AN: Everything is canon through "Inauguration: Over There"

Early February 2003

Donna balanced a muffin on top of her to-go salad container and picked up her Snapple with her free hand. She was headed out of the Mess and back to her desk when C.J waved her over.

"Want to keep me company? I have exactly eight minutes to eat."

Donna tilted her head awkwardly to check her watch. "Sure, I have eleven minutes. More or less." She set her things down and opened her salad. "If Josh bellows, I'm blaming you."

"He's afraid of me."

"He's usually afraid of me, too, but somehow that doesn't keep him from bellowing."

"He's such a child sometimes."

They ate for a moment in silence.

"I heard Jack was transferred. Italy?"

Donna shrugged. "Yeah. We were already done. I'm sorry again, about the quote."

"Nah, don't worry about it anymore. Any other prospects?"

Donna shrugged again and stabbed a crouton with her fork. "Haven't had much time lately."

"Same here. Maybe there will be some time in, oh, I don't know, four years?"

Donna grinned. "You'll make it."

"Sure, I'll just give up on sleeping, seeing the sun, and, of course, dating until then."

"Well, at least it's easier to make the sacrifice when you know it has an end date."

"You're a wise woman, Donna. Damn, time's up. We should all go grab a drink soon. Maybe tonight?"

"Should work. Josh doesn't have anything scheduled after 6:30. So, that means you could probably drag him out of here by eleven."

"Oh, he'll come when I'm done at nine or face the wrath."

Donna laughed as they stood and tossed their lunches in the trash.

"You should stay and eat your muffin. You still have three minutes."

"I might. Josh's watch sucks anyway. He won't know what time it is until I tell him. See you later, C.J."

x0x0x0x

March 2003

C.J. stepped into Josh's doorway quietly and observed him for a moment. His left hand raked through his hair, not for the first time it seemed, as he scribbled something on a legal pad, then glanced back to a memo in a file folder. He paused to squint at it a little, the only light in his office coming from his desk lamp, then spun towards his computer, grabbing a different memo from on top of his keyboard and taking a bite of egg roll from the takeout container beside it.

"Mi amore," she finally said and he glanced up.

"Hey." Eloquent as always. At least he swallowed the egg roll first.

She left the dark, quiet bullpen behind and deposited her coat and briefcase beside one of his visitor chairs as she dropped down into it.

"You do have, you know, an apartment with a bed and a kitchen and everything."

He shrugged. "So do you."

She tipped her head towards her briefcase. "Yeah, and I'm headed to it in a minute. Five luxurious hours of sleep await before I have to be back here."

She paused and considered that he looked better than he had during a dark Christmas season she tried not to think about, yet worse than before they'd entered the White House. But she supposed she did, too.

"You should get out of here before midnight sometimes," she said. "Get some sleep, go to the gym, go on a date."

He just grunted in response, not even looking up from his memo.

She decided to go for it. "You know, Joey is coming in next month to do some polling on the healthcare thing."

He paused and glanced up. "Joey Lucas?"

"Yep."

He went back to his memo. "That's good. She's good. Hopefully we get the numbers we want."

"I'm just saying, you could ask her out, get out of here before midnight for once."

He looked up again and put down his pen. "Did I just go back in time? Did Donna rope you into her old plan for me to gather rosebuds with Joey Lucas?"

C.J. raised an eyebrow. "Donna thinks you should gather rosebuds with Joey Lucas?"

He waved his hand. "She did. Not anymore. Said I wouldn't have to get my towels re-monogrammed."

"You have monogrammed towels?"

"Nope."

"Okay. I'll just leave that one alone."

"Yeah."

He went back to his memo.

"Actually, let's go back a minute. Why does Donna no longer think you should gather rosebuds with Joey?"

He stopped again and looked up at her and for just a second she saw his eyes widen before he schooled his expression. Huh.

"I don't know. Guess she decided that ship sailed when Joey got married."

"I didn't know she was married."

"Six months or so now, I think."

He glanced back down, but she noticed he wasn't actually reading the memo anymore.

"Do you ever think about it?"

