Author: Willow
Title: First Footing
Summary: New Year brings changes for Josh and Donna, and for Sam.
Spoilers/Episode: Set in an a/u that leaves the show's timeline after season 5, Memorial Day. This chapter takes place straight after chapter 8.
Characters: Ensemble and Sam (also, finally some shipping).
Rating: PG

Part II

New Years Day

"Morning," Donna said as she walked out of the guest room to find Josh sat drinking coffee in the kitchen.

"Hey," he replied in an almost whisper.

"Hang over?"

"Yes," he agreed. "Black coffee doesn't work by the way."

"No. Didn't I tell you to drink water before you went to bed?"

"I don't remember, actually I don't remember going to bed. You want some food?"

"I really don't think you should cook, or even move. You just sit quietly, I'll make something," Donna smiled indulgently.

"Coffee'd be nice."

"No."

"Donna, we're not at work," Josh protested.

"I'm not refusing to bring you coffee, I'm saying you need water. You're dehydrated."

"Coffee has water in it," Josh muttered.

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"I had a good time last night," Donna told Josh three hours later, as they ate lunch.

"We should do it again," Josh said, as he pushed his food around his plate and wondered why Donna was choosing to torture his hung over stomach with fried chicken.

"Next New Years?" Donna asked.

"I was thinking more like tonight. Except we should maybe eat out someplace," he suggested.

Donna looked at the plate of food in front of Josh and smiled, "You think you'll be up for food by then?"

"Possibly," Josh grinned sheepishly. "You want to go?"

"Just the two of us?"

"Yeah."

"Wouldn't that look like a date if anyone saw us?"

"It would," he agreed. "What do you think?"

"I think that would be nice."

"Good."

"Also," she continued. "Candi's away, so no one has actually been into our apartment since last year."

Josh looked confused. "That was yesterday."

"Yes," she agreed. "Did you know that Candi's family are Scottish?"

Josh understood. "I didn't know that. She'd like someone to do the first footing thing then?"

"Yeah."

"Someone tall, dark and handsome?"

"That's right. You think Sam would be able to get here today?" she grinned.

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Josh collected Donna at 8pm, for once in his life he was actually on time. "You look fantastic," he told her.

"Thank you, I have a date."

"Anyone I know?"

"I don't think so. He's attractive, funny, smart and very powerful."

"Not the usual gomer then," Josh commented.

"Oh I don't know, he may turn out to be," Donna teased.

"If he does, you should dump him immediately," Josh advised.

Donna smiled and sat next to him the front of his car. "By the way, you look pretty hot yourself."

"Yeah, I know," Josh grinned.

"You should try and not be so modest," Donna replied. "Are we going to go or just sit here?" she asked when he didn't start the engine.

"We're going on a date," he said, sounding a little stunned.

"Not if you don't start the car we're not."

"I'm serious, this is huge." He turned to face her. "I don't want this to be like a fling, you know a one night stand. I want to do this properly. You do know how much you mean to me?"

"As much as you mean to me. You came to Germany, Josh, not many people would have done that."

He was suddenly very serious as he considered how to put his thoughts into words, not something he normally had a problem with, but this was too important to mess up. "I don't want to mess this up. I don't want to loose you. I don't want some good looking guy to come along and sweep you off your feet and take you away, not if there's a chance things could work between us. If there isn't a chance then tell me and I won't mention it again. But I nearly lost you once. If you don't want to date me because you just don't then...." his words were cut off by Donna placing a finger over his lips.

"Shush, stop talking. I'm sat here waiting for you to take me on our first date aren't I. Of course I want us to be together. How could you not know that?"

"I'm slow?"

"Yes," she agreed. "Me too actually. When I was in the hospital, when I woke up from the operation and you were still there, it felt right. My mom says I'm idiot, she said I was much calmer when you were there with me."

"Really?" Josh asked. "That's kind of weird. That's what my mom said after Rosslyn, I was calmer when you were there."

"She told you that at the time?"

"Yeah."

