Hi, and so we are on to Season 3!

Disclaimer-Nothing but Jacob is mine.

And on a side note, I like so many other Fanfiction Authors no longer receive notifications via email about reviews/PMs etc. So if you do send any it might be a while, if ever before I get back to you. Please keep that in mind for it is not intentional-If anyone has a fix please let me know.

There will be a second part that follows this...eventually. Each series should cover about seven chapters some chapters several episodes. Flashbacks included when needed.

Also I do not do Private Messaging anymore, any questions stick them in a review and I will get back to you next chapter note.

Also please be aware of a bit of a time jump between these chapters.

Also after much thought and consideration I have decided not to include Mandy in this story. She's there for like one Season and misses half of the episode and while she was an okay character played by a very good actress her disappearance and everything that follows is just too hard to write. So no Mandy. Ever.

And a couple of the episodes are mixed around here but please keep that in mind.

There will be a bit of a time jump through Season 3 as we near to the end, I predict maybe four more chapters of the Season 3 arc. As I always sat this story is not and will never be all episode specific.

Trigger Warnings for some alcoholism.

Perhaps Love

Chapter 18-You Think You Know Someone

As Leo goes in front of the committee the night that changed his, Jake, Josh and the President's life is explored. Italics in Flashbacks.

He was asleep.

That was what he remembered. He had told his Mom and Dad that he wouldn't join them for debate prep. This was the first time in a long time that he had the luxury of a bed and a shower and he was asleep before he had even thrown the towel into the bathroom for room service.

The bed was a typical hotel bed, it was white with white sheets and he was in the middle of the best dream ever when something woke him up.

It took him a second to realise that it was the phone, the phone was ringing and it was ringing loud.

Jake was all for hanging up the phone but the truth of the matter was that he didn't know weather or not it was something serious. It might be a reporter from the New York Times but at the same time it might also be his mother or his father so he picked up the phone and…

"Lo?"

"Jake? Oh Jake thank God your awake—"

"Josh?"

"Yeah bud—"

"Dude—I was sleeping!"

Josh let out a noise that might have been a chuckle if it wasn't so panicked.

"Yeah bud I know. Listen…I need you to do me a favour okay?"

"What?"

"I need you to get Leo for me. He's not answering his own phone and I need you to get him for me now—the Governor…the Governor's collapsed…"

Jake shot out of bed and boy did his body protest against that.

"He's what?"

"Collapsed look Jake I need Leo down here immediately you understand?"

Jake blearily looked at the clock.

"Isn't he supposed to be meeting those big wigs from the party?"

"Yeah listen It will be fine, just knock on the door and get him out the room and tell him what's going on. I'd be amazed if the meeting has gone on this long"

Jake nodded putting the phone down and rubbing his eyes before grabbing his hotel key, exiting the little room and going to Leo's. There was no security around and he couldn't help but feel foolish standing there and banging on the door for Leo.

There was the sound of banging around and something or someone one hitting something and then Leo was there.

Only he wasn't Leo.

Not the Leo that Jake knew anyway.

The smell of alcohol hit him straight from the off and he swore under his breath pushing himself into the room.

"Leo you are drunk"

"I'm an alcoholic kid I am always drunk. Always drunk or "

Fuck his words were slurring.

"Leo you gotta get it together" he said brushing aside the information he had just been unwittingly given that could take down the entire campaign.

"The governor collapsed" he said quietly. "Leo did you hear me"

Leo turned to look at him but his eyes that were slowly focusing were on him and Jake paused. Neither one of his parents got this drunk, his mother when she did get drunk laughed and laughed and his Dad tended to quote obscure texts. Leo's falling down drunk was something new to him and Jake couldn't help but think that it was impossibly sad.

There was another knock at the door.

"Get it" Leo said pointing with a shaking finger. Jake nodded and wondered how much cash Leo had and weather or not there was a Starbucks around here that would make the strongest cup of coffee known to man.

Jake moved to open the door and there was another man standing there.

"Hello?"