"Think about Joey getting married?"

"Yeah. No. About getting married. Having kids. Having a regular life."

He looked up again and this time he set down his pen and leaned back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head.

"Yeah," he sighed. "I do. But we just won four more fabulous years of all this."

"But...dating people. We should all do that, right? Meet someone for a couple of drinks before midnight sometimes? Try to have a little bit of a life?"

"Are you dating someone, C.J.?"

"No."

"But you want to?"

"Sure. On a night where I might get more than five hours of sleep at least."

"Then you should."

"What about you?"

"What about me? I didn't come to your office and start this cryptic conversation."

C.J. threw up her hands. "I just worry about you, that's all! None of us are getting any younger. You've sacrificed more than any of us - you should get to be happy, too, before it's too late."

Josh dropped his hands and leaned forward, folding his arms on his desk. "I appreciate it, C.J. But I'm okay now, I swear. I make sure to go to all my doctor appointments and they say everything's fine. Egg roll aside, I've been eating better. I try to run or get to the gym a few times a week. I'm 41, I'll be 45 when we're done here. It's not a huge difference at this point."

She could tell he didn't quite believe what he was saying, but he also didn't seem too distressed.

"Really," he said, when she didn't respond. "It's easier to make the sacrifice when you know it has an end date."

C.J. sat up straight in her chair, her mouth gone dry. "What?"

Josh cocked his head at her. "I said it's easier to make the sacrifice when you know it has an end date."

C.J. considered her words carefully. "You know, I had lunch with Donna in the mess a few weeks ago and she said the exact same thing."

Josh didn't move a muscle. He didn't even breathe. Then, "Okay."

"Josh, are you and Donna together?"

"No." His voice was even and he answered quickly.

"Damn it, Josh, I'm your first call! You think I didn't hear about Inauguration night? Snowball throwing, her sitting on your lap in the taxi, the whole thing?" Her voice rose. "I waited for days, expecting something, but neither of you came to me. You *have* to come to me!"

"We are *not* together." Josh's voice was still quiet.

"Josh! Joey Lucas isn't the first suggestion you've turned down since Inauguration. You won't take Amy's calls anymore - although thank goodness is all I have to say about that one - and Will said you wouldn't even make conversation with some government groupie who was coming on to you at the Hawk and Dove last week. Is something going on between you and Donna?"

Josh's jaw ticked a little and she realized he was trying to stay calm. "I already said no, C.J."

"Josh—"

"There's an end date."

"What?"

"January 20, 2007. On January 20, 2007, no one will give me a second thought. No one will care about my career, or my life, or...who I share it with."

C.J.'s eyes got even wider. "Are you kidding me?! You think you can just keep on with Donna like always for four more years and she's just going to wait for you? She's 29 years old! She goes out, she dates!"

Josh was still eerily calm and quiet. "Not anymore. She doesn't...date anyone anymore."

"You utter jackass!" C.J. exploded, smacking her palm down on his desk. "You can't ask her not to date anyone else and wait for you for four fucking years!"

"I didn't ask!" Now he was pissed. He took a deep breath and squeezed the arm rests of his chair. He lowered his voice again. "I didn't ask. She—this is her idea. This isn't...one-sided."

C.J. dropped her head and dug the heels of her hands into her eyes, growling a little bit. "You two will be the death of me!"

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

"I said I'd quit."

C.J.'s head shot back up. Josh was quiet again, staring blankly down at the top of his desk. His anger had vanished and he looked a little sad.

"Josh..."

He looked up at her and smirked, but it seemed hollow. "Don't worry, she wouldn't let me. I'm still here to be the bane of your existence for the foreseeable future."

"Josh, what the actual hell? Please explain this to me."

He sighed and scrubbed both hands through his hair. "I took her home after the Inauguration balls and, God, Ceej, I was so tired of pretending that I didn't—that I wasn't completely in love with her."

"Oh my God, Josh—"

He held up his hand and she closed her mouth, sitting back wearily in her chair.

He swallowed hard and drummed his fingers on his desk.

