"Hey, CJ."

"Hey."

"The release for tomorrow." Sam handed her a green folder, then flopped onto the couch. "Take a look. See if you need anything else."

"Are we going to mention Thornton?" she asked as she flipped through the pages.

"Yeah." He sighed, then took off his glasses and rubbed his face. "There's really no way around it, so we might as well get it out on a Friday."

"Okay." CJ looked up after scanning through the release. Her eyes lingered on him for a moment, then she asked, "How're you doing, Spanky?"

"Fine." His answer came almost before she finished her question. "What do you mean?"

"'Cause you don't look so good."

"I thought I always look good. You said so yourself." A corner of his mouth lifted up reflexively into a tired smile.

"You used 'irreconcilable' three times in the first couple of paragraphs." She closed the folder and left it on top of her stack of documents. Pushing away from the desk, she leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. Her hands folded neatly in her lap. Her eyes locked onto Sam with a measuring gaze.

His smile withered, and his lips pressed thin.

"Sam," CJ started, as she took off her glasses and threw them onto the desk.

"Sorry about that," he muttered. Glancing towards the door, he stood up abruptly. "Give me an hour. I'll send you a new draft."

"Not so fast. Sit back down."

Eyeing the door not three steps away, Sam stood still for a few moments, then finally complied with a sigh of resignation.

"Donna told me you've been spending most of your nights over at the hospital."

"Josh needs someone to keep him company. He's bored out of his mind."

"Donna's there with him most of the day."

"I'm usually there at night."

"Sam, when was the last time you sleep in your own bed?"

"I'm his best friend."

"Who also happens to work fifteen-hour days for the President of the United States."

"We all are, CJ, and Charlie even longer than that. I just need to get more - more organized."

"You shouldn't do this to yourself."

"He wants me there."

"Josh is not three years old. He'll understand if his best friend needs to sleep in his own bed every once in a while."

"He was shot."

"But he's fine now. If he's well enough to complain about too many 'Simpsons' repeats on TV, then he will probably be able to handle a few nights on his own."

"You don't understand. I should -- He's been... " He trailed off, closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "I want to be there for him. I have to be."

"You can't keep on going like this."

"Of course I can."

"You're exhausted. You look bad. Even your writing is - "

"I was a bit tired. It's been a long day. Give me an hour - "

"That's precisely the problem, Sam. Don't you see? You're burning the candle on both ends!"

"I can do it. I should be there for him. I have to be."

Their eyes met; neither said a word. Finally, CJ sighed. She got up from her desk, and moved to sit on one of the guest chairs in front of Sam.

"You know, when I said that I didn't feel beholden to you..." she paused, and glanced down for a moment. "Well, actually, I did. Just a little bit."

"You really don't -"

She held up her hand and interrupted him. "Let me finish. I was very glad that you were where you were, because otherwise, I would probably be the one with an eight-inch scar on my stomach right now. And we both know how that would ruin my bikini look."

"At least Josh wasn't a bikini kind of guy." Both of them chuckled a little at the image.

"Don't blame yourself for not being there with him, Sam. It wasn't your fault that he got shot."

"I didn't even look for him afterwards, when he was sitting there..." Sam's eyes were on his hands. "I should've... at least..."

"You can only be in one place at one time, and you were with me."

"It's just that... There was so much blood. It was everywhere. His shirt, his hands, the pavement..." He closed his eyes and forcefully shook his head. His hands reached up to his face, rubbing wearily, as he took a deep breath.

CJ wordlessly reached over, her hand rested lightly on his shoulder.

"But it's okay now. Everything is fine." He exhaled the words with a shaky breath.

"Go home and get some sleep, Sam. You really can use it."

"I promised to bring him some stuff tonight." Sam checked his watch, and started to stand. "Actually, I should go. I'll send the release over once I finish it."

"Okay." CJ nodded, then stood up and walked over to her fridge. "You know what, have a beer with me, then I'll let you go."

Sam looked at her warily, but he took the beer when she handed it to him.

~~~

"Hey." Toby walked into the office. "Have you seen - "

He stopped when he saw Sam sleeping soundly on CJ's couch covered with a maroon quilt.

"Nice quilt. Did you drug my deputy?" A hint of surprise was mixed with a note of amusement.

"It's Carol's, actually. And no, but I gave him a couple of beers." The press secretary peered over the computer screen, finished up the last few words of her memo. "I was going to have my way with him, but then you showed up and ruined everything."

Toby glanced at Sam and snorted. "I was just checking to see if you're ready to go."

"Sure." CJ closed down her computer, and put a few documents into her briefcase.

"How 'bout him?" Toby nodded towards the sleeping figure on the couch.

"What about him?"

"Are you just going to leave him here?"

"Yup. No point in waking him up, he'd just go back to the hospital instead of his apartment. Might as well let him sleep."

"Yeah," Toby answered with a sigh as he looked at Sam. "I'll talk to Josh."

"We should." CJ nodded as she turned off the lights. "But first, let's get some dinner."

"Fine with me." Toby shrugged and followed her, closing the door quietly behind him.