The newlyweds returned from their honeymoon in August, looking tanned and relaxed for the first time in months.

In their absence someone had emptied CJ’s apartment and moved all her belongings into the Observatory. By the time she returned to the District another government employee was living in her apartment and her mail was being opened and searched every day by the FBI. It was just another way in which her life had changed.

Bar a few personal gifts, the couple had asked for money as wedding presents and this they gave to a charity for Childhood diseases. The Press lapped it up as John’s staff had hoped. CJ was merely surprised by how much they were able to donate.

John upped her detail overnight, insisting that the four man detail accompany her everywhere. He had no shortage of allies in getting her to concur.

Her attorney closed her personal bank account, transferring her White House income, stocks and bonds into a non accessible account for the duration of John’s Vice Presidency. Everything she needed would come from an account, paid out centrally from John’s office. His staff would pay the bills and keep the necessary records to document which expenses were personal expenses, those John and she had to pay from their private funds, and which were official expenses, those to be paid by the government.

After three straight days in a row of having no money in her pocket and having to borrow from Carol for a cup of coffee, CJ barraged into Tim’s office and threatened him with bodily harm. Two hours later Janine arrived with cash and a credit card for her to use.

The other major change in her life was the house itself. The first night in the Observatory CJ had paced the halls, unable to sleep. The bed was too hard for her liking, but not for John’s, she judged as he slept peacefully. Everywhere she went there were also pictures and reminders of Catherine, which only served to remind her how much he still loved his late wife. Married or not, CJ felt like a visitor.

By the third night the pictures had gone and she was left feeling somewhat guilty. Climbing into bed on the fourth night, fully prepared to sit up reading all night, she was surprised to find a soft mattress. That was when she began to settle in.

Each time she left the White House her detail followed her, and now they even lurked in the hallways, and at the back of the Press Room during briefings. Some days they were an annoyance, on others, when the Press Corps were particularly unruly, they were a godsend. Her life, she soon realized, was no longer her own.

It took some getting used to when cameras flashed as she entered restaurants and as she had appointments with her doctor. Press speculation went through the roof when she visited her gynaecologist in October for a check up. In the end she sent Simon into the Press Room and had him inform them that she wasn’t pregnant.

**************************************************

John returned from the honeymoon, relaxed but exhausted. CJ’s appetite for sex was insatiable, but the uninterrupted time he spent with her only strengthened how much he loved her. They threw themselves into every activity, sending agents into a panic as they scuba dived and frolicked in the sea.

The days they spent in their cottage, agents hovered outside the doors and blushed at the noise from within.

On their return John went back to work and, what he jokingly referred to as, Babygate. Everyone from the janitor to the President asked when they were going to have a baby. Briefly he pondered raising it as a topic in the Senate and allowing his colleagues to debate it. However the scowl on CJ’s face convinced him otherwise.

The situation didn’t seem too bad until he came home one evening to find CJ throwing her sweaters into a box. The press had published another unflattering picture of her and, with the added speculation of her pregnancy, she was livid. From then on she joined him at lunch for jogging.

The major change for him was at home. His bachelor pad was now filled with distinctly feminine items once again. CJ’s belongings were split between Austin and the Observatory, and after watching her pace and toss in bed, he freighted the reminders of Catherine to the ranch. He was also somewhat distressed to wake up and find her gone in the middle of the night. Conspiring with Carol, he ordered a new bed and prayed that from then on things would get easier.

********************************************************************

They made love whenever their schedules allowed. When Congress was in session, he worked late and CJ stayed at work, ordering take out with her friends. When he was home, she would try to leave early and baring emergencies they would eat together.

In the first few months of their marriage everyone wanted Washington’s hottest couple at their dinner or event and CJ found herself living on the social circle. She hated it for the most part, working her way around the room, chatting to the very people who had accused them of lying. She also missed the nights out drinking with the boys.

The hardest thing for John to get used to were the dinner parties at the Observatory. He accepted that she had friends, and not necessary people he liked, but when she insisted on having them all for dinner he seriously considered running for the hills.

Josh, he knew was an idiot. A likeable idiot, and since the wedding Donna kept him on a leash. Toby was grumpy and held him in deep disdain. Of course, these were also the people who had insisted he remain on the ticket so they had some taste. Sam, was a mystery, but an entertaining one. What surprised him the most were the endless stream of assistants she invited round and her genuine affection for them all. His own staff almost fainted when he followed her lead and invited them all for dinner.

*****************************************

By December the honeymoon period was over. The truck drivers were threatening to go on strike which meant no gasoline. With the holidays approaching, the last thing anyone needed were grounded airlines and stranded cars. The President called John to his office and ordered him to Texas. His next stop upon leaving the Oval Office was to drop by CJ’s office. She had just returned from a briefing and was less than jovial.

