***
March
***
"The ayes have it."
Yes, the ayes had it - the bill mandating the largest increase in the minimum
wage ever seen, softened by tax incentives for small companies so they could
afford to comply. Whether the President would sign it was another matter, but
the buzz on the Hill was that Schiller would have no choice, given the hunger
for reform that was sweeping the nation. Negotiations would have been
nightmarish without Matt's consummate, masterful skill.
Sam watched with pride as even the Senators who had voted against the bill shook
hands with Matt and congratulated him on a job well done. Some of those same
Senators had cried out in anger when Matt switched parties. There were others,
in the end, who found themselves doing the same thing.
Sure, it was easier to get things through the Senate now that the balance was
54-46. But Matt knew what was happening on both sides of the aisle, and it was
his boundless knowledge that was getting the job done.
It was at that moment, in the Senate chamber, while engaged in the mundane act
of putting his pen in his pocket, that Sam realized that his staff and friends
had been working themselves to death for no reason whatsoever.
Sam's eyes lit up and he bolted from the magnificent room, scarcely looking at
Matt, or anyone else, for that matter. He'd had his very own personal, private
epiphany and he couldn't wait to share it.
"Where's Josh?" he asked of the newest temporary assistant. Josh had given up
trying to remember their names. None of them stuck around long enough to make
that necessary.
"Who's Josh?" And now, they weren't learning Josh's name, either.
"That would be Mr. Lyman," Sam explained as patiently as he could.
"Oh. Well, Mr. Lyman's on the phone in his office. May I give him your name?"
Sam blinked at the young woman, who clearly had no idea who he was. Trying to
conceal his amusement, Sam cleared his throat. "Tell him that Sam Seaborn's
here."
"And you're with...?"
Holy God, whoever was in charge of personnel must be sending these people as a
joke. "The United States Senate."
The woman nodded, writing it down on a note pad and spelling it with an "e" on
the end. "May I ask what it's about?"
"I'm sorry - perhaps I didn't make myself clear. I'm Senator Sam Seaborn, with,
uh, only one 'e,' and Mr. Lyman is my Chief of Staff." That didn't seem to get a
response. "I'm his boss."
"So, I should get him, then?"
"That'd be good. Yes. Please."
At long last, the woman punched a button on the intercom. "There's a Senator Sam
Seaborn to see you," she said.
Josh appeared, flinging his door open and waving Sam into the office. "Hey, I
watched the vote - you guys kicked some serious ass."
"Thanks." Sam waited until the door was shut again before pointing at the
anteroom. "Who, or what, is she?"
"My temp for the day. I'm not bothering to learn their names, either," Josh
snorted.
"Good, because this one didn't even know who I was."
Josh rolled his eyes. "Wow. Man, we have got to start this campaign off for
real."
Sam considered that for a moment. "Well, don't do it on her account. I mean, who
doesn't know the name of the guy she works for?"
"I am going to find out who's been sending me these idiots, and I will make them
pay." Josh took a seat and moved some paperwork aside so he could lean on the
desk. "C.J. called. She's doing a segment tonight, and she wants a prominent
Democratic Senator to do a remote interview. You up for it?"
"As a matter of fact, I'm not."
Josh's face froze in an expression of terror. "Sam. Listen, you're not getting
cold feet again, are you? Because if you are, then--"
"No, it's not that. I'm not getting cold feet. I've just had this...Josh, I know
you and Donna and Matt have gone over and over a short list for a potential
running mate, but you're all chasing your tails."
"You can say that again." He leaned his cheek on his hand and looked at Sam. "So
what's your idea?"
Sam leaned back in the chair and prepared for fireworks. "I think it should be
Matt Skinner."
If Josh were a cartoon, then Sam would have been able to see wheels spinning and
smoke coming out of his nostrils.
"Just let me be clear about this - you mean Matt Skinner." Josh waved in a
direction that might or might not have been Matt's office. "Our Matt Skinner."
"You know another Matt Skinner? Of course, that Matt Skinner."
"Oh, come on!"
"Josh, listen to me! You've been saying for months that I need to be more
proactive, that I can't let the D.N.C. take over if this gets to be big. Well,
I'm doing it. Look at the debate we've had for the last three days - and the
meetings before that. Who got the job done?"
