Jumping to Conclusions

Donna entered Josh's office and threw herself on the chair in front of the desk. Trying to get Josh's attention she sighed, loudly. Josh was completely engrossed in the contents of the folder in front of him that he hardly noticed her until she leaned over the desk and put her hand over the page he was reading.

"Hey, I'm reading here" Josh complained as he moved Donna's hand.

She sat back in the chair and sighed again. Josh finally looked up at her and for the first time that day he got a good look at her. His normally perky assistant was pale, with glassy eyes and a pained look on her face.

"Donna, what's wrong, you look, well, awful" Josh said as he got up from his chair and sat on the desk in front of her.

"Josh, I've been sick for 3 days now, you've just noticed now. What do I have to do pass out at my desk?" said Donna, amazed at how unobservant Josh Lyman could be at times.

"I'm sorry. I've been a little preoccupied with the trip to Oregon that I haven't been paying attention too much else. So are you all ready to go, all packed?" asked Josh as he got off the desk and looked for something on the bookshelf.

"That's what I want to talk to you about, I ran into Mrs. Bartlet this morning and she insisted on a check-up. She said I have an ear infection and that I really shouldn't fly. Something about pressure in the ears." said Donna.

"You can't go, who's going to keep me on schedule, this is not a good time to get sick Donna, I need you to..." rambled Josh without looking up. It was at that moment Abbey Bartlet appeared in his doorway, looking for Donna.

"Joshua, do you hear yourself? Give Donna a break, she's doing her best, she has fever of 101 and a raging ear infection but she's still here getting you ready to go. I really hope you appreciate all she does for you."

"Mrs. Bartlet, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there" mumbled Josh.

"I'm sure you didn't. I just came down to make sure Donna gets out of here soon. She needs her rest." said Abbey as she turned to go back down the hall.

"Donna, I'm sorry, I had no idea." Josh tried to apologize.

"Forget it, don't worry, I'll be fine. Just give me a few minutes and I will have everything ready for you." Donna felt tears spring to her eyes and she tried to get up quickly to go out to her desk. She got up a little too quickly and was overcome with dizziness. Luckily Josh had been paying attention to her at the time and he steered her over to the couch.

"Here, rest for a while." She gave a small cry of protest but settled down on the couch. He covered her up with his overcoat and got her a glass of water. He sat down next to her for a minute. She looked so small and pale. "I really am sorry" He leaned over to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye and to kiss her forehead.

"It's OK, all the files you need are on my desk. Don't forget your 3:00 meeting with Senator Harris. I'm just going to rest here for a while, if that's OK?" said Donna as she snuggled under Josh's coat. It was warm, soft and smelled of his cologne.

"Take your time, I'm going to lunch, want me to bring you something back?" asked Josh.

"Ice cream" replied Donna, "chocolate"

"Sure" smiled Josh, "Feel better"

Josh went out to Donna's desk and found everything he needed rather easily. He really did wonder how he would get through 2 days without Donna. He didn't even want to go to Oregon in the first place, 6 hours on the plane with the President. He would probably be subjected to a long lecture on the history of the green bean and knowing Jed Bartlet he was sure at least some of that lecture would be in Latin.

Josh saw Leo ahead of him in the hallway.

"Leo, wait up, going to the mess?" asked Josh.

"Yeah, you too, good, I need to talk to you. I need Donna to stay here and help me. Margaret's mother fell and broke her hip, she has to fly home for a few days." said Leo as they grabbed a table off to the side of the room.

"Well, Donna's not going anyway, she's got a nasty ear infection and Mrs. Bartlet won't let her fly. I was going to give her the two days off but if you need her I guess she could do it" said Josh as he took a bite out of his cheeseburger.

"Don't be silly, she's sick, I'll get someone to help me. Don't worry about it." replied Leo as he ate a large forkful of green beans.

"You just had to have green beans didn't you, Leo" teased Josh.

"Of course"

When Donna woke up over an hour later, the room was dark. For a minute she thought she had slept away the afternoon but then she notice the blinds were closed and the overhead light was off. She glanced at the desk, Josh was reading by the light of the small lamp on his desk, his head bent over a file folder. He was running his hands through his hair and by the looks of his hair he had been at it for a while. It was pretty much standing up on end.

