Sweet Revenge
Chapter 12
Disclaimers: See Chapter 1
Previously: CJ and Abbey confronted Emma and Abbey discovered her true motives. They swiped Emma's journal on the way out.
Summary: Abbey lets CJ in on what happened in Boston. Jed gets a disturbing call from Emma that makes him rush Abbey to New Hampshire. Abbey forgives Jed.
"You were the surgeon?" CJ asked, her voice dripping with disbelief.
"You have to believe me when I tell you I wasn't high, CJ. I was trying to get off drugs. I went into work that night and I shouldn't have. It was a horrible mistake, one I'll never be able to forgive myself for."
"What happened?"
"I froze. I couldn't perform the operation. By the time they got another surgeon, he was in such bad shape. His body couldn't take the trauma."
"Has that ever happened to do you before? Have you ever..."
"Once. When in the Oval Office." CJ finished the sentence for her. "Does anyone know about Boston?"
"Only the doctors in the room and, of course, Jed."
CJ knew it would be a PR nightmare if the press found out. She was surprised it hadn't already leaked out. But that was thanks to how Emma planned it. Abbey and CJ didn't realize Emma's real goal was to kill Jed. They simply assumed Emma wanted to break up the couple, hoping to cause Abbey the same kind of pain she felt when Michael died. Even knowing her motivation, they continued to severely underestimate their opponent.
In the West Wing, Jed answered his phone only to be patched through the person he least wanted to speak to -- Emma.
"How did you get through?" he asked her.
"I still have connections," she answered. "It's not a social call, Jed."
Emma had never called him Jed before. Something about the way she said it now sent a chill down his spine. He was eager to get rid of her. "What do you want?"
"Your wife was in here earlier, playing detective."
"What?"
"And now, my journal is missing. I want it back."
"You're insane," he told her as Leo entered Oval Office, curious about who was on the phone.
"No, I'm not, but if I don't get it back by the end of the day, Abbey Bartlet is going to be one sorry woman."
Jed held his temper at bay and simply grinned at the woman's naivete. "You really aren't as smart as I thought you were. You just threatened the First Lady on a secure line. The FBI will haul your ass to..."
Emma quickly dismissed his thought before he had a chance to finish it. "I'm not worried about metal bars, Jed. If I were you, I'd be more concerned about your wife's safety. I wouldn't want your holiday plans marred by the spill of her blood. I'm playing for keeps now."
Leo rushed over towards him as Jed slammed down the receiver.
"Debbie!" he shouted. "Get Ron Butterfield in here!"
"Sir, what happened?" Leo wanted to know.
"She's threatening Abbey. Something about a journal."
"Who, Emma?"
"Yes!"
"How did she get through?"
"I don't know, Leo! What could she want? This is all because I fired her?"
Ron rushed into the Oval Office, immediately shaken by the President's demeanor.
"Emma Bradford just called and threatened the First Lady," Leo told Ron.
Ron looked over at Jed who was furiously pacing around his desk. "Sir, we can get a copy of the call and take appropriate action."
Jed nodded. "See that you do. Abbey and I are taking off for the holiday early. Leo, can you clear off my schedule? I want to get Abbey to the farm tonight."
"Of course," Leo replied.
"Sir, I can have security at the farm beefed up as well."
"No," Jed insisted. "She'll be with me. She'll be safe. I don't want to scare her or the rest of the family."
"Mr. President..." Ron started.
"Ron, if she comes anywhere near Abbey, I'll break her neck myself."
Jed headed towards the East Wing to find Abbey and tell her they had to leave for Manchester that night. But when he arrived, all he found were her staffers packing up to leave for the day.
"Where's my wife?" he asked a press assistant.
"I'm sorry, Sir. She left."
It was only a minute, but to Jed, it felt like an eternity -- an eternity before the assistant continued, telling him that Abbey had gone home for the evening. In that minute, all the raw emotions plagued Jed's mind. He remembered the last time he heard those words. It was after he had seen her leave the White House to go to New Hampshire after Zoey's death.
