CJ, Josh, Sam, and Toby were sitting in the Mess early on Sunday morning. Josh flew back with the President last night and just told his colleagues what happened with Donna.

"The flight was a sad sight coming back," Josh admitted. "The President and I both struck out."

"You and Donna will work it out," CJ offered.

"At least she didn't give the ring back," Sam added helpfully.

"Doesn't mean she's not gonna," Josh said bleakly.

"She won't!" CJ assured him. "This is Donna we're talking about here. That girl looks at you like you hung the moon. Trust me, this is just a rough patch."

Just then, CJ's beeper went off.

CJ looked at it and then went over to the phone on the wall. She dialed Carol's extension, "Hey, what's going on?" She asked and listened. "Damn it. I'll be right up." She hung up the phone. "No time to mope, Josh. We gotta go. All the news networks are reporting that Dr. Bartlet wasn't wearing her wedding ring last night."

Toby stood up, "I'll start putting a statement together. We can say she took it off for the wine tastings."

"The President was wearing his," Josh pointed out.

"Well, we have to think of something," CJ said. "The President is going to be coming back from church any minute."

Toby nodded, then immediately left to go back upstairs.

Josh caught up to CJ. "Hey, CJ?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think this means?"

"I don't know," CJ answered honestly. "But I sure hope it doesn't mean what I think it does."

"The President didn't say anything, other than they're trying to work it out."

"If that is true, Dr. Bartlet probably wasn't thinking."

"I can call Donna, give her the heads up."

In Manchester, Abbey, Donna, Felicity, Liz, Ellie, Zoey, and Alex were coming out of the Bartlet family's parish church. They were greeted by swarms of press waiting outside. The Secret Service quickly cut a path towards their vehicles. But that didn't stop reporters and photographers from asking questions and taking pictures.

"Dr. Bartlet, are you and the President divorcing?"

"Dr. Bartlet, why aren't you wearing your wedding ring?"

"Who gets custody of Felicity?"

Abbey's grip on Felicity tightened. The little girl trembled in her arms. The amount of people and noise was starting to scare her.

"It's alright, lovebug," Abbey murmured as they slid in the car. "I've got you. No one's going to hurt you."

Donna was already on the phone with CJ. "CJ, we were just ambushed coming out of church." She listened and said, "Oh, God. Tell Toby and Josh I'll handle it as best I can up here. Thanks for calling." She hung up and faced Abbey. "Some photographers got a photo of you without your ring last night."

"Of course they did," Abbey said, shaking her head. She put Felicity in her car seat and gave her a binkie before letting Felicity hold her hand.

"We'll find a way to address it. Maybe you were getting your ring repaired?"

"I suppose that could work. Anything to get the divorce talk out of the press. Maybe this will force Jed to do something."

"Was it really that bad, the date I mean?"

"No," Abbey said, kissing Felicity's hand as the cars pulled out of the parking lot. "It was more of the same."

Donna was quiet. "I hope things work out. I really do."

Abbey noticed that her Chief of Staff was subdued. "Trouble in paradise, Donna?"

Donna looked down. "Josh and I had a fight."

"A serious one?"

"Yes…I probably should have told you earlier. But Josh took exception to my knowing about the President's MS before he did. It's been festering. Now he says he can't trust me."

"Oh, Donna. I'm so sorry. It was never our intention for that to happen."

"I know. To be fair, it's bigger than that. He doesn't respect the boundaries of my position the same way he does with Leo."

"You don't think he does?"

"No, I think that as long as we're on a level playing field, and he doesn't understand that, then…maybe we don't have a relationship."

Abbey squeezed Donna's shoulder in support, "Working together and having a relationship is hard. Believe it or not, this isn't the first time Jed and I have had issues surrounding our careers and our relationship. Did you know that in 34 years of marriage, he had never seen me actually do my job until Alex got sick?"

"Really?"

"Really. He treated me with a whole new level of respect after that because he saw what I did instead of simply hearing about it. Josh doesn't understand what you do. He sees little bits and pieces. It's one thing to see it in the context of the West Wing. But now, you two are together, and you both bring things home with you."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Donna agreed. She instinctively reached for her ring, on a chain around her neck, hoping that Abbey wouldn't notice.

"What's that around your neck?" Abbey asked curiously.

Donna hesitated, then pulled it out. "My engagement ring."

Abbey gasped. "Oh, Donna! When?"

"Last week." She admitted.

"Congratulations! But…Oh." Realization dawned on Abbey. "You don't think you can get married now."

