Story: Checkmate
Chapter 9
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Previously: After Abbey assured Jed she would never support anyone but him in the election, she offered to end her campaign; Jed told Abbey he wanted her to continue campaigning and even offered a few tips
Summary: Abbey runs into a familiar face in Boston; Jed and his father are reunited once again
Author's Note: Due to illness, I've lost my partner for the time being. I'll do my best to get two chapters out each week, but if there's a delay, that's why
Abbey's feet hit the pavement and before she could lift herself out of the car, a wet puddle splashed around her brand new pumps and muddied rain water sprinkled her pantyhose. She opened her umbrella as she stood and picked up her pace with every step, eagerly jogging towards the shelter of long blue awning of the Emergency Room.
When she made it inside, she bent down to press her dry fingers to the damp circles that marked the moisture on her hose. "Damn it!"
"Here."
She didn't need to look up to recognize that voice. The tone. The pitch. It could only belong to one person and as she accepted the paper towel he offered, her eyes roamed his thin stature and stopped when they found his face. "John."
John Bartlet paused, then acknowledged her by calling her name. "Abbey."
"What are you doing here?" He was different from how she remembered. He used to have a piercing stare, a domineering posture, and a strong, willful presence. Now, he seemed weaker - both physically and emotionally.
"Waiting for the rain to stop before I attempt to leave."
"No. I mean, what are you doing...here? At the hospital?"
"It's a personal matter," he answered plainly. "Why are you in Boston? You work in New Hampshire."
"I'm here for a fellowship interview."
"More training?"
"It takes a lot of years to become a competent thoracic surgeon."
"Thoracic medicine...isn't that the chest?"
"The chest and the lungs primarily."
"The heart? Do you work with the heart?"
"A great deal. That's why it takes so much training."
"Apparently. How many years has it been?"
"So far, a total of six after medical school. I took a year off starting the summer of '79. My residency's almost over. Once my fellowship is complete, I'll be finished."
"I don't know how you do it with three kids who need you at home."
"Jed is a godsend. That's how."
He detected the prickly tone that laced her words, but he chose to ignore it. "Your fellowship...you're doing that in Boston?"
"Possibly." She softened her voice slightly. "I was on the waiting list here and a slot just opened up. It's between me and two others."
"Good luck."
"John?" She dried her hands of the wet umbrella and followed him towards the double doors before he could leave. "What are you really doing here? Are you feeling okay?"
"I feel great," he said without a moment of hesitation. "How is that son of mine?"
"Doing well. I'll tell him you asked."
"And the girls?"
"They're good too."
"I haven't seen them in a while."
She avoided his glance for a second. Then, she took a breath and told him candidly, "That's because of me. I asked Jed not to let you see them after what happened with Ellie's badge last year."
John always assumed it was Jed, not Abbey, who refused to let him visit. "What was it I did that bothered you so?"
"You hurt Ellie when you undermined Jed. You got her hopes up about something he couldn't give her just to make him out to be the bad guy in her eyes. You also hurt Lizzie when she overheard you exchanging insults with Jed on the front porch after he confronted you that night."
"What did Elizabeth hear?"
Abbey shook her head. "It's not important. The point is, I don't want her exposed to the kind of animosity that exists between you and Jed."
"Abbey, tell me," John insisted. "What is it that Elizabeth overheard? Please. I'd like to know because I never wanted her to be hurt."
As Abbey prepared to dodge the question, she saw the glimmer of sincerity that poured out of his eyes. "She heard you telling Jed that there's a reason Ellie doesn't like him."
He waved his hand in dismissal. "That was just something I said in the heat of the moment. Jed knows I didn't mean it."
"You really don't know Jed, do you?" She sighed. "None of this matters. The bottom line - I don't want the girls around you when you have such little respect for their father."
"Now wait a minute. You don't know anything about me. I respect Jed. We may not have the best relationship, but he's still my son. How dare you judge me!"
"I'm judging you based on your actions. They speak much louder than your words."
"I lose my temper sometimes. That's all. You can believe what you want, but my granddaughters - I don't want them to think of me the way you do. I don't want them to remember me like that." He sounded so angry and vulnerable as he collapsed onto a chair, out of breath and visibly shaken.
"Are you okay?" He didn't respond. Abbey sat down beside him and put a hand on his back. "John, I need you to breathe for me."
John nodded. "I'm fine. I'm just tired and I felt a little faint."
"You're in the ER. Now what happened?"
His cheeks suddenly paled in dramatic contrast with the rosy color in his eyes. Those soft baby blues swelled slightly. An indication of his concern, or perhaps his desperate desire to keep his problems private, Abbey figured. He sighed a stoic sigh and cleared his voice, but just as he opened his mouth to talk again, he was interrupted.
