Jed lay on his side his head propped up on his hand. He was curled up around Abbey's back. The two of them were both fully clothed and supposedly taking a nap under the quilt but while Abbey slept he had only been able to toss and turn. His earlier conversation with Leo was rolling over and over in his head. Somewhere in that conversation his anger had turned to pity. He had never realized just how many regrets that Leo had or just how lonely that he now was.

He reached a finger out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind Abbey's ear and smiled gently down at her simply enjoying having the time to watch her sleep and to listen to her soft even breathing. He couldn't imagine what it must be like to be completely alone the way that Leo now was. He couldn't imagine how barren his life would be without Abbey. No nylons hanging over the shower rod or lacy lingerie soaking in Woolite in the sink. No bubble bath, bath oils, body lotions, or feminine hygiene products cluttering up the medicine cabinet. No hair clips, hot rollers, blow dryers or five different styles of brushes strewn out over the sink. No flowery scented soaps, shampoos and shower gels in the bathtub. No waxing strips and girly pink bottles of shaving cream next to his own more masculine one. No orchard blossom Lady's Speedstick, next to his Old Spice. No soft womanly hip shoving him out of the way while he shaved so that she could brush her teeth.

He couldn't imagine what it would be like to have a really horrendous day and not have Abbey to come home to. Not to have anyone there to welcome him with a smile, a shoulder to lean on or even a soothing neck massage. Not to have anyone to hold his hand and share his popcorn with on movie night. Not to have anyone to argue with and tease and make love to until all the stress of the day was a mere memory. Not to be able to watch her sitting at her vanity table wearing only a thin silk slip while she brushed her hair or to smell her perfume on her pillow. How awful it would be not to be able to feel Abbey curled up in his arms the way that she was now and to know that no matter what happened out "there" they would always have this. Always have each other. He knew there were some men who couldn't stand the idea of being tied down but he had always loved being married and sharing his life with a woman as intelligent, passionate, and unpredictable as Abbey. He couldn't imagine the sheer loneliness that Leo had to feel going home every night to an empty apartment. Since the divorce he and Abbey had tried to make sure that Leo was not alone on the holidays but Jed began to wonder if maybe they had actually done him a disservice by doing that. He had to wonder if seeing he and Abbey and their family all together had just made his own life seem all the more lonely and empty.

The ringing of the telephone interrupted Jed's train of thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Hello Mr. President. You wanted to be called a half hour before arrival to Andrews."

"Yes, thank you." Jed hung up and felt Abbey begin to stir and stretch in his rms.

"Are we home?" She murmured sleepily.

"In a half hour." He smiled and began tracing imaginary lines to connect the pale freckles on her nose. His smile was mirrored by Abbey's and he saw the glimmer of excitement alight in her eyes. He knew she was thinking about the joy of seeing Nicholas and Aislinn again. They had both missed the kids terribly.

"I've made a decision about Leo," he stated simply.

Abbey stopped adjusting her blouse and stared at him. "And?" She breathed nervously.

"And I'm not going to accept his resignation."

Abbey felt the tears pool in her eyes and she reached out a hand to take his. She more than anyone knew what a difficult decision that this was for him and how much it had cost him to get to this point. "Good for you, babe." She squeezed the hand that she held. " "I know how hard this is for you. What made you change your mind?"

"Listening to Leo tonight. I mean really listening for the first time and realizing that I need to start practicing what I preach. I'm always talking about forgiveness and giving people a second chance and yet I refused to do that for Leo. I'll never be able to forget that he made a horrible mistake with you, but I am going to try to forgive him. As far as what he still feels for you I don't know if things will ever be the same between us. I feel like I was going along paddling through clear waters and then I found this out about Leo and since then my paddles have been stuck in the heavy, murky depths of a stinking swamp. I still don't know how to deal with that, but I'm willing to give it a try. I do trust that no matter what he feels for you he won't act on those feelings again."

"I can pretty much guarantee that. I know how much he regrets what he did. He regretted it almost as soon as he did it."

"We're so lucky to have each other, Abbey, and he's so lonely. I think if we can find him a woman he'll stop fixating on you."

"Well, what do you think that I've been doing for the past three years, loverboy? I haven't had much luck, but then again, I'm a damn hard act to follow so we better get to work." Abbey was straightfaced but her eyes were dancing with humor as Jed's gaze met hers and they both burst into laughter. With that deep, hearty, wonderful laugh of her husband's Abbey knew that everything was well on the way to being OK. If Jed was able to start laughing about the situation than he was at least halfway there.

