Episode Summary:
With Palestinian leaders surrounded in their compound, Israel is willing to sit down with the US and moderate Palestinians to discuss a peaceful solution to the latest outbreak of fighting. Surprising everyone, however, the Palestinians publicly thank the US for inviting them to the negotiation table. Also, Donna (Janel Moloney) is rushed into surgery for a pulmonary embolism.
Script:
THE WEST WING 6x01 - "NSF THURMONT" WRITTEN BY JOHN WELLS DIRECTED BY ALEX GRAVES Transcribed by Soundman for twiztv.com. Send feedback to [email protected]. TEASER FADE IN: EXT. CEMETERY DAY We open on a shot of the back door of a hearse. We see a Navy officer open the door and stand at attention. We see an American flag draped over the coffin. We next see, from inside the hearse, that several sailors are lined up at the back of the hearse. A sailor reaches forward, grabs the coffin, and pulls it out for the other sailors to grab hold of it. We see the sailors lift the coffin, turn, and begin carrying the coffin to the grave as the Navy officer shuts the hearse door. CUT TO: EXT. ROAD DAY We see the Presidential motorcade driving down the road. CUT TO: INT. LIMO DAY Bartlet is seated inside with Abbey, Kate and Leo. KATE We can't let the Chairman bully us into having a summit, sir. BARTLET Who's going to know? LEO People at State know; at the Pentagon. KATE And the Israelis know. IF we try to force them into hosting a summit they may leak it. ABBEY That's so bad? The Chairman wants a peace summit. Isn't that a start? KATE He invited himself to Camp David. What's he going to do next, raid the icebox at the Council of Foreign Relations? LEO Sir, we need to focus on military action; retaliation for the deaths of our people in Gaza. BARTLET I've got a guy who says he wants to come to a peace table and I've got a table. LEO Tell Farad he can have his summit if it can double as his retirement party. I'll spring for the watch. BARTLET What do I need from him to get the Israelis to Camp David? KATE He'd have to promise to arrest the leaders of Hamas, put the Palestinian security services under Mukarat and the moderates, and adopt a new PLO charter that gives up that portion of historical Palestine he's going to recognize as Israel. ABBEY Plus the watch? CUT TO: EXT. FUNERAL DAY We see the President's limo pull up outside the site of Admiral Fitzwallace's funeral. A secret service agent opens the door and Bartlet gets out. He gives Abbey a hand and she gets out. Charlie is waiting for them when they get out. CHARLIE Mr. President, this way, please. Kate and then Leo get out of the limo. KATE Sir. I feel as if my council is largely responsible for this mess. BARTLET I get lots of council, Ms. Harper. What I choose to do with it is my responsibility. They walk away, toward the funeral. CUT TO: EXT. FRONT DOOR WHITE HOUSE DAY We see Carol come out of the White House to meet C.J. as she is coming in. CAROL Ted Harper called from 60 Minutes, says he's got a Congressional widow on camera demanding the President avenge her husband's death. C.J. Which one? CUT TO: INT. WHITE HOUSE CONTINUOUS We see C.J. and Carol walking in and they are still talking. CAROL Tom Korb's. They're hoping the President will go on camera to respond. C.J. And what? Defend his tie-died, hippie dippie, blowin'-in-the-wind, peacenik pipe-dream while the grieving widow rends her garments? They walk into an office of sorts. CAROL You want me to see if I can get you a couple minutes in the Oval right away? C.J. I thought the President won't be back in the building until this afternoon. She grabs some papers from a table and leaves. As she does, we focus on the TV which is broadcasting Chairman Farad's address. CUT TO: INT. JOSH'S BULLPEN AREA DAY We see C.J. and Will walking and they are talking. WILL The Israelis won't get in a room with Farad again. I'm surprised the Prime Minister hasn't already said so in about three different languages. C.J. The President asked him not to. WILL Farad doesn't want to deal. Last time Israel offered up Gaza, 96% of the West Bank, half of Jerusalem, sovereignty over the Temple Mount, and the lead role in the Temple Bethel Koram play. He walked away. C.J. What do you need, Will? WILL The President should prepare to respond to the murder of two Congressmen. The Vice President can't support the President on this. They walk into C.J.'s office. C.J. Is he planning on saying so publicly? WILL He's speaking at the Israel Policy Forum Gala on Friday. I think it might come up. C.J. He can't be convinced to come down with a nasty bout of the flu? WILL He's a pretty healthy guy. He begins to leave the office but turns around. WILL The President knows, right? You guys are telling him? C.J. Knows what? WILL That there is no viable alternative. He's going to have to bomb Palestinians. CUT TO: INT. FUNERAL DAY We see the casket sitting in the church. Bartlet is giving a eulogy. BARTLET Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs will be the Kingdom of Heaven. We see several people in the audience who are listening to Bartlet's eulogy. BARTLET And blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. SMASH CUT TO: MAIN TITLES. END TEASER. * * * ACT ONE FADE IN: INT. SITUATION ROOM DAY We see several people around the table including Bartlet, Leo, Kate, Alexander, and another man, called GEORGE. ALEXANDER We have no choice but to retaliate. LEO Khalil Nasan is still in Gaza? GEORGE Yes, but we've been able to link Nasan's bombing of our Congressional delegation to the Khanjari Martyrs. And the Martyrs are using the Ein Hawa camp near Damascus as their base