Saturday

Josh's eyes slowly open as the first sliver of daylight hits his face. He blinks a few times, coming to awareness. He's on his back. One arm wrapped firmly around Donna's waist. Her body is pressed into his side, her legs tangled with his, and her head is resting on his chest.

He doesn't usually spend the night with women. The few times he and Amy slept together they woke up on opposite sides of the bed with their backs to each other. In college he had a girlfriend that was a cuddler, but they always drifted apart in the night too. So waking up like this is a new thing. It's amazing.

With his free hand he strokes Donna's hair, rubbing the silky strands through his fingers. He could lay like this forever. He's never felt more content in his life. As he continues running his hands through her hair, he listens to her breathing. It's still a little raspy, but it sounds better than yesterday. He softly strokes her face, both for his own enjoyment and to check for a fever. She's a little warm, but she's not burning up.

He glances at the clock. It's been more than 6 hours since her last dose of medication, so if she's only running a slight fever that would be fantastic.

He continues tracing her profile with his fingertips. He can't really see her face, but it's burned into his consciousness. It's a strange thing to realize, but with it comes a new understanding, he wants to do this again. He wants to wake up with this woman in his arms. He wants to enjoy mornings with her. He wants her to wrap herself around him. He wants her to trust him and sleep in his arms. He wants this. For the rest of his life.

After a few minutes she shifts in her sleep, and his arm automatically tightens around her, not wanting to lose the contact, not wanting to let go. She sighs happily and moves even closer to him, rolling so her thigh wedges between his.

His eyes widen as his body reacts to her movement. His hips push up involuntarily seeing the contact, but at the same time, guilt floods through him. She's his assistant and she's sick! What the hell is he doing?

As he lets go of her waist and rolls out from under her, she wakes up. She looks up with a smile until she sees his face, then her brow furrows and confusion fills her eyes.

"Josh?" She asks with uncertainty.

"Good morning, Sunshine." He answers with false cheeriness. He doesn't want to make her feel bad. None of this is her fault. "I'll be right back."

He slips out of bed and quickly walks to the bathroom.

When he comes back into the bedroom, Donna's sitting up, looking at her hands, which are twisting the sheets nervously. He feels like a jerk. She seems so small. He desperately wants to take care of her, but he doesn't want to take advantage of her. He's not sure what to do. He's afraid he's crossed a line and made her uncomfortable.

He takes a seat in the chair and watches her for a minute. She's still not looking at him. Finally she looks up.

"I'm sorry." She tells him softly. "I know you think you have to do this. But you don't. I'm not your responsibility, Josh. I don't want to be a burden."

"You're not!" He insists hotly. "I'm sorry you're sick, but I don't mind taking care of you. I don't mind it at all."

She looks unconvinced. "Are you sure? You looked pretty upset when I woke up."

"I was feeling guilty. You're sick and here I was, enjoying the moment. What kind of jerk takes advantage of someone who is drugged?"

She perks up a little, smiling. "You took advantage of me?" She looks under the sheet, she's in pajama shorts and a t-shirt. Then she looks at his sweats and cocks her head a little.

"Not like that!" His voice rises. "Jesus. I wouldn't do that. I just meant holding you and enjoying the way your body felt against mine."

"You liked it?" She asks softly.

"You didn't notice?" He asks, he thought his interest was fairly obvious. But she shakes her head. "Yes. I liked it. I've never felt like that before."

A big smile blooms across her face and it fills him with hope. "I liked it too. It was a really nice way to wake up."

They grin at each other for a minute, feeling the ground shift beneath them, but neither of them sure of what happens next. But eventually Josh remembers that she's still sick and he's got a job to do.

"Okay. It's been a while since your last dose of medicine. Let's check your temp."

"Are you gonna tell me to say Ahhh again?" Donna quips as she opens her mouth slightly.

"You better believe it, Buttercup. Now say ahhh." She rolls her eyes but does as he says and together they wait for a moment until they the device beeps.

"101.2. We'll take it. Let's get you some more medicine in hopes that it continues to go down. Remember, I don't want your temp blasting off into the stratosphere. What do you want to drink? Gatorade, water, ginger ale . . ."

"Actually I'm more hungry than thirsty."

