Chapter 3



Donna inhaled sharply as she walked back through the West Wing, heading towards CJ's office. She had to get to her to let her know what was said before it was leaked. She wasn't naive enough to think that it wouldn't be. She was half way there when Carol crossed paths with her, "Leo wants to see you," she said with a look of compassion.

"Ok," Donna sighed as she changed directions. Shit's hit the fan, she thought as she crossed the bullpen and stopped as Margrett came out of the office.

"They're waiting for you."

"They?" Donna asked with growing trepidation, as Margrett nodded, a sad look on her face. "Well, here goes nothing," Donna sighed as she knocked on the door, waiting for the come in.

Slowly she slid in to the raised voices of Toby and Josh. "I can come back if this is a bad time," she said wearily, as all eyes turned to hers, making her uncomfortable.

"Actually, this is about you," Leo sighed as he indicated a vacant seat.

"Oh."

"You OK?" Sam asked from where he stood in the corner.

"Yeah, why shouldn't I be?" Donna asked as she shrugged out of her coat, noticing the looks that that passed amongst the others.

"How'd the deposition go?" Toby asked as he watched her face carefully.

"It went. . ." Donna started then shook her head, as she looked from one face to the other, "well, I suppose you already know or. . ." she shook her head, before focusing on CJ, "I was heading towards your office. I figured it would leak. . ."

CJ nodded, "The White House normally doesn't comment on the personal lives of its staff . . ." she started with a touch of distance and anger. "How the hell could you have. . ." she shook her head.

"I was half asleep and had had a couple of drinks," Donna protested. "I thought he was someone else."

"Who?"

"This guy I've been seeing on and off. His name's Clayton Webb."

"Why does that name sound so familiar?" Leo asked from his desk.

"He works for State. He's the Special Assistant to the Undersecretary of State," Donna said simply.

"Shit," Leo muttered, knowing full well what the job title was a euphemism for. "How did you hook up with him?"

"At a party a couple of years ago. I went with my roommate's boyfriend because she couldn't go and it was a work thing and he couldn't go alone and he introduced us. Clay was friend's with the guy who the party was fall. One of Gunny's superiors."

"'Gunny's?" Sam couldn't help but ask.

"He's a Gunnery Sergeant. Everyone calls him 'Gunny.' Not even sure if I remember his real name," Donna admitted with a shrug.

"That's all well and good," CJ sighed, "but that doesn't. . ." she shook her head. "Concannon and Cahill both have the story. Calley claims you slept with him and are now trying to paint him as a. . ." she shook her head not wanting to put his words on it. "They're not buying his story, but the tabloids. . .Donna, what were you thinking going out with him in the first place!"

"I didn't think it would be a problem, honest. Especially since. . ."

"Since what?" Toby asked as she paused and looked away, "Donna, we're not here to judge you just. . . this puts all of us in a really bad position. Especially since he's accusing you of committing perjury."

"It's funny, I went out with him to avoid a problem. She said I should go out with someone so rumors didn't start. I let her fix me up with him."

"Rumors about what? Who said?" CJ wondered.

"I'm gonna kill her," Josh muttered as he started towards the door, "I'm going to go down there and ring her scrawny Republican neck."

"JOSH!" Donna admonished, causing him to stop and bang his head against the door instead. "It's not. . . I mean. . ."

"Who?" CJ demanded, although from the look Toby---- who was the only one close enough to make out the Republican part of Josh's comment--- she had a pretty good idea.

"I don't want to cause any more trouble for any one."

"Why not?" Josh demanded as he reared and leaned against the door. "She sure as hell didn't care about causing trouble for you!"

"Care to share with the rest of us?" CJ interjected as she glared at Josh.

"Who do you think?" Josh shot back. "Anisley."

"She wouldn't have done it on purpose," Sam defended.

"Wanna bet?" Josh asked on a snort.

"Look, this isn't going to help us in the long run," Leo sighed. "I have to ask this: did you lie about the diary."

"No," Donna said quickly, noticing as the Senior Staff exchanged looks at the speed of her answer.

"It's a journal," Josh sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Well, you finally stopped calling it a diary," Donna muttered.

"Semantics aren't going to help us here," Toby pronounced dryly.

"It's a notebook," Donna started simply. "I bought this journal because I liked the picture, I keep notes in it. Things that have to be done the next day. Lists. Trivia facts. That sort of thing. It's not a diary in the sense that they meant it. Truth is I didn't even realize that that might have been what they meant. My lawyer said to take anything that might be considered a dairy in any shape or form after I got the second supeana."

"You lawyered up?" Josh asked surprised. "I thought you couldn't afford one."

"He's a friend of Clay's. He gave me a break on the cost."

"He any good?" Sam asked.

"Had the third highest conviction rate at JAG while he was on lone to them. The only cases he lost were to the attorneys with the 2 highest rate, and he even beat them a few times."

"This is a far cry from military law," Toby sighed as he shifted his weight.