For sixty seconds, his mind began to race. Sure, Abbey was angry with him and she had every right to be, but she couldn't do this to him again. It was just too cruel and Abbey wasn't cruel. But what if she had, he wondered. Just the thought of losing her nearly destroyed him. When he realized what the assistant had meant, a wave of relief swept over him. But with that wave came the knowledge that he had to keep Abbey safe, no matter what. He couldn't lose her ever again.
In the Residence, Abbey had explained to CJ the entire story of the patient she lost in Boston. She still couldn't bring herself to say his name. It was as if saying it made her relive all the guilt. CJ understood her apprehension about coming foward sooner, but she assured Abbey that the secret was safe. Now that they knew what they were dealing with, what was driving Emma, they could deal with her.
Abbey pulled out Emma's journal. She knew it would contain more specific details of Emma's motives for coming to the White House. Before she could open it to skim through the pages, Jed walked through the door. Abbey quickly handed it to CJ in an attempt to keep it from her husband. Jed was too wired to even notice the exchange.
His frantic entry confused Abbey. "Jed, what's going on?"
"We're leaving for the farm tonight. Hi, CJ," he said, noticing his former Press Secretary.
"Hi, Sir. Abbey, I really should get going."
"Okay."
"CJ, can you make sure Amy clears the First Lady's schedule until after Christmas?" Jed asked.
"Of course, Sir. Happy Holidays."
"Happy Holidays, CJ," Abbey replied as Jed nodded.
"CJ, wait," Jed called out. When she turned around, Jed paused, realizing he didn't have time to discuss his apology now. "Never mind.You have a very Merry Christmas."
"Thank you, Sir. You do the same," she said cordially.
CJ excused herself as Abbey questioned her husband.
"Why are we leaving tonight?"
Jed thought about telling her the truth, but he was worried that infamous stubborn streak would show its ugly head and she'd insist on staying put to face Emma. Instead, he covered up his real reasons. "I'd like to get started on our Christmas preparations early."
"Is there something you're not telling me?"
"No, of course not," he lied.
"Jed."
He knew that stern voice meant she wanted the truth, so he gave her a different version of it. "Something happened today."
"What?"
"I went to your office to talk to you and an aide told me you had left."
Abbey looked at him with even more confusion in her eyes. "Yes, CJ and I came here to talk."
"Yeah, but Abbey, for a minute, I thought...I thought that you had really left...again." He lowered his head with the last word.
"Oh, Jed." She walked over to him, understanding what he meant. She bent down to look him in the eye and followed his gaze back up. "I told you when I came back I wasn't going anywhere ever again. I meant it."
Watching him so vulnerable broke her heart. She still felt responsible for how much her absence had hurt him the year before and no matter what happened, she was determined never to put him through that pain again. She took him in her arms and stroked the back of his head, trying to reassure him.
He pulled away slightly to look at her. "I just want a few days to ourselves. We haven't really had time alone since before Thanksgiving."
"That's been by choice."
"I know," he said sadly.
Hearing his voice, she immediately gave in to his request. "If you really want to go tonight, lets go tonight."
Jed's somber expression seemed to disappear quickly. In its place came a big smile accompanied by a warmth in his big blue eyes.
The couple arrived in Manchester that night and finally reconnected emotionally, and by the end of the night, physically as well. Jed was still trying to make up for letting Emma cause so many rifts between them and Abbey was ready to let him off the hook. When it came down to it, the qualities that Emma used to worm her way into his life were the very qualities she fell in love with -- his sincerity, generosity, and loving nature. She couldn't hold it against him any longer, especially now that she knew Emma's real reason for coming to Washington.
For the first time since Thanksgiving, the tension was gone and all that remained in its wake was deep adoration and love. Of course, the stress-free time wouldn't last forever.
Two days later, on Christmas Eve, Jed got a troubling call from Ron. Emma had been questioned and released by police. The telephone recording didn't come out clearly and Emma was able to put her own spin on what she had said. Though she wasn't totally in the clear and may face the consequences of her threat once the police spoke to Jed, she wasn't in jail.
She claimed her threat against the First Lady was the result of profound anger that someone had broken into her apartment and stolen something that belonged to her. Jed assured Ron that Abbey would never have done such a thing, but when he hung up the phone, he needed reassurance himself. He took Abbey's hands and sat her down on the couch next to him.
