Tom Landis was an endangered species and he knew it, as a liberal Republican he was sometimes as popular within his own party as he was amongst most Democrats. It made the job ten times harder sometimes as he had to try and persuade his own more extreme party members to his point of view before even considering battling the opposition. Tom's main strength to win support could often be his weakness- his affable, charming persona sometimes swayed people to liking him but sometimes it had them disliking him for being irksome or dismissing him as weak. For his part, Tom just rolled with the political punches and put in the extra work and effort when he had to. Until tonight.

As night shifted to morning, Tom Landis arrived in O'Hare Airport wondering why he was now taking a suicidal step towards extinction. He knew he should be back in his D.C home concluding his points for a tax cut for people who were the guardians of children that weren't their own- adoptive, fostered or blood relations. Tom wasn't being distinctive about it, he just felt these people deserved a financial break considering they had opened their homes to others. It sounded like something few could argue against but the Democrats didn't go for tax cuts, preferring a one off based loss rather than contemplating a long-term loss. The Republicans loved tax cuts but they were prickly about which ones they wanted to pass in the House because of Democratic opposition.

Tom was meant to be meeting with some Republican senators who were more favourable to the tax cut tomorrow but he knew now that he was going to have to get the meeting cancelled. As a congressman it had been struggle to get the meeting arranged, Tom didn't have the clout to get these motions off the ground and as far as the party was concerned he could be gone in a year, hell since he was a liberal there was already a murmur that he would get a challenge from within in the primaries for his seat.

Tom grinned and shook his head at the irony that he was more at threat from his own co-workers these days than he was from the opposition. His friend Jeff was always trying to caution him, ever insistent that Tom needed to stop fence sitting and get more ruthless with his Republican side but Tom just gave Jeff his ever amused lopsided smile and said that ruthless wasn't what his constituents had voted for.

He scanned the airport hastily, ignoring the attempt at Christmas décor, and spotted Cadence standing waiting for him. He thought about what Jeff would say when he found out Tom had blown off the meeting tomorrow and then he thought about what curses would follow when he found why Tom had done it. Tom had yet to tell Jeff about Cadence. Jeff, known better to his colleagues as Jeffrey Haffley, was one of Tom's few close friends in the party, an oddity of sorts given that Jeff was on the extreme side of Republicanism. It was their differences that had led to the friendship as Jeff had considered Tom an amusing oddity that he wanted to shelter and mould in their party. Tom figured and often joked that Jeff just liked to talk to someone in the party without it turning into a shouted debate. Jeff respected Tom when he wouldn't tolerate other liberals and somehow over the years as Jeff rose and rose within the party his friendship with Tom only strengthened. Yet for all of Jeff's desires to see Tom happy he would not be pleased to learn the Democrat Tom had chosen to date.

Tom's pale blue eyes brightened as Cadence spied him and waved as he hurried towards her. She stood in a slightly damp, grey suit without a coat, the handle of a small suitcase in one hand and a black, leather satchel resting on the shoulder of the other arm, the strap of which she kept twisting about her right hand. Her pale golden-brown hair had been bound up into a loose plait that rested on her right shoulder as if discarded rather than styled.

Cadence smiled up at him but Tom saw that her pupils were a little bigger than normal and the edge of her eyes were a swollen tinge of red.

"How was your flight?" she quipped quietly.

"Alright, a tad unpleasant to land in rain, which I see you are dressed for," he responded sardonically. "How was yours?"

Cadence nodded as she kept smiling. "The same, I mean it keeps raining, it's so heavy out there and it was bumpy I..." She paused and swallowed hard before pressing her fingertips together as she let the handle of her suitcase rest against her thigh. "Well you've noticed it's raining." She turned another smile back up to him as she lowered her hands by her sides. "Thank you for coming Tom, you really didn't have to do this."

Tom looked down at her with concern, knowing something was amiss but he couldn't work out what.

"Cady, am I missing something here?" he asked quietly. "I've gathered the shootings in Texas prompted you to think about this Robbie Donovan guy, you've told me that much, and now we're here in Chicago because you want to find some sort of closure over that but is there something else?"

Cadence's unsettled grey-blue stare turned apologetic. "I don't like flying," she retorted awkwardly.

Tom realised that her fingertips were now at her jacket fidgeting with the buttons. She tugged two free and ran her fingertips over their smooth surfaces.

"Don't like it or are afraid of it?" Tom pressed for an explanation.

Cadence's nervous stare darted to the distant, large, glass panes of the airport which mostly just depicted darkness but a few showed glimpses of the heavy rainfall, streaks of water illuminated by a variety of amber and white lights from passing vehicles.

Cadence made herself look back to Tom. "I'm afraid of it," she admitted softly. "I can't even get on a plane without taking something for my nerves, it's just too hard but it's worse with the rain. The rain just washes everything away, all the evidence, the blood, just gone and forgotten."

Tom's blue irises filled with confusion. He figured he should be annoyed with her vagueness and he was but his desire to console her and banish the terrible fright in her eyes was stronger. He reminded himself that she had not asked him to come here, hell she'd pleaded with him not to and he wondered if it was because she was wary of telling him about the many troubled things in her life. Confession was never easy especially not if it was about something traumatic that you just wanted gone from your mind, now that Tom understood better than most.

"Alright, well let's get away from the planes then," he suggested with a faint attempt at humour in his tone. "Do you have a coat?"

Cadence shook her head. "I left it on the plane." She forced up another smile. "I'm always leaving my coat behind me," she jested.

Tom nodded again, he couldn't imagine why she had taken it off on the plane, the aircrafts weren't usually warm and his had been unpleasantly icy carrying the D.C chill with it.

"Do you have any other luggage to get?" she queried as her stare darted to the small travel case he had in his right hand.

