Ex Post Facto: Part Eleven – Omnia Mutantur, Nos Et Mutamur In Illis
Disclaimers et al. in Introduction.
Summary: All things are changing, and we are changing with them (Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis) – translation taken from http://www.rktekt.com/ck/LatSayings.html.
Notes: Final in the Ex Post Facto series.
Christine and Yana – you rock!! That's all there is to say, really.
Josh POV.
~*~ Ex Post Facto: Part Eleven – Omnia Mutantur, Nos Et Mutamur In Illis ~*~
In the past, I've often failed to realise how lucky I am. I guess I sometimes take life – and people – for granted just a little too much.
Take Donna, for instance. When she left me, left the West Wing, well, we know how well that turned out. Although I knew that she was a big part of my life before, it was only after she'd gone that I realised quite how necessary she was. And then, when she came back after the accident, I truly understood what I'd been missing. Of course, I was also on some pretty heavy medication at the time, which might be why I never realised that I should actually tell her, but the intention was there.
So after the election night party, knowing that she was in my apartment, in my bed, I couldn't let her out of my sight again. Ever. Despite how unrealistic this idea was considering the fact that she had a life and friends and a job to return to. I ignored that. It was also perhaps a mite possessive. I ignored that, too.
I finished in the shower and got out with the intent of telling her – that I'd finally understood how necessary and important she was to me. However, in replaying this plan of action in my mind I decided that A: I probably needed to get out of the towel and into some clothes before this declaration, and B: she probably didn't want to hear my about my undying love.
Yes, I was afraid of rejection, the whole 'oh, I thought we'd just be friends' speech, and my subsequent embarrassment. Not to mention the fear of having to hear it dressed in only a towel.
So instead I gave her a towel (not the one I was using, obviously), waited for her to get out of the daze that she appeared to be in, and got ready for work. I quickly threw together some breakfast for the both of us but realised that she wouldn't be finished in the bathroom anytime soon. So I wrote a note inviting her out to lunch, deciding that it wouldn't be necessary to explain my hasty departure – she knew as well as I did how scary Leo could be if you were very late to staff.
As it turned out, I was actually early. I was also by far the most alert person there. Both of these facts would have worried me if I were prone to caring about such things.
Staff was uneventful. The most enjoyable part was trying to work out why CJ kept glaring at me. I figured that it was probably related to her hangover, as I didn't think I'd had time to do anything monumentally wrong.
It was a few hours filled with catching up on paperwork and reading memos before I heard a knock at my office door. Okay, so I was fooling myself if I thought I'd heard any such knock. The truth was that Donna, in her inimitable Donna way, came bursting into my office unannounced.
"Donna!" I exclaimed, and she gave me a glare in return.
"Your new assistant gets you coffee, doesn't she?" she questioned me, sitting down in the visitor's chair in front of my desk.
The truth was that my assistant did indeed bring me coffee. As many times as I asked for it. But she'd only done it once that morning and it was unrelated to my good mood. Donna being in my office, having stayed over at my apartment the night before, and of course, winning the election, were the reasons for my exuberance.
"No!" I lied, of course, but she could see through me. And of course, when I tried to amend my statement, she took me to task. Thank god no one else knows me like she does. We moved on to small talk, and during a spectacularly unsuccessful attempt at getting her to laugh, I heard whispered voices near the door.
Sam's and CJ's, in particular. I was immediately suspicious and decided to play with them to see if I was indeed correct in my assumption that they were trying to listen into our conversation.
"So, when are you going back?" I asked, grinning at Donna and trying to convey with winks and psychic connections to play along and tease Sam and CJ.
"Tomorrow, I think," she replied, obviously not getting any of my messages.
"Good, because I want to talk to you about something," I said loudly so that CJ and Sam must be able to hear. I was now almost certain that they were trying to eavesdrop because there was some shuffling and banging against CJ's door, then a 'shush'.
Donna seemed to get the idea. "Do tell me, Josh," she asked, obviously in some dramatic technique that she'd learnt from one of her majors or minors in college.
"That is… I was… I, uh… I think…" I coughed, trying to keep my laughter under control as I saw Donna nearly lose it. "Why don't we go for something to eat now?" I asked hurriedly, trying to continue using my wondrous acting skills and at the same time trying to get Donna to stop laughing.
