Right, this fic started off as a short-standalone but I kept writing and writing. 15335 words later and I've decided to end it. This is a different series 7 where Toby didn't leak information and still works in the White House. Leo didn't die and he was elected Vice-President. It's such a long fic and I really hope you enjoy reading it. Please review and let me know!!

Two Administrations Two Families

Josh Lyman watched with pride as President-Elect Matthew Santos gave a speech, thanking all of the people that had voted for him. It had only been five days ago that they had won the election, beating Senator Arnold Vinick and he could hardly believe that they had done it.

Josh looked around the hall and saw Otto and Bram standing beside the stage, still with a state of awe on their faces at the new President Of The United States; the guy they had helped get elected. Lou was standing beside Edie and Ronna, probably ordering them around, but the two women were more interested in the man on the stage.

He thought about Donna back at the office, working with Helen Santos on what sort of work they'd like to do after the inauguration.

Yes, things were going great. It might be hectic at the moment and would probably be even worse after the transition but it was all worth it.

He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket; he pulled it out and moved away from the crowd.

“Where are you?” He asked, straight away as he put the phone to his ear.

“It was a good flight, thanks for asking.”

Josh glanced at the stage as the crowd cheered loudly once again. “Are you here?”

“That would be a no.”

Josh sighed in a whiny tone. “Sam!”

“Hey, my flight landed 30 minutes ago, okay...Give me a break.” Sam replied.

“Okay, fine.” Josh leaned back against the wall. “You still at the airport?”

“I'm in a cab.”

“Heading here?”

“Yes, Josh, I'll be there as soon as...What's the rush?”

“I want you to meet this guy.”

“President-Elect Santos?”

“He's the real thing...”

“I'm sure he is, but that doesn't mean I'm going to take the job, Josh.” Sam told him. “I told you this, the other day. I agreed to come down here, but I'm not just going to drop everything to come work with you because you say this guy is the real thing.”

“You did last time.”

“Yeah, but this is different.”

“How?”

“It's... Because... It just is.”

“Okay.” Josh grinned, knowing that Sam had probably already made the decision; he just didn't want to admit it yet. “You'll be here soon?”

“Yeah.” Sam replied, pausing before continuing. “I just have to stop off at the hospital.”

Josh pushed himself away from the wall a little. “What?”

“I'm fine.” He said quickly.

“The hospital?” Josh repeated.

“It was just a tiny accident...”

“Sam?”

“I sort of slammed my hand in the cab door...” He admitted, looking down at his injured hand. “I think it might be broken.”

Josh sighed. “Want me to get someone to come and pick you up?”

“I think I can cope on my own.” Sam answered.

“We'll probably be done here before you’re finished, so go back to your hotel and give me a call...We'll set something up.” Josh told him, seeing Santos wrapping things up.

“Sure. I'll catch you later.”

“Okay, bye.” Josh said, hanging up the phone and shoving it back in his pocket. He turned and found Leo standing behind him. “Hey.”

“Anything important?” Leo asked.

Josh smiled slightly. “Nothing for you to worry about Mr Vice President.”

Leo gave him a mock glare. “Stop that, right now.”

“What am I meant to call you?”

“Josh!” He groaned.

“You can't expect everyone to call you Leo now you're the vice president.”

“I can expect you to call me Leo.” He told him. “I've known you for too long and we've been through way too much.”

“Yeah.” Josh agreed, quietly.

“Have you spoken to Toby yet?” Leo asked.

Josh glanced away. “About what?”

“Josh.” Leo gave him a look.

“He said he wants to spend more time with Huck and Molly.” He claimed. “I offered him a job and he politely said no, because of his kids... That's good enough for me.”

“Toby? Politely?”

“Well, we didn't end up fighting like the last time we spoke, so that's a plus.”

“Yeah.” Leo nodded before sighing. “You two need to sort it out.”

“We're fine...”

“You're barely speaking.”

“We've both been busy.”

“Josh!”

