Author: Jo-Anne Storm
Title: To Court a Lady
Rating: PG-13 for a few choice words
Disclaimer: The West Wing and all its characters are a property of Aaron Sorkin, John Wells Production, Warner Brothers Television and NBC. No copyright infringement is intended.
Spoilers: Up through Season 4.
Summery: After a blow-up, Josh gets permission to date Donna.
Notes: Will be at the end of this episode.
She found him completely by accident. Josh had sent her off to the Hill to hunt down a reluctant Congresswoman and he was there, right in her office, copying a memo for Shultz. He didn't look up as she passed by, and she didn't acknowledge his presence, shocking as it was.
"New intern?" she asked conversationally to Maria, Shultz's assistant.
Maria had snorted and sneered at the question. "A useless waste of flesh," she had derided. "All he does is question the congresswoman's decisions. She's about to pull her hair out because of him."
"Really?"
"Complete waste of space. It's surprising considering his SAT scores and grades from George Washington."
Donna nodded sympathetically and relayed a story about one of the interns that were always hanging around the West Wing. A good many of them were useful only for filing and copying.
"Bobbi," Maria confessed. "Is just about ready to do anything to get rid of this kid. He annoys her."
She quickly review the options presented before her and decided she liked her chances of achieving something with her next offer.
"5-19. She votes no on 5-19 and we'll take the kid."
Maria looked at her as if she had grown an extra head or two. "You're kidding? Why on earth would you want an annoying brat?"
Donna smiled mysteriously. "Will annoyed me yesterday."
Half an hour later it was a done deal. Donna strode back to the copy machine, where the young man was still standing, staring off into space as the machine hummed.
"Get your stuff," she told him in her most authoritative voice.
"Pardon?"
"Get your stuff, follow me."
He shot her a worried look but complied. She waited until he was back, bearing a bulging backpack and a confused and apprehensive expression. Without a word she strode out of the office and made her way across to the building she, and now he, worked in.
Silently she signed him in at the checkpoint and watched as he nervously donned the visitor's badge. She led him into the bowels of the building, to the Human Resources Department, and ordered him to sit.
A quiet conversation with Sarah Whitchel, Debbie's replacement, produced the results that Donna needed.
"Fill these out," she told him, handing him a stack of papers. "Give them to the girl at the desk when you're done. Tomorrow is Saturday. You will be at the Security Desk at 7 am. I will meet you there. If you are going to be there at 7:01, don't bother to show up. Saturdays are casual. That means clean jeans and a shirt. Tomorrow we'll talk about your new schedule."
"Ma'am?"
"Welcome to the life as an intern for Josh Lyman."
His eyes widened dramatically. "Ma'am?"
"Yes?"
"I think I misunderstood you. You said I was going to be the Chief of Staff's intern."
Donna finally relaxed her strict poker face. "Congratulations, Billy. You were put on his list."
She left him speechless as she went back to her own job.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Josh was a happy man. He had been dating Donna for five months now. In his pocket was the ring he had carefully selected with the President's covert help. Bartlet had created a bogus assignment so that Josh could have a day free to browse the stores that he normally wouldn't have the time to even glance at. He had made reservations at The Palm for that night. Yes, he had actually made the reservation himself.
"Donna!" he called as he strolled into his office at 8. "Donna!"
"She went to the mess," a voice said from his doorway. More importantly, a strange voice said from his doorway.
Josh regarded the young man in front of him. "I know you," he said, realizing that the boy was familiar.
"Billy Fernandez, sir. I'm your new intern."
"I had an old intern?"
"Not as such, no."
"Who are you?"
"Billy Fernandez. We met a couple of years ago through Presidential Classroom."
"Yeah, yeah. Fernandez. I put you on my list, didn't I?"
"Yes, sir."
"And you're my new intern?"
"Yes, sir."
"OK, Billy? It is Billy, right? Billy, your first act as my intern is to get me coffee."
"Um. No, sir. Miss Moss told me that under no uncertain terms am I supposed to, I think the phrase she used was 'act like your waiter.'"
"Then what are you supposed to do?"
"File, copy, and annoy you as often as possible," he confessed, taking on trust Donna's position that he would not get dismissed for telling the truth.
"Yeah, you're my new intern," Josh muttered wryly. "I don't suppose your job entails telling me what my schedule is, does it?"
"Staff in fifteen," Donna announced as she strode into the office. "Then you're in with the President all morning. Meetings include the NSA, a strategy session with RCA about downloading music, and the National Parks Committee." She handed him a pile of folders. "These are in the same order as the meetings, so don't mix them up or you'll embarrass yourself in front of very important people."
