TITLE: Just One Night
AUTHOR: Jacinta
SUMMARY: Josh and Amy spend the night together, but it's not how it looks.
SPOILERS: Anything through to S4 (Set in an a/u in June 2003)
CHARACTERS: Josh, Amy, CJ and Donna
RATING: G
DISCLAIMER: Definitely not mine
CJ looks around the rapidly emptying bar. "I guess we should go home then?"
"Yeh," Will agrees. "Shouldn't we all be a lot happier than this?" he asks. "I mean it's over. Zoey's home, the President's back in the Oval Office. Everything's back to normal."
Toby finishes his whiskey and shakes his head. "It was like this after Rosslyn. Even once Josh was back at work it was..... different."
"It'll never be quite the same again," CJ adds.
"Well now I'm depressed," Josh sighs.
"That's 'cos Donna didn't come with us," CJ teases as she stands and puts her jacket on. "Where is she anyway?"
Josh shrugs, "Something to do with her roommate's aunt."
"You mean you weren't listening," CJ guesses, as they stand and walk out of the bar.
"I always listen."
"You never listen to her. It's a wonder she sticks around."
"Like you listen to Carol."
"Of course I listen to Carol, and anyway that's completely different."
Toby and Will exchange glances but both decide to stay out of the Josh/Donna conversation. "Come on," Toby tells CJ, as he holds a cab door open for her. "We'll see you two on Monday."
As Josh and Will climb in another cab, Josh is still protesting, "I do listen."
Will gives the driver Josh's address and wonders, not for the first time, whether it's true that Josh and Donna are the only ones who don't seem to notice what going on between them. He first realized when they drove across Washington to take her to the inaugural balls, and he'd only known them a month. As the cab turns into the next street he spots a familiar figure walking in the rain, with no coat. "Isn't that Amy?"
"Yeh," Josh agrees. "Pull over," he tells the driver. As the cab slows he lowers the window and leans his head out. "You need a ride?" he calls.
Amy smiles slightly, she'd recognize that voice anywhere. "No, J. I enjoy walking in the rain."
"Akay." Josh starts to roll the window back up.
"Wait," Amy calls, glaring at Josh as the cab stops and she gets in.
The driver turns to look at his passengers. "We still going the same place?"
Josh shakes his head. "Nah, we'll go to Will's first."
"Which is where?" the driver asks indulgently. He's been driving a cab in Washington for nearly 30 years and knows that drunken government employees can be a little strange. Will gives him the address and they set off.
At 9 the following morning, Josh comes out of the bathroom to find Amy sat on the sofa watching C-Span. He walks over to her and changes channels to CNN. "So why were you walking in the rain last night?" he asks.
Amy looks up at him and decides he really does look cute first thing in the morning in boxers and a t-shirt. "I wanted a walk."
"At midnight, in the rain? Where's Jeremy?"
"Julian," Amy corrects. "And I don't care."
Josh grins, "You two fight?"
"You really think I'm going to tell you, my ex, about any fights I have with my boyfriend?"
"OK," Josh shrugs. "I was just making conversation."
"No you weren't, you were fishing."
"Possibly," Josh smiles.
"He's a jerk, we argued, I got out of the car, he got in and drove off."
"Which has made you pretty mad."
"It's my car," Amy replies angrily.
"Ah. Call the cops, report it stolen," Josh grins.
"Yeh. Hey that's a good idea, where's your phone? Why do you never put the handset back on the charger?"
"I was kidding."
"I'm not," Amy replies as she dials into her cell phone. "If he thinks he can get away with treating me like this, he's got another thing coming."
Josh had forgotten quite how scary 'angry Amy' can be. He leaves her to it and goes to make some toast and coffee. "What did they say?" he asks when Amy joins him in the kitchen.
"They're on to it." Amy takes the toast off him.
"I'm glad I never pissed you off that much," Josh grins.
"Oh you did."
"But I wasn't worth the effort?"
"Quite the opposite," Amy tells him. She sits down at the table and eats some of the toast and drinks her coffee, before looking back at Josh. " I miss you, you know."
"Amy, don't do this."
"Why? I've broke up with Julian, you're not seeing anyone. Are you?"
"It doesn't matter."
"I almost came to your room last night. But I figured one rejection off you was enough," Amy reluctantly admits. "Do you know how much of an insult that is by the way?"
"What is?"
"That a very drunk guy didn't want to sleep with me."
"I could be a compliment," Josh tells her.
Amy laughs humorlessly. "What?" she snorts. "You respect me to much for a drunken screw?"
"Yeh. I meant what I said when we broke up. I like you, as a friend. But we're never going to work as a couple. You know that as well as I do."
By mid-day Josh is watching TV and reading the Sunday papers alone when Donna arrives with lunch. "Morning," Josh smiles as he lets her into the apartment. "Nice night?"
"Yeh, she took us to Portofino's."
Josh follows her into the kitchen. "How come you got to tag along to a swanky restaurant for Sasha's aunt's birthday?"
"Because I'm a nice person, Josh," Donna replies, putting the groceries on the counter. "What did you do?"
"We went out and drank."
