Master of the City

You know what's sad?

2006-10-17T23:05:00.000-04:00

What's sad is I finished the frickin' epilogue and have yet to finish the next chapter.

Thanks for being patient with me.

After A Mandatory Vacation/Part 13

2006-10-05T23:08:00.000-04:00

Rating: PG, some language, references to sex -- not explicit.
Spoilers: Everything, especially Transition.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: Again, not beta'd. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 are below. And we're back. Sorry for the delay in working on this. Part 14 should be up in about a week.

“That’s right C.J.; I just went over there and had my way with him as soon as he got home.”

“Donna, this is a very bad pattern.”

“Well, it’s a pattern that we ended so I wouldn’t worry about it too much.”

“Okay. So how was it?”

“It was fine.”

“Fine?”

“Well, you should realize that he had flown to and from California to talk to Sam that day, so he had left his apartment at about four that morning, worked on the plane, gotten into LA at eleven California time, saw Sam, then hopped on a plane at two California time and walked in his door at eleven that night when I got there. He was fried. So it was hot and desperate and needy and did not take particularly long and he passed out right afterwards. Normally I would have been a little upset but in this case he seemed so…”

“Desperate?”

“Yes.”

“You always liked it when he needed you.”

“Yes C.J., and this is why I probably need intensive therapy; but it certainly felt nice to think that I was that need.”

“So you had lousy sex…”

“No, I had serviceable sex. Not great, but good. I think he enjoyed it more than I did, but I certainly wasn’t left frustrated. Of all of the bad things we could both say about Josh, he’s not selfish in bed. He makes sure his partner is suitably entertained.”

“Well, I’ll file that away in case we are ever the last two people on earth and the human race is dependant on us for survival.”

Donna smiled and rolled her eyes. “Well, we were asleep before midnight, which was probably good as Josh had not been sleeping all that much and, in truth, I hadn’t been sleeping all that well and I slept so soundly that I didn’t even wake up until five.”

“Slept in did you?” C.J. smiled wryly.

“My sleep had been completely off since the campaign, so five and a half hours uninterrupted were lovely, thanks for asking. But Josh wasn’t in bed when I woke up. Knowing we had to talk I showered quickly and put my clothes back on and finally went out to the living room where he was sitting in his underwear working.”

“How charming.”

“Yes, I can’t say that was ever part of the fantasy, although it is very much in keeping with that which is Josh.”

“Very true.”

“He asked me something having to do with policy and then he told me that the previous night was nice.”

“Nice?”

“Nice.”

“Well I guess that’s…”

“Nice?”

C.J. snorted. “Yeah.”

“Yeah, then he babbled a little bit about the ‘niceness’ of the previous meeting and I realized we had to talk or this would just go on. I’d been practicing what I needed to say for about three days, figuring out what he would say back and so I just let him know that I understood why whatever we were doing was undefined but that we had to define it before it was too late. I told him we never had to talk about the relationship but if we didn’t it would be over in about four weeks.”

“Wow. That took some…”

“Balls is the word I think you’re looking for.”

“Probably.”

“I even told him he didn’t have to panic, which I was sure he would, but he seemed more dazed by the whole speech. Then I told him I had to go because I didn’t know how long I was going to be able to hold myself together after all of that, I kissed him goodbye, just so he would remember what he was giving up if he chose not to talk about whatever was going on, and I left.”

“He didn’t say anything.”

“I heard him yell ‘bye!’ as the door closed. And you’d be proud. I didn’t go over that next night…although it turned out he spent the night working so it wouldn’t have done me much good anyway.”

“Well you were probably chafing at that point anyway.”

“C.J.!”

“I’m just saying, it was probably good for your guys to take a night off. You’re not 19 anymore and he certainly isn’t.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Yeah. But as you so ably pointed out when you showed up here a little over a week ago, I was most certainly not at my best.”

“Yes, I was certainly right.” Said Sam.

“Acknowledged.”

“So what did you say to her later.”

“Later?”

“Yes, later that day, you know, that which is after what came before?”

“Stop snarking at me.”

“You know, Donna used that word and I didn’t know what it meant then.”

“Oh God, do you mean I’ve picked up a Donnaism?”

“After nine years, I’d think you’d pick up several.”

Yeah, but, Sam, Harvard and Yale and now I’m talking like a cheese head.”

“She was always more than just a cheese head. And watch it, that’s my friend you’re talking about.”

“Yeah. Your right. On both points.”

“So, are you ever going to tell me how you followed up Donna’s speech to you that morning?”

“Uh, I didn’t.”

“You didn’t.”

"No. I didn't."

“Well. If I were C.J. I would smack you on the back of the head now.”

“I hadn’t seen her Sam! I didn’t see her all day! And then I worked late. I didn’t spend any time with her at all.”

“But you didn’t make time.”

“No.”

“So when did you talk to her about it?”

“The next day.”

“After you had spent the whole night working…”

“Yes.”

“After admitting to me that you were not at your best…”

“Yes.”

“Well, that must have been bad on so many levels.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“I’m just saying, it was probably good for your guys to take a night off. You’re not 19 anymore and he certainly isn’t.”

“Actually, given his drive you might think he was.”

“DONNA!”

“You brought it up C.J.”

“I did,” C.J. sighed, “Don’t let me drink any more of this. My judgment is clearly compromised at this point.”

“Okay.”

“So, you guys took the night off, after you told him that he needed to make a decision.”

“Well, a night off is a bit of a misnomer for Josh. He just spent the night in the office.”

“Oh.”

“Yes. I didn’t see him the entire day after I gave him my thoughts. In fact I didn’t lay eyes on him until the next afternoon. Which is, of course, when he told me that he wasn’t going to be able to make any kind of relationship determination in my time frame.”

“I don’t even know why I’m surprised.”

“Yes, you really shouldn’t be. I just told him he had three weeks and six days to go.”

“Good for you.”

“I thought it was the right move.”

“What about not putting pressure on him?”

“Well, first, he had initiated the whole thing by saying he wanted to ‘talk.’ Second, I wasn’t pressuring him, I wasn’t hounding him, he brought it up and I mentioned the deadline again. And third…”

“There’s a third?”

“Of course there is a third. And third, Josh was just doing what he does in any situation where he doesn’t have the answer. He tries to change the parameters to his advantage. He wanted to see if I was going to cave to make his life easier.”

“And you weren’t going to do that.”

“Clearly not. And finally…”

“Wait, there is a finally? I thought that’s what the ‘And third…” signified?”

“No, there is a finally.”

“What is it then?”

“I know Josh.”

“Yeah, so do I.”

“Right, but I know Josh. I know how his mind works. I knew he’d eventually make the right choice.”

“You did not.”

“Well, I’ve never been completely confident in my relationship with Josh. But over the past year I’ve begun to realize a few things. One of those things is that we need each other C.J. I’m afraid it sounds a bit co-dependant but we’re better together than we are apart. I just had some faith that would be enough. I had faith that he would come to the right conclusion eventually.”

“But what if that conclusion hadn’t been within your time frame.”

“You know, I was a little worried about that, but I had faith he would figure it out. And, if I may point out, he did. And it only took two and a half days total. So I was right.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Well, that must have been bad on so many levels.”

“Well, yeah.”

“What happened?”

“I realized she still hadn’t been offered a job and I had met with Lou that day and she had accepted Communications Director so when I bumped into Donna I offered her the Deputy job.”

“Which she isn’t taking now.”

“No.”

“Because of you?”

“Uh…yeah…no…well, yeah, but only sort of.”

“She’s only sort of not taking the job because of you?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Well, she said that whatever was going to happen between us she couldn’t work for me again. She said if we were sleeping together that wouldn’t work well and if we had stopped sleeping together…”

“She had a good point. I can see how that might be a problem.”

“Yeah. But there was another thing.”

“What other thing?”

“It seems she got a better offer?”

“What better offer? She’s going to work for that other government?” Sam grinned, “The Benelux countries really did make her an offer?”

“Uh, no, this isn’t public knowledge but she’s going to be Chief of Staff.”

“Josh. I get that you love her, but that doesn’t mean you have to give her your job.”

“No, not Chief of Staff to the President! Chief of Staff to Mrs. Santos.”

Sam blinked in stunned silence for a moment. “Wow, that’s…really? That’s great, good for her.”

“Yeah. That was my reaction too.”

“It was?”

“Well, the shock was certainly the same. Only I had been thinking we really could just work together and sleep together. It never occurred to me that she might have a problem with it. And now we wouldn’t be working together at all…”

“Well, I suspect you’d have some interaction…”

“Yes, but it wouldn’t be like it had been. It wouldn’t be her and me against everyone else. It wouldn’t be the same as it had been on the campaign after she joined. It just…”

“You panicked.”

“Yes.”

“What did you do?”

“I told her that it was great. And then I told her I needed more than the four weeks she set out to make a decision.”

“Was she mad?”

“No. She just told me I had three weeks and six days and walked away.”

“Did you chase after her?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I needed to go to a meeting. I had a million and one things to do. I pushed it aside.”

“Okay.”

“But I think you now know why I blew up at Otto now.”

TBC (with less of a lag time. Promise.)

Part 13 Will Be Posted Tonight.

2006-10-05T16:47:00.000-04:00

I need to get home from work (which is where I am writing this now...shhhhhh...) and then I need to proof it one more time and then I will post.

14 to follow about a week later I would imagine.

Thanks for all your support.

I Swear Part 13 is Coming!!!!!!

2006-09-29T23:07:00.000-04:00

But it's not done yet. The following have been the reasons for the delay:

1) Had to give a HUGE presentation at work which was finished on Tuesday (yeay!)

before that:

2) I was away for vacation for almost two weeks

before that:

3) I was busy trying to get stuff done before I want on vacation

and during all of this I:

4) Have been interviewing for a new job which, on Wednesday, I will have my SIXTH, that's right, SIXTH interview for.

So basically I have done very little writing but I HATE it when people don't finish their fics so I swear it will not let this one die and I plan on finishing it very soon.

Sorry.

After A Mandatory Vacation/Part 12

2006-08-13T18:49:00.000-04:00

Rating: PG
Spoilers: Everything, especially Transition.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: Again, not beta'd. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are below. I know these are taking forever, Feedback makes me write faster.

“Yeah, but I think in the long run it was good. It meant we were sort of back to our old selves.”

“But I know you didn’t spend that night with him.”

“No. I knew he wanted to, which was enough for me at the time, but I wanted to mourn Leo in my own way. I didn’t want to help Josh mourn, and that’s what would have happened. And it would have been kind of rude and more than a little mean to do what I wanted to do, which was get laid and then leave. If I was going to spend the night with Josh I was going to have to be there for him emotionally that night and I couldn’t do that. So I didn’t.”

“But I know you went the next night.”

Donna grinned, “Yes I did.”

“And it went well?”

“Well, we still fit together if that’s what you mean.”

“Ew, no, that is not what I mean.”

Donna smiled. “Look C.J., we still hadn’t talked about what this whole thing was. You and I would get home, make small talk, close our doors and pretend to be asleep. Don’t think I didn’t know you were sneaking out and I’m not stupid enough to think that you didn’t know I was sneaking out and, yes, at some point, but obviously not tonight, we are going to have a conversation about you sneaking out because it’s only fair that if I have to talk about all of this then you have to talk about all of this. But at the time I was sneaking over to Josh, using him for my own selfish pleasure, and then when I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom I would leave quietly and come back here in the early morning.”

“I can’t imagine Josh was particularly fond of that arrangement.”

“Why not?”

“Because of a few things. One, Josh is a control freak and he had no control over whether you were having sex or not, you had the control. Two, Josh hates uncertainty. As much as an idiot as he is about women he likes things defined…and you were not defined. Three, because he’s been in love with you for years and he still couldn’t tell you.”

“Yes, but don’t forget he also fears change…which is kind of awful given that he works in government if you think about it…so I think he was also scared that we needed to define the relationship. And I think he was even more terrified that it was going to have to be him that did the defining, as I was not going to push him in the slightest. I’ve seen what happens when you push Josh, he tends to run the other way and ask questions later. I had no time or energy to let Josh feel pushed by me so instead I wanted to wait until he brought it up.”

“Wait, so Josh was the one who initially brought up defining the relationship.”

“Oh yeah. I slept with him Saturday, Sunday and Monday. He told me that we needed to ‘talk’ on Tuesday. Sounded terrified too.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“No, she didn’t. But she came over the next night.” Said Josh with a big smile as he drank again from his beer.

“Really, and did you talk?”

“No, we did not. She called me and said C.J. was asleep and wanted to know if she could come over, which I, of course, said she could. About a half hour later she was standing at my door. She looked as gorgeous as ever and I just had to kiss her.”

“I think it is remarkably funny that you keep having all these urges to kiss Donna. I have to wonder if these urges are new?”

“I think we both know that the urges are not new.”

“So the fact that you have been kissing her has worn your resistance to resisting these urges down?”

Josh gave a half smile, “You know, I always suspected if I started kissing Donna it would be extremely difficult to stop kissing her.”

“And it proved true.”

“Could be a self fulfilling prophecy.”

“I actually highly doubt that.”

“So was I that obvious to everyone?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, well, she came over, we you know…”

“Made love?”

“Had sex.”

“I don’t think so actually, I think you made love to her.”

“That’s such an awful phrase.”

“But an apt one given the situation.”

“I suppose. Anyway I fell asleep in her arms after we were finished.”

“That must have been nice.”

“It was.”

“And I assume you talked a little after that.”

“Uh, no, she was leaving when I woke up.”

“Wait, what time was that?”

“Around 4:30 in the morning.”

“So she came over late at night, used you for sex, and then left?”

“Yeah.”

“And did you confront her in the slightest?”

“I asked her where she was going that first night.”

“That first night?”

“Yeah, that first night started the pattern. She came over Saturday and Sunday and Monday and on all three nights she came over late, used me for sex…not that I am complaining about that mind you…fell asleep with me and then left really early. So that first night, Saturday night, I asked her where she was going and she said she had lots of things to do the next day and needed to go home and change and get an hour of sleep before going into the office.”

“So by the time I saw you on Tuesday morning…”

“She had done this three times to me.”

“Which is why when I asked you about your personal life…”

“What was I going to say Sam? This unspoken thing between Donna and me, which I didn’t even know anyone had ever noticed, seemed to be turning into something else and I didn’t know what it was or what to do about it and I was scared out of my mind that I was going to screw it up?”

“Well yeah.”

“Sam!”

“Yeah Josh, that’s exactly what you say to your friends about your relationships.”

“Well I know that NOW.” Josh smiled into his beer.

“Eh, looks like you didn’t need me anyway?”

“Well, actually I did. When you asked me about my personal life and I didn’t know what to say I realized I really needed to talk to her, so on the way back to the airport I called her and told her I thought we needed to talk.”

“Over the phone?”

“No, not over the phone, when I got back into town.”

“And was she responsive.”

“She said that would be good.”

“And was it?”

“Well, when I got back, we didn’t talk so much as, uh, she used me for sex again and then she talked.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Oh yeah. I slept with him Saturday, Sunday and Monday. He told me that we needed to ‘talk’ on Tuesday. Sounded terrified too.”

“Wait, this is such a classic Josh with a girl moment. I want to know the details.”

“Well, first, let me set the tone in his voice. He sound like someone was strangling him while he was talking to me.”

“Donna!”

“What, it’s true!”

“Okay, so he called you and sounded like his nuts were in a vice…”

“C.J.!”

“What, I’m just embellishing.”

“No, actually, I like that a lot better, it’s more descriptive.”

“Well thank you.”

“You welcome. So he called me and we talked business for a moment and then he didn’t hang up so I asked if there was something else. His voice was strangled and he said he was sure there was something and then he told me we should ‘talk’ when he got home. I had been waiting for him to say something so told him that I though it was a good idea. I was worried he would hear the relief in my voice but I think he was so embarrassed that he sounded like a 14 year old boy that he didn’t even notice. Then I wished him a good flight and he wished me the same…”

“But your were in D.C.?”

“Yeah, he realized that too, then he started to back-track, but I saved him from himself and told him I needed to go.”

“So you talked when he got home that night.”

“Oh, of course we didn’t.”

“But you didn’t even wait until I was faking sleep that night, you just left.”

“I know, but we didn’t talk Tuesday night C.J.”

“So what did you…oh wait, old pattern.”

“That’s right C.J.; I just went over there and had my way with him as soon as he got home.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Well, when I got back, we didn’t talk so much as, uh, she used me for sex again and then she talked.”

“I’m so confused now. Start at the beginning. You left me, you told her you guys needed to talk, she agreed, you flew back here and then what?”

“I walked in the door, dropped my stuff and she knocked on my door perhaps two minutes later. I answered it and she was standing there and I told her that when I told her we needed to talk I didn’t mean right then, that I was fried and she said she had no intention of talking and kissed me. So I kissed her back and the next thing I knew we were, well, doing what we had been doing a lot over the course of the past week.”

“And then you said she talked?”

“Well, she had been leaving when I was asleep but this time I woke up before she left and so, instead of going back to sleep I got up and did some work in the living room waiting for her to wake up. She started to stir at about 5am, which is about an hour after I woke up and she came out and I tried to initiate a conversation.”

“How did you do that?”

“Well, not very well unfortunately, I told her the previous evening had been very nice…I actually kind of botched it but she interrupted me and then gave me a little Donna speech.”

“A Donna speech?”

“Yeah, where she has clearly thought out what she thinks I am going to say and then goes on a little diatribe trying to hit all the points before I can bring up the negatives. She used to do it all the time when she was my assistant and she was trying to convince me to let her do something I didn’t want her to do. The funny thing is I always assumed that she would go off and so I generally had already made the decision to let her do whatever it was before the actually did the diatribe, but it entertained me.”

“She always entertained you.”

“She still does. Anyway she told me to listen to her and then she sat down across from me and laid out what we had been doing and how we didn’t know what it was and we needed to figure it out within the next four weeks or there probably wasn’t really anything there. And then she kissed me, a spectacular kiss I should clarify, and then she left.”

“And you didn’t respond?”

“I didn’t have time.”

“Although, now that I think of it, that was less than two weeks ago so, uh, if she’s moving in now…”

“Yeah, I figured it out, but at the time I couldn’t think when I was going to have the time to figure out what I wanted from her.”

“But you knew what you wanted from her.”

“Excuse me?”

“You knew what you wanted. Josh, you’ve known for a while now what you wanted from her.”

“Yeah. But as you so ably pointed out when you showed up here a little over a week ago, I was most certainly not at my best.”

TBC

After A Mandatory Vacation/Part 11

2006-08-02T21:55:00.000-04:00

Rating: PG
Spoilers: Everything, especially Requiem.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: Again, not beta'd. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are below. I know these are taking forever, hopefully I'll be back on track but no promises.

“Oh please, Josh was focused on the laptop; he wasn’t even paying attention to me.”

“The idea that anything more happened between you two boggles my mind.”

“Well, look, we weren’t exactly at our best. Either of us.”

“That’s true.”

“C.J., I think we’ve established that neither Josh nor I were at our best.”

“Yes. And I think I’ve established that we can agree on that.”

“So I went back to my room. I packed, I napped, and I left for D.C. that morning and checked into the hotel in D.C. and did some last minute work with Lou in our D.C. campaign office coordinating taking over the transition offices at the OEOB, at which point I was told that I would be homeless come Friday afternoon. I spent the day doing that and was just exhausted when I got back to my room. I think I saw Josh for all of three seconds when he got there. I went back to the hotel I had been given by the campaign and didn’t even eat dinner, I just went to sleep. Next morning I woke up, dressed for Leo’s funeral and went to Leo’s funeral. Then, at the wake, I asked you if I could stay with you. I barely saw Josh during that time, unless you count actually seeing him from across the room at the funeral. I would have been there for him, but he never asked and he was so distracted, I just didn’t want to get in his way.”

“Oh, God, so when you asked if you could stay with me you thought you were done with Josh.”

Donna furrowed her brow. “No. I honestly didn’t know. I’ve seen Josh Lyman screw up relationships with women for so many years I had all this knowledge about what I shouldn’t do…and it worked. I shouldn’t push him, I shouldn’t crowd him, I shouldn’t yell at him. I figured if I followed those basic guidelines I would figure out what was happening with us eventually. As it turned out, I was right.”

“So, you didn’t want to ask if you were staying at his place because…”

“Because if I had asked him if I could stay with him he would have had a nutty. Can you just imagine,” Donna’s pretended to have the conversation with Josh, “’Hi Josh, I have no place to live, can I stay with you?’ He would have blanched and started looking for the nearest exit. Besides, I didn’t want that much togetherness without some boundaries being established, that would have been bad too.”

“But I saw you guys talking at Leo’s wake?”

“Yeah. Which, by the way, started off when I stopped by to say ‘hi’ to Charlie and he wanted to know why Josh hadn’t offered me a job yet, which I couldn’t exactly answer given the circumstances. I mean really. I finally had to talk to Josh when I needed to alert him that someone was looking for him to ask about a job and I also wanted to extend the President’s invitation to go up to the residence. I had seen him leaving with Amy earlier.”

“And what did you think of that?” Ask C.J., smiling.

“Not much to be honest. Oh, I know, he dated her for the better part of a year and then fell back into bed with her for a while, but that relationship was doomed from the start and of all of the things I know about Josh, I know he doesn’t want to go through that again.”

“Well, that’s certainly true.”

“Yes it is. Given what had happened in the last few days I was not particularly concerned about Josh falling into bed for comfort with Amy. In truth I was more afraid that the only reason he was going to fall into bed was with me again.”

“Donna, you know, you really should give yourself a little more credit…”

“C.J., it has nothing to do with credit. It has to do with Josh…”

“Hey, you’re right. I mean if anyone gets Josh, it’s you.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“…I just wasn’t focused on her. I know I should have been, but I wasn’t.”

“Josh…” Sam sighed.

“I know. Anyway I didn’t realize she had left until the door clicked shut and I couldn’t very well run after her could I?”

“And why not.”

“Hunh?”

“Why not? Why couldn’t you run after her?”

“Because I was in my underwear!”

“Yeah, but that’s not the reason.”

“Of course it was the reason.”

“Josh…”

“What? It was four in the morning!”

“Yeah. But the reason you didn’t follow her out wasn’t because of your underwear and it wasn’t because it was four in the morning. It was because you were scared she didn’t want you to follow her.”

“Yeah, right Sam. Whatever.” Josh took another swig of his beer and rolled his eyes.

“Look, you can deny it as much as you want, but I know you. But let’s move on because you’re obviously not going to admit it. When did you see her again?”

“Well, I really didn’t see her again until the funeral. I mean she was at the transition offices working with Lou the next day, but I was so busy and she was so busy I just never got the opportunity to talk to her. I wanted to ask her if she needed a place to stay past Friday, but there was never the opportunity, so I didn’t until Leo’s wake.”

“You asked her if she wanted to move in with you at Leo’s wake?”

“No, I didn’t ask her if she wanted to move in with me.”

“Wait, so what did you ask her?”

“Well, she came over to tell me something and I asked her if she had still had someone staying in her apartment.”

“Which I know she did.”

“Right, but she was going to stay with C.J. so I told her I thought she could crash with me.”

“You invited her to “crash” with you?”

“Well, I didn’t put it that way!”

“What way did you put it?”

“I asked her if she still had my key…”

“From when she was your assistant?”

“Well, I didn’t add that part. Anyway then I told her I thought she could stay with me.”

“And she said.”

“She said I was sweet but she didn’t think I was ready for that step.”

“Oh God!” Sam placed his head in his hands, he could see what was coming and it wasn’t good.

“I asked if she thought I was ready for sex in a hotel but not in my apartment.”

“And what was her reaction?” asked Sam, still not looking up.

“She asked me if I thought that all of this was awkward and hard to navigate…so she totally called me on my shit. And she had a point.”

“Yes she did.”

“So, I was really worried that maybe this thing with Donna was over, you know? But then I realized it probably wasn’t.”

“And when did you realize this?”

“When Amy Gardner tried to set me up with Sarah Potraro.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Hey, you’re right. I mean if anyone gets Josh, it’s you.”

“I suppose. Although he often surprises me.”

“I know I’ll regret asking, but how so?”

“Like he assumed I would be staying with him and not you when we got back to D.C.”

“Wait! When did you find that out?”

“At the wake.”

“Hang on there; back-up a moment for those of us who don’t always get the dynamic here. Josh hasn’t really spoken to you since you left his room without him even noticing Thursday very early in the morning and at a wake he mentions to you that he expects you to stay with him?”

“Well, it was more like he asked me if I still had his key and then sort of assumed I would be staying with him so I could have sex with him.”

“And you said no I assume.”

“Safe assumption since I stayed with you that night. I used you as the excuse actually. At least I did on Friday night.”

“Yes, I noticed those oh so stealthy disappearances at midnight.”

Donna blushed and smiled, “I know you didn’t notice all of them because I know that on several occasions you were not home, and I am fairly sure you weren’t working late.”

“All right, we’re not talking about me, we’re talking about you.” C.J. could feel her face flush as well.

Donna dropped it and moved on. “Well I was fending off rumors from a reporter and the President had invited us back to the residence after the wake, so I needed to find Josh and get him there and when I found him he was talking to Amy Gardner again.”

“And there’s nothing there…”

“Unless animosity counts C.J., there is really nothing there. After I told Josh about the rumor Amy asked me about this woman, Sarah Potrero and asked me what I thought of her. Before I had a chance to answer Josh informed me that Amy wanted him to date her.”

“Oh, well, that’s awkward.”

“Actually it wasn’t. I decided it was time to mess with Josh a little bit so I told him she was a sweetheart. Then the President-Elect came over and we left him so he could talk to Amy. While we were on our way to your office I continued to tease him about it. It drove him nuts.”

“I bet it did.”

“Yeah, but I think in the long run it was good. It meant we were sort of back to our old selves.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“When Amy Gardner tried to set me up with Sarah Potraro.”

“Are you serious?”

“I wish I wasn’t. Donna came over while we were talking to tell me…I don’t know, something. Anyway then Amy asked Donna what she thought of Sarah and I made if very clear that Amy was trying to set me up on a date.”

“Was Donna mad?”

“No. She said Sarah was great. Fortunately the President-Elect came in then and needed to speak to Amy so we left quickly. Then she started to make more fun of me. She started telling me what a great body Sarah had. It was really weird, but kind of nice too.”

“How was it nice?”

“It was like Donna and me again. Just the two of us, kind of like old times. And I realized that although we had slept together nothing had really changed. It was nice to know we were still the same.”

“Did she come over that night?”

“No, she didn’t. But she came over the next night.” Said Josh with a big smile as he drank again from his beer.

TBC

After A Mandatory Vacation/Part 10

2006-07-20T21:25:00.000-04:00

Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Everything, especially Election Day II.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: Again, not beta'd. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are below. Sorry this has been to delayed. Once again, I hope to get back on track.

“She told me that I should probably check my messages and she got dressed and went back to her room.”

“Wait, so she left?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe, you know…”

“Maybe what?”

“Maybe, and I’m just positing a theory mind you, maybe you weren’t quite as skillful as you thought you were.”

“I know that’s not true.”

“Why?”

“Because if that were true, why would she be with me now? Oh, and by the way, nice attempt to deflate my ego…”

“But there is nothing that could possibly do that.”

Josh placed his hands behind his head, leaned back and smiled. “Exactly. I don’t know why you even bother to try.”

Sam rolled his eyes and took another swig of his beer. “Hey, I’m going to use the…” Sam indicated towards the bathroom, “While I’m up, do you have any food?”

“Yeah, Donna bought some stuff…”

Sam went to the bathroom as Josh continued to play with the label on his beer. Two minutes later Sam returned with a wicked grin on his face. “I just found something in your bathroom I never thought I would ever see.”

“What?”

Sam reached his hand from behind his back and held it up. Josh blushed a deep red. “That’s not mine.”

“Obviously.” Sam twirled the tampon in his fingers.

“Could you put that away please?”

“Poor Josh, has to put up with all Donna’s girly stuff.”

“Well, I suppose it’s a small price to pay.”

“Yes, feminine hygiene products and losing half your closet space is a small price to pay for regular sex.”

“No. Actually that is far too high a price to pay for regular sex. It is not, however, to high a price to pay for Donna. It’s a very low price to pay. A bargain even. Now go get us some food and put that damn thing away.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Donna inhaled deeply and started again, “I just started to doubt every reason I was there and Josh was with me so I told him he needed to check his messages and I left to go back to my hotel room.”

“You didn’t!”

“C.J., we had this emotional rollercoaster and I didn’t know whether he was reacting to me, or win the election, or losing Leo or any of a dozen other things that had happened. In the meantime we had a ton of work to do, I needed to check in with Lou, he needed to check in with Santos. There were transition offices to set up. Then we were going to have to fly back to D.C. and go to Leo’s funeral. There would have been too much to do without Leo dying. With Leo’s death he needed to focus on the job at hand. I felt like it was part of my role there to be supportive and make sure he had his game face on.”

“You know, Donna, it wasn’t your job anymore. You should have talked to him.”

“But what if he was talking to me out of emotion and loss and anger and sadness? I had to let him finish what he was working on and deal with Leo’s death. Then we could talk about us. And I wasn’t quite sure I could talk to him about us anyway. I wasn’t doing much better myself.”

“So what did you go and do?”

“I did what Lou told me to do. I spent the day working on things, making arrangements, talking to the press. I got back to my room at around 11pm and was exhausted again, which wasn’t surprising. Then I noticed a call on my room voicemail, which is unusual, because everyone knows to call me on my cell. Anyway, it was from Josh.”

“Why didn’t he call you on your cell? I can’t imagine he doesn’t have it.”

“Of course he has it. The call was about an hour old. I couldn’t figure it out even after I listened to the message. It just made no sense.”

“…Makes no sense. Well, that certainly sounds like Josh.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“… Now go get us some food and put that damn this away.”

Sam went into the kitchen, threw out the tampon and rummaged in the kitchen, finding a frozen pizza in the refrigerator. He nuked it and wandered back into the living room where Josh was busy putting piles cloths and books haphazardly into boxes.

Sam put the pizza down on the table and Josh stopped working, grabbing part of the pizza and another beer.

“So,” Sam began again, “Donna told you to check your messages and left. What happened next?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean what happened next. Was I unclear?”

“No, I mean, nothing happened next. I checked my messages. I wound up the campaign. I made sure everyone had been paid. I talked with the President-Elect, I checked in with Mallory, talked with the transition guys. I did all of the things I knew Donna thought I should take care of when she left to go work on all the things she knew she needed to take care of.”

“Okay.”

“Anyway, I was done with all that around 10 that night, but I didn’t want to interrupt her because I knew she was still working with the press, so I called her room and left her a message that I wanted to see her.”

“You didn’t call her cell?”

“No. I didn’t want to disturb her in the middle of being interviewed on MSNBC, which was exactly what she was doing when I called her. Besides, I didn’t need her to come running. I just wanted her to come over when she was done.”

“So, just out of curiosity, what exactly did you say on this message you left for her.” Sam knew this couldn’t have been the way Josh was going to spin it.

“Jeez, I don’t know, probably something like, ‘hey Donna, when you get in, why don’t you give me a call,’ or something like that.”

“And did she call you?”

“No, actually, quite to my surprise she came over at a little after 11. I’ll tell you, that woman is insatiable.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“…Makes no sense. Well, that certainly sounds like Josh.”

“Yes, it really does. The message was something like, ‘Donna, it’s Josh…’”

“Wait, he identified himself?”

“Yes.”

“What, because after nine years of talking to him every day you couldn’t recognize his voice?”

“I know C.J. After identifying himself he then said something like he needed to see me when I got in.”

“What for?”

“I had no idea.”

“So?”

“So I brushed my hair and washed the TV make-up off my face, re-applied a little and went up to his room. I assumed it was business related although I couldn’t figure out why he called me on the room phone.”