Tom shook his head. "No, this is it. I had to pack quick."

Cadence's apologetic look returned. "I'm happy to see you Tom, I really am but I wish you hadn't done this. I called you because I wanted to talk to you but it wasn't to persuade you to drop everything for me and come here, I wouldn't do that."

Tom reached out to her at last, giving a small smile as he stretched up his free hand to cradle her right cheek loosely. "Cady, I understand that and I don't think you manipulated me into coming here. Look, it's not going to be perfect between us, it isn't for anyone, but don't ask me to ignore a desire to help you. It's not a weakness for you to need someone and it's not selfish either."

Tom pressed his nose against hers before he cocked his head and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Let's get the hotel sorted, I have a preference for The Langham, great river view," Tom murmured as he pulled back from her.

He linked his free hand to Cadence's and started to walk through the airport.

"Isn't that expensive?" Cadence quipped.

Tom tilted his head to shoot her a teasing smile. "I can concede to paying for my luxury needs and, since I am making you suffer the pains of a quality five star bed, I shall pay for your trouble too."

Cadence frowned slightly at this. "I'm not asking you to Tom," she said quietly. "I agreed I would owe you for coming here so I suppose a night in a nice hotel is the least I can do."

"Cady charmed as I am by that you're definitely not paying for my snobbery," Tom mused happily as they escaped the bowels of the airport and reached a section of payphones, a services desk and the main exit doors.

Tom released Cadence's hand and gestured to the phones before holding up one finger to her. "Give me a minute or two," he added as he raised another finger, "while I make some calls and get our rooms sorted. I know it's terribly egotistical of me but I find if I use my title it helps but you'll forgive me for that if it gets you an extra comfortable pillow."

"Rooms?" Cadence echoed as she stared up at him in puzzlement.

Tom lowered his hand before taking a step towards her. "Cady," he addressed her solemnly in a quiet tone, "I'm not going to make assumptions on something like that. We haven't been together long."

Cadence studied Tom's serious expression taking in the sincerity in his pale blue stare. "Do you think...we could just sleep?" she queried. "It's late and I'm tired that's all but I have no problem sharing a room with you and it will save us on cost," she added with a small smile.

"Hmm well when you put it so practically in the cold terms of cash rather than feelings how can I say no?" he queried sardonically before the seriousness faded from his face for joy. "Alright." He grinned again. "Let me make the call."

Tom hurried off to the phones leaving Cadence to stand and stare out at the rain. Even with the lights from passing vehicles aiding travellers with another part of their journey it was still dark outside and each time the glass doors slid open to grant someone escape, a cold rush of air sneaked in with a damp mist from the heavy downpour.

Cadence tried to think of anything other than Robbie but it was impossible given it was why she was here. He had died on a night just like tonight, alone in the dark, the rain taking away all evidence of his killers as he bled out cold and terrified. She winced as she wondered how long it had taken him to die, how long he had lain there in agony hoping for help and when he had realised none was coming and it was too late. Had he even thought that? The only thing Cadence didn't have to imagine was the pain of the knife, she knew that, she had inflicted it upon herself, sure he had been stabbed whilst she had sliced but she knew the sting of the sharp blade on the flesh, the sudden rush of blood and the dizziness and fear as too much of it leaked out.

Tom glanced over to Cadence as he waited for the hotel to pick up on the phone. He saw how she was fiddling with her blazer buttons again.


Cadence didn't take in much of The Langham, she was too eager to change out of her wet garments and crawl into a dry, warm bed to appreciate the spacious, ultra modern lobby. She let Tom check them in, wondering momentarily how the congressman could still find the energy to conjure up his merry, easygoing persona for the hotel staff despite the lateness of the hour. She gave a small smile when she heard him introduce himself as 'Congressman Landis' and figured there was something of a slight ego to him even if he was much more subtle about it than John. When Tom glanced back to Cadence with a wave and a flash of a smile she did wonder if maybe he was using his title to ensure a smooth check in for her benefit rather than his own.

She smiled back as she pushed his crimson scarf closer with one hand and nuzzled her chin against the soft wool. When she had refused his offer of his coat at the airport he had bundled his scarf about her joking that he had felt throttled by it anyway.

Tom waved off the offer of aid to their room before accepting two key cards and returning to Cadence. "Tenth floor but we can take the elevator," he mused.

Cadence was agreeable to the suggestion as fatigue had her dreading ten flights of stairs. They got the elevator with ease and exited to a brightly lit corridor, which they headed down to room 1016.

As Cadence stepped into the room she became stoic as her stare locked upon the promised riverside view. Despite the twinkling lights from the opposing tower blocks and the midnight inky spill of the night time river they reflected upon the only thing clear to Cadence was the violent spill of silvery raindrops. The noise was a relentless patter against the glass, distracting even with the thickness of the pane.

Tom stepped into the extravagant suite and headed for the luxurious king size bed. "Do you want the bathroom first?" he quipped.

Cadence tore her gaze from the window to look in Tom's direction. Her grey-blue stare widened a fraction as she finally took in the opulence of their suite. "Wow Tom, all this for one night?" she quipped with a sardonic hint to her voice. "What would you have done for a week, insisted on a palace?"

Tom gestured about the large room with his hands as he gave her a false puzzled stare and a small smile. "I fail to see the problem," he retorted.

"There's a plant," Cadence murmured as she pointed to the potted green plant resting in an expensive looking vase on a polished, round topped end table. "Our suite comes with a plant."

"It's décor," Tom mused.

"Well that's not nice Tom," Cadence scolded him, "plants are living things you know, this guy is just trying to live his best life, it's not his fault someone's decided to make an ornament of him."
Tom cocked his head slightly as his pale blue eyes darted over to the unobtrusive plant. "What makes it a him?" he queried.

