7:34 P.M.
The Bartlet Household Living Room

Everyone eventually returned to the house and Ellie's party seemed to be going smoothly. Jed had taken the initiative, and with the help of his family, finished decorating and cooking while Abbey spent the afternoon resting. Ellie's friends, as well as a few friends of Liz and Zoey's, were in attendance at the party as well. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, especially Ellie. Jed watched his middle daughter with awe. It was rare that he had a moment to study her, such a unique child in every way. Quiet, yet strong. Smart, yet softspoken. Ellie hardly complained and never caused trouble. Liz caused enough trouble for both of them anyway, and soon, Zoey, ever the curious little instigator, would as well. Ellie had the same 'fragile strength,' as Jed called it, that her mother all but personified. But the was one of few traits she shared with Abbey, along with their love and appreciation for all things scientific. In fact, Jed frequently struggled to find the source of most of Ellie's traits. She certainly wasn't the spitting image of either of her parents. Neither Jed nor Abbey was quiet, as Ellie was. Ellie had opinions, yes, but often kept them to herself. Despite his faith in her, Jed worried about her much more regularly than his other two daughters. He never knew exactly what she wanted, unless she spelled it out to him, like she had when she voiced her desire for her preferred birthday presents. He knew she must have really wanted the first edition books, because it took a lot to get Ellie to be direct about asking for things, unlike Liz and Zoey. And he hadn't gotten them for her. He tried. Lord knows, he tried. But that wasn't good enough. He would have to suffer through looking at the look of sheer disappoint on his little girl's face, while she'd try to mask her true feelings with a smile.That was the hardest part, the part that broke his heart the most. So desperate to please her parents, so desperate not to show such weakness, that would be smile to hide her pain. Eleanor Emily Bartlet had become a master at this. But now the tables were turned and Jed was in the hot seat. He had now become so desperate to please his daughter, so desperate not to show weakness. He was her father, he wanted to be her hero. He didn't have to try with Elizabeth or Zoey, they worshipped him anyway. They were easier. What Jed didn't realize, however, was that Ellie worshipped him just the same as Liz and Zoey did. She believed in her father, and knew he was capable of great things. Sometimes, she thought she understood him more than her sisters did. Not to the extent her mother did, but most likely more than her sisters. She admired both her parents more than anyone in the world. She recognized their strengths as well as their weaknesses and had learned from both on innumerable occasions. She knew how lucky she was to have such good genes. They had given her so much, and not the least of which was their unconditional love.
"Hey, Jed," Julia called, walking over to him through the crowd of people.
"What's up, Jul"
"Where's Abbey? You said she'd be coming down for the party"
"Yeah, I'm gonna run up and get her. Keep things under control for me"
Julia rolled her eyes.
"It's a real out of control party, Jed"
"Don't I know it. I'll be right back"
He ran up the stairs and into his bedroom. Abbey was laying in bed, looking anxious and frustrated.
"Where the hell have you been!" She exclaimed.
"I just wanted to make sure the party was off to a smooth start before I came to get you"
"Come over here and help me out of bed"
He complied, moving to her side. He spotted her as she stood for the first time in hours.
"You all right?" Jed asked.
"Yeah, fine"
"Your legs"
"Fine"
"You don't feel tired"
"No, I'm good"
"Do you want to change before you go down"
"Uh…yeah. You go ahead, I'm gonna change and then I'll be down," Abbey said.
"I can wait for you"
"Jed"
"Are you trying to get rid of me"
"I just…oh, fine. Stay"
"Good call"
"So how's it going down there?" She asked, opening her closet and scanning the items inside.
"So far so good. Seems the party is a success"
"Oh, good. I was worried"
"Why?" Jed asked.
"Why do you think"
"Right"
"Your dad's here?" Abbey questioned.
"No. Actually, Dad hasn't showed up yet. Mom says she hasn't seen or heard from him since this morning." "Don't you think that's a little odd?" Abbey said.
"Nah, Dad used to disappear all the time when Johnny and I were kids. He always materializes just in time. He has a rare gift. He's like a traveling salesman"
"Yeah, but he's not, Jed"
"Shh, don't tell him that." "Do you think your mother's happy"
Jed did a double take, startled by the non sequitor.
"What"
"Your mother. Do you think she's happy"
"Not particularly," he answered, honestly.
"Doesn't it make you angry"
"That my mother isn't happy"
"Yes"
"I don't know, Abbey, it's not really any of my business. As long as I'm not the one making her unhappy and I'm pretty sure it's not my doing"
"Right. It's your father's"
"I'm sure it is"
"Well then"
"Well then what? Mom's a grown woman," Jed responded.
"I don't think your father realizes that"
"Look, if Mom wants to…I don't know, leave him or something, she will"
"Yeah, and do what?" Abbey countered.
"What"
"What's she gonna do when she leaves him? She has nothing. She's devoted her entire life to her husband and children. Where's she gonna go? How is she going to support herself"
"Alimony obviously"
"That's not enough"
"Why the hell are we talking about this?" Jed demanded.
"I'm just saying, if your mother wanted to leave your father…she couldn't, contrary to what you just told me"
"She could"
"No, she couldn't. Let me give you an example, one you may not like"
"Awe, jeez. Come on, Abbey"
"Hear me out. If I wanted to leave you, theoretically of course, I could. And I would be fine. I have a great career, I've got money. I could make it without you no problem"
Jed sighed.
"This is a fun conversation"
"I could get a place of my own, I'd have the kids, a job, family, all of it. I wouldn't technically need the alimony, but it would only help me. You see"
"Wait a minute, who says you'd get alimony"
"Divorce tradition"
"That point can be debated," Jed said. "I think there's a fair chance I'd get alimony from you. I put you through medical school after all"
"Yeah, right. The court would have pity on me"
"Why"
"For putting up with you all these years. And then I'd get extra points for leaving you," Abbey said. "Yeah, I would definitely get the alimony"
"I resent that"
"Tell it to the judge, babe"
Jed shook his head in confusion.
"Wait, we're not actually getting divorced here, right"
She laughed. "Just checking, because I didn't know if maybe I'd missed something," he added.

