It was five a.m. and Jed was waking up, not to deal with a crisis, but to cook for the large family that would be descending upon the Bartlet farm later that morning. He slid out of bed smiling as he watched Abbey pull his pillow to her chest and curl around it in place of his warm body, which she had been curled around just moments before. He shrugged into his bathrobe and padded over to the windows overlooking the rolling hills and pastures of his farm. The early morning fog was just lifting off the pond and the bare tree limbs swayed in the wind. He breathed deeply with contentment, for if it was the mystical ocean that called to his wife, it was the practical land that called to Jed. While Abbey was as wild and tempestuous as the sea, he was as solid and steady as the unyielding New England soil he had tread upon his whole life, as strong and unbreaking as New Hampshire granite. They made a perfect fit, he and Abbey, for where the sea met the land was always a place of remarkable beauty, whether it was with quiet caressing laps, or churning volatile surf.

He turned away from the window, his gaze sweeping the bedroom and taking in all the familiar things. Antique furniture, pictures, Abbey's crammed filled vanity, all the things he had never paid attention to in the past, but since being away, now spoke of home. Home. This had always been home, but home had not always been kind to Jed Bartlet. Home for young Jed had been cold and threatening. For that reason alone Abbey had been surprised when he had accepted this place from his grandfather after his grandmother's death. Old Josiah had determined it was time for him to get a smaller place and that the farm was meant for a young family. Jed and Abbey with their little girl and another baby on the way belonged there now. It was time for the next two Bartlet generations to move in. Most of Jed's growing up years had been spent in a big Victorian house on the campus of the prep school where his father was headmaster. That was the house Jed remembered with a sickening pit in his stomach. John Bartlet was at his worse on the campus of the school. At the farm, Jed could get away with his grandfather and walk the fields. Those walks had been important to him. Old Josiah had filled him with a love for the land, and a love for history. He had regaled him with stories about his important ancestors, not just his namesake, but the countless others who had come after him to shape the state of New Hampshire. It gave him a sense of himself, a sense of belonging that was desperately needed by a young boy who had never felt he belonged. Old Josiah might have been a crotchety old man, but he had loved his grandson, and took pride in him in a way his son never did. He could not have known that by doing so he only made it worse on Jed. John had never been able please his father and the fact that he took such an interest in Jed only filled John with more jealous anger toward his son. Still, Jed wouldn't have given up that time with his grandfather for anything.

Ghosts, Jed thought shaking his head. Where were all these ghosts coming from? He thought he had banished them long ago. It was Ellie, he mused. That talk with Ellie had dredged up the past and brought it into the open. It had turned that old scar back into an open wound.

He turned back to face the bed watching Abbey sigh and smile in her sleep. Abbey, she had made all the difference. Meeting Abbey had for the first time given him real hope and excitement for the future. For a boy who had never been shown any affection it had been amazing how easy it had been for him to touch her, to hold her, and once he had started, he had never wanted to stop. Still didn't.

He loved that he and Abbey had turned this old house into a home. This bedroom that had known only silence and coolness under his parents' short reign, had come to life with laughter, passion, arguments, and countless children's voices under he and Abbey. The bed that Abbey now slept in was the same one they had conceived babies in, that Ellie had been born in, and that they had held each other all night in.

He kissed Abbey lightly on the forehead, then proceeded down the hall, padding over the hard wood floors and taking in the scent of lemon and beeswax. He smiled as he passed each closed bedroom door knowing a member of his family slept peacefully on the other side. He paused at the end of the hall looking at the wall where they had measured the heights of their girls from ages one to eighteen. He reached a finger out and touched the lines, remembering hair ribbons and pig tails, braces and pierced ears. It would all be starting again soon, he thought. Only a couple months until the twins turned one and, even though they lived in the White House, he would bring them home to mark their heights. Home, where their father was simply their father, one of a long line of Bartlets, not the President of the United States.

