"We have a problem."
"Hello to you to, Donna. I'm fine and you?"
"You can hold your superiority over me later, Joshua. We have a problem."
Josh Lyman quickly sobered. He knew that tone in Donna's voice. It wasn't one he liked to hear. "What's going on?" There was silence from the other side. "Donna?"
"Yeah." She replied.
"You're not talking."
"This isn't going to...I just can't seem..."
"Donna." He was very concerned now.
"Are you watching the news?" She squeaked.
"Not lately, I've been busy with...why?" He peered up at his television. It was on mute. He quickly scanned for his remote.
"It's behind the television." Donna's voice rang in with the answer.
"You freak me out a little bit." Josh mumbled as he pulled the remote from behind the television. He un-muted the television. "Donna?"
"Yes, Josh."
"Please tell me that they're not talking about you in an abortion clinic." He said peering out of his office. Sure enough C.J. Cregg was storming her way down toward his office.
"I'm so sorry, Josh. Is C.J. there yet?"
"Joshua Lyman, where is your assistant?" C.J. stood in his doorway. "Donna, where are you?" Josh said looking at C.J.
"I'm still inside." Donna replied. "I wasn't sure what to do. One of the nurses recognized me, when I was getting ready to leave there was a fleet of reporters. I wasn't sure what to do." She sounded beside herself.
"First of all, are you okay?" Josh asked not sure how he felt about Donna sitting in an abortion clinic.
"I'm fine." She muttered.
"Are you there alone?" Josh inquired.
"Yeah, I sent Danny home." Donna replied.
"All right hang on."
"C.J., she's stuck inside, if she leaves, all we're going to see is the Deputy Chief of Staff's assistant leaving an abortion clinic." Josh said holding the phone against his chest.
"Is she okay?" C.J. asked.
"She's fine and she's alone. And I'm pretty sure she's lying to me about being fine." Josh looked at his watch. "Obviously I can't go pick her up. No one who's ever been in front of the camera can go pick her up. In fact no one from the White House can pick her up." C.J. leaned against the doorway.
"What's Donna doing in an abortion clinic?" Toby asked quietly.
"We don't know yet. We're trying to figure out how to get her out of there first." Josh said feeling sick to his stomach.
Suddenly Josh's phone rang. "That's Leo." He handed C.J. the cell phone and picked up his office phone. "Josh Lyman."
C.J. put the cell phone to her ear. "Donna?"
"Hi, C.J." Donna sounded upset. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't worry about it. What are you doing there?" C.J. asked.
"I can't really explain right now. I'm not entirely sure that there aren't reporters inside." Donna whispered into the phone.
"Okay, look, we're coming up with a plan to get you out of there."
"What are you going to do, put on a pair of glasses, a hat and a trench coat and come in here looking unsuspecting? I think the press corp is a little bit smarter than that." Donna sighed. "I should just leave and then I'll turn my resignation in first thing tomorrow."
"I don't think your boss will agree to that." C.J. glanced over at Josh who was talking passionately on the phone.
Josh's eyes met C.J.'s. "She's not resigning." Josh barked. He was getting angrier by the minute.
"C.J., this doesn't look good." Donna retorted. "Leo isn't going to like this."
"Stay put, I'll call you back in a minute." C.J. hung up the phone at the same time Josh did. "What did Leo say?"
"He wants to know why I didn't know about this and he even asked if any of this was my fault." Josh was flabbergasted. "I'm supposed to get my ass down there and get her out without anyone seeing. He wants us in his office in one hour. Should I fail to do so, he's going to ask for my resignation."
"So he took it well then." Toby muttered.
"I can't believe he thought for one moment that this was in any way my fault." Josh ran his hands over his face and through his hair.
C.J. called Donna back on her cell phone.
"Josh?"
"It's C.J. still. Have you tried calling your roommate?"
"Yeah, she can't. I've tried everyone I know that doesn't work at the White House and naturally no one is available." Donna whispered.
"Okay, someone's going to be by to pick you up and bring you here." C.J. hung up again and turned back to Josh. "I'm going to have my friend pick her up. She's going to get brought back here and then you're taking her home and making sure the poor girl is okay." C.J. ordered.
Josh nodded. Toby and C.J. departed from his office together.
"This is going to be bad." Toby muttered.
"Tell me something I don't know." They separated and headed in their own directions.
Donna waited patiently in the women's restroom. She tapped her fingers nervously on the counter. She didn't know what was going to happen. She hadn't meant for anyone to see her come here. Heck she wouldn't have even been here had it not been an emergency. Donna began to pace in front of the blue stalls. She shook her head, she seemed to have picked up some of Josh's nervous habits. She didn't know how she was going to look him in the face. Just then there was a knock on the door.
Who knocks on a restroom door? Donna thought to herself. "Yeah?" She called out.
"Are you Donna Moss?" A woman asked peering around the door.
"Who are you?" Donna questioned.
"I'm Jane, I'm a friend of C.J.'s, she asked me to come pick you up."
"You're not a reporter?" Donna still didn't feel comfortable.
