Abbey kneeled in the fecund earth, the sun beating down on her back causing rivulets of sweat to drip down between her breasts. Every so often she stopped weeding and lifted her head to watch the sun sparkle over the blue expanse of Chesapeake Bay. She ignored the two cigarette boats manned by secret service agents and instead focused on the pristine white sails dotting the horizon as she lifted her ponytail to allow the breeze off the bay to cool the back of her damp neck.

She was back in Port Harmony after almost a week of campaigning and fund-raising in the Northeast. Speeches in Boston, house parties in Connecticut, Broadway openings in New York City, and Long Island lawn parties in the Hamptons, all interspersed with tours of hospitals and factories. To an outsider it might appear to be a glamorous lifestyle, and in some ways it was. But, mostly it was exhausting. She did not draw energy from a crowd the way that her husband did. It was the one on one that she enjoyed. The few brief moments that she was allowed to meet with real people and listen to their wants and their needs. In listening to those wants and needs she could truly appreciate just how difficult it was for her husband to govern such a large and diverse nation. Basic needs were the same, health care, affordable housing, good education, but moving away from that she heard issues concerning agriculture in Vermont, the high tech industry in southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts, fishing quota issues from Maine to Rhode Island, blue collar steelworkers in Pennsylvania, on and on it went until places became a blur.

Oftentimes she would find herself in a hotel room and would have to ask Lily where they were. Hotels all looked the same and if it was one thing that she missed with this whirlwind type of campaigning it was not getting to truly see the places that she visited. She flew in, spoke, and left without getting to delve into the atmosphere, to find out what made a place tick. People thought she was so lucky to get to "travel" all over the country. Huh, she wished. She loved to travel and visit new places, but that was not what campaigning was all about. It was about looking perfect and smiling until her face ached. It was about making polite conversation and never saying the wrong thing, or setting the wrong foot forward. It was being diplomatic when you really wanted to sock some obnoxious reporter in the face. It was work, pure and simple and much of the time she was looking forward to getting home to Jed and the kids. After facing her own mortality over the summer this need to be with them was even more pronounced

Unfortunately, getting home to Jed was not quite that easy, he was just as busy as she was, flying in and out of Washington almost on a daily basis. Earlier that morning when she had been out riding through the woods and along the edge of the bay on Aquinnah, she had realized, with some surprise, that she had not spent a night with her husband in almost three weeks and that it had been over two months since they'd been intimate. She had needed that time to heal, first physically and later emotionally. Unconsciously she placed a hand to her left breast. The pain was gone and just that morning in the shower she'd noticed that the bruising had completely faded, something she was incredibly thankful for since her body was starting to scream at her for some action. Over two months of abstinence was definitely taking its toll.

"Mrs. Bartlet!"

Abbey looked back toward the house, shading her eyes against the bright sun. It was Izzy standing on the porch.

"Phone call for you," Izzy shouted again. "It's the President."

Abbey immediately got to her feet and began jogging away from the flower garden toward the house. Despite their physical absence they still spoke on the phone several times a day and Abbey was loath to miss out on a call.

Jed lay back in his big empty hotel bed, still half asleep. It was 7 a.m. and he'd just awakened from an incredibly erotic dream. A dream so hot and so vivid he couldn't believe that he hadn't awakened to find himself inside his wife's body. Instead, with a terrible pain of longing as he waited for her to come in from the garden, he could hear his kids playing and laughing in the background. He missed them terribly. He missed their messy breakfasts and doing puzzles with them to unwind from a busy day. He missed holding them fresh from their nightly bath while he read them bedtime stories and feeling them sleeping between he and Abbey in their big warm bed after bad dreams had assaulted their innocent sleep. It was times like these that he wondered what exactly they could understand. If they had any idea at all of why their father was just flitting in and out of their lives lately.

"Hey, babe." It was Abbey on the line; his grim face immediately relaxed into a smile.

"Hey yourself."

"You sound sad."

"I was just listening to the kids playing with their stuffed kittens. I miss them. I miss you."

"We miss you too." Abbey's guilty eyes moved toward the living room where Nicholas and Aislinn were peering under the couch calling "kitty, kitty". Well, there would be enough time when he got home to tell him about Oliver.

"So, tell me, my lovely. Whatcha wearing?"

"What am I wearing?" He had caught her by surprise. That was a question usually asked on their late night conversations. A quick glance at the clock told her that while she had been up for quite a few hours he was still in bed.

"Had one of THOSE dreams, did you?" She grinned and made her way to the privacy of the pantry, shutting the door behind her.

"Damn near needed to have a maid come up and change the sheets."

Abbey laughed, throaty and sexy. "You sure you're up for this conversation?"

