josh and donna visit iowa
Some rough work on the third story of the trilogy, when Josh and Donna and Amy and Elsie pay the boys a visit. Very, very rough at the end there. That will probably be changed around.
***
On their last free weekend before the hordes descend on their little Iowa town, Sam drags Will bodily from his office.
"I have work to do!" Will insists, his voice squeaking a little as Sam pulls him by his midsection into the hallway.
"You have all weekend to work," Sam says, tumbling them both onto the couch. "I need someone to come to the store with me so I don't accidentally buy the wrong coffee again." He doesn't say You're spending too much time in there or I'm worried about you, but Will can read it in his eyes, so he lets loose a long suffering sigh and agrees to get his shoes and coat. Sam's grin is worth it, even if he doesn't think a trip into town will do much for his state of mind.
He feels selfish behaving like this, but bringing it up with Sam just makes it feel worse. Since Will's initial departure from Bartlet's staff, Josh and Will have had words exactly three times. All three of those times have ended badly, and most of their casual encounters haven't been much better. Will doesn't like Josh. He understands why Josh is the way he is. He even understands how Josh can seem dynamic and attractive to people like Donna, like Sam. And maybe that's part of the problem, knowing for all those years that Josh had his chance and he threw it away, that Josh even had a chance while Will was left with an embarrassing fantasy about the myriad of other ways an election in California could have gone. But he has Sam now, as much as anyone can claim ownership to Sam Seaborn, which is not particularly at all. He feels like this should all be over and done with, but knowing that Josh is going to be in his state, in his house in three days time makes him uncomfortable in ways he doesn't like to think about.
He can't say that to Sam, though, Sam who reached out to repair his friendship with Josh and is so thrilled that he's getting a second chance. Instead, he puts on shoes and grabs a jacket to wear over his rumpled, untucked blue shirt and jeans and follows Sam out their front door.
Their front door. And that's something Josh will never have.
He expects to follow Sam to the car, but he bypasses it, heads straight down to the end of the driveway and turns to walk down the edge of Mr. Taylor's fields, hands in his pockets. Will doesn't say anything, doesn't ask about the sudden change in plans, just falls into step next to Sam and takes his hand when he offers it. They walk all the way down to the edge of Mr. Taylor's property, sitting on top of the boulders and rocks that are piled neatly at the very corner. They don't talk much, but then, they never do. Sam keeps hold of his hand, and even though they are, in fact, old men inching ever closer to fifty, it makes Will smile fondly and fight off a blush.
On the way back to the house, they do talk, mostly about what they need to get in town and whether or not they should get extra coffee for the week to come and if Donna ever went through with her constant threat to go vegetarian.
"Do you have keys?" Will asks when they're just around the corner, patting down his pockets and feeling nothing but his wallet.
"Don't you want to go in and change?" Sam asks, raising a skeptic eyebrow. "You look a little wrinkled."
"So?" Will asks. He snatches the keys from Sam's outstretched hand and turns around, walking backwards towards the house.
"I don't want everyone at the store to think I'm dating a rumpled layabout," Sam says, smirking.
"Well," Will replies, "then we're lucky that everyone in town knows that I'm actually the one dating the rumpled layabout." Sam laughs and hops forward to wrestle the keys back, obviously more an excuse to get close than an actual desire to drive. Will shivers as he feels Sam's hands slide up his back, Sam's breath curl around his ear.
"Maybe we should go into town a little later," he whispers, and Will stumbles backwards, saved from falling into the dirt by Sam's arms wrapped around him. He laughs again and hoists Will up with surprising strength, kissing him before he can get in a thank you.
"Later is better," Will agrees when Sam pulls back. "Wonderful." He leans in for another kiss, but Sam isn't looking at him anymore. He's staring over Will's shoulder and it's not until Will strokes his cheek that Sam blinks and looks back at him guiltily.
"Much later, probably," he says, and before Will can ask him what's going on, Sam turns him gently by his shoulders until he's facing the unfamiliar sedan in their driveway, which Josh Lyman and Donna Moss are standing next to.
"Surprise!" Donna says. Her smile is a strained, but Will can tell it's genuine. Her hair is curled and shorter, but other than that she looks exactly like she did the last time he saw her. She's dressed down, but still has an air of being put together and classy. Josh, on the other hand, looks as frazzled as usual. His hair is greyer and there's less of it. He seems out of place in jeans and a t-shirt and isn't even bothering to force a smile.
"I thought you weren't coming until Monday," Sam says. His smile is cautious. Will is still too shocked and, admittedly, dismayed, to form words.
"Change of plans," Josh says. It was hard to tell what he was thinking with his sunglasses pulled down over his eyes. "We're flying under the radar this weekend. We want to get a jump on Hopkins and there are some meetings we need to take before Monday. No one knows we're here yet."
