"Okay, so tell me what's so bad that I have to go rushing back to Washington." Jed, Abbey and Leo sat out on the deck, Jed and Abbey nursing bottles of lime filled Corona's and Leo sipping his Perrier.

"It's Hoynes. He's been leaking things to the press. It was he who leaked the NASA Mars information."

"Why the hell would he do that?" Jed took a pull from his beer. "What leverage does he gain?"

"He gets to look like a big shot in the eyes of his mistress."

"Whoa, whoa, back up. He's leaking information because of a mistress?"

"No, he's been leaking information TO his mistress and his mistress has been passing it along to the press."

"Are you sure about this, Leo?" Abbey asked. "I mean we aren't talking National Enquirer stuff here, are we? There are always impressionable young women who specifically come to Washington to "make it" with the powerful politicians. Are you sure this girl was even his mistress?" Abbey's heart was aching for Suzanne Hoynes and she was praying that, despite John's reputation, this was all a mistake.

"Oh, this was no impressionable young girl making something out of nothing. Our Vice President has been passing the time with none other than Helen Baldwin."

"Helen Baldwin!" Abbey was surprised. She had met Helen on a few occasions. Helen was one of those members of wealth and society that seem to live for nothing but schmoozing with the powerful elite. It didn't surprise her that Helen was carrying on with a member of the government, what did surprise her was that John was fooling around with her. Helen was no young bimbo she was a woman the same age as she and Suzanne.

"She hardly seems like the type that John would have an indiscretion with." Jed added his own disbelief.

"Oh, this was no brief indiscretion. This has been going on for a while. John admitted everything when Josh confronted him with all the phone calls he'd made to her from the White House."

"He called her from the WHITE HOUSE!" Jed fumed with indignation. "Damn him, he ought to have more respect for the office than that!"

"Jed" Abbey touched his elbow in an effort to keep his temper from exploding.

"Yes, he called her from the White House and apparently he keeps her in an apartment in Georgetown. He's admitted all of it, including the fact that he's told her all kinds of stuff true and untrue to make himself look good and now she's writing a tell all book."

"Oh, this just gets better and better. What kind of woman would do that?"

"The kind of woman who fucks a married man," Abbey said bitterly. "That stupid son of a bitch. We warned him he was going to get himself into trouble."

"What?" Leo looked puzzled. "You knew about this?"

"Not this incident, but we'd heard the rumors and we kind of experienced the real John last summer campaigning in Texas."

"It's a long story." Abbey's eyes urged Jed not to go on.

"We have a while until Air Force One is ready to go. Why don't you tell me."

"It was nothing really," Abbey tried to brush it off.

Jed knew Leo well enough to know that he would not drop it. "Abbey and I were fooling around in John and Suzanne's garden the night of the big fundraiser and Abbey couldn't find�well part of her undergarments. So, she had to go back the next morning to look for it.

"Hoynes had already found it." Abbey said.

"What kind of undergarment are we talking here?" There wasn't much that his two best friends could do anymore that would shock him.

"A thong." Jed was so matter of fact it took Leo a moment to register what he said but when he did his mind immediately pictured Abbey in a sexy thong and his face burned red.

Well, he amended to himself, there were still a few things that could surprise if not shock him and picturing Abbey Bartlet naked in John Hoynes garden save for a thong was one of them. "So, he, uh, found your thong. What happened then?"

"Nothing really, Leo. He just taunted me a bit with it. Made it very clear that if I were so inclined he was very interested."

"That BASTARD!" Leo spat. "How DARE he insult you like that!"

"It's okay, Leo. Jed took care of it."

"What did you do to him?" He turned to Jed wondering how all of this had gone on under his nose without his knowledge.

"I went to the house, shoved him into a wall and told him if he so much as looked at my wife again he was off the ticket. He got the hint."

"So, evidently our Vice President is a bit of a whore." Abbey sucked on wedge of lime. "Not only does he have a wife AND a mistress, but he's also doing other women as well."

"How are we going to deal with this, Leo?"

"We're already re-elected, this is going to hurt him far worse than it will hurt us. The most it will effect us is in being a distraction and of course the Republicans will love making you either have to denounce him or condone his behavior."

"I don't CONDONE his behavior, Leo. You KNOW that. It's reprehensible. But, it's also a matter that should be privately dealt with by John and Suzanne only. His sex life, as disgusting as it may be, is nobody else's business."

"I agree, but Ms. Baldwin is making it everyone's business."

"Well, we aren't going to solve anything here. When can I see him?"

"He's talking to Suzanne right now. As soon as we get back he'll come to see you."

"I better go help Izzy pack the kids stuff." Abbey stood and threw her bottle in the trash.