"She didn't let me do anything, or even say anything. She just looked at me and I *knew*. I knew she knew and she felt the same and that's when I told her I'd quit. I'd leave the White House, I'd leave *DC*. I'd consult, I'd teach, I'd even be a lawyer. She could go back to school, if she wanted. I'd take her to Hawai'i for our honeymoon. I'd follow her anywhere." His voice cracked a little and C.J. found her eyes suspiciously wet.

"And she wouldn't let you."

"And she wouldn't let me," he agreed. "She reminded me that what we're doing now matters. We can do good things, make a difference. That's it's noble and worthwhile and it's easier—"

"It's easier to make the sacrifice when you know it has an end date," C.J. interrupted.

Josh nodded, but didn't say more.

"You just...wait until January 20, 2007 to start your lives?"

"Basically."

"Joshua," C.J. said gently.

He shook his head and gave her a wan smile. "It's okay, Ceej. Look, last year, I finally figured out that I loved Donna. That I'd probably been at least half in love with her from the moment I met her, but I thought it was hopeless. She'd meet someone one day, then she'd leave and go live her life and it wouldn't include me. Because why on earth would she love me back? I'm her boss, who can be a jerk, who always says the wrong thing, who has a roadmap across his chest, who's almost twelve years older than her."

He looked up at C.J. and this time his smile was genuine. "But she does. We still haven't said it. It would be too hard, to say it or hear it once, and then not again for so long. But I know she does and she'll wait and so will I. She's already started taking some correspondence classes, maybe night classes later. I didn't want her to wait on that anymore. It's going to take at least a year or two for her to finish her degree and she shouldn't have to wait for that."

"Because on January 20, 2007, you're going to start making little blond, curly-haired babies and it might be too hard for her to do that, find a new job, *and* go back to school?" C.J. teased, desperate for levity.

Josh looked almost teary himself for a moment, then it was gone. "I can only dare to hope," he choked out.

They sat in silence for a long moment.

"It's still not fair," C.J. said, softly.

"Yeah."

He looked back down at his memo and she picked up her things.

"Goodnight, Josh."

"'Night C.J."

She looked back at him once more, but he was back to reading. She went home.

x0x0x0x

C.J. stared up at her bedroom ceiling in the dark, unable to sleep.

x0x0x0x

When C.J. arrived at the White House the next morning, she swung by Josh's office to find him tying a new tie over a fresh shirt and Donna straightening the files on his desk, tossing the empty takeout container into his trash can.

"Morning guys," C.J. said.

"Hi C.J." Donna replied, taking two folders to the file cabinet in the corner and putting them away, several others tucked under her arm.

"Senior staff in five minutes, Josh," C.J. said.

"I know, I know."

Donna rolled her eyes toward C.J. "He slept here last night. Didn't even bother to make it to Toby's couch."

"Figured as much when he was still here when I left at 1," C.J. said. She set a Starbucks cup down on the desk. "Here, I took pity on you, mi amore. I'm sure you'll owe me one one of these days for something you screw up."

Josh's eyes lit up. "Look, Donna, C.J. brought me coffee!"

"Bite me," Donna called over her shoulder as she breezed out of the door and headed toward her desk.

"You're just feeling sorry for me today?" Josh asked quietly, taking off the lid and blowing on his coffee.

C.J. shrugged. "Don't get used to it."

"Course not."

x0x0x0x

"Ok, Toby's going to take the meeting at 2 and Josh will meet with Senator Hundley later."

Leo was wrapping up the senior staff meeting in his office before briefing the president later. Dr. Bartlet had requested her husband join her for a breakfast with some old friends from medical school.

"Ginger's on vacation the next two weeks," Will said. "They're sending the temp up Friday so Ginger can fill him in."

"Good," Leo said. "Oh, and Josh, thank Donna again for that report she did for me Monday; it was great."

"Sure," Josh replied, and C.J. noticed a flash of pride on his face.

"Anything else?" Leo asked, closing his notebook and sticking his pen in his jacket.

"No sir," they all chorused, gathering up their things and heading out of his office.

