This is an elaboration of the one-shot "Because He Asked."

It is a crossover with "The West Wing" but it is mostly "Twilight". The main idea was to put the characters in an entirely new setting. So here they are...

Disclaimer: recognizable characters claimed by respective authors, the rest came out of my daydreaming bank.

Prologue

Bella felt her stomach clench when the seatbelt sign flashed above her head and the flight captain's voice came over the PA system, announcing their descent into Regan International Airport. Take off and landing always made her a little nervous and this was no exception. Especially as this landing would be the beginning: new home, new job, a new outlook on life. Bella exhaled deeply, blowing hair out of her eyes.

The last 12 months had been painful and difficult, but there had been some comfort in the familiarity of it. Now she was sitting in an airplane making a leap of faith for the first time in a long time. It felt very uncomfortable. Bella's attention was drawn to Ben, his face pressed to the window pane.

"Mom! Mom! I can see the Washington Monument! Look! Can you see it?" Ben exclaimed.

"Hush, baby. Yeah, I can see it. It's pretty cool, huh?" she replied, patting his arm to quiet him.

"Can we visit it? Can we climb to the top?" He looked like he was ready to jump out the window in his excitement.

"Yeah, baby, we can visit everything. But you need to put your seatbelt on. We're almost there."

"Good. I'm so hungry. Do you think Gramps will take us out to lunch? I'll bet he knows the best places for lunch." Ben asked as he buckled up.

"I'd count on it. Charlie loves to take you to all his old dives." Bella smiled, thinking about her father and silently offered a word of thanks for the gruff and lovable man. Without Charlie's help this move would have been exponentially more difficult.

"In fact, he's meeting us at the new house. He has our keys….and hopefully a signed lease from the new tenant."

Bella had successfully rented out the basement apartment of her new brownstone to a couple of newlyweds who were finishing up their graduate work at George Washington University. Peter and Charlotte seemed adorable, and Bella had sent the lease through the mail. She was looking forward to watching them feather the nest of their new home as she built her own new life.

The second apartment was almost as easy to rent, but because it was right across the hall from where she and Ben were going to live, Bella wanted to be cautious. A friend had recommended a coworker who was looking, so Bella asked her dad to use his contacts to check his references and do the interview. She didn't want her new tenant to think he had any advantage over her because she was a single woman with a child. Since the rent was much higher on the two bedroom than the basement, she wanted to be sure he could afford it.

Charlie Swan was standing outside the brownstone as their cab pulled up. "Gramps!" Ben shouted as he bounded from the car.

"Hey, Benny! How are ya, boy?" Charlie swung the boy through the air, then hugged him tightly. The affection between the two warmed Bella's heart, and she silently thanked God, again, for the great deal of love she had in her life.

"Hi, Dad." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

"Hiya Bells. How was the flight?

"Good. Long, but OK. Ben saw the monument on our approach."

"Did you, Benny? How would you like a nighttime tour?" Charlie asked, winking at Bella.

"That would be awesome!" Ben shouted.

"Alright then, it's a date. Hey, here come the trucks!" Charlie nodded toward the moving truck now rumbling up the street. "Take the key, Benny, and open the doors. Open some windows, too. It's kinda stuffy up there," he shouted to the running boy.

Bella turned to her father, "So?" she asked.

"Here's your lease, Bells. The new guy moves in next week. He's clean as a whistle, of course, and he'll probably never be around because White House staffers are married to their jobs and…" Charlie paused for effect and held up a slip of paper. "He paid the first year in full!"

Bella looked at Charlie with surprise. "In full? That's a check for $48,000?"

"Yup." Charlie smiled and handed it to her. "Better bake some cookies for your friend, because that was one hell of a referral he gave you."

Bella was still staring at the check when Charlie threw his arm around her. "So glad you're back, honey. I think things are going to work out just fine," he said. "Now let's get you moved in." Charlie released her and walked toward the movers, who were setting up their dollies and ramps.

Bella ran inside to change her clothes so she could get down to work.

Hours later, Bella crashed down on her couch with a heaving sigh. Moving sucked and even with a cadre of moving men, her father and Peter and Charlotte from downstairs, this move was no different. Bella rolled her sore shoulders and took a sip of her champagne. Left by her real estate agent, it was the only alcohol in the house, and she felt like celebrating a little before she called it a night. This was the first home she had ever bought by herself, and for the first time she was living without another adult. Although a 34-year-old widow with an 6-year-old child would never be considered a swinging single, Bella had to admit a little thrill at the thought of living on her own for the first time.

"To Bella, a single woman with a kick-ass house, an awesome job!" She raised a glass to toast herself. "And a business!" she added, thinking of her rental properties. "Here's to you Bella, baby!" she shouted before muttering, "Crap, I think I just got myself drunk. Hmmm, too bad I have no interest in making improper advances to myself."

She giggled at her own joke and shuffled toward the stairs, dropping her glass in the kitchen sink on the way.

