Jules stumbled into her house. Tonight she was tired, outraged and disillusioned. Jules usually supported her boss's position on an issue completely, it wasn't her job to be the opposition, but tonight she knew what the Republicans were doing was wrong. By voting down the bill the Democrats proposed, the Republicans were creating backwards politics that were bad for the country and would be keeping thousands of people from getting the medical research they needed. Working on this bill and encouraging congressmen not to back it had taken everything she had.

Jules arched her back and sighed as she walked in. She glanced at the clock on the stove and noticed that it was just after six o'clock. It had been close to a month and a half since she stood in front of her brother and issued her gentle ultimatum. Truthfully, Jules had been so busy with work that she had barely been able to spend time with Josh, let alone notice that she hadn't been speaking to Sam.

Looking around, things looked so domestic. More domestic than Jules ever thought they would, and a bit messier that she liked. In an attempt to spend more time together, Josh had practically moved in. He was over so often, it just seemed natural when his things started accumulating in chaotic piles that were, well, Josh-like. It was comfortable and Jules was living it.

On the refrigerator was a grocery list. She had written 'broccoli', 'pasta' and 'diet coke'. Josh had scrawled 'bagels', 'coffee' and 'junk food for Josh'. Three of Josh's suits hung in Juliana's closet, just next to her formal gowns, and she had made room for his non-girly things in the shower. The coffee table was strewn with a mix of things, ranging from the New York Times, an issue of Sports Illustrated featuring the Mets, four issues of Martha Stewart Living and a Doobie Brothers CD.

Josh's empty take out containers were still on the counter, which he knew would infuriate Jules, but she couldn't help but laugh at how snug and at ease everything looked. Jules started to drop her things down by the coffee table. Secretly she had hoped that Josh would be here when she came home. Jules knew that Josh was just as busy working on passing the bill as she was working on defeating it, but it would have been nice to come home to him. Jules knew that she was only coming home for a break, planning to go back to the office within the hour. Then, she spied a post-it stuck to the TV.

Take a break. Call me. Josh

Jules read Josh's note and smiled a little. She dialed his cell phone and waited for Josh to pick up.

"Democrats rock!" Josh answered. He sounded tired too, but was doing a much better job hiding it.

"Ivy league snob." Jules shot back, quietly laughing. "Where are you? It sounds like you're at a party."

"We're on a break. CJ made us all take a few minutes off and go out for a drink. We also had to promise not to talk about the bill while we're here."

"CJ's my kind of woman." Jules said, wishing momentarily that CJ worked with her instead.

"Whoa, there. It's dangerous to put that image in my mind."

"Shut up, Josh." Josh could almost hear Jules smile through the phone.

"Are you going back into the office?" Josh asked.

"Yeah. I took a few minutes off to remind myself what my house looks like."

"Come over and have a drink." Josh offered.

"Josh…I can't…we can't do this tonight…" Jules sighed and Josh interrupted.

"Sam's not here if that's what you're worried about." Josh sounded resigned and suddenly tired.

"I wish. I wouldn't care if Sam were there. But the vote's in a few hours. We shouldn't…"

"We're not talking about the vote here. One drink. You don't even have to drink. Just stop by and say hello. CJ would love to remember what you look like." Josh wasn't sure that Jules would accept. They had always had a strict policy of not working around the other. It was tough, but it kept their jobs secure and ensured that their time together was time together. Josh had played the 'CJ card'. He knew that Jules and CJ hadn't seen each other in a little over two weeks, and CJ was one of the friendships that Jules valued most in Washington.

"Okay." Juliana smiled as she gave in. "I'll stop by. But it's just to see CJ. Don't think you had anything to do with it." Josh was happy that Juliana was joking around; it meant that she hadn't completely given in to stress.

Just minutes later, Jules walked in to the bar, spotting Josh, CJ, Toby and Donna sitting in a booth towards the back. They looked tired and forlorn. Toby looked crankier than usual, if that was possible. Juliana knew their problem - they were having problems finding the last few votes they needed. The vote on the healthcare spending bill had been a hard fight for both sides. CJ looked up and was the first to see Juliana walking towards them.

"Hi, stranger!" CJ said loudly.

"Hi." Juliana smiled lazily as she spoke. Josh could hear the exhaustion in her voice.

