One Step at a Time

Josh sat at his desk and tried in vain to concentrate. He hated Friday afternoon meetings. He had notes to go over for his 3:00 appointment with Senator Thomas and the words on the page were not making sense at all. He tried to blame it on his lack of sleep over the past 2 days but deep down he knew that wasn't the reason. The reason was sitting outside his office.

Donnatella Moss.

He watched her work for a few minutes before trying to go back to his notes. It was no use. He decided to just give up and call Sam to see if he wanted to grab some lunch. As he picked up the phone to call Sam appeared at his door.

"OK, that was weird, I was just going to call you, how about lunch? I'm not getting anything done and I'm starving." said Josh as he stood up and stared out at Donna.

"Sure, since you can't keep your eyes off of her, should we invite Donna?" teased Sam.

"No, we're having dinner later, she's cooking for..." Josh sneezed before he could finish his sentence. He reached for a tissue off the desk.

"Bless you, Josh, you OK?" yelled Donna from her desk, "That's about the 5th time you've sneezed in the past 15 minutes."

"I'm fine, do you really have to keep track of my every move, Donna?" he asked, but deep down he was glad for the attention she gave to him. "It's probably all your fault anyway, you probably gave me your cold" Josh told her as he and Sam started to walk out of the bullpen.

"She probably gave it to you when she was feeding you the ice cream, or when you kissed her goodbye before we went to Oregon" teased Sam.

Josh started to give him a smack on the back of the head but ended up sneezing again.

"Please God, don't let this be happening to me, not today of all days." Josh muttered as he and Sam entered the mess.

"Must be a really big night you have planned there, buddy" remarked Sam with a wink.

"You know, I'm not really sure what to expect." remarked Josh as they found a table in the corner. "I just really don't want to, you know..."

"Do something stupid?" asked Sam.

"Yeah, something like that." said Josh.

"So, other than kissing her on the cheek, which by the way I have done to Donna countless times, has anything else happened I should know about?" inquired Sam as he took a bite of his sandwich.

"It wasn't just a kiss on the cheek, there was, other, implied, uh, stuff. And then there was Christmas Eve when.." Josh trailed off at the memory of Donna in his bed.

"Whoa, first of all, implied 'stuff', buddy your SAT scores are failing you at the moment. And what about Christmas Eve" asked Sam curiously.

"You know, she took me to the hospital and then took me home. I was fine for a while, we watched TV on the couch..with my head in her lap" he almost whispered the last part. Sam just smiled and nodded for him to continue. "Then I fell asleep and I guess she went into the guest room. I woke up in the middle of the night and kind of fell apart. She found me in the bathroom. I'm not sure how but we ended up in my bed."

"What?" sputtered Sam as coffee came flying out of his mouth, narrowly missing Josh.

"Sam, calm down, nothing happened, I was crying, really crying and she just held me until I fell asleep. Even though nothing happened and I was a complete wreck it was one of nicest nights of my life, pretty pathetic huh?" sighed Josh as he sat back in his chair and drank his coffee.

Sam just looked at Josh for a moment, wondering whether to be sarcastic or serious. The look on his best friend's face told him to pick the latter.

"That doesn't sound pathetic at all. My advice to you, for what it is worth, is one step at a time. Don't rush anything. She's not going anywhere. You both know that any kind of relationship is going to be hard, I mean, you both work at the White House. There's nothing like trying to start a meaningful relationship in a fish bowl." said Sam.

"Nothing like a vote of confidence, buddy" muttered Josh just before sneezing yet again.

"Bless you. Josh, I'm not trying to discourage you at all. I think you and Donna were meant to be together. I just don't want to see either of you get hurt." said Sam as he leaned back in his chair.

Josh just smiled and then laughed, "Do you supposed this is the kind of stuff Donna, Cathy and Margaret talk about at lunch?"

"Either that or they just plot how they are going to kill us and take over the government" teased Sam. "Come on let's go back. We need to get ready for Senator Thomas"

They walked back to the bullpen in silence, except for Josh's sneezing and coughing.

