(This is the first of a few Christmas chapters I wrote for this series. They add to the plot and characters, so I decided to include them here.)
Aaron Pierce was not only outnumbered, he was outgunned. Under relentless assault, he suddenly realized that there was no way out; his look of appeal to Angie was met with a glance that said clearly, don't look at me, pal. I can't help you with this one.
"Martha," he tried again mildly, "I'm not really comfortable with this. What will people think?"
"I don't care what they think. You don't have to worry about being stared at; the place will be packed anyway, and most of the other guests won't pay us any attention. President Gardner knows about us, and he won't give us a hard time. Your co-workers all know. Who cares what anybody else thinks." Martha gave him a mischievous look. "The invitation clearly says 'Martha Logan and guest.' You are my guest."
"You could take Mike. He's better at this sort of thing than I am anyway."
"Aaron, I want to take you, not Mike." She squeezed his hand. "I thought you might like to go; you know the White House always looks wonderful at Christmas. It would be fun to sort of show that we're officially together now." She eyed him appraisingly and then added for good measure, "We don't have to stay late. Think of it as business if you want to. This party is my best chance to talk to the President about the Moscow attack without making anybody suspicious. I need to find out what's going on with Gene Dunlap, and I can't just make an appointment without giving a reason. Hal went to a lot of trouble to set up a fake committee meeting as a cover when he questioned Mike."
"You're going to talk to him at the party?" Aaron looked doubtful. "He won't have time."
"I don't think it'll be that difficult, he probably wants to talk to me too. It should only take five minutes or so."
Aaron's only option was graceful acceptance, and he knew it. "All right, Martha, we'll go. You're right, it'll be nice to be together. You'll have to find me somebody to talk to, though." He kissed her forehead; as she hugged him in delight, he looked past her shoulder to Angie and grimaced.
"I know you don't want to do this, Aaron, but it's important. You know how Washington operates. Parties aren't just parties here, they're where the real work gets done. For Martha to keep getting speaking gigs she has to be seen and she has to network. Being seen at the White House will be good for her; being seen with a date at the White House, even better. It's all about appearances."
"Where'd you learn this stuff, Angie?"
"The Pentagon, where do you think?" They dodged a shopper loaded with packages and headed for the department store at the end of the shopping center.
"This is why I'd never go into politics," Aaron grumbled. "I hate trying to talk to people I don't know. And I hate ulterior motives."
"I know, but you'd better just face it: it's something you'll have to put up with. Not all the time, but sometimes. You both have demanding careers and you're both going to have to compromise. You're not going to be home at five every night, are you? She'll have to deal with that."
"Do you and Marie compromise?"
"When I was with General Mason, I wasn't home all that much. Crazy hours, getting called out of town on short notice… it was tough for her. I promised her I'd take early retirement, and I kept my promise. That's how it works."
Aaron looked at her, interested. "Do you miss the Pentagon?"
Angie shrugged. "Sometimes. It was organized and chaotic at the same time, and I liked that. It was a lot more social, with a lot of people around. And I never had to think about my health benefits or how long I'd have a job. On the other hand, I really like working with Martha." She grinned. "So I guess the lesson is not to be afraid to try new stuff, even if you don't really want to. I'm starting to sound like one of those motivational speakers. I'd better shut up."
Aaron laughed. "Okay, then tell me what I'm supposed to get Martha for Christmas. I haven't got a clue what she wants."
For the Gardners' Christmas reception, Martha decided to wear the formal black dress she'd taken to Russia. As she'd hoped, Aaron's eyes lit up in appreciation when he saw her. "You remembered!"
"How could I forget? I was wearing this when you told me you loved me." She kissed him. "Let's go. We don't want to be late." They made their way to the limousine waiting downstairs. As they got in, Aaron realized that although he'd been to many such functions in the course of his work as an agent, he'd never attended one as a guest. As they drew closer to the White House he mentioned this to Martha.
"So how does it feel?" She smiled at him, taking his hand.
"A little odd," he confessed. "I keep checking the traffic to make sure everything's okay. Just habit, I guess."
"I know this wasn't something you really wanted to do. Thank you for coming with me, Aaron. I know it sounds silly, but I want to show you off. I'm proud of you." She gasped and laughed as Aaron pulled her into his arms. "I'm proud of you, too," he whispered and kissed her just as the limo slowed to a stop. One of the attendants opened the car door, but Martha ignored it long enough to give Aaron an extra kiss. They untangled themselves, slid out of the car and headed up the red carpet into the reception.