“And what did he need.”

“Oh. Nothing.”

“He needed nothing?”

“Well, first he was asleep when I got there. So he was all sleepy and scruffy and didn’t smell wonderfully either. I don’t think he had showered after I left that morning.”

“Eh, I know that smell well. I remember that smell from eight years ago and the first campaign.”

“Yes, I like the way Josh smells, but not that much.”

“So what did he want?”

“He couldn’t remember.”

“What?”

“Yes, I got there, woke him up, asked him what he needed to see me about and he couldn’t remember. So I pushed him into the shower and told him to rinse off quickly to get his blood flowing and then we could talk. He took a three minute shower; all the while I’m sitting in his room waiting for him to get finished and comes out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel.”

“Okay…”

“Wait, wait, I’m not done. He seems surprised, SURPRISED, that I was still waiting for him and gets this big grin on his face and said ‘hi there’ with this stupid look.” Donna huffed her exasperation at his behavior.

“Calm down there, if I recall, you love the guy and everything turned out fine so relax a little bit and take a breath.”

“C.J., I swear, sometimes I don’t know if I love him or I want to kill him.”

“Well, I’m not sleeping with him, but I can honestly say those two emotions are not mutually exclusive when it comes to Josh.”

“No kidding. Anyway he then said he remembered what he wanted to ask me and I’m waiting and I asked ‘yes?’ and he reponds, ‘oh, I just wanted to check up on you and see how you were doing.’”

“Makes you want to kill him.”

“Yeah, or the other thing?”

“The other thing?”

“You know…”

C.J. smiled knowingly, “…Or jump him?”

“Unfortunately, yes, definitely the ‘or jump him’ option.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“No, actually, quite to my surprise she came over at a little after 11. I’ll tell you, that woman is insatiable.”

“Wait, so Donna got a message from you which said you wanted to talk and she came to your room and slept with you instead?”

“Yup.”

“I have a feeling there is more to it then that.”

“Well, it had been an hour since I had called her so I had fallen asleep.”

“So let me set the scene. You answer the door in your underwear, completely groggy and can’t remember why you called Donna.”

“No. I knew why I had called her, but she didn’t look like she was in the mood for it.”

“So what happened?”

“She told me I needed to take a shower, so I did. I actually didn’t expect her to be there when I got out so I was just in a towel.”

“Why would you care whether you were in a towel? I assume she had seen you naked a few times at that point.”

“Yeah, uh, I don’t know, I just wouldn’t have been. It seemed too intimate and awkward. Anyway, I felt weird and I thought she would have gone, but she hadn’t so I just said ‘hi there’ and she looked pissed and wanted to know what I had called her for.”

“And did you tell her?”

“Yeah. I told her I just was calling to make sure she was okay. And the next thing I know she’s pressed against me and my towel is on the floor. Not that I minded, I just was surprised.”

“So you…”

“Yeah…”

“Yeah…”

“Yeah…”

“Josh, the grin is a little smug, don’t you think?”

“She couldn’t keep her hands off me.”

“Whatever Josh.”

“Hey, I said the woman was insatiable!”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Unfortunately, yes, definitely the ‘or jump him’ option.”

“So you slept with him again.”

“No C.J., I jumped him. I crossed over to him in 3.2 second and removed his towel and started to paw him.”

“And he pawed back.”

“Of course.”

“And you fell into bed with him and had a great time.”

“Again, yes.”

“And you fell asleep afterwards.”

“And one more yes.”

“And…”

“And then at about 4am I woke up to Josh clicking away on his laptop talking about hotel rooms and when I asked him what was going on he told me that I was officially not working for the campaign as of Friday and that the campaign would cover my room costs here in D.C. for Thursday night but after that I was on my own.”

“Josh is such a romantic.”

“Yeah, well he was stressed out and I don’t think he was thinking of me so much as campaign staffers in general.”

“So what did you do?”

“I got my clothes, I knew I was leaving earlier on Thursday than Josh was and I wanted to pack and clear out of my room. So I got dressed and I left.”

“What did Josh say about that?”

“Oh please, Josh was focused on the laptop; he wasn’t even paying attention to me.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Hey, I said the woman was insatiable!”

“So what happened when she was satiated?”

“Oh, we fell asleep.”

“So that must have been nice.”

“I don’t remember, I was asleep.”

“And, at this point, can I assume that when you woke up you didn’t talk.”

“Well, when I woke up she was still asleep. It was only 3:30 in the morning and I wanted her to get as much sleep as she needed to I pulled out the laptop and started to figure out who we were paying and how long we were paying them for. Most people went off the payroll as of Wednesday, but there were a bunch of people on staff until Friday at 5pm and I wanted to make sure that the hotel information which had been emailed to me had been correct. Then I also wanted to check out some of the more important details of Leo’s, uh, thing, which Mallory had emailed to me.”

“So you worked while she slept. That was nice I suppose.”

“Yeah, she woke up about a half-hour later and asked me what I was working on and so I told her.”

“Did she offer to help you?”

“No, she just got up, got dressed and left.”

“Josh!”

“Look, I didn’t realize it! I was working on the thing and I wasn’t paying attention until she was gone.”

“Josh…”

“I know! I feel like and idiot now, but I had a lot on my mind, not the least of which was how the hell I was going to make it through Leo’s funeral on Friday. I just wasn’t focused on her. I know I should have been, but I wasn’t.”

TBC...

After A Mandatory Vacation/Part 9

2006-07-09T23:05:00.000-04:00

Rating: R
Spoilers: Everything, especially Election Day II.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: Again, not beta'd. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 7 and 8 are below. A little dirtier than previous episodes. Be warned.

"Then I woke up and she was still there and this time I wasn't afraid to touch her."

“You had been afraid to touch her?”

“You know, the first time, we hadn’t established, oh I don’t know, whatever. And the second time, afterwards we were rudely interrupted, so there was no time to, um, bond.”

“Bond? You were going to slap her on her ass and talk sports?” Sam grinned wryly.

“You know what I mean.”

“Yes I do. But I would think that after knowing Donna for as long as you have, after working with her for as many hours as you have…”

“Yes! I understand! We would have bonded! Perhaps not my best choice of words. I meant that I woke up about three hours later and instead of being on all the way on the other side of the bed my arms were wrapped around her and my hand was…well…quite frankly, I had my right hand on her breast.”

“Really?” Sam smiled looking mildly amused at his friends seeming surprise at this turn of events. “So what did you do about that.”

Josh returned the smile. “Well, I decided it was time to go exploring.”

“Exploring?”

“Investigating?”

“Surveying?”

‘Scouting?”

“Reconnoitering”

“Okay, that’s just snotty.” Josh said.

“Sorry. And how exactly did you do this exploring.”

“Well, I had this warm sleeping Donna in my arms. My hand was on her breasts, she wasn’t really waking up, so I just…uh…felt around. I moved my hand, which I was quite loathe to do, and stroked her stomach and her hip and I couldn’t help it, my head was positioned so that I could kiss the side of her neck, and it was just there so I had to kiss it.”

“And did she like it?”

“She was out cold. I don’t think she noticed. I was doing it for my own entertainment at that point anyway.”

“It doesn’t speak well for you that she didn’t wake up.”

“Actually, I think it speaks very well. I wasn’t trying to. I had only been with the woman twice before and neither of them had I been exactly at my best. Although, did I mention, the second time we slept together, she was, uh, satisfied four times. I mean four times!”

“Yes, I think that may have been mentioned before Josh.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"It was a very good idea. Especially because of what happened when he finally woke up again." Donna grinned.

“Do I even need to ask? What happened when you woke up?”

“Well, I noticed that someone was tracing little circles on my hip and stomach and there was this kissing on my neck thing. Kind of like waking up from a nice dream into a nice dream.”

“And…”

“And I just lay there a little bit letting Josh do his thing. You know, it was sort of amusing in a sad way because we had this amazingly stressful day, we still had no idea what this thing between us was, we started a sexual relationship only 36 hours ago, and we had been completely unable to connect after sex on any kind of physical way except for some hugging when we were upset and when we won the election and it seemed like all of that didn’t really matter. What he was doing was really turning me on. And even better, I wasn’t distracted with Election Day stuff. My only concern was that I wanted him to keep doing whatever it was he was doing.”

“And I’m assuming he did.”

“C.J., how drunk are you?”

“Fairly drunk. Drunk enough to pretend you’re not talking about Josh.”

“So how detailed do you want this description to be?”

“Pretty detailed at this point.”

“Okay, because right at that moment I was really enjoying what was happening. He moved his hand to my belly and then up to my breasts all the while he was kissing my neck. He was incredibly slow and sensual. I’m not sure how he could have possibly thought I could have slept through it, but I tried to keep quiet as long as I could.”

“And I suppose there came a time when you couldn’t.”

“Yeah. His hands came to rest at my breasts and he started tracing these circles on my nipples…God, this is so embarrassing…and I just let out this little, I don’t know, whimper.”

C.J. was smiling her Cheshire cat smile, “I would guess that by that point he figured out that you were not still asleep.”

“You could say that. He didn’t do anything to acknowledge that he knew I was awake. Oh, except for slowly moving his hand from caressing my breasts to moving it down lower.”

“Oh my.”

“No kidding. It really was an ‘oh my’ C.J. You know how when Josh wants to do something well he can just methodically go at it until he receives the desired results?”

“Yes. Although generally he used that skill to annoy and tease you.”

“Yes, he could spend hours methodically entertaining himself by annoying and teasing me. But apparently, he’s even better when he decides to methodically tease me and thereby bring me to orgasmic heights.”

“Orgasmic heights?”

“I’m trying to explain this in the kind of detail you would like without resorting to hard-cord expressions of porn or sounding like a cheesy bodice-ripper so you’re going to have to bare with me on these verbal flights of fancy C.J. Besides, you know I get a little to, uh, verbal, when I’ve had more than my share of wine.”

“Okay, so Josh did well and took care of your needs first, like the good boy he is. Did you reciprocate?

“Of course I reciprocated C.J. Besides, at that point, I don’t think there would have been anything that could have prevented me from reciprocating.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Yes, I think that may have been mentioned before Josh.”

“Well, I think it’s an important point to bring up again Sam. I mean really. That’s when I wasn’t at my best.”

“I understand that Josh. You are obviously a God amongst men and all the rest of us mere mortals quake in the presence of your greatness.”

“You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you?”

“Perhaps just a little.”

“Well, for your information, I continued with my investigations for a good ten minutes until I realized she must have been awake because her breathing had gotten quicker and she made this little sound. So I took my hands and, well, I don’t want to kiss and tell but she was quite happy with what I did next.”

“Which was?”

“I’m not going to say. But when I was done…and I made it take a while…she was very much awake and smiling.”

“Okay.”

“And then she jumped me.”

“Pardon?” Sam said, laughing.

“She jumped me. She recovered from what I was doing and then literally attacked me. She was on her side and I was pressed up against her back and the next thing I knew I was flat on my back and she was on top of me.”

“Well, that’s interesting.”

“Sam, she ripped my shirt off.”

“Excuse me? Did she become the hulk?”

“Well, it was only my undershirt and she pulled it off quickly and it got all stretched out, but still, she was like a wild woman.”

“But you had a good time?”

“Look, Sam, you should probably stop asking me that. I mean obviously I had a good time. Obviously the sex had been amazing every single time. On the other hand bad sex is pretty difficult to have, but it was Donna, so how could it have been bad, right? The sex was wonderful, but what made it so great was that she just kept surprising me.”

“She always surprised you. Why did you think it would be any different when you finally got her into your bed?”

“I never thought of that. You’re right though. I never thought about it. She has always surprised me.”

“I know.”

“Wow, no, I mean I really never thought of it. I wonder if that’s why I love her? That she never ceases to amaze me.”

“I think that’s part of it Josh.”

“But not all of it.”

“No.”

“Okay.”

“Was it less awkward afterwards this time?”

“Well, there was some kissing afterwards but it wasn’t as if we snuggled or anything.”

“And then what happened?”

“She told me that I should probably check my messages and she got dressed and went back to her room.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Of course I reciprocated C.J. Besides, at that point, I don’t think there would have been anything that could have prevented me from reciprocating.”

“So you took charge then?”

“You could say that. I kind of manhandled him.”

“Rode him like a pony?”

“C.J.!” Donna almost spit her drink across the room.

“I’m just saying Donna, that’s what I think of when I think manhandled…”

“Yeah, I know. I forced him onto his back and had my way with him.”

“And was that fun?”

“It was very fun.”

“And was the afterwards better?”

“We kissed a little. Josh was kind of in a daze afterwards, but he kept kissing me.”

“Nice.”

“Well it was better than what we had done afterwards the other times, but then my mind started to race and I started to think of all the things I needed to do and I got all nervous because there wasn’t and election and there wasn’t any reason not to talk to each other about whatever was happening between us and then I started thinking that maybe this thing had happened a third time only because Josh needed some comfort because of Leo and…”

“Hey, hey, slow down. Take a deep breath,”

Donna inhaled deeply and started again, “I just started to doubt every reason I was there and Josh was with me so I told him he needed to check his messages and I left to go back to my hotel room.”

Obviously TBC

After A Mandatory Vacation/Part 8

2006-07-07T14:55:00.000-04:00

Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Everything, especially Election Day II.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: Again, not beta'd. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are below. Again, sorry about how long it has taken to get this up. Please note. This involves a Character Death, although I don't go into it because that's not what this story is about.

"Well C.J., the new numbers came out and they were mostly good too and that's just about when the wheels fell off the wagon."

"In what way?"

"Well, the numbers didn't really make sense. Turnout was down in Vermont and up in Rhode Island. You know, like it always is, things surprised us. And Josh just lost it. I was in the room at the time, on the phone, and I could just see him ramping up and I knew what was happening. So I shut the phone off. Lou fortunately stepped in and Josh came to his senses…"

"How'd she do that?"

"She yelled at him 'til he shut up."

"Wait, that never worked for me."

"I think Lou scares him a little. And yeah, it did work for you."

C.J. smiled, "Yeah, it did work for me."

"Works for me too sometimes."

"Yeah, but you're a softy, you don't tend to yell."

"Very true. Probably why this thing with us is happening. I don't yell at him as much as most women. Anyway, Josh realized he was having a nutty and ran out of the room and onto this part of the roof we had easy access to. I think he was trying to pull himself together."

"And did he?"

"Well, I followed him out there to check on him and I tried to calm him down and get some perspective, which he was sorely lacking. I didn't realize it at the time, but he was only half freaking out about the election."

"What was his other half freaking out about?"

"Well, I know now that he was freaking out about me."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Yeah. I think I finally did calm down. Not well, but I was calmer."

"Donna always did know how to handle you. It was as if she came onto that first campaign and just KNEW, you know."

"I know. But, and not to get mushy here or anything, I think that Donna and I always spent so much time and energy NOT feeling that way about each that we were unsure of how to proceed with each other on a personal level."

"Wow."

"Wow what?" Josh looked confused.

Sam half-smiled and played with the label of his beer. "Wow, that's an awful lot of introspection for Josh Lyman."

Josh smiled back smugly, "I know."

"What has Donna done to you."

"Hey, I'm just happy she *wants* to do stuff to me."

"You know, Josh, don't you think that making lascivious comments about one of my closest friends, perhaps not the best idea?"

"Hey, I would think you would be glad that I'm finally making obvious lascivious comments as opposed to veiled ones like I have for the past nine years."

"Well, to be fair, it's really only been seven, since you were good about the comments before we were elected and you spent the better part of a year without her during the beginnings of the Santos campaign."

"Sam, sometimes you split too many hairs."

"You know, that's not the first time I've heard that."

"Why am I am not surprised."

"Stop turning this back to me. So you were a mess, in part because the election could be won or lost and there was no clear evidence of which it would be and in part because you had finally slept with Donna and still not managed to resolve almost a decade of unresolved sexual tension. But you'd pulled yourself together enough to start being a human being again. Do I have it about right?"

"Sam, if you had been that succinct when you were writing for President Bartlet Toby probably wouldn't have looked like he was going to have an aneurism on a regular basis."

"Well, I've just improved with age."

"Yes, being faced with your own mortality has caused you to drop some of your imagery for the sake a brevity."

"Hey!"

"Okay. Well I actually kept thinking about what Donna had said and I realized there was nothing I could do about the election at least and I started to relax. Actually, thinking back on it now I realized what she said could have easily applied to our relationship at that point."

"What did she say?"

"She said, about the election mind you, that there was nothing left to do but let it run it's course."

"And that could have applied to the two of you as well?"

"Well, at the time I probably didn't think so, but looking back on it now, yeah, I think it did. Anyway, she made me feel better to the point that I even joked around with Donna a little when she didn't save me from talking to some of the transition guys later that night."

"Well that's good."

"No, actually it wasn't. The reason she didn't save me…" Josh paused for a moment, seeming to get chocked up? Sam couldn't quite tell.

"Leo?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Leo."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Well, I know now that he was freaking out about me."

"Of course he was freaking out about you Donna. What were you thinking?"

"C.J., do you remember right before I went to Gaza and we had the lockdown and you told me to do anything that didn't have to do with Josh?"

"Yes. And I'm not sorry I said it. You needed someone to say it to you."

"I know, and you're right, I did. But at the time I thought you meant that Josh didn't think about me the same way I thought of him. I mean I knew he found me attractive on some level, but I figured there was nothing more that that to him."

"I never meant to imply that. I always thought Josh had feelings for you. Inappropriate feelings if you must know. But I also knew he wasn't going to do anything about it if you stayed the way you were, and it made me a little sick that you were so competent and so smart and so good Donna, and he rarely gave you the opportunity to shine."

"You know he tried his best at the time."

"Yeah, well his best sucked."

"Your right. His best did suck. You're never going to get me to disagree with you regarding Josh's inability to move me up in the ranks, but I think there were extenuating circumstances."

"Like what?"

"Well, as it turned out, he was in love with me and being near me at work was better than not being near me at all."

"And look how well that worked out."

"And he sees that now. He realizes why I left and why I needed to leave. And I know now that he has been in love with me for years and was too emotionally stunted to do anything about it, but I didn't know that at the time. So yeah, I should I have realized that sleeping with me might have messed with his head a little bit. And then I just couldn't focus to talk to him about it and I was a little messed up myself and that freaked him out more. But at the time I didn't see it. I just thought it was about the election. So I talked to him about the election and it did calm him down a little bit and he seemed back to the old Josh."

"And then Leo died." C.J. said softly.

"Yes. And I had to tell him Leo had been taken to the hospital."

"Oh. My. God."

"I know. You know, I had to tell him when his father died too."

"I remember that."

"Yeah. He was joking with me right before that too. It was as if things were beginning to be back to normal for us and then…"

"And then you guys had to go to the hospital."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Leo?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Leo."

"Josh, I'm so sorry. I wanted to come for the funeral you know but…"

"Sam, I know. I understand. I really don't want to talk about…it. It's not you, it's just, it's just it's only been three weeks and I'm not sure I'm ready. I will say that Donna drove me to the hospital where we found out that Leo had died and then she spent the next twelve hours just checking on me. Every time I was about to fall into the abyss she was there. She found me at the hospital, she found me when we won Texas, she was by my side when we won the election, she was even there when I didn't think she was. At the end of the night she was there. She took me to bed and got in with me and we went to sleep."

"To sleep?"

"Yeah, She pulled off my shoes and my pants and shirt and then put me under the blankets, got in herself and wrapped herself around me and rubbed my back until I fell asleep. I was so wired I didn't think I would sleep, but somehow between being completely exhausted and Donna stroking my back I did fall asleep for a few hours, which I really needed."

"So no sex..."

"...Just comfort. Then I woke up."

"Then you woke up and what?"

"Then I woke up and she was still there and this time I wasn't afraid to touch her."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"And then you guys had to go to the hospital."

"Yes, and if I thought that Josh was going to lose it before, now he was hanging on by the smallest of threads and I just made sure he was okay. And when the whole election was over and we won I made sure he got some sleep."

"So you went from lets-do-me-Donna to his emotional support system in thirty seconds it sounds like."

"I think so, but it was just really natural, which is odd, because although we've always been there for each other it's been years really since I wanted to be. I don't know what to say, I just wanted to make sure he was okay. I wanted to be there fore him."

"That's because, and Lord knowns I don't understand why, you love him."

"Madly, truly deeply."

"Yeah. I know how that feels. It's nice to hear you talk about it though."

"Thanks. Anyway after it was all over I got Josh to go to bed by crawling in with him..."

"So wait, you mean that aftering being awake for over 24 hours straight and..."

"No, no, no! I mean we went to sleep. Not to 'bed' in some euphamistic fashion."

"You got Josh to go to sleep. That was probably a good idea."

"It was a very good idea. Especially because of what happened when he finally woke up again." Donna grinned.

A Different Perspective

2006-07-05T01:08:00.000-04:00

Rating: G
Spoilers: Everything
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: A few things. First, the Mandatory Vacation series is still being worked on. I'm sorry it's taken so long. I was away with someone else's laptop over the 4th of July weekend and couldn't finish it. Something someone on LJ mentioned in a Fic Bitch thread got me thinking about how Josh's mother viewed her son and the J/D relationship (I think it was Quaggy but I am not sure and if it was you and not Quaggy, please tell me) so I wrote this. I also inserted something from an online conversation I had months ago with DLA. Anyway, think of this as an unscheduled break from Mandatory Vacation and I'll finish it up soon, because there is nothing I hate more than an unfinished serial.

Dear Noah,

Recently I’d been thinking of how we always kept a distance with our son and about why he is the way he is. I suppose our son’s emotional retardation, his need to be taken care of; his need to work until he drops can all be blamed on both you and me. I love our son. I really do. And you know how he can be sweet and wonderful and funny and charming. But he can also be stubborn and rude and selfish and oblivious. For years I have honestly thought we did something wrong given his dedication to his job and seemingly nothing else. I suppose after Joanie died I babied him too much. He was so young when the fire happened, and I just clung to him, the only child left for me.

You took the devastation of loosing a child differently than I had. You had been a partner at your firm for only a few years when it happened. While I took care of my son you threw yourself into work. Twelve hours a day, six days a week. Even if we were on vacation you brought work with you. And your hard work paid off. You ended up becoming the head of the litigation department. So Josh watched as you work and I babied him. I think he obtained some very bad ideas about relationships and what one does as an adult man and woman. I have often wondered how different things would have been if we hadn’t lost his sister. Whether he would be such a workaholic, whether he would have let all those women take care of him by bossing him around? I suppose I’ll never know.

You told me that I had to let him grow up, to not smother him, to not protect him so much, to not do things for him that he could take care of himself. I didn’t listen. Those things I wasn’t able to do for his sister, I wanted to do it twice as much for him because I couldn’t do them for her.

So I let him spend his days studying and playing and watching baseball. I didn’t want him to play contact sports. Our son had cheated death and I didn’t want it to come back and find him again. He had avoided the fire that took our daughter. He was the only one left. I couldn’t bear to let him go.

And he let me care for him. He let dote on him and make sure that everything was good for him. You remember that Josh didn’t have a teenage rebellion. He also didn’t have girlfriends. He went to an all-boys high school but his friends had girlfriends. Not Josh. He simply studied, played baseball, ran track, and was a member of the model UN and student government. He volunteered for the local congressional Democratic candidate, which, in Westport, seemed like a loosing battle. The candidate won. I asked him about girls occasionally. He said he didn’t have time. He was valedictorian of his class and class president. He had many friendly acquaintances; he was downright popular, but not many true friends. You and I wondered if he was a homosexual, but we didn’t talk about it much. You and I didn’t talk about things like that then. I realize now that if I had really noticed the way he looked at the few girls his age he knew, we would have known that wasn’t a problem. Who would have thought that my outgoing son was shy around girls?

He was accepted into Harvard and we were thrilled. Obviously we were happy that all his hard work and extracurricular paid off, but I was loosing my son. You told me I had to let go. I suspect if I had asked Josh to stay he would have. One of his better qualities is his loyalty, but you know that. I was sorely tempted on a number of occasions to tell him to stay, but I let him go. I was such a mess those first few months he was gone. He was a faithful son, calling every Sunday, coming home on the train on weekends sometimes. He always remembered my birthday and Mother’s Day, and for such a busy kid it was lovely that he made the effort. But I desperately missed him. I spent my days worrying about him. You finally convinced me to see an analyst and I spent the next several years dealing with the death of my daughter and my need to cling to my son.

I started to do more volunteer work and allowed Josh to let go of me a little bit. I didn’t spend my Sundays at home, waiting for him to call. And somewhere in there our boy turned into a man. Do you remember how relieved we were when he brought home his girlfriend for a visit during his senior year? We didn’t like her. She was pushy and bossy. Remember that small dark girl with brilliant green eyes? I realize now that she took care of him. She told him what to eat and where to go. She mothered him and nagged him. I know she challenged him but she wasn’t particularly kind. Fortunately she didn’t last. She broke up with him when she left for a consulting job in New York City and he started Yale Law School. He did not seem upset that it had ended.

I would have thought that Josh being so close in law school would have allowed him to come home and visit more often. You made it very clear that I needed to allow him to be a man, a grown-up, and grown-ups don’t come home every weekend or spend their time checking in with their mother. So I started checking in with him. I made sure he was all right, but from a distance. My therapist told me I needed to let him be his own man.

Josh dated a lot in law school, as opposed to high school and college. I could see what the women saw in him. He was almost as handsome as you had been at his age. He was smart and very funny. And those girls he dated. I disliked them all, they were ambitious and pushy, but I also saw the attraction for him. They were smart. They challenged him. They took care of him. Josh was perfectly capable of taking care of himself mind you, but he had no qualms about letting these girls cook for him and clean for him, do his laundry and tell him where to go and what to do instead of doing for himself, and I knew that was my fault. There would come a point in each and every one of these relationships when he would realize he had no interest in being told what to do, his independent streak would finally show itself and the relationship would be over. He would never leave them, he would simply stop being nice to them. He would argue with them and stop allowing them to take care of him. And eventually they would leave him.

And yet I still couldn’t stop mothering him. And he never told me to stop.

I bought him his clothes and shoes. This 23 year old man who spent the summer working for our Congressman, I made sure he had good shoes. I know you would tell me not to, but I would do it on the sly. Josh would tease me about it, but he never said no and I don’t think he ever told you about me buying him clothes.

After graduation he moved to Washington D.C. to work in politics. And you helped him as much as you could. Of course your friend Leo McGarry helped some. And for years Josh’s life was about work. He worked for various Congressmen as an aide, legislative director or chief political strategist, then eventually for John Hoynes, the Senator. He was poised to run Senator Hoynes campaign for President. He had finally collected a few close friends, Sam Seaborne amongst them, and he actively dated women, all of whom were in the same pushy and argumentative model and yet mothering at the same time. These were girls who seemed to bully Josh into dating them, although I’m a mother so I may be a little biased.

We all thought he was a fool when he left Senator Hoynes to work on Jed Bartlet’s presidential campaign. Noah was livid and wanted to know why he was throwing his career away. I remember that you actually called up and yelled at Leo for asking Josh to work on the campaign. But Josh is a bit of an idealist as I’m sure you know, perhaps because I always tried to get him to focus on what should be and not what is. I would blame myself for his sometimes unrealistic view of the world, but I think it’s an admirable quality. I know you were always the pragmatist, but not me. I’m an idealist and I think Josh got a little of that from me.

After Josh turned thirty I would occasionally make comments about wanting him to settle down and give me grandchildren, but generally I did it when I knew he wasn’t dating anyone. As I’ve said now several times, I didn’t like most of the women he dated. None of the women were warm and kind. I wanted him to love someone who would be caring and supportive as well as intelligent and challenging and none of these women were. I know that you were a little sterner with Josh. I know there was at least one conversation between you two about how he needed to find a nice girl and settle down. About how working crazy hours, like you both did and Josh still does, requires a balance in your life and how a wife and kids is part of that balance. I think Josh understood, but he never met anyone who fit the bill, who lived up to his standards. He had stopped even introducing the women he dated to us. Do you know I never once spoke to Mandy Hampton? I knew he dated her throughout the campaign, I knew sometimes when I called him she was there. But Josh never once wanted me to talk to her or wanted her to say ‘hi’. Even when the campaign was in town I saw him, I saw Sam, I even saw Leo, but never once did I see Mandy. I would ask about her and he would shrug it off.

But that was okay. I had met enough of Josh’s girls to know that I didn’t want to meet them. I didn’t want to spend time with them. They didn’t share his sense of humor and love of life, they didn’t care for my son the way I thought they should have, but more importantly, they didn’t seem to make him very happy.

And, as you know, that is when a lovely young woman started working for my son. Donna was competent and sweet. She cared for Josh without bullying him too much (only when she knew it was necessary). She was funny, smart and very, very quick. Initially when I spoke to her on the telephone she was polite but as the weeks wore on we struck up a friendship. She started to feel comfortable enough to ask me about your illness.

It’s so odd to think how we really weren’t worried about it; you know you had a 95% chance of a full recovery. Those seemed like pretty good odds at the time. I knew she left for a few weeks and Josh seemed distracted without her, but then she came back and all was right with the world again. Josh seemed happier than he had in a long time.

And then you died. I don’t think Josh quite believed it had happened and I suspect that he was still in shock when he got home. Like he couldn’t quite believe it; I know I couldn’t. His girlfriend, Mandy, did not join him at your funeral although, apparently, Jed Bartlet offered to come. Did you know that? The man who would be The President offered to come to Connecticut for a campaign staffer’s father’s funeral but the same campaign staffer’s girlfriend couldn’t be bothered. I knew that relationship would go the way of all the others. I was right.

And during that time Donna. When I would call for Josh she would ask me how I was doing and make sure I understood that she was there for my son. I was comforted in the knowledge that he would be cared for...not mothered exactly...but watched over. I knew she would try to make things better.

Josh, of course, just threw himself into his work. He was nothing if not hard working but he doubled his efforts and his assistant worked by his side, learning and growing and changing and supporting. And Josh loved it. He loved teaching her. He loved her energy and her vibrance. And it didn’t hurt, I don’t think, that she was a stunning blonde. He hadn’t actually mentioned that to me. I asked him what his assistant looked like and he said, “I don’t know Mom, like a girl, from Wisconsin. She’s really very dairy.” It was such an odd expression, such an odd way to describe her; I remember it to this day.

And as the weeks went on he would tell me little things about her. Thing he found out or found funny. Her full name was Donnatella, and wasn’t that ridiculous. She had won a specific argument by pointing out some fact he didn’t know or phrased something in a way he had never thought about it before. He was impressed with this girl in her 20s with the sharp wit who had gone to the University of Wisconsin. It wasn’t until years later that I found out she had never graduated. Not that it mattered to me. It clearly didn’t matter to Josh, he thought she was brilliant, although I am sure never said anything. He once commented to me that he thought his assistant was smarter than he was after she had come up with some particularly insightful comment to him when they were discussing debate strategy. I could hardly believe my ego filled son would admit that someone was smarter than he is. If he speaks to you too, don’t tell him I told you that.

And finally I got to meet her when the Bartlet campaign was fundraising in New York. It was the first time I had gone out since you had died. Jenny wasn’t going to come up to be with Leo so he asked me if he could escort me and I was happy to let him. I was tired of being a widow in mourning. Besides, I would get to spend some time with my son. I took the train down and had booked a room for the night at the Waldorf where the fundraiser was so I could stay as late as I wanted. When I got to the door there was this breathtakingly beautiful young woman checking off names. She was quite tall and had very pale skin and very blonde hair. Her green eyes were huge and she had a lovely figure. I didn’t think she could be a model, perhaps she was a dancer, I actually thought for a moment that they had hired a Rockette to do door duty.

But, of course it turned out to be our son’s assistant, you know that, and she gave me that great big smile and told me how pleased she was to meet me. She then turned and shouted, and I mean shouted, our sons name and he came running with a mildly amused and yet somehow disgruntled look on his face wanting to know what ‘she was bothering him for now.’ I think I fell in love with her at that moment.

