He crossed the room ostensibly to wake her and take her home. Or at least back to the White House so she could pick up her car. Josh and Donna couldn't have predicted when they dragged her into this that she'd still be here at this hour. When Sam started moving around he realized that driving was out of the question - his brain was beer fogged to be sure. Then again, why wake her? They both needed as much sleep as they could manage. Resisting the urge to carry her to his bed, he grabbed an extra blanket and pillow from the linen closet. She snuggled even deeper into them and then Sam, after placing a butterfly kiss on her forehead, crashed in his own bed. He looked longingly at the woman he could still see curled up on his couch sleeping like a baby. Or a passed out co-ed, he wasn't sure which. But there was one thing he was sure of: he really wanted to feel her snuggled up into the crook of his arm. What would it be like to wake up with her at his side?

Sam lay awake deep in thought. He'd never been the kind of guy who pursued a woman aimlessly. He allowed himself to ponder building a future with Ainsley Hayes. In the last year he'd come to know her as a person. He respected her integrity, he admired her mind, she was incredibly beautiful and he honestly enjoyed spending time with her. Not to mention the fact that kissing her had been sensational. Almost magical. He felt better, more himself, more confident, more capable whenever she was around. Oh, she drove him nuts sometimes. Often. But it was kind of like that song from My Fair Lady - "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face?" He couldn't imagine a future without her in it.

It had been like a one tonne weight had been lifted off his back when she was assigned to lead the representation for the Communications office. That afternoon in the Chief Counsel's Office she gave him, Toby, and CJ her word that she'd defend them vigorously and relentlessly. She had. But she'd been more than that: she'd been brilliant. She'd known when to be aggressive, when to back off. When necessary she'd gone into pit bull mode for them, sinking her teeth in and not letting go. Once, when she growled on Toby's behalf, the Special Prosecutor had actually whimpered and backed down.

But could they build a real life together? Was this attraction enough to make it work? He realized that, for the first time in a long time, he'd really like to try and find out. He'd have to ask her out. But the timing? Could it be any worse?

~*~

Ainsley awoke with a start to feel Sam's hand on her shoulder. "What? Ohmigod, what time is it?"

He glanced at his watch, he was freshly shaved and dressed. "Almost six." He replied softly. "I left you to sleep as long as I could. The bathroom's all yours - I'm sure you remember where it is? I put coffee on - it'll be ready when you are."

She was embarrassed. "Your speech . . ."
". . . is done thanks to you and I promise I'll never reveal your secret identity: Ainsley the Ending Elf." They both laughed softly. He continued more seriously, "you dozed off and I couldn't see the point trying to wake you. I hope I did the right thing?"

She smiled at his tentative behaviour. "You did." Her voice was comforting. He relaxed noticeably. "And, since neither of us can afford to be late for work - I think I'll take you up on the offer of using your bathroom . . . even though I had a quick shower last night." They both grinned at the memory of Lisa's face when she'd seen Ainsley in Sam's robe. "Do you have a blow dryer - I'd rather not go in with damp hair this morning?"

"Bottom drawer, left-hand side. Help yourself." He went to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of java. He'd made it fairly strong and the caffeine was beginning to take effect when, twenty minutes later, she emerged looking perfect. "Already? Do always get ready for work at warp speed?"

"What?" She looked puzzled as she poured herself a cup of coffee and joined him at the table. "I could never figure out why some women spend so much time primping . . . I'd rather linger over breakfast." She added meaningfully.

He burst out laughing. "Okay, I should have realized you'd have your priorities straight. I'm sorry there's no pizza left but I'll buy you a full breakfast at the Mess right after staff, okay? Can you hold out that long? And . . ." he took her hand on the table. "I would very much like it . . . if you would have dinner with me Saturday night."

"Sam, we've had dinner together lots of times." She thought she'd be able to skirt the issue.

"I don't mean pizza on the coffee table or Chinese in the Roosevelt room, or a business dinner with my attorney. I mean a date - in a real restaurant, in candle light maybe with dancing . . ."

She looked so soft - almost like she had on his sofa last night. "Sam, I would love to do that but this weekend I have plans. Believe it or not, my sister and her fiancee are tying the knot on the beach in the Bahamas and I'm her Maid of Honour. I'm flying down Friday evening and I'll be back Sunday. But even if I wasn't busy, aren't you worried what people might say - might write - if they see us together. The White House can't afford to take any negative publicity right now. This probably isn't the time to court the opposition."

