Characters: Josh, Donna, Lou
Spoilers: The Ticket and future episodes (The Al Smith Dinner, Here Today)
Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah - none of the characters are mine, they belong to people who don't seem to love them as much as I do
A/N: Inspired by a posted on the J/D talk list over at Yahoo, entitled How Donna gets the Job as posted by mdrgrl5. Deals with Lou hiring Donna in place of Josh (which is how it happens, BTW). Lou finds the folder of opposition research on Donna's quotes. mdrgrl5's scenes is something like this:
Josh is out of the office when Lou calls and tells him that she needs to hire people. Josh directs her to the resumes in his desk. We see Josh retrun to HQ and he's walking briskly to his office. He opens the top drawer only to find 2 folders missing. He finds Lou stiing along in the conference room with the two folders open
J: There was an unmarked folder...
L: (looking up at him apologetically) I thought it was additional resumes...
Josh looks uncomfortable. Lous doesn't give him time to respond
L: (looking down) Why didn't you hire her?
J: You read the quotes. (Shrugs) We can't hire someone who bashed the Congressman.
L: (flipping pages in a folder) You call this bashing? She's smart, she's witty, she has experience with the press. (Looks up at Josh) She has experience with you.
J: (scratching his head and averting his eyes) Yeah.
L: She's polished enough to handle the press if they ask about her change of heart. She's good Josh. We need her.
J: (smirking) She is good.
L: (closes the folder and stands) I'm making the call.
Thanks to mdrgrl5 for the good starting dialogue and the inspiration. Hopefully it happens soon!
Being on a lame duck Vice President's staff had its perks. Will had put Donna in charge of the social calendar for the Vice President, since it seemed that that's all anyone wanted him for anymore. That meant that Donna was in charge of setting up the events, but didn't actually have to travel to them, which made her more than happy.
Being in the job, working for a Chief of Staff who was more mad than motivated these days made her schedule real lax. She could come and go as she pleased without letting much of anyone know. As long as she kept her cell phone in her general vicinity, no one really cared where she was and what she was doing.
That's how she found herself asleep on her couch in the middle of a Thursday afternoon. She had spent a few hours in the office that morning, but had left at about 11 to hit the gym and come home. She ate lunch and fell asleep watching 'All My Children'. She woke up at the sound of her cell phone ringing. Answering her phone half asleep was something she had mastered years ago.
"Hello?"
"May I speak with Donna Moss?" This was voice she didn't recognize, so she quickly woke up completely.
"This is."
"Donna, I'm not sure if you remember me or not. This is Louise Thornton – we met a couple of times while you were still working in the West Wing."
"Oh yeah. I could I not remember you – you made Josh really mad a couple of times."
That made Lou snicker. "Really? Know which time made him the maddest."
"The time your candidate beat the one he picked by like a 2 to 1 margin."
"I KNEW IT" Lou yelled, looking across the table. She was sitting at the Santos/McGarry Headquarters with Donna on speaker phone. Josh was more than intrigued and had insisted on sitting in on the call. At this point, Lou was smirking at the man whose head was currently being beaten against the table.
All Donna could hear is a loud thumping. "Umm… Louise, everything alright over there?"
Lou balled up a piece of paper and threw it at Josh to get him to stop the banging. "Um… yeah, it's fine Donna, just a bird at the window."
"That's a hell of bird you got there Louise."
"Please, call me Lou."
"OK, well, what can I do for you, Lou?"
"I'm glad you asked, Donna. I don't know if you are aware, but I'm currently working…"
"No."
"What?" Lou looked across the table at Josh, who was staring intently at the phone.
"Yes, I know what you are doing. Matt Santos hired you to work as his Communications Director."
"Well, yes, that's it exactly. Anyway, I need to hire some staff and I came across…"
"Look, Lou, I'm sure you aren't aware of what's happened, but I've already been to talk to Josh about the Deputy job and he said, basically, that he couldn't hire me and…"
"And if I had been here that day, Donna, I would have told Josh he was being an ass and had Matt overrule his decision."
"Yeah, right" Donna snarked into the phone. Josh looked at the phone with sad eyes, which didn't go unnoticed by Lou.
"Look, Donna, I came across your resume and the opposition research while you with the Russell campaign and…"
"Oh god! Look, I've already heard it from Josh and…"
"Donna, I found it refreshing and witty and funny. You were really good, considering how little experience you have with the press and the PR stuff."
