Title: Complicated

Author: AAV

Feedback: Please! Alexis2100@hotmail.com

Summary: Romance, especially when you work at the White House, is never easy.

Rating: PG, for slight sexual innuendo and mild language

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it… The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin, the songs featured in the story, not any of it. This is just my humble attempt to create a story I would have liked to seen played out on screen. No infringement was intended.


Chapter 5: An Emergency

Sam didn't want to let her go. He felt lightheaded with pure joy: kissing Ainsley felt so right. As the kiss ended, he continued to hold her close, wrapping his arms around her and breathing in her scent. Sam loved the way her hair smelled. He pulled back to look at her and saw a bemused expression on her face. Sam tucked a few stray hairs behind Ainsley's ear and she closed her eyes at the feel of his hand on her cheek. Never had a man affected Ainsley so deeply. And yet… she knew that while right now everything around them seemed to melt away, the real world was still there, ready to ruin their near perfect evening.

"Sam," Ainsley said softly, "I'm a Republican."

"That's okay," Sam responded smiling, "I forgive you."

Ainsley smacked him on the arm, but smiled as she did so. Then the smile dropped off her face and she sighed deeply. "You know that's not what I meant." She paused, and then grabbed Sam's hand. "Come on, let's go inside and talk."

Sam nodded and followed her in to her apartment. It was exactly as he had imagined. On first glance it looked perfectly neat and organized, much like Ainsley, but upon further inspection Sam began to notice piles strewn about the apartment. Stacks of legal briefs and memos, notes, books, and magazines were scattered all over the place. Sam had a feeling the Ainsley knew exactly where to find everything in each of the piles. "Organized clutter," Sam thought to himself.

"Would you like a drink?" Ainsley asked, heading toward the kitchen.

"Sure," Sam replied as he wandered further into the apartment. He walked over to the window where there appeared to be three stacks of different paper, one of which caught his eye. It was a pile of plain white lined writing paper covered in what was quite obviously Ainsley's very distinct script. He began to read the first few lines when Ainsley came up behind him with a glass of wine.

"Thank you," he said taking the glass from her. "What's this?" he asked pointing to the pile.

Ainsley flushed slightly and grabbed the papers, turning them upside down and setting them next to her computer. "It's just something I've been working on in my spare time."

"You actually have spare time?" Sam asked, smiling.

"Not much."

"Did I see my name on that?" he asked pointing to the now moved pile.

Ainsley stared at him. "You were reading it?"

Now it was Sam's turn to blush. "Just the beginning. I thought I saw my name…"

"Well, if you must know, it's a story I've been working on. Sort of an account of what's happened to me since I came to the White House. The only Republican, and a woman nonetheless, working in a Democratic White House. Kind of makes for an obvious story."

"I bet it does. So, what were you writing about me?" Sam tried to hide the boyish grin on his face, but failed.

Ainsley glared at him. "None of your business." She had actually just finished writing about how Sam had saved her from the evils of Brookline and Joyce and had found herself quite distracted while penning the words. An image of Sam as a white knight kept popping up into her head. She'd lost count how many times she'd plotted the dramatic rescue. Fortunately, what she wrote on paper was the actual accounting of what happened and didn't involve Sam in anything other than a suit.

Sam set down his wine glass and moved closer to Ainsley, mesmerized by the look on her face. He wondered what she was thinking.

Ainsley realized Sam was staring at her and wondered how long she'd been lost in her thoughts. Then she noticed he was coming closer toward her. She felt her heart begin to race as he stood before her, reaching out to cup her face in his hands. Just before his lips touched hers for the second time, the phone rang. Ainsley jumped, startled, and stood still for a moment before breaking out of Sam's embrace. She quickly gathered her thoughts together.

"It's 1:30 in the morning, who on earth could be calling me?" she mused as she made her way to the phone.

As she picked it up Sam watched her face go from her usual pale to ghost white. "What happened?" he heard her ask breathlessly as she sunk down onto the couch. Concerned, Sam moved to sit next to her and draped an arm around her back. She hung up a minute later and sat in total silence.

"Ainsley… Ainsley," Sam said softly, trying to get her attention. Finally she turned to him.

"My father… he's collapsed. That was my mother calling. She thinks he's had a heart attack. I just… I just talked to him on the phone this afternoon and he sounded fine. Now he's in critical condition… Oh, Sam…" She didn't cry, but turned to him and he pulled her close. He held her for a few minutes then stood up and offered his hand to help her up.

"Go get packed. I'm going to go home and get some things together and I'll be back in half an hour to pick you up. I don't think we'll be able to get a flight this late, so we'll have to drive down. If we get started now, we can be there in five hours. Okay?"

"Sam, I can't ask you to do that. I'm sure that you have work to do or something more important than taking me to North Carolina."

"It's the weekend and a quiet one at that. There are no major functions or crises that need my attention, and if anything were to happen I'm sure Toby and Josh could handle it fine without me. Besides, Ainsley, you are what's important." He hugged her and kissed her forehead. "I'll be right back," Sam said then left the apartment.

Even through all of the worry and fear Ainsley was feeling about her father, she knew that she would be able to get through it with Sam by her side.

~*~*~*~

Josh was pissed. Sam knew he'd be pissed but he didn't care. "Who the hell…" Josh grumbled and turned over looking at his clock: 1:43. He somehow knew only Sam would call him at such an ungodly hour. A glance at his caller id confirmed his suspicions.

"This better damn well be important…" he growled into the phone.

