Josh went into the office alone the next day, but kept it as short as possible. He had a
date with Donna and he didn’t want to be late. He almost made it to the door when
Charlie stopped him. The President was asking for him. Giving a sigh of resignation, he
followed Charlie back to the Oval.
“Joshua! Just the man I was looking for.” The President beamed, but then he took in Josh’
s appearance; winter coat on and backpack slung over his shoulder. “Were you just
heading out or is it particularly cold in your office?”
“The former, sir. But it’s not a big deal. What do you need?” Josh asked.
“Nothing. The place is unusually quiet today. I was just going to invite you up to the
residence for a beer and some shop talk.”
“That’s very kind, sir.” Josh was torn between the honor of the President’s request and
hurrying to get to his date with Donna. The President must have read the hesitation on
his face.
“It’s okay if you have other plans, Josh. You can take a raincheck.” The President
assured him. “I really just wanted to say thank you for helping with the budget situation.”
“Your very welcome, sir. But I will take that raincheck, Mr. President.”
“When you take a raincheck with the President of the United States, there must be
someone important involved.”
“Yes, sir.” Josh chuckled.
“Why don’t you bring her along and we’ll have dinner; the four of us? I know Abby would
enjoy an opportunity to catch up with Amy.” President Bartlet suggested.
“That’s very generous, sir, but-“
“We won’t keep you all night, just dinner. Surely you can share her for an hour or two. I
feel like I owe her some kind of apology for snapping at her last week”
“Sir, I-“
“7:00 okay? And tell Amy it’s going to be casual. Women sometimes worry about dressing
appropriately. I honestly don’t understand it all myself, but-“
“Mr. President!” Josh needs to raise his voice to interrupt. “It’s not Amy.”
“Oh…I thought that you and she…”
“Not anymore, sir,
“Really?” President Bartlet asked. “Then who is the mystery lady?”
“Sir, it’s just our first date.” Josh tried to sidestep the question.
“I don’t think you answered the question.”
“You’re very astute, Mr. President.” Josh acknowledged and a bit of a stand off ensued.
The President thought it was very interesting that Josh didn’t want to tell who he was
going out with. ‘Who,’ Jed wondered, ‘would he be reluctant to tell me he’s dating?’
“Joshua, you’re aware of the fact that you can’t leave here without my permission?”
“Painfully aware, sir.”
“Then it seems you have a choice in front of you. You can divulge the name of the
woman you’re taking out this evening or you can take a seat while we again review the
pros and cons of each of our national parks.”
“Mr. President, I’m begging you, there must be something of national or international
importance you should be focused on, isn’t there?”
“It’s surprisingly quiet today. I could ask Leo though.”
“I’m sure that’s not necessary-“
“LEO!” shouted the President and Leo magically appeared. “Is there anything of national
or international importance I should be concentrating on right now?”
“No, sir. Things are quiet today.” Leo responded.
“Good, then you can stay here and grill Josh with me. He’s broken up with Amy Gardner
and he’s taking someone new out this evening but he won’t tell me who.”
Leo looks incredulously at the President. “Sir, I think the stress of this week may have
interfered with some of your cognitive functions. Why do you care who Josh is dating?”
“It’s not so much that I care, it’s that he won’t tell me.” Leo shakes his head and starts
walking back to his office.
“Leo?” Josh can hear the plea in his own voice.
“Cough it up, son, or you’re going to be here all night and have to cancel.” Leo advised
him.
“Fine. It’s Donna. May I be excused now please?”
“Donna Moss?” Leo clarifies.
“Yes, Donna Moss. I am going on a date with Donna Moss. That is if I am ever excused
from this trip through hell.”
“I think we can excuse him now, don’t you Leo?” The President inquires.
“Certainly, sir. It’s rude to keep a lady waiting.” Leo added. “Go on through my office.”
