Two Administrations Two Families

by Jayne Leigh

AU Series 7. Matthew Santos and his staff are shot at four days after winning the election. Can the Bartlet Administration and the Santos Administration work together to get through the situation. Please read and review!

Right, this fic started off as a short-standalone but I kept writing and writing. 15335 words later and I've decided to end it. This is a different series 7 where Toby didn't leak information and still works in the White House. Leo didn't die and he was elected Vice-President. It's such a long fic and I really hope you enjoy reading it. Please review and let me know!!

Enjoy!!!

Two Administrations...Two Families.

Josh Lyman watched with pride as President-Elect Matthew Santos gave a speech, thanking all of the people that had voted for him. It had only been five days ago that they had won the election, beating Senator Arnold Vinick and he could hardly believe that they had done it.

Josh looked around the hall and saw Otto and Bram standing beside the stage, still with a state of awe on their faces at the new President Of The United States; the guy they had helped get elected. Lou was standing beside Edie and Ronna, probably ordering them around, but the two women were more interested in the man on the stage.

He thought about Donna back at the office, working with Helen Santos on what sort of work they'd like to do after the inauguration.

Yes, things were going great. It might be hectic at the moment and would probably be even worse after the transition but it was all worth it.

He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket; he pulled it out and moved away from the crowd.

"Where are you?" He asked, straight away as he put the phone to his ear.

"It was a good flight, thanks for asking."

Josh glanced at the stage as the crowd cheered loudly once again. "Are you here?"

"That would be a no."

Josh sighed in a whiny tone. "Sam!"

"Hey, my flight landed 30 minutes ago, okay...Give me a break." Sam replied.

"Okay, fine." Josh leaned back against the wall. "You still at the airport?"

"I'm in a cab."

"Heading here?"

"Yes, Josh, I'll be there as soon as...What's the rush?"

"I want you to meet this guy."

"President-Elect Santos?"

"He's the real thing..."

"I'm sure he is, but that doesn't mean I'm going to take the job, Josh." Sam told him. "I told you this, the other day. I agreed to come down here, but I'm not just going to drop everything to come work with you because you say this guy is the real thing."

"You did last time."

"Yeah, but this is different."

"How?"

"It's... Because... It just is."

"Okay." Josh grinned, knowing that Sam had probably already made the decision; he just didn't want to admit it yet. "You'll be here soon?"

"Yeah." Sam replied, pausing before continuing. "I just have to stop off at the hospital."

Josh pushed himself away from the wall a little. "What?"

"I'm fine." He said quickly.

"The hospital?" Josh repeated.

"It was just a tiny accident..."

"Sam?"

"I sort of slammed my hand in the cab door..." He admitted, looking down at his injured hand. "I think it might be broken."

Josh sighed. "Want me to get someone to come and pick you up?"

"I think I can cope on my own." Sam answered.

"We'll probably be done here before you're finished, so go back to your hotel and give me a call...We'll set something up." Josh told him, seeing Santos wrapping things up.

"Sure. I'll catch you later."

"Okay, bye." Josh said, hanging up the phone and shoving it back in his pocket. He turned and found Leo standing behind him. "Hey."

"Anything important?" Leo asked.

Josh smiled slightly. "Nothing for you to worry about Mr Vice President."

Leo gave him a mock glare. "Stop that, right now."

"What am I meant to call you?"

"Josh!" He groaned.

"You can't expect everyone to call you Leo now you're the vice president."

"I can expect you to call me Leo." He told him. "I've known you for too long and we've been through way too much."

"Yeah." Josh agreed, quietly.

"Have you spoken to Toby yet?" Leo asked.

Josh glanced away. "About what?"

"Josh." Leo gave him a look.

"He said he wants to spend more time with Huck and Molly." He claimed. "I offered him a job and he politely said no, because of his kids... That's good enough for me."

"Toby? Politely?"

"Well, we didn't end up fighting like the last time we spoke, so that's a plus."

"Yeah." Leo nodded before sighing. "You two need to sort it out."

"We're fine..."

"You're barely speaking."

"We've both been busy."

"Josh!"

"Leo, just...We're fine...Or we will be... Just leave it alone...I've got a lot of things to deal with right now...Toby knows that...And I know he's busy too... It can wait."

Leo rolled his eyes but decided to let it go for now. "So, the phone calls... Anything important?"

"Nah, just my secret weapon." Josh grinned again.

"Oh, God... No more secrets…it's not a secret plan to fight inflation is it?"

"Leo, that was years ago!" Josh exclaimed.

"Yet, you still insist on coming up with these secrets..." Leo continued, although he wasn't being serious. "You're going to be Chief of Staff to the President, Josh."

"Yeah, and you're going to be the Vice President, so this is for me to worry about and for you to not." Josh stated, heading over to the stage to join Santos, as he walked off.

"I can't help but be concerned about your secrets." Leo continued, following him.

"Yeah, thanks." He replied, dryly as they reached Santos.

"That went well, I think..." Matt commented, as he was lead to the exit by the Secret Service, along with Josh and Leo while Otto, Lou, Bram, Edie and Ronna trailed a little behind.

"Yes, Sir...You did well." Leo assured him. "If you'll excuse me, Annabeth is over there waving like a madwoman, which I'm guessing means she wants me to go over to see her."

"I'll see you back at the office..." Josh told him. "Oh, and don't make any dinner plans."

"What's going on?" He asked, curiously.

"Nothing."

"Your secret weapon?"

"Yeah."

"Oh joy." Leo rolled his eyes and headed over to Annabeth.

Matt chuckled, watching his Chief of Staff and the Vice President.

"So, what's next?" He asked, as they stepped outside the building.

"Uh, there's nothing left on the schedule for today, Sir, but there is someone I'd like you to meet with."

"Who?"

Before Josh could answer, the air exploded around them with the sound of gunfire. His first instinct was to hit the ground for cover. He didn't realise that he was pulling Matt down with him until they were both on the concrete. Pain stabbed through his shoulder and spread down his arm, but then it dulled slightly as his mind began to spin and he lost what little control he had on the situation. He briefly wondered whether this was actually happening or if it was just simply a flashback of Rosslyn. He glanced to the right to look for Matt but couldn't see him, instead he saw people running around everywhere.

"The President-Elect?" He asked, as two agents pulled him up.

"Mr. Lyman, we've got to get you out of here." Was the only answer he got.

His legs shook and he was actually glad that the agent was there to help him, because he didn't think he was capable of walking on his own. He felt sick to his stomach and his head was still spinning. He was put into a car that quickly left the scene. He leaned his head back against the headrest, trying to control his breathing.

"Heading to G.W, our ETA 2 minutes. Harvard's been hit!" The agent spoke into his sleeve. "I repeat, Harvard's been hit."

Josh was only half listening to what was going on around him, but then he suddenly realised what they had just said. Harvard... That was his Secret Service name...

His eyes shot open and he looked down, his stomach flipping and his hands started to shake, he was beginning to feel worse than when he had originally seen his shirt stained with blood.

XxXxX

"What the hell was that?" Leo asked, moving away from Annabeth towards the door when one of the agents stopped him.

"Sir, you need to stay inside and away from the window." He pushed, Leo back into the building, as more agents joined him, guarding the Vice President.

"Was that gunfire?" Leo asked, trying to look past them and outside.

"Sir, stay back."

"Were they just shot at?" He demanded, raising his voice.

"Three shots were fired." The head of his detail, Henry answered. "That's all the information I have right now."

"Well, find out more!" Leo ordered. "I want to know what's happened to the President-Elect and Josh Lyman!"

"I'll do my best, Sir, but you need to stay back!"

Leo sighed, knowing it was no use fighting with the Secret Service and moved back over to Annabeth.

"Leo?" She asked, questionably trying to keep her voice steady.

He shrugged slightly, telling her he didn't know what was going on.

"Sir, we've got to go now." Henry took hold of his arm gently, leading him towards an exit.

"What's happening out there?"

"The scene has been secured, but we need to get you out of here."

"Is the President-Elect okay?" He asked.

The agent glanced back at him. "He was hit in the chest."

"Oh, God, no."

"He's on his way to G.W." He stated, pushing Leo into a waiting car and sliding in next to him. Annabeth climbed in on the other side of him.

"You need to get hold of Josh Lyman, now... I need to talk him."

"Sir, you can't..."

"Get him on the damn phone, now!"

"Leo, calm down..." Annabeth told him, her voice still shaky.

"I need to talk to him. Make sure he's okay." Leo told her before looking back to Henry. "I just need to talk him."

"I'm sorry, Sir, It's impossible. Mr. Lyman has also been taken to G.W."

"No!" Leo started.

"He was also hit."

"But... But he's okay, though right?" Annabeth asked, automatically grabbing onto Leo's hand, not sure whether it was for his benefit or her own.

"I don't know, I'm sorry."

"We need to go to the hospital."

"Sir, we need to take you back."

"I need to be at the hospital!" Leo insisted. "You can either take me or I'll find my own way there."

"I really don't think..."

"The next President of the United States along with his Chief Of Staff have been taken there...The place would have been cleared out of anyone besides Doctors, Nurses and the Secret Service - It's the safest place to be!"

Henry thought about it for a minute, he didn't like the idea, but decided Leo wouldn't take no for an answer. He looked at the driver.

"G.W. now."

