Title: Stay Anyway 27/?

Author: Amber (Ambino1111@prodigy.net)

Disclaimers & other notes in Part 1

Previously, in Stay Anyway...

Sam sees his ex-fiancée Lisa as she takes a tour of the White House with her son Alexander. He talks with her and they decide to go to dinner the next night. A political snafu pops up before their dinner, and they end up eating with Josh and Donna in the White House. Lisa vows to hook up Josh and Donna, the latter becoming a new friend. Sam encourages Lisa to stay so they can talk about what happened between them, and as she is singing her son to sleep in Josh's office, Sam talks with Josh and Donna. He goes ballistic when Josh asks if he still loves Lisa. Sam and Lisa decide not to talk about what happened, although Lisa rhetorically asks "How did we get here?" Flashbacks: Lisa is a dentist and first meets Sam at an appointment. Fast forward to Sam and Lisa living together. A misunderstanding occurs when Sam's plans for a surprise party make Lisa suspicious. She tracks down the woman she thinks he's having an affair with, and discovers it was Josh, who had been helping Sam plan everything. At the party, she and Josh, realizing who they are, react strangely when introduced, which makes Sam wonder. He confronts Josh, who tells him the truth. Sam tells Lisa it was all just a misunderstanding and they drop it. Back to the present, where Lisa informs Sam that she and Alex are moving to DC He offers to let her stay at his apartment until hers is ready - she says she'll think about it. Instead, she accepts Donna's offer to live with her and refuses to call Sam and tell him. Sam and Josh have a heart-to-heart about women, and Josh learns about the office-wide pool betting on when he and Donna would admit their feelings. Meanwhile, at Donna's, Lisa comforts Donna, who admits that Josh treats her like a platonic wife. Josh shows up at her apartment, drunkenly informing her of his love, and Donna makes him leave. While waiting for the cab, Josh tells Lisa that Sam still loves her. In the middle of the night, Sam comes over to Donna's and demands to know where Lisa is. He and Lisa have a huge fight that ends with Sam yelling that he loves her. Later that day, Lisa calls Sam and tells him it's over - they shouldn't even see each other anymore. At lunch, Sam decides to ask Ainsley out to dinner and she agrees. Fast forward to Lisa and Alex waiting in the mess to eat lunch with Donna. Before she arrives, Lisa meets Ainsley, who is waiting to eat with Sam. An awkward situation ensues, in which both Sam and Lisa pretend to not know each other. That Friday, HR 206 passes, and everyone is happy. Sam and Ainsley decline the invitation to celebrate with Josh, Donna, Toby, and CJ, and instead go to dinner. After dinner, Ainsley offers to cut Sam's hair. They go to his apartment, where they both change out of their rain-drenched clothes into sweatpants. While Ainsley is cutting Sam's hair, he leans forward and kisses her. A knock at the door interrupts them. It's Lisa, who has just found out that her dad died. She can't get in touch with Donna and feels overwhelmed. She takes Alex on a walk in the rain and winds up at Sam's building. Lisa admits she never stopped loving Sam. Then Ainsley opens the door to see if everything is okay, and Sam admits that Lisa is his ex-fiancée. Lisa mumbles that she's sorry and leaves. Sam is torn between staying with Ainsley and running after Lisa. He decides to stay, and Ainsley wants to know what happened. At her apartment, Lisa gives Alex a bath and puts him to sleep. Then she makes a few phone calls before she collapses in tears. Meanwhile, Sam and Ainsley have a talk in which Sam tells her about his engagement to Lisa, and Ainsley suggests that Alex is his son. In the end, Ainsley breaks up with him, unwilling to compete with Lisa. Sam calls Donna (who's with Josh) and discovers that Lisa's dad died. He leaves and heads over to Lisa's apartment. Lisa watches home movies and, becoming depressed, decides to move back to Pennsylvania after the funeral. She's about to go to sleep when Sam knocks on the door. He holds her while she cries. When he asks her what the second thing she had to tell him was, she kisses him. The next morning, Lisa tells Sam that he is Alex's father. He decides he's going with her to her father's funeral, then gets called into work.

*****

"Be happy - if you're not happy what's so good about surviving?" - Rosencrantz, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Tom Stoppard

*****

"What the hell happened to you?" Josh's exclamation of surprise startles me on my journey to Toby's office. I spin around and look at him.

"What?"

"What the hell happened to you?" He repeats in a lower register, pointing at my head.

It takes a minute to sink in. "Oh. My hair? It's a long story."

"It looks pretty comical, Sam."

"Is it that noticeable?" I ask, a wave of embarrassment washing over me. "The security guards gave me some weird looks, but they didn't say anything… It's really that bad?"

At his affirmative nod, I grab him and yank him into the nearest men's room with me.

I groan at my reflection. I look like an idiot. I look like… there's no one to compare me to, because no one else has looked this stupid. Ever.

I turn on the faucet and ignore Josh's quiet snickering.

"What happened to you?"

"To me? What do you mean?"

"With Donna, that's what I mean."

I can't believe it - Josh Lyman is actually blushing. "I'll tell you later. What happened to you last night?"

I try in vain to wet  my hair and make it at least appear even. I didn't think it was possible, but it looks even worse now.

