Quiet Fix for A-PEC: Donna and Amy Reclaim the Schedule
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Donna and Amy meet late in Josh's bullpen, establishing they are both catching up on work after-hours.
Amy reveals the Wellingtons are back on for A-PEC, triggering Donna's concern about potential problems.
Amy proposes finding a side meeting role for the Wellingtons to mitigate issues, which Donna agrees could work.
Amy asks Donna to collaborate on resolving the Wellington issue, securing her agreement.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Absent from scene; his influence is felt as the motivating force behind staff's protective actions.
President Bartlet is not present in the conversation but is implicitly the principal whose schedule and administration optics the staff seek to protect; his needs frame the urgency.
- • Maintain a smooth and uncontested public presence at A-PEC (institutional expectation)
- • Avoid controversies that could reflect badly on the presidency
- • The President's public schedule must be guarded by staff from avoidable controversies
- • Subordinate staff will handle operational containment
Concerned and slightly anxious, but focused and resourceful — dependent on Donna's operational competence to resolve the problem.
Amy arrives late, breathless with concern, and notifies Donna that the Wellingtons have been put back on the A-PEC schedule. She proposes enlisting Human Rights Watch and Amnesty as hosts of a side meeting and asks for Donna's immediate help.
- • Remove the Wellingtons from prominent visibility at A-PEC
- • Find credible organizations to host a side meeting that shields the administration
- • Get immediate operational assistance from Donna
- • Prevent donors or media from provoking a schedule controversy
- • NGOs like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty can be used tactically to reshape summit optics
- • Donna is the most practical person to fix scheduling fires quickly
- • Public schedules must appear orderly to avoid political damage
Practical and slightly exasperated; calm competence masking a clear desire to contain risk quickly and quietly.
Donna is working late in Josh's bullpen when Amy arrives. She listens, immediately recognizes the reputational threat the Wellingtons pose, and agrees to craft a quiet solution — inventing a side meeting to absorb the friction — offering time to collaborate.
- • Neutralize the reputational threat posed by the Wellingtons on the A-PEC schedule
- • Preserve the administration's public schedule and optics without a public scramble
- • Provide rapid, low-visibility operational fixes for senior staff
- • Support Amy in executing the tactical solution
- • Schedule optics directly affect political risk and must be managed proactively
- • Side meetings hosted by NGOs can absorb controversial participants without public fallout
- • She (Donna) is the person who gets these practical problems solved
- • Quick, quiet fixes are preferable to public explanations or schedule changes
N/A (group mentioned as a problematic presence that generates concern among staff).
The Wellingtons are not physically present; they are spoken-of as the source of the problem — their reinstatement on the A-PEC schedule creates the reputational friction Donna and Amy must defuse.
- • Gain visibility and platform at A-PEC
- • Leverage schedule placement for political or donor-related advantage
- • Presence on the A-PEC schedule confers legitimacy and influence
- • Their reinstatement will be noticed and potentially criticized
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The A-PEC schedule is the locus of the problem: Amy uses it (or its knowledge) to alert Donna that the Wellingtons have been reinserted. It functions as the documentary evidence of the scheduling error and the operational artifact Donna intends to modify or sidestep by adding a side meeting hosted by NGOs.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Josh's bullpen at night serves as the late-shift operational hub where scheduling triage happens. It's a backstage space where staffers quietly trade fixes and shield the administration from public problems, making it ideal for rapid, small-scale damage control conversations like this one.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Human Rights Watch is invoked as a tactical ally the staff can assign to host a side meeting at A-PEC, thereby absorbing attention that would otherwise attach to the Wellingtons. It is used instrumentally as a credible, non-controversial institutional presence to deflect political heat.
Amnesty is named alongside Human Rights Watch as an available, credible host for a side meeting. The staff intends to use Amnesty's standing to re-slot or absorb the Wellingtons without causing a public agenda scramble.
A-PEC is the summit whose official schedule is the battleground for optics. The organization's agenda and public program are the immediate reason for the staff's late-night intervention: protecting the summit's credibility and the administration's role within it.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Donna and Amy's late-night work leads to a deeper conversation about Josh."
"Amy's collaboration with Donna shifts to personal concerns about Josh."
Key Dialogue
"AMY: "I just wanted to let you know, the Wellingtons-- back on.""
"DONNA: "For A-PEC?""
"AMY: "Is there a side meeting they can play a role in?""