Series: Snapshots of the Past

Story: Back Home Again

Chapter 14

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Previously: Liz told Abbey the truth; Abbey warned John to stay away from Liz

Summary: Abbey's vision of a happy Bartlet Christmas is threatened

- - -

With Jed and Lizzie snuggled tightly in bed as visions of sugar plums danced in their heads - or so she thought - Abbey snuck into the living room, making as little noise as possible. Her only guide, a small flashlight she kept in the drawer of her nightstand in case of a power outage, flickered unpredictably.

The festive Christmas Tree and all the colorful ornaments that dangled off its five-foot frame drew her attention briefly as she reminisced about the joyous Christmases of the past, the ones where she and her sister Kate would sneak downstairs in the middle of the night and carefully unwrap their gifts to get a peek, the ones, years later, when she and Kate would join their mother to gather around the tree and sing Christmas carols before going to church on Christmas Eve, her father accompanying them on the walnut-colored upright piano, the one where she lost her virginity to Jed under the tree at her parent's house, and the ones after Elizabeth was born where the thrill of the holiday shifted from the joy of receiving to the joy of giving.

But now, just like that little pigtailed girl with long, dark auburn hair and big green eyes leading her little sister into mischief, Abbey sat under the tree and pulled the gifts close to her eye one-by-one, shining the light on them for inspection until she found the one that sparked her search - a square-shaped box which outweighed the others by at least 10 pounds.

Armed with a pair of scissors she had already hidden in her pocket before laying her head to her pillow, she sliced the pieces of Scotch tape at the edge of the wrapping paper, leaving no trace of her misdeed on the paper itself. Her eyes were lit with cheerful curiosity as she finally unwrapped the simple cardboard box. She slit the packaging tape in the center and excitedly pulled up the flaps, her smile suddenly fading with the sight in front of her.

There was no gift inside. A couple of hammers and screwdrivers weighed it down and old newspapers caused it to rattle with every shake. A note on top simply stated, "no peeking until Christmas, Sweet Knees."

"Jackass," she muttered quietly.

"Yes, but I'm a pretty smart Jackass, and I know you very well."

Jed's voice frightened her, causing her to jolt slightly before turning to shine the light at him. "What the hell are you doing?"

His hands shielded his eyes from the intruding rays until she lowered her aim. "Spying. You think I don't know it when you sneak out of bed?"

"You were sound asleep."

"Yes, but it suddenly got cold. I opened my eyes and saw that my sweet Abigail wasn't beside me keeping me warm." The sweet sentiment could have bought her forgiveness, if he hadn't continued. "The way heat just radiates off your body really is a scientific mystery."

"I hate being tricked," she said flatly.

Oh, how he loved to trick her. "Then I suggest you act like an adult and wait until Christmas morning."

"It is Christmas morning."

"Not until the sun comes up." He brought her hands to his lips, a menacing grin forming with his kiss. "You know, the first time we made love was under the Christmas tree. Remember?"

"I remember." She closed her eyes to savor his warm breath clashing against the exposed skin of her neck while his hands cupped the swells of her breasts. "Jed...Lizzie's in the next room."

"She sleeps through anything," he whispered in her ear as his hands reached behind him for the blanket on the sofa.

He pressed his body into hers, gently lowering them both to the floor. Her hesitation apparent, she caught her breath and stopped him before he pushed her shoulders to the floor.

"No...we...Jed, we can't." Her strong voice immediately gave him pause.

"Okay," he said, confused. "Is something wrong?"

"It's just, we can't. At least not without protection."

"I thought we were trying to have a baby." He climbed off her body and rolled over next to her. "Abbey?"

"It's Lizzie. All of a sudden, she has it in her head that we want another baby because we want to replace her."

"How could she ever think that?"

"The day she and Mandy went through our room, I lectured her about breaking the rules. She asked me if that's why we want another baby."

"She's the one who wanted a sibling."

