Although it was after eight o'clock, the Senior Staff was still in the Oval Office with Leo and the President hashing out some stubborn paragraphs in the upcoming State of the Union speech. Nobody in the room was being very pleasant to each other. Gallons of coffee had already been consumed and the staff desperately wanted alcohol, but that was forbidden as long there was work still to be done.
Everyone was tired and cranky, especially the President. But nobody, except Leo, had any authority to tell him to calm down.
"Mr. President, I think Toby had a good idea there."
"Leo, I think Toby had a bunch of CRAP there."
"Sir, if you take a minute and…" Leo stopped talking as he realized the phone in his pocket was ringing. It wasn't supposed to ring until tomorrow. Something was really wrong.
"Excuse me. Mr. President. I need to find something in my office. I'll be right back."
Jed looked at him with surprise, but waved him out.
Leo hurried out and closed the door behind him. He pulled the phone out and recognized Liz's number. "Hi Liz. What's going on?"
"Leo, um, I don't know how to tell you so just let me speak." Liz then tried to summarize all that had happened at the farm and at the hospital today. When she finished all Leo could say was "Oh Hell!"
"Leo, obviously I need to talk to my father. Can you put him on?"
"Liz, he's in the middle of working on the speech with the staff. Let me get them out of the office and then I'll have him call you. I'll stand by and then we'll make some decisions. I have a feeling we'll be seeing you soon."
"So do I, Leo. So do I."
"He'll call you in just a few minutes."
"Okay. Bye."
Leo hung up and paused for just a minute, gathering strength for what he had to say, before reentering the Oval Office. The President was still upset over something Toby wrote and was making his point very loudly.
"Mr. President," Leo interrupted his tirade. "Why don't you let the staff have a rest? They're tired and you're tired. They will work better later, don't you think?"
Jed looked at his Chief of Staff like he had just grown two heads but eventually realized he was probably right. "Okay guys. We'll pick this up tomorrow. Nine am sharp."
Leo spoke up. "Meet me in my office in a minute. Okay?" He nodded his head toward the door and the staff moved that direction. Leo waited until the door closed between the two offices before he spoke.
"Mr. President."
"Yes?" Jed looked toward him.
Leo walked over to the desk. "Jed." That got his friend's attention. "You need to call Liz right now."
"Why?"
"It's Abbey. Call Liz now. I'll be in my office when you are through."
"Abbey? What's…?" Jed didn't finish the sentence as he saw the expression on Leo's face. He picked up the phone and dialed the number.
Before he could say "Liz, what's wrong with your mother?" Leo had softly closed the door between the offices, giving the President privacy for the family matter.