They came out of the alcove and walked back towards the main ballroom hand in hand. They were oblivious to the looks they were getting from the people they passed, but it was impossible to miss the buzz of the crowd as it grew louder. He felt her hand tighten around his and gave her a sideways glance. Her face had become tight, the small smile she'd been wearing pasted in place.

"Sam! There you two are."

"Hey, Charlie. Does Toby need me?"

"Actually, the President and First Lady. They were wondering if you'd found Kate yet and wanted you to bring her over to see them."

"Sure. Lead the way."

They followed Charlie to a suite just off the ballroom that was guarded by the ubiquitous black suits. Walking into the suite, they found the Senior Staff and the President and First Lady milling about with the Correspondents' Association board of directors and that evening's award recipients. Suddenly, the President's booming voice cut through all other conversation.

"Sam! There you are! You found our girl?"

Sam and Kate smiled at each other. The President treated her like another daughter and was nearly as protective. "Yes, sir, and she looks more beautiful than any other woman in the room, with the exception of you, ma'am."

The First Lady laughed at the qualifier, "Sam, I don't mind being outshined by Katie. She's a beautiful woman; no wonder you couldn't resist her. Katie, sweetheart," she said as she moved to hug her, "you look wonderful."

"Thanks, Aunt Abbey. I feel bad that I'm not as dressed up as you, but I…"

She cut her off. "Nonsense! That dress is perfect for tonight. It makes you look amazing."

Sam put his arm around her and drew her close. "See, I told you so. She didn't believe me when I told her that whatever she wore would be fine."

"Sam's right, Katie. Why do you think I let him write my speeches?" The President had walked over to join the three of them. "You look beautiful, honey," he said as he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

They talked with them for a while as other staffers and guests in the room came up to say hello or speak to the President and First Lady. The entire time, Sam kept his arm around Kate, lightly running his fingers up and down her side, tracing her curves. Neither of them noticed Mallory on the far side of the room casting a baleful look at Kate.

"That little mouse should know better! After all these years, she still hasn't learned her place. It looks like I'm going to have to remind her tonight," she said to herself.

"I'm sorry, Mal. What did you say?" her date asked. She hadn't realized that she'd been loud enough for someone to hear her.

"Oh, nothing. Just remembering something I have to do before I go back in on Monday, that's all," she replied with a tight smile.

The conversations in the room continued until the banquet manager came in to let them know that dinner was ready and they could begin seating themselves. By the time they got to the room, most of the Press Corps had already seated themselves, but the entire room stood as the President and First Lady made their way to the dais. Senior Staff followed, sitting amongst the front tables with the exception of CJ, who was also on the dais. Once the President and First Lady were seated, the wait staff began bringing out the appetizer and the Correspondents' Dinner got underway.

The entire room was in an uproar as the President finished his speech. Still laughing, the room gave him a standing ovation that continued long after he'd returned to his seat on the dais. After the ovation had ended and everyone sat back down, the wait staff brought a large tray to the table where Sam and Kate were sitting with Toby and Andi and set it on the table. There were 6 kinds of pie on the tray. Suddenly, they heard the President say, "I thought you guys could use some pie," and the tables around them erupted into laughter once again.

Kate did a lot of listening that night. Not really knowing anyone at the table other than Sam, she was afraid to say anything. He noticed how quiet she was and could tell by the look on her face that she was nervous. Very subtly, he caressed the inside of her elbow before he leaned in and said quietly, "Don't be scared. Just relax and enjoy yourself, Beth." She looked at him and he gave her a gentle smile before giving her a soft kiss on the forehead. Neither of them noticed the smiles of the other couples at the table as they witnessed the exchange, nor the positively evil look they were getting from Mallory a few tables over.

Mal watched Sam kiss Kate's forehead and saw red. She couldn't believe it. The little mouse that had been forced on her when she was 17 and she thought had been trained well enough to know her place was there with Sam Seaborn, one of DC's most eligible bachelors, and he was fawning all over her. She'd had a thing for him in the past, and it could be said that she still harbored some feelings for him, but after the photo of him with the call girl appeared in the paper, she expected him to call and apologize, which he never did. She decided that she'd teach the mouse a lesson that night; it was just a matter of when.

Mal had her opportunity when Kate left to use the ladies' room during dessert. Waiting a discreet few minutes after she'd left, she followed her into the restroom. Kate didn't notice her as she quickly checked the room to make sure that it was just the two of them before she made her move.

"Mouse!" Mal spat out venomously.

Kate recognized the voice, even though she hadn't wanted to. She kept her eyes on her reflection in the mirror as she checked her lipstick, hoping that she was just imagining Mal in the room with her. She was so wrong.

"Turn around when I'm talking to you, Mouse!" Mal said icily.

Very slowly, Kate put her lipstick back in her bag and turned to face Mal, trying to keep the fear from showing on her face. As she looked at her, she was mentally casing the room and trying to locate the nearest escape.

"What do you think you're doing here, huh? You're not even dressed properly! No great surprise there, though. You never could dress properly for anything," Mal said in an evil tone.

"I'm here because Sam asked me to come with him, Mallory. I am dressed properly. I've received several compliments about my outfit. Sam likes what I'm wearing and…," Kate replied in an even tone. She knew she had to be careful. The last thing she wanted to do was cause a scene and embarrass Sam or the President, even though, she thought with a small smile, Mallory was well on her way to embarrassing the President on her own.

