Washington D.C.
The West Wing
9:04 pm
"Sam…Sam!"
Sam looked up from his desk, and up into the beautiful eyes of one of many White House counsel staff, but the only one who made him feel like a true equal. Ainsley Hayes. She was staring at him like she usually did, with utter discontent and slight annoyance.
"Did you hear anything of what I just said?" she asked, her tone now louder than it had been when he had drifted off into the wonderful world of daydreams.
He let his head fall flat onto his desk and covered the back of his neck with his hands.
"Refresh my memory."
Even though he wasn't looking at her now, which of course, would be stupid to do, Sam knew she was giving him the death stare. However, instead of moving on to the topic that had been at hand before his little trip to the back of his mind, she said something that surprised him.
"Sam are you okay?"
He looked up from his desk quicker than he had gone down on it. Her eyes still held annoyance, but now there was also a slight concern. For this, he was grateful, he came to consider Ainsley Hayes a friend. They had been working together now for nearly four months, and over those four months, he had come to like the time he spent with her during the day. He even found himself creating excuses to his secretaries to make trips down to her office, just to talk to her. Well, that, and spend countless minutes debating her on the various topics where they differed politically. He never got tired of that.
"I'm fine, just a bit tired, what were you saying?" he asked, trying to move past his obvious need to get some sleep, or hell, just a five-minute break.
She eyed him suspiciously. "Sam. When was the last time you got more than five hours of sleep?"
He replied instantaneously, letting his wit do the talking. "It was 1945, I had just gotten home from the Big War."
"Sam." She was serious now. "You are in serious need of an Ambien and a warm bed."
"I know where to find one of those, but it's currently lying in wait nine miles away," he said jokingly, yet very straightforward. "I may need your help getting the Ambien. Did you know there's a bill floating through the sub-committee on Health and Human services that would outlaw the prescription of any and all sleeping pills above 5 milligrams? I mean, that's insanity! The only creature that exists within the confines of this city that could possibly feel the effects of any pill less than 5 milligrams is a street rat!"
He hadn't noticed his tone of voice had changed, and he was nearly shouting at her for no apparent reason. She hadn't budged, nor had the look in her eyes changed as she leaned comfortably back in her chair.
"Luckily there's more than a few of those in Congress," Ainsley replied wittily.
He leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, and most of them are Republicans." And here he is hoping she would take the bait.
She did, she was so predictable. "Do you want to get into this now?"
"I always want to get into this." He hadn't realized he had said it until the words had finished escaping his mouth.
She smirked, which then turned into a full-fledged smile. "Sam Seaborn. The secrets are coming out."
He sighed and put his chin in his palm as he tried to come up with a response that would rescue him from this somewhat awkward conversation. "I need sleep." Was all that came out. He got up out of his chair and grabbed his coat off the back, slipping it on quickly. He turned back to Ainsley, she was now standing in the doorway, blocking his exit. He walked up to her and stared.
"You're stopping me from leaving," he said bluntly.
"Yes," she replied staring back up at him. "Yes I am."
"May I ask why?" he asked.
She made a face like she was pretending to ponder his request, but then winked and said a simple "No."
"You were the one who said I should get some sleep," he pointed out.
"That was before I knew the lack of a proper night's rest acted as a truth serum for you," she replied firmly keeping her small frame in the doorway to his office.
"And now?" he asked plainly while he got lost in her deep blue eyes.
"Now I kind of feel the sudden urge to kiss you," she said staring back up at him. He glanced quickly over her shoulder into the empty bullpen. All of the normal 9-5 staff had gone home, only essential staff ever stayed this late. He looked back to her, then her lips, then back to her eyes again.
He pulled his glasses off of his face and put them into his shirt pocket. "Ainsley?"
She suddenly looked very flushed, her cheeks had gone a bright shade of red. She took a deep breath and stepped out of his way. He watched her eyes the entire time.
"I apologize," she said quite calmly, "That was entirely unprofessional of me and I apologize." She moved past him and he spun around, watching her actions intently. She picked up her coat from the coat hanger in the back corner of his room, threw it on, turned around and shoved her way past him out of his office. He waited a few seconds, still unsure of what had just occurred, and then walked out of his office to the bullpen, looking down the hallway where she had walked. A moment later, he heard a shout.
"Goodnight Sam!"
Even though he didn't know where it came from, he knew who it had come from, and shouted back.
"Goodnight!"
Sam stood in the bullpen, put his hands on his hips and began to wonder if Ainsley Hayes had a crush on him. He felt his mouth suddenly curl into a smile. Maybe…no. Never mind that thought. He walked back into his office and shut the door. There was still work to be done.