Part One

"I can't believe this is the last night we'll be spending in the White House."

Gathered around the table in the dining room of the Residence, the entire Bartlet family raised their glasses in agreement. Granted, there had been moments when the White House was the last place on earth they wanted to be, but all those moments seemed to fade away that night. They wanted to remember the good times, the memories worth savoring.

"I'll drink to that!" Abbey laughed.

She smiled coyly at the glare she received from her husband following her enthusiastic exclamation and brought her wine glass to her lips. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, smiling back at her adoringly. Noticing her 8-year-old brother squirming restlessly in his seat, Annie put down her glass and turned to her mother.

"Is it okay if Gus and I take a little walk or something?" Annie, now nineteen years old, questioned.

"Yeah, fine," Liz replied. "Don't be gone for too long though, all right?"

Annie nodded and took her brother's hand, leading him out of the dining room.

"I can't get over how grown up she looks," Jed remarked.

"She is a grown up, honey. She's nineteen," Abbey responded.

"Look at her," he continued. "Already in college."

Annie had started her freshman year at Boston University in the fall and had taken home almost all A's for her first semester grades. Truthfully, no one had been surprised. She was a Bartlet, after all. However, to her grandfather's chagrin, the only B she had received during the first semester was in her Economics 101 class. To her grandmother's utter delight, she had received at 97 in her biochemistry class. Though she hadn't broken the news to Liz yet, Annie had divulged to Abbey that she was seriously entertaining the idea of changing her major to pre-med. Abbey insisted that she weigh her options carefully and make sure that she was not making decisions based on the success, and influence, her aunt and grandmother had in the field. Annie never had a particularly prodigious mind for science, opting generally to focus on her english and social studies classes. But, Abbey knew just as well as anyone that college changes everything.

"And looking more and more like her mother every day," Ellie added, winking in her older sister's direction.

Liz shrugged.

"Better me than her father."

At that moment, all eyes lifted and focused on the oldest Bartlet daughter, beckoning her to continue.

"You didn't tell them?" Doug whispered to his wife.

"I guess now's as good a time as any," Liz said, not quite as confidently as she had intended. "Ben's back."

"What!"

"You're kidding!"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

Liz gestured for them to silence and then continued.

"He was in Venezuela. And before you all start talking at once, he bought a house in Virginia where he now lives with his Brazilian model wife, Graciela, and their 10-month old daughter, Isabel. He dropped by last week to pay Annie a visit. Annie, as you can imagine, was none too thrilled to see him, so he came to me for advice. I told him the best way to bond with your teenage daughter is to, you know, not jet off to South America for seven years. Then he left."

In general, the Bartlets never missed an opportunity to make fun of Benjamin Silverman, Annie's free-spirited, negligent father, but in this case, they were rendered speechless. But, that kind of silence only lasted so long in their family.

"How's Annie taking it?" Zoey questioned.

"Like a pro, as always. If being in this family has taught her anything, it's how to recover quickly."

"I'll drink to that too," Abbey said.

Once again, they all lifted their glasses in accord.

"Hey, hey, hey. Not you, Ellie," Abbey added quickly.

Ellie frowned and put down her glass reluctantly.

"You know, in France, they encourage drinking while you're pregnant."

"Look out the window, sweetheart. That's the Washington Monument, not the Eiffel Tower."

Vic took Ellie's glass and poured the liquid into his own empty one. It had been his experience recently that it was difficult for him to survive a night with Ellie's family without being at least partially numb. Doug elbowed his brother-in-law and smirked. It had taken him nearly ten years to be able to spend an evening with the Bartlets while completely sober. Both Doug and Vic envied Charlie Young. Being as used to the Bartlets as Charlie was, nothing seemed to phase him. It appeared sometimes that Charlie was more comfortable with the outgoing First Couple than Zoey was.

As the steward came by to take their plates, a few observant members of the family noticed Zoey and Charlie whispering covertly. Ellie and Liz exchanged glances as Jed and Abbey did the same. Less than a minute later, Zoey tapped her wine glass lightly with her fork and asked for her family's undivided attention. Liz and Ellie squealed in girlish delight, intuitively knowing exactly what their little sister's announcement would be.

"Guys," Zoey admonished them.

