A/N: *nervously reenters the home six months after I said I was just going to the grocery store* um, hey... Guys... How's it going? I... Uh... Got lost, and then... Um, I brought chips?
Haha. Anyway, I'm so sorry about the crazy long break (especially after that cliffhanger). I love this story, but I was having a lot of trouble writing it for a while for some reason. I've missed this story, and I've missed you guys. The enthusiasm for this story is kind of unparalleled. I'm so glad to be back in action.
Just so you know, this chapter is kind of rough and very high drama™. Sorry in advance to all the Will lovers out there, because Will has a particularly bad time in this one. (Actually, everybody has a pretty bad time, so, sorry x2?) I liked Will a lot early on, but since his character is so inconsistent (are season 4 Will and season 6 Will even related?) I kind of took the liberty to do whatever I want with him.
Plus, you'll be getting your first of the ~yet to be quantified amount of~ fistfights, so that's pretty insane.
Blah sorry this author's note is long. I hope you guys like this chapter! I'll try not to stay away so long next time.
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Feeling sick to her stomach for reasons that have nothing to do with morning sickness, Donna hesitates in the doorway to the hotel dining room. She spies Will alone at a table, glowering into a bowl of oatmeal and looking like he'd barely slept. She takes a deep breath, knowing that she needs to tackle the situation head on. She creeps across the carpet and stops besides Will's table.
"Will. Hi." Nervously, she gives a pained smile and flattens her hand against her stomach.
He barely looks up at her. "Donna."
She takes this as invitation enough to sit down. She pulls out the chair across from him and notices how he tenses. "Are you doing okay?"
He drops his spoon and sits back in his chair, folding his arms. "I ran into Josh last night."
She falters. She hadn't thought he would bring it up so directly. "I... I know. He called me this morning."
"He didn't tell you last night?"
She shakes her head. "He wanted me to get some sleep," she says softly.
Will snorts derisively. "That's ironic."
"Oh. Will. Hi."
Will tries to maintain a neutral expression. "Josh. Funny seeing you here."
Josh appears to struggle with how best to handle this extremely uncomfortable situation. "Look, it's, um..." He runs a hand through his hair and sighs. "It's not what it looks like," he tries.
"It's not?" Will challenges.
Josh admits defeat with a slight slump and a half-hearted smile. "Okay. You got me. It's exactly what it looks like."
Will clenches his jaw. "I see." He mutters coolly, breaking eye contact.
"Will, I'm sure she didn't mean for..."
"It's been you. It's been you this whole time."
"I told her to tell you." Josh says weakly, the fire growing in Will's eyes starting to scare him. "I told her to tell you, but... It's been hard for her. Give her a break. She really likes you, Will, she would never..."
"I should've known." Will says bitterly. "God, I should've known."
"Will, c'mon. She knew you'd take it poorly, she respects the hell out of you, she wasn't even sure what was happening with us..." He feels the inexplicable need to defend Donna, even if she'd really put him through the ringer the past few months. Maybe they have more in common than he'd care to admit, he and Will.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying, I don't know. Give her a chance."
"Due respect, Josh." Will grinds out, exerting obvious effort to keep himself from snapping. "This is my campaign. I'll make whatever decisions I want, and they're none of your business. You made that pretty clear when you rejected my offer."
Josh squints at him, as though trying to understand why he'd brought that up. "Will..."
"It's late." Will says flatly. "I'd imagine you have somewhere to be." He strides past Josh and into his own room, leaving his rival campaign manager in the hall looking helpless and lost. Frankly, he couldn't care less how Josh feels right now. He's got enough going on himself.
He sinks onto the bed and buries his head in his hands, silently seething. He feels sick. He feels physically nauseous, and his mouth is dry. He feels angry, that's for sure. But there's something else. Maybe it's hurt, maybe it's betrayal, but the only coherent thought he can seem to form is I should've known I should've known I should've known...
"Will, please." Donna starts weakly. "Please let me explain. I've wanted to tell you so many times, I just couldn't seem to find a time or place to-"
"To tell me you're literally in bed with the opposition?" He says harshly. "Actually, sorry, not just in bed with, starting a fucking family with."
She glances around the dining room wearily. "Will."
"What, Donna? Keep my voice down?" He smiles at her bitterly. "Oh, don't worry, I'm no more eager for this to get out than you are. Trust me."
"Will, you should know that there's been no inappropriate interaction or anything that could be construed as collusion between us. I've been so careful about that, I need you to know-"
"You don't get to decide that, Donna!" Will cuts her off abruptly, looking distant and deeply irritated.
Donna is brought up short by how similar he sounded, just for a moment, to Josh reprimanding her about the diary all those years ago.
"You don't get to decide what's collusion and what isn't! You don't get to decide how this looks! And, let me tell you, it looks bad."
She falters. "Will, I really don't think..."
"I don't care what you think, okay? I need some time to process this. I need some time to figure out what I'm going to do with this information."
