Several black SUVs entered the Georgetown Neighborhood just after seven that evening. The trio of vehicles turned into the driveway of a double brick Federal-style townhouse near the end of the block. They continued along with the house on one side and tall mature trees lining the other until the house gave way to the grounds. To one side, Jed saw the expansive lawn and the pool. The driveway curved around to the back of the house and led to a four-stall parking garage adjacent to a small guesthouse. The SUV pulled in front of one of the stalls and stopped.
Jed stepped out of the SUV accompanied by Charlie and his Secret Service detail. He quietly moved in with Zoey and Alex last year. He led the way up the gently sloped Bluestone pathway lined with bright lights that ran parallel to the pool and the lawn. It led straight to a short set of stairs leading up to the covered porch, which wrapped around most of the first floor.
"Logan, for crying out loud, I'm not made of glass!"
"But you have to be careful, Alex," Logan said. "You have a heart condition. You can't do everything that everyone else can do."
"Funny, you didn't use that excuse this morning," Alex quipped. "As I recall, you told me I'm amazing."
"That's different."
"Of course, it is," She grumbled as she reached the top of the stairs.
Just then, the double glass doors leading into the kitchen and grand parlor opened, and the Secret Service agents moved through the house to secure it. But as Jed entered, Alex and Logan were still sniping.
"Look, Alex, I just want to take care of you. I'm your boyfriend, it's in my job description."
"Logan…"
"It's the same deal with your aunt and uncle. Your aunt Abbey worries about your uncle day after day. But you know why she does it?"
Jed's interest was piqued.
"Why?"
"For better or for worse, right?"
"I suppose you have a point," Alex conceded and leaned over to kiss him. "Just don't treat me like an invalid, okay?"
"I asked you to come upstairs and eat, Lex. You are the one who invited your uncle to dinner."
"And he's standing right here," Jed said from behind them.
"Hello, Uncle Jed," Alex replied, turning around.
"Hey there, Alex," Jed greeted, hugging her warmly and kissing her on the cheek. "Where's your cousin?"
"Upstairs, she'll be down in a minute."
Something winked at him in the light of the kitchen. He looked down and it came from the ring on Alex's left ring finger.
"This must be the latest upgrade," Jed said and Alex held her hand up for him to see the two and a half-carat diamond on a platinum band.
"Yes sir," Logan replied. He gave Alex a ring not long after her second surgery and upgraded it every year for her birthday as a symbol of his love for her.
"If I didn't know any better, I would say this is shaping up to be quite the engagement ring."
"It's not," Alex assured him with a spark in her eyes. "What would we know about being engaged?"
"Hi, Dad!" Zoey chirped, coming into the kitchen before Jed could respond.
"Hi, sweetheart," Jed said, hugging and kissing her. "Thanks for having me over."
Logan clapped once. "Well, shall we get to it?"
Alex, Zoey, Logan, Charlie, and Jed sat down to dinner around the large table on the covered porch, just a few steps away from the open glass doors of the kitchen. They had a view of the yard and the pool beyond. Homemade pasta with a choice of red sauce or pesto, fresh garlic bread, and salad was on the menu tonight, courtesy of Helena, the house manager Alex hired last year on her grandmother Sandra's recommendation.
"So how are finals going?" Jed asked after a while.
"Good," Logan and Zoey chimed in.
"I'm done," Alex said simply.
"Of course you are," Zoey said, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. "I still can't believe you're younger than me and you're doing the last year of undergrad and first year of grad school at the same time next year."
"Believe it, cousin," Alex teased. "I'm going to have my Bachelor's and my Masters by the time you have your Bachelor's."
"Now, now, girls," Jed said. "You both have equally bright futures."
"Yes, Dad." Zoey agreed. "So, how much are you in trouble with Mom?"
"I'm not in trouble with your mother."
"You left her in the middle of your first date in forever," Zoey pointed out.
"It is bad form, Uncle Jed," Alex said gently. "I hope you apologized."
"Yes, I sent your Aunt Abbey some beautiful flowers," He sighed. "I thought this was supposed to be dinner, not an interrogation."
"We just want to make sure everything's okay," Alex said.
Zoey looked at the ground. "I just want to make sure my parents aren't divorcing."
"We're not," Jed said quietly.
"Are you sure?"
"Is this about those questions reporters shouted to you at church on Sunday or is it about your mother's ring?"
"Dad, she took off her ring. What other reason would mom have to do that?"
"She needs to have it resized, Zoey," Jed said pointedly, even though it was a straight-up lie. "That's why she wasn't wearing it."
