"Hi, Marianne"
Marianne looked up from her papers at Jed Bartlet standing on the other side of her desk.
"Hey, Jed. How's Abbey doing"
"That's an excellent question. Wish I knew"
"What"
"Nothing, I'm sorry. I was wondering if I could use your phone for a moment," Jed said.
"Oh, sure. Come on back"
"It's long distance to Massachusetts. Is that okay?"
Marianne smiled warmly.
"If it were anyone else, Jed, I'd say no. But since you're married to the best thoracic surgeon in the area, I'll let it slide"
"What can I say? I'm married to a very powerful woman"
Marianne waved him over and let him sit down at her desk.
"Just press nine to get an outside line. I'm going to run down to the cafeteria while you're on the phone. Do you want anything"
"No, thanks. I appreciate this, Marianne," Jed said.
"No problem"
She flashed him a grin, and soon was gone. Jed picked up the phone, pressed nine, and dialed the number from memory. It only took two rings for her to answer.
"Hello"
"Millie, it's Jed"
"Hey, Jed! How's Liz?" Millie questioned.
"Good, fine. She's out of the hospital. And now Abbey's in"
"Abbey's in the hospital? She's in labor"
"Yeah"
"Oh, my God!"
"I need your professional opinion on something, Mil," Jed stated.
"Sure. What's up"
"I caught Abbey crying, and it was obvious she didn't want me to see. I asked her why and she said it was nothing. I'm almost positive something's going on. She's never done this before. So, as a doctor, I'm asking you. Is there a…medical reason why this should be happening"
"You mean the crying"
"Yeah"
"Well, labor's a painful thing, Jed," Millie said.
"I'm serious"
"So am I. Some women have a hard time coping with the pain"
"Not someone who's a doctor with three children," Jed replied.
"Well, labor's not always the same. And Abbey's much older now than she was with the other three"
"Not that much older"
"Then there's hormones to consider. Hers are running wild right now," Millie pointed out.
"I think it's something else"
"Jed, you asked for my professional opinion, and I gave it to you. If you thinks it's something else, something more…psychological, then that's not my area. You'd need to talk to my husband for that"
"Now I want your personal opinion"
"Well, what do you think happened"
"I think something's wrong and she doesn't want to tell me what it is," Jed answered.
"Wrong with the baby"
"Or with her"
"I don't think Abbey would keep something that serious from you, Jed."
"I don't know"
"Who's her doctor?" Millie asked.
"Tom Sussin"
"Right. Well, you know, Tom's a good friend of hers, so it's possible that if something is wrong and she doesn't want you to know, he would respect her wishes and keep it quiet. However, I don't think Abbey would ever ask him to do that. If you're really convinced something's going on, I'd just come right out and ask Tom. He won't lie to you if you ask him, that I know for sure. But, fair warning, it might piss Abbey off a little if you go behind her back like that"
"You think I should ask Tom"
"I think you should talk to Abbey"
"I tried!" Jed exclaimed. "She insists she's fine and nothing's wrong"
"Then I don't know what to tell you, if she's not talking, she's not talking. I can get Scott on the phone, and maybe he'll have some better advice for you. This is more his area"
"She's your best friend. This is your area"
"Yes, and she's your wife. Not only is she your area, she's your world"
"Yeah," Jed responded, quietly.
"Keep trying. If something's wrong or upsetting her, she's likely to break down and tell you about it. Even if she doesn't want to, her hormones will cause her emotions to get the best of her, and she'll talk"
"You think"
"I think. Now get your ass back in there before she has that kid without you"
In the hospital waiting room, Zoey Bartlet was sprawled out on two chairs, sound asleep. Ellie had her nose in a book, as always, and was completely absorbed by it. Annie slept soundly in her carseat, beside Liz, who was lost in thought. Catherine was flipping absently through Vogue, trying to catch up on the latest trends. She had been out of the loop for the last forty-five years and was rather anxious to get back on track.
"Grandma?" Liz asked, timidly.
"Mmm-hmm"
"Can I talk to you for a sec"
"We're talking now," Catherine replied.
"Yeah, but…serious talk"
Catherine closed the magazine and put it down on the table.
"As you wish"
"Okay. Well. I'm assuming Mom and Dad told you about this guy I'm sort of seeing"
"There's a guy you're…sort of seeing? Is that anything like sort of dating?" Catherine questioned.
"Sort of"
"Hmm. Right. Okay. Continue"
"Well, he's a really great guy. I met him here at the hospital, where he was visiting his grandmother," Liz said, wiggling her eyebrows. "His grandmother"
"That's nice"
"Grandma"
"What"
"He was visiting his grandmother. You're supposed to…I don't know, sympathize with that. Being the grandmother you are"
"You were trying to win my approval of this boy because he was visiting his grandmother, and I'm a grandmother"
"Yeah"
"You're very strange, Elizabeth"
"Thank you. So, anyway. He brought me flowers because he thought I was dying, right"
"Right. Wait…what?" Catherine asked, thoroughly confused.
"Nothing, he just thought I had lukemia or something"
"But…why"
"Because…whatever, forget it. As I was saying, we talked for awhile and he's really great. He's a sophomore at Georgetown University. He went to Boston University last year, but moved here when his GRANDMOTHER had a stroke. He came to take care of her and stuff. His grandmother"
Catherine sighed, exhasperatedly.
"Yes, Elizabeth"
"But the thing is, he's a recovering drug addict"
"What"
"See, Doug's grandmother is one of Mom's patients. Like, her favorite patient or something. And so she knows Doug pretty well, and when he was brought into the hospital after he ODed"
"ODed"
"Overdosed," Liz said.
"Oh"
"When he ODed, Mom took take of him and stuff. She said she'd help him get clean. She really likes him too. But…she won't let me date him"
"I don't blame her!" Catherine said.
"But, Grandma, he's so great. You just don't know him. So, he has a problem. We've all got problems. I had a baby at sixteen. He had a drug problem"
Catherine rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, it's always something, isn't it?" She said, sarcastically.
"So you're siding with Mom"
"I'm not siding with anyone. It's not my decision to make. But I would also like to point out that this boy seems to be a lot older than you are. What is he, nineteen"
"Yes"
"That's too old, Liz. You're a junior in high school, he's a sophomore in college"
"Well, I'm not really your average junior. I mean, I've got a kid, for God's sake"
"You're still only sixteen," Catherine said.
"I hate being only sixteen, because everyone uses it as any excuse to tell me not to do things. I'm only sixteen, I can't do anything"
"You're an unwed teenaged mother who wants to date a drug addict. If you were older, you'd know better"