"I think we just made quite an entrance," Martha whispered mischievously. Aaron marveled at her lack of self-consciousness, feeling as though his face must be several shades of red: "I think we did too," he whispered back. Fortunately for his peace of mind, he quickly realized that the party as was heavily attended as Martha had predicted, and they immediately blended into the crowd. Martha took his arm to keep from getting separated. "First we have to find the President."
"I think the reception line was set up in the East Room," he responded. As they followed a crowd of new arrivals, Martha felt a tap on her shoulder; looking around, she was stunned to see Jane Hughes.
"Jane! It's wonderful to see you!"
"It's good to see you too, Martha. Are you okay? I heard you were in Moscow during that terrorist attack." Jane looked concerned.
"I was there, but I wasn't hurt. Aaron was. It was pretty scary there for a while, but everything's okay now." She indicated Aaron, standing next to her: "Let me introduce you. Jane, this is my friend Aaron Pierce. Aaron, Jane Hughes. She helped me with my apartment when I moved—remember? The one I told you had all the good decorating ideas." She grinned at Jane. "I didn't know you were going to be here."
"Last minute invitation from this guy I've been dating. You might know him, George Friedman. He's a political advisor."
"I know the name. I think President Keeler used to work with him."
"Right. Well, he's been meeting with President Gardner a lot lately, I think to help plan his reelection campaign, and he got an invitation to the reception tonight. So here I am."
"We were just going to the reception line. Come with us?"
"I have to find George first. I think he's schmoozing somewhere. I'll catch you later." She flashed a grin. "Nice to meet you, Aaron." She disappeared into the crowd.
"She used to be married to a lobbyist. They got divorced last year," Martha explained to Aaron as they resumed their progress to the East Room.
"She must have a weakness for political types then, considering she's dating a campaign advisor."
"There's not a lot of choice in this town. Pretty much everyone you meet is bound to be involved in politics somehow." They were now in the reception line. Martha smiled and waved to Agent Mitchell, standing near the entrance to the East Room; Mitchell's eyes widened as he took in Aaron's presence next to her. She suddenly felt self-conscious, but tried to pass it off with a quip: "Well, there's at least one person who didn't know we were an item." She bit her lip, fearing that she'd put Aaron in a difficult position.
Looking at her, Aaron suddenly remembered how lucky they were to be alive and together after the events of the past few months. As they neared the head of the line, he leaned over to her and whispered, "I am with the most beautiful woman in the room, and we are going to dance tonight, and we are going to stay as late as you want. I don't care who sees us or what they think. You're more important to me than anyone else will ever be." He saw the glint of tears in her eyes for just a moment, pulled himself together and turned to face the President.
A very tired but happy couple returned to Martha's apartment later that night. Martha groaned in relief as she kicked off her heels. "I can barely walk," she laughed, "but it was worth it."
Aaron sat her down on the couch, picked up her feet and started rubbing them. "What did President Gardner tell you?"
"Oh, right. Well, we didn't have a whole lot of time to talk, but it seems that once they started investigating Dunlap they found lots of evidence that he's been cheating on his taxes. He probably had help from those financial criminals he's been defending. He owes the government hundreds of thousands of dollars – maybe even millions. That certainly would make him ripe for blackmail if somebody found out what he'd been doing."
"But they haven't arrested him yet?"
"No. The investigation isn't finished and they're trying to put together a deal to get him to tell what he knows and who he's working with. Hal made me promise not to say a word." She smiled. "But I know you won't tell."
Aaron smiled back at her. "Anything else?"
"He talked about the reelection campaign a bit. The rumor is Wayne Palmer may be running for President."
Aaron raised his eyebrows. "He doesn't have a whole lot of political experience. But if he does decide to run…" he looked at Martha, who finished his sentence: "Hal Gardner won't have a chance." They sat in silence for a few moments; then Martha asked, "Aaron, did you enjoy yourself? Did you have a good time?"
"I feel like—" Aaron hesitated, then finished, "like Cinderella, if that doesn't sound too strange. I can't believe I had such a good time."
Visualizing Aaron as Cinderella, Martha giggled and curled up in his lap. "That must make me the fairy godmother then. I do have to say, it was really nice of you to dance with Jane. She thinks you're wonderful."
"I don't know what that guy who invited her was thinking. Leaving her alone all night like that, that's just rude." Aaron shook his head. "I don't care how busy he is, he ought to know better than to treat his date like that."
Martha hugged him. "I know, she looked really annoyed with him. I don't think that relationship is going to last."
"Not like us." Their eyes met. After a moment Aaron reached behind Martha and began to unzip her dress. She kissed him and whispered, "I thought you were tired."
He grinned: "Not that tired. I'm not ready to turn into a pumpkin yet."
