A/N: Stories have a way of leading us to unexpected places. I had no idea that "Holiday Pictures" would lead me to write "Expecting Felicity" or how much I would learn along the way about Abbey, Jed, and the people who love them.

To mark the anniversary of my first Felicity story, I decided to celebrate by writing a fluffy holiday-themed alternative version about how Abbey and Jed (and their children) found out that Felicity was on her way. It is more in keeping with what we've learned about our favorite characters along the way.

More Felicity-themed fiction will be coming soon.

Happy holidays and happy reading!

Abbey Bartlet should have been used to having her life turned upside down. Being married to a career politician who won every office he ran for, there was always some sort of adjustment to make and new commitments to add to her schedule. This, however, was a whole new level of change. As the town car she rode in turned and drove up the snowy road to the house, it passed the newly installed guardhouse and the Secret Service agents patrolling the grounds. When the car stopped at the house, Abbey got out and found her home blazing with lights. Not far ahead of her, she saw the parked cars belonging to Jed's campaign aides, now senior staff.

When she went inside, Abbey was met with a house full of people. While she spent most of her day continuing to wrap up her practice here in Manchester and take care of a few things in Boston, her family was here, preparing for Christmas which was just days away now.

"Hi, Grandma!" Annie said, running up to her. She wore the cutest red dress trimmed in faux white fur.

"Hi sweetheart," Abbey said, embracing her granddaughter. "You look like you're ready for Christmas."

"I am. This is my dress for church. Alex made it for me."

"Aren't you lucky? I love it!"

"Me too. Are you going to help us make cookies?"

"Absolutely. I'm going to go upstairs and change. I'll be right back."

On her way upstairs, Abbey popped her head into the dining room. She saw Jed, Leo, Josh, CJ, Toby, and Sam sitting at the table debating cabinet picks. She smiled to herself and went up to her bedroom. This transition was all-consuming and not without stress. But seeing Jed so in his element made her happy. The scent of fresh pine filled Abbey's nose as she walked into the room. A real pine garland with clear lights adorned the headboard of the bed and the smell made her nauseous almost immediately.

Setting her bag on the bed, Abbey went into the bathroom, turned on the light, and closed the door behind her. She leaned against the vanity and closed her eyes. Taking a few breaths, the feeling abated and Abbey opened her eyes. They locked on a soft blue train case sitting on one of the built-in shelves across from her. She'd put the pregnancy tests Donna bought for her nearly two months ago in it after the transition and hadn't thought about them since.

The transition was a welcome distraction. It kept Abbey and Jed both so busy, they barely had time to think about anything else including a baby. It was easier that way. Every attempt to have another baby after Zoey resulted in disappointment. Abbey lost count of the tests she'd taken and the tears she had shed over it, to say nothing of how Jed felt about it. When the last batch of tests she procured was negative, taking more seemed counterproductive, and not worth the heartache after the election. But Abbey resolved to be prepared just in case something like this happened.

Letting out another breath, Abbey reached for the cordless extension next to the shelf. Being overly sensitive to the smell of pine fit with the exhaustion and intermittent queasiness she felt since the beginning of the month. It wasn't just transition stress. She hit the button to activate the intercom closest to the dining room. As it happened, Jed had the phone next to him as he listened to his newly-formed senior staff debate his next cabinet pick. It was beginning to give him a headache. He picked it up when it beeped and pressed the talk button.

"Yeah."

"Honey, I need you to come upstairs," Abbey said without preamble. "Now."

"I'll be up in a minute," Jed said without hesitation. He needed a bit of a break. The tone in Abbey's voice also made him think an emergency of sorts cropped up. He ended the call and leaned over to Leo, "I'll be back."

"Take your time. I'm sure this debate will still be raging on when you return," Leo replied with a wry smile.

Jed pushed his chair back from the dining table and stood up. He left the room and went up the stairs to his bedroom. He saw Abbey's bag on the bed and then turned to see that the bathroom door was closed.

"Sweet knees?" He called.

"Come here," Abbey's voice said from the other side of the door.

Jed walked over to the bathroom and opened the door. Abbey was standing in front of the vanity. Three boxes were spread out in front of her. The blue train case sat behind them with an open zipper and closed lid. A timer sat in front of it.