It’s easier to get a feeling of people after you meet them. Donna and I became fast friends. She was so charming I couldn’t help but ask to myself why Josh couldn’t find a girl like this to settle down with. I mean this one was too young, twelve years his junior, and she was a little Christian for my taste (although I was beginning to think that didn’t matter so much. Now I know it doesn’t, so long as our son is happy), she was also his assistant, but she had the right temperament. She had that interesting balance of steely and soft that some women just inherently have. I know I have it. Josh had always leaned more towards steely and seemed to forget about the soft.

I heard from Josh less and less and the campaign wore on. Then they won, impossibly, and suddenly Josh was up and running, about to be Deputy Chief of Staff to the President of the United States. I was so proud, Noah, you would have been even prouder. And I knew how busy Josh was going to be so I let him work. I didn’t make him come to me; I didn’t impose too many visits with him or on him. But I checked in regularly and his assistant was my co-conspirator in all of this, making sure he ate and slept and didn’t spend too much time in the office. I lived my life through her. I was terribly lonely. I missed you Noah, I missed Josh too, but I knew what Josh was doing was so important.

And then Rosslyn happened.

I arrived in Washington within hours. And Josh’s tall, blonde, gorgeous assistant was standing there in vigil for our dying son, looking like death on a Triscuit. I had lost my daughter, I had lost my husband, and now it looked as if I would loose my son. I was half crazed with fear and grief. Perhaps if I wasn’t I would have noticed that she was too. But I did not. And it didn’t really matter because seeing that I was in need she comforted me. I doubt I was much comfort to her.

And for the next six months she took care of our son, imposing the kind of rules I would have and generally becoming his keeper and her let her. One night she called me up and just cried. I began coming down to Washington for a few days just to give her some days off. I was the only one she would leave him for. And Josh, by some miracle, got better.

Except, as it turned out, he didn’t. He had been permanently damaged emotionally and fortunately she was there to see it. I don’t even like talking about it, but she was there. She was there for the next four years too.

I knew that she was too smart to stay in the job for long. But she stayed long after I would have thought she had left. Josh would occasionally complain to me about the “idiots” she dated, but I thought nothing of it. I thought he was just concerned for her as a friend. I told Josh he needed to give her more to do but Josh took for granted that she would continue to be around. Then one day I received a long email from him about how he was allowing her to go on a CODEL to Gaza and that she would be his eyes and ears. He told me how excited she was. I was thrilled for her, and thrilled that Josh was finally letting her do a little more.

I honestly didn’t know how he felt about her until she was in the car bombing and he flew to her side within hours. I didn’t know he was in love with her until I heard the fear in his voice when he called me from the airport. He was terrified she would die. I knew that. I finally got a clue on why he hadn’t dated anyone since that Amy woman. I met her once you know. I think he was really serious about her. She was better than his other girlfriends but there was something I didn’t like about her. I realize now it was that she was too much like him, there wasn’t enough of a balance.

It was clear to me that he was so in love with her he was paralyzed. I don’t think he had ever felt that way about anyone. You and I never talked much about our feelings. I knew Josh had stopped going to his therapist a few years ago. I only hoped he had finally realized his feelings himself and would talk to her about them. Of course he didn’t, and I didn’t know how to push him to do something he was so clearly afraid of doing.

I called Donna a few times, just to check on her, and she seemed to be doing okay, but Josh just went back to the way things were. Donna came back and they fell into their old pattern again. I tried to talk to him about it, but couldn’t figure out a way to broach the topic. I had spent twenty-five years staying far, far away from our son’s love-life. I couldn’t figure out a way of butting in.

Well, Donna finally left him. I didn’t even know about it until I called him at work and found someone else answering the phone. I asked Josh if Donna was okay. He told me she was. I asked him if she was on vacation. He told me she quit. He was like as spurned boyfriend. I asked him if he had talked to her about it and he said no in that way I knew I shouldn’t push.

He left the White House right after she did you know, going to put Matt Santos into the White House. He and Donna worked on opposite campaigns and I thought it was over. He called me regularly. He was sad and tired and stressed and he needed someone to be there for him. He was using me to replace Donna. At the time I wondered if he had actually told her how he felt and if she had rejected him, but I don’t think that ever happened. And then suddenly, after the primaries and the convention she was back working for him again. I saw her on television as Santos Campaign Spokesperson and I asked him about it. He said someone else had hired her and that he had no say. I pointed out to him that it was the second time she had come to work for him when he hadn’t actually hired her. I think if he wasn’t so distracted and so stressed out he might have found it funny. But he didn’t.

I spoke with him often and told him what my friends were telling me. He thought it was silly, but I know he enjoyed hearing about it. And then the election came and Leo died. I don’t quite understand it, but Leo’s death hit him hard. Harder than your death did. I think everything that happened that day destroyed everything he had left. You see he didn’t just win an election and loose a surrogate father, he and Donna started.

I don’t know the details, and I didn’t ask, but Donna told me that they had finally embarked on something the night before the election. They finally told me about it when Josh called me from Hawaii. Sam had told him he had to go on vacation and he had, and he brought Donna with him. Needless to say I was shocked. Thrilled, but shocked.

It’s been a few months, and Josh seems so much happier and so much more relaxed. Donna cares for Josh, but not too much. He loves his job and he’s working the same crazy hours, but so is Donna. She doesn’t work for him anymore, she’s Chief of Staff for the First Lady, she’s finally come into her own. As good as she was as his assistant she’s better for him as his girlfriend.

I just wanted to let you know Noah, I think he’s going to ask her to marry him. And I think she’s going to say yes. So while I used to think we had done a lousy job with our son I wanted to let you know how well it turned out.

With All My Love,

Your Wife.

What? No Update?

2006-06-26T10:43:00.000-04:00

Yeah yeah yeah...

So I had this huge memo for work due which I was supposed to finish on Friday, but I spent so much time on LJ Keytus and just didn't finish it, so I had to take it home to work on. And so I spent about 10 hours on Sunday working on that.

The previous day I did all of those things you have to do when you work. Laundry, vacuum, dishes, grocery shopping. So no story then either.

And I still might have had some time to work on it except my season 6 DVDs finally came and I HAD to watch them. I mad it up to King Corn (without commentary) before I finally passed out at about 3am last night. Tonight, King Corn (with commentary) and another large chunk of season 6.

When is season 7 coming out again?

After A Mandatory Vacation/Part 7

2006-06-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Everything, especially Election Day I.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: Again, not beta'd. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are below. Sorry it's taken a week.

“Well, we always knew there was some reason Amy came back, and I assumed it wasn’t the camaraderie or how much she liked his sense of humor.”

“Actually, I think she liked arguing with him, but I really don’t want to discuss Amy.”

“Good point. So wait, four times?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, Josh used to brag about his skills but so do most men, so I really thought it was just bravado.”

“Well, I don’t know. I mean we had been thinking about each other for a long time.”

“I know but Donna, four times?”

“Well, if you think about it, it’s not all that extraordinary. I mean once was digitally while he was, um, you know, doing, uh, breast play. Once was, um, orally. And twice when we were…uh…in the act itself.”

“Still, fairly impressive.”

“Yeah. Look, I’m not saying Josh doesn’t have talents, he does, but we were finally, you know, having sex and I was just so in the moment of what we were doing, that we were finally doing it and it wasn’t a one shot deal. I don’t know. It was the moment. It was great, but I think it was as much me as anything.”

“So it’s not that good anymore?”

“No, no, no. I mean it is that good. But it’s calmer. It’s more than just an hour before more exit poll results now. I know he’s going to be there the next day. It’s more relaxed. Relaxed really isn’t the right word but it’s more…”

“Comfortable?” C.J. interrupted, knowingly.

“Yes. Exactly.”

“So after you, uh, relaxed, was it a little less awkward?”

“Not really. A little. There was no post-coital cuddling or anything. We just did everything backwards so I don’t think we had any idea of how to be intimate without the sex. I mean we’ve always had this bright line of what we could do and where we could go. For eight years we worked together and I was his subordinate. We always walked this very fine line. And even though we’d finally gotten comfortable outside of that relationship we hadn’t been hugging or really touching, except for that kiss. I didn’t know what to do.”

“So what? You just lay there not looking at each other?”

"What was I supposed to do. What if I had cuddled up to him and he just froze. I just didn't want to scare him and be that clingy girl. I've been that clingy girl C.J., it's not attractive."

"I know, but Josh didn't give you any kind of indication?"

“Well, no. I think Josh tried as best he could. He offered me some water, which I declined and then he asked if he could turn on the news.”

C.J. just rolled her eyes.

“See, no, that was fine, because the truth is, I wanted to see the news too. He wasn’t the only one who was stressed about the election. I’d never let him know it, but the reason I asked him for sex in the middle of the day is because I was going a little nutty waiting around and analyzing exit polls. I knew he was too, but it was just as much to take my mind off of things as it was to take his mind off of things. And then he made some comment about how this could have been less romantic, he could have brought his blackberry to bed.”

“How would that work?”

“I’m not sure, although if anyone could work a blackberry while having sex, it would be Josh.”

“Planning to test that theory?” C.J. laughed.

“Oh God no!” Donna laughed and threw a throw pillow at C.J. “I don’t want to let him know it’s allowed or he might.”

“Only Josh would bring it up.”

“Well, what I did was worse. I had started obsessing about the Minnesota numbers and I mentioned it to him, so he used the cell and had all the numbers pulled and delivered to him.”

“Oh….kay? It’s like political geek courting. ‘Hey baby, I had a really good time, can I show you some Minnesota exit polls?’ What the hell is wrong with you two?”

Donna giggled again, “Look, it wasn’t ideal. I get that. But if you think about it, it was kind of nice that our heads were both in the same place. Anyway immediately after hanging up the phone we heard a knock on the door…”

“The poll numbers?!”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. But no. It turned out it was just Ronna.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Not really…although it did get a little less awkward after someone knocked on my door.”

“What did they want?”

“Well, gee Sam. I don’t know. Let’s think. I was the campaign manager, so perhaps they needed me for something?”

“Sarcasm doesn’t become you.”

“Yes it does.”

“Just because you have it well practiced, doesn’t mean…” Josh shot Sam a look. “Oh. Okay. It does. That’s true actually. So who was it and what did they want?”

“Hunh?”

“Who was it and what did they want?”

“Oh, um, it was Ronna and she was looking for Donna.”

“So she did not want you.”

“No.”

“So you’re little sarcastic outburst just a moment ago was completely unfounded.”

“Yes.”

“Okay then.”

“Well anyway, Ronna knocked as I hung up and she asked me if I had Donna.”

Sam almost spat his drink out. “Wait, I thought you were being all secret…”

“We were. We don’t think she actually knew Donna was there at the time. She was just knocking on every door because she couldn’t find Donna and Donna didn’t have her phone with her.”

“Okay.”

“But I was understandably…”

“Kerflumoxed?”

“How many years have you been a writer?”

“I think that’s a quite suitable word for it. Is it incorrect?”

“No. I was kerflumoxed. It was sad. Anyway it cracked Donna up and I went racing around my room trying to throw some clothes on so I could answer the door. So there’s Donna, flinging me my boxers with her toes…”

“With her toes?!”

“Yeah, and me trying to get my shirt on and then there’s another person at the door yelling that she has the Minnesota numbers I was looking for not two minutes ago and with Donna laughing, I’m laughing, figuring that we got caught and, it’s funny because I really didn’t care so much at that moment, and I finally get to the door and no one’s there…but the Minnesota numbers are on the floor. So Ronna had said that Donna was needed to do spin and by the time I pick up the numbers and walk back to the bed Donna’s already up and getting dressed and she smiled at me, straightened herself out, kissed me on the cheek and left.”

“Kerflumoxed?”

“Oh Sam, totally and completely kerflumoxed.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“It turned out it was just Ronna.”

“What did she want?”

Donna smiled her broad smile, “Oh C.J., you should have been there. I mean I’m glad you weren’t because THAT would have been awkward, but Josh got this look on his face like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. So it was Ronna was knocking, looking for me and Ronna asked Josh if he ‘had’ me. Now he’s getting dressed as quickly as possible and his voice goes up like three octaves and says ‘have her?’ you know how he does when you’ve called him on something. Anyway I just started to laugh and then he started to laugh. As it turns out Lou needed me to do spin on MSNBC. So Josh is throwing on a shirt and then there is another knock on the door and it’s Edie with the Minnesota numbers. C.J., I was dying. We’re so clearly caught and I just didn’t care. Josh finally gets himself together enough to get to the door and I realize I need to get dressed and fix my make-up so I can go on TV. Anyway I got dressed quickly and Josh comes back in with the numbers and I give him a kiss on the cheek and I leave.”

“Well, I’m glad I wasn’t there but it sounds like it was a good thing.”

“Yes, it was. I think it gave us a comfort level we had been missing.”

“So what was the rest of the day like?”

“Well, my day was going well. I had de-stressed a little, the election was going along. We won South Carolina, but at the time it looked like we might get a couple of states in the south. So, as Lou said, there was cautious optimism.”

“But Josh…?”

“Well C.J., the new numbers came out and they were mostly good too and that’s just about when the wheels fell off the wagon.”

• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Oh Sam, totally and completely kerflumoxed.”

“Well, you seemed to have unkerfluxmoxed yourself well.”

“Okay, now I know that’s not really a word.”

“Sure it is.”

“Sam, I’m getting the dictionary…”

“Look, if Lewis Carroll can make up words, then so can I. I am a wordsmith. Creating words is my forte.”

“And I flew across the country to hire YOU?”

“Hey, I don’t question your judgment. You’re the boss.”

Josh smiled wistfully, thinking back to someone he, until very recently, called boss. “Yeah. Anyway she leaves and I, once again, have nothing to do.”

“Oh, I remember what you were like during the last election, and we won by a lot then…so you were just…”

“Donna has since referred to it as my ‘stress puppy’ phase.”

“Oh, that’s just disgusting. But kind of sweet.”

Josh smiled again. “Yeah. I actually think it’s sort of cute.” He then put his game face back on. “So we keep getting numbers and they don’t make sense and it’s early evening and the actual numbers are going to start coming in and I had a bit of a freak-out over them and finally I ran out of the room.”

“And Donna found you?”

“Donna came after me to make sure I was okay.” Josh smiled.

“Were you okay?”

“Not really. The election was so close and I was so stressed out about that and then I had just done this thing with Donna…twice in 24 hours and I had no idea how to talk to her about it, and I certainly couldn’t talk to her about it then. I didn’t even think she wanted to talk about it at the time. I had no idea where I stood with her. So there were these two huge things just hanging over me and I felt like I couldn’t breath.”

“And Donna chased after you.”

“Yeah.”

“And did she talk to you.”

“You know how Donna is. She calmed me down. Said the things I needed to hear about the election. And as I was standing there, listening to her say the things I needed to hear, just listening to her voice, I realized she followed me out because she cared about me. I needed to calm down a little, not just for my sake, but for her sake too. I didn't want her to worry.”

“And did you?”

“Yeah. I think I finally did calm down. I was exhausted, but I was calmer.”

TBC

The Worst Opening To The Worst Fic Ever...

2006-06-19T18:12:00.000-04:00

Okay, I have some 'splaining to do. I was having a discussion about all the bad, cliche things that go into various FFs and what I like and what I don't and we kept going round and round on what kinds of things you could put into a fan fic to make it bad. And I came up with this:

She hadn't seen him in over 20 years. Joining the convent after the Bartlet Administration had meant taking a vow of silence. A vow she hadn't broken in that same time frame. Josh, using his cane, a patch over his eye, saw her from a distance, even with his lack of depth perception. Regardless, even in her wimple he could tell it was she. "Donnatella!" he cried from accross the courtyard and she stopped. Recognizing the voice, her eyes welled up and she began to sob silently.

Anyway, I caused myself to go into a fit of giggles, which is quite sad.

So, real life has been beating me up again, my sister is in town tomorrow and
I have house guests and so obviously part 7 isn't up. In the meantime I
actually came up with another idea I started working on in the subway this
morning so I have not forgotten and I swear I will finish. As we were
discussing in out conversation on Fan Fic pet peeves, no Unfinished stories for
me...even if we all know how it ends

After A Mandatory Vacation/Part 6

2006-06-15T21:57:00.000-04:00

Rating: PG-13 ish
Spoilers: Everything, especially Election Day I.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: Again, not beta'd. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are below.

“They would probably have thought they were his.” C.J. said with a laugh.

“Well, fortunately no one found them and I was able to get back to my room and shower and change right before the 7am official polls opening.”

“There is nothing worse than wearing yesterday’s underwear.”

“Well, I think there are a few things that actually are worse C.J., but it didn’t matter, I was only a few doors down from the war room so I bumped into Josh on the way to it and it was still really awkward.”

“What did he say?”

“Oh, he told me that lots of people would be doing the ‘walk of shame’ that morning.”

“My God Josh can be…”

“Yeah, he really can be. You know I get to tease him about it for the next several months at least.”

“Years. Not months. Was he a mess of energy? I remember during the re-election…”

“Yeah, back then I asked him what it would take to get him to go to the movies for eight hours. It didn’t work. This time I thought sex might work.”

“Wait so you…”

“Yeah, after we got the first exit polls at about noon, I propositioned him again.”

“And I assume he said…”

“He didn’t so much as say anything as his eyebrows flew off his forehead and he made a bee-line for the door.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Then Donna handed me my coffee and asked if I had found her pantyhose."

“Well did you?”

“No. Actually, I never found her pantyhose. I wonder what happened to them?”

“Perhaps housekeeping threw them out?”

“Oh, hey, you’re probably right.”

“So when did you finally talk to Donna about the previous night’s escapades?”

“Um…Hawaii…sort of.”

“Wait, it’s election day, there is nothing to do...I know you…you drive people crazy on election day, and you don’t take Donna aside and say, ‘Hey, Donna, really liked the sex, we should do that again. I’m enjoying this new direction our relationship is taking’?”

“That’s as eloquent as you could get?”

“No. That’s probably as eloquent as you could get. I was being you.”

“Thanks.”

“Any time.”

“Anyway, I was busy.”

“No you weren’t.”

“Yes I was, I had to give a pep talk to everyone before the polls opened and then check out the ballroom and then…”

“You had nothing to do.”

“Well, the first exit polls came out at around noon so I had to check those out. And before that I was trying to give Donna some space.”

“Did Donna say she needed space?”

“No.”

“Did you need space?”

“I needed much less space.”

“So why did you give her space? I don’t understand how you can know Donna so well and…”

“What, I can’t read her mind! I’ve never been able to tell what she’s thinking!”

“Josh!”

“Sam! Seriously. Did you know that she’s been in love with me for years!”

“Yes.”

“You knew!”

“Yes. Everyone knew.”

“Everyone?”

“Maybe…hmmm…I’m trying to think of someone who didn’t know you were in love with each other and, yeah, I’m drawing a blank.”

“Well could SOMEONE have clued me into that one, because I had no idea that while I was, well, you know, she was doing the same for me. I can never tell what she’s thinking and when I do she suddenly changes the topic so quickly. How the hell was I supposed to know.”

“I’m sorry Josh, I didn’t know you could know someone as well as you know Donna and not be clued into it. But we digress. After you over analyzed those and spent probably 30 minutes looking at them then what did you do.”

Josh grinned and finished his beer. “Well, I only spent about three minutes overanalyzing them. But the next thing I did was Donna.”

“I’m sorry?”

“After I reviewed the exit polls Donna and I, uh…”

“Wait, you hadn’t talked to her about the previous night, things were really awkward, any time you open your mouth you inserted a foot, perhaps even a whole leg, into your mouth, you looked at the exit polls and she was willing to sleep with you again?”

“Um, willing isn’t the word I would have used…”

“Well what word would you have used? Unwilling? Because if you did anything to Donna, who is one of my best friends…”

“Okay, first, I thought I was one of your best friends! And I’ve known you longer so I win. And second, the word I was going to use was ‘eager’.”

“You do not win and I find it hard to believe that after your behavior she would want to sleep with you again.”

“Hey, it shocked the hell out of me, but there we were looking at polling data and she hit on me. I’m not kidding.”

“Really?”

“Ask her!”

“I will.”

“No, don’t, it’s embarrassing.”

“I wouldn’t be obvious.”

“You couldn’t help it. You’re captain obvious from the planet obviosity. You’re idea of tact and subtlety is non-existent.” Josh paused. “Okay, fine, you can ask her. But not when I’m around.”

“Compared to you I’m suave and smooth and clever Josh. So, how was it, you know, the second time?”

“How did you think it was?”

“Good?”

“Understatement.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“He didn’t so much as say anything as his eyebrows flew off his forehead and he made a bee-line for the door.”

“So was it good the second time?”

“I must say, a little sleep and sex less than twelve hours before certainly improved the situation. And it wasn’t a bad situation before. I want to make that clear.”

“But the situation improved.”

“Holy crap C.J. it really really improved. How drunk are you?”

“Drunk enough to hear details.”

“Okay. So we went back to his room again and when we got in the door and he locked it again and he took his time. I’ve never known Josh to be patient. It’s not his style. I’ve also never known him to be quiet, but he was silent and methodical. At first he just kissed me and his hands slowly just skimmed my body. He has very talented hands C.J.”

“So it was good then.”

“No, it was better than that. He was just, slow, methodical and he wouldn’t let me participate initially. I was able to get his shirt off and throw it on the bed but it was like he was worshiping me or something. He spent a good 10 minutes just on my breasts, on seeing what excited me. It was as if the desperate kissing of the night before had been a mistake on his part and now he wanted to discover. It was, holy shit C.J., it was pretty amazing.”

“And you…”

“I am not kidding you when I say this, four times.”

“Well, we always knew there was some reason Amy came back, and I assumed it wasn’t the camaraderie or how much she liked his sense of humor.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Understatement.”

“Understatement?”

“Understatement.”

“What kind of understatement.”

“Okay, you know how if you’ve been thinking about something for a long time, building it up in your mind, it can be disappointing?”

“Sure.”

“Well our first night together was great, amazing, unbelievable. But it was also disappointing.”

“How so?”

“Because I just didn’t have the self control to do all the things I wanted to do with her.”

“And the next day you did.”

“Exactly.”

Sam half-smiled, “So what did you do?”

“I…I didn’t know how long I had, or how many opportunities I would have in the future to discover what she liked. So I decided to plan a strategy, quickly mind you, it only took us about two minutes until we were back in my room,, to determine what the best course of action would be.”

“So foreplay.”

“Lots of foreplay. Mostly foreplay. Can I just say…four times.”

“What four times?”

“Sam.”

“What?”

“Sam. Four. Times.”

“Josh I…oh. Really?”

“Yeah. I mean I was good.”

“So, wow, okay. Good for Donna too.”

Josh just smiled and looked down.

“So, afterwards, was it less awkward?”

Josh laughed, “Not really…although it did get a little less awkward after someone knocked on my door.”

TBC

After A Mandatory Vacation/Part 5

2006-06-12T20:07:00.000-04:00

Rating: PG
Spoilers: Everything, especially Election Day I.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: Again, not beta'd. Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 are below. Also, thanks to Rent, for pointing out a terrible editing mistake I made, which I am now fixing.

“Up until Election Day it was the best sex of my life.”

“Up until Election Day?”

“Yeah. After that the sex…well…it’s kept improving by factorial proportions.”

“That’s impressive.”

“I think so. Although it had very little to do with me.”

“You’re admitting that?”

“Of course I’m admitting that.”

“It’s just not very Josh-like. Normally I would expect you to be talking about your prowess and telling me how many times she climaxed and how you were some sort of amazing sex stud.” Sam smiled wryly.

“Oh, I’m not saying that any of that isn’t true, I’m just saying that Donna inspires me. I may be Da Vinci, but she’s my Mona Lisa.”

Sam cracked up.

“What!”

“So Da Vinci,” Sam said still grinning, “after the incredible sex on the night before Election Day, what happened next?”

“What next? I fell asleep.”

“You fell asleep?”

“I was tired!”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“It was good and it had the potential for greatness.”

“Really, because I kind of expected…”

“What, Fireworks?”

“Supernova.”

“Well, neither of us had much sleep in the past several weeks. I think the last time I had even four uninterrupted hours of sleep had been the night we kissed. Neither of us had been with anyone in, well, as embarrassing as this sounds, years.”

“Wait, years?”

“Well for Josh, yeah, years. Like two and a half. For me, more like a year and a half.”

“I would make some comment about that but since my sex life had been just about as bad as Josh’s I really can’t.”

“Thank you. Anyway, it was good. My needs were met. It was relatively fast but satisfying. It wasn’t until later that I realized he had some exceptional skills but at the time I assumed he wasn’t in top form anyway. And then he fell asleep.”

“He fell asleep?”

“Yeah.”

“Not during…”

“No, no, no! After we were done he kissed me a few more times, rolled over on his side of the bed, threw out the condom we had been using, made this really big sigh and a few moments later he started to snore.”

“Men!”

“I know right!” Donna laughed.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“I was tired!”

“I know, but seriously Josh, you fell asleep.”

“I didn’t really intend to, it just happened.”

“It just happened.”

“Sam, I’d been getting no sleep. I was under a tremendous amount of stress and I hadn’t had sex with anyone since Pangaea was still in existence. It wasn’t intentional, but I threw out the condom, laid back, closed my eyes and then I remember nothing for about two and a half hours.”

“What happened in two and a half hours?”

“I woke up. At first I thought it was all a dream.”

“Did you dream about sex with Donna often?”

“More then I should have.”

Sam grinned, “Josh, how long have you been having sex dreams about Donna?”

“Sam, I’m a guy, I have sex dreams about women. Pretty much if it has legs and breasts and is vaguely attractive I’ll dream about it. Even women I have truly no interest in.”

Sam didn’t look up. He paused for a moment. “But you dreamt about Donna the most, didn’t you.”

Josh smiled at his friend and fiddled with the label on his beer, then his look took a serious turn and his smile faded, “Sam, every fucking night for the past two years. I never got a break.”

“So you thought it had been a dream?”

“A really vivid dream, for a few moments, yes, I did. Then I realize it wasn’t a dream. I turned over and I could see Donna’s naked back to me, which is gorgeous by the way, and all I wanted to do was have sex with her again. I couldn’t believe she was still there.”

“So did you?”

“Did I what?”

“Did you have sex with her again?”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Men!”

“I know right!” Donna laughed. “But seriously, I wasn’t offended. I actually felt pretty good about myself. I mean he had been so stressed and I knew how little he had been sleeping. I actually took it as a complement. I might have liked a little conversation afterwards, but I understood and I was tired too, so I turned over and, even with the snoring, I feel asleep fairly quickly.”

“Okay. So did you talk when you woke up?”

“Uh. No.”

“No?”

“Well, it was about three in the morning and I woke up and I started to think about the election, so I got up, and I tried to do it really quietly so I didn’t wake Josh up, and I grabbed my clothes and went into the bathroom which is where Josh had his laptop set up because I wanted to check the wires. I was getting my clothes on, the room was a little chilly, and checking the AP when Josh just sort of barged in…I’m glad I didn’t need to pee…and he was a complete idiot.”

“Oh God, how was he an idiot this time?”

“Well, he told me I didn’t have to leave.”

“Were you planning on leaving?”

“No.”

C.J. rolled her eyes.

“I know. Then he told me I didn’t have to sneak out.”

“Oh Christ!”

“Then he told me he didn’t want to make this awkward. Although he then acknowledged he just had.”

“Donna…I don’t…I can’t even…oh God.”

“I know. Instead of smacking him I decided to actually turn back to the AP site and he just sort of hovered over me, which annoyed me even more so I decided I needed to get us coffee so I turned around and told him that. So he asked me how I was feeling with this stupid look on his face. I think if he had started with that I would have melted, but after accusing me sneaking out and then the awkward comment I knew I needed a minute or I would say something really inappropriate.”

“Wow, okay.”

“The funny thing is, looking back on it and knowing what I know, I probably should have just called him on it. It was awkward and if I had just told him he was being an idiot and kissed him he would have gotten over it. But I ended up leaving and getting us coffee.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Did you have sex with her again?”

“Obviously.”

“No. I meant then…when you woke up?”

“When I woke up, uh, no. I was strategizing, trying to figure out what to do. I’d never slept with her before. I didn’t know that she likes being woken up for morning sex.”

“Okay, but you know that now? And two thirty in the morning isn’t morning sex. It’s middle of the night sex.”

“I was on vacation with Donna for a week, so yeah, I can attest to the fact that she likes morning sex and I can’t believe I just told you that so don’t tell Donna I did, okay?”

“Okay. But still, you were lying in bed thinking about having sex with Donna, what happened?”

“She got up and went to the bathroom.”

“So she was awake then.”

“Yeah. And I was afraid she was going to leave, so I threw on some clothes and followed her.”

“Into the bathroom?”

“Yeah, I suppose I should have knocked.”

“You didn’t knock?”

“Well, she left the door open a crack, and she was getting dressed so it’s not like I barged in on her doing anything…”

“Josh, it was the bathroom!”

“Yeah, okay, I know, not my smoothest move.”

“Very possibly your least smooth move.”

“Ah ha! Got you there! Because I think my least smooth move was what came next…”

“Josh?”

“Yeah, I know. I told her she didn’t have to leave and she said she wasn’t, then I told her she didn’t have to sneak out and she said she wasn’t planning on it, then I told her I didn’t want to make things awkward, which, of course, I was and then I mentioned that.”

“How did you get so far in politics again?”

“Well, fortunately I don’t have to sleep with any senators after knowing them for eight and a half years and lusting after them for nearly that long so I don’t think it compares.”

“So what was she doing getting dressed in the bathroom?”

“Oh, she was checking the wires and she was getting dressed because she was cold. So I figured if she was up and I was up, maybe we could, you know…”

“Didn’t you think it might be a good idea to have a conversation with her about what you guys had just done?”

“No. Until you brought it up just now…hmmmm…that actually would have been a good idea.”

“Okay.”

“Anyway, so I grabbed a little toothpaste out of the tube so she wouldn’t have to kiss mourning breath because I’m a conscientious guy like that…but she noticed me and gave me a look. Anyway then I started reading the wires over he shoulder. So she turned around and asked if she could get coffee for us, which I thought was weird so I asked her how she was feeling…”

“You should have opened with that.”

“Okay, but I didn’t. So anyway she left and got coffee for us.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“But I ended up leaving and getting us coffee.”

“Okay.”

“Anyway, do you have any idea how hard it is to try and track down a cup of coffee at 3:15 in the morning? In Houston? Took me a good 15 minutes. This turned out to be a good thing. I calmed myself down and realized, yeah, Josh is really bad at this. And because he’s bad at this he says and does stupid things. And because he was being so bad at it, it put all my hackles up…”

“Hackles?”

“Yeah, I got put on the defensive. Anyway, a few minutes of thinking about it made me realize that what I need to do was to go back to Josh with the coffee and let him know that I wanted to be with him, that I wasn’t sneaking out and that it wasn’t, initially, awkward to me.”

“And you told him all of that when you got back.”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“Why the hell not!”

“Because when I got back there were about a half-dozen staffers sitting in Josh’s room working.”

“He invited people into the room?!”

“No, apparently, after I left, no one could sleep, so they invited themselves and Josh couldn’t think of a reason to say ‘no’”

“He really is…”

“Yeah, I think he’d be the first one to agree with you on that one. Anyway I gave Josh his coffee and then asked him, quietly, if he had found my pantyhose.”

“Why so much concern over your pantyhose?”

“Because what do you think someone would have said if they found a pair of used pantyhose in Josh’s room?”

“Well, they might assume that he had a campaign fling…”

Donna cocked an eyebrow at C.J. and gave her a look.