"Abbey, you don't have to come. Stay here and enjoy the rest of the week with the kids."

"I want to go back. Suzanne is going to need some heavy-duty emotional support. I'd like to be there for her. I can't even imagine what she is going through right now having her husband telling her all about his mistress. I mean that's just got to destroy her." Abbey shuddered at the thought

****

Jed and Leo were out on the portico when John Hoynes finally approached them.

"You've talked to Suzanne?" Jed asked. His heart still bled for what this man had done to that decent, kind woman.

" I'm sorry, sir?" John looked puzzled. It was not the first question he had expected the President to ask.

"You've talked to Suzanne?"

"Yeah"

"What happened?" Leo asked, clearly ready to get right to the heart of the matter.

"You know what happened."

"Tell me again. How many times? When did it start?"

"I don't think it matters." John was clearly not comfortable discussing this with them.

"I'll tell you what, Mr. Vice President. For this moment, tonight, I'm going to be in charge of deciding what matters. 47 phone calls? Did you not know that the White House keeps records of phone calls? Did you not know that? How many times? When did it start?"

"It is none of your business." John was not going to discuss this with someone whom he felt was underneath him on the chain of command. But for the moment, the President appeared to be letting Leo take control of the situation.

"I'm about to read about it in a book."

" Then read about it!" John spat.

"Didn't it ever occur to you that she might do this?"

" No. I didn't think she would."

"You were wrong." Jed stated flatly. He hated having this discussion. Adultery hurt everyone involved, the wife, the children, and in this case the entire credibility of his White House. He had spent his entire life committed to the vows that he had made Abbey on their wedding day. Given easy opportunity he had always remained faithful to her and he was proud of that. He did not like being tarred with the same brush as John Hoynes.

"Do you think there's anyone else behind this?" Leo asked. For Leo the question was not the morality of what John had done but simply how to fight back.

"I don't know."

" Do you think she may have been coached by Republican Leadership?"

"I don't know"

"John, if we are going to weather this, then we're going to have to... "

"We're not going to weather this"

"We will. "

" We won't. I'm resigning."

"If we're going to do this, we've got to start tonight, now, and I need you thinking now and not giving up..." Jed wasn't happy with what John Hoynes had done, was in fact thoroughly pissed at him for dragging them through the mud, but he also did not believe that what his Vice President did in his personal life was cause for him to leave his job.

"Yes, sir, I'm resigning the Vice Presidency."

"What about "It's none of your business?"

"I leaked classified information. It is their business. It's also a felony."

" Are you in a position to deny it?" Leo asked.

" No."

" She's made a seven-figure book deal. She's not going to have a lot of credibility"

"Well, since when does she need credibility?"

"Apologize and move on. Accept responsibility. You don't need to disclose details. She's going to take care of that for you. You're going to be the dinner special for two months, and then you've got two and half years to get the nomination." Jed knew as well as most Americans that many of their greatest leaders had not been saints, had had affairs. He didn't consider John to be a great leader but he still truly did not believe that the man should give up all he had worked so hard to achieve simply because he had a mistress and that mistress was writing a kiss and tell.

"I'm not getting the nomination"

" In the middle of MS, it looked like we were never going to recover, and we did." Jed tried to buck the man up.

" Which is why it is never going to happen again�. That was it. That was the one you get."

"Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Vice President, if my multiple sclerosis was a bummer for your sex life." Jed's carefully controlled anger began to rear its ugly head. " How the hell did you do this to us! You can't resign, John. It's a terrible signal to send."

"Sir, if I stay, it sabotages an entire agenda, and you know I'm right, and the party's going to need a candidate that can win. And I think the least I think I can do for Suzanne is not to drag her through it so much."

Jed knew that he was right, that it was the only honorable thing to do, given the enormity of what he had done to his family." Is there more? Is there another shoe, 'cause if it's a series of..." Jed knew damn well there were more, there had to be more and they would all come crawling out as soon at that book hit the shelves of the local bookstores.

" I'd imagine she's going to describe... "

"You're still going to get dragged through it. It's not going to change anything. Only now, you're going to be out there alone, with no mechanism or apparatus for a comeback." Leo knew the press wouldn't let it go even if Hoynes did resign.

" Leo..."

"Which I'm telling you, you can do. You can make it. I can help you."

"I don't want to take my family through it."

"You're a giant, John. You're a U.S. Senator, the Vice-President of the United States, and presumptive nominee of your party. You cannot be taken down by this... cheap person and her customers huddled around Macy's window waiting for someone to turn themselves inside out. It's cause for divorce, not resignation. You cannot be taken down by this cheap person."

