Discordia
-sequel to Perimo


Note: You'll quickly find that the timeline has been set approximately three years after the finish of Perimo, two years before the end of Bartlet's second term. Hope this is easily understandable and that some are still interested in a plot not unlike the one set up in the previous series. Again, thank you for reading and feedback would be marvelous; yes, you have to read Perimo first to understand much of this one!

Note #2: You'll also see that, particularly with the Prologue, I made an effort to, if nothing else, convey the intimacy of both the time in their lives and living situation. That was my ultimate goal, so if it's a little too sappy without any smut, I apologize... perhaps that can come later?

Disclaimer: They aren't mine.
Spoilers: Uhmmm just a few little things, nothing really heavy yet.
Rating: Probably a light R, for sex and language

I think I have to say this one is for Jessica, who brainstormed with me on the plot and gave me so many ideas, that I have to say this plotline is at least half hers; and for Claudie, who beta read over half of Perimo, gave me ideas, critiqued, and was the most faithful feedback-er a girl could ask for (You are an angel, I swear!). Thanks very much, both of you!

Prologue:

He slowed his breathing deliberately, taking in shaky breaths as he placed a soft kiss on her shoulder, moving slowly down her frame and placing an equally warm kiss just below her navel. His hands came to rest below his face, upon the soft swell of her stomach, communicating to their child with each caress and murmur as he fell into sleep.

CJ smiled, sliding her hand down to cover his, the other cradling his head against her breast. The silver chain at her neck was cool against the warmth of her skin, and her eyes remained on it as she drifted into her own thoughts.

The celebration of Hanukkah had passed, and Christmas was fast approaching. Toby had proposed to her almost a year before, but by October her fingers were swollen, and it was almost painful to remove the ring, and so, he'd given her the chain and fastened it around her neck with a kiss and caress in a moment not unlike the one she was savoring.

When asked by Abbey or Josh, both of whom felt as if they should defend her honor and nag them to marry immediately, for a definite date, she would smile to herself and quote the number of years and days left in Bartlet's Administration. The day before, CJ'd laughed and said, "Two years, twenty-nine days".

Her hand stroked Toby's beard as she thought, in moments like the one she was experiencing, that she'd begun to count the minutes. Yet, as she felt his hand beneath hers and the now-familiar heaviness in her belly, weddings, marriage, and legal documents seemed of little importance. For, she smiled, they had made the greatest commitment of all, and the resulting hormones combined with the approaching holidays, had turned her into a rather sappy human being. Tears burned almost gratefully at her eyes as he nuzzled closer to her breast, and she again stroked his beard as his eyes slid open.

And again, CJ knew, that in moments of beauty and timelessness, like the one that soon approached as he slid inside her, she held the world in her arms.

Hours later, day broke in brilliant shards of darkness and light awash in color, and it was Toby who woke with a dream in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder, their child covered protectively by her hand and cushioned against his side. He awoke her with a kiss as he slid from the bed, whispering: "Wake up, Claudia Jean. We have to be at the Wing in an hour and a half, and that mandatory celebration of Bartlet's is tonight."

CJ groaned and rolled into her pillow, wondering all the while why the President had suddenly decided to celebrate Christmas and demand they all be in attendance before departing for home.

"CJ, you have to wake up," Toby called, standing in the frame of the bathroom door, and she smiled as her eyes roved over him, gloriously naked. He disappeared with an almost-seductive smile, "If you hurry, I'll wash your back," he promised, and as quickly as she could, CJ stood and walked into the bathroom, hands poised over her stomach.

And there he stood, checking the temperature of the shower, as he waited for her. Toby stood to his full height, almost matching hers, as he watched her approach and marveled to himself that she looked something like a Goddess, perhaps Aphrodite before the birth of Aeneas, full breasts and round stomach, and she caught the look in his eye as he offered her his hand, helping her into the tub. Smiling, CJ turned her back to him and he slid his arms around her, and she laughingly thanked both God and Santa Claus, wondering just how she'd gotten so lucky.

The old adage "All good things must come to an end" bounced at the corner of her mind, but she pushed it away, refusing its entrance, soap gliding over her shoulders and thoughts of Christmas with the family of her very own making filling her thoughts.