Cadence shrugged. "Something to do with biology I guess," she answered with a faint smile. She glanced about the suite again as she tugged her case along. "Why don't you have the bathroom first? It's the very least I can do."

Tom took a step towards her as his grin widened, stretching up the right side of his face as it often did. "You just can't work out where it is, can you?"

Cadence turned her smile up to him. "Not a clue, this place is bigger than my apartment."

"But nowhere near as charming," Tom mused.

The congressman kissed Cadence lightly on the tip of her nose before he veered for the bathroom. "I'll be quick, I promise," he called back as he tugged his case with him.

Cadence occupied a seat on the end of the bed and fixed her gaze back to the naked windows. She watched the rainstorm, transfixed as the pane was submitted to the mercy of the heavy droplets. She could hear the crack of gunshots overriding the roar of a tropical rainstorm and tensed up again as she turned her gaze to one side.

She had grown up in this city and yet it felt so strange to her. She hadn't been in Chicago in years but being back did not fill her with a desire to seek out any old haunts. When Robbie had died so too had her childhood here.

She sank the balls of her hands into the thick duvet, rolling back on the edge of the bed slightly as she wondered at her impulsive decision to finally come back. A small, bitter smile slipped out as she realised it was her idea of therapy whilst avoiding actual therapy. Confront her fears, face her bad memories and all that jazz. Really she just wanted to no longer be the woman tensing at the rain, needing to be medicated to fly and diving under tables at loud banging noises.

"Cady?"

Cadence glanced up at Tom's concerned voice and only when she had to keep looking past her kneecaps did she realise she had her legs hoisted up on the bed and was hugging them against her. She unwrapped her arms from her legs and let them slide harmlessly over the edge of the bed again.

"Nice t-shirt," she murmured.

Tom was wearing a grey t-shirt with Baltimore printed on it in a faded navy font and a pair of black boxers exposing his slightly gangly, dark haired legs.

"I'd to pack quick," Tom reminded her, "and I don't normally wear a top to bed. I mean it was this or the Republicans Forever one and I'm not sure how you'd feel about that." He gave her a grin before gesturing to his right with one hand. "Bathroom is through there, just follow the lights, I left them on for you, and yes, there is a rubber duck."

Cadence's smile widened as she stood up and reached for the handle of her travel case. "I'm a little disappointed you didn't say rubber swan given this place, is it gilded at least?" she queried teasingly.

"How would it float then?" Tom retorted.

"Good point, see you're so much more than a tax hating Republican Tom."

Cadence headed off, following the lights to the bathroom. She wasn't surprised to find the bathroom was as extravagant and modern as the rest of the suite, following the theme of bright cream walls and flooring with marble tops, enough fluffy white towels to last a month and another small, hopeful, potted plant.

Cadence ignored the bath, it was late, she was tired and she knew Tom had to be too so she washed and dressed quickly. Glimpsing her reflection in the mirror, she frowned and hugged her arms.

Cadence hadn't been expecting to share a suite with anyone on the Texas trip so her pyjamas were a comfortable cream vest top and turquoise shorts, both plain and cotton, designed for comfort rather than appeal but despite not being styled for sexiness she suddenly found them too revealing. Her grey-blue gaze darted up and down at the pink etchings on her limbs, their varied shades of pink showing their age like the rings of a tree. The oldest scars remained the worst, deep vertical, jagged lines of a pink so dark it was almost crimson at her wrists, an eternal reminder of the blood that had once been freed there.

Cadence sucked in a breath as a white, fluffy object caught her eye in the mirror. She had dismissed it for one of the never ending towels but now as she glanced over her shoulder to it she realised it was one of a pair of bathrobes. She figured Tom had to know about her self-harm, her suicide attempt had made the papers after all but he couldn't possibly know that it hadn't ended after that first attempt and that instead whilst she forewent attempts on her life there was still a need for pain, to punish herself on the worst of her guilty days, or to distract herself when she felt helpless or so full of rage she couldn't find any other outlet for it.

Cadence tugged on one of the robes, knotted the band about her sloppily and retreated from the bathroom, flicking the lights off as she went.

Tom was already in the bed, under the covers and sitting upright with his back supported by two pillows. The curtains were closed and the only lights on were the two bedside ones. He read the unease on Cadence's face and resisted making a quip about the bathrobe.

Cadence sat on the edge of the bed on her side of it this time. "Do you mind if we turn the lights off?" she queried quietly.

"No." Tom reached over and flicked a switch at the wall, which turned both lamps off.

Plunged into darkness, Cadence felt easier about unknotting the robe and letting it puddle on the floor. She raised her feet and slid under the covers hastily, half afraid that Tom would somehow catch a glimpse of her scars even in the shadows.

The bed was large, spacious enough that the pair were able to lie in it without contact. Cadence knew she could say 'goodnight' and Tom would answer with the same and go to sleep without a complaint or even an attempt to kiss her out of respect for her space. She also knew that if he wasn't here she would have spent a restless night alone with her dark thoughts.

The young woman moved across the bed impulsively until she felt the heat of his body. Turned to face him, she moved a hand up and about his torso to embrace him loosely.

Tom raised his right hand wordlessly and wrapped it about her, drawing her closer to him. He edged her head up to rest on his chest and remained with his hand at her back, drawing circles on it with his fingertips.

"It's going to be okay," he murmured reassuringly.

Cadence didn't even realise how much she had needed someone to say that to her until Tom did. "Thank you," she retorted sincerely.


It had taken Leo a while to hear the truth of Cadence's current location but once it was revealed to him it became public knowledge amongst his staff quickly. It was funny how something that had taken a lot of effort for him to learn was now suddenly free gossip throughout the West Wing.