The morning brought a bouncing Ben on her bed and a throbbing headache. Bella moaned a tried to cover her eyes against the sunlight streaming into the room.

"Crap, Ben," she whined, pressing her palms into her eyes. "What are you doing? You're making Mommy's head hurt."

"Mom! There's a lady downstairs. She says she brought us breakfast and for you to hurry up and get your butt out of bed."

Bella stopped rubbing her eyes mid twist and peeked at Ben. "What? Who? There's someone in the house?"

"MOM!" he said as he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, a lady. She has doughnuts. Can I have one?" he begged.

"Wait. Wait a minute Ben. Let me see who this person is and find out what she's doing in our house."

Bella grabbed her bathrobe and stumbled down the stairs. She gasped as her head caught up with the rest of her body and resumed its pounding ache. As she neared the kitchen she heard humming and the sounds of someone moving around, getting plates and cups out.

A good sign, she thought. Probably not a serial killer, then.

A woman's voice screeched, "Bella!" and as she rounded the corner Bella saw the tiny, young woman who was buzzing around her house.

"Alice? I should have known!" Bella exclaimed.

She was quickly enveloped in the comfort of Alice's arms. Bella clutched her friend tightly, holding back the tears that threatened, as Alice rocked her back and forth.

"I'm glad you're here," Alice whispered.

Breaking the hug, Bella grabbed her head, sat down at the kitchen table. "How did you get into my house?" she asked.

"Oh, Bella, don't worry about that. I got an extra key from your real estate agent. Didn't you notice the toilet paper in the bathrooms and the groceries in the fridge? I thought I'd make your life a little easier by stocking you up!" Alice replied.

"Oh um, I did, thanks. I actually thought my agent had done that as some kind of housewarming thing." Bella said, resting her head on the table.

"Nope. All me. I couldn't let my best friend go hungry on her first day in town, could I?"

Alice paused to consider her friend. "Bella, what is the matter with you?"

"Ugh. Hangover. I should know better than to drink wine."

"A hangover? What did you do last night?"

Bella explained about the champagne and the toasting while Alice bustled around the kitchen making coffee and setting up Ben with doughnuts and milk.

"Benny," Bella said, turning towards him. "Remember your Auntie Alice? Since we live nearby, we will be seeing her a lot more. Do you remember your favorite cowboy boots?"

Ben nodded, his mouth full of doughnut.

"Well those were a gift from Alice and her husband, Jasper. In fact, I think all your cowboy stuff came from them," she said.

"Awesome! Is Jasper a cowboy?" he asked.

Both women laughed. "He's actually a lawyer with the department of justice, Ben. But all men from Texas think they are cowboys, so we just humor him."

"OK." Ben shrugged. "Mom, can I eat this in the living room? I want to watch cartoons."

"Sure, Baby. But don't make a mess."

Bella turned to Alice, who was perched on the kitchen counter, coffee in hand. "Charlie rented the second apartment and you're not going to believe who it is…Sam Seaborn."

"Oooh, Bella, he's adorable. Did you see him on 'Meet the Press' last week?" Alice's eyes were alight with excitement.

"I did and I know! He is adorable! It's going to be nice to have some eye candy next door, right?"

"Eye candy! Forget about that. He's completely eligible and would be perfect for you!"

"Alice, I'm not hooking up with my tenant. How awkward would that be?"

"Who said anything about a hook-up? That man is going to be falling all over himself to get close to you, well, once I'm finished with you, anyway."

Bella sighed and continued to drink her coffee in silence. She knew it would do no good to argue with her friend. Alice was in love with love and made it her mission to fix up all her available friends. She had been no different in high school and thanks to Alice, Bella had dates to the prom and school events. Alice didn't care that Bella wasn't really interested in going out that much. Nonsense, she would say. These are the best years of your life, Bella Swan. Now get your hiney in here and get dressed.

Alice hadn't been there when Bella met her husband, Felix, but she had stood faithfully, albeit silently, by her side when Felix and Bella exchanged vows. Alice was strangely detached that day and Bella had never figured out if it was because she didn't like Felix or if she was just annoyed that she hadn't made the match herself. Probably both.

Felix and Bella did not turn out to be a fairy tale match and they struggled to get along through much of their marriage. But Bella had gotten the best part of Felix when her son was born, and there was no way she could ever regret that.

While the time since his death had been horrible, it had also been a period of personal discovery for Bella. Her mettle was tested throughout Felix's devastating hospitalization and Bella had emerged stronger and more confident in her abilities to cope and build a life for herself. When the offer came to join the staff at Georgetown Children's Hospital, Bella was ready to pull up stakes and start anew.

The bonus came in the form of family and friends, like Alice, who lived nearby.

"Alright, girl," Alice prompted. "Enough slouching around. We've only got two days to get your life in order, and I want to be in my bed at a decent hour tonight. Ben! We're going upstairs," Alice called out and shoved Bella toward the stairs.

Bella didn't even feel a little annoyed.

It was good to be home.