XxXxX

Donna glanced out of the window of the car as they speed towards the hospital. Helen Santos sat beside her, shaking and crying.

"He'll be fine." She said softly, hoping it was reassuring.

"He...I can't..." She stuttered through the tears. "I can't lose him."

"He's in the best place with the best doctors." Donna stated. "He's strong and besides we don't know how serious this is yet."

"He was shot...Isn't that serious enough?"

Donna swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to keep her own emotions under control. "Yes, Ma'am...I'm sorry."

Helen sighed and closed her eyes. "I... I didn't mean to snap...It...I just...I know you're worried about, Josh too."

Donna managed a small shaky smile. "They'll both be fine."

Helen nodded but remained silent, and Donna turned her attention back to the window. As soon as the agent entered Mrs Santos' office, Donna knew something terrible had happened. She never thought it would be this, not again. She knew that the President-Elect was shot and that she should be worrying about him but all she could think about was Josh. The agent had no information on who else was injured. All they told them was that Santos had been hit and Helen needed to get to G.W. She had tried to call Josh's cell but it kept cutting off. She just wanted to talk to him. Make sure he was okay. At least Leo was there; he would look after him.

XxXxX

President Bartlet was just finishing off Senior Staff with C.J, Toby, Will, and Cliff when Ron Butterfield along with some other agents walked into the office.

"Sir, you're going to have to step away from the windows." Ron told him, as the agents all took their positions.

"What's going on?" He asked, doing as he was told.

Ron hesitated, glancing at the others in the room but then continued.

"The Santos' Administration came under fire."

"Under fire?" C.J repeated, her face draining of all colour. "They were shot at?"

"Oh, God." Bartlet covered his mouth. "What do you know?"

"Not a lot at this moment." Ron answered. "The Vice President was still in the building so he was completely safe."

"Oh thank, God."

"At the moment there are only two confirmed injuries... President-Elect Santos was hit in the chest."

"No!"

"He's on his way to G.W."

Toby watched Ron closely. "Who was the second?"

Ron paused again before looking around the room. He remembered the last time…

"Josh was standing beside Santos. They're also taking him to G.W."

"To treat him for a knock to the head... or for...For shock?" C.J asked, hopefully.

"He was shot." He confirmed.

"We should get down there." Toby stated, turning to the door.

"You can't." Ron told him.

"We have too!"

"No, Toby...you really can't!" Ron repeated. "The White House has been shut down... You're stuck here until we get the all clear."

Toby went to protest further when C.J stopped him.

"He'll be fine...Leo will be there with him."

"And Donna too." Will added helpfully.

"How bad is he, Ron?" Bartlet asked, finally regaining his speech.

"I don't know, Sir..."

Bartlet sighed. "When we've been given the all clear...I'm going to need a car to take me down to G.W."

Ron nodded. "Yes, Sir."

XxXxX

Helen Santos ran into her husband's hospital room, ignoring the agents outside.

"Matt?!" She cried, seeing him lying on the bed with a team of doctors around him who all stepped back silently to give them some privacy.

"Hey, honey." He said drowsily, the anaesthetic starting to take effect.

"Oh my, God..." More tears fell from her eyes as she gripped onto his hand. "Matt..."

"Shh..." He tried to brush away the tears but didn't have the strength to raise his arm high enough. "I'm okay."

"You've been shot..." She stated. "You're not okay."

"The kids?" He asked, his eyes slowly shutting.

"They're fine." She answered. "Just worry about yourself."

"How's Josh?" He questioned, opening his eyes to look at her again.

"Josh?" She repeated.

"He pulled me down." He told her. "I remember... I got hit... Then, he pulled me down... I think he also got shot."

"Don't worry..." She started.

"He...He saved me, Helen..." Matt cut in. "That second bullet, it was heading for me too... I would have been shot twice... Then who knows what could have happened."

"Shh, stay calm..." She ran her hand down his face. "I'm sure Josh is fine...You can find out for yourself later, but first they're going to take you down to surgery."

Matt nodded, slightly. "I love you."

Fresh tears filled her eyes and she leaned down, placing a soft kiss on his lips before resting her forehead against his. "Love you too."

"Be strong." He told her.

She couldn't help but smile slightly. "Right back at you."

She leaned back against the wall as they wheeled him out of the room, breaking down as tears streamed from her eyes.

XxXxX

"Look, can you just tell me if Josh Lyman is here?" Sam asked, one of the Secret Service agents that were standing guarding the entrance of G.W. hospital.

"Sir, please, just step back."

"What about Leo McGarry...The Vice President...Can I speak to him?" Sam was starting to panic now.

He had just finished getting his hand seen to when the Secret Service cleared the hospital. It had brought back memories of Rosslyn and as soon as he could, he tried calling Josh's cell but it cut straight off.

"Sir, please." The agent pushed him back a little towards the crowd of people that had started to gather outside the hospital.

"Look, I'm the Deputy Chief of Staff!" He announced. "I need to be in there!"

The agent looked at him doubtfully. "Do you have your security pass?"

"Well, no..."

"Then I'm sorry."

Sam was about to protest when someone caught his eye.

"Leo!"

Leo turned at the sound of his name being called as he made his way into the hospital, surrounded by agents.

"Sam?"

"Leo, what the hell is going on?" He asked. "They won't tell me anything! They won't let me in!"

"Let him past." Leo told the agent standing in front of Sam.

"But Mr Vice President..."

"I said let him past...He's with me."

Henry stepped in front of Leo. "It's okay, his name's Sam Seaborn... I remember him from when he worked for President Bartlet."

The agent sighed and stepped aside. Sam glanced at him as he walked by, but said nothing. He quickened his step to walk in line with Leo.

"What happened?" He asked.

"The speech had wrapped up...We were leaving the building...Annabeth called me over...We stayed inside for a little bit to go over something, then we heard gunfire."

Sam swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat. "Yeah, I heard something like that... They...They're saying that President-Elect Santos was hit..."

"In the chest." Leo muttered.

Sam didn't know what to say. He was concerned for Santos like any American citizen would be for their President, but Leo hadn't told him where Josh was yet. Sam wanted to ask but he didn't want to seem insensitive towards the situation. He just couldn't help but remember how Josh struggled after the shooting...How music had caused flashbacks...What would the sound of a gun being fired do to him?

"You were his secret weapon?" Leo asked him.

"What?"

"Josh? He's been acting strange the last few days...He said he had a secret weapon..."

"Where is he, Leo?" He cut in.

Leo stopped walking and turned to face Sam, sighing. "Sam..."

His face paled, not liking the look on Leo's face. "No..."

"I don't have a lot of information..." Leo started.

"No, not again..." Sam mumbled. "Leo, it can't be."

"He was hit, Sam..." He whispered.

Sam fell back against the wall, his mouth slightly open. Leo glanced at him, but before he could answer, he saw Annabeth walking towards him. She had gone ahead to see if she could found out what was going on.

"The bullet went through his right shoulder." She told him as soon as she reached him. "He's stable, but they're gonna need to do an operation to remove the it."

"But he's okay?" Sam pushed himself away from the wall.

Leo saw Annabeth looking at him curiously.

"Sam Seaborn, Annabeth Schott." He introduced them.

"Sam? I've heard a lot about you." Annabeth smiled slightly at him.

"Josh? Is he going to be okay?" Sam repeated.

"The doctors are hopeful." She informed them. "You can see him. They've given him something for the pain...He's a little out of it."

"Where is he?" Sam asked.

"Calm down...The last thing he needs now is you going in there and freaking out." Leo told him.

"Yeah, you're right...Sorry..." He mumbled, rubbing his eyes with his hand. "I'm sorry."

"What happened to your hand?" Leo asked, noticing the bandage for the first time.

Sam looked down at it. "It's nothing...Let's go."

Leo decided to let it go for now and they both followed Annabeth down the corridor.

"How's the President-Elect?" Leo questioned, getting an incredible sense of guilt for not asking sooner.

"He's being prepared for surgery." She told him.

"I should go and see him."

Annabeth shook her head. "Mrs. Santos is with him now, and then he'll be taken down to surgery."

Leo sighed, realising how different this all was compared to what happened eight years ago yet there was so many similarities.

Sam silently followed behind the two of them. He noticed a lot of Secret Service agents around the doorway of the room Josh was in, and made a mental note to tease Josh about having a detail following him around all the time, later when he was feeling better.

Annabeth held the door open and Sam followed Leo in, whilst Annabeth waited outside.

"Josh?" Leo said, approaching the bed, where Josh was trying to push the oxygen mask off of his face and get up, whilst the doctor and a nurse tried to keep him still.

"Leo, what's going on?" He asked, finally managing to get the mask off. "Where's the President-Elect?"

Sam reached out to hold onto the wall at the sight of his best friend, with his shirt undone, stained in blood. He quickly pulled his eyes away when they focused on the bloodied gauze on his shoulder.

"Jesus, Josh!" Leo's eyes widened a little and he looked just as pale as Sam. "Lie back down, would ya?"

"Where's Matt?!" He asked firmly.

Leo noticed that it was the first time he had ever heard Josh call the President-Elect by his first name.

"Josh, just calm down a little." Sam stepped forward, speaking for the first time. "You...You've been shot."

Josh's eyes briefly shut, but quickly opened again when images of Rosslyn mixed with the shooting earlier flashed through his mind.

"It's okay..." Leo moved next to the nurse and gently pushed him back against the pillows. "Don't worry..."

