Disclaimer: FOR THE LAST TIME, NONE OF IT IS MINE!!!! AGHHHH!!!!! (Cheers!)
A/N: Sorry on the wait...I was waiting for school to be out...so now that it is...well, here we go!
My dorky computer keeps ignoring the scene separation lines in here (they worked in, like, EVERY OTHER chapter!!! So I am re-uploading this chapter to see if I can't get something to work...(I also got a handful of complaints about A/N's, so I took those out too! I have my readers best interests at heart here, I really do!)
Chapter 6
"Strawberry daiquiri?" Donna took the glass from the server. "Ginger ale? Club soda?" Drinks were passed around the table some more. "And a grasshopper?"
"C.J., what is your deal with that damn drink?" demanded Josh. "Don't you find it just a little odd that you're drinking something named for an insect?"
"Must we go through this every time we go out?"
"Yes!" exclaimed Sam, Josh, and Donna all at once. C.J. shrugged her shoulders in defeat.
"So, how long are you in town, Sam?" Donna asked.
"Ah, however long. I pretty much do what I want. I told my boss a couple weeks, but I'm sure I can get a little leeway if necessary."
"Good," muttered Toby, "you can spend your time helping my catch up with all the crap in the Communications office."
"You know, Toby, you could just try hiring a new deputy," C.J. pointed out.
"Well the last time, that didn't work out too well, now did it, Sam?"
Sam cringed a little. "Hey," he defended himself, "how was I supposed to know Will would go work for Russell? And he DID help you with the State of the Union, which was originally all he was supposed to do."
Toby eyed him incredulously. "I wasn't talking about Will, Sam."
"Ah," Sam said slowly, looking just slightly guilty, "right." The atmosphere had formerly been lively and friendly, but now there was a noticeable tension in the air.
"Look, guys, let's not do this here, kay?" Josh said hesitantly. "Sam's in town for a couple weeks, let's make the best of it without going in to 'who abandoned who' and 'Aristotelian versions of events'." He said this last part with a reminiscing grin on his face.
"Hey, what were the chances? A rainstorm, a ,- -Right. Sorry," Sam apologized sheepishly as everyone else at the small table glared at him murderously.
"Toby?"
"Yeah," Toby said quietly, "yeah."
"Well it's getting late," Donna declared. "I need to get up early to start going through stacked up paper work. I'm going home and going to bed." She stood up and put her coat on as Josh moved onto her chair to better talk with the others. "Josh?"
"Yeah?"
"What are you doing?"
"I'm talking to Sam and C.J. and Toby for a little while longer." Donna looked at him expectantly. "I'm going home and going to bed because it's getting late," Josh amended. He stood up and muttered, "It's not like Sam moved to California or anything.- -..."
"What was that?" Donna asked sweetly.
"Nothing, nothing." Everyone else at the table was doing their best to hide their smirks at the exchange going on in front of them.
"Bye Josh! Bye Donna!" everyone called after them.
S
"You're sure you're ready for this, Josh?"
"Yes," insisted Josh, "I feel great. Talking to Stanley really did the trick, and just the time off. Nothing quite like spending a couple days on the Florida beach. 'Cept I still have this sunburn, hurts like hell. Ah well."
Leo smiled faintly at his deputy. Some things never changed. Josh's complaining manner was one of them.
"Well, then I guess there's not a lot else to say. You're still going to be sharing your work with Angela and I am insisting that you don't try and take full work days yet. Don't stress yourself out, ease back into things."
"Leo, even if you hadn't said that about three times already, Stanley said the same thing. I understand. Stop worrying yourself over me. You'll be the stressed out one!"
"Fine, fine," surrendered Leo. "You can go. You think I should call ahead so Donna knows not to usher you out the door- -..."
The door to the oval office opened and the President stuck his head inside the room. "Josh, how are you feeling?" he asked concernedly.
"Just fine, thank you, Mr. President," Josh said politely, though inside he was wondering how many more people were going to ask him that today.
There was a knock at Leo's door. "Come in," called Leo.
