Part 5
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She sat at the kitchen table, planner in hand and pen between her teeth.
"What are you doing?" he asked, running his hand over his eyes as he tried to fight his way out of sleep.
"Planning Hawaii," she said, glancing up and him, speaking and grinning around the pen in her mouth
"You're what?" he asked, walking towards the coffee maker and frowning when he noticed it was empty.
"I'm planning Hawaii," she replied without looking up. "And the electricity's out. No coffee."
He groaned and plopped into the chair next to her.
"Josh, the generator's out of gas. I checked an hour ago when I woke up- I am not walking the 2 hours to the gas station to get gas so you can have a cup of coffee, ok? I'm sorry to say, you're going to have to learn to deal."
"But Donna," he whined.
Donna glanced at him as she flipped a page in her date-book.
"How's June look for you?" she asked casually.
"For coffee? Too far away."
"For Hawaii."
He whined. "I don't know. I can't think without coffee."
She glared at him for a moment before closing her day-planner. "Fine. Don't come with me to Hawaii. Me and my little red bikini will sit on the white sands all alone and will attract the attention of the many fine young Hawaiian men."
"Hawaiian gomers, is more like it," he grumbled, rubbing his eyes again. He paused, mid-motion. "You went out to check the generator?"
"Yeah," she said, rising and grabbing a bottle of juice from the still-cool fridge.
"In the snow? You went out?"
"Yeah. I did."
"Why didn't you wake me?"
She shrugged as she unscrewed the top to the bottle. "Why should both of us be cold and tired? Besides, she paused, ducking her head just slightly as her shyness finally showed. "You looked kinda cute sleeping there."
He chuckled. "You've seen me sleep before." He stood and walked up in front of her. "Wake me up, next time, will you? What if some snow beast had gotten you?"
She chuckled. "Again with the snow-beasts? Josh, your doctor's said that you're prone to chest colds like pneumonia and bronchitis after your surgery. You need to be in where it's warm!"
He rolled his eyes at her. "Donna!" His voice rose slightly. "You must have forgotten that impromptu trip you took to Germany? Your doctor's said the same thing!"
She shrugged. "Yeah," she said, taking a swig of her juice. "But if I'm sick, Joshua, then you get to take care of me."
"This is true," he said, resting his hands on her shoulders. "That could be fun."
She shrugged. "Being sick isn't usually fun."
"No," he replied. "I don't like seeing you sick. But I do like having the opportunity to spoil you and take care of your every need."
She arched a brow. "Really? It took, what, seven years, for you to want to do that?"
"It didn't take me seven years," he answered softly, his voice dropping as his hands slid down her arms and his thumbs caressed her skin. "I have always known how well you take care of me. Its just now that I have a chance to repay you by taking care of you."
She nodded suspiciously. "Nice save there, Josh."
"Thanks."
She smirked. "Its still early. We can go back to sleep if you want."
He nodded and took her hand, leading them towards the living room fire where the make-shift bed was still in place. They both sunk down onto the covers, side by side.
"Donna?"
"June's too soon for me," he said softly.
"Oh." Her voice was heavy with disappointment.
"I want to go but… I've got to get a list done first."
"Its ok. I understand; you've got priorities, Josh."
"I do," he agreed. "But I think they're different than what you think."
"No, you're one hundred percent right. The campaign comes first. Both campaigns," she said, referencing the talk they had earlier that afternoon about their new jobs.
"Screw the campaign, Donna," he said, rolling over on his side and watching her face as the firelight glowed against her alabaster complexion. "You're my priority!"
She frowned and looked up at him.
"I love what I do. I love my job. I'm the guy, Donna, the guy that gets the guy in. But… it's nothing if I don't have anyone to go home to at night…if I don't have a reason to worry about the environment and estate taxes and social security. It doesn't mean anything." Josh paused and smiled slightly. "I have some stuff to get done before we go to Hawaii, Donna. I have to woo you."
She sniffled. "I'm already wooed, Josh."
"Yeah?"
Donna nodded. "Yeah. I hate to admit to being easy, but… I was woo'd in Germany."
He groaned. "I could have moved in then?"
She nodded. "You could have."
"Huh. Who knew?"
She reached up and touched his check. "Josh? What do you still have left to do between now and June?"
"Dinner. I owe you many lunches and dinners," he said quickly. "And a few ballets and trips to the theatre."
She shook her head. "You don't get it, do you?" she whispered. "I'm happy with pizza, beer, and a Mets Game."
"Really?"
Donna nodded. "Really! I mean, being spoiled is nice every now and then, but it's not a requirement."
"If you're sure."
She nodded. "We'll make it a date. When we're back in DC full time, we'll do dinner at least once a week. Pizza and beer required. I'll take you to the game on your birthday and you can take me dancing on mine. We'll limit the spoiling."
Josh leaned down, brushing her lips with his own. "You're amazing."
"Most of the time, yes," she teased lightly then paused. "Josh, are you serious about this?"
"About what? The kissing? Yes, very serious."
"About … this," she said, gesturing between the two of them.
He nodded. "Very serious. I don't know how to live without you in my life. And you're not coming back to work for me because this," he mimicked her gesture, "is not allowed at the office as we already know."
She broke their gaze and sighed. "Josh, don't do this just to keep me in your life. We can work out a social schedule or something."
"No!" He said quickly. "That's not… no, Donna, I want this because I want you. With me. Forever. Damn," he paused. "I really suck at this."
"A little bit, yeah."
Josh took a deep breath, trying to calm his fluttering nerves. "I want you to be with me as long as you'll have me, Donna. A week, a month, forever. As much as you're willing to give. I don't want that because you know that I need note cards or because you know how to organize my backpack or because you understand the various meanings of the word 'thing,'" he paused again, shifting so he rested his weight on his hip and could cradle her hand between both of his own. "I want to be with you as long as you'll have me, Donna, because I'm pretty damned sure I'm ass-backwards in love with you and that I'd be completely lost without you."
She sniffled again while he wiped away her tears with his finger. "That sucked a lot less," she whispered, covering his lips with hers.
When they were finished, he nuzzled his nose against hers ever so lightly. "So, Hawaii in June?"
"Sounds good to me."
"With the bikini?"
"If you're worried, I'll let you pack it."
Josh rolled onto his back and she followed, molding herself to his frame. "Now, that's juts a bad idea," he replied with a chuckle. "If I forgot it, you'd have to walk around naked. …oh…maybe this is a really good idea."
Donna chuckled, warmed by his arms around her and the flickering fire a few feet away. "Night, Josh."
"Merry Christmas, Donna."
******
