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 9: Facing the Father

Sam and Ainsley woke up Sunday morning, rolled over in their respective beds, and were both surprised to find the other side empty. "I must have been dreaming," Sam thought while Ainsley wondered if she'd imagined Sam's strong arms around her all night long.

Sam showered and beat Ainsley downstairs. Barbara Hayes had also just gotten up and was enjoying her traditional morning cup of coffee. She smiled as Sam entered the room. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

Sam smiled back. "I can't remember the last time I slept that well. But that's what you get for putting in sixty hour work weeks and sleeping on a couch in your office."

"Ainsley mentioned you were a hard worker. Do I see the presidency in your future?"

Sam hesitated. "I'm not so sure any more. I may just settle to be Josh's Chief of Staff or run my own law firm. I'm always considering my future plans, but I haven't made any final decisions."

Barbara looked at him, a serious expression in her eyes. "You shouldn't change your dreams because of my daughter, Sam."

"Your daughter is my dream," Sam responded without really thinking what he was saying. He blushed furiously as the impact of his statement registered on Barbara's face.

~*~*~*~

Ainsley entered the kitchen and wondered what had just transpired between her mother and Sam. She wished she hadn't taken extra time with her hair and make-up so she could have been here about sixty seconds earlier.

"Good morning, sweetheart!" Barbara exclaimed, giving her daughter a hug, locking eyes with Sam and winking. Sam quickly turned around and focused intently on the two cups of coffee he was pouring. He added three sugars and a generous amount of milk to one and handed it to Ainsley.

"Just the way you like it, sickeningly sweet and tasting as little like coffee as possible."

Ainsley smiled. "Thank you." She turned to her mother. "What are your plans for today?"

"Well, I have some phone calls to return, friends and family worried about your father. Then I was going to head back in to the hospital around noon. I called already this morning. He's steadily getting stronger. They're feeling more confident that he'll be alert by this afternoon," Barbara shared. "Your brother and sister are there right now with strict instructions to call in case anything changes. Why don't you two explore the grounds for a bit and we can all go in later?"

"Sounds good," Ainsley replied. "I'm so relieved that Dad's definitely on the rebound."

"Oh, so am I." The relief on Barbara Hayes' face was clear.

"You up for a walk?" Ainsley asked Sam.

"Sure," he replied. "I'd love to."

They headed out the back of the house, crossing the large backyard and heading for a path in the woods. "When we were little, Paige, Marc, and I would run all over here, playing hide-and-seek, capture the flag, pretending to be explorers, and when I got a little older and realized my love of politics, I'd go over to that tree stump over there," she pointed, "and would use it as a podium and would give speeches."

Sam laughed. "You're kidding! How old were you?"

Ainsley blushed. "I don't know, eleven or twelve."

Sam laughed again, taking her hand into his. "Ainsley, you continue to amaze me."

She smiled, obviously pleased, and quickly changed subjects. "So what were you and my mom talking about before I came downstairs?"

Sam looked uncomfortable. "We were talking about my plans, my future… whether or not I'm going to run for president some day."

"Whether or not?" Ainsley said, surprised. "I always thought that was your ultimate goal. For some reason I just can't see you opening your own law firm, hiring associates and partners… You like people too much, you like helping too much and in a job like that, you'll be a bureaucrat, a pen pusher." Sam was taken aback at how well Ainsley knew him. He said nothing. "What else were you thinking of doing?"

"I'm not sure," he paused. "Josh is going to need a Chief of Staff, a vice-president, I would be happy doing that."

"And, assuming that Josh would win the presidency, which if there's any barely reputable Republican running, he won't, what would you do after that? Or until that point? I don't think Josh is planning on running in three years. Not to mention the fact that you'd always come in second, behind Josh. Leo's happy to be in that position, it suits him. Would it suit you?"

"I think I could be happy being second to Josh. I can't think of anyone else I would rather work under. As for what I'll do in the mean time, I was going to say open my own law firm, but you shot that idea down."

"Where is all of this coming from, Sam? You've never mentioned this before. It was ingrained in my brain "Seaborn in 2012", possibly "2016". What's making you change your mind?"

He glanced sideways at Ainsley, letting go of her hand and walking over to where a small creek ran through the woods. "My father… never had much time for me. Never had any time for me, really. I want to have a family, the whole deal: a wife, a couple of kids, and a dog that will never learn how to properly fetch the morning Post. I'm concerned that the life of a political, especially one trying to run for president, isn't the best framework in which to raise a family. It's not even a good framework to raise a stupid dog. Look at the West Wing staff, the senior staff, anyway. Only Leo has children, none of us are married, or if we were we're now divorced, our jobs are our lives. And even the President, his relationships with his kids are good, but often strained. I know it hasn't been easy for him. I've always wanted a family, and I used to figure that they'd somehow fit into the political arena. But now those roles have switched. I love politics, but I want to find a way to fit politics into my family, not the other way around."

Ainsley was moved. She walked over to where Sam was standing and rested her chin on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him from behind. "Maybe you can have both."

He clasped her hands in his. "Maybe," he said softly. Then they turned around and headed back toward the house.

~*~*~*~

The pulled back into the parking lot of Susini Memorial Hospital around noon, Sam now knowing the route by heart. They headed upstairs to find that not much had changed. Each child took turns sitting with their mother and father. Around four in the afternoon, Ainsley sprung out of the hospital room, startling her family. "Dad's regained consciousness!" The family, with Sam in tow, raced into the hospital room.