"Dad you are not getting on a plane!" Mallory scolded him as she stood opposite his desk, towering over him as he sat and huffed in his chair.

Leo glowered up at her as he snapped at some more admin down the phone to get him plane tickets to Chicago.

Leo put his hand on the receiver. "Mallory I am, what the hell is she doing in Chicago by herself? I'll be speaking to Hoynes about this!"

"Vice President Hoynes," Mallory corrected him as she raised her hands to her hips and shook her head. "And I don't think he's Vice President of Cadence's travel plans, she has the Democratic right to get on a plane to Chicago you know."

Leo gave Mallory a look of suspicion. "Mallory, did you know about this? Did she tell you? Surely you know by now that she's not a good flyer and you know why," Leo scorned his eldest child, "and you know she isn't in Chicago for fun!"

Mallory continued to frown at her father. "Dad she's twenty-three years old, almost twenty-four, she's old enough to make these decisions herself and if she wanted us there she would have said."

It was just after four in the afternoon and Mallory had come to the White House as soon as her classes at school had ended. She wasn't going to admit it to her father but she had received Cadence's brief courtesy call early in the morning, it was a tired but typically Cadence blunt confession of having stopped in Chicago as the Vice President's Christmas campaigning had been cut short. It was only when Mallory had threatened to hop on a plane and voiced some serious concern about Cadence being on her own in Chicago of all places that her sister had confessed that Tom Landis was there too. Mallory had been intrigued and even when Cadence had insisted it wasn't a getaway or anything like that, Mallory had still been happy for her sister that the congressman had felt a need to join her in Chicago.

Leo lowered his hand from his receiver as someone started to speak back. He didn't retort as his office door was opened and Jed stepped in with a perfectly neutral expression.

"Mallory, good afternoon," Jed greeted merrily.

Mallory gave Jed a slightly scornful look as she folded her arms. "Is it good sir?" she queried wearily.

"Who's your father on the phone with?" Jed pried as he nodded in the flustering Leo's direction.

"The airlines I think," Mallory answered, "trying to get a flight to Chicago."

Jed smiled. "My wife owes me ten dollars," he said cheerfully. "I said to her, hun the moment Leo hears Landis is there, he's booking a flight. She argued that Leo wouldn't be quite as bad as that, apparently only I am so dramatically overprotective when it comes to the younger daughters," he said in a voice heavy with sarcasm as he pushed his hands to his chest in a self gesture before puffing it out proudly and grinning as he concluded, "but I knew it, I did."

Leo's jaw dropped slightly as his eyes enlarged with his shock before the rage caught up to him. "Landis is there?!" he roared. "What did he do teleport? Is he that eager to get her alone and in a hotel, that's so sleazy, I knew a Republican would be bad for her!"

Jed winced slightly whilst Mallory's eyes widened a fraction before she gave a slight smirk.

"Oh dear, I thought he knew that part," Jed said quietly to Mallory as Leo continued to rant.

Mallory glanced over to Jed calmly. "Apparently not, how did you learn that sir?"

Jed tapped his head pointedly with one finger. "I'm the President, I tend to learn these things," he said knowingly. "Or," he added jovially as he lowered his hand, "it could be because the Republican party have some terrible gossips in their party and we have something of the same within our own party. Congressman Landis cancelled a meeting at the nth hour to debate suggesting a motion for tax cuts for guardians," Jed explained, "a meeting he's struggled to arrange many, many times. Given it's a change his party might've gotten passed through Congress meaning a loss for us, I'm not that disappointed about it. Now I don't think too many realise why he's gone to Chicago, I mean only the entire West Wing seems to know Cadence is there but for those of us that do know both these things, it's hard to believe it's a coincidence."

Mallory looked surprised as her arms slipped down by her side. "So you're saying Tom cancelled an important meeting so he could be with Cady in Chicago?"

Jed nodded. "It seems so, certainly I had Josh and Toby try to find out his real motive since they are both so keen on the story today but, try as they might, Toby in particular who probably holds a notion that Tom has a secret handshake amongst his peers and conducts full moon rituals to earn votes, they could only conclude that Chicago is an inconvenience for Congressman Landis."

"He's a perverted creep," Leo snarled, "imagine being so...so needy for that," he struggled for the right words to say as his rage continued to grow, "that you run to catch the first flight you could for a hookup. No not you," Leo snapped down the phone, "I wasn't calling you a perverted creep! Why would I call you that?" he continued to rant. "It was directed at the man who's barely been dating my hardly out of college daughter but has dropped everything to join her in a seedy hotel!"

"Alright Leo," Jed chided him, "I don't think whoever is on the phone needs to hear your parental problems nor do I think poor Congressman Landis has done anything of the sort."

Leo glanced up at Jed in shock before frowning as if he'd been betrayed. "Forget it," he grumbled before slamming down the phone in anger. "Why else is he there then?" he snapped up to Jed and Mallory.

"Well he might know about Robbie," Mallory pointed out, "that was in the papers. Although, we don't know that's why Cady is there but dad, you can't think she'd pick Chicago to have a romantic getaway with her new boyfriend and he is her boyfriend dad and they are adults so if that's what they're at it really doesn't make him a pervert."

Leo leaned into his palms in despair. "Mallory don't," he begged, "I must always believe you and Cadence are innocent until you marry because if I can't have that belief then Sam is joining Landis in whatever hole I can hide them."

"Dad that's a little medieval," Mallory chided.

Leo lowered his hands and frowned up at his daughter once more. "Mallory I let you have unicorns when you were six, let me have this."

Margaret, Leo's ever faithful secretary, leaned round the edge of the doorway with a curious look. "Sir, I've got your daughter on the phone for you."

