"Jed, what time are we leaving today?" Abbey woke up with a start and turned to her still-sleeping husband.

"What?" Jed roused from sleep still confused. "What?"

"I asked what time we were leaving." She glanced at the bedside clock. "It's nine o'clock. We've slept in."

"Yeah, we stayed up late last night," he muttered, his eyes still closed.

Abbey smiled at the memory. "Jed, wake up!"

He opened one eye and squinted at her. "I don't want to – I was having a very nice dream there."

"About me, I hope."

"I don't need to dream about you – I was dreaming that – oh lord, what was I dreaming about?"

"That Congress went a hundred per cent Democratic?"

He was awake now. "I wish!" he said, then, "Nah, that's Matt Santos' wish now – good luck to him."

"Jed, what time are we leaving here?"

He rolled over towards her. "No idea, babe. You still naked there?"

"Yeah – and so are you – but don't get any ideas, we need to find out what time we have to go."

"I can go anytime you want me to."

"Jed–" Abbey dug him in the ribs.

"Ouch!" Then "Think it's about one o'clock. And I remember now what I was dreaming about – you were in a sort of multi-coloured bikini – no, it wasn't a bikini – it was a – oh, some sort of sexy thing that kept changing colour like the water – and we were at Connolly's and I was having to make a speech while you were sitting at the table in the corner looking like that – and Lord John was laughing his head off because I kept getting the speech all wrong – and it was all because I just had the hots for you."

"I thought you weren't dreaming about me?"

"I forgot I was dreaming about you."

"You forgot?"

"For about five seconds – then it all came back to me."

"I guess Freud could make something out of that."

"Yeah, well, he isn't here – so make of it what you will!" Jed stretched back against the pillow and rubbed his eyes. "Wish we could just go back to Ireland instead of that six-hour flight back to the States."

"Where're we going? Andrews?"

"Nah, they'll drop us off in New Hampshire."

Abbey grinned. "By parachute?"

Jed started laughing. "That would be fun."

"They did it in that film with Harrison Ford."

"The one with him dangling on a long rope from the rescue plane? Thank God I never had to do that!"

"Jed, we really do need to get up."

Jed looked at her. "I'm already there, sweetheart – up being the relevant word."

Abbey returned his look. "You really want–?"

"I really want," he replied.

"Yeah, me too." She started sliding her hand down his chest.

"So–" he started saying, "–about this multi-coloured sexy garment?"

"Jed, just shut up and love me."

Suddenly he sat bolt upright. "God, I forgot!"

"Forgot what?"

"I said I'd see Ron at ten – we're meeting a couple of Ecofin members." He turned to look at her and gave a small sigh. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, I just forgot."

Abbey gave him a regretful smile. "You'd better go then."

"Yeah." He leant over to give her a quick kiss. "I'll make it up to you."

"Damn right you will! Now go!"

By the time he'd showered, shaved and dressed, the breakfast she had ordered had arrived. As she sat down across from him, she looked at him curiously. "You planning to get involved with the Fed then?"

Jed looked at her in surprise. "Heavens, no – not my scene at all."

"So why this meeting?"

He shrugged. "Ron just thought I might be interested in meeting with some of the Ecofin members. Abbey–" he looked across at her, "there's no hidden agenda, I promise you."

"Okay."

"You're not convinced, are you?"

"I just know that you're looking for something, Jed."

Jed nodded slowly. "Yeah, maybe I am – but certainly not the Fed, and not some roving ambassador for the administration either." His eyes met hers. "I'm looking for something that we can both be involved in – together. Not just your community clinic, not just my Presidential Library – anyway, Jon's spear-heading that one, I'm mainly advisory. But there's something, somewhere, that we can do together, Abbey."

"Pooling our skills," Abbey said reflectively.

"Yeah," Jed replied, then again, "yeah – there's something there at the back of my mind, I just haven't reached it yet."

"Okay." Abbey was thoughtful. "Let me think about that one too."

Jed gulped down the rest of his coffee and stood up. "I gotta go, honey. I'll be back about twelve, okay?"

