Title: Phone Calls
Author: Cathy Miller (www.cathyswestwing.com)
Rating: Mature
Timeline: Post-ep for “A Change is Gonna Come”
Disclaimer: They’re not mine…yadda, yadda, yadda
Feedback: Priceless
“Don’t do it. Don’t hit send.” Matt implored him.
“It’s fine!” Josh slurred. “She’ll come. Just watch.”
“Matt’s not saying she won’t come, he’s saying she shouldn’t come.” Mike interpreted
without missing a beat, but did add a hiccup. They’d met at the Hawk and Dove only an
hour earlier, but they were well and truly on their way to being blitzed.
Josh had contacted them both by conference call and insisted they meet him here.
When Mike had asked him if he really wanted to go out drinking on the eve of the China
Summit, Josh just repeated his instructions and hung up.
It hadn’t taken 5 minutes after their arrival for Josh to spill about CJ bumping him off the
China trip. It had been another nasty blow to their friend, and Matt and Mike both
understood just how much the cumulative effect was wearing on him. First, CJ leapfrogs
over him to the Chief of Staff position without a word of explanation, and now the China
summit. Josh had been spouting off about quitting the ‘damn job’ since he finished his
second beer. Now, after his 4th, he was tanked and talking about how he ‘wasn’t leaving
the White House without Donna’.
He was going to call her right now and settle the matter once and for all; which was
where his friends tried to stop him. It wasn’t their fault; they were fairly inebriated
themselves. They did the best they could. Josh, however, was more determined than
they had seen him in a long time and while they made a grab for the phone, Josh hit
‘send’ irrevocably setting events in motion that would change his life.
“May I speak to Donna Moss please, this is Josh Lyman her boss calling.” Josh spoke
into the phone in his best ‘trying to sound sober’ voice. Matt shook his head. Mike
pounded his head against the back of the booth they were sitting in. “Oh, hi Donna. I
didn’t recognize your voice on account of you were drunk.”
“For the love of God, hang up now.” Mike begged.
“For the love of God, don’t tell her who you’re with.” Matt added.
“That’s just Mike and Matt.” Josh answered her, completely ignoring his friends. “They
say ‘hi’…I called to see if you wanted to leave with me…leave the White House, what did
you think?...No, I’m not at the White House now…how stupid do you think I am, Donna?...
You can’t get drunk at the White House, even after they kick you off the China trip that
you planned for 7 weeks!...So, I’m thinking I should leave, but they might not notice I left
unless you leave too…I think you should come down here and discuss it with me and my
people….the Hawk and Dove…Excellent. Bye.” Josh turned a triumphant grin to his
compadres. “See, I told you she’d come.”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Donna scanned the crowded bar until her eyes caught sight of her three victims. She
was SO going to make Josh Lyman pay for this. She was in the middle of her relaxation
ritual when he called. The day had been horrendous and obviously warranted the ‘triple
b’ treatment (bath, book, and bubbles…as in alcoholic bubbles). All the relaxation she
had worked hard to achieve was shot to hell as soon as she heard Josh’s drunken voice.
It wasn’t that she didn’t feel bad for him; she did. Personally, she was still pretty pissed at
Leo and the President for promoting CJ over Josh, especially considering the
circumstances. Leo must have recommended CJ to the President, and everyone knew it.
Donna thought that might have hurt Josh more than the President’s actual appointment.
He worshipped Leo and had always been intensely loyal to the man who was his
surrogate father and political mentor. Donna could smack Leo for all this.
Now CJ had bumped Josh off the China trip for a mistake the President made in
accepting the Taiwanese flag? She could smack CJ too, except that CJ was probably too
far in over her head as it was. Donna mentally shook herself and refocused her anger
on a tangible and handy target…Josh.
“Well, well, well; the unholy trinity. Leave some money for the tab, Joshua and I’ll take
you home.” She opened.
“Hey, Donna. You look nice.” Mike tried sucking up, but since Donna had thrown on a
sweat suit when Josh had pulled her from her bath, she knew the outfit and the lack of
make-up did not make for a fetching picture. She threw Mike a knowing glare.
“We tried to get the phone away from him, Donna.” Matt skipped the sucking up and
moved directly to transferring blame.
“Donnatella. You came!” Josh was overjoyed and terribly intoxicated. Donna had no
doubt he would be paying for it come morning…but for now, so was she.
