Alex woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. "Hello," she asked, fumbling for the phone.
"Miss Bartlet, this is your wakeup call," a man with a thick French accent reported.
"Yeah. Thanks," she said, dropping the phone. She groaned and flopped back against her pillows, rubbing her face. It felt like she had just fallen asleep. She sat up and closed her eyes, feeling a wave of nausea overcome her. Dismissing it to lack of sleep, Alex climbed out of bed and got dressed for the day.
Alex sat at the afternoon matinee, her head pounding. She bowed her head and rubbed her temple, which didn't go unnoticed by Donna.
After the matinee, Donna guided Alex out to the car and handed her some Advil. "What's this for," Alex asked, taking the medication.
"Your headache," Donna replied.
"I'm just tired," Alex said, waving her away. "I'll be fine."
"You sure," Donna asked.
"Yeah," Alex said, forcing a smile. The truth was, her headache had grown worse and her stomach had started to ache. She figured it was cramps, but pushed it away.
"You sure you don't want to come to the dinner," Abbey asked, clipping on her earring.
"Yeah," Alex said, "I'm just going to hang out here, maybe see the city some." She was sitting cross legged on the bed, wearing a sweater and jeans. Her parents had been invited to a dinner, while she had opted to stay at the hotel that night.
"Are you feeling okay," Abbey asked, noticing her daughter's flushed cheeks for the first time that day.
"Just a headache," Alex said, shrugging it off. "I'm fine."
"You sure? I can stay here tonight," she said, feeling Alex's forehead and cupping her cheek.
"I'll be fine," Alex said, "Go to the dinner."
"Alright," Abbey said, "Call me if you start to feel bad."
"Okay," Alex said, "Have fun."
"I will," Abbey said, kissing her daughter's forehead. She lingered for a moment, then left, clutching her shawl around her.
Alex sat in the hotel room, reading her book. She closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeling dizzy. "Did you want to see the city," Donna asked, walking into the room.
"No," Alex said, "I don't feel so great."
"You need any medication?"
"Some pepto, if it's around," Alex replied. Donna nodded and went to the medical kit Abbey had left for her. She always took it with her when they traveled. Before leaving for the dinner, Abbey had instructed Donna to check in on Alex.
She returned a few seconds later and handed the medication to her. "You want me to call your mom," Donna asked, watching the girl take the medication. A light sheen of sweat covered her forehead and her complexion had paled since her parents had left.
"No," Alex replied, "They're at a dinner."
"Okay," Donna said, "I'm just going to hang out in the living room if you need me."
"Okay," Alex said, knowing her mother had put Donna on watch, "I think I'm going to call it an early night. Have to be up early in the morning." She smiled slightly and moved to stand up, wavering slightly. She steadied herself, then headed to her bedroom.
Donna watched the girl leave and reached for the phone. Abbey had also instructed her to call if she felt needed.
Alex closed her eyes and tried to force herself to go to sleep. Her stomach ached and she had started to couch, which caused her to curl up in a ball. She wished she had had Donna call her mother, to have her come back to the hotel.
She curled up tighter, shivering as she pulled the blankets tighter around herself. Her skin burned, but she couldn't stop shivering. She heard the door to her room open and looked up, wincing as she did so. "Mom," she called, her voice cracking slightly.
"Yeah," Abbey said, sitting down next to her. "How do you feel?"
"Just peachy," Alex replied, rolling onto her back.
"Donna take your temperature," Abbey asked. Alex shook her head and watched as her mother reached for her bag and pulled out a thermometer. "Hold still." She held the instrument to Alex's ear and pressed the button. A second later, it beeped and she looked down at it.
"101," Abbey said, "Congrats, kiddo. You're sick. Where do you feel bad?"
"Stomach, head, throat, coughing," Alex replied, coughing as if to prove it.
"Alright." She pulled out a bottle of medicine and poured some for Alex, who took it and grimaced.
"Do you always carry a bottle of medicine in hopes that someone gets sick," Alex asked, settling back against the pillows.
"Have you met your
father," Abbey asked, "He's an absolute baby when he's sick."
"Oh," Alex said, yawning.
"Get some sleep," Abbey said, "I'm going to go change, then come check on you." Alex nodded and closed her eyes, feeling the bed shift as her mother slid off. She felt her mother's cool touch of her lips to her forehead just before she drifted off to sleep.
Abbey changed out of her dress, then reached for the phone as it rang. "Hello," she asked, picking it up.
"Hey," her husband said, "How's Alex?"
"Sick," Abbey replied, sitting down to remove her shoes. "She's got a fever of 101."
"Want me to come back," he asked.
"No, just stay at the dinner. I can take care of her," Abbey said, removing her earrings.
