Felicity's final day at Children's National started out in the quiet of her hospital room. The crib where the youngest Bartlet daughter spent most of her time had been moved into a corner on the other side of the room. The king-sized adjustable hospital bed Abbey and Jed spent many a night in took its place. Wires from the EKG monitor and IV snaked over top of the bed towards the center where Felicity slept peacefully in between Abbey and Jed. All of the other tubes and wires were gone. A monitor like the one Felicity wore as a newborn wrapped around her foot, tracking her oxygen overnight. If she could breathe overnight without a need for oxygen, she could go home.
Abbey laid on her side, watching Felicity sleep and counting down the minutes.
"Five more minutes and she should be good as gold," Jed said to his wife.
"God, it'll be so good to be home," Abbey told him. "No more working out of the hospital, or sleeping in this bed. Just me, you, and lovebug."
"Got that right." Jed kissed her forehead.
Felicity stirred and opened her eyes. She looked sleepy but upon seeing Abbey next to her, she smiled happily.
"Hi Mama," She yawned.
"Hi baby," Abbey said, running her fingers through her daughter's hair.
"Good morning lovebug," Jed said from behind her.
"Hi dada," Felicity grinned.
Abbey gently pulled Felicity toward her to nurse in bed for the first time since before the shooting. The baby's breaths were still a bit shallow due to her rib pain. But Jed watched her start nursing like a champ and the sight brought him more joy than he ever thought it would.
"She's ready to go home," He said, proudly.
"She sure is." Abbey agreed.
And Dr. Forrest agreed with them when he came in and examined her a little while later.
"Felicity's incision is healing quite well, she's nursing well, and she's breathing on her own without support. She's still got a bit of a road to recovery ahead of her, but I think she's ready to continue her recovery at home."
"Thank you for everything you've done, doctor," Jed said, shaking the surgeon's hand. Abbey had Felicity on her lap so she couldn't squirm. Exams were not her favorite.
"It was my honor, Mr. President," He said.
As he handed over aftercare instructions to them, Donna and Charlie entered the unit and came into the room, prepared to help their bosses start the process of packing up.
"Hi, Felicity!" Donna greeted. "Are you ready to go home?"
Felicity smiled. "Home?"
"Yes, baby," Abbey said, kissing the top of her head. "We're going home."
Charlie grinned. "Mr. President, I'll start carrying these stuffed animals out."
"Thank you, Charlie. Is anybody else around?"
Just as Jed said that Zoey, Ellie, and Liz entered the unit and came up the hall and into the room.
"What's the verdict?" Liz asked.
Felicity's eyes lit up seeing all three of her sisters together. "My sissys!" She exclaimed.
"We came just for you, Fizzy," Ellie smiled.
"Felicity is cleared to go home," Abbey confirmed.
Zoey and Ellie shrieked, hugging each other. Liz was crying as she walked up to hug her mother and sister.
"You're going home, Fizzy!" Zoey said, joining her older sister. "No more hospital."
Jed locked eyes with Ellie. "You know, if it wasn't for you, this might've turned out very differently."
Ellie shrugged. "I did what I knew I had to do."
Jed embraced his older daughter, "You're going to make a fine doctor, Ellie. I'm proud of you."
"Thanks, Dad," Ellie said.
Unnoticed by everyone else, Dr. Keller entered the room.
"Dr. Bartlet, Mr. President," he said when there was a lull in the celebration. "May I speak with you for a moment?"
Abbey and Jed looked at each other, then followed Dr. Keller out of the room.
"What can we do for you, Dr. Keller?" Jed asked once they were outside.
"I've been going over Felicity's bloodwork, and there's something you need to know."
"I thought we were all set for the study," Abbey said, concerned.
"Yes, we are. I want to keep following Felicity's progress with Ellie's help," He replied. "Her bloodwork is also looking like it should after the immune cell transfer and that's where the potential issue lies. Is there a history of MS in the family?"
"Yes," Jed said, after a moment. Then he looked at Abbey. "I was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS seven years ago."
Dr. Keller nodded, "I want to stress that it is too early to tell. But I would like to keep monitoring Felicity for the development of pediatric MS. It's typically diagnosed between the ages of eight and ten. There has been a case diagnosed as early as two."
Pediatric MS. Jed's mind couldn't even process the thought. He couldn't hear the rest of Dr. Keller's explanation. The only thing Jed registered was Abbey's hand reaching for his. He took it and held on tight otherwise he was certain that a hole would open up in the floor and swallow him up.
Josh strode to his office. His cell phone rang, and he grinned as he pulled it out and read who was calling.
