"Dee!" She shouted with entirely too much alarm. "You.. scared me."
"If I were Uncle Jed." She smiled at Charlie reminding him of the twelve year old she'd been when he took the job with Bartlett. "The Secret Service would be killing you right now."
"What are you? Six?" He hissed as Zoey smiled down at her toes.
"Oh Uncle Jeh-ed!" She sang quietly.
"I'll kill you." He scoffed at his sister.
"I have an agent." She chucked her thumb back towards the man outside Josh and Donna's room.
"Why is that anyway? This is the last place the Chief of Staff needs protecting." He shook his head in irritation, until he caught Zoe and Deanna exchange glances. "What?" His little sister looked away. Charlie shifted his eyes to his.. whatever-she-was. "What?"
"Donna's gotten some letters." She said raising her eyebrows at him pointedly.
"Letters like we got?" His voice slipped quietly out of his throat. Zoey took his hand and squeezed it, nodding slowly. "Donna?"
"And Noah." Deanna whispered as she looked back at him with teary eyes. He pulled her to him protectively.
"You're being careful?" He muttered into her hair.
"Of course."
"Cause these people shoot-."
"..first and ask who they hit later. Ron's talked to me." She said softly looking at Zoey for support. "I know Charlie."
He nodded, letting his eyes fall on Zoey. She closed her own when she saw his expression. He pulled his hand out of her tightening grasp, kissed her cheek and walked away slowly. Deanna put her arm around her friends shoulder.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to-."
"It's alright. He has to get past it." She looked pointedly at Deanna. "If we're ever going to make this work, he has to get past it."
The door down the hall opened slowly and Donna slipped out of the room.
"Good morning, Ma'am." The agent said softly. "Will Mr. Lyman be joining you?"
"No.. he's.. going to need a few more minutes." She told him smiling and nodding her head like it was no big deal. Deanna watched her rub her hands over her exhausted face before leaning towards Zoe.
"It's not an easy thing to get past." She whispered, watching Donna glance back at the door before making her way hesitantly down the steps.
"Chicken Fighter's on the move (over)."
Josh pressed his hands against the sides of the pedestal sink, lifting up until he could see himself in the mirror. He looked like hell. This was getting ridiculous.
"I'm going down." He heard Donna say still sniffing back the tears from their argument. He opened his mouth to apologize, his eyes closing firmly as he heard the door click quietly shut.
He thought about the flash of fear that had crossed her features when he said what he'd said. Their was a buisness card on the bed next to his cell phone. He picked it up palming it. She'd written 'Please'on the back in her scratchy writing. He swallowed hard and dialed the phone.
"This is Josh Lyman. I have a feeling he's expecting my call." He said softly dropping down on the bed. "Stanley.." He rubbed his hands across his face. "I'm not doing so great actually. This morning I told my wife she would have been better off if she had never met me."
"Donna?" Sam put his hand on her arm.
"He's on the phone with Stanley." She blurted out. "He's.." She took a deep breath and met Sam's worried eyes. "We have to go back tomorrow and he's no where near ready."
"Yeah." Sam's answer was barely audible. He looked down at the ground.
"It's game on Sam. The primaries start next month and then the republican's are off and running and we're knee deep in it."
"Donna-."
"And the baby comes in twenty four weeks. Twenty four week's Sam. Now is the time when he has to focus. Now is the time where he needs to be on top of things."
"We'll get back to work. He'll get back to his routine. It'll be okay." She looked almost desperate to believe him. "You'll see."
She nodded at him before looking around the room.
"Where are the kids?"
"At the stable with the Bartlett's" He rubbed his hand across her back. "You should eat."
She nodded again walking over to the table.
"Fold." Toby said tossing the cards down on the table.
"CJ?" Sam said almost seductively.
"He's lying." Charlie told her with a quick grin.
"Oh.. don't you know, Charlie?" She said with more than her fair share of sarcasm. "Sam doesn't lie."
"Don't start this again." Danny moaned leaning his head back to the ceiling.
"Why not? We may never all be in the same place again." Toby muttered. "Why not now?"
"Fine." Sam looked quickly at Ainsly then back at CJ. "How 'bout you come out of your ivory tower and mingle with the rest of us."
