Senior Staff

[anikadicara]

Here's some more, because... why not?

***

Back at the White House, Willow stopped by Sam’s office to report that Josh was grumpy but alive. Sam thanked her and apologized for running off at the last minute, but nothing that he said or did indicated an interest in her that was anything beyond friendly or professional. Willow was relieved, and it was easy to convince herself that it had only been Josh’s fever that made him see anything between her and Sam.

She spent the afternoon and evening at her desk, piecing together the science news of the day. Then Willow did something she’d almost never gotten to do since she’d arrived at the White House: leave work at a reasonable hour. Rationalizing that she’d had barely any sleep the night before, she packed up her bag at 8 pm and headed out. This time she was confident that no surprises awaited her back home. She’d taken extra care to lock the apartment.

***

The next couple of days were productive but relatively uneventful for Willow, as Josh took two additional sick days. He did not return until Friday, when he showed up in the bullpen at 7 am and shocked everyone by walking straight over to Willow, putting a hand on her shoulder, and silently gesturing for her to follow him into his office. Josh closed the door when they entered, dropped his backpack on the couch and sat down at his desk without taking off his coat. Willow seated herself opposite him and waited for whatever it was he wanted to tell her, taking in his appearance as he settled himself in his chair.

Josh did look better than when she had last seen him. He was wearing a suit again, and he had clearly showered just before coming to work. The skin around his nose was still red and irritated, but his eyes were less glassy than before and only slightly bloodshot. Then he opened his mouth.

“I deed a favor.” His voice was barely audible, cracking at the end of “favor” and fizzling out.

“You’ve lost your voice.”

“Thag you, biss obvious,” he croaked. He sounded horrible.

“Sorry,” she apologized.

“I’b go-” his voice dropped out and he tried again. “I’b goig to catch up on paperwork. Bake sure dobody tries to beet with be.”

“Make sure nobody tries to meet with you?” she repeated incredulously. Josh’s entire job seemed to be meeting with people, and considering that he’d been out of the office for the last three days Willow knew that he had a lot to make up for. “How am I supposed to do that?”

Josh raised his eyebrows at her as if to say that wasn't his problem, and then pointedly lifted a pen and pulled some papers off a stack on his desk. He swiped a finger under his nose and started to mark up the papers without even glancing back up at Willow. She sat there for a minute and watched him sniffle, trying to decide if he was done with her.

“What are y—” Josh’s voice gave out and he tried again. “What are you still doig?” The short sentences were all he could manage, but Willow understood what he meant.

“Trying to remember what ‘security guard for Josh’s office’ has to do with my science communications job,” she retorted. As usual, she regretted the comeback as soon as it escaped her lips. Typical, defensive, disrespectful-to-authority word vomit was her specialty.

Josh leaned forward across the desk, and even though he spoke in a whisper Willow could hear his impatience. “Dot gettig fired has to do with your science cubmudications job,” he hissed.

“Right. Sorry. Never mind. I’ll keep people out. Really.” Willow rambled awkwardly as she backed toward the door. But Josh didn’t hear her, because as soon as she turned the doorknob he pitched forward with a series of congested sneezes.

“HutCHH! Huh-ITCHH! Huh-ITCHHH! HuhTSSHoo!” he paused, hands covering his face. “Huh - HuhTCHHOO!” The last forceful sneeze seemed to knock the air out of him, and Josh dropped his head onto his desk with a soft groan. Reluctantly, Willow walked back across the office to retrieve the box of tissues from Josh’s desk, pressing a few into his hands.

“I’ll postpone all your meetings until next week. Don’t worry about it.” Josh grunted in reply. Willow retreated to the bullpen, shutting Josh’s door behind her.

[obsessed]

Those two are so funny together <3

[anikadicara]

Guarding Josh’s office was easier said than done. As soon as Willow closed his door behind her, she found CJ and Toby hovering outside.

“Hey. Sorry, but Josh wants me to tell everyone that he can’t take meetings today. He has a lot to catch up on.”

“He can’t take meetings?” Toby answered incredulously. “What do you mean he can’t take meetings? He’s missed three days, we’ve got the DOD on our backs about budgeting, we have less than a month to make a tax break deal on the hill, and the president’s insisting on changing our entire position on agriculture subsidies! He’s taking this meeting.”

Toby pushed past Willow and swung open Josh’s door, while CJ shrugged at her apologetically. Willow had just enough time to see Josh’s surprise as his coworkers interrupted his noseblowing before Toby slammed the door shut behind them. Thinking that at least Josh didn’t have the voice to yell at her, Willow returned to her desk.

***

She was halfway through creating a briefing book on the competitive market for hepatitis C treatments when Sam showed up at her desk. He leaned against it, folded his arms over his chest, and announced, “I’m cold.”

Willow finished the sentence she was writing and then looked up at him, eyebrows raised. “You’re cold.”

“Yes. I’m cold. Abnormally cold. The thermostat in my office reads seventy-two, just as it has for the past week. Today’s temperature is above the average for mid-January in the past fifty years. I’m wearing long sleeves and warm socks, and yet-”

“You’re cold,” Willow finished for him, trying hard not to roll her eyes.

“Yes.”

“Put on a jacket?”

“It feels wrong when I swallow,” he continued.

“When you’re wearing a coat?”

“Right now. I’m cold and it feels wrong when I swallow. Like I’m eating sand. And I’m more tired than I should be before lunchtime, I’m just getting started with the education speech and then I have to do the ethanol tax-”

“Sam?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you need me for something?”

“What? No. I just, wanted to tell you that-”

“You’re cold,” Willow finished for him.

