The Donna Drabbles: Season 1
A series of drabbles.
Spoilers: Season 1
Rating: PG
Characters: Donna Moss, various
Disclaimer: They belong to Aaron Sorkin, John Wells, NBC, etc.
Notes:A series of drabbles written for the LJ West Wing Renaissance group. Updated weekly.
Donna watched the clip play out on the tv screen for the third time that morning.
Indicted for tax fraud…
Josh's run in with the Christian right was the big story for the day, even trumping the President's unfortunate bicycle accident on the early morning news. That was saying something, considering how inconsequential Josh was compared to the President.
Tax fraud…
He shouldn't have said it. He absolutely should not have said it. But he had, and now there was going to be hell to pay. Josh knew it, she knew it -- hell, even her roommate knew it, and her roommate didn't even pay much attention to politics.
Odds were, Josh had spent the night in his office brooding about it. She'd have to do something about that. Nothing overt, of course. He couldn't know she was worried about him. But maybe if she showed some extra sass today, told him a handful of seemingly pointless stories... it might take his mind off things. Or maybe she'd bring him some coffee.
Yes, that's exactly what she'd do.
Setting her own coffee mug down in the sink, she grabbed her suit jacket and her bag. Time to get to work...
~~~
An unbearable day? How about an unbearable week? Month? Whatever the time frame, unbearable is definitely the right term.
It had been bad enough during the campaign, but there – at least – there'd been so much to do (and so few volunteers) that she'd been able to escape whenever they got into one of their petty squabbles.
It's different now. She sits ten feet from his door, she sets his schedule, she's responsible for playing gatekeeper.
How long can she go without making a smart-ass comment? From showing her scorn and dislike? She doesn’t know, but she's about to find out.
~~~
Mandy wasn't wrong, Donna conceded as she paused to watch the President's televised speech begin. They were doing okay.
Sure, there'd been some missteps lately, and sure, the President was having a hard time adjusting to this latest military action, but they were doing okay.
They'd hired Charlie Young today. That was something they'd done right. In the few moments Donna'd spent with him, she already knew she liked him and that's he'd fit in well here.
Meanwhile, CJ was keeping the world safe for democracy – or at least safe from Josh and Sam.
They were doing okay.
Weren't they?
~~~
Donna skimmed the disclosure sheet, looking for an entry more interesting than flowers. CJ'd received a brass doorknocker (she'd have to remember to ask her about that) and Sam had gotten a model schooner, but nothing really struck Donna as truly unique.
Until…
Well, this was interesting. A silk smoking jacket? From one Miss Sarah Wissinger? She scanned her memory, trying to recall the name and face. She'd been thin – and short - with long dark hair. And Josh had gotten a smoking jacket from her?
Hmm.
She jotted it down on her notepad. That definitely qualified for best gift.
~~~
Out of the corner of her eye, Donna watched Josh talking with the President and Leo. She wasn't sure what they were discussing, but they looked serious. She wondered if there was a crisis brewing and they'd have to get back to work.
"Then Mandy asked…"
She was distracted for a moment by CJ, and when she looked back at Josh, he was handing the President a card of some sort and smiling – just the tiniest bit. That was a nice change from the way he'd looked this afternoon when he'd gotten back from his mystery meeting.
She'd asked him about it, of course, but he'd brushed her off with another quip about controlling him. Not that she minded – she did control him, on a professional level at least. What he did on his own time was his business, unless it affected her. But that hadn't seemed to be the case today. Today had seemed personal and, well, personal.
She didn't have much time to dwell on her train of thought, however, because the President was beginning his speech, his voice deep and emotional as he spoke.
"…absent friends, and the ones that are here now."
~~~
She'd done the right thing. Not just because now she had the money to buy a Starbuck's muffin and low-fat latte on the way to work tomorrow, but because she'd made him proud.
He'd never admit it to anyone – least of all her – but she could see it in the way he smiled. It was more than just an indulgent smile at her cute parable. It was pride. Pride that she'd taken one of his little lessons to heart, pride that she'd actually learned something.
Now if she could just make him proud enough to buy her that dvd player…
~~~
He really should remember all the things she did do right, Donna thought as she rushed back to the ladies' room to check on Mandy. The interesting and helpful tidbits she culled from books and then shared with him at the most opportune moments, the unasked for assistance she gave him with his wardrobe, the way she checked up on his old girlfriends…
Ok, so she wasn't checking on Mandy because she was Josh's ex or because he'd asked her to. She was checking up on her because Mandy'd just been dealt a major blow and really, shouldn't someone be checking up on her?
Donna could sympathize with her situation. It was hard trying to do the right thing and then failing. And right now, Donna thought Mandy needed someone who could appreciate that.
