Title: "As Time Goes By"
Disclaimer, Summary, etc. - As in Part 1
Part 4 of 8
**
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean, Joshua?" Donna asked, giving him a mock-glare.
"Oh come on, I'm sure you remember it as well as I do, it was after all a highly memorable occasion," he replied, still grinning.
"Are you sure about that?" she teased.
"Well, if you want to refresh your memory, turn to the next page," Josh said, indicating the book. Donna did as he suggested and was completely surprised by what she saw. It was a photo of her, lying under the covers in Josh's bed, but with her bare shoulders showing.
"When did you take this?" she asked, the surprise still evident.
"When do you think?" he replied, looking at her pointedly and smiling. "I used your digital camera since I knew you always kept it in your bag. You put the camera download software on my PC, so I downloaded it before you woke up and then erased it from the camera."
She raised her eyebrows at him sternly. "You used my camera, without my permission, to take a photo like this?" she asked, pointing at the photograph on the page. He looked a little taken aback at her tone.
"I just…I wanted to 'capture the moment' as they say. You're not offended are you? I really didn't mean to upset you, I just thought you looked so beautiful and so right there, that I had to photograph it." He was looking at her pensively, afraid that he had really upset her.
"I'm not upset," she replied, looking into his eyes, "I just wish I'd known you were taking it; I'd have put on a more seductive pose." She was grinning at him now and he grinned back at her.
"Damn, I wish I'd known. I'll remember for the future though," he said with his tone low and full of promise.
"So, it was a highly memorable occasion, huh?" she asked, trying to tease him again.
"What, you coming over here and throwing yourself at me? It was highly memorable and highly entertaining." He was smirking smugly at her and she swatted his arm.
"Hey! That's not quite how I remember it, Joshua."
*Flashback*
Josh headed for his bedroom as soon as he returned home after dropping Donna off at her apartment. He was in a very good mood; their first date had gone well and he thought things were really going to work out between them. He had been so scared of messing things up that it had taken him a long time to finally admit his feelings, or at least part of his feelings, he still wasn't ready for any vocal declarations of love.
He got changed and climbed into bed, wearing the PJ top that Donna had worn a couple of nights before. Although he switched off the light and actually tried to sleep, he wasn't successful. He tossed and turned for about an hour, but all he kept thinking about was the fact that, two nights previously, Donna had been lying beside him. He could still smell her scent on his PJ top and, although it comforted him, it definitely was not as good as having the real person there.
Just as he was giving up all hope of sleeping, his phone rang.
"Josh Lyman."
"Hi, it's me."
Josh smiled to himself as he heard Donna's voice on the other end of the line. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?" he asked, although the smirk was evident in his voice.
"Yeah probably, but it's a little difficult seeing as I'm standing just outside your apartment door," she replied quietly.
"WHAT?" He jumped out of bed and started to make his way towards the door, still holding the phone. "How did you get here?" he asked into the phone.
"I took a cab," she replied and Josh's heart calmed down a little – he was terrified she'd driven over as her ankle wasn't healed enough for her to do that yet. He reached the door to his apartment, quickly unlocking it and pulling it open to reveal Donna, dressed in sweats and a coat, standing in front of him. She stepped inside and Josh shut the door behind her, locking it securely.
"Why didn't you use your key instead of standing out there and calling me?" he asked while helping her to remove her coat and hanging up his phone.
"I didn't want to walk in here unannounced in the middle of the night. Besides, I figured you'd have the deadbolt on, so the key wouldn't be much help," she replied.
He realized she was right and pulled her into his arms. "You can come here unannounced any time, I hope you know that," he said seriously, looking into her eyes. She smiled warmly at him and then kissed him gently.
"I know." She stepped back from him slightly, but her arms were still around his neck, with his around her waist.
"So, what can I do for you Miss Moss?" he asked in a teasing voice. He thought he knew why she was there, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions.
She looked up into his eyes. "I missed you," she said quietly.
"Yeah?" There was excitement in his tone. "I missed you too," he replied just as quietly. "Actually, I couldn't sleep," he admitted. "It didn't feel right, being in bed but not having you beside me. I had the same problem last night." His tone was gentle and Donna knew he was serious.
"I couldn't sleep either, for much the same reason; that's why I'm here," she confessed.
Josh's dimples appeared as he smiled at her. "So, you wanna come sleep in my bed then?" he asked with laughter in his voice.
"Well, actually, I wasn't really planning on sleeping…" She didn't finish the sentence, just gave him a seductive smile.
Josh felt as though his heart was jumping into his throat. "You're sure?" he asked, hoping she wouldn't change her mind but wanting to give her the option. She nodded her head and dropped her hands from around his neck, using her right one to grab onto Josh's left hand. She then pulled him towards his bedroom.
The night was as special as both had imagined it would be; there was no rush, no false declarations of love, but they both felt totally secure about the new form of their relationship. They finally fell asleep, wrapped in each other's arms, about two hours before they had to get up for work.
*End of Flashback*
"Well, the way I remember it, Donnatella, you were the first one to mention not sleeping that night," Josh grinned.
She rolled her eyes at him. "I could have just meant that I wasn't tired and just wanted to read or something," she replied hopefully, though not expecting him to buy it for even a second.
"Yeah, uh huh, well you believe what you want to believe and I'll know the truth," he said, laughing at her.
She joined in his laughter but rolled her eyes as well. "Okay, I'm gonna move on to the next page now and get away from your fantasies," she quipped, starting to turn the page.
Donna was more than a little surprised to find even more photos of her on the next page; none of which she knew had been taken. Some were of her sitting at her desk, working late at night, and one was of her lying sleeping on Josh's couch, probably after they'd eaten a late dinner.
"So, you do this stealing my camera thing a lot then?" she asked, trying to give him a stern look.
"Yeah," he admitted, shrugging his shoulders, "I can't help it, you're like a magnet…the camera, and me, are attracted to you." Donna smiled, her heart beginning to beat faster. She would never have believed that Josh could be so sweet. Even though she'd known him a long time, and had been dating him for six months, he still managed to find ways to surprise her, show another long-hidden part of his personality.
