TITLE: "A Bar Too Far"

RATING: PG-13

DISCLAIMERS: I don't own 'em.

SPOILERS: Everything through 'Holy Night'

NOTES: Well, this is a kinda post-ep to Holy Night but it has Sam in it, so go figure. g It's set in early January 2003, before we knew how Jack Reese was gonna leave.

THANKS: A HUGE thank you to Sharon for acting as beta.

FEEDBACK: Sure, send it my way

Part 1/2

**

"You wanted to see me, Sir?" Josh said as he walked into the Oval Office and stopped in front of the President.

"Ah, Josh. Yes, have a seat," the President instructed, sitting down in a chair and watching Josh sit on a couch opposite.

"What do you need, Sir?"

"Do you guys ever hang out anymore?" the President asked, leaving Josh totally confused.

"Sir? What do you mean?"

"The Senior Staff," he clarified. "You all used to go out every so often, to bars and so on. I don't hear any of you talking about your nights out together anymore; I just wondered if you still do that."

Josh wondered what was behind the question but knew better than to probe too deeply, all would be revealed soon enough. "Uh, no, I guess we don't. We don't really have that much time."

"Well, you need to make time." The President looked at Josh closely before continuing. "Josh, I know you've all given up a great deal to work here, to help me do this, and I know none of you grudge it, but you need to make time for yourselves. I look at you all and see how stressed out you are; you, Toby, CJ, Charlie. You need to go out for a night, relax."

"Sir, we *really* don't have ti—"

"Nonsense, Josh. There's nothing particularly pressing going on at the moment, why don't you all go out tonight?"

"Sir, we –"

"Josh, consider it an order," the President stated.

"You can't really do that, you know, Sir," Josh said with amusement.

The President peered at him. "You want to test that theory out, Josh?"

"Uh, no. So, who does this order extend to, Sir?" Josh asked in defeat.

"As I said, Toby, CJ and Charlie. I believe Sam's in town as well for a few days to schmooze some people, in fact, I think he's in the West Wing at the moment, you should invite him as well; he needs a break from campaigning."

"Toby's gonna blame me for this, you know," Josh grumbled quietly.

The President let out a hearty laugh. "I want you all out of here by 7:30, understand?"

"Yes, Sir."

*

Josh spoke to Charlie as he left the Oval Office and made arrangements to go to Houlihan's that evening.

He next visited Toby and found that Sam and CJ were also in his office. Sam had dropped by on the pretense of a visit to catch up with everyone; he actually wanted Toby to read over a key speech for his campaign.

"Ah, just the people I want to see," Josh said as he leaned against the open doorway.

"What's happened?" CJ asked automatically.

"Nothing," Josh replied. "I just wanted to ask if you guys had plans for tonight."

Sam, CJ and Toby shared glances before Sam finally spoke. "What did you have in mind?"

"Us, Charlie and a bar."

"Why?" Toby asked a little gruffly.

"No, Toby, that's not the response you're supposed to give. You're supposed to say 'why, thank you, Josh, I'd love to join you'," he quipped.

"Again, why?" Toby repeated.

Josh let his shoulders slump a little. "President's orders. Apparently, he's noticed we don't hang out as much anymore, and has decided we all need to relax. Therefore, we are to go to a bar tonight and do just that. Charlie has a free night so he's coming too."

"I guess we don't have much of a choice then, do we?" CJ replied. "Is Donna coming?"

"Huh?" Josh queried.

"You know, Donna…your assistant. Is she coming?"

"Uh, I'm not sure, I was gonna ask her later."

"Well, if I were you, I'd ask her now. I think she might have plans for later."

Josh's head snapped up at her words and he looked directly at CJ. "What do you mean she might have plans? What plans? You know she and 'Sailor Boy' broke up, don't you?" he said in a rush.

CJ rolled her eyes. "Yes, Josh, I know she and *Jack* broke up, but I just heard Carol, Ginger and Bonnie making plans for later, a club or something. I think they were gonna ask Donna to join them."

"So, maybe I shouldn't ask her?" Josh wondered out loud, hoping his tone didn't show his disappointment.

"Why?" Sam asked, puzzled.

