"Jed stop."
Abbey Bartlett smacked her hand down on to her husbands leg. It was beyond her how even with his advancing MS, he could still shake the bed enough to keep her awake at night.
"He was right."
"Yes Jethro.. he was. The secrets out. You are fallible." She said in exasperation. "Now stop shaking the damn bed and go to sleep."
"I was too careful."
"You're a careful guy."
"Santos is.."
"A different guy."
"A fearless guy with nothing to hide. He doesn't care what people think of him. He's not careful. He goes for what he wants. He's bipartisan. He's got Josh snuggling up to Republicans."
"Josh is older now. He's not the same guy."
"He's a different guy?"
"Jed?"
"Yeah?"
"You're a good guy." She rolled onto her side and looked at him in the dark of the room. He gave her a soft smile. "Go to sleep."
"Yeah." He laid there for a long time in silence. If she didn't know him like she did, she'd have thought he was asleep.
"What?" She whispered into the room.
"I failed them back then."
"You made it up to them." She told him soothingly.
"Not to Sam."
CJ watched Danny hang up his phone from the corner of the room.
"Taylor's fine." He told her softly.
"How's Mary Ellen?" She raised an eyebrow.
"My sister is tickled to be spending this quality time with her young niece." He said dismissively.
"Wow." She grinned. "I think I've been replaced as the master of the spin."
"She's fine." He watched his wife fish her earrings out of her ears and move her hands through her hair. "Are Charlie and Toby still down there?"
She grinned again walking over and joining him on the bed.
"They're playing chess."
"And?"
"Zoe's watching them." She raised and eyebrow.
"Play chess?" Danny shook his head slightly.
"Yup." CJ nodded. "She's riveted."
"So.. He realizes she's waiting up for him right?"
"I have no idea." She moved her hands to the zipper of her dress, but Danny caught her and did it for her. "Probably not, she wasn't wearing her 'I'm waiting for you to take me to bed' T-shirt." His eyebrow arched higher.
"I'd like to know where I can get one of those T-shirts." She leaned forward and let him kiss her.
"Would you let Sam hold Huck or Molly for you?" She asked absently.
"Huck and Molly are like seven." He shook his head and went for another kiss.
"I'm just saying..." Her eyes widened and she put her hands on his shoulders, expressing the seriousness of her question.
"I don't know. It's someone else's kid." He relented, realizing there would be no kissing until this was dealt with.
"But it's Sam." She said defensively.
"Yeah.." He pondered this for a minute. "I would probably let him hold one of the enormous eight year olds that I was for some reason carting around. Yes." He told her raising both eye brows for her approval.
"Sam wouldn't let me hold Noah this morning." She said flatly. "He moved him away like I was on fire."
"CJ."
"I'm not kidding." She shook her head. "He was about to drop a whole bushel of grapes over the former first ladies dinning room floor and I reached out to help him and he spun Noah away and practically threw the grape plate at me."
"Grapes come in bushels?"
"Danny."
"They'd had a rough night." He said softly, reminding her of Josh's instability. "When crappy things happen you hold onto your kids a little tighter"
"It's not even his kid."
"Come on CJ.. The boy's name is Noah Samuel. He held him for the Mohel at his Briss. He was in the car the night Noah was born. He and Josh-."
"Okay, Okay.." She held up her hands. "It's just-. I mean God, he acted like I was going to grab him and run."
Danny looked down at his hands.
"What? You think I was planning on grabbing him and running?"
"I talked to David Spencer this morning at the thing."
"The guy from the post?" She shook her head at him in confusion.
"He wanted me to confirm a rumor he heard." He looked at her sympathetically, she hated that look. It was his 'Sweetheart I whish I didn't have to bring this crappy news into your world' look.
"What?"
"Apparently their have been some serious threats on Donna and Noah."
"Oh my God."
"They had her mail code. It came to her desk."
"Oh my GOD!"
"And apparently.. the guy knew privileged information that Josh and Donna hadn't made public yet.."
"The baby." She guessed, he raised his eyebrows at her. "Toby said Sam said.." She moved her arm in a circular motion and gave him a look.
"Ah, all hail the mightygrapevine."
"They threatened the baby?" She breathed.
"Apparently."
"Apparently or Yes?"
"CJ.." He shrugged. "Ask them."
"Yeah okay.. Hey I know you barley trust me with your kids grapes but I just found out from a reporter that you threw a nutty because some psycho threatened to slaughter your family.. is that true?"
"I see your point." He sucked air in through his teeth. "How 'bout Josh I heard something disturbing and I thought you might want a heads up'?"
"Maybe I should call Annabeth." She grabbed her phone.
"I'm sure she knows."
"Yeah but.."
