|
Title: 'Reasons' 2/5 Authors: Jori and MoJo E-mail: Jori: damienma@adelphia.net and MoJo: mojober@aol.com Rating: R for mature themes Pairing: Josh/Donna Summary: After the shooting, Josh and Donna begin down the road to recovery and search for the reasons this happened to them. This story follows immediately after 'Moments.' Spoilers: In the Shadow of Two Gunmen I and II and The Midterms Disclaimer: They don't belong to us. They belong to NBC, Warner Bros., Aaron Sorkin and John Wells Productions. Probably more people than that own them. But it's just not us. Authors' Notes (as written by Jori): We fear this might be the end of this series. We love this particular version of Josh and Donna dearly but we can't make them work with the latest episodes. We do have other things planned and new stories on the horizon, including more Josh and Donna. And a few other goodies here and there. You can find the previous parts of this series at: http://www.netroenterprises.com/stateoftheunion/ ************* George Washington University Hospital "Josh!" "Donna?" Josh asks, sticking his head out of the bathroom. He looks surprised. He nearly drops the little specimen cup he's holding, but the nurse catches it. "What are you doing here?" "They called me," I reply, setting down my tote bag. "They called you? Back it up. Who is they and why did they call you?" he asks, sounding a little annoyed. "One of the nurses and because I asked them to," I answer curtly, moving over to Josh's side so I can help the nurse help him into a wheelchair. "She said they were running tests? What tests?" "Mr. Lyman has a temperature..." the nurse answers before Josh can. "A temperature?" I ask, cutting her off. "I knew it. What did I say yesterday, Joshua? You didn't listen to me, did you?" "I'm not listening to you now," Josh replies, with a heavy sigh as he eases back into the wheelchair. I glare at him until his expression softens. "It's just more tests, Donna. You didn't have to take off work and rush down here just to watch me pee in a cup or get stuck for the one hundred twenty-eighth time." "You've been stuck one hundred twenty-eight times?" I ask, in all seriousness. "Actually, it's two hundred eleven times," Josh answers and from his tone I know he's not being serious. "I just didn't want to worry you." "Josh..." I roll my eyes. He shouldn't be joking about things like that. It wouldn't surprise me if he really has been stuck one hundred twenty-eight times. "Did you bring me the magazines I asked for?" Josh asks, raising both eyebrows at me. The nurse wraps a cuff around his arm and proceeds to take his blood pressure. "Yes, I did," I say, walking back over to my tote bag. I reach inside and pull them out, dropping each on the bed as I read off the titles. "Discover, The Industrial Physicist, Sky and Telescope, Science, New Scientist, Scientific American and Astronomy Now." "What about Physics Today?" "I knew I was forgetting something," I say, closing my eyes for a moment. I'm surprised I only forgot one. This morning was so busy. The phone never stops ringing and neither does the constant procession of people through the office. I'm doing my best to filter everything. I'm worried when he gets discharged the calls and the procession will migrate to his apartment and Josh doesn't need to deal with that. He has plenty to deal with already. I wave my hand over the magazines. "Why do you need all of these anyway?" "Ever heard of the perturbation theory?" I look at him sideways and raise one eyebrow. "Perturbation? Isn't that what I do to you every day?" "Not quite," Josh answers before the nurse shoves a thermometer in his mouth. "It haz to do wiff quannum mecwanics..." "Mr. Lyman," the nurse chides, looking up long enough from the unit to shake her head at him. "Jwosh," he mumbles around the thermometer before getting quiet. I scoot over just enough so I can read the temperature upside down. Oh God. It's 103. The nurse tries to hide the results with her hand, but its too late. I see it. "What could be causing a 103 temperature?" "It could be any number of things, but most likely an infection," she answers in a polite, yet slightly patronizing tone. She's trying not to upset me, but I'm already upset. "An infection? Oh God," I say, laying a hand on his shoulder. I am so glad I took off early today. Apparently, someone has to be here. I leave for a few hours and now Josh has an infection. "Dwonna..." "Most likely an infection," the nurse states again. She pulls out the thermometer and quickly discards the