"I'll get my notes and meet you in your office in a little while" said Sam as he ran to catch up to Toby down the hall.

Donna was not back from lunch yet. Josh entered his office, sat down in his chair, reached for a tissue and put his feet up.

"Donna" he yelled as he saw her return.

"Joshua, don't yell" she shot back as she grabbed his schedule and entered the room, closing the door behind her. "You OK? You look tired and a little pale" she asked as she went behind the desk to stand in front of him. She reached over to brush back a stray strand of hair and feel his forehead. "You're a little warm" she declared as she reached under his feet to grab the bottle of Advil from the desk drawer. She got him a bottle of water and sat down on his desk while he took the pills. "You want to cancel tonight and just get some sleep?" she asked, holding her breath waiting for his answer.

"Of course not. Besides, you got me sick, you can take care of me" he smirked.

There was a knock at the door and Sam stuck his head in. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything"

"No Sam. I was just leaving" Donna patted Josh on the leg and slid off the desk. She smiled at Sam and left the room, leaving them to their work.

The afternoon dragged on for both Josh and Donna. She did some filing and typing and then wandered around for a while waiting for Josh to get back. Josh and Sam had their meeting with Senator Thomas, which went well. It was almost 5:00 by the time they got back to the bullpen. Sam had gone to his office and all Josh wanted to do was crash. He was only one step away from the couch when Leo called him into the Oval Office. He hung up the phone, sighed, walked over to get Sam and went see the President.

Toby, CJ, Leo and the President wanted to know about their meeting. Josh let Sam do the majority of the talking. He was starting to feel miserable and was trying not to show it. He started coughing and reached for the bottle of water he had brought with him. Sam and the others were engrossed in their conversation with the President and didn't notice Josh struggling with the cap. Out of the corner of his eye Leo noticed something was wrong with his deputy. He moved over to sit next to Josh on the couch and opened the water for him and got him the box of tissues.

"Here, you OK? You look like crap. Donna felt the need to share her cold, huh?" mused Leo.

"Something like that. So just be warned, you may be next, after all you two did..." Josh's voice trailed off as he was hit with a bout of coughing that managed to catch the attention of the rest of the people in the room. Sam was at his side in an instant.

"Josh, what's wrong?" he watched his best friend struggle to catch his breath with a look of pain in his eyes. Josh put one hand to his chest and leaned over putting his head in his other hand.

"Charlie" Jed yelled for his aide "Call my wife and ask her to grab her bag and come over"

"Sir, that's really not necessary. I'm fine. It's just that since the surgery sometimes when I cough a lot I feel like my chest is going to, well, rip apart. Just give me a minute, please" he pleaded.

President Bartlet nodded and told Charlie "Just call Donna and have her come over and walk him back to his office."

Donna came over quickly and walked Josh back. By that time the coughing fit was over and the pain had let up. She walked him into his office and steered him over to the couch.

"Josh, you scared everyone in the room half to death. Are you sure you don't need a doctor?" asked Donna as she sat down next to him.

"I'm fine. I really just want to go home, with you" whispered Josh.

"I can arrange that. You just sit here. Let me finished printing your memos and I'll grab your stuff and we'll go. Deal?" asked Donna.

"Deal" murmured Josh as he sat back in the couch and relaxed.

Donna went back to her desk and finished up. Leo, Sam and the President called to check on Josh. She told them he was feeling better and she would see that he got home all right. Only Sam knew that meant she would personally take him home and tuck him in.

The drive to Josh's apartment was quick. Josh let Donna drive his car and carry his backpack for him.

Josh went to change while Donna went to find something to make for dinner in Josh's kitchen. That proved to be quite a task.

"Josh" Donna yelled as she scoured the cabinets for something edible, "Ever hear of the food store?"

"Yeah, I go there once in a while. I think there is some soup in the cabinet next to the fridge."

"Found it, how about soup and grilled cheese?" she asked as she grabbed the cheese and bread from the fridge.

