8.30pm Friday, 28th June 2002. Washington DC
"Do you really have to go?" he whined as she packed up her desk for the day.
"Yes Josh, I really do."
"Surely you could find some excuse not to… y'know, go?"
"Besides the fact that I want to go, what would we tell Leo? Or the President?"
"You're spiteful."
"Yes, it's part of my girlish charm."
"Y'know Donna, there are days when I really don't like you that much."
"You're just saying that to make me feel better."
"You're fired!"
She picked up her bag and swung it over her shoulder in a wide arc, narrowly missing Josh's head as he leant back to avoid the black 'Prada' bootleg. Yes it was a knock off and Josh had hassled her over it many times since she had purchased it, but she was, after all, a girl on a budget. Donna raised her chin, turned on her heel and walked out of the bullpen.
"Impervious!" she called as the door swung closed behind her. "See you on the 15th."
Josh watched Donna's retreating form until she turned the corner out of his view.
"Two weeks…" he muttered to himself, running his hand roughly through his already tousled hair. "What the hell am I going to do for two weeks?" Rubbing his eyes and sighing heavily, the Deputy Chief of Staff walked back into his office and closed the door with a solid 'thud'.
2.45pm Saturday 29 June 2002, Washington National Airport
'I can't believe we're actually going!' Donna thought. God Nai you're such a star!
Donna sat on the edge of a chair in the Gate 15 boarding area of Washington National Airport – it had been renamed 'Reagan' years ago, but Josh, stubbornly, refused to use the name and to that end Donna found herself mimicking her boss and calling it 'National'. The LCD screen scrolled the time of her flight and destination – 15.05 Delta to JFK International. But New York was not her final destination. She was on her way to somewhere far more exotic than the 'Big Apple'. Nervous tension ran like wildfire through her body; she was a bundle of energy. Waiting for something always put her on edge, but this was a good kind of 'edge'. For the first time in four years she was finally going on a holiday. An honest to God, real life, holiday! Not some three day 'Hi and Bye' back to her folks' place. Not some whirlwind visit to a foreign land where all her time was spent keeping Josh out of trouble. No, this was a two week, fully paid for, no holds barred holiday… to EGYPT!
She knew she was grinning like a five year old on Santa's knee, but she couldn't help herself. Her hands were clasped in her lap, both her legs jiggling up and down.
"Jeez, Donna! Settle down." A rich, vibrant female voice chuckled next to her. "Honestly, I'm not sure if you're just excited, or really need to pee!"
Donna stopped her legs mid-jiggle and looked sheepishly at the young woman lolling on the seat next to her. Naima Alexandria Carter was the exact opposite of Donnatella Moss in every respect, which was probably why they had remained friends for so long. Whereas Donna was a picture of nervous excitement, Naima was cool, calm and collected – the image of a seasoned traveler.
Naima was the night to Donna's day. In stark contrast to Donna's lithe ballerina like physique, her alabaster skin, startling blue eyes and wealth of dazzling blonde hair, Naima was curvaceous, petite and dark; her naturally bronzed skin, waves of raven black hair and almond eyes betraying her Middle Eastern heritage.
Her mother had been the daughter of an Egyptian diplomat who had been posted to the United States in the late sixties. Rashida Feyr had decided to stay and apply for citizenship in the States after meeting and falling in love with Derek Carter a young bank clerk working in New York. Shortly before Naima's third birthday, Derek moved his small family back to his home town of Madison Wisconsin. And it was there in Oakleaf Kindergarten that Donna and Naima met for the first time. The girls became hard and fast friends from day one, and their parents used to joke when they saw the two young girls skipping hand in hand, that it was like looking at the positive and negative of the same picture.
They remained friends all through school until they lost track of each other briefly after Donna left "Dr Freeride" as Josh liked to call him, to join the Bartlet for America campaign. It wasn't until Naima saw a shot of Donna on the news during the coverage of what happened at Rosslyn that they got back in touch, and then, Donna was too busy worrying about whether Josh was going to make it, and taking charge of his recovery for them to do much more than talk on the phone every now and then.