"No, I'm not a reporter. In fact, I've brought a scarf, a hat and a coat for you to wear so the reporters won't get any kind of decent shot of you." Jane replied.
Donna and Jane made it safely to Jane's car. They drove trying to lose the reporters that had jumped into their vehicles to follow. They managed to pull up to the White House and Donna quickly escaped. She made it to the safety of the West Wing and let out a small sigh of relief before she got nervous all over again. She made a pit stop at C.J.'s office before heading to Josh.
"C.J.?" Donna stood in the doorway.
"Donna!" She jumped up from her desk. "Are you okay?"
"I'm really fine."
"You need to go see Josh." C.J. ordered.
"I know, I just wanted to know what kind of trouble I caused."
"Don't worry about it right now. Josh needs to see you and then you have to go see Leo and then you and I can talk."
"Is he mad?"
"Josh?"
"Yeah."
"Just go see him for yourself, you'll both feel better when you see each other."
Donna nodded and headed towards her side of the bullpen.
Josh was standing in his doorway watching her walk down the hallway. She approached him. He stepped aside for her to walk by and then he shut the door behind her.
"Are you okay?" He asked monotone.
Donna was sitting in front of his desk while he paced behind it. "Yes."
Abruptly, he walked around the other side of the desk and stood next to her. "We have to go see Leo." He said emotionlessly.
She nodded and stood up and followed him to Leo's office. Josh walked steadily a head of her. It was this time through the bullpen that she realized that several White House staffers were watching her with curious or upset expressions. No doubt everyone had heard by now. Gossip always spread like wild fire through the West Wing. They approached Margaret's desk.
"Donna!" Margaret squeaked. "He's expecting you." She said putting on a more professional attitude. She knocked on Leo's door and then entered. "Josh and Donna are here to see you."
"Get in here!" Leo yelled.
Margaret jumped out of the way as the two entered and she quietly closed the door behind them.
Donna stood quietly next to Josh with her eyes on the floor.
"Donna, are you okay?" Leo asked abruptly.
She nodded.
"Now, I don't mean to be harsh on what must've been a very trying day for you. But what the hell were you doing in an abortion clinic?" Leo all but yelled.
Josh took a step forward feeling protective. "Leo, I understand that she works at the White House and we're expected to follow a higher standard, but she still has the right to choose."
"That's great, Josh, but now the question that the President is going to get asked the most is, 'Do you favor abortion? How do you feel about your staffers having abortions?'"
Donna's head shot up.
"That's the way it is, Leo!" Josh yelled back to Leo. "The President has made it more than clear about how he feels about abortion. It'll be over and done with by next news cycle. We just have to hope that the Danny guy..."
"Who's Danny?" Leo barked.
"The father." Josh replied. "We just have hope that he isn't looking for fifteen minutes of fame."
"That's not all you have to worry about. Josh, they're going to be parked outside of her apartment, they're going to follow her around and ask her why she had an abortion and..." Leo trailed off.
"Damn it, Leo! I don't care! It's none of their business." Josh was furious now.
Donna looked at both men and then saw that the President had entered. She took an unconscious step backwards and knocked into Josh. He put a hand on the small of her back to steady her, but then he didn't remove it.
"Mr. President!" Leo felt a little ashamed that he was so worked up and arguing he didn't see him walk in.
"Well I knocked but the yelling in here was so loud that I guess you didn't hear me." President Bartlett took a step towards Donna. "Are you okay, Donna?" He asked sincerely.
"I'm fine, Mr. President." This was a disaster. Donna wanted to runaway to Wisconsin and never show her face again.
"I'm glad to hear it. Now would you please tell your side of the story, before the two of these guys have a heart attack? See, Donna, you have to understand that the two of them are incapable of dealing with things of emotion, especially about someone they care deeply about. You're part of the family and they're worried sick about you and your situation." Bartlett explained.
Donna felt somewhat relieved that the President was willing to hear her out. She kept the President's eyesight as she started. "My friend Danielle, whom everyone calls Danni, called me this morning and told me that she was in an abortion clinic and that she was just about to have an abortion. She begged me to come and be with her. The father had promised to be there but never showed. So I waited with her and one of the nurses asked if I worked at the White House. She said she had seen me on television next to the Deputy Chief of Staff. I didn't have time really to reply when the nurse called Danni back into one of the rooms. So when everything was done we went to leave and that's when we saw the press." Donna explained. "So I sent Danni home because she had been through enough and I called everyone I knew to come pick me up and then I called Josh."
Josh and Leo both looked sheepish.
"Now I know that I didn't clarify why I was at an abortion clinic and I know why the press jumped to conclusions because that's what they do, but I didn't expect..." She trailed. "I'm sorry for any confusion."
Leo and Josh just looked at each other and then back at Donna.
"How's your friend Danni?" The President asked.
"She's a bit shaken up. The reason she was getting an abortion to begin with is because she was raped a couple of months ago. The pregnancy came from that and she couldn't bear..." Donna wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I'm sorry for causing so much commotion."
Josh lowered his head and didn't say anything else. "Please tell Danni that I say that I'm so sorry for her loss and her situation. And you let me know if there is anything we can do for her." With that he left.