sleeve. "The doctor has ordered some tests and increased his antibiotics already." "Is an infection serious? Is it life-threatening?" "The doctor just needs to run tests," she says, not answering my questions. She tucks the thermometer back into the unit with a snap and gathers her things. "Mrs. Lyman?" Mrs. Lyman? I look around and wonder where Josh's mother is before realizing she's talking to me. Josh lets out a little chuckle. "She's not my wife," Josh says, wiping at his eyes before looking at me. "Although, she is beginning to sound like my mother. Throw in a little Yiddish..." "Josh, this is serious," I say, pressing my lips together to keep them from trembling. "What I wanted to say," the nurse begins, looking at me a little differently now that she's not assuming I'm his wife. "Is if you want to accompany Mr. Lyman to the tests, you can, if that is okay with Mr. Lyman." "Of course it's okay. Tell her it's okay, Joshua," I say, feeling very flustered at the moment. I stare at him again, my eyes widening every second he's silent. "Could-could you give us a minute?" Josh says, motioning towards the door. "Sure," she answers before she starts to move. "I'll be in the hallway." As soon as she's out the door, I fold my arms tightly around myself and face Josh. He opens his mouth to say something, but I start talking first. "I can't believe you have an infection, Josh. These people are supposed to be taking care of you and instead they let you run around the hospital unattended while you have a temperature?" I say, my voice nearly cracking on the word 'temperature.' "I *might* have an infection," Josh states, gesturing with his hand before laying it over his chest. "And they didn't let me run around yesterday. I did that on my own, remember?" "You shouldn't do that, Josh," I say, shaking my head and trying not to get emotional again. Patients shouldn't be allowed out of their rooms where they could catch life-threatening infections in the lobby while they are stealing a copy of Scientific American. There needs to be some rules about this sort of thing or else Josh is never going to get better. "You might...I mean, this might be..." Josh takes a deep breath and reaches out to me, his hand resting on my arm. I immediately uncross one of my hands and lay it gently over his, lacing my fingers with his. "Donna?" "Yeah?" "You wanna come watch me get stuck for the one hundred twenty-eighth time?" Josh asks, looking up at me. "Okay." I manage a thin smile and nod, swallowing hard the lump in my throat and blinking back the tears stinging the corners of my eyes. There really should be some rules to keep Josh safe. ************ George Washington University Hospital The door opens and I expect to find Donna back from the cafeteria. She's been gone a lot longer than usual and I have no clue what could be taking her so long. I'm surprised she's allowed me to be alone this long. But it's not Donna. "I was wondering if you were ever making an appearance," I say, turning off the TV. Damn. It was a good episode of NOVA. Maybe it will be back on again soon. "I just wanted to tell you in person how sorry I am about all of this," Mandy says, coming to my bedside and resting her hands on the rail. "Thank you. It's been two weeks now, you know. You could have called. Sent flowers. Sent a card," I say and she looks around the room. The room had been filled with flowers at one time but now all that is left is a partially deflated group of balloons and a couple of cards. Donna has been very careful about who gets to communicate with me, even by mail. "So, where have you been?" "California. Finding a new job," she says, looking at me with her dark eyes. She doesn't smile or show any expression at all. "Something wrong with the old one?" "A lot of things are wrong with the old one. No one trusts me. You and I working together was never a good idea. Then there's the thing... the shooting," she says, looking away from me. "You weren't there. You were on a plane to... California. Ah. Feeling guilty?" I ask and her eyes meet mine again. "Of course not. I didn't shoot you though God knows I've wanted to many times. I just think I can do more elsewhere," she answers though I can hear a pang of guilt in her voice. "What will you be doing in California?" I ask. "Working on the Byerson campaign. I think I can do some good work there. More than I can do here," she says. "I have to be there soon. November is just around the corner and this is just something I've got to do." "When are you leaving?" "Tomorrow." "So that's