A/N: I own nothing, I just like to play with the President and the First Lady on occasion. Jed and Abbey are my favourite TV couple, and I simply adore them. Title was taken from Taylor Swift's "You Are In Love".

There was nothing Jed Bartlet loved more than to spend his Sunday afternoons after church in the library. It was blessedly free from crowds, loud noise, and most importantly, his distracting roommate, who had seemed to make it his mission to distract Jed from his studies no matter the cost, making this the ideal place for him to focus. He gave the librarian a warm smile as he walked past, returning her friendly wave, and made his way over to the Reference section where he had spent nearly every Sunday since he had arrived on campus. It was always the area with the least amount of foot traffic, something he found odd but was thankful for nonetheless, and he could already feel the stress of the week slipping away.

He'd made it his mission to read every book that was on the shelf in the Reference section, though he couldn't have explained why, and as he made his way to the shelf he had left off on during his last visit, he smiled to himself. He'd made it to the medical textbooks, though he would be the first to admit that a lot of the material went over his head, but he didn't see the harm in reading it. After all, one never knew what would prove useful later in life. In any case, it certainly couldn't hurt, and—

"Excuse me?"

He turned, the quiet voice startling him slightly, and stepped back from the shelf he had been examining.

"Oh, sorry. Am I in your way?"

The girl in front of him shook her head, smiling briefly.

"No. In fact, I was wondering if you could help me with something."

He frowned, but nodded.

"Sure."

"Could you hand me that book?" she asked, pointing.

Jed followed her finger to the top shelf, the large medical textbook inches above the top of his head, and inwardly sighed. It would have to be the thickest book on the highest shelf. But still, he didn't have it in him to refuse, and he raised up on his toes, trying to get purchase on the spine. It slipped through his fingers and he frowned, thinking.

"Be right back."

He disappeared before the girl had a chance to do more than nod, and when he finally located the small step-stool, he smiled, picking it up quickly. The girl was standing in the same place he'd left her, though she was now looking at a few other books on the shelf, and as he stepped up onto the stool, she glanced at him.

"You didn't have to go through all this trouble," she said, her voice carefully quiet.

He pulled the book from the shelf, not surprised in the least by it's heaviness, and as he stepped back on the ground, he shook his head.

"No trouble at all," he answered with a smile.

He held the book out to her and when it fell from her grasp, she fumbled, trying to catch it before it fell. To her credit, she very nearly managed it, but it slipped through her fingers, landing on his foot with a loud thud, and he bit down on his bottom lip to fight the groan of pain he could feel building.

"Oh, god!" she knelt down, picking up the book quickly, "I'm so sorry!"

He forced a smile, shaking his head.

"It's okay. No harm done."

She clutched the book to her chest, her eyes locking on his worriedly. Her very pretty, very bright, green eyes, he noticed. Wait...what? Where did that come from?

"Well, thank you again. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome."

He gave her a smile, and she returned it, making him realise just how attractive she really was, and he could have sworn he felt his skin burning. What was wrong with him? He didn't have long to ponder it, however, because she disappeared from between the shelves just as quickly as she had arrived, and as he pulled his own book from the shelf, he shook his head in amusement. Though he would have denied it to anyone who had asked, he couldn't help his immense curiosity about the girl with eyes that he could have stared at for eternity.

"Come on, Jed! It's one party! All you ever do is study. It won't kill you to get out and be social for once!"

Jed sighed, glancing up from his book to look at his roommate slowly.

"I really need to study. This won't—"

"One party, Jed. You haven't left the room except to go to class or the library since we got here. I know you have to be perfect and pure, but you're not a priest yet. You're young, at least act like it for once in your life!"

Though there was nothing he wanted to do less, he knew that Jeremy would never let this go, and he rolled his eyes, running his hand through his hair.

"You're not gonna shut up about this until I go, are you?"

The look on Jeremy's face was answer enough, and Jed closed the book, placing it on his bed carefully.

"Fine, I'll go."

How could he have been so stupid? He knew he should have never let Jeremy talk him into this, and as Jed stood in the corner of the room, holding the lukewarm cup of soda in his hand, he tried to think of a way to slip out without being noticed. He watched the party-goers with a curious fascination, studying their interactions as though it were an academic lesson, and in a way, he supposed it was. He had never consumed alcohol, but he did find it incredibly interesting how something so easily obtained and created had the power to lower one's inhibitions, something he hoped to avoid at all costs.

Jed briefly wondered where Jeremy had gone, after all it was his fault Jed was even at this party, but he quickly realised that it didn't matter. He was surprisingly enjoying himself as he observed the interactions of everyone around him, and he smiled to himself as he took a drink from his cup. Just as he was preparing to move someplace that gave him a better vantage point, a figure swept into his line of vision, and he frowned in concentration. Was it possible?

