Title: The Perfect Candidate
Author: Laura H
Rating:PG-13
Category: General, Friendship, Political, Post- Administration
Characters: President, Leo, Sam, Josh, Toby, CJ, Abbey etc.
Disclaimers: All disclaimers apply. I do not own the rights to West
Wing.
Summary: Takes place roughly after my series "These Changes", but is
only kind of linked to it, because the President's contemplating
resigning, but Toby and CJ are not together, and this is a new fic.
The President's health significantly worsens to the point where he is
confined to his bed all the time. He decides it is time to resign. It
is very hard on everybody and Josh, CJ and Toby ponder whether or
not they want to continue in politics at a federal level, but
eventually decide they want to try to get another president elected.
The only question remains is, who will run? Toby's got an idea that
involves an old friend…
Author's notes: Takes place early season 6. So, it hasn't actually
happened yet. No pairing this time, so I'm hoping I can still keep
people interested. **Fingers crossed. Bear in mind that I have VERY
limited knowledge of American politics, so none of this may seem
legally possible. The whole resignation and election process may be
way off. Sorry for the high degree of inconsistency. Just trying to
get the story across. Oh, one more, please don't assume that I am
trying to write out Jed, because I absolutely love him and would
never do that. Okay, just keep reading.

Part 1.

"Toby, Will Bailey's here to see you." Rena, one of the Whitehouse
Communications secretaries, pokes her head into Toby's office from
the Bullpen and smiles apologetically, knowing she's interrupting her
boss's reading.

Toby Ziegler, the President's Communications Director, looks up from
his desk. " Sure, I'd love to see the Vice-President's Chief of
Staff right now." Toby states sarcastically and bitterly as he rubs
his hand over his partially bald head.

Will walks into the office uninvited and smiles goofily. "Hi, Toby."

Toby rolls his eyes. "What does Bob want, Will?" Toby wasn't going to
waste any time this morning. He was tired and pissed off. The
President hadn't been feeling well after a near-relapse he had almost
had a few days ago, so the Oval Office was no picnic. It was amazing
how unproductive the West Wing was with Abbey hanging around when her
husband's risk of having an MS attack was high. To top it off, last
night Toby's ex-wife, Andy, had went out on a date with a wealthy
business man, so Toby had been stuck with babysitting their twins.
Needless to say, he hadn't gotten much sleep. You would think nearly
seven years of sleep deprivation would leave him immune to it, but
for some reason he still needed like two hours of rest a night.

Will casually slips into the visitor chair in front of Toby's desk. "
It's no big deal. It's just, the President's supposed to be
addressing the Virginia Schools Literary Society, and with the
doctors suggesting him to take some personal time to rest and
everything, I was wondering if you'd like the Vice-President to do it
instead."

"No." Toby automatically states. He's already gone back to reading
through his e-mails on the computer, ignoring the man in front of him
who he has grown to dislike since he had come into the Bartlet
Administration.

"Then who will do it?" Will asks tentatively.

Toby shrugs, still not giving Will his full attention. " We'll get
someone here to do it. It's no big deal. It's a publicity thing. Bob
Russell has probably got better things to do with his time. I'll get
Josh or CJ to do it if we can't cancel it." Toby knows he can't get
Josh, their Deputy Chief of Staff or CJ, their Press Secretary, to
talk to the group, but he didn't care because the event could be
postponed. Right now he is not very concerned about the President's
agenda. He's reading a letter from Sam Seaborn, his former deputy. He
smiles to himself.

Will sighs, frustrated that Toby is ignoring him. But he has to smile
to himself. The President's staff seemed to be softening. Well,
particularly Toby Ziegler-the veteran. But they all knew their time
was coming up. The Vice-President, on the other hand, was fresh and
popular. As soon as the midterms came, he knew Bartlet's Senior
Staff would see a significant jump in the polls that would give Toby,
Josh and Leo a huge wake up call that would tell them President
Bartlet was sick and past his prime. Then it wouldn't be long after
that when his own boss could take the Whitehouse. After all, he
certainly had the numbers and support to do it. "Toby?"

"What more do you want?" Toby says impatiently. " I gotta get to
Staff." He glances at his watch to indicate he is going to be late
for his meeting.

"Yeah, and I have to get back to the OEB and run my Staff." Will says
in that `my job is more important than yours' way.

Toby takes in a deep breath, trying not to say something he might
regret. " What do you want?"

Will clears his throat, knowing Toby won't be happy with his
request. "A copy of the President's National Address on the Peace
Efforts in the Middle East. We're worried about the political…"

"Consequences?" Toby cuts him off. " Yeah, we've heard it a dozen
times before. Please allow me to reiterate that this is going to be a
very positive, if not friendly, address to assure the American people
that our initiatives…"

"I just want to see a copy, Toby." Will says, a little more honestly.

