5:30AM
It's just after 5:30 AM when they walk into the White House. As soon as they walked into the west wing Toby made his way to his office, leaving Josh and Donna alone in the bullpen. 'We can just do messages and then you can go home for a few hours' Josh said, as he tried to unlock his office door. He took the key out, rubbed it with the sleeve of his shirt and then tried again. 'Do you want me to try?' Donna asked, trying to not to sound like she was mocking him. 'No I got it' he said as he tried the key again, grinning widely as the door unlocked. Donna went straight for his desk drawer and took out two cell phone battery chargers. As Josh hit 'play' on the machine he handed over his cell phone to Donna, seemingly falling back into the routine they had always had.
The first 8 messages are all work related, senators aides calling Donna to try making appointments. As she's making notes, Josh is looking through emails on his laptop when they hear a familiar voice. 'Donna it's Ruth uh Lyman. I thought you'd be back by now, Joshua told me you were all going out to Indiana. Just calling to see how it went. Can you get him to call me please. Hope you're well sweetheart, talk to you soon' she said before ending the message. Donna looks over at Josh who is staring at the machine. 'I love how your mom thinks I wouldn't know it was her unless she says her last name, like I could forget what she sounds like' Donna says as she turns to face Josh who smiles back at the thought of Donna ever forgetting his mother's voice. 'You better call her. She'll be worried' Donna says. 'Yeah' he says as he picks up the phone to dial. 'Josh it's 5:30 in the morning'. 'She'll be up' he says as Donna nods. Donna gets up to leave when Josh asks where she's going. 'I'll leave you talk to your mom. I'll be out here'. Josh watches as she walks out of the room and closes the door, still staring at the door before he dials his mother's number.
As she closes the door she leans back against it, exhaling as she then takes off her shoes. She picks up her shoes and makes her way over to her desk, looking at all the work she hadn't done and the list of groceries she hadn't been able to get. 'God knows what I'll eat when I get home' she says out loud to no one but herself as she leans back in her chair and closes her eyes.
'Hi Mom' josh says into the phone. 'Are you back? Sam told me you were left behind by the motorcade' his mother said, obviously worried. 'Yes we were but now we're back' he confirmed over the phone. 'I was a little worried because I can usually reach Donna and if not she'll call back within an hour. So when I didn't hear from her I called Sam and he said Toby and Donna were there too so I knew she'd make sure you got home in one piece' she said to which Josh laughed before he agreed with his Mom. 'I hope you appreciate all she does for you, Joshua' Josh thought about what his Mom said for a moment before telling her 'I do, Mom'. 'Good, she's good to you. Don't upset her'. 'I won't, Mom' he said.
As Josh ended the call with his mother he heard a knock on the door. 'Come in' he yelled back as Leo walked in. 'Hey, good to see you back' Leo said as he walked around to where Josh was sitting. 'Good to be back' he said. 'You should go home. Take a few hours and go get some rest'. 'I'll be fine' he says, waving Leo's suggestion off. 'It's not optional, Josh. The next 3 months are going to be non stop and I need you at the top of your game' Leo says, staring down at Josh. He knows better than to mess with Leo on this and gets up from his desk, picking up his jacket from the back of the chair. 'Oh and take Donna with you. Poor girl's had you and Toby to deal with for the past 20 hours. She's asleep in the bullpen' he says as he walks out. Josh hot on his heels as he takes in the sight in front of him. 'See! Take her home would you, please' Leo says one last time before he disappears through the double doors.
Josh walks over to Donna, her shoes are off and her hair has fallen over her face. He has to drag his eyes away, after what had happened earlier he didn't want to take any chances. She looked beautiful even now, almost 6 AM and asleep in a chair. He reached out and touched her shoulder lightly. 'Donna, come on let's go' he said softly. 'What time is it?' Donna asks. 'It's almost 6. Come on, let's go home' he says as she gets up out of the chair. Donna stands in front of him as he looks at her, a few inches of distance between but she can see that look. The look he had before he kissed her. She needs to stop it from happening again, no matter how much she wants it, so she takes a small step back as Josh looks down at his watch. 'Wanna share a cab?' Josh asks. 'Sure'.
'Did you call your Mom'? 'I did. She talked to Sam so she knew where we were'. 'That's good' Donna said as she put her shoes back on and grabbed her jacket. Josh took her bag and they walked out of the office. They walked out of the front gates and Josh hailed a cab. He looks over at her as the cab drives their way and she starts to question the decision to share a cab. She's wondering if it could happen again and if she wants it to happen again. Josh is watching her, he knows she's nervous he can tell by her face. 'Donna, it's fine. Come on' he says as they walk over to the cab. He opens the door and she gets in before he follows her to sit in the back. 'It's not going to happen again' he says after giving their addresses to the cab driver. 'I know that' she says as she looks out of the window. She hadn't thought about how she'd feel never kissing him again. Her feelings for him had always been there, getting stronger over time but now that they'd crossed a line into different territory, she had to come to terms with having to get over him. That made her sad, but she knew she had to do it. She looked over at Josh who was looking out of the window, wondering if he felt the same.
A/N thank you to those who have reviewed etc. It means a lot. I know it's a little slow but I'm hoping it'll all come together the way I want it to.