"Joshua, you can turn the light on. And stop with the hair, you're going to pull it out sooner or later and you don't exactly have that much to spare." teased Donna.

"Gee, Donna, guess you're feeling better. Back to making fun of me. You want your ice cream now?"

"Yes, please and I do feel a little better, thank you for noticing."

Josh grabbed his appointment book and the ice cream. He handed her the cup of ice cream and motioned for her to move her feet so he could sit down on the couch. She moved them long enough so he could sit and then plopped them down in his lap with a smirk. He opened his planner up and propped it against her legs.

They did their little bantering act while they went through Josh's schedule and Donna ate her ice cream. They were very comfortable on the couch together. Maybe even too comfortable, they thought to themselves. Josh wasn't quite sure how to tell Donna that Leo needed her help over the next few days.

"Donna, Leo needs some help over the next few days. Margaret had to fly to her parent's; her mother fell and broke her hip. I told him you were sick and wanted to talk a few days off. He would be grateful for any help you could give him." blurted Josh as fast as he could.

"Well, that's not what I was looking forward to doing but I can give him a hand. Really, Josh, I'm not dying or anything. Mrs. Bartlet just didn't want me to fly." said Donna as she offered Josh the last few bites of the ice cream. He had his hands full of papers so she reached over and fed it to him.

Neither one of them saw Sam peek in at them. Sam didn't say a word; he just smiled to himself and went back to his office.

Donna got up off the couch and went out to her desk to get a few final things ready for Josh. As the last of the memos were printing she went to see Margaret to go over some instructions and get some advice. They spent the next 45 minutes going over Leo's schedule and his many quirks.

"Margaret, why is tomorrow circled in red pen on your calendar?" asked Donna as she furiously scribbled down some information that might come in handy.

"Oh boy, I forgot about that. Tomorrow would have been his father's birthday. Keep an eye on him, a close eye on him." warned Margaret.

"You don't think he'd drink, do you" wondered Donna.

"No, not really, I mean he didn't drink when the divorce papers came so I think we are safe, but just keep an eye on him anyway. Thanks so much for covering for me, I know you really just wanted to crawl into bed for 2 days."

"It's no problem. I can rest next week, next month, whatever" laughed Donna.

Donna wandered back to Josh's office to make sure he had everything he needed for the trip. She had everything under control by the time he got back from his meeting.

The meeting must have gone well because he was actually smiling when he returned. She was on the phone when he went into his office. She joined him there a few minutes later. He was packing his briefcase. He wouldn't let her help; he just pushed her towards his chair and told her to relax.

"I went over some stuff with Margaret, I'll do what I can for Leo. Hopefully it will be quiet here the next 2 days." said Donna as she leaned back in Josh's chair and put her feet on the desk as she had watched him do countless times.

"Comfy Donna?" he smirked, "Look, thanks for helping Leo. I know you were looking forward to some time at home. Leo knows you don't feel well so I told him to go easy on you. Did you pack the...you know.. the thing?" muttered Josh as he rolled down his sleeves and threw on his suit jacket.

"Yes, Joshua, all your 'things' are packed. Relax, you'll do fine. I asked Sam to keep an eye on you." teased Donna.

"You asked Sam to keep an eye on me? Who's going to watch out for him?" groaned Josh.

"Just stick together and you'll be fine." smiled Donna as she got up out of the chair and walked over to Josh. She reached into his bag and pulled out a brush and handed it to him. "Josh, do something with your hair, please." He took the brush and did the best he could while she straightened his tie. Their eyes met and for a moment he couldn't breathe.

"Josh, earth to Josh" whispered Donna.

Josh came back to earth as she took the brush from him and held out his overcoat. He slipped his arms in and tried to put what had just happened out of his mind. What did just happen? He wondered to himself. She handed him his backpack and garment bag.

"Donna, uh.." mumbled Josh, suddenly at a loss for words.

"What Josh? Your going to be late, go. I'll talk to you later."

He just smiled at her, leaned over and kissed her quickly on the cheek.

"Bye, I'll call you from the plane" And with that he disappeared out the door. Donna followed him out into the bullpen and literally ran into Sam.

