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1
CJ furrows her brows and watches Donna flit about the Bartlet for America office. Donna’s new enough that CJ doesn’t really know her, but knows that she works hard, and spends a lot of time on the phone for Josh.
Josh, who currently is on a call, but instead of taking notes or anything else, is watching Donna file papers. Sure, he could just be making sure that she’s putting them away properly, but something tells her that that’s not it.
“What are you working on right now?” Toby asks, coming up beside CJ.
“Watch this,” CJ says. She gestures to Josh, who is now off the phone, and Donna across the office.
The two talk to each other, Donna waving some piece of paper up and down, Josh nodding. They are standing very close to each other, much closer than CJ’s ever stood to any of the other people who work here. Especially not someone who would technically be her assistant.
“What am I watching?” Toby asks. “I have to work on the healthcare section with Sam, and wanted to go over talking points with you, but instead I’m watching other people do work.”
“I just… I don’t know, there’s something happening there.”
“With who? Josh and, uh, what’s her name?”
“Donna.”
“Josh and Donna?”
Josh and Donna who are now walking into Josh’s office, still talking and walking very close to each other.
“They just interact differently,” CJ says.
“This is not important, right now or ever,” Toby says. “So they stand close, it’s cramped in here.”
“It’ll be a problem if they sleep together and then it’s a scandal on the Bartlet campaign.”
“Not going to happen, we’re too busy for them to do anything.”
CJ shrugs. “I guess.”
Toby says something about finding Sam, and telling her to get back to work. CJ knows that she should, but there’s just something that’s happening there. She’s known Josh for a while now, and he’s never been so friendly with an assistant–hell half the time he’s not that nice to her. Donna, though, CJ has no clue what could be going on there.
Donna walks past CJ with a nice, “Hi!” and CJ smiles back. That woman is entirely too happy for this job. The only kind of people who are that happy are the people who are getting laid.
CJ watches Josh join Toby and Sam. While he hasn’t calmed down, if anything he’s more stressed, there’s a different energy about him.
CJ sighs. “Good God, they’re already sleeping together,” she mutters to herself.
She shrugs and goes back to her work. Yes, it could be a problem if it gets out, but she really doesn’t want to deal with the idea that it will.
There are about a hundred other things that could cause bigger problems. As long as they keep it in the bedroom, she doesn’t really care.
CJ has bigger things to focus on, like winning an election. Josh and Donna can do whatever they want in their free time. She watches Donna pour two cups of coffee and take them back to Josh’s office, and sighs again.
Hopefully it won’t get out.
2
“She goes out with other guys. Are you jealous?” Sam asks Josh. They’re walking through the Roosevelt Room, and Sam is trying his best to be a good friend.
“No,” Josh says.
“See?”
“I don’t get jealous.”
“So?”
“I don’t like it. And I usually do everything within my considerable capabilities to sabotage it.”
Did he just? Sam cannot believe the words he’s hearing. It’s a good thing that Josh isn’t a speechwriter, because he just gave the dictionary definition of ‘jealous’.
Sam changes the subject back to work as quickly as he can, because if they get stuck on this whole Donna thing right now, Sam just might yell at Josh.
It’s no secret around the White House that Josh and Donna are close. Donna took care of Josh after Rosslyn, and they act like an old married couple.
Often, when new people get hired, they look at Josh and Donna and assume that they’re a couple. There have even been a few news stories that have said the same thing.
Sam himself has often questioned Josh and Donna’s relationship. He certainly doesn’t behave the same way around Bonnie or Ginger. Those are his friends, but at the end of the day, his subordinates.
Josh treats Donna like an assistant, sure, but also like a friend and close confidant. Ever since the first campaign, they’ve spent a lot of time together. Especially recently.
Sam knows that Josh gave Donna a key to his apartment when she was coming everyday to bring him food and files from work, but as far as he knows, she hasn’t returned the key.
Later, Sam goes into Toby’s office, just barely knocking on the door.
“I had a strange conversation with Josh earlier,” Sam says, not waiting for Toby to say he can come in.
“Did it have anything to do with anything relevant?” Toby asks, not looking up from his computer.
“Well, not really I guess.”
“Then get out.”
