"Shh, Zoey," Ellie whispered. "What?" Zoey whined.
"Zo, just leave Dad alone for a little while, ok? He doesn't know anything you don't know," Elizabeth said.
Zoey nodded, sadly. Liz reached over and pulled her little sister into her lap and held her.
"It's ok, Zoey. It's gonna be all right," she said, soothingly. Suddenly the doors to the waiting room burst open and it came in the McGarry family. Jed immediately walked toward them. "Jesus, man, what happened?" Leo said, hugging his best friend. "Is she all right?" Jenny asked, hugging Jed after. Mallory stood behind them shyly, her eyes tear-stained. Jed smiled weakly at her, reassuringly.
"Hey, Mal"
Without saying anything, Mallory came into his arms for a hug too. The McGarrys and the Bartlets were inseperable. They were like one big family. When one of them was in the hospital, it affected all of them the same. Jenny titled her head and gestured for Mallory to go over and sit with the Bartlet girls. She did so.
When Ellie saw her coming, she moved over a seat so Mallory could sit next to Liz. Both Mallory McGarry and Elizabeth Bartlet were sixteen. Their closeness in age resulted in them being the best of friends since before they could remember. "Did you tell them?" Mallory asked.
Elizabeth nodded.
"Looks like it went worse than you thought if it landed your mother in the hospital." "No, I told them last night, after the party," Liz answered. "What happened"
"Dad flipped out, as planned"
"And Abbey"
"She was ok about it. Made Aunt Julia drive me home though," she explained.
"That's not a good sign"
"Yeah. I think they talked it out last night though. They didn't seem too pissed at me this morning. But then, they didn't have much time to before"
"Speaking of which. What the hell happened this morning"
"Well, they woke up, Mom told Dad she was wasn't feeling well- I know because I was sitting on the stairs spying- and then as soon as they saw me, she flew up the stairs to the bathroom like she was gonna throw up. A few minutes later, Zoey and Ellie came downstairs crying saying she was unconscious. And now"
"Oh, God, Liz. That's horrible. And the doctors haven't told you anything yet?" Mallory asked.
"Nope. They wheeled her down to emergency and we haven't heard anything since. I think all this waiting is gonna drive my dad to insanity." "Well, I'd be going crazy too if I were him. What do you think is wrong"
"I don't know. Probably just dehydration or something. She's been working a lot lately. She was actually off today. But she just can't stay away from this damn hospital, can she?" "Liz"
"Yeah, that was uncalled for. I don't know," Liz said.
"Are you mad at her or something"
"No! I just…I don't know. I'm confused right now"
"I know." Mallory put her around her friend's shoulders. "But no matter what, I'll be there. You know that, right?" Liz smiled.
"Thanks, Mal."
"She just fainted?" Leo was asking.
"Out of nowhere?" Jenny wondered.
"She told me she didn't feel good, and I could tell she had a temperature. Then when she ran to the bathroom, I just figured she'd eaten something that disagreed with her. Next thing I knew she was on the floor and here we are," Jed explained, still pacing the room.
"Do you think maybe it's dehydration?" Jenny asked.
"No. She's a doctor, she's good about making sure she drinks her fluids"
Then, a doctor approached them, one Jed didn't recognize. He thought he knew all the doctors at George Washington General Hospital.
"Representative. Senator. Congresswoman." The doctor nodded and greeted Jed, Leo, and Jenny respectively.
Being that they lived in Washington, the three of them were well-known and highly respected political figures.
"I'm Dr. Sussin. I've been treating Dr. Bartlet."
"How is she?" Jed asked, urgently.
"She's both conscious and alert"
They all breathed a sigh of relief.
"We're just waiting for the test results, which should be returning very soon"
"But she's ok"
"Well, she's stable and she's awake and she knows where she is. That's the most important thing right now." He turned to look at Jed. "If you want to go in and see her, you can do that now"
"Thank you"
Dr. Sussin left them, and Jed looked at Leo. Leo, in turn, looked at Jenny.
"I am not leaving my best friend," Jenny said, firmly, referring to Abbey.
"I'm not leaving mine," Leo agreed, looking at Jed.
"I'm not leaving mine either," Mallory said, squeezing Elizabeth's hand.
"There you have it," Leo said.
Jenny smiled at Leo and nodded.
"Ok," he said, throwing his keys to his daughter. "Take them back to our house, Mal"
Mallory caught the keys and grinned.
"You got it"
The girls all stood and, one by one, they each gave Jed, Leo, and Jenny a hug.
"Tell Mom we love her," Ellie said.
"I will, sweetie," Jed replied.
"Bye, Daddy," Zoey said, tearfully. "Don't let Mommy die"
Jed shuddered at the thought, but his composure remained intact for the sake of his daughters.
"I would kill before I let that happen"
When the girls left the hospital, the three adults turned in to face each other.
"You go see Abbey. We'll wait out here," Leo said to Jed.
"We're not going anywhere," Jenny confirmed.
"And you let us know the minute you hear something," Leo added.
"I will. Thank you." And he meant it. He couldn't imagine better friends than the McGarrys.
With that, he walked off in search of his wife. When he reached her room, he slowly opened the door and peeked in. She was indeed awake. Not only that, but she was propped up by pillow watching The Cosby Show on the TV that hung above her. She saw him as he walked in, and quickly grabbed the remote to turn off the TV.
"Jed"
The desperate longing in her voice pierced through his heart and he rushed to her side. Sitting on the bed next to her, he held her hands tightly.
"How do you feel?" He asked.
"Nauseous"
"Did they tell you anything"
"No. Nothing. They're waiting on test results," Abbey answered.
"I know. You really gave me quite a scare this morning, Doctor"
"I'm so sorry. I"
"Shh." He put his fingers to her lips. "Don't apologize, baby. It's ok. I'm just glad you're all right"
"For now at least"
He leaned back into the bed and pulled her against him, his arm tightly around her.
"Where are the girls"
"Leo, Jen, and Mallory came and Mal took the girls back to their house," Jed explained.
"Mallory drove"
"She's had her licsense a few months now, and Leo and Jenny refused to leave us. And Mallory wouldn't leave Liz"
"Oh, my God. Liz"
"She's fine, Abbey," Jed said, coaxingly.
"No. We never got to talk to her. We have to"
"It can wait. Elizabeth understands. She's been great all morning"
"Really? She's been great"
"She took full charge of Ellie and Zoey while I damn near had a nervous breakdown. And she never put up a fight. Not one complaint," he stated.
"We'll talk to her when I come home," Abbey said, but it was more like a question.
"Of course. Abbey"
"Hmm"
"I didn't get a chance to thank you for a last night," Jed said.
"What about last night"
"For being so supportive and understanding while I ranted and raved all night. And while I said some things to you that…were extremely uncalled for"
"Well, you learn to put your own needs second when the man you married is hurting."
"I shouldn't have said it, Abbey. I don't blame you for Liz"
"No, you shouldn't have said it. But I know you didn't mean it," she told him, honestly.
"Dammit, Abbey, will you just let me thank you"
"Sorry"
"You know, you have a fascinating way of combining self-deprecation with downright pigheadedness that is simply remarkable."
They both laughed. But the laughter stopped when Dr. Sussin entered the room, with the test results in hand.