"Just what my mom used to make for me when I was sick" commented Josh as he came into the kitchen wearing a Harvard sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants with holes in the knees.

"Nice outfit, Joshua. Dinner will be ready in a minute. Go sit down on the couch"

"Donna, you don't have to wait on me, I perfectly capable of..." and as if on cue his body was wracked with another coughing fit.

Donna steered him towards the couch and sat him down. She rubbed his back while he caught his breath. "Do you have something you can take for that"?

"Yeah, but I'll take it later. It's cough syrup with codeine and it knocks me out in about 10 minutes. I could use some more Advil though; it's on the counter in the bathroom. I left some sweats for you in there too, if you want to change." said Josh as he sat up straight.

"Thanks, go stir the soup please" said Donna as she disappeared down the hallway towards the bathroom.

When she returned she was dressed in a pair of Josh's sweatpants and a long-sleeved Harvard t-shirt. Josh was in the kitchen making the sandwiches. She looked so cute, he couldn't speak. She got the soup on the table while Josh finished the grilled cheese. They ate in complete silence. Something that almost never happened when they were together. There was the feeling of nervousness on both their parts. Neither one knew quite what to say. Josh took a deep breath and broke the silence.

"Ice cream?"

Donna giggled and let out the breath she had been holding when it looked as if Josh was about to say something important.

"Sure, then let's go in the living room and talk"

She stood up to clear the table as Josh rummaged through the freezer. She grabbed a spoon from the drawer.

"Since I already got you sick I guess we don't need two spoons" she teased as she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the kitchen.

They settled down on the couch under the afghan. Donna fed him ice cream and waited for him to talk.

"Donna, are we just crazy enough to think this..this..whatever this is, is a good idea" wondered Josh, not quite sure if he had actually said that sentence aloud.

"Yes, Josh, I think we are that crazy. So..now what?" Donna sighed as she took another spoon of ice cream.

"That's the million dollar question. Don't get me wrong, I would love to just throw you over my shoulder and take you into the bedroom but..."

It was now Donna's turn to start coughing and chocking. She could feel herself turning bright red. She could only stare at Josh; her powers of speech seemed to have taken leave.

"Maybe I should rephrase that. I don't want to rush into anything. You remember what we agreed on at Christmas, that we both like things the way they are and maybe moving forward wasn't the best idea." remarked Josh, Donna could only shake her head. "Well, I'm beginning to think I was wrong about things staying the same. I still think things are great but I think they could be better. What I'm trying to say is..." Donna cut off his thought with a quick kiss on his lips.

"Joshua, I know what you are going to say. And I feel the same way, but I am absolutely terrified" confessed Donna as she leaned back into the couch and stared at the ceiling.

"Me too" whispered Josh as he took the spoon and the ice cream from her. He turned on the couch to face her and reached over to turn her face towards his.

"Josh.." murmured Donna but it was his turn to cut her off with a kiss. The kiss was as gentle as could be. Just over the line of innocence that they had drawn back at Christmas time. Josh pulled away first and just smiled as he brushed the hair back from her face. She sighed and scooted over to the end of the couch, swung her legs up and pulled Josh down with her. She caressed his cheek and pulled him in for another kiss. This one went way over the line of innocence and left both of them breathless. When they broke apart his hands were tangled in her hair, one of hers was on the back of his neck and the other had reached up under his sweatshirt. They just lay there for a long time, foreheads touching and eyes closed.

After what seemed like an eternity Donna sat up and settled his head in her lap. They laced their fingers together on his chest.

"Donna?"

"Hmm?"

"What's next?" Josh asked, quoting the man who would have a fit if he could see the two of them at that moment.

"For starters, don't quote the President, I'd rather not think of the world out there right now" declared Donna as she motioned towards the door.

"Good idea" said Josh just as he was once again seized by a nasty coughing fit. Donna sat him up and held him tight when it became apparent that the pain in his chest had returned with a vengeance.

