ACT 3
INT. RESIDENCE
“I think we should get a komodo dragon!” Peter said excitedly.
“A what?”
“A komodo dragon!”
Lou looked over at the first lady with wide eyes. “What’s a komodo dragon?” she asked quietly.
“I’m supposed to know?” Helen answered just as hushed.
“Yes.”
“Why am I supposed to know?”
“I don’t know. Your husband’s the president; it would make sense that you know things.”
“About komodo dragons?”
“About everything.”
Helen shrugged. “I think they’re big... maybe?”
“They are,” Peter said with a smile. “They’re huge. Bigger than Miranda.”
Miranda’s eyes widened. “Can we Mom?”
The first lady turned to Lou. “We can’t have something that big crawling around the White House, right?”
“I wouldn’t think so.”
Annabeth walked in then and without even saying hello, handed each of the kids a handful of Hershey’s kisses. “Sorry I’m late. I was on the phone with Wal-Mart’s PR department.”
Helen looked at her as she sat down. “Wal-Mart?”
Annabeth nodded. “I’ll explain later, but Donna’s a genius.” She looked at Lou. “Has the voting started?”
Lou shook her head and held her hand out for candy. “It starts in twenty minutes. I left Bram there with a half hour and twenty-two extra votes. Even he can’t ruin that.”
“So we’re going to have a vice-president?” Annabeth asked with a sad smile.
“Yeah,” Lou said, glancing at the first lady.
Annabeth nodded softly. “Good,” she said in forced voice before taking a deep breath. “Now,” she said cheerfully. “Where are we on a pet for these two?”
“What do you know about komodo dragons?” Helen asked.
“They’re Indonesian, huge, endangered.”
“Endangered?” Helen asked hopefully.
“Yep.”
Helen smiled and turned to the kids. “Sorry guys, Annabeth says komodo dragons are endangered.”
“What’s that mean?” Miranda asked.
“It means you can’t have one as a pet,” Lou said. “But you can have a puppy.”
“What about a bearded dragon?” Peter asked, not brought down at all.
“A what?”
“A bearded dragon! A zoo guy brought one into my classroom. It was way cool.”
Helen raised her eyebrows. “Hold on.” She turned to Lou and Annabeth. “Anyone?”
Lou shook her head and held out her hand again. “No idea. Am I getting candy, or…”
Annabeth handed Lou a few kisses and started rifling through papers, handing one to the first lady. “I was actually going to suggest a bearded dragon.”
“What?” Lou asked, appalled. “I thought we decided on a puppy?”
Annabeth shook her head. “Puppies are boring. Everyone has one. Bearded dragons are progressive, hip… And they make good pets; two feet long, easy to pick up and hold. You put them in large tanks, feed them crickets.”
“I want to feed the dragon crickets!” Miranda shouted.
Lou looked over at the kids and then back at Helen and Annabeth. “Puppies can be walked by the president and first lady, thus showing them as family oriented.”
“Bearded dragons can be walked too.”
“No one wants to see that!” Lou turned to the kids. “What about a puppy kids? They can sleep in bed with you.”
“No they can’t,” Helen said to them.
Lou shot the first lady a look before looking back at Peter and Miranda. “Guys, we need a pet that’s photogenic.”
“What?” Peter asked.
“Photogenic.”
“What’s that?”
“Something that looks cute in pictures.”
“Something cuddly,” Annabeth with a grin towards Helen.
Lou’s head snapped in their direction. “She told you both?” she asked indignantly.
“Of course,” Helen said.
“Why do we have to have something cuddly?” Peter asked.
Lou stared at him for a second. “Because... I don’t know. Just because.”
“Mom says that’s not a real answer.”
“Puppies pee on the carpet,” Miranda said with a scrunched up nose. “I don’t think we should let anything pee on the carpet in the White House.”
CUT TO
The secret serviceman opened the door and the president stepped out of the limousine and looked around at the large tents set up in the open area. Sam and Lester stepped out after him as a man walked up to them wearing an American Red Cross t-shirt. He smiled warmly and shook the man’s hand. “Mr. Roberts?”
“Yes Mr. President. Welcome,” the man said nervously.
