"Jed, come out here. This view is absolutely breathtaking."

Jed walked through the sliding glass doors that led out to the deck with a glass of wine in each hand. He handed one of the glasses to his wife then joined her to lean against the rail gazing out over the woods and the lake. The glassy surface of the water held a reflection of the magnificent Grand Tetons that rose majestically off to the east. This was not the first time they had been to Wyoming. They had taken the girls to Yellowstone when they were younger and four years ago they had spent some time in Jackson Hole. But, that vacation had been in a trendy resort. This time they had opted for a more private family vacation. To that end they had rented a secluded log cabin far off the beaten path, where they could swim and fish and hike with their children away from the prying eyes of the press and other tourists.

"It is beautiful," Jed took her hand in his. "So, what's on the agenda for tomorrow? Did you want to take the kids into town or just hang out around here."

"I was thinking about just staying here at the lake. I don't want to bombard them with too much at once and they have been dying for you to take them fishing ever since you mentioned it to them."

"Fishing it is then. Then maybe in the afternoon after their naps we can take them on a bike ride."

"Uh, Jed, maybe that isn't such a good idea. Does a little thing like riding your bike into a tree the last time we were here mean anything to you?"

"I was pissed then, Abbey, and you know how distracted I get when I'm pissed."

"No, really�you?" Abbey sipped her wine with a raised brow.

"Smart ass," Jed swatted her on the butt.

"Mumma, mumma, mumma" Aislinn ran out onto the deck breathless and began o dance in front of her mother. "I gots to go PEE PEE!"

"Okay, okay, well let's go then." Abbey handed her glass of wine to Jed and took her daughter's hand.

Jed smiled as he watched them walk away toward the bathroom, Aislinn skipping alongside Abbey.

Once in the bathroom Abbey started to unsnap Aislinn's jeans but her hands were pushed away.

"No. Me do, me do."

"Yes, ma'am." Abbey sat back on her heels and watched Aislinn struggle to get her jeans and then her pull ups down. Neither child was completely potty trained so for safety's sake they still wore pull- ups. Abbey smiled as she watched Aislinn make her way to the small potty seat they had set up.

"Aslinn!�Aslinn!" They heard Nicholas calling out for his missing sister.

"Bafroom" Aislinn called back to him from her potty seat.

"Aslinn go potty?" He asked from the doorway.

"Yes," Abbey told him. "Does Nicky need to go potty?"

Nicky nodded and set down the bag he was carrying. When Aislinn was finished Abbey helped her son position himself in front of the potty seat.

"Nicky gots a pee pee" Aislinn pointed to her brother.

"Yes, he does," Abbey smiled over at Jed who now stood in the doorway. "Boys have pee pees and Nicky is a boy."

"I don't has no pee pee." Aislinn sounded so deprived Jed nearly burst into laughter.

"No, you don't. That's because you're a girl like mommy and we don't have pee pees."

"Daddy got's a pee pee."

"That's because daddy's a boy like Nicholas."

"Daddy gots a big pee pee," Nicholas informed them both. This time Jed did burst into laughter.

"Thanks for the plug there little man." He moved to the sink where Abbey was helping the boy to wash his hands and patted him on the head.

"Aslinn." Nicholas turned back to his sister, unaware of why his parents were laughing. "Wanna pay bocks?"

"Okay." Aislinn picked up the bag filled with blocks and the two kids made their way to the living room to play.

"That Aislinn," Abbey smiled. "Honest to God, she never stops. Why is the sun hot? Is the moon hot too? Why do dogs bark? Why can't Panda talk? Why is Nicky a boy? Why do you have boobies? Why can't kitties cry?"

"She is a little pistol. I bet you were like that when you were her age, always questioning everything."

"Probably. I know I used to drive Sister Mary Michael up the wall."

"Yeah, the nuns didn't like being questioned, did they?"

"Uh, no." They both looked down at their knuckles at the same time and started to laugh. Both had experience in the classroom of nuns, Abbey more so than Jed. Jed had attended a Catholic grammar school but had then been off to prep school, while all of Abbey's schooling had been religious in nature. "Between all questions and trying to beat the impure thoughts out of us we kept them on their toes."

