Manchester, New Hampshire
Jed Bartlet took great care in steering his car down the icy roads and adopted a speed that would have made his 92-year-old grandmother cringe. Though he was all too familiar with the infamous New Hampshire winters, his time in Washington had rendered him a bit out of practice. Behind him, a line of cars had formed, each of them more than equipped to handle such inclement weather. He ignored the car horns sounding at him and continued diligently down the road at the same speed. The way he saw it, he could remain at the slow but safe pace he had been and make it back home in one piece, or he could move at a faster speed, swerve off the road on a patch of black ice, and return home hours later. For Jed, the choice was easy.
When he finally pulled into his driveway, the long trail of cars behind him immediately began to pick up speed and flew past in such a hasty manner that Jed shook his head in disbelief. He was almost paralyzed by the cold air that hit him when he stepped out of the car and zipped up his jacket. He swiftly walked up to the front door, twisted his key in the lock, and let himself in.
The house was quiet. Quiet to the point where it was eery. Jed had expected all of his children to be home by this point. After all, it was nearly eleven in the morning. However, judging by the placid calm that fell over the house, he knew there was no way his children were around. After stripping himself of his jacket and various winter gear enlisted to combat the cold, he climbed up the stairs and checked every bedroom on the second floor. He found Lane sound asleep in her crib in her room, then turned his attention to his own bedroom. He opened the door a crack and peeked his head in. Pleased with what he saw, he opened the door fully and stepped into the room.
Tucked snugly under the covers, Abbey Bartlet was nearly invisible. Jed crept over towards the bed on his tiptoes, careful not to let the creaky floorboards wake her. That was his job. He sat on the bed beside her and watched her in her peaceful slumber for a few minutes. It had been quite awhile since they'd shared such a serene moment between them. Of course, this is likely because Abbey was asleep. The little time they had spent alone in the past few weeks had been strained, and consisted of them exchanging snippy remarks (mostly on her part) and cold glares. Looking at her, Jed nearly forgot all of that.
"Abbey," he whispered softly, running his hand down her back.
He was determined to wake her gently, hoping that she would remain as placid as she had while she was sleeping. When she didn't stir at his touch, he continued his efforts.
"Abbey," Jed repeated.
This time, he ran his fingers through her hair tenderly then leaned forward to kiss her temple. He grinned as her nose wrinkled up and, predictably, one eye shot open. Having registered the light of morning in her brain, she immediately closed the eye and buried herself further under the covers.
"Abbey!" He laughed, pulling off the covers.
She shivered and instinctively curled up in the fetal position.
"Open yours eyes and I'll let you have the covers back."
With her eyes still closed, she ruminated upon this proposition before making her final decision. Both eyes opened reluctantly. He kept his end of the bargain and replaced the covers over her. She snuggled into them and smiled up at her husband gratefully. Her smile faded instantly when she remembered the circumstances they had been facing lately.
"Morning," Jed said.
"Unfortunately," Abbey grumbled in reply.
"How you doin'?"
"I'm exhausted. How are you?"
"Just the opposite," he replied.
"Swell."
"How was your night?"
She shrugged.
"Fine. I watched the end of Reds, and the Tonight Show."
"Ah," Jed said. "Who was on?"
"Mmm…Nick Nolte, and that woman who was in Evita on Broadway back in the '70s."
"Patti LuPone?"
"Yes. She was very funny," Abbey said, rubbing her eyes.
He nodded.
"Good. I'm surprised to see you still asleep at this hour."
"What time is it?"
"Eleven," Jed replied.
"Oh. Well, I didn't get much sleep last night."
"Laney keep you up?"
She shook her head.
"No," she lied. "Just a bit of insomnia."
Discouraged by her hesitant response to him, Jed stood and walked in the direction of the bathroom.
"I'm gonna take a shower."
"All right."
She waited until she heard the shower running before getting out of bed. She joined him in the bathroom, though he didn't know it. The moment she twisted the faucet and turned the sink on, she heard her husband let out a yelp from inside the shower, a surefire indicator that the water had turned cold.
