"She is a mortal danger to all men. She is beautiful without knowing it, and possesses charms that she's not even aware of. She is like a trap set by nature - a sweet perfumed rose in whose petals Cupid lurks in ambush! Anyone who has seen her smile has known perfection. She instills grace in every common thing and divinity in every careless gesture." ― Edmond Rostand

January 1961 - Indiana, World War Memorial Plaza

The three months that ensued their first introduction proceeded to be what Jed could only have described as hell on earth. The pure friendship had flourished into a deep attraction and the subsequent internal conflict proved to be a hurdle Jed found problematic. While he and Abbey had maintained a platonic decorum, they were all but inseparable.

"Did you know that the architecture was inspired by the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus?"

"One of the seven wonders of the world." Abbey added, in confirmation, as she and Jed wandered around the obelisk build that paid tribute to the veterans. A shared enjoyment of American culture and history acted as one of many bonds between them and Abbey often looked forward to their monthly culture expedition. If not, Jed and Abbey would have withered away in the library for the remainder of their student lives and been perfectly content to do so. "Jed," she paused, briefly, at one of the park benches dotted around the terrain. He ordinarily savoured any opportunity to educate Abbey and measure her expertise but his mannerisms hinted that his mind lay elsewhere. While he had always been absent-minded, Abbey suspected it was more than that. "Sit down." Hesitation rendered him addled, for a brief second, until Jed accepted the seat she patted beside her on the bench. "Your mind has been elsewhere all afternoon. Is it your father?" What little Jed had confided in Abbey relative to the Bartlet family had her troubled, more than she cared to admit. He hadn't explicitly stated it, and she was cautious to question him, but Abbey feared the relationship Jed shared with his father was riddled with abuse.

Jed swallowed, hard. "No." How he had so easily opened his heart and mind to Abbey, even in such private matters, was what concerned him. It was odd but, for once, his relationship with his father was the least of his concern. "Abbey, do you believe in divine intervention?"

Abbey contemplated the peculiar question. As a Catholic, she was expected to... but Abbey wasn't devout. "It depends on the situation. Why?"

He leaned forward and rubbed his forehead with his hand, and exhaled heavily. One-on-one conversations were not his forte. He could converse socially with five people at once and remember what was said, but intimate confession was much harder for him. The words were beyond his own comprehension, a cruel experience for someone as eloquent as Jed. "Abbey, I made a decision… I suppose you could call it a resolution, or even a revelation -" he diverted from the point but quickly backtracked. "And it concerns you, almost as much as it does myself."

She frowned, "Okay."

"Abbey, I decided to switch my major." When the words reached his own ears, Jed heard how lame it must have sounded. Her lack of response confirmed that the epiphany Jed had experienced left much to be desired. He was reminded of the advice his brother had provided him. Even at sixteen, Jonathan Bartlet was far more intuitive where it concerned the fairer sex. "You see, since the moment I met you, my whole world turned upside down." She forced him to question his entire existence. "What I had envisioned for my future suddenly didn't make the sense it once made and -" he paused, rarely so lost for words but accustomed to the effect Abbey had on him. "I realised that, as important as my faith has always been and always will be, I cannot devote my life to the church. That priesthood, perhaps, isn't the true call I believed was inside of me since my mother introduced me to the faith." Private discussion with his mother and her assurance that her pride would not dwindle a fraction if he should divert from Catholicism had directed Jed to the same conclusion. Even his father had expressed approval, when Jed hinted at possible re-evaluation of his future. "So, I decided to transfer my major to American Studies and minor in Theology. I already discussed the matter with my professors and they're confident someone with my ability won't be held back a year."

She contemplated her reaction before she produced one. "Well, that's wonderful. I'm very happy for you, Jed, but I don't quite see how your major would affect me." In her heart of hearts, Abbey subconsciously fathomed what Jed had hinted at. She was determined, however, that he be the one to say it.

