Title: Thunder And Rain
Author:S A Martin
Synopsis: The staff reflect on the vice president's news
Characters: Ensemble
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Post S4, Life On Mars
Disclaimer: The West Wing and all its characters belong to Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, John Wells.....
CJ watched Josh sit in a depressed silence on her couch. "What do you think'll happen?" she asked.
"The Republicans'll be pleased," Josh commented.
"This isn't Joe's fault."
Josh looked confused, "What?"
"You said the Republican'll be pleased."
"I said Republicans," Josh replied.
"Okay. But what do you think........ ?"
"He'll resign."
"You think?" CJ asked, although she'd known it from the moment she'd seen Helen Baldwin's name on the phone record.
"What are you two doing?" Toby asked from CJ's office doorway.
"Nothing," CJ replied.
"Want to come and get drunk?" Toby invited.
"Yes!" Josh replied, standing and following CJ and Toby out of the office. Donna and Charlie didn't take much persuading to join them. They found Will talking with the Laurens.
"Will," Toby called. "Send them home, it's late. Come with us."
Will did as he was told and fell into step beside Toby. "Where are we going?"
When they just want to escape the office they go to Iota or The Hawk & Dove, but when they want to seriously discuss work, while getting drunk, they go and sit on a stoop in Georgetown, a tradition that started in the fall of 2000. "Josh's apartment," Toby replied.
"For copious amounts of alcohol," Josh added.
"I don't really drink that much," Will commented.
"Then you and Josh can keep each other company, while the adults get drunk," CJ smiled.
"Hey," Josh protested.
"Yeah come on, CJ, be fair," Donna smiled mischievously."Josh still gets drunk, it just takes him a lot less time and money than the rest of us."
Josh glared at Donna and CJ, "You know I can stay here and get insulted."
"Not if Donna's with us you can't," Toby replied.
"So the health drive's off?" CJ smiled, as Toby ate more pizza.
"What health drive?" Toby asked.
"You had salad for lunch," CJ pointed out.
Toby glared at Charlie, who just smiled. "Oh for God's sake, one salad is all I had. Josh eats salad all the time."
"No I don't," Josh informed him. "Donna buys me salad, I don't actually eat it."
"That's true," Donna sighed. "He eats my fries and I eat his salad. That's why I'm so much healthier than you are," she told Josh.
"So that's the reason," Josh smiled.
"Why do you keep buying him salad if he never eats it?" Will asked.
"Because the doctor said he should eat less junk food and more salad, fish and white meat."
"Yeah, but that was like two and half years ago," Josh pointed out.
Donna shook her head, "What difference....?"
"I'm better now," Josh interrupted.
"Because I made you eat healthily," Donna told him.
"I really think there was more too it than that," Josh grinned.
Will watched them with a puzzled expression. He'd seen the way the look at each other when they talk. The way that they can be totally captivated, like no one else is there. He'd noticed how they speak in half sentences, how they finish each others thoughts, how they converse without words. Now, as he watched them bicker over Josh's lack of a healthy diet, he wondered, not for the first time, what was going on between them. He was no nearer answering that question now than he was four months ago when they went chasing across Washington to make her go to the inaugural balls.
"Shouldn't we all be slightly, I dunno, depressed at the moment?" CJ asked.
"That's why we're getting drunk," Josh pointed out.
"You think he'll resign?" Charlie asked.
"Yeah," Josh replied.
"Why couldn't we just get through it?" Will asked. "You all got through the MS disclosure."
"This is completely different," Josh told him.
"Because none of you like him?"
"We don't dislike him," CJ protested a little half heartedly, because in truth none of them, not even Josh, really liked Hoynes.
"Sorry," Will quickly said. "It was just a feeling I got."
Donna handed Josh half of her last piece of garlic bread. "Why is it different?" she asked.
"Because he told her stuff, things that were confidential." CJ told her.
"It's going to be hard finding someone to replace him," Will said.
CJ smiled, "Well luckily that's Josh's job."
"He hasn't gone yet," Josh commented, a little grumpily.
"But you said yourself......"
"Yeah," Josh sighed. "You think Joe Quincy enjoyed that?"
"No," CJ insisted.
"It isn't his fault," Donna added.
"Why?" Josh asked.
"Because it would have come out in the book."
"I know. But the first act of the new associate counsel is to get the Vice President fired. His friends are gonna think that's a pretty good start to his new job," Josh commented.
"From what he said in his interview, he doesn't have many friends in the Republican party," Donna reminded him.
Josh turned to look at her, "Why are you defending him?" he asked.
"Because you're blaming him and it's not his fault."
"Oh God, it's 'cos he's a Republican," Josh moaned.
"What does that mean?"
"You like him."
"Well that's not true."
"You told me."
Toby looked at CJ and smiled, she shook her head and grinned. Charlie was watching Josh, thinking that he knew exactly what Josh was going through. Will watched them and mentally kicked himself. Why hadn't he noticed that sooner?
"You know Josh if you need to blame someone then it should be Hoynes not Joe," Donna was telling Josh.
"You think I don't know that," Josh sighed.
They all lapsed into silence, which Charlie broke by asking, "Is there anymore beer inside?"
"Yeah," Josh stood up and he and Charlie walked back into the apartment.
"It should be raining and thundering," Donna commented.
Toby looked at her and smiled to himself. That was the sort of comment that use to drive him nuts when he first met Donna, when he thought she was a blonde air head and he couldn't work out why Josh had hired her. Now he knew that Donna was certainly not an air head, comments like that amused him. He had to ask though, "Why?"
"It'd suit the atmosphere out here," she replied.
"Isn't it illegal to sit out here drinking?" Will asked.
"Yeah," CJ nods.
"We're rebels," Charlie added, as he handed out the beers.