Author: Willow
Title: First Footing
Summary: New Year brings changes for Josh and Donna, and for Sam.
Spoilers/Episode: Set in an a/u that leaves the show's timeline after season 5, Memorial Day. This chapter takes place straight after chapter 8.
Characters: Ensemble and Sam (also, finally some shipping).
Rating: PG
Part III
Monday January 3rd
"You know, I think we are the only ones who had a good New Year," Donna told Josh as he drove her home that evening.
"As long as we did," Josh smiled.
"I'm serious," Donna replied. "Margaret and Carol had a bad night."
"Because you weren't with them," Josh told her.
"I think it may have had more to do with the power outage in the street the party was in."
"That is possible," Josh conceded. "Toby didn't seem to have a good time either. I don't think he was planning on Andi's family and friends being at the party. What about CJ?"
"She hasn't said much, but I don't think her dad's doing too well."
"Ahh, yeah," Josh nodded. "I think Leo enjoyed himself, he's in a very good mood anyway."
"Perhaps he got lucky," Donna suggested with a grin.
"Thanks for that thought," Josh grinned. "Charlie had a good time with Zoey."
"So are they actually back together?"
"Unofficially. Officially they're just friends."
"Who are they hiding it from?"
"The world," Josh shrugged. "Well the press mainly, and I'm not sure any of us are suppose to know."
"Then we have something in common with them," Donna said as they arrived at her building. "You want to come in?"
"Yes," Josh smiled. "Is Candi on the night shift?"
"She is."
"Excellent."
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Wednesday January 5th
"You're kidding, it's been a year," Josh complained.
"Which is why we need another one," Leo replied.
"Do you know how busy I am?"
Leo looked across at his own desk and then back at Josh, "I think I can imagine." He nodded toward the Oval Office. "He thinks it's a good idea,"
"Oh God, this is part of the bonding stuff."
"'Fraid so."
Josh sighed, "Big Block Of Cheese Day."
"Yes. On the subject of bonding with colleagues," Leo began and Josh felt a sudden sense of dread, did Leo know? "What the hell is wrong with Toby?" Leo continued.
Josh breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't know, he's yelling at everyone who goes near him. I've been avoiding Communications."
Leo gave him a questioning look. "Remind me again what your job title is."
"Hey!" Josh protested. "The deputy chief of staff's job doesn't involve facing down Toby in the kind of mood he's in at the moment."
"Find out what's wrong with him," Leo instructed.
"Thanks," Josh sighed.
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Josh put off talking to Toby until the evening when most people had gone home. At 8pm he walked through Communications and tapped on Toby's open door. "Hey, how's it going?"
"Fine," Toby replied.
"What you working on?"
"It's January, let's see if we can think what I'd be working on?" Toby muttered.
"State Of The Union," Josh said. "You've got three weeks yet."
"And no one to help me."
"You have a whole staff of writers."
"Who aren't good enough."
"No," Josh disagreed. "Most of them are just scared of you at the moment. What's going on?"
"Nothing, why?"
"Because you've been walking round like a bear with a sore head all week."
"A bear?"
"Yeah."
"I'm fine."
"Okay, but you can talk to me if you're ever not fine, you know that?"
"Yeah," Toby nodded and carried on reading through a report.
Josh turned to leave, "I'll see you later."
"You want to go and get a drink?" Toby asked.
Thirty minutes later they were sat in a bar on Capitol Hill. "Do you ever think," Toby began. "I mean when you were with Amy, if something had happened to her, do you ever wonder who they'd have called?"
"No," Josh admitted. "But then maybe I just didn't care enough."
"You cared about her."
"I did, but I never thought about that."
"Okay," Toby replied.
"I do wonder it about Donna though," Josh confided.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," Josh confirmed. "Andi?" he asked.
Toby sighed and took a drink of his Scotch. "Ever since the CODEL I've wondered, if she'd been in the car," he shrugged and looked down; maybe Josh wasn't the best person to talk to about this after all.
Josh though nodded, "You wonder who they would have called?"
"And then I wonder whether anyone would bother telling me, the ex-husband."
"They'd call you, you're the twins' father." Josh was aware that Toby wanted to be much more than that. "Have you spoken to her?"
"Yes."
"What she say?"
"That I was an idiot."
Josh suspected that Andi didn't say in quite that way, it certainly explained Toby's mood though.
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Thursday
"It's a new year, Toby," CJ said.
"And?"
"In the spirit of bi-partisanship, we should listen to their requests."
"Bi-partisanship?"
"Also, they control the House, so," CJ shrugged.
"Yes, but we're the ones in the White House."
"You're not even going to the meeting, it's Josh and Will."
"That's another thing," Toby complained.
"Yes?" CJ asked.
"Have you all forgotten where Will works? He isn't on the president's staff anymore, he has an office across the street with his boss, Bingo Bob."
"And the president wants Russell to have a voice in this."
"In everything," Toby amended.
"He's the VP."
"Yeah," Toby sighed. "And it's only a year 'til Iowa."
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"How'd it go?" Leo asked later that day when Josh entered his office.
Josh sat down in one of the visitor's chairs. "Well, it was strange."
"Because?"
"Because two weeks ago I was arguing with Mary Marsh that we needed health screening in schools for STDs and today I'm telling Senators Kelly and Higgs that we can't support government funding for in school child day care"
"We can't."
"I know, but it's like we're saying, 'if you catch a disease we'll help you, but if you get pregnant you're on your own'."
"And where would it stop?" Leo asked. "How do we justify providing child day care for 14 year olds and not for working age mothers?"
"That's what I told them."
"Didn't go down well?"
"No," Josh said. "The problem is I agree with them."
"No you don't," Leo told him.
"My mom had to put off college after Joanie was born because they couldn't afford child care. What was it the president said in Nashua, about giving our children better than we had."
"I know. But your mom was 18 not 14 and it was 50 years ago. Not to mention the fact that most colleges provide day care now."
"You see, you have to come back at me with a good argument," Josh smiled.
"It's my job," Leo told him. "Did you speak to Toby?"
"Yeah. It's complicated, he'll be fine."
"Andi?"
"Okay, maybe it wasn't that complicated," Josh shrugged.
Part IV >>>>>>