Chapter 20: Apologies

Tom looks at his staff awkwardly entering the room, they seemed to be fidgety, he wouldn't blame them, "I gathered you all here because I need to talk to all of you." Tom sits down waving them to take a seat as well "I want you all to know that I am incredibly sorry for my behavior in the past few months, it was unacceptable for me to blame things on you. I hope you can all forgive me because honestly I'm gonna need you all more than ever." He looks at the people sitting in front of him, they look at each other.

"Sure thing." Kendra answers first smiling widely. Emily was smiling too, nodding back.

"Gladly." Lyor said, he had a smirk on his face that slightly unnerved Tom, but he let it pass.

"I can clear my schedule out." Seth said, Tom saw the smile on his face; he had to admit that he was the most worried about Seth, he knows that the young man doesn't like him that much those days but he still valued his talents and opinions.

"Thank you guys." He feels like the smile on his face started becoming permanent and he likes it a lot, it reminds him of a part of himself that he was sure had died. "Now about the elections, I talked with Alex and I have decided that I am going to run, I have called Director Forstell here later to ask him to start the vetting process for Congressman Young." He sees the shocked looks on their faces, all but Kendra had no idea that he was actually actively considering to run and not only that but he had chosen a running mate as well.

"You chose him sir?" Emily asks,

"Yes."

"He's a good pick, comes with a solid family, his wife, president Bartlet's youngest daughter just had a baby." Lyor starts mumbling, he looks at his shocked face, apparently he didn't think he was going to chose someone.

"He's willing to come onboard?" Seth asks.

"Yes, Secretary Moss talked to him and I have a meeting with him later today." He sees the smiles on their faces a chorus of, "That's amazing," filled the room.

"Great, Seth, Kendra, can you stay back for a moment?" Seth and Kendra look at each other, Emily seems to be freezing at the door but soon Aaron led her out.

"Of course." Seth says, Kendra sits back down Seth sitting next to her awkwardly, Tom thanks them, he doesn't know how to start but he knows he needs to explain himself to both of them, he wants to keep them there for the rest four or even eight years and this can't happen unless they actually repair their relationship, and sure he has a better relationship with Kendra rather than Seth but he still hadn't actually apologized to her.

"I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am for the way treated both of you, I have no problem with your relationship as long as it doesn't affect your work, I'm actually delighted with it." Kendra smiles widely, she stands up and wraps her arms tightly around his shoulders, and whispers to his ear, "I'm glad you're back." Tom feels the tears welling up in his eyes "So am I, thank you." He whispers back.

"I missed you." She whispers again before pulling back, Seth, although shocked is smiling as well, Tom realizes how out of shape they are when it comes to smiling, he pulls back still holding an arm on her back. "Okay, enough with that, let's get back to work, we have state visit coming on." He says patting Kendra on the back softly.

"About that sir, the first lady is going to be here right?" Seth asks, he remembers the questions by Tiffany earlier.

"Yes Alex and the kids are coming back from Camp David in an hour actually." He responds, Kendra sees the features in his face changing, softening a bit.

"Amazing." She tells him.

Tom was nervous looking at the sky waiting for the helicopter to appear on the sky. He sees it coming closer and closer and his smile is just growing. As soon as the helicopter landed Tom started almost running closer, Penny was the first on to get off the helicopter, she ran to him, calling him, "Daddy!"

"Careful little pea you nearly knocked me down!" he jokes holding her tightly, he was kneeling down, his arms just holding his little girl tightly.

"Sorry." He sees her smile, he knows that smile, "No you're not!" Penny hugged him again, Tom sits up, Penny still clutching him tightly, Tom doesn't care about carrying her.

"Hey," he leans forward places a kiss on Alex's lips.

"Hey."

"Leo" he gives Leo a half hug, the best he can with Penny still hugging him.

"Hey."

"Let's get inside." Tom says, Alex takes wraps her arm around Leo's shoulders and all four of them start walking inside, "How come the press is not here?" Alex asks him as they walked in the residence, Tom smiles mischievously.

"Seth scheduled the briefing earlier." He says, Alex laughed, a smile stayed on her lips, "Smart Seth." She murmurs.

