Amelia stood beside the camera as the photographer posed Dorian on a baby blue wingback loveseat like a queen on a throne. Langston sat beside her in a pink dress, and they were angled toward each other, sitting up straight, with their hands folded in their laps.

The photographer instructed them on how to hold their shoulders and turn their chins and tossed a couple of Langston's long locks over her shoulder before stepping back to snap more pictures. Dorian and Langston were both pleased with the pose, and seemed to relax and smile with sincerity.

Amelia crossed her arms and waited for a few moments. "I like this," she offered, trying to be diplomatic with the photographer. "She looks very authoritative and intelligent, and it is pretty obvious that there is a mother-daughter bond there…."

"But?" Dorian asked as the photographer paused.

"Don't get me wrong," Amelia explained, "I could see this picture hanging in your living room … but I just think it would be much better to show some affection between the two of you. This set-up is just … a little bit formal - almost … conservative." She sneered at the word.

"What if we held hands?" Dorian reached out and pulled Langston's hands into her lap, wrapping the girl's hands in her own. They inched closer together in their seats and smiled at the camera for a few more pictures before Dorian put one arm around Langston's shoulder and embraced her close enough that their shoulders were touching.

Amelia couldn't help but smile as the camera caught the impromptu maternal embrace. "That's really good," she observed.

"Now stand up," the photographer gestured at them with one arm, still fixated on the camera.

Dorian had spent enough time in front of the camera in her life to understand exactly how to behave, but Langston questioned herself.

Dorian stood and smoothed her clothes, then took Langston's hand in her own and checked to make sure her daughter's skirt wasn't bunching anywhere and her hair was out of her face. Then she pulled Langston into another, more genuine hug. "You are so beautiful. Do you know that?"

"Me?" Langston countered. "Dorian, you're gorgeous." Langston seemed to be filled with reassurance, while Dorian closed her eyes and relished the moment, soaking it up like a sponge. The warmth between them was palpable.

Amelia cocked her head sidewise in thought as the camera bulb flashed. It was obvious that the pair had a deep level of affection for each other. It was a familial bond that they were lucky to have, given that they had managed to "find" each other. Something inside Amelia hungered for a bond that strong.

Dorian did not let go of Langston for a long time, even after the photographer congratulated them on their shots. Langston hesitated to pull away. She couldn't remember the last time she and Dorian had hugged like this.

"I'll be able to email you some proofs in a couple of hours."

Amelia furrowed her brows when Dorian finally let go of her daughter and leaned back to admire her. Langston, without pause, grabbed her purse and dug in it for her cell phone.

"Dorian, we have that meeting with the factory workers union?" Amelia reminded.

Dorian nodded without a word and retrieved her own purse, but stopped and waited for Langston to finish sending a text message. "Sweetheart?"

Langston shut her phone and placed it back in her handbag. "Markko traded shifts with this guy at work and he wants to go to the movies," she explained.

"Langston," Dorian protested, "what about the article?"

"Pfft, no problem," Langston satisfied, waving her hand in front of her. "I've already got most of it finished. I just need to go back over it a couple of times and smooth out the wrinkles." She checked her watch. "I still have, like, four hours before I meet him. Trust me," she grinned, reassuring, "it will be in your hands for your editorial comments before I leave."

Dorian beamed and tucked Langston's hair behind her ear in adoration. "Meet you back home then."

David returned to campaign headquarters and tossed a stack of posters and a stapler onto an empty table, checking a splinter in the end of his finger.

Blair rushed forward, disapproving as she looked over the stack. "David, you were supposed to hang those up!"

"The last time I checked, I was the deputy campaign manager, and you were a volunteer," he sneered.

Blair growled at him. "The last time I checked, it was your job to help Dorian get elected, which means hanging up posters!"

"Oh yeah? Well the last time I checked, you were my … ex-step … daughter-slash-niece." He spoke with broken pauses to make sure he got it right. "Show some respect." He grabbed the stack of posters and pushed them into her arms.

Blair took the posters and put her hands on her hips. She declined to bring up the fact that she was David's ex-step-grandmother. "You know what? I don't have time for your juvenile games, David. You don't want to hang the posters? Fine. Find someone who will." She shoved them back into his arms and returned to a desk where she had been folding fliers to put on car windshields.

David looked around and found a wimpy looking kid with old glasses. "You," he pointed. "Make a difference in the world." He handed the kid the posters before following Blair.

"Where is Dorian, anyway?" he asked her. "We were supposed to have a meeting before her other meeting."

Blair blinked up at him. "Yeah well maybe she didn't feel it necessary to consult you before having her other meeting."

David sat down on the edge of the desk and fiddled with the pictures of Jack, Sam, Starr and Langston that Dorian had sitting around. "She is spending entirely too much time with that Amelia."

Blair shot a skeptical look at him. "What are you, jealous?"

"No," he insisted. "I'm only concerned for Dorian's best interests."

