Washington, D.C.
"She's on her way," Jed announced.
"Mom?" Annie asked.
"No. Cher."
"Look, Grandpa…"
"You know better, Annie. What were you thinking?"
"Gus and I had to talk to you. Well, I had to talk to you. And Gus made me bring him. We can't take this separation."
"There is no separation. I haven't signed the papers yet," Jed said.
"Well, whatever. You can't sign them. You can't let her do this. She's crazy. Temporary insanity. Oh, screw it, she's lost her freakin' mind!" Annie exclaimed.
"Ok, that's enough."
"You guys love each other. I know you do, so don't deny it."
"I wasn't going to."
"Just stop being stubborn and talk to each other. Listen to each other. Hearing isn't good enough. You have to listen. You're both just too stubborn to admit defeat."
"It's not your place to get involved, Annie."
"Then who's place is it?" Annie questioned.
"No one's."
"Well, what good does that do?"
"Not much, I admit. But that's no excuse for you to travel by yourself, without permission, from New Hampshire to the White House. Do you understand me?" Jed asked.
"Save it, Grandpa. Mom'll lecture us enough, you don't have to."
"I WANT to."
Baltimore, Maryland
"Ellie."
"What?"
"Step away from the laptop."
"Mark!"
"Bye-bye, laptop," Mark said, closing it.
"Hey!" Ellie cried.
"You promised me no laptop today."
"I know, but I just have a few more things to…"
"No. Not today."
"Fine," Ellie sighed.
She put her laptop on the coffee table and leaned back on the couch. Mark draped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close.
"See. Now isn't that better?"
"It's less stressful, I'll grant you that," Ellie replied.
"I'll take what I can get."
"I'm sorry I've been such a drag lately."
"I wouldn't put it that way, exactly…"
"I've been a drag, Mark. Just say it," Ellie said.
"All right, you've been a drag. But only a little bit."
"I'm sorry. I am."
"We're getting married, Ellie! You need to relax and let that sink in. We're getting married."
Ellie smiled warmly, then kissed him lightly on the lips.
"We're getting married."
"This is what you want, isn't it?" Mark asked.
"Of course it's what I want! It's just…a little odd for me. My parents' marriage is falling apart, and we're about to tie the knot. It's an interesting juxtaposition. It just makes me think, that's all."
"I know the timing wasn't the best."
"No, don't say that. Don't reduce our engagement to something like that."
"I had been planning on asking you long before the thing with your parents happened," Mark explained.
"I know. I'm not blaming you. I'm simply bringing it to your attention."
"All right."
"Hey, did I tell you? Annie and Gus took a Greyhound to D.C. this morning. By themselves. Without Liz's permission," Ellie said.
"You're kidding."
"No! She called me on her way to the airport. She's going to get them."
"They went to the White House?"
"Yeah. Apparently they just 'had' to talk to Dad."
"About what?" Mark asked.
"I don't know. But knowing Annie like I do, probably trying to convince him to rip up the separation papers."
"She's a brave girl."
Ellie laughed.
"She's Liz. Exactly Liz."
"Like mother, like daughter, hmm?"
"Oh yeah."
"Kind of like you and your mom," Mark commented.
"Yeah," Ellie answered, in a whisper. "Kind of."
London, England
"This is the biggest house I have ever seen in my life," Zoey said.
"Bigger than the White House?" Oliver Prescott questioned, wryly.
"Maybe. I can't believe you LIVE here."
"I've got an apartment in the city as well. It's more convenient," Tony said.
"This is…HUGE!" Zoey exclaimed, again, completely astonished.
"Eh, it's not that big," Abbey said, smiling mischievously at Tony.
"You're just spoiled," he replied.
"No sense denying that!" Abbey agreed.
"You could fit a whole village in here," Zoey commented. "Not just the people-their houses too."
"I could start my own civilization," Tony joked.
"You could!"
"Oliver, why don't you show Zoey and Abbey to rooms where they can change?" Tony suggested.