Looking at her closely, the long mahogany hair, the pale skin, her toned figure, he was almost positive that it was the girl from the library, and he made his way closer to her before he had even realised it happened. She was standing next to the table that held an assortment of beverages and he quickly drained his soda, tossing the cup into a nearby trash can. He walked up to the table, deliberately not looking in her direction, and as he reached for another plastic cup, he tried to control the frantic beating of his heart.

She didn't appear to notice him, her attention focused on choosing a drink from the cast array of options, and as she picked up a cup, he knew if he wanted to talk to her, he would have to make a move on his own.

"Abbey!"

She turned at the sound of the voice, walking away quickly, and Jed inwardly berated himself as he watched her move through the crowd. He'd missed his chance, not that he was even sure why he cared. It wasn't like he knew anything about her and even if he did, he had no reason to think she would ever want to be his friend. He'd helped her with a book, that was all. There was nothing more to it.

Sighing, he pulled out the pack of cigarettes he'd thankfully had the foresight to bring with him, and as he made his way to the back door of the house, he scanned the room one last time for Jeremy. Though he knew it shouldn't surprise him, his roommate was nowhere to be found, and he stepped out into the night, shaking his head. He needed to think, and it was much too loud in the house for that to happen.

He smacked the pack of cigarettes against his palm a few times before opening it and shaking one out, pulling it between his teeth carefully. Reaching into his pocket, he was annoyed to find that his lighter wasn't there, and he frowned as he tried to think of where he had left it. After several seconds of searching, he realised that he had left it in his dorm room, and he rolled his eyes in irritation. Maybe this was God's way of telling him to quit smoking.

"Those things will kill you, you know."

Jed glanced up, his eyes landing on the very girl he had just been standing next to at the drink table, and he pulled the cigarette from his mouth as he looked at her.

"Yeah, I know."

"I'm serious," she said, taking a step closer, "Lung cancer, throat cancer, gum decay...take your pick."

She ticked them off on her fingers, raising her cup to her lips, and he frowned at her.

"Sounds like you've been reading that book."

She smiled, nodding at him once.

"I have, but that's not why I know that. It's fairly common knowledge now."

Jed nodded, but said nothing, trying to make sense of the situation he currently found himself in.

"You need a light?"

Of all the things he had expected her to say, that hadn't been one of them. She reached into the pocket of her jacket, pulling out a small silver lighter and flicked it, holding it out to him. He leaned closer, trying not to notice the way her green eyes were accentuated by the flame, and lit the cigarette quickly. He inhaled slowly, careful to blow the smoke away from her, and he nodded at her slowly as she placed the lighter back into her jacket.

"Thanks."

She smiled again. She had a beautiful smile. She was beautiful, if he were being completely honest.

"It's the least I could do after dropping a medical textbook on your foot."

He laughed, blowing smoke from his cigarette into the night, shaking his head as it curled away from them.

"Don't worry about it."

She looked at him for a long moment, the look in her eyes impossible to describe, and when she spoke again, her voice was warm.

"So, you got a name?"

He took a long drag from his cigarette, stamping it out quickly under his shoe, and nodded.

"Jed Bartlet."

She raised her eyebrow, her green eyes intrigued as she took another drink from her cup.

"Jed? Short for Jethro?"

He shook his head, laughing quietly.

"Josiah."

"As in 'Former Governor of New Hampshire'? Any relation?" she asked.

Okay, so she was smart. Not that he had expected any less judging by the medical textbook.

"Yeah. Just one 't' at the end, though. Got lost somewhere over the years."

She laughed, holding out her hand, smiling as he took it in his own. Her skin was warm in spite of the chill of the evening, and so soft that he could hardly believe she was real.

"Abigail Barrington," she said softly, "Call me Abbey. Everyone does."

Jed let go of her hand, though he couldn't have explained to anyone why he wished he didn't have to, and nodded at her once.

"Nice to meet you, Abbey."

"You too, Jethro."

He frowned.

"Don't call me that."

Abbey laughed, shaking her head as she turned to walk away, tossing her cup in the trash can just outside the door.

"No, I think I will."

He said nothing as she swept back into the house, the sound of her laughter lingering in his mind, and when he finally returned to the party twenty minutes later, he couldn't have explained the smile on his face even if he had tried. Somehow, he just had a feeling that he hadn't seen the last of Abigail Barrington.

A/N: This may stay as a one-shot, or I might expand on it. Depends on how I feel. Hope you enjoyed!