Title: I Don't Believe In Cheese Nips by Julian Lee
Fandom: The West Wing
Pairing: Josh/Sam
Categories: Slash, romance
Length: Medium (4,200 words)
Warning: None
Rating: PG-13


Author on LJ: Unknown
Website: The Thwarted Invasion


Summary: "Josh. Seriously. I don't believe in ghosts. You don't believe in ghosts. We'll be fine."

Review:

Amy's dumped Josh - or was it Josh who dumped Amy? - yet again, just when Josh has plans to spend the weekend at Chris Wick's family cabin in the Massachusetts backwoods. Rather than waste a good cabin, he prevails on Sam to accompany him instead - only, when they arrive, it turns out the place they've borrowed is not so much rustic as regal.

Unfortunately, however, it's also an old house in an isolated location, and some of the stories they've been told about its history are disquieting to say the least. When they try to settle down for the night, it very soon becomes apparent that nobody is going to get a great deal of peace and quiet. Of course, they don't actually believe in ghosts - but then again, Josh is haunted by the spectres of his unhappy past, by mistakes he's made and opportunities he's missed. Unable to sleep, he shows up in Sam's room with an armful of blankets and proposes to sleep on the floor - but Sam, of course, is soft-hearted and can refuse Josh nothing, so before long they're sharing a bed.

Julian Lee has a very light touch with Sam and Josh; there are no great tragic revelations, no declarations of undying love, just a little gentle nudge from the supernatural to push them towards a time and a place where they can remember what they once were to one another, and what they could be again. This story fits into the space between 'Posse Comitatus' and 'The California 47th' - i.e. the first half of season four - which is just about the last opportunity in The West Wing canon when something of this sort could have happened between Josh and Sam. They are not the wide-eyed optimists of the earlier seasons, and therefore it is possible to imagine that even at that late stage they could just have made it work together after all; here, Julian Lee captures this elusive prospect beautifully - and almost makes a believer out of me!

Link: I Don't Believe In Cheese Nips