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"We did it all for love" by AJ [Fade in on Jed and Abbey sitting on the floor across from each other in front of the fire place, lights dimmed, blazing fire, arms interlocked holding wine glasses, radio softly blaring Glory of Love sung by Peter Cetera] RADIO...You'll keep me standing tall. You'll help me through it all. I'm always strong when you're beside me. I have always needed you. I could never make it alone. I am a man who will fight for your honor. I'll be the hero you've been dreaming of. We'll live forever, knowing together that we did it all for the glory of love... [Jed puts his wineglass down then takes Abbey's and puts it down and passionately kisses her. Jed and Abbey gaze into each other's eyes] RADIO Just like a night in shining armor from a long time ago, just in time I will save the day and take you to my castle far away... JED I love you. ABBEY I love you too. RADIO I am a man who will fight for your honor, I'll be the hero that you're dreaming of. We'll live forever knowing together that we did it all for the glory of love. We did it all for love. We did it all for love. We did it all for love... [Jed and Abbey kiss again as Jed softly begins to speak.] JED So what's all this for? ABBEY Tell me you're kidding. JED I'm kidding Abbey, of course I wouldn't forget our anniversary. I even remembered to get you a present. ABBEY You, or Mrs. Landingham? JED That hurts me. ABBEY I'm sorry. You know, I got you one too. JED Open mine first. [Jed reaches into pocket and pulls out a tiny wrapped gift.] JED Here, I hope you love it. ABBEY After last year's present, I hope I love it too, for your sake. [Abbey opens the box with a surprised yet disappointed look on her face as she sees a game token from New York.] ABBEY What's this? JED Well your trip to New York is coming up, and I know I was supposed to go with you, but unfortunately I can't. ABBEY So you're giving me a token from New York? JED Yes. I'm giving you a token from New York. But I would just like to take this moment to say that that is not the only thing I got you from New York. There is a small string attached to the token. ABBEY I still don't understand the token. JED Well, I guess it's to aid in your fun filled trip, it's just a start, I'm sure you'll get more tokens. ABBEY So now I'm curious. You think that your not coming would stop me from having fun? JED A man can hope. [Abbey picks up the token and pulls it out. Attached to the string is a diamond ring.] ABBEY Jed, it's gorgeous. JED So you like it? ABBEY Do you have to ask? Ooh, there's an inscription, lets see, "We did it all for love." JED You know how you're always asking me why you married me? ABBEY Yeah, you ask me the same thing all the time. JED Well, I don't think I have ever answered you, till now. We did it all for love, all the pain, all the joys, the last 33 years, we did it all for love Abbey, and we will continue to do it for love, no matter what obstacles come against us. ABBEY Oh, I love you so much. [Jed and Abbey share another passionate kiss.] JED So where's my present? ABBEY Hold on, just a minute, and close your eyes cause I don't want you to see where I hid it. [Jed somewhat covers his eyes as Abbey gets up goes towards the dresser. She opens the top drawer, pulls out a box and puts it down in front of Jed.] JED I feel like a little boy at Christmas. ABBEY You can open your eyes now. As if they were ever closed. JED What! Are you accusing me of... ABBEY Are you denying it? JED No. ABBEY Okay then, here's your present. [Jed picks it up and opens it.] JED It's a compass. ABBEY Yeah. JED Why? ABBEY You've been in office a little less than two years, and where as it seems to some that you actually know what you are doing to some, to me it seems as if you are like a lost ship in the night. That you just do what Leo and the others tell you to do. So I got you a compass, to help you find your way. Open it, read the inscription. JED I get an inscription too! Well, let's see "Part of happiness in life consists not in fighting battles but in avoiding them." ABBEY Just a little advice for when you need your compass the most. JED Thanks. Although I could of used this present long ago. [Phone rings. Both Abbey and Jed get very irritated.] JED I told them no calls! ABBEY Don't they know it's our anniversary? JED If they don't, I'm gonna shoot them. You