Moving On
By Shelly Lee (jerrica76@yahoo.com)
Disclaimer-Standard, Don't own um' never will' Check out NBC and Sorkin
Part Two-Red letter day
Josh Lyman hummed as he walked into work, a dimpled grin on his face. It was going to be a red letter day, He was completely sure of that..
"Donna?" He called as he flung his jacket over the back of his chair, after a moument of silence he looked down the hallway but did not see his assistants blond head anywhere. Walking towards the bullpen he looked through the glass window, trying to see if Donna was out there talking with the other assistants.
"Morning Bright-eyes." CJ Craig said in a sassy retort as she walked past him.
"Good morning yourself Ma Petite." Josh joked as he put an arm around her waist and spun her in a circle. Raising one eyebrow, CJ straightened her skirt and patted down the papers in her folder.
"OK, where exactly did you get your coffee this morning Josh.and this better not be something I'm going to have to spin." She asked. Josh just gave her a grin.
"You are looking at the man that just single handily convinced Congressmen Logan to sign the crime bill." He crowed, lifting his arms up in a victorious pose.
"Gee and all this before Nine A.M?" She answered back. "Congratulations, but tell Donna to make it decaff today. The West Wing isn't ready for you victorious and caffenated." She said, her face dead- panned as she started to walk towards the press room.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Speaking of Donna, Have you seen her today?" He asked just as she reached the doors to CJ's court, also known as the press room.
"Don't think so, isn't she at her desk?" CJ asked as she opened her folder to take one more quick look at the contents.
"No, at least she wasn't when I walked in. She wanted to talk to me about something last night but the thing with Logan ran long." He said, not quite sure why he was explaining himself to CJ, who at this moument looked like she really wasn't paying much attention to him anyway.
"Ask Carol, She'd probably knows." CJ said. He started to walk off, when he heard CJ call his name again.
"Hey, I meant it. Congratulations." She said, then she was headed through the door, once more into the breach. Humming once more, Josh headed through the building toward the press office, in search of Carol or Donna.
Instead he was nearly the cause of a mid air disaster when a paper airplane came soaring out of Sam's office just as he passed the open door.
"I hope the passengers bought flight insurance." Josh quipped as he caught the paper as it reached his shoulder. Sam came out and knobbed sheepishly.probably more because he was suppose to be working on President Bartletts speech to the GDC, and not flying notebook paper through out the world.
"Just.A little stress reliever. Hey, heard you scored with Congressman Logan last night." Sam said and slapped Josh on the shoulder.
"Yeah.but if you say it like that again I'm going to have to hurt you." Josh teased in return. "How's the speech going?"
"Well, I've only seen Tobys rubber ball fly by about twice so I'd say we've got a pretty good start." Sam answered, just as a pink spear zinged past them, hitting the wall and bouncing out of view. "OK.Three's not bad either."
"Well you didn't happen to see Donna anywhere between the flying balls and the paper aeronautics did you?"
"Donna.No, I don't think I ..Kathy, have you seen Donna today?" He asked as his assistant return to her seat, Jelly Donut in hand.
"Nope, Josie in personnel said she took a PA day." Kathy answered. Josh leaned against her desk and looked shocked.
"Donna took a PA day? Donna.who dragged herself in here when she had a fever of one hundred and four? That Donna?" He asked. Kathy just gave him a "And YOU'RE running the country" look and shrugged.
"You know, you're not the most helpful person I've ever met." Josh teased.
"So I've been told." She replied and returned to eating her doughnut. Josh started to come up with a come back of his own.but Margaret came by just then.
"Hey Josh, This was delivered to our office by accident." She said as she handed Josh a red and white UPS letter envelope. Josh looked at it for a moument, noting the computerized label and the lack of return address.
"Security did check this right." He asked as he gingerly held the envelope in his hand.
"I think so." Margaret called over her shoulder as she walked towards the bullpen.
"She thinks so.that's comforting." Josh muttered as he held it in his hands. The envelope would have to wait a little while, Josh thought as he headed back to his office and through it down on his desk.
Picking up the phone, Josh punched in the numbers he knew so well. It rang once, twice.at the third ring he heard a click and the familiar sound of Donna's voice at the other end.
"You have reached the Moss-Endicott residence. Leave your name and number at the beep and we'll get back to you."
"Hey Donna, It's Josh. Sorry I missed you last night. Give me a call at the office and I'll make it up to you." He said quickly as he picked up his jacket and headed back out to senior staff.