“Thank you, Mr. President.” Josh said quickly and headed for Leo’s door. When he
entered Leo’s office however, he found more people there than he had expected; Toby,
C.J., Carol, Margaret, Ed, and Larry were all standing by the door. Leo came up behind
Josh and directed,
“Pay up everybody. The President needs your money for a stake in the poker game.”
One by one they filed into the Oval and placed $20 on the President’s desk except for
Toby who was arguing about a technicality.
“You used coercion.” Toby accused. “You threatened him with the National Parks thing,”
“I offered to teach him something about the country he lives in.” The President countered.
“It was cheating.” Toby reiterated.
“Are you accusing the President of the United States of cheating?” Jed Bartlet asked.
“Not exactly.” Toby answered wisely. “In the interest of fairness, I say we call it a draw.”
“Then I should get a draw too.” C.J. pointed out. “I’m the one who-“ C.J. stopped abruptly
and shot a glance at Josh.
“I trusted you and you ran to tell everyone else?” Josh asked her.
“I had to talk to Leo about it. What if questions come up? It could become a thing.” C.J.
tried to justify it, but Josh shook his head.
“Et tu, Brute?” Josh asked Toby.
“You’re an idiot.” Toby told him with a shrug. “If you’d woken up a year ago, I’d be the one
collecting the money.”
“Let me get this straight. You all had a bet on whether or not Donna and I-“
“No, not whether or not, just when.” Carol added helpfully.
“When we heard you had asked Amy to marry you, we thought we’d have to call off the
whole thing.” Toby offered.
“Not me. I knew you’d wake up before you did anything stupid like marry Amy.” C.J. told
him.
“Thanks. Well, if you’re all finished with your wagers about my personal life, I think I’ll go
have a personal life.”
“You could stay and play a little poker first. Or you could invite Donna here to play poker
with us.” The President suggested.
“Oh, Donna would be good.” Ed stated. “She can bluff really well.”
“Then maybe we don’t want her at the table.” Larry noted.
“What, you guys can’t handle a little competition from a woman?” Carol countered.
“Donna is not playing poker this evening.” Josh interjected. “We are having drinks,
dinner, and dancing. Got it?”
“That sounds pretty romantic there, mi amore.” C.J. teased.
“A lot more romantic than playing poker with a bunch of jackals.” Josh retorted as he
turned to leave the Oval.
“Say ‘hi’ to Donna for us.” The President called out.
“Arghhhhh…” Josh said under his breath and hastened his exit.
*****************************************************
“You’re on time.” Donna said surprised.
“Of course I’m on time. Aren’t I usually on time?”
“Only when I remind you and I didn’t remind you about this.”
“Well the really important things I remember all on my own.” Josh told her as he gave her
the bouquet he brought for her.
“They’re beautiful.” Donna said quietly. “This all feels very awkward and strange.”
“No, it feels right. We’re the same people Donna, we’re just…adding a layer.”
“Come in while I put these in water.”
“No, if I come in…you look so…I’ll just wait here. I have reservations for us and we need
to be on time.”
Donna smiled at his confession. Truth be told, she was glad to see his reaction to her.
She had changed 5 times before the buzzer rang to alert her to Josh’s arrival. She was a
nervous wreck. Josh’s words sank in a bit then; we’re just adding a layer. That she could
deal with.
“All set. Where are we going?” She asked brightly.
“It’s a surprise. I promise you’ll like it. On the way there, we can discuss sharing private
information with Toby Zeigler.” He gave her a mock stern look.
“Toby?....Oh, Toby.” Donna realized he must have spilled about Josh and Amy. “Sorry
about that. It was just-“
“Toby told 2 friends, and so on…When I left there were like a hundred people in the Oval
who had all bet when you and I were going to go out.”
“A hundred people?” Donna stammered. “Betting…on…on…you and me?”
“Well when I said a hundred people I may have been overstating it a bit.” Josh allowed
and got smacked. “Hey, 5 or 500, it was still humiliating.” He told her as he walked her to
his car.
“It was humiliating for people to know we are dating?” Donna asked.