Leo looked surprised before he frowned again. "Good, I want to talk to her," he snapped. "Put her through."

Margaret nodded before darting back to her desk to transfer the call.


Cadence awoke to a grey morning, disturbed by the sound of rain pattering against the windowpanes. She had sat upright and looked through the semi-darkness the room was kept in thanks to heavy drapes as she reminded herself of where she was and why. She realised she had no real plan except to go to the site of Robbie's murder and hope for some sort of closure. She didn't know what she would find there or what she wanted to find there.

"I think, given that delightful weather outside, the first thing to do is get you a coat."

Cadence turned in surprise as Tom's quiet voice. He was still lying down, pale blue eyes alert suggesting he had been awake for a while.

As she stared at him and took in his features, Cadence suddenly became conscious of how if he was visible to her in the faint morning light slipping by the drapes then she was just the same to him. She hugged her bare arms instinctively before glancing down to fumble with the edges of the covers resting at her lap.

"Cady I won't ask if you don't want me to," Tom said gently, "but don't feel you have to hide it."

Cadence hesitated in trying to shield herself with the covers. She wondered how in the hell Tom was always so insightful about things, was it a gift or a talent he had worked on? She realised it would probably make him formidable as a politician if only he chose ruthlessness over easygoing charm. It had her wondering if Tom was capable of ruthlessness. John had the perfect balance of both charm and savagery, it was why he had risen as high as he had but it was also why he could never fully be trusted and why as close as Cadence had gotten to him she would never be as close to him as she wanted.

Cadence let her arms go limp by her side as she stared stoically down with shame.

"Well you must know," she said with a cool calm, "it was in the papers. How I tried to take my life after Robbie was killed, they suggested mental illness must run in the family given dad's past addictions and perhaps it does." She shrugged. "What they neglected to say is that it didn't stop there for me. I did have remorse, I truly did, they had to give me blood to save me." Cadence clenched her hands and winced at the reminder. "I can't give blood transfusions because I've had one so I give money to the blood clinics but it's not enough and it's hypocritical really when I snub the gift of life they gave to me by continuing the pattern of pain but I..." She dipped her head slightly and shook it. "Sometimes the darkness just comes."

Cadence tried to summon back her indifference as she glanced up to Tom defiantly. "I know, it's not what you signed up for, none of this is. I did try to warn you," she added with a faint smile.

She tensed when Tom took her hands in his and pulled them out slightly. He raised them in turn to his mouth and planted a light kiss on each wrist.

"Cady you really need to let go of the guilt," he addressed her seriously as his gaze shifted up to meet hers. "You didn't get this boy killed and you hurting yourself after his death wasn't a good reaction but it's not something you should blame yourself for, you couldn't deal with your grief. I understand you've had other problems since, things in Colombia, people dying, you've said a little about it, enough for me to know you want to take the blame for those deaths too but you shouldn't. I think you've had a lot for your lifetime and you're not alone in that."

Tom flashed her another of his endearing, crooked grins. "I promise you I'll present you with problems too, not just because I'm a Republican either, but because that's how life goes. Now, I think there's something between us, I really do but what do you think?"

Cadence smiled back before she leaned forward and gave Tom a kiss. He released her hands and she instantly raised them to grasp his shoulders and pull him closer to her. Cadence thought about how young their relationship was but she didn't care, she wanted his warmth and comfort and she wanted to feel some joy on this dreary morning.

Tom let out a low moan as he continued to kiss Cadence when one of her hands slid down his shoulder and chest and kept moving lower.

"Cady we don't have-" Tom's half-hearted protest was ruined by another delighted moan of pleasure as her hand slipped into his boxers and stirred his member to life.

It started out passionate and fast as they struggled clumsily to remove the other's night garments. It was a brief tangle of limbs and hand fumbling in sensitive spots before they finally got a rhythm going.

Cadence wasn't surprised to discover Tom was a generous lover, patient in the bed, calm and steady until she urged him to speed. He lacked John's talent with his hands but then John had always been as smooth with his fingers as he was with his silver tongue and Tom was here for her on her terms, something John had avoided.

Their lovemaking was gentle, ending pleasurably but without a fiery finish full of passionate outbursts and desperate thrusts to drag the ecstasy out. Tom didn't offer up any thrills, there were no brutal shows of hip thrusting or pushing to express his carnal desires, no dramatic changes of positioning or attempts to throw Cadence down on the floor for domination.

Despite all of Tom's plain offerings of pleasure suggesting he was a little out of practice, Cadence still enjoyed every minute of it. She was thrilled just to feel his warm, naked body against hers, exposed and vulnerable just as she was. She knew he desired her happiness as much as his own and it filled her with a fondness and joy that John couldn't make her feel because no matter how much he wanted for her happiness he still wanted his own more. John had welcomed her to his home for sex only after he had phoned first, on a night when his wife was away and he could ensure secrecy. Tom had come here on a whim, responding to a plea in her voice she had not even realised she had given. He had offered to book separate rooms for them, took the edge of the bed and had not even sought out a kiss until Cadence had permitted it. With Tom it was all on her terms, a novelty Cadence knew she would struggle to come to terms with for a while and one which she would definitely have to repay in kind.

When it was done there was no thought of regret, no worry that it was too soon or concern that maybe sex was all Tom had wanted in the end. Cadence lay curled up against him, deeply satisfied both physically and emotionally.

"Well I guess I'd better buy you a really nice coat then," Tom joked.

Cadence elbowed him lightly causing a feigned yelp to escape him.

"Alright, with a matching hat and gloves too," Tom continued to tease, "but no scarf, that scarf I gave you is nice enough."

"Snob," Cadence teased back.

"Just good taste," Tom retorted smugly.

