Mandy looks like she's about to fall apart while we listen to the President talk to the kid from the Hickory. Eventually, I go ahead and wrap my arms around her and hold her. Most of the time she drives me crazy, but she needs a friend right now, and Donna told me I should be nicer to her. Hopefully Mandy doesn't think this means I have any interest in getting back together.

When the horror finally ends, she pushes me away abruptly. Yeah, trying to comfort Mandy is kind of like trying to hug a porcupine. Comforting Donna is like holding a kitten. She rubs against me, and practically purrs. I don't like to see Donna upset, but comforting her is actually a nice feeling.

Leo clears his throat and addresses the group. "It's late. Go home, everyone, we'll deal with the fallout in the morning."

I turn towards my office, looking at my watch as I do, it's almost one am. I really hope Donna waited for me. I just need to be with her.

When I get to the bullpen, I see her desk is organized, her computer is off, and her chair is empty. But as I walk through the door to my office, I get the faint whiff of her perfume, and I see her reflection in the window. I feel better just seeing her, even if she is asleep in my chair.

I walk quietly to the chair so that I can spend a moment just watching her sleep. This is the most relaxed I've been all day. But as nice as this is, watching her sleep in my bed, preferably wearing a lot less clothing, would be a lot nicer.

"Donnatella," I call to her softly and smile as her eyes flutter open. She's so adorable.

"What time is it?" She asks a bit groggily.

"It's after midnight. Time to go home."

"Okay."

She's still a little fuzzy around the edges, so I wrap my arm around her and lead her towards the door. On the way, we run into Leo. He raises one eyebrow at me.

"Donna's dead on her feet. I'm going to drive her home." Technically, I'm not lying to him. I am going to drive her home. I didn't say whose home I'm going to drive her to.

"Good man. Glad you are watching out for her." Leo smirks at me in a way that makes me wonder what he knows.

Oh well, I'm not going to worry about that now. There has been speculation about us for the entire time Donna has worked for me. Up until a few weeks ago, I had no idea why there was any speculation, but getting that NSC card really opened my eyes. It made me realize that I didn't want to live without Donna and once I realized that I saw no reason not to tell her. We've been very careful since then and no one seems to notice anything different about us. I'd like to keep it that way as long as possible.

When we get outside the crisp night air seems to revive Donna a little. "Hey there, you a little more awake?" I can't help but grin at her rosy cheeks.

"Yeah." She smiles brightly at me as I open the car door for her. She slides in and I shut the door gently behind her, then practically skip around to the other side of the car.

Make no mistake about it, tonight was a tough night. But I get to take Donnatella Moss home and make love to her. Everything else fades quickly from my mind.

Donna is quiet the whole way home. She must be really tired. Maybe the love making is going to have to wait until the morning. That's fine, just having her in my arms all night gives me strength to face another day.

Once inside the townhouse, Donna heads straight back to my bedroom. I'm glad she's so comfortable here. She quickly takes her suit off and hangs it up on a hanger. Then she pulls on a t-shirt and boxers. She isn't really giving me a strip-tease, but I enjoy watching her. She raises one eye-brow.

"You wearing that tux to bed?"

No, I just didn't want to miss anything. As I start to strip off my tux, she picks the pieces up and hangs them up as well. Once I'm down to my boxers and t-shirt, I take her hand to pull her into my arms. But she resists. That's kind of odd for her.

She's biting her lip and she looks like she could cry. Finally, she takes a deep breath.

"Josh. I'm really sorry about today. I know I screwed up. I'm really sorry, boss."

What's the deal with her calling me boss? She rarely calls me that unless she's teasing me and she definitely doesn't look like she's in that sort of mood.

"Donna. It's no big deal. Has this been bothering you all night?"

"No." She says softly. "Well, yeah, kinda."

"Why?"

"Because, I don't want to be the weak link! I don't want to keep my job just because you're sleeping with me. I wanted to be good at this!"

I'm stunned. She doesn't think she's good at this? She's fantastic. I wouldn't be half as good as I am without her.

"Donna! You ARE good a your job. I'm constantly afraid someone is going to take you from me. If not one of the other Senior Staff or Congressional offices, then someone from the private sector."

