Title: "As Time Goes By" Disclaimer, Summary, etc. -  As in Part 1

Part 7 of 8

**

"Josh, you know exactly what," Donna responded, glaring at him.  "Did you really think I would want to be reminded about this?  I've only just gotten rid of the damn thing and I'm still pissed at you for taking the photo in the first place."

"Donna, I don't see what's wrong with it.  I had to include it," he replied.  Donna gave him a questioning look.  "It's funny," he stated, causing Donna to glare at him again.

"Oh yeah, it's hilarious, Josh," she said dryly.  "A photo of me with a black eye, it's riotous."

"Well, I just wanted to show that even after I gave you a black eye, you still love me and put up with me," he said, his voice becoming quieter as he spoke.  Donna raised her eyebrows.

"Both of those things can change very quickly you know," she replied, her tone laced with dry wit.

"Are you still mad at me for giving you the black eye?" he asked quietly, his head dipped a little.

"Josh," she replied gently, "I was never mad at you.  It was an accident, it's just that…the teasing has only just died down, I don't want it starting up again."

He looked at her intently.  "They weren't really teasing you, you know.  They were just getting at me through you."

"I know, but you already felt guilty and they made you feel ten times worse, which upset me."

"Yeah, anyway, you don't need to worry about the teasing starting up again, unless you show anyone the scrap book," Josh replied quietly, giving Donna an inquisitive look.

She smiled at him and clutched the book near to her chest, in a protective manner.  "I'm not sharing it with anyone except you," she replied honestly.  She reached over and traced his left jawline with her right hand as she spoke, holding his gaze.  "Of course, with the black eye thing, I probably didn't help either, considering I had CJ virtually accuse you of assaulting me," she said laughingly.

*Flashback*

Josh and Donna had finished work early and returned to Josh's apartment around 5pm on a Sunday evening, two weeks after Donna's sister had visited.  They ate a quick dinner and settled down on the couch to watch TV; both wanted to relax and forget about work for a while.  Donna was sitting at one end of the couch, next to the end table where the phone sat, with Josh sitting next to her on her left.  Both had their feet propped up on the coffee table and it wasn't long before they drifted off to sleep.

Josh was rudely awakened by the sound of a ringing phone.  Still half-asleep, he twisted his body slightly so that he was reaching out with his right hand to grab the phone.  His hand was balled up into a small fist, since he was half reaching for the phone and half stretching himself awake.  Unfortunately, in his sleepy state, he misjudged the distance between himself and the phone and ended up catching Donna's left cheek with his right hand.

"OW!"  Donna let out a yelp and Josh instantly became more alert.  He looked at Donna and realized what he had done, immediately feeling guilty.

"Oh my, God, Donna, I am so sorry.  Are you okay?"  Josh moved so that he was sitting on the coffee table facing Donna, who had now moved her legs onto the floor.  She looked up at him, her left hand covering her cheek, and slowly nodded her head.

"Yes, I think so."  She turned her head to look at the phone, which was still ringing; Josh finally took the hint and answered it.

"Josh Lyman," he said gruffly into the phone.  "Oh, hi, mom.  Listen, can I call you back?  Now's not really a good time…huh?  Yeah, I'm okay, it's just…uh, well, I just punched Donna in the face…of course it was an accident mom!"  Josh looked at Donna, silently questioning whether she was okay.  She nodded her head, but still had her hand pressed against her cheek.  "Mom, look, I have to go…I need to make sure Donna's okay…yeah, I'll call you later and explain…yeah, bye."

Josh hung up the phone and looked at Donna intently.  He stretched out his right hand to touch her cheek, but Donna batted it away with her free hand.

"God, Donna, I'm so sorry.  You know it was an accident, right?" he asked, panic in his tone; he wasn't used to Donna being so quiet and he was terrified that he had really hurt her.  She looked up and gave him a half-smile.

"I know it was an accident, Josh.  Believe me, if I ever thought that you had even considered hitting me, even if only for a brief second, we would be finished," she replied seriously.  Josh still looked panicked and she reached out her right hand, grasping his left.  "I'm okay, Josh, but could you get me an ice pack or something so I can prevent any swelling?"

He nodded and stood up, letting go of her hand.  "Um, wait, I don't think I have an ice pack anymore."  Donna looked at him quizzically.  "The one I have is in the office, I keep it there since I'm there for more hours than I am here," he explained.

"Well, just get me a pack of frozen vegetables, or something from the freezer then," Donna suggested, beginning to get a little exasperated as her cheek began to hurt more.