Jed smiled thinking of the teenaged Abbey having impure thoughts. "Speaking of impure thoughts, didn't we talk about you modeling your Sacred Heart uniform for me after you found it in the attic?"

"I don't know about talking about it, but I do remember you fantasizing about me playing Catholic schoolgirl for you."

"Any chance of that happening?"

"Ask me at Halloween. Now come on we better go keep an eye on the kids before they both decide they want the blue block and it ends up getting thrown at somebody's head."

****

"Rise and shine, oh gorgeous one." Jed lifted the covers and tickled Abbey's toes.

"Jed, stop it," she mumbled sleepily and kicked at his hand to stop him.

"Come on, sweet ums, the fish are biting and I made French toast for breakfast."

"Jed, it's like the middle of the night." She squinted toward the window to see that it was the gray of early dawn. She pulled the covers more snuggly around herself and closed her eyes.

"Come on, Abs, the early bird gets the worm."

"Jed, if you make one more asinine comment like that I'm going to be forced to hit you. I'm on vacation. Go away and let me sleep."

"Okay, I didn't want to do this but you leave me no choice." Jed moved to the bedroom door and opened it. Two squealing excited children came running into the room. Jed lifted them onto the bed and they began to bounce up and down with enthusiasm.

"Come on, mumma, come on!" Aislinn knelt beside her mother her little fingers trying to push Abbey's eyelids open.

"We go fish, mumma." Nicholas began tugging on her hair.

"Josiah Bartlet, you're going to pay for this," Abbey grumbled, but she began to sit up rubbing the sleep from her eyes like a child.

"You're very cute when you're grumpy."

"Mumma cute," Nicholas agreed and laid his head on her lap.

Abbey smiled and yawned as she ruffled his hair.

****

Abbey was feeling a little more with it after a shower and a breakfast of French toast and fresh fruit and a nice big mug of coffee. She threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top and pulled her hair up into a ponytail to tuck up under her Sox baseball cap. She packed up some juice boxes and snacks and they were off to the lake, the children chattering excitedly all the way down, the dogs weaving in between their legs. The morning was cool and all was quiet still as they made their way through the woods down to the lake where a rowboat was tied up to the dock. Abbey put lifejackets on the children while Jed loaded their fishing poles into the boat.

"Panna come," Nicholas reached for his puppy. It was not a question.

"Yes, Panda and Max can come but if Panda isn't a good girl we'll have to bring her back." Abbey already knew Max would be fine, they had taken him out on a boat before. With the children and the dogs finally settled in the boat, Jed took his spot in the middle and picked up the oars.

"You want any help rowing?" Abbey asked.

"No, you keep your eye on the kids, I'll be fine."

"Aw, you know how I love it when you play all macho."

Jed turned back and grinned at her as he began to row the boat out toward a deserted island on the east side of the lake. The kids were enthralled with being out on the water. They tossed the crackers they had brought for a snack out to a passing family of ducks and Abbey had them scanning the shore for deer. But by the time Jed found a quiet cove that looked promising they were ready to fish.

"Abbey can you help Nicky with his pole?' Jed asked, while he worked on baiting Aislinn's.

"I can but as you well know, I'll help him hold the pole but I'm not baiting and I'm not taking any fish of the hook."

"Yes, dear, I know your fishing limitations."

"As long as we're clear."

Abbey sat with Nicholas between her legs to help him with his pole. She was more concerned with making sure the little boy didn't end up going overboard than she was making sure that he landed a fish. Panda sat at their feet chewing a bone Abbey had brought to keep the puppy occupied. Max had no such immature need but he sat in the bow of the boat with his own bone.

It didn't take the children long to realize that fishing was not quite as much fun as they thought it was going to be. In fact it was rather boring until Abbey watched Nicky's bobber dip under water.

"Nicky you have a bite!" Abbey excitedly showed him how to reel in his catch and with much help from his mother the little boy pulled the fish toward the boat. Then, with a quick tug of his pole Nicholas pulled the fish out of the water almost slapping it straight in Abbey's face. Abbey lurched back out of the way with a small shriek of dismay.

"Look, I gots a fish!" He beamed with pride.

"I see that, could you please get it out of mommy's face."