"Your ex-wife," Blair clarified.

David lowered his voice. His tone was serious as Blair smirked at him like an adult entertained by a child's antics. "It isn't that I don't understand what Dorian's doing, but Amelia asked her to announce that she would officiate a lesbian marriage – right before the live news cameras started rolling at Dorian's press conference."

"Your point?"

"My point is that Dorian didn't even have time to consider her answer or call her lawyers. And then she popped off that line about marrying Amelia."

Blair leaned forward and grabbed David's collar. "You keep your mouth shut," she threatened. "You know as well as I do how much Dorian wants to win this election."

"Hey! Hands off the threads!" David pried Blair's fists off of his shirt. "Do you know how much this cost me?"

"Too much," she frowned as she sat back down.

David fixed his collar, his voice still low. "Listen, the only reason Dorian said that was to stall." He nodded as Blair looked up and her eyes met his. "She can't legally officiate a same-sex marriage." He squinted in thought. "It also threw a curve ball at Nick and Amelia, but it'll just be a matter of time until – assuming Dorian wins – she'll be illegally putting her stamp of approval on same-sex marriage."

Blair looked around to see if anyone was nearby. "What is your point, David?"

"Don't you think she's taken this a little far?" he frowned. "Of course, that whole window stunt you pulled off right after her announcement didn't help the situation any. She took off to the hospital and Amelia and I were stuck holding the bag. You should consider hiring a stunt double, Blair."

Blair glared. "That's not funny."

"Listen. I am a man of many … many … talents. I know a good scheme when I see one. But all Dorian can see right now is that she has a gay campaign manager and she's got one up on Viki."

Her tone was sarcastic and contemptuous. "David, I thought I told you to shut up. Dorian's not stupid."

David raised an eyebrow.

"You keep talking like this and I will personally see to it that you're working for Viki by this time tomorrow."

David frowned. "Hm. My dignity," he weighed in one hand, "or a bottomless slush fund and five meals a day," he weighed in the other.

Blair gave him a dirty look. "It is so good to see where your true loyalties lie."

David looked around and checked his watch. "Where are they? I need some media exposure before my fans forget what I look like."

"You have fans?" Blair chuckled with sarcasm.

"Looks like there are picketers up ahead," Dorian's driver warned the trio of campaigners as they approached their meeting. "Want me to circle and find another entrance?"

Dorian's answer was abrupt. "No. Drive straight on through."

Amelia and David exchanged a glance as Dorian turned her attention to her bag and retrieved a compact mirror. "Give me a moment to freshen up?" she suggested to her two campaign managers as they pulled into an empty parking space.

"I'll wait for you outside," Amelia nodded. "David, why don't you go ahead in and make sure they're all ready for us?"

David checked Dorian with his eyes and nodded as they left Dorian in the car.

Dorian freshened her lipstick and pulled out her cell phone. She scrolled through her contacts until landing on the person she wanted to call.

"McBain. Did you remember something, Dorian?"

She smirked, understanding that this meant he had her number saved in his phone as well. "Actually, I did, though I don't think it will help with your current investigation."

"And what's that?"

She turned her eyes to the side, gazing out the car window without moving her head. "Remember how Mayor Lowell refused to resign?"

"How could I forget?"

She expected a comment about how she had been the one to convince the former mayor otherwise, but John waited. "He said something to me about how Viki couldn't win. I didn't give it much thought, but it recently occurred to me that he might have been padding his numbers."

"Are you talking about voter fraud, here, Dorian?"

She hesitated. "Yes. I want to make sure this is a clean election. If I win this I want it to be fair and square."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying maybe you should look into it."

There was a silence. "Are you telling me that you are suspicious that you have an unfair advantage against Viki at the polls? And rather than just … sit on that information, let it play out, you want the officials to check into it?"

"Yes," she stated. "… John, I know that I aligned myself with Stan Lowell before, but you have to believe that I want nothing more than to distance myself from that man and his lies."

"Oh, I believe that, Dorian."

"Then you'll look into it?"

"Well, I'm a bit wrapped up in this Jared Banks thing right now, but…."

"John…." She pleaded.

"I'll do what I can."

"Thank you." She hung up and checked her face in the mirror again. She could see Amelia outside the window already prepping reporters who had gathered in anticipation of this important employment meeting.

It hadn't been that long ago, she remembered, that she had found the buzz of the media comforting, and she had to admit to herself that she loved the limelight. She had known for some time that she couldn't expect to have much privacy, but her photo shoot with Langston had tugged her heartstrings. She could not remember the last time she had been able to let her guard down and just spend an afternoon relaxing with her whole family gathered around her. If they weren't off and running, she was – especially now.

It seemed the best solution was to draw them into her campaign, and she hesitated to do that after what had happened to Starr and Hope.

She sighed. These moments when she could think without having to be on her game, without having to check every word, were few. She snapped her compact shut, took a deep breath, and popped open the car door, re-entering the world high-heels first.