Title: Friendships
Author: Willow
Summary: Sam and Zoey visit Washington.
Spoilers/Episode: Set in an a/u starting after season 5, Memorial Day. This chapter takes place four weeks after Chapter 3.
Characters: Ensemble, Sam and Zoey.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: JWP, NBC and others own these characters, I'm just borrowing them.

Part II

Friday

"You're late," Donna greeted her boss. "In fact you're 15 minutes late for senior staff."

"Yes, thank you, I know. What do I need?" Josh asked.

"A tie?" Donna suggested. "Here," she handed him a blue tie and his notes for the meeting. "Good luck," she smiled. "Oh and a 'thank you for phoning me, Donna,' wouldn't go amiss."

Josh was struggling to fasten the tie, while balancing the folder under his arm. He looked down at his assistant and smiled, "Thank you for phoning me, Donna."

"What would you do without me?" she sighed. "Leo's office, hurry up," she instructed.

Leo glared at his deputy when Josh rushed into the meeting, looking even more disheveled than usual. "Nice of you to join us."

"Sorry." Josh took up position behind CJ's chair, but Leo still appeared to be waiting for an explanation. Josh considered a number of excuses - phone call, car wouldn't start, had to help an old lady across the road - but he settled on the truth. "I overslept."

Leo raised his eyebrows and gave Josh a questioning look. "You overslept?" he asked. "You'd better get the notes off one of your classmates then. Anything else?" he asked the group.

"Shannahan?" Toby asked.

"I've set up a meeting," Josh relied.

"Anything else?" Leo looked round the staff, and everyone shook their heads. "Okay then. Let's try and have an uneventful day," he told them as they stood up and filed out of his office. "Josh, wait behind."

"What's up?" Josh asked.

Leo studied the younger man. "You overslept?"

"Yeah," Josh shrugged.

"You feeling alright?"

"What bought that on?"

"Are you?" Leo fixed Josh with a stare that said, 'don't try and bullshit me'.

"I'm fine. There was a power cut last night; my alarm reset itself and I overslept. Also my freezer defrosted itself, which is possibly the first time it's ever been defrosted," Josh smiled.

"Okay," Leo nodded. "We can't win in Idaho," he said.

Josh frowned, "Pearson's a good candidate," he objected.

"Not in Idaho he isn't. He's too liberal and you know it."

"Leo...."

"Let it drop."

Josh wasn't willing to give in that easily. "We need Idaho to win back the Senate," he protested.

"Not if we put the money into helping Massu and Robbins."

"Robbins isn't going to win."

"She has a better chance than Pearson," Leo replied.

"Come on, Leo. Just give it another couple of weeks, see how his numbers are doing."

"No, it's over, we can't....." Leo began, but Josh interrupted.

"It's almost three months away. You can't say this early that it's over."

"It was over last August," Leo pointed out and saw Josh's shoulders slump. He sympathized with Josh, knew that he desperately wanted Carrick to loose his seat, but he also knew that it wasn't going to happen. "You're making this personal, Josh. You know he can't win."

"I just....." Josh hesitated. "Yeah," he agreed and looked down at the floor.

"I know you want to beat Carrick," Leo told him, "but you'll beat him on a bigger stage if we take back the senate without him."

Josh looked slowly back up. "You think we can?" he asked hopefully.

"I think we have a better chance than last time." Leo watched Josh. It seemed to him that the younger man had given in far too easily. "I'm serious about this, Josh. If I find out you've been doing anything in Idaho without clearing it through me first....."

"I won't. I learnt that lesson." Josh assured him. "Anyway," he sighed, "I know you're right. I knew when Pearson first announced he'd run against Carrick that he had no chance, I'm fairly sure he knows it too."

"You haven't promised him anything?" Leo had to ask.

"No. He knows we can't do that, it'd look like petty revenge," Josh shrugged, "which is what it would be, on my part anyway. Idaho's lost and I guess there's a few in the leadership who'd still like to see me lost with it."

"You took a gamble and it didn't pay off. It happens," Leo said. "I could have handled it better, with the leadership and with you."

"We've done this conversation to death," Josh said with a slight smile.

"Yeah." Leo knew he'd hurt Josh last year and he wished he had handled it better, but it had been the final straw. He needed to lash out at someone and Josh was the nearest target, not that CJ and Toby had got away lightly.

"Massu and Robbins," Josh said. "Okay," he nodded.

................................................................

CJ had followed Toby from the staff meeting, through the west wing and to his office. "What time you picking him up?" she asked.

"8.15," Toby replied.

"And you're going straight to the restaurant?"

"Yes," Toby agreed.

"What if you can't away from here?"

Toby sighed, "He's a big boy, CJ, I think he'll be able to get a cab and find his own way."

CJ ignored the sarcasm. "Josh is collecting Donna, Will and I are meeting them at Iota at 9 and then going to Luigis. We're meeting Zoey and Charlie there, so try not to be too late."

"You're over excited," Toby told her.

"I haven't seen Sam for months, of course I'm excited."

"Will?" Toby suddenly asked.

"What?"

"You and Will are meeting Josh and Donna?"

"Yes. He wants to see Sam."

"Why can't he see him tomorrow?"

"He can, but he can also see him tonight."

"Yeah," Toby sighed.

.....................................................................

After a morning of endless meetings, Leo had gone to lunch with Josh. "You going to bring Sam here tomorrow?" he asked as they walked back from the mess.

"Yeah," Josh nodded. "You can come tonight you know."

"I know," Leo agreed. He knew Josh was worried about him, and no matter how often he assured him that he was fine, that he and the president would work it out, Josh continued to fuss, as did Margaret. In fact, they were becoming quite the double act. "Toby's collecting him from the airport?" Leo asked.

Josh nodded, "I'm picking Donna up. Zoey's meeting us at the restaurant, it's going to be a good night."

"Just try not to do anything CJ's going to have to explain on Monday," Leo smiled. "You sorted for the thing with Shannahan?"

"He's cancelled."

"Why?"

"Said his grandmother's ill," Josh replied skeptically.

"You think he's stalling?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know why he'd bother. I'm looking into it."

"Go easy on him, it could be that his grandmother is ill."

"Shannahan's 68, Leo. His grandmother would be pushing 110."

"Then she'd probably be ill," Leo smiled. "Let me know what happens."

"I'll see you later," Josh replied and turned to go to his own office.

"Josh," Leo called after his deputy.

Josh looked back round.

"Don't let Zoey talk you into taking her to any bars or clubs."

"Not a chance," Josh agreed.

Part 3.....