A/N: chapter two. Hope you like it. Leave me a review, please.
Disclaimer: I dont own West Wing
"If I get the turkey then I run the risk that Bonnie gets me turkey for dinner tonight, and I know that she would normally, and I can see myself forgetting to mention that I had it for lunch. If I stick with the pasta, however..." Sam sighed, and looked up. He was only really talking like this because the woman sitting opposite him didn't look like she was ready to speak yet. She wasn't even looking at her menu. She was staring out of the window, absent mindedly, and snapping the toothpick that had been sitting in the centre of the table into such small pieces that it now resembled dust, placed in a pile before her . She reached for another, and Sam pulled the jar opf toothpicks away.
Donna looked up, suddenly, as though she had just noticed Sam was there, dispite the fact they had walked in together. Then she deflated.
"Sorry." She said, realising that she hadn't been listening to a word he was saying, and leaning back in her chair, arms folded. The place they were at was casual, but a little swankier than the average diner. Donna and Sam sat opposite each other in a booth.
"It's alright."Sam said, smiling good naturedly. "Its not that urgent that you understand the reasoning behind my choice of food." he explained, noticing that Donna's eyes still appeared to be slightly glazed over, though she managed to force a smile at his words. Sam slammed his menu down, donning a mock, stern face.
"Thats it, Im getting the turkey, you're getting the turkey, and who says you cant do two turkey's in one day?" he said, defiantly, ordering to a passing waitress, and then focusing back on Donna, who was still looking thourghly miserable.
Sam sighed.
"Donna, I know it's not easy, and we all want you-"
"Why do you think he didnt tell me?" she asked, cutting through his words, and looking out the window at the people passing on the street. She was looking for simularities, to herself, and then to Josh. If he could get a girl who looked liike her maybe she should get a man who...
"What do you mean?"Sam asked, kind of glad she had cut him off. CJ would have slaughtered him for implying that he was in any way supportive of a relationshipthat involved these two. Although after the lack of notice people had paid today, he doubted that it would have been much of a problem.
Ï dont care about the press Sam, or everyone thinking that we're together." Donna said, lying only slightly. "I care that he kept the fact that he was dating someone from me,and I dont see why. We're friends. We're close. We complain to each other and we help each other out, and I love that we have that, and now I find out from CJ that he's dating a clone of me! I just dont know why he didnt say anything, that's all."she explained, biting her bottom lip.
Sam pondered for a moment. Sure, he thought, The thing thats got you upset isnt the mere fact that Josh IS dating...
Sam gave her a bracing grin.
Ï dont know why. But he barely mentioned her to us either, maybe there's something wrong with her."Sam said, grasping at things that might make Donna feel better. "You know. Freaky looking, somehow..."
"Sam she's surposed to look like me, what are you implying?"Donna asked, lightening up a little andf laughing now. Sam stammered for a moment, trying to grapple with a retort that wouldnt dig him even deeper into the hole.
"I, I, did I say freaky looking? I meant, has a horrible, horrible personality. He didnt want us meeting her and saying. Well hey, she looks exactly like Donna, only she's the most boring person I've ever met. Why dont you just date Do-"
Sam trailed off, Donna was looking alarmed. She hated it when people they worked with accidentally stumbled upon her thoughts. Because that was just what she had been thinking all day. If he was happy to date someone who looked exactly like her, then what was the matter with her personality?
Sam and Donna ate their turkey in a slightly awkward silence. It sat between them, shifting slightly every so often to ask for the pepper or talk about the latest deal that was coming through Josh's office, or the problems they were having now that they were in the early stages of writing the state of the union. Gradually the wall came down, and they burried the previous tension beneath useless facts that stories about Toby and cats, CJ and Danny and Leo. Finally, they had to leave, and there was no further mention to the day that Donna had to continue having when she got back to the white house. She wasn't looking forward to it, dreading walking back in the door, in fact. She didn't want to see Josh. Not since she had left his office, and he had seen the fax had she looked him in the eye.
When they got back, Sam followed Donna into the bullpen, looking for Josh as he went. They didn't have to look far. Mr Lyman was already back from the Hill, and was standing in front of the Fax machine, reading three pieces of paper, while it spewed out a forth.
"Josh, put them down!" Donna moaned, as she saw what he was reading. Sam cocked an eyebrow, intrigued, and they walked to where he was standing. Josh still hadn't looked up. His eyes were darting back and forth across the page.
"Seriously, throw them away, I dont care, their high school girls and pathetic women, they aren't going to hurt me in any way, and its-"
Josh ripped two pieces in half, and threw them in the bin, but the third he held up, trying to restrain a laugh. Had he been in a worse mood he probobly would have been sickened.
"This one is congragulatory." he said, smirking, and Donna squinted her eyes, trying to make head and tail of the picture that was on the fax. It seemed someone had cut and pasted pictures of them from the papers that were from the last campaign, and stuck the little black and white Josh and Donna down so they were holding hands. He laughed, and Sam snorted.
"They wish you a long, happy life, and many many children." Sam said, stepping closer to read the writing on the paper. Donna even cracked a smile, and tore the paper from Josh's hand, ripping it in half, laughing, and throwing it in the trash after the others, which no doubt called for her timely death. Donna grinned.
"Dont encourage this." she joked, whacking Josh around the back of the head, and moving into his office, so that she could straighten the things on his desk. Sam patted Josh on the back and left for his own.
"What do you mean dont encourage it? What else can we do but laugh at this...crap..." his words fell to nothing as he read the last fax, and his egotistic smile slid like mud from his face.
"What?"Donna asked, concerned, "What is it?"
"No, I dont think your ego needs infalting." he said, teasing, waving the fax above his head, and echoing Donna from earlier that day. Her eyes opened wider.
"What?"she asked, interested. "Oh come on, my ego needs some infalting today Josh, throw me a bone."
"A bone?"
"Give me the fax!"
"But you know how important my superiority is to me!"he argued, though Donna swipped for the paper, and grabbed it at once, Josh putting up little fight.
Donna looked up, grinning.
"I have admiriers..." she gushed, smiling in a way that gloated at Josh while still looking touched. Josh raised his eyebrows.
"See? I dont think we could take a-"
"Another egocentric maniac swaggering about the building?"
""You mean in addition to Sam, right?"
"I mean in addition to you!"
"Hey, when you got a death wish I was defenseive and sympathetic, why is it that when this group of perverted men from downtown DC get mad that Im dating my 'Gorgeous assistant' and decide to throw me in a blender and make manwhore milkshakes you squeal in delight?" Josh asked, in feigned outrage. Really, he found the whole thing rather hilarious.
"Because for one I'm not happy that you use airquotes for the phrase 'gorgeous assistant' and two, Im rather intrigued as to what a manwhore milkshake would taste like." Donna brandished back, looking up from the paper in her hand with a devilish grin.
They were back.
The secret that had hung between them these past couple of weeks had been swept aside, and girlfriend or no girlfriend, press or no press, hate mail or no hate mail, they were Josh and Donna again.
A/N: thanks for everyone who reveiwed last time. I reply to everyone I can! Thansk for reading this far, and the third and final chapter will be posted soon!
toodles, Jess