Donna punched Josh gently on the arm. "And it's taken you over four years to ask me on a date."

"Didn't I just say I was slow?" Josh smiled. "We should probably go before we miss the table."

"You booked a table?"

"No need to sound so amazed, I can function on my own, for very short periods of time."

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Sunday Morning

Donna woke at around 6am and wondered briefly where she was. The room was dark, but she could make out enough to know that it certainly wasn't the guest room. She looked to her left and smiled, deciding that she could get use to waking up here, in Josh Lyman's bed. She lay watching him for a minute, before snuggling down next to him and going back to sleep. When she woke again two hours later, Josh was lying watching her with a small smile.

"Well this is new," Donna commented.

"Certainly never happened before," Josh agreed.

"So what do you think?"

"I like it," Josh smiled.

"Me too," Donna agreed.

"I can't believe we're actually here, I mean," he shrugged and smiled again.

"No regrets?"

"No, Definitely not. You?"

"None. I just wish we could stay here forever."

"Might make it difficult to earn money and pay the rent though," Josh told her.

"And food of course, that could be a problem. So we should get up?"

"In a while," Josh replied.

"And your apartment is so conveniently laid out. We have the bedroom, with the bathroom to one side and the kitchen to the other, no need to wander far from the bed."

Josh smiled, "It was why I chose to rent this one."

"Good choice," Donna smiled and stretched up to kiss him.

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By 2.30, hunger had got the better of them and they reluctantly got out of bed.

"Cheese and ham toasted sandwich?" Josh asked from the refrigerator, where he was trying to find something edible.

"Do you have pickle?"

"I do."

"Are the ham and cheese in date?" Donna smiled.

"Hey!" Josh protested. "You really think, after last night, I'd try and poison you?"

Once the sandwiches were made they went and sat in the lounge and turned the TV news on for the first time that day, something almost unheard of for Josh.

"Can we make this work?" Donna asked.

"I'd like to try," Josh replied.

"There's just so much in the way."

"The only thing in the way is work, and we don't even know that that would be an obstacle."

Donna smiled sadly at Josh, "Yes we do."

"Well yeah, okay. But there's nothing else, is there?"

"Work's a pretty big thing," Donna pointed out. "And what about your reputation?"

"What about it," Josh asked.

"You don't mind if people say you took advantage of your assistant?"

"I don't care. Screw 'em, let them say what they want. We've got another two years in office and I don't want to wait that long." When Donna didn't reply, Josh continued. "If you don't want to date me because, well because you just don't, then I guess I can accept that, I can understand. But if the only thing stopping us is work," he shook his head, "work isn't that important."

Donna studied Josh and smiled, "Who are you and what have you done with the real Josh Lyman?" she joked.

"I'm serious."

"Work isn't that important?" she asked. "Josh, work has always been the most important thing in your life."

"Yes, and where's it got me? An apartment I'm hardly ever in and no one here with me when I am."

"So you want someone to be there when you eventually come home from work?"

"Yes. No, not like that," Josh started to protest and then saw that Donna was teasing. "That was mean, Donnatella."

Donna grinned and then something occurred to her. "Why did you come to Germany?"

"You were hurt."

"No, I meant, you were allowed to just drop everything and go to Germany?"

"Yeah," Josh nodded. "Leo told me go." He understood what she was saying. They had an international crisis on their hands, a peace summit to try and arrange, a peace agreement to hammer out, and no one expected him to be anywhere other than Germany, at Donna's bedside. No one ordered him home and no one was surprised that he stayed. "You think they know what we've been trying to hide for years?"

"Not as such," Donna shook head. "I think they just naturally assume we'd be together if one of us needed the other."

"So it could be they may not have a problem with us dating?"

"Maybe."

"So do we tell people?"

In spite of what she'd said, Donna was still worried about what Leo, CJ, Toby and the president would say. "Not yet."

"No," he agreed. "Except if we don't and they find out..."

"Yeah. Let's leave it a while, I want to enjoy it before the fuss and uproar starts."

"Me too," Josh smiled.

Part III >>>>>>>>