The Green Card
By:Ozzyols
Character(s):Josh, Donna
Pairing(s):Josh/Donna
Category(s):Post Admin/Angst-lite/Romance
Rating:Y/Teen
Summary:"They moved the goal posts on me again Donna."
New administration, sequel to "Next Time Round"
Spoilers:To the speculated end of season 7.
Disclaimers:Product of another mind, just having a bit of fun… no copyright breach intended.
Authors Notes:This is a post Bartlet/New Santos administration piece – speculating on what will happen in the final few episodes… Don't say I didn't warn you.
He looked down at his watch as he threw the car keys onto the side board.
1.32am.
He sighed.
They had only been in office for three days and the earliest he had gotten home was midnight. This was not a good start.
"What time do you call this then?"
Josh looked up and saw Donna leaning in the darkened doorway of their bedroom. She looked adorable – like always – in her University of Wisconsin baby-doll t-shirt and light track pants that doubled as winter pajamas.
"Oh, hey! I thought you would be asleep by now." He replied, forcing his voice to sound casual. Tonight he had really hoped she would be asleep when he got home.
She padded down the hallway to meet him halfway, wrapping her arms around his waist. "No, just going now." She gave him a kiss. "Didn't see you much today…"
He stumbled, searching for a reply, hoping his pause wasn't noticeable. "No… sorry… it was, very busy." He shrugged and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I don't remember it being this busy the first time around, but hey, I was a mere Deputy then…"
Donna looked up into Josh's face. "Josh – Deputy you were, but you've never been a mere 'anything'."
He allowed himself a shaky smile. "Thank you."
She eyed him suspiciously. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Josh! You're lying, what's wrong?"
"Do you want something to drink?" Josh deflected the question, disengaging himself from her and moving towards the kitchen. "You want a tea or something?"
She followed him close behind. "No thank you, but I want you to tell me what's wrong?"
Josh started filling the jug and getting out the team making paraphernalia, maybe he could just talk his way around her… "Did I tell you that Sam is having problems settling into Toby's old office. He's complaining that he keeps hearing balls bounce off the wall. I told him I think he's just going nuts… Toby's at Columbia, not dead."
"Josh! You're rambling."
"CJ dropped by to see how I was settling in and to let me know a couple of things… It looks like she and Danny are finally going to hook up… that will be nice for them." The coffee mug in his hand slipped and fell to the floor shattering into several pieces. "Damn!" He knelt down and started picking up the pieces when suddenly her hands were on top of his, stilling them instantly. He looked up and met her face to face.
"Josh…" she said quietly, "what was the one thing I made you promise before I agreed to be your wife?"
"That naming children and pets were solely your prerogative?" He replied lamely.
"The other thing." When he didn't respond she continued. "I made you promise that unless it was classified you would tell me everything remember? This time he nodded and she rose gracefully to her feet and looked down at him. "So what happened?"
Scooping up the pieces and standing up Josh dumped them in the trash bin before turning back to the sink and looking out of the darkened window.
"They moved the goal posts on me again Donna."
"In what way?"
"Do you remember the first time that President Bartlet made chilli for the staff in the Residence?"
"Yes"
He turned to face her. "Remember how I came up quiet late that night?"
She nodded.
"You remember how that morning I had a meeting with someone from the NSA?"
"Vaguely."
"Well he gave me a card; it was an emergency procedures card – y'know, what to do in the case of a nuclear attack, that sort of thing."
"Ok."
He rubbed his hand across his face. "No it wasn't OK Donna!" he moaned. "It turned out the card was for me… and me alone… Not you, Not CJ, Not Sam. Not anyone… The people who had this card were me, Leo, Nancy McNally, and… I forget the rest."
"Sounds pretty normal to me."
"I gave the card back."
"What?"
"I gave it back."
"Why?"
"Why doesn't matter now Donna, it was eight years ago."
"Well it obviously matters something if you have brought it up again. So what happened today?"
He took in a deep breath.
"I got another one."
She smirked at him as she leant forward onto the edge of the countertop. "Of course you did, you're the Chief of Staff – so what's wrong with that?"
He felt tear start to blur his vision.
"I can't take you with me Donna! That's what's wrong with it! Leo said I could… but I can't, the rules have changed."
"Leo told you?"
"Yeah in Philly, about two weeks before… the election. He said that staff couldn't come, but wives…"
She arched a perfectly formed eyebrow. "You mean you proposed to me to get me a 'get-the-hell-out-of-dodge' card?"
Now he was confused. "Yes… no… I mean… well… yes I guess…."
"You guess?"
Anger started to build in him. "Damn it Donna, that's not the only reason I married you… I just want you to be safe. I didn't want to leave you behind – ever! That's why I gave the card back the first damn time. I didn't want to think about there ever being a chance that you wouldn't be there with me! And now they have managed to do it again, and this time I can't give the bloody thing back!" Josh swallowed a couple of times trying to settle his racing heart and steady his breathing. This was not the discussion he wanted to have…
Donna turned her back and walked away from the countertop towards the kitchen table.
Crap! Josh thought. He'd hurt her. He walked over to her and placed his hands lightly on her shoulders and tenderly kissed the back of her neck. "I'm sorry."
Without turning around Donna asked quietly. "This card? What does it look like?"
Josh frowned. "Kinda green and laminated."
Donna turned around to face him. "Something a little like this?" Between her thumb and index finger Josh saw a very familiar card.
His hand flew instinctively to the pocket in his pants… he could feel the bulk of his wallet still through the material. "What the…?"
Donna smirked at her husband. "Joshua Lyman, I love you, but sometimes you really are an idiot! Did you ever stop to think that if the NSA had given the Presidents Chief of Staff one of those cards, that they wouldn't extend the same courtesy to the First Lady's Chief of Staff?
Josh just continued to stare at her in shock.
"Now get your ass showered and into bed, I want to tell you about my day!"