Turning down the hall, Leo saw the painting of George Washington hanging
on the wall at the end. He approached the painting and stared at it
carefully, musing over everything that had happened that day. He stared at
George's eyes and tried to think of a reason why the former president could
be smirking so. He shook his head.

"You tell me something," He started, talking softly to the
two-dimensional image of a dead man. "How is it possible that you could help
create a revolution, lead a country into independence, raise a family and
still be the sane man you were when you died? For crying out loud, all you
did was chop down a cherry tree and everyone knows who you are." Leo added in
a sharp whisper. "How did you do it, when I can't keep my marriage together,
my daughter is a nut, the kid that I've been trying to help make a better
life just keeps getting racked with trauma and I'm not even the goddamn
president; I'm the chief of staff and I can't hold my own life together. God
knows what would happen if we went to war." He added in a soft grump.

With a sigh, Leo starting moving again, drifting through the hallways
with no real purpose except to think over all the things that were happening
in his life. He'd moved back into the apartment already, taking some time off
to do so that he could get out of Jenny's way before she got home. So all he
had to do was climb into the car and drive back to the apartment. He'd kept
it this whole time, just in case things didn't work out. And now that things
hadn't, he didn't know what to do with himself. He was happy. He was single
and he was happy. He'd spent his life thinking he'd die married to Jenny, but
now he knew that things wouldn't be that way and he wasn't as sad as he
thought he should be.

"So we still gonna do this?" Abbey asked softly. Joss shrugged, deep in
thought and confusion.

"They're going to Philadelphia for the funeral over the weekend. I don't
know what kind of mood she's going to be in." He replied honestly. Abbey
sighed and nodded.

"God, Jed, why do things like this happen? Just when something so joyful
happens, a tragedy strikes and we're back where we started." Abbey said
softly as she moved to snuggle into her husband's side. They were sitting on
the couch in their room, just trying to stay sane.

"I don't know. All I can say is that the Lord works in mysterious ways,
but I hate it when people say that. All it means is that we don't know." Jed
replied as he moved an arm around her shoulders. "I get so torn sometimes. I
can't stop doing my job long enough to be there for her, and I want to. It
makes it so hard to work, trying to be a human being and the President at the
same time."

"I know, sweetie. I'm sure she knows too. We all do. The weight of the
world sometimes has to rest on your shoulders." She replied softly looking up
into his eyes. "I just wish we could stop things like this from happening."
She admitted. Jed nodded and kissed her forehead.

"We're trying to make the world a better place. KD told me today that we
have to think big and start small. I wonder how small we have to start, if we
have to start with the drunk drivers." He muttered.

"Was the driver drunk?" Abbey asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not sure. I haven't read the report, actually, but I thought I heard
someone say as such." Jed admitted.

"Oh." She replied softly. "We have to go to sleep. We have the Arizona
conference tomorrow." She added and got to her feet before heading for the
bed. Jed nodded, but didn't move. Abbey looked back at him and then just went
to bed. Jed followed a few minutes later, but he had to stop and think about
how imperfect the world really was. As he rested his head into the pillow,
the thought occurred to him that he wasn't as powerful as he had always
thought he was. But he couldn't save everyone. It was a thought that
disturbed him.

KD stared at the wall. It was something on three o'clock in the morning,
but she wasn't sure. Staring at the wall was all that was on her mind. No,
not really. She thought of the last time she'd talked to Ross, the last time
she'd seen him. She didn't want to dwell on thoughts like that, but she
couldn't help it. Thinking of death did so much to her. She didn't understand
it. Actually, she did but she didn't want to. Death was such a scary thing,
something she'd faced herself many times, but she wasn't ready for it when
someone else she knew died. What was she going to say at his funeral?

"Katy?" A soft voice exclaimed tiredly. She turned and saw Toby stumble
through the doorframe. There were no lights on, so it was hard for him to
see, but he found his way to her on the couch and sat next to her. She leaned
into him, sighing a little as he slipped his arms around her.