Jed laughed at the look of disgust on Abbey's face as the fish dangled in front of her. "Bring it over here, son. I'll take it off the hook for you."

Once the fish had been caught the twins were ready to deal with the boredom of waiting for a fish to bite. Before long they had each caught a couple of fish. Jed packed the fish on ice then turned to the kids.

"It's starting to get hot. Who's up for a swim?"

"Me! Me! Me!" Both kids' hands shot up in the air.

Jed rowed over to the small island and they pulled the boat up onto the sand. After a quick snack of juice, graham crackers, and grapes, they all stripped off their clothes to the bathing suits they wore underneath. Abbey and Jed sat on the sun-warmed sand and watched their children frolic in the shallow water of the lake, the gentle waves lapping their toes.

"That sun feels so good," Abbey tilted her head back in a move that thrust her bikini covered breasts upward. Jed's fingers itched to reach out and cup a gentle mound, but the sound of his children laughing and jabbering kept him from making the intimate move.

"Are you doing that to me on purpose?" He asked.

"Doing what?" Abbey was all innocence as she slipped her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose to look over at him.

"As if you didn't know." His eyes moved pointedly to her chest.

"I can't help it if you have a breast fetish."

"Oh, so now it's a breast fetish."

"Well, you are the one that likened them to a certain mountain range right over there across the lake."

Jed looked from the Grand Tetons looming up on the horizon then back to Abbey's arched chest.

"Well, both are pretty impressive," he admitted.

Abbey's laughter was cut short as she watched Aislinn stand over an unsuspecting Nicholas with a bucket full of sand.

"Aislinn Bartlet, don't you dare drop that on your brothers head."

Aislinn stood in front of the sandcastle she had built with her brother and turned watery eyes her mother's way. "I wanna be King," she pouted.

Nicholas shook his head negatively and stood up to face down his nemesis. "ME King," he stated adamantly.

Green fire snapped in Aislinn's eyes much as it did in her mother's when her Irish got up and Abbey watched as her hands came up to shove at Nicholas.

"Aislinn, STOP it." Abbey moved to the duo kneeling before them in the sand. "So, what's the problem here? You two built this castle together and Nicholas wants to be the king of the castle?"

Nicholas nodded his big blue eyes so serious.

"But Aislinn helped to build the castle too, didn't she?"

Again a solemn nod.

"So, don't you think she should get to rule the castle too?"

Nicholas nodded again showing that he thought that was fair but then his brow furrowed with confusion. "Boys is kings," he told his mother.

"That's right, boys are kings. So what do we call girls who rule the castle?"

"Queens." Nicky told her.

"That's right. Aislinn," she turned to her daughter. "Did you know that being a queen can be just as important as being a king? Would you like to be a queen and rule the castle just like Nicky?"

Aislinn nodded and sat down next to her brother. "Nicky, I be queen."

"What's all this king and queen stuff?" Jed asked with mock outrage. "Wouldn't one of you rather be President?"

"No." Nicky shook his head causing Abbey to laugh.

"But being President is better because people have to CHOOSE you to be their leader." Jed tried to persuade his son.

Nicholas leveled him a long look. "Daddy pwesdent, me king."

"So much for egalitarianism in the Bartlet household," Jed chuckled with amusement.

With the sand crisis averted and after playing in the water and on the beach for a while lunch time was drawing near so they packed everything up and headed back to the cabin. Then, while the children napped, Abbey relaxed on the deck reading while Jed cleaned the fish that they decided to cook and eat that evening.

Supper turned out to be a true family affair. Abbey set Jed and the kids up in the kitchen to prepare a salad together while she stood barefooted on the deck sipping wine and listening to Chopin while she grilled the fresh fish. The four of them dined that evening out on the deck watching the sun sink in a fiery ball behind the trees to the west. It was an enjoyable dinner, peaceful yet filled with the delightful ramblings of their excited children who were eager to rehash the day with their parents and remind them of all they had done.

"Okay, troops," Abbey looked at her watch. "It's getting late. It's almost time for a bath and bed, but who wants to help clean up first?"

Both kids were eager to get out of going to bed too soon and readily volunteered.

"Good, Daddy is going to clear the table and I'll start on the dishes."

