main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Story [The West Wing] Don't Have to Look from Afar ~ Josh/Donna, Sam ~ Chart Hits Challenge

Discussion in 'Non Star Wars Fan Fiction' started by mavjade , Aug 29, 2016.

  1. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    Title: Don’t Have to Look from Afar
    Author: mavjade
    Fandom: The West Wing
    Characters: Josh/Donna with a bit of Sam
    Timeline: Takes place on President Santo’s Inauguration Day
    Notes: This is for the http://boards.theforce.net/threads/chart-hits-challenge-can-a-recent-hit-inspire-you-nine-stories-completed-as-of-august-12th.50041378/{/URL}]Chart[/url] Hits Challenge. The song I was given was Brittney Spears song Hold It Against Me.


    For those who may not know The West Wing, below the spoiler tag is a little primer. It contains massive spoilers for The West Wing.
    Josh was the Deputy Chief of Staff for President Bartlet, Donna was his assistant. Right from the start Josh and Donna had a great relationship and it was clear that they were in love, but it never crossed over the line while they worked together. While at a speech with the President, Josh was shot in the chest and very nearly died. He developed PTSD which Donna caught and he got help. Long story short, they end up going their separate ways but find their way back to each other and now both work for the newly minted President and First Lady. (It’s much more compelling than my terrible summary makes it seem!)

    ~*~*~

    “Josh,” a voice pierced through his thoughts. “Earth to Josh...”

    “Yeah,” Josh answer absentmindedly as he watched Donna enter the ballroom. He had agreed to meet Donna at the first ball because they both had been busy all day getting their respective staffs moved into the White House; Josh into the West Wing and Donna into the East Wing. He thought she always looked beautiful when they went to formal events -he’d seen her in formal wear plenty of times- but this time, he was allowed to look. He was allowed to really look, and she took his breath away.

    “Are you okay?” Sam, his long-time friend, and deputy asked, clearly having been trying to get his attention for awhile.

    “Yeah,” Josh turned to Sam. “Yeah, I’m great.”

    “You look much better. There for a while, I thought you weren’t going to make it. I thought you’d stroke out in the middle of the office.” Everyone had noticed how Josh was behaving before Sam had made him take a vacation. Sam had come into the transition offices and had flashbacks of Josh yelling at the President in the Oval Office, of hushed meetings with trauma specialists and a hand stitched up after being put through a window. But after Josh had returned from his vacation, he looked and sounded much better. Now that they were sworn in, he somehow managed to look quite relaxed. Sam just hoped things remained that way.

    Josh nodded at Sam’s commentary on his recent outbursts but turned back to watch Donna come toward him. “I know it was a lot, but it’s under control now.”

    “You mean Donna’s got you under control now.”

    Josh laughed, it was no secret that Donna had always kept him in check. She knew when to let him rant and rave, but also knew exactly how to get him to calm down when he was spinning out of control. It was Donna who had noticed he was drowning in his own mind that Christmas and it was Donna who had kept him afloat. Josh knew he was a complicated man with more baggage than anyone should have to deal with, but Donna managed to not only deal with him, but love him. “I don’t know what you are talking about. I’m my own man.”

    “I don’t think anyone who knows you would argue that,” Sam laughed. He leaned in to speak into Josh’s ear as Josh continued to watch Donna stop and speak to others as she continued working her way through the room. “But you know, you don’t have to look from afar anymore.”

    Josh turned and gave Sam the dimpled smile that made Josh have fan clubs devoted to him on the internet. “You're right, I’m gonna…” he gestured toward the other side of the room and walked away.

    Josh arrived beside Donna and put his hand around her waist. She was talking to some group that was already trying to lobby the First Lady’s Chief of Staff to support their cause, at least as far as Josh could tell from the conversation. He remained quiet and just listened to Donna speak. He loved seeing her like this, for as much as she had been an amazing assistant, she was born for this kind of work and Josh felt proud and humble when he saw her at it. She may not have had the education he or Sam, or Amy had, but she had the natural people skills and intuition most of them with their Ivy League education lacked.

    Finally, the conversation broke up and Donna turned to Josh and smiled, “Hi.”

    “Hi,” he returned as he slipped his arms around her waist and her arms encircled his neck, looking each other in the eyes.

    “We’re finally here.”

    “Yeah, we’re finally here.”