Once the worst was over, though, they kept up their habit of regular chats to exchange news and gossip. Although they both knew they would never be as close as they once were, they had seen each other a couple of times when Naima had come up to DC on business, or on the rare occasions Donna made it home, and called each other once a week when they could.
So what had happened six weeks earlier was unexpected, but not unwelcome.
Donna and the rest of the West Wing staff were still reeling over the death of Simon Donovan, the Secret Service agent who had been detailed to CJ. Josh appeared to be in the middle of his 'on-again-off-again-Finnegan-begin-again' spats with Amy Gardner and Donna decided she really needed a break.
The campaign for re-election was already underway, but was not scheduled to kick into high gear until around September. Donna had pondered asking for a couple of days off, when salvation had come at the end of a phone line one Sunday afternoon. Naima had called to say that her maternal grandfather had been in contact complaining that he had not seen her in years and wanted to spend some 'quality' time with his favorite granddaughter. So he was using what ties he had left with the diplomatic corps to swing two return coach airline tickets to Cairo for two weeks at the beginning of July.
Donna was delighted that Naima had thought of her – she'd never been to Egypt but it was somewhere she'd always longed to visit. But she'd explained that, as a government employee, she couldn't accept the ticket as a gift. Naima had laughed at her sense of propriety, but Donna had nonetheless insisted on paying for her own flight before agreeing to accompany Naima on the trip. Naima had given in, telling Donna that Hakim was planning to spoil them rotten once they were in Cairo anyway, so that would make up for Donna paying for her own ticket. They began making plans, and as Donna hung up the phone, she realized she had overlooked one small… insignificant… detail…
Getting Josh to let her have the time off.
To say that Josh liked to monopolize her time was a bit of an understatement. So Donna spent more time at the office than at home, but if she was honest, it was as much her fault as Josh's.
Donna liked her job. She was proud of her job. And she was damned good at her job. For a College dropout with no administrative background to become the senior assistant to the White House Deputy Chief of Staff was a pretty impressive achievement.
And it wasn't like Josh was a difficult boss to work for…. OK, at times, he was an exceedingly difficult man to work for, but in general, those times were few and far between – when he'd lost an important vote, or mis-judged something, like with the Tobacco suit … or gotten his girlfriend fired. But most of the time, she knew he wasn't like the other bosses on the Senior Staff. He took the time to explain things to her and used her as a sounding board. He trusted her, listened to her opinion… and although things had been a bit strained between them over the past few months, she knew he still found her …valuable.
For the last couple of weeks, Donna had been deliberating how best to approach Josh about getting a full 2 weeks vacation time. Suddenly her departure was less than a month away and she hadn't made her request. Still not quite sure what to do, she started off by dropping a few gentle hints here and there. Josh being Josh, he either ignored or didn't notice the subtlety she was employing and Donna realized it was time to be more direct.
Her mind wandered back two weeks
"Josh?" she said, walking purposefully into his office.
"Hmmm?" he grunted without looking up from his paperwork, his pen bobbing up and down as he twirled it between his fingers.
"I've been invited on a two week, holiday to Egypt and I want to go. And now I want you to give me the time off."
OK – that was direct enough. If he didn't take the hint on that one…
Josh looked up, raising his eyebrows quizzically at her as he straightened up in his chair, the pen stilling his in fingers.
"You've been offered a what?"
Donna folded her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes at him.
"A two week trip to Egypt."
"When?"
"The flight's booked for Saturday, June 29."
"Donna! That's less than a month away."
"Yes I know, but you're a powerful man, Josh with great sway over all who work for you… including personnel."
Josh eyed her suspiciously.
"Who got you these tickets?"
"Pardon?"
"You said you'd been 'offered' a trip to Egypt. Who's offering?"
"A friend."
"A friend?"
