A/N: It's been a long time since I updated this fic... Or any fic, for that matter. It was a combination of writer's block and other confounding personal factors, but thankfully, the worst seems to have passed! Hope spring's eternal :)

Thanks for keeping the faith, guys. I hope you like this next installment, and hopefully I'll have another one for you soon! Love you all.

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On Christmas Eve, Donna is stuck working a late shift at the hospital, dealing mostly with drunken accidents, cooking mishaps, and a few car accidents. She's a little disappointed to not be at home with her family for her favorite holiday, but she's tried to make the best of it. Between putting up stockings in the on call room, doing secret Santa with her fellow interns, and playing holiday music in the trauma ward, she's managed to maintain some holiday cheer. At around ten, she's doing some stitches on a man who got into a drunken brawl with his cousin when Carla approaches her, a tense look on her face.

"Josh is here."

Donna looks up, confused. There's no way she heard that right. "What?"

"Josh Lyman. Gunshot. He's here in the ER, I thought you might want to see him."

Donna's heart picks up a tick of speed. "What? Is he okay?"

"I think so, all Laverne told me is that he's in exam room two. I can take over for you here." Carla offers.

"Thanks." Donna mutters, pulling off her gloves and quickly striding down the hall to the exam room. She tries vainly to keep her anxiety at bay. A list of possible complications runs through her head, though none seem likely so far into his recovery. Had he gotten into an accident? She tries to keep the worst thoughts at bay as she stops at the nurses station and locates his chart. She breathes a deep sigh of relief. "Hand laceration," she mutters.

After collecting herself, she pushes into Josh's exam room to find him sitting up on the table, cradling one hand in the other. His eyes flash as he recognizes her, and she swears he looks almost guilty. "Donnatella. Thought my injury might be a little below your pay grade this time around."

"Hey there, stranger." She smiles, settling into a chair and rolling closer to him to look at his hand. "People around here know you. They thought I might want to handle this."

He shifts uncomfortably. She thinks for a moment that maybe he hadn't wanted to see her, but she can't be sure. "Right." He says softly.

"So, what did you do to yourself?" She asks cheerfully, brushing past the momentary awkwardness.

He avoids her eyes. "Oh, I um... Broke a glass."

She falters. Something about his tone is off putting. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Okay then." She says neutrally. There's something wrong here. "It's going to need a couple stitches, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." He mumbles. "That's fine."

She continues to sneak glances at him as she works on his hand. He seems shifty, and eager to get out of here as soon as possible. "You look tired."

Josh twists his face into a smile. "You wouldn't know it, but this is how I usually look, Donnatella."

"Really?"

"It's been busy at work, you know how it is."

"Sure, yeah."

He clears his throat. "You're working Christmas Eve."

"Somebody's gotta."

"That's rough, I'm sorry."

"It's not so bad." She's surprised at his attempts at small talk. It seems diversionary. "At least I didn't have to schlep back to Wisconsin."

"You miss your family?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Ah."

"How's your mom?"

"Good, I think."

"Seen her recently?"

"Not since August."

Donna frowns. Reluctantly, she starts tugging off her gloves. "Well, you're all set, Josh. I'll give you some dressing and antibiotics, you know how that is-"

He springs up eagerly. "Great, thanks. That's great."

He shifts from foot to foot as he waits for her to pack him a little sample bag of gauze and tape. She bites her lip as she hands it to him, and he reaches for the door.

"Thanks, Donna. Really, you're a lifesaver. Again. Anyway, Merry Christmas, maybe I'll see you-"

"Josh." She says softly.

He hesitates with his hand on the doorknob, his eyes flickering. "Yeah?"

"Josh, what's wrong?"

He falters, turning slightly back toward her. "I don't know what you're-"

"Josh." She says again, her voice kind but firm.

His shoulders sag, and he looks away from her. She watches his entire body slump, almost as though he's caving in, giving into the pull of gravity. "Donna..."

