DISCLAIMER: See chapter 1
A/N: Thanks so much to nattieb, kursk, and daffycat7 for the reviews. The format of this is a little weird. Basically... the flashbacks are in third person, preterite tense, and the POVs are in first person, present tense. Sorry if it's a little confusing. That's just the way it came out when it was written.
Donna looks very upset. Something must be horribly wrong or else she wouldn't be acting like this. It's the First Lady's job to keep a brave face no matter what.
"What is it?," Josh asks. Donna won't answer. There are tears forming in her eyes. "Donna, are you all right?"
She says something but the crowd starts applauding at something Sam says and I can't hear her. "What was that? It's a little loud."
"I said...," she looked like she was struggling with every word she said. "President Bartlet is dead."
A ringing starts to pound in my ears. The world around me starts to spin. President Bartlet wasn't dead, he couldn't be. He wasn't sick. I knew that his MS was finally kicking in, but I didn't think it was that bad. But then I remember, Zoey had flown to Manchester three days ago. She had said that her dad had a case of the flu and her mother needed all the help she could get.
Zoey. She must be devastated. She was always her father's little girl, everyone said so. I have to talk to her.
As my vision returns, I see that Josh has Donna wrapped in his arms, tears are flowing freely down her face. "I have to... I have to call Zoey." I'm not even sure if the words actually came out, but I march away from the noise anyway.
Charlie knocked on the door to President Bartlet's Manchester study apprehensively. He had never been this nervous in all his life. The President was going to kill him. "Come in!," Jed Bartlet yelled. Charlie slowly opened the door, but couldn't find the will to actually walk into the room. The President looked up. "Oh hey Charlie, come on in, grab a seat." He indicated a chair across from where he sat.
After taking a deep breath, Charlie walked in and sat down. He couldn't find the will to say anything, so instead he just stared at his feet. The President watched Charlie's nervous behavior for a few seconds. It really began to annoy him. After a loud sigh, Jed asked him, "Can I help you with something, or are you just here to grace me with your presence?"
Charlie looked up at President Bartlet, which made him even more fidgety. He began to knead his hands together. "Mr. President... you know that Zoey and I have been dating again for a few years?"
"How could I forget?," he asked gruffly as he looked over his paperwork.
"Well... I want you to know that I love your daughter, and I always have."
"Mm-hmm."
"I didn't want to take our relationship any further until I could do something to support us, and now that I've finished law school...," he trailed off.
Jed gave Charlie a penetrating stare over his glasses. "What?"
The saliva left Charlie's mouth and it took all the strength in the world for him to speak. "I was wondering... if I could have your daughter's hand in marriage."
The President went back to his paperwork. "Have you asked her yet?"
"No sir. Why?"
"Because if you had and she had said yes then there would be no way I could say no to you. But since you haven't, I now have the power to do so."
Charlie paused. "Are you going to?"
The President looked up and surveyed Charlie for a moment. "I look at the other men my daughters have dated: Ellie and the guitarist, Liz and Doug, and Zoey and Jean-Paul, and I realize that there can never be a man good enough for any of them. But I think that you come the closest to it."
"Is that a yes?," he questioned, quite perplexed.
Jed sighed and stood up. "Welcome to the family." He offered a hand to Charlie.
Charlie stood and shook it eagerly. "Thank you Mr. President."
"You do know, though, that if you break my little girl's heart, I will be forced to sick the Agents on you."
"I'm quite aware of that sir."
"Good! Now go!" Charlie turned to leave. "Oh and Charlie!" Charlie stopped. "I just wanted you to know that you've always been the closest thing that I've had to a son, and I'm elated that it's going to be legal." He smiled, and Charlie, overtaken by this emotional gesture, left the room with a lump in his throat.
It's really cold outside, but this alleyway is the only place that I could find in the vicinity that was quiet, so it will have to do. I dial Manchester's number, which has, over the years, become very familiar to me. One ring. Two rings. Three rings. Why aren't they picking up?
"Hello?" I could swear that that's Doug's voice.
"Doug?"
"Hey Charlie."
"Oh... I was wondering if I could speak to Zoey."
Doug's voice darkened. "You've heard?"
"Donna told me."
"How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine, but I would like to speak to my wife."
"No can do. She's not here. She and her mother and her sisters all went to a private midnight mass. I'm watching the kids."
"All right... well, tell her to call me and let her know that I'll be on the next flight up there."
"No. Leo told me that you should stay there... to help with funeral arrangements."
Doug is really starting to tick me off. How do they expect me to stay here while my wife is in pain? "I should be with Zoey! Do you know what a difficult time this is for her?! Her father just died! It's my duty to be by her side!"
"I know Charlie! But you have duties there, too. Just wait and talk to Zoey and Leo before you decide to do anything, okay?"
After a moment's deliberation, I decide that Doug's right. If Leo wants me to stay in DC, I probably should. "Fine."
"Charlie... are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine Doug! Just wonderful!" That came out sounding a little meaner than I wanted it to. Nonetheless, I hang up my phone.
A wave of nausea and complete tiredness hits me. The world begins to spin again. I take a deep breath, shut my eyes, and lean against the freezing brick wall, waiting for my sickness to pass. My body slowly begins to be overtaken by numbness, but I don't think that it's because of the cold temperature.
