A/N: Hope you enjoy this chapter! It's long, but it keeps the story going. Please read and review! I really want to know what people think since there's never been anything like this up here before.

Chapter 3: What Have We Done?

For all life had thrown at Staff Sergeant Josh Lyman, nothing could've surprised him as much as what had just happened. And life had thrown a lot at Josh Lyman.

He was born on an Army base, Camp Murray in Washington State, while his father served in the Army National Guard. While growing up, he moved three times while his father served two tours in Vietnam. And then, right when his father left the Army and he thought his family was finally going to get back to normal, tragedy struck. His sister Joanie, seven years older, was killed at 14 in a fire. Josh, 7, survived with no injuries.

With Joanie, the family talent, gone, the attention turned to Josh, the family intellectual. His father pushed him to serve his country, while his mother pushed him to go to college. In the end, he ended up pleasing both: he attended Harvard, graduating with a degree in political science. Then after college, he enlisted in the Army. For a few years, he did peacetime work, working his way up the enlisted ranks.

Then, the Gulf War came calling. Within weeks of the initial US invasion, he received word that his unit was being deployed to Kuwait. Leaving his parents in Connecticut, he left and spent a year battling in the Persian Gulf. When Operation Desert Storm happened, he was right there on the front lines. Until the firestorm.

When Josh woke up in a military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, he discovered his mother weeping by his bedside in Hebrew, praying for healing. In time, he learned that he had been shot in the chest. Most thought he would not be able to return to active duty, but he proved them all wrong. Unfortunately (or possibly fortunately), the Gulf War had ended by the time he recovered.

That had been his biggest challenge that he had faced in fourteen years in active duty in the Army. Until now.

…

Josh sat at the table in the Mess Hall with his Army buddies, trying to be cordial to the new lieutenants that Officer Bartlet, CJ's old professor, had dropped off. He didn't know anything about the man or the brunette woman that now sat at his table. But the blonde, however...

He knew-he just knew-that it was Donna. Donna the Army girl. He had assumed, when she mentioned she worked at Fort Belvoir, that she was enlisted like him, that it wouldn't be a big deal if they ran into each other again. Never in a million years had he expected that she would outrank him, that she would've gone to West Point. West Point! The premier military academy! He couldn't compete with that. But still, he knew that something had changed the night before, he just couldn't put his finger on it.

He ate his chips and was deep in thought as his pals Sam and CJ engaged the new lieutenants in conversation, and he thought about the girl he had met last night. Donna was sweet, funny, and beautiful. She was in the Army, so she was driven. Suddenly, Josh knew exactly what he was feeling. It was love. He was in love with this woman. A woman who outranked him.

An hour later, everyone had gone to the barracks and their off-post apartments, finished for the night. Sergeant Sam Seaborn knew there was something bothering his roommate and best friend. He just didn't know what.

Finally, Josh turned to him and said, "Sam, if I tell you something, I need you to try not to freak out."

"What's up?" Sam asked nonchalantly.

"You know the new lieutenants that CJ's old professor brought over at dinner?"

"Yeah?"

"And you know how I told you I brought someone back from the bar last night?"

"Yeah, what does that have to do with-" Then it hit him. "Lyman, are you saying that the woman you slept with last night is one of the new officers we met today?"

Josh mutely nodded.

"The brunette or the blonde?"

"The blonde."

"Oh my God, what is wrong with you?"

"Okay, you're freaking out. You promised not to freak out!"

"You slept with an officer?"

"I didn't know she was an officer!"

"God, Josh, do you know how much trouble you can get into for even looking at a superior wrong?"

"You think I don't know that?"

"This is bad on so many levels." Sam said with a hand on his forehead.

"Almost as bad as you having a crush on O'Brien?"

"Don't turn this around on me!" Sam snapped. "At least O'Brien's only three ranks behind me."

"There's more." Josh interrupted.

"More? How can there possibly be any more to this? This is a mistake."

"I'm in love with her."

"You're in love?"

"Yeah, which is why I know this is never going to go anywhere." Josh sat down, defeated.

Sam sat down next to him. "I'm sorry, man."

…

Carol was worried. Donna had been unusually quiet since they had gotten back to the barracks from dinner. Donna was a quiet person by nature, but she hadn't said a word since they got back.

"Donna, are you OK? You haven't said anything since the Mess."

Donna made eye contact with Carol and sighed. She figured she would have to tell her eventually.

"I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"It's about the guy I met last night."

"Oh, yeah. Josh, right?"

"Well, let's just say he was in the group we met today."

Carol was confused. Then it clicked. "Seaborn?"

"Lyman."

"Lyman? LYMAN?! The Staff Sergeant too arrogant for his own good? That Josh Lyman?"

"Yes, that Josh Lyman."

"You know he's enlisted, right?"

"Right."

"And you know how incredibly morally and ethically wrong this is?"

"Of course I know! God, I've been worrying about it since dinner!"

"Look, it's OK, it'll be OK." Carol tried to reassure her. "You didn't know he was in the Army when you guys met, right?"

