Chapter Text
Spring in New Hampshire
by: Jen
Character(s): Sam, Senior Staff
Pairing(s): Josh/Sam
Category(s): Drama
Rating: CHILD
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Aaron Sorkin etc
Summary: Sam has a problem with Spring in New Hampshire
Sam Seaborn peered at himself in the mirror while the shower heated up. He had to admit he didn't look so great. He ran a finger along the dark circles under his eyes, and then rubbed the red rims of his eyelids. His blue irises stared blankly back at him for a moment as if he was watching someone else, then Sam blinked and gave his head a little shake. Shower. That's what he was doing...Sam grinned ruefully at his reflection. He knew a speech writing session with the President in a hay barn would be a bad idea...
It had begun with the second campaign trip to Manchester. Sam had never been to New England in the Spring, and he was looking forward to getting out into the countryside. It had seemed there was never time in New York to head for the great outdoors, and Sam missed the huge blue vistas of California more than ever.
Josh, of course, was buzzing with excitement. He loved returning to New Hampshire as a man with a mission - to get Governor Bartlet elected. Josh was also keen to show Sam the beauty of his own turf. He had been to Sam's side of the country often enough, and wanted to show off his own North-eastern corner. After a lunch together at the Governor's home, the team had a couple of hours to look around the town. Toby wanted to catch up on some reading so Josh, Sam and CJ headed for the local gardens to "get a feel for the natural beauty of this place" (Josh's words, of course). They wandered down through the parklands, still talking about the campaign, which consumed their thoughts day and night.
"I just can't see where we should go with the peace issue," bemoaned CJ, raising a topic they would have to address with Leo that evening. "It will have to be closely linked with everything we're saying about international relations."
"Why do we have to make the links?" Josh loved devil's advocate.
"We can...a-achoo!" Sam sneezed. "I...think...a-achoo!"
Josh snorted, "Wow, Sam, that was supremely eloquent. Any other contributions like that, we can win this election for sure." He grinned at Sam, who was poised mid-stride...only to sneeze again,
"Aaachoo! Damn, I must be getting a cold." Sam blew his nose.
"Don't get sick here," warned Josh, "The Governor will never forgive you!"
"Shut-up, Josh." CJ of course. "Sam, do you want to head back?"
"No, I'm fine. Let's keep going." Sam moved on down the slope towards the creek. They continued their admiration of New England flora and the peace and quiet of the town as they made their way back to the Bartlet's residence for meetings.
Three hours later, Toby slammed down his papers and pointed his pen at Sam in a distinctively sword-like fashion,
"For God's sake, Sam, will you shove a plug up your nose or something?" He blew a long, angry breath of air out between his teeth and rubbed a hand across his forehead. Sam jerked his head backwards from the unexpected outburst and stared at Toby, managing to look startled and wounded at the same time. Toby stared back, taking in Sam's pale face and red nose. He changed tack and stood up. "Coffee?"
They headed into the kitchen. Sam sat at the scrubbed wooden table and rubbed his eyes. They were so sore. He couldn't ever remember having a cold like this, sore head, sore nose, sore eyes. Just then, Josh breezed into the room.
"Hey, Toby. Hey, Sam, feeling better..." His voice trailed off as he took in Sam's appearance. "Man, you look like hell. What did you do to him, Toby?"
Toby snorted. "I asked for a little assistance with this speech and all I get is 'cough, sneeze, cough, sneeze'." He rattled the papers in his hand. "I'm blaming you, Josh. You're the one who insisted he go out into the great New Hampshire countryside. What did YOU do to him? He was fine before that." Toby turned back to the coffee machine.
Josh moved his focus back to Sam. "What's the story, buddy?"
Sam shrugged, "It's nothing. Just a cold."
The next morning, Sam had no voice and very red eyes. He had kept Josh awake most of the night, sneezing, and Josh was irritable.
"You can't work, so just stay there. I need a break. I'll call later." Josh slammed the motel room door. Sam leaned back on the pillows with a sigh. This wasn't working out the way he had hoped.
Everyone stayed away from Sam for the next day and a half, then they collected him to head south for the next rally.
Three weeks later they returned to Manchester for the May Day celebrations. Here they hoped to introduce the powerful peace message crafted for Bartlet's campaign. Everyone was nervous as the bus pulled into town. This was going to be a real decider in the Presidential race, and Jed Bartlet had to pull off a convincing and moving performance as someone who could weald power whilst striving for peace.
Two hours after their arrival, Sam, who had recovered from his cold surprisingly quickly, began to sneeze. He was walking up to the Bartlet's with CJ when it started. CJ stared at him open-mouthed as he held onto a lamp-post for balance and sneezed over and over.
"Seven!" she exclaimed in horror. "I thought you were over that cold."
"I...I was," Sam gasped. He blew his nose and straightened up. "Let's go." They continued on, CJ glancing sideways at Sam, whose breathing seemed to be labouring as they took the slight hill. She couldn't believe he was sick again.
"Sam..."
"CJ, I'm sure it's nothing," panted Sam, interrupting her. "Just pretend it never happened."
"That's not so easy. You look a bit whiter than that fence you're passing."
They reached the Bartlet home. Sam paused on the porch, panting.
"You go in...I'll..aaachoo...be there in a minute." Sam blew his nose again and sat down heavily on the porch steps. He could feel the same pains of three weeks ago closing around his head like a vice. He didn't get it. He was never sick, and now two colds in a month. Sam sighed, then rose and headed inside.
They worked solidly through the morning, the tension high - everyone was keyed up in preparation for the rally in two days time. Sam tried to ignore his aching head. He had taken a wad of aspirin to no avail, and was only relieved that the sneezing seemed to have abated somewhat. He hoped no-one was noticing the difficulty he was having reading his notes...