C.J. made sure she was the last one out the door and that Josh was well ahead of her when she stopped at Margaret's desk.

"Does he have a few minutes later today?" she asked.

Margaret checked. "About 12:30."

"Can you pencil me in? Thanks."

x0x0x0x

"What's up C.J.?" Leo asked, clearing his desk of the remains of his lunch.

"Carol finally gave me her official notice Monday."

"That's too bad. Not for her, but for us. She's leaving before the wedding?"

"No, she gave me three months notice. They're moving to Atlanta after the honeymoon."

Carol had met a friend of a press corps member who worked at CNN and they'd been seeing each other long distance for months, getting engaged at Thanksgiving.

"Well, that leaves plenty of time to find someone else, I guess."

"Yeah, about that...what do you think about Donna?"

Leo suddenly seemed a lot more interested in the conversation. "Donna Moss?"

C.J. nodded and Leo looked pensive.

"I think Donna could do just about any job around here, but Carol has a masters degree."

"Donna started taking classes this semester. It won't take her too long to finish her bachelors and the job doesn't require a masters. Even making it more of a deputy press secretary position, like we talked about, it still wouldn't."

"I know she's in school, I wrote her a letter of recommendation and Georgetown accepted some of her work for a couple of credits. You think she's interested?"

"I don't know," C.J. admitted.

"You know, I was thinking of her for the position open in legislative affairs. She could start that before she's finished her degree, too."

"Doesn't that position still report to Josh?"

"Technically, but not directly. Wait, why? What do you know that I need to know, C.J.?" Leo gave her a hard look. She considered carefully how to respond, but before she could, they were interrupted.

"I'm sure C.J. knows infinitely more than you, Leo."

They both stood. "Mr. President."

"Sit, sit." He helped himself to another chair in front of Leo's desk. "Now, what do you know that Leo needs to know?"

C.J. inwardly cringed. This was not how this was supposed to go.

"C.J. wants to see if Donna is interested in Carol's position after she gets married and moves to Atlanta. I thought Donna might be good in legislative affairs but apparently there might be some issue with her continuing to work under Josh?"

Jed leaned forward and rubbed his hands together. "Hot damn, it's about time. What do you know, C.J.? I have a bet with my wife that I'd really like to win."

C.J.'s eyes widened as Leo leaned his head into his hands in misery.

"It's just—nothing's happened," she began. "I just discovered that, well, they've agreed to be in a holding pattern of sorts until the next administration."

Leo looked up. "What does that even mean?"

C.J. swallowed. Her sleepless night hadn't helped the sad feeling she got deep in her gut from the whole situation.

"Josh is in love with Donna," she said slowly, "and the feeling is mutual, but they haven't done or even *said* anything. Apparently they're not as oblivious as we all thought. Josh offered, Inauguration night, to quit or even leave DC altogether, but Donna wouldn't let him. They're not dating anyone else, they're not dating each other, they're just...waiting until January 20...2007."

Leo and Jed sat in shocked silence, finally broken by Leo collapsing back into his chair.

"Damn."

"Yes," C.J. agreed.

"Leo, we have to make this right," Jed said quietly.

"Sir, you have to think about how it will look," Leo began. "Deputy Chief of Staff dating his much younger assistant who hired herself without so much as a college degree or any letters of recommendation?"

"She's earned a promotion, Leo, she could work for C.J., or work for legislative affairs and you could do her reviews."

"Yeah," Leo said. "But what if it fails? What if they break up and then what does it look like?"

"He didn't just offer to quit," C.J. said quietly. "He offered to follow her anywhere and...take her to Hawai'i for their honeymoon."

"I don't know, C.J.," Leo groaned. "I hate this as much as you, but..."

"Do you really think anyone is going to care?" Jed asked, looking more at C.J.

