AUTHOR'S NOTE: These chapters will be coming a little slower right now as I am working on some original fiction. However, I won't forget about them. I'm keeping an eye on what Mr. Wells is doing so I don't stray too far from what is going on in the show.

Anybody find the recurring theme yet????

PHOTOGRAPHS (13)

"You brought me coffee?"

"Yes."

"You brought me coffee."

"Yes."

"You brought me coffee!"

"Josh, we have established that fact. Now, if you don't want me to dump it out on the sidewalk on general principle, you'll take the damned coffee."

Josh reached up and took the cup of Starbucks from Donna and inhaled the strong fragrance as if it were perfume. It was far better that the swill served in the White House mess.

"You've only ever brought me coffee twice, maybe three times, in our entire relationship. And those times were because you thought Leo was going to fire me. What gives?"

Donna smiled, smoothed out her coat and took a seat on the steps next to him, "Well, you said you wanted to meet for coffee. Being the incredibly intelligent politico that you are, I was pretty sure you wouldn't actually bring coffee to a coffee meeting, so I made sure to pick some up."

She took a sip of her coffee and looked out over the tourists who were making the climb up the stairs around them. Even in the brisk December air, there were quite a few sightseers here at the Lincoln Memorial. She never failed to marvel at the monument, even after all of these years of living in Washington. It had become one of her favorite places in the city and she often came here to think and be alone.

"Ok, smartass. What if I had brought the coffee with me?"

"Then I would have had one for now and one to take back to the office," she smiled at him, noting how attractive and alive he seemed when he smiled. He looked just a little bit older, a tad bit calmer, and a little more worn than that day all those years ago when she walked into his life. But the hair was still a rat's nest, his tie was still crooked, and he couldn't keep his clothes pressed for anything. Things never change, she thought to herself.

Josh smiled and sipped at his coffee while his gaze drifted out over the reflecting pool and the numerous people strolling in the winter sunshine. He had missed the banter since Donna had left for her new position with Russell's campaign. Ginger tried, but she just didn't have the same spark that Donna had and was far too afraid of making him angry to really challenge him.

"So," she said, drawing the word out in her inimical way, "Do you miss me?"

"Of course," he grinned.

"When do you miss me the most?"

"The nights, definitely."

It was their little inside joke that seemed to take on a slightly different meaning now that their relationship no longer revolved around work. They had used it a few times in the weeks since Josh had come to her during her breakdown after the recent Gaza explosions, and their answers were less humorous and tinged more with some kind of "other" that neither ever mentioned. They had been trying to pick up on their old friendship in the past few weeks, meeting for lunch or an occasional dinner, and their old dance had resumed to a slightly different tune that made them both uneasy and thrilled at the same time.

"Too bad. My nights are currently busy. I may have some time, say, in 2006," she joked, turning her head to him and smiling.

Josh looked away so she wouldn't see the discomfort her comment brought up in him. He had been struggling with the request made to him by the President and Leo earlier in the week. The guilt over not telling Donna what was foremost on his mind and the knowledge that if he did what his heart told him to do, he would put a wedge in between them greater than anything they had ever faced, caused him several sleepless nights.

Sighing, he turned toward her with relatively solemn look on his face, "Donna, can I ask you something?"

"Oh my God!" she gasped. "The Fulbright scholar wants to ask the University of Wisconsin drop out a question? There is something that the great Josh Lyman, Congressman Slayer Extraordinaire doesn't know? Stop the presses!"

Her voice carried out over the steps and several people stopped to look over at the attractive couple.

"Jesus, remind me again why I'm upset you left me?" he hung his head, surreptitiously looking around to see who heard her outburst and then looking away when he caught an older couple nearby smiling at them.

"You were upset, Joshua? That's so sweet," she said, getting a great deal of amusement out of embarrassing him. It was something that had not gone away after all of these years.

"Seriously, I want to ask you something," he said looking out again at the reflecting pool, his tone getting quieter and more somber. Donna looked over at him questioningly.

"Ok."

"Is Bob Russell a good man?"

Her cup stopped in mid-air as she caught his eye. She turned away and continued with the sip she was taking of the coffee and thought for a moment.

"I think so."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I think he's a good guy. I mean, I know he's not as smart as President Bartlet and, yes, he screws up upon occasion, but he's not a bad guy," she said, avoiding meeting his gaze, "He isn't a killer or a serial rapist or anything."

"Do you believe in him?"

"Yes. Of course I do. What is this, Josh? Are you trying to get me to come back to work for you by talking me out of my current job?" The anger seeping into her voice was unmistakable and she felt like she was suddenly being questioned for her judgment. She had thought they had moved past this point.