"Josh, I know it's late. I just came from Ainsley's. I'm actually heading back there soon. Her father's collapsed, probably a heart attack. I'm taking her to North Carolina tonight. I just wanted to let you know that we'd be out of town probably for the weekend in case anything major comes up." Sam stopped to take a breath and heard something in the background coming from Josh's house. He heard Josh softly whisper, "It's Sam. Something about Ainsley." Even through the severity of the situation, Sam grinned.

"Josh?" his voice had a singsong quality to it. "You don't happen to have a house guest do you?"

Josh's attention was snapped back to his phone call. "So you're taking Ainsley to North Carolina. I suppose we can survive the weekend…" He was interrupted by a drowsy, definitely female voice. "Is something wrong with Ainsley?"

Sam grinned again; Josh groaned. "Tell Donna I said 'hi'. I'll call you as soon as I hear anything." Sam hung up and Josh knew that he was going to have to put up with days of unmerciful teasing as soon as word spread around the west wing. Which it was bound to do. As he turned back over to face the woman that he loved, he smiled as he realized that it would be worth it. He knew he'd be willing to endure far worse torture in order to keep Donna with him forever.

~*~*~*~

Sam quickly changed into jeans and a button-down shirt, threw some clothes and the necessities into an overnight bag and headed out the door. He didn't know why he felt such an intense desire to get back to Ainsley. He knew that she was strong and that she would get through this no matter the outcome. He just wanted to be near her. He wanted her to need him as much as he was discovering he needed her.

He stopped to fill up his tank at a gas station near his house, finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate on what he was doing. His mind kept on cycling through the evening's events: following Ainsley on her "date", dancing with her on the mall, their first, wonderful kiss, and the look on her face when she got the call. So much had happened in such a short amount of time… And Sam knew that his relationship with Ainsley would never be the same. He had a feeling it was going to be the best he'd ever known.

Sam pulled up in front of Ainsley's apartment and knocked on the door. She opened it and Sam could tell that she'd been crying. She also looked exhausted, but as it was nearing 2:30, he wasn't surprised. He was feeling pretty tired himself, but knew he had to ignore it for Ainsley's sake. He'd stayed awake for longer amounts of time during the campaign.

"Sam, I've been thinking," she began in a soft voice. "You really don't have to do this. I'm sure that I can make it just fine on my own. You don't have to worry."

Sam smiled. "Ainsley, I know full well that you are capable of taking care of yourself. But I also know that you're tired and worn out and have had a long day…"

"So have you…"

"Don't worry about me. You do enough worrying. Let someone else worry about you for a change."

Ainsley had to admit the idea sounded inviting. She was tired and as much as she wanted to get to her father, she wasn't sure that she'd be able to drive herself. And she liked Sam. She liked to be around Sam. He made her feel warm and safe in a way she'd never known before. Being with Sam was different than being with Eric. There was so little pretence; everything was upfront. They knew where each other stood on every issue - well, every issue except for their exact feelings for each other.

Sam and she talked; they communicated. Eric had not been much of a communicator, while Sam… Sam sometimes didn't know when to stop talking. And Ainsley liked that. She sighed and looked deep into Sam's eyes, seeing nothing but caring and concern. Finally, she spoke, "Let's go." Sam picked up her bags and they walked out to his car. He opened the door for her and she stood for a moment before getting in, turning to Sam and kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you," she said softly and got into the car.

~*~*~*~

Sam started the car as Ainsley settled into her seat. She suddenly felt exhausted. "Sam? Are you sure you're okay to drive?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine. I'm going to grab some coffee before we get on 95 and that'll get me through. You rest. I know you're tired."

Ainsley considered protesting but found the hum of the car engine and comfort of having Sam nearby was making it increasingly difficult to keep her eyes open. She finally gave in and shut herself to the night.

Sam glanced at her after a few minutes and figured her asleep so he turned the radio on low to the country station that had been playing in the car earlier. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of Sixwire's "Look at Me Now." The song ended and a slower tune started. Sam instantly recognized the opening chords. "I Hope You Dance." He'd always liked this song. He heard Ainsley stir.

"Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance - And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance."

She spoke softly, surprising Sam who thought she was sleeping. There was a sadness in her voice. "The first time I heard this song, I knew I wanted it to be the first song my father and I dance to at my wedding. Now I may not get the chance." Her voice grew thick.

Sam reached over and took Ainsley's hand into his. She wiped her eyes with her free hand and gave him a small smile. He smiled back and drew her hand to him kissing it on the back. He then replaced his hand and hers and re-focused his attention on the road. Ainsley settled back into her seat and promptly fell asleep, her hand encased warmly in Sam's.

The next few hours of the drive were uneventful, Sam focusing intently on the road to keep himself awake. He'd stuck in a book on CD so he'd have something to pay attention to aside from the road. The sky began to lighten and when Sam figured they were about an hour away he stopped for more coffee and a much needed break. Ainsley slept through the stop but Sam considered waking her knowing he'd have to soon so she could tell him where to go. She looked so peaceful he decided to let her sleep a little while longer.

When he got back to the car, two cups of coffee in tow, Ainsley was beginning to stir. She stretched as best she could in the confines of the front seat and Sam thought she looked adorable.

"Hey, Sleepy," he said softly. "I brought you coffee."

Ainsley yawned, then smiled. "My hero."

Sam returned the smile as he handed her the cup. "What can I say? I'm a model of a human being."

Ainsley laughed. "Where are we?"

"I just saw signs for a place called Zebulon when I got off the highway. Sounds like an interesting place to live."

"We're about a half an hour from Raleigh, then. And I'll have you know that Zebulon is named for Zebulon B. Vance, the North Carolina Governor during the Civil War. You know how we southerners are about the Civil War."

Sam chuckled. "What say we's git back on that thar road, then."

Ainsley smiled in spite of her self. "Delusional, Sam, seriously delusional."