Leo was the first to blow this time. He slammed his pen down and glared at Sam menacingly,
"I swear to God, if you take those glasses off to rub your eyes one more time, I'm going to throttle you. What the hell are you doing?"
Sam froze, one hand already on the gold frame of his reading glasses. He slowly lowered his hand, swallowing audibly, and glanced at the others. Toby was leaning back in his chair, ready for an interesting scene. Josh had looked up startled from his reference book, and was also staring at Sam. He leaned towards Sam,
"What's going on, buddy?"
"I'll tell you," exploded Leo, "he's lost his brain somewhere on the campaign trail."
Sam looked at the men before him. "I think I might, might...aaachoo!"
"Not again!" Toby also threw his pen on the table. "Go to bed, Sam, before we all catch whatever the hell you've got again."
"But I..."
"NO!" came a chorus of shouts from everyone at the table. Sam stood up, gathered his notes, and slunk towards the door. He turned and shot Toby a pleading glance from the doorway, but Toby just shook his head. Sam sighed loudly and slipped out the back door.
The following morning, Josh and Sam arrived for the morning session looking decidedly dishevelled; Josh was tired and grumpy, Sam was pale with the dark rings of sleeplessness encircling his watering eyes. They came into the kitchen where Leo and Jed were having coffee. Leo looked up and rolled his eyes.
"Don't tell me you two found some way to get plastered last night."
Jed swivelled to stare at them, "Good morning, Josh, Sam. Leo's right, you don't look so good. Was there a party you two failed to mention to the rest of us?" He smiled quizzically at the pair.
Josh returned Leo's roll of the eyes. "You two do realise where we are, right? I don't think they do parties up here, and certainly not the sort where we're going to get off our faces! No, no, no, no, no," Josh gestured at Sam, "our problem lies right here." He turned away and poured some coffee for them both. Leo and Jed looked at Sam, who tried to meet their gaze innocently. He leaned against the counter, attempting to appear nonchalant.
"Good morning, Governor, Leo" he croaked. Realising the futility of pretence, he dropped his gaze to the floor and folded his arms protectively. The older men looked at one another. Jed frowned at Josh.
"Wasn't he sick last time we were here?" Josh shrugged vaguely. "Josh?"
"Yeah," sighed Josh, "same thing, same symptoms." He sipped his coffee.
"Who has the same symptoms?" smiled Abby Bartlet, breezing into the kitchen. Jed and Leo rose momentarily and Sam straightened up, still staring fixedly at the floor.
"Morning, Josh, Sam. Is everything okay?" No-one answered. She took in Josh's appearance at a glance and frowned at him. "Josh?" Josh inclined his head towards Sam. Abby stepped over and tilted Sam's chin up with her finger. His distress was evident. Abby took in the red eyelids, red nose, pale face, and she could see the pain reflected in his blue eyes. "Is this a cold?"
Josh stepped forward, "It's the exact same thing he had last time we were here. It just hit him all of a sudden."
Abby frowned, "When were you last here? Wasn't it just a couple of weeks ago?"
"Three," confirmed Leo.
"And he was fine in between?" Abby seemed to think Josh would answer better than Sam.
"Yes, ma'am, the minute we hit Washington he was right as rain."
Abby looked at Sam, and the dark shadows around his eyes. "Josh, has Sam been up here before? Apart from the last trip?"
"We were here in November, but he was fine then."
There was a pause. Josh sipped his coffee. Abby moved thoughtfully over to the coffee machine. The silence was broken by Sam, turning away and exploding with four huge sneezes.
"See why I can't get any sleep?" Josh gestured at Sam with his coffee cup.
Abby smiled across the room at her husband and Leo, "Mind if I borrow Sam for a few minutes?"
"Keep him for the rest of the day," grunted Leo. "I was ready to attack him last night."
Jed regarded Abby knowingly, "You have an idea?"
Abby nodded, and took Sam by the arm, "Do you mind popping down to my office, Sam?" Sam glanced around the kitchen. It was obvious he was about to protest, when they heard CJ walking down the hall speaking to...Toby. Sam clearly changed his mind, and docilely followed Abby out the other door.
Abby sat Sam down in her office, and took a good look at him. "So, Sam, do your eyes hurt?" A nod. "Throat?" A nod. "Nose? You don't need to answer, I can see that. Does your head feel like it is about to explode?" Eyes widening in appreciative surprise, Sam nodded again. "Feel a bit short of breath?" Another nod. "Do you mind if I listen to your chest?" A hesitant shake of the head.
After a brief examination, Abby sat down at her desk and looked at Sam, "Do you know what I think?" Another shake of the head. "Sam, have you ever suffered from hay-fever?"
Sam frowned, "No,ma'am," he whispered. It was better than a croak.
"Well, I think you do now. I think Spring in New Hampshire may be your problem."
"Spring? Here?" A squeaky whisper.
Abby nodded briskly. "It's the pollens and things at this time of the year, often affects locals too. Sam, would you be willing to try some hay fever medication?"
"Allergic to New Hampshire?" Josh was snorting with laughter.
"Oh, for God's sake, Josh, give it a rest," sighed CJ. "You must've said that fifty times now! Leave the kid alone."
Sam's head came up at that one, "I'm not a kid," he croaked. "Can't I just have one beer?"
"Do you know how much like a kid you sounded then?" asked Toby. "And, no, you can't drink while you're on that hay fever medication" He took a long sip of his own beer, and smiled ever so slightly. "Drink up your lemonade. It's past your bedtime!"
Josh collapsed in laughter on the other side of the table.
End