Jed looked out from the front porch of the farmhouse on Saturday morning, taking in the country sights. It always refreshed his mind to come here from Washington, even for only two nights, to clear away the cobwebs. As his Presidency has gone on, the visits have gotten fewer and fewer so he valued every chance he got.

"Jed, coming to breakfast?"

"Yes. Just breathing in fresh air." He turned and went into the kitchen where, in spite of his diet restrictions in the White House, Abbey had cooked eggs, bacon, oatmeal and toast this particular morning. He grinned when he saw the bacon.

"Any special occasion for the pork?"

"Nope. Just thought I would surprise you."

"Well, you did. And thanks." He sat down and started to fill his plate. Abbey refilled his coffee and sat down across from him.

"Liz said they would be here about 10. Since Annie left the hospital yesterday morning, Liz said she has been kind of nervous talking about the incident. She hasn't said much about it to her parents so I don't know how much we'll get out of her."

"I can understand that. I guess she thinks she will be punished for all the drinking she did. Personally I think Steve's parents ought to be charged with providing alcohol to minors and accessory to a death, but I'm not an attorney so I'm going to keep my mouth shut about that. But they're damn lucky only one child died." Jed bit down on his second strip of bacon, savoring the flavor as long as he could.

"Annie is very lucky not to have died as well. That blood alcohol level could have killed an adult, nonetheless a fourteen year-old. If she had gone into respiratory arrest at the house, we would have been attending a funeral today, not having her come over to talk with us."

"Don't remind me."

"By the way, what are you going to talk to her about?"

"I really don't know except that she's not responsible for any actions or policies that I make as President. I want her to understand that I love her as her grandfather and the two roles are very separate. And talk to her about maybe getting some help from the school to stop this harassment. That's why I want you and Liz to be a part of this. You both should be familiar of the type of help the school provides. Counseling, the principal, something or someone that can intervene and stop this mess. And I want to start something on a national basis to help kids across the country who are experiencing this crap on a daily basis."

"Jed, you know something?"

"What?"

"I love you." She leaned over and gave him a light kiss on the lips.

He grinned. "I hope so. You're stuck with me."

After helping with the dishes, Jed called Leo to check in.

"Anything going on?"

"No, Sir. The world is calm. How about your household?"

"Unknown at this time. Liz and Annie are coming over soon and we'll talk. Liz said Annie has been nervous since her discharge yesterday. I guess she thinks she's going to be punished, but Abbey and I believe she's already been punished enough. But we're not her parents. Her punishment, if any is to be given out, is up to Liz and Doug. I just think the trauma of almost dying is a sufficient lesson that she won't soon forget but hey, again, we are not her parents. We'll just see what happens. Leo, what is going on in the minds of kids these days? I mean just the idea of these older kids bringing alcohol into a party where they knew most of the guests were way under the drinking age is outrageous. And this boy's parents leaving their fourteen year old son alone at home for the night, knowing full well he was having a party, is just unbelievable. Abbey and I would have never done such a thing."

"Me neither, Sir. But times are a little looser now."

"I still think the parents share responsibility for the outcomes of this disaster. I guess I am old fashioned but I believe there are still rules one should follow, even at age 14 or 15. To have free rein like they apparently gave their son is just unbelievable."

Leo just remained quiet. He knew the President was on one of his tangents that there was really no good answer to it, so he didn't even try. He understood Jed's anger and frustration. He shared it as a father as well, but luckily had never experienced any situation where Mallory had been placed in any kind of danger due to the negative actions of another parent or child. And he knew now how lucky he had been.

"Have a good weekend, Mr. President. I'll call you if I need you."

"Thanks Leo. Bye."