Chapter Six

Thanks for all the great reviews – it's so much more fun to write for people who I know are reading. : ) I don't know if such a thing called the Virginia State Democratic Convention exists, but we'll just pretend it does for shits and giggles. Also, I guess that Donna wouldn't need to go to the Virginia one if she's running in Connecticut and stuff but…..yeah. Maybe I'll change the state she's running for to Virginia. I don't really know. Let me know what you think, and please enjoy and review!

Linkin Park – "Numb"

I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless
Lost under the surface
I don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure
Of walking in your shoes
Every step that I take is another mistake to you

I've become so numb
I can't feel you there
Become so tired
So much more aware
I'm becoming this
All I want to do
Is be more like me
And be less like you

Can't you see that you're smothering me
Holding too tightly
Afraid to lose control
Cause everything that you thought I would be
Has fallen apart right in front of you

Every step that I take is another mistake to you
And every second I waste is more than I can take

Ella Parker had been staying at the Lymans' house now for about the past week while the situation with her parents was worked out. Ella's mom Carol had always been the main breadwinner for the family, so the Lymans helped her work to get a restraining order against her husband for both herself and Ella so John was forced to leave the house. Everyone knew if it had been the other way round, he would have forced both his wife and daughter to leave the house. Carol also stayed at the Lymans' for several nights after the blow-up incident for safety reasons. They'd all learned the previous day that John had now actually left the state and was looking for an apartment in California. Carol was elated at the thought of his being away, but also concerned for Ella. Ella wasn't quite sure what to think in the midst of all the drama and emotion. She just wished her father would shape up and be like he was most of the time – a kind, caring, man. But he liked to blow up and he had quite a temper. Ella felt safer now that he was gone, but she still missed him.

Now also gone was the honeymoon period that had gone on between Audrey and the rest of her family. She'd felt closer to her family for the few days after the Parkers' problem, but now they all seemed like the same idiots as before. Audrey was really looking forward to finally getting away from them all this Friday at a party one of the high schoolers were throwing. Ella was invited also, but Katie had not been. Audrey felt a little bad, but it wasn't her fault her sister was a dork. Donna tried to convince her to take Katie along, but Audrey wasn't having it. Apparently, it would be social suicide.

"What are you going to wear tomorrow?" Audrey asked her friend as she helped her pack her things to move back in to her house. It was Thursday afternoon and they'd just gotten home from school. Both girls had spoken endlessly about the party the past week. Katie stayed mostly in her room because they would not shut up about it. Her parents had offered to take her out to do something special with other friends, but instead of helping, it made her feeling like an even bigger loser. Going out with her parents at the age of thirteen? She really needed Huck and Molly now.

"I think I'll wear my denim skirt and that light blue tank top." Ella answered as she folded one of her shirts and placed it in her suitcase.

"That'll look really good." Audrey told her. "It makes your boobs look bigger."

"Gee, thanks."

"I wasn't trying to say…"

"I know, I'm kidding."

"God knows Katie needs a shirt like that." Audrey joked shallowly. She knew her sister was self-conscious, but Katie had really been annoying her lately, so she didn't feel so bad taking a few low blows at her. Both of the girls giggled and continued with their packing.

Just then, Donna poked her head in the room to check on the girls. She'd just gotten home and had heard them giggling about something in Audrey's room.

"Hey, girls. What were you giggling about?"

"Oh, nothing. Just girly stuff."

"Audrey, I need to talk to you about something. Could you come into the living room?" Donna asked.

Her mother's face didn't look angry, so she didn't think she was in trouble, so Audrey glanced over at her friend before walking to the door. She followed her mother and sat down on the couch next to her. What the hell was going on now?

"Audrey, your Uncle Sam asked me to go to the State Democratic Convention today to announce my candidacy."

"That's great, mom." Audrey said as sincerely as possible, but she could really care less. She still wasn't totally on board with this running for office thing.

"They want all the candidates' families to be there too, and all our friends are coming. The Seaborns, the Zieglers, maybe even the Bartlets to support me."

"So I'd get to see Huck and Molly?" Audrey asked.

"Yeah. There's one more thing."

