A/N Shorter chapter today. Act 2 starts next chapter! Before it sounds like I was being lazy, the 'abrupt' writing style is intentional for this chapter. I hope it works! Please review :D

Leo rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. It was getting way too late right now. Way too late. CJ and Sam were done with the President, CJ went straight home and Sam ended up making a beeline for Toby's office. Leo absent-mindedly glanced through the window to see Sam lying on his back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, and Toby bouncing his pink rubber ball repeatedly off the wall.

Passing through the Communications bullpen and round towards Josh's office, Leo watched the senior assistants mill around with papers while they waited to see the President. Ginger was organising some files on a shelf while Bonnie looked to be playing Tetris on the internet. Leo sighed. It was going to be at least another hour before they got in with the President.

Donna was sat on her desk outside Josh's office, palm supporting her head. She was doodling what looked to be a picture of Snoopy on the corner of some official looking stationary. Leo, feeling charitable, decided to let the abuse of taxpayer's stationary go given the circumstances.

Again, without knocking, the Chief of Staff pushed open the door to Josh's office and stepped inside.

His deputy was sat on the floor with his back to one of the visitor's chairs. The mess from earlier had been cleared up and Leo noted the almost pristine condition of his office as opposed to normal. It was almost obsessive. His pens were all lined up parallel to each other on the top of the desk and his files were stacked neatly. He'd even made the effort to hang his rucksack up rather than just leaving it in the middle of the floor.

Josh was sat cross-legged, reading a tattered looking book intently. He looked up, wide-eyed, when Leo entered.

"Leo," he breathed. He snapped the book shut and flashed an embarrassed smile, "Did you know that there is speculation as to whether William Shakespeare even wrote his plays? People think it could have been a pen name. Notable alternative candidates include Sir Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe and Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford."

"Josh? You feeling alright?"

"Yeah…" Josh replied. That was a lie. The book was a welcome distraction. He just wanted to show Leo that.

"President wants to see you."

"What for?"

Leo raised an eyebrow, "I came to see you earlier. I said the President wanted to see everyone before you all leave. Remember?"

"…Uh…" Josh crinkled his forehead, feeling his heart beating faster as a minor panic rose within him, "Oh! Yeah, I remember. You came in after…"

"Yeah," Leo nodded. They certainly needed to talk, but Leo decided it was best for Josh to have the night to sleep on it. God knows he was in for a shock when he spoke to the President, "Let's go. He's waiting."

"Right."

Josh pushed himself to his feet and mumbled a small thanks to Leo, who held the door open for him. He took a quick glance at Donna as he walked by, still trying to remember what exactly it was that she said that bothered him. The familiar sense of panic rose up in him again.

That's twice he's forgotten something important in one day.

"Donna?"

Donna looked up from her doodle to see Leo standing next to her. He had just taken Josh to the Oval Office. Josh couldn't have been done with the President that quickly, not after how long Sam and especially CJ spent in there. Donna then begrudgingly assumed that Leo was there to talk about the other…thing.

"Leo."

"Come to my office, I want you to talk to me."

Leo turned a left without a word. Donna hesitated, biting the inside of her lip. She really felt like she would be betraying Josh by telling his boss, but she was also worried that she was betraying him by not helping. Leo was going to have to know.

She got up and followed.

"Hey, Donna," Margaret greeted, not looking up from her nail file. Donna replied with a quiet greeting of her own before following Leo into his office.

"Sit," Leo motioned with his hand and Donna obliged. Leo swung the door shut, dropped his glasses into his jacket pocket and sat the other side of the desk.

"He didn't go to his appointment." It wasn't a question. Donna wasn't surprised with the abruptness. This was Leo after all.

"No, he didn't," Donna felt a guilty pang in her chest and she let her gaze drop to her feet. She could feel Leo's gaze on her, and took a deep breath, "He walked the streets for two hours. Didn't stop to talk to anyone. Just kept walking and walking."

"Did he see you?"

"No," she shook her head, "He was off in his own little world. Like I said, he didn't interact with anyone. Not until he got to the pharmacy."

"Only one set of drugs?"

"Yeah…painkillers I think," Leo nodded his head in agreement; he'd seen the box in Josh's office.

"And then what happened?"

"There were…sirens," Donna looked up. Leo breathed a heavy sigh, letting himself fall back into his chair, "It was like he was in a different world. He leant up against a lamp post and clutched his chest."

"Where he got shot?"

"Yeah. His face all crinkled, probably because of some pain. He went all pale and started to shake. I couldn't take it any more, so I ran over."

"And he saw you?"

Donna scoffed, more because she was upset than sarcastically. Leo let it go.

"I grabbed his arm and jolted him out of it. I don't think he recognised me at first. When he did he turned and bolted. That was about it," Donna shrugged, finishing off the story.

"What happened in his office?" Leo continued to ask questions.

"I asked him about it. He flipped. I don't think I've ever seen him so angry. He kept saying that it was a plot by all of us to get some fun out of him or something…" She sniffed subtly.

"Alright…" Leo pondered a course of action briefly, "I'll have to talk to him. See how willing he is to co-operate. Josh being Josh tells me that it's not going to be easy, though."

"He knows it was you, Leo."

"I know."

Leo turned the light off in his office as he grabbed his coat. Nobody had taken the news about the President's MS well, Toby in particular. CJ had already gone and Sam left pretty soon after Josh went to the Oval Office. Most of the assistants left straight away too, stony faced and confused.

Toby flipped out at Leo. He threw papers around his office in frustration; the pink ball nearly taking both of their heads off. Leo just stood in silence and let him vent; at least it wasn't happening in front of the President.

Josh locked himself in his office. When Leo managed to coax him out, obvious streaks of tears down his face told a story of their own. It was just a slightly different reaction to Toby's. Josh left soon after, leaving Leo with only one line as he headed for the exit.

"Sometimes things have to be put into perspective to be prioritised, Leo. I serve at the pleasure of the President."

End of Act 1