Its was hours before he actually got back to his desk. Between a minor skirmish with a agroconcolidation group and the usual staff meetings it was all onto dinner time before he even saw his desk, or the mystery envelope again.
"What ya got?" Sam asked as he poked his head in.
"Gee Kreskin, let me tell you." Josh said, as he held the unopened package against his forehead. "A million dollars and an answer for the deficit."
"Hey be careful.remember what happened the last time you tried to make with the funny.Mr. Secret plan to fight inflation." Sam returned as he walked in, grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge and flopped onto the sofa.
"Shut up." Josh oh so smartly answered. Ripping the bottom of the envelop he reached in and pulled out a single sheet of paper folded in half, obviously read many time.
Sitting down in his chair Josh read it once, twice, a third time. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. Could not make it make since. His brain just could not absorb what was on that one piece of paper.
"Josh?" Sam asked, sitting up and taking notice of how quiet and pale He had become. "Josh, who's it from?"
"Donna." Was all he could say, a simple soft sound as he held that paper in his hand. Josh tried to explain, but his mind just didn't know how to make the words fix what she had written.
Standing up Sam got up and walked over to Joshs seat and read what she had written.
"Whoa." He said, looking down at the simple words written there.
I, Donna Moss hear by resign my post as assistant at the White House.
I'm so sorry-Donna
"Oh my god." Sam said, looking at Josh. "Are you OK?" He asked, but Josh could bearly hear him over the din inside his own head. Donna was leaving, maybe already gone. Donna was leaving them.
Donna was leaving him.
No, not possible. He tried to tell himself, but it was right there in black and white. Donna left, left without even saying goodbye. God, how could she leave like that. How could she do that to them.
To him.
"I'm fine Sam." He said, pulling himself out of this thoughts for a moment. Standing up, Josh put his jacket on. "I.I have to go, I promised Amy that I'd be home for dinner tonight." He said as he numbly slid his arms into the sleeves
"Josh." Sam called out behind him, But Josh was already far down the hall. In a moment he was out of the building. It was dark outside, and the street lights cast a otherworldly glow as he guided his car under them.
He was trying not to think, trying not to wonder why she had done it. Why she had ran away from them all. What had happened? He wracked his brain trying to think of anything that might explain it, something he'd done that might have hurt her.
Somehow he ended up on her street, just under the window he knew was in her living-room. He saw the light come on as he stepped onto the sidewalk. Taking the steps two at a time he reached the front door and was pounding on it.
"Donna. Donna." He called as he knocked on the door. A moment later the door opened and a pixie headed brunette opened the door.
"She's not here Josh." Clara Endicott said, as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands "Our super said she left yesterday night."
"Did she say where she was going?" Josh asked, But Clara shook her head.
"Nope Mrs. Malovic tried to get it out of her but Donna can be stubborn. All she said was she had to leave and she paid her half of the rent for the rest of the month until I could get a new roommate." The girl said as she scooped up her oversized orange tabby cat, Jimbo.
"Thank." Josh said softly as he headed back down the stairs. He had almost reached the car when he heard Clara calling his name somewhere behind him.
"Wait, I found this when I got home yesterday. Its got your name on it so I guess she wanted you to have it." She said, as he pulled out a picture frame with a yellow post-it note with his name stuck to it.
Josh sucked in his breath. It was Donna's picture. In it the two of them are dancing at one of the inaugural balls, he never could remember which one. But in that picture they looked like they where having the time of their lives and there was no one else in the whole world.
It had sat on her desk for a long long time. Right up until he started dating Amy. He'd asked her where it went once, but she'd only say she took it home cause she didn't one anyone getting funny ideas.
"Thank you Clara." He said softly. The girl knobbed and went back up the stairs and into the apartment, and he settled into the car and drove home.
"Hi Honey." Amy called, over the loud clipso beat of whatever music she was listening to. She came over and kissed his cheek as he hung his coat up.
"Hey, bad day?" She asked when she noticed the tired look on his face. Pulling off his jacket and loosening his tie Josh could bearly find the straight to find his way to the sofa.
"Yeah." He answered as he leaned back and closed his eyes.
"Poor baby." She purred as she came up behind him and kissed the top of his head. "Want to talk about it?" She asked sympathetically
"No." He answered, eyes still closed.
"OK, Well I'm going to be in the kitchen and then we can see if we can't make everything all right again." Amy said with a playful teasing voice.
But Josh all ready knew that she wouldn't be able to. Things would never be all right again
Donna was gone
And he wasn't quite sure how the hell he was suppose to go on without her.