That was never a good thing when she said that.

"What is it?"

"It's tomorrow. At seven o'clock."

"What?" Audrey remarked angrily. Her party was supposed to start at eight. Her mother better not be expecting…

"I know that's when your party is, but Audrey…"

"No mom!" Audrey stood up yelling. "I am not missing this party for your stupid election! I've been looking forward to this for weeks! Take Katie, I'm sure she'll be happy to go since she has no life, but you don't need to drag me along."

"Audrey, I would really appreciate it if you would come. I need your support on this."

"No!"

"How's it going to look if my own daughter is not there?"

"I don't care because I'm not going."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but this time you don't have a choice." Donna stated coolly. She could have predicted that Audrey would storm back to her room and slammed the door. Donna let out a frustrated sigh and collapsed on the couch. One little party is not going to make a difference. Donna felt bad for wishing that Josh was here to talk a little sense in to Audrey. They always listened to him – she was just a little too nice.

Josh arrived home about twenty minutes later to find his wife on the couch in the same state she was after Audrey stormed off. Donna had called him during the day to let him know about the change in plans and knew she was going to talk to their temperamental daughter. He predicted it probably wouldn't go well, and he was bang on this time. He leaned over the back of the couch and put his arms around Donna.

"Didn't go too well?" Josh asked her.

"Nope." She answered in a mock-peppy voice.

"I didn't think it would." Josh admitted. "Do you think I should go talk to her?"

"No, not right now. She's still really angry."

"Okay." Josh agreed. Audrey was pretty stubborn just like he was, and he wanted to go tell her what he thought right now, but knew it wouldn't get him anywhere. "We'll talk later."

The next day, after being talked to multiple times by both parents, Audrey was still no more convinced than she had been when Donna first broke the news. Yelling didn't work; threatening her didn't work; talking calmly with her didn't work. You could cut the tension in the house with a knife.

"Audrey Elizabeth Lyman, stop acting like a five year old and go get changed now!" Josh told his daughter as she stood a few feet away in jeans and a t-shirt with her arms crossed defiantly. Everyone else was dressed and ready to go. They needed to leave in ten minutes and had been battling with her for at least thirty. She'd complained a few times that she didn't want to go because her stomach was hurting again, but they figured she wouldn't want to go to the party either if it was hurting her that bad. When Audrey didn't say anything, he continued. "Is your mother going to have to drag you into your room and change you herself? If that's what it takes, that's what we'll do. You're just making this more painful for yourself."

Josh gave her the look of death for about ten seconds before he began to walk towards her, calling her bluff. Audrey stamped one foot and shrieked angrily before storming off to her bedroom, yelling "I hate you!"

The door slammed and they could all hear items of clothing being flung around the room. Donna had already picked out a few things from her closet that would be suitable to wear and laid them out on her bed. Donna had been looking forward to this night ever since she'd learned she was invited, but now she was just dreading it and wanted to get it over with.

Audrey threw on one of the outfits her mother had laid out, not even caring which one it was. She childishly pulled her hair out of the ponytail it has been in and messed it up to let them know she had not been defeated. Audrey also decided she wouldn't wear any makeup like her sister was. She could care less about this event and would therefore care less about her physical appearance.

Minutes later, Audrey emerged from her bedroom a little more collected but with a scowl on her face. She was wearing a black evening gown that complimented her well, minus the hair and the look on her face. At this point, the Lymans were all just happy that she was finally dressed. They'd deal with the hair at least later.

"Alright, let's go." Josh said upon seeing her emerge. He kicked himself mentally for wishing she were five years old again, and not at this tempestuous age. She was beginning to get difficult to live with. He loved her deeply, of course, but these games she'd been playing lately were hurtful and worried him a great deal.

The car ride began silently, but as they rolled towards D.C., Donna finally brought up the state of her daughter's hair. She'd also packed extra makeup in case she eventually stopped breathing fire.

"Audrey, what are you going to do with your hair?"

Josh and Katie both cringed at the thought of what Audrey's response would be.

"Nothing. I'm leaving it like this."

What could she say to that? You can't leave this car until your hair looks nice? That would be just what she wanted.

