Washington, D.C.
Shortly after seeing the magazine, President Bartlet retreated to the Residence for lunch. The staff was getting used to the president eating alone, but Leo wasn't going to stand for it today. He followed him upstairs and into the kitchen, where he found him sitting all alone, as usual.
"Mr. President."
"Not only my best friend and Chief of Staff, but also my shadow, I see," Jed replied, not looking at him.
Leo moved to sit across from him . "CJ's facing the press?"
"Yeah," Leo answered.
"She's getting killed out there, isn't she?"
"She's tough."
"What's she saying?" Jed asked.
Leo shrugged.
"She's got nothing. She has no information, so she's just gonna wing it."
Jed nodded, contemplatively.
"How are you doing, sir?"
"How do you think, Leo?"
"Yeah," Leo replied, quietly. "Listen, you know…we don't have to cancel the trip to London."
"I know."
"It'll be a big thing with the press, but nothing we can't handle. So, if you want to go to London and check things out for yourself…"
"I'm not going, Leo," Jed said, adamently.
"Sir, while I realize it's not my place to say, I really think you should hear Abbey's side. You don't know what's going on."
"I know what's going on. Along with the rest of the world."
"You can't trust those paparazzi photos, you know that," Leo said.
"Apparently I can't trust Abbey."
Leo didn't know what to say to that. What could he say?
"So what are you gonna do?"
"I don't know," Jed responded, sadly. "Tony Prescott. Of all people."
"Yeah."
"How the hell did she meet him!"
"I don't know for sure, sir, but I'm hearing Versailles," Leo replied.
"You're hearing Versailles? What? From who?"
"Zoey told Liz who told Mallory who told me."
"You knew about this!"
"No, sir. I heard that they met in Versailles. I had no idea they had developed…a friendship."
Jed glared at him.
"Did you see the picture inside?"
"Yeah," Leo replied. "Zoey."
"Zoey and some guy. Some young, debonair, charming Englishman, I'm sure."
"Oliver Prescott, sir," Leo said, surprised that Jed hadn't realized that on his own.
"What?"
"The charming Englishman. Oliver Prescott."
"He's not…"
"Tony Prescott's son? Yeah."
"You're kidding me!"
"No, sir."
"Well, that's just great. They can double date," Jed said, bitterly.
London, England
"Mom?" Zoey said, peeking her head into her mother's hotel room.
Abbey was sitting on the couch, re-reading Jed's letter, and not for the first time.
"Hmm?"
"Oliver and I are gonna go for a walk down to the Millenium wheel, you wanna come?"
"No, honey, I think I'll just stay here for awhile," Abbey replied.
"We were gonna stop at Westminster on the way, and Big Ben…"
"Maybe I'll walk down there later."
Zoey sighed.
"Mom, you haven't left the hotel all day. You should really get some air."
"Not till he comes," Abbey said, stubbornly.
"And if he doesn't?"
Abbey scowled at her.
"He will."
"Yeah, okay. I'll see you later."
Washington, D.C.
CJ Cregg heard the familiar voices shouting her name as she walked up to her podium in the press room. Normally she didn't stress about her briefings, but she knew she was going to get torn to shreds at this particular one.
"Okay, before we get this started, I just want to let you know that, at this time, I don't have much information for you. I'll answer your questions as best I can. I have not spoken to the First Lady today, nor has Amy Gardner. Keep that in mind please. I'm just going to take questions."
"CJ!"
"CJ!"
"CJ!"
"Okay…Katie."
"What can you tell us about Sir Anthony Prescott?"
"Not much. I know that Sir Anthony Prescott was knighted by the Queen in 1996 and he, along with the Prime Minister, has always had a friendly relationship with the President. Arthur."
"What is the nature of the First Lady's relationship with Anthony Prescott?
"I…I don't know. I assume they're just friends."
"CJ, you saw the pictures. You think they're just friends?"
"I don't speculate. I don't have hard evidence or information. Mark."
"How did the President react the photograph?"
"I…well, that's not my place to say."
"Surely he wasn't thrilled?"
"The President hasn't jumped to any conclusions and I'm fairly certain he would be grateful if you did the same."
Josh Lyman sat in Amy Gardner's office, facing the television. Amy sat behind her desk, her feet resting on the top. They watched CJ's briefing, their eyes glued to the screen. After a few minutes, Amy had to look away, and Josh grimaced.
"She's getting clobbered," Josh said.
"Yeah, I'll say," Amy agreed, with a sigh.
"You don't have anything?"
"Nothing. I haven't heard from her in two days."
"You can't call her?" Josh asked.
"I can, but she likes to do the calling. Honestly, I don't know what the hell to say to her."
"You think this is a bigger thing than we think?"
"Could it get any bigger?" Amy responded.
"I don't know. I think it can."
"Me too."
"You think she's…?" Josh trailed off.
"I don't know."
"You know, we've always had our hands full with Mrs. Bartlet, but I never thought we'd have a problem with something like this. I never counted on this type of scandal."
"It's not a scandal yet, Josh," Amy said.