"Well, thanks Lou, but Josh is convinced that…"
Josh, having enough of Donna beating herself up, finally decided to speak. "You know, Donna, I may have been wrong about all that."
"Josh?"
"Yeah."
"You have been there this whole time?"
"Yeah."
"Wait, did you just admit you might be wrong about something?"
"It happens once a decade, Donnatella, so it's not like you need to get used to it or anything."
That made Donna giggle, which in turn made Josh smile, which made Lou decide that this was the right thing to do. Lou knew the rumors and the backroom chatter about these two, but she was more convinced now that they needed Donna if Josh was going to make it through the next 100 days.
"Look, Donna, I think you're smart and polished enough to handle any bandwagon questions you might get from the press. How 'bout you ignore what Josh said the last time and come work for me."
Donna gave a very confused look to the wall in her apartment. "But, doesn't Josh have final say in…"
"Anything I do? Oh my dear, you'll see that once you get to know me better that you'll see that Josh has no say in what I do."
"Considering I've never had any control over her either, you two will make a lethal combination" Josh grumbled to no one in particular. He heard Donna snicker and saw the glare that Lou shot across the table.
"Part of my contract is that I report directly to the Congressman, not the ego Lyman over there. So, what do you say? Wanna take the press off my hands?"
Donna still wasn't sure and Josh could sense it, even over the phone. "Donna, look, I know I said that you couldn't work for the campaign, but between Lou, Leo, the Congressman, Helen, CJ, my mother, Mrs. Bartlet, Zoey… well, let's just say I've been shown the error of my ways. Besides, if you don't, Lou's gonna make me start talking to them again and you know what happens when I talk to the press in any kind of capacity."
Donna smiled, remembering things she hadn't let herself think about for years. "Well, Joshua, that's very true. I don't think Matt Santos would be near as understanding as Jed Bartlet about secret plans and illicit fires and whatnot."
He smiled bigger than Lou had ever seen him smile since joining the Santos ranks. "You in, Donna?"
She couldn't help but smile, knowing she wasn't working for Josh, per se. Being able to prove herself around him was something she really wanted and getting to be around him again was an added perk.
"What the hell! Yeah, Lou, I'll take the job."
"Fantastic. Look, I've got to fly out with the Congressman first thing in the morning, so could you come by tonight? I'll get you up to speed and you can spend a few days here getting acclimated before you join us on the road. Plus, Josh is buying dinner."
"I am?"
"Yes, you are. Chinese, just so you know. Donna, want to place your order now?"
Josh smirked at the phone. "Oh, she'll have the Kung Pou chicken with an extra egg roll."
"You're a funny man, Joshua."
"As always, Donnatella."
"Well, I can be there by 6 or so, if that's alright."
"Yeah, that's fine Donna. Just ask for Lou when you get here."
"Will do. Lou, thanks. I'm really looking forward to this."
"Me too, Donna."
"Joshua?"
"Yeah."
"I'll see you when I get there?" she asked, nervously. She had no idea how he was going to react to her being around again.
"Definitely. I'll be here."
"OK, well, then, I'll be there by 6. Talk to you all later."
With that, Donna disconnected the call. In her apartment, she started to scramble around to get showered and changed into something impressive, yet sexy at the same time. 'Might as well shock his system while I'm at it tonight' she thought to herself.
Across town, at the Santos headquarters, Josh was still smiling silly at the phone. Lou just shook her head and gathered up the open files. As she walked by him, she slapped him upside the back of his head.
"OWW! What the hell, Lou?"
"That's for being an ass, Lyman."
He just glared at her for a moment before shaking his head. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."
"She's going to be great."
"Tell me something I don't know there, Lou."
"Really? Can I?" she said, smirking at him like she really wanted to reveal a secret that everyone had been keeping to themselves for the last 9 years.
"No, not really. Get back to work, please."
She just smiled at him. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."
Lou threw open the door to the conference room and yelled for her assistant. "Let's go, we've got a new spokesperson to get ready for!"
Josh, left alone in the conference, quickly pulled out his wallet to look at the picture of him and Donna from the first Inauguration. He smiled as he ran his finger over the picture, reliving memories he hadn't wanted to think about for a very long time. His reverie was quickly broken when Ronna entered the room.
"Josh, are you ready for…"
"Whatever it is, Ronna, I'm ready for it" he said, smirking and swaggering out of the room.
THE END