Disclaimer-Standard, Don't own um' never will' Check out NBC and Sorkin
Part Two-Red letter day
Josh Lyman hummed as he walked into work, a dimpled grin on his face. It was going to be a red letter day, He was completely sure of that..
"Donna?" He called as he flung his jacket over the back of his chair, after a moument of silence he looked down the hallway but did not see his assistants blond head anywhere. Walking towards the bullpen he looked through the glass window, trying to see if Donna was out there talking with the other assistants.
"Morning Bright-eyes." CJ Craig said in a sassy retort as she walked past him.
"Good morning yourself Ma Petite." Josh joked as he put an arm around her waist and spun her in a circle. Raising one eyebrow, CJ straightened her skirt and patted down the papers in her folder.
"OK, where exactly did you get your coffee this morning Josh.and this better not be something I'm going to have to spin." She asked. Josh just gave her a grin.
"You are looking at the man that just single handily convinced Congressmen Logan to sign the crime bill." He crowed, lifting his arms up in a victorious pose.
"Gee and all this before Nine A.M?" She answered back. "Congratulations, but tell Donna to make it decaff today. The West Wing isn't ready for you victorious and caffenated." She said, her face dead- panned as she started to walk towards the press room.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Speaking of Donna, Have you seen her today?" He asked just as she reached the doors to CJ's court, also known as the press room.
"Don't think so, isn't she at her desk?" CJ asked as she opened her folder to take one more quick look at the contents.
"No, at least she wasn't when I walked in. She wanted to talk to me about something last night but the thing with Logan ran long." He said, not quite sure why he was explaining himself to CJ, who at this moument looked like she really wasn't paying much attention to him anyway.
"Ask Carol, She'd probably knows." CJ said. He started to walk off, when he heard CJ call his name again.
"Hey, I meant it. Congratulations." She said, then she was headed through the door, once more into the breach. Humming once more, Josh headed through the building toward the press office, in search of Carol or Donna.
Instead he was nearly the cause of a mid air disaster when a paper airplane came soaring out of Sam's office just as he passed the open door.
"I hope the passengers bought flight insurance." Josh quipped as he caught the paper as it reached his shoulder. Sam came out and knobbed sheepishly.probably more because he was suppose to be working on President Bartletts speech to the GDC, and not flying notebook paper through out the world.
"Just.A little stress reliever. Hey, heard you scored with Congressman Logan last night." Sam said and slapped Josh on the shoulder.
"Yeah.but if you say it like that again I'm going to have to hurt you." Josh teased in return. "How's the speech going?"
"Well, I've only seen Tobys rubber ball fly by about twice so I'd say we've got a pretty good start." Sam answered, just as a pink spear zinged past them, hitting the wall and bouncing out of view. "OK.Three's not bad either."
"Well you didn't happen to see Donna anywhere between the flying balls and the paper aeronautics did you?"
"Donna.No, I don't think I ..Kathy, have you seen Donna today?" He asked as his assistant return to her seat, Jelly Donut in hand.
"Nope, Josie in personnel said she took a PA day." Kathy answered. Josh leaned against her desk and looked shocked.
"Donna took a PA day? Donna.who dragged herself in here when she had a fever of one hundred and four? That Donna?" He asked. Kathy just gave him a "And YOU'RE running the country" look and shrugged.
"You know, you're not the most helpful person I've ever met." Josh teased.
"So I've been told." She replied and returned to eating her doughnut. Josh started to come up with a come back of his own.but Margaret came by just then.
"Hey Josh, This was delivered to our office by accident." She said as she handed Josh a red and white UPS letter envelope. Josh looked at it for a moument, noting the computerized label and the lack of return address.
"Security did check this right." He asked as he gingerly held the envelope in his hand.
"I think so." Margaret called over her shoulder as she walked towards the bullpen.
"She thinks so.that's comforting." Josh muttered as he held it in his hands. The envelope would have to wait a little while, Josh thought as he headed back to his office and through it down on his desk.
Picking up the phone, Josh punched in the numbers he knew so well. It rang once, twice.at the third ring he heard a click and the familiar sound of Donna's voice at the other end.
"You have reached the Moss-Endicott residence. Leave your name and number at the beep and we'll get back to you."
"Hey Donna, It's Josh. Sorry I missed you last night. Give me a call at the office and I'll make it up to you." He said quickly as he picked up his jacket and headed back out to senior staff.
