Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. All hail Aaron Sorkin!

Spoilers: I don't read them, so if there is any its by accident.

Post Ep: 2162 Votes

Characters: Josh and Donna.

Feedback: This is my first fanfic.

Author's Note: Sorry the mistakes on the first chapter were bothering me so I reload the story.

Once upon a time I was alone. Closed off, isolated, barely connected to other people; then one day this woman hired herself as my assistant.

We were Josh and Donna, two people working in a small office, confided space. Days, weeks, months passed and I found myself relaying on her, then she left.

Disappeared into the night. I was alone again. Then just a mysteriously she returned. When she returned I swore I would never let her leave.

She made me better, stronger and smarter. She questioned everything I did. She many never know how often she saved my life.

Over time I stopped thinking of her as just someone working near my office, but as a part of myself. We were no longer two separate masses, but one creature. At least in my mind.

Fears started to keep me up at night, my second half could start to grow, and leave me. I admittedly held her back, in very sense of the word. At the time I thought I was protecting her. By I was lying to myself and I think she knew it.

More time passed and the more I relied on her, the less she needed me. She was growing. I let her leave me for a week; it almost killed her and myself. I thought my fears were at least slain as she was healing.

The worst sin of all was taking her for granted, thinking she would always be there.

But wounds heal. And then everything changed.

I ignored all the warning signs, she tried to tell me, but I wouldn't listen. I couldn't listen. Then she was gone.

I was alone.

I wish I could say she came crying back to me. I wish I could say I greeted her with open arms. But the truth is, at first I didn't recognized her, she had grew so much. And it was Leo who hired her not me.

There is only one word I can think of to describe my tangled emotions: Bliss.

There she is, sitting on the bed laughing. Helen is laughing back, sharing some antic about her and Matt's early days of marriage. Very long story short, he can't cook.

Donna, Helen and Ronna find this to be humorous. I could not care less, Donna is back.

Each day away from her I felt hollow and achy, lost and alone. Half of my body was severed and most of my soul.

Apparently I stopped smiling too. This morning Matt was staring at me funny, when I asked why, he said, "I didn't know you had teeth."

She said her goal today was just to watch learn the campaign and get to know the candidate. I wonder how long that's going to last.

"Which one?" Santos asks. Both women stick up their noses at the ties.

"Wear Josh's." Donna calls out.

"Why mine?"

"Because both those ties are ugly and Will's ties has ducks on it." She brought Will over to our camp, too. I wish she had not have done that, but I guess she feels indebted to him, since he did give her more career advances in three months then I did in eight years.

"What's wrong with ducks?" Will, you fool.

"Nothing is wrong with ducks, expect they are stupid and ugly and somehow became the symbolic of masculinity. Which, by the way, when did you guys decided that?" Donna stares him down.

Will knows he has already lost. I sigh and start loosening my tie.

Two hours and already a victory, three months and I barely got to nomination for Santos.

Was she always this good?

"So, Donna how do you know Josh?"

MATT STOP!

"How do I know Josh?" No she's repeating the question. Not good. Her face is changing the smile is fading. She does this thing where her face changes and displaces every emotion she is feeling in one slow motion.

Happy.

Unhappy.

"She was his assistant for eight years." Damn it, Will!

Pissed.

Angry.

Rage. Stay at Rage. I can handle Rage.

Santos glances at me, one of those, sorry I didn't know because you didn't tell me looks.

"He never mentioned me?" Her voice quivers.

Will freezes.

Rage.

Sadness.

Disappointment.

Pain.

Santos backtracks"Oh, THIS is Donna. Oh yeah! He talks about you all the time. You know, I was wrong. I was thinking this whole time he was talking about Ronna. No, he never shuts- up about you."

I don't think she is buying this at all.

Pain.

Rage.

Shit.

"We have that thing, we are going to be late." Finally Will, you're useful for something.

Matt kisses Helen and we walk out the door. Santos smacks me upside the head.

"You never mentioned her! Three months and you never mentioned her."

"She broke his heart, sir."

"Shut the hell up, Will. You have no clue what you are talking about. I never talked about her because she never come up in conversation."

"So she did break your heart."

"With all due respect, you shut the hell up, too, sir." Donna will kill me when I get back.

I am going to kill him when he gets back. I will kill him, burn him, dance on his body…

"You want to kill him."

"Hell ya." I've known Helen for two hours and she's like a soul sister.

"I didn't know he had teeth until you showed up. You know with the whole lack of smiling." If this is Ronna's "hey don't get mad at my boss he really is a nice guy you should feel better speech" she sucks at it.

"Your husband is a lousy lair." Helen smiles.

"Yeah I know. I am surprise he has been successful as a politician. So..." I sense I change of conversation coming. "Is there anything going on between you and Will?"