"Thank you, Mr. President." Donna replied with a small smile that faded when she turned back to Leo and Josh.
"I'm sorry, Donna, I didn't mean to jump to conclusions." Leo said looking at her like he had learned that the Dow just went down ten points.
"It's fine. I understand." Donna replied.
"Will you excuse Josh and I for a moment please?" Leo asked.
Donna nodded and headed out of the office almost colliding with Margaret. "Hi, Margaret."
"Is everything okay? You're not being fired are you?" She said with urgency.
"No, Margaret, everything is fine." Donna didn't want to have to explain what happened. She felt invaded. People were judging her for something she hadn't done. She quickly headed back to the bullpen.
"Donna, over here!" C.J. called from her office.
Donna was very happy to hide in C.J.'s office. She headed over there quickly and ducked inside.
"Leo, I don't understand how you could even jump to conclusions like that!"
"I didn't even have to jump, I took a step and there the conclusions were."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"I leave you guys alone for five minutes and again with the yelling." Bartlett was standing in the doorway again. "I'm trying to have a meeting with the security advisors and I keep getting distracted. What's the problem?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. President. Things have just been a little high on the emotional scale today."
"Yeah." Bartlett confirmed. "So we figured out the main stress point why is there still yelling going on?"
"I was asking Leo about a comment he made when he first found out about Donna and the abortion clinic and I wasn't sure why it was made and frankly I was terribly upset that it was made." Josh said trying to keep his temper down.
"What was said?" Bartlett asked.
"I may have implied that Josh had something to do with Donna sitting in an abortion clinic." Leo said rolling his eyes.
Bartlett raised his eyebrows. "Really?"
"Yes, sir." Leo replied.
He turned to Josh. "You're upset by that?"
"Why shouldn't I be?" Josh asked defensively.
"I just asked a simple question, son!" Bartlett snapped. "Why are you upset about the comment?"
Josh felt cornered suddenly. "I just did not appreciate the implication that Donna and I would be involved that way without anyone knowing, second that if we were involved that way and she was having an abortion that I wouldn't be right by her side every step of the way and third I just don't understand how I was brought into it to begin with, she's my assistant." He muttered.
"Josh?"
He looked up to the President. "Yes, sir?" He asked.
"Donna is more to you than just your assistant." Bartlett stated.
"She's one of my best friends." Josh finished for him.
"That's right." Bartlett confirmed.
"That's right." Josh suddenly felt like his parents had just busted in on him having sex on prom night.
"You can go." Bartlett stated.
"Thank you, Mr. President." Josh left quickly.
"I slipped." Leo said to his friend.
Bartlett smiled. "That boy is so far into denial. I can't believe he was just going to stand there and say that she was his assistant though." He shook his head. "He was so angry at her for being with another man that that was pretty much all he could think about. Not to mention what a jerk he thought the guy was for leaving her alone at the clinic to begin with."
"Yeah." Leo agreed. "He was just mad that he didn't know."
"Yeah." Bartlett looked toward the door that Josh had exited from.
"Oh thank God!" C.J. was relieved. "Not that I have any judgments, but I was really worried about you. I would hate to think what it would be like to go through something like that."
Donna nodded. "I never want to know. Seeing that look on Danni's face..." She trailed off feeling sick to her stomach. "So how do we control this?"
"Leave it to me. There's no problem here." C.J. replied. "How's Josh?"
"I don't know. He barely looked at me." Donna said standing up. "I guess the best thing would be just to get back to work."
C.J. nodded and watched as Donna disappeared outside of her door. C.J. picked up her phone. "Hey, Jackass, she's on her way back, be nice." C.J. instructed.
Donna took off her jacket, it was Spring but still a little chilly at times. She slid her purse off her shoulder and looked over her desk. She had been gone for nearly three hours and chaos seem to have found her desk with no problem. She looked over Josh's schedule. He was supposed to be in a budget meeting in about two minutes. She picked up the file that she knew he would ask for and headed for his office. She peered in the doorway he was staring blankly at his desk.
"Josh?" Donna flinched at the quietness of her voice. She wished she could just start smacking off orders like she always did, but something felt wrong between them.
"Hmm?" He looked up to find her standing in the doorway. "How long have you been there?"
"Not long."
"What's up?"
"You've got budget in like a minute."
"Yeah." He didn't move.
"Josh?"
"Yeah?"
"The meeting isn't in your office." Donna stated.
"Yeah."
Donna took a step forward. "Josh?" She said a little bit more stern while she closed the door.
He looked over at her again. "What's going on with you?"
"How do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean."
"Okay, except that I don't know what you mean."
"Donna, why did you lie to me? You said that you would never lie to me again."
"Yeah, and as your assistant I will never lie to you again. As your friend I can't make those kinds of promises. The only reason why you know anything now is because the press corps decided that it was a story. I wasn't keeping things from you, it was my friend's secret, Josh, not mine."
"If it had been you?"
Donna looked at him for a long moment, not sure how to respond. He stood up and took the folder from her hands. "It wasn't supposed to be a stumper." He muttered walking out of his office leaving her there.