"A friend!"
"A…. male friend?"
"What does that have to do with it?"
"Just… asking… y'know… so I can make an informed decision."
"And if I said it was a male friend?"
Josh paused a moment too long.
"Aargh!" Donna huffed and narrowed her eyes at him, before turning round and stomping back to her cubicle. She grabbed her purse, spun around and slammed straight into Josh who must have leapt out of his chair to follow her.
"I just wanted to know because…"
He didn't get very far because Donna cut him off mid-sentence stabbing her index finger into his chest as she spoke.
"I am going to lunch." Donna said leaving no room for argument. "You have a meeting at one with Leo and then a meeting with the President and McClusky about the new HUD figures at 1.30, and I was instructed to tell you not to be late." She raised her chin imperiously and stalked out in a huff.
As soon as she cleared the bull pen and made her way into the North West lobby Donna paused and allowed herself a little smile. Josh's reaction had been so predictable… half the time it just wasn't any fun.
Having put the first part of "operation time off" into action, it was time for part two. Donna had never forgotten something her mother had told her way back before she started college. "Let the men in your life always think that things were their idea. They very rarely are, but if you make them think it's their idea, you can have the world." And when that doesn't work? "Well then dear, just look for a higher authority.
Part two of Donna's plan now required the services of that "higher authority" - Margaret.
After that, it had been relatively easy to get what she wanted. The men of the West Wing had never managed to fathom the power of the sisterhood, and in the end, all it took was a well placed word in Margaret's ear and suddenly the entire female staff was treating Josh Lyman like something they had scraped off the bottom of their shoe.
For the next three days, Donna watched in amusement as Josh became the target of a barrage of barbs and paint-peeling glares from the ladies of the West Wing. Another day, and he was the subject of quite a few none too subtle comments from some of the male staff as well – it seemed Josh's punishment had been extended to the other men on the Senior Staff. It might have been amusing to watch were it not for the fact that it finally culminated in his being summoned by the President.
Donna almost felt a little bit guilty as she watched Josh heading for the meeting – the fallout from the Family Wellness Act was still an issue between him and the President, with Josh apparently being on the receiving end of more than a few curt comments from his Commander in Chief. The feeling had almost passed when, about fifteen minutes later, she received an invitation to join them in the Oval.
As Donna walked into the private office she could hear the President's voice raised in thinly veiled anger as it filtered through the partially opened Oval Office door.
"Josh, I am going to say this only once. I've had enough of this. You are going to let Donna go on this holiday. I don't have time for the high-school antics that my staff seems to have gotten themselves into over this issue. I've got three private secretaries out there who are doing just enough to prevent me from firing their asses. Now if you want to make sure that YOU have a job by the time Donna comes back may I suggest that you contact personnel pretty damn pronto and organize a temp for her absence!"
Donna had had no idea the President would come down on Josh that harshly.
"He's expecting you," Charlie said with a knowing smile.
Donna smiled back a little shakily, and walked past Charlie's desk to stand in front of the door the Oval Office. She knocked lightly.
"Come!" called the President.
Donna opened the door. As she entered, the three occupants of the room turned to look at her, and the tension was almost palpable. The President was sitting behind the Resolute desk, looking over the glasses which were perched at the end of his nose. Leo was sitting on one of the Chesterfield-styled sofas in the middle of the office, and Josh was standing just in front of the Presidential seal in the carpet his hands stuffed into his pockets, looking for all the world like a like a child being chastised by its father.
"Ah, Donna!" President Bartlet said in a tone considerably lighter than one she had just heard. "Come in."
Donna may have come a long way since the day she raised her hand to speak in the Oval Office, but she never lost that feeling of… awe … at simply being invited into the presence of the most powerful man in the world.
"You wanted to see me, Sir?"
"Yes, yes… Leo tells me that you have been offered an opportunity to go on a holiday to Cairo?"
"Yes, Mr President."
"Do you want to go?"