"Uh, Donna, what was that?" asked Sam curiously.

"I..I.. have no idea" whispered Donna as she reached up to touch the spot where Josh had just kissed her.

"How much longer are you two going to deny this?" teased Sam as he backed up to avoid Donna's hand as she reached out to slap him on the arm.

"Sam, you're late, go. Keep an eye on him. Have a good trip." said Donna as she shooed him down the hallway.

Donna got back to her desk, still somewhat in a daze. The phone rang as soon as she sat down. It was Leo. She headed over to his office for a few minutes before heading home.

After a long bubble bath and some ibuprofen Donna felt much better. She curled up on the couch and watched TV for a while. CNN had a little blurb on the President's trip and she saw a shot of the President, Sam and Josh getting on to Air Force One. She felt her heart skip a beat. What was happening, she wondered. Josh was her boss. But then again he was practically her best friend too. Maybe I'm just delirious from fever or something, she muttered to herself as she climbed into bed.

She was back at the White House by 7:30 the next morning, Leo, of course, had already been there for over an hour. She stopped by her desk for a minute and then went over to make herself comfortable at Margaret's desk. She was just getting settled when Leo came over with a cup of tea.

"Good morning Donna, here's some tea. Thanks for coming in, feeling any better this morning?" Leo asked sweetly as he sat down in the chair next to the desk.

"I'm better, thanks. Just give me a minute and I'll be in to go over your schedule" said Donna as she sipped the tea.

"Take your time" urged Leo as he went into his office.

The morning passed quickly, no major emergencies. Donna talked to Josh right before lunch. Nothing was said about what had happened. The trip seemed to be going well, no long green bean lectures on the flight out. Donna smiled as she hung up. She didn't see Leo watching her from the doorway. He smiled at her.

"Was that Josh?" asked Leo

"Yeah" replied Donna as she felt her cheeks turning red.

"Come on, take a break, time for lunch" declared Leo

"Leo, you don't have to hover over me, I'm fine. You go, I have some typing to do and I'm not that hungry anyway." said Donna as she turned back to the computer.

Leo sat down on the chair next to her. "I promised Josh that I would look after you and I'm sure you promised Margaret the same thing about me" he said

"Right, Leo, you OK?" Donna inquired as she pointed to the calendar on the desk.

"I'm fine, let's go" said Leo as he held out his hand to Donna. She took it for just a second and grabbed her purse.

Lunch was nice. They talked about Josh and how he was coping with things. They both agreed that while he was doing better he still had a long way to go. They talked about the day Donna figured out Josh had cut his hand breaking the window. So much had passed since then. Donna had never been particularly close to Leo but because of their mutual concern for Josh they had gotten closer since Christmas. Although she had never told anyone she really enjoyed his company. He was certainly charming and while he tried to make her feel comfortable he was after all the Chief of Staff to the President of the United States and that made things a little strange, at least to Donna.

By the time Donna finished her ice cream people were starting to mutter about the weather. It had been raining steadily for hours and from the comments they were hearing the roads were starting to flood.

"Well, let's get back so we can finish up the urgent stuff and then you are going home Donna" stated Leo as he got up from his chair.

"Leo, it's only rain. I promise I won't melt" said Donna smiling to herself with the thought that Leo was actually worried about her.

They worked together for a few hours until Toby interrupted them to complain that he didn't go on the trip.

"Toby, I sent Sam, so what? You wrote most of the speech the President is giving, what's the big deal." growled Leo as the lights in the office flickered.

"So, he'll probably change everything I worked so hard on" whined Toby.

"Get over it and get out. Donna and I need to finish this so she can go home." stated Leo as he turned his attention back towards Donna.

"I hope you can swim Donna, the roads are impassable from the reports on the TV." said Toby as he walked out the door.

Donna went over to the window. Rain was pelting the glass and the visibility was practically nil. From what she could see of the road there weren't many cars at all out there. She sighed as Leo came up behind her to take a look for himself.

"Doesn't look good. Do you want me to have a car take you home?" asked Leo.

"No, I'll wait around a while, maybe it will let up. I have some stuff to do for Josh anyway. Don't forget you are having dinner with the Vice President." Donna sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair and rubbed her eyes.

