There was no vision more beautiful to Abbey than the sight of that big blue and white 747 sitting on the tarmac in Perth. She was never as happy in her life as she was right then to see the words United States of America written across the fuselage. Ambassador Larkin had met all of them at the Naval Base as the ship docked and brought them to the airport.

As they departed the ship, she thanked the Captain again for their rescue and his crew's hospitality the past day and a half. He had said it had been his pleasure but actually it had been her pleasure. She and her staff had been treated royally and anything they had desired he had made sure they had. Everything of course but Jed. That was impossible. But in eighteen more hours she would be home and she could see for herself what was going on. The last conversation she had with the girls they had said Jed was stable. She had been tempted to call the neurosurgeon herself but stopped herself from doing so. She respected his schedule and the fact that the clock was opposite on that side of the world. If he was trying to get some sleep, then she wanted him rested for his patients.

Abbey almost raced up the stairs, knowing each step brought her that much closer to Washington. At the top she was met by the Chief Steward, whom she had made many trips with. "Good morning, Mrs. Bartlet. So glad to see you."

"You too, Stan. You just don't know how much." They both smiled at each other.

"The White House sent a suitcase for each of you. Yours is in the bedroom, if you want to change clothes."

'Bless Leo', Abbey thought. "Yes, I will. As soon as we take off."

"Yes, Ma'am. Just let me know if you need anything."

"Right now, I just want to go home."

"I understand, Ma'am."

Abbey turned to her left and closed the main bedroom door. She opened her suitcase and noted that whomever had packed her suitcase, it contained some of her favorite casual clothes and toiletries. "Thanks, Zoey. I owe you one."

After takeoff, she showered with her own gel and washed her hair with her own shampoo. Feeling like a new person she dressed in a pair of black slacks and a lightweight gray sweater. Finally, she rang for the steward.

Stan knocked and stuck his head in the cabin. "Yes, Ma'am?"

"I would like a cobb salad with some vinaigrette dressing. And could you find me some cubed American cheese to nibble on?"

"Yes, Ma'am. It'll just be a few minutes."

Abbey walked over to the small bar and poured herself a glass of red wine. It was morning in Perth, but she didn't care. Her internal clock was so messed up it would take days to realign it. All she knew it was evening in Washington and time to contact the girls to see how Jed was doing.

By the time she had finished her salad it was ten pm in Washington. She picked up the phone in the cabin and asked the Communications desk to be connected to Liz's phone. One perk on this plane was that she didn't have to use her personal device.

It rang a couple of times without an answer, which confused her. Obviously, Liz would see the official White House caller ID and know it was her mother calling. After no answer, she tried to reach Ellie, then Zoey with the same result. Getting worried, she had the desk try one more number. This time, after three rings, the owner of the phone picked up.

Leo took one look at the caller ID and stepped away from the group as Doctor Wilson was explaining the results of the President's surgery. All of them had heard their phones ringing, but had chosen to ignore it while the Doctor was giving them the much-awaited news.

"Hello, Abbey."

"Leo, what's going on?"

"Abbey, they had to take Jed back to the OR a couple of hours ago."

Her heart sank as he delivered the news that she didn't want to hear. "What happened, Leo? How bad?"

"His brain started swelling and the medication that they were giving him couldn't stop it, so they had to go in and relieve the pressure through surgery. He's back in the ICU and stable. The doctor's in here now telling all of us what's going on. That's why the girls didn't answer their phones. Are you on the plane?"

"Yeah. We took off several hours ago. I can't wait to get home. Are you going to meet me at Andrews?"

"I'll do my best. Depends on what's happening with Russell. You probably know we had to swear him in."

"Yeah. I saw his first press conference. Kind of hard to see it, but I understand it had to be done. Leo?"

"Yes, Abbey?"

"Are you telling me the truth about Jed?"

"I swear, Abbey. I haven't seen him but the doctors are more hopeful. He's still on a ventilator but they hope they can remove it sometime in the morning. And then they just have to wait until he wakes up to assess his neurological status. They don't think the clots were pressing the brain long enough to do any damage but as you know, the brain is very sensitive. We can only wait."

"I know." She paused and took a deep breath. "Okay. Can I speak to the girls?"

"Sure. I'll get them. Abbey, just get home."

"I will, Leo. Just as fast as I can."

"Abbey, I need to leave. Call back and talk to the girls. The doctor has left and they really need to hear to hear your voice. I'll let you know about picking you up. Okay?"

"Okay, Leo. Keep in touch."

"I will. Bye."

Leo turned off his phone. "Girls, that was your mom. She'll call you in just a minute. I'll see you tomorrow. Call me tonight if there any changes."

"Bye, Leo. Thanks for coming."

Leo returned to his hotel room, determined to return to a normal schedule. He hoped life would life let him.