Donna couldn't help but notice that even though he was addressing her, the President was still glaring at Josh, who, she noted, was looking not only a little downcast, but slightly ashamed of himself as well. Against her better judgment, Donna found herself starting to feel sorry for him. She was always helpless when faced with the puppy-dog expression, and while getting Josh into trouble with the assistants had been fun, Donna had never intended things to go this far. She had never meant for it to end up in the Oval office.
Donna realized that the President was speaking to her, and tore her eyes from Josh.
"Donna?"
"Yes Sir, I do."
"What's stopping you?"
Again, it was more of an accusation directed at Josh than a question.
"I'm needed here, Sir."
"Twoddle!" the President huffed. "There is absolutely nothing here that can't be handled without you. Is there, Josh?"
Josh murmured something under his breath.
"I'll take that as a 'Yes Mr President'." He picked up a file from on his desk and waved it at her. "It says here Donna, that since you started working for this… this…" the President was obviously trying to think of something to call Josh, settling on. "…administration, you have had a total of twelve recreational days off, excluding public holidays. Twelve in four years Donna? Did we diddle you out of something when we drew up your employment contract? I was certain that all Federal employees were entitled to a minimum thirteen days annual leave per year? Was I mistaken in that belief?" Donna shook her head. "Good," Bartlet glanced at her, then back at Josh. "I just wanted to be sure that I couldn't be sued at some point in the future for unfair work practices."
"Sir, I would never…"
"In addition to that Ms Moss, I see here from your security log that you haven't had a day off, weekend or other public holiday off, since January and it's now June… And if I look even further into your records young lady I see that between my Inauguration on January 20 1999 and June 1, 2002, a total of One thousand, two hundred and twenty nine days, on only one hundred and seventy nine of those days have you not come into work over that period. And yes, I have made allowances for your sick leave and any days you have booked as personal leave. Don't you enjoy having weekends Donna?"
Donna decided she had to interrupt at this point.
"Mr President, I should point out that there have been times when I have been away from the West Wing for a week or more – when I've accompanied Josh overseas – and as for those other times, well, sometimes I've just been in the office for a couple of hours, so I haven't really been here all day."
And now she was defending Josh… dammit! The President was making… well… a thing of the amount of time she spent at the office, seemingly ignoring the fact that Josh practically lived there! It was true - she might come in for a couple of hours on the weekend, but it was usually to make sure that Josh wasn't running himself into the ground. Josh on the other hand, was usually there from the crack of dawn no matter what day it was. She usually ended up running down to the Mess to get them both some lunch, and then sat in his office making sure he ate some of it. How many mornings had she come into work only to find Josh asleep at his desk?
And – now she thought about it – what was up with Josh? Normally he would have tried to defend himself in a situation like this, but right now he seemed more intent on studying the pattern of the carpet. Before she could ponder it any further, the President continued, taking off his glasses and gesturing towards Josh as he spoke.
"Be that as it may, but as I was about to say, you've shown a dedication to me and this knucklehead standing in front of me above and beyond anything we have a right to expect." Donna noticed Josh wince at that accusation. "So, it is my right and privilege to tell you, take the damn holiday and I don't want to see your face back in this building until after the 14th of July, do you understand me? You are to go, explore and frolic in the wonder and majesty that is Egypt. And I want a full report on how wonderful and relaxing it was to be away from this madhouse when you get back."
Donna swallowed and nodded.
"Right, so that's settled…" the President leaned back in his chair. "Off you go," he waved his hand at her in dismissal.
"Thank you, Mr President." Donna said quietly. As she turned to go she heard him address Josh again, the edge returning to his voice.
Closing the office door behind her, Donna allowed herself a little smile.
"Congratulations, by the way." Charlie was grinning at her. "Enjoy Cairo – it's an amazing place."
"So I've…" Donna began, only to be cut off by the sound of the President's voice booming from the Oval Office.
"Charlie!"