“Yeah, they would probably have thought they were his.” C.J. said with a laugh.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“So anyway she left and got coffee for us.”

"Wait, so she got your coffee?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't she?"

"She never gets you coffee?"

"Yes she does?"

"Look, I distinctly remember her getting you coffee once when she thought you were about to be fired and you went a little nutty on her."

"Sam that was years ago. She never fetched me coffee just because I wanted some, I wouldn't ask her anyway, but she will bring me coffee if she's getting some for herself."

"How long has that been going on?"

"Uh, I don't know, four years? She wandered into my office after there-election, I don't even think we had the second inauguration yet and she said something about how she felt rude that she didn't get me coffee when she went and got some for herself and...I don't know, I wasn't really listening, she was babbling about manners and equality and reciprocity and from then on, when she went to the mess or Starbucks or the guy on the corner and I was around she would ask me if I wanted coffee."

"Reciprocity? So was this in response to something you did?"

"It was four years ago. How the hell should I know?"

"Well, you used the word reciprocity which means she's reciprocating some action on your part."

"I may have brought her coffee and a blueberry bagel that morning."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Why not?"

"Hmmmm...Okay."

"I should have never brought her the bagel. I mean really, blueberry, it's like I'm enabling her habit or something."

"What's wrong with blueberry bagels? I like them?"

"California!" Josh spat it out as if it were a curse, but then smiled immediately afterwards, letting Sam know he was teasing.

"Okay, so sometime after I left the White House the inherent nature of the Joshua Lyman/Donnatella Moss relationship changed dramatically and she began getting you coffee. The world did not spin off of it's axis, the planets did not collide, and it had been happening for so many years that it became common place for her to run out and get you coffee. Sorry, I just needed a moment to deal with my altered world view. Continue."

"So she went out to get us coffee and I had a few minutes to compose myself and realized I had gone about this all wrong and I needed to pull myself together and just talk to her."

"What were you planning on saying?" Sam asked with a smirk.

"Oh hell, probably something about how I'd wanted to do that for a while and that I wanted to do it again and I was happy about the whole thing. In truth I'm sure it would have sounded awkward and horrible."

"But you never said it? You chickened out? Should I start making bucking noises now?"

"No. There was a knock on the door. I assumed it was Donna but it was not. In was Ronna. A bunch of the staffers couldn't sleep andthe war room wouldn't be open for a few more hours and they wanted to know if they could set up in my room if I wasn't sleeping, which I obviously wasn't because I had the lights on and I had answered my door in like ten seconds because I thought it was Donna. I couldn't figure out a way to say 'no' so I invited them in."

"So when Donna came back..."

"There were a half dozen people in the room and I tried to convey to her how completely unhappy I was about it..."

"Oh jeez. How are you so bad at this? I thought I was bad at this, but you, you really deserve some Olympic metal or Nobel prize for sucking at this so thoroughly."

"Yeah. Then Donna handed me my coffee and asked if I had found her pantyhose."

TBC

After A Mandatory Vacation/Part 4

2006-06-10T23:00:00.000-04:00

Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Everything, especially Election Day I.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: Again, not beta'd. Parts 1, 2 and 3 are below

“She pressed the button for my floor.”

“Well, I would say that’s a sign.”

“Yeah. I felt like I should do something in the elevator but her back was to me and she didn’t turn around. She was silent. It was…strained.”

“Okay, so a strained ride in the elevator…”

“And then we walked quickly to my room. She led the way.”

“She knew where your room was?”

“You know what it’s like during a campaign. Everyone knows where everyone is. I mean during Bartlet for America, you would have know where Leo’s room was, right?”

“I guess I would have.”

“Anyway we got to the door to my room and she held out her hand.”

“Why would she do that?”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“…I found it incredibly sexy.”

“Okay. Yuck.”

“C.J., how detailed do you want this to be?”

“I don’t know. I want to know as much as possible, but then again, it’s Josh so…”

“Yeah. I think you might need to refill your wine glass if we’re going to go into this with any detail.”

C.J. took the suggestion to heart and refilled her glass for the third time. She drained it and filled it again.

“There,” C.J. said, “I think that should do it, continue.”

Donna looked at C.J. out of the corner of her eye and smiled at the way she had remedied the 'didn't want to know about Josh that way' problem. “Okay, so we didn’t even look at each other in the elevator. I was terribly nervous. I’m sure he was too. He started rocking on his heels like he does. The elevator arrived and we got out and silently walked to his room and then I reached my hand out for his room key-card.”

“Why?”

“He’s terrible with them. I don’t understand how a man who has spent so much time in hotels over the course of his adult life can not manage to open a hotel door with a key card. It’s preposterous. Anyway I held my hand out for the key and he handed it to me and I opened his door and let him go first.”

“Okay.”

“So I walked into the room after him and there we were, just looking at each other for a moment. I don’t think either of us wanted to make the first move. And the door closed and Josh went over to lock it. And we were just standing there, staring at each other, not sure what either of us should do next.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Why would she do that?”

“She wanted to get the door open.”

“And why couldn’t you open the door?”

“I could get the door open. It just would have taken…longer.”

“How long have you been staying in hotels and you still can’t work the…”

“Yeah, I’m better than I used to be. Leave me alone.”

“Fine.”

“I just don’t understand what the problem with regular, solid, metal keys is…I mean they’re easy to work, people have used them for hundreds of years, why can’t we just use regular ordinary…”

“…Keys. Got it. Because we don’t.”

Josh sighed and took another beer. Sam did too.

“Fine. So she opened the door.” Josh cocked and eyebrow and looked over at Sam to see if he was going to make another comment, Sam just looked at Josh and nodded while drinking from his own bottle. Noting that Sam wanted him to continue, he did. “Anyway when it closed I locked it, just so no one would come in…like the last time.”

“You know normally when those doors close they lock on their own.”

“Yes, but given what had happened three weeks ago I didn’t want to take any chances.”

“Good point.”

“I think so. Anyway I locked the door and then we were just standing there, staring at each other for a moment. So I walked up to her and I kissed her kind of, gently.”

“Okay.”

“And I’m not really sure what happened but suddenly her arms were wrapped around my head and she was pulling me in to her. As amazing as the kiss we had three weeks before, this was better. Anyway I think I got a little to in to it because the next thing I realized I had her pressed against the wall.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“And we were just standing there, staring at each other, not sure what either of us should do next.” “So who finally made the first move?”

“Fortunately he did. He kind of tentatively approached me and gave me this almost chaste kiss. It was like he was afraid to overstep his bounds or something. So I grabbed his neck and brought him closer and suddenly I found myself pressed against the wall and he was feeling me up. It was actually kind of fun.”

“I don’t know, sounds a bit…”

“Desperate?”

“I was actually going to go with ‘horny-teenage-boy’ but desperate will work too.”

“It was a little but, you know, it’s nice to be wanted that much.”

“I suppose…”

“Trust me, it was very…I’m searching for the right word here C.J. I guess it was, I don’t know, passionate seems trite, but that’s what it was.”

“Well, I suppose he’s passionate about politics, no reason to think he wouldn’t be passionate about sex too.”

“Yes. Very true. So we made out with my pressed against the wall for a good five minutes our hands pretty much all over the place until I finally…uh…”

“I think the phrase your searching for is 'touched him.'”

“Well I was touching him…”

“No, I meant touched him. You know…lower.” C.J. raised her eyebrows.

Donna stared at C.J. a little and then burst out laughing. “Oh, this is just too awkward!” She said as she recovered.

“Oh, c’mon!”

“No, I’m sorry, you’ve had three and a half glasses of wine to my two and I am NOT drunk enough to go into specific details.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“…the next thing I realized I had her pressed against the wall.”

“Wow.”

“That’s what I was thinking.” Josh smirked. “So anyway, there she was pressed against the wall and we were, um, going at each other for a while and she, uh, touched me.”

“I assumed with the kissing you were…”

“No, I mean she touched me.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway, I suddenly needed to see her naked. You know, it had been a while. So I broke away and we sort of looked at each other for a moment. I don’t think either of us could quite believe what was going on. And she took my hand and brought me to the middle of the room and then started to undress. So I did too. And just like that, we were naked.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“…I am NOT drunk enough to go into specific details.”

“Well, drink up, because I am certainly drunk enough to hear them.”

Donna finished off her glass of wine and poured another one. “Okay, so after I touched him he pulled away. We were panting and he was giving me this, oh God C.J., it’s this look he’s given me a thousand times before. When I was tying his tie or wearing some great dress or, I don’t know, I’ve seen that look before and I never really knew what it meant and suddenly I knew. So I took him by the hand and lead him to the middle of the room and undressed for him while he watched and then he undressed and we just fell onto the bed totally naked.”

“Okay but was there any…”

“Foreplay. Absolutely none. Unless you count the make-out session against the wall. I really didn’t need any at that point. I just wanted to consummate. I just wanted all the tension over.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“…And just like that, we were naked.”

“Okay…”

“Then we were in bed and we…you know…and it was possibly the most heated, sublime, exceptional experience I have ever had with a woman.”

“Best sex you ever had?”

“Up until that point. Yes. Up until Election Day it was the best sex of my life.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“But how was the actual sex.”

“Sweaty, frenetic, good.”

“But not great?”

“Great came later. But that first time, no. It was good and it had the potential for greatness.”

TBC

After a Mandatory Vacation/Part 3

2006-06-07T22:06:00.000-04:00

TBC

After A Mandatory Vacation/Part 2

2006-06-03T23:54:00.000-04:00

Rating: PG
Spoilers: Everything, especially The Cold.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: I kept getting comments from people asking me to write more on the 7 Days in Hawaii Series. RENTYPOO specifically suggested I write about the conversations that Donna and Josh had with others. It'll get dirty later and this is just the beginning. Please let me know what you think. It has not been beta'd. Please see the first installment if you haven't already read it.

C.J. looked up from her wine glass and noticed that Donna now had a half smile and far away look in her eye.

“So he pulled back, but his hands were still on my neck and my hands were still on him and he didn’t let go. It was weird. He just started looking at me…I don’t know…like he…” Donna paused.

“Like what?”

“Have you ever seen the look on a person’s face when they’ve just decided to do something, sexual, that they’ve been thinking about for a while?”

C.J. thought of Danny and smiled, “I am familiar with that face.”

“That was the look he got C.J. And suddenly we were kissing. I mean really kissing.”

“Like with tongue?”

“C.J.!”

“What, I wanted details! I need details! You promised to spill, so spill!”

Donna sighed, “Okay, I’m not sure who instigated the second kiss. I just know he was looking at me like that and making me feel…you know…and suddenly his lips were on mine again, and his hands were tracing my jaw line and it was the perfect amount of pressure and I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him closer and, swear to God C.J., had the door been totally closed while we were kissing and no one had barged in on us, I think we would have had sex right there on the floor.”

“Really?”

“Really. But Matthew Santos called Josh’s name right before he opened the door and we fortunately hadn’t been deafened by the kiss so we broke apart. So that was the odd moment.”

“But the kiss was good?”

“C.J., the kiss was spectacular.”

“And knowing you, and knowing Josh, you guys didn’t talk about it.”

“Actually, you’d have been very proud of him C.J., he did talk about it.”

“Really?”

“No. But he apologized.”

“Excuse me?”

“Yeah, it was the saddest apology I have ever seen. One of those Josh Lyman, ‘I know I should be saying this thing I’m saying right now but I’m not sorry’ apology. He kept telling me it was inappropriate. Not that he didn’t enjoy it. Not that he didn’t think it was the best kiss of his life. But that it was inappropriate.”

C.J. just rolled her eyes and went back to her wine.

“I know. But you know C.J., I know him pretty well. So I just told him it was no big deal and it was bound to happen sometime.”

“Oh, that was mean.”

Donna got that grin on her face, the evil one that she got when she knew she had done something both wrong and right. “C.J., you should have seen the look on his face. If I had a camera with me I would have taken a picture and emailed it to you. It could have been your screen saver or something.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“And she kissed back.”

Josh looked at his friend and grinned. “She sure did.”

“And it was a good kiss?”

“Sam, I don’t even know how to describe how good it was. I mean it was good to start with but she just kind of took control of it and…oh my God…”

“I’m not surprised.”

“Looking back, neither am I, but at the time I was totally shocked. I thought she was still mad at me.”

“For what?”

“For holding her back, for hurting her, for not being the person she wanted me to be. I don’t know. Anyway, I realized it was inappropriate and so later that day I apologized to her.”

Sam shook his head, “You didn’t…”

“I did.”

“And you still live?”

“I don’t think she took me very seriously.”

“Donna’s not stupid.”

“Yeah. She told me it was going to happen eventually or something like that and just walked away.”

“She was right.”

“Sam, she was not right. I had done everything not to be inappropriate with her. I had made sure that I was nothing if not professional.”

“Didn’t you send her flowers for no apparent reasons? Didn’t you once make her dress up like an East German cocktail waitress? Haven’t you spent years sabotaging…”

“Okay, so I was a little unprofessional, but it’s not like I ever went for an ass-grab!”

“Josh, while I appreciate that you think that, do you really think that if something had happened to, oh, I don’t know, Carol while on official White House business C.J. would have dropped everything and flown to her bedside 4,000 miles away?”

“No.” Josh looked resigned.

“So maybe, just maybe, you’ll agree with me when I say that, perhaps, Donna was correct when she said it was bound to happen sometime.”

“Yeah.” Josh fingered the lip of his bottle and stared hard at the floor.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“A Josh Lyman screen-saver, even if it is one where his face is in complete shock, is not my idea of fine computer decor.” C.J. smiled at Donna.

“I suppose, it’s mine though.” Donna smiled.

“So, not to keep you on track or anything, but what happened next?”

“Nothing, I mean he teased me a little bit, like we were back to our old selves, and then he told me I needed to go to the White House to play advance man. So I came to the White House to do the advance and I spoke with Will, who briefed me, and I spoke with you and then Vinick showed up. And I kept thinking the entire time about my odd moment with Josh. I even asked Will what he thought about it.”

“You asked Will before you asked me?”

Donna paused, “C.J., Will and I worked together in roughly the same capacity as Josh and I were working together on the Santos campaign. I was trying to figure out if it would be inappropriate if I had dated Will. So I asked him about it.”

C.J. smiled, “Oh my God, what was his reaction?”

“Well, I think I asked in a manner that was both not obvious enough and entirely too obvious. After calming him down that I was absolutely not asking to date him he then immediately knew I was talking about Josh and told me that it would be fine. Between Will and your look of encouragement, I started thinking about a relationship with Josh. By the way, who is Will dating? He told me it was ‘classified.’”

C.J. almost spit out her wine, “Will’s dating someone…oh, wait. I’m so dense! I should have seen it.”

Donna grinned, “Now you spill…”

“Okay, I can’t confirm, but I think he and Kate Harper have something going on.”

“No!”

“I just realized there are all these obvious signs I didn’t notice. Damn important job getting in the way of gossip and innuendo. What the hell have I done with my life?” C.J. smiled, only half joking. “Okay, gossip about other people time is over. Back to gossip about you.”

“Fine. Although if it was Kate Harper that would explain the 'classified.' Anyway, let me know when you have confirmation on Will and Kate, I have to, I don’t know, do something about that.” Donna smiled deviously and took another sip of wine, thinking of some way to slip this new information into the next conversation they had. “Now let’s get back to what happened six weeks ago.”

“Right, we were up to the part where everybody and their sister had told you that they thought you should go for it…”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“So maybe, just maybe, you’ll agree with me when I say that, perhaps, Donna was correct when she said it was bound to happen sometime.”

“Yeah.” Josh fingered the lip of his bottle and stared hard at the floor.

“So that was it?”

“Oh, no. She then came to be and told me about Vinick’s cold. I was so happy I was about to kiss her again, and then I noticed Bram…you’ve met Bram right?”

“Big guy? Good looking? Not too bright?”

“That’s him. Anyway, I was about to ‘spontaneously’ kiss Donna again but Bram was there and I didn’t want him to notice or anything so I hugged him and Annabeth instead. Then Donna left to do advance for our meeting with the President on Kazakhstan.”

“So you sent her away because you were to chicken to kiss her?”

“No! I sent her away because it was her job. And I told her she was going before the hug thing anyway. But here’s the thing, the whole day, I kept staring at her. I swear to you, I know Donna is a good looking woman, I’ve always known it, but she was something else that day. Seriously. She, I don’t know, glowed or something. It was impossible not to look at her. I was kind of relieved that she was going to D.C. a few hours before me. I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to concentrate with her around.”

“Okay, so how was it when you saw her again.”

“Oh, I was just as bad as before. I’m glad she had been busy or she might have noticed.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Right, we were up to the part where everybody and their sister had told you that they thought you should go for it…”

“Right. So everyone showed up and The President met with Vinick and Santos, don’t tell Josh I said his name without ‘President-Elect’ in front, it gets to be too much of a mouthful all the time. And Josh just kept looking at me. He thought I didn’t notice but subtle isn’t really part of the Josh Lyman repertoire.”

C.J. rolled her eyes.

“So I made a decision right then and there that I was going to give him a completely subtle-free sign.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Oh, I was just as bad as before. I’m glad she had been busy or she might have noticed.”

“You don’t think she noticed.”

“No. Why?”

“I’m just saying that Donna tends to notice things, especially about you.”

“Nah, she didn’t. I was subtle about it.”

“Sure.”

“What!?”

“No, really I believe you.”

“Sam…” Josh whined again.

“Back on topic. I want the whole story before I’ll help you. So you kept staring at her and she was, you say, oblivious to the fact that you obviously couldn't take your eyes off of her."

“Anyway, I stayed late with President-Elect Santos and then got back to the hotel and a bunch of staffers were at the bar talking about…oh I don’t know, one of them got lucky with a Santos groupie or something and Donna was sitting there looking…I don’t know, ethereal I guess.”

“Ethereal?”

“Yeah, like not of this world. And she got up to leave and she caught my eye and slid her key across the table.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“So I made a decision right then and there that I was going to give him a completely subtle-free sign.”

“Which he missed?”

“No, he just wasn’t quick enough.” Donna rolled her eyes and refilled her wine glass.

“Quick enough for what?”

“Quick enough to pick up the key I slid over to him to my hotel room.”

“He blew a key exchange?”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“And she got up to leave and she caught my eye and slid her key across the table.”

“And you didn’t grab the key did you?”

“I was too slow.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“He blew a key exchange?”

“Yeah. Someone noticed that I left it. You should have seen the look on his face. Just pathetic.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“I was too slow.”

“Did you go up to her room or at least call her and tell her?”

“No.”

“Josh, seriously, you’re pathetic.”

TBC

After A Mandatory Vacation.

2006-06-02T23:05:00.000-04:00

C.J. raised an eyebrow towards Donna.

"Yes, yes, yes, there were feelings. But I certainly had never acted on them and Josh never have acted on his either. There were more important things happening and it really would have been improper."

“I’m sorry, I’m just a little…okay…I’ll get over it. So what precipitated this kiss? After nine years did one of you accidentally trip or something?”

Donna smiled, “Sort of.”

“Okay, that’s pathetic.”

Donna laughed and took another sip of wine. “So you know how that day had started, with the really good poll numbers, right?”

“Yes.”

“I had gotten up with a bunch of staffers, Annabeth and a few other people and we were trying to get the new national tracking polls off of various web sites. When they came out and they were so good Bram and I were so excited that we went to everyone’s rooms, knocking on doors, waking people up, telling them the good news. And somehow, totally by accident, I knocked on Josh’s door. Quite honestly I didn’t even know which room he was in.”

“So he tripped over good polling numbers?”

“No, the tripping was a figure of speech. He didn’t literally trip.”

“I’m confused…”

“Let me finish,” Donna looked at her hands and smiled, remembering that morning not very long ago, “he had been asleep and was all rumpled…you know what Josh looks like when he just wakes up, you’ve been campaigning with him. Anyway I just barged into his room the moment he opened the door and started spitting out the poll numbers at him. How we were up in Virginia, even in California and tied in the national. And Josh got this look on his face like it was Christmas and Easter and I don’t know, one of those big Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur or something, all rolled into one…”

“You know, I’m not Jewish, but I’m fairly certain that Yom Kippur isn’t one of those ‘happy’ Jewish holidays…”

“Are there any ‘happy’ Jewish holidays?”

“Um, I don’t know, Purim maybe?”

“What do you celebrate on Purim?”

“I have no idea. Hey, stop changing the topic! Josh had a look on his face like Christmas and Easter and a happy Jewish holiday because you’re not going to be insensitive about the look on his face…then what.”

“Then he grabbed my head and kissed me hard right on the lips.”

“That sounds…not romantic at all.”

“It wasn’t. It was celebratory.”

“Donna, I’d hardly call that an ‘odd moment.’”

“That wasn’t the odd moment C.J. I mean, it would have been an odd moment, we’ve never touched lips before, but it was no more intimate than him kissing me on the cheek, which he has done before. It was what happened next that was odd.”

C.J. looked up from her wine glass and noticed that Donna now had this half smile and a far away look in her eye.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Sam rang the doorbell. He wasn’t quite sure what he was doing there. Here he was, former deputy communications director for the Bartlet Administration, former candidate for congress, a current partner in one of the nations most prestigious law firms, and now future deputy chief of staff in the Santos administration and here he was, a six pack in his hand, just because at 7:45 this evening Josh had called his cell phone and said, “Sam, my apartment, 9pm. Bring beer.” Sam hadn’t even had time to protest. He had fallen into this old pattern with Josh. It pissed him off a little bit. Even lawyer hours were better than this ridiculous detritus he had to put up with when dealing with Josh. Josh lead in this excitable, frenetic fashion and Sam just followed. He was an important guy, what was this magical power that Josh had over him where when Josh said, ‘jump’ Sam said…

The door opened.

“Hey.” Said Josh. He was wearing sweats and a tee-shirt. “Thanks for bringing the beer. Come in.”

Sam walked into the same old apartment Josh had lived in for eight years and looked around. He noticed that a bunch of Josh’s old suits were laid out on the couch and there were piles of clothes everywhere.

“What’s going on?” Sam asked.

“Donna’s picking up some stuff of hers from C.J.’s and I’m trying to make room in my closet and dresser for her stuff.”

“She’s moving in?”

“No. She’s already moved in. She moved in the day we got back from my mandatory vacation.”

“That was fast.”

“Yeah. So help already.” Josh was frantically making piles.

“Hold on. I’m going to need a minute with this.”

“Okay.” Josh stopped what he was doing and began rocking back and forth on his heels.

“When you came out and lured me away, pied piper like, to come with you on your Santos Administration venture I asked you about your personal life and you were silent. You said nothing. How long has this thing with Donna been going on?”

“It’s kind of hard to pinpoint.”

“Okay, let me try another tack here. When did you start sleeping with her?”

“Sam!”

“What?”

“That’s personal.”

“Give me my beer back, I’m going home.”

Josh sighed and moved a pile of stuff off the couch, he sat down, grabbed a beer, took off the top and took a swig. He knew he wasn’t getting out of this. “The night before election day.”

“That was three weeks ago.” Sam moved his own pile of stuff, grabbed his own beer and sat down as well.

“Yes it was.”

“You worked with her for nine years…”

“Actually, more like eight and a little bit. She worked for Russell for nine months.”

“Okay, but you’ve known her for nine years, you sleep with her three weeks ago and now she’s moving in? How did that happen?”

“I’ve known her for nine years Sam.”

“Yeah. And you’ve had a thing for her for at least six of those years.”

“How do you figure that?” Josh’s eyebrows had shot up.

“Josh.” Sam gave him a look.

“What?!”

“Do you remember when Donna was trying to get you do date Joey Lucas?”

“Yeah…” Josh sighed.

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“Yeah.”

“So,” said Sam, changing the topic a little, “You finally slept with her three weeks ago, were you dating or something before hand.”

“We’d kissed.”

“Well that’s…sweet. Fooled around?”

“No. I just told you, we kissed.”

“A bunch?”

“No.” Josh smiled, a look of mild embarrassment crossed his face. “Once.”

Sam took a long pull on his beer and thought about this for a moment. This was the oddest relationship he had ever heard of.

“When?”

“When what?”

“When did you kiss her?”

“21 days before the election.”

“And then you didn’t do anything until the night before Election Day?”

“Am I on trial Sam?”

“Sorry, force of habit. Answer the question.”

“Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Oh, you want me to elaborate?”

“Yes.”

“When we pulled even in the polls Donna woke me up and told me about it. I was so happy I yelled and planted one on her.”

“You sly dog you.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Make fun. That wasn’t really a kiss. I could have given you that kiss.”

“No thanks. You’re not my type. I like you and all but I like my dates to *not* wake up with a five-o'clock shadow. So when was the kiss?”

“Well, after I gave her the sort of platonic kiss I was just standing there, looking at her and she was so beautiful, and so happy and I don’t even know what happened, she looked at me, and then looked down, and I just had to kiss her for real.” Josh gave a far away look and smiled.

“And she kissed back.”

Josh looked at his friend and grinned. “She sure did.”

TBC

Not Dedicated To Donna Moss.

2006-05-31T11:21:00.000-04:00

Rating: G
Spoilers: Everything.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: This is the introduction to Josh's first book.

Introduction:

This book is not dedicated to Donna Moss.

Years ago, when John Hoynes published his autobiography, Donna Moss came into my office with a copy of the book and informed me that I had been mentioned 39 times. At the time she was not my wife, we hadn’t even kissed, but she was my assistant and my best friend. She had seemed almost impressed. I was an important man. My name was listed in the index of a major best seller and under my name there were subheadings.

And so when I got around to finishing this book I went through and counted the number of times my wife’s name was mentioned. Keeping in mind that she only appears in the last 200 pages of this book, keeping in mind that she was not senior staff at the White House, keeping in mind she was not my girlfriend, my wife, or the mother of my children until after election day 2006, Donna Moss’s name appears 58 times and that’s only because I cut the stories about her that I liked and she doesn’t. I was able to leave in a great one about her saving social security because it fit with the book and was relevant, you can read about it on page 748, but even now when she reads that part she blushes and says it shouldn’t be part of the story. But it is, and she is.

Donna Moss is mentioned so many times not because she is my wife, or the mother of my children, or even because she is now a forceful political operative in her own right. She is mentioned so many times because she had an impact of social, economic and foreign policy. She is mentioned because people other than myself sought her guidance and her wisdom. Some of those people include Toby Zeigler, C.J. Cregg, Sam Seaborn, President and Mrs. Bartlet and, of course, Leo McGarry.

Several years ago when the publisher of this book came to me and asked me to write my autobiography it was Donna Moss who kept my ego in check. It was Donna Moss who suggested that I was too young for an autobiography. It was Donna Moss who suggested this counterproposal instead. It was Donna Moss who helped me organize my thoughts, who assisted in the research (even though I'm sitting at home and she has a full time job on top of being a mother). But this book is not dedicated to Donna Moss.

Instead I dedicate this book to the book’s subject. A man who was my mentor, my savior, my friend and in many ways, my father. I only wish that Leo McGarry could have seen the future he helped create.

By the way, Donna Moss's name had now appeared ten more times. I couldn’t have done it without her.

Josh Lyman
Washington, D.C.
May 2018

7 Days in Hawaii -- Day 7 and Epilogue

2006-05-30T10:51:00.000-04:00

Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Everything.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: Special shout out to DLA92 for being my Beta. If you want to read the previous episodes, just click on the appropriate link to the right. This is my final installment. Thanks for reading.

Day 7

Donna had insisted that they set the alarm for 4:30am. The flight didn’t leave until 9:30am but she had argued and cajoled and pressured him that they could sleep on the plane and if he wasn’t going to pack in the evening she wanted to make sure he packed in the morning, which meant getting up at 4:30am.

They had gone to a luau the night before. Another one of those things that Donna insisted that they do. Much to his surprise he had a terrific time, even learning a little hula dancing. Donna had collapsed in a fit of giggles watching him. Donna had packed most of her clothes when they got back to the room. Josh had watched her. Donna harped on him to pack too, but he claimed he always packed better ‘under pressure’ which is how the 4:30am wake-up call became instituted. Josh actually hadn’t fought it as much as he could have. Sometimes he knew you had to pick your battles.

So at 4:30am the phone had rung, Josh made a little moan and Donna de-tangled herself from Josh and got out of bed. Room service didn’t deliver until 6am so Donna went into the bathroom to use the coffee maker which came with the room. She peed and came back into the room.

“Josh, get up and pack.”

Josh placed his head back under the pillow and mumbled something unintelligible.

“Josh, get up and pack. I need to call C.J.”

Josh’s head emerged from under the pillow.

“I need to tell her I have to come by and pick up my stuff from her place.”

“Why didn’t you call her yesterday?” Josh was beginning to wake up, although his voice was still rough and scratchy, which she found very sexy.

“Because I was on vacation and I didn’t want the third degree. Now I don’t care so much and I have to do something while you pack.”

Josh sighed and rolled out of bed. He rubbed his face and his head, stretched and padded his way into the bathroom. Donna called the White House switchboard and was put through to Margaret’s desk.

“C.J. Cregg’s Office.”

“Hi Margaret, it’s Donna.”

“Hi Donna. You know, you ran off to Hawaii with Josh.”

“Yeah. Is C.J. there?”

“I’m just surprised because you know; it’s generally not a good idea to date your boss.”

“Margaret, he’s not my boss. I don’t work for him any more.”

“Right. So. C.J. Right?”

“Yes. Thank you Margaret.”

Donna was placed on hold and then the line picked up.

“Donna, how you doing?” Asked C.J., a note of concern in her voice.

“I’m fine C.J. Is this a bad time?”

“No, I actually have a moment. Isn’t it like…”

“4:45am in the morning. Yes. We’re about to check out and go to the airport. But I wanted to call you before we left and let you know that I won’t need your hospitality any more and I’ll call you when I get back and we can arrange to pick up whatever I have left there. It’s not much.”

“And you’re moving in with Josh?”

Donna paused, “Yes.”

“Really?”

“I don’t understand why you’re so surprised C.J., I did just spend seven days with him. I know you probably don’t approve but…”

“Approve, hell, I’ll throw you guys a party, but I thought Josh was getting cold feet.”

“He was, but I warmed them up.”

“I don’t really want to know how.”

“I talked to him C.J., get your mind out of the gutter.”

“Wow, that’s a new one for you guys.”

“Yes it is.” Donna smiled.

“So you guys together...”

“Yep.”

“And when you come pick you your stuff, you’ll spill…”

“Of course. We’ll make an evening out of it.”

“I’m going to want details, but not too many details, you understand, right?”

Donna could hear the shower turn off and knew that Josh would be coming back into the room in a minute. “Yes, C.J. I can give you that.” Josh walked out of the bathroom still dripping with a towel wrapped around his waist. “Josh just got out of the shower so I have to go now.”

“Of course you have to go, I have some things you need to take care of.” Josh approached her from behind and began kissing her neck.

“Was that just Josh being romantic!”

Donna couldn’t help but smile, “Yes.”

“There’s something really wrong about that.”

“I’m getting used to it.”

“Bye C.J., I’m getting off the phone.” Josh yelled into the phone.

“Remind romance boy that I’m still the second most powerful person in the world for the next nine weeks or so and therefore phone conversations end when I say they end.”

“Josh, C.J. says that…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, tell Brunhilda…”

“C.J. I’m going to hang up because I don’t really want to get involved in your shouting match. It’s too early in the morning here.”

“Go, go, go. I have to go anyway. I’m glad Josh came to his senses.”

“Me too. Talk to you later. Bye.”

Donna hung up the phone and turned to Josh, who was looking amorous. “Josh, you need to pack.”

“I think I need to do other things first.” He leaned in to kiss her, but she dodged him.

“No. I need to take a shower and you need to pack.”

“Donna…”

“Don’t whine at me, you were the one who didn’t want to pack last night.”

“Yeah.”

“So I’m taking a shower.” She walked towards the bathroom and closed the door on him as he sighed and walked over to his suitcase.