"You don't have to tell me, it's just-"

"I put my hand through a window."

Her eyes widen, but she tries to stifle any emotional response. "Oh."

"I just... I've been having... These past few weeks, it's been-"

"You don't have to tell me." She says again, softer. Timidly, she takes a step toward him. "Really."

He looks at her with round, tired eyes. "Thank you."

"I just want to know that you're okay."

"I'm... I'm getting there."

"Okay. There's a lot of people that care about you, you know?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Okay. It's late, I'll let you go home."

"Yeah, I guess you should get back to work."

"Yeah."

"Thanks for... You know." He shoots her half a sad smile, and she can't help calling out to him one more time.

"Wait."

"Yeah?"

"Josh... What are you doing tomorrow?"

"For Christmas?"

"I guess. I mean, you're Jewish, right?"

"Well, yeah. Leo invited me to have dinner with him and the First Family, but I don't know, I think it would kind of weird, especially given what's been going on lately, and they're all super catholic, and..." He trails off with a sigh. "Anyway."

"Spend it with me." She says impulsively, reaching out imploringly toward him. "The day, I mean. We'll... I don't know, we probably can't get that lobster, but... We'll do something."

He raises his eyebrows. "You're not doing anything for Christmas?"

"I'll be sleeping in until noon after I get off here, and then... No, not until dinner. I'm kind of stranded here, after all."

"You... You're sure?"

She grabs her prescription pad and scribbles her phone number. "We'll both be stuck here alone tomorrow. Might as well spend it together, huh?"

For the first time, she sees a slight genuine smile on his face. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that."

"Okay. Don't call me until after noon, okay?"

"You got it."

"I'll see you tomorrow." She smiles softly.

"Yeah." He finally makes it into the doorway, looking considerably brighter than when he came in.

"You're okay getting home?"

"Yeah. Leo brought me here, actually."

"Okay. I'll see you."

"Yeah. See you."

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At one in the afternoon on Christmas Day, Donna opens her front door to reveal an unusually nervous looking Josh Lyman. He smiles at her, giving an awkward wave with his bandaged hand. "Morning."

Her heart does a strange little jump. "Guess you could call it that. Merry Christmas."

"You too."

She steps back to let him in, feeling a touch nervous herself. Though she'd by now seen him a few times outside the hospital, she still hasn't quite gotten used to it. Not to mention that this is the first time they're seeing each other on purpose. The sight of him in jeans and a sweater, walking into her apartment and casually taking in the decor is enough to send warmth coursing through her body.

"Uh... Nice place."

"You don't mean that."

"I do!"

"I didn't have time to clean, I'm sorry. I know it's a bit of a mess."

"No, seriously. It's...cozy."

"Cozy?" She follows behind him curiously as he examines her bookshelves.

"Lived in, you know? I don't spend that much time at my place. Hell, half my stuff is still in boxes."

"How long have you lived there?"

"Almost five years."

"Oh."

He smiles, picking up a picture frame. "Your family?"

She comes to stand beside him, both looking at the picture of her in cap and gown, posing next to her brothers, sister, and parents. "Yeah. Med school graduation."

"They look...wholesome."

"They are."

"A good Midwestern farm family. Sturdy, hardworking people."

She snorts. "I grew up in a condo, actually."

"Wouldn't have guessed."

"But it was near a farm."

"That's close enough." He sets the photo back down, once again at home in a sea of medical textbooks and romance novels.

"How's your hand?"

His face darkens. "Uh, good. It's good."

She puts a reassuring hand on his arm. "Don't worry, I'm not going to doctor you today. Let's get going, okay?"

He seems relieved. "Yeah."

Half an hour later, he finds a parking spot outside the movie theater, their large takeout bag filling the car with the scent of Pad Thai and Kung Pao chicken. She gives him a dubious look as he comes around to open the door. "Place looks pretty crowded."