"Sorry," they both replied.

"Charlie," Zoey whispered. "Stand up."

Charlie shrugged his shoulders and did as he was told. He had figured out somewhere in the last seven years that arguing with Zoey was never beneficial in the long run.

"Charlie and I have an announcement to make."

"So we've gathered," Jed replied, eyeing them skeptically.

"Jed." Abbey glared at him.

Zoey took a deep breath and continued.

"Last night, Charlie propo…"

Zoey's announcement was quickly interrupted by Liz and Ellie screaming with excitement and jumping out of their chairs. Within seconds, they had bombarded their little sister and wrapped her into a group hug. Charlie stood beside the shrieking sisters indifferently, Doug and Vic stared at them with confusion, and a glowing Abbey stood from her chair to approach a stoic Jed. He sat still in his chair, staring blankly ahead of him. Abbey wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and kissed his cheek.

"Smile," she whispered in his ear. When he continued to pout, she whispered, "Just remember. It could have been Frenchy."

At that, a reluctant smile spread across the President's face as he regarded his daughters, who had added jumping up and down to their squealing. Abbey laughed and kissed his temple, then wiped the excess lipstick off his skin. She stood up straight and took his hand, beckoning from him to stand. He complied, and the couple slowly advanced toward their three enthusiastic children. Zoey quickly threw her arms around her mother and continued with the squealing. Jed shook Charlie's hand. After a pause, the President pulled his former aide into his arms for a big bear hug. Abbey and the girls calmed themselves long enough to notice and by the time Jed and Charlie broke apart, they found that they were being watched. Thrilled that her father was reacting so favorably, Zoey practically jumped into his arms excitedly. Abbey observed them proudly and wrapped an arm around the waist of her other two girls.

"You're not gonna tell us you need to have the wedding as soon as possible because you're pregnant, are you?" Abbey questioned.

Vic's eyes widened, afraid he was going to be the center of attention again. His mother-in-law, it seemed, enjoyed joking with him about his hastened wedding as much as possible. His father-in-law was determined not to bring it up at all.

"No." Zoey shook her head, laughing. "We're planning to wait until school's out for the summer. Maybe a July wedding, like Mom and Dad."

"How about June, Zoey?" Liz suggested. "Then we don't have to throw you a wedding and Mom and Dad a fortieth anniversary party in the same month."

"I hope you weren't planning for that party to be a surprise, Elizabeth," Jed said.

"Oops."

"June might be too soon," Zoey said. "I want to be able to focus on school, not planning a wedding."

Zoey was now well into her second year of graduate school at Georgetown, studying psychology. She planned to transfer to Dartmouth next year to be closer to her family, though that also depended on what Charlie's plans were post-White House.

"We'd like to have the wedding at the house, if that's okay."

"Absolutely!" Abbey exclaimed. "We'd love it. Wouldn't we, Jed?"

"What? Oh. Yeah. At the house. Great."

"Two of our girls married within a year of each other," Abbey sighed.

"Yeah, I think we're gonna be in debt for the rest of our lives."

Abbey rolled her eyes and slapped his shoulder playfully.

"Jed. Don't listen to him, Zoey."

Zoey grinned.

"I never do!"

"Oh, I know that's true," Jed lamented.

"This is quite a big year for us," Ellie observed. "Annie goes to college, Vic and I get married, Dad leaves office, Zoey gets married, and I'll be having a baby. Anything else?"

"Actually, I have an announcement to make," Abbey said.

"Oh, don't tell me you're pregnant too, because I know we've been using birth control," Jed joked.

"Dad!" Zoey complained.

"Come on now." Liz averted her eyes.

"That was unneccesary," Ellie agreed.

"Yeah, the birth control known as menopause." Abbey rolled her eyes.

"That's the most reliable kind."

"What's your announcement, Mom?" Ellie asked.

"Well, for the past few days I've been in negotiations, but the arrangements were made final this afternoon. I've accepted a position teaching at Dartmouth."

"Mom, that's fantastic!" Liz exclaimed.

"Congratulations!" Doug said, in an effort to get back on his mother-in-law's good side.

"That's great, Mom. Really," Ellie insisted.

"God, I hope I don't get you as a professor when I transfer!" Zoey laughed.

