Still Standing

by: Allison

Character(s): Josh, Donna
Pairing(s): Josh/Donna
Category(s): Romance
Rating: TEEN
Summary: Sequel to Great Expectations

Josh wasn't really listening to a word the lobbyists were saying until one of them suddenly said, "Wait, is that your assistant?"

He looked up, startled, and saw that Donna had just walked past his open door and settled at her desk. She'd been down with Margaret when the meeting began and hadn't been there to greet the visitors. "Yeah, that's Donna," he said, confused as to why it should matter.

"It's just - I met her last night," the lobbyist replied.

Josh looked up as federal funding for undergraduate research suddenly became fascinating to him. "You met Donna last night?"

"Yeah," the lobbyist admitted. His nametag read Adam D. Barclay. Adam. "I went to dinner with my old college girlfriend and her date, and he brought Donna along to even things out, except - well, Carrie and I sort of rekindled our - whatever." Not comprehending the look on Josh's face he added quickly, "But don't worry. If you want to know the truth I think she has a little thing for the guy who brought her anyway - Sam something. And they make a pretty striking couple."

"Yes, they do," Josh echoed mindlessly. Donna and Sam? He'd thought there was nothing...

"Anyway," Adam continued, oblivious to Josh's distraction, "let me tell you what our students have been doing..."

Donna and Sam? Had Sam actually brought her to dinner intending to wind up with her instead of what's-her-name? No, Sam wouldn't plan a subterfuge that elaborate. He was a pretty confident guy, if he wanted to ask Donna out he'd just ask her. Donna and Sam. Well.

They did make a striking couple. Both tall and slender, blue-eyed, young, stylish, both with those ready, easy smiles - he decided he'd better stop before he became ill. There was nothing between Donna and Sam.

All the same, when his meeting was over he decided to make a subtle stop at Sam's office. "Hey, buddy," he called nonchalantly from the door.

Sam looked up from his laptop and smiled. *Yup, there it is.* "What's up?" he asked Josh.

"Just saying hi." Josh dropped onto the couch. "So - how'd it go last night?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Carrie and her 'old college friend' were better friends than I thought."

"She ditched you?" Josh asked in faked disbelief.

"Pretty much." The ironic look was replaced, though, by a small, pleased, highly disturbing smile. "But it was okay."

"Okay?" *Please, don't let him say it.*

"Yeah." The smile hadn't faded. "I mean, Donna was there."

"Donna?" Josh's disbelief hadn't faded either. "Your date ditched you but it was okay because *Donna* was there?"

"She was very sweet."

"My Donna?" *Sweet*?

Sam's eyebrow lifted. "I'm not going to comment on that."

"She didn't, like, mock you into complete degradation?"

"No, she saves that for you." Sam grinned and turned back to his work. "C.J. wants this in an hour."

"Right." Josh made his stunned way out of the office.

"Hey, Donna," he called as he approached her desk, shooting again for nonchalance. "What's up?"

She eyed him suspiciously. "Nothing that wasn't 'up' when I saw you last half an hour ago."

"How was last night?"

She rolled her eyes in a gesture eerily reminiscent of Sam's. "Sam's girl was completely flirting with the friend she brought. They went home together."

"The professor?" he asked.

"Don't be smug. I told you I was only doing it for Sam anyway."

"Sam. Yeah." Right. "So, that left you and him, huh?"

"Yup." Her cheerfulness was terrifying. "We chatted."

"What about?"

"Not you, so don't worry."

"I wasn't."

"Sure," she replied smoothly. She stopped what she was doing and faced him crisply, gearing up for one of her trademark lectures. "We spent a great deal of quality time together and actually it was very nice. And I would like to point out that my apparently horrible taste in men clearly doesn't apply to friends. Sam was a perfect gentleman as always and we had fun."

"Okay."

She didn't like his tone and followed him into his office. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

She leaned against the door frame. "Josh, that's the way you sound when you're about to turn around and tell me I'm an idiot."

"Well, I wish I could tell you how you sound when you do the same thing, but I can't. You know why? Because you tell me I'm an idiot all the time!"

"That's my job," she replied calmly.

"He slept with a call girl, Donna!"

She stepped back unconsciously. "That was an accident, and I don't see what it has to do with anything."

"Just - you should know Sam by now, that's all I'm saying. Just watch it." He barely knew what he was saying, the idea of her and Sam was driving him so entirely insane.

"Watch it?" He knew he was in trouble when she kicked the door shut. "Josh, he asked a favor, I said yes, he got ditched, we danced, we talked, we went home. That was it. I don't know what your problem is -"

"I don't have a problem."

"He held me, Josh." Her voice had dropped in volume and sincerity replaced the sarcasm. "He was a friend, and he held me. That's all that happened, and that's all I needed. He's in love with Mallory, and I'm - I -" She broke off and started again. "This is not a thing - and it's not really any of your business. I don't know why I'm telling you this." She shook her head and turned to go.

"You're what?" he asked softly.

"What?"

"You said he's in love with Mallory, and you're - what?"

"I -" Her eyes met his for a long moment, and then she broke the contact and opened the door. "I'm not in love with him." She slipped out and pulled his door shut after her.

Josh had a long time to think that afternoon, after everyone had eaten a hasty order-in dinner together and dispersed to their own offices. Sam and Toby were holed up together, C.J. was busy, Leo had recruited Donna to help Charlie and the President with something, and the bullpen was quiet. By the time Donna returned, he had settled on at least one immediate course of action.

"Hey," she said as she breezed into his office. Their earlier conversation seemed not to have stayed with her at all. "All taken care of."

"Good," he said. She didn't seem to notice either his flat tone or the way he was watching her.

"Are you still meeting with the university people?"

"No." He cleared his head quickly. "By the way, one of the university people was Sam's date's friend." Great grammar there.

She looked surprised, but not particularly interested. "I guess that's why he was in town." She didn't think to ask how he knew that Adam was the date's friend. She figured they must have run into Sam.

"Donna?"

"Yeah?" She looked up briefly from assembling his calendar for the next day.

"I've been thinking about what you said earlier."

She frowned. "What did I say earlier?"

"Um..." This was distinctly uncomfortable. "About Sam being what you needed, last night."

She suddenly looked equally uncomfortable. "Okay?"

"I just -" He shifted and stood up finally, sort of pacing around the desk and the office. "I was thinking back to New Year's -"

"Not again, Josh."

He looked carefully, but her expression was unreadable. "No, let me - I was just thinking about, you know, what you said then, about needing me - and it occurred to me that maybe I haven't really been what you needed lately." He met her eyes nervously.

"Josh, this is a bizarre conversation," she said, trying to shake it off before it got out of control. "We don't do this."

"Maybe we should." He took advantage of her surprised silence to add, "I mean, the fact that we don't always talk about things doesn't mean you can't come to me with - whatever."

The quiet was so loud that he could hear it. She finally broke the ringing in his ears by saying quietly, "Okay." Then she turned and left the room.

"Damn." He pounded his hand on the desk and exhaled heavily. *Blew that one.*

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

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