Extra Credit Chapters 1-5

This is an AU fic where Joanie never died in a fire and Noah is still
living, battling cancer. Donna never came to New Hampshire for
reasons that will be revealed later in the story. Joanie teaches
graduate studies at Georgetown and we are at the end of season 1 in
the Bartlett administration.


Chapter 1

"Joshua Lyman, you owe me…."

"Just how do you figure that?"

"Do you really want to do this? Okay, let's start with the
decapitation of my Barbie's…"

"Barbie's? You can't go back 30 years and bring your Barbie dolls
into this! There is such a thing as a statute of limitation, you
know." Josh responded hotly.

"If you were a real lawyer, you would know that there is no statute
of limitation on murder." Joanie replied.

"One can not murder inanimate objects, and I am a real lawyer." Josh
argued.

"They were real people to me and there were multiple counts. Would
you like me to have Dad give you a call with some precedence?" Joanie
said without missing a beat.

Dad! Josh thought to himself, Dad is my ticket out of this.

"Yeah, give him a call. Hey, since you'll be talking to him about
this anyway, he would be the perfect person to guest lecture to your
grad students." Josh congratulated himself on the smooth segue.

"Nice try, little brother, but if you paid any attention to what I
tell you then you'd know that a) Dad already did a stint as a guest
lecturer and b) the topic for the class is collaboration in
Government. Dad is a fabulous lawyer, but he doesn't work in the
Government. Come on, Joshua, it's only 2 classes and think of all the
ego stroking you'll get out of it."

"I resent your implication that my ego needs stroking. I am the third
most powerful person in this administration and I am very busy
running this country. I simply don't have time to explain Government
101 to your students."

"They are grad students, Joshua, and you've been Deputy Chief of
Staff quite a while now. Surely, you've learned how to handle your
job well enough that the country can spare you for a couple of hours
for two nights." Joanie persisted.

"What two nights are we talking about? My speaking engagements are
usually booked months in advance as I am in high demand. Oh, and what
did you say the speakers fee was?"

"You're going to need to waive the fee. I'll take it as `in kind'
payment for the damage done to my property over the past 30 years,
starting with the Barbies" she countered. "As for the dates, that
would be next Tuesday the 3rd, and the following Tuesday the 10th."

"Oh, I'm afraid I am completely booked on the 3rd. In fact, I have a
late meeting that night, and then a third date with the lovely
Kimberly Andrews from legislative affairs. Sorry, big sister, you
have to find another sucker. There is nothing you can say or do that
will persuade me to change my mind. Got it?" Josh put all his effort
into sounding resolute.

There was a long pause and Josh could smell victory. He hardly ever
won a fight with his sister, but maybe this time he could squeak one
out.

"Okay, I'm sorry I bothered you, Joshua. I just had to give it a
shot, you know…Hey, do you want me to give Mom a message for you? I
have to return her call in a few minutes." Joanie answered innocently.

"Mom?....No, no message. I'll talk to her soon I'm sure. You don't
have to mention me at all." Josh started to panic and Joanie smelled
blood in the water.

"It's no problem. She loves to hear about her only son. I know! I can
tell her about your third date with Kimberly Andrews. Sounds like it
might be getting serious. She will be so happy to hear you're ready
to settle down with someone. Hey, is Andrews a Jewish name? Mom will
probably want to know…"

And that's how they do it in the NFL ladies and gentlemen, thought
Josh.

"What time does the class start on Thursday?' he asked resignedly.

"It runs from 6 to 8, and remember, the topic is collaboration in
Government. Thanks, little brother. You're the best!" Joanie replied.

"I think you just proved who is best. Now I'm hanging up before you
have me grading papers or something." Josh groused.

"Don't be ridiculous. You aren't remotely qualified to grade grad
school papers. Love you!" Joanie hung up.

Josh blocked out the time on his PDA and slumped in his chair. One of
these days he was going to outsmart his sister…


Chapter 2

Tuesday, April 3rd, 4:30 PM

Sam popped his head inside Josh's office. Josh was thoroughly
engrossed in a report he was working on for Leo.

