Much to her discomfort, CJ was still in Abbey's mind when she got into bed that evening. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get the other woman out of her head. It felt uncomfortable, and was disconcerting, but there was nothing she could do about it. Having seen the press conference earlier that evening, she just couldn't stop thinking about her in a way that hadn't been a problem in years.

It was therefore, ironic, and with a particularly unlucky sense of timing, that Jed chose that particular night to do something he hadn't done in 8 years. Something she'd spent a long time wanting.

Two words.

Spontaneous. Lovemaking.

He appeared in the bedroom just after her, a bottle of champagne in his hand. She looked up at him, surprised - it was the kind of romantic gesture she'd long since ever given up hope of experiencing again – and he just smiled awkwardly, like they were a pair of inexperienced twenty-somethings once more,

"Champagne kisses? Tender, slow, verging on rheumatic sex?"

His final words were a reminder that neither one of them was as young as they used to be, and yet, she couldn't help smile at his playfulness.

"You want to barbecue?" She reached for her Blackberry which was sat on the bedside table, and checked out her calendar before turning to him, feigning puzzlement, "There's nothing in the schedule darling."

He reached out for her then, taking her in his arms, like a leading man in one of the 1940's black and white Hollywood gems that they shared a mutual love of, "The President and his First Lady had to schedule these things. Jed and Abbey don't."

His words melted her, and she hastily shoved CJ to the back of her mind, where she knew deep down that she belonged. She leant into him, kissing him deeply, "Is that so?" She moved closer still to him; in that moment she'd have crawled into his heart if she could have done, "Well in that case, I love being Jed and Abbey. I've missed them."

Her words were meant with all the good intentions in the world, they were meant innocently, without criticism or double meaning, and yet, as they left her lips, she saw Jed's face fall.

"I know you did." He let his arms fall from around her, his voice tight with obvious tension, "I'm trying to make things better here Abbey."

She sighed, feeling bad for having hurt him although unclear as to how it had happened so quickly, "Jed," she reached out, put her hand on his arm, "I know. I want to make things better too." And she did, really she did. Her hormones raging over CJ was one thing, but her place was with Jed, and now they were out of the White House, they had the chance to improve things beyond measure. To get back to the way they were. She pulled him close to her again, kissing him once more, wanting a proper reunion too much to want them to fall at the first hurdle.

To his credit, he got back in his stride quickly, matching her kiss with equal passion if not more, and yet, as they found themselves making love Abbey couldn't help but wonder where the magic had gone. It wasn't that it was bad, or uncomfortable, or even unpleasurable . It felt good, and yet...

It wasn't what she'd expected. She'd thought that being out of The White House would have meant recapturing what they used to have, turning back the clock 8 years. She hadn't expected good, she'd expected amazing. And it wasn't. It was comfortable. Companionable.

As they lay curled up though, drinking the champagne, she tried to push her disappointment, and her doubts away. Made excuses; their age, their being tired, the fact it might take time. And yet it still kept eating away at her.

And Jed too apparently, because he was the one who finally raised it.

"You're not happy."

It was a statement not a question, which was a relief to Abbey, because it gave her a get out clause and meant she could avoid responding. That said, the relief was short lived, as he continued, going straight for the jugular as he did so.

"For you, there was more frisson in watching CJ's press conference than there was in making love to me."

She looked up at him sharply, "No!"

He sighed, "Abigail, please, credit me with some intelligence. More than that, credit me with a something resembling a working knowledge of you. Do you have any idea how dilated your pupils were when you were watching that news item? Do you think I didn't notice how flushed you were?" His words were cutting and yet, somewhat surprisingly, his tone was gentle, "Abbey, we've been together a long time, I'm very much aware of what you – aroused – looks like."

For all his gentleness and although he seemed resigned to it all, she wasn't prepared to let it go that easily, and reached for him desperately, "I was aroused just now."

He shook his head, "No."

"I was. You know I was. I came." Suddenly nothing seemed more important than convincing him of the fact. It was one thing trying to make a go of things with him, but another entirely if they were going to spend the rest of their lives debating who turned her on more, him or CJ. It would be unbearable, and so it needed to be put to bed there and then. "You heard me." She insisted.

"Yes." He conceded, "I heard contented sighs, the occasional throaty moan forced out to convince me that I'm still Tom Cruise to you." He reached out, taking her hand, "But I can only begin to imagine how you'd have sounded if you'd been with her. And," he said, very matter of factly, "I think you should be."