C.J. released a statement clearing Donna of much more hassle by the end of the week no one remembered the story. Donna and Josh had resumed their daily routine and as usual were ignoring any discomfort with each other.
"Donna!"
"It's on your desk."
"Donna!"
"Josh." Donna leaned in his doorway.
"I need the thing."
"I've told you ten times it's on your desk."
"No it's not!" He replied pushing papers around.
Donna walked over and underneath the pile she pulled out a blue folder.
"Well who could find anything on this desk?" Josh said grumbling under his breath.
"Now you're blaming me for the condition of your desk?" Donna asked.
"That's right."
"Have you seen my desk, Josh?"
"Today or ever?"
"Okay, you're going to be late for staff."
"Donna?" He called right before she disappeared again.
"Yeah?"
"Nothing."
Donna stepped back into his office. "Josh, that is the eighth time you've done that this week." She snapped.
"You've counted?"
"Well after the first three I got suspicious. I was just going to wait it out, but apparently you're never going to say whatever it is that you have to say, so I thought I would just come right out and say it."
"I'm going to be late for staff." He said heading out of his office.
Donna sighed and headed back to her desk.
"Hi."
"Nothing!" Josh snarled.
Toby looked at Josh for a moment. "What was that?"
Josh looked over at Toby. "Sorry I was in my own thoughts."
"Apparently. You may want to look into that." Toby said monotone as usual.
"Yeah."
"Seriously, Josh, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied.
"Because you've been acting weird since..." Toby trailed off. "Did something happen between you and Donna?"
They approached the Oval Office. "No, everything's fine." Josh replied briskly.
"Okay."
Nearly three weeks later Donna had stayed late one night. She was busily typing at her desk. Josh watched her carefully from his doorway. Most of the West Wing people had gone home for the night. She outline glowed in the dim lighting on her desk. The white and blue computer screen haloed her hair. He let out a frustrated sigh. Three weeks after the incident things had returned to normal more or less but there was still something strained between them. Suddenly she turned her head and met his gaze. Josh felt like a deer caught in headlights. He quickly escaped to his office closing the door behind him.
There was a small knock on his door just as he sat down and Donna peeked her head in. "Did you need something?"
"Um, no."
"Then why were you...is something wrong?"
"No, I was just looking around the bullpen, taking a quick break."
"You were looking around the bullpen?"
"Yes."
"Taking a break?"
"Yes."
"Joshua, what's going on with you?"
"Nothing."
"You've been acting strange for quite a while now."
"I have not been acting strange. I've been acting like me."
"I know you pretty well and this is not you."
"If you know me so well then what is wrong with me?"
"You're mad at me."
Josh opened his mouth to argue but found that no words came out to argue with her. He took a deep breath. "Donna, I'm not mad at you."
"You're hurt that I hesitated with the question you gave me three weeks ago. You're mad that I didn't say 'of course I would come straight to you if I were going to have an abortion.'"
"Okay, apparently you do know me really well."
"You just don't get it!"
"What don't I get, Donna? You lied to me to help a friend, I get that, but you basically said that you would lie to me if it were you."
"I'm sorry, Josh, but if it were me, I wouldn't want you to know. I wouldn't want to see that look in your eye."
"What look?"
"The look you gave me when you found out I lied about the diary."
Josh flinched. They had never mentioned the diary once Cliff handed it back to Josh that night and said that no one would ever hear one word about the entire situation. Josh had handed her the diary and asked if she could get home okay and left her. For a long time after that things had never quite seemed the same between them and Donna knew that she never wanted him to look at her the way did that day.
"You think I would judge you if you had an abortion."
"It's more than that, Josh."
"Explain it to me please."
"I would never want you to know that I was capable of something like that."
Josh's expression softened a little. "Donna, you know I feel about abortion. I know that if you ever made a decision like that, it would be because it was best for you, not because...I know better than that."
"Maybe, but I just wouldn't want to risk seeing that look."
Josh stood up and crossed the room. He sat down in the chair next to her. "You're one of the most important people in my life, Donna, I would never...I should've never looked at you like that when the whole diary thing happened."
"It's okay, Josh, I would've looked at me that way too."
"I didn't look at you like that because you lied," he confessed.
Donna's attention snapped up to his face. "What are you talking about?"
"I hated that you saw Cliff again. Even after I told you couldn't and you knew you couldn't you saw him again."
"Yeah..." She wasn't following.
"It meant that you liked him a lot and even worse than that you probably had slept with him which is why he knew about the diary to begin with."
Donna lowered her head again. This felt worse than any of the other thoughts of why he had been so angry and so disappointed. "What are you saying, Josh?"
"I was jealous, Donna. I'm always jealous."
Donna couldn't look at him this time. The shock resonated through her body. "What are you saying, Josh?" she asked again.
"I guess I'm saying that..." he tucked his finger under her chin and raised her eyes to his. He slowly lowered his lips to hers. It was a barely there kiss but it meant the world to both of them.
"That's saying a lot," Donna whispered.
