DISCLAIMER: See chapter 1
Chapter 3 - Sleep Deprivation
Olivia woke up and looked around. She had no idea where she was. It was obviously an office, but she had no idea whose it was. She looked down and saw that she had been resting comfortably on a couch. "What the—"she began to mutter.
Toby walked in to the office and grabbed a folder off of the desk. He turned around and saw that she was awake. "Good. You're awake. I was just coming to wake you up. We have a Senior Staff meeting in five minutes."
"This is your office?"
Toby looked around. "I guess it is." His voice was softer and kinder than it had been the night before.
"Why am I in here?"
"You don't remember?" Olivia shook her head. Toby laughed to himself for a second. "You were practically dead on your feet. I don't think that you would have made it to your office. You were muttering... something about lacy octopuses? I really don't know. So I just let you lay down in... my office."
"How long have I been asleep? What time is it?"
He looked at his watch. "Three hours. It's 8:30. And... we're late for the Staff meeting." Toby grimaced. He walked out of the office and Olivia quickly got off of the couch and followed.
"Did anything happen while I was asleep?"
"No. No new information is coming in."
"Did you sleep?"
"No. I couldn't. I had work to do and there was someone on my couch."
They walked in silence for a few seconds. "You know... you were really mean to Alex last night. I think you owe her an apology."
"I do not owe anyone an apology. I have to motivate my people to work, don't I?!"
"Well, yes, but you hurt her feelings. And it was her first day. She was doing her best."
"I don't care." He glanced to his watch again. "We're late," he muttered.
"Tell you what," Olivia said, feeling sort of devilish. "If we are late to the meeting, then I won't bother you about this anymore and you don't have to apologize, but if they are not in the meeting when we get there, then you have to apologize to Alex."
"You really will stop pestering me?" Olivia nodded. "Fine. It's a deal."
They walked in to the office just outside of the Oval Office to find Josh, Sam, CJ, and Alex standing around. None of them were talking. They all looked miserable and half-asleep. Charlie was asleep at his desk. Olivia snickered into Toby's ear. Toby rolled his eyes.
"The meeting hasn't begun yet?" Toby mumbled.
"Leo's briefing the President," Josh sighed.
"I win!," whispered Olivia. "Apologize. Or I will annoy you until you do!" Toby looked unsure of himself for a moment. He was deciding which road would be worse to take.
After a long deliberation period, he sighed. "Alex... I'd like to say... that I'm sorry for giving you a hard time last night." He said it so quietly that it was almost inaudible. "There, are you happy?!," he mumbled to Olivia.
"Thank you Toby! That means a lot to me!" Alex was almost in tears as she said it. She grabbed Toby and pulled him into a hug where he looked incredibly uncomfortable. Then she stepped away. "God I'm tired!" She wiped her eyes as Leo came out and beckoned them into the Oval Office.
Leo stopped Olivia at the door. He looked concerned. "How are you doing kiddo?"
"I'm doing good, Uncle Leo, thanks."
"Have you gotten any sleep?"
"A couple of hours... on Toby's couch."
Leo shrugged and smiled. "Better than nothing." He and Olivia walked back into the Oval.
"Alex, Olivia, how was your first day?" The President asked.
"Tiring." Alex answered.
"Yeah... it's unfortunate you two had to join our team on such a somber, strenuous day. But I'm sure you both handled it remarkably."
"Thank you, Mr. President." Olivia and Alex chorused.
"Let's get down to business. I'm addressing the nation at eight tonight, right?"
"Yes, sir." Leo replied. "Toby, Sam, how goes the speech?"
"Great." Toby and Sam responded at once. Olivia smiled to herself. She could tell by the look on Sam's face that he was lying. She didn't quite understand why she had the knack for telling when that man was lying.
"Good," the President continued. "CJ is continuing with the press briefings, right?"
"Yes, sir. But since no new information is coming in, I'm back to my normal schedule instead of one every hour."
"Good. Is there anything else I should know?" Everyone else shook his or her head. "Okay. You can all go. And get some rest if you get the chance."
