"So how'd it go yesterday?" Sam asked over breakfast the next morning.

Donna was sleeping late so it was just him and Ainsley at the table.

"Ooh," Ainsley responded excitedly. "Well, Donna bought a dress."

Sam nodded. "That is what you went out to buy."

Ainsley shot him a look. "Not for out wedding, although she did buy one for that, for her own."

"What?"

"She bought a wedding dress," Ainsley put it simply so she could eat some toast.

"Why would she do that?" Sam asked her with a pointed gaze.

Feigning innocence her answer was a shrug. "She paid for it with Josh's card, too. Maybe they're planning something?" She suggested as a diversion.

"Maybe you are," Sam countered with a smirk.

"Me?" She was still acting innocent.

"Yeah, you. Don't pretend, I know you're up to something." He stood up and prepared to leave.

She smiled at him smugly before she realised he was getting ready to go out. "Where are you going?"

"Josh and I have suits to be measured for."

"You told me you already had them," she said in a somewhat annoyed tone.

He nodded. "The material and colour is picked. I was just leaving the measuring until Josh got here."

"Oh, alright, so long as they're ready. I don't want anything going wrong."

"It won't," he promised, kissing her softly.

"Mmm…And Sam?" She called after him, making him stop and turn to see her wide grin. "Ask him when his own wedding's going to be."

Sam rolled his eyes despite the grin breaking out on his own face. "CJ's getting here in a couple of days, you two should combine plans."

"No need we already have the same plan. Came up with it on the phone a while ago."

Sam studied her a minute trying to work out if she was serious or not. When he realised she was he said, "You have problems, you know that?"

"That's why you love me baby!" She called after his fast retreating figure.

- - - -

"So how's it really going?" Josh asked after the woman previously taking measurements disappeared.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked as he took a seat at the side.

Josh took a look around the room before he too took a seat in the makeshift waiting area of old magazines and plush armchairs.

"Well, your whole life is changing. You're a congressman and you're getting married in four days and you'll probably have your first kid within a year, too. If it was me I couldn't cope, I'd be well on my way to my first heart attack."

Sam laughed. "I'm good," he said scanning the headlines of a random magazine with mild interest.

"Sam, this is me, you don't need to lie."

"I'm not. I mean, sure, it's weird but it's a nice weird."

Josh nodded contemplatively. "Which is weirder; having the power to do something useful or the idea of spending the rest of your life with a Republican?"

Sam laughed loudly. "The power, definitely."

"Really?" Josh was surprised.

"Yeah, because the Republican is Ainsley, the woman of my dreams but better! What we have is real, like with you and Donna, and I could never give that up. For that you are braver than me Josh, not having Donna with you all the time because I couldn't manage it, that thing with Mallory just helped prove that."

"You thought the thing with Lisa was real," Josh pointed out matter-of-factly but not snidely.

"And you thought Kim was 'the one'," Sam used the same tone.

"Ah, touché."

The woman came bustling back in with two tuxedo jackets and two pairs of trousers. "Try these," she instructed, handing one of each to the two men.

Five minutes, and a lot of hmm-ing and ha-ing later, the woman announced, "Just a few alterations to make," as she stuck pins in the clothes with a flourish.

"Take them off and you can collect them after three."

"Feel like lunch?" Sam asked after they returned the suit.

"Sure, lead the way."

Another twenty minutes and they found themselves sat in a bar ordering drinks and food.

"This place is a dive," Josh remarked as they sat a table in a deserted corner.

"Just like old times," Sam commented with a smile.

"They were never this bad, at least then the risk of catching something was 90 percent not 98!"

"It's not that bad. A little dirty but they're friendly enough."

"I suppose. Hey, I bet back then you never thought we'd be where we are today, did you?"

"If I had I'd never have believed it. Did you honestly believe you'd work for the leader of the Free World? Even back in the beginning days when you knew Bartlett was the right man did you think we'd do it?"

"No," Josh admitted. "I hoped, of course I did, and I imagined but the whole thing just seemed like a long shot. What about you?"

"Not at first, not until about a month before election day. Do you remember?"

Josh shook his head waiting for Sam to continue.

"We'd just taken a battering at…I don't remember now but that doesn't matter. We'd just been beaten and every day seemed more and more like we were closer to defeat. Everyone's spirits were down so Leo got all the assistants to buy food and drinks and, though no one felt like it, he put on a little party. That was the first time I saw CJ do The Jackal. Toby was going on and on about it until eventually Leo got sick of him and ordered her to do it.

