The lyrics referenced are from Elton John's Tiny Dancer.

"So, Sam," CJ asked as they walked to Senior Staff, "are you bringing Kate with you to the Correspondents' Dinner?"

"I haven't asked her yet, but I plan on it," he replied. Things were going so well between the two of them. She had begun to open up more about her past with him and it had only served to bring them closer together. They had become inseparable, except when it came to dealing with Josh. She always found ways not to be around, or at least not in the room if Josh was going to be at Sam's apartment, and she was always polite with him if the four of them went out. He loved her entirely and Josh was his best friend. There was no familiarity between them, and it bothered Sam a great deal.

"Do you think she'll be able to handle the attention?", CJ continued. There had been a minor feeding frenzy after the photos of the two of them got out, but the statement Sam had written had managed to quiet the press. After it had been released, CJ had received inquiries from some of the better magazines about doing a feature primarily on Sam that would include Kate. She still had many of the same concerns as earlier, but those came from her own instincts. She refused to give voice to them unless there was a real reason to, and had yet to tell Sam about any of the inquiries. She still wasn't sure if she was going to grant any of them access yet.

"I think so. We'll talk about it when I ask her tonight."

They walked into Leo's office right behind Toby. Josh followed soon after, and another day began in the West Wing.

Josh stuck his head in Sam's office. "Hey, buddy. What's doin'?"

He didn't even look up from his laptop, "Not much. What're you up to?"

"I've got a 1:30 with Appropriations. You want to go get some lunch?"

"Let me finish this one thing and I'll go with you. Give me 10 minutes?"

"OK. See you in a bit."

Sam hit 'Save', took off his glasses and sat back. This was only the second draft of the speech, but he felt like he was really getting somewhere with it. He hoped that Toby wouldn't hack it up too badly once he was finished with it, but there was nothing that could be done if he did.

He'd actually been a bit concerned about Toby lately. He seemed more distant and irascible than usual, but Sam knew better than to ask if there was something wrong. If he felt the need to share, Toby would ask to talk to him. Beyond that, he'd just keep his concern for his boss to himself and keep working.

Josh stuck his head in. "You ready?"

"Yeah," he said as he grabbed his jacket, "let's go."

"So," Sam said after they'd gotten their drinks, "you taking Donna to the Correspondents' Dinner next week?"

"Yeah. What about you?"

"You know I'm going to ask Kate." He figured he may as well bring up the subject anyway. Better now while they were both in a good mood about it. "You know, I don't understand why you don't try to get to know her better. She's really wonderful. I think the two of you could be good friends if you'd talk to her once or twice when the four of us go out."

Josh sighed. He really didn't like Kate and never really had. As far as he was concerned, she was a spoiled brat who got in the way of everything. He remembered Mallory's complaints soon after she'd moved in.

Daddy makes such a big fuss over her. It's as if I'm not even there. All she ever does is sit and read or stare out the window. She hardly talks, and my father will sit there and have a conversation even though she'll barely respond. I tell her not to touch my things and she looks at me like she's going to cry. Even at school, I pass her in the hall and she's either got her head down and won't look at anyone or she'll look at me like she expects me to say something and protect her from everything going on around her. I don't understand why Dad told Aunt Bridget she could come live with us. She's nothing but a big baby and more trouble than she's worth.

"You've seen me try to talk to her, Sam. I try to talk to her and she hardly responds. As far as I'm concerned, it's pointless for me to even try. Personally, I don't see why you're dating her. She's not like you at all."

Their meals came at that moment, so Sam was able to keep himself from saying something stupid to his friend.

"She's unbelievably smart and articulate, Josh. I know that she's shy, but…"

"Shy? If I didn't know her, I wouldn't think that she could talk, Sam. She scares me with the way that she just watches everything and never says a word. I'm sorry, man. I know she's your girlfriend, but she really annoys me."

Sam tried to keep his emotions in check. He knew that Josh could be stubborn, but to not even try to get to know Kate, even after all these months, really ticked him off. He decided to let it go. It wasn't worth getting into a fight with him; not now, anyway.

"So, what are you meeting with Appropriations about?"

Kate was waiting for him when he got home that night. They'd made plans to meet there for dinner, and he decided that he'd ask her then. He wanted the chance to show her off to the rest of the world. She was the most beautiful woman in Washington, as far as he was concerned, both inside and out.

