A/N: It's been a minute since I updated this story. But I hope it's worth the wait. This is a story about Abbey and Jed. Beyond that, this is a story about who Abbey Bartlet is as a wife, parent, and as a doctor. I've enjoyed exploring this side of Abbey and I hope you do too.
If you haven't read them yet, check out In a New York Minute and Manchester. I co-authored them with the fantastic mlea7675 and they're part of the Fizzyverse.
Happy Reading!
Alex allowed Logan to take her hand. She was still confused as to what he was doing here.
"Your hand is cold," He said, taking it in both of his hands to warm it.
"Logan, what are you doing here?" Alex asked again. "I thought you told me you were staying at school all weekend?"
"Change of plans, Coco. We have somewhere to be. Come on."
Logan took her hand and started leading her across the field.
"Alex…" Zoey said, her voice worried. "Alex…"
"Zoey?" Alex said, turning back in the direction of Zoey's voice.
"Zoey will be fine," Logan said and tugged Alex away.
"Where are we going? The gate is that way."
"Don't worry…."
Time lost all meaning for Zoey Bartlet. One moment, she was talking to Alex about this stupid interview that her parents were going to do. Alex stood up, prepared to go ask her mother something. She opened her mouth to say Zoey's name and then she fell to the floor, hitting her case of color pencils on the way down. Shades of every color Zoey could think of were sent airborne before falling on the ground.
"Alex! Alex…." Zoey said, kneeling beside her cousin. She moved Alex onto her back as Ellie came into the room.
"Zoey, what happened?" Ellie asked. She rushed to one of the emergency buttons, located in multiple rooms throughout the house, on the wall and pressed it. They were put there after Abbey's pulmonary embolism.
"I don't know…Alex just collapsed."
"Start CPR, Zoey," Ellie commanded.
"What?"
Ellie went over to them and knelt on the opposite side of Alex, across from Zoey. She checked Alex's pulse. Upon finding none, she started CPR.
Zoey watched Ellie do chest compressions and blow air into Alex's mouth. She wasn't studying to be a doctor like Ellie. But even she could see that this wasn't working.
"MOM!" She yelled.
Footsteps rushed down the hall.
"Zoey?" Jed said, rushing into the family room just off the back deck. "What—-"
The question died on Jed's lips as his eyes took in the scene. Zoey knelt next to her cousin's side. Alex lay on the floor with what appeared to be a skirt in her hand. Her lips were turning a dusty blue color.
"Oh God," He croaked. "Abbey."
"I'm here," Abbey said rushing past Jed with her medical bag, which she managed to grab as she left her office. She knelt beside Ellie, ignoring the pain from her surgical scar.
"It's not working," Ellie said, looking at her mother. "No pulse."
"Alex, you can't back out of our deal now."
Abbey took a pair of trauma scissors out of her bag and cut open Alex's t-shirt.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Zoey asked, her eyes widening as she watched the scissors cut easily through the fabric, exposing the nude bra Alex wore underneath.
Abbey didn't answer her daughter's question. Instead, she positioned her fist over Alex's chest and delivered a precordial thump. Alex gasped weakly. Everyone in the room let out a collective sigh of relief.
"What's going on?" Emily said, entering the room from the back deck with Sandra and Liz behind her. She blanched when she saw Alex on the floor with Abbey kneeling next to her. "Alexandra," She managed to say, the name coming out strangled.
Liz squeezed Emily's shoulder supportively as they walked into the room.
"I've got her Emily," Abbey said calmly, as she reached for her stethoscope and placed the chest piece on Alex's chest.
Abbey listened and what she heard concerned her. She silently willed the medical team to get here quickly, lest Alex stop breathing again. For the second time in a week, Abbey was grateful to hear the footfalls of the medical professionals and Secret Service enter the house. They made their way past stunned family members including the President himself.
"Ma'am," said one of the doctors.
"Good," She said looking up at the people crowding into the room. "Please tell me you have an external pacemaker."
Steven Bennet stood in a small classroom at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center giving a lecture on unusual symptoms associated with diseases of the cardiovascular system to first-year residents. The door opened and Sarah Barnes, the hospital's Chief of Staff stepped in.
"Dr. Bennet, may I have a word?"
"Of course, Dr. Barnes. Excuse me."
The two doctors stepped out into the hall.
"I know you're only here to guest lecture for a couple of days. But given your expertise, I'd like you to take the case that's just come in. A 17-year-old female with a history of complex heart problems as a small child. Her family is visiting from Connecticut and they'll provide copies of her most recent medical history."