"Sweetheart, you can't go in there looking like that. At least put it back up in a ponytail."

"If you're too ashamed to be seen with me, why don't you just drop me off somewhere?"

"Audrey, cool it!" Josh stepped in, shooting her a warning glare in the rearview mirror. "Fix your hair now, like your mother told you to."

Audrey angrily bunched her hair up and put it in a messy bun on top of her head. She stared out the window at the passing cars. Audrey muttered something under her breath that her parents couldn't hear, but Katie caught.

"Would you just shut the hell UP!" Katie finally screamed with tears in her eyes. The sudden outburst took the other three in the car by surprise and they all flinched a little. "Would you stop worrying about your shallow-ass self and support mom for one god damn night? Just SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Audrey looked at her sister first like she wanted to explode at her, but then she just looked hurt and ashamed. She turned her body away from Katie and stared back out the window as tears began spilling over.

Katie started breathing in and out quickly. Josh and Donna were both silently thinking, 'Way to go, Katie!' but the outburst had also put a real damper on things. Hopefully Audrey wouldn't be even more pissed and Katie had actually gotten through to her sister.

Katie felt anger leaving her body with each breath out, and she couldn't tell whether or not it was a good feeling yet. It felt kind of good to finally tell Audrey what she was thinking, but she didn't like being so hateful.

With both of his daughters in tears, Josh decided he should probably pull over to calm them down. He found a relatively empty parking lot at the side of the road and put the Jeep in park. Donna immediately got out and opened the door behind her where Katie was sitting. She unbuckled her daughter's seatbelt and helped her step out of the car and sit her down on the grass nearby. Katie was still breathing in and out deeply, so Donna just gently stroked her hair and rubbed comforting circles on her back.

Josh also got out of the car, but proceeded to pace for a few minutes in one spot of the parking lot. If he tried to talk to Audrey right now, things would just get worse. After he felt he'd cooled down, Josh finally opened the car door where Audrey was sitting. Audrey had her arms crossed and stared at the Jeep's floor.

"Yelling at me is not going to help."

"I wasn't going to yell at you."

"Katie did."

"Well, you had that one coming. You were being pretty inconsiderate."

"I still didn't deserve to be yelled at like that." She rubbed her stomach like it was hurting again, but Josh continued anyway.

"Then what do you suggest we do, Audrey? We've tried everything else. You haven't responded to anything."

"Nothing you say is going to change how I feel. I don't want to go to this thing. I want to be with my friends at the party."

"We realize that. But sometimes supporting your family is more important than your social agenda. Your mother is running for the House. Right now, that is more important than going to one party."

"So you're saying that what mom wants is more important than what I want?" Audrey asked with a bit of attitude.

"Yes, at the moment it is. What you want right now only involves the present. What your mom needs tonight will affect her candidacy. Which, I'm sorry to say, is more important than what a few friends think of you at school. Running for the House affects thousands, if not millions of people. It's not for games, it's about serious issues involving many peoples' lives."

Audrey knew her dad was right, but as normal, she didn't want to admit it so she just turned her body away from him and pouted. Josh was about over it, so he just closed the door and walked away. He felt he had made a valid point and Audrey hadn't. Josh walked over to where his wife and other daughter were sitting in the grass.

"Are you okay?" He asked Katie as he sat down next to her on the other side as Donna.

Katie nodded. She seemed to be calmed down now after her outburst. It hadn't been an annoying outburst like Audrey frequented. She only did it because it was necessary. Audrey was being completely selfish and self-involved, and Josh and Donna were glad that she put her sister in her place.

"What happened?" Josh looked over at her.

"I don't know. I just snapped I guess. I'm so sick of her always throwing fits and getting what she wants."

"I know you are, and we're both proud of you for finally standing up for yourself."

Katie looked questioningly at her dad. She figured they'd be angry that she yelled seeing Audrey got in trouble when she yelled all the time.

"Really?"

Josh nodded with a light look on his face.

"I figured you'd be mad."

"Because of what happens when Audrey loses her temper?"

Katie nodded.

