MOSS FOR AMERICA

Prologue

Joshua Lyman alighted from the train and after shouldering his luggage, he headed to the car rental desk. But he was intercepted by a familiar looking man. The tall Secret Service agent gave him a brief smile of recognition which Josh politely returned.

"That's all your luggage, Mr. Lyman?" Ron Butterfield asked.

"You used to call me Josh," the ex-Deputy Chief of Staff told him. "And that's all my luggage. I didn't know I was to be picked up by the Secret Service."

"Mrs. Bartlet asked me to do it," Ron informed him, explaining that he wasn't here as an agent but as a quasi-friend.

Josh nodded and then followed the agent outside. A SUV was waiting for them, and to Josh' surprise Ron was driving.

"I think I've never seen you driving, Ron," he remarked with a smirk.

"Well, he used to be joking around about that," Ron said with a half-smile.

"I can imagine," Josh said, and the rest of the hour-long journey was spent in silence, both men thinking about the loss they suffered.

When they turned onto the access road that led to the farm, Josh turned to Ron, "Who else is here?"

"You are the first one to arrive, Josh. It's the way she wanted it," Ron told him then, and Josh nodded again.

"How is she?" he asked then, already dreading the answer.

"Given the circumstances, she is okay. She is a strong woman, but I don't need to tell you that."

"No, you don't," Josh said, slightly shaking his head. "The girls?"

"Elizabeth, Annie and Gus will arrive tomorrow morning, Ellie, Vic and Katie sometimes this afternoon, Zoey and Charlie are expected around lunchtime. The rest of the 'gang' will arrive this evening, too," Ron imparted. "The dignitaries, officials and such are coming tomorrow morning, too."

"That term is still in use?" Josh asked back incredulously, referring to the word 'gang'.

"They used it all the time when they were talking about you four," Ron said with a half-smile again.

"Sam's coming too?" Josh asked back, and Ron nodded in confirmation when the car came to a stop in front of the house.

Abbey Bartlet, dressed in black slacks and in a black sweater, was waiting for them on the porch.

"Thank you, Ron," she waved at the agent as he drove away. "Welcome back, Josh," she greeted the younger man then.

"Thank you, ma'am," Josh said, mounting the stairs. He stood in front of the woman for a moment, as if he was hesitating what to do next, but then he hugged her. "I'm so sorry, Abbey," he murmured, squeezing her into his embrace.

"Thank you, Josh," she whispered back, and when she pulled away Josh saw the tears in her eyes. "I don't want to cry anymore, I think I've cried enough for a lifetime."

"You are entitled to cry, and if you ever need a shoulder, I'm here," Josh said. A sudden image flooded his mind then, he almost saw Leo standing there instead of him, consoling his best friend's widow.

"You know, I think I'm glad that Leo is not here," Abbey said, proving once again that she was a psychic. Josh allowed himself a slight smile but then sobered. He had to agree. He didn't know what this would have done to his old mentor.

"No state funeral, huh?" Josh asked then, rather lamely.

"It was his wish, Josh. And I'm certain you understand that," she said, looking straight into his eyes.

"I do. And I guess I knew," Josh said. "Abbey, is there anything you'd like me to do?"

"I will need pallbearers. Vic and Charlie are a given, I think you'd like to do it too. Would you ask Sam and Toby? John and Bob will be here too, they kind of invited themselves, but I don't want them to touch…" she said, choking on her words.

"Consider it done, Abbey. And I think Ron would like to join us, if you think it's appropriate," Josh said.

Abbey nodded, and they entered the house. Abbey showed him his room and after unpacking the few things he brought with, Josh joined her in the kitchen. She seemed to be calmer.

"The reason I asked you to come this early is in his study," Abbey told Josh without further ado. They crossed the living room, and entered the study of former President Bartlet. "He wrote you a letter, Josh," she said, giving him an envelope. On it he spotted his name in neat handwriting. He looked up at her questioningly, and Abbey understood the question. "He dictated the letter to me," she confirmed his suspicions. "His hands were…"

"I know," Josh said, and then opened the envelope.

Dear Josh,

I would like to ask something of you. Taking care of my family, that's Charlie's job from now on, he will receive his letter once he arrives. Taking care of my people, my country, is going to be your job, son. I know how disappointed you were after Matthew Santos turned you down, but Josh, you are one of a million, and I don't like seeing you, wasting your talent. Abbey will give you the work of the past six years, I was looking for candidates for you.

I trust you to find your next 'real thing'. I was honored by that phrase, and I hope you (and Sam) never regretted to bestow it upon me. There were times when I saw the shadow of doubt cross your face, but I guess I knew that even with your ambitions you wouldn't have stayed if you didn't believe I was worth the trouble. I'm sorry for not trusting you from the first moment on, but I didn't know you enough at that time.

I would also like to bring to your attention that asking for help is not a shame. The gang will arrive shortly, and I'm sure they are all happy with their lives, but I'm also sure that by now they are pretty bored too.