She followed me to CJ's office, where CJ and Sam were pressed against the door in a vain attempt to hear anything that was being said on the other side. We watched them for a couple of seconds, trying to see if they'd finally realise that there were other people in the room and no one in my office.
They didn't, so I coughed. Sam jumped in surprised, but Donna and I managed not to laugh outright at the two of them until after we'd heard their lame excuses and left the room. Though to give CJ credit, the wormwood excuse nearly had us.
As soon as we were out the room, Donna and I both succumbed, and we laughed our way out of the White House, almost oblivious to questioning looks from my colleagues.
Although we hadn't booked a table, the restaurant was empty enough that we sat down straight away and I ordered my usual burnt hamburger while Donna had chicken. Since she was leaving the next day, we tried to think of something to do that evening.
It wasn't easy. We were too old for clubbing, couldn't talk at the movies, and Donna refused to let us eat out twice in one day. Plus I was tired...really tired.
"We could have a sleepover party!" Donna suggested.
I raised an eyebrow. "No, we can't because we aren't twelve year old girls."
"Were you ever a twelve year old girl?" Donna deadpanned. I glared, unable to think of a witty retort because I really was that tired.
We spent the rest of lunch talking about many different subjects. Donna was interested in current legislation that we were trying to pass and I happily explained it to her. Not that she necessarily needed it explained, but this was us, the way we used to be, and I found the familiarity comforting.
She left me after lunch with the intention of 'doing touristy things' and I had to return to the West Wing where I had to do something that was probably important.
It was a good few hours later when she came to meet me back at the White House. As it turned out, she had found Zoey on her way in and told her of our plans. Zoey, now being more than old enough to drink, had decided to join us, recruiting Charlie on her way. Of course, this meant that the President got to hear about it, and threatened to come along, but both Zoey and the Secret Service were vehemently against the idea.
We arrived at the bar before it became too crowded and found a table with relative ease. Sam and I were elected in true democratic manner to get the first round of drinks, so with some token grumbling we went to the bar. As we waited for our drinks, I could tell something was obviously on Sam's mind. Eventually he asked me about Maggie.
"We split up a while ago," I told him. "It wasn't working out."
"Oh. Sorry," he replied awkwardly.
"Don't worry about it," I said, truthfully. It was in the past and I wasn't bothered by it. "We… we decided that it was best not to stay together, too much distance," which was not the truth. I wasn't sure whether Sam believed me, but he accepted it.
The drinks arrived, and when we took them back to the table everyone shuffled around, changing places. I conveniently ended up sitting next to Donna, not that I was going to complain about it.
The rest of the evening went about as well as could be expected. I knew Zoey was making trouble by the way that she kept looking mischievously at Donna and me, and so I made plans of my own. I took Charlie aside when he was returning from the men's room and convinced him of the wisdom of asking Zoey to dance. He looked at me oddly, but didn't need to be told a second time and took her to the floor as soon as he arrived back at the table.
Donna left for the bar with CJ and Ainsley, while Sam and I watched them. Well, more to the point, Sam watched Ainsley while I watched Donna.
"I don't think I want her to leave," I told Sam. He gave a half smile, but didn't reply. "But she's got that whole other life in Boston and I can't keep her from that."
"What would she do here?" Sam asked after a pause.
"Nothing. She probably doesn't even want to stay here," I said, not sure whether I believed myself or not. Especially since Donna took that moment to look over at the table and return the smile that I gave her. I was concerned, though, that I might be reading more into her smile than was actually there. "It's not even an issue."
Sam grinned again, and I wasn't sure why. I tried not to think about it, and continued watching the 'girls' at the bar.
"Tell her then," Sam said suddenly, to my surprise. "Tell her that you want her to stay."
I laughed, not so much at the suggestion as at the idea that Sam believed that it was so simple. "And say what, exactly? I don't want you to leave because I think I might love you?" Hmm. Interesting choice of words, I thought after I blurted them out.
"Do you?"
Umm, no Sam. Of course not. Whatever would have lead you to believe such a thing? "I… It was an example," I forced myself to laugh. "Just… something to show you how unlikely it was that I would say anything." God, for a politician, I really was a terrible liar.
"Because you might want to tell her if you do think that," he suggested.
"To see how much she might laugh at me? No, thank you. Besides, it's not true. We're just friends," I claimed. It was kind of the truth. The fact that I thought there was more between us than just friendship didn't necessarily mean that there was, right?