Donna's face took on a dreamy, wistful look.
"What are you thinking about?" Josh asked.
She looked at him and smiled. "I was just thinking how sweet you are." Josh rolled his eyes, trying to look appalled at her suggestion. "Oh come on, Josh, you are incredibly sweet and romantic."
Josh again tried to look disgusted. "Don't let that get around, Donna, although I doubt anyone would believe you," he replied.
"I think your secret was out as soon as everyone found out you were behind the roses," she smirked.
*Flashback*
The morning after 'the night before' Josh and Donna arrived at work looking blissfully happy. No-one yet knew that they were a couple and they had no intention of revealing it just yet, wanting to keep things low-key, especially at work. Josh entered his office and Donna sat down at her desk, both throwing themselves into work to try and wipe the stupid grins off their faces before people started asking awkward questions.
They both managed to throw everyone off the possible scent for most of the day; Wednesdays were always busy so it was fairly easy, but that afternoon Donna found it extremely difficult to hide her feelings. She was working steadily, head bowed over her desk, when a young intern came up to her.
"Excuse me, Miss Moss?" Donna looked up. "Um, this was delivered for you and I was asked to bring it to you," said the intern, handing Donna a single red rose and then rushing away. The other personnel in Donna's cubicle looked at her quizzically, waiting for an explanation. They were all so busy watching the myriad of expressions crossing her face that no-one noticed Josh standing quietly in his office doorway, watching the scene unfolding in front of him.
"Who's it from, Donna?" asked Zach, grinning at her.
Donna shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, there's no card." Her colleagues didn't seem to be buying her story. "I guess I must have a mystery admirer," she quipped. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Josh looking at her and she sent him a silent, questioning signal. He gave her a quick half-smile before retreating back into his office. Donna felt tears welling up in her eyes; she half-wanted to yell at Josh for doing something that would bring a lot of questions from their colleagues, but at the same time she was deeply touched that he'd arranged for the gesture to be made.
"Any ideas as to who it might be?" Zach asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Huh? Oh, no, not really," she replied, trying to keep her face and tone neutral.
"Well, I guess we'll all have to start playing detective," Zach responded, causing Donna to think that keeping her and Josh a secret was now going to be harder than ever. She sent up a silent 'thank you' as she was saved from any more questioning by the ringing of her phone. It was someone wanting to make an appointment to see Josh and her colleagues realized she was busy and let her return to her work.
*
Little more was said about the rose, at least within Donna's earshot, until the following Wednesday when the same thing happened again. Donna sighed inwardly; she had told Josh that, although she'd loved his gesture, it was going to make things more difficult to keep quiet. He had just grinned at her and then kissed her, making her forget her complaint. The second rose came complete with a card, which made her colleagues even more curious.
"So, who's it from, Donna?" It was Zach doing the asking again, although it was evident that he was just voicing everyone else's thoughts.
She read the card to herself and smiled. "It just says 'All Will Be Revealed Soon'," she replied. This earned her a few stares, but everyone realized she was not going to be forthcoming with any further information so they let the matter drop. The following week, the same thing happened again, but by that time everyone was aware of the change in Josh and Donna's relationship and knew exactly whom the rose was from.
Every Wednesday since they had been dating, Donna received a single red rose, no matter where she was in the country, or where Josh was. She had once laughingly accused him of just setting up a deal with the florist so that he didn't have to actually do anything, it would always be delivered, but she realized there was more involved than that when the rose was still delivered while they were on a business trip to Seattle.
*End of Flashback*
Donna turned the page of the scrapbook and looked at the next photo there.
"I remember this, it's from Thanksgiving," she commented. Josh nodded his head.
"Yeah, our first holiday as a couple," he replied.
"There was another first at that time as well," she remembered.
*Flashback*
"Donna?" It was the day after Donna had received the first red rose from Josh. They were in his apartment; Donna sitting at one end of the couch with her feet on the coffee table and Josh lying along the rest of the couch with his head in Donna's lap.
"Yes, Josh?" she replied, looking down at him and smiling.
"I, uh…well, next week is Thanksgiving, right?" he said in a tone that clearly showed he was building up to something.
"Yes, it's a week today in actual fact."
"What were you planning to do for it?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
Donna stilled her hand, which had been running through Josh's hair, and looked at him intently. "I was going to my parents since we were all told that we can actually take a few days off in a row this year. Why?" She noticed that Josh's face fell as she answered and she narrowed her eyes slightly, showing that she was confused.
"Well, I was just wondering, and you are obviously under no obligation to agree or anything but, well, I was wondering if I could spend Thanksgiving with you," he said in a mixture of a question and a statement.
Donna smiled at him warmly. "I'd love to spend it with you Josh, but aren't you going to Florida to see your mom? I mean, won't she be upset that you're ditching her to come to Madison with me?" she asked gently, wanting him to be sure he knew what he was doing.
Josh sat up on the couch and turned to face her. "That wasn't exactly what I meant," he replied and she looked at him with intrigue. "I totally understand if you don't want to do this, but, would you like to come to Florida with me? Spend Thanksgiving with my mom? I know you haven't seen your family in a while so--"
Before he could continue, Donna kissed him. "Yes, I'd love to come with you," she replied, causing him to give her a dimpled smile.
"You're sure? Your family won't mind?" he asked seriously.
"I think they're probably expecting me to cancel anyway," she laughed. "In fact, I know they are; when I told them I was gonna be there, my mom said 'I'll believe it when I see it, I imagine that your boss will find some way to mess up your plans again', so I think she'll understand."
"So, you're just gonna blame me again, huh?" he asked, trying to look hurt but giving into a grin.
"Yeah, but when I tell her that I'm not working and where I'm going, and why, I think she'll be happy enough with my decision," she replied seriously.
"Good." He was grinning at her again and put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her towards him and planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.
"What about your mom though?" Donna asked suddenly. Josh's brow creased in confusion. "Hadn't you better ask her if it's okay for me to come with you?" she explained.