“Hey,” he called, leaning on the door frame.

“Hi,” she offered, quietly, dropping her notes into a folder and picking up the telephone messages someone had left for her. “Just dropping by?”

“How would you fancy a few days at the ranch?” he asked casually, sidling up to her desk.

“Yeah, why not? It’s not as if I’m needed here,” she groaned, indicating the pile of post it notes, neatly stacked files and her calendar, now covered in red pen.

He stared at her in silence, waiting for the proverbial penny to drop.

Her eyes lifted from the desk and she appraised him carefully. “You’re going to Texas?”

“Yeah.”

“When?” she asked, lifting the navy blue calendar and staring at the illegible scrawls.

“Tonight. The President wants me to talk to the labor people, the oil companies and some of the drivers,” he offered by way of explanation.

“He wants you to fix it?”

“Yeah.”

Her eyes glazed over as she began to read from the pages. “Ignoring my duties as Press Secretary, tonight we are having pre-dinner drinks with Congressman Richardson, followed by a concert at the Kennedy Center. Tomorrow afternoon we were due to attend a gala at a local school.” She glanced up briefly to glare at him, before returning to the pages. “It’s Josh’s party tomorrow evening, which you promised to attend.”

“I know,” he agreed, walking around the desk and trying not to grin as she walked around to the other side.

“And finally, I ovulate the day after,” she said grimly.

That one statement alone makes him curse out loud. “Bloody Bartlet.”

“That’s the President you’re talking about,” CJ snapped, flailing her arms at him. “It’s not his fault they’re threatening a strike.”

“It’s his bloody fault I’m the one going. Am I right in thinking there’s a Transportation Secretary, a Secretary of the Interior and three senior staffers who could go down there?”

“Five senior staffers,” CJ corrected, throwing her calendar on the desk and sighing.

John grinned, “I was ignoring Josh. We don’t want a national strike.”

“And me?” she asked, advancing on him. “Why shouldn’t I go down there?”

His face fell as he mentally kicked himself, and desperately thought of the right thing to say.

“We need you here to convince the press it’s all in hand, “ Leo offered, hovering beyond the door. “I wouldn’t trust anyone but you.”

John shot him a grateful look, before turning back to CJ. “I should go.”

“Stay, I only came over to remind CJ of staff in fifteen minutes,” Leo stated, grinning and pulling the door closed as he walked away.

John closed the distance between them and grabbed her by the waist. “So, I need to get the job done and get back by Friday?”

She nodded, as her fingers brushed his lapels and tugged him closer.

His lips met hers somewhere in the middle and it was a few seconds before he broke away and exhaled. “I’ll miss you.”

“I know,” she said, confidently, rubbing her hip against his groin.

“CJ!”

“I’ll miss you too.”

Reluctantly he released her and headed for the door. “I’ll phone when I get there. You want me to cancel tonight?”

“Yeah, just the drinks. I’ll find someone to take to the concert,” she offered, blowing him a kiss and watching as he headed down the corridor with his detail in tow. Picking up the phone she called Abbey, planning to invite her to the concert and leave the President twiddling his thumbs.

It didn’t really occur to John, until the sixth month of trying, how much he wanted another child. Some of it had to do with the fact Mark was shunning him, settling in Colorado and ignoring his attempts at a reconciliation. The rest of it was because he loved CJ and the idea of a daughter in his wife’s image was appealing.

His staff were also pushing for a child. They seemed to believe it would be a sure fire way to win the election. The perfect couple with the perfect family. That much he had neglected to tell CJ, although she worked with Washington’s brightest, so it wasn’t impossible she suspected his motives.

He kept his own disappointment in check each month when CJ had her period and lay in bed, her back to him, crying. With false bravado she told everyone that they were talking of a family but just not in earnest yet. Abbey was her confidant and for that he was grateful, even if it meant more cozy dinners with the President.

Eventually when she awoke on New Years Day in tears, John decided it was time to go and see a doctor. He cleared a morning in his schedule and made an appointment. CJ was reluctant to go, that much he could understand. He was okay, after all he’d conceived one child. At her age she was probably going to have difficulties. He did have the good sense to refrain from telling her that.

They found themselves sitting in a small waiting area away from the other patients. John held onto CJ’s hand firmly as she watched the clock and bit her bottom lip nervously. He wasn’t so much nervous as scared. The idea of putting her through whatever the doctor might suggest was more than he could bear. If there was a problem, however slight, and they needed tests, the chances were it would leak out. John didn’t think CJ could handle that on top of everything else.