Sam knew Josh was defeated because he now had his face completely buried in his
hands. "Thing is," Josh sighed, "I know you're right. But I also know that
Matt's going to turn you down, and that'll get you depressed
and...and...cantankerous. And you'll throw out all the names we've gotten, and
you'll go back to Matt again and again, and this will never, ever end."
"We won't know until we ask him." Sam got up and put his hands into his pockets.
"C'mon, Josh. Let's take a walk."
"Matt, huh?" Josh tested the idea. "Vice-President Skinner. Kinda grows on you."
"Let's go," Sam insisted, holding the door as Josh scrabbled around on his desk
for his tie. As they passed the assistant's desk, Sam told her "We're going down
the hall to see Matt Skinner. He's a United States Senator, too."
The woman nodded slowly, still without comprehension.
"By 'we,'" Josh said, his eyes twinkling, "we mean Senator Sam Seaborn of
California, this man here, and myself, Joshua Lyman, the Senator's Chief of
Staff and your boss until five p.m., which will give you plenty of time to
freshen up for the Justin Timberlake concert on the mall. It's been a pleasure."
They breezed down the corridors, stealing amused glances at one another as they
rode the elevator to the floor for Matt's office. Sam, who had been burning with
curiosity for a few weeks now, finally spoke. "So how are things with you and
Donna?"
Bulls-eye. Josh actually looked annoyed. "We've gone out for exactly one dinner
- working, with actual papers and laptops and pagers and everything - and a few
lunches. Also working."
"Ah." Sam bounced up and down on his heels as he waited for the elevator door to
open. "Need any help?"
"Sam!" Josh almost fell over as he rounded the corner.
"I'm just saying, Josh, that you managed to screw things up pretty badly the
first time, and that maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea if--"
"Sam, you are the only man I know who accidentally slept with a prostitute. You
then told your boss' daughter, on whom you ended up having a considerable crush,
that you'd done it. We're not going to bring up the blonde, leggy Republican
lawyer who kicked your ass on television, but I will conclude my refusal of your
kind offer by reminding you that you met your wife by spilling booze on her
head."
They stopped walking.
"You make some excellent points," Sam admitted.
"Yes, I do."
"Seriously, though - are things getting back to normal?"
"Since when have Donna and I ever been normal?" Josh grinned. "It's fine. It's a
working friendship, Sam, and I'd missed that more than I could ever tell you."
Sam leaned slightly backwards. "But if it turns into something else, you'll let
me know, right?"
"Yeah, buddy, you'll be my first call. 'Cause I'll need a bodyguard right about
the time that Matt finds out." Josh clapped Sam on the shoulder as they walked
into Matt's outer office.
"Matt finds out what?" asked the Senator, who was leaning over his assistant's
desk, looking at his weekly schedule.
"Nothing," Josh and Sam said together. Then, also together, they said, "You got
a minute?"
Matt chuckled. "You guys practice that routine?"
"No," they chorused in identically aggravated tones.
"Okay." Matt ushered them into his office. "Josh, I know you must've been
watching the vote. What do you think?"
"I think it's about damn time, and I think it's going to be something Schiller
absolutely, positively has to sign." He looked over at Sam. "But that's not why
we're here. Sam has something - we have something...well..."
"Maybe we'd better sit down, guys," Matt said softly. Josh and Sam took the
visitor's chairs opposite his desk. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing. In fact, I think you'll regard what I'm about to say as good news,"
Sam said. He hoped he wasn't sounding like an idiot. He took a deep breath.
"We're scratching the search for a V.P. candidate."
"Oh, no, you're not getting cold feet again, are you?" Matt asked.
"Why does everyone think that?"
"Because, Sam, sometimes you get this trapped look, and I just know the next
words out of your mouth will be 'I quit.'"
Sam sighed. "I'm not quitting. I may get...spooked, now and again, but I'm not
quitting. And you're going to make sure of that."
"Me?" Matt cocked his head to one side, smiling. "What're you talking about?"
"I've found my running mate, Matt. It's you."
Silence.
Matt's smile evaporated. "You're kidding, Sam."
"No, I'm not."
"Sam, you're kidding."
"I'm really not."
Josh stretched his legs out and crossed them at the ankle. "He is not kidding in
his chair, he is not kidding anywhere." When no one laughed, Josh looked up at
the ceiling and bit his lip.
