Sam entered Gracie's room quietly and saw she had her back to the door as she sat at her desk, typing something up on her computer. Gracie glanced over at him but didn't say anything. Sam sat down in the chair next to her and stared at her.
"I'm not saying it so you can go somewhere else if you want an apology." Gracie said.
"Watch your mouth. And you do owe me an apology."
"You owe me one too."
"I don't owe you an apology."
"Yes you do."
"No I don't. I'm doing what's right. I don't have to apologize for that."
"You can apologize for screwing up my life. Do you have any idea what it's like being watched 24/7?"
"Yeah I do. See, I work in that round room downstairs with the armed guards standing at each door."
"Yeah I've realized." Gracie muttered. She started typing up her report again and Sam pulled the mouse over to him and hit save, then shut the computer down. "I wasn't finished!"
"You are for now. We're talking."
"We don't have anything to talk about."
"We have a lot to talk about."
"I don't feel like talking."
"You're being a brat right now. You know that?"
"I don't care. You lied to me."
"I didn't lie to you. When have I ever lied to you?"
Gracie gave Sam a look and snorted.
"Plenty of times." she said, making Sam gape.
"Name some."
"Today. You swore to me that you would not give me anymore agents."
"I have to when I feel that you're in danger."
"Dad, you realize that normal kids my age don't have the Secret Service around 24/7 just in case they get kidnapped right?"
"That's the thing honey, you're not a normal kid. You're my kid."
"Yeah and I wish I wasn't." Gracie leaned down and hit the power button on the computer, turning it on again. Sam leaned over and shut it off again.
"Stop turning it on or I'm going to throw it out the window." he said. Gracie laughed and shook her head.
"This is unbelievable. You want to know what my problem is Dad?"
"Yes and then we can work things out."
"We're not going to work things out!" Gracie exclaimed, standing up.
"Why are you standing up?"
"Because... that's what Mom said to do when opposing you."
"You've been hanging around Mom too much. So tell me what your problem is."
"You think too much about this country and not enough about me. I may sound like I'm a spoiled brat but in reality I cannot because I was never spoiled as a child. I was neglected as a child and had to fend for myself as a child and stop laughing! It's true!"
"Neglected?" Sam asked, a shocked look on his face as he laughed. "Fend for yourself? Are you out of your mind?"
"Oh that's a great thing to say!" Gracie exclaimed.
"I never neglected you when you were a kid. Yes I may have been busy at work..."
"Work? You make it sound like you had a nine-to-five job! You were never home when you were a Congressman! I think I saw you a total of about ten times when you were Governor! I am so sick of trying to play the perfect daughter so you look good to the public! I would love to have a normal life but no that's too much to ask for!" Gracie saw Sam open his mouth and held up a hand, making his eyes go wide. "And I know what you're going to say, stop being selfish. I'm not the one being selfish! My whole life you have always put you and your stupid politics before me and Mom and I'm tired of it! You're being the selfish one! You know, people ask what kind of relationship I have with you and I've always said it was good but I've started thinking about it. We don't Dad. Most kids are happy that their parents barely pay attention to them. I wish we were closer."
"You don't think we're close?"
"I think you spend more time in the West Wing with your Senior Staff than you spend up here in the Residence with me and Mom."
"Do you feel this way about your mother too?"
"Mom's not the President."
"But she is the First Lady and she does have duties just like I do." Sam said.
"She makes time for me."
Sam stared down at his lap and then look back up at Gracie.
"You really think that I don't care about you? That I don't want to be here with you?"
"If you did, you wouldn't have run again." Gracie said. "I know how much the Presidency means to you. I know how much politics means to you. I guess I just have to wait in line to mean something to you."
Sam didn't say anything as his daughter's words hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Well... I just want to thank you for stating your opinion and... I'm going to think this over." he said quietly, standing up. "Don't stay up too late. I'll see you in the morning."
Gracie nodded and stayed silent as Sam left the room. He closed the door and stared at it for a second, then headed down the hallway to his room.
"So how'd that talk go?" Ainsley asked, sipping a Fresca.
"You know, you amaze me that you stay thin even though you pig out on food and Fresca all day." Sam said, loosening his tie.
"And you know, darling, that you amaze me that you haven't rotted your stomach out yet from all the coffee that you take in at insane amounts. Is everything good between you and Gracie now?"
"Actually it's worse." Sam headed over to the dresser and pulled out a Princeton t-shirt. "Thank you for ruining my night."
"How did I ruin your night?"
"You said, 'Sam go talk to Gracie.' with this menacing look in your eyes and I feared for my life if I didn't go along with it."