"Are you sure about that?" he asked. Fortunately Donna, CJ and Ainsley decided to rejoin us at that point, allowing me to avoid his question.
Donna and I took a cab back to my apartment almost in complete silence. I watched her, but she was oblivious to my gaze as she stared out the window. I so desperately wanted to tell her how I felt, and that I wanted her to stay in DC forever or at least as long as I lived there, but a cab wasn't the ideal place to have this conversation. Nevertheless, I worked up the courage and started to call out her name, only to decide against having the conversation two seconds later. Perhaps it was for the best.
We arrived back at my apartment and I offered her a drink as she sat on the couch. She asked for a coffee.
"So you won't get it for me, but I have to get it for you?" I tried with the banter, just to get a conversation going. It didn't work; she merely smiled serenely and nodded.
A few minutes later I returned with a mug for her and one for myself. I wanted to talk to her, but I couldn't think of anything to say. Well, that wasn't quite the truth, I was still attempting not to throw myself at her feet and declare that she couldn't ever leave me. I didn't think I was quite ready for that, so I ended up asking her what time she was planning on leaving.
"About ten thirty. There's a plane at eleven thirty," she replied, and I tried to think of something else to say.
"Want a lift?" I asked after a short silence.
"You don't have to be at work?" she asked with a slight smile.
"Ahh, I forgot about that. I've got a meeting with…" I tried in vain to remember who it was, but all I could think of was the way that she had smiled at me earlier in the bar. "Someone at ten." I grinned. "Sorry."
"That's fine, I was going to get a cab anyway. I don't trust your driving."
"There's nothing wrong with my driving!" I exclaimed.
"That's what all bad drivers say!" she smiled. I smiled back. It was like being back at school when I really liked Mary Ann Jameson. Only I never got up the courage to actually talk to her. "I'm going to get to bed," she said finally. "Unless you want me to take the couch?" She stood up and gave the couch an unfavourable glance.
"No, you take the bed," I insisted, patting the couch and trying to work up some enthusiasm about the prospect of sleeping on it. "I'm happy to sleep here."
"You'll get a bad back. I'll take the couch. I'm young, I can cope."
I raised an eyebrow at the suggestion that I wasn't, and insisted once again that she take the bed.
"And I say you take the bed," she argued. Then paused. "Listen, why don't we both take the bed, it's not as if we've not shared before."
I was overcome with tiredness, so much so that I couldn't be bothered to think about how bad an idea this was. "Okay."
She went to the bedroom and I paced round the living room, trying not to think too much about her changing in there. After a few minutes, I knocked on the door and asked if she was decent. I placed my hand on the doorknob, hoping that she'd say yes but that on entering she'd be sitting up in my bed, naked or in some specially purchased lingerie, and try to seduce me. Okay, so it was a pretty unrealistic fantasy, but I enjoyed it anyway.
I entered the room to find her beneath the covers in what appeared to be fairly standard pyjamas. I wondered if, as 'friends' if I should change into my pyjamas in the same room as her, or whether I should be a wuss and go into the bathroom or lounge.
"Everything okay?" she asked.
I decided that I was going to be brave. Friends could undress in front of each other. We'd done it before. Besides, if I got her to close her eyes then it wouldn't be an issue at all. Problem solved.
"Close your eyes," I told her.
"Why?"
"Because I said so!" I replied. She looked at me dubiously. "I'm going to get changed," I said.
She shut her eyes, screwing them up tightly, then covered them with her hands. I wondered if she was trying to tell me she didn't want to see me naked, but then a gap between her fingers appeared, and I knew that she was cheating.
"No peeking, okay," I said, hoping that she wouldn't listen.
I began to change, slowly removing my clothes, knowing that she could see exactly what was going on, and I watched her watching. I think it would have been damn near impossible to want her more than I did at that moment.
"There, you can look again," I informed her as I finished buttoning up my pyjama shirt. With some hesitation I got into bed, turning the bedside light off as I drew the covers over me. I lay there a while, unable to sleep, and I could feel her move restlessly beside me. She shifted her legs back and forth, wriggling about.
"You okay?" I asked eventually.
"I'm cold."
I thought of an obvious answer, but dismissed it quickly. We were friends, after all. However, I wanted to help her warm up, and I wanted to feel her next to me, so I moved closer to her, practically embracing her from behind as I rubbed my arms along her body in an attempt to get her warm.