Josh got a guilty look on his face. "I already did," he admitted sheepishly. "She's delighted I want to bring you, especially since it's as my girlfriend," he said, starting to blush slightly.
"What?" Donna asked in amusement. "Why are you blushing?"
Josh's face became even redder. "Well, I ended up having to have a discussion with her about where you and I would sleep." Donna giggled and Josh glared at her. "It's not funny! I said we'd stay in a hotel and she told me to grow up and that she was more than happy for us to sleep in the same bed in her apartment." Josh looked like a little boy as he spoke.
"Well, as long as she's alright with it, quit complaining. Although, you do realise that all we will be doing under your mother's roof is sleeping?" she asked teasingly, causing Josh to give her a look that said 'funny!'
"Yeah, I know," he replied quietly.
A look of worry suddenly appeared on Donna's face. "Josh, we can't go away together for Thanksgiving," she stated. Josh was shocked by her statement, having no idea what she was alluding to. "If I go to your mom's with you, it's going to be questioned by the press. We haven't told anyone about us yet. How can we go away in a week's time? Won't CJ and Toby need more time to be able to spin it?" She sounded really worried and Josh pulled her close again, trying to calm her down.
"It'll be fine," he said. "We can tell everyone at work tomorrow, well, the Senior Staff anyway, and then let it filter through. CJ can drop hints to the press if need be, but not confirm anything just yet. I kinda had a plan for revealing us to the press and public anyway," he admitted.
Donna gave him a questioning look. "Yeah? What's your plan?" she asked, her intrigue evident.
"Well, it's the President's birthday in a few weeks. I know the First Lady is throwing a party for him, so I thought we could go along as a couple…if you want to, that is. CJ could tell the press now that we're dating, but ask them to hold off on the stories until the party; that way they'll get the photos to go with the story." He gave her a 'what do you think?' look and she smiled at him.
"I think that's a good plan. That way, we can still spend Thanksgiving together on our own, just enjoying each other, and it will give us an extra couple of weeks before we have to start worrying about what the press will write." She sounded a little downcast as she finished speaking and Josh raised her chin with his index finger.
"Don't worry about the press, it'll be fine, I promise. Let's just concentrate on the fact that we're going away for Thanksgiving. We'll leave on Wednesday night and won't return until late Sunday night; that's four whole days, and nights, away from D.C." he said somewhat excitedly.
Donna grinned at him. "Yeah, let's just concentrate on that."
*
"Okay, is that everything?" Leo asked, trying to wrap up the Friday morning Senior Staff meeting.
"Um, I kind of have a thing," Josh said quietly, causing everyone to turn and look at him.
"Okay, is it something you want to share?" CJ asked. "Actually, let me rephrase that, is it something we will want you to share?" she grinned.
"I think you'll be happy when you hear it, or at least I hope you will," he replied, again very quietly, his nervousness showing.
"Josh, we don't have all day, what is it?" Leo asked in a gruff voice.
"Well, uh, I'm going to Florida for Thanksgiving," he stated.
"Yes, we know that, Josh. You get to take a few days off and go to the Sunshine State, there's no need to rub it in to those of us who have to stay behind," CJ said, trying to sound annoyed; she was having to stay in D.C. over Thanksgiving to 'hold the fort' and deal with any potential press problems while Toby and Sam went to visit their respective families.
"Well, uh, the thing is, I'm taking Donna with me." He was still speaking quietly and at first wondered if they had heard him. The sight of jaws dropping open told him that they had. He looked down at his shoes, preparing for the verbal bashing that was sure to come. He inwardly kicked himself for believing Sam when he said everyone would be fine about him dating Donna.
"And in what capacity are you taking Donna with you, Josh? As your assistant?" Leo asked sternly. Since Josh was still looking at his shoes he didn't notice the twinkle in Leo's eyes, or CJ and Sam trying to hide their grins.
"Um, no, " Josh replied in a small voice, "I'm taking her as my girlfriend." He was still studying his shoes.
"Okay, well if that's all, you can all go back to work," Leo said, effectively dismissing them. Josh's head snapped up and he saw Sam and CJ grinning widely at him, Leo looking at paperwork, trying to hide his smile and Toby just sitting there, but not actually scowling.
"So you're…you're okay with this?" Josh asked them all, finding it hard to understand their reactions.
"Of course we are, Josh. Didn't Sam tell you we would be?" CJ replied.
Josh glanced at Sam and smiled. "Yeah, yeah he did."
"You just didn't believe me," Sam said, trying to sound annoyed and giving him a mock-glare.
"If I didn't believe you, would I have taken the risk so soon after we talked?" he shot back.
"What do you mean? When did all this happen?" Sam asked.
"Well, we went out to the bar on the Wednesday, right?" Sam thought for a second and then nodded his head in agreement. "Well, she kinda became my girlfriend on the Friday, " Josh admitted, smiling as he thought again about that night.
Leo interrupted before Sam could respond. "Much as I'd love to say I want to hear about this…I'd be lying. Get back to work, all of you," he said, waving his arms in a shooing motion towards the door. They all filed out and Josh started to head towards his own office.
Sam trotted up behind him. "I can't believe you kept this from me, " he said, sounding hurt.
Josh stopped walking and turned to face him. "What do you mean?"
"Well, by my math, it sounds as though you and Donna got together two weeks ago, yet this is the first I'm hearing of it. Why is that?" Josh let out a long sigh, started walking again and motioned for Sam to follow him.
Once they had entered Josh's office and safely closed the door, Josh replied, "I'm sorry, Sam. I just…we wanted to keep it quiet for a bit, let ourselves get used to it before we had everyone scrutinizing our every move and taking bets on whether it will work or not," he said honestly.
Sam smiled. "I guess I can understand that. So, I take it things are going well?"
Josh's face split into a grin. "That, my friend, is the understatement of the year!"