"Leo..."

"They're going to take you into surgery soon... You've lost a lot of blood." Leo continued. "But you're going to be fine."

"What about, Matt?" Josh said again, this time quieter.

Leo glanced at Sam before looking back to Josh. "They're taking him into surgery soon..."

"Oh, God..." Josh tried to sit up again. "How bad?"

"Josh, lie back down!" Sam insisted.

"I need to...I should go talk to him." He tried to stand up, crying out in pain as he moved.

"Josh!"

"I'm okay..." He stated, unconvincingly. "I...There's stuff I need to do."

"You need to stay here!" Leo told him.

"I need to see Lou...And the Secret Service."

"You can leave that up to your deputy." Sam cut in, causing Josh to look at him. "If you want me to stay and be your deputy, then you're going to have to stay here and do as the doctor tells you... Everything else, I can handle."

Josh considered it for a moment before slowly nodding and getting back on the bed.

"Good." Sam breathed a sigh of relief.

"Talk to Lou Thornton...She can get you up to speed on what's been happing," Josh told him. "Don't make any comments to the press until we know what's going on...Wait until you hear from the Secret Service or we have news on the President-Elect... We talk before we have the facts it's going to look like we haven't got this under control."

"Got it..." Sam nodded, finding it a little strange that Josh was giving out orders; whilst Leo stood there silently but it was something he had to get use to. "It'll be fine."

"Yeah." Josh mumbled. "Anything that Helen Santos or the kids want...Make sure they get it, right?"

"No problem." Sam nodded. "I'll go and see what I can find out."

"Sam?" Josh called. "You gotta take charge, yeah?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Seriously, I understand you don't know anyone and they don't know you but... We need... I need to leave this with someone I can trust..." He pushed himself up a little again, leaning back against his elbows. "I need that person to be you."

"Just get better." Sam told him, before heading for the door.

Josh looked at Leo. "I need to talk to Donna."

"She came in with Helen."

"Mr. Lyman, we're ready to take you down now..." The doctor told him.

"Hang in there, Kid." Leo reached out, squeezing his hand.

"Donna?"

"I'll look after her." He promised.

Josh nodded silently. "Leo..."

His voice trailed off and Leo could tell he was scared.

"I know..." He whispered. "But you'll be fine...I know it."

Josh nodded once more, taking a shaky breath and closing his eyes as a nurse started to prepare him for the surgery.

Leo kept a tight grip on Josh's hand whilst the anaesthetic took over, and as they started to wheel him out of the room, Leo walked along side the bed and looked over at the doctor.

"How serious is this?" He asked.

"He's lost a lot of blood and we need to remove the bullet as soon as possible, but he should make a full recovery." The doctor answered, glancing behind them at the group of Secret Service agents following the Vice President and Chief of Staff. "We have some small concerns about the strain all of this is putting on his heart, but we'll keep monitoring that closely."

"His heart?" Leo tensed slightly.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that right now." The doctor told him. "Its just precaution, considering his medical history, age and life style."

Leo couldn't do anything but nod slightly, stopping as they reached the elevator.

"He's in the best hands, Sir." The doctor assured him.

"Yeah." He whispered, as the elevator doors shut.

He stared ahead for a moment, thinking about everything that had happened over the past eight years. He wondered when they were going to be given a break. He sighed, shaking his head and decided to head back to find out where everyone else was.

XxXxX

"Otto?" Donna quickened her pace when she saw him standing in front of the coffee machine.

"Donna, hey when did you get here?" He asked, glancing back at her as he shoved some coins into the machine.

"I just arrived with Mrs. Santos..." She told him; glad she had found someone she knew. She'd been walking around for the past ten minutes but no one would tell her anything.

"Any news on the President-Elect?" He turned to face her, taking a sip of his coffee and grimacing at the bitter taste.

"They were getting him ready for surgery." She folded her arms. "I don't think we'll know any more until afterwards."

"How's Mrs. Santos doing?"

"Well, she isn't great, but she's trying to be strong." She replied. "They waited for her to arrive before taking The President-Elect down..."

"I can't believe this has happened." Otto breathed out.

"I know. Listen, I've been walking around this place and I can't find anyone. Do you know where Josh is?"

Otto's mouth opened to reply but stopped himself.

"Otto?" She gave him a questioning look.

"Uh, everyone's in the waiting room down the hall." He pointed over his shoulder.

"Oh, okay." She replied, frowning a little at his odd behaviour.

"Okay." He repeated, turning and heading back down the hall.

Donna shook her head, putting it down to shock or something and followed him.

XxXxX

"You ready?" C..J asked, stopping in the doorway of Toby's office.

"For the past thirty minutes." He jumped up from his seat. They were in the Oval office for twenty minutes, before they allowed them to leave and then C.J had disappeared afterwards. "Is the President coming with us?"

"He's going to head over later, there's still a few things he needs to do, and the last thing the hospital needs right is two Presidents there, plus the Vice President." She explained as they walked down the corridor. "I talked to a doctor."

"And?"

"He was hit in the shoulder...They're removing the bullet now and he'll be fine."

Toby sighed as they reached the car that was waiting for them. He should be relieved but this was too much like last time.

"He will, Toby." C.J looked over at him before they both climbed in.

He didn't reply until the door was closed. "Except he might not be."

"Toby."

"I haven't talked to him...Since the fight." He admitted.

"I thought you two had sorted things out... He said he offered you a job." She gave him a confused look.

"He did...And we did sort things out...But didn't talk...Not properly, not like we used too." He stated.

"You've both been busy."

"That's crap, C.J. It's a crap excuse... You know, I know, and Josh knows it." He insisted. "We've worked together for so long and we've been through so much...And then we let something stupid that I can't even really remember come between us."

"You were upset about David...Josh was stressed about the campaign...You both said some things..."

"I was upset about my brother dying, so I took it out on Josh." He stated. "But he's like a brother to me too, and I don't, God, I don't know what I'd do if he..."

"He won't." C.J insisted, quickly grabbing onto his hand. "He'll be just fine... You'll see."

XxXxX

Donna followed Otto into the waiting room, her eyes quickly scanning the room for her boyfriend. There was Lou and Annabeth talking in the corner, Edie comforting Ronna, Sam talking on his cell phone, Bram pacing the room...

Wait, Sam?

"Sam?!"

"I'll call you back." He said to whomever he was talking to. "Donna?"

"Oh my, God, what are you doing here?" She asked, as he hugged her.

"Josh asked me to come." He mumbled into her hair.

"That's great." She pulled back to look at him. "Where is he?"

"What?"

"Josh, where is he?" She repeated.

Sam looked past at Otto, still standing at the door, who shrugged.

"Donna..." He started, but stopped.

"Sam, what's going on? What is it?" Her eyes widened slightly. "Sam, you're scaring me."

"Donna, sit down." He took hold of her elbow, guiding her to a chair. "Who have you spoken to?"

"No one...They wouldn't tell me anything."

"He's...He's in surgery right now, Donna." Sam said softly, kneeling in front of her.

"What? No..." She whispered.

"He's going to be okay. "Sam insisted.

"I need...I should go..." She stood up.

"Wait..." Sam tried to take her arm again but she had pushed past him.

As she reached the door, it opened and Leo stood there. "Donna?"

"I need to see him, Leo." She said tearfully. "Where is he? I need to see him."

"They've just taken him down." He led her back into the room. "He's going to be just fine."

"But..."

"He was hit in the shoulder...He's lost some blood, but nothing to worry about." He explained gently, and then looked right into her eyes. "This isn't like last time, okay?"

She was silent for a moment before nodding. "Okay."

"He was asking for you." Leo informed her, hoping it would bring her some comfort.

"You spoke to him?" She asked.

"He was trying to get out of bed..." Sam said, laughing a little. "He wanted to keep working."

"Typical." She rolled her eyes but smiled.

"Any news on the President-Elect?"

"Mrs. Santos was with him before they took him down." Donna replied. "I should go and see if she's okay."

"I'll go." Annabeth offered, placing a hand on her arm. "You stay here."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, no problem." She smiled. "I'll let you know anything."

"Thank you." Donna whispered.

"Thanks, Annabeth." Leo said as she passed him.

Sam gently pulled Donna down next to him as the rest of the room fell into silence.

"Someone should speak to the press." Lou spoke up after a few minutes.

"Not yet." Leo replied.

"They need to know we're handling this." She argued.

"Not yet!" Leo repeated, firmly.

"Well, with all due respect Mr Vice President you're not in charge."

"Josh said no comments until we know something, and unless you've got special information that we don't know about, then we're not talking!" Sam cut her off.

She glared at him but kept quiet and sat down. She wasn't sure what to make of him. Of course she had heard of him and knew he had worked with Josh before and that he went to California to see him about a job, but she didn't know that Josh would be offering him the deputy Chief of Staff position. She didn't care that much and had heard he was a good guy, but she didn't like how he just announced he was the new deputy Chief of Staff, then bark out orders.

The silence in the room was interrupted again by C.J and Toby as they walked in.

"Any news?" C.J breathed heavily.

"They're both in surgery...Josh is expected to make a full recovery..." Leo explained, not surprised to see the two of them there.

"Oh thank, God." She closed her eyes and quickly said a silent prayer. "What about President-Elect Santos?"

Leo sighed. "We won't know anything until after the surgery."

C.J stared at him for a moment, stunned. "Wow."

