Credit to the wonderful and talented Aaron Sorkin for the nickname Donna has for Josh that is referenced in this chapter!

Thank you all so much for your comments and messages! They bring a smile to my face and help me write!

Chapter Ten: Six Hours of Sleep

He stayed at Cabbot's that night until 9pm. He didn't realize he had fallen asleep with his face flat against one of his Tort Law books until he felt the gentle stroke of her hand on his shoulder. It felt so unbelievably soothing. Josh could have fallen back asleep instantly. "It would be nice to wake up every morning like this," he thought to himself.

"That feels good," he said quietly as a smile crept across his face. His eyes fluttering slightly, until they closed again.

"Mmmm I bet it does, especially after you've been laying with your head in a book on a solid wood countertop for an hour."

Josh sat up and pushed himself out of his sleep-induced haze."WHAT?! I've been like this for an hour? Donnnnnna! Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Calm down Pumpkin Patch. Wow you really are whiny on Sundays aren't ya? You looked peaceful and you looked like you needed some sleep. Are you sleeping okay, Josh?" He had never heard her sound so concerned before. Usually it was him worrying about her, but was she worrying about him? He knew she worried about his eating, but this, this was a more intense worry radiating from her.

"Yeah, I'm sleeping okay . . . wait- Pumpkin Patch?"

"Mmmhmm. And let me rephrase my last question- are you sleeping enough?"

"Ummm yeah, like four hours a night. So Pumpkin Patch?"

"JOSH!" Oh she was not happy with him now. He could tell she didn't like his answer.

"Donnnnnnna," he whined. It was the only comeback he could think of. She was looking at him with her big beautiful blue eyes, mixed with both concern and exasperation, and he just couldn't think straight. He wasn't sure what got to him more, her eyes or her pout. Probably the pout, it had only made its appearance once, and he was powerless against it. But then again, those eyes . . . He was lost in thought for a moment before she laid into him a little more.

"Joshua David Lyman! 4 hours of sleep is unacceptable! Your body needs more than that and it needs better fuel. Between your eating habits and your sleeping habits, what am I going to do about you?!"

Before he could respond, she continued, he could tell this was important to her, and Josh was really enjoying the lecture she was giving him. She was being bossy and passionate. Josh smiled, she was showing him again that she cared about his well-being, just like she did when she made him his lasagna.

"Let me tell you some of the benefits of sleep Joshua. It reduces the risk of things like stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Sleep repairs your heart and blood vessels. Sleep helps with brain function and removing the toxins that build up over the course of a day. It helps with memory and learning, so more sleep will actually help you in law school. Sleeping relaxes your muscles and allows for deep breathing, so that your brain and body can recover from a long day.

"Ahhh-kay," he showed her his dimples.

"I wasn't done Josh! Put those dimples away, I won't let them distract me."

"My dimples distract you, Donnatella?" He asked, smiling even more.

"Oh my God, Josh!"

"I'm a handful tonight, huh?"

"Yes, yes you are. Now let me finish before I give you the pout."

"Oh, touche Donna. You know my weakness."

"Fight fire with fire, baby!" She said excitedly.

"Okay go on, you have my full attention."

"Did I not have it before, Joshua!? Do I need to repeat all that?

"No no no. You absolutely have had my attention this whole time. Just ummm, yeah go on."

She smiled at him and shook her head. She was messing with him and he knew it. She knew he knew it too.

"Your body gets energy from sleep Josh. You will wake up refreshed and ready to take on your day. You will be alert and you will be able to concentrate the way you need to. Sleep helps you focus and pay attention . . ." Josh saw her trail off before his very eyes. She was remembering something, he could tell. She quickly came back from her thoughts and continued, "It will also help maintain a good demeanor, and a positive outlook. You can handle challenges better with a good night of sleep. And it's a great way to encourage healing. Your immune system depends on sleep to fight infection. You need sleep to keep your white blood cell count up. So sleep. And sleep for at least six uninterrupted hours a night, please. I know I can't get you to eight hours, yet. But six hours of sleep, please. Please Josh."

