Abbey awoke to the cries of the seagulls that perched themselves on the rocky cliffs of Windy Point waiting to dive for a fish in the ocean below. The breeze that caused her gauzy white curtains to flutter brought with it the tangy scent of the sea. She snuggled under her white comforter and inhaled the briny scent deeply. She was never disoriented for long waking up here; even the Chesapeake did not give off that special smell of salt and seaweed and the faintest whiff of beach roses. In New Hampshire she awoke to the lowing of cows, the nickers from the horses in the barn, and the haunting calls from the pair of loons that made their home on the pond. In the White House she awoke to complete and utter silence. Nothing could penetrate the bulletproof windows and the thick walls. The only thing the White House had that she missed right now was Jed. She sighed when she thought of her husband and slid her legs over the side of the bed, yawning and stretching before getting to her feet. She made her way to the shower and stepped under the warm stream of water.

Ever since the morning Jed had come to her in Maryland needing something that she hoped she had been able to give him, he had seemed preoccupied, often lost in thought. She had caught him several times reading the bible and the ancient philosophers he often turned to when he needed guidance. She knew that he was struggling with some inner conflict and she yearned to tear down the wall he had erected around himself. But, she knew Jed, she trusted him. This inner turmoil he was experiencing had something to do with his job, not his personal life, and she knew that there were certain parts of that job that she could never be privy to. That had been so hard to accept at first. She and Jed had always shared everything, including work problems, and now he couldn't always do that with her. She had learned to deal with that reality and, while sometimes her frustration was apparent, she tried to keep it to a minimum. Right now she just wanted Jed to join she and the kids and try to lighten the heavy load that he carried.

Refreshed and ready to face the day, Abbey combed her wet hair out and threw on a pair khaki shorts and a heavy navy sweater. Mornings on the Maine coast were notoriously cool. She peeked in on the twins and surprisingly enough she found them both still sleeping. She smiled, thinking of how all of her kids had slept better here at the beach. She wasn't sure if it was the sea air or if they were just worn out from playing on the beach all day, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She poured herself a cup of coffee and made her way out to the porch where she sat on the swing and watched a lobster boat anchor down by the edge of the point next to a bright red buoy that marked where his traps were. That was old Elias Donovan. Eli had been working his lines for as long as she had been summering at Windy Point. He was the only one the Service allowed to get this close to presidential property. There was no way they were going to tell that crusty old Mainer that he couldn't harvest the lobster traps that he'd been running for 50 years simply because one of the summer Bartlet's was now the President. Jed had concurred and Eli had been allowed his traps. It hadn't been a completely altruistic decision on Jed's part as they often got some tasty lobster out of the deal.

Abbey leaned her head back against the swing and closed her eyes, relishing the utter peace and tranquility of the moment. While she might miss her husband, she did not miss the President and his entourage. She did not miss the staff being in and out of her house or the heavy security presence that came with him. For the past few days she had truly been able to relax. She had played with the kids in the sand and taken them and Max for long walks on the beach in their stroller. She had read novels that were completely un-work related in the hammock under the pine trees at the point and cut some of the beach roses to fill the vases in the house. Solitude had it's virtues and she had enjoyed these days but now she was looking forward the arrival of more and more people as the week progressed until the house was finally filled with family and friends for a big 4th of July barbecue.

As she took another sip from her now cold coffee, Abbey heard some movement in the kitchen and peered through the window to see Izzy setting up the twin's high chairs. Aislinn and Nicholas sat on the floor in their pajamas, bleary eyed and whimpering. Neither of them were particularly at their best in the morning but as Abbey entered the kitchen both rose to their feet with smiles and toddled sleepily into her arms.

"You guys want to come sit with Mommy on the porch while Izzy heats the water for your oatmeal?"

The answer was a resounding yes from both children. Abbey brought them back out onto the porch swing and snuggled both their warm bodies to her chest, pulling the heavy Hudson's bay blanket over the three of them. Both lay heavy and sleepy against her.

"Don't go back to sleep, Aislinn." Abbey kissed her forehead and turned her so she could see down to the cliffs and the blue ocean beyond. "Look at the seagulls. Do you see the seagulls?" Abbey pointed toward the water.

"Gull." Nicholas took his thumb out of his mouth and pointed to the same bird Abbey was pointing at.

"Gull," Aislinn nodded, then squealed with laughter when the gull dove from the cliffs down to the water.

"He's diving to catch a fish for his breakfast," Abbey told them.

"Fishy, fishy…" Aislinn began to squirm hoping to see the fish her mother spoke of.

"Ma'am, their breakfast is ready." Izzy poked her head out the door to the porch.