of operations. BARTLET In Syria? GEORGE E-mail and cellular communications indicate that they supplied the munitions and the technical support for Nasan. LEO What are you proposing, General? ALEXANDER Syria and Iran are the primary supporters of the Martyrs. The Lincoln battle group is moving into strike range. We can use Slammer missiles against the Ein Hawa camp and the two terrorist training camps in norther Iran, east of Birjan. KATE And blow the summit out of the water. GEORGE Oh, what summit? The Israelis aren't going to meet with Farad. KATE The region's already a powder keg. LEO Name one day in the last 20 centuries when it wasn't. KATE Egypt, Jordan, and the Saudis will help us craft a deal with Farad if they think it's fair. But the whole thing will fall apart if we start bombing Syria and Iran. LEO The only way to prevent attacks against Americans abroad is to show we're willing to respond when provoked. ALEXANDER Bombing Syria and Iran sends a powerful message, Mr. President. BARTLET Do we have any evidence linking Iran to Nasan? GEORGE If we take this opportunity to strike Iranian terrorist camps, believe me, sir, we'll find a way to link the attacks on our people back to them later. BARTLET Are you suggesting we use the attack on our Congressional delegation as a pretext to attack another country we don't know to be responsible? GEORGE Sir, I'm not suggesting that, but it's clear... BARTLET Then what the hell are you suggesting? LEO Mr. President. GEORGE There's ample intelligence to indicate... BARTLET I'm not using Admiral Fitzwallace's death and the death of our Congressmen as a pretext to attack another country we don't happen to like. LEO The Ambassador is here. BARTLET I want to see what we have linking Nasan to the Martyrs in Syria. He stands up. Everyone else stands as well. BARTLET And if you come up with any credible, verifiable evidence dragging Iran into this mess, I'll take a look at that, too. He puts on his coat and leaves. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY BASEMENT WHITE HOUSE DAY We see Bartlet and Leo walking away from the Sit Room. BARTLET I'm not bombing half the Middle East just because it's going to make us all feel better. LEO They're on your side. BARTLET Really? I was having a hard time believing that a few minutes ago. LEO Sir, you can't delay any longer. There are no rabbits left in this hat. BARTLET I'm not prepared to accept that. LEO You're going to have to, sir. BARTLET The Ambassador's waiting. He walks off, leaving Leo at the base of the stairs. CUT TO: INT. HOSPITAL GERMANY NIGHT We see Josh and Colin seated across from each other in the hallway. COLIN Looks like your boy's got himself into a bit of trouble. JOSH My boy? COLIN Bartlet. JOSH He's been President Bartlet for six years; he hasn't been a boy for about 50. COLIN Israelis are never gonna meet with Farad. Why should they? They've got him surrounded in the West Bank. What does Bartlet think they're going to do, knock on the door of his compound and say, "I'm so sorry about the tanks and stuff, but would you like to pop over to America and have a nice wee chat and sort this out?"? JOSH Where are you from? COLIN Belfast. JOSH You guys are really the model on how to work things out over there. COLIN Yeah, we are, actually. JOSH The Israelis have every right to protect themselves from terrorists. COLIN They don't occupy a force to oppress... JOSH They're citizen soldiers trying to keep their sisters from getting blown up on a bus. COLIN You Jewish? JOSH Why? You anti-Semitic? COLIN Anyone who thinks the Palestinians have a point is anti-Semitic. JOSH And anyone who thinks the Jews don't after being chased and exiled and persecuted for centuries is either an idiot or a fool, probably both. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE DAY Bartlet and Leo are meeting with the Israeli Ambassador. BARTLET Madame Ambassador. AMBASSADOR GALIT Mr. McGarry. LEO Pleasure. GALIT Thank you. BARTLET Please. They sit down to talk. GALIT Admiral Fitzwallace was a great man. All Israelis mourn his loss. BARTLET GALIT Israel can not agree to attend a summit with Chairman Farad while our citizens are being brutally murdered every day. BARTLET Whether we like it or not, Farad is in charge. GALIT The United States has sought regime change in dictatorships around the world. Is Israel to be held to a higher standard? BARTLET Israel was created to be a land free from oppression. Whether Israel is Palestinian, Jewish, Jordanian, or Judean, the people who live in the territories are oppressed: by their own leadership, by the neglect of Arab neighbors, and, yes, by Israel. GALIT I'm sorry, Mr. President. She gets up and Bartlet and Leo get up as well. GALIT Chairman Farad is interested in only one thing: murdering Israelis. And, apparently, he's decided it's now time to start murdering Americans as well. We won't participate in any discussions which include Chairman Farad. If you'll excuse me, sir. She leaves. CUT TO: INT. PRESS BRIEFING ROOM DAY C.J. is briefing the press. All the reporters shout for C.J. to call on them. C.J. Gordon. GORDON Republicans are on their way to the White House this afternoon to meet with the President. Any idea what they're planning to say? C.J. I'm sure the Republican leadership is going to do what they always do: express their unanimous and unqualified support of the President's policies. Several people laugh. GORDON It's not just the Republicans. The Democrats are saying they don't understand why the President is wringing his hands while the Israelis send tanks. C.J. We're working closely with leaders of