"Hey, want to go down to the mess to grab something to eat before you
head to class?" Sam enquired.

Josh looked up, confused by the question.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your sister's grad school class. You're guest lecturing tonight,
right? That's what you told me on Saturday." Now Sam looked confused.

"Tonight?" Josh squeaked. He sorted through papers and files on his
desk until he located his PDA. Sure enough, it was tonight at 6. Shit.

"Rebecca!" Josh bellowed for his assistant. She reluctantly appeared
in his doorway.

"Yes, my master." Rebecca didn't know what was coming, but she knew
from the tone that it wasn't good.

"Why the hell didn't you remind me about the lecture I'm doing
tonight."

"Well that's because I didn't know about the lecture you are giving
tonight."

"Why didn't you know about the lecture tonight? It's your job to stay
on top of my schedule. I can't keep this all in my head. What am I
paying you for?"

"My staying power perhaps? You don't pay me, and let me just take a
stab at the schedule thing…Was this lecture something you might have
scheduled on your own?" Rebecca asked, her patience strained.

"Scheduled it myself? Why would I possibly schedule something myself?
Everyone knows I am completely hopeless about schedules…except
yeah,
I might have scheduled it myself when I was on the phone with my
sister…" Josh trailed off.

"Will that be all, sir?" Rebecca asked pointedly. It really wasn't a
wonder this man goes through assistants on a regular basis, she
thought.

"Yep, that'll do it." Josh sighed. He then looked at Sam "Okay, this
is not a problem. You can whip up a two hour speech for me can't you
buddy?"

"Right. Let's set aside the fact that you need to leave for
Georgetown in an hour, and skip right to the part where I don't know
what you're supposed to be speaking about. What's the topic supposed
to be?" Sam asked.

"Topic, topic, yeah that would be good to know. I think she told me…
wait a second, it will come to me."

"I hope for your sake it will come to you soon. As I have already
pointed out, you have about an hour to prepare."

"Well, it's a Government class. We'll just do a generic Government
speech."

"And by `we' you mean `me' right?" Sam grinned as he caught Josh in
the act of pawning the speech off on him.

"You are the speech writer, and a very talented speech writer at
that. Tell you what; I'll split the fee with you. Let's go get
something to eat, and we'll knock out the speech on the way there."

"Wait. Now I'm going too?"

"Of course. You're my wingman, Sam. I can't go into battle with grad
students without my wingman. Besides, they may wish to show their
appreciation for my excellent oratory and your excellent writing by,
you know, buying us beers afterward." Josh reasoned.

"When you put it that way…let me get my coat."

"Excellent"

Chapter 3

The lecture hall was larger than Josh had expected, but this didn't
bother him. After all, he had given many speeches to much tougher
audiences than a bunch of grad students. Sam took a seat in the back
of the hall next to the door and surveyed the class. There seemed to
be a wide range of students in this class and about an even mix of
men and women. There was a picture of Josh next to the podium,
introducing him as the Deputy Chief of Staff.

Josh himself was chatting up some attractive grad students in the
front row who were hanging on his every word. Sam just
chuckled. `Let's see how impressed they are after the speech' he
thought. Sometimes Josh was just too cocky for his own good.

As the clock struck 6, Josh took the podium, and the room quieted
down. Just as he was about to begin, the door banged open and a tall
blonde woman rushed in and hastily took a seat a few places away from
Sam. She mumbled an apology to the class in general as she took out
her notebook. Josh introduced himself as Dr. Lyman's better looking,
more intelligent, much younger brother. Everyone chuckled. He then
launched into the hastily constructed speech he and Sam (mostly Sam)
had put together on the way over.

The group seemed engaged as Josh described his position and what it
was like to work in the White House. His "groupies" in the front row
were certainly entranced. So it was interesting to Sam that the woman
seated closest to him seemed to be getting more and more agitated as
the speech continued. Finally, she raised her hand, saying "Excuse
me" loud enough to interrupt Josh. He looked startled for a moment
before responding to her.

"I'm sorry, did you have a question?"