"Hey, Leo, I just wanted to ask- -..."
"Samuel Norman Seaborn!" Sam's eyes widened noticeably.
"Mr. President! Excuse me, I didn't see you there."
"No problem, no problem. Josh, you've been given permission to resume work?" Josh nodded. "Good, good. Take it easy son, would you?" Josh struggled to keep his breathing controlled.
"Of course, Mr. President," he answered tersely.
"I suppose I'm about the fourth person to say that today, huh?" The President asked jokingly.
"More like the sixth," corrected Josh, smiling now.
"Okay. Go get yourself to work, I can tell you're anxious to." Josh nodded and left the room. "Sam, come in here and sit down, we are going to talk about California and why it is more preferable to be there than here." It was Sam's turn to look alarmed.
"Actually, Mr. President, I've had that conversation about three times already, and- -..."
"Ah, I don't care. It's my turn to hear about your 'Aristotelian version of events' and whatnot that landed you back in Orange County." The President ushered a somewhat unwilling Sam into the Oval Office. Leo just laughed.
S
Donna sat at her desk going through the seemingly endless pile of mail. Some things were junk and were thrown away, others were set aside for Josh to read. For the most part, she opened and read everything. She was opening what felt like the three hundredth letter. It was extremely thin.
She looked inside the plain white envelope and pulled out a single sheet of printer paper. She unfolded it, prepared to chuck it in the trash with the others. When she looked at it though, she let out a small shriek, clasped a hand over her mouth, and felt her blood run cold.
S
Josh rounded the corner and Donna's desk came in to view.
"I am good to go for work!" he proudly announced. She didn't seem to hear him, she was engrossed with a sheet of paper in her hand. He then noticed that she seemed rather pale (at least paler than usual, despite her sensitive alabaster skin). "Everything okay?" he asked.
"Wha-...yeah." Donna hastily folded the sheet back up. "Yeah, everything's great. Just looking over some mail."
"Right," Josh said, not quite sure what was going on. He gestured to a small stack of envelopes on the desk. "These mine?"
Donna eyed them apprehensively, now unsure whether or not to give them to Josh.
"Donna? Are these mine?"
"Yeah. Go ahead. Sorry, I have to go talk to someone, I'll be back in a couple minutes..." She stood up and slipped past Josh, taking the paper with her.
Josh just shook his head. "Women," he muttered.
S
Leo was interrupted yet again by a hesitant knock at his open office door. "It's like a circus in here today," he said. He looked up. "Hey Donna, whatcha need? In case you're wondering, yes, I did tell Josh it was okay to go back to work." Donna didn't even crack a small smile. Leo then noticed she looked fearful and was trembling slightly. "Hey, what's up, kid?" he asked.
Donna closed the door to the office. "I-..." she stuttered, "I was going through all of Josh's mail that's piled up over the last several days, and I came across- -..." she didn't know how to say it.
"Donna? If it's a threat letter you're talking about, we all get those every week. It's nothing to be worried about, we just send them all to the Secret Service, they decide which ones need to be watched more closely."
"No," Donna said firmly, "not this one. This is different." She held up the folded sheet of paper and handed it, shaking, to Leo. He just gave Donna a perplexed look and she motioned for him to open it. He did just that.
Leo inhaled sharply. Nothing could have prepared him for what he was looking at. "Did he see this?" he demanded sharply. Donna shook her head wordlessly.
Leo picked up his phone. "Margaret, I need Ron Butterfield on the phone as soon as possible."
Drawn in color on the plain white sheet of paper was a burning house with a little girl trapped inside and a little boy leaving the house carrying the fire extinguisher.
S
A/N: I have a sick imagination, I know.
On the topic of sensitive alabaster skin: I have red hair, so I tan, like, not at all...it really sucks. I'm taking a summer gym class right now and I am about the only person who has to wear frickin' sunscreen cuz I burn so easily...argh, just my little rant there...
Anywhoosits, there's chappie 6...hopefully I can get the next out within the next week or two...we shall see!
Questions? Comments? Criticism? Just click the bottom below that says 'review'!!!
