This is a pre-administration fic, which I normally steer clear of, as I don't pretend to be fluent in the ways of presidential campaigns or the beginnings of Josh and Donna's relationship. Consequently, this focuses on neither of those things. Although inevitably it includes some J/D, it's more about their respective relationships with Sam. Also, the format is a little odd, and it's purposeful, so if the skipping around bothers you, I apologize! Hopefully the use of italics to separate past/present is helpful enough.

Precursor: this is also based around a headcanon of mine that Sam and Josh met in high school, which you might see as being rather unlikely since they're from different states, but there's nothing to say Sam's parents couldn't have moved him to Connecticut at one point in time. I've just always felt as though their bond extends beyond one of two friends who met during their time on the Hill, as most people seem to accept as the beginning of their friendship. If you're having a hard time buying that, or really the basis of this story, feel free to think of it as slightly AU-ish.

Anything recognizable probably belongs to Sorkin and such.

"Thank you," Sam mouths to Josh across the room, watching his best friend alight with true happiness, and feeling the sensation reflected in his soul.

Josh responds, but Sam loses sight of him a second later amidst the chaos erupting around them. There's dancing and cheering and so many other things that it's hard even to keep track of himself, much less anything else. He lets the full thrill of what they've just accomplished wash over him, renewing his confidence with the thought that yes, this is finally somewhere he belongs.

He's pulled into C.J.'s arms for a dance, twirled around, practically gliding across the room. She's singing along to the music which he isn't really listening to, but he finds himself mesmerized by the energy she exudes. She's the kind of person who, given more time and intimacy, he could find himself forming a real bond with. She's the kind of woman who other women should look to as an example of strength and empowerment, and just as he thinks he's drunk enough on excitement to tell her this, someone is pulling him away from her.

He turns, meeting a familiar pair of blue eyes, except even through their familiarity, he notices an expression that isn't familiar at all.

"Sam," Donna says softly, and he recognizes a gentleness there that he hasn't heard in her before.

He restrains himself from telling her to get a little pep in her step and join the party, knowing, even though he doesn't really know her all that well, that there's something off about this moment.

Later, when the room has gone quite silent and unbelievably still, he'll reflect on the significance of the moment before. He'll think back to the exact second he could tell without actually knowing.

Now, though, he can do nothing but stare blankly as she babbles on, spouting out medical terms and numbers that mean nothing to him at all. He feels someone grip his shoulder, knows it's C.J., but doesn't take his eyes off of Donna. He's frozen in shock, listening to her ramble without understanding at all.

Noah Lyman cannot be dead. There's no way. He was doing so much better. Sam had just talked to him yesterday. Everything was going to be fine. Except...

"Josh is on the next plane out to Connecticut," Donna finally pauses. "I just thought...you know."

Before he lets the true gravity of his personal emotions on the matter get in the way, Sam swallows, "Where is he?"

Donna shrugs, "He just...left. His room, maybe? I don't..."

Sam is out the door without a second thought.

. . . . .

His conversation with Josh lasts all of about five minutes during which, expectedly, his best friend does absolutely nothing to let Sam comfort him and concentrates his entire power into shutting him out entirely. If he weren't so shaken up himself, Sam thinks he probably would've made more of an effort. But Josh's plane is leaving soon, and he has to pack, so Sam leaves him alone, and retreats back into the main suite.

When he returns, all sense of excitement is entirely lost. He's glad that he missed the exchange of information amongst the rest of the staff. He doesn't think he could bear to hear it over and over again, whispered around him in fragile tones

He flops tiredly down on the couch beside Toby, who is very uncharacteristically solemn. He sits in silence for a long time, during which people filter in and out of the room. He thinks he hears Leo say something about needing to check on Josh, and he and the governor leave for a while. But Sam barely registers it, as he's trained entirely on the television, which is still rolling a constant stream of mindless information.

"You knew him?"

Sam's head jerks upwards at the sudden interruption of his previously monotonous thought process. Toby's watching him with what appears to be concern, but Sam can't be certain as he's never actually seen a genuine look of concern on this man's face before. He can't bring himself to understand what the question meant, though he realizes later that it should've been rather obvious, so all he is able to say in response is, "What?"

"Josh's dad," Toby clarifies. "You knew him?"

"I...yeah," Sam stutters. "Yeah, I knew him pretty well."

Toby nods slowly, "Why didn't you go with him, then?"

Suddenly, Sam finds that through the last hour or so, this thought had never crossed his mind, and so he has no answer for Toby.