“Leo, just...We're fine...Or we will be... Just leave it alone...I've got a lot of things to deal with right now...Toby knows that...And I know he's busy too... It can wait.”

Leo rolled his eyes but decided to let it go for now. “So, the phone calls... Anything important?”

“Nah, just my secret weapon.” Josh grinned again.

“Oh, God... No more secrets…it's not a secret plan to fight inflation is it?”

“Leo, that was years ago!” Josh exclaimed.

“Yet, you still insist on coming up with these secrets...” Leo continued, although he wasn't being serious. “You're going to be Chief of Staff to the President, Josh.”

“Yeah, and you're going to be the Vice President, so this is for me to worry about and for you to not.” Josh stated, heading over to the stage to join Santos, as he walked off.

“I can't help but be concerned about your secrets.” Leo continued, following him.

“Yeah, thanks.” He replied, dryly as they reached Santos.

“That went well, I think...” Matt commented, as he was lead to the exit by the Secret Service, along with Josh and Leo while Otto, Lou, Bram, Edie and Ronna trailed a little behind.

“Yes, Sir...You did well.” Leo assured him. “If you'll excuse me, Annabeth is over there waving like a madwoman, which I'm guessing means she wants me to go over to see her.”

“I'll see you back at the office...” Josh told him. “Oh, and don't make any dinner plans.”

“What's going on?” He asked, curiously.

“Nothing.”

“Your secret weapon?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh joy.” Leo rolled his eyes and headed over to Annabeth.

Matt chuckled, watching his Chief of Staff and the Vice President.

“So, what's next?” He asked, as they stepped outside the building.

“Uh, there’s nothing left on the schedule for today, Sir, but there is someone I'd like you to meet with.”

“Who?”

Before Josh could answer, the air exploded around them with the sound of gunfire. His first instinct was to hit the ground for cover. He didn't realise that he was pulling Matt down with him until they were both on the concrete. Pain stabbed through his shoulder and spread down his arm, but then it dulled slightly as his mind began to spin and he lost what little control he had on the situation. He briefly wondered whether this was actually happening or if it was just simply a flashback of Rosslyn. He glanced to the right to look for Matt but couldn't see him, instead he saw people running around everywhere.

“The President-Elect?” He asked, as two agents pulled him up.

“Mr. Lyman, we’ve got to get you out of here.” Was the only answer he got.

His legs shook and he was actually glad that the agent was there to help him, because he didn't think he was capable of walking on his own. He felt sick to his stomach and his head was still spinning. He was put into a car that quickly left the scene. He leaned his head back against the headrest, trying to control his breathing.

“Heading to G.W, our ETA 2 minutes. Harvard's been hit!” The agent spoke into his sleeve. “I repeat, Harvard's been hit.”

Josh was only half listening to what was going on around him, but then he suddenly realised what they had just said. Harvard... That was his Secret Service name...

His eyes shot open and he looked down, his stomach flipping and his hands started to shake, he was beginning to feel worse than when he had originally seen his shirt stained with blood.

XxXxX

“What the hell was that?” Leo asked, moving away from Annabeth towards the door when one of the agents stopped him.

“Sir, you need to stay inside and away from the window.” He pushed, Leo back into the building, as more agents joined him, guarding the Vice President.

“Was that gunfire?” Leo asked, trying to look past them and outside.

“Sir, stay back.”

“Were they just shot at?” He demanded, raising his voice.

“Three shots were fired.” The head of his detail, Henry answered. “That's all the information I have right now.”

“Well, find out more!” Leo ordered. “I want to know what's happened to the President-Elect and Josh Lyman!”

“I'll do my best, Sir, but you need to stay back!”

Leo sighed, knowing it was no use fighting with the Secret Service and moved back over to Annabeth.

“Leo?” She asked, questionably trying to keep her voice steady.

He shrugged slightly, telling her he didn't know what was going on.

“Sir, we've got to go now.” Henry took hold of his arm gently, leading him towards an exit.

“What's happening out there?”

“The scene has been secured, but we need to get you out of here.”

