crack_van | Ride On by violet (PG)

Fandom: THE WEST WING
Pairing: None. Sam gen-fic (though if you squint, both Josh/Donna and Josh/Sam are implied)
Author on LJ:

tangleofthorns
Author Website: spark girls

Why this must be read:

And another Sam rec, because it's all too easy to forget about Sam, but he was the soul of the show, its true idealist, for three and a half seasons.

This story is a short, sharp look at Sam as he explains to a drunk Donna how he's come to be the man he is. Growing up rich, white, American, male and beautiful makes it a little harder sometimes to be who you really want to be, but Sam's working on it.

As always, violet's writing is spare and lyrical, and her characterization is true.

A quote:

She tipped her head back and closed her eyes against the amber glare of the streetlights. "But how did you get from the legal beagle--"

"--Eagle--"

"--To the guy with ideals and things?" she concluded. "Doesn't it normally go the other way?"

He frowned. "Not if you work at it."

"So you work at it? You try to, what, not know things so you can be this guy, or what?"

"Don't we all try to do that with things we don't want to know?" He laughed emptily. "Not knowing everything is all that makes it okay sometimes."

Ride On by violet