“Hey it’s me,” Ellie announced, holding the phone close to her ear and flopping onto the bed in her Baltimore apartment.

“Hey you.”

“So, are you missing me?”

Yeah, Sam thought, I miss you and the fact that I wake every morning to an empty bed. “Of course, but. . .”

“You can’t come up this weekend,” she sighed, sitting up and tucking her legs beneath her.

This was the bit he hated. Her studies kept her in Baltimore, his job kept him in DC. Although they tried to see each other every weekend, it wasn’t always possible, which might, as predicted, have something to do with his working for the President, her father. “Bruno’s called a meeting.”

“The election’s over.”

“That’s true, but now it’s transition and we have to arrange the events, the trotting out of the new Congressional members, write the speech. . .,” he trailed off. “And Toby wants to be at home with Margaret.”

Ellie’s groan drifted down the line.

“I’ll make it up to you,” Sam promised, pressing send on his IM, and hoping Donna wasn‘t in Josh‘s office.

“How?”

There was something in her voice, the same tone Abbey used on the President to get what she wanted, that had Sam a little uneasy. “Whatever you want.”

A small smile crept over her face as she lowered her head onto the pillow and grabbed the giant stuffed rabbit he‘d bought for her the last time he‘d cancelled a date. “Well, there is one thing. Come to the farm for Christmas.”

“You want me to spend Christmas with your family, your father?” Sam stammered. “In New Hampshire.”

“Yes.” She had been trying to find the right moment to ask him for the past week, but something always got in the way, generally Josh and one of his crises.

“And I would want to do this because?”

“Sam! It’s Christmas, we’re dating and I want you to spend the holidays with my family,” she pouted. Not to mention the fact it would annoy the hell out of her father.

“I was planning to fly to Bermuda for a few days. I’ve promised myself every year since we took office and this year I have no reason not to,” he explained, mentally chiding himself at how cold he sounded. “I’ll be back for New Year.”

She scrunched up her face. She knew exactly what that was going to be like. Josh getting off his face and passing out on Sam’s couch, Donna fussing over Josh and her father demanding she be in the Residence for midnight. Not exactly what she had planned for the holidays. “Okay. Look I have to go.”

“Ellie, I’ll phone you tonight.” He shook his head as Josh’s, or he suspected Donna’s, reply flashed on screen.

“Sure.” She dropped the phone into its cradle and immediately picked it up again. There were easier ways to get what she wanted. “Mom, it’s Ellie.”

******

Where Ellie had failed, Abbey had succeeded.

Less than thirty minutes after Sam ended his call with Ellie, Abbey had appeared in his office and invited him for Christmas. Any refusal he’d had planned, disappeared when she fixed him with the look she usually reserved for the President.

A month later, Marine One took off from the South lawn of the White House, a little more than two hours later than scheduled. Sam was begrudgingly on board.

Abbey had spent Christmas Eve morning at a local women’s shelter, talking to the women seeking refugee and providing a little holiday cheer for the children. It was her, rather than the President and his habit of going off on a tangent at every meeting, that had caused the delay.

When she had finally arrived back at the White House, there had been a mad dash to say goodbye to the staff, ordering them all to get the hell out of the building and have a little fun, before the First Couple themselves headed off for the holidays.

Sam found himself seated beside the President on the helicopter, each watching as the White House became a small blur in the distance.

The First Lady smiled at them both, her eyes full of mischief as she watched her husband eye Sam with suspicion and Sam try and disappear into the seat. “Ellie is already there.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Sam shouted.

“It’s Abbey, Sam, while you’re our guest,” she corrected. “And we want you to feel at home, don’t we, Jed?”

The President mumbled something incoherent and glared at his wife.

Charlie chuckled into his newspaper and, in expectation of another of the President‘s infamous factoid lectures, held it up in front of his face and tried to blend into the upholstery.

Twenty minutes later, Marine One touched down at Andrews Air Force base and the passengers transferred to the larger and more comfortable Air Force One for the journey to New Hampshire.

******

The black suburban pulled up at the house and Ellie appeared on the steps, her red hair loose around her shoulders, her arms wrapped around her middle. She watched as her parents climbed out of the vehicle and her eyes lit up as she caught sight of Sam behind them. Her first instinct was to run to him and throw her arms around him, her father’s voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Eleanor!”