Sam sighed. "Court the opposition?" He couldn't help smiling at her pun. "I'm not out to court the whole opposition, just one particular North Carolinian who is the most intriguing woman I've met in a long time. And, it's got nothing to do with the White House, the Presidency, or the fact that she's my lawyer. It's personal: a man wanting to spend time with a beautiful woman." He kissed her again and she knew it was a losing battle. She'd known for weeks she was well on the way to falling head over heels for Sam Seaborn. And now, with just the slightest encouragement, she could tell she could lose her heart here. But this was Sam. Sweet, gentle, loveable Sam - if she let down her defences, her heart would be safe with him.

"Okay." She said it so softly he wasn't sure she'd agreed. "But your lawyer is advising you against it."

~*~

"Well?" Josh asked as they left Leo's office. CJ and Donna were in close pursuit.

Sam flashed Josh a thousand watt smile and they high fived. "Mission accomplished - she was on the late night shuttle."

"DETAILS, Sam," Donna whined shamelessly. "We want details."

"I promised Ainsley breakfast this morning and since I'm buying, why don't you all join us and we'll debrief you?"

Josh grabbed Sam's arm holding him back till CJ and Donna were out of earshot. "Please tell me you didn't 'de-brief' Ainsley last night? She went home as soon as Lisa left, right?"

Sam took too long to answer.

"Sam are you crazy?"

"Nothing happened. After we finished working on her rebuttal, she helped me with the ACLU speech till after two a.m. She'd fallen asleep on my couch. I didn't wake her. She came in today wearing her OWN spare clothes. Nobody'll know. You worry too much."

"Bullshit!" thought Josh suddenly afraid that by trying to avoid stepping in it over Lisa, they were going to be buried in it courtesy of Ainsley. He spoke to Sam in a very resigned tone of voice, "and you my friend, sometimes, in spite of everything we've been through, you can be incredibly naive!"

Ainsley met them at the Mess and they spent the next half hour relating the events of the evening before carefully omitting any reference to the kiss or to her spending the night at Sam's. Josh tried to laugh at their tale of the barracuda's departure but he could tell, just by looking at them, that there was definitely going to be fall out. 'Pretending' to be involved had allowed carefully suppressed feelings (on both sides) to surface. Damn. He'd better give Leo a heads up. And Toby. And Babish. And CJ - but she'd been in on the sting, so she shouldn't be too angry. Right? To Josh's practised eye, this had the makings of a very long day.

~*~

Leo McGarry was not amused. He sat behind his desk tapping his pen on his blotter listening to his Deputy explain the events of the previous day. Donna and CJ sat guiltily on the couch.

"So you see Leo, we did it with the best intentions . . . " Josh tried to explain.

"THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS, JOSH. I just have one question for you all, WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING? Of all the adolescent activities you and Sam have cooked up."

Donna interjected quietly. "It wasn't Sam's fault Leo. It was my idea to . . ."

Leo turned to her. "I do not want to hear this. Now you've come to me worried about fall out Josh. Well, I'm waiting, so what's the fall out."

"Ainsley didn't go home last night."

"Oh for chrissake? Is there art?" Leo turned to CJ.

"I've got feelers out there but nothing's come back yet. Leo, they were both lit up like Christmas trees today. And it's not like there hasn't been an office pool betting on them."

"Wonderful!" Leo exclaimed. "Ain't love grand!" The sarcasm dripped like a faucet. "Oliver, what do you think?"

"Legally. I see no complication here. Ms. Hayes doesn't report to Sam, he didn't hire her, he doesn't participate in performance evaluations and has no influence over her compensation."

"And the fact that she's representing him at these hearings?"

"She's representing the Communications Office not Sam specifically. She already handled Toby's testimony and will be leading with CJ too. The Bar Association wouldn't call it ideal but I've seen worse." Oliver was also not amused either.

~*~

Sam and Ainsley returned to the West Wing mid afternoon feeling confident that their day had been a success. Neither gave the photographers a second thought as they left the Hill. They'd shared a celebratory kiss in the back seat of the cab. When they checked in at security, they were advised to go directly to the Chief of Staff's office. CJ, Donna, and Josh met them on the way. "It's about last night . . ." Josh warned as they approached the room.