* * * *

Jed almost couldn't contain his enthusiasm at seeing how Abbey was going to react to his little surprise. She was pacing impatiently as they waited for the OK to disembark from the plane. Her eagerness to get off the flight and to get home and see the kids was apparent to all who watched her anxiously picking imaginary lint off the stuffed animals she held in her arms and tapping her fingernails with frustration against the wall. Finally the call came through and the door opened. Jed grinned, as he had to hold her back like an overeager filly taking off from the starting gate. He was barely able to keep her with him while they gave their obligatory waves.

It was all Abbey could do to allow Jed to go down those steps before her. Protocol stated that she walk behind the President but right now she wanted to urge him to go faster or simply plow right over him. She couldn't wait to get home and see the children. She secretly feared that they may not have missed her at all, that they may have bonded so closely with their nanny that seeing their mother again would not be all that important to them. As she reached the bottom of the steps and began to head toward the motorcade, Jed grasped her elbow.

"I think there are some people here to see you," he said.

"Jed, I don't want to stay here all day chit chatting," she said with very real irritation. " I want to get home and see…" As she spoke, she saw Izzy step out from behind one of the cars with Aislinn on one hand, Nicholas on the other.

As soon as they saw their parents the toddlers began to run forward along the red carpet shouting greetings of "MAMA!!!! DADDA!!!!".

Abbey sunk to her knees on the carpet and opened her arms out wide to the toddling twosome who catapulted themselves against her chest.

"Ashy, Nicky," she cried, holding them tightly to her breasts and kissing the tops of their silky little heads. "I missed you guys SO much…Mama missed you so much." She couldn't seem to stop kissing their beautiful little faces or inhaling their sweet baby scent.

A feeling of warmth spread through Jed's chest as he held back smiling broadly watching Abbey's joyful reunion with the twins, but it didn't take him long for him to need a piece of the action. "Hey, rugrats, your dear old dad missed you guys too. Come give me a hug before your mother smothers you." Jed got down on one knee and, clutching the stuffed animal that he had taken from Abbey, Nicholas toddled to his father and allowed himself to be pulled in for a big bear hug. "God, I missed you, slugger. I think you've grown three inches in one week." Jed's voice was muffled in Nicholas's hair.

"Now who's doing the smothering?" Abbey asked, as she got to her feet and slid Aislinn over on to her hip with the ease of a woman who had had a child on her hip since she was 21 years old.

Jed just flashed her a happy grin and pulled Nicholas up into his arms so he could approach his wife and daughter. "What about you, funny face, you got a kiss for daddy?"

Aislinn leaned forward in Abbey's arms with her lips tightly pursed to give her father a kiss. Jed rubbed his rough shaven jaw against her soft cheek causing Aislinn to giggle.

"Look at how long her hair has grown since we've been gone." Abbey pulled out a soft curl and let it spring back into place.

"With the way that they're carrying on you'd think they'd been gone for a month not a week," Josh said under his breath to the other senior staffers.

"Oh hush, Josh," CJ admonished him. "They really missed their kids and I happen to think that they are just too cute for words."

"The President and the First Lady, or the kids?"

"All of them."

"Did you know they would be here?" Abbey asked, as they began to walk toward the motorcade each with a child cuddling in their arms.

"Who do you think asked Izzy to meet us here? I knew that you'd want to see them as soon as we put down on American soil."

"First the romantic getaway, now this. What gives, Jed? I don't remember putting you in the doghouse."

"Can't a husband do something nice for his wife without ulterior motives?"

"He could, but he usually doesn't. Look, you've always been a thoughtful husband but lately it's been one thing after another. Am I missing something?"

"A medical license," he said quietly. "I don't think I'll ever be able to make that up to you."

"Jed----"

"Mama," Nicholas interrupted and threw his stuffed animal at her arm. He had obviously had enough of being ignored by his mother while she held his sister and talked to his father. He began to squirm in his father's arms.

"Some things never change," Abbey sighed, as she leaned over to exchange kids with Jed. She held her son back from her body and looked deeply into his cerulean eyes. "Nicholas Josiah Bartlet whatever am I going to do with you?"

Nicholas grinned at her broadly and threw his little arms around her neck so he could tuck his head up under her chin to snuggle in close. "Mama" he said contentedly. Abbey's heart melted and she held him tight, stroking his back, feeling his knobby little spine through the thin Rugby shirt that he wore. God, how she loved him.

