Chapter Ten

Washington, D.C.

"Tony!" Abbey exclaimed, the tone of her voice expressing her surprise at his presence and her disappointment that said presence brought her conversation with Jed to an end.

"Well, well, well," Jed said, rising from his seat at the table.

"Good afternoon, Mr. President. How are you?" Tony questioned.

"I was better before you entered my White House."

"I certainly do apologize if this is uncomfortable for you, sir, but I…"

"You're damn right it's uncomfortable," Jed replied. "You were married once, Tony. How would you have felt if your wife brought home another man?"

"Not especially thrilled, sir. I understand your reservations about the situation, but I would like to make it clear that I have no intention making this into a spectacle."

"Too late. It was a spectacle the moment you set foot in the building. You can bet the press is all over this by now. It wouldn't surprise me if this story overshadows the shutdown of the United States government."

"My apologies, Mr. President," Tony said, sheepishly.

"Let's just cut to the chase here, shall we? What the hell are you doing here, Tony?" Jed demanded.

"Jed, I asked him to come," Abbey interjected.

"There's no need to stand up for me, Abbey," Tony replied. "I insinuated myself along, Mr. President. Abbey thought it would have been best if I'd stayed away, but I insisted."

"And why did you insist?"

"I wanted to be there for her, in case she needed me."

"Well, she doesn't," Jed said.

"Jed," Abbey said, warningly.

"She doesn't need you, Tony. She never did. She used you. Do you know that?"

"Jed!"

"Yeah," he continued. "She used you. You were her little publicity stunt, her revenge."

Abbey glared at her husband angrily, and then turned to Tony.

"That's not true," she said, softly.

"I beg your pardon!" Jed exclaimed.

"I didn't use him."

"What!"

"No, I did not use him, all right? Honestly, I have no idea what my intentions were. It wasn't a conscious thing."

"Abbey…" Tony trailed off, unable to form the words he needed to articulate.

"You didn't actually think she loved you, right?" Jed said to Tony. "You were her shoulder to cry on, nothing more."

"Well, due respect, sir, but that's more than you were!"

"Tony," Abbey admonished him.

"How could I have been? She fled off to Europe for three months!"

"And you didn't go after her," Tony answered.

"She didn't want me to!" Jed cried. "I was giving her freedom, the freedom to forgive me for what I'd done. But instead of finding forgiveness, she found you!"

"As fate would have it."

"Oh, no. That was not fate. Fate is planning to become a priest and then meeting the woman who persuades you otherwise. That is fate."

"Would you consider deception and betrayal fate as well?" Tony asked.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly to what I'm referring, Mr. President."

"I'm not sure that's any of your business!" Jed replied.

"Abbey made it my business."

"I'm standing right here!" Abbey exclaimed. Though she was on the verge of tears, she made a bland attempt at lightening the mood. "I'm not used to being fought over."

"Please," Jed scoffed.

"Excuse me." She looked at him sideways, failing to conceal her sardonic smirk.

"Mr. President." Tony cleared his throat. "You and I have always had a friendly relationship, one that included the Prime Minister. I would hate for what's happened between us to jeopardize your liaison with the Prime Minister."

"Tony, the Prime Minister is here."

"Here?"

"Yes, here. In Washington. We're having dinner this evening," Jed stated.

"I wasn't aware of this," Tony replied, dumbfounded.

"Evidently. How's your relationship with the Prime Minister?"

"May I ask, sir, what this meeting is regarding?"

"Take it up with Blair. I'm not inclined to tell you anything at this point"
"That's very thoughtful of you, sir," Tony replied, dryly.

"Yeah, well, my job is not to make your life easier."

"Or anyone else's for that matter."

"You wanna run that one by me again, Prescott?" Jed challenged.

"I said, Mr. President, that you…"

"Tony!" Abbey said, quickly. "I would really hate to see you say something you'll regret, so why don't you come with me? I think we need to have a few words."

Tony nodded.

"Yes." He looked in Jed's direction as he backed away. "Mr. President."

Jed returned the nod cordially.

"Sir Anthony."

Abbey subtly took Tony's arm and led him out of the room and out of Jed's eye and earshot. She led him far from the prying eyes of agents stationed steadfast around the Residence.

"Look, Abbey, I apologize for the way I acted back there. It was inappropriate and incredibly disrespectful."

"Yes, it was," Abbey responded. "But that isn't what we need to discuss."

"Really, I insist on apologizing to him. I feel awful."

"That's fine. I'm sure he'll appreciate that, even if he doesn't let on. But we need to talk"
"All right."

"My husband was wrong. I didn't use you. At least, I hadn't planned to. I genuinely enjoy your company, and you've been a wonderful friend to me over the past months."

"Friend?"