"You're worried I'm going to confuse Iraq, Iran and Kuwait? Because,
you know, I do have a little more than a high school education…" Toby
feels his mood starting to lift a little, despite the fact that the
Vice-President doesn't trust the President and his staff. Since when
was the Vice-President their Opposition? Well, since Hoynes.

Will starts to get a little upset. "Toby…"

Toby stands up. " Yeah… Okay. Look, I gotta go. I'll get someone to
send you a copy. But you know I'm not obligated to do this, right?
I'm doing this because I'm a nice guy…" Toby pauses and look at the
ceiling, smiling to himself at the mere notion of what he is about to
say. " I'm doing this because for some strange reason, I feel like I
have a sorta duty to the Vice-President." He walks toward the door
and Will follows him, looking much more relieved now that Toby agreed
to let him read the speech.

Toby holds the door open while Will walks out. "Let me make it
perfectly clear that you are not to change anything without my
consent. I am not giving this to you for your approval. I have
significant influence over you, and this is the draft that I want the
President to read, you understand?"

Will steps into the corridor and backs away from Toby and places his
hands up in surrender. "Okay, I won't critique it, Toby."

"Then why is it so important for you to have it?" Toby asks.

Will shrugs as he heads in the opposite direction of Toby. " I wanted
a nice light read to put me to sleep tonight." He calls as he
disappears behind a wall.

Toby grits his teeth as he spins on his heels and heads towards Leo's
office.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~


"Okay, anybody have anything they want to add, or can I go to the
Situation room now?" Leo McGarrey, the Whitehouse Chief of Staff, and
probably the President's best friend, glances down at the folder in
his hands. He looks up at the silent group in front of him-his
Seniors, although right now they didn't look at their best. He rolls
his eyes in that fatherly way. "Fine. Get out of here."

"Sorry, Leo. It's just, I got that thing with Congresswoman
Lawrence…" Josh Lyman, Leo's
deputy, gets off his place on the couch and makes his excuse. Truth
be told, he, like Toby, was under a lot of pressure these days. They
were all feeling the pressure from the media and the Republicans
about the President's ability to govern in his current state of
health. Over the past several months, the President had been
experiencing increased loss of vision and physical and cognitive
functions, which has often confined him to bed rest. His MS had
progressed to Secondary Progressive, and was almost at the point of
becoming Primary Progressive, where he risked permanent damage of
some physical and cognitive functions. Lately he had been having
trouble remembering certain things and was constantly sore, fatigued
and fevered. It was taking a toll on everyone, and everyone hated to
see their boss in this state.

Toby stands up to leave and motions for Josh and CJ to follow him.

CJ Cregg sighs as she shuts the door to Leo's office behind
her. "Either of you sleep last night?"

Josh shakes his head as he shoves his hands in his pockets.

"Nope. On top of preparing the speech, researching and ruminating on
my opinion of the new bill, I had to watch the kids last night." Toby
takes a deep breath to calm himself.

A long few minutes pass before anyone can really think of anything
more to say. Sometimes personal topics were better left off-limits so
close to the Oval Office.

CJ looks carefully between the two men, then sighs. " I better go
meet with my staff and start preparing for the morning briefing… Like
always, it'll be on the President's Multiple Sclerosis. God forbid
the Press Corp ever want to talk about anything that has to do with
his policy or this administration."

Josh sighs, feeling like it was appropriate given the grief of his
two colleagues. " Well, just keep handling it. You're doin' a great
job, Ceej."

CJ rolls her eyes and adjusts the folders in her arm. "Okay, well,
see you guys later." She is about to step out of Leo's outer office,
when Leo opens the door.

Leo looks alarmed and a bit upset. "Guys, get back in here." He says
shortly, his abruptness defying his concern.

Josh, Toby and CJ exchange surprised and concerned looks, then
quickly file into Leo's office, where he shuts the door behind them.

Leo leans against the door. He sighs, looking just sad now. "I just
received word, the President relapsed.. His MS flared up. It's really
bad this time. Abbey and his doctor, Admirable McGregor are going to
give him methylprednisolone, a Corticosteroid, to treat the
exacerbation. Hopefully that'll shorten the duration and intensity
and provide him some kind of relief." He runs his hand along his
face, trying to get some composure.

CJ's jaw drops in horror. Everyone is so surprised. Leo never shows
any kind of vulnerability, and right now he just looks horrified.

Leo clears his throat. "He'll be out for a while. The treatment'll
last three to five days. They may have to take him to George
Washington University if things don't get any better."

Josh looks from Toby and CJ and back to Leo. " The twenty-fifth
Amendment?" Josh is slightly pissed when he mentions this.

Toby rolls his eyes. " Russell?" He knows exactly what Josh is
referring to, and isn't impressed, either.

Leo nods, his head hitting the door. " It's gotta be done. If
anything happened and the President was needed to…"

"Yeah, Leo, we understand how the law works, we work in the
Whitehouse." Toby says with too much irritation in his voice. He is
starting to get pissed that he was going to have to put the Vice-
President in charge of the country for a while.