"Hello…my name's Gibson, I left my wallet…" he watched Leo for a second and then he pushed past Jake and went into the room. Leo was on the bed sitting and staring at his hands. Jake watched as the man…Gibson took stock of the empty vodka and gin bottles that were scattered all around and raised one eyebrow. Jake watched him but it was honestly like he was invisible. He paused as Gibson smiled and he thought that it looked like a shark about to strike.

"You okay?"

"I gotta go" Leo said quietly. "The Governors collapsed and I gotta—Jake get me my keys"

Jake thought personally that Leo was going to have to wrestle his keys off him and that was a fight that even he was fairly confident that he could win and that even then it wasn't going to do much good.

Gibson said nothing he merely commentated that it looked like a good party—whatever the fuck that was supposed to mean—and then he left.

Leo fell on the floor.

Jake rang Josh.

"Do you have a plan?"

Josh jumped about a foot in the air and he turned to look at Jake who had been sat in his office (he really had to speak to Donna about that—except no because right now he was going through this phase where he was imagining Donna intertwined with her Republican lover and it was setting his teeth on edge) watching Gibson.

"No" he said quietly. "I tried to get him out of the room but I can't…Leo's…fine with it. And you and I are not having any more conversations about this kid—after today you can call your lawyer and tell him everything with a clean conscious.

Jake said nothing and then.

"Doesn't seem right that Leo is falling on his sword" he said finally. "It's not a crime what he did. By the time Gibson is done with him—"

"Jake seriously we can't have this conversation" Josh said shaking his head. "We can't. I agree with you but…" the banging of the gavel cut them both off and Jake sighed taking a gulp of coffee. Donna dropped off the files and Josh watched her and wondered not for the first time what a woman as pretty as Donna (you know he could admit that in a totally platonic way don't you know?) was doing with a man like Cliff—whatever his name was.

"Hey"

"Hey" Jake said as he opened the door to find Josh stood there. Josh jerked his head and Jake let him in shutting the door behind him. Josh looked about as wrecked and as tired as Jake felt.

"You okay?"

"No"

"Is the gov—"

"He's fine, inner ear infection, Mrs B took care of it. Listen about Leo—"

"He's an alcoholic, my guess is he fell off the wagon and now he's on gardening leave?"

Josh shut the door and sat on the bed.

"Kind of. He's been sober for about twenty years before this and I don't know why he slipped—Leo doesn't even know why he slipped—but the good news is that he has asked for help before it becomes a pattern. He's going to take a month off—"

"Can he do that?"

"Were not that close to the end, there's a place that owes Mrs B a favour and he's going in and he's going out. Jenny's gonna cover him with the campaign, say it's because she's ill. I don't know how long it is going to work but…" he shook his head and then scrubbed his hands down his face.

"Jake you gotta tell me everything that happened with Gibson…I mean it you gotta…he's muttering something about what happened and Gibson might not have any real power now but one of these days he is going to get it and I'd rather not have this blow up in my face. For Leo, for the Bartlett's, for you as well. So you gotta tell me everything…don't sugar coat it because you're afraid of embarrassing him…the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth okay?"

Jake eyed him for a second and then.

"Okay"

"Hey kid?"

"Hey Leo"

Leo dithered for a second and then…

"Kid about the hotel?"

"It's fine"

"It's not"

Jake looked at him for a second and then.

"Maybe it's not" he said quietly. "But I don't need to you to explain it to me Leo. You got your secrets…one day I might have mine."

Leo looked at him for a second and then.

"Alright" he said carefully. "But if you have any questions then I want you to come to me. And if Toby or CJ ask then I want you to be honest with them okay?"

"Yes sir?"

"And Jake—" there was a pause as Jake turned around and it was clear Leo wanted to say something. For a second the old man and the young man stared at each other and then Leo forced something that might have been a smile onto his face.

"Thank you kid"

He had wanted to say was don't ever fucking lie for me.

But somehow that didn't come out.

"Zeigler residence?"