"OK, that's enough, I'm getting the cough medicine. Don't move" ordered Donna. At that moment Josh could only nod. Donna returned quickly, gave Josh a dose of the syrup and a glass of water. He curled back up in Donna's lap facing away from her, in an effort to hide the pain he was in. She reached over, stroked his hair with her left hand and gently rubbed his chest with her right one. Her fingers could feel the tightness in his chest as well as the scar that ran its length.

"Better?" she asked

"Yeah, a little" whispered Josh.

"Why don't you get some sleep, we can talk more later. I'm not going anywhere." Josh signaled his approval of that idea by snuggling deeper into the pillow and nodding.

True to his prediction he was asleep in a little over 10 minutes. Donna just sat there with his head in her lap thinking, wondering and dreaming. She looked at the bracelet on her right wrist, the one with the life preserver charm that Josh had given her for Christmas. She knew Josh needed her but wasn't sure if he knew how much she needed him. They were best friends on the verge of becoming something so much more. The mere idea both thrilled her and scared her to death. She closed her own eyes and drifted off with the thought of their kiss on her mind.

The ringing phone woke Donna an hour later, at 10:00. She wasn't about to let the world know she was at Josh's apartment so she let the machine pick it up. She heard Sam's voice.

"Uh, Josh, sorry to disturb you, hope I'm not calling at a bad..." stammered Sam into the answering machine. Donna giggled aloud and reached for the phone.

"Hey, Sam. Don't worry; you're not interrupting anything. What's up?" said Donna smiling at the thought of what Sam was worried about interrupting.

"Donna, uh, good. Can I talk to Josh?" asked Sam, glad for the fact that Donna couldn't see him blushing.

"He's sleeping, is it important. This cough hit him hard and he took cough medicine with codeine about an hour ago. Been out every since." said Donna as she put her hand on Josh's forehead. He was very warm.

"Is he still in pain? He looked terrible in the Oval Office. Anyway I can't find my copy of the notes you did on the energy..thing. Tell me you have an idea what Josh did with his copy?" asked Sam hopefully. Toby had been on his case for the past hour about various issues and his inability to find his notes just added to their problems.

"His chest was bothering him before he took something but he seems to be resting fine now. Are you in his office?"

"Yeah"

"Look on the right hand corner of the desk" suggested Donna.

"Nope, try again." muttered Sam.

"OK, I had them in my hand when Josh came back from lunch. Let me think...try the top of the fridge, I had them when I got him some water."

"Got them, thanks. Uh, have a nice night" said Sam.

"Your welcome Sam, you know I can tell you're blushing from here" teased Donna. "Have a nice weekend."

"Thanks, you too. Take good care of him. Bye"

"I will, bye"

Donna hung up the phone and managed to slide off the couch without waking Josh. She searched the medicine cabinet until she found a thermometer. She went back to the living room and found he was awake. She knelt down next to the couch.

"Hey, how do you feel? You're pretty warm. Let me check your

temperature."

"I feel like I could kill the person who gave me this miserable cold" he smirked as he sat up. He opened his mouth and let Donna put the thermometer under his tongue.

"How about some juice?"

Josh could only nod. Donna came back with some orange juice. She sat down next to him and took out the thermometer.

"So, how bad?"

"100.7. Here drink some juice."

"Did the phone ring?" asked Josh as he leaned back on the couch.

"Yeah, Sam needed some notes. I helped him find them. He was nervous about what he might have been interrupting. I think he was disappointed to find out he didn't interrupt anything" Donna laughed.

"I bet he was. I'm going to go to bed" said Josh as he threw off the afghan and stood up.

"Oh, OK. See you in the morning." said Donna, a little unsure of what to do next.

"Donna" Josh whispered as he held out his hand to her. "Come with me, please. There's no need to worry about anything. I am in no condition to make a move." he joked.

"You weren't the one I was worried about" she blushed. She took his hand and followed him down the hallway.

They curled up together on the bed. He lay facing the wall; she curled up behind him and held him tight. Neither one had any trouble falling asleep. She heard him coughing a few times during the night but he never really woke up. For the first time in months Joshua Lyman got a good night's sleep.