"I don't think…" he trailed off as Donna raised an eyebrow at him.  "Oh, wait, you did the last grocery shop, didn't you?"  Donna nodded.  "Right, well, I guess I'll have some frozen veg then.  Hang on a sec."  He darted off to the kitchen and Donna heard him rummaging around in the freezer.  A few moments later, he returned with a pack of frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel.

"Thanks," Donna said, taking the makeshift ice pack out of his hands and holding it against her cheek.  Josh sat down on the coffee table again and gave her another apologetic look.

"Does it hurt?" he asked quietly.

"A little," she replied honestly, lifting the ice pack off her cheek for a moment before she got a 'freeze burn'.  Josh leaned forward and placed a feather-touch kiss on the injured cheek, quickly pulling back and looking into Donna's eyes.  She smiled at him briefly and placed the ice pack onto her cheek again.

"Do you think it'll bruise?"

She shrugged her shoulders.  "I don't know.  It doesn't hurt that much, hopefully it'll be okay."  The guilty look was still on Josh's face and Donna smiled at him again.  "Hey, you'd better call your mom back.  She's gonna be wondering what the hell's going on."

Josh looked at her and let out a long sigh.  "Yeah…are you sure you're okay?"  Donna nodded and Josh carefully lifted the phone to call his mom and explain.

*

"Morning," Josh said as Donna stirred beside him.  "How are you feeling?"  His tone was gentle and full of concern.  Donna rolled over to look at him.

"It's okay.  My head is a little sore, but I'm alright," she replied a little sleepily.  Josh was staring at her, aghast, and she looked at him quizzically.  "What?"

"D…Donna, your face.  It's…you have a black eye," he stated quietly, guilt evident in his tone.  She stared at him for a moment before jumping out of bed, steadying herself against the edge as she became a little dizzy.  "Donna?  Are you okay?" Josh asked, getting out of bed himself and coming round to stand in front of her.

"Yeah, I just got up too fast.  I'm gonna go look in the mirror," she replied, slowly making her way towards the bathroom.  Josh followed her, worried that she was unsteady on her feet and his worry, and guilt, grew when he saw her look of shock and horror as she saw herself in the mirror.

"Oh, my, God, Josh," she said in a panicked tone, "I can't go to work like this."

Josh stood behind her, watching her in the mirror, and placed his hands on her shoulders.  "Donna, it'll be okay.  Can't you just cover it with make-up or something?" he suggested, trying to put a calming tone into his voice, hoping it would calm Donna down.

She looked at him via the mirror and shook her head.  "No, make-up won't work," she replied and he gave her an inquisitive look.  "If I tried to cover the bruise with make-up, it'd be so thick that the rest of my face would look really odd…and if I put make-up all over my face so it was even, I'd need to cake it on with a trowel."  There was a trace of humor in her voice, but Josh knew she was upset and he wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning forward so he was able to gently kiss her bruised cheek, keeping his eyes locked with hers via the mirror.

"I wish I could give you the day off, Donna, but there's a lot on today.  It'll be okay though; once you explain what happened, everyone will totally understand, they won't make fun of you."

She turned around so that she was facing him; his arms were still around her waist.  "It's not that I'm bothered about," she replied quietly.  He gave her a pointed look and she acquiesced.  "Okay, I am bothered about that, but only a little.  I'm more bothered about the fact that I can't be seen in public like this; what's it going to look like?"  There was worry in her voice and Josh could feel her tensing in his arms.

"Donna," he said gently, kissing her forehead briefly, "it will look like you've had some sort of accident.  Don't worry about it…so what if there's a bad photo of you…"  Donna looked at him sharply and he continued quickly, "Everyone has to have a bad photo at some point and I haven't seen a bad one of you yet; anyway, even if you had two black eyes, you'd still be beautiful."  Although Donna knew his words were totally cliched, she couldn't stop her heart from beating faster.  His tone was so gentle, and his eyes so warm and loving as he looked at her, that she blushed slightly and then gave him a soft, quick kiss.

"I need to take a shower, can you make breakfast?" she asked, turning back to face the mirror.

"Are you gonna be okay in the shower?" he replied, causing her to give him a strange look.  "I just mean, well, you had a little dizzy spell…"

"I'm fine, Josh.  Like I said, I just stood up too quickly."  Josh didn't look convinced and she thought for a moment before continuing, "Look, why don't you leave the bathroom door open slightly and I can shout if I need help?" she suggested.  He silently nodded his agreement and left the bathroom.

*

Josh had to go to a meeting as soon as they arrived in the West Wing, leaving Donna to catch up on some work at her desk.  She had kept her head dipped as they arrived and therefore no-one had yet noticed her black eye.  About twenty minutes before the Senior Staff meeting was due to start, CJ arrived at Donna's desk.

"Donna, is Josh around?  He's not in his office."

