Kate nervously looked around the main ballroom of the Washington Hilton. It was the cocktail hour before the annual Washington Correspondents Dinner and Sam was nowhere in sight. Ginger had gone off to find Bonnie as soon as they'd gotten there; she'd gotten a call from her while they were on their way there saying that there was a problem with some of the stuff that had been sent over from the White House, and since she and Bonnie were the first assistants there, it had fallen to them to fix it. Kate hadn't wanted to be a problem, so she told her to go ahead and meet up with Bonnie and she would just wait where she was for Sam. Unfortunately, she hadn't judged how uncomfortable she'd be in the meantime.

Every Washington power-broker, writer and politico that mattered was in that room. She looked with longing at the beautiful ball gowns that some of the women were wearing. She felt so out of place with her little black dress and blue faux pashmina wrap; a little girl playing dress-up. The dress was simple and nondescript, stopping just below her knee, with darts on either side that stopped at the middle of her kneecap. It had tank straps with a scoop neckline, and she'd managed to have it altered to the point where it followed all of her curves perfectly. She'd worn her blocked-heel shoes with off-black stockings and very little jewelry. She had on her school ring and a blue topaz ring that she'd gotten as a gift from a family friend, small rope-twist hoop earrings and gold dots in her double-pierced ears and a small necklace.

The charm on the gold necklace stopped right under the gap in her clavicle. It was a script 'K', with a tiny diamond where the three lines that made up the letter met. She never knew who had given it to her. The Christmas after she'd met Sam, she found it among the presents that Mike had brought up when he came back from school. It was wrapped in paper different from all the other gifts, and her name had been written on the bottom in marker. Not sure what to do, she'd brought it back to her room and hidden it until she came in for bed that night. After they'd come back from Mass, she waited until she thought everyone else was settled in bed and nearly asleep before she turned on her little bedside light and pulled the mystery package from its hiding place.

Pulling off the paper, she found a velveteen jewelry box. Opening it, the necklace lay on the raised bed inside the box. She couldn't believe that someone would give her something so beautiful; as far as she knew, she was too plain to ever have anything like that. Pulling the bed loose from the box, she found a little note underneath. Opening it, she saw that it was written in a clean, flowing script that she didn't recognize.

Know that there is someone who thinks you're beautiful and who cares about you very much. Merry Christmas, little one. I miss you.

She kept that note with her all these years. She really didn't start wearing the necklace until she went away to school, for fear that her aunt or cousin would see it and take it from her, especially when she wouldn't be able to tell them where it came from. She wanted so much to know who had sent the necklace to her, but she had no idea where to even begin looking, so she resigned herself to the fact that she'd never find them.

She searched the room, praying that Sam had come in when she wasn't looking. She was getting very nervous now. She swore that she could hear people whispering about her and the fact that she was so underdressed. She hoped that he'd get there soon. She was starting to get jumpy and scared, and it was only getting worse by the minute.

"Excuse me; you're Kate Dillon, aren't you?"

She turned around to see a tall man with medium brown hair and glasses. She didn't recognize him.

"I'm sorry. Do I know you?"

"No, you wouldn't. I'm sorry. I'm Will Sawyer."

Will Sawyer. She knew that name. She remembered Sam mentioning him once or twice as being one of CJ's favorites from the briefing room. He'd said that Will was one of the few White House reporters that didn't care about the fact that they were dating. Will, he'd said, was more concerned on the 'real news' than Washington gossip.

"Oh, yeah. Sam's mentioned you once or twice."

"Where is he? I can't imagine that you'd come here alone."

She laughed, "No, he hasn't gotten here yet. I came with one of the other staffers and we just got here early."

Will looked her over with an appraising eye. "Are you all right? You look a little…I don't know, frightened."

She gave a small smile before she spoke. "I'm just very shy. I get nervous whenever I'm somewhere where I don't know anyone. It doesn't help that I feel like I'm underdressed, either."

"I think you look wonderful. Much better than the rest of this bunch, anyway. I never understood why the women always felt the need to wear haute couture to this thing. A simple dress like yours is perfect. In theory, this is supposed to be about journalistic excellence among the Washington press corps, not a fashion show for the women in attendance."

Kate blushed at the compliment. "Th-thank you, Mr. Sawyer. No one's ever said anything like that to me before."

"You're welcome. Please, call me Will. It's the least I can do, since you're keeping me sane amongst the inmates. Care to join me?" He motioned to a nearby table.

"Sure. I can't deal with being in heels, anyway," she said as she sat in the chair that he'd pulled out for her.

"Can I get you a drink?"

"Please. A ginger ale, if they have it."

"Sure," he said as he waved over one of the waiters and gave him her order. "So, how are you dealing with being among the Washington elite?"

"Fine, I guess. Sam and I don't really go to things like this. This is actually my first one."

"Oh. So how do you..."

"Katie! There you are!"

They turned to see Sam coming toward them at a fast clip. Will stood and moved to the side so that Sam wouldn't think that he was trying to pick her up.