"You backed out of a deal," Alex said softly.
Jed turned to his niece, "What did you say to me?" He asked in a dangerous tone of voice.
"You made a deal with Aunt Abbey that you wouldn't run again."
"And how would you know that, Alexandra?"
"I overheard you in the kitchen after the State of the Union. She didn't want you to run again."
Jed's face paled. "You…heard us?"
"Yeah. I did. I was coming to look for you because Zoey was wondering where you were. All I have to say is I'm glad I walked in on you guys instead of Zoey."
"What am I supposed to say to that?" Jed replied.
"I don't know!" Alex finally snapped. "Say that you were wrong. Say that your family's more important than a second term!"
"It's a little late for that," Jed told her.
"He's right, Alex." Zoey chimed in.
"You better think of something then," Alex replied. "Because Fizzy doesn't think you like her anymore and that's why you didn't say goodbye. That's what she said to me when I made her a new dress-up costume. Fizzy thinks that you like Gus better because he isn't broken like she is. And you aren't even supposed to know that because she didn't want to hurt your feelings."
Jed put his head in his hands, "Alex, that's enough."
Zoey looked stunned, "When did Fizzy tell you that?"
Alex sighed. "Just before we left on Sunday."
"I'm sorry." Jed apologized. "You were right to tell me. I needed to know." He sighed. "I needed a wake-up call to show me how wrong I was. And I just got one from my one-year-old daughter."
Zoey, Logan, and Alex were quiet. Finally, Zoey spoke up.
"If you guys get a divorce, it's going to break Felicity."
"For the last time Zoey, we are not getting divorced!" Jed said, banging his fist on the table. It caused the silverware and plates to shake. "I will talk to your mother, all right?"
Charlie's phone rang and he answered, "Hello?" He said and waited for a response. "I'll tell him." Charlie hung up the phone. "Mr. President, we have to get back."
Jed nodded and stood up, "I'm sorry that I have to cut the evening short."
Zoey, Logan, Alex, and Charlie all stood up.
"Thank you for coming," Alex said, giving her uncle a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you for inviting me," He said before turning to Zoey. "I'm sorry I have to go. Come by tomorrow and I'll make it up to you."
"Okay, dad," Zoey agreed before pulling him into a hug. "Please call mom."
"I will, sweetheart. I love you."
Jed hugged his daughter and shook Logan's hand. Then he and Charlie walked back down the stairs and down the path. Zoey, Logan, and Alex watched Charlie, Jed, and the Secret Service detail climb back into the SUVs. They turned around and headed back up the driveway before disappearing around the side of the house and out through the gates.
"I can't believe you," Zoey said, turning to her cousin.
"What?"
"You knew this was coming and you didn't say anything?"
"Zoey," Alex said. "You know I couldn't say anything."
"Couldn't? Or just didn't want to?"
"Zoey," Logan interceded. "Don't do this."
"Of course, you're going to defend her."
"You're not being fair."
"Alex doesn't play fair, Logan. You of all people should know that. She hears and sees everything. But she'll only bring up information when it suits her."
"Zoey, come on. That's not true," Alex said. "I didn't say anything because I walked in on a private conversation that I was never supposed to hear."
"Yeah, well if I knew, maybe I could have done something, at least for my sister. Because she's in the middle of this. You should have told me."
"I'm sorry," Alex said helplessly.
"Too little, too late, Alex," Zoey said with hurt in her eyes. "I'm going to sleep at the Residence tonight."
Zoey turned and walked back inside before racing upstairs to go pack a bag. Logan pulled Alex into his arms and held her close for a long time. This was worse than any of them thought.
Up in Manchester, Abbey came out of her bathroom after taking a nice long bath. Donna went to go see a movie in town at Abbey's urging to decompress after the last few days. Liz decided to stay over tonight to spend some quality time with her mother and sister. So she kept Felicity occupied downstairs to give their mother a little time to herself. Abbey proceeded to put her pajamas on and dry her hair before she laid everything out for Felicity's bedtime. Just as she was finishing up, Liz brought Felicity into the room.
"Feeling better?" She asked.
"Yes, thank you." Abbey smiled at Felicity. "Are you ready for bed, sweetheart?"
"Yes, Mama," Felicity said happily.
Liz undressed Felicity, changed her diaper, and put on her pajamas while Abbey prepared the nebulizer for nighttime treatment. When it was ready, she took Felicity over to the oversized chair and administered it. While Liz got ready for bed herself, she couldn't help but notice how still and compliant her sister was. If Gus had to go through nebulizer treatment, it would be an hour fight just to put the mask on. After it was finished, Liz took Felicity and they settled in the king bed with a book. Abbey watched them out of the corner of her eye as she put the machine away and smiled to herself. It was nice to see her firstborn and her baby spend quality time together.