“Let’s go, Josh, I’m tired. You didn’t drive did you?”
“No, no. Which is good…since I can’t seem to find my keys.” Josh starts patting pockets
with a bewildered look on his face.
“I’ve got a key to your place, don’t worry about it.”
“That’s right!” Josh was overjoyed again. “Don’t worry guys, Donna has a key. She
thinks of everything! She has to come with me when I leave. I can’t live without her.” He
explains.
“Should I ask for a raise, then?” Donna quipped, amused despite herself. She loved that
Josh couldn’t live without her, even if it wasn’t in the way she wished for.
“Name your price.” Josh countered.
“A trip to Hawaii and a title bump to ‘Co-Deputy Chief of Staff’.” Donna negotiated.
“Done….wait! If we leave the White House, neither of us can be Deputy Chief of Staff.
That won’t work.” Josh becomes deflated again.
“Let’s go home and figure it out, Josh.” Donna takes his arm and pulls him from the
booth. “Goodnight, guys.”
“Night, Donna.” Matt offers as Mike waves. “God, he is so busted.”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Donna placed Josh on the couch with a little less gentleness than she normally would
have on account of her ruined evening of relaxation. He half-fell/half-sat down as she
started to make coffee.
“Just come with me Donna.” He whined.
“You’re not quitting.” She replied for the umpteenth time since she had picked him up.
“Oh, yes I am. I’ll be a gentleman about it and wait ‘til they get back from the thing, but
then I am done!” Josh raised his voice. “Do you hear me Donnatella? I’m done.”
“Everyone on this floor heard you, Joshua. Keep your voice down.” She returned to the
living room with ice water and Advil while the coffee brewed.
“Awww….Advil. You are so good to me Donna. You always take care of me. I would’ve
died without you, you know.” He said sincerely.
“I think you’re mistaking me for the team of doctors who spent 14 hours putting you back
together again.”
“No, no. It was you. You were the one I was thinking about when I was in the ambulance.
You were the one I wanted to see when I woke up. My angel.” He admitted.
“Josh…you’re wasted. Take the Advil and I’ll get the coffee.”
“No, we always do that! We always do! One of us pretends the other one doesn’t know
what the first one is saying or doing, but we do know…that made more sense in my
head.”
“I sincerely doubt that.” Donna teased, but Josh became angry.
“Doesn’t matter. You know what I meant. You always know. You know me. Why do we
keep pretending Donna?”
“Because once you cross over some lines, Josh, you can never cross back. Take your
Advil.” Donna instructed sadly and watched as he did, but his eyes never left hers.
“Stay here, Donna.”
“I might as well. I’ll just lose more sleep driving back home.”
“Good. I’ll even let you pick the movie.” Josh offered.
“Oh, that’s the least you’re going to do to make this up to me Joshua Lyman.” Donna
went back to the banter as she went to get them both coffee. She wasn’t going to sleep
anyway. By the time she returned to her drunken boss, he was snoring softly on the
couch.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Josh woke up with a start and looked around to get his bearings. That was a bad idea.
The simple act of turning his head caused waves of pain to streak through his head and
body. Shit! This was going to be bad, he needed some…Advil. And there it was waiting
for him on the coffee table like some angel had left it for him. Angel…Donna. Donna had
left it for him. God, what had he said to her? This day was going to suck.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Donna was already in a bad mood. Lack of sleep will do that to a person, but it was more
to do with her conversation with Josh than lack of sleep if she was honest with herself.
She was trying hard not to be honest with herself. As much as she wanted, craved, that
next step, she feared it just as much. If they took it and they stumbled, it would destroy
her. She decided long ago that she would rather have Josh as a friend than not have
him in her life at all.
She sighed as she brought up first her computer, then Josh’s. This day was going to
suck.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Josh entered the bull pen with his eyes carefully shielded by his sunglasses. He was
moving a little slower than normal, but managed to keep his normal swagger in place.
Josh was determined that no one would see how much he’d been affected by being left
behind on China.
He saw Donna at her desk, busily at work typing something. He had no doubt she knew
he’d arrived. She had a sense for that sort of thing with him, just as he did with her. She
talked about not crossing certain lines, but the truth was the line had been adjusted so
many times that it had become blurry.
