Chapter Five

Jed and Abbey Bartlet walked to the hospital waiting room, their arms wrapped around each other. They were barely able to conceal their excitement. Zoey had long since fallen asleep in her grandmother's arms, and Ellie was trying her hardest not to follow suit. Mallory's nose was buried in a magazine, Jenny was going over some paperwork, and Leo was pacing the floor.When Catherine noticed them, she immediately stood, waking Zoey from her peaceful slumber. "Well?" Catherine asked, standing before them. "Well…" Jed began, looking at his wife. "It's a girl!" Abbey exclaimed. The room was then filled by squeals and other exclamations of joy. The women were jumping up and down, and the men shook hands.
"Seven pounds, six ounces!" "We need cigars!" Leo said.
"Why, so Abbey can kill me right here in the waiting room? Please," Jed answered, leaving.
Jenny grinned and hugged Jed.
"Congratulations…Grandpa"
Jed's jaw dropped in mock astonishment.
"Don't you ever call me that again, Jennifer. This child cannot even talk, so I'm not Grandpa yet"
"So do we have a name yet?" Catherine asked.
Abbey shook her head.
"Liz is taking it easy now. She said she wants to discuss it with us tomorrow"
"Wow," Catherine whispered. "This makes me…a great-grandmother." They all laughed heartily.
"I know you must love that, Mom," Jed said.
"Oh, yes. It's…fantastic"
"I guess we should start making some calls," Abbey suggested.
"Yep. Welcome to the world, Baby Girl Bartlet"

Hours later, all the calls had been made and the children had gone to bed. Jed insisted that he take Abbey home, as she had been on her feet for nearly twenty-four hours straight. Catherine offered to stay at the hospital with Liz and keep an eye on her when she finally woke up. Back at the house, neither Jed nor Abbey was ready to hit the sack just yet. They were both too wired from the excitement of the day. They sat together on the couch in the living room, with their feet up on the coffee table. "What a day, huh?" Jed said, with a smile.
"Yeah," Abbey said. "Hard to believe, isn't it"
"What, that our first born just gave birth to her first born?" Abbey asked.
"Yeah. I thought we had at least ten more years left because we faced this milestone in our lives"
"Grandparents. How do you like that"
Jed draped an arm over her shoulders and pulled her close.
"Grandparents"
"I don't think I like 'Grandma.' I think we need to come up with another name," Abbey said.
"How about Granny"
She laughed and whacked his arm.
"Is that how you see me? As a Granny"
Jed raised an eyebrow.
"That's not how I see you, honey, believe me"
"Nice save, babe"
"Personally, I would have the child call you Hot Pants." Abbey chuckled and rested her head against his shoulder.
"You don't think that'd be a little too…Oedipus"
"Oedipus was married to his mother, not his grandmother"
"Same general idea, smartass," Abbey replied. "Not really. If you think about it"
"Oh, shut up"
"Ok. So what do you think Liz will name her?" Jed asked.
"I have no idea. What do you think?" She replied, with a yawn.
"I'm worried she's going to name her Madonna or something. Or Blondie"
"Eh. I can think of worse names"
"Like what"
"Like…Prudence," Abbey responded, giggling.
"Or Gertrude"
"Bernice"
"Bertha"
"Edna"
"Beatrice"
"Maria"
"You don't like Maria?" Jed said.
"No. You do"
"I don't dislike it." "Huh"
"Yeah. Hey, do you think Liz'll name her after someone?" "Like who?" Abbey asked.
"I don't know. Anyone"
"Maybe. If she's feeling sentimental, which, most likely, she will be"
"You know what I was thinking?" Jed questioned.
"What were you thinking, honey"
"What if she steals our name"
Abbey sat up.
"What"
"What if she wants to name her after your mother too, and takes Alexandra"
"Oh…I don't know, I hadn't thought of that," Abbey admitted. "I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." "Speaking of that bridge. Tom said a few days"
Abbey nodded and smiled, sensing her husband's excitement.
"A few days"
"Are you nervous"
"Am I nervous? Jed, I've done this three times. I'm not exactly a novice"
He shrugged.
"I'm nervous"
"You are?" She asked, surprised.
"A little"
"Why are you nervous"
"I don't know. I just became a grandfather. Now I'm going to have another baby of my own. I'm just…wondering if I can do it again, and do it right." "Of course you can! We're not that old, Jed," Abbey said.
"I just want to be able to chase her around and lift her onto my shoulders. I want to have the energy to"
"You will! You will, baby. You're forty-two, not sixty-two. You're gonna be chasing our kids around for a good long time"

Early the next morning, the Bartlets gathered in Elizabeth's hospital room. Abbey watched her daughter with awe as she held her baby girl and rocked her back and forth. Jed was right. It was amazing that their baby girl now had her own baby girl. "Liz, can I hold her?" Ellie asked.
"Yeah, one second. I want to talk to you guys about a name first"
Jed and Abbey exchanged knowing glances.
"What did you decide on, Liz?" Catherine wondered.
"Well, for her middle name, I wanted to…name her after someone I admire from afar. Rosalynn Carter." "Oh, that's pretty, Liz," Abbey said. "I love that!" Ellie agreed. Liz nodded, glanced down at her daughter, then continued.
"And for her first name, I wanted to name her after someone I admire up close, every day. Mom, how would you feel about me naming her…Anne"
"Oh, Liz," Abbey whispered, as tears formed in her eyes.
"I think that's a wonderful idea, Liz," Jed said. He put his arm around his wife and kissed her on the cheek. "Can we call her Annie?" Zoey asked. "Sure we can," Liz replied. "Annie Bartlet. It's perfect"