The sun through the windows woke Donna at 7:00. She couldn't remember the last time she had sleep almost 9 hours virtually uninterrupted. It felt heavenly although she was sure some of that feeling had to do with the man curled up with his head on her shoulder. She gently rolled Josh off her shoulder and onto his pillow. He was still sound asleep. She studied him in the morning light for a minute. He was still pale and warm but his face showed no signs of the pain he had been in the night before. She caressed his face and he smiled slightly in his sleep, giving her a glimpse of the dimples she had come to love. She pulled the comforter back up under his chin and kissed his forehead before heading for the bathroom.

Donna showered, made coffee and read most of the paper before she heard Josh stirring. She heard him go into the bathroom and take a shower. He emerged 30 minutes later looking better than she had seen him look in days. His hair was still damp and curly, his face freshly shaved. He was dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt. As he passed her she could smell his cologne. The same one that had been lingering on his coat just a few days ago.

"Morning Joshua, coffee?"

"Please" he smiled as Donna turned towards the counter to grab a mug. She set down the mug in front of him and he grabbed her gently around the waist and sat her in his lap. She kissed the top of his head and pulled him close. He just sighed and hugged her tightly. Neither wanted to move, they would have been content to spend the rest of the day in that embrace but the ringing of the phone brought them back to reality.

"Damn" muttered Josh as he reached for the phone on the wall. "Lyman"

It was Leo. He took a deep breath and patted Donna's hip for her to get up. He leaned over, elbows on the table and wearily rubbed his eyes. Donna sighed as she saw all of the contentment in his face vanish. "OK, I'll be there in half an hour."

"What?" sighed Donna as she stood behind him, her hands rubbing his shoulders.

"Ann Stark's at it again. I don't have any details. I have to go. Donna, I uh.." Josh fumbled for the right words.

"Verbal skills failing again, Joshua? Don't worry about me. Go. I'm going to go home and change I'll meet you there in a couple of hours. I know, this is not we what we were planning on doing today. Go get some shoes and a sweater; I'll put your coffee in the travel mug. Go." ordered Donna as she pushed him down the hall to the bedroom.

She got his travel mug out of his backpack, filled it and grabbed a couple of Advil out of the bathroom. She handed him the coffee and pills and found his car keys. He grabbed the backpack from her, threw it on his shoulder, leaned over and kissed her, deeply. His hands made their way up to her face and hers found their way under his jacket, sweater and shirt. Donna was the one to break it off.

"Josh, go, before we do something we really are not ready for" she sighed as she opened the door and practically pushed him out. She closed the door behind him and just smiled, until she realized her car was still at the White House.

"Damn" she muttered as she gathered her things and made plans to take the metro home. As she was about to leave the phone rang. She waited for the machine to pick up and then grabbed it when she heard Josh's voice.

"Hi, I just realized I stranded you at my place, I'm sorry. Do you want me to come back for you?"

"No, I'll take the metro. I'll be in the office by lunch. Do good in there. Stay calm. Bye." said Donna as she put on her coat.

"Thanks, I will, Donna, I swear I will make this up to you." sighed Josh as he hung up.

Donna took the metro home and changed quickly before heading to the White House. The West Wing was relatively quiet for a Saturday morning. Josh wasn't in his office and she correctly assumed he was stuck in the Oval Office with the rest of the senior staff listening to the nasty details of Ann Stark's latest escapade. She sat at her desk and typed some things for Josh and then went in to tackle the disaster that was his office. Things had been so busy lately that neither she nor Josh had had any time to straighten up in there.

She spent the next 2 hours trying to find the top of his desk and the top of the filing cabinet. She came to the conclusion that Josh never threw anything out. She reached into the back of the middle drawer in the desk looking for the stapler she knew she hid back there when she found a small brown paper bag. Curiously she opened it. Inside was the roll of Peppermint Lifesavers, the spare one Josh had brought to her house on Christmas Eve. She thought about her own unopened roll that was tucked away in the drawer of her nightstand, right next to the photo of Josh taken at the State Dinner last year.