"Well, after Ainsley dumped me," I manage to not sound bitter, which, I realize, I'm honestly not. "I went over to Lisa's."

Josh's eyes widen. "What?!?" His voice gets softer. "Was she okay?"

"Yeah. She cried, and I held her. We talked for a while."

"Just talked?"

I ignore his question. "I found out that Alexander is my son."

I watch in the mirror as Josh grabs the sink for support. "WHAT?!?"

I give him some time to absorb the information, giving one last futile swipe at my hideous hair.

He looks at me. I recognize the seeds of doubt in his eyes.

"No, you heard me correctly. It's true. I'm a father," The last word fills me with a sense of awe and… fear?

His mouth moves wordlessly for a bit.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Nope."

"But… you? You're the youngest senior staffer! You're the life-force. You're the childlike spriit of the West Wing. You can't be a father yet."

Not knowing quite what to say, I merely shrug.

"Well, he DID look like you…" He says, almost to himself. "And Donna thought that maybe… this just blows my mind! What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to tell CJ right now, then go help Toby with the speech he's writing."

Josh swallows, looking sheepishly guilty.

"I don't know if now's the best time."

"Why?" I ask suspicously, cocking my head to the side slightly. Even though Toby already told me over the phone, I still want to hear Josh say it… if only for confirmation's sake.

"Well, uh… I might have told her, maybe an hour ago, that, uh, that Donna and I are dating."

"You are?" He nods. "About damn time!"

He blushes again. This is a record. "Yeah, I know. But I don't think now's the time for you to tell her. CJ's already in full-battle mode."

"That's just 'cause she lost the pool," I joke weakly.

"Sam -"

"Yeah, I know. But I have to tell her. And I'm taking off Monday and Tuesday to go to Lisa's dad's funeral," I inform him, pushing open the bathroom door. Josh follows me, and we walk side by side in silence for a moment. When we get close to CJ's office, he stops and pats my shoulder.

"Nice knowing you, buddy. Maybe I'll see you in our next lives."

"Funny."

"Good luck," With those words of advice, Josh darts down the hallway towards his office. I knock on CJ's open door. She's sitting at her desk, thoroughly engrossed in the file folder open in front of her.

"Yes, Spanky? I'm busy."

"I'm not going to beat around the bush, okay? I have something to tell you which will make your job a lot more difficult."

She looks up, surprised and wary.

"Great. Can't wait to hear it," She quips sarcastically, capping her pen.

"Okay," I take a deep breath. She motions for me to sit down. I do. "Okay. On July fifth-"

"While we were in China?"

"Yeah," I pause, trying not to lose my nerve. "I ran into Lisa Prescott. My ex-fiancee."

She nods, eyes searching mine.

"Well, long story short… I still loved her, but I liked Ainsley, too, and we went out six times. Then I found out that Lisa still loved me. Yesterday, her dad died."

CJ's face is a mask. I desperately wish I could decipher it. "I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop." She says impatiently.

"You see, I'm taking off Monday and Tuesday to go to the funeral."

"Okay. Thanks for the heads-up, but you have to clear that with Toby and Leo, not me."

"I know, but I thought I'd tell you because, uh, last night I found out that Lisa and I have a two-and-a-half year old son named Alexander."

Silence. Her face grows dangerously pale, and I wonder if she's going to pass out. Then all the blood comes rushing back. And then some.

"You're telling me you've fathered an illegitimate child with your ex-fiancee?" She asks calmly.

I nod nervously. Her eyes flash wildly for a moment. If she's going to blow, it will be very soon.

"When it rains, it pours," She cries, exasperated and throwing her hands up in the air. When she calms down, she leans forward and meets my eyes. "This is going to be so much bigger than the call girl, Sam."

"I know," I agree quietly. The room falls silent again.

"To put it all in perspective," I venture timidly, eager to make her laugh, or at least smile. "It won't be nearly as huge as the whole MS deal."

Her fiery glare is her only response. I shift uncomfortably in the chair.

"Now what?" She inquires.

"Hmm?"

"Now what? Have you slept with her? Do you love her? Are you two involved? Are you going to get married? Are you going to be that boy's father?" She demands.

Before I can open my mouth, she continues. "I want a lunch meeting. You. Me. Lisa."

"Okay. That's understandable," I croak, trying not to be afraid of the growing fire in her eyes.

"And Alexander," She makes her last demand.

"And Alexander?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." I pause. "Is that it?"

She glares at me, obviously annoyed at my naivete. "Am I the first to know?"

"In the White House? Yes. Besides Josh. And probably Donna."

"Great… There wouldn't be any pictures then, would there?"

"I don't- I don't think so."

"Good."

We stare at each other. "Carol!" She shouts, eyes still on me.

"Yes?" Carol asks from behind me. I don't dare turn around.

"I need you to reschedule my twelve-thirty lunch meeting with Bob Dawson."

"Will do."

CJ motions for me to go, too. I stand up uncertainly and start to leave.

"And, Sam?"

"Hmm?" I spin around.

"Congratulations," She smiles brightly. "And now I'm going to quit."

I smile at her before heading to Toby's office to get some work done.

TBC