| Chapter 4 The 2nd day after Donna's return to work didn't start out much different than the first except that it was Ed who met her at the gate and brought her to her office. He wanted to talk about her project for Toby and see if they could incorporate some of her research into the President's next speech. He was so animated about the topic that he didn't notice Josh had moved into their path until he almost hit him with the wheelchair. The tension was thick, but Ed was clueless as to its cause. Donna and Josh were never tense and awkward around each other. "Hey Ed, why don't you let me take Donna from here?" Josh suggested. "That's okay, Josh, I'm supposed to get some research from her for-" "She just walked in- came in the door. You can get it later. I'll take her from here." Josh insisted. Ed relented and Josh walked around to take control of the wheelchair. "How did therapy go yesterday?" he asked quietly. "I think my therapist is Satan disguised as a 25 year old woman. I hurt everywhere." Donna admitted and Josh chuckled. "I remember the feeling. Only Satan was parading around as a 25 year old guy when he was working me over. If it's too much Donna, there's no shame in taking a little more time at home." That got Donna's hackles up. "Is that what you did Josh? Took a little more time? I can handle my new job just fine." They arrived in Donna's office and Josh shut the door behind them. "I'm really sorry I wasn't here yesterday, Donna. Leo sent me to the Hill and by the time I got back Calley had already taken you to PT." Josh threw that tidbit in there, hoping she would make some comment about how it didn't mean anything and that Cliff simply dropped her off and left, but she ignored it completely. "My doctor only approved half days. I told you that in my email. Besides, with my new job, I can do a lot of work from home." "Don't forget the raise. I've had to endure a lot of complaints about a lack of a raise over the years, so let's not forget that point." He tried to joke. "Money isn't everything, Josh. I'd better get started. Was there anything else?" "No, I just…just wanted to say welcome back…from me. Lots of other people already welcomed you back, but…" he gestured to all the cards and flowers in her office. "Anyway, I wanted to say I'm sorry I didn't get to see you yesterday." A knock sounded at the door and it opened to admit Josh's new assistant, Barb. "Sorry to interrupt, but Ed told me you were here. The speaker is on the phone for you, and you have staff in 20 minutes. Here is your briefing memo and your call sheet." She told him as she handed him some papers and a cup of coffee. "Uh, Donna, this is Barb Meyers, my new assistant. Barb, this is Donna." Josh introduced them. "It's nice to meet you, Donna." Barb moved forward to shake her hand. "Congratulations on your promotion. You left some pretty big shoes to fill." "Thanks. It's nice to meet you, too." Donna said flatly. "Josh, the speaker?" Barb reminded him. "I'll be right there." Josh shut the door behind her. "She brings you coffee. Very nice. No wonder this one lasted longer than any of the others." Donna commented. "Yeah I guess we both got what we wanted, right? You get more responsibilities and a raise and I get an assistant who brings me coffee." The joke fell flat as Donna's face looked stricken. "I'd better go take this call. Let me know if you need anything." Josh offered as he left. "Donna Moss." Donna answered the phone a little distracted as she was trying to put some numbers together for Leo. "This is the spirit that haunts your office. Leave at once or you will be forever plagued by flying pink balls hitting your window and wall." "Sam!" Donna exclaimed, sincerely delighted to hear from him. "I already took the ball away from Toby, don't worry." "He let you take…No. Way. What kind of spell do you have over the men in the West Wing that allows you to control them like that?" he laughed. "Josh, Toby, Ed, Larry, even Leo! They all do as you command." "Not even close. It's so good to hear your voice. How are you?" "I'm very glad my friend is home safe and recovering okay. You know, California is renowned for its' recuperative powers." "Also known for smog and skin cancer." Donna replied. "Fair point, but I'm sure you could spend a couple weeks here without undue risk." "Maybe so, but I just got back to work a few days ago, so I think I better stick around for awhile or I might lose this beautiful office space." "Toby told me about the promotion. Congratulations. You've earned it, Donna." "Thanks. Toby told you?" "Yeah, we talk every once in awhile and he mentioned how you were already on top of the new job. Josh must be sedated someplace, huh?" "Actually, he seems to have adjusted with no problem. His new assistant brings him coffee." That sounded brittle, even to herself. Donna winced. "Unless the coffee is spiked with psychotropic drugs, it's not going to help Josh get through his day without you. He was so lost while you were in Gaza, Donna. I thought he'd have a breakdown. And that was before the…well, before. This can't be easy for him." "Not easy for him? It was his idea, Sam; his and Leo's. I came back to work and just got shuffled off to- I'm sorry. I guess I'm still a little overemotional these days. I'm very grateful for the opportunity and there's a nice raise along with an office that has great karma." Sam was quiet while Donna went off on her rant. None of this sounded