Authors Notes: Thank you for all the kind reviews thus far. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it is longer than the previous ones. And as always, The West Wing, etc. doesn't belong to me, I just have fun.
Chapter 3 – There's Never A Better Wish Than This
It was October – which meant a lot of traveling to places that some of them had never heard of. Making sure to visit the key states and key cities was also on the menu. Josh had always hated October of campaign season; he felt it didn't give him enough time to get his message out to enough people. He had developed a rigorous schedule for the Congressman and for Leo as well. He tried his best to keep them together as much as possible, but he knew better.
Both Congressman Santos and Leo were to meet in Los Angeles for a large rally that had been planned for weeks. It was going to hopefully drive out many Latino voters, which Josh was excited about. The event was planned to run very smoothly and hopefully would go off without a hitch.
The arrived in LA a day before the event, having various events to attend to in addition to the rally, and fundraising to do as well. The Congressman and Leo's staff were to meet up at the hotel at 4, to coordinate the next week of schedules. It had been a week since they had last seen one another and they tried to make sure that everyone was on the same page at least once a week.
He arrived early to the meeting, hoping she might do the same. It had been a very long, lonely week and he was hoping to use the extra 15 minutes to catch up with her. Luckily for him, she came up with the same idea and they both laughed when they realized they what they had done.
"Hey!" they both said joyfully, embracing one another, with Josh placing a small kiss on her cheek.
"Let's go in here," he whispered, pointing to a small office that was connected to the room they were using for the staff meeting. After he closed the door, he leaned in and gave her a better welcome.
"Now that's more like it," she told him as they broke apart.
"I saw you on TV yesterday, you looked great."
"It was really nothing..." she replied, eyes down at the floor.
"You know, I should beat up Leo for offering you a job before I could get to you."
"What? Just because we're apart from each other for a week at a time?" she asks, almost mischievously.
"Exactly!" he proclaims. "I'm having Donna withdrawals and I don't think they are very healthy."
"Well you should get those checked out by a doctor," she says playfully, grabbing his tie towards her, leaning in and kissing him at the next moment.
"That helped a little," he said as they pulled away.
"Well, you know, we are staying at the same hotel tonight," she states.
"Hmm… I wonder who planned that stellar move!"
He looks down at his watch and pulls her back in for another hug. He peeks out the window and realizes that many of the staff members have started to assemble.
"Hey, listen, it's time for the meeting."
"Do we really have to go?"
"Well, you're making me reconsider my decision, but since I am the one running the meeting, I should… you know, get out there," he says, opening the door and they both separated, trying their best to not look suspicious as they left the room. He went to his pile of… well, stuff, which included basically everything. She made her way towards the middle of the group, joining the group of Leo's senior staff.
It was getting close to midnight and he still wasn't finished with half of the work he had wanted to finish for the evening. He could see the Congressman's two speechwriters, Sally and James working hard on tweaking the language for the speech at the rally. He paused from his work to watch the two, relatively young, staff members debate over a certain line in the speech. She was advocating it, whereas he wanted to see it cut. He noticed with such passion they spoke their words and at that moment, he couldn't have been prouder of choosing Santos to run for President.
He was taken out of his haze by two hands placing themselves on his shoulders. He peered around to see that it was her, with a warming smile across her face. That's all he needed to see, none of this work mattered, he wanted to be with her, sit with her, talk with her, do anything with her.
"Hey," he spoke gently.
"Hi," she replied, bending down to place a gentle kiss on his cheek. A shock of electricity radiated through his body and he felt weak at her touch.
She looked down at the mountain of work he had amassed, obvious that it was what he had been working on all night long. She sat down beside him and gently caressed his hand.
"Looks like you still have a lot of work to do," she told him.
He looked down at the mass of papers and wished he had gotten it accomplished earlier. But he had a solution to this mess.
"Yeah… all these papers to read, things to delegate, a bazillion papers that need to be signed… you know. But hey, I haven't really eaten dinner, so would you like to join me?"
"Of course, then I will drag you back here and you will finish everything," she decided.
"Noooooooooooo!" he whined, grabbing onto her and playfully tickling her.
"Josh! Stop silly! Fine, I'll at least sit with you when we come back, does that sound like a fair trade?" she said, struggling with him to stop tickling her.
"Okay, you have a deal. Let's go, I'm starved." He stood up, pulling her up with him, and they walked side by side out of the offices.
"So what you're telling me, is that they made you get on the table and dance with only your boxers on?" she asked, barely able to get out the words between her fits of laugher.
"Yeah… and I still can't live it down today. Every time I see one of those guys they always bring it up…" he told her.
"Wait, is one of them named Mike?" she asked.
"Yes… why?" he replied, almost unsure about where this was headed.
She burst out into another fit of laugher, while he just shook his head in protest. They had found a pub down the street from the hotel they had been staying and working at. It was somewhat busy, some of the campaign workers had also chosen this place to drink and eat. They had chosen a table in the corner, trying to seclude themselves from the rest of the rather loud crowd that had been obviously been there for an hour or two.
She had decided on a salad while he had ordered some chicken thing at her persistence. They had been through all the normal rounds of conversation, when she thought it would be funny for him to tell her embarrassing stories about his college days. And some how, he willing obliged.
The food was brought out and the conversation was brought to a halt temporarily. She ate her salad gracefully, while he grunted every time he put another piece in his mouth. She decided to sample his meal, by leaning over and practically stealing half of his chicken.
"What… wha… what are you doing?" he asked, almost speechless.
"Well, you were all grunting and it sounded like you weren't enjoying it, so I figured I might like it," she replied while taking the first bite out of his chicken.
"But I was eating that!"
"You sure as hell weren't too happy about it."
"But Donna…" he said, in his usual complaining tone of voice.
"Here," she said while taking a portion of her salad and placing it on his plate. "Eat this."
"But it's a pile of crap."
"No, it's a healthy pile of crap, there's the difference," she added, a smile peering on her face.
He paused, wanting to continue this argument, but knew that she wins. She always wins. So, he continued his grunting while consuming the pile of greens he had been forced to eat.
They finished quickly, making their way out of the crowded pub into the Los Angeles street light. They walked in silence back to the hotel, hand in hand, admiring one another, cherishing their time together. The fact that they could have these minutes together, together to continue their dreams of making their world a little better for the generations to come, made the fight worth continuing on.
They reached the hotel and he was unsure if he really wanted to continue the work he had left unfinished on his desk upstairs. It all reality, it could wait until the morning.
"You going to finish your work?" she asked him, as they stood outside the hotel, in the hazy fog of moonlight.
"Nah, it can wait until the morning," he replied, pulling her in for a dance. "Dance with me?"
"Why, thank you for asking," she replied.
And there they stood, two individuals dancing to the music of the moonlight, swaying to the sounds of the streets, and enjoying each other's company for the time they had to share. These special moments they barely were able to share made each one even more special than the last. They stood there for several minutes until they made their way into the quiet hotel.
And as always, reviews are greatly appreciated