(no subject)
I finally forced myself to type this up. I have no idea how many more chapters there are in this story. I tried working on Part 6, but my muse is still in a clown costume- induced coma, so that didn't go so well. Anywhoo... here's Part 5 of Another Shot at Happiness
Another Shot at Happiness
Part 5- Waiting, Watching, Wishing
Rating: YTEEN, just in case
Author: Natasha
Notes: I borrowed the title from an Antigone Rising song that’s been stuck in my head for weeks. I don’t own the song or the characters, but I do love them!
The next half-hour is a blur for Abbey. After professing her love to the former first lady, CJ flat-lined and Abbey watched helplessly as the paramedics struggled to bring the younger woman back to life. When the ambulance finally reached the hospital, CJ was rushed into emergency surgery to try and repair the damage the bullet caused and to get the blood loss under control, and Abbey was ushered into a private waiting room.
She’s sitting in the waiting room, her head in her hands, asking God to spare the life of the woman she’s grown to love, when someone comes running into the room and interrupts her silent pleas. Wiping the tears from her eyes, the former first lady looks up and is surprised to see an out of breath Toby standing in front of her. The former Communications Director takes one look at her tear-stained face and thinks the worst. “Oh, God, Abbey. Is she-”
“No!” Abbey breaks in before Toby can finish the thought, not wanting him to put the words out into the Universe. “No, Toby. She’s in surgery. They won’t tell me anything because I’m not family, but there was so much blood!” Toby falls into the chair beside Abbey, nearly fainting from a mixture of relief that CJ’s not dead and fear because he doesn’t know what’s going on.
“Thank God. I was, uh, I was in class. My phone rang- I’m her emergency contact. The hospital called. Uh, I called Donna from the car…this will probably be all over the news and I wanted someone to be with Josh when he found out. I didn’t want him finding out like that.” A nurse walks in before Abbey can speak. “Mr. Zeigler?”
Toby stands up. “Yeah.” The nurse gestures for Toby to follow her. “We have some papers for you to fill out, and the doctors would like to speak with you.” The door closes behind Toby, leaving Abbey alone once again. She’s grateful to Toby for thinking of calling Josh. In fact, Abbey feels guilty for not thinking about it before. CJ is still a very famous person, of course the news of her shooting will be all over the news.
Knowing Donnatella Moss like she does, the former first lady is confident that the younger woman will have called all of President Bartlet’s senior staff. Donna will have called everyone except the former president himself. The former assistant still thinks of Jed as the president, and would never call his house herself. With a sigh, Abbey reaches for her phone, knowing she’s the only person willing to make the call, and knowing that Jed would want to be here for the woman he once thought of as a daughter, even if he knew about Abbey’s relationship with the younger woman.
Dialing the familiar number, Abbey waits for an answer, hoping that her soon-to-be-ex-husband answers and not her replacement. “Bartlet Residence.” Damn. “Annabeth, it’s Abbey. Is Jed there?” Annabeth gasps. “Dr. Bartlet, I…um, I was just here to, um, I was-” Abbey cuts in, not wanting to talk to her husbands girlfriend any longer than necessary. “I know what you were doing, Annabeth. Now, can I talk to my husband?”
Abbey listens as Annabeth hands the phone to Jed, whispering, “It’s her.” The former first lady goes from zero to pissed off when the annoying woman cannot even say her name. It’s not that she blames her, of course. Annabeth and Jed started screwing around shortly after he left office. If Abbey had done something like that, she wouldn’t have been able to live with herself. Sure, she kissed CJ, and even fell in love with her while married to Jed, but Abbey would never have made love to anyone else while wearing Jed’s ring. She was prepared to spend the rest of her life unhappily married to Josiah Bartlet just to spare him the pain of a public divorce, but walking in on Annabeth wrapped around the former president blew that all to Hell.
“Yeah, Abbey.” Her temper flares and she cannot help herself from yelling at him. “Well,, it sure didn’t take you long to move her in. I moved out two days ago. What, was she hiding around the corner in a moving van as I drove away?” Jed sighs and Abbey can hear him throw his reading glasses on the table. “Abbey, did you call to scream at me some more? Because, frankly, I’m all screamed out and I’m tired of this crap.”
Now Abbey feels bad for pissing him off before telling him about CJ. “No, Jed, I’m sorry. That’s not why I called. Jed, CJ’s been shot.” She hears his breath catch in his throat. “Aw, Abbey, what the hell happened?”
Abbey tells him about the robbery and the shooting. She tells him everything except her real reasoning for choosing to move to New York. That will have to wait until CJ is out of the woods and Abbey can talk to the former president in person. Jed hangs up after promising to get there as soon as possible, leaving Abbey alone once again.
A few minutes later, Toby walks in carrying coffee. “Dr. Bartlet, I just spoke with the doctors. CJ lost a lot of blood. There was quite a bit of internal damage and they don’t know if….” Toby can't finish the sentence, the thought of his best friend laying on an operating table is just too much to bear. He sits down in the chair next to Abbey, handing her a cup of coffee before taking her hand in his own, and the waiting continues.
