Title: A Glimpse of the Possibility (10/?)

Author: Aerial312
Rating: PG-13
Category: Humor/Fluff/Angst/Romance (a little of everything)
Disclaimer: I own nothing…I just borrow.
Feedback: Greatly appreciated. Sure. Just let me know where its going.

A/N: Visit my archive: http://aerial312. .

Episode Timeline: War Crimes.

Donna sat at her desk, trying to busy herself by organizing some files. She had screwed up, and had no clue what to do about it. She just had to wait for Josh to come up with some brilliant solution. The only thing she knew was that she never wanted Josh to look at her like that again, with such disappointment in his face.

"Donna," he called quietly, cocking his head to indicate that she should come into his office.

She got up, and quickly followed, closing the door behind her.

"Sit."

"I'm fine."

"Sit down."

Donna took a deep breath and sat in the chair as he ordered her to. He paced around his desk silently for a moment.

"I've come up with something that could work, could make this go away tonight."

"Really?"

He paused slightly, and looked at her for the first time since she'd sat down.

"First, first I need to know a few things."

"Okay…"

"Cliff was questioning you at the deposition?"

"Yes."

"And you've been out with him?"

"Yes."

"Did he tell the rest—"

"That he knew the witness socially, yes."

"And that's all he said about the extent of how he knew you?"

"Extent?"

"Socially?"

"Yes…"

"Where was the diary?"

"Josh…"

"Where—"

"On my bed table."

Josh took a deep breath. "Okay, okay…so he wasn't exactly honest with the committee either. Socially…"

"It was social—"

"If he was in your bedroom, it's a little more than a causal social acquaintance!"

Josh turned on his heels to look out the window, raking his fingers through his hair.

"All I'm saying, Donna, is that he wasn't honest about…how well he…knew you."

"Yeah…"

"What's in the diary?"

"What?"

"What is in the diary?"

"Nothing material—"

"You said that before, and I believe you," his voice was calmer now, almost sad. "I'm asking, what is it that IS in the diary".

"I just write…I…it's a diary, Josh! There's no rhyme or reason to what I write…it's whatever I happen to feel…to need to get off my chest."

"Do you write in it everyday?"

"No."

"Did you write in it the day you found out the President had MS?"

"I did, but…" Donna bit her lip.

"But?"

"It was about Mrs. Landingham."

"So it's definitely more personal."

"It's a diary, it's how things affect me, it's random, it's not a log of my day."

Josh nodded, staring at the floor. "Did you write about Cliff?"

"Is that important?"

"Yeah."

She looked up at him. He was trying really hard not to look at her right now. She swallowed hard. "I did."

"Was it…did…uh, is it…?"

"Clear the extent of our relationship?"

"Yeah."

"Yes."

Josh nodded. "Are all your, uh, relationships…uh, chronicled…?"

She nodded meekly. "That's…it's the kind of thing a girl put in her diary, Josh."

"When…when did you start your diary?"

"When I went back to Wisconsin that March."

"During the campaign?'

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Josh clearly working through his thoughts.

Finally Donna asked, " You said you'd come up with something…"

He looked up at her. "You're not gonna like it…but…". He shook his head, staring at his shoes.

Donna watched him silently for a moment, and then it hit her. "You asked me all about the contents. You want me to give it to him to read."

Josh looked up at her, hesitantly. "Is that…okay?"

"Is it our only option?"

"To get out of this easily, yes. I'll call up Calley, tell him to meet us somewhere remote, he gets an hour to read it and see that there's nothing material in it—"

"What's stopping him from reading it, and then going back and screwing us—me—on it anyways?"

"You wrote about him."

"So we blackmail him?"

"We persuade him its in his interest that this diary not become evidence. We keep a copy of the pages just in case."

Donna lay her head in her hands, and took a deep breath.

"I'll put the photocopies away, and if they're not necessary, then they'll never been seen again. Trust me, Donna, I don't want to read them."

Donna blinked hard, trying to pull herself together before sitting up again.

"Donna?" He crossed over beside her chair.

"Last fall…I wrote a lot last fall."

"Me?"

She nodded. "I…I had a lot to get off my chest."

"Last Christmas too?"

She nodded again, squeezing her eyes shut.

He gingerly laid his hand on her shoulder. "That's okay."

"If you want to read it first—" she choked.

"I don't want to read it."

"No?"

"I don't need to," he squeezed her shoulder, and crossed behind his desk. "Now, go get yourself ready to leave. I'm gonna call Calley, then we need to go get your diary."

Donna nodded, wiping away her tears.

"It's gonna be okay."

"I hope so," Donna said, as she left his office.

"Me too," Josh sighed to himself.