*
By the following Monday the White House grapevine had been very active and CJ started receiving questions about Josh and Donna at one of her briefings on the Tuesday. She gave her standard 'The White House doesn't comment on the personal lives of its staffers' answer, but then asked to see Katie afterwards. She struck a deal with Katie; in return for the Press Corps not saying anything about Josh & Donna just yet, all the White House Press Corps would be allowed to cover the event of the President's birthday party, which they were not supposed to be invited to – the President had been more than happy to oblige to this request when CJ told him about Josh & Donna. Katie passed this on to the rest of the Press Corps and they all agreed to the terms.
*
With the assurance that the press had been held at bay for the time being, Josh and Donna were very relaxed as they made the plane trip to Florida on the Wednesday night. Both were looking forward to time away from the office, seeing Josh's mom and just being Josh and Donna, rather than White House staffers.
Josh's mom was delighted to see them both looking so happy and she relished doing her obligatory 'motherly duty' of showing Donna the embarrassing photos from Josh's childhood. Josh, of course, complained about this, but then informed Donna that he would make sure her mom let him see the photos of her as soon as he could. They all stayed up late on the Wednesday night catching up, with Josh happily filling his mom in on the first date he and Donna had shared. It was nearly 2am when Donna pointed out that they all needed to go to bed, since they'd have to be up early the next morning to start cooking the meal. Josh's mom told them that she would indeed be getting up early, but she expected both of them to sleep in; she wanted them to rest and relax while they were there.
*
Donna ignored the warning about not getting up early and was awake by 8am. She left Josh sleeping and padded through to the kitchen, finding his mom already there adding the finishing touches to the turkey before putting it in the oven to cook.
"I thought I told you not to get up early," she said, giving Donna a pointed look.
"I know, but I want to help. It's the least I can do considering you're letting me join you for Thanksgiving," Donna replied quietly.
"Donna, you are very welcome here, and not just at Thanksgiving. I give thanks every day for you being in my son's life, I'm glad to see him so happy. If he makes you half as happy as I know you make him, I think you are one lucky woman."
Donna blushed. "He does. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"No, honestly, I have everything under control. Why don't you go back to bed?"
"It's okay, I'm not really that tired. I'm used to only getting a few hours sleep and find it hard adjusting to more than that."
"Well, I'm sure Josh won't mind if you're not tired; I'm sure he can think of other ways to occupy your time."
Donna's face turned bright red. "Okay, I really don't want to be having this conversation…but, feel free to mention it when Josh is around, I'd love to see his face." Both women grinned wickedly and laughed. Donna then did as suggested and went back to bed.
*
"Hey," Josh said as soon as Donna re-entered their bedroom, "where were you?"
"I went to see if your mom needed a hand," she replied, climbing back into bed and willingly crawling into Josh's open arms.
"Does she?" he asked, kissing her forehead lightly and pulling her closer to him.
"No, she said she's okay. She told me to come back to bed; she thought you might be missing me," she replied in a teasing voice.
"She was right," he admitted huskily, giving her a lingering kiss.
*
The three of them ate Thanksgiving Dinner together, with Josh filling his mom in on some of the developments at work, as he usually did, and Donna translating his political babble into something which actually made sense. When they had finished eating they started to clear the table.
"Why don't you and Donna go for a walk, Josh?" his mom suggested.
"No, it's okay, we're fine here, mom," Josh said, putting another load of dishes onto the counter so she could fill the dishwasher.
"You should get some fresh air, it's good for you," she replied.
"We're here to spend time with you, mom, not get fresh air." His mom gave him a look that he couldn't read and he was about to make another comment when Donna grabbed his arm and pulled him into the living room.
"Josh, can't you take a hint?" Donna said, glaring at him.
"What?" he responded, shrugging his shoulders and having no idea what she was talking about.
"Let's go for a walk," she stated rather than asked.
"Doooonnnna," he whined, "it's Thanksgiving, I wanna watch the game highlights," he replied, making his way towards the couch. Donna grabbed his arm again and stopped him.
"Josh, your mom is tired and wants to rest, let's go out, " she explained.
He just looked at her like she was crazy. "So? If she's tired she'll go and lie down, what's the big deal?"
"She doesn't want you to know how tired she is, Josh; she's your mom, she's supposed to be strong. Let's go for a walk along the beach, let her have her apartment to herself for a while," she suggested.
"Donna, it's November. It'll be freezing on the beach."
"I'm sure I can find ways to heat you up," she said seductively, giving him a small smile, "but if you're not interested…"
Josh grinned. "Mom?" he called through to the kitchen. "Donna and I are going to the beach, we'll be back in a couple of hours."
"Okay, but make sure you wrap up warmly, it's chilly out there tonight," she called back. Josh said that they would and then grabbed his and Donna's coats from the hook on the way out of the door.
*
Josh and Donna walked along the beach for about half an hour and then noticed that the sun was beginning to go down.
"Why don't we sit and watch the sunset?" Josh suggested. Donna agreed and they sat down on the sand, with Donna sitting in between Josh's legs and leaning back against his chest. They sat in silence for a few minutes, reveling in the feel of each other's arms. The only other people on the beach were sitting a fair distance away so there was no-one to bother them, or possibly recognize them.
Once the sun had finally set, Donna started to stand up, but Josh pulled her back down. She turned around so that she was now kneeling in between his legs, looking at him intently. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her tight towards him. Her arms automatically went around his neck.
"I think I love you," Josh said very quietly, his warm breath caressing Donna's cheek.
She instantly smiled. "Okay, are you just quoting David Cassidy to me, or are you not sure?" she quipped in response, slightly grinning at him, but looking directly into his eyes, trying to read his thoughts.
"I…I don't know, Donna. I don't know what love is supposed to feel like, so I can't confirm anything but…I know I've never felt this way before and I'm pretty sure it's love," he replied honestly, looking back into her eyes and smiling warmly at her.
"Good, 'cos I didn't want to be the only one feeling this way," she stated. His face split into a dimpled-grin and he pulled her into a passionate kiss.
*End of Flashback*
"That was the first time we said the 'L' word," Josh commented, grinning at her.
"Yes, it was, but I'm glad we've said it many times since then," she replied and Josh gave her another long kiss.
