Leo and the rest of the senior staffers were following the President's speech in a small room in the Capitol.

"She's gone," Leo said, panic lacing his voice.

"Who's gone?" Josh asked.

"The cameras just panned Congress and Abbey and the girls are gone. Oh Jesus."

He turned and abruptly and left the room leaving the staff to wonder what was going on.

As he made his way down the hall, Leo was in time to see Abbey and the girls exiting the galley.

"Abbey," he said taking her hand in his, "you're in labor aren't you?"

"Yes Leo...but wait, don't panic," she said, seeing the fear rise into his eyes,"it's still going to be a while."

"I'm calm Abbey," he said trying to, but not succeeding in keeping the urgency from his voice, "just follow me and we're going to get you to the hospital."

"Not yet, Leo. The pains just started. I want to watch the rest of the speech from the monitors with you and the staff. When Jed finishes, we'll go to the hospital together."

"Abbey..."

"He's faltering," Sam said, racing out of the monitoring room, "he's lost his place twice."

Leo looked at Abbey and knew right away why Jed was stumbling. He had seen that Abbey was gone and knew exactly what that meant.

"Get a note to him. Tell him Abbey is fine and she is watching the speech from the monitoring room. Make it fast."

While Sam rushed to do Leo's bidding, Leo led Abbey and the girls into the small room filled with senior staffers.

"Mrs. Bartlet, don't you think you should go to the hospital?" Toby asked nervously as he heard her soft gasp of pain and watched her bite her bottom lip.

"How many children have you fathered, Toby?" Abbey asked, trying desperately not to moan..

"None ma'am."

"Well, I've had three so I guess that makes me the authority on the subject. I'll know when it's time to go to the hospital."

"Yes ma'am."

The note had been passed on to Jed and it didn't take long for him to regain his composure. Actually, the only people who really knew he was making mistakes were those who knew the speech. The only thing that was obvious were the Uhs before the next sentence. Jed Bartlet did not stammer in speeches.

"He's back on track," Sam said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Mom, sit down please," Ellie said. Abbey did so and was immediately surrounded by her daughters and Jane.

"Dad is going to flip," Zoey said. "He told us you shouldn't be going. He..."

"Zoey honey, relax," Abbey took her hand calmly, "it's not going to happen all of a sud...oh...OHHH…" she squeezed her daughter's hand biting her bottom lip and closing her eyes against the pain.

Leo, Toby, Sam, and Josh were standing warily on the opposite side of the room, as if afraid to get too close.

"This isn't right," Sam whispered. "She shouldn't still be here."

"What if she gives birth right here on the floor of Congress?" Josh added anxiously.

"Guys, it doesn't happen like that," Leo said. "She will probably have hours to go."

"How can you be sure?" Toby asked. "Look at her, she’s obviously in a lot of pain."

"Leo," CJ said entering the room, "The press is going crazy. They all saw the First Lady leave the galley. What should I tell them?"

"Don't tell them she is in labor yet. We'll wait until she and the President are at the hospital so they don't get hounded on the way in. Just say she was feeling a little under the weather but is still watching the speech from inside the Capitol."

"What the hell are they all whispering about over there?" Abbey asked.

"They're all freaking out because they think you’re going to have the baby right here. You're not, are you?" Zoey asked.

"No, Zoey," Abbey smiled. She looked at her husband's senior staff all huddled together whispering and giving her furtive glances.

"Guys," she said, "I'm not a ticking time bomb ready to explode. My God, you people run the free world. How can you let a little thing like childbirth throw you into...oh...Jesus," she gasped as a strong contraction ripped through her middle. Everyone froze and stared, the blood draining from their faces.

"That's it Abbey," Leo’s voice was shaking as he approached her. "It's time to go before you have these kids right here."

"Don't think you're up to ...being a midwife?" She asked, still breathing out the contraction.

"I KNOW I'm not up to it," he said, grim faced.

"I'm not going to argue with you this time, Leo. I think I had better go." Abbey's face was now as white and anxious as the staffs' as the enormity of what she was about to go through hit her.

"Anita," Leo called out to Abbey's agent, "get your plan into action. Mrs. Bartlet needs to get to the hospital. NOW." The service immediately went into action and Abbey turned to her youngest daughter.

"Zoey, stay here and keep your father calm when he finishes his speech," Abbey said.

"OK, good luck Mom," she kissed her cheek.

"Abbey...GO," Leo said urgently. "I'll send Jed as soon as he finishes."

The staff watched nervously as Jane and Ellie helped Abbey down the hall.

***

Jed didn't know how he made it through the rest of his speech. He was on automatic pilot through most of it until the end. After the final sentence he didn't stay around to shake hands and accept congratulations. Instead, he exited quickly and bumped into Leo.

"She went into labor, didn't she?" He demanded while striding down the hall to enter the monitoring room. "Where the hell is she?" He asked.

"Yes, she's in labor," Leo said.

"She's gone to the hospital, Daddy," Zoey said.

"The note said she was here," Jed looked accusingly at Leo.

"She was here," Leo said, "but the pains got a little intense and she left for the hospital about 45 minutes ago with Ellie and Jane."

"Well, what are we standing around for? Let's go. Ron, GW NOW!"

***

The staff at GW had been filled with excitement the moment the First Lady had arrived in labor. The service had already planned everything in advance and they knew she would be coming, but it was different to actually have her there. The nurses watched another motorcade pull up and saw the President come striding down the hall, his face a mask of anxiety.