"Hey, Will. How are you?" he said as he shook his hand.

"Fine, thanks, Sam. I found Kate standing by herself and thought that she could use some company until you got here. Now that you've finally shown up, I'll leave you two alone. Kate, it was nice meeting you. I hope I get to bump into you at the White House sometime."

"Nice meeting you, too. Maybe, you never know when I might be around keeping this guy," she looked up at Sam and smiled as she said, "occupied, or distracted, as the case may be."

Once Will had turned to leave, Sam focused his attention on Kate.

"I'm sorry I got here so late. The President had some last minute changes that he wanted to make. I didn't mean to keep you waiting. Was everything all right?"

He studied her face as he spoke and knew that she hadn't been. He could see the nervousness and fear in her eyes, and her tight smile told him just how bad it had been for her.

"Yeah," she said brightly, hoping he wouldn't worry, "I was fine. It wasn't that bad."

"Your eyes say otherwise, precious. Come with me."

Sam held his hand out to her. Once she'd taken it, he led her to a secluded alcove he'd noticed when he came in earlier. Once they were safely inside, away from the rest of the world, he turned to face her. Lightly trailing two fingers down the side of her face, he looked into her eyes and could see the fear dissipating. He kissed her softly, to remind her that she was safe and loved, that she had nothing to fear. When they broke the kiss, he stepped back to admire her.

"Beth, you look amazing. That dress is perfect on you. I swear, if I didn't have to be at this thing, we'd be on our way home right now."

"Sam!" she giggled. He'd never said things like that to her before. Suddenly, she saw his face change as he looked at her. He reached up and touched the charm of her necklace.

"Where did you get that?" he whispered. She didn't understand why he looked so shocked.

"Sam? What's wrong?"

"Where did you get that necklace, Beth?" More forceful now, almost as if he was demanding an answer.

"I got it the Christmas after we met. I found it in Mike's bag with my name written on it in marker. I opened it after we got back from Mass on Christmas Eve. I couldn't believe someone would give me something so beautiful. I didn't think I deserved something like it; I was so plain and small. There was a note inside the box that said…"

"Know that there is someone who thinks you're beautiful and who cares about you very much. Merry Christmas, little one. I miss you," he said softly. She looked at him in shock.

"H-how did you know what it said? I've never shown it to anyone."

"I know because I wrote it, little one. I was the one that gave you that necklace. All these years I wondered if you ever got it. I slipped it into Mike's bag before he left and prayed that you'd find it before anyone else. I was worried about what life was like at home for you, and I just wanted you to know that there was someone that cared about you. I wanted to give you something to smile about. The same reason that," he moved to pull something out of his jacket pocket; "I got you this."

He opened the long box to reveal a diamond tennis bracelet. She stared at it in shock, unable to speak. Slowly, she brought one hand up to her chest and raised her eyes to meet his. He could read the disbelief and surprise in them. Smiling gently, he pulled the bracelet from the box and took her hand so that he could put it on her. She pulled away.

"Sam, I-I can't take this. It must've cost a fortune. I don't deserve something like this. I-it's too much."

"Sweetheart, you deserve more than just this. This bracelet is only a small part of what should be given to you. I want you to have this, Beth. Please, may I put it on you? I know that it'll look beautiful on your wrist. Please?"

She could tell from the look on his face that she wasn't going to win this argument. She put out her arm so that he could put it on. Snapping the catch into place, he brought her wrist up and placed a lingering kiss on the inside of it. He gently drew her closer and put his arms around her.

"It looks wonderful on you, my love. I wish it was just the two of us tonight. You're far too exquisite to share with anyone," he said as he lightly traced her cheekbone with his fingertips.

"Sam," she whispered shyly, dropping her head. She never could get used to his compliments. She knew that he was sincere, but as a child she'd been led to believe that compliments were things said to other people, never to her. She was far too plain and small to ever warrant a kind word about her appearance, too shy and quiet to receive any about her behavior or her intelligence.

However, he was fighting to change that. He'd made it a point to compliment her any chance he had, even if it was something as simple as telling her that she had a pretty smile or that he liked her outfit. Ever so slowly, her self-confidence was growing, but there was still a long way to go before she was out of the danger zone. It was still very fragile. The wrong word or comment could send her back to the beginning, and he fought against that every day.

"It's true," he replied as he tipped her face back up so he could look into her eyes. "Your dress highlights your stunning figure, and the color accents your beautiful china white skin. I won't be far from you tonight at all. Every reporter in DC is going to know that we're together, publicity be damned. My beautiful, sweet Beth, I love you."

"I love you, too, my wonderful, gentle Sam. I love you more than I could ever tell you."

Their lips met in a tender, delicate kiss. No words were needed when they broke apart; each touch said a world of things that neither would even dream of vocalizing, at least not there. A look passed between them before they stepped back out into the main hallway, one that promised that they would continue their conversation when they were safely alone, away from prying eyes and ears, and could say whatever they wished.