"I'm very important people," he said, smiling at her.
"Which is obviously why you scored that much-lauded 760 verbal. I'll brief you on your afternoon schedule after lunch."
"I still have tonight free, right?"
"Unless a national emergency occurs," she confirmed. "Be nice to Billy, this is his first day."
"Why?"
"Because he has never had to put up with you for long periods of time and therefore needs to be gently introduced to your idiosyncrasies."
"I don't have idiosyncrasies."
"Yes, you do," she said with a smile as she pulled Billy out of the office. He could hear her moving around and telling the newest member of the administration to deliver a memo.
He always kept the door between their offices open. He liked being able to look up and see her passing as she went from cabinet to cabinet. He liked the feel of her lurking outside the door, waiting for a meeting to end so that she could tell him some little fact she had found.
He heard her call something after Billy and couldn't help but smile. He wondered where she had found him, the young man he had put on his list and had jokingly refused to call on during that crash over two years ago. He had commented to her, after the kids had left and he walked her to her car, "He'll be worth watching."
And, apparently, he was. He could only be a sophomore, and yet was interning at the White House. He would, indeed, be worth watching as the years went by.
He turned his thoughts to other things as the Senior Staff started to trickle in.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Did you have a good day?" he asked hours later as they ate at the restaurant. He couldn't help but be grateful that the change in status included a significant pay raise. Without it, he would never have been able to afford such a night.
"Yes, I did. I don't know what Shultz was thinking, but Billy's a delight."
"Shultz?"
Donna quickly explained how she had traded Billy for a negative vote. Josh laughed at the story, as she knew he would.
"Well, after this is over you can always get a job as business manager for baseball team. You already got the trading idea down."
She mock groaned at him. "If I did you'd insist that I get you on the team."
"Do you ever think about what you'll be doing after?" he asked, his expression turning serious.
"I do," she confessed. "I think I'll finish my degree, although I'm still not sure what my major should be. I love politics, and I like making a difference, but I don't think I want to be a politician."
"You could do something like your friend's dotcom."
"I dunno," she shrugged. "Whenever I've thought about life after the White House, I've always imagined that I would remain your assistant."
"I could live with that," he smiled winningly in response. "God knows I'd never be able to function without you."
"What about you? What do you plan on doing four years from now?"
He flipped the ring box over and over in his hand under the table, completely overcome by nerves. He wanted his proposal to be perfect. Was now the right time?
"Well, I guess that will depend," he started, only to stop as he felt the small box slip from his grasp.
"Damn," he muttered as he looked under the table. The box was no where in sight.
"Josh?"
"Uh, sorry," he fibbed with a nervous laugh. "I dropped my napkin." Without further ado, he slid from his chair and crouched on the floor, searching for the elusive box.
He searched frantically beneath the table and his chair, cursing under his breath at the cruel jokes fate liked to play on him. Lucking out with his own table, he tried to casually look under the table closest to them, only to lose his balance and fall on his butt.
"Josh?"
"In a minute," he said, giving up on trying to be surreptitious. The older couple next to them looked at him warily as he crawled closer to their table.
"Josh?"
The whispery quality of her voice drug his attention away from his search. He turned to look at her, to explain his actions, only to fall on his bottom once again when he noticed the little box she was holding.
"I. Uh." he said from the floor, his 760 verbal failing him once again. "I had this whole speech written out. For the life of me, I can't remember what it was now. You should be kinda impressed that I didn't get Toby or Will to help me with it, though."
Donna opened the box and looked at the ring within. As soon as he had seen it, he had known that it had been designed for her. The silver band was etched with lilies, her favorite flower. The single round, one carat diamond was flanked by two quarter carat gems, giving it an understated elegance.
"Josh," Donna whispered once again, her eyes filling up with tears.
"I. What I'm doing four years from now will depend on you," he confessed. "Hopefully I'll be married to you, and that's all I'll need."
He levered himself off the floor and kneeled in front of the teary Donna. He could feel the smirks of the old couple behind him but chose to ignore them.
"Donna?" he whispered when she didn't say anything.
He found himself on his back this time as she launched herself out of her chair and into his arms, toppling them both to the floor. The couples around them, who had been watching the scene play out, chuckled lightly at the stunned but happy look on the newly engaged couple's faces.
Notes: You know, I had this whole romantic proposal written out for Josh and Donna. Then, I realized that this was Josh and Donna. What on Earth could happen to screw it up? One minute of Josh's nervous fiddling later, I had the idea of him dropping the box and having to crawl around to find it. And proposing while sprawled on the floor. Can't you see that?