"Hey. How's Felicity doing?"
"We are cleared for discharge."
He grinned. "You're kidding, that's great!"
"It is great. I'm dismantling the temporary offices as we speak. I will be glad if I never see the inside of this place again except as a volunteer."
"You would volunteer?"
"Maybe. Alex has spent a lot of time with the kids here. She's already signed up to come in after she moves."
"Leave it to Alex to start a movement. So when will you be back here?"
"As soon as all of our files and Felicity's stuff are packed up. You won't believe how many stuffed animals she picked up."
"Between Senior Staff, family, and the public, I'm actually not that surprised."
Donna laughed. "Well, they're gonna have to find a space for everything in the Residence."
"At least she's coming home, right? A few stuffed animals here or there won't hurt."
"That's right. Oh, Josh, you should have seen Liz, Ellie, and Zoey. They were thrilled when Dr. Bartlet told him Felicity is going home."
"I bet. It'll be nice to have everyone back and to get back to some semblance of normal. Although, I think the Republican Senators regret our meeting with Alex in the room."
"Really? What happened?"
"She poked holes in all of their arguments."
"Good for her," Donna said. "She could be a brilliant lawyer one day."
"Mm...I think she's got other ideas."
"That's true." Donna agreed. "She really seems to love volunteering at the hospital."
"Yes, she does."
"So what do you have going on for the next few hours? We'll probably be back in the next two."
"Just working on a few things with Sam and Toby. The Vice President is still helping out with some of the issues. But maybe we could grab lunch?"
"I like the sound of that," Josh grinned. "It'll be our first one as a couple in the Mess."
"Sounds like a date," Donna replied. "I'll see you when you get back. I love you."
"I love you, too," Josh said, flipping his phone shut. He went back to work, grinning to himself. His budding relationship was going well, and he couldn't ask for anything better. He could even see marriage down the line for them.
Inside the Residence, Alex was helping to put the finishing touches on Felicity's welcome home celebration in the Family Dining Room. She was still on a bit of a high after her meeting with Josh that morning. Just then, the door slammed.
"Hello?" She called.
"Alex?"
"Lorelei? I'm in the dining room."
Lorelei came to the entrance. "Wow! Quite the operation you've got going here."
"Yes, I do. Felicity deserves a celebration for her homecoming."
"Would you like some help?"
"Sure," Alex said and handed her sister a roll of streamers.
"I heard you had a big meeting today."
"Yeah, I did. Scared the Senators."
"That's my little sister," Lorelei praised. "Rubbing elbows with the big guns."
Alex smiled. "Thanks, Lorelei."
Lorelei sighed. "Listen, Alex. I'm sorry for what I said that day in the hospital. I think tempers were all running high."
Alex nodded. "Apology accepted."
"Just like that?" Lorelei asked, surprised.
"Just like that," Alex confirmed. "I know you only want what's best for Rory. You know, being in the room with those Senators today, I can understand why you thought you had to leave mom and dad. The way some of those men acted, nothing else mattered but them. Never mind that children die from guns every single day. That's why I want to use what I have to fight for a better way."
Lorelei nodded. "So, how did the Senators react to you putting them in their place?"
"About like you would expect."
"Not used to taking direction from an 18-year-old?"
"They weren't taking direction, Lorelei."
"But still."
"Yeah. A few of them were on our side, to begin with, but at the end of the day, I think we'll have better gun control laws than we do now."
"Look at you, Ms. Debutante. You're going to run the world someday."
Alex shrugged, "I'll just settle for my business and be glad Uncle Jed wasn't really mad at me."
"Why should he be? He's always complained that no one listens to him."
"Except for me," Alex said with a little smile.
Not far from the White House at the US Capitol, young people in the age group Jed appealed to at his town hall were demonstrating for better gun rights. The demonstrations started just after the shooting. But thanks to a little bit of extra pressure from Alex, change was close to being a reality.
The Presidential Motorcade pulled into the circular driveway of the North Portico, leaving crowds of people and press outside the White House gates, cheering Felicity's arrival home. As the vehicles rolled to a stop, Zoey emerged through the doors to greet her family and Charlie. She had come back from the hospital with some of Felicity's fuzzy friends and stayed behind once she learned her sister and her parents were on the way home. Charlie emerged first from the front passenger seat of the limo.
"Hey, Zoey."
"Hey, Charlie." Zoey greeted. She hesitated, not sure of how Charlie was feeling. Did he still carry guilt? Was he still afraid to be with her?
But Charlie answered that question right away. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.
Zoey immediately found herself kissing him back. Suddenly, they heard someone clearing their throat.
