Worth The Wait

by: Ginny

Pairing(s): Josh/Donna
Rating: TEEN
Disclaimer: The usual.
Summary: The waiting is over. Sequel to "One Step at a Time".
Feedback: Greatly appreciated.

Part 1

It had been three weeks since Josh and Donna had finally realized what others had known for the past few years. They were still taking things slow. They hadn't made love yet and for some strange reason neither seemed to be in any great hurry as far as that was concerned. They had been able to keep their private lives, well, private. They always made it a point to wake up in their own beds. Though that meant one of them was always driving across town in the wee hours of the morning.

At work, it was almost as if nothing had changed. They were the same Joshua Lyman, Deputy Chief of Staff and Donnatella Moss, Deputy, Deputy Chief of Staff. They bantered with one another while walking the halls of the West Wing, he still yelled to get her attention, she still ignored him when he yelled, and she still kept his life completely organized. The was only one thing that had changed. Each morning when Josh arrived in his office there was a cup of coffee and a muffin waiting for him. Donna had covered her tracks by saying she lost a bet with him and his prize was coffee service for 3 months. Everybody believed that story.

Only Sam was aware of their relationship. He was, afterall, Josh's best friend. Plus he had taken Josh out for a few drinks two weeks earlier and after a beer and a half Josh had spilled everything. As far as Josh and Donna knew, nobody else suspected a thing. Little did they know that Leo had some suspicions of his own. He had seen them leave hand in hand on that Saturday afternoon three weeks earlier, only hours before the professed their love to each other. He hadn't actually seen anything else out of the ordinary in the past weeks but he did notice that Josh seemed happier and certainly less frazzled than he had been since the beginning of the year. Leo kept his suspicions to himself, afterall, it wasn't interfering with their work and apparently the rumor mill hadn't picked up on anything yet. For now he chose to give them some time to come to him on their own.

It was now late on Thursday afternoon of a week that already seemed endless. Josh and the rest of the senior staff were in the Oval Office discussing gun control. Donna always worried about Josh whenever they were meeting about gun control, for obvious reasons. The meeting had been going on since just after lunch. Donna hadn't seen Josh at all since the meeting had started except for a quick glance a minute ago. She had taken a file over to him. He met her at Mrs. Laningham's empty desk and had let his hand linger on hers for a second as she handed him the file. He looked tired and only gave her a weak smile before turning to go back in the Oval Office with the others.

Donna had wandered slowly back through the bullpen. She didn't like the way he looked at all. He had spent the last few day running on very little food, even less sleep and way too much caffeine. She knew sooner or later he was going to crash. She just wished he would make it until the weekend but she wasn't holding out any great hope of him making it that long.

She went into his office and sat down at his desk. With a flick of her wrist she opened his appointment book. A full morning of meetings and a lunchtime session with his therapist were on the schedule for Friday. Josh has made progress since starting with the new therapist just after the first of the year. Stanley had recommended Dr. Collins and he and Josh really seemed to work well together. Donna knew Josh would be quiet and a little withdrawn after his session. It was something she was used to and she always tried to do her best to arrange his schedule accordingly. There was nothing but a senior staff meeting and some phone calls on his schedule for the afternoon. She hoped to keep it that way.

Donna typed and filed for the next hour, keeping one eye scanning the bullpen and the other on her work. Finally at 6:10 she saw Josh coming towards her. His trademark swagger was missing, his shoulders slumped and his brown eyes were dull and lifeless. It was all Donna could do to keep from jumping up and giving him the hug he looked like he so desperately needed. He smiled and patted her shoulder as he went into his office, closing the door behind him. Donna knew him well enough to just let him be for a few minutes. He would call her in when he was ready to talk. She peeked through the blinds and saw him at his desk, hunched over a briefing binder. The phone rang as she was turning back to her own work. She picked it up and cradled it between her chin and shoulder as she resumed her typing.

"Joshua Lyman's office"

"Donna, it's Sam. Is Josh back in his office yet?"

"He just went in. He looks awful, what happened?"

"Nothing really, I just think all the gun talk gets to him after a while. He was a little quieter than usual. Leo and the President seemed to notice but didn't make a big deal out of it. They know he's doing the best he can. Are you going to be with him tonight. I don't think he should be alone"

"As far as I know. We'll probably just go to my place. He needs some down time and a good night's sleep. Do you need to talk to him?"

"No, I'll see him in the morning. Take good care of him."

"You know I will. See you tomorrow. Bye"

"Bye"

Josh had been watching Donna talk on the phone through the window. He called her to come in. She was careful to leave the door open behind her as she walked into his office. She took a seat across the desk from him.

"Josh, you OK? You look wiped out. Any chance of you getting out of here soon? You need a real meal and some sleep" said Donna leaning her elbows on the desk.

"I know, is that an offer to cook for me?" he teased as he rubbed his eyes wearily and sighed.

"Sure is. How about we meet at my place? I'm done here. You finish up. I'm going to go run and pick up some things at the store. Anything in particular you want for dinner?" she asked as she got up to leave.

"Not really, don't go to any trouble. I'm not that hungry" he muttered as he turned his attention back to the file on the desk.

"Josh, you need to eat. How about some chicken and baked potatoes?" asked Donna trying to keep the distance between them.

"Fine, I'll meet you there in about an hour" said Josh as he blew her a kiss.

"I'm calling your cell phone in 45 minutes. You had better not still be in that chair." teased Donna as she closed the door behind her.

"I love you" whispered Josh as she left. He spun his chair around and put the brief in his lap. Leaning back in his chair he put his feet on the window sill and tried to concentrate. Four hours of talking about guns had taken a toll on him. All he wanted to go was to go Donna's and let her fuss over him. He sighed as he dropped his head to read the last part of the file.

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

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