"You know, let her have her girls night out."

"Just ask her, Josh, give her the choice. It'd be good to have her come with us. I haven't had a chance to talk to Donna away from here for ages," CJ instructed.

"Yeah," he sighed. "It wouldn't be the same without her."

CJ and Sam shared a look at Josh's admission while Toby muttered that they should all be working. Josh gave them a half-smile and told them he'd catch up with them later; he then left the office.

*

"Hey, Donnatella," Josh said brightly as he approached Donna's desk.

Donna gave him a look that said 'what now?' before dropping her pen onto her desk and waiting for him to continue.

"Watcha doin'?" he asked, stopping in front of her desk and smiling at her.

"Why?" she asked warily.

"Just wondering if you want to go out for a drink tonight, that's all."

"Yeah?" she asked, her interest suddenly increasing.

"Yeah. Sam, CJ, Toby, Charlie and I are going out tonight. I thought you might wanna come with us? I mean, if you don't have plans already."

Donna's shoulders slumped a little as Josh mentioned the other names but she quickly recovered her composure and smiled.

"Sure. That sounds good. Where are we going?"

"Well," Josh said quietly as he leaned closer, "I seem to remember promising you just before Christmas that I'd take you out and get you drunk. I never fulfilled that promise, so how about we do that tonight?" His voice held a quality that made the hairs on the back of Donna's neck stand up, and she was completely aware that her breath was catching a little.

"Uh, yeah…I dunno about me getting drunk though, I do have to work tomorrow; but the bar sounds good."

"Tomorrow's Saturday," Josh replied, still leaning close to her. "We can come in late."

"Yeah. I'm still not gonna get drunk though," she said, looking at him and letting a smirk settle on her face. "Someone has to make sure you get home okay after you pass out from a couple of drinks."

"Hey!"

Donna laughed at Josh's facial expression and shrugged her shoulders to show she couldn't resist making the comment. Josh, with a smile on his face, relieved that she had agreed to come, turned around and started to leave her cubicle when she called him back.

"Josh?" He looked at her inquisitively. "This isn't because you think I'm upset about splitting up with Jack, is it?" she asked seriously. Josh stepped towards her desk again with an unreadable look on his face. "Because, if it is," she continued, "there's really no need. It's been a couple of weeks; it was never going to go anywhere anyway. I'm fine." The tone of her voice told Josh that she was being honest, she was okay about breaking up with Jack; he'd never asked who broke up with whom, but he suspected that Donna had been the one to end it. Josh hoped that, after a few drinks, Donna would confirm his theory.

"I know you're fine," he replied quietly. "I didn't invite you because I thought you needed cheering up; I invited you because I want you to come with us."

Before Donna could process his words, Josh walked to his office, entered and closed the door.

*

Wisely, they had all chosen to take cabs to the bar rather than have any of them drive. Sam, CJ and Toby shared one cab, while Charlie, Josh and Donna, took another. Sam's cab arrived first and he quickly spotted an empty table in a corner near the dance floor. CJ and Toby sat down while Sam tried to round up some more chairs. Unfortunately, he could only find another one to go with the four that had already been at the table. He shrugged his shoulders at CJ and sat down, figuring Josh and Charlie could fight over who got to stand.

Josh and Charlie entered the bar a few minutes later, talking loudly. They were followed by Donna, who was doing her best to distance herself from her companions. Sam stood up to catch their attention and beckon them over; Donna rolled her eyes as she met Sam's gaze, motioning with her head towards Josh and Charlie.

Josh and Charlie were so absorbed in their conversation that they didn't realize that, when they took the two empty seats at the table, it meant Donna had nowhere to sit down. Sam immediately stood up to offer Donna his seat but she didn't notice; she was too busy glaring at Josh, who was still talking to Charlie.

"Uh, Josh," CJ said loudly, so that Josh might actually notice her; he looked at her with confusion. "You just stole Donna's seat," she pointed out.

Josh looked around at everyone and saw Donna standing beside his chair, tapping her foot on the floor.

