DISCLAIMER: The West Wing and its characters are the property of NBC, Aaron Sorkin and John Wells.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Lovers At Christmas
By gayfortinafey
It had been a happy Christmas party – free booze that the President had paid for and Toby had turned up to drink, free food that the President had also bought which was being eaten at an extremely fast rate, which Abbey could only attribute to the fact that the men and women at this party were workaholics who spent their entire lives eating utter crap, loud Christmas music which had been provided by Charlie (good idea) and played on a CD player brought by Josh (bad idea – it hadn't worked, and Donna had been sent to find one that worked whilst Josh assured everyone that his fantastic assistant would surely find one, which she did, in surprising speed) and general happiness all over the building, as the loud music played and the staff slowly became more and more drunk.
Abbey needn't have worried about her husband though, as he happily wandered throughout the room, talking with all of the staffers about their plans, their families and anything else he could think of. The job had been getting to him recently (when didn't it?) and Abbey was often spending her time worrying about him. But there were times when he just didn't come into her thoughts like normal. These times were an exception because she wasn't with Jed, she was with CJ, and CJ took all of her worries away with a smile, a laugh, a kiss.
"Oh CJ." It was a whisper, a moan, an admission of weakness that Abbey would have detested at any time other than when she had CJ's body tight against hers.
The two women had started this years ago, when they had been on the campaign trail, and they had been the only two women in a group of men who seemed to care about sex less than the general population of America. Probably, CJ knew, because they were trying to get Jed Bartlet elected. But still, it felt very odd to them, especially when they refused to talk about sex in public – something that CJ remembered hearing an awful lot about during her college days.
That was how it had started – drinking. There were often nights on the campaign trail when no one had time to get a good night's sleep, but instead found intoxication (an even larger time waster, when hangovers were included) and caught a couple of hours of sleep instead, and that often meant that CJ and Abbey ended up drinking too. One night, as the men stumbled back to their own hotel rooms, hoping to catch a few hours of well-earned, desperately-needed sleep, CJ and Abbey had ended up discussing sex, which had started by CJ being uncomfortable, talking to the candidate's wife about sex, but had ended up with the two of them having a teenage-like, hormone-induced fumble on the couch they had been sitting on for hours.
Their affair had carried on all through the campaign and well on into Bartlet's first term. Which is where they were now, celebrating their second Christmas in the office, by having their own little party in CJ's office. Abbey's Secret Service detail were among the most discreet men CJ had every met in her life, and even though Abbey had managed to shrug them off half way down the corridor to her office, she was still glad they would never tell the two women's secret. She was especially pleased tonight that they weren't standing right outside her office, as the combination of the alcohol that Abbey had consumed and the fact that the two women hadn't been together in over a month had led to some loud groans and moans emanating from the Press Secretary's desk.
The two women lay sated on the couch in CJ's office, their sweaty bodies resting against each other, with Abbey leaning on CJ. "That was amazing," CJ smiled into thin air as Abbey's voice confirmed what she had also thought – they always had fantastic sex. The lights in the room were limited to the Christmas lights that decorated the tree CJ had put in honour of the holiday season, and even in the dark lighting, CJ could still see the scratches on Abbey's back that were going to mark for a while, and wondered how her lover had managed to hide them from her husband for so many years. Instead of asking this question (the two women never discussed their life outside of themselves) CJ leant forward and pressed a soft kiss against each of the bright-red scratches which contrasted starkly with the porcelain-white skin of Abbey's back. CJ felt a hand on her leg as Abbey softly caressed the skin on her leg, a smile on her face.
Even though the blinds were shut in the office, and her Secret Service detail knew to let no one in, Abbey still slightly concerned that someone would walk in and ruin this perfect moment. A happy Christmas, with her lover of years, just the two of them, together, naked, with no worries or care in the world. If Abbey were sitting here with Jed, he would be thinking about his next meeting, his next phone call, his next national or international emergency. That was why Abbey like her times with CJ; it was simple, just them in a room together. "Merry Christmas CJ," Abbey murmured, her voice quiet as the setting seemed to command. The atmosphere was very relaxing, and Abbey leant her head back against CJ's shoulders, wanting to feel the woman against her again, if only for a little while, before they both had to go back to the party and pretend that they hadn't just been fucking in CJ's office.
"Merry Christmas Abbey," CJ replied, determined to live in the moment and forget the lonely apartment she had waiting at home for her on Christmas Day.
Abbey and CJ sat like that for a while, both unwilling to move, not wanting to go back to their respective lives, wanting to live for what they had right that minute for just a little bit longer. Eventually, Abbey began to get cold, the heat of their bodies combined having lowered considerably since they had first moved into this position, and she moved away from CJ to reach for her clothes – a top and cardigan, and jeans – and began pulling them on. The two women didn't talk and this was just like any other time they had been together; they were both experts at skimming over the silence that always sneaked up on them, and there was a distinct feeling between the two women that could be explained by nothing except for their remarkable closeness. "CJ what are-" Abbey shook her head almost as soon as she had said the taller woman's name; asking her to join her family for Christmas dinner in the Residence would just cause all of the comfort of a relaxing family Christmas dinner to disappear, with Jed and CJ sitting at the same table with her while they exchanged stories of family, friends and past Christmases, and she was almost 100 percent sure that CJ would agree. "Never mind," Abbey lamented and pulled her jeans on.
CJ stayed sat in her seat on the couch, lounging there naked, watching as her lover dressed, remarking once again how beautiful Abbey was. In her sense of euphoric, post-coital bliss, that she still felt even after having been sat on the couch for what felt like forever. "You're gorgeous, you know that?" She said, her eyes leaving Abbey's butt and moving up to look in her eyes as Abbey turned around and smiled at the playful grin on CJ's face. "Thank you my dear, but you are far more gorgeous than me." Abbey said, her eyes darkening as she looked up and down CJ's naked form.
As Abbey pulled her cardigan on and sorted out her hair, trying to get it into any kind of normalcy, before leaning over to give her lover another kiss, a sweet kiss, filled with sorrow over their too-soon parting. "Have a good Christmas, Claudia Jean," she whispered, her eyes connecting with CJ's.
CJ swallowed, the intensity of the stare that Abbey was giving her driving her senses almost to the point of insanity, and whispered back "You too, Abigail."
The End