“Yes.”

“And your throat’s scratchy.”

“Yes.”

“Sounds like you might be catching Josh’s cold.”

Sam looked panicked, as if he hadn’t until this moment connected the dots between his chills and the fact that his best friend had been suffering from a cold all week. He shook his head. “I can’t get sick right now. Can’t happen. Too much to write.”

“Maybe it’ll pass.”

“I can’t get sick,” Sam repeated as he walked away from Willow’s desk and back to his office. Willow sighed and leaned back in her chair. This had been a long week.

[anikadicara]

The long week wasn’t about to end anytime soon. Less than an hour passed before Sam showed up at Willow’s desk again, this time wearing gloves and a scarf over his suit. She looked up from her computer when she noticed him standing there. “Hey,” she greeted him.

By way of greeting, Sam drew a long, loud breath in through his nose.

“What was that?” Willow asked warily.

“There’s a whistle,” he informed her.

“What whistle? I don’t hear anything.”

“When I breathe through my nose. It whistles.”

“I really don’t think that’s anything to worry about.” After spending most of her morning reading about hepatitis C patients, it was hard for her to get worked up over Sam’s possible cold.

“Pretty soon I’m gonna sound like phlemy over there.” Sam indicated Josh’s door, from behind which the entire bullpen area had listened to Josh sniffling, sneezing, coughing, and blowing his nose all morning.

“Maybe you’ll be more subtle about it,” Willow suggested, while privately thinking that if this was how Sam acted in anticipation of a cold, she highly doubted he’d be a subtle sick person.

Josh chose that moment to emerge from his office. He looked completely exhausted, and angry. “Sab!” he yelled – or rather squeaked – at the room in general.

“Yeah.” Sam crossed over to Josh’s office and made it almost to the door before he stopped in his tracks. “Wait. You’re contagious. I’m not doing it. I’m not doing it!” he called to Josh over his shoulder as he turned and walked back into his own office. Josh groaned in frustration and retreated to his office, slamming the door.

As the bullpen settled back into work, Willow thought that the weekend couldn’t come fast enough. She read a few more articles but found it difficult to concentrate. Even after an ordinary week Willow’s brain was usually pretty fried by midday on Friday, and this week had been anything but ordinary. She skimmed a couple of emails. CJ had a question about the Artificial Pancreas project. The president wanted a briefing book on the HPV vaccine. The senior staff was attending a cancer research symposium in San Francisco on Sunday and Advance requested that Willow attend. Toby needed notes on genetically modified – Willow stopped reading and returned to the email about San Francisco. Sunday meant the day after tomorrow. As in less than 48 hours from now. As in, it looked like Willow’s weekend of relaxing and doing nothing was nothing more than a fantasy.

[matilda3948]

YAY!!! I love the man cold!

Your dialog is so snappy and good!

[anikadicara]

I haven't forgotten this story, just taking my sweet time.

***

On Saturday evening, Willow was on her hands and knees in her apartment searching for her headphones. Her ipod sat on the counter, but there were no headphones plugged into it. There were also no headphones plugged into her computer, or to her cell phone. Willow had decided they’d probably fallen somewhere and was searching underneath the couch while Anna, her best friend, lounged on it watching Desperate Housewives.

“Don’t go in there!” Anna shrieked. Willow quickly withdrew her hand from under the couch and snapped up.

“Ow! Why not!?” she asked, massaging the back of her head which she’d slammed on the couch. Anna laughed guiltily.

“Oh, sorry. I was talking to Lynette. She’s about to go into that creepy Art’s house, but he’s totally a pedophile!”

“Art’s a character on Desperate Housewives?” Willow asked, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, he’s been on for like this whole season. Why are you DVRing Desperate Housewives if you don’t even watch it?”

“That DVR’s stuck like a year in the past. I haven’t had time to use it in forever,” Willow explained.

Anna made a face. “I have to say, you were way more fun before you became a Sixteen Penn workaholic.”

“Can you not call it that? We’re in my apartment, nobody’s listening to us.” Willow had learned that admitting in public that you worked in the White House was an open invitation for eavesdroppers. After catching a few too many curious Starbucks patrons listening in on their conversations, Anna had renamed it.

Anna shrugged. “Sixteen Penn’s cuter.”

“Whatever. Where are my stupid headphones?” Willow groaned in frustration.

“You’re taking Air Force One. They won’t have headphones on the plane? Even Delta gives you headphones.”

“I don’t think my entertainment is the government’s biggest concern.”

“HA! I thought you didn’t have time for entertainment. What happened to miss my-big-important-job-with-the-president-of-the-United-States-is-more-important-that-Desperate-Housewives?”

“It’s not really for entertainment, more for blocking out Sam’s complaining and Josh’s phlegm symphony. But I don’t think the government cares how annoyed I am about that, either.”

“Gross.”

“Tell me about it. I thought Josh was bad, but considering how whiny Sam was today I have a feeling he’s going to be even worse once he’s actually sick.”

“And you have to live with them for three days in San Francisco? That sucks.”

“Seriously. Why are men like that? They get one little cold and all of a sudden the world stops and they’re dying and the only thing that can save them is to complain as much as possible to as many people as possible.”

“It’s because they don’t get periods,” said Anna matter-of-factly. “They have no practice with pain.” Willow burst out laughing. “What?” Anna shrugged her shoulders, “it’s true!”

“So the solution is to come up with some kind of painful male period.” Willow giggled.

