Title:
The Path Which Has Led to the Present (5?)
Author:
Aerial312
Rating: PG
Category: Humor/Fluff/Angst/Romance (a
little of everything)
Spoiler Info: Pre-Series.
Disclaimer: I
own nothing…I just borrow.
Feedback: Greatly appreciated.
Sure. Just let me know where its
going.
A/N: I'm staying true to the canon timeline, I decided. So Josh's father has died, and it was before Donna left the first time.
Josh bounced into the campaign manager's office, shoving a muffin into his mouth. "Morning!"
"You're chipper."
"Well, I was please to wake up to see that we are now only down 5 points."
"On our tracking polls, yes. Promising sign. I'm glad to hear you slept."
"Well, I was persuaded that watching a movie and getting some rest was a better activity than working the night before our little journey."
"You're not giving her a hard time about this, are you?"
"Why would you thin—?" Leo shot him a glare. "No. No, I'm not. I'm actually looking forward to the company."
"Good. Make sure you tell your mother that I say hi."
"I will. You need me to do anything before we head out?"
"Nah, I think I'm set with you for now."
Josh started for the door.
"Except to say that you had better be on your best behavior tonight at the thing."
"Of course."
"I mean it. Smile. Look like you're enjoying yourself. These people already gave us money, so no hammering political opinion down their throats. Polite schmoozing."
"I'll try."
"You'd better."
"I will, I will…"
"But?"
"I won't have Donna there to turn to if I start to get snarky."
"Josh…just be an adult and keep your…snarkiness to yourself."
"I'll try."
"Josh!"
"You could tell Donna that she had to go, to keep me in check, if you're worried about it."
"Josh, I am not getting in the middle of that. You know perfectly well that you can keep your attitude under control if you try hard enough. You want Donna to go, you do not need her to keep you in check."
"But it makes it easier."
"Go. I have work to do."
Josh smiled, and head for the door. He turned back and looked at the older man. "Leo?"
"What is it now?"
"Do you think we might be able to put Donna on salary soon?"
"You know that money is tight right now."
"She does really great work. She's got superhuman organizational skills."
"I'm aware of that. She keeps you in check. I'll be honest, Josh. I was close to giving into you and putting her on salary a month ago. But then she left. She hasn't even been back a week yet. I'm going to give it a little longer and make sure she sticks it out this time."
"I'm worried that she won't be able to stick it out if she doesn't start to make some money."
"Josh…we just don't have the money for it right now. Two weeks, after we finish this swing through the northeast, and she's still doing a great job, ask again. But for now, I'm sorry, but I can't."
Leo turned back to the document on his desk, and Josh left the room, scowling. In the main room, Margaret was talking to Mrs. Landingham at the older woman's desk.
Margaret looked at Josh. "You didn't ruin his good mood did you?"
Josh shrugged, and Margaret scowled at him, going back to her desk.
"It's too early for a cookie, Joshua."
"I know that."
"If I wasn't sitting here, you just take one. Margaret says you do it all the time."
"So do Sam and CJ and Toby."
"You kids need to eat real breakfasts."
"I had a muffin."
"Uh huh. What can I do for you then, Joshua?"
"Could I have an envelope, Mrs. Landingham?"
"Manila, plain white, white with the logo—"
"The one with the logo."
She pulled one from the neat stack on her desk. He started to take it, then handed it back to her.
"Mrs. Landingham, could you write Donna's name on it for me?"
He knew Donna would guess that something was up if it was his writing on the envelope. Mrs. Landingham gave him an odd look, but did as he asked.
"Thanks!"
Josh trotted across the room, to an empty desk in the vast hotel war room, and sat down. He pulled out his wallet. She'd kill him if she knew he was doing this, but he couldn't risk losing her again. He withdrew a fifty, a twenty and three tens and put them in the envelope, sealing it quickly. He had just finished putting his wallet away, when he spied Donna across the room, talking to Margaret. He waved, and she crossed the room to him dragging their suitcases.
"These are making the trip down on the bus. We just have to leave them there."
"Okay. Where do we pick up the car?"
"Across the street at the Avis."