"Yeah, it is. And I have a feeling it's just going to get worse."
"Maybe it's not what we think."
"And maybe it is."
"I've known the First Lady practically since I was born. She would never…
"Never what? You can't even say it!"
"The Bartlets are like family to me, Josh. Liz is my best friend, Abbey's my boss. Hell, I worked on the President's campaign for governor. I have a history with this family. I can't even comprehend…something like this."
"Yeah," Josh said. "I know. Makes you think though, doesn't it?"
"About what?"
"Just…if something like this could happen to the First Couple…it could happen to anyone."
Baltimore, Maryland
Ellie Bartlet sat alone in her apartment, comfortably positioned on her couch with her laptop. She had the news on the television, but the volume was muted. When the phone rang, she momentarily stopped typing, and reached over to grab the portable phone.
"Hello?"
"Turn on the news," Mark, her boyfriend, told her.
"I have it on mute."
"Un-mute it."
Skeptically, Ellie reached for the remote and turned the sound on.
"Oh, my God," she whispered.
The six o'clock news was now running the story about the First Lady and her 'new man.'
"Ellie?" Mark said, when she hadn't made a sound in a few minutes.
"Yeah."
"Are you okay?"
"I…" She was finding it difficult to concentrate.
"Do you want me to come over?"
"No, I'm fine. I…I need to call my sisters."
"Okay. Call me back later, all right?"
"Okay. Bye."
London, England
Zoey Bartlet and Oliver Prescott meandered down the Millenium Bridge, enjoying the sights. Zoey's agents were not far behind, trailing them. The view from the bridge was stunning. The bridge itself was remarkable, and brand new. The steels frames made Zoey nervous at first, but Oliver assured her it was absolutely safe and after a few minutes of coaxing and cajoling, he convinced her to follow him onto it.
"What happened to the fearless Zoey Bartlet I've heard so much about"
Oliver asked her.
"She grew up."
Though she tried to put on a brave face, Oliver knew exactly what she meant.
"It's okay to talk about it, you know."
"I don't think I'm ready for that yet," Zoey admitted, quietly.
"Okay. That's fine. Whenever you're ready."
Zoey nodded, gratefully, but her mind and her thoughts were elsewhere.
"Oliver…we have to talk."
"I know."
"My dad's press secretary is going to be getting questions about us. This is gonna be big, whether we like it or not."
"Is that such a bad thing?" Oliver asked. "I mean, we haven't done anything wrong, have we?"
"No," Zoey replied, looking away from him. "But the thing with our parents is going to be a major scandal. We're just going to add to it."
"Do our parents even have a thing yet?"
"I don't think so, but that means nothing to the press, or the public. You know that. I'd bet you a hundred bucks that my mother's approval rating just went down twenty or thirty points."
"And I'll be you fifty pounds it didn't."
Zoey smiled, but shook her head.
"You don't know how it works in Washington."
"Even if it did go down thirty points, I bet you two hundred pounds your mother doesn't give a damn," Oliver said.
Zoey could help but laugh. She was sure that was true.
"Yeah. You're probably right. But there are plenty of people who do care."
"Screw 'em! As they say in America," Oliver proclaimed.
"See, this is exactly how I used to be. I didn't care. Now I do. I don't want to screw things up for my dad, or his staff."
"Zoey, we're not doing anything wrong! We met at a party, we enjoy each other's company, and we want to spend some more time together. So, our picture was inside a magazine. It wasn't on the cover, and it's not going to be. We're not the story here. We're young, and we're just living our lives."
"Oliver, I told you. If our parents start up a thing…which, honestly, I don't want to even think about, and then the press gets wind that we're together…it's never going to end. Don't you get that?"
"Zoey…"
"Even if they don't start up a thing, it's never going to end. I'm the First Daughter of the United States. And I also happen to be the most visible one. Ellie and Liz, they've never been in the spotlight like I have. I went Georgetown, I was at Roslyn, and I was kidnapped! If I start dating the son of the man my mother was seen kissing on the cover of every publication in the United States, it's going to make the six o'clock news everywhere in the world!"
Oliver held his hand up.
"Excuse me for interrupting, but…they weren't kissing."
"Well, whatever!" Zoey shouted, in exhasperation. "No one cares what they were doing. They were together and they were close, and that is ALL anyone needs to know!"
"Zoey, listen to me," Oliver said, grasping her shoulders gently and looking straight into her eyes. "I really like you. This doesn't happen to me all the time."
Zoey rolled her eyes.
"Please, you're one of London's most famous young playboys."
"A common misconception, I'll have you know. I lived with the same girl for over a year. I'm no philanderer."
"Then you're on the rebound," Zoey countered.
"If I'm on the rebound, so are you, Marie-Antoinette."
Zoey let out a frustrated sigh and averted her eyes from his.
"Zoey, would you look at me please? I want this to work between us. And if it doesn't, I don't want the reason to be because Daddy's staff didn't like it! Let's give this a shot and see what happens. What do you say?"
A smile crept over her face as she leaned in closer to him.
"Maybe not so much for you with the talking."