TITLE: Connected - Part 2 - Slow Dance
AUTHOR: Jacinta
SUMMARY: At a party in Atlanta Leo's concerned about what he sees on the
dance floor, and Amy's not too impressed either
SPOILERS: Anything up to S4
CHARACTERS: Ensemble
RATING: G
DISCLAIMER: Most certainly not mine.
As Leo watches the couples on the dance floor he suddenly wishes Jordan had come them. Admittedly, he's not too sure how he could justify bringing his lawyer on a trip to Georgia on Air Force One, but next time they have a party to attend, he'll find a way. He spots Jed stood talking to their host and walks over. "Mr President, Geoff."
"Hey, Leo," Geoff smiles, shaking Leo's hand and then glancing across the room. "I think my wife's trying to get my attention," he tells them. "If you'll excuse me."
"Something I said?" Leo asks Jed once they're alone.
"Think yourself lucky," Jed smiles. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing."
"Okay," Jed smiles indulgently. "I see the staff are enjoying themselves. Will's dancing with Joey over there, although I guess that means Kenny's probably alone, ah no look," Jed smiles and nods across the room, "he's with Margaret. Toby and Andi are getting along well. It's a pity CJ hasn't come. But I guess we'll have to be the only guys dancing alone."
"You know I'm not sure CJ would like being called a guy," Leo smiles.
"You think?" Jed grins. "Josh is over there, but I don't imagine he'll be alone for long. And Abbey is embroiled in some plotting with Amy and a group of women from the quilting club."
"I think they may be the local Town's Women's Guild" Leo smiles,
"So that just leaves you and me," Jed continues.
"Sir, you're not suggesting we dance together are you?"
"You don't think we'd make a good couple?"
Leo shakes his head with a faint smile and turns back to the dance floor. The last dance has just started and it's a slow one. Will and Joey have gone to sit down, as have Kenny and Margaret, Leo's not too impressed to see Josh and Donna on the dance floor in each others arms.
Jed follows Leo's gaze and smiles to himself. "Leave them."
"That doesn't look good, Sir."
"Maybe, but at least let them have the dance."
Leo watches unhappily as Josh and Donna get far too close for his comfort. He could be mistaken, but it looks like they're staring into each others eyes. As soon as the dance draws to an end, Leo heads over to interrupt his deputy and assistant. "Josh, I need your help with Dizaei."
Josh had been so caught up in the moment, that he's momentarily forgotten where he is. "Now?" he asks irritatedly.
"Yes," Leo replies sharply.
"Yeh, okay." Josh suddenly realizes how it would have looked had he kissed Donna, as he was about to. As he walks away with Leo, though, he's silently cursing him.
Once the party had ended and all the pleasantries had been exchanged, Jed and his staff headed for home. Air Force One took off only thirty minutes late, giving the staff a chance to rest for a few hours on the flight, before starting the work they'd brought with them. Josh walks back into the senior staff cabin and sits down next to Donna, handing her a sandwich and a drink of coffee.
"Thanks."
"S'okay."
"About earlier," Donna begins, "on the dance floor."
"Yeh, I've been meaning to mention that."
"We'd both had a lot to drink," Donna continues. "The dance was slow and I think we just got caught up in the moment there."
"Yeh," Josh agrees. "So we should just forget it happened. Not that anything did happen, so we should forget it."
"Yeh, that's probably best," Donna nods, trying to sound like she means it.
Half an hour later Josh is sat reading a magazine, while Donna sleeps with her head on his shoulder. He knows after what happened earlier he should move her, but he doesn't want to. Besides which she often falls asleep on him on long flights and if they're suppose to be forgetting about the almost kiss, about the obvious chemistry between them as they danced, then there's no reason Donna shouldn't be asleep like this - is there?
"Hey," Toby says quietly as he sits down across from them. "How'd it go with Dizaei?"
"Fine, he just wanted to make sure we understood his position, but it's sorted."
"Good."
Josh puts the magazine down and gives Toby an amused look. "You and Andi looked to be having a good time tonight."
Toby smiles, thinking that Josh can hardly comment there. "Yeh, things are going okay. I don't think she'll ever agree to marry me, but at least we can be friends and the twins can have two parents around."
"So friends is enough for you then?" Josh in genuinely curious.
"Is it enough for you?" Toby asks, glancing at Donna.
"It'll have to be."
Further down Air Force One, Amy is sat thinking about what she saw tonight. Their meeting with the Town's Women's Guild had ended just as the last dance started. Amy had seen Josh earlier by the bar and she scanned the party trying to find him, hoping to get the last dance. He wasn't at the bar, he wasn't sat with Will and Joey Lucas, he wasn't stood with Leo and the president. And then she'd looked at the dance floor and there he was, with Donna in his arms. Amy had to fight the urge to walk across and interrupt them. It appeared she wasn't the only one not too happy to see Donna and Josh dancing so closely, and she was amused to see Leo walk up to them as the dance ended. She wasn't so amused though by what she could tell Josh had been about to do.