both parties on this. They know the President is determined to act. GORDON No, they don't, C.J., neither do the American people. Gallup is saying 82% support immediate military action in response to Gaza. C.J. The President doesn't make security decisions based on opinion polls. Chris? CHRIS Have the Israelis agreed to participate in a summit with the Palestinians? Israeli officials are saying, privately, they won't attend if Farad is invited. CUT TO: INT. LEO'S OFFICE CONTINUOUS Leo is watching C.J.'s briefing. C.J. We're discussing the specifics of any possible talks with members of the Palestinian authority and members of the Israeli government. These conversations are ongoing. Toby knocks and comes in. TOBY How's she doing? LEO Okay, considering she's human chum. Anything from Josh? TOBY Yeah. Donna's back in surgery. Something about a pulmonary embolism. LEO Margaret! TOBY 60 Minutes is going to run an interview with Christine Korb. Margaret walks in. LEO Yeah. C.J. told me this morning. [to Margaret] See if you can reach Josh. She leaves. TOBY We need to get to Alicia DeSantos. LEO The President doesn't want us holding out a grief-stricken widow like some political lawn ornament. TOBY I can call. You don't have to let the President know... LEO Not today, okay, Toby. I've got enough problems... TOBY What's the President doing, Leo? A summit? He's already got a Nobel Prize. What's he need a second one for, book ends? Margaret comes back in. MARGARET The Speaker's here. Leo stands up. LEO Let the President's office know, then show 'em in. MARGARET He brought half of Congress with him. Don't think they'll all fit. CUT TO: INT. ROOSEVELT ROOM DAY Haffley is seated at the center of the table with several congressmen and women around him. Some of them stand up as Leo and Toby come into the room. LEO Mr. Speaker, nice to see you. Richard, David, Leslie. Sheila, surprised to see you running with this crowd. SHEILA This isn't a partisan issue. HAFFLEY We thought a show of unity would be helpful to the White House. LEO The President's finishing something up in the Oval. He'll be right with us. HAFFLEY Have you been listening to the radio? LEO I've been a little busy. HAFFLEY Have you been listening to the radio? TOBY Oldies radio, traffic report? HAFFLEY The nation's taking the announcement of these peace talks badly. Many people believe you sent Congressmen into harm's way. Bartlet comes in. The Congressmen stand. BARTLET Are these the same right-wing, turkey-basters that said I faked MS to get the sympathy vote in the last election? Nice to see everyone. Please, sit down. Sheila moves to sit down but stands back up when she sees that Haffley did not sit down. HAFFLEY Members of Congress were killed, Mr. President. Instead of seeking justice, you're typing up name tags and inviting them to play dodgeball at Camp David. SHEILA You're ignoring the sacrifice these men made for their country. BARTLET On the contrary, I'm trying to honor it. HAFFLEY You're appeasing terrorists by rewarding them with a peace summit. LEO If the issue here is Congressional consultation, we can assure you... HAFFLEY Mr. President, you have to go on national television, admit your mistake, and retract those invitations. You've insulted these men and their memories. You have to put this summit back into the cereal box it came in. BARTLET I didn't come here to play games. He walks around to the door. BARTLET I'm trying to find a way to make peace. And when I do, you can go on TV and explain why you're against it. He leaves. CUT TO: INT. OUTER OVAL OFFICE DAY We see Bartlet walk in from the hallway and he goes into the Oval Office. We see a TV broadcasting a story about the possible peace summit. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY - HOSPITAL GERMANY NIGHT We see Donna's doctor coming down the hallway to talk to Josh and Colin. DOCTOR Ms. Moss was experiencing shortness of breath and chest pain. Her chest CT revealed a blood clot in her right lung. She asked if she could see you for a moment before we put her under. COLIN Me? DOCTOR Uh, no. Mr. Lyman. He indicates for Josh to come with him. CUT TO: INT. OPERATING ROOM NIGHT Josh and the Doctor walk into the operating room where Donna is lying on a gurney. Several doctors are around her prepping for surgery. Josh walks over to her side. JOSH I just talked to the doctor; they said it's no big deal. Donna writes something on a pad of paper and shows it to Josh. It says "NICE HAT". JOSH Yeah. Stylish, huh. They tell you what they're going to do? She nods her head. JOSH It's gonna be a snap. She again writes on the pad and shows it to Josh. This time it says "SCARED". JOSH Yeah. Don't be. You're going to be fine, okay? DOCTOR Okay, Donna, here we go. One of the doctors picks up her IV and injects something into it. FADE OUT. END ACT ONE. * * * ACT TWO FADE IN: INT. LEO'S OFFICE DAY Leo is talking with General Alexander. ALEXANDER The strike force can launch in six hours. It's two hours to the targets in Syria, same to Gaza. Air-to-ground smart munitions against both, back on the deck in four hours. LEO Intel still has Khalil Nasan at the same location in Gaza? ALEXANDER So far. We just have to hope he stays there until midmorning. [pause] You'll talk to him? LEO Yeah. ALEXANDER We lose track of Nasan now, who knows where we pick him up again. LEO Thank you, General. Alexander gets up and leaves. Leo leans back against the couch. Kate walks in. KATE Leo, do you have a minute? LEO Yeah, sure. He indicates for her to sit. KATE I encouraged the President to pursue a meeting with Mukarat. I should have anticipated