"Yes because I bet the public would get a kick out of the First Lady killing the President."
"I wouldn't put it past them." Sam called from the bathroom. "She says that I don't care about her and I've neglected her and forced her to fend for herself and some other garbage that all basically means I'm a terrible father and have failed at raising her."
"That's great."
"Not really. You don't think she's going to like... run off and start doing drugs and having sex and drinking do you?"
"Sam, she's guarded by the Secret Service. I don't think she's going to start doing cocaine in front of them and they not do anything. But you do know what I think?"
Sam looked at Ainsley, waiting for her to go on.
"I do think that she and some random boy that she barely knows are going to cut class and start having sex in some unused classroom." she said, then seeing Sam's face going pale, added, "I'm kidding."
"That wasn't nice. I'm getting older and my risks of having a heart attack are higher."
"Oh for God's sake Sam! She's pissed at you! Of course she's going to say things."
"She seemed quite sincere and has obviously been thinking about this for quite a while."
"Well... then... this is between you and her."
"Oh no, you're not bailing out on me like this."
"What do you expect me to do? I can't persuade either of you to give in to one another because I know you two. She is a mixture of me and you and in some cases that's not a good thing. And you... well... you blow things out of proportion."
"How do I blow things out of proportion?" Sam asked, getting into bed. "What the hell are we watching?"
"Old re-run of Friends."
"That ended a million years ago!"
"Yes well people still like it Sam." Ainsley said as he grabbed the remote from her. "Don't change the channel!"
Sam did anyway, making Ainsley smack him and grab the remote back. They fought over the remote for a minute before Ainsley finally just turned the TV off altogether.
"What are you going to do about your daughter?" she asked.
"Hey, you were there too!" Sam exclaimed. "So don't go pulling this 'your daughter' stuff."
"Oh yes Sam I know I was there. I don't know if you remember or not but I was the one who went through fifteen hours of pain and torture so she could be born."
"Yeah I got a broken hand out of that. I remember."
"What are you going to do about our daughter?"
"Let her come around and see that she's being a brat." Sam replied, kissing Ainsley. "Good night."
"Samuel Norman Seaborn you turn that light off and so help me God..."
"Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Call me by my full name. I have a mother and you're beginning to sound like her."
"She died four years ago!"
"Still I had a mother and she scolded me. Don't you start."
"Sam, I scold you enough don't give me something else to scold you on."
"You don't scold. You nag and I eventually tune you out."
"Yet you always say something to turn it into a debate." Ainsley said.
"Honey, if we didn't debate our marriage would be based on sex. That reminds me..."
"So you're saying our marriage is based on debating and sex? And no you're not getting any tonight."
"The majority of it. Damn what is with you women and turning against me?"
"You're easy to turn against."
"I think she's been hanging around you too much." Sam said, turning the light off. He rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. Ainsley shut her light off and turned her back to Sam.
"Or maybe she's not hanging around you enough."
Sam sat up and turned the light back on.
"Go to sleep."
"No. We're finishing this."
"There's nothing to finish."
"There's something to finish if you and her both think I put the presidency before you two."
"I didn't say you're putting it before me nor did I say you're putting it before her."
"Then why did you two say exactly the same thing?"
"Great minds?"
"Ainsley!"
"Oh stop Sam. You're going to give yourself a stroke or something."
"I'm not that old."
"Comes from the man who said not ten minutes ago, "That wasn't nice. I'm getting older and my risks of having a heart attack are higher."
"What do I do to get back on her good side?" Sam asked.
"Commit a grand crime so you get impeached and then she'll be happy."
"Okay... something that doesn't include me possibly getting thrown in jail."
"Just start... I don't know. Let your fatherly instincts kick in."
"Easy for you to say. She likes you."
"She likes you too Sam. She's just..." Ainsley rolled over so she was facing Sam and looked at him, "Remember when your mother called and told you your father had been cheating on her for 28 years?"
"What does that have to do with this?"
"He lied to you. He lied to your mother and you got upset."
"I'm not lying to anyone!" Sam exclaimed. "Why are you comparing me to him?"
"To knock some sense into you. Remember how you felt?"
"Yes."
"You love your father though."
"I would love to see him lying in a ditch somewhere with his guts hanging out."
"Okay maybe that wasn't a great analogy. Deep down you love him Sam and..."
"I don't want my relationship with Gracie to be like mine with my father's."
"I'm not saying it is. It's just... parents do things that get their kids upset but they still love them and soon they'll come to their senses. Now good night."