Sam's balling up another piece of paper and pounding the desk with it as Mallory knocks. She tells him he's off the hook for the opera but that she and Leo want him to come for coffee. "Also, my father has something he wants to say to you." Leo's got the look of a man who wasn't warned he'd need a prostate exam and asks if this is really necessary. Mallory insists; Leo confesses: "Sam, I gave you the thing to do because I was pissed that you were taking, you know, blah blah blah." (Psst, Leo: the word you're looking for is fishcakes.) Mallory makes a sarcastic remark about the inadequacy of this apology and he says, "Anyway, I'm sorry about that." Sam says he figured as much but wants to skip the coffee because he wants to "nail this thing." Leo tells him fuggedaboudit (okay, he doesn't use that exact word), the first draft was fine, and Mallory adds that the Prez was in on it too. No go -- Sam's firm. What a dweeb. Mallory tells Sam he is "so exactly like him" (meaning her father) and Sam considers this while Leo looks vaguely stricken. ["Paging Doctor Freud!" -- Strega] Sam finally responds that that is nicest thing she's ever said to him; Leo's still in vaguely-stricken mode. They take off and Sam's back to his birthday message. ["Way to replicate the relationship patterns that led to your own parents' imminent divorce, Mallory." -- Wing Chun]

Cut to the President's office, where he's reading. Hoynes wants to come in and talk, to straighten out the fallout from the cabinet meeting to-do. Jed tells him that C.J.'s done all the damage control with Danny, but the Veep says he's referring to the stuff between the two of them. Hoynes says he was not Danny's source and that the President can believe that or not. Jed gives him a nod and says "okay." Hoynes makes to leave and as he's almost got his hand on the doorknob, Jed says, "John." Hoynes turns around and starts in: "What did I ever do to you? Where in our past, what did I do to make you treat me this way? What did I ever do to you, except deliver the South?" Potus is unmoved and tells him, "You shouldn't have made me beg, John. I was asking you to be the Vice-President." Hoynes points out (with due respect, of course) that Bartlet had just kicked his ass in a primary, and adds that he's fifteen years younger than POTUS, and had "his career to think of." Jed points out that Hoynes' reluctance weakened him right out of the gate, and says again, "You shouldn't have made me beg." Hoynes glares at him for a wee bit and then says he's glad C.J. straightened things out with Danny. The Veep says good night and leaves.