Huck has been reading since he sat down. In fact, Josh has been impressed by Huck's ability to read while ordering orange juice, read while throwing out garbage, and read while retrieving other things to read. Josh is starting to wonder if Huck would be willing to have a conversation while reading, because he certainly doesn't seem to be putting his work down.

Josh had learned, very early in his relationship with Toby, that it was pointless to wait for the opportune moment to speak to him. He always appeared to be busy, but it was often just an act to avoid unwanted conversations. If he was truly too busy to be bothered, he'd simply ignore you. Or yell really loud. Depended on the situation, actually. Josh isn't sure that the same thing can be said about Toby's son, but he does know that the plane is landing, and he suspects Huck isn't the type of person who enjoys surprises.

"Listen," he says. Huck glances over, not really raising his head. Josh takes that as his cue to continue. "Uh, I just thought that you should be prepared, because, well, CJ's going to be there. At the airport, to pick us up."

Huck closes his eyes. "You're telling me this now?"

"I know, I could've given you more notice that you'd be seeing your step mother."

"They never got married," he mutters, putting away his work.

"Does that really matter?" Josh wonders.

"No," Huck agrees, letting out a sigh and leaning his chin into his palm. After a moment, he asks, haltingly, "Did I ever call you 'Uncle Josh'?"

"Well," Josh replies, just as haltingly, "I was…called Uncle Josh in reference to you. But you never really…you didn't talk too much when you were little."

Huck frowns. "I started talking when I was one."

"You could talk," Josh agrees, "you just…didn't. You stuck to the basics, mommy, daddy, Molly…no." He breaks into a large grin. "You wouldn't even say 'yes,' you'd just keep saying 'no' until you got whatever it was you wanted. We loved that. It was just like your father, screaming when something was wrong, and then just sitting quietly once it was fixed."

Josh's grin fades as he fails to get a reaction from Huck. "Anyway, you never called me anything, no matter how hard I tried to get you to."

That gets a short laugh out of him. "I didn't know that I was ever around you that much."

Josh shrugs. "You weren't, honestly. There wasn't much time, after you were born. The term was winding down, people scattered. But when your dad did bring you in, you guys were the center of attention. You know, there aren't too many people who could say they were top priority in the White House."

"That's not usually a good thing," Huck points out.

"Sure. But…it's kinda cool, isn't it?"

"I guess," Huck laughs. The plane has finally stopped, and Huck quickly grabs his bag from above. He and Josh stand, waiting for the crowd to move. "Hey…" he chuckles quietly. "Speaking of center of attention…my sister's gonna be meeting me here. I hope that's okay."

"Of course. It'll be nice to see her. She used to come around all the time, but…not really, since…"

"Yeah. She's sort of secluded herself." He frowns. "Except from me. She has no problem visiting me, taking over my guest room for days."

"I guess that's what sisters do."

"Well, it's what Molly does, I don't know that it has anything to do with her being my sister."

"It does," Josh says softly. They start shuffling forward, making their way into the aisle. "Hey, if I'd told you CJ was going to be here, would you not have come?"

Huck thinks for a moment. "No. I probably would have worn a different shirt…"

"What's wrong with that shirt?"

"Nothing."

Josh looks him over. "It's a nice shirt."

"Very nice."

"Good color."

"Mm-hm."

Josh smiles. "She bought it for you, didn't she?"

"Yup."

"And she's going to embarrass you…"

"Completely."

Huck had tried his hardest to hate CJ Cregg.

She had always been a part of their lives, and he knew that. She was nice and fun, and always had presents when she saw them. She snuck them candy, she initiated tickle fights, and there was nothing in the world quite like a piggyback ride on CJ's shoulders.

But then, one Christmas, everything felt different. It must have been when they were seven—holidays were split up, even years with Mom, odd with Dad—and Huck and Molly flew across the country to the cabin in Colorado where their father had been staying. And there was a Christmas tree. In their father's home, there was a Christmas tree with flashing lights, and a box of ornaments for the kids to put on, and CJ, reaching to put the star on top. And Huck could tell everything had changed.