***
On their last free weekend before the hordes descend on their little Iowa town, Sam drags Will bodily from his office.
"I have work to do!" Will insists, his voice squeaking a little as Sam pulls him by his midsection into the hallway.
"You have all weekend to work," Sam says, tumbling them both onto the couch. "I need someone to come to the store with me so I don't accidentally buy the wrong coffee again." He doesn't say You're spending too much time in there or I'm worried about you, but Will can read it in his eyes, so he lets loose a long suffering sigh and agrees to get his shoes and coat. Sam's grin is worth it, even if he doesn't think a trip into town will do much for his state of mind.
He feels selfish behaving like this, but bringing it up with Sam just makes it feel worse. Since Will's initial departure from Bartlet's staff, Josh and Will have had words exactly three times. All three of those times have ended badly, and most of their casual encounters haven't been much better. Will doesn't like Josh. He understands why Josh is the way he is. He even understands how Josh can seem dynamic and attractive to people like Donna, like Sam. And maybe that's part of the problem, knowing for all those years that Josh had his chance and he threw it away, that Josh even had a chance while Will was left with an embarrassing fantasy about the myriad of other ways an election in California could have gone. But he has Sam now, as much as anyone can claim ownership to Sam Seaborn, which is not particularly at all. He feels like this should all be over and done with, but knowing that Josh is going to be in his state, in his house in three days time makes him uncomfortable in ways he doesn't like to think about.
He can't say that to Sam, though, Sam who reached out to repair his friendship with Josh and is so thrilled that he's getting a second chance. Instead, he puts on shoes and grabs a jacket to wear over his rumpled, untucked blue shirt and jeans and follows Sam out their front door.
Their front door. And that's something Josh will never have.
He expects to follow Sam to the car, but he bypasses it, heads straight down to the end of the driveway and turns to walk down the edge of Mr. Taylor's fields, hands in his pockets. Will doesn't say anything, doesn't ask about the sudden change in plans, just falls into step next to Sam and takes his hand when he offers it. They walk all the way down to the edge of Mr. Taylor's property, sitting on top of the boulders and rocks that are piled neatly at the very corner. They don't talk much, but then, they never do. Sam keeps hold of his hand, and even though they are, in fact, old men inching ever closer to fifty, it makes Will smile fondly and fight off a blush.
On the way back to the house, they do talk, mostly about what they need to get in town and whether or not they should get extra coffee for the week to come and if Donna ever went through with her constant threat to go vegetarian.
"Do you have keys?" Will asks when they're just around the corner, patting down his pockets and feeling nothing but his wallet.
"Don't you want to go in and change?" Sam asks, raising a skeptic eyebrow. "You look a little wrinkled."
"So?" Will asks. He snatches the keys from Sam's outstretched hand and turns around, walking backwards towards the house.
"I don't want everyone at the store to think I'm dating a rumpled layabout," Sam says, smirking.
"Well," Will replies, "then we're lucky that everyone in town knows that I'm actually the one dating the rumpled layabout." Sam laughs and hops forward to wrestle the keys back, obviously more an excuse to get close than an actual desire to drive. Will shivers as he feels Sam's hands slide up his back, Sam's breath curl around his ear.
"Maybe we should go into town a little later," he whispers, and Will stumbles backwards, saved from falling into the dirt by Sam's arms wrapped around him. He laughs again and hoists Will up with surprising strength, kissing him before he can get in a thank you.
"Later is better," Will agrees when Sam pulls back. "Wonderful." He leans in for another kiss, but Sam isn't looking at him anymore. He's staring over Will's shoulder and it's not until Will strokes his cheek that Sam blinks and looks back at him guiltily.
"Much later, probably," he says, and before Will can ask him what's going on, Sam turns him gently by his shoulders until he's facing the unfamiliar sedan in their driveway, which Josh Lyman and Donna Moss are standing next to.
"Surprise!" Donna says. Her smile is a strained, but Will can tell it's genuine. Her hair is curled and shorter, but other than that she looks exactly like she did the last time he saw her. She's dressed down, but still has an air of being put together and classy. Josh, on the other hand, looks as frazzled as usual. His hair is greyer and there's less of it. He seems out of place in jeans and a t-shirt and isn't even bothering to force a smile.
"I thought you weren't coming until Monday," Sam says. His smile is cautious. Will is still too shocked and, admittedly, dismayed, to form words.
"Change of plans," Josh says. It was hard to tell what he was thinking with his sunglasses pulled down over his eyes. "We're flying under the radar this weekend. We want to get a jump on Hopkins and there are some meetings we need to take before Monday. No one knows we're here yet."