"Okay, we're coming."

"Do you know what your plans are today?" Izzy asked.

"I think we're just going to stay close to home. I'll probably take them down to the beach later this morning. Elizabeth is supposed to be driving Annie up sometime this afternoon so I want to make sure that we're here."

****

As Elizabeth made her way up the porch stairs with her daughter by her side, she could smell what was cooking in the kitchen before even opening the door. Annie looked at her and gave her a big grin. It was the first smile Elizabeth had gotten from her daughter since they had left New Hampshire. Annie had definitely entered her teen years and nothing Elizabeth did seemed to please her. It didn't help that the girl was very sensitive to the tension between she and Jay. Had it been a year since she had confessed to her mother their fertility problems? Had it been an entire year that she had been so miserable?

"Gram's making clam chowder" the girl exclaimed as they made their way into the kitchen.

Annie's moods always seemed to improve when she was with her grandparents, whether it was here or at the farm or even the White House. Elizabeth hoped this year would be no different. She lifted the lid to the simmering pot and both began to inhale deeply. There was nothing like Abbey's homemade clam chowder made from an old family recipe that had been passed down through the generations. A recipe that would one day be followed by Elizabeth and then Annie. It was the smell of home and comfort.

"All right you two, noses out of the chowder, that's for supper tonight."

"Gram!" Annie ran into her grandmother's outstretched arms. Over Annie's head, Abbey watched Elizabeth approaching her. There was a smile on her lips but it did not extend to her eyes. There was a tension and a sadness in those eyes that Abbey had hoped to finally see extinguished. She let go of Annie to embrace her eldest daughter, wishing with all her might that she could erase the girl's unhappiness.

"So, how was the drive over?" Abbey asked.

"Fine." Annie answered quickly.

"Quiet" was Elizabeth's response.

Abbey raised a questioning brow at her daughter. She knew exactly what it was like to raise a teenage girl, knew very well the moods and the sulks.

"We had a fight," Annie told her. "Mom told me I could get my belly button pierced but when I went to do it there were photographers and she wouldn't let me. Piercing my belly button isn't bad, a lot of girls have it done, who cares if the press knows?"

"I care," Elizabeth said. "This is an election year and your grandfather is going to have enough problems without the press going on and on about his granddaughter's body piercing."

"But you SAID you were cool with it. You even said you might have it done too. Then, BAM you just change your mind."

"Annie, let's not get into this again." Elizabeth sank wearily onto the kitchen chair and began to scratch Max behind the ear.

"Let me get this straight." Abbey sat at the table with her daughter. "Liz, Annie had your permission to her belly button pierced."

"Yes, but…"

"Wait, hear me out. The only reason you changed your mind is because of the press?"

"Well, yes."

"I can fix that. I'll call Delia at that new age store "So Mote it be". I buy a lot of aromatherepy stuff from her and I know they do piercing's there. I'll have her recommend someone and send them over here. You can both have it done right here at the house, no press allowed. What do you think?"

"I think you're the BEST!" Annie threw her arms around Abbey's neck from behind. "You should get it done too, Gram. The three of us can get it done together."

"Oh…I don't know about that," Abbey stuttered.

"Come on, Mom. You're not scared, are you? Elizabeth teased.

"No, I'm not scared, Elizabeth. I've had five children, I'm not sure I'm exactly belly button piercing material."

Elizabeth burst into laughter. "That's a cop out if I've ever HEARD one. I've seen you in a bikini, Mom. You don't have an extra ounce of fat and you know it. That's why you work out and do fifty crunches every night. You're proud of your body and you have every right to be."

Abbey flushed at her daughter's assessment. Elizabeth was right; she did work at keeping her body lithe and trim. She often said it was for good health, but that vain little part of her did take pride in the fact that other than the normal changes a body took after carrying a baby, breast feeding, and aging, her body was not all that much different than it had been when she was in college. She was still a size 6 and proud of it.

"You should do it, Gram," Annie enthused. "It'll be fun. We can make it a girl's day. Mom can stay for one day, can't you?"

"I can stay until tomorrow," Elizabeth nodded.

"Bonding over body piercing," Abbey sighed. "The times they are a'changin'"

****

Annie awoke slowly to the smell of coffee brewing, and the sound of Abbey singing to the twins while she cooked breakfast. She grinned and slipped right out of bed to make her way down to the kitchen. Back home on a day when she didn't have school she was rarely up before 10:00 a.m., but at Windy Point there was always something to do and she didn't want to miss any of it. Today she and her grandmother were going to take the "Zellie" out for a sail, and, best of all, her grandfather was supposed to arrive in time for dinner. Abbey had already gotten the lobsters from Eli Donovan to make him one of his favorite coastal meals and they were both anticipating his arrival.

