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Chapter 8:

"Toby" CJ said as she caught up with him in the hall once she left the Oval Office. "Toby, wait up!"

Jogging a little to catch up with him and talk to him about the possibility of drafting a speech for once the story breaks, she asked, "Didn't you here me calling pokey?"

"Would you stop it with the stupid nicknames CJ!" Toby snapped angrily, "I'm not in fourth grade and I don't need to be treated like it." "Whoa sorry" she said taken aback by his sudden hostility.

Then noticing that he was walking ahead at an alarming speed, CJ once again caught up with him and said, "Hey, what's wrong? Are you trying to ditch me?"

"Would you blame me if I said that I didn't want to be around you right now?" Toby asked in a sharp voice causing CJ to feel suddenly hurt by his remark. "Why wouldn't you," she began before realization dawned on her, "Is this about the thing? I don't see how you could be mad at me about…"

"Really CJ?" Toby asked incredulously, "You don't see how I could be mad that you went off and slept with the President most likely ruining any chance we had at reelection?!"

"Could you possibly talk a little louder Toby?!" CJ as she slammed the door to his office, "I don't think the people on the other side of the White House heard you. And if reelection is the reason you're mad at me then you can go to hell."

"Of course it isn't just about reelection CJ," Toby exclaimed in an exasperated tone as he sat into his chair, "Jed Bartlet is a man whom I've always admired and I'd hate to see his political legacy be tarnished by some stupid thing you've done."

"This is not all my fault Toby" CJ said angrily, "In fact it's just as much his fault as it is mine and maybe if you had bothered to care enough about how I was doing after the party none of this mess would have happened in the first place!"

"So now this is my fault?!" Toby yelled as he stood back up behind his desk, "No, of course not" CJ said in a quieter tone, "What I meant was…"

"You know CJ" Toby said with disgust lacing his voice as he interrupted her, "I really thought you were better than this, I never thought that you would stoop so low as to sleep with a married man in order to gain power."

The moment he'd said it Toby knew that he'd gone to far, but it was too late, "Screw you Toby" CJ spat as she walked out the door and slammed it hard behind her.

Staring at the door after she left, Toby knew that he shouldn't have said that and that it was entirely untrue. As he sat there, he silently cursed himself for letting his own unspoken feelings get in the way and for causing CJ to feel even more upset than she already had.

As he silently entered the Residence, Jed noticed that Abbey was sitting on the couch and reading a book. When he looked at her more closely, he thought it looked as if she had been crying, but that was something uncharacteristic of Abbey. Crying? Sure she would get mad and go off on tirades, but crying?

While he continued to slowly walk towards the couch where she was seated, Jed said in a soft and concerned voice, "Abbey?" Looking up at him over her book for a mere second, Abbey responded coldly, spiting his name "Jed" back at him as some sort insult.

Cautiously Jed approached the couch and took a seat a few feet away from his wife. After she had continued to ignore him for a couple of minutes, the President said quietly, "CJ thinks that you're going to forgive me one day."

"What?" Abbey said as she looked up over her book not having been paying attention, "I said," Jed repeated kindly, "that CJ thinks you're going to come back to me someday"

"Well that's rich" Abbey said with a harsh laugh as she lowered her book to her lap, "Especially seeing as she's the reason we're not together right now in the first place." "That's not fair" Jed said sharply.

It was one thing for his wife to be mad at him, or even for her to be mad at CJ, but it was another thing entirely for her to carelessly place the blame. Particularly since she was the one who hadn't been there to celebrate with him and CJ was already feeling horrible without any extra guilt.

"I know" Abbey said as she conceded the point of CJ's guilt. She knew that she wasn't angry at CJ specifically so much as angry at the whole set of awful circumstances.

Having lost any train of possible conversation, Jed fell silent for another minute before asking, "If you're so upset at CJ right now, why are you so vocal about being sure that she doesn't resign?"

"It's a woman's issue," Abbey said dismissively without even looking up from her book. "It's more than that" Jed said causing Abbey to look up at him with a 'since when do you know what I think' glare, "It is most certainly a women's issue. I don't think that CJ should take the fall for this just because she is the woman in the situation, it's too 1800's and on top of that I think what Leo is planning to do is complete bullshit!"

