Washington, D.C.
December

So beautiful, the little church where Sam and Nina were about to exchange their
vows. So quiet and elegant, filled to the brim with family and friends, with the
clamoring reporters kept blocks away courtesy of the Secret Service protection
afforded Jed and Abbey Bartlet.

Such lovely music floated from the choir loft, provided by Nina's colleagues in
the orchestra. C.J., who was seated next to the President, smiled at the
familiar strains of "Ave Maria" and hoped that Josh could hear how exquisitely
his sister's favorite piece was being played. Donna, sitting behind C.J. with
Cliff Calley, who she was dating again in a haphazard fashion, hoped that Josh
could not hear the music at all.

Joey Lucas didn't hear the music, of course, but she was engaged in a lively
sign-language lesson with the Bartlet grandchildren.

Abbey was pretty sure that her grandchildren were learning some dirty words in
sign language. She tried to decide what to use for bribery, to make sure she
learned them as well. Jed's arm was around her and his blue eyes were a little
misty.

"I wish Leo could see this. He thought the world of Sam, he always did."

"I wish that, too, sweetie. But you know what I wish I could see more than
anything else?"

"What's that?" Jed asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"What's going on in the men's dressing room."

***

"Has anyone checked?" Sam asked for the tenth time as he undid the careful knot
Matt had made in his tie.

"For the love of God," groaned Josh.

"She's here," Toby chimed in. "There are, like, six hundred women taking care of
her. The Queen of Sheba would attract less attention."

Sam was not convinced. "I'm just saying, with all those women you're going on
about, isn't it possible that, you know, someone forgot to bring her?"

"No!" chorused Josh, Toby, and Matt, rolling their eyes heavenward and each
plotting, in his own way, how to get Sam to take a shot of whiskey, or a valium,
or a blow to the head with a blunt instrument.

Ever since Nina and Sam had kissed goodnight at the end of the rehearsal dinner
and been separated for what C.J. called "The Duration," Sam had become obsessed
with the idea that something was going to go horribly wrong with the wedding.
When asked, he just shrugged, but in the past few hours he had begun to focus on
the notion that Nina might not get to the wedding.

All four men jumped when they heard a knock on the door. "I'll get it," Matt
said decisively. "It might be Nina, and you can't see her until the wedding."

"The wedding's in fifteen minutes. Can't I get a sneak preview?"

"It's unlucky," Josh said, adjusting a cufflink. "If you see the dress before
she comes down the aisle, I think you get rabies or something."

Toby barked out a laugh, and Matt shook his head. "One second." He opened the
door far enough for Josh to get a glimpse of Maggie, one of the bridesmaids. She
exchanged a few words with Matt, who turned to Josh. "I think you'd better deal
with this," he said.

"Oh, God, something's happened to Nina," Sam exclaimed.

"Relax, no, Nina's fine, she's getting some pictures taken while they finish
dressing her up. Just sit down before Toby nails you to a chair."

Josh slipped out the door and nodded at Maggie. "What's up?"

"There's a thing." Maggie shook her head. "Last night, on the way back to the
hotel with Nina's dad, this guy stopped her and said something...well, pretty
mean."

"About what?" Josh asked, his fists clenching.

"About you." Maggie grimaced at Josh. "He said he was a reporter for something
called the Charleston Citadel."

"Oh, man! Edgar Drummond. I do not believe this!" Josh's voice rose in pitch and
volume, and he started to pace around the hall. "What did he ask?"

"He asked if Nina felt good about marrying a guy who thought it was possible
that a Jew could ever be considered a 'best man.'"

It was like a blow to the gut. Josh stopped cold and put his hands on his hips.
"What did she say?"

"She kind of - well, she really lit into him, and he skulked off. We figured
he'd run away and that was going to be the end of it. But somebody at the hotel
gave us this newspaper, and, well...it's bad."

Josh took the paper from Maggie and started to read aloud. "'Seaborn's Bride
Defends Left-Wing Christ Killer.' Man, I'm only 46 - don't these people know
anything about history?"

"This isn't bad?" Maggie asked. "Nina got really upset when we saw it."

"This," Josh said gently, "is a trashy right-wing fundraising rag dedicated to
nothing but garbage. Don't give it another thought."

"But Nina-"

"Nina's got better things to think about today." Josh gave Maggie a grin as he
hugged her. "Tell her I'll be in to see her in a minute if she's decent, okay?"

