Washington, D.C.
CJ and Toby were the last ones to make it to the Oval Office. Debbie told them to go on in, then she stood outside the closed door to listen in. Charlie gave her a look of great disdain and shook his head disapprovingly.
"Oh, bite me," Debbie whispered.
Charlie brushed it off and continued with what he was doing.
"Charlie! Charlie, you have to come over here and listen to this."
"It's not my job to eavesdrop on the president," Charlie replied, calmly.
"Come on, they don't pay us nearly enough. This is one of the benefits. Like health insurance."
"Yeah. Well, I already know what it is."
"You know what they're talking about?"
"Yeah. The thing with the First Lady."
"What thing with the First Lady?"
Charlie grinned, deviously.
"I guess you'll just have to eavesdrop and find out."
Everyone was seated when CJ and Toby walked in. Leo and the President sat in the two chairs by the desk and Sam, Josh, and Amy sat together on one couch. CJ and Toby sat down beside Will on the opposite couch.
"So," Jed said. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this impromptu meeting?"
They all looked at CJ, as they had been wondering the same thing. Slowly, she pulled out the magazine she had been holding tight to her chest.
"Mr. President…it seems that lately I've been the bearer of bad news."
"Well, you're my press secretary. That's what you do best. What do you have for me now?"
"I…" CJ stuttered, glancing down at her shoes.
Leo looked at her squarely, trying to read her expression.
"CJ? What is it?" He asked, concerned.
"I'm sorry, I can't do this," CJ said.
CJ Cregg had enormous respect and love for both the President and the First Lady. There was no way she could be the one to tell him this. They were like family to her, and she didn't want to the one that broke them apart. In truth, all of the members of the senior staff felt that way about the First Couple.
"Let me see it, CJ," Sam said.
CJ nodded, then leaned across to hand Sam the magazine. He glanced at it once, then dropped it face down onto his lap. He looked up at CJ, his eyes reflecting the shock and anguish that had possessed her eyes as well.
"Sam?" Josh inquired.
Josh didn't need to say it; Sam instinctively knew the question. He handed his friend the magazine, careful not to let the rest of them see the picture on the cover.
"Oh, jeez," Josh muttered, when he saw it.
"What the hell is going on here!" Jed shouted.
"Amy," Josh said, handing the magazine to her.
After looking at it, Amy's hand involuntarily rose to cover her open mouth.
"Oh, my God."
"What!" Jed shouted again.
"Amy," Leo said, gesturing for her to hand it to him.
From one Chief of Staff to another, Amy handed it to him. Leo was just as shocked as the staff, if not more, by what he saw.
"Leo, give me the damn thing," Jed ordered.
"Sir, I don't think you…"
"As the leader of the free world, by the power vested in me, I hereby demand that you give me that magazine!"
"Sir, I think you should talk to the First Lady before you see this."
"Why?"
"Maybe it's not what we think."
"What the hell could she be doing? Kissing another man?"
Everyone coughed, nearly choking, then tried to put on a straight face again.
"Give it to me, Leo."
"Mr. President…"
Jed didn't wait for him. He grabbed the magazine, and stared at the cover in shock. The staff watched him nervously, waiting for his verbal reaction. It was nearly two whole minutes before the president spoke.
Jed sighed, put the magazine down, then pulled his glasses off and looked around at his staff.
"Well," he said. "I guess we can cancel the trip to London."
Half an hour later, Elizabeth and Mallory were still waiting in Amy's office. They didn't think much of Amy's absence. They both knew how the President loved to spend time regaling his staff with various stories and filling their heads with useless knowledge. Liz and Mallory were content just hanging out and talking, passing the time the way they used to.
"Mom!"
Liz and Mallory turned their heads in surprise when Annie pushed the door open and walked into Amy's office.
"What's wrong, Annie?" Liz asked, urgently.
She glanced down at the magazine Annie was holding.
"What's that?"
Annie held up the magazine so her mother and her godmother could see the picture on the cover.
"Oh, my God," Mallory whispered.
"Where did you get that?" Liz snapped, as she snatched the magazine out of her daughter's hands.
"Carol gave it to me. CJ's got a whole bunch of copies in her office, and I was looking for something to read for the plane ride home," Annie explained, her voice broken.
Liz pursed her lips, clenched her fist, and threw the magazine into the wastebasket. Annie watched her with frightened eyes. Seeing that, Mallory smiled sympathetically and held her arm out to her.
"Sit down, honey."
Annie walked over and sat beside her godmother.
"Listen to me, Anne. You can't believe everything you see. Appearances can be deceiving. That magazine is trash. Do you hear me?" Liz exclaimed.
"Mom, it's People Magazine! It's not trash!"
"Any magazine that would put that ridiculous picture on the cover of their publication is trash!"
"It's not just People," Annie whispered.
"What?"
"It's not just People. Carol had US Weekly, InTouch, and some others. It's on Page Six of the New York Post! And the New York Times and the Boston Globe…"
"Stop!"
"Liz, calm down, I'm sure it's just…" Mallory began.