“It’s just that have you ever noticed that Josh and Donna seem awfully close?”
This gets Toby to look up from his screen. “Not you too.”
“What do you mean?” Sam asks.
“CJ had some notion that they were sleeping together years ago, back when Donna first started.”
“So she had some reason to think so?”
“No, now get out and go back to work.”
“But this conversation—“
“Sam, unless Josh actually said the words ‘I’m sleeping with Donna’ to you, I really don’t care.”
Sam knows Toby’s right. There’s no point in getting caught up in what is probably nothing.
Probably.
But later that day, when he’s leaving work, Sam sees Josh and Donna hovering by her desk, Josh leaning over her to read whatever’s on her screen. Donna says something that Sam can’t quite hear, and Josh laughs.
Donna looks up at Josh and the two of them smile at each other in a way that screams way more than just friends, and a lot more than just boss and assistant.
Sam makes a plan to talk to CJ about her thoughts on the situation, because clearly, there’s something happening.
3
“Some party, huh?” Jed asks.
“Yes,” Abbey says. She’s taking off her makeup in the bathroom while Jed sits on the bed, looking over a few papers before bed.
“Except for that whole business with Donna not being allowed in,” Jed says, offhandedly.
“I thought it was nice that Josh spent his time trying to figure it out.”
“That’s where he was sneaking off to?”
“Honestly, Jed, do you ever pay attention to anything?”
“I pay attention to quite a lot, thank you. President of the United States and all that nonsense.”
“That’s a real title? I thought it was just an honorific they gave you,” Abbey says as she leaves the bathroom. She’s in her pajamas now, and sits on the bed next to Jed.
“But yes, Josh spent most of the night going back to his office to check on Donna and talking to the secret service about what was wrong,” she says.
“Ah,” Jed says. He looks up from his papers to see Abbey’s eyes glimmering with a look that he recognizes all too well. The last time he saw it was when she was talking about Zoey and Charlie.
“What?” he asks.
“I just thought it was sweet, that’s all,” Abbey says. She plays with the edge of the blanket, trying to look innocent.
“Abbey, are you trying to play matchmaker? I thought you already did that–isn’t Josh seeing Amy Gardner?”
“He is. But, I don’t know…” Abbey lapses into silence for a minute. “Josh and Donna have always been close.”
“I suppose.”
“See you don’t notice these things because you’re a man.”
“I think I have a little more to do than pay attention to which of my staffers are friends with each other.”
Abbey sighs. “Well, I like Josh and Amy, I think they complement each other very well.”
“But?” Jed asks with a touch of impertinence coloring his tone.
Abbey pauses for a second before continuing. “I think that Josh and Donna fit much better.”
Jed sighs loudly. “Goodnight,” he says. He reaches over and flicks off the light on the nightstand.
“Jed!” Abbey laughs out.
“Go to bed, Abbey, and stop thinking of White House as if it were a romantic comedy.”
“Well you know how to take all the fun out of life.”
“You’re not the first person to tell me that.”
The couple laugh, but both get ready for bed. Later, Jed thinks that Abbey’s drifted off, but he mutters, “Abbey?” anyway.
“Yes?” Abbey’s response is muted, clearly just been woken up.
“Do you want to know what I think?”
“At this hour?”
“You’re the one who started this whole rigmarole. Anyway, I’ve always suspected that Josh and Donna are closer than meets the eye.”
Abbey lets out a gasp. “Josiah Bartlet! You weren’t going to tell me!”
“Well now I have. Go back to sleep.”
Abbey keeps muttering at Jed for a few more moments, before realizing that he’s not going to say anything. In all honesty, Jed’s opinion is Leo’s. Leo’s the one who’d made a comment about Josh and Donna way back during the first campaign, and ever since then, Jed’s noticed little moments between them, and he has to admit; tonight was a good example of one of those ‘little moments.’
But who is he to judge? Jed really doesn’t care as long as the work gets done. And if Josh and Donna are or ever have spent more than a friendly night together, that’s none of his business.
4
Amy doesn’t know if she really wants to know the answer to what she’s about to ask. But she’s always had this sneaking suspicion and Donna’s just been going on and on and on about how you really have to “get Josh” to understand him.