"You better hope not, little girl," Abbey agreed. "I'll whip your ass into shape!"

They all laughed. All except the President.

"What are you gonna be teaching?" Charlie questioned.

"Right now, I'll be working with the biomedical department and it looks like I'll be teaching biochemistry, molecular biology, or evolutionary biology. We're working out the schedule."

"Damnit, I was thinking of taking evolutionary biology," Zoey said, chuckling. "Not anymore!"

"Dad? Are you all right?" Liz inquired. "You haven't said a word since Mom made her announcement."

"Uh…yeah," Jed replied. "Fine. Abbey, could I…?"

Placing a hand on the small of her back, he led her out of the room and into the kitchen. When he was certain they were alone and out of earshot, he placed his hands on his hands and began to pace the room. She leaned back against the wall by the door and folded her arms across her chest, anticipating his next move.

"Jed."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He blurted out.

"I wanted to wait. I wanted to tell everyone together, as a family," Abbey replied.

"This is really the kind of thing you want to run past me, Abbey."

"Why?"

"Because…because I'm your husband, that's why! Because this is what married people do. They discuss things before making decisions."

"Yeah, you're really the poster child for that, aren't you? Do I need to start listing all the decisions you've made without me or are we good?"

He sighed. She was right. But that didn't make him any less upset.

"What's your problem with the teaching?" Abbey asked, quietly.

"I don't have a problem with the teaching. I have a problem with the timing."

"What timing? I haven't even given you a time frame yet. For all you know, this could be happening in the next year."

"When is it happening?"

"It's happening in August. Classes begin August 30th. That's eight months from now, Jed. That leaves us plenty of time."

"For what?"

"For…whatever the hell we want. For wedding planning, for spending time with our new grandchild, for taking the European cruise we've always wanted to take."

"Yeah, and then what?" Jed said.

"Then we're a little more tied down. Then I have classes to teach and papers to grade. Compared to our life before, we're still gonna have more time together than we ever did. From my hours at the hospital to your hours as president…this is nothing."

"I thought you wanted to settle down."

"I do. We are. Look, it's unreasonable for me to get back into surgery at this point in my life. But I'm not done yet. I've spent the last eight years supporting your career to the point where mine was obsolete. It's time to do something for me now. Can you understand that?"

The warmth of his smile was so contagious that it caused her to smile as well. He moved toward her slowly, gazing at her lovingly.

"Of course I can." He pinned her against the wall with one arm and used the other hand to push the hair out of her face. "You're right. I'm sorry."

He moved his arm down to wrap it around her waist, then leaned forward and kissed her softly.

"I love you."

She kissed him again, framing his face with her hands.

"I love you too."

"They're gonna adore you at Dartmouth," he said.

"Not as much as they adore you, Professor."

"Maybe I should get back into the game. Teach the next Nobel Prize winner in Economics."

"Don't you have a book to write or something?" She asked, facetiously.

"Maybe I'll go Jimmy Carter-style. Habitat for humanity and all that. Whadaya say, Sweet Knees? Feeling like building some houses with me?"

"Do I look like Rosalynn Carter to you?"

"Not particularly."

"I save lives, Rosalynn Carter builds houses. I've done my fair share for the world."

He kissed her forehead as his fingers absently traced her lips.

"You saved mine."

She caught him off-guard with her laughter and dropped her head onto his shoulder, giggling profusely.

"What?"

"My, but you are corny this evening," Abbey replied, between fits of laughter.

"We had a nice moment going there, Hot Pants. Why'd ya have to go and ruin it?"

"Because you brought your cheesy side out to play. I had no choice in the matter."

He placed his hand against the wall once more and pinned her back into place, silently thanking God for giving him someone even shorter than he was. It was moments like these when he was grateful for his wife's similar lack of height.

"You know, if I wasn't so madly in love with you, I'd…"

"What?" She challenged him. "You'd what?"

"I'd…I'd do something so bad I don't even know what it is yet."

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing you're so madly in love with me, huh?"

"That's right."

When Jed leaned forward to kiss his wife once more, they found themselves jostled out of place by the door slamming into them.

"Mom, Dad?" Ellie's voice rang through the air.

The door swung closed and Ellie turned, arms crossed, to face her parents, huddled in the corner.

