The Last Thanksgiving

Part Two

Dinner was a hit. The beginning was a little awkward; a group of people so
used to sharing informal suppers of Chinese and chop sticks suddenly faced with
a fully set table with silverware and glasses and strangers. Well, people that
were essentially strangers. They only knew Jed as well as they 'd needed to
want to elect him and to get him elected. Now they were having dinner with he
and his family. It was a big and drastic change.

However, the turkey was most definitely an icebreaker. When he and Abbey
brought it out and she handed him his knife from the family carving set, he felt
inclined to tell them all about it. His penchant for these anecdotes already
famous with them, his wife and daughters groaned and shook their heads. His new
staffers listened, hoping to making a good impression and Leo, his oldest
friend, pretended to. He didn't need to hear, he'd been there.

He went on with that until Annie declared that she'd abandoned vegetarianism
and would like to eat soon. With that push, he cut the turkey. And to
everyone's relief it seemed to be fully cooked. The portions were passed around
until everyone's plate was filled and he retook his place at the head of the
table. Next, they said a prayer for wisdom and guidance in the coming venture;
and trust and togetherness and a blessing in case they contracted botulism. That
last part was added by Zoey who was swiftly kicked under the table by Liz who
glared at her warningly. She shut right up.

With the question posed to CJ by Ellie of what her Thanksgivings were like as
a child, she opened up a box of almost forgotten joy in all of them. She'd
always been the apple of her father's eye, even as she was nearly taller than
him. His baby girl. That wasn't just holidays; that was everyday. She missed
that.

Josh had a similar tale of his sister Joanie and the pie their mother would
make and leave on the kitchen windowsill to cool that would disappear right
before she came for it and how she never asked where it went. Nor did she ask
why her children were bouncing off the ceiling. He told them that she made that
pie every year to this day and when it didn't disappear, she didn't eat it. She
just threw it out. She said it belonged to him and Joanie. He was silent for a
second after that before explaining that he missed his sister. He always missed
her.

Sam took over quickly, covering Josh's sadness with a smile. When he was a
kid, life was a bit more complicated, only the young, naïve, and forever
idealistic Sam Seaborn didn't see it for what it was. His father, a lawyer,
spent each Thanksgiving on what seemed to be an annual business trip. Blinded
by a powerful love for their father, Sam and his siblings never once questioned
his yearly, predictable absence. His mother, on the other hand, was not so kind
about it. Suspecting her husband's covert operations, she promptly took up with
another man. Uncle Steven, as the children called him, was never discovered by
Sam's father, nor did he once question his wife's loyalty to him. Each year, Sam
was nearly driven to forget his father's absence and spent most of the time
mesmerized by the many varied talents of Uncle Steven. It was Uncle Steven,
after all, that taught him the art of cuisine. He cooked just about everything
and Sam helped. And to this day, he admitted to making a
mean chocolate mousse. Abbey invited him to do so for her once. He accepted.

The meal went on that way for nearly another hour before the serving dishes
were empty of any acceptable morsel of food and everyone -- save Zoey, Annie,
and Liz-- were a little buzzed from the wine and lot high on camaraderie. For
the first time, staffers felt that there might be a place in this family for
them. And Jed's family began to feel that it wouldn't be so bad having them.

Everyone gathered in the living room with dessert and, for many of them, an
alcohol beverage of some sort. The conversation was lively and pleasant, hopping
from subject to subject at a remarkable pace. Elizabeth decided that it would be
the perfect time to make her much-anticipated announcement.

"Everyone," she began. "As you may or may not know, I have an announcement to
make."

Doug stood up the moment she did.

"We have an announcement to make."

Liz smiled uneasily at him and nodded.

"That's right. Doug and I are very pleased to announce that, as confirmed at
my doctor's appointment a few days ago...I'm pregnant!"

Liz and Doug's announcement was met with overwhelming excitement and frenzy.
Hugging, squealing, hand-shaking, and kissing immediately ensued. Nothing was
held back.

However, the boisterous celebration was interrupted by a sudden knock on the
front door. By this time, it was nearing 8 o'clock in the evening and not one of
them could fathom a visitor at this time on Thanksgiving, where most of the
festivities took place during the day.

"I'll go get it," Ellie offered, already exiting the room.

She returned a moment later with a very unexpected guest in tow- a certain
Mandy Hampton.

"Mandy!" Jed exclaimed, happily. "I thought you said you wouldn't be able to
make it."