think I can do that? ABBEY If you can't, what's the point of being president? [Jed gets up and answers the phone.] JED What the hell do you want?...It must be important, you don't call me Jed very often. What is it Leo? [Jed looks at Abbey across the room, as she begins walking towards him, his eyes open widely and he falls to the ground.] ABBEY JED! [Abbey picks up the phone.] ABBEY Leo, Jed just fainted! LEO I'm on my way. [Leo hangs up the phone and leaves a young woman in his office as he runs out toward the residence. In the bedroom, Abbey runs after her medical bag, takes her husband's pulse and listens to his breathing. Leo comes running in to the Bartlet's bedroom along with two secret service agents.] LEO Abbey! ABBEY Leo, thank God you're here. Help me get him on the bed. LEO You heard her, help me get him on the bed. RON and DONNIE Sure thing, Mr. McGarry. Right away. [Leo, Ron, and Donnie pick Jed up and put him on the bed.] LEO Thank you, both of you. You may go now. RON Yes sir, but if you need our help again, don't hesitate, we will be right outside. LEO Sure thing. [Ron and Donnie leave.] ABBEY Leo, what happened? What did you tell him on the phone? LEO Um...Uh...There's a girl in my office who claims to be your stillborn child. ABBEY What?! LEO Um, yeah, she says that you gave birth to her, not a stillborn. She says that she was switched at birth with the stillborn. ABBEY Are you serious? LEO Yes, she says that she had a DNA test done for some reason or another, and it turns out that the people who have raised her are not her biological parents. So, she hired a private investigator, who went back to the hospital records for that night. It turns out that you are the only other person who gave birth to a girl that night. The investigators soon found the nurses that were on duty that night, and got one of them to talk due to a heavy conscience. [Jed has just come to.] JED Abbey... ABBEY Leo just told me. JED You were right, all this time... ABBEY Don't worry about it JED But... ABBEY It's okay. Don't worry about it. JED Is she still here, Leo? LEO Um, yeah, she's in my office. JED I want to see her, and I'm gonna want a DNA test too. Also, I don't want anyone else to know about this, not until we know anything for sure, one way or the other. ABBEY Leo, what's she look like? LEO Well, Abbey, there's a striking resemblance to you. ABBEY Really? She looks like me? [The following day in Veronica Lynn Williams', or Roni's (supposed child of the Bartlet's) temporary bedroom. Jed walks in while Roni is listening to a portable cd player. As soon as she sees him, she takes off her headphones] JED So whatchya listening to there? RONI A song called "Two Beds and A Coffee Machine." JED Oh. Who sings it? RONI Savage Garden. JED What's it about? RONI A mother who takes her children to a motel or hotel every time after she has a fight with her husband. And how the mother goes back to the house and it happens all over again. JED So what does that have to do with the title? RONI Well, sir, my guess is that the title came from the fact that the mom takes the kids to a hotel where there are two beds and a coffee machine. JED Sing me a few lines from it, would ya? RONI I don't sing, sir. JED Well then read me a few lines. RONI Okay. How about the part...um, okay... "Another ditch in the road, you keep moving. Another stop sign you keep moving on. And the years go by so fast, wonder how I'll ever make it through. Another bruise to try and hide, another alibi to write. Another lonely highway in the black of night, but there's hope in the darkness and you know you're gonna make it through." Then it goes back to the ditch in the road part. JED Sounds like a good song. RONI Yeah, it is. JED Sounds like it can really speak to a person. RONI Yeah. JED And it's about such an important issue. RONI Once again, I find myself agreeing with you, sir. JED So...did that ever happen to you? RONI What? JED Did your parents ever fight, to the point where someone had to leave? RONI No. JED That's good. RONI No, cause my dad was always too busy fighting with us kids to fight with my mom. Well, us older three kids. And my mom, she never took us anywhere. She just stood back and watched. JED I'm so sorry. I didn't know. RONI I know you didn't. There's no way you could have known. JED If you don't mind my asking, why only the older ones? RONI Well, my older sister