He could smell dinner as soon as he walked in the door and felt the day disappear as soon as he shut it. She'd put on an Elton John CD, and he could hear her singing in the kitchen. Very quietly, he moved from the entry to the side of the dining table where he knew she couldn't see him and just stood there listening as she sang along.

"….Pretty eyed pirate smile, you'll marry a music man. Ballerina, you must've seen her dancing in the sand. Now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer, in my hand…"

She had such a complex voice, able to change it to fit whatever or whoever she was singing with. He had no idea how, but she was able to do little vocal tricks and harmonize with the CD, which made it sound even better. She wouldn't sing for him, though. The one time he'd asked her, she refused, so he made himself content with moments like this.

Not wanting to startle her while she was at the stove, he made a few small noises outside before walking into the kitchen. She'd already set the small table for the two of them, and was finishing the rice as he came up behind her.

"Hello, love," he said as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the back of her neck, "what're you making? It smells great."

"Balsamic chicken and peppers over rice. I just hope you like it. It was a really long day and I wanted to make something simple. I hate tax season. I won't have a life again until June at this rate."

Sam chuckled. "Now you know what I feel like when I have to write the State of the Union. You want me to help?"

"Get the drinks and tell me how much rice you want, please."

He went to the fridge, got 2 cans of Pepsi and brought them to the table. "Plenty, please. I'm hungry."

They settled in and began eating once she'd put the plates down. He noticed how distracted and tired she looked while they ate.

"Rough day, Beth?"

"Hm?" She looked at him confusedly. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't hear you."

"I asked if you'd had a rough day. You must've if you're lost in your thoughts like that."

"A bit of one, yeah. It's just been a lot of data entry and such, and everyone's on edge. I feel like I'm going to need glasses very soon," she said as she rubbed her eyes and blinked. She gave a small smile, hoping he wouldn't worry too much. There was so much else that was more important, but she knew that wouldn't stop him.

"Hey," he said, noticing the look on her face, "what're you doing next Friday night?"

"Nothing yet, why?"

"Would you come with me to the Correspondents' Dinner?" He watched her face as he spoke, wondering what her reaction would be.

"That's the one where you guys make fun of the press, right? Sure, I guess. I assume I wear a suit to this?"

Sam mentally cursed the world when he heard that. "No, actually. I have to wear my tux, if that gives you any idea."

She looked down at her plate. He was wearing his tuxedo, which meant that she needed to wear a dress. The only problem was that she didn't have the money to get something that would be par with what the other women would be wearing. She had 1 or 2 dresses, but nothing like that.

He knew the look on her face when she looked back up again. "I'm sorry, honey, but I don't think I'll be able to go after all."

"Why?" He wanted her to be there, to laugh at the jokes and the sketches with him. He'd been looking forward to going to something like this and not have it be 'just work' for once.

"There's no way that I can afford a dress that'd be appropriate, and I don't want to embarrass you by…"

He knew her tone of voice, too. Apologetic, resigned, defeated. So much like it was when they first met.

"Stop. Just…stop. If you need a dress for this, I'll take you shopping. If you want to wear something you've already got, it won't embarrass me. I just want you there next to me. I want to be able to introduce my girlfriend to people for once, not just tell them about her."

She could see the hurt look in his eyes and was angry with herself for putting it there. She'd always trusted him in the past on matters more serious than this, so there was no reason not to now. Besides, it was only a dinner. She smiled apologetically and placed her hand on his.

"You're right, sweetheart, and I'm sorry. I'd love to go with you to the dinner. I'm just nervous about all those people." 'And whether they're going to make fun of what I'm wearing,' she thought.

He smiled back at her. "I understand. I'll be right there with you, so you don't have to worry about being alone." Squeezing her hand, "We'll have a good time, Beth, really. Now," he said as he waved toward her plate with his fork, "why don't we get back to dinner?"

The rest of the evening passed quietly. After dinner, they went to the living room where Sam continued working on the Chicago speech while Kate watched a Robin Williams concert that had been taped in New York a while back. She was laughing uncontrollably and he smiled to himself as he listened to her. It was so good to hear her laughter; to him, it was like music. He always felt lighter whenever he heard it.

