7. Baby Steps

Complete story — includes the ending

Laos cracks down on human trafficking, which by their laws includes surrogates. Caught up in the sweep is a woman carrying a child for the vice president's son and daughter-in-law. Elizabeth attempts to form an international coalition to set global standards for surrogacy but her efforts are pre-empted when the media accuses the vice president of support for sex trafficking. The vice president leads a group of American couples connected to the Laotian surrogates to Laos. After she officially apologizes for the American bombings of Laos during the Vietnam war, the government releases the surrogates bearing American children. A grand opening for the peace garden gifted by Japan to the United States is in jeopardy when the park service states that they lack the budget to follow Japan's care and maintenance instructions. Blake convinces a businessman who has been trying to bribe his way into a meeting with Elizabeth to sponsor the garden. Stevie gets a letter from Dmitri.