He imagined waking up one morning and reading the Post only to see the results of his test. The headline would read -Vice President’s tadpoles are swimming in wrong direction. And thus a national moratorium on infertility would start. He could only imagine the campaign if they couldn’t have children and needed help.

Of course he had a child. But then he and Catherine hadn’t been able to conceive again. It fleetingly crossed his mind that maybe it was him, and maybe Mark was someone else’s. John didn’t realize how hard he was squeezing CJ’s hand until she said his name.

“John.” She was watching him, looking somewhat amused. “Are you okay?”

He nodded and lightly brushed her white knuckles. “Yeah.”

“There’s nothing to be worried about,” she said softly. “He wants to talk through some things with us, maybe discuss options.”

“Tests?” he squeaked.

CJ raised her eyebrows and he swallowed. “Is that what you’re worried about? Christ, all you have to do is give a little sample. Borrow one of Abbey’s videos and away you go.”

He flushed and turned away.

“I’m the one in stirrups with cold spatulas and lots of prodding,” she groaned, returning to a three year old copy of Cosmopolitan.

John sat in silence, staring at the clock.

Eventually the receptionist came to get them and led them into the doctor’s office. He rose and introduced himself when they entered and once they were all seated, he picked up his pen.

“So, what seems to be the problem?”

John glanced at CJ and took her hand, waiting for her to start.

“We’re trying for a baby, and nothing seems to be happening,” CJ said, softly.

It wasn’t so much that nothing was happening. They were at it like rabbits, any chance they got. The results just weren’t there.

“How long have you been trying?” the doctor asked, scribbling at his notepad.

“Since the wedding, six months.”

“Ah,” he replied, in that tone doctors perfected. “It can take up to eighteen months.”

John’s sigh was loud even to his own ears.

“You know how to calculate ovulation, don’t you Mrs. Hoynes?” He paused to note something and looked back up at her, “The temperature method?”

CJ nodded and John gazed at her with new found respect. He had no idea what she did, only that she would tell him when they needed to have sex. For two days everything else took second place.

“We can do some tests, if you’d prefer.”

John groaned and ducked his head as CJ turned to stare at him.

He could see it now the Times headline-’Vice President’s sperm 90% useless, like the rest of his government.’

“There’s really nothing to worry about Sir,” the doctor said calmly. “I can give you a specimen jar and the nurse will show you to one of our rooms. It won’t take very long.”

CJ stifled a grin as John’s face turned a purpley shade of red.

“Is that necessary?” he mumbled. “You said, eighteen months.”

“I would seriously recommend making some adjustments to your lifestyle first, and if we have no joy in another six months, then we can start testing,” the doctor said rather too cheerfully.

CJ extracted her hand from John’s and crossed her legs. “What sort of changes?”

The doctor peered over his small tortoiseshell glasses and folded his hands on the desk. “Um, diet for starters. More fresh fruit, vegetables and high fiber foods. Then there’s caffeine-you should both cut back.”

CJ rolled her eyes in horror at the suggestion. Caffeine was her addiction, without it she couldn’t face the day. She glared at John’s wry smile.

“Let’s see. No alcohol--that would affect the sperm rate.” He looked between them.

“John doesn’t drink,” CJ ventured. “And I only have a glass with dinner.” She didn’t mention she would have to give up the sessions with the guys.

The doctor leaned back in his chair. “I know you are both busy people, but I would recommend plenty of exercise--maybe jogging, a little walking,” he suggested.

“Does sex count?” John asked quietly, focusing on the window behind the doctor.

“How often are you having sex?”

John looked at CJ and muttered, “When she’s ovulating pretty much around the clock.”

“Ah, it would be better if you cut back and had less frequent sex. It makes for stronger sperm. Too much sex and they become sluggish.”

CJ muttered something under her breath and both men turned to look at her.

“One more thing,” the doctor added as John rose to stand. “Mr. Vice President, can I recommend you wear loose underwear. Avoid jock straps and tight briefs, it cuts off the circulation.”

John shook his hand firmly but concentrated on his shoes as he bustled CJ through the door and into the protective custody of the waiting agents.

“You should speak to the President,” CJ said quietly as they headed down the corridor.

“About what?” John hissed.

“The underwear thing.”

The agents glanced secretively at each other and continued to guide their protectees to the elevator.

“What the hell for?” he gasped, stopping and raising his eyebrows.

CJ grinned, “He tried it when they got pregnant with Zoey.”

John shook his head and resumed walking, “I am not discussing my sex life with the President. I’d need therapy for life.”