He'd lost track of the time as he worked on the speech. One moment, he was listening to Kate laugh at what she was watching, the next, the house was quiet save for CNN. Hitting 'Save' on his laptop, he sighed as he put it on the coffee table and took off his glasses. He looked over at the couch and saw her curled up, fast asleep. He wasn't going to wake her now; it was late and it wouldn't be safe for her to go home. She'd been coming by so often that lately she began keeping a bag there so that she wouldn't need to worry about rushing back to her apartment to change for work.

He leaned over and pushed a tendril behind her ear. His Beth, so peaceful and calm as she slept. He pressed a soft kiss to her temple, and moved to pick her up so he could carry her upstairs. After he laid her on the bed, he wasn't sure what to do. He was a bit afraid to change her into her sleepwear, since they hadn't been that intimate with each other yet, but he didn't want her to sleep in her clothes, either. He decided to treat this the same way he had when he first found her in the snow. Change her into the other clothing as quickly as possible with a minimal amount of contact.

He unbuttoned her blouse, exposing more and more of her pale skin as he did so. The sight of it so beautiful that his fingers ached to touch it, but he kept himself in check by reciting the members of Congress in his head. As he began to pull her arm out of one sleeve, she stirred and woke slightly.

"Sam? What're you doing?" She mumbled sleepily.

"I didn't want you to sleep in your clothes, precious. I only wanted to get you ready for bed, nothing more," he replied contritely. He looked in her eyes, trying to convey his reasons and the fact that he'd had no intention of even trying to take advantage of her.

She smiled at him, touched by his apology. She knew what he wished he was doing, and was awed by the way he held himself back. She brought her hand up to touch his face. With that caress and a soft smile, she accepted it.

"I'll go inside and finish changing, sweetheart. I'll be out soon," she said, getting up from the bed and going into the other room to finish. Sam stared after her, both grateful and humbled that she'd accepted his reasons for his actions and his apology. He wanted her so badly in so many ways that it was becoming agony for him. Swearing softly, he went into the bathroom to change before she came back in. He didn't know how he was going to get through this night with Kate in his arms, in his bed, but he would, just as he had so many nights before.

Kate looked out the window into the street after she'd finished changing. She'd left the room dark, so she knew no one would see her as she watched the neighborhood below. She'd started to wake up as he'd begun unbuttoning her blouse, at first wondering what was going on. Once she realized, she fought the initial panic that began to take over her consciousness. She knew in her heart that Sam would never do that to her, especially after his reaction to her recounting of the rape. She couldn't help wishing, though, that he'd given in to some of his smaller urges. She wondered what it would feel like to feel his lips on her skin, the touch of his fingertips somewhere other than her face.

She was looking out the window when Sam found her there. He came up behind her, took her hand and gently guided her into his embrace. They stood there for a long while in the quiet, each lost in their thoughts as they held each other.

Sam wondered if she was upset with him for what he'd started to do. He loved her so much and couldn't bear to imagine what things would be like if she began to equate him with her attacker. He fought against himself every time he saw her. There were times when he wanted to be just a little rougher with her; nothing that would hurt her, but not treating her like fine crystal, either. He remembered other women, other times when he would kiss them roughly, possessively, hold them tighter than he did Kate. He felt that he had to be gentle with her, that she needed tenderness after being battered about for so long, both emotionally and physically. He was afraid that if he was rough with her, she might think that he would hurt her physically, and that was something he just couldn't bear.

Kate could feel the tension in his body and wondered what he was thinking. She wondered if he felt the same way that she did about intensifying their relationship. She loved the way he treated her; after being beaten and pushed aside so many times, it felt wonderful to be treated like someone's treasure, but hated the fact that he always acted like she was going to break if he touched her the wrong way. She was afraid to tell him, though, for fear of seeming ungrateful. For the first time in her life she was truly happy and didn't want to lose that. She hugged him tighter, not wanting any of it to be a dream.

He felt her arms tighten around him and responded in kind. He brought one hand up and began to play with her hair lightly. Dropping a light kiss on the top of her head, he said quietly, "Let's go to bed, Beth." She looked up at him with a small smile and gave him a soft kiss. They smiled at each other, contentment written across their faces, and walked into the bedroom. There were no questions that night, just the two of them wrapped around each other and whispered "I love you's" as they fell asleep.