Takes place shortly after "The Wedding" and is of course dedicated to John Spencer who gave us the always mischievous, ever wise Leo McGarry for six and a half years. Leo was such a critical part of the past, present and future for the West Wing and I know it will never be the same. All characters belong to NBC, I'm just borrowing them. RIP John Spencer, you were taken too soon.

Chapter 1: The news breaks

Abby walked into the White House, Ellie had just called her to say that she was doing well and they would be back in a few days. She headed around a corner and bumped into C.J.

"Abbey," the Chief of Staff was ashen.

"C.J," she studied her friend's face.

"It's Leo," C.J's voice shook.

"What," Abbey didn't need to ask, but she did refusing to believe what she already knew.

"He died Abbey," C.J felt like her world had ended; it was like her father had died all over again.

"When," Abbey desperately tried to process the information.

"Just a few minute ago, I got a call from the local hospital."

"Does Josh know," Abbey knew her husband didn't know.

"I don't know," C.J sounded worried, "the President doesn't yet."

C.J watched Abbey nod and knew the First Lady was aware of that, Jed hadn't found her seeking solace yet, "I'll tell him," she said.

Abbey entered the oval; Jed stood looking out one of the many windows.

"Did you see Leo at the wedding? He's going to be taking over a bit for Josh," her husband sounded a bit proud and Abbey's heart hurt more.

"Jed…" Her tone made him turn.

"Abbey what happened, are you alright?"

"It's Leo…he… he died of a heart attack a few minutes ago." Abbey could only watch as her husband sank into his chair.

Jed's POV:

My best friend is dead. My wife is standing in front of me desperately searching my face for a clue as to how I'm feeling, but there are no words. She knows that. "Abbey," I know I sound weak. She takes my hands, "I know Jed, I know." She does too, she knew him as well as I did. After his heart attack she was the one who urged me to help him move on, not hold him in. Now he was gone, "Josh," my next word. I watched Abbey's eyes drop, "we're not sure he knows." "I should tell him," I can only imagine how this is going to hurt Josh; he needs Leo's guidance now more than ever. "Jed, you don't have to," she is trying to help me. Josh is still in D.C, "no, I do, its best this way, I need to go see him."

30 minutes later:

Josh's office, Josh's POV:

Yet another office in the country, we have our main one in PA, but a side shoot here in Washington. Just then Lou enters, "Josh the President is here," she looks worried. I snap to attention, "POTUS is here!" "Walking in as we speak, he wants to talk to you." I stand just then as the President walks in, Abbey is with him, they both look terrible like they've been crying. "Mr. President, Mrs. Bartlet," I greet them. "Josh we need to tell you something, sit down." I sit. "Josh, Leo died about thirty minutes ago in a private hospital from a heart attack," I stare at the President. There's no way he just said what I think he did. "No, Leo's coming back to the headquarters this afternoon, he has a meeting," my voice chokes. "Josh…" Abbey moves towards me but my eyes are losing focus. "Donna," my voice doesn't sound like mine. "Lou get Donna, he's going into shock," I see the President moving next to his wife and I feel his hand on my shoulder, "Breathe Josh," and I struggle to obey him.

Donna's POV:

I knew the President had just arrived; suddenly Lou's face appeared in my office, "Donna, Josh's office now." I rushed after her, and stopped still in the door. Josh was shaking softly and tears were flowing down his cheeks. The President and First Lady turned and then made room seeing me. I knelt in front of him, "What happened?" This was like he was after Rosalyn. "Leo died," the President's voice is filled with grief. My own heart skips several beats, but I cannot allow myself to take it in, not now. Josh needs me. "Josh, please look at me, Josh." When his eyes manage to meet mine I hold them, "Stay with me Josh." "I called an ambulance," the First Lady is quietly watching. I put my hands on his face and hold eye contact, "I'm here Josh," he knows.

Josh's POV:
Donna's eyes fill my universe, there's sadness, but also love. I see her fear for me, but her determination, will that woman never give up on me? She's begging me to stay with her, I want to, but the man I've depended on, who has protected me for so long has just died. I remember when my real dad died, from that point on the President and Leo took me into the fold full heartedly. Sam, Toby, CJ, and I, we were the kids who were sheltered from the true horrors of White House politics by our leaders. Once there, lessons were learned, but we always knew that Leo would be there for us to turn to. When he left, things fell apart, Sam had already left. Donna left soon after Leo's heart attack, CJ became top dog, and Toby and I struggled to hold things together with her. Then I found Congressman Santos and left as well. Through that time Leo remained in a position of guidance, support and sympathy to our needs then he entered my world. I was saved the day Leo accepted the vice presidency. Now I was lost again; I have no idea how to do this without Leo.

