Author's note: Thank you so much for the review and contact so far. You've given me the nerve to put up this next chapter! I love to learn so all comments are very welcome!

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Chapter 2

Donna woke to a quiet knock on their door. Their door. Even in her sleep addled brain she noticed the change in terminology. Well, that hadn't taken long.

Slipping out of bed she raised the sheet over Josh's still sleeping form, pausing for a few seconds to watch him sleep. He looked younger when he slept; he was still pale and had dark circles beneath his eyes, but he finally looked like he was getting some peace and that pleased her.

She padded to the bathroom to splash water on her face, clammy from last night's travel and other exertions. She found a thin cotton robe hanging on the back of the door slipped it on, tying it loosely round her waist. Unlocking the front door, she found a breakfast tray with fruit and juice. She carried it through the room, stealing another glance at Josh's slumbering form. Heading for the kitchenette she noticed a door leading to a balcony she hadn't spotted the previous night. This apartment just got better and better!The balcony held a small table and two chairs and faced the ocean. Near the railing, almost close enough for her to touch, a gentle breeze moved through the leaves of a palm tree. Turning her face to the sun, she could tell that the temperature wasn't going to be unbearably hot, even later in the day.

Pouring herself a glass of juice, Donna leaned against the rail running round the edge of the balcony. She had no idea what the time was and it was hard to guess from the level of activity beneath her. She assumed they'd missed breakfast hours, hence the tray they hadn't ordered, but possibly it was another instruction from Washington. Only a few sun chairs had occupants, two people having a conversation while watching dogs running circles on the beach. In the hotel pool, a lone man swam a strong front crawl. It struck her as unnecessary to have a pool considering the expanse of ocean in front of her.

Donna was used to surviving on so little sleep that it was a surprise she seemed to have slept late; her body was used to getting up before dawn, so it was little wonder she felt refreshed.

Placing her glass down on the little table on the balcony she stretched her arms high and rocked her head from side to side, pulling at stiff muscles. She smiled as the cause of those stiff muscles encouraged pleasant memories of last night. Last night had been different from the other times they had been together and she needed to think and process a little. Picking up a few grapes and taking hold of her glass, she turned back to face the ocean.

Her heart had broken when she left the White House, when she left him. She had known it was the right decision and the events in the last few months supported that tenfold. Joining the campaign trail had been an obvious path, a path she had to take after Gaza to allow her to move on and heal.

Leaving him had been the hardest part, especially considering that she was one of the few people in his life who knew that his deepest fears came from being alone, even where the solitude of his own making. She'd watched over the years as people in his life came and went, never imagining she'd be important enough to him to add to the pain. And then Gaza happened.

It had killed her to leave, so abruptly but she'd had no choice. He hadn't made any moves to stop her leaving, he appeared to have given up helping her and so she gave up waiting for him.

So after Gaza she thought their chance had gone, she was certain they were never going to be together the way she craved. She knew seeing Colin at her bedside threw Josh, but then she supposed if he'd known that ten minutes after sleeping with Colin she'd been out of bed writing to Josh things might have been different. However, it wasn't down to her to say something - she was still his assistant and had she made any moves that he would have wanted, or had to reject, the walls of Jericho would have come tumbling down.

The signs had been there, like always, screaming at her but she'd played her part, done her duty and ignored it as much as possible. And she hurt them both in the process. She had slept with Colin because she wanted to, but she could never get Josh out of her mind.

She knew, the moment she saw him at her bedside that all her feelings were requited, but she also knew that actually acknowledging whatever the hell they were feeling for each other then would have been fatal. They weren't ready, either of them.

She still woke sweating and screaming with nightmares; but amidst all the pain knew that her healing process was progressing well. People had been so kind to her after; she had help and she was going to be ok.

But she had missed him in those months after. She had hated him and loved him in equal measure. Loved him for sending her and hated him for holding her back in the first place. Loved him for flying half way round the world to be at her side and hated him for leaving it when she got back. Loved him for caring so deeply and hated him for running so far.

It had taken every ounce of courage she had to walk into his office and ask for a job after the convention. And when he'd told her that he missed her, it had taken everything she had left not to break down in front of him at the tacit admission of his feelings. For the first time she'd known he was not missing an assistant, he was missing her. The crack in his voice as he said those words had broken her heart all over again.

Perhaps that was why, when she had joined the Santos team, she'd been welcomed with open arms by his staff regardless of her stint on the Russell campaign. They'd seen the look of utter devastation on her face as she hurried from his office.

