Ghosts in the Smoke Part 42

Disclaimer: I don't own these lovely characters, Aaron Sorkin and his friends do.

Sam and Josh are caught in a hotel fire.

Spoilers: Everything up through The Leadership Breakfast (set two days later)

Archive: Anywhere you want, just please e-mail me Partnrpal@aol.com

Ghosts in the Smoke

By Mer

Part 42

The Oval Office

"My, my aren't we just a little bit testy this afternoon? What don't I get a hello, or it's been a long time since I've seen you?" Mandy asked sweetly.

"Mandy, we both know that we hate each other's guts. Now, can you please tell me why you are here?" Donna asked coldly.

"I must have missed something, when I left you we just a lowly assistant but now you have the power to run the President out of the Oval Office, very impressive. So do you have a new title that I am not aware of?" Mandy asked with sarcasm dripping heavily off of every word.

"At least I still have a title, which is more than I can say for you." Donna shot back.

"Oh was that supposed to upset me?" Mandy asked as she faked being afraid.

"Cut the crap Mandy, why are you really here?" Donna asked coldly.

"I came here to get my job back." Mandy replied matter-of-factly.

"Gee, why do I find that a little hard to believe? You hated your job here, because you felt your talents weren't being used to their full potential or something like that. But I wasn't really paying attention to your resignation letter as Sam read it, I was focused on something else." Donna replied angrily.

"Oh you mean about how Josh is too blind to realize that you are head over heels for him?" Mandy suggested.

"No, I was thinking about how peaceful the West Wing would become without you." Donna smiled sweetly.

"Cute Donna. Have you been taking speech writing lessons from Sam again?" Mandy taunted.

"No. I've been too busy trying to help Josh run his office. But maybe when Sam gets better I will ask him for some pointers." Donna shot back.

"You know I'll bet it was a damn shame about Josh, after all that recovering he had to do. I bet he was a little baby the whole time that he was recovering. I mean no man can handle pain like a woman can." Mandy exclaimed.

"For your information, I have never seen someone as brave and as tolerant to pain as Josh is. I guess he got that from his time loving you." Donna remarked, marking a mental score for herself.

"Hey I loved him once." Mandy protested.

"Sure you did, you loved the power that came with him. You loved the places that you thought that he could take you. It never occurred to him until it was too late about how much of a bitch you really were." Donna replied.

"Josh wasn’t bothered by our breakup, he's the one that broke it off!" Mandy exclaimed.

"Oh and let me see if I can think of any reason why he might want to do that? Gee, maybe it was all of those Republicans that you kept taking to bed. You really must be an idiot to think that he wouldn't find out. Really Mandy, just how thick do you think hotel walls are? Until he figured that out, he wanted to marry you." Donna replied.

"You're lying!" Mandy exclaimed angrily.

"If you don't believe me why don't you go and ask Sam. I think he was the one that helped Josh pick out the ring. Come to think of it he's the one that ratted you out to Josh. Maybe you should reconsider trying to get your job back, when everyone around here seems to have a knife with your name on it." Donna replied in a threatening voice.

"Whatever. Donna, I'm sorry to burst your little bubble, but I am not here for my old job back." Mandy replied, changing the subject.

"Sorry the cleaning staff is full." Donna smirked.

"I'm here for Josh's job, since it looks like the poor guy won't ever wake up again." Mandy replied.

"Nice try but I know that he's just in a coma." Donna answered icily.

"Oh really that's a shame. I figured he was dead because you are wearing that hideous black dress." Mandy smirked back.

"This dress happens to…I don't know why I am wasting my time arguing with you. You aren't worth the breath it takes." Donna replied changing her tactics.

"Yeah you never know how much air we will have left if we get trapped in here. Lack of oxygen must be a crappy way to die." Mandy replied with a slight smile. "That was a low blow even for you Mandy." Donna replied in a shocked voice.

"Well, get used to it honey because I'm more than likely going to be taking over one of their two jobs. Josh's job would be nice, but I'm sure that I'm going to be given Sam's. Interim Deputy Communications Director, it has a nice ring to it." Mandy replied.

"They would never give you Sam's job. Toby wouldn't allow it." Donna exclaimed.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Mandy replied.

