Title: The Competition
Disclaimer: I only write for fun. Teaching pays the bills, and
doesn't pay enough to own even a small piece of West Wing (except for
the DVD's)
Rating: PG-13
Category: romance, angst, humor
Feedback: …is always appreciated!
A/N: This is going to be a mix of canon and AU.
Donna's POV
It has been over an hour since the President excused himself from
debate prep to meet with his National Security advisors and "the
boys" are staving off boredom by playing basketball until he returns.
I am sitting in the `stands' working on note cards for questions we
don't have satisfactory answers to yet, while sneaking glances at the
players. They are a nice looking group of men. I become momentarily
distracted by Josh as he steals the ball from Toby and makes quite a
jump shot for his two points. Josh, Toby, Sam, and Charlie have
stripped down to their t-shirts and sweat is gleaming on their
bodies. I quickly jerk my head back to my note cards as Josh looks up
to see if I noticed his shot. I pretend ignorance, and he goes back
to gloating over Toby; asking if he needs a rest, if he needs a cane,
that sort of thing. Toby is about to deck him, I think, when CJ comes
onto the court to announce the President is back and wants to
continue prep. I pick up my cards and colored pens and follow them
into the mock debate site.
I sit down first and look up as Josh sits down next to me. He puts
his arm around my shoulder so he can get a closer look at the cards
I'm writing. I know it doesn't MEAN anything, but it feels so nice,
so right. He asks me a question about one of my notes and I swear I
didn't hear a word he said. I have to ask him to repeat it.
"Do we have stats on childcare costs we can throw in on this one?"
"I have files and files of statistics, Joshua. Could you be more
specific?"
"I want to get the breakdown of what the average family of four pays
in childcare costs, so we can weave it into the family leave answer."
"I can manage that. Be right back." I walk past him to get to the
back of the room where I keep files and folders of information we
might need for debate prep. It takes me about 10 minutes to gather
what I have and walk back to my seat which is now occupied by Joey
Lucas; her interpreter Kenny is sitting on the other side of Josh and
his fingers are flying as Joey and Josh debate some point or other.
I walk into the row behind them and lean over Josh's shoulder to give
him the stats he wanted. He squeezes my hand in thanks as he
continues to argue with Joey. Joey looks over at me and winks. I'm
sure I blush. For some reason, Joey continues in her belief that
there is something going on between Josh and me. I have tried to
convince her that she is mistaken. Josh considers me a valuable
member of his staff and a good friend, but there has never been any
indication of something more. Okay, yes, he flirts with me, but he
flirts with lots of people…Joey herself was on the receiving end of
his flirting. It means nothing. My musings are interrupted as CJ
joins me and leans over to talk to Josh.
"Larry's right. Ritchie has got us on the wrong side of the issue. We
need to call in some help." CJ tells him while giving him a
significant look.
"You are asking me to do that which I do not want to do?" he enquires.
"Get her up here; tonight if possible." CJ tells him and walks away
as Josh rolls his eyes and whines.
"Aw, man….Donna, get Amy Gardner on the line." He orders as he lays
his head down on his arms which are folded on the chair in front of
him.
A feeling of dread comes over me. Every time that woman comes into
our lives, trouble follows; and I don't just mean political trouble.
Josh and I have achieved a delicate balance in our relationship and
whenever Amy gets within 100 yards of him our balance goes all to
hell. Reluctantly, I find her number and make the call.
Josh's POV
I know the President goes crazy with these things, but I love debate
prep. I absolutely love it! Brainstorming answers to tricky
questions, working as a team in a more casual atmosphere, and
planning the demise of Republican opponents is my life's blood. I
love the competition. But now, only a few hours into this most
enjoyable experience, I am being required to bring Amy Gardner here.
Shit.