"Mr. Bartlet!" Holding a page of patient instructions, a nurse ran towards him. "Dr. Lange forgot to give you these. They're recommendations for cardiologists in the area. He wants you to see one ASAP and if you have any more pain or shortness of breath before then, you should come in immediately."
"He just had an episode right now," Abbey informed the nurse.
"No," John argued, standing. "No, I didn't. I'm feeling fine now."
The nurse looked to Abbey once more before she addressed John. "The doctor really doesn't want you to leave if you're still having problems. Why don't you come back to the waiting room and I'll try to get you in right away?"
"Look, I'm doing fine now."
"Mr. Bartlet..."
"All right, I'll come back. Give me a minute though, okay?"
John quickly folded the list in a hasty attempt to conceal the information from Abbey. Once the nurse left, he muttered, "They need laws to guard medical privacy. A person's health should be their own business."
"I don't disagree."
"Jed doesn't need to know about this."
Abbey stood to face him. "I'm not sure what you're hiding, but I'm pretty confident in saying I think he does."
"Why?"
"Because as you pointed out a few minutes ago, he is your son. And I am his wife. You're fooling yourself if you think I'm not going to tell him I saw you here."
"You never truly surprise me, Abigail." He began to walk away.
"If you want to see your granddaughters, you can come to dinner at the house tonight." The invitation stopped him in his tracks.
"You just told me I was no longer welcome in your home. Now you're inviting me to dinner?" He asked, turning to face her.
Abbey gestured to the paper John held in his hand. "We have some things to talk about."
"It's nothing, Abbey. It's just chest pain."
"How long have you had chest pain?"
"Long enough," he replied with a sarcastic smirk.
"Look, I don't have time for games. I'd like you to come over tonight. Maybe I can help. No strings."
"I don't want your pity."
"Good because I'm not giving you pity. You're Jed's father."
"Has that mattered before?"
"It matters now. I'm in thoracic surgery. You don't think I know some pretty good cardiologists who can get you in right away?"
"You want to put in your two cents? You want to help me?"
"It's your heart, John. What could possibly be more important? Yeah, I want to help."
Her offer seemed to float in the air for several minutes before John finally agreed. Part of her didn't think he would, but once he did, she realized it must have been a testament to his fear. If the look in his eyes was any indication, whatever it was that troubled his health had rattled his psyche as well.
It was well after noon when Abbey arrived home. The rain had finally stopped, leaving a thick blanket of humidity to envelop the summer air. As she drove up the long driveway to the farmhouse, she noticed Jed directly in front of her. Having just finished teaching his summer class, he had pulled in only seconds earlier.
"How'd it go?" he asked as she got out of the car.
"I think it went well, but I can never tell. We'll find out next week."
"I'm sure you did great! I still don't know why you'd want to do your fellowship anywhere other than Dartmouth-Hitchcock though."
"You just like that we both work in Hanover."
"That is a plus, I must admit."
She led him to the front the door. "How was your class?"
"Only 12 people signed up for this section and today, only nine of them showed up. Of those nine, only five had any clue what my lecture was about. Some days, I don't know why I even bother."
"Because you're helping five students learn something they didn't know before entering your class. That's never a waste. Besides, the other four will pick it up eventually, just like they always do."
Hearing her parents' voices booming through the foyer, Lizzie bounded down the stairs. "I'm SO glad you're home! Can I go to Six Flags with Jeff's family tomorrow? His parents will be with us the whole time!"
"Whoa, give us a second here," Jed replied. "Aren't you volunteering at the hospital tomorrow?"
"Yeah, but I can miss a day, can't I?"
"Lizzie, it's going to be your second day," Abbey interjected.
"But I don't like being a candy striper as much as I thought I would."
Jed thought this might happen. He and Abbey had already addressed the issue once before, but Liz needed a reminder. "Remember what we talked about? If you don't like it, you don't have to do it the whole summer, but you made a commitment, so you do have to give it a chance."
"I did!"
"One day is not giving it a chance," Abbey replied. "You're only working a few hours, two days a week. Give it two or three weeks before you decide you don't like it. Anyway, you can't leave Karen hanging without ample notice."
"But it's SIX FLAGS!"
"No. I'm sorry."
When Liz turned her attention from Abbey to Jed, she realized there was no hope of getting what she wanted. "So the answer's really no?"
"Yeah. It's really a no." Abbey smiled at her daughter. "But if you fulfill your commitment at the hospital without complaint, when we go Acadia for the weekend next month, maybe Jeff can come along."
"Aren't we camping out this year?"
"Yes, we are."