Chairman Farad... LEO Did you bury a mortar shell on the roadside in Gaza two days ago? KATE No, sir. I just feel that in hindsight... LEO The President heard what he wanted to hear and went where he wanted to go. He's over 21. Don't flatter yourself, Commander, you're not changing the course of history. KATE I won't take up any more of your time. She gets up to leave. LEO He doesn't like chaos. We bomb some apartment building in Gaza or a camp in Syria there'll be consequences. And we can't tell him what they're going to be. Will we get drawn into a war in the Middle East? Will suicide bombers be climbing onto buses in Pasaic, New Jersey, instead of Haifa and Tel Aviv? Margaret knocks and comes in. MARGARET Excuse me, Leo. The President's asking for you and Ms. Harper in the Oval. Leo gets up from the couch. We see Leo open the door from his office and Kate and he go into the corridor between his and Bartlet's office. LEO The President's looking for answers and we don't have them. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE DAY Bartlet is meeting with Leo, Kate, C.J., Toby, and Will. BARTLET No idea is too stupid or outrageous: party clowns; piatas; I'd build a mosque out of jello if I thought... I need ideas, new ideas, come on. Just throw things out and we'll see if anything comes of it. There is a long pause and we can hear the clock tick in the silence. Finally, Toby speaks. TOBY Sir, I think we need to shift the conversation back to the military... BARTLET Come on, who else? We again hear the clock tick. This time, C.J. breaks the silence. C.J. Is the FBI any closer to...? BARTLET I'm serious, Farad and the Israelis: how to get them into a room together. C.J. Well, sir, previous peace plans have focused on getting Chairman Farad to crack down on Hamas and other terrorist groups... TOBY Farad's not powerful enough. BARTLET No idea is too stupid or outrageous... WILL We let Chairman Farad come to Camp David... TOBY No, no, no, no, no. C.J. There's no one else in the region with an interest in ending the violence... WILL ...sticking their necks out... C.J. If there was some way to add credibility to the summit, something both the Israelis and the Palestinians would... KATE Really stupid ideas? BARTLET Yes, absolutely. KATE We ignore everything that's happened in the last 24 hours. Yesterday, Farad was cooperating with us, planning to arrest Nasan and the other perpetrators of the CODEL bombing. Then the Israelis surrounded his compound in the West Bank and his people in Gaza refused to arrest Nasan, right? WILL Yeah, so? KATE So we hold Farad to his earlier promise. Tell him if he wants a summit that he has to arrest Nasan. Show us and the Israelis he's serious about punishing terrorists. TOBY How's he supposed to do that, when his compound is surrounded by Israeli tanks? KATE Farad was never going to do it himself. The Palestinian Authority was just waiting for his okay to proceed. C.J. The Israelis turned off his power. His cell phone's dead. KATE Get him a new one. The Israelis aren't going to stop the American consulate from giving him a new battery. WILL They might. TOBY A cell phone? KATE He can use mine, if he wants. TOBY You're right, it's a stupid idea. KATE Why? TOBY Who cares if he has a phone? He's not going to punish Nasan. He's rounded up terrorists before. He walks them past Al Jazerra for show and then puts them under house arrest in a palace with a squash court and high-speed internet access. C.J. Tell him he has to turn Nasan over to us. WILL He won't do it. C.J. How do you know? TOBY He won't. Half his followers think Nasan's a hero for blowing up Americans. He's going to turn the guy over to the Great Satan? C.J. If he says no or equivocates, we go public. Say we wanted Nasan for a summit, but when we identified the killer we asked Farad to turn him over, he refused. We look reasonable, measured. Farad has no one to blame but himself. KATE And if he does turn over Nasan we go to the Israelis and say, hey, look, he's serious this time. They all look at Bartlet as we hear the clock tick. BARTLET Can it work? TOBY No. WILL No. KATE Maybe. C.J. Maybe. LEO Okay. Somebody get the man a cell phone and tell him to expect a call from the President. Thanks everyone. They all get up and leave. KATE Leo. You're okay...? LEO Coordinate with State. KATE Thank you. She leaves and closes the door behind her. LEO Congress is drafting a resolution demanding that you take military action. BARTLET Yeah. LEO Sir, the Lincoln battle group will be in position sometime tonight. They're awaiting your go order to strike Nasan and the Syrian camps in the morning. BARTLET What? LEO We can't wait for Farad. The risk of losing Khalil Nasan is too great. We have intel linking Iran to the Martyrs. It's sketchy in spots, but overall it's a compelling case. I'm recommending you include Iran in the attacks. BARTLET General Alexander went ahead with plans for these bombings? LEO At your request. BARTLET I said I'd consider it when the time was appropriate. I did not ask... LEO He was trying to anticipate your eventual need, sir, at my urging. Mr. President, please. Congress, the Joint Chiefs, the American public, your own staff, everyone disagrees with your assessment of the situation. BARTLET Killing Palestinians isn't going to make us feel safer. They'll kill more of us, we'll kill more of them. It's Russian roulette with a fully-loaded gun. LEO We can't allow terrorists to murder our citizens without... BARTLET Why would they do it? Why would Palestinians murders American government officials? They never have before. They're deliberately