Work Text:
- Warnings: Mild Language and Talk About Sex
- Spoilers: The Two Bartlets & Dead Irish Writers
- Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to a bunch of people, and I am not one of them. I am in no way trying to compete with Aaron Sorkin, for that would be a mere mortal trying to compete with a GOD. Also, Young Miss and The Breakfast Club do not belong to me. This story, however, does. I make no money off of this and probably should be working on something where I might actually make some money...but here ya' go.
- Feedback: We all want to be told how great we are, but constructive criticism is welcome, too. TheArtofDodger@msn.com
- Author's Notes: This is the FIRST FF I EVER wrote. And for the record, I like the character of Amy. I just think she should be dating someone else (jealous much?). Thanks to Val, for squeezing me in during finals. Rose petals at your feet and chocolate cake to be hand fed to you.
- Conversations: It Was A Good Day -
"Did she order the food?"
Josh looked up from the magazine he was reading. Sam was leaning against the doorway of the Roosevelt room, hands stuffed in his pockets. Josh's eyes swept Sam's body, lingering a little too long on his crotch.
"Josh? Did. She. Order. The. Food?"
Josh snapped back too attention. "Huh? Who?"
"CJ? What the hell's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. Yeah, she ordered the food." Josh looked back down at his magazine, hoping Sam hadn't noticed his lingering gaze. /Gotta stop doing that, Lyman./
"Could you two, please, shut up?"
Sam looked down toward the end of the table. Toby was hunched over a pad of yellow paper, scribbling furiously.
Sam sat down across from Josh. "What's he doing?"
"Brainstorming." Josh didn't dare look up at Sam just yet.
"Brainstorming what?"
Toby grunted from his end of the table. "Places to dump Bruno's body...and yours too, if you don't shut up."
Sam smirked. Sometimes Toby's gruffness and...odd sense of humor bothered him. Not today. Nothing bothered him today. Today had been a good day.
"Toby, I'm having a fairly good day, and you're not gonna ruin it. You know what I'm gonna do now?"
"Annoy me some more?"
"I'm gonna tell you about my good day."
"Please don't."
"I wanna hear about your good day, Sam," Josh piped in.
Toby groaned. "No you don't, Josh. Read your Young Miss magazine and be quiet."
CJ glided into the room, munching on cheese crackers, the goldfish kind. "Josh, you read Young Miss?"
"It was on Donna's desk."
Sam giggled. "That explains it then."
"Shut up, Mr.-peach soap-peach shampoo-have-to-smell-like-a-fruity-girl," Josh snapped.
Toby looked up. "Sam, you use peach shampoo?"
"I am not ashamed of my sensitive side."
CJ patted Sam's shoulder. "I think you smell nice, Sam."
"Thank you, CJ."
CJ sat down next to Sam. "Anyways, Josh, I never took you as the magazine reading type. Actually, I never took you as the reading type."
"Why thanks, Claudia Jean. Glad you know you hold me in such high regard."
"No problem, Harvard."
Toby eyed CJ's crackers suspiciously. "CJ, why are you eating crackers?"
"Because I'm hungry."
Toby frowned. "Didn't you order food?"
"Yes, I did order food, Toby. But the food's not here yet...and I'm hungry now." She watched Toby scribbling on his paper. "What'cha doing, Tobes?"
"Don't call me Tobes.'
"Okay. Wha'cha doing?"
"He's writing a list of places to dump Bruno's body...and Sam's...and probably yours in a few minutes here." Josh pushed his chair back and propped his legs up on the conference table.
"Toby's in a mood," Sam offered.
"Toby's always in a mood," Josh added without looking up from his magazine.
Toby's head snapped up and he glared at Josh.
Dead silence.
As if on an instinct, Josh looked up and caught the look in Toby's eyes. "Toby?"
'Yes, Josh?"
"Am I on your list now?"
"Yes, Josh."
"Okay."
Sam turned away from the two who, at the moment, he was going to dub as "Grumpy and Dopey". A small smile crept across Sam's face. "CJ?"
"Yes, Sammy? Can I call you Sammy?"
"Sure...did you have a good day today?"
CJ pondered for a moment. /No national crisis. No news scandals. We didn't go to war and nobody got shot or accused anyone in the White House of being drug addicts.../
"Sam, have you slept with any hookers lately?"
"Call girl, CJ. And no, I have not."
"Okay then...I would say I'm having a pretty good day. Thank you for asking."
"You're welcome."