"So, do you think the Thanksgiving weekend we had was worth it?" Josh asked. "I mean, considering all the grief you took from your mom about not going home again?"
"Yeah, after all, it wasn't really me she was mad at, it was you," Donna replied, a grin emerging on her face. "Besides, it was only for a couple of weeks, she calmed down when she saw the press coverage of the President's birthday party and how happy we looked together," Donna remembered.
*Flashback*
It was the day before the President's birthday, and the party. Josh and Donna had grown extremely nervous about 'going public', but had been trying to reassure each other, saying that nothing would affect them, no matter what was said.
They had spent the two weeks between Thanksgiving and now just being themselves. There were no great shows of emotion in the office, not that they were deliberately holding back, they just weren't the kind of people to go in for public displays of affection anyway. All the Senior Staff, assistants and senior aides knew that they were a couple and both of them had noticed people watching them more closely, but they had been determined not to change. Josh still placed a guiding hand on Donna's back when they were walking, still watched her until she was no longer in his line of vision and Donna still refused to bring him coffee. In the office they were Josh Lyman and Donna Moss, outside the office they were just 'Josh and Donna'.
Of course, there were the odd occasions when they became 'Josh and Donna' inside the White House. Late at night when no-one else was around, when they were working weekends and effectively on their own time, they would sometimes sit in Josh's office with the door closed and eat take-out. They would still be working, going over briefing notes, etc. but they would be sitting on the floor, side-by-side, with Donna's head resting on Josh's shoulder. No-one else knew about these moments though or, if they did, they certainly never mentioned them.
*
"Josh?" Donna's voice made Josh look up from the papers on his desk and smile. She closed his office door and moved to stand in front of his desk. "What time can I leave tomorrow night to go and get ready for the party?" she asked.
"Aren't we just gonna get changed here, like we usually do?" His reply came out as a mixture of a question and a statement.
Donna glared at him. "No, Josh. I need time to get myself organized. You do realize that there is a distinct possibility that our photo is going to be in practically every paper the following day, right?" She was still glaring at him.
"Yes, I realize that. You've gotten ready here before though," he stated.
"That may be true, but that was because I didn't have any option. This is different though, Josh, I want to look good," she replied, her voice becoming small.
Josh smiled warmly at her. "You always look good, Donnatella," he stated, his tone taking on a husky quality.
Donna rolled her eyes at him. "Don't try and use flattery to get you out of this one, Josh. I want to leave early." Her tone had become demanding and he realized he wasn't going to win the argument.
"Okay, how about this? Bring your stuff in tomorrow and we'll leave here early, go back to my place to change and then be back here in time for the party. Sound okay?" he suggested.
Donna shook her head. "No. I know you, Josh, if we go back to your apartment together it will end up that I still get very little time in which to get ready," she replied, a smirk on her face and a smile in her eyes. Josh had to concede her point, while silently cursing that she'd guessed his plan to take her home, lead her into the bedroom and show her that they could have their own little party before getting ready.
"Well, what do you suggest?"
"How about I go to my apartment, you go to yours, we get ready and you come pick me up in time to get back here? That way, it will feel like an actual date, which it should be."
"Yeah, that sounds good. Wait…I'm not gonna have to bring you a corsage or anything, am I?" he grinned.
She rolled her eyes again. "Why do I put up with you?" she asked, shaking her head.
"Because you love me," he stated simply, with only a small trace of humor in his tone. Instead of making a smart remark, Donna just shook her head again and started to leave his office.
"Hey, Donna?" Josh's voice stopped her, just as her hand was about to turn the doorknob. She let her hand drop and turned around to face him again.
"Yes?" She gave him a questioning look.
"Well, I was just wondering," he said, sounding a little unsure of himself, "since you want to make such an effort for tomorrow night, do you want to buy a new dress or anything? I mean, personally I think you'd look fantastic in just a brown paper bag, but…" Donna furrowed her brow, wondering what his point was. "Look, what I'm trying to say is, well, if you want a new dress, I'm more than happy to pay for it. Just charge it to me," he offered.
"Josh, I don't need you to buy clothes for me, although if you want to give me a raise…" she replied, smirking a little at him. "Seriously though, I appreciate the offer, but I already know what I'm going to wear."
"Yeah?" Josh raised his eyebrows. "Care to tell me what it is?" he asked hopefully.
Donna shook her head. "Not a chance. You'll see it when you come to pick me up, that's if you're on time," she gave him a pointed look before continuing, "if you're late, I'll already have my coat on, so you'll have to wait until we get to the party."
"Point taken." Josh placed a hand on his heart for emphasis. "I'll be on time, I promise." She grinned at him as she left the office.
*
Both Josh and Donna were summoned to CJ's office on the day of the party. They were sitting side-by-side on the couch, with CJ in one of the chairs.
"What can we do for you, CJ?" Josh asked, a little worried by the silence in the office.
"I just want to go over a few things for tonight's party, with the press being there and all," she replied.
"CJ, we know how to handle the press," Josh stated indignantly.
"Really? Do I need to remind you of what happened the last time you ignored my advice regarding the Press Corps? Do you want me to get the President to say the words 'secret plan to fight inflation'?" She was laughing at him, a grin on her face and Josh shot her a glare, then turned to glare at Donna who was chuckling beside him.
"Josh, CJ is just trying to help. Listen to what she's saying," Donna reprimanded. Josh nodded, but there was still an indignant look on his face. He had come up with the plan to reveal the fact that he and Donna were dating at the President's party, he didn't need to be coached.
"Okay, I just want to make sure you know how to act tonight, since you are going to be the focus of most of the press attention." Josh started to interrupt but CJ cut him off. "They are all going to be looking for a photo opportunity."
"So, let's give them one then," Donna suggested, interrupting CJ. "We give them a photo op, then they leave us alone." Her tone was a fairly questioning and unsure one and, as she saw CJ shake her head, she realized there was no way they'd get off that easily.
"No, Donna, I don't think you should do that. If they all have the same photo, it's going to look to the public like we set it up; that we let them take a photo that we approved of but were maybe hiding something else. I think you should just be yourselves tonight, do what you want to do," CJ replied. Donna looked to Josh for his opinion.
