Work Text:
Donna stands in the aisle of the campaign bus, adjusting the bag on her shoulder as she surveys the scene before her. She nervously thumbs the badge around her neck. She made sure it was visible outside of her coat, in case anyone thought she didn’t belong.
The small group of staffers are spread across the back of the bus, their belongings strewn about. They’re playfully arguing about something as she scans the empty seats, looking for a spot to sit quietly. They all seem to have designated areas, and she doesn’t want to get in their way. She’s lucky she’s on this trip at all, having only hired herself earlier that morning.
She finds an empty spot in the middle and moves to sit down when Josh calls her name.
“We’re back here,” he greets her, nodding to an empty seat next to him.
She doubts she can hide her smile so she doesn’t really try to, moving towards him as he gestures towards the spot he’s saved for her. It puts her slightly at ease, though she’s still quite nervous. This is all beginning to hit her at once, and she wonders if she’s in over her head.
He flops back into the seat by the aisle, still half arguing with Toby in the next row.
“You can put your things over there,” he tells her in an aside, pointing to a small pile of bags on the row in front of them.
She pulls the brightly colored, quilted tote from her shoulder and settles it next to the tattered backpack she saw him lugging around earlier. Hers is bright and cheery, holding her modest belongings, and suddenly she feels oddly out of place next to the large designer purse she assumes is CJ’s. Donna thinks it probably cost more than she made last year.
She sinks into the seat next to Josh and neatly folds her hands into her lap, taking in her surroundings. She’s played the part of a confident woman who knew what she wanted in Josh’s office, but in that moment she felt like a little fish in a big pond. It was overwhelming.
“Where in the hell is Sam?” A voice she already knows to be Toby’s shouts to the bus in general.
“I’m right here,” she hears in response, peering towards the front to see a classically handsome man balancing a large brown sack and a stack of pizzas step onto the bus.
“It’s about time,” Toby grumbled. “How hard is it to pick up a carry out order?”
Sam made his way towards the back of the bus where she was seated as the cabin lights dimmed and they began to pull away from the sidewalk.
“Calzone and side salad for CJ is on top,” Sam announces, handing her the top box.
Josh stands and grabs the next boz in the stack.
“I don’t believe we’ve met.” Sam stops in front of Donna, a confused look on his face.
“This is Donna,” Josh offers. “She’s my assistant. Sam, Donna. Donna, Sam.”
“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” he smiles warmly sliding into the row directly behind her as he takes a moment to arrange his belongings while Toby grabs a slice from the box marked Pepperoni.
“I didn’t know what pizza toppings you liked, so I ordered cheese on ours,” Josh states somewhat tentatively. “Is that okay?”
“Sure.” She smiles warmly at the thought of him ordering her dinner, which she otherwise would have otherwise skipped in order to conserve funds.
“And I got you a Diet Coke,” he continues, “because I saw you drinking one earlier. Not that you need to be on diet, I just saw you had a can from the vending machine and I thought maybe that’s what you liked...”
“Smooth.” Sam gives his friend a curious look before sitting down behind them.
“Well, Thank you.” Donna tells Josh sincerely. She really wasn’t used to people considering her comfort. “It was sweet of you to take note. And to order me dinner. You didn’t have to do that.”
He gives her a half grin, looking around the bus. “Were you planning to cook?”
She lets out a soft laugh and his smile widens with her amusement.
“I have cash in my wallet,” she reaches forward. “How much do I-“
“Don’t worry about it,” he interjects, waving her off before she can grab her purse.
She smiles nervously, still finding it hard to believe that these people are being so nice to her.
“Welcome aboard.” He lifts a slice of cheese in a salute to her.
xxxxxxxxx
Donna stifles a laugh in the quiet darkness of the campaign bus.
“You did not.” She goads Josh a bit.
“Scouts honor.” He gives her a grin, his face visible in the overhead lights on the highway as he holds up three fingers.
“No way you were a Boy Scout.”
“Donna, you wound me.” He feigned offense. “I’m an outdoorsman.”
She rolls her eyes as he begins to protest. “My Dad and I won the Pine Car Derby in the 3rd grade,” he continues. “And I got, ya know, badges and stuff.”
“Badges and stuff?” She quirks an eyebrow at him. “For what? Name one badge you earned.”
She crosses her arms in a playful challenge.
“I don’t remember specifically. But I know they were outdoorsy things. We went on a hike!”
“Mhmmm... I’m sure you did.” She pops a Wheat Thin into her mouth and leans back against the interior of the bus.
“You don’t believe me!” Josh’s fake indignation causes his dimples to pop out as he shifts in his seat. He’s turned completely sideways, facing her, as they cruise down the highway through Virginia.
“Shhh!!” She hushes him through her laughter. “You’re going to wake Toby again.”
“Too late,” Toby grumbles from across the aisle, rolling to the side and closing his eyes again.
Josh cringes a bit but isn’t deterred. “That’s just Toby. You’ll get used to him.”
He takes a few Wheat Thins and leans a bit closer to her, lowering his voice so as to not disturb the other staffers around them.
After they’d finished their pizza, Josh told her about the Governor, and the plans they had for the campaign, and gave her a brief rundown of the other staffers and their history. But as everyone around them began to nod off on the 14 hour drive to Charleston, their conversation never even slowed. He wondered how he could feel so perfectly comfortable around the stranger he’d hired as his assistant only a few hours prior.
They talk into the wee hours, their heads bowed close together as they share a few simple moments, already enthralled with one another.
She tells him about growing up in Wisconsin, and the part time jobs she’d juggled over the past few years. They talk about books and movies and Josh outlines the reasons she should be a Mets fan.
As the sun rises over the Welcome to South Carolina sign, the rest of bus begins to stir. But Josh and Donna haven’t yet been to sleep. They are just beginning.