"Yeah, I didn't find out until I met him today."

"Then you can say that you didn't know at the time. You won't be penalized for any of it."

"Yeah, I guess." Donna sighed, flopping back onto her bed. "I just can't help like feeling I just made the biggest mistake of my life, and I've barely even started in the Army yet."

Carol patted her arm sympathetically as her roommate spent their first night on post bemoaning her big mistake.

…

Josh couldn't catch up with Donna until the next morning, but he knew he had to talk to her, make sure that maybe he hadn't made a mistake. Maybe, just maybe, she reciprocated his feelings.

"Lieutenant Moss!"

Donna heard him coming, and tried to speed up. Maybe he'd think she was busy.

"Lieutenant Moss!"

She saw him speeding up behind her, and quickened her steps.

"Donna!"

That stopped her in her tracks. She turned around to find Josh with a smirk on his face.

"Got your attention, didn't I?"

"Staff Sergeant Lyman." She greeted Josh, trying to be professional.

"We need to talk."

"All due respect, Lyman, I don't think there's anything to talk about."

"All due respect, Lieutenant, but I think there is." Josh lowered his voice.

"This is hardly the time or place." Suddenly, Donna realized that the only way she would get him off her path was to talk to him.

She pointed behind him. "Locker room. Now."

"Yes, ma'am." Donna winced at the use of "ma'am" but let it slide.

The second they were in the locker room and behind closed doors, Josh said, "Look, about the other night-"

"The other night was a mistake."

"Um...a mistake?"

"Yes, you heard me. An honest mistake, an accident, a serious error in judgment."

"That's really how you feel?"

"You're enlisted and I'm an officer. Do you know how many codes of ethics we broke?"

"Yeah, I guess that's true, but-"

"No buts! I don't know about you, but I don't particularly feel like being court-martialed on my first day."

"No one knows about it, so no one will be looking for a scapegoat. Besides-"

Josh bit his tongue. He knew once he said this, there was no taking it back.

"I'm in love with you."

Donna was quiet for a second. Then she said, "The Army Code of Conduct prohibits me from physically striking you in uniform, but believe you me that I say this with all the inflection with which it was intended: Snap out of it!"

Josh laughed a little. "Ah, see, I see what you did there. I guess I am kind of like Nicolas Cage."

"Except this isn't an 80s romantic comedy!" Donna replied, exasperated. "This is you, and me, and the knowledge that we made a mistake. Thank God it can still be walked back. No one has to know about it."

"Donna-"

"That's Lieutenant to you." she replied coolly. "This conversation is over. And whatever this is, that's over too." She turned on her heel and marched out of the locker room, leaving Josh bewildered.

…

Three nights later, the first Friday of Donna's post, Josh had reached a decision. Okay, so she wasn't interested in him romantically. That made a lot of sense. They couldn't be involved while they were on the same post anyway. But why couldn't they be friends?

That Friday night, when Colonel Santos announced the end of the day and wished them a good weekend, he announced, "Enjoy the weekend, you might not get another like it for a while!"

Major CJ Cregg went up to her pal, Toby Ziegler, and asked, "Woody's?"

"You bet! Hey, Seaborn, Lyman, Bailey! Cregg and I are going to Woody's, you in?"

"Yeah, we're in!" Sam and Will both replied.

"Hey, you know what?" CJ said, suddenly inspired. "Lyman!"

Josh turned around. "Yeah?"

"Go see if the new Lieutenants want to join us."

"Yeah, sure." Josh thought this would be the perfect opportunity to reach out to Donna.

Donna and Carol were reading in their room. Donna was trying to review some new training procedures. Suddenly, there was a rap on the door, and Donna looked up to see Josh at the door.

"Ladies." Josh greeted the two.

"What can we do for you, Staff Sergeant Lyman?" Donna asked.

"So, we're all going to this local pool hall. An evening of civilian life. Are you in?"

"Well, sure." Carol replied. "Moss, you in?"

Donna thought about it. She did think it would be fun, as long as she could spend as much time away from Josh Lyman as humanly possible.

"Okay, I'm in." Donna said.

Ten minutes later, Charlie (who Josh had invited), Carol and Donna were pulling up to the pool hall in Donna's Pontiac, dressed in civilian clothes. Donna was wearing a cotton pink and white striped shirt under her Army sweatshirt with jeans, while Carol was dressed in a pink knit shirt. Charlie was wearing a knit pullover. They got out and headed inside, where Sam waved them over.

"Hey, guys." Donna greeted them as they walked over.

"I'm gonna go get drinks, you two want anything?" CJ asked.

"Um, just get me some cider, please." Donna requested.

"That's what I'm having." Josh said off to the side.

Donna turned around. "Really?"

"Yeah. Why can't we have the same thing?"

"I guess we can."

Josh sighed. It was no secret that things were awkward between the two of them. Luckily, Carol broke up the silence by asking, "Okay, so I'm just curious. What brought you all to the Army?"