provoking us, Leo. They know that we have to retaliate. They've studied us. They want us to overreact. LEO This isn't overreacting. It's the appropriate, balanced... BARTLET Tell me how this ends, Leo! You want me to start something that may have serious repercussions on American foreign policy for decades, but you don't know how it ends. LEO [shouting] We don't always know how it ends! [calmer] The Lincoln will be in position in a few hours and then you are going to have to give the go ahead for the bombings. BARTLET Or what? [pause] Let me know when Chairman Farad calls. I'll be in the Residence. LEO Thank you, Mr. President. He leaves. CUT TO: INT. RESIDENCE SITTING ROOM NIGHT Bartlet is sitting on the couch looking out the window when Abbey comes in. ABBEY It's late. BARTLET I'm sorry. Did I wake you? ABBEY Hmm. No. Still nothing? He shakes his head. BARTLET Maybe I'm wrong. ABBEY Maybe. BARTLET You think so? She shakes her head. BARTLET Am I that predictable now? ABBEY You were always that predictable. BARTLET I could do what they want; make everyone feel better for a few days. Some nice aerial shots of things blowing up on CNN, a few charred bodies, it'd be a hell of a lot easier. ABBEY You want easier? BARTLET I want Fitz to walk through my door tomorrow and give me a hard time about the Celtics. ABBEY You think they have a chance this year? BARTLET Who? ABBEY The Celtics. BARTLET They still need a big man and a reliable point-guard, but they might make a run for it. ABBEY For a moment there I was worried. CUT TO: INT. TOBY'S OFFICE NIGHT Toby is sitting on his couch and we see C.J. walking through the Communications bullpen and into his office. C.J. Hey. She throws him a package of peanut butter crackers and sits down across from him. C.J. I nabbed the last two packages of crackers out of the machine. It was that, or an old egg salad sandwich. TOBY I thought you went home. C.J. And pass up the Sixteenth Street smorgasbord? I wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway. Catching up on some work. Toby coughs and C.J. tosses him a bottle of water. C.J. Here. You'll need some water. Maybe a fire hose. TOBY Or a local reservoir. C.J. How the hell do we always get dragged into these things? Why can't I just sit on my patio, barbeque some chicken, and drink my Diet Dr. Pepper in peace. You going to finish those? TOBY Be my guest. He tosses her his package of crackers. C.J. Do you ever look around and say if we're the ones in charge, this country's in a hell of a lot of trouble? TOBY Until I spend time with the other guys. Will comes into the office. WILL They got a phone to Farad. The President's talking to him now. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE NIGHT Bartlet is on the phone with Chairman Farad. Also in the room are Leo, Kate, and another man listening in on the other phone. BARTLET I'm afraid that's unacceptable, Mr. Chairman. If your security forces were to capture Nasan, we want him turned over to us. Toby, Will, and C.J. come in. FARAD [VO] The crime was committed in the Palestinian territories. LEO The territories aren't a state. BARTLET Trying Nasan in an American court shows there are other means of seeking justice than Israeli missile strikes. FARAD [VO] This point can also be made in Palestinian courts. Kate grabs a pad of paper from C.J. and a pen from Will and begins writing. TOBY What Palestinian court? It three guys with loaded pistols and a magic eight ball. BARTLET Mr. Chairman, capturing Nasan and then turning him over to us would demonstrate to the Israelis and the world that you're tough on terror. That you know the difference between fighting for the Palestinian cause and randomly attacking Americans. Kate tears off a piece of the paper and lays it down on Bartlet's desk. FARAD [VO] All it would demonstrate is that Palestinians are incapable of administering justice themselves. Bartlet shakes his head and Kate hands the pad back to C.J. BARTLET Americans were killed, Mr. Chairman. This falls under our jurisdiction. Even if you were to detain Nasan, we would ask that you extradite him. [pause] Mr. Chairman? FARAD [VO] These are difficult questions. Perhaps they should be a topic of our talks at Camp David. Kate takes back the paper from C.J. and begins writing. She finds that the pen has stopped working. BARTLET There won't be any talks if Khalil Nasan isn't delivered into United States custody. FARAD [VO] Mr. President, that makes things very difficult. Perhaps then, Mr. President, we will not be able to meet. Kate grabs a pen from the President's desk and spills his coffee in the process. She tears off a piece of the paper and hands it to Bartlet. He reads it and gives it to Leo. BARTLET Mr. Chairman, if your security forces were to detain Nasan and then turn him over to us secretly, we'd be happy to say that he was apprehended by the FBI. [pause] Mr. Chairman? FARAD [VO] I will discuss it with members of my government. BARTLET And you'll seriously consider it? FARAD [VO] I will discuss it. BARTLET Thank you for your time, Mr. Chairman. FARAD [VO] Thank you, Mr. President. Bartlet hangs up the phone. C.J. Was that a yes or a no? WILL Members of my government? I think he was talking about two sock puppets and a beanie baby. TOBY He won't do it. He can't do it. KATE Sounded like he was considering it. WILL He was distracted, looking up Nasan's number so he can warn him to get the hell out of Gaza. KATE There's no evidence linking Nasan to Farad or his government. WILL That's only because we haven't interrogated him yet. KATE So now all Palestinians are terrorists? WILL If the kaffiat