Title: Stay Anyway 25/?

Author: Amber (Ambino1111@prodigy.net)

Disclaimers & other notes in Part 1

Previously, in Stay Anyway...

Sam sees his ex-fiancée Lisa as she takes a tour of the White House with her son Alexander. He talks with her and they decide to go to dinner the next night. A political snafu pops up before their dinner, and they end up eating with Josh and Donna in the White House. Lisa vows to hook up Josh and Donna, the latter becoming a new friend. Sam encourages Lisa to stay so they can talk about what happened between them, and as she is singing her son to sleep in Josh's office, Sam talks with Josh and Donna. He goes ballistic when Josh asks if he still loves Lisa. Sam and Lisa decide not to talk about what happened, although Lisa rhetorically asks "How did we get here?" Flashbacks: Lisa is a dentist and first meets Sam at an appointment. Fast forward to Sam and Lisa living together. A misunderstanding occurs when Sam's plans for a surprise party make Lisa suspicious. She tracks down the woman she thinks he's having an affair with, and discovers it was Josh, who had been helping Sam plan everything. At the party, she and Josh, realizing who they are, react strangely when introduced, which makes Sam wonder. He confronts Josh, who tells him the truth. Sam tells Lisa it was all just a misunderstanding and they drop it. Back to the present, where Lisa informs Sam that she and Alex are moving to DC He offers to let her stay at his apartment until hers is ready - she says she'll think about it. Instead, she accepts Donna's offer to live with her and refuses to call Sam and tell him. Sam and Josh have a heart-to-heart about women, and Josh learns about the office-wide pool betting on when he and Donna would admit their feelings. Meanwhile, at Donna's, Lisa comforts Donna, who admits that Josh treats her like a platonic wife. Josh shows up at her apartment, drunkenly informing her of his love, and Donna makes him leave. While waiting for the cab, Josh tells Lisa that Sam still loves her. In the middle of the night, Sam comes over to Donna's and demands to know where Lisa is. He and Lisa have a huge fight that ends with Sam yelling that he loves her. Later that day, Lisa calls Sam and tells him it's over - they shouldn't even see each other anymore. At lunch, Sam decides to ask Ainsley out to dinner and she agrees. Fast forward to Lisa and Alex waiting in the mess to eat lunch with Donna. Before she arrives, Lisa meets Ainsley, who is waiting to eat with Sam. An awkward situation ensues, in which both Sam and Lisa pretend to not know each other. That Friday, HR 206 passes, and everyone is happy. Sam and Ainsley decline the invitation to celebrate with Josh, Donna, Toby, and CJ, and instead go to dinner. After dinner, Ainsley offers to cut Sam's hair. They go to his apartment, where they both change out of their rain-drenched clothes into sweatpants. While Ainsley is cutting Sam's hair, he leans forward and kisses her. A knock at the door interrupts them. It's Lisa, who has just found out that her dad died. She can't get in touch with Donna and feels overwhelmed. She takes Alex on a walk in the rain and winds up at Sam's building. Lisa admits she never stopped loving Sam. Then Ainsley opens the door to see if everything is okay, and Sam admits that Lisa is his ex-fiancée. Lisa mumbles that she's sorry and leaves. Sam is torn between staying with Ainsley and running after Lisa. He decides to stay, and Ainsley wants to know what happened. At her apartment, Lisa gives Alex a bath and puts him to sleep. Then she makes a few phone calls before she collapses in tears. Meanwhile, Sam and Ainsley have a talk in which Sam tells her about his engagement to Lisa, and Ainsley suggests that Alex is his son. In the end, Ainsley breaks up with him, unwilling to compete with Lisa. Sam calls Donna (who's with Josh) and discovers that Lisa's dad died. He leaves and heads over to Lisa's apartment. Lisa watches home movies and, becoming depressed, decides to move back to Pennsylvania after the funeral. She's about to go to sleep when Sam knocks on the door.

*****

"No creature would willingly make an idiot out of itself." "Obviously, you've never been in love." – Worm King and Fry, Futurama

*****

I don't know where this sudden burst of energy has come from, but I'm ready to sweet talk my way into Lisa's apartment no matter how long it takes.

At the rate I'm goiing, it might actually take all night.

"Sam, please, I'm too tired to get into our whole mess again tonight," Lisa says when I knock on the door for the second time. I still can't believe she closed it in my face.

"I'm not going anywhere," I state simply and sit down on the floor in front of her door. She needs a friend, and I'm here for her. I'll wait. I lean my head back up against the door and try to formulate another idea. There has to be something I can say to convince her to let me in.

Unfortunately, nothing is coming to mind.

So I sit. And wait. If I know Lisa half as well as I think I do, she won't let me sit out here too long. No matter how much she doesn't want to talk to me, her conscience won't let her rest if she leaves me outside all night.

Bingo. The door opens suddenly, and I fall backwards into her apartment, my head coming to rest next to her fuzzy pink slipper. After the initial shock wears off, I look up at her and smile sheepishly. She stares down at me, her face a mask.

I notice the redness of her eyes as I pull myself to my feet. "Here," I say, suddenly shy. I thrust a wet bouquet of flowers in her hands. "For you. As an apology for me being such a jerk before."

I can't decipher any facial changes, but she silently accepts the flowers and goes into the kitchen to, presumably, find a vase. I linger uncomfortably around the door, clutching the white plastic bag in my hands.