"Well, well, well. "

With not a little discomfiture, Jed moved to stand beside Abbey, rather than in front of her. Ellie shook her head at them, a smile playing upon her lips.

"You two are incorrigible, you know that?"

"It's not what it looks like, sweetheart," Jed insisted.

"Oh, it's exactly what it looks like," Ellie replied, smirking. "And you should be ashamed of yourselves."

"Okay, this role reversal is scaring me just a little bit," Abbey interjected.

Ellie laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Come on, let's get back out there before people start asking questions."

Jed and Abbey followed Ellie out of the kitchen, both of them red-faced and embarassed.

"We'll keep this just between us, right?" Abbey asked her daughter.

"Oh, yeah. Just between us," Ellie agreed, crossing her fingers.

When they returned to dining room, all eyes were on them.

"Hey, guess who just caught Mom and Dad making out in the kitchen!" Ellie called out.

"Eleanor Emily!" Jed reproached his middle daughter.

Laughter, loud and genuine, immediately penetrated the air along with a few minor declarations of disgust from the remaining Bartlet daughters. Abbey blushed and turned to bury her face in her husband's chest, all the while trying to suppress her own giggles.

"We were not…making out, or whatever you want to call it," Jed insisted. "We were just talking."

"Uh huh!" Zoey exclaimed skeptically.

"Sure, Dad," Liz added.

"Hey, this is nothing," Charlie said to the girls. "You're not the one who had to write 'barbecuing' in the schedule whenever they decided to…"

"Charlie!" Zoey cried, covering his mouth with the palm of her hand.

"What did you call it!" Liz questioned, nearly toppling over with laughter.

"Liz." Zoey shook her head, signaling for her not to probe the issue any further.

"Barbecuing?" Liz continued, despite her sister's warnings. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"Don't answer that, Charlie," Zoey ordered.

"Yeah, don't answer that, Charlie," Jed said. "I think the First Lady's gonna pass out in a second."

Still using her husband as a shield to hide her embarassed laughter, Abbey shook her head.

"I'm okay."

She turned to face them and upon seeing the amused expressions on her daughters' faces, she burst out laughing right along with them. Jed shook his head and locked eyes with the other men in the family.

"Women."

"Quiet," Abbey said to her husband. "You love us."

"I do. My life has revolved around these women for the past forty years. Vic, I'm counting on you and Ellie to add some more testosterone to this family," Jed teased his son-in-law.

"Oh…uh…" Vic mumbled awkwardly, looking to his wife for assistance.

"Oh! I can't believe we forgot to tell you. Vic, you were supposed to remind me!" Ellie said.

Vic gave her a half-smile.

"Sorry."

"Vic and I had an ultrasound done the other day and, being the scientists that we are, we couldn't help but look…" Ellie grinned.

"Oh, my God! You know the sex of the baby!" Zoey asked.

Ellie and Vic both nodded.

"Well?"

"It's a boy!"

Squealing and hugging once again ensued as the Bartlet family rejoiced over their soon-to-be newest member.

"Have you thought about a name?" Liz wondered.

"Actually…we have."

"What is it, honey?" Abbey asked curiously.

"Well, we were thinking of…naming him after Leo. Leo Josiah Faison."

"Oh, Ellie."

Abbey felt her husband take hold her her hand and squeeze. She glanced over at his tear-filled eyes and smiled warmly at him.

"I think that's perfect," Jed managed to choke out. "Thank you."

Ellie beamed.

"I'm glad you like it, Daddy."

He kissed her tenderly on the cheek.

"I love it."

They watched silently as his eyes began to glaze over and instantly knew that he was no longer with them. He was in a world all his own. A world where Leo popped into his office everyday, where CJ stood at the podium and dealth with the press, where Sam and Josh floated around the halls everyday looking for answers, where Toby's best friend was his bouncy ball, not a lawyer, and where he himself was president, not some lame duck waiting around to be replaced by the next guy.

"I'm going down to the office."

"Jed-" Abbey protested.

"I'm just gonna gather some of the things I haven't rounded up yet."

Abbey nodded with understanding.

"Okay. Take your time."

"Thank you."

He kissed her quickly, nodded to the rest of his family, and soon disappeared from sight.