Chapter 20: I love you, please come home!- part 1.

It was Abbey's birthday evening and she and Jed were getting ready for the party, to which Abbey was not looking forward; what she had wanted was to have a nice, family meal, but because of who Jed was, there was no chance that she was going to get that. She was glad that her son and daughter were going to be there, as well as Zoe and Josh, whom liked very much.

From the sitting room, Jed called to his wife. "Have you chosen a dress yet?"

Rolling her eyes, Abbey snapped, "No, I haven't chosen one yet. Will you let me choose one and shut up?"

Jed sighed. "Abbey, we've been married for 23 years and you haven't got any faster!"

Abbey walked into the sitting room, wearing a green dress. "Jed, we've been married for 25 years, Jed. Charlie and Amy are both 25. How does this dress look?"

Without looking, Jed replied, "It and you look beautiful."

"It would look better if you looked at it." Abbey smiled, then told him, "Jed, I'm ready."

Jed looked at his watch mockingly. "Great, the party started six hours ago, when you started getting dressed." He stood up and led his wife out of the room, following by their Secret Service agents.

A couple of hours before the party…

Donna knocked on the door of Joe's house and waited. She was wearing a dress which she, CJ, Mallory and Amy had picked out and she hoped that Joe would like it. When no reply came, she knocked again and waited.

The door opened and Joe walked out. Donna noticed that he looked tired and drawn. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Taking hold of her hands, Joe said, "Donna, I'm sorry, but I can't go to the party with you. I'm too busy. I'm sorry." With that, he turned away and closed the door, leaving Donna standing there, wondering what was going on and if she had done something wrong.

Present time…

"How many people are going to be at this party?" Abbey asked, as she and her husband made their way towards the room where the party was taking place.

Chuckling to himself, Jed replied, "About 200."

"Oh, this is going to be relaxing evening!" remarked his wife, in a sarcastic tone.

Jed stopped walking and his face turned serious, "Abbey, after this, there's something I need to tell you-something I should have told you before we got married, but I didn't. So, that's that's."

"Jed, whatever it is, it's never going to change the way I feel about you."

"Don't say that until I've told you." The tone in his voice was worrying her and she made a mental note to go and speak to Leo before the party was over, to see if he knew what was troubling Jed so much.

Just as Abbey was about to assure him that that would never happen because she loved him so much, the doors opened and they entered the hall, which was full of over 200 people. Inwardly, Abbey sighed and looked for her son and daughter, but outwardly, she smiled to all of people and hoped that she was a convincing gracious wife of a governor's wife.

She and Jed made their way over to the bar, as Jed wanted to get a drink, and Josh and Amy walked over to them, with their arms around each other, The pride Abbey felt when she saw her daughter with her true love was overwhelming and she was about to give her husband a look in order to tell him to be nice, but he looked happy, so she decided not to bother.

"Amy, my beautiful daughter, give me a hug!" Abbey declared, as she examined her daughter, before pulling her into a hug. She then held her at arm's length and whispered, "You look beautiful, darling."

Amy smiled back and replied, in the same tone, "Thanks, Mum." She then turned to her father, who opened his arms to her and planted a delicate kiss on her cheek, before turning to Josh and Amy could see the fear in her boyfriend's eyes, but he nodded politely and smiled, "Governor, it's good to see you. And you, too, Abbey." He had called Amy's mum by her first name for years, as he felt more comfortable around her than he did around Amy's father.

Jed nodded back, then inquired, "Amy, where's that granddaughter of mine?"

Very surprised that her dad had asked, Amy replied, "Josh's parents are in town, so they're looking after Naomi and Catherine-Françoise for the night, which means that we don't have to worry about getting home by a certain time." She laughed, but then remembered that her father's sense of humour was an acquired taste, so she shot her mum a pleading look.

"So, where are Mallory and Donna?" Abbey asked Josh, as Amy and Jed walked off into the party.

"Sam and Mallory are coming together, later, and I think Donna and Joe are coming with them. CJ's already here."

The two of them sat down and Abbey asked, "So, how are your parents?"

Picked up a glass of water, Josh replied, "They're good, thanks. They love spending time with the girls, so that's good. They love them to bits. It's sometimes hard to believe that they're only 40." He chucked, as the fact that his parents were so young was funny, as most of his friend's parents were in their 50s, at least.

"Amy said that you have a sister, Rebekah, how is she, where does she live?"

Josh hesitated before replying. "She lives in North Carolina, I think, with her husband. I don't really know." When Amy's mum cast him a questioning look, he expanded, "She and I don't get on-we haven't since we were kids."

Abbey shook her head. "You really should work on that, Josh; you only ever get one sister and one aunt for your daughters."

Looking down at his hands, Josh studied the glass in his hands and tried to stay calm. He knew that Abbey hadn't meant anything by what she had said, as she didn't know about Joanie, but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt him. Not a day went by when he didn't think of his dead sister.

Sensing that Josh was feeling uncomfortable, Abbey changed the subject by asking, "So, you and Amy are happy together?"

"Yes; we're very happy and so is Naomi." He smiled, remembering how happy his eldest daughter had been when he and Amy had told her that they were back together.

xxxx

Elsewhere in the room, CJ was ordering herself a drink when a familiar voice from behind spoke. "Nice dress, Claudia Jean."

Pulling her shawl around her, she turned around and saw Danny standing behind her. He smiled and she smiled back. "You look stunning." He whispered, with a look in his eyes; a look which CJ knew and recognised all too well.

Breaking the silence, CJ asked, "Do you want to dance?"

"No." Danny shook his head. "How long does this party go on for?"