Josh slid a little closer to Donna, making room for Jules as she perched half on the seat and half in his lap.

"You look terrible." CJ said honestly.

"I feel about as good as a look. It's been a tough week." Jules replied.

"That's what happens when you lose your mind and can't see what's right in the world." Toby interjected tersely and righteously. He stopped staring at his drink and looked up at Juliana. "No offense." Toby offered with a tilt of his head.

"None taken." Jules said sarcastically.

"Whoa. Calm down." Josh said to the table.

CJ and Donna started talking about something completely unrelated to work and Josh took the moment to really look at Jules. He was tired too, but this legislative fight was taking a toll on her. Josh's hand wandered up Juliana's back to the back of her neck. Jules smiled as Josh's fingers made small circles just above her shoulders. The stress had gotten to her. That usually didn't happen.

"Thanks." Jules said and she started to get up.

"Don't you want anything?" Josh asked, a little concerned that Jules was leaving already.

"No, I need to go back into the office." Jules paused for a moment as if she was judging the words she would say next. "It's going to be a long night. I've got three soft congressmen ready to flip. How do you convince people from the great states of New York and Florida of something you don't even believe in? I have my work cut out for me."

Jules squeezed Josh's hand as a way of saying goodbye and walked away from the table, leaving everyone staring at her and then each other in amazement.

"Did she just…" Donna asked, being the first to break the silence.

"Did the Majority Leader's Chief of Staff just tell white house senior staffers that there are three soft no votes. No votes which can easily be changed into yes votes?" Toby asked in disbelief. His grumbling had dissipated, giving way to skeptical curiosity.

Josh's mouth hung half open as if he were going to answer.

"Or," CJ posed optimistically. "Was Josh's, god I have to say it, girlfriend simply complaining about a bad day and what is going to be a rough night?"

"Does it matter?" Toby shot back, his voice rising at the end of his question.

"Well, I should say so!" CJ shot back. "If she was just venting, then she misspoke. She didn't…" CJ couldn't finish. She looked across the table and noticed Josh laying down money and getting ready to leave.

"Information is information, Ceej." Josh stated as he got up. "Plus, Jules doesn't misspeak. Let's get back to the office, we have work to do."

By the time CJ processed what Josh had said, he and Donna were half way out the door. Both Donna and Josh had their cell phones out, Josh undoubtedly calling Leo and Donna calling in to the office.

Hours later, Josh walked into Juliana's only to find it dark. He wasn't really sure if he expected Jules to be home or not, but it felt odd walking into a dark house. Josh didn't even turn on the news as he walked past the TV into the bedroom. There was no need to. He knew that they would win the vote and pass the bill by two votes. The vote had been scheduled for nine o'clock, giving the senior staff just enough time to sway three key Republicans and keep them from blocking the bill. Juliana's tip or slip up, Josh still wasn't convinced which it was, had been key.

Josh emerged from the bedroom in sweats and a T-shirt and settled down on the couch to unwind. For some reason, it had just seemed right to come back to Juliana's rather than to go back to his empty townhome. Josh was idly flipping through an old issue of Martha Stewart Living he found on the coffee table and had settled down to read the recipe section when the door opened and Jules walked in.

Josh looked up, but didn't get up. He knew Juliana's night couldn't have been great. Josh wanted to give her some space. Dropping her things by the door, Jules walked past Josh and straight into her bedroom.

"Congratulations on the vote." Juliana said earnestly as she passed the couch.

Josh was trying to read her voice. He was looking for bits of sarcasm, anger, pleasure, anything. Josh wanted to know if what she had said in the bar had been a mistake made in exhaustion or if Jules knew what she was doing when she fingered the three congressmen. Those were the three congressmen whom Josh eventually cajoled into voting against their party line.

Juliana reappeared, having changed into shorts and a sweatshirt and pulling her hair up into a ponytail, and walked almost robotically into the kitchen. Josh rose off the couch and followed. He stood a few feet away and watched as Jules grabbed a diet coke out of the refrigerator and listened to the silence that was only punctuated the crisp sound of the can opening.

"Tonight's one of those nights I wished I worked for you." Jules said, almost as if talking to the air instead of Josh.

"I have a good employer." Josh smiled and tried to lighten the mood. When he realized that Jules wasn't going joke with him, he asked the question that had been nagging him all night. "How's your job?"

