October 30 – 9 days until the election
Josh' POV:
My head is swirling from everything going on around me. I feel like
I'm being pulled in 10 different directions. The Governor just
collapsed while we were doing a final run through for the final debate
that is scheduled to start 7 hours from now. Leo should have been here
over and hour ago and when I was finally able to reach him, he
sounded…off. Donna has been fighting off advances from John Hoynes
without telling me and the election is in 9 days; with the polling
showing it too close to call. Are we sure Halloween isn't until
tomorrow, because I don't mind telling you I'm feeling pretty
scared right now.
My action at this point is dictated more by what I can't do than
what I can. I can't help the Governor; he's with Abby and
another Doctor. I can't do anything about Hoynes; he's been out
of the hotel since the crack of dawn. That leaves Leo. So I'm pacing
out in front of the debate site waiting for Leo to arrive. He'll
know what to do.
As soon as the door of his cab opens and I see his face, I know. Shit,
he's been drinking…a lot. I immediately revise my plans and get
into the cab with him, ordering it back to the hotel.
"What are ya doin'?" he slurs. "I have to see Jed."
"You can't. Not like this." I tell him tersely. Leo's
alcoholism is a well known Washington secret but I haven't seen him
drunk for years.
"What happened ta Jed?" he asks like a scared child.
"They've got a Doctor with him now. As soon as we know
what's wrong, Donna will call me." I assure him. God, what the
hell was he thinking? Drinking the day of the final debate?
It takes only a few minutes to get back to the hotel and I walk Leo up
to his suite. I take his key card from him and let us into his room. I
shut the door behind us and take stock of the room. There's a stench
of stale smoke and liquor. The same scent you get in a bar just after
closing. The table is littered with empty miniature liquor bottles and I
shake my head in sadness. How can someone so brilliant, so experienced,
fuck up like this?
"I'm sorry." He tells me. "I should have been
there."
I move over to the in room coffee machine and start brewing some coffee.
He's going to need it.
"What happened?" I ask him.
"Dozn matter." Leo admits. "I screwed up."
"Leo, it's 9 days until the election." I remind him.
"I know it!" he shouts back at me. "Don't ya think I
know it?!"
"Okay, calm down. We're going to get some coffee in you and some
aspirin. Then you're going to sleep for awhile before the
debate…if it's still on." I mutter. My cell rings and I pick
it up to hear the latest from Donna
"C.J. just came down from the suite. The Governor has an inner ear
infection."
I rub my fingers over my forehead and down my neck. "Is the Governor
going to be able to debate tonight?"
"They think so. They gave him a shot of antibiotics and he's
going to rest until then." Donna sounds very worried. "He's
asking for Leo."
"Leo is…a bit under the weather himself." I ad lib. "He
won't be able to get there much before the debate. Tell the Governor
I can go over any list minute items that come up."
"Is everything okay there?"
"Yeah." I tell her in a way that lets her know it's a
complete lie. "I'll be down there in a few minutes. C.J. needs
to issue a statement before-"
"She's working on it right now, but she wants to run it past Leo
before she releases it." Donna interrupts me.
"Well she can't!" I lash out. Then I take a deep breath
before I continue. "I'm sorry. There's just a lot... Tell
C.J. I'll be right there." I instruct her and she hangs up with
a quick `got it'.
The coffee is done brewing now and I pour a cup and put it in Leo's
hand. Then I take the hotel room trash bin and sweep everything off the
coffee table and into the bin. All the bottles make quite a noise as
they smash into one another and Leo winces. Next, I move to the mini-bar
and trash what little is left in there too. I stick the bin outside the
door; I'll get rid of it all on my way out.
"Do not open this door for anyone but me or Donna. Got it?" I
wait until he nods his agreement. "One of us will be back to get you
before the debate starts."
My head is pounding by the time I get downstairs where the rest of the
crew has gathered in the war room.
There is a loud `discussion' taking place when I get there about
what C.J. should say to the press.