*************************************

It was another ten days before she ovulated again. Coming out of the bathroom, thermometer in hand she waited as John knotted his tie before she spoke.

“John.”

He turned to look at her and noted she still hadn’t showered. “You’re going to be late.”

“It’s time,” she muttered, waving her arm through the air.

“Oh. Right,” he stammered. “So I’m guessing we aren’t going to work this Saturday.”

“I’ve been reading up on things. You’d be amazed how many internet sites there are,” she continued to ramble, pulling the sash from around her waist and dropping the robe in a puddle at her feet.

“CJ?” he asked softly, glancing down at his pants and willing himself to get interested.

It wasn’t that he was no longer attracted to his wife or even that he’d stopped enjoying sex, it was just, well, she was ignoring the doctor’s advice. If anything they made love more often than ever. They’d almost managed a quickie in her office the day before except Leo had called her to a meeting for the State of the Union speech.

CJ tossed the thermometer on the bedside table and walked over to him. “You need to get out of these things,” she purred, pulling his newly knotted tie and moving her fingers over his buttons.

“CJ, honey,” he drawled, stilling her hands. “What happened to foreplay?”

She looked a little confused and ran her fingers over his groin. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” he said a little embarrassed, raising her hand to his lips and kissing her knuckles.

“Get your clothes off and I’ll work my magic,” she grinned, fumbling with his fly.

John wasn’t immune to CJ’s magic. Hell, there weren’t many men, inside and outside the White House who weren’t. Right now he felt a little like he was on the clock.

“CJ,” he groaned, and immediately regretted it when she snatched her hand from his mouth.

She was doing that thing with her mouth, that pre crying thing, which he hated. A few seconds later his shirt was going over his head and landing in a heap on the floor. His pants landed around his ankles, and he had to bend down to remove his socks and shoes.

John stood before her in his new boxers. They were definitely a size too big, and he wasn’t sure if white was really his color but CJ had bought them so he felt obliged to wear them.

What he didn’t know was that Carol had bought them on an errand for CJ.

CJ grinned at him and reached out to tweak his nipple.

John caught her hand before she touched him, and pulled her towards the bed. They landed together with her on top. Rolling them over he positioned himself over her and kissed her firmly on the mouth. Using his tongue he teased at her teeth until she gave him access. Her hands roamed his back as he played with her breast with one hand.

He moaned into the kiss as he felt his shaft growing and rubbing against her hip.

“Well, big boy, seems I didn’t need my magic trick,” she groaned, rolling her hips.

“Claudia,” he whispered, pulling back.

“John.”

“I love you,” he conceded, running his fingers down her rib cage and across her stomach.

CJ’s leg came up and around his hip as she tried to position them on the bed.

“What’s the best position?” he asked, lowering his head to feast on her nipple.

“Missionary,” she whimpered, lifting her body to his lips. With one hand she explored lower, slipping into his shorts and caressing his ass.

John grabbed a pillow with his free hand and tucked it behind her head. Lifting his head he grinned up at her and kissed her lightly on the mouth. Balancing himself on his elbow he managed to get his shorts as far as his knees and she kicked them the rest of the way.

CJ used both hands to arouse him. Alternating between playing with his nipples and toying the dark expanse of chest hair and teasing his shaft. His moans were intensifying as moved onto his balls, cupping them as she blew across his earlobe.

John’s hand dipped between her legs and brushed across her clit. CJ bucked her hips to meet him and he shifted his weight to position himself at her opening.

“Ready?” he asked, as CJ’s legs wrapped around his waist.

“Yes,” she breathed, grabbing his waist with one hand and using the other to gain a firm grip on the bed.

Then he was inside her and they were moving gently, developing a rhythm and pace that had her moaning deep in her throat. John increased the depth of his thrusts, positioning her leg further up his waist in order to improve the angle of his penetration. By tacit understanding, she raised her body to aid him and they moved as one.

CJ was soon gripping the bed so tightly her knuckles were white. Her vaginal wall was in spasm and she could feel him being squeezed tighter.

John tried to maintain his thrusting as she writhed and fought off her release. He was almost there, just a few more seconds. And then her knee moved to his chest and his thrust hit that magic spot.

They groaned as the orgasm washed over both of them at the same moment and John collapsed on top of her.

With barely time to catch his breath, CJ was pushing him off of her and lifting her legs in the air. He fell onto his back and smirked as she tucked her hands behind her back and tried to hold her legs up straight.

“Should I even ask?” he laughed, pulling a pillow under his head.

“It helps the little sperm reach their destination,” she added flatly.

His eyes went wide and he wished briefly they had a camera handy. Hell, he frequently wished they had a video camera in the bedroom but when you’re the Vice President it was asking for trouble.

