Hi, and so we are on to Season 3!

Disclaimer-Nothing but Jacob is mine.

And on a side note, I like so many other Fanfiction Authors no longer receive notifications via email about reviews/PMs etc. So if you do send any it might be a while, if ever before I get back to you. Please keep that in mind for it is not intentional-If anyone has a fix please let me know.

There will be a second part that follows this...eventually. Each series should cover about seven chapters some chapters several episodes. Flashbacks included when needed.

Also I do not do Private Messaging anymore, any questions stick them in a review and I will get back to you next chapter note.

Also please be aware of a bit of a time jump between these chapters.

Also after much thought and consideration I have decided not to include Mandy in this story. She's there for like one Season and misses half of the episode and while she was an okay character played by a very good actress her disappearance and everything that follows is just too hard to write. So no Mandy. Ever.

And a couple of the episodes are mixed around here but please keep that in mind.

Also, I am not going to include Isaac and Ishmael in this story. That episodes is connected to 9/11 and like the cast said doesn't fit into the timeline of the series. Therefore I am respectfully going to leave it as the stand alone that it was intended to be and so we go straight from Two Cathedrals to Manchester Part 1.

Perhaps Love

Chapter 16-Faith, Hope And Charity

The First Chapter Season 3-In which Jed Bartlett's medical condition and re-election campaign kick off. Jake resigns himself to another campaign trail and CJ makes a critical mistake.

"Dad?"

"Yeah"

"Mom"

Toby turned to watch Jake who was watching CJ and then.

"Oh fuck"

Jake was already running.

He skidded past Sam who saw what was happening and ran after him dragging Josh and Donna who took off her shoes and it was Josh who rugby tackled his son with a flying leap into Leo's office the man looking up to see what was going on with the same look a father would give his son and his grandson who had interrupted his work call.

"What happened?"

"CJ misspoke."

"CJ doesn't misspeak"

"Leo I want permission to annihilate the press corps"

"Kid if I could give you that I would. Josh will you get off that boy please I am very tired already"

Josh got off Jake and Jake stood up.

"Leo—"

"DAMN IT"

"What happened?"

"She said the President would be relieved to focus on things that mattered. Meaning Hatti"

"Oh dear God"

"Leo she was ambushed—"

"JACOB, Leo she was ambushed."

There was a pause where Leo looked between them all and then.

"Okay…okay…Jake go wait outside for me, if a member of the press comes between me and my office you have my permission to punch the ever living daylights out of them after that kid you and I need to have a talk okay?"

Toby turned sharply. He did not know what Leo and his son needed to talk about after all but Jake lifted his jaw a little bit more and then left the room.

"Toby?"

"Leo?"

"Go, CJ, Room, Now! Just…just get her ready cause unless I bench her I need her to brief"

"Kid"

"Leo"

"Jake"

"I am not selling you down the river"

"Jacob"

"No Leo, I am not gonna do it. I am not gonna be the one to sell you down the river—"

"Kid this is not the Godfather, you will sell me down the river to save this President from shame. I am telling you know—"

"NO"

"JACOB"

"NO LEO."

He was on his feet and Leo looked at the boy who he hand to God loved like he was his own and he wanted to shake him, to make him understand that this was the plan of action that made sense. Did he not understand that he was always going to have to fall on his sword for Jed? Did the kid not get that?

It was like Mallory and the lobsters all over again.

"Jake" he said quietly. "I will take many things for the President and he will take many things for me, and sometimes…sometimes we row. But I want to make this thing clear. There is one thing that we will not tolerate and that is you taking the bullet for us. I WILL NOT see you in a prison cell for me"

"Please Leo this is my first—"

"JACOB!"

Jake tilted his head to the side and then.

"Leo, you fell of the wagon, I put you to bed, I called Josh, I knew before that that he had MS. If I go down, I go down, but I am not gonna take down Jed Barlett's right hand man with me. I love you boss. If I fall on my sword I fall on my—"

"Like hell you do young man"

It shocked the both of them into standing positions.

"Mr President"

Jed caught Leo's eye and then they looked away at once.

"Jacob you will not fall on your sword to save two old men some embarrassment do you understand me?"

"And the fact that I love the two old men Mr President?"

There was a thing to be said about that statement Leo thought. Jed and he were two old men who had lived and who had loved and who had lost and perhaps one of the most ironic thing was that they had, had three daughters.

Now please believe him that was not a bad thing. Leo would go down swinging to any bastard who dared to say that Mallory was better off if she was a boy and how many times had he had to keep Jed away from some right wing bible humping twit who dared to suggest that perhaps Abby had been lacking when she had not provided Jed a boy?

But they had never had sons, Josh was the closest thing that Leo had ever had to one and Josh had come fully grown with his own set of problems. Sam had burrowed a little space in Jed's heart and Charlie was Jed's kid in all but name at this point but Toby had been too old for them to treat as a son but this kid here…there was something about him that made Leo want to protect him, he wanted to grab the nearest gun and pick off all the Congressmen and woman who would make this kid's life hell because they could.

Jed caught his eye for a second and Leo knew they were both thinking the same thing.