    They continue to dance without speaking, knowing each other so well they didn't need the words, they both knew what they meant. Yes, they, especially Josh, got the dream job he’s been working toward his entire career. He was, as of noon that day, the Chief of Staff to the President of the United States. Donna had a job she could have never dreamed of when she hired herself as Josh Lyman’s assistant nine years earlier. But she knows it’s probably the pentacle: Chief of Staff to the First Lady of the United States and she planned on enjoying it. But neither of them meant they’d arrived in their careers. They are finally out in the open, together, able to show each other and the world how they feel about each other.

    They continue to dance, Donna see’s a flash which means their picture might be in the Post or on some website tomorrow, but for once, she doesn’t care. She is no longer worried about the optics of being in love with her boss, because she isn’t, she’s in love with the second most powerful man in the U.S., but he isn’t her boss. She’s shown her worth, she knows there are probably people who will accuse her of sleeping her way into the White House, but she finds she doesn’t care. Their friends know the truth, the President knows the truth, and most importantly she and Josh know the truth; that this is something that’s been growing for years, and they are finally free. Finally where they want to be.

    The song finishes but they don’t pull away from each other. Josh leans in to whisper in Donna’s ear, “You look beautiful.”

    “Thank you,” Donna replied. “Who tied your tie?”

    “I did!”

    Donna pulled back to look him in the eye. She didn’t say anything, just looked at him with skepticism clearly in her eyes.

    “Okay, fine. Margret did it.” Josh had been happy Leo’s assistant had agreed to stay on and help him. At this point, she knew more about the office of the Chief of Staff than anyone, and she would be a big asset. He also knew that she and Donna remained friends, which would certainly help him in some ways and get him in trouble in others.

    “We should probably do our jobs and schmooze,” Donna said starting to pull away.

    Josh pulled her closer to him and whispered again, “What do you say we get out of here?”

    “Get out of...? Josh! We can’t leave.”

    “Why not?”

    “First off, this is only the first ball. Don’t you think people would worry if the Chief of Staff disappeared this early? Second, I didn’t get this dressed up to only leave fifteen minutes after I got here!”

    “Can you blame me, you look beautiful. I want you all to myself.”

    “You can be so sweet sometimes, you know that?”

    “You’re not the first woman who’s told me that.”

    “And there it goes, back to the Josh I know and love.”

    “Love?”

    “It’s an expression.”

    “It was CJ that said it, not anyone… ya know…”

    She knew what he was trying to say, that it had been a friend who had told him he was sweet, not one of his exes. Donna couldn’t really see any of them saying he was sweet, but like she told Amy, you had to ‘get’ Josh. And she did, and that’s how she knew she could say it. “I do, love you, Joshua.”

    Josh couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face, “I love you too, Donnatella.”

    They continued to ignore whatever duty they might have to talk to donors and the movers and shakers of the party and danced with each other. At the end of a song and the start of one that was more uptempo Josh leaned in to whisper again. “Do you think we can go now? That dress makes me want to ignore my job and take you home.”

    “Josh!”

    Josh sighed, “Okay. Let’s go do a job. Then we can go home.”

    “Josh?” Donna said softly as he was starting to walk away.

    “Yeah?”

    “Work quickly. I want to go home too.”

    A smile lit up Josh's face, and he realized he had never been so happy in his life. He had the job he’d dreamed of since he was a boy, he worked for a President who was the real thing, and he was loved by Donnatella Moss. He still had a lot left to do, but he knew he had a lot, and he was happy.

    He didn’t have to look from afar any longer.



    If I said my heart was beating loud
    If we could escape the crowd somehow
    If I said I want your body now
    Would you hold it against me?
    'Cause, you feel like paradise
    And I need a vacation tonight
    So, if I said I want your body now
    Would you hold it against me?
     
    Findswoman and Ewok Poet like this.
  2. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    “Okay, fine. Margret did it.”

    I'm fairly certain the US would crumble without Margret, or atleast the Cheif of Staff's office.

    I'm so very happy I have finally got some good TWW fanfic (and yeah, I will egg you into writing more!). I love Josh/Donna and you write them so well in this setting. Great job with this challenge.
     
    mavjade and Ewok Poet like this.
  3. Mira_Jade

    Mira_Jade The (FavoriteTM) Fanfic Mod With the Cape star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2004
    “Thank you,” Donna replied. “Who tied your tie?”

    “I did!”

    “Okay, fine. Margret did it.”

