This isn't particularly good, or well written, but it is silly and inspired by a challenge in the Monica and Jess Love Boys Podcast, so hopefully it brings a smile to someone's face. Also, kudos to anyone who gets the allusion in the first line.

Donna Moss laughed.

It started as a giddy sort of giggle and crescendoed into a crazed full-throated laugh, with, embarrassingly a few snorts, as it reverberated off the tile and metal stall walls in the empty bathroom.

Laughing was all she could do really. It was the perfect summary of her day that it was 5:30 pm before she even realized she'd put her underwear on inside out that morning.

She probably wouldn't have even noticed either, if she hadn't been checking to see if her period had finally started and realized, upon closer inspection, that she couldn't see the inner seam to her panties because they were on inside out.

After her laughter subsided, she found herself faced with a strange dilemma. Now that she knew her underwear was inside out it felt weird to leave them inside out and carry on about her day. But, correcting them at 5:30 p.m. didn't seem like a reasonable proposition either. Not only would it require removal of her shoes and pants in a public restroom – even bathroom floors in the White House are still public restroom floors and therefore disgusting – if she did correct them at this late hour she'd know the outside was now soiled and well, that just wouldn't sit right with her either.

After a brief deliberation on the pros and cons of each scenario Donna finished using the toilet and returned to her desk to collect her wallet. She had just enough time to grab dinner for her and Josh before the Mess ran out of the potato and cheddar chowder they served on Wednesdays. It was the perfect soup for a cold winter day and they often ran out before dinner service ended.

Upon her return to her desk she stacked the food containers inconspicuously in the corner of her cubical where they wouldn't be visible for anyone exiting Josh's office and glanced at the clock. It was almost time for her to interrupt and end Josh's meeting.

Even going near his office gave her a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. Josh was trying to browbeat Representative Richards into delaying HR 3570 without a big media blitz and, as this was the 4th meeting they'd had over it, Donna surmised that it wasn't going well. It's not that the White House particularly wanted to see young gay people sent to conversion therapy, it's just that the President really didn't think legislating any type of "therapy" was an issue he wanted to debate in an election year. As his bulldog, it was Josh's job to get the democratic representative in line on that account.

But that wasn't the source of Donna's dread. Rather that was related to the aide Rep Richards had brought with him to meet with Josh. A charming young man named Clayton, the aide had taken Donna out for a date a few months prior. After the date Clayton hadn't taken the hint and had continued to call even when Donna had made it clear she wasn't interested, in part because he'd called her Donatina for the majority of the date and then asked her if she'd give him head in the backseat of the cab he insisted they share after dinner. It was one date she actually would have liked Josh to sabotage. She'd just about thought he'd all but given up and moved on until about an hour ago when there he was walking right in front of her desk smiling sweetly at her as if spit back up from hell itself as Josh ushered him into the office.

She considered using the intercom. Perhaps if she made herself scarce Josh would walk the good representative and Clayton out and she wouldn't have to see him. Then she could avoid the inevitable awkwardness that follows meeting someone again after you've effectively ghosted them. Unfortunately, Josh was a numpkin when it came to the intercom and it was just as likely he wouldn't answer it. And, if he did end up answering it on the third attempt, he'd probably get upset that she didn't just come in person to begin with.

Donna sighed and walked to Josh's closed door. She paused, ticking the seconds by on her wrist watch until the precise time they'd agreed upon her interrupting. Then she knocked on his door three times, their code for "I'm interrupting you because you told me to." She took a breath, 'time to put on my big girl pants,' she thought and opened the door. Unfortunately, the thought which was supposed to motivate her backfired and caused her to think about the fact that she had just discovered she was wearing her underwear inside out all day. That lead to a few insuppressible giggles that bubbled out before she was able to regain her composure and tell Josh he was needed in the Sit Room in 5 minutes "as they were working now to establish a secure line" and that she'd walk his guests out.

Donna was pretty sure she'd recovered from her unexpected fit of laugher quickly enough that no one noticed until, after crossing in front of his desk and shaking Rep. Richards' hand and motioning for the representative to leave his office, Josh grabbed Donna's arm before she could follow his guests out and asked quietly what was so funny.

"Nothing," she'd told him quietly. "I'll tell you later," she amended quickly shaking her head.

The walk to the security desk was interminable, but she was almost home free and to her delight, Clayton seemed to have turned into someone more professional in the company of his boss and had been unexpectedly quiet. He had just finished turning in his pass before he turned to her and said that it was good seeing her again and wondered if she might be free for drinks later this week.

Donna smiled tightly and told him that she'd been very busy at work and she'd be sure to call him if she had time.

Donna stopped to wash her hands in the restroom before she returned to the bullpen. She checked to make sure Josh wasn't on the phone and retrieved their dinner from her desk. She knocked on Josh's door, this time just twice, and let herself in.