"I'll read the statement from the doctor. That should be
enough." C.J. argues.
"We're nine days out. We can't let the doctor's
statement be the only thing to come out of our spokesperson' s mouth.
C.J., you need to assure the press that there is nothing to be concerned
about in terms of the Governors health." Toby counters.
"Sorry, Toby, but I'm not a doctor, so I don't feel
comfortable doing that!" C.J. shouts.
"You don't have to be a doctor." Sam explains.
"You've worked and traveled with the man every day for months.
You can offer your own opinion about his health and stamina."
"No." C.J. refuses.
"You have to do this, C.J." Mandy argues. "It has to be
done."
"Then you do it, Mandy!" C.J. gets up and goes toe to toe with
Mandy.
I whistle loudly and everyone turns to me. "Everybody needs to calm
down." I make eye contact with each and every one of them.
"Leo's sick. The Governor's sick. That means we need to pull
together for them for the next few hours."
"And that's why it's imperative that C.J.-" Mandy
starts.
"I don't answer to you, Mandy." C.J. snaps back.
"That's it!" I shout. "C.J. and I have the room,
everybody else…out." I watch as the rest of our crew files out
of the room and wait until the door closes before I speak to C.J.
"You said you didn't know what you saw Dr. Bartlet giving the
Governor." I remind her
"And you said you would ask Leo about it if we won the
nomination." C.J. scoffs.
"Look, I've been a little busy with actual…stuff! I'm
helping to run a national campaign. Why is it so hard to believe that
Dr. Bartlet was giving him some antibiotics to avoid a trip to the
doctor while we were on the road?"
"Because if it was just that, they'd have done it in front of us
and told us that's what they were doing; just like they did today.
This is something else and I'm not going out on a credibility limb
on this."
And the hits just keep on coming…"What do you want to do then?"
I ask.
"I'll read the Doctor's statement, but any questions I get
are going to be referred back to him." She allows.
"I can live with that." I tell her. "But do it now. I'm
sure there are already some rumors floating around. We also need to
soften the ground in case we have to re-schedule the debate."
"Do you think we'll have to?" she asks.
"God, C.J., I don't know, but we need to be prepared for
anything." I rub the back of my neck again. "Get out there and
release it now, okay?"
C.J. nods and exits the room. As soon as she opens the door, everyone
else pours in shouting questions at me all at once. Donna gives me her
`are you okay' look and I reluctantly nod. At one point during
the cacophony I hear Mandy tell Donna to make some copies for her. At
this point I step in.
"Donna's busy with other things, Mandy. Find an intern." I
order. Mandy raises her eyebrows at me, but I ignore her and ask Sam to
revamp the social security answer one more time. My head is pounding and
I close my eyes for a second. When I open them again, Donna is holding
out some ibuprofen and a bottle of water. I take them gratefully and
give her a smile. In all this madness, at least one thing is going
right; I have Donna.
In all the chaos of the next few hours, I'm able to block certain
things out of my immediate consciousness, but they are always hovering
just below the surface; is Governor Bartlet hiding something from us,
what do I do if Leo starts drinking again, and what put Donna in the
sights of John Hoynes? I look over at our busy crew and find my gaze
locked on Mandy just a moment longer than I normally do and at that
point I see something in the way she's observing Donna. Speculation?
That's close, but not quite it. There's something a little
more…devious in her eyes.; like she's planning something. That
can't be good.
"Mr. Lyman?" I'm being summoned by a member of the Secret
Service. "You wanted to be alerted when Stetson was back in the
building? They're just pulling up now."
"Thanks." I reply and head out the door. I've given this a
great deal of thought and I know precisely how I want to play this.
First, I get him on my turf…
"Senator." I greet him as he enters the lobby with his
entourage. "I need you a moment, sir." I turn and start walking
without looking to see if he's following me. I lead him and his
detail up to my room and let the detail enter first to check things out.
Once they're done, I hold the door open for the Senator and shut it
behind us.
"Something on your mind Josh?" he smirks.
