Title Clubbing Part Six Josh woke with a start as an alarm clock buzzed. He lay with his eyes half-closed listening to the sounds around him. The gentle hum of the fish tank pump. The louder sounds of the TV. The hiss of the shower. He settled himself onto his back, his arms at his sides, totally relaxed. He looked round for the time, but his bedside clock was gone. As was his watch. After lying motionless for several minutes, Josh took a few deep breaths, mentally preparing himself for the day, almost unaware of the smile on his face until he realised something was blocking the light from the window. ‘If you want a ride in, get up now.’ ‘Leo…’ Josh squinted as the curtains were pulled sharply apart, flooding the room with light. ‘And if you don’t, get up anyway.’ Josh took as long as he possibly could over his shower, washing every inch of himself several times. His body, hair, and teeth had never been so clean. At last, there was no alternative. He had to face Leo. Wrapping a blue towelling robe around himself, he walked into the kitchen. And saw the clock. ‘Leo, it’s five o’clock. It’s Saturday. We do not have to be up this early.’ ‘Sit down.’ Josh took the mug Leo handed him and held it, grateful for the warmth in the frosty atmosphere. Trying to start with something vaguely non-controversial, Josh asked: ‘How did you know where I was?’ ‘Catherine called me.’ ‘I tried to talk to David.’ ‘I know.’ Josh gave up then, concentrating on his coffee. Leo made toast and poured orange juice, then sat down, handing a glass to Josh, still without comment. ‘Give me another chance.’ ‘Do you deserve it?’ ‘No.’ ‘Okay. But I want you to talk to me, not walk out, next time you have a problem, okay?’ Josh started to protest. ‘I didn’t have a problem.’ ‘You didn’t want to be like David? You’re not Josh, okay?’ Josh looked everywhere apart from at Leo. ‘I know.’ ‘Josh, I mean it. Next time, I won’t come looking for you.’ ‘I’m sorry.’ Leo got up. ‘Don’t be sorry, kid. I pushed you too far too soon.’ ‘No, you didn’t.’ Josh was as surprised at saying the words as Leo was at hearing them. ‘I was stupid. I won’t do it again.’ Leo stood behind Josh and ruffled his hair as he handed him a second slice of toast. ‘Eat your breakfast. And clean out the fish. They’re beginning to smell.’ ************* Everyone agreed. Josh was different. Again. As was Leo. A rumour went round the West Wing that he’d actually laughed. Donna and Margaret had lunch, more out of a need to talk about their bosses than a need to eat anything more than their usual sandwich. ‘He’s different. Like he’s flipped his happy switch.’ Donna wasn’t sure she liked the new Josh, but he was calmer, and quieter, both of which were nice. Margaret had known Leo a long time, but even she was disturbed by the change in her boss. Because, if past experience was anything to go by, he would be back to normal Leo by the end of the week. Sooner, if something happened. ************** ‘Toby, it’s not important. We can drop the whole paragraph if time is tight.’ ‘Not important? It’s one of the main points of the speech Leo!’ Leo got up and walked round the desk. ‘Okay, pick something that isn’t, that’s about the same length that the President can drop if we’re running late.’ Toby’s anger dissipated slowly. He was uneasy about sitting in Leo’s office with Leo’s hand on his shoulder as they worked through the sheets of paper, more from a dislike of physical contact with anyone than anything to do with Leo specifically. So he skimmed the paragraphs until he reached one which, while well-written was relatively unimportant in terms of the overall speech. ‘That one.’ Toby jabbed his pen at the lines. ‘Who wrote it?’ ‘I did.’ ‘Good. Wouldn’t want to upset Sam by dropping something he wrote.’ Toby frowned and waited until Leo moved back before getting up. ‘I’ll get it set up on the autocue.’ ‘Thanks Toby.’ ************* ‘He’s different.’ Sam looked across at his boss as they worked through a redrafted copy of the speech. ‘It’s weird. He’s nice.’ Toby nodded. ‘Yeah. It won’t last.’ ‘Josh is acting weirdly too.’ ‘Maybe they’ll snap out of it together.’ Toby sat back. ‘I don’t wanna be around when that happens.’ ************ Leo was flicking through the TV guide. Less patiently, Josh was flicking through the channels, occasionally settling to watch a few seconds of a programme, only to change his mind almost immediately and begin channel hopping again. He was startled as the remote was pulled from his hand. ‘Bed.’ ‘Leo, I’m not five. I don’t have to go to bed at nine o’clock you know.’ ‘Okay. You can stay up until ten. If, and only if, we spend the next hour talking.’ Josh hated the idea of talking about work for a whole hour just before he went to bed. But he was prepared to put up with it just to stay up an hour later. Sighing, he leaned back on the couch. ‘I had a good meeting today. I think…’ ‘I think you misunderstood me. We’re not going to talk about work. We’re going to talk about you.’ ‘No way.’ ‘Goodnight then.’ Cautiously, Josh asked: ‘What about me?’ ‘Anything you like.’ ‘The fish are doing great.’ ‘Josh.’ Leo said warningly. ‘Okay! Er…I dunno. Um, how about I hate lumpy mashed potato.’ Not sure Josh wasn’t winding him up, Leo sighed. ‘Why?’ ‘In the hospital, it was always lumpy. My mom’s never had lumps in.’ Leo stayed silent, not moving, just waiting for Josh’s next offering. ‘I like snow.’ Leo restrained a groan. He hated snow. Jed didn’t seem to feel the cold, and loved winter. Leo hated everything about it. Particularly snow. Cold, wet, melting in puddles everywhere. ‘I hate ironing.’ Leo could empathise with that particular thought. ‘I missed not being here.’ That one caught him by surprise, and he turned quickly to face Josh. ‘I missed you too.’ Josh smiled, unsure of what to say next. He was saved by Leo’s reaction to his smile. ‘C’mere.’ Josh leaned into Leo’s hug, feeling the arms envelop him tightly. After a few seconds, he was pushed upright. ‘No more running away, okay?’ He stared into Leo’s calm eyes. ‘No.’ ‘Now go to bed. You’ve got a long day tomorrow.’ As he walked into his room, Josh saw the bright red numerals on the bedside clock just flick over to 9.30. He shrugged mentally. At least it wasn’t nine o’clock. ************** ‘It’s only fair Leo. Last night you made me.’ Leo made a cross noise. ‘Josh, you know about me.’ ‘No, I don’t. Not much anyway.’ ‘You know enough. Now, do you want to go to bed or not?’ Leo stared at Josh until the younger man looked away crossly. ‘No.’ ‘Then you know what to do.’ Sulkily, Josh muttered: ‘What do you want to know?’ ‘Anything.’ Sighing theatrically, Josh settled sideways on the couch, his long legs dangling over the arm. ‘I can say ‘Hello my name is Josh Lyman in six languages.’ Leo raised his eyebrows and Josh caught the look out of the corner of his eye. ‘Um, I have a certificate for being the most helpful kid in first grade.’ Although he checked, there was no reaction from Leo this time. ‘I hate broad beans.’ Used to the President’s dislike of vegetables, Leo sat impassively. ‘I like Baywatch.’ Leo laughed. ‘You like the girls in the tight red swim costumes.’ Josh smiled, picturing them running across the beach. ‘Yeah. Plus Donna likes David Hasselhof, so we have a programme to talk about when it’s on.’ Leo pondered for a moment on the question of what kind of TV Margaret liked, then snapped his attention back to Josh. Who was getting off the point. ‘I like Queen.’ ‘Elizabeth?’ Josh giggled. ‘Freddie Mercury.’ Leo nodded. ‘Just don’t sing, okay?’ ‘You sing in the shower.’ ‘Yeah. But not Bohemian Rhapsody.’ ‘I don’t like red.’ ‘Red what?’ Josh shrugged. ‘Anything. It’s just…not my favorite color.’ Leo could guess at the reason behind Josh’s choice, but made no comment. ‘I speak Hebrew.’ ‘You do?’ ‘Well, not much.’ Josh admitted. ‘A little. Some.’ Leo chuckled. ‘Go to bed. Now.’ Josh’s eyes widened. He knew that Hebrew phrase well enough. He was surprised Leo did. He got up slowly. ‘Do we have to do this every night?’ ‘Unless you want to go to bed at nine.’ ‘But a whole hour. I’ll never be able to talk for that long.’ Leo smiled. ‘You might surprise yourself. Night kid.’ Josh pushed open his bedroom door and looked at the clock. 10.05. He stared at the clock as he stripped off his clothes, wondering if he was seeing things. He had talked for an hour. And five minutes. ************** Josh settled himself on the sofa, resigned to another hour of awkward self-analysis. He hadn’t felt this awkward since Stanley, and at least he had been a stranger. Talking to Leo was a million times weirder. Leo’s sharp voice broke into his thoughts. ‘Josh are you comfortable?’ Squirming, Josh tried to arrange his almost six foot long frame into a comfortable position. Grabbing and holding his legs, Leo waited until Josh had arranged his upper body comfortably, and allowed his legs to rest on Leo’s lap. Leaning back onto a heap of cushions, he closed his eyes slightly to avoid staring directly at the bulb above his head. Finally he let out a contented sigh. ‘Yeah.’ ‘Well?’ Thinking back to the day he’d just had, Josh pulled a face. ‘I hate licking stamps.’ Leo frowned slightly but said nothing. ‘I’m scared of dying.’ Leo let that one go too. ‘I want to travel. Europe, the Far East.’ ‘Why?’ ‘To see places I’ve only seen on TV and in books.’ Leo understood that wish. He’d done some travelling with the President, but it was almost all domestic, and always just moving from the plane to an official function then back to the plane. Josh sighed, settling further down. ‘I can’t cook.’ Leo almost laughed. He was no Raymond Blanc but he made Josh’s few culinary efforts look extremely poor in comparison. He looked across, wondering why Josh had suddenly gone silent. Then he realised. He was asleep, his chest gently rising and falling as Leo watched. Josh hardly stirred as Leo got up, and he didn’t wake as Leo dropped a blanket over him. ************* ‘Leo?’ In the early hours of the morning, Josh had woken and made his way back to his own bed. But at seven am on Sunday morning, there was no sign of Leo. His bed was made, but the shower hadn’t been used, and the kitchen was spotless. Josh began to panic and fumbled in his jacket for his cell phone. He dialled Leo’s number and as Leo answered, he heard the key in the lock. Leo frowned as he realised he was talking to Josh while standing only feet from him. He folded his phone closed and dropped the paper onto the coffee table. ‘What’s wrong kid?’ ‘Where were you?’ Josh was agitated, his breath coming in rapid, shallow gasps. ‘Buying the papers.’ ‘I didn’t know where you were.’ As he walked nearer to Josh, Leo realised he was trembling. ‘Hey, it’s okay. I’m back now. Come here. What happened?’ ‘I thought something had happened to you.’ Josh’s lie sounded stupid even to his ears, and he dropped his head, staring at the carpet. ‘Josh?’ Leo waited while Josh gathered his obviously chaotic thoughts. ‘I don’t like being here on my own.’ ‘Why not?’ Josh looked quickly at Leo, then back to the floor. ‘You can’t hear anything.’ ‘What?’ ‘Listen. Just listen…see, nothing. No noise at all.’ Leo didn’t even begin to understand what was troubling Josh, but he recognised that he was in real distress. He walked across the room and opened a window. Immediately, the myriad sounds of the busy streets below came into the apartment. As did the cold morning air. Josh’s breathing calmed moments later and he looked at Leo, tears brightening his eyes. ‘I can’t bear silence.’ Leo folded Josh into his arms and held him until the younger man’s angry sobs tailed off into an occasional hiccup. ‘Shh. It’s okay.’ Between sniffs, Josh whispered. ‘You should have picked Sam. He’s not scared of half so much stuff as I am.’ Leo laughed gently. ‘Too late. I picked you. Now get dressed. You’re freezing.’ It was then that Josh realised he was wearing only his boxers. He shivered and walked back into his bedroom. Waiting until he was sure Josh wasn’t coming back, Leo pulled the window closed and turned the TV on before walking into the kitchen and gathering the things he’d need to make breakfast. On to the next part Home Send me feedback on this fic Return to the X-Files Fic Index Return to the West Wing Fic Index