"No. I would never do that. I'm very proud of where you are," Josh said taking a hold of her hand, 'I wouldn't do that to you. I just… I just wanted to know."

Donna looked at him searchingly and tried to guess what he was hiding, "Josh, what's going on?"

He stood up and laughed, "Nothing. Let's walk for a little bit. Those steps are cold."

Reaching down for her, he helped her stand and they started to stroll around the reflecting pool, walking by families taking pictures and office workers out for a breath of fresh air.

"Do you remember what you told me when we met the first time?" he asked, the two still holding hands as they walked.

"That I would be valuable?" she offered, grinning.

"Well, you did say that. No… I was thinking about when you told me that you saw Jed Bartlet on the television and decided to drive all the way out to come work for him."

"Yeah, I remember. There was something in him that made me feel like I wanted to be a part of what he was doing," she said softly, thinking back to the cross country drive and her absolute terror and excitement over what the future would bring.

Josh nodded, "We did it, didn't we? We were a part of it."

"Yeah, we did."

The two walked in silence for a few moments, their steps falling in sync and their hands, still clasped between them, swinging with their movement.

"Would you leave everything to go work for Russell like you did Bartlet?" he asked, stopping and turning toward her so that the two faced one another.

She studied him for a moment and sighed. "I'm different now, Josh. I'm older, I've been in Washington and I know the way it works. I'm not a naïve college girl who lives on ideals and grand dreams anymore."

Pulling her hand, he replied, "You didn't answer the question."

"I don't know, Josh, okay?" her tone was now exasperated, "No. Probably not. Bob Russel isn't Jed Bartlet. No one out there is another Jed Bartlet. Why the twenty questions?"

He looked away and took a deep breath, "I just wanted to know what you thought of him. How you felt about him."

"Josh, what's really going on? This isn't about me leaving you for the job with Russell or what kind of man I think Bob Russell is. This is something else, isn't it?" She had dropped his hands and turned to look at him.

His laugh was forced and he tried to look nonchalant as he answered her, "Why would you say that?"

"Because you're lying."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes you are, Josh. I didn't work with you sixteen hours a day, every day for the last seven years without knowing when you were lying!" she said, the tone of her voice indicating that she was starting to lose patience with him. It was a tone Josh had become quite accustomed to over the years.

Josh sighed, took her hand and started walking again. He looked away, wanting to talk to her and tell her everything and knowing he couldn't do it. To assuage his guilt, he hedged around the truth slightly, "I'm just thinking about the future. I mean, my job is almost obsolete now and the campaigns are gearing up…"

"Yeah, Baker and the others are starting to make noise. They were commenting on Hoynes the other night after he made that appearance on…."

Josh looked away from her and dropped her hand. He thought back to his meeting with John Hoynes just ten days ago, when everything in his life had gotten much more complicated… as if that was even possible.

You'll never be Leo McGarry to Jed Bartlet, Josh. But you can be Leo to me.

Donna stopped and took a step away, a look of shock in her eyes, "This isn't about me and Russell. It's about you and Hoynes. Hoynes is going to run, isn't he? He's talked to you hasn't he?"

Josh looked up at her suddenly and took a sharp breath. Oh God. How does she know I talked with him?

"Isn't he, Josh?" she said again, her tone a little more insistent, her forehead wrinkled in worry.

"I think so," he said quietly, looking at the ground in front of him.

"Are you going to work for him?" She was staring at him intently now, willing him to look up and meet her eyes.

After a few beats, Josh looked up at her and whispered, "No."

A smile moved across Donna's face.

"Good. Oh, that's good, Josh," the relief in her voice was obvious, "I would hate to think what would happen if we worked for two different candidates. It would be awful. I wouldn't want to campaign against you, Joshua."

He looked away, forced a smile and took her hand again, "Why because you know I would kick your ass and you'd have to come back to me for a job?"

"As if," she laughed, matching her step with his. "No. I predict that in the future, you will be coming to me for a job."

"What? Like applying to be your assistant?" he kidded, willing the feeling of despair to the back of his mind. In his conversation with her, he had made a decision that would ultimately change the face of their friendship and he knew this would be one of the last times the banter would flow between them. He knew he could never back Russell. He couldn't go back to Hoynes, either. He could never work for a man that didn't inspire and enthuse the nation the way Jed Bartlet had all those years ago. His questions to Donna were just a way to confirm what he already felt in his heart and knew in his conscience.

"That might not be a bad idea. Do you own a catholic school uniform?" she asked evilly, cocking one eyebrow and leering.

As the two joked and continued their stroll, the tourists around them took their photographs of the cold, bright December day, not knowing that the decision made in their midst that afternoon would influence the future of the American presidency.

(To be continued.)