"Yes, I am wondering what this humorous anecdote has to do with the
subject of tonight's class which is supposed to be "Collaboration in
Government". The blonde woman asked.

Collaboration in government; that was it! Josh mentally smacked his
head. This was okay, he told himself. I can spin this. He turned his
dimpled smile on the blonde woman.

"Well, Miss…?"

"Donna Moss, Mr. Lyman."

"Please, it's just Josh. I will get to the collaboration in
government soon, Ms. Moss. I just thought some background information
and humorous anecdotes would help us ease into the more complex
subject of collaboration in government" he smiled again. Ms. Moss
seemed impervious to his charm.

"It's very kind of you to ease us into the topic of tonight's speech,
being that we are all simpletons here in the masters program for
government studies, but since we only have one hour and 10 minutes
left of class, is it possible we could move on topic?" she inquired.

"Certainly, certainly. Let me ask you this; what specific questions
do you have about collaboration in government?" Josh hedged.

"Let me ask you this; don't you have a lecture on the subject already
prepared? I would hate to jumble up your lecture after you went to
the trouble of preparing a grad level presentation." Sam turned his
laugh into cough and some of the students twittered nervously.

"Of course I have prepared a lecture for you. One of the most
important parts of my job is being appropriately prepared for all my
meetings and events." Josh smoothly replied.

"Really? I thought the most important part of your job was spin."
Donna replied. Now it was Josh's turn to laugh.

"Okay, Ms. Moss, I'll see if I can refrain from spin for the duration
of this class, it you'll be kind enough to give me a starting point
for our topic this evening." Josh's brown eyes met Donna's blue ones
and they warred silently for a moment before Donna conceded.

"I can't speak for all my peers, but I am particularly interested in
how the White House collaborates with special interest groups." Donna
answered.

"Then let's start there. Special interest groups are prevalent in
Washington. It is estimated that there are approximately 23 lobbyists
for each member of Congress. So how do they ensure their issues are
being addressed?" Josh began.

Sam noted that Donna Moss took a lot of notes, sometimes nodding and
sometimes looking skeptical. When Josh paused in his answer, Donna
interrupted again.

"That sounds a lot more like intimidation and manipulation than
collaboration, Mr. Lyman" She noted.

"That's about as close as you get to collaboration in D.C., Ms. Moss.
Now when the White House wants to move their agenda in Congress – "

"But isn't that exactly why there is so much gridlock, Mr. Lyman? We
send our representatives to Washington with the understanding that
they will further the issues their constituents care most about.
Lobbyists, though paid more directly, have specific goals in mind.
The White House wants to push their issues. However, instead of
finding a way to help each other and work together, it becomes a game
where `I win, you lose". Where does the average voter who is
passionate about a certain issue get to put their two cents in if
everyone else is busy trying to beat the others?" Donna stopped
suddenly.

Sam noted that Josh had now moved away from the podium and walked
halfway up the aisle in the seating area.

"What is it that you're passionate about, Ms. Moss? Governmentally
speaking, of course." He smirked.

"I feel passionately about collaboration in government, Mr. Lyman,
and that your President could get a lot more accomplished for the
people who voted for him if his staff would practice a little more
collaboration." She responded.

"He's your President too, Ms. Moss, and are you one of them?" Josh
asked.

"One of them?" Donna repeated.

"Yes, one of the people that voted for President Bartlett." Josh
asked, never breaking eye contact with Donna.

"I believe my vote is private, Mr. Lyman."

"Certainly, but I think-" Josh was interrupted by Sam coughing
urgently. He finally broke eye contact with Donna and looked quickly
over at Sam. Reading the signals Sam was sending him, he quickly
changed his tactic.

"Since I seem to be the expert in circumventing collaboration, I
think I'll use the remaining time to talk about obstacles to
collaboration in government." He walked back to the podium and picked
up a dry erase marker. He then began to write out various avenues of
collaboration on the board and the obstacles to them.

The rest of the class passed quickly and uneventfully. Josh thanked
everyone for their participation and people began to pack up to
leave. Sam turned to Donna.