Her face beaming, Lizzie looked to her father. "Cool! Can Jeff and I have our own tent?" Jed's inaudible grumble provoked Liz's sly grin. "Just kidding!"
"There's something wrong with you," he told her. "I haven't agreed to camp out with this boy just yet, so don't push your luck."
"I was kidding!" she repeated, then looked at her mother. "Thanks, Mom."
Abbey chuckled as she set down her purse. "Where are your sisters?"
"Zoey's upstairs going through your makeup. I know she's not allowed to, but she doesn't listen."
"Why didn't you put the gate up to keep her down here with you?"
"I did, but she knocked it down and then she started crying, so I had to follow her upstairs. Do I have to watch her again? She never does what I tell her to."
"Mrs. Weaver will be back tomorrow," Abbey assured her as she made her way up the stairs to pry her youngest daughter out of her makeup case.
"Where's Ellie?" Jed asked.
"On the roof."
"What? What's she doing on the roof?"
"I don't know, reading?"
He walked swiftly towards the door. "Lizzie, I was gone three hours. You said you could handle it."
"I did." She followed him outside.
"Your sister's on the roof."
Lizzie shrugged. "I told her not to go."
Shading his eyes with his hand, Jed noticed the jean-clad seven-year-old precariously stepping on the shingles. "Eleanor Emily Bartlet, get down here now!"
Ellie waved to him as she approached the attic window, the one that had been left open after she crawled out to the center of the rooftop. Jed waited until she disappeared inside before he went to meet her by the attic steps.
"Hi." She greeted him sweetly. "How are you?"
"Just fine," he answered. "What in the world were you doing?"
"Looking for rainbows."
"They're perfectly visible from the ground."
"But they're prettier if you look at them from the roof. You can see them better. I didn't fall or anything."
"But you could have. You could have seriously hurt yourself." His sharp tone got her attention. "You're not allowed to go back up there, okay?"
"What's going on?" Abbey entered the conversation with Zoey on her hip.
"I'm just telling Ellie that she's forbidden from playing on the roof ever again."
"What was she doing on the roof?"
"Looking for rainbows," Ellie said again.
"Never again," Jed ordered sternly. He turned to Abbey to see Zoey covered in red powder, pink lipstick, and a collection of silver and gold bracelets. "What's going on with Cinderella over here?"
"Miss Zoey had quite a bit of fun in our room. Not just with my makeup, but she got into our drawers, my jewelry, and your ties."
"I told her not to do it," Lizzie said in defense of herself. "Just like I told Ellie not to go up on the roof. They don't listen to me."
Jed ushered his two older daughters into the living room. Abbey trailed behind with Zoey. "Okay, listen, Ellie. When your mother and I are out, Lizzie is in charge. You and Zoey do what she says. Understand?"
"Yes," Ellie muttered softly. "But Zoey doesn't."
"I'll make sure Zoey understands," Abbey replied. "Now I'd appreciate it if you and Lizzie would straighten up the family room a little bit while I help Zoey wash off this makeup."
"Okay."
As the two girls left, Abbey shook her head. "Ellie doesn't usually defy anyone's authority."
"We just have to drill it in her head that she has to listen to Lizzie when we're not here. And as for Zoey..." He took his youngest daughter from his wife's hold. "I think we have a problem with her."
The toddler traced Jed's lips with her lipstick-colored index finger. "Daddy wikes it!"
Jed playfully stared back at her. "No, actually, Daddy, doesn't."
"She's only spoiled because of you, you know." Abbey grinned at him.
"Excuse me?" He crossed in front of her. "I spoil each of my girls equally and Liz and Ellie aren't nearly as audacious as this one. Besides, you spoil them as much as I do"
"I do not."
"Why is Jeff going camping with us?"
"So I compromised with Liz to keep her at the hospital a little while longer. I'm still not as bad as you."
"So you say." He set Zoey down. "I love that deep down you're as big a softie as I am."
"Hold that thought until I tell you what I've done."
"What did you do?"
"I invited a guest over for dinner."
"Great. Who?"
"Your dad." She wondered if the news would upset him. After all, it had been nearly a year since he last talked to his father. Abbey studied his features for the first sign of his reaction.
Jed was speechless for a moment, waiting, she assumed, for her to crack a joke or give away the punchline. But when she didn't he asked, "You're serious?"
She nodded. "Jed, let's sit down on the sofa for a minute."
Once they sat side-by-side, he turned to face her. "What is it?"
"I saw him at the hospital today. He was looking pretty worn down. He was breathing hard. His face was pale. He was trembling. I think he's sick."
"Sick how?"
"While I was there, a nurse gave him a list of cardiologists. Apparently, he's been having chest pain."
"How sick is he?"