“There is really no good answer to that you know.” Josh told her and opened his
passenger side door. “This part of our relationship is special and I would just like to keep
it private.”
“Me too.” Donna admitted and kissed him quickly. “No more sharing.”
“Even with the Sisterhood?” Josh clarified.
“Especially with the Sisterhood.” Donna promised.
“Okay, then let’s go.” Josh helped her in the car and shut the door for her. Donna wasn’t
used to this chivalrous side of Josh, but she liked it. Throughout dinner and dancing,
Donna really loved the dancing part, he was a perfect gentleman. Donna was very
impressed that he was keeping his word to go slowly with things between them. Until 2
weeks passed, then 3, and still Josh was being a perfect gentleman. At that point
impressive turned to frustrating.
Amy was long gone to New York, Liz had picked up the ball in Josh’s office and really run
with it. She even put up with being called Donna once in awhile. Donna was adjusting to
working under Toby’s direction and really enjoyed the new challenges she was given. But
Josh, she just couldn’t figure out. She didn’t know a single soul who was more impatient
than Josh, but at this point, with her, he seemed to have an infinite supply of patience
and it was driving her crazy! Something had to be done.
****************************************************
“Donna, Toby said you had the briefing notes for 317. Can I see them for a minute?”
“Sure.” Donna pulled out the appropriate file and handed it to C.J.
‘Thanks. Hey, how was the play the other night? Josh said he was able to score tickets.”
“Fine, good, you know….just…fine.” Donna kept sifting through the bill sitting on her
desk. C.J. looked at her funny.
“I thought you liked going to the theater.”
“I do…I really do.” Donna said half heartedly.
“So it was a lovely, romantic gesture, surprising you with the tickets.” Donna nodded.
“Then why do I get the feeling you’re not especially pleased?”
“Because there’s only so many lovely, romantic gestures a woman can take before she’s
ready to explode, understand?!” Donna snapped.
“Donna, let’s take a walk to my office.” C.J. suggested as she noted the number of heads
that had turned in their direction at Donna’s exclamation.
“I have to do this.” Donna replied indicating the bill.
“It can wait a few minutes. Come with me.” C.J.’s tone left no room for argument. She led
Donna to her office and locked the door before pushing Donna onto the couch.
“Okay, now spill.”
“I don’t think I will C.J. because the last time you were trusted with information about our
personal relationship you went gabbing to the whole West Wing staff.”
“That was different. It was just about the bet. Besides, it was Josh, and you know how I
love to mess with him. Come on, something’s obviously bothering you.”
“You swear it stays between us?”
“I swear. What happens in my office stays in my office.” C.J. promised. “Just like Vegas.”
“When Josh and I first…changed our relationship, he had just broken up with Amy and I
was uncomfortable…jumping into a physical relationship.” Donna looked at C.J. who
nodded her understanding. “That first night, things got pretty heated, pretty fast and I
asked him to slow down and give us a little time to adjust to this new part of our
relationship.”
“Sounds reasonable to me, but I bet Josh didn’t like it.”
“No, but he respected my wishes and we just started dating like everyone else. He’s
taken me to dinners, movies, and even a picnic on the mall; all very romantic and sweet.”
“I’m sorry Donna, I’m not seeing the problem here.” C.J. told her.
“It’s been 3 weeks and he’s hardly touched me in all that time!” Donna exclaimed.
“There’s been no…”
“NOTHING. A kiss goodnight or hand holding on our date, but that’s it. Has he changed
his mind?” Donna asked.
“I can’t imagine that could be it.” C.J. said honestly. “Maybe he’s just trying to respect
your feelings about taking it slow.”
“No, slow is…a turtle, this is glacier slow. I am seriously ready to die from the waiting.”
“Then tell him that.”
“I can’t just tell him that!”
“Why not?”
“Because I was the one who asked him to go slow in the first place.” Donna wailed. “I don’
t know what to do.”
“There’s really only one alternative…you’re going to have to seduce him.”
“Excuse me?”
