Disclaimer: I dont own anything.
Authors note: when you picture her singing think of the Anne Hathaway version.
Danny walked through the west wing, the video in his hand needed to be shown, the question was to who?
If he showed the world on the internet his career would possibly take a leap in the right direction, it would show that he had sources and knew a story when he saw one.
He had watched the 20 minutes of film countless times that day, rewinding it, cross referencing it, making sure it was genuine. He was certain that it was.
If it were to go public then he would hurt his friends in the west wing, it wasn't about anything political, it was definitely one for the gossip column but thats what people want.
They don't care about how many senators oppose the new tax bill or that the President is planning on building more homes for the poorest 10% of the country.
They want to know relationship heartache, who is having affairs and who is having a nose job.
it was all based around schadenfreude. the idea that seeing someone hurt brings pleasure. this is the reason, Danny thought, why people used to go and watch public executions. It gives them a kick, and the contents of the tape certainly could do that.
However thats what it was if it would be released, an execution. An execution of two friends, there lives would be brought out into the open and it would kill them to be so humiliated.
Danny couldn't do that to them, he couldn't do that to the Bartlet administration.
"Danny?" said CJ from behind her desk.
"Hi CJ" he replied.
"Danny you've been standing there a while, whats up?" she asked.
" You need to have a look at this" Danny replied, handing her a video tape.
"DONNA" yelled Josh from his desk, screw the intercom, He was God, God didn't need to press a button to summon Noah, so why should he use one to summon his assistant.
"Josh I'm leaving for the night, what do you want?" she asked desperately, if she didn't leave now then she would never get away, she was running late already.
"Yeah ok, the President wants to go out tonight so I need my Tux." he told her, not looking up from the massive pile of paperwork in front of him.
"Can he just go out?" she asked, surprised, wondering what the President could possibly want to go out for at the last minute.
"Yeah, he just goes, the secret service take care of the rest. wheres my tux?"
"its here" she said as she reached behind the door and held out to him his dry cleaning.
"thanks, you can go now" he told her, taking the black suit from her.
Josh didn't know why she wanted to get out so early, it was only five pm. 'she probably has a date' he told himself. If he didn't have to get changed he could have kept her there longer and made the guy waiting for her wait even longer, maybe he would give up and go home alone.
CJ took the tape and put it in her player. she didn't have the time for another big story tonight, she was wearing her favorite dress and her hair was perfect, ready to go out for the night with the senior staff and the President.
upon pressing play she saw a large room with theater posters on the wall, shows such as Blood Brothers and Phantom of the Opera. Benches were pushed against the walls, there were clothes hanging on hooks randomly around what must be the changing room.
The camera was placed like a security camera, pointing down. CJ heard the two women on the screen talking.
"I wish I could sing like that" said one short dark haired woman.
"Becky you're a great actress" replied another girl, this one had flaming red hair
"yeah Jane but I still wish I could sing like Donna, she puts so much emotion into her voice" Becky told her.
Donna walked through the door on the screen, followed by several more girls.
"Finally" Donna shouted.
"glad dress is over?" Jane asked
"totally, I'm late I need to go." Donna said, taking the dress off and throwing her office clothes on.
"what you late for?" Becky asked
"my job, the boss is gonna be so pissed at me" Donna told them, looking in her bag for her bottle of water.
"he will live, hey we were just wondering how you put so much emotion in your voice?" Jane asked, she had heard countless women sing the songs Donna had sung tonight, but Donnas was so raw and genuine.
"just experience I guess" Donna replied.
"but I've worked on stage a hell of a lot longer than you" Becky told her, rather offended as she felt as though Donna had just called her an amateur.
"no, no, no, I mean been in that situation before." Donna reiterated,
"how the hell have you been in Fontines situation before?" Jane wondered.
Fontine was a woman who was fired from her job as she had a child, she turned to prostitution and died.
"think more about the songs words. take 'I dreamed a dream', I can relate to how Fontine is feeling." she explained.
"I still don't get how." Becky told her, sitting down on one of the many benches.