She inwardly groaned and jumped down the steps to greet him with a chaste kiss on the cheek. “Dad. Hey, Mom.” She kissed her mother and turned to face Sam. “Hello.”

“Hey.” Two weeks apart was way too long, Sam concluded as they continued to gaze at one another, oblivious to the looks her father was shooting them.

“Ellie, show Sam to one of the guest rooms,” Abbey instructed. “Charlie, you can have your usual room. Now Jethro, what say we reacquaint ourselves with our own bedroom?”

“Mom!”

“Don’t call me that,” Jed growled, before realizing what she was suggesting. “Abigail, let’s get those sweet little knees of yours upstairs.”

“I’m mortified,” Ellie shook her head.

“At least they’re going to be somewhere private, which means. . .,” he trailed off, leaning in to kiss her nose.

“I’ve missed you,” she declared, tilting her face so his lips brushed hers.

Charlie scrunched his face in consternation, looking between them and the disappearing First Couple. It was bad enough when the First Couple made out in front of him without Ellie and Sam doing the same. Shaking his head, Charlie went to say hello to Zoey and check that his sister, Deanna, was behaving herself.

“Me too.”

Her fingers laced with his as she deepened the kiss. “I guess I should show you to your room, let you get changed,” she offered, breaking the kiss and glancing down at his suit. “You have brought jeans, right?”

He nodded, flashing her a smile which made her go weak at the knees.

“Then let’s get you out of those clothes.” She fluttered her lashes at him and began to walk towards the house. “I won’t give you the guided tour, you’ve seen it all before.”

They entered the house through the lobby, and with one hand in hers and the other carrying his bag, Sam climbed the stairs.

Three treads from the top she stopped and rocked on the ball of her foot. “There’s a squeaky board just there, and . . .” She continued to lead him to the east wing of the house. “And here.”

Sam grinned, “I’ll file that away for future reference.”

“You’s better. Your room, Sir. The bathroom is next door, spare towels in the closet down the hall. My room is the other end of the house,” she added, with a hint of sarcasm. “Dinner’s at six o’ clock.” Ellie moved towards the door and Sam grabbed her from behind, wrapping his hands around her waist.

Pushing her hair to one side, he kissed her neck. “And where do you think you’re going?”

“To close the door,” she snorted, turning in his embrace and pushing at his jacket. “Did I mention I’ve missed you?”

“Yes, but I wasn’t convinced.”

“Ellie, we’re moving the presents. Hey, Sam,” Zoey said, appearing in the doorway.

“Now?” Ellie lowered her head to his shoulder and groaned.

“Yup. So the necking will have to wait.”

Sam’s hand moved up and down her back as he watched the girls pull faces at each other. It was strange to finally see the girls together after hearing Ellie‘s endless stories about her sisters and their bizarre childhood. Although, he and Ellie had been together for a few months, so far it had always been them alone. As an only child his Christmases had been a quiet affair and the last few years he’d always ended up working on Christmas Day. Something about the Bartlets told him that the next few days were going to be a different sort of Christmas all together. “Go, I’ll get changed and join you.”

“I. . .”

“Come on Ellie, he wants to wrap your present,” Zoey tutted.

Sam shrugged and kissed his girlfriend’s forehead. “And I have jeans to get into.”

“Before Ellie gets you out of them.”

Ellie grumbled something derogatory under her breath and with not so much as a backwards glance, ran after Zoey, yelling that she was going to make her pay for that.

Sam chuckled to himself, oh yeah it was going to be an interesting Christmas.

******

When Sam made his way downstairs half an hour later he found Ellie in the hallway with her sisters and niece shaking presents and chattering nineteen to the dozen. He stood on the stairway watching them unobserved.

When the President had first discovered that Sam was spending his weekends in Baltimore, Sam had fully expected a shouting match or a Presidential proclamation forbidding him from dating Ellie. What he had received instead, was a lecture on punishment through the ages. The gist of the President’s warning had been easy to ascertain.

Since then the President had remained surprising silent on the subject. It was everyone else who took it upon themselves to lecture him. First Toby on not being a jackass and repeating the Mallory fiasco, then CJ on how to handle the Press. Leo’s only advice had been not to screw it up. Sam was following all the advice to the letter.

It was Ellie who had turned out to be the biggest surprise of all. They had yet to have an argument, which he felt was a good omen. Their weekends together were spent in her apartment, reading newspapers or visiting art exhibitions, and more often than not discussing politics. She was, he’d discovered older than her years in so many respects. The more time he spent with her the more he realized he loved the many facets of Eleanor Bartlet. Seeing her with her niece, gave him another perspective all together, and made him think of the future and what might be.