"I guess I didn't need to worry, did I" she whispered into his temple. "You really did miss your Mommy."

* * * *

Just a few mornings later Jed awakened very early before the kids could wake up Abbey. It was Mother's Day and they had spent the night in Maryland. He padded downstairs wearing a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt with a sleepy toddler tucked under each arm. He had barely gotten diapers changed and sippie cups of milk passed out when Ellie and Zoey arrived to help with the big breakfast production. Jed had started the tradition of serving Abbey Mother's Day breakfast in bed way back when Elizabeth had only been three months old and to this day the tradition carried on, even if they were one short with Elizabeth living in New Hampshire.

"Ok ladies," he looked at the girls and then down at Nicholas who was sitting on the floor trying to share his milk with Max, "sorry, and gentleman…Let's get this show on the road. I'll start on the pancakes, Zoey; you start cutting up the melons and Ellie you start on the eggs. Oh, Ells did you remember to bring your mother's favorite Cinnamon Crunch bagels?"

"Yeah, dad. They're in that bag over there."

"Ok, let's get started before she wakes up. I'm gonna need a couple little helpers to make the pancakes." He turned to the twins who were both sitting on the floor still in their fleecy pajamas. "How would you two like to help me?"

Both kids nodded and jumped to their feet. Jed started to pull one chair over to the counter then thought better about that and pulled another. He figured there might just be some pushing and shoving involved and he didn't want anyone getting hurt. He placed each child on its own chair and, standing between them, he began to make the pancakes. After pouring the blueberries into the batter, Nicholas lost interest in cooking and climbed down off his chair. Aislinn wasn't going anywhere, however, as the whole process intrigued her. Jed lifted her up to sit on the counter so she could watch him flip the pancakes and Ellie let her stir the Hollandaise sauce once it was off the burner and in a bowl.

"So what do you think, sunshine. Is daddy good or is daddy good?" He showed off for his youngest daughter by flipping the last of the golden brown pancakes high in the air.

"Dadda, good" she nodded, sucking the batter off her fingers.

"Looking to a one year old for affirmation now, Dad?" Zoey teased.

"I'll take it where I can get it."

As Jed got to the last of the batter he realized that he hadn't heard Nicholas in a while. He had been so focused on making the perfect blueberry pancakes he'd lost track of him. He turned quickly his heart leaping at the thought of the trouble that his son could have gotten into. It didn't take long for him to find out.

"Nicholas, NO, drop that. That's YUCKY!" Jed swung Aislinn off the counter and lunged forward to stop his son from putting a couple more pieces of dry dog kibble into his mouth. He had been sitting contentedly sharing breakfast with Max. "This is Max's food, "Jed explained, while sweeping Nicky's mouth with his index finger to rid the boy of any kibble remnants. "People don't eat doggy food. Doggies eat doggy food. "

"Goggy," Nicholas patted Max's rump.

"Yes, Max is a doggy. Nicholas is not a doggy."

"I don't think he's quite grasping what you're telling him," Ellie smiled with amusement as Nicholas continued to reach for the dog food bowl while her father was still cleaning out his mouth.

"Here, dad," Zoey handed him a piece of watermelon. "Maybe he'll like this better."

Jed handed out the melon to both kids. "Ok, everyone, let's go out and pick some flowers and then we'll go wake up your mother."

"Did you remember the CD?" Ellie asked Zoey.

"Yup, it's all ready to go."

* * * *

Abbey was sound asleep when the door to her bedroom burst open and music filled the room. She wiped at her sleepy eyes and blinked a couple times upon seeing her husband and four of her five children entering the room with trays of delicious smelling food. It took a minute for her to realize that her elder daughters were singing along with a catchy little tune she'd heard on the radio quite recently.

"She's a geologist, a romance novelist, She is a mother of three. She is a soldier; she is a wife, She is a surgeon; she'll save your life. She's, not, just a pretty face. She's, got, everything in place. She's, mother, of the human race, She's, not, just a pretty face."

Jed placed Aislinn and Nicholas up on the bed with her and Abbey was laughing as she watched them bouncing around to the music.

"Happy Mother's Day!" They all shouted out when the song was finished.

"Who ARE you crazy people?" Abbey asked.

"We're the ones, who put you through those long hours of childbirth that you like to guilt us with," Ellie said, stretching out on the bed next to her and snuggling close.

