House of Santos. 12:17 CST. Matt and Helen walk inside wearing their own "I voted" stickers, and it's as quiet as a tomb. It turns out that the kids are in school, which baffles Matt. In his best "duh" voice, he remarks, "Kind of a big day." I'm about to get on my high horse and agree when Helen quietly points out, "They'll be home by 3." I swing my leg back over and lower myself back to the ground. Matt looks all cute and shrugs and grins, "What do I do here all day?" It's very aw-shucks-golly-gee!, but has the effect of making me want to jump on him. Helen suggests sleep, but Matt laughs it off as impossible, at which point she takes my idea and starts making out with him. "Then we'll find something else to do," she tells him.
Josh walks through the door to the war room. Lou announces that she got him something, and gives a box. He asks if it's a gift, and she just says, "Whatever." "Blue markers!" he exclaims. It turns out that they're in the game in the South, and that military voters are picking Santos. Donna's the wet blanket who asks, "We're only up by six in Massachusettes? Isn't that a little low?" A chorus of "It's raining" answers her. The camera circles, giving everyone a chance to deliver delighted results, and Otto remarks, "I think we can put most of the Northeast in our pocket." Lou barks, "Hey! Cautious optimism." That's actually nicer than what I thought she could possibly yell at him. Maybe Lou's becoming a softie. Everyone wanders off, and Donna watches Josh reading the poll results. She smiles and drops her eyes to the results, remarking, "Your face is frozen in an odd way." "Unattractively?" he clarifies. "Not entirely," she says with a sidelong glance. Sidelong glances! Sex! They both start with...I might know what's coming! Josh tells her, "I think my head's gonna explode." Donna coyly suggests a "walk or something. Try to de-stress a little before the numbers come out." She slides her jaw, and looks up at him from under her hair: "Want to take a walk? Or something?" And with that, she heads out. Josh looks up and furrows, which is apparently his stock reaction to any situation -- surprise, stress...booty.
1:00 PM CST. Josh and Donna lie in bed, to each other but not touching, each looking a bit weirded out. This moment is totally brought to you by When Harry Met Sally. Josh asks if she wants some water. But Donna -- not realizing that she needs to say "Sure" so that he can go to the kitchen with a blissful smile on his face -- asks, "You have a bottle over there?" "Tap...water," he replies. Not for Donna: "No thanks. But thank you." With that, she gives him a great little smile and he then looks inordinately pleased. Oh good, he didn't need to go to the kitchen for water to do it. They both seem to relax a hair. He asks to turn on the TV and remarks, "At least I didn't bring my Blackberry to bed." That's a good thing, Josh, especially since you've been using a Treo. I only beat this like a dead horse because the Treo owners I know are very particular about their brand. You don't mix those two up. Josh: "It could be worse. Less romantic." "Got it," she says, but she's smiling. Dude, you're working for the same campaign. It's all good -- anyone can watch TV at any time. No judgment. There's a shot of Bartlet voting.
3:30 CST, Santos house. Bram narrates the poll results as he gets them over the phone, and is completely excited. Helen comes downstairs and he reports the results to her; for one of the first times that I can remember, she actually looks happy. However, she then sighs, and a look crosses her face, like, "Oh my god this is really real," and she walks away. Bram seems tentative as he calls after her, "Um, you want to tell him or should I?" Helen tells Bram Santos is asleep. "Really?" "Really." Bram, thinking the candidate would like to know how his election is going, asks if they should wake him, but Helen tells him to let Matt sleep until the kids get home. Bram is so stunned that he does a little dance while gaping like a fish, wanting desperately to protest.
Bob is at the Vinick Office reporting the same results, less happily. Donna is on TV in the background, happily chatting away about Santos's success in the Dakotas. Bruno is still convinced that something about the poll numbers is not right.
Teddy reports his own projections about their electoral votes, which excite everyone. Edie comments, "Nuclear accident came in handy." Jane is on TV doing spin, and Lou and Annabeth watch with tilted heads, baffled. Lou cracks that, clearly, the Vinick campaign didn't see the exit polls. Annabeth adds, "They call it 'spin' for a reason...hey, how's that adolescent part of you feeling now?" "Happier," Lou replies. Before any elaboration, Edie asks if Lou heard the junior staffers talking about how to decorate their White House offices. Lou flies into a rage and heads off to kick some advance-team ass. She passes Josh, who's still going over the numbers,
5:01 PM EST. Will walks into the White House, where Kate gives him quite the saucy "Hey stranger." They pedeflirt down the hall. "Saw your briefing this morning -- apple cider and lame duck jokes, that all you got?" she teases him. "As opposed to you, whose day seems to include watching briefings on C-SPAN and roaming the halls to gossip about them." Oooooh, one for Josh! "I try to prevent war in east Asia, too," she adds. Details. Will mentions needing to look for a job, and she faux-casually asks, "In the Santos administration?" Both are wearing their "I voted" stickers. They realize that the exit polls are leaning Santos. Will's not sure if he wants to stay either in communications or in federal government, but when Kate mentions consulting work, he tells her, "I'm actually feeling a little bit sentimental about California." Kate repeats the word faux-casually and turns to face him as he explains, "Local political work. There's something romantic about it, really." "'Romantic'..." she muses. She's trying to play along but makes her exit, and as she goes to leave, Will asks if she's okay. Oh, Will, learn to read a woman when she suddenly exits the conversation you're having that involves you on the opposite coast. It's one of the easiest reads in the book! She just tells him, "Keep me updated on...the exit polls," and leaves.