"A little early for dinner isn't it?" Josh remarked when he saw the food containers in her hands. He looked tired and sad.

"It's Wednesday, potato soup day."

"It's just," Josh began as he opened the container and surveyed his dinner, "he keeps telling me all these terrible stories about these poor kids whose lives were ruined by this conversion therapy and it's horrible, but I've got to make a political decision about it, you know. Where do we balance the agency for people to ruin their own lives with what we want to get done politically? It's fucking disheartening."

Donna nodded. "If it will cheer you up, I'll tell you what I was laughing about earlier."

"This isn't like your Fishhooks Mccarthy story is it?"

"That was a good story Josh!"

"Maybe it was, but it was wrapped up in a conversation about how you prayed for me after hot lead was shot into my body. Not exactly the pick me up I was hoping for."

"So," she said, testing out the water. Josh looked uninterested, and picked at his food. "When I was laughing earlier it was because I'd just come from the bathroom where I'd realized, for the first time today at 5:30, that I'd put my underwear on inside out."

He looked up sharply as her admission sunk in.

"You put your underwear on inside out?" He had that smirk and one raised eyebrow that always made her stomach fall out a little bit. "Donna, you seriously put your underwear on inside out and you've been wearing it inside out all day?"

"Oh, come on like you've never put your underwear on inside out before."

"I can tell you without a doubt that I've never put my underwear on inside out."

"Maybe you just didn't notice."

"Show me!"

"What?"

"Show me."

"What are you, from Missouri? Josh, I'm not going to show you my underwear right now."

"Oh, come on Donna I've already seen your underwear in the office. Touched them in fact."

"Yes, but they weren't actually, you know, on my body, which if I'm not mistaken, is what you're asking to see right now."

"No, but they had been worn, I could tell. And," he said around another bite of his food, "I'd like to point out that I wasn't the least bit rude about that. I was a perfect gentleman where as you've gone on and on about touching my "dirty" boxer shorts after I've worn them."

He didn't mention that all it took was the slight whiff of Donna essence still lingering on the panties that had been mailed to him to get him more than slightly riled up and that's why he'd had to take a brief cool off moment in his office before his next meeting to compose himself.

"Ok first of all, it's because I'm not your mother Josh, it's not my job to launder your boxer shorts. You're lucky they pay me to pick up your dry cleaning. And second, you were not a perfect gentleman, you held my underwear up in the middle of the bullpen in a way that still mortifies me to this day," Donna whined.

"Donna, I have to tell you, you were right this time."

"I was?" She looked confused.

"Yes, this particular trip down memory lane has improved my mood, but not as much as it would if you showed me your inside out underwear. I mean for all I know you're just making it up to make me feel better about my day."

Donna grimaced. She had told herself many times that this is just the way Josh was. That his taunts and dares didn't mean anything. His relaxed demeanor on the other side of his desk, legs up, dinner container resting in his lap, eyes gleeful from making fun of her, reinforced the thought she told herself. Despite his words, he's not actually eager to see her in her underwear. He's not Clayton asking her to go down on him in a cab and actually expecting it to happen. He's not hungry for her like she is for him. But somewhere deep down, in a suppressed part of her brain she wondered what would happen if she actually did drop her pants right then and there in his office. She wondered what his reaction would be and if maybe deep down past his cool demeanor he taunted her because he did feel the same way about her.

Donna was startled from her thoughts by a knock on Josh's door and then CJ popped her head in.

"Josh, Toby wants to discuss the thing," CJ said hooking her thumb over her shoulder.

"Yeah, ok tell him I'll be there as soon as I finish this," he answered, motioning down to his food still balanced in his lap. "CJ wait, settle something for us." He said before she could leave. "Have you ever put your underwear on inside out and only noticed at the end of the day that they were on inside out?"

CJ raised an eye brow in response.

"He's making fun of me CJ, I must have been in a daze this morning and I put my underwear on inside out and didn't notice until 5:30 today." Donna explained. "I told him to cheer him up and now I'm never going to hear the end of it."

CJ smiled carefully. "Just because it's you Donna, I'll admit that I have. And you, Josh Lyman are lying if you say you've never done that because I know you have. Now come on idiot boy, you can bring your dinner with you."

Donna watched as Josh attempted to protest, but was led away by CJ off to Toby's office for round 16 on HR5254. She found herself humming as she cleaned up the remains of their rushed dinner and then a particularly evil idea struck her. She dug into her pocket and retrieved the underwear she'd, in a moment of haste before, decided to just take off entirely. She positioned the underwear just so that it was clearly inside out and tucked it into the top pocket of his backpack before zipping it up. Then left the office before she could lose her nerve. This is what we do, we taunt each other like school children she told herself as she made a few last notes on Josh's schedule for Thursday, flipped off the light at her desk and left for the day feeling freer than she had in weeks, possibly months.