Donna didn't look up as she answered, "He's in a meeting, CJ.  He won't be finished for a while…he's just gonna go straight to Senior Staff."

"Oh, okay.  Hey, Donna, what are you doing for lunch?  I should be able to get away for a bit, do you wanna go out?"  When Donna didn't respond CJ tried again.  "Donna?  Are you okay?"  Donna finally looked up and CJ did a double-take.  "Oh, my, God, Donna.  What happened?"

"I got a black eye," Donna replied simply.  Her tone was quiet; she was embarrassed about the bruising and really didn't want to become the center of attention.

"Yeah, I can see that, but how?  I mean, did you run into something?" 

There was silence for a few moments as Donna considered her answer.  As much as she didn't want to talk about her eye, she decided that the mild pain and great embarrassment she was suffering from should be shared a little.  Since no-one else was around in the bullpen at that time, she turned away from CJ, built her composure and fixed a serious look on her face.  She then let out an audible sigh and kept her tone neutral while she replied, "Yeah, you could say I ran into something…something called Josh's fist."

CJ's jaw dropped open.  "Wh…what?"  CJ placed her hands on Donna's shoulders and turned her around.  "Oh, my, God, Donna, are you serious?"  CJ was stunned as Donna nodded her head somberly.

There was a look of total shock and horror on CJ's face and Donna had to concentrate really hard so that she didn't laugh; she kept her head low to avoid CJ's incredulous stare.

"You're seriously telling me that Josh did that to you?"  Donna nodded solemnly and CJ shook her head, closing her eyes and obviously trying to deal with her thoughts.   "Donna?"  CJ's tone was a mixture of a question and disbelief.  Donna kept her head dipped, mainly to stop herself from grinning, but also to make CJ think she was ashamed.  "Okay, I…I need to think about this," CJ said.  "Listen, I need to get ready for Staff, but I'll call you when I get back…you and I need to talk," she said seriously.  Donna raised her head a little and nodded.  CJ left and Donna could see her muttering to herself as she walked back to her office.

*

"Sorry I'm late," Josh said, breezing into Leo's office a few minutes after the Senior Staff meeting had started.  "My last meeting overran, I practically had to throw them out of the room to get them to leave."  CJ looked up at him sternly and Josh furrowed his brow at her, wondering what was wrong.  She remained silent and Leo continued the meeting.

*

"Okay, are we done?" Leo asked, trying to bring the meeting to a close.  Everyone nodded their heads and started to leave.  As soon as Josh and CJ stepped out of the office, CJ grabbed Josh's arm.

"We need to talk," she told him harshly.

He gave her a slightly shocked look.  "Um, okay, well, let's go to my office," he suggested, starting to walk.

CJ put a hand on his arm again to stop him.  "No, I want to talk to you away from your office, in private, right now."  She was looking at him seriously, as if trying to work something out in her head and Josh gave her a curious look.  Realizing that something was obviously bothering her, Josh agreed and looked back inside Leo's office.

"Leo?  You're going to meet with the President, right?"

"Yes, I'm going in now, why?"

"Well, can I borrow your office for a minute?" 

"What's wrong with your own office?  Or are you trying to take over my job?" Leo asked, smirking slightly.  Josh gave him a half-smile, letting Leo know there was a bit of a problem.  "Okay, feel free to use the office, but you'd better be gone when I get back, and no messing it up."

Josh pulled CJ into the office and closed the door behind her.  "What's up?"

"Josh, what the hell did you do to Donna?" she asked, anger in her voice; although CJ was finding it hard to comprehend that Josh might have gotten violent with Donna, there had been something in Donna's eyes and manner that worried her enough to know that she had to confront Josh in a direct way.  Josh got a frightened look on his face and felt himself tense up.  He wasn't really sure what CJ was referring to; Donna was okay when he'd left for his earlier meeting and he hadn't had time to talk to her before running to Staff, so he was now wondering if something had happened.

"What do you mean?" he asked slowly, trying to slow down his heart rate.  "She was fine this morning."

"She was fine this morning?  Are you serious? I mean, did you give her a black eye?"  There was no mistaking the angry, stern tone of her voice and Josh was shocked by it.

Relieved that Donna hadn't gotten ill while he was away at his earlier meeting, he replied hesitantly, "Yes.  It was an accident though."

"An accident?  You punched her in the face but it was an accident?" CJ asked incredulously, with a fierce whisper.

"CJ…look, what did Donna tell you?" he asked, wondering exactly what Donna had told her.  He was beginning to wonder if she had been trying to get a little revenge on him; however, something in CJ's manner told him that she wasn't in on whatever little joke Donna was trying to play.