Donna sat next to Josh on the bench, staring down as the leaves blowing by on the sidewalk. His arm was draped behind her. They weren't really close enough for it to be around her, but it was comforting nonetheless.

"That was fast," Josh mumbled, standing to go to Cliff.

Donna turned, and watched the exchange. Cliff handed it over, and nodded to Josh. She couldn't hear what was said. After a moment, Cliff turned and left, and Josh walked back over to Donna.

"It's over."

"It is?"

"He said he skimmed it, and found nothing objectionable."

Josh handed it back to Donna, who held it awkwardly.

"So that's it?"

"That's it. He's not going to subpoena it."

"Good…"

"You okay?"

Donna nodded, weakly.

Josh held out his hand for her, "Come on, let's go."

She stood and he led her back to his car, with his hand on the small of her back. She got in, and stared ahead.

"You wanna go get a drink?"

She shrugged. "I kinda wanna go home."

Josh nodded. "Cliff gave me his word that no one will ever hear about what he read."

Donna nodded. "I don't know if I could ever look him in the face again."

"Well, hopefully you'll never have to."

"Josh…"

"I'm just saying."

"I thought I'd finally found a nice guy—"

"A Republican."

"And he's an asshole like all of the others."

"Yeah."

"Do you believe him when he says that this is over?"

"I do actually. If he were going to try something with it, he would have taken longer than 20 minutes."

"Twenty minutes was long enough for complete humiliation."

They rode in silence for a while. Donna toyed with the book in her hands.

"I should probably just get rid of this."

"I wouldn't say you have to get rid of it."

"Maybe I'm too old for a diary."

"There's nothing wrong with having an outlet for your thoughts…the issue wasn't the existence of the diary…"

"It was denying the existence."

"And having had it out while…" Josh sighed and turned away.

A minute later he pulled onto her street.

"You gonna be okay?"

Donna nodded.

"Sure you don't want to get a drink?"

"I have wine."

"Ah."

"Do you…,uh, do you want to come in for a little while?"

"And drink some wine?"

"Yeah," her lips twitched into some form of a smile. "Drink some wine."

"I imagine it's white wine."

"It's actually Kerri's wine, so its probably red."

They walked up the stairs to her apartment.

"Kerri doesn't mind you drinking her wine?"

"She's out of town for two weeks."

"So that makes it okay?" he smirked, relaxing a bit for the first time all night.

"I'm watching her cats."

"Ah, how are the little furry beasts?"

Donna opened the door, and a small grey shape darted past her. "Catch him."

Josh picked up the cat. "I don't remember this one."

"That's Lancelot. He's the baby."

"Oh, is this the new kitten?"

"Well, he's not exactly a kitten anymore."

"Didn't she just get him?"

"Last fall."

"Was it really that long ago?"

She nodded, as she retrieve the wine from the counter. Josh flopped on the couch, holding onto the small, grey cat.

"Have I really not been here since…?"

"Yeah." Donna returned with a glass for each of them, and sat on the other end of the couch.

"Ow!" Josh yelped as the kitty, darted away from him. "I was trying to be nice to him."

Donna picked the kitty up. "Aww…was he being mean to you?"

"I was not being mean."

Donna lay back against the cushion, and the cat sat contently on her lap. She and Josh drank in silence. A few minutes later, Josh leaned forward and refilled his glass.

"Want another?"

She held out her cup and he scooted closer to fill it. Josh put his feet up beside the bottle on the coffee table, and leaned back. They drank in silence again.

"I'm sorry," Donna said, as she refilled her glass again.

Josh turned his head to look at her. "What?"

"I screwed up, and I'm sorry." She topped off his.

"Donna…"

"I'm sorry that I'm not as reliable—"

"Donna!"

"If you don't trust me anymore, I under—"

Josh turned his whole body to face her. "I trust you, Donna."

"How can—"

"I trust you."

"You've been so pissed at me all week."

Josh looked down at the cat, and didn't say anything.

"You have been."

"I…wasn't pleased with your choice of dates."

"You never are."

"Donna…"

"Anyways, I'm sorry. You were so disappointed in me and—"

"I wasn't disappointed, Donna, I was terrified!" he stared up at her for a moment, then looked back down.

"Terrified?"

"Terrified that I wasn't going to be able to fix it!"

Donna bit her lip, and focused on the cat.

"We move on from this, and we NEVER talk about it."

"Yeah."

"Promise me that you won't tell anyone."

"I won't," Donna assured, running her hand nervously along the cat.

Josh sighed, and looked up at her. She was looking down. He placed his hand on top of hers, and squeezed it. The cat scurried away.

"It's gonna be okay."

Donna tipped her forehead onto his shoulder and they again sat in silence.