Lisa's TWW Fan Fic Archive Home
Post Ep | Romance | General | Drama
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Thoughts and Words ~ 5
Ainsley wandered through the bullpen to Sam's office. It was hard to miss the glares and stares of the other staffers. They all hated her from day one. Only with the help of Sam and the rest of the senior staffers, she'd felt welcome and wanted in "their" White House. She carried the box of cookies to his office. Ainsley was hoping that something would cheer Sam up. She only wished the gossip and hate toward her would stop. It was a bit disconcerting to walk to her boyfriend's office through a pit of mean and nasty vipers on a daily basis and she still wasn't immune to their bite.
Sam was in his office working on a memo for the President. He didn't even hear Ainsley knocking on the door. When he worked, all of his concentration and energy was devoted to the task at hand.
"Sam? May I come in?" she asked, attempting to get his attention from the speech. Sometimes, she just loved to watch him work. It was cute.
"Hmm?" He looked up to see Ainsley in the doorway with a box. "Oh, sure, come on in." He put his pen down. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, I wanted to...cheer you up," she said as she handed him the box of cookies. The brief contact of their hands made both of their hearts beat a little faster. Hell, any contact between them made their hearts go into overdrive.
"Oh, thanks," he said, smiling a little. "You didn't have to do this."
"I know. I wanted to." She opened the box for him. "Try one." She handed him a cookie.
He took a bite, "Wow, these are really good." He looked up at her, "Where did you get such a great recipe?"
"It's an old family recipe, and it's a secret." She smiled slyly at him. "I'm glad you like them."
"They are perfect. Just like their maker."
"Thanks Sam." Ainsley blushed hard. She adored his compliments because they were so heartfelt and so true.
"What are you doing today?" Sam asked as he munched on the cookies.
"I have a stack of files to go through. I got the pleasure of updating all the files in the office." The expression on Ainsley's face said it all.
"How did you get that job?" Sam smiled at the look on her face.
"I'm the low person on the totem pole. I always get this kind of stuff."
"Do you want me to talk to Babish?" Suddenly, Sam was concerned that Ainsley was being taken advantage of. The protective streak in him made him want to take care of all of her battles and slay all of her dragons.
"No, Sam. I'm paying my dues. It's okay because the next one they hire gets to do it all too." Ainsley grinned as she thought of the day that she would no longer be the new one that everyone piled work on.
"Okay."
"I'd better get back to my office and get back to work. I'll see you later." She smiled and strolled across the bullpen, ignored the glares and whispers.
Sam sat back in his office and watched her go. He really did love Ainsley, but wanted to make sure it was real, so that he wouldn't turn out to be his father in a few years. He still needed to think about the ring that he had for Ainsley and whether or not to propose on her birthday, since it was coming up in a few weeks. Maybe a few more weeks of thinking about it would clear his mind up.
He walked out of his office and towards the Oval Office once he was finished with the memo. While on his way there, he bumped into Ainsley. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said as he helped her to pick up the papers that had fallen to the floor.
"It's all right, Sam," she said, her voice sounding as if she had just been crying.
"Ainsley? Is everything okay," he asked, looking at her face and seeing the red eyes and the dried tear tracks on her cheeks. She didn't say anything. She just continued to pick up the papers. "Ainsley? Come on, what happened," he asked, now worried. If something happened to her, he wanted to know and try to fix it. Sam knew that she hadn't had an easy time coming to work in the White House and people weren't forgetting that she was a blonde Republican.
"Nothing. Everything's fine, Sam, really. I have to go back to my office." She started to walk away when she felt Sam's hand on her arm.
"Everything is not fine, Ainsley. What happened?"
"Sam, please let it go. It's not a big deal."
"Yes, it is a big deal when an Associate White House Council has been crying. You work for me. Tell me what is going on." Sam pleaded with her.
"Fine, come with me to my office. I'll tell you the rest and show you what was left for me." Ainsley walked toward her office. Sam's heavy footfalls told her that he was right behind her.
They walked down the stairs to the basement and got to her office. Once in there, Ainsley closed the door and gestured for Sam to sit down in the chair in front of her desk.
"Okay," she said, "I'll tell you what happened now." She sat down and took a deep breath.
TBC...