Amy looks out of the window at the darkness and silently seethes. She knows exactly what she'll find if she goes to the senior staff cabin, she's seen them like that before, her asleep on his shoulder. She's never felt jealous like this about anyone and she hates him for it. Well maybe not hate, but it annoys the hell out of her. Maybe she should go to them and ask Donna the question again, but what would be the point. 'Are in love with Josh?' what a stupid question, of course she is, and it makes Amy feel kind of stupid.
At college he'd been her boyfriend's quiet roommate, always studying. He'd intrigued her, there was something about him but she couldn't get close. When he'd started pursuing her last year, in his own clumsy way, she'd been pleased, but there was a voice at the back of her head warning her about Donna. Now she's angry, because when they broke up he'd said he wasn't ready for anything serious, he wasn't ready for commitment and she'd believed him. She'd even thought it had been partly her fault for pushing him to move in with her, but that little voice was still there saying, 'Donna'.
Amy looks back into the cabin as the first lady walks through. "Can I help ma'am?"
"No, Amy, go back to sleep I'm hunting for my husband."
Amy smiles at Abbey and stares back out of the window. She wonders what Abbey would say about Josh and Donna, more to the point, what would the president say?
Abbey knocks gently on Leo's cabin door and opens it slightly. "Leo, have you seen my husband?"
"He's meeting with the transport secretary."
"Okay." Abbey walks into the cabin, helps herself to a drink and sits down across from Leo.
"What's on your mind?" Leo asks with a knowing smile.
"Now that's just what I was going to ask you," Abbey replies. "I saw you make a beeline for Josh and Donna earlier."
"I needed Josh to talk to Dizaei."
"Of course you did," Abbey smiles indulgently. "So you won't mind that he's in the senior staff cabin with Donna asleep on his shoulder."
Leo sighs, "They always do that."
"I know. But you don't like it."
"He's her boss, it looks wrong."
"They're not doing any harm, Leo. They're both single, no one will get hurt."
"It still looks wrong."
Abbey sighs and shakes her head. "Do you think, ethically, that a lawyer should date a client?"
Leo gaze hardens. "That has nothing..... it's completely different."
"She's your lawyer," Abbey states. "I'm not criticizing. I like Jordan, plus she can handle you," Abbey smiles. "Then there's Toby and Andi."
"They were married, they're bringing up the kids together, there's nothing wrong with that."
"I'm not saying they've done anything wrong. I'm saying that if it's fine for you to date your lawyer, if it's fine for Toby to get his ex-wife pregnant, then why isn't it fine for Josh to date Donna?"
"She's his assistant. It'd look like he was taking advantage of her."
Abbey laughs, "I don't think anyone who knows them would ever think that Josh could, or would, take advantage of Donna."
"Yes," Leo agrees. "But what about those who don't know them? What about the press? What about the Republicans?"
"I know," Abbey agrees. "But I think it may be a problem you're going to have to face sooner rather than later."
"I could move Donna," Leo suggests, knowing full well that Josh would never agree to that. "Yeh, I know," he tells Abbey, "dumb idea."
"Maybe you could talk to him." Abbey catches Leo's look of horror and laughs. "Yeh, scrap that. You should talk to CJ though."
"CJ?"
"Yes, she already has a plan roughly worked out for if anything did happen between them."
"Why would she do that?"
"Leo, she's the Press Secretary. You don't think she has a plan for most eventualities. Why do you think she drums it into all of you that she's your first call."
Leo watches Abbey and marvels that she knows quite so much about the inner workings of the West Wing.
The following morning, after spending the night thinking about his conversation with Abbey, Leo goes to see CJ. "Do you have a minute?" he asks her.
"Sure, Leo, what's going on?"
Leo closes the door and sits in the visitor's chair. "I wanted to ask you something. Abbey seems to think you'll have some idea about this and I'm not sure. I've never really thought about it before, ridiculous as that now seems."
"Leo," CJ smiles, "you're rambling."
"Yeh." Leo is beginning to have second thoughts about this whole conversation, but he's here now. "I wanted to ask about Josh and Donna."
"Has something happened?"
"No. But it was pointed out to me that something probably should."
"And you want to know what the press would think?"
"Yeh."
CJ thinks about that for a moment. "The White House Press Corp have been expecting something to happen between Josh and Donna for years. However that doesn't mean it'd be easy to spin, especially with those elements of the press who don't like us. And then there's the Republicans, not to mention some of our own party." She smiles, "I'm not helping am I?"
"It's okay, you're confirming what I already know. If something did happen between them, would it be impossible to spin?"
"No." CJ watches Leo, "If nothing's happened, why are asking?"
Leo looks a little embarrassed, much to CJ amusement. "I could have sworn he was about to kiss her last night."
"So this is more than the usual Donna Josh thing?"
"What usual.....?"
"You know very well. Her asleep on his shoulder. Sharing each others food. Staying at each others apartments after a night out. The banter, the looks..... You really haven't thought about this before have you?"
"Oddly enough I have bigger thing to think about than Josh's love life."
"Well you did, until last night," CJ smiles. "Welcome to my world. Nothing will happen you know."
"How would you know if it did?" Leo asks.
CJ's smile fades, "Okay, well great, now I'm worried too."