"She told me you punched her in the face.  Is that correct?" she asked him pointedly.

"Yes," he admitted, "but it was an accident.  We fell asleep on the couch, the phone rang, and I reached for it, misjudged the distance and caught Donna's cheek with my hand.  Do you honestly think I would ever intentionally hurt her?"  He couldn't keep the hurt, and his disappointment that CJ thought he would do that, out of his tone.

CJ took a moment, noting the sincerity in Josh's tone.  "God, Josh, I'm so sorry," she replied, giving Josh an apologetic look.  "I guess she was just trying to have a little fun," she finished, sighing.

"Yeah, I guess she was.  I can't blame her really," Josh responded.  "I can't believe you would ever think that about me though, CJ," he said, the hurt still evident in his tone.

"I'm sorry.  It's just…when I saw the state of her face, I just panicked; I was worried about her.  I did have a long think about how to discuss this with you, I never really believed you would have hit her, it's just…"

"It's okay," Josh replied, looking at CJ seriously.  "I'm glad you were concerned about her.  However, to make up for practically accusing me of abuse, maybe you'd care to help me exact a little revenge on her?" he suggested, grinning a little.

"Don't you think you've caused Donna enough pain already, Josh?" CJ asked, with the corners of her mouth quirking up.

"Hey, what I did was an accident.  What Donna did to you, and by extension to me, that was just plain nasty," Josh defended playfully.

"So, what do you have in mind?" CJ asked lightly.

"Well…" Josh said, looking at her and flashing an evil grin.  "Listen to this idea and tell me what you think."

*

Donna looked up from her desk as she heard loud footsteps approaching.

"Ah, Josh," she said, stepping out from her cubicle and into the corridor, "there are some messages for you, and I should probably warn you that CJ maybe a little piss--" Donna stopped mid-sentence, finally noticing that someone other than Josh had just walked by.

"Not now, Donna," CJ said sternly, shocking Donna.

"CJ, I need to get my messages," Josh said, his tone showing forced neutrality.

CJ turned to him sharply.  "Joshua, get into your office, right now.  I want to talk to you."  Her tone was angry and she glared at him before turning back to Donna and speaking a little more gently.  "Donna, I need you to stay away from Josh at the moment, I have to talk to him.  I'll talk to you later."  CJ pushed Josh into his office and entered behind him, slamming the door shut.  Donna went back to her desk and sat down, stunned.

*

Donna knocked on Josh's closed office door ten minutes later, and entered without waiting for permission.

"Josh, Congressmen Miller is on the phone for you."  She found Josh sitting in his desk chair, head in his hands, with his elbows on his desk.  CJ was sitting in the visitor's chair, her back straight, and both looked tense.  They both looked up as Donna spoke.

"Donna, what are you doing in here?" CJ asked a little harshly.

"I…well, like I said, Congressman Miller's on the phone."

"Josh can't be disturbed right now, Donna," CJ replied, glaring at Josh, who put his head back in his hands and avoided Donna's inquisitive look.

"Yeah, but…it sounded kind of important," Donna responded.

Josh looked up again, quickly moving his gaze from Donna to CJ.  "CJ, I'd better take this, we can talk later."

"No, Joshua, this is more important," she replied sternly, glaring at him again.

"CJ, --" Josh started to speak again but CJ cut him off.

"Donna, tell the Congressman that Josh can't take his call right now.  Take a message and he'll call him back, later.  Then, hold any other calls, we don't want to be disturbed right now."

Donna looked to Josh for confirmation.  He nodded his head slowly but also gave her a pleading 'help me' look, indicating towards CJ with his eyes.

"CJ, what's all this about?  Is there a problem?" Donna asked hesitantly.

CJ looked at Donna incredulously, and her tone only emphasized her disbelief, "Are you kidding me?"  She shook her head and then said, "Never mind, I'll talk to you later," effectively dismissing Donna.

"Look," Donna continued, "is this about my eye?"  Josh placed his head in his hands again and CJ raised a hand to stop Donna talking.

"Donna, like I said, I'll talk to you later, right now I need to talk to Josh.  Hadn't you better give the Congressman a message?"  CJ's tone indicated that their conversation was over and Donna started to leave the office, casting one last look back at Josh, who still had his head in his hands.

*

Donna entered Josh's office again a few minutes later, closing the door behind her and leaning back against it.

"Donna, what is it now?" CJ asked, showing her irritation at another interruption.

Donna was worried and unsure of what to say.  She had sat at her desk for a few minutes, trying to decide whether she should intervene or not.  She wasn't sure if CJ and Josh were discussing her black eye or not, it could be something totally different that had arisen at Senior Staff; however, something in both their manners made her think that her first instinct was right.