“Enjoy the moment,” a voice hissed against his ear. “Because believe me, give it two hours and World War Three will break out.”

Sam turned around on the staircase and came face to face with Abbey. “Ma’am?”

“It’s Christmas, Sam. There are the highest number of divorces and familial homicides in December than at any other time of the year. Add my husband to the mix, and. . .” She shrugged and gave him a mischievous grin.

“And what should I do when it breaks out?” he asked, his eyes returning to Ellie as she snatched a present from Annie and began to tickle her mercilessly.

“Do as Charlie does, keep the hell out of the way,” she laughed. “Girls.”

Four heads shot up and they all dropped the gifts they were holding. “Mom.”

“Leave the gifts alone and come help in the kitchen. Sam, go help Charlie and Mike with the fires,” Abbey instructed.

The presents were discarded as the girls scattered to the kitchen and Sam went in search of the other men in the house.

The sound of carols filled the house for the next few hours as the men moved around the house lighting fires and setting the table and the women congregated in the kitchen, drinking mulled wine. Jed remained strangely elusive.

After everyone had changed, they gathered in the formal dining room for the lavish supper, that had been a tradition in the Bartlet house since Zoey was a baby. There was, Sam concluded, more food than he would eat in a fortnight. He willingly accepted the seconds Abbey offered, but declined thirds much to her dismay. He couldn’t miss the way her eyes appraised him and she shook her head, before filling his plate anyway.

Once the dishes had been cleared, the whole family, and their guests, gathered in the sitting room for games until it was time for Midnight Mass.

When they arrived back at the house, Sam thought that he was finally going to get some time alone with Ellie. Other than the few minutes alone in his room, something or someone had been keeping them apart, and he knew only too well who was behind it.

Jed soon put a stop to that notion. Annie had whined that she didn’t want to go to bed because she never got to spend anytime with her Aunts. Jed had suggested they have a slumber party and sent his niece and two youngest daughters off to bed.

Charlie had gone off with his sister and Liz and her husband had taken advantage of quality time alone.

Hence the fact Sam ended up playing chess with the President until the early hours as Abbey put the finishing touches to the Christmas tree.

******

Sam let out a sigh and continued to gaze out of the window.

It had been six o’clock when a loud banging on his bedroom door had disturbed his dreams. After falling out of bed in a tangle of limbs and blankets, he’d scrambled to the door only to find Abbey standing before him in her robe.

Considering they hadn’t gotten to bed until close to two, she looked remarkably perky. It was family tradition, she’d said, for the family to gather around the tree and open presents before breakfast. After taking a minute to brush his teeth, Sam had pulled on his pants and a sweater and followed her downstairs, to be greeted by a grinning President and a sullen Ellie.

Ellie‘s demeanor had changed dramatically as she opened the large gift-wrapped box from Sam. Her eyes lit up and she opened her mouth to speak but no words came out as she lightly touched the leather medical bag. Her smile widened as she unwrapped his second gift and found the small framed picture of the two of them together. Her radiant smile was enough to make Sam’s Christmas and dispel any misgivings he still had about spending Christmas in New Hampshire.

The present opening had been followed by breakfast, another meal that had left Sam bloated and in need of a walk. That idea had been dispelled by a mandatory trip to Mass with the First Family.

Their return had prompted more food. He wasn’t quite sure but there was definitely turkey on his plate, and stuffing, but the vegetables piled on top had left him groaning. That had been two hours ago and the family were now playing games in the drawing room.

“Penny for them,” Ellie whispered coming up behind him.

A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “If certain quarters have their way that will be an obsolete phrase.”

She growled and wrapped an arm around his waist. “Can’t you forget about work for one day? Dad’s playing chess with Liz so I thought we could grab some fresh air.”

“On our own? Without a chaperone?” he hissed, turning in her embrace.

“Come on.” She grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the door. “I have plans for you.”

He had to admit he liked it when she took control.

They made their way out onto the veranda and she dragged him to a quiet corner close to the laundry room.

“I’ve been waiting for this all day,” she whispered as her hands slid up the front of his sweater and locked around his neck. Her lips brushed his tentatively, teasing him before she pulled back. “I needed that.”