I know it was just as much her fault as mine that she lost her job
over marriage incentives, but I still feel guilty about it. I do
guilt very well. Just ask Donna; she could tell you. That brings up
problem number 2: Amy HATES Donna, I mean she truly hates her. Amy is
convinced there is something romantic between Donna and I. When we
were dating, that made Amy extremely jealous and she would make
comments that were, let's say, inappropriate, both in front of Donna
and behind her back. This caused Donna to do everything in her
considerable power to get back at Amy. Sometimes, phone messages
would get lost or misinterpreted, and sometimes meetings would
accidentally get scheduled on evenings when Amy and I had plans. Yes,
I appreciate the irony there, but still…
Now Donna and I are on an upswing. After our disastrous trip through
the Midwest where we were left behind by the motorcade, things seem
to be better than ever between us. Strangely, the same is true with
Amy and I. We talked a little at "Rock the Vote" and even delved a
little deeper in conversation before attending the Red Mass. So you
see, having Donna and Amy both at debate camp, working in close
quarters with me, seems to be a terrible idea. Mark my words, nothing
good will come of it.
Donna wordlessly hands me my cell phone and walks away.
"Ms. Gardner, how would you like to be a guest of the President of
the United States at debate camp in North Carolina?" I ask as I watch
Donna slam out the back doors. I turn back in the direction of the
stage and see Joey watching me with her eyebrows raised.
I've changed my mind…I hate debate prep.
Chapter 2
Josh's POV
It's more than 30 minutes before Donna comes back into the debate
room and pointedly chooses a seat as far from me as is physically
possible. I did what I was asked. Amy Gardner will be here in a few
hours.
I have mixed feelings about her arrival. No doubt Amy is smart,
beautiful, and politically savvy, but she is also a bit psychotic at
times. I'm not sure which Amy will show up tonight; the Amy who can
be a team player and add a lot to our prep(including some sexy
banter), or the Amy who is vindictive and snarky and takes great
pleasure in causing my pain. It's probably not a good sign of my
emotional well being that I find that unpredictability attractive.
While I have an inner debate about the advisability of re-connecting
with Amy, I see Donna seated across the room. She doesn't seem to
have any conflicting emotions about Amy's impending arrival. I need
to fix that, or at the very least limit the contact between Amy and
Donna while we're here.
It's several more hours before we break for dinner and I am able to
catch up to Donna. She has seated herself next to Sam, and across
from Joey and Kenny. I sit next to her with a plate laden with French
fries (see how I take care of her?). She gives my plate a glance and
I pretend not to notice.
"Sam, nice job today. Just think, by the time you're ready to run
you'll have had so much debate prep it will be old hat to you. Not
many candidates get to cut their teeth on the President of the United
States." I tell him.
"Yeah, well there are pros and cons to that. The President seems to
take all my arguments very personally. I may be paying for this for a
long time to come." He smiles as he replies and notices Donna picking
fries off my plate.
Success! She's eating my food. In Donna-Josh speak, that means she's
ready to forgive me. Our eyes meet and her mouth quirks up at one
side.
"I've got some great stuff on the trade agreement. We should
incorporate it into our answer on NAFTA." Donna raises her eyebrows
at me. "When I said `I've got some great stuff', I meant that Donna
found some great stuff that she passed on to me, so now I've got it."
I rephrase my statement and give Donna a hopeful look. It must have
worked because she went back to eating my fries.
Conversation continues around us as dinner comes to an end. Joey is
trying to get us to convince the President to take the media money
out of New Hampshire, but none of us volunteer for that suicide
mission. As Sam answers her question I notice Donna shiver in the
cooler evening temperature. Without thinking, I take off my sweater
and push it over her head. She looks up at me startled, but settles
the sweater around her body. Our look lasts a little too long, so I
break eye contact with her and look over into Joey's knowing grin.
Oh, great. Joey is going to use that as more ammunition against me.
I am thinking about how to misdirect Joey on the whole Donna thing
when my salvation appears in the form of Amy Gardner. I gave her a
friendly greeting and invited her to sit on the other side of me.
"Great there's still food. I'm starving. There was nothing to eat on
the flight over." She tells us as she picks up part of my sandwich
and starts to eat. Now this annoys me, but since I let Donna eat off
my plate I can't raise a fuss about Amy doing the same thing without
giving Joey and Sam more fodder in the "subtext" debate. So I say
nothing.