"You're going to drive me crazy with all that fidgeting," I said, using it as an excuse to keep her near to me. She didn't object; in fact, instead of moving away she nestled closer to me. I drew her even closer and eventually my hands stilled
We fell asleep quickly and soundly in this position, only to be woken by the alarm the next morning. I turned it off and just lay there, revelling in the feeling of lying in bed with Donnatella.
She looked up at me and I didn't move, keeping my eyes on hers. I don't know how long we lay like that, but I had an unbelievable desire to kiss her. She started to get out of bed, but on impulse I brought her closer and our mouths met.
We kissed with enthusiasm and energy. She was beginning to unbutton my shirt when suddenly she stopped.
"You'll miss your meeting," she said, as if I actually cared about the damn meeting. However, she obviously didn't want to continue, so I slowly started to move away from her, hoping that things wouldn't get completely awkward between us.
She put her hand to my chest – not to push me away, but to connect with me, to reassure me.
"I want this," she said.
"You're sure?" I asked, and her eyes opened widely and she nodded emphatically. I laughed, and although it was still a little strange, I relaxed a bit.
"But… you have a meeting in forty five minutes and I have a plane to catch." She laughed nervously. "Our timing sucks." I had to agree, but didn't object when she started kissing me again. How could I?
"We'd better get up," I said between kisses.
"Uh huh," she murmured, apparently not interested in stopping our current activity. After a while, though, she pulled back the covers, leaving me cold, so I actually got out of the bed.
I got ready for work quickly, and when I was ready I waited for her to finish in the shower so that we could say goodbye. As she walked with me to the door, I tried to convince myself that letting her go back to Boston was the right decision. I knew that we were supposed to be together, but I wasn't so sure how that would work out long distance. But I didn't want her to give up her life in Boston. It was all too complicated.
"I'll call you," she said after we'd stood at the door looking at each other for a while.
"You'd better." I grinned. "And if you're not sure about this, tell me, okay?" I hoped that would never be the case, but I had to ask.
"I'm sure," she said, smiling. "It's just going to take some organization."
I pulled her towards me and hugged her before giving her one last, lingering kiss. "Thank you for coming," I told her.
"It was my pleasure," she replied, giving me a kiss on the cheek and letting me go. It took some effort to leave the apartment and make my way outside, but then the reality of the situation struck me. I grinned widely. Life was good.
I spent the rest of the day walking round the West Wing with a smile on my face, much to the amusement and confusion of my colleagues. I debated numerous times the wisdom of calling her, but decided eventually that I should wait for her to call, since she had promised that she would.
I waited two whole days, and on the second night I had just decided to call her when the phone rang.
"Josh Lyman," I answered.
"Hello Josh Lyman, it's Donna Moss here." I sensed that she was mocking me. "I'm calling about the thing."
"The thing. Right." I wondered whether she was calling about the thing that I thought she said she'd phone about. I decided to clarify. "You mean the thing thing right?"
"You have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"
"Of course I do. You said you'd call."
"I waited a whole two days as well. Are you impressed?" she asked.
"Very," I lied. Two days was a very long time to wait for a phone call from Ms. Moss.
"Good, I'm glad. I tried my very best."
I could tell she was nervous, and couldn't help letting her know she wasn't making much sense. I pointed this out to her.
"I know," she replied. I grinned.
"You've lost your mind in my absence, haven't you?" I asked.
"Always, Joshua, always."
We hung up an hour later, after I'd managed to convince her that I'd missed her more than she'd missed me. It took me a while to get to sleep.
We kept in almost constant communication over the next couple of weeks. She emailed me random trivia, and I replied with witty anecdotes about the demise of sense among the American people/Congress/the Senate/the world in general. She'd phone me and tell me about her day, and I would reply with witty anecdotes about the demise of sense among the American people/Congress/the Senate/the world in general.
She agreed to come to Sam's thanksgiving gathering and was due to fly in the day before, but because of my schedule, I wasn't able to meet her.
However, on the day she arrived, about thirty minutes before the start of my meeting, the Congressman called and said that he wouldn't be able to make it. Usually, this would have annoyed me, but instead I saw it as an opportunity to surprise Donna at the airport.
I got there about forty minutes after her flight had been due to land and spotted her looking rather harried, standing in the cab queue. I tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped, then spun round and hugged me.
"Joshua!"