CJ spoke first as soon as the door was closed. "Leo, this is a good news bad news thing - you'll be relieved to know there's no art from last night but Lisa Phillips has leaked that Sam is screwing his White House Counsel."

Ainsley rolled her eyes and put a hand on Sam's arm before he could finish the sentence, "Why that little bitch . . ."

"I think we've already established that." Ainsley said calmly. "Mr McGarry, even if Sam and I have a social relationship Oliver must have told you, we're on solid ground here. It's not like there's any risk of sexual harassment and forgive me but linking Sam's name to a Republican HAS to be better than a prostitute."

She could have sworn she heard Josh say, "in some circles anyway." She turned and glared at him. It was Sam's turn to slip an arm around her waist.

"Leo, I'm sorry but we're both adults here. And people fall in love in the workplace all the time. . ." Sam started to apologize. It was a good thing his arm had wound up there: she almost fell over at his declaration.

"So you're not denying this?"

"I won't deny that Ainsley and I are more than lawyer/client and we're friends and yes, we're dating." She looked at him. They hadn't been on a date yet but somehow Leo wouldn't be interested in that little technicality.

Ainsley decided it was best to stick to the administration's policy of full disclosure. "You may have to worry about art tomorrow - we were kissing in the cab on the way back from the Hill." Ainsley's voice was barely above a whisper.

Leo swore. "I can just hear that sound bite now: Bi-Partisan Relations In The White House - film at 11."

CJ was the voice of reason, "The White House traditionally has no comment on the personal lives of the staff." That would be all she'd say at today's briefing if she was asked anything directly. She was. She did.

"And that should work, right?" Ainsley asked Sam as they left Leo's office.

"You know better," he said in a soft warning.

~*~

Both their faces were plastered on the morning shows Wednesday. Ainsley smiled pleasantly as she walked to her car but she had a hard time manoevring out of her driveway because of the photographers. Their romance was the gossip columnist's favourite subject - on both coasts.

Sam followed Ainsley down to her office trying to gauge her reaction to the situation at hand. When they got there, he closed the door. "I am so sorry about this. I should warn you, that it's going to be harder on you than me. I've lived through it once before. If there's any way I can help . . . talk to your family for you?"

She laughed dryly. "Not a good idea. Sam, Daddy is liable to come after you with a shotgun."

"A shotgun? You're kidding right?"

"Yes," he looked so relieved, "and No." At that the panicked look returned: she thought he'd never looked so cute. She giggled and gave him a peck on the cheek. She tried to lighten the atmosphere. "And as much as I adore arguing politics with you, this isn't the time for a gun control debate. We have to decide what to do here."

"Take the high road. Smile and say nothing. Just wait till it goes away. It will. I promise."

"That's good enough for me." She said smiling ever so slightly.

~*~

Sam breezed through his voice mail messages. There was one from Lisa who was trying to sound contrite but he could hear the spite in her voice. "Sam, oh, I hope that I didn't cause you and Ainsley any trouble. I mentioned to my friend Kim that you were involved with someone new. At the time I had no idea that woman from that horrid rag was in the restaurant too."

Sam skipped through the rest of it and erased it. "Bull shit."

Toby appeared in his doorway. "The speech - it's good work."

"Thank you." Sam's voice was hesitant. Toby was down right stingy with complements.

"I was kind of hoping you'd become a little more seasoned, Robin."

"I have no intention of discussing my personal life with you, Toby. The ACLU speech, the one you like so much - we worked on it together. There's a lot of Ainsley there. Not just me. And, I don't have to justify my relationship with Ainsley to anyone not even you, Batman."

"The way I hear it - this started as a joke you were pulling on your ex-girlfriend. Do you realize in less than twenty-four hours you're suddenly in a relationship?"

"You know her Toby. You spent hours with her this summer. You can't tell me you still think she's a loud mouthed tight assed Republican, anymore? Do you honestly think we'd be so bad together?" Sam stopped suddenly aware that he was yelling. He was yelling at Toby. He hadn't yelled at Toby like that since the Drop in. Toby raised his eyebrows at his deputy and left the room without another word. Really what else was there to say?

~*~

When she arrived home at nine o'clock that night there was practically a receiving line on her sidewalk. "Ms. Hayes . . . Ainsley . . . This way please . . . " The photographers called to her as she walked toward her apartment door. She climbed the stairs to her building and when she got inside she felt like she had just run the gauntlet. Her landlady called to her.