"I…I just want to know what's going on.  Has Josh done something wrong?" she asked in a quiet, worried voice.

CJ gave her a surprised look.  "Donna, you know what Josh has done wrong, you have the evidence on your face."

Donna's mouth fell open.  "Oh, my, God, CJ!  It's not…you don't think Josh did this, do you?" she asked in a panicked voice, pointing a finger towards her black eye and stepping closer to CJ.

"Donna," CJ replied through a sigh, "you told me Josh gave you the black eye."

"No!  I…" Donna trailed off as she tried to remember what she had told CJ; she had never expected CJ to take it seriously.  "It was an accident, CJ."

"That's not what you told me, Donna," CJ replied, in a challenging voice.

"But I…I never told you he did it on purpose either," Donna defended.  She hadn't taken her eyes off CJ, trying to convince her to believe what she was saying.  She therefore didn't notice Josh dipping his head to hide his grin.

"You gave the impression that he did, Donna," CJ responded, holding Donna's incredulous stare.

"But…I never expected you to believe that he would do that.  I thought you'd ask him about it and he'd panic a little but explain things to you.  I didn't think you'd think he meant to do it…I thought you knew him too well to ever think that."  Donna's tone was a mixture of shock, guilt, fear and worry.

"Well," CJ said, looking intently at Donna, "you were right, that's exactly what I did do."  CJ let her words sink into Donna as she grinned at Josh.

A look of realization came over Donna's face and she looked accusingly at CJ.  "You set me up!"

"Yes, I did," CJ admitted, grinning widely.  "Or rather, I participated; it was Josh's idea."  Josh rolled his eyes; he'd known CJ would make sure Donna knew who was behind the plan. 

Donna turned her attention to Josh.  "You…you planned this?" she asked quietly, a little hurt evident in her tone.  Josh stood and moved from behind his desk, stopping just in front of her.

"I'm sorry," he said gently, feeling guilty that he had upset her.  "I couldn't help it though…you tricked CJ and made her think I might possibly have done this on purpose," he said, lightly tracing the bottom of the bruising on her face with the fingers of his right hand.

"I didn't…I didn't think…"  Donna didn't know how to finish the sentence and Josh stopped her from trying to say anymore by placing a light kiss on her forehead.

"It's okay, we're not mad at you," he said gently.  "Just, promise me one thing?"  Donna looked at him inquisitively.  "Next time you decide to use your college drama skills, make sure you're on my side, not working against me."  He grinned at her and Donna laughed.

"What about CJ, I assume I shouldn't work against her anymore either?"

Josh glanced behind him at CJ and then turned back to Donna, sporting an evil grin.  "Nah, that doesn't matter.  Just make sure that next time, it's you and I against CJ; I think I've just proved that I can act with the best of 'em."

"Hey!  I'm still in the room, you know," CJ said loudly, while trying to mask her laughter.

Josh snaked his right arm around Donna's waist and turned to face CJ.  "Yeah, well, you can leave anytime you want, you know.  I think I've thought of further suitable punishment for Donna, and I don't think you'll want to be in the room for that," he grinned.  CJ rolled her eyes and Donna swatted him gently on the arm.

"Just for that…I think I'll now go and drop some not so subtle hints about you giving Donna a black eye.  And remember, you are in the White House right now," CJ said pointedly, walking towards the door and opening it.  Josh just grinned at her and shrugged his shoulders.

Once they were alone, Donna looked at Josh intently.  "I am sorry, you know.  I never meant CJ to accuse you of anything, I was just having a little fun," she said in an apologetic tone.  Josh put his left arm around her waist, so that she was now standing completely in his arms.

"Fun at my expense," he replied, smirking a little.  "I still won in the end though."  Donna rolled her eyes.  "It's okay though, Donna, I handled it.  Let's just hope that the press believe the story of how you got your black eye."

A look of shock appeared on Donna's face.  "The press?  What do they have to do with anything?"

"Well, they're going to want to know how you got a black eye," Josh replied.

"Can't CJ just tell them it happened outside the White House and is therefore none of their business?" she suggested.

Josh shook his head.  "No, that probably won't be enough.  She's going to talk to Toby and Sam and work something out.  Don't worry about it though, it'll be fine."  He kissed her quickly and then released her from his arms, indicating that they had to get back to work.

*

By the end of the day, everyone in the West Wing, plus the press, knew about Donna's black eye and most of them were trying to find out how it had happened.  Only the Senior Staff knew and they weren't forthcoming with information.  However, CJ knew she would have to tell the press something at the evening briefing; not giving any information might lead them to think that it hadn't been an accident.

