She got up and left the room. It was out of her hands.

Nick and Christina returned to his office after a marathon meeting of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Once they had gone over their notes and made a to-do list, she got up to leave.

“Thanks again for going with me earlier,” he said. “And yesterday, too.”

“Lots of drama lately.”

“Yes.”

She looked at him as if there was something else she wanted to say but had thought better of it.

“What’s on your mind, Chris?” She studied him for a long moment. “Are you going to, you know, go running out of here every time something happens with her?”

“I don’t know,” he said, caught off guard by the question. “Maybe. Do you have a problem with that?”

“No, it’s just that you might not always be able to. You have so many commitments and obligations now. It’s different than before.”

“I’m well aware that my role has changed. We’re just going through a period of transition. On multiple fronts.” He paused before he added, “I know you’ve had a lot on your plate doing two jobs over the last month, but Terry will be starting soon. It should get better then.”

“I guess we’ll see how that works out. You have a nice evening, Senator.”

“You, too.”

For a long time after she left, he sat and stared at the painting of the Capitol that Sam had given him for Christmas. He thought about what Christina had said and acknowledged that she made a good point. It wouldn’t always be possible for him to go running when Sam was in trouble—not that she expected him to. But he couldn’t imagine sitting through a committee meeting, for instance, if he knew someone was holding her hostage.

They were definitely navigating uncharted waters here, and everyone was going to have to make some adjustments. He finally had time to pick up that day’s Washington Post, which had devoted much of the front page to Julian’s murder. At least they had taken a break from reporting about his romance with Sam. As Nick read the coverage about Julian, he was once again filled with sadness over the loss of his friend.

Suddenly, he remembered an op-ed piece that had run the week before in which Tony Sanducci, a leading abortion protestor, had spouted off about Julian’s nomination and the setback it could represent to the rights of the unborn. He had urged his followers to take any steps necessary to stop the nomination. Nick wondered if Sam had thought to talk to Sanducci. Nick reached for the phone to call her, but got voicemail.