Josh followed her out to the bus, with the envelope tucked into side of his backpack.
"I don't see why I can't drive now."
"Leo ordered me to."
"But that was before I got a full night's sleep."
"Orders are orders."
"Well, I'm your boss, and I'm order—"
"And Leo is your boss, so he trumps you. Get in."
Josh faked indignation but did as he was told. "I can certainly navigate us from New Haven to Westport without your silly Mapquest directions."
"It's a simple route…95 south the whole way."
"Wrong."
"Wrong?"
"Wrong. 95 south, to the Merritt Parkway. Much nicer, and my par—my mom's house is much closer to the exit off the Merritt than the exit off 95."
"You're sure?"
"Donna, I grew up here."
"How long a—?"
"And then I went to law school in New Haven. I know how to get from New Haven to Westport!"
"You make it sound like you went to visit your parents all the time when you were in law school."
"I used to see them…more than I do now."
She backed off, and got herself settled in the driver's seat.
"Oh! I almost forgot. When I went to visit Leo…while the campaign still can't afford to put you on salary..." He pulled out the envelope, and she looked at him with wide eyes. "You are now deemed worthy of a stipend."
"A stipend?"
"Apparently. I have no idea what's in it. It was sealed when I got it."
He handed the envelope over to her. She turned it over suspiciously. "Who's handwriting is this?"
"I don't know," he dismissed, but she thrust it in his line of sight. "Mrs. Landingham, maybe?"
"Hmm…that would make sense." She torn the envelope open. "Cash?"
"I guess that's how they do stipends."
"I guess."
"Just put it away and lets go. If I'd known you were going to spend an hour pondering it, I would have waited until we were at my mother's before I gave it to you."
"Okay, okay." Donna tucked the money into her purse, and started the car.
They rode for a few minutes in comfortable silence.
"Here," Josh pointed. "This is the exit you want for the Merritt."
"You're sure…yeah, yeah, you drove this at least once a month through law school."
"It was more than once a month."
She cocked her eyebrow at him.
"It was. I know…it seems like I never talk to my mom now, but when I was still in school…especially law school…I saw my parents all the time. I was half an hour away, and I was studying the same profession my father was a major player in. I came home a lot."
"You closer to your dad than your mom?"
Josh shrugged. "I guess so. He was really proud at first that I'd chosen to be a lawyer."
"At first?"
"Well, as you can see, I don't exactly practice law."
"Ah. Dad was disappointed?"
"He got over it, when I started working in the Senate, and it was clear that I was good at what I did."
"It was clear, was it?" she grinned.
"Abundantly."
She smacked his arm. "Did you inherit your ego from him in addition to your intelligence?"
"I think so."
"And your mom?"
"What did I inherit from my mom?"
"Yeah."
"The unruly, curly brown hair."
Donna laughed.
"The dimples." Which he promptly flashed.
"Your mom has dimples too?"
"Not as big as mine." He continued to flash them. "Joanie and I both got mom's looks."
Donna nodded encouragingly. Josh didn't talk about his sister often.
"The wild hair, dark eyes, and dimples. Dad had dark hair and eyes too, but what we got was clearly mom's. There's this one picture of us all from when I was like five, and Joanie, and mom, and I all have this same expression on our face, with the dimples out."
"I'd love to see that."
"I'm sure my mom still has it."
Josh got quiet. They rode in silence again for a while.
"Ooh. Westport, next exit."
"Here we go. Take a right at the bottom of the exit."
"Are you nervous?"
"Nervous?"
"Last time you saw your mom was at the funeral. There were lots of people around. Are you nervous about seeing her alone?"
"I'm not alone."
"I mean, without lots of family around for her."
"I'm not alone. But yes, I'm nervous. It's just weird…you know? To go back home and know my dad's not there anymore. I'm worried I won't know what to say. Take a left here. A right at the stop sign, then the first left."
"You'll think of something."
"I don't know…but you will. You're never at a loss for conversation. You'll save me if I start to falter."
Donna nodded and smiled softly at him. "Number 38, right?"
"Yeah."
Donna pulled the car to a stop. "We're here."