CJ arrived at Josh's office a little before 6pm and asked Donna to join her inside.  When Donna entered, CJ closed the office door behind her and took a seat in a visitor's chair; Donna remained standing.

"CJ?" Josh asked, unsure of what was going on.

She took a deep breath before starting to speak.  "I'm going to have to tell the press something tonight about Donna's black eye," she said seriously.

"So?  Do you think there's going to be a problem?" Josh asked quizzically.

"Well, I don't think they're going to buy the accident story," she replied.  Donna looked worried and Josh motioned for her to move nearer to him.  She stood beside him, looking at CJ, and Josh grabbed her right hand with his left, pulling her down to sit on his lap.  He sent CJ a look, warning her not to upset Donna.

"What do you suggest we tell them then, CJ?  Shouldn't we tell them the truth?" he asked, now rubbing his left hand up and down Donna's left arm to try and comfort her.

"Yes, we should, but…well, I'm just wondering if what you've told me is the truth," CJ replied, raising her eyebrows at both Josh and Donna.

"What do you mean?" Josh queried hesitantly, not sure what CJ was inferring.

"Well, are you sure this didn't happen in another way?  In a way that will give me a major headache if the press find out?  In other words, were you in bed when this happened, Josh?" she asked pointedly.  Twin looks of shock appeared on Josh and Donna's faces and she could see both of them trying to regain control of their voices.

"C…CJ!" Josh sputtered loudly.  "You know it was an accident."

CJ smiled at him.  "Yes, I know it was an accident, I'm just wondering if it actually happened in the way you told me."

"It did, CJ, I swear," Donna said while blushing furiously and trying to stand up; Josh pulled her back down and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

"Well, that's a pity; it would have given the Press Corps something to laugh about, and would make for a much more believable story," CJ grinned widely at both of them.

"This is your way of getting revenge on Donna, isn't it?" Josh said.

"Yes," CJ admitted.

"Did you have to drag me into it?" he asked.

"Yes, Josh, I did.  If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had to spend a number of hours trying to find a way to tell the Press Corps about this incident without having them either disbelieve me or laughing in my face.  Therefore, I think it only fair that I exact some revenge on you."

Josh pulled Donna closer to him and kissed her on the cheek.  "See what you've started?" he teased.

Donna turned to look at him.  "What I've started?  As CJ said, you started this by giving me the black eye in the first place."  Josh looked suitably guilty and Donna smirked at him before her attention was drawn back to CJ.

"You both know this is only the start of the teasing, don't you?" CJ asked, grinning at them.  They both let out sighs and nodded their heads.  Donna rose from Josh's lap and crossed to the door, turning back as she put her hand on the doorknob.

"Just as long as everyone remembers that this is Josh's fault," Donna commented, smirking at Josh before leaving the office.

*

CJ's prediction that the teasing was only just starting had turned out to be accurate.  The press were satisfied with CJ's explanation of how Donna got her black eye and all agreed that it wasn't newsworthy enough to report.  However, the West Wing personnel felt that they had been given a great opportunity to tease Josh and they weren't going to let him off easily.

"Morning Donna, how's the eye?" Sam asked casually, leaning on the doorframe to Donna's cubicle.  Donna looked up at him warily, fully expecting him to tease her some more; the previous day had been filled with teasing from everyone and she knew it would probably continue until the bruising on her face was gone.

"It's a little better thanks, Sam," she replied neutrally.  "Is there something you need?"

"Huh?  Oh, no, I was just passing," Sam replied lamely.  He had initially planned to tease Donna, but it wasn't as much fun if Josh wasn't there to hear it and he had noticed that Josh's office was currently empty.

"Sam, my man, what's up?" Josh asked loudly as he strolled down the corridor.

Sam turned around and looked at him, and then bent down to pick something up from the floor behind him.  "I, uh…I brought you both a gift," Sam said, holding his hands behind his back.  Josh had now arrived in front of him and glanced at Donna through her cubicle window.  She sent him a look that conveyed she had no idea what Sam was up to, but that she didn't think it was good.

Josh and Donna both looked at Sam curiously until he finally produced his 'gifts' from behind his back.

"These are for you," he said, handing Josh a pair of boxing gloves.  "And this is for you," he said to Donna, handing her a padded head-defender used in boxing.  "I thought you might find them useful," he stated playfully, grinning at them both.

Josh looked at Donna and saw her roll her eyes.  He let out a long sigh before finally speaking to Sam.  "Go away now," he ordered, "or I might just start practicing with these on you."  He brandished the boxing gloves in Sam's direction and Sam grinned again before turning on his heel and walking in the direction of CJ's office, intending to tell her how the prank had gone.

