Title: Just Beginning

Author: Cate/ceemonster

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: Apparently, I don't own them. Go figure.

Author's Notes: Done as a birthday gift for my dear friend, Teddie. This is my first solo-written fic in a long time and my first The West Wing fic ever. Constructive Criticism is welcomed but please do not flame.

Annabeth sighed to herself as she kicked off her heels under the table, then stretched her legs out to rest her tired feet on the closest chair.

It was over. All of it was finally over.

All the hard work; the campaigning and the flying and the speeches and the schedules. The room service dinners and the messages of the week, the Sunday morning sit-downs and the staff changes - all of it had come down to a single, blurred evening.

Santos had come out with an early lead on the East Coast but the Senator had fought back, closing the gap as quickly as the Democrats had pulled ahead, causing networks to report conflicting information about exit polls and predictions as to the victor. Hours of battling, of back and forth; a political boxing match where punch after punch was thrown and neither candidate was knocked down completely until late into the night.

Cup in hand, she remembered the rush, the anxious waiting through each update once Santos had arrived from Texas. The group of them had stood together; Josh pacing, Helen wringing her hands... even Lou fumbled her way through a cigarette. The Congressman was seated a few steps away, clutching his drink and Leo - despite his imperturbable exterior, Annabeth knew, he too was suffering the anxious pains they all were.

Each new break had them holding their breaths, each phone call made them jump until finally it broke.

Matthew Santos and Leo McGarry were victorious.

She recalled squealing when she'd launched herself into Leo's arms after Santos had pulled away; both of them grinning from ear to ear as they embraced.

"You did it!" Annabeth had congratulated him over the jubilation of the other staffers.

"No," he shook his head, eyes lighting merrily. "We did it."

The blonde woman couldn't help but smile again, soft and secret. For that moment, she allowed herself to revel in what she knew she could never have, not while she was working for him and certainly not now while he was the Vice President of the United States. But in his arms, celebrating their victory, Annabeth's mind had created an instant that would keep her content for at least the time being. Maybe in four years there would be a chance, if they both weren't completely different people... if neither had found someone else... if he'd even had feelings for her like that to begin with.

Her grin faded and not the first time that evening, she wished she'd had a stronger drink at hand but ever since she'd started spending more time with Leo... it simply didn't feel right to partake when he was around. So tonight, because she was with him and despite the celebration, it was Shirley Temples or Pepsi - not that she minded either; they just weren't Cosmopolitans or even the champagne everyone had been sipping since the announcement was made.

Constant flying and no alcohol... the things she did for that man.

At least the former wouldn't be as much of an issue now that the campaigning was over. Granted, Annabeth knew there would still be plenty of flights, they just wouldn't happen two times a day, everyday which meant she could spend more nights in her own bed instead of catching naps between cities and the fitful rests she always seemed to have in hotels.

Taking a sip of her cola, her mind started to wander to the late night meetings, preparing for the next day in Leo's rooms before his voice broke into her reflection.

"This seat taken?"

She quickly dropped her feet to the floor, gesturing for the Vice President-Elect to take the chair as he placed his plate and bottle of mineral water on the table. "Not by anyone who'll miss it," Annabeth grinned then reached for his hand to give it a tight squeeze. "Congratulations again. The shot of you and Santos will be plastered all over every newspaper tomorrow. Now, aren't you glad you're wearing the blue tie?"

Leo squeezed back before pulling the chair out and taking a seat. "Yeah, yeah. So we don't match or clash or anything else that would throw the world into mass hysterics."

"Not the whole world," Annabeth chided. "Just the United States and some of our territories, though there could be some backlash concerning our Allies as well."

"I'll notify the Prime Minister of Britain the next time I dress myself," he promised before looking around the convention hall. "What a night, huh?"

"Mm. Definitely a memorable one. A one time thing - " she caught his smirk. "For most people. We can't all be Leo McGarry, the President Maker."

He chuckled before taking another sip of his water. "I didn't make this one. That was Josh's doing. I was just along for the ride."

"You were not. You were a main draw to the ticket, especially after the Vice Presidential debate. You bought experience and a known name. Stop being so modest."

Leo shook his head. "Everyone can use a little modesty. Especially in this town. There's enough hot air and bloated heads without me adding to it."

"Which is why you and the Congressman won."

"We won because everyone worked their asses off."

"There is that," she agreed. "But you worked your ass off, too. Take some of the credit. Enjoy it and relax! Listen to the music, have some more shrimp and for once, just be a man instead of being a politician."

"Sorry, Kid," he chuckled. "No can do. I've been a politician so long I forget how to be human."

Annabeth's nose wrinkled as she grimaced. "Please don't call me 'Kid.'"

Leo frowned. "Oh? I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it; it's just a habit from - "

"I know," she interrupted, but not before offering him another grin. "I've heard you call Josh that several times but I don't really care for diminutives like that. I've gotten them my whole life, and not necessarily in the best ways."

"Alright," he agreed before a heavy silence deafened them both, despite the incessant chatter and the music swelling around them until neither could take it any longer.

"So, are there any nicknames you do like?"

"Are you planning to just go back to your hotel tonight?"