Cadence sat up and gave him another smile. "Well I'm going to give my sister a quick call and then have a bath."

"Hmm so I should have my shower first lest you use the hot water," Tom mused as he pushed himself upright. "Alright then, say hi to Mallory for me, that is," he hesitated and gave Cadence a calm, slightly serious stare, "if I'm supposed to be here."

"You definitely are Tom," Cadence answered before she gave him a kiss. "Well, that is if you want to be," she continued with the same awkward tone he had used, "I mean I don't have to tell her that if you don't want it getting out."

"Getting out that I finally have a girlfriend? A young, beautiful one at that, oh I definitely do want that getting out." Tom grinned proudly at this before cocking his head slightly. "Of course some people might say you're too young for me, what age are you anyway, twenty-six, twenty-seven?"

Cadence's cheeks turned a rosy pink at this as she realised they had never actually had the age discussion. "Twenty-three," she confessed.

Tom blanched slightly and the joyous spark in his almost clear blue stare was swapped for a look of amazed shock instead.

A moment of silence passed before Cadence was compelled to ask, "and what age are you Tom?"

Tom swallowed hard. "Um...thirty-eight."

Cadence smiled at him hopefully. "Well it doesn't bother me."

Tom grimaced just a little before nodding. "Yeah, I'll get that shower now." Tom stood up from the bed and hastened off leaving Cadence confused and a little concerned.

There was no opportunity to discuss their ages again. Once they had washed, dressed and headed to the hotel restaurant for breakfast Tom had simply avoided the topic. They had talked about the weather and coats, dancing around both the issue of their ages and their purpose here- Robbie Donovan. After breakfast, the hotel had happily secured them a private driver for the day and offered up a discount on their boutique store when Tom had mentioned getting Cadence a coat.

Cadence entered the small boutique store and was unsurprised to see a limited number of designer items on each rack. There were suits, scarves, gloves, hats, gloves and shoes catered to men and women but no sign of jeans, t-shirts, hoodies or sneakers. She balked at the price tags on all the coats and looked to Tom protestingly.

"It's a little pricier than I need," Cadence remarked quietly, wary of offending the sales assistant with her poverty.

Tom waved off Cadence's worries. "Pick what you like," he insisted, "we can forget the gloves if you want but you're definitely getting a coat, it's miserable out there."

Cadence nodded even as she continued to look at tags rather than the coats themselves, half-afraid to sully one with her touch. "Well let me pay for it then," she insisted.

"Nope," Tom retorted chirpily.

The sales assistant intervened, offering up her services by looking Cadence up and down, plucking a few suggestions off the rack and insisting Cadence try them on. She did it all with a smile and cheer, not flinching or frowning when Cadence faltered with buttons and complained about itchy material.

Cadence settled on a form fitting rain coat of dark blue wool with a hood and brass buttons. Tom insisted to the sales assistant that no bag was needed as Cadence would be wearing it, so the tags were all safely removed before he paid for it without flinching, swiping his card quickly before Cadence could tug her wallet out from her satchel in attempt to pay.

They exited the shop and headed through the lobby to the main entrance where the driver was waiting patiently.

Tom reached for Cadence's right hand gently to hold her back before she could step out to the rain.

Cadence glanced up at him expectantly as he fidgeted with his own coat, tugging back the lapel to reveal the lapel of his blazer where a familiar Chessie pin glinted. Tom tugged the pin off before reaching out to pin it on the lapel of Cadence's coat.

"There," he said happily as he released it, "consider it an extra reason to remember this coat. Chessie disappears enough without you helping," he joked.

Cadence smiled again. "Thanks," she said quietly.

Tom's stare turned serious again. "I know it's not a big thing for us to have fifteen years between us," he said wistfully, "not when we're both adults but it's going to take me a moment to adjust to it. You're in your early twenties, I feel a little like I'm robbing you from some fun experiences with college boys."

"I dropped out of college two years ago," Cadence murmured softly, "and thanks to Colombia I grew up fast." Cadence frowned and stiffened slightly as she thought of her second trip there and that brief moment of lost time that she never wanted to think about.

Tom nodded. "Well alright, if you don't mind dating someone my age then I won't dwell on it."

"I don't mind dating you Tom," Cadence said as she smiled again and gave him a kiss, "I don't mind that at all."

Tom smiled as she kissed him before leading her out to the car.

The drive was just over an hour. The traffic was as busy as expected for an afternoon in the city and the day remained grey and drizzly. Cadence was too full of dread for their destination to appreciate the luxury of sitting in a car with space, comfortable seats and heating. It was a smooth ride coupled with the low playing of classical music to try and counter the ambience of the miserable day outside.

When they arrived the driver glanced in the mirror to Tom and Cadence expectantly. "Where should I park?" he quipped.

Tom glanced out of the tinted windows. There wasn't much distinctive about the street, there were some takeaways with their shutters closed, heavy, black iron fencing along a large strip of the sidewalk sheltering a park behind it and a partially vacant parking lot that served a laundromat and a video rental.

"The parking lot will do," Tom retorted. He wondered where the ATM was or if it even existed anymore.

Cadence was wondering the same think as she turned a hollow stare out of the window, watching as the rain fell and remembered that it had been heavier all those years ago.

The driver complied, holding back his thoughts that he didn't think the area was all that suitable for a car as fancy as the one he was steering. He figured at least the area seemed quiet, either it was a blessing or a trap.

Once the car was parked, Tom looked at Cadence expectantly.

Cadence glanced over at Tom before unbuckling her seatbelt. "It was just across the road," she murmured.

"Didn't he have a lift waiting?" Tom blurted out. "I mean...there's nothing around here," he added lamely.