"Sam!" Mal cut her off. "He must've been really desperate for a date if he brought you, or did you pay him to bring you along? There's no way that he asked you willingly. You're so plain and ugly! Sam's got much better taste than to be seen with you!"

Kate fought to keep the tears in. She knew Mal was wrong, she knew it. She wasn't going to let her make her cry, not tonight. She was just starting to relax and enjoy herself.

"As hard as it may be for you to believe, Mal, Sam loves me. I don't know if you've seen the papers or talked to Uncle Leo lately, but we're together and plan to stay that way."

Mallory stared at Kate in shock. This was not the well-trained, meek girl that had come to live with them 13 years ago, this was someone else. All those years of hard work that she and her mother had invested in 'training' Kate were gone. She had to be put back in her place. She crossed the space between them and backhanded Kate across the face, cutting her badly with the ring that she wore. Mallory gave a sickening smile as the gash on Kate's face began to bleed.

"Let's see how pretty he thinks you are with that gash, Mouse. I'll bet he'll be running in the other direction in no time. Oh, don't worry, I'll be there to take care of him. You," she said, leaning in and continuing in a menacing tone, "remember your place and keep your distance or you'll get worse than a cut on your face from a piece of jewelry."

Mallory turned to leave with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. She'd taught the mouse her place once again and Sam would be hers. Oh, she'd make him beg for a bit; make him suffer for the photo, but…

"He won't go to you, Mallory," Kate's quiet voice cut into her thoughts.

"Excuse me, Mouse? I thought you said something," Mal replied sharply.

"I said, he won't go back to you. He told me that the only real memory that he has of when you were together is that he always had his guard up and that he couldn't live like that. He won't go to you, Mallory. He'd sooner go to Laurie and risk the scandal than go to you." Kate smiled as Mal looked at her in shock. She knew that bringing up Laurie would stop Mallory in her tracks. She knew that Laurie and Sam were friends and nothing more; she'd made a point of meeting her and getting to know her. Mallory, on the other hand, didn't believe it was possible for him to be friends with a woman like that.

Mallory didn't know what to do at that point. To give Kate the beating that she thought she deserved right then would run the risk of someone finding out, and there's no way that she'd do that to her father. But to her, walking out without doing anything was just as bad. How was she going to learn her place if she wasn't sent flying back there in a hurry?

"Know this, Mouse," she said in a threatening tone as she came in very close to Kate's face, "you may not be getting your beating now, but you will get it. You won't know when it's coming, but it's coming, and it's going to be worse than anything my mother ever gave you. Sam won't be able to protect you from it, either." She straightened and swept out of the room, leaving a shocked Kate in her wake.

Kate turned to the mirror and looked at her reflection. Seeing that the gash was still bleeding, she grabbed some paper towelsand dampened them withwater to try to clean it a bit and stem the bleeding. Her legs began to shake in a delayed reaction to the fear she'd felt when Mal was bullying her and she could feel the tears teetering on the edges of her lashes. There was no way she could go back in there; not like this. Mallory would be there besides, and deny everything. Looking back at her reflection, she wondered if what she'd said was true, if Sam would leave her because of the gash and the fact that she was so plain. She felt one tear fall and knew that she had to get out of there. She ran as fast as she could, shoes clicking on the tile, to the front of the hotel where she could flag a cab and just go home. She hated not telling Sam, but there was no way she could tell him now. He'd confront Mallory, she'd deny it and then the burden would be on her. There was no way she could prove it, besides; it was just the two of them in the ladies' room the entire time.

Once the sound of Kate's heels had evaporated down the hall, a pair of medium brown legs came down in one of the stalls. Opening the door carefully, Bonnie looked around to make sure that there was no one else in the room before coming out. She quickly made her way back to the main ballroom. She had to tell Sam what happened.

Sam had begun to wonder where Kate had gone to. It wasn't like her to disappear like this at all. He hoped that she came back soon. He'd planned on taking her around the monuments after the Dinner was over. Suddenly, he noticed Bonnie making a beeline for him with a worried look on her face.

"Bonnie, what's wrong? Have you seen Katie?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I did. She left, Sam," she replied quietly, hoping he wouldn't flip out.

"She what?!" He couldn't believe it. Why would she have left without telling him?

"Sam, you need to listen to me," Bonnie said quietly as she pulled him to the side. "Mallory confronted Kate in the restroom and hit her so hard that one of the rings Mal is wearing cut her cheek. She told Kate that once you saw the gash that you'd go running back to her and that Kate was to 'remember her place'. When Kate said that you'd sooner go to Laurie than back to her, she told Kate that she'd be getting a beating worse than any Jenny McGarry'd ever given her when she least expected it and that you wouldn't be able to protect her from it." She watched his face carefully. Bonnie knew that she had to keep him from throttling Mallory and overreacting to Kate's sudden departure.

She could see the worry in his eyes as he spoke. "Where'd she go?"

She fished out a key ring from her purse, pulled one key loose and handed it to him. "This is to her apartment, Sam. That's most likely where she went. You know how to get there?"

"No, I don't. She's never told me where she lives, Bonnie."

She knew what she had to do. Kate was her friend, she couldn't not help. "Come on, Sam. I'll drive you and make arrangements for a car to be on call for you for tomorrow."

The relief on his face was evident. "Thanks, Bonnie. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"If it means half as much as it will to Kate, I do. Come on, let's go."

The two left the ballroom in a hurry, after explaining to Toby that there was an emergency. Mallory watched them leave, wondering where Sam was rushing off to with that woman. "I'm not surprised that he found someone to replace her so fast," she whispered to herself.