Author Note: The plot thickens…

xxxx

One week later

"Donna?" Josh called from the kitchen.

"In the family room!"

Josh was approximately two hours away from telling the nation he had brain cancer and he couldn't find his cufflinks.

"Have you seen my cufflinks?"

"Since when do you wear cufflinks?"

He rounded the corner in his living room to find her dusting his bookshelf. Most of her hair had found its way out of her ponytail and she was sweating rather profusely. She was wearing a pair of Caleb's lacrosse shorts and an old T-shirt that was full of holes. She hardly looked like the distinguished executive assistant of a presidential candidate.

He had never found her more beautiful.

'She's married, Josh. And not to you. To Max. Your best friend. Who swore to wreck you limb from limb if you ever so much as touched his wife again,' Josh reminded himself.

"Why are you dusting my house?" He asked.

"Because it's filthy, Joshua. I understand you don't have a wife, but is dusting and vacuuming that far out of reach for you?"

"I'm a busy man, Mrs. Yates. A very busy man," he grinned.

"Maids, Josh. In the phone book under 'M'. Call one."

"Whatever," he brushed her off. "Back to the cufflinks."

"The Joshua I worked with didn't wear cufflinks, so I really can't help you."

"I figured that maybe on your cleaning spree, you might have moved my cufflinks."

"Negatory, President Lyman. The cleaning lady didn't move your cufflinks," she teased, waving her feather duster in his direction.

As their eyes met, the two of them froze. Before his head could talk some sense into him, Josh took four steps to cross the room and pressed his lips to Donna's.

It was a kiss that was almost 30 years in the making. And for those few moments, it erased the past 30 years from Donna's mind. When they finally pulled away, they simply stood there staring at each other.

Josh was the first to speak, "Donna, I'm sorry."

'For what?' was on the tip of her tongue, and then she happened to feel the two rings that had resided on her left ring finger for the past 25 years. Shame fell like a curtain over her heart as she simply shook her head and reassured him. "I kissed you back."

Tears sprung to her eyes so quickly that they seemed to automatically spill over her eyelids. Running to the front door, she swung it open and began to run to CJ's house.

"Donnatella!" Step for step, Josh kept up with her. At the end of the street, he finally caught her and wrapped her into his arms.

"NO!" She practically screamed. "Josh! I'm married! To Max Yates. Just like I have been for 25 years now. I cannot kiss you."

"You did," he whispered.

She yanked herself away from him and began walking down the street.

"Where are you going?" He called after her.

"To CJ's."

He scoffed, "That's a 45 minute walk!"

Donna stopped and turned around. Staring her love right in the eye, she replied, "Then it'll be even faster if I run." Turning on her heel, she turned the corner and began the journey at a slow jog.

xxxxx

When she finally arrived at CJ's house about 30 minutes later, Donna collapsed on the couch and vowed never to move again. Her body was exhausted from the walk and her heart from the events of the past hour.

"How could I do it?" She muttered to herself.

"How could you do what?" CJ called from the front door.

Donna sat up with a start, "Ceej, you're here! I thought you were out."

"Well, yeah, I was. And then Josh called my cell phone and told me to get home because you were going to arrive hysterically exhausted." CJ eyed Donna, "While you don't exactly seem hysterical, I do see you being exhausted. What's up?"

Before Donna could start with the story, CJ moved to sit next to her on the couch and saw the clenched state of her jaw. "So, something happened that Josh thought would make you hysterically, but you're really just pissed off."

"Right."

"And it's probably Josh's fault."

"Partially."

"Partially?"

"Partially."

CJ brushed the hair off of her best friend's face and smiled. "Donna, Josh is a 1st class asshole. We've known that for years."

"But I love him," Donna whispered.

"Of course you do, Donna. We all love Josh. If we didn't, I'm sure one of us would have gotten him arrested by now," She replied. "And, if the polls can be trusted, this country is about to elect him as their President. Boggles the mind, doesn't it."

Donna pursed her lips and shook her head. "No, CJ. I love Josh. I love him like I was about ready to leave my husband an hour ago when he kissed me. I love him."

CJ swallowed hard. "He kissed you?"

"Yes. And I kissed him back."

"And you kissed him back."

"Are you a parrot now, CJ? I kissed Josh Lyman in his living room this afternoon!" Donna jumped up from the couch and began to frantically pace the living room.

"How long has it been since you talked to Max?"

"About three weeks. No, longer, because for about the last week I was there before I came here he wasn't speaking to me. So, about a month," Donna finally began to cry.

"You haven't spoken to your husband of 25 years in a month?"

"No," Donna paused at the window. "CJ, I'm scared."

"I think you need to find a therapist, Donna."

"So that the press can say that Josh's secretary is seeing a therapist? No way! It'll kill his campaign!"

CJ looked Donna directly in the eye, "So would the discovery of adultery."

"I HATE YOU!" Donna screamed and threw a pillow at CJ's head. "I came over here because I THOUGHT you were my FRIEND! And all you've done since I go here is YELL AT ME! CJ, I just cheated on my husband! I cheated on him with the man that I have loved forever! My entire marriage has been a sham, because when I was kissing Josh today, I completely forgot I was married to Max. Completely. Max was not even on my mind. I forgot about Maeghan and Caleb and the past 25 years of my life! I am pond scum! I suck, CJ, I just suck."

Donna collapsed back into the couch in gut-wrenching sobs and into CJ's arms.

"That's right, Donna, let it out, let it all out." CJ stroked her hair and let her weep.

xxxxx

I knew that she needed to cry. Donna and Max have a wonderful marriage, but there's a part of Donna that Max will never have – the part that belongs to Josh. That part of her heart has belonged to Josh Lyman the first moment they laid eyes on each other.

I remember the conversation with Sam that I had driving to Donna and Max's wedding. All Sam kept saying was, "I just can't believe she's going to marry someone else. I just can't believe she'd marry someone else."

We all just assumed it would be Josh and Donna. Even when Josh went through that thing with Amy, it never crossed my mind that Josh and Donna wouldn't eventually end up together.

I don't think it crossed Josh's mind either.

There's a large part of me that just absolutely wants to murder him for what he's done to her. But then, I have to keep remember that she didn't have to say yes.

A large part of Josh's hold on Donna's life is what she's let him have. Donna has let Josh have that part of her heart – she's never demanded it back or even just relinquished it.

Sometimes it seems that Donna has never wanted to let go. She's never wanted to give herself fully to Max – it's almost like she's hoping that Josh will one day realize his vast mistake in passing her up and come riding in on his white stead and sweep her off her feet.

Well, Donna, that day has finally come. Now, how exactly are you going to go about explaining it all to Max?

xxxxx