"How do I know you're not just saying that?"

"Well, you may not realize it but I do keep in mind all the things you do right."

"Really?"

"Yep. I've even been making a list."

"You have?"

"Yeah. You want to hear it?"

She gives me a small smile. "Yes, please."

"You tie my bow ties.

You make me change my shirt sometimes.

You don't get me coffee.

You tell me when my watch sucks.

You make me go to meetings I don't want to, but you get me out of some of them.

You occasionally bring me the finest muffins and bagels in the land.

You ask the really important questions.

You make me want to be a better man.

You believe in me."

She grins at some of my points. But then she looks serious. "I do believe in you but is that really part of the job? Most of those don't really sound like a legitimate job."

"Donna. You do a real job! You assist me. You keep me organized. You make sure I'm where I'm supposed to be on-time. You do research. You are a sounding board and you have great ideas. You are the greatest assistant I could ever hope to have. . . . You've known me for over two years, you know how seriously I take my job, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you really think I'd keep an assistant that wasn't helping me do my job better? Do you really think I'd keep someone who couldn't handle the job?"

"I guess not."

"I wouldn't. I love you. I'd want to keep you in my life, but I wouldn't keep you in my office just to have you in my bed. I promise."

"You love me?!"

Oh. I haven't said that so directly before. I wasn't sure we were to that stage yet. It just slipped out. But it feels right.

"Yes. I do. I love you, Donnatella Moss."

"I love you too." Donna whispers back. Her eyes are kind of shining. I can't tell if she's still upset or just tired or something else. It really has been quite a day.

I move her towards the bed. She sits down with a tired sigh. Then I climb into my side of the bed. I'm kind of amazed that I already think of part of this bed as hers. And I'm kind of amazed that I'm not freaking out about the fact that I'm already thinking about how much I want everything I have to be partly hers.

"Come here, snuggle with me." I open my arms and she scoots over and lays her head on my chest.

"Are you okay, Donna? Is keeping this relationship a secret making you wonder if it's the real thing?"

"Not exactly."

"You know that I'd love to shout it from the roof tops, don't you? I feel so lucky to know that you love me, and I want everyone to know I love you. I'd like to make sure no gomer ever gets an idea about asking you out ever again. But there are people that would make it their goal to separate us, or make us miserable, or give the administration a black eye."

"I know."

"It hasn't been that long since the Mary Marsh thing. You know she'd love to find something else to go after me about. And I'm afraid that Leo would decide to transfer you. And I am selfish. I want to have you in every part of my life including work. You really are the best!"

"Even when I screw up?"

"Everyone makes mistakes, Donna. You've seen plenty of mine. Besides, someone TOLD you that Mr. Bambang didn't speak English, right?"

"Yes. I called the protocol office to ask about how to arrange a meeting between him and you and Toby. They said I'd need to get a translator from State."

"And then you called State?"

"Yes, I told them you had a meeting with Mr. Bambang, a Senior Aide to the President of Indonesia and that you needed a translator."

"And they sent Mr. Minaldi?"

"Yes."

"And when Mr. Minaldi arrived and you found out that he didn't speak the same language?"

"I started asking around to see if anyone who was present in the White House spoke Batak. When I found out about the kitchen guy, but found out he couldn't speak English, I checked to see if Mr. Minaldi could speak Portuguese."

"So it wasn't really your screw up. You actually solved the problem. Even though it turned out it didn't need solving."

"I guess."

"No guessing. You did. I know sometimes I take my frustration out on you but I do know how valuable you are. That's why I don't want to share you!"

Donna snuggles even deeper into my arms, and I ran my hand over her head. I think I feel her purring a little. I'd like to start making love to her, but I think there's one more thing I really need to make sure she understands.

"Donna- seriously, if you ever get tired of working for me, or sick of my shit, I'll make sure Leo transfers you to a good job. There are lots of places in this administration where you'd shine."

"I wouldn't want to leave you."

"Well, someday you might. And if it comes to a choice between our relationship or keeping you as an assistant, I choose the relationship. I'd just like to have both as long as possible."

"Me too." She looks up at me with a genuine smile and I lean down and kiss her softly.

"I love you, Donnatella Moss, in any language."