Author's Note: Thanks for sticking with me and all the kind reviews. I have one more chapter to and I hope you will enjoy it along with this one.
"Loose Ends"
"I'm glad you and Toby made up," Donna told Josh as they walked to the car.
"Yeah, me too," Josh said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. The fall had been spring-like, but he could feel the cold weather in the air.
"What he did was wrong, but I'm glad the president pardoned him," Donna continued as they approached the car. "He looked so miserable when he walked in tonight. He looked a lot better by the time he left."
"Yep," Josh said as he followed Donna to the passenger's side of the car.
"What are you doing?" Donna said as she stutter stepped slightly while trying to figure out what Josh was doing.
"I'm opening the door for you," Josh said getting ahead of her and pulling open the car door.
"Why?" Donna said wearily.
"Because it's the gentlemanly thing to do," Josh explained, though he did wonder himself if he had an ulterior motive.
"Are you firing me?" Donna said as she stood outside of the car.
"No. Are you going to get in? It's cold out here," he said still holding the car door.
"If I'm not fired then what's with the door?" Donna asked.
"I'm being nice," Josh said starting to get exasperated. This wasn't going quite how he'd planned.
"Are you sure I'm not getting fired?" Donna asked finally inching into the car.
"I wasn't going to fire you, but I'm thinking about it now," Josh said. "Will you get in the damn car?"
"Fine," Donna said satisfied that she wasn't about to be fired.
Josh closed the door behind her and sighed as he walked around to the driver's side. He took a deep breath and opened the door.
"Why did you open the door for me?" Donna asked again once Josh was in the car and belted in.
"I was being nice," Josh practically shouted.
"But you never do that," Donna insisted.
"You're right," Josh said putting the car into drive rather forcefully. "I don't normally do that, but it seemed nice and I thought I'd give it a try. Remind me to never do that again."
"No, I thought it was nice," Donna replied. "Just a little out of the ordinary."
"Well I think the last week has been a little out of the ordinary," Josh said quietly.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good," Josh said focusing on the road.
"It was nice to see Sam," Donna changed the topic of conversation. "I can't remember the last time I saw him. Actually everyone in the same room again was a little weird. It was nice though."
"Yeah it was. Hey, what are you doing on this day next year?" Josh asked Donna suddenly.
"I don't know," Donna scoffed.
"You wanna get together with Sam, Toby, CJ and me? Sam decided we had to pencil in time together so he set a meeting for this day next year. Well, actually he made it binding and there was some talk of a blood oath to make sure we all made it."
"Sure," Donna said laughed. "Although the blood oath thing is kind of where you lose me. Could I just Sharpie it in on my calendar?"
"I guess that can work," Josh smiled as he turned the corner to the main road.
"You ready for tomorrow?" Donna asked.
Josh thought about her question for a moment as he watched the headlights pass one by one. The city looked so pretty at night. The various lights from the monuments cast an intricate pattern of shadows on the ground.
"Josh?" Donna asked putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah," Josh said. "I think I am."
He waited a beat and confidently said, "I know I am."
Josh suddenly shifted lanes and pulled onto a residential side street away from the lights of the thoroughfare. He pulled into a parking space on the side of the road and the car filled with a foggy light from the street lights.
"Where are we going?" Donna asked as Josh put the car into park.
"Donna," Josh said taking off his seatbelt and facing her.
"Yeah?" she asked with a hint of alarm in her voice. She didn't know what to expect from Josh at this moment.
"It occurred to me tonight that I didn't thank you for being there for me through all this," Josh said.
"Josh you don't have to--" Donna started to say before Josh lifted up his hand to stop her.
"I do have to," Josh insisted. "I didn't want you to work for the Santos campaign. We both know that. I had this thing where I was angry and it was stupid and I'm glad I realized how stupid it was. The thing is if you weren't here with me this week I don't know what I would have done."
Josh reached over and took Donna's hand in his own. He looked down as he spoke.
"I think I might have gone nuts or something because you're…I don't know. You're this calming presence. I feel like sometimes I'm floating in this huge sea and the waves are crashing down on me and the fog is so thick I feel like I'll never find the shore and then you're there like this lighthouse in the mist guiding me back to shore. I see you and I know things are going to be okay."
Donna squinted a little in the low light and tried to make eye contact with Josh who seemed embarrassed to look her directly in the eye. She felt her eyes tear slightly but she fought back the impulse to cry, though his words were touching.
"Josh," she said putting two fingers under his chin and lifting his face to meet hers. "That's the most beautiful thing you've ever said to me."
"CJ," Josh said thinking as he spoke. "CJ kept saying that we don't tell each other how we feel enough. I almost died and then you almost died and we never really said it did we? I mean it was always there but we didn't say it."
"Say what?" Donna asked hoping she already knew the answer.