"Enough," she whispered to herself. They'd found their way back to each other and she had done her wallowing, her blaming him and herself. Why was she going over old ground? Uncertainty on how to proceed perhaps? She knew better than to assume a few passionate nights in the arms of the man she loved would be enough, but it was closer than anything else had ever been. Now was the time for something else. She did love him and it was okay to admit that now, to herself and, soon, to him.

And then, almost as if he'd been waiting for the end of internal monologue, she felt his eyes on her again. She'd spent so many years watching him and loved to find that she could still tell when he was looking at her. She turned around and leaned back on the railing and sure enough found him watching her.

"Hey," she mouthed to him.

"Hey."

They could only have been ten feet apart but all of a sudden it felt too far. She couldn't fight this draw to him; she'd been trying to get him to open up, to navigate the way in this new part of their relationship, but he was hard to resist, all crumpled and sleepy.

She stooped to pick up the breakfast tray and wandered across to his bed, placing the tray on the bedside table. She turned and sat down on the bed while he stayed on his side curling around her, his legs alongside her thigh and his hand snaking around her waist.

"Morning," he said simply. "Sleep okay?"

"I did, you?"

"Yes," he replied, yawning but she could tell he meant it.

"Juice?"

"Yes, please." He shifted and sat up against the headboard, his hand tracing around the small of her back, continuing his new obsession of being in constant contact with her.

She poured him a glass of juice and handed it to him and watched as he closed his eyes and drank. He was so sleepy and ruffled and Donna knew in that moment she would gladly bring him coffee in bed every morning if she just got to be there when he woke up.

"Come here," he said pulling her up the bed. She leaned across his lap, supporting herself with one arm by his side, and he drew his knees up to support her back.

"Morning."He said again, softer this time, but grinning at her. He tasted like orange juice.

…………………….

At the risk of being a walking, well, lying down, cliché, he could get used to this.

"So in nearly ten years you have, bought me coffee probably three times, yet today I get breakfast in bed….quite a leap.

"I've brought you coffee in the last ten weeks."

"When?" he ask incredulously.

"Election Day."

He thought about it; She had bought him coffee that morning. He'd made a mental note to tease her about it but in the bedlam that followed he'd forgotten. She'd known how he took his coffee and hadn't chastised him for three sugars. He thought it had been a sign of impending doom.

"So you did." He acknowledged as he waggled an eyebrow.

"Stop it."

"I didn't say anything."

"You were going to."

He shrugged, knowing she was right. "Thank you."

"No problem." And then she kissed him again.

………………..

"I'm taking a shower," she stated, suddenly pulling away but giving him a conciliatory grin.

He looked at her expectantly.

"A shower alone." Expectant changed to disappointment. "Fifteen minutes on my own Josh, you'll manage without me."

He sighed dramatically. "What will I do? No TV, no paper?"

She rolled her eyes at him; she could bring the drama queen. "Go sit on the balcony. It is beautiful out there. Relax, Josh, rest. That is what you are here to do. You're on vacation."

He had that confused look on his face again, so she acquiesced and leaned in kissing him gently and then stood. All the time he was holding her hand as if she was some sort of lifeline; She was unnerved by it and enjoyed it at the same time. She backed away and their hands dropped

free of each other. Turning around she rustled through her luggage,pulled out her bathroom bag, some clothes and went in, closing the door behind her.

She used the facilities and stood to look in the mirror. Damnit that he could look so sexy and peaceful and yet she looked exhausted and had ridiculous bed hair. She turned on the shower and let the hot water steam up the bathroom a bit. This was a shower she was going to enjoy and luxuriate in. Of course, to have Josh in here would have been quite pleasant, but this morning she wanted to take her time. She would be sensible about this as rushing him, basing whatever this was just on sex and not getting down to the talking bit, would be disastrous.

…………..

Her resolve was almost undone in about three seconds after she left the bathroom, finding him on the balcony with his back to her, leaning on the railing, looking out to the sea. He'd put on a pair of shorts but had left his top bare. Just the view of his muscular back made her want to run over and rip of her own clothes, hop up on the rail and let him take her.

She didn't think the neighbours would appreciate the view.

She settled for wrapping her arms round him from behind and leaning onto his warm soft back.

"Hey" he said, in that soft voice that had almost unravelled her so many times previously. When he woke to find her by his bedside the first time after Rosslyn, when she woke to find him by her bedside in Germany, and last night when she slid into her seat beside him on the plane.

He turned slowly and wrapped his arms around her. They stood there silently for a few minutes, just enjoying the warmth and each other. Today could turn out to be a day of firsts. This was their first embrace as a couple, not jumping in excitement, sighing in relief or anything else, just enjoying each other's company and proximity.