"Come in and close the door," She said quietly. "Do you have to get back soon?"

He did as he was told and only then did Jed see what the boxes were, "No. Leo will handle things for a while. "

The words came out of Jed's mouth without a second thought. As hectic as the transition was, this was more important. He could feel her nervousness as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and pulled her into him. Jed kissed her cheek tenderly and waited for Abbey to say something.

"The pine garland draped on our headboard wasn't here when I left this morning."

"The girls must have put it up. They've been decorating most of the day."

"I might need you to find somewhere to put it."

"Okay," He replied as a smile tugged at his lips.

"Don't," Abbey said, seeing his reflection in the mirror. "For all I know, I could have a stomach bug."

Jed held his hands up in surrender and watched Abbey take the tests out of their boxes and read the instructions for each of them. After she took them, she set them back on the vanity and set the timer. Abbey shut the toilet lid and sat down on it and he took a seat on the edge of the tub.

"I'm glad you called. The debate downstairs was getting to me."

"What position are you trying to fill?"

"Defense Secretary."

"Jed…you should go back."

"I haven't missed one of these and I'm not about to start now," He said firmly.

Abbey knew he was right. They spent a lot of time in this bathroom and others over the years hoping that they would have their fourth child. The inevitable negative always crushed them. But they always found the love and support they needed in each other.

"Annie wants me to help make cookies. I hope Liz gets her out of that dress though."

"I heard all about it. There was a package at the door this morning and Annie received her very own box complete with a red ribbon."

"Leave it to Alex to make a great impression on a 7-year-old."

"The garland wasn't your first inkling," He said, more as a statement than a question.

"No, but we're in the process of wrapping up our lives, Jed. You're just exhausted as I am when you get into bed."

"You could have told me," He offered.

"What good would it have done? These tests will probably be negative."

"But what if they aren't?"

"Jed!"

"Abigail, I know you don't want to jinx this. But the last time you couldn't stand the smell of something, I had to switch the shaving cream I used. Zoey followed about 8 months later."

Abbey sighed, "I remember. This was supposed to be our plan for life after politics."

Jed smiled, "Lizzy was our plan after I finished my dissertation and we managed."

"We were both a lot younger then and neither of us had a clue what to expect. Now we're about to move into the White House."

"We'll figure it out, Abbey. We always do."

Jed reached for Abbey's hand. She took it and squeezed. They lapsed into silence. When the timer went off a minute later, their nervous energy filled the room.

"I don't want to look," Abbey said softly.

"Let's do it together," He offered.

Abbey nodded and they returned to the vanity, standing side-by-side. The positive symbol on each test jumped out at each of them.

"They're positive…" She said in disbelief.

"Yes, they are," Jed replied, grinning from ear to ear.

"That can't be right…."

"Baby doll, I don't think three tests can be wrong. They're all positive. Not a faint line among them."

"I need a second opinion," Abbey said, ignoring what Jed had just told her. She reached for the phone and hit the intercom button, "I need you to come upstairs," She told the person on the other end when they picked up.

"Who did you just call?"

"Liz," Abbey replied as if the answer was obvious.

Jed suppressed a groan. Seconds later, he heard footsteps on the stairs followed by two more sets. All three of his daughters were coming upstairs because of course, they were. When Abbey asked for an opinion from the girls, she usually received three. It was the way things worked around here. Jed wouldn't have given it a second thought normally. But it seemed too soon to tell the girls. However, thirty years of marriage told him that now was not the time to contradict Abbey. He opened the bathroom door and walked back into the bedroom. Almost as soon as he sat down on the side of the bed, Liz appeared in the doorway.

"Hey dad," Liz said.

"In here, honey," Abbey called from the bathroom.

"Your mother needs a second opinion," He explained.

Ellie followed Liz into the room and Zoey brought up the rear, "Hi dad."

"Hi, sweetheart."

Ellie followed Liz into the bathroom. Jed expected Zoey to join her sisters. But she sat down next to her father instead. Ellie closed the door behind her.

"The natives are getting restless," Zoey said. "You and mom have been up here for a while."

"I know. But they can't wait a little bit longer. Have they gotten anywhere in the debate?"

"It's leaning more for your pick than against."

"Well, that's progress."

