Special Delivery

One hour had passed since CJ's press briefing. In the span of that hour, Josh had been sitting at his desk but getting relatively nothing done. People kept stopping in his office to chat about a number of topics ranging from congratulatory remarks for giving the Republicans what they deserve to the newest GDP numbers to hemorrhoid advice. Josh was staring idly out his office window when he faintly heard the phone ring. Suddenly, Donna appeared in his doorway.

"Josh," Donna seemed hesitant and bit down on her finger before continuing. "Leo is back from Foggy Bottom and he wants to see you in his office. Now."

Josh rose, grabbed his jacket and walked out of his office. Donna followed him down the corridor.

"Josh, do you need anything?" Donna asked more nervously than usual as both she and Josh walked briskly to Leo's office. "Coffee or something?"

Josh stopped in the hall and looked at Donna. "Are you worried about me?"

"Well, you did refer to an influential politician as a severe swelling inside someone's, well, anal cavity."

"Okay, Donna…please promise you'll never say the words 'anal cavity' again in the white house. And, don't worry, it's not like Leo's going to fire me. Not over something like this."

As Josh finished talking, he walked into Margaret's office. Donna disappeared into the hallway, and Margaret waved Josh in to Leo's office. Leo was sitting behind his desk, intently reading a memo. Josh entered Leo's office and waited for his mentor to acknowledge his presence.

"Josh. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't fire you." Leo greeted wearily.

"Leo…I know what you're going to say…"

"Josh, if that were true I wouldn't be wasting my time right now." Both Leo and Josh smiled, but Leo's smile faded as he addressed Josh. "You've got to fix this, Josh. You can't just go around insulting every Republican you meet. Sooner or later you're really going to piss someone off. It just seems that maybe today is your day."

"Leo! I didn't insult her! This isn't a thing. I mentioned something to Donna. People were eavesdropping. It never should have gotten out there."

"Yeah, but it did. It got out there and it made it's way around town in a matter of hours. Fix this Josh. This is too asinine to have ending up on the president's plate."

There was a knock at the door and Margaret stuck her head in. "Leo, there's a delivery here for Josh." Margaret pushed the door open wider to reveal a deliveryman standing with a dolly to haul a massive cardboard packing box.

"Uh, I have a delivery for Mr. Josh Lyman." The deliveryman announced.

"I'm Josh Lyman." Josh looked past the deliveryman, who was depositing the box in front of Josh, in the middle of Leo's office, to Margaret. "Margaret? Why is this here, instead of, well you know, in my office?" Margaret simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Sign here sir." The delivery man said as he handed Josh his clip board. "Oh, and there's a card to go with it."

"Good lord!" Leo exclaimed from behind his desk. He rose and walked over to stand next to Josh who was curiously tearing open the envelope to read the card. Margaret reappeared in the office with a box cutter and began slicing through the tape that held the box together.

Josh read the card aloud. "'I feel bad about getting under your skin. No apology necessary. Juliana Wexler.' See Leo, no apology necessary. She doesn't even think it's a big thing."

"I think she has a sense of humor about it." Margaret said from her place above the open box. She was trying very hard to suppress her laughter as she held back the box flaps so Josh and Leo could see inside.

"What is all that?" Josh asked in disbelief and curiosity.

"I think she sent you the perfect solution." Leo said with a hearty chuckle. "It looks to be a years supply of Preparation H."

Leo and Margaret shared a laugh together, while Leo handed Josh a large package of Preparation H. Josh exhaled deeply and ran his free hand through his hair. He let out a grunt of frustration and threw the package back into the box.

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