CJ has watched the conversation and grown more and more disappointed
with the people in front of her. She is almost shaking she is so
upset. " I can't believe you guys. The President is suffering from a
horrible disease right now, he is risking all credibility to his
leadership, the First Lady will be no doubt incredibly worried and
upset, and all you guys can think about is the fact that the
Constitution says you have to leave someone else in charge if
something were to happen to the President. I don't know about you,
but I'm a little more concerned about what's going to happen the best
President I've ever known." She licks her lips, trying not to get too
emotional. Everyone knew that she thought of Jed Bartlet as a father,
but it wouldn't do any good to get upset right now. She turns to Leo,
fighting back the tears that were threatening to spill as soon as Leo
had mentioned the attack. " Is he alright? Can we see him?"

Leo shakes his head. " I don't think we can right now. But I'll keep
you posted. And I'm sorry for bringing that up. It's just, we don't
need this right now. This is going to kill us. The public and the
Republicans are going to eat us alive. This is their field day. And
you know that better than anyone. We don't need this. " He sighs,
they were becoming desperate.

CJ glares at him. " You know what, Leo, you're right. But that
doesn't matter. Because you know who else doesn't need this? The
First Family doesn't need this. Abbey doesn't need this. JED DOESN'T
NEED THIS. For cryin' out loud, when will it ever stop being about
the politics?!" She physically deflates and has to let off steam. She
exhales and clenches her fists. "Okay, that's it. I'm out of here."
She walks past the men and out of the door, removing herself from the
tension.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~
She lies with her head on her desk, just trying to grab a few minutes
of peace before the meeting with her Communications staff began. CJ
had to get her mind around what had happened there in Leo's office
before she said something at the briefing in front of the roomful of
reporters. But she was just too upset, and taking this too
personally. But how could she help it? She loved Jed Bartlet and
believed in him so much. She felt so bad for him and his family and
what they had gone through these last couple of months with the whole
health scandal. Everyone was ripping his reputation to shreds, and
she was in the centre of it, viciously trying to defend him.

Movement at her door catches her attention, but she doesn't lift her
head. CJ groans. "Carol, I told you to tell them fifteen minutes."

Toby smiles as he walks into CJ's office. "Not Carol. But I'm glad
you noted the similarity I share with your assistant."

CJ looks up, only a little bit happy to see her best friend at her
door. " It's uncanny."

Toby crashes on CJ's couch. "You okay?"

CJ sits up straighter and smoothes her shoulder-length red
hair. "Yeah. Is Leo pissed at me?"

Toby shrugs, picking up a magazine off the table in front of the
couch. " No."

CJ studies Toby's face. "Is that a no, as in, no, or a, no, as in,
yeah, but it's okay `cause he'll get over it?"

Toby looks up. "The latter?"

CJ rolls her eyes and leans back in her chair, a throbbing headache
starting to form at her temple.

At CJ's reaction to his response, Toby sits up. " But it's okay,
because he's not really mad at you. Honestly. He knows where you're
coming from, and that you're just very concerned. He just wants you
to keep it professional. Obviously nothing about it at the briefing."

CJ slowly sits up and looks at Toby as if he just called her
stupid. "I'm not going to say anything. It's not news yet, Toby."

Toby nods. " Okay, I know." He subconsciously looks at his hands. "
This isn't good. I mean, it's bad because the President of the
United States is sick and has to hand over his power, but it's worse
because he's our boss and our, our mentor, and a good guy and he
doesn't deserve this. ."

CJ smiles warmly. It was uncustomary for Toby to say nice things
about the people he worked with. " You're right. All I want to do
right now is see him." She pauses and stares at a book on her desk,
slightly embarrassed. " The doctors have been suggesting that he
resign for months. There's going to be so much more talk of that
since his MS has progressed now. Do you think he'll actually do it?"
This is the first time anyone has ever voiced this particular
concern. They all have wondered whether the President would actually
resign. He told them if he became a liability to the position and
could no longer serve his country and perform his duties, he would
resign, but he never spoke of it again.

Toby takes a moment to contemplate this. " I think he'll do what he
feels is for the greater good… what's best for the American people,
and for his family. But whatever decision he makes won't be made
easily or in vain, and he won't go down without a fight."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Part 2

The bright lights and flashing cameras in conjunction with the overly
excited Press Corp were making CJ uncomfortably hot. Usually her
reporters loved talking about the President's health, but this was
ridiculous. It was only a few hours after the President had
relapsed, and already the Press had found out, and now she was in the
Briefing room, trying to offer them some reassurance. But everyone
was shouting her name and throwing out questions and she was getting
frustrated.

"CJ, CJ! Is the President unconscious? Will he be able to run the
country?" Chris stands up and asks.

CJ sighs, wiping the sweat from her brow. She can handle anything but
talking about the President. She was too worried, and it was too hard
to act calm. All she wanted to do was see him. " Guy, guys, he isn't
dead, alright? Let's get that straight. I'm sure he'll be returning
to the Oval office as soon as he has recovered. And don't bother to
ask when that will be, because at this point I have no idea."

