Jed Bartlet just finished his day of being president, and was now
back in the residence of the White House. Remembering the little
chat he had with Zoey earlier, he decided to go check in on Roni.
"Hey Roni, is there anything you maybe want to talk about?"
"Yeah. Yeah there is. Could you sit down first?"
"Sure." He said, siting in the same chair Zoey pulled to the bed
earlier.
"Remember the trip to California?"
"Yeah."
"Remember how Pipsqueak said that when he met me I was running on the
beach saying that there were demons chasing me?"
"Yeah."
"Well I'm ready to talk about it now, that is, if you're ready to
hear it."
"I don't know if I'm ready, but you can tell me anyway."
"Okay, before I start, I feel the need to tell you that if you freak
out in any way, shape, or form, I will not continue with my story.
So you have to promise that no matter what you hear, you won't like,
yell, or scream, or anything. Promise?"
"I promise that I will try not to do any of those things."
"I suppose that's good enough."
Taking a deep breath, Roni began, "Keith tried to kill me. He tried
to stab me, and when I attempted to defend myself, he kicked me out
of the house, and I gladly ran away, never to return." With this, a
tear began to fall from one of her eyes.
"WHAT?!"
"Calm down."
"He tried to kill you?" Jed questioned, as he reached over and wiped
the tear off of Roni's face.
"Yeah, he came at me with a knife, and repeatedly tried to stab me."
Roni began to explain, as she realized Jed was really getting worked
up. "Calm down, or you don't get to hear the rest of my story."
"There's more?"
"Yes, there is more. All my life, I grew up thinking that what a
father does, is abuse his children. I grew up never hearing the
words 'I love you.' Never hearing any kind of encouraging words.
And then that night, when he tried to kill me, well, I just didn't
have the best example of what a father should be. That night, when I
was kicked out, or ran, whatever, I went to Kat and Piper's house.
They tried their hardest to help me deal with these demons, among
others that I will get into, but it took them forever and a day.
"When I found out that Keith wasn't my real father, I wasn't really
sure that I wanted to find out who was my real father, cause I was
afraid. I was afraid that the cycle would continue, that my real
father would also be abusive, for that's all I've ever known. With
some time, Piper convinced me that I should at least find out who my
father really was, and then decide if I wanted to meet him and stuff.
When I found out it was you, the Democratic Presidential candidate,
well, I was really shocked.
"Ever since that day that I found out it was you, I began to follow
the news, paying close attention to the race. I slowly began to get
to know you and Mom. But that wasn't enough. It was no guarantee
that the cycle wouldn't continue, for I was still in the mind set
that all fathers abused their children. After months of counseling,
Kat finally reached me, and helped me realize that these fears were,
uh, that they were not exactly accurate. She opened my eyes to the
idea that there are some loving families out there in the real world.
A couple weeks after that happened, Zoey joined you on the campaign
trail, and I began to see just how loving of a father you really
were. So right around the time that you were voted in, I was finally
emotionally ready to come meet you. I had dealt with my demons, or so
I thought.
"So, you've probably realized that there was about a year in between
when we first met and when you became president. Well, I was forced
to go back and live with Keith and Mary. As you can imagine, the
Williams' family didn't exactly change into the poster-boy family.
It started all over again, abusing me, making me think that all
fathers abuse their children, that all mothers sit back and watch.
Right around then is when I started acting up. Doing crazy things,
cause I no longer cared. The world had screwed me over more than
once, and I no longer cared. I tried my hardest to remember the
things Kat, Piper, and I talked about, but I began to fall into the
same old trap. That's when I knew I had to get out. I had to get
away from them. Right after graduation, I went to Piper and I told
him who my real family was. A few days later, I was here, in Leo's
office.
"So now you know. You know the entire story. My life story. My
biggest fears, my demons. You know it all. So what do you think?"
By this time, Roni had yet to really cry, but it was very clear that
she was about to.
"Roni, you know I'd never hurt you, right? You know I love you?"
"Yes, now I know, but then, then, I didn't know, or I didn't want to
know. Whatever the case, after a year and a half, I thought I had
finally gotten over that night, the only thing is that it turns out,
that I'm not really over that night. I've been thinking about it a
lot lately. That's what was going through my head this afternoon
when Zoey ran into me. That's what's been on my mind all day today."
Jed gets up and walks over to Roni's CD collection. After raiding
the CD's, he finally found the one he was looking for. He had heard
Roni play the song before, and he couldn't help but think of it when
she was telling her story. After he put it in the stereo, he went
over to where Roni was sitting on her bed. He sat back down, only
this time it was on the bed, not the chair. The song, Crash and
burn, sung by Savage Garden began to play.
When you feel all alone
And the world has turned its back on you
Give me a moment please to tame your wild wild heart
I know you feel like the walls are closing in on you
It's hard to find relief and people can be so cold
When darkness is upon your door and you feel like you can't
take anymore
Roni, letting her emotions get to her, stood up, as if she was going
to pace the room. Jed managed to snag her, and sit her back down.
He then took her hands into his.
Let me be the one you call
If you jump I'll break your fall
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night
If you need to fall apart
I can mend a broken heart
If you need to crash then crash and burn
You're not alone
When you feel all alone
And a loyal friend is hard to find
You're caught in a one way street
With the monsters in your head
When hopes and dreams are far away and
You feel like you can't face the day
No longer able to fight the tears, they begin to form in her eyes.
She looks down to the bed, and stares into space.
Let me be the one you call
If you jump I'll break you're fall
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night
If you need to fall apart
I can mend a broken heart
If you need to crash then crash and burn
You're not alone
Because there has always been heartache and pain
and when it's over you'll breathe again
You'll breathe again
Studying his daughter very carefully, Jed contemplated what he would
say when the song ended, as he saw the tears slowly begin to flow
from her damp eyes.
When you feel all alone
And the world has turned its back on you
Give me a moment please
To tame your wild wild heart
Let me be the one you call
If you jump I'll break your fall
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night
If you need to fall apart
I can mend a broken heart
If your need to crash then crash and burn
You're not alone
After the song ended, Jed placed his right hand under Roni's chin,
and lifted her head up, so as to look into her watery eyes.
"You're mother and I, we love you. We are here for you. Through
thick and thin, Roni, we will be here for you. We will never harm
you in any way. If you ever have a problem, no matter how small, you
come to me, or you come to your mother. We are here for you, kiddo.
If something happens to you, and you aren't sure how you feel, and
you need someone to talk to, we are here for you. We are here for
you, Roni. No matter what, we will always be here for you. In the
past, you've warded us off, telling us not to feel sorry for you, and
such. Now I understand that you are a very independent person, good
for you. But the thing is, you're not alone. You are not alone,
Roni. You have people here for you, who are willing to walk through
fire for you. All you need to do is ask. You hear me? All you need
to do is ask. We love you, Roni. I love you."
With that, Roni could no longer contain her tears, as they flooded
her cheeks. After Jed wiped her tears away, he embraced her in a hug,
and began to cry himself.
"I love you too, dad."
"Then let me help you. Let me help you finally put this all behind
you. Okay?"
"Okay, dad, okay. I'll let you help me, but you have to promise to
be gentle with me, this is a first."