XI
"Hey Sam." Donna gave him a smile, but it felt like a strain to return it.
"Is Josh around?"
"He should be just getting out of his thing with the Commerce Committee now." She gave him a cautious look. "Did your mom-?"
He just shook his head, letting his expression say 'no comment'. She nodded in commiseration, then brightened. "Oh, hey. My mom says hi. And she wants you to know she's a little pissed you didn't just say you were gay so she could get on with the wedding seeking in greener pastures."
He couldn't help grinning. "Well, you know, technically I'm-"
"Yeah, but let's not confuse her."
"Thanks, Donna," he smiled, and he didn't just mean for telling him where to find Josh. He headed off to the conference room in a slightly brighter mood.
"Hey, Sam." Josh ran a hand through his hair as he stuffed files into his backpack. "How'd the press conference go?"
Sam pulled a face. "Well, we haven't got a secret plan to fight anything, if that's what you're asking-"
"Hey-!"
"Hi, Sam." He turned to see Matt Skinner smiling at him. "You okay?" he asked sincerely.
"I'm fine," he agreed, smiling back.
"Saw your boyfriend on TV," the Congressman added. He patted Sam on the shoulder and leaned in confidentially. "He's pretty cute."
"He is," Sam agreed, beaming.
As other people called out encouragement to him as he and Josh walked past, he decided that maybe things weren't so bad after all.
"What's next, Charlie?"
"Uh... just a consultation with the Secretary of State, then you're free."
"Okay, thanks, Charlie." He called the young man back as he started to leave the room. "Hey. How about you take the rest of the evening off? Go see Zoey, give her a surprise."
He felt a distinct flare of ambivalence at the way Charlie's face lit up at that. "Don't look too cheerful there, Skippy," he warned.
Charlie quickly schooled his features into an impassive mask, but Jed could still see the smirk peeking through underneath. "I could still rescind that offer, you know."
"Yes, sir."
Jed patted him on the shoulder and smiled. "Ah, get on with you. You're young, you should be out enjoying yourselves. Take the opportunity while you still can."
The young man hesitated, plainly worried. "Sir..." He swallowed the word and started again, tentatively; "Dad... are you really okay?"
Jed smiled, and gripped him earnestly by the shoulders. "I'm fine... son." Charlie smiled brilliantly, and let the president capture him in a brief hug. "Now you go on and see Zoey," Jed added as he disentangled himself.
"Okay. Goodnight, Mr. President," he added as he left, customary formality already creeping back in. Jed wasn't sure whether to be amused or exasperated.
A moment later, he was aware of a familiar presence at his shoulder. "You lied to Charlie," she said softly. Not quite accusing, but... oddly flat.
Jed looked up, and met Abbey's eyes. "It's not... I don't want Zoey to worry."
"You don't want to worry," she corrected him.
He wished she would explode at him, instead of looking worried all the time. It would be easier to feel better about fighting with her if she would explode.
He didn't want to fight, because he had a strong suspicion he was in the wrong here, and fighting would only lead to one of them saying the things they didn't want to hear. But there was only fighting, or running away.
Big brave man that he was, he ran away. "It's late, Abbey," he said quietly, not meeting her eyes. "I have a meeting, and then-"
"It's always late," she said, sounding resigned.
"Abbey, I-"
"I'm flying out tomorrow. And I suppose it'll be late then, too."
"I-"
"Jed-" He saw the pain in her eyes, and hated himself for it more than he could ever hate her for the way she tugged his heart strings so easily. Abbey shook her head despairingly. "You have to- You have to talk to somebody. If you can't talk to me, just please, Jed, talk to somebody."
"I will," he said softly. "I promise." He laid a tender kiss against her cheek, and then pulled her into his embrace.
And as always, for a little while, that was enough.
As he approached the communications area, Sam eyed the pair of identically grinning assistants warily. Ever since the early days of Cathy and her doughnut stealing, he'd learned to be suspicious - and occasionally fearful - of those who were supposedly only there to help him.
"What's going on?"
Bonnie and Ginger looked at each other and giggled. "Your office," Ginger supplied.
"What's in my office?" he demanded, already picturing some fiendish device involving... balloons filled with custard, or something.
"You'll see," Bonnie grinned.
Somehow, he wasn't reassured. He approached the door extremely tentatively, and poked it open. A grinning face appeared in the doorway to confront him.
"Steve!" he gasped in amazement. "What-? Uh, how did you get in here?"
"It's a criminal conspiracy," said Steve, shooting a cheerful wink at the two assistants, who giggled more.
"I'll say. I-" He shook his head. "The media, how did you-?"
"Shh." Steve laid a finger across his lips, causing him to contemplate a few things which were definitely not suitable for the office environment. "Chill out, Sam. Who cares how I got here? I'm here." He drew Sam through into this office and closed the door behind them. Sam blinked at him.
"Okay, whatever you're planning, I should remind you that this office has windows. Of the, you know, see-through variety."
Steve grinned. "Hey, I'm not shy."
"Yeah, well, I have to work with these people, so-"
Steve laughed, and tugged him close enough to lay his head on Sam's shoulder. "I missed you."
"Well, I was only gone for a day and a half, so really-"
"Sam." He rolled his eyes. "Are you, by any chance, clear on the concept of romance?"
"Yes, but until recently, it was something that largely happened to other people."
Steve smiled at him. "Well gee, I guess we're going to have to do something about that." Unmindful of the assistants who were probably not only watching but taking notes and trying to figure out the fastest way to get hold of a camera, the blond man pressed a brief but lingering kiss against Sam's lips. "Have dinner with me," he urged.
Reality, sadly, chose that moment to creep in. "Steve..." He sighed and shook his head. "We can't- you know there's no way we can go out anywhere."
Rather than look daunted, Steve just wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "That's okay. I can cook."
Sam had to laugh. "You're a real catch, aren't you?"
"You're lucky to have me," he said dryly.
"Don't I know it." He sighed heavily. "Steve, we can't go home together. There are still reporters outside my apartment."
Steve shrugged. "So we'll go to my place."
"There are reporters outside yours too," Sam pointed out.
"Yeah, but they're a different set. Adds variety, which, as we all know, is the spice of life."
He grinned, and shook his head. "Steve... they're gonna be taking pictures, they're gonna be shooting for an exclusive-"
"So what?" he shrugged. "We can pose for pictures." He slipped a casual arm around Sam as if they were waiting for somebody to take a holiday snapshot. "I can tell 'em you snore, you can talk about how I squeeze the toothpaste from the wrong end-"
Sam folded his arms. "All I'm saying is, it's a perfectly logical thing to-"
Steve kissed him again to silence him. "Shut up," he said fondly.
They walked out of the office together. "And while I'm at it," Sam added, "let's talk about coffee. Now, I like coffee, I like strong coffee. Everybody likes coffee. But in real coffee, the kind that you drink, the spoon should not be able to stand unsupported. It should not hang suspended when you turn the cup upside-down. I think we can all agree that-"
Steve laughed, and threaded his fingers through Sam's. "How are you still alive?" he wondered.
"I honestly don't know." They walked out of the communications bullpen.
A few moments later, Sam stuck his head back in, and pointed warningly at the two assistants. "First one to say 'awww' has to work with Toby for a month. Okay?"
They both looked innocent, and he shook his head and left. He had a suspicion they were both going to be saying 'awww' anyway. And probably some sort of variations on the word 'cute'.
And he didn't care at all.