Please see Chapter 1 for general info and disclaimers.
*~*
At 10:25, Jenn raced through White House corridors, all the while trying to appear as if she wasn't in a hurry. Her damp hair hung straight down her back and she was wearing a button-down, pink linen shirt in conjunction with the same pair of faded jeans she'd worn the night she'd met the senior staff for the first time three and a half days ago. She was so preoccupied with not arriving at the Oval Office late that she wasn't sure how much time had passed before she realized that someone was calling her name. She turned around and saw a girl running towards her.
"Hi," the girl greeted brightly as she screeched to a halt in front of Jenn.
Jenn raised an eyebrow and tried not to appear too surprised. "Um, hi."
"Gosh, I'm so glad I bumped into you here," the girl gushed. "I was hoping that I would, but I wasn't too sure because I figured you'd probably be busy and impossible to track down, but then I also thought that—"
"I'm sorry," Jenn interrupted as she checked the time on her watch, "I don't mean to be rude, but do I know you?"
The girl blushed and chuckled. "God, I'm such a dork. I don't know why I thought you'd remember me since I didn't remember you until all of this went down." She held out her hand and stated, "I'm Zoey Bartlet…your sister."
Jenn stared at the proffered hand and felt her knees almost buckle. "Oh my God," she gasped as they shook hands.
"Yeah," Zoey said with a smile, "you've got to say that, like, fifty times, and then the shock of it all will fade away."
Jenn closed her eyes and took a moment to collect her thoughts before launching into the apology she had been fine-tuning in her head. "Okay, I was going to say this to some other people first, but since you're here now, I'm gonna start with you. Zoey, I'm really sorry about how I handled myself on the show yesterday. I know I embarrassed you and your family when I went off on my diatribe and I know that there's nothing I can really say to make it up to you, but I just really want you to know that I'm very, very sorry."
They stared at each other for a second before Zoey asked, "Are you done?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Good, because that means I can now tell you that your apology is rejected."
"What?"
"Jenn, I'm not going to accept your apology because you have nothing to apologize for. Look, I don't know what the political ramifications are for what happened on that show yesterday. All I do know is that I'm glad you said what you said. That Matt guy totally deserved it! My roommate and I were booing and throwing things at the TV until you talked back to him. He was a total jerk."
"Yeah, he was," Jenn agreed with disdain. "And to think I spent an hour burning myself with a curling iron for him."
"See, for that alone he should get sent to Singapore so he can be caned."
Zoey's comment was so ridiculous that both girls dissolved into giggles. When Jenn recovered, she looked up at her 'new' sister, who was a few inches taller than she was, and asked, "You here to see your dad?"
"You mean our dad, right?"
Jenn smiled sheepishly and muttered, "Yeah."
Zoey wanted to say more, wanted to try and convince Jenn that their sharing of a father was not something she should feel ashamed about, but knew that the words wouldn't mean much coming out of her mouth. "I'll probably see him at some point today, but I actually came here to my boyfriend."
"Boyfriend, huh?" Jenn's eyes brightened as she grinned mischievously at Zoey. She remembered a time when boys and the prospect of being asked out by one had dominated her thoughts. It had felt like a torturous rite of passage at the time, but now she yearned to go back to those simpler days. "Your boyfriend works in the White House? That's cool. Any chance I might have met him?"
Zoey fixed her with a look of astonishment. "You didn't follow politics very closely when you were in California, did you?"
"Not particularly. Why?"
"No reason. It's just refreshing to know that people aren't as hung up on this relationship as I think they are. My boyfriend's Charlie."
"Charlie…" Jenn pondered this new information and tried to match the name to the various faces she'd encountered during the past few days. "Wait. Charlie as in…"
"The guy who follows our dad around," Zoey finished. "Yeah, that's my guy."
"How long have you two been going out?"
"Almost two years."
"Wow. That's…impressive."
"It's been a struggle at times because we don't get to see each other as often as we'd like. Sometimes it really seems like he works on the other side of the world. But I'm glad we've stuck together. He's a great guy. His birthday's next week and that's why I'm here today. I'm going to surprise him with lunch."
"But you just said his birthday's next week."
"And that's when he would expect to see me, so it wouldn't be a surprise then."
"Ah, gotcha."
"Where are you off to?"
Recollecting that she was supposed to be in a meeting, Jenn winced. "I'm actually late for a meeting I'm supposed to be having with the senior staff."
"Oh, well, don't let me hold you up. I'm just going to go pop in and say hi to my mom and then head over to see Charlie. We should have lunch sometime and get to know each other some more."
"Isn't that something I should say as the older sister?" Jenn asked, half teasing.
"Then say it," Zoey challenged with an arched eyebrow. The two women smiled at one another as they both understood that Zoey's dare came from a place of sincerity and potential friendship. "See ya around, Jenn."
"Yeah, I'll see ya."
The smile was still lingering on her face when Jenn reached the Oval Office's outer room. With a phone receiver pressed to his left ear, Charlie looked up and raised an index finger to inform her that he'd be right with her.
"Yes, René, that's correct…Thanks for double-checking…Okay, you, too. Bye." Charlie hung up the phone and rose to his feet to face Jenn. "That was the President's chef making sure he got the President's lunch orders right for the upcoming week," he explained solemnly.
"He orders a week's worth of lunches at a time?" Jenn appeared amused by this new insight into her father's habits.
"No, actually, I do. That way if I get busy, the President still gets his lunch."
"Ah. Smart move."
"Yeah. Are you here for the meeting?"
Jenn glance apprehensively at the closed door leading to the Oval Office and replied with an unsteady voice, "Yeah. Are they in there now?"
"Actually, no. The President got called away for an emergency. He and Leo are aiming to hold the meeting at 11 instead."
"Oh. Okay." Jenn exhaled and slumped forward in relief.
"You're welcome to wait here, or I could call your room when they get back, if you'd prefer that."
As she weighed her options, an idea struck her. "Charlie, if the President's currently in a meeting here in the White House, then that means both he and the First Lady are back from church, right?"
"Yeah." Reading Jenn's mind, he offered, "Would you like me to see if she's available?"
"Could you, please?"
"Sure. Hang on." Charlie reached for his phone and dialed a few numbers. There was a moment of silence as he waited for someone to answer the ring on the other end of the line. "Hi, Lilly, it's me, Charlie. How are you?…Well, that's great. I'm glad things turned out so well. Listen, I was wondering, does Mrs. Bartlet happen to have some availability in her schedule for right now?…Yes, it is…Oh, great. I'll send her right over. Thanks." He replaced the receiver and announced, "They're waiting for you."
"Thanks, Charlie." Jenn turned to leave but then changed her mind as she stared at him with a playful smile on her lips.
"Do you need something else?" he asked.
"You're dating Zoey," she declared, her smile growing bigger.
"Uh, yeah, I am. And…" he prompted.
"And nothing. I just think that's cool. She's lucky to have you in her life."
"Actually, I think I'm the lucky one."
"Hmm, good answer. If the President and Leo get back from their meeting early, tell them that I'm, uh…"
"I'll tell them they'll just have to wait."
It was the exact answer Jenn had wanted to hear. "You're a good man, Charlie Young, you know that?"
"Well, someone's gotta be." He watched Jenn wave good-bye and leave the room before resuming his seat and shaking his head. Those Bartlet women. Sometimes they truly befuddled him.