On Saturday, CJ took her time getting into the West Wing as snowplows made slow progress clearing streets covered with frozen sleet and slush. The forecasters were predicting an ice storm later in the day, and she planned to be home before it hit. As much as she disliked driving in snow, she hated ice. Josh teased her that all the years living in California had destroyed her enthusiasm for winter, but she had been sick of it long before she had left Ohio for Berkeley. Some people were simply not wired for winter, and she was one of them.

Signing in, she commiserated with the guard about the weather before heading to her office. She would drop off her things and then grab Toby for a cup of coffee in the Mess. Last week, Sam had left her fresh-brewed coffee and a cinnamon scone he had picked up at a shop near his apartment. When she had found him, he had been meeting in the Roosevelt Room with the rest of the speechwriters, so she had not interrupted them to thank him. She had intended to find him later, but the truth was that she had forgotten about it until now. It was a typical Sam gesture, random and sweet, brightening the end of a long week.

Carol was already in, and Donna sat on the corner of her desk. Both wore jeans and heavy sweaters, and clutched cups of hot chocolate.

"Oh, those look good this morning," CJ said as she unlocked her door. "Did you get them in the Mess?"

"Yeah, ask Derek to make it for you with extra whip," Donna told her.

Carol followed CJ into her office with Donna trailing along behind. Handing over phone messages and the morning mail, she asked, "Can we talk to you?"

As she hung up her coat, CJ waved at her guest chairs. "Sure, what can I do for you?"

Donna looked at Carol who signaled that she should do the talking. "We had a, uh, question," she began, "and I don't want to ask Josh. He can't lie, but he won't tell me the truth either."

"And since you'd like to be home before midnight, you want to avoid his explanation," CJ finished as she dropped into her chair.

"Exactly!" Donna stopped, looking embarrassed she had agreed so readily.

Carol jumped in. "So what we decided to ask you if there's something going on, something we should know about."

"This is the White House. There's always something going on," CJ reminded them. "You're going to have to be a little more specific."

"That's what we don't know," Donna allowed. "It's like something's wrong -- off, I guess, but nobody's talking about it. I asked Margaret if she had heard anything, and she said no."

"And I talked to Bonnie, and she said the same thing," Carol continued.

"So I'm your go-to on this? Because I've got to tell you, the junior staff usually has the inside track on rumor and innuendo."

Donna shook her head. "That's just it, we don't think it's that. It's something bad, something really bad. Josh took off for at least an hour yesterday morning without telling me that he was leaving the building. I didn't know he'd left until he came back. When I asked him where he'd gone, he nearly took my head off. And then he and Congressman Beach had a shouting match that I'm sure they could hear in the Oval."

"I tell ya, you can't beat the free entertainment around here."

"But, CJ -- "

"Donna, c'mon. Beach has been furious with Josh since he quashed that rider Beach tried to attach to the hate-crimes bill, and they didn't like each other much before that."

"But Josh usually throws him out before he loses his temper. Yesterday he was just itching for a fight. I could see it when I showed the Congressman into his office."

"Maybe he was tired, maybe it was Friday, or maybe he was sick to death of Roy Beach and his 'I've been in Congress since before you were born' attitude."

Donna looked at Carol for help, but her co-conspirator just shrugged. "You have to admit, it was weird, even for Josh."

"That's our boy," CJ pronounced, standing up. "Weird is part of his inconsiderable charm."

"Well, I'm not giving up," Donna declared. "I'll go ask Sam if he knows."

Carol shook her head. "He's not in yet. His door was closed when I walked by, and the lights were still off."

"Darn! He always knows what's up with Josh." Donna glanced at her watch. "Speaking of whom, I should get back to my desk before -- "

"Donnatella Moss!"

"-- He gets in." She smiled at CJ. "Thanks for listening. I'll let you know when I find out what's going on."

CJ followed her out. "I'm going to the Mess," she called as she headed for Toby's office. He was reading The Post when she walked in, frowning over something on the editorial page. "Do you have the key to Sam's office?"

Reaching into his drawer, he pulled out a key ring and tossed it to her. "Here. Why?" he asked, following her.

"Carol already noticed that Sam's door is shut. If we're going to keep up this charade, we have to make it look like he's here."