"I thought it was just senior staffers on this trip." She mentions as
she glances over at Donna. The temperature at the table has just
risen about 10 degrees. Is anyone else feeling warm?
"We need everyone's help on this and no one brings the research
better than Donnatella." I try to deflect her comment.
"Great. Why don't you ask her to run and get what you have on family
leave so I can look it over and prepare while I eat?" she says
without looking up.
"Donna, would you mind getting-" is as far as I get before she stands
up and pushes away from the table. She moves so fast I barely make
out her hand sweeping across the table to knock over my coffee cup
into my lap.
"What the hell!" I exclaim as hot coffee spills all over my pants. I
look up into the `oh so innocent' eyes of Donnatella Moss.
"I am SO sorry." She says, though I think she's really not. "I am so
clumsy. Guess I should sit at the assistant's table from now on." She
leaves the table. I wonder for a moment if she's going to get the
family leave stuff, but wisely decide not to ask at the moment.
"I'm just gonna go change. I'll be right back." I tell the group and
head to the cabin I am sharing with Sam. I get half way there when I
spot Donna through the trees by the water. I can tell her shoulders
are slumped and I know she's upset, but I'm not sure if now is the
time to approach her. Did I mention she's right by the water?
Reluctantly, I walk up behind her and call her name.
"I'm not apologizing to you." She tells me without turning around.
"Okay." I answer. "But I think it's only fair you do my laundry."
That gets her. She twirls around so fast her hair is still swishing
when she replies.
"Despite what your girlfriend thinks, doing your laundry is not in my
job description."
"No, but since you're wearing some of my clothes, and spilling on
others, I think it would be fair if you at least helped." I smile to
let her know I'm kidding. She starts to protest, but I interrupt
her. "She was out of line, but we need her help right now. I'll be
the one to deal with her while we're here." She nods and walks away
but I hear her mutter, "That's what I'm afraid of."
Donna's POV
It's happening again. I can feel it. She is ensnaring him in her web.
Say what you like about Amy, and I could say plenty, she has a sharp
mind and a quick wit, and that, my friend is what gets Josh going
more than anything. Believe me, I know of what I speak.
I know he was trying to reassure me by promising to deal with Amy
himself, but it had the opposite effect. Now I feel sick to my
stomach. I am also cold since I took off Josh's sweater. I was going
to march right over to his cabin and leave it there, but now I'm cold
so I put it back on. There was no ulterior motive, I assure you. I
was just cold.
I reluctantly gather the info on family leave and take my time
bringing it to where Josh and Amy are sitting. I place it next to
Josh and without another word walk over to where CJ and Toby are
sitting.
"Hey Donna, did you get some of this cheesecake? It's fabulous." CJ
tells me.
"No, I missed dessert. Can I have a bite?" I ask her. In reply, Toby
pushes his entire plate toward me where his cheesecake sits untouched.
"What's up with him?" I ask as I dig into his cheesecake.
"No pie." CJ responds. "He claims he can't get inspired to write
without his pie and it is missing from the menu." I frown
sympathetically at him.
"Maybe we can have some delivered for you Toby." I tell him as I
continue to devour his cheesecake. "I'll look into it for you; maybe
someplace on the internet."
"Nice sweater." CJ smirks. "Where have I seen that before?"
"I was cold, that's all. What do we need to be working on now?" I ask
trying to change the subject.
"I'm supposed to be writing his opening statement, but there's no
pie." Toby complains.
"Funny how you didn't just go back to your cabin and get a jacket or
something." CJ continues as though I didn't change the subject at all.
"What happened to the sisterhood, CJ?" I accuse.
"It's alive and well and telling you that you should go back to the
owner of the sweater before the wicked witch of the East casts
another spell."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Toby interrupts us.
"Amy Gardner has arrived and someone has to protect Josh. I vote for
Donna." CJ said as a matter of fact.
"Why would you do that to Donna?" Toby asks and earns my undying
gratitude. I'm saying I could bake an entire pie for that man right
now if I were the baking type.