"Sure. Follow me, ladies."
"How much time do we have, Tony?" Abbey inquired.
"About an hour."
"That's it!"
Tony laughed.
"What do you mean, that's it? That's more than enough time!"
"Not if we're going to Buckingham Palace!" Abbey exclaimed.
"Yeah, we need at least two hours if we're going to party with the Queen," Zoey added.
"There isn't going to be a disco ball or anything, Zoey," Oliver said, grinning.
"Shut up, Oliver, and lead the way!"
Washington, D.C.
Leo McGarry knocked lightly on CJ Cregg's open office door before walking in.
"Hey."
She looked up from her computer.
"Hi, Leo."
"Just a heads up. I'm calling this an early night."
"Why?"
"I want you guys to get some sleep. I'm tired of coming into the office in the morning and seeing you all either asleep on your couches or with your heads face down on the desk. Take a rest before the next crisis hits," Leo explained.
CJ smiled knowingly.
"You gotta give me a better reason than that."
"CJ."
"Come on, Leo. Spit it out."
"Spit what out!"
"You've got plans tonight, don't you?"
"No!"
"Yeah, ya do. Own up."
"I have nothing to own up to," Leo insisted.
"What about your date with the Surgeon General tonight?"
"How the hell did you know about that!"
"Joe Griffith called me."
"Her SON told you!"
"He's my friend!" CJ said, defensively. "Apparently, he called Dr. Griffith to ask if she could babysit the kids and she said no because she's got a date with the President's Chief of Staff."
"I bet those were her exact words too," Leo said.
"Probably. So. Where are you taking her?"
"I'm through talking about this, CJ."
"Come on, Leo!"
"Go home early tonight."
"Leo!"
"See ya."
"Grounded!"
"But, Mom!" Annie and Gus whined.
"For a month."
"Mom!"
"Longer if you don't stop whining," Elizabeth said.
The two children groaned and rolled their eyes.
"Whatever," Annie muttered.
"Don't you give me attitude, young lady. You walked right into this one!"
"It was for a good cause!"
"I don't care. If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I'm locking you in the basement until you graduate from high school," Liz said.
"That's a little dramatic, Mom."
"Don't start with me, Anne. I'm really not in the mood."
"When are we going home?" Gus asked, quietly.
"We might as well stay the night."
"Yes!"
"Go bring your stuff upstairs, and stay there until you hear from me," Liz ordered.
"Okay!"
Annie and Gus grabbed their bags and bolted out of the Mural Room. Liz approached her father, who sat at the end of the room watching them.
"I thought this room was used for official White House business," Liz said.
"You don't call this official White House business? The First Grandchildren of the United States ran away from home and just got grounded. I'd say that's pretty worthy of the Mural Room," Jed replied.
Liz sighed and sat beside him.
"I'm sorry about all this, Dad."
"Don't be. It wasn't a problem. And if even if it was, it wasn't your fault."
"I can't believe they did something like this. This is a bit much, even for them," Liz said.
"Kids are impulsive. They don't think of consequences," Jed said.
"Are you defending what they did?"
"No, I'm saying you were the same way when you were fifteen. I seem to recall you stealing your mother's car and running away at sixteen as well"
Liz sighed.
"Yeah. But now that I'm the parent, it's so hard to put myself in Annie's shoes. I know I did the same things, acted the same way. And when I was fifteen, I wondered why sometimes Mom didn't understand. And now that's me. I'm Mom, and Annie's me."
"I know you doubt it sometimes, Liz, but you really are a great mom."
"Thanks, Dad," she replied, softly.
"I mean it. For someone who became a mother at such a young age, you really pulled it together. I admit, we worried about you. But you proved us wrong. Annie's a remarkable girl, and she's destined for great things. She's got you to thank."
"You're making me cry, Dad!" Liz exclaimed, wiping a few tears off her cheeks.
