Chapter Two
Author's Note | Disclaimer is hanging out back in Chapter One. This one is a little on the long side, but there was a missed opportunity to have some fun on the show. Related episode Season 6 Episode 15 'Freedonia'. Why the flashback to Season 6? Because Donna looked so sad and/or serious when answering Josh's question in Season 7 about whether she had ever had a campaign fling. I found myself wanted to know what could have prompted that look on her face...and while I don't completely explain here, it's an introduction as why I think her response was so quietly serious.
*** Flashback ***
Donna frowned at the reflection in the standard mirror hanging on the standard wallpaper. Her pale eyes glanced at the standard bed with the standard coverings, flanked by the standard night stands topped with the standard lamps. Coming to rest on the reflection of herself, Donna contemplated how standard her evenings had become.
The norm was usually some crappy food either from a vending machine or, on those good nights, a hole-in-the-wall diner, sitting around strategy plans and draft upon draft of speeches. The paperwork often had coffee stains and grease on them. Will Bailey usually sat across from her as they discussed Vice President Russell's next steps to win the party's nomination as their presidential candidate. Bob Russell didn't usually attend these evening sessions with them. Often times, it was a supper with potential supporters that took him away, however both Donna and Will knew it was because he had little interest in the behind-the-scenes aspects of his campaign. He wanted the win, but the details that went into getting that win simply were not in his realm of caring. There was little glory in the dirty work.
Leave it to Will to disrupt the routineness. He asked her to supper. They usually had supper. But this time he asked. And that was…non-standard.
Surely he was just asking if they'd be doing their normal routine. Working in between bites of some non-descript burger and fries…or maybe something had, once upon a time, resembled a salad.
Still…
It wasn't as if Donna had packed clothing suitable for dates. She hadn't really anticipated dating while on the campaign trail. Although she had hoped that one man…
No. No thoughts of Josh. Not tonight. Not when Will had asked her to supper.
Was it even a date?
There were no butterflies in her stomach, no giddiness, no special bounce in her step.
This was Will. Will Bailey. Calm, predictable Will Bailey.
Donna's frown deepened. Had she ever seen Will angry? Throwing things? She knew he believed deeply in his convictions, but what about passion? Josh was passionate about his beliefs and…
No. No more thoughts of Josh.
Smoothing a hand over her pink cashmere sweater, Donna made sure there were no wrinkles in her slacks. She was tired. They were all tired. But that was no reason to look it; especially if a possible supporter approached or, even worse, the press.
In the lobby, Donna spotted Will sitting near the fireplace that was to provide a 'welcome home' feel to the hotel. The tall, blonde woman was immune to the intent. To her, a fireplace belonged in a den or kitchen or maybe a bedroom. Wisconsin and Minnesota winters were cold and fireplaces were the norm. But there was something about hotel fireplaces…like they were trying too hard. Rather like her working up the mindset to enjoy the evening with Will.
As she approached Will, he looked up from his phone and smiled.
Nope. No butterflies. Pasting a smile on her own face, Donna pushed aside her disappointment. Will was nice, sweet, professional, understanding, compassionate. He was ideal.
But he was no Josh Lyman.
Seriously! Enough with the Joshing already! Donna mentally chided herself. She watched as Will stood up and approached.
"Most of the group is in the hotel restaurant." He said, the meaning behind the statement unclear.
"Did you…" Donna's voice trailed off.
"Did you?" Will asked in return.
"Probably not." She shrugged.
"I agree."
And with that monotone, un-engaging, yet cryptic, conversation the two headed out of the hotel.
Thankfully, there were several restaurants within walking distance. Nothing inspiring and certainly nothing that screamed romance, but Donna was okay with that. Somewhere between the hotel lobby and the first few steps outside, she had resigned herself to the fact that romance simply wasn't meant to be on the campaign trail and maybe her life overall.
