Series: Snapshots of the Past
Story: Back Home Again
Chapter 19
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Previously: Liz's relationship with her father entered a new phase; Amy tipped off Abbey about a patient with unusual symptoms
Summary: It's a New Year's Eve celebration at the Bartlets; Jed and Abbey remember their first meeting
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Abbey was dumbfounded and a little startled by the decorations that lined the walls. She threw her coat on the back of the chair, her eyes never leaving her surroundings as she circled around herself. Snowflake cut-outs coupled with streamers woven in the middle hung from corner to corner while a tacky shiny banner greeted the new year. The dining room was littered with party favors. Bits of white confetti sprinkled with glitter were thrown carelessly around the tablecloth.
Little did she know that though their two-bedroom Boston apartment on Wigglesworth Street wasn't the ideal place for a lavish celebration, tonight, it would be transformed into a setting perfect for a special New Year's Eve slumber party.
Plates and utensils had already been set out and the delicious aroma of a homecooked meal escaped the confines of the kitchen. Oh how she loved it when Jed had dinner waiting. Most of the men she knew expected their wives to do all the cooking, but her husband was exceptionally sensitive about sharing the household chores. So what if he needed assistance when it came to party planning?
"Jed!"
He walked out of Liz's room at the sound of her voice. "Hey, you're home early."
"Yeah. What's going on?"
"What does it look like? It's New Year's Eve and we're going to have our own private celebration right here, just the three of us."
"We are, are we?"
"Yep." He lifted one the top of one of the pots to stir the contents as it simmered. "We're going to start the evening with a three-course meal, which I prepared all by myself. Even Lizzie didn't help me this time."
"Then we better be careful," she teased.
Ignoring her snide comment, he continued. "Then we're going to enjoy a sweet, yet healthy dessert -- carrot cake."
"Well, healthier," she corrected him.
"Then we'll partake in a rousing game of Candyland..." The coffee table was cleared off and ready for the board, she noticed. "...at which time, Sweet Knees, I plan to beat the pants off you."
"And Lizzie?"
"Oh, she'll probably beat us both."
"True. So what's all this?" she asked, referring to the three sleeping bags curled up against the wall.
"That's for later in the evening. We're going to sit back and watch Dick Clark on TV, all three of us in our jammies having our own little slumber party."
Ah, now it all made sense. He was hoping to distract Liz. "You can't say no to her, can you? I thought you said no TV."
"Give me a break. She's not going to Mandy's party and that's what she really wants to do, right? I'll be damned if I'm going to let her mope around here on New Year's Eve."
"So let me get this straight. She doesn't get to go out with her friends. Instead, her punishment is going to be spending the evening with her parents?" Her clever spin took the spring out of his steps towards the kitchen. "Boy if you're not breeding a teenaged mind..."
He interrupted her with a chuckle. "Go change, will you?"
The festivities of preparing for a brand new year were bittersweet for Abbey. From the second she met Jed, she wanted to make time stand still. Back then, her biggest worry was the night slipping away without the appropriate appreciation for the blossoming emotions she felt inside. Now, the magnificent ball that would drop in Times Square symbolized the passage of moments they would never recover.
Elizabeth would grow older this year, as would she and Jed, the future would be uncertain, and their love, the one constant she could always rely on, may be tested once the changes set in. If only time could be captured in her little glass jar to be released when she was ready to move forward, perhaps it would relieve the somber feelings penetrating through her happiness.
But the farewell to 1973 wasn't as bleak for the other Bartlets. Intrigued by the activities her father had planned, Liz spent the day fighting her anticipation in favor of her sanity. Jed's boyish giddiness was proof enough that he relished the idea of blessing the arrival of another year with his wife and daughter at his side. Every happy memory he created with his own family took the place of a confrontational one from his childhood.
That's certainly why he went to such great trouble to ensure post-card-perfect quality time during the holidays. At Halloween, Abbey took pride in her husband's unrelenting stubbornness that kept him up all night the night before to help her add the finishing touches to Liz's costume. From Thanksgiving to Christmas to Valentine's Day, Jed was determined to plant a seed of tradition to nurture through the future.
And tonight, the New Year's tradition would begin.