"Why, Toby?" She asked softly. Toby brushed her hair out of her eyes and
kissed her forehead gently.

"I don't know, sweetie." He admitted. She rested her head in his lap and
stared up at him. She felt so numb.

"I wish you had met him." She said softly. He smiled weakly and stroked
her face with his fingers. She smiled back, feeling better with his touch.

"I wish I had too." Toby replied. "Tell me about him, maybe?" He asked.
She sat up again and cuddled against his side.

"He liked to laugh. You remind me of him sometimes. He was taller
though." She said, slightly teasing. Toby smiled and held her closer,
listening quietly. "He had dark brown hair that was turning gray. He never
liked to hurt people. He always believed in brains before brawn, thinking and
negotiating before resorting to violence. He tried to teach me that, but I
was a bit of a brat, almost bloodthirsty, I guess. I did learn eventually,
though." She added. "He taught me a lot about how to be myself. I was always
so afraid that I wasn't a good enough person, or that I had wasted my life,
and he'd be there to listen to me. He would always tell me that the kind of
person we are is related to how we're received by others. How people treat us
reflects how they think of us. I remember telling him that it sounded like he
was saying that the measure of our lives is how many people show up to our
funeral." She said softly, her eyes brimming a little. Toby kissed her
forehead gently.

"And by the quality of the people there. You're gonna be there, sweetie,
and he's gonna be watching you, from wherever he is. He is watching right
now, and he knows you love him." He assured her softly.

"I was never so sure about the afterlife. All I know is that I wanted
there to be an afterlife, but I never knew what it would be. If he is
watching me, I hope he knows that everything I've ever done of value, I did
it for him, to make him proud of me. He was like a big brother, Tobe." She
replied, snuggling closer to him and trying not to cry. Toby held her as
close as he came, resting his arms around her. They sat together in the still
of the night.

"He still is." Toby said softly.

"Yeah." KD replied with a weak smile, looking up at her fiancé. "What
time does our plane take off?" She asked softly. Toby glanced at his watch.

"I was gonna wake you up at six, but that's about two and a half hours
away. Plane takes off at seven thirty." He replied. KD nodded and rested her
head on his chest. "You wanna go back to sleep, or watch a movie or
something?" He asked softly with a small yawn. KD looked at him with a weak
smile and nudged his nose. He smiled back.

"You're a tired bug." She teased. "Let's go to bed." He nodded and helped
her to her feet. The two trudged down the hall to their bed and slowly fell

back to sleep. But the sleep was haunted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

// "Beautiful day." The soft voice exclaimed. KD looked around and tried to
see what her surroundings were. Her first thought was confusion, and then
fear, but finally her heart set at rest as she saw the tall man approaching
her. Ross smiled and glanced around the misty plane.

"How can you tell?" She asked softly. He laughed and shrugged.

"It's all in how you perceive it." He assured her. KD nodded and looked
around as the sight she saw before her began to change. Colors emerged and
things began to take shape. As she turned in her stance, she watched the
formation of a green hill, trees in the distance, a sun shining brightly and
an ocean in the distance, complete with crashing waves.

"Indeed." She whispered and then looked at him.

"What changed, Katy?" Ross asked as he arrived by her side. KD looked out
at the ocean and shook her head.

"I wish I knew. I never could understand." She replied.

"Oh, but you could. You just never let yourself understand." He retorted.
She turned and looked him in the eye, a little surprised.

"Never let myself?" She repeated.

"There are many mysteries to the universe. You want answers, but what you
fail to realize is that you avoid the right questions." He replied, staring
off into the distance.

"Always there to teach a lesson, Ross, and I don't understand what the
hell you're trying to say. Hell, you're dead, so I don't even know how you
can be standing here trying to tell me how to live my life." Katy retorted
before following his gaze. "All I can do is remember the good times with you,
and yet here you are, trying to tell me something."

