Gavin followed Josh into the elevator as he prepared to head upstairs to get ready for dinner.

Josh glanced over at his counterpart awkwardly. Gavin Drake was part of the well-groomed, well-bred and well-educated group that made up Hoynes' elite team members. He was tall, toned in that gentlemanly manner that suggested a man into his health but not obsessed with the gym and he still bore a spark of energy to him as whilst he had surpassed thirty he had not yet been slowed down by forty.

Gavin stood with his hands behind his back, poised as he stared straight ahead at the closed doors.

They waited uncomfortably, saved from silence by bad elevator music. Thankfully they only ascended one floor before Josh exited.

Gavin followed after him as Josh knew he would. Their rooms were on opposing sides of the building, there was no need for Gavin to have been in the elevator with him if he didn't want to speak to him.

"You all looked shocked to hear about the senator's gun shares today," Gavin remarked calmly.

Josh rolled his eyes up to the ceiling as he continued to walk and wondered if there were any cameras in the hall to eavesdrop. "Of course we were," he retorted sardonically, "but you weren't?" He glanced over his shoulder at Gavin questioningly.

Gavin gave a small smile and shook his head. "Cadence brought the story to me Josh, a few hours before our flight, she learned it the day before."

Josh tensed up as he fought the urge to scold his companion and failed. He forced himself to look ahead and keep walking as he snapped, "what in the hell were you thinking letting that go before running it by someone on our side? You guys have an agenda, we get it, Hoynes wants his recognition but damn it you know this isn't the way!"

Josh felt a thrill of annoyance as he realised something else with Gavin's words, that Cadence didn't hold responsibility, at least not entirely. He halted in the corridor and turned so fast Gavin nearly walked into him.

Momentarily stunned, Gavin lost some of his composure as he frowned and took a step back.

"Gavin, why did Hoynes tell Leo and the President it came from Cadence and not you?" Josh demanded.

Gavin's smile returned but it was thin and bitter and his grey gaze hardened slightly. "She advised me she attempted to follow protocol and tell all of you first. She said she tried to contact you through your assistant, e-mail Toby, ring Sam and even visit in person but you all rebuffed or ignored her. She brought it to me then and I made the call."

Josh filled with surprise at this revelation and frowned. He wondered at the tale as he rubbed a hand through his hair. Had Cadence tried to tell them? Perhaps it had been a token gesture to cover herself but then, he realised, that didn't really make sense given she hadn't tried to use it as a defence with Leo.

"You kept your name off it because you knew there'd be a fall out," Josh realised.

Gavin shook his head. "No, I considered she was lying about trying to reach you because she wanted to get points with the Vice President," he admitted. "The news was too good to pass and her evidence was solid but I also knew Cal wouldn't be happy with me for handing something Cadence came up with to the Vice President, so that was why I told the Vice President she deserved the credit."

Josh sighed as he looked up at Gavin in exasperation. He had gotten along with him well enough on Hoynes' campaign, Gavin could be outgoing, funny and friendly but he was also self-preserving, cunning and a little too into his work.

"Man, why is it the politics never ends with us?" Josh lamented.

"Because we're involved with politicians," Gavin retorted with another grin, this time one with more mirth. "Josh you and I both know that senator wasn't giving in today, he was in it for the profit and this was the only way to get a win over him. We also both know it was better coming from the Vice President than the President. Everything else is semantics."

Josh was silent for a moment as he thought over it. He felt the anger budding within him despite his urge to quash it. He didn't like Cadence McGarry, well he didn't really know her these days but still, she hadn't been all that great before but then neither had he. He frowned knowing what he had to do now.

"No Gavin, no it's not," he argued with a wave of his hand in a dismissive gesture. "You took a gamble and let Cadence pay for it, damn it you should have said something to us."

"The news was fresh Josh and you guys had every opportunity to hear about it, you didn't want to know." Gavin raised his eyebrows slightly and gave Josh a calm stare. "Unless she was lying to me about trying so hard to tell you guys, was she Josh?"

"Gavin I'll find out," Josh muttered, "but seriously, she's on your team, give her a break."

Josh paced past Gavin, retreating back the way he had come, knowing he had to find Toby, Sam and C.J. He had left Toby and Sam down in the study of the hotel working on speeches on their laptops whilst C.J was in a designated press room giving the press a brief of the day's events. Of course it really was a brief as she was simply telling them of a pleasant day at the ranch.

It didn't take long for Josh to find Sam and Toby as he had left them. He rushed into them, agitated and jumpy as he considered what needed to be done.

