Chapter Ten

Toby and Josh had almost reached the entrance to the West Wing before either of them spoke.

"I thought I was helping," Josh said as they walked through the doors. "I couldn't make him listen to me. If he'd just listened-" Josh stopped talking as he and Toby signed in at the desk. They made their way towards the communication offices, Toby waiting for Josh to continue.

"If he'd listened I could have-" this time Josh stopped talking because he didn't know what he could have done. They continued on their way in silence. They reached Toby's office and Josh followed him into it. Jason immediately knocked on the door.

"I think you're going to be pleased with this," he called through the door to Toby.

"Just give me five minutes," Toby called back.

"Shall I push it under the door?" Jason replied.

Toby held up his hands in a gesture that demonstrated his disbelief at what he had just heard. "No, when I said give me five minutes, I meant go away, I'm busy, give me five minutes!"

"Right…okay…got it."

Toby shook his head and then sat behind his desk. Josh had already collapsed onto the sofa.

"So tell me from the beginning," Toby said.

"I was just saying anything that I could think of to get a response from him. I told him that he could ignore me but that I wasn't going anywhere, something like that. And then, from nowhere, he was asking why I didn't stop them from taking him. I couldn't think what to say to that."

"Well, no, I imagine 'I've been wondering the same thing myself' wouldn't have gone down too well," Toby suggested.

Josh ignored Toby's sarcasm. "He said I, I suppose he meant we, all of us, didn't do anything to try to get him back. Jesus, Toby, you should have heard his voice." Josh sighed deeply and rubbed his hand over his face.

"Well, there's nothing we can do now. We'll just have to wait for Sam to decide if he wants us to visit."

"And if he doesn't?"

Toby stood and walked over to the door and Josh asked him where he was going.

"Well I was going to go to the Mess so I that I didn't have to stay here and answer your question."

Josh rolled his eyes and got up reluctantly from the welcoming sofa. He followed Toby through the communications bullpen. "You know what we forgot to do?" he asked Toby as they started down the stairs.

"We forgot to collect our cars from the hospital."

"We did," Josh replied and they didn't talk about the hospital or Sam or what he had said for the rest of the day.

Every time someone walked past Sam's room, a piece of paper attached to a notice board outside wafted upwards and then slowly floated back into place. Seven people had walked by since Sam's mother had gone to phone her ex-husband. CJ knew this because her gaze had been drawn to the piece of paper each time somebody's movement had dislodged it from its precarious hold on the board.

Sam hadn't woken since being sedated. CJ had arrived to find Jessica telling a doctor that she didn't understand what had happened to upset Sam so much. The doctor had fetched a nurse who had been on duty earlier and she had told Jessica that Sam had coped well with being interviewed but then his father had arrived. The agents had left soon after but it was after his father had left that Sam had become very withdrawn.

CJ and Sam's mother had sat on either side of Sam's bed and Jessica had told her that Sam's father had left that morning to return to work. CJ suggested that maybe Sam was just upset about that and she had been surprised by Jessica's sardonic laugh in reply.

And now CJ found herself, alone by Sam's bed.

When Sam opened his eyes, CJ's attention was back on the notice board. An emergency on the unit had meant a flurry of activity that had resulted in the piece of paper finally losing its battle with the board-pin. CJ returned to looking at Sam and was surprised to see him squinting up at her.

"Mom?"

"It's CJ, Sam," she said as she leaned over and stroked some stray strands of hair away from his forehead, leaving her hand resting there when she was finished. "Your mom is here but she's just gone to make a call."

Sam's eyes closed again but a slight nod told CJ that he'd heard what she had said. Her other hand covered Sam's and she squeezed it gently. Sam opened his eyes again and looked up at her, "Don't let them drug me again, CJ."

"You're not drugged Sam, you're just tired," CJ lied.

"Don't like drugged. They drugged me." It was clear by the way Sam said they, that he wasn't talking about the nurses anymore.

"Shh, just go back to sleep," CJ soothed.

"The man, asked me, he said he was late, he had a map…hotel, piece of paper…"

CJ told Sam to shush again but he carried on.

"Josh was waiting…Toby…but the man was slow…paper was folded, and folded, and folded."

"It's okay, you don't have to talk about this now. Just go back to sleep."

"Josh! I called Josh, he heard…stopped running though…didn't stop them…stopped running."

"Go back to sleep, Sam."

CJ turned in surprise at the sound of Jessica's voice from the doorway. Sam obeyed her and drifted off to sleep.