"I know."

"What made her think something like that?"

"It's not important what made her think it. What's important is that she does think it and until I'm sure that we've reassured her, I think we should take a break."

"Of course." Just the thought of it wounded him to his core. When his brother Jack was born, his parents made no attempt to reach out to him so a young Jed was left all alone to face the same insecurities Lizzie expressed. "I'll talk to her. I'll tell her our love for her is what made us decide to have another baby."

"I told her that, but maybe you could reinforce it."

"I will."

She smiled warmly and stretched across him to flip the switch beside him. The darkened room suddenly glowed with dozens of dazzling lights spiraling around the tree. Her chin rested comfortably on his shoulder, his arm reaching over her to cradle her close and tuck her head under his. "In the meantime, let's enjoy the light show."

And so they did.

Even the sunlight that soon poured in through the cracks of the blinds didn't disturb their tangled bodies. The only thing that could wake them from their restful sleep was a bundle of enthusiasm wrapped up in a little five-year-old frame.

"Mommy! Daddy! Mommy! Daddy!"

Abbey opened one eye and chuckled at Liz jumping around them, her toes barely touching the ground between hops.

"Hey, Lizzie." She sat up slowly, gently tugging on Jed to join her.

"Did you see him? Did you see Santa? He came!"

Jed scoured the room, his eyes catching a glimpse of the empty glass and plate on the kitchen counter where a snack of milk and cookies had been set out the night before. "Of course he came. And no, your mother and I didn't get to see him." He pulled out three gifts that sat under the tree. "But he did leave us all a little something."

"You wrapped your own gift?" Abbey whispered in his ear.

"Shhh," he whispered back.

Liz tore the paper and opened a small box, letting it fall to the floor beside her as her hands held a clear frosted ornament delicately in front of her. "Ooohhh."

Abbey squinted to get a good look at the silver and white "snow" that tumbled around inside the colorless ball. "Wow, that's beautiful."

On the outside, soft pink hand-painted trim designed the top and bottom and the center served as the focal point with her name - Lizzie - written with the elegance of calligraphy in the same color.

Barely able to tear his eyes away from Liz's lively expression, Jed moved closer to Abbey. "Open yours," he ordered softly.

Abbey's ornament sparkled with the same colorless ball filled with silver and white specs of glitter. The chosen color for her name was red, with a holiday frost that made it shine. "You're too much."

"Well, yeah," he replied.

"And what color is yours?"

He opened his box to proudly pull out his own. "Blue."

He lifted Liz just high enough for Abbey to guide her hand and help her place her ornament on the tree. Once all three were nestled on the soft green needles between the branches, it was time to move on to the other presents, and not a moment to soon for Liz.

She tore through the boxes fast and furiously, taking a second to pause between each one and admire the item inside. A pair of skates caught her attention for a few minutes as she kicked off her slippers to try them on, but soon, she remembered the unopened presents still waiting and returned to her merciless rampage.

It was a special gift from her mother that really stopped her in her tracks. The big blue eyes on the porcelain-faced doll stared up at her from inside the box. She pulled it out gently as if trying not to disturb a single brown hair or a lacey ruffle on the pink and white outfit she wore.

"That's the doll my mom gave me when I was a little girl," Abbey told her.

"She's so pretty."

"Yes, she is. Just like you. Now you see why you're my own special baby doll?"

Ever since their conversation a few days earlier, Abbey ached for the hurt her daughter had been feeling. Of course a doll wouldn't resolve all the uncertainty in the young girl's heart, but she hoped what it represented would reassure Liz of her unconditional love.

And finally, one more gift among the clutter of wrapping paper and jagged edged-boxes would excite Liz. She pulled free an ice blue dress, a wintertime variation the white summer dress she was desperate to wear to Mandy's party. A dress with the shiny material that shimmered under the light to bring out the deep color of her eyes would have made her happy regardless, but this dress had even more significance because her father had picked it out all by himself.