"You're telling me."
"Hello to you to, Donna. I'm fine and you?"
"You can hold your superiority over me later, Joshua. We have a problem."
Josh Lyman quickly sobered. He knew that tone in Donna's voice. It wasn't one he liked to hear. "What's going on?" There was silence from the other side. "Donna?"
"Yeah." She replied.
"You're not talking."
"This isn't going to...I just can't seem..."
"Donna." He was very concerned now.
"Are you watching the news?" She squeaked.
"Not lately, I've been busy with...why?" He peered up at his television. It was on mute. He quickly scanned for his remote.
"It's behind the television." Donna's voice rang in with the answer.
"You freak me out a little bit." Josh mumbled as he pulled the remote from behind the television. He un-muted the television. "Donna?"
"Yes, Josh."
"Please tell me that they're not talking about you in an abortion clinic." He said peering out of his office. Sure enough C.J. Cregg was storming her way down toward his office.
"I'm so sorry, Josh. Is C.J. there yet?"
"Joshua Lyman, where is your assistant?" C.J. stood in his doorway. "Donna, where are you?" Josh said looking at C.J.
"I'm still inside." Donna replied. "I wasn't sure what to do. One of the nurses recognized me, when I was getting ready to leave there was a fleet of reporters. I wasn't sure what to do." She sounded beside herself.
"First of all, are you okay?" Josh asked not sure how he felt about Donna sitting in an abortion clinic.
"I'm fine." She muttered.
"Are you there alone?" Josh inquired.
"Yeah, I sent Danny home." Donna replied.
"All right hang on."
"C.J., she's stuck inside, if she leaves, all we're going to see is the Deputy Chief of Staff's assistant leaving an abortion clinic." Josh said holding the phone against his chest.
"Is she okay?" C.J. asked.
"She's fine and she's alone. And I'm pretty sure she's lying to me about being fine." Josh looked at his watch. "Obviously I can't go pick her up. No one who's ever been in front of the camera can go pick her up. In fact no one from the White House can pick her up." C.J. leaned against the doorway.
"What's Donna doing in an abortion clinic?" Toby asked quietly.
"We don't know yet. We're trying to figure out how to get her out of there first." Josh said feeling sick to his stomach.
Suddenly Josh's phone rang. "That's Leo." He handed C.J. the cell phone and picked up his office phone. "Josh Lyman."
C.J. put the cell phone to her ear. "Donna?"
"Hi, C.J." Donna sounded upset. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't worry about it. What are you doing there?" C.J. asked.
"I can't really explain right now. I'm not entirely sure that there aren't reporters inside." Donna whispered into the phone.
"Okay, look, we're coming up with a plan to get you out of there."
"What are you going to do, put on a pair of glasses, a hat and a trench coat and come in here looking unsuspecting? I think the press corp is a little bit smarter than that." Donna sighed. "I should just leave and then I'll turn my resignation in first thing tomorrow."
"I don't think your boss will agree to that." C.J. glanced over at Josh who was talking passionately on the phone.
Josh's eyes met C.J.'s. "She's not resigning." Josh barked. He was getting angrier by the minute.
"C.J., this doesn't look good." Donna retorted. "Leo isn't going to like this."
"Stay put, I'll call you back in a minute." C.J. hung up the phone at the same time Josh did. "What did Leo say?"
"He wants to know why I didn't know about this and he even asked if any of this was my fault." Josh was flabbergasted. "I'm supposed to get my ass down there and get her out without anyone seeing. He wants us in his office in one hour. Should I fail to do so, he's going to ask for my resignation."
"So he took it well then." Toby muttered.
"I can't believe he thought for one moment that this was in any way my fault." Josh ran his hands over his face and through his hair.
C.J. called Donna back on her cell phone.
"Josh?"
"It's C.J. still. Have you tried calling your roommate?"
"Yeah, she can't. I've tried everyone I know that doesn't work at the White House and naturally no one is available." Donna whispered.
"Okay, someone's going to be by to pick you up and bring you here." C.J. hung up again and turned back to Josh. "I'm going to have my friend pick her up. She's going to get brought back here and then you're taking her home and making sure the poor girl is okay." C.J. ordered.
Josh nodded. Toby and C.J. departed from his office together.
"This is going to be bad." Toby muttered.
"Tell me something I don't know." They separated and headed in their own directions.
Donna waited patiently in the women's restroom. She tapped her fingers nervously on the counter. She didn't know what was going to happen. She hadn't meant for anyone to see her come here. Heck she wouldn't have even been here had it not been an emergency. Donna began to pace in front of the blue stalls. She shook her head, she seemed to have picked up some of Josh's nervous habits. She didn't know how she was going to look him in the face. Just then there was a knock on the door.
Who knocks on a restroom door? Donna thought to herself. "Yeah?" She called out.
"Are you Donna Moss?" A woman asked peering around the door.
"Who are you?" Donna questioned.
"I'm Jane, I'm a friend of C.J.'s, she asked me to come pick you up."
"You're not a reporter?" Donna still didn't feel comfortable.