"If you love us Jacob then you will let us get through these days the best way we know how. If they offer you immunity you will take it. I am not having you go to prison for this. We can handle any embarrassment, if you want to help you can graduate high school and do something productive with your life"

"Not a politician" Leo said turning to his desk and ruffling through his papers. "Don't become a politician kid. And when a politician asks you don't become his Chief of Staff"

Jake looked at them like they were both insane.

To be fair it was not a totally unprecedented reaction.

And that was before Jake had his run in with Bruno.

Leo heard things…he tried not to listen to them but he heard them anyway.

Manchester Jake decided, was one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Miles and miles of farmland and open spaces and grass on the ground. He thought it was arguably one of the best places to be, and he was one of the few people who walked into the White House every day.

"Jacob"

"Mrs B?"

Mrs Bartlett came and stood next to him as he watched the ponies graze in the field.

"I forgot to ask did you ever learn how to ride?"

"Oh God, no Ma'am. And I don't want to"

Mrs B smiled but her eyes looked sad Jake thought. It might be suicidal but he placed his hand on top of hers.

"Mrs B?"

"Yes sweet boy?"

"Is my Mom gonna be okay?"

"She's going to be fine, I think she just yelled at my husband so that's a good thing"

Jake sighed.

"Mrs B?"

"Yes?"

"I don't want to get you or the President in trouble. I don't want to have you stripped of your medical licence, Anna will never forgive me and I don't think you did anything wrong. I love you and I love Leo and I love the President, your my family. I don't want to hurt either one of you."

Mrs Bartlett looked at him for a second and then she did something that she had never done before.

She hugged him.

Jake folded into her embrace. She smelt of Estee Lauder perfume and vanilla and he wanted to cry even though it was terribly embarrassing. He knew what the President had said and he knew what Leo had said but he also knew what he felt and what he felt was totally helpless.

"Jacob?"

"Please don't tell me to sell you down the river"

"No darling boy. I was going to tell you to tell your parents what you told me"

"I can't talk about—"

"Not about Leo. Not about what I know happened after twenty years of knowing the man. I mean about what you saw. Jake…there is nobody who wants you to carry this burden, I don't, your parents don't, the President doesn't. Talk about it."

Jake smiled at her and then.

"I don't know how much I want to go on another election run"

"HA. You and me both honey"

A pause and then.

"Hey if we both drink vodka, you think we can get through it together?"

Mrs B had the grace to eye him for a second and then.

"Not on your life little boy. Not on your life"

She was half asleep when she was aware that someone was knocking at her door.

She turned seeing Jake half asleep next to her. They had seen the President's speech to completion and then Jake had pulled her and Toby aside and had told him what had happened on the plane during the President's first election.

She had wanted to shake her son and then shake the President.

Neither of which was an indictment of a career.

She wiped her eyes and went to the door.

Toby was there.

"I think we need to get him a lawyer" he said pacing up and down. He was in his shirt sleeves and trousers and when he looked at her he gave that little prickly numb kind of laughter and she smiled back shutting the door on her sleeping son.

"I know"

"I spoke to Sam, I didn't tell him the whole story but he knew enough—he gave me a few names, Ainsley was with him and she said he would interview him just to make sure, very casual, in her office over coffee and…and…"

"Your mad at him"

"You're not?"

"Oh I am" she said quietly. "I am so fucking mad at him"

"The President?"

"No John Hoynes—yes the President!"

"You know Jake never did anything wrong"

"I know, I just…I love the kid to death and I want to shake him to death at the same time because the truth of the matter is that he didn't know what he was sitting on and I get that but then he didn't…and I want to shake the President because Sam is right CJ we could have gotten it done. All he had to do was tell us and we would have gotten it done! And it infuriates me that he didn't, because Doug is right, I can't run the campaign that I want too because of it and I want you to stay and I—"

And the moment was ruined.

Because she had kissed him.

She had kissed him.

She didn't know why, maybe there was no reason why but she kissed him and Toby kissed her back and despite the fact that there was no rhyme nor rhythm to this they ended up in his hotel room. Jake slept through it, everyone else slept through it fully aware of the nightmare that was ahead of them but she took Toby to bed in a vain attempt to feel something that she so desperately wanted to feel.

Because in that room with Toby she felt safe.

And CJ wanted to feel safe. She wanted so very desperately to feel safe. She needed to feel safe, she needed to feel safe and loved and respected and adored and seen as a woman and not the White House Press Secretary and Toby who had known her as all three before she had ever become the fourth had seen her as that and he had understood her as that.

She was not okay with what her son had done in lying to them. She was not okay with what the President had done in lying to them. She was not totally convinced that there was not something around the corner that she wasn't prepared for. What she was prepared for was Toby who would lie down in the dirt and take a bullet for her and for her son and who loved her like a woman and God help CJ but that right now was all that she needed.

So Toby took her to bed and in the morning she pretended that she didn't see Ainsley sneaking out of Sam's room or Josh blushing when he looked at Donna in her cami set and she knew that once again there was the start of another election campaign, and all the hell that followed it.

And there you go, I hope you enjoy this chapter and the next one will be up soon.

Next Chapter-At a dinner in which a veto is being held CJ and Toby get a dose of reality and CJ must go head to head when one of her reporters breaks the cardinal rule-mentions Jake on her broadcast. Danny, Chris, Steve and all the other press reporters take bets and eat popcorn.