"This is Bramble Park Avenue," Cadence explained quietly, "we lived at Bramble Park Lane, it's actually the other side of the park entirely and you can't cut through the park after nine but Robbie," she hesitated saying his name and her body tautened slightly, "he didn't know the area. He wasn't as close as he thought," she murmured as she felt her eyes turn wet with tears, "they think he got dropped off here to lift money out and sent the taxi on because he thought he could walk round, even in the rain. He must have thought he close, God Tom it took hours before we could find him, even when dad had people out looking for him, knowing he was supposed to be at my house, he wasn't close enough for them or anyone else to notice."

Cadence slackened again as she shook her head miserably. She turned to the door, pausing to tug up her hood before she opened the door and headed out into the rain.

"Just give us a few minutes," Tom compelled the driver.

"As long as you, the hotel said I'm your driver for the day," came the calm retort.

Tom nodded before he headed out into the rain as well.

Cadence was already walking, moving slowly as she searched for the spot. The ATM was still standing, she could see it from across the road, nestled in a graffitied, brown brick building with blackened windows and worn, forgotten signs indicating failed businesses.

She tensed as Tom's hand slipping into hers startled her slightly. Her moistened blue-grey eyes turned up to him though it was clear she didn't know what emotion to offer him in them.

"It's got to be weird bringing a new boyfriend to the spot where...where another died," she concluded woefully.

"A little," Tom agreed, "but good therapy I'm sure and believe me Cady, I'd rather I was here than you were doing this alone."

They headed across the road at the traffic lights before reaching the ATM, which a cracked screen that was lit up with 'Out of Order'. It was a few feet from it, away from the spying ATM camera that Robbie had been killed for his cash. Cadence searched about for a camera but there was none nor a street light. There was nothing she could see to indicate that anything had ever happened here.

"God damn it," she cursed into the mild downpour. "Why aren't there any cameras? Do they want someone else to get stabbed for their money? Does it not matter?!" she shouted angrily as she broke free from Tom.

The congressman watched silently as she walked on, staring up, down and around angrily searching for some sign of security or some indication that poor Robbie Donovan had died here. He realised as she twisted and turned about that she was trying to guess at the exact spot where the man had taken his last breath but she couldn't.

Tom racked his brain trying to think who the senators and representatives of Illinois where. There were two senators, Democrats so he wasn't all that familiar with them, and eighteen representatives, only a handful of which were Republican, three of them were new this year, he knew that because they were all Republicans who had taken Democrat seats. There were four for Chicago, all Democrats, which had Tom wondering why Leo or the President hadn't used some influence to get this spot secured with CCTV. He knew such a simple gesture wouldn't have been expensive or difficult and could easily have been done under the radar if they didn't want publicity.

Cadence was shaking her head in confusion as tears streaked her cheeks. "I know it was here, it was, he died here but why...why doesn't it seem like it? Why isn't there anything?" She sighed and wiped away her tears. "God who am I to ask that? I've never come here, never even left flowers, I was a coward."

Tom walked towards her slowly, halting just a few inches from her. He reached out to her hands, taking them in his gloved ones and squeezing them gently. "Cady, I know you want there to be something here because you need the world to remember that he suffered and died here because it's the memory that's always stayed with you but can you consider something else?"

Cadence looked up at Tom in confusion, her face white with the chill of the air and damp with the rain and tears. "What Tom?" she queried quietly.

"I think it's always better to remember where someone lived not where they died. This was not a good place or time for him and I didn't know him but I don't think it's the memory he would want you to have of him nor do I think he'd want it to be the one you choose to repeat of him."

"Do I just forget then?" she asked sorrowfully. "Like everyone else here evidently has?"

"Cady no one that he mattered to has ever forgotten him I'm sure but what you're asking is for people to remember the violence and the death, to be chained down to it like you are and that's not helpful."

Tom's tone became serious and firm as he continued to hold her hands, squeezing them not to hurt but as if to anchor her to him.

"People need to be able to move on and attempt to welcome happiness back into their lives." he said firmly. "I think people should learn from acts like this but they should always move forward from them, they shouldn't be trapped in the memory of them forever, hoping that constantly thinking about the horror is some sort of worthy penance to the victim. That's why you torture yourself over and over again because you think it should've been you, you here in Chicago that night, not Robbie, you in Colombia, not those villagers, you in D.C, not that suicidal man who's name you still won't say to me. You think because you didn't die you should suffer some other way then to make it up to them but Cady that isn't what they would want."

Cadence stared up at him woefully as tears soaked her face. "How do you know that Tom?" she demanded doubtfully.

Tom smiled but this time it was a crooked weak grin full of bitterness. "Because I have been there Cady, I have been the survivor full of guilt and blame."

Cadence looked surprised at this but when Tom shook his head she knew it was not a confession she was getting today.

"If you really want to leave something here we can get the car to take you to a shop for flowers or a card or whatever is you want," Tom offered.

Cadence bowed her head as she considered it. She agreed with what Tom said to a degree but it still disturbed her that no changes had been made to the street since Robbie's passing save for perhaps a few new swears sprayed onto the walls and fresh cracks in the worn pavement.

Her grey-blue eyes darted about the sidewalk again. "I'm going to petition for CCTV," she said stubbornly, "and lights as well, if I can do that for him it's something."

Tom nodded agreeably at this. "Well it's Democrats who hold the power for that," he advised, "so you should know where to start."

Cadence nodded confidently at this. "I do." She gave Tom a faint flash of a grateful smile. "We can go back to the car."

Tom smiled back. "Good, lunch then?"

"Sure."

The rest of the afternoon passed pleasantly for the pair. They had a nice lunch at a popular restaurant in the main hub of the city before retreating to the hotel and sorted their flight back to D.C. When they returned to their room to pack, Cadence also decided to ring her father.