"Ms Hayes - they've been camping out there all day. Ringing my doorbell every ten minutes. Calling me on the phone. It's the same thing every time. Someone always asking questions about you. If a young man spends the night. How many boyfriends you've had since you moved in. My phones been ringing off the hook. They broke my favourite planter and my prized azaleas are in tatters."

"Mrs. Carver, I'm really sorry. I know how much work you put into the garden, your planters and pots. I'll replace it right away. Please, be patient. This will all blow over by the weekend."

"It had better Ms Hayes. You seemed like such a nice young lady when you moved in. A letter of reference from your Minister and working as a lawyer at the White House. You said you'd just be writing the legal language for bills sent to the hill. Now your face is in the news with President Bartlett's. And that young man - wasn't he in the news for consorting with, well, ladies of the night? I wanted to rent my upstairs apartment to a nice Southern young lady, not some politician or celebrity."

"I am still a nice Southern lady. I'm the same person I was a year ago. And Sam Seaborn is a gentleman trying to serve his country. He just has a knack for doing politically suicidal things for all the right reasons. Sam's one of the good guys. Please Mrs. Carver, I'll pay for any damage the reporters do and I'll do everything I can to make this blow over as fast as possible. If I have to I'll have them arrested for breaking and entering and the broken planter could be considered vandalism. I'll try to end this as soon as possible and as quietly as possible."

"All right dear." Ainsley started to climb the stairs to her apartment when the old lady smiled and called her back. "Ms Hayes . . ."

"Yes Mrs. Carver." She turned and faced her again.

The elderly woman's eyes sparkled. "Your young man, he has the nicest blue eyes."

She smiled broadly. "He does, doesn't he? Good night Mrs. Carver."

Ainsley hadn't noticed the reporter inside Mrs. Carver's door with a high speed camera and high-tech recording equipment.

Her voice mail was full from reporters wanting an exclusive. She turned the ringer off and did what every red-blooded female who'd had a bad day does: Ainsley grabbed a dish of chocolate ice cream, filled her claw foot bathtub with bubbles and relaxed while her favourite music played on the head phones.

~*~

The paparazzi were also camped out at Sam's place but he had the advantage of knowing some of them by name and so just smiled and waved like they were old friends. It was almost eleven when he dialled her cell phone number and was pleased she answered on the first ring.

"Hey, how many are at your place?" He figured if he had six she'd have at least twice as many.

"Fifteen or twenty. Oh, we owe my landlady for plants and a bunny shaped clay planter some photographer knocked over. I didn't have the heart to tell her it was tacky anyway. How's it going with you?"

"About the same. How mad's your landlady."

"I think she's actually on our side. She said you have nice blue eyes."

"Oh?"

"She's right too. Oh damn. Hang on. I have to shut the blinds."

He heard her fumbling around. "Ainsley, are you okay? What?"

"I'm fine. I'm going to have to call the cops on those cameramen. Some idiot just climbed up and was taking a picture through my window."

"Didn't you tell me once that you live in a third storey apartment?"

"I do."

"Well then how?"

"We may owe Mrs. Carver a drain pipe now. I hope the idiot didn't break anything. The way my day's gone he's likely to try and sue ME!"

Sam burst out laughing. "So what did you make yourself for dinner?"

"I haven't had dinner yet. But I have the most satisfied little smile on my face courtesy of two of my favourite guys . . ."

Sam choked and couldn't help himself. "TWO guys . . ."

"Ben and Jerry, Sam!" She burst out laughing. "Oh God Sam, you are so funny."

Her laughter was contagious. "What?"

"Just now you were jealous of a bowl of ice cream, hon. Not that some of my old friends from Smith haven't written dissertations on Chocolate being better than men," She burst into a fit of giggles. "But Sam,"

"Busted," he couldn't believe he'd flown off the handle like that. "Now that we've established that I'm the jealous type - I intend to be the only man who can put a smile on your face, Ainsley." His voice had a husky sound.

She responded in kind. "I'd have much rather had you put a smile on my face too."

"Good. So now that you're done with Ben and Jerry, whatcha doing."

"Right now, I'm taking a bubble bath to freshen up before dinner."

That was an image that shot straight through Sam's gut. "A bubble bath?" he nearly choked again at the image of her in bubbles and nothing else.