“Donna, he obviously is waiting for some sign from you and the subtle ones aren’t
working. It’s time to bring out the big guns. Invite him over for dinner at your place. Ply
him with food, wine, and music then drag him back to your lair.”
“I’m supposed to ply with food and wine to get him to have sex with me?”
“Well, he’s a guy, and he’s nuts about you, so you probably only have to get him in the
door, but you’re going to have to make the first move. He’s too worried about messing
this up to take the first major step.”
“Fine. That’s what I’ll do. I am going to seduce Josh Lyman.”
“He’ll never know what hit him.” C.J. noted.
***************************************
Josh’s POV:
It’s been a long day. A long 3 weeks actually, but that’s another story. I’m taking Donna
out to a new restaurant tonight and besides spending time with Donna, I have to say I’m
not really looking forward to it. I have done my best to respect her wishes about taking
things slow, but it’s killing me. After a long discussion with Sam, we have concluded that a
month is a sufficient waiting period before taking things to the next level, which in this
case would mean sex.
However, having just finished week 3 of said waiting period, I think we may need to re-
evaluate the situation. Don’t I get to cut off a few days for good behavior? I mean,
seriously good behavior. Maybe I can get another few days lobbed off for time served; it’s
been years that I’ve been attracted to this woman and never had the chance to act on it.
Taking all these factors into consideration, I think 3 weeks has been plenty of time to
adjust to this new dimension of our relationship…yes, again I mean sex. Now we’ve never
had sex together, Donna and I, but if the kisses we’ve shared are any indication of what
lies ahead (pun intended) it will be an incredible experience.
I just tell you all this, so you understand my frame of reference when I tell you what
happened when I got back from my meeting on the hill. Liz met me at the door, apparently
Donna has taught her the ‘looking out the window for Josh’ trick. She quickly and
concisely relays several messages to me regarding different members of Congress and
the bill we are currently trying to stuff down their throats. Then she gets to the last
message and I get the feeling she left it for last for a reason.
“Oh and Donna called. She said she was heading home because she had a headache.
She had me cancel your reservation for tonight.” Liz watched me carefully at that point
because although I’ve kept a reign on my temper since she’s joined the team, I’m sure
she’s heard stories. “She wants you to call her.”
“Okay, thanks.” I told her and picked up the phone to call Donnatella.
“Hey, are you okay?” I asked as soon as she picked up the phone.
“I just had a terrible headache. I took some Advil and I’m feeling better. I hope you don’t
mind, I had Liz cancel the reservation.”
“She told me. That’s fine. There’s no point in going if you don’t feel up to it.” See how
understanding I can be.
“No, but I still need some dinner. Why don’t you come over and we’ll order some pizza
and watch a movie?” she suggests and my brain nearly implodes at the thought of being
alone with Donna in her apartment. It’s a situation I’ve tried very hard to avoid.
“Ummm…” yeah, I know, you want proof of my 760 verbal now right?
“Josh?”
“I’m here. I just got distracted by the thing.” I improvised. “I don’t want to bother you if you’
re not feeling good.”
“I’m feeling fine now. I just needed some quiet and some Advil. I’d like to see you,
please?” She adds and mentally I’m thinking I’d really like to see her too; just a little more
of her.
“I can be there in about 30 minutes.” I find myself saying.
“Great I’ll order the pizza. See you in a bit.” And then she hung up before I could say
another word. But this will be fine. We’ll have a little food, and then I’ll take off and let her
sleep off the headache. I’ll only have to stay a short time.
Donna’s POV:
Phase 1: Complete. Josh is on his way over having bought the headache and quiet
evening story.
Phase 2: Complete. Prepare the environment. Candles are lit, music is on, new sheets
are on the bed…well they are, although I’m not going to complain if we don’t quite make it
to the bed the first time.
Phase 3: Complete. Prepare myself. Skimpy tank top that rides up when I reach up to get
things from the kitchen cabinets, Stretch pants that can be removed quickly and easily,
and the piece de resistance…sexy underwear.