"I lied to you before," he told her. "We did come up here early for a reason and it wasn't the reason I told you. I got a phone call from Emma."
"What did she want?"
"She threatened you."
"What?"
"I was going to tell you, but I didn't want it to spoil Christmas. Ron was going to take care of it."
Abbey stood up as she tried to comprehend what he was telling her. "Did he?"
"No, Sweetheart. They let her go. The recording was muffled and she claimed she never made an actual threat. That she was just angry and wanted to get a message to you."
"What kind of threat?" Jed didn't respond, so she asked again. "Jed, tell me. What kind of threat did she make?"
"She told me I should be concerned about your safety."
"Don't we get a lot of threats like that on a daily basis?"
"Similar ones, but she's truly delusional and that's what scares me. She says you and she had some kind of argument, which is ridiculous...just another figment of her imagination."
Abbey looked away from her husband.
"It's ridiculous, right?" he asked. He got no response. "Abbey?"
"We didn't plan for it to turn out the way it did."
Jed stood up to face her. "We?"
"CJ and I just wanted to find out what she was after."
"Abbey!"
She expected him to be unhappy, but now was her chance to tell him what she had been keeping to herself. "Jed, you won't believe what we found. I know why Emma's been doing this. I know why she squirmed her way into the White House, why she wanted to be Press Secretary, all of it."
"Why?"
"She was engaged to him."
"To who?"
"HIM, Jed. She was engaged to HIM. The night before their wedding, he died on my operating table."
"Oh my god. Why didn't you tell me before we left Washington?"
"I had just found out myself."
"You should have told me. I should have told Ron."
Before they could continue talking about the bombshell Abbey just dropped, Elizabeth, Doug, Annie, and Gus walked in, having just arrived for the family celebration. The four were closely followed by Charlie, whom Jed invited as a guest, instead of an employee, and last, but not least, Ellie.
The Christmas Jed had worked so hard to plan was coming together, except for one detail -- there was a crazed psychopath outside determined to get revenge on his wife, and now, after all these months, he finally knew why.
TBC
Chapter 12
Disclaimers: See Chapter 1
Previously: CJ and Abbey confronted Emma and Abbey discovered her true motives. They swiped Emma's journal on the way out.
Summary: Abbey lets CJ in on what happened in Boston. Jed gets a disturbing call from Emma that makes him rush Abbey to New Hampshire. Abbey forgives Jed.
"You were the surgeon?" CJ asked, her voice dripping with disbelief.
"You have to believe me when I tell you I wasn't high, CJ. I was trying to get off drugs. I went into work that night and I shouldn't have. It was a horrible mistake, one I'll never be able to forgive myself for."
"What happened?"
"I froze. I couldn't perform the operation. By the time they got another surgeon, he was in such bad shape. His body couldn't take the trauma."
"Has that ever happened to do you before? Have you ever..."
"Once. When in the Oval Office." CJ finished the sentence for her. "Does anyone know about Boston?"
"Only the doctors in the room and, of course, Jed."
CJ knew it would be a PR nightmare if the press found out. She was surprised it hadn't already leaked out. But that was thanks to how Emma planned it. Abbey and CJ didn't realize Emma's real goal was to kill Jed. They simply assumed Emma wanted to break up the couple, hoping to cause Abbey the same kind of pain she felt when Michael died. Even knowing her motivation, they continued to severely underestimate their opponent.
In the West Wing, Jed answered his phone only to be patched through the person he least wanted to speak to -- Emma.
"How did you get through?" he asked her.
"I still have connections," she answered. "It's not a social call, Jed."
Emma had never called him Jed before. Something about the way she said it now sent a chill down his spine. He was eager to get rid of her. "What do you want?"
"Your wife was in here earlier, playing detective."
"What?"
"And now, my journal is missing. I want it back."
"You're insane," he told her as Leo entered Oval Office, curious about who was on the phone.
"No, I'm not, but if I don't get it back by the end of the day, Abbey Bartlet is going to be one sorry woman."
Jed held his temper at bay and simply grinned at the woman's naivete. "You really aren't as smart as I thought you were. You just threatened the First Lady on a secure line. The FBI will haul your ass to..."