“Okay,” he muttered, not really convinced.

After a few more minutes of watching her acrobatics, he pulled the spare pillows from the head of the bed and tucked them under her hips. She dropped her legs and closed her eyes.

“How about you find us some fruit and we’ll try again,” she said, after a few minutes.

John inwardly groaned, and climbed off the bed--his pile of briefing papers was definitely going to go unread.

CJ climbed out of bed and crossed to the chair under the window, where her purse, and the small brown sack, had been discarded the past evening. Pulling back the navy plaid curtains CJ leaned against the window and gazed out at the drizzly October morning. Shuddering in the cold morning air she wrapped her arms around herself and pulled John’s navy flannel pyjamas tighter to her.

It seemed hard to believe that it was October all ready. That they had been trying for a baby for over a year, with no success. And that her life had changed so dramatically.

The last year had certainly flown by.

**********************************

Following the State of the Union the West Wing became caught up in the after effects. The speech was an unmitigated success leaving the Senior Staffers in high spirits and with an intensive program of work. Senators from both parties came cap in hand to support the new legislation.

A change occurred overnight as the President and Leo corralled the Vice President into fronting and supporting various bills from defense spending to Family Services. They also sent him off to the Environmental summit in Brazil, for the first time in the Administration making him high profile internationally. The more the Administration accepted John’s position as Vice President, the less CJ saw of him and the more they both came to value their quality time.

The spirit of bipartisanship was short lived. By March the Bartlet Administration was once more branded ‘arrogant, egotistical and too liberal.’ Of course that could just have been Josh. CJ spent her daily briefings arguing the merits of the very legislation two months earlier the opposition had supported.

June and CJ found herself two days late. She was sure that it had happened. The fact that it was a false alarm brought her down to earth with a bang. Carol and Toby became concerned for the first time about the effect her desire to have a child was going to have on her own health.

John took July off. Congress was out of session and most of the legislation was still being researched or was stuck in committee. Toby took the initiative and went behind CJ’s back. With Leo’s help he organized cover and signed CJ off on leave. Hence CJ spent the month in Austin on the ranch and in California, visiting her family.

By the time they returned to DC John was once again exhausted and unsurprised when his medical showed his blood pressure was on the high side. It wasn’t so much the energy he needed to keep up with his wife that was causing his discomfort. More so, it was the stress. John wanted the baby as much as CJ, and with each failed attempt he became that little bit more convinced it wasn’t meant to be. As Vice President he couldn’t exactly talk about his fears with anyone and he needed more than anything to be positive for CJ. That left him to worry in private and put on a brave face in public.

CJ came back from her vacation rejuvenated and convinced that she was going to get pregnant soon.

That had been the last time they had any quality time alone. Now Congress was in session they were both working hard. Long days turned into long nights as they left their offices and attended the array of social events their positions required.

*******************

Last night there had been another dinner and CJ had arrived home in the early hours of the morning too tired to take the test. Now on this cold October morning she walked across the room to the ensuite bathroom and closed the door firmly behind her. Tearing open the packaging on the small box, she lowered herself onto the closed toilet seat to read the instructions.

It was quite simple, two blue lines and the result was positive, one blue line and it was negative. Which was much easier than actually getting the test in the first place. With the Press following her every movement it wasn’t as if CJ could walk into a drugstore and asking Leo for time off to go to the doctors would only have had Abbey at her door, asking endless questions. In the end she had pulled Carol into her office and sworn her to secrecy. Carol had slipped out in her lunch hour and come back with two tests.

Now CJ was alone. John was already at the OEOB meeting with the Senate Minority leader and she hadn’t the heart to raise his hopes yet again. Right now as she held the white dipstick in her hand, CJ wished she had waited for him to get home.

The first inkling that she might be pregnant had come when Carol brought her coffee one morning and CJ promptly came over nauseous. Of course she was already a week late, but with the stress of trying to get pregnant that had become somewhat expected.

Now, glancing down at the stick in her hand CJ bit her lip. Still no lines.

Toby had become concerned about her when he came in one afternoon and found her fast asleep at her desk. It was only his fingers stroking her back that had roused her. She had waved it off as a bug but Toby still appeared every afternoon to check on her, bringing her Danish pastries and loitering in her doorway. Now that Carol and Toby were officially living in sin, CJ really had no chance of getting anything by either of them. She briefly wondered how long it would be, if the test proved positive, before Carol told Toby.

A firm blue line appeared in one window and CJ closed her eyes. When she opened them a feint line stared up at her in the second window. CJ stood and brought it to the light from the window. There was no denying it, definitely positive. Of course her excitement was short lived as she remembered the information leaflet--these tests are not always accurate.

