Chapter Text
Without Warning
by: Liza C.
Character(s): Josh, Donna, Ensemble
Pairing(s): Josh/Donna
Category(s): Angst, Romance
Rating: TEEN
Summary: The events and aftermath of Gaza/Memorial
Day if they had happened as a sequel to Tired.
Author's Note: I would call this a Sliding Doors-esq
version of events. If Donna had stayed and talked to Josh after No Exit instead
of leaving, then perhaps this is how things would have unfolded. A lot of work and credit for this story goes to Kim, who not only poured through an endless morass of bad grammar,
punctuation and spelling, but also tremendously improved the story as she
provided stellar beta services.
Not much had changed. It had been a week since they'd had the early morning talk in Donna's living room, but since they had no real outlet for the things they'd admitted or almost admitted, it was as if they'd both tacitly agreed to ignore it for the time being. Sometimes she caught him staring at her with a funny expression on his face. She would hold his gaze and smile, neither one willing to break the eye contact... as if they shared a secret, but were afraid to talk about it, even to each other.
Sitting at her desk, Donna went through her mental to-do checklist one more time. The delegation was leaving in just a few hours for the Middle East and she'd been working non-stop prepping for it. Between working ahead for Josh, clearing her own desk, getting a temp up to speed and preparing for the Codel, Donna was worn out before she'd even left.
Donna felt someone standing over her desk. She glanced up, "Oh, hey, CJ." Donna didn't show it, but she felt a nervous twinge at the other woman's presence. With her crazy schedule the past week, they hadn't really had time, since their discussion the night of the lock down, for more than a quick hello in the halls. Of course, she hadn't exactly sought CJ out, and she was pretty sure CJ hadn't come looking for her, either.
"Hi, Donna," CJ fidgeted in front of her, looking as uncomfortable as Donna felt.
"What's up?" Donna smiled; the anger she'd felt at CJ had all but dissipated by now. Whether CJ had been right or wrong-- and Donna certainly hoped CJ had been wrong when she'd essentially advised her to forget Josh-- their conversation had been a catalyst for Donna to do some much needed soul searching.
"So you're all ready for your trip?"
"All set, we leave..." She glanced down at her watch, "...shortly."
CJ took a deep breath, "So Josh and Toby have talked to you? I guess I was a little off the mark. They really do want you to report back to them."
Donna nodded and stood to face her. "They've talked to me." CJ glanced around and Donna noticed her discomfort. "CJ, it's fine. You were honest with me and it forced me to be honest with myself."
"It's just that, I think I may have been a little harsh and-"
"Yes," Donna interrupted with a nod. "You were harsh, but I owe you." She glanced over at Josh's closed door before continuing, "Because you were right about one thing. I was making decisions based on staying with him and I do want more than that. I want more from my career and I want more from him... but, you know, I also realized that I'm not ashamed to have stayed in this job. It's been amazing and some things are more important to me than upward mobility."
CJ had followed her gaze to Josh's office and now looked back to Donna. "Ohhhhhh." She eyed Donna curiously. "So, are you two... because I said what I said, are you now..."
Donna shook her head, "No, not yet... maybe, but don't get all cocky and quit your day job to start counseling the lovelorn or anything. Most people aren't as tough as I am, they can't handle the harsh."
CJ allowed a small laugh, "Right." The phone rang just then. "Okay, I'll let you get that. Have a good trip."
"Thanks." Donna smiled warmly and added, "CJ, if you ever want to talk, I'm here." CJ looked back at her with a peculiar expression, but Donna had already turned away to pick up the phone.
"Josh Lyman."
"Josh Lyman speaking."
Donna whipped around to look at his door. "Where are you? I thought you were in there."
"In where?" She could hear the amusement in his voice.
"You know."
"I am."
"Then why are you calling me? You never call me from your office."
"Well ever since you ignored my vocal summons-"
"You mean your bellowing?"
"I don't think I'd classify it as a bellow, but still I'm trying to cut down on it... you haven't noticed?" He didn't wait for her to answer. "Come in a minute, will you?"
"Sure," she answered before they fell into several seconds of silence. "Now?"
"Yes, now." He tried to sound annoyed, but she could tell he was smiling.
"'Kay." She hung up and started for his office. Once inside, she closed the door behind her and leaned against it.
At her entrance he moved from behind his desk. "I got you something... for your trip."
"You did?" Her mouth curved into a smile as she pushed off the door to meet him halfway.
He reached into his backpack and pulled out an object still covered in the plastic bag from the store.
"What is it?" She watched his face for clues as he handed it to her and then shoved his hands in his pockets.
She turned the bag over, studying it. "This is the most beautiful wrapping I've ever seen." But she smiled broadly when she said it.
He rolled his eyes. "Just open it."
"Sunscreen!" She exclaimed as she opened the bag. "You got me sunscreen."
"Yeah... well, you know, it's the desert... with the sun and the heat... and you're all pale, you have to protect yourself."