"You think what?" Abbey's head was spinning with the sudden, unexpected turn of events, "You think I should be with her? Now? After four fucking years?" The champagne flute in her hand went flying, not with anger but because she physically or mentally couldn't control her emotions in any way shape or form in the face of what he was telling her, "Whatever happened to wanting to make it better Josiah? That was what you said wasn't it? That you wanted to make it better?"

He nodded calmly, "Yes Abigail, and that was a last ditch attempt." He wiped a tear from her eyes, that she hadn't even noticed was there until that moment, "I wanted to see if I could still do it for you. But I didn't. And if I can't do it in Manchester Abbey, I can't do it anywhere." He leant over, kissing her cheek, "But she can." He squeezed her hand tightly and then let go, "Go to her."

His words were a catalyst for an outpouring of tears - four years worth in fact – and she found herself, sat in her marital bed, a bed where she'd slept with both her husband and her lover, crying her eyes out and no knowing if she was doing so for the past she'd lost, or her fear of the future.

"She might not want me." She wept softly, knowing as she did so, that she was effectively ending her marriage, although, some might have argued that she'd done that a long time ago.

Jed sighed, pulling her into his arms, "Abigail, she broke her own heart to try and save yours, I don't think you can doubt her commitment to you, not for a second."

X X X

Ever since CJ had returned to DC, and indeed, for as long as she could remember before she had left the city originally, Sunday morning had meant one thing, and one thing only.

Brunch at Woodley Cafe.

In the old days it had been in walking distance of her apartment, and even though now it meant her hopping on the metro, she still made the journey every week without fail. She'd find a table on the deck outside, and then settle down with a pot of freshly ground coffee and the little bar/restaurant's legendary Breakfast Burritos. With all the hustle bustle and chaos that came with life at the White House, it was her one bit of calm in the whole week, and she wouldn't disturb it for anyone, not even Josh, who during the recent campaign habitually would call her 20 or 30 times on any given Sunday morning just because he knew she wouldn't answer the phone.

And in actual fact, to ensure her special place of peace and tranquillity stayed just that; peaceful and tranquil, she'd never told a soul about it; its name, its location or even that it existed. To do so, she felt, would be tempting fate, and leave her, and it, wide open to gatecrashers.

Which was why, on the first Sunday after the Inauguration, it came as some surprise to her when a shadow fell over her paper as she was reading it, and she heard someone saying her name. She sighed, a little miffed that her routine was being broken into - even the waiting staff knew just to process her usual order without asking and then discreetly deliver it when it was ready – but as she glanced up, her irritation instantly transformed into surprise.

"Abbey?"

Her former lover said nothing, just nodded silently, biting her lip, clearly incredibly nervous. CJ knew how she felt; her own heart had been in her throat from the first second that it had registered with her just who was standing in front of her. For a few seconds she did nothing, drinking in the sight of her, trying to get to grips with having her so close after so long, but then she hesitantly gestured that Abbey should join her, and once the other woman had sat down she asked the question that had been burning away in her head since the first moment she saw her.

"What are you doing here?"

Abbey shrugged, "I needed to see you, and this was the only place I could guarantee where you'd be at any given time. Plus," she added, leaning across the table to wipe a smear of salsa from CJ's mouth with her finger, a gesture that felt both incongruously intimate to CJ, yet also so utterly right, "I thought you might need me to tidy you up. You used to."

It was then that CJ realised that she had shared the restaurant's location with someone; she and Abbey had been for several clandestine brunches there during the course of their affair, but all the same, it didn't explain everything. She took a deep breath,

"Why did you need to see me?"

There was a beat, a mere moment and then Abbey held up her left hand, leaving CJ at a loss as to what she was supposed to be seeing.

Then she realised. It wasn't about what she should be seeing. It was what she wasn't.

She gripped the edge of the table, feeling slightly dizzy, wondering if she was reading too much into the situation and not wanting to be disappointed if she was wrong. She swallowed hard,

"Why aren't you wearing your wedding ring?"

"I'm getting divorced. It's over Claud, Jed and I are through. I care about him but I don't love him. I can't love him." She continued softly, "Because I love you. I want to be with you. Please." It came out as little more than a whisper but there was no mistaking what was said, nor the look of sheer desperation in Abbey's eyes, nor the use of the nickname that had only ever been used when they were lovers.