I would also like to thank again for one of the most precious gifts I've ever received, Abbey will tell you what happens to it.

Jed Bartlet

Josh looked up Abbey, the tears in his eyes threatening to spill.

"I've never regretted that phrase. He was the 'real thing', I'm glad he knew that," Josh told her.

"He knew because Leo told him on the last day in office. Sometimes he doubted that he was worthy of it. After the MS, after Shareef, after Zoey's kidnapping, after the China-trip, but Leo always told him to get a grip," Abbey said with a sad smile. "Jed told me that he was able to carry on as long as he knew that the gang supported him."

"We did. I know we disagreed with him on countless occasions, but even those disagreements, and the fact that he heard us out made him the 'real thing'. I had a talk with Toby one day, it was during re-election. He told me a real leader has something called gravitas and that a real leader is ready to disagree with his advisors even when he knows that they are smarter than him. Not that anyone felt himself smarter than him," Josh said with a chuckle.

"Well, he had a healthy-sized ego," Abbey said, a flash of smile appearing on her face. "Would you like to see his work, Josh?"

"I always wondered why he didn't write a book," Josh said, after receiving a stack of purple folders.

"He said he doesn't have that much time to waste. You know, he contemplated to work on a 'secret plan to fight inflation'. But he never got around to actually do it," Abbey said, a grin appearing on her face.

"Wow, I would have loved to see that," Josh said after a chuckle. "And I would have given anything to see CJ's face after seeing that plan on paper," he added then with a grin complete with dimples.

"You can stay here, Josh," Abbey said then, seeing Josh eying the folders. "I'll go back to the kitchen and start lunch, Charlie and Zoey will be here soon enough. Did you know that she is pregnant?"

"We are in touch," Josh said with a nod. "I called her yesterday, she sounded subdued but Charlie said he would take care of her."

"That he does with fervor. I think it's sometimes tiresome and sometimes downright nauseating how much he loves her," Abbey said with another chuckle.

"Well, I told him the same but as he pointed out, I'm just envious," Josh said.

"How is Amy?" Abbey asked hesitantly.

"To tell the truth, I don't know and I don't really care. We started this thing over and over again, and I think I've finally understood that it's never going to work," Josh admitted.

"I thought you realized that two years ago," Abbey said sympathetically.

"Well, but this time I was convincing enough for Amy to see that I'm right. Last thing I heard she was in Florida, engaged to be married," Josh said with genuine indifference.

"Okay, I leave you with the files then. They are not ordered. In fact, Jed asked me to shuffle them regularly," she added with a little smile.

"I see," Josh nodded, but his attention was already with the folders.

He opened the first one, and Matt Santos' picture greeted him again. He simply put the folder aside, he followed the Congressman's career in the last six years; there wasn't a thing in that file he didn't know about.

The next one was Senator Kendrick of Ohio, a two-term senator who championed the reform of Social Security. Josh knew the senator in his first term, and he immediately knew that he couldn't work with him. The senator was a very good candidate, and Josh knew that should he found his, Kendrick will be an adversary in the primaries. He put the file next to Santos'.

There were seven more folders and the next one made him chuckle. It was Sam's file. Josh knew that one day Sam would be a good candidate, but he knew that California's governor was needed as the governor of the Golden State. For the first time in many years, both senators, the governor and 25 of the 53 House Representatives were Democrats which was a feat itself. He knew that should a Democrat win the upcoming elections, Sam would be young enough to run for President even in eight years. He put the file onto Santos'.

The next folder was the first African-American candidate, as Josh would learn, one of the three. Senator Alfred Kennison was a four term congressman and a two term senator from Oregon, he sponsored important bills, bills Josh believed in, but he doubted that Alfred Kennison would ever consider him as his campaign manager. At the end, he put the file on top of Kendrick's.

The next one was a real surprise, because it was woman. Not that he didn't think that a woman could be President one day; but he never expected to see one in his life time. Acting Governor of Wisconsin, Donatella Moss was a three term congresswoman, and in her third term the ranking minority member of the Science Committee for Environment, Technology and Standards. Josh ran across her several times while being President Bartlet's Deputy Chief of Staff but he didn't know that the congresswoman was elected as lieutenant-governor. He heard that Wisconsin's governor had a heart attack but he never bothered to look up who would be Acting Governor. A recent article caught his eyes, it was a clipping from the Washington Post and Danny Concannon wrote it. Wisconsin's Rising Star was the title, and Josh was soon caught up with everything that went on in Donatella Moss' life. She was currently 42, mother of two kids (a boy aged 8, and a girl aged 5). She was a two-term lieutenant-governor (one year into her second term), currently serving as Acting Governor after Governor Monroe's heart attack. She was a widow, her husband died six years ago. Josh realized that she must have been pregnant at that time. He set her file aside, thinking that he must read every newspaper article and every note of Jed Bartlet later.

