*** One Month Later***

The day had gotten away from Josh. He's late for his lunch with Amy, a reservation that he's already had to have Donna move twice.

He has a full afternoon of meetings ahead of him and he needs Donna to summarize all the memos. He knows he's about to dump a load of work on her and he feels a little guilty about it.

Josh lets out a heavy sigh as he leans against his office door, watching her as she works diligently in her small cubicle. Here he is, about to go off and have lunch with his girlfriend, while sacking Donna with an unrealistic amount of work. It really isn't fair. They're supposed to be a team, but it hasn't felt like that in weeks. Not since Cliff, not since the diary, not since Amy.

He misses their easy banter, their talks, lunches in his office. Hell, he just misses her. It really is that simple. As of late, their relationship can best be described as polite and professional. But it feels cold. Icy cold. He can feel Donna slipping away from him, keeping a noticeable amount of distance, and he absolutely hates it.

At that moment he reaches a decision. He'll cancel lunch with Amy, and spend the time with Donna to finish the memos. Maybe they can eat lunch together. It's been ages since they'd sat in his office and done that. They can order from her favorite deli, and she can steal his fries, and he can pretend like he's upset about it, and they can both laugh, recreating a glimmer of what they once had.

With a grin, he makes his way out to the bullpen, keeping his eyes on Donna. As he watches her move about, he feels the now familiar ache that has taken up residence in his chest over these past few weeks. She seems off lately, not herself. Josh can't quite put his finger on what it is, but it's something. Before he can think more about it, he watches in trepidation as Donna blinks a few times, losing her balance and catching herself on the filing cabinet. There's a small swoosh as Josh releases the breath he didn't even realize he was holding.

"Whoa there Gracie, you okay?" He tries to sound playful, to keep it light as he removes his hands from his pockets to still her, but she's already backed away and sitting down.

"I'm fine," Donna responds quickly, trying to hide the shock that had been on her face a mere moment ago. As she schools her features, he recognizes her fake smile for what it is, but lets it go for now.

"K, good." If she doesn't want to talk about it, then he won't. "I need a few memos combed through for this afternoon. Let's have lunch in my office and work on them together. You can, ya know, steal my fries." He bounces on his feet ever so slightly and gives her a dimpled grin.

"You're having lunch with Amy, Josh. I made the reservation for you."

"Yeah but I can cancel. I'm not dumping all those memos on you Donna, that's not fair. Come on, let me buy you lunch and we can tackle the work together.

"It wouldn't be fair for you to ditch Amy, Josh," she responds quietly, ringing her fingers together.

"But I'm concerned about you, Donna. You nearly fell over a few seconds ago. Are you sure you're feeling okay? You looked woozy."

"Woozy? What kind of word is woozy? Was that on the SAT?" She tries for misdirection, but Josh isn't buying it.

"Yeah, woozy. Are you really okay?" He wants to be relentless, to keep asking until he gets a real answer.

"I said I was okay. Really, I'm fine Josh," she responds emphatically. "Go eat with Amy. I know you want to, so go on, I'll get this done. It's no problem."

It takes every ounce of his energy to keep from screaming that what he really wants is to spend time with Donna, to fix their friendship, but she seems determined that he keeps his lunch with Amy, and if that's what she wants, then he doesn't know what else to do.

"Kay. But if you need help, ask for it, please. I'll grab the memos. Start with the one for my meeting about HR-"

"HR 177, I know," she smiles. It was the first hint of a real smile he had seen in weeks. Of course she knew where to start. No one could manage his office like her.

"Thanks, I'll bring you back dessert."

"Not necessary," she quickly informs him.

"It's not a choice, Donnatella. You're getting dessert."

OoOoOoOoOo

Donna throws herself into her work. It's the only thing she has to focus on lately. She's good at her job and she wants to make things easier for Josh. And in Donna's mind, leaving Josh alone in all manner other than work, is the best for him. When her personal life and her job intersected, it brought nothing but chaos. Cliff and the diary were glaring evidence of that.

She's just started reading through the third memo when she sees them walk into the bullpen together. Josh is laughing at something Amy had said, her arm looped loosely through his as she steers them into his office. The visual is painful for Donna. She feels a deep pull in her chest, the painful one that ebbs and flows every day, always present. But today it's stronger, and Donna's reminded of that palpable chest pain from all those weeks ago, when Josh happily told her about Amy kissing him and the spite behind his words that was directed at her. And again Donna finds herself wondering for a moment what a heart attack feels like.

So Donna takes a deep breath to try to ease the pain and silently reminds herself that she is being ridiculous. She isn't having a heart attack, she's just getting over a silly crush on her boss. Seeing Josh and Amy together might be painful, but it's good for her. It reminds her that he's way out of her league. Just look at the mess she had made of her congressional testimony. Sure, he'd stepped in and saved her but that didn't mean everything was okay between them. She knows how he really feels about her. She's stupid and untrustworthy. And anything good that happens is just pure luck.

Between seeing Josh and Amy together, her internal pep talk, and her exhaustion, Donna feels a breakdown looming. Her eyes fill with tears she isn't prepared to handle. She sits at her desk discreetly trying to wipe them away before they fall, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.

Unfortunately, the few tears that escape are enough to unmask the dark circles that have taken up residence under her eyes.

Miserable and concerned about being noticed, she turns to make her way out of her cubicle to head to the restroom, as soon as she thinks it's safe. But she should have waited a moment longer. Donna's eyes lock with Josh's just as he's closing the door to his office.

Donna can't quite read his expression. Guilt? Pity? She doesn't want either. She just wants to stop feeling this way. To do a good job. To show him she could be valuable. She breaks eye contact with him and hurries down the hall, more anxious than ever.

Looking in the mirror, she admits to herself that it wasn't the best cover up job, the Mary Kay concealer that her Mom taught her to use just isn't up to the task. But Donna does what she can to blend the dark circles with her skin tone, thinking maybe it's time to spend a few extra dollars and spring for a better brand. Despite her effort, the lack of sleep still reflects in her complexion. Her once alabaster skin now mirrors more of a dullness. Dark circles or no dark circles, she looks exhausted. Sleep deprivation had absolutely caught up with her.

Settling back into her desk, Donna notices Josh's door is open revealing an empty office; a to-go box is perched on the corner of her desk. She isn't at all surprised that he'd kept his word. He often did nice things for her. Just a few short months ago, they would have shared this in his office, working together and enjoying themselves. But she had ruined that.

She has no desire to even open the box to see what he had brought.

Quietly, she places the finished memos on Josh's desk and returns to her cubicle, determined to finish the remainder of what he needed. Since work is the only thing she seems to be able to do right in her life, she'll give it her all. Maybe by running his office like a swiss watch, Donna can redeem herself for the trouble she had put him through.

The rest of the day is quiet. She limits their conversation to a discussion about his meetings on the hill. Their exchanges are professional and short and Donna hates it. But this is the dynamic of their relationship now, she reminds herself. She will never forgive herself for everything that happened with Cliff. And she knows that Josh will never look at her the same way again.

At the end of the day, Josh sends her home at 9pm. He could use her for another couple hours, but he can't get the image of the dark circles under her eyes out of his mind. Hopefully she'll get a good night's sleep and they can get back to normal.

But when he opens the staff fridge for a bottle of water and sees the still sealed dessert box, his shoulders slump. If she won't even accept a peace offering, what chance do they have?