"I'm sure she knows." He told her again. She loosened her grip on the Cell phone and laid her head on his shoulder.
"Yeah." He kissed her cheek. "Taylor's fine?"
"Yeah."
"Thank you, sir." Josh watched Donna stretch again beside him and he lowered his voice even more. "She thinks we should comment?" He waited for Santos' reply. Donna rolled away from him. "It wasn't one of my best days.. but I still know what day of the week it is and who the leader of the free world is." He grinned widely. "Helen Santos of course."
One of Donna's eyes struggled to open at the mention of her bosses name. He reached out and stroked her cheek until it closed.
"Donna gave me back my shoelaces today so you can probably cancel the rubber paneling for my office." He laughed out loud when the President told him in a fake defensive tone that he wanted to be compliant with the American's with Disabilities Act and provide all necessary adjustments. "Thank you Sir."
He chuckled more quietly as Donna's eyes slipped open.
"At seven thirty, Sir." He creased his eyebrows in an apology to his wife. "Goodnight Mr. President."
"What happened?" She asked slowly, creaping into his warmth. He took a deep breath and she looked at him. Her eyes filling with tears. "Another one?"
"No." He said quickly kissing her cheek. "The press has something" She swallowed against the tightness in her throat with a slow nod. "Annabeth wants us to downplay. She set Cindy Geiger from the Times up for us. She said to go ahead, make the comment and assure our complete trust in the Secret Service.. blah blah."
He kissed her head.
"She said if it's about the pregnancy and you don't want to say anything, just smile when they ask you."
"They'll still all know then if I.." Her voice trailed off.
"They didn't write it last time."
"Because Annabeth asked them not too."
"Well."
"She can't keep playing up the private emotional issue..."
"Donna your sixteen weeks." He reminded her. "And the amino was perfect."
"I know." She breathed out slowly.
"They're going to start putting you on the cover of the Washington Star with a close up of your stomach with a big red circle around it." He watched her lip twitch. "I see it in big red letters 'Does Lyman's dick still actually work after all these years?"
"Joshua!" She giggled swatting the arm he was using to block out his imaginary headline in the space above him.
"They'll ask me to do Viagra ads." He grinned at her giggling face. "They'll have you do testimonials to my manliness." The flash of relief in her eyes wasn't lost on him. "I think I'm feeling better all the sudden."
"Nothing like a conversation about your amazing sexual prowess to put you back in the right state of mind." It was so nice to see her smile. Josh leaned back towards her face, tracing his fingers over her lips.
"You put me back in the right state of mind." He said softly. "That one's all you." He met her eyes for a second. "We're going to be okay."
"I'm scared"
"I know." He held her tightly. "I'm terrified."
"When did everything become so scary?"
"The moment our son was born." He sighed, then his lips quirked into a smile as remembered the exact moment his son was born. "Which reminds me. You.. are not coming to any events anywhere in a four week vicinity of your due date."
"Don't worry. I'm already picking out what I'm going to hallucinate with the large amounts of narcotics I'm taking this time." She laughed.
"Most women pick out baby names." He smirked.
"She has a name." She told him timidly.
"She does." He said with finality, brushing his fingers across her stomach.
She'd been afraid to use the name. Josh knew it was some sort of detachment thing. Somehow if they didn't name her it wouldn't be real if she'd had another miscarriage. But Josh had known her name the second he'd read the copy of the amino results.
Johannah Abigail Lyman .
No argument, no discussion needed. It was just her name.
"Donnatella. We need to talk about the second letter." He didn't want her to hear about it in the press. It was time to tell her. "Sam told me somethings."
"I though he didn't read it?"
"He didn't." He closed his eyes for a second before taking a deep breath. "They know about the baby, Donna."
Her eyes widened.
"How..."
"They don't really know."
"What aren't you telling me?" He could feel her chest move faster. Then she stilled, holding her breath. The contrast made him jump a little. "They think it's someone we know."
"That's one possibility." He smoothed back her hair. "Or they could have gone through our trash, or it could be someone involved with Dr. Hilin's office..."
"I want a new doctor." She told him quickly.
"Okay."
"Do we need to move?" She asked innocently.
"The secret service is collecting our trash." He told her. She pressed her lips together.
"Huh." She blinked at that statement.
"Yeah."
"The Secret Service is..?"
"Yeah." He smirked.
"Okay." She smiled at him then. "You're feeling very important right now aren't you?"
"I am important."
"To yourself?"
"To our nation as a whole."
"51 percent of it anyway."
"I'm hurt. I am making great strides with our Republican brothers and sisters."
"Oh God why do I feel a muffin moment coming on here?"
"Your support warms my heart Donnatella." He whispered sarcastically pulling her tightly against him in the dark.