A/N: I obviously don't own what you recognize, and I really appreciate all of the reviews that I've received.

January 2007

"How hard was it being newlyweds while working in the White House?" Matt asked.

Sam sighed. "I wouldn't recommend it."

"I sometimes wonder how we survived the first year and a half of our marriage."

"Coffee, Ainsley," Sam replied.

"No, honey, that was how we got through the first year and a half of Nora's life."

He sighed. "Nora didn't believe in sleeping through the night."

"Are you worried about returning to the White House?" Helen inquired.

"No," Sam replied flatly as he took his wife's hand. "We're in a much different place as a couple and as individuals now than we were then."

"But at the same time," Ainsley said. "I think that we still have the strength that bore us through that time."

"And we can still buy coffee."

September 2001

The fall was busy with hearings related to the MS, the President's reelection campaign, and getting ready for the Seaborn baby. Sam and Ainsley did their level best to find time to spend together. "So, I need a haircut," Sam commented the evening that the House Government Oversight Committee stated their intention to get involved in the investigation of the President's MS.

Ainsley looked at her husband and ran her fingers through his hair. "I love you, Sam, but you really need a haircut."

"That's why I have a wife."

"I'm supposed to cut your hair?" she queried.

"No, you're supposed to make sure that I cut my hair."

She rolled her eyes. "Samuel, I know that you're a busy man, but have Ginger call a barber on Monday and schedule you a haircut. You're a big boy. You don't need me to help you with that."

He wrapped an arm around her and whispered, "I don't need you to, but I want you to."

She ran a hand through his hair again. "Oh, Sam, shut up."

His free hand was pressed against the small swell of her belly. Sam was about to kiss his wife when he felt something move against his hand. He jerked back and looked at her. "What was that?"

"She kicked," Ainsley replied. "Phyllis kicked you."

"We're not naming our daughter Phyllis."

"Are you sure? I know how much you love Phyllis Schafly."

"Oh, Ainsley, shut up."

"Why?"

He ignored the question. "So she kicked me? The baby just kicked me?"

His wife nodded. "Our daughter just kicked you."

"Well, she's going to have to learn some sort of respect for her father."

"Oh, Samuel, she's been kicking me for a while now."

"I know, but Ainsley, she kicked me. I felt her!"

Ainsley smiled and put her hand on top of his. "It's starting to feel more real now, isn't it?"

"We're going to have a baby. Ainsley, come February, there's going to be a little baby girl, and she's going to be ours. We're going to be responsible for another human life."

She smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair. "I know."

"February is only four months away."

She smiled. "I know. Sam, are you getting nervous?'

"Ainsley, I'm going to be a father. Me, have you met me? I accidentally slept with a call girl once."

"That's almost endearing."

"And now I'm going to be a father."

"Well, at least I'm going to be the baby's mother. She's not completely out of luck."

"Ains, I just don't want to screw her life up."

"Sam, there are no guarantees in parenting. I'm just as terrified as you are."

"She needs a name, Sam," Ainsley said from the doorway to her husband's office.

"What happened to Phyllis?" he replied without looking up from his computer.

"We're not naming our daughter Phyllis."

"Why not? I thought you wanted to name your daughter after your hero."

She came to stand in front of his desk. "Samuel, be serious. First of all, I don't like the name Phyllis. Second, I'd never name YOUR daughter after Phyllis Schafly regardless of how I feel about her. And thirdly, I'm seven months pregnant here. The baby will be here in about eight weeks. I'd like to start having serious conversations about what to name OUR daughter."

"Can we do this when we get home?"

"Okay, let's go home."

"What time is it?"

"Time to go home and feed your pregnant wife," she replied.

Josh appeared in the doorway. "He feeds his pregnant wife? How?"

"He cooks," she replied blandly.

"You're telling me Sam Seaborn cooks?"

"Not well, but he can cook without burning anything," she replied.

"Sam, you learned to cook?" Josh asked.

"According to my wife, it's the duty of every husband of a pregnant woman. If she has to carry my kid around for nine months, I have to make sure that they're well fed. So, I learned to cook."

"Dude, you're whipped," Josh replied.

"Dude, he's married, and his wife is standing right next to you."

"Good point; it's probably a bad idea to piss off the pregnant lady. She might crush me by sitting on me or something."

"Josh, go away," Sam spoke flatly.

"I need to talk to you."

"You insulted my wife. Unless it's a national emergency, it can wait until tomorrow."

"In the meantime, he needs to get Shamu home and fed," Ainsley added.

"Ainsley, you are far from being Shamu," Sam inserted.

"She's pregnant," Toby called as he walked by the office. "It happens."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that your wife is pregnant and as the baby grows, she's changing the shape of your wife's body. It's a temporary thing. It's just part of life."

"Toby, you're such a poet," Ainsley replied blandly. "And on that note, I'm hungry, so we're leaving."