"Gotta go!" Charlie said, bouncing up out of his seat and passing Josh who had just emerged looking more than a little harried and rather sheepish.
"Hey, Josh."
Josh didn't even acknowledge Charlie's greeting and continued out into the corridor. That was odd. Donna hurried to catch up with him and, as usual, fell into step beside him. She was trying to think of something to say, when she felt his hand settle gently on the small of her back as he started to guide her into the small meeting room at the rear of the Northwest Lobby
Once they were inside, she turned to look at him. His face was a picture of conflicting emotions and she knew that he, too, was struggling to find something to say – also odd. Somewhat predictably they both spoke at the same time.
"I'm sorry I didn't give you the time off before…"
"I'm sorry the President got involved..."
They looked at each other and half smiled.
"Really, Donna." Josh said softly, and she felt that familiar lurch in her stomach, that small spark of electricity as he gently laid his hand on her bare forearm. "I should have insisted you take a holiday long before now." He removed his hand and ran it over the back of his neck. "It never occurred to me that you might need one."
Donna smiled. Of course it wouldn't have occurred to Josh. Josh rarely noticed the change of the seasons.
"It's fine Josh. Really. I'm sorry it got so out of hand – I never expected it to become, you know, a thing. I probably shouldn't have involved Margaret."
"Yeah. That would have been a big help."
"Friends?" She held out her hands to him.
"Friends," he repeated, taking them in his.
They stood there for several seconds just grinning at each other, when they heard a startled expletive from behind them. A very embarrassed Ed stood in the doorway.
"Oh Geez, sorry…."
Josh and Donna dropped each others' hands like they were hot potatoes and instinctively moved further apart. Donna felt herself blushing.
Josh, however was one step ahead.
"What do you know," he said nonchalantly, "they were right. You do the circle of summoning in the seal room and a minion will appear!"
Ed's face wore a very puzzled expression.
"See Donna, Mrs Bartlet's Ouija board isn't a crock! Catch you later, Ed." Josh slapped the young man on the upper arm, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and sauntered out of the room. Donna just grinned and fled as quickly as she could.
She was going to Egypt!
A loudspeaker message brought Donna back to the present.
"This is the first boarding call for passengers on flight 172 to JFK International Airport. Would passengers with seat assignments K to T please make their way to the departure gate: All passengers are asked to have their boarding passes ready for inspection."
"That's us," Naima said, standing up and stretching. She reached down and pulled the handle of her carryon out to its full extent. Slinging her purse over her shoulder, she started to move through the lounge towards the departure gate.
Donna was following suit, moving into line behind Naima when she thought she heard her name being called and stopped for a second. She shrugged and turned back to follow Naima, only to hear it again.
"Donna! Donnatella Moss!"
There was only one person who bellowed her name like that, but what the hell was he doing here? She could see two figures jogging towards her – one a member of the Delta flight staff and the other… Donna sighed as they caught up with her.
"Joshua!" She attempted to scold him, but realized she didn't really sound all that upset.
"Fancy seeing you here," he grinned, giving his dimples a full work out. He was dressed in his weekend best, a combination of a pair of faded blue denim jeans, a chocolate brown shirt and his dark brown suede jacket.
Out of the corner of her eye, Donna noticed the Delta employee go over and speak to the flight attendant who was handling the boarding passes.
"Josh! What did I tell you?"
"I can't remember," he lied… badly.
"I told you I didn't need you seeing me off!"
"Did you? I don't recall that conversation!"
"Josh! We were in Sam's office, you know, when you were trying to worm my holiday schedule out of me! I told you that I didn't need you seeing me off because…?" she left the question hanging.
"Because, you weren't traveling alone and didn't need a farewell committee," he recited, still grinning.
"Yes! Good! You do remember!" Donna tried desperately to keep her 'stern face' on, but God help her, that grin was infectious, and despite herself, she felt her face cracking into an answering smile.
"Donna, come on!" Naima called as the line moved steadily forward.