“Exactly. Make that your next science project, Josh and Sam can be your lab rats.” An image of Josh and Sam running on a hamster wheel made out of tampons popped into Willow’s brain, which just made her laugh harder. “You’ve lost it,” observed Anna. “Sixteen Penn’s draining out your brain cells, day by day.”

“Maybe,” said Willow once she’d recovered herself. “But it’s gonna make one hell of a college essay.”

“You can call it, ‘Why Men Should Have Periods: My Years in the White House.’”

“Done,” Willow agreed. She sighed, gave up her search for her headphones, and joined Anna on the couch. It was nice, for once, to laugh and pretend like she was in high school again. She could allow herself this one night of regression, she reasoned. She deserved twelve hours to relax with her best friend before flying off to San Francisco in the morning on a stress-filled, soon-to-be-germ-infested Air Force One.

[anikadicara]

***

Boarding Air Force One was one of the things that made Willow really appreciate the improbability of the work she was doing. As a junior staffer she had only flown on the plane a handful of times – she usually attended the president’s speeches on science, technology and healthcare – and she still wasn’t comfortable with the police escorts and the rope line of reporters that watched you as you ascended the stairs. She rushed up to the plane quickly with her head bowed, and made a beeline for the staff area. She settled herself in a comfortable leather chair and powered up her computer.

In San Francisco the president would be giving out a Lifetime Achievement award and meeting with a few groups of scientists. His staff would attend lectures and make connections, choosing researchers who were willing to advocate for the President in the upcoming campaign. Willow would be on hand to answer questions about the specifics of these scientists’ research and to help with the technical language in the President’s speeches. She was reading the list of conference presenters (Evelynn Wolfe! She pioneered adult stem cell research in lymphoma!) when Sam plunked down in the seat next to her, making her jump.

“Feel my forehead,” he demanded.

“What? Hi,” she greeted him, trying to pull herself out of her Boston University fantasy and into the present.

“I think I have a fever.” Sam looked almost comically forlorn at this possibility, so much so that Willow swallowed her desire to say ‘Bieber fever?” and instead silently placed the back of her hand on his forehead.

“It’s a little warm,” she agreed, “but you’re not going to burst into flames or anything.” She removed her hand as somebody cleared his throat. Josh.

“Am I interrupting?” he asked with raised eyebrows. Willow rolled her eyes as Sam turned red.

“No,” said Willow forcefully, while at the same time Sam muttered, “I have a fever and it’s your fault.”

“Should I get Abbey?” Josh’s brow wrinkled in concern as he took the seat facing Sam, making Willow feel instantly guilty for her comparative lack of compassion.

“She can’t do anything. ISHoo!” Sam snapped forward and sneezed without warning, spraying Willow’s keyboard a little bit. Reminding herself to be professional and compassionate, she discreetly wiped the keyboard with the corner of the pillow on the seat next to Sam as he apologized with his head in his hands. “Ugh, sorry,” he sniffled. “Do you have any tissues?”

Josh reached into his pocket and tossed him an open pack, which bounced off the top of his head. “Here.”

Sam raised his head far enough off his hands to stare mournfully at the tissues, which had landed on the floor two feet in front of him just as Donna arrived. She softly placed them in his lap before sitting next to Josh.

“Are you sick?” she asked Sam. He responded with another sneeze and then blew his nose. “I guess that answers my question.”

“He’s got an inferior immune sys-system,” said Josh, his voice cracking. Donna turned to him in concern.

“You don’t sound so great yourself,” she said, placing her hand on Josh’s forehead as Willow had done for Sam. Unlike Sam, though, Josh batted Donna’s hand away.

“I’m fine.”

“He was sick all week,” Willow informed Donna.

“My immune system’s better than yours, you got this first,” Sam said to Josh, rubbing his temples.

“You’re both overreacting. I’m fine, my immune system’s fine, I was fine the whole time.” Josh pulled out a newspaper and flung it in front of his face as if that was the final word. Willow couldn’t keep in a snort of laugher.

“Yeah, you were totally healthy when you fell asleep in your office, broke into my apartment, missed two days of work and then lost your voice.” Donna’s eyes widened and she grinned.

“You skipped work?” she asked Josh incredulously, pushing his newspaper aside.

“Donna,” said Willow, “It’s storytime.”

[JulesSneeze]

Ohhh I love this. Hadn't discovered it till today, but it's FANTASTIC! I love Josh's denial and I can just imagine his adorable sick voice

[obsessed]

yay for more!

[happybunny]

sooo great! i love reading it!!

[anikadicara]

As they made their way across the country, Willow relayed the details of her week to Donna. Donna was appropriately horrified at the part where Willow found Josh in her bed, and snickered at the part where Josh sneezed on the Secretary of Defense. She was sympathetic when Willow described how Sam had hassled her all day Friday with the details of his brewing cold. Telling Donna all of this had a cathartic effect on Willow. Donna had been in Willow's shoes and knew what it was like to be so much younger and less experienced than her bosses, and to have to be smart and efficient and "on" all the time while also caring for these men as if they were children. Willow's unexpected insertion into Josh and Sam's personal lives had taken a toll on her, and Donna understood.

"Thanks for listening," Willow told Donna at the end of her story, giving her a genuine smile. "It's been a pretty crazy week."

"It happens," said Donna, returning her smile. "And you're officially one of us now. You've been drooled on. Welcome to the club." Willow didn't know what being 'drooled on' meant in White House speak, until she glanced over at Sam and realized that the expression was literal. He was asleep, his head was leaning over toward her seat and a small string of drool was leaking out of his mouth onto Willow's pant leg.

