A/N: This is a one-shot I wrote about the evolution of Josh and Donna's relationship in the movies that they see. I also included some references to WW actors and their other films. Hope you enjoy this one-shot, please read and review!
June 1998:
It was the weekend before the Democratic National Convention, and Leo had given the BFA staff the night off. It took about 45 seconds for Sam to suggest that they spend the evening at a real LA movie theater. The trouble was that no one could quite agree on what movie to go to.
"There's a new Jennifer Aniston rom-com. Object of My Affection?" CJ suggested as she ate a salad at her desk. Toby, Josh, Sam, and Donna were sitting around her office. Donna had a newspaper open on her lap, and Sam had out his map of downtown LA, looking for the El Capitan Theatre.
"Yeah, I saw the trailer. The woman who plays the sister in that one could be your twin, CJ." Donna piped up.
CJ cracked up. "Really?"
"Maybe we should test that theory," Toby said. "Go see this rom-com."
"Toby, I didn't know you were that into Jennifer Aniston," Josh said jovially.
"I am not."
"What about the new Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt movie?" Sam suggested.
"Who has a crush now?" CJ teased him.
"Hey, she won an Oscar for that movie."
Suddenly, a stroke of inspiration struck Donna. "Speaking of Oscars.."
Josh caught on before she did. "No."
"Come on, Josh."
"We are not, I repeat not, seeing Titanic for the fourth time."
"Wait. You've seen it together 4 times?" Toby asked skeptically.
"No. I've seen it 4 times." Donna clarified.
"I've never seen it," CJ admitted.
Donna turned around to face her. "Really, CJ?"
"Really. I wasn't much into going to movies when I was working here."
"That's it," Donna said decidedly. "We're going."
"What about us?" Josh said, almost wounded.
"You three can go see a 'guy' movie," CJ told them. "I hear that the new Coen brothers movie is good for a few laughs."
"What? The Big Lebowski?" Toby groused. "If it's anything like Fargo-"
"I hope not," Josh replied. He turned to Donna. "Are you sure you don't mind-"
"No, Josh, it's fine," Donna told him. "You, Sam, and Toby go see The Big Lebowski. CJ and I can go see Titanic. Maybe Margaret will join us."
"Okay." He agreed.
"Okay," Sam said. "Let's go to the movies!"
An hour later, Josh was watching the beginning of The Big Lebowski with Toby and Sam, but he was feeling kind of weird. It wasn't like he didn't want to see the movie, but something was missing. And then he realized-he missed Donna. It wasn't the same watching the movie without her. He'd rather be in theater 5, making fun of Kate Winslet and Leo DiCaprio. And suddenly, he stood up.
"Where are you going?" Sam whispered as he stood up.
"Titanic," Josh said, a smile on his face as he walked out to switch his ticket.
Donna, CJ, and Margaret were sitting in the theater, watching as the actress who played Old Rose began to tell the story of her teen self in 1912 when suddenly Donna felt movement next to her. She turned to find Josh next to her.
"What are you doing here?" Donna whispered. "I thought you wouldn't be caught dead in this movie."
"Eh, I can see Coen Brothers any time. I'd rather see something with you, you know?"
Donna looked over at him. "Really?"
"Really."
Even in the dark, Josh could see her soft smile. "Okay. Now, quiet. This is the good part."
…
August 1999:
The First Lady had gotten first dibs on the White House Screening Room. They had hosted a Staff Movie Night twice in eight months, and Abbey had requested the new film Shakespeare in Love first. But now it was the President's turn, and he had picked an oldie, but a goodie.
"Casablanca?" Josh said as he and Donna walked over to the theater.
"It's a classic, Josh. Bogie and Bacall."
"'Play it again, Sam.'"
"That's actually not the line."
"I saw it once in college. Didn't get it."
"Maybe this time you will."
"Donna…"
"Josh. This is the President's orders, and you should try to enjoy this." She smiled. "Besides, I love going to the movies."
"Why?"
"Because everything's so much simpler in the movies." She said. "You watch a movie, and everything's wrapped up in two hours. It's either sad or it's happy, but that doesn't matter. You watch a movie, and you forget all your problems, and all your stress, for two whole hours."
"You wish life could be a movie?"
Donna looked at him, and for a moment, Josh could see a flicker of longing in her eye. But as quick as it was there, it was gone.
She averted his gaze. "Sometimes."
They had reached the screening room, and the President was right in front. "Good evening, Josh, Donnatella."