Jed glanced down ruefully at the tent in the sheet. "Abbey, do me a favor, don't mention the word UP right now."

"Hey, you started it, not me. Let's see, you wanted to know what I'm wearing." She gazed down at her dirt smeared khaki shorts and her sweaty tank top and pushed back a wet tendril of hair off her damp forehead, hardly a look for erotic dreams or even phone sex. "I'm laying in bed wearing those crotchless panties you fell in love with in the Frederick's of Hollywood catalog and nothing else."

"Really?" Jed sounded amused. "So you do your gardening in the semi- nude now?"

"Ah, you cheated, Bartlet, you asked Izzy what I was doing."

"Gotta keep tabs on my girl, don't I?"

"Well, how do you know that while you've been gone I haven't taken up nude gardening as a hobby?"

"You wouldn't hear me complaining. You might actually get me to do some weeding."

"That would be a first."

"God, I miss you so damn much." His teasing tone had turned to one of sheer longing. " I want to be with you. I want to run my hands up and down your body. I want to bury my face between your breasts and between your thighs. I want to taste every inch of you and when you can't stand it anymore I want to feel you stretch as I slide inside you. I want to hear those soft sexy whimpers you make right before you…"

"Jesus, stop, Jed." She nearly moaned in protest. Her pulse was racing, her legs felt weak and shaky and a thin sheen of perspiration covered her body, not, this time, from the heat of the sun, but from the heat of her husbands words. "What are you trying to do to me?"

"I'm trying to get you all hot and bothered, it's been over two months Abbey, I don't think I have it in me for any foreplay tonight."

"So you thought you'd get it out of the way now?"

"Something like that."

"Mommy?"

Abbey had been so engrossed in Jed's "foreplay" she hadn't heard Nicholas open the pantry door. He was standing in the doorway sucking his thumb, giving her a puzzled look. She supposed it did seem odd to him to find his mother in the small dark room with the door shut.

"What is it, love?"

"Hungwy."

"Okay, how would you like some apple juice and a graham cracker?"

Nicholas nodded but he was still eyeing her with a funny look.

"You want to talk to daddy while I get your snack?"

"DADDY!" Nicholas raced forward and grabbed the phone from her.

Abbey smiled as she poured the juice into a sippie cup listening to her son babble on in his broken baby English a mile a minute to his father, then watched the intent look grow on his face as he listened to what his father was saying. She wondered what Jed was asking him to elicit the careful "yes…yes…no…yes…" responses. As Aislinn raced up to wait her turn on the phone, Abbey couldn't help but hope that Jed would make it home before they went to bed. As much as she was looking forward to falling into bed with him she knew how desperately the children missed him and how much he missed them.

****

It was the moment Jed had been anticipating from the moment Air Force One set down at Andrews and he had switched to Marine One for the quick 10-minute flight out to he and Abbey's weekend home in Port Harmony, Maryland. Set in over 30 acres of woods and fields and surrounded on one side by the huge expanse of Chesapeake Bay, their home was an oasis of privacy just minutes away from the White House.

As he entered the house he could hear his family down the hall in the kitchen. They were singing about 10 little angels. He paused in the archway with a smile. He first saw Aislinn. She was seated in her high chair finishing her supper. He then turned and saw Abbey. She was standing barefoot at the counter with Nicholas on her hip, wearing slim fitting faded jeans and a white T-shirt. The setting sun shone through the window and gleamed in her copper hair which she wore pulled back in a ponytail She was wearing her glasses and reading from a cookbook while she sang with the kids.

"8 little angels all dressed in…" she paused.

"WHITE" Nicholas and Aislinn shouted with laughter.

"Trying to get to heaven on the end of a…"

"KITE"

"When the kite string broke and down they all fell. Instead of going to heaven they all went to---"

"7 little angels all dressed in…" Jed sang entering the kitchen.

"DADDY!" the kids shrieked. Nicholas began kicking Abbey's legs to be let down and Aislinn was banging hers against the high chair trying to squirm free from her restraints."

"Hey, my little dunkin' munchkins!" Jed caught Abbey's eye and knelt to envelop Nicholas in a bear hug. "How's daddy's big boy, did you take care of mommy and Aislinn like I asked?"

Nicholas nodded seriously then tucked his head back against his father's chest.

"Daddy…daddy" Aislinn began banging her spoon in an effort to gain his attention.

"I'm coming, sunshine, I'm coming." He hoisted Nicholas on to his hip and made his way over to his daughter.

"Mmm…peas and applesauce, that looks good." His words were muffled against Aislinn's pale curls as he kissed the top of her head. Always ready to please him, Aislinn dipped some of her peas into her applesauce and held out her chubby hand for her father to have a bite.

