Title: Defending Virtue 1/3
Author: natlski
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Lots of little things here and there. This could take place at any point mid series.
Characters: Josh, Sam, Donna, and a couple of original characters. Some C.J. Toby, Leo, Jed, and Charlie make a brief appearance.
Pairings: A smidge of J/D; depends on how badly you want it, but really just friendship
Disclaimer: Not mine, no matter how hard I wish. I do, however, get to claim ownership of Calvin Randall, Captain Morris, and Detectives Ross Slater and Chris Noland.
Summary: Josh Lyman's last thought, as the room faded to black, was that there were worse things than dying for Donnatella Moss.
Author's note: Feedback is the nectar of the gods. Again, Boku thanks to Classic She for her time and amazing beta skills.
White House- West Wing- Operations Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff
Josh Lyman dropped his head down, stretching the tired muscles in his neck. He then systematically began to roll his shoulders and his head to work out the kinks in his muscles. As he brought his head up, his gaze fell on his blonde assistant standing before his desk.
"Is it done?"
He gave her a tired grin. A sudden wave of energy washed over him and he leaped to his feet. Sliding the pages he'd been reading into a folder, Josh came around the desk holding the file out before him.
"Seven and a half months, hundreds of meetings, blood, sweat, and tears."
Donna raised an eyebrow. "Blood, sweat, and tears?"
Josh stopped and shrugged his shoulders. "The air conditioning was broken and Sam got a paper cut. You know what a wuss he is." he trailed off, the boyish grin remaining on his face.
Donna returned the grin.
He bounced on the balls of his feet, a bundle of nervous energy. "It's done. I'm going to take this to Sammy." Josh practically skipped out the door of his office, giddy with the excitement of finishing a project that had been so long in the making. Donna trailed him as he headed for the Communications Bullpen.
white house - west wing - Communications Department Office of Deputy Communications Director
Sam Seaborn sat at his computer, fingers flying over the keyboard. Toby Zeigler stood just behind him, peering over his shoulder, frowning. Every few moments the Communications Director would grunt or make a comment.
"Verbs, Princeton. You know that part of speech that is essential to a sentence? Shows action or state of being?"
"It's called imagery, Toby."
"You know, we should make sure there is someone standing by with oxygen; for when the President passes out from not having a pause to breathe. Ever heard of punctuation?"
Sam's hands stilled. He let out a short breath and turned to look up at his boss and mentor. "Would you like to write this speech?"
Toby leaned back against the bookcase. "No. You're doing fine."
Sam stared at Toby.
"It is done!"
Sam and Toby turned toward the doorway to see Josh, grinning like a kid on Christmas morning and holding up a thick folder. He walked the rest of the way into the office and handed the file to Sam, and repeating himself. "It's done."
"Completely done?"
"Utterly, totally, finished."
Donna shook her head. "760 verbal?"
"Today is a day to celebrate. You will not destroy my joy with your snarky comments, Donnatella Moss!"
"I'm just saying."
"We've got to go out tonight." Sam looked up from where he was leafing through the pages of the bill, looking for any last minute changes that Josh might have missed.
"Georgetown Station?" Josh slipped his hands into his pockets. "My last meeting is at 5:00."
"7:30." Donna corrected him.
He swung around to face her. "What?"
"You have Matt Skinner at 7:30. He had to reschedule."
"Fine." Josh turned back to face the two speechwriters. "You coming, Toby?"
The gruff speechwriter shook his head. "I've got to finish the UAW speech for Friday."
"Sam?" Josh asked, sensing their rare chance at a relaxing evening slipping away.
Sam looked at Toby, who gave him a slight nod. "Yeah. I'm in."
Josh grinned. "I'll go invite C.J."
Josh and Donna exited the office. "You have a meeting with Leo in 10 minutes. Don't be late." Donna reminded him as she handed the stack of files she'd been carrying to Ginger.
"Yeah, yeah. Leo, 10 minutes." Josh muttered with a wave of his hand. Donna headed back toward Operations and Josh continued to C.J. Cregg's office.
C.J. sat at her desk, phone pressed to her ear and head bent over an open file. "No comment on that one." She paused to listen to the speaker on the other end of the line. "Definitely no comment on that!" There was another pause. "The President is taking into consideration all possibilities as presented by his advisors."
Josh knocked lightly on the doorframe. The Press Secretary looked up from the papers she was reading and flashed him a grin. He moved the rest of the way into the office and stood impatiently before her desk.