She sighed. "I don't think our press corps care what two consenting adults do with their free time. Plus, they know Josh and Donna personally and honestly, I think several of them have their own bets going. But I'm not sure about gossip columnists. I know there are plenty of Republicans who have it out for Josh, but even *they* like Donna and it's pretty well known how much she actually does beyond just scheduling his meetings and not getting him coffee. I think after all this time, it's hard to paint Donna as unqualified or having slept her way into her position, though some might still try. I'm not just thinking of her for Carol's job to help them out, I had already thought of her before I knew about this, and she would really be excellent. Ultimately, I just want to find some way to...make this better."

"Isn't it really up to Donna?" Jed asked.

"Yeah," Leo sighed.

"I think we can make it clear that this is a new relationship, not something we've been hiding," C.J. said, feeling a little more hopeful.

"I can talk to her," Leo said. "Say she's being considered for both jobs, if she's interested."

"Could I do that?" C.J. asked. "Then she can give you her decision and we'll make a plan from there?"

Leo nodded. "Sounds good." He smiled a little. "I really am glad they're not as dense as I thought they were."

"I'm glad I just won a bet," Jed chimed in. "Abby thought it would take at least until the end of the year."

x0x0x0x

C.J. wanted to talk to Donna when Josh went up to the Hill that afternoon, but Donna had decided to duck out for a late lunch. It was Friday evening before C.J. even had another chance. She swung through the bullpen on the way back to her office to get her things and go home.

Donna was typing away and on hold with someone, the phone balanced between her ear and shoulder.

"Hey, you busy tonight?" C.J. asked.

Donna looked up. "No, not really. I've probably got another half hour, though. Aiming for no later than eight o'clock, and waiting on hold to correct a takeout order."

"We could go out somewhere."

Donna looked interested, but tired. "Could we just do take out at my place? I've been daydreaming about my pajamas for at least three hours."

"Sure. What are you getting?"

"I was going to stop by Gianni's on the way home. I forgot to add a tiramisu to my order, though, and I decided I really, really want one, so I called them back."

"Great, can you get me a manicotti and I'll pay you back. No dessert for me."

"Sure. I have wine."

"Excellent. See you in an hour?"

Donna smiled. "Definitely. I'm long overdue for a girls' night."

"Same. See you."

She peeked in Josh's office. "Hey, I'm stealing Donna for dinner and lots of wine. I'm making sure she leaves here before eight."

Josh looked up, a little panicked. "C.J., about what I said the other night—"

"Nah," C.J. waved her hand and whispered, making sure Donna was still busy on the phone. "I won't bring it up unless she does. We just haven't had any time to talk girl talk lately."

"Okay," Josh said, cautiously.

"Get out of here, man. It's dark. Go home and have a beer, watch TV. Call Sam. Grab a drink with Toby or Will."

Josh looked down at his desk and sighed. "Yeah, that sounds good, actually. Any of it." He reached for his backpack and threw a couple of things in, but looked to be leaving most of it on the desk.

"Ok, see you later."

"Goodnight."

x0x0x0x

"I'm so stuffed, I can't even eat the tiramisu now." Donna pouted, but still gave herself a second pour of wine.

"It'll be even better tomorrow," C.J. offered, tucking her legs underneath her on the couch and balancing her own glass.

So far they'd eaten and caught up on all the west wing gossip they could think of. C.J. had told Donna about Carol's notice, as it wasn't public knowledge just yet, but she had yet to broach the subject of Donna's job.

"So...with Carol leaving, I need to start looking for someone new. If I found them soon enough, they could train with Carol for a while before she leaves."

Donna nodded, a little absently, picking a crumb off her gray lounge pants. "I'm sure you could find someone in time."

"Leo and I talked about making the position more of a deputy press secretary and less of an assistant job."

"That would be helpful for you."

"Exactly. And Leo told me earlier this week there's a spot in legislative affairs."

Donna looked up. "Yeah, Congressman Albertson hired Marty away last week."

"Would either of those jobs be...something you might be interested in?"

Donna's eyes widened. "You aren't serious."

C.J. held up her hand as though taking an oath. "I am. Talked with Leo earlier this week about Deputy Press Secretary and he mentioned he'd been considering you for Marty's. I said I'd talk with you and you could let him know what you think."