++++

Jed was hard at work stuffing the turkey when Abbey entered the kitchen yawning. She was in her bathrobe and still half asleep.

"Coffee," she groaned, stepping toward the coffeemaker. "Oh Jed, you're a saint" she sighed upon realizing a full pot of hot coffee was just sitting there waiting for her.

"I've tried to tell you that."

"What are you doing?" She asked, puzzled by the way he was turning his back to her.

"I told you I am not giving up the secrets to my stuffing. I don't want you peeking over my shoulder."

"Jed, it's six a.m., I could care less what is in that stuffing, as long as it's edible."

"THAT'S your criteria? We have a houseful of people coming for Thanksgiving dinner and your only criteria is that the food be edible. That's it, you're not doing the pies."

"Who died and made you boss?"

"The American people made me boss, cream puff."

"On the contrary, dumpling. They made you the boss of the country, not of Thanksgiving dinner. I'm making the pies."

+++++

Leo awoke to the soft cries of a baby in the room next door. He still couldn't believe he had allowed Jed and Abbey to convince him to come here with them for Thanksgiving. He hated being the object of anyone's pity and he knew that was exactly how they felt. They felt sorry for him because he was going to be all alone for Thanksgiving and, truth be told, he WAS feeling a little sorry for himself. Holidays were for families and he had allowed his to slip away. Still, he had tried telling Jed he was all set when Jed had asked about his plans. He knew Jed would assume he would be with Mallory, but Jenny had opened her big mouth and informed Abbey that Mallory was spending Thanksgiving with her and Jeffrey. The look on Abbey's face when she had come to his office to plead with him to spend the holiday with them had almost been more than he could bear. He did not want Abbey Bartlet feeling sorry for him. He knew exactly what he wanted her to feel and that was why he knew this was not such a good idea for him. During his visit to Maine over the summer it had been so hard to keep his emotions in check. It had become somewhat easier in the White House, where his access to Abbey was limited. Now, here he was again in the private world of two of his best friends. Two friends who had no idea of the conflicted turmoil that filled him. Somehow he knew this holiday was not going to be easy. After accepting the invitation he had made a promise with himself that he was not going to spend Christmas with the Bartlets. He couldn't continue on as a third wheel for the rest of his life. Despite their hospitality, he was NOT a member of this family and he had to get used to spending the holidays alone at some point.

Leo lay, wondering why nobody was going to the crying babies. He knew they had given Isabelle the holiday off but it was not like Abbey to let a baby cry. He moved to the nursery to see both twins sitting in their cribs, their faces blotchy from the tears. As he approached the cribs, he noticed the fallen baby monitor and that the switch had been turned to off.

"Ah, that explains it," he murmured. "Quiet guys, and I'll bring you down to your parents."

++++

The radio was playing in the kitchen and Abbey was singing along softly while molding a piecrust. "Sugar pie, honeybunch, you know that I love you." Her hips moved slightly with the beat of the music and every now and then she gave Jed a bump from her hip, causing him to smile down at her and bump her back.

"Here," Abbey said, dipping her finger into a spoonful of chocolate cream pie filling, "taste this. Do you think it's sweet enough?" She brought her finger up to Jed's lips, expecting him to lick it off. Instead, he pulled her finger into his warm mouth.

"I'm not sure," he said, swirling his tongue as if he were doing a wine test. "I think I need another taste." Abbey smiled, knowing exactly what her husband was up to. She dipped her finger into the pie filling again, but this time, ran the chocolate over his lips so he couldn't suck her finger back in. Jed grinned at her and licked the chocolate off his lips. "Here, let me," he took the spoon from her and dipped his finger in the filling. Abbey watched him move his finger toward his mouth but at the last minute he reached out to dab her on the nose with the chocolate.

"Jed!" she cried with surprise and turned to reach for a paper towel.

