five votes - a west wing collection

xvi

Josh wasn't at the White House when it happened. He was at the Hill, having a meeting with a senator. And he had, Sam quickly discovered, listened to his boyfriend's advice, for once, and shut off his cell phone.

Sam was still staring at the television screen in shock. His hands were shaking, his fingers numb as he dialed Josh's number for the third time. He was going to cry, he was going to scream, he was going to... do none of those. This is the White House, he reminded himself. This is the White House, and there's work to be done.

He allowed himself another second of staring at the screen, then left a message on Josh's phone.

***

"Call me when you're done. It's important."

Sam's voice was hoarse, and he sounded like he was holding back tears. Josh had no idea what was going on, but suddenly, he was frustrated with the senator for taking so long with the meeting. Dialing the number as quickly as he could, before he'd even left the building, Josh held the phone up to his ear.

"Josh?'

Pushing his way out of the door, Josh was suddenly hit with a wave of sound. People were everywhere, shouting and cheering. Josh rolled his eyes, pushing the phone closer to his ear. "Yeah, it's me. Are you okay?"

Sam said something in response, and Josh huffed angrily in the direction of the crowd of people gathered outside. "I'm sorry, hon, I can't hear you. There are so many people." He grunted as someone ran into him.

"...five to four." Josh only heard the end of Sam's sentence and frowned.

"Five to four?" It took him a second to realize what his boyfriend meant. "The marriage bill?" He climbed into a taxi, feeling his anger building. "Five to four? Those- those sons of a bitch," Josh growled angrily into the phone. "I can't believe-"

"Josh-" Sam tried to cut him off, but he wasn't stopping now.

"One vote. One vote!" he shouted, ignoring the odd look the taxi driver was giving him.

"Josh!" Sam finally snapped. "It passed!"

***

Well, that certainly shut him up, Sam thought ruefully. For a moment, the only sound coming over the phone was the muted sound of cheering and shouting outside of Josh's cab. Finally, he heard Josh let out a breath of air.

"It- it what?" He asked, voice shaking, and Sam grinned.

"It passed, Josh," he repeated, unexpected tears filling his eyes. "It passed."

There was silence for an instant, then a loud shout came over the phone. Sam heard Josh tell the taxi driver to stop, and heard the slam of a door. Suddenly the celebratory cheers were louder than ever, and Sam knew that Josh was out there, in the streets, not giving a damn what anyone thought. And how he wished he could be there with him.

He let out a breathy laugh, on the verge of tears. This was it. This was it. He heard Josh shouting, and he kept laughing, and sobbing. They'd done it.

Suddenly, Josh was back on the phone.

"Marry me."

***

Judging by the sudden silence from the other end of the line, Sam was as shocked as Josh was. They'd never considered marriage before, never even thought it was possible. But that didn't stop Josh from asking.

"I don't have a ring, I don't have a speech, hell, you're not even down here- why is that, anyway?" Josh asked, then shook his head. That's not important, idiot, he scolded himself. "Look, I don't have a ring, but I can get one. I'll get one before I come back, and I'll do it right. I'll get down on one knee in front of everyone. But just between you and me- marry me?"

There was silence from the other end, just long enough that Josh checked to make sure the call hadn't broken up. Then he heard a choked sob. "Yeah. Yes. Yes, I'll marry you, Josh. I'll marry you."

Josh grinned. "I've got a ring to buy," he said, then slammed the phone closed. Throwing his arms up, he let out another loud whoop, then climbed back into the taxi.

"Sir," he said to the driver. "Find me the closest jewelry store."

***

Sam leaned against his desk, staring at his phone in shock. Josh asked me to marry him, he thought silently. Josh asked me to marry him.

The tears were still streaming down his face when Donna poked her head in a minute later, a huge grin on her face. "Sam!" She said excitedly, practically bouncing into his office. "Did you-" she paused, looking at his face. "Are you okay?"

Before he had a chance to respond, another figure appeared in his doorway. Straightening up, Sam wiped his face. "Hello, sir," he said quietly, the past few moments still trying to settle in his mind. "Did you need something?"

"I was going to ask why you're not out there celebrating," Matt Santos replied, raising a concerned eyebrow. "Are you alright?"

Sam let out a puff of air, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. "I'm fine," he replied, then thought better of it. Looking up, he met their eyes. "Actually," he said, "I'm great. I'm getting married."