“Is the President-Elect okay?” He asked.

The agent glanced back at him. “He was hit in the chest.”

“Oh, God, no.”

“He's on his way to G.W.” He stated, pushing Leo into a waiting car and sliding in next to him. Annabeth climbed in on the other side of him.

“You need to get hold of Josh Lyman, now... I need to talk him.”

“Sir, you can't...”

“Get him on the damn phone, now!”

“Leo, calm down...” Annabeth told him, her voice still shaky.

“I need to talk to him. Make sure he's okay.” Leo told her before looking back to Henry. “I just need to talk him.”

“I'm sorry, Sir, It's impossible. Mr. Lyman has also been taken to G.W.”

“No!” Leo started.

“He was also hit.”

“But... But he's okay, though right?” Annabeth asked, automatically grabbing onto Leo's hand, not sure whether it was for his benefit or her own.

“I don't know, I'm sorry.”

“We need to go to the hospital.”

“Sir, we need to take you back.”

“I need to be at the hospital!” Leo insisted. “You can either take me or I'll find my own way there.”

“I really don't think...”

“The next President of the United States along with his Chief Of Staff have been taken there...The place would have been cleared out of anyone besides Doctors, Nurses and the Secret Service - It’s the safest place to be!”

Henry thought about it for a minute, he didn't like the idea, but decided Leo wouldn't take no for an answer. He looked at the driver.

“G.W. now.”

XxXxX

Donna glanced out of the window of the car as they speed towards the hospital. Helen Santos sat beside her, shaking and crying.

“He'll be fine.” She said softly, hoping it was reassuring.

“He...I can't...” She stuttered through the tears. “I can't lose him.”

“He's in the best place with the best doctors.” Donna stated. “He's strong and besides we don't know how serious this is yet.”

“He was shot...Isn't that serious enough?”

Donna swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to keep her own emotions under control. “Yes, Ma'am...I'm sorry.”

Helen sighed and closed her eyes. “I... I didn't mean to snap...It...I just...I know you're worried about, Josh too.”

Donna managed a small shaky smile. “They'll both be fine.”

Helen nodded but remained silent, and Donna turned her attention back to the window. As soon as the agent entered Mrs Santos' office, Donna knew something terrible had happened. She never thought it would be this, not again. She knew that the President-Elect was shot and that she should be worrying about him but all she could think about was Josh. The agent had no information on who else was injured. All they told them was that Santos had been hit and Helen needed to get to G.W. She had tried to call Josh's cell but it kept cutting off. She just wanted to talk to him. Make sure he was okay. At least Leo was there; he would look after him.

XxXxX

President Bartlet was just finishing off Senior Staff with C.J, Toby, Will, and Cliff when Ron Butterfield along with some other agents walked into the office.

“Sir, you're going to have to step away from the windows.” Ron told him, as the agents all took their positions.

“What's going on?” He asked, doing as he was told.

Ron hesitated, glancing at the others in the room but then continued.

“The Santos' Administration came under fire.”

“Under fire?” C.J repeated, her face draining of all colour. “They were shot at?”

“Oh, God.” Bartlet covered his mouth. “What do you know?”

“Not a lot at this moment.” Ron answered. “The Vice President was still in the building so he was completely safe.”

“Oh thank, God.”

“At the moment there are only two confirmed injuries... President-Elect Santos was hit in the chest.”

“No!”

“He's on his way to G.W.”

Toby watched Ron closely. “Who was the second?”

Ron paused again before looking around the room. He remembered the last time…

“Josh was standing beside Santos. They're also taking him to G.W.”

“To treat him for a knock to the head... or for...For shock?” C.J asked, hopefully.

“He was shot.” He confirmed.

“We should get down there.” Toby stated, turning to the door.

“You can't.” Ron told him.

“We have too!”

“No, Toby...you really can't!” Ron repeated. “The White House has been shut down... You're stuck here until we get the all clear.”

Toby went to protest further when C.J stopped him.