"Yes. You're welcome." C.J. hung up the phone and closed the folder she had been reading from. She leaned back in her chair and smiled up at her friend. "The Manchester Union Leader wants to know if the President is going to be spending Thanksgiving and Christmas in Manchester. They want to know why he would choose Camp David over his family farm."
Josh scowled. "Thanksgiving is what, five months away?"
"Something like that. What's up?"
"Sam, Donna, and I are going out for a celebratory beer tonight. Come with us."
"The Waynewright Bill?"
A huge grin broke over Josh's tired features. "Done."
"Congratulations, Mi Amore! I can't come."
"C.J." Josh whined. "Toby's bailing on us to work on a speech the President declared locked two days ago. It's been ages since we all went out."
C.J. shook her head, marveling at how much the savoir-faire politician before her could act like a two year old. "I've got the Women in Media dinner tonight."
"Okay. But next time." Josh toed the carpet and C.J. had all she could do to keep from laughing at him.
"Just don't do anything stupid. I don't want calls in the middle of the night, or headlines to clean up in the morning."
"Claudia Jean." Josh placed a hand on his chest, an innocent, shocked look on his face. "I'm hurt. We would be nothing but on our best behavior!"
The tall Press Secretary gave an inelegant snort. "Only in my dreams. You, Sam, and Donna? At a bar? Great."
Josh chuckled and turned to leave. "Have fun at your stuffy dinner, C.J."
"Don't do anything stupid. Headlines, Joshua, headlines." She called after him. C.J. shook her head and turned her attention back to the various memos littering her desk.
GEORGETOWN- 25TH STREET
The early summer sun did nothing to improve Calvin Randall's mood as he locked the door to his one-room apartment. He scowled at his elderly neighbor, Mrs. Crenshaw, and her yappy little terrier as they passed on the stoop. As he stepped onto the sidewalk he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. The tie knotted at his neck felt uncomfortable, but he knew the dress clothes were necessary. Cal shuffled down the sidewalk toward the Metro stop and the train that would take him to his 10th job interview in 2 months.
The ex-Army Ranger caught his reflection in a storefront and stopped to appraise his appearance. "I clean up pretty good." He said quietly to himself. He ran slightly shaky fingers through short-cropped light blond hair. A glance at his watch told him that if he didn't get going he'd miss his train. He couldn't afford to screw this up. He needed this job. He was months behind on his alimony and child support payments. With a quicker pace and unimproved mood he headed for the Foggy Bottom Metro stop.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA METRO POLICE STATION
"Slater! Noland!"
Detective Ross Slater finished signing his name and handed the form over to the desk sergeant. He then turned to face his precinct captain. "Captain Morris."
The older man grasped Slater's hand firmly, a wide grin on his face. He simultaneously shook the detective's hand and slapped him on the back, then turned to give the same treatment to Ross' partner, Chris Noland. "Congratulations on closing the Butler Case. The mayor was thrilled when I called him. This is going to mean commendations for both of you, I'm sure."
"Thank you, Cap." Ross exchanged a knowing look with Chris. "If you'll excuse us, sir, we need to finish processing this prisoner. We have the paper work to complete on the Butler case as well."
"Of course. Good work you two." Captain Morris gave the two young detectives one last pat on the back before returning to his office.
"Commendations." Ross snorted. "That's all he cares about. If we get commendations for this case, that puts our precinct ahead of Captain Frost's. Those two are the biggest rivals I've ever seen."
Chris sat down at his desk and opened a file. "They use to be best friends. My dad said that when they were at the academy, they were inseparable. But you have to admit, the Butler Case was huge and commendations from the mayor's office will look good on our records."
Ross chuckled as he signed a report. "Yeah. Your papa is going to be so proud."
Noland threw a wadded up memo across the two desks at his partner. "Your folks will be too. 'D.C. Metro's Rising Star Detective.' I can see the headlines now."
Ross laughed as he dropped the paper missile into the trash. "What do you say we go out tonight? Catch a drink before heading home, unless you have a hot date?" He raised an eyebrow at his partner.
The redhead shook his head ruefully. "Em's out of town this weekend. I'm free."
"Great! Just don't mention it to Cap. He might want to turn it into a precinct party. After the stress of this case I just want a calm evening with my partner and a good draft of beer."
"My lips are sealed."