"College." Will started. "I was majoring in Journalism, and my dad kept pushing me to really do something with my life. And then one day this Army recruiter came to campus, and before I knew it, I was enrolling in basic training. Never finished my degree, but at least this is a living."

"Do you think you'll ever go back?" Donna asked him.

"Maybe someday." Will shrugged. "I like what I'm doing here. I think this contract might be my last, though."

Sam was next. "I was gonna go to law school, but when I started college, the Iranian hostage crisis had just started. And I saw all these soldiers, going in to try to free the hostages, and I thought, Why can't I do something like that with my life? So, the second I graduated, I enlisted. My parents weren't thrilled that I never went to law school, but they understood that this was my calling."

Then, it was Toby's turn. "I didn't have the best family life, first off. My dad split, my mom was working two jobs, and I felt pretty alone in the world. Back when I was a teenager, the draft was just starting. I didn't think there was a chance I would get picked, but my mom was so frightened. She told me, 'Tobias, you are going to go to college.' She wanted me to go to college and defer the draft. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought that I belonged in some place like the Army. But I did want to go to college. So I applied to NYU, Columbia, West Point, and the Naval Academy. And I got into all four."

"But you picked West Point?" Carol asked.

"Yeah. I wanted to get some purpose and direction in my life, and the Army seemed like the best place to do that."

"Go Army!" CJ cried out. The whole table cracked up.

"Well, how about you, CJ? Tell them about how you got into this." Toby urged her.

"Well," CJ began. "I was born at the very beginning of Vietnam. My brothers were 14 and 12 when I was born, and by the time I was in grade school, they had both been drafted. I used to watch them when they were on leave, feeling so proud to see them in their uniforms. I wanted to do what they were doing. Naturally, my parents laughed it off. My brothers would tease me that girls didn't belong in the Army. Well, then when I was 12, I read in the papers about the first female cadets to enter West Point."

"I remember." Donna contributed.

"And then, I thought, I can do this. I can really do this. So I worked my butt off in school, getting the best grades and getting in the best physical shape possible. And then, miracle of miracles, I actually got accepted. And I graduated. Charlie?"

Charlie talked about how his mom was a cop, and how he wanted to be just like her and defend his country. Then he heard about West Point, and was not only offered admission, but a full scholarship. He also talked about how, when his mom was killed in the line of duty, he almost quit, but he realized that he had to finish what he started for his mom.

Carol gave a similar story to CJ, about getting her dreams discarded until she read that women could be in the Army too.

Josh talked about his story about going to Harvard and then enlisting, in order to please both parents. Donna, in spite of her annoyance for Josh, had to admit that his story was touching. And she felt bad for him when she learned that both his sister and father were dead: his sister in a fire, and his father to cancer. She couldn't believe that one guy could have such tragedy in his life.

"Oh, you didn't tell her the best part." Sam said. "Josh's dad knew the Army Chief of Staff."

"Your dad knew General McGarry?" Donna asked incredulously.

"Yeah, they served together." Josh explained. "ONly difference between them was my dad wanted to get out to be with his family, and he wanted to keep climbing."

"Huh." Donna replied. She thought that was very interesting. Maybe she would like this guy after all.

Then it was Donna's turn. "It's funny, but at first, I wanted to be a cop. Do you remember that old cop show, Cagney and Lacey?"

"Yeah, I never missed it." CJ said.

"I used to watch that every week, and I used to want to be like them. But then, I guess it was kind of like Sam's story: I watched the news of what was happening in Iran, and that was the first time I had ever really seen the Army and what it did. I mean, I knew what the Army was. My dad was a Korean vet, I heard all these stories of guys in the neighborhood who came back from Vietnam with injuries. But even knowing all of that, I wanted to serve my country. And I wanted to be like those guys on TV that were saving lives. But, I figured it was just a pipe dream. I went to the University of Wisconsin, tried to forget about it. And then I heard about West Point. A counselor at UW told me about it and helped me with the application to get in. And I did it. I don't know how, but I did it."

"Well, we're glad to have you." CJ said, patting her hand. She stood up. "Pool, anyone?"

"Oh, I've never played before." Donna tried to duck out.

"Come on, Moss. We're all playing." Toby urged as they headed for the back.

"I can show you." Josh told her.

"I don't need your help." Donna tried to tell him.

But five minutes later, in a game with Carol, Sam, and CJ, Donna was losing ground.

"I'm never gonna get this." Donna sighed.

Suddenly, Josh came over. "All you have to do is aim it." he told her, manipulating her hands to show her how.

Donna nodded. "All right." She held the cue stick in her hands, aiming just the way Josh showed her, and hit three balls into their pockets.

"Nice shot, Moss!" Carol complimented.

"Thank you." Donna said to Josh. Josh shrugged and smiled.

…

As they were leaving the pool hall that night, Josh couldn't help but think about Donna. Aside from him showing her how to make a shot, she had barely talked to him. But, he thought, she had warmed to him a little, even if it was out of sympathy. Maybe they could be friends after all. He just had to keep working on it.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! If there's anyone out there reading this story, please let me know what you think!