It took a while for the storm to pass. Sam sat there with his arms around his oldest friend as he shook with sobs, and he closed his own eyes against the tears that were welling up in them. Josh needed him to be strong right now; otherwise, he would never let this happen again. Sam knew just how much Josh would need to be able to let this happen again.
Once Josh started to calm down, he pulled back from Sam. His eyes were still glassy and red, but he gave Sam a pained smile.
"Thanks for coming," he said, his voice strained with the effort to maintain his fragile composure.
Sam reached over and squeezed his shoulder. "Of course," he said softly, looking up as the other staffers returned slowly from Leo's office. They'd heard talking, so they figured it was safe to reenter. "And you know who told me to come, don't you?"
Josh shook his head, unaware of all of the people filing in behind him. "No, who?"
"C.J.," Sam said simply, and Josh jumped when he felt a hand on his other shoulder. Looking up, he realized that C.J., as well as everyone else, had come back, but he looked only at her, reaching up to hold her hand.
"Thanks," he whispered to her, making and holding eye contact for the first time since he'd heard the news. She sank down onto the couch next to him, still holding his hand tightly. Neither of them seemed to notice or to want to let go.
Everyone else settled themselves back into their usual seats, and the president motioned for Leo to tell Josh what they'd all decided he'd be best suited to say. Leo cleared his throat and said quietly, "Josh, I think it would be best for you to take off the rest of this week until the funeral. I know you've promised to help the Mosses, so I think you'll need this time to do it. And we're all here to help you with anything you need."
Josh drew himself up to argue but then suddenly… stopped. Why argue? Leo was right. He'd need this time to help Donna's parents make the best possible arrangements for the worst possible situation.
"Okay," he said. "And thank you. For everything."
No one could think of any more to say. Leo looked around, glanced at the president and said, "Thank you, Mr. President," rising to his feet to lead the way out of the room. As everyone else followed suit, he watched from the doorway as Josh walked out between Sam and C.J., and he felt something inside of him relax. Josh was being taken care of. This was the most important thing right now.