She bites her lip, feeling tears welling in her eyes. "Will, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you."
"Yeah, well. I'm not sure telling me would've made it that much better."
"I know it was wrong, but it was all just so complicated..."
He holds up a hand. "Please spare me the 'Josh and I are just so complex, we have so much history, you couldn't understand' speech. I get it."
"That's not what I meant."
Will shakes his head, somewhere between dismissive and deeply hurt. "I should've known. God, I should've known."
She tries vainly to fight back the lump in her throat at his betrayed, disappointed tone. She and Will had gotten so close over the course of the campaign, and she wants so badly for him to understand. But she'd ruined that for herself by keeping this from him, and effectively betraying him. "Will..."
"God, you just can't stay away from that guy, can you? After practically slaving away for him for eight years, you finally quit your job, you get an actual life away from him for once... And then you go and do this. I really thought..." He looks at her dead on for the first time. "I really thought you were better this. I thought you were past this."
She looks at him as though she's just suffered a physical blow. It takes all she has to keep it together long enough to say, "Am I... Am I fired?"
Will looks away from her again, and juts his chin out petulantly. "I don't know, Donna. God. Give me some time. Some space. Just, get back to work, would you?"
She breathes out heavily. "I'll... I'll do that." In a daze, she walks hastily from the dining room, and she's barely made it around the corner before tears start spilling down her face.
She can't believe this. Her career is in jeopardy, she's permanently ruined a professional and personal relationship with someone she cares about, and for what?
For the guy she just can't stay away from.
She leans back against the wall, breathing deeply and trying to calm down. The deep resentment and disappointment in Will's eyes won't leave her alone. She hates that he's right. And more than that, she hates that there's only one person she wants to call right now.
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The entire day is as tense as the morning. Donna avoids interacting with Will outside of absolutely necessary professional matters, giving him space as he'd requested. He's in a horrible mood, that much is obvious to everyone, but only Donna knows why. She feels guilty every time he snaps at an intern or derails during meetings.
Late in the day, after a protest erupts in Detroit, the campaign decides to stay out of it. That is, until they get wind of the fact that Santos has changed his schedule for the day to stop in Michigan. Of course, because he's the scrappy underdog, he'll get to appear caring and "a man of the people." On the other hand, if Russell had planned this on his own, he would've appeared political and slimy.
"But since they're going out there, if we don't, we'll seem removed! Like we think we're above it! Will, we can't not go-"
"Stop!" Will exclaims in frustration, cutting off Adam, one of his best PR advisors. "We're absolutely not going where he's going, do you understand me?"
Once the words out of his mouth, he immediately becomes self-aware. He shoots a glance at Donna. She understands. When he had said where he's going, he hadn't meant Santos.
Will sags in defeat. "Fine," he mutters, "we'll go."
Though she knows that it's exactly the opposite of what she should be doing to mend the situation, Donna can't help calling Josh and arranging to meet him for a late dinner. She figures that Will won't notice, as he's pointedly ignoring her, and she could desperately use some advice on how to handle the situation. Josh is in Will's position, after all, maybe he can tell her what he'd want to hear if one of his employees came to him with a similar situation.
Of course, all of that is really secondary. She just wants to see him.
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Since Donna knows the Russell staff to be working mostly out of a series of third floor suites, she chances walking through the lobby of their hotel with Josh that night. They walk slowly, exhausted, and he keeps one arm around her shoulders protectively. He doesn't bother being cautious, because tonight he can't summon the energy to care.
Over dinner, Donna had told him everything that had happened with Will during the day. On the surface, he tried to maintain a calm demeanor, but underneath he was close to boiling over. Hearing Donna cry on the phone that morning, and then watching her nearly break down again over dinner because her boss was icing her out was enough to send him into a rage. He felt the desperate need to protect her, to make everything better for her, but he knows he can't. She had, after all, messed up by keeping this from Will for so long.
The part that he can't seem to let go, however, is that Will's reaction doesn't seem to be entirely professional. If Josh is honest with himself, it sounds a little like something he would do - not with any staffer, but with Donna in particular, had she come to him with something like this. He would've been petty, he would've taken it personally, and he might've said some even worse things than Will had. And that, Josh now knows, is highly problematic.
As they walk slowly through the lobby, Josh notices something strange in the adjacent room. A single figure, hunched over the bar, drinking alone. He furrows his brow.
He slows to a stop, and Donna follows suit, watching him curiously. "You go on up, okay? I'll be there in a minute. I've gotta make a phone call."
She searches his eyes. She could say something like "you could take it in the room," but she knows that if it's campaign related, that crosses one of their lines. Like it matters anymore, I'll probably be out of a job by tomorrow. "Okay. I'll see you in a few minutes."
"Yeah." He kisses her forehead gently, and she gives him a weak smile. He makes sure the elevator doors have shut before he turns and makes his way to the bar, sliding onto the stool right next to the lone drinker. "Will. Hi."
Will barely looks up. "Josh. Of course. I'd ask what you're doing here, but then..."