Josh's eyebrows shot up to what was left of his hair line.
"Wow.. Spanky that was.. Wow."
"Wait a damn minute." Toby said leaning forward in towards them.
"No." CJ said sharply holding her hand up to him. "I'd like an explanation."
"So would I." Sam swallowed hard. "You made mistakes too CJ."
"I know that." She snapped at him.
"You and Danny were in DC last month for the thing with the times." Sam sounded wounded now. "You couldn't even call? You didn't want Taylor to see the White House?"
"We were all very busy."
"Why is Toby the only one who's met your daughter?"
"I didn't think you'd be up to Chuck e' Cheese! You have country to run."
"And we run it. And we go to Chuck e' Cheese." Josh looked hard a her for a second.
"Well Bravo, Joshua. One more reason why the Santos years will be better than the Bartlett years!" She snapped.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Donna said softly.
"Nothing." She muttered.
"We are trying to be better." Josh told her. "We know better now. We were a bunch of Jr. High Kids back then. Now we've had some practice. Been there. Done that. Did that. Shouldn't have done that."
"You think we're being disloyal to him." Sam's mouth slipped open. "That's what this is all about?"
"I don't really think about you all that much." CJ watched Sam flinch.
"What's Taylor's name"
"What does that have to do with-?"
"CJ." It was worth a shot. Sam thought letting the word fall out of his mouth in the way only Leo could.
"Taylor Bartlett Concannon." Danny told Sam softly, nodding in understanding.
"My son's name is Leo Josiah." He told her softly. "They're family names."
CJ nodded slowly.
"I'm going to call your bluff." He told her spreading his hand out in front of himself. "Lay all the cards on the table." Sam brought his eyes back up to hers and held them. "Let the chips fall where they may"
The bar was loud and crowded and perfect.
"Just like old times." CJ smirked at Sam.
"I don't remember him from old times." Toby gestured at Nick who stood nearby, his eyes darting from Josh to the door.
"You get used to them." Josh muttered seeing CJ looking at him knowingly.
"Here!" Sam set four beers on the table. "On me." Josh pushed his away and held up the soda he was drinking.
"I promised Donna." He told Sam.
"God your wiped." CJ told him.
"And loving every minute of it." He laughed taking her hand and pulling her out towards the dance floor.
"Hey." Toby looked at Sam with a somber expression before taking his hand and firmly patting his back. "Good Job."
"Joshua." CJ didn't remember him being this able of a dancer.
"Claudia Jean?" He smiled.
"I owe you a few hundred apologies."
"I except them all." He pushed her away and spun her back to him. "Just don't let it happen again."
"You really are doing an amazing job."
"Practice makes perfect." He told her with a deeply serious expression crossing his features for a split second. "Not everything's a breeze though"
"I heard." She told him. He pulled her back towards him and slowed down. "About the letters. A reporter asked Danny." He nodded. "I'm so sorry Josh."
"Bet that's something you don't miss?" He told her, moving his hand across her back protectively. "Getting threats. Getting shot at. Worrying someone's going to kidnap your daughter."
"I can't imagine." She rolled her eyes. "As if the job's not hard enough."
"Some days it's unbelievably ridiculous."
"Now that I can imagine all to well." She told him.
"How's Donna?" They'd stopped dancing when the song changed. He pulled her towards the bar.
"It's been hard." He looked down and picked at a napkin. "She um.. She had a miscarriage last year."
"Oh God Josh I had no idea."
"Annabeth asked the press not to.." He trailed off, making a sweeping motion with his hand. "It hit her really hard. She blamed herself. Her job. Now all this."
"And you?"
"It's been a long week." He blew out a long breath before nodding. "But I'll be alright." He looked up at her and smiled. "I have everything I ever wanted and as scary as that is?" A slow smile spread across her face. "It's amazing."
"I know." She told him.
"Do you ever miss it?"
"Sometimes." She sighed nastalgically. "When I watch Annabeth brief, and I'm shouting out responses to the press pool from my living room sofa."
"What would it take to get you back there?" He blinked at her.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Four years from now?" He looked at her with all seriousness. "I'll be putting Sam in office. And I think you should be his Chief."