"Thank you for bringing this to me. I'll head down to meet," He said and looked down at the medical chart that had been prepared. "Miss Gilmore in the ER."
Steven left Dr. Barnes and went down to the emergency room. He stepped off the elevator and went straight to the nurse's station.
"Dr. Barnes asked me to see Alexandra Gilmore. What bed is she in?"
"Trauma room 4," the nurse replied, holding back a surprised expression.
"Thank you," he said and went over to the trauma room indicated. He stepped inside to find ER doctors and nurses working busily, hooking the young woman in the center to a ventilator. "What do we have?"
"17-year-old female with a history of patent ductus arterious. She collapsed at home and went into cardiac arrest. Aunt is a doctor and managed to resuscitate her. She wants to brief you on the case. She's been managing it since the patient was little."
He nodded and proceeded to examine his patient before adding a few more tests to the workup. With his patient in relatively stable condition, Steven went to the waiting room to find the family and give his preliminary findings to them. He also wanted to get a better idea of Alex's medical history. Steven entered the waiting room and he barely had a chance to register Abbey's presence. Someone spoke before he had a chance to say a word.
"You son of a bitch," Jed snarled and punched Steven Bennet in the face.
"…Where's the President now?" Leo asked CJ and Toby through the phone. He stood with Josh and Sam in his office.
"He's with Dr. Bartlet's mother and sister. Profusely apologizing, I would imagine," CJ said, as she stood in an office not far from the waiting room.
"I don't understand. How did Dr. Dumbass end up getting involved in Alex's care?" Josh asked.
"The First Lady called the hospital's chief of staff and asked her to assign the best cardiac doctor on shift. Dr. Bennet is here as a guest lecturer for a few days." Toby said.
"And no one thought that the guy claiming that he had an affair with her was a poor choice?" Sam asked.
"Considering the circumstances, I doubt anyone thought about it," CJ said.
"Here's how this is is going to go," Leo said, shifting the conversation back to the topic at hand. "We need to minimize this as much as possible. The press can't get wind that the President punched a doctor."
"That's a tall ask, Leo," CJ sighed. "It happened in the waiting room. Someone probably saw it."
"We're going to have to make it work. And while we're at it, let's stop digging into the affair allegations."
"But why, Leo?" Sam asked. "We were just getting somewhere."
"The President and the First Lady wanted private time off-book. He made those hotel reservations and would prefer to keep his private life out of the press. Are we clear on that?"
"Yes," The four staffers said together.
"Good, now I'm going to have Josh work on getting Mr. Gilmore home. He's in Germany for work. Sam, coordinate with CJ and Toby on finding a way out of this affair narrative."
The staff continued to work with Leo on a plan to help keep the President's private life out of the press. But all of them were still more than a little surprised to learn that the First Lady's alleged affair wasn't an affair at all.
In Stars Hollow, Lorelai Gilmore walked through downtown Stars Hollow with her best friend Sookie St. James. Rory was with Lane. So the two friends were enjoying some much-needed downtime. Even though summer was almost over, the town would still be packed with tourists for the next two weeks.
"I can't believe your Aunt is embroiled in a scandal," Sookie said.
"Tell me about it. My Aunt and Uncle been together since college and never looked back."
"And they just another baby,"
"You should see her Sookie. Felicity is so sweet and perfect. I still think Rory is perfect. But one look at that baby and I understood why my Aunt and Uncle never gave up. She really is a lovebug."
"I hope they'll bring her here for a visit when this craziness dies down."
"Me too. My Uncle still thinks you make the best food on the Eastern Seaboard."
"I'll take the compliment."
The cell phone that Alex insisted on buying Lorelai as a birthday present that year trilled in Lorelai's purse. She reached in and took it out before answering.
"Hello?"
"Lorelai, it's Liz."
"Hi, Lizzie, what's up?"
Liz hesitated, "Alex collapsed at the farm. We're at Dartmouth-Hitchcock waiting for the doctors to update us."
"What—is she all right?"
"She stopped breathing. Mom had to resuscitate her."
"Oh my god…I'm on my way, Liz."
"Ok, I'll see you soon."
Lorelei ended the call.
"Sweetie, what is it? You're pale."
"My—My sister is in the hospital. I have to go up to New Hampshire."
Sookie gasped, "What happened?"
"I don't know. Alex just collapsed. She-She has a heart condition."
"Oh, Lorelei…let's get you home."
Lorelei nodded and the two of them headed back to Lorelei's house.
