Abbey sighed heavily. This was going to be a very long discussion. "Why don't we go up to the Residence to talk about this? You tell Ginger to clear your schedule and I'll tell Toby that you're going to be unavailable for the rest of the day."

"But, Abbey, what if the President..."

"I'll take care of Jed and Leo. I'll be back in just a bit and then we can go up to the Residence. For you, I'm still Abbey there, too." She opened the office door.

"Yes, ma'am."

Abbey and Sam walked through the bullpen on their way to the Residence. He could feel the sympathetic looks of the staffers and assistants follow him as they walked. He was actually happy to be walking with the First Lady and not be the one in trouble. He caught Donna's eye as they neared Josh's office. He smiled at her and saw her relax. 'Good,' he thought, 'now she can get everyone off my case about being in trouble with the First Lady.' There were times that he honestly loved the Sisterhood, and this was one of them.

Once they were settled in the Residence's study, she spoke first.

"Sam, how much do you know about Katie?"

He stared into his glass as he thought about it. "Well, she's told me a bit about where she grew up and her high school. She told me little things about college and moving here. She didn't talk much about her job or her social life. Beyond what I know from when we first met, that's pretty much it." He'd thrown caution to the wind by mentioning their first meeting, but it didn't matter anymore.

"What do you mean, 'when we first met'?" His last statement had thrown her. She had no idea that they'd met before this.

"Well, um, Abbey, I don't know what she's told you, but we met the weekend of her 16th birthday when she came down to visit her cousin, Mike." He stared into his drink again. The two of them wanted to keep Minneapolis as their secret. In a city where secrets were common knowledge, this one wasn't. No matter what happened, they were determined to have at least one part of their lives that they truly owned.

Sensing his discomfort about the subject, she took a deep breath and moved forward. "Sam, a lot of what I'm going to tell you is going to come as a surprise to you, but I'm giving you the abridged version. You'll have to get the details from Katie, when or if she talks about these things." She watched him nod his head slightly, and then began to tell him the story.

By the time she'd finished, Sam couldn't speak; he was so overwhelmed by all of the information. So much had happened to her that never should have. He couldn't even look at Abbey; his head was spinning so fast. The President walked into the room and Sam didn't even move. He walked over and shook the younger man's shoulder lightly.

"Now, Sam, I know you've been close with my wife today, but..."

He immediately yanked himself back to consciousness and saw the President beside him. He jumped out of his chair, unbelievably embarrassed for what he hadn't done.

"Mr. President!! I'm terribly sorry, it's just that..."

"Relax, son. Sit down. Abbey told me what you were discussing. I'd expect anyone to be blindsided by that information, especially that much at once. You're dating Katie, I understand?"

"Well, in all honesty, sir, I don't know if you'd call what she and I are doing right now could be considered 'dating'. I know how shy she is, so I just follow her lead. We're taking things very slowly."

"You're right about that, son. She was barely 15 while I was in the State House, and it was like pulling teeth to get her to come to functions and parties whenever she visited. Ellie and Zoey would beg her to come, and she still wouldn't. One year she was visiting us during Christmas, and I lost my temper for one silly reason or another, because I'd had a bad day at the office and yelled at her for not coming to the function we had that night a bit too loudly at close range. I didn't realize what I'd done until after I'd finished. She looked up at me, and I could see the tears streaming down her face and the fear in her eyes. In a very tiny voice, she said, 'I'm really sorry, Uncle Jed. I didn't mean to make you mad. I'll go if you want me to. I'd better go get dressed.' She ran out like a bat out of hell to get to her bedroom. I went upstairs to get my jacket a few minutes later and walked past her room. I'll never forget the sounds I heard in there for the rest of my life."

"Abbey and Zoey were trying to calm her, saying that they would make me understand why she didn't want to go. She was crying hysterically as she told them that she couldn't ask them to do that. She said that she'd told me that she was going to go, and she didn't want to disappoint me. She also said that she was afraid if either of them told me that she wasn't going, that I'd get even angrier at her and angry at them, too. She said that she didn't want them to get hit, too."

The President saw the shock register on Sam's face as he continued.