Title: To Court a Lady
Rating: PG-13 for a few choice words
Disclaimer: The West Wing and all its characters are a property of Aaron Sorkin, John Wells Production, Warner Brothers Television and NBC. No copyright infringement is intended.
Spoilers: Up through Season 4.
Summery: After a blow-up, Josh gets permission to date Donna.
Notes: Will be at the end of this episode.
She found him completely by accident. Josh had sent her off to the Hill to hunt down a reluctant Congresswoman and he was there, right in her office, copying a memo for Shultz. He didn't look up as she passed by, and she didn't acknowledge his presence, shocking as it was.
"New intern?" she asked conversationally to Maria, Shultz's assistant.
Maria had snorted and sneered at the question. "A useless waste of flesh," she had derided. "All he does is question the congresswoman's decisions. She's about to pull her hair out because of him."
"Really?"
"Complete waste of space. It's surprising considering his SAT scores and grades from George Washington."
Donna nodded sympathetically and relayed a story about one of the interns that were always hanging around the West Wing. A good many of them were useful only for filing and copying.
"Bobbi," Maria confessed. "Is just about ready to do anything to get rid of this kid. He annoys her."
She quickly review the options presented before her and decided she liked her chances of achieving something with her next offer.
"5-19. She votes no on 5-19 and we'll take the kid."
Maria looked at her as if she had grown an extra head or two. "You're kidding? Why on earth would you want an annoying brat?"
Donna smiled mysteriously. "Will annoyed me yesterday."
Half an hour later it was a done deal. Donna strode back to the copy machine, where the young man was still standing, staring off into space as the machine hummed.
"Get your stuff," she told him in her most authoritative voice.
"Pardon?"
"Get your stuff, follow me."
He shot her a worried look but complied. She waited until he was back, bearing a bulging backpack and a confused and apprehensive expression. Without a word she strode out of the office and made her way across to the building she, and now he, worked in.
Silently she signed him in at the checkpoint and watched as he nervously donned the visitor's badge. She led him into the bowels of the building, to the Human Resources Department, and ordered him to sit.
A quiet conversation with Sarah Whitchel, Debbie's replacement, produced the results that Donna needed.
"Fill these out," she told him, handing him a stack of papers. "Give them to the girl at the desk when you're done. Tomorrow is Saturday. You will be at the Security Desk at 7 am. I will meet you there. If you are going to be there at 7:01, don't bother to show up. Saturdays are casual. That means clean jeans and a shirt. Tomorrow we'll talk about your new schedule."
"Ma'am?"
"Welcome to the life as an intern for Josh Lyman."
His eyes widened dramatically. "Ma'am?"
"Yes?"
"I think I misunderstood you. You said I was going to be the Chief of Staff's intern."
Donna finally relaxed her strict poker face. "Congratulations, Billy. You were put on his list."
She left him speechless as she went back to her own job.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Josh was a happy man. He had been dating Donna for five months now. In his pocket was the ring he had carefully selected with the President's covert help. Bartlet had created a bogus assignment so that Josh could have a day free to browse the stores that he normally wouldn't have the time to even glance at. He had made reservations at The Palm for that night. Yes, he had actually made the reservation himself.
"Donna!" he called as he strolled into his office at 8. "Donna!"
"She went to the mess," a voice said from his doorway. More importantly, a strange voice said from his doorway.
Josh regarded the young man in front of him. "I know you," he said, realizing that the boy was familiar.
"Billy Fernandez, sir. I'm your new intern."
"I had an old intern?"
"Not as such, no."
"Who are you?"
"Billy Fernandez. We met a couple of years ago through Presidential Classroom."
"Yeah, yeah. Fernandez. I put you on my list, didn't I?"
"Yes, sir."
"And you're my new intern?"
"Yes, sir."
"OK, Billy? It is Billy, right? Billy, your first act as my intern is to get me coffee."
"Um. No, sir. Miss Moss told me that under no uncertain terms am I supposed to, I think the phrase she used was 'act like your waiter.'"
"Then what are you supposed to do?"
"File, copy, and annoy you as often as possible," he confessed, taking on trust Donna's position that he would not get dismissed for telling the truth.
"Yeah, you're my new intern," Josh muttered wryly. "I don't suppose your job entails telling me what my schedule is, does it?"
"Staff in fifteen," Donna announced as she strode into the office. "Then you're in with the President all morning. Meetings include the NSA, a strategy session with RCA about downloading music, and the National Parks Committee." She handed him a pile of folders. "These are in the same order as the meetings, so don't mix them up or you'll embarrass yourself in front of very important people."
