Chapter 2

Two days earlier Jed was sitting at his desk in the Oval Office. He was worried about the State of the Union speech. It was just not coming together. Sam and Toby were working on it, but the pace and the writing was just not up to par.

It was late and he was tired.

Abbey had already called down, and asked him when he was coming to bed. He told her it might be a while so she should go on to bed without him. She agreed. It had been a busy holiday season and she had yet to get any solid rest. And an overnight trip was coming up and she never slept well on the road.

Unconsciously, Jed rubbed his right shoulder. It was a dull ache that had been there for a couple of days. Jed figured that he had just pulled a muscle or it was simply old age. Sixty years was not old, but he still had the aches and pains that came with those long years.

About an hour later he finally left the Oval Office and headed toward the Residence. He walked slowly as the fatigue from the last few weeks just overwhelmed him. He quietly opened the bedroom door and noticed a light was still on next to Abbey. She was sound asleep, but still sitting with papers strewn around her.

Quietly, Jed moved the papers off the bed and took her glasses.

"Hi, hon."

The soft voice of his wife startled him. Her green eyes looked at him through sleepy lids.

"I was waiting up for you, but I guess I fell asleep."

"I told you to go on to sleep."

"I know, but I hoped you wouldn't be much longer. What time is it?"

"Almost midnight. Now go to sleep."

"Okay."

By the time Jed had changed clothes, the rhythmic breathing next to him assured him that Abbey was sleeping.

He pulled back the covers and cuddled next to his wife.

He quickly dropped off to sleep himself.

The next morning, Abbey had already left when Jed woke up. Looking at the clock he saw it was already 6:30. Why hadn't Charlie called? His normal wake-up call was always 5:30 and never past 6.

He didn't have time to worry about the reason. He jumped in the shower, dressed and drank the cup of coffee that had appeared while he was in the bathroom.

Charlie was waiting for the President as he exited the bedroom.

"Why didn't you call me? I'm almost late for my first meeting."

"The First Lady asked me to let you sleep a little longer. She said you had been working late and needed some more rest."

Jed made a note to tell Abbey that she should stop running his life. As President he had certain responsibilities and none of them were labeled 'Get Rest'.

"That's okay, Charlie. It's not your fault."

As the President moved through the main floor of the White House heading toward the West Wing, the ache in his shoulder became more intense. It really wasn't pain per se but definitely more intense then it had been. A throbbing ache would probably describe it best.

Jed ignored the sensation and worked the rest of the day. Lunch on the run. Normal. Meetings, papers to be read, documents to sign. Normal. It really never ended.

And then this speech. It was very important to tell the country what the President's agenda would be for the upcoming legislative year. It needed to be clear and easily understood. It needed to make a statement for the country's future, and where the President wanted the country to go. Josh had some very specific ideas about the content of the speech, but Toby and Sam disagreed. Toby was having meetings with various Congressmen, but that only slowed things down.

Everybody wanted the President to say something specific about one of their pet projects. It was almost like Jed was Santa and everyone wanted to get on his list. It just wouldn't happen. Jed would listen to the arguments and make some final decisions during the practice run scheduled for the next day. Hopefully by then, the speech would be in better shape than it was now. It had put even more stress on the President.