Still it didn’t stop CJ practically bouncing her way to the bedside phone and dialled her OB. The receptionist answered on the third ring and, after CJ explained who she was, an appointment was fixed for that morning. Replacing the receiver, CJ dialled Toby’s private line and prayed he was there.

“Ziegler.”

“Toby, it’s me,” she said softly.

“Hello Me.”

“You’re in good spirits.”

“The President has backache. Abbey has him confined to the residence,” he chuckled.

CJ stroked her stomach and grinned, “Are you alone?”

“You wanna talk dirty?” he teased. “Cause I’d need to lock the door.”

“Toby.”

“Yeah, I’m alone,” he groaned. “Something wrong?”

“I’m taking the day off,” she said quietly. “There’s something I need to do.”

“About bloody time,” he growled, drumming his fingers on the desk.

“What?”

“Is John going with you, or are you planning to wait for the actual birth before you tell him.”

“Toby, how did you know?” she asked, surprised by his observation.

Toby shrugged in his office, and glanced out at the bullpen. “I’ve known you for long enough to notice these things.”

CJ laughed and settled back against the pillows. “My appointments at ten but…”

“You want to wait for confirmation and tell your husband,” Toby finished for her.

“Yeah, is that okay?”

“Simon can brief and I’ll talk to Carol,” he offered, wondering if CJ would kill him for telling Carol first. He decided she probably would. “I’m really happy for you.”

“Happy? Toby happy?” CJ teased.

“Yeah, I just pity the poor kid that’s all,” Toby growled, rubbing his bald scalp. “With you as a mother.”

“You love me really.”

“Always.”

CJ said her goodbye and replaced the phone before promptly bursting into tears. The tears confirmed it for her, she wasn’t prone to bouts of crying, it had to be hormonal and she had to be pregnant.

*********************************************************

The Vice President’s outer office was quiet when CJ opened the door and entered. Janine looked up from her computer and rose to her feet when she saw CJ.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting you,” she said, apologetically.

“I came to surprise him,” CJ grinned. “Is he free?”

“He’s just got off the phone with Mr. McGarry, so I can’t guarantee his mood.”

“I have just the thing to cheer him up,” CJ said, winking.

Knocking lightly on the door and pushing it firmly open CJ stepped into the room.

John continued to concentrate on the papers in front of him, oblivious to the gentle breeze blowing through his room.

CJ cleared her throat and made her way to stand behind him.

John looked up and grinned, “Hey, this is a surprise.”

Wrapping her arms around his neck CJ leaned forward to blow against his ear.

“Please tell me you didn’t just drop by to jump me,” he groaned, reaching up to pull her across his lap.

CJ licked her lips and looked him straight in the eye. “Are you denying me what’s rightfully mine?”

“Uh no,” he stammered, “It’s just, for three months all we seem to have done is make love.”

“And you’re complaining?” she snapped. CJ noted she had better add mood swings to her list of symptoms. The spin boys were going to hate this.

“No, not exactly,” he mumbled.

“Then what?” CJ tried to remove herself from his lap but he held her firm. “John!”

“CJ, please.”

“Bite me.”

John rolled his eyes and held her a little tighter around her waist. “It’s just I’m a little tired out right now.”

John was exhausted. He was young, fit and active but his wife’s constant demands were tiring at best, especially on top of the workload the White House had foisted on him. His doctor suggested avoiding stress so for a few weeks he worked late, but that made life all the more stressful. He hardly slept for more than a few hours at a time, worrying about CJ’s obsession with getting pregnant and his inability to do anything to help her.

“But not too tired to take breakfast meetings and go to card games,” CJ snorted, “Funny that.”

“Now you’re being silly.”

“So I’m silly now. A silly nymphomaniac. What’s next?” she yelled, wriggling against his strong grip. “I thought having a baby was important to you too.”

John sighed and released her. “I want our baby more than anything but we can’t go on like this.”

CJ jumped up and moved to the other side of the desk and fixed him with a steely glare.

“Perhaps we should go back to the doctor. He might be able to help with your hormones,” John said and instantly regretted it when her eyes turned violet.

“My hormones are just fine. I suppose I’m fat now too,” CJ cried, her nails digging into her palms as she fought off tears.

“Holy hell.” John stood and crossed to his wife. He reached out to touch her and she pulled back. “Claudia Jean. Please. Let’s go out to lunch and talk.”

“I don’t want to talk. I want sex,” she screamed, taken off balance by the pleading in her voice.

“I really think we need to cool down on getting pregnant.”