"CJ, what exactly can you tell us?" One reporter shouts.

Greg stands up. " Will Mrs. Bartlet be available to issue a statement
regarding the President's condition soon?"

CJ sighs, quickly gauging her response. " I will check with her and
get back to you, Greg. Right now I'm sure she is very busy tending to
her husband." She was going to say that Abbey was upset and
concerned, but that might just provoke some of the reporters.

"CJ, are the First daughters being called to Residence?" Katie asks
as the room starts to die down a little.

CJ licks her lips. " Yes, Katie, the First daughters are on their
way, but I assure you that's only because they're all overly
concerned about their father, and not because there is anything to be
concerned about. He is expected to…" She cuts herself off, wondering
what the hell she was about to do. She had almost said that he was
expected to make a full and speedy recovery, but she couldn't stand
up there and guarantee that. Maybe she had wanted to say it to
comfort herself. God, she had to get away from here, because she
wasn't acting like herself.

The room is silent.

"CJ?" Katie prompts from her seat.

CJ shakes her head, turning back to Katie. "Yes?"

Katie rolls her eyes. " He is expected to what?"

CJ realizes she can't respond. " Nothing, nothing. He isn't… nothing…
Any more questions?"

"What kind of treatment is the President receiving for the attack?"
Steve asks.

CJ relaxes. Finally something she could answer. " The President is
receiving a drip of methylprednisolone to treat the exacerbation.
This is a Corticosteroid used to shorten the duration of the attack
and provide some relief of the intensity. The treatment is
anticipated to take three to five days." Immediately after she says
the last statement, she regrets it. Where is her ability to see
things before they come tonight? She was not herself. She was usually
great under pressure.

Hands fly up and reporters yell out their questions.

Steve yells loudest. " CJ, with the President being out for three to
five days, who's in charge? Is there any talk of the Twenty-fifth
Amendment?"

CJ sighs once again. Trapped like a rat. "Yes, okay, okay, guys,
settle down. There has been talk of the Twenty-fifth, but nothing's
been done yet. But, I'm sure as soon as the President regains the
ability to use the muscles in his right hand, he'll sign a letter
giving power over to the Vice-President." She says sarcastically.

The rows of seated and standing Corp go wild. "CJ, CJ!" They scream,
trying to grab her attention.

"Who is in charge, CJ? The Vice-President, the Speaker of the House,
the Joint Chief of Staffs, the National Security Advisor, Whitehouse
Chief of Staff?… Come on!" Someone in the crowd demands.

CJ places her hands on the podium to steady herself. "We're working
on it. Look, that's a rap, guys. I'll see you in couple of hours."
She gathers her folders and rushes to the safety of the corridor
beyond the door, where Carol waits for her.

Carol, CJ's assistant, looks concernedly at her. " Are you okay? You
seemed a little unglued in there." She takes CJ's folders from her
and leads her down the corridors.

CJ rolls her eyes, just glad to be out of the room. Usually she loved
her room. She loved battling it out with the Press, but lately some
of those in there who she had grown to respect as friends had almost
become the enemy. These days everyone was just trying to get their
story, and usually it meant criticizing, questioning or making fun of
the President. She loved her job and had grown to become the best at
it, but it was growing increasingly harder to perform it to the best
of her ability.

"CJ?" Carol looks at her again. She puts her hand on CJ's back to
guide her. "Let's get you to your office."

"I'm ,I'm fine. I just wasn't prepared in there. I always feel like
that when I'm talking about his health. I know that's unprofessional
of me. I should be comfortable with it by now." CJ soaks in the
familiarity of her office as she walks into it. She turns around and
Carol is standing in the door frame, looking worriedly at her. "
Carol, I'm fine. Don't worry. I'll get back on the ball. Just, uh,
see if you can get Mrs. Bartlet on the phone for me, alright?"

Carol nods obediently, still feeling like there was something
upsetting her boss. But she supposed there was nothing more she could
do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You wanted to see me, Joshua?" CJ musters a smile as she tip toes
into Josh's office.

Josh leans back in his chair, looking as tired and upset as CJ
felt. " Yeah." He says simply.

"What do you want?" CJ puts on a brave face, sitting in the chair in
front of Josh's desk.

"I talked to Mrs. Bartlet." He states, trying to control the slight
quiver in his lips.

CJ immediately senses that something is wrong. "What's wrong, Josh?"
She says directly.

Josh doesn't waste anytime. "They don't think he's going to regain
strength in his legs. He may not be able to walk…anymore." Josh looks
defeated and helpless.

CJ is plain shocked. It takes a minute before the realization settles
in. "The President is paralysed?"

Josh shifts slightly. " Not exactly. But his muscles have been going
for so long now. He's lost use of them. It was a horrible attack."

CJ has to cover her mouth to prevent herself from bursting out
crying. She takes in a deep breath. " The President is going to come
in here in a wheelchair, isn't he?"