Looking back down at it, she suddenly felt a little fluttery and marveled at how absurd it was that he could make her swoon by handing her a bottle of sunscreen. "Josh... that's really sweet." She bit her bottom lip for several moments and blinked to keep from getting emotional... until something occurred to her. She looked at him curiously. "Aren't you going to tell me not to get all emotional like you always do when you do something sweet and un-Josh-like?"
"No, 'cause I was kinda hoping for the hug that usually goes with the emotional."
She met his gaze and felt her chest constrict at the almost shy expression on his face. Before she knew what she was doing, she tossed the sunscreen on to his desk and launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. His hands almost immediately found their way out of his pockets and around her waist. Tugging her closer to him, he inhaled deeply and enjoyed the feel of her body pressed up against him.
Donna sighed into his warm embrace; she could feel the slightly rough shadow on his cheek rub against the soft skin of her face.
After about half a minute of the two of them doing nothing but standing in Josh's office, taking pleasure from just holding one another, Donna broke the silence. "This is a really long hug."
She felt his body shake with laughter against her. "Well, the sunscreen is SPF 45."
"Right," She giggled against his neck. "That's the good stuff, worth more hug time."
"We haven't really talked this week." He mumbled into her ear.
His hot breath on her neck made her skin tingle. "We talk all the time." She didn't loosen her grip around his neck.
"I know we talk, but it's just, since last weekend... well we haven't talked about... you know..."
"I know. But we said we weren't going to till I got back and made some decisions... do you want to talk now?"
"No, I just want to make sure that you still want to... talk, that is."
She squeezed him harder, then drew back slightly so she could see into his eyes. "I definitely still want to talk."
"Okay then." Grinning at her, his hands still clasped behind her waist, he was suddenly gripped with an almost irresistible desire to kiss her. Their faces were only a few inches apart, their mouths separated by a tantalizingly small space. An imperceptible tilt of his head coupled with a slight lean forward and without any more to-do their lips would meet.
Donna sensed the change in him and looked from his eyes down to his lips and back up again. Her stomach flip-flopped. She felt the pull as strongly as he did, wanted it as much as he did. But she'd been shaped by years of self doubt, denial and fear when it came to her feelings for him... so instead of giving in, she broke the spell. "By the way, I'd like it noted that I prefer the term alabaster to pale."
Josh laughed and with his own equal parts disappointment and relief released her. "Yes, I know you do... and I prefer the term pigment-challenged, so I compromised with pale."
She tried not to laugh while she picked up the bottle of sunscreen from where she'd tossed it on the desk. "This is by far the most thoughtful gift anyone's ever bought for me at a CVS."
He chuckled. "Really?" When she shot him a curious look he continued, "They sell lots of useful gift items for the industrious shopper."
"Really? Like what?" She looked amused.
"I don't know... cameras, cough drops, condoms..."
"You think I'd like to receive condoms as a gift?" She asked, more amused than anything else.
He blushed, "I... I don't think... um, no?"
"For future reference, no." But then her lips quirked and her eyes sparkled mischievously, "At least, not as a gift."
He just stared at her... eyes wide, jaw loose.
She laughed at his dumbsquizzled expression, but then turned serious as she changed the subject. "So I have to leave shortly."
"I know."
"I've cleared my desk and I really think the temp seems to be picking everything up."
"Don't worry about us. We'll be fine." When she raised her eyebrow at him, he amended, "We'll be mostly fine. I won't yell at anyone."
She looked at him even more pointedly.
"I'll try not to yell and if I do I'll... apologize."
She nodded in approval and rewarded him with a pat on the shoulder.
"Unless the person I yelled at really deserved it."
Laughing, she replied, "I'll take it. Okay, I should go." Donna looked at him hesitantly, not knowing what the proper goodbye was for your boss-slash-friend-slash-potential something more.
Josh, for once, stepped up to the plate. Leaning over, he pressed his lips against her cheek in a manner that was a tad too slow to be completely platonic. After withdrawing a few inches he murmured in her ear, "Have a good trip."
Once he pulled all the way back from her, she paused to smile and then turned to exit.
Before she even got the door all the way opened he added in a quiet voice, "I'm going to miss you."
Looking back to meet his eye, Donna smiled at him reassuringly. "Josh, it's only two weeks."
"I know, but still. Be careful, it's a dangerous place. But you're going to email me... every day, right?"
"I'm going to try, but it's going to be pretty hectic. If you don't hear from me it's probably because I'm having trouble with a connection. Don't worry. I'll keep a log of everything that happens. Now I really have to go."
He shooed her with his hands, but then called through the open door, "Bye!"
She poked her head back in the door, "Bye and I'm going to miss you too." After a beat and a grin she added, "Now I'm really leaving."
Smiling, to himself, once she'd actually gone, he thought about how amazing it was that a week ago, all he could think about was keeping her as his assistant, and now all he wanted was for her to get back quickly from this trip so she could find another job.
It was funny how things changed without warning.