"Alright," he said after a pause. "We're almost done with dinner, then we'll wrap up the negotiations. I'll be back around midnight."
"Alright," Abbey replied, "Love you."
"I love you too," he said. He waited while she hung up, then went to join the dinner.
Abbey returned to Alex's bedroom to check on her youngest daughter, who was sound asleep. She brushed the hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, rubbing her back gently as she coughed. She had told Donna to get some sleep before they had to leave for Air Force One in the morning. She laid down on the bed, pulling Alex close and closed her eyes.
She woke up to someone brushing the hair from her face and turned to see Jed sitting next to her, his tie undone and sleeves pushed up. "Hey," she said softly, "How long have you been back?"
"About five minutes," he replied, "We wrapped up the negotiations and left. Are you packed?"
"Yeah," Abbey said, "How long until we leave?"
"About an hour. She okay to get on the plane," he asked, motioning to Alex."Yeah, but it may not be pretty," Abbey said, looking over to Alex. "You wake her up and I'll pack her things. Everyone else ready to go?"
"Just about," he said, "Senior Staff's still packing, but it's not like they can leave without us." Abbey chuckled and sat up, pushing the hair out of her eyes. "Go get dressed and I'll work with the kid." He kissed her, then watched her leave before moving to wake Alex up.
Alex stirred and opened her eyes. "Hey kid," he said, "We're leaving now."
"Dad," she asked, her voice raspy from coughing.
"Yeah," he said, "You up to walking? Your mom's packing your things up."
"Yeah," she said, sitting up. "Just give me a minute." He nodded and kissed her forehead before leaving the room to allow her to get a quick shower.
Alex slept on the way to the airport, her head resting against Abbey's shoulder the entire way. Once they arrived, she woke up, and with the help of Abbey and her father, was guided on to the plane.
Abbey gently laid her down on a couch towards the back and covered with a blanket. She stayed by Alex until she was asleep, then wandered between the onboard bedroom she and her husband shared and where Alex slept.
Alex woke up to her mother shaking her and groaned as she opened her eyes. "Hey," Abbey said, "We're almost to D.C. and I need to take your temperature."
"Okay," Alex said, pushing herself up. She let her mother take her temperature and watched as she checked it.
"102," Abbey said. "Do you want more medicine? It'll make you tired."
"How long until we land," Alex asked.
"Fifteen minutes," Abbey replied. "We can have Dr. Hackett look at you when we get to the House. I'd hate to give you something that'll knock you out and anything else will just keep you up."
"I think I can hold out that long," Alex said groggily.
"Okay," Abbey said, kissing her forehead. "I'm going to go see what progress your father's made." She left Alex, then went to go check on her husband.
Alex grasped the rail of the stairs tightly, the feel of the metal cool against her hot skin. Her mother was next to her, helping guide her down the stairs. She knew the media was taking pictures and grimaced. She knew she looked a little less than spectacular.
"They're taking pictures of your dad," Abbey said, "not of you. Your dad told them not to." She rubbed Alex back gently and wrapped her arm around her waist as they reached the bottom of the stairs. She was placed in the back of the car and Abbey climbed in behind her.
"Where's Dad," Alex asked vaguely.
"He's talking to the press," Abbey said. "He'll be back at the House in a few."
Alex nodded and leaned forward, putting her head between her knees. Abbey watched the color drain from Alex's face and moved to place a bag in front of Alex just as she threw up.
Alex heaved as the contents of her stomach were emptied into the paper bag Abbey had taken from the plane. She was barely aware of her mother holding the hair back from her face as she threw up.
Finally, she leaned back as tears streamed down her face. She couldn't remember ever feeling this bad in her life. Abbey reached for a plastic bottle of water they kept in the limos and untwisted it, handing it to Alex to rinse out her mouth.
"We're almost there," Abbey said softly, rubbing Alex's back. Alex nodded as tears fell down her face. She just wanted to be in bed.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, they pulled up in front of the White House and Alex was assisted out of the car. The marine, having heard that Alex had been sick on the plane, was on hand with a wheelchair for the teenager.
Alex fell into the wheelchair and allowed her to be pushed up to her bedroom. Abbey walked ahead and pulled out a warm pair of pajamas for Alex to change into.
Once Alex was in bed, Abbey pulled her daughter's hair back, in case she got sick and sat with her until she fell asleep. She had always stayed up with all of the girl's while they were sick. She closed the curtains to the room and leaned back in the chair to study her daughter. She had gained most of the weight she had lost back and before being sick, had gained a healthy tan to her skin. She waited to hear from the schools that she had applied to and although Alex hadn't said it outright, she knew the girl's top option was Yale. Nineteen years of worrying and three months later, their daughter was home and going off to college in one month. Abbey sighed and kissed Alex gently before going to her bedroom to finish unpacking.