"My turn," he said indicating the bathroom with his chin then kissing the side of her head and slipping out of her embrace.

She watched him go off towards the bathroom, her skin itching for his touch – shivering involuntarily at the lack of having him near. He was slipping into this new level of intimacy well, which pleased her. He was the one who was meant to be having trouble negotiating this new ground. She was the one who sat him down and gave him the ultimatum.

And then it struck her – she realised for the first time since he had asked her to come away with him that he had answered the ultimatum. He had given her an answer, and with it everything she wanted, inevitably scaring her to death, explaining her little mind meltdown this morning.

She trusted him and she wanted him – now she had to let herself love him and learn to throw off the camouflage she'd developed over so many years. It was okay now, they could be together and he apparently wanted it as much as she did.

She missed him and he was only in the bathroom! Laughing at herself, she decided there was only one way to deal with being in love with Josh Lyman, and that involved taking everything one step at a time. And that could start with unpacking.

……………………

A little while later they were strolling through town, having decided to get out of the apartment and "do the sight seeing thing". They were chatting happily about the place they were in, joking about how long it had actually been since either of them had had a proper vacation. The conversation was easy and the relief they found in this was obvious to each of them, though neither mentioned it to the other.

They wandered through hot and dusty narrow streets lined with boutiques and trinket shops. Donna delighted at the quaint town market, how it appeared to be selling what people needed, rather than leather goods and sneakers designed for the undiscerning tourist.

What gave her more delight than anything else was how he took her hand and put his body in front of hers, pushing through the crowds in the narrow pathways between the stalls. She had been used to his hand in the small of her back, guiding her when she worked as his assistant. Reluctantly, she had drown accustomed to not touching when they met on the campaign trail, and after on the Santos campaign. Even after they slept together. She'd tried to show him that intimacy could work, the soft insistent kiss she'd given him leaving his apartment, was it only a day or so ago? This new thing he had about holding her hand whenever possible was odd to reconcile but she was certainly enjoying it.

Suddenly they broke free of the throng and found themselves on the beach itself.

"Paddle?" She asked.

Josh smiled with unrefined glee and pulled her towards the sea. They were

both laughing by the time they got to the wet sand and pulled off their shoes. He rolled up the legs on his khaki pants while Donna tucked the tasselled edge of her sarong into the legs of her bikini. Taking her hand again, he led them ankle deep into the surf and they sloshed through the warm waters.

She didn't want to break the mood, having never seen him so relaxed in the ten years she'd known him, but she'd earmarked today for having The Talk. However, as she watched the tension drain from him, watched the smiles reach his eyes again, she just didn't want to go there. He was here with her and The Talk was getting more and more redundant. Her little epiphany earlier that she was finally here with him had taken the urgency out of the situation. They would need to talk about certain things for sure, big things like the level of commitment they wanted from each other, and little things like how everything was going to work back in DC – okay so maybe that was big too. Maybe they'd see if they got through a week together first. Which was turning out to be a major consideration; he wasn't watching where he was going, he was too busy staring at her and she had a feeling he might not make it back in one piece. He had nearly tripped over his own feet three times already.

…………………..

He couldn't keep his eyes off her, and any minute now he was going to step on a rock or a fish or something and skewer his foot. But he just had to watch her: her face, her legs. He could now watch her openly without fear of all hell breaking loose and he was going to revel in that freedom. He hated being the stereotypical man, but that's what he was.

As they walked he could feel his body reacting to her proximity and found himself glad for his loose pants he had on disguised the beginnings his arousal. This didn't bode well for the days in the office when he's be wearing a suit. He didn't think his face would be recognised out here, his ego didn't quite stretch that far, but it couldn't hurt to be cautious and fight the urge to throw her down and take her right there and then.

He slung an arm round her shoulder and settled for having her pressed close against him. She raised her hand and linked her fingers through the hand draped round her shoulder as they splashed along the beach together.

……………..

They'd had a light lunch at a café with a sea view - the warmth of the day lessening already altered appetites. The campaign trail and transition had played havoc with every part of their lives. They were still sleep deprived, and what sleep they had been getting wasn't at the normal times of day. They had been eating what they could when they could and it wasn't ever healthy. Donna had expressed an interest in going for a swim; They had a snappy debate over whether exercise would help snap their body clocks back into place, so when they returned to DC they might be within the realms of normality. They decided to head back to the apartment to collect towels and costumes. She said she couldn't comprehend the idea of using the pool or even why it was there, though Josh had made a fair point that meant they wouldn't get salty. When she suggested they split up, her to the sea, him to the pool, she was secretly delighted that he balked at the idea.

