Abbey sat on the edge of her fiancé's bed, watching him tie his tie in front of the mirror. "I'm surprised you're not more nervous, babe," she commented.

"I've known Father Cavanaugh my whole life. We've always been very close. He's the reason I wanted to be a priest in the first place. I have nothing to worry about with him. But you he doesn't know as well. You're the one who would need to be nervous, not me."

"Really?" she asked, casually examining her fingernails. "Because I don't have any problem lying to a priest, but I've got a feeling that you do."

Jed turned to face her. "What do you mean?"

Abbey glanced back up. "You know what he's going to ask us, right?"

"He just wants to make sure that we're practicing Catholics—which we are—and that we intend to raise our children in the Church—which we will. Right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, and that's the easy stuff. I've got a feeling there's at least one more question that you'll have a little trouble with."

"What?"

"God, for a summa cum laude graduate, you're sure dense. He's a Catholic priest interviewing a young couple before they get married. You don't think he's going to ask if we've engaged in premarital sex?"

"Oh god." The color drained from his face.

She continued, "And you don't think that if we say 'yes,' he isn't going to ask if we've used birth control?"

Jed slumped down onto the bed next to her, his tie falling out of the knot he hadn't finished tying. "Oh my god."

Abbey stood up and smirked as she tied the tie for him. "It'll be fine, Jed. When he asks if we've had sex, we just say no. Maybe act a little shocked at the question to sell it a little better."

He looked up at her. "Abbey, I've never lied to a priest before. And I definitely can't do it in front of Father Cavanaugh!"

"You really didn't think about this before right now?" she asked in slight disbelief.

"No! I mean, I haven't exactly been forthcoming in Confession ever since you sucked me into your world of sin, but this is different!"

"I would be offended at that, but I know you've enjoyed our spiral to hell just as much as I have."

"Abbey, I can't do this." His eyes were full of apprehension. Abbey could tell that the fear of disappointing the Lord and succumbing to the Devil that she had so believed when she was a child was still so real for her Jethro. As brilliant and strong a man as he was, he was still a boy in so many ways.

She took his face in her hands, holding his gaze to hers. "Jed, listen to me. Do you want to marry me in the sight of God and stay with me for all of eternity as my husband?"

"Yes, of course."

"And do you intend to live your life in God's image, to carry forth the teachings of Christ in all that we do, passing those beliefs and values on to our children?"

He nodded.

Abbey kissed him softly. "Then that's all that really matters. Personally, I'd like to think that God prefers fornicators who love each other and treat the world right, rather than celibate jerks who pass judgment on others."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him, sighing into her dress. "I agree."

She ran her fingers through his hair to relax him. "I know you do. If you didn't, we wouldn't be here, five days away from our wedding. So what are we gonna do?"

"We're gonna lie to a priest."

"That's right, boyfriend."

They left to go see the priest, and Jed fidgeted nervously the whole time. Abbey tried to distract him in the car by singing along to the radio. Aretha Franklin's Respect seemed to be playing all the time, and even though Abbey sounded nothing like Aretha, she liked to sing along nonetheless. Jed always laughed when Abbey tried to be a soul singer, and each chuckle he let escape made him feel a little calmer.

Abbey made sure to keep ahold of his hand from the moment they left the car to the second they entered St. Michael's. Jed knew his way around very well, having been an altar boy there in his youth. Abbey had been there a few times before when she and Jed had gone to church during her previous visit.

Father Cavanaugh was waiting for them. "Here comes the happy couple now!" he greeted cheerfully. He patted Jed on the shoulder and kissed Abbey on the cheek. "It's so nice to see you again, Abbey. Why don't we go into my office to have a chat, hmm?"

Jed and Abbey followed the father into the office, which was wall to wall books on dark wood shelves. As if she hadn't been sure before, this was confirmation that this man was certainly a huge influence in her fiancé's life. She could see why Jed had been drawn to this life if this had been his idea of what the priesthood was all about.

Abbey took Jed's hand again as they sat down in front of Father Cavanaugh's desk. The priest noticed and gave a small smile. He did enjoy counseling couples before their weddings, and Jed Bartlet was always such a special boy.

