When Donna walked back into the bar she saw Josh and Toby sitting at a table talking to a guy she'd never seen before. As she got closer she could hear what they were discussing, money and putting kids through college. The thought of talking about anything to do with politics or money after spending the past half hour writing letters to families who'd lost their kids tonight, fried her brain.
'Hey, I need the key for the room' she said, as she got nearer to the table. Josh looked up at her as he reached into his pocket and took out the key card, before putting it back. He saw how exhausted she looked at that moment, her shoulders were a little slumped and her eyes were not as bright as they usually were. 'I'll come with you' he said, as he got out of his chair and drained the last of his beer. 'Matt, it was nice to talk to you' he said. Donna watched as Josh shook Matt's hand. 'You too Josh' Matt replied. Josh walked over to Donna as Toby said he'd join them in a few minutes, a hand on her back as they walked toward the elevators. 'Who was that?' She asked as turned to face him. 'His name's Matt Kelley. He's waiting for a flight out, he took his daughter to see Notre Dame today'. 'What did you talk to him about'? 'How he's gonna pay for her to go college after the market crashed today. He's worried he won't be able to afford to pay for tuition for her to go there'. 'That's a shame. If only it was a little easier for people' she said as he caught her eye. 'That's what he just said'. 'Maybe you should look into that' she said as they reached the elevator. He nodded as he looked over at her. Even in her exhaustion, Josh thought she still looked beautiful. Usually he could suppress these thoughts but right now, in this moment he couldn't even if he wanted to.
Donna pressed the button to call the elevator, watching Josh pace before pressing the button again. 'You know that pressing it once is fine, right?' she said, watching his finger hover over the button for the 2 time. 'I just wanted to make sure it was, you know, on its way' he said. He stared at the doors intently as he looked again at the button on the wall. 'Josh' Donna warned in the same tone she'd used earlier the day when he was on the phone with Sam. As he turned to look at her again the doors opened. 'Thank God' she said sarcastically as Josh huffed and entered the elevator. Donna pushed the button to the 7 floor and stood beside Josh. 'I'm sorry about today' Josh said as he turned to face her. 'Not your fault' she said, staring at the floor. 'You okay?' he asked, watching as she cupped the back of her neck trying to work out the tension. 'Yeah, just tired' she said, just as the elevator doors opened. He watched her as she walked away from him and just as the doors closed he realised he was still staring. He pressed the button to open the doors again and hurried toward the room. 'What're you waiting for?' Josh asked, noticing Donna was still standing outside. 'You have the key'. 'Oh' he said, before taking the key out of his pocket. He handed her the key with a shrug, 'you're better at this than I am' he said. 'Oh wow did you really just say I was better at something than you are?' Donna asked, grinning back at him before inserting the key card and watching the light on the door turn green. 'Shut up and get in there' he said, grinning back at her as she turned to walk into the room.
Donna put her tote bag on the bed and took off her shoes. 'I can't wait to get home' she said. 'I can't wait to be near a phone' he said, scrubbing his hands through his hair. 'You should enjoy the time without your cell phone'. 'Yeah that ship sailed when we got stuck in Indiana. Next time remember to pack a cell phone charger' he said. 'See many places where you could've plugged it in today, Joshua?' She said as he turned to face her, watching the realisation hit him. 'No' he said quietly, as he watched her walk over to the mirror. 'Uh I look awful' she said, rubbing her fingers underneath her eyes. The mascara she had been wearing that day now gathered in small clumps around the corners of her eyes. He watched her reflection in the mirror as she ran her fingers through her hair, stating out loud that she'd wished she had thought to bring a hair brush with her. Josh watched her fingers run through her hair, wondering what it would be like to be able to do that.'You look great' he said, just as she met his eye in the mirror she could see he was watching her from where he was sat on the bed.'Thanks' she said, feeling her cheeks flush at the thought of Josh thinking she looked 'great'. She looked up and found him still watching her, she'd caught him staring a little before but something seemed different this time. His dark eyes watching as she pretended not to notice him watching her. 'Do you mind if I put the TV on?' Josh asked to which Donna shook her head. The TV went straight into the story dominating the news cycle today, the pipe bombing. The live pictures of fire trucks and EMT's running between people were shown next to the reporters made Donna think back to when she saw the shooting on TV and knew she had to get to the hospital as soon as she possibly could. 'You know my friend Jenny, she went to Kennison State. I went to visit her a few times, it's a beautiful place ' Donna said, watching the reporter interviewing a member of the faculty. 'I didn't know she went there' Josh said, once again looking over at her. Jenny and Donna had been friends through high school and the only one from Wisconsin who also now lived on the east coast, making weekend visits to Washington from Pittsburgh where she'd met Josh on several occasions. 'When do we need to leave for the flight'? Josh asked, watching intently as Donna moved away from the mirror and moved toward the bed. 'In about an hour' she said, picking up her bag and moving it to the floor so she could sit at the end of the bed that Josh was currently lounging on. He flipped between keeping up to date with the news and watching Donna. Since he and Amy had ended their relationship, he and Donna had spent more time together. He'd missed meeting Donna on Sundays for brunch and getting coffee with her when he couldn't focus properly in the evenings when Leo or the president needed 20 things done all at the same time. He was glad that time was back again.
