As they walked through the halls of the west wing, fingers entwined, they were not the President and First Lady. They were not the Drs. Bartlet. They were Jed and Abbey, facing a family crisis. There was no talk of political backlash, only emotional breakdown. Although they had changed into business attire, neither of them felt particularly professional. And although all eyes were locked upon them as they passed by, they felt completely alone.
When they reached the closed door to Leo's office, Abbey stopped, withdrawing her hand from his. She began wringing her hands anxiously and biting her lower lip.
"Abbey."
He separated her entangled fingers and placed her left hand back into his right.
"I'm gonna be right beside you the whole time. If you need to…"
"I'm fine," she said suddenly. "Let's go."
"Are you sure?"
Abbey nodded fervently. He sighed compliantly and opened the door. He then squeezed her hand reassuringly and lead her into the office. Inside, Leo was sitting on his desk talking with CJ and Will, who stood nearby. On the couch against the wall sat the young man. Although they had never seen him before, they both instantly felt as if they knew him well. While Jed was rendered speechless by the sight of him, Abbey gasped in surprise and struggled to keep breathing. Max's resemblance to his departed father through her completely off-balance, allowing melancholy memories to seep back into her mind. She lurched back suddenly and, with only a parting glance at her long lost nephew, darted out of the room. As expected, her husband was hot on her trail.
He caught her in the hallway and stopped her rapid movement. With two strong hands on her shoulders, he spun her around to face him directly. Her eyes were filled with tears, her lips trembling. He shook his head at her disapprovingly.
"Don't do this, Abbey."
She grimaced and averted her eyes away from his, which only made him more determined.
"I know how hard this is on you, trust me. But there's a kid in there who has lost both his mother and his father, and he's looking to you for guidance."
Abbey shook her head.
"He must be thirty years old, Jed."
"Age makes no difference in a situation like this. That young man is the only remaining piece of your brother, Abbey. Are you really gonna leave him sitting in there?"
She hesitated, and he could see the wheels turning in her head.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
She nodded, the tears in her eyes resurfacing.
"Jed…"
"What, honey?" He asked, compassionately.
"He looks just like him," Abbey said, simply.
The brevity of her words cut through him like a knife, no further explanation neccesary.
"I know." He smiled. "Handsome kid."
She returned the smile, ever so faintly.
"Yeah."
"Ready?"
She nodded. He draped an arm around her shoulders and guided her back into the office, where Max Bennett waited, an apprehensive expression plain on his face. This time, instead of recoiling at the sight of him, Abbey felt her maternal instinct kick in. She smiled and sat down beside him on the couch. Leo nodded to Will and CJ and, seconds later, that had taken their leave.
"Well," Abbey said, attempting to sigh away the discomfiture that had set in around them. "You truly are your father's son." She glanced up at her husband for assistance. "Isn't he, Jed?"
"Absolutely."
Lost for words, Max reached into his pocket and retrieved the photograph that he had shown Josh only half an hour earlier.
"Oh, uh…here."
He handed it to Abbey, who regarded it with a sort of cautious awe. She ran her fingers over the image gently before turning it over to read the message scribbled haphazardly on the back. She sighed at the note, remembering when she had sat down to write it. Then, he handed it to her husband, who gazed upon it much in the same way.
"1966," Abbey said, nostalgically. "Do you remember that?"
"Looks like your twentieth birthday. We went into Boston for the day."
He returned the photograph to her and she returned it to Max.
"We weren't married then," she explained to her nephew.
"I know," Max replied, with a nervous speed to his language. "July 27th, 1967."
Abbey laughed quietly.
"You've really done your homework, haven't you?"
"Well, it's not exactly difficult information to come by," Max said, self-deprecatingly.
"Yes."
"Uh, Max." The President cleared his throat. "Can I ask, out of pure curiosity, why you've decided to come forward now, after all these years?"
"Jed." Abbey glared at him warningly. He shrugged in response.
"No, it's okay," Max said. "Desperation, sir."
Jed raised an eyebrow.
"Desperation?"
"Yes. You see, I used to work for Congressman Fields, that is until…"
"Right. I see."
"I haven't been able to find work in the area, and moving back to New England just isn't an option at this point. With my mother gone, there's no one."
"Actually," Abbey interjected. "You have a grandfather, step-grandmother, two aunts and four cousins in the area. Seven, if you count our children." When Max didn't respond, mostly out of fear and discomfort, Abbey continued. "That being said, I understand your desire to stay in DC and, of course, I'd love to have you on my staff."
Max's face broke out into a huge grin.
"I can't tell you how much this means to me."
Abbey smiled back at him.
"You don't need to."
THE END