Series: Snapshots of the Past

Story: Back Home Again

Chapter 16

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Previously: Jed and John's confrontation took a physical turn after Jed stormed his house to get Elizabeth

Summary: Jed realizes he needs to take a firm stand with Liz; Abbey has some words for John

- - -

The car came to a screeching halt outside the small Boston apartment on Wigglesworth Street. Jed swung open his door with all his might, his temper still reeling from the events of the evening. With a secure grasp around her arms, he lifted a barefoot Elizabeth out of the backseat. The little girl clung to her father with her nails digging into his shoulder and her head resting on its side as he carried her up the steps.

He closed his eyes at the emotional release that washed over him with her soft touch, her silky hair under his big, strong hands, the feel of her fingers wrapped tightly around the fabric of his sweater. He had her back safe and sound.

Part of him just wanted to hold her like this forever, protecting her from all the evil that lurked just outside the confines of his arms. The other part - the part that had been distraught to the point of near insanity during the hour she wasn't with him - preferred a logistically easier approach, perhaps just locking her in her bedroom for eternity.

He couldn't deny the anger that was still raging inside him. His love for his daughter knew no bounds and his devotion to guarding her from danger had seriously backfired when, to his surprise, the biggest threat to her safety was Lizzie herself. He struggled with the knowledge that his own guilt could possibly outweigh the blame he wanted to direct towards her.

The harsh words his own father spewed at him during Thanksgiving came rushing back and reluctantly, this time, he gave them some credence. He cherished his daughter like he never thought possible. He had taken the time to get to know her, but in his quest to make her childhood happier than his own, he established himself as her friend, not an authority figure.

The self-doubt that came with Liz's betrayal of the trust he had placed within her, the lie that she told to Mandy's mother, and the complete disregard for the rules her parents had set, wounded him deeply. Abbey warned him long ago that Liz had cast a spell on him the moment she was born and that it would be up to him to find a way to reverse it. He hadn't fully understood those words - until now.

One of the interesting things about little girls is their uncanny ability to melt the heart of their fathers. Lizzie had learned how to do that perfectly and that ability is what gave her the power to drive her right into the clutches of her grandfather, a man who, despite his self-alleged best intentions, robbed her of her self confidence only weeks earlier.

It was time to get serious.

Abbey had already prepared herself for the worst. She hoped that this time, Jed wouldn't turn the other cheek to Liz's actions. This was too important an incident for him to just pick her up and twirl her around in his arms as if casting aside the terror they felt when she was with John.

But Jed had no intention of doing that. Despite his own fears of rejection, Liz's well-being was his top priority. He set her down on the ground and followed behind her as she tried to turn the corner to head to her room, gently placing an arm around her elbow to redirect her towards the sofa.

"I told you you weren't allowed to see your grandfather," he began.

Lizzie stood in front of him and slouched her back to rest her weight against the middle cushion. "I just wanted to play with him."

"I don't care what you wanted. When I tell you you're not allowed to see him, you don't see him. Do you understand?" She stared at the floor in an obvious attempt to ignore his question. "Do you UNDERSTAND?" he repeated, his voice a little louder this time.

Abbey positioned herself on the side, closing the gap between father and daughter as she saw Liz repeatedly lace her fingers around one another. "Lizzie, you know better than to go off with someone - anyone - without telling us. We had this conversation just last week. Why did you do it again?"

"I don't know," she mumbled, a small teardrop hanging off her lashes.

There it was. She had the power to unintentionally manipulate Jed with the girlish vulnerability that usually emerged when she was being disciplined. For the first time, he resisted the urge to comfort her.

"Well, then you'll have plenty of time to think about it," he replied instead. "Two weeks - no TV, no playground, no skating."

"Nooooooo!"

"Oh yes. And no slumber party at Mandy's either. Now go to your room." It was said calmly as he took the skates out of Abbey's hands and placed them on the top shelf of the coat closet while the little girl watched, horrified.

"Nooo," Lizzie whimpered, standing still, staring at him blankly until he returned her glare and put a bit more force behind his words.

"I said go to your room."

It was a look comprised of disbelief, shock, and confusion that swept across her five-year-old face. It was a look neither Jed nor Abbey had ever seen before, a look that Liz, herself, didn't expect. Upon the realization that she couldn't soothe his temper with a sweet smile, she took the route furthest from her father to get to her bedroom and slam the door, releasing the floodgate that restrained her tears along the way.