So far, she was ignoring him and that would work in his favor. He walked directly into his
office and shut the door with a quiet slam. On his desk was his call sheet and his
schedule for the day…practically empty with everyone else in China.
After a brief knock, Donna opened the door and pulled Annabeth in behind her. Without
a single word to Josh she leaned over his desk and flipped his desk phone on to
speaker.
“CJ, you’ve got Josh and Annabeth on speaker.” She announced.
“In a about 4 minutes the wires are going to report that the President is experiencing a
severe MS attack…”
Josh has a moment to think that he shouldn’t use phones anymore. Phones had brought
him nothing but trouble over the last 12 hours. Then he cued back into CJ’s statement
and began doing what he had spent his life training to do; work as the Chief of Staff of
the White House. It felt good to be doing something. This was the job that he was born
for. He handled the cabinet, the press (through Annabeth, he wasn’t stupid), and even
Bingo Bob.
Maybe it was insecurity over the last few months, but he also had Donna call Leo. Leo
would make sure no balls got dropped. Donna ushered him right in and Josh brought
him up to speed. They shared a quiet laugh over Bingo Bob before the moment turned
awkward and quiet.
“Is Hoynes still after you?” Leo asked him.
Josh looked up startled. “How did you know-“
“Please…Who else would he turn to? It’s what I would do if I were him. He’s gonna need
the best and the brightest, that’s you, son.”
The silence turned painful.
“From where I’m sitting, it looks like that’s CJ.” Josh noted finally meeting Leo’s eyes.
“Hell, Josh. That’s not what I-…I knew Hoynes was courting you, Bingo Bob too for that
matter. I figured it was only a matter of time before you needed to jump into the
campaign trenches again and I knew you’d never want to abandon the President if you
were Chief of Staff, so I suggested CJ.” Leo explained.
“I thought you thought…shit. All this time I’ve been thinking you picked CJ because you
saw something in her that you didn’t see in me.” Josh admitted.
“I did. Staying power. Change is coming, kid. Our days are numbered here. You need to
figure out who’s going to take the handoff.”
“Bob Russell…John Hoynes…these are my options?”
“Only you can answer that, but it’s got to be someone you believe in or it’s never gonna
work.”
“So I just what…pick someone and groom them to be the next President of the United
States. Sound like a pretty big task, Leo.”
“It is. I’ve done it. Sure would’ve helped if I had a partner back in the day.” Leo remarked
off handedly. “I’m going to go see if Annabeth has had a melt down yet. Hutchinson and
Berryhill will be here later today. I’ll have Margaret call down when they arrive. Be
prepared to do some handholding.”
“Speak of the Devil…” Josh remarked as he caught sight of Margaret in the doorway.
“Yeah, there’s a guy on the phone from NASA who says he needs to speak to whomever
is in charge, and it this point I have no idea who that is.” She tells them.
“I’ll take it, Margaret. Thanks.”
When Donna enters his office 5 minutes later, Josh is staring off into space.
“What do you want for lunch?” she inquired.
“Lunch?” he repeated back to her confused by the question.
“The midday meal wherein you agreed to talk about expanding my job responsibilities?”
“Can’t today Donna. The world is coming to an end.”
“Since this is the 5th lunch you’ve cancelled on me, I can appreciate that you’re running
out of excuses, but ‘the world is coming to an end’ is lame; even by your standards.”
“Seriously, that was NASA. We’ve got a massive object hurtling through space towards
us.”
“This isn’t another ‘a satellite is crashing to earth’ story where I get to entertain you for
the day by freaking out over nothing, is it?” she asked suspiciously.
“I swear it’s not. The NASA director is on his way over to brief me. Clear me for the next
couple hours and call…whoever else should be sitting in on this meeting.”
“And that would be…” Donna hesitated.
“Use your best judgment. I’ll be on the phone with the DOD.”
Donna started the phone chain and started pulling materials together for him without
another moment of hesitation. He loved that about her. He could just rattle off what he
thought he needed and she could fill in the blanks from there.
By the end of the day, Josh was stressed and exhausted. The hangover had worn off
several hours earlier, but the effects of the lack of sleep continued unabated. When it
was finally concluded that the NASA crisis had been averted, Josh slumped back in his
chair with a massive sigh.
“Does this mean we don’t get to stay in the bunker with the Fed-Ex guy?” Donna
surmised.