“I’m not saying that you don’t,” Donna says, back to Amy.
Amy’s never been one to mince her words. “Are you in love with Josh?”
Donna freezes, her whole body going stiff. Amy notices that she stops rifling whatever papers she was looking through.
Amy’s pretty sure that the answer's yes, but she just wants confirmation before she jumps back into this whole thing with Josh again. In fact, she’s pretty sure that they’ve slept together at least once before, or at least kissed. When she ran into Josh again after all those years, and asked if he thought Donna was cute he never explicitly said no.
Donna’s still stuck in her same position, and after a moment she slowly turns around to face Amy.
“Why do you ask that?” Donna says. She’s clearly trying to give the appearance that she doesn’t really care, but she has absolutely no poker face.
“Because you keep talking about how much you have to understand him and I know how you two act around each other,” Amy says.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t deflect, say yes or no.”
Amy knows she’s being harsh to Donna, a woman who has always been nice. They just spent the last hour or so working together, and even though Donna could have drawn lines and said she wouldn’t, taking Josh’s side or something, she hasn’t.
Donna looks like a fish out of water with the way that her mouth keeps opening and closing.
“I’ll ask again,” Amy says. “Are you in love with Josh Lyman?”
Donna still doesn’t answer, and if anything looks even more uncomfortable than she did a minute ago.
“If you don’t answer I’m going to take it as a yes,” Amy says. Again, she knows she’s being unfair, but after the year she’s had she just wants a straight answer. She’s gone through too much bullshit to have Donna scamper around the answer.
Donna schools her face, and Amy thinks that she’s actually going to answer, but is saved by the proverbial bell.
There’s a shout from down the hall, and then Margaret’s running into the bullpen.
“Zoey Bartlet’s been kidnaped,” Margaret rushes out before running off again.
Donna gasps and Amy bolts up from her chair.
Over the next few hours, their entire conversation leaves Amy’s mind, and even later, after Zoey’s been found, she realizes that Donna never gave her an answer.
She gets back into it with Josh, but there’s always a kernel in the back of her mind that reminds her that she doesn’t really know what they were up to before they started dating, or in the time that they were split up.
There are times when Josh and Donna hold eye contact that she just gets this feeling deep inside her and she knows.
Josh will never fully be hers, because he’s too busy already being Donna’s.
5
“It’s been a rough few days, but I think we’re pulling ahead,” Matt says.
Helen hums out a response, fiddling with her napkin. The couple are having dinner alone for the first time in what feels like six years.
“The new spokeswoman we hired will be joining us on the campaign trail and I think she could do some good work,” Matt says.
“What’s her name?” Helen asks. About five thousand people work for her husband now, but she likes to at least try and remember the names of the people who travel from state to state with Matt.
“Donna Moss,” Matt says. “She used to work for the Bartlet administration.”
“Didn’t she also used to work on Bob Russell’s campaign?”
“Yes, but if I don’t have a problem with it,” Matt shrugs. “Josh had the biggest problem with it, actually.”
“Why? They probably at least know each other if they both worked for Bartlet.”
Matt smiles, and Helen knows that there’s something behind it. She knows when he’s up to mischief, or when he’s let the kids eat ice cream before dinner. He gets that twinkle in his eye and Helen knows that it’s off to the races.
“See, way back when we first got started in this whole thing, I did some research into Josh,” Matt says. “And I didn’t really find anything that was damning, nothing bad; but, I did see an awful lot of articles starting back in 1998 about Josh Lyman possibly having a secret relationship with his assistant: Donnatella Moss.”
Helen smiles around her wine glass. “You think they used to be together?”
“Why else would he be so upset about hiring a perfectly good spokesperson?”
“Because she worked for your competition?”
“I have more evidence,” Matt says. Helen raises an eyebrow, but he takes a moment to build tension by taking a bite of his food. “When we were preparing for debates in New Hampshire, I hired Amy Gardener to help out. Josh got all defensive about it, not just because she had also helped out Hoynes and Russell, but because they used to date.”
“Really?” Helen says. If she’s being completely honest, she doesn’t really care about Josh’s love life, but Matt apparently finds it entertaining enough to spend one of their few meals alone discussing.
