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Aftermath Summary: Four months after the shooting, the staff is still recovering…
C.J. walked along the hall, trying to ignore Danny. He’d been following her for ten minutes now, trying to get a story- or a date, she wasn’t keeping track anymore. "For God’s sake, Danny, I have a staff meeting. GO AWAY!" C.J. shouted, trying to lose him. And while she did get a few looks from some staffers, she didn’t lose Danny. "C.J., I"- C.J. entered Leo’s office and slammed the door in his face. The waiting staff laughed as they heard a muffled "Ow" through the door. C.J. shook her head and joined Sam by the window. Josh was standing by the door; Toby was leaning against Leo’s desk. Leo and the President had yet to finish whatever meeting was going on in the Oval. "You know C.J.," Sam commented, "I’m beginning to think that you don’t mind his following you around." "I do mind very much Sam," C.J. said irritably. Josh opened his mouth to say something but stopped dead as they all heard a familiar sound. Gunshots. Except this wasn’t a gun firing at the staff- it was a car backfiring. It was a sound they had found sounded eerily like gunshots. Sam had gone dead white and hardly noticed C.J. gripping his arm. Josh had stumbled backwards and was gripping his jacket over the spot where he’d been shot. Toby was clenching the edge of the desk so hard his knuckles were white. They were all silent, all reliving the horror they had gone through that night. "Okay guys, let’s- what happened?" Leo asked as he and the President entered Leo’s office. The staff all glanced around nervously, then relaxed. "What happened?" Leo asked again, looking concerned. "It was nothi"- C.J. started, but Toby spoke up. "A car backfired," he said quietly. Leo looked confused, then realization spread across his face. "Oh, yeah. Yeah… well, uh"- Leo looked for something to say, but the President cut him off. "Look guys, we heard it too," he said. "And I know things like that can bring those memories back, but we need to move on, to get over it." "All due respect sir, but I don’t think we’ll ever get over it." "What’s that, Josh?" "I said I don’t think we’ll ever get over it. We’ll move on, we’ll go on with our lives, but it’s gonna stay with us forever. Another four weeks, four months, four years- that’s something we can’t ever forget. But"- Josh quickly continued, noting the look on the president’s face- "we can’t let it keep us from making other memories that we’ll never forget. But things like that"- he gestured at the window towards the unseen car- "things like that are still gonna hurt, Mr. President. No matter how long it’s been." After Josh finished, there was a silence. Then the President nodded. "You’re right, Josh. I think you’re right." Josh half-smiled. "Would you say that again, Mr. President, so I can get it on tape?" Sam laughed. "Yeah, you’d better get it now- I doubt he’ll say it again this term!" "All right, let’s get down to business. C.J., here’s the stuff for your noon briefing…." THE END
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