Josh ignores this slight jab. "You're not with your staff."
"Neither are you."
Josh inclines his head. "Touché."
The bartender appears. "Drink?"
"Not for me, thanks."
"What do you want, Josh?" Will asks tiredly.
"Will, I think you know what I want."
"What? Give your girlfriend a break?" Will shoots him a sarcastic simper. "As old school chivalrous as it is of you to fight her battles for her, I think we both know I'm not going to do that."
"Would you lay off?" Josh says irritably. He takes a deep breath, remembering that he came here to try and make Donna's situation better, not worse. "I'm not asking you to give her a break. I'm asking you to act like a professional."
"A professional? This coming from you? Yeah, okay."
"I know, I know. Say what you will." Josh acknowledges. "But Will... Some of the stuff you said to her this morning was out of line. Ignoring her is... It's petty. Just deal with the situation, and let her move on, okay? She feels horrible. Now while I could give you a ton of reasons she doesn't deserve to be fired..." Josh sighs. "If you're going to fire her, just do it. Don't string her along. The way you're treating her is... It's personal. It's not professional."
Will gazes at him murkily from behind his glasses. "What are you implying?"
"I don't know, Will. I don't presume to know whatever it is that you two have, only that the way you're treating her now pretty clearly says it's more than boss and employee, and you're letting that get in the way of doing your job."
"Just like how you two were more than boss and employee? Just like how it gets in the way of you doing your job?"
"Will. C'mon."
"This is my campaign, Josh. You passed up the opportunity to be a part of it, and I respect that, but please don't come in now and question the way I run it."
"We both know this isn't about that. I'm questioning the way you're treating her. Which, frankly, is very much my business."
"And how do you figure that?"
"Because when she calls me crying because you're being a dick to her, it is taking literally all I have not to run you over with an armored vehicle of some kind."
"How sweet." Will drawls, taking a sip of his drink. Beneath the prickly exterior, Josh sees a flicker of regret. He'd made her cry.
"She's... She's my family now, Will. And I'm not asking you to understand, I'm just asking you to grow up."
"Grow up?" Will repeats incredulously.
"She was scared, Will. She was scared of this Exact thing happening, I guess. I hate to admit this, but you offered her things I couldn't. This campaign offered her a freedom, and a room to grow, that I never could." Josh looks, for a moment, quite pained by this admission. "She loves this campaign, and she respects you. She didn't tell you because she was ashamed, and scared, and didn't even know what the hell was going to happen between us. You have to understand that it had nothing to do with you."
"Oh, I know. I know all about your messy, complicated whatever. You know why? Because I was there for her. I listened. I cared. God, I cared so much. I was there every time she wanted to vent, every time she was pissed at you." Will goes on, starting to slur his words ever so slightly. He's taunting Josh, and Josh knows this, but he can't seem to stop himself from leaning forward, entranced by Will's confession. "Oh, you didn't know? We talked about this all the time. Of course, you were just some anonymous guy back then, but now it all makes sense. Especially when she refused to marry you."
Josh reels back as though he'd been physically struck. "She... She told you that?" He manages, voice breaking.
"Of course she did! She told me everything. I'm sure you thought you were the only person in her life she had that with, especially her only boss, but I've gotta tell you, she replaced you like that." Will snaps for emphasis. He knows exactly what he's doing, and he knows it's sick, but somehow the pain pooling in Josh's eyes makes him feel just a touch better.
Josh stands reflexively, taking one step away from the bar stools. He clenches his jaw. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"You're right. Of course I don't." Will turns to face him. "She loves you, right?"
Josh stiffens. He has to get out of here. "You're drunk, Will."
"I'm not! That was the plan, but I've only had a couple. And you know what? It's not worth it. I'm not going to waste my time being miserable over some pathetic, scheming girl who's unloyal-"
"Don't call her-"
"-and couldn't even go two weeks doing something good for herself before she got herself knocked up by the guy she-" Will is cut off abruptly, and topples backward in his seat, falling against the bar. "Fuck!"
The bartender reappears at the sound of the commotion. "Is everything okay?" He looks between them, from Will clutching his face to Josh wincing and shaking his hand. "Did you just-"
"It's fine." Will mutters from behind his hands. "It's fine. Some ice?"
Josh breathes heavily, unsure what had come over him. He has to run. He has to leave here. "I-I'm sorry."
"I shouldn't have said that."
"No. You shouldn't have. But I shouldn't have..." He trails off. The reality of what he's just done starts to sink in. Oh my god oh my god oh my god. I just hit my girlfriend's boss. I just hit the opposition's campaign manager. I just...
Josh escapes the lobby, his hand on his chest, and looks blindly for his car. He'd taken a cab. He collapses onto the bench outside the hotel. Fifteen minutes later, inside another cab and on his way back to his own campaign, he calls Donna and tells her something came up.
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Yikes yikes yikes. Does it help if I promise to fix all this mess?
Let me know what you think!