"You're right" Jed said in a pacifying manner, "Of course you're right, this is a women's issue. And what Leo thought was best was a truly bad idea that I never would have agreed with had I known he was planning on it. But what I truly meant to say is that I think there is something more to it than just a women's issue. I think that you have some sort of more personal investment in CJ's resignation or lack there of."

Once again giving her husband one of her infamous glares, this one saying 'of course I have a personal investment in this problem, that should be obvious', Abbey turned back to reading her book without giving her husband so much as a dismissal of a response.

After trying unsuccessfully to read for a couple of minutes Abbey sighed and slammed her book down into her lap. "You know it makes you wonder…" Abbey said shaking her head slowly, "What does?" Jed asked eager to accommodate her in any form of conversation that she was willing to have at this point.

"It makes you wonder," Abbey began again in a voice teetering somewhere along the edge between confusion and rage, "If your husband truly had no plans to commit adultery, and if his intentions were pure…If it was all some sort of grand accident, suggesting that you have nothing to fear from the woman involved, then why would your husband see it as necessary to get rid of a non-existent threat?"

Looking at his wife in a confused manner as he tried to figure out exactly what her cryptic wording had meant, Jed asked, "Abbey what are you trying to imply?"

Looking him directly in the eyes and putting her voice into the most straightforward tone she could manage, Abbey said, "Is it possible that you love her Jed?"

"Why would…" Jed stumbled to find words as he was so taken aback by his wife's question, "What would make you think that I might love her?"

"Oh I don't know" Abbey said in a sarcastic voice, "Could it be her looks? She has great hair and killer legs according to all the guys in this building. Or maybe it's her youth? We all know she's a lot younger than we are, and from what I hear that's attractive to married men these days. Or it could be the rumor going around that she's great in bed, although I'm sure you know that first hand by now. But above all of that Jed, she's loyal. She's willing to give up her career for you, as we have seen demonstrated recently, and I'd be willing to bet that she would take a bullet for you, which I know means the world to you Jed."

Not even pausing long enough for the President to try and interrupt her, Abbey continued, "So I guess you're right, I can't see any reason why you might love her. So I'll ask my question again Jed, Is there any chance that you love CJ?"

Looking awe-struck at his wife, Jed chose his words carefully and spoke in a slow manner, "Am I in love with Claudia Jean? No." Seeing Abbey's disbelieving look the President continued, "You were right, it does mean the world to me that she, as well as almost all of my staff I do believe, would be willing to take a bullet for me. Now do I love CJ?"

Pausing for a moment, Jed considered the whole truth and answered honestly, "Yes Abbey, I do love CJ. But I'm not in love with her. I love her like a…"

"If you are about to say daughter, I am going to walk out of this room right now." Abbey said before he could finish his sentence. Realizing that his wife's point and rethinking his word choice, Bartlet went on, "I love her, everyone in the west wing loves her. And, but for the possible exception of Toby, none of those people love her in a romantic way."

"And yet none of those people have slept with her either Jed" Abbey added pointedly. "Yes I know that Abbey, and it was a mistake. But what I'm trying to tell you is that that's all it was, a mistake. I didn't plan to sleep with her ahead of time and I certainly have no plans to make that mistake some sort of on-going love affair, it was simply a one-night thing that happened. You're the woman that I love."

"If that's true," Abbey began in a shaky voice, "If I am the one woman that you love, then how could this happen? How could you let this happen Jed?"

"I honestly don't know Abbey" Jed responded with all of the honesty that he could manage to put into one statement. "You don't know Jed?! What kind of an answer is that?"

"Abbey I…I just want us to be able to move past this and to be a couple again." Looking at him with sorrow in her eyes Abbey said, "You just don't get it do you Jed? It's not that simple, we can't pretend it never happened."

"No one's trying to pretend that Abbey" Jed interjected as she shook her head in disbelief of his ignorance, "Jed no one said there was any guarantee that I'm coming back to you. CJ told you that I still loved you, and that's true, but that's not the same thing as me forgiving you!"

"Abbey, you can't leave me…I…we're meant for each other and we love each other too!" Jed cried out in frustration as Abbey sighed realizing that they wouldn't be able to have a rational conversation about this for some time. "I'll stay with you until the story breaks Jed, and then…well then I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Abbey please," Jed began before she cut him off to say quietly, "I think it would be a good idea if until then I sleep in one of the other guest bedrooms."

Looking at his wife with a painful realization that she was right, Jed closed his eyes and whispered, "Alright."