She walked over to the bed, but didn't sit down. "Sam's father decided it would be a good idea to 'set Sam straight' about a few things before he left this morning." Jessica spoke quietly but she couldn't hide the anger in her voice. "He advised Sam to come live with him when he was out of hospital. To leave the White House and leave his so-called friends who obviously value political gain over Sam's life. He actually told Sam that the President had used the kidnapping to gain popularity and then went on to explain how, if he had chosen to, the President could have saved Sam and increased his approval rating." Jessica walked over to the cards that still lay in a pile on the table. "I don't know what he thinks will be gained from saying those things." She put the cards back down and walked over to the bed. "He doesn't realise the damage he's done. Sam is in no state to start thinking about what happened in those terms."

CJ nodded and watched as Jessica gently stroked her son's cheek with the back of her hand.

Bartlet waited for Ron to arrive. He had only phoned him a few minutes ago and he was already impatient. He stood and walked to the outer office where Charlie was busy sorting through some files.

"Do you need something, Mr President?"

"No, no, I'm just waiting for Ron. Nothing important, just keeping me up to date. I just phoned him…spur of the moment thing. Nothing important though."

Charlie stared at the President. "Well, okay, sir. Do you need me around? I mean, if it's nothing important then maybe I can head off."

"It could turn out to be something important and then I would need you around," Bartlet countered.

Charlie couldn't work out what the President was planning but he was pretty sure it was more than an update that he wanted to speak to Ron about.

Ron walked briskly into the office and followed Bartlet who had already headed into it on seeing him.

Charlie shut the door behind them and the President got straight to the point. "I want you to make arrangements for me to visit Sam. Do you have enough time to arrange it for tonight?"

"Mr President, with all respect, I'm not sure this is a good idea. I would advise you-"

"Can it happen tonight?" Bartlet repeated clearly resolute in his decision.

"It can," Ron told him and left to start organising the President's security detail.

"Charlie!"

Charlie came into the room and waited to be told about the thing that wasn't important.

CJ and Jessica had talked in hushed tones since Sam had gone back to sleep. They had covered many topics and, both being tall women, they were deep into a discussion about skirt lengths when Sam started to stir. The sound of the whispered conversation was comforting and for a while he lay listening to the female voices. He recognised his mother's voice first and then CJ's. When he opened his eyes he saw his mother leaning forward and nodding furiously at CJ who was talking and stood by the bed, indicating the length of an imaginary jacket.

Sam smiled and closed his eyes again as he heard his mother speak.

"Yes! But my problem is that I have long legs but a short torso, but you would probably suit that sort of jacket."

CJ's chair scraped along the floor as she sat back down. Sam opened his eyes again and wondered if he would have to have a coughing fit before he got the women's attention. The oxygen mask felt tight on his face and he moved his arm sluggishly to adjust it.

"Hey there, sleepy head," CJ said as she saw the movement. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than before," Sam croaked.

"You look better, honey," Jessica lied.

"Don't know," Sam mumbled.

"Don't know what?" CJ pulled her chair closer to Sam.

"What I look like, haven't seen."

"Do you want to?" Jessica asked and reached down for her handbag, "I've got a mirror." Sam shook his head and she put the bag down again.

CJ picked up a package that was on the end of the bed. "One of the nurses brought this in while you were asleep. It's from John Delaney." She held up the book for Sam to see. "Speeches that Moved a Nation," she picked up the note that had been stuck to the book. "John says that he hopes to visit you when you are feeling a little better and he sends his best wishes."

Sam looked confusedly at CJ, "John Brookham?"

"No, Delaney, he helped get you to the hospital."

"I came in an ambulance," Sam said and he was sure of it, he could remember the sirens and the lights. "Was John there?"

"That's right," Jessica lied again. It didn't matter. Each time Sam woke he seemed to have forgotten most of what was said to him before anyway.

CJ leant forward and kissed Sam's forehead. "I need to get going. Is there anything you need? Anything you want me to do?"

"Tell Josh...tell Josh…"

"Tell Josh what, Sam?"

Sam shook his head, "No, nothing…just…nothing."

CJ glanced at Jessica but she was purposefully staring out of the window. She looked back at Sam and tried again, "Is it okay for Josh and Toby to visit tomorrow?"

Sam closed his eyes and then sighed as deeply as his damaged lungs would allow. He shrugged and CJ had to lean closer to catch what he said next. "Don't care…whatever."

CJ could tell from the look on Sam's face that he did care, that he cared very much, but Sam had said he didn't and she knew that was what she should tell Josh and Toby. She said goodbye to Sam and Jessica and walked slowly down the corridor. When she reached the exit she phoned Toby and told him that Sam needed a few more days.