"Anything IN yours, Senator?" I shoot back. "You can't
afford a scandal at this point in the election cycle and I know you
don't drink anymore, so why don't you explain to me what you
were doing in the bar last night."
"I'm the Democratic nominee for Vice-President. I don't
think I owe you an explanation for anything that I do."
"I'm in charge of strategic planning for the campaign, so I
think you do." I reply.
"I heard a group from the campaign was going to be there and I
thought it might be nice to relax and unwind with the staff." He
smirks again. Big mistake.
"The staff, or Donna Moss?" I clarify.
"Josh…Donna's a beautiful woman who seems to be enamored
with the prestige and power that comes with a Presidential campaign.
You've seen that for yourself. I thought she might like to move up
the food chain."
I scoff. "She was hardly a willing participant last night."
"She'd had too much to drink. Alcohol has a bad effect on
decision making." He counters.
"I'm just wondering what you found most attractive; Donna or
Donna's proximity to me?"
"Donna's a beautiful woman."
"This campaign is filled with beautiful women. Why her?" I push.
"Are you honestly going to stand there and tell me there wasn't
an element of payback for me in your choice to go after her?"
"It's all about you, isn't it Josh." He taunts and pulls
a bottle water of water from my mini-frig and takes a drink.
"No, this is all about you and your addictions; alcohol, women.
Donna just became a pawn in your game because you're pissed that I
bailed on you to work for the Governor." I lay it out. "You
still can't fathom why I left a sure bet like you for Governor
Bartlet. The ultimate payback would have been to beat us for the
nomination, but that just didn't work out for you, so what's
left? You saw me with Donna the day you accepted the VP spot. You knew
exactly what you were doing when you pursued her, when you threatened
her, and when you used her to threaten me."
"Donna, like a lot of women, knows how to play to people against one
another. Maybe she's just toying with you until she can hook up with
someone a little more powerful, a little more famous. I don't have
to pursue or threaten women, Josh. They come right to me. You've
seen it happen time and time again." He replies cynically.
"Is there any woman you think just might be immune to your charm?
Any woman who'd be off limits to you?" I ask incredulously.
"Women with jealous husbands are always good to steer clear of."
He answers and takes another swig of water. "There isn't a man
on this campaign that hasn't had a fling. You've had plenty
yourself. You're having one now. So don't get all high and
mighty with me."
"Don't put my relationship with Donna on the same plane with
your cheap affairs. I'm not married to another woman and I
didn't coerce Donna into a relationship with me. You can't make
either claim with your…choices. " I take a breath and make my
move. "I need to be very clear here. You stay far away from any
woman who isn't Suzanne and if you so much as think about Donna
Moss, you're going to find yourself in a very uncomfortable
professional position."
"Donna Moss is a beautiful, single woman. Who she associates with is
up to her. And please save your breath with the professional
threats." Hoynes laughed. "I'm the Vice-Presidential nominee
on your ticket. You can't lay a finger on me without hurting
Bartlet."
"See, that's why you didn't get the nomination. You
don't have the ability to think outside the box. I won't do
anything to mess up the ticket, that's true, but you obviously
haven't considered the potential for Vice-Presidential duties…or
lack thereof. You screw with me on this and I promise you that as
Vice-President you won't be doing anything but ribbon cuttings in
outer Mongolia. You will be effectively exiled."
"This really is a thing to you." Hoynes notes and seems to
reconsider his next move. "The information I had was that this was
just a campaign fling."
"Information from whom?" I ask pointedly, but Hoynes just
shakes his head. "You were tragically misinformed. You had best
watch yourself, Senator, because I sure as hell will be watching
you."
"That's what I love most about you Bartlet boys. You like to
claim the moral high ground, but you're angels with dirty faces just
like the rest of us. I heard C.J. Cregg's statement about the
Governor. You better hope that doesn't bite you in the ass in the
next 9 days."
"C.J. read a statement from the doctor who said he had an inner ear
infection. What the hell are you talking about it?"