By the time Josh wandered back into his office at 2:00 it was almost spotless. Donna had even found time to dust before sitting on the couch to go over Josh's schedule for the next week.

"Mmm, lemon Pledge" guessed Josh as he took a deep breath and dropped onto the couch, putting his feet in Donna's lap.

"Well, some generic government version anyway" smiled Donna as she patted his knees.

"It looks great, you really didn't have to clean my office. I was going to get around to it sooner or later" remarked Josh.

"Judging by this schedule here you would have gotten to it sometime during Bartlet's second term. You have one busy week coming up."

"Don't tell me that" groaned Josh as he took the schedule from her and sat up to read it.

"Did you eat Josh?" asked Donna.

"Yeah, we had bagels and muffins earlier" remarked Josh as he walked to his desk.

"That was breakfast Josh, it's after 2. Come on, grab your coat and let's go get something to eat. Are you done here or are you coming back?"

"I'm done" Josh said as he grabbed his backpack and coat from the chair. He looked around the bullpen and saw the coast was clear so he grabbed Donna's hand and they snuck out, thinking no one saw them. From down the hall a sigh and a smile escaped from the lips of one Leo McGarry.

Josh and Donna emerged from the White House still hand in hand. Deep down they both knew they should not be walking hand in hand 20 yards from their place of employment but they weren't exactly thinking straight at the moment. They dropped their bags in their respective cars and walked over to the Lincoln Memorial. Josh bought hot dogs from a street vendor and they sat on the steps under Abe Lincoln. They ate, giggled and talked like a couple of high school kids.

They spent the next 2 hours wandering around, walking along the reflecting pool, staring up at the Washington Monument and just blending into the weekend crowds of tourists. Anyone who saw them would have thought they were just another married couple, probably sneaking away from the demands of a few kids and a duel income existence. But deep down they knew where they stood and who they were. Two people all too aware of the obstacles that were sure to pop up in front of them. But for those few hours they were just Josh and Donna, not Joshua Lyman, Deputy Chief of Staff and his dedicated assistant, Donnatella Moss.

They headed back to the White House sorry to see their afternoon coming to an end. Josh walked Donna to her car. The stood next to the car for a while, not talking and certainly not touching. The west wing parking lot was a busy place, not somewhere to be engaging in a meaningful embrace.

"Donna?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you like to go to dinner, tonight, I mean like a real, uh.." Josh once again found himself stumbling over his words.

"Josh, I think the word you are looking for is 'date'. And yes, I would love to go to dinner. Pick me up at 8:00?" said Donna shoving her hands in her pockets to avoid grabbing his hand, arm, face, whatever.

"Great, I'll, uh, see you then" said Josh shyly as he opened the car door for her.

"Bye"

Donna drove away slowly; watching as Josh blew a silent kiss in her direction.

"Lyman, you've got it bad" yelled a voice from across the parking lot. Josh turn to see Sam walking towards him with a big smile on his face.

"You're right, I do have it bad" admitted Josh.

Even though Josh and Donna had been out to eat countless times together they both couldn't help but to be nervous. Donna changed her outfit three times before Josh arrived and he had spent at least 15 minutes trying to do something with his hair which seemed determined to stand up on end. He was feeling much better and hadn't had a coughing fit since the early afternoon.

Dinner was a mix of nervous conversation, uneasy silences, longing looks, hand holding across the table and lots of laughter. They steered clear of any conversations about the fact that if things kept going they way they were headed they were in for some difficult decisions. Neither one of them wanted to consider anything further than 24 hours in the future.

They left the restaurant and walked around for a while. They caught their reflection in a store window and stopped to smile. Neither of them wanted the evening to end. They stopped at a convenience store for ice cream on the way back to Josh's car. The even argued over the flavor of ice cream like an old married couple. In the end Donna won. They went back to her place.