Abbey witnessed the inner turmoil brewing inside her husband's body as he ran his hand furiously through his hair. She recognized his frustration. It had taken every bit of energy within him to restrain himself from losing his temper and screaming at Liz.

Her hand instinctively reached out to him. "Jed."

"Don't," he said softly. "Please don't."

"Okay," she dropped her hand, but remained close. "I was just going to say that you did a good job. You were fair. She needs to learn to listen to us. She needs limits."

"That's easy for you to say, Abbey. I'm the one she hates."

"She could never hate you. She's just upset."

"She's in her room crying right now. Do you hear it?" He watched for Abbey's silent confirmation. "It's the worst sound in the world."

"Yes, it is," she agreed. "Do you want to go talk to her?"

"You go talk to her. You're the one she opens up to."

His bitter reply stung her to the point of concession. She turned away from him and headed into Liz's room.

- - -

Elizabeth stretched out on her bed, her face buried under the shelter of her arms. She snapped her head at the sound of the door and immediately greeted her mother with a harsh tone.

"You told me I wouldn't get in trouble!"

"First of all, watch your tone. Second, I told you you wouldn't get in trouble for telling me about what happened before Christmas. And then I told you something else, didn't I? I told you to never do it again."

"You said you wouldn't tell him!" she complained, her inflection a little more refined this time.

"When you disappeared, you left me no choice." Abbey rested her knee on the mattress and leaned forward to gently brush through Liz's hair with her fingers. "Your dad and I were worried about you. You can't run off like that. When we trust you to go some place with another adult, you can't just lie to them."

Lizzie took a few breaths to calm herself down then elevated her chin on top of her hands. "He said I can't go to Mandy's party."

It was obvious she was hoping for Abbey's permission to dismiss Jed's punishment. But that isn't what she got.

"Yes, he did. And I agree with him." Disappointed, Liz buried her face again, turning away from her mother. "I tried talking to you, Lizzie, and I thought that after our long conversation, you would listen to me. But you didn't. There are no other options."

"Leave me alone!"

Strike two.

She expected to be on the receiving end of Jed's anger, but was a bit surprised by Lizzie's cold reception. With no hope of individually fixing the chaos and trouble in her family, Abbey left the room with renewed motivation inside her. Her eyes met Jed's briefly as she uttered her final words.

"Your turn."

And with that, she grabbed the car keys and headed out the door, determined to see the man who caused such distress - John Bartlet.

Jed paced the room, occasionally grabbing onto the sofa's armrest and stretching his body to relieve some of the tension dominating his muscles. As Liz's cries became louder, his pent-up anger gave way to a gentler side, one that only wanted to dry her tears and console her, like he wished someone would have done for him when he was growing up.

The Bartlet house had been a place wrought with false emotions disguising the dysfunctional family relationships inside. The constant battles fought between him and his father usually resulted in sleepless nights for Jed, nurturing the seed of resentment that was planted the first time he fell out of John's good graces. That same kind of resentment was never going to take root in Liz's heart. He wouldn't allow it.

He knocked on her door, opening it slowly when she didn't respond.

"Hi." Liz lifted her face from the pillow momentarily, giving him a view of the red, puffy eyes she was hiding, but lowered her head when he started speaking. "You know, your mother was just trying to make you feel better. You weren't very nice to her."

Her sobs began to taper off to a softer cry, probably out of sheer exhaustion, though it gave him hope that she wouldn't push him away. Still unresponsive, Liz was quiet while waiting for him to continue. It took several minutes.

"Why are you crying right now?" he finally asked her. It was a pretty stupid question, he thought. They both knew the answer. But the master wordsmith inside him had suddenly vanished, leaving him lost and confused about how to help the five-year-old.

"Leave me alone," she replied softly.

With his hands gripping her shoulders, he rolled her over. She fought him with her limited strength and pulled herself out of his hold. "Fine. When you feel like talking, let me know."

This was more Abbey's territory, Jed reminded himself when he left her room. She was the person who could offer soothing hugs to calm Liz when she cried. His solution had always been to buy her ice cream or a new dress to cheer her up. This time, his archaic techniques of masking the problem were out of the question. And since Abbey wasn't around to help, he had to quickly learn how to do what she did so effortlessly.

Unable to leave her alone for long, he walked back in to Lizzie's room and took his seat on the edge of her bed, often glancing at her when he heard the gentle whimpers that continued to escape her lips.

"Still don't feel like talking?" he asked after several minutes. She didn't reply. "Okay."