"We can't start the story yet," Felicity said, looking up at her sister. "Gus isn't here."
"Gus is at home with his daddy and Annie, peanut. It's just you, me, and mama tonight."
Liz watched her baby sister's face morph into one of genuine concern.
"How is Gus gonna get his milk? It's nighttime."
"He'll get a bottle, peanut. I promise," Liz replied and caught her mother's eye as Abbey got into bed on the opposite side.
"Come here my little milk monster," Abbey said, gesturing to Felicity.
"I'm not a milk monster, mama," Felicity said, snuggling up to her mother. "I'm your lovebug."
"So you are."
Abbey smothered Felicity in kisses and then Liz started reading the chosen book of the night, The Adventures of Peter Cottontail. All the while, she watched her mother and sister. Felicity didn't squirm or wiggle once while she nursed. Instead, she seemed content to cuddle with their mother. Slowly, her little body relaxed and by the halfway point of the book, Felicity was asleep. Abbey carefully lifted Felicity into her baby nest.
"How do you do that?" Liz asked, genuinely curious.
"I don't do anything really, honey. Your sister came out that way."
"Gus started biting me every time I tried to nurse him. So we moved to a bottle."
"Well, that's good. Not good that he's a handful, but good that he's developing at a normal pace."
"Yeah. But he fights me at every turn. Wants to be independent all the time. Annie wasn't like that. And Felicity's not like that."
"Oh, honey, I'm sorry."
"I know every child's different. And I thank God every day for Gus's health. But sometimes I wonder how you and Dad got the mellow child and I got the high-strung one."
"He's a boy, Lizzie. Boys and girls are different. It must be difficult parenting a boy when you've only had and been around little girls."
"I suppose. That still doesn't explain why Felicity wants to be with you all the time and why she never gives you any trouble."
"That you've seen. Felicity can have quite the independent streak when she wants to. She's just more careful with me because I nurse her. But she's tested your father many times."
"Really?" Elizabeth asked quietly. "She has?"
"It must be the Bartlet genes," Abbey replied with a smile.
"You mean Barrington genes?"
"Alright, Liz, that'll do."
Liz laughed and reached out to hug her mom. "I love you, Mom."
"I love you too, baby."
Abbey embraced her oldest just as the phone on her nightstand rang, interrupting the sweet mother-daughter moment. She reached over and grabbed the handset. "Hello?"
"Dr. Bartlet, it's Logan," Logan said quietly on the opposite end of the phone. He was sitting on the edge of the tub in the primary bedroom.
"Hello Logan, what can I do for you?"
"Alex would skin me alive if she knew I called you. But she's not feeling well. I convinced her to lie down. Alex has a headache and she has tightness in her chest."
"When did this start?"
"Just after dinner."
"Did anything happen that was unusually stressful?"
"Well…Zoey and Alex kind of got into it."
"How so?"
Logan sighed. "Apparently, Alex has known for months that something was going on between you and the President. She overheard some argument you had on the night of the State of the Union."
"Oh, my God."
"She let it slip during an argument with him, and that's how Zoey found out. She's furious with Alex."
"Define furious," Abbey said, although she already had an idea of what transpired.
"Zoey blames Alex for not telling her about the fight before now. She thinks that she could have done something to protect Felicity. She's afraid you're getting a divorce because of the wedding ring thing. Alex tried to apologize but Zoey wouldn't let her and she left to sleep in the Residence."
"That would do it. Logan...I need you to take me into Alex. I'm going to have you take her blood pressure just like I showed you. Put me on speakerphone. Once I know what it is, I'll tell you what to do next."
Logan walked back into the bedroom where Alex was laying on their bed. He put it on speaker.
"We're here, Dr. Bartlet."
"You called my aunt?" Alex said indignantly through the phone.
"Alexandra Gilmore, I don't want to hear it. Logan was just looking out for you. Now, tell me how you're feeling."
Alex sighed. "A little better since I laid down. But my head hurts, and I'm having some tightness in my chest. Kind of like what I used to feel when I was a kid and I would get scared or upset."
"Stress will exacerbate your condition, Alex. You know that."
"Her blood pressure is 100/70, Dr. Bartlet."
"That's low, but not as low as it could be. I want you to go into her backpack and take out her medicine, and make sure she takes it. The problem should go away with medication and rest. Now, hand the phone to my niece."