"We're the ones who begged you for riding lessons, and ballet lessons, and piano lessons…" Zoey laid down and snuggled up close to Abbey's other side.

"And who pestered you to let us get our ears pierced and wear make up and shave our legs and buy us a bra when we didn't need one." Ellie grinned up at her.

"Oh, yes, now I seem to remember you." Abbey kissed the top of each of her daughters heads. It was hard when they were like this not to remember what it had been like when they were little like Nicholas and Aislinn and wanted to snuggle up in bed with she and Jed all the time. In fact, not to be outdone by their big sisters, both Aislinn and Nicholas crawled up to lay on top of Abbey.

"OK, break it up all of you, time to eat breakfast before it gets cold." Jed placed a bed tray that was adorned by a small vase of flowers over Abbey's hips

"This smells divine but my GOD how much food did you cook?"

"We did all your favorites. Ellie made the eggs benedict, Zoey cut up the melon salad and toasted the Cinnamon Crunch bagels and me, Aislinn and Nicholas made the blueberry pancakes with, of course, pure New Hampshire maple syrup."

"Well, I suppose if I were a linebacker for the New England Patriots I might be able to eat all of his but I'll give it my best shot. You guys are going to join me, aren't you."

"Well we can't waste any of this good food when there are starving children in the world," Zoey teased, throwing out a line that both her parents had used all the time when they were growing up.

"Jed, how did we ever raise such a smart…ass?" The last word was whispered so that little pitchers wouldn't pick up on it.

"Well, with both of our genes, I guess she comes by it honestly." Jed began to load plates with extra food and they all sat Indian style over the bed to eat breakfast together. These were Jed's favorite times, when he had his family all together in one place and he could feel like everything he loved was in that one room. The only thing that was missing was not having Elizabeth and Annie with them.

"Don't expect Nicholas to eat much, he already had breakfast with Max this morning," Jed told her.

"What did they have?" Abbey looked puzzled.

"Science Diet, Natural."

"Oh no, he didn't." Abbey stifled a giggle.

"Oh yes, he did. Our son enjoys his kibble."

"Oh well, the girls all got into dog food at one time or another and they all turned out OK. Poor Maxy," she called the big dog over. "Did Nicholas get into your breakfast?" Max laid his head on the edge of the bed but it was too crowded with people for him to climb up. Abbey slipped a piece of egg on an English muffin and gave it to the dog.

"We better get moving," Zoey said, sipping her fresh squeezed orange juice. "We have a big day planned."

"And what, pray tell, are we doing?" Abbey asked.

"After church we're going to pack a picnic lunch and go for hike in the Shenandoah National Park with Aunt Jenny and Mallory and Aunt Millie and Brynn. We haven't done a mother/daughter outing in a while and we all thought it was about time to do one again. Then we'll come home and have supper and all watch a Disney movie with the twins."

Abbey smiled with pleasure. Mallory, Brynn and Ellie had all been born in the same year with Ellie being the youngest and once they had gotten a little older she, Millie and Jenny had planned mother/daughter outings once a year. Sometimes they were just shopping and theater trips to Boston, but other times they had taken them to the great museums of Europe, to art exhibits in New York City, a dude ranch in Wyoming and several hiking trips. Jenny had never particularly liked the hiking trips but she had always been a pretty good sport about them.

Her gaze fell to the foot of the bed where Jed was taking off Aislinn's bib and paused there when confronted with the worried glint in his eye. She knew what that look was all about; Jed was concerned about her reaction to seeing Jenny again. He had, of course, told her everything in Leo's confession and she had been as shocked as he to learn that back when they were in college Jenny had been in love with Jed. He needn't have worried; she had no intention of dredging up the past. Nothing had ever come of Jenny's crush and the poor woman would probably be humiliated to know that Leo had spilled the beans about her feelings for Jed.

* * * *

In the end, Abbey didn't have to worry about how she would react to seeing Jenny. Mallory had shown up for their little outing without her mother. Jenny was at home with a horrible migraine and since she wanted to just be alone and sleep she had urged Mallory to go along with everyone else and have a good time.

