Fashionable Ends (Prompt 2, Sam Seaborn)

[callmedirk.livejournal.com]

Title: Fashionable Ends
Author: Sara (callmedirk)
Rating: PG
fic_variations Prompt/Claim: Fashion/Sam Seaborn
Words: 580
Spoilers: Oh geez. 100,000 Airplanes for sure, and various other bits and pieces, but nothing huge.
Warnings: None. An angsty!Sam, perhaps?
Author's Notes: None? Hee.




It seemed like the current fashion among Governor Bartlet's junior staff was nursing a broken heart.

Josh was dealing with a nasty break up with Mandy Hampton, and Toby was in the middle of a divorce from Congresswoman Andrea Wyatt. Now, the news had trickled in that Sam, their always positive Sam, was dealing with a newly broken off engagement to Lisa Sherborne.

Sam had come into the campaign office that Monday morning, seemingly intent on rifling through the papers on his desk.

Josh, Toby, and CJ all glanced at him, and even Donna tossed an odd look his way.

"Sam? Is everything okay?" CJ asked quietly, coming over to run a hand over his shoulder.

"Not really, no," came the soft reply, as he shrugged away from her friendly touch. CJ dropped her hand, looking upset.

"You wanna talk about it?" Josh asked.

"No thanks," Sam said, his blue eyes fixed on the yellow lined legal pad on his desk. His pen flew over the fresh page, filling it quickly. His friends and colleagues shook their heads. They continued on with their work, trying not to steal worried looks across the desks at Sam.

Phones rang incessantly throughout the rest of the morning, and the chatter of the campaign office kept Sam focused on the task at hand, as he wrote Governor Bartlet's next speech.

He filled what seemed like endless pages, filling them with facts and quotations, words that seemed to flow seamlessly from the tip of his pen to the lined paper in front of him. His brain was reeling, constantly flitting from thought to thought, whether it was about the speech or about the failed engagement to Lisa.

The night before, Sam had stood in front of Lisa as she berated him, stomping around the apartment he'd rented in New Hampshire.

"All you do is care about this damned campaign, Sam! When did you think we could plan a wedding together? You know, that thing we're supposed to exchange vows of eternal devotion in?" Lisa had screamed, her eyes flashing angrily.

He bowed his head.

"Lisa," he said quietly. "This campaign is important to me,"

"More important than me, Sam?" she asked.

"No, of course not, Lise," Sam said. "But my job--the governor is counting on me. This could help make my career!"

"Is my job not important? What about my journalism career? I can't get anywhere if all I am doing is traveling from Manhattan to here and back every three days," Lisa said.

"Of course your job is important!" Sam said, anger rising in his voice. "You know damn well how much I support your career! God, Lisa. How could you ever think that what you do isn't important to me?"

"You sure as hell don't show it,"

Sam sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"I don't know how much more I could," he said. "Maybe--"

"Maybe this just isn't working, Sam," Lisa said, interrupting him. "We can't get married if this is how our engagement is going to go, with us fighting about, of all things, work,"

All he could do was nod his agreement, trying not to let hot tears fill his eyes.

Sam shook his head in the office, trying to get the thought of the night before out of his head. His engagement was over, and he knew that, but it still ached to know that he had failed miserably at something he thought he'd be good at--loving someone.