"Thanks, Josh." Maggie raised her skirt enough so she could run back to the
bride's room while Josh read aloud from the Charleston Citadel's murky print.

"'When asked how she felt about her fiancé being led astray by a member of the
Hebrew race, the future Mrs. Seaborn replied that Lyman was...'"

Josh's voice gave out.

Nina had described him in glowing terms. A patriot. A brave man, a man of honor
and principle. Someone who knew how to overcome obstacles with intelligence,
grit, and a sense of humor. He heard Nina's voice saying the next words.

"'I admire Joshua Lyman more than someone with your narrow, dessicated mind
could ever understand. And every day, I thank the God that we both share that he
is, in the truest sense of the word, about to become my brother.'"

She was standing in front of him as she quoted her words from the night before,
dressed in white silk that cascaded gently along her slender body. Her veil was
pulled back, and Josh could see color rising in her cheeks.

"Pretty eloquent, huh?" she asked, smiling shyly at him.

"Yes," he whispered in return. He set the paper on a nearby table and rubbed his
hands together as if trying to clean them off.

"I'm sorry. Carol's going to have my head when she sees this."

"Nah. She'll be fine." Josh felt himself inhaling his words, but every time he
tried to speak he felt a lump in his throat.

"I know that sometimes we don't work well with one another," Nina said. "And
that sometimes you think I'm incredibly naive, and sometimes I think you're
incredibly driven. But Sam loves you so much, Josh, and I wanted you to know
that I do, too."

He swallowed hard. "Seeing it in print...that's a nice touch." Hearing Nina's
laughter helped him regain his composure. "You'd better get out of here before
Sam storms the Bastille or takes you to Vegas or something. He's pretty eager to
marry you." He paused as Nina gave him a kiss on the cheek before rushing back
to the bride's room.

"And now I see why," Josh said to himself as he took one last look at Nina's
words before going back to keep Sam as calm as possible.

***

They'd pledged their vows and exchanged their rings and endured the laughter
when the kiss went on longer than was strictly necessary. Now they were seated
at the head table, holding hands and trying not to get overly emotional when Jed
Bartlet rose and tapped on his glass.

"Just a few words, tonight, I promise," he said as he put on his glasses.
"Almost a year ago, I sent Sam up to a string quartet to find out what they were
playing. That's when he made his move, and all the rest is history."

Sam's mouth twisted into an embarrassed smile.

"Then there were evenings at the symphony, and moonlight strolls along the
Potomac, and a filibuster on Valentine's Day that kept a romantic dinner from
taking place. The loss of a cherished friend who would have loved this night."

To his left, Sam saw Josh bow his head for a moment and reach for Amy's hand.
Sam had been so relieved when Amy came back from one of her increasingly
frequent Canadian trips to be with Josh for the wedding.

"But if there's one thing Senator Sam Seaborn of California does well, it's
making something extraordinary happen under difficult circumstances. And
somehow, in between running our country and keeping Josh's foot out of his
mouth, Sam managed to gain the love and respect of this fine young woman all
dressed in white."

Nina smiled, blushing, and raised her glass to the former President.

"I don't know you as well as some of the other people in this room," Bartlet
said. "The first time I noticed you, it was because Sam had dumped champagne on
your head - something I hope with all my heart will not happen this evening. But
later, when Abbey said she'd caught the two of you dancing to the radio in the
kitchen, I told myself that this was someone I needed to get to know. And
quickly." He removed his glasses and began to speak from the great heart that
had made him so beloved of the people who had worked for him all those years.

"I was so blessed to have Sam writing for me, to have his unearthly eloquence
transform my mundane thoughts into something of abiding value. I missed him
terribly when he left, but I'm glad that his path brought him back to us so
quickly and with such honor. Sam's like a son to me - the gifted, artistic one,
as opposed to the focused, driven one," and here Bartlet indicated Josh, "or the
eldest son, the serious one," Bartlet concluded with a wave in Toby's direction.
"And as much as I worship the ground above which my three beautiful daughters
hover, it's a privilege to count you in their number and welcome you to our
ever-extending family."

Everyone rose but Nina and Sam, who sat nestled close to one another as their
friends and family raised glasses. "To Sam and Nina - all health, happiness, and
good fortune," Bartlet said, and he was echoed by a hundred happy voices. Josh
hugged Sam tightly, clapping him on the back, and his smile was brilliant and
happy for the first time since Leo's death.