"Josh is a big boy. If he decides to go over to the dark side…again…
instead of appreciating who he has right in front of him
then I say-" I quickly interrupt his tirade.
"Who is right in front of him that he doesn't appreciate, Toby? Are
you talking about Joey Lucas? Because I can tell you he is over
that." I point out with what I feel is a pretty confident voice.
"I swear, Donna, I knew Josh was clueless, but I always thought you
simply chose not to acknowledge the thing you have. Now go save Josh
or, you know, don't but do it quickly and then see what kind of pie
we can have delivered here." CJ chokes on a laugh as Toby speaks.
My jaw is literally hanging open by the time he is done with his
speech and to my horror I turn to find that everyone at the nearby
tables heard his speech as well.
"I am going to go help Sam with the Rooker question now and you can
just find your own damn pie, Toby." As exit lines go, I admit it's
not the greatest but I leave with my head held high as I walk over to
join Sam, Kenny, and Joey.
From my vantage point there, I can see Josh and Amy as their heads
are bent close together trying out different answers to family leave.
Now, his arm rests along the back of her chair and the sight of it
there makes my heart constrict for a moment until I turn my attention
back to Sam and try to pay attention to what he is saying.
Please, not again. I can take it if he doesn't think about me the way
I'd like him to, but I couldn't stand it if she gets her hooks in him
and gets him to blow me off again. I pull his sweater tighter around
me and I can smell his aftershave. Joey looks from me to Josh and
back to me again. So much for misdirection.
Chapter 3
CJ's POV
I really hate it here. Whose Idea was this anyway? I mean, I know it
was my idea to have debate camp, but couldn't we have it in some nice
hotel with 24 hour room service and a salon of some kind? Now, my
alarm is going off and I've only had about 4 hours of sleep because I
kept hearing mosquitoes buzzing around my cabin. When I muster the
energy to sit up and look around, I see Donna on her bed typing away
on her laptop.
"God, Donna, have you been up all night?"
"I'm almost finished with the research on Ritchie's foreign policy
speeches."
"You stayed up all night doing research on Ritchie's foreign policy
speeches?"
"No, I also found a place that will deliver pie before noon today."
I start to get up and see Josh's sweater folded up neatly at the foot
of her bed.
"Are you returning that or is it becoming part of your permanent
wardrobe like the Harvard t-shirt?" I joke.
"I went to return it last night around 1, but he wasn't in his
cabin." She replies without cracking a smile.
Uh-oh. I have no trouble following where she's going with this. If he
wasn't in his cabin…was he in someone else's cabin? There is really
only one viable candidate that comes to mind, yet I try to put a spin
on it. Hey, it's what I do!
"Everyone was working pretty late. He could be in the main lodge
zonked out on the couch. Maybe Sam was snoring or something." I offer.
She gives me a disbelieving look and I relent. "Okay, probably not,
but it could be. Donna, why don't you just talk to him?"
"CJ, you of all people know why I don't talk to him. If I did, we
wouldn't be able to work together anymore, and working together is
all we can do while we both work in the White House."
"I used to think so too, but it's different now, Donna. Once we have
re-election taken care of, we'll have a lot more leeway. We can spin
it, I can spin it, so you and Josh don't take much of a hit."
"My taking a hit is no big deal, but Josh…politics is his life. If
his reputation is sullied because of me, if he can't work in politics
because of me, that's game over. Then when you factor in the point
that I don't think he feels that way about me, it's just not worth
the risk."
"Wow. That was some speech. How long have you been working on that
one?"
"Since around midnight. It's a pre-emptive strike for when Joey
corners me today."
"Good luck with that." I tell her as I go start the shower. When I
get dressed and stagger to breakfast, I notice Josh and Amy are
conspicuously absent. No, no, no. It's just a coincidence. It HAS to
be a coincidence. I realize that Josh is just a helpless male, but
seriously, to get drawn in twice by that black widow?
I plop down next to Toby, who looks every bit as tired and
discouraged as I feel. We push breakfast around on our plates for a
minute before I speak.