At least, she hoped so. Otherwise, this was just one more fool's errand for the night.
~~~
He looked tired. More so than usual, she noted as she looked in on him, typing furiously away on his computer. Tired but… energized?
He certainly hadn't looked that way earlier tonight when Mandy had stopped by. He'd looked frustrated and annoyed. Then she'd mentioned the computers and he'd rushed off to see the President and now… Now he seemed more focused, more optimistic, and much more determined than he had all day.
If it hadn't been so late, she might have asked him why. She might have sat down and asked him to explain how the antiquated computer comment had sparked his imagination. She might have sat with him while he plugged away at whatever revision he was making to the banking bill.
But it was late, and she was tired, too, so she settled for stopping in his doorway to tell him she was heading home. He looked up briefly from his computer, told her to be safe, and then went right back to typing away.
She paused a moment… Maybe she wasn't too tired. Maybe it wasn't too late.
She set down her bag and took a seat.
"Did you know that Mount Rushmore was known as…"
~~~
He hadn't wanted to hear about the banging.
Neither had CJ or Sam.
And Toby? She hadn't even tried to tell him.
But it had been an omen, and her suspicions were confirmed later on when the ceiling almost fell on this head. And then again when the rumors about drug testing started floating around the bullpen. And when Charlie came by and started muttering something about Harrison and exclusive clubs.
Things had gotten a little better after that, but she still wasn't convinced that they were in the clear. So now she sat on her couch and waited. If her earlier prediction was anything to go by, he'd be there any minute.
Maybe she'd run out and get some ice cream before he arrived. Or some honey mustard pretzels.
She never got the chance - the doorbell rang first.
~~~
She took her place in line, shoulder to shoulder with Josh and Leo, as the choir sang.
He'd gotten her a book. Not skis or ski paraphernalia, not a trip to Hawaii or Aspen, but a book, with the most incredible inscription a girl could ever ask for inside.
It was the second best Christmas gift she could have received.
She turned and smiled at Leo, standing straight and proud on her right. That… that had been the first best. What Josh and Sam had tried to do… It was nothing less than the embodiment of the spirit of Christmas.
"I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum…"
~~~
They were all lawyers. All of them except the President, and he was a Nobel prize winning economist, so did it really matter that he'd never passed the bar? Probably not.
The point was, all the men in Washington – from the ones she worked for to the guys she met on the weekends - seemed to have law degrees. It didn't matter whether they'd forgotten the practical applications (like Josh) or still had pretty good game (like Sam); they were lawyers and she was surrounded by them on a daily basis.
So why did her mom continually give her a hard time about meeting the right kind of man?
She'd have to remember to keep Sam in mind the next time she talked to her. He was a lawyer, a good-looking and charming one, too. So what if she considered him a substitute brother? Mom never had to know.
~~~
Whoever got left behind would assume the role. Not just as the head of a division – they'd get the whole shebang. President of the United States.
She could be the one. She knows she could.
She'd be good at it, too.
It would probably be against the rules of succession, though.
Still… the Secretary of Agriculture? What did he know about running a country? He'd need some staff to help him along. A senior assistant who knew her way around, who cared, who'd be able to guide him.
She should convince Josh she needed to stick around the White House that night…
~~~
"She said she knew it in her heart. You know how many things I've been wrong
about in my heart?"
She'd known that walking along the top of the cemetery fence was dangerous for her sister, Gianna. Luckily, Gianna hadn't known it in her heart, because she managed to cross from the gate to the corner and climb down without any major injuries.
She'd known that Tommy Frisco was going to break up with her. All the signs were there. But not only did he not break up with her, he asked her to the prom instead.
She'd known that Craig was the one. They were going to be together forever. It gave her the confidence to quit school and move in with him. Someone should have warned Craig before he started seeing the cute young candy-striper on the side.
She'd known a lot of things in her heart over the years, but she'd learned long ago that her heart was frequently wrong.
~~~
He'd broken their date. Well no, not exactly. It hadn't been an actual date – it had been a not date. A date implied there was a certain amount of romantic interest and this was a strictly friendly, he-owed-her-big-time-for-coming-in-on-her-Saturday-off shopping excursion, not a date.
Still, he'd broken his promise to her so that he could go see Joey Lucas and convince her to find a live one. A noble cause, to be sure, especially when the President himself had requested he do it, but that didn't help her with her dilemma.
She had an actual date arriving in just under an hour, but no shoes to go with the fabulous dress she'd bought Friday on her lunch break.
She frowned into her closet, willing a pair to appear, and wondered what Joey Lucas's shoes looked like.
TBC...
Posted by Cassie on 03:20 PM