"As fun as it would be to fly to the other side of the world and back in two days, I'll have to take your word for it."

Knowing how much she hated to fly, he smiled as he kissed her. "Go back to sleep. We've got all day to lay around."

"You don't have anything for the campaign?"

"Not until tomorrow night."

"Two whole days together," she said with a sigh of pleasure. "I think I just died and went straight to heaven." As she said the words, she worked her leg between his and her hand moved from his chest to his belly and down to encircle his erection.

"Babe...what're you doing?"

"Saying a proper hello to my husband who I love so much and who I missed so much."

"While I love the way you say hello, you're too tired."

She stroked and caressed him until he was on the verge of bursting. "I'm never too tired for this."

As much as it killed him to stop her, he wanted to be inside her when he lost control. "Wait. Let's do this together."

She turned onto her back and held out her arms, welcoming him into her loving embrace.

As he settled on top of her, he wanted to kiss and touch every inch of soft skin, but they were both in a rush after being apart for a few days.

"Hurry," she whispered, spurring his desire with the urgency he heard in her voice.

He entered her swiftly and then paused to relish the sweet relief of being joined with his love. "Samantha," he whispered, his lips brushing her neck and making her shiver. "I love you so much. I couldn't wait to get home."

"I couldn't wait for you to get home either. What's wrong with us that we can't bear to be apart for two days?"

"Nothing is wrong with us. Nothing other than being madly in love."

Smiling up at him, she caressed his back, her hands moving down in tantalizing circles until she gripped his ass and pulled him in tight against her as she came with a cry of pleasure that triggered his release. "God, baby," he whispered. "You're amazing. I can't get enough of you."

Her legs curled around his hips, keeping him lodged inside her. After a long spell of contented silence, she said, "I had another of those one-day periods while you were gone."

"Aw, honey. Shit."

She shrugged, showing nonchalance he knew she didn't feel. "We'll have to keep trying."

"That's certainly no hardship," he said, pushing against her as he kissed her. "It'll happen one of these months. We're a proven entity."

"Maybe. Maybe not. I'll be okay either way. I promise."

"I'm glad to hear you say that."

"Having Scotty with us has helped. I don't feel the same aching need to have a baby that I used to feel. If all I ever get is him, he'll be more than enough."

"For me too. We're so lucky to have as much as we do." He withdrew from her and moved to his back, bringing her with him.

With her head resting on his chest and her hand caressing his belly, she caught him up on everything that'd happened while he was away. Nick was stunned to hear of the situation with her dad and the moving bullet.

"He says it's nothing to worry about, but still... It sounds like it could be."

"He's right that we shouldn't worry until we need to."

"I'm trying."

Anxious to get her mind off her worries about her dad so she'd be able to sleep, he said, "Tell me about the girls you rescued from the motel. I heard about it on the news on the way home."

"That was the craziest thing! I got one of my feelings. I can't even explain the sense I got that something was very wrong there." She told him about rescuing Ginger and Amber, how Ginger had led them to the house where dozens of other missing kids had been located and the tearful reunion between Ginger-who turned out to be Sarah-and her parents.

"I remember the story when Sarah went missing. It was big news around here."

"And all this time she was only an hour away in the District. Her parents were so happy and relieved. But they've got an awfully long road ahead getting her the help she'll need."

"That's amazing, babe. I'm so proud of what you did for those kids."

"Thanks. Everyone made a big deal about it at HQ."

"It's a huge big deal. You could've walked away from that hotel and their nightmare would've continued with no one knowing what was really going on. You saved them all by following your instincts."

"I'd only ever say this to you, because it sounds kind of arrogant, but...when things like that happen, I know I'm doing exactly what I was put on this earth to do. Does that make sense?"

"It makes perfect sense," he said, and it served to clarify his decision. Who was he kidding? There'd never been a decision in the first place. Her job defined her and gave her life meaning. He'd never ask her to give that up for him.

She let out a huge yawn. "I can't stay awake anymore."

"You don't have to, baby. I'll be here when you wake up, and we'll have all kinds of time to spend together."