"What, this seat has Donna's name on it?" he smirked. He twisted in his seat to look at the back of the chair. "Nope, no 'Donnatella Moss' written here." CJ reached over and smacked the back of his head. "Ow!" He rubbed his head and glared at CJ before turning to look at Donna. "Why don't you go and get another chair, Donna?" he suggested.

"There aren't any," Sam stated. Josh quickly glanced around the bar, stretching his neck instead of standing up from his seat, and nodded his head in agreement.

"Well, I guess I should act like a gentlemen and offer my seat," Josh said in mock resignation.

"Why, Joshua," Donna retorted in a tone dripping with sarcasm, "how kind of you. I'm not putting you out or anything, am I?"

"Just sit down, Donna, before I change my mind," he warned with a grin. Donna removed her coat and draped it over the back of the chair, on top of Josh's own coat, before sitting down and placing her purse on the table. Josh stood beside the chair and fidgeted for a moment, hoping someone in the bar would recognize him and rush to his aid with a spare seat. When no-one appeared, he decided on another course of action. "Hey, Donna, why don't you go and get us all some drinks while I look for another chair?"

Donna raised her eyebrows. "Why do *I* have to go and get the drinks in?" Josh handed her his wallet. "Okay," she grinned, "what's everyone having?" She made a mental note of everybody's drink order and headed for the bar. Josh remained standing beside the now empty chair while his eyes scoured the bar for another seat.

"It's Friday night, Josh," CJ explained. "This place is always busy on a Friday. You have to get here really early if you want a seat."

"Yeah," he replied absently, his attention having now been caught by the sight of Donna chatting to a guy standing next to her at the bar. He snapped out of his thoughts as he saw Donna placing the order with the barman and he sat back down in his seat.

"What were you guys arguing about anyway?" CJ asked Charlie and Josh.

"We weren't arguing," Josh replied. "We were having a discussion."

CJ quirked an amused eyebrow. "Well, Donna didn't exactly seem interested in your *discussion* and it was certainly *loud*. What were you discussing?"

"Well, I was explaining to our young friend, Charlie, that I have a new project."

"Yeah, what's that?" Sam asked with obvious interest.

"He wants to have a new word entered in the dictionary; a word that he's created," Charlie explained. Toby became interested in the conversation and looked at Charlie for further enlightenment, while Sam and CJ shared amused glances. "Josh reckons if he gets enough people to say the new word, it'll have to be put in the dictionary."

"What's the word?"

Josh grinned at CJ before he replied. "Lymanesque."

Sam and CJ burst out laughing and even Toby couldn't resist a wry smile at the serious, yet smug expression on Josh's face.

"What? It's a good word," Josh defended.

"Yet, Charlie didn't agree?" CJ guessed.

"On the contrary," Josh replied haughtily, "Charlie thinks it's a great word. We were just trying to come up with the description for it, you know, how they'd explain it in the dictionary."

Donna returned at that moment with a tray of drinks and set it down on the table.

"Have you heard about the new word, Donna?" Sam asked with a large smirk.

Donna rolled her eyes. "I was trying to ignore it; I didn't think Josh's ego should get any larger, this bar is cramped enough already," she quipped dryly, passing out the drinks to everyone while she remained standing.

"I bet you could come up with a description for 'Lymanesque', Donna," CJ declared with a devious grin.

"Oh, you bet I can," she replied. "First though," she looked at Josh, "am I gonna get my seat back?"

"No, but we can share," he answered, shifting in the seat to give her a little space and tugging on her arm to make her sit down. The chair wasn't particularly large and the only way they could fit on it together was for Donna to angle herself slightly so that her right hip was pressed firmly against Josh's left and her legs were pointed out to the left, towards CJ. Josh was finding it difficult to stay on the chair so he stretched his left arm along the back of the seat and gripped it lightly.

"So, what's your suggestion for the meaning of 'Lymanesque' then, Donna?" CJ asked, noticing with delight that Josh was narrowing his eyes in preparation for Donna's response.

Donna thought for a moment and then turned her head to grin at Josh. "Lymanesque: to do things in an arrogant and cocky manner," she stated matter-of-factly. Sam, Toby, Charlie and CJ let out loud laughs.