"What's wrong Josh?" Sam quipped as he glanced up from his laptop with concern.

Truthfully, Sam was glad for the distraction as he still wasn't sure what kind of speech he should be writing in lieu of the day's turn of events.

The study was dark, Toby had permitted two lamps to be turned on but otherwise insisted the dim lighting helped him. Sam was certain Toby just wanted a dark room to match his dark mood.

"Guys, um...look, Toby did Cadence e-mail you at all?" Josh glanced from one to the other awkwardly as he raised his hand slightly.

"When?" Toby sneered. "Five minutes before her coup d'état?"

"Well no, a little sooner," Josh said.

Sam stared up at Josh in confusion, the light of his computer screen reflecting off his glasses. "Josh what's happened now?" he queried quietly.

Josh swallowed hard as he stepped forward to the lone phone in the study. He picked it up and dialled to switchboard. He got passed through to a secure line in the White House and then waited impatiently as the line rang out in Donna Moss' office.

"Hello, Deputy Chief of Staff's office," Donna greeted chirpily.

Josh was surprised at how his mood lifted slightly at the voice. He wondered in astonishment if he was really missing her docile tones so soon.

"Hello?" she quipped.

"Donna it's me," Josh retorted. He winced slightly and rubbed his hand across his brow.

"Josh what's up? Did you get me a cowboy hat?"

"Well yes actually," he retorted, thinking of the gift abandoned in his room, "but that's not why I'm calling. Donna, did Cadence McGarry try to get me before we left for Texas?"

"Well yes Josh, the day before your flight," Donna answered with a hint of annoyance in her voice, "but I did tell you she dropped by."

"Donna what did she say?"

"That it was important she see you, look I told you at the time Josh but you just said she was probably yanking your chain and that I wasn't to bother finding a free slot for her, and you'd already blown her off that morning. She asked about Sam as well actually, said she'd called him and left a message, Ginger wrote a note for him but she told me he crumpled it up and threw it in the bin. Cady came by three times that day but she got fed up waiting and ended up having lunch with Leo."

"Damn it!" Josh cursed.

"Josh?" Donna was surprised.

"Donna are you sure you mentioned this? I mean I remember you babbled about her having lunch."

"I don't babble Josh," Donna retorted angrily. "Anyway, you blew her off yourself that morning, you starting going 'la, la, la, I can't hear betrayal' and walked off!"

Josh winced at the reminder, he had done that, it was three days after Cadence's employment had been announced and the day before their flight and he had been in no mood to entertain her. "Alright Donna, thanks."

Josh hung up the phone and looked at Toby imploringly.

Toby and Sam were both staring at Josh in confusion.

"Toby, did you get an e-mail from Cadence or not?" Josh demanded.

Toby nodded. "Yes but I haven't had time to read it, she should go through Ginger and Bonnie for this stuff."

"She tried," Josh said bitterly.

Toby continued to look confused as he brought up his e-mails and clicked on it. "I've something important to run by you re: Senator Whyte, please call or e-mail me urgently," Toby read the e-mail aloud. He frowned as he took in the date stamp. "This was the day before our flight."

"Yeah," Josh murmured as he collapsed into a free couch. He rubbed both his hands down his face as he sagged in it. "Gavin told me, Cadence got the news the day before our flight, she must have went digging the moment she heard about this senator," he explained. "As soon as she got this story and proof of it she tried to tell us, all of us."

"And we ignored her," Sam said softly. He had closed his laptop and was looking slightly distraught as he stared over at Toby and Josh.

Josh nodded sombrely. "We did," he remarked bluntly. "I was checking with Donna there," he added with a wave to the phone, "she confirmed Cadence called by three times that day and spoke to her, Ginger and Bonnie. She tried to speak to me but I thought she was just round to yank my chain and I ignored her," he confessed.

"She left a message for me," Sam admitted weakly.

Josh sighed as he leaned back in the chair and looked up to the ceiling. "I have to tell Leo," he realised. "The way he yelled at her, that wasn't fair."

"Wait, you said Gavin knew," Toby remarked as he leaned forward slightly, "then why did Hoynes say it came from Cadence?"

Josh glanced over at Toby wearily. "Cal doesn't like Cadence," he explained, "and Gavin knew he would quash the news because it came from her but Gavin knew it was too good to be discarded, so he went to Hoynes directly and let Cadence take the credit so Cal wouldn't berate him for it. He also figured if Cadence had lied to him about telling us then she'd take the fall."