"Sammy...not to complain or anything...but why *are* you asking?"
"I had a pretty good day, too."
"That's great, Sammy. Good for you."
Josh looked up from his magazine. "Toby?"
Dead silence.
Okay," Josh continued, "I can see you're all tense about the meeting with Bruno and I realize that I'm on your list and I figure, since I'm gonna be dead and buried by night's end anyway, I might as well go out with a bang."
Josh paused to gauge Toby's reaction. Toby looked up and scowled at him. /Well, you're a dead man already, Lyman. Just jump./
Josh looked down at his magazine and read aloud, "Is your job affecting your sex life?"
CJ choked on a cracker. Sam patted her on the back. Josh looked at Toby expectantly, a smile beaming from his face. Apparently he thought he had successfully 'gone out with a bang'.
Dead silence.
"Toby?"
Dead silence.
"Come on, Toby. Answer the question," Josh provoked. He glanced over at Sam, who was smiling back in amusement and understanding
"Just answer the question, Toby," Sam added.
Josh's smirk grew bigger. "Answer the question."
"Oh," CJ finally got the joke. "You're doing The Breakfast Club, aren't you?"
Josh and Sam nodded.
Toby wrote on a fresh piece of paper in large letters. Then he held it up and showed it to everyone.
JOSH
SAM
CJ
"Hey," CJ cried, "what did I do?"
"You were here."
"Grump."
"Okay," Sam said, "what about you, CJ? Is your job affecting your sex life?"
"Well, my desk *is* rather hard and cold."
Josh giggled. CJ eyed him, never cracking a smile. "Your desk isn't much better, Joshua."
Josh looked up. /Aaah, she wants to play/.
He smiled. "Not what you said last night, Claudia Jean." He winked at her
A quick image of CJ and Josh sprawled across Josh's desk flashed through Sam's mind. He shifted in his chair, a movement that didn't go unnoticed by Josh.
"What about you, Sam? Work affecting *your* sex life?"
/There's no way I'm gonna answer that with Josh staring at me like that./
Sam shifted under Josh's gaze. "Yes...since I can't pick up call girls anymore."
"That might have more to do with your fruity soaps than your job," Toby jumped in.
Josh continued grinning at Sam, who thought maybe he had some work to do in his office, away from Josh's big puppy eyes.
/That's so not fair of him anyways,/ Sam thought, and then before he knew what he was saying or why he was saying it, Sam blurted out, "What about you, Josh?"
He regretted it the instant he said it. /Oh, crap. I don't wanna know about Josh's sex life. I basically just gave him permission to break the one rule I set for us. I'm just gonna crawl under the table and die now./
Josh picked his magazine back up and began flipping the pages.
Dead silence.
"We're waiting, Joshua," CJ said.
Josh hesitated. /Sam did ask, after all./
Josh put the magazine back down and grinned at CJ. "Not at all, CJ. Amy and I have lots of sex. Lots of great sex, I might add."
Sam clenched his jaw.
"Amy Gardener? I thought she was a lesbian?"
Sam turned to see Ainsley standing in the doorway.
Josh frowned. "Amy is not a lesbian."
"She's a feminist," CJ grinned.
"She's a woman's activist," Josh said. "Why would you think she was a lesbian? You do know I've been dating her for a couple of months now?"
Ainsley shrugged. "I thought that was like a mercy thing."
Sam grinned. /Maybe Republicans aren't all bad/.
Josh stuck out his lower lip in a pout. "She's not a lesbian. I don't need mercy. I have groupies. You're outta the loop."
"Yeah, Ainsley," CJ smirked, "Josh has *groupies* Where have *you* been?"
"In the basement."
"Good," Josh pouted. "You should have stayed there. Why are you up here anyways?"
"I heard something about someone ordering food."
"We didn't order enough for you," Josh grumbled.
"You can have some of mine, Ainsley," Sam offered.
""Why, thank you, Sam."
"We're calling him Sammy now," CJ informed her.
"Okay, Sammy." Ainsley sat down on the other side of Sam. She looked down at Toby. "What's he doing?"
CJ glanced at Toby. "Probably better not to ask."
"Okay."
Sam looked across the table at Josh, who was sitting, bent over his magazine. Sam caught his eyes. Josh looked up through his eyelashes, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Sam smiled back.
/You can brag about your sex life all you want, Joshua Lyman...but I saw you checking me out when I came in here./
Sam leaned back in his chair.
It was a good day.
THE END