Blue eyes met brown. The older stared into the young, looking for some sort of sign that he was still awake to the world. All of the indications he had given them were not satisfying. All that he found in those dark orbs was a terrible fright, one that wanted nothing more than to fly from this place and into a safe haven. He knew what Josh was considering, pondering; he knew that the man most like his son was dreading being alive like this.

Leo stepped back, examining all of Josh's body. He was slouched down in his bed, arms lucid and mouth dropped, eyes an actual window to his soul; his petrified soul. He carefully said his name, touching the palm of his hand to Josh's warm cheek. Nothing stirred. His son was locked inside something he could not break through.

"Please." he said again, rubbing his hand through Josh's hair.

Still nothing.

Leo took a moment to stand up straight and glance around the empty room. Donna had called him; probably because she didn't know what to do and figured he knew the answer... he didn't. But that was beside the point. He had actually come, thinking he might be able to break him from what ever trance had taken his thoughts. Apparently not.

He had never done this before. He didn't know what would awaken his consciousness back to the real world, he was not a psychologist. But he did know hearts. He knew about broken, malfunctioned, no longer working hearts... yet not how to consol their owners. He himself was an owner of one of these hearts though he had never told anyone, not even Jed, his closest friend. It was because of the alcohol, something that he just could never give up because it was what kept him cool, and alive. It was what helped him keep a steady hand and head in his days at the office... before he realized how much it hurt. Not just to him but to others around him. It had made his wife leave him... that was something he would never be able to mend, no matter what grand scheme he devised.

He had found out his heart was at serious risk for developing a block, for having an attack on one of his routine doctor's check ups. He hadn't wanted to go that day, probably because he knew that if he did, bad news was bound to drip upon him in some way, shape, or form. And it had. When he had heard, he didn't want anyone trying to talk him down. The same exact thoughts that were running through Josh's head now had run through him then. It was when he realized that he still had his daughter and sister to live for that he decided he'd continue living his life, never letting such trivial things as bleeding hearts stand in the way. And so he had. And though nothing had happened yet, there was always that chance stinging in the back of his mind, telling him that the possibility and the opportunity would always be present; only when it was truly his time to go. He glanced down at Josh. He knew what to say now.

Leo leaned in close, his hand rested on Josh's shoulder. "I know you can hear me." he began slowly, his eyes burning with determination. "I know you can see me even though you don't want to. You can. And your going to listen to what I'm going to tell you, Josh. Because I know you. And you know me."

Easing down into a chair, Leo continued. "My heart is in the same kind of agony as yours is in. It's been beaten up from just about every angle, shot down, broken up, and ripped to shreds in the past couple of years because of the stress I and others place on it. Yours nearly killed you tonight. And mine is a ticking time bomb that will finish me off one day soon. We are both men who are heartless, Josh."

A round crystal tear fell from one of Josh's eyes with the words. Leo knew that what he had said probably hurt, he too was pretty close to losing it. But he contained it and went on. "But that isn't why we are here. We are not here to let our hearts fall into a thousand pieces. We are not here to give up so easily. No." He shook his head. "We are here to make a difference. To fight for what we believe in and love. Now you have a whole bunch of people outside this room who are praying and praying that you come out of this stupor knowing that. There are a lot of people who are wondering why you, a man who always seems optimistic on everything, should feel threatened. There are risks we take in this job, Josh. There are things we didn't sign up for when we volunteered to help run this country. Not every opposition we have come to face has been one we intended on facing. But look where we are now."

He glanced around the room, his voice cracking some. "I didn't come here to see you wallow and worry about what might happen tomorrow. It hasn't happened yet. It isn't here. The only thing you've got to remember is to live for today. Days can only happen one at a time. And we can only live them one at a time. Remember that, Josh. Remember that I am with you; I am here when ever you need me, just as Donna is, and Sam, and C.J. and Toby. Remember you've got a family here who isn't going to let you dig yourself into an early grave by watching you contemplate your own demise. We are always here to be a net for you to fall in if you need to."

The near black eyes moved. First one way, than the other; scanning and surveying the room until they landed on Leo. Bottom lip trembling, Josh muttered a weak, "I'm so scared."

Leo's strong hand moved down and clutched hold of Josh's. "Me too, kid. Me too. But you know something. I have a feeling that everything will turn out just fine. I don't get that feeling very often. So when it comes, it's a good thing."

The two figures, the weak and the strong, remained steadfast through the early morning hours, with only the halo of the halogen lights to glow and the hard rainfall to drown out their conversation, to the people who stood outside, patiently waiting.


TBC...