One Step at a Time

by: Ginny

Pairing(s): Josh/Donna
Rating: TEEN
Disclaimer: The usual, not mine etc.
Summary: Josh and Donna take tentative steps towards a relationship. Sequel to "Jumping to Conclusions".
Feedback:Feedback is appreciated.

Part 1

Josh Lyman sat at his desk and tried in vain to concentrate. He hated Friday afternoon meetings. He had notes to go over for his 3:00 appointment with Senator Thomas and the words on the page were not making sense at all. He tried to blame it on his lack of sleep over the past 2 days but deep down he knew that wasn't the reason. The reason was sitting outside his office.

Donnatella Moss.

He watched her work for a few minutes before trying to go back to his notes. It was no use. He decided to just give up and call Sam to see if he wanted to grab some lunch. As he picked up the phone to call Sam appeared at his door.

"OK, that was weird, I was just going to call you, how about lunch? I'm not getting anything done and I'm starving." said Josh as he stood up and stared out at Donna.

"Sure, since you can't keep your eyes off of her, should we invite Donna?" teased Sam.

"No, we're having dinner later, she's cooking for..." Josh sneezed before he could finish his sentence. He reached for a tissue off the desk.

"Bless you, Josh, you OK?" yelled Donna from her desk, "That's about the 5th time you've sneezed in the past 15 minutes."

"I'm fine, do you really have to keep track of my every move, Donna?" he asked, but deep down he was glad for the attention she gave to him. "It's probably all your fault anyway, you probably gave me your cold" Josh told her as he and Sam started to walk out of the bullpen.

"She probably gave it to you when she was feeding you the ice cream, or when you kissed her good-bye before we went to Oregon" teased Sam.

Josh started to give him a smack on the back of the head but ended up sneezing again.

"Please God, don't let this be happening to me, not today of all days." Josh muttered as he and Sam entered the mess.

"Must be a really big night you have planned there, buddy" remarked Sam with a wink.

"You know, I'm not really sure what to expect." remarked Josh as they found a table in the corner. "I just really don't want to, you know..."

"Do something stupid?" asked Sam.

"Yeah, something like that." said Josh.

"So, other than kissing her on the cheek, which by the way I have done to Donna countless times, has anything else happened I should know about?" inquired Sam as he took a bite of his sandwich.

"It wasn't just a kiss on the cheek, there was, other, implied, uh, stuff. And then there was Christmas Eve when.." Josh trailed off at the memory of Donna in his bed.

"Whoa, first of all, implied 'stuff', buddy your SAT scores are failing you at the moment. And what about Christmas Eve" asked Sam curiously.

"You know, she took me to the hospital and then took me home. I was fine for a while, we watched TV on the couch..with my head in her lap" he almost whispered the last part. Sam just smiled and nodded for him to continue. "Then I fell asleep and I guess she went into the guest room. I woke up in the middle of the night and kind of fell apart. She found me in the bathroom. I'm not sure how but we ended up in my bed."

"What?" sputtered Sam as coffee came flying out of his mouth, narrowly missing Josh.

"Sam, calm down, nothing happened, I was crying, really crying and she just held me until I fell asleep. Even though nothing happened and I was a complete wreck it was one of nicest nights of my life, pretty pathetic huh?" sighed Josh as he sat back in his chair and drank his coffee.

Sam just looked at Josh for a moment, wondering whether to be sarcastic or serious. The look on his best friend's face told him to pick the latter.

"That doesn't sound pathetic at all. My advice to you, for what it is worth, is one step at a time. Don't rush anything. She's not going anywhere. You both know that any kind of relationship is going to be hard, I mean, you both work at the White House. There's nothing like trying to start a meaningful relationship in a fish bowl." said Sam.

"Nothing like a vote of confidence, buddy" muttered Josh just before sneezing yet again.

"Bless you. Josh, I'm not trying to discourage you at all. I think you and Donna were meant to be together. I just don't want to see either of you get hurt." said Sam as he leaned back in his chair.

Josh just smiled and then laughed, "Do you supposed this is the kind of stuff Donna, Cathy and Margaret talk about at lunch?"

"Either that or they just plot how they are going to kill us and take over the government" teased Sam. "Come on let's go back. We need to get ready for Senator Thomas"

They walked back to the bullpen in silence, except for Josh's sneezing and coughing.

"I'll get my notes and meet you in your office in a little while" said Sam as he ran to catch up to Toby down the hall.

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

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