“It’s a bit late for that,” CJ whined.

“What do you mean?” John asked softly, finally catching her elbow and clasping his fingers around it.

“I’m pregnant!” she exclaimed, then started laughing at the look of shock on his face. “Oh dear, that wasn’t how I was going to tell you at all.”

John went wide eyed and fell back into the visitor’s chair. He continued to look at her as he grinned inanely. “You’re pregnant? We’re having a baby?”

CJ nodded and crouched beside him. “That’s why I came to see you. I did a home test.”

“We need to get you to a doctor.”

“Done. I went this morning,” she grinned, her fingers running up his thigh. “I’m due round about Memorial Day.”

John reached down to cup her face, his fingers making light strokes against her skin. Lightly he kissed her and pulled back.

“I’m not going to break,” she groaned, pulling his face down and kissing him hungrily.

“Things need to change,” he said softly, holding her hands. “We need to speak to Leo about your workload. Make an announcement. And no more sex.”

CJ squeezed his hands to get his attention. ”We need to talk.”

“You want to talk to Leo?”

“Yes, when the time comes. For now I want to leave this between us.” She winced as her knees gave way.

“Couch?” John suggested, standing and pulling her with him.

Once they were seated, CJ turned to face him and took a deep breath. “I can handle work, for now. I don’t want to tell anyone until the second trimester and we certainly aren’t making a formal announcement until our friends know.” She paused and reached up to stroke his cheek. “And pregnant sex is supposed to be good,” she purred.

John looked up from his seat in the chamber and his eyes fell on his wife. He gave her a small smile and watched as she flushed under his scrutiny. He loved the effect he had on

her. The way her face would turn pink and her eyes would sparkle. Everyone who thought he was cold and heartless had only to look at his wife to see just how wrong they were.

Abbey flashed him a smile and shook her head knowingly. She had been the instigator in getting him and Claudia together and he felt safer knowing they had a doctor they could rely on. He nodded in her direction and turned back to the President before him.

It had been the First Lady’s idea to have CJ sit with her in the gallery during the State of the Union. Last year CJ had been stuck in the West Wing dealing with the Press but this year her deputy was standing in for her and CJ was somewhat nervous. It was obvious the camera would fall on her as the media were already discussing her as the potential First Lady in waiting.

But tonight none of those worries were obvious to any of the many observers. CJ looked absolutely glowing, her hands resting on her stomach, the red dress revealing for the first time the growing bulge.

John tuned out of the President’s speech and let his thoughts drift for a moment. Recently his priorities were changing. Since finding out about the baby, he had become increasingly protective of Claudia, phoning her three times a day to check on her, and rushing home of an evening. He wasn’t sure where his priorities lay anymore. The Presidency was important to him, but it had a different meaning to him now that he had a family again.

At a small gathering the weekend before, CJ had announced to her friends that she was pregnant.

The President and Abbey had been thrilled, fully prepared to dote on the baby as a grandchild. They had even gone so far as to offer them use of the farm before the birth to relax.

Toby had been gruff, and John had found out later that he already knew.

Sam had been pleased for CJ, fussing over her and acting cordially to John.

Josh had been the least interested. It had taken prodding from Donna and a stern look from Toby to even get Josh to hug CJ. John, he had barely acknowledged, which made little sense as, all things considered, their working relationship was now quite productive. Watching Leo argue with Josh later, the pieces fell into place for John. He understood then that Josh was only making the meager effort for CJ.

Leo had warmly congratulated them both.

For the first time John really felt like he belonged to the Bartlet family. It had never mattered much to him before, but marrying CJ and having a child had been a revelation in so many things.

The Press’ reaction to the news would come the next day when CJ stood before them and announced the pregnancy. He suspected most would accept the news happily and Babygate would once more fill the papers. Some of course would be suspicious of their motives, but then he was a politician and even he questioned his motives sometimes.

Picking up on the round of applause he stood and tuned back into the President’s speech.

******************************************

The party was in full swing when John aided CJ into the awaiting car and climbed in beside her. Following Abbey’s example CJ had changed into another suit, this time royal blue and styled her hair so that it was pinned off her neck.

They had worked the room, talking to the staff and gathered guests for several hours before CJ started to flag. She had rubbed her eyes once too often and the President had taken John to one side and ordered him to take CJ home.

As he settled in the car beside her, John pulled her gently towards his chest and rested his chin on her head.

CJ sighed and settled herself. Normally she would be dancing with them all until the early hours, but this time her priorities had changed. She was already feeling the effects of the small weight gain and if the President hadn’t insisted on her going home, she would have requested his permission.