"Donnatella!" I replied with enthusiasm.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was just passing and thought the airport would be a cool place to hang out. And then as I was about to go in, I saw you standing outside. Complete coincidence."
She let go of me, and passed me her bag, which felt like it weighed about 200 pounds. I was too happy to see her to make any sarcastic remark.
It had been a long day and so as soon as we got into my apartment I collapsed on the couch beside Donna and decided that a long nap would be nice. I was almost asleep when she called out my name.
"Yeah?"
"Wake up," she said.
I attempted to, but my eyes wouldn't open. "I'm awake," I told her.
"We need to talk," she said and I started to panic.
"That's not good," I commented, finally opening my eyes. I tried to breathe deeply and slowly and not hyperventilate at the sudden idea that Donna was about to give me an ultimatum. Or decide to call it quits.
"No, no, it can be good," she said.
I wasn't convinced. Not once in my long history of failed relationships had that phrase ever been uttered in a positive way. "How?"
"How, what?" she asked.
"Tell me how it can be good." I figured that she was going to start saying how being friends could still be good when she leaned close to me.
"Well, after we talk, we can do this." She kissed me on the cheek, and I was starting to get convinced that talking wasn't necessarily a bad thing. "Or this," she said, kissing the other cheek.
"Or this?" I questioned, bringing her closer and kissing her deeply on the lips. She didn't pull away, and I took that to be a very encouraging sign.
"You learn quickly," she told me, but moved away from me.
"Talk. But do it quick. I'd like to get back to those after-talk activities." I wasn't sure why we had to wait until after the talking, but I went along with the plan.
She rambled on about something, although I was too distracted by watching her get all flustered to pay too much attention to her words. She paused, and I took the opportunity to get her to stop talking by placing a finger on her lips. "You're making very little sense again, you know?"
"I know." She looked at me, and it finally processed that she had, essentially, been asking me a question. Thankfully, I remembered what it was.
"You want to know how I feel about you?" She nodded. "And the kissing wasn't a good enough indication?" I asked, grinning. "The thing is, I think I might like you too, and I just don't know how to control the urge to do this…" I moved in closer, giving in to my desire to kiss her, "when I'm around you. That answer your question?" I hoped it did since I didn't really want to repeat myself. Except for the kissing part. I had no objections to the kissing. "And as for the possibility of going on a date, just tell me time and place and I'll be there. Now can we resume the after-talk activities?" I leaned in again, but she shook her head.
"The other thing is, my boss is leaving Boston for Seattle and wants me to go with him to be part of his team. I have to make a decision by the end of this month, but I think I'm going to say no. I can get a new job anywhere, but friends, not so much."
I was relieved to find out that this was the reason she wanted to talk, and immensely relieved to hear she didn't want to move further away.
"So you'll be staying in Boston?" I confirmed. She nodded. I wasn't sure what else to say, although I knew that it was unlikely that this would be the end of the conversation.
"Okay, talk's now over," she said. For now, I interpreted, but didn't hesitate in resuming my favourite part of the conversation.
It was difficult for me not to take that conversation any further, but I could tell that Donna was still unsure about the situation and I didn't want to push her. Besides, if I had my way, we'd have plenty of time to explore the possibilities.
By the time we got to Sam's the next day the food was almost ready and the football game had started. I watched a little, but then Donna came and sat next to me and I stopped paying attention to the TV. We talked quietly until dinner was ready, discussing past Thanksgivings with our families and sharing amusing stories.
It took several hours for us to eat our way through all the food, but we paced ourselves: talking, resting and drinking at intervals. When we finally finished we were all exhausted and CJ announced that she was going to leave. We took this as our cue to do the same, although we stood at the door and talked with Sam and Ainsley for a few minutes after CJ had gone.
Ainsley had a sudden need to show Donna a painting, and so they left, Donna giving me curious looks over her shoulder. I was suspicious of a set up, and I asked Sam what was going on.
"That's what I'm supposed to be asking you," he said.
"What?" I asked, puzzled. "Nothing's going on. Wha… who… why?" I was immediately.
"You and Donna," he said, confirming my fears. "What's going on?"
I played it dumb, hoping Sam had just been making assumptions. "I repeat – there's nothing going on." I thought for a minute, and decided to ask him where he'd got this information. "Why might there be something going on between us? And who told you to ask me?"
"There is something going on. Even I can see it. You've not been like this in years, if ever."