By the end of her speech, she was almost begging him. Her pleading eyes and the desperation in her voice really got him. He felt something in his heart pull. This was so important to her, and he's pretty sure he understands why. She had stressed the importance of sleep for staying focused and then she had stressed the importance of sleep for healing. He wouldn't ask, not until she brought it up, but he was almost one hundred percent certain that sleep deprivation played some part in the trauma she had experienced and then sleep itself had played a significant role in her recovery.

He reached for her hand where it lay on the counter. He gave it a gentle squeeze and softly rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand for a moment. He looked into her blue eyes with his own compassionate and understanding brown eyes, enjoying the current that was flowing through his body, all from simply holding her hand.

"Okay Donna. Six hours of sleep a night. I'll do it for you," he made his pledge in a soft tone, meant for her ears only.

"Thank you Josh," she said reverently, but also added, "Will you do it for yourself too? Not just me, okay."

"I will sleep six hours a night, and I will do it for the both of us."

"Thank you," she said again as her eyes focused on their clasped hands.

"Thank you for caring about me Donna." His gaze fell to their joined hands too. He smiled. "Donna, our hands fit."

She laced her fingers through his and looked at him affectionately, "Yes they do Josh."

Josh probably would have stayed like that for hours, just taking pleasure in how good it felt to be able to hold her hand. The moment had to end all too quickly when a customer walked to the counter and Donna had to start making some sort of double shot of espresso, extra foam, with a shot of hazelnut, nonsense.

"Okay Donna, I'm gonna go home and lay down. See if I can get the hang of this six hour sleep thing."

"K, Josh. She said as she turned around from the espresso machine. She gave him a megawatt smile and God did he love the way her silky blond hair whipped around as she had turned to look at him. He really just wanted to run his fingers through her hair and kiss her senseless. Something to think about on their first date. But again, he didn't want to rush her. Their first kiss would happen when it would happen. He was happy just being able to see her at work and to hold her hand. He loved how warm and soft it felt against his own.

"You're not staying late right?"

"Not past 11," she said as she efficiently put the espresso drink together.

"What time is your first class tomorrow?"

"Bright and early. 7am."

"K, where?"

"At the Ralph Mayer Learning Center, I have my Painting Materials and Methods class."

"K, I'll be there Donnatella. Coffee in hand."

"I'm holding you to that. Good night Pumpkin Patch."

"I will get to the bottom of that nickname, Donna. Good night. Sleep well."

"You too Josh . . . Oh Josh! Here!" She tossed him a blueberry muffin from the case as he was halfway to the front door. "I figured since you ate the salad I brought you for dinner, that you were in need of a little treat."

"Donna Moss, no one knows me better. Thanks!" He said as he caught the muffin and took a bite.

About an hour later, as Josh found himself laying in bed, feeling his sleep deprived body start to relax and fall into that place somewhere between not quite being awake and not quite being asleep, he thought about everything Donna had said to him about the importance of sleep. He couldn't help but feel anxious over her sleeping habits. She wasn't even getting eight hours of sleep herself tonight. Did she have class every day at 7am or was it just Mondays? She needed her sleep more than he needed his. He would trade places with her in a heart beat so that she could sleep. He would make coffee drinks at Cabbot's, but he probably wouldn't be very good at it. Was she getting enough sleep during her recovery, allowing her body to heal the way it needed to? He couldn't help the shudder that coursed through his body when he thought of those nights again when they stayed at Cabbot's until 2am and that one Thursday when she fell asleep during her shift. His study group had affected her sleep and consequently her recovery and healing process. Knowing it had affected her sleep and made her tired was bad enough, but knowing that it affected her recovery was killing him. How could he make it up to her? Perhaps the best way is to take care of himself like she asked, that way Donna doesn't have to worry about his health and she can focus on her healing and recovery. He liked that plan, he thought to himself as he drifted off into his six hours of sleep.