"Honey, you know that I think you're beautiful, right?" Sam asked his wife as he stirred the contents of the crockpot on the counter.

"Yeah, okay, Sam," she replied from the kitchen table where she was sitting with her feet up.

"No, I'm serious. You're gorgeous, Ainsley."

"Sam, I'm seven months pregnant, I eat like a pig, you saw me at Thanksgiving last week, people keep asking me if I'm having twins, and I feel like a whale. Josh is right. I could crush him by sitting on him."

"Ainsley," he said softly as he put down his spoon. "Toby's right, and you know it."

She sighed. "Sam, I know that intellectually, but I'm having a hard time really believing that right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Sam, you know better than anyone else that pregnancy is playing havoc with my hormones. Work has me stressed. I love my job, but between stress and pregnancy, I'm hitting my limit. And I feel like a whale. I've always been in good shape. I could eat whatever I wanted and not gain an ounce. And now I'm pregnant, and I feel like a small whale."

"Ainsley, I know that this is hard for you. I just wish that you could see yourself how I see you."

She smiled as she stood up. "Sam, you are the sweetest man in the world, but I think that you're going to have to accept that pregnancy hormones are beyond even your skills."

"Babe, if you look my track record, I think you'll find that I've never been terribly smooth with women."

"I've heard. I've heard that you've managed to offend a fair number of ladies in your career."

"Are you ready to eat or do you want to keep picking on me?"

"Sam, I'm always ready to eat."

He smiled as he put stew in a bowl for her.

"Penelope."

Sam looked up from his desk to see Toby standing in the doorway. "I beg your pardon?"

"Penelope, the name," the Chief of Communications said as he came into the room. "You and Ainsley are trying to decide what to name the baby, right?"

"Yeah."

"Name her Penelope."

"Why?"

"So you can call her Penny."

Sam snorted. "You're hilarious."

"I think it's a great idea. Penelope is a reference to a strong woman from literature. That's perfect for you and Ainsley."

"And you get the penny connection."

"Which is perfect for me," Toby added.

"Except knowing my wife, our daughter will end up being called Nell or Nellie."

"That's too bad. I like the sound of Penny Seaborn."

"I prefer Penelope Seaborn or Nellie Seaborn."

"Also, Penelope has elope in it, which is fun because you two did elope."

Sam rolled his eyes. "We're not naming our daughter Penelope."

"It's a nice name."

"It is a nice name, but I'm not naming my daughter after the penny or the fact that my wife and I eloped."

January 2007

"What was the best parenting advice anyone in the White House gave you?" Helen asked.

"Leo told me once that I always had to make sure that I had my priorities in line," Ainsley said.

"Jed Bartlet told me that it was inevitable that I'd mess my kids up for life," Sam replied with a smile.

December 2001

"Sam, stay after for a minute, would you?" President Bartlet asked at the end of Senior Staff one morning shortly before Christmas.

"Yes, sir."

Once the room had cleared, the president looked at the younger man. "How's that wife of yours doing?"

"She's good, sir."

"Tired, I expect."

"Yes, but she's healthy and so is the baby."

"It's a girl?"

Sam nodded. "It is, and I'm really hoping she looks like her mother."

"My wife would remind you that your dark hair is likely to dominate over Ainsley's blonde hair."

"I suppose so."

"Are you excited?"

"Nervous and excited," Sam replied. "We've got about six more weeks left, and I'm terrified that I might screw my daughter up for life."

"Oh, you will," Jed said. "Ask any of my daughters. They'd all be happy to tell you that your parents inevitably mess you up for life."

"That's helpful."

Jed smiled and clapped the younger man on the shoulder. "You'll be fine, Sam. You've got a good head on your shoulders, and Ainsley is one solid woman."

"She's quite remarkable," Sam said with a smile that often graced his face when he spoke of his wife.

"Have you two started talking about names?"

"Arguing mostly," he replied. "But we have settled on a middle name."

"What is it?"

"Claire," Sam said. "It's Ainsley's middle name and her mom's name."

"I like it. What's the battleground in first names?"

"Abigail has been tossed around. So have Elizabeth and Alexandra."

"You don't want it to sound like you're naming your daughter after a member of my family."

Sam smiled. "That's part of it."

"I like Alexandra."

"I'll tell Ainsley that Alexandra has the presidential seal of approval."

Jed laughed. "I'm sure that'll mean a great deal to your Republican wife."

January 2007

"So if I put the Presidential stamp of approval on any baby names, you'll reject them?" Matt asked.

"Possibly," Ainsley said. "Eleanor is a family name after all."

"Do you have any ideas for this little one's name?" Helen asked.

"We have a name, but we're playing it close to the vest," Sam said.

"Is it Leo?" the President-Elect asked.

Sam laughed. "No, Tommy is named after Leo and President Bartlet."

"Also," Ainsley said. "Leo isn't a great name for a girl."

A/N: Please review!