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 3

She ran into the bedroom and found him in the middle of a nightmare. It had been weeks since his last one. He was curled up in a ball with his back against the headboard hugging his knees to his chest. He was sweating, crying and shivering.

He didn't seem to notice when Donna sat down. She reached over to the chair next to the bed and grabbed the afghan that was hanging over the back of it. She wrapped it around his shoulders and pulled him into her arms.

"Shhh, Josh, wake up. Honey, it's me, it's OK, you're safe" murmured Donna as she smoothed back his curls and wipe his tears. He woke up enough to realize what had happened but he didn't speak. His sad eyes spoke volumes to Donna. They sat with her holding him for a long time, neither one of them speaking.

Finally he pulled away and reached for a tissue and the water. He wiped his face and took a drink. Donna hunted in his bag for a t-shirt and helped him pull it on over his head. They both settled down next to one another and she pulled the covers over both of them.

"Donna, I love you" whispered Josh as he settled his head on her shoulder.

"I love you too, Josh. Now go back to sleep, I'm not going anywhere" she murmured as she kissed his forehead.

Five o'clock came much too soon and the alarm blared out. Josh went back to his place to shower and change. He had been quiet before he left. Neither one of them mentioned the nightmare. It was like if they didn't bring it up maybe it wouldn't happen again. Not a likely scenario but one they seemed to cling to anyway.

Donna beat Josh to the office. She glanced out his window until she saw his car pull up. Then she got a cup of coffee and a muffin for him. He was cool and a little distant. She tried her best to understand. She could only imagine what was going through his mind. She decided to be strictly business until she got a sense of how the day was going to progress. She went in with his schedule and her own cup of coffee.

"You have senior staff in 10 minutes. Leo has time for you after that. You have lunch with Dr. Collins and some phone calls in the afternoon." she stated without much emotion.

"OK. Relax, I'm fine. I'm just glad I decided to stay last night. Waking up from a nightmare alone really sucks. I'm glad you were there to help me. Don't worry about me." pleaded Josh. "OK"

Before Donna got up to leave she kissed the tip of her thumb, across the desk Josh did the same. He reached over to touch his thumb to her thumb. They smiled, she got up and they both went to work.

The day got more hectic as it went on. The Senior Staff meeting went on and on. Josh barely finished talking to Leo before he had to leave for his appointment with Dr. Collins.

Eager to hear about his talk with Leo, Donna walked him out to his car. He said the meeting had gone well. He informed Leo that his suspicions were right on target. Leo warned him to be discreet. He also told Josh he was happy for the both of them. They both shared a sigh of relief. They also decided not to start telling the entire staff just yet. Something about the sneaking around made the whole situation more exciting. Josh blew a kiss to her as he drove away.

The rest of the day flew by at an amazing rate. Josh was much less withdrawn than he usually was after a therapy session. They were back to their normal bantering by late afternoon. No plans for the evening had been made yet. It didn't look as though they were going to get out at a reasonable hour. Senior Staff didn't start the last meeting of the week until well after 6:00. Donna had promised Josh she would wait for him. After she had finished up her own work she went and sat at his desk for a while. She spread some papers out in front of her to make it look like she actually had a reason to be sitting in there. By 8:00 she decided to leave. She left a note on his desk in a sealed envelope asking him to meet her at her apartment when he was done.

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

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