"Good morning, little munchkins," Annie kissed each baby on the top of the head.

"Good morning, big munchkin," Abbey kissed Annie on top of her head. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"I'll just have some cereal." Annie grabbed a box of her grandfather's "Lucky Charms" from the cupboard and began to pour the cereal into her bowl.

Abbey smiled over the rim of her coffee mug as she watched Annie scatter the little marshmallows on the trays of the twin's high chairs. "You're as bad as your grandfather," she admonished her.

Annie flashed her a big grin. "Hey, they like them."

"Of course they do." Abbey watched both kids bypass the Cheerios she had placed on the trays in favor of the little colored marshmallows. "They're pure sugar."

"That's okay, I'll chase them around if they get all wound up." Annie winced as the button of her pajama top caught on the ring in her navel.

"Still tender?" Abbey asked, handing her a glass of orange juice.

"A little," Annie admitted. "How about you?"

Abbey lifted her shirt and gazed at the tiny gold ring in her belly button. "It's still a little tender, but not too bad."

"Gramps is gonna go nuts when he comes home tonight and sees that."

"You aren't kidding," Abbey grinned ruefully. "I'm just not sure if it will be a good nuts or a bad nuts."

"Oh, it will be good for sure. Parker say's that guys belly button rings very sexy."

"And who, pray tell, is Parker?"

Annie flushed slightly. "He's kind of my new boyfriend."

"Kind of?" Abbey raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Mom won't let me go on a date or anything, but Missy Stevens heard from his sister Caitlin that he likes me."

"I see," Abbey smiled, remembering the convoluted way that teens had of finding out who liked whom. She had done a bit of that herself in her day. "And do you like him?"

"Of course I like him." Abbey was just glad from the retort that she got that Annie didn't add a DUH at the end. "He's the cutest guy in 8th grade."

"There's more to a boy than…"

"Being cute," Annie finished the sentence for her with a flash of her dimples. She'd heard that phrase more than once from both her mother and grandmother. "I know that. But, Parker is also on honor roll and he's a nice guy. Caitlin is going to set up a movie date for a bunch of us, including Parker, when I get home. Mom will let me do that."

"I think your mother is right, Annie. You're only 13 years old."

"I'll be fourteen in a couple of months."

"I'm well aware of when you were born, sweetheart. I was there, remember?"

"Well, I don't actually remember. I was a little young at the time."

"Smart aleck," Abbey affectionately tugged a strand of her hair. "Well, we better get moving if we want to go for that sail before your granddad shows up."

"And we can talk about the karaoke party for your anniversary. I've come up with some really good songs to sing. There is a Shania Twain song from her new CD that I think will be perfect for you."

"I don't know, Annie. I think your grandfather would prefer I sing him some old torch song."

"Just listen to the lyrics and if you don't thing it's perfect you don't have to sing it. I'll bring my CD player on the boat and you can listen."

"Okay, I'll listen."

****

Talking and laughing as they made their way up the porch stairs, Annie and Abbey had returned from their sail sun- kissed and windblown. Izzy met them in the kitchen as they entered the cottage.

"Ma'am the President called about a half hour ago. He'd like you to call him back."

Both Annie and Izzy watched the smile leave Abbey's face. They all knew what that call meant. Jed would not be coming to Windy Point tonight.

"Thank you, Izzy." Abbey could not hide the disappointment in her voice. Izzy sensed that the First Lady would want some privacy for her phone call and turned to Annie.

"Nicholas and Aislinn have been playing in the sand all afternoon. How would you like to come and help me bathe them?"

"I'd love to." Annie could never get enough of playing with and taking care of the babies.

With Annie gone, Abbey immediately placed the call.

"Hey, baby, " Jed answered. "Did you and Annie have fun on your sail?"

"Yeah, she's turning out to be a pretty good first mate. Jed, why aren't you on Air Force One right now?"

"I'm sorry, Abs, but we're having some problems with the platforms for the convention and I need to meet with Senators Holtz and Brown tomorrow and get everything cleared up before I leave for vacation."

"Couldn't you meet with them today and fly out tonight? Our vacation is so short this year." Normally the President took a month off in the summer while congress was not in session but in an election year, and with the upcoming convention, they would barely be able to get a couple of weeks in.

"I know. Look, I miss you guys too. I'd much rather be up there with all of you at the beach than stuck here in this heat and humidity."