"Dad, are you ok? You seem nervous."

Jed followed Zoey's gaze to his knee, which was nervously bobbing up and down. He smiled and then looked back at his daughter.

"I'm just waiting for your mother to realize I'm right about something. Speaking of which, help me take down this pine garland," He said, rising from the bed.

Zoey frowned, "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing. It just deserves to be somewhere else that's all. "

"Okay…"

Zoey opened her mouth to ask what that meant. But she closed it again and walked over to unplug the string lights. Once the garland was off the bed, she took it down to the dining room. Just as she reached the top of the stairs on her way back, Zoey heard a sob followed by laughter. She walked back into her parents' room and saw Ellie and Liz laughing with happy tears in their eyes.

Abbey and Jed were behind their daughters, seemingly lost in their own world. They were holding each other and alternating between laughing, crying happy tears, and kissing each other.

"I think we can table the great dog debate for now," Jed said kissing Abbey's nose. "We've got something much better coming along."

"Yes, we do," Abbey agreed, still in a little bit of shock from getting a positive result four times over.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Their lips met in another sweet, celebratory kiss. After nearly two decades of waiting and countless tests that told them their last baby wasn't to be, suddenly he or she was well and truly on their way.

"What's going on?" Zoey asked, looking at her parents and her sisters genuinely confused.

Abbey and Jed parted. She walked over to her youngest daughter and put an arm around her, holding her close.

"Do you remember what you asked Santa for but never received when you were little?" Abbey asked, casually. She held one of the tests in her other hand.

"I—-I asked for a baby sister or a baby brother."

"Santa is a little late on this one. But you're going to get your wish at the end of July or early August if all goes well."

Abbey held up a digital test for Zoey to see. Liz and Ellie suggested she take it to get the confirmation she needed. Zoey looked at it. "Pregnant," it read in no uncertain terms.

Zoey's eyes widened, "I'm getting a baby sister," She said and then laughed.

"The jury's still out. But the odds are pretty good," Jed said grinning at his youngest.

Zoey hugged her mother and then her father before joining her sisters in celebratory squeals of excitement.

"Welcome to the club Zoey," Liz said after a minute.

"You're going to be a great big sister," Ellie added.

Jed went over and joined Abbey. They watch the girls celebrate this happy development.

"Is it everything that you imagined?" He whispered in her ear.

"Even better," Abbey concluded, embracing her husband once again.

"Mom?" Annie's voice called from the hallway. She had gotten bored waiting for Abbey to come down and went to watch a movie in the den.

"I'm here baby," Liz said.

Annie walked into the room and went to her mother, "Mom, why are you crying?"

"I'm just happy for Aunt Zoey," She said wiping her eyes as she saw Abbey surreptitiously hide the test behind her back.

"Yeah, she is," Zoey agreed. "I'm getting something very special for Christmas. But it won't be here until later."

"Can I see it?"

"When it gets here, of course, you can."

"Good," Annie said and turned to Abbey, "Grandma, are you coming down to make cookies soon?"

"How about right now?" Abbey suggested. She handed the test to Jed behind her back and he took it.

"Yay!"

Abbey and the girls followed Annie out of the room while Jed went to put the test back in the bathroom. He put the positive tests in the medicine cabinet and then put the other tests back on the shelf where Abbey had kept them. Then he went back downstairs. He could hear Abbey and the girls laughing and talking in the kitchen as he walked back into the dining room.

"Mr. President-Elect, we have a consensus," Leo said as Jed took his seat.

"Excellent!"

Leo leaned over and whispered in Jed's ear, "Everything ok?"

"Yeah, Abbey thinks she found a dog for us."

"Must be some dog. You were up there for a while."

"Oh, it is, Leo."

Jed saw Abbey walk down the hall, past the dining room, presumably to go get her recipes for Christmas cookies that were in her office. She caught his eye and smiled. He could have sworn that she was glowing a little bit. He returned the smile. At that moment, both of them were grateful for all of their blessings. He sent up a silent prayer to God, hoping that this pregnancy would go well. He didn't realize it then, but by the time he celebrated his first Christmas in office, he and Abbey would have a baby girl that they would call lovebug in their arms. That Christmas and everyone that came after would be infinitely better because of her.

The End