"But, I'm not qualified—"

"You are, Donna. You are qualified for a lot. And you'll have your degree soon - we can talk about why you didn't tell me you'd gone back to school later - and that's really the only thing holding you back from a promotion."

"I-I don't know what to say."

"Technically, legislative affairs reports to Josh, but really to Leo, too, and Carol's job obviously reports to me."

"I like working for Josh. I mean, most of the time, of course." Donna tried to make it sound light and jokey.

"Believe me, part of me doesn't look forward to working with a Josh who doesn't have you keeping him together, but I want you to think about your career and your future, too."

"Yeah," Donna said, quietly. "C.J., have we had enough wine for me to tell you something...important?"

C.J. felt nervous despite knowing where this was going. "Something about Josh and your career?"

Donna nodded. "Nothing has happened. And nothing is going to happen. At least not now. But, Josh and I came to a bit of an understanding a couple of months ago."

C.J. couldn't bear to hear the story again. "I know, Donna," she said, gently. "Josh told me earlier this week."

Donna looked shocked, then her eyes filled with tears. "I know it sounds completely crazy," she said, and C.J. squeezed her hand.

"It sounds beautiful and really sad," C.J. said, "but not crazy."

"I can't accept a job just because you feel sorry for me."

"I had already thought of you, Donna, and so had Leo."

"Does Leo know, too?"

"He and, you know, the President, who crashed my meeting with Leo. Josh doesn't know any of this, by the way."

Donna set down her wine and buried her face in her hands. "This is so embarrassing."

C.J. set down her glass as well and moved closer, rubbing Donna's back. "It's not so bad. Apparently you helped him win a bet he had with Abby. You're probably two of his favorite people right now."

"Oh, God," Donna moaned.

"Donna, listen to me. I damn near cried in Josh's office when he told me what happened. And he only told me because I interrogated him and I think he thought I might kill him. But that's not why Leo and I are offering you other jobs. It's just a really convenient bonus."

Donna took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes. "Really?"

"Really. You should be doing more, and there's only so much more Josh can give you where you are now. But there is a lot more available to you in the west wing and you don't have to wait to start your life until January 2007."

"The press?"

"I honestly think it will be fine. And I will do everything I can to make it fine. Because you're my friends, and because you aren't doing anything wrong, and because you and Josh deserve to be happy."

"I really love him, C.J. God, it feels good to say that out loud." She drew a shuddering breath. "I didn't imagine...I didn't want Josh to quit for me and I didn't want to quit either. I love working at the White House. I love feeling like I'm making a difference. But if I could do that *and*..."

C.J. nodded, a little teary herself. "And," she confirmed with a nod.

"I would be honored to work for you, C.J., but I don't know that I'm qualified for a deputy position until I have my degree."

C.J. thought for a moment. "We could hire you as assistant, like Carol, but with some different responsibilities, and with opportunity for promotion later, pending your degree and performance."

"Can I think about it and let you know tomorrow?"

"Sure. You know, why don't I head on home and let you get to bed early for once. You can call me tomorrow."

x0x0x0x

C.J.'s phone rang at seven-thirty the next morning. She smiled as she saw the number.

"Morning, Donna."

"Morning boss."

C.J. felt a grin erupt behind her coffee mug. "Does that mean I get you instead of Leo?"

"If the offer is still open. I need to talk to Josh first, though. I don't want to spring this on him as a done deal."

"Yeah. I'll let Leo know and you can talk to him Monday. I think it's fine, you know, if you talk to Josh at his apartment, instead of at work. Like, if you wanted to do that today. But behind closed doors."

"I was thinking about it."

"Seriously, we'd try to work it out if you wanted to stay where you are, but I think you deserve more than that and I hope Josh thinks so, too."

She sighed. "I really hope so. I think he will, but change is...hard for Josh."

"I'll smack him around if I need to."

"I thought I'd take some bagels and coffee over to his apartment. I hope he doesn't see the coffee and rush to the wrong conclusions."

