. Yeah, he gets in his own head too much, but he wants to be your guy. And if you let him in, if you make him your guy, he'd walk through fire for you."

Matt: "He's never been married, Leo. I can't talk to him about…"

Leo: "So don't. Talk to Helen about that."

Matt looks at Leo.

Leo: "Talk to Josh about everything you need to leave behind in the Oval. And talk to Helen about everything else. She didn't fall in love with you as President. You guys share a lot more than that."

Matt: "You make it sound easy, Leo."

Leo: "It's not easy. But, did you really think being the leader of the free world was going to be easy?"

Matt: "Why'd you get divorced, Leo?"

Leo: "It wasn't my idea."

Matt: "Why'd Jenny leave you?"

Leo: "Because she deserved better."

Matt: "So, she made the right decision. Leaving you."

Leo: "Yes."

Matt: "Do you think if she had been different it would have worked, or was it really all you?"

Leo: "I think I chose someone I could be absent from. I didn't see that until later. But, that was not Jenny's fault."

Matt: "I don't want to be absent from Helen."

Leo: "So then don't be."

Matt: "Yeah."

Leo: "I gotta ask, Matt. Does any of this have to do with our situation? The campaign and the deal?"

Matt: (laughs) "You worried I'm cracking up? A danger to the deal?"

Leo: "Maybe"

Matt: "No, Leo. My issues right now are firmly rooted on the home front. I've got no qualms about what we did. You were my running mate, and we told America what Matt Santos would do as President. And I am going to do those things. I've got no regrets about beating Arnie Vinick and taking America in a better direction."

Leo: "Good."

Matt: "I've been falling, Leo, but I'm going to get back up."