Title: A Day In The Life of… Senior Assistant to the White House Chief of Staff

Disclaimer: So not mine ::sigh::

Spoilers: Through Season 4

Feedback: Sure, send it my way :-)

Thanks: Huge thanks to Sharon for the quick readthrough and useful suggestions for this - it's much appreciated.

Notes: This is the first part of a planned series. The idea jumped into my head while I was at work… yes, I had a very productive day. g Anyway, the premise is I'll take a few of our 'favorite friends' and write from their point of view; they will bring us up to speed on the latest events in the West Wing and, of course, there will be some J/D thrown in along the way, just for good measure. :-) There will be 8 parts to the series in total, but I'm not gonna reveal all the characters just yet.

**

Why did Mallory have to choose tonight of all nights to cancel dinner with her father? Oh, I know it's not really her fault; she can't help it if she has to have a late meeting with the parents of one of her kids, it's one of the perils of being a teacher. However, that doesn't help me – I was really looking forward to having a long, relaxing bath tonight, but instead, I'm stuck in the office. Why can't I go home? Well, Leo is still here and, as I've said many a time, I go home when he goes home. It's not that I have to stay here, it's that I choose to. I guess it's a little odd; I mean, most of the assistants work long hours, but it's only really Donna and myself that nearly always stay until our bosses leave. Actually, that's not strictly true – I choose to stay, whereas Donna is more forced into it because Josh won't let her leave. To be honest though, even if he did let her go home, she wouldn't go anyway, not unless he was leaving too.

I know you're probably wondering why we choose to stay late; well, I think I can safely speak for Donna and myself when I answer that – in a way, we share a kind of bond about this. You see, the American people rely on the President to run the Country efficiently, and the President relies on Leo for help, therefore, if I don't ensure that Leo eats healthily and gets enough sleep, the American people could suffer; in other words, the American people also rely on me. Where does Donna fit into this? Well, Leo and Josh are in positions where 'the buck stops with them'; if something goes wrong, they will be the people to take ultimate responsibility to protect the President. Actually, it's Leo who has the ultimate responsibility, but I think we all know that Josh will always do whatever he can to protect Leo. This means that both Leo and Josh need to be fit and healthy, so that they can function properly. This isn't an easy task, given Leo's age and Josh's medical history. Don't get me wrong, Leo's not old, but he's not as young as he used to be either, and he refuses to eat the five portions of fruit and vegetables a day that he is supposed to eat to prevent health problems. As for Josh, well, Donna has constant arguments with him about his diet; he gets very childish if she tries to order him anything other than fries and a burnt burger. We compare notes on this topic frequently.

The bond I have with Donna extends beyond our working hours and our bosses' diets – we are able to discuss things with each other that we can't discuss with any of the other assistants. Obviously, we can't talk about everything, but I can certainly share more with Donna than I can with, say, Bonnie or Ginger, and Donna can do the same. We don't do this that often though, as we prefer to spend time as a group, i.e. with Bonnie, Ginger and Carol, so that we can regale each other with tales of our bosses. For instance, take this lunchtime…

The five of us were sitting in the mess, having managed to get some time free for lunch at the same time of day – this doesn't happen that often. I was very glad to get away though, as today has been one of those days. Leo has had an endless stream of meetings, both with Senior Staff and in the Situation Room. These things get him into a bad mood and they make him tired, all of which adds to my workload. I'm not complaining - I love my job - it's just that sometimes I wish I wasn't here; I wish I was on a beach somewhere, getting a suntan. Of course, if Leo would actually let me go on the trips to California or somewhere sunny once in a while, hell any trip for that matter, things would be much better. Sometimes I think he gets a perverse pleasure out of telling me that we can't go.