"Hey!" Josh exclaimed, moving his head so that it was almost touching Donna's and ignoring the laughs from his friends. "I'm not like that all the time, you know," he whispered into her ear, the movement of his mouth, and his words, going unnoticed by everyone else.

Donna turned her head again so that this time her mouth was against Josh's ear. "I know, that's why I was going to add 'with an undercurrent of sweetness and charm.' I just didn't want to be seen to be boosting your ego in public," she whispered back to him. Josh's arm gently slipped from the back of the chair, down behind Donna's back, to settle on her waist. She instinctively pushed herself a little closer to him, without forcing him any further off the chair. Only CJ, sitting beside Donna, was aware that Josh's arm had moved and she smiled quietly to herself.

"What's this?" Sam asked a moment later as the laughter at Josh's expense died down; he picked up something from the tray that Donna had set on the table.

"Oh, it's a menu," Donna replied. "They do food here and although the place is busy, the barman said that food orders aren't taking long. I figured you would all be hungry so I grabbed some menus."

"Great idea," CJ said, snatching another menu from the tray. Toby and Charlie followed suit but Josh left the final one on the tray.

Donna looked at him. "Aren't you hungry?"

"I'm okay," Josh replied.

"Josh, you should eat something," Donna stated.

"I'm fine," he repeated.

"You're not. You've hardly eaten all day, and besides, you need to put a lining on your stomach to sop up that beer you're drinking or it will affect your system a lot faster than normal, and we both know that's not good," she insisted with a grin.

Josh glared at her but reached for the menu with his free hand. "What do you want?" he asked, struggling to open the menu with only one hand.

"I'm not hungry," Donna replied, taking the menu from him, opening it out and laying it on the table in front of them.

"Donna, you just gave me a whole speech about not eating properly, and yet, *you're* not going to eat anything?"

"I ate a big lunch while you were in a meeting, I'm fine." Josh looked dubious. "Really," she confirmed.

"So, if I order something, you swear you won't try to eat it?" he inquired with a smirk.

"Josh, just order some damn food, would you!" CJ requested loudly.

"Alright," he grumbled. "I'm just checking that I don't need to order two portions of everything in case my assistant decides to steal my food again."

As Donna narrowed her eyes and prepared to argue with Josh, the waitress arrived to take everyone's orders. Sam, Toby, Charlie and CJ each ordered soup and a sandwich with no problems but Josh was having difficulty choosing what sandwich filling he wanted.

"Get tuna," Donna suggested.

"That's your favorite," he replied. "You're planning on eating my sandwich, aren't you?" he accused.

"No, I'm not. Everyone is waiting on you so I thought I'd make the decision for you, you like tuna." She turned to the waitress. "He'll have the tomato soup and a tuna sandwich."

"Should I have asked for two spoons?" Josh quipped sarcastically as the waitress left; Donna shot him a glare and he shut up.

*

"See, I knew this would happen," Josh complained as they were eating their soup.

"What?" CJ questioned.

"Donna. She wants some of my soup," he said.

"Josh, I never said a word," Donna defended.

"You didn't have to. You keep dipping your head and breathing in the soup aroma, which means you're hogging the taste by the way; you're trying to make me offer you some," he whined.

"I am not!"

"Good, that's okay then," he grinned as he put another spoonful of soup into his mouth and savored it loudly. Donna glared at him as he took another mouthful and he finally relented. "Donna, would you like to try some of my soup, it's really good," he offered, holding his spoon out to her.

"K," she agreed, but making no move to take the spoon from his hand. He got the message and plunged the spoon into the bowl, bringing it back up full of soup and holding it towards Donna's mouth. She opened her mouth and he fed her the soup, his eyes watching her lips as they closed around the spoon for a second before releasing it so he could remove it from her mouth. CJ was watching Josh and Donna closely as she ate but she said nothing, just smiled to herself again and shared a look with Sam.

"I hope you're not wanting any of this sandwich," Josh said to Donna when the rest of their food arrived. "If you are, you're just going to have to want; this is all mine," he continued, pulling the plate close to him and wrapping his free arm around it protectively.