“Mr. Roberts, this is Sam Seaborn and Lester Charles.”
“Jeff, please,” the man said, shaking hands with Sam and Lester.
People started gathering and the president nodded awkwardly and waved a bit. He’d put these people out of their homes and now he was waving and smiling? He shook his head; he hadn’t done that, he hadn’t put anyone out of their homes. It just felt like he had.
Jeff gestured towards a tent and the president nodded, allowing the secret service to lead the way. “We’re housing about forty families from
“You have no idea how much we appreciate the Red Cross’ help, Jeff,” the president said sincerely. Jeff nodded awkwardly while beaming at the president.
“How’s the weather here at night?” Sam asked.
The man looked over at Sam. “Cold. In the low forties last night. Several families left and went to a hotel, but even with the area hotels offering very low rates, most people aren’t going to be able to afford that for any sustained periods of time.”
“How long do you expect evacuees to stay at this site?” Lester asked.
“It’s hard to say. Some will eventually stay with families or rent apartments or even buy elsewhere and start over, but there will be those who don’t have anyplace else to go until insurance money comes in and re-building starts. It could be a week for some and six months for others.”
Six months. Six months of sleeping in tents while he slept in a huge bedroom in the residence. He turned to Sam and spoke quietly. “Re-building starts immediately. If we have to pass emergency legislation, I want it on the floor next week.”
Sam nodded.
“This is administration,” Jeff Roberts said as they walked past a tent. “Where families register. They can also check other evacuee sites for family members that might have been separated, friends, employees, that sort of thing. There hasn’t been overwhelming cell phone outage here, but some sites aren’t so lucky.”
Sam’s phone rang and he looked at the caller id before looking at the president. “That’s Josh, sir. Voting starts in twenty minutes.”
The president nodded and Sam walked away and answered his phone.
CUT TO
INT. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF - CONTINUOUS
“Hey,” Sam said, answering the phone.
“Hey.”
“Voting starts in twenty minutes. We’re going to win by twenty-two.”
“Yeah,” Josh sighed as he read through messages Margaret had just handed him. “That’s not a very big win.”
“No,” Sam agreed. “But it’s enough to confirm and gives republicans room to say they didn’t like him. And it’ll take the focus off the president’s announcement.”
“Hopefully. How’s it going there?”
Josh had been opposed to this stop when Lou and Lester had brought it up the evening before. They couldn’t afford to make him look fake or apologetic, and talking to evacuees two days after you chose not to evacuate the area had the potential to make him look both. Lester had suggested leaving the press behind on this leg which had satisfied Josh, and the president had agreed. After all, these people lost their homes; they had a right to some amount of privacy.
“Fine,” Sam said. “He’s touring the facility.”
“How did things go with Governor Baldwin?”
Sam sighed. “The governor told him that had he known, he would’ve announced it, let people decide for themselves.”
Josh paused before speaking. “How did the president take that?”
“It wasn’t lost on him.”
“Good,” Josh said nodding.
“They took some questions from the press after their meeting.”
“Did they ask the governor that question?”
“No. Most of the questions were on the confirmation or re-building. Nothing on the announcement.”
Josh was pleasantly surprised. “Nothing?”
“It’s the vice-president, Josh. It’s overshadowing. It was a good idea.”
It would’ve been Leo’s idea, Josh thought. And had Leo been there to see Josh consider not using it because he hated the thought of replacing him, he would’ve shaken his head and told Josh to get over it.
“How are things going there?” Sam asked.
Josh leaned back in his seat. “The
“Any American casualties?”
“Not yet. I spent an hour in the Sit Room this morning and another hour this afternoon. Secretary Thomas thinks things are growing unstable there.”
“Growing unstable?” Sam asked sarcastically.
“Yeah,” Josh said with a forced chuckle. “I had the urge to tell him to look at…” he trailed off and the call went silent.
“Josh?”
Josh looked at his desk and a picture of Donna standing on a beach with pink cheeks wearing a sarong. Her chest. He had the urge to him to look at her chest. “This one’s hard for me,” he said quietly.
“I know,” Sam answered softly.
The line was quiet for a few seconds before Josh spoke again. “We had a fight.”
“You fought with the secretary of defense?”
