In the Room

"LOOK AT ME!"

Jed's voice rang through the luxury hotel bathroom. Abbey was looking at him. She saw more than he did and certainly more than he thought she did.

He sighed and put his arms up on the ledge of the bathtub behind him. Abbey wanted to reach out to him, to give some tender touch to comfort him. She almost put her hand on his foot before realizing that he wouldn't feel it. That would just make everything worse. She took a breath before replying.

"What do you say we get you to bed, huh?" she suggested, hauling her aging body off the ground.

Jed nodded and began pushing himself up. Abbey called for Michael and Curtis to help. She stood by closely as they carried her husband to the bed. The Bartlets thanked them and Abbey closed the door behind them.

She turned around cocked her head with a forced smile. "Better?"

He didn't return her pleasant expression. "I didn't get to brush my teeth."

Abbey felt the tension emanating between them. She escaped back into the bathroom. Jed rolled his eyes and started fidgeting with the folders and files on the bed next to him that Abbey had been looking over just minutes before. He put her glasses onto the bedside table so they wouldn't get crushed.

Abbey returned. She handed him a washcloth, his toothbrush with toothpaste already on it, and a cup of water. "Brush, rinse, spit, wipe," she instructed.

He wanted to hate being babied like this, but truth be told, he was grateful for her ingenuity and problem-solving abilities. Jed couldn't help wondering if she had been thinking of things like this for years in preparation for this very moment.

As he brushed his teeth, Abbey bustled around the room, moving the wheelchair to the corner and putting the files on the desk. When he was finished brushing his teeth, she took everything back in the bathroom.

"Alright, let's get you undressed."

Jed nodded and unbuttoned his shirt. She helped him with the belt on his pants and pulled the trousers down his temporarily useless legs. Abbey put his clothes away and went to retrieve his pajamas. "I'll just sleep in the boxers and undershirt. Don't worry about it."

"Don't you think you'll get cold?"

He gave her a look that reminded her of his hearty New Hampshire stock. Jed Bartlet didn't get cold.

"Alright, fine," she conceded. Abbey took the opportunity to finally get herself ready for bed. She could feel her husband's eyes on her as she got undressed and put on her nightgown. She could help but smile to herself. She turned back to him. "Budge over, Jethro."

"Don't call me that," he replied automatically. "Wait, what?"

"You're on my side. In the midst of all of this, something needs to be normal. You sleep on my left. I sleep on your right. We've been doing it for nearly four decades. So scoot."

Jed groaned in annoyance but did as she commanded anyway. She pushed his legs as he pulled his body to the correct side of the bed. "Happy now?"

Abbey didn't respond. She just put lotion on her arms and legs, and turned out the light before getting into bed beside him.

"Are you okay?" he asked. His soft voice cut through the darkness.

Abbey chuckled cynically. "I'm fine."

"No, I'm serious. Are you okay?"

She turned to face him. "I just watched you fall to the ground due to your own stupid stubbornness and then you nearly bit my damn head off. No, Jed, I'm not okay. I'm very far from okay."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. It isn't your fault." He reached over to stroke her hair.

She swatted his hand away. "Stop that. I know it's not my fault. And you having MS isn't what's upsetting. Did you listen to yourself in there? You told me you couldn't do the job because you can't be in the room. And in all the years I've known you, Josiah Bartlet, I have never heard that kind of defeatist bullshit come out of your mouth. I can deal with your legs not working, but I don't know how to stop you from losing yourself!"

"I don't know what you expect me to do, Abigail! I can't negotiate and influence decisions if I'm not in the room." His voice raised more and more with each word.

"So get in the room! Figure it out!" she shouted.

He opened his mouth to yell back at her but closed it again. She was right. But she knew that, of course. He didn't have to tell her.

Abbey reached over and gently pushed his hair back. "Get in the room, Jed," she repeated softly.

Jed nodded. "I will," he said more to himself than anything else.

She could hear the determination in his voice. She smiled and kissed his cheek. "There it is. Lost you for a minute there, babe."

"I know. I'm sorry. I guess I just needed my daily dose of getting yelled at by a sexy doctor," he teased.

"Well I'm not around every day, so I guess I need to take another look at your staff."

He laughed softly. "Come here so I can kiss you. I'd do it myself, but I can't really move that way right now."

Abbey moved herself on top of him, straddling his hips and leaning forward to kiss him.

Jed grasped her thighs. "God, what a waste of a hotel room. Stop teasing me."

Her nose scrunched up in that flirty way she knew he loved. "Never!" Abbey moved off of him and snuggled close to his chest. "Go to sleep."

"Okay," he conceded. "Good night, Dr. Bartlet. I love you." He squeezed her with one arm and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

Abbey grinned. "Goodnight, Mr. President." She would tell him she loved him in the morning, once she was sure he was really back. He was going to find a way into the room. The President was going to get some real work done.