Sam couldn't believe the improvement over yesterday. Some of Tom's color had returned and though he still looked weak, he lay stately in bed, a wide smile on his face. "Daddy!" Ainsley exclaimed and hugged her father as best she could without hurting him, Tom Hayes cherishing his baby girl's presence. Barbara the moved to kiss her husband, saying "Oh, Tom, you had us really worried there for a while."

"But he's a fighter," Ainsley said.

"You bet I am! And I still have many more battles to wage," Tom replied weakly.

Sam stood as far out of the way as possible, not wanting to intrude on the family's private moment. He was just about to leave when Ainsley grabbed his hand, pulling him back into the room. "So exactly how strong are you feeling, Dad?" she asked, laughter in her voice.

The Honorable Thomas Hayes squinted at the man standing in front of him, then frowned. "Could someone please hand me my glasses," he said seriously. Sam began to sweat. Paige, with a smirk on her face, handed her father his glasses, whispering to him, "Be nice, Daddy."

With his glasses on, Tom looked Sam up and down, with a severe expression on his face. He sighed. "Ainsley… I just had a near death experience. Are you trying to cause me another?" Sam was sure that it was he who was going to have the next near death experience, but the Hayes family noticed a familiar gleam in their patriarch's eyes and knew that he was well on the road to recovery.

"You're a Democrat," Tom said slowly.

"Yes, sir, Your Honor," Sam replied with as much confidence as he could muster. Paige and Marc laughed quietly. Ainsley was glaring at her father, warning him to behave himself. Thomas gave looks to all of his children that quieted them quickly, then returned his gaze to Sam.

"So, you're a Democrat. Work at the White House. Seaborn. Sam Seaborn. Am I right?"

"Yes, sir. It's an honor to meet you." Tom grunted in response.

"And you're here with my daughter." It was more of a statement than a question and Sam didn't know how to respond. Fortunately, Ainsley spoke up.

"Yes, he's here with me. He was kind enough to drive all night Friday so I could be here with you."

Tom looked a Sam again, a hint of gratitude in his eyes. Before the interrogation could go any further, Barbara spoke up. "Tom, I know that you are quite dismayed to see a Democrat on the premises, but you still need your rest. Sleep for a while and you can continue this later." Tom looked ready to argue, but one look from his wife changed his mind.

"Very well," he said, "but I would like some time alone with Mr. Seaborn later."

"Fine," Barbara responded, giving Sam a supportive glance. Sam, meanwhile, was wondering where Tom Hayes' cardiologist was, because he was pretty sure that his heart had stopped.

~*~*~*~

Sam was sitting next to Ainsley several hours later, his pulse just returning to normal, when Paige emerged from Tom's room, a smirk that Sam was beginning to dread seeing. "Daddy would like to see you, Samuel."

Sam groaned. "It's okay," Ainsley said, getting up with him. "After all, he is in a hospital bed. He can't do too much damage to you." Somehow, Sam was not comforted.

Ainsley walked into the hospital room with Sam at her side. "No, sweetie. I need to talk to Sam alone," Tom said. Ainsley hesitated a minute, walked over to her father and said in his ear, "I like him, Daddy. A lot. So please behave." Tom looked moved. He nodded and then Ainsley left, giving Sam's arm a quick squeeze.

"Please sit down," Tom said, gesturing to the chair next to his bed. "It's a strange thing, coming face to face with death. It's not white lights and fog. It's fear, Samuel. Real fear."

"Yes, sir," Sam said, not sure what else to say.

"It also makes you realize some things. Ainsley and I have always been close. She's been a die hard Republican, a fan of politics since she was old enough to talk. And I must admit I was against her going to work at a Democratic White House, but she saw it as her way into the big leagues and knew it was what she wanted. And if you know my daughter, you know that when she gets an idea in her head, she's going to follow through or die trying." Sam smiled. He was well aware of that.

Tom continued, "Then shortly after she started working I knew things weren't going well. Something was wrong, but she wouldn't tell me anything, probably afraid to admit defeat. Then just as quickly as things went wrong, they got better and she started mentioning her friends. That deputy chief Josh Lyman, Donna something, and you. She didn't seem to be unhappy anymore. She still wasn't sharing much with me, but eventually I was able to get her to admit that you had befriended her, took her side on some issue, made her feel welcome. I'm grateful for that Sam, I'm grateful to anyone who helps any of my children. But there's a more important issue here."

"Yes, sir…"

"Samuel. I'm a sick man. I need to know whether or not a Democrat is in love with my daughter."

Sam's mouth dropped open, his cheeks flushed as he stuttered and stammered, "Um… I… Uh… Mr. Hayes, sir…" He cleared his throat. "Ainsley is… um..."

"Stop there, Sam. I think you just gave me my answer. Now, I just have one more question for you. Say you run for president. You're doing pretty well in the election, running against a stellar Republican, of course. The votes are fairly evenly split and it comes to your attention that you could win the election by taking advantage in all of the wrong ways the fact that your wife is Republican. Talk about bipartisan relations. What do you do?"

Sam didn't hesitate a beat. "Ainsley is everything to me. No election is worth as much as she is."

The Honorable Thomas Hayes, one of the most respected judges in the state of North Carolina, defender of the Republican Party, was experiencing something that he never had before. He shook hands with a Democrat he truly liked. "Welcome to the family, Sam."