Mandy looked guiltily at her shoes for a moment before lifting her head to
face the future president.

"Governor, I am so sorry I didn't tell you about my resignation in person."

"Resignation?" Jed asked, his eyes reflecting the genuine confusion he felt.

Leo cringed, now feeling almost as guilty as Mandy did.

"It was very spur-of-the-moment and hurried. I should have..."

"Hold on, hold on," Jed said. "What resignation?"

Mandy paused, breathless.

"Leo didn't tell you?"

Every single, solitary person in the room turned to look at Leo.

"Leo, is there something you'd like to tell us?" CJ asked.

"Uh...well. You see..." Leo trailed off, apprehensively.

"I quit," Mandy blurted out. "This morning. I called Leo and I announced my
resignation. Working on this campaign was one of the finest experiences of my
life."

"So why are you leaving us?" Josh asked.

"She got a job," Leo said, now having found his voice. "She got a job for
$500,000 a year at a PR firm. Apparently we at the White House cannot top
something like that."

"Mandy, I'm surprised at you," Jed said.

"I'm so sorry, sir."

Jed nodded thoughtfully, mulling the entire conversation over in his head.

"Why don't you sit down and have a glass of wine?" He suggested.

"Really?" Mandy asked, surprised.

"Yeah. A farewell drink."

"Sir, that's incredibly generous of you, considering..."

"Sit down, Mandy."

"Yes, sir!"

**

Abbey stretched languidly and settled down beside Jed. He brought his arm
around her shoulders and snuggled her up close, dropping a light kiss in her
hair as he talked to Leo. Politics was the topic as usual. She didn't mind,
because she knew his heart was with her. The room was dim, but she didn't
notice because her eyes had slipped shut. She rubbed Jed's thigh slowly,
breathing deeply and feeling his inevitable reaction to her touch.

He tried to evade her advances but she was playful and only followed him with
her hands. He smiled encouragingly at his guests and caught her hand in his
lightly.

"Babe, you're not being very subtle."

She nuzzled his shoulder a little. "Who needs subtlety?"

He leaned down to her and whispered, "You could use a little bit yourself."

She grinned lazily and looked up at him with her glassy green eyes. "You
questioning my intentions, Jethro?"

"You'd better believe it. And while we're talking about your state of mind-"

With a furrowed brow, she broke in, "We're not talking about my state of
mind."

"No, but we should be. You, my sweet, are a bit tipsy."

She leaned in conspiratorially. "Just a little."

"I thought as much. Don't you think you should be heading to bed then?"

She narrowed her eyes at him and looked him up and down lasciviously. "Only
if you come with me."

He reached for her hand. "Okay, then. Let's go." She let him take it and
rose unsteadily to follow him. "If you'll excuse us, the first lady-elect
worked herself to the bone for us today and you know she's old and needs her
sleep. She will see you all in the morning and I will be back down in a few
minutes. Say good night, sweetheart." She waved tiredly and held onto Jed as
everyone wished her sweet dreams.

"I am so not old," she responded as he led her out of the den.

Jed put on an amused and tolerant grin.

"Of course not, just plowed off your ass."

"That, I will grant you. And speaking of asses --"

"We weren't speaking of asses."

"I am. And yours is very nice."

He tugged her arm to show her they were going up the stairs. She nodded and
went up behind him.

"Thank you, Abbey. I pride myself on the niceness of my ass."

"It's something to be proud of."

"It really is."

He brought her down the short hallway to their bedroom and guided her in
patiently, deflecting all her attempts to drape herself over him.

"You must be exhausted. You helped prepare a four-course meal for our family
and my staff. You deserve a rest."

At his urging, she sat heavily on the bed and fell back with a yawn.

"You're right, I do."

He lightly patted her thigh and winked.

"Good to know we agree on something."

"Of course we do." She rested her head on her hand and watched him move
around the bedroom. "We're a team, you and me." She sighed. "Jed and Abbey.
The Drs. Bartlet."

He stopped beside her and stroked her hair lovingly.

"Dr. Abbey Bartlet and Mr. Dr. Abbey Bartlet."

She hummed contentedly. "I like that better definitely."

He kissed her soundly then. For no reason other than she was there.

"I like it, too. Now, to bed with you, Dr. Bartlet."

She pushed herself back until she was propped up on the pillows. "I am in
bed. The problem is.you're not. And I don't know why that is."

