A/N: Sorry I haven't updated. Been very crazy and I was on vacation for a few weeks.
-----------------------TWW----------------------
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
Sam, Josh, and Toby stared at each other, then at Ainsley, Donna, and CJ.
"Why do you think that I can't take care of our daughter?" Sam asked.
"It's not that Sam, really it's not." Ainsley reassured. "I just... I just want to make sure she'll be okay while I'm gone."
"And you're not to let him near her." Donna added, jabbing Josh in the chest.
"Why not?" he whined.
"Because you'll do something to her."
"I'm not a kid Donna. I know how to take care of a baby. I don't even know why you dragged me into this."
"Because all of us will be out today and Sam will need some help."
"So you picked us two." Toby said flatly. "Well that's great."
"Isn't it?" Ainsley smiled, making Toby roll his eyes. Ainsley leaned up and kissed Sam lightly on the lips. "We'll be back tonight."
"Wait, it's nine o'clock in the morning. How long are you going to be gone?" he asked, panic rushing through him.
"Until tonight."
"But..."
"Honey, you said you could handle it."
"And... and I can. It's just... what do I do?"
"What do you mean? You know what to do with Gracie."
Sam fidgeted and shoved his hands in his pockets, glancing around at his buddies, who looked as clueless as he felt.
"I... I know what to do just not how."
"You pour formula into one of those bottles, then you stick it in her mouth." Ainsley said, making Donna and CJ cackle loudly behind her. "Then you play with her and change her diaper."
"Whoa!" Sam suddenly backed up and shook his head.
"Sam, you've changed her diaper before."
"Yeah but you handle the disgusting ones."
"Well, you're gonna have to do the 'disgusting ones' today."
"But... Ainsley!"
"Spanky, pull yourself together!" CJ exclaimed. "She's got two days until she has to go back to the West Wing. We're taking her out and you're going to be in charge of your daughter with these two."
"I don't know a lot about babies." Josh said. "And I've heard Toby tends to scar children for life."
"You three help run the country!" Donna exclaimed.
"That doesn't mean we're fit to be fathers."
"Sam doesn't really have a choice." Ainsley leaned down and picked Gracie up. She held her for a minute and kissed her forehead, then handed her off to Sam, who blanched. "Sam, stop it. She's going to think you don't love her."
"I do but... you remember that night we were working on the jokes for the Correspondents' Dinner? The one after we got engaged?"
"Yeah."
"And we went down to the Mess..."
A smile appeared on Ainsley's face and Sam turned red.
"Not that. Remember, you said that if men were biologically responsible for procreation, they'd fall down and die at the first sonogram?"
"Yeah."
"I really, really, really, really agree with you."
"Honey, that's really, really, really, really sweet but I'm still going."
"Call me to make sure we're all still alive."
"Stop overreacting." Ainsley kissed Sam again, careful not to squish Gracie between them. "I'll see you later."
CJ and Donna headed out the door and Ainsley smiled as she shut the door behind herself. Sam leaned his head back so he could see his daughter and his heart dropped. Her big blue eyes were glued to the door and Sam could see the tears brimming as her lower lip quivered.
"No..."
She let out a scream, causing Josh to jump and Toby to merely raise his eyebrows. Tears poured out of Gracie's eyes as Sam tried to get her to quiet down. This was going to be one hell of a day.
-----------------------TWW-----------------
Josh sighed and turned the TV louder, making Sam hit him.
"Did you ever think that she's crying because it's so damn loud in here?"
"Did you ever think that she's crying because she doesn't like you and wants Ainsley?"
"Oh well thanks a lot!"
"Look, just... make her stop." Toby said.
"How?"
"I don't know... duct tape her mouth shut?"
"Toby!" Sam stared at him, his mouth hanging open.
"It was just a suggestion." he shrugged.
"Maybe you should call Satan." Josh said. Sam frowned at him, then got what— well, who he meant and shook his head.
"No."
"She's a mother."
"She's evil! And then she'll say, 'God Sam, don't you know how to take care of your daughter? Ainsley should've just let her stay with me for the day.'" Sam said, his voice sounding uncannily like his mother-in-law's.
"Did you feed her?"
"Yes. I changed her, I played with her, I— how the hell does she do this?"
"Women are magical." Josh said. "I don't know. She's a mother. They naturally know these things. Now you on the other hand are a father and you just nod and go along with whatever she says, which is how you got all of us into this mess."
"Why don't you call Ainsley and ask her what to do." Toby said.
"She'll laugh at me." Sam said.
"Well it's better her laughing at you then Gracie screaming her brains out the whole day."
"Give me ten more minutes. I'm sur—" Sam stopped when he heard the door leading out to the garage opened. The boys stared at each other and Josh gave a gasp, causing Sam to turn around. He jumped when he saw Emily staring at him. "Hi Emily. How are you? I'm great. What you doing here?"