"Oh my god. Ew." Willow jerked her leg away, accidentally jostling Sam's seat in the process. His head snapped up with a great sniff, then a cough.

"We there?" he croaked, then cleared his throat.

"Sorry. My bad." Willow tried to discreetly wipe off her pant leg with the cuff of her jacket. "We're still over Nebraska or something."

"Kansas," Donna chimed in.

"Feel like crap." Sam said quietly, running his hand over his throat.

"Can I get you anything?" Donna stood up and walked over to Sam, pressing the back of her hand against his forehead. "You're a little warm."

"Water? ASHoo! aISHH! ...and tissues?" He closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the seat.

"I'll find you some water," Willow volunteered, standing up as well. She could use a walk to give herself time to put on her professional front. Plus, she wasn't nearly as good at showing compassion as Donna was and didn't want Sam - or Donna - to notice. She walked through the staff compartment, down the hallway and into the kitchens, where she found a couple of bottles of water in one of the cabinets. When she returned, she found Sam blowing his nose into tissue after tissue from a box he'd placed on Willow's seat.

[jezebel215]

this is yummy!

[anikadicara]

When Sam finally lowered his hands and leaned back in his chair with a groan, Willow moved the box of tissues off of her chair and gently placed them in his lap.

"Thanks," he sniffed, and looked at her with watery eyes.

"You're welcome," she replied. Sam looked miserable. "Can I do anything else for you?"

Sam shook his head. "Dothing left to do. This is just the worst... HuISHoo! Timebig." He buried his nose in yet another tissue. "We have to work od the codtendt of the speech for Tuesday and Leo wadted be to beet with the sedators." He blew his nose into the balled up tissue and then stuck it his pocket, which Willow noticed (with some disgust) was already bulging with them. She looked carefully away from his pocket and up at his face.

"I can't do much about the senators, but let's postpone our meeting until tomorrow. I'll make some notes for you on these diseases, if you read them sometime today then we should have time tomorrow for me to explain whichever parts don't make sense," Willow offered.

"Josh might be able to take your meetings," Donna chimed in.

"I'll ... huh?" Josh, who had fallen asleep, jerked awake at the sound of his name.

"Can you take Sam's meeting with the California senators?" Donna asked him.

Josh cleared his throat and coughed a bit. "I hate the California senators."

"You hate everyone," Donna pointed out.

"Fair point." Josh replied with a cocky smirk.

"So you'll do it." Donna decided.

"But the thing is, Donna, my hatred for the California senators is special. It's big. It's impressive. It's a hatred unlike..."

"Stop it, Josh." Donna rolled her eyes.

"But I'm just getting started. It's an acute hatred. It's specific. It's... It's... It...ISHoo! ISHoo!" He frustratedly ran a hand across his nose.

"Gross, Josh." Donna reached over and took a tissue from the box Sam held out to her and handed it to Josh, who blew his nose loudly and then stuffed it into his cup holder.

"I'm really glad I picked last week for a vacation." Donna shook her head at Willow, who nodded in agreement. "I can't even begin to imagine how germ-infested your office was," she said to Josh. It was now his turn to roll his eyes.

"I wasn't that bad. Much less of a baby than this one," he jerked his head towards Sam, who was blowing his nose again with a crumpled tissue.

"You were that bad," Sam said once he'd finished. "You were in denial, which ... meant... aaISHoo! aaISHOO! huhISHHH! bendt you kept cobig to work and infectig us." He gave his nose one last big blow, and then leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "You owe me. Take my meeting. I'm going to sleep."

"I'm putting the senators on your schedule tonight, Josh," said Donna. Josh groaned.

"Why's everyone acting like it's my fault I got sick?"

"So you admit you were sick, then."

"I was sick like a normal person, not like this sniffling, disgusting..."

"Stop it, Josh."

"Don't tell me to stop it, you stop attacking-"

"Josh." Donna had brought out her stern voice in full force, and Willow figured the two of them would be going at it for a while. She leaned back in her seat beside Sam and closed her eyes.

"Igdore theb," Sam advise stuffily from beside her.

"Done." Willow finally let herself sleep.

[anikadicara]

When she awoke an hour later, Willow was happy to see that Sam, Josh, and Donna were all asleep. She brought her computer back out and compiled notes for Sam's speech as quickly and efficiently as she could. They were almost in San Francisco, and she wanted to get the notes to Sam as quickly as possible because she could tell he was fading fast. His breathing was more ragged than it had sounded an hour ago, and she saw a line of clear mucous creeping out of his nose and onto his upper lip. Even though that was, objectively, disgusting, Willow's heart went out to him. There was something sweet and innocent about him just then, this powerful, important, handsome man sleeping messily like a little kid with a cold. She wanted to give him a hug. Which would be totally, completely unprofessional. And weird.

When the plane began its descent, Sam woke clutching his ears. "Ow," he groaned.

"You okay?" Willow looked at him with concern.

"By ears always hurt whed I fly with a stuffy dose," he said forlornly.

"Try drinking water." Willow didn't know anything about medicine, but had always assumed water was sort of a cure for everything. She handed him the bottle. He took a sip and handed it back, sitting up in his chair.

"Makig by dose rud." He pulled a tissue from the box and blew, a much more unpleasant sound than it had been earlier in the flight. "Ow."

Blowing his nose seemed to cause Sam significant pain, because he lowered the tissue almost immediately and fell back against his seat with his eyes squeezed tight. Willow instinctively raised her hand to feel his forehead, and before she registered what was happening Sam had leaned into her hand and then dropped his head onto her shoulder. Talk about unprofessional. Willow glanced back over at Josh and Donna and saw that thankfully, they were still asleep. Now what?