Her voice got soft and seductive again. "A bubble bath. I love to lounge in the tub Sam. I find the water soothing. You should try it sometime."

"I would love to join you in a bubble bath sometime either right before or right after I make you smile, for the first time." His voice got just as husky. Then, his call waiting beep sounded. "Hey beautiful I would love to sit here and flirt with you some more but, I just got beeped. I'll catch you in the morning okay. Breakfast in the mess?"

"You buying?"

"No problem."

"Then it's a date."

"Goodnight."

Sam's mother was in one of her moods. "Samuel. Why is it I have to learn I'm about to become a grandmother from the six o'clock news?"

Sam rolled his eyes and spent the next half hour being a dutiful son.

~*~

Duty was contagious. Ainsley's father called her about five minutes after she hung up from Sam. By now she'd towelled off and was wrapped up cozy in a pair of satin pajamas. "Hi Daddy." She only answered because she saw her parent's number in the call display.

"Ainsley - I know you're not fool enough to get yourself pregnant so what in heaven's name is this about you and Sam Seaborn? Isn't he the pretty boy liberal lunatic you whooped so soundly on Capital Beat last fall? Your mother's taken to her bed." Unlike Sam's mother he was not taking this well.

"Don't exaggerate Daddy. It's Wednesday. She's at bridge club having her weekly Gimlet and we both know it." Ainsley laughed in response. They'd always been close. "And as for Sam, yes you put the right face to the name. And you can't fool me - you knew exactly who he was because you've been watching me on the hearings live on CNN whenever you're in recess. I'd even wager you break for dinner in time to make sure you catch me on Mark Gottfried's Capital Beat wrap up each night. You just get a kick out of calling them all liberal lunatics and even you'd have to admit Sam Seaborn would catch the eye of ANY healthy heterosexual woman? I bet even mom's glad I was linked to him not Josh Lyman. So can we talk about something important for a change like did you crack 80 on the golf course yet?"

He laughed at her question. "Not quite. I did shoot 82 today though. Should I pack up the shotgun and force this Seaborn to make an honourable woman out of you?"

"Daddy, Sam's one of the good guys." She couldn't keep a catch out of her voice this time. Her dad was stunned. His anger faded but didn't disappear completely. He didn't like her having to live in the fish bowl he knew this story would create. But he trusted her judgement. Always.

"Promise?" It was all he could say.

"Yeah Daddy. I promise."

"That's always been good enough for me, honey. Be careful. Good night."

"Give my love to Mama. Good night Dad."

Yes, that late night phone call with Sam had definitely been the highlight of her day.
~*~

Ainsley was furious. She stamped her foot. Sam tried not to laugh. "What did you actually say to her?" he asked patiently.

"I don't even remember. Nothing. She said you had nice eyes. I agreed."

Josh just stood there shaking his head. "The President asked me to convey his thanks to both of you for bumping him from the front page." Neither of his friends laughed. " Ainsley, take my advice - check into a hotel. Sam, stay away from sharp objects and," he winked playfully, "you do have beautiful eyes my friend!"

Sam smacked him with the paper and went to his office where he signed for a box and looked at the tag. It was from several of the cameramen he'd recognized parked in front of his apartment. He opened the box: it contained 24 bottles of bubble bath and a note that he should 'clean up his act'. He set it down on the floor then had to do something to relieve his frustration. So, Sam kicked the box: he kicked it so hard that one of the bottles broke. His office was going to smell like lavender for at least a month.

~*~

Ainsley had to dodge the paparazzi as she and CJ made their way to the hill. The benefit of being with CJ was she had a press secretary to do all the talking.

Ainsley smiled at eleven o'clock when Sam called. They stayed on the line till nearly two a.m. Just talking. Talking about where they went to school, their families. He told her about his dad, the other woman and the half siblings he hadn't met yet. She told him about her sister Jessica and her future brother in law Bill.

Sam could tell the sisters were close from the way she talked. "So, if she and this Bill guy have been together so long, and so happy, why get married now? I don't get it."

"It took a while for him to get his divorce from the monster he married in college. She took him for every cent he had. Then some. Everybody has a past Sam?"

"Even you?"

"It was a long time ago Sam." Her voice was still tinged with pain. "And to be honest . . ."

"It still hurts."