Abbey couldn't help but wonder if Jenny really did have a migraine or if Leo had confessed to her that he had told Jed everything. She hoped her friend was not staying away out of embarrassment. She watched Mallory slide bottled water into her backpack with a feeling of aching tenderness. She'd always had a soft spot for the girl who had been born a mere 7 months before Ellie. Growing up Mallory had spent so much time with them at the farm and in Maine that it was almost like she had fourth daughter at times. She knew the storms that the young girl was battling at home and she had tried desperately to be there for her. Jed had also done his best, drawing her into their family discussions and squabbles and making sure to tease her just as he did his own daughters. She had loved watching Mallory blossom under their care and with the amaraderie of their girls. A consequence of that closeness was that Mallory was able to open up to her in a way that she couldn't with her own mother. As much as Abbey loved Jenny she knew that her friend could be very straight laced and prudish and because of that Mallory had always felt more comfortable talking to her than she did her mother.

"Why are you smiling?" Mallory asked her.

"I was just remembering the summer that you were 8 when we were out on the "Abigail Anne" and Ellie told you where babies come from."

"Oh God, I remember that," Mallory groaned. "You were pregnant with Peter and I asked my mother how you were going to get him out of your belly. Mom told me that a woman goes to the hospital to get a baby but Ellie told me exactly what happened to her once she was IN the hospital. I was horrified," she laughed.

"I don't blame you," Abbey smiled. "I was pretty horrified the first time I heard, too. But you were so cute. You came running up to me all out of breath and pretty freaked out and told me that your mother told you that babies come from a hospital."

"And you told me very calmly that in most cases that was true."

"And you got all indignant and said that Ellie told you that they come from a woman's VAGINA."

"And Uncle Jed spit his drink all over the wheel and had a coughing fit that lasted for five minutes." Mallory laughed at the memory.

"Hey, you were my best friend," Ellie said, catching the tail end of the conversation. "I couldn't leave you in blissful ignorance."

"Don't go getting all high and mighty, missy," Abbey grinned at her daughter. "Do you remember what your response was when I explained the birth process to you?"

"I'm sure I took it calmly and analytically."

"Nice try. After telling me you thought you were going to throw up, your eyes got as big as saucers and you asked me sort of suspiciously, ' does DADDY know about this' as if your father knew he could change it. I explained to you that your father was well aware of how babies were born since he actually delivered YOU. You gave the poor man an incredibly dirty look and stormed off."

"I used to think that daddy could fix anything." Ellie grinned at the absurdity of wondering if her father knew where babies came from.

"He does try, " Abbey smiled wistfully.

"Hey guys, Aunt Millie and Brynn are here," Zoey called out. "Let's go."

* * * *

The hike had gone well. There had been a lot of reminiscing and a lot of laughter. A little over an hour on the trail they found a clearing by a stream that held a sweeping view of the valley below and decided to break for lunch. Abbey sent the girls off to explore downstream while she and Millie unpacked the food from the picnic basket. She needed a little privacy with her best friend and figured now was the best time to do it.

As they pulled out the food both mothers watched their laughing daughters hopping stones across the stream. Abbey watched Ellie reach back to steady Zoey on the stone behind her and smiled softly at the sight that they made, one with her own bright copper hair, and one with Jed's more muted bronze. The sunlight danced over their slender forms and kissed their almost waist long hair with bright highlights. They were so beautiful and, despite their differences in temperament, they had always been so close to each other sharing an incredibly strong sisterly bond. Her Ellie, so quiet and calm and steady, a typical middle child, and her Zoey, so fiery and outspoken and temperamental, a typical baby of the family even if that no longer held true. She loved them with a fierceness that could still overwhelm her at times. It still amazed her that these incredible creatures had actually sprung from her loins, that she, along with a little help from Jed she had to admit, had given the world five remarkable human beings.

"They remind me of you when we were in college," Millie said, seeing where Abbey's attention lay. "Those slender little bodies and long shiny hair."

"You mean before the babies came?" Abbey asked.

"Oh give it up Abbey," Millie laughed. She eyed Abbey critically. Yes, since becoming a mother her figure had changed a little, her hips were a little more rounded her breasts a little fuller, but it only enhanced an already sexy form. "You have a figure a 25 year old would kill for."

"I don't know if I'd go that far," Abbey rolled her eyes.

"Speaking of the girls, how are Jed and Ellie doing? I felt so awful coming between them last year. Jed wants so badly to understand her and to have her love. I couldn't believe it when he said he didn't think Ellie liked him."

"I know. That girl worships the ground that he walks on. The irony is that she felt the same way about him. She was afraid that he didn't like her as much as her sisters because she was different from all of them. But they're doing much better now. I think Jed has finally come to realize that Ellie is never going to be the outgoing political animal that Elizabeth and Zoey are and I think she finally understands that he loves her anyway just for being her."