Anyway, back to today's lunchtime events. Bonnie and Ginger kept chuckling every time Donna or myself mentioned the White House function that is happening next week. I demanded to know what was so funny, thinking that they knew something I didn't. After a lot more laughter, they finally informed us that Toby had been in a bad mood all morning. I know that in itself won't surprise you, but wait until you find out the reason – he was complaining about the fact that Will had written the President's speech for the function and he, Toby, did not have to change more than two words; it was practically perfect. Toby had even rushed a copy to the President himself, in the hopes that he would find a problem with it, but he too was more than happy with it and didn't want to change a thing. All morning, Toby had been suffering from an extremely pleased with himself Will, and numerous comments from Bonnie, Ginger and the President about the fact that Toby could retire, now that they had someone who could more than fill his shoes. I know this maybe sounds derogatory towards our previous Deputy Communications Director, Sam Seaborn, but it's really not; it wasn't so much what Sam wrote that Toby constantly complained about, it was the way in which he wrote…his legendary 'imagery'yyy. Toby doesn't write that way, and it really annoys him when other people can. Suffice to say, Toby would never say that Will is a better writer than Sam, just as he would never say that Sam was better than Will, it's just that Will has done the unthinkable; he's produced something that Toby cannot fault!

So, as I said, us Senior Assistants keep ourselves entertained by trading stories about our bosses. Today it was the turn of Bonnie and Ginger to discuss Toby, but last time it was Carol who kept us amused, telling us the latest in the CJ/Danny saga.

CJ had returned from a meeting to find Danny waiting in her office. She immediately complained to Carol, who informed her that Danny was receiving his 'visitation rights' with Gail and that CJ should consider herself lucky that Carol stopped Danny removing Gail from the office altogether, as was his original plan. Carol told us that CJ blustered about this for a few moments and then finally calmed down, probably plotting ways to get revenge on a certain reporter. Apparently though, her revenge efforts didn't work, not unless they included eating a late dinner with him in her office – Donna spotted them as she dropped some papers off on Carol's desk that night. Carol quizzed CJ about it the following day, asking in an underhand manner what she had been doing the previous night; CJ had merely said she worked late. Now, that may be true, but from what Donna says she saw, I think it's more likely that CJ's resolve is softening towards Danny and she doesn't want to admit it.

You know, the potential romance between CJ and Danny isn't the only potential romance I have noticed in the West Wing lately. I noticed that… No, wait, I'll come back to this. I think I should first inform you of the delights myself and the other Senior Assistants have in store for Will Bailey – if the new Deputy Communications Director thinks his hazing is over, he's wrong; the Senior Staff may be finished with him, but their Assistants are not.

I'll give credit where it's due; it was Donna that came up with the plan. Josh had been complaining that Will had been let off too easily, that he hadn't been humiliated enough - apparently Josh doesn't consider having a goat in your office all that humiliating. I'm not even gonna wonder about what he does consider humiliating, although, Donna did once suggest I ask Josh about his new shoes; I have no idea what that was about though - I often think it's safer not to get involved in the things between those two.

While I remember, I should probably tell you about the last thing that I told the other Assistants, when it was my turn for the 'boss story'. It was something that happened a couple of weeks ago, something Leo has being trying very hard to forget, but is being constantly reminded about by a certain President.

For the last few months, I have resorted to making Leo take vitamins every day. He protests continuously, but he always gives in, knowing he'll have an easier life that way; after all, would you want to go against my good advice? Anyway, this particular day I hadn't had a chance to give him the vitamins, due to more endless meetings. I knew Leo was feeling very pleased with himself about that fact; I knew that because Mallory called me and told me he was gloating about it - she asked me to make sure he took them. So, to get my revenge, and to make sure he would take them without complaint in future, I waited until he was having his usual late-night meeting with the President. You know the one…where the President wanders into Leo's office from his own, just to find out the catastrophes that happened during the day which Leo had decided to keep from him until they were solved. I of course knew that the President was there - that's why I have a spy hole in the door between my office and Leo's - but I feigned ignorance when I interrupted them.

As soon as I walked in, they both raised their eyebrows in surprise. I apologized profusely and explained that I had thought Leo was on his own. The President dismissed my worry, as I knew he would, and asked me what I needed. I very casually explained that I wanted to give Leo his vitamins. This amused the President greatly, and he spent the next ten minutes quizzing me on why I thought Leo needed vitamins in the first place, and then why I felt the need to keep them in the office, rather than letting him take them at home. I was prepared for this and told the President that I didn't trust Leo enough to take them without supervision. Unsurprisingly, this prompted laughter from the President and an eye-roll from Leo. My work was done - I knew the President would subject Leo to numerous comments about the fact that his assistant was looking after him so well and would insist on asking him every day whether he'd taken the vitamins or not.