"Yes," she said, quietly. "I'm sorry I lead you on. I shouldn't have. You know just as well as I do that I haven't exactly been in my right mind these last few months. I was hurting, and I wanted to hurt Jed for causing me all that pain. But all it did was cause me more pain. And in the process, I've managed to get you mixed up in my maelstrom of emotional complexities. For that, I'm truly sorry."

"Okay," Tony sighed. "Stop me if I'm interpreting this wrong, but are you breaking up with me?"

Abbey hesitated.

"If we were sixteen and standing outside our high school cafeteria, then…yes. But sixteen has come and gone, and we're standing in the White House."

"The end result is the same."

"Yes."

Tony nodded.

"I understand."

"Do you?" She asked, uncertainly.

"Abbey, you've been the farthest thing from content since the day I met you. I tried, but I couldn't make you happy. As much as it pains me to say it, I know exactly who will. And you know it too. You need to fix your marriage. Just because mine ended in shambles doesn't mean yours needs to do the same."

Abbey smiled, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Thank you for understanding. Your support means a lot to me."

"Friends?"

She nodded.

"Friends."

"Scrabble?"

"Nah."

"Uno?"

"No."

"Poker?"

"No."

Amy Gardner stared at Josh Lyman incredulously.

"Oh, come on, I've never known you to turn down poker before."

"I'm turning it down now," Josh replied. "And anyway, you can't play with just two people."

"You could play Crazy Eights."

"Amy, I am not playing Crazy Eights with you."

"Scared?"

"Yes," Josh answered. "Petrified."

"Now that's an answer I'll accept," Amy conceded.

She lifted her feet onto his desk and leaned back in her chair, her eyes wandering around the room awkwardly.

"J."

Josh's looked up and lifted an eyebrow at her.

"A."

"How long is this gonna go on?"

"I don't know," he answered, honestly.

"I'm bored."

"You have your own office, you know, with lots of work to do."

"Nah. Hardly any," Amy said.

"The First Lady's back in town after almost six months, and you've got nothing to do?"

"I was told not to do anything until I met with her."

"When is that happening?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Later today. Whenever her majesty summons me."

"You pissed at her?"

"Not really. She made her bed and now she has to lie in it. She'll be facing enough consequences without me getting on her case."

"I'd be pissed. In fact, I am pissed," Josh said.

"Josh, I've known the First Lady my entire life. I find it very difficult to be angry at her for an extended period of time."

"Yeah, well, I've known her for seven years and I find it almost painfully easy to be angry at her for an extended period of time."

"You looking to get your ass kicked?" Amy questioned.

"Depends on who's doing the kicking."

"The First Lady's got friends in very high places. Namely…the President."

"You think the President's in her corner right now?" Josh inquired.

"Abbey Bartlet could commit murder and he'd still be in her corner."

"What a strange relationship."

"It's called love, J."

When he noticed Amy's attention divert toward the doorway of his office, Josh glanced up to find Leo standing in the doorway, harried and rushed.

"The President wants you back in the war room."

Josh immediately stood from his desk, grabbed his jacket, and ran down the hallway after his boss, leaving Amy, silent and alone, in his office.

Once she said goodbye to Tony, Abbey began to pace the Residence in search of her husband. It was not until after she checked the kitchen, the bedroom, and the dining room that she found him in his studying. He stood behind his desk, studiously gathering papers and placing them inside his briefcase.

"Hey."

He looked up at her, over the rims of his glasses.

"Hey."

"What's going on?"

"I'm heading downstairs. Josh's back in the war room," Jed replied, distractedly.

"I'm glad."

"It's time to remind Haffley who's the President around here."

Abbey nodded.

"Tony's leaving."

Jed paused, his eyes frozen on her figure in the doorway. The joy he felt at hearing those words he kept well concealed, a stoic disposition intact.

"Good."

He closed his briefcase and, with it in tow, began walking toward the door. As he passed her, Abbey wrung her hands nervously, before crying out his name. He stopped in his tracks and whipped around, waiting expectantly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that I left, I'm sorry I took Zoey from you, I'm sorry I…I'm sorry for everything. It wasn't supposed to be like this. It wasn't supposed to get this far. I'm so sorry for all the hurt I've caused you, and everyone else. I was wrong. That's not say I condone what you did, but I was wrong. I know you have a lot happening right now, and you need to focus, but…I just wanted to let you know that I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere."

She would never be able to fully understand exactly what it meant to him for her to say such things. He knew she was sorry, and he knew she hadn't intended for the situation to get so out of hand, but he needed to hear her say it.

"Good," Jed replied, choking back the tears he didn't want her to see. "I'm gonna need you to play hostess with the Blairs tonight."

As a grateful, relieved smile spread across her face, Jed felt an overwhelming sense of happiness. It had been six months since he had witnessed a smile like Abbey's, luminous and honest. The corners of his mouth lifted into a half-smile, paling in comparison to hers, but genuine nonetheless. Absorbing her appearance one last time, he turned and continued out the door.