"No. Since Josh and I are in a fight, the engagement is definitely on hold. But we also decided to keep it to ourselves out of respect for what you and the President are going through."

"That's very kind of you, Donna. But you should tell him. He'll be happy for you both, just as I am."

"Thank you, ma'am," Donna replied with a small smile.

"I'm sure you and Josh will work this out. You two got together in a high-stress, high-pressure environment. Give it a little time and talk to him again when he's had time to think about how foolish he's been."

Ellie Bartlet was rarely seen around the White House unless her mother and her sister were home. But on Wednesday night, she decided to go check on her father since her Thursday morning lecture had been canceled. After their dinner went south, Ellie learned that her parents were back to not speaking at all. Her baby sister was also crushed that their father left without so much as an "I'll see you later." She arrived in the West Wing close to seven that night and found Charlie at his desk when she walked into the outer Oval.

"Hey Charlie, is my dad in?"

"He's in with the Joint Chiefs. If you want to wait a couple of minutes, I'm sure he'd love to see you." Charlie smiled slightly. "Must be nice to not be called on the carpet this time."

"That's for sure." Ellie looked at her father's aide. "Charlie, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure thing."

"How has my dad's mood been the last few days?"

"Not great. He's been pulling very late nights and the talk about divorce in the press doesn't help."

"Does he get any sleep at all?"

"Some. I think the President's been sleeping in one of the other bedrooms. He hasn't admitted it. But I saw him come out of the Queen's Bedroom yesterday morning."

"Ellie!" Jed exclaimed, walking out of the Oval Office. He kissed her cheek. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard about what happened with you and Mom. I thought I'd come to see how you were doing."

"Oh. Well, I was just going to head back to the Residence to grab dinner. Would you care to join me?"

"Yeah, that would be nice."

They walked out the door out onto the Portico and went up to the Residence. Not long after, they sat down at the kitchen table to eat.

"How is school going?"

"School's going well. I'm starting to get ready for my rotations."

"Those start soon, don't they?"

"July 1."

"Right." Jed paused. "You know, Felicity's pediatric MS study was leaked."

"I know, Dad."

"Know how that happened?"

"No, I don't. The university is investigating Dr. Keller's lab. I just got cleared on Monday."

"Ellie, I know it wasn't you."

"Good, because I'm one of the very few people Fizzy trusts to do anything."

"I'm aware."

"Then why are you asking me if I know how the study was leaked?"

"Well, I don't know, Eleanor. You were the only one who knew about this study. At least you were the only one who had as much detail as you did. Why shouldn't I think that you would know something about this?"

"What about Donna?"

"What about her?"

"I know she knows about the study. So, by your logic, she's as much to blame as I am."

"She is not!"

"Ok, so don't blame me. I'm on your side, dad."

"If that study stayed private, your mother and your sister would be here now instead of at home."

Ellie sighed, "No, they wouldn't. You don't think Liz and Zoey and I haven't picked up on the tension between you and mom since Fizzy came home? It's half the reason why Fizzy needs her binky all the time."

"That's not true…"

"Dad, you practically bit Liz's head off on Saturday after Fizzy fell."

Jed lowered his head. "Yes, I did. But Felicity is different. She needs more attention. And I just can't give it to her right now."

"Maybe that's why you shouldn't be running for a second term." Ellie closed her eyes for a second. "And by the way, Dad…I know it wasn't my fault."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because you said it."

"Your sister won't talk to me…" He admitted. "Donna tried to put her on the phone and she pushed it away."

"You left, dad. I know you had to. But you could have at least taken mom home and told Fizzy you had to leave."

"I had to go, Ellie. There was no time."

"You had time to wait for Josh."

"That's different."

"It always is."

"I have my job. I am responsible for millions of people."

"You're also responsible for one person, Dad. And right now, that person thinks you abandoned her."

"You think I don't know that?" Jed snapped. He sighed. "What did you mean when you said it was my fault?"

"Dad, you admitted Fizzy was sick before the interviewer brought it up. You walked right into her next question. So yes, maybe someone did leak the study. But you told America you think Fizzy has Pediatric MS."

"No I didn't!"

"Your exact words were that MS might make her sick one day too. You said the quiet part out loud."

Jed sat back, deep in thought. "Oh, my God."

"Dad."

"This really is my fault." He said. "Your mother's never going to forgive me now."

"Dad, she will. But only if the family comes first."

Abbey was in the kitchen of the Manchester home, placing a cup of coffee in front of the US Surgeon General and her oldest friend, Millie Griffith. She sat down heavily.