She loved the feeling of his body against hers as they wandered back to the hotel, his arm around her shoulder, their fingers intertwined. This relaxation around each other was so unexpectedly effortless. And it was turning her on. She was framing how best to suggest another form of exercise altogether when they got to the front door of their apartment but it seemed that he had read her mind.

They got through the door and immediately he was pressed up against her, grinding his hips into hers and backing her into the closing door. He found her lips and they kissed deeply, hands roaming everywhere they could reach. She managed to break one hand free as she reached down and turned the key in the lock.

They stumbled back towards the bed together, tearing at clothes as they went. They hit the bed and fell together, rolling and grabbing and biting and moaning. The urgency was back, the desire unbridled and she was overjoyed, that they could want each other in so many different ways.

She watched him as he suckled at her breast, hands kneading the soft flesh, and she rocked her hips up into his chest. He got the message and pulled her panties down her legs, tossing them over his shoulder with a grin. She laughed and grabbed his shoulders, maneuvring him up and over her as she scooted back across the bed. He ran his hand up the inside of her legs and swept his fingers across her already wet centre, then bringing his fingers up to his lips. He left them there and bent down to capture her lips against his, his fingers still between them, sharing her taste. There was an edge of decadence to the way they touched each other and yet it didn't intimidate her. She could let herself go with him unlike anyone before.

"Josh. Now." She heard herself demand, wrapping her legs firmly around his waist so he had no choice but to sink into her and begin to move.

…………………

Donna was tight and hot; the way she gripped at him from within he thought he might lose what little of his mind he had left. Nothing he had ever experienced before touched this, being with Donna, but then he hadn't ever been in love before. Not like this. Not so completely and utterly and eternally. He ground into her, keeping his pace steady and even, because if he sped up one iota this was going to be over. He watched her face, fascinated as she watched him back moaning in pleasure at the friction of his thrusting. He shifted up slightly and changed the angle, pushing himself up on his arms. She clawed at his chest as his every stroke rubbed against her clit. She whimpered and moaned his name. "Yes Josh, please yes. "

Maybe he was going insane or else how was he holding on so long? This was torture, exquisite torture, but he wanted to wait for her, he wanted them to come together. He lowered his hand between them and stroked her firmly, and as she increased her cries he found himself moaning and chanting along with her, pounding into her harder and faster as she slammed her hips up to meet his in a relentless race to the finish.

"Donna?" He groaned through clenched teeth.

"Now Josh." Their cries mingled together as they came tumultuously together, as hard and as fast as they had been crashing into each other.

He collapsed on top of her and quickly rolled to one side, again keeping hold of her hand. They lay tangled together, breathing heavily, chests rising and falling against one another.

……………………….

"I've been wanting to do that all day," he said after a minute, gathering her up against him.

"God, me too," she replied, tilting her head back from its position against his moist chest so she could look him in the eye, then whispered conspiratorially, "let's do it again."

Josh laughed out loud and she loved him more. She could count on her fingers the times she heard him laugh like that in the past couple of years.

"Ok, but you're gonna have to give me a minute."

"No problem. Let's move though while I wait!"

He scowled playfully at her, but levered himself away as they moved to the centre of the bed. They leaned against the headboard and wrapped their arms around each other.

"This is amazing, Donna."

She loved that sound of satisfaction and relaxation in his voice. Her body thrummed at his touch and she was more than ready for round two, but was content to rest here a while in his embrace. She sighed as he kissed the side of her head and brushed her damp hair off her cheek. He was so tender, after having filled her in every way imaginable. She loved this man with her whole heart and that wasn't just the post coital glow talking. She wanted to tell him so badly but this wasn't the time.

He had to already know that she loved him, probably had known a long time, so she knew that he was going to have to be the one to voice that particular emotion first. Because she wasn't sure he'd ever told anyone that before.

"Yeah, amazing begins to cover it."

………………………………

"So we gonna make this work then?" The words were out of his mouth before he'd really thought about them. Was he instigating The Talk, he'd been so studiously avoiding? It must be the sex, the pheromones, something.

"Yes Josh, we'll make it work."

He waited.

Well, that was concise and not what he was expecting. He had expected the floodgates to open – maybe he was meant to say something else?

No, they were never game players, terrible at getting to the point while adeptly camouflaging their feelings about each other but, they didn't play games and they weren't starting now.