"Well, what you just did is a totally different thing from what Audrey does. You had good reason to be angry because Audrey was being completely self-centered. We were all sick of her going on and I think that when you put her in her place, she actually listened for once. It was great!"

"Thanks dad." She said, and smiled a little to herself.

"Now she's still pretty ticked, but I think she'll get over it."

"We better get going, guys." Donna told them. "We'll just get through tonight and think about campaigning a little more when we get home, okay?"

"Okay, mom."

"Let's hit the road." Josh announced as he got up on his feet. They all joined a still sulking Audrey in the car and continued their journey to the State Democratic Party almost silently.

When they arrived, there were a few news cameras there, and they all smiled and waved politely except for Audrey. She at least had a pleasant look on her face, but she was just going through the motions. Audrey only made eye contact or stopped when she needed to. She was being cold and uninviting, but at least she wasn't throwing another tantrum.

As the Lymans entered the room, Katie was ecstatic and almost brought to tears at the sight of all the friends she hardly ever saw anymore. Huck and Molly Ziegler were there along with their dad, Toby; Sam and Ainsley Seaborn were there with their three children; even Mr. and Mrs. Bartlet showed up to support Donna. As she had been taught, Katie first greeted all of the adults and had short 'How have you been?' conversations before bolting over excitedly to her two best friends, Huck and Molly Ziegler.

"Molly! Huck!" She cried as she hugged each of them warmly. Katie hadn't seen them for at least a month since they had moved to New York with their dad.

"Katie, it is so good to see you!" Molly raved at the sight of her friend. "We have so much to talk about."

"Oh, God, it better not be all girl stuff." Huck complained. It was tough being the only guy in a circle of friends. Sometimes they would also hang out with Sam Seaborn's seventeen-year-old daughter Courtney and he would feel even more out of it. Courtney also had two brothers, but they were aged five and eight, so they weren't much fun to hang out with. Huck somehow imagined he would end up with rugrat duty seeing that Connor and Jeffrey adored him. He could hardly wait.

Audrey Lyman had been walking around aimlessly for the past few minutes, avoiding many of the family friends she knew would love to see her. She loved being around Uncle Sam, Uncle Toby, and Grandma and Grandpa Bartlet when she was little, but she just didn't feel like seeing them tonight. She didn't feel like seeing any of these people.

Like her father had said many times, Audrey was a master politician at far too early an age, and tonight she was testing her limits out. She joined numerous conversations with various people, some of them rather prominent figures in the Democratic Party. Whenever she heard something she didn't agree with, she surprised her audience by making a comment or raising a question that was politely rude. Audrey knew the social structure of these events and knew how to manipulate them. Her dad was trying to be a bit of a wallflower and was keeping a close eye on his daughter as he'd suspected she might try to push her boundaries tonight. Josh made it a point to make sure Donna had the best night possible with the given situation; trying to handle Audrey himself while Donna had the conversations she needed to have with people. Judging by some of their expressions, Josh knew Audrey must have said some inappropriate things. He'd been playing a game of cat and mouse with her all night. Audrey knew he was watching her and he kept politely trying to move his way towards her, but she'd just politely move in another direction. Josh finally caught her, being as proper as possible, by sneaking up from behind her and leading her off to the side. He gave her a stern warning to quit all the funny business and she'd made some smart-ass comment, but he really couldn't do anything at the time without embarrassing himself and, in turn, Donna. Knowing she would probably be in even bigger trouble when she got home, Audrey finally settled off in a corner and sat in one of the bay windows and left people alone. She thought about what her friends must be doing at this very moment and how much she still wanted to be there. It was a high school party, so there would probably be alcohol. Audrey had never had alcohol before, but she was looking forward to experimenting at the party. Damn this convention. Her stomach was hurting again now and she just wanted to go home. She probably would have gotten sick if she'd tried alcohol anyways.

Audrey was busy feeling sorry for herself once more when all of a sudden she became aware of a figure walking towards her. Sensing the presence of another person, and dreading that it was her dad, she looked up with her eyebrows crinkled in defense. Audrey was surprised to see Jed Bartlet approaching her, hands in his pockets, with a pleasant look on his face.