"I'm sorry, hon. It just needed to be said. What Annie and Gus did wasn't your fault. You can take care of your children, but you can't control them. Children are rebellious by nature, because they have nothing to lose, except maybe television priviledges for a week or two."
She nodded.
"I'm gonna go talk to them, then stop in and see Amy."
"Okay. Liz?"
"What."
"Did you eat?"
She laughed.
"Yes, Dad."
"You look thin."
"I eat fine. I've just got Mom's figure, that's all."
Jed smiled.
"Yeah, you do."
"Only I'm slightly taller."
"If by slightly taller, you mean much taller, then yes, I agree."
Liz grinned in return.
"I'll see you in a bit."
"Indeed you will."
London, England
"How much have you had to drink?" Tony Prescott asked.
He took the near-empty glass of champagne from Abbey Bartlet's hands.
"Hey!"
"How much, Abbey?"
"Three. Maybe four. But that's it!"
"Dear Lord. No more. Do you hear me?" Tony said.
"What are you, my mother? I'm a grown woman."
"A grown woman who can't hold her liquor."
"I can hold my liquor!"
"Nooo, you can't, darling. Here. Drink this."
He handed her a glass of water.
"You drink it!" She exclaimed, pushing his hand away.
"Abbey, I'm serious. You don't want to be drunk at Buckingham Palace, believe me. And if you keep going the way you're going now, that's exactly what's going to happen."
"Fine. I'll drink the water. Happy now?"
"Very. Now, come with me, the Prime Minister's been waiting to speak with you all evening."
Washington, D.C.
"What a rebel!" Amy Gardner exclaimed, laughing.
"Amy, come on, this is serious! She took a Greyhound from Manchester to DC!" Liz replied.
"It's funny, Liz. And admirable. You wish you could have pulled a stunt like that when you were a kid."
"I could have!"
"Yeah, but you didn't."
"I didn't have time! I had a baby by the time I was sixteen. That didn't leave much time for rebelliousness," Liz said.
"Um, hate to break it to you, Liz, but…having sex when you're a teenager IS rebelliousness."
"Thanks, Amy. Really. You're a pal."
"What's that noise?" Amy asked, looking around. "Tell me you do not have a vibrator in your purse."
Liz stared at her in disbelief, then began rummaging through her purse.
"It's my cell phone, freak!"
"Freak! I resent that."
Liz flipped open her cell phone and placed it to her ear.
"Zoey?"
"You'll never guess where I am right now," Zoey said.
"I don't know. Zaire?"
"Wow. No. Guess again."
"I don't know, Zoey, why don't you just tell me?"
"I'm at Buckingham Palace."
"What!"
"Garden party."
"Who are you with?" Liz asked.
"Oliver brought me."
"So it's you, Oliver, and the Queen?"
"Well, Mom and Tony too."
"Mom's there?"
"Yeah!"
"With Tony?"
"Um, yeah."
"And you support this?"
"Support what? We're at a party! It's not like they're getting married or anything," Zoey replied.
"But, Zoey…"
"Ooh, I gotta go. I think I just saw Maggie Smith."
"Zoey!"
"I'll call you later. Bye!"
Liz reluctantly shut her phone and threw it back into her purse.
"What was that?" Amy asked.
"Zoey's at a garden party. At Buckingham Palace."
"With Oliver Prescott?"
"Yeah. Mom's there with Tony and…"
"Wait, stop. Your mother's there?"
"Yeah…"
"Damnit. Damnit!" Amy exclaimed.
"What?"
"I didn't know about this. And I'm pretty sure her social secretary didn't either. Which means Leo didn't know, and the President didn't know."
"Well, what does that…"
"Liz, we're talking the cover of every publication in the world tomorrow morning. Official pictures too, not just paparazzi."
Amy picked up the phone and dialed.
"Donna, I need Josh."
She placed her hand over the phone and spoke to Liz.
"You might wanna get up to the Residence and hide, because a storm's about to break."