"I have to say, Ms. Moss, not many people can hold their own against
Josh Lyman. If I were to get some money together from the senior
staff, do you think you could repeat the performance? I think Leo
McGarry alone would put up a bundle to watch." Sam attempted some
humor.

"I hope Bartlett's pit bull is more prepared for his work at the
White House than he was for tonight's class." Donna responded as she
packed up her belongings.

"Tonight was an aberration. Things got a little crazy at work, so he
wasn't as ready as he should have been. Still, he got it together at
the end, don't you think?" Sam covered for his friend.

"Funny about that. Initially, his style was much smoother and poetic
than at the end. It's almost like two different people wrote his
speech. In fact, for the first ½ hour it seemed like Bartlett himself
was speaking…I know who you are, Mr. Seaborne, tell your colleague Mr.
Lyman–"

"Tell me what?" Josh interrupted coming up behind her.

"That next week you should write your own lecture instead of having
Mr. Seaborne do it for you. It's a lot easier to speak with
conviction when the words are your own." Donna answered as she
started to leave.

"Wait! Some of us are heading over for some beer. Why don't you come
with us and you can criticize me and the Bartlett administration to
your hearts delight?" asked Josh, dimples showing again.

"My criticism isn't personal Mr. Lyman-"

"Call me Josh."

"but just getting to class takes a lot of effort my part, and I don't
appreciate having my time wasted with humorous stories or canned
speeches because you couldn't be bothered to prepare for our class.
Now I need to go, so if you'll please excuse me." Donna said
pointedly and looked him in the eye until he stepped aside and let
her through to the exit.

"Oh, SO busted buddy!' Sam laughed.

"Maybe, but the canned speech crack was all you." He replied.

"Only because you gave me one hour to pull something together on a
topic you couldn't remember." Sam defended himself.

"Excuses, excuses…I wonder what her story is?" Josh mused out loud.

"Don't think you're gonna find out, my friend. Why don't we
concentrate on the females who seem, you know, interested in our
company in some way and don't actually loathe us or anything." Sam
suggested.

"Good plan. I have it on good authority that the bar down the street
has a wide selection of free beer."

"Free beer?" Sam asked skeptically.

"As predicted, some of the students would like to show their
appreciation for spending my valuable time with them. Shall we?" Josh
smirked.

"It would almost be rude not to." Sam decided.


Chapter 4

Later on, Josh would wonder if it was the beers that dulled his
observational skills. It was over an hour before he noticed that one
of the servers in the bar was none other than Ms. Donna Moss herself.
He watched her laugh and smile at the patrons as she filled orders,
but she moved with a sense of urgency throughout the evening. After
keeping tabs on her for an hour or so, he intercepted her at the bar.

"Ms. Moss, I can't tell you how glad I am to find out you were
rushing to work instead of rushing away from me." Josh opened.

"Mr. Lyman, how can you be certain it wasn't a little bit of both?"
she teased back.

"Hope springs eternal in the human breast." Josh rejoined.

"Pope also said, `A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in
the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he us wiser
today than he was yesterday'. I was a lit major once upon a time."

"Of course you were. I'm just batting a thousand tonight aren't I?"
Josh chuckled. "You're right. I should have just admitted to the
class that I screwed up on the dates of the lecture rather than try
to bullshit my way through it. How is that for admitting I was
wrong?"

"Pretty good for a politician." Donna admitted with a small smile.

"Why are you in a government studies masters program, if you have
such little respect for government and politicians?"

"I may not have much respect for it as it is, Mr. Lyman, but I do
have hope for it. Hope and ideas."

"Come sit down with us and tell me about it. Sam can vouch for the
fact that I have listening skills in addition to talking all the
time." Josh promised.

"I work until close. Then I need to get home; I have a long day
tomorrow. I'm working on my thesis project."

"Let me help you with it?" he asked holding her in place by her arm.

"I'm sorry?" Donna asked confused.

"I can help you with it, to make up for wasting your time tonight (he
said with a self-deprecating grin). I have meetings on the hill until
1, but I could meet you at my office after that."

"Your office at the White House?" Donna appeared stunned.