"It's just my mom on the cover of every periodical in the United States with a man that most certainly is NOT my father!" Liz shouted back.
"I'm sure it's not what we think. You said yourself, you can't believe everything you see."
Elizabeth shook her head.
"Zoey said there was someone else," she whispered.
"What?"
"Zoey said there was someone else. In London." She shrugged. "I guess that's him. Nobility Man."
"Nobility Man?"
"He's been decorated by the Queen or…something. I don't know. Quite frankly, I don't like to think about it."
"Yeah," Mallory replied, quitely. "Wow."
"Are Grandma and Grandpa gonna get a divorce?" Annie asked.
"No! They absolutely are not, Anne."
"Yeah. Well, when you call me Anne, it makes me think you're lying."
"What?"
"You always call me that when you don't want me to know if something's happening. Like I shouldn't even be asking. That always gives it away," Annie said. "I'm fifteen, Mom. I'm not stupid."
"I know you're not stupid. I just…don't want you jumping to any conclusions," Liz explained.
"I don't think there'd be any jumping involved. Looks to me like the conclusions are right there on the cover of People Magazine."
London, England- the evening before
When they arrived at the hotel from the party, a still tearful Abbey convinced her daughter that she was fine. Zoey reluctantly returned to her own room, allowing her mother to be on her own for awhile. Abbey swiped her room key card and unlocked the door. She said goodnight to her agents, who stood guard just outside the room, and then walked in. She stumbled through the darkness, her hand brushing the wall, searching for the light switch. She finally felt the switch beneath the palm of her hand, then moved it down to flip it up. The lights flickered on, illuminating the entire room and revealing the hundreds of roses that were strategically placed around the room. Abbey was taken aback by the gesture, and the amount of roses before her. But for the first time since she had gotten married, Abbey didn't know who the roses were from. She knew it could only be one of two people, but the fact that she was entertaining two suspicions made her feel uneasy.
Making her way through the room, careful not to disturb the roses, she found an envelope sitting on her bedside table. On the front, the word 'Abigail' was written in very distinctive, familiar penmanship. Her lips formed a sad smile as she sat down on the bed and picked up the envelope. She opened it, and pulled the letter out, running her fingers over it lightly. It had been nearly thirty years since he had written her a letter. There had never been any need to. There were times when she had asked him to, just for fun. But he never saw the point.
Abbey smiled when she saw what he had wrote, and then her eyes filled with tears yet again. He had written her the lyrics to one of her favorite songs. She didn't think he remembered. She had only mentioned it a few times to him, and he hadn't really been listening any of those times. Reading the lyrics, she was surprised at how truly pertinent the words were to the situation. And the tears came flowing down her cheeks at a rapid pace.
"Dear Abbey,
I know sometimes I'm not so good with words. I can speak to a crowd, but I don't always say what I should to you. I thought the lyrics to this song, which, I know, is one your favorites, would say it all:
Is it getting better Or do you feel the same Will it make it easier on you now, You got someone to blame You say...
One love,
One life,
When it's one need
In the night
One love
We get to share it
Leaves you, baby, if you
Don't care for it
Did I disappoint you Or leave a bad taste in your mouth You act like you never had love And you want me to go without Well it's...
Too late Tonight To drag the past out into the light We're one, but we're not the same We get to Carry each other, Carry each other, One...
Have you come here for forgiveness Have you come to raise the dead Have you come here to play Jesus To the lepers in your head
Did I ask too much More than a lot You gave me nothing Now it's all I got We're one But we're not the same Well we Hurt each other Then we do it again You say Love is a temple Love, a higher law Love is a temple Love, the higher law You ask me to enter But then you make me crawl And I can't be holding on To what you got When all you got is hurt One love One blood One life You got to do what you should One life With each other Sisters Brothers One life But we're not the same We get to Carry each other Carry each other
One...life
One
I hope you find that as appropriate as I did. Sometimes, I don't think I tell you enough. I assume that you know, that you understand. And while I'm certain that you do, it's still not a good enough excuse. I love you, Abbey. I know it doesn't always seem this way, but you are the most important thing in my life. I get my priorities mixed up now and then, I know. But there is nothing I want more than for you to come back home, for you to come back to me. Let's work on this together, Abbey, like we always have. This silence isn't doing us any good. I need you to talk to me. I'll listen, I promise. By the time this letter reaches you, I'll be on my way to London. So don't make any plans. You'll have your hands full.
All my love,
Jed
Abbey didn't bother to wipe away her tears, as they were now falling at a steady pace. She had no doubt that the pictures taken by the paparazzi that night would be on the cover of every publication known to man by morning. She had ruined it. Even though she hadn't done anything with Sir Prescott, she knew Jed's jealous streak would get the best of him, and this would hurt him more than anything. Would he still come to London for her? Despite all of this, Abbey genuinely believed he would, if only out of curiousity. He would come. He said he would. And while he may have kept secrets from her in the past, he had never broken his word to her. Unless you count The Deal, which she didn't anymore. He would come. And she would explain. And they would fix this. They would fix them.