"He's right, though," Sam said firmly. "I'm not kidding. I've thought this
through, and you're the only person who could possibly do the job. You have an
outstanding political mind. You've seen the inner workings of the government
from both sides of the aisle - plus, all the things you know so much about
aren't exactly my specialties. We'd actually be a team, not just a leader and a
ceremonial figurehead, but a different kind of President and Vice-President.
Working together. Think about what the sum of our parts could be!"
"We'd never get there," Matt whispered. "It's a beautiful idea, Sam, it's
Camelot, it's perfect, but you know as well as I do why I have to say no."
"No, as a matter of fact, I don't. Care to enlighten me?" Sam looked at Matt,
then at Josh. "Oh, you cannot be serious."
"You don't think it'd be a liability?"Matt asked, sounding incredulous. "Can you
honestly sit there and say that it might not cost you the election to have an
openly gay running mate?"
"Yes. Yes, I can." Sam at up straight. "Have you seen opinion polls since the
C.A.P. thing went down? The ones where something like 72 percent of those polled
admire you for not stepping aside and letting those guys oust you?"
"They're gay, Sam."
"Not all of them. You've got incredible support from the mainstream population -
more than you realize. You helped countless Americans consider the difference
between what should be law and what should be personal."
"I'm flattered. More than flattered, I'm...moved. But..." Matt's strong fingers
played his desktop as if it were a keyboard, a habit he fell into when he was
thinking, or nervous, and Sam imagined he would be both right now.
"But?" Josh prompted.
"There's nothing I want more than to see you get elected President, Sam.
Nothing. And I don't want to be the reason that doesn't happen." He paused. "And
it's not just my decision."
Taking his cue from Donna, Matt had kept his own personal life under wraps,
living quietly for the past year in a Georgetown duplex with Gary Tennenberg
whenever Gary didn't have to be in New York.
"I understand that," Sam said softly. "I went through this with Nina. There were
a lot of conversations. Some of them while she was eating soda crackers and
saying she never wanted me to touch her again, I'll grant you, but still. We did
have to talk about it."
"It won't be quite the same for us," Matt replied, his dark eyes fixed intently
upon Sam.
"I understand, that, too." Sam got up and motioned for Josh to follow. "Talk to
Gary. Think about it for a while. But not for too long."
Matt rose, his expression still registering a combination of shock and
gratitude, and said, "I'll have an answer for you in the next day or so."
"Good," Sam declared, his confidence rising as he and Josh headed for the door.
He turned around and shook Matt's hand, clasping it firmly. "You'd be a voice,
Matt - and God knows that enough people have been waiting all their lives for
that voice."
"I know," Matt said, still sounding awestruck. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Thanks." Sam waited until Josh had also shaken Matt's hand, then turned and
headed back toward the elevator.
It had been a good day, so far, and there didn't seem to be any reason to stop
spreading the goodness around. "Damn," he said, his finger hovering over the
call button. "Someone should stop Donna from working on those files anymore -
want to bet that Matt doesn't tell her until he's told Gary?"
A slow, warm smile spread across Josh's face, and his eyes brightened. "I'm on
it," he said, taking off for Donna's office without another word.
Sam didn't bother to repress his smirk as he got into the elevator,
congratulating himself on yet another job well done.
***
"Hello, it's good to see you, Josh," said Mai, Donna's sleekly efficient
assistant. "She's talking to Hugh in his office, but it's nothing important. Go
on in, and I'll tell her you're here."
Josh looked around the office, noticing that an old photo of Donna and him from
the second campaign was on the wall beneath a picture of Donna and Matt at a
D.N.C. fundraiser. "Has this always been here?" Josh asked, pointing at his
picture as Donna walked over to him.
"Zoey sent that to me a few weeks ago. She was going through some stuff and came
across that picture."
"And she sent it to you, not me?"
"Josh, Zoey and I e-mail each other about three times a week. You never talk to
her unless she happens to be in New Hampshire while you're planning strategy
with Toby."
"Ah. No one to blame but myself, then."
"Exactly." Donna looked at her watch. "I've got a meeting in about an hour, so
if you need me to start going through the Adams and Fry files, then--"
"No, no, not that." Josh sat on the edge of her desk. "In fact, you can ditch
the Adams and Fry files. Along with the rest of them."
Donna's eyes widened and she shook her head. "Don't tell me Sam's getting cold
feet again!"