"I'm looking for Ainsley."
"She went out with two of her friends. CJ and Donna, you've met them a couple of times."
"I didn't like them." Emily said flatly.
"Yeah, I know. You remember Josh and Toby." Sam said. He began bouncing Gracie slightly and she giggled, but still cried.
"What are you doing to my granddaughter?"
"Trying to get her to stop crying."
"Do you want her to puke on you? Though that might be a good thing."
"Well, she hasn't eaten yet so I don't think she'd puke on me."
"No wonder why she's crying!" Emily exclaimed. "Give me her! You didn't feed her!"
"Ainsley fed her before she left and she's not due to eat for another two hours."
"I'm sure." Emily took Gracie from Sam and headed into the kitchen.
"Wow." Toby stared at the doorway and then at Sam. "I thought my mother-in-law had been a bitch."
"Yeah... yeah," Sam walked into the kitchen and saw Gracie squirming, not letting Emily feed her. "She's not hungry."
"What do you know?"
"That she's not hungry." Sam took Gracie out of Emily's arms and she buried her tear streaked face in his chest. "Ainsley's not here. You can leave."
"Leave her with you? I don't think so!"
"Well, Ainsley left me in charge and that's really saying something."
"Who do you think you are?"
"Her father." Sam replied. "So... yeah."
He turned and walked out of the kitchen. Toby and Josh stared at him as he walked upstairs and once they heard the door shut upstairs, they turned back to the TV.
------------------TWW----------------
"I know that but..." Ainsley stopped as her mother interrupted her. She sighed and jumped, feeling a hand on her thigh. She looked over and saw Sam had waken up. "Hi."
"Hey. Who's that?"
"My mom. I'll be off in a minute."
"Where's Gracie?"
"I put her in her crib." Ainsley turned her attention back to the phone call. "It's not his fault!"
Sam rolled his eyes and sat up, running a hand through his hair.
"Mom, Mom... okay, I didn't call you today because Sam is Gracie's father and he has a right to watch her. He isn't... stop putting him down. No, because she was just having a fit when you walked in and you immediately think he did something wrong! Okay, okay, well I have to go now. Thanks for calling. Bye."
Ainsley put the phone on the night stand and looked at Sam.
"She wouldn't stop crying." he muttered. "Then your mother walked in and grabbed her, thinking I was doing something wrong but... I tried everything and she just wouldn't stop. So I went into the kitchen and took her back then came up here. Josh brought up a couple of bottles and I locked us up here. I wouldn't come down."
"Honey, I am so sorry." Ainsley moved over to him and he dropped his head onto her shoulder.
"What time is it?"
"Eight."
"You have no idea how many ridiculous shows I've watched in the past eleven hours."
"How long did she cry?"
"From the second you left to the second she fell asleep." Sam said.
"Oh Sam..."
"Yeah."
"And my mother didn't help matters."
"Nope."
"I thought that today would be good for you two to bond and it wasn't."
"It's okay. She just doesn't like me much."
"That's not true." Ainsley said. There was a whimper over the baby monitor and they began to get off the bed.
"Did you have fun at least?" Sam asked.
"No. I was missing you two too much."
Sam smirked as they walked into Gracie's room.
"What is going on with you today?" Ainsley asked as she leaned down and picked Gracie up. "I hear you gave Daddy a hard time."
She gurgled and Ainsley set her down on the changing table. She unbuttoned the onesie and blew a raspberry on Gracie's stomach, making her squeal and kick her legs. Ainsley glanced up at Sam, who was scratching the back of his head.
"Sam,"
"What?"
"You have that look on your face."
"What look?"
"That look when you think you've been defeated by something."
"No I don't."
"Yes you do."
"She hates me Ainsley."
"Oh stop it! She does not!"
"Josh said she does."
"Oh and you're going to believe Josh?"
"Yes."
"Josh is an idiot."
"He's right half the time."
"And this is one of the times where he's not right."
"You think so?"
"I know so." Ainsley turned her attention back to Gracie and changed her diaper. She picked her up then and held her for a moment before sinking into the rocking chair next to the table. Sam stood there, his eyes glued to his wife and daughter. "What is going on in that head of yours?"
"Huh?"
"Sam, she had a bad day. She never really cries. Once in a while she needs to cry. Just so happen that today she decided to scream her brains out. It happens."
"Yeah."
Ainsley chuckled and held her hand out to Sam.
"Come here,"
He moved across the room and sat down on the floor next to the rocking chair, then leaned his head against her leg.
"She scares me."
"We're new at this, I don't blame you."
"I tried everything Ainsley."
"Well, now you know how I felt the other day. Stop wallowing in self pity. You're not a bad father. Believe me Sam. We have the rest of our lives to get this right and I highly doubt we'll ever be perfect at it."