Jessica stayed with Sam until he fell asleep again. She walked out of the room and said goodnight to the agent on duty. As she walked towards the exit she noticed that there seemed to be a lot of activity for late in the evening. Usually when she left the hospital at this time all she met were janitors and a few nurses or doctors. This time she passed a number of men in suits and police officers. She noticed, as she got into her taxi, that the back of the hospital had been cordoned off and as she closed the door she saw a man talking into his sleeve. It was only the next morning that she realised what all the activity had meant and by then it was too late.

Charlie sat and waited for the phone to ring. Three hours had passed since Bartlet had told him about the thing that 'wasn't very important'. Charlie wondered if he should try to talk the President out of visiting. He knew that he and Leo had fallen out and judging from the atmosphere had not resolved their differences. Every time the President had suggested visiting Sam he had been talked out of it. Charlie knew that there would be good reasons for that and as the phone started to ring he hoped that tonight's secret outing wouldn't end badly for Sam or Bartlet. He had a horrible feeling it was going to though.

Bartlet walked quickly through the deserted hospital kitchen. Ron had said very little to him since they had got into the car.

"I'll tell you what, Ron. Next time I want to go on a spontaneous outing you can refuse to sanction it."

Ron smiled slightly as they turned a corner and started up the stairs. "That sounds like a good deal, Mr President, but how do I know you won't just make up a trip that you have no intention of going on just so I can cancel it."

"Well, I probably will, but if it would make you feel better..."

They rounded the corner and started down the corridor which led to Sam's room. Danny nodded at Ron as he saw him approach and stepped aside for the President's detail to enter the room.

Bartlet stood waiting for the agents to come out. When they did they were followed by a nurse. "Mr President, Sam was sedated earlier today but he has been awake for a while. He's still a bit drowsy though."

"Thank you nurse…"

"Stanton," she replied and brushed a hand over her clean uniform that she had stolen from her friend's locker when she had heard of the President's visit.

"Can I go in, Nurse Stanton?"

"You can, Mr President."

Bartlet thanked the nurse and waited for Ron's final nod before entering the room. He closed the door behind him but didn't walk towards the bed. He took a moment to adjust to the sight of Sam who lay propped up, his eyes closed. He looked at the cast on his hand and remembered Leo's shocked voice when he had told him what they had done to Sam. He studied the bruises on Sam's face and arms and felt his stomach lurch as he realised they were worse than he had imagined. He listened to the hiss of the oxygen machine and the sound of Sam's wheezy, rattling breaths. After a few moments he walked towards the bed and sat down in the chair. "Sam…son."

Sam opened his eyes and looked at Bartlet. He had known the President was going to visit as soon as he had seen the agents looking around his room.

"Sam," Bartlet repeated, this time placing his hand on Sam's arm. Sam looked up at him and, like Toby and Josh, Bartlet was glad when Sam looked away again. He didn't know what he had been expecting but it wasn't this. Sam seemed indifferent to him and his indifference made Bartlet forget all of the things he had planned to say. It appeared that just getting Sam's attention was going to be the first task.

"Son," he repeated.

"Now listen son, I've got to go back to Santa Monica today but I want to say this to you before I go."

"Ron is pretty pissed with me right now, but I wanted to come and see you."

"Bartlet will tell you how hard it was for him and what an awful decision he had to make and you just have to keep telling yourself that it is all bullshit. Sam, look at me and listen!"

"I want you to know that the days you were gone were seven days of living hell. I don't know how we managed to get through it. I'm pretty sure Josh nearly didn't."

"They didn't save you Sam, you saved yourself. And be under no illusions son, if you hadn't got out of that house by yourself then you wouldn't be here today."

"When you're better, we can talk more but for now, just get well and come back to us, Sam. Apart from anything else, I don't want to see Toby go to jail for the murder of your replacement."

"You see, I didn't know, I didn't know that they weren't doing anything. I trusted him too, Sam. Bartlet told me he was doing all he could. Ziegler said they had some leads…I didn't know."

"I bet Toby hasn't told you that has he. He actually hid in Leo's office yesterday to get away from him. I think his name is Jack or Jason. He's driving Toby nuts though. I can only imagine what the one he fired was like."

"Promise me, Sam, I won't leave until you promise me you'll stand up to them. Don't let them tell you what happened, you know what happened, they did absolutely nothing to get you back, that's what happened. They can spin it, or whatever it is they do, but it's as simple as that."

