Inauguration
"How are you feeling?" she murmured in his ear.
Jed pulled Abbey closer as they danced together in front of all the crowds and the press and the supporters and the friends who had got them to this place. "I'm feelin' good, sweet knees."
She laughed softly, tickling his neck and causing a shiver to go up his spine. "Don't tire yourself out too much with all the dancing. I've got plans for you later," she teased.
MS or not, nothing was going to tire Jed Bartlet out tonight. It was his inauguration as President of the United States. After all the years of campaigning and work and everything else to get to this point, all those smart, dedicated people who believed in him had actually done it. They'd gotten him elected. And now he was President.
And tonight would also be the first night he and Abbey would spend in the White House. They had seen the Residence, of course, and spent plenty of time in meetings with decorators and doing walk-throughs and such. Abbey much more than Jed. And everything was ready for them to move in, thanks to the hardworking staff. Tonight, the Bartlets would christen their new home.
Abbey was always great at occasions like that. The two of them had moved around a lot. From their first apartment when they got married in Indiana, then in London while Jed was in grad school, then Boston for a year while Abbey was at Harvard before they moved to the old Bartlet farm in New Hampshire. Jed had an apartment in D.C. when he was a Congressman, but Abbey stayed home with the kids in Manchester. And they hadn't moved again until he got elected Governor and they moved to the mansion in Concord. Being President of the United States was pretty much as far as a man could go in this country, so Jed knew for certain that this was the last first night he and Abbey would have anywhere. After this, however long he was President, they'd go back to the farm, and they'd stay there the rest of their days.
So this first night was going to be special.
The couple twirled around the floor as long as they were allowed to. Tradition dictated that the First Lady dance with the Vice President and the President dance with the Second Lady. Abbey never liked John Hoynes, a man who was charming without any earnestness behind it, so she pasted on a smile and let him dance with her. Jed had a fine time with Mrs. Hoynes. But after that, they got to dance with their friends. Leo got a dance with Abbey, and Jed got a dance with C.J. and he did very well despite the fact that she was a head taller than him in her heels.
"Come on, Mr. President, let's get some food and champagne," Abbey insisted, pulling him away from a senator.
Jed took her arm like a gentleman when he would have rather put his arm around her waist after giving her ass a pat like far less than a gentleman. Ah well. Plenty of time for that later. "You know, you didn't have to drag me off. You know I don't like blondes."
Abbey rolled her eyes. "You keep trying to tease me about being jealous when I'm not jealous."
"It's fun to tease you."
"You're such a jackass," she fired back, nudging him playfully with her elbow.
"Hey, you gotta be careful with that. I'm pretty sure it's an act of treason to call the President a jackass."
"I'm pretty sure you need to reread the First Amendment, buddy."
He laughed, "Touché."
After more food and more champagne, Jed went off in one direction to talk to people and Abbey went off in another direction to talk to other people. It was well past midnight by the time Jed found his wife again.
"Bedtime, Dr. Bartlet," he said, taking her hand and leaning in to speak quietly.
She turned to look at him and saw the way his eyes were looking a little glassy. He was probably a bit drunk and more than a bit tired. It had been a long day, and he needed rest. The more rundown he got, the more likely he'd have an attack. She wouldn't say anything now, but she'd ask when they got up to the Residence if he might need the betaseron.
Abbey didn't protest or even tease him, which was never a very good sign to Jed. Still, he needed to go have some time alone with his wife and he didn't need anything else in their way. He gave a nod to Leo as they headed out. The party could go on in the ballroom without them. Jed and Abbey were going home. To their new home.
"Did you have fun tonight?" she asked as they walked through the halls.
"I did. Did you?" he asked in return.
She smirked. "You know I love a good party."
"And you look damn pretty, too," he told her.
"You clean up real nice yourself."
Jed smiled. That was more like it. That was the tone and feeling he needed for their first night in the White House. He was exhausted but damn, he'd rally for this. Wild horses couldn't stop him.
It was a bit of a maze through the halls and staircases to the Residence. He and Abbey didn't really know their way yet, but thankfully she'd been doing most of the meetings and decorating and whatever, so he followed her. It was a better view for Jed anyway. And just to prove it, he glanced around to be sure there weren't any Secret Service watching as they made their way to the Residence entrance and goosed her. She yelped and swatted his hands away, and he laughed.