"I love you Donna," Josh said. "You've been here all this time and it's been staring me in the face but--"
Donna let go of Josh's hand and leaned forward. She placed her hands gently on his cheeks and pulled him toward her and placed her lips firmly on his. Josh returned her kiss and briefly pulled away to look her in the eyes. His eyes darted quickly back and forth as if he were trying to determine if he should kiss her again until he finally pulled her back toward him and locked his lips with hers. He tried to lean over farther but the console in the middle of the front seat prohibited his movement until he finally gave up, gave her one last lingering kiss and pulled back.
Donna had to catch her breath after Josh pulled away. Her mind was racing. After years of pondering and waiting and wondering whether anything would ever happen she and Josh had finally shared the kiss she had dreamt of. It was a surreal moment and Donna almost wondered if she were dreaming.
"I'm sorry," Josh said breathlessly. "I probably shouldn't have grabbed you like that."
"No, it's fine," Donna said a little more high-pitched than she'd intended. She could sense a Josh freak out and she silently prayed that he wouldn't try to take back what had just happened.
"But it was inappropriate and I shouldn't have," Josh insisted.
"Josh," Donna said. "Don't ruin this. Do you know how long I've waited for you to be ready for a moment like that?"
"What?" Josh asked running his hand across his cheek.
"It's like you said, there's always been something there and I've waited and waited for a very long time for you to do something about it."
"You've waited?" Josh asked feeling a slight boost to his ego.
"Of course," Donna said slumping into the passenger's seat.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Why didn't you?"
"I don't know, it seemed wrong, I was your boss."
"You weren't my boss for a while," Donna pointed out.
"Yeah but I was mad at you then," he replied with a tiny grin that made him look like a little boy who'd gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Hey," Josh said reaching his hand out to her again. "I want you know that this isn't because of Leo. I mean, I'm not telling you this because I feel like I have to. I want to tell you this stuff and I'm not saying we should get married or anything--"
"I was thinking a date first actually," Donna suggested.
"Right," Josh agreed. "Because even though we've known each other for a long time we don't know each other like this."
Josh waved his finger between the two of them with his free hand to indicate a closer relationship.
"Josh," Donna said.
"Yeah?"
"I love you too," Donna said. "But I'm not in love with you right now. Does that make sense?"
"Well of course you're not in love with me," he said. "I haven't turned on the patented Josh Lyman charm yet."
"Oh really?" Donna laughed.
"Yeah," Josh nodded leaning closer.
"You're forgetting that I've known you for quite a while. I know all your faults and quirks."
"Those so-called faults and quirks were totally fabricated. I couldn't have you falling in love with me while we worked together," he said inching closer yet.
"We work together now," Donna reminded him.
"Technically Lou hired you," Josh countered.
"Good call," Donna said wrapping her arms around his neck and allowing him to kiss her deeply again.
"So, what are you doing the day after tomorrow?" Josh asked her.
"Nothing important," Donna said.
"How about we go have some dinner?" Josh asked.
"What's wrong with tomorrow night?" Donna asked.
"Well I have this little commitment," Josh said. "I promised a friend I'd get him elected President of the United States and I promised my mentor that I'd get him elected Vice President."
"Well I suppose that sounds legitimate," Donna said.
Josh leaned in to kiss Donna again when she put her hand on his chest to hold him at bay.
"Josh," Donna said. "Thank you for telling me how you feel."
"You make it easy," Josh said.
"We're gonna win you know," Donna said.
"You know, hearing you say it makes me really believe it," Josh replied.
Donna leaned in and kissed Josh hungrily and felt that no matter what happened from here on out, that this was the beginning of a new phase of their relationship.
CJ paced back and forth behind her desk as she glanced at her watch again. She'd been in her office for a good fifteen minutes hoping Danny would show up and still, he was nowhere to be found. She sighed and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Why was she so nervous? She felt like a child on the first day of kindergarten. She felt nervous, excited and apprehensive all at once.
She heard a light tap on her door and looked up to find Danny standing in the doorway. "You waitin' for me?" he asked with a smile.
"What? No," CJ said fumbling with some papers on her desk pretending they were important. Why did she feel the need to do that? Why did she lie?
"Oh, okay," Danny said, his smile fading a bit as he entered the office.
"Yes," CJ admitted. "I was waiting for you."
"Okay," Danny said.
"I don't know why I do that," she told him. "I was waiting for you. I was here pacing back and forth waiting for you. Are you happy?"
"Are you?" Danny asked shutting the door and entered the office further.
"Not really," CJ sighed.
"Come here," Danny said reaching his hand out to her.
CJ walked around her desk and approached Danny, dragging her feet the entire way. She felt foolish and awkward all of a sudden. It was a very long time since she felt this way.
She placed her hand in Danny's and he pulled her into a tight hug. "Everything is okay," he told her.
"You don't know that," CJ said returning his embrace.
"Actually I do," Danny informed her. "I'm giving up my reporter gig to work over at the psychic hotline."
"Reading tarot cards are you?"
"Chicken bones," Danny corrected her with a smile.
CJ chuckled lightly and suddenly she felt much of the stress that she had held in her body dissipate. She took Danny's hand in hers and pulled back.
"So," she said.
"So," Danny smiled.