"Donna found you pie…It will be here before noon." I watch as his
face lights up.
"If you're playing with me Claudia Jean, so help me God-"
"It's the truth, but she didn't tell me what kind. She did tell me
Josh wasn't in his cabin at 1 this morning."
"And you think this would interest me because?"
"Because it upset her, and she ordered pie for you."
"Fair point. What is it I'm expected to do now to repay this favor?"
"You could subtly find out where Josh was at 1 this morning." I
suggest.
"And if the answer to that query isn't one we like?"
"Then you lie, of course." What, is he an idiot?
"I'm extremely uncomfortable in this whole situation."
"Yes, but you'll be uncomfortable with a stomach full of pie soon,
and besides that, do you really want Amy Gardner back in our lives?"
Toby shudders at my suggestion.
"Okay, I'll find out, but I am not making up a lie if he was with
her."
"If who was with who?" Sam asks as he joins us.
"We're looking for Josh." I tell him. "I have an answer I want to run
by him."
"I haven't seen him since dinner last night. He and Amy were working
on family leave. He must have gotten up pretty early this morning
too, `cause he was already gone when I got up." Sometimes Sam is so
clueless.
Just then, the object of our discussion walks in and announces we are
going to start with electoral math with Joey before we run another
debate rehearsal. He also hand me a printout of our answer on the
family leave issue.
"Check this out; it's perfect! I'm giving a copy to the President so
he can use it this morning." Josh tells us. He's very animated for
this early in the morning. "Let's move people."
"Isn't Amy coming?" Toby asks. That was SO not subtle, Tobus.
"I'm letting her sleep. We didn't get much last night and electoral
math isn't her thing." He answers grabbing a roll off the buffet
table. He looks around for a moment. "Where's Donna?"
"She's in our cabin, where she has been up all night working." I
decide to take it a step further. "She was looking for you around 1,
but couldn't find you."
"Huh, well I'll head over to get her. I need her at this meeting."
Toby and I exchange troubled glances.
Josh's POV
What the hell is she doing staying up all night? She's going to be
burned out before we even get back to the White House. She says I
don't take care of myself? What a crock. I knock on her cabin door.
"Hey Donna, come out and play?" I tease and wait a minute, but get no
response. I open the door and take a step inside. "Donna?"
I find her asleep with her head on her laptop cushioned by the
sweater I gave her yesterday. I take a moment and just look at her.
Her face is a little pale but she looks lovely and relaxed. I hate to
wake her up…I mostly hate to wake her up. I set down the President's
new answer on family leave and gently shake her arm.
"Donna? You need to wake up now." I tell her as I sit down next to
her. She lifts her head up for a moment and asks what time it
is. "Nearly 7." She lays back down again, this time on my shoulder. I
lay my head on hers and I can smell the citrus scent of her shampoo.
I inhale deeply before it occurs to me that anyone walking in on this
scene would have Donna filing a sexual harassment suit so fast…
Why is it that the one person I feel connected to more than anyone
else on this planet is the one person I can't get involved with? I
tried last night with Amy. I mean I really tried to convince myself
that Amy was the one I wanted, but it just didn't work. We argued,
debated, and flirted, but I couldn't get past the feeling that I was
cheating on Donna the whole time I was with Amy. I may compare the
two of them in my head, but that really isn't a fair competition. I
gently shake Donna again.
"Come on, sleeping beauty, time to get up." I rub her arm again and
she slowly regains consciousness.
"I hate you." She tells me without looking at me.
"Hey, I didn't tell you to stay up all night!" I defend myself.
"No, but it's your fault that I did." She replies sleepily.
"How do you figure that?"
"Everything is always your fault." She tells me after a slight
pause. "Here's your sweater back. Thanks for the loan. Where are we
going now?'
"Conference room B for electoral math." Donna forms her hand into the
shape of a gun and shoots herself in the head before falling back on
the bed.
"No, it will be fun, really! Joey's got this great computer program
and we can make states change color and instantly change electoral
totals. It's really cool."