"I had Eli bring some lobsters over for your dinner tonight." Abbey knew she sounded pouty and she hated that but she had been so looking forward to Jed's arrival tonight.

"Now, telling me that is really hitting me below the belt." He gave a soft chuckle.

"No, that won't be hitting you below the belt, but this will. I went into town the other day and did some shopping at that new age store, " So Mote it Be", do you remember that one?"

"The one that's run by a witch?"

"Delia is a Wiccan, Jed, but that's beside the point. She showed me this new aphrodisiac massage oil that's scented with jasmine and sandalwood. It is supposed to enhance sensual passion. I bought a bottle."

"I don't think I've ever had a problem needing to be enhanced in that area before."

"Let me finish. It's not just an aphrodisiac. It has heating properties in it."

"Heating," Jed swallowed, his mouth going dry.

"Uh huh. It heats up when you rub it into your body or with any kind of…friction." The last word was said on a husky purr. Jed was silent for a few moments and when he did speak his voice was unnaturally raspy.

"Now you really aren't playing fair. That was totally hitting below the belt."

"No, I just want to play below your belt." Her voice was throaty and sexy, a tone that never failed to turn him on. He felt his body begin to respond to her words and her tone just as his senior staffers entered for a meeting. He turned away from them and spoke in a low voice to her.

"I really have to go right now, Abbey, but please keep that thought in mind."

"No, you keep that thought in mind," she smiled into the receiver. "No more meetings, Jed." She hung up the phone knowing that her husband would begin working on a way to get out of DC fast. He was nothing if not predictable.

****

The next morning Abbey was up with the sun. She snuggled up closer to the warm body beside her and reached out a sleepy hand to rub over Jed's chest. Instead of Jed, however, her hand found the thick fur of the German shepherd that was stretched out beside her sleeping. Max wiggled closer and licked her cheek.

"Sorry, but your breath stinks, Max." Abbey wrinkled her nose as she pushed the big dog away. Sleeping with Max was definitely not like sleeping with Jed. She was still irritated that the campaign was already taking away some of the precious time she was supposed to have with her husband. The kids were missing him and kept asking for their daddy, but how was she supposed to explain a couple more days to 18-month-old children? All they understood was that they wanted their father and he was not there.

She decided to take Max and go for a run to blow off some steam. Normally running was not her favorite form of exercise. But, since she didn't have the White House gym or indoor pool at her disposal, running would have to do. She threw on a pair of shorts,a tank top, and a crimson sweatshirt with "Harvard" emblazoned across the chest. She twisted her hair up into a ponytail and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator before stepping out on to the porch. With Max trailing behind her, she made her way over to the gazebo where three agents, hers and the twins, were seated watching the house.

"Hey Andy, up for a run this morning?" She asked.

"Whatever you want to do ma'am."

"No kids this morning?" That question was from Cal, the head of the twin's detail.

"Not yet, I'll take them out later for a walk." Abbey began leaning from side to side to stretch her legs.

Cal nodded and settled back in with the other agent, while Andy prepared for a jog.

Once they were both sufficiently warmed up, Abbey made her way down to the beach. She could hear the surf pounding the sand but could barely see the spray thanks to the early morning fog. She continued walking toward the water enjoying the stillness of a foggy morning, the only sound that of the surf and the mournful bellow of the foghorn and bell buoy. Some might have found the morning eerie but not Abbey; she loved the fog, loved the way it enveloped her in its damp, cool cocoon. Once on the hard packed surface she began to run out towards the lighthouse. She knew it was four miles round trip as it was usually the walk she took with the twins. She usually did 5 miles on the treadmill at the gym, but that was a different type of running.

As the motorcade made it's way around the lighthouse, Jed was staring out the window at the sea. That was when he saw his wife running along the edge of the water, her sweatshirt tied around her waist, her agent trailing a discreet distance behind her, and their dog at her side. He smiled as he watched her ponytail bob up and down. God was it good to finally be here.

By the time Abbey returned to the cottage the fog had burned off and the sun was quickly warming the morning. She was sweaty and out of breath and couldn't wait to hop into the shower. She turned the radio on in the bedroom and made her way to the bathroom.

Jed opened the door to the bedroom and stood for a long moment enjoying the sight of his wife in the bathroom with the door ajar. She stood at the mirror brushing her teeth wearing nothing but a tank top and bikini panties. He couldn't think of a better way to be greeted home. He started over to the bathroom and stood in the doorway.

"Abbey," he said softly. Abbey gave small start and dropped her toothbrush.

"Jed, you're home."

"Yes, you little temptress." He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him. "I'm home. It's time to let the fun begin."

TBC...