G is for Ginger Ale
"To Leo" (Josh / Donna)
He stared at the map. The map that at points during the campaign had been such a harbinger of doom and yet now was the greatest cause he'd had to celebrate in his entire life.
Yet he didn't feel like celebrating. Not one bit.
But in direct contradiction to that, he suddenly felt a presence behind him, and when he turned, it was to find Donna holding out a flute of Champagne to him. It felt so incongruous, so wrong, both the Champagne itself and the fact that Donna would think he would want it. She usually knew exactly what he wanted, exactly where he was at, and this, this wasn't it.
She smiled then though, and when she spoke, pushing the glass into his hands, he realised she was reading his mind. Like always.
"We're not celebrating the win. We're toasting Leo's life. He'd want that."
It was true, but there was a certain irony, that he couldn't believe Donna hadn't picked up on. After 8 years in the White House he thought she'd have lost that Wisconsin farm girl naiveté but apparently not.
"You want to toast the life of a drunk with an alcoholic drink."
She sipped her own drink, a wry smile on her face and when she answered him he realised he'd got her wrong all over again. She was no Wisconsin farm girl, not anymore. She'd come a long way.
"Its Canada Dry Josh. Leo used to drink toasts with it. He said it made him feel less like a social pariah than using orange juice."
He smiled too then, "Clever." He raised his glass, thinking of the boss who had taught him so much. Taught them ALL so much. Donna included. "To Leo."
Donna clinked her glass against his, "To Leo."