Work Text:
"Nothing's changed since yesterday, Phil; still not commenting on speculation," Donna replied mindlessly into her phone as she stared at his empty office. Involuntarily, she felt her stomach clench. She had no idea where he'd gone and she was worried. He was definitely nearing the breaking point, and if the rumors were true, he may have already hit it. Suddenly, her cell phone started buzzing from her desktop. One look at the caller ID had her heart in her throat. "Phil, yet again, I've got another call. We can do this all over again tomorrow. Bye."
Quickly, she hung up her office phone and threw open her cell. "Hey."
"Hi," he returned, but didn't say anything further. Donna didn't know what to make of the silence, and she wasn't sure what to say. Things would be different if they weren't in the middle of not-talking about their relationship. Under other circumstances she would know exactly what to do for him, but right now the specter of their undefined personal issues seemed to be clouding everything.
"So…" she finally prodded, trying to tamp down the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. "How's it going?"
"Where are you?"
"At my desk."
"Oh…" He sounded slightly deflated. "So you've heard?"
"That Sam is here? Yes." She paused for a second, not sure if she should bring up the other thing. But she wasn't playing games with him anymore. If they had any hope for a relationship, direct was the only way to go, and if he was in a bad place, they needed to confront it. Together. "That your head exploded all over Otto? Yes, I heard that, too."
"Oh, that's… great." Josh sighed loudly.
"If you don't want anyone to know, you should probably close your office door before melting down." Donna wasn't sure joking was the way to go, but humor had always worked for them in the past. Although, in the past it was always covering up deeper feelings… so maybe humor wasn't the best option. She sighed deeply. When had this all gotten so complicated?
"Good advice." He didn't seem put out by the humor, which was probably a good sign.
"Are you okay?" She finally gave in and worry clung to each word as it left her throat.
"Yeah, listen, I'm sorry about earlier."
"You should probably be apologizing to Otto, not to me."
"No, I mean what I said to you earlier."
"What did you say?" she asked carefully.
"You know… the part about not being able to get a handle on what's going on with us on your timetable."
"Oh, that." Donna swallowed hard as she swiveled to face the other direction in her chair, leaning away from her desk. Not that it actually provided any more privacy, but the illusion gave her comfort.
"When I said that, I was feeling a little…"
"Stressed?" she supplied.
"That's one word for it." He cleared his throat, not exactly sure how to do this next part. Once he'd resigned himself to the idea of a vacation, it had started holding a very real appeal. It had only taken him a few minutes to figure out why. A week off of work would only be a real vacation if she was by his side. "So… uh… are you free tonight?"
Donna felt the start of a smile tugging at her lips. "Tonight? I think I can clear some time."
"We could talk," he initiated, before adding in a more amused tone, "And might I add, tonight would put me pretty far under the timetable buzzer."
"Yes, it would, impressively so. So… um… tonight. Great. Your place?"
"Actually, no."
"Oh?" Donna's eyebrows knit in confusion as she turned back towards her desk and started twirling the cord from the office phone around her finger.
"I was thinking we could do the bulk of our talking on a Boeing 767." Josh grimaced and clenched his eyes shut as he said it. A subconscious gesture. As if his eyes being closed would ward off any potential rejection to the grand offer he was making.
"Wha-?" Donna was rendered speechless.
"Hypothetically… how fast could you be packed and at the airport?"
"Hypothetically?"
"Okay, not so hypothetically. How fast could you be packed and at the airport?"
"You need me to go somewhere?"
"Yeah… I do need you," he swallowed the very real lump in his throat which that sentiment wrought. "But only if you want to go."
"If I want?" Donna's question trailed off in confusion once again.
"A week, Donna. No phones, laptops or BlackBerrys. Sandy beaches, sunny skies, those fruity rum drinks you like with the little umbrellas, you in a bikini and me ogling you in said bikini. I'm thinking there could be a lot of nakedness and talking. Or talking and nakedness. But definitely a lot of both. Come with me?"
"Josh?" She could hardly believe what she was hearing. Suddenly, she couldn't breathe. Her heart was racing but wasn't getting any new oxygen; the sensation made her dizzy. Thankfully, she was still sitting and able to brace herself against the desk.
"Please," he entreated, but didn't beg. He wanted her to come because she wanted it as badly as he did, not because it was what she thought he needed. "I don't want to do the nakedness and talking thing all by myself. I mean, I'm capable, but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun without you."
If he could have seen her, his heart would have warmed at the thousand-watt smile spreading slowly, but steadily, across her face. "I have alabaster skin."
He might not have been able to see her smile, but he knew her well enough to know it was there by her tone of voice, and grinned in return. "Yes, you do. And I look forward to rubbing suntan lotion over every inch of it. If… you know… you'll let me."
"What about here, the transition? Your job? My job?" she asked seriously.
"Between Sam, Lou and Goodwin, they've got me covered. And I talked to your boss—actually, your old boss. Turns out the cranky bastard is going to be out of town himself, so he's fine with it."
"My old boss?"
"Yeah, the old boss is on board, but it's your job to clear it with your new boss." He exhaled sharply and paused before continuing. On the drive home he'd realized she was right. They couldn’t work together. The revelation had stung at first, but the more he’d thought about it, the more he’d settled in with the idea. "However, I'm fairly certain that Mrs. Santos won't mind."
Donna's breathing hitched and she felt her heart stop in her chest. "You think I should accept her offer? Be her Chief of Staff."
"It's a blow to my transition plans, but if you can't work with me, then I'm really hoping you take that job." His voice softened as he continued sincerely, "You'd be absolutely terrific at it."
"Thanks." Donna's chest swelled with pride. She couldn't help it. Professional validation from Josh was something she always told herself she didn't need, but when it came her way, made her feel like she was floating on a cloud.
"You know, it has a nice symmetry."
"It does at that," Donna agreed, he mind already made up. She would call Helen as soon as she was off the phone with Josh.
"So…" He checked his watch. "Right now, we're four hours to flight time. Can you make it?"
She quickly did the calculations in her head. She needed to get to the storage facility in her own building in order to rummage around for her casual summer wear, which, as she remembered correctly, was in a bottom trunk. She needed to farm out all of her transition work. Accept a new and powerful job with the future First Lady, as well as pack for a weeklong vacation with Josh. Besides that, she definitely needed to shop for a hot new bikini and pick up a dozen things from the drugstore. It was impossible.
"No problem. I'll be packed and at your apartment in two hours. We can ride together."
"See you then." Josh couldn't suppress a grin as he was about to hang up his phone.
"Wait, Josh!”
"Yeah?"
"Don't forget the suntan lotion," she teased in her most seductive tone.
"You can count on it," he replied breathlessly, before hanging up the phone.
Donna clicked her phone shut and then it hit her. Besides the million things she had to do in the next two hours, she also had no idea where they were actually going. Their final destination was a mystery.
A bright smile took possession of her face as she realized it didn't really matter where they was going, as long as she was going there with Josh.