Cheers!
Lexi Lyman
A/N: Sorry on the wait...I was waiting for school to be out...so now that it is...well, here we go!
My dorky computer keeps ignoring the scene separation lines in here (they worked in, like, EVERY OTHER chapter!!! So I am re-uploading this chapter to see if I can't get something to work...(I also got a handful of complaints about A/N's, so I took those out too! I have my readers best interests at heart here, I really do!)
Chapter 6
"Strawberry daiquiri?" Donna took the glass from the server. "Ginger ale? Club soda?" Drinks were passed around the table some more. "And a grasshopper?"
"C.J., what is your deal with that damn drink?" demanded Josh. "Don't you find it just a little odd that you're drinking something named for an insect?"
"Must we go through this every time we go out?"
"Yes!" exclaimed Sam, Josh, and Donna all at once. C.J. shrugged her shoulders in defeat.
"So, how long are you in town, Sam?" Donna asked.
"Ah, however long. I pretty much do what I want. I told my boss a couple weeks, but I'm sure I can get a little leeway if necessary."
"Good," muttered Toby, "you can spend your time helping my catch up with all the crap in the Communications office."
"You know, Toby, you could just try hiring a new deputy," C.J. pointed out.
"Well the last time, that didn't work out too well, now did it, Sam?"
Sam cringed a little. "Hey," he defended himself, "how was I supposed to know Will would go work for Russell? And he DID help you with the State of the Union, which was originally all he was supposed to do."
Toby eyed him incredulously. "I wasn't talking about Will, Sam."
"Ah," Sam said slowly, looking just slightly guilty, "right." The atmosphere had formerly been lively and friendly, but now there was a noticeable tension in the air.
"Look, guys, let's not do this here, kay?" Josh said hesitantly. "Sam's in town for a couple weeks, let's make the best of it without going in to 'who abandoned who' and 'Aristotelian versions of events'." He said this last part with a reminiscing grin on his face.
"Hey, what were the chances? A rainstorm, a ,- -Right. Sorry," Sam apologized sheepishly as everyone else at the small table glared at him murderously.
"Toby?"
"Yeah," Toby said quietly, "yeah."
"Well it's getting late," Donna declared. "I need to get up early to start going through stacked up paper work. I'm going home and going to bed." She stood up and put her coat on as Josh moved onto her chair to better talk with the others. "Josh?"
"Yeah?"
"What are you doing?"
"I'm talking to Sam and C.J. and Toby for a little while longer." Donna looked at him expectantly. "I'm going home and going to bed because it's getting late," Josh amended. He stood up and muttered, "It's not like Sam moved to California or anything.- -..."
"What was that?" Donna asked sweetly.
"Nothing, nothing." Everyone else at the table was doing their best to hide their smirks at the exchange going on in front of them.
"Bye Josh! Bye Donna!" everyone called after them.
S
"You're sure you're ready for this, Josh?"
"Yes," insisted Josh, "I feel great. Talking to Stanley really did the trick, and just the time off. Nothing quite like spending a couple days on the Florida beach. 'Cept I still have this sunburn, hurts like hell. Ah well."
Leo smiled faintly at his deputy. Some things never changed. Josh's complaining manner was one of them.
"Well, then I guess there's not a lot else to say. You're still going to be sharing your work with Angela and I am insisting that you don't try and take full work days yet. Don't stress yourself out, ease back into things."
"Leo, even if you hadn't said that about three times already, Stanley said the same thing. I understand. Stop worrying yourself over me. You'll be the stressed out one!"
"Fine, fine," surrendered Leo. "You can go. You think I should call ahead so Donna knows not to usher you out the door- -..."
The door to the oval office opened and the President stuck his head inside the room. "Josh, how are you feeling?" he asked concernedly.
"Just fine, thank you, Mr. President," Josh said politely, though inside he was wondering how many more people were going to ask him that today.
There was a knock at Leo's door. "Come in," called Leo.
"Hey, Leo, I just wanted to ask- -..."