"Why the hell did she take the fall?" Sam demanded crossly as agitation filled his gaze. "She stood there with us and Leo and never even blinked, she never even looked at us. Guys I feel terrible about this and it was good intel, it's all checked out and I know no one wants to hear it but it was better coming from Hoynes."

Josh sighed. "Leo isn't going to be happy."

"I'll tell him," Toby volunteered.

Josh shot up in his seat and looked at Toby in disagreement. "No Toby I'll do it, I'm mainly responsible."

"No Josh," Toby said sternly, "we're all responsible but you have a grudge against her and Leo is liable to be angriest with you."

Josh winced at that thought. "Well that... that's true," he admitted quietly as he flopped back in the seat again. "Alright, you tell Leo and hopefully he'll tell the President, he was pretty steamed with her too. She did everything right, much as I hate it, she did."

"I'm going to have a few stern words with Gavin about this," Sam commented as his blue eyes flickered with anger. "Honestly I'm as mad with him as I am with us, he's on her side."

"Yeah Sam I told him, I don't think he cares," Josh grumbled.

"Well he will when I'm done with him," Sam insisted.

Toby closed off his laptop and stood up from his chair. "I'll find Leo now," he said, "before dinner."

Toby found Leo with the President in Leo's suite, both of them still evidently angry with the day's events. Toby didn't know if it was better that he could tell them together and potentially save himself from having to repeat the conversation or if it was worse because he was going to have to deal with both of them turning their wrath upon him at once.

They were both silent and staring at Toby with an odd sense of relief, glad to have a distraction from their shared anger.

Toby looked back at them with as much calm as he could manage but his unease was showing in his brown stare and a frown was already pulling down his face through his dark beard.

"What is it Toby?" Leo asked impatiently. He glanced at his watch and frowned. "We really need to be getting ready for dinner."

Toby nodded. "I know Leo but I have some news," he admitted quietly. "It's Cadence," he added hastily. He stiffened slightly seeing how both Leo and the President's gazes filled with fresh ire at the mention of her name. "Leo, Mr. President, please, she didn't ignore protocol," he confessed.

Jed raised his eyebrows at this as he looked at Toby questioningly. "Oh? What do you mean Toby?" he queried.

Toby suppressed a sigh. "Sir, she got the news late, the day before our flight and she tried to tell us on the day." Toby hadn't intended on disclosing just how much effort Cadence had put into trying to contact them but he realised that to fully absolve her he had to tell the truth in its entirety.

"She called by the West Wing three times, she phoned Sam and left a message, she spoke with Donna, Ginger and Bonnie, and she e-mailed myself."

"Toby what are you saying?" Leo quipped in disbelief. He took a step forward and looked to Toby in surprise before glancing to the President with unease.

Toby's brown stare was on the President, he could see the disappointment budding there and knew that Jed had guessed the truth already.

"Sir, we rebuffed her," Toby confessed bluntly, "and ignored the messages she left. I feel bad about it now, we all do but we were rushing around trying to get things sorted for the flight and-"

Jed held up a hand to silence the man. "No Toby," he said quietly, "you weren't. You were all ignoring her because you didn't think she had anything of worth to tell you."

Toby let the sigh out this time but found himself nodding. "Yes sir, we were." His gaze flickered over to Leo again. "I am sorry. When she couldn't get us," he continued, "she passed the story to Gavin, he made the call to give it to Hoynes but he gave Cadence the credit because he thought Cal would come down hard on him if he learned Gavin had taken something from Cadence and passed it to Hoynes."

Jed shook his head. "Wrong again Toby, Gavin did that so Cadence would take the blame if it didn't go well, which it didn't."

"Damn it why didn't she say anything?" Leo snapped angrily.

Toby watched on with a brittle calm as Leo paced about the room with a glower and a shake of his head.

"Because she didn't want to be the one who told tales, not when everyone has been getting along so well with her," Jed remarked sardonically. "Well this has turned into a fine mess."

"I need to add sir," Toby commented quietly, "that what Sam said earlier about it being better coming from Hoynes, I do agree with that."

"So that makes it okay?" Jed queried in a raised voice with a flare of anger to it. "Toby, you all screwed up, all of you, I should have made the call to pass it to Hoynes."

"But would you have sir?" Toby challenged him.

Jed frowned as he gestured his hands outwards. "Well we'll never know now, will we?" he retorted sarcastically. "That isn't the point Toby, Cadence was afraid of messing things up and now she thinks she did when it turns out it was everyone but her. You owe your apology to her, you know that right?"