With dinner and dessert out of the way, and Liz beating her parents at Candyland, just as they suspected she would, Jed freed up extra space by pushing the furniture out of the way. The trio gathered in front of the television set, rolled up in their sleeping bags with eyes glued to the gigantic block party in New York City.
"Daddy, are we gonna sleep out here all night?"
"Probably not. Your Mom has to get a good night's sleep so she can go to work in the morning."
If they only realized that Abbey's hectic work schedule would be the cause of many holidays lost in the future, maybe they would have taken extra advantage of this night.
"But we can watch the ball drop out here and maybe the next time we're all on vacation we can have a real slumber party, for the whole night, okay?" Abbey chimed in.
"Okay." Liz stretched out on her stomach in between her parents. Her chin rested on her palms and her eyes peered out over a light dusting of bangs to stare at the TV screen. "I had fun today."
"So did we, Baby Doll."
Jed propped himself up on his elbow facing his daughter. "You know, Lizzie, when I was home from college one year, I went to this New Year's Eve party with some of my friends. I really didn't want to go at first."
"Why?"
"Parties just weren't fun for me."
"They're always fun for me!"
"Well that one ended up being fun for me too."
"How come?"
He paused as his mind conjured up the breathtaking images he had stored deep within his memory. "I met the most beautiful woman in the whole wide world that night." His eyes fixated on Abbey as if obsessed with her every feature. "She had auburn hair that fell to her shoulders and emerald green eyes that shined as beautifully in the dark as they did in the light. She wore this amazing dress of silver sparkles that just made her glow." He shook his head happily at the vivid picture developing in his brain. "Every man in the place noticed her. But I was the one she wanted to talk to."
"Why?"
Her question brought him out of his self-induced daze. "Because she liked me. What do you mean why?"
Lizzie giggled at the sudden sharpness and defensive nature prominent in his voice.
"Before he goes on, Lizzie, let me tell you what happened to me once," Abbey interrupted, sitting up to recall the special moment. "It was New Year's Eve and I was at this incredibly dull party with my friends and some drunken guys ran right past me. One of them stomped on my toe."
"Did it hurt?"
"Just a little. But then this handsome young man talked me into removing my shoe and letting him take a look. So I did, even though I knew he had no clue what he was doing." Her laugh soon disappeared, replaced by a warm smile, reflective of the one she had seen on Jed's face only seconds earlier. "The sweet look of confusion in his eyes was too good to pass up. He examined my foot and all I could think was that this man was absolutely perfect. I melted at the sweet, gentle way he caressed my skin, the caring tone in his voice when he asked if I was okay as if he was genuinely concerned. He wasn't just incredibly handsome, he really was a prince. My Prince. I fell in love with him right then and there, and I still am."
"That was Daddy," she declared.
"No, I didn't meet your father until the next year," she replied seriously before winking at the young girl.
Her head snapped back, causing her to lose her balance at the power behind the pillow Jed swung at her. Liz didn't need an invitation to join the chaos that ensued. Each armed with a feathery cushion, Jed and Abbey took shots at one another sparingly until both turned their attention to Liz. They alternated between gently hitting the five year old with the soft pillow and tickling her repeatedly until her laughter forced her to lose complete control and surrender flat on the floor.
"Okay, okay, enough!" Abbey finally called for a truce and helped Liz up to cradle her head in her arms. "Are you okay, Sweetie?"
"Uh huh! Let's do it again!"
"Maybe later," Jed laughed.
"Mommy, am I going to meet a prince one day?"
"Yes, you will."
"And he'll be a Rhodes Scholar, as will you," Jed added.
Abbey slapped the back of his hand, a warning not to interfere in the future. "And you'll get married and have kids of your own."
"I want little girls. Is that what you wanted?"
"I just wanted you."
Since he found out about the ramifications of his father's mind games with Liz, Jed had searched for an opportunity to approach her about the subject a sibling. But tonight, he had to be careful. He didn't want to destroy the memory of the wonderful night he worked so hard to plan. Liz might still be vulnerable, he realized, and so, he proceeded with caution.
"Lizzie, do you have any idea how happy we were when we found out your Mom was pregnant with you? I don't think you'll never know how much we loved you, even before you were born. And after we met you and now that we got to know you, if it's possible, we love you even more. That's something that's never, ever going to change."
"No matter what?" she asked.
"No matter what," Abbey assured her.