Among the remaining four files he found the other two African-Americans but they were put atop of Kendrick's pile too, Josh still not able to see himself being accepted by either of them. There was another woman, Laura Wells, the current Senator of Hawaii, but Josh knew her too, and they had not been buddies while he worked at the White House. The senator had a bad track record, going through her chiefs of staff rather fast. And while Josh knew that she would accept him as her campaign manager they would end up quarreling all the time.

The last folder belonged to the current Senate's President pro tempore. He was 66 years old and as former Speaker of the House he had an impressive record. He was someone like Stackhouse, a man with gravitas. Josh knew that he was a moderate democrat but he decided he could live with that. He was a big gun in Foreign Relations and was even considered Secretary of State when they wanted Berryhill to replace Hoynes. But Josh was worried about his lack of oratory. Sure, with the right speechwriting team he could be convincing, but he sometimes misspoke and that could be a dangerous thing once elected President. He also lacked the enthusiasm about education and health care, two core issues of every election. But Senator Sellner was a candidate he could back, and he hoped that once brought to his attention he would care about education and health care. He put the file on top of Sam's and Santos' and then stood up. He stretched, his back a little bit stiff from the damp weather. He took a look outside and saw a SUV pull up in front of the house. Charlie and Zoey arrived.

"They are here," Abbey announced to him, taking a fleeting glance at the three piles Josh made. "What do you think?"

"I would rather mull things over for the rest of the day if that's okay with you. I would like to hear your input but first I have to decide which of the candidates I could take on."

"That's completely understandable," Abbey said with a nod and then ushered him into the living room.

"Josh!" Zoey greeted him, throwing herself into his embrace.

"Hi, Zoey. I'm so sorry for your loss," he whispered into her ear.

"Thank you," Zoey said and squeezed him. After letting go off Josh, she allowed Charlie to shake hands with him, but the older man pulled him into an embrace too.

"Honey, you could help me in the kitchen, Josh can go back to his files and Charlie can read his letter. Josh, would you mind give him his letter, it's in the same drawer yours was in."

"Sure, Abbey," Josh said, and he ushered Charlie into the study of former President Bartlet. "How is Zoey?" he asked then concerned. He didn't miss the circles under her eyes and the fatigue he felt radiating from Zoey when she hugged him.

"She is exhausted. She cries a lot but I think now that we are here she will be okay. She was upset that she wasn't here for her mother when it happened. How is Abbey?"

"She cries a lot, too. But she is a strong woman," Josh repeated Ron's sentiment. "Here is your letter."

"You know what's inside?" Charlie asked, eyeing the envelope.

"I didn't read it, but he mentioned the contents in my letter," Josh said, returning to his files, giving Charlie the privacy he needed.

Several minutes later, he looked up and found Charlie in tears.

"Should I call Zoey in?" he suggested.

"No, I don't want her to see me like this. She would be upset. What's in your letter?"

"He wanted me to take care of his people, of his country. He left me these folders with potential candidates. Wanna take a look?"

Charlie nodded, but before sitting down he threw a questioning look at Josh.

"Why are there three piles?"

"Candidates I could back, candidates I could never back or they would never want me, and about this one I didn't make up my mind yet."

Charlie nodded and picked up the three folders from the likely candidates. He nodded every once in a while when he read Senator Sellner's file. Seeing the other two, he gave Josh a brief grin but set them aside. He too followed Santos' career, seeing that Josh wanted to recruit him for that campaign. He then went through the other pile, hemming and hawing but never speaking up. After closing the last file, he looked up Josh.

"You have problems with black candidates?" he asked, sounding as if he didn't quite believe what he insinuated.

"No, I think they would never want me as their campaign manager. Kendrick, Kennison and Wells are likely candidates. I could back Kennison, but honestly, Charlie, he would never hire me."

"Yeah, I know. He asked me to run his campaign," Charlie admitted then.

"That's fantastic!" Josh exclaimed.

"I said no. I told him we came in a package," Charlie smiled sadly. "He said no after that. I guess he isn't the 'real thing'. He can't see past color and religion."

"No, apparently, he isn't the 'real thing'. Take a look at this woman though," Josh gave Charlie Donatella Moss' file.

Charlie spotted Danny's article too and after reading it, he grinned up at Josh.

"Too bad she is too young," he said.

"She would be the perfect Vice Presidential candidate, she would complement Sellner well," Josh said.

"Yeah, young and old, woman and man, foreign relations buff and champion of education," Charlie summed up.

"I want Abbey and the gang to weigh in, I want to know what President Bartlet thought of them, but if they agree with us would you like to join the campaign?" Josh asked Charlie.

"Zoey's pregnant," Charlie said.

"I know, Charlie, and I promise when her time comes I will send you to the headquarters, okay?" Josh offered.

"Okay," Charlie said, shaking Josh' outstretched hand. "You'll need someone to run Mrs. Moss' campaign."

"I was thinking about Toby," Josh said.

"Are you sure?" Charlie asked, looking at Josh as if he had lost it completely.

"Yeah, if she can handle Toby he can handle Congress and the other stuff."

"Well, that's one way to see things," Charlie added before they exited the study.

TBC

A/N: If you liked this, please leave a review. ;)