An ironic smile breaks out on the face of John Hoynes and I feel a
prickle of fear run up my spine. "They didn't tell you either,
did they?" Hoynes actually laughs. "You usually run opposition
research on your candidates. You didn't do a very thorough job this
time." He gets up and pauses before he opens the door. "Better
take another look at Bartlet's medical history." He advises me
before he walks out the door. Shit.
************ ********* ********* *********
"Josh, who are we going to-"
"Not now!" I continue on my direct path to Leo's room,
ignoring whichever insignificant staffer just tried to intercept me. I
glance at the cell phone that's going off in my hand. It's Toby.
"I can't talk now. Call me back in 10 minutes." I hang up
before he gets a word in edgewise and I pound on Leo's door.
"Leo, it's Josh. Let me in." I wait an ungodly amount of
time before he blearily opens the door for me. Normally, I'd let the
man wake up and get his bearings, but in this case, I think I'll get
the most honest response when he's half awake and unprepared. Yes, I
know. It's Leo, and here I am scheming to get an unrehearsed answer
for him, but I'm experiencing a little stress right now.
"What the hell don't I know about the Governor's
health?" I ask point blank.
"What?" Leo asks and there's no missing the confusion on his
face.
"The Governor. I'm hearing rumors that there's an issue
about the Governor's health. I can't afford to be blindsided by
anything at this point, Leo. The campaign can't afford it either.
What don't I know?!" I'm shouting now and Leo appears
genuinely alarmed.
"There's nothing. I swear. It's election dirty tricks or
something." He tells me without a moment of hesitation.
"Are you sure?" I ask quietly giving him another opportunity to
give me a different answer.
"I've known Jed Bartlet for decades." He begins.
"He's a son of a bitch when he's sick, I can tell you that,
but he's as healthy as you are…only, you know, older.
Where'd you hear this?"
"A source inside the party." I hedge.
"They're wrong." He gets up and goes to his briefcase and
pulls out a file that he hands to me. "This is the medical report
from the physical he took during the primary. The entire thing. See for
yourself."
"You just walk around with this thing?"
"Sometimes, reporters have questions about health issues. I'm
sure C.J. is answering some now. Having this on hand helps with the
detailed questions." He explains.
I take the file from him and page through it, but I don't know what
the hell I'm looking for so I don't bother to look at it much.
Truth be told, I'm a lot more re-assured by Leo's manner than
anything I could read from a medical report. If he were lying or even
holding something back right now, I could tell. Leo's a great poker
player, but he's exhausted and hung-over right now and I can see
everything he's feeling float across his face like a neon sign.
"Okay. The guy was probably just messing with me then." I tell
him and start rolling it over in my brain. Yeah, Hoynes would play with
me like that just to knock me off my game. Just like he'd harass
Donna to get to me. Don't get me wrong; Donna is a beautiful woman
and I have no doubt that he was attracted to her, but the icing on the
cake was that she was connected to me. Our conversation proved that.
"Where are we at about tonight?" Leo's question jolts me out
of my reverie and reminds me that he's been out of touch for several
hours.
"The Governor is resting. Abby said he'll be fine for the
debate." I pause and answer the question he won't ask.
"I'll tell him you got sick from something you ate at
lunch."
Leo closes his eyes as the impact of what he did hits him anew.
"I have to tell him the truth."
"Yeah…but not now; not before the debate. You can sit down with
him later. In the oval office, maybe." I try to smile to lighten the
mood, but he doesn't react to my joke at all except to note one
thing.
"If Toby heard you say that he'd make you go outside, turn
around 3 times, and spit."
"Then it's lucky this is just between you and me." I assure
him and he nods; understanding my unspoken promise that I won't be
sharing any of this with anyone.
"I should get downstairs. Are you going to be able to make it down
for pre-game?" I wait until he meets my eye. "We need you down
there."
"I'll be there." He promises and gets up to pour some more
coffee.
"I'll have Donna come up for you when we need you for spin."