"No, although that's the conclusion everyone's coming to today," Josh said,
grinning. "It's good. Great, in fact. I think you're gonna love it."
"What?"
"Sam's picked his running mate."
"Wonderful!" Donna stopped and held her hand in front of her. "Wait, wait - it's
not you, is it?"
"Donna!"
"I'm just saying...anyway. Who?"
Josh smiled at her. "Matt."
Two beats of silence. "My Matt?" Donna asked, her hand coming to rest over her
heart.
"None other. What do you think?"
"What do I think? I think he'd be brilliant. He's a perfect compliment for Sam,
he's got experience with legislation on both sides of the aisle, and he'd bring
in who knows how many disenfranchised voters because they'd finally have someone
they could admire. Josh, this is wonderful!" She astonished Josh by flinging her
arms around his neck and hugging him.
He let his hands roam across her back, down to her slim waist, and buried his
face in her hair. "It is wonderful," he whispered, meaning something else
entirely.
Donna's body stiffened and she pulled away, not unkindly, her fingers brushing
against his chest. "Josh."
"I know. Heat of the moment." He shook his head. "No, not heat of the moment.
I've waited for this, waited for you to give me a sign, and...well, was that a
sign? I can't tell."
"I don't know. I don't think so." But her head was lowered, her hair spilling in
front of her face so that Josh couldn't read her expression.
"I know you said you didn't want to rush back to where we were, back in the
White House. I understand that, I really do, and I've tried to be patient, but
Donna, I'm--"
"Josh, please, no." She turned away from him, facing her bookcase, breathing
shallowly.
He felt a lump growing in his throat. Slowly he walked up behind Donna, his
hands just above her shoulders but not touching them. "I was, from the first day
we met, completely crazy about you. I was also, you know, clueless." He waited
for her to make a joke, but the room was silent except for their breathing. "I
was wrapped up in the politics and the show I needed to put on, and since I've
always sucked at compartmentalizing, I managed to convince myself that you
didn't feel the same way and that I needed to get past that."
Not that it had ever really worked.
"You married Amy," Donna said softly. "I mean, we both dated, we were both, I
don't know, sublimating or something. But you married her, Josh. You loved her
enough to do that. Even if it was sort of an accident."
"I have a big heart," Josh said. "Not as big as my ego, but big enough. And
Amy's a good person. You know that about her, right?"
"I like her better than I did."
Donna's statement was sufficiently ambiguous to make Josh wince. "It wasn't
until you left that I realized I'd been deceiving myself," he said, finally
bringing his hands to rest on her shoulders, letting the fine ends of her hair
tickle his fingers. "I made a mistake, Donna - a mistake that caused pain for
one of the women I admire most in the world."
"You honored your vows," Donna said. She reached up and patted his hand. "I
never wanted to be in the way of that. And it hurt too much, being around you.
It reminded me of what we had, before, and I knew I could never have that
again." She paused, turning her head slightly, and Josh could see the beginnings
of a smile. "Thank God Amy's a lesbian."
"She's bisexual," Josh corrected. "And, you know, ouch." Donna leaned against
him, bringing his arms around her so that her back was to his chest and her face
was almost touching his. He whispered into her ear. "I'm crazy about you all
over again, you know that, right?"
"I know that." She wriggled out of his embrace and brushed imaginary lint off
her blouse. "And it's not that I don't understand - and share - the feeling. But
I need more time, Josh. I'm not saying this to be coy or anything, but I really
do need..."
"...some more time," he finished, nodding abruptly, feeling like a kicked puppy.
"I know that's not the answer you want, Josh, or even the answer I'd like to be
able to give." She straightened his tie, a gesture she'd done a thousand times
all those years ago, a gesture that made them both smile. "But, in the meantime,
if you need a best friend who's not busy running for President, then I'm your
guy."
"My...guy?" Josh inquired, raising an eyebrow. "I know, I know, get the hell out
of your office."
"That much, you've gotten right." She grinned at him. "I'm really happy about
Matt. Has he talked to Gary, yet?"
"They're going to discuss it tonight," Josh replied as he went into the outer
office and shut the door behind himself. Mai was watching him from the corner of
her eyes, so Josh leaned against the door and spoke softly. "Sam's getting his
answer tomorrow. Just thought you might like to know that."
He heard a thump at that point, which was probably Donna banging her head
against her desk.