"Mic handled it."

"Now we have to," CJ sighed. "Donna, this friend of yours. . ." she paused not wanting to continue, but having to. "I don't want to sound anything like the Republican, but. . . if you're seeing him. . ."

"We are."

"Does he know?"

"Yeah. Took a bit to persuade him not to go after Cliff when he found out what happened."

"You're going to need to be seen out together," Toby sighed. "It would be better if you had made public appearances before this. . . I'm surprised Oversight hasn't tried that one."

"We've been out a few times since. . ." she shook her head.

"Where?" CJ asked. "Because the press is going to go after it."

"A couple of parties," Donna sighed.

"Restaurants?" Sam asked.

"No, houses."

"Names we can use at least?" CJ asked.

"We went to an anniversary party for Lee and Amanda Stetson, they work for a small film company, a lot of their long term staff was there. I mean that probably won't matter, although. . ."

"Donna, come on. Give us what you have first," CJ chided.

"We went to a birthday party Saturday," Donna started, only to be cut off by Josh, "I called you in to work. . ."

"Didn't you notice the screaming kids in the background?" Donna shot back at him. "It was a birthday party for the son of acquaintances of Clay's. Harriet and Bud Roberts. I forget their ranks, but he's lawyer for JAG and she's their laision with the Pentagon. AJ Chedwiggen was there. Rabb. . . I can't think of his name, but he works a lot with Senator Latham. . ."

"That would be LT. Comdr. Harmon Rabb, Jr," Sam informed.

"So we have some high level military officers who can say she's been seen with this guy after the fact. A lot of help that will be!" Josh interjected.

"I meet Clay originally at a party for Rabb. Besides his girlfriend's a reporter. Peterson. . .I think her first name is Renee."

"Charming," Toby sighed.

"You familiar with her?" CJ asked.

"You familiar with fishboy?" he shot back.

"Good, then you can call her," Leo put in. "Now, we spin this. We make it a nonissue."

"It could help if we. . . you know. . .put the blame on the Republican," Josh added.

"Donna didn't think it would be a conflict since Anisley suggested they see each other," CJ started.

"Only if they raise the question of why she went out with him when there could be one," Toby sighed. "In the meantime. . . Donna was expecting someone else that night. She was half-asleep. He took advantage. Don't address the drinking unless they bring it up."

"How stupid do you think I am Toby?" CJ asked.

"Relieved, CJ," Toby shot back unthinkingly.

"All right people, enough," Leo said as he stood, hoping to defuse the situation. "CJ, take it out like that. Reiterate that no charges are being pressed. That it was a misunderstanding. Calley was using this as a way to get back at her for her rejection. I don't know."

"Got it."

"In the meantime, none of you talk to Anisley."

"But Leo. . ." Josh started.

"None of you. I mean it. I'll handle her. Now get out of here. You all have work to do."

Slowly they all walked out, none really looking at each other as they went in different directions. Donna stood in the doorway for a moment, torn over what had happened, wondering what would happen next. . .


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Later that Night

Donna stuck her head into Josh's office, watching him as he stared out of the window. "You should turn on a light," she said softly as she walked into the room.

"What's the point?" he asked as he turned to her, leaning on the windowsill to look at her. "Why didn't you come to me?"

"Josh. . ." she sighed as she moved towards him, only to stop and shake her head.

"Come on, Donna," he said stiffly, his mood somewhere between hurt and anger, "You put up a good show in there, but. . ." he shook his head.

"Josh. . ." she tried again, but still couldn't find the words.

"You basically lived at my place for a few months," he reminded as he pushed himself to his feet and crossed the room to her. "You think I don't know. . . 'it's not a diary Josh. It's a journal.' That ring a bell?"

"It's a notebook."

Josh laughed at that as he turned and walked to his desk, moving files around to distract himself from grabbing her and shaking some sense into her. "They set you up. I get that. D@mnit, Donna, I could've gotten you out of it. You didn't have to lie."

"I didn't. I wasn't expecting him. I thought he was someone else," she defended softly as she looked down at her hands, not wanting him to see the truth in her eyes.

"Yeah, that I buy," Josh said ironically as he walked back to the window, and rested his hand against it, wanting for that instant to send his hand through it. At least then he'd have a real reason for the pain he was feeling, but that would go over real big in the press, now wouldn't it? "It's still semantics Donna."

"Yeah. I know."

"Notebook, huh?"

"It's a notebook, Josh. That's it."

"You still should've come to me."

"You can't fix everything in my life, Josh."

"Yeah."

"Josh?"

"What?" he asked as he turned around to face her, but only making out her shadow. "You really should put on a light, or better yet, go home and get some sleep."

"Yeah," he sighed as he leaned against the window, watching her go. As she reached the doorway he couldn't resist calling out to her, "Donna?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't open your door tonight. Even if it's who you were expecting that night," he turned away to look back out the window, missing her small nod as she acknowledged the truth in his words, wishing she could give him the truth back.