Josh's meeting had gone all to hell in record time. About 3 minutes after he walked in, he managed to make Toby angrier with him than Toby already was, alienated about three different important Congressmen, and garnered very scary looks from the general direction of where Leo was sitting. Josh somehow managed to grunt and bear it through the rest of the meeting, but only after Leo gave him the withering look of death and Toby actually threw his pen at him when no one else was watching. Josh hoisted himself up and left the room as soon as the meeting was over; he didn't want to be around for any questions directed at him. Josh trudged back to his office, passing Margaret on the way, who gave him another quizzical look but said nothing this time, and slammed his door once he was back. He was really pissed off now, and his mind had had time to stew during the entire Appropriations meeting, and the only topic it seemed to want to stew about was what he had witnessed earlier.
Josh just couldn't understand himself; he shouldn't be angry about that, that'd be stupid. But he was – he was extraordinarily upset and hurt and pissed, even if it was all irrational. Sam and Donna were friends, the best of, and they joked around as much as he and Sam joked around. The two of them had bonded so quickly on the campaign trail. It was almost as fast a friendship as when Josh had met Sam years ago. Josh rubbed his face with his hand. So he shouldn't be angry about seeing them joke around, right? There really was just no reason to be upset at all.
He had just decided that his anger and hurt feelings were totally unnecessary and had decided to go find Donna and Sam and see if he could maybe finish lunch with them, when the second thing happened that pushed Josh's good mood in the far opposite direction. Josh jumped out of his chair and rushed past Donna's desk, running over about three different interns in the process, trying to get to the Mess. Josh had made it to the top of the stairway leading away from the Mess when he came upon them. Sam was on the steps below Donna, and his arms were around her.
"Are you sure about this, Donna? I mean the last time you thought the guy was the one he turned out to be a total jerk. Don't you remember?" Sam was sitting back in his chair, relaxing after lunch as Donna wiped her mouth and sipped her coffee.
"Gee thanks for bringing that up, Sam" Donna groaned. She hadn't thought about that failed date in months. God, that night had been awful; her date had been so cocky and self-assured, but not in the attractive Josh Lyman way, but in the I'm-really-just-an-asshole kind of way. Donna's eyes grew wide at her last thought; Josh Lyman, attractive? Donna hesitated for a second and then decided: yeah, I do find Josh attractive, I always have. Sam was now staring at her, afraid she might be choking on some lettuce or something. "What?"
"Sorry, Donna, it's just, you're eyes got really big right then and I wasn't sure if you were choking on something or just going into shock. Penny for your thoughts?" Donna eyed Sam up and down seriously for a minute, and then she laughed.
"Ha! No way, Sam. It'd take a lot more money than a couple of pennies for me to tell you what I was just thinking. Are you ready to go? Because I have a lot of work that I have to get done still and I want to get out of here early tonight so I can get ready." Donna stood and started to gather their trash. Sam stretched his legs out in front of him and yawned before he stood up next to her.
Sam got right next to her ear before he said, in a low tone, "Alright. It's up to you, if you don't want to tell that you were thinking about Josh. But just know I'm always here." Sam turned away from her gaping stare and started for the Mess exit. "Wait a minute, Sam! You did not just…I...What?" Donna spluttered, trying to catch up to him. Sam stood waiting for her in the doorway. "Sam!" Donna pleaded. "I came to lunch with you to 'save you from bodily harm.' So now you have to tell me what you just meant back there."
Sam sighed and grinned. "Donna, it was pretty obvious by the look you got in your eyes. I've seen you two together, and I've known Josh forever and can read him like a book. You're one of my best friends and I think I know you pretty well too. So I know that deep down, even if you're not willing yet to admit it, there's a part of you that is connected to him in a way that I hope I can feel with someone someday. That's all that I meant." Sam started for the stairs, and Donna, still gaping from before, ran around in front of him, trying to walk up the stairs backwards and talk to Sam at the same time. Sam had just gotten her to turn around and walk properly, when Donna turned her ankle and toppled backwards into him. Sam grabbed for Donna and the wall, attempting to keep hem both from tumbling headlong backwards down the stairs.
"Something going on around here?" Josh's voice held a grating edge to it that neither Donna nor Sam had ever heard there before. Josh was on the second to top step, looking down at them, but at that moment Sam and Donna were still in a tangle, and neither noticed his steely eyes directed at them. Donna's right arm was grasping onto Sam's waist, her left arm flailing, as Sam gripped at the wall with his right arm, his left snaked around Donna's waist, holding her body tightly against his – her back to his front – as she still only had one foot on the ground. Josh half coughed, half grunted in a low tone. Donna had her head back against Sam, and the two were laughing as if they had never experienced anything funnier than what had just happened.
Josh started down the stairs towards them as Donna managed to regain her foothold on the steps and Sam helped stabilize her before letting go of her. "Hey Josh, we were just headed back from lunch when Donna attempted to defy gravity. What's up?" Sam looked at Josh's face for the first time. It seemed extraordinarily stormy. Sam visibly gulped, fearing the storm was about to break. Donna was now sandwiched in between the two of them, and furtively glanced from one to the other, trying to assess whether it was better for her to talk or remain silent.
"Um, Josh? How was your meeting? Did it go well?" Donna was trying to get him away from what seemed to be thoughts of doing bodily harm to Sam, and onto a subject that might divert his attention. She watched as he turned an icy gaze her way – this time, Donna was the one who physically shivered under his stare.
"Don't you have a desktop full of work to do? I don't pay you to sit around and yuck it up with your friends all day long. Damn, maybe if you spent a little more time at your desk, we wouldn't be so far behind." Sam's jaw dropped, and Donna's eyes became teary. This was definitely not the Josh that she found attractive. Donna didn't even know how to respond; she was too hurt and too angry to make a coherent thought come out of her lips.
"Josh? Donna only came to lunch with me because I begged her too. She was just going to eat at her desk and keep working, but I made her take a break and come with me instead. I had come looking for you earlier." Sam tried to mollify the situation, but was failing miserably. Josh didn't look either of them in the face, his emotions were in too much turmoil and he was afraid he might snap at one of them like he had just done to Donna. He had instantly felt sorry when he saw the look of hurt that crossed her eyes.
"Yeah, well, I guess I'll just go back to work. See you later, Sam." Donna quickly brushed past Josh and near ran up the rest of the steps, muttering "Jerk!" when she thought she was out of hearing range.
"Come with me right now, into the Mess. I'm grabbing a quick lunch and you said you were looking for me earlier. Let's go," Josh stomped down the stairs, leaving Sam in his wake. A rather confused Sam.
"But Josh, I just…" Sam trailed off when Josh barked out, "Follow me now!" Sam grudgingly followed Josh into the Mess, not sure what his mood would be like once they were seated. Sam scratched his head, "I thought Donna said he was in a good mood today. So what the hell was that about?"
Josh stomped his way into the Mess, and slammed some things onto a tray. Damn! And to think, he had been going to tell them what an idiot he was earlier in the day when he had seen them in the bullpen and had gotten irrationally angry. Now he was going to do no such thing. In fact, his mood was now angrier and more upset than when he had seen them together earlier. "They were together – bodies together –hands on each other!" Josh grumbled under his breath. Josh couldn't help but have one last stormy thought before he faced Sam again: "Today definitely just went from bad to worse."