“I’m afraid not.” Josh said smirking. “I need you to clear my calendar Wednesday
morning.” Giving two days notice to re-arrange his day was a walk in the park for Donna.
“For?”
“Congressional business. Clear it through lunch; we can finally have that discussion you’
ve been whining about.” Donna’s eyebrows rose.
“Seriously?”
“Very seriously. I’m going home. You should too.” He told her stuffing folders in his
backpack.
Donna sighed an internal sigh of relief. They would not be revisiting the topic he had
broached the previous evening and her response about not crossing lines. It was really
better if they pretended it never happened. Josh was right about that; they had gotten
very good at pretending.
“It’s been a long day.” She agreed.
“Yeah. The thing is, when you think you may be facing…something really horrible, it
makes you look at things from a different perspective.” He responded as he shoved his
heavy bag onto his shoulder and walked over to her. “Makes you reconsider lines and
where they’re drawn.”
He had the pleasure of watching her eyes go wide with comprehension. She froze in
place as her heart rate picked up.
“Lines are important, Josh.” She whispered. “They keep people safe.”
“Sometimes they do. Sometimes they keep you from what you need the most.” And with
no other warning whatsoever, he leaned in and kissed her. When she offered no protest,
he repeated the gesture adding a little more heat. When he heard her moan, he pulled
back and smiled. “I’m crossing the line, Donna. Care to join me?”
“Are you sure? This might be tricky; working and…” she broke off when she saw the
dimples on his face pop out.
“My Mom always says, ‘If you’re gonna skate on thin ice, you might as well dance’.”
“Your Mom never says that.” Donna contradicted him.
“No, but she should.” He answered without missing a beat. “And she would if she knew it
was in reference to you.”
“I’M the thin ice?!”
“No, you’re my dancing partner.” He responded with raised brows as if asking her to
confirm the fact. She gave him a tremulous smile.
“You haven’t stepped on my toes yet.”
“I will, you know. It’s practically inevitable.”
“We’ll just practice our steps…and I’ll wear different shoes.”
“I’m going to end up paying for these shoes, aren’t I?”
“Oh, yeah.” Donna agreed, but she took his outstretched hand and they took their first
tentative steps across the line together.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Donna’s POV:
We’re walking out of the West Wing just like we have a million times before except that
Josh is holding my hand. It’s a small thing in the great scheme of life, but I feel like there
is a klieg light shining on our joined hands and any moment, the Secret Service will pull
us aside demanding an explanation for all this…not that I have one.
Josh Lyman…wait for it…had voluntarily crossed the line. He crossed it alone, and first! I’
m not sure which fact bothers me more. I’m nervous and excited and anxious all at the
same time. I don’t think he’s really taken the time to think this out. Who am I kidding, this
is Josh. Of course he hasn’t taken the time to think this out. That’s what he depends on
me for. And I am thinking this out? No, I am too busy imagining what comes next in the
Josh Lyman ‘dancing on thin ice’ review.
Can I just say at this point, that the ‘crossing the line’ kiss was amazing? However, I am
now left wondering how much further across the line he’s thinking of going right now. I
have no idea what he’s thinking right now. That in itself is odd, don’t you think? I can
always tell what he’s thinking.
Josh’s POV:
I think EVERYONE can see what I’m thinking. I’m convinced there is a huge ‘I just kissed
Donna Moss’ sign emblazoned on my forehead and anyone who’d care to look can see
the wheels turning in my head. Why are the wheels turning? I’m desperately trying to
determine what Donna meant when she agreed to cross the line. Did she mean she’s
willing to stick her toes over the line or are we talking about sticking much more enticing
pieces of our anatomy over the line? See my dilemma?
If I assume we’re only crossing toes, and she’s expecting more than toes, than we are off
to a very bad start here. If I assume we are crossing was more than toes, and she’s
expecting toes only, then again we are off to a very bad start. We are now about 3
minutes into line crossing and I have already turned this into a lose/lose situation. That is
a new record…even for me.
We’ve just cleared the White House gate and Donna tugs on my hand to get my
attention.
“Look, I know I have done everything in my power to convince you otherwise, but I
seriously can’t read your mind Josh.”
Damn, she is good.
“Well, then you know I’m completely lost.” I admit to her and she gives me a half-smile.