“He'll be fine...Leo will be there with him.”

“And Donna too.” Will added helpfully.

“How bad is he, Ron?” Bartlet asked, finally regaining his speech.

“I don't know, Sir...”

Bartlet sighed. “When we've been given the all clear...I'm going to need a car to take me down to G.W.”

Ron nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

XxXxX

Helen Santos ran into her husband's hospital room, ignoring the agents outside.

“Matt?!” She cried, seeing him lying on the bed with a team of doctors around him who all stepped back silently to give them some privacy.

“Hey, honey.” He said drowsily, the anaesthetic starting to take effect.

“Oh my, God...” More tears fell from her eyes as she gripped onto his hand. “Matt...”

“Shh...” He tried to brush away the tears but didn't have the strength to raise his arm high enough. “I'm okay.”

“You've been shot...” She stated. “You're not okay.”

“The kids?” He asked, his eyes slowly shutting.

“They're fine.” She answered. “Just worry about yourself.”

“How's Josh?” He questioned, opening his eyes to look at her again.

“Josh?” She repeated.

“He pulled me down.” He told her. “I remember... I got hit... Then, he pulled me down... I think he also got shot.”

“Don't worry...” She started.

“He...He saved me, Helen...” Matt cut in. “That second bullet, it was heading for me too... I would have been shot twice... Then who knows what could have happened.”

“Shh, stay calm...” She ran her hand down his face. “I'm sure Josh is fine...You can find out for yourself later, but first they're going to take you down to surgery.”

Matt nodded, slightly. “I love you.”

Fresh tears filled her eyes and she leaned down, placing a soft kiss on his lips before resting her forehead against his. “Love you too.”

“Be strong.” He told her.

She couldn't help but smile slightly. “Right back at you.”

She leaned back against the wall as they wheeled him out of the room, breaking down as tears streamed from her eyes.

XxXxX

“Look, can you just tell me if Josh Lyman is here?” Sam asked, one of the Secret Service agents that were standing guarding the entrance of G.W. hospital.

“Sir, please, just step back.”

“What about Leo McGarry...The Vice President...Can I speak to him?” Sam was starting to panic now.

He had just finished getting his hand seen to when the Secret Service cleared the hospital. It had brought back memories of Rosslyn and as soon as he could, he tried calling Josh's cell but it cut straight off.

“Sir, please.” The agent pushed him back a little towards the crowd of people that had started to gather outside the hospital.

“Look, I'm the Deputy Chief of Staff!” He announced. “I need to be in there!”

The agent looked at him doubtfully. “Do you have your security pass?”

“Well, no...”

“Then I'm sorry.”

Sam was about to protest when someone caught his eye.

“Leo!”

Leo turned at the sound of his name being called as he made his way into the hospital, surrounded by agents.

“Sam?”

“Leo, what the hell is going on?” He asked. “They won't tell me anything! They won't let me in!”

“Let him past.” Leo told the agent standing in front of Sam.

“But Mr Vice President...”

“I said let him past...He's with me.”

Henry stepped in front of Leo. “It's okay, his name's Sam Seaborn... I remember him from when he worked for President Bartlet.”

The agent sighed and stepped aside. Sam glanced at him as he walked by, but said nothing. He quickened his step to walk in line with Leo.

“What happened?” He asked.

“The speech had wrapped up...We were leaving the building...Annabeth called me over...We stayed inside for a little bit to go over something, then we heard gunfire.”

Sam swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat. “Yeah, I heard something like that... They...They're saying that President-Elect Santos was hit...”

“In the chest.” Leo muttered.

Sam didn't know what to say. He was concerned for Santos like any American citizen would be for their President, but Leo hadn't told him where Josh was yet. Sam wanted to ask but he didn't want to seem insensitive towards the situation. He just couldn't help but remember how Josh struggled after the shooting...How music had caused flashbacks...What would the sound of a gun being fired do to him?

“You were his secret weapon?” Leo asked him.

“What?”