“No, with Donna.”
“Oh…”
“Not a real fight. Just…”
“She’s pissed at you.”
Josh sighed. “Yeah.”
“It’s not the first time.”
Josh laughed. “No.”
“And I’d bet it won’t be the last.”
“That’d be a safe bet. Plus, there’s always make-up sex.”
“Well that’s something to look forward to,” Sam chuckled.
“It is. Hey,” Josh said, sitting up and changing topics. “You were ok sharing a room with Ainsley the other night?”
“What?”
“I don’t know. You seemed...”
“No, it was fine.”
“It was?”
“Yeah, of course. It was fine. You know what it was?”
“Fine?”
“Professional. We’re both professional and that’s what it was.”
Josh’s eyes widened. “Sam…”
“It was fine.”
Josh was quiet for a second. “You’re sure?” he asked seriously.
“I’m sure.”
Josh looked back at the picture of Donna. “Come in late tomorrow,” he said. “Take Lauren to breakfast.”
Sam paused. “Yeah,” he said with a sigh.
CUT TO
Sam hung up and looked at the phone for a few seconds trying to decide whether or not to call Lauren. She’d be at work and what was he going say, exactly? That he spent the night in the same room as another woman and nothing happened, but that he liked her pajamas? He shook his head. He’d just get home to his fiancé and everything would go back to normal. He looked up and saw the president and the others walking into a tent thirty feet or so from him, and started their way.
“Sam?”
Sam turned around and smiled when he saw Will Bailey walking towards him with a “Volunteer” shirt on. “Will! How are you?” he asked jovially, walking up to him and shaking his hand.
“Well,” Will said. “You?”
“A little swamped, nothing you can’t imagine.”
“Or haven’t been through.”
“Exactly,” Sam said chuckling. “How do you like
“I honestly don’t know,” Will answered, shaking his head. “I bought a house last month, but it’s empty. I haven’t spent much time here yet. I flew in last night to volunteer on behalf of the DNC.”
“And to get your name out there?” Sam asked with a smile.
“Well…”
“Can’t hurt. It’s going to be a tough race.”
“I’ve finally convinced the DNC I’ve got a chance.”
“Good,” Sam said nodding. “I was never quite able to do that.”
“You just didn’t have time.”
“Maybe,” Sam said nodding. “Hey, do you want me to get you a photo-op with the president?”
Will looked apprehensive. “I did… until last night’s announcement. Now I’m not so sure.”
Sam nodded knowingly. “It’ll blow over once Baker’s been confirmed. They’re voting in a few minutes.”
He and Will walked towards the tent the president had gone into. “Pushing the vote up to today was a wise strategy.”
“Josh’s. I almost forgot how damn smart he is.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever forget that,” Will said with a hollow laugh.
“Right,” Sam said with a sympathetic nod.
“Best man got the job,” Will said, looking into the tent at the president.
Sam nodded. “I’ll tell you what. We’re going to need a point man out here when we start re-building.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes, how’s that for exposure?”
“Amazing. But how’s Josh going to feel about it?”
“He doesn’t hold as many grudges as you think.”
Will raised an eyebrow but then acquiesced. “He did manage to get over it for Donna.”
“You should see them,” Sam said, shaking his head and smiling. “They’re like lovesick teenagers.”
“So nothing’s changed then?”
Sam laughed. “Exactly.” Lester started looking around the tent, lifting his chin when he saw Sam standing at the edge of it. “It looks like I’m needed,” Sam said to Will before quickly shaking his hand. “Give me a week to get things under control and then call me at the office,” he said as he walked towards the president.
Will nodded. “I will, thanks.”
CUT TO
INT. ROOSEVELT ROOM
“Congressman,” Amy said, leaning back in her seat. “We’ve been through this. I can’t give on the school year. That was a major point during the president’s campaign.”
Congressman Richards half-shrugged. “I know of six other votes being held up by the length of the school year as well. Maybe if the rest of the bill stood and you took out the longer school year and made it a separate piece of legislation.”
Amy shook her head. “It would never pass that way.”
“Well,” the congressman said. “It’s holding up the rest of the bill. Clark, Wiley, Thomas, Larimer,
The names startled Amy and she thought for several seconds. “Hamilton, Clark, and Larimer… aren’t they all on Ways and Means?”