"well when you love someone and get hurt then its awful, it tears you up inside, thats what I sing for.
theres a guy I love right, but he doesn't love me back, he never sees me. I started working for him when I was 21, I never went out and did what 21 year olds do, I was too busy doing research and filing folders away, we had some fun though, we went to parties and events all the time.
Anyhow he got shot several years ago and I cared for him when he recovered. He used to cry in front of me and he wasn't like a boss then, we got to know each other so well, we rarely talked about work. it was a summer filled with take outs and movies.
but once he was better it was back to work as usual. the flirting carried on but he started having relationships and doing nothing but try and sabotage my date, it was like his way of saying 'you cant have me but noone else can have you either'."
"ok, I get it now. but why didn't you ask him out, to hell with the consequences." Jane asked
"because of the tigers. our bosses wouldn't have approved of me asking so I would have had to leave my job." Donna explained, she made a half hearted attempt at a smile and left the room. the screen in CJ's office went black.
"is this going public?"CJ asked Danny
"no, I don't want to hurt Josh and I certainly don't want to hurt Donna" he told her.
"Ok Danny, thank you."
"you're welcome. you look nice by the way. where you going?" he asked.
"the President wants to go and see Les Miserables at the National theater" CJ told him, looking worried.
Danny nodded and walked out of the office. CJ pressed the intercom and asked Carol to get Toby and Josh ASAP.
Josh watched the tape, the whole time, CJ noticed, he looked as though he was going to cry.
she couldn't blame him, here was a young girl telling her friends how much he had hurt her.
he felt so bad he couldn't describe it, his stomach was twisted into knots, he wanted to be sick, mixed in with a wish to hold her and tell her how sorry he was, to tell her that he did see her, but, like she said, the tigers wouldn't have allowed it.
"what do we do?" he found himself asking the room
"we go to the show, we sit with the President and afterwards you sit down with Donna and sort this out." Toby told him. the man didn't have emotions other than anger but Josh and CJ saw how even he was affected from the video.
The group sat with the president in his box at the national theater, they had enjoyed the story so far, they were waiting for Donna to come on stage, Josh was hoping that she wouldn't. it was one thing to see it on a tape, it was different to actually hear her sing the words to him in person. Maybe she had been told they were there and they would see her understudy.
Josh didn't have that kind of luck.
'At the end of the day' was being sung, he saw the Forman grope her character 'Fontine' he nearly leapt out of his seat when he touched her, the words 'you play a virgin in the night but need no urging in the night' made his stomach turn, but he knew it was all an act.
She was very convincing, screaming at her boss not to fire her because she had a kid.
Watching Donna be pulled apart, teeth pulled out and hair cut off by the 'lovely ladies' was too much, he couldn't watch anymore, he stood and walked over to the corner of the box, the President knew why, he understood, josh couldn't watch, all he could do was listen. then he heard her sing.
There was a time when men were kind, when their voices were soft, and their words inviting, there was a time when love was blind, and the world was a song, and the song was exciting, there was a time, then it all went wrong.
I dreamed a dream in times gone by
When hope was high, And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid (you were so brave for joining the campaign)
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid (I made her do things she isn't paid to do)
No song unsung
No wine untasted (all those parties I dragged her too, she looked so bored)
But the tigers come at night (Damn them, Damn Leo!, Damn the President!)
With their voices soft as thunder (so soft the rules are unspoken)
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame (they would have said it was wrong)
He slept a summer by my side (she wouldn't leave me, I didn't want her too, she healed me.)
He filled my days with endless wonder (I taught her, I was her mentor)
He took my childhood in his stride (I shouldn't have let her work for me, she was too young)
But he was gone when autumn came (I threw her aside once I was recovered)
And still I dream he'll come to me (she may still want me)
That we'll live the years together (be husband and wife, we would be happy)
But there are dreams that cannot be (yes they can donna, I know they can)
and there are storms we cannot weather (the press will get over it, CJ will sort it)
I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living (I'm so sorry, noone should live like this)
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed
The dream I dreamed (no it hasn't, the dream isn't dead.)