"I'll take care of it," he assured her. With that, he leaned down, snaking his tongue out to lick the pudding off her nose. "Mmmm... definitely sweet enough," he wiggled his eyebrows at her. Abbey giggled and smeared more pudding onto his lips, then cupped his face to lick and kiss the chocolate off.

"Excuse me," Leo said uncomfortably from the doorway. "But I might want some of that pie this afternoon and, at the rate you two are going, there won't be any filling left."

"Leo," Abbey laughed, totally at ease with being caught in the intimate moment.

"Why do you have my kids with you?" She moved forward to take Aislinn from Leo's arms.

"They were awake and crying," He watched Abbey frown and look at the monitor on the table. "The baby monitor fell over and the switch turned off."

"I'm so sorry if they woke you," Abbey apologized. "Did you wake up Uncle Leo?" She bounced Aislinn on her hip.

"It's OK, I was awake anyway. Where do you want him?" Unlike his sister, Nicholas was still fussing.

"Put him right there in the high chair. I have to finish doing this pie before I give him breakfast."

"I'll get their cereal and fruit going," Jed said, pulling down the box of baby cereal and a jar of pears.

"Can I help with anything?" Leo asked.

"If you want, you can give him a bottle to tide him over until his breakfast is ready," Abbey began to scoop the powdered formula into a bottle, shook it, and handed it to Leo. Leo placed the nipple on Nicky's mouth and the baby boy grabbed onto the bottle with both hands, sucking eagerly. "He's got quite a little appetite," Leo said with surprise.

"Tell me about it," Abbey smiled ruefully. "Thanks for helping out, Leo," she placed Aislinn in the high chair and gave him a lovely smile of such happiness and gratitude that it literally made his heart flip. Jesus, he couldn't believe he was reacting this way. What was he? A teenager who just got a smile from the prettiest girl in school?

"No problem," he smiled back. "This is kind of nice. I guess I really missed out when Mal was little." He watched Abbey turn and head back toward the counter.

"You still have chocolate on your nose," Jed informed her and dabbed at her nose with a wash cloth.

"Yeah, well whose fault is that?" She smacked him lightly on the rear. Jed bumped his hip against her and she turned that dazzling smile up at him. A smile of such pure adoration and intimacy that it made Leo turn away. He couldn't understand this feeling of pain and jealousy that was filling him. He'd always had this attraction to Abbey, always envied Jed his relationship with her. Why was it becoming so much harder to deal with? Was it because he was all alone now? Or was it because he was seeing and getting to know Abbey in ways that hadn't been possible when they lived almost a thousand miles apart? All he knew was that watching them hurt, and coming here had not been a good idea at all.

++++

Jed stood at the head of the table dressed casually in khakis and a navy blue sweater. He was carving the golden brown turkey and surveying the group of people that surrounded his table as he passed plates down to them. He was gratified by the fact that his entire family was present, including all his children, his mother, Jon, Sally, and Abbey's parents.

At the other end of the table, Abbey sat in a long, tan, suede skirt and a soft cream-colored cashmere sweater with her hair loose to her shoulders. There was a softness and trendiness to her that spoke more of the old Abbey Bartlet rather than the First Lady. He couldn't help but watch her at the far end of the table sipping her wine as she watched their daughters dig into the oyster stuffing.

"Everything OK, girls?" He heard her ask.

"It's great, Mom," Zoey said.

"Dad really outdid himself with the stuffing this year," Ellie enthused, "It's delicious."

Abbey glanced up and found that her husband's gaze had fallen upon her, his eyes alight with mirth. He gave her a quick wink to which she responded with a lift of her wineglass in silent acknowledgment of their private joke.

"So, Anabeth," Jed turned to his granddaughter, "Did you think you were going to slip this past me?" He reached over to tuck Annie's hair behind her ear revealing her now double pierced ears.

"I don't have anything to hide," Annie sniffed, sounding very much like Abbey. "I had permission."

"I trust your mother won't be allowing you to defile your body with anymore holes," Jed lifted his brow pointedly at Elizabeth.