fits... LEO That's enough. Thank you, everybody. Go home, try to get some sleep. They all leave except for Leo. LEO Now what? BARTLET We wait. LEO The Lincoln battle group is almost... BARTLET We wait, Leo. Leo leaves. FADE OUT. END ACT TWO. * * * ACT THREE FADE IN: INT. HOSPITAL GERMANY NIGHT Colin is lying on one couch and Josh is sitting on another. COLIN So you fly halfway around the world at a moment's notice to rush to a woman's beside when the White House is facing off a biblical apocalypse? JOSH We work together. COLIN Past alliances gone bad or tragically unconsummated love kept at arm's length by puritanical American workplace ethics. JOSH What are you talking about? COLIN There was this girl when I was 16. No, 17. JOSH So, you're a bagman for the IRA? COLIN She was mad about me, worshipped me, really, and I liked her, but I was off to the University in Dublin and she was going to stay in Belfast, work in a night shop. JOSH This is taking too long. Isn't this taking too long? COLIN She wrote to me every single day, and she called weekends and she was always there. And I took her for granted, you know? JOSH The doctor walks up. DOCTOR Mr. Lyman. JOSH How's she doing? DOCTOR We encountered a few difficulties during the procedure. She lost a substantial amount of blood. We had to transfuse and call in a vascular surgeon to repair the tear. COLIN Is she going to be all right? DOCTOR She's still unconscious. As soon as she's stable we'll send her off for an MRI. Between the anemia and the low blood pressure she may have suffered hypoxic brain injury. Decreased oxygen delivery can result in brain damage. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE DAY Bartlet, Charlie and Leo are talking. LEO They had to do some sort of operation and there were complications. I spoke to Josh. He was pretty upset. BARTLET Can you get me Donna's parents? CHARLIE Yes, sir. Charlie leaves to the outer office. Leo comes and sits across from Bartlet. LEO We've heard nothing from Chairman Farad for over seven hours. General Alexander is waiting in the Sit Room. The Lincoln Carrier group is in place. George knocks and comes in. GEORGE Excuse me, Mr. President. LEO What do you need, George? GEORGE Our FBI team in Gaza was just contacted by the Palestinian security forces. They have Khalil Nasan in custody and they'd like to turn him over to us. CUT TO: INT. RESIDENCE DAY We see Toby step out of the elevator and he begins sprinting to the sitting room where Leo and Charlie are waiting outside the bedroom door. LEO Did it pass? TOBY House was 317 to 116; Senate was 62 to 37. [reading] 'Whereas acts of treacherous and unprovoked violence have been committed against United States citizens.' LEO Just skip ahead to the parts that are gonna piss me off. TOBY That's gonna be all of it, really. [reading] 'Whereas an action further threatens the national security of these United States, and there can be no meaningful peace in the Middle East so long as such acts are sanctioned and committed.' LEO Here it comes. TOBY [reading] 'And whereas the President has both the authority and the imperative to address and prevent such acts of terror against the United States.' LEO 'The President has both the authority and the imperative'? CHARLIE That doesn't sound so bad. TOBY It's the Oxford Debating Society's way of telling the President to get off his ass and do something, you feckless wimp. Bartlet comes out of the bedroom. BARTLET Is she here? CHARLIE Yes, sir. And the Prime Minister is waiting for your call in Tel Aviv. BARTLET It passed? TOBY Yes, sir. BARTLET How many Democrats against us? TOBY Too many. BARTLET But we swept the Vermont delegation, am I right? He grabs the papers from Toby's hand. TOBY Actually, no. CUT TO: EXT. PORTICO DAY Bartlet, Toby, Leo, Charlie, and a Secret Service man are walking to the Oval Office. BARTLET 'Both the authority and the imperative'? TOBY Yes, sir. BARTLET They want peace, but I have to blow something up first? LEO I think they're willing to haggle on the peace part. BARTLET That usually work in the past? They walk into the Outer Oval Office. Kate is waiting at the door. BARTLET How's my tie? KATE I would have gone with the blue, sir. BARTLET Charlie, get the Prime Minister on the phone. Ms. Harper, head on in and look unhappy. Kate goes into the Oval Office. BARTLET Toby, I want you to call every Democrat that supported this resolution and tell them that if they ever want White House support for another rubber-chicken fundraiser, they had better start singing a rousing chorus of 'Hail to the Chief'. He hands Toby the papers. Toby leaves. Bartlet heads toward the door of the Oval Office. Leo follows him. Bartlet turns before they enter the Oval to speak to Leo. BARTLET Leo, head down to the Sit Room and tell the generals to keep their pistols in there pockets for the time being. You don't believe in this, Leo, and they're not going to want to do it. I can't have them picking up any signals from you that we disagree. LEO No, sir. Bartlet goes into the Oval and shuts the door behind him. CUT TO: INT. HOSPITAL GERMANY NIGHT We see that Donna is asleep in her bed. Colin is sitting beside it. We hear Josh on the phone with Toby and we pan to see that Josh is in the hall. JOSH So, uh, Fields voted for it? TOBY [VO] Yeah, and Blinkin, Worthington, Goffman. JOSH Wow! Goffman? TOBY [VO] Sue Bordon's on here, too. CUT TO: INT. TOBY'S OFFICE CONTINUOUS Toby is standing at his desk and he is on the phone with Josh. C.J. comes in holding a video tape. JOSH [VO] Oh, she's in a tough race with a knuckle-dragging DA from Lake Forest. TOBY Donna any