Title: "Breaking the News (1/4)" PG
Characters: Donna, Ainsley, Sam
Category: Drama/Angst
Rating: Teen
Post Ep: "Election Day, part 2"
Summary: Donna spreads the unfortunate news.
Author's Note: This is the first story in the "On the Path to the Future" series.

Breaking the News (1/4) "The Seaborns"

Donna dialed the number she had become familiar with while separated from Josh. She called it often when she needed a friendly voice to talk to. The people on the other end of the line had been her sanity as she worked towards making Bob Russell the Democratic nominee for President. Since then, she had called them when she simply needed to vent about Josh. They had had been the first people told the story of "the kiss" to.

She knew the chances of getting through the call without tears was slim to none, so she decided to let the tears fall if they came again. She heard the phone ring a few times before hearing the southern drawl of a friend.

"Hello."

"Ainsley, it's Donna. Is Sam around?"

"Sure, would you like me to get him?" she asked.

"Actually, can you have him get on another extension? I've got some news for you." Donna heard Ainsley leave the phone briefly to get Sam, and have him pick up one of the other extensions. While waiting, Donna took a deep, though shuddering, breath.

"Hi Donna," he said.

"Hi Sam," Donna said. God, was it good to hear his voice again, she thought. "You both deserve to hear this from me, and not from the news when it breaks, and it will break soon." She took a deep, steadying breath, but before she could speak, a sob burst out. "Oh, God," she sobbed. "He's gone, Leo's gone."

Thankfully for Donna, neither Ainsley nor Sam needed to ask Donna what she meant by "gone."

"When?" Ainsley asked quietly.

"Just a few moments ago. Annabeth went to get him for some campaign stuff, and found him unconscious in his room, and not breathing."

"How's Josh?" Sam asked, knowing that his friend would not be taking the loss of a mentor well.

"When I told him Leo'd been taken to the hospital, he looked like I'd shattered his world. He recovered some on the way to the hospital, but that look returned when Annabeth told us that Leo was gone. Dammit, Sam. This is supposed to be Josh's night, and he's going to spend it feeling guilty. How do I make him understand that Leo wouldn't want him to feel guilty on tonight, of all nights?" She broke down crying, tears streaming down her face as she vented her frustrations and grief to her friends.

Sam sighed. "There's not much you can do, but make sure he calls his mother. She may be able to knock some sense into him. You can handle him, Donna. You've always been able to, even when you didn't realize it. He'll listen to you because he loves you." Sam was quiet for a minute, before coming to a realization. "You know, I don't think I was supposed to tell you that."

Donna gave a tiny laugh. "It's alright Sam. I knew about that already. It's been an emotional day, in both directions. Josh and I made some personal discoveries today, and got some things out in the open."

"Do you need us to come out right away Donna?" Ainsley asked. "Or should we wait until the funeral?"

"We'll be okay until the funeral, I think. Josh is going to need you Sam, especially if we win. He's going to feel truly lost if we win tonight, and knowing Josh as I do, he's going to want to surround himself with people he trusts to help him run the country. He can't rely on Leo, so he's going to come up with other options. He's going to ask you to come, Sam."

"I know he will. But I don't know what to tell him. I don't know what we'll tell him," he amended, thinking of his wife listening to the conversation.

The friends spoke for another few minutes before leaving to take care of pressing matters. As Sam and Ainsley hung up their phones, they turned to each other, glad they weren't alone in their grief.

A/N: The next part should be up soon. The entire story (it's short, just four parts) is complete, but I want to look over the rest a little bit.