Josh looks down at his desk. " The President probably isn't going to
be around here for much longer, CJ… Neither are we." He has to choke
back his own tears and compose himself in front of CJ. He pretends to
fix his tie.

"He's resigning, isn't he?" She didn't have to ask, CJ could tell by
the look on Josh's face.

Josh rubs his temple unconsciously. " Yeah. And I don't think it has
anything to do with being embarrassed to come into the Whitehouse in
a wheelchair."

"Abbey?"

Josh shrugs. "Maybe, or maybe the girls. But I think he's been
fighting this for too long. He's tired. I guess it's just… time."

CJ leans back, trying to take this all in. "So…we're leaving the
Whitehouse… God, that seems so weird." She laughs softly. "I remember
how odd it felt to walk in here for the first time." CJ glances
around Josh's office, from the desk to the door and back to him. "I
can't imagine what'll be like not to come here everyday. This is like
a second home. I can't even count all the times I've accidentally
fallen asleep on my couch reading over briefing notes or something.
And to think of all the people we're never going to see again."

Josh smiles. "CJ, come on, it's not like we're moving to Australia.
We're all still going to see each other. Sure it won't be the same,
but it'll work out." He sighs. "This is what the President wants and
needs. We have to support him."

Part 3

Abbey slowly opens her bedroom door and peers inside. Jed is lying in
bed motionless, like he has been for twenty-four hours, just resting
and trying to combat the pain. She takes in a deep breath because it
hurt her to see her husband like this, and to know that even as a
doctor she couldn't make it go away. "Jed…" She whispers as she makes
her way to the massive bed. She sits herself on the edge, right
beside his head so he could hear her.

Jed clears his throat. "Honey?"

Abbey smiles, running her hand along her husband's cheek. "Shssh…
Don't move. I just came to tell you that Leo is here to see you. You
told me to get him to come here last night, but I wouldn't allow that
because I don't like anyone in here right now."

Jed smiles and opens his eyes, a bit painfully, however. "The only
people I've seen are doctors and our daughters. You won't even let me
see my staff or Ron Butterfield. I could be in the middle of a war in
the middle east and have no idea about it."

Abbey smiles back. "Look at you lying in bed ,in the worst kind of
pain, and you're still making bad jokes. I won't let you see your
staff because they're going to come in here complaining about you
having to resign and that'll rile you up. You're lucky I let Leo come
in this morning."

Jed sighs. "You're right. Okay, send him in."

Abbey stands up then bends to peck Jed on the cheek. " You've got
five minutes before I come and kick him out." Abbey smiles and exits.

Leo appears in the doorframe a minute later, looking a little
apprehensive, but glad to see that the President was sitting in bed
smiling at him. "Good morning, Mr. President."

Jed smiles at his best friend. "Good morning, Leo. How are you?"

Leo makes his way closer to the bed. " Just dandy, sir. How are you
feeling?" He stops shy of the bedside.

"Ah, I've been better and worse, I suppose. My wife has strict
controls over the traffic of our bedroom, so I'm sorry I couldn't see
you earlier." He clears his throat, trying to mask his discomfort.

Leo appraises Jed, knowing exactly what Abbey had meant by this being
the last straw. No more running the country for Josiah
Bartlet. "That's alright, sir. Can I get you anything?"

Jed plays with the blanket in his hand, trying not to appear to be
in pain in front of Leo. "Nah. I've got enough people fussing over
me, I don't need you too. You just keep the Whitehouse on its toes
for a while and I'll be happy. Oh, but there is one thing. Try and
see if you can convince Abbey to let me see Josh, Toby and CJ, will
ya?"

"Well, if you haven't had any luck, I doubt I will, but I'll
certainly give it my best shot."

"Have a seat." Jed tries to motion for the chair, but his arm is too
weak for him to move.

Leo glances at the chair beside the bed and carefully sits down.

Jed watches Leo, knowing he is uncomfortable. " Are you mad at me?"

Leo looks up at Jed, surprised. "Of course not, sir. Why would you
think that?"

Jed takes in a breath. "Because I'm going to have to quit. I know
that running the Whitehouse can be one of the hardest things to do in
this country, and sometimes it kills everyone of us to do it. There
are times we come home at night wondering how we're going to wake up
and go to work in the morning, but, Leo, I know you like your job
despite some of the things we have to do day in and day out. I'm just
sorry we have to end it all this way."

Leo leans in closer. "Sir, please don't be sorry. You are in no way
at fault for this, and I'm not upset. Of course I love my job and I
serve at your pleasure. This has been the single most rewarding thing
I've done in my life and not a day goes by where I don't thank God
for the opportunity we've had to do this. You've done nothing but
good, even if sometimes the records don't always show that. You put
up one hell of a fight, sir, and I'm honoured to have been a part of
it and to have known you."