"Yeah." He mumbled.

"We have everything covered here." Lou stood up again. "We'll keep the White House updated."

"Excuse me?" Toby looked at her.

"I'm sure you both have better things to do."

"Our friend is being cut open! What the hell is better then being here?!" He exclaimed.

"Toby, calm down." Sam stood next to Lou.

"Sam?" Doing a double take, having not noticed him before.

"Hi."

"What are you...?"

"I just simply meant that there is nothing you can do here." Lou continued.

"We can wait." C.J glared at her.

"Fine."

"How's the President doing?" Leo asked C.J, quietly.

"He's worried sick...He wants to be here, but he has some meetings...He said he'll come down as soon as he can."

"Oh great." Lou muttered, rolling her eyes.

"What was that?" C.J shot her a look.

"Nothing."

"It sounded like something."

"The last thing we need is Bartlet here, acting like a caring father figure to the Chief of Staff to the next President, who himself is having major surgery!"

"It's President Bartlet, and why shouldn't he be here, caring about someone he's known for over eight years and who has become part of his family?"

"Yeah, that's all very sweet, but it will not look good when he's more concerned about Josh then the President-Elect!" Lou exclaimed.

"Right, all of you just stop for one minute..." Leo tried to cut in.

"Of course he's concerned about both of them..."

"C.J, please..." Leo rubbed his eyes but was interrupted again by Lou.

"Josh isn't the important one here!"

The room fell silent again and everyone stared at her. She took a deep breath before continuing.

"I meant...The American public elected Matt Santos...Not Josh Lyman...They're going to be more concerned about him...And they'll wonder why the current President isn't."

"I think you should give the public a little more credit than that..." Leo stated. "I think, they can understand why President Bartlet would be concerned about a former adviser of his."

"Yeah, a former adviser." Lou repeated. "Who is now working for the Santos administration...And being concerned and worried, is all good and well, but the White House can't get involved in this...This is our battle."

"Your battle?" Toby repeated sarcastically.

"Toby, go get a coffee." Leo told him.

"What?"

"C.J, take him and go get a coffee."

"Leo!"

"Just go."

"This isn't about the White House, Leo...This isn't even about politics any more...This is about Josh, our friend." Toby insisted.

"I know." Leo whispered, turning and leaning his hands down on a table.

"This is about last time when we nearly lost him... It was me who found him! I've got that image in my head for the rest of my life." He continued. "And afterwards, we were all so damn concerned about how the administration was going to recover, that we didn't notice how he wasn't!"

"Toby, I know!"

"We nearly lost time twice, Leo! He nearly died twice! This is the third time and..."

Leo spun around to face him. "He's going to be fine!"

"And when he gets through this, I'm going to make sure there isn't a forth time and I don't give a damn whether it looks good or bad for the Santos administration, because as far as I'm concerned there wouldn't even be one if it wasn't for him!"

C.J stood beside Toby, but didn't say anything, knowing she didn't need to. Whilst Sam, kept hold of Donna's hand tightly. All of them facing Leo, waiting for his response, like they had so many times in the past. Whilst the others in the room, kept away from them all, suddenly feeling out of place.

Leo sighed and rubbed his eyes. "It's not like last time."

"No, this time it's worse...This time he has so much more to lose...You don't have your old job there any more, Leo... You can't save his...How the hell are they going to let him work as the Chief of Staff to the President of the United States when he has..."

"Toby!" Sam cut in, glancing back towards Lou, Bram, Otto, Ronna and Edie. He had no idea if they knew or not, but he did know it wasn't anyone else's place other then Josh's to tell them about the PTSD. Although, he did have a valid point. Josh came so close to losing everything last time. What if he couldn't beat it this time? What would happen then?

Toby continued to stare at Leo for a few seconds, breathing heavily, before turning to Sam.

"How did you get here so fast, anyway?"

"What?" He asked, his mind still spinning from what Toby had pointed out.

"From California...How come you're here?"

"I uh, I trapped my hand in the car door." He replied, still deep in thought.

"I meant..."

"You should go get that coffee." Leo said quietly.

"Leo, he's our friend too..." C.J spoke up. "Just because he doesn't work with us now..."

"I'm asking you to go get a coffee whilst everyone cools off!" He insisted. "This isn't high school. You can't all go around shouting and screaming at each other!"

"Fine, we'll be back soon."

Leo nodded. "I'll come and find you if we get any news."

"Shouldn't you go follow them?" Lou looked at Sam.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you know team Bartlet."

"Oh for the love of, God, just stop right there!" Leo raised his voice. "There are no teams... We're all in this together!"

"I still say we should make a comment to the press..."

"There still hasn't been any word from the Secret Service...Once they tell us something, we'll do a briefing, and until then...We just wait!" Sam sat back down next to Donna.

Lou finally gave in and re-took her seat too.

"Doesn't the Secret Service know anything at all?" Bram asked.

"There was one guy with a Mac 90..." Leo answered. "He was taken down after the 3rd shot was fired, approximately 8.3 seconds after the first shot."

"Wow."

"He seemed to be alone and there was no clue as to what made him do it...So, it might take a little longer to gather the information."

"And there was no other injuries?" Otto asked.

"No, just The President-Elect and Josh."

"Well, that's good..." He stated, but then his eyes widened. "I didn't mean, I just meant...No one else... It was good no one else was hurt."

Leo chuckled a little. "Yeah, we got that."

"Good." He said again.

"I'm going to found out if there's any more information." Sam stood up.

"From where?"

"The doctors, about how they're doing...The Secret Service about why this happened."

"Want me to come?" Leo got up too.

"No, you're the Vice President... It's not your job..." Sam smiled.

Leo rolled his eyes. "Don't start, I've already had this from Josh!"

"Seriously, I can handle this..." Sam told him, patting his shoulder as he past.

XxXxX

Annabeth gently knocked on the door to the room that she was told Helen Santos was waiting in.

"Ma'am?" She said softly, seeing the First Lady sat alongside two women Annabeth recognised from the campaign.

She looked up quickly. "Any news?"

"No, Ma'am, I'm sorry...I just wanted to see if you needed anything."

Helen closed her eyes and leaned her head back. "I need for this day to be over...No, wait... I need for this day not to have happened."

"Of course, Ma'am...I'm sorry." She sat down next to her. "Have you eaten anything?"

"No, I really can't face anything..." Helen replied, not in the mood for the 'you need to look after yourself' speech.

"How about a coffee?"

She sighed. "Okay, a coffee sounds okay."

Annabeth nodded at the two women, who took the hint and went in search for a coffee machine.

"Donna wanted to come and see you, but I thought it would be best if she waited with Leo and the others..."

"Josh?" She asked, suddenly remembering what Matt had told her. "I forgot about Josh. How is he? Is he okay?"

"He was hit in the shoulder...He's going to be just fine." She assured her.

"Oh good...Matt will be glad to hear that!" She sighed in relief. "He said Josh saved him."

"Ma'am?"

"He pulled him down... Matt thinks that he would have been shot twice if he hadn't have done..." Helen explained. "If he hadn't of done... Then...That second bullet could have killed him instantly..."

"So, now Josh gets to add hero to his resume then." She teased.

Helen couldn't help but laugh slightly. "I guess so."

Annabeth smiled, happy to have made her feel a little better.

XxXxX

Donna followed the doctor down what seemed the longest corridor ever. She really wished someone were with her, Sam, Leo, C.J, Toby, and Annabeth...Anyone. Actually what she really wanted was for Josh to be there, to tell her everything was going to be okay. She stepped into the doctor's darkened office and he closed the door behind her before walking over to his desk, flicking on the desk lamp and facing her.

"Miss. Moss..." He started.

"Donna." She cut in, not sure why but she wanted to delay what he was about to say. "Call me Donna."

"Okay, Donna." The doctor nodded. "Mr. Lyman's injuries, unfortunately they were more serious then we originally thought. He had lost a lot a blood."

"Had?" Donna repeated the past tense word in a whisper but the doctor kept talking.

"We tried everything we could..."

"No..."

"I'm very sorry..."

"No!"

"He didn't make it..."

"NO! No! Please..."

"Donna?"

"No!" Her eyes shot open and she saw Lou, Otto, Bram, Ronna and Edie standing around her.

"Are you okay?" Edie asked in concern.

"Uh, yeah...Just..." She stuttered, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes for a moment again; it was just a dream. "I'm just going to...I need to get some air."

"You shouldn't be alone." Ronna told her.

"I'll be fine..." She stood up. "I'll be back soon."

"Donna?"

"I'm fine." She repeated and walked quickly out of the room. It was just a dream...It wasn't real.

XxXxX

Sam turned a corner and saw Henry standing talking to another agent, called Steve, who Sam remembered from when he previously worked at the White House.

"Sam?" Steve said, seeing him heading towards them. "I heard you were back...I was just coming to find you."

"You were?" Sam asked, reaching out and shaking his hand when he reached them.

"Yeah with the President-Elect and Josh being out of action...As the Deputy Chief of Staff, you're next in line for being in charge of the Santos Administration." He explained, frowning at the look on Sam's face. "You are Deputy Chief of Staff, aren't you?"

"Uh, yeah...I am..." He stuttered a little but then sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry, it's just been a long day...A few hours ago, I wasn't even sure if I wanted this job...Now all of a sudden, I'm in charge...But I'll be okay...What was it you wanted to see me about?"