"Of course it affects you, Abbey." Jed replied, rather bluntly. She raised her eyebrow at how abrasive he became in public. "As a priest in the Roman Catholic Church, clerical celibacy is demanded. You said so yourself, the day we met!" They had shared many-a-debate on why faith should or should not dictate the bond so personal between husband and wife; Jed declined to understand why Abbey would behave quite so densely. Unless, the chemistry between them had been an illusion of his own creation. After all, he wasn't anywhere near as sophisticated in matters of the heart. Abbey had endured a break-up with her boyfriend, Ron, mere weeks before she started at Saint Mary's. On the other hand, women were an alien breed to Jed. He had never even had a childhood sweetheart.

"Jed, I'm afraid I don't understand -"

"I'm free to marry you, Abbey! Without the priesthood, I am free to marry whomever I choose."

"And they say chivalry is dead." Her musical tone was filled with sarcasm. At best, she had assumed Jed would confess the self-evident crush he had involuntarily developed but it seemed cupid had a different scenario in mind.

Displeased with the sudden turn the conversation had barrelled around, not unlike the prelude to a car wreck, Jed rose to his feet and paced back and forth a couple laps. "Abbey, if you would just hear me out -" The romantic conversation he pictured had slid way off-track.

"Who said I wanted to marry you, anyway?" The inner feminist revolted within Abbey and she bit back with an attack far worse than her bark. In all the late hours of their library confessional, Abbey had disclosed how important it was that she build the foundation for her medical career before she weave her way into any kind of commitment. Members of the opposite sex rarely understand why Abbey strived so hard for such a tall ambition but Jed was different, or at least she had been convinced he was.

"Abigail." The strict tone with which Jed addressed her sounded like that of her father and Abbey bristled at the use of her full name. "Try not to be so petulant." Jed scolded her behaviour and Abbey childishly mimicked him. In actuality, she was nowhere near as offended as she appeared. He dutifully composed himself and levelled his voice off, "What I meant to say was that I made a very important decision… and that I happen to like you, an awful lot in fact." With the words finally spoken, the mountain had been lifted from his shoulders and Jed held his baited breath for a reciprocative comment that never came.

"Thank you."

A moment or so passed, with Jed uncertain he had heard her correctly. His blank expression quickly reversed into one of intense acrimony. "Thank you. Is that all you have to say to me?" Offended by her off-hand reply, Jed was on the cusp of explosion. The power Abbey possessed infuriated him, the lack of control he had over his own emotion bothered him to no end. Worst of all, she feigned oblivion. Whenever she wore her favourite sweater than enhanced her bust, or the essence of perfume at the nape of her neck, and, especially, when she arrived at the library with her hair freshly washed, not yet dried. He almost drowned in the sensual atmosphere of her very presence. She all but consumed him, yet she continued on with life as if it were normal. He confessed the lust he had clamoured to suppress and she offered a mere 'thank you' in return.

"No." Her voice and its tone so basic reeled him back into the world.

"What?" Jed snapped.

Calmly, Abbey rose to her feet and looked him square in the eye. "I said, no, that isn't all I have to say." She paused, in preparation for him to fly further off the handle but all he could do was breath heavily with apprehension. "I like you, too." The seconds passed by, and Abbey became the one who awaited a response to the words Jed had seemed desperate to hear. "Jed, did you hear what I said?"

"Yeah…" he trailed off, in the kind of voice that caused Abbey to wonder if he was fully lucid.

A small smile flashed upon her lips and Abbey softened, "Jed." He hummed in reply. Apparently, his brother had been correct in the assumption that Jed was incredibly obtuse in business of relationships. Her testimonial that she, too, identified the attraction that had whipped Jed into a frenzy found him remarkably subdued. Abbey retained her smirk, "I said, I like you too, Jethro." Evidently distracted, Jed failed to deliver the rejoinder of - "Don't call me that." - in reference to the pet name she mercilessly teased him with. "Would you like to kiss me now?" His blue eyes became electrified, with an intensity that stimulated Abbey. He finally rewarded her patience when he slowly, but surely, inched toward her and caressed her lips with his own. Her kiss was as divine as Jed had ever envisioned it would be.