"Seeing everyone gather round, the smiles it brought, the feeling of closeness we all got from it, everyone felt it. It was a feeling we were family, that we could weather whatever came. We'd got that far and we weren't going to give up without a fight. Just to prove it the Governor got up and he spoke to everyone. He said a lot of stuff but mostly I remember, he said 'We have obstacles in life, burdens to carry, problems to solve. We can defeat and overcome them or we can lie down and let them defeat us. I know which one I'd rather do, which one are you going to do?' That was when I knew for sure. Do you really not remember?"

Josh looked blankly at Sam, the event didn't seem familiar to him, and then he realised. "Oh, wait, I know what you mean. In Illinois, right?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah," Josh smiled. "I wasn't there."

"Yes, you were."

"I wasn't. Well I was in Illinois but I wasn't at the party. Donna wasn't feeling good so I took her back to the motel. She felt so bad the next day when she realised she'd made me miss something important."

"Sounds like Donna," Sam laughed and Josh was silent until he realised that Sam was still smiling at him.

"What?" Josh asked. Sam's smile wasn't the same reminiscent one he'd just had but a knowing smile instead.

"Nothing, I was just thinking."

"About?"

Sam gave a little chuckle. "Even back then you would have given everything up for her, wouldn't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Josh asked, though he knew very well the answer.

"Well, you always loved the campaign parties and you didn't go to one just so you could look after Donna. You never suspected then?"

Josh shook his head. "I'm a good friend and a good boss; I'd have done the same for anyone." There was something insistent in his voice.

"I believe you," Sam said in an unconvinced tone.

"Good," Josh said just as their sandwiches arrived.

They ate in companionable silence for a while until Josh spoke again. "Was it that obvious?"

Sam chuckled again. "Afraid so. CJ was forever making plans to get you to see it. Every time the situation changed she'd change and adapt the plan. We must have gone through nearly 300 plans."

"We?" Josh sounded more amused and impressed than anything else.

"Well, she dragged me and Toby into it, too. Obviously we weren't as enthusiastic about it as she was."

"Oh, obviously," Josh said in a highly doubtful tone that made Sam laugh.

"Alright, maybe a little."

"Uh-huh," Josh nodded.

"Shut up," Sam responded teasingly. "At least we knew what you wouldn't admit."

"I guess." They continued to eat, followed by a couple more glasses of orange before they went back to get their suits.

"You know what you said before, about me being brave?"

"Yeah," Sam answered as the woman fetched the suits for them.

"I'm not. If she'd stayed I would have given it up if she'd asked me to, all of it. But she left, she knew what I would do and she spared me from having to. And I let her go, I accepted her leaving and I didn't go after her because I was relieved. I was relieved that she was making that choice instead of me. I wasn't brave Sam, I wish I was, I wish I'd gone after her, spoke to her during the campaigns. Do you know how many times we saw each other? How many times I nearly said something, I even went to her that night Santos won and Russell lost. I was going to talk to her but she was with Will and I just used it as an excuse not to. And then I never saw her again and I didn't try to look. I'm pathetic."

Sam was silent for a moment then he out a hand on Josh's shoulder. "You're not pathetic, a little weak but not pathetic. And you're going to make this better."

Josh snorted, "How?"

"Well, by my reckoning you have four more days until you have to leave, four more days to try and make amends, to let her know. I'd start tomorrow. Talk to her," he urged gently as the woman came back.

"You think?" Josh asked ignoring the woman who was trying to get money off the two men.

"Yeah, even if it doesn't work it won't hurt, right?"

"Yeah," Josh grinned. "Thanks." Then he turned to face the woman. "I'm paying, here, put them on that," he handed over a debit card.

The woman took it eagerly and swiped it. She frowned and tried swiping it again. "I'm sorry sir; your card has been refused because of insufficient funds."

"Insufficient…I haven't used that card in months and I especially put money in the account a few days ago, how can there be insufficient funds? Try it again."

"I've tried it twice already, sir. Now do you have any other way in which you wish to pay?"

Josh snatched the card from her. "It should work, let me try," he started to walk behind the counter she was at.

"Stay that side of the counter sir."

"Josh, get back here," Sam snapped at him. "I'll buy the suits."

"No, I'm buying them, you won't let me do anything else, and I'm buying the suits."

"Not with that card you're not," the woman informed him.

Josh let out a low growl before taking his wallet out and throwing another card at her.