"Oh for heaven's sake, Dad, her ears are double pierced. It's not like she pierced her lip or something," Liz shook her head at her father.

"Don't go giving her any ideas," Jed rolled his eyes.

"It was a compromise," Annie informed them. "Mom wouldn't let me get a tattoo like Grams so...What?" she asked puzzled, as the whole table grew quiet and everyone's eyes fell on Abbey.

Leo's fork, loaded with mashed potatoes, paused midway to his mouth as he took in Annie's innocent comment. Abbey had a tattoo? Jesus, just the idea of it went straight to his groin.

Emily Bartlet was eyeing Abbey with something akin to horror. "Abigail, really. Do you think that is quite appropriate for the First Lady?"

"I wasn't the First Lady when I got it," Abbey said calmly taking a sip from her wineglass. She was going to kill her granddaughter when this meal was over.

"What kind of tattoo is it?" Leo almost choked out the question.

"Just a small Celtic knot," Abbey said, anxious to move on to another topic of conversation.

"With Gramp's initials around it," Annie informed them. "Isn't that totally romantic?"

"Totally," Beth O'Neill agreed with a small smile at her great-granddaughter.

"Where is it, Abbey?" Sally asked with amusement. "I've never seen it."

"On the back of my hip," Abbey answered almost defiantly.

"It's real low, you can only see it when she's naked," Annie grinned.

"OK Annie, I think you've embarrassed your grandmother enough for one day," Jed said, touching the young girl's hand.

Jon Bartlet was eyeing Abbey speculatively. Jed's wife had always had a bit of a wild streak in her. With her overwhelming intelligence and self-confidence and her sexy, passionate nature, she had sometimes frightened him. For a man as stiff and conservative as he was, a woman like Abbey was the stuff of carnal dreams rather than the ideal wife. However, Jed never seemed to be afraid of getting too close to the bright flame that was Abbey Bartlet. In fact, when he was with her, she only seemed to shine even brighter. Now, he had to wonder what it would be like to have a woman like his sister-in-law. A woman who would tattoo her man's initials on her hip. A woman with a wild streak.

Leo was shifting uncomfortably in his chair, his own carnal thoughts lingering on the idea that Abbey had Jed's initials branded practically on her ass. He sighed realizing it was just another vision he was going to have to try to banish from his mind. No, he thought, coming here had not been a good idea at all.

++++

With dinner and dessert finished, Abbey stood loading the dishwasher with Sally. She smiled as she watched through the kitchen window Jed, Jon, Leo, and Jay playing touch football against Liz, Ellie, Zoey, and Annie. Normally she would have joined in, but instead, she had stayed inside to help clean up and then put the twins down for a nap. With the dishes finished, she turned and headed for living room, where the sound of a football game droned from the TV.

"OK, who's ready for a nap?" she asked while wiping her hands on a dishtowel as she entered the room.

"Ssh," Beth put a finger to her lips. Abbey gave her mother, who was rocking Aislinn, a puzzled look until the older woman pointed to the recliner where Dr. Michael O'Neill lay snoring softly with his grandson sound asleep on his chest. The two women shared a fond smile for the man they both loved.

"Should I move him?" Abbey whispered as she ran a finger gently along her son's spine.

"Let him sleep there, he looks pretty comfortable."

At that moment the door to the kitchen burst open and Ellie and Liz came through, each holding onto one of Jed's arms.

"Stop fussing over me, girls," Jed swatted at them. "I'm OK."

"What happened?" Abbey asked, fear lacing her voice. It never used to be this way but since the MS diagnosis whenever Jed was sick or injured that always seemed to be her first worry.

"Daddy cut himself on the barbed wire out by the pasture."

"How did you cut yourself in barbed wire?" Abbey asked, her hands moving to where his shirt was torn and bloody. She probed at his torn flesh with gentle fingers.

