"What are you thinking about?"
"Tomorrow."
With a hopeful smile spread across his face, he turned to observe the vast sky that covered them and the endless ocean sprawled out beneath them. Her smile was triggered by his, the sentiment, the hope, the blind faith. She knew just how hard this was on him, and she was determined to make the transition as smooth as possible. She would be there, keys in hand, when he was ready to re-learn to drive and take back the wheel, and she would stand beside him when he walked into the bank for the first time in over eight years. She would smile proudly as he brandished his credit card and handed it to the cashier at Shaw's and she would laugh as he jumped at the chance to tip a waitress, thrilled to once again carry cash in his pockets. There were so many experiences waiting to be relived, so many habits to get back into.
When they arrived at the farm, she knew how thrilled he would be to see his daughters, despite what he may have claimed. She knew how much he was looking forward to making up for lost time with them, and with her. He planned to reimburse her in full for every time he had been called to the Sit Room, every moment C.J. had interrupted, every anniversary they'd had to spend apart, and every promise he had broken. Lord knows there were many.
The evening before, Jed Bartlet made promises he knew he would keep. It was a good feeling to be able to do that again, to be able to keep his word, knowing that nothing would get in the way. Come hell, high water, or matters of state, all promises would be kept. The country would come second.
That night, he and Abbey had stayed up late reminiscing with C.J., Will, Kate, Margaret, Carol, Ginger, Debbie, and Charlie. They relayed the story of their first day in the White House to Will and Kate, who were more than sorry they had missed it. They discussed their plans for Life Post-White House. Charlie discussed his acceptance to law school at Georgetown, and Will admitted, albeit reluctantly, that he was planning to move to Oregon and run for Congress. This, of course, prompted an immediate inquisition directed at Kate, who eventually divulged her intentions of accompanying Will to Oregon. She had no idea yet what she would do, but for the time being, she planned to help out when and where she could on Will's campaign. Ginger and Carol had accepted jobs in the Santos administration, working with their old friend Donna in the East Wing. Margaret, who couldn't bring herself to work for any other administration, had decided to take some time off and devote more time to her husband and their baby. Both Jed and Abbey were thrilled to hear about C.J.'s plans, especially that she had taken a leap of faith and made a commitment to Danny. It was about time.
Around 11:30 p.m., Abbey kicked them all out and they went willingly. A long day awaited them, and few were ready to embrace it just yet. Namely, the President himself. This Abbey knew all too well and she had every intention of helping him see the positive side of their impending retirement.
Once they had retreated into the bedroom, Abbey tossed her jacket onto the bed, collapsed on the couch, and made no delays in kicking off her heels. Jed unbuttoned his shirt and made his way into the bathroom. When he emerged, all traces of his presidential exterior had been shed in favor of his most comfortable pair of pajamas. He stole a glance at her before walking toward the bed.
"That what you're wearing to bed?"
Without looking at him, she lifted her feet onto the table and said, "Don't plan on sleeping for quite awhile."
He dropped the pillow he had been fussing with and raised an eyebrow in her direction. At the discontinuation of his movements, she turned to lock her confident eyes with his curious ones.
"Do you?"
Jed shook his head slowly and, within seconds, found himself standing beside the couch.
"I sleep when you sleep, Sweet Knees," He said with a familiar sparkle in his eyes.
Abbey stood up and moved closer to him.
"Last night in the White House…thought we'd go out with a bang."
She leaned in and his lips moved quickly to close the gap between them. Just as quickly, she pulled away and began backing away from him.
"Give me thirty seconds," Abbey said, flashing him a seductive smile.
He raised no argument. She took his silence as a sign of approval and scurried into the bathroom. She resurfaced with five seconds to spare. She had not freshened up or donned any kind of special garment, as he mutely predicted. Instead, the garments she held were two long, wool coats. He stared at her, so lost in his confusion that he nearly neglected to catch the coat she tossed to him. She slipped her coat on and laughed when she saw him standing in a motionless state.
"Well? You gonna put that on or what?"
He shrugged and did as he was told. No sense arguing with her when she so clearly had the upper hand. When he had met her demands, she took his arm, led him out of the bedroom and guided him through the Residence as they traveled toward their destination.
"You are a wild and unpredictable woman, Abigail Bartlet," Jed commented as he was being dragged through the halls.
She smirked and responded, "That, coupled with my unparalleled charm and magnetism, is what I suspect keeps you coming back for more."
"Let's not forget your yet unequaled ability to finish a crossword puzzle before me, a record I plan to put to shame in the coming months, by the way."
"Uh-huh."
She unhooked her arm from his then and instead grabbed his hand. Not ten seconds later, they found themselves standing alone on the Truman Balcony. The glacially cold weather did not concern either of them. He looked at her quizzically and she merely smiled slyly in response, which only amplified his curiosity.
"Abbey."
She put her fingers to her lips.
"Shh. Just wait."