"No, I'm not a reporter. In fact, I've brought a scarf, a hat and a coat for you to wear so the reporters won't get any kind of decent shot of you." Jane replied.
Donna and Jane made it safely to Jane's car. They drove trying to lose the reporters that had jumped into their vehicles to follow. They managed to pull up to the White House and Donna quickly escaped. She made it to the safety of the West Wing and let out a small sigh of relief before she got nervous all over again. She made a pit stop at C.J.'s office before heading to Josh.
"C.J.?" Donna stood in the doorway.
"Donna!" She jumped up from her desk. "Are you okay?"
"I'm really fine."
"You need to go see Josh." C.J. ordered.
"I know, I just wanted to know what kind of trouble I caused."
"Don't worry about it right now. Josh needs to see you and then you have to go see Leo and then you and I can talk."
"Is he mad?"
"Josh?"
"Yeah."
"Just go see him for yourself, you'll both feel better when you see each other."
Donna nodded and headed towards her side of the bullpen.
Josh was standing in his doorway watching her walk down the hallway. She approached him. He stepped aside for her to walk by and then he shut the door behind her.
"Are you okay?" He asked monotone.
Donna was sitting in front of his desk while he paced behind it. "Yes."
Abruptly, he walked around the other side of the desk and stood next to her. "We have to go see Leo." He said emotionlessly.
She nodded and stood up and followed him to Leo's office. Josh walked steadily a head of her. It was this time through the bullpen that she realized that several White House staffers were watching her with curious or upset expressions. No doubt everyone had heard by now. Gossip always spread like wild fire through the West Wing. They approached Margaret's desk.
"Donna!" Margaret squeaked. "He's expecting you." She said putting on a more professional attitude. She knocked on Leo's door and then entered. "Josh and Donna are here to see you."
"Get in here!" Leo yelled.
Margaret jumped out of the way as the two entered and she quietly closed the door behind them.
Donna stood quietly next to Josh with her eyes on the floor.
"Donna, are you okay?" Leo asked abruptly.
She nodded.
"Now, I don't mean to be harsh on what must've been a very trying day for you. But what the hell were you doing in an abortion clinic?" Leo all but yelled.
Josh took a step forward feeling protective. "Leo, I understand that she works at the White House and we're expected to follow a higher standard, but she still has the right to choose."
"That's great, Josh, but now the question that the President is going to get asked the most is, 'Do you favor abortion? How do you feel about your staffers having abortions?'"
Donna's head shot up.
"That's the way it is, Leo!" Josh yelled back to Leo. "The President has made it more than clear about how he feels about abortion. It'll be over and done with by next news cycle. We just have to hope that the Danny guy..."
"Who's Danny?" Leo barked.
"The father." Josh replied. "We just have hope that he isn't looking for fifteen minutes of fame."
"That's not all you have to worry about. Josh, they're going to be parked outside of her apartment, they're going to follow her around and ask her why she had an abortion and..." Leo trailed off.
"Damn it, Leo! I don't care! It's none of their business." Josh was furious now.
Donna looked at both men and then saw that the President had entered. She took an unconscious step backwards and knocked into Josh. He put a hand on the small of her back to steady her, but then he didn't remove it.
"Mr. President!" Leo felt a little ashamed that he was so worked up and arguing he didn't see him walk in.
"Well I knocked but the yelling in here was so loud that I guess you didn't hear me." President Bartlett took a step towards Donna. "Are you okay, Donna?" He asked sincerely.
"I'm fine, Mr. President." This was a disaster. Donna wanted to runaway to Wisconsin and never show her face again.
"I'm glad to hear it. Now would you please tell your side of the story, before the two of these guys have a heart attack? See, Donna, you have to understand that the two of them are incapable of dealing with things of emotion, especially about someone they care deeply about. You're part of the family and they're worried sick about you and your situation." Bartlett explained.
Donna felt somewhat relieved that the President was willing to hear her out. She kept the President's eyesight as she started. "My friend Danielle, whom everyone calls Danni, called me this morning and told me that she was in an abortion clinic and that she was just about to have an abortion. She begged me to come and be with her. The father had promised to be there but never showed. So I waited with her and one of the nurses asked if I worked at the White House. She said she had seen me on television next to the Deputy Chief of Staff. I didn't have time really to reply when the nurse called Danni back into one of the rooms. So when everything was done we went to leave and that's when we saw the press." Donna explained. "So I sent Danni home because she had been through enough and I called everyone I knew to come pick me up and then I called Josh."
Josh and Leo both looked sheepish.
"Now I know that I didn't clarify why I was at an abortion clinic and I know why the press jumped to conclusions because that's what they do, but I didn't expect..." She trailed. "I'm sorry for any confusion."
Leo and Josh just looked at each other and then back at Donna.
"How's your friend Danni?" The President asked.
"She's a bit shaken up. The reason she was getting an abortion to begin with is because she was raped a couple of months ago. The pregnancy came from that and she couldn't bear..." Donna wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I'm sorry for causing so much commotion."
Josh lowered his head and didn't say anything else. "Please tell Danni that I say that I'm so sorry for her loss and her situation. And you let me know if there is anything we can do for her." With that he left.
