Author: Aerial312 Rating: PG-13. This one's got some swearing.
Category: Humor/Fluff/Angst/Romance (a little of everything)
Spoiler Info: Pre-Series.
Disclaimer: I own nothing…I just borrow.
Feedback: Greatly appreciated. Archiving: Sure. Just let me know where its going.
There was a soft knock at the door, and Donna groggily woke up. She had gotten very little sleep after watching Titanic in its entirety, and right now her pillow was very inviting. The knocking continued. Donna did not want to get up. She was covered up tightly, and all warm and cozy.
The knock got more insistent. Donna really didn't want to move. She snuggled closer into her pillow, and it moved. Donna's eyes opened with a start. Uh oh. Josh was her pillow. She wasn't sure how that happened. She had gone to sleep curled on her side, facing the center, but definitely separate. Now there was no gap between them. She was curled against him, with his arm around her.
The knock got louder. This was not good. Part of her was considering this really, really good, but the other part of her, the more logical part knew this was bad. Bosses and assistants weren't supposed to wake up in each other's arms. Bosses and assistants weren't supposed to be sleeping in the same bed to begin with, but she wasn't going there. This felt so good, but there was someone at the door. And they kept knocking.
Very slowly and gently, she wriggled out of him embrace. She knelt up and looked at him. He'd barely moved. For someone who had such trouble falling asleep, he sure slept soundly. Donna walked over to the door, to determine their course of action. She didn't think anyone actually knew she was staying with Josh. Donna put her eye to the peephole. Oh shit. This was probably the worst person it could be. Mandy was at the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Donna scurried back over to the bed, and shook Josh. "Wake up!" she whispered. "Wake up, shhh!"
Josh blinked awake. "Why are you shushing me?"
Knock, knock, knock.
Josh sat up. "Who is it?"
"You're not going to be happy."
"Who?"
"Mandy."
"What!"
"Shhhh!"
"What the hell is she doing here?"
"I don't know. I just looked out the peephole and there she was."
"Shit."
"I know."
"I didn't know she was coming."
"She's here."
"We can't open the door." Josh shifted uncomfortably.
"I know."
Knock, knock, knock.
"How long has she been knocking?"
It seemed like forever. "A minute or two. Maybe she'll go away."
"She's very stubborn."
"Its almost 7:00. You could have feasibly left by now."
"I guess…"
"So we wait."
"We wait."
Donna sat awkwardly on the bed beside him. She wondered if he realized the position that they had slept in.
"Did you watch all of Titanic?"
"Yeah. Finished at like 3am."
"I watched the first hour or s—"
"You were asleep in the first five min—"
"I wasn"
"You were."
"I guess I was more tired than I thought."
"I should put on Titanic every night," Donna grinned.
"The perfect sleep aid."
She got up and crossed to the door. "Looks like she's gone."
"She's probably watching."
"We should get ready and go downstairs."
"Yeah, before she figures out I'm not already down there."
"You want to go first?" Donna gestured the bathroom.
"Uh…nah…you go. I'm still waking up." Josh sat back against the headboard, still under the covers.
"I had better not come out and find you back asleep."
"I'm getting out of bed in a minute. I swear."
"Uh huh," Donna smiled, as she dug work clothes out of her suitcase. "I'll be quick."
"Did Mandy find you?" Sam asked, the second Josh walked into the conference room-come war room.
Josh decided to play ignorant. "Mandy's here?"
"Don't sound so excited."
"That must have been the knocking on the door this morning."
"Yeah, she said she knocked for almost five minutes to no answer. So she came downstairs looking for you."
"I ignored the knocking."
Sam chuckled. "She was pissed."
"I didn't know it was her. I just decided that anyone I really wanted to talk to would know to call me."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead," Josh answered cautiously.
"Why do you bother with her?"
Josh shrugged.
"Is it good sex?"
"Sam!"
"Well?"
"It can be…"
"But…"
"But, its not usually worth the hassle."
"Oh. I would have thought that good sex was the only reason you put up with that woman."
"She's not terrible…to sleep with."
"You gonna again?"
"I don't know…probably…its this cycle."
"But you want to break the cycle?"
"Its not going anywhere."
"That's obvious."
"Is it?"
"Most definitely."
"Shit."
"Are you in an on segment or and off segment?"
"I don't know."
"How can you not know?"
"I think we've been on—as you put it—an off segment for several months."
"But you still sleep with her?"
"Sometimes."
"You two seemed pretty friendly three weeks ago in Ohio."
"She was there for the whole week."
"And…"
"What and?"
"I have a hard time believing that if Mandy is here for a whole week this time you'll be as chummy."
"Probably not," Josh sighed. "I was lonely in Ohio."
"Ah…"
"Sam, my father had just died."
"And?"
"Why is there always an and? My father had died, and Mandy was there. Physically at least."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that we never even talked about it. She hadn't fucking seen me since the funeral, and didn't bring it up. We just didn't talk much at all."
"I see."
"What?"
"Can I ask you a question?"
"I don't want to answer anymore questions about my whatever-it-is with Mandy."
"Not about that."
"What then?"
"Where did Donna stay last night? She'd been sleeping on the bus, she said. But last night, the bus had to park quite far away. Where did she stay?"
"Sam, the way you ask the question, you its clear already know the answer."
"So she did—"
"Quiet."
"—stay with you," Sam finished at a lower volume.
"Yeah."
"How does that work?"
"Huh?"
"How does that work, Donna staying in your room?"
Josh shrugged.
"Bed and floor, or share the bed?"
"We share the bed."
Sam cocked an eyebrow.
"What? You've never shared a bed with someone you weren't sleeping with?"
"I have. Not in long time—"
"Its like that."
"—and never with someone who looked like Donna."
Josh glared at Sam.
"I'm just saying."
"Nothing has happened."
"Has happened…that seems to imply more than once, because if you just wanted to indicate last night, you would have said nothing happened, not—"
"Sam!"
"Well?"
"Donna usually stays with me. I don't like her sleeping on the bus. But nothing happens. Let's keep this quiet, okay?"
Sam nodded, and Josh continued over to a computer to check his email. Sam accepted his explanation, now he just needed to accept it himself.