Jed's eyes widen and he smiles. " A part of it, Leo? You are it! You
were the one who convinced me to run. I wouldn't be here without you,
and you know that. You ran the show, and don't ever forget that. So,
let's just make sure we leave with a grand finale, huh?"

"You got it, sir." Leo smiles widely, knowing that the weak form in
front of him was still his unshakable best friend and the man he knew.

Jed nods. "Good. I want to walk into the Press room in a couple of
days and announce my resignation. I'm not going to drag this out or
pretend like I've got something to hide. I don't want to make people
feel sorry for me, I just don't think I'm going to be able to govern
anymore. Do you think I can do that?"

Leo plays with his hands. "Well, sir, I think we need to have a
little more than a few days to prepare a statement like that, and I
think you need to rest up and regain some of your strength first. A
lot of people will need to be notified of this before the Press, as
well. Let's just prioritize."

Looking into space, Jed nods. "I want to see my staff, Leo. Please
talk to Abbey."

Leo nods. " Yes, sir."

Jed closes his eyes. " Leo, I don't really want to leave, but it's
time When you can't make it through a day on your feet anymore, it's
time to say `That's enough.' It's just time…I love you , you know
that?" He opens his eyes to look at Leo.

Leo smiles and laughs lightly. "Sir, I think you need to go back to
sleep."

"No, I mean it. I don't tell you that enough. I do love you. You're
my friend. As is Josh and CJ and Toby and Charlie and Debbie and…
everyone. I don't think they know that, Leo. I'm not always the most
expressive person. As soon as I can I'm going to tell everyone of
them how much they mean to me, and how I couldn't have come this far
without them."

Okay, so maybe he isn't delirious, Leo thinks to himself as he
smiles. "Okay, sir. You do that."

A gentle knock is heard at the door. Abbey pokes her head inside. "
Hey, boys."

"Hello, Mrs. Bartlet." Leo greets pleasantly from his chair.

"What are you guys talking about?" Abbey moves slyly to the end of
the bed.

"The people the President loves." Leo says seriously.

Abbey smiles coyly at her husband. "Really? And here I thought I was
the only one in your life."

Jed attempts to smile back, but he's starting to tire. " Of course
you are, sweetheart. I was just telling Leo how I should tell my
friends how much they mean to me."

Abbey starts to cross to the opposite side of the bed from Leo. "
Well, I hate to have to break up a conversation like that, but it's
time for your medication, honey." She holds up a clear plastic bag
full of liquid to indicate.

Jed turns to Leo as Abbey fiddles with the I.V in his arm. "I'm
going to be asleep for a little while or so, but if you could maybe
follow through with my request…?"

Rolling his eyes, Leo smiles reassuringly. "Of course, sir."

After a minute, Abbey finishes changing the I.V. She bends to smooth
Jed's hair and place a kiss to his forehead. "Sweet dreams." She
motions for Leo to follow her out of the room.

"Have a good sleep, sir. Don't worry about a thing." Leo calls as he
follows Abbey out of the bedroom.

Abbey stops. "Thanks for keeping him in good spirit and not talking
about the resignation and everything." She sighs, glancing toward the
door.

Leo stops and turns back to Abbey. "How do you know we didn't talk
about that?"

Abbey shrugs. "Because he didn't seem stressed. He seemed like he was
thinking about the people who mean the most to him." She smiles
happily and leans against the bedroom door. "This has been the
hardest time of his life, and the past twenty-four hours have just
been one day of it. But I know it's all going to work out. You're all
going to support him, and he needs that."

Leo smiles, taking a step toward Abbey. " Of course we will, Abbey.
We love him as much as you do. He wants to see Toby Josh and CJ, and
I promise if you let him, they won't bug him. We all just want him to
get through this."

Nodding, Abbey agrees. " Fine. They can come in this afternoon. " She
pauses a moment. " Leo, it's not that I didn't want them to come and
see him when he's sick, I just didn't want the President's senior
policy advisors in my bedroom when he's trying to rest. But, I know
they'll come as friends who care, and not because they want to talk
shop and strategy."

Smiling, Leo nods. " Believe me, they're all more concerned about Jed
Bartlet the man than the President of the United States, their
employer."

"You think so?"

"I know so. All you gotta do is watch CJ give one of those briefings
on the President's state of health and see how nervous she gets and
you can tell she isn't thinking of him as the President. And you know
that she normally owns that Press room and never shows any
vulnerability."

Abbey nods again, knowing that what Leo said was true and that no
matter what happened, her husband's friends would be there for them.




Part 4

"Are you just gonna stand there, or are you gonna knock?" Toby asks,
shoving his hands into his pocket as he stares at the closed door of
the President's bedroom at the Residence that afternoon.

Josh looks from the door to Toby. "Who, me?" He ask stupidly and
innocently.

Toby rolls his eyes. " You're the closest one to the door."

"Yeah, but I don't wanna… I mean…" Josh stutters, shifting
uncomforting outside the President's bedroom.