Phase 4: In progress; a little liquid courage in the form of a nice red wine. I really should
have schedule more time for phase 4 because I haven’t had enough wine yet and he’s at
the door.
“Hi, pizza should be right behind you. Have a glass of wine.” I shove it into his hand a little
too aggressively and he looks at me funny. “It’s really nice wine.”
He takes a tentative sip, still looking at me over the rim.
“Come tell me about your day.” I tell him in an offhand casual manner and he follows me
into the kitchen.
“I spent the day trying to dissuade Doug Westin from running for the Congressional seat
in New Hampshire.”
“Congressional? Not the State House?” I ask as I reach up to get some paper plates.
What? I turn back around to face him and see his eyes have glazed over. “Josh?
Congressional or State?”
“Uh…no…Congressional. The thing is, the President can’t endorse him and I was
volunteered to give Doug the bad news.”
“How did he take it?” I ask when I again need to reach up for the paper napkins that I
purposely set up there before Josh arrived.
“Ummm… Not very well…I’ll just take the plates in the other room.”
“Wait. We need the bottle of wine, too. Can you grab it from the frig?” This request puts
him in very close proximity with me and I can literally feel the temperature rise in the
kitchen. But instead of the desired effect, which would be Josh and I in a clinch, it seems
to have hastened his departure from the kitchen. If at first you don’t succeed…
I follow him out to the living room and sit cross legged on the floor next to the coffee
table. I get a few more stuttered sentences out of him about Doug before the pizza
arrived. I brought the pizza back to the table and took a bite from a slice on my side of the
pizza while he just sat there staring at his slice. I’m going to need a little eye contact from
you here, Joshua.
“Don’t feel like sausage tonight? Try a bite of this 4 cheese.” I tell him as I lean over the
table and offer him a bite of my slice. He just stares for a minute then reluctantly takes a
bite.
“I swear this place has the best sauce, and being half-Italian I know my sauces.” I tell him
as I lick my lips. He has stopped chewing, but I can’t tell if that’s a good sign or a bad
sign. So I pick up my paper plate and move to sit next to him on the couch.
“Toby’s been going head to head with Will trying to get the VP to pick up the ‘right to die’
issue.” I inform him. Yes, I know we’re talking work, but debating issues from work has
always been a kind of foreplay for us.
“Good luck with that.” Josh laughs and his eyes meet mine. His smile fades a bit and he
sets his pizza down. “I should probably go…let you get some rest.”
“We haven’t even finished our pizza yet. I want to finish eating.” I state a little too
emphatically because he’s giving me that ‘are you mentally unstable’ look.
“I mean, let’s finish the pizza and the wine and just enjoy the quiet. We haven’t had a
night in for ages.” I amend my earlier remarks. He picks up his pizza slice and takes
several bites at once. It’s like he’s been told he can’t leave the table until his plate is
clear, so he’s rushing to clear his plate. Very flattering.
Let’s try this one more time. I set my plate down and lean over towards him. “You have a
little sauce right here.” I lie as I pretend to wipe the sauce away from his mouth. I’ve made
it half way across his mouth when he pulls my finger away and breathing heavily
manages to get one sentence out.
“Damn it Donna, are you trying to kill me over here?” He pulls away and stands up so he
can walk away from me.
“No, you moron, I’m trying to seduce you!” I shout as my frustration got the best of me.
“You’re…you’re what?” Josh stammered.
“Never mind. Anything that takes this much work, clearly isn’t worth it.” I mutter.
“Donna, I thought…I thought you wanted to take things slow.”
“Not this slow!” I counter. “It’s been 3 weeks Joshua.”
“I know how long it’s been, but Sam said-“
“Sam? You discussed this with Sam, but not with me?”
“Sam doesn’t hit me when I say something wrong.” Josh rebuts. “I was trying to be
respectful, to show you this is important to me and that I don’t want to screw it up.”