The hand that she'd used to feel Sam's forehead was now lying awkwardly in her lap, folded over the other one. If she stayed still, it meant she was making every effort not to touch Sam. And she felt bad just sitting there doing nothing while he was suffering. His knee rested next to hers, almost touching, and it was hard to keep her fingers from giving it a comforting squeeze. She settled for just resting her hand on his knee and trying to make herself as comfortable as possible without pushing him off. She could hear him sniffling in her ear.

"It's okay," she whispered, "we're almost there." Sam said nothing. "Do you want to try the water again?" He rocked his head no, back and forth on her shoulder. "Okay. Do you want me to get Abbey?"

"Do. This always happeds whed I fly sick," he whispered. "It'll go away whed we land."

"Okay." Willow tried to take slow breaths to calm her heart, which was beating unusually loudly in her chest. She hoped Sam couldn't hear it. She settled back in her chair and closed her eyes again as they descended, Sam's head heavy on her shoulder.

[matilda3948]

I LOVE this story!! Josh's little rant about his hatred for the senators was brilliant and a sick Sam?

[anikadicara]

Next thing Willow knew, the plane was no longer moving and Donna and Josh were no longer asleep. They had woken to find Sam and Willow somewhat intertwined, with Sam's head on Willow's shoulder and Willow's hand on Sam's knee. Josh found this hilarious, and teased them about it mercilessly as Willow and Donna rolled their eyes and Sam sneezed continually and rubbed his ears in pain.

They rode in a decoy limo as part of the motorcade to their hotel. Josh, Donna and Willow sat side by side one one seat while Sam lay down on the seat across from them. They could tell he really felt awful because he accepted this arrangement without guilt or complaint. At the hotel, Willow was unsurprised to learn (given how her karma had been for the last week) that her room was adjacent to Sam's. They took the elevator up together, with Josh and Donna and CJ. C.J., who had not been with Sam during the flight, was shocked to see him so pale and miserable. Unlike Willow, C.J. was totally comfortable pulling him into a bear hug.

"Sam, you look awful!" she told him, smoothing back his bangs and feeling his forehead. "You're going right to sleep?"

"After I ... ASHoo! read Willow's dotes for the disease speech." C.J. quickly withdrew her hand when Sam sneezed, and when he recovered she passed him a tissue from the box Donna was holding and put an arm around his shoulders.

"Read them tomorrow, you look like you could pass out," C.J. told him.

Sam looked over at Willow. "But Willow bade all these dotes for be." The elevator doors opened and they filed out.

"It's okay," Willow assured him. "You can read them in the morning, I"m planning to work here for most of tomorrow so just knock on my door when you're ready to meet."

"And Josh is going to take your meeting with the senators tonight," said Donna as Josh groaned.

"Sorry." Sam apologized. Josh sneezed.

"huhISHoo!"

Donna handed him a tissue. "Even though he's still a little bit sick too."

"I'm not sick," growled Josh, swiping impatiently at his nose.

"Well I ab," said Sam, blowing his nose. "And I'm going to bed."

"Feel better," said Willow, as she slipped her key into the door next to his. Sam gave her a small smile.

"Thanks. For, you know, everything. ASHoo!" Willow heard one more sneeze from Sam as he closed his door, then she was plunged into the silence of her hotel room. Thank god for soundproof walls.

[jezebel215]

:-)

[anikadicara]

Willow spent a pleasant afternoon on the balcony of her San Francisco hotel room, doing research and enjoying the warm California air. She slept soundly that night, woke up very early the next morning, and went for a walk around the piers. She returned to her room around mid-morning to get organized for her meeting with Sam. But he didn't show up.

Around 2:00, Willow figured he could be sleeping late because of his cold and maybe she should go check on him. She knocked on his door, and got no answer. Maybe he'd left? She dialed his cell phone but also didn't get an answer. She called Donna. Neither she nor Josh had heard from Sam all day.

Concerned, Willow knocked again on Sam's door, louder this time. She heard someone shuffle to the door, and Sam spoke in a dry, croaky voice.

"Who is it?"

"It's Willow. You okay?"

"Dot great. Cad you comb back later?"

"I'll get Abbey."

"Do. I'b okay."

"Can you open the door?" No response. "Sam?"

"Yeah."

"Can you please open the door?"

"I'b gross."

Willow laughed. "You saw Josh last week. I can do gross. I'm ready for gross."

When Sam finally pulled open his door, Willow realized that she was not ready at all. It's true that she was ready for his red crusty nose, watery eyes, and pale complexion. She was ready for the way he swayed slightly, as if standing up took enormous effort. But she most definitely was not ready to be standing in front of a member of the President's senior staff who wore only a white t-shirt and boxer shorts. And who looked ready to cry.

What was she supposed to do? Sam just stood there, in his underwear, blinking miserably at her.

"Um... nice underwear. Classy." Willow mentally kicked herself. Here Sam was, looking miserable, and her response was to be sarcastic about his underwear? "I mean, not in like a sarcastic way or anything. It actually should be classy, because people who don't wear underwear are like skanks and manwhores. Going commando is the opposite of classy. And it's not presidential. So really, being in your underwear is totally... presidential..." Willow trailed off, horrified. Did she really just say 'manwhores'? To a professional speechwriter? "I'm sorry. Sometimes I just... say stuff... it's like a disease. My best friend Anna calls it word vomit. But she also has a pet name for the White House, so maybe she's not the best one to trust on... naming things."