"Sorry!" She shouted.
He grabbed the shower curtain and popped his head out to look at her.
"Abbey!"
"I'm sorry! Really, I am sorry, honey. Okay?"
The cold water shooting out at his back was suddenly worth it, the moment she called him "honey." He nodded and returned to his shampoo.
"So how's Bob?" Abbey asked, in a feeble attempt at small talk.
Jed immediately dodged the question.
"Do you need to get in the shower? Because I'm not going to be much longer, if you want to just jump in here with me."
Abbey shook her head and laughed to herself. The two of them could barely make it beyond small talk and he was looking to get a little action. In truth, however, Jed hadn't said it for that purpose. He didn't even plan on touching her, as he knew full well how she would feel about that. He was really just trying to be polite. And, of course, unskillfully dodge her question with the first thing that came into his mind.
"No, Jed, I asked you about Bob."
"Why aren't the girls home yet?" Jed asked.
"Jed!"
"What?"
"I asked you a question!" Abbey exclaimed.
"And I asked you one."
"Oh, for God's sake. Liz is still at Amy's, she'll be home after lunch, and I have to go to Westford to pick up Ellie and Zoey this afternoon."
"Where's Mom?"
Abbey bit her lip apprehensively.
"I'm gonna let her tell you that one."
"Abbey, where is she?"
"I'm not saying anything."
Jed turned the shower head off, reached out for a towel, then stepped out of the shower. Out of habit, Abbey's eyes wandered over to him. He looked up and caught her oogling him, then laughed in amusement.
"You checking me out, Dr. B?"
She immediately averted her eyes back to the mirror and continued applying her makeup.
"Like you're not checking me out right now," Abbey replied.
"I won't deny it."
She smiled smugly and moseyed out of the bathroom, inwardly reveling in the way that, as she did so, he was indeed checking her out. Ruining the moment, predictably, was the all too familiar sound of baby Lane's intense, ear-piercing cries. Abbey stopped in her tracks.
"Jed?" She called out, a tremble in her voice. "Could you go get Lane please?"
"Abbey, I just got out of the shower!" Jed argued.
"I've been doing it all by myself since last night."
"Yes, I realize that, but I'm standing here in a towel!"
"Damnit!" Abbey cried out. "Fine!"
She stormed out of the bedroom, leaving Jed completely and utterly bewildered. She entered Lane's bedroom reluctantly and advanced on the crib. Lane's small body was writhing as she wailed, and only intensified when Abbey tried to pick her up.
Jed walked out of the bathroom and was startled to hear Lane still crying. He pulled on a pair of pants and walked to Lane's room. There, he saw Abbey pacing the room, a red-faced, crying Lane wriggling around in her arms. He stood in the doorway for a moment, as the sight before him registered in his mind. It was then that he remembered how often he had seem this image before, and had thought nothing of it. Now that he thought about it, he had never seen Lane resting calmly in his wife's arms, or even in her presence.
He rushed out to her and untangled Lane from her arms. Abbey breathed a visible sigh of relief, then watched enviously as Lane immediately relaxed at Jed's touch. She quickly scurried out of the room, unable to watch any longer. Jed held her close for a moment, rocking her back and forth gently until her breathing evened out. He then placed her back in her crib and returned to his bedroom to face his shaken wife. He found her sitting on the bed, staring down at the floor.
"Abbey," he breathed. "Honey, I am so sorry."
She looked up at him, tears fresh in her eyes. Within seconds, he was beside her, pulling her into his waiting arms. Against his bare shoulder she cried, tears she no longer had to hide.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"What was I supposed to say?" Abbey replied. "That my own daughter hates me, please don't leave me alone with her?"
He shook his head, mostly at himself.
"I should have figured it out myself. I can't belief it took this long. I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," she whispered. "You were just angry at me, because I was being such a…well, you know. I apologize for that, by the way. You didn't deserve it."
He held her tighter, and she let him. For the first time in weeks.
"We're going to fix this, Abbey."
"How?"
"I don't know, but we will."