"That IS where I work." Josh insisted. "Take my card. If something
changes give me a call, otherwise I'll see you around 1:30." Josh
began to retreat back to his group before she could protest further.

"You don't even know what my thesis is on." She shouted as he
continued to move away.

"Doesn't matter, I am an expert on all areas of the government." He
proclaimed.

"And modest too, evidently."

"Donna Moss, are you really going to turn down an opportunity to
visit the White House and get first hand information for your
thesis?" he provoked her. "If it's my character you're worried about,
rest assured there's plenty of security in the building. Hey, you
don't have any felony convictions, do you? That could be a problem."

"No, I am felony free although there have been times I've been
tempted to commit one."

"Then we're all set. See you tomorrow at 1:30." He turned and went to
join Sam at their table. Donna's eyes followed him there as she
contemplated his offer. There was undoubtedly an ulterior motive for
his invitation, that's how men like Josh Lyman operated. That didn't
mean that she couldn't get something from him that might help her,
did it? She quickly came to a decision and slipped the card in her
back pocket. No…she wasn't going to turn this opportunity down.

Chapter 5

At precisely 1:30 Rebecca called to Josh on his intercom to announce
that Donna Moss was here to see him. Josh shouted his thanks through
his open door while Rebecca mumbled something about wasting
intercoms on Josh Lyman.

Josh quickly checked his appearance in the mirror before hurrying out
to the lobby to meet Donna. When he spotted her, he paused a moment
to take in her appearance. Gone was the sweatshirt and jeans she had
been wearing the day before. She was wearing a skirt and sweater that
gave her a more professional appearance. Josh noticed she was
glancing around a bit nervously. He knew this building could do that
to people. He hurried forward to meet her.

"Donna, I'm glad you came. Come on back to my office. Or did you want
a nickel tour first?"

"I don't want to take up your time with a tour." Donna said nervously.

"Relax, Donna, I'm the same guy you smacked down repeatedly last
night. Is it okay if I call you Donna or do you prefer Donnatella?"
he asked trying to distract her.

"My Mother prefers Donatella, but how do you know my given name?" she
asked suspiciously.

"I know a great deal about you Donnatella. They don't let just
anybody in here you know. Now, I'm not going to lecture you at this
time, but at some point you and I are going to have to have a
conversation about what the phrase "No Parking" means." Josh teased
as he ushered her into his office. "Do you want something to drink?
Coffee, soda, water?"

"Coffee would be great, thanks; I'm still a little tired from my
closing shift."

"Rebecca! Get us a couple coffees would you please?" Josh shouted
through the door again. Donna's jaw dropped.

"Never mind, Rebecca." Donna called to Rebecca herself.

"What?" Josh asked.

"What?" repeated Rebecca from the doorway.

"I can't believe you would treat your staff that way." answered Donna.

"I said `please' didn't I?" Josh reviewed the conversation in his
head.

"Yes, you did." responded Rebecca, "That was very polite for Josh."
She assured Donna.

"First of all, it isn't your assistant's job to get coffee for you
and it certainly isn't her job to get coffee for me. Secondly, you
don't shout for people in another room, particularly in the White
House. Were you raised in a barn or something?" Donna continued
berating him while Rebecca's smile grew bigger and bigger. When Donna
finished, Rebecca turned to her boss.

"This one's a keeper, boss. Try not to screw it up right away." With
that, Rebecca went back to her desk.

"Maybe you could limit the dressing down in front of my staff while I
am helping you with your thesis?" he suggested after Rebecca left.

"Sure, maybe you could limit the superior attitude and oversized ego
while you are helping me with my thesis?" she replied.

"I don't know, that's pretty well ingrained." came a voice from the
doorway. Josh looked up to see the President of the United States in
his office. He hastily stood up, as did Donna Moss.

"Mr. President, may I present Ms. Donna Moss. Ms. Moss is working on
her master's thesis at Georgetown in government studies." Josh
supplied.

"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. President." Donna stated.

It's a pleasure to meet anyone who can put Joshua Lyman in his place,
Ms. Moss. What are you doing your thesis on?" he inquired.