"You two are really strange."

x0x0x0x

Donna steeled herself and took a deep breath before knocking on Josh's apartment door. A few months ago, it wouldn't have been unusual for her to show up at his house or vise versa on the weekend, with work, but since Inauguration night, neither of them had done so. It was yet another unspoken agreement - that it would be too hard to be alone together and pretend nothing had changed. It was a little heartbreaking, to lose that innocent intimacy of their friendship, but she knew it would be worth it in the end. To know now that everything could change in a manner of weeks, not years, was exhilarating and also nerve wracking.

"Hey." Josh greeted her with surprise as the door swung open. As predicted, he looked first at the coffee cups in their carrier in her hand and blanched. She quickly held up the bag of bagels and cream cheese in her other hand.

"I have brought you the finest muffins and bagels in the land!" she proclaimed with a big smile. "Well, actually just the bagels."

He quirked an eyebrow and looked back at the coffee.

"I don't suppose both of those are for you?"

"Yes, Josh, I'm going to drink two coffees while we share some bagels."

"Did I do something—did C.J. say something last night—"

"It's fine, Josh. This is not pity coffee or punishment coffee, this is just coffee that comes with the finest bagels in the land because I want to have breakfast with you."

"Oookay," he said slowly and ushered her inside.

She grinned again, a little amused by how uncomfortable he looked.

"Josh! This is my day of jubilee. Have a freaking bagel and some coffee."

He seemed to relax and brought some plates and butter knives to his table. She unpacked the bagels and for a while they were fairly quiet while they ate. She knew he was dying to ask questions, but was a bit afraid to voice them.

Finally, he set aside the second half of his bagel. "So, why exactly is this your day of jubilee?"

She set aside her breakfast as well and took a steadying breath while she looked at him sitting across from her, still a little rumpled from sleep, in an old Mets shirt and flannel pajama pants. God, she wanted to jump him.

"I started to tell C.J. last night, about our...situation. Seems she already knew?"

"I'm so sorry, Donna, I thought she was going to punch me."

"I know. I'm not mad. I'm kind of glad I didn't have to go into it all."

"She promised she wouldn't bring it up!"

"She didn't exactly. She wanted to talk to me about...my job."

He looked even worse than when he'd seen the coffee. "Oh, God, Donna, we haven't done anything! They can't fire you—"

"They aren't!" she said quickly. "And who's to say they wouldn't keep me and fire you?"

"Probably would," he muttered, petulantly.

"Well, you know that Carol is leaving soon?"

He nodded and suddenly looked a great deal more interested in the conversation.

"Well, C.J. had already thought about me for the position, before your little midnight confession. And apparently Leo was already considering me for the open job in legislative affairs."

"That's...that's great," he said, and it seemed like he might actually mean it.

"Really?" she asked, biting her lip. "You'd really be okay with me working somewhere else?"

Josh sighed and moved his chair around to her side. He started to reach for her, then stopped himself. Then reached out again, just brushing his fingers over the top of her hand.

"Really," he said, honestly. "It would be hard. I'd really miss you, but you'd still be nearby and...you deserve it, Donna."

"Oh, Josh," she whispered, through tears.

He gave her a small smile, but it was enough that she could see his dimples.

"I want to take Carol's job. C.J. said once my degree is finished, and if I've been doing well, she's even considering making the position more of a deputy press secretary position, not just an assistant."

"Yeah?" And then he looked so proud of her, she thought her heart might explode. "Of course you'd do a good job. Of course you'd get that promotion."

"I'll really miss you, too, you know," she whispered.

"Who wouldn't?" he countered, teasingly.

"You know, there's a bonus to this new job."

"You mean aside from more money after a promotion?"

"Yeah, a...personal bonus."

He didn't get it yet. He was simply proud of her and wanted her to take the new job. He hadn't even realized what this meant for their personal relationship.

"Josh," she said, turning her hand over on the table and catching his fingers, lacing them through hers. He looked down at their joined hands in surprise, then back at her. "Josh, I wouldn't report to you anymore. We could..."

He tightened his fingers in hers as it slowly sank in. "We could...before the end of this term..."

"Before the end of this *month*. Even...today. C.J. suggested staying out of the public eye for now, but..."