"Abbey, quit picking at it, that hurts," Jed grumbled.

"Well, it doesn't look like you'll need stitches. THIS TIME, anyway," she looked into his eyes pointedly.

"Here's your bag, Mom," Ellie handed her mother her medical bag.

"Now will somebody please tell me how in the hell you ended up tangled in barbed wire?" She asked while starting to cleanse the wound with peroxide.

"Jay led me with a long pass," Jed started.

"And Dad dove for it," Elizabeth giggled.

"You DOVE for it?" Abbey was incredulous.

"We were down by 6. I wanted to tie it up."

"You wanted to tie it up?"

"Are you going to keep repeating everything we say?" Jed asked. "OW!" He gasped as Abbey poured the peroxide directly on his wound. "You did that on purpose," he accused.

"Jed, you do realize that you aren't 20 anymore, don't you?" She asked, ignoring his complaints. "You can't play football like you're Jerry Rice."

"I caught it."

"What?"

"The football. I caught the football. The game is tied. Just patch me up woman, I have to get back out there and win this game."

"Oh for heaven's sake," Abbey said with exasperation. "I don't know why I ever worried about having an empty nest. With you, I'll always have a little boy."

"You do realize you're referring to the President of the United States."

"Yeah, I do. And wouldn't the American public love to know that their brilliant leader of the free world dove headfirst into a barbed wire fence."

"I made the touchdown to tie the game. I'm a hero, sugar. Every red-blooded American would understand that. My approval ratings would go sky high."

"The sad thing is that you are probably right. Now let's see, when was your last tetanus shot..." Abbey was gratified to see that the smug look left her husband's face as he blanched at the thought of a shot.

++++

Deep in the night Abbey awoke to find Jed gone from the bed. She assumed he was up with one of the babies and moved to the bathroom for a glass of water. She heard the low sound of his voice coming from the nursery and walked over to stand in the doorway. He was leaning over the crib stroking Nicholas' back and murmuring softly to him.

"I'm not like your grandfather Bartlet, Nicky," he was saying. "You don't have to be smart for me to love you. I don't care if you're as dumb as a post, or as smart as a whip. I don't care if you're a star jock or trip over your own feet. I don't care if you hate politics or grow up to play baseball for the New York Yankees. You don't have to do anything to make me love you. You're my son, and I'll love you no matter what you become."

"Jed," Abbey placed a hand on his shoulder, swallowing past the lump in her throat. Jed turned to see his wife's eyes sparkling with tears in the moonlight.

"Did I wake you?" He asked.

"I woke up and you were gone. You OK?"

'Yeah. Just trying to banish some ghosts," he looked into Abbey's sad face and tried to lighten the mood. "I'm hungry, let's go get a snack."

A few minutes later Abbey was seated at the kitchen table watching her husband barefooted and wearing only a pair of old faded pajama bottoms digging through the refrigerator for the makings of a turkey sandwich.

"Can I ask you a question?" He asked, leaning against the counter and taking a bite from his sandwich.

"Since when do you have to ask?"

"I don't want to dredge up what happened the last time we were here but I guess I need to know, because we are going to be hit with a lot of shit in the upcoming months."

"What exactly do you need to know?"

"You told me you understand why I have to run again and that you are OK with that, but I need to know, do you wish we were coming home? Coming back here?"

"Jed," Abbey shook her head and got to her feet. She moved forward splaying her hands on his chest. "Home is not a place. Home is wherever you are." Jed smiled and kissed her forehead. "Besides," she gave him a sassy toss of her head. "I hate to lose as much as you do. So, when I told you I was OK with you running again, I guess I should have added that I will be giving 110% to get you re-elected."

"Because you don't like to lose?" He grinned tangling his hand in her hair and tipping her head back.

"Because I love you."