and I wouldn't let my dad hurt my little brother whichever one of us was around, and there was always one of us around, we would shield him from my dad. JED There are three of you? RONI No, there's four of us. My older brother, Eric, my older sister, Rachel, my little brother, Andrew and me. [Abbey walks in.] ABBEY Well, there you are. I've been looking all over for you. RONI Amazing that you would find me in my room. ABBEY So what are you two talking about? JED Well, uh, Roni was just telling me about, uh... RONI About my abusive father. ABBEY Your abusive father? I'm sorry, I didn't... RONI Why is everyone sorry? Did either of you make him hit me? Did you make him give me bare butt belt spankings, break doors down to beat me, call me all sorts of names, yell and cuss at me all the time, or make him do the same to my older brother and sister? No, you didn't. So you have nothing to be sorry about. ABBEY Still, I'm sorry, especially if you do end up being our daughter. RONI Well I am your daughter, and in a few days, you'll see I'm telling the truth. But it's not your fault. It's not like you are the ones that switched me at birth. Anyway, I'm not trying to lay a huge guilt trip on either of you. It happened, I've dealt. ABBEY But it could have been avoided. You didn't have to grow up like that. You didn't have to "deal" as you put it. RONI Yes, but I did. And it's partly my fault. JED Don't be ridiculous. It wasn't your fault that your dad abused you and your mom did nothing. You can't blame this on yourself. You were a victim. RONI But in a way it is my fault. Every single time DSS came, I lied to them about what happened. My mom made me lie. Like the time I ended up getting a huge welt on my head, and Mom had me say I bumped into a door, which is what happened. Only it was after my dad slammed my head into the door. [Silence befalls upon the room.] RONI All I'm saying is that it happened, it's over. You can't change the past, but you can learn from it, and grow from it. Because of all this stuff, I believe I'm a stronger person now. Yeah I wish it didn't happen, but it did, it's no one's fault. Now can we just drop this and move on? JED Yeah, sure kid. Anything you want. [Yet another time silence overcomes the room.] ABBEY So, if you do end up being our daughter, what then? What do you intend on doing? RONI Well, I really don't know. You see, I'm kinda like a free spirit. I don't make long term plans, and when I do, they usually end up being changed, or getting canceled. So really I haven't thought about it. Have you? ABBEY Well when do you have to go back home? RONI Whenever. Like I said I don't make long term plans. JED You don't have a plane ticket or anything? RONI No, not really. I was gonna see how things turn out here first. ABBEY So you plan on sticking around if you are our daughter? RONI I am your daughter. And, If you want me to I'll stick around. But I'm gonna have to go to church on Sunday. JED Oh, yeah? RONI Yeah, my mom, okay this is really weird. ABBEY It shouldn't be, cause first of all, we don't know for sure if I am your mom, or that he is your dad. And second of all, even if we are, we understand that you were raised by other people and you are more inclined to call them mom and dad. RONI Glad you understand. It's still weird, cause for one, I do know you are my biological parents. Anyway, my, uh, my mom is a devoted Catholic, she lives her life for the Catholic church. She used to be the parish council president, and for as long as I can remember, she has always played the piano at church. Uh, where was I going....oh yeah. So with her being so devoted, I suppose a little of it has rubbed off onto me, for I have yet to miss a weekend of church, and I don't really plan on starting now. I mean, there's not many teens that can say that about themselves, in fact, there are not many people period who can say that about themselves, and I would like to remain in the tiny percent that can say it. JED Really? You never missed one weekend, not even one. Talk about impressive. RONI Yeah, well what can I say, I like being Catholic. ABBEY Well, if you are our daughter, and you do stick around, we will make sure that you get to church. RONI Cool. ABBEY So you are going to stick around, if you are... RONI Yes, I will stick around, and yes I am your daughter. [Two days later in the Oval Office. Jed is sitting at his desk reading and