*

Late that evening, CJ arrived outside Josh's office, where Josh and Donna were sitting side-by-side on the floor, with copious amounts of paperwork spread out around them.  CJ saw them before she entered the office and she took a deep breath, then stepped inside, singing.

"Do you remember when we used to sing, Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da," CJ's voice grew louder as she entered the office and Josh and Donna looked up in surprise.

"What are you singing, CJ?" Josh asked, obviously confused; CJ wasn't normally so perky that late at night.

"Well, it's a corrupted version of a Van Morrison number," she replied.  Josh and Donna both furrowed their brows, trying to think of the song, but CJ opted to tell them.  "The song is 'Brown Eyed Girl', but I've changed it to 'Black Eyed Girl' just for Donna," she said, grinning at them both.

"Funny, CJ!" Josh retorted, mock-glaring at her.  He felt Donna stiffen slightly beside him and he used his left arm to gently ease the building tension in her body by rubbing up and down her back for a few moments, until he felt her relax again.  CJ was oblivious to this, still grinning at her joke and singing some more corrupted lyrics.  "Do you actually need anything, or did you just come in here to bug us?" he asked directly.

"I was just checking to see who's still around before I go home, I always feel better if someone else is here later than me," CJ explained.

"Goodnight CJ," Josh said in a slightly dismissive tone.  CJ took the hint and grinned at them both again before leaving, closing the office door behind her.

*

"Wow, Donna, did your bruising get worse?" Sam asked the next morning.  Donna gave him a slightly hurt look; she had hoped no-one would comment on that fact.

"Yes, I think it's coming to it's peak now," she responded quietly.  They were standing in Josh's office; Donna was dropping off some files and Sam had arrived to talk to Josh about some details for a meeting.

Josh returned to his office before Sam could say any more.  "Sorry I'm late Sam, I got caught up with Leo," Josh said as he entered his office, still engrossed with the memo in his hand, and sat down in his desk chair, brushing past Donna on the way.

"That's okay, Donna and I were just chatting."

"Anything interesting?" Josh asked, not noticing the look Donna was giving him to tell him not to ask.

"Well," Sam responded, "I was actually just about to tell her that it's a pity she's not dating a doctor 'cos he would have known how to heal her black eye."  Josh looked up sharply at Sam's words and he saw Donna stiffen.  She was in the middle of sorting out files on his desk and he grabbed one of her hands, squeezing it tightly.  After a moment, she finally met his gaze and gave him a half-smile.  Sam, unaware of the bad memories he'd just brought back for Donna, sat down in the visitor's chair, ready to start his pre-meeting meeting with Josh.

Donna let go of Josh's hand and left the office without looking back, although she was completely aware that Josh's eyes were following her all the way.  She pulled the door shut behind her, still keeping her eyes towards the bullpen so that Josh couldn't see her face.

"Sam!  What the hell were you thinking?" Josh asked angrily.

Sam was confused.  "What do you mean?"

Josh glared at him.  "You brought up Freeride in front of Donna," he said sternly.

"What?  No, I didn't," Sam defended.  Josh raised his eyebrows and Sam thought over what he had said.  "Oh, God, Josh, I'm sorry.  I didn't think."

"Well that was obvious.  Sam, I think you and CJ need to lay off teasing Donna, alright?  It's gone too far; she doesn't deserve any of this.  It was my fault and she's suffered enough."

Sam's face showed that he understood what Josh was meaning, and he looked, and felt, guilty.  "Okay, I take your point.  But you know you're still fair game, right?" he asked teasingly.

Josh sighed.  "Yeah, I know," he said resignedly.

*

The teasing of Donna did subside and a few days later Sam appeared in Josh's office.  He wanted to discuss a speech he was writing, so he could use Josh's opinion in his argument with Toby.

"Donna's eye looks as though it's finally beginning to heal," Sam said, taking a seat in the visitor's chair.

"Yeah, but it'll probably still take another week or so before the bruising is gone completely," Josh replied gloomily.

Sam had left the office door open and neither of them knew that Donna was still outside.  She had retrieved some files from Josh's office just prior to Sam's arrival and was trying to sort them out, since she knew they would fall out of her arms if she tried to walk to her desk with them in their current state.  She had heard the exchange between Sam and Josh and had noticed the sullen tone in Josh's voice when he had replied.

While Donna was sorting out the files, Toby was walking along the corridor.  He had noticed the slight change in Donna's demeanor, and walked towards her to find out what was wrong.  Just as he arrived he heard Sam's voice coming from Josh's office.

"Just remember, Josh, make sure Donna always sits on your right hand side from now on.  That way, if you hit her again it will at least be her other eye; you don't want to hit the same one again 'cos I'd imagine that it would hurt even more the second time around."  Sam's tone of voice showed he thought he was being funny, but Josh's only response was to let out a long sigh.