Another Shot at Happiness
Part 5- Waiting, Watching, Wishing
Rating: YTEEN, just in case
Author: Natasha
Notes: I borrowed the title from an Antigone Rising song that’s been stuck in my head for weeks. I don’t own the song or the characters, but I do love them!
The next half-hour is a blur for Abbey. After professing her love to the former first lady, CJ flat-lined and Abbey watched helplessly as the paramedics struggled to bring the younger woman back to life. When the ambulance finally reached the hospital, CJ was rushed into emergency surgery to try and repair the damage the bullet caused and to get the blood loss under control, and Abbey was ushered into a private waiting room.
She’s sitting in the waiting room, her head in her hands, asking God to spare the life of the woman she’s grown to love, when someone comes running into the room and interrupts her silent pleas. Wiping the tears from her eyes, the former first lady looks up and is surprised to see an out of breath Toby standing in front of her. The former Communications Director takes one look at her tear-stained face and thinks the worst. “Oh, God, Abbey. Is she-”
“No!” Abbey breaks in before Toby can finish the thought, not wanting him to put the words out into the Universe. “No, Toby. She’s in surgery. They won’t tell me anything because I’m not family, but there was so much blood!” Toby falls into the chair beside Abbey, nearly fainting from a mixture of relief that CJ’s not dead and fear because he doesn’t know what’s going on.
“Thank God. I was, uh, I was in class. My phone rang- I’m her emergency contact. The hospital called. Uh, I called Donna from the car…this will probably be all over the news and I wanted someone to be with Josh when he found out. I didn’t want him finding out like that.” A nurse walks in before Abbey can speak. “Mr. Zeigler?”
Toby stands up. “Yeah.” The nurse gestures for Toby to follow her. “We have some papers for you to fill out, and the doctors would like to speak with you.” The door closes behind Toby, leaving Abbey alone once again. She’s grateful to Toby for thinking of calling Josh. In fact, Abbey feels guilty for not thinking about it before. CJ is still a very famous person, of course the news of her shooting will be all over the news.
Knowing Donnatella Moss like she does, the former first lady is confident that the younger woman will have called all of President Bartlet’s senior staff. Donna will have called everyone except the former president himself. The former assistant still thinks of Jed as the president, and would never call his house herself. With a sigh, Abbey reaches for her phone, knowing she’s the only person willing to make the call, and knowing that Jed would want to be here for the woman he once thought of as a daughter, even if he knew about Abbey’s relationship with the younger woman.
Dialing the familiar number, Abbey waits for an answer, hoping that her soon-to-be-ex-husband answers and not her replacement. “Bartlet Residence.” Damn. “Annabeth, it’s Abbey. Is Jed there?” Annabeth gasps. “Dr. Bartlet, I…um, I was just here to, um, I was-” Abbey cuts in, not wanting to talk to her husbands girlfriend any longer than necessary. “I know what you were doing, Annabeth. Now, can I talk to my husband?”
Abbey listens as Annabeth hands the phone to Jed, whispering, “It’s her.” The former first lady goes from zero to pissed off when the annoying woman cannot even say her name. It’s not that she blames her, of course. Annabeth and Jed started screwing around shortly after he left office. If Abbey had done something like that, she wouldn’t have been able to live with herself. Sure, she kissed CJ, and even fell in love with her while married to Jed, but Abbey would never have made love to anyone else while wearing Jed’s ring. She was prepared to spend the rest of her life unhappily married to Josiah Bartlet just to spare him the pain of a public divorce, but walking in on Annabeth wrapped around the former president blew that all to Hell.
“Yeah, Abbey.” Her temper flares and she cannot help herself from yelling at him. “Well,, it sure didn’t take you long to move her in. I moved out two days ago. What, was she hiding around the corner in a moving van as I drove away?” Jed sighs and Abbey can hear him throw his reading glasses on the table. “Abbey, did you call to scream at me some more? Because, frankly, I’m all screamed out and I’m tired of this crap.”
Now Abbey feels bad for pissing him off before telling him about CJ. “No, Jed, I’m sorry. That’s not why I called. Jed, CJ’s been shot.” She hears his breath catch in his throat. “Aw, Abbey, what the hell happened?”
Abbey tells him about the robbery and the shooting. She tells him everything except her real reasoning for choosing to move to New York. That will have to wait until CJ is out of the woods and Abbey can talk to the former president in person. Jed hangs up after promising to get there as soon as possible, leaving Abbey alone once again.
A few minutes later, Toby walks in carrying coffee. “Dr. Bartlet, I just spoke with the doctors. CJ lost a lot of blood. There was quite a bit of internal damage and they don’t know if….” Toby can't finish the sentence, the thought of his best friend laying on an operating table is just too much to bear. He sits down in the chair next to Abbey, handing her a cup of coffee before taking her hand in his own, and the waiting continues.