signing some paperwork, with Nancy standing behind him. Mrs. Landingham enters.] NANCY Right there, Mr. President. MRS. LANDINGHAM Excuse me, Mr. President. JED Yes, Mrs. Landingham. MRS. LANDINGHAM I have an envelope from the hospital's lab with results of a test that you requested. JED Thanks. Uh, Mrs. Landingham, before you go, would you call my wife and have her come down here right away? MRS. LANDINGHAM Sure thing, Mr. President. [Mrs. Landingham leaves.] JED Is that it, Nancy? NANCY Uh, no sir, I believe there is one more...yes, right here. Just sign at the bottom. [Nancy points to the bottom and Jed signs the paper then sets the pen down.] JED By the way, what was all of this? NANCY It's not important, sir. JED Cause this is the Oval Office, and I'm the President of the US of A, so anything I sign is of no importance, right, Nancy? NANCY Sir, I... [Mrs. Landingham enters again.] MRS. LANDINGHAM Excuse me again Mr. President, but your wife is here. JED Saved in the nick of time, Nancy. Thank you, Mrs. Landingham. Send her in, would you? [Mrs. Landingham and Nancy leave as Abbey enters.] ABBEY It's in? JED Hello to you too. ABBEY Hello...is it in? JED I'm fine, thanks for asking. ABBEY JED! Yes or no, is it in? JED Yes. [After a little pause] ABBEY Well? JED I haven't looked at it yet. I was waiting for you. Here, you open it. [Jed hands the envelope to Abbey. She rips it open and reads what it says as a tear falls down her cheek. Jed gets up, stands behind Abbey and puts his hands on her shoulders.] ABBEY It's her. She's our daughter. [Later that day, in a living room in the residence, Zoey and Roni are sitting on a couch, talking.] ZOEY How long have you known? RONI Known what? ZOEY All of this, that you were switched at birth and all. RONI Oh, well, I've known for a little while. ZOEY How long is a little while? RONI I don't know, maybe a year, year and a half. ZOEY A year or a year and a half. RONI Yeah, I found out shortly after you guys all got here, after he became POTUS. ZOEY And yet you're just now coming to us know with this info. RONI So? ZOEY I don't understand. If you've known for a year or longer, why did you wait so long to say anything? [Roni stands up and walks around as if feeling uneasy.] RONI Well it's not every day that you go to the President of the United States and say hey, remember when you and the first lady had a stillborn baby, well you didn't really, in fact, you had me. ZOEY I can't help but notice you did just that the other day. RONI Yes, yes I did. ZOEY So what changed? RONI Well, for one, I told all of this to one of my friends. Well, I left out the part about who my biological parents were, but I told all of this to him, and for the past few months he has been trying everything to convince me to come here and do this. He really is a good friend. At any rate I guess he finally got through. ZOEY What else? RONI What else? ZOEY You said for one. So what's for two? RONI For two is extremely personal and I don't care to share it with you at this particular moment in time. So how about them Celtics, huh? [Roni, still standing, is now pacing around the room.] ZOEY You changed the subject. RONI Yeah, I was hoping you would notice. ZOEY Why? RONI Cause I don't want to talk about this anymore. So, how 'bout them Celtics. ZOEY You like the Celtics? RONI Yeah, sure. Why not? ZOEY Dad does too. RONI Really? ZOEY Yeah. So, you're 17? RONI Yeah. And I couldn't help but notice that you just changed the subject. ZOEY So, what grade are you in? RONI And you did it again. Okay, I can take a hint. I'm gonna start college in the spring semester. [Still feeling a bit uneasy, Roni finally sits back down on the couch next to Zoey.] ZOEY But you're only 17. RONI Yes. ZOEY When is your birthday? Oh, never mind, I remember now. RONI What do you mean, you remember now? ZOEY Well, mom and dad used to celebrate your birthday by visiting the cemetery, after we moved away, they tried to keep celebrating it. But as time went on, they began to move on, emotionally, and were slowly able to put it behind them. [A short moment of silence as Zoey and Roni glance at each other.] ZOEY So what, did you skip a grade or something? RONI No, It's just the way it worked out with my birthday. The cut off date for the schools down there is right around my birthday. Had I been born a week later, then I'd just be starting my senior year of high school