what this visit is all about? Letting me know you won't be there when I get back?" I ask. "Yes. I just wanted to say I'm sorry about all this. And I wanted to see how you're doing but judging by who you have guarding your door constantly, you're doing fine," she says. "Excuse me?" I ask. They did have people outside my door for a while but decided my life wasn't threatened. Or wasn't that important. I haven't decided yet. "Donna. No one can get in to see you. She won't allow it," Mandy says. "She's just worried," I say, wiping my eyes. "That's all." "She's just your girlfriend, Josh. That's all. Do you think I'm stupid? I've seen how you look at her. You used to look at me like that," she says with a soft sigh. "Mandy, please don't say anything. Not right now. There's too much going on already and I don't need any additional stress," I say. I know Mandy will do whatever she wants to do no matter what I ask but it doesn't hurt to try. "I don't work for the White House anymore, Josh. I work for Byerson. I don't care who you're screwing. All I can say is be careful or you'll be coming to me for a job someday," she says, her hand patting mine. I've had so many IVs stuck in me that her touch actually hurts and I pull my hand away. "I don't think that day will be soon. Hey, Madeline?" "Yeah?" "I'm glad you weren't there when this happened." She shifts around nervously. "Afraid I wouldn't let them save you?" "No," I say with a laugh. "Just... enough people were hurt." "It's been a PR nightmare, Josh. An absolute nightmare. I'm glad I'm getting out of it," she says, looking into my eyes. "I can't get out of it. It's there constantly. I shut my eyes and it's there," I say, telling her something I haven't even told Donna. I can't tell her. She's worried enough. Mandy sits on the edge of the bed and takes my hand in hers. "You haven't talked to anyone, have you? You probably haven't even called Stanley," she says with a soft snort. I hate it that she knows me so well. We aren't together and she shouldn't know me that well anymore but she does. "I-I just didn't feel comfortable talking to anyone. I don't want it to look like... I don't know." "Like you aren't the big strong man who can handle the United States Congress and a speeding bullet all in the same day? Come on, Josh. You almost died. I wasn't here, but I know it was close. You almost died and a lot of people could have been killed because of the kid you hired. Don't tell me that doesn't upset you. You put Charlie in that job. Hell, you probably introduced him to Zoey, didn't you?" Mandy asks. "Not like that. I just... yeah." "Charlie probably thinks it's all his fault and you're sitting here thinking it's all your fault. Get some help, Josh. You're going to need it," Mandy says, as straight forward as ever. "I'm going to miss you," I say and she laughs a little. "No, you won't." "No. Probably not," I say and she smiles. I reach up and wipe away a tear that's about to spill down my cheek and Mandy looks away, not allowing me to see that her eyes are glistening with tears, too. "So, this is how it all ends." She picks at some imaginary lint on her pants but won't look my way. "You'll do fine. I'll do fine," I say and she sniffles. "When you get Byerson in the House, come back and visit. Maybe we can do lunch." "I - I don't think so, Josh," Mandy says and I just nod. The door to the room opens again and Donna walks in carrying a cup of coffee. Mandy stands up as quickly as she can but not fast enough. Donna looks her up and down before turning her attention to me. "Josh, what's going on here? I thought -- you're sick. You're not supposed to have visitors," Donna says, the tone of her voice lecturing me already. I'm sure I'm going to hear more as soon as Mandy leaves the room. "I was just saying good-bye. I'll drop you a postcard from California," Mandy says, looking only at me and not at Donna. "Good luck out there," I say. "Thanks. I'm going to need it. Josh, talk to someone, okay?" With that she gives Donna a quick look and then leaves the room. "What was that all about, Josh?" Donna asks. She puts down her coffee and straightens out the sheets where Mandy was sitting. "What was she doing here?" "Did you know she had quit?" "Yes." "And you didn't feel the need to tell me this?" "I--you have enough to worry about, Joshua. What goes on at the White House isn't important now. Just--you have to get better. That's all that should matter now," Donna says, standing there with her arms crossed over her chest. "No more visitors, do you understand