"Does it make coffee?" she asks me and I smile at her.
"No, but there's tons of coffee in conference room B."
"It's a trick isn't it? You just want to trick me into coming with
you and getting coffee for you once I'm there."
"Come on, Donnatella." I tell her as I pull her up into a standing
position.
"I need to take a shower first, Joshua."
"We don't have time for that, Donna."
"Five minutes, Josh. Here, take my laptop and show Toby the file
marked `idiot foreign policy" there are some great Ritchie quotes in
there he can use. I'll be there in 5 minutes."
"Are those standard minutes or Donnatella minutes?"
"The faster you leave, the faster I can get ready."
"I'm gone." I smile as I notice her smile. I've got to talk to Leo.
It's time to talk to Leo. Taking her laptop, I walk up to conference
room B and sit next to Toby. I open the file Donna told me to open,
and show the contents to Toby. We read the entries, slack-jawed, that
quote Ritchie on foreign policy.
"This would be quite humorous if these weren't quotes from the
Republican nominee for the President of the United States." Toby
tells me. "Where did you get these from?"
"Donna put it together during the night…Look these two quotes
directly contradict each other. Doesn't he have anyone over there
that can keep him on track?" I ask him.
"Obviously, he doesn't have a Donna. Wait! This is Donna's computer?
Open the internet history and see what kind of pie she ordered."
"Pie? What are you talking about?" I ask, but before he can answer I
notice Leo walking through the lobby of the building through our open
door and start to get up to catch him.
"Leave the computer." Toby demands. I let go of the machine and chase
after Leo.
"Leo, hang on. I need a minute." I yell to him.
"So does the National Security team. What's up?" he answers but
doesn't even slow down. I half skip to catch up to him.
"Well, it's not National Security, but it is important."
"Electoral math?" he asks and I shake my head no. "Are Toby and Sam
fighting again?" Again I shake my head no. At this point Leo stops
dead in his tracks and I almost pass by him as we come to where the
paths intersect with the community building.
"What, Josh, I haven't got all day."
"You remember you told me to come and talk to you before I did
anything stupid?" I try to set it up so he doesn't yell too much.
"Josh…What have you done?"
"Nothing…yet. But remember how you asked me after Rosslyn if Donna
and I were still okay to work together and I said `of course' and you
said if that ever changed I should tell you before I did something
stupid?" I pause to take a breath and Leo just stares at me a moment
before he catches up with my explanation.
"Really?" He confirms. "Are you sure? Once I transfer her, I won't
transfer her back."
"I'm sure, Leo. I can't work with her anymore. Not with the way
things are going. Not the way I feel." Now that I've said it out
loud, it feels pretty good and not nearly as scary as I thought it
would be.
"Okay then. I'll take care of it as soon as we get back. Go run
electoral math with Joey. I'll see you in the community building for
rehearsal in an hour."
"Rehearsal is in the main auditorium." I remind him.
"No, they moved it. Technical difficulties in the auditorium." He
calls over his shoulder.
What kind of technical difficulties could there be, I wonder. It's
not like we're rehearsing a rock concert or a musical of some kind. I
blow out a breath of pent up tension and go back to conference room
B. Talking to Leo may have been the easy part…now I have to explain a
transfer to Donna before we head back tomorrow. Still, I do some of
my best work with a clock ticking. I'll come up with something.
Donna's POV
Joshua Lyman needs a keeper, I decide as I run down the path to catch
up with him. When I got out of the shower, I see the papers Josh left
on my bed and realize the President is going to need to see these
before we start rehearsal. Josh needs to give them to the President
right away. So it's his fault I am running down the path towards
conference room B with my hair still wet from my shower. I'll
probably catch pneumonia and die because of that man.
I don't see him in the conference room anywhere.
"Where's Josh?" I call to the room at large.
"He went to get Leo." Toby answers without looking up from my
computer.
"Leo went to meet with the National Security team in the barn. If you
go out the back door you might catch him before he goes in." Larry
offers.
"Thanks!" I call as I run towards the door he pointed to.