“I had a hunch. It’s been a long, stressful day, and neither of us got much sleep last
night, so maybe it would be best-“
“Come home with me.” I interrupt her. What did I just say?
“Oh-kay…” she replies looking suddenly and adorably shy. Who knew the direct
approach would work? We get to my car and I drive like a bat out of hell to my place.
Donna doesn’t say a word. Not a single word all the way there. How weird is that?
I take her hand again once we get there because…well, I want to and I can. I only
relinquish it when I need both hands to unlock the door and open it for her. We clear the
threshold and I close the door with a resounding thud.
“Would you like a glass of wine? I have some white-“ and that’s all the farther I get before
Donnatella Moss launches herself at me. Holy shit! My arms are full of Donna Moss; a
very actively engaged Donna Moss. Not that I’m complaining; I’m not. It’s just that I’m
fairly sure I’m going to need oxygen soon. Then again…maybe not.
Donna’s POV:
I spend the entire ride over to Josh’s place working up my courage. So far, Josh has
been the one making all the moves, all the decisions, and you know how competitive I
can be. So while Josh is busy training for the Indy 500 on the way to his place, I come up
with a plan…I’ll be coy and seductive…play with him awhile…let the anticipation
build…then when he can’t take it anymore, I’ll lead him into the bedroom and …Good
plan, right? All except for the fact that once I have finished playing out this little drama in
my head, I am so hot I can barely restrain myself from jumping him in the car.
I keep it together until we’re in his apartment, but once the door closed…It was like the
sound of the door was some sort of starting gun and I had to have him that instant. I
launch myself at him and interrupt whatever inane chatter he drummed up. My hands
start searching for skin and are annoyed at finding clothing instead. The clothes simply
must go; so being the ever efficient woman that I am, I start removing them.
I get a little impatient with the buttons. Do you have any idea how many buttons there are
on a man’s dress shirt? I end up pulling more than unbuttoning and a few pop off. Josh
doesn’t even blink. I have to remove my lips from his for a moment to pull his t-shirt off,
and we both take that opportunity to draw air into our deprived lungs. Josh must realize I’
m moving ahead in the undressing department, because his hands move from where
they’ve been resting on my waist and travel up under my sweater to unhook my bra.
See, he’s competitive too.
I think back to my brilliant plan, and then decide ‘screw it’. I’ve waited far too long to get
to this moment, I am not wasting another second with games and seductions. I am going
to have Josh Lyman…right now.
Josh’s POV:
Holy Mother of God. When we decide to cross lines, we seriously cross lines. We are so
far across now, I can’t even see the line from where we’re at. Fortunately, I can see
Donna just fine. Every delectable inch of her that I am currently busy uncovering and
exploring with my hands and mouth. Have I mentioned the alabaster skin? There are
miles and miles of it; and I can see most of it once I remove her sweater and unzip her
skirt. Her bra, which I cleverly un-hooked one handed, has already hit the floor and I’m
working on the sexy underwear when we hit the floor next to it.
Donna has maneuvered herself on top of me, straddling my hips as her mouth plays with
my chest and I honestly think I might explode; and that’s before her hand reaches down
to stroke me through my boxers which is the only article of clothing I am still wearing.
Donna’s POV:
I did not come to this relationship…innocent. I have had my share of lovers, and some of
them have been quite…gifted. But this, right here with Josh, is easily the most erotic
experience of my life and we haven’t even finished yet. Is it because of the multi-year
foreplay or sudden release from the unrelenting sexual tension? Whatever the cause, I
have hit orgasm number two and I don’t even have him inside me yet. Speaking of which,
it is time to rectify that particular situation.
“Josh, please now.” I simply can’t wait another moment and cause a little more friction
between us to drive home my point.
“Slow down, Donna.” He flips us over so that he’s on top and my back is lying on the soft
rug of his living room.
“No, no, no. Speed up, Josh. Next time, we can do slow.” I assure him. That stops him
completely and his dimples pop out again.
“Next time?” he repeated.
“We can’t get to next time if we don’t finish this time.” I reason.
“We haven’t finished? I could have sworn you…finished…a couple times already.”
“Josh, so help me God…” This is NOT the time to bring the banter and apparently he
agrees with me because he regains his focus and a focused Josh Lyman is a sight to
behold. He enters me completely in one stroke and I feel sorry for everyone who can’t
feel what I’m experiencing right now.