“Josh? He's been acting strange the last few days...He said he had a secret weapon...”

“Where is he, Leo?” He cut in.

Leo stopped walking and turned to face Sam, sighing. “Sam...”

His face paled, not liking the look on Leo's face. “No...”

“I don't have a lot of information...” Leo started.

“No, not again...” Sam mumbled. “Leo, it can't be.”

“He was hit, Sam...” He whispered.

Sam fell back against the wall, his mouth slightly open. Leo glanced at him, but before he could answer, he saw Annabeth walking towards him. She had gone ahead to see if she could found out what was going on.

“The bullet went through his right shoulder.” She told him as soon as she reached him. “He's stable, but they're gonna need to do an operation to remove the it.”

“But he's okay?” Sam pushed himself away from the wall.

Leo saw Annabeth looking at him curiously.

“Sam Seaborn, Annabeth Schott.” He introduced them.

“Sam? I've heard a lot about you.” Annabeth smiled slightly at him.

“Josh? Is he going to be okay?” Sam repeated.

“The doctors are hopeful.” She informed them. “You can see him. They've given him something for the pain...He's a little out of it.”

“Where is he?” Sam asked.

“Calm down...The last thing he needs now is you going in there and freaking out.” Leo told him.

“Yeah, you're right...Sorry...” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes with his hand. “I'm sorry.”

“What happened to your hand?” Leo asked, noticing the bandage for the first time.

Sam looked down at it. “It's nothing...Let's go.”

Leo decided to let it go for now and they both followed Annabeth down the corridor.

“How's the President-Elect?” Leo questioned, getting an incredible sense of guilt for not asking sooner.

“He's being prepared for surgery.” She told him.

“I should go and see him.”

Annabeth shook her head. “Mrs. Santos is with him now, and then he'll be taken down to surgery.”

Leo sighed, realising how different this all was compared to what happened eight years ago yet there was so many similarities.

Sam silently followed behind the two of them. He noticed a lot of Secret Service agents around the doorway of the room Josh was in, and made a mental note to tease Josh about having a detail following him around all the time, later when he was feeling better.

Annabeth held the door open and Sam followed Leo in, whilst Annabeth waited outside.

“Josh?” Leo said, approaching the bed, where Josh was trying to push the oxygen mask off of his face and get up, whilst the doctor and a nurse tried to keep him still.

“Leo, what's going on?” He asked, finally managing to get the mask off. “Where’s the President-Elect?”

Sam reached out to hold onto the wall at the sight of his best friend, with his shirt undone, stained in blood. He quickly pulled his eyes away when they focused on the bloodied gauze on his shoulder.

“Jesus, Josh!” Leo’s eyes widened a little and he looked just as pale as Sam. “Lie back down, would ya?”

“Where's Matt?!” He asked firmly.

Leo noticed that it was the first time he had ever heard Josh call the President-Elect by his first name.

“Josh, just calm down a little.” Sam stepped forward, speaking for the first time. “You...You've been shot.”

Josh's eyes briefly shut, but quickly opened again when images of Rosslyn mixed with the shooting earlier flashed through his mind.

“It's okay...” Leo moved next to the nurse and gently pushed him back against the pillows. “Don't worry...”

“Leo...”

“They're going to take you into surgery soon... You've lost a lot of blood.” Leo continued. “But you're going to be fine.”

“What about, Matt?” Josh said again, this time quieter.

Leo glanced at Sam before looking back to Josh. “They're taking him into surgery soon...”

“Oh, God...” Josh tried to sit up again. “How bad?”

“Josh, lie back down!” Sam insisted.

“I need to...I should go talk to him.” He tried to stand up, crying out in pain as he moved.

“Josh!”

“I'm okay...” He stated, unconvincingly. “I...There's stuff I need to do.”

“You need to stay here!” Leo told him.

“I need to see Lou...And the Secret Service.”

“You can leave that up to your deputy.” Sam cut in, causing Josh to look at him. “If you want me to stay and be your deputy, then you're going to have to stay here and do as the doctor tells you... Everything else, I can handle.”