Toby nodded.

"So do I," Leo admitted woefully. He glanced over at Jed. "Sir I need to go see her," he said pleadingly.

Jed nodded. "We both need to see her Leo."

"You didn't speak to her sir but the way I berated her..." Leo frowned again as he trailed off.

Toby gazed at the President imploringly. "One more thing sir."

"What is it Toby?" Jed demanded wearily.

"Can you speak to Hoynes about this? I'm sure he's picked up on the...confusion," he concluded awkwardly.

"The confusion," Jed repeated mockingly, refusing to let the weak term slide. He sighed. "You know, I find the man difficult to talk to as it is and now I can't seem to escape him." He nodded briskly. "Alright, alright, this gets sorted before dinner. Leo, get John here, then you go talk to Cadence. Toby, you and Sam better start working on one hell of an apology."

Toby nodded. "Right sir."

"Get to it then," Jed dismissed him.

Leo was already at the phone contacting Hoynes' suite.

"Tomorrow will be a better day, tomorrow will be a better day." Cadence repeated the phrase over and over to herself like a mantra. She was seated cross legged on her bed in her underwear knowing she should be getting changed. Her clothes for the evening lay waiting beside her.

The thought of getting dressed was exhausting especially since she knew after the dinner she had to come back up to her suite to change again for the ball. She was dreading all of it, she was a pariah to both parties- scolded by her own father in front of the President's closest staff and shunned by members of the Vice President's staff because half viewed her as the traitor who'd left them in the lurch during the election campaign and the other half viewed her as a traitor also but not one they knew personally, and considered her post nepotism via her father's influence.

"Tomorrow will be a better day," she murmured it again as she kept her eyes closed. Her hands were trembling slightly as they rested on her bare legs. She wanted to put her tape player on and get lost in her music but at the moment she was still struggling with her self-control. There was an urge to cry, an urge to curse and get mad, and a fainter but familiar urge, a whisper in the edges of her mind to do other things to escape the grief she was feeling.

There was a knock at her door.

Her grey-blue eyes snapped open and she looked to it accusingly.

The knock came again.

"Cadence it's Josh, can we talk?"

She frowned as she wondered if he had come to lecture her further or jest.

"Cadence please."

She sighed and rose from the bed, snatching up the complimentary white, fluffy bathrobe and securing it about herself.

He knocked again.

"I'm coming Josh, I'm just not running," she snapped as she walked to the door.

She reached the door and tugged it open, greeting him with a cool stare of hostility.

Josh looked back at her in surprise. "Um, you're not dressed," he murmured.

She had her hair down in loose, styled waves, and her make up had been applied taking away the worst of the bags under her eyes and the sallowness of her skin. Josh very firmly kept his stare on his face though he was acutely aware that her legs were exposed and the V cut of the nightgown had a certain temptation to it.

"In the process of getting that way," she retorted dryly. She folded her arms and leaned against the doorway as she waited for him to explain his presence.

"Cadence I talked to Gavin," Josh confessed. "He told me that you tried to get in touch with us, about this story you had on Senator Whyte, and he said he's the one who gave approval for it to be passed to Hoynes when you couldn't reach us."

"What's your point?" she queried icily.

Josh winced slightly, though he knew he deserved the coldness in her voice. "Why didn't you tell Leo?" he blurted out. He realised as he had hurried over to talk to Cadence before dinner that it was the most pressing thought he had about the matter.

"I'm already having issues with my connections to Mr. McGarry," she replied stiffly, "without everyone thinking I need to run and tell on people to daddy to save myself."

Josh frowned. "Cadence." He paused, unsure what to say and aware that he taken on an angry demeanour, which wasn't going to help him. He relaxed his stance slightly. "I'm sorry, we all are," he said, "and Toby has gone to explain things to Leo. We all ignored you, we shouldn't have. It was the day before the flight, you're green to the post and it was hard to consider that you might have something as big as that and so soon."

Cadence cocked her head slightly at this as she continued to give Josh a cold stare. "Why? You worked with me Josh, I was always detailed and attentive, I worked long and hard and I always checked my sources. I was on this as soon as the President mentioned Senator Whyte to me."

"Before you even got your job," Josh murmured dryly.

Cadence stood away from the doorway. "You see!" she snapped as she slackened her arms. "This is my point! You think I was on it because I thought the job was guaranteed but that's not it! I would have tried to get you that information whether I was employed on the Vice President's team or not because it was what was needed to get one over on that senator. If John," she shook her head angrily, "the Vice President had to use that information then you needed it!"