"How unfunded mandates adversely affect early childhood special
education students Mr. President. I've been working on it for some
time now, sir, and when Mr. Lyman guest lectured for my class last
night, he offered to give me some assistance." She was starting to
babble and she knew it. She clamped her lips shut.

"I would be interested in reading about that topic, Ms. Moss. When
you are finished, be sure to give Josh a copy to pass on to me." He
smiled.

"That's very kind of you, sir, but I'm not sure how valuable you
would find any of the information I've put together."

"Well if not your thesis, then there was something you wanted to
bring up to the President about collaboration in government, wasn't
there, Donna?" Josh interjected.

If looks could kill, Sam would be writing my eulogy right now, Josh
mused. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why that tickled
him so much.

"Sir, Mr. Lyman is quoting me out of context. Our topic in class last
night was collaboration in government, and I simply pointed out that
in this era of divisiveness, your administration could accomplish a
lot more by engaging in strategies that build bridges rather than
burn them." She shot Josh yet another dirty look. Bartlett observed
the interchange with amusement, but seemed to consider her words
carefully.

"I agree in theory, but as a practicality, it gets infinitely more
complicated. Politicians would need to set aside their personal
agendas and greed; not to mention their sheer stupidity. `Democracy is
the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage'"
Bartlett quoted.

"H.L. Menken" Donna identified the quote. "I prefer Milton
Friedman, `The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as
the problem.'"

"See that's what I was talking about! How can you want to be involved
in government when you are so cynical about it?" Josh interjected.
Donna smiled.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can
change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.' I told
you, I have hope." Donna replied.

Bartlett observed that neither party even noticed he was still in the
room. This was not a situation he was used to. However, the woman and
the interchange with his Deputy Chief of Staff intrigued him.

"Joshua." The President sought his attention. When Josh gave it to
him, he continued. "I just wanted to say `good job' on the bill
revision for 226. It was a unique solution to the problem." Jed
smiled.

"Thank you sir, but you didn't have to come down here to tell me
that." Josh told him.

"Oh, I didn't. I came down to give Sam grief about the story about
him in the Post this morning. You were just a bonus." Bartlett
laughed at Josh's expression. "It was a pleasure to speak with you
Ms. Moss. I hope we get another chance to talk again soon." He turned
to leave as Donna mumbled her thanks, but turned back to them as a
thought occurred to him. "Josh, you should bring Donna with you to
the children's advisory council meeting. She can see first hand how
you `collaborate'." Bartlet left.

"Oh my god, Josh." Donna looked a little pale and shaken. Josh led
her back to the chair and sat her down.

"Sit down a minute. You must be shaken; that's the first time you
slipped and called me Josh instead of Mr. Lyman." He smirked.

"Did I just criticize the leader of the free world to his face?...Oh
my God!" Donna was getting more upset by the second.

"Don't worry, Donna, the President has great respect for people who
can speak truth to power. Besides, you got his quote and that's bonus
points for you, believe me. If you had offended him, would he have
suggested you come with me to the advisory meeting?" Josh asked
trying to reassure her. Donna took a calming breath.

"I guess not. I just never expected…I mean that was..That was the
President! I never dreamed when I was volunteering at his campaign
office that I would actually meet him someday." Donna stammered.

"You volunteered for President Bartlet during the campaign?" Josh
inquired.

"I hadn't panned to work for any candidate at the time. Things were
kind of hectic for me then, but I heard him give a speech at a town
hall meeting in Arlington, and he really inspired me." Donna
explained.

"Yeah, he has that effect on people." Josh mused thinking back to a
town hall meeting in Nashua. "Let's get some work done on your
thesis, okay? I need to go back to the hill for some
more `collaboration' at 3." He joked. "Unfunded mandates for early
childhood special education? I think we should start with the report
from the secretary of education." Donna nodded her agreement and they
got down to work.
Extra Credit Chapters 1-5

Extra Credit Chapters
6-10

Extra Credit Chapters
11-15

Extra Credit Chapters
16-20

Extra Credit Chapters
21-25

Extra Credit Chapters
26-29

HOME PAGE