A/N: So on a typical Sunday afternoon a few weeks back, this idea popped into my mind and I ran with it. I became so inspired to write this to the point where I put all of my other writing projects on hold. The more chapters I completed, the more I fell in love with this story. It's an A/U that runs alongside the first season of The West Wing and it is from Donna's perspective. This is the first time I have ever written a first person point of view through Donna's eyes, and I have had so much fun writing it! I will be posting one to two chapters a week, since I still have more chapters to write before it's complete. I also want to mention that this story has some adult/mature themes, but I do not think it fits the "Mature" rating category. However, with that being said, please do not read this story if you are under 18 years of age.

I want to say a special thank you to The_Electric_Eel and JObrien42. They both helped me extensively with this story, especially with outlining and plot development. Without their help, I would not have been able to tell the story that I was trying to "put on paper". Again, thank you both so much!

I hope you enjoy the story!

Chapter 1: An Early Appointment

August 1999

It's 3:00 in the morning and I can't sleep. I've been listening to the high pitched squeal of my living room smoke detector for a solid 30 minutes. Who the hell can sleep with that racket? For the life of me, I have no idea what's wrong with it. I just moved into this apartment and per the moving checklist, the batteries have recently been changed. For a brief moment, I miss my old place. It wasn't the nicest apartment in the nicest part of town and it came with a roommate, but at least the smoke detectors worked properly.

I've only been in bed for two hours. I dragged myself home from the White House just after midnight, and despite how tired I am, I give in and march into the living room, determined to stop the incessant noise. I disconnect the damn thing and leave it on the secondhand coffee table I just picked up a week ago at the local flea market. Problem solved; I'm a genius, or so I tell myself as I walk back into my room and collapse on my bed. It's been a long couple of days for the White House Communications Department, and Toby was kind enough to give me tomorrow off. Well actually, I guess that's today. I usually end up working a half day on Saturdays, so this is a nice treat.

A knock at the door wakes me up. I look at my clock and see that it's barely 7:00; I'm just going to accept the fact that I don't get to sleep in. It is what it is. I look through the spy hole and see some guy dressed in navy blue wearing a DCFD ball cap standing outside my apartment and looking rather impatient. It's then that I realize I had scheduled this appointment early, thinking I would have to go to work after. I open the door for him.

"Can I help you?" My voice reflects how groggy I feel. I'm momentarily embarrassed when I realize I have answered the door in my pajamas, which consists of plaid shorts that are just a little too short and a ribbed tank top that shows just a little too much mid drift.

He removes his DCFD hat before he speaks, "Ma'am, I'm here for your scheduled fire inspection." He's all business and doesn't even say good morning. I can't help but notice that he's good looking, albeit a little disheveled. His shirt isn't completely tucked in and it's just a little too big for him. His hair is sticking up in 30 different directions, but who am I to judge? I have terrible bedhead right now; I can feel the hairs that have come loose from my ponytail prickling my neck.

"Oh um, yeah . . . yeah I forgot about that, clearly," I make a gesture to explain my somewhat inappropriate appearance. "Come in, and maybe the first thing you can do is fix my smoke detector? The alarm wouldn't stop, so I unplugged it."

"Yeah I can see that," he points to the coffee table. I swear he smirks, and when he does I can't help but notice his deep dimples and the slightest shine to his dark brown eyes.

"So you can't do that ma'am. It needs to be plugged in at all times for your safety and for the safety of those around you."

"Sorry. Mr . . ." I get a closer look at his name and rank sewn into his collared shirt. "Excuse me. Sorry, Lieutenant Lyman."

"There's no need to apologize, but you're lucky your inspection was scheduled for today so that I could fix it. These smoke detectors are here to keep you safe Ma'am, so please don't disconnect them," he says as he walks past me and swipes the small round disk from my coffee table. His answer does nothing to improve my cranky mood, but I'm momentarily distracted by his wavy auburn hair and the way it curls at the nape of his neck. My eyes move to his biceps and how they are slightly flexing as he places the detector back into the ceiling with astute proficiency. God, I've been checking him out for a solid 30 seconds, which is so embarrassing. I'm hoping he hasn't noticed, he seems pretty hyper focused on what he's doing. I take a moment to grab my robe from my bedroom and when I return he's walking through my kitchen with a clipboard, checking it off as he goes. It hits me then that he looks just as tired as I do, maybe more, so I decide to make us a pot of coffee. As he goes into my bedroom with his clipboard I start to check the cabinets for coffee and only find an empty bag of Folgers. I can't help but let out a sigh as I lean my head against a cabinet.

"That's a pretty loud sigh," he says as he walks back into the kitchen.

"Oh you heard that?"

"I think the whole apartment complex did," again he shows that smirk and I roll my eyes a little bit at his sarcasm.

"Well it was an appropriate volume for someone who's lamenting over a lack of coffee in her apartment," I banter back.

"I'm done here Miss . . ." He pauses as he looks at his clipboard. "Miss Moss."

"Donna, and thanks. Did I pass?"

"Other than the smoke detector, yes I'd say you passed."

"You just had to mention the smoke detector, didn't you?"

"Well how could I not?" He smiles at me and I'm lost in those damn dimples.

"Take it easy on the girl who needs caffeine. I'd give my left arm for a peppermint mocha right about now."

"Well I guess that's my queue to leave before your caffeine headache kicks in and I'm on the receiving end of it."

"Very funny Lieutenant," I scowl just a little bit. The aforementioned caffeine headache is in fact creeping in.

"Josh. And here, call me any time if you have any questions or ya know problems with that smoke detector," he scribbles his number down onto a piece of paper and hands it to me as he makes his way towards my door.

"Thanks, Josh. I appreciate you coming over."

"No problem. Bye Donna."

I lock the door behind him and stand there for a moment, trying to figure out why my apartment inspection was the highlight of my week. I suppose it's because I had a good looking man in my apartment and it's been longer than I care to admit since I've had a guy over at my place. Despite my caffeine headache that's growing in intensity, I decide to clean up a bit. When I'm done, I'm still not sure if I want to go back to bed or put the effort into getting dressed and going out to get a coffee. Before I can make up my mind, I hear a knock at my door. I smile a little when I see that it's Josh again.

"Ahhh. Firefighter Josh. Are you back to see if I still had the smoke detector plugged in?"

"Maybe. But I thought you might like this. I wouldn't want you to give up your left arm," he chuckles a little as he hands me a venti peppermint mocha.

I smile back at him.

Correction- THIS is the highlight of my week.