Author's Notes: Thank you for the kind reviews. I decided to give this story another go at it. I really enjoy this chapter, so I hope you all do as well. Reviews are greatly appreciated and thank you for taking the time to read my story.
Disclaimer: As always, West Wing & the characters do not belong to me, they belong to John Wells, etc.
100 Years Chapter 2 - Every Day's a New Day
He knew it was getting late, he had just read the same paragraph twice and didn't understand one thing. He rubbed his eyes, the fact that he was tired hardly phased him. He was used to staying up late, working on things, getting it done. He surveyed the room – he was the only one remaining, besides a light on in an office at the opposite end of the large space. He wondered who else could be left at this hour, wait, what hour was it even? The clock residing on his desk blinked 2:47.
He decided to stretch his legs. He went straight to get some coffee, the gas that kept him going. He walked down towards the light to check out who else was burning the midnight oil. He grabbed his coffee and peered in the small, closet sized office that was in question.
She was obviously deeply involved with what she was working on and didn't even notice his presence. He watched her for a minute, watched her in frustration type something out on her keyboard, only delete it in the next second. She crossed something off her paper and continued the typing.
He decided he should make his presence known and squeaked out a barely audible, "Hey."
She dropped her pencil and jerked her head up, quite surprised by his presence.
"I… I didn't… didn't know you were still here either."
"Seems that we're the only two left. Whatcha workin' on?" he curiously sat down at an empty chair besides her desk, or rather, workspace that she had invaded.
"It's a thing… it's nothing," she sighed with resignation.
"Well, I sure hope it's not nothing because you wouldn't be up to 3am working on it," he replied, hoping to gain a smile from his witty response.
She placed down her papers next to her laptop and started to close out what she was working on. "You're right. This is silly, it can wait 'till tomorrow."
He looked down for a moment, uneasy about how to approach this unforeseen circumstance. He ran his fingers through his hair, obviously disastrous and out of control. He glanced across the room and his eyes met with hers as his gaze returned.
"So, I know this really great diner around the corner that is open 24 hours. Wanna grab some coffee?" he asked her, unsure if it was the right step, or even a good idea.
She smiled. She started getting up, putting her stuff together in a pile and obviously calling it a night.
"Sounds like a plan."
"Alright, one sec, I gotta grab my coat."
He walked across the dark offices, desks strewn with packets of information, numbers and newspapers, empty cartons of food, and everything in between. It was night time, where peace from the insanity of the sun is found. This place, which he brainstormed ideas and barked out billions of commands, seemed to have this mysterious aura at night. Maybe he was just tired. Tired of doing the same thing over and over again, but he couldn't tell the difference.
He didn't notice her come and meet him, turning off his lamp in the process. He glanced back up at her face, barely visible in the dark light. He grabbed her hand and they made their way out of the room into the night streets. They walked silently down the dark alley into the diner he had suggested they go to.
He opened the door for her, the gentlemanly thing to do. There was one other couple at the end of the diner and an older looking gentleman sitting at the counter. They made their way to a booth near the middle, sitting across from one another.
The woman running the diner at the time came and took their orders – He deciding on an order of toast with coffee, while she chose coffee and some apple pie. They waited until she was out of ear shot before they began their small banter.
"How's it working for Leo?" he asked her.
"It's great," she began, obviously excited and pleased by the statement.
"I'm really glad you joined the campaign," realizing after he had said it, he meant it in more ways than one.
"Me too," she squeaked out.
"Almost can't believe it myself… Leo, running as the VP," he said.
"I know, it's almost hard to believe, I sometimes wake up in the morning and pinch myself. And then I remember."
The end of the statement was quieter than the rest and he knew that she obviously had more on her mind than he could gain from her conversation. By that time though, the waitress had returned with their coffee and she placed them down on their table. They both grabbed their cups and sipped quietly, obviously pondering their thoughts.
"Listen, so I was thinking…" he began, nervousness in his voice, unsure if he should ask what his heart was telling him to.
"You were thinking Josh? Really, I'm glad to hear it, I was worried!"
"Ha. Funny."
"Anyway… you were thinking?"
He reached out to her hand, which was wrapped around her coffee cup at the time. He pulled it off and wrapped his inside of hers.
"Why is it so hard to tell you that you're all I can think about, heck, I'm worried that I'm putting a damper on the campaign how much I'm thinking about you."
She smiled, glanced up, and their eyes met. In his eyes, she saw true emotion, something she wasn't used to seeing in Joshua Lyman, of all people. She was affected by his tone, how he articulated the you in the statement. She was beaming inside, but couldn't let it show to much on her outer skin.
"Which leads me to my next point. Since we're technically not working together, well, yeah, I guess we are, but we aren't…" he fumbled around the right words to say.
"You can just say whatever you are obviously otherwise having trouble saying."
"I was thinking, we could, you know, be a couple, date, you know, that sort of thing. I know that we don't have a lot of time right now to do the typical dating thing, but I'll take you out to lunch or do whatever."
She leaned across the table and kissed him, not just any kiss, but a kiss with some substance. Only when she realized she was indeed in a public place she pulled away from him.
"And I'll take that as a yes?" he asked, a grin as wide as a watermelon.
She smiled at him, nodded, and said, "Yes, of course."
"Good, cos if you had said no I was going to have to… you know… like kill myself or something."
"Now that wouldn't be any good, who would run the campaign?"
"I'm glad you're truly worried about me."
The waitress chose that point to bring their toast and pie and a refill for both of their empty coffee cups. The both ate their respective food in silence temporarily until the sound of crashing plates came from behind the diner's counter.
The both started to laugh, but covered their mouths, trying not to be noticed and given dirty glares by the rest of the people occupying the diner. They quickly finished up their coffee and food and placed the money owed on the table. Another day finished, another mission accomplished. He knew inside that things would not be easy, but he would do his best to make them manageable. She knew that he would protect her and that she never had to worry about anything ever again.
He placed his arm around hers as they walked out into the approaching daylight.
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