Sure enough, they started hearing CJ's voice when they called, and their father started saying "We" as if it was perfectly normal, and it all became obvious to Huck. His father wasn't living with them, and he was living with CJ, and so Huck hated her.

As an adult, H.B. knows that CJ was good for his father. She was a stabilizing and binding force in their lives—the number of awkward conversations ended by passing CJ the phone was proof of that. But back then, he was a little boy who spent a limited amount of time with his father, and he didn't appreciate that time suddenly including CJ. At first, even Molly was upset by the invasion, but she quickly accepted the presence of someone who would take her to the beach, buy her shoes, and play with her dolls—especially since CJ successfully managed to pull their father into some of those activities. But Huck was not quite as willing to give in.

He did everything his young mind could come up with to drive CJ away. He ignored all of her requests, refused her suggestions and contradicted her statements—even when it was ridiculous to do so. That summer, he developed "allergies" to ice cream, popcorn and chocolate chip cookies, "fears" of water, swings and movie theaters, and, after a comment that Toby watched too much baseball, Huck's passing interest in the Yankees became a full-blown obsession. Molly was constantly whining that he was ruining everything, and his father punished him almost daily for being difficult, but CJ never did a thing. She knew exactly what he was doing, and she wasn't going to let him do it. And he sort of had to respect her for that.

When he finally let his guard down, he was able to appreciate all CJ did. When things got boring, she always came up with something to do. When Molly was annoying him, CJ would serve as a buffer, swooping in to separate them. When their father's temper got short, CJ could keep him in check. Most importantly, when Huck was angry, or frustrated, or sad, CJ had a way of making everything easier.

As the years passed, CJ became a part of Huck's life, to the point that it sometimes seemed as if CJ tied Huck to his father, instead of the other way around. She loved him—not because she had to, not because she was trying to impress his father, not because she wanted something from him—she just loved him. And, faced with something as refreshingly simple as that, Huck couldn't help but love her back.

Josh and Huck are searching the airport for CJ. She may not be as well-known as she once was, but her height still makes her stand out in a crowd. Of course, by the time they spot her, she's obviously seen them first, because she's frozen, her hand over her heart, her expression tinged with a slight sadness. Even from there, they can tell her eyes are watery.

Josh rolls his eyes inwardly, as Huck picks up the pace. It is, Josh muses, almost the opposite of the movie cliché—instead of running forward and sweeping her into a giggly hug, Huck is…walking purposefully, and letting her hug him. But it doesn't matter. The look on CJ's face when she comes in contact with Huck makes it clear that this is a touching reunion.

"Hi," Huck says softly as CJ squeezes him tightly. He can hear her sniffling, and he rubs her back. "It's okay, CJ."

"You just…for a second there, you looked just like him," she whispers.

Huck is surprised by how hard that statement hits him. "I'm sorry," he whispers back.

"Don't ever," she says, loosening her grip. "Not for that."

"Okay." He lets her take his face in her hands.

"Oh, my sweet boy…" She turns her head, calling over her shoulder. "This was very mean, Joshua."

"You're thrilled," he smirks.

"I am," she laughs. "What are you doing here?"

Right. They should have come up with a reason, huh?

"We ran into each other on the set," Josh says.

"Yeah," Huck agrees. "He mentioned he'd be seeing you, and I got the idea to…come along. Get some luck for the Emmys."

"You've got it sewn up," CJ dismisses, as only the completely biased can. "When are you going back?"

"Later today, after the thing. Molly's going to fly with me."

"I get to see my Molly too?"

"She's probably circling the parking lot right now. I should call her."

"You do that," CJ agrees, kissing his cheek quickly. "Make sure both of you get here safely."

"I'll just be a moment," he insists, walking off a few feet, phone to his ear. CJ turns to Josh, hugging him hard.

"Thank you."

"Just happy to see you smiling," he says.