"Donna, you're not going back to that desk. Here, sit down and rest on the couch for a while. You aren't looking so great." said Leo as he steered her across the room towards his couch.

"I am not going to sleep on your couch, I'll go in Josh's office"

"Donna, don't make me order you to stay here" teased Leo. She sighed, sat down on the couch and kicked off her shoes. Leo grabbed a blanket from the closet and covered her up. He sat on the table for a minute smiling at her.

"Leo, you're going to be late for dinner, besides, I can't sleep with you staring at me."

"Oh right, sleep well. I'll be back in a few hours." said Leo as he turned out the lights and glanced back at Donna one last time. I hope Josh knows what he's missing, he thought to himself.

The ringing phone woke Donna up. She struggled to sit up and find the phone in the nearly dark office.

"Leo McGarry's office"

"Donna, it's Josh, what's wrong you sound terrible."

"I'm fine, I was sleeping, what time is it" asked Donna as she reached for the lamp on the end table.

"Uh, almost midnight your time. What are you still doing there? I was expecting Leo to answer"

"It's pouring out and the roads are flooded. Midnight, Oh God, I've been asleep for almost 5 hours." She glanced around the room for any sign of Leo. His bag was still on the chair next to the desk so he hadn't gone home for the night either.

"You've been sleeping at Margaret's desk for 5 hours" commented Josh as he smiled to himself at the thought of Donna with her hair messed, wiping the sleep from her eyes. He forced himself to pay attention to what she was saying.

"Not at the desk, on the couch. Leo insisted." remarked Donna as she stood up and looked out the window. The rain was still coming down heavily. "So how was the meeting today?"

"It went well. We're on our way to the airport now. If I can get some sleep on the plane I will come right to the office. We should be there around 7 or 8. Stay home tomorrow if you're still feeling bad. I can handle things by myself.

"Well, judging by the looks of things outside I think I will be here when you get back. The rain seems to be stopping but everything is very flooded." sighed Donna.

"OK, I'll see you when I get back then. There's a clean sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants in my closet if you want to change."

"Thanks, I think I will change Josh, I..can we talk...oh, never mind, have a nice flight." stammered Donna.

"Sweet dreams, Donna" whispered Josh as he turned to the seat next to him just in time to hear Sam make kissing noises at him.

"Oh, grow up, Sam" groaned Josh.

"You know Josh, denial ain't just a river in Egypt." smirked Sam as he ducked just in time to watch the pillow Josh had thrown at him sail over his head and land in CJ's lap. She never even woke up.

Donna wandered down the hall to Josh's office and grabbed the sweats out of the closet. She quickly changed and went back to Margaret's desk. Leo came back in about 1:00, looking as exhausted as she felt.

"Hi, Donna, get any sleep?" asked Leo as he took off his coat and tie and settled down in his chair.

"Yes, a few hours. I talked to Josh, he said everything went well and if the weather doesn't hold them up they will be back here between 7 and 8. I'm not even going to try and make it home. Josh had these sweats in the office so I'll just sleep on his couch. Do you need anything else before I go crash again?" asked Donna.

"No, go ahead but why don't you just stay here, in case you didn't notice, my couch is much more comfortable." teased Leo.

"Actually, I did notice, thanks." She unfolded the blanket again and curled up on the couch.

She drifted in and out of sleep for a long time, she heard Leo on the phone, saw him reading in the chair next to her, felt him reach over and put his hand on her forehead to check for fever and heard him pace around the room. Finally it was somewhere around 3 in the morning when he turned out the lights. He pulled the chair over in front of him so he could sit on the end of the couch and put his feet up on the chair and try to get a few hours of sleep. Donna curled her long legs up to give him room and offered the end of the blanket to him. He took it and promptly fell asleep.

It was almost 7:30 the next morning when the presidential motorcade pulled up to the White House. The President went up to the residence to shower and change. Sam, CJ, Charlie and Josh dragged their things to their respective offices. Josh was surprised that he didn't find Donna asleep on his couch.

"Guess she made it home after all" he muttered to himself as he dropped his bags on the floor and reached for the messages on the desk. He wandered over to Leo's office. He was sure Leo would be there already. He knocked on the door; there was no answer so he peeked his head in. He just stared at the sight before him.