Jed looked contemplative and John knew exactly what he was thinking. That "that woman" was not the only "cheap" person in this affair. It took two to tango and he was just as much to blame as Helen was. "The President knows I'm right. So do you. The truth is, I took an oath, too... so... "

"Didn't you have any sense that this was the kind of person who would do this? " Jed had no idea of what kind of woman would shack up with a married man and then turn around and sell all the lurid details to the world. It was truly beyond his comprehension.

" Hasn't it been your experience that they look pretty much like the people who wouldn't?"

" Well, I want you to sleep on it. I want all of us to sleep on it."

" Thank you, Mr. President." John turned to leave.

"John," Jed stopped him in midstride.

"Yes, sir?"

"Can I just ask you, why?"

"Why, sir?"

"You have a lovely wife, a lovely home, you have two great kids, you're the Vice President of the United States with a great chance to be President some day. Why would you piss that all away for a few thrills with another woman?"

"I didn't think I'd get caught."

"Excuse me?" That was clearly not the answer that Jed was looking for.

"I guess I wanted my cake and to eat it too. Only in my case the cake got shoved in my face." John turned and this time left for good.

****

Abbey arrived at the Vice President's mansion in an unmarked car with little overt secret service presence. She did NOT want the press making a huge deal out of her visit to see Suzanne. The butler answered the door and led Abbey into the sitting room. Suzanne was standing by the fireplace and when she turned to see Abbey as she entered the room the ravages of the day were imprinted on her face. Her slightly puffy eyes belied the fact that she had been crying although she was now doing her best to remain poised.

"Suzanne?" Abbey moved forward to take the other woman's hands in hers.

"I take it you've heard."

"Yes, I'm so sorry. If there is anything that I can do�"

"Castrate my husband?"

"Well, I can't say that he wouldn't deserve it."

"I just can't believe it. He promised me. He PROMISED me that all of this was behind us. That once we got here to Washington he would be turning over a new leaf."

"I take it Hel� that she wasn't the first."

Suzanne gave a half smile of thanks for Abbey's sensitivity at not using the "other " woman's name. Just hearing it caused the bile to rise in her throat.

"No, she wasn't the first."

"And you KNEW about these other women? God Suzanne, how could you live with that?"

"At first I thought they were just rumors. You know how rumors go when it comes to a handsome politician. Every pretty girl they shake hands with is suddenly their mistress. I believed John when he told me they were only rumors. But, then I caught him in the act. Right in my garden, right where you and the Pres�" Suzanne cut herself off abruptly.

"Ah, so you heard about that." Abbey smiled trying to put her at ease.

"At least it was YOU that your husband was with. My husband was with a 19 year old campaign worker when I caught him with his pants down."

Abbey sucked in her breath and took Suzanne's hand. She didn't know what she would have done, how she would have lived with finding Jed in a similar situation. "I can't imagine what that must have been like for you."

"Finding your husband screwing another woman does something to you." She said bitterly. "It strips you of everything you ever believed about yourself, about your husband, about your marriage. It was hell. I freaked out, absolutely went nuts. I told him I was filing for divorce and that I was taking the children away from him and that it was completely and totally over."

"What happened? Why did you stay with him?"

"Because I loved him." Suzanne's eyes were swimming with tears. "My children were still in school and I just couldn't destroy my family. John promised me, he promised me he'd turn over a new leaf and there would be no other women. I was such a gullible fool to believe him."

"You're not a fool, Suzanne. You're a forgiving, loving person who got duped."

"THREE YEARS, Abbey. He's been keeping her for THREE YEARS. All those nights when he was supposedly at staff meetings or embassy functions, all those weekends I went home to Texas, he was THERE. He was there at THEIR apartment fucking her." Suzanne started to cry then and Abbey pulled her gently into her arms.

"What did I do wrong?" She sobbed. "Was I not sexy enough? Was I not good enough in bed? Did I not make him feel good about himself or that he was the most important person in the world to me? WHAT DID I DO WRONG!"

"It's going to be okay, Suzanne, really it is. You'll get through this."

"I know." Suzanne sniffed pulling out of Abbey's embrace. "I lived it through it once, I guess I can live through it again. It's just, oh, God, Abbey, I have to tell my CHILDREN that their father has been having an affair with another woman. I have to live with this humiliation. It's going to be all over newspapers and magazines and tabloids. The whole WORLD is going to know."

"If you don't mind my asking, what are you going to do, Suzanne?"

"What do you mean?"

"About your marriage."

"Do you mean am I going to weather the storm and then divorce John when the job is over?"