"I'm trying to tell you that there are rough seas ahead." Ross exclaimed.

"There aren't rough seas now?" She retorted.

"Katy, one thing I know about you is that you always had to be nailed
down. I teased you about, brought a hammer to work, but the fact remains that
you could never let yourself be happy." Ross said softly as he looked at her.
She blinked and looked at him.

"Ross, what are you saying?"

"Don't give up so easily. You deserve what you get, kid." \\

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KD woke up quickly and looked around. She felt the tears dripping down
her face as she glanced at the clock. Ten to six. She looked to her other
side and saw Toby sleeping on the pillow. He was on his side, his face half
buried into the pillow as he slept soundly. The dream disturbed her, but only
because she wanted it to be real. She didn't want to believe that Ross could
be dead, that he wouldn't be counseling her anymore. With a soft sigh, she
leaned back down into the bed and watched Toby carefully. Her eyes glided
over his face and she began to realize how much she truly loved him. She
smiled weakly as his eyes opened and met hers.

"Good morning." She whispered. He smiled back as he slipped his arms
around her and pulled her closer.

"Hi there." He said softly. "You okay?"

"I've been better." She admitted as she nudged his nose with her own. He
nudged her back and kissed her gently.

"You ready to get up?" He asked. She nodded and pulled herself up. He
moved with her as they both started their Saturday, their minds clouded with

the thoughts of what they had to do. It was going to be a dark weekend, they
knew. Toby's main worry was how KD was going to get through it. KD's main
worry was to decipher what Ross had been trying to tell her. Was she truly
afraid to let herself be happy?

"Leo?" CJ asked as she leaned into the chief of staff's office. Leo
looked up and nodded, waving the press secretary in. He was on the phone for
the moment but he had the strongest feeling he was not going to be for long.
CJ knew it too, smiling weakly as she sat down in one of his chairs.

"Senator, I highly sympathize, but I've been trying to tell you that
we've been working on this thing for four months. You could have voiced your
concerns a lot earlier than this." Leo exclaimed. "Senator, I have to go.
Bye." He added quickly, hanging up the phone. "CJ, thank you. I needed an
excuse. What can I do for you?" He asked as he sat down.

"I wanted to talk to you about you." CJ replied honestly. "When the press
asks me to comment on the fact that the White House Chief of Staff is facing
a divorce with his wife after everyone assumed there was a reconciliation. I
also wanted to know how you're feeling, off the record."

"You heard about that already, huh?" Leo asked softly. "You can tell the
press that the White House Chief of Staff and his wife made a mutual decision
that it was time for the two of us to move on to other things. I can't do to
Jenny what I did to her before, and she wants to try and see what else is out
there, CJ, and I won't stop her. I feel fine, strangely fine." He assured
her. CJ smiled and nodded, looking at her agenda then back up at him.

"Have you heard from KD or Toby yet?" CJ exclaimed. "The lucky kids who
don't have to work today?"

"I never said you had to be here, CJ." Leo replied playfully. "It's
Saturday. You can go home whenever you want. Go . . . have lunch with Danny
or something." He added. CJ blushed a little.

"If you insist, Leo." She replied playfully and left the room. Leo
watched her go with a soft smile. She was a good friend, and he was glad he
knew her. He was glad she worked on the staff, but he was more glad that she
was his friend. It made him feel good that she cared.

David rustled through the papers in his lower drawer, muttering softly.
It was a Saturday, and he was at work. The scary part was that he was there
because he wanted to be. He knew the damn note somewhere. A soft ahem brought
his gaze back up as he looked at Ginger.

"Hey, what are you doing here? It's Saturday." He exclaimed as he rose to
his feet. She laughed and nodded.

"I could say the same to you." She replied.

"I came to find this thing that KD wrote for me. The First Lady asked for
it. Also, KD's gonna be back on Monday and I want some stuff to be ready for
her." He added as he looked around, tapping his fingers on the desk. Ginger
nodded and sat down on the edge of his desk.

