One of Those Things

by babykid528

Summary:

Eight hours and twenty-six minutes ago, Sam had taken off for Orange County...

Notes:

Spoilers: Through Sam's Season 4 Exit

A/N: This was prompted by karaokegal's Song Lyrics Prompt A Day, Prompt 1. After much hashing out with dearest beta goddess, K-Gal, we polished my dribble into this shiny vignette. :-) Thanks to her for the help, as always!

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Aaron Sorkin's a god and I WISH I could write like he does!

Five years ago, Josh had shown up in New York City for the second time in just as many days.

He'd been sopping wet, but smiling, and the stupid grin on his face had turned Sam's crappy existence right again, almost as soon as their eyes met, at least that's what Sam always told him And just like that, Sam had left everything behind, swept up in Josh's wake, and followed him to the campaign trail of an underdog candidate and on to the White House. Back then, Josh had promised Sam that Bartlet was the real deal, something he'd truly believed. Something, Josh had to remind himself, he still believed at heart. The first chink had been learning about the MS. That deception had crushed Josh more for what it might do to Sam's idealism than the impact it had on Josh's own wavering sense of hope.

Eight hours and twenty-six minutes ago, Sam had taken off for Orange County, for a new campaign trail where he would be the underdog candidate and he'd never make it to Congress. And he'd left Josh.

Truthfully, Josh was surprised Sam hadn't left long before tonight.

Josh lies awake, unable to quiet his mind. It's the first night in weeks he's had this many hours to himself. He needs to sleep, but whenever he closes his eyes, he pictures Sam's resolved eyes, clouded by a threatening shadow of cynicism. Josh remembers the sharp lines of Sam's squared jaw, clenched tightly shut. The same angles he'd spent years tracing with his eyes, and more recent years tracing with his lips and tongue. He's anxious because there is a dark voice whispering at the edges of his mind that sounds remarkably like Toby.

This is it. The end of an era.

It's not a question of whether or not he'll see his best friend again. Sam can't escape Josh now by moving across the country any more than Josh could escape Sam by obsessing over Mandy, Joey, Amy, or even occasionally Donna. They've always been stuck in this never-ending dance of friendship and more; the timing is simply off at the moment. The administration is off as well.

In Josh's mind, Sam has been losing faith in him day by day starting with the MS revelation and then followed by the Drop-In fiasco. The guilt weighs especially heavy on Josh's chest tonight, curiously near his scar. He restlessly flips over, twisting himself in the sheets. His alarm clock says 2:42AM. Three hours left to sleep. He squeezes his eyes shut, trying not to imagine the relaxed look Sam always wears while sleeping sprawled out beside him. Trying not to wonder if Sam will look the same in the hotel room bed where he's most likely sleeping off his jet lag right now on the opposite coast. He groans, half hard at the thought.

Josh would find a way to make it up to Sam. After all, he's Josh Lyman and if he tries hard enough he can fix anything.

And this time, he really has to.