"There's more Jews in the world than people think."

"I hope it's not sold out."

"It won't be. God, you've really never done this before?"

She shrugs, following him into the theater. "Nope. Some might say I'm a Jewish Christmas virgin."

That makes him smile. The sight of his dimples definitely makes her goofy joke worth it. "Glad to pop that cherry for you."

If she'd been drinking something, she definitely would've choked on it.

As he'd predicted, the showing is not sold out, and a few minutes later they're finding their seats for Castaway.

"I'm so excited. I love Tom Hanks."

He gives her an amused look. "Who doesn't?"

"Fair point. This good?" She gestures at the third row of seats, which is fairly open.

"Perfect."

Josh and Donna had spent a lot of time together in the hospital. It wouldn't even be unfair to say they knew each other well. But, as they sit through the long saga of Tom Hanks's island isolation and return to civilization, Josh realizes that he still has so much more to learn about Donna. The more nerve wracking realization he has shortly thereafter is that he wants to learn more about her. In fact, he wants to know everything about her.

Donna seems captivated by the movie, but he can't help sneaking frequent glances at her. The way she smiles. The way her eyes light up. When he starts digging through her food with his fork, unable to find a piece of chicken due to the darkness of the theater, she mindlessly skewers one and then holds it up to his mouth for him to eat. When she reaches into his lap for some of his food, she does so blindly and frequently stabs his leg with her fork. When the scene of Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt in the rain comes on, he notices tears falling down her cheeks.

In his opinion, she's by far the most captivating part of this movie going experience.

As they leave the theater, Donna still drying her eyes, Josh finds himself going a step further than his usual hand on the small of her back. He puts his entire arm around her shoulders.

She doesn't seem to mind. She leans into him and throws her own arm around his waist. She smiles at him. "That was so good."

"Yeah." He says absently. "Great."

"You didn't cry." She says in an accusatory tone.

"Mm. I'm not much a movie crier, as it turns out. A surprising quality of mine, I know."

"Heartless bastard." She mutters.

They emerge into the street and blink against the harsh winter sun. They disentangle themselves and turn to look at each other. "You, uh... You've probably got to get to dinner soon, huh?"

She frowns and looks at her watch. "Oh. Yeah, I guess I do. I've gotta get all the way across town, so..."

"Do you want me to drive you?"

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to..."

"It's seriously no problem."

She purses her lips. "Actually, would you... Would you maybe want to come to dinner with me?"

He raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. Yeah, if you want. I'd love the company."

"Isn't it, uh... Am I invited? Don't I have to be invited?"

"Oh, it's just at Carla's."

"It's Carla's dinner?"

"Yeah. Her and her mom, her brother..."

"Sounds like it's kind of a family thing."

"Please. She's bringing her boyfriend Turk home for the first time tonight too, so she'll definitely be thrilled about the added buffer."

"I'm going as a buffer?"

"Don't take it personally. So am I."

A half smile starts to spread across his face. "You're sure you want me to come?"

She hesitates. "I just think... Today doesn't feel over yet, does it? For us, I mean. I mean... We were in a movie. It's not like we had much chance to talk."

He grins fully. "You know what? You're right. Besides, what else have I got to do? Let's do it."

She blushes slightly. "Right."

"Not that I would've said no, if I had other options."

"Of course. Only if they were better options." She's joking, of course, but deep down she really is hoping that he's not just here today because he's going through a hard time, and doesn't have anyone else around to keep him preoccupied.

"What could be better than being a joint buffer with you at an awkward Christmas dinner, Donnatella?" He gives her that disarming dimpled grin as he unlocks his car and opens the door for her. "Nothing, that's what."

She smiles to herself as he climbs in on the other side. "How's your Spanish?"

"I don't know any Spanish."

"You and Turk both. It's going to be a fun night."

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D'awww, look at 'em...practically dating and all that jazz :')

Let me know what you think!