I come to a screeching halt when I hear Josh and Leo's voices around
the corner. No need to run anymore, they sound like they've stopped
for a moment. Then I process the words they're saying.
"Really?" Leo says "Are you sure? Once I transfer her, I won't
transfer her back."
"I'm sure, Leo. I can't work with her anymore. Not with the way
things are going. Not the way I feel. "
"Okay then. I'll take care of it as soon as we get back. Go run
electoral math with Joey. I'll see you in the community building for
rehearsal in an hour."
"Rehearsal is in the main auditorium." Josh tells him.
"No, they moved it. They're having technical difficulties in the
auditorium." Leo calls back as he open the barn doors and goes
inside.
I know I should move now, but my legs are frozen in place. He can't
work with me anymore? He's transferring me? Is this about Amy? Did
she persuade him to transfer me? Maybe she convinced him that my
feeling for him were more than professional. God, I feel sick. I
can't go back there. I can't look at him right now. Or Amy either for
that matter. I start walking slowly back to my cabin and nearly bump
into Charlie.
"Hey Donna, aren't you doing electoral math?" He asks.
"No, I'm not feeling so good. I'm going to rest for a little while.
I'll come to the auditorium for rehearsal later."
"They moved it to the community room. The microphones in the
auditorium are acting up. There's some sort of short that makes them
broadcast to the other buildings instead of inside the auditorium.
Until they get it fixed they don't want to use the auditorium at all.
Hey, are you sure you're okay? You're looking kind of pale."
"Just a little light headed. Probably lack of sleep. I'll catch up
with you guys in a bit." I continue walking before he can question me
further.
Once I get back in my cabin, I shut and lock the door. The tears
start falling before I've turned the lock all the way. I tried so
hard to cover my feeling for him for so long, and this is what it all
comes to? It's just not fair. Why did Amy have to come back now?
Everything was going so well. We were a team again. Now I'm being
sent away like some kid who misbehaved at the dinner table? I don't
think so.
I start packing my stuff before I even have a plan formulated in my
head. My only thought is to get the hell out of here.
A knock at the door makes me jump. I try to compose myself when I
hear Toby's voice calling my name.
"Donna, I've got your laptop here."
I reluctantly open the door and take the laptop from him.
"Thanks, Toby."
"Thanks for the pie." He gives me a genuine smile. I hardly ever see
that kind of smile on Toby's face and I can't help smile in return.
"Josh says to hurry up. He needs you to help get ready for the debate
rehearsal." My smile disappears and my answer comes out much more
sharp than I meant it to.
"Tell him to get Amy to help him." And with that I shut the door.
Chapter 4
Josh's POV
"They moved the rehearsal, you know." Amy says as she enters the
auditorium.
"Yeah, I'm just getting the notes from the podium to bring over to
rehearsal."
She comes over and stands next to me at the podium. "How did everyone
like the family leave answer?"
"They loved it. We owe you one, Amy."
"You could repay me with dinner when we get back to the District."
"Sure, we'll get the whole gang and celebrate the end of debate camp."
"I was thinking more of just the two of us, J. I've missed you."
"Amy, I don't think that's a good idea." Amy let out a sigh and
leaned against the podium as she looked me in the eye.
"I think I should have been more specific."
"What? When?" I am thoroughly confused.
"When we first talked at my office, and I asked you if you were
dating your assistant?"
"Yeah, I said I wasn't. That was the truth Amy. It's still the truth."
"What I should have asked you was `Do you want to date your
assistant'."
For a moment I don't know how to respond. Then it hits me.
"No, I don't want to date my assistant. I don't do too well with the
dating... I do want to marry my assistant, though." Amy shakes her
head and smiles ruefully at me.
"That might work better for you, J. But as an advisor to this
campaign, I'd seriously consider moving her to another department
first; just to keep it clean and above board."
"Already in the works. All I have to do now is tell her." I kiss
Amy's cheek as Charlie bursts through the doors.
"Um, Josh…"
"Just a second Charlie. Thanks, Amy, I appreciate-"
"Josh!"