"CJ's right," Josh said, holding Donna's eyes with his own. "The Press Corps kept their side of the bargain, we now have to be open with them, let them print what they want to print." He turned to look at CJ. "Just let them know that they better not try to mess with me on this, CJ," he said seriously.
CJ nodded at him and smiled. He had been squeezing Donna's hand tightly as he spoke, and CJ knew that, as long as they acted as themselves at the party, the depth of feeling they had for each other would be conveyed. She doubted that any of the White House Press Corps would try to paint their relationship as sordid anyway, but one or two would probably be looking for something negative to write about.
*
Josh let himself into Donna's apartment at 7pm prompt. They were to be at the White House by 7:45, so that the President could make his entrance at 8.
"Hi, Josh."
Josh was startled by the voice coming from the couch. "Oh, hi, Nadine. Hope you don't mind me letting myself in, I didn't think you'd be in," he replied.
"Don't worry about it; I'm not supposed to be here, but my dumb boyfriend had to work," she explained.
"Is uh, Donna ready yet?" Josh asked, not really wanting to have a conversation with her roommate. He knew Donna and Nadine got on well and he did like her, but she was what he referred to as a 'techno geek', knowing far too much about computers for his liking. She had a job with a software company in D.C. as a programmer, which didn't pay very well, but she loved it.
"Not quite, she's just finishing doing her hair. I'll go tell her you're here." Nadine got up and crossed to Donna's bedroom and Josh took a seat in an armchair. Nadine returned a few moments later. "She'll be out in a minute, she didn't expect you to actually be on time," she told him with a grin. "Can I get you anything in the meantime?"
"Nah, I'm okay," he replied.
A few minutes later Donna's bedroom door opened and she emerged, walking to the middle of the living room and stopping.
"Well, what do you think?" she asked Josh, waving her hands around her to indicate her dress.
Josh stood up from the armchair as soon as he saw her, but he sat back down again, his knees feeling weak. Donna was wearing a stunning red dress; it was similar to the one he had once accused her of stealing, in that it clung to her and was a beautiful shade of red. However, this dress was more classy and elegant and Josh knew that if they weren't already going to be the center of attention at the party, they would have been anyway as soon as Donna arrived. Donna gave him a look that said 'what is wrong with you?' as he tried once again to stand up. This time he managed it successfully. Nadine was sitting on the couch, grinning at them both and trying not to laugh at the expression on Josh's face.
"Donna, you…I don't know what to say, you've…you've taken my breath away," he said honestly. She beamed at him. "By the way, I know it's not a corsage but, well, it's Wednesday," he said as he handed her a single red rose.
"Thanks, Josh," she replied, her breathing a little ragged, "I wondered what happened to it today." He shrugged his shoulders but smiled at her.
"You ready to go?" he asked, holding his arm out for her.
"Yeah. Nadine, can you put this in some water for me?" she asked, handing the rose to her roommate.
"Sure, I'll put it in a vase in your room," Nadine replied.
"You might as well put it in your room," Josh responded, "Donna won't be coming back here tonight."
Donna raised her eyebrows at him. "That's an awfully big assumption to make," she stated, looking at him seriously.
"Well I…uh…I'm sorry, I just…" he trailed off, not knowing how to dig himself out of the hole he'd just created.
Donna laughed at him. "It's okay. You're right, but don't just assume things in future, Josh." He looked suitably chastened and Donna grabbed her coat from the rack by the door. Josh immediately took it from her and held it out for her to put on. They bid farewell to Nadine and walked downstairs to Josh's car, holding hands all the way.
*
"Well, would you look at that?" CJ said to Sam and Toby as soon as she saw Josh and Donna enter the ballroom. "Don't they look really cute together?" she said, a mixture of amusement and jealousy in her tone.
"Cute?" Toby said, smirking. "Please never say that word in relation to Josh Lyman again," he ordered.
Josh and Donna walked over to join their friends. They were some of the last people to arrive, so their entrance had been well noted by everyone, especially the press. There was much amusement among the Press Corps when they saw Josh holding Donna's hand as they entered. He had quickly let it go when he saw people watching, only to then put his arm tightly around her waist.
"Hi, guys," Josh said as soon as he and Donna arrived beside them. "Did we miss anything yet?"
"Not unless you count Lord Marbury being somewhat sober," Sam replied.
Josh turned to him, a look of shock on his face. "Sober? Really?"
"Really. It didn't last for long though, he's back to his usual self now," Sam commented.
"So, are you ready for this then?" CJ asked, looking at Josh and Donna.
Josh took Donna's hand again and squeezed it tightly before replying, "Yes, we are." There was determination evident in his voice.
*
The President and First Lady arrived a little after 8pm, both looking very happy and contented. Numerous people greeted them as they walked towards the middle of the ballroom, but both of them were looking for Josh and Donna. They noticed them standing near the back of the room, talking quietly to one another. Abbey smiled and motioned in their direction with her eyes. Jed followed her gaze and grinned slightly, reaching for his wife's hand as soon as he saw Josh holding Donna's.
Abbey decided to make a speech in honor of her husband's birthday and the whole room became silent, waiting for her to start.
"I just want to thank you all for coming tonight," she said, "I know you all lead busy lives, so we really appreciate you making the effort to be here. I'm not going to go into a long speech, no doubt my darling husband will do that later on, but I just want to take this opportunity to wish him a happy birthday," she turned to smile at him and he looked directly into her eyes, "and I hope there will be many more to come. Now, let's get the dancing started," she finished off, giving the band the signal to start. They started to play a waltz and her husband immediately whisked Abbey onto the dance floor. They moved gracefully across the floor and were soon joined by many other couples.
Josh turned to Donna. "Shall we?" he asked, indicating the dance floor.
"Don't you want to wait for a little while?"
"No, let's allow the press to take their photos and then hopefully they'll leave us alone," he responded. "Besides, I want to be holding you in my arms as much as possible tonight," he admitted honestly. Donna smiled at him and took his proffered hand, allowing him to lead her onto the dance floor.