"I have no idea. Lots of people get chest pain for lots of different reasons. Because of his age, it's not uncommon to see a specialist afterwards, but I really don't know. He had another spell, so he went back to see the doctor after we finished talking. I couldn't press him for information because I had to get to my interview. That's why he's coming over."
Jed rose to his feet. He circled around himself when Abbey stood as well. "But it's his heart. You always say everything's serious when it comes to the heart."
"There is a chance that it isn't the heart itself. I don't think we can analyze this until we talk to John."
"So we'll talk to him. I want to get him a good doctor. A REALLY good doctor. Just to make sure he's healthy. I know you probably think he should take care of himself after what he's put this family through, but..."
Abbey silenced him. "He's your father. Of course we're going to do whatever it takes to help him."
"And we can put everything else aside for now?"
"Do you even have to ask?"
"He'll be okay with the right doctors, won't he?"
She took his hands in hers, hoping to calm him. "They're going to take care of him."
"Is there anything you can do for him? I'd feel much better if you could treat him." His declaration meant a lot to her.
Abbey smiled warmly, reassured in the belief that Jed trusted her medical judgment. "Honey, even if I was a cardiologist, I would send him to someone else. He's my father-in-law."
Jed nodded. "There must be a slew of good cardiologists in Boston, but what do you think of the heart hospital right here in Manchester? He'd be close by and maybe I could even go with him."
"Yeah. Or...you know, there is a pretty solid cardiology team at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Robert Nolan is extremely good. You know I think very highly of him."
"You think he's the absolute best?"
"If it was my dad, I'd take him to Robert."
"Then that's who I'll suggest," Jed agreed. "If it was serious, he would have told me, right? I know we haven't been on very good terms, but he would have called me."
"I think we're getting ahead of ourselves here. Chances are this is a precautionary step. The fact that he doesn't already have a cardiologist tells me that whatever is wrong probably hasn't been going on for very long."
"Yeah, you're right. I just want him to know that he can tell me these things. I want to know these things. I don't want it to be the way it was with my mother."
"Come here." Abbey opened her arms to wrap him in a loving embrace.
Nine years later, the pain of losing his mother still burdened Jed. It had dulled considerably, but it never really vanished. He always carried it with him. And now that he was confronted with his father's possible illness, the grief that surrounded his mother's memory peeked through that hidden chamber in his soul to spark a wave of emotions he didn't think possible.
His distress surprised even himself, but it was his compassionate nature that forced him to strip the bitterness and resentment that had clouded his love for his father since he was a young boy. If John was sick, Jed was determined to help him, no matter what.
That evening, the conversation stumbled through several uncomfortable hoops. From the tension surrounding Ellie's story of how she finally earned the Girl Scout Space Exploration badge - with Jed and Abbey's guidance - to the cold response John received when he asked Elizabeth about her summer, it was obvious this wasn't just any family dinner.
"Lizzie, is something wrong?" Jed asked his oldest daughter when she practically ignored John.
"No."
"Your grandfather asked you a question."
"I answered his question. I said my summer is okay."
"You don't want to share anything else?"
"There's nothing else to share." Liz hadn't forgiven John for the argument she witnessed the year before. That fight between John and Jed had permanently changed her feelings and no one yet knew the extent of what she had heard.
Picking up on the teenager's hostility, John changed the subject. "So the CDC is recommending a new name for GRID?"
"Yes. They want to call it AIDS," Abbey confirmed. "It's about time really. GRID made it sound like it was simply a gay disease. We know better now."
"Speaking of healthcare, you're fighting to legalize medicinal marijuana. Is that right, Abbey?"
"That's right." She held her breath, waiting for the criticism she expected.
But John didn't give her any. Instead, he replied, "Would that also ease the symptoms of heart disease?"
There it was. He had finally opened the door to the discussion Abbey wanted to have. "There are many drugs that can help with heart disease, John. We can talk about them if you want."
"Maybe later."
"Okay." Abbey looked to her husband. "Why don't we have dessert in the living room? Jed, you and John go ahead while the girls and I clear the table."
The two men took Abbey's cue and just as they retired to the next room, Jed gingerly approached the subject. "You're worried about heart disease?"
"A lot of people suffer from heart disease, Jed. It's something we should all be concerned with."
"Abbey said she ran into you today at the hospital."
John nodded. "Yeah."
"What's going on?"
"Nothing. There's no reason for you to be concerned."
"Dad, if you're sick, I want to help you. Tell me what's wrong."
He tried to hide it earlier, but he couldn't deny the fact that it was a relief to know someone was there to offer support. "You know how doctors are. They never know exactly what's wrong until they run a battery of tests."
"What do they suspect?"
"It's my heart," John said. "Turns out, I have one."
TBC