“So, this is what I think: Josh and Donna used to date, but had some kind of break up a while ago. I told Josh when he brought up that Amy was his ex that I didn’t care about that–and I don’t–so this time around, he kept that part to himself,” Matt says.
“So he’s just making up other reasons not to like Donna working for you?” Helen asks.
“Yes.”
“Seems like an awful lot of work instead of just saying that they’re exes.”
“You know Josh, he’s not the most straight forward guy.”
Helen shrugs in agreement. “Alright, let’s say that you’re right.”
“I am,” Matt says smugly.
“Then what’s stopping them from either having a horrible fight of some kind during this campaign and derailing the whole thing, or getting back together and distracting each other?”
Matt pauses for a moment. “They’re both professionals, I wouldn’t worry about it.”
“Okay, if you’re not worried.”
“I’m not.”
Something that Helen’s said must’ve stuck with Matt, though, because while they move on to a different topic of conversation, she can see that he’s still thinking about it.
Later, when they’re getting ready for bed, Matt says out of nowhere, “What if they’re already back together and that’s why Josh doesn’t want Donna working for us?”
“Are you still on this?” Helen asks. Despite her tone, she’s not really that exasperated.
“Maybe he thinks that I have a really strict ‘no mingling’ policy or something like that,” Matt says, clearly not fully listening to Helen.
“You should tell him about the two congressional aides that were married.”
“I mean, I don’t care if Josh and Donna are together but–”
Helen cuts him off, “Honey, you’re just rambling now.”
Matt seemingly realizes that’s exactly what he’s been doing and shakes his head. “I’m sorry, it doesn’t matter.”
“Let’s just get to bed, huh?” Helen asks.
Matt nods and the two get ready for bed. He has an early morning wakeup, then there’s more campaigning and work on the stump speech to do.
Helen tries to sleep, but now that Matt’s put the thought in her mind, she thinks about what she does know about Josh. She hasn’t met Donna–yet anyway–but knows that whenever she does seem them interact, she’s sure that her brain will catalog every detail about their interactions.
After all, there isn’t a ton for her to do on the campaign trail besides stand there and smile at rallies. A little entertainment wouldn’t kill her.
+1
The weeks leading up to big holidays are always the busiest in the White House. Josh knows this, has known this, yet is always caught off guard. Even more so now being the Chief of Staff instead of just Deputy.
Barring any major national or international crisis, for Thanksgiving and Christmas, Congress, the Senate, and the White House all take a break. So, right before all that, every representative and senator wants their bills to pass as quickly as they can.
Josh has been working non stop for what feels like eons, and things are finally slowing down enough that he can take a deep breath.
He’s in Sam’s office, going over details of President Santos’s schedule for the next week, the most boring thing he’s done in days. Josh is kind of relieved about that.
“Hey, speaking of which, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?” Sam asks. “You can always come over to ours if you want.”
“No thanks, I already have plans,” Josh says, not looking up from his file folder.
“Oh, are you going to see your mom?”
“No, just gonna be Donna and I.”
“C’mon, Josh, you can’t call making Donna work and getting takeout for dinner Thanksgiving plans.”
That catches Josh’s attention. Is Sam joking right now? First of all, Donna doesn’t even work for him anymore, and secondly, their plans include an actual Thanksgiving dinner at their apartment. Their shared apartment.
“That’s not what I meant,” Josh says. Maybe Sam’s messing with him.
Sam furrows his brows. “What do you mean then?”
“I mean that we’re having Thanksgiving dinner. What else would I mean?”
“Really?”
“Yes really,” Josh says flatly. “Because she’s my girlfriend and we’ve been dating for a year.”
The look of shock that passes over Sam’s face makes Josh wonder how this man was ever a lawyer.
“Okay, are there cameras in here, because I feel like I’m being pranked,” Josh says.
“I feel like I’m being pranked,” Sam says.
“How?!”
“Because you just told me that you and Donna have been dating for a year! And I had no clue!”
“You must be the only one. It’s not like we’re hiding it or anything,” Josh throws up his hands.
“But…you just act the same way you always have,” Sam says.
Josh doesn’t really know what to say to that. Sure, he and Donna were never the standard of boss and assistant, but surely now that they’re a couple, people have noticed a change.