"You walked right into that one," Abbey informed him. She bit her lip to keep her amusement from showing as Jed accepted the bite from his daughter trying not to grimace at the combination.

"It's not actually that bad," he told her, as he set Nicholas on the floor. "Now isn't mommy going to welcome me home?"

Abbey looked down with dismay. Her T-shirt had a small brown stain on the shoulder where Nicholas had coughed up chocolate milk on her and there was applesauce in her hair from the kid's fingers. She'd hoped to have herself howered and the kids bathed before Jed came home.

"I'm a bit of a mess."

"So I noticed," he grinned. "Whatever happened to the days when you greeted me at the end of the day in a slinky Victoria's Secret special garment?"

"You got me all liquored up and knocked me up with twins."

"I did that, eh? Are we re-writing a bit of history tonight?"

"Yes, we are." They were grinning like fools at each other when Izzy entered the room.

"Would you like me to get the twins started on their baths, Mrs. Bartlet?" Privacy was obviously needed here.

"That would be great, Izzy, thanks." Abbey's eyes never left Jed's face but his were riveted to the doorway. As soon as Izzy shut the door behind the kids and herself he pulled Abbey up against him, his mouth demanding and greedy. Abbey leaned into his body sliding her tongue against his, her mouth just as demanding as his.

"Mmm…you're already hard," she murmured, rubbing up against erection.

"It's been so long." He trailed his mouth along her jaw. "I get hard just thinking about your kisses." He pulled her knee up over his hip so that her groin was pressed up tightly against his pulsing hardness. Abbey wanted to scream with frustration.

"Not here Jed…" she broke away, breathless and shaky. "The kids are still up… and Izzy."

"Just slip your pants down. We'll be quick." He was already tugging at the clasp in her jeans."

"Wait---" she pushed his hands away. "Not here."

"Christ, woman, WHERE then…" He wasn't going to make it to their bedroom. Instead, he looked around wildly for privacy his eye falling on a door down the hall. "Come on, the study." He grabbed her wrist and practically dragged her down the hall to the study. While Jed locked the door, Abbey made her way to the couch yanking her T-shirt from where it was tucked into her jeans then grabbing at the hem and pulling it up over her head.

"Damn," Jed muttered, seeing her in the dainty white bra with the rose bud clasp between her breasts. Then, in the next instant they were both falling onto the leather couch, a tangle of arms and legs.

"I need you in me…now, Jed, NOW." Abbey's fingers were tugging desperately on his belt.

"Yes, oh God, yes." He helped her and together they got his pants down over his hips.

Jed heard a hiss and a yowl that sounded surprisingly like a cat.

"SON OF A BITCH!" He exploded as sharp claws dug into his posterior.

Abbey's eyes widened with surprise as he reared off her body.

"What the hell is it?" He was trying to look over his shoulder. "Get it off me, Abbey, get it off!"

He turned around and Abbey doubled over in laughter at the sight of the tiny tortoiseshell kitten hanging from her husband's rear his big green eyes wide with fear at the man's bellowing.

"Come here, Oliver." She pulled the kitten gently off of Jed's boxers. "Oh, sweetie, did daddy scare you with all that yelling?" She nuzzled her nose against the kitten, which began to purr in his mistress's arms.

"Daddy? Did you just refer to me as daddy to that mangy little cat."

"Oliver is not mangy" Abbey defended the tiny scrap.

"Oliver, huh? When were you going to tell me that we now have a cat?"

"After I put you in a better mood," she smiled slyly. Jed liked dogs. He was not a cat person and neither really was she, but he had always caved in with a few pleading looks and batted eyelashes from his daughter's.

"You thought that after a little slap and tickle I'd be putty in your hands."

"No, I KNEW you'd be putty in my hands." She flashed him a sassy smile. "Oliver is an orphan, hence the name. I gave him some milk and he just kept meowing; more please, more please."

"I believe animals are referred to as strays, Abbey, not orphans."

"Orphan, stray, same difference. He needs a home and we have one."

"End of story."

"Yup, end of story."

"Well, would you mind shutting the little ORPHAN out of this room so we can continue where we were without me having to worry about anyone's nails but yours in my ass."

"I believe I can do that. See I CAN compromise."

Abbey shut the cat out of the room then returned to her spot under Jed's body on the couch. She had just reached into his boxers to draw him back to life when there was a sharp knock on the door.

"Jesus Christ, WHAT NOW!" He bellowed at the door with frustration.

"Sir, it's me, Charlie."

Jed threw on his shirt over his boxers and made his way to the door, opening it just a slit so Charlie wouldn't see Abbey on the couch. "This better be DAMN good, Charlie. I just flew back from Arizona for ONE night with my wife. I have to leave in the morning."