Donna walked behind Abbey with the Secret Service around them as they walked to a conference room not far from the Emergency Room. Her hand rested protectively over Felicity who was snuggled happily in the wrap she wore for the first time. Abbey was determined to stay with Alex during treatment and wanted to keep the baby with her. Donna quietly admired her boss for her willingness to set aside the accusations being put forth in Scope Magazine to help Alex.
The sight of Steven Bennet holding an ice pack to his face gave Abbey the tiniest bit of satisfaction as she entered the conference room with Donna and Felicity. Donna sat in a chair near the door while Abbey went over to sit across from Dr. Bennet. Secret Service agents posted themselves just outside the door.
"Dr. Bartlet," Dr. Bennet drawled, taking the ice pack off his face. "I didn't expect us to meet under these circumstances."
"Neither did I, Dr. Bennet," Abbey replied, taking a seat across from him. She indicated Donna, "This is my Chief of Staff, Donna Moss. She'll be sitting in with us while we work on my niece's treatment."
"A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Moss," He said, nodding in her direction. His eyes fell briefly on the wrap printed with red heart-shaped ladybugs before he turned back to Abbey, "You were there when Miss Gilmore collapsed?"
Abbey cleared her throat, "I was in another room. My daughter, Zoey called for me and when I walked in, Alex was on the floor. She was cyanotic and didn't have a pulse. I resuscitated her and put her on an external pacemaker."
"You just happened to have an external pacemaker lying around?"
"The medical team that travels with the President does."
Steven nodded, "Based on my initial exam, it appears that Miss Gilmore has mitral valve regurgitation. I'm going to do an echocardiogram to confirm the severity of it. But she will most likely require surgery."
"I came to the same conclusion," Abbey replied and she let out a sigh. "Alex has done very well, all things considered, since her initial surgery. She's had no other complications since apart from a few medication changes."
"Then we're on the same page," He concluded. "Thank you for briefing me, Dr. Bartlet. I'll take it from here and keep you updated."
"Dr. Bennet," Abbey said, with a polite smile. "Let me be clear. Everything you do to treat my niece will be under my direct supervision. This is the way it has been since she was four and I don't foresee it changing any time soon. Got it?"
"Understood."
"…You have a twisted sense of humor," Jed said to his maker in the hospital chapel a few hours later.
Felicity made what he interpreted to be a noise of agreement from her place in the wrap he wore. Donna brought her back to him an hour ago before returning to Abbey's side. He had ordered her not to leave Abbey because he didn't trust Steven Bennet.
"You agree don't you, Lovebug?" He asked and then kissed her head. She snuggled into him, content to sleep now that she was full. "In what universe does a man who lied about my wife and my child, end up being the one to save my niece? If that's a dig at me, so be it. Just let Alex live. She has so much ahead of her…."
The hand that punched Steven Bennet ached. His knuckles were bruised. But he didn't care how it looked or how much ice his hand would need. It was worth it. The door to the chapel opened and Logan Huntzberger stepped inside. Jed watched the young man walk down the aisle.
"Mr. Huntzberger."
"Hello, Mr. President."
Jed gestured to his pew and Logan came to sit beside him.
"Aren't you supposed to be at school?"
"Yes, sir. I am. But when Zoey answered Alex's phone and told me what happened…I had to come," Logan replied. " He looked over and noticed the navy blue wrap with the insignia of Notre Dame on it. "Is that….?"
Jed couldn't help but smile, "Logan, meet Felicity. Felicity, meet Logan. Alex'—-" He stopped and looked at the young man. "Has she consented to being called your girlfriend yet?"
"We're still ironing out the details," Logan said and then looked over the wrap at the baby, "It's nice to meet you, Felicity."
Felicity opened one eye, looked right at Logan, and then closed it burrowing into Jed.
"I didn't even know Alex was sick," He admitted
Jed regarded him and saw the fear and worry in his eyes, "Abbey diagnosed Alex with a heart condition when she was four years old. She had surgery the following year."
"If Alex thought I wouldn't understand, she's wrong," He said and felt a lump form in his throat. "I wish she would have told me."
Jed reached over and patted his back supportively, "I can't say why Alex chose not to tell you. We're all feeling very helpless at the moment and I wish I could do something about it. But I can't. It's in the hands of Abbey and the other doctors."
Logan saw Jed's hand out of the corner of his eye, "It looks like you punched someone, Mr. President."
"And what do you know about that?"
"I may have punched someone once or twice," He offered, casually. "Your hand will look like that for a while. I hope it was worth it."
"It was, Mr. Huntzberger, it was."
