Title: Telephone Talk 1/1

A/N- Post Series: Early in the Santos Administration

Disclaimers: Not mine. Not at all.

Feedback.. absolutely…please and thankyou!

Telephone Talk

My blackberry vibrates and I check the call display before answering.

"Hey, you!"

"Hey…"

"How come you're phoning from home? It's only 8:30.. What happened... did you get fired?" I tease.

"It's surprising how much I can accomplish when the president is in a different time zone. Are you at the hotel?"

"Nope…Still in the car."

"The First Lady there too?"

"Uh huh."

"Oh."

There is a pause long enough to drive a suburban through. I can hear music playing in the background. It sounds like one of my CD's.

"Josh?"

"I miss you."

I glance up to see the first lady watching me.

"I believe that would be a mutual issue… We did talk about this earlier today."

"No, listen, it's frightening. The first couple of nights I kind of enjoyed having the whole bed to myself..."

"You may want to re-think how you are presenting this strategy."

"But then last night I woke up several times…on my side of the bed… reaching for you and wondering where the hell you'd gone… until I remembered… "

"Texas," we say in unison. I grin sort of stupidly out the window, so I don't catch Helen's eye.

He sighs heavily. "I should just have stayed at work. I miss you too much. The house doesn't feel like home when you're not here."

"So that's a new development then?"

"Yeah, you know... it is."

"Well, this could be an interesting experience."

"Donna, you're killing me here!!"

"Well I don't see an immediate solution."

"Come home…" he whines.

I roll my eyes. "Considering the impetus for this particular junket came from your office, I just don't think that's possible."

He sighs again. "I know. I didn't really mean it… well I did but…You're back by dinner tomorrow, right?"

"Well, you can check with my assistant, but I believe that is correct."

He's barely listening. " 'Cause the President's away 'till Thursday….so tomorrow night let's bail early. We can pick up Chinese food and head home… I'll turn off my blackberry; we'll unplug the phone and spend some quality time ……"

I interrupt him before he can get specific about the exact quality of the time… I actually have a pretty good idea of it. "Sounds like a plan. Can you really make all that happen?"

I can hear the smile in his voice. "Well, all except the blackberry..."

I close my eyes, and I can see him in his shirt sleeves, leaning his head back on the couch, his feet up on the coffee table, and suddenly I miss him so much there's a lump in my throat.

"Donna.." he says in that dark gravelly way, "I really want you."

I swallow hard. "You know," I say, "I don't think we can solve this problem right here and now. Let me think about it for awhile, and I'll call you later tonight… or maybe in the morning."

"You are so hot when you do that officious, efficient thing.."

"Yes, well that may be… but I really need a little more time to consider the possibilities."

"I've got all night, babe."

I'm really hoping I'm not starting to blush. "Okay, then," I say brightly, "I'll talk to you later."

I press disconnect and glance across at Helen, who is looking at me with her eyebrows raised.

"Anything I need to know about?" she asks.

"No ma'am. I think it's something we can work out between the two of us."

She looks down at the information package for tomorrow. There is a smile just barely hidden, lurking at the corner of her mouth.

"A little free advice," she says.

"Ma'am?"

"When you call him back use a land line. You just never know who is monitoring the airwaves."

"Speaking from experience ma'am?"

"Stepping over the line, Donna?"

But her eyes are full of mischief, and for a split second, before we both start laughing I feel like I'm looking in a mirror.

End