He looked awed. There was no other word for it. He scooted his chair in front of hers, her knees between his, and reached his free hand up, tracing down the side of her face. The same path his fingers had taken Inauguration night, before she'd put her hand over his mouth, before he could utter the words that would have made her say to hell with doing what was proper.

"I love you, Josh," she whispered.

"I'm so in love with you, Donnatella," he whispered back.

"Yeah?"

"Absolutely."

Then they were kissing and she was completely melting. His hands were in her hair first, then she was being pulled out of her chair and into his lap. She tightened her arms around him and pressed herself flush against him.

Suddenly he was pulling back. "Wait, wait," he gasped. "Dinner. I should take you out to dinner. Or a...a movie?"

"A movie? When is the last time you saw a movie?"

"I don't know, are they in color now?"

She smacked his shoulder. "Josh! We can go to dinner later. We can ask C.J. what her plan is for making this public - I'm sure she has one - but I am *not* stopping this right now."

"I really, *really* understand, but I don't want to mess this up. We were going to wait four years; we can wait a couple of weeks."

"Joshua Lyman," she said, standing suddenly and yanking him up by the front of his shirt. "If you don't get naked right now, I will bring you coffee for a week."

Then he was kissing her again. "Oh, well, can't have that," he replied, trailing kisses down her neck, running his hands under her blouse and up her ribcage.

"C.J.'s right, we are strange," she murmured, "Seriously, get rid of this." She tugged at his shirt hem and he paused to let her pull it over his head.

He started backing her towards his bedroom, popping open buttons on her blouse and sucking her earlobe between his teeth. "Can we not talk about C.J. anymore? Please?"

"Yeah, sure. Pants off."

"Jesus, you're bossy."

"You like it."

"I *really* do. Don't tell anyone."

She attached her mouth to his again as she shrugged out of her shirt and then reached for his pants.

She squealed a little as he picked her up awkwardly and dumped her on his bed, falling over her.

"Don't hurt yourself," she laughed. "You aren't as young as you used to be."

"You take that back!"

"Make me."

"Gladly."

"If you—oh, oh! God, *Josh*!"

x0x0x0x

Monday morning, C.J. didn't notice the coffee right away. She deposited her briefcase on a chair and hung her raincoat on the coatrack in the corner of her office. When she turned back, there it was, dead center on her desk, steam still curling from the top. She picked it up and saw the Post-It note attached.

'Thank you.'

Grinning, she took a sugar packet from her drawer and stirred it in before taking her coffee and wandering next door.

Josh looked up as she stopped and leaned against his doorframe.

"Good weekend?" she asked, innocently.

He looked decidedly smug, but she decided she'd give him a pass this once. "I'm sure you know it was."

"I might have an inkling, but I should probably retain deniability for now."

"Okay."

"Donna not in yet?"

"She's meeting with Leo."

"So you behaved yourself when she told you about the job offer?"

He set down his own coffee. "She's earned it," he said. "She deserves a better job."

"Well, if I didn't believe you were in love with her before, I do now. Joshua Lyman, thinking of others before himself!"

"Shut up."

"I have a plan and you and Donna will follow it to the letter, you got me?"

"Okay."

"To the letter, Josh, or I will hang you by your toenails."

"That sounds uncomfortable."

"You are such a pain in the ass."

"But he's my pain in the ass," said a voice behind C.J.

She turned to let Donna through the door. Josh stood up and came around his desk.

"How did it go?"

Donna was practically beaming. "It's official. I'll stay here for now but start training with Carol in April. They'll post my position next week and start compiling resumes for you to go over."

Josh reached for her hand and squeezed it quickly, conscious of the other employees who were beginning to file into the bullpen.

C.J. smiled at them both. "I'm going to go fill Leo in on my plan and I want some time with you both this afternoon. Until then, tell her about the toenails, Josh."

"Will do."

"C.J., you have no idea," Donna started, softly.

C.J. dismissed her unspoken thank you with a wave. "It's okay. I'm glad it works out for everyone. And I'm happy for you two. It's about time."