She knew that a few of the aides had hooked up and a small part of her was envious. Donna Moss enjoyed being touched and touching in return. Sadly, being on the road meant close proximity to people but no meaningful touches. The occasional brush-up on the bus or fingers touching as papers were passed around…maybe a celebratory hug after a victory…but the level of intimacy that she craved was absent.
Just like a certain former Deputy Chief of Staff who…No! Josh thoughts are forbidden! Donna mentally stomped on her emotions.
"That one seems to have the fewest number of mini-vans in the parking lot." Will pointed at a small restaurant across the road.
"Mini-vans." Donna echoed.
"Few mini-vans could mean few kids." Will patiently explained his logic.
"Not a big fan of children?" Donna asked, starting to feel something akin to curiousity start to bubble within her. Maybe that was the issue. On the trail, you knew how people took their coffee, their sleeping routines and even their bathroom habits; but you never really got to know THEM.
"Kids are fine. I don't dislike them. I just don't feel like listening to them tonight." Will paused, frowning a bit. "Or talking over them."
"Oh." Donna blinked, uncertain if that was a hint that Will was really trying to turn this into a first date. Or maybe he was just tired and didn't want to exert himself any more than was necessary.
Well, that leaves out sex tonight. Donna fought back a giggle at that thought. The image of Will being efficient in bed popped into her head and the laughter nearly escaped. Thankfully, only a smile appeared.
"You're smiling. You like kids?"
"Yes. " Donna recovered quickly. " I mean, I don't have a whole lot of experience with them, but you can re-discover the world when kids are around. You can stare up at the sky at night and dream about travelling to far off planets. You can celebrate their joy when they realize that two plus two does equal four."
"You can feel the pride when they vote Democrat." Will interjected.
Donna surprised herself by laughing.
"That, too, I suppose. I don't think I'd love my child less if they voted Republican. But if I had two kids, the one voting Democrat would probably be my favourite."
"Political parenting done right." Will grinned, reaching for Donna's hand and sprinting across the street with her when a gap in traffic appeared.
Smiling in return, Donna enjoyed the short run and was suddenly feeling better about the possibilities of this first date as Will held the restaurant door open for her. Once inside, their eyes adjusted and they scanned the place before looking at each other.
"No kids." Donna conceded. "Good deduction skills, Sherlock."
"Well, there goes the opportunity to start teaching the little Democrats-in-training." Will sighed dramatically.
"Truth be told, that doesn't sound like my idea of a good time tonight." Donna boldly confessed, just as the hostess came up to seat them. Silently, they followed her to a corner booth. The darkness was soothing, as if isolating them from the realities of their jobs or their professional relationship. They could be simply two people out on a date.
"And what does…sound like your idea of a good time tonight?" It was Will's turn to ask a question that traipsed over the line of professionalism. He was quite proud of himself for doing so. He could ask questions in meetings or a courtroom and even in the Oval Office. But the idea of exploring what made Donna tick was something he had quickly tamped down upon his arrival at the White House.
It was obvious to everyone but Donna Moss and Josh Lyman that there was a connection between the two of them. Yet they both said nothing was going on. And now Donna was here with him…Will. Not with Josh. And somewhere in that realization, Will had worked up the courage to ask Donna out to supper. Yes, they had supper together every night. Donna was quite right about that. But Will thought it was worth exploring the idea of supper without being surrounded by campaign aides or charts showing polling data. A supper with nothing between them except maybe a table with some food that didn't start with 'special of the day'.
"Oh…maybe get to know…" Donna started.
"I know." Will interrupted.
"You know?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Just do."
"Do you always do that?"
"What?"
"Finish people's…"
"Sometimes."
"Why?"
"Speechwriter."
Donna blinked.
"Was that an actual conversation?" She asked.
"In my world, yes." Will had the good grace to look faintly embarrassed. "Sorry about that. It just sort of starts and then I can't stop."
"We all have our quirks." Donna smiled gently.
"And yours would be?" Will leaned forward.