"Samuel Norman Seaborn!" Sam's eyes widened noticeably.
"Mr. President! Excuse me, I didn't see you there."
"No problem, no problem. Josh, you've been given permission to resume work?" Josh nodded. "Good, good. Take it easy son, would you?" Josh struggled to keep his breathing controlled.
"Of course, Mr. President," he answered tersely.
"I suppose I'm about the fourth person to say that today, huh?" The President asked jokingly.
"More like the sixth," corrected Josh, smiling now.
"Okay. Go get yourself to work, I can tell you're anxious to." Josh nodded and left the room. "Sam, come in here and sit down, we are going to talk about California and why it is more preferable to be there than here." It was Sam's turn to look alarmed.
"Actually, Mr. President, I've had that conversation about three times already, and- -..."
"Ah, I don't care. It's my turn to hear about your 'Aristotelian version of events' and whatnot that landed you back in Orange County." The President ushered a somewhat unwilling Sam into the Oval Office. Leo just laughed.
S
Donna sat at her desk going through the seemingly endless pile of mail. Some things were junk and were thrown away, others were set aside for Josh to read. For the most part, she opened and read everything. She was opening what felt like the three hundredth letter. It was extremely thin.
She looked inside the plain white envelope and pulled out a single sheet of printer paper. She unfolded it, prepared to chuck it in the trash with the others. When she looked at it though, she let out a small shriek, clasped a hand over her mouth, and felt her blood run cold.
S
Josh rounded the corner and Donna's desk came in to view.
"I am good to go for work!" he proudly announced. She didn't seem to hear him, she was engrossed with a sheet of paper in her hand. He then noticed that she seemed rather pale (at least paler than usual, despite her sensitive alabaster skin). "Everything okay?" he asked.
"Wha-...yeah." Donna hastily folded the sheet back up. "Yeah, everything's great. Just looking over some mail."
"Right," Josh said, not quite sure what was going on. He gestured to a small stack of envelopes on the desk. "These mine?"
Donna eyed them apprehensively, now unsure whether or not to give them to Josh.
"Donna? Are these mine?"
"Yeah. Go ahead. Sorry, I have to go talk to someone, I'll be back in a couple minutes..." She stood up and slipped past Josh, taking the paper with her.
Josh just shook his head. "Women," he muttered.
S
Leo was interrupted yet again by a hesitant knock at his open office door. "It's like a circus in here today," he said. He looked up. "Hey Donna, whatcha need? In case you're wondering, yes, I did tell Josh it was okay to go back to work." Donna didn't even crack a small smile. Leo then noticed she looked fearful and was trembling slightly. "Hey, what's up, kid?" he asked.
Donna closed the door to the office. "I-..." she stuttered, "I was going through all of Josh's mail that's piled up over the last several days, and I came across- -..." she didn't know how to say it.
"Donna? If it's a threat letter you're talking about, we all get those every week. It's nothing to be worried about, we just send them all to the Secret Service, they decide which ones need to be watched more closely."
"No," Donna said firmly, "not this one. This is different." She held up the folded sheet of paper and handed it, shaking, to Leo. He just gave Donna a perplexed look and she motioned for him to open it. He did just that.
Leo inhaled sharply. Nothing could have prepared him for what he was looking at. "Did he see this?" he demanded sharply. Donna shook her head wordlessly.
Leo picked up his phone. "Margaret, I need Ron Butterfield on the phone as soon as possible."
Drawn in color on the plain white sheet of paper was a burning house with a little girl trapped inside and a little boy leaving the house carrying the fire extinguisher.
S
A/N: I have a sick imagination, I know.
On the topic of sensitive alabaster skin: I have red hair, so I tan, like, not at all...it really sucks. I'm taking a summer gym class right now and I am about the only person who has to wear frickin' sunscreen cuz I burn so easily...argh, just my little rant there...
Anywhoosits, there's chappie 6...hopefully I can get the next out within the next week or two...we shall see!
Questions? Comments? Criticism? Just click the bottom below that says 'review'!!!
Cheers!
Lexi Lyman