Sam was looking at her incredulously. "Ab I bakig you dervous?" He sat down on the couch, pulled a tissue from a box on the coffee table, and blew his nose with a disgusting squelchy sound. It didn't sound like it did him much good.

"No." Willow took a breath and tried to think about anything but Sam's boxers. "Sometimes when I overthink things, I just talk. Without stopping."

"I cad see that." Silence fell, and Willow got a good look at Sam. He looked exhausted.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" she asked.

"Dot really. Every tibe I lie dowd, by dose ruds."

"I'm sorry."

"S'dot your fault."

"No, it's Josh's."

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "huhhhISHHoooo! huISHoo! Josh's fault." He reached for another tissue and blew his nose, then directed three more sneezes into it. "ISHoo! ISHoo! ISSSHHOOO! Ugh." With one hand still clamped around the tissue on his nose, Sam gathered another handful and blew his nose again. It was wet and awful sounding, never cleared up, and just made him sneeze more. "HATCHOO! Oh by god i'b dyig." Sam collapsed against the back of the couch, sniffling into his tissues.

Willow shook her head sympathetically and came over to sit next to him on the couch. She felt his forehead, and this time it was hot and clammy. "You're hot," she told him. "This time you really have a fever."

Sam sneezed in response. "ISHoo! ISHoo! ugh." he wiped his nose. "I didn't wadt you to see be like this."

"Really, it's okay. I've seen this all before," she assured him.

"Still. You have to adbit it's a turd-off." His nose was dripping, and he pressed the tissue to it to stem the flow. When he removed it, a trail of clear liquid glistened from his nostrils to the tissue. Willow looked instinctively away. "See? I'b disgustig."

Willow pulled several tissues from the box and handed them to Sam. "You're not disgusting, you've got a bad cold. Blow your nose."

Sam complied. When he finished, he turned toward Willow and put his hand on her knee. No matter how hard she tried not to be, Willow was still acutely aware of his boxers. "I dow I've said it, but I cand't thag you edough for everythig you've dode this past week. You're so young, you're dew here, you've bid throwd idto all this mess with Josh and I and you've stayed calb and taked it in stride. You're ... ad idcredible persod."

"I think you're cold is making you delirous."

"I thidk you cand't take a combplibent."

"I think it's some of both." Willow lifted his hand off her knee and stood up. "I'm making tea." She found the Keurig machine and made a camomile pod for Sam and a peppermint for herself. While it was brewing, Sam stood slowly up and thankfully went into the bedroom to find a pair of pants. Sitting with Sam drinking tea was much easier and more comfortable when he wore jeans, Willow unsurprisingly discovered. She finally felt that they could get down to business. She powered up her laptop and began going over her notes with Sam, and before long the two of them were comfortably immersed in their work despite Sam's sniffles and sneezes.

[jezebel215]

oh man i wish i could be on this trip!

[SneezyHolmes]

I think i just exploded with cuteness. O.O This story is too cute, i've got no idea what show its about but still, good job!

[anikadicara]

Their meeting wasn't productive for long. Sam started dozing off after about an hour, and Willow suggested he get in bed and take a nap and they would continue later that night. Sam immediately complied, and Willow was left alone again. She decided to be a tourist and head to Ghirardelli Square. Willow had never traveled much before this job, so she tried to get out as much as possible to see the cities they visited. She bought an ice cream sundae and ate it as she did some reading outside in the square, occasionally checking her phone to make sure Sam hadn't called. She bought a box of hot chocolate mix at the Girardelli store for him. It really was too bad he was missing out on the sights.

Willow returned to the hotel around dinnertime, and found C.J. and Donna chatting by the bar.

"Willow!" Donna waved her over.

"Hi," she greeted them.

"Pull up a stool," said C.J. "Have a drink. How's our dying speechwriter?"

"Sleeping, I think," said Willow honestly.

"If it were Josh I'd say he was being dramatic," said Donna, "but with Sam I think he must really feel bad."

"I've never seen him voluntarily stop working." C.J. passed Willow a beer. "How'd he seem to you when you saw him earlier?"

"He seemed pretty sick." Willow looked at the beer in her hand. Anywhere else she would have kept it, but she couldn't risk some reporter berating the White House Staff for providing alcohol to minors. "I'm not 21 yet," she told C.J. sheepishly. C.J. burst out laughing.

"God, really? I had no idea," she said, taking back the beer. "What's Sam doing hitting on you then?"

"What?" Willow was not expecting that. "He's not hitting on me! Who told you that?" Donna was looking at the floor. "You told her Sam was hitting on me?" Willow asked.

"It looked like it!" said Donna defensively. "You guys were all touchy-feely on the plane."

"No we weren't!"

"You were all, like, entangled."

"We were never entangled."

"You were definitely entangled," said Josh's voice behind Willow. She whipped around and found him standing there with President Bartlett. Of all the moments.

"I know that I should take an interest in the personal lives of my staff," said the President, taking a seat on one of the barstools, "But I'm going to grill our youngest member on nuclear something first. Did anyone offer her a beer?"

"She's not legal yet, sir," said C.J. with a hint of a smirk.

"Really?" the President took off his glasses and squinted at Willow. "Did I hire a minor?"

"I'm eighteen, sir." said Willow.

"Well, eighteen, as long as you can tell me what," he paused, and Josh handed him a piece of paper. "Somatic cell nuclear transfer is, I won't hold it against you." He replaced his glasses and continued to read from the paper. "Dr. Sheehan wants to know if I'm concerned about the future of somatic cell nuclear transfer. I could tell him I'm very concerned, but I don't like to lie." He looked up at Willow expectantly.