***
Part Three
March
***
"The ayes have it."
Yes, the ayes had it - the bill mandating the largest increase in the minimum
wage ever seen, softened by tax incentives for small companies so they could
afford to comply. Whether the President would sign it was another matter, but
the buzz on the Hill was that Schiller would have no choice, given the hunger
for reform that was sweeping the nation. Negotiations would have been
nightmarish without Matt's consummate, masterful skill.
Sam watched with pride as even the Senators who had voted against the bill shook
hands with Matt and congratulated him on a job well done. Some of those same
Senators had cried out in anger when Matt switched parties. There were others,
in the end, who found themselves doing the same thing.
Sure, it was easier to get things through the Senate now that the balance was
54-46. But Matt knew what was happening on both sides of the aisle, and it was
his boundless knowledge that was getting the job done.
It was at that moment, in the Senate chamber, while engaged in the mundane act
of putting his pen in his pocket, that Sam realized that his staff and friends
had been working themselves to death for no reason whatsoever.
Sam's eyes lit up and he bolted from the magnificent room, scarcely looking at
Matt, or anyone else, for that matter. He'd had his very own personal, private
epiphany and he couldn't wait to share it.
"Where's Josh?" he asked of the newest temporary assistant. Josh had given up
trying to remember their names. None of them stuck around long enough to make
that necessary.
"Who's Josh?" And now, they weren't learning Josh's name, either.
"That would be Mr. Lyman," Sam explained as patiently as he could.
"Oh. Well, Mr. Lyman's on the phone in his office. May I give him your name?"
Sam blinked at the young woman, who clearly had no idea who he was. Trying to
conceal his amusement, Sam cleared his throat. "Tell him that Sam Seaborn's
here."
"And you're with...?"
Holy God, whoever was in charge of personnel must be sending these people as a
joke. "The United States Senate."
The woman nodded, writing it down on a note pad and spelling it with an "e" on
the end. "May I ask what it's about?"
"I'm sorry - perhaps I didn't make myself clear. I'm Senator Sam Seaborn, with,
uh, only one 'e,' and Mr. Lyman is my Chief of Staff." That didn't seem to get a
response. "I'm his boss."
"So, I should get him, then?"
"That'd be good. Yes. Please."
At long last, the woman punched a button on the intercom. "There's a Senator Sam
Seaborn to see you," she said.
Josh appeared, flinging his door open and waving Sam into the office. "Hey, I
watched the vote - you guys kicked some serious ass."
"Thanks." Sam waited until the door was shut again before pointing at the
anteroom. "Who, or what, is she?"
"My temp for the day. I'm not bothering to learn their names, either," Josh
snorted.
"Good, because this one didn't even know who I was."
Josh rolled his eyes. "Wow. Man, we have got to start this campaign off for
real."
Sam considered that for a moment. "Well, don't do it on her account. I mean, who
doesn't know the name of the guy she works for?"
"I am going to find out who's been sending me these idiots, and I will make them
pay." Josh took a seat and moved some paperwork aside so he could lean on the
desk. "C.J. called. She's doing a segment tonight, and she wants a prominent
Democratic Senator to do a remote interview. You up for it?"
"As a matter of fact, I'm not."
Josh's face froze in an expression of terror. "Sam. Listen, you're not getting
cold feet again, are you? Because if you are, then--"
"No, it's not that. I'm not getting cold feet. I've just had this...Josh, I know
you and Donna and Matt have gone over and over a short list for a potential
running mate, but you're all chasing your tails."
"You can say that again." He leaned his cheek on his hand and looked at Sam. "So
what's your idea?"
Sam leaned back in the chair and prepared for fireworks. "I think it should be
Matt Skinner."
If Josh were a cartoon, then Sam would have been able to see wheels spinning and
smoke coming out of his nostrils.
"Just let me be clear about this - you mean Matt Skinner." Josh waved in a
direction that might or might not have been Matt's office. "Our Matt Skinner."
"You know another Matt Skinner? Of course, that Matt Skinner."
"Oh, come on!"
"Josh, listen to me! You've been saying for months that I need to be more
proactive, that I can't let the D.N.C. take over if this gets to be big. Well,
I'm doing it. Look at the debate we've had for the last three days - and the
meetings before that. Who got the job done?"