"Well, let's get started, shall we? I usually like to have a few of these meetings before I marry a couple, so I can get to know them. But you've both been away at school, so that wasn't feasible. Congratulations on your degrees, by the way. Your mother tells me you both graduated with high honors?"

"Jed graduated summa cum laude, and but I was one bad lab grade away. Magna for me," Abbey responded.

"A fine achievement regardless," Father Cavanaugh said with a smile.

"Thank you," Jed replied.

The priest continued, "I'd also like to let you know that I've worked it out with Father O'Donnell at St. Joseph's in Lincoln, and he has graciously agreed for me to perform the actual marriage ceremony for you, but he will be performing the mass."

Abbey grinned, trying to ignore how sweaty Jed's hand was getting in her grasp. "That will be wonderful, thank you. It is very important for Jed and me that you be the one to marry us, Father. But we did think that due to the difference in religion within the Bartlet family that we should get married in my church. We're so happy it's all working out."

"Candidly, I must say I too am very proud and honored to be performing this marriage for you both. I've known Jed almost all his life, and the time I've spend with you, Abbey, has done nothing but convince me that you two are very well suited for each other."

"Thank you very much, Father," Jed said, finally speaking up. Hearing Father Cavanaugh say those words meant a lot to him.

"Now, because I know you both, I don't need to conduct a formal interview to ensure your Catholicism and devotion to the church. I can assume that you intend to remain Catholic and raise your children in the church?"

"Of course," Abbey replied.

"Wonderful. Now why don't we go through the service, so you both know what to expect, hmm?"

Father Cavanaugh described the ceremony he would perform for them on Sunday. It was all very straightforward, though they would go through it more thoroughly at the rehearsal at St. Joseph's on Saturday. He asked Jed and Abbey if they had any questions for him, and since they didn't, they thanked the father and left.

As soon as they stepped outside, Jed kissed Abbey hard on the lips.

"Whoa there, what was that for?" she asked in surprise.

"I just love you so much. And he didn't ask us about sex! We didn't have to lie!"

"No, it seems we didn't. I think he probably has an idea of the real answer to that question, and he loves you too much to put you in such an awkward position," Abbey reasoned.

Jed frowned. "You think he knows?"

Abbey shrugged. "Well, even if he doesn't, God knows. So really, that's the important thing. We get to burn in hell forever, doesn't that sound nice?" she joked.

"At least we'll be together," he replied.

She laughed. They walked back to the car and drove back to the Bartlet home. They were in such a good mood, they both sang along to the radio. This time it was I'm a Believer by The Monkees.

It was nearly dinnertime by the time Jed parked his car in his parents' driveway. Abbey needed to get her things repacked so she could drive back to her parents' house the next day. She went right upstairs when they went into the house.

Mary Bartlet came out from the kitchen when she heard Jed come in. "Jed, dear, there's some mail here for you." She shakily handed him an envelope.

Jed took the mail cautiously. His mother's usually smiling face was gravely serious. She placed her hand over her mouth and took a hitched breath. Jed looked down at the envelope. He suddenly understood his mother's expression. He opened it and read the letter quickly.

"Jed?" Mary asked hesitantly, "Is it…?"

He looked up at her, trying to disguise the cold shiver that started at the back of his neck and moved its way down, taking residence in the pit of his stomach. "Yeah."

Mary's eyes spilled the tears she had bravely tried to hold back. She couldn't stand there anymore. She hurried past her eldest son and ran upstairs, slamming her bedroom door behind her.

Jed was left alone to read and reread the letter. He didn't know what else to do.

Abbey came downstairs upon hearing a door slam. "Jed? Is everything alright?"

He looked at her and felt his heart shatter into a thousand pieces. "Abbey." His voice cracked. "Abbey, I got drafted."

She felt her knees grow weak. She collapsed onto the nearby sofa. "Are…are you sure?"

He handed her the letter, which she read with a furrowed brow. "It looks pretty definite. I'm supposed to report next month."

"But we won't be here next month. We won't even be living in this country next month," she said.

"I'm pretty sure the U.S. military doesn't care if we've got plans, honey," he replied bitterly. "But I'll go into the draft office tomorrow and see what I can do."

He came to sit beside her and put his arms around her. Abbey clutched him tightly and rested her head on his chest, trying to keep from crying as she listened to his heartbeat.