Sex is great. Sex can even be amazing, but when you finally make love with your soul
mate it is a positively Holy experience. I can read him better than anyone else on the
planet, but you don’t need to be me to read the expression on his face right now. All the
truths we’ve hidden from ourselves or refused to acknowledge are shining in his eyes
and I wonder how I ever could have had a moment of doubt about taking this step with
him.
Josh’s POV:
I have just made love with Donna Moss and I am still reeling from the experience. I
should move off of her, I must be heavy now that I have practically collapsed on top of
her, but I can’t stand to move even that far away from her. My hand is still running up
and down her side, like I need to reassure myself that she’s really her with me and this
isn’t just one of my many dreams.
I know Donna. Now I REALLY know Donna, and believe me when I tell you that as soon
as the sensations here start to wear off, reality is going to creep in and she’s going to
start doing the ‘what have we done’ routine. I can’t let her go there because once she’s
on a roll, it’s incredibly difficult to re-direct her. I really have no choice but to shock her
out of her complacency.
“I love you Donnatella…” Immediately, her eyes fly open and tear up. See, now she is so
distracted by what I just said, she won’t get to the ‘what have we done’ portion of the
conversation for quite some time…I am not a brilliant political strategist for nothing.
****************************************************************
Josh’s POV:
We finally made it to my bed about an hour ago and we haven’t slept a wink, but then I’m
not tired either. We are joined together, our bodies slowly recovering from the exercise
and I can hear Donna thinking.
“Relax, Donna. It’s going to be fine.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do. I have it all worked out. Will you trust me?”
“No…I want to know what you’ve got all worked out.”
“Nice!”
“I’m serious, Joshua. This is serious.”
“I’m aware. I’m also very hungry. Pizza?”
“Josh!”
“Chinese?”
“Joshua!” Her head drops down on my chest and I take the opportunity to stroke her
hair. She is so beautiful.
“First food, then conversation. Try to restrain yourself from thinking negative thoughts
while I order, okay?” she lifts her head at this comment and shoots me a grin. It’s almost
enough to keep me from getting up to order food, but not quite. I’m going to need food
and a lot of it. The woman is twelve years younger than me.
When I finish ordering the food, I come back to find Donna wearing one of my Harvard t-
shirts. I think I’ll let her keep it. I dive back into bed and attempt to distract her from her
channel surfing with mixed results. She sets down the remote control, but she hasn’t
forgotten where our conversation left off.
“So this plan of yours…” she began. I take a break from my efforts and pull her to me so
we’re cuddled together spoon style. This way I can talk to her while still touching nearly
every part of her body.
“I had a conversation with Leo today, or yesterday now.” I feel her stiffen at the mention
of Leo’s name. Yes, she is still THAT pissed about the COS job. “It’s a conversation we
probably should have had a while ago. He explained his recommendation was about
freeing me up to move on…find the next guy.” She turns her head and looks sharply at
me. “Seriously.”
“He wants you to move on and find the next guy?”
“He wanted me to be ABLE to leave and find the next guy, and I think I found him.”
“Who?”
“Matt Santos.”
“From Texas?” I nod. “I like him. He’s a decent guy and he treats his staff really well.”
Now I look sharply at her. “You don’t think staffs share information about their bosses?”
she asks and she laughs at my expression. “Not me. I mean news about you traveled the
District without any help from me.” At this point I have to tickle her in retaliation. She
laughs for a second, then immediately sobers as the boss/assistant dynamic is brought
front and center. I go for distraction again.
“The thing is, it’s a really big job. Lots of stress and organization and travel.” I pull he
back towards me. “As tempting as the idea is, it’s not something I’d want to take on by
myself.” I let that sink in for a minute while I focus on her alabaster skin again. The door
buzzes. Yes! Food has arrived.
I hurriedly don sweatpants and my money clip and head to the door. It takes me a couple
minutes to get everything together and when I get back to the bedroom, Donna is sitting
cross legged in the middle of it, typing away on my laptop.
“Do you know there’s only 2 weeks until the filing deadline for New Hampshire?” she asks
me.
“As a matter of fact I do. That’s why I’m taking a flight down to Houston tomorrow night. I’
m going to speak to Matt Santos personally.”