"Good evening, Mr. President." They chimed in unison.
"We've got a good movie for tonight."
"Yes, sir," Donna replied. "Warner Bros, 1942."
"Nominated for 8 Academy Awards. But do you know what they won?"
Josh looked at Donna. And just when he thought she didn't have an answer, he heard her softly say, "Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay."
"Very good." Jed praised her.
As Josh and Donna climbed the stairs to their seats, Josh couldn't help but ask her, "How did you know that?"
"I know things, Josh." She said.
He shook his head fondly as they sat down with their popcorn, and the movie began.
Twenty minutes in, Josh leaned over and said, "Nope, still don't get it."
"You don't have to understand it, Josh. You just have to watch it."
"Fair enough." Josh leaned back in his seat, looking over occasionally at Donna as she was enraptured by the movie, and wondering if this would ever happen when they weren't just friends.
She reached for the popcorn, and he did at the same time. Their fingers touched, and for a second, Josh felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe he wouldn't have to wait.
…
October 1999:
Donna was arriving home after a long day of work. She had spent the day arguing with Josh about the budget surplus. Suddenly, she saw a package by her apartment door. She shuffled her briefcase and her house keys to pick up the package, which she was curious about because she didn't remember ordering anything. Maybe it was for her roommate.
But when she checked the label after setting it down on the counter, she could see her name on the label, with no return address. That intrigued her enough that she grabbed some scissors and cut through the tape. And there, in the package, was a brand-new DVD player. Two DVDs also sat in the package, to the right.
Donna couldn't believe her eyes. She knew it had to be from Josh, but this was way too expensive. There was a note on top. She unfolded it and began to read,
Donna,
I do occasionally listen to you sometimes. It's not top-of-the-line, but it's a good, solid DVD player with a lot of mileage. I also left a couple of movies in there that I thought you might like. I particularly recommend The American President.
Of course, you can't go wrong with Sense and Sensibility, either. Hope you enjoy it.
-Josh
P.S. The guy who plays AJ MacInerney in The American President is a dead ringer for President Bartlet. You can thank me later.
Donna shook her head and grinned as she pulled out Ang Lee's 1995 version of her favorite Jane Austen novel, and then, of course, the Michael Douglas romantic drama. She couldn't wait to watch one or both of them, but first, she wanted to make a phone call.
He answered on the second ring. "Hello?"
"I don't know what to say, except...thank you."
"You got the package?" Josh replied with a lilt to his voice.
"I did, but...Josh, it's way too much."
"It's nothing. I just...thought you might like it since you haven't had time to buy one on your own."
Donna smiled quietly to herself. "Thank you. That was...incredibly sweet of you."
…
September 2000:
Josh had been home from the hospital for two weeks, and he was already going stir-crazy. Donna's rules had him barred from doing anything other than resting, but he still managed to sneak in at least a few minutes of CNN every day. When Donna found him one afternoon, complaining about a bill that was on the table, with one look at him, Donna knew she had to get his mind on something else.
"Josh, I told you not to watch too much CNN."
"Doesn't stop me from reading memos, Donnatella." He said right back.
"Josh, when was the last time you watched anything for fun? On your own?"
"I don't know." He admitted. "Before the campaign, I guess."
"That explains the VCR." Donna quipped.
"Don't knock the VCR," Josh said. "That was the first thing I bought for this apartment."
"Well, do you have any movies?"
"Check the cabinet underneath." He said, gesturing to the cabinet underneath the TV.
Donna crouched down. As she suspected, the only movies she found were action and horror films. "What, no comedy?"
"The only rom-coms I watch are with you."
She turned to look at him. "Really?"
"Yeah."
She turned back to the cabinet. "Star Trek?"
"Yeah, why not?"
Donna smiled. Then, something else caught her eye. "You have Broadcast News?"
"Yeah, it's a cute movie." There was something about the glint in Donna's eye that made him relent. "You want to watch that, don't you?"
"No, no. We can watch the first Star Trek. Whatever you want."
"But I want to watch something you'll like. And you're right, Star Trek will probably raise my blood pressure rather than lower it. So, what do you say? You want to watch Albert Brooks pine for what's-her-name again? We can always watch Star Trek next."
"'What's-her-name?'" Donna asked incredulously as she pulled out Broadcast News and set it up.
"You know, the alliterative one. Hedda Hopper."