I just remembered that I was talking earlier about another potential budding romance within the White House. Believe it or not, it's Josh and Donna. No, they aren't actually dating, but there's been a change between them lately, nothing over the top, but there's something. I sensed a change around about Christmas time, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. However, Donna and Jack then split up, or rather they were forced apart, and I then found out about what happened the night of the Inauguration. Yes, I know about the 'snowball incident'. I bet you're wondering how I know about it, given that I wasn't there. Did Donna tell me? No, she didn't and, to be honest, I'm not quite sure what to make of that fact; I thought she would have told me, but…I'm digressing again. I actually found out from Will, well, not Will exactly; Ginger imparted the information, but she had received it straight from Will. Apparently, he was rather happy about the fact that the 'boys' had included him in their little excursion to Donna's apartment and he was boasting about it to Ginger. For some strange reason, he thought them inviting him signaled the end of the hazing, but he forgot about CJ!

Anyway, after Ginger told me about the snowballs and Josh persuading Donna to go to the balls with him, the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. I think Josh has finally realized how much Donna means to him. At first, I wondered why he hadn't acted on it; I wondered if he was maybe giving Donna some time to get over Jack, but then I remembered that this is Josh and, if he wants something, he usually just goes after it, no matter what. So, now I'm asking myself why he still hasn't done anything; I mean, Donna is well and truly over Jack now, not that I think she was ever really that invested in their relationship in the first place. What conclusion have I come to about Josh's non-action? Well, I think he's scared. I think he's unsure of Donna's feelings and he's worried about damaging their friendship. It's been bothering me for a few days - should I have a quiet word with Donna to find out her feelings, or should I stay out of it? More to the point, if my perception about Josh's feelings is correct, how will Leo react? Will he be happy about their potential personal relationship and the impact it could have on their working relationship, or will he try and stop it before it starts? No, now that I think about it, I don't think Leo would do that; Josh means too much to him, he wants to see him happy. I wonder if Leo has realized that Josh has 'woken up'.

Oh, Leo has just called me into his office; I'd better stop my daydreaming.

*

Well, I've finished typing up the notes Leo wanted, so I'll just take them back into him. We were talking earlier and I just happened to mention that Josh seems to be letting Donna leave earlier at nights now…he's going home early himself, and it looks as though he's actually getting some sleep. I noticed a small smile on Leo's face when I said that, as if he knows something that I don't. You know, I don't normally beat around the bush, so why should this be any different? I'll just ask him.

"Leo, here are the notes, all typed up. Let me know if you want to make any changes."

"Thanks."

He's giving me a dismissive look, but I'm not ready to leave just yet. How can I phrase this, how can I ask the question?

"Margaret, is there something else?"

His tone isn't showing any annoyance. In fact, given the day he's had, and the fact that Mallory cancelled dinner, he's in a surprisingly good mood. Now's my chance, I think.

"Leo, about Josh and Donna…have you..."

"Have I what?"

"Well, what I mean to say is, have you-- I mean, don't you think--"

"Margaret?"

I'm stumbling through my words I'm talking so fast. "Have you noticed a change in their behavior recently?"

He looks at me for a moment before dismissively saying, "Don't worry about it. I know."

What? What does that mean? He's smiling though, what does he know?

"It's in hand, Josh doesn't need any help; he has a plan."

A plan? "A plan? What sort of plan?"

"He has a plan. Do you really need to know the details?"

"Well, considering how good Josh is at planning things, I think it might be a good idea to warn Donna."

"You're not going to talk to anyone about this, including Donna."

I nod. "So, this plan..."

"It's one that involves him talking to Donna when the time is right, so just keep quiet for now, alright. I promise, as soon as I know it's happened, I'll let you know, if Donna doesn't tell you first."

Okay, what on earth…? I need to get him to expand on that, just to make sure we're on the same page. It's not like Leo to make comments like that. Oh wait, he's just put his coat on; it looks like I might get that bath after all. Time to go home.

**

The End… for now.

The next part will be 'A Day In The Life of… White House Deputy Communications Director'. You wanna know what the Assistants are gonna do to him, right? g