'You think it's foreign terrorism' she asked, breaking his train of thought. 'Probably domestic' he replied. He watched her nod from behind, before she reached up to rub her neck again. 'Your neck bothering you?' Josh asked. 'A little' she replied. 'Come here, I can try and work out the knots'. 'It's fine, honestly. I'm just in need of a long hot bath'. As soon as the words were out, Josh was finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than wanting to share that bath with her. 'Donna. Come here' he says as she turns to face him. She looks at him for a moment, she knows it's probably not the best idea but she can't think of a good enough reason not to let him do this. Not after the day they'd had. She moved up toward him and as soon as his hands start to massage her neck, the tension she's had there since she saw the motorcade driving away starts to starts to dissipate.
He feels the tension slipping away, his hands working every knot. Josh's thoughts go back to five minutes ago when he wanted to run his fingers through her hair, and now she's sitting in front of him. Her golden locks inviting him in. He contemplates it for a second before he realises his hands have a mind of their own and they're massaging her head. Donna let's out a little sigh, spurring Josh on as he moves his hands up further. The sigh she let out was completely unprecedented but she hadn't expected it to feel this good. He really did have magic fingers. As he worked out the tension, Donna felt as if her body was alight. Every time his hands moved, a shiver would travel right through her. He could feel it as he massaged her neck, before moving his hands over her collarbone. Without warning Donna let her head relax and came to rest on Josh's chest. Deep down Donna knew that she should tell him to stop but she couldn't. She couldn't get the words out. It felt too good to ask him to stop. In that moment she wanted him to kiss her. She actively tried to forget about that thought on a daily basis but right here, right now she couldn't think of a good enough reason for him not to kiss her. He must be feeling the same, she thought.
He was. In fact he hadn't stopped thinking about since his hands met her body. It was taking all of his resolve not to turn her to face him and kiss her senseless, and with every touch it was getting harder not to. He tried not to think about the lecture both the president and Leo would give him. He tried not to think about CJ yelling at him. Then he tried not to think about Donna in a bathtub. He looked down at Donna, whose head was still against his chest, and before he even knew what he was doing his lips met her collarbone. Her skin was warm against his lips as he felt her let out a low pitched moan. That brought him out of his trance, his hands stopped moving and Donna jolted her head back upright.
As soon as she felt his lips on her collarbone she was done. Her skin was feverish under his lips, completely due to the way his hands had felt. She felt his hands stop massaging as she quickly moved back to the position she was in. 'Donna' he said quietly, in a tone she hadn't heard him use in a while. His fingers ran through her hair as she turned to him. She stared into his eyes, dark and intense with passion as he ran his hand over her cheek. She followed his movements as he lowered his head to hers. She was nervous, so was he but in that moment it didn't matter. They both wanted the same thing. His eyes watched hers as she flicked her eyes to his mouth and then back to his eyes. As Josh lowered his lips to hers he wanted to savour that final second of how they would be. Before they changed their relationship. He took one final glance and then pressed his lips to hers. Donna, even though she was expecting it, was still a little taken aback. He held her chin as she moved her lips over his. The small sound of a gasp as he deepened the kiss was enough to make Josh want to pick her up and sit her on his lap, take off her clothes and make love to her. And that's when he heard it. The sound the hotel room door makes when it's being opened, the quiet 'click' that brings Josh back to reality. He pulls away, feeling bereft already.
Donna couldn't believe what was happening, Josh was kissing her. After all they'd been through since they'd met, he was kissing her now in a hotel room in Indiana after the most crazy of days. She felt his hands on his face as he deepened the kiss, she could feel the warmth of his fingers on her chin. And then it was over. She hadn't heard the door being opened, looking up at Josh in confusion. She watched as he mouthed 'Toby'. 'Hey' she heard Toby say as walked into the room. Donna moved a little further down the bed, trying to put a little more distance between them. Toby walked past the small bathroom on the right and found Josh and Donna sitting on the bed. He looked between them, something was up. 'You guys ok?' Toby asked, watching as Donna turned to him. She looked like a kid who'd been caught with her hand in a cookie jar. Josh had a similar look to him, his eyes wide and bright. 'Yeah. We thought we'd leave in an hour' Donna said, getting off the bed and grabbing her tote bag off the floor. 'Yeah' Toby said. 'I'm gonna take a quick shower' she said, taking a towel from the closet and quickly making her way to the bathroom. Josh watching her as she made her way across the room, before she closed the bathroom door. Josh knew it was coming, but he needed more time to process what had just happened before he answered any of Toby's questions. 'Sure you two are okay?' Toby asked as he watched Josh get up from the bed and walk over to the desk in the corner of the room. 'Yeah Toby, everything's fine. I'm gonna go across the street to the ATM, give Donna some privacy when she's finished in the shower'. 'Good idea, I'll come too' he says. Josh leaves a note for Donna telling her where they've gone before they make their way out. He takes a long look at the bathroom door, thinking of what might've happened if Toby hadn't comeback, before following Toby out of the room. Closing the door with a loud thud behind him.