"Me do disses. Come on Nicky." Aislinn pulled Nicholas into the kitchen and stood before the sink. Abbey pulled two chairs forward so they could stand and reach. By the time Jed started clearing the table she was standing between the two children washing the dishes while Aislinn and Nicholas played in the soapy water dunking the silverware Abbey had given them to wash over and over and giggling when they splashed each other or their mother.

"You sure they're going to need a bath?" Jed chuckled, as he eyed the soaking wet forms of his children.

"Want baf�want baf�" both children argued for their bath time, which they both enjoyed tremendously.

"Why don't you scoot them on up for a bath so I can finish up in here," Abbey urged him.

Jed noticed she left off the "in peace" at the end of her sentence. Having two toddlers who always wanted to help and who often simply made more of a mess could be exhausting.

"Okay, kids, you heard Mom. Let's go upstairs for a bath and pj's."

"Bubbles," Nicky took his hand.

"Yes, you can have bubbles."

"And story," Aislinn reminded him."

"Yes, sunshine, and a story."

****

The Bartlet family slept in the following morning, Jed and Abbey enjoying a rare late morning sleep. The sun, fresh air and activities had evidently wiped the children out. When the kids did finally awaken they dressed them and the small motorcade made it's way into Jackson Hole for a breakfast of sourdough pancakes at the famous "Jedidiah's House of Sourdough". In the rustic log cabin, set to look like the home of a mountain man the children could talk as loud as they wanted and Abbey and Jed didn't have to worry about them making a mess with their maple syrup.

With their bellies full, the Bartlet's wandered down the streets of Jackson Hole taking in the old west false fronted buildings and the old fashioned saloons. They stopped at Jackson Corner where the children were enthralled by the "Jackson Corner Shootout" a re-enactment of an old west shoot out that had them cringing and clapping with excitement at the same time.

Since they had planned on an evening out with the kids they weren't too upset when the children were not ready to take an early nap thanks to the late hour they had arisen. So, rather than fight the inevitable they decided to put the twins on the back of their rented bikes and take them for a ride on the mountain bike trails that ran through the woods and around the lake. In spite of Abbey's misgivings, Jed didn't have any problems staying on the trail this time. They spent an enjoyable couple of hours riding through the woods, the highlight of the afternoon coming when they were able point out a small herd of elk on the edge of a meadow to their children. By the time they finally returned to the cabin both kids had fallen asleep in their seats and they were able to carry them inside and let them sleep while they showered and changed for dinner.

Once the kids were awake Abbey dressed them in matching jeans, checkered western shirts and cowboy boots and they all headed back to the outskirts of town for a wild evening at the Bar J Chuckwagon. While they dined on barbecued chicken, corn on the cob and cornbread they watched an old fashioned western show. The kids especially enjoyed the rodeo parts of the show and were in awe at seeing a real buffalo up close.

"Daddy, Mumma, big cow go MOO." Nicholas pointed his half-eaten ear of corn at the huge brown woolly animal walking in front of them.

"That's not a cow, Nick, that's a buffalo." Jed told him.

"Buffo. Mumma, Aslinn, buffo." Nicholas squirmed in his seat leaning forward to try to touch the passing animal.

"Sit down, sweetheart." Abbey grabbed his belt loop and pulled him back down. "He's pretty big, isn't he?"

"Big," Aislinn agreed with wide eyes. The buffalo intrigued her but it was the barrel racing that really caught her interest. At the young age of 2 � she already had the love of "horsies" that all her elder sisters had shared.

By the time the motorcade wound it's way through the woods back to their cabin both children were fast asleep in their car seats. Jed leaned in and unstrapped Aislinn lifting the sleeping child into his arms and passing her on to Abbey with a few murmurs of protest from the cranky child. He then lifted Nicholas into his own arms and followed Abbey into the house.

"This was a nice day, Jed," Abbey said as they undressed their sleeping children to tuck them into bed.

"Yeah, it was fun getting to spend the whole day with the kids, but what would you say to an evening alone tomorrow, just you and me and no kids."

"Well," Abbey appeared to weigh her decision for a moment. "I might not be adverse to that. It depends on what you have in mind."

"You willing to risk it without knowing?" He raised a dangerous brow her way causing Abbey to smile.

"What's life without a few risks?"

TBC...