"Ahem," Jed announced, climbing out of the limo. "I don't mind you dating my daughter, Charlie. She's 18, after all. But you should try to maintain a sense of decorum in front of the White House."
"Stop it," Abbey warned as she got out of the other side of the limo, lifting Felicity into her arms.
Zoey pulled away and smiled, "It is a good day," She said, smiling.
Jed shook his head and went to go help Abbey with Felicity. Zoey approached her parents as they walked around the limo with Felicity in their arms.
Felicity's eyes lit up. "Zozo!" She greeted, her voice still a little gravelly.
"Hi, Fizzy!" Zoey said. She moved to take her baby sister but stopped.
"It's okay, Zo," Abbey told her gently. "You won't hurt her just by picking her up."
Zoey took Felicity into her arms and Felicity rested her head on Zoey's shoulder. "Are you happy to be home?"
"Yes," Felicity said quietly.
"No more hospital for you," Charlie said, smiling at them. Felicity smiled back.
"Wait until you see what we did inside…"
Abbey, Jed, Charlie, Zoey, and Felicity went inside and took the elevator up to the Residence. When the door opened, there was a big sign in pink glitter that said "Welcome Home Felicity!"
"Welcome home!" Liz, Ellie, Doug, Annie, Emily, Richard, Lorelei, Rory, and Alex cheered.
Annie ran up to Felicity. "Felicity!"
"Gentle hands, gentle hands," Doug called gently.
Annie stopped in front of her grandmother. She smiled at Felicity, who gave her a gummy smile back. Liz and Ellie were next.
"Welcome home, peanut," Liz said quietly, placing a kiss on Felicity's head. Ellie followed with a similar kiss to her cheek.
"We thought a little celebration was in order," Emily said, stepping forward and greeting her sister and Jed. Richard was next followed by Lorelei, Alex, and Rory. They gave their share of kisses to Felicity too.
"There's cake," Lorelei added.
"And balloons," Rory said.
They all headed to the family dining room to celebrate Felicity's homecoming with a happiness that wasn't guaranteed until today.
Going into 8:00 that night, Abbey carried Felicity into her room.
"Here you are, lovebug," She whispered. "Home sweet home."
Felicity smiled. Then, she yawned.
Abbey chuckled. "You're getting tired, huh?"
Felicity snuggled into her, "My bed," She said softly.
Jed followed them into their bedroom, "I have never been happier to see our bed," He said, kissing Felicity's head. Who's ready for night nights?"
"Me!" Felicity said.
Abbey and Jed started their sorely missed night routine with Felicity. They skipped her bath since she had one the night before. Soon the three of them were in bed together. Felicity sat on Jed's lap, listening to him read Stuart Little while she held Abbey's hand with her good one.
"Stuart rose from the ditch, climbed into his car, and started up the road that led toward the north." Jed read in a soft voice. "The sun was just coming up over the hills on his right. As he peered ahead into the great land that stretched before him, the way seemed long. But the sky was bright, and he somehow felt he was headed in the right direction."
He closed the book and kissed Felicity's hair. "Night night, lovebug."
Felicity was nearly asleep as Abbey picked her up and laid her carefully in the baby nest between them before zipping up her sleep sack.
"Poor thing. She's exhausted," Abbey said, smiling softly. "We should talk about what Dr. Keller said."
"Abbey, let's not ruin the night."
"You weren't listening to what he said."
"I was. She has to be watched for pediatric MS. MS, Abbey. This was exactly what I was afraid would happen when we gave her those immune cells!"
"Jed, it wasn't your fault. If she does have Pediatric MS, it wasn't caused by the immune cells." Abbey said firmly. "It means that she was always going to have a tendency toward MS. And you and I both know what would've happened if we hadn't given her those cells."
Jed watched Felicity sleep, "If Felicity has it, her life span is 25 years, Abbey. What kind of life will that be?"
"I don't know. At this stage, it's still an "if," Jed. The likelihood that she could have it is 2% because you have it. Dr. Keller is looking at every possibility. Felicity beat a terrible infection that would have killed another child. The only reason she is alive is that her immune system was able to fight it until we had to step in. It helped save her. We don't know why if the cause is some other condition or something else entirely. I'm just as scared as you are. But as scary as it is, Felicity is here with us."
Jed nodded, appearing to accept this. "Yes. She is."
Abbey smiled at him, grasping his hand. Then, they both stared lovingly down at their daughter.
It had been a long road. And it would still be a long road ahead. But right now, right here in the present, they were together. And that was all that mattered.
Because they had learned how quickly things could turn upside down.
All it could take was a New York minute.