"Eat it yourself, see if I care," Donna replied, letting her manner match Josh's childish actions. He did just that and finished the first half of the sandwich in three large bites to prove a point. Once he had taken his first, smaller, bite out of the other half, he noticed CJ push her plate, containing the untouched second half of her sandwich, towards Donna. Donna shook her head gently but Josh knew she was tempted. CJ gave Donna an, 'are you sure?' look before taking the plate back and starting the rest of her sandwich.

"Here, have some of mine," Josh said quietly in Donna's ear as he held the sandwich out for her to take. She looked at him for a moment, then at his partly eaten sandwich and then back at him. "It's okay, you won't catch anything," he smirked. "Just leave me some, okay?" Donna nodded, took the sandwich from him and ate a piece.

CJ leaned over to Donna. "My sandwich not good enough, huh?" she asked with a smile.

Donna looked a little caught out for a moment before replying, "Josh has tuna. It's my favorite." CJ gave Donna a look that showed she didn't believe her, but she didn't comment further.

*

Soon after they finished eating, Charlie challenged Josh to a game of pool. Josh accepted the challenge in his usual modest manner - claiming he was going to kick Charlie's ass. Toby kept quiet, but smirked as he remembered previously falling victim to Charlie's pool prowess. Donna took advantage of Josh standing up by making herself comfortable in their chair. Noticing the near-empty glasses on the table, Josh gave Donna his wallet and instructed her to buy another round when she was ready. He and Charlie then headed for the pool table.

About twenty minutes later, Sam approached Josh at the pool table.

"Hey, Josh, who's winning?"

"Shut up," Josh replied morosely; Charlie was beating him hands down. Josh had been so full of himself about how good a pool player he was, he had stupidly agreed to Charlie's proposed wager – the next time the President decided to impart some lengthy knowledge to Charlie, he was going to tell the President it was something Josh was interested in. Josh would have no option but to comply and it would give Charlie a chance to escape, as the President didn't care who his audience was, so long as he had someone to torture.

"Oooookay," Sam said, smirking at Josh's glum face. Charlie moved down to the far end of the table to decide which shot he was going to take, giving Sam the opportunity to talk to Josh in private. "So, you having a good time tonight, Josh?"

"Yeah, it's been good."

"Hmmm."

Josh looked at Sam curiously. "What does 'hmmm' mean?"

"Nothing," Sam replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Sam."

"Okay, well, it's just…"

"Sam," Josh repeated with impatience.

"Yeah, right, I just don't—Okay, you shouldn't have a problem with this; you yourself have told me you don't have a problem with this—"

"Sam? What the hell?"

Sam stared at Josh for a moment before continuing, "Donna just told me that she's gonna be buying the drinks for the rest of the evening."

"Using my wallet, no doubt," Josh commented grumpily.

"Yeah, probably. But, that's not the reason. She wants to go to the bar a lot."

"What? Why?" Josh asked quickly, straining to catch a glimpse of Donna through the crowd, but not being able to see her.

"Umm…there's a guy at the bar who keeps talking to her; I think he's hitting on her." Josh's head snapped back to Sam. "She says he seems pretty nice, soooo…she wants to hang out at the bar a lot."

"It's not gonna happen," Josh stated forcefully, his eyes looking for Donna once again.

"Relax, Josh, she's at the table with Toby and CJ," Sam informed him; Josh's shoulders relaxed and he gave Sam his attention once more. "What's 'not gonna happen' by the way?"

"Why are you telling me this, Sam?" Josh asked, deflecting Sam's question.

"No reason. I just came over to see how badly you were getting beaten by Charlie and I thought I'd mention how glad Donna is that she came here tonight." Sam looked at Josh pointedly. "I didn't think you'd have a problem with that, after all, you don't get jealous, do you?"

"No, I don't," Josh replied unconvincingly.

"And, of course, you helped her get a first date with her last boyfriend."

"Right." Josh's head was dipped but Sam knew that he was tense; he could see the firm set of his jaw.

"Although, I did hear that you almost sabotaged her skiing trip with him at Christmas."

"That wasn't my fault," Josh defended.

"Right," Sam agreed. "But, you know, I did also hear that you were a little pissed when she managed to make the trip after all."

Josh raised his head to look at Sam. "She didn't say goodbye," he said sadly. "I didn't get a chance to wish her a happy Christmas."

