By Ginny
The pride I feel as I watch Jed address the convention is almost overwhelming. It is taking all I have not to be reduced to a blubbering, teary mess right now. At this moment, Jed is poised, energetic, articulate and proud. The only thing marring the perfect scene is the simple wooden cane he's propped up against the side of the podium. It stands there as a reminder of how different things are from when Jed addressed the convention 4 years ago.
It is as if everything has changed and yet nothing has changed.
Physically, Jed has aged much more than 4 years, he's grayer, slower and though he does his best to hide it, he's more fragile in many ways. Yet he speaks now as if nothing in the world is more important than what he's doing at this very moment. And he truly feels that way. At this moment he looks vibrant and healthy. It's amazing what an afternoon nap and a little make-up can do.
In the past few years our family has been through so much, Zoey's kidnapping, tension with Liz and Doug and nearly losing Leo. And that's just the personal stuff. Let's not even get into the political crap we've weathered.
But Zoey is now healthy and happy, standing not 20 feet from me, holding Charlie's hand. She divides her attention between her father and the man who has stood beside her through everything, even when she tried to push him away. No matter what Jed may say, he's thrilled to see Zoey and Charlie back together again.
Liz and Doug are sitting out there somewhere, preferring to watch Jed with the rest of the audience. An uneasy truce has formed between Doug and the rest of the family. I think he realized that he was only thinking of running for that house seat because he thought he could grab the end of Jed's coattails. And then that crap he tried to pull back in New Hampshire was just that...crap. Liz effectively put an end to that when she wrote a personal check to the Matthew Santos campaign. She and Doug worked out their differences; in other words, he realized just how wrong he was. Annie and Gus are great and the whole family is sitting together watching Jed.
Leo's standing off to the side waiting for the announcement that will, most likely, shock many. He did manage to find a few minutes to call Mallory so she won't be one of the shocked. As Jed is nearing the announcement of the Democratic ticket, Leo looks up and gives me a little smile. It's true we've had our differences but a heart attack tends to put things into perspective. We talked a lot this winter and spring. The conversations stemmed out of my hovering over him after the heart attack and Jed after the recurrence of his MS symptoms. But over time, the conversations ended up being less about medical concerns and more about friendship, loyalty and eventually forgiveness. What we each needed to forgive the other for was never quite clear to either of us but there were just things we needed to get past.
And happily, we did.
"...Matthew Vincente Santos and Leo Thomas McGarry."
And with Jed's words the place erupts into thunderous applause. I give Leo a wink as he heads towards the stage with Matt Santos. He winks back and takes a visible breath as he walks towards Jed. I watch as my husband shakes their hands, picks up his cane and walks off the stage with a huge smile on his face.
His speedy stride and the smile fade just a little as he steps out of camera range. He leans a little more on his cane and waves off Ron Butterfield, who I assume is asking him if he's ok and if he needs anything. Ron backs off and gives me a smile, effectively turning over the care and keeping of Jed to me as the agents widen their perimeter to give us as much privacy as is possible backstage at the Democratic National Convention.
"You did great," I whisper as I brush back that stray lock of hair from his forehead and pull him into my arms. He doesn't say anything, instead he holds on longer than I had expected. "Jed, sweetie, are you ok?" I ask as I take a step back to get a good look at him. He nods a little and smiles. "Sit for a minute," I suggest as I look around for a chair. Ron, using his well-honed psychic abilities, appears out of nowhere with a folding chair and a bottle of water. Jed sits and drinks a little water.
"I'm just tired," he assures me as he sits down. And I think I believe him. This day has been endless, emotionally and physically exhausting for all, especially Jed. I nearly had to sedate him to get him to rest this afternoon. He finally gave in when I promised him some recreational activities later on. But when I made that promise I had assumed this thing would be over by the time the late news came on...on the East Coast. So much for that assumption.
Jed rests for a few minutes as we watch Matt Santos' acceptance speech on a nearby monitor. I rub his back and he drinks a little more water.
"Mr. President, the motorcade is ready whenever you are," Ron says as Matt Santos and Leo accept another round of thunderous applause.
"Let's go back to the hotel," I suggest, wanting to get Jed moving before Matt and Leo get off the stage. If the three of them start talking it will be hours before we can get out of here.
"Yeah, sounds good," Jed agrees in a soft, suddenly weary voice. I hand him his cane as the agents move closer. The trip to the car is mercifully short and nobody tries to stop us along the way. As anticipated, Jed is all but asleep when the limo pulls into the underground garage at our hotel.
"Jed, wake up," I say, nudging him just a little. He startles awake and rubs his eyes in a rather adorable fashion, making me wish it wasn't so late and he wasn't so exhausted.
"Good night, Ron."
"Good night, Mr. and Mrs. President. There's an agent outside your door if you need anything," Ron says as he bids us good night. He speaks into his cuff, signing himself off for the night as he heads into his room down the hall. I steer Jed into the room and point him in the direction of the bathroom.
"Wash the make up off, brush your teeth and take your pills," I instruct him as I grab my pajamas out of the dresser. He comes back out a minute later still completely dressed. I guess I left out the part about putting on his pajamas. "Oh no," I mutter as Jed flops onto the bed, shoes and all, and reaches for the remote.
"Please," he whines.
"No way. You turn the television on and you'll be awake for hours. You need some sleep."
"I'm too wired," he complains as he kicks off his shoes and pulls at his tie.
"Wired? You fell asleep on the 5 minute drive back here," I remind him as I help him unbutton his shirt.
"Yeah, maybe you're right. But if you want to go ahead and finish undressing me, I wouldn't mind all that much," he said trying to be suave and charming but the effect is ruined by a massive yawn.
"Yeah, I'm sure you wouldn't mind at all, because you'll be asleep in about 5 minutes," I tease as I pull back the covers. "You want pajamas?"
"This is fine," he mutters as he crawls under the covers in his boxers and t-shirt.
I sit on the edge of the bed put my hand on his chest. "I am so proud of you," I whisper as I kiss him softly.
"Thank you," he sighs as he turns on his side to face me. "I think I need to take a raincheck on the recreational stuff," he whispers as his eyes slide closed.
"That's ok Babe, I'll be here in the morning," I assure him as I pull the covers up a little and tuck him in.
I brush my teeth and wash my face. By the time I get back into the bedroom, Jed's snoring softly.