She awoke suddenly when the car came to a halt and glanced up.

“We’re home,” John whispered.

“Good.”

Gently he helped her onto the steps and with his hand at the small of her back, guided her inside.

“You want chocolate or something to eat?”

CJ shook her head and grinned, “But I am hungry.”

John groaned and pulled her back into his arms to kiss her on her forehead. “I thought you were supposed to lose your libido.”

“That comes later,” she purred. “So, are we going to bed, or what?”

“I guess we’re going to bed,” he muttered, taking her hand and tugging her gently up the stairs.

As the bedroom door closed behind them, he held her by the waist and kissed her gently on the mouth. Kissing her again, he began to trail his way down her collarbone and across her exposed shoulder blade.

CJ moaned as his hands pushed at her jacket, letting it fall in a heap at her feet. Her own fingers moved across his back and into his greying hair, willing him to hurry up.

John broke away from his caressing of her skin and looked into her eyes. “I love you Mrs. Hoynes,” he whispered, taking her hand and guiding her to the bed.

Slowly he made her sit and dropped to his knees. John removed her shoes first and then walked his fingers up her legs to pull her pantyhose off. Helping her to stand, he unbuttoned her dress and lifted it over her head.

CJ stood before him in her panties and her newest bra as his eyes appraised her. His fingers followed his eyes as he caressed her cheek and neck before cupping her breasts.

CJ’s hands fidgeted at her sides as she waited for him to make the next move. She smiled as he placed both hands on her stomach.

Gently she covered them with her own and moved them to the spot on her lower abdomen where their child was kicking.

His face broke out into a broad grin as he felt, for the first time, what she had been feeling all night. “Claudia,” he gasped. “The baby’s moving.”

“Yeah, it started during the speech. It seems she likes the sound of the President’s voice.” She stopped when his eyes went wide. “I don’t know for sure, it’s intuition.”

“You want a girl?” he asked, softly, moving his hands in circles across the gentle swell.

CJ shrugged, “I don’t mind. As long as there are ten fingers and ten toes.”

“And names, we haven’t discussed names,” he said, locking eyes with hers.

“And we will, just not tonight,” she replied, her fingers tugging at the knot of his tie.

“Right,” he said, helping her with the tie and then her efforts at unbuttoning his cuffs.

Discarding his jacket and shirt, he sat on the bed to remove his shoes and socks. His eyes never left CJ as she moved to the dressing table to remove her jewellery and release her hair. When she had finished he helped her onto the bed.

Their lovemaking was gentle and loving as he spooned behind her, his thrusts slow and shallow as he worried about hurting their child.

John’s hands caressed her breasts as he kissed her neck and shoulder. Now that she was pregnant there would be no fast and frantic sex and he found himself enjoying the new intimacy much more.

CJ rocked against him, frustrated and in need of release. This position, she found, was never enough to bring her to climax, but it did bring her that much closer to her husband.

John neared release quickly, his hands increasing their movement over CJ’s body.

With a gentle moan, CJ used her fingers to bring herself over the edge with him.

They came together, John slipping from her and rolling her over to face him.

As they waited to gain equilibrium, John held her face and rained her mouth with kisses.

CJ stroked the back of his head, her fingers toying with the increasing number of greying hairs.

“So names,” he said, after the longest silence. “Jack for a boy.”

“I like that. And Rebecca for a girl, or Laura,” she suggested.

“Rachel,” he suggested, “Or Naomi.”

“Maybe we need to draw up a list. And we can figure it out later.”

“Nothing obscure,” he said firmly. “We also need to talk about the other thing.”

He winced, as he debated whether it was a good time.

“The campaign?”

“I want you to be a part of it,” he announced, idly stroking her sides, beneath the sheet. “I’m guessing we have six months before we need to get down to the framing. I want your input.”

“Tim’s not going to like that,” CJ smirked. “He’s worried I’m after his job.”

John stilled his fingers as he pretended to consider the possibility. “Hey, that’s not a bad idea. My wife as Chief of Staff. Would certainly prevent any arguments about who’s the boss,” he teased and received a playful slap for his trouble. “Okay, so maybe not.”

CJ pulled his arm tighter around her waist. “John, can we discuss this later too?”

“Sure. You tired?” he asked, concerned.

“Not really. Actually I’m hungry. Maybe a sandwich or some chips and dip,” she suggested, fluttering her eyelids.

“You want me to get you something to eat?”

She nodded and rolled back on the bed. “Would you mind?”

John climbed out of bed and located his robe.

By the time he returned she would most likely be sound asleep and the food would go in the trash can, but he was happy to do whatever she wanted.

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Continue to Part Seventeen