And so he sat there. More than twenty minutes of silence passed as he struggled to find a way to comfort his daughter. Each time he opened his mouth, his voice betrayed him until, to his surprise, she made the first move.

"I don't like it when you're mad at me," she mumbled against the fabric of her pillowcase before turning her head to the side.

The sight of her wiping her eyes with the back of her hand generated a few tears of his own.

"Come here." This time, she held out her hands and let him help her onto his lap. "I don't like it when I'm mad at you either and I really don't like it when you're mad at me. But you know what I don't like even more than that?"

"What?"

"I don't like it when you lie, when you do something we tell you not to, when you cause us to worry about you."

"But he was nice to me and all he wanted to do was play some games."

"That isn't the point. When your mother and I tell you not to do something, we expect you to listen."

"But why?"

"You don't always need to know why. You'll know why when you're older."

"Why can't I know why now?"

"Because I said so." He regretted the impatient tone that was present in his voice, but she didn't challenge him. "Because it's a grown-up thing and I promise I'll tell you when you're a grown-up."

"We were just playing Candyland."

"Lizzie, I'm only going to say this once again. You need to listen to what we say and if you don't listen to us and do what you want anyway, you're going to get in trouble, just like tonight."

"I don't wanna get in trouble."

"Then from now on, you'll have to follow the rules. We're done with the excuses, okay?" He held his breath waiting for her response.

"Okay." It was just one word, but it was said in a soft, contrite manner. Jed was relieved.

She tilted her head against his chest as another awkward silence lingered between them. Finally, desperate to bring them both out of the depressing mood, he asked, "So, did you at least win?"

His head hung low to exchange a glance with her as she lifted her eyes and smiled coyly. "Uh huh."

She would wait to beg him to change his mind about her punishment. For now, she was satisfied sitting in his lap and letting him dab her wet eyes with a couple of tissues. As he threw the tissues onto the nightstand, she tightened her grip around him, but immediately let go when he shuddered at her small hands pressing into the bruised skin on his back.

The inquisitive look on her face forced him to pull her into another embrace to avoid arousing her suspicion. "It's okay."

- - -

Meanwhile, like a brewing storm ready to strike with full fury, Abbey repeatedly struck John's doorbell until he answered. He opened it slowly, standing directly behind the frame.

"Abigail?"

"Let me in," she ordered.

When he hesitated, she slammed her palms on the door, the force of her push causing him to nearly lose his balance.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I told you to stay away from Lizzie." All thoughts of John's dangerous physical tendencies were gone. She was setting the tone for this confrontation.

"She wanted to see me!"

"And I told you that was unacceptable!"

"I already explained this to Jed. Perhaps you should talk to him."

"There is no explanation that would excuse what you did - and I'm not just talking about Liz."

"What?"

"Your violent little outburst with your son, it's called assault."

He waved her off, taking a sip of the glass of scotch he held in his hand. "You're crazy."

"He's never stood up to you, has he?" The expression on Jed's face when John held him against the wall had already answered that question for Abbey. Her heart was broken at the thought of any child being raised in such hostile and abusive environment.

"I love Jed. Believe me or not, it's the truth."

"Yeah, I witnessed firsthand how you show it. I'm sure that as a boy, he was intimidated by you."

"Look..."

She raised her voice to interrupt him. "As an adult, he tried to show you some respect. God knows why. Then he let you slide because you were grieving over the death of your wife. He wanted to forgive you. And this is how you repay him?"

"It's a complicated relationship."

His dismissive attitude only fueled her rage. "He could easily take you down if he wanted to, but you know as well as I do that he wouldn't raise his hand to you because you're his father."

"He's never cared about that before. He's always been a disrespectful..."

"Don't you dare! There is no man more noble, more honorable, more decent than Jed Bartlet. That's the man your wife raised. And the next time you lay a hand on him, I promise you, even he won't be able to stop me."

"Get out of my house." He approached her daringly, wagging his hand in front of her as a warning.

Abbey fought the urge to aim for his face and smacked the glass out of his hand instead. "Just remember. You're not my father. I won't surrender to a misguided sense of loyalty."

Stunned by her nerve, John watched her leave then closed the door behind her with such force that it sent a shiver up her spine. Her legs, initially unsteady from the adrenaline pumping inside her, became stronger with the sudden realization that she had finally done what she wanted to do for years. She knew her warning may not prevent any future father/son entanglements, but she could temporarily bask in the knowledge that someone finally defended the helpless little boy that still lives inside Jed's mind.

TBC