“Of course you’re going to screw it up.” I tell him as I get up to stand closer to him. “We
both are. We’ll mess up, but then we’ll fix it and move on. We have to be able to talk to
each other; not me with C.J. and you with Sam.”
“Just out of curiousity, what did C.J. tell you?”
“She suggested seduction, but apparently she isn’t aware of how bad I am at it.”
“Bad? You almost gave me a heart attack.” Josh tells me.
“Then why are you over there and I’m over here wearing easily removed clothes and sexy
underwear?” This is too much and I take another swig of wine. Josh steps in front of me
and takes the wine glass from my hands.
“See now if you’d led with that, we wouldn’t have even gotten to the pizza.” He assures
me and kisses me in a way that convinces me he’s telling the truth. “I feel like I’m at a
distinct disadvantage. I’m seriously overdressed and my underwear isn’t remotely sexy.”
“It is to me.” I tell him and kiss him back, but I do help with his shirt buttons while he kicks
off his shoes. “God, I want you so much, Joshua…Hurry.” I implore him and I push his
shirt off his shoulders. My hands run up under his t-shirt and push that off as well.
“Donna it’s been 3 kinds of torture being with you, but not being WITH you.” He manages
as he pushes off my tank top and takes my nipple into his mouth. I hear a moan and
realize it came from me. I make quick work of his pants and Josh starts walking me
backwards into the bedroom; he only stops when the back of my legs hit the bed.
He turns us around so that he lands on his back on the bed and I’m on top of him. The
incredible friction of our bodies and anticipation of the last 3 weeks almost do me in right
there and then. Josh flips us over on the bed and kisses his way down my body. I’m pretty
sure I’m going to die any moment.
“Donna, do we need-“
“No. I need you now, Joshua, please!” We come together like we’ve been making love for
years. We instinctively know where to touch each other and what to say. It’s the most
amazing experience of my life. When my heart rate starts to go down to normal, I lay my
head on his chest and listen to his.
“Please tell me there aren’t any bets on this portion of our relationship.” Josh says quietly.
“No, according to C.J. all bets are off.” I assure him and cuddle closer.
*******************************************************
Josh’s POV:
Having a relationship with one person working in the White House is difficult. Having a
relationship where both people work in the White House is nearly impossible. Still, Donna
and I have bumped along well enough for the past several months. She and Toby work
very well together, and Liz has turned out to be terrific too, but when push comes to
shove, I find Donna for some inspiration or ego deflating.
If you doubt me, ask me about Donna’s parent’s cats and the two new Supreme Court
Justices. That will take care of that. It’s been a roller coaster over the last few months; a
great victory in two new Supreme Court Justices, the stress of Hoynes releasing a tell all
book, and just the other night, after the correspondent’s dinner, we had a crash that
lasted for hours. I was stuck in my office with Kate Harper instead of at home with my
girlfriend celebrating the President’s killer speech with copious amounts of sex.
When we finally got out of the White House, Donna brought some news, that made
copious sex an after thought.
“I’m sorry; I thought you just said Toby’s sending you to Gaza.” I shake my head as if
there’s water blocking my eardrum and affecting my hearing. Donna ignores my dramatic
play acting.
“I just did say that.” She repeats.
“On a CODEL that is going to one of the most dangerous regions in the world to meet
with Israeli’s and Palestinian’s who are not part of the Israeli or Palestinian Government?”
“Exactly.” She nods and walks away from me into my kitchen to program the coffee maker
for the morning. She still keeps her apartment even though she spends most nights here.
I’ve told her it’s ridiculous to pay rent on an apartment that’s empty 90% of the time, but
she doesn’t even argue my point, she just ignores me.
I follow her into the kitchen to continue my reasoned argument for why she shouldn’t go.
“No.” I tell her emphatically.
“No what? No coffee? Okay, but you’re going to be cranky at senior staff.” See, she’s
pretending that she doesn’t know what I’m saying no to, but we both know better.
“No. I’m saying ‘no’ to going on the CODEL.”