“What are you going to say to him?” she continues typing while she asks.
“I don’t know…I’m thinking I’ll tell him he should run for President and he will be so
overwhelmed that THE Joshua Lyman has chosen him he will immediately return to D.C.
with me to start campaigning.”
“…and then you’ll wake up.” Donna turns the laptop so it’s facing me and I can see what
she’s doing. The page is titled: Santos for President; 10 point plan. “You need to have a
plan, an outline for showing the Congressman how this would work and why.”
“A 10 point plan.” I respond. “Why 10 points?”
“If you can’t come up with 10 points for why and how he’s going to run, you shouldn’t
waste his time.” She counters. I reflect on what she’s said and I have to admit she’s right.
“I can’t take you with me this trip. I need you to run the office.” She shrugs like it’s no big
deal, but she doesn’t meet my eyes. “Let’s work on this 10 point plan. The first point
should be the expertise me and my partner bring to the table…2 successful Presidential
bids under difficult circumstances and-“
“Partner?”
“New rules, Donnatella. If Santos agrees to run I need you with me. I want you with me. It’
s the only way I’ll do it at all; together as partners or we’ll pass on the whole thing.”
“Package deal?” she confirmed.
“Package deal.”
“What if you can’t convince him to run?”
“Please…” I spread my arms out immodestly. Yeah, I know what she’s really asking.
What happens to us if we stay at the White House? As far as I’m concerned it doesn’t
matter. We’re partners from now on.
“Pass the fried rice.”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Donna’s POV:
Fueled by excellent Chinese, political debate, and incredible sex (although not
necessarily in that order), we manage to stay awake for another 2 hours before falling
unconscious in one another’s arms. I mention this so when I tell you what happened next,
you don’t say, “Donna, how could you be so stupid?”
At 3:00 AM, as in way before noon, the phone rings waking us from our sound sleep. Or
rather waking me from my sound sleep, Josh doesn’t even twitch. My hand flails out from
under the covers searching for the phone, the only though in my head, I swear, is ‘make
the noise stop’. I manage to hit the talk button on the second try.
“H’lo?” I manage. There is a moment of silence. “HELLO?”
“Donna?” Oh, lord, it’s CJ.
“Hi, Ceej. Do you need Josh?” No, duh. She’s only calling Josh’s apartment at 3 in the
morning from China.
“I certainly do. And Donna? We’ll be discussing this later, got it?”
“I certainly do.” I shake Josh into semi-consciousness. “It’s the White House Chief of
Staff.” I tell him and place the phone at his ear.
“CJ, what are you doing up at 3 AM?” Yeah, my man is a little groggy.
“I’m in China, Joshua, where it is 3 PM.”
“Oh, that explains it then.” Josh is struggling towards comprehension. “Oh, how is the
President?”
“His condition is unchanged, but he’s been closeted in with the President Leon and they’
ve come to an agreement for talks with North Korea. I need you to get back to the White
House and handle the details and spin at that end.” I can clearly hear every word CJ
says since our heads our so close together on the pillow.
“Now?” Josh shakes his head. “Of course now. Stupid question. I’m on my way.”
“Oh, and Josh? We will definitely be discussing why your assistant answered your home
phone at 3 AM.”
“There’s a perfectly logical reason for that, CJ.”
“There is?”
“Yes, we were very tired after making love and fell asleep in my bed.” Josh is climbing
slowly out of bed now searching for his clothes and winks at me when he sees what can
only be horror on my face. “I’ll call you when I’m back in the office.” He ends the call and
pulls on a clean pair of boxers.
“Joshua, you just told CJ- You are completely unglued!” I explained rationally.
“I’m really not.” He replied. “What I am, Donnatella is determined. You were right about
one thing yesterday; we can’t go back across that line. I’ve just made sure of it. Go back
to sleep.” He tells me before he kisses me soundly and pulls the covers back over my
shoulders. “Come in around 7, okay?” I nod and he grabs his clothes and heads for the
shower.
I am extremely anxious at the moment; President Bartlet is paralyzed, Josh and I have
become lovers, and we may be leaving the White House to run a dark horse campaign
for the Presidency. With all that’s on my mind and in my heart, I might never get back to
sleep. I curl up with Josh’s comforter and his pillow, breathing in his scent, and fall asleep
within 2 minutes.