Josh gathered all his belongings and threw them into the suitcase, pulling out some clothes for the plane ride home. He knocked on the door of the bathroom and walked in. Donna was in the shower scrubbing away, he grabbed his toilet kit, stole a look at her form outlined in the shower, and left quickly.

He threw everything into the suitcase and closed it quickly, sealing it up. He knew that if Donna could have seen the state of his “packing” she would have a fit. He was glad to be finished before she was done with her shower.

It was 5:15am and they didn’t have to leave for the airport for another two hours.

Donna came out of the bathroom, holding her toilet kit and wrapped in a towel.

“You know we have two hours to kill?” Josh was lying on the bed at this point, still wrapped in his towel and watching CNN.

“You packed already?”

“I told you I packed well under pressure.”

“You didn’t fold anything did you?”

“It all needs to be washed when I get home anyway.”

Donna sighed and sat down next to him on the bed. “So two hours…”

“Yeah.” Josh’s hand rested on her thigh. He began to move his thumb in slow circles.

“Now I know why you agreed to wake up by 4:30. I was wondering why there wasn’t more of an argument from you.”

“I wanted to have a leisurely breakfast and a nice run at the gym.” Josh's thumb continued to move enticingly.

“Given what your hand is currently doing, I would bet there are other reasons you might want to pack quickly.”

Josh rolled over and quickly untucked the towel from around Donna. He took a long, deliberate look over her body. She felt the urge to cover herself but fought the instinct and allowed him to look. His eyes finally rested on her face.

“You’re beautiful.” He almost whispered and then smiled. “I always thought so, but I had no idea really how beautiful you were.”

Donna rolled over and kissed him fiercely. Josh was taken by surprise, but he kissed back, trying to keep up with her probing lips and tongue and her hands which were moving seductively. Josh finally pulled away from her for a moment to catch his breath. “If I had known that would be your reaction I would have told you that you were beautiful during our first term.” He smiled at her in a flirty fashion.

In the past two and a half weeks he still hadn’t quite gotten used to sexually aggressive Donna. It wasn’t something he had expected. Of all of those times he thought about it he had imagined her to be more passive, more deliberate, perhaps even softer. And she certainly could be. She had been that way right after Leo died and a few times this past week. But Donna confounded his expectations (and wasn’t that always the way). She was just as likely to take the lead as to let him take the lead. She was just as likely to give in to her own desires. And now that the dam had been broken and the rules against them touching or feeling had been broken down she made her desires known and he found it very exciting. More exciting than he thought was possible.

He leaned into her again and quickly removed his towel. Now Donna broke off the kiss and glanced down to discover him ready for her. She smiled. “That didn’t take long.”

“With you it never does.”

Donna smiled at him again coyly and then his lips were on her breast. She could feel the familiar tug that seemed to come whenever he did this. She had always thought that Josh would have been more frenetic, his impatience winning out over his desire to do things right. She now realized that the same thing that allowed him to get into Harvard and Yale, the same thing that allowed him to read detailed DoD reports, was the same thing that allowed him to concentrate exclusively on her. And his ability to bring out that vulnerable, sweet side just when you least expected it caused her desire to rage and make her want to grab him. Which is what she did.

Her hand went down to grab him and he released his mouth from her breast to make a small gasping sound. Now she went to his chest, nibbling on his nipple. She rolled on top of him. “Is this what you were thinking we could do when you packed quickly?”

Given what Donna hand was doing, slowly trailing up and down Josh’s penis, swirling around the tip, then lightly trailing on his balls, Josh had lost the power of speech. He simply nodded at her.

“You’re really putty in my hands aren’t you?” She smiled at him mischievously.

“Yes.” He whispered hoarsely.

“I could get you to do anything I wanted right now?”

“Yes.”

“And this is information I could have used in President Bartlet’s first term.”

Josh nodded and Donna took her other hand, placed it on the remote and turned off the TV. Josh moved his head off the pillow to kiss her again. He couldn’t resist her mouth, those poutty lips.

They continued to kiss, and she continued to stroke his penis. Finally he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Donna, you have to either stop doing that or you have to let me…”

Before he could finish the sentence Donna had released her grip. She rolled off of him and on to her back, tilted her head and smiled at him. “Okay, my turn.”

Josh quickly moved his hand between her legs, she was ready for him. He couldn’t wait. He positioned her over him and entered her slowly. He reached down and felt for her clit. She moaned and began moving against him.

Josh just tried to keep up. He applied slow, firm pressure, working her clit back and forth, attempting to keep contact with her clit as she moved with his fingers, grinding against him, bucking and moaning, and very quickly she came, gripping his back and yelling his name.

Now Josh could focus on himself. He knew it wouldn’t take long. Between Donna’s earlier touches and her orgasm he was about ready, he slammed into her once, twice, three times and then with a final stroke he felt himself release as he screamed her name. He rolled off of her, his chest rising and falling, trying to clear his mind.

Donna smiled at him. “You okay?”

“Yes.” Josh cuddled up next to her and kissed her on the cheek. “Not my greatest achievement, but I think we both enjoyed that. I’m going to miss being here.”

“There’s no rule that says we can’t do this exact thing in D.C.”

“I know, but do you really think we will?”

“Yes I do.” Donna paused and brushed Josh’s hair back. “We’ll make sure of it.”

Josh looked at the clock. It was a little before 6am. “You know, we could have a quick shower, rinse off, and go down to breakfast before checking out. What do you think.”

Donna leaned over and gave Josh a little peck on the lips. “I think that’s a plan.”

And it was one they could successfully execute.

Washington DC – Day 294 -- Epilogue

The President and Mrs. Santos were in Houston and had explicitly told them to take the day off and grab a long weekend. The dog days of August were always slow, Sam had gone down to Texas to staff the President, Donna and Josh were to follow on Monday. But for right now they had the day, the weekend, off.

Josh was a creature of habit and routine. Ever since they had started living together, with the exception of the occasional national or international crisis or when one of them was traveling, it had been the same. They went to bed together, him falling asleep wrapped around her. He then woke up around 5am. He jumped on the treadmill in the living room and ran for a half hour while he watched the news. He would start the coffee while he took a shower. When he was clean he would pour coffee for both of them and wake her up at 6:15am. Sometimes she would just drink the coffee. Sometimes she would do other things with him. Those other things made him smile. Hell, she just made him smile. Generally they left the apartment by 7:15am and were in the office by 7:45am. Senior staff never happened before 8am. Matthew Santos’ White House was most definitely not Jed Bartlet’s White House. Barring any emergency or state function President Santos was in the Oval from 8:30am to 7:30pm. It made Josh’s job almost predictable in its schedule.

So here he was, 5:30 in the morning, still in bed, Donna asleep. He silently left the bed and made his way to the shower. He had it well planned with the help of everyone, even his assistant Mrs. Deloren. She was a nice woman, very efficient, and, as Donna said, she didn’t put up with his shit either. Donna had found her after his first three assistants had left him within a few weeks of each of their hiring.

He had consulted everyone. Sam had suggested that he do it in the DCoS office, but Josh didn’t think Donna would think it was suitably romantic. The President had volunteered, since he wasn’t going to be there anyway, to let Josh do it in the Oval Office, but again, it was an office and wasn’t what he was going for. President Bartlet had tried to sell him on the beauties of a New Hampshire farm house in August, but Josh remembered what August could be like in New Hampshire and, while it was the site of their first meeting, he couldn’t imagine spending time with President Bartlet or the First Lady would be romantic. C.J. had tried to get him to come out to California to do it, but after all of the traveling on Air Force One there was no way he was going to do six hours each way on a plane, even business class, just for a long weekend unless he had to. Toby had only suggested that he not buy a house beforehand and wished him luck. Lou had told him she didn’t care but that he better not screw it up or she’d kick his ass.

It was actually Helen who gave him the correct suggestion on how he should do it. He had taken to calling her Helen now, even though it seemed wrong to him. But she hated to be called Mrs. Santos or Ma’am by people she said “knew” her, so Helen it was. It had taken Josh six months to get used to calling her that, but he finally was. It had been Helen who had arranged for this long weekend off. It was Helen who had given him the best advice.

“Josh,” She had said, “She just wants to be with you. Ask her at the beginning of the weekend and then focus on her for three whole days. That’s what she wants more than anything.”

“She told you that?” Josh had seemed surprised.

“No. But as a woman married to a very busy man I can tell you that’s what she really wants.” Helen had smiled at him and he guessed she was right.

He pulled the standing bed tray from the hiding place he had found for it. There was one piece of the closet Donna would never go in, saying everyone needed some privacy. He had asked her where her space was and she wouldn’t tell him, finally confessing that anything she needed to hide from him could easily be kept in her office, there was so much space. She liked to rub that in a little bit. He would inform her that he was less than ten feet from the Oval Office and she should understand that size didn’t matter anyway. Her response generally was to let him know that Ronna was closer than he was and that size equaled power. Sometimes he really hated her.

He toasted the blueberry bagel (he had thought about actually cooking something but realized that burnt stuff on a plate did not make for a romantic morning) and spread it with cream cheese. Uck, he thought to himself, blueberry bagels were unnatural, but Donna was from Wisconsin and obviously didn’t know any better. Even though he had tried to train her out of her love of them for nine years now (he had never seen her eat one when they were on the Bartlet for America campaign. He had told her if he had known she liked blueberry bagels back then he really would have fired her) they were her absolute favorite breakfast food. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the large, cubed, ring box, took a piece of plastic wrap and covered it. Josh removed the fruit salad he had bought the night before and plopped it on top of the ring box making it look as if there was a tremendous amount of fruit salad on the plate. He arranged it so the box didn’t show.

He had started the coffee after his shower and it was now ready. He pulled her favorite mug out of the dishwasher (it was big and had large ugly strawberries on it, she claimed she liked it because of the shape and weight, but he thought she liked it because he kept commenting about how ugly it was), poured her coffee and then poured her a small glass of orange juice. Finally he took a little bud vase and placed a single daisy he had gotten the night before. Actually, Mrs. Deloren had taken care of most of these supplies. He and Donna had gone out to dinner the night before and Mrs. Deloren had slipped in with a copy of his key and had stocked up the refrigerator as they had discussed. She wouldn’t get him coffee, she wouldn’t even go to the dry-cleaners for him, but for the really important stuff she was willing to help out.

“I’ll do it for the cause.” She had said. What she really meant was she would do it for Donna.

Josh looked at the clock. It was now 6:30am and he couldn’t wait anymore. He carried the tray very carefully into the bed room and placed it down on the top of the dresser. He leaned over and kissed the top of Donna’s head gently. She stretched, her eyes fluttered and she rolled over to look at him.

“Hi.” Donna said sleepily.

“Hi.” Josh smiled at her. “I brought you something.”

“Coffee…” Donna said dreamily.

“Yes. Sit up.”

Donna furrowed her brow, confused as to why she needed to sit up for coffee. For the most part she just lay there and Josh would place the coffee on the night table. But she had gotten an extra little-bit of sleep and so she would play this little game. She sat up.

Josh picked up the tray and placed it in front of her. “Blueberry bagel, fruit salad, coffee and juice.”

“Breakfast in bed!” Donna smiled. Josh was a selfish, self-centered, ego-maniac sometimes, but he could certainly bring on the sweet when he wanted to. Josh laid a napkin over her lap and handed her a fork.

“Well this is certainly unexpected.” She smiled as she reached for her bagel and bit into it.

“Well, I figured, three day weekend, you know…” Josh grabbed his own cup of coffee and scooted next to her on the bed.

“Something to commemorate the event?” Donna said with her mouth full.

“Something like that.” Josh smiled. He was surprised at how calm he was. He always imagined that when he did this he would be nervous, pacing. But he was fine. He just wanted her to eat the damn fruit salad. Instead she was focusing on the stupid, nasty, blueberry bagel.

Donna held the foul thing out to him, “Bite?” She asked.

“No thanks. Aren’t you going to eat your fruit salad?”

“Why?”

“Just asking.”

“You didn’t poison it, did you?”

“Why would I poison your fruit salad?”

“I don’t know; perhaps you slipped in some date-rape drug so you could take advantage of me when I’m unconscious.”

“Why would I do that when it’s much more fun to take advantage of you when you’re conscious?”

“Good point.” Donna bit into her bagel again.

Josh watched her chew for a moment, “Blueberry Donna?”

“I like them Josh. I’m sorry if that offends you.”

“It’s unnatural.”

“Whatever.”

Donna finally picked up the fork and jabbed a piece of melon on the top of the pile of fruit salad and popped it in her mouth. She noticed that the fruit salad seemed to be…harder than it should be. Leave it to Josh to mess up fruit salad she thought. It was clearly pre-bought, so how could you screw that up? She pushed aside a few more pieces of melon and discovered the cube like box, covered with plastic wrap. “Josh, I don’t think this is a piece of melon.” She looked at him, he held her gaze. He wasn’t smiling.

“Open it.” He said.

She lifted up the plastic wrap with her fork and pulled the box out from under it. She glanced back up at Josh. She looked at the box again and opened it. The ring was beautiful. Donna didn’t own much jewelry, and she knew next to nothing about diamonds, but she knew it was beautiful.

“Josh…”

“Donnatella Moss, I need you to be quiet now, because I have a question.”

“Okay.”

Josh had thought of a dozen things he could say. Sam had even tried to help him with a little prepared speech. Eventually, they had decided that simplicity was the best idea however. Someday he would show her the speech. Not today however.

“Will you marry me?”

A thousand thoughts went through her mind. Even now, almost ten months into the romantic portion of the relationship, it was hard not to misdirect him with banter, but she knew that it would not be the right response. So she gave him the only response she knew was right. One of the very few times she knew not to use ten words when one would do.

She smiled up at him. “Yes.”

He smiled back and took the ring out of the box and placed it on her left ring finger. He then leaned in, careful not to knock over the tray, and kissed her gently, lovingly, on the lips.

“I’m going to need to call people and let them know about this.” She smiled at him.

“Um, okay.”

“What?”

“They kind of already know.”

“They already know that we’re engaged? Because I didn’t know that until 15 seconds ago.”

“Yeah, sorry, I had to keep you out of the loop on that one.” He was grinning wildly now.

“So wait, C.J. knows?”

“Yes.”

“I assume Sam knows too. Toby?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, The President and Helen?”

“How do you think I arranged the three day weekend.”

“President and Mrs. Bartlet?”

“They wanted me to ask you in New Hampshire.”

“Who else knows?”

“Well, I know it’s old fashioned, but I asked your father’s permission and he said yes, so your family knows and my Mother gave me advice about the rings.”

“So basically I can’t tell anyone.”

“Well, I think they’d all be happy to know I went through with it.” Josh grinned at her. He grabbed her fork and speared a piece of melon.

“I’m going to keep my name you know.” Said Donna, looking at him warily.

“I know. I don’t care.”

“And when do you think we’re going to have time to plan a wedding?”

“I think it depends what kind of wedding you want.” Josh was matter of fact about the whole thing and she found it very odd. “If you want to elope we can do that today, and I’m all for that.”

Donna sighed, “So am I.”

“But,” Josh continued, “I have been strictly told by about two dozen people that they want to be invited to the wedding, and some of those people have access to nuclear launch codes, so I suspect that we should probably do something a little more official.”

“Okay, but no bridesmaids. I have spent far to much time in ugly dresses to ever want to inflict that on anyone else.”

“How about just a maid of honor and a best man? Because there are two people who have made it very clear…”

“That would be fine.”

“And a little wedding with perhaps fifty people or so?”

“Okay…hey, you’ve put thought into this.”

“I have. I actually made a list of who I thought we should invite the other night when you were with Helen at the thing.” Josh rolled over and opened his nightstand drawer. He pulled out a list of names and handed it to her.

“Wow. You don’t usually do that.”

“I do when I think it’s important.”

Donna scanned the list. One former president, one current president. A few senators. Several congressmen, and a whole bunch of their closest friends and family. It was fairly comprehensive. “Where can we possibly do this?”

“Well, President Bartlet had said we should get engaged at the farm but I actually thought it would be better for the wedding.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, well, he’s already got the security detail up there. There is a major airport nearby and Mrs. Bartlet and Zoey said they would take care of the details so we wouldn’t have to. I think Mrs. Bartlet is bored.”

“You’ve thought about this a lot.”

“Of course I have.”

“What does that mean?”

“Donna, I never wanted to get married. It never seemed like it was something that would fit into my lifestyle. I never understood the point. But now I realize I just had never met the right woman. Or, I had met her, I just didn’t realize it. I had to wait for her to grow up a little, and I guess for me to grow up a lot.”

“Josh…”

“I’m not done. I want you and me to spend the rest of our lives together. After years of trying to pretend I didn’t want that, I want everyone to know the way I feel about you.”

“They do.”

“I know. But I want to make it official.”

“Okay.” Donna moved back to the bagel and nibbled on it.

“Okay?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“I love you.”

“I know.”

“And you love me?”

“You even have to ask?”

“I’m sorry it’s taken me so long.”

“No, I think this is just right Josh.”

They kissed, being careful not to disturb the tray, at first soft, and then probing, with the same longing from a year ago. Only now he was hers and she was his. And they knew what was coming next down the pike. Marriage, maybe kids, a less demanding job sometime down the road.

“Get this damn tray off of me. I want to do unmentionable things to my fiancée.”

And a shiver went down his spine as he smiled, jumped off the bed and removed the tray. She was going to be his wife. He didn’t know he could feel this happy, even if she did like blueberry bagels.

A Goal Before I Turn 35...

2006-05-30T00:02:00.000-04:00

Is to post the rest of my fic. I have sent the Beta out to be read and, hopefully, if their aren't too many changes, it'll be up sometime tomorrow, which would be before my birthday.

Yeay!

7 Days in Hawaii -- Day 6/Part 2

2006-05-24T13:29:00.000-04:00

I am Real Life's Bitch!

2006-05-22T12:32:00.000-04:00

I swear, the next installment of my tome is coming soon. So sorry for the delay.

7 Days in Hawaii -- Day 6/Part 1

2006-05-18T10:08:00.000-04:00

Convenient

2006-05-16T18:19:00.000-04:00

Rating: G
Spoilers: Tomorrow
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this
is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all
feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: I want MORE.

She sat on the couch in his office. She was lying across it; her shoes were off as she worked on polishing a statement being given the following day to a small group of teachers interested in helping promote the new literacy initiatives.

The couch rested against the rear windows and faced the desk. Josh was sitting at the desk going over...something. She had no idea what. Didn't really want to know either. It was too easy to get
him sucked in to telling her. She had her own work to do and didn't want to spend the next three hours listening to Josh rant about whatever it was. Sometimes he needed to bounce ideas off of her still, but unless he asked she didn’t volunteer. He didn't need her help. She was busy enough so she didn’t need to be giving her help. It was generally more helpful that she sat in his office at 8:30pm at night and work on her own stuff. They kept each other company, allowed for each other’s breaks. It wasn’t like working together, but it was close and it was nice and it had become the habit. She liked it.

Josh got up from behind his desk and walked over to her. He moved her feet from the couch and sat down, putting her feet back onto his lap. He began to massage them. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back.

"Mmmmm..."

She then opened her eyes and glanced back at the open door.

"Josh..." She said, "Stop it, someone might come in."

"So?"

"So, I thought we were keeping this subtle."

"My massaging your feet is hardly going to get the Christian Right to come after us. Especially since I think everyone knows in Washington that you moved in with me after we got back from Hawaii."

"I know. I just don't want to make people uncomfortable."

"I don't think it will. So. Let's go home."

"I'm sorry?"

"Go home. You know, the place where we live."

"Josh, you know it's 8:30 on a Tuesday right?"

"Yeah."

"When have you ever gone home at 8:30 on a weekday by choice?"

"Three weeks ago when we went to the inaugural balls."

"That hardly counts, those were a variety of work functions and you were required to be there."

"So were you."

"Yes, it was convenient, you didn't need to get 'plus ones' on all your invitations."

"Yes it is. That's why I like you Donna, convenience." He grinned and leaned over to her and growled, "Besides, there are things that I can conveniently do at home which I really can't do here."

“Josh I have to finish this statement for the First Lady.”

“You can finish it at home.”

His hand moved up her thigh. “I’ll help you.”

“I don’t think so. I think I can handle this one on my own.”

“I’ll handle …something then.” He shot her a look.

“Where is this coming from?”

“What? Three years of becoming a monk and you think less than four months of sex with, perhaps, one of the most beautiful women I have ever scene is going to fix that?”

“Perhaps? Perhaps?”

“I was just saying perhaps because if The President had heard me say the most beautiful he would have argued with me.”

Donna smiled, “That’s so sweet but you are so full of…”

Josh leaned over and smiled. He kissed her on her lips. “Let’s go home.”

She considered for a moment, "Hang on let me get my coat."

She flipped her shoes on and closed her file as he grabbed a few files and shoved them in his back pack. He let the secret service detail know he was leaving and by the time they reached the entrance of the building their car was waiting for them.

He was going to his home with Donna. It was her home too. It was all very convenient. She was right. And he was grateful for it.

Day 6 is Coming Soon

2006-05-16T17:12:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to make a little post that says that I'm still working on Day 6 and that I hope to possibly have something up by tomorrow. It's a big chapter.

Thanks for checking in!

The Closet

2006-05-15T10:11:00.000-04:00

Ground Rules for Kissing Goodbye

2006-05-15T00:34:00.000-04:00

Rating: G (perhaps PG)
Spoilers: Tomorrow
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: I want MORE, and I've been thinking of the first line of this fic for a while.

“We’re like some blonde street gang.” Helen had said surveying the three of them as they walked down the hall.

“Perhaps we can do some kicky Jerome Robbins steps to go along with the sharks and jets theme.” Annabeth interjected.

“Here you are.” Donna said as she stopped at the bottom of the steps that lead to the residence.

“Thank you Donna. Who knew when I hired you that the greatest knowledge you possessed would be how to get around this building. But seriously, someone needs to do something about dying their hair red or something. We just look silly.”

“I’ll see what Josh thinks about that.” Donna smiled broadly.

“Josh thinks you’re perfect the way you are.” Helen responded.

Donna smiled. “Thank you Mrs.…Helen.”

“I swear, you don’t call me Helen…”

“I did! I did!”

Helen went up to the residence to change for her next meeting at one. Annabeth and Donna went down to the mess to grab lunch. They were going to do nothing but chat for the next twenty minutes.

They grabbed their salads and walked to the nearest empty table.

“So you and Josh…” Annabeth said, leading.

“Yes. Me and Josh.”

“I’m happy for you, but I can’t say I see the appeal.”

“You did get to see him at his worst.”

“Yeah.” Annabeth got wistful, “But Leo loved him, so there must be something there, right.” She smiled.

“There is definitely something there.”

“You guys figured out my little crush on Leo so quickly, but I would have never guessed about you and Josh until, well, you know, you went on that vacation.”

“Yeah, we were pretty good about hiding our feelings for each other.”

“You were. So let me ask you. When did it happen?’

“The night before election day.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“So that day was…”

“Fairly emotionally draining.”

“Understatement of the year.”

“I’m sure.”

They had almost finished their salads when Josh came by and sat down next to them. He looked at what Donna was eating and wrinkled his nose.

“Salad? You couldn’t even get fries?” He whined at her.

“Yes Josh, because fries is exactly what you need.”

“I’ve gotta get going if I’m going to get Helen to the thing.”

“I’ll meet you there in ten minutes.”

“Bye Josh.”

“Bye Annabeth.” Josh said absentmindedly.

“So, what were you and Annabeth talking about there?”

“You.”

“Me?” His brow raised into his hairline.

“She just asked me when it happened. She wasn’t in the loop on that one, having been traveling with Leo.”

“So she was a little surprised…”

“When we went away together. Yes.”

“I need some food.”

“You need a salad.” She said, pushing the left over chicken caesar towards him.

“You need to stop dominating me Donnatella.”

“You love it.”

Josh picked up her fork and grabbed a bit of her salad, “Not really. But I tolerate it just to make you think you have some control over me.” He smiled, chewing on the salad.

She smiled back. It was the ‘I barely tolerate you back’ smile. “Well I need to go back to help Helen with the meeting. It starts in less than ten minutes.” And she got up to leave.

“Hey, wait.” Josh called after her.

“What?”

“Come here.”

Donna walked back over to the table and sat down.

Josh continued, “I want to kiss you goodbye.”

“In public?”

“Sure. Why not.”

“Well, you’re not a public affection kind of guy Josh.”

“Not before maybe. Look, I’m not saying that I want to make out in the press room when it’s full or anything, but it’s common knowledge we’re, you know, a couple and I might as well be able to kiss you goodbye in public places like the mess or, you know, the foyer.”

“Okay.”

“And we could also kiss, you know, if you’re in my office and the door is closed. And perhaps in your office as well.”

“So we’re going to make a list of all the places we can kiss?”

“Yes.”

“And I assume these would be nice kisses?”

“Are you implying that sometimes I don’t give nice kisses.”

“I’m saying that if you’re saying you want to say goodbye to me with a kiss then I'm saying I don’t want it to be shoved up against the wall with your tongue halfway down my throat. It could be seen by some as somewhat unprofessional.”

“No. I’m thinking no tongue. Maybe just a little open mouth action.”

“Maybe not.”

“Okay. Closed mouth. Lasts no more than three seconds…no, make that five.”

“Even in your office with the door closed?”

“No, not in either of our offices as long as the doors are closed. Then we can do tongue.”

“I think that’s dangerous.”

“Why?”

“I can get out of hand.”

“That’s certainly true.” He grinned, spearing some more of her salad and stuffing it into his mouth.

“I really need to go now.”

“Okay, we can talk about this more tonight when I get home.”

“Which will be?”

“I don’t know? Nine if I bring stuff home with me.”

“Okay.” She stood up and then bent over kissing him quickly on the lips. “Bye.”

“Bye.” And as she turned around he patted her gently and subtly on the ass.

Donna whipped around, her eyes wide. “Jooosh!” She hissed under her breath.

“What!” He said, in mock innocence. “It slipped!”

Oh boy were they going over ground rules tonight Donna thought as she walked away from him, knowing that he was watching her ass.

The Office

2006-05-14T22:04:00.000-04:00

7 Days in Hawaii -- Day 5/Part 2

2006-05-14T11:51:00.000-04:00

Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Transition.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: Special shout out to DLA92 for being my Beta. If you want to read the previous episodes, just click on the appropriate link to the right. Also, this is where we begin to be a little angsty. Don't worry, it'll all be over soon.

The massage had been exactly what the doctor ordered. By the time Josh had gotten back in the room he was as relaxed as, well, he could be. He flopped down on the bed. It was almost time for Sam to call. He hadn’t talked to him for two days and he wanted to be briefed on the mess in Kazakhstan.

He lay on the bed trying to keep his mind clear of everything. A few minutes later the phone rang. Without opening his eyes he reached over and picked up the phone.

“Josh Lyman.”

“Did I wake you?”

“No. I’m awake Sam.”

“Okay, ‘cause you sound different. Satiated.”

“Donna made me get a massage.”

“Made you?”

“Yes.”

“Your girlfriend forced you to get rubbed down with lotions and oils?”

“Yes.”

“And she’s now your girlfriend.”

“Yes. For the time being.” Crap. He hadn’t meant to say that.

“What, you’ve been dating her for a day and now suddenly you’re thinking exit strategy? I knew you were bad at relationships but I always just thought it was your questionable taste in women. Now I’m just learning that your terrible taste in women was just a cover up for you being commitment phobic?”

“It’s not that…hey look, can we just discuss Kazakhstan and then I want to talk to you about Baker. I’m working this thing out with Donna myself, I don’t really need or want your input.”

Sam was silent. “Sure Josh,” he said quietly, “Hey, can I put you on hold for a second?”

Josh sighed, “Sure, I’ve got time.”

“When was the last time you ever said that?”

“I honestly can’t ever remember saying it.”

“Okay, be right back.”

Josh waited, starting to stew about how what he and Donna had was none of Sam’s business. Sam had always been too nosy and Josh was certain to give Sam an earful when he got back on the line. Josh had gotten his ire up. A few minutes later Sam returned.

“I’m back…”

Josh cut him off. “You know Sam, if I decided that this thing with Donna isn’t right or isn’t in her best interest or isn’t in my best interest or, hell, even if it isn’t in the country’s best interest it’s not up to you. It’s up to me and I would appreciate it if you would just butt-out.”

“What kind of screwed up logic is that?!” The voice on the other end of the line did not belong to Sam. Oh shit.

“C.J.?”

“Damn straight Skippy. What the hell is wrong with you? You guys finally get it together after nine years of this crap and now you’re going to screw it up over I don’t even know what! Do I have to fly out to Hawaii and kick your ass myself?”

“Sam, you couldn’t have told me C.J. was on the line?”

“You wanted to talk about Kazakhstan and I figured we needed C.J. on to discuss it. And it’s not as if I had the opportunity to tell you I had conferenced her in before you started to rant at me.” Sam sounded defensive.

“And let me tell you something else,” C.J. continued, “I certainly think that you owe it to Donna to discuss your thinking with her as opposed to informing her Josh. You’re not her boss, you’re her date. You don’t get to just play Neanderthal and bonk her on the head, drag her off to your cave, do your business and then send her away. I think she gets a little say in the conversation.”

Josh sighed a little. “Look you noisy, inconsiderate, loud-mouthed feminazi. I am fully aware that I will need to discuss the details of my issues with Donna Moss. I certainly don’t need you poking your nose around where it doesn’t belong. This is our issue and as such we will deal with it. Now you can either shut-up about it and brief me on what the hell President Bartlet and President-elect Santos are doing or we can end this conversation right now.”

C.J. sighed into the phone. “You feel a little better there after saying that?”

“Not really.”

“Good.” C.J. changed the subject back to Kazakhstan. “Sam and I have no idea what they’re doing, only that they’re obviously doing something, and they’re not letting us know about it and that’s the way they intend to keep it.” She paused and then continued. “And Josh, if you hurt her, I hurt you.”

“Thanks C.J., that’s a real warm fuzzy moment there.”

“I’ve got to go.” C.J. sounded tired.

“Yeah.”

“Don’t screw it up.” With that C.J. was gone.

“Thanks for the heads up Sam. I really appreciate the extra asshole I was just ripped by C.J. That just made my afternoon.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. It wasn’t what I had intended. I just wanted to get her to tell you what we had been discussing regarding Kazakhstan. I probably should have warned you.”

Of course it had been exactly what Sam had intended. Sam smiled to himself. He would have to remember to keep C.J. on speed dial in the future for all his yelling at Josh needs. She was really quite good at it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Donna got back to the room, completely relaxed and smelling of oils and lotions, Josh was sitting out on the patio again, scribbling furiously. She stood behind him until he noticed her presence. He looked up and there she was, standing over him.

“Hi.”

“Hi.” She leaned down to kiss him. He always found this exceptionally erotic, her mouth gently kissing his, the control all hers. Of the various types of kisses they had, this one, which she had first given to him after laying down her time-line that morning, was it only a week ago, in his apartment.

“Time to go.” She said.

“Go where?”

“I was given some information which I am now going to use. I recommend you come with me.”

“Donna, can I just….”

“No. You’re going to put your bathing suit back on and you’re going to come with me. I’m bringing my equipment.” She smiled and leered at him out of the corner of her eye.

He laughed, really laughed, for the first time all day. “Okay, I’m up, I’m coming.”

“Save it. You can say those things to me later.”

And with that Donna picked up a small bag and a big beach towel and began leaving the room. Josh quickly put on his swim trunks and followed her out.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

They walked about a half a mile up the beach and then behind some bushes. The tide was low and the area was very secluded. Donna laid the towel down on the ground and motioned for Josh to lie down on his stomach. He complied. She helped him remove his t-shirt, but not his swim trunks.

