West Wing FF: Twice into the River (Sam/Josh implied, PG-13)

[black_eyedgirl]

Title: Twice into the River
Fandom: The West Wing
Pairing: Sam/Josh, at least it's about their relationship, it's probably more readable as gen. Also, there are mentions of the boys with other people, but it's background noise
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
Length: 3,700 words
Disclaimer: I don't own Sam. One of the saddest things in my life. Oh, and the

Comments

[celbalrai]

Fic! Lovely, yummy yummy fic. I did so love this; little parts of Josh and Sam. It's hard to pick out my favourite parts - Josh as a little boy with his therapist is just aw!, and Sam aged nine is too cute. I also liked Sam's first loves. I loved the whole thing really. *g* It is all fantastic.

[black_eyedgirl]

Sorry for the late reply! Just wanted to say thanks for the comment :-)

Glad you liked the Sam's loves bits. *I* liked them, but they were pretty tangential to the Sam/Josh loving, so it's nice to hear. *hugs* Really, thanks, I hate waiting for the first feedback on something, so you made my day when I got it. Even if I didn't say so til now *blushes*

[helen_c]

I lovd it--very elegantly written, and I loved all the flashbacks ;)

[black_eyedgirl]

Sorry for not replying until now - and thanks for feedback-ing!

"elegantly written", huh? Coolness :-)

[littleloonlost]

I really enjoyed this. The flashbacks are full of little observations that hit that 'so right I can't believe I never thought of it' spot. And it's great to have some of those missing scenes filled out (Josh remembering young!Sam is delicious). For what it's worth, they connected just fine for me too. I love these men, and fic like this reminds me.

[black_eyedgirl]

a) Sorry this is so late :-(

b) Wow to the feedback *basks* And it's worth a lot that you think it connected, because that was overwhelmingly my biggest concern. Also yay to the 'so right I can't believe I never thought of it' comment. Some bits of this were from my personal imagined pre-show canon, so I'm glad it rang true.

c)"I love these men, and fic like this reminds me." Thank you! I love them too :-)

Part 1 (comments of death, didya miss me? :)

[raedbard]

Sorry this is late, sweetheart. It's not for lack of love. And, to coin a phrase, my god, the love.

I am such a complete sucker for backstory!fic, particularly when the backstory creeps into characters' childhoods, reading it or writing it. And this is just ... guh. You know?

Sam was, as Josh’s father had always said about his son, ‘meant for great things’.
*nods* Great hopes, bright boys. So much so, they almost don't see it, or only in the other one. *hearts them*

Every childhood memory Josh has is separated into pre and post Joanie’s death. Not a single one - not a song, or a movie or a game of Little League - that he cannot associate with his big sister’s absence or presence. That day always hangs between the two - smelling of smoke and the guilt he even now does not know what to do with.
Oh, Josh. I have no words for this section - it's gorgeous and perfect. I think I finally fell for Josh when I was trying to address the Joanie question, as it were. I don't see how a person couldn't, really. And this is so perfectly him,

Re: Part 2

[raedbard]

He remembers laughing guiltily when she told him that she would buy them enough to rot their teeth clean away.
"I'm just nuts for dental hygiene." Awww! SAM!

In the State-wide competition he panics, misses guacamole. His Dad saw that one.
*sadface* See, this is where the heart of the story is, joining them together. And like Josh's childhood, this rings perfectly true as a Sam thing - in the note of resignation particularly. I can hear his "might as well give the clarinet to a kid who'll use it" line (which is handy for later on). *cuddles him*

There are words in his head that need to get out, don’t they realise he already knows he’s a freak?
Just ... yes. Perfect.

Had Sam known then what he knew later, he would have told his father that he didn’t want to learn the perseverance required to love someone else but not divorce your wife because you swore an oath. That perseverance, the real kind, the only kind worth having, was the perseverance to do the right thing even when it was hard and stupid and barely worth the effort. Like

Re: Part 2

[black_eyedgirl]

"I am such a complete sucker for backstory!fic, particularly when the backstory creeps into characters' childhoods, reading it or writing it."
:-) Me too! I have (sort of) another Sam flashbacky story in my head. More writing focussed this time though.

"You know why I'm dense? It never occurred to me that Josh's on-again off-again feelings of inadequacy could be to do with living up to the memory of his sister and her potential. I am dumb, you are not. This is lovely."
If it makes you feel better, I had never consciously put together the fragility of Josh with the fact that he lost people gaining something else. (Joanie died - he lived, his Dad died - won the Primary, Leo died - won the election). That is, until the moment you said it. ;-)

"He still couldn’t unlearn the taste of survivor’s guilt, or how to need without the fear of loss."
Ohhh. That's beautiful, pure and simple. Favourite line, I love it. *melts*
It's one of my favs too, though I thought it might be a bit much, so I'm glad you liked.

"The boy turned and focussed

[anonymous]

though I really enjoyed your story, I feel the need to do a little nitpicking, High School (9th grade) typically starts at age 14, not 16, placing grade-skipping Sam at 13 during his freshman year.

[black_eyedgirl]

Ack! I thought I had checked all my US date-problems. Thanks for pointing it out (I'll correct it soon!) and I'm glad you liked the story.