better? C.J. You're on with Josh? CUT TO: INT. HOSPITAL GERMANY CONTINUOUS JOSH They can't tell if there's neurological damage for a couple of days. CUT TO: INT. TOBY'S OFFICE CONTINUOUS C.J. How is she? TOBY They won't know anything for a couple of days. CUT TO: INT. HOSPITAL GERMANY CONTINUOUS NURSE Sir? She points to a sign behind Josh which indicates no cell phones. JOSH Oh, God, really? I don't have a pacemaker or anything. NURSE Turn it off know, sir. JOSH OK, sure, Lieutenant. TOBY [VO] Who you talking to? JOSH Nurse Ratchett. I got to hang up. I'll call back in a couple hours. He hangs up. CUT TO: INT. OVAL OFFICE DAY Bartlet, Kate, and the Israeli Ambassador is on the phone with ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ELI ZAHAVY. BARTLET The Palestinian Authority has detained Khalil Nasan and is prepared to turn him over to our FBI. ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ELI ZAHAVY [VO] Farad's promised to turn over terrorists before. BARTLET It's a show of good faith on Chairman Farad's part; an example of his renewed willingness to address the peace process. Mr. Prime Minister, the territories are undermining your legitimacy as a modern Democracy and sapping your moral authority in the eyes of the world. ZAHAVE [VO] Farad is beholden to the very forces that wish to push us back into the sea. It's not a negotiating point for him. It's a religious and a moral imperative to take back all of Israel for Palestine. BARTLET Sir, you cannot hold yourself out as the Promised Land while occupying the territories and oppressing other peoples. ZAHAVY [VO] Our Arab citizens enjoy the most freedoms of any Arabs in the Middle East. Palestinians are oppressed as opposed to... We don't stone women who refuse to wear head scarves in Tel Aviv. KATE Sir, Chairman Farad says you're almost done building the fence in the West Bank. He's about to lose half the Jordan Valley to unilateral settlements. BARTLET If you agree to come to a summit with Farad and he still refuses to reach an agreement, the United States is willing to publicly support Israeli actions to secure your homeland, including the building of the fence. [pause] Eli, why not sit down and talk again? ZAHAVY [VO] If Farad turns over this terrorist to you, I will take this offer to my Cabinet. BARTLET Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. ZAHAVY [VO] Good afternoon, Mr. President. Bartlet hangs up. BARTLET Madame Ambassador. GALIT Mr. President. The Ambassador leaves. BARTLET I think we've got ourselves a ballgame. CUT TO: EXT. HELICOPTER LANDING AREA DAY We see that Marine One is ready to go. We see Bartlet, Abbey, Leo, Toby, Kate, and Will heading toward the helicopter. TOBY Have you ever been to NSF Thurmont before? KATE Camp David? No, I haven't. TOBY Ever been on Marine One? KATE No, I haven't. TOBY You like helicopters? KATE No, not really. I get airsick. TOBY Okay, you can sit with Will. Bartlet and Leo have stopped just in front of the steps to the chopper. BARTLET I want you to stay here, hold down the fort. I'll call you when things heat up. LEO Of course, Mr. President. BARTLET You still think this is a mistake? LEO Yes, sir, I do. BARTLET As soon as the Palestinian delegation is on the ground at Andrews, give Alexander the go. LEO Sir? BARTLET Tell the general to hit the Ein Hawa camps near Damascus. LEO What about Iran? BARTLET I looked at the Intel file. I'm still not convinced. You get something more, show it to me and we'll discuss it. LEO Thank you, Mr. President. Bartlet gets on the plane, saluting the Marine at the base of the stairs as he gets on. We see Marine One fly off over the trees. FADE OUT. END ACT THREE. * * * ACT FOUR FADE IN: EXT. WOODS NSF THURMONT DAY We open on Will jogging through the woods. We hear his phone ringing as we follow him as he jogs. We see him stop and grab his phone as he answers it. WILL Will Bailey. C.J. [VO] You guys do s'mores and strategic planning last night? WILL And missiles and marshmallows. CUT TO: INT. LOBBY WHITE HOUSE CONTINUOUS We see C.J. and Carol walking while C.J. is on the phone with Will. C.J. The President loves a good camp fire. I should warn you: all his horror stories are about the Crusades. WILL [VO] Yeah, well... CUT TO: EXT. ROAD CAMP DAVID CONTINUOUS WILL [cont.] ... so's the morning paper. CUT TO: INT. LOBBY WHITE HOUSE CONTINUOUS C.J. The Palestinians are wheels-up. CUT TO: EXT. ROAD CAMP DAVID CONTINUOUS As Will hangs up his phone we see a Marine helicopter fly over his head. CAROL [prelap] Did they do s'mores yet? C.J. [prelap] That's a great way to stop the summit... CUT TO: INT. CAROL'S OFFICE DAY We see C.J. and Carol walking into C.J.'s office. C.J. [cont.] ... before it starts: feed them food with the consistency of industrial sealant. CAROL Leo's looking for you. C.J. Try and get him up at Camp David. CAROL He's not at Camp David. He's in his office. CUT TO: INT. LEO'S OFFICE DAY Leo is seated at a table in his office when C.J. comes around the corner, knocks on the door, and goes into his office. C.J. I thought you went up yesterday with the President. LEO Couple of loose ends. We want the Press Corps down here. C.J. We're not going to the Cozy Inn? LEO The President doesn't want either side negotiating in print. You walk them through a daily schedule and that's it. C.J. No pool spray? LEO They go to Camp David, all they're going to get is shots of tinted windows and enough furrowed brows to start a Yiddish theater group. Margaret comes in and hands a piece of paper to Leo. MARGARET They're ready for you. LEO We might have an announcement in a couple of hours. He