Both laughed, and Annabeth bowed her head sweetly before her soft, hazel eyes flicked back to meet his gaze. "With my family, it was mostly bastardizations of my name; 'Betha' or 'Annabanana' but I was never one for nicknames, not really."

"Never?"

"Well, not never," she admitted with a playful sigh. "I've had a few nicknames that I haven't minded."

It was Leo's turn to smirk again. "Oh, really?"

"Not like that!" Batting at his hand, another grin split her face and touched her eyes. "Some of my sorority sisters used to refer me as a 'Schott of Sunshine' or just 'Sunshine' for short, and I guess I wasn't completely against its use."

"'Sunshine,'" he repeated, letting it roll of his tongue, as if he were tasting the name. "It suits you."

"You think?"

"I do," Leo stated, picking up his drink.

"Alright then. Now, you have to answer my question."

"Which was?"

"Are you going straight back to your hotel when this is over?"

He nodded. "Once this winds down, yeah, which won't be for another few hours, unfortunately. But then I'm going back to the Watergate before we have to answer to all the reporters tomorrow."

"I think both of us could use a week in bed after this," Annabeth agreed, rubbing at one shoulder and smiling briefly at a pair of journalists from the Philadelphia Inquirer. "All of us, really."

"That would have to be a very large mattress."

"Well, I still think you're fabulous. And I'm sure the rest of the staff does as well," she answered then noticed him fiddling with a piece of shrimp before dropping it back onto the plate. "The food was better when it was first set out. Now it's all cold and tasteless."

Leo nodded then sighed. "Everything I've been eating since the heart attack is tasteless. I should be used to bland by now."

"But you're not."

"But I'm not," he agreed. "I miss steak."

Annabeth snickered once more as she lifted her gaze to meet his. There was a softness there, she realized - though not for the first time - in the silence that followed; one beneath the wisdom and pride that made his eyes twinkle when his grin touched them. She loved when Leo smiled - it radiated a gentle warmth that would always make her lips turn up in response.

A smile like the one he was giving her now.

Annabeth couldn't fight the color as it rose to her cheeks before she ducked her head again to hide partially behind the curtain of gold curls. Maybe he hadn't noticed the blush; she prayed he didn't notice it. There wasn't even any alcohol to blame; just her own thoughts and the hundreds of people around them. The people! Yes, she could blame it on the heat, the stuffiness if Leo called her on it...

A few more moments and he didn't. Merely lounged back a bit more, sipping his water while affording her a bit more time to collect herself.

"You know," Annabeth began again after clearing her throat and tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear, though she still couldn't bring herself to look up at him. "There's this diner just a couple of blocks from here. It's not much, but their coffee's pretty good and Sylvia, the cook there, she makes a delicious opened-face turkey sandwich, as I recall."

Leo's brow rose slightly. "Oh yeah?"

Nodding back, Annabeth continued. "If you're still hungry, after this finishes up and before heading back to your hotel... I was just thinking maybe we could stop there. It's on the way to my apartment," she added quickly. "And that's assuming you even want my company, of course." A bit of playful woefulness slid into her voice. "For all I know, now that you've won, you could kick me to the curb and find someone else to - "

"Hey. No one else can do what you do," he interrupted, his own tone oddly serious as he reached to take her hand once more, causing her gaze to flicker back to his. "Not the way you do it and I'm certainly not going to fire you now that we've won. Hell, I'm probably going to need you even more, now that we have."

"Of course you're going to need me. You're always going to need me."

"I am," Leo agreed. "I can't spend the next four years clashing with the President without someone to take the fall for me."

Annabeth laughed as she pulled her hand from under his. "So, I go from being your consultant to being your scapegoat."

"The pay's better. So are the meals... though that diner you were talking about sounds like a good plan, provided you still want to accompany me."

"Certainly, if you're paying," she replied. "Vice Presidents have more money than Scapegoats."

Leo chuckled and gave a conceding nod. "True, but I'm still an old fashioned guy who believes the man should pay for his date when taking her out to dinner."

Once more, their eyes met, held, then flicked away at his choice of words. A date. But it wasn't really a date. Did it make it a date if he paid? Should she offer to pay or would that insult him? She'd already told him she would only go if he paid but that didn't matter because it wasn't really a date. It was just dinner between two colleagues after winning the Presidential Election. Things like that happened all the time so it wasn't a date and she needed to stop worrying if it was a date or not and certainly did not need to start pretending it was a date. But what if he thought it was a date and she said it wasn't and - and when did she regress back to being such a highschooler?

Annabeth bit at her bottom lip and risked looking back up at Leo. His gaze was across the room, watching couples as they moved together to the melody of Some Enchanted Evening provided by the band. A few hundred thoughts scurried through her brain; everything from the words of the song to the way Leo was twisting his wedding ring to the groceries she had to shop for the following day though they were all cut short when his voice came again.

"How about a dance?"

"With you or in general?"

He scoffed playfully, one hand covering his heart as he stood. "You wound me, Ms Schott. But if you don't want to..."

"I never said that," she defended.

Leo's eyes glittered again as he offered his hand with another trademark smile.

A glowing grin of her own and Annabeth slipped her shoes back on before reaching to accept, and standing. "I can't believe it's over!"

He chuckled in return, fingers entwining and squeezing gently as they started for the dance floor. "You think it's over? Sunshine, it's just beginning."