"Yeah, let's get you settled." He says letting Penny down. Penny and Leo turn around and go to their rooms, Penny especially obviously exited to be back in her room. Alex extends her arm to him, Tom looks at her taking her hand and following her to their bedroom. The room exactly as it was when she left; he had some trouble sleeping there alone, so he found himself using one of the guest bedrooms on the third floor instead of the main bedroom.

"You have time for lunch?" she asks him, Tom smiles nodding, "Yes some."

"I need to talk to Leo first." Tom says leaning closer kissing her cheek before he started walking out of the room.

"What about?" she asks him, there's a little worry in her smile which she tries to still keep there.

"It's a secret." He tells her with a smile.

"Tom!" she warns him this time. "Trust me I got it." He reassures her before walking out of the room. All the way to Leo's bedroom he felt the nervousness spiking up in him, sure they weren't up in arms all anymore, but he was still worried, after all they seemed to be better last time and then out of nowhere he blew it. Standing in front of the closed door of his son's bedroom Tom takes a couple of deep breaths before knocking. "Leo? Can I come in?"

"Sure." Leo responds from inside, Tom opens the door and walks in, Leo is arranging his dresser, closing the drawer and turning around when Tom closes the door behind him.

"I, I am sorry about what happened last time. I don't mind inviting your friend over anytime you want." Tom feels like a weight left from his shoulders when he finished the sentence, Leo's smile was just the cherry on top, he knows his son and he knows that this is probably going to go much better than he had ever hoped. "Thanks. She's really great dad." He tells him,

"I'm sure she is." Tom sits down next to Leo on the bed. "She's with you right." Leo chuckles, "She's sure patient." Tom nods.

"Yeah, I want you to come to the state dinner this Friday," Leo looks at him, he seems to be slightly scared, he isn't the type to get involved in the public and Tom hates having to ask him but Lyor suggested it would be good if they were seen as a family for this state dinner considering that he is announcing his campaign tomorrow "And you can invite her too if you want." Leo smiles the slight terror and discomfort disappearing from his face.

"Really?" Tom smiles, "Yes, her father will probably be invited too so," Leo, to Tom's surprise hugs him, Tom almost forgot when was the last time Leo willingly hugged him but he savored it. "Thank you."

Tom smiles and leans back "No problem, your mother is preparing lunch for all." Leo's face drops, it makes Tom smile a bit, Alex was great in many things cooking was not one of them though.

"Oh."

After lunch Alex followed Tom downstairs, after he left for the west wing she made her way to her office in the first floor of the east wing. Her desk was just like she left it, the papers pilling up, she realizes that she needs to do a better job categorizing and going through staff and makes a mental note to talk to Zoe and Abbey about recommending anyone for her chief of staff. She was so intent on helping Tom staff up the government and his staff that forgot about staffing up her staff. She sits down and starts going through the papers she brought with her with the last minute details for the state dinner, this time was easier; she supposes that maybe because it's the second state dinner she's hosting, maybe that's one of the things that get easier with time.

After a couple hours there was a soft knock on the door, "Come in!" she says and Kendra comes in smiling.

"Hey Kendra!" Alex stands up greeting the other woman with a hug. The two of them walk to the couches on the other side of the office and sit down.

"There is a problem." Kendra tells her, Alex looks at her worried, her mind instantly went to Tom, "What?" she ask, she sees Kendra though biting her lip, she looks almost embarrassed to be here, something that makes Alex even more curious, although a bit less worried.

"Well, I only have one gown and that is it!" Alex laughs, she didn't expect that, but it sure was a problem she could easily solve.

"I can help. Come with me upstairs."

Alex leads Kendra in the closet and starts taking out gowns, Kendra was shocked seeing all the dresses Alex would pull out, some of them a bit too revealing for what she thought the first lady likes.

"Holly shit!" Kendra can't stop herself, "What are all those?" Alex turns around she was holding a blush gown in her hands, "Gowns Kendra." She responds in a matter of fact voice.

"I know that! Why you show them to me?"

Alex smirks, and lets the gown down on a table in the middle of the room. "Because they are not exactly what I would call 'First Lady material' so for at least the next few years I'm not gonna be wearing them." She tells her with a smile on her face that only screamed trouble for Kendra.

"So you're giving them to me?"