“How did you know about this place?’ Josh asked.

“The people in the spa know things. And I ask good questions.”

She opened up the little plastic bag, although Josh couldn’t see what she was removing from it. A moment later he realized what it was as she poured something on his back. It was massage oil.

“You know, I’m not complaining, but I had one of these earlier you know.”

“I’m well aware of that. But you didn’t have me give you one, which you were complaining about, and you didn’t have one with this stuff.”

She was gently slathering the oil over his back. Suddenly it started to tingle.

“What the hell?”

“It’ll warm up a little, especially as I rub it. And one more thing,” she paused and suddenly he could feel her tongue on his back, licking off the oil, “It’s tasty. Kind of cinnamony.”

Josh grinned and lay there as her hands slowly and delicately skimmed over his shoulders and back. She was taking a lighter touch than the sadist who had him on the table earlier. That was some kind of deep-tissue thing and although it made him feel better, it was far from painless and even further from sexy. This was sexy.

Donna reached down and pulled his trunks off of him. Josh was now completely naked. She poured some of the oil onto his ass and down his thighs. She slowly spread the liquid around, pushing his legs a little farther apart and gently grazing his balls with the tips of her fingers.

Josh sighed.

She then moved back up to his shoulders and began licking and sucking the oil off his back. Down his spine, towards the crack of his ass. Josh gasped.

“Okay,” she said, “My turn.”

Josh was startled. He had just begun to really enjoy himself but he complied.

Donna removed the large shirt she was wearing, revealing her bikini. She quickly removed it and rolled over on her belly.

Josh took the slick liquid and poured a large amount on her back. More then he intended.

He slathered her back up and as he reached lower he noticed two large bruises on he butt.

“Donna, are you okay?” He sounded concerned, gently touching the bruises.

She laughed, “Not permanently or anything. Let’s just say that when my ass hit marble, the marble won.”

“I’m sorry I hurt you. I should be more careful.”

“I’m fine Josh. I’m just getting impatient.”

“Sorry.”

He rubbed the oil on her back, careful to avoid her bruises and then began licking, the way she hand licked him as well. He ran his tongue down her spine and slathered more oil between her legs. She moaned.

“Shhhh….turn over.”

She did as she was told and he poured more oil onto her front, gently massaging in the oil into her breasts. His hands continued downward until his covered hand found her clit and he slathered it as well.

Sucking on her breast he began to rub her. He hips began to ungulate and she began making small squeaking noises. He was fascinated that she kept coming up with new sounds and his dick got even harder.

He pinched her nipple and moved his head down to her belly where he continued to lick and suck the oil off of her, while he inserted his fingers inside of her and used his thumb to continue to quickly massage her clit.

Her breathing quickened and he could tell she was close to coming so he stopped and moved his head down further. Leaving his fingers where they were his placed his mouth over her clit and began licking and sucking it. It took approximately 15 seconds until she was screaming. He quickly moved back up and placed his own mouth over hers, trying to keep her quiet. It was a secluded spot, but not that secluded.

“Shhhh…”

She was still convulsing a little when he slid into her, the oil assisting in any resistance that might have happened.

“Wait.” Donna said. She rolled them so that Josh was on his back. His hands instantly went up to touch her breasts and he moved his fingers over her oiled and hardened nipples. He didn’t move.

So she did. Using him for her own pleasure she began rocking back and forth, his hands still on her breasts, his eyes scanning her body, the long line of her torso, the way her hair moved, the expression of gasping bliss on her face as she used him to bring herself to another powerful orgasm. She clenched his length with her release and he suddenly couldn’t stop himself from thrusting into her.

She had collapsed onto his chest and he took the time to pull out almost entirely from her, then jam his way back in, finally, with two more quick strokes he felt his balls contracts and came with a groan, his entire body convulsing against her. The slickness between them made this even better. She covered his own mouth with hers trying to contain his groan and continued to kiss and lick all of the oily places around his mouth.

When he recovered he kissed and licked her back. Not moving, not wanting to move.

“How is it that this is incredible every single time?” He whispered to her.

“You didn’t think it would be like this?”

“If I had known…” he trailed off.

“What, you would have pushed me against the desk in the bullpen long ago.”

“No. I wouldn’t have.”

“I knew it would be this good.”

“How did you know that.”

“Josh, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m good in bed. I like sex.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“I also know that, given the women you dated, you must have been good in bed too. And you were always saying you were. I figured it couldn’t all just be ego.”

“Yeah.”

“So if you’re good in bed, and I’m good in bed, it stands to reason we would be good in bed.”

“Not this good Donna.”

“We are pretty fucking spectacular Josh.” She grinned at him, that toothy grin she gave when she was really uninhibited.

“You know, as much as I want to stay here lying in your arms…”

“We’re a little greasy…”

“Yeah, and hungry.”

“Okay. Let’s get our bathing suits back on, rinse off in the ocean for a minute so we don’t glisten quite so much. Then we can get back to the hotel without being too embarrassed. Then it’s shower, clothing and dinner. That a plan?”

He smiled again, kissing her nose. “It’s an excellent plan.”

“I’m known for my plans.” She rolled off of him and found the various pieces to her bathing suit. Josh reached for his swim trunks although he didn’t try to put his t-shirt back on. Donna picked up the towel and shook it out. She placed the oil back into her little plastic bag, picked up her over shirt and started to walk down to the beach.

“Hey,” Josh said, following behind her, “you need to wait for me to get my bathing suit on before you implement the plan.”

“It’s an excellent plan.” She said again, turning to him and kissing him.

“Yes it is.” He mumbled into her mouth, kissing her back.

How the hell was he going to end it? He had no idea.

7 Days In Hawaii -- Day 5/Part 1

2006-05-13T16:52:00.000-04:00

Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Transition.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: Special shout out to DLA92 for being my Beta. If you want to read the previous episodes, just click on the appropriate link to the right. Also, this is where we begin to be a little angsty. Don't worry, it'll all be over soon.

Day 5

Leo stood behind him while Donna stood in front. “Goodbye Josh” she said. “I love you.” And then she was gone. Again. Leo was there and looked at him. “Just like me.” He said. He was smiling that half smile that Leo could get when he was proud of you and pleased with something you had done. “Just like me.” And then Josh was clutching his chest and he couldn’t breath and then…

He woke with a start. It was 5:30 in the morning. He had been tangled up in Donna and she woke when he did. “Josh, are you okay?” She asked sleepily.

“Yeah baby, I’m fine. Go back to sleep.”

“’Kay.”

It had just been a nightmare. It had just been a normal nightmare too, not like the ones that he used to have, that he still had occasionally. It was just a dream.

But it wasn’t. He knew it. He was just like Leo, all drive and determination and no time for a relationship. Jeez, Jenny didn’t even have a job and she was ready to dump Leo when his job was the most important thing in the world. How was he going to, how was he supposed to build a relationship, hell, a life, with Donna when she was going to be working…well…not as hard, but almost as hard as he.

And she seemed to need all this sleep. He only needed five or six hours a night but she regularly slept seven or eight. He would come home when she was asleep. He would wake up when she was asleep. He would never see her.

And she would leave him. She had left him twice before. She would be unfulfilled. She would be a successful, beautiful woman in Washington, D.C. and he would be that guy who worked 18 hours a day for the President. Some congressman, or senator, or lobbyist (God forbid) would sniff around her and she would think, ‘well gee; Josh isn’t ever around, why not.’ And she would leave him.

Josh got out of bed and got his workout clothes and went down to the gym again. There was no way he was going back to sleep. He looked at Donna, twisted in the blankets, her hair splayed out on the pillows and he felt his heart break. There was no way this would work out. He would have to tell her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

He went down to the treadmill to once again think about his situation. This was his third day in a row he had gone for a run and even though every muscle in his body ached, both from the regular aerobic activity of running and the other regular aerobic activity he had been doing. For the first time in years, he found that running in the morning gave him time to think in a good way.

So the dream, he thought as he began. What did it mean? Well, it was pretty obvious. It was obvious that he was scared Donna would leave him and that he would die. Just like Leo. He missed Leo, in the past several weeks he wished Leo had been there to talk to. Leo would have told him how to behave, what he should do. But Leo wasn’t there anymore.

So parse it out, he thought, figure out what the problem is and solve it. The first was pretty clear. He didn’t want Donna to leave him. And he figured out all of the reasons she would. She would leave him because he was selfish, because he was, what was the word? Monomaniacal. Because he couldn’t pay her enough attention and because she couldn’t be loved by him the way she should be. She would leave him because he had gotten old.

And even if she stayed, he thought, how long would he really be around. He was much older than she was. More than ten years her senior. He’d been shot in the chest. He ate crap. With the exception of this current week he never got enough exercise. His job was 100% stress, all the time, his blood-pressure was never good.

She might stay, out of duty or loyalty or pity, but sooner or later she would leave him. She would have no choice. And even if she didn’t, he would leave her, not out of choice but out of porr timing and poor health and age. It was beyond his control. Leo’s death made that painfully obvious to him.

He had to protect her from himself. He had to insulate her from him living her the way Leo had left him.

He would do what he had always done. He would throw himself into the work. He had to focus on President-elect Santos. He would tell her tomorrow that he had chosen his job over her. She would probably never forgive him, but it would be better for her, better for them and better for the country if he just broke it off now. She would get over it. She would find someone else. He knew he would never recover but it was better for her in the long run.

That’s what he kept telling himself.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

He had worked out for an hour and when he got back to the room, two coffees in hand, she was awake and in the shower. He needed a shower too so he walked into the bathroom. He took off his clothes and got into the shower with her.

She was a little startled to see him.

“How was your workout?” She asked.

“Good.”

“Need to get clean?”

“Yes.”

Donna soaped up Josh’s back. He soaped her front. He wasn’t smiling, which she thought unusual, but he was apparently getting very excited again. So was she.

She rubbed the palms of her hands against his nipples and he gasped. She kissed him. He kissed her back hungrily. After a few more moments making out in the shower she turned him around, so his back was facing her. Her fingers trailed along the back of his spine into the crack of his ass. She gently poked him with her soapy finger.

“Donna.”

“Yes.”

“What are you doing?”

“Experimenting.”

“Stop.”

She inserted her finger, slowly sliding it in.

“No. Donna….ah.”

She gently took her finger and began stroking his prostate gland.

He began to gasp and convulse in a manner she had never seen before. She reached around and grabbed his suddenly totally erect penis.

“You doing okay Josh?”

“Ah….hunh?”

She took that as a yes.

He began to pump, back and forth, against her soapy hand, he started with little grunts and then went on the shrieks, all because she was stroking that little gland.

Josh, for his part, had read about this, but his generalize homophobia had kept him from this particular type of experimentation. Now he realized he didn’t know what he was missing. It was as if he was having tiny orgasm after tiny orgasm, the moment one subsided a new one would start and his body was racked with shudders and tingles he could never remember before. He would miss this.

After a few minutes she removed her finger and he turned around. He still, despite his highly aroused state, had not come. He turned on her and pounced. They fell out of the shower stall and tripped onto the floor, coming to rest against the sink counter. He roughly grabbed her breasts, leaning down to place a hard nipple in his mouth, his teeth teasing it, his hands went lower, feeling for her clit. Whether it was wet from the shower, the soap or her own juices she was wet and he didn’t care. He wanted to get her to moan in the ways he had been moaning. He wanted to return the kind of pleasure she had just given to him.

“Josh…” She whispered.

His hand started working faster as his mouth went to place long, sucking kisses on her neck.

“C’mon Donna…come for me…” he whispered in her ear

And she did. And before she was even done, he positioned himself under her, lifting one of her legs so that he could more easily enter her and slid into her as she was still quivering. He groaned.

He began thrusting with considerable force, grunting after each one. Slowly but with force behind it. He continued to press against her clit and with each upstroke he gasped.

“Oh Josh…” She moaned.

It seemed that her little experiment had made his lasting power greater than it would have otherwise been. As he pounded against her clit she started to feel herself shudder and a powerful orgasm came out. Fearing she couldn’t stand on her own anymore, her single leg still on the floor wrapped around his waist as she screamed his name and held on to him for dear life as she bucked against him.

He slammed her against the counter and thrust against her a few more times until his own orgasm came. He roared and then gasped, his own body convulsing against her now and he slid down to his knees, Donna still wrapped around him. They disengaged and lay on the cool bathroom tile for a few moments, simply catching their breath.

“Good Morning!” She smiled at him.

And he responded by kissing her, sucking at her bottom lip, touching her jaw, knowing that he only has a few days left to do this and it would all be over. That amazing week he spent in Hawaii with Donna is how he would look back on these moments. And he tried not to be sad, but he was feeling hollow inside.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

She had allowed him to bring work to the beach. It would give her an entire morning without him poking her or trying to get her to swim. She sat in her bikini, reading her book, drinking a virgin pina colada (it was too early for alcohol, even for vacation). The waves made lovely sounds that relaxed her, the sun shone on the beach. There was nothing to bother them, she had not a care in the world.

And she was bored. Really, really bored.

“What are you working on?” she asked.

“The Baker thing.” Josh responded absentmindedly.

“How many ideas have you come up with?”

“Two.”

“You’ve been working on this for days and you’ve only come up with two ways to get Baker through congress?”

“Yeah, but only for like a total of five hours Donna!” Josh whined.

“That’s…that’s actually kind of pathetic Josh.”

“Yeah.” Josh sighed.

“I mean really, really sad.”

“Okay, I get it. Thank you.”

“You sure you don’t want some help.”

“No. You’re on vacation, you should be relaxing.”

“I’ve very relaxed, and I want to help.”

“Okay fine. Give me a thought. How do we get Baker through a hostile Senate confirmation process and get him confirmed?”

“Well, let’s start with why can’t we just put Baker’s name on the nominating ballot and then we don’t have to worry about a sticky Senate confirmation? I mean I thought I heard that the lawyers had looked at it and it would be fine?”

“It would be fine, but it wouldn’t be right.”

“Because no one actually had to vote for Baker?”

“Except the electors, yes.”

“And it would look like we were slipping Baker past the congress and the American public.”

“And the congress. Exactly.”

“And not only that, but Leo’s name wouldn’t be on the ballot.”

Josh let his head drop. “Yeah.”

“You’re doing this out of some sense of tribute to Leo?”

Josh paused. There were many good reasons that he wanted the congress to approve of the vice-presidential appointee. There was also one lousy reason, and that was it. His head hung low. “I want to honor him. I mean I know that it’s actually the right thing to do. It’ll be better in the long run for us, but also yeah, I want the history books to show that Leo McGarry was elected as Vice President of the United States of America, and that he wasn’t replaced. That he couldn’t be replaced.”

Donna got up and slid herself on to Josh’s lounge chair. “You know, that’s just about the sweetest thing I ever heard.” She said. She leaned in and kissed him. “See, under all of that bravado you can be really sweet sometimes.”

And she hugged him, and he let her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

They had an early lunch and then Josh discovered that Donna had booked them for an early massage. He was not pleased and he her know.

“What? You’re back is always bothering you. You’ll like it. It’s therapeutic.”

“So you’ve hired some strange person to rub lotion on me? I would rather have you rub lotion on me.” He wagged his eyebrows at her.

“I can do that later, but after our massages. I’m going to be getting a hot rock treatment and a seaweed wrap while you got back up to the room and talk to Sam. Then maybe you’ll take a nap or work on the Baker thing. By the time I get back you’ll be ready for me.”

7 Days in Hawaii -- Day 4/Part 2

2006-05-09T14:11:00.000-04:00

Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Transition and a little The Last Hurrah.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome. Really.
A/N: Special shout out to DLA92 for being my Beta. Now with 50% fewer typos! If you want to read the previous episodes, just click on the appropriate link to the right.

Day 4/Part 2

Josh woke up and looked at the clock. It was 4:15. He had been asleep a little less than three hours and felt human again. He flung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his face with his hands. Donna wasn’t around. He checked the patio. She wasn’t there. He wandered over to the bathroom. She wasn’t there either. While he was there he peed. He wondered where she could be? He wondered if his little comment this afternoon had angered her and made her leave. No, that was stupid, her suitcase was still here. So was her purse. So were her clothes. She would come back.

He yawned and scratched himself, free from the prying eyes of Donna. He realized he hadn’t been scratching himself when he was around her. He noticed a note on top of the mini-bar in her distinct penmanship.

“Your samdwick (okay, that was probably sandwich) is in the fridge if you’re angry (could be angry, but more likely hungry) when you wake up. I’ve gone down for a swan (most likely swim). Be back soup (that would be soon). – D”

He opened the mini-bar fridge and pulled out his sandwich and grabbed a beer. He then dug out the paper, the pens and the note cards that Donna got for him and put in the desk as well as his notes from the previous day and went outside to start working on as many different strategies for getting Baker through a confirmation in the Senate.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Donna came back into the room a little before 5, still dripping from her swim in the pool, her beach towel wrapped around her. She saw Josh sitting on the patio working, his back facing her. She walked over to him. He was engrossed in what he was doing, so she quietly stood behind him and dripped her hair on him a few times until he noticed.

“What! Ack! Oh. Hi.” He smiled up at her.

“You have 15 minutes to get to a stopping place. Then we’re going to walk along the beach romantically. I’m going to take a shower.”

“Okay, but could you make it a half hour, I just need to…”

“No. You’ll make it fifteen minutes or fewer or you won’t get to work again.”

And with that she walked into the bathroom.

- - - - - - - - - -

Donna was dressed in a pair of Capri pants and a pink tank top. She wore only the barest about of make up and her wet hair was up in a clip. He wasn’t sure if he had ever seen her look lovelier. She had gotten herself together in 12 and a half minutes.

“I’m getting my shoes on now!” He whined as she stood over him disapprovingly.

“I see that.”

“You said 15 minutes and it’s only been 13.”

“I know.”

“There. Ready.”

And they left the room. Josh looking like a bum, still covered with some of the dirt they had picked up on their hike, Donna looking pressed and polished as always.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

They didn’t talk for a long time. They just walked along the beach, both holding their shoes.

“I’m not really sure why I put them on if all I was going to do was carry them” Josh mumbled, looking at his sneakers.

Donna took them from him, stuck his socks into the toes of the shoes, tied them to each other and draped them around his neck.

“Oh. I suppose I could have done that too.” Josh said.

“Yeah, but you would have never thought of it. So I did it instead.”

“You shouldn’t, you know.”

“I shouldn’t what?”

“You shouldn’t take care of me.”

“Why not?”

“You’re not my assistant anymore.”

“I know. What am I though?”

“Friend?”

“Friends do things for each other.”

“Friends don’t have sex with each other.”

“Depends on the friend, but generally no.”

“Nor do they say things in the middle of the night.”

“I used to talk to you in the middle of the night all the time. Generally when we were working.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean?”

“You’re not making this easy for me you know.” He said, running his hands through his hair.

“That’s kind of the point.”

“I…what do you mean?”

“I’m not going to make this easy for you Josh. I’m not going to tell you what you’re supposed to feel, I’m not going to tell you what we are to each other. I’m not going to tell you where this is going. You need to figure that out and let me know.”

“Well that’s probably not a very good idea, is it?” He asked sarcastically.

“No. Probably not. But it’s the only way I know how to do this.”

“Which is what?”

“You tell me.”

“So, are you my girlfriend?” He asked abruptly.

“Do you want me to be?”

“I guess.”

“Well that’s a ringing sales pitch Josh. Your wooing skills are really stellar there.”

“I want you to be my girlfriend.” He said it more definitively that time.

“Why?”

“Because I’d like to continue the sex?” He grinned at her, flashing the dimples.

“I like the sex too. Girlfriend is a relationship position. It’s more than sex. Why else?”

“Because. Of the thing.”

“Generally I know what the thing is. Right now, not so much.”

“The thing I said last night.”

“Which you can only tell me when I’m asleep?”

“Yeah. That thing.”

“Why don’t you try saying it right now and see what happens?”

“Right now? Are you sure this is the best time?”

“I don’t know, we’re in the middle of a vacation, walking on a Hawaiian beach, the sun just beginning to set. Might want to take the risk there.”

“Jump off the cliff?”

“So to speak.”

He looked at her sideways.

“I love you.” He both squeaked and croaked at the same time. Josh was not pleased at the strained sound of his own voice and he winced after he said it.

“I love you too Josh.”

“Will you be my girlfriend?” Again, not smooth.

Donna cracked up. “Sure, but only if I can wear your letterman jacket and talk about how we’re going steady in the girl’s bathroom.”

“What?”

“You sound like we’re in high school.”

“Well thanks Donna, because that was a fairly big step for me and I…” Josh was getting pissed.

She stopped walking and turned to him. “Stop.” She commanded.

He did.

“Yes, I will be your girlfriend and the reason I will be your girlfriend is because you love me and I love you. Okay.”

And he leaned into her and kissed her, the sand slithering into his toes as he wrapped himself around her. The shoes she still carried in her hand slipped onto the beach as she sank into his embrace.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

If it had been up to Josh they would have dropped to the sand and had sex right there, on a secluded beach. As it was, although Josh was ready, willing and able to take Donna right there; Donna’s only somewhat cooler head prevailed and she gently convinced Josh that getting cited for public indecency was not a good way to start his new job as Chief of Staff to the President of the United States. She suggested that going back to the room first would be best for all concerned and he reluctantly had agreed.

But, although he couldn’t get to the room fast enough he kept having to stop her. Needing to touch her and kiss her. His hands roughly moving over her body.

They got into the elevator in the hotel. No one else got in so the spent the ride with her back pressed against his front, his hands cupping her breasts, his face buried in the side of her neck kissing it’s length.

They made there way into the room. The moment the door clicked shut he removed her top and then continued to provide tiny kisses along her neck and chest. She helped remove his shirt and they kissed on the lips again. His tongue probing her mouth, making delicious tingles up and down her spine.

It was interesting, she thought as he pressed her up against the wall, shirtless and panting a bit, the sense of languid urgency with which this was progressing. Needy, yet slow.

Over the past few weeks the sex had been varied and good, no, not good, exceptional, but this time it seemed different, the need, on his part, was less physical, more emotional. As if the moment he knew he had her emotionally he had to have her physically as well. He had to demonstratively show how he felt about her.

His hands unbuttoned her pants and she removed his shorts. There, standing in their underwear, he ran his fingers up and down her back, kissed her slowly and urgently and maneuvered her to the bed and assisted her down.

She removed his underwear and her own bra and he helped her out of her underwear. He placed kisses over the length of her body. She tried to reciprocate, but he kept dodging her. She would try to move to reach him and he would come back up, simply kissing her on the lips as his hands continued to explore her body.

Although nothing overt had been tried, no nipple pinches or anything more then the gentlest fondling Donna could feel herself getting excited. He breathing had quickened and she felt a moan escape her lips.

Josh took this as a cue. He opened her legs and felt her wetness. He gently slipped himself into her. And he held himself there, continuing to pepper her torso with kisses.

Slowly he began to pump, reaching his hand down to stroke her, his mouth continuing to place kisses on her neck and jaw and mouth. Now he whispered her name. Her legs wrapped around his waist, her arms around his back until she was clutching him to her, screaming his name, bucking against him. He stopped moving and waited for her orgasm to subside and then started to kiss her again, moving his hips slowly and rhythmically and she came again, and he stopped again, letting her fingernails dig into his back, letting him give her this intense, wonderful pleasure. She had never seen him so in control. Sex with him, even in the bathtub, had always been a little wild, a little rough. Thiswas soft and controlled. He began rhythmically rocking back and forth, his hand again reach down to stroke her, “No.” She put her hand between them and moved his hand back up. “You.” She looked in his eyes, pleadingly. She wanted to see him come. “I love you Donna.” He whispered gently into her ear as the control he had been working so hard to maintain finally began to crack. His movements sped up and suddenly he was bucking and screaming and she was gripping onto him, not wanting, never wanting, to let go. He came and collapsed on top of her, burying his face in her hair, stroking her arms and shoulders and repeating over and over and over “I love you, I love you, I love you.” Now the flood gates had opened he couldn’t say it enough.

And Donna felt like she was about to cry. This was a fantasy she hadn’t told Josh about. The one where they didn’t just have sex, they made love, and he told her he loved her. He had replicated it perfectly, without ever knowing about it. She didn’t want to cry, he would ask her why and she couldn’t really articulate it although she knew it was because for the first time in a long while she felt like someone cared for her and she knew she felt the same way. She would be crying simply from relief and she didn't think he'd really understand.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Unfortunately, no matter how wonderful the sex is, or how much you want to stay in bed forever, that moment comes where you realize you have to pee and you must eat. Josh and Donna hit that point about 15 minutes after they finished. Still glowing from sex they slipped their clothes back on (Josh actually put on jeans) and went down to the hotel bar which sold burgers and sandwiches. Josh and Donna ordered a few of them, Josh ordered some fries and they both ordered beers. The conversation at dinner was light and funny. Donna kept stealing fries and Josh let her. Until the conversation took a decidedly more serious turn.

“So, when did you first know?” Donna asked.

“Know what?”

“Know that you felt something for me other than simple friendship”

Josh was surprised.

“Where’s this question coming from?”

“Just curious.”

“Okay, well you know that thing you did in the shower yesterday, ‘cause it was at that moment…”

She rolled her eyes.

Josh got back on topic. “Seriously. I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“No. I was thinking about it this morning and I can’t pinpoint it. There was no one moment.”

“Really?”

“Look, you walked into my office, into my life, you were this beautiful, fresh faced, bright eyed, girl. I mean it was hard not to think about you as more than just an assistant because you were, are, gorgeous. But you were so young. And you needed everything explained to you. For the first couple years, I don’t know. I was a little smitten. I liked you. You antagonized me and begged for skis and Hawaiian vacations…”

“Which I finally got.”

“You did, yes. That Donntella Moss, not so much. You really have no idea how much you’ve changed. Regardless. I cared about you. I liked you. I think I loved you. But it was different.”

“If you say you loved me like a sister, so help me…”

“No,” he got quiet, “I didn’t. But…I don’t know.” He smiled. “When you dated I didn’t like it. Sam pointed it out to me years ago. But I thought I was just protecting your best interest. And the day you wore that red dress for the date. Wow. And then Jack Reese…”

“You helped me date Jack Reese!”

“I know, but I was not happy about it.”

“What about the second inauguration?”

“Yeah. I think that was the first time I ever thought about what we might be. Scared the shit out of me if you must know.” He paused, giving the thought some time to sink in. These really weren’t things he ever articulated. “Look, I spent so much time thinking about how I couldn’t behave and think about you that I’m not sure whether I actually thought about how I did feel about you. Even after you left. I knew that I missed you. I know it hurt every time I thought about you. But I don’t think it ever occurred to me to ask why I felt that way about you and not, say, Sam. So while I’m sure I’ve loved you for a long time, I’m equally sure I didn’t actually know I felt this way until very recently.”

“Very recently?”

“Well, we’re talking about two different things here. The first is when did I fall in love with you? I’m saying it’s hard to pinpoint. I loved you as a person the first day I met you. I think I started to fall in love after Rosslyn. I think I knew I couldn’t imagine my life without you when I flew to Germany. And I was pretty devastated when you left.”

He paused to pick at his dinner. She could tell there was more and didn’t interrupt.

“But when did I realized it? When did I think to myself, ‘oh crap I’m in love with Donna?’ Not until very recently. Not until after that first kiss. And wow was that a kiss. That kiss was everything I had ever imagined, but better. And you kissed back, which surprised me. And then you offered your room key, and that just totally threw me for a loop. That you wanted me as much as I wanted you. So I blew that. And I think it made me want to be with you even more. So I loved you from the beginning but I didn’t acknowledge that there were feelings beyond professional and friendship until about 6 weeks ago and I only admitted that it was love since yesterday.”

“In the shower.” She grinned

“Not in the shower.” He threw a French fry at her. “What about you? Quid pro quo as you said. When did you first realized?”

“I think I figured it out long before you did. I of course had a mad crush on you when I first started working for you.”

“Of course you did.”

She ignored him and moved on.

“After Rosslyn, I think I knew it was more than just a crush. And then, with the PTSD I was so scared for you.”

“So it’s a love based on pity then?”

“It’s always been pity, there’s just been more to pity in recent years.”

“That’s why I love you. You’re great for my ego.”

“I don’t think there is any danger to your ego. I suspect we could annex your ego and make it another state.”

He grinned, “I’m all for that, a minimum of three more electoral votes to go into the Democrat column.”

“What makes you think that your ego wouldn’t want lower taxes and free access to guns?”

“There’s a thought that will keep me up nights.”

Donna changed the subject back, “Well, I’ve known for years. When I came back and you didn’t want me anymore, that hurt a lot.”

Josh reached across the table and took her hand, “You know that’s not true.”

“Well, it felt true. Then Lou hired me and you and I started to get along better and things started to go back to normal, although you didn’t look at me the way you used to. I missed those long lingering looks you used to give me, but I figured it would be okay. And then you kissed me. I hadn’t wanted to even hope at that point. We were always going to be the great ‘what if’ in my life. And once you kissed me I knew it couldn’t be ‘what if’ anymore.”

“You needed more, kind of like crack.” He grinned.

“Yes Josh, a painful addiction that leads to either death or rehab. You really want to put yourself in that category?”

“Maybe not.”

“Didn’t think so.”

“So, you’ve known for years. And I’ve know for a day.”

“No, you’ve known longer then that.”

"Yeah?"

“Because there is no way you would have flown to Germany on a moments notice in the middle of an international crisis for anyone but your Mom and me. And don’t think I didn’t figure that out then.”

7 Days in Hawaii -- Day 4/Part 1

2006-05-08T15:22:00.000-04:00

Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Transition and a little The Last Hurrah.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can always post a comment. Any and all feedback welcome.
A/N: A little smutty Just for the Keytus:AD Kids. Special shout out to DLA92 for being my Beta. Now with 50% fewer typos!

Day 4/Part 1
What was the problem? Why was he panicked? He parsed it out in his mind after fitfully sleeping for a few hours. It wasn't that he said it. It was true, had been true for a long time. It had almost been a relief to say it, stupidly, when she was asleep. He had hoped it would be practice for the following day when he would really say it to her. Not some trite 'I thought you were asleep' thing.

And it certainly wasn't that she had said it back. He knew she would. She had already said it once, the night before. He knew she would respond that way.

No. He realized there was something else going on. He was tempted to call his shrink. He hadn't talked to the guy in probably two years, he had been busy, but he couldn't figure out why he was so panicked. Josh looked at the clock. 5:04 am. He was now fully awake, jittery even. He didn't want to wake her, she needed her sleep. He quietly got up, changed into his running stuff from the day before, slipped it on, and went down to the gym to run on the treadmill. It was still dark out and the running paths would be dangerous.

He got himself down to the gym and started running. It had only been two days, but working out again was good. It gave him time to think, time to compose himself.

He had thought about her all night. Contemplated and analyzed what it was about her that he loved. He had diagnosed that the idea of being in love with her, and her being in love with him was not the problem. If Donna had been a bill that needed to be pushed through congress, or a campaign to win, or an agenda to be implemented, he would have been the guy. But this was about a relationship. That was something he was not good at.

She was right. The next four, possibly eight years if they played their cards right, were going to be exciting but brutal. Leo hadn't managed to do it, have a marriage and be Chief of Staff and Leo was, or had been, a far better man then he.

And suddenly he realized that was the crux of the problem. His problem certainly wasn't that he loved her or that she seemed to love him (although he couldn't figure out why). The problem was what happened if they failed, or, more to the point, if he failed her. He would disappoint her and she would leave. The thought of actually losing her, again, was unbearable.

He had been running for forty minutes and could barely breathe. He stepped off the treadmill and tried to catch his breath. He thought of that quote by, who was it? Butler, he though, "It is better to have loved and lost than never to have lost at all" and he just wasn't sure that was really true.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Josh got back to the room Donna was still asleep, which was understandable. It wasn't even 6am.