Dancing took up the next few hours, and Sam was persuaded to relinquish Nina to
his father, to Bartlet, and finally to Josh, with the whispered warning that
Nina should be careful of her toes. He wrapped his arms around Donna, who gave
him a warm hug in return as they danced together. They watched Toby spin C.J.
around until she laughed, and sighed at how beautiful Jed and Abbey Bartlet
still were when they looked into each other's eyes. "You and Nina are going to
be like that," Donna informed him as she gracefully followed his lead. "I can
tell these things."

"You're the one who persuaded me into ditching you at the party last year."

"Look how it turned out. How right was I?"

"As right as you've ever been, and I'll never be able to thank you enough."
Donna glowed at the praise, and Sam grinned at her. "So. Will we be dancing at a
Republicrat wedding next year? I hear Gary Tennenburg's been sending sketches."

"They must be for C.J. I'm an independent woman, Sam. I'm never getting
married."

He gave her a skeptical look. "I don't believe you."

Donna shrugged, the corners of her mouth turning downward as the dance came to
an end. "You'd better start. Because that's one promise I'm never breaking,
Sam."

"Which promise?" asked Bartlet as he offered his hand to Donna.

"She says she's never getting married," Sam said, taking Abbey into his arms for
the next dance.

Bartlet spun Donna away from the conversation. He had to crane his neck to look
up into her eyes. "Is that true, what Sam just said?"

"Yes, sir," Donna replied.

"Jed," Bartlet corrected.

"Yes, sir, Jed. Oh, that sounds even worse." Donna shook her head. "Look, it's
not just me being maudlin at a wedding. I'm doing some really important things,
and I don't want them to stop just because I find a man. I've done that, and
look where it got me."

"It got you to the White House. I don't think that's something you should sneer
at, Donnatella."

"Oh, no! No, that's not what I mean. I just meant, that I gave up an education
the first time, and now I have a chance to help a good man make a difference in
the world, and I don't want anything to get in the way."

"The way marrying me had a negative effect on Abbey?" Jed needled.

"I don't mean that, either. Maybe I don't know what I mean. I've been up since
five-thirty, I've had three glasses of champagne, and I'm tired." She pushed a
stray lock of hair back into the neat chignon at the back of her neck.

Bartlet decided to let silence be his friend until the end of the dance, when
the newlyweds were about to take their leave. Donna quickly returned to Cliff
while Abbey found her way back to her husband and everyone picked up bottles of
soap bubbles.

C.J. was trying not to laugh as Liz's youngest boy sidled up to Toby and offered
him a bottle, with great solemnity. "Don't you want bubbles, Uncle Toby?"

She was even more amazed when Toby accepted the bottle with a low bow. "Why,
thank you, James."

"Uncle Toby?" C.J. mumbled to him, trying not to laugh.

"Don't mock me. I can resist your charms tonight, you know. I'm blessed with an
iron constitution." He held the door open for her, then they looked at one
another and burst out laughing.

So much for the iron constitution.

"Here they come!" called someone who was still inside. The guests made an aisle
and blew soap bubbles - even Toby - as Sam and Nina walked briskly to their car.
They waited for a moment as the chauffeur opened the door, and Sam took a moment
to remember all their faces. His parents, together if only for this happy event.
Josh, trying to hold back tears, and Amy, standing just behind him. Donna, whose
bold words Sam was going to do his best to make her eat. C.J., beautiful,
beautiful C.J., tickling Toby with a soap bubble. Toby, mentor and friend. Jed
and Abbey Bartlet, who were as proud tonight as his own parents were, and
equally dear in his heart.

"What is it?" Nina asked as she felt Sam's hand tighten on her arm.

"Look at them. They love us, Nina."

"I know." She tugged at his sleeve. "We have to go. They can't go back to the
party until we leave."

"I don't want to go," Sam whispered. "I want to stay with them forever."

But Nina coaxed him into the car and nodded for the chauffeur to close the door.
She pointed to the group that waved to them. "That's for after, Sam."

"After what?" he asked, craning his neck for one last glance.

"After the next part of our journey," Nina replied, and Sam found that he
couldn't agree more.

***

End "A Mighty Thing."
Go to "Healthy Irreverence."