Josh grabbed at Donna's elbow and started pulling her out of the line, his grin fading as he turned her to face him.
"Look, Donna – I need to tell you something."
"Josh – our seats are boarding now." She glanced anxiously over her shoulder to see Naima speaking to the attendant at the desk.
"Yeah, about that…"
Donna caught his sheepish expression. Her eyes widened.
"Oh God! What have you done?"
Donna was worried now. What insane scheme had he cooked up? She felt a nudge at her other elbow and turned to see Naima standing next to her, a bemused expression on her face.
"Nai? What the hell are you doing out of line? We need to board now."
"No, we don't," she grinned. "Hey Josh."
Josh nodded and smiled.
"What do you mean?" Donna was confused now.
"Well – it would appear that our tickets have been bumped."
"Bumped?"
"Yeah, as in someone has bumped us to business for the flight to JFK."
Naima flashed Josh a huge, flirtatious smile and Donna had to fight the urge to tell her to knock it off.
Josh's smile became even more sheepish.
"What?" Donna asked softly, taking a small step closer to his side.
Josh shrugged. "I wanted to apologize for the other week. I was a jerk... and I never really did say sorry."
"Josh you can't do this! I can't accept an upgrade; we're government employees, and you're my boss!"
"But I thought of that," he leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. "And in fact, I haven't given you anything!"
"How, or rather, who then?"
Josh shrugged.
The dimples were back, and he was rocking back on his heels, looking far too pleased with himself.
"I gave the money to Margaret and she paid for it on her credit card."
I'm going to kill her, Donna thought. But it was a really sweet gesture.
"So. Anyway." Josh looked away, suddenly embarrassed. "That's all I came here to say. I've got to get back to the office…" He paused, looking at Donna with a crooked grin. "You don't want to come back?"
"Josh!"
He held up his hands in defeat.
"Hey – you can't blame a guy for trying!"
"Oh, I think I can – and you are incredibly trying!"
Josh laughed, and Donna, couldn't help herself. She dropped her shoulder bag and reached up and hugged him with all her strength and was rewarded with the comforting pressure of his arms and hands wrapping around her waist. She could feel his chin nestled into her left shoulder, as she breathed deeply and caught the familiar tang of his cologne. They didn't hug often – in fact she could probably count on the number of times they had on the fingers of one hand – but she remembered every one of them. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut to embed this one in her memory, she heard him sigh, the sound muffled by her shoulder. Turning his head slightly he whispered in her ear –
"Enjoy yourself, Donna. And come back to me soon."
He released her slowly, and Donna took a step backwards, blinking furiously as tears… of parting… threatened to cloud her eyes.
"Naima." Josh nodded to her friend. "Have fun – and keep her out of trouble."
"Me? Keep someone out of trouble? You've got to be joking!"
"Well, try at least." He grinned and started to walk away, taking only a couple of steps before pivoting on his heel and walking backwards away from them as he spoke. "Remember – you do anything crazy over there or start… a thing and I'll hear about it!" He waved at them and waved before spinning back around and walking away.
Donna watched him openly, something she never allowed herself to do at work, so intent on following Josh's retreating form that she didn't notice Naima coming to stand next to her. Nudging her elbow, Naima regarded her quizzically.
"You want to get away from that! You're nuts, right? I mean, Donna, he's – "
"Miss Moss? Miss Carter?" Donna was grateful for the interruption, and turned to see a flight attendant approaching them. "Sorry for the delay, but we're ready to seat you now. Please follow me."
Donna didn't trust herself to answer Naima's question. Instead she took a deep breath, inhaling the slight lingering scent of his cologne, remembering the feel of his arms around her – and smiled. Josh Lyman. The human enigma, wrapped in a mystery, tied in a conundrum! Of course, his was the office she'd chosen to walk into that fateful February!
Strapped in and ready for take off Donna ran her hands over the arms of the Delta business class seats and thought of what he had done.
"Only you Josh, only you!" she smiled.