"Wait for what? What is going…"
"Jed." Abbey looked up at him pleadingly. "Do you trust me?"
"I trust you with my life, but other things, not so much."
She rolled her eyes and lifted her wrist to squint down at her watch.
"What? Did you hire one of those planes to fly by with a big sign attached? 'A Fond Farewell to the Outgoing President!'"
"Yeah, 'cause that's something you'd be able to see in the dark," she scoffed.
"But the thought did cross your mind."
"It may have." She glanced down at her watch, then took a deep breath. "Here we go."
They gazed out into the vast landscape before them when their eyes were gifted with the astonishing sight of bright, colorful fireworks launched into the cold night air. The spectacle was enough to leave both of them momentarily speechless. But, with them, that could only last so long.
"You did this?" Jed asked her, in awe.
"No, some very talented pyrotechnicians crafted this spectacular feast for the eyes, I only orchestrated the event."
He shook his head, a sign of his patent amazement at the miraculous woman standing beside him.
"You are something."
She attempted to conceal her grin and shrugged her shoulders.
"I thought we'd go out with a bang."
He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest. They kept their eyes riveted to the scene playing out before them, each startlingly bright color capturing their full attention.
"Fantastic," Jed whispered.
She smiled up at him, pleased by his astounded reaction. It wasn't often she was able to surprise him like this, or impress him. She missed seeing that childlike wonder glimmering in his shining eyes. That was something that had been absent in his life for years now. Her goal was to bring it back, for good.
After a few minutes, the glorious fireworks came to their inevitable conclusion, leaving behind scattered wisps of smoke in the air.
"Well, what did you think? Worth battling the cold for?" Abbey questioned.
"That, my dear, was worth my presidency." He kissed her forehead gently. "Thank you."
"A feeble attempt at rewarding you for running the country."
"On the contrary, it was quite an admirable, even successful, attempt. And, as usual, I am flabbergasted at your creative abilities."
He held her close and gazed down at her adoringly, a look she easily matched. He ran his hands up and down her back and she kept her arms firmly locked around his torso.
"I swear to God, Abbey, I am gonna make the last eight years up to you. In half the time."
"And I'll welcome it," Abbey replied. "In fact, I'll encourage it."
"You deserve better than broken promises."
She smiled.
"You have the rest of our lives to prove it to me."
"From now on, I am not gonna miss a thing," Jed pledged to her.
"I'll hold you to that."
He gently pushed her hair out of her face and caressed her cheek softly.
"We've been through a lot in the past eight years."
"Yeah," Abbey answered, with only a hint of sarcasm. "And just look at us now."
"All the things that nearly tore us apart…"
She shook her head fervently.
"Not nearly. Not even close."
"…Earth-shattering arguments, legal battles, medical crises. You very nearly lost me to a gun-shot wound and I nearly lost you to…"
He trailed off, unable to find the words. She closed her eyes at the painful memory.
"God, Abbey, when I think of everything I've put you through…"
"No." She placed her fingers to his lips. "Don't nail yourself to that cross, Jed. Nobody's trying to crucify you. You did what you had to do, you made the decisions you had to make. They weren't always the right ones, but they were always necessary at the time. That's all done now, and this is what we do. We move on. We move forward. We don't forget, we look past it. We look past it and we see the love, the commitment, the passion, and the promise. We see a future, however long it may be, that is brighter than all the rays to sunlight to pass through the atmosphere. We've achieved all of our goals, and that in itself is a legacy to be proud of. Now, all goals aside, we have finally been granted time that can be devoted entirely to each other, and to the family we have created. This is not the part where we dwell on past mistakes, or even past triumphs. This is the part where we embrace the future and all it may have in store for us. We've caught every curveball God has thrown at us thus far. Surely we have a few innings left. I'm ready." She took a deep breath, drowning in the glistening pools of his eyes. "Are you?"
His only response was to kiss her with all the passion suppressed inside of him, both of them shedding a few stray tears caused by the sheer emotion of the kiss itself. The love he felt for this woman could not be measured by any standards. It ran deeper than any other love and was, in its profound untarnished state, unique in all the world. Selfish and somewhat egotistical as it was, he took pride in his certainty that theirs was a love stronger than all others, past, present, and future. There was a considerable part of him that enjoyed knowing that their love was matchless, and no other person on earth experienced anything quite like it. That said, there was also a considerable part of him who pitied these poor unfortunates, unable to know and feel such magnificent beauty.