"Okay, out with it," Millie ordered.

"Out with what?"

"Whatever you called me out here to talk about." At Abbey's pause, she looked straight at her friend. "Come on, Abbey. We've known each other for almost 50 years. I know when something's bothering you, so spill."

Abbey put a hand protectively on Felicity's back as she slept in her wrap, "How did you know it was time to call it quits with Jack?"

"About two years before I actually did. We tried to make it work for the kids. But by the end, we couldn't lie to ourselves anymore. Are you and Jed thinking about divorce?"

"Possibly," Abbey replied, letting out a breath. "We're both miserable and so is Felicity. She's been glued to me since Jed left again."

"Oh, Abbey," Millie sighed. "How long has this been going on?"

"Since Felicity came home from the hospital."

"But that was over a year ago!"

"It's been a bunch of little things since then. I've been more intolerant of interruptions. People used to respect that when I said 'family time', I meant it."

Felicity let out a soft squeak in her sleep. Millie watched Abbey rub her back in slow circles.

"When's the last time you and Jed had time to yourselves without staff or baby interruptions?"

"Other than our date the other night? It's been a while. A very long while."

"Maybe you should let Donna take Felicity for a couple of hours and just talk to him."

"He'll just find another excuse, Millie."

"You mean he's going to run with or without you?"

"Yes. And I'm tired of it, Millie. I just want this to be over for myself and Felicity. She was shaking when the press ambushed us outside of church. No child should have to live like that."

"I agree. But Abbey, if you go through with it, your life is going to look like this most of the time. You'll most likely get full custody of Felicity and Jed will get visitations."

Abbey leaned back. Millie did have a point. Their life could be like this permanently. But did she really want it to be?

Millie could read her friend's mind. "You don't really want it to be, do you?"

"Millie, I don't know what I want."

"Yes. Yes, you do."

"Felicity had an asthma attack last week in the middle of the night. She was devastated that Jed wasn't there when it was over. I don't want to see her hurt like that anymore."

"Abbey, that's going to happen even if you get divorced. I understand you're mad at Jed and you should be," Millie replied and then looked over at Felicity, who was frowning in her sleep. "But you two wouldn't have gone to the lengths that you did to have Felicity if you weren't madly in love with each other."

"I suppose that's true."

"I talked to Ellie recently. She told me Jed hasn't been sleeping in your bed in the Residence."

"Really?" Abbey asked quietly.

"Yes. Abbey, you don't have to forgive him for this. But don't give up on love. Not yet."

Abbey was close to tears. "Maybe you're right. I just-I don't know if it's too late."

The next morning Stanley decided to try a different tactic since Felicity had yet to engage in therapy of any kind. Instead of setting up in the family room, he let Felicity continue to play in the family room. Abbey had been sitting with Donna on the sofa going over notes when they arrived. Felicity was building with Duplo blocks and listening to a documentary on the space race playing on the TV.

With Donna and Abbey in the room, Felicity paid very little attention to them but seemed very much at ease.

Stanley absentmindedly flipped over to FOX News, where a commentator was talking about the First Lady's whereabouts.

"From what we've been told, the First Lady has taken her youngest daughter Felicity to the family's farm in New Hampshire for some much-needed time alone. But you're not entitled to that when you're the First Lady, are you, Mrs. Bartlet?"

Stanley took a breath and looked at Felicity. She did not seem to be bothered by the story yet.

Abbey's eyes flashed up to the screen, her lips pursed. Then she looked at her daughter, who paid attention to what was going on. Stanley flipped the channel again to CNN. The screen filled with an image of Jed answering questions in the Oval from the press pool. Felicity looked over immediately and watched him answer questions. Stanley let this go on for a few minutes and then flipped the channel back to the documentary. Felicity looked disappointed for a moment but then turned back to continue playing.

"Dr. Keyworth, we don't watch the news with Felicity present," Abbey said, looking over at him.

"It was an accident at first. But then I…wanted to see if she would react." Stanley admitted.

Abbey stood up. "Dr. Keyworth!"

"Listen, I haven't been able to get anything out of her yet. If this is the way it has to be, then so be it."

"No!" Felicity yelled.

"Felicity," Donna said in an even voice. "Inside voice please."

"Sorry Donna," Felicity said and then turned back to her blocks.

Abbey looked over at Felicity and then back at Stanley, "Fine. Just be mindful of what you're putting on. I don't want Felicity to hear overt lies."

"Fair enough. No Fox News then."

Stanley turned CNN back on, where the commentator was talking about Jed in particular.