Emma quickly dismissed his thought before he had a chance to finish it. "I'm not worried about metal bars, Jed. If I were you, I'd be more concerned about your wife's safety. I wouldn't want your holiday plans marred by the spill of her blood. I'm playing for keeps now."
Leo rushed over towards him as Jed slammed down the receiver.
"Debbie!" he shouted. "Get Ron Butterfield in here!"
"Sir, what happened?" Leo wanted to know.
"She's threatening Abbey. Something about a journal."
"Who, Emma?"
"Yes!"
"How did she get through?"
"I don't know, Leo! What could she want? This is all because I fired her?"
Ron rushed into the Oval Office, immediately shaken by the President's demeanor.
"Emma Bradford just called and threatened the First Lady," Leo told Ron.
Ron looked over at Jed who was furiously pacing around his desk. "Sir, we can get a copy of the call and take appropriate action."
Jed nodded. "See that you do. Abbey and I are taking off for the holiday early. Leo, can you clear off my schedule? I want to get Abbey to the farm tonight."
"Of course," Leo replied.
"Sir, I can have security at the farm beefed up as well."
"No," Jed insisted. "She'll be with me. She'll be safe. I don't want to scare her or the rest of the family."
"Mr. President..." Ron started.
"Ron, if she comes anywhere near Abbey, I'll break her neck myself."
Jed headed towards the East Wing to find Abbey and tell her they had to leave for Manchester that night. But when he arrived, all he found were her staffers packing up to leave for the day.
"Where's my wife?" he asked a press assistant.
"I'm sorry, Sir. She left."
It was only a minute, but to Jed, it felt like an eternity -- an eternity before the assistant continued, telling him that Abbey had gone home for the evening. In that minute, all the raw emotions plagued Jed's mind. He remembered the last time he heard those words. It was after he had seen her leave the White House to go to New Hampshire after Zoey's death.
For sixty seconds, his mind began to race. Sure, Abbey was angry with him and she had every right to be, but she couldn't do this to him again. It was just too cruel and Abbey wasn't cruel. But what if she had, he wondered. Just the thought of losing her nearly destroyed him. When he realized what the assistant had meant, a wave of relief swept over him. But with that wave came the knowledge that he had to keep Abbey safe, no matter what. He couldn't lose her ever again.
In the Residence, Abbey had explained to CJ the entire story of the patient she lost in Boston. She still couldn't bring herself to say his name. It was as if saying it made her relive all the guilt. CJ understood her apprehension about coming foward sooner, but she assured Abbey that the secret was safe. Now that they knew what they were dealing with, what was driving Emma, they could deal with her.
Abbey pulled out Emma's journal. She knew it would contain more specific details of Emma's motives for coming to the White House. Before she could open it to skim through the pages, Jed walked through the door. Abbey quickly handed it to CJ in an attempt to keep it from her husband. Jed was too wired to even notice the exchange.
His frantic entry confused Abbey. "Jed, what's going on?"
"We're leaving for the farm tonight. Hi, CJ," he said, noticing his former Press Secretary.
"Hi, Sir. Abbey, I really should get going."
"Okay."
"CJ, can you make sure Amy clears the First Lady's schedule until after Christmas?" Jed asked.
"Of course, Sir. Happy Holidays."
"Happy Holidays, CJ," Abbey replied as Jed nodded.
"CJ, wait," Jed called out. When she turned around, Jed paused, realizing he didn't have time to discuss his apology now. "Never mind.You have a very Merry Christmas."
"Thank you, Sir. You do the same," she said cordially.
CJ excused herself as Abbey questioned her husband.
"Why are we leaving tonight?"
Jed thought about telling her the truth, but he was worried that infamous stubborn streak would show its ugly head and she'd insist on staying put to face Emma. Instead, he covered up his real reasons. "I'd like to get started on our Christmas preparations early."
"Is there something you're not telling me?"
"No, of course not," he lied.
"Jed."
He knew that stern voice meant she wanted the truth, so he gave her a different version of it. "Something happened today."
"What?"
"I went to your office to talk to you and an aide told me you had left."