Out in the corridor, Donna's whole body stiffened as she heard Sam's words; she was becoming tired of the constant teasing Josh was suffering over her black eye, she really just wanted the whole incident to be forgotten now.  She was unaware of Toby standing behind her and only noticed him when she finally turned around to walk to her desk.  Toby took some of the files from her arms and followed her into the empty cubicle.

"Thanks," Donna said quietly as Toby placed the files on her desk.

"Donna, are you okay?" he asked seriously.

Donna was a little taken aback at his concern.  "Yes, I'm fine," she replied unconvincingly.

"Sam was only teasing Josh, you know.  He didn't mean anything by it."

Donna looked up sharply.  "I know, but…it's just, Josh feels guilty enough without Sam and CJ making their constant little jibes at him."

"Donna, Josh can handle himself," Toby replied slightly gruffly.

"No, see, he usually can but with this…he gets upset, Toby.  He tries to hide it, but I know him…"  Donna trailed off.  Her emotions were bubbling to the surface and she didn't want that happening in front of Toby, she also didn't think Josh would appreciate her telling Toby that he was upset.

"Donna, he'll be fine," Toby responded, nodding at her and leaving her cubicle.  Donna gave him a half-smile, but there was no joy behind it.  She didn't believe that Josh would be fine, but there was nothing she could do about it; Josh would never forgive her if she intervened and asked Sam and CJ to leave him alone.

*

"Toby, you wanted to see me?" CJ said as she entered Toby's office.

He looked up at her.  "Yes, hang on," he replied, and then looked out towards the Communications bullpen.  "SAM!" he bellowed.  A few moments later a flustered Sam appeared in the doorway, casting an inquisitive, and slightly fearful, look from CJ to Toby.  "Come in and close the door," Toby instructed.

Sam closed the door and he and CJ remained standing, slightly unsure about Toby's manner; he seemed even less happy than usual. 

"You have jobs to do, stop teasing Josh about Donna."

"We can do both," Sam replied, shrugging, "Josh can handle it."

"Yeah, what he said; multi-tasking is like second nature for us," CJ added while grinning at Sam.  "And anyway, Josh deserves it."

"Josh may deserve it, but Donna doesn't," Toby muttered under his breath.  His words and his tone had the desired effect.  Both CJ and Sam had heard him and let his words sink in, although it was CJ who had deciphered his meaning.

"Our teasing Josh is having an effect on Donna?"  It was a question that came out more as a statement.  The past few days had flashed through CJ's mind and she mentally kicked herself for not picking up on the change in Donna's mood every time someone teased Josh, and how Josh would always find a way to be by her side in an instant to soothe and reassure her.

Sam, however, was still trying to figure out why teasing Josh would affect Donna, especially since he had known Donna to play a prank or two on Josh over the years.

Noticing the confused look on his face, Toby started with a sigh, "Sam, you know as well as I do that Josh can handle most things, except when someone close to him--"

"--Gets hurt," Sam finished, realization dawning on him.  "And the fact that he was actually responsible for Donna's injury is bound to be making this more difficult for him," Sam stated, more to himself.

"He's never said anything, Toby," CJ said, trying to defend herself and Sam.

"No, and he probably won't either," Toby replied simply, lifting a memo from his desk.  After a moment, realizing that they both were suitably chastened for their recent behavior, Toby added in a tone not meant to be contradicted, "The teasing stops now.  Agreed?"  He gave them both pointed looks and they nodded somberly.

*

The teasing did stop, much to Josh and Donna's relief.  They didn't know that Toby had intervened, they just assumed that CJ and Sam had either got bored or had run out of ideas.  There were still a few light-hearted comments from some of the other staffers, but nothing severe enough to upset either of them.

*End of Flashback*

"At least the bruising has finally gone," Josh commented, looking intently at Donna.

"Yeah, although I think you'd better let me answer the phone any time it rings from now on, I don't want it happening again," Donna replied laughingly.  Although she didn't want anyone else teasing Josh about giving her a black eye, she was more than happy to do it herself, since she knew just how far she could take it without making him feel guilty again.

"Funny, Donnatella."

Donna grinned at him and looked back at the scrapbook.  She turned to the next page, looked at the photo it contained and gave Josh a quizzical look.

"Why is there a photo of you and Sam in here, Josh?"

"Well, I thought I should include it…as a reminder of our first major fight," he replied, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

"Our only major fight, I hope," Donna said quietly.  "Anyway, are you sure we want to be reminded about that?"

"It only happened last week, Donna, it's not as if we've really forgotten it yet."

"Yeah, I guess."  Donna cast her mind back to that night.

**

TBC