Looking deep into his eyes, CJ replied, "A couple of hours, I think. Why do you ask? Are you asking for the same reason you asked me if I had a date for tonight?" She knew what she wanted; she just wanted to be sure that he wanted it as well.

Danny moved closer and kissed her on the lips. CJ responded instantly. They broke apart and their eyes met, then Danny whispered, "I love you. I have done since the first day we met."

Stroking his face, CJ replied, in the same tone, "I love you, too, Danny. Now, let's stop wasting time and get out of her." She put down her drink and they walked out of the party.

xxxx

Back at Donna and Mallory's flat, Mallory was ensuring that she looked nice in the mirror, even though Donna had told her numerous times that she did. Mallory had managed to persuade Donna to go to the party; she knew that she was upset about Joe, but she also knew that Donna needed to have fun, even if he was not there with her.

There was a knock on the door. Mallory opened it, as Donna was in her bedroom. It was Sam, dressed in a suit and tie and Mallory thought that he looked very nice and he thought that she looked stunning, but he was too scared to tell her that, so instead he asked where his sister was.

"She's getting ready. Do you want something to drink?" Mallory asked, as she turned on the kettle.

Sam nodded and sat down. An awkward silence ensued, partly because neither of them was sure what to say to the other; whilst they knew each other, they had only ever known each other because of Josh and it was very awkward for Sam, as he was worried that he would say something which would make him seem stupid and he did not want that.

Mallory set two cuts of the coffee down on the table and racked her brains for something to talk about. "How are the kids?" she asked, "What are their names again?"

"Demi, Nathan and Devon." Sam smiled at the very thought of his three children. He may not have seen them as much as he wished he could, but he loved them very much. There was another silence, then Sam asked, "Do you want to have kids, Mallory?"

Mallory looked down into the cup before replying. "Yes, I do. I just have to find the right person." She smiled to herself. "I guess sometimes, the person can be right in front of you and you don't know."

"Yes, I suppose sometimes, that can happen." Sam replied, in a very quiet voice; so quiet that Mallory almost did not hear him. "But that would never happen to you." He smiled, in an attempt to make himself feel more comfortable in this situation.

Their eyes met for a second and, in that moment, something occurred to Mallory; something which had never occurred to her before, although she had never thought about it that much. "I guess." She whispered, as she studied his features and his eyes and she began to move closer.

Allowing his instincts to move and ignoring his head, Sam moved forward too. Their faces were now very close and their eyes connected and he thought that he was going to have everything he had ever wanted since he had been 18: Mallory, as his girlfriend.

The door opened and Donna walked into the sitting room and she immediately regretting it, when she saw how her brother and roommate were sitting. The moment was broken and Mallory dismissed it as being something she had wanted to do because of her vulnerability and, to her, that was what it would have been, but not to Sam. As he thought about it more and more, he knew that Mallory didn't feel the same way and she never would, but, in those short minutes, there had been a part of him which had believed that they could be more than friends.

Those short moments were gone and he doubted if he would ever be able to have them again.

xxxx

In the hall, Amy had managed to get some time alone with her boyfriend and away from her father, so the two of them walked over to the bar and Amy asked for a glass of wine, whilst Josh asked for another glass of water; he had called his parents a couple of minutes before and Naomi and Catherine-Françoise were fine.

Their solitude, however, was interrupted when a man named Fred Barker came up to them.

"I'm Frank Barker. It's very nice to meet you."

Josh held out his hand. "Sure, I've heard of you. This is Amy Ziegler. Amy, this is Frank Barker."

Amy prevented herself from rolling her eyes, as Frank's views on women's role in society were something which she deeply hated. As they spoke, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Josh chuckling and she threw him a look.

After half an hour of listening to Frank Barker, Amy finished her drink and Josh pulled her onto the dance floor; they had danced together when they had been at university and they were accustomed to how the other moved.

"How many women do you have on your staff?" Amy inquired, in the middle of the dance.

Frowning and looked at her, Josh asked, "What, why do you ask?"

Smiling, his girlfriend replied, "40% of your staff are women."

"And what's wrong with that?" Josh asked, slightly worried of what the answer was going to be, but he knew that when Amy raised issues like this, that she was displeased with something.

Amy stopped dancing and replied, "Women made up 60% of Leo's vote. Don't you think they should make up more of 40% of your staff?" There was a silence and she hung her head. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have this conversation with you; it isn't fair. I'll take it up with someone I'm not dating and in love with." She bit her lip and watched his face carefully.

"You're in love with me?" Josh asked, in a whisper, looking her in the eyes. His answer was a nod and he smiled,

The couple resumed their slow dance and rested their heads. With her head on Josh's shoulders, Amy allowed herself to relax and she realised that she felt safe. Here, where she was with Josh, she had never been happier and she wished that she could hold onto this moment forever and Josh was thinking the same thing.

Elsewhere in the hall, Abbey sought out Leo, in search for the answer to her husband's unusual mood and to find out what he thought would make her no longer love him.

"Leo," she called, once she had finally found him, "may I have a word, in private?"

He nodded and they walked out into the corridor. "Are you enjoying the party?" he asked, with a grin on his face.

In reply, Abbey smiled and shook her head. "Leo, there' s something wrong with Jed. He said-he said that he needs to tell me something, which he should have told me before we married. Do you know what it is? Whatever it is, it's not going to change the way I feel about him."

The look on Leo's face provided her with the answer that he knew what Jed meant and she wondered why he knew and she did not. "Well, what is it?" she asked, even though she knew that Leo was not going to tell her.

"I'm sorry, Abbey, I can't tell you. Just…find Jed after the party and be prepared to listen to everything he tells you." With that, he walked off, leaving Abbey even more confused than she had been before she had spoken to him.