"You okay?" she finally asks, voice soft and careful as if she's afraid she might startle him with her presence.
But Josh has felt her standing there, watching him, for the last few minutes. He knows she's had her eye on him all day, ever since they got the news about Leo. He's not surprised.
"Yeah," he says, taking one long last look at the photo of Leo and the congressman – no, scratch that. The president-elect.
He's still having trouble processing this day, trying to comprehend everything that happened in the past twenty-four hours and some change. "This day is surreal," he says. "Leo. The election," he takes a long look at her and locks eyes with her. "All of it," he adds, knowing she'll understand.
She nods. "You should come upstairs, for a little bit. It's almost morning, the celebration won't last too long." He shrugs. "I know it hurts, Josh. I don't think anyone else here really gets it like we do. I mean, he and Annabeth had a special bond, but no one else knew him the way we did, especially the way you did." Everyone else had been startled by the news, but for most of them their relationship with Leo was only really a few months old. They're able to compartmentalize it and push it away for the night to focus on their win much more easily. "This is what he wanted for you," she adds, something she's suspected since CJ became chief of staff and not him. Leo knew he could do more than just finish out a little over a year of someone else's position. "He knew you weren't meant to replace him. He knew you were meant to do this. He'd want you to be up there."
He nods, and he looks exhausted. "Thanks," he says. "For today."
She understands what he means and nods. "Yeah."
She has no idea what they're doing here – she doubts he does, either. Last night in the bar had been fun and intoxicating. This morning had been awkward and confusing – a lot of it her own doing - but then they gave it a second go and it had been a lot less so. Then the news of Leo came, and all the awkwardness was long behind them. They were doing things the way they always did, but there was something different about it now that they had crossed the invisible line. Neither one of them knew what it meant.
He doesn't even know what to do after today – the election is over, and now they've got a whole new thing to get off the ground. They have a little over two months before they take office, they need to find a staff, they need to get the transition offices set up. They're supposed to be headed back to DC tomorrow, but he doesn't know how to leave, what to do about Leo, his things, does Mallory need help here in Houston? How can he just go back to DC? He brought Leo out here and now he just leaves and goes back to DC?
They head back to the ballroom and the air is totally different there – a feeling of excitement, of new beginnings, of hope. He remembers the days he was arguing with Matt Santos in his office in DC about Patient's Bill of Rights and somehow now they're here.
"Get some sleep, Josh," the president-elect says, giving him a long clap on the shoulder. "You deserve it."
Donna's still by his side and they say good night to Lou who's talking with Otto and he catches eyes with Donna knowingly and she smirks. They take the elevator together and he pushes the button for his floor and watches as she somewhat awkwardly pushes the button for her floor.
"Come with me," he says suddenly. Her eyes dart to his, suspiciously, and he prays they don't start this whole awkward thing again. "I mean, nothing – not like that. Unless you… we can just… like you said, no one really knew Leo like us. No one else really gets it. We can just talk. Or sleep." He doesn't know what to say to her, because he doesn't know what this is. He thinks he might have started it by kissing her three weeks ago – woke something up inside of her – but since then it's been her taking the lead all the way. The room key she tried to slip him. Getting up and walking away pointedly, expecting him to follow last night. The 'or something' today. But before all that, before this past year, before Gaza – they were this. Two people who just support each other. Somewhere deep in the back of his brain he knows this is what it would feel like to really be with her, to have her be a part of his life in every way, but he doesn't engage the thought.
She nods, understanding his desire to not be alone tonight. "Okay," she says. She's still totally befuddled about this whole thing between her and Josh. She has no idea what he thought it was, she's not even sure what she thought it was. But she knows now that Santos is going to be president, she can't imagine Josh really focusing on anything else probably for the next four to eight years. She has no idea where she's going to end up after this either, so she braces herself for the fact that maybe it was just Election Day and that's it for the two of them. The culmination of all of their years of flirtation and longing, a sense of closure to it all.
She's going to be okay with whatever this is.
For tonight they return to his room, tell stories about Leo for a little while. Somewhere along the way they doze off, but it's not for long because it's basically already morning.
The hard part of everything will begin after that.
The preparations for Leo's funeral.
Beginning the work of the transition and the new administration.
Navigating whatever they are to each other now.
Or finally letting go of it all together.