+++

Dawn had just arrived in New Hampshire and Abbey was up and preparing to go for an early morning ride on her horse. She stood at her dresser and began to search for a pair of jeans. Just as she was about to grab one she noticed Jed's eye was cracked open and he was surreptitiously watching her dress. He hadn't been pleased with her last night when they had returned to the bedroom and she had refused to have sex with him while they had a house full of people. He had been experiencing withdrawal since her trip to Vienna. She decided to tantalize him a little further and grabbed a pair of tan jodhpurs rather than her jeans, knowing exactly how much her husband loved them. She slipped the breeches on slowly, one shapely leg at a time and smoothed her hands down over her thighs and her backside as if smoothing out wrinkles. She could have sworn she heard a muffled moan from the bed. She stood wearing only the jodhpurs and her bra digging through the dresser until she found the tightest white T-shirt she owned. She slipped the shirt on and arched her back thrusting her breasts out against the fabric as she tucked the shirt in. She smiled to herself as Jed squirmed on the bed obviously trying to pretend he was tossing and turning in his sleep. She knew damn well just what she had done to him, and if her husband were as predictable as she knew he was, she would reap the benefits of this in the near future. After quickly plaiting her hair in a French braid and throwing her leather jacket with its lining of sheep wool on, she made her way down to the barn.

"Aquinnah is all saddled up and ready to go."

"Thanks Benny," Abbey said to the small grizzled old man who had been taking care of the Bartlet livestock longer than she had been married to Jed. She took the reins from him and put her hand out to give the beautiful blood bay mare an apple before swinging on to her back.

"By the way, Benny, I'll take care of Quinney when I get back. Go ahead and take the morning off."

"Are you sure, Mrs. Bartlet?"

"I'm sure," Oh was she sure, Abbey thought to herself. She could read her husband like a book and there was no way Jed was going to allow her to walk away from her little performance this morning unscathed. Just the thought sent a shiver up her spine. He wasn't the only one who had been in a lonely bed an ocean apart from the person she wanted to be with.

As soon as she reached the open fields, Abbey gave Aquinnah her head and the horse took off in a fast gallop. Abbey felt good, she felt free. More than anything she missed these early morning solitary rides. She missed the time on her own to clear her head before beginning her day. She missed the way galloping over the fields made her heart race and energized her for the day. As she reached the edge of the field, where the woods started, Abbey reined her headstrong mare in to a walk, and headed onto one of the riding trails they had cleared through the woods. It was a chilly morning, but despite the fact that Abbey could see her breath, she was warm and still slightly winded from the fierce gallop. Twigs snapped under her horse's hooves and the barren branches of trees creaked in the wind. Squirrels scurried rustling the dead leaves. All of those noises were familiar to Abbey and yet, something was different. She felt funny, as if someone were watching her. She turned her head quickly from left to right but didn't see anything. She pulled Aquinnah in short and the horse stopped right away. Abbey's heart leapt as she heard heavy footsteps continue, and then stop. She turned to where she had heard the rustling and could have sworn she had seen something move. But all was now silent. Her heart began to race like crazy and she took a deep breath trying to control her nerves. This was ridiculous, she told herself. There was nobody in the woods. Their land had been posted to keep hunters out forever, and now, with the Secret Service, nobody could penetrate their security. It had to be a fox or a deer, she even had the fleeting thought that it could be an agent, however, agents wouldn't skulk in the woods and they wouldn't hide from her. She urged Aquinnah on, wishing the hairs on the back of her neck would stop standing up.

As they approached the low stone wall at the edge of the property, Aquinnah suddenly startled and rose on her hind legs. Abbey had been watching behind her and hadn't expected the move. Before she knew what had happened, she was in the air. She gave a sharp cry as she hit her right shoulder on a rock when she landed. She lay still for a moment trying to regain the breath that had been knocked out of her. She moved her arm trying to ascertain if there were any broken bones. Her fingers were probing at her arm when she heard the leaves rustle directly behind her. She held her breath, her heart pounding and gave out a loud scream as she felt something warm touch the back of her neck.

TBC...