"Alright, that's enough of that, boyfriend," Abbey scolded, spinning around and pushing Jed against the door to close it. She grabbed the lapels of his tuxedo jacket and pressed herself against him. Jed's big hands traced up her hips to her waist and back down.
"You're hooked, you're cooked, you're caught in the tender trap," Jed sang softly, expressing his approval of being trapped by her like this.
Abbey grinned and sang the last lines of the song. "You fell in love, and love is the tender trap."
Jed chuckled happily and pulled her in for a kiss.
There was no hurry in that kiss. Heat, but no urgent hunger. They'd been kissing like this for decades. More than half their lives, actually. And it was always good. Abbey's lips were soft and passionate, and she tasted like sunshine. God in heaven, he loved her so much.
Eventually, Abbey pulled back, releasing Jed. "Come on," she said in a low, husky tone, "I think I need some help getting out of this dress."
Jed groaned softly as he followed her through to their bedroom. Their brand-new bedroom.
When that door closed, Abbey was on him again. This time, she started undoing his tie and unbuttoning his shirt and pushing his jacket off him. And Jed happily let her. He felt the arousal build in his body, despite how tired he was. When Abbey started sucking on his neck, Jed's knees practically buckled. But he held onto her to keep him upright, and he pulled the zipper down in the back of her dress, despite his shaking hands.
She stepped back to let the dress fall off her. It was a pile of lavender silk and lace and beading. Beautiful dress, and she really shouldn't have let it hit the floor. Oh well. Abbey stepped out of the dress and sat herself down on the bench at the end of the bed. At her age, her undergarments weren't always the most enticing, but she and Jed were well past all of that. So what if she wore shapewear? She knew his eyes were bugging out of his head at the sight of her in stockings and high heels and not much else.
"Now, you can suffer through getting me out of all this, or I can free myself from the confines of the patriarchy and meet you in bed," she offered.
Jed chuckled again. Consequence of marrying a woman with a sense of humor. "I'll be waiting right here."
He watched her get up and walk to the bathroom and wink at him over her shoulder before shutting herself in the bathroom. With Abbey out of the room, the exhaustion really took over. As much as his body was buzzing with want of her, his body was also starting to fail him. Age and MS will do that to a guy. It sucked.
With the last of his remaining energy, Jed sat down on the edge of the bed and removed his shoes and socks and finished undressing his top half after what Abbey had started. He managed to get up and toss all his clothes on a nearby chair and picked up Abbey's dress to leave it there, too. And wearing nothing but his boxers, Jed Bartlet got into the bed in the President's Bedroom of the White House. His bed, now. Because he was President of the United States. Hell of a thing.
Abbey managed to strip herself bare and wrapped herself in a blue silk robe she'd made sure was unpacked and waiting just for this occasion. She opened the bathroom door and padded out into the bedroom, ready to get back to seducing her husband and being seduced by him.
Except that husband of hers was already half-asleep.
"Jed!" she whined.
He blinked his eyes open and sat up. "Sorry, sweetheart. I guess I was more tired than I thought."
She sighed. She'd been afraid of this. "No, you gotta rest," she conceded. They'd just have to christen the room tomorrow night. Or maybe in the morning. Or whenever Jed was feeling better.
Abbey opened her mouth to say something else, probably about wondering if he needed the betaseron, but Jed stopped her. He reached out and brushed his fingers against the silk robe covering her thigh. "Come here. I'm tired, but I still want you."
She pursed her lips, trying not to smile. He was so goddamn charming, the bastard.
Jed sat up slightly and pushed the bedsheets back, revealing himself barely clothes. Abbey licked her lips unconsciously. They'd both aged plenty over the years but damn he still looked good. She untied the robe and let it fall to the ground before getting up on the bed and straddling Jed.
Immediately, she started kissing him, eager and insistent this time. Jed's hands found her thighs, and she whimpered into his mouth. He moved up her legs to her hips and squeezed her ass briefly before moving up over the curve of her waist and took her breasts in his hands. Abbey had to break their kiss to gasp and arch into his touch. She leaned back in and trailed kisses down his neck as she moaned and sucked gently on him. His fingers dug into her fleshy hips, and Abbey hipped at the soft skin of his neck. He hissed in appreciation.
For a couple who had been married as long as the Bartlets, their sex life was still pretty good. Less frequent, thanks to age and health and the general insanity of their lives, especially on the campaign trail, but they made time for what mattered. This mattered. The two of them loving each other and enjoying each other and celebrating each other mattered.