"You can sit down, Sam," She informs me. I hesitate at the exhaustion evident in her voice – maybe I really should leave her alone tonight.

Nah. She needs company, and I need to talk with her. "I brought something for Alex. Is he sleeping?"

She comes back into the room and places the vase on the coffee table in front of the couch. "Yes, he's out like a light. Poor soul has a bad cold. I'm taking him to the doctor tomorrow."

I nod, absorbing the information as she makes her way back over to me. I put the bag down on the floor, then remove my dripping coat, holding it out in front of me uncertainly.

"Are you going to sit down?"

"Well, uh… I don't want to get your couch soaking wet."

She notices my drenched clothes for the first time and something like a sad smile passes over her face. She takes my coat and hangs it over the back of a chair in the ktichen, then disappears down the hallway. During her absence I carefully slide out of my shoes and try to wring the excess water out of my outfit.

Moments later she returns with an armful of towels. "Here you go," She says quietly, handing them to me before making a beeline for the far end of the couch. She folds one leg under her and keeps the other bent in front of her as she cautiously watches me.

I dry off as well as I can and bring with me to the sofa an extra towel on which to sit. Instead of sitting on the opposite end, like I assume Lisa wants me to, I sit down next to her, not too close but not too far.

She sends a tired glare in my direction, but it turns into a yawn and loses its menacing quality.

"I heard about your dad," I start, testing the waters. She is staring at her hands folded neatly in her lap. "I'm really sorry."

A moment of silence passes before she answers in a hoarse whisper. "Me, too." She dips her head forward when she speaks and her hair effectively hides her face. I have to mentally stop myself from reaching over to brush it behind her ears.

"I want to go to the funeral, if that's all right with you."

She nods almost imperceptibly. "Yeah, that's fine… I think it'll be on Monday."

"Okay. That's what I figured. I could drive you up, if you want. And help you plan it."

She looks up at me and her sad green eyes meet mine. "That would be nice."

We settle into silence for a bit. I reach over and take her hand in mine. To my surprise, she doesn't fight it.

"How're you holding up?" I ask gently, rubbing the top of her hand with my thumb and searching her eyes. I can tell she's fighting back tears. It takes her a minute to respond.

"I'm – I'm a mess, Sam. I – I'm so lost, so confused. And I know, with Alzheimer's, I'd already lost him, but still…" She chokes back a sob. I reach over and gently pull her into my embrace. She resists for a moment before relenting. I hold her as she cries, deep, sorrowful sobs that tear at my heart. This woman has been through so much pain and had no one to help her. Lord only knows how she managed to bear it all by herself. A lesser person would have crumbled long ago, but Lisa… Lisa pushed onward.

We sit there for what feels like an hour, me rocking her back and forth in my arms, rubbing her back and whispering assurances as she lets out all of her pain and sadness and fears from the past three years.

Eventually, she stops sobbing and starts to sniffle. After a while she pushes herself off of my chest and wipes at her face, her cheeks flushed.

"Sorry about that," She apologizes, refusing to meet my eyes. I reach my hand out and under her chin, tilting her face up to look at me.

"You don't have to apologize for anything. I'm just glad I could help."

She smiles sadly at my sincere words, then gestures at my shirt. "I got your shirt wet."

"I think it blends in with the rest it now," I joke quietly. She smiles, not quite as sadly as before.

"This isn't why you came here, though, is it?" There's a slight resentment in her tone. It confuses me.

"It's part of the reason," I admit truthfully. It really is.

"What's the other part?" She asks, grabbing a tissue from a box on the coffee table and wiping her eyes and nose.

"Why didn't you ever call me when Rose died?" I dodge her question with one that has been bothering me since we met in the White House. "You knew my cell phone number."

"I was busy," She answers, expertly avoiding my gaze. "And you were busy, too, don't forget."

"I was never too busy to go to her funeral. I would have made sure of that," I assure her. She shrugs her shoulders.

"We had just broken up, and I had a funeral to plan. It was a busy time, and to be honest I didn't even consider calling you," She says, staring at the floor. She's lying through her teeth, and she knows I know.

"I'm sorry I've caused you so much pain," I apologize quietly, truthfully. She looks up at me, but this time it's me who's avoiding her eyes.

"You have nothing to apologize for. I'm doing fine," She grins momentarily. "For the most part."

We smile at each other for a few seconds before it becomes uncomfortable. I decide it's time to broach the subject I came over here to discuss.

"Lisa, when you came over before, you said that in case anything happened to you, there were two things I should know," I start, leading up to the important question with a little memory refresher.

She nods. "Yes. I love you. I never stopped loving you."

"I know. You said that one. But what I was wondering was what number two –"

I'm interrupted by her lips on mine. Softly at first, trying to shut me up, I suppose, but gradually the kiss deepens, grows more passionate. I find my mind wandering to such topics as the softness of her lips, the distantly strawberry taste of her mouth, and how I've forgotten what a great kisser she was.

With all these thoughts swirling through my head, I completely forget about what I was going to ask her, instead focusing entirely on continuing the incredible kiss. After a few minutes we both stop for air, and there's a look in her eyes I haven't seen in a long, long time.

"Just so you know, for future reference – I wasn't planning on this when I decided to come over."

She smiles back at me, leaning her forehead against mine. "If there's anything I've learned, it's that life doesn't always go according to plan."

I nod for a second before leaning down to kiss her again.

TBC