"When are you coming up?"

"I should be there by seven. I have a few things to finish up."

"Okay. I'll order dinner. Don't be late. We got some things to finish that were interrupted last night."

Jed smiled. He knew exactly what Abbey was talking about. He focused on what he was reading and didn't hear the door to the outer office open.

"Mr. President?"

He looked up to see Josh sticking his head in the door. "Yes?"

"I need to ask you a question. Do you have a minute?"

"Come on in." He put the papers down and took his glasses off. "What's on your mind?"

"Sir, I was wondering what was going on with you that we were calling Dr. Keyworth for?"

"Excuse me?"

Josh approached the President who was still sitting behind his desk. "Sir, Leo called this afternoon and asked me to call Dr. Keyworth and ask for his availability for the next few days to come to Washington. Leo said it was for you. I just needed more information before I called."

Jed stood up and came around the desk. "Josh, I think that you need to get Leo in here right now and then leave."

Josh could tell by the President's clenched jaw that he had struck some kind of nerve and that he was extremely upset. "Yes, Sir. Right away." Josh crossed over and opened Leo's door. He disappeared and Leo appeared quickly in the doorway.

"Mr. President, what is the problem?"

"Leo, please shut the door." Jed turned his back on his Chief of Staff and sat down in one of the high back chairs.

Leo sat down in the other one waiting for a response. It didn't take long.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TALKING TO JOSH ABOUT MY PERSONAL BUSINESS? AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING BRINGING STANLEY HERE TO TALK TO ME? WHO GAVE YOU THE SLIGHEST INKING THAT I NEEDED A SHRINK FOR GOD'S SAKE? HAVE YOU BEEN TALKING TO ABBEY BEHIND MY BACK?

Leo shrunk back on this onslaught from Jed. He waited until he was finished, or he thought he was finished.

"Jed…"

"RIGHT NOW, IN THIS OFFICE, YOU WILL CALL ME MR. PRESIDENT, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

"Yes, Sir."

Jed took a deep breath. And waited. After a few seconds he started again, but a lower decibel level. "I'm waiting, Leo."

"Sir, I would like to have Mrs. Bartlet down here. I think her presence would help explain the situation a little easier." Leo knew better than to use the more familiar 'Abbey'.

"MY WIFE has nothing to do with this."

"Yes, Sir. She does. Please Sir, call her,"

Jed stared at Leo for a minute, then grudgingly got up and dialed the Residence. "Abbey, can you come to the Oval please? Leo and I are having quite a discussion and he, for some reason, thinks your presence would help it along."

Leo waited while Abbey answered.

"Okay. We'll wait for you." Jed hung up the phone. He came back to the chair and sat down. "She's on her way."

The two men sat in uncomfortable silence and waited. In a few minutes the colonnade door opened and Abbey rushed in. She immediately noted the frosty air in the room and wondered what had happened. She walked over, kissed Jed on the forehead and sat down on the sofa nearest her husband. "Okay, I'm here."

Leo started. "Abbey, please tell the President what we talked about earlier this afternoon."

Abbey looked back and forth between the two men trying to guess the background of Leo's request. Unable to do so, she could only acquiesce to Leo's request. "Jed, I talked to Leo about your sleepless nights. I did not, I repeat, I DID NOT go into any details about why you haven't gotten any sleep the past three nights. I would never breach any confidence you and I have shared. Leo and I talked about what he could do to help you though this. Actually, we talked about what everyone who loved you could do to help you. He said he knew a therapist who helped Josh after Rosslyn who might be willing to come at a moment's notice and be very discreet. Nobody would know except a very small group of people and they would be sworn to secrecy. Remember that the two of us talked this morning that you couldn't go on the way you were? That you need to talk with someone about what was bothering you? Again, I didn't share with him what it was. I would never do that. All Leo wants to do is help you get better." Abbey waited to see what her husband's response would be.

Jed looked at her, then at Leo. "Why did Josh come in here to ask me what was going on with me before he called Stanley?"

"Because he's an asshole, Mr. President," Leo replied. "I told him explicitly not to mention a name but to stay vague. I wanted Josh to know that you were having a minor problem in case Stanley pressured him in some way to admit it was really him. I had hoped Stanley wouldn't ask the reason for being summoned to the White House on the spur of the moment. That he would come and ask questions later."

Jed laughed. "Yeah, Josh screwed that. Of course, that's not his first one."

"No, Sir."

Everyone waited for the next response. Jed thought over all that he had heard. These two people made a lot of sense. But the political ramifications were extreme if the word got out that he was seeing a shrink. "Leo, what if word got out that I was crazy?"

"Sir, mental health is an issue that shouldn't be in the dark. But I know in this day and age the public isn't quite ready for their leaders to have emotional issues of their own. We'll do everything in our power not to let this escape. You'll have sessions in the Residence at whatever hours you are available. I can work it out with Ron to bypass regular security. Stanley has already been vetted by the FBI and Secret Service to see Josh so that won't be an issue. We'll get him a car and driver whenever he comes to DC. If we have to, I'll get him a permanent room at my hotel so he won't have to register at a public hotel."

Jed laughed. "You think I'll have to see him that much?"

"I don't know, Sir. But as good as he is it might be beneficial to have him on retainer."

All three people in the room laughed at that remark.

Jed looked at Leo, then at Abbey. She nodded at him. "Do it, Jed. Get rid of this demon once and for all."

He paused, then nodded. "Okay Leo, do it. Make it for tomorrow night. The sooner the better."

Jed stood as did the other two. "Come on Abbey. We need to finish last night's entertainment." Without looking at his Chief of Staff, he took her hand and walked out the door.

Leo smiled. He knew exactly what was about to happen. He had interrupted too many 'entertainment nights' in the past few years.

He turned to his own office. He had a Deputy Chief of Staff to find.