As soon as Josh and Donna started to dance, many of the people around them slowed down and watched. The non-White House invited guests had not known about Josh and Donna's new status as a couple and they were rather surprised to see them dancing so closely. Of course, they had danced at functions before, but had always kept a 'proper decorum', with distance between them. This time, Donna's arms were around Josh's neck and his arms were around her waist. They were whispering quietly to each other, oblivious of everyone watching them. As if to make a point, the President and First Lady danced their way very close to Josh and Donna, making everyone else start to dance properly again. The First Lady caught Josh's eye and smiled at him, causing him to pull Donna even closer.
Flashbulbs started to go off all around the dancefloor, causing Josh and Donna to remember where they were. They moved slightly apart, but kept looking into each other's eyes.
*
As the evening wore on and they realized that they were still the center of attention, both Josh and Donna began to get a little more nervous. They were both worried that the press were looking for something to use against them. They became so worried that they stopped holding hands and put some physical distance between themselves. The President and First Lady noticed the change in their body language and came over to see them.
"Are you having a good time?" the President asked.
"Uh, yes, Sir," Josh replied.
"Funny, it doesn't look as though you are," he responded, giving them both a pointed look. Abbey's face was one of concern as she looked at Donna, who dipped her head slightly.
"No, we are, Sir," Josh said, "we're just a little…" he waved his arms around the room.
"Overwhelmed?" the President guessed.
Josh seemed relieved. "Yeah, you could say that."
"Don't worry," the First Lady said, "you'll be fine. Just remember, no matter what gets said," she amended her statement when she saw the look of alarm on Donna's face, "although I really don't think you have anything to worry about, but, if anything nasty gets said, just remember, you have our support." She indicated herself and her husband before continuing, "What's more important though, is that you have each other. No-one can take that away, no matter what."
The President smiled warmly at his wife, a smile full of admiration and pride. He clapped a hand on Josh's shoulder. "She's right you know, and you know how I hate to admit that." He grinned at his own statement. "No-one can honestly say that you two being together has caused a problem for the Administration, or that you're not giving your work your full attention. You deserve happiness, son, enjoy it." He looked directly into Josh's eyes as he spoke.
"Thank you, Sir," Josh replied, his voice catching a little.
The First Lady placed a comforting hand on Donna's arm. "Everything will be okay, Donna, there's no need for you and Josh to suddenly act like you're not together. All that will do is make the press think you've had a fight, and that will cause bad publicity," Abbey said, looking down at Josh and Donna's hands, which were still separated. Josh got the hint and took Donna's hand in his own, bringing it to his lips and placing a kiss on the back of it. He lowered their hands again but kept them joined tightly, looking into her eyes and smiling at her.
"We can do this," he stated quietly.
Donna nodded and smiled at him before turning back to the First Lady and the President. "Thank you," she said seriously.
"You are very welcome, Donna," replied the President. "By the way, thank you for the wonderful birthday gift." Josh looked quizzically from the President to Donna. "Ah," the President continued, "I see my theory was right. Josh contributed in monetary terms, but you came up with the idea and bought the gift; am I correct, Donna?" he asked, his eyes dancing with amusement at the bemused look on Josh's face.
"Yes," Donna replied quietly. "Although, I have to admit, Josh doesn't actually know he's contributed anything yet; I was kinda hoping he just wouldn't notice when his credit card bill came in." She said the last part conspiratorially and the President grinned.
"Oops, sorry." He turned to look at Josh. "So, I guess this means if it had been left up to you I wouldn't have gotten a gift?" he asked, laughing as a deer-in-the-headlights look appeared on Josh's face.
"Uh, no, of course not. I mean…I knew Donna was going to get you something from us…I just thought I'd leave it up to her; if I'd interfered you'd probably have ended up with something you hated." His tone showed he was clutching at straws for an excuse and he mock-glared at Donna when he heard and felt her chuckling beside him. He smiled inwardly though when he realized that she'd given the President a gift from both of them, as a couple. "Um, by the way Sir, what did we get you?" he asked.
"Ah, I'm glad you asked that, Josh," he replied. "It's actually two gifts, two wonderful books. I think once I've read them I might have to share my new-found knowledge with all the Senior Staff." He grinned as Josh got a confused look on his face.
"Um, what are the books, Sir?" he asked, although he wasn't really sure if he wanted to know.
"Donna? Would you care to enlighten him?" the President requested, grinning again.
"Well, one is called 'The Big Book of American Trivia' and the other is called '5087 Trivia Questions and Answers'," Donna replied, unable to control her laughter as Josh realized what she had said.
"Donna! How could you? You know we'll get pop quizzes every day now, right?" he whined.
She grinned in response. "That's okay, Josh. I've read both books so, if you ask me very nicely, I might be willing to impart some of my knowledge to you." Both the President and the First Lady gave hearty laughs at the look on Josh's face. Satisfied that Josh and Donna would be okay, they moved off to talk to some more of their guests.
"I can't believe you did that, Donna! The rest of the staff are gonna blame me for this!" Josh said as soon as the President and First Lady were out of earshot.
Donna just laughed at him and pulled him by the arm out onto the dance floor. "I'll make it up to you later," she promised, using her best seductive voice. Josh tried to act as though her comment had no effect on him, but he couldn't stop the grin from forming on his face.
*
Josh and Donna prepared to leave the party at the end of the night, after many of the guests had already left. They were collecting their coats when Leo came over to see them.
"Are you glad that's over with then?" Leo asked them seriously. They both nodded.
"Yeah, now we just have to wait and see what gets written," Josh responded, with his arm wrapped around Donna's waist.
"About that," Leo said, "why don't you two come in late tomorrow? I'll get the papers sent to your apartment, Josh and you can both read them there." Josh and Donna both looked at him incredulously. "Oh, I'm sorry, I just presumed you would be there, Donna," he said, in an apologetic tone.
Josh gave him a half-grin. "She will be, Leo, it's just…well, we already talked about this and decided that we want to be here, in the White House, when we see the papers. We want to be with our friends, in case…well, you know."