"Holly Hunter." Donna corrected him. "You'll like it, I promise."
They watched Broadcast News, then Star Trek, all the while good-naturedly bantering and enjoying one another's company.
…
June 2005:
Donna reclined on her couch, her broken leg stretched out in front of her. She had elected to go back to work right away, but Josh still insisted she only work half-days for a while to ease back into things. She couldn't tell, but she had a feeling that Josh still felt enormously guilty for putting her on the CODEL in the first place.
Just then, there was a knock on her door at about 7:30 in the evening. She sighed, moving to transfer to her wheelchair so she could answer it. But before she could move, there was a click in the door, and Josh entered, his arms full.
She was dumbfounded. "You still have a key to my apartment?"
"Yeah," Josh said as if it was perfectly obvious.
"And it still works?"
"I didn't think you changed the locks."
"I didn't." She ran a hand through her hair. "What are you doing here?"
"Returning a favor." He said, setting down a box of pizza and handing her a bag that was obviously from Blockbuster. "I didn't know what you would be in the mood for, so I picked out a couple of things."
She opened the bag and shook out four movies. "The Notebook, Under The Tuscan Sun, Miss Congeniality, You Can't Take It With You." She read quietly. "Josh, most of these are chick flicks."
"Yeah, so?"
"Do you ever notice that whenever we watch a movie together, you always pick something I would want to watch, and not you? Except maybe Frank Capra."
"Because I don't really care what we watch, as long as we're together."
"You always say that."
"Yeah," he said. "But I mean it."
Donna smiled at him softly. Then, she looked at the cases. "Let's go with Under The Tuscan Sun. I've wanted to see that for a while."
Josh grinned. "You got it." He picked up the case and walked over to turn on Donna's DVD player that he bought for her.
As they watched the film unfold, Josh looked at Donna, comfortably settled on the couch. He hoped she knew what she meant to him. He couldn't take away the pain, or the guilt he would go through, but he could at least make her happy.
…
September 2006:
Donna had been on the Santos campaign two weeks when she was once again reminded of what she and Josh had once shared.
They were in California for the weekend, winding down from the success of the Congressman's speech at the Page Church. She had just gotten back to her hotel room when Lou and Annabeth invited her up to watch a movie with them while they went over some polling numbers. They offered to order dinner, so Donna agreed.
She was halfway through her meal when she realized what movie was on the screen: Titanic. She quickly schooled her face to be neutral, but both women had noticed her pale face.
"What's the matter?" Annabeth asked. "I thought you liked this movie."
"I do, I do. It's just...Josh and I watched this together on the first campaign."
"What, in 1998?"
"Yeah, it was when it was still in theaters. We all had a night off and we went."
"Who went?" Lou wanted to know.
"Oh, me, CJ, Josh, Toby, and Sam."
"Three guys sat through Titanic?"
"Actually, only Josh came over to watch with us girls. The other two went to see The Big Lebowski."
"And why would Josh put himself through that?" Lou quipped dryly.
"For me," Donna said simply. "He wanted to go to see that movie because he didn't want to see something without me."
And all of a sudden, a lot of things were starting to make sense to Lou and Annabeth. Whatever had happened between Josh and Donna before she joined the campaign better resolve itself soon, or she really didn't know what they would do. Lou wasn't a romantic, not by a long shot, but what would it take to get them to see what everybody else did?
…
April 2007:
It was the first real Staff Movie Night at the Santos White House. After putting it to a vote, Matt Santos had requested a copy of the new movie Freedom Writers, starring Hilary Swank as an inner-city schoolteacher who turned around an entire class of kids in the wake of the LA riots.
Josh sat in the back row with Donna, his fiancee. His fiancee, he thought happily. He couldn't believe that after all this time, he had gotten her to agree to marry him. And now, they were getting married in two months.
He was drawn from his thoughts by Donna leaning over and saying, "Did you know Hilary Swank has won two Oscars?"
"For which movies?" Josh asked. He hadn't really followed her career, though he certainly knew of her.
"Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby."
Josh nodded. "Okay." And then Donna noticed the goofy grin on his face. "What?"
"I just love that you know all this stuff, that's all." He said, putting an arm around her. "And I love you."
Donna looked at him and smiled. "I love you, too."
Josh pulled the carton of popcorn into his lap and put it between the two of them. They each reached for a piece, and their hands met in the middle.
And this time, Josh didn't pull away.
A/N: Hope you liked this story! Please let me know what you thought!