And he owed her everything. Had she not shown up one day and snatched his uncertain dreams of becoming a man of God, he would have accomplished nothing. Every member of his White House staff owed their jobs to their First Lady. She was ravishing, brilliant, candid, witty, energetic, and altogether beguiling, and to this day. She hadn't changed. A little older, a little wiser, a little weary, but for all intents and purposes, the same. Still, she was the only person he could be completely honest with, completely and utterly himself. She was the only person who could teach him exactly who he was when he lost track and veered off-course. She knew precisely what to say, down to the exact words and phrasing, to reassure him, convince him, amuse him, comfort him, and love him. She was, in the most literal terms possible, his refuge, his sanctuary, his healer. Nothing he had ever done would have been achievable without her, all exaggerations aside. Admitting her supreme role in his existence was the most truthful he could ever be. Although he abhorred the cliché, he found it necessary to confess that he was nothing without her. It had been Abbey who convinced him that his full potential was so much greater than he had ever imagined or been given credit for. Abbey had been the one to guide him through the dark stages of his relationship with his father. She was the reason he had come out of it so well. Abbey, and Abbey alone, had taught him how to love. She had taught him how to love, how to express that love in its many forms and how to let love steer his footsteps and rule his actions. In so many ways, she had played God, shaping and molding his personality until his true nature emerged. She wiped him clean of most of the residue left over from his wounding past. She had given him the gift of his own life, a glorious alternative to what his life had been and the life that had been waiting for him at the end of the path he ultimately abandoned, thanks to her.
It was often a mysterious to him why she loved him as deeply as she did. Sure, he was a genius. Handsome, charming, romantic. But Abbey…Abbey was, all flaws included, an absolute dream, a cut above the cut, the only candle in a world without electricity. He thanked God as often as he could remember to for bestowing her love upon him. That was the greatest gift God had ever given him.
She touched his face lightly with her hand, extracting him from his reverie. He smiled down at her, his eyes reflecting all the love and gratitude he had felt for over forty years.
"I lost you somewhere, huh?" Abbey asked, quietly.
"I was just thinking about you."
Her lips curved into an excited, adorable little smile that warmed his heart.
"Me?"
"Yes, you, Hot Pants," Jed said with a smirk.
"What about me?"
"I think somewhere amidst all my scattered thoughts, I was trying to measure the capacity of my love for you."
She was genuinely touched, as she always was by his love, and it showed.
"How'd that work out for you?" Abbey questioned, in a timid voice that barely betrayed her sentiment.
"The capacity is vast and unlimited, it seems. There is not a unit of measurement in the cosmos that can do it justice."
Now unable to conceal her boldly apparent sentiment, she wrapped her arms around his neck until their bodies were melded together.
"Every time we think we have measured our capacity to meet a challenge, we look up and we're reminded that that capacity may well be limitless," she whispered. "One of Toby's lines, isn't it?"
He nodded.
"And yet remarkably relevant to the moment at hand."
"That's one for the refrigerator."
"Yeah, we'll hang it up right next to Zoey's one and only A on a math test," Jed quipped.
"Good thinking," She replied, tersely, having decided her lips were better used for other things.
Following the end of yet another kiss, Abbey pulled away, covering the hands that rested on her waist with her own.
"We should go inside. We don't want to be passing the torch while nursing pneumonia tomorrow now, do we?"
"No." Jed shook his head. "I've got other plans."
And so the night had continued, in its unadulterated bliss and certain glory, a worthy evening to precede the day that would soon be upon them. A day that was sweeter now, having followed it. All the uncertainty and dread was washed away and replaced by a bittersweet enthusiasm, a reconciliation of two vastly contradictory emotions.
With the ascent of Air Force One into the sky, all qualms and all traces of reluctance were left on the ground.
He stood then and approached the window. Abbey smiled faintly as she watched him gaze into the great abyss, hoping to find more than helplessness and idleness in his future. Somewhere out there was the rest of his life. Their life. God had granted them a tomorrow and was repaid with inestimable gratitude. There had been moments in the last eight years when she doubted this particular future, though she had never lost hope. Hope had served her well, and now it was going to serve him well. She was done with hope. Now, she had faith. He was the substance of things hoped for, and their love was evidence of things not seen. Never had a marriage embodied such an intense reliance on faith and found success in their endeavors having embodied it. She stood up to stand beside him, as she always had, and silently recited a prayer of awe and appreciation. The truth was, they'd both had their struggles with God in the past, never more than in the last eight years, but he had guided them home safely. They had lost a few things, and a few people, along the way, but they, as one entity, were intact.
This time, she did not reach for his hand. She'd had enough of that. She hooked her arm through his and pushed herself up on her toes ever so slightly. When she had accomplished just the right height, she leaned in and kissed him tenderly on the cheek. He turned his head and grinned. He'd had quite enough of that. He bent forward and pressed his lips against hers.
"That's more like it," Abbey whispered.
Jed nodded, then kissed her again. When they broke apart, she turned her body into his and hooked her other arm through his as well, resting her head on his shoulder. He planted a kiss on her forehead and dropped his head on top of hers. Together, they gazed out the window into tomorrow. No phones ringing, no interns running in and out, nothing that required their immediate attention. The schedule for the rest of their lives was completely blank, for the time being. They would have time to fill it in later. This moment would not be fleeting, as moments had generally been for the past eight years. This moment would last.
THE END.