She swiped it through the machine and it bleeped happily. "Very good, sir," she said as he signed the receipt. "Thank you, please come again!"

Josh stormed out of the shop leaving Sam to get both his second card and the suits.

"That card should have worked, Sam," he cried at him when Sam caught up to him.

"Maybe you got them confused? I mean, they are the same colour."

"I didn't get them confused. I put money in this account," he waved the first card. "From that account," he pointed at the card in Sam's hand. "I was trying not to use that card at all," he pointed at the second card again. "Where's the ATM? I'm checking this out."

Sam sighed; it wasn't that he didn't believe Josh he just thought he was mistaken. "It's over there," He said wearily.

Josh strode across to the street where he put his card in the machine and printed out a bank statement. Sam stayed where he was so Josh headed back again.

"Aha!" He cried. "See that, 'deposited three thousand dollars' right above…twenty-five hundred dollars? When did I spend two thousand five hundred dollars? I would know if I had spent that much and especially somewhere like that!"

"What are you…Ah," Sam began until he saw where Josh was pointing.

"'Ah'?" Josh turned to him. "You knew about this?"

"Well Ainsley might have mentioned something…"

"What was Ainsley doing with my card? I knew you marrying a Republican was a bad idea."

"It wasn't Ainsley," Sam glowered at him. "If you must know it was Donna."

"Donna? Donna doesn't have my card and even if she did she wouldn't go around buying that with it."

"Josh, you gave her a card after you got shot so she could buy you stuff, did you get it back when she left?"

A frown appeared on Josh's face as he thought about it. "I forgot she had it," he admitted. "But even still, she wouldn't use it now."

"Apparently she would because she bought a dress with it yesterday."

For some reason the knowledge that she was using his card calmed the stressed out Josh. Maybe it was because it came with the knowledge that she still had it and hadn't thrown it away when she left, or maybe it was just because it meant there wasn't a random person running around with his card somewhere out there.

"Must be some dress she's wearing on Sunday then," he said eventually, making Sam's lip twitch into a superior smile. "What?"

"Look again at where she bought the dress."

"'White Veil Bridal Wear'," Josh read. "Yeah, so wh…Oh no, please God, no."

Sam laughed. "Breathe man; there's no one for her to wear it for and if there was she wouldn't be using your card would she?"

"So why did she…Does she…?" Josh couldn't get his mind to form the questions fully.

"You'd have to ask her that. Now, are you going to apologise for the Republican comment?"

But Josh was too busy trying to concentrate on breathing to answer Sam's question. The arrogant shake of the head was enough of an answer for Sam though as he laughed at his friend, imagining the comment he'd have made if his mind would let him.

A/N: I like this, it's a good little chapter I think, and we're finally getting somewhere with it, woo hoo! Tomorrow's chapter will be Josh/Donna interaction so that should be good. But I have one question, was Dr Freeride ever given a name? I've read a few 'fics where he was called Kevin but is that his actual name or one he was just given?

JDfanatic Like I said, I still can't decide if they get together yet but I'm sure Josh will get to see it eventually, even if it's just if he goes with Donna to take it back.

miss jasadin lol, glad you liked it. I'm sure, being the great guy he is, Josh would have offered to pay for it if they were getting married anyway so why not have him pay for it now? That was my thinking anyway.

Nicole10 Adorable? He he, how lovely.

MissNebraska2007 Aww, thank you, but it's really not necessary. I only write for people's amusement and to practice my skills, you really don't need to dedicate a fic to me.

WithanN I reckon Ainsley's a romantic at heart and when she gets stuck on an idea she's not going to give up on it any time soon. And as for the thing with Mallory, it will be explained…chapter 7 I think, I don't have my plan on me so I'm not sure but I will be writing about it.

Caia Thank you for reviewing! Aww, don't cry, the world will right itself eventually, just enjoy the drama that goes before it happens first!

kursk That was only Donna's first day as the First Lady's COS in chapter 1, she's been absent for the last year for reasons as yet unknown. As for being so poor, the same reasons she's been missing for a year I guess. I suppose to say she couldn't afford a motel was a bit of an exaggeration but she certainly couldn't afford the dress. The reasons will be uncovered, I don't just like making her so poor she has to steal from Josh:D

AgtDanaM Glad to hear it, there aren't that many on them, are there? I'm a little surprised there's only 4 pages of J/D ones to be honest.

Beep boop, me done.

Rae