"If it has anything to do with Scope Magazine, Alex has been calling my father multiple times since it came out demanding that he print a retraction."
"I'm sure your father appreciates that," Jed replied, and couldn't help but feel touched. Leave it to Alex to fight the good fight and stay silent about it.
"He's never said anything about it. But she's the only person I know to go up against my father and win," Logan said and his voice quieted, "It's one of the reasons why I love her."
"Make sure to tell her that when she wakes up."
Jed felt his chest ache for the boy sitting next to him. He was normally strenuously opposed to his daughters and his nieces dating. What Logan was going through, however, seemed all too familiar. Jed was prepared to go into the priesthood until Abbey. Then she came into his life and turned it upside down. From his vantage point, Logan was going through some version of the same thing. Jed could only hope Alex would wake up.
March 1960
"Abbey, what are you doing?" 18-year-old Emily demanded, entering her sister's room. She was dressed in a beautiful blue ballgown.
"I'm working on my science project," 16-year-old Abbey said to her sister without looking up. She was also wearing a ballgown in a lilac color.
"Mom and dad are waiting downstairs."
"I'm almost finished."
Emily rolled her eyes, "You should focus more on the ball tonight than some silly science project."
Abbey did look up at her sister then, "I'll have you know that this is an anatomically-correct model of the human heart I'm working on."
"Your date is going to care more about you being late than your science project."
"My date isn't going to get me into medical school at Harvard."
"That again? Abbey, how likely do you think it really is that you'll go to Harvard? Medicine is a man's field."
"Nina Starr Braunwald would beg to differ," Abbey replied.
"Who is that?"
"The first woman heart surgeon. She works at the National Institute for Health in Washington DC. I'm going to be just like her, you'll see."
Emily opened her mouth to respond but she was cut off by the voice of someone else behind her.
"Ladies….by your mother's count we're all going to be late to the ball," Fergus Barrington said, entering the room. He was a tall man with dark brown hair, graying at the temples and warm brown eyes.
"I'm almost done, dad," Abbey said, putting the last piece in place.
Fergus looked over Abbey's shoulder, "That is as close to perfect as a heart can get, angel," He said and kissed her cheek.
Abbey smiled, "Thank you, daddy."
"I don't know why you encourage Abbey, dad. She's never going to be a doctor."
Fergus turned to his oldest daughter, "Of course, she will. You could too if you set your mind to it."
"I don't believe that."
Fergus kissed her on the forehead, "My dearest Emily, you are more capable than you think you are."
Abbey put her tools down and stood up, facing her father and her sister, "Dad, you always say every family needs a doctor. Who knows Emily, you might need me someday."
Emily stared at the polished linoleum floor in the waiting room. Her mother sat beside her, flanked by Lorelei, Rory, Ellie, and, Liz, Zoey. Sandra's hand calmly rested on her daughter's in a silent effort to soothe her guilt and her terror. Emily couldn't banish the image of her child on the floor of the family room, barely breathing and pale from her mind. If Abbey wasn't her sister, she was certain that Alexandra would be dead. But because of Abbey, her daughter still had a fighting chance. Emily looked up at the sound of footsteps, searching for any sign of her sister. Instead, she saw Jed and Logan coming toward them.
"Any updates?" Jed asked, taking a seat across from them.
"No," Sandra answered, squeezing Emily's arm.
"I was so angry at Alexandra for missing school yesterday," Emily said, quietly.
"Mom, Alex knows you didn't mean it," Lorelei offered.
"She wanted to come for Abbey's surgery and I should have let her. If I had, maybe this wouldn't have happened at all."
"You don't know that," Sandra said, gently.
"Richard is on his way home," Jed said, to prevent Emily from blaming herself further. "My staff managed to get him on a plane and he'll be here soon."
"Thank you, Jed," Emily said weakly.
Abbey and Steven Bennet entered the waiting room and Emily stood up.
"Abbey is Alexandra—-"
"She is stable for now, Mrs. Gilmore," Steven said. "Dr. Bartlet and I concur that your daughter has acute mitral valve regurgitation. Blood isn't flowing through the heart properly. Instead, it's flowing backward and she'll need surgery immediately to fix it."
"But you can fix it?"
"We'll do our very best."
"I recommended and Dr. Bennet agreed to a CT scan of Alex's head," Abbey said, speaking for the first time.
"Her head?" Lorelei interjected. "She has a problem with her heart. Why are you looking at her head?"
"Because Alex's heart stopped for several minutes," Ellie supplied, in a quiet tone. She met her mother's gaze.