Abbey's eyes fell back on the girls, in particular on Brynn. With her cap of short blond hair and compact body she was Millie all over again. "Brynn is still the spitting image of you."

"Thank God. I'd hate to be reminded of Sean every time I looked at her." Millie's eyes went dark at the memory of her ex-husband; Brynn's no good, cheating louse of a father.

Abbey had to agree with her there. She had never liked Sean McGuire, never thought he was right for Millie, but back then her friend had loved the bad boys. Maybe it was the healer in her that made her think that she could 'save' their poor tortured souls. In the end she had been burned and burned badly. Thankfully she had not lost her innate capacity to love and to trust and she had fallen in love again, this time with a kind, decent and loving man. David Griffith was the complete opposite of Sean McGuire. He was a contractor and Millie had met him when she hired him to do some work on her house in Ipswich on Boston's north shore. As Abbey liked to tease her, he'd worked on more than her house. Dave was easy going and he didn't care that his wife was a big wig Bostonian doctor or that she made a hell of a lot more money than he did. He accepted her the way that she was. It also helped that his job enabled him to be there for young Brynn and her half brother Danny who came along a year after the marriage, the year before Zoey was born.

"Earth to Abbey. " Millie ran her hand in front of Abbey's face.

"Sorry I was just thinking about how lucky we are. We did pretty good Millicent." Her eyes fell back on Mallory this time.

"You thinking about Jenny?"

"Yeah, and Leo. It still makes me sad to think that they didn't make it. I just hope that they can both find someone who will make them happy. But speaking of Leo, Millie, I have a HUGE favor to ask you."

"Oh God, why don't I like the sound of that?"

"It's not that bad, really. I just need you to help me out next Thursday night. Do you still have that blond wig that you bought when Brynn accidentally dyed your hair green?"

* * * *

Once they got back on solid ground Zoey turned to Mallory. "Mall, do you have any idea what's up between our father's? " She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, it's just that whenever I've seen them lately they seem to be angry with each other. At least my dad seems to be." She picked up a rock and joined Brynn at the edge of the stream to skim the stones on the water.

"And today when we got back from church your father asked to see my father and you could have cut the tension with a knife, " Ellie added. She wasn't around the White House as much as Zoey so this had been the first time she had seen what Zoey was talking about.

"Your dad's probably still ticked about the picture," Mallory said nonchalantly. She'd lived with the knowledge of that night for so long it didn't have any power over her any longer.

"What picture?" Ellie asked.

"The one of my dad kissing your mother."

Ellie and Zoey stared at her their mouths falling open with shock.

"You guys…didn't know…," Mallory said, meekly. She'd thought for certain that they'd been told.

"You're LYING!" Zoey shouted. Her fragile world was spinning and careening out of control. "My mother did NOT kiss your FATHER."

"There's a little more to it than that, Zo. I was THERE, I saw it, but…"

"YOU'RE A LIAR MALLORY O'BRIEN!" Zoey threw down the rock in her hand and began to run back down the trail, fury, indignation and fear spurring her on. Her mother KISSED Uncle Leo, how could that be? How could she do that to her father? Oh God if her mother had done something with Uncle Leo her parents would get a divorce. Mallory had to be lying, she had to be, because if she wasn't, everything that Zoey believed about her mother was going to come crashing in around her.

Abbey looked up as Zoey came flying out of the underbrush her hair tangled, her legs scratched by thorns.

Panic caused her heart to race. "My God, Zoey, what happened?" Abbey grabbed her by the shoulders and stared into her sweaty, tear streaked face.

"Did you have an affair with Uncle Leo?" The words came out breathless and angry and with so much hurt it took Abbey's breath away. Zoey's hazel eyes blazed with righteous fury and through her own shock, Millie couldn't help but notice just how much she looked like Abbey in a tiff.

"Zoey, calm down. What are you talking about?"

"I wanna know about that picture. You KISSED Uncle Leo. Mallory SAW you."

Abbey's face went white. "Mallory was there?"

"So it is true! How could you do that to daddy! I HATE YOU!" With a strangled sob Zoey took off down the trail toward the stream.

"ZOEY!" Abbey called out after her. "ZOEY COME BACK! IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!"

"You kissed Leo?" Millie asked with awe. "And you NEVER told me."

TBC...