"Yuck!" Oh God I just said that out loud. "God, no he has a crush on Kate Harper back at the White House."

"How do you know?"

"He takes every opportunity to stare at her breasts."

"Then why?"

"Why did I ask Leo to hire Will too when he hire me? Will's a good guy, he deserved a second chance after that whole Russell fiasco."

I had another reason. But neither Will nor Josh know it, so I'm not telling you.

We change the subject to the campaign, no one is really happy with it. I thought it was just me who got disenchanted with the whole thing.

Watching the meet and greet on TV I see why. We have a lot of work to do.

When they come back Ronna and Helen are lying on the bed, stomachs down, and legs up eating freshly popped popcorn; waiting for the show.

"What. The. Hell. Was. That?" I speak slowly and clearly because I am saving my energy for the tirade I am about to go on. "I will repeat the question for those who weren't paying attention. What the hell was that?" All three of them have that deer caught in headlights facial expression.

"It wasn't that bad." Do I really need to explain who said this comment? Does it really matter?

"Wasn't that bad? American is great. Ten minutes of one idea American is great. You never even explain why or how its great. Will, I have never hear you writing something of an 6th grade boy caliber before. He isn't Bob Russell, he's Jed Bartlett without the boring lectures about New Hampshire. Congressmen, do you even WANT to be president?"

"Sure."

"'Sure' Why?" There it was; the core question that no one seemed to be asking. I glanced at Josh. He starts staring at my shoes.

Oh Josh, why aren't you reminding him of this answer.

"Did Josh fill your head about lies of living in the White House? Did he only tell you about the fancy dinners and flying around in Air Force One? Did he tell you that every minute of your day is recorded for history? Did you tell you about the termites, or that not all the fireplaces are real? Did you know that most of the bathrooms in the residence don't even work right? What about your staff? Do they know or understand what they are giving up? Do you guys like sex? You can kiss that goodbye. I will ask you this again, Congressman. Why do you want to be president?"

"Um. To help people? I guess." Weak answer.

"You can't remember can you? What about the rest of you?" I address the other people in the room. They shrug. "What have you done to them, Josh?"

"Are you doing this because I didn't talk about you?" I'm going to kill him.

"News flash Lyman the world does not in fact revolve around you. Everyone sit down. We are canceling the rest of the events today."

She makes everyone write down ten reasons why they want this job. So much for her not doing much for the first few days. Then she makes us share them. It was cheesy and sappy and lame, but it worked. She made everyone 'own' something, anything; a policy, plan, bill or even a concept.

She told the painful truth about working at the White House and asked if everyone was still on board. Then she played "Mr. Smith goes to Washington." She dragged the Secret Service men in to watch "the good part".

When the movie was over Will jumped up and cried, "I have to go right now."

"Where are you going?"

"I have to WRITE now" and he disappeared into the night.

"Josh, I need to read some of the old speeches from New Hampshire and all the other speeches from his re-elections. Why don't we order food and talk about it in my room."

Your room? Ok.

"Sure."

"Great." She smiles, I think that is what I missed the most, sweet gentle smiles.

After two hours of reading ten-year-old speeches, she finally says it, what's been bugging her since this morning. "You never mentioned me?" I spent most of the day rehearsing how to respond to this.

"No one brought you up."

"Why didn't you "bring me up?"

"Why would I talk about my assistant? You left me, remember? Why the hell would I want to talk about you?" My words spit at her will venom, I really wasn't expecting my own reaction. She flinches.

"Did you talk about anyone?" she asks in a whisper barely audible. Anyone, she means CJ or Toby or Sam.

"No." I lied.

"You're lying." How does she do that?

"You didn't answer my question." She gazes into my eyes, piercing my soul. Damn.

"Which question?"

"Why didn't you talk about me? I know I was just your assistant but still. I am your friend, you did tell them about your friends. Right?"

Her words weren't filled with anger, as expected, but loneliness and pain. You're my best friend. You left me. I could have dealt not having Toby, or C.J. or Leo, but you. I felt like I died.

"It hurt."

In one motion she raised herself from the bed on to her knees. I stood at the foot of the bed, her hands gracefully on my face. Fire. Her hands are like torches and suddenly all the fury, frustration and pain melted away.

"I never meant to hurt you. Do you know why I left?"

"Yes," I figured it out you didn't need to tell me.

"Josh, I am sorry for every ounce of pain I cause, for every sleepless night."

She runs her fingers through my hair.

My stomach flipping, my heart beating, I lean in.

"Josh." She whispers in my ear.

"Yes, Donna."

"You owe me a salad."

She flopped back on the bed resuming her read. That did not go as I had hoped.