His eyes light up at her admission. It really doesn't get any better than Donna having an appetite after all the weight she's lost.

"Yeah?! That's great. What do you want to eat?"

"That soup was good. Is there any more of that?"

"Yeah, I had Sam bring a couple pints from Wisemiller's."

She beams at him. Wisemiller's is his favorite deli in Georgetown. She used to pick it up for him when he was recovering. Knowing that he was doing the same for her fills her with joy.

"How about some crackers? Something to drink?" He asks urgently.

"Maybe some saltines? And gatorade would be good."

"Ahh-kay." He hops off the chair in excitement. Red or blue?"

"Blue please."

"Good choice. Very democratic of you." He jokes, feeling optimistic about a little banter.

"And had I said red?" She gives him a look.

"Well naturally I would make some remark about your love of all things Republican."

"Well maybe I will start drinking a different flavor."

"No you won't. I know you Donnatella, those are your favorites." He calls out as he makes his way into the kitchen. He gives himself a minute to take in this moment with Donna. Everything between them is starting to feel good again. Better than good, actually. Amazing.

After finishing a majority of her chicken noodle soup, Donna falls back asleep for most of the morning. Relaxed, Josh lays on Donna's bed watching the Wizards game as she sleeps in his arms. He keeps the volume off and finds himself just looking at her. His fingers mindlessly thread through her soft golden locks and every so often, she snuggles deeper into him. Having Donna in his arms just feels right. He's more content that he has ever been in his life as he breathes in her scent, that familiar calm that only she can bring washes over him.

He finds himself getting a little sleepy, and it's not long before he turns the tv off and lets himself close his eyes.

O0o0oo0oo0oo

"Mmmm." Donna stretches, the shadow of sleep lifting as she opens her eyes, and Josh is instantly aware that she's uncomfortable.

"What do you need?" He asks gently, placing his hand on her side.

"I feel hot." Her admission causes Josh to immediately pull the sheet back and place his hand against her forehead. She's really hot. Not quite burning up the way she was yesterday, but he can see the discomfort in her eyes.

When he starts to take his hand away, she whines. "No, don't. Your hand feels nice Josh, it's cool."

He smiles, leaving his hand against her brow, and using the other to brush back her hair.

"Do you want an ice pack?"

"No, just this, Just you, Josh." She whispers as her eyelids flutter. But a few minutes go by and she starts to squirm. As much as he loves touching her, he knows his hand really isn't enough. Her forehead probably isn't the only part of her body too hot. It might not be a smart decision but he decides to be bold.

"Roll over."

When she opens her eyes and meets his, he's almost overwhelmed at the amount of trust in them. After all that's happened between them in the last few months it's not what he would expect, but it fills him with pride. He vows to himself that he's going to do right by her from now on. If she gives him her trust, he won't let her down.

She rolls to her side and he slips his hand under the back of her shirt. He's right. She's burning up. But she sighs softly as he gently runs his hand over her spine and up her side, using all his self restraint not to stray around to the front and discover the hidden wonders of her breasts.

The heat rolling off her skin quickly has him concerned. If he doesn't do something more her temperature is going to spike again.

"I'll be back in just a minute." He whispers, removing his hand and standing up.

In the bathroom, he runs a washcloth under cold water and then grabs the Motrin. When he comes back to her bedroom, Donna is on her back again with her arms thrown over her head. Her eyes are closed and her t-shirt is riding up on her belly.

Josh runs the washcloth over her stomach and her eyes drift open.

"Does this feel good?"

"Mmmhmm." She lets out a deep sigh and Josh swears he could stay here forever. As he gently caresses her, he wishes that he could explore her smooth skin with his hands. He's well aware of what this is doing to his body, but ignores the throbbing sensation that's building in his groin.

And for the next several minutes, he runs the cloth over her arms, and down her legs, cooling her off and heating himself up. They take the time to look at one another, not speaking any words, but saying everything with their eyes.

By the time the washcloth is no longer cool, Donna seems to be feeling better. She sighs against her pillows, relaxing again.

Josh hates to break the spell, but he doesn't want her to fall asleep quite yet.

"Time for some more medicine." He insists.

"Alright." She agrees, content for the first time in a long time.