He had to get used to this being him and Donna. Him and Donna, and that was going to make all the difference in the world. Not him and anyone else, not Amy, certainly not Mandy, both of whom had enjoyed screwing with his mind when they mood took them. He had not been the perfect partner to them either, and he could certainly shoulder the blame for a large portion of the breakdown in both those relationships. But him and Donna were different from the outset. They were best friends before and above anything else.

He could think of a million things to say to Donna now, none of which seemed entirely appropriate given they were, hopefully, in between bouts of rampant sex. He wanted to tell her he loved her. It almost slipped out as he watched her on the balcony this morning, almost as she held him last night. But he wanted it to not be an emotive reaction to a situation, as if not saying I love you because of emotion wasn't an oxymoron.

"C'mere." He settled again for just pulling her closer if that was at all possible and kissing her deeply. "That's good news. We should issue a press release."

"The campaign's over Josh, we won."

"That we did, in more ways that one."

"Cheesy."

"Yeah, but it works for me."

"Not really."

"Ready for round two?"

………………………….

"Sure, but I need a shower."

"Now?"

"Yes Josh, it's been a full 8 hours since my last shower, I've walked through a dusty market, through a salty sea and just got very hot and sweaty with you. Come on, let's go get showered. I have to get clean."

"Donna, if you take me in there with you, getting clean is not going to be high on my list of priorities."

Grasping his hands, she leaned back and pulled him up from the bed.

He smirked at her as the sheet dropped away revealing the renewal of his arousal. She rolled her eyes but yanked him towards the bathroom, leaving him in no doubt, washing wasn't high on her list of priorities.

She knew she'd just given him a treat, a glimpse of how much she was attracted to him. But she her toes curled at the look of excitement and lust on his face and she loved that she could to that to him. Loved the fact that Joshua Lyman, one of the most powerful, intelligent, and influential men in the world had, in his eagerness, just tripped over his own feet as she dragged him bodily into the bathroom.

She released his hands and leaned over the edge of the ridiculously but conveniently large bath, turning on the shower. Suddenly, but not unexpectedly, he grasped her around the waist and ground himself into her from behind. Pushing her hips back into him, he was forced to bend and took the opportunity to drag his teeth and lips down over her shoulder. She reached behind her, wrapping her hands around him and he instantly stilled.

"Donna," he managed through gritted teeth as he thrust unapologetically forward in her hands.

"C'mon" she murmured releasing him and stepping back into the stream of water. She leaned her head back, letting the water cascade through her hair. Josh just stood there, open-mouthed, watching the water slide and fall over her breasts, running down her thighs until finally she had to reach out and tug him forward by the shoulder. He was instantly against her and she wound her arms around him. He seemed to have a fascination with her neck; get him within striking distance and his lips seemed magnetically drawn to the flesh, just beneath her ear.

Another surge of boldness ran through her and she had to react to it; slithering around, she turned in his arms as his hands continued to roam over her body. She put her hands up against the wall and braced herself, pushing her hips back towards him.

"Like this?" he questioned. She responded by pushing against him again, the

need for tenderness gone, wanting him inside her.

Josh murmured his adoration and appreciation as he snaked his arms around

her waist and raised her onto the balls of her feet. He held her hips in place as he bent his knees slightly. and then rose thrusting completely inside her in one stroke.

"Now, Josh," and he began to rock into her, again and again, both of them panting and moaning. Her hands pressed flat against the wall, one of his cupping her breast, the other teasing her between the wet curls between her legs. He started slamming up and into her; she began to burn as he hit that spot and she felt her climax rapidly approach.

"Faster," she moaned and he complied.

………….

This was something he had dreamed about too many times to count. He could tell she was almost there, his own orgasm having been held off by nothing but sheer force of will, but he couldn't wait anymore. He moved the hand cupping her breast and sharply pinched her nipple. She screamed and they both tumbled over the edge.

Her held her body up as the last few pulses of her orgasm rippled around him, which took considerable effort given that his knees were on the verge of buckling. He slipped out of her as she straightened up and turned to face him. He stared at her as they regained their breath.

"That was amazing, Donna. You are amazing."

She kissed him hard on the mouth and squeezed his ass. "You're not too bad yourself. Come on, let's get clean. Shampoo." She commanded as she handed him a bottle.

"Yes ma'am," he said, taking the bottle and pouring some of the lavender scented blue liquid into the palm of his hand. She stayed facing him this time, but again threw her head back, flickering her eyes shut in the stream of water as he lifted his hands and rubbed his fingers through her hair.

……………..

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