"Well, I'm the head of Santos' detail...We have a bit more information on the shooter."

"Great, tell me." Sam walked into an empty waiting room.

Steve waited until Henry had closed the door behind him before starting. "His name was Andrew Simmons, he was 20 years old, originally from Boston going to Georgetown and doing pretty well, according to his records, top of his Law class."

"So, why would he suddenly decide to shot the next President of The United States?"

"Two years ago, his younger sister was killed in a hit and run... His mother, who had raised the two of them single handily, fought a long campaign in finding the driver and bringing him to justice; she also raised a lot of money and awareness about road safety..." He explained. "Last month, the driver was jailed for the girl's murder... The next day, the Mother took an overdose."

"God..." Sam stared at him, stunned.

"She fought her battle and won, then all she wanted to do was be with her daughter." Steve continued. "We talked to Simmons' room-mate, he had taken his mother's death hard... Like anyone would, but he had only just gotten over losing his sister... He felt abandoned and alone."

"So, he decided to go kill some people?"

Steve shrugged. "He worked hard at college, got good grades...Had two part time jobs so he could pay for his tuition by himself... He just wanted his Mom to be proud of him, but she was busy... He thought that might change once the driver had been caught, but..."

"She killed herself instead." Sam sighed.

"He left a message on his website."

"Saying?"

"He wanted to die doing something that got people's attention." Steve told him. "Unfortunately it was doing something evil instead of good."

"Yeah." Sam leaned back against the wall, deep in thought, but snapping himself back to reality. "You'll let me know when you have anything else? I want to know how he got through security."

"At the moment it looks like he was a part of the crowd and got a few shots in before our guys could get to him."

He ran a hand through his hair. "You'll keep me updated?"

"Yeah, no problem."

"Thanks." He replied, moving to walk out of the room.

He decided he didn't really want to go back to the waiting room yet. He couldn't face Lou or the others. He knew he was going to be working with them when this was all over, but he just wished things were how they used to be. When he had Leo, Josh, Toby, and C.J to go to when there was a problem.

"Any news?"

He looked up and saw C.J and Toby standing down at the other end of the corridor, by a coffee machine.

"Not yet." Sam replied. "I just can't stand to be in there."

"You okay?" C.J asked him, as she leaned against the machine.

"Yeah, it's just been a long day." He sighed. "But I'm okay...How are you guys?"

"We're doing good...Well, we were, until all this happened."

"I know you said all that stuff to Lou about being here to wait for news, but don't you have a country to run back at the White House?" Sam asked.

"Charlie is keeping me up to date with anything that I need to know." C.J held her cell phone up. "The President is still in his meeting and Cliff can handle the rest for the moment."

"Josh told me Charlie was working for you." Sam replied. "How's he doing?"

"Good." C.J nodded. "Really good."

"Sam?" Leo called, walking towards them. "What did you find out?"

"That it was just some messed up kid who lost both his mother and sister, then decided to go on a suicide mission to get some attention."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"We're going to have to do a press release." Leo stated.

"The White House too..." Sam replied. "It'll make it look stronger if it's done together...To show everyone's working with each other and that everything is under control."

"I can do it." Toby told them.

"Yeah, that will be fine." Sam nodded. "I'll do it with you."

"You?"

"Yeah."

"Sam, I know you want to help and all, but don't you think it'll be a good idea for someone from the Santos' Administration to do it?" C.J asked.

"You haven't told them?" Leo looked at Sam.

"I thought I did."

"Told us what?" Toby asked.

"I am from the Santos' Administration..." He informed them. "I'm the new Deputy Chief of Staff."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope."

"Josh made you his deputy?"

"He came to California a few days ago."

"Wow, with Leo as Vice President, you as his deputy... Donna on the First Lady's team... He offered Toby and I any job we want... Is this his dream team or something?"

Toby laughed. "How did he pull all this off without any of us realising?"

Sam couldn't help but smile as well. "He's Josh Lyman."

"Leo, are you okay?" C.J asked.

"I'm fine."

"Because you've got that look on your face." She claimed. "What is it?"

"Nothing..."

"Leo?"

"Look, it's nothing, just something the doctor said."

"The doctor?" She asked, concerned. "About Josh?"

"Forget I said anything, don't worry."

"You can't just leave it like that!" Toby told him. "What did he say?"

Leo sighed in defeat. "He said they were worried about his heart."

"But he was shot in the shoulder!" Sam replied.

"About the strain that all this was putting on his heart." Leo explained. "Along with what happened at Rosslyn, his life style and age, apparently it's cause for concern."

"Oh my, God."

"Donna can't know anything about this." Leo told them firmly. "It's probably nothing and she has enough to worry about."

"Yeah, okay."

"Look, lets get back and find out if there's any news."

XxXxX

"Mr President, your wife is here to see you." Debbie told him but got no response as he continued to stare out of the window. "Sir?"

"I'm sorry, what was that?" He snapped out of his thoughts.

"The first lady is here." She said again, gesturing to the doorway where his wife was standing.

"I'm sorry, hun..." He stood up and walked towards her. "I was in my own little world."

Abbey moved fully into the room as Debbie left. "I heard Matt Santos was shot."

"Yeah." Jed mumbled, putting his arms around her,

"Jed?" She asked, concerned. "What is it?"

He pulled back and looked at her. "You don't know?"

"Know what?" She asked. "Jed, what is it? What's happened?"

"They shot at them, Abbey... Four days ago he won the election...Just Four days ago."

"Jed, sit down." She pulled him down next to her.

"Josh was next to him."

"Who? Santos?"

"Yeah."

"When he was shot?" She asked, but Jed remained silent. She watched him closely, seeing he was deep in thought. "Jed, where's Josh now?"

"How can he recover from this, Abbey?" Jed asked, instead of answering her. "I know Matt Santos is the next President and his life is in danger, I am worried about him, I truly am...But Josh... Josh is a like a son... He's like one of my children and he's been hurt..."

"Jed..." Abbey started, taking his hand.

"He's struggled through, this once and I really don't think he can do it again."

Abbey was quiet for a moment, knowing what happened, even though Jed hadn't actually told her.

"How serious is it?" She asked, almost in a whisper.

"Bullet lodged in his shoulder, they're doing surgery now."

"It's a simple operation, Jed." She squeezed his hand. "He's survived worse."

"But it's not just about the physical aspects is it?"

"No... But he'll be okay."

"How do you know?"

"Because four days ago he won an election and made Matthew Santos the next President of the United States... He's got to be okay to sit in that office over there..." She pointed to the door that adjoined to the Chief of Staff's office. "And do some good."

Jed smiled sadly. "I really hope you're right."

This time it was Abbey who put her arms around him. "Me too."

XxXxX

Otto played with the empty coffee cup in his hand as he looked around the room. Bram was sat opposite, some papers spread out across the table in front of him but Otto knew he wasn't really reading them. He knew that he was shrugging to concentrate on anything other then being almost killed.

Lou was pacing around, barking orders into her cell phone and Otto actually felt sorry for the person on the other end.

Even tough no one felt hungry, Ronna and Edie had gone to get some food for everyone and Donna had mumbled something about fresh air before leaving the room.

"I'm new to this but we only won four days ago... Isn't this to early for them to be shooting at us?" Otto asked aloud once Lou had finished her call.

She spun around and glared at him. "They're not meant to shot at us at all."

He looked down at his cup again and said nothing.

"Sam's been a long time." Bram comment, glancing up at them both.

"He seems like a nice guy." Otto added.

"Would you guys just shut it for two minutes?" Lou rubbed her temples.

"Hey, we're only..." Otto started to reply when Bram stopped him.

"People are still waiting outside." He gestured to the T.V. that had been muted.

"The next President has been shot...You think they're just going to go about their normal business?"

"Look, a lot has happened today but you weren't the only one there." Bram stood up and looked at her. "You can't take it out on us!"

"I'm not taking it out on anyone!" She claimed. "I'm just trying to get things done around here when no one else seems bothered... All they care about is Josh."

"Yeah, but..."

"I mean, I've known the guy for years... And we've all worked damn hard along side him for this campaign, but why should we matter?!" She continued, barely aware that she was still talking. "We got Santos to the Presidency, not them... Us... And now the two of them are fighting for their lives and all of sudden we don't matter because we're not a part of the 'cool kids Bartlet administration'..."

"Lou..."

"God, they talk about how Josh is there friend... They think we don't realise that Josh was the one that's pushed us all this far...That we don't give a damn about him?" She started to pace the room, turning her cell phone in her hand. "Don't they get that not only has one of our friends been hurt but two of them... Two main reasons why we won this election."

"I'm sure they didn't mean..."

"We were there too! We heard the shots... We were almost killed, we watched them both fall to the ground..." Her voice grew quieter and quieter. "Shouldn't they understand?"

Otto and Bram shared a look, not sure what to do.

"Lou, are you...Are you okay?" Otto asked, after a few seconds of silence.

"I'm fine." She mumbled.

"Are you sure?"

Lou didn't answer, she continued to stare at the T.V that showed a reporter, talking outside the hospital, in front of the huge crowd of people.

Edie and Ronna walked into the room, stopping immediately sensing the awkwardness in the room.

"Lou?" Otto tried again.

"What's going on?" Ronna asked, nervously, looking from Otto to Lou. "Has something happened?"