Turning on both lamps and the TV, CJ booted up the laptop. Toby took the dictionary off the credenza and left it open on the desk with a pen and a legal pad covered with Sam's handwriting beside it. CJ pulled the chair away from the desk so it looked as if Sam had just walked away. They stepped back and inspected their work.

"Looks okay," CJ acknowledged slowly.

Toby frowned, rocking slowly forward and back. "Got it," he mumbled to himself after a moment. Grabbing Sam's coffee mug, he set it beside the laptop. "Now it's right."

"I'm going to the Mess to get a hot chocolate, want one?" CJ asked.

"Hot chocolate?" Toby repeated as if she were speaking some foreign language. "No, since I'm not eight, I think I can do without it."

"I forgot, you were born drinking coffee, weren't you?"

"And scotch," Toby added, following her out of the bullpen.

She glanced at him as they continued toward the Mess. "So you'd be coming with me because..."

"I could use a bagel."

"I thought you didn't like the ones in the Mess."

"If it's between their bagels and none at all, theirs are fine."

"You didn't stop after temple this morning?"

He frowned as they started down the stairs. "Did you stop for coffee this morning?"

"No, but it's not my Saturday morning tradition."

"It was cold, wet, and the parking was nonexistent. End of story."

Josh caught up with them at the door to the Mess. "Hey, what's up with Sam's office? I just walked by and —"

"That was us," CJ told him before turning away to order.

"You? Why would you..." Comprehension lit his eyes. "Ah, subterfuge."

"Donna Moss told me to ask for extra whipped cream," she said to the kid behind the counter, making sure his nametag read 'Derek' before she returned her attention to Josh. "Your assistant's looking for him already, and there are bound to be others."

"Why's Donna looking for Sam?"

"Because she's wondering what was up with you yesterday. Did you really think she wouldn't notice that you disappeared for an hour?"

Josh helped himself to coffee. "I shouldn't have snapped at her when she asked me where I went."

"And you yelling at Beach sure wasn't a sign something was up, was it?" CJ inquired, taking the hot chocolate from Derek and thanking him.

"That had nothing to do with... you know, the thing," Josh mumbled as they joined Toby at the table he had appropriated in the far corner. There were a few other people present, and most of them sat on the other side of the room.

"It had everything to do with it," Toby returned, his attention focused on the careful application of cream cheese to his bagel, "and you know it. You were pissed at Sam, so you took it out on Beach."

"First of all, I'm not pissed at Sam --"

"Of course you're pissed at Sam; we're all pissed at Sam!" Toby hissed.

Josh's voice grew louder as he tried to ignore the truth in Toby's words. " -- And secondly, on his best day Roy Beach is a pompous, arrogant ass!"

Toby shot him a look liberally laced with annoyance. "A pompous, arrogant ass we need supporting us on a couple of things. Before yesterday, we didn't have to worry whether he'd toe the line. Now someone is gonna have to go up to the Hill and play nice with him."

"Then find Sam and send him to hold Beach's hand! That's why we keep him around, isn't it?" Josh shouted.

One or two heads turned their way at his outburst, but Toby's glare effectively defused their interest. A small mean part of CJ's mind enjoyed the horrified look on Josh's face as he registered what he had said.

"God, that's not what I meant." He ran a hand through his hair. "I swear it wasn't!"

"Then why say something that stupid?" CJ demanded, keeping her voice low.

Toby rose to his feet. "Because he's an idiot!" Picking up his coffee and bagel, he turned to CJ. "I'll be in my office if you need me." And with a look that said 'handle this' in no uncertain terms, he strode toward the exit.

Josh's eyes darted around the room, searching for an explanation, a way out of this. "I, I... Oh god!"

CJ stood up, using her height to make him look up at her. "Josh, do everyone a favor. Don't call Sam and, for god's sake, don't even think about going to see him again. We don't need you using your god-given abilities to make this thing any worse than it already is."

"But he's --"

"If you say 'my best friend', so help me, I'll hurt you." She leaned forward, barely resisting the urge to grab the front of his sweater and shake him until his teeth rattled. "If that were true, you wouldn't be in the dark about what made him do this. You might even have prevented it. Admit it, Josh, you're in the same boat the rest of us are."

His eyes round with surprise, Josh managed a jerky nod. CJ picked up her hot chocolate and turned to the door.

"CJ, I, uh, I'm sorry."

She looked back over her shoulder at him. "Save it. You might need it for Sam."