"Are we ever gonna finish this conversations about cliffs?" she asked him moving over to the couch to take a seat.
"I don't know," Danny said following her and taking a seat beside her. "You sure you want to finish it?"
"The suspense is kind of killing me," CJ smiled.
"Really?" Danny said leaning back on the arm of the couch. "Maybe I should keep you in suspense then. At least then I know you'll return my phone calls."
"I always return your calls," CJ protested.
"Except when you don't," Danny reminded her.
"Well yeah, then," she replied with a smirk. "I'm sorry about that."
"You're a busy woman," he said knowingly.
"That's no excuse."
"You know, it really isn't," he said leaning forward.
"Okay, enough with the small talk," CJ said. "I'm so afraid Kate is gonna come bursting in here with a nuclear meltdown or information on World War III."
After a beat she added with a smile, "Oh wait, but that already happened."
"It did, didn't it?"
"Talk," CJ instructed forcefully.
"I love it when you take charge."
"Danny," she half-whined.
"The suspense is really killing you isn't it?"
"Yes!"
"Okay, okay," he said patting her leg which was curled underneath her. "Here's the thing. I've done the cliff bit twice now. I thought it was pretty good stuff."
"Very good, go on," she said.
"Seriously," he said taking a moment. "Seriously, I think about you a lot CJ. And even though we only had one actually date-"
"Business dinner," she interjected.
"Business dinner," he conceded. "And even though you've walked out on two dinners with me, I still feel like there's so much unfinished business between us."
"I know," CJ said almost shyly.
"I want to see more of you. I know that right now isn't a good time because it's the end of the administration but when you're sprung from this glorious prison-"
"You want to date," CJ finished for him.
"I want to marry you," he said almost overlapping her sentence.
"What?" CJ said, her mouth hanging open.
"You're the one Claudia Jean," he told her. "Earlier you told me that I had a little piece of you and I hope that the little piece of you that I have is going to grow because the second the new guy takes the oath of office I'm gonna call you and I'm gonna ask you to marry me and I hope that you'll say yes."
CJ just looked at him and she saw that he was completely serious. The evening she deserted Danny at the restaurant she felt that maybe a proposal was coming, but now she was certain. She wanted to laugh. It was so absurd and yet so terrifically them. Danny really did love her.
"Danny we haven't even dated," CJ pointed out after found her voice.
"I figure I'm giving you a three month head start to think about it," Danny replied. "Look, I'm not saying I'm asking you to marry me in three months and we have to go down to the court house and make it official on the same day. I'm just letting you know that this is where I see us going. I know you need time to process these kinds of life-changing things."
He was right. Danny knew her so well that he could tell she would need time to process his proposal. He knew that she would need time to get used to the idea of marrying him and he was sitting in her office giving her mind a three month head start.
"Okay," she said with a small smile.
"Okay?" he asked to make sure he'd heard her correctly.
"I'll look forward to your call in three months," she replied. The truth was she knew what her answer would be without even thinking about it. She knew it that night weeks ago when she got a knot in her stomach when she realized what Danny was about to do before she was called away.
Danny was surprised and jubilant in the same moment. For the second time that day he wasn't sure how to express himself verbally so he leaned forward and kissed her deeply on the lips. CJ leaned forward and returned the kiss before resting her forehead against his.
"So I guess I'll hear from you in three months?" she asked.
"You can count on it," Danny said happily. "You're not gonna go change your cell number on me are you?"
"No," CJ giggled.
"You sure? You're not letting me down easy? In three months I'm not gonna find your phone disconnected and your apartment empty am I?"
He made the comment in jest but part of him was nervous that she had agreed to what he proposed to quickly.
"I promise I'll be home waiting for your call," CJ said honestly. The sincerity in her eyes made Danny lean in again and kiss her hungrily on the mouth. She returned his enthusiasm for a moment before pulling back.
"I thought we weren't going to do this until after the inauguration," CJ reminded him.
"I've always heard that practice makes perfect," Danny informed her.
CJ chuckled slightly and squeezed his hand. "I really do love you Danny," she said.
Danny took his free hand and ran his finger gently down her cheek as he smiled. "That's all I'll ever need to know," he said softly. "How about if I get back to work and leave you alone for the next three months?"
"How about if you call me once every few weeks?" CJ countered.
"I think I can handle that. The real question is can you?"
"I think that will work out just fine," CJ said as she stood up. "I'm really glad you were here tonight."
"I'm really glad you're glad," he smiled. "I'll talk to you in a few weeks." He leaned over a kissed her gently on the cheek.
"Okay," she said letting go of his hand as he left the office.
CJ stood and ran her hand over her lips and she could still feel the pressure of mouth on hers. Somehow, although the day had started out about as horrible as she could have imagined, it salvaged itself. Between catching up with Sam, mending fences with Toby, teasing Donna and Josh and kissing Danny it was almost as if Leo had brought them all together one last time to make them realize how much they were missing and how much they had taken for granted. For her part, CJ made vow to savor these moments and live life as fully as Leo had.
TBC