"It's when you take the nucleus from one egg and transfer it to the nucleus of another. By doing that you could create lines of embryonic stem cells that mimic certain diseases, which would open up whole new ways to do research. The problem is that theoretically it's also the way you would clone someone, and even though the technology's not there to make that feasible at this point it's still something people worry about."

President Bartlet winked at her. "Even though she's not old enough to drink, this kid knows as much as all of you," he told Josh, C.J., and Donna, "If not more. And now she gets to go wake up her entangled plane friend and get him down here." He turned to Willow. "You're going to be our teacher tonight. They'll see right through me if I don't know what I'm talking about, so I'd better know what I'm talking about."

Willow nodded. Did the President of the United States really just make a joke (however misguided) about her personal life? "Yes, sir. Um, but I think Sam's asleep, so it might take a little while."

"Get him down here when you can, we'll be in a conference room." He indicated the hallway leading off of the hotel lobby.

"We haven't secured those rooms yet, sir," said Agent Butterfield. Willow had almost forgotten the Secret Service agents were there.

"Well get it secured, I think your team of trained agents can beat a sick speechwriter to the finish," said the President. C.J. laughed.

Willow stood. "Thank you, Mr. President." She kept her composure as she walked across the lobby and into the elevator, and as soon as the door closed she shook her head took a deep breath. Time to face Sam. Nothing could faze her now.

[anikadicara]

Willow knocked softly on Sam's door. "Cob ... Cob... CuISSSHH!" she heard him croak, and the door swung open. "Huh-ETCH!" He sneezed again as he opened the door, face buried in a pile of tissues. He wiped his nose and looked blearily at her. "I cad't stop.. sd.. ISSHH! Sdeezig. huh-SSHH!" He walked away from her and flopped on the couch, which was surrounded by crumpled tissues. "HuTSSHH! HuhITSHH! HuhISSHuhh!"

He really couldn't stop. Willow just watched, unable to do anything as Sam lay curled up in a ball on the couch, tissues clamped over his nose, as he was wracked with sneeze after sneeze. After a minute, Willow started to get worried. These were the most congested sneezes she'd ever heard, and she didn't know how Sam was finding enough time to breathe between them. She put down her bag of hot chocolate mix and walked over to crouch on the floor by his head, pulling a stack of fresh tissues from the box on the coffee table and handing them to him. "How long has this been going on?" she asked.

"Dod't dow," he answered miserably. "Ted bidutes? huhITSSHH!" He swiped at his nose with the tissues. "This sugs." She saw tears in his eyes, whether from emotion or congestion she wasn't sure. Before she thought about what she was doing, Willow started rubbing Sam's back in slow, comforting circles. His back spasmed as he sneezed, and sprayed her despite his facefull of tissues. Still rubbing his back, Willow got up and balanced on the edge of the couch beside him to put herself out of the line of fire.

"S... sorrISHH! ISHH! Huh-TSHH! Uhhh.," he groaned.

"It's okay," she said soothingly. Sam just kept sneezing. "Try blowing your nose," she suggested. He complied with a disgusting, unproductive gurgle. He blew his nose over and over, not giving himself time to sneeze. Willow kept rubbing his back and passing him tissues, which he soaked and tossed to the floor. He was so preoccupied that he didn't see her cringe as he did this. As the sneezing died down Sam blew his nose harder and harder, finally sitting up and bending over with the force of it. When he'd finished, he lay his head was in Willow's lap. She stopped rubbing his back and felt his forehead. It was still hot.

"Feels good. Your fidgers are cold," he murmured.

"I think that's the weirdest compliment I've ever gotten."

"You fixed by sdeezig."

"I'm magical."

"You'd bake a good durse. Huh-ISHH" It caught him off-guard and he sneezed directly onto Willow's leg. "Ugg, sorry!" Sam sat up and Willow passed him another tissue, then wiped off her pants. He blew his nose and said, "We should'dt be doig this."

"Doing what?"

"Me lyig od you. You rubbig by back."

"I'm sorry. You're right, it's totally unprofessional."

"It's dot that. It's ... you're eighteed. I'b twedty-seved. We cad't... it's bad. We cad't do this."

"Do what, exactly?" asked Willow apprehensively. "It's not like we're having sex, Sam."

Sam spluttered, possibly laughing but Willow couldn't tell because it immediately turned into a congested, crackly cough. She got up and filled a glass with water from the bathroom, handing it to Sam who took small sips until he stopped coughing.

"Sorry," said Willow. "Didn't mean to set you off." Sam grabbed a tissue.

"Dot... hETCHoo! Dot your fault." He blew his nose.

"They're just kidding, when they say that about us. Josh and Donna," answered Willow to Sam's questioning look.

"Josh and Dodda say we're havig sex?"

"No! No, they just think we like each other. Like that." She realized too late that she sounded exactly like the recent high-schooler that she was. "They say we're... entangled. That we were entangled. On the plane when you fell asleep on my shoulder."

Sam's cheeks turned red and he sneezed three times into the crumpled tissue in his hand. "HESHoo! HESSHH! huhhh-ESSHH!" After blowing his nose several times, he leaned his head back against the couch and closed his eyes. "Ugh. I cad't face theb."

Willow looked at him apprehensively. "Actually, you have to. I came up here because the President wants to meet with both of us to go over his Q&A for tomorrow."

Sam groaned. "I should'dtve cobe od this trip. By writig's awful whed I feel like this. I'b lettig the Presidedt dowd," he said dejectedly.

"You're not gonna let him down. How about you take a shower, I'll run down to the desk and get you some Tylenol or something." Willow stood up.