"When you're done, you wanna go get some lunch?" She asked. He smiled and
nodded, reaching up to brush the hair out of her eyes.

"Sounds great. Just let me-" He started when shouting down the hall
brought his attention away from her. "That voice." He murmured and headed for
the hall.

"I'm telling you, I have a right to be here." Nathaniel Beckwith snapped
to the young secret service agent. David stood in the hallway, staring down
its length, through the moving people, to reach his father's eyes. "See?
That's my son, right there."

"David." Ginger whispered as she put a hand on his shoulder. David looked
at her and then back at the man. One of the agents moved down the hallway to
stop in front of them.

"Do you know that man, Mr. Beckwith?" the agent asked. David wanted to
scream no and storm back to his desk. He wanted to pretend like this wasn't
happening, but he didn't know how.

"Yeah, he's my father." He replied softly. Ginger's face hardened as she
squeezed David's shoulder. The agent turned and nodded, releasing the barrier
that held Nathan back.

"David. Thank God you came along just then." The older man exclaimed as
he walked down the hall to meet his son.

"What the hell are you doing here?" David hissed. Nathan's face darkened.

"Don't talk to your father like that, David." He said sharply before
glancing at Ginger and smiling warmly. "Nathaniel Beckwith." He offered his
hand with a sparkle in his eye.

"I've heard a lot about you." Ginger replied, not shaking the hand and
looking at the man she cared about so deeply. "David, you okay? You still
want to go get some lunch?" She asked, giving him a way out. David looked at
her and then back at his father.

"I have to go to lunch, dad. Maybe you should come back some other time."
He said softly.

"Nonsense. Listen, young lady, I get to see my son very rarely, so would
you mind if I accomp-" Nathan started.

"Yes, I would. I would mind a great deal." Ginger interrupted. Nathan's
face darkened as he began to get angry. David looked at Ginger in shock.

"David, I . . . Hello." A strong voice stopped as its owner came to a
halt in front of the three of them. Nathan Beckwith turned to snap at the
interrupter but stopped and paled instead.

"Mr. President. Is there something I can do for you?" David asked,
secretly pleased at the sight of his father's awe.

"Yeah, I was going to ask you if you had that note that my wife is
searching for. Who's your visitor here?" Jed Bartlet asked with a smile as he
looked over the silently awed intruder.

"Sir, this is Nathaniel Beckwith. My father." David said stiffly. Jed
glanced at David. He knew of the trouble between father and son, and it
didn't make him feel that great to see the look in the younger Beckwith's
eyes. He glanced back at the elder one who had extended his hand.

"It is an honor to meet you, Mr. President." Nathan squeaked. Jed shook
the hand and nodded.

"Really? I must say, knowing who you are, I'm surprised to hear that.
Your son is quite busy working for us today. Try not to take too much of his
time." Jed exclaimed darkly. "David, the notice?" David nodded and made his
way back to his desk to the drawer. He fished through it some more and then
pulled out a small clip of papers.

"Here you go, sir." David exclaimed, holding out the papers to the
President.

"Tell you what, David. I've got to get to a meeting with the NSC. Could
you take it to Mrs. Bartlet yourself?" Jed asked.

"Mr. President, my son and I-" Nathan started.

"Yes?" Jed asked casually, a pleasant smile on his face. Nathan stopped
and looked at his son.

"Call me at the Sheraton when you're done here." He exclaimed sharply
before nodding to the president and making his way for the exit. Jed watched
the man leave and then turned back to David and took the papers from him.

"David, you don't have to do anything you don't want to." Jed said softly
before smiling and taking off down the hallway with his usual grin and
occasional playful comment to the people he saw. David watched the man go and
then looked at Ginger with a smile.

"How about that lunch now?" He asked with a grin.

To Be Continued . . .