right. His first clue was that it had been Toby who gave him the news about Donna, not Josh. Josh would have fought the mere idea of a transfer and he certainly never would have suggested it. He needed to talk to Josh. "Don't worry about it, Donna. I'm sure you've got a lot on your plate right now. How are you doing physically?" "It's a lot harder than I thought it would be. Physical Therapy sucks." Donna told him. "I bet it does. I'll let you get back to work. I just wanted you to know that I'm thinking about you and I'm proud of you." "Thanks Sam and thanks for the flowers you sent too. They brightened up my day. Talk to you soon?" "Count on it…and if you wanted to send me that pink ball of Toby's.." he trailed off as Donna chuckled. "Bye Donna." ******************************************** There was a flurry of activity out in the bull pen and Donna looked out to see what the commotion was. Ginger was crying and telling Toby something as Josh came around the corner. He looked shell shocked. He walked straight to Donna and sat down in front of her. "Josh?" she asked softly. "Leo had a massive heart attack. Margaret found him in his office a little while ago. The ambulance just took him to GW." Donna reached over and put her hand on his. "Is he…will he be alright?" "We don't know yet. Donna, I just can't take…I knew he was under too much stress trying to hold the peace treaty together and fighting with the President. I was just too wrapped up in my own problems to do anything about it. Pretty typical of me, isn't it?" He dropped his head into his hands and scrubbed his face. "Josh, you're always there for your friends. Leo would be the first one to tell you that." After hesitating, she ran her fingers through his hair in comfort. When he lifted his head she could see the tears in his eyes and it brought tears to hers. "What can I do to help?" "Nothing. We just have to wait." The President and First Lady have already gone to the hospital. They promised to call when they have any news." Barb appeared in the doorway. "Josh, Margaret just called. She wants to know if you can take Leo's meeting with the leadership or if she should cancel it. She sounds pretty broken up." "You should take the meeting." Donna advised him. "He told me it was pretty time sensitive. I've got the notes I made for him, you can take them." Josh's lips twitched. "Then you're going to have to come too and translate them for me. Reading distinctive penmanship has never been my strong suit." "That could be arranged." Donna's heart began to swell. "Tell Margaret that Donna and I will take the meeting." Josh told Barb without looking away from Donna. "Got it." Barb answered and hurried to call Margaret. MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW MWMV The meeting ran smoothly, although Donna knew Josh well enough to realize he was distracted by thoughts of Leo. Cliff, who was also in attendance, marveled at how seamlessly they worked together. Josh had a call from Dr. Bartlet as the meeting was breaking up. "Go ahead and take it." Cliff offered. "Donna and I can finish things up here." Josh hesitated just a second, but then left to take the call. When he returned to the conference room, the leadership had left. Cliff and Donna were huddled together at one end of the table heatedly discussing one of the points from the meeting. "That's why you guys will never get this thing passed." Cliff was arguing. "Your myopic point of view simply won't allow for the fact that reasonable people can disagree on this issue." "First of all, the leadership is hardly an example of any kind of reasonable people. Secondly, you're on our team now, so what's with the `you guys' crap?" Donna let him have it. "I'm just saying…Josh. What's the word on Leo?" Cliff inquired. "He's out of surgery and they're taking him off bypass in a bit. They think everything went alright, although it took a lot longer than they anticipated." "Good. He's made it through the first hurdle. He's going to be okay, Joshua." Donna told Josh. Cliff felt like he was intruding as we watched these two interact. It was like he had left the room. After a minute of charged silence, he interrupted them. "We were just debating the merits of the leadership's counterproposal." Cliff explains. "Yeah, I heard." Josh replied. It had bothered him more than he cared to admit that Donna and Cliff were bantering over the proposal. Bantering was `their' thing. He was trying so hard to keep his distance from her, to give her a wide berth. But what did he do as soon as he heard about Leo? He went to Donna. He had to see Donna. Donna gave him comfort and brought him peace. "Wait four or five hours then accept it." Josh instructed. Donna's eyebrows rose in surprise. "But what about-" Donna started. "Cliff's right. Well, not right about the proposal itself," he qualified. "but right in that it's the best we're going to get at present. We don't have the votes and we're not going to be able to wrangle them while we're peacekeeping in Gaza." "That's bullshit Josh." "That's politics Donnatella. You don't have a sense of the impact all this has had on the administration yet." "I have the perfect sense of the impact this has had. My life has been impacted more than anyone else's here, more than the administration, and certainly more than you. The Josh I knew would have fought this tooth and nail. What happened to that guy, Joshua?" "Donna, he just means we can't get the votes, not