"Can we stay right here in our loft and not leave until we have to pick up Scotty?"

"There's nothing I'd rather do."

"What's the latest with Lexicore?"

"You're supposed to be sleeping."

"I will after you tell me what's going on."

"Turns out most of their investors were blindsided by the connection to the factory in Thailand. We haven't seen any noticeable drop in the polls since the news hit that I was a stockholder."

"That's a relief."

"It's all thanks to Graham. He played it perfectly. As always, his instincts were spot-on."

"I'm glad. You deserve to be reelected. You work so hard." She relaxed into his embrace, and her breathing evened out, leading him to think she'd fallen back to sleep. "Nick?"

"Hmm?"

"Remember that thing we talked about doing together sometime?"

His recently satisfied libido stood up to take notice when he realized what she meant. "What about it?"

"I want to do it. I want to do everything there is to do with you."

He tightened his grip on her and kissed her forehead. "We'll get to it, babe. We'll do it all. I promise."

"Good," she said, yawning again. "Did you get to spend any time with the president on the trip?"

"We had a drink together in the middle of the night on Air Force One. It was incredible."

"That's so cool. Did anything else happen while you were gone?"

"No, honey. Nothing else happened. Go to sleep. I've got you."

Epilogue.

Sam, Nick and Scotty watched the election returns in a hotel suite across the street from the Greater Richmond Convention Center. The suite was full of family, friends and campaign staffers anticipating an easy victory for Nick in his first official election.

Graham worked the room like the seasoned politician he was, enjoying every moment of his adopted son's big night. Dressed in his "work clothes," Scotty followed Graham around, handing out cigars and shaking hands.

"Check out the next Senator Cappuano, already in training," Sam said to Nick. They sat together in front of the TV, watching the coverage and waiting to hear official results in the Virginia Senate race.

Nick smiled when Scotty shook hands with Virginia Governor Mike Zorn and his wife Judy, both of whom seemed charmed by the boy. They'd come by for a quick visit while they waited to see if he'd been reelected too.

"The kid is a natural," Nick said.

Sam reached for his hand and linked their fingers. "Just like his dad."

"I'll be glad when they call it," he said, glancing anxiously at the TV.

"It's in the bag, Senator. They probably had to invent a new way to count as many votes as you got."

"Shut up," he said in a teasing tone.

"Shut me up."

"I will. Later."

"Promises, promises. I just got a text from Trace. They're moving Brooke to the new school tonight. I guess it got kind of ugly when they told her what was happening."

"Let's hope things will be better for all of them with a little space."

"I can only hope so."

Graham came over to them, his blue eyes dancing with excitement and anticipation. He was in his element on a night like this and was clearly enjoying himself. He'd been glued to Nick's side all day, propping up the candidate during his first official election day.

"Could I have a word with the Senator-Elect?" he asked.

"Don't jinx him," Scotty said from behind Graham.

"You tell him, Scotty," Nick said.

"I'm just speaking the truth," Graham said.

Nick squeezed Sam's hand and released it. "Be right back, babe."

"I won't keep him but a minute," Graham said.

Sam reached out to Scotty. "Come sit with me."

As the two men walked away, Scotty plopped down next to her and focused on the election returns. "I wish they'd call it already."

Sam laughed. "You're a chip off the old block."

"What does that mean?"

"You're just like Nick. He said the same thing two minutes ago."

"Being just like Nick isn't a bad thing."

"It's a very good thing."

"This is all really cool, isn't it?"

"It's very cool, but I have to admit I'll be glad when the campaign is officially over and we can go back to a somewhat normal life."

"Our life is never normal."

Endlessly amused by him, she said, "Already got that figured out, huh?"

"Yep. Didn't take long to figure out I'd never be bored with you guys for parents."

"Gee, thanks. I think..."

His smile was full of charm and mischief, but then it faded, and she could tell he had something on his mind. "Could I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"I heard you guys talking about Grandpa Skip having to go to the hospital next week. Is he okay?"