me?" "Yes, ma'am," I say, giving her a snappy little salute that she completely ignores. Any other time and that wouldn't have gone by unnoticed. She's too... perturbed right now to care what I do. "She upset you, didn't she?" Donna asks, handing me a tissue. "She's Mandy. That's her sole purpose in life," I add, putting the tissue aside. "Josh, I mean it. We need to establish some rules. No more visitors until you're well." "Not even Sam?" I ask and she stares at me with a look of exasperation. "Especially not Sam. The two of you get together and things happen," Donna says. She finally sits down in the spot Mandy was occupying. "Just make sure you keep visiting me. I--it gets lonely around here all day." The exasperated look disappears and she twists up her face. She's going to cry. I don't want her to cry again. We've done enough crying around here. "I'll be here everyday. And then when you go home, I'll come by everyday for lunch. . ." "I'm not sure I'm ready for lunch just yet," I say and we both look at each other for a brief moment before laughing. "Are you ever going to feel like having lunch again?" she asks, taking my hand in hers. "Oh yeah. You can count on it." ************ The White House "See, it rolls perfectly now," Curtis announces, moving Josh's empty chair back and forth in front of me. He pushes it back into place under Josh's desk and smiles proudly. "It took you three weeks to fix a wobbly wheel?" "No, it took me three minutes to fix a wobbly wheel," Curtis says, scratching his goatee. "But it took three weeks to order the part from Indonesia." "You had to order a part from Indonesia?" I say, motioning for Curtis to leave Josh's office. I don't like having people in Josh's office when he's not here. It's Josh's office. Josh should be in Josh's office. "What part? A screw?" "It was a very special screw," Curtis maintains. He follows me into the bullpen. "At a very special price, I'm sure," I comment, checking Josh's mailbox and grabbing a couple of files before returning to my desk. I can only imagine how much a special screw imported from Indonesia is going to cost the taxpayers. I stop and so does Curtis. "No," Curtis says, looking up at me with sincere eyes. "This one is on me, Donna. Just...because." Curtis doesn't have to say anything else except 'because' for me to understand why. "That's very sweet of you, Curtis." "I'm a sweet guy," Curtis says, with a little shrug. My line, or rather Josh's line, starts ringing and I reach for the phone. Curtis nods and motions towards the door. "I'll call you later, Donna." "Okay," I say to Curtis, tucking the phone between my ear and shoulder so I can keep working. "Josh Lyman." "Hello, who am I speaking with?" says a polished female voice on the other end. I stop shuffling papers around and really listen. She sounds familiar. "I'm Donna Moss, Josh Lyman's assistant," I say as professional as I can. Never has my title meant more to me than it does now. I am Josh's assistant and that means I assist Josh and no one else does. "Who am I speaking with?" "This is Deanne Lane with News Channel 4," she answers and there is no mistaking the tone in her voice. She wants something. "I'm trying to reach Josh." I knew it. She wants Josh. But besides that, she wants him to come on her show. Everyone does. Josh was a victim of a violent crime three weeks ago and all people like Deanne Lane want is an exclusive interview. "I'm sorry, Josh Lyman won't be in the office until November. Would you like for me to schedule an appointment then?" I say, giving her the standard answer I've been giving everyone who calls. It's not the one they want to hear and that's too bad. Josh needs to rest. They shouldn't have released him so early--I think there is something wrong with his insurance. "I think he'll want to see me before then," she answers confidently. "Would you let him know I called?" "Would you like me to transfer you to CJ Cregg's office?" I say, not answering her question. I am obeying my instructions from CJ. She wants to handle all the media requests concerning Josh. Deanne Lane is no exception, even though she thinks her personal interest in Josh should make her an exception. "No, I'll call him at home," Deanne says sweetly before hanging up on me. She can try, but she won't get through because I'm going to be on the phone with Josh first. I have Josh on speed dial. "Josh?" "Yeah?" "Deanne Lane is going to call you." "How do you know Deanne Lane is going to call me?" "Because she just called me. You're not supposed to talk to