"I'm very important people," he said, smiling at her.
"Which is obviously why you scored that much-lauded 760 verbal. I'll brief you on your afternoon schedule after lunch."
"I still have tonight free, right?"
"Unless a national emergency occurs," she confirmed. "Be nice to Billy, this is his first day."
"Why?"
"Because he has never had to put up with you for long periods of time and therefore needs to be gently introduced to your idiosyncrasies."
"I don't have idiosyncrasies."
"Yes, you do," she said with a smile as she pulled Billy out of the office. He could hear her moving around and telling the newest member of the administration to deliver a memo.
He always kept the door between their offices open. He liked being able to look up and see her passing as she went from cabinet to cabinet. He liked the feel of her lurking outside the door, waiting for a meeting to end so that she could tell him some little fact she had found.
He heard her call something after Billy and couldn't help but smile. He wondered where she had found him, the young man he had put on his list and had jokingly refused to call on during that crash over two years ago. He had commented to her, after the kids had left and he walked her to her car, "He'll be worth watching."
And, apparently, he was. He could only be a sophomore, and yet was interning at the White House. He would, indeed, be worth watching as the years went by.
He turned his thoughts to other things as the Senior Staff started to trickle in.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Did you have a good day?" he asked hours later as they ate at the restaurant. He couldn't help but be grateful that the change in status included a significant pay raise. Without it, he would never have been able to afford such a night.
"Yes, I did. I don't know what Shultz was thinking, but Billy's a delight."
"Shultz?"
Donna quickly explained how she had traded Billy for a negative vote. Josh laughed at the story, as she knew he would.
"Well, after this is over you can always get a job as business manager for baseball team. You already got the trading idea down."
She mock groaned at him. "If I did you'd insist that I get you on the team."
"Do you ever think about what you'll be doing after?" he asked, his expression turning serious.
"I do," she confessed. "I think I'll finish my degree, although I'm still not sure what my major should be. I love politics, and I like making a difference, but I don't think I want to be a politician."
"You could do something like your friend's dotcom."
"I dunno," she shrugged. "Whenever I've thought about life after the White House, I've always imagined that I would remain your assistant."
"I could live with that," he smiled winningly in response. "God knows I'd never be able to function without you."
"What about you? What do you plan on doing four years from now?"
He flipped the ring box over and over in his hand under the table, completely overcome by nerves. He wanted his proposal to be perfect. Was now the right time?
"Well, I guess that will depend," he started, only to stop as he felt the small box slip from his grasp.
"Damn," he muttered as he looked under the table. The box was no where in sight.
"Josh?"
"Uh, sorry," he fibbed with a nervous laugh. "I dropped my napkin." Without further ado, he slid from his chair and crouched on the floor, searching for the elusive box.
He searched frantically beneath the table and his chair, cursing under his breath at the cruel jokes fate liked to play on him. Lucking out with his own table, he tried to casually look under the table closest to them, only to lose his balance and fall on his butt.
"Josh?"
"In a minute," he said, giving up on trying to be surreptitious. The older couple next to them looked at him warily as he crawled closer to their table.
"Josh?"
The whispery quality of her voice drug his attention away from his search. He turned to look at her, to explain his actions, only to fall on his bottom once again when he noticed the little box she was holding.
"I. Uh." he said from the floor, his 760 verbal failing him once again. "I had this whole speech written out. For the life of me, I can't remember what it was now. You should be kinda impressed that I didn't get Toby or Will to help me with it, though."
Donna opened the box and looked at the ring within. As soon as he had seen it, he had known that it had been designed for her. The silver band was etched with lilies, her favorite flower. The single round, one carat diamond was flanked by two quarter carat gems, giving it an understated elegance.
"Josh," Donna whispered once again, her eyes filling up with tears.
"I. What I'm doing four years from now will depend on you," he confessed. "Hopefully I'll be married to you, and that's all I'll need."
He levered himself off the floor and kneeled in front of the teary Donna. He could feel the smirks of the old couple behind him but chose to ignore them.
"Donna?" he whispered when she didn't say anything.
He found himself on his back this time as she launched herself out of her chair and into his arms, toppling them both to the floor. The couples around them, who had been watching the scene play out, chuckled lightly at the stunned but happy look on the newly engaged couple's faces.
Notes: You know, I had this whole romantic proposal written out for Josh and Donna. Then, I realized that this was Josh and Donna. What on Earth could happen to screw it up? One minute of Josh's nervous fiddling later, I had the idea of him dropping the box and having to crawl around to find it. And proposing while sprawled on the floor. Can't you see that?