Title:
The Path Which Has Led to the Present (11?)
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. Sure. Just
let me know where its going.
A/N: Part of this chapter was motivated by watching the Red Sox whop the Mets tonight :)
"Your team's losing," CJ greeted Josh as he trudged into the conference room. He was carrying his suit coat and tie.
"They're not losing, they're tied."
"They shouldn't be tied, the start they got."
"I didn't see the beginning. I turned on the game and they were tied."
"What kept you—oh."
"What?"
"Mandy's in town."
"So?"
"So that's why you didn't watch the baseball game from the top."
Sam wandered into the room. "You do know they already lost, right? This is the repeat of the game."
"Oh," Josh sighed.
"Meeting over?" Sam snarked.
"Indeed."
"Are things a mess with Mandy again?" CJ asked. "Anything I need to know about?"
"Nothing you need to know about. It's no more a mess than usual. She's just a pain in the ass."
"So you're not spending the night with her?"
"Josh Lyman is passing up sex?" CJ laughed.
"I'm not staying the night." Nice and vague.
"Oh," Sam snickered, "The sex has already happened." No getting anything past his best friend.
CJ shook her head, and looked back towards the document she was reading.
Sam continued, "What went wrong?"
"Mandy was just Mandy."
"And what exactly does that mean?"
"It means that she tries to get her way on something she wants as media consultant while we're in the middle of—you know…"
"Like, actually in the middle of it?"
"Yes."
"Like naked and attached?" And this was the speechwriter talking.
"Yes, Sam."
Sam and CJ both cracked up. Josh glared at them.
CJ finally asked, "Is this the status quo for you two?"
"Yes. No. I don't know. Usually she waits until right when we finish. Hit me when I'm most vulnerable."
"Does it work?" Sam grinned.
"More than I'd like it to."
"So did you just stop in the middle and leave?" CJ questioned.
"That would be sill—" Sam began.
"No, we were done."
"Because that would have been hilar—"
"CJ!"
"I'm just saying."
"When she started that bullshit…I stopped caring…"
"Define stopped caring." Sam snickered.
"I decided to end it as quick as possible."
"In a way that included an orgasm for you."
"Yeah. So?"
"No, that seemed like the right thing," Sam laughed. "I probably would have done the same thing."
"Men."
"What? It wasn't like he was the one discussing policy in flagrante delicto."
"I suppose."
"Why shouldn't he get something out of it?"
Josh was eager to change the subject. "So what are the two of you doing in the conference room at 2am?"
"I'm reading up on these labor issues so that I don't look like a complete idiot in front of the press again."
"Again?"
"There are certain issues that I'm not good on. This is one of them. So I'm studying."
"Good. You?"
"Working on the speech for the rally tomorrow."
"Do you understand the labor issues?"
"Of course…I read those articles earlier."
Josh shook his head. "Well, I'm off to bed."
"Your own room?" Sam asked.
"Yes."
"Is…?"
"Yes."
"Is what?" CJ questioned.
"Back to my room for the whole 3-4 hours of sleep left."
"Is what?"
"Does Mandy—"
"No."
"Does Mandy what?"
"She doesn't?"
"She probably doesn't realize it."
"But she knows?"
"She was told. But that was when I was staying the whole night in her room."
"For the love of god tell me what the two of you are talking about!"
Sam looked to Josh. Josh looked at the floor. He couldn't tell CJ. She would be pissed. Then again, if he didn't, Sam would tell CJ as soon as he left, and CJ would be pissed in the morning. He glanced up at her. She looked like she had already figured it out.
"Well—" Sam began.
"Joshua, look at me," CJ demanded. He did. "Did you let Donna have your room tonight?"
"Yes."
"And now you want to go up there?"
"Yeah."
"Is that a good idea?"
"The press is staying in a different hotel."
CJ sighed.
"They're not always though," Sam protested.
"You, shut up!"
"Explain always."
"CJ."
"I'm staying calm, and I'm asking you to explain what Sam means by always."
"I can't let her sleep on the bus."
"So she's staying with you?" Surprisingly, CJ wasn't raising her voice. As long as the answers were forthcoming.
"Yes. She has been. Tonight I was going to give her my room, though she predicted that I wouldn't last the whole night with Mandy, the way we were bickering this afternoon."
"How long has she been staying with you?"
"Since the third day she was back. I caught her sleeping on the bus…it was cold, and I said absolutely not."
"Josh…"
"CJ, she doesn't get paid. She can't afford—"
"You still have to be careful."
"I know that."
They were silent for a minute.
"I don't like this."
"I didn't ask you if you liked it. I'm telling you how it is. Until she starts getting paid—"
"Be careful."
"I will…" Josh wasn't sure why CJ gave up her argument, and his look said as much.
"Joshua, you're clearly not going to listen even if I tell you to not to so…just be careful."
"I…we will." Josh turned to leave.
"Josh!" CJ called. "One more thing…you're not going to like this…but I have to ask. You're not sleeping with her, are you?"
"Well, technically—"
"Sam, I wasn't talking to you. Josh, you know exactly what I mean. Answer the question."
"No. No, we're not." Not a lie. CJ didn't need to know how incredibly attracted to Donna he was lately, or how she'd been in his arms until she went to answer the door this morning.
"Good. I had to ask. You know that."
Josh nodded, and left the room.
He stood in the hallway and fished the keycard out of his pocket. Quickly he stuck it into the slot and pulled it out. Red light. He tried again. Red light. Again. Red light. Again. Red light. Josh tried again, pulling hard on the handle. Red light. He held up the card, to see if it had any special instructions. The door opened, and Donna stood on the other side.
"Have a little trouble?"
"I hate these things."
"I know."
"They don't work."
"They do work. You're impatient," she yawned.
The only light on in the room was on her side of the bed, and she was wearing her usual pajamas—his boxers and T-shirt.
"Sorry I woke you."
"I wasn't asleep yet. I'd just turned off the light. I was watching TV. They lost." She gestured the shirt she had on.
"I heard."
Josh yawned, and unbuttoned his dress shirt. Donna climbed back into bed. He pulled his pants off and crawled onto the other side. No matter where they were, they always slept on the same side in relation to each other.
"Didn't go well with Mandy?"
"No."
"You stayed longer than I figured you would."
"I was down the conference room for a half hour or so before I came up here."
"Ah."
"Mandy doesn't seem to understand when she shouldn't be talking policy."
"In the middle of…?"
"Yeah."
Donna laughed. "You don't find that hot?"
He did when she asked about it. "Not especially. Does it strike you that I'd like to talk politics in the middle of sex?"
Donna cocked her head at him and grinned. "Sort of."
"Donna!"
"You're very into what you do."
"I know how to relax."
"Did you respond to—"
"Rephrase that."
"—okay, answer her policy questions?"
"No."
"Just pulled out and left."
"Uh…"
"Hurried up, finished and left?"
Josh nodded.
"Well, I guess you didn't completely waste the meeting?"
"CJ thought I was a pig."
Donna shrugged. "It's not like it was the first time you slept with her."
"No."
"Does she realize that you were coming back to your room which you'd given to me?"
"She didn't say so. But my guess is she'll realize by morning."
"Great…"
"Don't worry."
"But we don't want a lot of people—"
"CJ knows now."
"How?"
"She figured it out. Sam wasn't helping."
"Was she pissed?" Donna looked worried.
"She wasn't pleased…but she didn't yell."
"That's good at least."
"Yeah." They looked at each other for a moment.
"Ready for me to turn the light off?"
"Go ahead."
She remained turned on her side. They were separated by at least a body width. Josh wondered how long that would last, as he drifted off to sleep.