He showered and shaved, letting the hot water glide over him and soothe his muscles which ached from both the running and the sex. His thigh muscles had been sore for two weeks already. He just wasn't used to all the sex. Not that he was complaining or anything. He got out of the shower and dried himself off, wrapped the towel around his waist and went back into the room. The cold air felt good against his skin. He finally felt sleepy. He lay back onto the bed, without actually getting under the covers, reached out his arm so he could touch Donna as she slept and drifted off into a deep sleep.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Donna woke up around 7am. She looked over at Josh whom she noted was finally asleep. Donna was not a sound sleeper and knew that he spent most of the night tossing and turning and not sleeping. She had only slept well herself for the past two hours. But they needed to get up to go on the volcano tour in two hours, he had promised. Josh was on his back, his mouth wide open, a towel barely draped around his waist. It was almost comical.

She silently went to the bathroom and showered and got herself ready for the day. When she returned, also wrapped in a towel, she noticed that Josh had closed his mouth but was still sleeping on his back and the towel had definate tent like proportions.

She felt the distinct tug in her abdomen, her muscles started to contract on their own. She looked at the clock. 7:23. She had time. She removed the towel around her body and then opened the towel around his waist. He wasn't 100% hard, but he was pretty far gone. She gently spread his legs a little and lay down between them.

Her hand explored his dick, his balls and his ass. There were some kinky things she thought about trying, but she wasn't going to do it now, while he was asleep. Instead she just decided to see how far she could get him going before he woke up. He fingers gently tickled his balls. No reaction except his dick got somewhat harder. She slowly traced her finger up from underneath the base of his penis lightly, up to the tip. Using her index finger she circled the tip. After about a minute he was totally hard. She scooted herself up and gently held his balls in her left hand, continuing to stroke them. She ever so gently took the tip of his penis in her mouth and circled her tongue around it. A small moan came from him mouth. She looked up, but he was still asleep.

She moved from between his legs and moved next to him. She bent down so that her lips gently touched his nipple. Her hand again going down to his penis where she began stroking him. He began breathing more heavily in his sleep. She was getting incredibly turned on. She flipped herself around once again, so her head was now next to his penis and her legs were bent on the pillows at the top of the bed. She gently took him into her mouth and began to suck, deep throating him a few times. She heard him gasp and he rolled over onto his side, now facing her.

"What, oh, what are you, oh yeah, doing?" She heard him ask.

"Shhhhh," was her reply.

And then he did something unexpected. He used his free arm to separate her thighs and suddenly his head was between her legs. His tongue finding her already swelled clit easily and circling it, his free hand stroking her inner thigh.

She couldn't concentrate on what she was doing. Her previous performance in the shower not withstanding, it took some concentration to use her considerable skills. Her mouth left his penis as she made a soft mewling sound.

Using his freer position now Josh rolled her on her back and lay on top of her, taking control of the situation, his dick still inches from her face. She took him in her mouth again and started to suck and lick (although she still couldn't concentrate enough to take all of him as he now pounded her clit with the flat part of her tongue. As her hips bucked spontaneously he increased the speed of his tongue over her clit and soon she was crying out, or as best she could, with his penis in her mouth. The vibration from the sound was ecstasy for him.

"I want to be inside you." He said when her orgasm was finished and she had gone back to her ministrations.

She let go and flipped herself over, looking him straight in the eye. Her chest was still heaving from the incredible point she had been brought to just moments before.

"Josh, I want you to fuck me."

He slid into her easily and held it for a moment, allowing her to get used to him. She wanted none of it. She moved her hips with as much force as she could muster. "Fuck me." She asked again.

And now he was slamming against her and she was slamming against him, the full force of their bodies colliding and she began to grind into him now, screaming as her walls compressed and messaged his dick. One more thrust and he came too, collapsing on her with a highpitched shriek.

He rolled on his back and she rolled on top of him, kissing his chest, working past his neck until she got to his lips. There was no morning breath, she only tasted herself.

"Good morning." She said quietly.

"No kidding."

"I wanted to give you a reason to wake up. I know you didn't sleep well last night."

"I had a lot to think about."

"And you can think about it later because we only have an hour to get ready to go on the volcano tour."

"I'm a man. How long do you think it'll take me to get ready?"

"That's not the point."

"Besides, I think we should just stay here, we can talk about, what was said last night, you know, when I thought you were asleep."

She perched her head on his chest so she was looking up at him in the eyes.

"Josh, this is the fourth day I have been in Hawaii and do you know what I have seen. A hotel room. And some restaurants. And I spent an afternoon on the beach. I'd like to tell people I actually did something. It might cut down on the snickering."

"The snickering?" His eyebrows went up.

"What do you think is going to happen when we get back? Everybody knows you left for a vacation. Everybody knows I left for a vacation. They're not stupid you know. So when I get back and, I don't know, Edie comes up to me and says, 'Oh Donna, how was your vacation?' with that stupid 'I bet you were boinking like bunnies' look on her face, I can say, 'Great Edie, I went and did a three hour hike around the Haleakala Volcano water falls.' Instead of, 'fine, the hotel was really nice.' If I say the latter, it will only confirm the boinking."

"Well, the latter is true, isn't it?"

"Yes. You're a politician, what has that got anything to do with it?"

"Good point."

"So, I'm going to clean myself up a little bit and dry my hair, which is a damp, matted mess by now, and then you can take a shower and put on some good walking clothes and then we might have time to pick up some breakfast and coffee before they pick us up at 9."

"'Kay. Wait. Three hour hike?"

"It's easy." Donna said, getting up and moving towards the bathroom.

"Yeah," Josh said under his breath, "but I got almost no sleep last night and I've already had two work outs today and it's not even quite 8am."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The hike had been lovely. They had purchased a few pastries and some coffee to go and ate and drank while on the bus. The waterfalls and the landscape had been breathtaking. Josh was actually glad Donna had made him go. They had gotten back on the bus around 1pm for the 20 minute ride back to the hotel. Josh had closed his eyes immediately, but Donna was wide awake and was planning on getting Josh to admit that she had a good idea in going on the hike. The bus started but before she could poke Josh the man across the aisle tapped her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, um, I'm sorry to bother you ma'am, but my wife here is sure she knows you from somewhere. Are you from Cincinnati?"

Donna smiled and she noticed Josh smile too. He didn't open his eyes, he just smiled.

"No, I'm from Madison, Wisconsin," she offered to the man, "I live in Washington, D.C. now. I've been on television quite a bit recently however. That may be why I look so familiar."

"Oh." the man looked over at his wife, trying to see if that helped her.

"That's where I've seen you from, the news!" The man's wife announced, "You had something to do with the presidential campaign -- who was it that you work for?"

"President-elect Santos." She smiled graciously.

"That's right." Said the man. "I voted for Vinick."

Donna glanced at Josh, his eyes were still closed and she saw the smile instantly depart from his face. She turned back to the couple.

"A lot of people did." She was gracious. "But President-elect Santos will do a terrific job for the country. I expect you'll be pleasantly surprised and will vote for him in four years when you see what a good job he does."

"Not likely," the man's wife said, "Bob's been a Republican since 1988. Doesn't want his taxes raised or to have his gun taken away by you liberals."

Donna placed her hand on Josh's knee and continued speaking with the couple, hoping her touch would calm him down a bit. She knew that the last thing she wanted was Josh making a scene.

"Well," she began, "I appreciate that, but Matthew Santos has no interest in raising taxes or taking your guns away. Unless you use a sub-machine gun to hunt. You don't, do you?"

"No." The man replied.

"Then hopefully you'll give President-elect Santos a chance. Thank you for voting, regardless of who you voted for." Only Donna could make this line sound sincere and convincing.

Josh mumbled, just loud enough for Donna to hear, "but you should be voting Democrat you stupid gomer."

"Josh..." Donna leaned over warningly.

His eyes opened briefly. He smiled at her, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"You better."

"You handled that well you know."

"Better than you."

Josh closed his eyes again, "I don't know about that."

Donna sat back and looked out the window. "I do."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

They had picked up some sandwiches on the way in. When they got back to the room Josh collapsed on the bed and Donna used the bathroom. When she came out she looked at the fact that he still had his sneakers on their newly made bed.

“Josh, don’t you think you should take the sneakers off?”

And nothing. He was out.

She walked over to the bed and untied his shoes gently. He stirred as she removed the shoes. “Donna, just five more minutes, then we can play.” He mumbled.

Even in sleep his ego still swelled.

“Shhhh…I’m just removing your shoes. Go back to sleep.” She placed the sneakers next to the bed.

“No. Want to take off socks.”

“I’ve got them. Go to sleep.”

“mmm’kay” he rolled over.

She removed his socks and went to use the phone extension in the bathroom to call Sam.

“Josh Lyman’s office.” Otto answered.

“Hi Otto, it’s Donna. Is Sam there?”

“Sure, he was going to call Josh in about 20 minutes. I have it on the call sheet.”

“Yeah, take him off. I’ll talk to Sam now, then he won’t have to call later.”

“Hold on.”

Donna waited for a moment and Otto came back on the line, “Hey, he says he’ll be right with you, can you hang on a second?”

“Sure”

There was a pause.

“So. How’s the vacation?” Otto asked.

“Fine. Good. Very relaxing.” She smiled.

“So, you and Josh.”

“Yeah.”

”That’s kind of…unexpected.”

“Well, it was a little sudden. Otto, maybe you should check and see if Sam’s ready for me?”

“Hunh? Oh yeah. Right. He’s off the other line. Hang on.”

There was a pause and Sam picked up.

“Hi Donna.”

“Hi Sam. I’m just calling to say that Josh is asleep and so you probably shouldn’t be calling here and waking him up. If you can tell me if there is anything he needs to know, I’ll let him know. Okay?”

“Sure. I don’t think there’s anything going on that can’t wait. We’re still working on staffing most of the major positions. There are a few names that I want to run by Josh, but it’ll hold. How are you doing?”

“I’m doing fine.”

“How are you and Josh?”

“We’re okay.”

“Donna,I…never mind.”

“What Sam?”

“No, it’s not my place. Don’t worry about.”

“Really, Sam, you want to ask. Ask.”

“What’s going on between you and Josh?”

“I don’t know.” She sighed.

“Are you his girlfriend?”

“I don’t know Sam.”

“Because generally, when I take a woman to Hawaii, I consider her to be my girlfriend.”

“Right Sam. We haven’t talked about it.”

There was a pause. “You should really discuss it with him.”

“I know.” She had gone from resigned to annoyed. It was remarkable how Sam could do that sometimes.

“Okay. Because I’m just saying that…”

“Sam, you know how you said it was none of your business?”

“I didn’t actually say it was none of my business, I said it wasn’t my place. I was right, wasn’t I?”

“Yes.”

“Okay Donna. Have a great night. Tell Josh I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

“Bye.”

And with that she hung up on Sam and went out to the patio to read some more of her book.

7 Days in Hawaii -- Day 3/Part 2

2006-05-04T21:29:00.000-04:00

Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Transition and a little The Last Hurrah.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. I can not whore myself out enough for praise.
A/N: Porny in the front, all business in the back (the opposite of a mullet). Special shout out to DLA92 for being my Beta. WhooHoo, 50% fewer typos!

Day 3/Part 2

On the way back to the hotel Donna decided to broach another topic.

"Josh, you know, I, um, I have our protective needs all taken care of, right?"

"You hiding a secret service agent on you somewhere, because, with
that skirt and shirt combo I'm not sure where…"

"I mean birth control."

Josh stopped walking.

Donna continued, "I mean I was thinking, if we were in a bathtub it might not be very conducive to…well…certain things if we were to be using a condom and we might want to do those certain things and all I'm saying is that if you want to keep using a condom that's fine, but we shouldn't be using one because of the pregnancy reason, because I've got that one covered." She looked up and smiled, "did that make any sense?"

He smiled back, a huge grin spreading across his face, "Yeah, you know, I had a check-up right before I went to run the Santos Campaign and I had a clean bill of health. I had all the blood work done and everything."

"What about since then."

"Donna, before you, I hadn't been with someone in so long, I'm pretty sure there were cobwebs on me."

"Me too," she sighed.

"You still had me beat."

"Yeah, I know. I'm clean though."

"You checked after sleeping with a photojournalist, right? Because..."

"Jooosh!"

"Sorry. Couldn't stop myself." Josh grabbed both of Donna's hands and looked into her eyes. He searched her face, smiling, "Does this mean what I think it means?"

"I think it means that we can throw out the rest of the condoms."

With that, Josh kept hold of one of Donna's hands and began walking again, this time more quickly and efficiently. He was going to get to that hotel room as fast as he possibly could.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

They tripped back into the room, he was tickling her and she was giggling.

Donna ran into the bathroom and turned on the tap for the tub. She poured in some more of the complementary bath salts that came with the room and then went to fetch the four candles she had purchased on her shopping trip that morning. She hadn't actually purchased them for this purpose, but she figured it was an appropriate time. She laid them out on the sink counter in the bathroom and then lit them, then turned off the bathroom light.

Josh had gone into the room and undressed. He was naked now as he walked into the bathroom. He noticed two things when he got there, the candles and that Donna was not naked.

"You know, when you do fantasy, you go all out. But there is one little problem with this scenario."

"What?" she asked, attempting not to look down at his…nakedness. She still hadn't gotten used to him being naked around her. She liked it. She just wasn't used to it.

Josh approached her and started to unbutton her shirt, while staring her in the eyes.

"Oh." She smiled, and started to help him.

"No, I want to do it."

He finished unbuttoning her top and let it drop off her shoulders. He unzipped her skirt and let it fall to the floor. She kicked it aside. She had already removed her sandals and now she stood in front of him in only her bra and underwear. In some ways she felt more vulnerable than being naked.

He pressed his lips against hers, his mouth soft and closed. Now he opened his mouth a little, sucking in her bottom lip, nibbling it. His tongue ran on the inside of her mouth, probing it. While working on her mouth with his own he had managed to get his hands around to unhook her bra. He actually had been pretty pleased, he got it unhooked on the second try. Donna, meanwhile, had been so preoccupied with the long, slow kiss, she hadn't even noticed that her bra had become unhooked until she felt Josh removing the straps from her arms and the bra slipped to the floor.

Josh disengaged his mouth and moved his head down, kissing her neck, her chest and her breasts. He took her nipple in his mouth and teased it, wetting it and then removing his mouth and blowing, ever so slightly, until the nipple was erect and sensitive.

While he allowed his tongue to play with her nipple he placed his hands in the elastic of her underpants and slipped them down to the floor. He then moved his head back up to her own. They were both naked now. Surrounded by candle light, their eyes locked. He went to kiss her again, this time more urgently, his hands caressing her body, his erection pressing against her belly. Her knees becoming ever weaker as she placed one hand on the sink counter to keep herself upright. She used the other hand to explore his face, now his chest, now his abdomen, and finally she brushed against his penis.

"Donna," he broke away gasping, and looked at her pleadingly.

"I think the tub is ready." She whispered.

He grabbed her again and kissed her gently as he maneuvered her over to the tub. She leaned over and turned off the water. Neither one of them got in.

Josh was staring into Donna's eyes, placing tiny kisses on her lips, he jaw, her neck. "So," he whispered, "logistically what do you see happening."

Donna cracked up. She realized they had been so excited about fulfilling a fantasy that they had never actually discussed the fantasy except that it would involve a bathtub. After she had stopped giggling she smiled at him, pointed to one end and said, "I'd start on that side," then pointed to the other end, "you'd start on that side," she trailed a finger down his chest, "and then we would meet in the middle."

"Really?" His smile becoming wide now, "because that's not how I saw it at all."

"How did you see it?"

"I saw you and me on the same side, nestled a little like spoons."

"Hmmm." She said, considering, while still tracing his nipple playfully with her finger.

"So let's try it my way."

"Why your way?" she looked at him seductively.

"Because if it turns out what I have in mind isn't feasible we'll still have your way. On the other hand, if we try yours first and it isn't feasible, then you'll pout."

"You know, you're totally ruining the mood right?"

"If we do it my way I bet I can get you back in the mood." And he began to kiss her gently again, slowly trailing his hand down her back. Her arms wrapped around him as she began stroking his back as well. They stood there that way, just kissing and exploring each other's skin. Finally Josh broke free and stepped into the bathtub. He held his hand for her and she stepped in as well. Her back was to him as he sat down, then she did, his legs wrapping around her. She leaned back against him and relaxed, allowing the warm water to surround her.

Josh began to kiss the side of her neck, his left hand found her breast just bobbing on the surface as his right hand began stroking her hip. The steam from the water was making her sweat, as was the constant motion of Josh's lips and hands rubbing against her back, her neck, her belly, her hip and now, oh, her vaginal lips. So close to her clit, but not touching it. She felt his hardness against her back and attempted to turn around, but he held her forward in his arms, "No, this is all me. It's my fantasy." So she stayed still, or as still as she could with his constant touches, the heat of the bath and the steam heightening all her senses.

Josh whispered in her ear, "do you trust me?"

She bit her lip and nodded. She was fairly certain that if his next sentence had involved overthrowing President Bartlet and installing a Republican President she would have done it.

"Good. I need you to help me with the next part of the fantasy."

He lifted her up from the bath and bent her over, placing her hand on the safety bar next to the tub. He then placed his fingers inside of her, his thumb ever so gently sliding over her clit so she moaned. He made sure she was lubricated with her own juices and slowly penetrated her. She knew it was coming but still gasped.

He leaned over and whispered, "remember to trust me."

He placed his own arm on the safety bar and another on the lip of the tub.

"Okay, try to stay with me."

She nodded again, biting her lip.

He pushed her legs forward with his own, while using his upper body to lower them back down into the water. They finally landed, with a bit more force than he would have liked (although she gasped), and water had splashed out of the tub dampening the floor of the bathroom, but in the exact position he wanted, her impaled upon him.

"You okay baby?"

"Yes." It was the first time he had used an endearment during sex.

Before, when she had been in front of him, he had a little difficulty reaching around in front to touch her. Now that she was essentially on his lap, he had easy access. She gasped and rocked forward. Her hips continued to move back and forth against his gently probing finger-tips. His other hand caressing her beasts and then he began to speak. Lower than his normal range, rough even, asking her if she liked it, asking her if it felt good, probing for answers as his fingers kept probing. She felt the pressure building up as he kept asking her how it felt, begging for her reply, telling her how good she felt and how he had wanted to do this for so long and how beautiful she was and she couldn't take it any more. She cried out as she came, his arms wrapped around her torso so he couldn't slip out and with her orgasm came his orgasm as he cried her name.

He released her and she slipped off of him. He lay back, panting and she lay on top of him, doing the same.

"Your fantasy was much better." She finally said.

"I told you."

And then the phone rang.

"Sam's late." She said.

"Yeah."

"You'll call him back."

"Yeah."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

They spent another 20 minutes in the bathtub, just soaking. He held her closed and she sank into his arms. They got up, rinsed off together in the shower quickly and then threw on the hotel robes. Josh padded into the room and picked up the phone. The message light was blinking.

“Hey Josh. Things are fine here. We’ve narrowed down the short list on some of those cabinet positions, we’ve received a few acceptances and I’ve filled in a lot of staffing positions. Lou’s going to trail Will tomorrow for a few hours, C.J. set it up. We’ve decided on Baker. I know that’ll make you happy, but we don’t want to announce until we can figure out how to get him through the Senate and we’re going to wait until you come back to do it anyway. Give my best to Donna. I’ll leave you another message tomorrow.”

Josh thought about how tired Sam sounded. He went to dial the phone. Otto answered.

“Sam Seaborn’s office.”

“Hi Otto, is he in? It’s Josh.”

“Hi Josh.” Otto sounded surprised, “Um, he’s interviewing someone right now…”

“Right, tell him I need to speak with him.”

“Okay, I’ll let him know.”

Josh looked up at Donna guiltily, “Otto.”

“You said.”

Sam picked up. “Hey Josh, I’ve actually got someone in with me right now.”

“That’s great Sam. I need to talk to you about some ideas I had about Baker. Kick whomever it is out.”

“Hang on.”

Sam put Josh on hold for a few minutes. Donna had moved onto the patio and had gone back to reading her book. Josh found the remote and had just gone to turn on CNN when Sam came back on the line.

“Let me talk to Donna.”

“Hunh?”

“Before I talk to you, I want to talk to Donna. Is she there or has she left you already?”

Josh placed the phone against his chest, “DONNA!”

She didn’t move.

“DONNA!”

“Are you yelling Josh!?” She yelled back.

“YES!”

And then nothing.

“Hang on Sam.” He said into the phone and got up to fetch Donna. He walked onto the patio. “Donna, Sam’s on the phone and he wants to speak with you before he speaks with me.”

“Okay. Now wasn’t that simple.”

“No.”

Ignoring him, she stood up and walked over to the phone. “Hi Sam.”

“Wow, some things don’t change.”

“I know. Even if you hope they will. The difference is now if he doesn’t stop it I can do a lot more to him than ‘lose’ a briefing memo for fifteen minutes.” She looked at Josh and grinned. He raised his eyebrows at her in response.

“So should I speak to him about work?”

“Yeah Sam, it’s okay, I gave him a little break from the vacation today, he’s been really good otherwise. You should listen to him about Baker. I think he has the beginnings of some good ideas. He’ll probably start to flesh them out in the next few days when I give him other vacation breaks.”

“Wait, you’re giving him vacation ‘breaks’?”

“Yes. I think he would go a little nutty if he wasn’t allowed to focus on work at all. But he’s been good and the moment he starts to focus on it more than he should you can be sure I’ll cut him off.”

“Make him go cold turkey?”

“Yep. I’ll hand you back to Josh.”

Donna went back out onto the patio to continue reading her book in the afternoon sun. She could hear little snippets of Josh and Sam’s discussion of the ideas Josh had about Baker’s confirmation, throwing in an idea about the President-Elect asking a Republican for a quick confirmation and then turning the tables by really having Baker be the nominee. Apparently Sam started asking why they couldn’t just put Baker on the electoral college ballot and Josh started to yell and that’s when Donna came back into the room.

“Hand me the phone.”

Josh stopped in mid sentence and looked up at her. “Sam, hang on a minute,” he said into the phone. He place it against his chest and looked at Donna, sighed, and handed her the phone.

“Sam, does the Baker thing need to be settled in the next four days?”

“No.”

“Okay, then stop arguing with him. Think about what he’s saying, and tell him you’ll talk to him tomorrow. Got it?”

“Yes.”

Donna handed the phone back to Josh and went back out onto the patio.

“Wow, I forgot Donna can be like that.” Said Sam.

“Has been for nine years.”

“Yeah. Interesting how it fits better now that she’s actually, you know, you’re girlfriend.”

“We…she’s not.”

“Not your girlfriend?”

“We haven’t discussed it.”

“I’m sorry? I don’t understand. What’s to discuss about calling the woman you’re sleeping with your girlfriend?”

“It hasn’t come up.”

“I see.”

Donna’s voice carried from the patio. “Say goodbye to Sam already or no newspapers tomorrow!”

“I’ve got to go now Sam.”

“I can’t believe you don’t think she’s your girlfriend”

“Sam! I’m hanging up.”

“Talk to you tomorrow.”

“Bye.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Josh got off the phone and walked out to the patio. Donna was sitting in a chair, still in the robe, reading her book. He leaned over and let his lips graze her cheek.

“Thanks.”

“For what?” she asked, not looking up.

“For letting me watch CNN, for letting me work this morning, for letting me discuss work with Sam and also for the tub, you know, thing. Thank you for all of it. This wouldn’t have been much of a vacation without you.” He sat down next to her.

Donna put her book on her lap and looked over at him. “I knew after two days of nothing it would be counter productive to not let you work. So, I’m going to let you work just enough not to have an anxiety attack. You were starting to take the whole Baker thing too seriously with Sam, which is why I put the kibosh on it.”

“Besides, I don’t have the ideas fleshed out yet.”

“Well, tomorrow, we’ve got the volcano thing, and then we’ll come back here and we can work a little. I’ll help on solidifying ideas for Baker.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No. You’ve worked hard too. You deserve a vacation. As much as I would love your help on Baker, and you need to know that I would love the help, I don’t think you should sacrifice your rest on account of me. It’s not your idea of relaxation. I get that. So thank you, but no.”

“Respectfully.”

Josh grinned, “Yeah. Respectfully.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Donna had surprised Josh with some of the items she had purchased on her shopping trip. A few new things for her, and for him. He was now the proud owner of a linen shirt, a Hawaiian shirt that seemed less gaudy then most of them, and a new pair of white pants. Everything fit perfectly. He didn’t know why he had been surprised by that, but he was.

He had dressed in his new attire and Donna had joked that all he needed was a puka shell necklace. They had gone to dinner at a nice restaurant in town. The concierge had made reservations. It was more elegant than he had expected, but his attire turned out to be acceptable and he was happy. He couldn’t imagine being in D.C. dressed like this in a restaurant like this. He would have been in a suit. It made him smile.

Donna’s purchases for herself had really been the best gift to him, however. She had purchased a very simple lavender dress. It had spaghetti straps and was cut straight across the top of her breasts. Six purple ribbons chris-crossed over her abdomen and the skirt flared out and ended at her knees. She had also purchased some shoes to match. Lavender backless things that had little heels. They made her legs look amazing.

So now they sat at dinner enjoying the nice food, some nice wine, some lovely piano music and what Josh felt was a not so comfortable silence. The first one of the vacation. He didn’t like it and decided to break it.

“You know what’s odd about this?”

“What’s odd about this?”

“It’s not.”

“I’m sorry?”

“It’s not odd. I mean it is odd, but this vacation. I don’t really know,” his hands nervously rubbed through his hair, “it’s just, easy I guess.”

“Vacations are supposed to be easy. That’s kind of the point.”

“But it’s not just the vacation. This,” he indicated the two of them, “this is easy.”

“This has always been easy.”

“No, It hasn’t.”

“You were mad at me.”

“I was.”

“Not rightly.”

“You left.”

“I had no choice. Can you honestly tell me it wasn’t the right decision?”

“No.” He said reluctantly.

“Right, because if I had stayed I would have followed you to the Santos campaign and I would have continued as your assistant and this,” she indicated the two of them, “wouldn’t have happened.”

“Hell, President-Elect Santos wouldn’t have happened. We would now be preparing for President-Elect Vinick.”

“I’m sorry?”

“What?”

“Why wouldn’t we have President-Elect Santos?”

“Donna, did it ever strike you as odd that I left the White House so quickly after you left and yet never mentioned Santos too you.”

“I assumed it was something that had been in your head for a while and that you had just never mentioned it to me. I figured that’s why you kept canceling lunch. And when you went to start the Santos campaign I just assumed that it was another one of those things you thought of that you just didn’t discuss with me. You would have once, but you didn’t anymore. There was a lot of stuff like that at the time. Ever since I had gotten back from the Codel actually.”

“Did you hear any of the jokes about me leaving because I was unable to find an assistant who could work with me after you left?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Because, although that’s not how I would have put it, they were actually true.”

“I’m confused. You left because you didn’t like the temp?”

He sighed and took another swig of wine, not really tasting the liquid as it went down his throat. “Think about what that time was like for me Donna. I had finally sent you to do something more important and I had almost gotten you killed. Then Leo had a heart attack. Then C.J was made Chief of Staff, not me. Oh, and she was the right person for that job, not me, but that’s not the point. I was the laughing stock of D.C. politics, she leapfrogged over me to get that position and I knew it. It wasn’t fun anymore. But you were there. I didn’t really know that until you left, but every day I could wake up and think, ‘at least Donna will be there.’”

He went back to his wine and contemplated the glass, then took another drink.

“And then you weren’t and there was no reason for me to be there. Sam was gone, Leo was only back in an advisory capacity, it wasn’t his show anymore. Leo had told me to go find my guy, and I had, but I wasn’t going to do anything about it. Then, as soon as I realized you weren’t going to be there, there was nothing stopping me from going. So I left.”

Donna was silent. She had no idea that this was what transpired. It had never occurred to her.

Josh continued, “So, you were the proverbial nail without which the kingdom was lost.”

“Well,” Donna paused, “I had no idea. Don’t tell Mrs. Santos, I might have my job offer rescinded if she knew.”

Josh laughed. He felt like he just poured his soul out to her and she made a joke. But it was a good joke, and just the right amount of levity to make him feel a little better.

“But see, this is what I mean by this doesn’t feel odd,” he began again, “I mean, this sort of feels like the way it used to be. But things have changed dramatically.”

“You really think they have?”

“You don’t?” His brow rose again.

“Not really.”

“Really, because if I knew you would have been fine with the bathtub thing before…”

“Josh! Seriously though, what’s different, aside from the whole sex thing. It’s still us.”

“The whole sex thing makes it very different.”

“How?”

“It just does.”

“Why? How does it change the way we talk to each other or think of each other’s opinions or laugh at each others jokes?”

“Because it always does.”

She paused before responding. He wasn’t getting it. If this week was to really work. If this was to really happen, she needed him to understand.

“Okay,” she began, “let me try another tact, and please bear with me. You had known Amy for a long time before you dated her right?”

“I knew her in college. And I knew her from around.”

“And do you think, if you had known her better before you slept with her that your relationship would have been better and you would have stayed with her?”

“No.”

“So was it the sex that screwed that up?”

“No.”

“What was it then.”

“It was who we are, it just didn’t work.”

“Right. And we work. We always have. The sex isn’t going to screw that up. I think we’ve proved that we can do that all on our own.”

And with that the entrees arrived and the topic was dropped.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

They returned from dinner and got undressed. Donna in her pajamas and Josh in his boxers. He didn’t wear an undershirt. He lay on the bed and she curled up around him. He turned on the news and they watched. Her hand on his chest, his arm around her back. He stroked her methodically and about an hour later they were still in the same position, only Donna had dozed off.

She lay in the crook of his arm, breathing steadily. Her nose and cheeks still pink from the sun the previous day. He thought about the conversation from dinner. Why should it change anything? What was different? Nothing, he thought, except the sex. But he wanted it to be different. He wanted it to be more. He had always wanted there to be more in his relationships. Yet with all the discussions and the arguments and the sex it never was more than two people with mutual respect for each other, or eventually no respect for each other, who had sex. He had wished, at the time, it could be more. He had told women he loved them. But he didn’t think he had told them the truth anymore. He had never looked at any of them sleeping and felt his heart skip a beat before.

And here he was, his third day in Hawaii, with Donna by his side and he just wanted to tell her, tell her how he felt, tell her how important she was, tell her how much she meant to him. But she was asleep. He leaned over and whispered in her ear.

“I know you’re asleep Donna, but I want to let you know I love you. Maybe someday I’ll be able to tell you when you’re awake, but right now, the best I can do is when you’re asleep. So I love you.”

It felt good to say it, even though he knew she hadn’t heard.

Quietly Donna’s voice sleepily replied. “I love you too Josh. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

Josh’s heart started to beat wildly. What the hell had he just done. There was no way he would sleep tonight.

7 Days in Hawaii -- Day 3/Part 1

2006-05-01T23:25:00.000-04:00

Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Transition and a little The Last Hurrah.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always welcome. I can not whore myself out enough for praise.
A/N: Once again, I keep thinking 'this one will be short' and then it's long. Not as much porny in this one. The porn will follow in the next installment.

Day 3:

Josh woke at 3:24am. CNN was still quietly playing on the television. Donna was curled up in a little ball, pressed up against him. The door to the patio was open, making the room quite chilly. He liked the fresh air and liked the breeze and the sound of the ocean, but Donna looked cold. He noticed goose pimples on her arms.

They had come back to the room and raided the mini-bar as planned, she had two gin and tonics and he had a glass of scotch. They had turned on CNN and discussed the various stories. Amy had taken the Director of Legislative Affairs job, and they were both a little unhappy about that. Donna had changed into her pajamas and then had lamented loudly about not having fresh lime for her drink. With the news of Amy (whom they both agreed would be great if she didn’t attempt to hijack her position in the White House to push her own legislative agenda) still fresh in her mind she curled up next to him. She had passed out shortly thereafter, both from the exhaustion and from haw potent her four drinks had been.