"I'm Josiah Bartlet," he said, "my wife Abigail Bartlet was brought in here in labor. I need to know where she is."

The nurses all looked at each other barely able to conceal their amusement. He might be the President of the United States but right now he was just like every expectant father who came through the door.

"We know who you are sir, AND we know exactly who your wife is, Mrs. Bartlet is in Maternity which is on the third floor. She is in birthing room 3. You shouldn't have any trouble finding her. Your service cleared a whole wing for her."

"OK, thanks. Let's go Zoey, birthing room 3."

***

Jed saw Mia standing at the nurses station as soon as the elevator doors opened.

"Mia, how is she?" He asked. "How far apart are the contractions?"

"She is doing fine, Mr. President. They are about 5-6 minutes apart. I took her stitches out when she arrived and she is about four centimeters dilated. So, we might be in for a long night. That back pain she has been experiencing since last night was actually back labor."

"So you're telling she has been in labor since last night?" He asked, astonished.

"Yes, but it was a latent stage, not active. One of the babies is in the posterior position, which means it is facing forward so its spine is pressed against Abbeys. That is where the back labor comes from. She said she's never really had it before."

"No, I don't think so. Not for a whole labor," he said running a hand through his hair.

"Well, we're going to need to work with the pain management techniques you learned in class. I had her get in the whirlpool, which may help. Your daughter and sister-in-law are with her now. You can go now if want."

"Yeah, thanks. Oh, and Mia, we're going to be involved in some pretty intimate stuff tonight. It's just Jed and Abbey. Never mind the protocol."

"OK, Jed," Mia smiled.

***

Jed opened the door to Abbey's room a little apprehensively, wondering what would confront him on the other side. Jane and Ellie were helping Abbey into her robe. She had obviously just gotten out of the whirlpool.

"OK, I'm here," he said, "let's get this show started." Abbey glared at him but, before she could react to his words, she was seized by another contraction. She gasped and reached out blindly for something to grab. It turned out to be Jed's hand.

"Stay relaxed," he said soothingly, "thats it baby...thats it...you're doing great, Abs."

"It's over," Abbey breathed, "it's over."

"So, what were you thinking, starting without me?" He said, kissing her forehead.

"Guess your kids are as impatient as you. I tried to wait until the end of your speech, and I swear to God Jed, if you even think about saying I told you so, I'll rip your head off."

"That doesn't sound very pleasant so I think I will just keep my mouth shut on that subject. Are your contractions still 5-6 minutes apart?"

"Yes. You saw Mia?"

"Yeah," he said sympathetically, "back labor sucks but we can get through it."

"I can't lay down, Jed. The pressure on my back is too much. Want to take a stroll with me?"

"Can we?"

"Yes. The service cleared the whole wing for me. They did it for security purposes but I like it for privacy. I really didn't relish the idea of some woman from the next room telling the press how the First Lady screamed her lungs out. I have a reputation to uphold."

"You do, do you?" Jed smiled, taking her arm and leading her out into the hall."

"Yes. I wouldn't want anyone to think I'm a wimp or anything." Jed shook his head knowing that was never a word he would use to describe his wife.

They continued to walk up and down the hall. When a contraction would overtake her, Abbey would stop, grip Jed's wrists and press her forehead into his chest. Jed would murmur encouragement into her hair. He would have to remind her to breathe because the pain made her take in a deep breath and not let it out, which made it worse.

After a couple hours Abbey's contractions were almost bringing her to her knees and they decided it was time to return.

Back in her room, Abbey was able to lean over the bed gripping the sheets, while Jed stroked her hips and back. She was in this undignified position whimpering softly when Sam entered the room.

"Mr. President," he said while entering, but he was stopped short at the sight of the First Lady and the President working their way through a contraction.

"Uh, Sam, we're a little busy here," Abbey groaned.

"Yes...Um...sorry ma'am...I just wanted to let the President know we got the demographics back on the speech tonight. It was pretty phenomenal. In all groups we..."

"Sam," Abbey said exasperated, " I am giving BIRTH here! Jed get him out."

"You heard the lady," Jed said, continuing to rub his wife's back, "unless it is a national emergency I don't want anyone coming in here again."

"Yes sir," Sam said, backing out.

***

"So what did he think?" Leo asked smugly when Sam re-entered the waiting room.

"He didn't want to hear it," Sam said quietly.

"Told you," Leo grinned.

"How is it going in there?" CJ asked.

"It's pretty intense," Sam swallowed. "But I don't think you will have anything to report for a little while. Mrs. Bartlet wasn't even in bed yet. Well at least she wasn't laying in it, more like over it."

"Over it?" Toby said puzzled.

"Must be one of those birth positions the President was talking about," Leo said.

"Birth positions?" Josh asked.

"You don't want to know," Leo shook his head, "you really don't want to know."

***

Inside the birthing room, Abbey was getting exhausted and knew she couldn't stay on her feet much longer. She was dreading getting back in that bed though. In the end, her body made the decision for her when a particularly nasty contraction caused her to cry out and she felt a small gush of water down her legs.

"Jed...oh God, Jed. I have to lay down. Help me into bed...my water just broke."

Jed stared at the small puddle of amniotic fluid at her feet and knew things would really be heating up now.

TBC...