Jed spent more time searching for that particular gift than any other. Abbey's presents were much easier to buy since, unlike his daughter, her taste had been ingrained in his mind since they before they married. He had a few questionable selections, no doubt, but fortunately, he managed to please her with his choices.

"There's no more?" Liz asked, peeking under the mangled mess of ripped paper.

"Not until Grandma and Grandpa get here."

"Can Grandfather come too?"

"No."

Liz sensed her father's firm answer left no room for discussion. With a shrug of her shoulders, she struggled to get her tiny feet inside her new skates.

Abbey took Jed's hand as she held out her wrist to admire the new tennis bracelet he had given her. "I love it. I love all my gifts."

"Me too. I just wish you came all wrapped up with a bow." He bent his head to kiss her sensuously on the lips. "I hate that you have to go to work today."

"I know. But I'll be home for dinner. Do me a favor?"

"Anything."

She turned her stare back to her daughter. "Watch Lizzie today. Don't let her go anywhere by herself."

He pushed his body apart from hers to search for the reasons for her concern. "Sweetie? Did you have a bad dream or something?"

"No, it's nothing like that. I just like to know to know where she is. I mean, it's Christmas. All the kids are out of school and every psychopath in town knows it." Soon she would have to tell him about the day John spent with Liz, but not today. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of ruining their Christmas.

Satisfied with her answer, Jed folded her back into his arms and agreed to her request. Ignorance may be bliss, but revelations of this magnitude couldn't restrain the hot-tempered man inside. Abbey was sure of that. So with an ill-fated smile, reflective of the desire to circumvent problems like this before they upset him, she kept her mouth shut and waited for tomorrow.

- - -

That evening, the aroma of a traditional Christmas dinner lingered outside the closed door of the apartment. When Abbey returned from work, she paused before turning the knob to take in the smells that reminded her of family dinners back home, but the familiar scent was soon overshadowed by the delightful image of Jed and both of her parents gathered in the kitchen to prepare the meal together.

Ever since she was a little girl, she dreamed of the day she could bring home a husband to mesh seamlessly into the family. There were times during the parade of boyfriends in high school that she didn't think her fairy tale scenario would ever come to fruition. But then, Jed entered her life and with him, came the fairy tale.

She scanned the room adoringly and realized someone was missing from the lovely family portrait.

"Dinner's almost ready, Babe." His words never registered in her mind.

"Where's Lizzie?"

"She's trying out her new skates at the playground," James answered his daughter.

Abbey tried to hide her alarm, but it was pointless. Her voice cracked with a simple question. "What?"

"Relax," Jed assured her. "She's wearing a jacket and it's pretty warm today. There's no snow or ice on the ground."

"By herself? Is she there by herself?"

"No, Mandy and her mother are with her."

At least another adult was watching her, she noted, but it wasn't enough to relieve her fears. "I told you not to let her out of your sight!"

"You said not to let her go anywhere alone."

"I meant without you!"

"How was I supposed to know that?" She took quick strides out the door and ran down the steps to the sidewalk with Jed following closely behind. "Abbey, what the hell is going on?"

Heading in the direction of the playground down the street, Abbey kept one hand on her forehead to shelter her eyes from the sunset and another frantically swinging at her side to pick up her pace. "Where are they?" she repeated just loud enough for Jed to hear when she spotted Mandy's mom, Rebecca. "Where's Lizzie?"

Rebecca's look of surprise only intensified Jed's suspicion. "Isn't she at home?"

"No, she was with you," Jed answered.

"Her grandfather picked her up a little while ago and said he was taking her home."

Abbey separated from the conversation, trying to get a grip on the thoughts and images that ran through her panic-stricken mind.

"Her grandfather's been with me all afternoon."

She would have preferred a quiet, private place to have this discussion so she could try to control the explosive outburst she expected, but she had no choice. "No, Jed, her other grandfather."

TBC