"When Leo came and told me that you were safe I-"

"Shut up…please, just stop," Sam said, silencing Bartlet immediately. "I don't want to hear this…I don't care what you think…what anyone thinks. Your hands were tied- I get it, but my hands were tied too." Sam was becoming even more breathless but Bartlet was too surprised by his outburst to try to calm him down. "They tied me up…beat me…they broke my hand and you…" Sam lay back exhausted. "They were killing me," he finished, almost in a whisper.

His eyes were squeezed closed as he tried to ignore the pain in his chest and slow his breathing. "Please go, I can't…"

"Okay, it's okay. I'm going Sam, I'll get a nurse- do you need a nurse? I'll get a nurse."

Sam was oblivious to the President's fumbling words or the hand that squeezed his shoulder. He could only hear the sound of his wheezing and the beeping machine beside him. Bartlet walked quickly out of the room and was relieved to see the nurse he had spoken to earlier waiting outside. "I think he needs some help," Bartlet said to her and she walked quickly past him and into the room.

Bartlet headed straight for the stairs, the agents keeping up with his rapidly increasing pace. He didn't say a word but Ron could tell that his visit with Sam had gone about as well as his. In fact, he suspected it had gone a great deal worse.

Charlie put the phone down and went into the Oval Office. He hadn't been surprised when he had been called at five am and told to get the senior staff in. Leo was already there and standing by the President's desk. "I phoned Josh, Toby and CJ. They're all on their way," Charlie announced from the doorway.

Bartlet nodded, watched closely by Leo. "So, are you going to tell me what this is all about because it's beginning to feel a bit like one of those movies where the detective gets everyone together to announce who the murderer is."

Bartlet ignored him and yelled for Charlie to bring him some coffee.

Toby arrived first, swiftly followed by Josh and then CJ. Bartlet was leaning against the desk, his arms folded. Leo stood beside him but the rift between the two men was still evident to all in the room.

Josh tried to catch Leo's eye but couldn't. A sudden wave of panic swept over him, "Oh God, its Sam isn't it, something's happened."

"Sam's fine," Toby answered. I called the hospital before I left home.

"Except he's not, Toby, is he!" Bartlet spoke accusingly but Toby wasn't sure exactly what it was he was being accused of.

"I told you that I wanted to see Sam and I was told that wouldn't be a good idea. I didn't question it. I went along with it because I trusted that you were doing what was best for Sam." Bartlet sighed and suddenly aware of the tension in the room gestured for everyone to sit. He continued to stand. "Last night I decided that I would make an impromptu visit."

"Oh God," Toby muttered.

"Sam is ill, I knew that. Sam is battered and bruised, I knew that too. Sam can't look me in the face, well, I have to admit that was a surprise!" The agent glanced briefly into the room at the sound of the President shouting and then quickly turned away. "And I imagine the reason I was advised not to invite Sam's parents to the White House is because they feel the same." Bartlet was now walking in-between the chairs but suddenly stopped and sat down on the sofa opposite Toby, CJ and Josh.

"Anyone here feel the same?" he challenged.

Toby glanced at Josh but he didn't speak, nor did CJ or Leo. Nobody spoke. Eventually Bartlet leant forward, rubbed his hands over his face and then looked up. "I shouldn't have gone to see Sam. I thought it would help. But to be honest, I thought it would help me. I wasn't really thinking about how Sam might react."

"We should have told you why you needed to stay away," Toby said to his clasped hands.

Josh broke the awkward silence that again descended on the group. "We should play that game where you stick the names of famous people on your forehead and have to guess who you are, but we could put the name of the person we are blaming instead."

Bartlet smiled and the tense atmosphere was eased slightly.

Throughout this exchange, Leo had stood silently by the desk. He walked over to the others and sat next to the President. "We don't need to do that Josh. I think we're all playing the blame game already. When you phoned me that afternoon, Toby, I knew the chances of seeing Sam again were non-existent. Sure, I prayed that we would find him but I knew if we did see him again it wouldn't be because of any negotiations or discussions with the men who took him. We all know that if Sam hadn't got out by himself he wouldn't be here now. So let's just be done blaming ourselves and each other," Leo looked pointedly at Bartlet who nodded imperceptibly in return. "We can deal with this if we are honest about what's going on. We can deal with this because we are intelligent, realists who know deep down that we did all we could do."

Leo sat back but he continued to look at his staff and waited for them to respond. He knew they would only be able to help Sam if they could begin to resolve their own emotions about what had happened.

Finally, Josh looked up at Leo and spoke. "I bet being an unintelligent realist is much more fun.

There was another silence, but it was the last one. Toby smiled and CJ laughed and somewhere amongst it all Bartlet and Leo exchanged a look and resolved their argument.