“You’re saying no to the CODEL?” She confirms. “I didn’t know you’d been asked to go
on the CODEL.”
“You know that’s not what- I forbid you to go on that CODEL.”
“Joshua you are not my father and you can’t forbid me from going anywhere or doing
anything.”
“The hell I can’t.” I counter. “I’m the Deputy Chief of Staff. I can put the entire CODEL on
hold. You and your merry band of peacemakers will be singing kumbaya at the airport for
years, but you won’t get any further than that, I promise you.” I end my impassioned
speech with a flourish, but it seems to have been a little over the top for Donna since she
purses her lips and tosses me a nasty glare.
“Let’s take a time out.” She tells me like I’m five. “I think we both need to cool off.”
“No, you need to tell me you will not got to Gaza.”
“You’ve just said you would make it impossible for me to go. What do you need my word
for?”
“Because you’re sneaky.” Okay, that came out wrong.
“Now, I definitely need a time out.” She set the coffee beans on the counter and walked
away without programming the machine. This is bad for me on many levels: 1)
celebratory sex appears to be out of the question, 2) she didn’t seem to take my threat to
ground the CODEL seriously, and 3) She bought this new coffeemaker and I don’t know
how to program it.
I hurry out to the living room in time to see her gather her purse and briefcase and head
for the door.
“Donna…”
“Don’t try to make up now because you haven’t learned how to operate the new
coffeemaker.” She tells me as she opens the door. It’s scary how she knows these things.
“Wait.” I try to take her arm but she shakes me off.
“I have worked very hard for this administration and now I finally have an opportunity to
do something important-“
“You’ve done a million important things-“
“Something important on my own and you try to tell me you forbid me to do it? Are you
deranged? Delusional?” She pokes her finger right into my chest. That isn’t the way I
thought she’d be touching me this evening.
“Maybe.” I tell her. “But I’m not crazy enough to sign up for that circus.”
“That ‘circus’ may provide a way to secure peace in the middle east.”
“I highly doubt it.” I laugh derisively.
“Well thanks for you encouragement and support.” She turns on her heel and slams the
door shut behind her.
That didn’t go so well.
******************************************
Toby’s POV:
I am trying to wade through a speech the President is giving tomorrow, when my door
bangs open and an angry Josh Lyman charges inside.
“You want to tell me what the hell you’re doing sending Donna to Gaza on this stupid
CODEL?” Yeah, I knew this was coming.
“My job?” I offer and he scoffs. “I need someone on the CODEL who can be my eyes and
ears.”
“And your ex-wife can’t fulfill that role?”
“Not really since she’s not speaking to me.”
“Well Donna’s not speaking to me either.” He shouts.
“Donna’s not speaking to you because I’m sending her on the CODEL?” I know what he
means; he’s said something stupid about it and now Donna won’t speak to him. But I do
enjoy watching him squirm so I pretend ignorance.
“No, she’s not speaking to me because I forbade her from going on the CODEL.”
“Well that was stupid.” I tell him and watch his blood pressure soar.
“I know that NOW.” He starts pacing. “If you had given me a heads up before Donna told
me about the trip I would’ve had time to prepare something better.”
“Better than ‘I forbid you to go’?” I chuckled. “I would hope so.”
“I thought you were my wingman on this.”
“This being…” I wait for him to fill in the blank.
“My relationship with Donna!”
“Hell no.” I tell him emphatically. “First of all I am not your wingman at any time, but
especially not while you are imploding your personal life.”
“Toby, she’s not ready for this!”
“She really is, Josh. I think it’s you that’s not ready for this.” I go straight for the jugular
hoping to end this discussion quickly.
“I…I…” he stammers a minute.
“Would you like to go away while you think of a better response or have you decided to
forbid me from sending her to Gaza?”
“I’m taking this to Leo.” He threatens.
“Go right ahead. I ran it by him first.” I turn back to my speech.
