"I, um, thought you said you didn't know if Josh was seeing anyone." Matt Santos couldn't help the insufferable smirk gracing his face.

"It's complicated. We're not…" Donna couldn't help blushing. She was in the President-Elect's office to tell him she was going with Josh on his vacation even though she had no idea where they were going. Only that they were leaving first thing in the morning and Josh hadtold her to pack for the tropics.

"Mmm hmmm." Santos spun around in his chair like a little boy.

"Sir… I… We've…" Donna stumbled around trying to define the thing between herand Josh.

"Go," Santos laughed, letting her off the hook. "Go help that workaholic whatever of yours figure out if he wants a life. I'll take care of letting people know where you are."

Donna gave him a grateful smile and slipped out the door. It was relatively easy to grab her things unnoticed. The staff was still grouped around Otto, commiserating with him about the abuse Josh had heaped on him. Watching them, Donna had a quick flash of memory and gained a bit of insight into what had driven Josh to the edge he teetered on so precariously: there continued to be a dearth of people he could trust to approach the transition the way he felt it should be approached

She remembered the way Mrs. Landingham had reacted whenever she came across a group of young staffers complaining about their bosses. She would firmly remind them thatthey did important work for powerful people and their behavior reflected on thecandidate (after the election, the President). It was never a gentle rebuke, but an unyielding expectation of behavior. Leo had never had to handle disciplinary issues with the junior staff. No one on the Bartlet transition team would have dreamed of badgering Leo for a job the way Otto had been after Josh. Delores Landingham had set the example and insisted it be followed. There had been no one to play that role on this campaign.

She felt a twinge of guilt, knowing that Mrs. Landingham would have expected her to play the mother hen tothis motley crew of recent college graduates and still-wet-behind-the-ears congressional aides. It had been too late by the time she'd joined the campaign, though and it wasn't a job she wanted anyway – she was a political operative in her own right, not Josh's faithful lackey. Sam's presence would help, Donna thought as the elevator door closed on the scene. He would be the buffer between Josh and the staff that everyone so desperately needed. And she could continue advancing her career without having to worry about whether or not Josh was terrorizing the staff.