9:23 P.M. The Bartlet Household Kitchen

"Michelle, grab the candles, will you?" Abbey said, taking the birthday cake out of the refrigerator and placing it on the counter. "Yep"
"Jen, you can tell Jed to hit the lights now"
"I'm on it"
"Abbey, why don't you let me take the cake in? That's a lot for you to carry," Julia suggested.
"I'm pregnant, Julia, I'm not quadriplegic. I can carry a damn cake," Abbey replied.
Julia put her hands up in surrendar.
"Ook! Everyone, look out, Abbey the Martyr is coming through"
"You're hilarious, Julia," Abbey said, sarcastically.
"Yeah, I get that a lot"
"Ok, candles are in. Lights are off. Everybody, outta my way," Abbey said, carrying the cake past them into the living room.
The candles lit the otherwise completely dark room. She placed the cake down on the table, and the guests all flocked quickly around it. As they sang "Happy Birthday," the front door slowly opened, but drew no attention from anyone in the house. John Bartlet walked through the door quietly and moved to stand behind the crowd that had gathered around the table. The song ended and everyone clapped as Ellie blew out her thirteen candles—one for luck. She looked up and smiled with embarassment, and when she looked a little to her left, she saw him.
"Grandpa"
Everyone turned around. "Hello, everyone," John said, hesitantly.
Ellie skipped over and gave him a big hug.
"When you didn't show after a few hours, I didn't think you were gonna come!" Ellie said.
"What, and miss out on my grandaughter's birthday? Never"
She hugged him again. Jed looked away so he didn't let jealousy get the best of him. Abbey was the only one who noticed his discomfort. "What's that?" Ellie asked, pointing to the wrapped box John held in his hand.
"Oh, nothing, just your birthday present"
Her eyes lit up. Catherine looked at her husband in confusion. They had already gotten Ellie a birthday present,together. She had no idea what his gift was, she only knew they hadn't discussed jointly. "Really? Can I see"
"Not until you open your other presents"
"Great idea, John," Abbey said. "Let's open presents now, shall we"
Fifteen minutes later, all the gifts had been opened and all the guests had been thanked profusely by the guest of honor. As expected, Ellie had tried to mask her disappointment when she didn't find her first edition books included with her parents' presents. And Jed tried to mask his regret. "Grandpa?" Ellie asked.
John nodded and headed her the wrapped box with her name on it. She carefully peeled off the wrapping paper, then folded it neatly. She had developed this habit from her father and it drove both her mother and sister crazy on Christmas morning. Then, she slowly opened the box, feeling a bit like Charlie Bucket opening a Wonka bar. It wouldn't be…it couldn't be…
"Oh, my God!" Ellie exclaimed, showing off her gift to her guests.
Jed's heart dropped into his stomach. First editions of This Side of Paradise and Peyton Place. Ellie could not suppress her squeals of excitement. She leaned over to hug her grandmother tightly. "Grandpa, thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me!" Jed couldn't believe it. He couldn't even comprehend. It was bad enough that he couldn't come through on this one…but to have his father upstage him? As if he wasn't feeling like a failure as it was. He wanted so much to be happy for Ellie. After all, the goal was for her to have the gift she wanted, right? Even if he couldn't be the one to give it to her. But he couldn't shake the feeling that his father had done it deliberately to spite him. It was the worst feeling in the world. Abbey, always the tactician, stepped up, with a surprised smile on her face.
"John, how on earth did you manage to snag these? Jed and I searched far and wide for these books!" "Oh, I just took a little drive down to Virginia. Roanoke"
"You drove all the way to Roanoke! That's nearly a four-hour drive!" Abbey said, with amazement.
"Eh, gave me something to do," John answered, winking at Ellie, who grinned back.
"Well, Ellie, aren't you the lucky birthday girl tonight?" Abbey said, planting a kiss on her forehead. "Grandpa, you're the best!" Ellie shouted. John shrugged.
"It was nothing, sweet pea"
Abbey laughed and rolled her eyes, then moved in on Zoey.
"No!" Zoey whined.
"Ohhh, yes, little girl. Time for bed"
"No, no, no, no, no"
"Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes"
Zoey pouted, but knew arguing with her mother was never fruitful.
"Carry me"
"You know I can't, honey. Now, come on, get up"
"Daddy!" Zoey cried, looking to her father for help.
"What your mother says goes"
"Mommy, can Daddy put me to bed? He can carry me!" Abbey looked at Jed, who nodded.
"All right. Say goodnight to everyone"
"Night," Zoey said, ruefully.
"Goodnight, Zoey"
"Night, Zo"
"Sleep tight, sweetheart." Jed kneeled in front of Zoey, she hopped up on his back, and they ascended the stairs up to her bedroom. Downstairs, the party continued, and Jed never returned to it.