***Monday, a week later***
Josh sighs and rubs his temple before bellowing for Donna. He waits approximately 2.3 seconds before getting up and rushing towards the door. Just as he gets to it, Donna flings it open just about smacking him in the face.
"You know…" Josh gives her a look.
"I was coming." She answers softly.
"You were taking your time." He snarks.
"I don't have warp speed." She snarks back, reverting back just a bit of how it used to be.
"Do you remember Jennifer Flender, the daughter of the mom and pop who have
the tackle shop?"
"Mack and Roberta Flender."
"Yes."
"The Flenders."
"The daughter just e-mailed me and told me her parents are voting for Ritchie."
Oh my god. A thought occurs to her that might just be the worst thing she ever considered.
"You didn't sleep with the Flender girl, did you?"
Josh gives her a look of complete derision. "She's twenty years old."
Donna's relieved. Of course he didn't. But she can't let him know she seriously wondered for a moment, so she keeps teasing him a bit. He smiles the whole time and it actually feels nice.
But then he's handing her a piece of paper, telling her to make the phone call. She's secretly thrilled to be given a real job but she asks anyway, "Why me?"
"They liked you. They took you in, they fed you."
"You make me sound pathetic."
"You were pretty pathetic, and the Fenders fed you."
Her heart sinks. Right. He's always thought she was pathetic. Why does it matter so much to her what he thinks? But still, she's been given a task and she's going to do it to the best of her ability.
That's when she remembers that she can't do this from the White House. The Hatch Act prohibits her from using her office or official resources for campaign calls.
Josh gets a gleam in his eye and immediately she knows what he's going to suggest.
"Cell phone, Lafayette Park, and a warm coat."
His coat is warmer than hers so she grabs it on her way out of his office.
Forty-five minutes later she comes back into the bullpen.
"How'd it go?" Josh asks standing and following her to the coffee pot. He can't help but notice how tiny she looks with his coat wrapped around her.
"They aren't voting for us."
Donna tries to remember everything the Flenders just explained but it's hard to concentrate. Her head is pounding a little.
"It's so warm in here." She murmurs as she sips at the coffee slowly.
"All right. If Canada's making cheaper pulp, then New Hampshire has to diversify. That's why the President has allocated five hundred million dollars for trade adjustment
Assistance. That's why - write this down." Josh instructs and she dutifully grabs a pink notepad to take the dictation. "That's why he's tripled small business start-up loans. That's why he's balancing the budget. Go."
She doesn't really want to leave the warmth of the office, but she really does want to impress Josh by convincing the Flenders, so she puts the unfinished coffee down and hurries out,still shivering.
A half an hour later she's back. Now she's gotta tell him about the sales tax proposal, and the salmon, and privatizing social security.
He rants at her for a few minutes, and she enjoys seeing him worked up. What the hell is wrong with her that seeing him like this is a huge turn on? She's got to get a grip on herself.
He grabs a binder off the shelf and hands it to her, but instead of giving her more ammunition, he says the thing that's been floating around in his brain all night.
"Why are you wearing my coat?"
"It's warmer than my coat."
He likes it on her. He can't really understand why, but it does something seeing her like that, wrapped up in something that is his. But he shakes off the weird feeling, trying to keep focused on Hartsfield's Landing, so he doesn't think about China and Taiwan.
"Okay. Go."
She's gone again for another 40 minutes, and as Leo's words sink in Josh realizes he's got to go out there and call her off and let the chips fall where they may.
As he exits the White House gate he sees her pacing back and forth, trying to convince the Flenders point by point. She's amazing.
Finally she notices him. "Hold on a minute," she says to the Flenders, burying the phone in his coat, then speaking directly to him. "You know, I've kind of had it now, too: they're shocked and appalled and disappointed but really, they're none of those things, they just wish they were. So, never miss an opportunity to feel morally superior... I don't know. What do you want me to do now?"
"Let them vote."
"What does that mean?"
"I came out here to tell you to let them vote."
Donna stares at him. Josh takes the cell phone away from her, and then he makes nice with the Flenders. Acting like it's all no big deal and promising to look into some of their issues.
And she realizes it really is no big deal. This is just the primary. The vote in Hartsfield's Landing isn't going to actually affect the outcome of the Presidential election. It's just going to be a silly talking point for a few hours that will quickly be forgotten.
She feels kind of stupid for freezing her ass off just to try to impress Josh over something that doesn't matter, but for just a bit they felt like their old selves. She kind of wishes it didn't make her feel so good.
"God, it's freezing out here." Josh complains as he ushers her back through the gate.
She kind of wants to smack him, until they get back to the bullpen and just before he goes back into his office he looks her right in the eyes and says-
"Good job out there. I can always count on you. I'm going to be here a while, but you can head home. Take my coat if you want, just bring it back tomorrow."