"I need to speak to Jake"

"Hello Josh, lovely to speak to you too may I ask why you want to speak to my son so close to the end of term?"

"What's the end of—"

"Christmas finals ring a bell?"

There was a pause as Toby heard Josh shudder down the phone. He didn't blame them. Jake had taken to spending time at his place during his studying because CJ had to continually monitor the news and he especially now liked to turn it off, but he had looked at Jake's books and he had made a tactical retreat into the kitchen to make some chicken pasta.

"How bad?"

"You ever looked in a chemistry book?"

"Not since High School" Josh said with a false kind of cheer.

"May I suggest don't…I've read memo's on Richie's foreign policy that are less complicated than that shit"

"Bit of an oxymoron isn't it?"

"Put you son on the phone please Toby" Josh said finally. "I need to tell him something that you and the rest of them will find out tomorrow but right now I need to tell him first"

"This about—"

"Yeah"

"Why do you—"

"Cause he's earnt the right. And with it you can stop paying those lawyer fees"

There was a pause and then…

"Was he there when you called?"

Carefully neither one of them said what it was about.

Josh sighed.

"Toby if I had thought for a second that Gibson was gonna use him or go after him then I would fall on the damn sword myself. But I can't. All I could do back then was try and keep Leo from spiralling. Leo…come on man it's Leo you think he wanted to drag your son into this?"

There was a moment and then.

"No I know that." and then.

"Jake! Josh phone"

Jake took the phone and he listened to whatever Josh had to say and then he nodded.

"Thanks Josh…and Josh…Donna doesn't want Cliff anymore. She told Bonnie, who told Ginger who told me. She's decided to look for me within her own party unless he's in uniform"

And with that he hung up the phone.

Josh, Toby suspected was looking for a way now to have every Republican in uniform unceremoniously transferred from the White House.

The next day they heard about the censure.

The day after the State of the Union Jake told them both what had happened with Leo's blessing. Leo who was hanging outside the bullpen having a spirited conversation with Ainsley about Lipstick Feminism with two caps locks and looking rather alarmed at how the conversation was going, was also there. Toby suspected that he was not there by accident.

By half two the lawyers were gone and CJ had shut the door to her office.

"Well…" she said as she eyed Leo's box of double stuffed cookies he had sent free of charge. "I suppose that he takes more after me than I wanted"

There was a pause as Toby realised what she meant.

"That's different" he said quietly. "Leo wasn't married. Leo wasn't the VP candidate. Leo didn't see him coming a mile off. This is not that"

They didn't talk about what had taken place between CJ and Hoynes and if he had his way he never would. But it was there. Just like her secrets, just like his—his father top of the list and now just like Jake's.

CJ smiled at him but it didn't meet her eyes and she rested her head on his shoulder.

Toby let her.

"Jacob?"

"Mr President?"

"Step into the office please"

Jake followed the President into the office, the snow was still on the ground and he saw the two passes.

"For your friend and that pretty girl. And I told Ron that I want to meet them when they turn up too so do it on a day I am in the office."

"Okay, Mr President you don't have too—"

"I know you were prepared to lie even after we told you not too"

Jake said nothing.

"That was awfully nice of you son" the President said quietly. "To risk your future for two old men."

"You're not that old Mr President"

"Don't be cute kid, I am feeling it today more than I have ever felt it before"

There was a pause as Jake took the passes and then.

"You wanna see a map Jacob?"

"Is it the one that doesn't recognise Israel?"

"Oh God did they get to you too?"

"No, I told Dad it was insane—"

From outside the room Charlie Young who was debating if Dolores Landingham was right about Glee club heard what sounded like a very loud. THANK YOU! coming from the Oval Office.

He bit his lip and grinned.

Surely now all could go back to normal.

Couldn't it?

And there you go, enjoy and I will bring you the next one hopefully soon!.

Next Chapter-Tensions erupt between the President and Toby over the Presidents father causing Jed to confess something to Stanley Keyworth (next chapter will be mostly Jed's POV)