“Toby…it’s dangerous!” This makes me look up. The man is scared and doesn’t know
what to do. I can relate to an extent since Andi is going too and I can’t stop that either.
“They are going with a military escort. Hell, Admiral Fitzwallace will be at her side. She’s
probably safer on the CODEL than she is walking around D.C. at night.” I tell him, but we
both know that’s not strictly true.
“You won’t kick her off the trip?” he finally asks the question I’ve been waiting for.
“The President needs her on the trip and so do I.” I tell him quietly. “Do yourself a favor
and apologize before they go or you’ll have it hanging over your head the entire time.” I
turn my chair around and re-read the speech. When I look up again, Josh is gone.
**************************************
Donna’s POV:
I’m doing my best to remember that Josh has a deficit in social interactions when politics
aren’t involved…sometimes even when politics is involved. I try to remind myself that he’s
operating out of fear; fear that another person he cares about will be taken from him.
Intellectually, I can understand that, but personally…’I forbid you to go’ makes me want to
choke the man.
I decided to avoid any contact with him at work today. After spending the night alone at
my place last night, reliving every moment of our fight, I really don’t want a re-hash of the
argument in our workplace. It turns out it didn’t take any effort on my part to avoid him. He
has stayed far away from me all day. The only reference about Gaza at all was when
Toby told me Josh tried to convince him to kick me off the trip. Then he told me Josh was
an idiot, but that he was only such a complete ass because he loved me so much.
I made it through the day and was briefed on the trip by Admiral Fitzwallace himself. I
know a lot of people find him intimidating, but I’ve never been one of them. He asked me
how Josh was taking the news and when I responded, ‘he’s not’, the Admiral laughed and
said ‘I bet not’.
I’m lying on my couch reading about the various delegates we will be meeting with when
there’s a knock on my door. It could only be one person. I hate that I hesitated before I let
him in, but I really wasn’t in the mood to fight anymore, and I’m pretty sure we will be
fighting about this until I get back from Gaza. None the less, I open the door to let him in.
He looks tired and stressed. He doesn’t come in, but stands in the doorway leaning
against the doorway.
“Hi.” I say quietly
“Please don’t go.” He says, and I swear I almost lose it right there. Tears well up in my
eyes and spill over on my face at the pain and anguish I see in his face and hear in his
voice.
“Josh, don’t do this.” I beg him and he comes inside and shuts the door before leaning
back against it with his hands behind his back.
“Don’t ask me to wave you off with a bon voyage.” He snaps and then takes a breath. “I
don’t know what would happen to me if anything happened to you.” More tears. For
someone who usually sucks at talking about feelings, he’s certainly found the words.
“I’m asking you to trust me to do my job, just like I trust you to so yours.”
“My job doesn’t take me into a war zone, Donna.”
“No, your job got you shot outside the Newseum by white supremacists.” I might have
gone too far there since he pales at my words. “I’m sorry.” I tell him quickly. “I’m only
pointing out that danger is everywhere. I don’t need to travel to Gaza to be in danger.”
“You don’t need to travel to Gaza at all!” Josh shouts at me and the desperation in his
voice almost causes me to promise not to go.
“The President asked me to go.” I told him, careful to keep eye contact with him so he
could see that I wasn’t trying to hurt him. “If the President asked you to go, what would
you do?”
“I’d say ‘no’ if you asked me to.” He maintained
“So would I; so please don’t ask me to.” I told him honestly and moved into his arms.
“I love you so much.” He whispered in my ear. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I promise I will be very careful.” I assured him and while the subject was still sore, we
seemed to have moved past the worst of it. “I missed you so much last night.”
“I missed you too.” He admitted. “Plus I couldn’t get the infernal machine to cough up any
coffee this morning.” His remark made me smile, like he knew it would.
“Then maybe we should go back to your place so I can give you a tutorial?”
“That sounds like a great plan.” He agreed. I gathered up my things and we stopped for
Chinese take out on the way to his place. There was still some tension between us, but at
least for the moment, détente had been reached.
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