"Too long to list." Donna grinned. Disappointed in the lack of an answer, Will still found the counter amusing and returned the smile.
The waitress came over and introduced herself.
"Would like to hear our specials?"
"No!" Donna and Will said at the same time. Their eyes met and they shared a laugh, leaving the poor waitress standing there, wondering if the local mental hospital was missing two patients.
"I can come…" She started.
"Actually," Will interrupted. Donna rolled her eyes at him. "What do you recommend? What do you like here?"
The waitress blinked, taken aback that someone was asking her opinion and preferences like she was a real person.
"Umm…the Shepard's pie is amazing and the pesto fusilli, well, I could eat that every day."
"I'll go for the fusilli, please." Donna said.
"Shepard's pie sound perfectly comforting." Will nodded.
Taking down their order for drinks, as well, the waitress smiled and promised she'd be right back with some bread.
"I think we scared her with our overly enthusiastic decline of her offer to recite the specials." Will leaned forward as he confessed his observation.
Mirroring Will's position, Donna whispered, "But then you totally softened her up with asking for her opinion. Nicely done. Who knew you were such a kiss-up?"
"That's Chief Kiss-Up to you, thank you very much." Will said proudly, eliciting a laugh from Donna.
Okay, so maybe he isn't so…starched…as I thought. Donna mused, shifting slightly as their drinks were brought over with some bread. Reaching out for a slice of oh-my-god-it's-still-warm bread, Donna froze when Will's fingers brushed hers. They looked at each other, neither moving their hand away.
"This is very 'Lady and the Tramp'." Will mused softly. "Without the meatballs and bad music."
A one-hit wonder from the 80's started playing over the restaurant's sound system.
"Well, without the meatballs, at least." Donna chuckled.
| WW | WW | WW |
Sometime later, the waitress came over to announce that the restaurant would be closing soon. Shocked that so much time had passed, the two apologized for hogging the table.
"Not to worry." The waitress smiled. "It's a slow night."
Donna reached for her purse, but Will shook his head. He paid for their meal and the two said good night to the waitress. A full moon and a sky full of stars greeted them as they stepped outside.
"Back home, this would be a perfect night to go stargazing. Not a cloud in the sky. No lights from buildings to compete with the stars." Donna's voice was quiet.
"You don't strike me as the type to head off into a field to stare up into the heavens." Will said bluntly.
"Not usually. Lots of bugs." Donna grinned. "But the idea of enjoying it sounds amazing."
Will shook his head and laughed.
Being so late, there was no traffic to contend with. This time, Will took Donna's hand and they slowly ambled across the road.
"Not going to sprint across this time? So much for getting me out breath." Donna joked.
Will turned to face Donna, his face serious.
"What if I wanted to get you out of breath another way?" There was no joking in his voice.
"Oh."
"Yeah. Oh."
"I mean, I hadn't really…" Donna trailed off as Will pulled her against him and kissed her. She felt his warm lips moving against her own, his hand cupping her face to angle her perfectly with his mouth. His other arm wrapped around her waist, holding her firmly against him. She reached up, resting one hand on a shoulder while the other lightly caressed the back of Will's head. She could feel his body heat and savoured the moment of closeness. Donna returned the kiss, waiting for the night of laughter and smiles to turn into something more. As kisses went, it was textbook perfect. Operative word being 'textbook'.
Slowly, she and Will pulled apart and stared at each other.
"That was…" She started.
"Nice." Will said.
"But…"
"Not *nice*."
"Yeah. I mean, you're…"
"Nice?" Will raised an eyebrow, a small smirk appearing on his mouth.
"Yeah..but friend nice…not…"
"I've just been friend-zoned by Donna Moss." Will clutched at his heart. "It could have been worse."
"How?" Donna asked, genuinely curious.
"Do you really need to know how?" A hint of disbelief crept into Will's voice.
"I guess not."
"Come on." Will offered an arm to Donna and was pleased when she looped her hand through. "I'll walk you back to your room…friend."