"Thank you, Mr. President." Everyone said together as they all started to file out of the room.
Olivia caught up with Sam and smiled at him. He smiled back. "Why did you and Toby lie about the speech?"
Sam was caught off guard. "You knew we were lying?"
"Yeah. I don't know what it is, but I can always tell when you are lying."
"Really?" Olivia nodded. "Have you seen yourself in a mirror lately?" She shook her head. "In that case... you look ravishing." He walked away as Olivia ran off in search of a mirror.
Alex had been zoning out and was staring at Sam and Olivia. She laughed at Sam's comment. It would benefit Olivia to look in a mirror. Her hair was sticking out at all angles and her makeup was smeared all over her face. Alex knew that she couldn't look much better than Olivia. She had been awake and stressed out for the past two nights.
Suddenly, CJ's voice made Alex spring back to reality. "You look tired."
"So do you." Alex said, groggily. They walked out of the Oval Office together.
"Yeah, but I'm used to it. It's your first day."
"It's not my first day anymore." Alex laughed. CJ laughed too.
"You know, you can get some sleep. I can do the briefings and stuff by myself."
"No! I'm not going to let you do this alone. It's too stressful and confusing right now. I'll be there for you even if the only thing I can do is cheer you on. Besides... keep the coffee coming and I'll stay awake as long as you want."
"Thanks. You're really sweet, you know that?"
"I try."
"Alex, can I ask you a favor?" Alex nodded. "If for some reason I'm sick or something and can't do a briefing, will you do it? Or at least make sure that Josh doesn't do it? If he does it the President will suddenly have a secret plan to fight inflation again."
Alex laughed. "Okay. I think I can do that."
"Good." CJ paused. "So there's another hour before the next briefing and I have everything I need information-wise... unless something new comes in which is unlikely. You want to watch a movie or something in my office? I can have Carol keep a watch on the news and stuff."
"Okay." Alex smiled and CJ smiled back. "Do you think we could get something to eat? Like doughnuts? I'm really hungry."
"Carol!" CJ called as she and Alex entered her office.
"And so I thank those heroes that sacrificed everything they had in Evastad. God bless them, God bless their families, and God bless America."
"We're out!"
The President's address had just ended. The Oval Office, which had been in a standstill, suddenly sprang back to life. People began running all over clearing cameras and wires. "Everyone go and get some sleep!" Jed called. CJ walked up to his desk. "CJ, get some sleep."
"I would, Mr. President, but I have to do another briefing."
"Well after that... no going out tonight. That's an order."
"Yes, sir."
CJ and Alex walked out of the Oval Office toward the briefing room. "We're still going out for drinks tonight, right?" Alex asked.
"Of course!"
Olivia stood in the Oval Office, staring at the President in awe. The speech had been phenomenal, and the President had delivered it wonderfully. She was woken from her trance by Sam's voice. "Hey."
"That was... amazing!," Olivia said, breathlessly. "You really wrote that in less than twenty-four hours?"
Sam shrugged. "Toby helped."
"Still..."
"Walk with me." Sam led Olivia out of the Oval with his hand on the small of her back. "CJ, Alex, and some of the rest of us are going out for drinks after the briefing. Do you wanna come?"
"The President just ordered us to sleep and not go out."
"We don't follow every order the President gives us. Just the important ones. It's not like we need to tell the President that we went out for drinks."
"I don't know... I am really tired..."
"We all are. And you actually got some sleep. You know you want to come."
Olivia felt giddy and playful. Of course she wanted to go, but she was going to tease Sam. She put on her most serious face. "No, I don't think that it's a good idea. You shouldn't be going either, Sam. You haven't slept in over twenty-four hours, you've been working hard, and you're going to have to work hard again tomorrow. You are an important member of this administration, and you should take care of yourself so that you can continue to work for your country. In all honesty, Sam, I'd be very disappointed if you went out for drinks tonight."