All the same, after four years without Abbey, CJ was still struggling to believe it,

"Are you serious?"

Abbey nodded apprehensively, still scared, even after Jed's reassurances to the contrary, that she was about to be rejected.

She needn't have worried. Within seconds, she found herself in CJ's arms.

"Abs darling," CJ said softly, kissing her gently, "I can't think of anything I want more."

X X X

Epilogue

It was the perfect day for a wedding, CJ thought, as she stood in the hotel garden in the sunshine. In less than an hour she'd be walking down the aisle, but at that moment, while everyone else was getting ready, her time was her own, and she couldn't resist playfully swirling around, feeling herself get all silly and girlie thanks to her beautiful dress.

"Someone's enjoying themselves."

She turned to find Abbey stood there, looking chic in a classic trouser suit. CJ blushed, self concious and shy at having been caught in the act. She opened her mouth to explain but she found herself being silenced with a kiss.

"Its OK." Abbey said softly when they parted, "You look adorable, and anyway," she added, "if the Chief Bridesmaid can't act like a princess then who can?"

Her words prompted more blushes from CJ, but rather than answer the rhetorical question, she instead had one of her own.

"Where's Lily?"

Abbey smiled, "Stop worrying mommy, she's fine. Jed's putting ribbons in her hair for her." CJ must have looked startled at the suggestion of Jed hairdressing because Abbey was quick to add, "Don't panic. Her big sister is on hand to help out, but you know how mad she is for Jed."

CJ did know. It was a constant source of amusement to all of them that the little girl, who they'd adopted from China earlier in the year, had zeroed in on Abbey's ex husband when she'd first met him at Zoey's birthday party. It could have been awkward, but Lily, even at the age of 3, was an absolute charmer and had brought them all together, cliché as it sounded, into one big happy, if not slightly unorthodox family.

Well almost. Ellie and Elizabeth still couldn't bring themselves to forgive Abbey, and although CJ knew it still hurt her, between them Zoey and Lily were healing the pain it caused.

"How's Donna?" Abbey asked breaking into her thoughts, "Shouldn't you be with her?"

She shook her head, "She wanted some time alone. She's fine. Josh?"

Abbey smiled, "Arguing with Samuel over the Best Man's speech." She slipped her hand into CJ's, "Something to do with a certain story involving the bride and her chief bridesmaid." Her smile widened into a grin, "Remember the one?"

CJ found herself blushing again at the memory of the night she and Donna kissed, "He's not got that photo has he?"

"Oh I do hope so." Abbey winked, "It makes me horny."

"Abigail." CJ pointed out, laughing slightly, "Everything makes you horny." She leant over and kissed her, "You're insatiable."

"And you wouldn't want me any other way."

"Actually," she replied, slightly hesitantly, "there is one thing I'd change about you." She bit her lip nervously, a gesture she seemed to have picked up from Donna over the years, and then took a deep breath, "Our life together is amazing Abbey, I've loved spending every single second with you." And she meant 'every single second', since Matt had released her from her role at The White House, the two of them were rarely apart. "But, seeing Donna today, I realised I want something more." Slowly, so as not to fall over her bridesmaid dress she lowered herself to the floor, ignoring Abbey who began to shriek, making copious amounts of noise about the possibility of grass stains, and getting onto one knee, an action that eventually silenced her girlfriend as she stared at her with a stunned expression on her face.

She cleared her throat, "Abbey, Abs, will you marry me?"

A rogue tear slid down Abbey's cheek, "You want to marry me? Really? But... why?"

From her position on the floor, CJ rolled her eyes, "Because I love you, because you're beautiful, because I think it would be good for our daughter and even better for us." She grinned, "Because I want to be your wife. Because, and I think this is pretty safe to say, this is definitely not the jackal. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Yes!" Abbey slipped down onto the floor beside her, pulling her into her arms before gently lowering her to the ground, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" She kissed her passionately, rolling her underneath her on the lawn, all thoughts of grass stains long forgotten, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"That's a yes then?" CJ wisecracked, but her obvious joy was written all over her face.

"Yes, its a yes." Abbey kissed her again before pulling back to look at her, "So what the hell happens now?"

CJ smiled, "What happens now?" She brushed Abbey's hair out of her eyes, stroking her cheek tenderly, "We live happily ever after of course..."