Sunday Breakfast

Jed Bartlet woke up slowly, gradually becoming aware of his surroundings. It was Sunday and the clock to his left read a little past nine. They let him sleep in…why? He rolled over onto his back and smiled. Abbey let him sleep in. He was home in New Hampshire. No staff. No appointments. Just he and Abbey at the farm. He reached over to her and found empty sheets. He sat up and ran a hand through his white hair. Sleeping in was perfectly nice, but where was his woman? As he slowly got out of bed, Jed noticed the delicate smell of food drifting into the bedroom. He pulled on his robe and slippers and made his way downstairs.

Abbey Bartlet was hard at work in the kitchen. She had slipped out of bed undetected while her husband was still fast asleep. She had considered kissing him good morning, but decided against it. He could use all the sleep he could get. And now she was busy making eggs and bacon and pancakes. Normally she would be more concerned with the fat and calorie count of the food she made for him, but she was feeling generous.

"Hey now, what's all this?" Jed asked as he walked in on the scene of his wife at the stove.

She smiled but didn't turn around. "Good morning, sleepyhead," she greeted cheerily.

He shuffled over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Smells good," he commented, burying his face into her hair.

"Pancakes and bacon and eggs," she said, tapping her spatula on each of the three pans in turn.

"I meant you," Jed murmured, pressing a kiss onto her neck.

Abbey's nose wrinkled as she gave a throaty laugh. "Stop that. The food is going to burn."

"I'd rather have something else burn." He reached down to the hem of her short silk robe and nightgown underneath and teasingly ran his hands up her thighs and hips.

She squealed and nudged him back with an elbow to his chest. "Jed!" she scolded.

"What!?" he answered, rubbing the point of impact. His bright blue eyes sparkled merrily.

Abbey turned around and pointed her spatula at him threateningly. "You go sit down. I went to all the trouble to make you your favorite Sunday breakfast, and you are gonna damn well eat it!"

Jed raised his hands in surrender. "Yes ma'am." He sat at the large scrubbed wood table and watched her deftly flip the pancakes one more time and put everything onto plates. But he was actually more focused on the curve of her body as she worked and the way her tan, freckled legs caught the morning light from the bay window.

When she turned around, she saw the slightly glazed look on his face. "Were you just checking me out?" she asked with a knowing grin.

He winked. "I'm always checking you out, baby. Doing pretty well after all these years. You're an oldie but a goodie."

"Oh shut up." She placed the plates of food in front of him. His eyes zeroed in on her cleavage as she leaned over. "Oh my god, you are impossible!"

Jed chuckled and pushed his chair out from the table. "Come here," he requested softly.

Abbey feigned annoyance as she made her way around to him. "What?" she asked, crossing her arms. He pulled her onto his lap by her hips. "Jed, stop that! You'll hurt yourself!"

"Quit it. If I can't do this, I might as well be dead. And I'm not dead yet."

She felt the tightening in her chest she always felt when the conversation took that turn. Usually she could hide it better. Abbey placed her hands on the sides of his face, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs. "No, you're not," she agreed quietly.

Jed could see that look in her green eyes. "You know what?"

"What?"

"I love you very much."

Abbey nodded. "I know you do."

"Thank you for the Sunday breakfast. Though I really wasn't kidding when I said I'd rather have you," he teased.

She rolled her eyes but leaned in to kiss him softly. Her lips lingered on his perhaps longer than she originally intended. Abbey pressed her forehead to his. "I love you very much. And I can reheat the food later, if you want."

"Really?" he asked excitedly.

She laughed at his eagerness. "It won't be as good that way, but I don't really care."

"Good. Neither do I. Not that I don't appreciate the effort, sweetheart, because I do. I really do."

Abbey gave him another quick kiss. "That's all that matters, then. Upstairs?"

"You bet your sweet bottom!" Jed put one arm around her back and one under her knees and stood up quicker than either of them expected him to.

"JOSIAH BARTLET, YOU PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!" Abbey shouted.

"I'm fine, Abigail," he insisted.

"You're going to pull something or break something and then drop me and then we'll be stuck on the floor like those helpless seniors in that awful television ad who have fallen and can't get up!"

Jed ignored her oddly specific complaint and took a few steps. "Jeez you've gotten heavy."

"THEN PUT ME DOWN!"

He conceded, "I'll put you down when we get to the stairs. I think that's a little too ambitious even for my tastes."

Abbey braced herself to be dropped, but in the fifteen feet to the staircase, he didn't falter once. At the foot of the stairs, he gently deposited her to her feet.

"See? I've never dropped you before, and I never will."

She glared at him. "You have dropped me. On our honeymoon, remember?"

"Well that's not fair. I was training to be a priest and you wore me out pretty quick, honey."

Abbey couldn't help but crack a smile. "Alright, get upstairs. You need to rest. That was too much exertion for the morning."

"Compromise: I'll lie down. You can do all the aerobic work."

As much as she knew she should smack that sexy smirk off his face, all she wanted to do was just jump him right then and there. "You've got a deal, boyfriend. Get upstairs and lie down. I'll do all the work." He held onto the railing, but he practically jogged up the stairs in excitement. She have him a cheeky smack as he passed her and his yelp made her laugh. "So much for Sunday breakfast," she said to herself as she divested herself of her robe and nightgown, leaving them strewn about the stairs.