Sam began to look sad and nervous. "I didn't know you felt that way, Olivia. If you really feel like that, then I won't go." Olivia burst out laughing. Sam was puzzled. "Were you lying?" Olivia was laughing so hard that she could only nod. "So I can't tell when you're lying, but you can tell when I'm lying? That's not fair. I take it you're coming?" Olivia nodded. Sam sighed. "Okay."
Alex sat behind the window in the pressroom. Her legs were so tired that she felt that she would collapse if she stood on them any longer. CJ's briefing was going well. The press actually seemed to be acting nicely. Alex knew that the briefing would be over any minute, but she had the strongest urge to just shut her eyes.
Just as she was dozing off, Alex felt someone sit next to her. "Tired?," she heard Josh's voice ask.
"You think?," she answered sarcastically, struggling to open her eyes.
"You shouldn't come out for drinks tonight. Get some sleep."
"I'll be fine."
"You can barely stay awake now. What's going to happen when you're in a dark room with alcohol in your system?"
"Can't be worse than what happens when you have a few drinks."
"You're half-asleep and you still manage to insult me," Josh laughed. "That's nice."
"The opportunity presented itself so you know I had to take it." Alex turned to look at CJ. "CJ's done." Josh and Alex stood up and walked out of the pressroom. "I've got to go get ready."
"Yeah, you really should tidy yourself up a bit. You look like the Bride of Frankenstein right now."
"That was payment for what I said in there, wasn't it?"
Josh shrugged. "The opportunity presented itself." Alex rolled her eyes and walked away.
A half hour later, CJ, Alex, Olivia, Josh, Sam, and Toby walked into The Blue Rubber Band. It was your average bar. There was a nice atmosphere to it. The lighting was very dim, but there were disco balls all over. The bar was on the side and in the center was a large dance floor surrounded by tables. Music was blaring.
Everyone was surprised that Toby had decided to come. They had all been asking him if he wanted to come for two days straight, and he said no every time. Finally, Olivia practically begged for him to come, and Toby said yes, though it seemed reluctantly.
They sat down at a table, the girls on one side, and the guys on the other. None of them talked much because they were all so tired. Sam was the first to speak. "Can someone remind me... why did we come here? We're all tired and stressed out. We should be sleeping... and I don't think that I've brushed my teeth in at least twenty-four hours."
"Shut up with the hygiene stuff Spanky," CJ retorted. "We're here to get to know the newbies."
"I'm here to get drunk," Olivia moaned.
CJ laughed, but then continued her rant to Sam. "Besides... I'm not tired."
"You scare me, you know that?"
At that point, the waitress came over to the table to take their orders. Toby ordered a Jack Daniels, CJ got a Grasshopper, Alex wanted a martini (with no olives), Olivia got a white wine, Sam got a brandy, and Josh ordered a Michelob. "A Michelob?!" Alex chuckled. "Could that be any more boring?!"
"It's a classic! How can you not enjoy a classic?!"
"I didn't say I didn't enjoy it. I said it was boring."
"You're incorrigible." Josh groaned.
"Thank you! You too."
"This place is giving me a headache." Toby mumbled, rubbing his head.
"You decided to come." CJ replied.
"No, you all annoyed me until I came. There's a difference."
The song "Dancing Queen" by Abba began to play. Alex gasped. "I love this song!," she cried. "I'm dancing!" She jumped out of her chair so fast that it almost fell over, and a split second later she was on the dance floor.
"Ooh! I wanna dance!" CJ stood up, but before she headed to the dance floor she turned to the guys. "You guys coming?"
"No," all of the men said at once.
"You're all sissies. I hope you know that."
"We do," Josh said. CJ joined Alex on the dance floor. Both women were singing along to the song as they danced.
Olivia turned to Sam. "I really feel like dancing too. You wanna dance, Sam?" Sam wasn't sure what to say. Of course he wanted to dance with Olivia. But if he did, he felt like he would disrupt the brotherhood that he felt he had with Josh and Toby at that moment. He looked back and forth between the other men and Olivia, trying to decide what to do. Olivia had a pleading look in her eyes, but Josh and Toby were giving him stern glances, willing him to stay.