“Ellie!” he growled, grabbing her waist with one hand and tangling the other in her hair. The second kiss was deep and passionate, eliciting a low moan from Sam.

“Better?” she asked softly as they broke for air. “Or maybe you’d prefer this?” Her lips brushed across his jaw before working their way down his throat.

“Um, yeah,” he mumbled, closing his eyes and massaging her scalp. “That works.”

“I have other tricks,” she teased, as her tongue flicked across his Adams apple.

Sam grabbed her hands and took a step back, his eyes darting in every direction, fully expecting to catch the President or Mrs. Bartlet glaring at him. “Ellie, honey.”

“Don’t worry so. Dad’s playing chess and the others are watching ‘Miracle on Thirty-Fourth Street.’” She leaned up on tip toes. “Besides I haven’t thanked you properly for the presents yet.”

“Um,” he mumbled as her tongue demanded entry to his mouth and her hands began to slip below his sweater. Their tongues tangled and danced as Sam forgot all about where they were and the President’s proximity. As they broke for air, he kissed the side of her mouth, then worked his way over her cheek bone to blow on her ear.

The sound of someone clearing their throat caused Sam to jump and turn pink. His cheeks turned red as he came face to face with the President.

“I thought you might like a game of chess,” Jed said, his voice low and slightly threatening. “Ellie, go help your mother with dinner.”

Ellie gave her father a defiant look and entwined her fingers with Sam.

“Eleanor, go.”

With a quick sympathetic smile, Ellie headed around the veranda and into the kitchen.

“So, Sam?”

“Yes, Sir?” he asked hesitantly.

Jed smiled, “So you and my daughter are getting serious?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Well, I’m not sure how I feel about that. In my day a young man asked his intended’s father’s permission first and I would never have proceeded to . . .um, not sure what word you kids use today. . .at her father’s house.”

Everything from the tip of Sam’s ears to the end of his nose turned a deeper shade of red.

“Well in any case, knowing that you’re a staunch supporter of dental hygiene, you might appreciate this. . .”

Sam closed his eyes. A lecture. He was getting a lecture for kissing his girlfriend. Of course it could have been worse. Ellie was provoking a reaction in him that before long he would have acted on, not exactly the smartest idea when her father was less than twenty feet away. The lecture for that was going to be excruciating, and he intended to put that off for a little while longer.

The President continued his tirade on the history of dentistry. Sam leaned against the wall and wished that he’d gone to Bermuda after all. There didn’t even seem to be a moral to the story at all, just a long list of useless factoids.

“Jed, leave the poor boy alone.”

Sam let out a sigh in relief. Thank you, Abbey.

“I was just. . .,” Jed started.

“Yeah, I know what you were doing, Jackass. I’m serving dinner. Sam, Charlie could do with a hand bringing in firewood,” Abbey smiled and squeezed Jed’s arm.

Sam didn’t need telling twice. He excused himself and went in search of Charlie, anything to get away from the President.

“And Sam, don’t be long, we have leftovers,” Abbey called after him.