"No, I it's more - well it's sad really. The whole thing was sad. Sad that I didn't see him for who he really was. We both wound up . . . I finally figured out what was going on in my third year at Smith. I mean we figured it out together but . . . it was kind of a blow."

"Ainsley? I'm totally lost here."

She sighed deeply. "The highschool quarterback, the debating team champion, the prom king to my prom queen well, he was gay, Sam. He tried so hard to 'live straight'. I thought we were, well, I thought we were waiting till marriage because, well he always said he respected me. And. Let's put it this way. We have more in common than you think my fiancee left me for another man too."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. I guess we both would have been better off with golden retrievers than the people we were engaged to.."

"Ainsley," he said softly.

"Yeah,"

"It doesn't mean there was something wrong with you. You know that right?"

"Yeah, that's what he said too. He went so far as to say if there could have been anybody it would have been me. That didn't help Sam."

"Are you still in love with him?" Sam was afraid of the answer but he needed to know.

"I doubt I ever really was. I was young and chasing the traditional family values ideal. I still want that someday. I dated a bit at Harvard but with my course load it was tough nothing lasted more than a few weeks . . ." She fell silent.

"I wish I could kiss and caress that lingering tinge of doubt away right now." He said his voice very husky.

"I'll take a rain check."

"Promise."

"Yeah, I promise."

"That's good enough for me. I'll meet you for breakfast in the mess. I'll collect then. Good night, sweet heart."

~*~

Friday didn't go much better. Another day, another headline. The accompanying photograph was several years old. It was taken when she appeared in an amateur production of Jesus Christ Superstar which the director had chosen to set in modern dress. She had played Mary Magdalene and was costumed as an early eighties hooker. Basically it was a comparative photo essay of Ainsley and Laurie. The shot of her cleavage was very impressive. Sam had always wondered what was under those conservative suits she wore. Now he knew. She was hot. To make matters worse, Joyce and Brookline appeared on C-Span speculating that her affair with Sam had started months sooner than what was being reported.

"Relax Ainsley - you looked beautiful." He kissed her forehead and tossed the paper aside. "It was a stage production. The article even says that."

"Yeah, four pages behind the headline. Sam - why aren't there any embarrassing photos of you on the front pages?"

"The resurfaced picture of me and Laurie wasn't embarrassing?"

"You know what I mean! It didn't show you in barely there ragged cut-offs."

He tried humor. "I don't suppose you still have those shorts? It's a side of you I hadn't seen before." He slipped an hand behind her and stroked her back side with a feather touch making her tingle."

"I'm so tired of all this." Her arms wrapped around his neck, his hands went still. "NOT THAT. Keep doing that." He smiled at her and copped one last feel.

"Later. Besides, you're probably starving . . ."

"Hmm." She agreed releasing him. They grabbed some food and a table in the back corner.

"What did you leave out?" he asked noticing she hadn't touched her meal when he was almost halfway through. "Something else is up."

She sighed. She wasn't going to tell him but, "My dad called this morning. I thought I'd had him calmed down the other day but - he's really getting angry now. Somebody asked him what he wears under his Judge's robes."

"That's so cliche."

"He wasn't amused either."

"I take it that's not all that's - up his robe right now."

"No, it's not. He's upset for my sister Jess. Who by the way wants to kill me. Her quiet beach front wedding with just me and her fiancee's brother there - IS RUINED. Some jackass travel agent got her and I confused and tipped off some reporter in Charlotte. I mean we do look alike but this is ridiculous. It gets better - the reporter figured that because her fiances name is William Norman . . . "

" Wait a minute - my dad's name is William . . . Norman . . . Seaborn. Oh shit they think it's me?"

"Give the man a cookie!"

He could tell Ainsley was mad. The press could mess with her all they liked but they had no right to First Amendment her family up the proverbial whazoo. "Call Jess - tell her to go the airport with both sets of parents and I'll fly them to the Bahamas instead. My family has a vacation property there. The caretaker will pick everyone up at the airport. Your sister is still going to have her beach wedding - at my expense. I'm not about to let Lisa screw up everybody's love life. It'll be okay."

"How can you be sure there'll be room? I mean?"

"Ainsley, the main house has six bedrooms each with its own bath. There's a beach house with three bedrooms and a bunk house with two. Trust me, I have room."