"Even if, someday, your Mom and I have another baby, we're going to love you just like we do now. You're always going to be our special little angel."
Liz latched on to his words, but took a different direction. "I want a little sister."
"You do?"
"Uh huh. I wanna play with her and do her hair just like Mommy does mine. I want my own Baby Doll."
She welcomed Abbey's embrace as her hands reached for the doll she was given for Christmas. It had only been a week, but that particular gift held a special place in Liz's heart and it would for years to come.
Liz fought to stay up the rest of the evening, struggling with her drooping eyelids for hours before she finally relinquished all effort and drifted off to sleep. Jed picked her up and carried her to her room while Abbey began her own bedtime routine.
"She didn't wake up, did she?" she asked when Jed walked into their room.
"She's sound asleep."
"Good." She threw her hands under his arms and brought them up towards his shoulders, her head falling against his chest.
"New Year's Eve 1965. I knew that night you were the woman I was going to marry."
She looked up at him with a small smile outlining her lips. "How could you have known that?"
"Because you were perfect." He leaned down to kiss the top of her nose "You still are. I'll never forget watching you on that platform staring down at the dance floor. My heart skipped a beat. You're so perfect, Abbey. And I don't just mean your body."
He pressed his lips into her cheek, his thumb gliding over her smooth skin. "I mean this face..." He gently closed her eyes and placed a kiss on her lids. "...these eyes..." His kisses trailed up towards her forehead. "...this brain that's saturated with knowledge. Do you have any idea how turned on I was that night by your incredible wit?"
Overcome with emotion, her voice caught in her throat. "How long have you been saving this up?"
"It always comes out when I say I love you."
She took a break from the soft, sensuous liplock to reveal a secret of her own. "I knew too. I knew you were the one. You made me feel so complete inside, Jed. You were funny and sweet and handsome, oh so handsome. I stayed up all night just wishing I was still dancing with you."
"Even though I stepped on your toe?"
"I didn't say you weren't a klutz."
"Actually, that night, you did," he reminded her.
"What I won't do to spare your feelings," she joked.
His eyes burned into her. He began brushing the hair away from her face just before his mouth plunged into hers once again. His fingers twisted around the strands of auburn hair that cascaded down to her shoulders. She held him close as she backed herself up until her knees hit the edge of the bed, allowing her to collapse onto the mattress with him on top.
Refusing to release contact between their lips, Jed pulled her up to the head of the bed, comfortably positioning her on a pillow. He paused briefly, captivated by her radiant beauty. "You are so incredibly gorgeous, Abbey."
"I love you," she breathed with a deep, warm breath against his shoulders as she lifted his shirt over his head, exploring his naked flesh with her fingers.
His hands wrapped themselves around the straps of her pajamas, pulling it down slowly over her breasts. He grabbed the bottom of the hem and slid it down her body, tossing it carelessly onto the floor, along with her bra and panties then turned his attention to his own.
Starting at her ankles, he placed a trail of kisses up her frame, enveloped in her sweet scent along the way. He sucked on her neck, causing her to throw her head back, denting the even surface of the mattress. The friction between their bodies at the boiling point, he entered her slowly, gently, his thrusts moving to a much softer rhythm than ever before. He grinded himself against her with deliberate ease while his hot breath burned her tongue.
Every twist of his body brushed the flesh between her legs. Every meticulous movement inside her grazed the area accessible by only the deepest penetration as he braced himself to glide in as far as he could before dropping on top of her once again. The back of her hands bearing down beside her head, he pressed his palm into hers, lacing their fingers as her body began to tremble towards an explosive ending. She closed the gap and squeezed their hands together. He picked up his pace at her urging and joined her in climax.
She used her own mouth to hold on tightly to his, intercepting his moans, just as he was doing with hers. Finally, after breathing each others names into their joined lips, his shoulders sunk sluggishly onto hers as all his energy seeped out.
Ironically, the slower, less powerful movements didn't deter the erupting sensations and, in some ways, even made the climax more satisfying.
Jed fell beside her. His arms still held her against his chest. Abbey caught her breath, then closed her eyes, savoring the moment for eternity. It was just after midnight and that signaled a new beginning. The man she loved was in her arms and the daughter she adored was in the next room.
It might be the end of 1973, but 1974 would be an even better year.
TBC