begins to leave. C.J. What announcement? LEO I'll find you when it's time. CUT TO: EXT. CAMP DAVID DAY We see Will jogging along the road to Camp David. Kate speaks to him as he runs past her. KATE How far? WILL I only have legs for five miles. KATE Buy a carton of Luckys, you can stay in bed next time. CUT TO: EXT. TOBY'S CABIN DAY Kate walks up to the door and knocks. Toby answers the door with his shirt unbuttoned to where we can see his undershirt. His hair looks semi-ruffled so as to indicate that he just got out of bed. KATE So much for permanent press. The prep groups about to start up on the lower porch. He begins to open the door as though he was going to go out but then stops, goes back in, grabs his coat, tie, and shoes, and leaves the cabin. CUT TO: EXT. POOL DAY We see Bartlet swimming the length of the pool. As he reaches the other side, Charlie walks up and speaks to him. CHARLIE Mr. President, they're on their way. CUT TO: INT. MEETING ROOM DAY We see, on the table, places are set for the VIPs attending the summit. Each place has a large notepad, a small notepad, a pen, a pencil, an empty glass sitting on a lace doily, and a card indicating who the place is for. We see that Debbie is checking the places to make sure that the placement of the certain items are place perfectly. She has a ruler in her hand to check each place. We open on the place for Prime Minister Eli Zahavy. She moves on to the place for Mahmoud El-Welwail. Next, she moves to the place for Yasser Al-Dura. The ruler indicates that the notepad is positioned slightly off. She looks up and looks sternly at one of the aides who are with her. A woman comes around her and repositions the notepad so that it is positioned correctly. CUT TO: INT PRESIDENT'S CABIN DAY Abbey comes into the room to speak to Bartlet. We see that he is getting dressed to greet the delegations. He is trying to tie his tie. ABBEY Did you come to a consensus? BARTLET Only that Toby would give half his salary for piece of asphalt he could use to pummel the State Department. She comes to him and begins adjusting his tie. ABBEY You're making a mess of it. Give me that. What's the sticking point? BARTLET What isn't? If we can't agree, how do we expect them to? Charlie comes in. CHARLIE The Israelis just cleared our airspace. ABBEY Okay. She pats Bartlet on the shoulder and he buttons his vest. CUT TO: EXT. HELICOPTER LANDING AREA CAMP DAVID DAY We see a Marine helicopter passing over the helipad and we see it land. When it does, a dress-Marine comes to the door and opens it. We see Bartlet and Abbey walk up to the carpet that has been laid for the Israeli delegation. ABBEY Go get 'em, Cassius. BARTLET Thank you. He walks up to the helicopter as we see Prime Minister Zahavy get off, along with his wife, MAYA. We see the Ambassador get off behind them. Bartlet greets them by shaking Zahavy's hand and kissing Maya on the cheek. BARTLET Mr. Prime Minister, welcome and thank you for coming. ZAHAVY Mr. President. BARTLET Maya. Good to see you again. GALIT Mr. President. BARTLET Madame Galit. GALIT Have you met Defense Minister Massar? CUT TO: INT. SITUATION ROOM DAY General Alexander is standing at one of the boards when Leo walks up to him. LEO Where are we, General? ALEXANDER Special Forces are in place to paint the targets; the planes are on the deck. We see on one of the screens a plane taking off from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. ALEXANDER First wave includes radar-jamming Prowlers, the Hawkeye, in-flight refueling, and an ST Viking. LEO How long till they reach the targets? ALEXANDER They're at Mach 1.7, they'll be dropping ordinance in 90 minutes. CUT TO: EXT. ROAD CAMP DAVID DAY We see a limo driving down the road. It has an American flag on one side of the hood and the Palestinian flag on the other. We see it pull up where the President is waiting to greet them. We see Abbey standing with Bartlet as he waits to greet the Palestinian delegation. BARTLET Round Two. We see Prime Minister Mukarat and Chairman Farad get out and walk up to the President. BARTLET Prime Minister Mukarat, thank you so much for coming. MUKARAT My pleasure. BARTLET Chairman Farad, welcome. FARAD Mr. President. ABBEY Chairman. BARTLET Please join us here. He indicates toward the building. CUT TO: INT. SITUATION ROOM DAY We see Leo standing and looking at one of the maps displayed on the boards. Alexander walks up to him. ALEXANDER They're 30 minutes out, sir. Do we have the go? That's a go. You going up to Camp David later? LEO Maybe tomorrow. ALEXANDER If you don't mind my saying so, sir, I hope the President knows how lucky he is to have you. He walks off. CUT TO: INT. MEETING ROOM CAMP DAVID DAY We see Bartlet standing at the end of the table and he speaks to those present. BARTLET Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming. He sits as we hear much applause from around the table. CUT TO: INT. HOSPITAL GERMANY NIGHT We see on a TV set, a reporter reporting the capture of Khalil Nasan. We pan around to see Josh sitting by Donna's bed, watching the report. We focus on Donna, and we see her slowly open her eyes as Josh still watches the TV. DONNA Josh? He blinks and looks over, startled by hearing her speak. DONNA Josh? Josh. He stands and leans over, looking at her in unbelief. JOSH Hey, you're awake. Your mom is here. Colin took her downstairs for some... I don't know, some schnitzel, or something. DONNA You're still here. JOSH Yeah. I'm still here. DISSOLVE TO: END TITLES. FADE TO BLACK. THE END. * * * The West Wing episode 6.01 "NSF Thurmont", original air date 20 October, 2004.