Title: Perspective
Author: Claire
Pairing: J/D
Rating: G
Summary: Leo and Josh discuss Donna's interview.
Disclaimer: Don't own them - would like to though. If I put them on my Christmas list, do you think Santa will come through for me?
A/N: Here's my immediate response to tonight's episode. I had to write something, that scene between Josh and Donna was just too powerful to not respond right away.
Josh returned to his office, shutting the door loudly after himself. He'd known that eventually she would come and he'd known that it would be hard, but even knowing that the interview had been more than difficult. It had been excruciating. To see her come into his office, so nervous yet so determined to prove her worth, to hear her talking of how she'd grown and developed, and to have to push her away, to be the one to make those tears appear in her eyes.
He hated when he made her cry, he'd already been the cause of too many of her tears over the last nine years.
He held his head in his hands for several moments, running his hands through his hair, a familiar but not reassuring gesture. Even as he was doing it, he could hear Donna's voice in his head, teasing him about pulling out what was left of his hair.
God he missed her.
Josh looked up as he heard his door rattle open. Leo let himself in and sat down opposite Josh.
"I saw Donna in the hall just now."
"Yeah." Josh answered, rubbing his forehead. He really didn't want to have this conversation with Leo, at least not right now.
"She looking for a job?" Josh merely nodded his head, choosing to focus on the papers in front of him rather than on Leo. "What'd you tell her?"
"What do you think I told her?" Josh said uncomfortably, wishing he could run away from the conversation as he had so many times before. "I told her we couldn't hire her, not after all the things she said about Santos."
"What else did you tell her?"
"Nothing. Seriously Leo, don't you have something better to be doing right now? Something that doesn't involve meddling?" Josh asked, unable to keep his voice from turning bitter and angry. Leo brushed him off.
"You made her cry. You said something else."
"I told her I missed her." He replied softly, looking up at Leo, seeking his approval. Leo looked back at him with a sad smile on his face.
"I'm sorry that it ended up like this, kid."
"Yeah," Josh whispered, "Me too."
"You want me to call around, see if anyone is looking for someone?"
"Yeah. She didn't want me to." That had hurt him, that she'd shrugged off his attempt to help her. Didn't she know how desperately he wanted to help her?
"Hey, it'll be okay." Leo said as he stood up, looking down at Josh, "You'll have another chance." They both knew he wasn't talking about jobs anymore.
"How many chances am I going to get?" Josh asked, sounding pathetic even to his own ears.
"How ever many it takes for you to get it right." Leo said, throwing a careless grin over his should as he left the room.
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