Josh had continued to watch CNN and sip his scotch, lost in thought about various aspects of the transition. It was clear they were trying not to mention cabinet positions until they announced VP. Baker was probably going to be it. Josh thought of a dozen different ways they could get him through the Senate, but it wasn’t going to be easy.

He had fallen asleep with the TV still on, his drink only half finished. And now he was awake. He realized he should either get her under the covers or close the door, but he liked the sound of the ocean. He got off the bed and pulled down the covers as far as he could with Donna lying on top of them. He tried to swing her legs so he could sort of shift her over the covers and then tuck her in without her waking up.

Unfortunately, his plan had not worked.

“Hunh, what, Josh?” Donna said still mostly asleep.

“Shhhhh. You’re cold, just get under the covers.”

“you up?

“Just going to the bathroom. Don’t worry about it, Go back to sleep. Okay.”

“’kay”

She slipped under the covers which he pulled up for her.

“You okay.”

“okay.” She mumbled

“You gonna get some sleep?”

“hmmmm.”

“Okay,” he kissed her on her forehead, “goodnight. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Mmm-hmmmm.”

And then she said it. She wasn’t even really awake. She wasn’t even conscious but she said it. Quietly, under her breath, as she drifted off to sleep.

“love you.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Josh walked into the bathroom and turned on the light. For the first time he noticed that he hadn’t shaved in two days. His stubble had begun to come in…gray. His skin had actually gotten a bit of color, even under the SPF 60 and the bags and dark coloring under his eyes had begun to diminish, although they hadn’t completely gone away.

What the hell did she see in him? He was much older than she was. He was a mass of neuroses. He was driven, but a failed perfectionist. He wasn’t wealthy, although he was sure he could be if he wanted to. He had no hobbies other than his job. She could have anyone, he knew it, why did she seem to want him? Why had she initiated sex? He certainly wouldn’t have. Until Hawaii he had never made any move, save the very unexpected kiss they shared and his offer to let her stay with him after the election, and both could be explained away, the kiss from excitement, the offer just because she had stayed there before and he knew she needed a place. And she had turned down living together. Yet now his overtures seemed welcome and she said that…that thing to him. She was barely conscious, she might not have even meant it.

He felt like that day three weeks before the election. Terribly, terribly confused.

And this evening she had said he was her best friend and she would always be there for him. But this thing they were doing, it had to have an end game in, now three weeks and four days, her time table. She had thrown the ball with extreme force into his yard and now she expected him to do something with it. He had no idea what to do.

If he had never kissed her, he reasoned, she would have never made a pass, he would have never slept with her and she could take the Deputy Communications Director job and then he would be able to see her every day if he wanted to. But now he couldn’t, because she wouldn’t take the job, because they had slept together. It wasn’t fair.

She hadn’t put any pressure on him to talk yet. He was sure she would have when they left together, but it hadn’t yet come up. Not on the plane ride and not in the hotel. It had only been two days but he was sure it was coming and he was hoping she would start it. But she wouldn’t. The ball was with him. Or maybe it was a sign that she didn’t really care?

But then she had just said the thing. Maybe she was thinking of Leo.

And when they got back to DC and work started ramping up again, which would be about 15 minutes after they got back, then what? Would she really have any interest in a middle aged, balding, workaholic with post traumatic stress disorder and a nasty tendency to whine and yell at the closest person to him when he didn’t get his way?

He felt himself getting worked up, he was breathing heavily now. He tried to calm himself down. What if they stayed together? What if they really did start dating? How could he show her how he cared? He thought of all the anniversaries he could torture her with. The one in February when she came to work for him the first time, the one in April when she return to him, the one in August when she started working for Santos, the one in October when they kissed and the one the day before Leo died in November when they first had sex. Five perfectly good anniversaries to torture her with. Hideous bouquets, he had a place he liked to go to where the owner really had no taste.

He could do five anniversaries. If, sometime down the road, they got engaged, that would be six and if they ever got married, that would be seven. He paused in his thinking. Did he just think about marriage with a woman he had slept with only two weeks ago? He wasn’t ready for that. He was only…well…realistically he was in his mid-forties. And she was his best friend and no matter what she would always be there for him. She had said that.

He relaxed a little, realizing that soul searching at 3:30 in the morning was never a good idea. He splashed cool water on his face and took a deep breath. She would be there for him. And she had said that thing. And maybe she didn’t mean that thing, but maybe she did. And right now she was in his bed, and he wasn’t, and that’s where he needed to be.

Josh left the bathroom, turning off the light, and crawled in bed next to her. She was asleep but curled herself next to him and mumbled something incoherent. Josh closed his eyes, feeling suddenly exhausted, and fell back to sleep.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was 6am when Josh woke again. The sun had started to rise. Donna, for some reason, was sleeping diagonally on the bed, but not in a good way, with her head all the way on the other side of the bed and her feet woven between his legs.

Josh got up silently. He routed around his suitcase for a pair of running shorts and a grubby tee-shirt found some clean socks and his room card. He dressed silently. He left equally quietly and went do to the concierge desk to ask if there was a good running trail. As it turned out, there were several and he went to run a few miles, which he hadn’t done in the past year, and clear his head. He wanted to be in a good place for Donna. He reflected on his anxiety attack the night before, blaming it on the fact that being away from work was hard for him. For the next hour he wanted to not think of nothing but the rhythm of his steps and the pace of his breathing. He wanted to keep his mind from thinking about anything but here and relaxing.

He got to the running path, did a few meager stretches, and went on his way.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

An hour later a somewhat sweaty Josh returned to the room with two cups of coffee, a raisin oat muffin and a container of fruit. He had slowly inserted and removed the key card from the door twice before it finally worked for him.

Donna was still out cold. He placed the coffee and food down and took a quick shower and shave. Then he exited the bathroom in only a towel. She was still asleep.

He untucked the bottom of the blanket and found her feet which no longer had socks on, she had removed them some time during the night. They were cute. He began to kiss her toes.

“mmmmmm” she mumbled, still asleep but obviously moving into consciousness, he slowly worked his way up her legs, hissing and licking her calves. He had remembered that the backs of her knees were ticklish. Back in college he had dated a girl who had equally ticklish places, although he didn’t remember knees specifically, and she claimed that they were all erogenous zones when they weren’t being tickled. At the time he hadn’t known what to do with that nugget of information. Now he had a plan.

Donna was lying on her stomach, so the position was not a problem. Her loose fitting pajama bottoms had ridden up during the night and were hiked up to just about her knees anyway. He made his way slowly up, towards her knees. Donna encouraged him with sleepy but appreciative “mmmm”s. He placed his mouth on the back of her right knee and began to suck and lick it gently. He was surprised by her reaction.

He had expected the “mmmm”s to continue at best and her to yell “Josh what the hell are you doing, get off” at worst. What he hadn’t expected was what actually happened.

She took a sharp intake of breath and let out a long, soft moan. He decided to see if it worked on the other knee as well. It did. He spent the next ten minutes doing nothing but licking, sucking and nibbling on the back of her knees. His hand had gone under her pajama bottoms and he was gently stroking right thigh. Her sighs were becoming increasingly like moans and then, as he was about to move up and help her remove her pants he felt her whole body tense as she shuddered to an orgasm.

He stopped, unsure of what had just happened.

“You okay?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Did you just…”

“Uh-huh.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay then.” Josh was grinning from ear to ear.

Josh jumped off the bed to get Donna the now lukewarm coffee, the muffin and the fruit.

Donna had flipped over by this time and was looking at Josh strangely.

He crawled into bed next to her. “Coffee?”

“Thanks,” she said as she took a sip. “Um, do you have…needs?” She glanced at him sideways.

“I’m good for now, perhaps this afternoon.”

“Yeah.”

“You sure you’re okay?” He offered her the muffin.

Donna pulled a piece of the muffin off and popped it in her mouth, “Yeah, just a little, you know, freaked.”

“Why?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she started casually, “maybe because I just woke up to an orgasm that was caused by nothing more then some guy SUCKING ON THE BACK OF KNEES!”

“So that’s not a common occurrence then?”

“An orgasm without anything by foreplay? Weird foreplay? No. Not common. Not ever.”

“And so no one ever…”

“Spent the better part of ten minutes making out with my knees? No, can’t say that one’s happened either.”

“I’m just that good hunh?”

“Sure Josh, you’re a God.”

“So what’s wrong.”

“Well, as I said before, I’m a little freaked.”

Josh’s face fell. He thought he had done good. She clearly wasn’t happy. “Why?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” She said, chewing on a piece of fruit, “I’m a grown woman who has, and pardon me for bringing this up while in bed with you but, a modicum of sexual experience and then a guy I’ve only been sleeping with for two weeks discovers I have erogenous zones I didn’t actually know I had. I think that’s fairly freaky.”

“But in a good way right?” Josh’s dimpled smile was back.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

After breakfast Donna showered and dressed. She had made an appointment for a manicure and pedicure the day before. After that she had hoped to do a little shopping. Josh had declined to go along.

“What are you going to do instead?” Donna asked.

“I don’t know, read one of the books you bought?”

“Right, sure, right after you run downstairs and pick of three newspapers. Then you’re going to try to formulate a plan to get Baker confirmed as VP because you don’t want it to be done by the electoral college.”

He seemed very surprised that she knew, “If you don’t think I should do it…” he trailed off.

“No, it’s exactly what you should do. You enjoy these types of mental exercises. I don’t feel quite that way, but then you don’t understand the allure of shopping, so there you go. Do me a favor and at least sit outside looking at palm trees while you do it. Okay?”

Without waiting for an answer she leaned over and kissed him on the lips.

“Besides, it’ll give you and Sam something to talk about and you won’t feel so out of the loop. But remember, when I get back, your ass is mine.”

And she left.
- - - - - - - - - - - -

Three hours later she returned with pink nails and four large shopping bags.

Josh was on the patio, shirtless, with sunglasses on. He was using the last of the hotel stationary to make notes. The pages were filled.

Donna dropped the bags and reached in to get a smaller bag out of one of them. She walked over to the patio and kissed Josh on the top of his head.

“Here.” She said, handing Josh the bag.

He looked inside the bag to discover three legal pads, a bunch of pens he liked, and about 1,000 large blue note cards. He looked at her, astonished.

“Apparently, Staples is everywhere,” she explained, “but there are three conditions on which you get to keep these items. First, you can only work when we’re not doing something else.”

“Okay.”

"The second, I signed us up for a volcano tour tomorrow and you have to go.”

“Okay.”

“The third is that if, at any time, your working isn’t working for me, I get to take the stuff away.”

“Okay.”

“So, now it’s almost one, I was told by someone I met about a good barbeque shack about a mile down the beach from the resort, let’s go there for lunch, okay?”

And with that he put on a shirt and they were off.

- - - - - - - - -

They had both ordered the char-grilled mahi-mahi and were sitting at the little wooden table on benches picking at the last of their respective pieces of fish. A lull in the conversation had started.

“So,” Donna began, a twinkle in her eye.

“Okay, what’s going on?”

“I’ve been thinking….”

“Never a good thing.”

“Yesterday you said something.”

“Yesterday I said a lot of things.”

“Yeah, but one in particular caught my attention.”

“And that was?”

“After yesterday morning’s particularly good romp, I said something about how we should have done this sooner and you said you had thought about it.”

“Yeah.”

“What particularly did you think of?”

“Are you asking me if I ever had unprofessional thoughts about my assistant?” He grinned.

“That’s exactly what I’m asking you.”

“Well, you were my assistant.” He intoned as if that precluded any type of impure thought.

“And you’re avoiding the question.”

He sighed. “You know I’m a man, right? We have inappropriate thoughts about pretty much anything, right?”

“So, any sexual fantasies about Margaret?”

“Ew, no.”

“Bonnie?”

“No.”

“Ginger?”

“Well, actually…”

“I don’t want to know. How about Carol?”

“Nope.”

“C.J.?”

“Donna! She’s like a sister. That’s just sick.”

“So, c’mon, what about me? What did I rate? C’mon! You’re sleeping with me now. It might give me some ideas!”

Josh looked unconvinced.

“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” Donna tried.

“You go first.”

“You brought it up.”

“I did not.”

“You brought it up yesterday.”

“It’s more than a little embarrassing Donna. I wasn’t supposed to think of you that way. It borders on sexual harassment.”

“Fine, if I start will you share?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, I’m going to start with a little one.”

“Okay.”

“When you would tease me and wouldn’t just shut up about it and I couldn’t find any other way to shut you up I used to imagine kissing you in front of everyone just to get you to shut up.”

“That’s not so much a sexual fantasy as a…”

“What came after was.”

“What?”

“Yeah, generally it included me grabbing you by the tie and dragging you into your office, pushing everything off the desk and riding you until I came.”

“Really?” His eyebrows had risen a good three inches.

“Yup. Your turn.” She swigged her beer.

“Okay,” Josh sighed, “You are sitting at your desk in the bullpen. It’s late. You’ve put your hair up. There’s no one around. You rub the back of your neck. I come over and start rubbing your shoulders and you make a little moan. I bend over and I start to kiss the nape of your neck.”

“Oh, I would have really liked that.”

“Yeah, and then I turn you around in your desk chair and we start to kiss and, well, it pretty much would go the same as yours except we did it on your desk, not mine.”

“Great, thanks for messing up my desk.”

“Hey, in your fantasy you messed up my desk.”

“But your desk was a mess to begin with.” She smiled and then went back to the topic. “I used to imagine I was tying you bow-tie for an event and you would lean in and kiss me.”

“I had that one too. It ended up with you up against the door of my office, your dress hiked up around your waist and your legs wrapped around my hips.”

“After Rosslyn,” she paused, gauging his reaction, “when I was taking care of you I had a whole bunch of Florence Nightingale fantasies.”

“I had a dream where you gave me a sponge bath.”

“What happened.”

“I don’t really remember, but when I woke up I had a raging hard-on and I knew you were asleep on my sofa. I was tempted to call you in and ask you to take care of it. Of course I didn’t”

“What did you do?” She smiled.

“I, uh, took care of it myself.”

“Oh, with me in the next room?” He nose wrinkled.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t wake up.”

“Oh.”

“It was my first since the…since that day.”

“Well, I’m going to take that as flattering then.”

“I should think so. That’s not an unimpressive thing, to get a guy all excited a month after major heart surgery.”

“I had a similar dream after the Codel actually.”

“Was it nice?”

“Very. But you were not in the next room.”

“I also had a few where we both were in the bath together.”

“Me too.” She said wistfully.

“Hey, you wanna go back to the room?”

“Well, we do have a pretty nice sized bathtub.”

7 Days in Hawaii -- Day 2/Part 2

2006-04-29T22:54:00.000-04:00

Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Transition, like everyone else.
Disclaimer: Wells, Sorkin, WB, NBC, definitely not me. Don't sue, this is not for profit, only for fun.
Archive: Yes Please.
Feedback: Always.
A/N: Okay, this was soooo much longer then anticipated. If you havn't read Day 1 or Day 2/Part 1 yet, it's right below this.

After a quick shower, putting their bathing suits back on, slathering on the sunscreen (for real this time), they had made their way down to the beach and safely ensconced themselves In beach lounge chairs under a rather large umbrella. Donna lay out engrossed in whatever it was that she had bought from the book store, and he was skimming Tom Wolfe, which didn’t lend itself to skimming. Josh remembered there was a reason he didn’t read novels. He kept looking at her and finally, when he couldn’t sit still quietly one minute longer, he interrupted her reading. He felt kind of bad about it, but not really that bad.

“Hey,” He said.

“Hey," She responded absentmindedly, not looking up from her book.

“How’s the book?”

“Good,” she said, “interesting.”

“What is it?”

Donna sighed. She knew exactly what was going on. Josh had rashly purchased a book he really didn’t want to read. Because he didn’t want to read it he was bothering her instead. In addition, if she had a book he might be interested in, there was a good chance that she would end up being poked and prodded into giving him her book and she would be forced to live with Tom Wolfe, whom she loved reading, but was a little heavy for Hawaii. It was why she had picked two books and why both books she had picked were about things that she knew he would have no interest in. She was no fool.

“Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. It’s actually really funny.”

“Funny?” His voice cracked a little.

“Yeah, although not right now. Right now I’m at the part where they are talking about how long it takes a human body to decompose under a variety of circumstances.”

“Oh,” Said Josh, turning a little green, “how can you read that stuff?”

“This ‘stuff’ as you call it, is very interesting, a damn sight more interesting then reading polling data.”

He looked down, not able to hide his disappointment.

“Oh goodness Josh, it’s not like I don’t love polling data, like I haven’t read anything but polling data and spun polling data and discussed polling data for the last year. But it’s also not like after obsessing about polling data I couldn’t use a little bit of a change.”

“I love polling data.”

“No,” she corrected, “you love good polling data. You hate bad polling data and your unnatural attachment to polling data is what got you sent by your best friend to Hawaii for a week. In addition, I feel I can safely say you prefer policy memos to polling data.”

“Yeah. I guess.” He paused, “Tom Wolfe just isn’t doing it for me.”

Without another word she leaned over, allowing him to ogle her cleavage, and reached into the bag she had brought, pulling out another large book.

“Here,” she handed him the book, “A Short History of Nearly Everything. You’ll like it. There’s a chapter on physics.”

Josh flipped through the book. He just couldn’t get his eyes to focus. A few minutes later he had thrown the book aside.

“Hey, instead of reading why don’t you come in the ocean with me.”

“I can think of one good reason.”

“Yeah?”

“Alabaster skin Josh.”

“SPF 60 Donna.”

Donna finally shut her book with a sigh.

“Fine, but I’m not going because I want to. Do you want to know what I’m going? I’m going with you to bounce around in waves because, ADD boy, you’ll not give me a moment’s peace until I do, because you’re bored and want to be entertained. I will acquiesce this once, Mr. short-attention-span, only because you’re on vacation, and only because you did win one squeaker of an election, but you should know this is being done under protest. And while I certainly don’t expect you to feel bad about it because, well, you’re you, I think it’s something you should be aware of.”

Josh bounced off the lounge chair not really concerned about this outburst. He had won, he knew that’s really what got her. He smiled at her, his eyes crinkled in full-on-dimple mode and he offered her a hand. She slowly kicked her legs off of the lounge chair she was on as she continued her rant.

“And I’d just like you to know that when I get sunburned, and please keep in mind it’s not an if, it’s a when, you will be entirely to blame.”

She carefully placed her book on the chaise.

“And one more thing…” She paused for effect. There was a time where he would have interrupted her and tried to show how unreasonable her premise was, but he couldn’t think of a reason why it was unreasonable now. She was right, and it was fun to watch her spin her wheels.

“Yes,” he responded, twinkling.

“Last one in is a rotten egg.” She yelled as she raced off towards the ocean.

“Hey!” He cried, taking off after her a moment later, “no fair using misdirection!”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The resort had several good restaurants, including two with fabulous outdoor decks and ocean views and they made a reservation at the more casual of the two on their way back into the hotel, for the deck, at sunset. They hadn’t eaten lunch and so a 6pm dinner reservation was perfect. Josh felt a bit silly, the gaudy beach towel wrapped around his shoulders, his hair sticking up in, he was sure, a comical fashion. But the nice young woman at the podium seemed to have no issue with it. The reservation was set.

They got into their room and Donna went into the bathroom instantly to removed, rinse and hang up her suit and towel. She took one of the clean, white towels housekeeping had now replaced and wrapped herself in it to keep warm. Her hair was still wet and dripping down the back of the towel.

When she went back out into the room she noticed that Josh had removed his suit and towel as well, and it was lying in a heap at the edge of the room. Damp and soaking into the carpet. Josh had clearly just raided the mini-bar and was snacking on some ten dollar almonds completely nude.

“Josh.”

“Hmmmm?”

“I’m not your mother.”

“And I thank God for that every day. Otherwise this would look suspiciously like the middle of some Greek tragedy.”

“Would you please come over here, pick up your suit and towel, rinse the suit and hang it in the bathroom next to mine please?” Donna sounded a little pissed.

Josh did as he was told. When he came out of the bathroom Donna pointed to the phone.

“Message light’s blinking.”

Josh went over to the phone, his chest tightened a little bit. It was probably from Sam. He hoped there wasn’t a problem.

It wasn’t Sam, it was C.J.

“Hi there. It’s me, I’m calling you with your daily report from Sam. He wants me to tell you that everything’s fine, nothing you need to know about that hasn’t been on CNN…”

Josh’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t turn on a TV set in 48 hours.

“…and don’t worry about me calling you while you’re on a vacation, which you should have done long ago by the way, Sparky here won’t give me the number for your hotel. He insisted on dialing my phone himself...”

He voice started to get louder, obviously not for Josh’s benefit.

“…not that, given that we are calling from the White House Chief of Staff's office and I am, funnily enough, the White House Chief of Staff I couldn’t actually have MY OWN phone records pulled, at great expense to the public mind you, so anytime I might want to call I could…”

Josh next heard Sam’s voice in the background.

“C.J….”

C.J. continued.

“…but don’t worry, I won’t. And hey, funny coincidence, Donna is also away on vacation this week, quite unexpectedly apparently. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you? Because Sam here is playing stupid.”

It was clear from C.J.’s sarcastic tone that she knew exactly what was going on.

"Not playing..." said Sam again in the background.

“On that little thought I’ll leave you. I’m sure Sam will call you tomorrow with no news. Bye. Say goodbye Sam.”

Sam’s voice again from the background called out.

“Goodbye Sam.”

And C.J. again.

“Shut up Gracie. Idiot.”

And with that the call ended.

Josh replayed the message for Donna, who smirked.

“Time for a shower,” Donna said after hanging up the phone, “we need to wash the ocean off of us, we’re both sticky and not in a good way.”

Josh didn’t have to be told twice.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

He lathered up her back and front, and she did the same to him. She had been in the sun for about an hour with an SPF 60 on and with that she was pink. Her stomach, the backs of her legs, her chest, her shoulders. Her nose and cheeks and a tiny point on her chin where it stuck out were also cutely pink. But she had also freckled. Tiny, almost imperceptible, light freckles covered her nose and under her eyes but it was the ones on her chest that got his attention.

A constellation of freckles had exploded into a galaxy of tiny brown spots. It got to him. He never noticed her freckle. He supposed that was because they rarely saw the sun together. It was charming. She turned to get the soap off her back and he started to stare at that part of her chest, becoming visibly more excited.

“Josh, while I appreciate the thought, could you stop staring at my breasts. In this culture it’s considered rude to gape at them.”

“Okay, first,” he said, moving his eyes up to her own, “I suspect Emily Post does not set specific guidelines for where to look when naked in the shower when with a naked woman.”

“You know you just said ‘naked’ there twice right?”

“Yeah, well, we are both naked.”

“Yeah, okay, and while I suspect you are correct and there is not a specific chapter regarding what body parts are acceptable to stare at when with someone naked in a shower, it is, most likely, a general guideline.”

“Well, good thing I wasn’t staring at your breasts so it’s a moot point now, isn’t it.”

“I’m pretty sure I know where my breasts are and I can tell the general trajectory of where you were looking and it seems quite likely that your eyes were focused on my breasts.

“Well then, you miscalculated.”

“Miscalculated?”

“Yes. It was a miscalculation on your part. You had no way of knowing.”

“So what exactly were you looking at then.”

“Your chest.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Your chest.”

“And that’s different how?”

He took the palm of his hand and placed it right in the center of her chest, above her breasts, his hand feeling the warmth radiating off of her sunburn.

“I was staring right here.”

“Why?”

“It’s beautiful.”

His erection had been growing, to her considerable amusement, throughout the entire exchange.

He leaned in and began gently kissing her clavicle. His arms wrapped around her possessively and he hands came to rest on her ass. His lips trailed down too, purposefully avoiding her breasts.

His kisses became more urgent, his erection pointing skyward.

She pulled him back up to her, and he looked at her confused. Perhaps he had been too rough this morning, maybe she didn’t want to…

And then she bent her head down and kneeled on the floor of the shower. She took his penis and slowly stroked the shaft, concentrating on the underside, her other hand lightly stroking his balls. She took the tip in her mouth and slowly ran her tongue around the edge of the head. Josh grabbed on to the safety bar in the shower for fear his knees would buckle.

She took the entire length into her mouth, down her throat and began slowly moving it in and out sucking and licking, with just the right amount of teeth every once in a while for variation. As she sped up, based on his breathing and his legs shaking she increased the pressure on his balls. Finally he cried out, “Oh, oh oh, Donna!” and she took his orgasm in her mouth and swallowed, then released him as his back fell against the shower wall and he slid slowly to the floor of the stall shower next to her.

He looked at her with astonishment, “How the hell did you learn to do that?”

“I’m not going to tell you.”

“Why not?”

“You’ll make fun.”

“I can guarantee you I will not make fun.”

“No, I’m pretty sure you will.”

“I can promise I’ll never make fun, because if I ever am to make fun you might not do that again and I don’t want that.”

“Okay. I’ll tell you. But we must never speak of it.”

“This isn’t some kind of traumatic thing is it?” Josh asked, somewhat seriously.

“No, no, no, no!” Donna laughed, “You know I went to school at the University of Wisconsin, right.”

“Yeah.”

“And you know how there isn’t much to do in Wisconsin? Right?”

“What, you mean eat cheese, tip cows, and chug beer isn’t enough for you?”

“Yeah, well, right, you know that last one you mentioned?”

“Chug beer?”

“If you really want to chug a beer you don’t actually swallow. You open your throat up, let the muscles go slack, rid yourself of a gag reflex, which you can train yourself to do pretty easily, and just pound it back in one smooth move.”

“And how quickly can you do that?”

“By my freshman spring I could pound a beer in 3.4 seconds. They clocked me.”

“No, I mean, rid yourself of the gag reflex.”

“Oh, turns out I never had one.”

“Okay.”

“And, well, what I just did there, the principle’s the same. It’s the same skill set.”

“And this was a skill you willingly learned.”

“Well, I was in college. Can you stand yet?”

“I think so.”

“Good, because I still need to wash my hair.” She began to rise.

Josh got himself off of the floor of the shower, “Can I help? I can promise no more funny stuff. At least for now.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

They had dried off and Donna had kicked Josh out of the bathroom so she could blow-dry her hair and he sat on the bed for a moment, dressed in one of the hotel robes, staring at the TV which had not been touched since they got there. He sighed and, hearing the hair dryer going, walked back into the bathroom.

Donna turned off the dryer and looked at him. “What?”

“Um, I know we’re on vacation, but, I was wondering, would it be okay if I turned on CNN for a little while?”

“What time is it?”

“5:15.”

“Of course it’s not a problem, but you have to turn it off by 5:45 so that we can be at dinner on time.”

Josh’s face lit up.

“Thanks!” He said, kissing her gently on the lips. “Thank you.”

“You know, you always could have watched CNN. I certainly wouldn’t have stopped you.”

“Oh. Well that’s good to know.” He said as he turned and walked out of the bathroom, positively making a bee-line for the TV and CNN.

Donna shook her head, turned on the hair dryer again and turned her attention back to her hair.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Josh and Donna arrived at the restaurant in the lobby at the appointed time, they were shown to their table on the deck, over looking the ocean to the west.

They were starving so they decided to go all out on food. Donna ordered the Peking duck salad for an appetizer and the Island Fish sampler for an entrée. Josh went with the spring rolls and the rack of lamb, done well, no pink.

Their drinks arrived, Donna’s fruity concoction with an umbrella and enough garnish to be a meal in itself and Josh’s beer.

“So, I figured something out.” Donna began.

“When?” Josh asked absentmindedly, he was busy staring at her loveliness. She was wearing a pair of white Capri pants which set off her long legs, her top was a silk flowered thing, he didn’t know what it was called, it didn’t have sleeves, and was tan with pink. She had a small gold necklace around her neck, and a flawless complexion with no make up on it. Of course she was wearing a little make-up, but only just enough to bring out her positives and hide the negatives.

“In the shower.”

He blushed.

“Oh…so what did you figure out?”

“You get turned on by arguing?”

“Donna!”

“You do! Don’t deny it, I saw what happened when we were in the shower having that argument. It explains a lot actually.”

“I was in a shower with a beautiful naked woman,” it was Donna’s turn to blush, “of course there was a reaction.”

“No, it was more than that. You were aroused before, but when we started, I don’t know, bickering, you just got that look in your eyes. I’ve seen it before, but I didn’t know what to associate it with. Now I do. You get totally turned on. I can’t believe I never saw it before.”

“Donna, I do not get ‘that look in my eyes’…do I?”

“Yeah, you do.”

“I guess I do.”

“It’s sort of sick actually.”

“Oh.”

“I mean that in a good way.”

“How is it possible that I could be kind of sick in a good way.”

Donna leaned towards him, whispering, “I find it kind of a turn on too.”

She leaned back, smiling broadly. Josh was gob smacked until the next words came out of her mouth.

“You perv.” She teased.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The appetizers had come and gone. The main courses had just been placed in front of them. Josh was nursing his second beer of the night, he was tempted to order one for her too, just to see her chug it, but he had promised he wouldn’t tease her about it. She was drinking her second, but different fruity concoction of the night.

“Well, it explains Amy, and Mandy I suppose.” Donna said out of nowhere.

Josh looked at her. It wasn’t really something you wanted to discuss, you’re old girlfriends with, well, whatever Donna was.

“They were smart, they were funny. Sure they busted my balls. But I don’t regret either of them.”

Donna shot him a look.

“Okay, well I don’t regret Amy.”

She shot him another look.

“Okay, well I don’t regret Amy the first time.” He tried some misdirection next, “And what about you, what is it about you that causes you to date guys who use you, treat you like you’re not extraordinary, and when you really start believing it they walk out on you?”

“Wow. You really don’t want to talk about Amy, do you?”

“The President-Elect offered her Director of Legislative Affairs at Leo’s funeral.”

“Shit. Did she take it?”

“I don’t know yet. I hope not. I’ll have enough to do without wrangling her every other day.”

“Hopefully she’ll decide she doesn’t want Josh Lyman as her boss.”

“Yeah. But back to you, what is that all about?”

“You know Josh, I wouldn’t know. Because that’s not, ever, what happened.”

“Yeah it is, you dated these guys who just weren’t worthy. They were losers. You couldn't do better than losers?”

“They weren’t losers Josh. We’re having a nice meal here. I don’t want to argue. But you’re wrong.”

“They took advantage of you Donna. They couldn’t possibly have had your well being at heart. None of them care about you the way…” His voice caught.

“The way what Josh? The way my boss felt about me? ‘Cause that’s not particularly helpful when you can’t sleep with your boss. Look, you’re my best friend. You’ve been my best friend for years and years. Even when we weren’t talking you were my best friend. If I had ever needed anything I knew I could have come to you. You would have fixed things. It was nice I didn’t need you, but it was nice to know you were there.”

He looked down, “I’ll always be there.” He said quietly.

“I know.” She said, grabbing his hand under the table.

“Let’s just eat dinner and watch the sunset, okay?”

“It’s a nice sunset.” He said, looking at her again, gripping her hand more firmly under the table.

“Yes it is.”

“You know, you’re my best friend too.”

“And if you ever needed anything, I would be there. Even if we weren’t talking.”

He smiled at her and looked away. “I know.” He said, his voice hitching.

“So let’s enjoy the sunset and I’ll stop teasing you about your ex-girlfriends and you’ll stop insulting my ex-boyfriends and after dinner we’ll go back up to the room, raid the mini-bar for teeny-tiny bottles of scotch, and we can snuggle to CNN. Sound good?”

“Sounds really good.” He said as he smiled.

“Good. Now I need my hand back so I can finish dinner.”