"Sam, that sounds like a hotel not a house!" It finally dawned on her just how wealthy Sam was. "I never realized it. I mean, I always knew you had some money. Hell, my family has 'some' money. But we're talking Kennedy rich when it comes to you aren't we?" She was dumbfounded.

"Yeah, west coast equivalent anyway." He sighed. "Ainsley, simply put, I have more money than spit, okay? But we were talking about using my family's getaway property to help your sister." He was quiet for a minute. "Just get me a number of people so I can warn the staff and I'll fix this. I owe it to you and to Jessica. It'll be okay. I'll fix this. I promise. "

"You, promise?"

He kissed her forehead. "I Promise."

"That's good enough for me." They looked deeply into one another's eyes for a moment. For a long moment. The kiss that followed was their hottest yet. When it broke they both stepped back. It conveyed the message: it's only a matter of timing now.

Ainsley managed to smooth things over. Bill's family had been terribly hurt at first that he'd planned to elope but eventually came around. Especially when promised a weekend getaway in the Carribean. Sam called and warned the staff to expect the Hayes - Norman family. The bride and groom could have the beach house Saturday night and for as long as they wanted it.

~*~

"You wanted to see me, Mr. Babish?" Ainsley arrived at the Chief Counsel's office once she and Sam settled her family's travel arrangements and she ate something.

"Yes Ms. Hayes, please come in," he nodded for her to take a seat. He looked at her carefully for a moment taking her in. She sat perfectly straight waiting for him to speak. "I'm not sure what to say to you Ms Hayes. Frankly I expected more from you."
"In what regard sir. The hearings are going reasonably well all things considered . . ."

"Don't patronize me Ms. Hayes. I expected you would have exercised better judgement with regards to Sam Seaborn. Today the word around the wing is that he fired two guys shortly after you were hired. Did they threaten to expose your affair back then? How in the hell did Sam get Lionel Tribbey to cover it up?"

"Excuse me, Mr. Babish. Is this interview about my job performance, the status of the hearings or my sexual activities? Because, quite simply sir, I'm obligated to discus the first two items in that list with you. The answer to your last question is for the same statement I've been making all week. NO COMMENT. Off the record Mr. Babish - Joyce and Brookline are now and always have been full of it. Sam and I have only been romantically involved for a very short time. Now, sir, I would like to take this opportunity to formally advise you, as a federal employee I am right here and now officially signalling a 'RED LIGHT ' to this meeting and exercising my right to stop it immediately without fear of retribution from my superior. We both know that if you ever mention this matter again the White House could find itself on the wrong end of a sexual harassment suit and you Mr. Babish, not Sam Seaborn, will be the respondent thereto. Good day, sir." Rather than storming out and slamming his office door behind her, she calmly rose from her chair nodded politely and exited. Babish just shook his head.

She ran into Donna in the stairway.

Donna looked at her apologetically. "I'm so sorry I got you into this. Please believe me I never meant for this to blow up in your face. I admit - I wanted you and Sam to wake up and see that you'd be good together but I didn't for a moment imagine Lisa would . . ."

"It's not your fault Donna. And, as bad as things are . . . I wouldn't want to go back to the way things used to be with Sam - we'll get through this."

Sam's voice sounded from behind them. "I wouldn't want to go back either Donna." He placed a hand on Ainsley's shoulder. "I came looking for you. I hear Babish is licking his wounds. How's my little Blonde Republican Sex Kitten holding out?"

"She's looking forward to a cat nap on the beach with you as pillow."

Donna murmured, "I'll catch you guys later."

"We should leave for the airport soon. You booked onto the 2:20 flight too right, Sam?" She asked as they walked into the mess to grab a coffee together.

"Well, I . . ." He looked confused. "I hadn't planned on . . ."

She began talking very fast. Faster than usual. "It's our party but it's your house. My parents are looking forward to meeting you . . . I kinda lead them to believe you'd be there."

He sighed. "Then, I'll be there."

She got all embarrassed. "You don't have to . . . I shouldn't have assumed anything. 'Assume is a bad word - it makes an ass out of 'U' and 'me'. I just thought we could relax and avoid the glare of the flash bulbs for a while."

He took her hand on the top of the table. "I thought you'd want to be alone." She wouldn't meet his eye. He turned her to face him. She wasn't ready to say it, so he did, "I'd rather be alone with you too." He said it in a voice just above a whisper. "I'll tell Toby I'm gone for the weekend and we'll head out."