“Okay, you know she doesn’t work for me anymore, right? What did you think of all the lunches together and things like that? And the fact that we leave together all the time?” Josh asks.
“She’s the Chief of Staff to the First Lady. I thought all those lunches were meetings, and I never really noticed the two of you leaving together. Wait, do you live together?” Sam says.
“I’m firing you and hiring someone who can actually notice things,” Josh says. He turns and leaves Sam’s office, not stopping even when Sam keeps calling out to him. He’s sure that Sam probably has a thousand questions, but Josh just can’t believe that Sam didn’t know he was dating Donna.
Josh makes his way to the East Wing, and waves to Donna’s secretary before going right in. Within the first few weeks, Donna had made it clear that unless there was a sudden change, Josh knows her schedule and could come in at any point.
“Hi,” Donna says, only barely glancing up from her computer.
“Hi,” Josh says. “Sam apparently didn’t know that we were dating.”
“What?” Donna looks up at that. “How could he not know?”
Josh shrugs. “He’s sitting in his office very bewildered.”
Donna’s assistant knocks on her door, sticks her head in and says, “CJ Cregg is on line one for you.”
“Were you expecting a call from CJ?” Josh asks.
Donna shakes her head and picks up the receiver. After a few seconds, Donna puts the phone on speaker, and the yelling voice of CJ takes up the office.
“--not tell me!” she yells. “I had to find out from Sam!”
“Hi, CJ,” Josh says.
“You!” CJ still manages to sound intimidating over the phone. “How long were you going to keep this clandestine affair a secret?!”
“It wasn’t a secret,” Donna says. “We don’t hide it or anything. The President and First Lady know.”
“Sam called you that quickly?” Josh asks.
“He thought I knew about it,” CJ says. “Which, I don’t, and if a person in the building doesn’t know then it has to be a secret.”
Josh and Donna look at each other and try to stifle their giggles. Josh moves to sit in the chair across from Donna’s desk.
“I knew,” a new voice says in the background of the phone call: Danny Concannon.
“And you weren’t going to tell me!” CJ says.
“I’m a journalist. I figure things out. I figured it out a long time ago.”
CJ starts squabbling with Danny, and Donna is fully laughing by now.
“Do you two want to have this conversation by yourselves?” Josh asks.
“Do not get smart with me, Joshua,” CJ says. “Donna, I expect a phone call later. For now, I will say goodbye.”
The phone clicks and Josh and Donna are left in silence. They last about five seconds before both bursting into laughter.
“Is it a problem with us? Or them?” Josh asks.
“I have no clue,” Donna says.
“It has to be them.”
“We’re not very subtle.”
They laugh for a few more minutes, before Josh looks down at his watch. “Well, I’m done for the day if you want to get out of here.”
“Sure,” Donna says. They make small talk while she packs up her briefcase. Then, they make a short stop back in Josh’s office to grab his papers. He briefly stops into the Oval Office to say goodnight to President Santos, and then they’re gone.
They get back to their apartment and order dinner, the conversation moving on from Sam and CJ to the plans for the next few weeks.
Yes, Thanksgiving, but also bills to be passed, and Helen taking a diplomatic trip to Japan that Donna will be joining her on.
Right before they go to bed, Josh notices the blinking red light on their answering machine. Donna’s brushing her teeth, and Josh presses the button.
He can’t control his laughter as the voice of Former President Jed Bartlet crackles over the speaker and says, “Mr. Lyman, were you planning on telling me that you and Miss. Moss have moved in together? I hope you plan on making an honest woman of her eventually.”
The message goes on to say that Josh should call as soon as possible, and that Abbey wants to talk to Donna, especially after the message they got from CJ, and Donna joins Josh in the living room to hear the rest.
She laughs with him, and the two go to bed.
Long after Donna drifts off, Josh lays awake, thinking of the ring currently stored in his nice suit jacket.
He shakes his head. Maybe it’s good that everyone found out now, and not six months down the line when Donna shows up to work wearing an engagement ring. That really would’ve caused a commotion.
Josh falls asleep with Donna curled up on his chest, and his answering machine filling with more messages from friends and former coworkers.