Sam knew Josh was defeated because he now had his face completely buried in his
hands. "Thing is," Josh sighed, "I know you're right. But I also know that
Matt's going to turn you down, and that'll get you depressed
and...and...cantankerous. And you'll throw out all the names we've gotten, and
you'll go back to Matt again and again, and this will never, ever end."
"We won't know until we ask him." Sam got up and put his hands into his pockets.
"C'mon, Josh. Let's take a walk."
"Matt, huh?" Josh tested the idea. "Vice-President Skinner. Kinda grows on you."
"Let's go," Sam insisted, holding the door as Josh scrabbled around on his desk
for his tie. As they passed the assistant's desk, Sam told her "We're going down
the hall to see Matt Skinner. He's a United States Senator, too."
The woman nodded slowly, still without comprehension.
"By 'we,'" Josh said, his eyes twinkling, "we mean Senator Sam Seaborn of
California, this man here, and myself, Joshua Lyman, the Senator's Chief of
Staff and your boss until five p.m., which will give you plenty of time to
freshen up for the Justin Timberlake concert on the mall. It's been a pleasure."
They breezed down the corridors, stealing amused glances at one another as they
rode the elevator to the floor for Matt's office. Sam, who had been burning with
curiosity for a few weeks now, finally spoke. "So how are things with you and
Donna?"
Bulls-eye. Josh actually looked annoyed. "We've gone out for exactly one dinner
- working, with actual papers and laptops and pagers and everything - and a few
lunches. Also working."
"Ah." Sam bounced up and down on his heels as he waited for the elevator door to
open. "Need any help?"
"Sam!" Josh almost fell over as he rounded the corner.
"I'm just saying, Josh, that you managed to screw things up pretty badly the
first time, and that maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea if--"
"Sam, you are the only man I know who accidentally slept with a prostitute. You
then told your boss' daughter, on whom you ended up having a considerable crush,
that you'd done it. We're not going to bring up the blonde, leggy Republican
lawyer who kicked your ass on television, but I will conclude my refusal of your
kind offer by reminding you that you met your wife by spilling booze on her
head."
They stopped walking.
"You make some excellent points," Sam admitted.
"Yes, I do."
"Seriously, though - are things getting back to normal?"
"Since when have Donna and I ever been normal?" Josh grinned. "It's fine. It's a
working friendship, Sam, and I'd missed that more than I could ever tell you."
Sam leaned slightly backwards. "But if it turns into something else, you'll let
me know, right?"
"Yeah, buddy, you'll be my first call. 'Cause I'll need a bodyguard right about
the time that Matt finds out." Josh clapped Sam on the shoulder as they walked
into Matt's outer office.
"Matt finds out what?" asked the Senator, who was leaning over his assistant's
desk, looking at his weekly schedule.
"Nothing," Josh and Sam said together. Then, also together, they said, "You got
a minute?"
Matt chuckled. "You guys practice that routine?"
"No," they chorused in identically aggravated tones.
"Okay." Matt ushered them into his office. "Josh, I know you must've been
watching the vote. What do you think?"
"I think it's about damn time, and I think it's going to be something Schiller
absolutely, positively has to sign." He looked over at Sam. "But that's not why
we're here. Sam has something - we have something...well..."
"Maybe we'd better sit down, guys," Matt said softly. Josh and Sam took the
visitor's chairs opposite his desk. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing. In fact, I think you'll regard what I'm about to say as good news,"
Sam said. He hoped he wasn't sounding like an idiot. He took a deep breath.
"We're scratching the search for a V.P. candidate."
"Oh, no, you're not getting cold feet again, are you?" Matt asked.
"Why does everyone think that?"
"Because, Sam, sometimes you get this trapped look, and I just know the next
words out of your mouth will be 'I quit.'"
Sam sighed. "I'm not quitting. I may get...spooked, now and again, but I'm not
quitting. And you're going to make sure of that."
"Me?" Matt cocked his head to one side, smiling. "What're you talking about?"
"I've found my running mate, Matt. It's you."
Silence.
Matt's smile evaporated. "You're kidding, Sam."
"No, I'm not."
"Sam, you're kidding."
"I'm really not."
Josh stretched his legs out and crossed them at the ankle. "He is not kidding in
his chair, he is not kidding anywhere." When no one laughed, Josh looked up at
the ceiling and bit his lip.