"They aren't that desperate." Donna replied in a shocked voice.

"You never know, you still have a job here." Mandy replied.

"But I can assure you that you won't get Sam's job!" Donna exclaimed.

"Honey they are both probably going to be vegetables. Sooner or later you have to face the fact that their jobs can't be vacant forever." Mandy smirked.

"Mandy that's enough." Leo replied from the doorway.

"I can't help it if…" Mandy protested.

"I said that's enough. Donna, will you please go and see if Margaret needs any help? I need to talk with Mandy alone." Leo ordered.

The Situation Room

"Okay, I'm here. What do you got for me today Nancy?" Jed asked as he entered the room.

"Sir, the Russian extremist group Soviet for Communism or SFD has claimed responsibility for the D.C. Hilton fire." Nancy answered.

"I knew that much. Tell me something that I don't know." Jed replied.

"The Russians are wondering whether or not you are going to retaliate." Nancy stated slowly.

"Two of my senior staff members were supposed to be murdered. And not only were they supposed to die in that fire, but they were supposed to suffocate and then burn up. What do you think that I want to do to them?" Jed asked angrily.

"Obviously you are angry. Would you like a proportional response sent to them?" Nancy asked.

"This was a terrorist group, I'm sure that they didn't have Putin's permission, am I right?" Jed asked.

"No he has sent a public apology to you and extends get well wishes to Sam and Josh." Nancy replied.

"I can't punish the Russian people for what a handful of them did, especially with their economy teetering on the verge of collapse. I want vengeance but I am not heartless." Jed answered.

"I must say that I commend your decision, sir." Nancy replied.

"Besides I don't need too, when it seems like there front man is a Senator." Jed answered.

"Ahhh yes Senator Michael Herman. It says here that the CIA has enough evidence to prove that he was selling secrets to the terrorist group." Nancy replied.

"What kind of secrets would he know?" Jed asked.

"Apparently he's on the foreign arms committee, he was selling the secrets in exchange to pay off a debt that he owed them. Apparently, he started to sell them bogus secrets and they started the fire as a way to warn him." Nancy replied.

"How do Josh and Sam factor in to this?" Jed asked.

"Apparently, they are still mad that we found out about the missile silo fire and called it for what it was. They were sending a message to you as well." Nancy replied.

"Okay do we know where the terrorist group is headquartered?" Jed asked.

"Yes, it's on the outskirt of Moscow." Nancy answered.

"Gather everyone up. I want you guys to come up with a way for me to let them know that they will not be allowed to do this again." Jed replied.

"Very well then, sir." Nancy replied.

"I only wish that we could have stopped this before it got this far." Jed replied solemnly.

"I wish we could have too." Nancy replied.

Georgetown Hospital-Sam's Room

"Mrs. Bartlet may I talk with you outside for a moment?" A doctor who had been taking care of both Sam and Josh asked.

"Sure." Abbey replied, glancing a quick glance at Sam before she followed the doctor out.

"We don't think that we got to the poison in time." He stated slowly.

"What does that mean?" Abbey asked.

"It means that whatever damage was done can't be reversed by medical science at this time. All of their latest blood work indicates that we haven't been able to sufficiently flush the poison of the drug out of them." He stated softly.

"What does that mean?" Abbey asked.

"It means that if they don't wake up within the next twenty-four hours, they both will probably never will. And even if by some miracle they do wake up they will never be the same again." He answered.

"Isn't that obvious?" Abbey asked.

"No, I meant they will probably not be mentally the same again. There will probably be severe memory loss, violent mood swings, and probably even the inability to perform simple tasks." He replied slowly.

"Those things can be re-learned right?" Abbey asked.

"Sometimes extensive occupational therapy helps but I can't guarantee that it will." He replied.

"You aren't one hundred percent sure that those things will happen are you?" Abbey asked.

"Well no, but past experience has…" His voice trailed off when she raised her hand up.

"I think I get the point. Doctor even if they were to wake up in the next twenty-four hours wouldn't they still have these same side effects?" Abbey asked.

"Yes, but they have a better chance of them not being permanent. The longer they stay in a coma the greater the chances that any negative effects they receive will be permanent." He replied.

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