The congressman nodded. “So is
“What sub-committee?”
“
Human Resources; she knew the names held merit. These were the guys she was looking for. “They received Wilcox’s bill yesterday, right?”
“722? Yes,” Congressman Richards said nodding. “They think it has some merit to it. I guess they’re right. Why should the government pay for formula when the healthiest form of food for a baby is inside the mother?”
Amy’s eyes widened and she leaned forward. “You can’t expect an eighteen year-old mother working at McDonald’s to leave her minimum wage job to breast feed her baby three times a shift.”
The congressman shrugged noncommittally. “Perhaps.”
“Not perhaps!” she said loudly. “If that bill passes, it’ll be unbelievably detrimental to women and infants.”
The congressman looked at his watch. “Amy, I need to go cast my vote for the confirmation. Unless you have anything else to say about the education bill that could convince me to vote in favor,” he led.
“Anything to say?” she deadpanned.
“Or anything to offer? I’m not so opposed to the bill that I couldn’t vote for it given the right incentive.”
This was when she was supposed to offer him the $42 million. That was the deal she was supposed to make. “I can’t think of anything, Congressman,” she said slowly. “Let me think about it and I’ll call you this evening.”
The congressman stood up and buttoned his suit jacket. “It’s not just my vote, Amy. The other six will vote the way I tell them to on this.”
Amy nodded and stood. “I’ll see what I can do. Go vote, Congressman; I’ll speak with you soon.”
The congressman shook her hand and left the Roosevelt Room while she watched with her arms crossed over her chest.
CUT TO
The president made the rounds of the tent that held the forty families staying there. Everyone was polite and cordial, excitement in meeting the president took away the devastation of losing everything, even if only for the briefest of moments.
That made him feel better. That he was able to be encouraging. That he was able to ensure these people that re-building was going to start very, very soon. That businesses were going to be given funds and government low-interest rate loans to start over quickly. They seemed to respond the most to that; they wanted to work, to provide for their families, to stop taking charity, as much as they appreciated and needed it now.
But mostly, they were happy to be alive. Happy to have their families out of danger. Happy to have gotten out with their most valuable possessions, which mostly included photo albums and other things of no monetary value.
He and Jeff Roberts finished talking to a young man and woman from
“Is that woman ok?” he asked Jeff softly as they approached Sam and Lester.
Jeff looked over at the woman for several seconds before answering very softly. “Her two year-old daughter inhaled ash. She died yesterday afternoon. That’s one of our trauma specialists with her.”
The small group of people were stunned into silence at the site director’s words. The president looked down at the ground and closed his eyes for several long moments before looking at the grief-stricken woman again. He thought he might be sick, watching the woman sobbing over her daughter. Immediately and not voluntarily, he pictured Helen sitting there sobbing over Miranda.
“Mr. President,” Sam said softly. “Maybe we should give her some privacy.”
He shook his head but didn’t take his eyes off the woman. That pain in her face; he’d caused that. He’d done that to her. “I have to go over there.”
Sam looked at Lester and shook his head. “Mr. President…”
“I ha…” his voice was choked and he stopped to take a deep breath. “I have to apologize.”
“Sir,” Lester said. “That’s not your place.”
The president’s head shot to Lester. “Of course it’s my place. It’s my fault.”
“Mr. President,” Sam said gently. “If you go over there and that woman blames you…”
“What?” the president snapped. “It’ll look bad I don’t care. I… she deserves... something. My apology at the very least.” It wouldn’t be enough; it wouldn’t ever be enough, but she deserved it nonetheless.
“And if she screams? Calls you a murderer?” Sam said a bit more sternly.
“Then she screams and calls me a murderer.”
“And if she hits you? And the secret service pulls her off you and shoves her face into the ground and arrests her?”
The president shook his head. “She needs…”
“You. You need to apologize. She needs to be left alone to grieve in peace without having to face anyone who’s going to cause her more pain. Whose needs are more important right now, sir?”
He stared at him, stared at him hard, not sure if he wanted to thank him or fire him. Finally he closed his eyes and nodded once.