"Abbey, are you awake?"

"Yeah. You're twisting and turning so much I haven't been able to get to sleep."

"I'm still thinking about my conversation with Annie today. She seemed so young and fragile."

"Jed, that's how kids are at that age. Don't you remember how the girls were at that age?" Abbey rolled over to face her husband. The moonlight through the curtains highlighted his profile.

"Not really. I guess I was so busy with Congress that I didn't realize what they were going through at that age. She was so sorry about all the drinking. I think she really learned her lesson and I hope that Liz and Doug don't punish her anymore."

"While you were talking with Annie, Liz and I also had a long talk. She and Doug have agreed that Annie seems to have learned her lesson and won't give her any additional punishment. Of course, scaring the shit out of someone is a hard way to learn a lesson, but it seemed to have worked in this case."

"I'm glad to hear that. Annie deserves our support now."

"Liz also said that she and Doug are thinking about suing Steve's parents for the remaining costs of Annie's hospital bill. They believe his parents were negligent in not supervising their son who allowed alcohol to be brought in, which was then served to minors. She understands that the parents of the boy that died will be filing a wrongful death suit against Steve's parents for the same thing. And several parents of the other children who were hospitalized are also thinking of filing suit."

"Good. They deserve it."

"I agree."

"Abbey?"

"Yeah?"

"You know I told you at breakfast I want to do something on a national basis to help other children who are bullied find some justice and peace."

"Yeah."

Jed turned to face Abbey. "Do you think Annie would testify about her experiences before a Commission that's being set up to explore the problem? Would Liz and Doug allow her to do so? You know the kind of problems and publicity that would come with it. And the special issues that would come with her being the President's granddaughter."

"Oh God, Jed. I have no clue. When would this take place?"

"Leo and the staff are working on setting this up now. I would say within a few months. We want to see if there's support out in the country for some kind of national law against bullying, including cyberbullying. If there is, then I would like to proceed with getting one passed. In my wildest dreams, I would call it 'Annie's Law.'"

Abbey felt moisture on her face. She reached up and found a few tears had dropped from her eyes.

She leaned over and kissed her husband. "Do you know how much I love you right now?"

"I think so. Especially if it is as much as I love you." He kissed her back and they both settled down for a restful slumber.