"He's right, though," Sam said firmly. "I'm not kidding. I've thought this
through, and you're the only person who could possibly do the job. You have an
outstanding political mind. You've seen the inner workings of the government
from both sides of the aisle - plus, all the things you know so much about
aren't exactly my specialties. We'd actually be a team, not just a leader and a
ceremonial figurehead, but a different kind of President and Vice-President.
Working together. Think about what the sum of our parts could be!"
"We'd never get there," Matt whispered. "It's a beautiful idea, Sam, it's
Camelot, it's perfect, but you know as well as I do why I have to say no."
"No, as a matter of fact, I don't. Care to enlighten me?" Sam looked at Matt,
then at Josh. "Oh, you cannot be serious."
"You don't think it'd be a liability?"Matt asked, sounding incredulous. "Can you
honestly sit there and say that it might not cost you the election to have an
openly gay running mate?"
"Yes. Yes, I can." Sam at up straight. "Have you seen opinion polls since the
C.A.P. thing went down? The ones where something like 72 percent of those polled
admire you for not stepping aside and letting those guys oust you?"
"They're gay, Sam."
"Not all of them. You've got incredible support from the mainstream population -
more than you realize. You helped countless Americans consider the difference
between what should be law and what should be personal."
"I'm flattered. More than flattered, I'm...moved. But..." Matt's strong fingers
played his desktop as if it were a keyboard, a habit he fell into when he was
thinking, or nervous, and Sam imagined he would be both right now.
"But?" Josh prompted.
"There's nothing I want more than to see you get elected President, Sam.
Nothing. And I don't want to be the reason that doesn't happen." He paused. "And
it's not just my decision."
Taking his cue from Donna, Matt had kept his own personal life under wraps,
living quietly for the past year in a Georgetown duplex with Gary Tennenberg
whenever Gary didn't have to be in New York.
"I understand that," Sam said softly. "I went through this with Nina. There were
a lot of conversations. Some of them while she was eating soda crackers and
saying she never wanted me to touch her again, I'll grant you, but still. We did
have to talk about it."
"It won't be quite the same for us," Matt replied, his dark eyes fixed intently
upon Sam.
"I understand, that, too." Sam got up and motioned for Josh to follow. "Talk to
Gary. Think about it for a while. But not for too long."
Matt rose, his expression still registering a combination of shock and
gratitude, and said, "I'll have an answer for you in the next day or so."
"Good," Sam declared, his confidence rising as he and Josh headed for the door.
He turned around and shook Matt's hand, clasping it firmly. "You'd be a voice,
Matt - and God knows that enough people have been waiting all their lives for
that voice."
"I know," Matt said, still sounding awestruck. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Thanks." Sam waited until Josh had also shaken Matt's hand, then turned and
headed back toward the elevator.
It had been a good day, so far, and there didn't seem to be any reason to stop
spreading the goodness around. "Damn," he said, his finger hovering over the
call button. "Someone should stop Donna from working on those files anymore -
want to bet that Matt doesn't tell her until he's told Gary?"
A slow, warm smile spread across Josh's face, and his eyes brightened. "I'm on
it," he said, taking off for Donna's office without another word.
Sam didn't bother to repress his smirk as he got into the elevator,
congratulating himself on yet another job well done.
***
"Hello, it's good to see you, Josh," said Mai, Donna's sleekly efficient
assistant. "She's talking to Hugh in his office, but it's nothing important. Go
on in, and I'll tell her you're here."
Josh looked around the office, noticing that an old photo of Donna and him from
the second campaign was on the wall beneath a picture of Donna and Matt at a
D.N.C. fundraiser. "Has this always been here?" Josh asked, pointing at his
picture as Donna walked over to him.
"Zoey sent that to me a few weeks ago. She was going through some stuff and came
across that picture."
"And she sent it to you, not me?"
"Josh, Zoey and I e-mail each other about three times a week. You never talk to
her unless she happens to be in New Hampshire while you're planning strategy
with Toby."
"Ah. No one to blame but myself, then."
"Exactly." Donna looked at her watch. "I've got a meeting in about an hour, so
if you need me to start going through the Adams and Fry files, then--"
"No, no, not that." Josh sat on the edge of her desk. "In fact, you can ditch
the Adams and Fry files. Along with the rest of them."
Donna's eyes widened and she shook her head. "Don't tell me Sam's getting cold
feet again!"