"Yeah," Alex responds, she turns her attention back to the gown, the neckline gave Kendra a headache but she wasn't going to be responding. "How about Jovani? Gave Tom a heart attack."Kendra takes a good look at the gown, it was embellished with some gold details, the plunging neckline sure seemed as if it could give a heart attack to the president. Kendra runs her hand over the soft fabric.

"It's amazing, what will you be wearing?" Alex stops looking through clothes and turns around, "I don't know yet, so that one is in the bag." She returns to her quest and pulls out a bright red gown this time.

"Ok there's this Clarisse, by the way that's how we got Penny." She says placing the gown over the other one, Kendra looks at the dress with wide eyes, this one had not only a plunging neckline but it was also a mermaid style dress, and one that seemed to be extremely fitting around the waist

"Don't you want to keep it for sentimental reasons?"Kendra suggest, Alex stops her search and looks over her shoulder her smile sending slight chills down Kendra's spine.

"No, I kept the couch."

"Too much." Kendra says winching, that was indeed an all too revealing peek into the president's life. Alex doesn't seem to be stopping, she pulls another dress this time the royal purple color of the dress drew her attention,

"And this Ramona will look good." Alex mentions putting the dress above the others, Kendra touches the silk fabric it's as soft at the touch as it looks. "I like the color a lot." She mentions, Alex smirks, "Yeah, I don't know how it's still in one piece though." Kendra's eyes widen "Alex!" Alex smiles at Kendra's slightly shocked face. She knows for a fact that the younger lawyer wasn't that prude in reality she was quite the opposite, "Anyway moving on." She turns back to the closet until a squeal of joy makes Kendra's head snap

"Oh here it is! I knew it was somewhere in here!" Alex said in delight, Kendra was shocked to say the least, she wasn't sure Alex was even capable of squealing.

"What?" Kendra asks, she sits up and moves closer, Alex walks to the table and lays a royal blue dress.

"This!" Alex says, Kendra looks at thee gown with wide eyes, it's shimmering under the lights, the sheer panels it has seemed to be sewn with glitter "Oh! That's," Kendra looks at the dress and then at Alex in shock, she can only imagine the reaction she's gonna get from Seth with that.

"That's it right?" Alex asks smirking.

"Yeah."

"Let's mess with their heads shall we?" Alex tells her, Kendra looks at her and a smile forms on her lips, "Deal." She responds.

After that Alex walks to the back finding one of the smaller suitcases she keeps there, placing the gowns carefully inside, they walk back to the living room, in silence. Alex is itching to ask Kendra how she's doing; it's a question that's been bugging her since she came back from Camp David.

"Kendra, how are you?" she asks her, Kendra was about to open the door, but stops, almost frozen her hand on the handle, the other gripping the suitcase handle tightly.

"I'm good." She answers almost reflectively.

"You know what I mean." Alex insists, she knows this answer, it's a type, Tom always used to tell her he's good when she would ask, but he wasn't.

"I'm dealing I guess."Kendra lowers her head, looking at the floor, avoiding Alex's eyes, but Alex won't have any of that. She raises Kendra's chin, "You have to see a professional; it's going to eat you alive if not." Kendra smiles, but Alex can see the sadness still lingering in the back in her eyes.

"I will."

Tom finished up around six for the first time in ages and set off for the residence, he barely had time to leave his briefcase in his office when one of the butlers, Jimmy, came in and announced that Charlie and Zoey were waiting.

Tom walks to the living room, the young couple smiling walks to him, "Charlie, I'm really glad to meet you." Tom says shaking Charlie's hand.

"So am I sir." He turns to Zoey, Tom remembers her as she looked during her father's presidency but she had changed so much since then, "Here's my wife Zoey." Tom smiles and shakes Zoey's hand.

"Nice meeting you, please come in, my wife will be here shortly."

Zoey chuckles, "No need to apologize sir, we both know what it's like." She says, Tom smiles and shakes his head, "Of course, how is your father?" he asks, Zoey's smile grew twice its size, "He is delighted with his newest granddaughter." She says,

"I'm sure he is."

"Acts like ten years younger I tell you." Charlie joins in the conversation, the three of them started talking, Tom felt the weight leaving his shoulders, he was petrified that all the hype and when he meets Charlie he's just not gonna like him and everything would go to hell.