"Start working on a statement to the press." Lou said suddenly, looking at Otto.

"Shouldn't we wait?"

"Just get started on it." She mumbled, sitting down.

Otto sighed, retaking his seat and pulling a pen and notepad out of his bag.

XxXxX

"It's freezing out here." Zoey Bartlet complained, pulling her coat around herself tighter as she reached Charlie. He had asked to meet her in the Gardens. She placed a hand on his arm. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He shrugged a little. 'I just...Well, I thought we could talk."

She gave him a small smile. "Yeah."

"You heard about Josh?" He asked, guiding her towards a bench.

"Shoulder wound." She nodded, taking a deep breath. "He'll get through it."

"It's not fair though, is it?" Charlie replied, sitting next to her. "Being shot twice just because he works for the President."

"You think he'll want this job once this is over?"

"It's Josh...What else would he do?"

Zoey leaned back against the bench, thinking about everything that had happened since her father had announced he was running for President. She had to admit she had been excited about the idea whilst her sisters weren't. Of course, they were supportive but Zoey wanted anything and everything to do with the campaign. She remember that at the start, before Sam, C.J, and Josh joined 'Bartlet for America.' The campaign staff were always nice to her because they worked for her father, but she got the feeling she was always in the way. Josh, C.J, Sam, Donna, Toby...They had all included her. Let her tag along when they went out for breakfast or coffee. Josh was the one though that really talked to her and not just about campaign stuff or her school work. She thought back to one day after she'd had a fight with Ellie over something stupid that she couldn't even remember now...Josh asked her what it was all about and she remembers saying she hated Ellie. He just laughed a little and told her, that she didn't really mean that, and when she insisted she did, he told her about his sister Joanie. He told her how she used to tease him all the time, but that's what big sister are for and no matter what, they'd always look out for you. She'd never forget the look in his eyes as he told her about her the fire. It was the same look he had when she went to visit him after Rosslyn.

"Zoey? Are you okay?" Charlie asked, when he heard a small cry.

She brushed away a few tears, leaned up against him. "You're right, it just isn't fair."

He kissed the top of her head. "It'll be okay."

XxXxX

"Anyone heard anything?" Leo asked, as he walked back into the room with Sam, Toby, and C.J.

"Annabeth just came by and said that the President-Elect was still in surgery." Ronna answered. "She's gone back to be with Mrs. Santos, but wanted to let us know what was going on."

"Where's Donna?" Sam asked.

"She went for some fresh air."

"Should someone go and look for her?" C.J looked at Leo and Sam questionably.

"It's okay, I'm here." She walked in behind them. "What is it? Do you have any news?"

"President Santos is still in surgery and I just spoke to a nurse who said a doctor will be with us in a minute to talk about Josh." Leo told her.

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know, she wouldn't say but I'm sure he's fine." Leo placed a hand on her arm. "Where did you get to?"

"I went to call Josh's Mom." She replied. "She's getting the first flight out she can."

Leo smiled. "I'm sure he's going to love having you both here to fuss over him."

"Oh, God, please...Not the rules again." Toby groaned.

"You only didn't like the rules because you didn't fellow them!" Donna gave him a look.

"Sam?" Lou cut in.

"Hmm?"

"Read this." She held out the piece of paper that Otto had been writing on. "It's for the press when we're ready to give a statement."

Sam read it, nodding slightly. "It's good."

"Really?" Otto asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I mean I'm going to change a few things, but the base is good."

"You're going to change it?" Lou repeated.

"Yeah a little bit...Then Toby and I will talk to the press together..."

"You'll talk to the press?"

"Are you just repeating everything I say, now?"

Lou stared at him for a few seconds before shaking her head. "I know you're going to be Deputy Chief of Staff and everything, but shouldn't someone who's been in this administration longer do it?"

"Why?"

"For reassurance...A familiar face." She answered. "Donna was the spokesperson during the campaign...Maybe she should..."

"I really don't think I can..." Donna interrupted, shaking her head. "I know you're trying to think of how to make the administration look good, but I really don't think I'd be sending the right message by going out looking like this."

Sam looked at Lou. "Maybe Leo?"

Lou thought about it before nodding slightly and glancing at Leo questionably. "Mr Vice President?"

"No." He said after a few seconds.

"Leo?"

"Sam, you know what Josh would say right, now?" He asked, but continued instead of letting anyone answer. "He'd say that the Santos' Administration needs to stand strong...By sending me out there, it'll just look like you're all hiding behind me."

"I don't think..." Lou started.

"Matt Santos has been elected the next President of United States but a lot of the decisions will be made by his Chief of Staff... Neither of them are available right now, so it falls to the next guy." Leo patted Sam on the back. "He would have never put you in this position if he didn't believe you could do it."

Sam just looked at Leo, not sure what to say.

"Always go with your first instinct."

He nodded, looking down at the paper in his hand. "Otto, why don't you and I go over this before I talk to the press?"

Otto smiled faintly. "Yes, sir."

XxXxX

"...President Bartlet is deeply concerned about President-Elect Santos and his thoughts and prayers are with his family..."

Diane Hanson turned the T.V. off as Toby was reading out the statement from the White House in front of the hospital. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, trying to keep her emotions under control.

"Can I watch cartoons?"

She opened her eyes and saw Peter Santos standing in front of her. She had been best friends with Helen since high school, and when Matt announced he was running for President, she offered to be the kids' nanny instead of hiring a stranger.

"No, honey... Why don't you go play with your sister?" She suggested, not wanting the boy to see what was happening. Helen had said she wanted to explain it to them herself.

He sighed and headed back upstairs to find Miranda. Diane pushed herself to her feet, knowing if she just sat there she wouldn't be able to keep it together. She went into the kitchen and made a snack for the kids, even though there was staff there that was willing to do it for her, she'd never get used to that.

She paused in the doorway to the playroom, peering inside, seeing the two of them sat on the floor. Peter playing with some logo whilst Miranda was drawing.

"I drew Daddy a picture to go in his new office!" Miranda claimed, noticing Diane stood watching them. She scrambled to her feet to show her what she'd drawn. "Look, there's me, Peter, Mommy and that's Daddy, wearing a cape."

"A cape?"

"Yeah, because he's like a superhero now." She stated.

Diane blinked back her tears. "That's great, honey."

She grinned up at her innocently, a smile so like her father's.

"I brought you guys some cookies." She moved fully in the room, placing the plate down on a small table.

"When are Mom and Dad getting home?" Peter asked, reaching for a cookie.

"I don't know, Honey..." She replied softly.

He frowned a little, taking a bite of the cookie but didn't say any more.

XxXxX

"...We're all very shocked at the events that have happened today but I can assure you that the Santos' Administration is strong and we will beat this. It was a long hard election and every member of this administration is determined that this will not stop us from taking office and accomplishing our goals... We'd like to thank everyone for their support during this time and we will keep you informed on both President-Elect Santos and Chief of Staff Joshua Lyman..."

"Don't you have a T.V. over in the Vice President's office?" Kate Harper asked, once Sam's statement came to an end. She had come by the commutations bullpen and saw Will standing alongside Ginger, Bonnie and Cathy.

Will turned around to face her. "Yeah, but I thought there might be some more information here."

Kate walked closer to him. "Last I heard, they were both still in surgery."

"Yeah, I tried to get hold of Toby but I can't get through."

Kate looked up at the T.V. as reporters shouted questions at Sam.

"Did you know Sam Seaborn was coming back to Washington?"

"No, no one said anything to me."

"He's handled all of this quite well."

"He's a good guy...A good choice for Josh's deputy."

"You know him well?"

"He was the one that convinced me to come to Washington in the first place."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's a long story about a dead candidate and a promise to a widow."

"Hmm, maybe we should save that story for another time." Kate replied. "How's President Bartlet doing?"

"I haven't seen him since he told us, but I think he still has a few meetings this afternoon." Will replied, following Kate out of the bullpen. "Cliff Calley is covering for C.J."

"She's still at the hospital?"

"Yeah, along with Toby..." Will answered. "You know what's weird?"

"What?"

"I've been here for over three years now... And I still don't feel like I belong."

"Maybe that's because you jumped onto the Vice President's campaign."

"Even before that...I just...Well, I think people didn't like that I replaced Sam." He gestured to a T.V. monitor as they passed it, still showing Sam answering questions. "They put a goat in my office."

"A goat?"

"Called Ron." He confirmed.

Kate couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes, that's it...Mock me when I'm down." He rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry...But...A goat?"

"At least it wasn't a cow." He replied.

"Uh, yeah that's a good thing." Kate said, slowly.

"It's like they were one big happy family then Sam left..."

"Will, you didn't force Sam out of his job... He chose to leave...And you said yourself...He convinced you to come here."

"Yeah, I know you're right but..." He shrugged slightly.

"Well, anyway, it look likes Josh is trying to get the gang back together again, re-hiring Sam...I heard he offered C.J and Toby jobs..."

"He asked me if I wanted to stay on and work with the Vice President." Will added.

"You going to?"

Will sighed. "We don't know if Leo will be Vice President..."

"What?"

"If the worst happens and Matt Santos doesn't make it... Leo McGarry will be President."

XxXxX

"So, what are you going to be doing after the inauguration?" Sam asked Toby as they made their way back into the hospital once they had finished the press briefing.

"I was planning on spending some time with the twins."

"And now?"