I tell him. "You should take a shower and shave. You look like
hell."
"Well then I look exactly like I feel." He mutters.
I stop on my way out the door to tell him one last thing. "You
screwed up. Everyone does. This was just a one time thing. It
doesn't have to mean anything more than that."
"I wish I believed that." He responds.
"I believe in you." I assure him. "That'll have to do
for now. Get ready. We've got a big night ahead of us."
When I walk out into the hall I find Donna waiting there for me.
Don't ask me how she knew where I was; I have no clue. But I am damn
glad to see her.
"Eat this." She hands me a Styrofoam container.
"This doesn't smell like a burnt burger." I remark as I
sniff it. It smells…spicey.
"Deep dish pizza loaded with all manner of unhealthy things."
She says and I nearly trip over myself as her answer registers in my
brain.
"You brought me junk food? Now?"
"You've had quite an eventful 24 hours. I figured you needed the
pick me up." She grinned and I fell in love with her a little more.
I grab her by the waist and push her into the nearest wall where I trap
her with my arms.
"Donnatella Moss, how is that you know exactly where to find me and
know exactly what I need?" I ask intently
"I'm tuned to you." She replies without batting an eyelash.
I crush her mouth under mine and get so caught up in her that I
momentarily forget about Presidential debates, or even more importantly,
deep dish pizza. As usual, it's Donna that keeps me on track.
"Josh we're in the middle of the hallway." She whispers into
my ear and tries to pull away. After a deep breath, I let her go, but
keep possession of one of her hands.
"You're right. We should go back to my room." I say, only
half joking.
"We should." She agrees and surprises me for the second time in
as many minutes. "You need a shower and a fresh change of clothes
before you start spinning on national television. I have the perfect tie
picked out for you."
"Fine." I agree and follow her towards the room I'm sharing
with Sam. I desperately want to open the Styrofoam container but I'd
have to let go of her hand to do that, and I think I need her hand more
right now. I don't care who sees us; which is good since we
literally run into Toby.
If he notices, he doesn't show it.
"You hang up on me? You are the de facto campaign manager, we're
two hours out from the debate, and you hang up on me?!" He accuses.
"I don't think there's any such thing as a de facto campaign
manager." I reply and since Donna has hurriedly dropped my hand I
decide to use it to open the container and stuff some pizza in my mouth,
but I keep walking toward my room.
"Abby called down and said the Governor wants to see us. She says
he's up and raring to go. Do you think that's good?" he asks
and I laugh.
"I'm pretty sure it is." I tell him around a mouthful of
pizza.
"I have the revised Social Security answer, but no one has approved
it yet, and frankly, I think Sam shortened it by making it bad." He
explains while Donna uses the keycard to open the door to my room. Sam
is there straightening his tie. He, of course, is ready to go.
"Will you tell him that the social security answer is fine?" Sam
immediately demands. From behind me I hear C.J.
"Can we release more detailed information from the Governor's
last physical? It's gonna be a thing if we don't squash it right
now." She shouts.
"Donna, call over to Leo's room and tell him we need the
Governor's physical file." What do you know? Even exhausted and
hung over, Leo McGarry can still call it. Donna is already dialing the
number. Damn, she is good.
"I'm telling you, if you cut up the social security answer like
Princeton here wants to, he's going to sound like an idiot."
Toby continues.
"Who's going to sound like an idiot? Sam or the Governor?" I
ask for clarification. "Cause if it's Sam, I could live with
that, but if it's the Governor…I think we should avoid that
during the last debate." This earns a chuckle from Sam, but a
serious scowl from Toby.
"Read it, will you?" Toby shoves a paper in my face and I start
skimming.
"It's fine." I conclude.
"It's really not." Toby contradicts me.
"Maybe not, but you did make me the de facto campaign manager and I
say it's fine." I take another huge bite of pizza while I watch
Donna laying out the clothes she wants me to wear for this circus. If
only we weren't in here with, you know,…5 or 6 other people.