"I don't know. Is that what you intend to do?" Abbey knew she would not be able to sleep in the same bed with Jed, be married to him if had betrayed her in such a manner.

"I don't have to worry about it. John is resigning."

"He's resigning!" Abbey's eyes widened with surprise.

"Yes, he's telling the President right now."

"But, why? Other politicians have weathered the storm."

"With their wives by their side."

"You're leaving him?"

"No, I gave him a choice. John wants the Presidency so bad he can taste it. I don't want the complete humiliation and degradation of living in the Capitol when this story breaks so I made him a deal. If he quits now I won't divorce him and if things settle down in couple years he may be able to make a comeback and run again."

"And you can live with that? You can live with the adultery?"

"I don't have much choice. My life is completely tied up with John. I can't give that all up and I won't give THAT TRAMP the satisfaction of making me give it all up."

"You're a strong woman, Suzanne. If Jed and I can ever help you in any way."

"That question of castration is still on the table."

Abbey took Suzanne's hand the two shared a sad weary smile.

****

Abbey returned to the Residence to find Jed and Leo sitting in the living room watching a baseball game and weighing their options.

"Well, how did it go?" Jed asked, seeing her pale, tired face.

"Well, it certainly wasn't fun. I'd love to castrate John just as Suzanne asked me to." Abbey kicked off her shoes wearily and moved to sit down next to her husband on the couch.

"Well, if it's any consolation he's trying to do the honorable thing."

Abbey had started to tuck her legs up underneath her and curl up to Jed's side but instead pulled back with indignation. "Honorable! How can you even use that word to describe any part of John Hoynes? That man has been cheating on Suzanne for ages, from 19 year old campaign workers to Helen Baldwin."

Jed winced. Men could be such dogs and he was one of them. He didn't particularly like the association at the moment. "She knew?"

"Some of it. She didn't know about Helen. John was supposedly a "new man" after she caught him with the campaign worker and threatened him with divorce. Let me ask you, Jed. Did you know about Helen?"

"Would I have been as shocked if I had?"

"I don't mean that it was Helen per se. Did you know John was tomcatting around Washington?"

"No." He said truthfully. "I heard the rumors of course, but you know there are always rumors."

"I guess we should have known that where there is smoke there is fire. You know when I was campaigning I met a woman who was stunned that in four years there hadn't been a hint of sexual scandal to your name, well unless you count the stuff the two of us have been nailed for. She was SURPRISED because I think most people by now believe all politicians and people in power behave that way. And do you know why? Because of people like John Hoynes. I tried to tell her that there were plenty of good faithful men in the House and in the Senate, many terrific marriages. But who's going to believe that? Nobody hears about them, because morality and faithfulness is BORING and because it doesn't sell magazines."

"Until you run for office," Jed reminded her. "Then you better make sure your private life can live up to the scrutiny."

"It's why people have such a warped view. They only get to see the bad. They never see the good. And that is because of selfish bastards like John Hoynes."

"I agree with you, Abbey. What I meant by honorable is that at least he is putting his family first. He's resigning the Vice Presidency so Suzanne and the kids won't get dragged through the mud for quite so long and so the administration won't get sidetracked."

"Don't let him fool you, sweetheart," Abbey sniffed derisively. "He's giving it up because Suzanne is making him. She gave him an ultimatum, either they leave and try to regroup in a few years or she is out the door."

"That son of a bitch!" Jed slammed his glass on the coffee table with more force than he'd planned. "He had me BELIEVING that he cared about his family, that he was putting them and this administration first, when all he was doing was plotting a new way to get the PRESIDENCY!

"Jed�stop" Abbey gently grabbed his arm and nodded toward the doorway. Nicholas was standing there wearing just his pajama top and a diaper, his eyes wide and the fingers of one hand in his mouth. Tigger was dangling listlessly from his fingertips to the floor.

"Hey, Nicky, what are you doing up?" Jed consciously softened his tone.

"Daddy mad?" The little boy sounded wary and Jed didn't want that in any way associated with him.

"Not at you, little guy. Come here." Jed opened his arms and Nicky clambered up into his lap. "Daddy's not mad at anyone here." He kissed the top of the boy's head.

Leo smiled, tender warmth filling his chest. The child really did look like his father and it was a joy to watch Jed with his children, to watch the love and affection that softened him when he was in their presence. A joy Abbey obviously shared because she too was smiling tenderly at the duo, her own hand running up and down Nicky's forearm.

"I just don't understand it, Abbey." Jed continued to stroke Nicky's hair and kiss the top of his head. "Why would a man take a chance with losing his family?"

"I don't know, Jed." Abbey took his hand. "I'll just be forever grateful that you've never taken a chance with yours.

TBC...