It was about half an hour later that Alex walked in the room, "I am so sorry for being late," she says greeting both Charlie and Zoey, Tom sits back almost mesmerized, she looked as if this was normal, just a daily routine.

"Please no need to apologize, preparing for a state visit is a nightmare." Zoey says, Alex smiles at the remark simply responding, "It is." Zoey nods knowingly, "My mother and I can help anytime you anytime you want." She offers, Alex smiles widely and sits down across from Tom.

"I might take you up on your offer."

Tom was fidgeting, the dinner was over and Charlie and Zoey left after promising they'll talk again tomorrow at the state dinner.

"What do you think?" he asks Alex as soon as she walks out of the bathroom.

"I like them, they are young but they have experience, and I could use Zoey and Abbey's help." Tom smiles and nods, he's never going to admit it but he is relieved that Alex liked them too. "Yeah, I thought about it too, President Bartlet would be around as well."

"He's incredibly popular; he could campaign for you guys." She says, sitting down on the bed next to him, her hand reaching for his. "So you're on board?" Tom asks.

"One hundred percent."

Tom looks at his watch again, he feels the nerves spiking again and wonders is this going to be his life every time there's a state dinner?

He lies back on the bed covering his face with a pillow, not really sure if this is helping him or will smoother him easier. Alex's heels are heard on the floor and he sits up, "You're ready?" he asks before turning around.

"Yup, what you think." She asks him showing her dress, Tom feels dizzy, there's a buzzing noise in his ears, "Wow." Is all he managed to say looking at his wife in her figure hugging red gown.

"Yeah that's what I was going for." She takes his arm smiling widely.

"It's gonna be a long night." Tom murmurs, if only he knew…

Kendra walks slowly down the stairs, she curses the time they decided on a two floor apartment, going down the stairs in high heels she just realized how tight the dress actually was. She stands at the foot of the stairs, Seth had just turned around, the look on his face enough to make the walk down the stairs and the risk of breaking her neck worth it.

"Wha… what is this?" he asks in shock.

"A dress?" Kendra responds calmly, she walks to the door but Seth seems to be bolted on the same spot. "Can we get going; I don't want to be late." Seth shakes his head, it seems as if he's trying to jumpstart his brain before following her to the car, murmuring to himself, "Damn it's gonna be a long night."

"I know this dress!" Alex looks at Tom sitting next to her; they had gone through most of the dinner without a hitch although Alex had tried really hard to make it just a little bit challenging for Tom.

"What dress?" she asks innocently, she knows he doesn't believe her; he's too smart for that.

"The one Kendra is wearing!" she looks at him, amazed, that he's still keeping the smile on his face, "Oh dear, it does look awfully familiar doesn't it?"

The realization hits him straight on the moment he sees Alex's mischievous smile and the all familiar glint in her eyes that only meant trouble for him. "What did you two do?" he asks her, his voice low.

"I don't understand you dear."

"Follow me!" Alex stands up, biting her cheek trying to stop herself from laughing and follows him outside, Tom almost drags her into what seemed to be a closet, "What?" she asks him her best innocent look on her face.

"What? You ask what? What are you planning?"

"Nothing, Kendra had nothing to wear, and I offered to lend her something." She looks at him freezing, all color slowly draining from his face, for a moment she's worried that something had actually happened to him, "Tom?" she tries shaking him a little.

"You two are conspiring!" Alex laughs; "That's an overreaction." She tells him turning around and walking out of what actually was a closet.

"No, no, no. I know you Alex! You're gonna pay for this!" he tells her, following her down the corridor back to the state dinner room. Alex stops at the door and smiles back at him, "Game on darling. Let's see who wins." She dares him, Tom curses, "Fuck me!" making Alex laugh, and tell him over her shoulder

"All in good time Tom."

A/N: Thank you for reading just two more chapters including the epilogue are left, this was more fun and lighthearted chapter which I think I owed it to all of you who have stuck with me for so long. Thank you so much for reading again, Till next time!

Sneak Peek:

Tom sits back on his chair, he had gotten so little sleep last night that barely counted as any sleep at all. He looks at his schedule and smiles, Hannah should be here at any moment, and like clockwise here she was on time…