"Sir, Mr. McGarry just called. There's been a situation. He needs you back at the White House for a meeting with the Jordanian ambassador in an hour. Marine One is ready when you are."

"Yeah, okay." Jed sounded deflated, defeated. Their chance was over; who knew when their schedules would mesh again. "I'll be out in a bit."

"Yes sir."

He felt Abbey press up against him from behind. "Oh, fuck" she muttered softly against his back. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

"I would if I could, sweetheart."

"We still have half an hour, if you skip supper…"

"Say no more." Jed pulled her back to his body and enthusiastically began yanking her jeans down over her slender hips, any thoughts of supper banished from his mind. He began to nuzzle along her neck, his hands slipping inside her silk panties to cup her soft rear in his palms. Abbey moaned into his thick hair, her fingers digging into his shoulders.

"Mommy…"

"What the hell was that?" Jed pulled back, eyes hazy with passion, hair falling over wildly over his brow.

"Mommy…"this time Aislinn's voice was accompanied by the sound of the doorknob turning.

Abbey gasped and made a quick dash for her clothes.

"Don't panic," Jed told her. "I locked it, remember?"

"Oh…yeah." She stopped rushing, but continued to slip her jeans back on.

"I thought they were taking a bath," Jed grumbled.

"I've been gone almost all week. I promised them a story before bed." She was clearly torn between her husband and her children.

"Shit." Disappointment was more than evident in the expletive.

"I'm sorry. I really wasn't expecting you until much later. It's okay, don't put your clothes back on, I'll just have Izzy do it."

"Mommy…"

Jed heard the pleading in both his son and daughter's voices. Abbey had been gone for almost a week, they'd missed her, and they needed her. Hell, he needed her, but right now in spite a body raging with suppressed needs he couldn't be the selfish bastard he wanted to be.

"Go read to them. I'll survive."

Abbey had to smile at the dejected tone of his voice.

"You sound like a horny teenager, Jed."

"I feel like a horny teenager." He got to his feet and headed toward the back door that led out to the sloping lawn on the edge of the bay.

"Where are you going?"

"To take care of things the same way that I did when we were dating."

Abbey shook her head watching him head out across the lawn wearing only his boxers and a wide open dress shirt flapping in the wind, then moved to open the door and let the twins in. They happened to catch sight of their father just as he jumped off the end of the pier and into the bay. They could hear his shout from the study.

"Daddy cold?" Nicholas asked.

"I suspect that is exactly what your daddy was looking for, little man," Abbey gave him a rueful half smile. "So, what's it going to be tonight, kiddo's."

"Luna, luna," Aislinn held the big book out to her mother.

"Stellaluna it is."

****

Later that evening, with both kids safely tucked in their cribs; Abbey tried to relax back in her bubble bath with a good book. It was no use. She kept reading the same page over and over because her mind continued to drift back to what had happened earlier in the study. Jed had set her body aflame and now she was dealing with the consequences of that. Finally with a disgusted sigh, she rose from the tub and moved to the bedroom.

Still wrapped in just her towel she bent to pick up Jed's overnight case. His stay was to be so brief they hadn't even removed his luggage from Air Force One, he'd simply arrived, like a clandestine lover, with his overnight case.

She began pulling the clothes from the case, folding them neatly and placing them in Jed's dresser. She paused now and again to sniff at his shirt but when she found herself rubbing her cheek against his sweatshirt she had to laugh at herself. She had accused Jed of behaving like a teenager earlier but now here she was acting like some starry-eyed, lovestruck teen. Still, in spite of feeling foolish, Abbey found Jed's bay rum aftershave and poured some into her hands, patting it into his pillow so that the room smelled like him. Then, completely naked she slid between the satin sheets she'd placed on the bed in anticipation of Jed's arrival for the night. Crawling in between those cool, sinfully sensuous sheets naked had been a big mistake. Her body throbbed and ached for Jed. She languidly moved her body against the smooth sheets feeling her nipples harden in response. When she was younger she had never believed that when she and Jed had been married for this long that she would still ache for him the way that she was now.

"Damn" she muttered, and in desperation she got to her feet, turned on the air conditioner, and found a pair of old flannel pajama's to put on, anything to keep her bare skin off those sheets. When she got back into bed she pulled the pillow she had doused with Jed's after-shave in tightly to her chest. Her last coherent thought was the formulation of a plan designed for her to have her husband for at least an entire night. An entirely wicked plan that caused her to fall asleep with a very provocative smile on her lips. A plan that was sure to give her erotic dreams until the wee hours of the morning.

TBC...