right now. ZOEY Down where? RONI Oh, I live in California, a city called Redlands. ZOEY Redlands. I've never heard of that city. What cities surround it? RONI Well, Riverside is right around there, that's pretty big. And uh, March Air Force Base was there, until it got shut down, uh, lets see, what else... ZOEY That's okay, I know where Riverside is. Ah. So what are you going to school for? RONI I was thinking about a major in psychology. ZOEY Why? RONI I don't know, it's just what I'm interested in. I can't explain it. ZOEY So why haven't you asked me any questions? RONI Believe it or not, but there are many books out there on the first family, and I've read a few of them, and they contain some info about you in them. Not to mention the fact that I pay close attention to the news, which you have been in a time or two in the past. ZOEY Okay. [Abbey enters the room, smiling because her two youngest daughters are talking and seem to like each other.] ZOEY Hello, mom. ABBEY Hey Zoey, hi Roni. RONI Hello, Mrs. Bartlet. ABBEY Don't call me that. Please Roni, call me Abbey, but not Mrs. Bartlet, if you want, you could even call me mom. RONI I suppose I can try to call you Abbey, but I wouldn't count on the mom thing, not.... ABBEY I understand, perhaps with time. RONI Perhaps. ABBEY So, what were you two girls talking about? ZOEY We were talking about college, Roni is starting in the spring. ABBEY Really, and what are you going to take? RONI What classes am I signed up for, or what am I majoring in? ABBEY Both. [Jed walks in to the room.] RONI Well I'm gonna major in psychology. So far I've signed up for philosophy 201, psychology 101, math 111, english 235, and history 105. JED You're taking math? Zoey, she's taking math. ZOEY Dad! I already told you why I'm not taking math. Do we have to do this again? JED I'm glad to see that book Charlie gave you has had a big influence. ZOEY The biggest, dad. JED Yet you're not gonna take math. ABBEY So Roni, do you have a boyfriend? RONI Uh, no, no one in particular. JED What's that supposed to mean? RONI Well there is no special guy in my life, right now. JED That's good to hear. ABBEY Zoey, how are you and Charlie doing? You two haven't gone out in a while. ZOEY Yeah, he's been having problems getting babysitters lately, but we're going out tomorrow night. JED Can we stop talking about this? ZOEY No dad, sooner or later you're going to have to come to terms with the fact that I am dating, I am 19, I am female, it was bound to happen sooner or later. JED Yeah, but I was always hoping that it would be later and not sooner. [Leo comes in to the room.] LEO Excuse me, sir. JED Leo, I'm sorry, I totally forgot about you. LEO Yeah, I figured. JED Roni, are you busy right now? RONI No Mr. President, not really. JED It's Jed, or it's dad, it's not Mr. President. RONI Okay. JED The reason I was asking, is cause we need a moment of your time to go over something before tomorrow. RONI Tomorrow? [Abbey and Roni are standing right outside of the Oval Office.] ABBEY Are you nervous? RONI Nervous. Why? Do I have anything to be nervous about? ABBEY No, it's just not every day that something like this happens. RONI You're telling me. ABBEY So you want a few pointers? RONI About what? ABBEY About the people you're about to meet. RONI Sure, why not. ABBEY Well, most of them are harmless... [Fade out on Roni and Abbey get up and walk towards Leo and Jed who then leave, as Zoey turns on the TV. Fade in on the oval office, the next morning, with all of the staffers and their secretaries present, talking amongst themselves, wondering why they are all there.] JED Excuse me. Excuse me everyone. You're probably all wondering what you are doing here. So here it is. My wife and I received some news yesterday and I wanted to be the first to tell all of you, before any rumors have a chance to start up. Seventeen years ago, my wife Abbey gave birth to what we thought was a stillborn baby. Only it turns out that the baby she gave birth to was not stillborn, and is very much alive. Apparently the nurses accidentally switched the babies at birth and when they discovered they did so, it was too late to correct it, or so they thought. The reason that I am telling all of you this is that a few days ago, this girl showed up in Leo's office... [Jed walks over to the door and opens it.] JED...and, well, yesterday it was confirmed that she is