Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the West Wing, Hamilton (The Best of Wives and the Best of Women) or The Wizard of Oz (Oil Tankers, Chickens, and Takeout- OH, MY!)

This episode takes place in the context of Bad Moon Rising

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Sam's POV

'What am I gonna do about the oil tanker situation? Am I gonna be subpoenaed?' His held the passenger door open for Ainsley. 'Will I still be able to work at the White House? What's Ainsley gonna say?' *DI-DUuh-ddrrumm* He shut the car door.

"How was your day?" Ainsley inquired as he sat in the driver seat.

'How was my day? Huh, let's see. ... Well, for starters, I'm the responsible for destroying Rehoboth Beach, the wildlife along the Delaware Coast, and the Delaware Tourism industry.' "Toby was on a rampage to find the leak for the school vouchers quote and we messed with C.J. when she was trying to find the leak." Sam chewed the inside of his cheek. "Not quite sure why he freaked out this much. I mean, leaks aren't unheard of in the White House. …. But then again, it's Toby."

"How about you, Ainse?"

Ainsley rubbed her nose. "It was good. I'm finally finished with the HR 437 analysis." Ainsley pursed her lips. "You ordered the takeout?"

*tah-dah-tuh-duh-tah-dah-tuh-duh-dru-UUUUMMMMMMMMMM* Sam started the car.

"Sam?" Sam twisted his torso to look over his shoulder as he back out of the parking spot.

"Yeah?"

"Did you order the takeout?" Ainsley repeated.

"Oh. Yeah… I got the Tom Kha Gai soup, shrimp pad thai, thai ribs, coconut shrimp, and green coconut curry shrimp for you and Tom Yum soup and red curry for me, and mango sticky rice for dessert."

"You, my friend, are the perfect man."

'Except I'm responsible for the oil spill in Delaware.' "That's all it takes to make you happy?" Sam asked. 'She deserves so much more than that.' "Feeding you my bodyweight's worth of takeout?"

Ainsley gave him a side-eye glare as he backed out of the parking space. "You'll find that I'm not pleasant when I'm hungry."

'Don't say 'I know'. I'm in enough trouble already.' "I believe you. I just dunno where it all goes." 'Like how is it physically possible to consume as much food as you do?'

"Hey, you can't complain because it'll give me lots of stamina for later on tonight." Ainsley winked.

'Or a side ache. Don't say that either.' Sam instructed himself.

"Hey did you hear 'bout that Kensington Oil ship that hit Delaware?" Ainsley noticed Sam stiffen. "Sam?"

"Yeah." His eyes fixated on the road. 'Everyone's in it- Coast Guard, EPA, NTSB, state, local- but there are only so many pairs of hands and, you know, getting oil out of water. You try it sometime.' Sam replayed the conversation with the Coast Guard Officer.

"Are you okay?"

*tUUUNNnnnggkk-duh-tUUUNNnnnggkk-duh-tUUUNNnnnggkk-duh-* Sam put on his turn signal. "Yeah." 'Clear on my left, not clear on my right.'

"I asked if you heard about the ship that hit Delaware."

'Clear on my left,' Sam looked over his right shoulder. 'clear on my right.' "Oh. Yeah, I did."'Yup. And it's my fault.'

"They announced tha' they're seeking damages." Ainsley said.

"How much?" Sam fretted.

"Who can say at this point, bu' if I had to guess, I'd say in the area of $100 million for cleanup costs, probably another three or $400 million punitive. …. I know how you feel about these things, trust me. Kensington's goin' to pay it through the nose."

'Thanks to me, they're not.' "No, they're not." Sam corrected.

"I think you're wrong."

'This is one of the few times when I'm right, Ainse.' Sam thought.

"Somebody's gonna pay, an' it's not gonna be them."

"You think their liability shield's that strong?"

'Without a doubt.' "I do." Sam insisted as he turned into the restaurant parking lot. *tUUUNNnnnggkk-duh-tUUUNNnnnggkk-duh-tUUUNNnnnggkk-duh-*

"How do you know?" Ainsley asked.

" 'Cause I'm the one who bought them the boat." Sam parked the car. "I bought the Indio for them when I was at Gage Whitney."

"Wow." Ainsley squeezed his hand. "Talk about your chickens comin' home to roost."

"In English?"

Ainsley rolled her eyes. "It means that it boomeranged back into your life."

"Yeah." 'Exactly. Karma.' "Hey, I know this is gonna sound crazy but I was thinking if I could be deposed for the plaintiffs-"

"Why?" Ainsley asked.

"Because... Look, I was very proud of myself for making such a great deal and it really sealed it for me with the partners and they were about to make me one. And it really didn't bother me that the boat was cheap for a reason. But then, at the 11th hour, I had a change of heart. For whatever reason, I had a change of heart and I told them the boat wasn't good enough, particularly with regards to the steering and navigation systems, which, of course, they already knew, and I suggested they spend more money, and they said-"

Ainsley cut him off. "Stop talking right now!"

"...$11 million extra dollars." Sam finished.

"Sam-"

"They laughed me outta the room." Sam blurted out.

"Stop talking, or I'm getting out of the car." Ainsley warned. 'I just love you way too much to let you do this, especially given what's coming.' "You know better. Neither you, nor your clients, abdicated attorney-client privilege when you left Gage. If you gave that deposition, you'd be disbarred…. An' even if you were willing to be disbarred, there's no judge in the country who'd allow privileged testimony." 'Babe, you gotta stop carrying the guilt and sins of the world. I know that you care and I love you for it, but you need to give yourself a break.'

'They should take my testimony. It's my fault. I should be punished.' "Ainsley, unless a company like this is forced to fork over so much money they don't want to go on living - unless they're compelled to pay $500 million - there's no incentive for them to pay the extra $11 million to make the boat safer!" Sam argued.

"Yes." Ainsley kissed his shoulder.

"All right." Sam got out to open Ainsley's car door. *DUH-fwwhhissshh* "It was just an idea."

Ainsley stepped out. *DI-DUuh-ddrrumm* She shut the car door. "Hey, you never know. …. With the liability shield? Maybe you're not as good as you think." They walked hand in hand towards the restaurant.

"Yeah, I am." Sam clasped the door handle.

"Babe, it's gonna be okay." Ainsley rubbed his other hand.

Sam gave a weak smile. "I sure hope so."