Abbey looked at him with even more confusion in her eyes. "Yes, CJ and I came here to talk."
"Yeah, but Abbey, for a minute, I thought...I thought that you had really left...again." He lowered his head with the last word.
"Oh, Jed." She walked over to him, understanding what he meant. She bent down to look him in the eye and followed his gaze back up. "I told you when I came back I wasn't going anywhere ever again. I meant it."
Watching him so vulnerable broke her heart. She still felt responsible for how much her absence had hurt him the year before and no matter what happened, she was determined never to put him through that pain again. She took him in her arms and stroked the back of his head, trying to reassure him.
He pulled away slightly to look at her. "I just want a few days to ourselves. We haven't really had time alone since before Thanksgiving."
"That's been by choice."
"I know," he said sadly.
Hearing his voice, she immediately gave in to his request. "If you really want to go tonight, lets go tonight."
Jed's somber expression seemed to disappear quickly. In its place came a big smile accompanied by a warmth in his big blue eyes.
The couple arrived in Manchester that night and finally reconnected emotionally, and by the end of the night, physically as well. Jed was still trying to make up for letting Emma cause so many rifts between them and Abbey was ready to let him off the hook. When it came down to it, the qualities that Emma used to worm her way into his life were the very qualities she fell in love with -- his sincerity, generosity, and loving nature. She couldn't hold it against him any longer, especially now that she knew Emma's real reason for coming to Washington.
For the first time since Thanksgiving, the tension was gone and all that remained in its wake was deep adoration and love. Of course, the stress-free time wouldn't last forever.
Two days later, on Christmas Eve, Jed got a troubling call from Ron. Emma had been questioned and released by police. The telephone recording didn't come out clearly and Emma was able to put her own spin on what she had said. Though she wasn't totally in the clear and may face the consequences of her threat once the police spoke to Jed, she wasn't in jail.
She claimed her threat against the First Lady was the result of profound anger that someone had broken into her apartment and stolen something that belonged to her. Jed assured Ron that Abbey would never have done such a thing, but when he hung up the phone, he needed reassurance himself. He took Abbey's hands and sat her down on the couch next to him.
"I lied to you before," he told her. "We did come up here early for a reason and it wasn't the reason I told you. I got a phone call from Emma."
"What did she want?"
"She threatened you."
"What?"
"I was going to tell you, but I didn't want it to spoil Christmas. Ron was going to take care of it."
Abbey stood up as she tried to comprehend what he was telling her. "Did he?"
"No, Sweetheart. They let her go. The recording was muffled and she claimed she never made an actual threat. That she was just angry and wanted to get a message to you."
"What kind of threat?" Jed didn't respond, so she asked again. "Jed, tell me. What kind of threat did she make?"
"She told me I should be concerned about your safety."
"Don't we get a lot of threats like that on a daily basis?"
"Similar ones, but she's truly delusional and that's what scares me. She says you and she had some kind of argument, which is ridiculous...just another figment of her imagination."
Abbey looked away from her husband.
"It's ridiculous, right?" he asked. He got no response. "Abbey?"
"We didn't plan for it to turn out the way it did."
Jed stood up to face her. "We?"
"CJ and I just wanted to find out what she was after."
"Abbey!"
She expected him to be unhappy, but now was her chance to tell him what she had been keeping to herself. "Jed, you won't believe what we found. I know why Emma's been doing this. I know why she squirmed her way into the White House, why she wanted to be Press Secretary, all of it."
"Why?"
"She was engaged to him."
"To who?"
"HIM, Jed. She was engaged to HIM. The night before their wedding, he died on my operating table."
"Oh my god. Why didn't you tell me before we left Washington?"
"I had just found out myself."
"You should have told me. I should have told Ron."
Before they could continue talking about the bombshell Abbey just dropped, Elizabeth, Doug, Annie, and Gus walked in, having just arrived for the family celebration. The four were closely followed by Charlie, whom Jed invited as a guest, instead of an employee, and last, but not least, Ellie.
The Christmas Jed had worked so hard to plan was coming together, except for one detail -- there was a crazed psychopath outside determined to get revenge on his wife, and now, after all these months, he finally knew why.
TBC