"I don't know," he says honestly. "I've been sort of..."

"In shock?"

"Yeah."

"You're holding up alright, though?"

. . . . .

"You're holding up alright, though?"

Josh sighs heavily, "It's not like we were close."

"Well, yeah," Sam shrugs, setting his backpack down on the armchair and joining his friend on the sofa. "But your dad's pretty torn up over it. Sometimes seeing your parents so upset affects you more than you realize."

"I'm okay," Josh tells him softly, and in that moment, Sam knows he's being honest. "Wish I didn't have to miss three days of school to go all the way to freakin' Toronto, though. Why do they even live there?"

"I hear Canadian people are nice," Sam comments.

Josh gives him a look, "Okay, whatever. I'm just sayin'...the fact that of all places, Toronto is one of the cities with the largest Jewish population? That's weird."

Sam toes off his shoes and rests his feet on the coffee table, "You've been there before, right?"

"Once or twice. It's not all that exciting. Just cold. I shouldn't be missing that much Chemistry, though. Not this close to mid-terms," Josh starts grumbling, and Sam knows that all attempts to get him less biter about going to Toronto are being nipped in the bud.

"I'll take plenty of notes for you," he tells his friend. "You know how thorough my notes are because you make fun of it all the time. We'll go over it together; it'll be fine."

Josh shakes his head, "I wish I could just stay here with you, anyways."

"Yeah," Sam agrees, "but I'm not even going to bring that up again within miles of your mother."

Josh smiles, recalling his mom's reaction to their suggestion that he miss his great-aunt's funeral.

"You'd think she'd understand that me passing my Chem mid-term is more important than attending a funeral for a woman I had a cumulative fifteen minutes worth of conversation with."

"It's important to your dad, though," Sam reminds him. "Your dad was close with her, so she wants you to support him, that's all."

"Yeah, well," Josh mumbles bitterly, "if failing this class is what keeps me out of Law School, they're both going to be sorry."

. . . . .

"I'm holding up, okay," Sam replies slowly. "I mean, still a bit in shock, though, so maybe it hasn't quite hit me yet."

Toby gives him a smile that's not reminiscent of any sincere emotion, but Sam appreciates it nonetheless.

. . . . .

"You should go."

"Go?" Sam asks, confused. And then it hits him. "Go to Connecticut? Leo, I can't do that. Josh is gone, so I've got to be here. Maybe you ought to go. He was your friend, after all, and Josh could use the support."

"Sam," Leo replies evenly, "if you can't leave because Josh is gone, I certainly can't. I'm running this thing. Just take a couple of days, Sam. He was important to you too."

"Leo..."

"Go," Leo says once more, and this time, it's an order, not a suggestion. "He needs you more than he needs me. My wife and daughter will be there. Ruth will understand."

Sam doesn't make to protest again. He only nods, then thanks his boss and leaves.

He's almost completely done packing when Donna appears in his doorway, fiddling with Josh's room key and watching him intently.

"Hey," Sam says because there's really nothing else to say.

"Hi," she replies, looking at her hands. "You have my cell number, don't you?"

Sam flips his suitcase shut, "I'm sorry?"

"My cell number," she repeats. "You have it in your phone?"

"I...yeah."

She nods, "Good. I just...keep me updated, okay? He's...I'm worried, and..."

"Donna," Sam takes pity on her. "We're all worried. Of course I'll keep you updated."

She smiles slightly, content with his response, but still visibly bothered. She opens her mouth, closes it, then starts again, "You'll need to watch his meals. He skips them when he gets anxious, and it's easier to just let him get by on donuts and potato chips, but once he gets in the habit, it'll be hard to get him back to real food. And he won't sleep much, so don't bother trying to make him, just make sure he at least lays down for a while every now and then. If he gets particularly mopey, you can probably convince him to take a long shower. And if he starts yelling, just let him. He'll say things he doesn't mean, and it might sting a little, but he'll apologize later. It's just his way. If he ever gets to be too much...if...if you don't know how to handle it, you can call me, and I'll try my best to—"

"Donna," Sam interrupts her a second time.

She cuts off her rant to look at him, eyes full of pain and helplessness.

"Come with me," he tells her.

She looks shocked, "Come with you?"

"Come with me. Pack your stuff and come to the airport with me, and let's fly to Connecticut together. He needs us. He needs you, Donna. So come with me. We'll piece him back together. Between the two of us, we won't let him fall apart."