Leo was nodding. "I can understand that. Okay, well, I'll see you both tomorrow. Try to get some sleep, I really don't think you'll have much to worry about."
*
Both Josh and Donna had difficulty sleeping; their minds and imaginations were active with what the press could possibly be writing about them. Although each knew the other was awake, they didn't speak to one another, not knowing what to say to stop the other from worrying. Josh pulled Donna closer to him and tried to settle down, listening to her breathing beside him, but it had little effect. By the time 5am rolled around and they got up, they were both bundles of nervous energy.
*
They walked into the West Wing in silence. They had not listened to NPR in the car, not wanting to possibly catch any news stories about them. Instead, they had both focussed on the road and talked about some of the meetings Josh was due to attend that day. Josh immediately went into his office, dropped his backpack and hung up his coat. He emerged moments later and stood silently in the doorway to Donna's cubicle while she hung up her coat and placed her bag under her desk. There were only a few people around and Josh suspected that no-one had yet seen the morning's papers; they were all giving them 'hope it goes well' looks.
Breaking their own rules, Josh grabbed Donna's left hand in his right and they walked down the corridor to CJ's office hand-in-hand. Carol told them to go right in and Josh knocked once, opened the door, waited for Donna to enter and closed the door behind them. They took a seat on the couch, still holding hands. CJ didn't look up from the newspapers she was reading.
"CJ?" Josh asked nervously. CJ glanced up at him but gave him an unreadable look. "Are you gonna tell us what they say?" he asked, pointing with his free hand towards the papers on her desk.
CJ's face finally split into a smile. "They're good, Josh," she replied. "All of them are really good."
Josh and Donna's eyes grew wide and Josh felt his hand being gripped even more tightly. "How good?" he asked with trepidation in his voice.
"Well, the worst basically says that it was proved last night that you can successfully mix business with pleasure, even with the crazy working hours that go with being in politics. The rest…" Josh and Donna both leaned forward, waiting for her to continue. "Well, the rest just have some really nice photos of the two of you and a paragraph or two about Josh Lyman and his assistant/girlfriend thoroughly enjoying themselves at the President's birthday party." CJ was smiling widely by the time she finished speaking, but her smile grew even wider as she saw the tension visibly drain from her two friends and colleagues.
Josh turned to look at Donna and smiled at her, which she immediately returned. He then dropped her hand and enveloped her in a huge hug, before gently kissing her forehead and breaking the hug. They gazed into each other's eyes and saw the relief and happiness they felt reflected back from the other, making them both feel even happier.
"Uh, guys?" CJ said. Josh and Donna both turned to look at her, but immediately linked hands again. "You do realize that this isn't gonna be the last of it, right? I mean, the story is out there now. Now you're gonna have the gutter press trailing after you for a couple of weeks and certain people trying to make waves and paint you as being oversexed, underworked and bringing disrepute to the Administration."
Josh grinned. "Okay, I can't really comment on the last two, but the oversexed part? Definitely not! Although, that is something I'm trying to persuade Donna to help me work on." The grin had turned into a smirk.
Donna let go of his hand and smacked him on the back of the head. "Behave yourself, Josh!" she admonished, although she dipped her head slightly to hide her blush. Josh rubbed the back of his head with one hand, re-took Donna's hand with the other and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.
"I'm sorry," he replied seriously. "It's just…we've been so worried about this, I'm relieved that everyone wrote good things about us."
"I know, Josh, but as CJ said, it's only just begun," Donna replied, the worry in her voice reflected in her eyes.
"Donna, don't worry," CJ said. "I know I probably made things sound really bad, but I had to; it's part of my job as Press Secretary to warn you of potential outcomes, so that you can prepare yourself for them. No-one really puts too much stock in what the gutter press says though, and as for what anyone else says, well, you have the White House Press Corps on your side, so they'll help shoot down anything else."
"Um, CJ?" Donna asked hesitantly. CJ smiled at her, prompting her to continue. "You said that there were some good photos of us in the papers?" CJ smiled again and passed some of the papers to them. Josh and Donna looked at them and smiled, Josh rubbing his thumb along the back of Donna's hand.
"Do you like them then?" CJ asked. They both smiled warmly.
"Yeah, I was wondering…uh…would it be possible to get copies of some of these?" Donna asked. "They're really nice," she said, gazing down at one photo in particular. Josh followed her line of vision and smiled when he saw what she was looking at. It was one of the two of them on the dance floor. The President and First Lady were dancing in the background but Josh and Donna were staring into each other's eyes, smiling and completely unaware of anyone else around them.
"Can I have a copy of them too?" Josh asked. CJ nodded and said she'd see what she could do.
*
CJ had been right in her warning to them; some of the gutter press did write some nasty stories about the two of them, insinuating 'occurrences' within the White House. These were of course then mentioned whenever possible by political enemies, in the most public arenas they could find. However, many members of the White House Press Corps 'stepped up to the plate' and defended Josh and Donna to the hilt, without any prompting from CJ. The stories died down as soon as the next political crisis occurred. Everyone became used to seeing them out in D.C. as a couple and the majority of people were genuinely happy for them. People remembered all too well how Josh's life had very nearly been cut short and they were glad that he was now making the most of it.
*End of Flashback*
"I still can't believe how worried I was about the possible press and public reactions," Donna admitted.
"Yeah, I was pretty worried too. However, all that is over now; all that's left is the photographic evidence of how good I looked that night." Josh grinned as he finished speaking, turning the page in the scrapbook to show her the photo he was referring to.
Donna mock-glared at him. "How good you looked?" she asked with a pointed look.
"Uh, how good we looked…together. Of course, you looked much better than me, as you always do." Josh quickly tried to dig himself out of the hole and Donna laughed at him, wanting to stop him before it became so that he was just opening his mouth to change feet.
"It's alright, Josh. I know what you mean." He gave her a smile of relief and watched as she turned the page again, a wistful smile appearing on her face when she saw what it contained.
**
TBC