"Thank you, Mr. President." Donna replied with a small smile that faded when she turned back to Leo and Josh.
"I'm sorry, Donna, I didn't mean to jump to conclusions." Leo said looking at her like he had learned that the Dow just went down ten points.
"It's fine. I understand." Donna replied.
"Will you excuse Josh and I for a moment please?" Leo asked.
Donna nodded and headed out of the office almost colliding with Margaret. "Hi, Margaret."
"Is everything okay? You're not being fired are you?" She said with urgency.
"No, Margaret, everything is fine." Donna didn't want to have to explain what happened. She felt invaded. People were judging her for something she hadn't done. She quickly headed back to the bullpen.
"Donna, over here!" C.J. called from her office.
Donna was very happy to hide in C.J.'s office. She headed over there quickly and ducked inside.
"Leo, I don't understand how you could even jump to conclusions like that!"
"I didn't even have to jump, I took a step and there the conclusions were."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"I leave you guys alone for five minutes and again with the yelling." Bartlett was standing in the doorway again. "I'm trying to have a meeting with the security advisors and I keep getting distracted. What's the problem?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. President. Things have just been a little high on the emotional scale today."
"Yeah." Bartlett confirmed. "So we figured out the main stress point why is there still yelling going on?"
"I was asking Leo about a comment he made when he first found out about Donna and the abortion clinic and I wasn't sure why it was made and frankly I was terribly upset that it was made." Josh said trying to keep his temper down.
"What was said?" Bartlett asked.
"I may have implied that Josh had something to do with Donna sitting in an abortion clinic." Leo said rolling his eyes.
Bartlett raised his eyebrows. "Really?"
"Yes, sir." Leo replied.
He turned to Josh. "You're upset by that?"
"Why shouldn't I be?" Josh asked defensively.
"I just asked a simple question, son!" Bartlett snapped. "Why are you upset about the comment?"
Josh felt cornered suddenly. "I just did not appreciate the implication that Donna and I would be involved that way without anyone knowing, second that if we were involved that way and she was having an abortion that I wouldn't be right by her side every step of the way and third I just don't understand how I was brought into it to begin with, she's my assistant." He muttered.
"Josh?"
He looked up to the President. "Yes, sir?" He asked.
"Donna is more to you than just your assistant." Bartlett stated.
"She's one of my best friends." Josh finished for him.
"That's right." Bartlett confirmed.
"That's right." Josh suddenly felt like his parents had just busted in on him having sex on prom night.
"You can go." Bartlett stated.
"Thank you, Mr. President." Josh left quickly.
"I slipped." Leo said to his friend.
Bartlett smiled. "That boy is so far into denial. I can't believe he was just going to stand there and say that she was his assistant though." He shook his head. "He was so angry at her for being with another man that that was pretty much all he could think about. Not to mention what a jerk he thought the guy was for leaving her alone at the clinic to begin with."
"Yeah." Leo agreed. "He was just mad that he didn't know."
"Yeah." Bartlett looked toward the door that Josh had exited from.
"Oh thank God!" C.J. was relieved. "Not that I have any judgments, but I was really worried about you. I would hate to think what it would be like to go through something like that."
Donna nodded. "I never want to know. Seeing that look on Danni's face..." She trailed off feeling sick to her stomach. "So how do we control this?"
"Leave it to me. There's no problem here." C.J. replied. "How's Josh?"
"I don't know. He barely looked at me." Donna said standing up. "I guess the best thing would be just to get back to work."
C.J. nodded and watched as Donna disappeared outside of her door. C.J. picked up her phone. "Hey, Jackass, she's on her way back, be nice." C.J. instructed.
Donna took off her jacket, it was Spring but still a little chilly at times. She slid her purse off her shoulder and looked over her desk. She had been gone for nearly three hours and chaos seem to have found her desk with no problem. She looked over Josh's schedule. He was supposed to be in a budget meeting in about two minutes. She picked up the file that she knew he would ask for and headed for his office. She peered in the doorway he was staring blankly at his desk.
"Josh?" Donna flinched at the quietness of her voice. She wished she could just start smacking off orders like she always did, but something felt wrong between them.
"Hmm?" He looked up to find her standing in the doorway. "How long have you been there?"
"Not long."
"What's up?"
"You've got budget in like a minute."
"Yeah." He didn't move.
"Josh?"
"Yeah?"
"The meeting isn't in your office." Donna stated.
"Yeah."
Donna took a step forward. "Josh?" She said a little bit more stern while she closed the door.
He looked over at her again. "What's going on with you?"
"How do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean."
"Okay, except that I don't know what you mean."
"Donna, why did you lie to me? You said that you would never lie to me again."
"Yeah, and as your assistant I will never lie to you again. As your friend I can't make those kinds of promises. The only reason why you know anything now is because the press corps decided that it was a story. I wasn't keeping things from you, it was my friend's secret, Josh, not mine."
"If it had been you?"
Donna looked at him for a long moment, not sure how to respond. He stood up and took the folder from her hands. "It wasn't supposed to be a stumper." He muttered walking out of his office leaving her there.
