Leo calls Jed after leaving Matt and Helen's house

Jed: "You in Houston?"

Leo: "Yeah, just left the house. Headed to the airport."

Jed: "How'd it go?"

Leo: "I'm less worried than I was."

Jed: "And Annabeth?"

Leo: "She seems fine. But, c'mon, the President tries to take advantage of you. How fine can you be?"

Jed: "She's tough, but yeah. And how about you?"

Leo: "I could have killed him, Jed. When I saw him in the kitchen."

Jed: "Yeah."

Leo: "But, how many things have I done that I wish to God someone could erase from memory?"

Jed: "Not like this."

Leo: "No."

Jed: "But you think he pulls up?"

Leo: "I do."

Jed: "Ok."

Leo: "There are days, Jed, and this is one of them when I wonder what we let the world do to us. How many conversations have you and I had over the years, parsing shitty behavior and trying to contain the damage?"

Jed: "The world doesn't do that to us, Leo. That's on us."

Leo: "And that's worse."

Jed: "You ever met a saint, Leo? I haven't. We wait around for perfect men and we're going to be waiting a long time."

Leo and Annabeth are home that night

They're sitting on Leo's patio. Annabeth has her legs extended into Leo's lap.

Leo: "I thought starting a new thing, you know, outside of the White House or D.C. in general would get me out of feeling like I needed to take a shower after conversations."

Annabeth: "Do you think there's any place in the world that isn't a moral gray zone?"

Leo: "Right here. With you."

Annabeth: (smiles) "A politician's answer."

Leo: "You don't think I mean it?"

Annabeth: "I think we are complex and flawed. I think that's the necessary outcome of being human."

Leo: "And so what? That means there's no way to be good?"

Annabeth: "Of course there is. We just don't always take it. C'mon Leo, you of all people know this."

Leo: "I just…I'm down in Houston, Annabeth, counseling a guy who hurt you."

Annabeth: "He didn't hurt me, Leo. He scared me. And there's no excuse for what he did, but it's not the totality of Matt Santos' story."

Leo: "You think he's a decent guy?"

Annabeth: "I think he's like the rest of us. And I think you know that, but you also want me to know you're not okay with what he did and that's what this conversation is about."

Leo: "I'm not okay with what he did."

Annabeth: "Neither am I. And nor was I okay when Josh called me into his office like I was an errant schoolgirl and he was the headmaster."

Leo: "But?"

Annabeth: "But you are a guy who drank too much and swallowed too many pills and hurt people close to you. And I am a woman who runs from her sick mother and lets other people deal with it. And Dr. Abbey Bartlet conspired with her husband to conceal a serious medical condition. We aren't the sum of our worst decisions, Leo."

Leo: "I wouldn't mind if more people were the sum of their good ones."

Annabeth stands up and pulls Leo out of his chair. "It's late. Let's go to bed."

Leo: "Yeah."

Holding hands, they start to walk into the house. Annabeth stops them. She steps in front of Leo.

Annabeth: "I love you, Leo McGarry. I need you to know that."

Stunned, Leo just stands there.

Annabeth: "If I'm going to make it through this complex, flawed world with anybody, it's you."

Leo starts to say something, and Annabeth stops him.

Annabeth: "You don't need to say anything. I always think that if someone says 'I love you' right back it's because it's the only thing they can say. If you love me too, that's good." She smiles. "But, tell me some other time."