She nods, examining his face. "You've got to get more people on the news channels," she chides, switching to shop talk. "I keep seeing Rutherford, Rutherford. It's harder to get the nomination if there's already a presumptive nominee."

"What're you telling me for? Take it up with Donna."

"I'm telling you so you'll take it up with Donna."

"Donna doesn't work for me," he says, a little bitter.

"Okay," CJ drawls out. "Except…she does."

"She's campaign, it's separate."

"She's re-election."

"She's…all campaigns. She is current and future campaigns."

"All right. And what are you?"

"Well, according to all of our recent conversations, I'm not her boss, she in no way answers to me, and if I make it difficult for her to do her job, she won't be held accountable for what happens to me."

"So, this time together is really thawing her out," CJ deadpans.

"Oh, don't act like you've suddenly abandoned the sisterhood to sympathize with me," he sneers.

"I fully support you two working things out, Josh, as long as you stop being a jackass."

"I'm not a—" Josh takes a deep breath. "Have you forgotten that your son just arrived, on a silver platter, courtesy of me?"

"Yeah, that had nothing to do with your attempt to recruit him."

Josh makes a conscious effort to close his mouth. "I don't know what you're talking about."

CJ takes on a tone that is supposed to resemble Josh's. "'Oh, yeah, can you get me on the Capitol set? It's such a well-done show. Oh, right, that's where Huck works. What a coincidence. I completely forgot. I probably won't even see him.'"

"I don't sound like that."

"You do when you're trying to hide something."

Josh shakes his head in amazement. "You really seemed surprised, you know."

"I was. I didn't think he'd actually listen to you."

They both let that sink in as Huck returns, phone in his hand.

"Well, she is nowhere near the airport, but she thinks she found the hotel where the Senator's speaking."

"Is it the one with the huge 'Senator Seaborn' banner?" CJ wonders.

"Yes. Should she just meet us there?"

"Yeah," Josh nods. "We'll leave now."

"Okay." He turns back to the phone. "We'll see you soon, Molls." Huck hangs up, looking at them expectantly. "We ready?"

"Yup," Josh answers, leading the way out of the airport. "We have rooms set aside at the hotel, H.B., you can use one. They're nice rooms."

"He'd know," CJ says, throwing an arm around Huck's shoulder. "He's living there."

"So are you!" Josh yells.

"I'm sleeping there, while I'm in town. You do your laundry there." She shakes her head. "Promise me, H.B., you'll never have to resort to calling a hotel home."

"Well, I can always come live with you, right?"

"See?" she says to Josh. "See what a good boy he is, always knowing exactly what to say. I'm so happy you're here." She's suddenly morphed into a mother hen. "But you're too thin," she clucks. "And your hair's too short."

"Yeah," Josh agrees. "Let that grow. You have no idea how much longer it'll be around."

"Yeah, you'd know, wouldn't you, Joshua?" She returns to her inspection of Huck. "You look good, though. Not too tired. And you're certainly stylish."

Huck attempts to cut off the comments he knows are coming. "Thank you...very much, for this shirt. I love it."

"It looks great on you." She turns to Josh, who Huck feels is enjoying this moment entirely too much. "He called me up," she explains, "right when he started on Capitol. 'These Hollywood people, always with a designer outfit. I feel like a kid playing dress-up.' Wasn't it sweet of him to ask me for help? I bought out the stores."

"He probably just wanted you to pay for it," Josh jokes.

CJ glares at him. "I helped him. And I was happy to."

"And tomorrow night, he can thank CJ, his wardrobe consultant."

"You better not," CJ warns. "Don't even worry about thanking me."

"I don't think I'm going to get to thank anybody," Huck says. "It's not like I'll be the one talking. I'll be lucky if I'm visible in the background. And that's if we win."

"Of course you'll win," CJ laughs. They've reached the car, and CJ pauses before sliding in. "You're wearing the tux I bought you?"

"Yes, CJ."

"Good. You'll be fine."

As she gets in the car, Huck looks over the hood and meets Josh's eye, sharing an amused glance. They get in together, off to join the others at the hotel.