"And I believe one has to consider the true facts of the matter. And the facts are that until last weekend, President Bartlet has been an absentee father. So what's the real story here?"

"He's not bad," Felicity whispered.

Abbey turned to her daughter. "What, lovebug?"

"He's a great daddy," Felicity said, determined. "He's a great daddy!"

"Yes, he is," Abbey said, going over to her daughter. She sat on the floor next to Felicity.

"He's my daddy," Felicity continued in a soft voice. "Mine."

Felicity tried to resume playing.

"Clearly, the President has to get his house in order," Another commentator said. "He's not just an absentee father. The First Lady has been out in public without her wedding ring. Was Felicity a last-ditch effort to save a marriage already in trouble?"

Abbey turned and swiftly turned off the television using the power button. "That's enough—"

The Duplo blocks Felicity was playing with crashed to the floor. Abbey turned back around to see Felicity pull her hand back in pain from hitting the blocks and knocking them over. Her lower lip trembled.

"Mama?" Felicity's little voice trembled. "I want Daddy."

"Baby, Daddy's at work." Abbey tried to explain.

"No, now!" Felicity cried out. "I want Daddy now!"

When Jed did not appear at that moment, Felicity let out a heartbreaking wail. All Abbey could do was hold her little girl tight and rock her gently. It was a breakthrough, to be sure, but had it come at a cost?

Once Felicity had calmed down significantly, and safely in the care of Donna, Abbey and Stanley went into the kitchen. Abbey was seething.

"Now do you see why I didn't want Felicity exposed to that? Look what it did to her."

"Dr. Bartlet, it was a breakthrough, plain and simple."

"At what cost?"

"You cannot baby her forever."

"I am not babying her," Abbey said, irritated now. "I am protecting her because that's what I need to do. If my husband was here, he wouldn't have let your experiment get so far because he knows just as well as I do that Felicity absorbs everything. She remembers everything."

Stanley changed his approach, "I'm not suggesting that you're doing anything wrong, Dr. Bartlet. All I'm saying is that you can't protect Felicity from her feelings. She has to feel them in order to process this trauma. I know you understand that because I wouldn't be here if you didn't think your family needed help."

Abbey closed her eyes. She knew Stanley was right. But she didn't want to hear it. "I need to call my husband."

Stanley let her step out. Abbey walked straight into the living room and picked up the phone.

Meanwhile, Jed was working in the Oval Office.

Charlie knocked. "Mr. President?"

"Yeah?"

"The First Lady's on the phone, sir."

"Thank you," He said and picked up the phone. "Abbey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Abbey assured him. "Stanley finally got Felicity to participate in therapy, by watching the news."

"What? Abbey you know-"

"I know we don't let her watch the news. But she heard some of the cable news pundits talking about you and Felicity tried to defend you..."

Jed ran a hand through his hair. "Oh, boy. Was she really worked up?"

"Jed, it was a breakthrough. Of course, she was worked up."

"I didn't mean it like that." Jed paused. "A breakthrough? Is that what Keyworth's calling it?"

"Yes. She misses you, Jed. She hates that she's in between us all the time and she was in tears by the time it was all over."

"Abbey…"

"What? She wouldn't be in this pickle if it wasn't for me? You know why I did what I did."

"Yes, I know why you did it...Just come back to Washington, please."

"We would be in the same spot we are now. I don't want to keep her from you, Jed. Really, I don't. But I just had to listen to a bunch of pundits openly question if we had Felicity just to save our marriage."

"It's not true."

"I know it's not true. But how am I supposed to trust you after what happened? This isn't just affecting Felicity either. Josh and Donna got engaged but now they're fighting because Josh feels like he can't do his job effectively with Donna working for me."

"Really? Josh and Donna engaged? News to me." He paused. "But now they're fighting?"

"For the same reasons, we are, apparently."

"This is a mess."

"You think?"

Jed closed his eyes briefly. "I'm going to fix this, Abbey. I'm going to fix it if it's the last thing I ever do."

"Are you still running?" Abbey asked pointedly.

"Yes."

"Then how are you going to fix this? I never agreed to a second term. And our daughter didn't agree to one either. She'll be seven years old by the time you're done if you win and if you're healthy."

"I don't know," Jed admitted. "You think I don't know any of that? That doesn't mean I'm not going to try anyway."

Abbey was quiet. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Zoey and Alex are having me for dinner."

"Well…have a nice time."

"I will."

Jed hung up the phone and sighed. One way or another, he was going to have to make this right.