"Oh, for God's sake!" CJ pushes past the two men and gently raps on
the solid wood door. " See, was that so hard?" She asks
sarcastically, turning around to glare at Toby and Josh. "Sometimes I
wonder about the two of you."

The three of them had been asked to come see the President, and they
all had wanted to, but suddenly their nerves were all on end as they
waited patiently.

Abbey opens the door and emerges from the bedroom. She smiles
cordially. " Hello, everyone. He just woke up so he may be a little
groggy, but you can go in and see him."

"Thank you, ma'am." CJ replies softly, glad she was finally able to
see the President, but nervous of what he might look like, and how
she might react.

Josh and Toby both go to take a couple of steps toward the door, but
Abbey places a hand on Josh's chest to stop him.

She looks directly into Josh's eyes, then to Toby. "Please, don't
upset him. He needs to rest, and his mind needs to be at ease. Can we
try and keep it friendly in there? No talking about resigning, okay?"

Josh smiles lightly, seeing the strain in Abbey's eyes and knowing
that she just wanted her husband to get better. "Ma'am, the only
thing we're interested in is making sure our President is alright. We
couldn't give a damn about anything else right now."

"He's right." Toby nods. " Mrs. Bartlet, our topmost priority is the
President's health, not our image. So, we're not going to talk shop
today. We just wanted to see for ourselves that…that he's receiving
the necessary care that, of course, we're certain your giving him."

Abbey has to chuckle. " I think Leo prepped you before you came
here, because that's just what I wanted to hear. Now, go on in before
he falls asleep again. And just be patient with him, his memory isn't
the greatest."

"We always bear that in mind, Mrs. Bartlet." CJ plasters on a smile
and they file into the bedroom as Abbey takes off in the opposite
direction.

"Ah, there they are, the Three Musketeers…or should I say Stooges?"
The President greets cheerfully as his staffers try to avoid coming
anywhere near the bed. He pulls the covers down slightly, so it
doesn't appear to them that he wants to sleep.

"Good afternoon, Mr. President." They all greet, although not in
unison.

Jed just stares a moment at the three brilliant minds standing before
him and has to smile at how blatantly uncomfortable they all look. "
You know, you can't catch MS. You can come a little closer `cause
it's not contagious."

Josh looks to the others, shoves his hands in his pockets and moves
to the side of the bed, near the chair. "How you feelin', sir?"

"Better and better all the time, thank you." Jed flashes them a
dazzling smile through his weariness.

Toby shifts uncomfortably from his position standing on the opposite
side of the bed and clears his throat. "I heard Mrs. Bartlet is
taking very good care of you, but we just wanted to come and see for
ourselves. Sorry we didn't bring flowers."

Jed shrugs lazily. "Well I appreciate your concern, but flowers
wouldn't have been necessary." He glances at CJ who is standing at
the foot of the bed just listening in carefully. "CJ, you're awfully
quiet there." He searches her eyes for emotion, but she seems to be
blank.

CJ licks her lips before responding, feeling caught off guard. "Uh,
no, sir. Just waiting my turn to tell you how relieved I am to see
you're alright." Truth be told, she was so absorbed with how drained-
out he looked. Even though she should have been used to it since he
has progressed to Secondary Progressive and couldn't even make it
through a day without experiencing symptoms, she still found it hard
to watch him suffer this way, and smile the whole time, pretending
everything was fine.

This didn't phase Jed. He knew she was near tears. He could tell this
was upsetting her, but he doesn't want to embarrass her in front of
the guys. He decides to change the subject. "You've been getting
questions about this, haven't you?"

She nods, not wanting to address the horrible briefings that had
followed the attack.

Jed leans farther back and sinks deeper into his massive emerald
green pillow. " Have you lied?"

CJ is almost offended that the President would ask a questions like
that. "I beg your pardon, sir?"

"I just asked. We all agreed to be completely open about this. I
don't want you lying or omitting the truth to cover my ass. I'm going
to resign, and it isn't because I can't deal with people spreading
rumours and calling me and old sick fart." The truth in his tone
immediately makes CJ forget any slight offence she might have taken
earlier.

"Sir, no one would think that's the reason behind your resignation."
Josh states for sake of clearing the silence that had prevailed.

Jed closes his eyes, needing to rest a moment. Needing to find the
right words to explain to the people whose lives he was changing why
he was quitting early and giving up a fight. " Good. I'm not saying
the reason I'm resigning is in any way noble, just that it isn't
media-induced or influenced in any way other than by the people who
mean the most to me. I, I'm quitting because I'm an old man with
multiple sclerosis who can't make it through a day without cramping
or numbness or loss of vision. I can no longer be trusted to perform
my duties to the full capability that someone in this position is
required to, and I am a liability to this administration, and this
country." He sighs, closing his eyes again. "But most of all, I just
wanna retire and spend time with my wife and my beautiful daughters."

Josh bends down and places his hand over the President's, feeling
like he needed to comfort him. "And there's nothing wrong with that,
sir."

