Zoey was the first one up the next morning. She always was. She always woke up as if she had never gone to sleep. Never drowsy, cranky, or disoriented in the least. Her favorite part about being awake so early was being able to wake everyone else in the house up. Being only six, it was her only chance to control something the older people around her did. She woke them up. Not the other way around. However, this morning was different, as the evening that preceeded it had been. This morning, she didn't want to wake anyone up. This morning, they all needed their rest.
Her parents being the one and only exception to 'all.'
"Mommy! Daddy!" Zoey cried, bursting through the door to her parents' bedroom.
It could not possibly have surprised Zoey more that she was not the only one awake. Her parents were indeed awake…in a way Zoey had never seen them before. And it appeared that had not heard her. She quickly backed out of the room, closing the door tightly behind her. She stood there, leaning against the door, for a few moments before scurrying off to her oldest sister's room. Liz was sound asleep in her bed, with Mallory and Ellie in sleeping bags on either side of her. Zoey hopped onto the bed and shook Liz awake.
"Lizzie! Lizzzzz!"
Elizabeth grumbled and rolled over to find her sister sitting on top of her.
"Zoey…what time is it?"
Zoey shrugged. Liz sat up when she noticed the tears in her baby sister's eyes.
"What is it? What's the matter?"
"Mommy and Daddy…"
"Mom and Dad? What about them? What happened?"
Ellie and Mallory was both woken by the urgency in Elizabeth's voice.
"Zoey, you have to talk to me."
"Liz, what's going on?" Mallory questioned.
"I don't know. Zoey, tell us."
"They're up now," Zoey said.
Liz squinted.
"Okay…"
"In bed."
"Zo, you're gonna have to tell us a little more than that," Liz said.
"I can't," she whispered.
"Why not?"
"Liz. Liz!" Mallory said, pulling her arm lightly.
"What!"
"I think I know."
"Tell."
"I don't know how to say it either!"
"Say it, Mallory!"
"Ya know!"
"Mal! Oh…OH…oh, no. Oh, God. Okay." Liz paused for a moment, thinking. "Isn't it a little early for…nevermind. Zoey, listen, it's okay."
Zoey shook her head fervently.
"Wait a second. What's going on?" Ellie asked.
"Mom and Dad are…ya know."
"They're what? Oh, they're…oh. Yeah, okay. Continue."
"Zoey, there's no need to be upset. Everything's fine."
"But Daddy…"
"No, he's not hurting her. It's okay."
"But Lizzie!"
Elizabeth sighed.
"Okay, hold on."
She hopped out of bed and stomped out of her bedroom, making a b-line towards the one that belonged to her parents. With one fist, she began pounding on the door.
"Break it up, kids, your six-year-old just walked in on you and now thinks the sky is falling!" She shouted.
When she stopped the pounding, she said, "Ook, I'm Elizabeth Bartlet, and this has been your Friday morning wakeup call. Goodbye."
With that, she walked away, back into her own room.
"Well. That solves that."
At first glance, the sight of the sleeping form of the man next to Jenny McGarry seemed so normal, so comfortable. But by the second glance, she had nearly jumped out of her skin. Slowly, so as not to awaken him from his peaceful slumber, she inched away from him until finally she was off the end and on the floor. She looked up warily as he began to stir.
"Jenny…" He said, groggily, as his vision cleared and he could make out her appearance.
"Go back to sleep, Leo."
"What time is it? I have to go to work."
"It's 6:30," Jenny replied.
He sat up straight.
"I gotta go."
"You don't gotta go. You get there so damn early all the time."
"Did we…solve anything last night?" Leo asked, cautiously.
"Yes," she replied, flashing him a slight, but reassuring smile. "We did."
"Does this mean I get to come home?"
"The minute you sign the contract."
"Contract?" Leo asked, with an ounce of fear in his voice.
Jenny nodded slowly, in the way she knew drove her husband nuts.
"Contract," she confirmed.
"May…I ask what this contract entails, Congresswoman McGarry?"
You promise to attend weekly AA group meetings, you get your bed back."
Leo re-enacted her aforementioned nod.
