After their encounter with Sam, Lou was wrapping up her 4:30 briefing (moved up for that day only), and Annabeth was looking over material for her 5:30 briefing which would follow the special briefing.

Lou wrapped up her briefing by saying, "Annabeth and I have a joint briefing coming up in a few minutes. Stay right where you are." After hearing Lou's announcement, there seemed to be one big conversation going on in the press room.

Lou made her way over to Annabeth and asked her, "Are you ready? From what I just heard, there could be quite a commotion in this press room."

Annabeth replied, "I'm ready. If the reporters are as rowdy as they sound right now, my 5:30 briefing might be pushed back a few hours or so."

Lou looked at her and said, "Nah, we'll calm them down for you to give your briefing on time."

Annabeth looked at Lou with a relieved smile and said, "Let's get this show on the road!"

With that statement, Lou and Annabeth headed up toward their podiums. Annabeth was the one to get the briefing started.

Annabeth said, "Okay, the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get my regular briefing done, and we can all get out of here."

Lou then followed by saying, "You're all probably wondering why we called a special briefing, and why both Annabeth and myself are present. Well, we have an announcement that comes from both the President and First Lady's offices."

Annabeth said, "On Monday, January 20, the President and First Lady's respective Chiefs of Staff, Joshua Lyman and Donnatella Moss became engaged."

Annabeth's statement made the commotion that was present in the room earlier even more of a commotion, since the press was not expecting this kind of news. Even so, there was much chatter and excitement going around the room.

Lou had to yell at the reporters a few times to get them quiet again. When they finally settled down, she said, "Now, no wedding details have been planned at this time. That includes the date and venue. However, Annabeth and myself will be releasing a more formal statement when more details have been planned."

Annabeth continued by saying, "Since we have no major details at this time, we are unable to answer any questions."

This didn't stop one reporter from raising her hand and saying, "Who will be in the bridal party?"

After that, more reporters started asking questions that were just as crazy, even though Annabeth said that they didn't have any major information. Annabeth whispered to Lou, "What do you think about ending this now, so we can get on with my briefing?"

"I agree," said Lou. Turning back to the reporters, she said, "Okay, anyone here for Annabeth's briefing, please stay. Everyone else, we will make a more formal announcement when we have more details. Have a good night!" Lou then left the press room as fast as she could.

As for Annabeth's briefing, she spent more time telling the reporters that she didn't have anymore information about Josh and Donna's engagement than she did about the First Lady's events. As she was wrapping up her briefing, she thought, "Oh, boy. This must be a sign of what's going to come once we fill them with details."

As time would tell, Annabeth would be proven right.