indeed our daughter. [Abbey and a young female walk in.] JED Everyone, this is my daughter, Veronica Lynn Williams, or Roni for short. [Slowly we move around the room focusing on everyone's reactions.] RONI Hello. [Longest ten seconds of silence ever, followed by a lot of commotion among the staffers and secretaries.] SAM Do we get cigars? JED No, sorry, remember Josh told me that I quit smoking years ago. CJ Sir... JED CJ, I bet you're wondering what I want you to tell the press. CJ Yes sir, I guess I am. JED Leo, Abbey, Roni, and I worked on a press release last night. Of course you, Toby and Sam will probably want to look at it first and make any changes. I don't mind you telling the press that I have a daughter, but she would prefer it if nobody knows her name just yet. And to clear up any confusion, I'm telling you right now, Roni has the final say of how much info about her gets released. CJ Yes, sir. LEO CJ, it's on my desk right now, just come by afterwards and get it. JOSH Well, Roni, you seem to have just been ignored here. I, being the wonderful guy that I am, would like to say hello. I'm Josh Lyman, Deputy Chief of Staff. RONI So you're the one with the secret plan to fight inflation. [Josh, looking embarrassed at the same time.] JOSH Yes, I guess that would be me. RONI So was it just me, or did you not only create this plan, but then you didn't even support it? JOSH Actually, you are not the first to point that out. However, I would like to know how you came to this realization considering none of that was made clear in any of the articles. RONI Margaret, Mr. McGarry's secretary told me the other night when she was keeping me company. [Leo and Josh both look at Margaret with a very irritated, playful, unamused look.] LEO Really! RONI Yep, but don't worry Mr. McGarry, she only spoke nicely about you. Like how much of a fatherly figure you are to everyone here. SAM So what did she say about me? I'm Sam Seaborn. RONI Well Sam, she said that you accidentally slept with a call girl, that you are dating Mr. McGarry's daughter, or trying to, and that you hit on his wife some time ago. [Sam gives same look to Margaret that Leo and Josh gave her.] SAM Ah, I see, so nothing good. RONI Well she did mention that you are involved in the Big Brother Big Sister program. SAM You know that doesn't sound as good when it follows the other three things. So what else? RONI She also told me that CJ has a crush on a reporter and she also needs to learn how to use a treadmill. CJ First, I do not like Danny, and second, she told you about the treadmill? Margaret, how'd you find out about that? MARGARET Ginger told me. CJ Ginger? GINGER Donna told me, CJ. DONNA Don't look at me, CJ. Josh is the one that told me. JOSH Don't look at me either, CJ, you're the one that told me. CJ Yes, well I meant for that to be kept quiet. DONNA Boy, did you tell the wrong person. JOSH Don't yell at me, CJ. CJ Why not? JOSH Cause I don't want to get in trouble with you again. By the way, did I mention that you look great today? [Jed laughs, as CJ gives Josh an I'm-gonna-get-you-later look.] CJ So what else did she tell you? RONI Well, she also told me all about Toby's stock market experience and Charlie dating Zoey and how he likes to mock the President. CHARLIE It's not like I do it that often, no more than ten times. JED 10!? I'm only aware of about five times. CHARLIE Oh, uh, I must have miscounted sir. JED Sure. But you know we're not through with this. TOBY I would just like to go on record as saying that I still think Sam's answer to my stock market situation really stinks. JOSH So Roni, is that all that she told you? RONI No, she told me some other things too, but don't you think that I already got her into enough trouble for now? JOSH Absolutely not.... [As the talking continues between Roni and the rest of the people in the room, Abbey and Jed step to the side whispering to each other.] JED See. There was nothing to worry about, it's going great. ABBEY Yes, you were right, once again. However... JED Abbey! ABBEY Okay, Okay. However... JED Abbey! ABBEY Can I just say one thing? JED I guess, cause you're gonna say it anyway. So what is it? ABBEY She's just like you. JED How's that? ABBEY Just look at how she's working the room. [Roni glances at Jed and Abbey and smiles, they smile back as we fade out.] THE END
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