crack_van | A Bluer Ocean by Abigale (PG)

Fandom: THE WEST WING
Pairing: Joshua Lyman/Sam Seaborn
Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: Subtractions
Why this must be read: Because it's refreshing to look at Josh and Sam from another viewpoint, and when that viewpoint is Josh's mother, it becomes all the more interesting. Abigale rounds out the character of Miriam Lyman, to make her a woman who we care about in her own right, even though the main focus is on her observations of Josh and Sam.

It's a story that moves at a different pace from the usual freneticism of the West Wing; it feels leisurely and gentle, a off-duty interlude in their lives. Yet it never becomes dull, and it still deftly conveys the strength of Josh and Sam's personalities.

Here's a brief moment, early on in the story. Their motions were unsynchronized. Josh set down his bag just in front of Sam, who scuffed it, and had to hop-skip around. They failed twice to capture their luggage as it swept past on the conveyer belt, and Miriam wondered how they'd ever managed to figure themselves out. She knew -- had listened to Josh's confession -- he hadn't a clue. She didn't ask about Sam.

But their voices flowed together seamlessly, and within moments she knew she would have trouble telling them apart, if one hadn't been her own child.

A Bluer Ocean