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Josh hurried into the West Wing. He’d seen Leo’s car in the car park and pushed his bag quickly through the security check, grabbing it and hurrying away without his usual chat with the guard on duty. Looking around the office, Josh could see Leo and the President in the Oval Office, talking quietly. No-one else was in so early. He walked slowly across the room, waiting until his movement caught Bartlet’s eye. ‘Good morning Josh.’ ‘Good morning sir.’ ‘Josh.’ ‘Leo.’ Leo jerked his head and Josh followed him into his office. Closing the door, he hugged Josh tightly. ‘Welcome back Dep.’ His tears soaking Leo’s shoulder, Josh said quietly: ‘I’m gonna do better.’ Leo released him, handing Josh his handkerchief. ‘I know.’ ‘Cute bear Donna.’ Donna nodded. ‘Someone left him on my desk.’ She looked at the tag. ‘Snuggles Bedtime Bear. Awww.’ Margaret walked to her own desk. There was an identical bear sitting on her chair. She picked it up and carried it out to Donna. ‘I have one too. You know what these are, right?’ ‘No.’ ‘It’s the bear on the front of the Snuggles softener bottle. I just worked it out.’ ‘Where did they come from?’ Margaret shrugged. ‘I can’t see Leo as a Snuggles guy.’ Donna laughed. ‘Or Josh.’ Suddenly, they both had the same thought. ‘Sam?’ Donna nodded. ‘Yeah. Gotta be.’ A few minutes later, Sam walked in, shrugging his coat off as he approached his office. Donna walked across to the coffee pot, filled his favorite mug and walked after him. ‘Good morning Sam.’ ‘Donna.’ ‘Thank you.’ Sam looked perplexed, but took the coffee. ‘Okay.’ Mid-morning, the doughnuts arrived, and Margaret put her hand on Josh’s. ‘Sam first.’ Josh stepped back, glancing across to where Sam sat, typing, oblivious to the commotion around the cardboard box. ‘Sam?’ Sam looked up. ‘Margaret?’ ‘Thanks.’ For the second time, Sam had no idea what was going on. Taking the doughnut, he smiled. ‘Yeah.’ As she turned to leave, Margaret smiled. ‘It had to be you. Snuggles.’ Sam was about to ask what the Hell Margaret was talking about, when he realised it would probably only encourage further discussion of the new nickname he’d just got. Still, he reasoned, it beat ‘Spanky.’ And the fabric softener did have a cute bear on the label. He was just glad she hadn’t decided on ‘Bounce’. ************ Leo closed the front door behind Josh. ‘Get changed. We’re eating out.’ Josh walked into his room. ‘Were the fish okay?’ Leo let out a sound which may have been amusement. ‘Yeah. Why did Sam give Margaret a soft toy?’ ‘He didn’t I did. I got them free with the fabric softener.’ ‘Them?’ ‘Yeah. I got two bottles. And two free bears. I gave one to Donna.’ Shaking his head, Leo headed for the shower. ‘What shall I wear?’ ‘Pick something out yourself. I’ve gotta make a call.’ Leo walked across and closed Josh’s bedroom door before unfolding his phone. ************* ‘Catherine says we should do things differently.’ Leo tried not to look annoyed. ‘Such as?’ ‘Money.’ Still cross, Leo nodded. ‘Okay.’ Josh handed his wallet across the table. Leo took it, emptied it of credit cards and the few dollars it held. Josh watched as Leo pulled out his own wallet, withdrew a handful of hundred dollar bills and pushed them into Josh’s wallet before handing it back to him. ‘You’d better have some of it left over at the end of the month or I’ll wanna know what you bought.’ ‘I’ll show you if I buy anything.’ ‘Okay. You want dessert?’ ‘I’m gonna stop seeing Maria.’ ‘Why?’ ‘We both know it’s not going anywhere. It’s not fair on her. She should find someone better.’ Leo smiled. ‘I doubt she will.’ Josh blushed at the compliment, fiddling nervously with the napkin in his lap. ‘Anything else?’ ‘I should let my apartment. I’m not gonna be going back there.’ It’s taken care of.’ ‘Yeah. You pay the rent.’ ‘Not any more. One of the other club members lives in it now.’ Josh hadn’t realised. ‘Uh…okay.’ They stopped talking briefly while Josh ordered apple pie and Leo ordered coffee. ‘Did Catherine make any other suggestions?’ Leo asked archly. ‘Yeah. She said we should get someone to clean the apartment.’ ‘Really?’ Leo laughed. ‘Yeah. She said we’re not spending enough time together when we get the chance cos there’s always things to do in the apartment when we get in.’ ‘Anything else?’ Leo forced the words out through gritted teeth. ‘Yeah. She taught me to play chess. She said we should do something together apart from watching TV.’ Leo drained his coffee, trying to take everything in. He called the waiter over and sighed the credit card receipt. ‘I didn’t know Catherine could play chess.’ Josh nodded. ‘Yeah. She’s really good at it.’ Leo had had enough. Getting up, he asked: ‘You ready to go Dep?’ ‘Yes sir.’ It took Leo a few moments to realise what Josh had said. And by that time, they were almost at the restaurant door. **************
Leo waited until Catherine came to the phone. ‘Are you really an alien queen of some kind? You’ve swapped my Josh for an alien clone.’ ‘Oh poor Leo. Are you not enjoying your new slave?’ She laughed. Leo didn’t share Catherine’s amusement. ‘No. I want him back.’ ‘You can’t have him Leo. You wanted him different. He’s different. Live with it.’ ‘I am!’ Catherine smiled as the connection was severed. She saw Jimmy’s concerned face. ‘It’s all right Jimmy. Leo’s having trouble adjusting.’ End
To be continued in a future sequel...
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