Chapter Text
Back at the hotel, the Santos team had descended on the hospitality suite to celebrate and relax after the day’s surprising turn. They still had the final day of the Convention to face, speeches to write, bridges to build to those who’d preferred one of the other candidates, along with the general election to prepare for, but for the moment, there was only joy and relief.
Zoey made her way around the room, a glass of wine in one hand and her other intertwined with Charlie’s. Her parents had been by briefly, telling her how proud they were, but Abbey Bartlet had kept a close eye on the clock on the wall, and had begged off after a half hour.
Despite the jovial mood, Zoey found herself somewhat cross at a rather noticeable absence. Josh had not been there when her father had introduced the Santos/McGarry ticket, and he hadn’t bothered to show up for the after party either. She’d tried his cell, but it kept going to voicemail. She knew she’d been a little hard on him earlier, but he had needed to hear it, and in her experience Josh generally listened when he was wrong and didn’t hide from his responsibilities.
Matt Santos was making the rounds with Helen, their children already asleep in their hotel room under his mother’s watchful eye. He chatted with the volunteers, posing for pictures and signing autographs. But he, too, was keenly aware the festivities showed a certain lack of the campaign manager who’d made it all possible.
“Okay, has anyone seen Josh Lyman?” the newly minted Democratic nominee asked the crowd. “He’s about six foot, with dark curly hair, usually has his nose buried in a briefing memo? I was really hoping to see what he looked like without the weight of the world on his shoulders for one night.”
“Not much chance of that,” Leo said, a bottle of water in his hand. “That seems to be a lesson the kid needs to relearn.”
“If only there were someone from his past,” Zoey said, approaching them, “someone on whom he could instinctively rely, who can make him laugh, make him think, and bring him back to reality when he gets too wrapped up in himself.”
Santos regarded her quizzically. “I thought that’s what you were doing. Does this mean you’ve decided to stick around after all?”
“Oh, not me,” she laughed, leaning closer to Charlie. “Someone much more skilled. Who knows him better than I do, and who would be a great asset to your campaign far beyond what she could offer as the Josh Whisperer. And someone who, quite coincidentally, is about to be looking for a job.”
The Congressman looked confused. “If there’s someone like that out there, by all means, let’s bring them in.”
“It’s a little tricky, sir,” Zoey said, even as she gave a nod of confirmation in response to the questioning looks from Helen and Ronna, and an impish grin at Leo’s rolling eyes. “They’ve been a little out of sorts this year, but I think if we all put our heads together, we can get them to work things out. For the good of the campaign, of course.”
“Of course,” Santos said. He turned to Leo. “You’re scowling. Is there something wrong with Miss Bartlet’s idea?”
“Not wrong as such,” Leo said. “And she’s correct that bringing this person on board is probably the best thing you could do for us. But one thing you need to know about Josh is that he’s stubborn as all hell”
“I may have noticed that,” Santos laughed.
“He’ll be a team player, though, if we gang up on him.”
“All right,” Congressman Santos said, “let’s go knock some sense into my campaign manager.”
---
“He’s not working in the staff room,” Ronna said, coming back from that direction.
“If he’s not there, he’ll be in his room,” Leo said knowingly. “If I thought the kid was actually asleep, I’d tell you to call this whole thing off.”
“He is more in need of a good night’s rest than anyone I’ve ever seen,” Congressman Santos said, “and if he’s actually sleeping and not working, we’ll let him be. But he’s not sleeping, is he?”
“Nah,” Leo said.
“I got Donna’s voicemail too,” Zoey piped in from behind the small crowd now roaming the halls of the hotel. “I hope she’s not too disappointed about losing.”
“I’ll call Will,” Charlie offered.
They all piled into the elevator - Congressman Santos and his wife, Leo, Charlie, Zoey, Ronna, and the Secret Service detail assigned to protect the nominees. They rode to the floor where Josh was staying and headed down the hall.
Charlie was listening intently to his phone. “They did? ... No, I didn’t know that... And after? Together? … Yeah, thanks Will.”
He watched as Santos approached Josh’s room. “I don’t think this is a good idea,” Charlie began, but he was a fraction of a second too late; the Congressman’s closed fist rapped loudly on the door.
“Josh, get your butt down to the party, right now!” Santos announced loudly.
There was a muffled response, and about a minute or so later, the door cracked open. “Congressman?”
Santos glanced briefly at Josh, standing there with his hair flying off in all directions, dressed in an undershirt and trousers. “C’mon, Josh, your absence is conspicuous. People want to say nice things about you, and you’re just going to have to come down and deal with it.”
Josh shook his head and took a step back. “I’m sorry, Congressman, I’m, uh, a little busy at the moment.”
Taking the step backward as an invitation to enter, Santos pushed his way into the room. Behind him, however, Charlie was whispering to the other members of the posse. Josh, for his part, moved quickly across the room to stand in front of the bathroom door, his expression somewhat alarmed.
“This is our night, Josh, this is what we worked all these months for,” Santos was saying. “What could possibly be more important…”
"Congressman," Josh said, a little louder than necessary.
“Josh?” came a soft voice as the bathroom door as it started to open, revealing Donna with a towel was wrapped around her head, and wearing one of the hotel's fluffy white robes. “Is that room service?”
“Donna!” Josh whispered fiercely behind him. "Stay in there - we have company!"
There was a muffled exclamation, and the head disappeared back into the bathroom.
“Matt,” Helen said, a smile on her face. "Maybe we should give them some privacy?"
Understanding dawned on the Congressman. “Ah. I was told by my trusted advisers to inform you that we’re hiring Russell’s chicken fighter and not to let you argue about it. I didn’t realize you were already in negotiations.”
Josh blushed at that.
“All right, then, I think we can give you a night off,” Santos said as Josh walked him back to the hallway. “We can talk tomorrow. Afternoon, I think. And ask Ms. Moss to join us, if you would.”
“Thank you, sir,” Josh said, clearly uncomfortable.
Zoey was the last one to leave, with Charlie waiting in the hall.
“You’re a bit of a meddlesome brat, you know that?” Josh said.
Zoey grinned, then stepped up and gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I do, in fact, know that. It was worth it.”
Josh returned the hug tightly, and then stepped back to close the door. Before it shut, he smiled, saying “Thank you.”