Logan turned off the speakerphone and handed the handset to Alex. Then he went downstairs to go get her backpack.
"Yes, Aunt Abbey?" Alex asked.
"You're going to call me in about an hour and tell me if you're feeling better. If you're not, you're going to the emergency room to be evaluated, are we clear?"
"Yes, I understand."
"Good. Now besides this fight with Zoey, are you working reasonable hours, getting enough sleep, and eating and drinking like you should be? And before you say yes, know that I will ask Logan to confirm your story."
"Sort of..."
"You know that you have to eat regularly with some of the medicines you're on and you need to sleep..."
"I know," Alex said and paused. "Not to beat a dead horse, but you and Uncle Jed aren't getting a divorce are you?"
Abbey sighed. "Alex, I don't know. All I know right now is that Uncle Jed and I are having a lot of problems, and we have a lot to work through before they can be resolved."
"Okay."
"Alex…why didn't you tell me you knew about this fight?"
"It wasn't my place. It was something I obviously wasn't supposed to hear, so I put it out of my head."
"Well, I'm sorry about that. I hate to hear that you had to hold so much in."
"I know you're going to work it out, Aunt Abbey. Uncle Jed...he is sorry. I could see it written all over his face after I told him that Felicity doesn't think he likes her anymore. But he was always going to run again. Asking him not to is like telling you that you have to stop practicing medicine or that I can't create clothes. We'll do anything to do what we do. So just-give him a chance to be sorry."
"I'll think about it," Abbey said, sincerely. "Now go take your medication and let Logan take care of you. No more work tonight."
"Understood. I love you. Say hi to Felicity for me."
"I love you too, honey. Get some rest."
Abbey hung up and Liz looked at her, "Everything ok?"
"Alex overheard us fighting back in January when your dad first decided he was running again. Zoey found out tonight, and they got into a pretty blistering fight."
"Oh, no! Alex and Zoey are so close!"
"I know."
"Well, what'll happen now?
"For the moment, Alex is going to call me back in an hour to tell me how she feels. But your father and I are going to have a talk and figure something out."
Abbey looked down at the sleeping little girl between them and knew it was time to put aside her feelings. For the sake of her family and her staff.
Donna closed the door to Abbey and Jed's bedroom and walked downstairs to get the bottles Abbey asked her to bring up. When she walked into the kitchen, she leaned against the counter and looked at her cell phone. It was just before 6am. Taking a breath, she dialed the White House.
"Good morning, Janie. It's Donna, put me through to the President, please. It's urgent."
"Of course Ms. Moss. Hold please."
After a few minutes, she heard, "Donna? Is everything all right?"
"Good morning, Mr. President."
"What's wrong? Did Abbey ask you to call?"
"No…Mr. President, the First Lady doesn't know I'm calling you."
"Janie said it's urgent. What happened?"
"For starters, Dr. Bartlet told me she got a call from Logan last night. After you left Alex and Zoey's last night, they got into a fight. She didn't say what happened, Alex was having chest tightness over whatever was said. She said it was a combination of stress and Alex overdoing it. But Dr. Bartlet was glad not to have to send Alex to the emergency room."
"It's okay, Donna. I have a feeling I know exactly what happened. What's next?"
"Felicity woke up with a fever a couple of hours ago. It's up to 104 and still rising. She's miserable. Dr. Bartlet is trying to get her to drink fluids and rest. The pediatrician will be here in a little bit to check on Felicity. I thought you should know."
"Why? What happened?"
"Just…a combination of the stress from yesterday and her usual immune system struggles. Dr. Bartlet says she's not surprised."
Jed only took a split second to make his next decision.
"Donna, I'm on my way."
"Okay, I'll call Leo and tell him to push anything he can off your schedule and coordinate with Charlie for everything else."
"Thank you, Donna. I'll see you soon."
Jed hung up the phone and packed up his briefcase before throwing a few things in an overnight bag. Then he headed out into the hall where he ran into Zoey, who was heading to the kitchen.
"Hey, dad. Where are you heading?"
"Your sister has a fever. I'm going to New Hampshire."
"Is Fizzy going to be OK?"
"I hope so. But she needs me right now." He paused. "And by the way, you almost put your cousin in the ER last night. You want to tell me what happened?"
"What?" Zoey asked, surprised, and then saw the look in her father's eyes, "I got mad at her for not telling me about the fight you and mom had. But she was fine when I left."
"Only she wasn't. Your cousin is a good soldier and she was absolutely right not to say anything to you or anyone else. Apologize to her please, there's enough fighting in this family."
"Mr. President!" Josh said coming down the hall.
