Fic: Absolution (West Wing 1/1)
Title: Absolution
Fandom: The West Wing
Character: Abigail Bartlet, Jed Bartlet
Table: #5
Prompt: #57 Morose
Word Count: 500
Rating: PG
Summary: Since when have they been cautious with one another? (Post Ep for Abu el Banat)
Table O' Fic
She stands at the window, arms wrapped around herself as if to guard against the winter chill. Outside, the tree lights flicker on and off, on and off.
"You gonna be there?" he'd asked.
How has it come to this? Does Jed really think she would leave him?
And a tiny voice in her mind sneers: you did leave him. Ran away and refused to speak to him. What else is he supposed to think?
He had sounded so uncertain, so scared, so broken. She wonders again what her absence has done to their relationship. Yes, Jed made the decision about Shareef, but Abbey is the one who walked away.
She is not angry anymore, but she has not forgotten the horror of those hours without Zoey, waiting, praying. She will never forget.
But there is another horror, one that is not safely in the past, one that she does not want to dwell on. Jed's disease is a fast-ticking time bomb and no one knows how much longer it will be before a relapse occurs.
How much longer before her husband's mind degenerates, before he turns into a shell of himself? Only God knows, and He has remained frustratingly silent on this issue.
How many precious days has Abbey wasted? She should have come back sooner, she thinks. She shouldn't have waited for Leo's call; no wonder Jed thinks she doesn't want to be here.
I'm sorry, Jed. Forgive me.
She is still staring out the window, lost in self-recrimination; oblivious to the fact the lights have long since stopped blinking, when a voice startles her.
"You're still up?"
She glances back over her shoulder. Jed is behind her, his hands in his pockets, that same uncertain expression on his face as earlier.
Since when have they been cautious with one another?
He steps closer, uncertainty turning to concern. "Abbey? You're crying."
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us.
"I love you," she says, her voice cracking. "I don't remember the last time I told you that."
Jed's gaze is steady, but he blinks too quickly and moisture shines in his eyes. "I love you, too."
In the next breath she's in his arms. She doesn't know who made the first move; it doesn't matter. All that matters is that they are here now, together, and she can't believe she waited so long to come back to him.
"I'll never leave you again," she says, and knows it is the truth. Neither of them would survive a separation like this again.
"Thank you for coming back."
She pulls away slightly so she can look at him. "Oh, Jed."
"I'm sorry," he says, and the sadness in his voice cuts to the bone. "I never imagined it would be like this."
She shakes her head. "You're a good man, Jed Bartlet. I'm not sorry I voted for you."
His smile is all the absolution she needs.
And for him, forgiveness comes in her kiss.
Fandom: The West Wing
Character: Abigail Bartlet, Jed Bartlet
Table: #5
Prompt: #57 Morose
Word Count: 500
Rating: PG
Summary: Since when have they been cautious with one another? (Post Ep for Abu el Banat)
Table O' Fic
She stands at the window, arms wrapped around herself as if to guard against the winter chill. Outside, the tree lights flicker on and off, on and off.
"You gonna be there?" he'd asked.
How has it come to this? Does Jed really think she would leave him?
And a tiny voice in her mind sneers: you did leave him. Ran away and refused to speak to him. What else is he supposed to think?
He had sounded so uncertain, so scared, so broken. She wonders again what her absence has done to their relationship. Yes, Jed made the decision about Shareef, but Abbey is the one who walked away.
She is not angry anymore, but she has not forgotten the horror of those hours without Zoey, waiting, praying. She will never forget.
But there is another horror, one that is not safely in the past, one that she does not want to dwell on. Jed's disease is a fast-ticking time bomb and no one knows how much longer it will be before a relapse occurs.
How much longer before her husband's mind degenerates, before he turns into a shell of himself? Only God knows, and He has remained frustratingly silent on this issue.
How many precious days has Abbey wasted? She should have come back sooner, she thinks. She shouldn't have waited for Leo's call; no wonder Jed thinks she doesn't want to be here.
I'm sorry, Jed. Forgive me.
She is still staring out the window, lost in self-recrimination; oblivious to the fact the lights have long since stopped blinking, when a voice startles her.
"You're still up?"
She glances back over her shoulder. Jed is behind her, his hands in his pockets, that same uncertain expression on his face as earlier.
Since when have they been cautious with one another?
He steps closer, uncertainty turning to concern. "Abbey? You're crying."
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us.
"I love you," she says, her voice cracking. "I don't remember the last time I told you that."
Jed's gaze is steady, but he blinks too quickly and moisture shines in his eyes. "I love you, too."
In the next breath she's in his arms. She doesn't know who made the first move; it doesn't matter. All that matters is that they are here now, together, and she can't believe she waited so long to come back to him.
"I'll never leave you again," she says, and knows it is the truth. Neither of them would survive a separation like this again.
"Thank you for coming back."
She pulls away slightly so she can look at him. "Oh, Jed."
"I'm sorry," he says, and the sadness in his voice cuts to the bone. "I never imagined it would be like this."
She shakes her head. "You're a good man, Jed Bartlet. I'm not sorry I voted for you."
His smile is all the absolution she needs.
And for him, forgiveness comes in her kiss.