End Part 1/3
Author: natlski
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Lots of little things here and there. This could take place at any point mid series.
Characters: Josh, Sam, Donna, and a couple of original characters. Some C.J. Toby, Leo, Jed, and Charlie make a brief appearance.
Pairings: A smidge of J/D; depends on how badly you want it, but really just friendship
Disclaimer: Not mine, no matter how hard I wish. I do, however, get to claim ownership of Calvin Randall, Captain Morris, and Detectives Ross Slater and Chris Noland.
Summary: Josh Lyman's last thought, as the room faded to black, was that there were worse things than dying for Donnatella Moss.
Author's note: Feedback is the nectar of the gods. Again, Boku thanks to Classic She for her time and amazing beta skills.
White House- West Wing- Operations Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff
Josh Lyman dropped his head down, stretching the tired muscles in his neck. He then systematically began to roll his shoulders and his head to work out the kinks in his muscles. As he brought his head up, his gaze fell on his blonde assistant standing before his desk.
"Is it done?"
He gave her a tired grin. A sudden wave of energy washed over him and he leaped to his feet. Sliding the pages he'd been reading into a folder, Josh came around the desk holding the file out before him.
"Seven and a half months, hundreds of meetings, blood, sweat, and tears."
Donna raised an eyebrow. "Blood, sweat, and tears?"
Josh stopped and shrugged his shoulders. "The air conditioning was broken and Sam got a paper cut. You know what a wuss he is." he trailed off, the boyish grin remaining on his face.
Donna returned the grin.
He bounced on the balls of his feet, a bundle of nervous energy. "It's done. I'm going to take this to Sammy." Josh practically skipped out the door of his office, giddy with the excitement of finishing a project that had been so long in the making. Donna trailed him as he headed for the Communications Bullpen.
white house - west wing - Communications Department Office of Deputy Communications Director
Sam Seaborn sat at his computer, fingers flying over the keyboard. Toby Zeigler stood just behind him, peering over his shoulder, frowning. Every few moments the Communications Director would grunt or make a comment.
"Verbs, Princeton. You know that part of speech that is essential to a sentence? Shows action or state of being?"
"It's called imagery, Toby."
"You know, we should make sure there is someone standing by with oxygen; for when the President passes out from not having a pause to breathe. Ever heard of punctuation?"
Sam's hands stilled. He let out a short breath and turned to look up at his boss and mentor. "Would you like to write this speech?"
Toby leaned back against the bookcase. "No. You're doing fine."
Sam stared at Toby.
"It is done!"
Sam and Toby turned toward the doorway to see Josh, grinning like a kid on Christmas morning and holding up a thick folder. He walked the rest of the way into the office and handed the file to Sam, and repeating himself. "It's done."
"Completely done?"
"Utterly, totally, finished."
Donna shook her head. "760 verbal?"
"Today is a day to celebrate. You will not destroy my joy with your snarky comments, Donnatella Moss!"
"I'm just saying."
"We've got to go out tonight." Sam looked up from where he was leafing through the pages of the bill, looking for any last minute changes that Josh might have missed.
"Georgetown Station?" Josh slipped his hands into his pockets. "My last meeting is at 5:00."
"7:30." Donna corrected him.
He swung around to face her. "What?"
"You have Matt Skinner at 7:30. He had to reschedule."
"Fine." Josh turned back to face the two speechwriters. "You coming, Toby?"
The gruff speechwriter shook his head. "I've got to finish the UAW speech for Friday."
"Sam?" Josh asked, sensing their rare chance at a relaxing evening slipping away.
Sam looked at Toby, who gave him a slight nod. "Yeah. I'm in."
Josh grinned. "I'll go invite C.J."
Josh and Donna exited the office. "You have a meeting with Leo in 10 minutes. Don't be late." Donna reminded him as she handed the stack of files she'd been carrying to Ginger.
"Yeah, yeah. Leo, 10 minutes." Josh muttered with a wave of his hand. Donna headed back toward Operations and Josh continued to C.J. Cregg's office.
C.J. sat at her desk, phone pressed to her ear and head bent over an open file. "No comment on that one." She paused to listen to the speaker on the other end of the line. "Definitely no comment on that!" There was another pause. "The President is taking into consideration all possibilities as presented by his advisors."
Josh knocked lightly on the doorframe. The Press Secretary looked up from the papers she was reading and flashed him a grin. He moved the rest of the way into the office and stood impatiently before her desk.