her." I hear the call waiting start to click on Josh's line. "See? That's her now." "I know. That's what this caller ID thing you had hooked up says." "Don't talk to her." "Donna..." "Don't talk to her. She needs to talk to CJ, not you. If you have a problem with that, you need to talk to CJ, too," I say, not allowing Josh get a word in edgewise. Out of the corner of my eye I see Sam sneaking into Josh's office. "But don't talk about theoretical physics to CJ." "She likes it." "No, she really doesn't," I say, stretching the phone cord as far as it goes to try and see what Sam is doing. I can't. "Josh, I have to go." "Don't forget my magazine, Donna...Physics Today..." I hang up and immediately hurry into Josh's office. Sam must hear me coming because he stops whatever he was doing and starts playing with one of Josh's presents. He holds it up and shakes it. "What are you doing?" "Nothing," Sam says innocently, still holding the present. I stare at him until he puts it down. "I see Josh has a lot of presents here," Sam says, pointing to the others. "Yes, he does," I reply. I only take Josh the ones from people I know and like. I don't take him the ones I'm not sure about because I don't know what might be in them and I don't want to take any chances something might upset him. "I-I can take them to him when I see him," Sam says, nervously clearing his throat. He shoves his hands in his pockets so he'll stop fidgeting. "When you see him," I repeat, expecting immediate clarification of that statement. From the way he said it, it sounds like he's seeing him soon. Like today. I fold my arms and put Sam on the spot. "And when might that be?" "When might that be?" Sam asks, stalling because he knows he's been caught. He rocks back on his heels. "I-I was just speaking hypothetically. When I see Josh, you know, whenever. No specific time." Sam's jacket starts to ring. He ignores it and I know why. "Aren't you going to get that?" "Uh... no." "I'll get that," I say, walking over to reach inside the pocket that's ringing for his cell phone. I flip it open, hit 'send' and press it to my ear. "Nice try, Josh," I say, keeping my eyes on Sam. "Donna?" "No visitors from work means no visitors from work," I say, citing the rule verbatim. "Sam isn't a visitor," Josh protests. "Sam is... Sam." "No Sam, Joshua." "No Sam?" he says, sounding very disappointed. "No Sam," I say, clapping the phone shut and dropping it back into Sam's pocket. I'm sure Josh asked Sam to go in his office and get him whatever it was Sam was looking for. If Josh needs anything, he can ask me for it. I turn around to go and almost run into the intern standing in the threshold carrying yet another bouquet of flowers. I check the card before he sets them down on Josh's desk. Both Sam and I maneuver around him en route back to the bullpen. "I can't see Josh?" Sam asks behind me. "Not even for a half and hour?" "There are rules, Sam," I say simply. I work my way around the bullpen and out the other side so I can inform CJ about Deanne Lane's phone call. Sam follows. I walk a little faster and Sam tries to keep pace. "What about lunch?" he asks, finally catching up. "What about it?" "Are there rules about lunch? Can I have lunch with Josh?" "Yes, there are definitely rules about lunch," I answer. Sam stops when we get to his office and I move past him. "And no, you may not." "Okay," I hear Sam say as I walk away. He backed down so easily. He's afraid of upsetting me. I think everyone is. No one has questioned any of the rules yet. No one even asks what they are. That's good. The less I have to explain about them, the better. Maybe everyone will just accept them and leave Josh to me. I keep walking fast even though there isn't any real reason to. But every time I slow down, I start thinking about how close I came to losing Josh. Josh was a victim of an attempted murder all because some kids didn't like the fact Charlie and Zoey are dating. At least Josh is safe in his apartment. I don't have to worry about anyone shooting him if he's there. I stop and look at my watch. It's a quarter to three. Maybe I can leave work early today. It's very hard being at work without Josh. If something had happened to Josh, I wouldn't have been able to stand working here anymore. He helped build this administration. Everything he believes in and stands for is all around me. The only thing not here is...Josh. I think I'll leave a little early today. ************ To be continued in Part 3 Feedback to Jori: damienma@adelphia.net and MoJo: mojober@aol.com
|
|
|