"Audrey Elizabeth Lyman." He simply stated with very little emotion. Audrey couldn't tell if she was in for a lecture or if he was going to talk to her about school or football or….

"How's your evening going?" He asked her as he took a seat next to her in the bay window.

"It's okay."

"You don't really want to be here do you?" Jed asked frankly.

Audrey studied her feet swinging below her.

"No." She answered quietly. Her parents had told her stories about their days with Grandpa Bartlet about when he was president. Audrey never thought of him as the former president of the most powerful nation in the world. He was always just Grandpa Jed. Now that she was in middle school and starting to learn about specific historic figures, she was just beginning to figure out what an important man her Grandpa Jed really was. Still, he just didn't seem so presidential to her. He was just a regular guy.

"Where do you really want to be?"

Audrey sighed.

"I was supposed to be at a friend's party. I've been excited about it for weeks and mom told me last night I'd have to come here. I wanted to come here too, but just not on the same night as my party."

Jed knew that Audrey had been having a hard time with Donna running for office. He still kept in touch with the Lymans quite frequently, and he knew more about Audrey than she thought.

"Not fair, is it?" Jed admitted. "Zoey was furious one time when I was running for president. She'd already signed up to help with the campaign for, oh, a couple of weeks, and then she got a call from one of her good buddies asking if she wanted to go to Florida with her. So, of course, Zoey in all her adolescence wanted to ditch the campaign and go, but Abby wouldn't let her and she was just furious." He gestured animatedly during his entire story, changing his facial expressions frequently.

"I know how it feels."

"Yeah." He acknowledged, then he changed his position so he was facing her. "But you know, Audrey, your mom's a pretty special person. When she was working for your dad during my administration, she did amazing things for Josh and for me and for…everyone. She put in god-awful hours for us, Audrey, and she helped so many people."

Audrey had heard stories about her mother before from other people, but hearing them from Grandpa Jed was like a whole other world. She would listen to Jed for hours when she was young hearing stories about her parents. A lot of them were funny stories, but he also told her and her sister about how Donna came to Josh's aid after he'd been shot; about how Josh flew all the way to Germany after he'd learned Donna had been hurt in Gaza; and countless other instances of their love for each other.

"One time, oh this was amazing…" Jed started. Audrey was trying to listen; she always loved hearing Grandpa Jed's stories, but her stomach was really starting to hurt again. The pain was so severe this time that she wasn't even hearing what he was saying. Audrey caught a few words here and there but her mind was focused on the mind-numbing pain that was shooting through her body. What the hell was going on?

"Audrey? Audrey?" Jed had finally realized she wasn't listening and her face had turned rather pale. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" Jed took Audrey's face in his hands and tapped her cheek lightly to bring her back. "What's wrong?"

The last thing Audrey heard was her Grandpa Jed telling her to stay there and that she was going to go get her dad and a paramedic. Audrey fainted right there at the window, and she laid sprawled out and lifeless.

Josh was at her sides within seconds after hearing from Jed that she had fainted. Donna was close behind him, hearing the commotion from across the room. Katie and the Zieglers and the Seaborns also followed, with worry plastered all over their faces.

When Josh reached Audrey, he knelt down and tried what Jed had moments before.

"Audrey! Audrey!" He called her, lightly slapping her on the cheek, trying to wake her. "Audrey, sweetheart, wake up!" Josh begged her. Tears were beginning to form in his eyes at the thought that his little girl wasn't okay. Donna reached her daughter and put a hand over her forehead and called her name gently.

"Audrey, honey. Wake up." She begged in a whisper.

Jed had already called for a paramedic, but Josh yelled for one again.

"Would someone get a doctor in here NOW!" He snapped at the crowd behind him. A couple of people ran back off. Josh couldn't tell who it was; he was too focused on his lifeless daughter.

Josh and Donna sat at their daughter's side as nervous onlookers stood by, including their other daughter and their friends. There was nothing they could do but wait for help to come.

"Please, Audrey, baby, come back. Come back." Donna cried, now feeling more guilty than ever that she'd dragged her along to this convention. Josh held her as they looked down on Audrey, silently praying for their little girl to pull through whatever the hell was happening.

To be continued…