"Yes, it did," Abbey confirmed. "The scan showed minimal damage to her frontal lobe. We won't know how it impacts Alex until she wakes up."
"I'd like to see my daughter," Emily said, after a moment. "Please."
"Of course," Dr. Bennet said. "This way."
Abbey and Steven Bennet led Emily down the hall to a room near the operating suites. Having been here before, Emily tried to mentally prepare herself for what Alex looked like. But it didn't help. Nothing could have prepared Emily to see her child with a ventilator breathing for her and an external pacemaker attached to her chest. She walked over to the bed. Abbey followed behind her.
"Is Alexandra in pain?" Emily asked, in a barely audible voice.
"No," Abbey said, squeezing her shoulder. "Alex isn't in pain."
Emily nodded. She leaned over and kissed her daughter's forehead and then squeezed her hand.
"You'll be there, right?"
"Yes, I'll be in the gallery the entire time."
They stood together in silence for a moment before Emily turned to her sister. Abbey saw the abject pain in her sister's eyes and knew she wanted nothing more than to trade places with Alex.
"Promise me something, Abbey," Emily said.
"Anything."
"Bring my baby back."
"I promise," Abbey said, a lump forming in her throat. Tears stung the corners of her eyes.
"Dr. Bartlet?" Dr. Bennet said from behind them. "We need to go."
Abbey nodded and led Emily out of the room as orderlies came to wheel Alex to the operating room.
"I hope you're as good as my sister says you are, Dr. Bennet," Emily said to him with an appraising eye. She noted the bruise forming just under his eye and at the top of his cheek. Thankfully,
Jed's fist hadn't connected with his eye.
"I assure you that your daughter is in the best hands," He replied.
"No, she's not. Alexandra deserves to be in Abbey's hands. Ethical and legal constraints being what they are, you'll have to do."
Abbey suppressed a small smile as she watched her sister take one last look at Alex. Then she turned on her heel and walked back to the waiting room.
Snow fell in tiny flurries around Alex. The cold night air wrapped around her bare shoulders like a shawl. But she didn't feel cold. She turned around slowly and saw lights shining through the windows and the double doors of the Visitor's Foyer. When Alex turned back around, Logan stood in front of her. Beyond him was the darkened Kennedy Garden. He was dressed in the same tuxedo she made him for the debutante ball. That's when Alex noticed she was wearing her debutante gown.
"Logan, what are we doing here?" Alex asked, a frisson of fear traveling through her. She already lived through this moment once and it felt too real to be a dream.
"We're waiting, Coco," He said, reaching out and wrapping his arms around her waist. He pulled her to him.
"We already did this. Why are we here?"
Logan gave her a gentle smile, "Don't be scared, Alex. It's okay. Dance with me while we wait?"
Alex nodded and they began to slow dance in the pool of light created by the lights of the Visitor's Foyer. The fear and confusion she felt lessened as they danced. But it didn't stop her mind from trying to figure out what happened. Tears pooled in her eyes as the answer came to her and they began to roll down her cheeks.
"You're not here," She said in a soft voice. "I'm dead, aren't I?"
Logan reached up and tenderly wiped away her tears, "You know I hate to see you cry, Coco."
"Logan, you didn't answer me."
"I'm here with you because that's what you wanted," He explained. "I can't tell you whether you're alive or dead. All I know is that we're waiting."
"For what?"
He leaned in and kissed her. The feeling of his lips on hers felt real. His lips were warm and gentle. It made her feel giddy and dizzy all at once. The air around them shifted and they pulled away from each other
"It's time for you to go, Coco," He said, looking over her shoulder. The double doors leading to the Visitor's Foyer were open. He pulled his arms back to his sides.
"Come with me," Alex said, quietly even though she knew the answer.
"I wish I could. But you know I can't."
The fear Alex felt returned in full force. But it was mixed with a sense of overwhelming sadness as she looked into Logan's eyes.
"I love you, Logan," She said. The words came out before she had time to think. "I just want you to know that."
"I love you too, Alex. More than you know."
Alex smiled at him and then slowly turned to walk back into the Visitor's Foyer. Halfway there, she turned back to look at Logan one more time. He was gone. Alex wiped the remains of her tears away and turned back to the doors. From inside, she could hear the sounds of the debutante ball in progress coming from the East Room. She squared her shoulders and walked through the doors. Alex turned to walk in the direction of the East Room. But the person sitting on the bench just inside the doors caught her eye. She looked over and her breath caught in her throat.
"Papa?"
A/N: Thanks for reading! Chapter 11 will be up soon(ish).