"Hello, Josh."
"I just heard about Felicity. Donna called me. I thought…maybe I could come with you. So I can see her."
Jed nodded. Almost without hesitation, he said, "Come on. Pack a bag, be at Andrews in 30 minutes if you want to be on the plane."
Josh nodded, then took off down the hall.
Zoey looked at her father. "I'm sorry, Dad."
"I know you are," Jed said and sighed. "I'm going to fix this, sweetheart. But I need time to do that. Just know your mother and I aren't getting divorced. "
"You swear."
"On my life." He kissed her cheek. "I love you. Go apologize to Alex and maybe I'll see you this weekend."
"Yeah, you will. I love you."
Air Force One was quiet-typical for an emergency flight to New Hampshire. The press cabin was empty; in fact, the entire plane was empty except for Jed and Josh sitting in the center of the President's private cabin. Both were working (or attempting to work in Jed's case), but Josh had something on his mind.
"Mr. President?"
"Yes, Josh?"
"You've been married for a long time, haven't you?"
"Yes, Josh I have. This wouldn't have anything to do with your fight with Donna, would it?"
"You heard about that," Josh said somewhat sheepishly.
"I did. Contrary to what some would believe, Abbey and I do still talk. There's some concern that you don't like the secrets she keeps."
"Well, sir, I didn't have a problem with it, until our jobs started colliding."
"This is about the MS?"
Josh sighed. "Yes," He admitted. "This is about the MS. She kept it from me for a year. And if I had known, I could've mitigated the political damage before anyone was worried. I would've had a poll out in the field before anyone suspected a thing."
"Josh, do you think that Donna and my wife had the final say on how and when to disclose my disease?"
"No," He said. "I suppose not."
"Doing this job means giving up my privacy. Including this. If it were up to me, I would have never disclosed my disease because it doesn't impact my job. But I had to. Just like I had to tell Donna. Which, by the way, I did just in case something happened while Donna had my daughter with her."
"Because she might have MS herself?"
"Well, yes. Because of that, and because Felicity needed to have her complete medical history available."
"Why did you tell Leo?"
"I didn't. He dragged it out of Abbey."
"Oh."
"I rely on Donna for quite a lot, Josh. For instance, she is the person who moved my entire schedule around to make sure I'm able to go be with my daughter. Leo defers to her any time I have personal business to attend to."
"I didn't know that."
"You wouldn't because I asked to keep it quiet," Jed said and paused. "This is my fault. I know I've been lax about having you all working in the Residence with me. I promised my wife that we would keep boundaries to a certain extent between our work and our family. Donna is abiding by the rules we set forth."
Josh was quiet. "I'm sorry, Mr. President. I had no idea." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm an idiot."
"Your idiocy is entirely up to you, Josh. And while I accept your apology, I'm not the one who needs to hear it. And I think you know who does."
Just before eight that morning, Felicity was dosing lightly in her parent's bed. Abbey was sitting in the oversized chair by the window. Liz came in with breakfast for her mother. She handed the plate to Abbey.
"It looks like the cavalry has arrived," She observed, looking out the bedroom window.
"Dad's here?" Liz asked in surprise.
"Donna must have called him." Abbey realized. "Though I don't recall telling her to."
"Sometimes being a good Chief of Staff is knowing when to ignore your boss. Especially when it comes to someone else's well-being." Liz pointed out.
Abbey nodded. "I suppose you're right."
Jed came into the house and his footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs moments later.
"Hey," he said, coming into the room.
"Hi, dad. I'm heading home. But I'll be back later," Liz said before giving him a quick kiss and leaving the room.
"How is your favorite patient?" He asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"She's stable. Her temperature's not any worse, but it's not any better, either."
"Is this because of stress?"
Abbey attempted to avoid eye contact. "I imagine so."
"Abbey, I…"
"No." She cut him off. "We have a lot to talk about, but not now."
Felicity whimpered in her sleep. Jed reached out and rubbed her bareback. She was stripped down to her diaper.
"Hi lovebug," he said, leaning over to kiss her head. "Can I get you anything?"
"No," She said simply. "Liz brought me breakfast."
"I'm going to be here for as long as it takes."
"Jed…"
"And I made you an appointment at the Osmosis Spa."
"Really?"
"Yes. You have been here with Felicity day in and day out for over a month. Go take some time for yourself. She'll be fine here with me and Donna."
Abbey shifted on her feet and hesitated. She didn't really want to leave, but she didn't want Jed to feel like he couldn't take care of his daughter.
"All right. I'll go." She finally agreed.