Toby sighed, knowing where Sam was heading with this. "I don't know if I can handle another four years doing the same thing."

Sam let out a laugh but didn't say any more.

"What?"

"You love it!" He claimed. "It drives you crazy but you wouldn't love anything else as much as you love politics."

"You loved politics but you left Washington to do something else..."

"I left Washington to run for Congress."

"But you didn't come back afterwards."

"I'm here now."

"Four years later."

"It hasn't been four years..."

"Nearly four years..."

"I see you haven't lost you ability to argue with everyone about anything."

"I see you haven't lost you ability to lose an argument with me about anything."

"Yeah and you wonder why I didn't come back."

Toby stopped and turned to face him, causing him to stop as well.

"You've handled everything really well today."

Sam smiled, these words coming from Toby meant a lot. "Thank you."

"Seriously, Sam, Josh made the right decision. Just remember that, because things are going to get hard." Toby continued. "The other guys did excellent work during the campaign, but they don't know what it's like to work in the White House...It's going to be new to them...They're going to need someone to help them and that's you...Josh is going to have so much more to deal with now all this has happened..."

"I know that." Sam said slowly. "I just... I don't know how to get them to listen to me."

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, Toby...I was never the guy who anyone was scared of...Actually, I was the guy that everyone went to when they needed help dealing with you, Josh and, C.J because they were scared of how you'd react."

"Who was scared of me?"

"Everyone but..."

"Everyone?"

"Can we come back to that later?" Sam sighed and Toby gestured for him to continue. "I don't know these guys and they need someone to who can control them... I can do the nice, fun stuff...But the bad... Not so much."

Toby was quiet for a moment, thinking about what he had just said.

"Sam, do you want this job?"

"Of course!"

"Seriously?"

"Yes, Toby...I missed it whilst I was away...I want to come back but..."

"Then do your job." He told him. "Believe in it...Believe in yourself...And Josh...And President-Elect Santos..."

"I do, but what if its not enough?"

"Sam, when you believe in something, you are unstoppable... You're one of the most loyal people I know...Remember those guys that were being jackass to Ainsley Hayes...You found out and fired them...Even though technically it wasn't your job..."

"Yeah but that was..."

"When Lillienfield went after Leo, you didn't care how damn stupid Josh's plan was and went to see your hooker friend anyway..."

"Well, she was a call girl... But that's not the point..."

"The point is Sam, you have a good heart and you fight for the good things...Just keep doing that and everything will be fine...The rest, won't matter."

Sam fell silent, touched by Toby's words.

"You know you just said some nice things to me, right?"

"If you tell anyone, I will kill you with my bare hands." He warned, then waited a minute before turning serious again. "He may need to take some time off you know..."

"He won't want to."

"But he may need to."

Sam leaned back against the wall and let out a sigh. "Why does it keep happening to him? I mean, his sister dying when he was a kid... His father the day of the Illinois Primary... Rosslyn...Donna and Gaza... Now this."

Toby didn't know what he could say to all of that. He hadn't had a perfect life himself, having the father he had, his brother dying... But Josh, his life just seemed like one traumatic experience after another.

"I really don't know if he can take much more of this, Toby." Sam looked across at him. "You know, he called me after Leo had his heart attack..."

"He did?"

"Yeah, but after C.J was made Chief of Staff...He went out and got drunk... Donna was still recovering, Leo was in the hospital, he kept getting job offers and he couldn't get his head around why he didn't get Leo's job."

Toby moved to stand next to him, leaning back against the wall. "If he had gotten the job then he wouldn't have left...Matt Santos wouldn't have run...We'd probably have a Republican President...Or even worse...Bingo Bob Russell."

Sam let out a laugh and glanced across at him. "You're right, but you do realise that Josh isn't going to see that as a good thing...He's going to somehow work out a way to blame all of this on himself?"

"We're just going to have to convince him otherwise then."

"I hope we can."

"Me too." Toby whispered but then pushed himself away from the wall. "Lets get back, they might have some news by now."

XxXxX

"Mr Vice President?" Josh's doctor stood in the doorway of the waiting room, gesturing for Leo to follow him out. Leo looked at Donna, nodding for her to come too.

"Dr Talen, this is Donna Moss, she's Josh..." He started once they were in the corridor but stopped, not sure how to finish that sentence. He knew there was something going on between Josh and Donna; he had always known there was something between them, but now they had acted on it. Even though he didn't know whether it was official or not.

"I'm Josh's girlfriend." Donna answered for him.

Leo glanced at her, a small smile played on his lips and he resisted the urge to say 'at last.'

"Well, as you already know the bullet was lodged in his right shoulder... Luckily we were able to remove it easily...However, it tore through the rotator cuff muscles." He explained, slowly. He pointed to his own shoulder, where the bullet would have hit. "It's the muscle that's lies just outside the shoulder joint and it helps when you raise your arm from your side or when you rotate the shoulder in different directions..."

"But he'll be okay, right?" Donna asked. "I mean, there won't be any lasting damage?"

"We managed to repair the tear, we're hopeful that it will be able to heal completely." He answered. "However, he will need to wear a sling for a while so he can rest his arm and he'll also need to see a physiotherapist."

"And that's it?"

He smiled softly. "The surgery went well, there were no complications. He had lost a lot of blood, but luckily we were able to do a blood transfusion and like I said before, we were concerned about his heart..."

"His heart?" Donna cut in, concerned.

"But there's nothing to worry about..." He finished off.

"When can we see him?" Leo asked, reaching out and squeezing, Donna's hand.

"Soon." He assured them. "Go back and let everyone else know the good news, and I'll come and let you know when he's ready for visitors."

"Thank you, Doctor." Leo shook his hand. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome." He smiled.

"Can you tell us anything about President-Elect Santos?"

"I'm sorry, all I know is that he's still in surgery." He replied. "It might be awhile."

"Yeah." Leo ran a hand over his eyes.

"I'll let you know when you can see Josh." He said again, before turning and heading back down the corridor.

"His heart?" Donna looked at Leo.

"You heard what he said...Don't worry about it."

"Leo?"

"He said it was just precautionary..."

"Really?"

"Yes, if it was something else then he would have said so just then, wouldn't he?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Come on, let's get back in there."

Donna nodded and followed Leo back into the waiting room, where everyone fell silent.

"Well?" C.J asked.

"He's in recovery... They had to repair a tear in a muscle and he needed a blood transfusion, but they managed to remove the bullet." Leo told them all. "He's going to be just fine."

"What about the other stuff?" Toby asked.

"No worries." Leo grinned.

"Thank, God." C.J let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding, as Toby put his arm around her.

Sam stepped forward and hugged Donna tightly. "Told you he'd be fine."

Lou leaned back against her seat, relieved, closing her eyes to say a thank you prayer.

Otto and Bram grinned at each other from across the room, whist Ronna and Edie held onto reach other, supportively.

"Thank, God, we have some good news at last." Leo stated.

"I hear that." Lou agreed.

XxXxX

"Ah, good. Come on in." President Bartlet stood up from behind his desk when he saw Will, Kate and, Cliff at the door.

"Uh, Sir, you wanted to see us?" Will looked around the Oval office, seeing Abbey, Zoey, Charlie, and Margaret already seated.

"Yes, Debbie would you join us too, please." He called to the outer office.

"Of course, Sir." Debbie appeared without question, closing the door behind her.

"I'd just like to thank you all for everything today." Jed started once they had all sat down. "I know it hasn't been easy with everything that has happened."

"Has there been any news from the hospital, Sir?" Will asked.

"Leo just called me. Josh is out of surgery and is in recovery." He told them. "He's going to be just fine."

"That's great!" Will grinned.

"And President-Elect Santos?" Cliff asked.

"He's still in surgery, the doctor's think it might be a while."

"So, what now?" Charlie asked.

"Well, C.J and Toby are going to stay on at the hospital. They're working along side the Santos' Administration." Jed explained. "Sam is going to talk to the press and give them an update about Josh's condition... Charlie, you're going to need to call C.J and find out if there is anything that the White House can do to help in this matter."

"Yes, Sir." He nodded.

"Will, are you keeping the Vice President updated?"

"Yes, Sir...We're working on a small statement to offer our support." Will answered. "And it goes without saying that we'll help out any way you need...If you need someone to cover for Toby or C.J whilst they're dealing with this, then the V.P has okayed it for me help out."

Jed smiled slightly; he wasn't Sam Seaborn but he had always liked Will. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you."

"It'll be my pleasure, Sir."

"Okay, that's it...Break over...Get back to work."

"Thank you, Mr President."

Jed walked over to the window, staring out into the gardens as everyone left.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Abbey walked up behind him, putting her arms around his waist, resting her chin on the back of his shoulder.

"Just a penny?" He turned his head a little so he could see her. "I'm the President of the United State, I'll have you know."

Abbey smirked slightly. "A dollar then."

Jed sighed, reaching down and placing his hands on top of hers. "I just can't help but feel a little 'déjà vu' is happening here."

She tightened her arms around him. "Everything worked out fine last time, remember?"

"Yeah."

"Josh is okay, he's made of strong stuff...And even though you and Leo like to think you can protect him, C.J, Toby, Charlie, Sam, and Donna from things like this... You just can't... He's been through this before...He can do it again."

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them." He whispered. "If Leo hadn't had brought them onto the campaign... If he had fired Toby with the others, then we wouldn't have had C.J. If Leo had listened to Noah Lyman, then we wouldn't have had Josh, which would mean we wouldn't have had Sam or Donna...Charlie wouldn't have been hired..."