"Okay." Sam rose from the couch too, but quickly plopped back down. "Ugh. Dizzy." He pulled a tissue from the box and blew his nose again. Willow held out her arm.

"Stand up more slowly." He rose obediently, leaning on her arm for support.

"Thadgs."

"Sure." She gently pulled her arm away from his hand and watched him walk unsteadily to the bathroom. Once he was inside and she heard the water running she grabbed his room key off the coffee table and headed down to the lobby. This trip, she thought as she walked toward the elevator, had turned out to be much more than she bargained for. When Josh was sick last week, she'd felt strange and awkward and annoyed with him. With Sam, the feeling was different. Her time with him was definitely strange, and not without its awkward moments, but something about it came more naturally to her. She normally thought of herself as horrible with sick people. But somehow with Sam she knew what to do.

Down in the lobby, Willow saw that Donna, Josh, C.J., the President, and the agents were gone. A few members of the press sat at tables with their laptops. She waved at a few of them that she recognized, then Josh said, "Watch out for that one, she's a pariah."

Willow whipped around to find him right behind her, pointing and winking at an attractive blonde reporter at a nearby table.

"How do you always do that!?"

"Do what?"

"Sneak up on me when I think you're not there."

"You were thinking about.. aSHOO! how I wasn't there?" Josh directed a quick sneeze into his elbow.

"What? No. I just meant-" Josh interrupted her with a loud noseblow. "Are you still sick?" she asked him.

"I'm fine. Just the tail end of it." He looked okay to Willow, definitely better than last week and much, much healthier than Sam.

"Good." They'd reached the front desk. "I'm getting some Tylenol for Sam."

"I'm leaving. Got a meeting."

"Okay." She waved goodbye to Josh and bought Tylenol at the desk, plus some cough drops and travel tissues. She brought her haul back upstairs and put it on Sam's coffee table. He was still in the shower, so she used the plastic bag from the front desk as a glove and picked up Sam's crumpled tissues, throwing them in the trash where they belonged. It wasn't like she was his maid, or his personal assistant, but they were disgusting and she didn't want to look at them anymore.

[jezebel215]

"How do you always do that!?"

"Do what?"

"Sneak up on me when I think you're not there."

"You were thinking about.. aSHOO! how I wasn't there?" Josh directed a quick sneeze into his elbow.

"What? No. I just meant-" Josh interrupted her with a loud noseblow. "Are you still sick?" she asked him.

i LOVE that byplay.

[anikadicara]

Sam looked marginally better when he came out of the bathroom. He wore jeans and a fleece sweater, his hair was combed and he had his glasses on which hid his red-rimmed eyes. He was, however, still sniffling continually though his sore chapped nose, and the first thing he did was pluck a tissue from the box on the coffee table.

"Do I look bore presedtable?" he asked over his tissue.

"You look fine," said Willow. Sam laugh-coughed, then sneezed and blew his nose. "Okay, you look sick. But not, like, gross or anything."

"Oh good. Wouldit wadt to show by true, disgustig self."

"That's not what I meant."

"I dow. I'b bessing with you. See? I bay be disgustig but I still have by sedse of hubor."

"Right." Willow waited while Sam found his shoes and his laptop, and she handed him back his key along with a Tylenol tablet and a bottle of water. He swallowed the tablet then looked confusedly at the key.

"You took by key."

"I had to get back in here after I went downstairs."

"A bit fabiliar, dod't you thidk?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are we at the stage of this relatiodship where you take by key?"

"You mean the relationship where I don't even work for you but I buy you sick person supplies to be nice and then you lie down in my lap and sneeze on me?"

Sam blinked at her. "Yeah, thad's.. huhISHoo! Thad's the ode." He blew his nose as Willow laughed.

"Speaking of, I got you these." She handed him a pack of travel tissues.

"Thidg these will be edough?" Sam looked doubtfully down at the package.

"I hope so," said Willow, "Hopefully we can make this a quick meeting."

Sam bent down and started pulling handfuls of tissues out of the quickly depleting box on the coffee table. "Just id case," he said, stuffing them in his computer bag.

"Alright. Let's go." She led him out of the room. He paused on the threshold.

"Willow?"

"Yeah."

"Thags."

She smiled at him and they descended to the lobby in companionable silence, aside from his sneezes. There were now two Secret Service agents stationed outside the ballroom. Willow showed them her hard pin (allowing her total access to the President), but Sam had forgotten to pin his on his sweater. He looks so forlorn at the idea of going back upstairs that the agents took pity on him and let him by without it.

"Samuel! Nice of you to join us," said the President as they entered the ballroom.

"Hello... S.. SirrISHH! ISHOO! ISHoo! Ug. Hello Sir." He reached into his pocked and fumbled with the travel tissues, extracting a couple and rubbing at his nose.

"How are you feeling?" asked the President seriously.

"I'b okay, Sir. Really," he added at the look on the President's face. "It souds worse thad it is. Let's get to work od this."

Willow mentally rolled her eyes. Everyone always told Jed Bartlett what he wanted to hear. Why couldn't people do that with her? It must be a nice way to live, she thought, never having to hear people whine.

"Well all right." The President took a seat at a table, and Willow and Sam joined him with their laptops. "So." He looked expectantly at Willow. "What do we need to know?"

[jezebel215]

i like how willow feels more comfortable with Sam, and the way they don't avoid the elephant in the room so what would be sketchy (maybe) is just open. or at least, that's how i feel. i'm rather hoping sam would take care of willow were the situations to be reversed...