Title: Five minutes.   Flashback – the final debate   Josh looked around, saw the drawn drapes and Leo, tie undone, hair mussed. And the bottles. Lots of tiny bottles. With several glasses.   Josh brought his case down hard on the bottles. Leo just sat, head in hands.   Josh picked up the phone. ‘Hello. This is 306. I broke some glass. Could you send someone up from Housekeeping please…And can I order coffee and a club sandwich please?...Thanks.’   The woman who brought the trolley, whose badge showed her name to be ‘Bonnie’ looked at the two men. ‘We’re kind of short tonight. You broke some glass?’   ‘Um…yes. Josh was distracted a moment by the dark eyes and curly shoulder-length hair but Leo’s soft curse brought his mind back to the mess on the table. ‘We were using the bottles to plan the seating for the next meeting and I…’ Josh gestured to the mess of broken glass and spilled alcohol.   Bonnie smiled. ‘No problem. You’re with the Bartlet Campaign.’   Josh nodded.   ‘Saw you on TV.’   Josh smiled. ‘Look, can I pay for this now? I don’t want this on our room bill. It’s not like we drank all this…’   Josh waited while the woman took in the mess. ‘Okay. I’ll check the minibar and see what you used.’   Josh let out the breath he had been holding. ‘We’re gonna get out of your way.’   He walked across to the bed. ‘I’m in 302. When you’re done, could you stop by?’   Bonnie nodded. ‘Sure.’   Josh put a hand under Leo’s elbow. ‘Let’s go into my room, okay?’   Leo nodded briefly and followed Josh out.   Josh sighed as he fished in his back pocket for his key. ‘Five minutes. I leave you for five minutes…’   ****************   Josh’s phone was already ringing when he opened his room door. He snatched it up. ‘Josh Lyman.’   ‘Josh?’   ‘Governor.’   ‘How’s Leo?’   ‘How are *you* Sir?’ He could hear several voices in the background, the loudest being Abbey Bartlet, telling everyone to leave her husband in peace and he smiled.   Bartlet let out a deep breath. ‘I’m okay. An inner ear…thing. You’re gonna stay with Leo?’   ‘Yeah.’   ‘You need anything?’   Josh hesitated for a moment. ‘Privacy.’   ‘You got it.’   *******************   Josh looked down at Leo, half-laying, half-sitting on the bed. ‘Okay. You’re gonna have coffee and a sandwich then you’re gonna sleep for a bit.’   Crossly Leo snapped: ‘Who are you, my mother?’   Josh ignored him and poured them both a cup of coffee.   Leo snatched the cup with a scowl and sipped at it.   Josh opened his case and pulled out a folder. ‘Eat the food.’   Leo ignored him and got up. ‘I’m going over…’   Josh stood up. ‘No. You’re not.’   Leo pushed past him. ‘Yeah Josh. I am.’   Josh put a hand on Leo’s shoulder. ‘Leo…’ For a moment he thought Leo would take a swing at him and he steeled himself for the blow.   ‘You say a word about this…’   Josh stared at Leo. ‘Leo! I know. The President knows. That’s it.’   Leo breathed heavily for a moment. ‘Gibson knows.’   ‘Who?’   Leo shook his head as if to shut out the memory of the man’s face as he took in the mass of empty bottles on the coffee table.   ‘Never mind.’   Josh let out an angry breath. ‘Get some sleep.’   Suddenly very tired, Leo pulled off his jacket and tie and climbed into the bed. Pulling off Leo’s shoes, Josh covered him with the bedclothes, sat in the chair beside the bed and began to read the folder he pulled out of his case.   *****************   The knock at the door startled Josh. He opened the door cautiously, then fully.   ‘Forty-three eighty Sir.’   Josh opened his wallet. ‘Thanks…Bonnie. You, um…worked here long.’   Bonnie smiled a little. ‘Yes but not for much longer. Housekeeping is being…rationalized.’   Josh frowned. Along with six ten dollar notes, he handed the woman his card. ‘Keep the change. And, um…you need a job, call me.’   Bonnie smiled. ‘Thank you Sir. I need a job.’   Josh thought for a moment. ‘Wanna work for the Campaign?’   Bonnie shrugged. ‘I can type.’   ****************   Toby scowled as he looked up. ‘This coffee is cold!’   Bonnie took the mug from him. ‘I’ll take care of it Sir.’   Toby’s scowl softened. ‘Thank you.’ Immediately his attention was returned to the notes on his lap but he didn’t concentrate too hard until the young woman returned with his refreshed mug. He looked up again. ‘Thank you…’   ‘Bonnie.’   Toby nodded then looked back to his notes.   *******************   Present day…   Leo sat, unaware of his tears as they dripped onto the small square of glass. He was gripping the black frame so tightly his knuckles whitened and he released his grip, concerned about breaking the frame. The words blurred and the frame began to slide to the floor.   ‘We broke enough glass between us Leo.’   Josh put the frame on Leo’s desk and waited for Leo to look up.   Eventually, Leo took a deep, shuddering breath and sat up. ‘They’re gonna offer a deal.’   Josh nodded. ‘Yeah.’   ‘I’m not gonna take it.’   Josh nodded again. ‘Okay.’   ‘I got a date with Jordan.’   Josh frowned. ‘Tonight?’   Leo smiled, almost himself again. ‘Nah. Tomorrow. It’s Christmas Eve.’   ‘So you’re…not busy tonight.’   Leo shook his head. ‘Nope.’   ‘Wanna get take-out?’   Leo got to his feet, his eyes fixed on the frame. ‘Okay.’   ‘You’re paying.’ Josh said firmly.   ‘Why?’ Leo snapped crossly.   ‘Cos you owe me forty-three eighty.’   ‘From when?’ Leo huffed.   Josh lifted the frame up. ‘Then.’   Leo shrugged. ‘Okay.’ Walking across, he lifted his coat down from the rack behind his door. ‘Then we’re even.’   Josh smiled. ‘Yeah Leo. Then we’re even.’   Apparently satisfied, Leo pulled on his coat and followed Josh out.   Jed looked up from his desk as he heard the two men leave and sat back, breathing deeply, a contented smile on his face for the first time that day.   End