AUTHOR'S NOTES: What I know about Presidential administration transition wouldn't fill a thimble, so my apologies for any errors. This is merely an indulgence, a love letter of sorts to the end of a fictional era. As of this writing, it is still unknown whether The West Wing will continue into a post-Bartlet era so this story acts as a series finale. I would place it as the final episode of the sixth season, provided of course that the real writers of the show picked up the pace a little bit. Hmmm, maybe it's a Very Special Two Hour TV Movie, Homicide-style! At the rate this teleplay is growing, it's going to have to be.

I fudged a little with the current timeline, mostly concerning Margaret's pregnancy and maternity leave. Just go with it.

Come on, now! Sing it with me! Doo dooooo do do doo, doo doo dooo do do do doooo...

Also, this is my first attempt at screenplay format. I realize that the descriptions are a bit, er, verbose, so let's just consider this a spec script rather than a shooting script. Be gentle.


"IN SLEEP A KING"

An original West Wing teleplay
By ishie

The FLAG flaps in the breeze over a picture of THE WHITE HOUSE.

V.O.
Previously, on The West Wing.

MONTAGE:

LEO MCGARRY invites JOSH LYMAN to New Hampshire. TOBY ZIEGLER hires CJ CREGG. Josh demonstrates his poker face to SAM SEABORN. PRESIDENT BARTLET tells JOHN HOYNES he shouldn't have had to beg. ABBEY BARTLET talks to DONNA MOSS in a hospital waiting room. CHARLIE YOUNG wakes the President. DELORES LANDINGHAM scolds someone offscreen.

The scenes get shorter and shorter as we flash quickly through some of the highlights of the last eight seasons. We see most of the familiar faces: DANNY CONCANNON, CAROL, DEBBIE FIDERER, MARGARET, KATE, NANCY, BONNIE, CATHY, GINGER, the BARTLET DAUGHTERS, and RON BUTTERFIELD.

The scenes flash by even faster. We see some less familiar faces in rapid sequence: ANDI, ADMIRAL FITZWALLACE, NANCY MCNALLY, SECRETARY HUTCHINSON, AINSLEY HAYES, OLIVER BABISH, AMY GARDNER, MANDY HAMPTON, MATTHEW SANTOS, VINICK, BOB RUSSELL, WILL BAILEY, CLIFF CALLEY and more.

The last clip fades to white.

SMASH CUT TO:

TITLE CARD: In Sleep a King

FADE IN:

EXT. WHITE HOUSE - NIGHT

A steady rain DRUMS on the roof of the portico. Two SECRET SERVICE AGENTS stand at attention outside the Oval Office. Their breath can be seen, twin wisps of vapor in the cold January air.

We hear the faint strains of MUSIC swell. Gently, the staccato BEAT of the rain sounds more like the TICKING of a metronome. This is slow music, but not sad. It gives us the sense of time running out.

Through one of the doors, we see Debbie Fiderer filing documents into white cardboard boxes. The Seal of the President is visible on the side of one of them. Various low-level staffers move slowly but steadily in and out of the room.

Golden light spills out of the other door, the entrance to the Oval Office. In stark contrast to the outer office, no one is moving in this room. We move in closer on a still figure seated in one of the two armchairs.

INT. OVAL OFFICE - NIGHT

President Bartlet is motionless. His hands are clasped over the head of a cane that rests between his legs. He is lost in thought, his face blank and tired. He's older than we realized.

The room is in the final stages of packing. The desk is bare of all papers. Even the blotter and decorative pen holders are gone. We swing around the office, taking in the blank spaces on the walls and the empty spot where the Remington sculpture resided. The family photos are no longer sitting beneath the window.

The music slows down just

Bartlet doesn't move, except to close his eyes.

INT. CHIEF OF STAFF'S OFFICE - NIGHT

CJ is standing behind her desk. Her office has also been stripped of mementos, except for GAIL, whose bowl still holds a position of honor on the desktop. There is a small placard stuck in the pebbles. It reads CLOSED FOR BUSINESS.

CJ calls out instructions and questions as Margaret, Charlie and several others move in and out of the office. They cross from one door to another to the beat of the music. It's like they're dancing, all slow moves and graceful turns. All are carrying folders, binders and other materials.

CJ
Make sure that the national security memos...

MARGARET
Yeah.

CJ
Did someone from Nancy's office...

CHARLIE
Yeah.

CJ
Someone called the...

MARGARET
(softly)
We're doing it.

A beat.

CJ
(resigned)
Yeah.

INT. WHITE HOUSE HALLWAYS - NIGHT

The camera flows out past Margaret's desk. More of the same: empty shelves, mostly bare desk, stacks of boxes. This is really happening.

We see the familiar bullpens and offices. The music grows a little more mournful as we realize that everyone is moving a little slower than normal. There aren't many familiar faces. The support staff started quietly exiting some time ago, scattering like lifeboats from a sinking ship. The music covers the lack of ringing phones and heated debates. The television monitors are off.

Some offices have closed doors and no lights and stacks of sealed boxes litter the corridors. It seems darker, quieter, smaller. Diminished.

INT. COMMUNICATIONS BULLPEN - NIGHT

Most of the overhead lights have been turned off. The computers have all been shut off. All the monitors are dark for the first time in years. As in the rest of the West Wing, we see stacks of boxes, but most of these are labeled TRANSITION HQ - COM.

We move toward what used to be the Deputy Communications Director's office. The blinds have been pulled tight and the door is shut.

We see Toby's office. His door is also closed, but there is a note taped to it. It reads:

NOTE
Farewell! Thou art too dear for my possessing.

The camera lingers on this note for a moment before retreating and moving back into the hallways.

INT. WHITE HOUSE HALLWAYS - NIGHT

We see the Roosevelt Room. It is unchanged. We move through the deserted Press Briefing Room, lingering for just a moment on the podium. We glide backward over the sea of empty chairs and into the small office at the back. Even the press affiliations have been removed from the backs of the chairs. Here and there, small lamps are lit. It's just enough to highlight the dark, still space. We move down the small set of stairs. We feel the weight of a thousand small moments through the years.

The TICKING of a clock rises as the music fades. Time is running out.

INT. CHIEF OF STAFF'S OFFICE - NIGHT

CJ is alone now. She crosses the room and closes both of the outer doors. She rests her forehead against one for a moment, eyes closed, body tense.

She chokes back a small sob and turns to the remaining door. The one that still stands open.

The one that leads to the President.

CJ
(softly)
And here we stand, at the turning of the years.

The MUSIC swells into the familiar theme as CJ strides through the door and knocks. At a signal from within, she opens the door to the Oval and enters. The camera pulls back as she moves forward. We glimpse the back of Bartlet's head.

CJ (cont'd)
Mr. President ...

SMASH CUT TO:

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