"Yes. You're welcome." C.J. hung up the phone and closed the folder she had been reading from. She leaned back in her chair and smiled up at her friend. "The Manchester Union Leader wants to know if the President is going to be spending Thanksgiving and Christmas in Manchester. They want to know why he would choose Camp David over his family farm."
Josh scowled. "Thanksgiving is what, five months away?"
"Something like that. What's up?"
"Sam, Donna, and I are going out for a celebratory beer tonight. Come with us."
"The Waynewright Bill?"
A huge grin broke over Josh's tired features. "Done."
"Congratulations, Mi Amore! I can't come."
"C.J." Josh whined. "Toby's bailing on us to work on a speech the President declared locked two days ago. It's been ages since we all went out."
C.J. shook her head, marveling at how much the savoir-faire politician before her could act like a two year old. "I've got the Women in Media dinner tonight."
"Okay. But next time." Josh toed the carpet and C.J. had all she could do to keep from laughing at him.
"Just don't do anything stupid. I don't want calls in the middle of the night, or headlines to clean up in the morning."
"Claudia Jean." Josh placed a hand on his chest, an innocent, shocked look on his face. "I'm hurt. We would be nothing but on our best behavior!"
The tall Press Secretary gave an inelegant snort. "Only in my dreams. You, Sam, and Donna? At a bar? Great."
Josh chuckled and turned to leave. "Have fun at your stuffy dinner, C.J."
"Don't do anything stupid. Headlines, Joshua, headlines." She called after him. C.J. shook her head and turned her attention back to the various memos littering her desk.
GEORGETOWN- 25TH STREET
The early summer sun did nothing to improve Calvin Randall's mood as he locked the door to his one-room apartment. He scowled at his elderly neighbor, Mrs. Crenshaw, and her yappy little terrier as they passed on the stoop. As he stepped onto the sidewalk he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. The tie knotted at his neck felt uncomfortable, but he knew the dress clothes were necessary. Cal shuffled down the sidewalk toward the Metro stop and the train that would take him to his 10th job interview in 2 months.
The ex-Army Ranger caught his reflection in a storefront and stopped to appraise his appearance. "I clean up pretty good." He said quietly to himself. He ran slightly shaky fingers through short-cropped light blond hair. A glance at his watch told him that if he didn't get going he'd miss his train. He couldn't afford to screw this up. He needed this job. He was months behind on his alimony and child support payments. With a quicker pace and unimproved mood he headed for the Foggy Bottom Metro stop.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA METRO POLICE STATION
"Slater! Noland!"
Detective Ross Slater finished signing his name and handed the form over to the desk sergeant. He then turned to face his precinct captain. "Captain Morris."
The older man grasped Slater's hand firmly, a wide grin on his face. He simultaneously shook the detective's hand and slapped him on the back, then turned to give the same treatment to Ross' partner, Chris Noland. "Congratulations on closing the Butler Case. The mayor was thrilled when I called him. This is going to mean commendations for both of you, I'm sure."
"Thank you, Cap." Ross exchanged a knowing look with Chris. "If you'll excuse us, sir, we need to finish processing this prisoner. We have the paper work to complete on the Butler case as well."
"Of course. Good work you two." Captain Morris gave the two young detectives one last pat on the back before returning to his office.
"Commendations." Ross snorted. "That's all he cares about. If we get commendations for this case, that puts our precinct ahead of Captain Frost's. Those two are the biggest rivals I've ever seen."
Chris sat down at his desk and opened a file. "They use to be best friends. My dad said that when they were at the academy, they were inseparable. But you have to admit, the Butler Case was huge and commendations from the mayor's office will look good on our records."
Ross chuckled as he signed a report. "Yeah. Your papa is going to be so proud."
Noland threw a wadded up memo across the two desks at his partner. "Your folks will be too. 'D.C. Metro's Rising Star Detective.' I can see the headlines now."
Ross laughed as he dropped the paper missile into the trash. "What do you say we go out tonight? Catch a drink before heading home, unless you have a hot date?" He raised an eyebrow at his partner.
The redhead shook his head ruefully. "Em's out of town this weekend. I'm free."
"Great! Just don't mention it to Cap. He might want to turn it into a precinct party. After the stress of this case I just want a calm evening with my partner and a good draft of beer."
"My lips are sealed."
End Part 1/3