Josh considered it for a moment before slowly nodding and getting back on the bed.

“Good.” Sam breathed a sigh of relief.

“Talk to Lou Thornton...She can get you up to speed on what's been happing,” Josh told him. “Don't make any comments to the press until we know what's going on...Wait until you hear from the Secret Service or we have news on the President-Elect... We talk before we have the facts it's going to look like we haven't got this under control.”

“Got it...” Sam nodded, finding it a little strange that Josh was giving out orders; whilst Leo stood there silently but it was something he had to get use to. “It'll be fine.”

“Yeah.” Josh mumbled. “Anything that Helen Santos or the kids want...Make sure they get it, right?”

“No problem.” Sam nodded. “I'll go and see what I can find out.”

“Sam?” Josh called. “You gotta take charge, yeah?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Seriously, I understand you don't know anyone and they don't know you but... We need... I need to leave this with someone I can trust...” He pushed himself up a little again, leaning back against his elbows. “I need that person to be you.”

“Just get better.” Sam told him, before heading for the door.

Josh looked at Leo. “I need to talk to Donna.”

“She came in with Helen.”

“Mr. Lyman, we're ready to take you down now...” The doctor told him.

“Hang in there, Kid.” Leo reached out, squeezing his hand.

“Donna?”

“I'll look after her.” He promised.

Josh nodded silently. “Leo...”

His voice trailed off and Leo could tell he was scared.

“I know...” He whispered. “But you'll be fine...I know it.”

Josh nodded once more, taking a shaky breath and closing his eyes as a nurse started to prepare him for the surgery.

Leo kept a tight grip on Josh's hand whilst the anaesthetic took over, and as they started to wheel him out of the room, Leo walked along side the bed and looked over at the doctor.

“How serious is this?” He asked.

“He's lost a lot of blood and we need to remove the bullet as soon as possible, but he should make a full recovery.” The doctor answered, glancing behind them at the group of Secret Service agents following the Vice President and Chief of Staff. “We have some small concerns about the strain all of this is putting on his heart, but we'll keep monitoring that closely.”

“His heart?” Leo tensed slightly.

“I wouldn't worry too much about that right now.” The doctor told him. “Its just precaution, considering his medical history, age and life style.”

Leo couldn't do anything but nod slightly, stopping as they reached the elevator.

“He's in the best hands, Sir.” The doctor assured him.

“Yeah.” He whispered, as the elevator doors shut.

He stared ahead for a moment, thinking about everything that had happened over the past eight years. He wondered when they were going to be given a break. He sighed, shaking his head and decided to head back to find out where everyone else was.

XxXxX

“Otto?” Donna quickened her pace when she saw him standing in front of the coffee machine.

“Donna, hey when did you get here?” He asked, glancing back at her as he shoved some coins into the machine.

“I just arrived with Mrs. Santos...” She told him; glad she had found someone she knew. She'd been walking around for the past ten minutes but no one would tell her anything.

“Any news on the President-Elect?” He turned to face her, taking a sip of his coffee and grimacing at the bitter taste.

“They were getting him ready for surgery.” She folded her arms. “I don't think we'll know any more until afterwards.”

“How's Mrs. Santos doing?”

“Well, she isn't great, but she's trying to be strong.” She replied. “They waited for her to arrive before taking The President-Elect down...”

“I can't believe this has happened.” Otto breathed out.

“I know. Listen, I've been walking around this place and I can't find anyone. Do you know where Josh is?”

Otto’s mouth opened to reply but stopped himself.

“Otto?” She gave him a questioning look.

“Uh, everyone's in the waiting room down the hall.” He pointed over his shoulder.

“Oh, okay.” She replied, frowning a little at his odd behaviour.

“Okay.” He repeated, turning and heading back down the hall.

Donna shook her head, putting it down to shock or something and followed him.

TBC

Please review and let me know what you think!!! Then go read the next chapter!!!

Two Administrations....Two Familes: Part Two