"I know," Sam said, placing a hand on Josh's shoulder. "Even though you don't get jealous, were you happy when they broke up?" he asked quietly.

Josh gave Sam an unreadable look before gazing at his shoes, remaining silent. He finally lifted his head and looked behind Sam and through the thinning crowd to their table near the dance floor. A slightly alarmed look appeared on his face.

"Where are Toby and CJ?"

"Huh?" Sam queried, turning to follow Josh's gaze. He noted Donna sitting alone at their table and then spotted CJ and Toby on the dance floor. "Ha," Sam laughed, "I guess Toby gave in after all."

"Sam, go back to the table, now," Josh directed.

"What?" Sam turned around again and saw the guy from the bar approaching Donna. "Don't you wanna go over?" he asked Josh.

"No. I'm playing pool," Josh replied, noticing Charlie drumming his fingers against the pool table.

"Right, well, I guess I'll go back and join Donna then," Sam said, nodding at Charlie and heading back to the table. Josh watched him until he reached the table and the guy talking to Donna went back to his barstool.

*

Once the pool game was over, Josh and Charlie hung out by the table for a while, with Josh glancing over at their friends regularly. He finally started to walk towards them when Donna had excused herself to go to the bathroom. Without saying a word, Josh grabbed his wallet from the table and headed to the bar. Toby and CJ were getting the lowdown from Charlie on how badly he'd beaten Josh and neither noticed Sam watching Josh closely; Josh was now talking to the guy who'd been hitting on Donna. His body language allowed Sam to easily figure out what they were discussing and he grinned a little before noticing Donna returning from the bathroom.

"Hey, need a hand?" Sam asked as he approached Josh at the bar.

"No, I'm fine," Josh replied, glaring at the man standing next to him.

"Yeah, well I thought I'd better hurry you up; Donna's on her way back and she looks thirsty." At Sam's words, Josh grabbed the tray of drinks from the bar, cast another glare at the man he'd been talking to and stalked back to the table. Sam and Josh just beat Donna back and Josh immediately took the chair he and Donna had previously shared. Donna wasn't phased this time and just sat down beside him, nudging him out of the way a little with her elbow.

*

They all chatted amiably for a while, mixing work-related issues and Sam's campaigning strategies alongside talk about sports, family, and general interests. Donna noticed that no-one asked her what had happened between her and Jack; no-one had asked her since she'd told Josh that they'd split up.

When they ran out of drinks once more, Donna took Josh's wallet and headed for the bar before he could stop her. Sam and Josh had been in the middle of a conversation before Donna stood up, but Josh was no longer listening; he was concentrating solely on Donna, watching as she placed their drinks orders and turned to talk to the guy at the bar who had been hitting on her all evening. After a few seconds, Donna's back stiffened and she glanced back at Josh, anger in her eyes. She turned back to the man, said something to him and then snatched the tray of drinks from the barman, walking back to the table quickly.

Everyone at the table had their attention grabbed as Donna slammed the tray down, sloshing the drinks everywhere.

"You," she said to Josh angrily, staring down at him, "dancefloor, now!"

"Donna, I—"

"Can it, Josh! I want to talk to you, in private."

"Well, the dancefloor is hardly the place for that," he objected.

"On the contrary," she stated. "There are plenty of people there, it's crowded and noisy; it's *exactly* the place for our conversation. Move, now!" She grabbed his arm and dragged him forcefully to the dancefloor. CJ looked to Toby, wondering if she should intervene but he shook his head slightly, telling her to stay where she was and let them sort it out for themselves. Toby then looked to Sam and noticed his guilty look.

"What did you do?" Toby asked roughly.

"Nothing, I just…" Sam looked towards the dancefloor and saw Donna and Josh standing in a corner, staring at each other. "This wasn't meant to happen," Sam stated quietly, while he watched Donna put her hands on Josh's shoulders, trying to make it look like they were dancing; her posture, however, showed how tense she was and Josh was refusing to meet her eyes, his arms dangling by his sides.

**

End of Part 1… The next installment: Donna versus Josh – what has he done this time? Oh, you'll also get the explanation of the title, hopefully. g