"I'll go get the file from Leo." C.J. states.
"No!" I manage around a mouthful of incredible pepperoni and
sausage. "I've got other stuff I need to talk to you about.
Donna could you?" Donna gives me a funny look but leaves without
comment.
"C.J., I double checked the fact you had a question about with Leo.
We're all good." I tell her and see that my meaning got through.
She lets out a deep breath and smiles a genuine smile.
"Toby, we'll go see the Governor as soon as I get a shower.
Maybe you can convince him that Sam is hopelessly misguided."
I swear to God, five different people call my name before I shut and
lock the bathroom door.
************ ********* ********* ***
The Governor looks good; nervous but good. He's guaranteed me that
he's not going to collapse anymore today and I almost believe him
until he pulls me off to the side of the stage a mere 4 minutes before
the debate is scheduled to begin.
"Where's my wife?" he asks trying to look over my shoulder.
"She just took her seat, sir. Do you need her?" I ask in growing
alarm at his expression.
"Hell, no. I haven't been able to shake her all day and I need a
cigarette like you wouldn't believe. Cover me." he orders as he
turns his body away from everyone and moves further into a recessed area
out of sight.
I have aspired my entire life to work on a campaign where I might help
get a man I believe in elected President. And now, 9 days away from
having that possibly come to fruition, I'm blocking everyone's
view while the man in question sneaks a cigarette. What has my life come
to? Then I see Donna.
She offers me a shy smile and it distracts me so much that I don't
immediately register the words coming from behind me.
"Son of a bitch!" Governor Bartlet yells and the Secret Service
is all over us in a nano-second. I don't know whether to be
relieved or distressed when I see that he's physically fine after
the Secret Service manages to put out the fire he started with his tie,
his lighter, and his verboten cigarette.
"Governor, my heart can't take any more today. It really
can't." I tell him honestly. C.J., who's come up behind me
during the melee, screams `Oh my God, Josh, do something'. Like
I'm the tie fairy or something.
"What would you suggest?" I ask sarcastically. "His tie is
burned up." Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have hit the wall. I am
officially on overload.
"Give him yours." Donna tells me.
"What?" I ask; certain this has all been a dream and that
I'll wake up any moment.
"Give the Governor your tie. I'll find you another one before
you have to be on camera." She explains while she unknots my tie and
hands it to C.J. who is helping the Governor tie it around his neck
while we walk en masse toward the stage.
I watch in disbelief as she manages to finish tying it with only seconds
to spare before the Governor's name is called and he walks out onto
the stage.
My head drops back in relief and when I get the courage to open my eyes
again I see Donna hurrying away, presumably to get me a new tie.
"What were you closeted with Hoynes about?" Sam asks from beside
me and I startle.
"Last minute campaign adjustments. " I lie without a qualm.
I'm not ready to go there with Sam. Hoynes didn't come up with
this plan on his own and I have a pretty good idea now who encouraged
him in Donna's direction, but that's for another day.
"Uh-huh." Sam's not buying it, but he's not calling me
on it either.
"I really don't know how you stomached working for that
womanizing bastard, Josh."
"Right now, neither do I." I admit freely. "I asked him if
there were any women he'd consider off limits and he said…he
said…"
"What did he say?" Sam asks curiously when I trail off.
"Nothing…never mind." I shake him off and move closer to the
stage to hear the first question, but I keep hearing John Hoynes'
answer in my head, `Women with jealous husbands are always good to
steer clear of'. Donna appears next to me with a tie in her hand.
Where does she dig up a tie at a Presidential debate? She tugs me toward
her and starts to fasten it around my neck.
"You all set? Need anything else?" she asks.
"No, I'm good." I answer, still listening to what's
going on out on stage. She takes 3, maybe 4 steps, before it hits me.
"Donna!" I yell in a whispered shout and she returns immediately
to my side.
"You thought of something else you need?" she asks.
"Yeah." I agree, looking at her closely. "I think I
did." And I feel a genuine smile form on my face.
TBC