"Secure, if that's what you were asking." Jules shot the words back at him.

"It was."

"You can't fire a someone because their peers don't agree with you. The Majority Leader and Speaker couldn't hold onto the votes." Josh took in Juliana's words. She spoke them coldly and matter of factly. Josh did nothing to hide his agreement. He nodded as if she were humoring him with information he had known all his life.

"You're right." Josh agreed.

Suddenly Jules was incensed by Josh's attitude. He was standing there so smugly. He wouldn't have won this vote without her, and he knew it. Still, he was standing acting like he was indulging her. Jules felt like Josh was treating her like a child, someone who didn't quite get the big picture. She felt belittled and angry.

Jules looked at the diet coke in her hand and in one swift movement threw it at Josh. Startled, it took Josh a moment to react and swat it away, hitting the floor with a loud sound and pooling on the floor. The sound of the can rolling on the floor was the only sound in the room. Her anger stunned him. Deep down Josh sensed that she wasn't angry with him; he knew that she needed someone to lash out at, but it hurt just a little.

Josh almost didn't notice it at first, but when he looked back at Jules he could see the sobs starting to wrack her body. Jules cried quietly. She hated crying at all. She hated seeming so weak. Josh crossed the small distance between them, stepping gingerly over the spilled coke, and wrapped his arms around Juliana. As soon as he touched her, she melted into his body and stopped crying.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. Josh didn't respond. He simply held her tighter. "It's going to help so many people. How could they not see it?" Juliana's questions were muffled by the emotion in her voice. Josh guided Jules to the couch. As they sat down, Jules curled up in Josh's lap. She was still mumbling things emotionally, not all of which Josh could make out. Josh knew that part of her state was brought total exhaustion, he was feeling it too, but part of this was raw emotion.

"It could have saved him." Juliana murmured.

"Him?" Josh wanted to make sure he heard her correctly.

"Them. Your bill was for cancer research and new medical systems. In the end I couldn't fight against that."

"In the end you didn't." Josh reminded Jules.

"I was so unprofessional. And unethical. I sold out the people I worked for."

"You did what you thought was right." Josh's voice was reassuring.

"I don't get paid to do what I think is right. My opinion doesn't matter."

Josh paused while running his hands through her hair.

"Why did you say 'him' earlier?" Josh asked cautiously.

"Had there been more medical advancements a few years ago, had the US government fully funded cancer research like your bill proposed, I might still be married and living happily with the man I loved. Fighting against ideas like this kills people. I've had that on my mind. That's why it's been so hard. That's why I slipped and said 'him'. I did it for him."

Josh knew who Jules was talking about. He understood. Josh knew what is was to fight for this bill. He had fought passionately for this bill for, he realized, the same reasons Jules had opposed her bosses.

"My dad died from cancer." Josh said quietly, but almost unemotionally. Juliana stood up from the couch and looked at him in amazement. "He had been sick for some time, but we thought he was getting better. His death was sudden. It happened during the Illinois primary."

"So, you know."

"Yeah. I know what it's like."

"You fought hard for this." Jules smiled a sad smile down at Josh who as still sitting on the couch.

"We helped change the world today. We helped to save lives." Josh nodded his head slightly as he talked, truly believing what he said. Jules sighed slightly and shook her head.

"And when I say 'we', I don't mean the administration. I mean you and me." Josh assured Jules. He leaned forward and grabbed her hand. "Sometimes you have to fight for what you believe in. For what's right. We helped change peoples' lives today."

Juliana squeezed his hand in recognition. Josh stood, their hands still linked, and started walking away from the couch.

"Come on. You're exhausted."

"I so should have been fired for what I did today. I gave pertinent information to senior staffers. I leaked which votes could be bought." Jules hung her head, her feet planted firmly in the ground. Josh knew that no matter what she believed, she was ashamed that she had been so unprofessional and disloyal.

"Your secret's safe with me." Josh said, giving her hand a tug.

"It's not you I'm worried about." Juliana said with a sigh.

Josh and Jules finally dropped into bed. Jules could feel the stress and pressure melt away as she rested her head on Josh's chest. Both Josh and Juliana let the exhaustion to take over their bodies, allowing themselves to begin to recover from the trauma that this vote had incurred on them.