There was Donna, looking absolutely adorable in his sweats asleep on Leo's couch. At the end of the couch was Leo with his feet on the chair and Donna's feet in his lap. He had one arm thrown over her legs and the other on the arm of the couch. They were both sound asleep. Josh just stared at them as a million different thoughts raced through his head. He closed the door and walked back to his office. He sat at his desk trying to make sense of what he was feeling. After a few minutes the truth was crystal clear, he was insanely jealous. As the truth hit him Sam entered the room and sat down in the chair across from him.

"Well, judging by the look on your face, I guess you went over to Leo's office." Sam said, trying to keep a straight face.

"I don't think it's funny, he's too...she's too...Oh, God, he's old enough to be her father. How could I have missed this? Am I really that dense and unobservant? Sam, will you stop laughing hysterically." bellowed Josh.

"Josh, listen to yourself. I can pretty much assure you there is nothing going on between Donna and Leo. I'm sure he was just looking after her, you know, the way you asked him to look after her. So they fell asleep. I saw you and Donna in that very same position two days ago, only you were both awake at the time and looking very content." admitted Sam.

"You were spying on us? That's just sick, buddy. We really looked content?" asked Josh as he was really starting to feel pretty foolish.

"Very content. Now forget about what you saw and get on with the day. I'm sure they will wake up soon. Don't do anything stupid, OK?" said Sam as he got up to leave.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, buddy." yelled Josh as Sam walked down the hall.

A while later Josh was ready to face Leo and Donna. He saw Donna stop by her desk and grab her clothes to change. He figured Leo would be awake so he headed down the hall towards his office. Leo was just putting on a fresh shirt when he motioned Josh into the room. The blanket Leo and Donna had shared was still balled up on the couch but the chair had been moved back to its place.

"Josh, how was the trip? Where's the President?" asked Leo as he sat down on the couch to tie his shoes.

"He went up to the residence to change. Leo, I stopped by a little while ago. Is there something I should know about?" inquired Josh.

"About what? Josh, you're not serious are you?" laughed Leo.

"I don't find it funny, It's.. it's.. you're too old for her and besides she's my..my..."

"I believe the words you are looking for are 'my assistant'. Josh you're crazy. Yes, I adore Donna, she's a great person, we're friends, we've spent a lot of time bonding over you the last few months. Besides you've both got a thing for each other that you two have denied for way too long. So leave me alone and go talk to her." suggested Leo.

"Leo, I'm sorry. I just saw the two of you asleep and I.."

"Josh, it's OK. Now go away." ordered Leo as he motioned Josh towards the door.

Josh found Donna in his office. She had changed out of his sweats and was flipping through his appointment book while sitting in his chair.

"Hey, Donna. Sleep well?" he asked innocently.

"Yes, I did and by the way Sam was just in here. We had a most interesting conversation. Really Josh, me and Leo, eeww. He's like a favorite uncle or something." teased Donna as she got up to leave.

Josh caught her by the hand as she passed by him. He walked over to the door and closed it. He leaned against the desk and grabbed her other hand too.

"Donna, can we talk about what happened before I left for Oregon?" asked Josh as he felt his cheeks turn red.

"Yeah, I'd like that, but not here, how about I cook you dinner at your place tonight" offered Donna.

"Sounds good" sighed Josh as he pulled her close enough so their foreheads touched. "Donna, tell me we're not crazy for even considering, well, you know."

"We probably are crazy but at least we're crazy together. We have work to do. We'll talk later." she whispered as she kissed him on the forehead.

She walked out of the office and he closed the door behind her, sighing to himself and wondering how he was going to make it through the entire day without kissing her again.

The phone in Leo's office rang as he was sitting down to have something to eat.

"McGarry"

"Leo, it's Margaret. How are things, was Donna able to help you out yesterday." she asked.

"Yeah she helped me and I think in a way I helped her too." He told the whole story to Margaret. She found it to be absolutely hysterical, as did Sam who was listening from the doorway.

"Good morning Leo, sleep well?" teased Sam.

"Oh shut up" said Leo as he tossed a bagel at Sam's head.

THE END

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