that-" Cliff began. "I can explain myself, thanks. Not that I have to. Even with your title bump, Donna, I'm still several notches above your pay grade and I've had a hell of a lot more experience in this game than you." "That's what I mean. That's what I'm talking about. When did this become a game to you, Josh?" Donna demanded. "It used to be about principles for you. When exactly did that change?" "I don't know for sure Donna, but if I had to hazard a guess I'd say about the time that I was over the Atlantic returning from Germany!" Donna and Cliff both gasped. "What I meant-" "I know what you meant. I think you're right. That's why you didn't have the guts to tell me you'd transferred me, that's why you've distanced yourself from me, and that's why you won't fight this proposal. You really ought to just quit if you don't have the stomach for it anymore." "Maybe you're right, but in the meantime I'm still your boss and you WILL do what I say. Work out the details with Cliff and accept the offer before 6. Got it?" "With Cliff?" "Don't tell me you have a problem working together." Josh said as he walked over to her and stared down at her angrily. "See, that's the trouble with sleeping with someone you have to work with." Donna reached up and slapped his face; her face burning with embarrassment and anger. She clumsily wheeled herself out of the room. "Well that was just ugly." Cliff offered. "Thanks for the analysis." Josh sneered. "I realize you're having a bad day, but taking it out on Donna-" "Bad day? Try a bad series of months." Josh ran his hands through his hair making it stick up all over. "For her too. You need to go talk to her; apologize, maybe grovel a little…or a lot." "Thanks for the advice, Cliff. It helps to have your insight from having read all of her private thoughts and feelings, doesn't it? I think it's got to make your current relationship more difficult, though. Dating someone after you've read their diary has to be awkward at times." Cliff processed that comment before coming back with a pithy reply; "You're an idiot." He got to the door where Donna had exited, but turned back to Josh before he left. "It was all about you, you know; why she perjured herself? She was trying to protect you and your PTSD diagnosis. She was terrified it would get out because of her and your career would be over. Every freakin' page from New Hampshire to the White House and beyond was all about you. You're an idiot." He repeated. "That was before I sent her to Gaza; before a lot of things." Josh said quietly thinking of Colin in Gaza and Cliff now, thinking of her transfer and the growing distance between them. "An idiot." Cliff repeated once again and left Josh alone in the room. MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW MWMWMWMWMWM "Donna, I'm going to the place down the street. I thought I could bring you back one of those salads you like and we could have dinner together." CJ offered. Donna thought about it. "Okay, one of their salads sounds good." Donna accepted the olive branch. "Great. Look, Donna, I'm really sorry about what I said before, during the lockdown. It wasn't my place to interfere like that." "No, it wasn't, but I know you were only trying to help me. I think it would be best if we both forget all about it. I'd like to just forget all about it. Besides, you were right to a certain extent. I needed to make a life for myself beyond Josh Lyman… Can we eat soon?" a smile broke out on CJ's face. "Coming right up. Did you hear Leo's off bypass? The President said he'll be able to talk to him later tonight." "That's wonderful news. I think the White House has had enough medical emergencies to last for a long time." "You said it, sister. I'll be right back with our meal." MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW MWMWMWMWMWM Things were unusually subdued when Donna came in the next morning. She was a little later than usual, she had some trouble getting ready that morning, but she noticed that Josh's door was closed as she passed through the bull pen. When she threw a questioning glance toward Barb, she shuddered. "I wouldn't advise going in there, right now." She said in a confidential whisper. "Apparently they announced CJ accepted the position as the new Chief of Staff at senior staff this morning." The shock must have shown on Donna's face. "I know. Everyone is pretty surprised. Josh slammed the door closed behind him when he got back from staff and has been holed up in there ever since." Donna struggled with the decision about whether or not to knock when Jim Dawson called her name. Senator Dawson was the new minority leader and had always been very helpful to her and Josh. "Donna, it's so good to see you! Josh told me you were back. The place just wasn't the same without you." "Thanks Senator. What brings you this way so early this morning?" "I've come to see the man." He answered gesturing to Josh's door. "I'm not sure this is a good time, Senator." Donna hesitated. "I'm sure this is the perfect time." he responded and his eyes met Donna's. `He's going to offer him a job' Donna thought, panicked by the idea. `He's going to offer Josh a job and between being passed over for Chief of Staff and the things I said to him yesterday, why wouldn't he take it?' "I'll let him know you're here, Senator." Barb told him. A moment later Barb waved him in and they heard Josh's somber greeting before the door closed. Go to Home Page |