"Just a second Charlie I need to tell Amy something."
"Well you're not just telling Amy, you're telling the whole camp."
The look on my face must have conveyed my confusion.
"The microphones," he explains, "The short in the microphones make
them broadcast to all the buildings in the camp. That's why we're not
rehearsing in here."
"Charlie, are you saying that what I said in here…"
"Uh-huh."
My legs literally fold up underneath me and I end up sitting on the
stage behind the podium.
"Shoot me now." I tell them with my face in my hands.
"I think you're problem of how and when to tell Donna has been
solved." Amy whispers in my ear.
I follow her gaze and hesitantly peek around the edge of the podium.
Donna is standing in the middle of the aisle looking dumbstruck.
Slowly, she walks up toward the stage. Amy grabs Charlie as she walks
toward the door and they leave us alone in the auditorium.
"Hey there, Donna. They moved rehearsal. It's not actually in here."
I manage to stand up and try to adopt a casual pose.
"Charlie told me." She continues to move toward me. "Was that some
kind of a joke?"
"Was what some kind of a joke?" I attempt to play innocent, wondering
how much she actually heard. Maybe it isn't as bad as I think.
"When you told Amy you want to marry your assistant." Okay, she heard
enough, innocent isn't going to work. I might as well come clean.
"Yes…yes I did."
"You don't have another assistant I don't know about do you?"
"No. I can't even keep a temp assistant when you're not around." I
make sure that I'm keeping eye contact with her so she knows I'm
serious, but I also make sure I am a good distance from the short
circuiting microphones.
"Joshua, I swear you are the most insufferable man-"
"I think you could probably get a consensus on that going no further
than the outline of this camp. But that just begs the question then."
"What question?"
"Why do you stay? Why do you put up with me when no one else will?"
"Maybe I feel sorry for you." I pause in moving toward her for a
moment, but then I see her eye twitch. My lips twitch in response.
"Come on, Donnatella. I took the risk and told you how I felt. Can't
you meet me out on this ledge?" Now her lips twitch.
"Technically, you told Amy how you felt, not me."
"Technically, I told EVERYONE how I felt."
"Not on purpose."
"Still, here I am, laid out bare for everyone I work with and work
for to ridicule me mercilessly. Help me out here, Donna."
"I want to hear you say it to me first. I want to see your eyes when
you say it."
"What is this, a competition? Who will say it first?"
"I thought you thrived on competition, Joshua."
I walk the final two steps between us and pull her to me with my
hands on her waist. I kiss her and whisper in her ear. "I love you
Donnatella Moss."
Her eyes fill with tears. "I heard you and Leo earlier…I thought you
were having Leo transfer me because you wanted to be with Amy."
I replay my conversation with Leo in my head and understand how it
must have sounded to Donna.
"No, Donna. I just didn't want to be your direct supervisor when I
told you I love you."
"That's a much better reason for a transfer." She agrees. She leans
in to kiss me again and I oblige for a moment, it's very distracting
kissing Donna, until I realize something is missing from our little
confessional conversation.
"Wait a minute. You said you wanted me to say it first, and I did.
Don't you have something to say to me?" Donna smiled and left my
arms. She walked quickly up to the podium and leaned into the
microphonerophone.
"I love you, too, Joshua Lyman." I laugh and pull her away from the
microphone.
"How about we keep the rest of this conversation private?" I suggest
as I start kissing her neck and pulling her back into my arms.
"I like the idea, but I don't think it's feasible at the moment."
Donna tugs on me until I turn around and I see our friends and
colleagues rushing in the auditorium doors with smiles on their faces
and laughter in their eyes.
"I see what you mean." The group stops right in front of us, but it's
the President who addresses us.
"Josh, if you're finished arranging your love life, do you think you
could help me win this debate?"
"You sure you want my help with that, sir?"
"Absolutely. If you can convince a woman like Donna to fall in love
with you, you can convince anyone of anything."
"I'll make sure you're ready, sir. Ritchie will be no competition for
you."
The End