The talked, ate the ice cream, talked and talked some more until the wee hours of the morning. It was amazing to both of them that there were still so many things they didn't know about each other. Somewhere around 3:00 the conversation slowed and the ice cream was long gone. Both of them were struggling to put their feelings into words.

"Donna?"

"Hmm" she murmured as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Are you sure 'this' is what you want?" Josh asked nervously.

"Depends on what you mean by 'this'. If 'this' is rushing to sleep together then, no, I'm not ready. It 'this' is what we're doing now, taking things one step at a time, then I am more than ready."

"Well, I never in my life thought I would say this but I'm not ready to sleep together either." whispered Josh as he gently pushed her back down on the couch. He eased his body on top of hers and kissed her, softly at first, until her lips parted and she deepened the kiss. Within a few minutes they were a tangle of long limbs on the couch.

Josh finally broke away, breathless and on the verge of pushing things further than both he and Donna had planned. He could hear Sam's advice in his head, "One step at a time"

Josh rolled off both Donna and the couch. He took a deep breath and walked over to the window. Donna watched him for a minute while she caught her breath. Part of her was upset he had walked away from her and part was glad. She felt with her whole soul that they were meant to be together yet she was sure they weren't ready to sleep together. She had never been in a relationship quite like this before. It was all so new and exciting. She wanted to savor each minute.

She crossed the room and wrapped her arms around Josh from behind. She rested her chin on his shoulder and held him tight.

"Josh, you OK?" she whispered.

"Fine" he replied softly.

She unwrapped her arms and turned him around to face her. She reached up to kiss his forehead, then grabbed his hand and led him to her bedroom. She left him sitting on the bed and went to change in the bathroom. He let his eyes wander around the room. He stood up to look at the pictures on her dresser.

There were two taken the morning of Election Day, one of all of them and one of just himself and Donna sitting by the pond at the Bartlet family farm in New Hampshire. He had the same photos on his desk at home. There were a few of Donna and her family when she was younger. A picture of Donna, Sam and himself taken at the Christmas party, only an hour or so before he'd had his meltdown. He picked up the photo and stared at it. He looked pretty good in the photo considering it had been taken about an hour before he was to relive one of the two worst moments of his life. The white tie probably helped, he thought to himself. He sat down on the bed still staring at the photo. Donna had looked so beautiful that night and he had just pushed her away. He felt hot tears start to sting his eyes.

He heard the bedroom door and looked up to see Donna standing before him in pale pink pajamas, her face freshly scrubbed and her hair pulled back. She took the picture from him and wiped the couple of tears that had made their way down his cheeks. She undid his loosened tie and draped it on the chair. She bent down to take off his shoes and socks, placing them under the chair. He started to unbutton his dress shirt when she moved his hands out of the way and did it herself. He shrugged his shoulders out and held out his hands to Donna. She pulled him up and undid his belt and khaki pants. He sat back down and she pulled them off and folded them on the chair. Not once during all of this did they speak.

He sat on the edge of the bed wearing boxers and his white t-shirt. Donna stood between his knees and he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. He rested his head on her chest and inhaled the scent of peppermint soap and fabric softener. After what seemed like an eternity he let her go with a quick kiss in the vicinity of her collarbone.

Donna went over to the wall and turned out the light. She came back to pull the pale pink comforter and blanket down. She motioned for Josh to crawl in the bed. She slipped in next to him and pulled the covers around both of them. They wrapped their arms and legs around each other.

For over half an hour neither made a move to pull away or move further ahead. Josh was the first to try and speak. He only got as far as to take a deep breath when Donna took his face in her hands and kissed him. The kisses were sweet, long and just what both of them were craving. When the kissing ended they found themselves breathless with tangled up limbs, blankets and clothing.

"Joshua, I know we said one step at a time but.." whispered Donna.

"What is it?" he murmured as he brush the hair back from her face.

"I love you, Joshua" she said she stared into his big brown eyes.

"I love you too" he whispered as he pulled her into his arms once again.

Breathless and utterly content they clung to each other until sleep came to their bodies just before dawn.

THE END

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