An airborne contamination alert locks down the West Wing, forcing staffers to stay put until the all-clear is sounded; Toby and Will face off over Will's working for the vice president; C.J. tells Donna some things she's rather not hear about Josh and her career prospects; Leo confronts Abbey about the dangers of her recent coping mechanisms; Jed, Debbie, and Charlie are poked, prodded, and sent to the decontamination showers; Kate is initially reluctant to give Josh any information on a personal or professional level as they sit out the alert together.

A senator attaches a rider to the federal budget bill that would ban gay marriage, almost daring the President to veto it, as the physical infirmities of Bartlet's MS become more pronounced. The Internet is rampant with a story that questions CJ's sexual orientation, and it is only fueled further when CJ refuses to dignify the allegations by putting out a statement. Donna joins the Vice President's senior staff, and heads for New Hampshire to start up Russell's presidential campaign there. And Santos decides that he will run for president after all, but only if Josh will leave the White House to manage his campaign.

On the day after Bartlet gives his last State of the Union address, Leo returns to the West Wing but has difficulty getting the attention of the rest of the staff for a meeting about what to do during the remaining 365 days of Barlet's term. Kate and C.J. have to deal with emergencies in Bolivia and North Korea. Charlie tries to figure out how to get Congress to support funding for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Toby solicits Annabeth's advice regarding proper behavior for Abbey at a NASCAR event. Will asks why they originally chose Russell to be Vice President. And Bartlet seems to have recovered most of his strength after his recent bout with MS.