But even so, Abbey felt like it had been too long since she'd gotten to get on top of him and feel his touch like this. She needed him. "Please, Jed," she breathed. She wasn't sure what she was even asking for, but she wanted him. Wanted more of him. All of him.
"Oh yeah," he groaned in response, his hips shifting beneath her as he tried to increase their contact. His hands moved up, burying themselves in her hair as he pulled her back in for a searing kiss.
Abbey had to sit up and away from him so she could remove his boxers. His cock was hard and throbbing for her, as she knew it would be from grinding on top of him like that. She took great delight in the growl of pleasure that came from the back of his throat when she took him in hand and stroked him a few times to relieve his tension.
"God, Abbey, I need you," he begged.
She wouldn't make either of them wait a second longer. She positioned herself over him and guided him into her body. It took everything in her to keep her movements slow and gentle. After all, he was tired and his health was fragile. The last thing they needed was for Abbey to move wrong and have either of them sprain something. The world would not recover if the First Lady broke the President's penis on inauguration night.
When Abbey felt Jed fill her completely, their hips flush together, their arms wrapped around each other so tightly that neither quite knew where one ended and the other began, she sighed triumphantly.
Jed stared into her eyes so deeply that it stirred something inside her. Abbey rested her forehead against his. They breathed heavily together as the whole world fell away and all that existed was the expanse of their love, the darkened blue of his eyes locked with the green of hers this way. "Welcome home, babe," she whispered.
It was then that Abbey began to move. She shifted her hips slightly, making them both moan and groan at the sensations. She could not move too much, too quickly, or too exuberantly. Not in this position. She was slow and deep and careful. But she moved on him and could feel the slide of his cock inside her. Abbey tilted her head and caught his lips in a messy kiss that Jed returned with equal ardor. Lips and teeth and tongues moved together between breaths that were quickly turning to pants. Her hands gripped his shoulders, and his skin grew slick and hot. His own hands had moved down to her hips, holding her so tight that she would struggle to hide the bruises he left behind. He helped guide her movements. His kiss traveled down her neck, forcing Abbey to lean back to give him access to her throat. The slight change in angle made her breath hitch as he hit the spot where she needed him. She rolled her hips on top of him as he sucked hard on the pale skin just over her collarbone. Abbey gasped and sighed and whimpered as she got closer and closer. But not close enough.
"Touch me, Robert," she whined. Abbey took one of his hands in hers and guided his fingers to the juncture between her legs.
He loved it when she did this, when she took control and showed him exactly what she needed it. He could feel his fingers and her fingers and the way his cock slid inside her body. And the eroticism of it was enough to push them both over the edge.
Abbey's body snapped and pulsated with waves of pleasure with her release, and Jed grunted and his hips jerked involuntarily beneath her as he spilled inside her. The both of them were entirely wrung out of energy, sweating and breathing hard. Abbey slumped against him, barely able to hold herself up. They wrapped their arms around each other loosely, trying to catch their breath.
The air was starting to cool her damp skin and her legs were getting sore from this position, but Abbey didn't want to move yet. She might not have had MS, but age was getting the better of her. She was exhausted.
"I love you," she breathed, unable to give her voice any volume just yet.
Jed wrapped his arms around her a little tighter. "I love you, too," he said in answer. He nuzzled into her hair and hummed happily. She'd been the one to do all the work, so he wasn't breathing as hard.
Eventually Abbey had to pull herself away. "What do you say?" she asked hoarsely. "Do we leave a mess in the new bed for the staff to find?"
"Oh sure," he answered flippantly. There were tissues on the bedside table at least, so he grabbed a couple so they could clean themselves up just enough.
Tissues used and discarded, Abbey rolled over to her side of the bed. "Hey this is a nice mattress," she commented.
Jed hummed in agreement. He turned off the light on the nightstand and turned over to spoon her. "It's the same kind of mattress we've got back home. Someone from the staff actually tested our mattress to find one we'd like," he explained.
Even half-asleep now, Abbey started to laugh. "This is going to be the weirdest living situation we've ever had."
"I'm President of the United States, Abbey. Everything about the next four years is going to be weird."
She laughed again. "Well, weird or not, I'm so proud of you, Jed."
"Thank you, honey," he answered, kissing the side of her neck. "And thank you for the great first night."
"Back at you, boyfriend." That last word got caught in a yawn.
THE END