Jed smiles appreciatively at Josh, but turns sombre. "It's gotten to
the point where Leo is obligated to take me out of the Situation room
if I show any signs of fatigue, dizziness or loss of coordination."
He rolls his eyes. "Right, because I'm really required to run a
marathon in the Sit room... I'm just sorry I can't do it anymore. I'm
sorry I let you all down."

"Sir…" CJ is horrified to hear the President talk that way. She
crosses to the side of the bed where Toby is standing and takes the
hand Jed's IV is not hooked up to in both of her hands. "Sir, you
have in no way let anyone down, and please don't you ever think that.
We all just want you to get better, and we, we…" She starts to get
emotional as she feels Jed's cold, clammy hand involuntarily shaking
in hers. CJ sniffles as Jed forcefully squeezes her hand to
reassure her and offers her a warm smile. "God, you're the perfect
President, sir." She sighs, needing to explain what she meant, but
also needing a moment to decide how to say it.

"Well, most people think Bob Russell would be the perfect President.
He's the perfect candidate." Jed points out, willing CJ to make her
point, but at the same time teasing her.

"You have done nothing but try your hardest to do the best you can
for the good of the American people since you came here. I, I don't
know what else makes a better president. We have had to deal with
countless, unprecedented obstacles that other administrations
haven't, and somehow you still came out with your integrity. That's
why you're the perfect President, sir, and if your citizens can't see
that than I guess I haven't been doing a very good job as your Press
Secretary articulating your message."

Toby and Josh just look on in silent amazement. There are very few
personal exchanges like these, but when they do occur, they're
usually very memorable.

Jed sighs and once again closes his eyes for a moment. "CJ, you're
giving me too much credit. If it weren't for you three, Leo, my wife,
the countless indispensable assistants, and others, I would never
have gotten this far. It's to you I owe everything."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Okay, sir, are you all set?" CJ asks doubtfully, smoothing the
President's tie one last time as he leans forward in the his chair at
his desk.

Jed nods and gives her a stern look. "Yes, CJ, and I'll tell you now
that when you ask me that question thirty seconds from now my
response will be the same, I can assure you."

It was only a week and a half after the President's episode, but he
had felt it was time to address the nation. It was time to announce
his resignation. All the proper people had been informed, and as soon
as all the logistics were settled he would hand over the Presidency.
Needless to say, it was a sombre night because everyone knew this
would probably be their last Presidential address, probably their
last speech.

As the cameras and crew were getting ready, Toby walked into the Oval
office. "Here you go, sir. I promise, no more changes now." He hands
the President the final draft of the address.

The President simply rolls his eyes. "Glad to hear it, Toby. Ah, and
we've got exactly a minute thirty to spare. This is a record for
you. Well done!"

"Sir, I'd like to take this time to remind you that this is very
likely the last speech you will give as President of the United
States, and we wanted it to be flawless. If my irksome proofing of
the text served as an inconvenience…"

"Oh, shut up! Can we get this on the teleprompter?" Jed calls to the
cameraman.

Everyone begins to file into the room, including Leo, Josh, Debbie,
Charlie and some of the assistants.

Leo comes around to the front of the President's desk. " How you
doin', Mr. President?"

"I think I've lost my pen." Jed pouts, searching the desk with his
hands outstretched.

"But he's still got his spirit." Toby replies sarcastically.

Leo motions for Toby and CJ to get out of the way of the camera's
view and to follow him to the back of the room.

CJ catches Leo's eye and nods, then turns to the President. "Good
luck, sir. You're gonna be great. The press conference after
shouldn't take more than ten or fifteen minutes, I promise. Just hang
in there." She gently squeezes his shoulder, then turns to follow
Toby and Leo.

Jed sighs as the camera man tells them he's on forty-five seconds.
Well Bartlet, he thinks to himself. It's now or never. Time to
abandon this stick-up-the-ass attitude and realize this is the last
time you're gonna talk to your people. It's gotta be big and it's
gotta be memorable. Everyone thinks your old and sick. Everyone knows
you came in here in a wheelchair and you're going to announce you're
resignation. Let's show `em what you're made of. You're not afraid of
the issues, you're not afraid of the rumours. You're gonna speak now.
You're gonna stand now.

"And you're on in five..four..three..two..one…"

Jed clears this throat, silently. " Good evening, my fellow
Americans. For the last six years I have had the pleasure of serving
as your President…"

And suddenly everyone in the room stood still because the President
did something unexpected and definitely unscripted. He stood up. And
it was clear to Leo and Josh and CJ and Toby that the President was
standing. He was standing when he couldn't walk. He was talking when
most of the nation was telling him to sit down and shut up and let
someone else take over. He was the bravest man they knew. He was the
Perfect President, not just the perfect candidate, and no one,
especially not someone like Bob Russell could ever make it as far as
him. Josiah Bartlet's legacy would be his integrity and his sense of
honour.

The End
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Source: geocities.com/ww_executive_branch