"No, although that's the conclusion everyone's coming to today," Josh said,
grinning. "It's good. Great, in fact. I think you're gonna love it."
"What?"
"Sam's picked his running mate."
"Wonderful!" Donna stopped and held her hand in front of her. "Wait, wait - it's
not you, is it?"
"Donna!"
"I'm just saying...anyway. Who?"
Josh smiled at her. "Matt."
Two beats of silence. "My Matt?" Donna asked, her hand coming to rest over her
heart.
"None other. What do you think?"
"What do I think? I think he'd be brilliant. He's a perfect compliment for Sam,
he's got experience with legislation on both sides of the aisle, and he'd bring
in who knows how many disenfranchised voters because they'd finally have someone
they could admire. Josh, this is wonderful!" She astonished Josh by flinging her
arms around his neck and hugging him.
He let his hands roam across her back, down to her slim waist, and buried his
face in her hair. "It is wonderful," he whispered, meaning something else
entirely.
Donna's body stiffened and she pulled away, not unkindly, her fingers brushing
against his chest. "Josh."
"I know. Heat of the moment." He shook his head. "No, not heat of the moment.
I've waited for this, waited for you to give me a sign, and...well, was that a
sign? I can't tell."
"I don't know. I don't think so." But her head was lowered, her hair spilling in
front of her face so that Josh couldn't read her expression.
"I know you said you didn't want to rush back to where we were, back in the
White House. I understand that, I really do, and I've tried to be patient, but
Donna, I'm--"
"Josh, please, no." She turned away from him, facing her bookcase, breathing
shallowly.
He felt a lump growing in his throat. Slowly he walked up behind Donna, his
hands just above her shoulders but not touching them. "I was, from the first day
we met, completely crazy about you. I was also, you know, clueless." He waited
for her to make a joke, but the room was silent except for their breathing. "I
was wrapped up in the politics and the show I needed to put on, and since I've
always sucked at compartmentalizing, I managed to convince myself that you
didn't feel the same way and that I needed to get past that."
Not that it had ever really worked.
"You married Amy," Donna said softly. "I mean, we both dated, we were both, I
don't know, sublimating or something. But you married her, Josh. You loved her
enough to do that. Even if it was sort of an accident."
"I have a big heart," Josh said. "Not as big as my ego, but big enough. And
Amy's a good person. You know that about her, right?"
"I like her better than I did."
Donna's statement was sufficiently ambiguous to make Josh wince. "It wasn't
until you left that I realized I'd been deceiving myself," he said, finally
bringing his hands to rest on her shoulders, letting the fine ends of her hair
tickle his fingers. "I made a mistake, Donna - a mistake that caused pain for
one of the women I admire most in the world."
"You honored your vows," Donna said. She reached up and patted his hand. "I
never wanted to be in the way of that. And it hurt too much, being around you.
It reminded me of what we had, before, and I knew I could never have that
again." She paused, turning her head slightly, and Josh could see the beginnings
of a smile. "Thank God Amy's a lesbian."
"She's bisexual," Josh corrected. "And, you know, ouch." Donna leaned against
him, bringing his arms around her so that her back was to his chest and her face
was almost touching his. He whispered into her ear. "I'm crazy about you all
over again, you know that, right?"
"I know that." She wriggled out of his embrace and brushed imaginary lint off
her blouse. "And it's not that I don't understand - and share - the feeling. But
I need more time, Josh. I'm not saying this to be coy or anything, but I really
do need..."
"...some more time," he finished, nodding abruptly, feeling like a kicked puppy.
"I know that's not the answer you want, Josh, or even the answer I'd like to be
able to give." She straightened his tie, a gesture she'd done a thousand times
all those years ago, a gesture that made them both smile. "But, in the meantime,
if you need a best friend who's not busy running for President, then I'm your
guy."
"My...guy?" Josh inquired, raising an eyebrow. "I know, I know, get the hell out
of your office."
"That much, you've gotten right." She grinned at him. "I'm really happy about
Matt. Has he talked to Gary, yet?"
"They're going to discuss it tonight," Josh replied as he went into the outer
office and shut the door behind himself. Mai was watching him from the corner of
her eyes, so Josh leaned against the door and spoke softly. "Sam's getting his
answer tomorrow. Just thought you might like to know that."
He heard a thump at that point, which was probably Donna banging her head
against her desk.
***
Part Three