Its was hours before he actually got back to his desk. Between a minor skirmish with a agroconcolidation group and the usual staff meetings it was all onto dinner time before he even saw his desk, or the mystery envelope again.
"What ya got?" Sam asked as he poked his head in.
"Gee Kreskin, let me tell you." Josh said, as he held the unopened package against his forehead. "A million dollars and an answer for the deficit."
"Hey be careful.remember what happened the last time you tried to make with the funny.Mr. Secret plan to fight inflation." Sam returned as he walked in, grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge and flopped onto the sofa.
"Shut up." Josh oh so smartly answered. Ripping the bottom of the envelop he reached in and pulled out a single sheet of paper folded in half, obviously read many time.
Sitting down in his chair Josh read it once, twice, a third time. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. Could not make it make since. His brain just could not absorb what was on that one piece of paper.
"Josh?" Sam asked, sitting up and taking notice of how quiet and pale He had become. "Josh, who's it from?"
"Donna." Was all he could say, a simple soft sound as he held that paper in his hand. Josh tried to explain, but his mind just didn't know how to make the words fix what she had written.
Standing up Sam got up and walked over to Joshs seat and read what she had written.
"Whoa." He said, looking down at the simple words written there.
I, Donna Moss hear by resign my post as assistant at the White House.
I'm so sorry-Donna
"Oh my god." Sam said, looking at Josh. "Are you OK?" He asked, but Josh could bearly hear him over the din inside his own head. Donna was leaving, maybe already gone. Donna was leaving them.
Donna was leaving him.
No, not possible. He tried to tell himself, but it was right there in black and white. Donna left, left without even saying goodbye. God, how could she leave like that. How could she do that to them.
To him.
"I'm fine Sam." He said, pulling himself out of this thoughts for a moment. Standing up, Josh put his jacket on. "I.I have to go, I promised Amy that I'd be home for dinner tonight." He said as he numbly slid his arms into the sleeves
"Josh." Sam called out behind him, But Josh was already far down the hall. In a moment he was out of the building. It was dark outside, and the street lights cast a otherworldly glow as he guided his car under them.
He was trying not to think, trying not to wonder why she had done it. Why she had ran away from them all. What had happened? He wracked his brain trying to think of anything that might explain it, something he'd done that might have hurt her.
Somehow he ended up on her street, just under the window he knew was in her living-room. He saw the light come on as he stepped onto the sidewalk. Taking the steps two at a time he reached the front door and was pounding on it.
"Donna. Donna." He called as he knocked on the door. A moment later the door opened and a pixie headed brunette opened the door.
"She's not here Josh." Clara Endicott said, as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands "Our super said she left yesterday night."
"Did she say where she was going?" Josh asked, But Clara shook her head.
"Nope Mrs. Malovic tried to get it out of her but Donna can be stubborn. All she said was she had to leave and she paid her half of the rent for the rest of the month until I could get a new roommate." The girl said as she scooped up her oversized orange tabby cat, Jimbo.
"Thank." Josh said softly as he headed back down the stairs. He had almost reached the car when he heard Clara calling his name somewhere behind him.
"Wait, I found this when I got home yesterday. Its got your name on it so I guess she wanted you to have it." She said, as he pulled out a picture frame with a yellow post-it note with his name stuck to it.
Josh sucked in his breath. It was Donna's picture. In it the two of them are dancing at one of the inaugural balls, he never could remember which one. But in that picture they looked like they where having the time of their lives and there was no one else in the whole world.
It had sat on her desk for a long long time. Right up until he started dating Amy. He'd asked her where it went once, but she'd only say she took it home cause she didn't one anyone getting funny ideas.
"Thank you Clara." He said softly. The girl knobbed and went back up the stairs and into the apartment, and he settled into the car and drove home.
"Hi Honey." Amy called, over the loud clipso beat of whatever music she was listening to. She came over and kissed his cheek as he hung his coat up.
"Hey, bad day?" She asked when she noticed the tired look on his face. Pulling off his jacket and loosening his tie Josh could bearly find the straight to find his way to the sofa.
"Yeah." He answered as he leaned back and closed his eyes.
"Poor baby." She purred as she came up behind him and kissed the top of his head. "Want to talk about it?" She asked sympathetically
"No." He answered, eyes still closed.
"OK, Well I'm going to be in the kitchen and then we can see if we can't make everything all right again." Amy said with a playful teasing voice.
But Josh all ready knew that she wouldn't be able to. Things would never be all right again
Donna was gone
And he wasn't quite sure how the hell he was suppose to go on without her.