Josh's frown deepened at Cadence using the VP's name but he didn't comment on it. "I am sorry Cadence and I mean that. What can I do to make it right?"

She shook her head again and turned away from him. "Nothing Josh," she murmured wearily. "It doesn't matter." She reached a hand up to the door to close it.

"Wait Cadence," Josh protested quickly. "Please, what will it take? I'll do anything, you did everything right and I admit it and I'm sorry. Come on, this trip was your idea, you should be enjoying it. I don't want dinner or this ball ruined for you, what will it take?"

Cadence's gaze darted up to Josh's and she looked thoughtful for a moment. "Wear the hat," she stated flatly.

Josh looked puzzled. "Come again?"

"I heard the senator gave you a cowboy hat," she retorted.

"How does word spread that fast?" Josh marvelled.

"Wear it."

"No," he protested, "he'll think I'm mocking him!"

"Or he'll think you're embracing his gift," Cadence countered. "Look, wear it or don't." She shrugged. "I need to get changed."

Josh frowned as she closed the door in his face. "Well that's mature," he grumbled.

"Josh what are you doing here?"

Josh jumped and whirled to face his boss with the wide eyed expression of the child whose hand has been caught in the cookie jar.

Leo was standing dressed in an appealing black and white dinner suit.

"Ll...Leo," he stammered. "I...I was..." He winced at the anger growing in his boss' face. "I was apologising," he confessed, "or attempting to anyway."

Josh rubbed his hands through his hair again. "Toby talked to you, right?"

Leo nodded. "Yes Josh and I'm disappointed in all of you, and myself," he added quietly.

Leo frowned at Josh looked back at him awkwardly. "Josh, dinner is in fifteen minutes and you're not dressed for it," he pointed out.

Josh glanced down at his attire. "Right, see you at dinner Leo."

Josh took his cue to hurry off.

Leo stepped up to Cadence's door and knocked it gently with his knuckles.

"Damn it Josh piss off!" Cadence cried out loudly.

"Cadence it's me," Leo called back.

There was the sound of panicked footsteps before the door was hastily opened again.

"These should be revolving," Cadence grumbled. Her head was bowed and her gaze focused on Leo's shiny, black shoes.

"Cady I heard what happened," Leo admitted, "and I've come to apologise."

Cadence glanced up at him with a heated stare. "That seems to be the theme around here," she grumbled, "yell first, apologise later."

Leo winced at the anger burning in her eyes for him, just like her mother she knew how to focus her fire into her stare for maximum effect. "Cady can I come in a moment?"

Cadence gestured down at herself in frustration. "Well I'm trying to get ready but why not, may as well add being late to dinner to my list of offences today." She turned away and paced back into the room.

Leo followed after her and closed the door. "Cady I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Cadence stepped over to the bed where her outfit for dinner was resting. "It's fine Mr. McGarry, you were just doing your job," she retorted aloofly.

"Cadence I'm sorry about that, forget that Mr. McGarry crap, I'm always dad to you," Leo retorted. He walked over to her and glanced down at her chosen clothes. He knew she had had to go on a hasty shopping trip with Mallory before all this, Mallory had mentioned at least one credit card being turned down but how Cadence was determined that she didn't let anyone down with a shabby appearance.

"Cady I know how hard you're trying, I do," he said gently, "and so does Jed. You did everything right, you put all your efforts into looking into Senator Whyte and you got us something we needed. The delivery of it might have been questionable but that's not your fault," he added hastily. "This trip was your idea and it was a good one. I'm proud of you, I am."

Cadence glanced up and gave her father a look full of woe. "So proud you doubted me at the first opportunity," she accused.

Leo frowned back at her as guilt filled his gaze. "You're right," he agreed with a nod, "I did doubt you. I believed you screwed up, maybe not intentionally but I believed it because you're new at this and it was hard to consider my own team were at fault. I've said sorry but I know it's not enough," he confessed as he gestured to her with open arms. "I'm not perfect Cady, you know that and even if you had screwed up... well I'm an alcoholic and a pill user so I can't throw stones."

Cadence shook her head, angry at herself as she felt tears pricking at her eyes. "Tomorrow will be a better day," she repeated softly as she pushed back a strand of hair.

Leo stepped forward and embraced her in a hug. "No baby girl, today will a better day," he murmured.

Cadence smiled weakly as she welcomed the hug but didn't return it.

Leo ended it and gave her a warm smile. "You get dressed for dinner now, it's going to be a good night," he assured.