Sam’s stomach lurched as he considered the prospect of more food.

~~~~~~

“Why don’t you kids run along and do your own thing?” Abbey suggested, clearing the plates and giving Jed a smile. “Jed can help with the dishes.”

“Abbey?”

“Don’t whine, Jed. Ellie, it’s a nice night, why don’t you go for a walk?”

Jed stared at his wife, not quite believing she was sending Ellie off with Sam. He’d spent most of the previous twenty-four hours trying to keep them apart and now they were going to be outside where there were barns and outbuildings.

“Thanks Mom.” Ellie rose from her chair and motioned for Sam to move.

They grabbed their coats from the closet under the stairs and headed out into the night.

The air was cold, with a hint of snow as they stepped out onto the porch. Ellie wrapped her coat tightly around her and stuck her hands firmly in her pocket.

Sam kissed her nose and slipped his hand into her pocket, covering her hand with his own. “Where to?”

“Anywhere where my father isn’t,” she snorted. “How was your discussion?”

He shrugged as they began to walk.

“He didn’t embarrass me, did he?” She ducked her head to look up at him. “He didn’t tell you to keep away from his daughter?”

“Ellie, he gave me a lecture on tooth enamel,” Sam offered, tightening his grip on her hand. “We didn’t talk about you.”

“Oh?”

“I mean, I’m sure there was a moral in his little talk but I missed it.” He gave her his disarming grin. “I was too busy thinking about doing this.” He pulled her towards him and kissed her forcefully on the mouth.

“You were thinking about deflowering his daughter?” Her eyes danced as she watched the implication of her words sink in.

“Deflowering would imply that you are. . .,” he paused and waved his free hand in the air. “. . .you’ve never had. . .”

“I’m not a virgin, Sam. But I don’t sleep around either,” she stated, lightly kissing his lips.

“Okay, well okay then,” he stammered, heading a little further from the house.

“So do you think about having sex with me?”

“Ellie!”

She shrugged nonchalantly. “We’ve been dating a while, I just wondered if you’d thought about it.”

He couldn’t tell her quite how often he’d thought about it. The first few weekends he’d slept on her couch while she slept in the bedroom until finally they’d ended up curled around each other in her queen-sized bed. So far, he’d been a gentleman, but he’d thought about making love to her. The only thing holding him back was her father and the need to be sure this was serious before taking that step. “Yeah.”

“Good.”

They continued to walk in companionable silence, the temperature dropping as the sky cleared.

“It’s going to snow,” Sam stated after a few minutes, shivering.

“It’s New Hampshire, Sam. Snowboarding is one of our major tourist attractions,” she retorted.

“Yeah, well it’s cold and we should head back.”

“You sail. In wind, rain, hail you get on your yacht and sail,” she chuckled, “And now you’re worried about a little snow.”

“I don’t want you getting a cold.”

“And I want to be alone with you, not in a roomful of my relatives.”

“And that’s all you want?” he asked, butterflies fluttering in his stomach as he realized how charged the air had suddenly become.

“What more could I want, right now? I have the moon, the stars and you,” she whispered, ducking her head to look at him.

“You are my moon,” he choked. “And my sun.”

Ellie gave him a suspicious look. “Sam?”

“Okay for a speechwriter that sucked.” He closed his eyes and when he opened them again, he took both her hands in hers. “I’m not sure, but then it’s never happened to me, but I think I. . .”

Sam lightly squeezed her hand and smiled. It wasn’t going to be easy, and if things went well, and even he couldn’t believe he was thinking that far ahead, he was going to acquire Bartlet as a father-in-law.

“. . .I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Her eyes widened and she gazed up at him with a mixture of surprise and delight. “Sam?”

“Yeah.”

“Kiss me.”

He held her hands against his chest as he lightly kissed her lips.

“But that wasn’t a proposal, right?” she asked, leaning away from him.

“No.”

“You were just trying to get me into bed?“ she asked seriously.

It was Sam’s turn to look shocked.

“I thought maybe you were taking lessons in the Josh school of dating,“ her lips quirked up into smirk.

“Ellie, I was not trying to get you into bed,“ he agreed.

“Oh, good. Now let’s get back to the house,” she mumbled, kissing him again. “Because, you know, when the time comes, I’ll be the one getting you into bed!”

Sam didn’t doubt it in the least.

******

Sam stepped over the squeaky floorboard and followed Ellie upstairs.

They had been hiding in the den since arriving back at the house. The television on low as they drank hot chocolate and warmed up by the fire. Everyone else had gone to bed an hour ago and they had enjoyed the solitude.

After Ellie had yawned for the third time in as many minutes, Sam had suggested they go to bed. Which had led to a rather passionate necking session on the couch until Sam had found his resolve weakening, and not wanting to find himself caught in a rather embarrassing position with Ellie, he’d once again suggested they go to bed. Separately.

Ellie stopped momentarily on the landing and pointed to the floor. Carefully she stepped over the squeaky floor board and waited for him to do the same.

“Where are you going?” he asked. “You’re room’s that way.”

“Ssh,” she hissed. “My father’s room is across the hall and I’m not known for being , um, quiet.”

“Oh,” Sam gasped. “You mean, you’re, I mean we’re going to. . .”

“Yes,” she whispered as she kissed him quickly on the lips.

All manner of reasons why this was a bad idea went through his mind but she was gazing up at him so loving that he knew he couldn‘t refuse her anything right then. “Okay, then.” He took her outstretched hand and let her lead him towards his room.

Ellie turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. “Happy Christmas.”

They tumbled through the door just as a female voice called out from the hallway, “Night Ellie, night Sam, sleep well.”

Sam stopped moving and his eyes widened.

“Night Mom,” Ellie called, closing the door and grabbing Sam by his lapels. “Now where were we?”

The End