C.J. released a statement clearing Donna of much more hassle by the end of the week no one remembered the story. Donna and Josh had resumed their daily routine and as usual were ignoring any discomfort with each other.
"Donna!"
"It's on your desk."
"Donna!"
"Josh." Donna leaned in his doorway.
"I need the thing."
"I've told you ten times it's on your desk."
"No it's not!" He replied pushing papers around.
Donna walked over and underneath the pile she pulled out a blue folder.
"Well who could find anything on this desk?" Josh said grumbling under his breath.
"Now you're blaming me for the condition of your desk?" Donna asked.
"That's right."
"Have you seen my desk, Josh?"
"Today or ever?"
"Okay, you're going to be late for staff."
"Donna?" He called right before she disappeared again.
"Yeah?"
"Nothing."
Donna stepped back into his office. "Josh, that is the eighth time you've done that this week." She snapped.
"You've counted?"
"Well after the first three I got suspicious. I was just going to wait it out, but apparently you're never going to say whatever it is that you have to say, so I thought I would just come right out and say it."
"I'm going to be late for staff." He said heading out of his office.
Donna sighed and headed back to her desk.
"Hi."
"Nothing!" Josh snarled.
Toby looked at Josh for a moment. "What was that?"
Josh looked over at Toby. "Sorry I was in my own thoughts."
"Apparently. You may want to look into that." Toby said monotone as usual.
"Yeah."
"Seriously, Josh, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied.
"Because you've been acting weird since..." Toby trailed off. "Did something happen between you and Donna?"
They approached the Oval Office. "No, everything's fine." Josh replied briskly.
"Okay."
Nearly three weeks later Donna had stayed late one night. She was busily typing at her desk. Josh watched her carefully from his doorway. Most of the West Wing people had gone home for the night. She outline glowed in the dim lighting on her desk. The white and blue computer screen haloed her hair. He let out a frustrated sigh. Three weeks after the incident things had returned to normal more or less but there was still something strained between them. Suddenly she turned her head and met his gaze. Josh felt like a deer caught in headlights. He quickly escaped to his office closing the door behind him.
There was a small knock on his door just as he sat down and Donna peeked her head in. "Did you need something?"
"Um, no."
"Then why were you...is something wrong?"
"No, I was just looking around the bullpen, taking a quick break."
"You were looking around the bullpen?"
"Yes."
"Taking a break?"
"Yes."
"Joshua, what's going on with you?"
"Nothing."
"You've been acting strange for quite a while now."
"I have not been acting strange. I've been acting like me."
"I know you pretty well and this is not you."
"If you know me so well then what is wrong with me?"
"You're mad at me."
Josh opened his mouth to argue but found that no words came out to argue with her. He took a deep breath. "Donna, I'm not mad at you."
"You're hurt that I hesitated with the question you gave me three weeks ago. You're mad that I didn't say 'of course I would come straight to you if I were going to have an abortion.'"
"Okay, apparently you do know me really well."
"You just don't get it!"
"What don't I get, Donna? You lied to me to help a friend, I get that, but you basically said that you would lie to me if it were you."
"I'm sorry, Josh, but if it were me, I wouldn't want you to know. I wouldn't want to see that look in your eye."
"What look?"
"The look you gave me when you found out I lied about the diary."
Josh flinched. They had never mentioned the diary once Cliff handed it back to Josh that night and said that no one would ever hear one word about the entire situation. Josh had handed her the diary and asked if she could get home okay and left her. For a long time after that things had never quite seemed the same between them and Donna knew that she never wanted him to look at her the way did that day.
"You think I would judge you if you had an abortion."
"It's more than that, Josh."
"Explain it to me please."
"I would never want you to know that I was capable of something like that."
Josh's expression softened a little. "Donna, you know I feel about abortion. I know that if you ever made a decision like that, it would be because it was best for you, not because...I know better than that."
"Maybe, but I just wouldn't want to risk seeing that look."
Josh stood up and crossed the room. He sat down in the chair next to her. "You're one of the most important people in my life, Donna, I would never...I should've never looked at you like that when the whole diary thing happened."
"It's okay, Josh, I would've looked at me that way too."
"I didn't look at you like that because you lied," he confessed.
Donna's attention snapped up to his face. "What are you talking about?"
"I hated that you saw Cliff again. Even after I told you couldn't and you knew you couldn't you saw him again."
"Yeah..." She wasn't following.
"It meant that you liked him a lot and even worse than that you probably had slept with him which is why he knew about the diary to begin with."
Donna lowered her head again. This felt worse than any of the other thoughts of why he had been so angry and so disappointed. "What are you saying, Josh?"
"I was jealous, Donna. I'm always jealous."
Donna couldn't look at him this time. The shock resonated through her body. "What are you saying, Josh?" she asked again.
"I guess I'm saying that..." he tucked his finger under her chin and raised her eyes to his. He slowly lowered his lips to hers. It was a barely there kiss but it meant the world to both of them.
"That's saying a lot," Donna whispered.
"You're telling me."