"Okay. But I need your support on this one, Jen. I don't want these meetings to be something you throw my way when you need something to hold against me."
"Deal."
"Should we shake on it?" Leo questioned.
"I have a better idea."
"This is all your fault," Abbey accused, pulling away from her husband and taking the sheets with her.
"My fault! You seduced me, Mrs. Robinson!" Jed exclaimed in his defense.
"I did no such thing. You jumped me the minute I opened my eyes."
Jed cracked a smile.
"Yeah, I did."
"Thus proving for the umpteenth time, morning sex is a bad idea, through and through."
"I beg to differ. It's only a bad idea if you get caught," Jed stated.
"And boy, did we get caught!"
"Yeah. We gotta remember to lock that door."
"We can't lock the door, Jed, we discussed this. What if there was an emergency and the girls needed us?"
Jed sighed.
"I know."
"We have to talk to Zoey, Jed."
"What do we tell her? She's not old enough for 'the talk' yet."
"Just tell her everything's all right, she doesn't have to be scared, that kind of thing."
"Yeah, can you do it?"
"No, Jed! We're both gonna do it. She has to hear it from both of us."
"Okay. Hey, you think anyone else is up yet?"
"Probably."
"I'm gonna go make some coffee. Nothin' like a house full of adults going through caffeine withdrawal to scar small children for life. And I'm not paying any therapy bills."
He crawled out of bed, heading toward the closet.
"Oh, I see. This is one of those love 'em amd leave 'em things."
"Yep," he said, stepping into a pair of jeans.
"I feel so used!"
"That's right, baby. Used like a two-dollar hooker."
He walked over to her in his jeans and Notre dame t-shirt, wearing a grin on his face.
"I'm sorry, you're not a two-dollar hooker."
He leaned in and kissed her.
"You are, what I'm certain must be, a very high-priced callgirl."
She laughed and whacked his arm. He made a pained face.
"A call girl with the strength of a thousand men!" He amended.
"That'll teach ya."
"If I'm lucky."
"I'll be down in a few."
To Jed's surprise, coffee was already been made and the other guests in his house were most certainly awake. Awake and gathered around the kitchen table.
"Good morning," Jed said congenially, moving straight to the coffee maker.
A chorus of greetings followed.
"Wasn't expecting you all to be awake already."
He poured himself a cup of coffee, then leaned against the counter, facing them.
"Really," Jenny mused, with a smirk.
"Oh, and what is THAT look for, Jennifer?" Jed inquired.
"Oh, nothing."
"Elizabeth informed us of your little tryst this morning," Evan announced.
Jed's jaw dropped.
"I'll have to remember to ground her later."
Everyone laughed.
"She really shouldn't have done that."
"Oh, without question. However, it did provide us with a tiny bit of amusement while we drank our coffee," Talia said.
"Oh, well then it's okay," Jed replied, sarcastically.
"No need to be snippy."
"Was I being snippy? I apologize. I was just thinking back to last night when you called me a bad parent."
Talia and Evan's gazes immediately fell to the floor.
"Where are the girls?" Jed asked, changing the subject.
"We locked them in the basement," Leo joked, causing them all to break into convulsions of laughter.
"They're upstairs, Jed," Becky said after controlling herself.
"Thank you."
"Who wants breakfast?" Abbey questioned, making her grand entrance into the kitchen.
Apparently they all did.
"Well, lucky for you, breakfast is my specialty. But I'll need a volunteer to pick up the slack…cooking for twelve is quite a daunting task, you know."
"Oh, Abbey, you should let Steve help you. He's a fantastic cook," Becky suggested.
"Good idea! Get the two M.D.s in the kitchen," Jed commented.
"Well, I haven't gotten my degree yet but…"
"You're in med school?" Abbey asked, with excitement plain in her voice.
"Nearly finished," Steve replied with a nod.
"Well, good. I'm officially enlisting your help in Operation Breakfast."
He smiled.
"I'm happy to help, Doctor."
"Okay, everybody out!" Jed ordered. "Let's leave these surgeon's hands to it!"
TBC.