She wasn't surprised when the jovial Margaret received her call before passing her through to Leo.

"Cadence what in the hell are you doing in Chicago?" Leo's irate voice demanded before Cadence could even speak. "And with him?" he added in a snarl as if Tom was a demonic entity whose name could not be spoken.

"Firstly, hello dad," Cadence retorted sardonically as she sat on the edge of the bed twisting the phone cord about her fingers, "secondly, who told you Tom was here? Mallory?"

"It doesn't matter who! Why are you there? Why is he? Is he taking advantage of you? Is he? He's irresponsible abandoning business to...to...well I won't even say it!" Leo spluttered.

Cadence smiled when she heard Mallory's recognisable chortles in the background. "Say hi to Mallory for me," she said brightly. "Look dad, calm down please. Yes, I'm in Chicago and you can stop worrying, I've got a flight booked to return to D.C, I'll be heading to the airport in under an hour."

"How can I not worry? You hate flying and you're with a perverted Republican," he added angrily.

"Dad!" Cadence snapped. "It's not like that!"

Tom arched a dark eyebrow as he seemed to catch some of what Leo was shouting. He had just returned from the bathroom with the rubber duck in hand.

"I called Tom to tell him I was coming here and he knew I needed someone so he came to help me."

"I would've come!"

"I know dad which is why I didn't ring you until now, you would have only tried to talk me out of what I needed to do."

"Which was what Cadence? You still haven't told me!" Leo reminded her angrily.

Cadence winced as she got her full name from her father. "I..." She twisted the cord again as her gaze darted up to the window which had raindrops dribbling down it. "I had to see where Robbie died," she confessed. "I keep going back to it over and over, it and Colombia, those poor people were gunned down in the rain like animals." She swallowed hard and bowed her head. "And I can't stop thinking about it, I can't get control of it, every time it rains or there's a loud noise I smell the burning of the gun residue and I feel a nozzle against my head." She closed her eyes and trembled slightly. "I feel the damp when it rains and I think God this is it, this is where it ends for me. I've been so lucky surviving when others don't but this is it now. I begged every time dad, I'm not brave like you, they threatened me and I begged and I lied again and again."

"Cady you talk like I can't relate to it but I can baby girl, I can," Leo said gently. "I know exactly what it's like to bleed out in the rain, in the dark surrounded by enemies and thinking death is coming. I know the fear, I know how rainfall brings back the memories of violence and loud noises remind you of the gunfire that brings death."

Cadence tensed up and realised how stupid and selfish she had been to think her father couldn't understand when he had almost died in the jungles of Vietnam. "But you're so much stronger than me dad," she said quietly, her voice almost breaking as she only just held back the sob, "you wouldn't have gotten abducted all over again, you wouldn't have cried and begged, I know you wouldn't have but I did and then I lied." She started to cry. "I lied to live."

When she started sobbing, Tom plucked the phone from her hand gently and leaned down to talk into it as he couldn't raise it too high with the cord still tangled about her fingers.

"Mr McGarry I'm going to her home safely," Tom addressed him sombrely, "and I'll be looking after her for every second of the journey."

"And when you get her home?" Leo demanded. "What happens then? I don't know what she's talking about you know," he said sincerely, "you've only her confused words to take to the press there's no evidence."

"Sir, I'm sorry we haven't formally met yet," Tom said politely. "I know we had a run in, in the lobby, when Cadence spoke about things then that I know I never repeated to anyone but there wasn't any kind of introduction for us. I wasn't dating her then either but I am dating her now and I would like for us to meet properly so you can understand that I would never do a thing to harm her and that what I want is for her to be happy because she makes me happy. Now, she's upset, it's been that kind of day, so I'm going to hang up the phone and work on getting her smiling again. Goodbye sir."

Tom began untangling the phone from Cadence and smiled as he heard a reluctant 'bye' just before he set the phone down.

The congressman took a seat beside Cadence and placed the rubber duck in her lap. It was a pale pink with a dark pink beak.

"It was Colombia," Cadence said softly as she stared down at her lap. "The second time, a bad thing happened there before I had to make that speech."

She fidgeted with her fingers in her lap.

"Well, we can talk about it now if you want," Tom replied quietly.

Cadence sighed and shook her head before giving him a sombre stare. "I think I've done enough of that today and I'm a little drained from it."

Tom nodded empathetically. "Well, there's no rush, you and I have all the time in the world to share."


Flip this chapter was a lot of work, I guess I figured not enough West Wing characters in it but oh well I'm still pleased with it.
So, turns out Tom Landis is actually a congressman of Maryland not Virginia and there are two Chesapeakes, a city in Virginia and Chesapeake City in Maryland. I'd love to plead British ignorance to this but firstly, a senator/congressman in his one episode appearance clearly states he's of Maryland and secondly, I've been to both Maryland and Virginia and frigging Chesapeake Bay twice, that is I've been to Baltimore twice and posed with the Chessie water boats but hey I only learned John Denver was singing 'West Virginia' and not 'where's Virginia' when my brother-in-law took us to West Virgina and said 'this is where John Denver was singing about'.
Also, Matt McCoy was 45 when he played Tom Landis but I made Landis a little younger to have less of an age gap with Cadence and because I also thought Josh was in his late thirties, he was not, Bradley Whitford was 44 in that episode. I thought the whole joke was that Sam and Josh were ludicrously for the jobs but thinking about all their qualifications and experience being in their forties is probably more accurate. Although that was Season 4 and right this is fic is set around the start of Season 2 so I guess they should be around 40/41 so I've only made them slightly younger. Oooh well!
So basically, Tom Landis in this fanfic bares only a slight resemblance to his one episode character appearance on the show.