Donna's POV:
Josh hasn't spoken, his eyes are locked on mine. Suddenly his eyes focus on me and he takes a shaky breath, "he's really gone?" I know the President has nodded because Josh seems to withdraw further into himself. "We have work to do, thank you sir for coming down to tell me yourself, Mrs. Bartlet," he nods politely but I can tell he is going through familiar motions. "Josh…" the President hesitates, "Leo would want you to press on, he had all the faith in the world in you," that wise man knows how to connect with Josh. He and Leo supported Josh for all they were worth, they didn't want him to suffer and when he was shot, I still remember the look on Leo's face.

Josh's POV:

I suddenly felt tired, old, and unprepared for the task that seemed to rest with me alone. I had to tell Matt, I had to tell Lou, I had to tell… "Do the others know?" I whisper. "CJ knows," the First Lady meets my eye. "Toby, Sam," my once best friends. "We can't talk to Toby, we were hoping you could," the President doesn't seem to know what to say on that and I don't blame him. Toby betrayed more than the administration, he betrayed the President personally and that hurt our leader more than he'd ever admit. "We haven't talked to Sam, you could call him if you want, if not we can certainly do it, but they'll find out soon." "I need to call them," I meet their eyes, "the funeral?" "We're talking to Jenny and Mallory." I nod, "thank you again," their eyes are full of tears and they each embrace me before leaving. Donna is left; I suddenly realize how much I'm counting on her to get me through the next few days. "Donna, we need to get the party leaders together and figure out how to address this," I feel my head start to ache. "Josh you need to grieve," her voice is soft. "NO," I snap, "Donna don't you get it, if I lose it now, Matt Santos and everything Leo wanted will go to waste." "What about what you want?" Her voice urges me to calm down. "We need to stay together Donna, we can deal with our personal loss later," I sit down to call Toby.

Toby's POV:

The phone is ringing, over and over. I sit on my couch, three years in jail; it's not going to be fun. I can't believe this is where I am. "Hello," I sound like an old man. "Toby, it's Josh," his voice sounds awful, raspy and full of tears. "Josh," our last exchange was unpleasant but my concern for my former friend outweighs that. "What's wrong?" I hope the concern resonates. "It's Leo," only something tragic could make Josh's voice sound like this. "Josh," my own voice is muted. "He's dead," Josh is fighting to stay in control. "When, how," I need to know how this great man has been so suddenly silenced, I always respected him, always. "Heart attack about an hour ago," Josh hesitates, "Toby, I need to ask you something important." I rub my face, "yeah?" "I don't know if you can attend the funeral, but I think it would mean a lot if you would write something for his funeral," Josh sounds nervous asking, but resolute. "I will," I promise, "I don't think I can come, even with federal officials, but I'll see." "I'll talk to you soon," he hangs up. I put the phone down feeling like I've lost a parent.

Josh's POV:
Sam is next, this is going to be hard. I dial his number, "Sam Seaborn," his familiar voice. "Hey Sam, its Josh," I try and sound in control, but Sam knows me too well. "Josh, what happened?" "Leo died," I whisper fighting off tears. There's silence, "when?" "About an hour ago, he had a heart attack," this is easier each time. "When's the funeral," he sounds so lost. "Soon, probably in two or three days," I know why he's asking. "I'll fly out tomorrow," he hesitates, "I'm going to miss him Josh." "Yeah, so am I," I don't know what else to say. "How are you going to make the campaign work now, you need a new VP on the ticket," he points out. "Oh yeah, I know, believe me we're working full speed on that." "See you tomorrow," he says. "Yeah okay, bye," we hang up.

Donna's POV:
Josh hangs up looking even older, "okay, we need to tell the congressman," he stands up and sits back down looking pale. "Josh, please, you need to relax," I kneel in front of him. "We're going to figure this out Josh, Leo would want us to stay on target, but he would also want us to remember him with love and happiness." I hold his gaze, he needs to know that I will never leave him.