It was when Abbey was throwing things into their bags that she found the package that she had wrapped the day before. She had intended to give it to him the previous night, but their lovemaking had driven everything else from her head. After a few seconds' thought, she slid it into her flight bag and smiled to herself as a small plan formed in her mind.

Then she called the girls' room. "Can you come up here?" she said when Zoey answered the phone. "There's something I need you to do for me." While she waited for Zoey, she found Kate's CD and then explained to Zoey just what she wanted.

"Have a quick word with Mike Hewitt when we board," she advised, "and then let me know the ETA."

Zoey nodded and grinned. "This is just so good, Mom!"

Abbey grinned back at her. "I hope so!"

Later in the morning she met with all three of her daughters in the hotel's coffee lounge.

"Okay," she said, once they all had their large cups of cappuccino. "So now I need some advice from you all. Here's the question – can any of you think of a project where your Dad and I could pool our skills? Economist and politician – and doctor – where can we use those skills together?"

For a few moments they all looked blank. It was Liz who spoke first. "You mean you want something where economic development and medicine can come together?"

"Yes," Abbey said, almost in surprise. "Yes – that sums it up very nicely."

"Then you're talking about Third World," Ellie said. "That's where the real needs are – Latin America and Africa."

"And people need to be helped to help themselves – it's no use just sending in foreigners to do everything for them," Liz went on.

"Train their own people in healthcare," Ellie said.

"Teach them soil management and how to diversify in crop production – improve agricultural techniques to boost the local economy," Liz continued.

"Keep going," Abbey said. "This is good."

"Clean water supplies – education about AIDS – diseases linked to poverty," Ellie continued.

"Ease trade restrictions – encourage development of their own industrial structures to reduce their dependence on others." Liz was really fired up now.

"Children," Zoey said suddenly. It was her first contribution to the discussion and they all looked at her. "That's always been Dad's mantra," she went on. "Making the world better for our children, and their children, and future generations."

Abbey nodded. "We shall give our children better than we ourselves had." She smiled. "I reminded your Dad the other day about when he said that. So children in general, Zoey? Or what?"

Zoey thought for a moment. "Street kids," she said eventually. Then she looked round at her sisters. "Do you remember that time we went to Mexico City? All those kids – and someone told us that there're about two million of them, and about a quarter of them actually live in the streets because either they have no homes or families."

"And no access to any education or medical facilities – or any opportunity to learn any trade," Liz said. She turned to look at Abbey again. "Well, that's narrowed it to a specific objective, Mom – and it's in the remit you gave us – economics, medicine – and education too."

"Yeah, it's an interesting idea. So how would you turn it into a practical project?"

"Money," Liz replied. "Raising funds to build schools, medical centres, occupational training centres – and getting corporate backing too."

"Raising public awareness," Ellie said. "Seminars, lectures, open forums – across America – across the world."

"Get young people involved," Zoey said.

Abbey looked at her. "Go on," she said.

"Internships for undergraduates and young graduates," Zoey went on. "To give them practical experience – maybe giving them academic credits as well – but above all giving them the opportunity to do something to help – to go out there and work – to give practical help in education, healthcare, skills training – whatever's needed. Just to give those kids the hope that things can get better for them."

"Zoey's right," Liz said. "This is something that young people could really get involved with – it's a positive contribution – young people do care about all the problems in the world but just don't know what they can do about it. This could give them the opportunity to really make a difference in a specific area."

Abbey drew in a deep breath. "Wow," she said, stunned by all the ideas that her daughters had just thrown out. "I just wish your father had been here to listen to all this. I think this could be what he's been searching for."

"You gonna tell him?" Liz asked.

"Of course I am."

"Okay, so count me in," Liz went on. "Maybe I can't go overseas – but I can contribute my admin and fundraising skills."

"And me," Ellie said. "I'd want to do something on the medical side."

"I'd want to go out somewhere and just do something to help those kids," Zoey added.

Abbey looked at the three of them and felt her eyes getting moist. "And what you've all just said will mean more to him than anything else," she said quietly. "So maybe I'll leave that part of it for you all to tell him."

TBC