While I was kind of relieved that he didn't actually appear to know anything, I didn't believe I'd been that obvious about my feelings. "And other people have been noticing this as well?"
"Yes. CJ, Toby, Ainsley, hell, even Leo!" He looked amused at my bewilderment. "So, what's going on? I'm your best friend, you can tell me."
"There's nothing going on!" I protested. Okay, so perhaps it was a little bit of a lie.
"So you're not in love with her?" he asked, obviously unconvinced by my denials.
"What's going on?" Donna asked as she re-entered the apartment with Ainsley. "Not in love with who, Josh?" she asked, and I was almost certain that she knew exactly what was happening.
I grinned, trying to make things as awkward as possible for both Sam and Ainsley because I found that amusing. "You!" I announced.
"Oh!" she replied, laughing. I wasn't quite sure what that meant and it made me slightly nervous.
"Anyway, we'd better be going," I said, deciding that we should leave Sam and Ainsley alone with their suspicions.
Donna said her thanks and goodbyes as well, and then we left.
We got back to my apartment and decided to go straight to bed since we were quite tired from all the eating. Donna got ready and I watched from the doorway as she crawled into bed.
I felt the sudden need to clarify things, to tell her the truth about how I felt, but I didn't know how.
"I do, you know," I said, hoping that she'd understand.
She didn't. "Do what?"
"Love you. I thought I'd tell you that. Since, y'know, it's true."
She smiled and blushed, and I could tell that she was about to cry.
"Donna…"
She got out of bed and walked towards me, stopping in front of me and wrapping her arms around my neck. She kissed me. "Thank you," she said. "Y'know, I love you too," she whispered. I decided that the best way to show her how I felt would be to kiss her again, and was quite annoyed when the phone interrupted us.
"Josh Lyman," I answered, hoping whoever it was wouldn't stop our kissing for too long.
"Hi, umm, I was wondering if I could speak to Donna. It's her friend, Maria."
I passed the receiver over to Donna.
"Hello?" she asked. There was a long pause, and suddenly she started smiling. "You're serious?" The smile grew wider. "Really! Oh, thank God!" Another pause, "I'll tell you when I get back. I'll see you next week, then?" She paused again and I wondered what they were talking about. "Okay, I'll meet you there. Bye!"
Donna replaced the receiver and practically started bouncing around the room. I looked at her questioningly.
"That was Maria. She's just had a phone call to say that James is taking a job in DC, starting in January!" She jumped up and down, and I started grinning at her enthusiasm.
"And you're going to join him?" I asked, wondering if this was all too good to be true.
She nodded.
A thought struck me. "So, you'll be needing a place to stay," I said.
She nodded again. "Yeah…" She looked at me, questioning.
I brought her towards me, embraced her, and kissed her passionately, leaving no confusion as to my intentions.
I broke away from her for a second to say "I know this great place…"
"Really?" she asked playfully.
"Don't leave me," I blurted out. I couldn't stop myself this time.
She wound her arms around my neck and pulled me closer. "I won't."
"I mean it." I think my desperation might have been showing on my face.
She pulled away from me, her hands trailing down to my arms.
"Josh," she said emphatically. "I will *never* leave you."
I pulled her back towards me and kissed her forehead. "Thank you," I said.
Later, after a long talk, we went to bed together. We explored each other's bodies in a way that we had not done in the drunkenness of Illinois. It was a slow, passionate union; not the frantic and rapid coupling I could recall.
Afterwards I held her close to me and watched her for a while as she slept peacefully in my arms. Thoughts and memories plagued my mind, and it was difficult to push them out.
It took me a long time to get to sleep.
When I did, I dreamed of the future - our future.
I woke up late the next morning and she was still in my arms. She was awake and watching me.
"You stayed," I said, relieved.
"I promised I would," she replied. "Although I'm really hungry. Any chance you've got any food in your kitchen?" she asked with a smile.
"Probably not," I admitted.
"When I live here I'm going to make sure that there's always food in," she commented. She paused. "Healthy food."
I made a face, then grinned and kissed her. "I'm looking forward to it."
"You're looking forward to the healthy food?" she asked. "Cause I'm going to make you eat vegetables."
"I'm looking forward to you moving in," I clarified. "The vegetables? Not so much."
"Right," she said. She smiled and I kissed her again.
"Donna?" I asked after a few minutes of kissing.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you," I said.
"What for?" she asked, confused.
"Everything."
END OF PART ELEVEN