Careful not to make a sound, Josh stood outside their closed bedroom door,
listening intently to the conversation going on inside. His ear still glued to
the door, he picked up his pencil and pad of paper and wrote, "FLOTUS=horny when
drunk."

"I'm not because you're drunk and you were drunk in front of company and the
last thing you want to do is have drunk sex, because it will be loud and
embarrassing. And worst off, you won't remember it in the morning."

"I will so."

He tapped her nose. "No."

Outside the room, Josh picked up his pencil once more. "POTUS=chivalrous when
sober."

"Ah, gumdrop. Get in with me. We don't have to do anything. We can just
cuddle."

He looked down her sternly, but she only continued to smile, eventually
disarming him with her guileless expression. "We are only cuddling. I mean
it."

"Okay, already. I'm getting cold." He crawled onto the bed and lied down,
wrapping her in his arms and smiling at her. She smiled back, somewhat
enchanted by his hazy visage. She touched his face lightly. "I love you."

He touched his forehead to hers. "I love you."

From there her eyelids became heavier and heavier until she dozed off , her
forehead coming to rest just against his lips. She breathed easily and drifted
to sleep.

Josh, who would never admit how genuinely touched he was by what he was
hearing, positioned the oft-used pencil in his hand above the paper once more
and wrote, "First Couple=nothing to worry about."

He squeezed her gently again. "Sweet dreams, Sweet knees."

Hearing this, Josh suspected an upcoming departure and scurried back
downstairs without being noticed.

With care, he turned her on her side and pulled that afghan folded at the end
of the bed up around her proud shoulders. He didn't have the heart to move her.
With a parting caress, he left the room, closing the door behind him with a
click.

Before he ascended the stairs to rejoin his gathering, he felt the compulsion
to check on Zoey. The teen years were not being kind to her common sense and
she had taken to such flights of fancy as leaving the house without telling
anyone and staying out until all hours. He was just being a concerned parent.
He knocked lightly.

"Zoey." He didn't get an answer, but knew better than to just go in. "Zoey,
are you in there." Still nothing. He waited. "You have five seconds to answer
or I come in."

"Fine. I'm here, okay! Jesus," she muttered under her breath. Not low
enough.

"Watch it, young lady." He found that he didn't have anything else to say to
her. He never did anymore. He sighed. "Good night, Zoey." Nothing. "Good
night, Zoey." He raised his voice a bit.

"Good night, Daddy," she finally returned. That was his girl. He wished he
heard from her more often.

Sticking his hands in his pockets, he went back downstairs to converse with
his would-be staff. CJ was laughing in that high rich sound. Josh appeared
winded and worn out. Leo was giving him a look that told how demented he
thought Josh was. Toby was staring into a tumbler of scotch and mumbling an
anecdote that left Sam hiding his face in CJ's shoulder. They were a sight to
see. They were his guys.

Leo finally saw him standing in the doorway and rose respectfully. "Mr.
President."

He rubbed his hands together thoughtfully and came in to the center of the
room. "I've just realized that the lot of us are gonna be spending some long
hours together over the next few years and that I'd like to get to know you all
better. So, since we're here, let's talk."

The laughter then ceased and they all straightened up, looking at one another
somewhat nervously. The President-Elect and their boss wanted to know them
better. The nation's speakers were tongue-tied. Except Toby.

"What would you like to know?"

Jed sat down in the space Abbey had vacated, momentarily overcome by the
waning scent of her fragrance.

"Anything."

"Well, I like scotch."

Jed's eyebrow rose, but he remained positive. "I see."

"I can write."

Jed nodded.

"And I think we both have our work cut out for us."

"I think we can agree on that."

Toby took an expert sip of his drink. "I'm not sure we'll agree on much of
anything else."

Jed sat back, wanting a drink himself suddenly. "We'll see."

And they would. The six of them stayed up late into the night learning things
about each other. Josh found that he had little worry about. The Drs. Bartlet
loved each other almost excessively. Both of them were smart and kind and
stubborn.

Josh was also stubborn, which seemed to be a common them with all of them. He
was like a bulldog. He would be their Doberman, relentless. CJ would be their
voice and conscience. Sam would be their heart, always the idealist, their ally
for right. Toby would be their knight who showed that the pen and the sword
were equally as deadly as the other. Leo would be their head, who brought them
all together under one seal and one loyalty.

And Jed would lead them. He would try to lead them well.

THE END.

Last Part