"Well, you made it back here so that's a good sign, but please tell me you didn't do anything stupid, " Donna smiles as she pours herself a coffee.
"We were very well behaved. Although I may only be here because I shared a cab with Will."
"You see, helping him find an apartment in Georgetown was a good idea. I'll get that," she tells him as the door buzzer goes. "You make the food." Donna presses the intercom button and is about to speak when she's cut off by Amy.
"Hey, J. I left my cell phone this morning."
"Amy," Donna answers, glancing towards Josh. "Come in." Donna walks back into the apartment. "It's for you."
"It's not how it looks."
"It's none of my business."
As Josh opens his front door he already knows how this scene is going play out. "Hey, Amy. I haven't seen it."
"I threw it somewhere after I called the cops," Amy tells him as she hunts around in the living room, while Josh watches from the hall doorway. "Found it." She walks to the dining area and smiles sweetly at Donna. "Hey, Donna, I stayed over last night," she helpfully informs her.
Donna is determined not to let any feelings show. She musters a smile, which she hopes looks more convincing than it feels, and jokes, "God, you didn't tour the bars of Georgetown with them did you? I was wondering how he found his way back here."
"No, we met up later." Amy turns back to Josh. "I have to go to a meeting, but thanks for last night, J, it was fun."
"Yeh," Josh mutters, glancing from Amy to Donna and wondering what the hell just happened to his pleasant Sunday lunchtime. After Amy's gone he turns to face Donna. "It really isn't how it looks. She...... "
"And it really isn't any of my business," Donna interrupts. "I think I'll have lunch at home."
"But you've bought food," Josh protests.
"Enjoy it."
After sitting and brooding on the morning's events for forty minutes, Josh decides he needs to clear his head. It's still raining, but the best way he knows to clear out the cobwebs and think, especially with a Sunday morning hangover, is to go for a run. He's been running for about half an hour when he hears a familiar voice shout his name. He slows to let CJ catch him up. "Hey," he smiles.
"Didn't think you liked running in the rain."
"I don't," he agrees.
"Hangover?" CJ guesses.
"A slight headache," he smiles.
CJ glances at him as they run. "You're an idiot, you know that don't you?"
"More than likely, but why this time?" Josh asks warily.
"I phoned Donna, to see if she wanted to go to the gym. She didn't, which is why I'm out running instead."
"You can't go to the gym on your own?" Josh asks.
"Yes, but I...... never mind that. You're an idiot."
"So you said," Josh replies over his shoulder, as picks up the pace to a sprint. If CJ's spoken to Donna, then he has a fair idea why he's an idiot.
CJ catches him up. "You know I can run faster than you," she smiles. "So don't think you can escape. You spent the night with Amy?" she asks.
"Is this any of your business?"
"Yes. You're my friend, I don't want to see you get hurt."
Josh slows down and stops, leaning forward with his hands on his thighs while he catches his breath. "She stayed in the spare room," he breathlessly tells CJ.
"The spare room?"
"Yes." Josh stands up and looks at CJ. "She's a friend, it was raining, she didn't have her car or her apartment keys, so I let her stay the night. The same as I would for any friend."
"Donna seemed under the impression........ "
"Yeh, I know. Donna came round for lunch," he catches CJ expression, "What? She usually does on a Sunday. Anyway, Amy had forgotten her cell phone and came back for it."
"That was convenient," CJ comments.
Josh ignores the sarcasm and carries on, "And she kinda implied to Donna...... "
"You know, I'm not sure she's that good a friend."
"Maybe. She has this thing about me and Donna."
"Come on," CJ starts jogging again. "I think it's called jealously, mi amour."
Josh jogs in silence for a few minutes and then asks, "You think I should go and see Donna and explain?"
"In the interest of a harmonious working environment, yes, I think you probably should."
"You a bit drier now?" Donna asks. Josh nods as he takes a mug of coffee off her. "You know you didn't need to come over here and explain."
"Yeh I did," Josh replies. "Amy made it sound...... well you know how she made it sound."
"Yes. But when I got home and thought about it, it seemed false somehow. Like she was playing a game."
"That's Amy all over isn't it?" Josh asks. Now he's sober and his hangover's gone, Amy doesn't seem like much of friend after all.
"You had anything to eat?" Donna asks, knowing Josh most likely hasn't.
"No."
"Toasted sandwich?"
"Please," he smiles as he follows her into the kitchen. "She was being spiteful you know."
"I figured." Donna looks at Josh. He's stood in her kitchen in a pair of his old sweat pants and a Harvard t-shirt. He keeps them in her closet for drunken nights when he wakes her and her roommate, Sasha, because he can't remember how to get home. It's never appeared odd to her before that her boss keeps a change of clothes at her apartment, or even that he can find her apartment when he can't find his own. But she's suddenly very sure that Toby and Will don't keep clothes at Bonny and Ginger's places.
Josh interrupts her thoughts. "Where's Sasha?"
"Her and her Flori, her aunt, have gone sight seeing."
"It's pouring down," Josh points out.
"This from the man who went running in the rain and then came round here without getting changed first?"
"Good point," Josh grins.