He finally made his decision. "No. I don't want to dance."
"Why not?" Olivia pouted.
Sam attempted to remain strong. "Because I don't want to hurt the brotherhood that I have with the guys."
"Brotherhood?" Josh and Toby asked together.
"Yeah. I felt like we had a brotherly bond... a brotherhood if you will... you know, a brotherhood against dancing."
"You make no sense." Josh exclaimed.
"I know. What I mean is that—"
"Shut up!' Olivia yelled. She grabbed Sam's arm and dragged him onto the dance floor, next to CJ and Alex. They began to dance with each other, at a distance. "See? This isn't that bad!"
"You're right," Sam grinned. "This is actually kind of fun."
"Kind of fun?! I am having a BLAST!!!" Olivia began to get very into the music. She was tossing her body all over, and Sam couldn't help but laugh. Sam decided that he would try and imitate her movements. He was very awkward, and Olivia laughed, with him, not at him.
Back at the table, Josh turned to Toby. "Let's go dance."
"Let me think about that..." Toby smirked. "No!"
"Why not?! They look like they're having fun. And it's not like it's slow dancing or anything."
"Josh... tell me... do you honestly think that it is possible that I could have fun out there?"
Josh nodded. "You're right. You stay here. I'll go dance." Josh headed out to the dance floor, and walked right over to CJ and Alex. "How's everybody doing?"
"Joshua!," CJ shouted. "Mi amor! You made it!" She kissed Josh on the cheek.
"CJ, are you sure you haven't had any drinks tonight? You're acting like you're drunk."
"I'm drunk on life Joshua. Now... dance with us." CJ and Alex continued to dance. Josh began to bob up and down.
"You call that dancing?!" Alex exclaimed. "You look more like a blender!"
"First of all," Josh rebutted. "Blenders spin, they don't move up and down. Second of all, I don't dance a lot, okay?!" Alex laughed.
Suddenly, the song changed to "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John. Sam, Olivia, Josh, CJ, and Alex all stopped dancing. "Well," CJ said awkwardly. "This is obviously a slow dance number. Seeing as there's enough couples here without me, I'll go check on our drinks, because they're taking way too long. And then I'll go keep Toby company." CJ scurried off of the dance floor.
"Let's go sit down." Josh uttered, eager to get off of the dance floor.
"Wait!," Alex began to clumsily say. "We could still dance... slow dance... if you want. Only if you want to! Because... I wouldn't mind."
Josh deliberated in his head for a second. "Okay." They stepped closer together, awkwardly. Neither quite knew where to put their hands. Finally, Josh grabbed Alex's right hand and put his right hand on her back. She put her left hand on his back. They began to sway to the music. Both of them smiled.
"Ow!" Alex yelped.
"What?"
"That was my FOOT, Josh!"
"Sorry."
Olivia, startled by the sudden arrival of a slow song, quickly turned to leave the dance floor. "Hey! I didn't say that we were done dancing yet!" Sam called to her.
"Excuse me?"
"I mean... can I have this dance?"
Olivia smiled. "Okay." She walked back up to Sam and wrapped her arms around his neck. He put his hands on her lower back. They began to dance slowly.
"I would dip you," Sam began, "but I'm not that suave."
"I understand."
"I mean, I wish I was. When I was twelve, I wanted to be James Bond. Then I realized that it wouldn't work because I wasn't that sophisticated... and I'm not British... and I'm not quite as handsome as he is."
"Don't say that. I think that you're just as handsome as James Bond, if not more."
"Really?" Olivia nodded and then placed her head on Sam's shoulder, shutting her eyes. "Cool," Sam smiled to himself.
The song ended a few minutes later. Josh, Alex, Olivia, and Sam, seeing that their drinks were ready, returned to the table. As they began to drink their beverages, they sat in silence.
"This is fun," CJ announced. "We should do it more often." Everyone, except Toby, smiled.