"What's Josh's father got to do with this?"

"He told Leo not to offer Josh the job."

"He didn't want him working for you?" Abbey raised an eyebrow.

"He wanted him working in a private sector."

Abbey laughed. "He probably said that to keep his wife happy."

"Might have been a good idea...Look at everything that has happened because of his career choice."

"What? He was part of an amazing team to get an amazing man elected president? Doing good work to help the American people? Meeting the woman he loves? Running a spectacular campaign and getting an unknown, brilliant man to Presidency?"

"Getting shot...Twice... PTSD...Terrorist bombs... A lying boss with M.S...Not having enough hours in the day to do his job and have a life to be with the woman he loves..." Jed continued, stepping out of her embrace and turning to face her.

"The good he's done has out weighed the bad." Abbey reasoned. "He's an intelligent man...He knew the risks..."

"No man is smart enough to understand why you get shot twice, just because of who you work for." Jed stated. "I cannot even begin to understand, and I don't want to understand...It just shouldn't have happen...Period!"

"I know." Abbey said quietly.

"And Matthew Santos is a good man and will make an excellent president..." Jed leaned his hands down onto his desk. "Is this really how he's meant to start?"

Abbey reached out and rubbed his shoulders.

"No one should have to understand, Abbey..." He whispered.

XxXxX

"Okay, thanks Charlie." C.J hung up her cell phone and looked over to Toby. "Will is going to help out in communications until we're back."

"The V.P is letting him out to play?" Toby raised an eyebrow.

"Apparently so." She replied. "Charlie said, everything is under control there...And the President is going to stop by once President-Elect is out of surgery."

Sam walked over to Otto, looking over his shoulder to see what he was writing. Otto looked up at him, uncomfortably.

"Oh, sorry..." Sam muttered, moving back remembering how much he hated it whenever someone stood over his shoulder whilst he was writing. He sighed and walked across the room, running his hand through his hair.

C.J sent him a small reassuring smile. She knew this was hell for him. It was for all of them, but Sam had always taken this kind of thing differently. Even though he had moved away and found it difficult to keep in touch with everyone, when he did have time for a phone call or an email, he'd always ask after Josh. Always ask them to look out for him. She remembered that Christmas after Rosslyn, when he had come out of a meeting in the Oval office with Josh, Leo, and the President. She could tell something had happened, but Sam wouldn't talk about it. Then the next day, Sam burst into her office, dragging Toby along behind him panicking about the bandage around Josh's hand. He explained everything that had happened the day before in the Oval; how Josh had lost it with President Bartlet. She hadn't seen him that scared since the night of the shooting.

Sam forced a smile back at C.J, knowing she was watching him. He knew he had to hold it together; he needed to show everyone that he was capable of doing the job that Josh had put him in charge of. He watched as Otto handed over the paper he'd been writing on to Lou, who started to read it. Even though he was grateful and appreciated his new position, he couldn't help but wish for the days when he just wrote down what was in his heart and didn't have to worry, because he had Toby, C.J, Josh, and Leo to tell him where he was going wrong.

Toby stretched out his legs in front of him, watching both C.J and Sam. He wished that C.J would stop watching Sam, as if he was going to break down any minute and he wished Sam would stop staring at Otto as if he had taken his job. He knew there was a lot to get used to now things have changed, and that was one of the reasons, he had turned Josh's offer of a job down.

Josh would be in charge and Toby had no doubt that he would make a brilliant Chief of Staff, but he also knew he would find it strange, ordering C.J or him around. Even when Josh was Leo's deputy and technically out ranked them, he had always treated them as his equal. Whist Toby didn't think it would be a bad idea, he thought it wouldn't be fair. Josh had worked so hard on the campaign; he deserved to run things how he wanted to, although he'd never actually admitted that to anyone.

Even though, they had been told that Josh was going to be okay, Leo still knew there was a long way to go. He was going to need help getting through this. They all would... Otto, Bram, Ronna...They're new to this kind of thing, they would need time to get their head around it all. Lou, Edie...They had been in politics for years and knew there were dangers, and that this sort of thing could happen, but that didn't mean they understood it. Sam, Donna, C.J, Toby, himself... They had been here before. It wasn't fair they had to go through it again...It wasn't fair Josh had to go through it again. Leo would do anything if he could go back and switch places with Josh, and become the person to get hit by the bullet and not the man he considered a son.

Then there was Matt, he had only just been made President and he had this to deal with? Leo couldn't help but think about if he didn't make it. He would become President. He had never wanted to be President; he had always wanted to be the guy behind the President. He still wasn't sure how Josh managed to convince him to run for the Vice Presidency, he was glad he did but President? He didn't know how to be President.

Donna's fingers toyed with the necklace around her neck. Josh had given it to her on the day of the inauguration. It was a simple white gold heart pendent on a thin white gold chain. He had told her, he'd chosen it himself and if she didn't like it then they could exchange it for something else, but he just wanted to give her something to say thank you for all her help. Even though, he hadn't been sure whether she'd like it or not, it was perfect for her. Now all she wanted was for the doctor to come back and take her to see Josh. She couldn't stop thinking about her dream and she needed to see him so she could be certain it wasn't for real.

"Sam, Otto has written something for Josh to read when he's up to talking to the press." Lou said, breaking the silence. "You should read it...It's good."

Sam crossed the room, standing behind Otto and taking the paper off of Lou.

"I didn't know whether I should mention Rosslyn." Otto played with his pen, nervously, glancing up at Sam as he read the statement. "I thought maybe you or Josh would write something if you wanted to."

Sam didn't reply, instead read what he had written. It wasn't brilliant, but it was good...Sam knew that with a few more years experience, Otto would be great.

"You know what's weird?" Bram said aloud, causing everyone to look at him. "Two Presidents, two shootings and there's one link."

Toby stared at him. "What the hell are you getting at?!"

"I'm just saying..." Bram shrugged.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Toby raised his voice, standing up and moving towards him.

"Toby!" Sam stepped in front of him.

"I didn't mean anything bad..." Bram stuttered, aware that he might have offended them.

"I can't believe you!" Toby exclaimed. "He left a job he loved to get Santos elected... You wouldn't have gotten anywhere without him... And you go around saying..."

"Toby, just stop."

Toby shook his head slightly and walked over to C.J, he couldn't believe these people.

"I was just saying…"

"Has Josh given you a job yet?" Sam cut Bram off.

"Uh, not really...Not yet."

"Well then, if you want anything to do with the White House, then I suggested you never ever make a comment like that again, or I'll make sure the only job you can get is in McDonald's faster then you can say, 'Do you want fries with that,' got it?" Sam glared at him.

He knew that as soon as Josh wakes up, he'd feel guilty about the shooting. He didn't need people suggesting that there was a link between today and what happened at Rosslyn...He didn't need people saying that it was his fault.

"Wow, back up a little." Lou stood beside Bram. "He was just making a comment."

"And I'm just saying those kind of comments are not helping!"

"You know what, I've had enough of this!" Lou exclaimed. "You have no right coming in here and treating us like this!"

"I'm sorry?!" Sam turned his attention to her.

"We get it...You're Deputy Chief of Staff...You're Josh's best friend...But we're his friends too!" She claimed. "We all worked hard to get Santos elected... All of us! Except you three!"

"Okay, just cool it!" Leo ordered.

"Remind me about me the last time, Josh went to see you? Ended in a fight, right?" She looked at Toby then gestured to C.J. "That was after he was finally let into the building of course..."

"Hey!"

"Hours leading up to Nomination...You were all telling him to get Santos to quit...You were telling him to give up." She continued, her voice rising higher. "He asked you to be his deputy days ago, and it took a bullet wound for you to make up your mind..."

"Lou..." Otto stepped to her side.

"Josh put this team together... And it's a good team...And just like the Bartlet Administration...We've become a family... All of us together...Including Josh! So don't you dare go expecting that you have all the rights to worry about him!"

Toby's eyes were fixed on the floor, not being able to look at her. C.J stood at his side, staring at Lou, stunned by her words. Whilst Sam rubbed his eyes, feeling guilty about the way they've acted.

Otto, Bram, Ronna, and Edie all stood silently and supportively behind Lou, knowing no one would be able to stop her saying what she wanted to say now.

Leo shot Donna an understanding look, knowing she was probably feeling torn between the two different administrations like he was. It shouldn't be like this...

"I know we're not handling this that well...I know we're making mistakes but we're still trying to pick ourselves up off the ground from where some manic shot us down... From where two of our family members are fighting for their lives!"

By the time she had finished, she was breathing heavily and the room was silent, no one knowing what to say.

"I'm sorry but we're finding it hard..." She whispered, stepping back to be in between Otto and Ronna. "We were shot at today."

Leo stood up but before he could say anything, he saw Annabeth enter the room over Otto's shoulder.

"Annabeth?" He looked at her questionably as everyone turned to face her.

She looked back at them, tears staining her face, wringing her hands together.

"Annabeth, what is it? What's happened?" Leo asked.

"He... He died..." She clenched her hands tighter together, but it didn't stop the tears falling from her eyes. "President-Elect Santos just died."

The End!

Thank you to anyone who actually read all of that! Lol! You managed to sit there and read it all, so go a little further and review!! Thanks!