    [face_laugh][face_love]

    Because that really was the best; all of their banter was so perfectly spot on here, and The West Wing. My heart gave the best nostalgic twinge when I saw this up, so if there is more in this fandom to come from your muse know that I'll be there in a second to read it. You really have these character voices down wonderfully. =D=
     
    Findswoman , mavjade and Ewok Poet like this.
  4. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    I guess I will be a bit less original than usual and start my comment by saying that I liked the tie moment, too? Margret, whoever she may be, could make an interesting character for a spin-off of this, even if it would end up being...errr...pretty mundane.

    The description of the show is fine and I would totally watch it. The premise is interesting, albeit tense and heartbreaking. From as much as you told us, I was more or less able to figure out what part was referencing the original plotline and what was your own addition.

    Josh and Donna's dynamic is well-written and complex, and there is this sense of overall regret that seems to be hanging in the air, but still does not steal the show. The part where the word "love" received a different definition was close to being heart-breaking. I could not tell if it was denial, messing with each other or, well, both.

    Thanks for taking part in the Chart Hits Challenge. :) You are welcome to take another number if you like.

    Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk
     
    Findswoman and mavjade like this.
  5. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    I think that's probably true! I imagine that Margret actually works for the CoS and she was just in the show to make it more realistic! :p

    Thank you! Yeah, Josh and Donna are the best. I'm glad they ended up with them getting together, it would have been awful to have 7 years of UST and not get a resolution!
    I think I plan on writing more TWW, my muse seems to be pulled that way right now.

    Thank you so much!
    I only recently watched TWW (and then basically got Bri to watch it by constantly talking about it), so it's so new to me, but I immediately fell in love with it! I think my muse really likes it right now, so there may be more! :)
    I always loved Donna doing Josh's tie, so I wanted to get it in there but I had already written them meeting at the Ball. So I thought, I know, Margret! Because Josh is hopeless, loveable but hopeless! :p

    Margret was a very minor character, she was the assistant to the Chief of Staff for the entire show. She was quite quirky, fun and very good at her job. Josh could never tie his bowties on the show, Donna always did it, so I thought it would be fun for Donna to ask about it. Yes, I do think Margret would make an interesting spin off of this... hmmm.... [face_thinking]

    My description was only based on Josh and Donna, there is a lot more to the show than I gave, but yes, it could be quite heart breaking at times. (Really so because on of the main actors died in the middle of a season.) I'm glad it helped! I know it can be hard to read a fic of something you don't really know.

    Thank you! I feel that their relationship was quite complex and yes, I'd say there would be some regret there. That they had known each other for so long, been in love for so long, but couldn't do anything about it because their jobs were more important at the time.
    As for the love part, it was both. :) They do mess with each other a lot and I wanted to show that, but also in the show we know that Josh is a little tentative when it comes to relationships and Donna would certainly know that.

    Thank you for hosting! I probably shouldn't, but I may get another number! :D
    Thanks for reading and commenting!
     
    Findswoman and Ewok Poet like this.
  6. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    I have to echo what the others said about that Margret moment—that was my favorite too, and one of those wonderful moments that says SOOO much about an offstage character even when said character is, well, offstage. What a serendipitous moment for these two, to both end up jobs that are not only their dream jobs but also jobs that will bring them closer together and allow their relationship to burgeon. There's a lot of tenderness there, and yet there are also moments where a few (very realistic) cracks in their romance start to show: the "love" exchange noted by Ewok Poet, but also the Margret bit was like that in its way, because it started with him fibbing to her—albeit it was a very light fib. Knowing about his PTSD adds a whole new dimension to those moments; in some way they can probably be traced back to that, and one gets the feeling here that that condition is still going to be casting its shadow over these two for a while. But it's clear that they'll work through it as best they can, and it's encouraging to know that there will be sweet moments too along the way!

    Thanks for sharing—and thanks too for providing the background on the character for those of us not familiar with him! :)
     
    mavjade and Ewok Poet like this.
  7. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    She's such a great character, I'm glad even though she's just mentioned that you get a good look at her and enjoy her!

    It really is serendipitous. If Donna hadn't been offered the CoS position for the first lady, Josh would have ended up her boss again which I feel would have ruined their relationship. But there certainly are cracks, they are both far from perfect people and their relationship (as friends and as boss and subordinate) hasn't been perfect and those things tend to seep into other areas of ones life.

    His PTSD certainly cast a shadow over Josh on the show (something I really liked that it didn't completely disappear after one episode) and I too think it would affect their relationship for awhile. But Donna was one of the people who helped him through the entire thing and I agree they'd work through it together!

    You're welcome, I wanted it to be accessible to anyone, I hope it helped!
    Thank you for reading and commenting, especially since you aren't familiar with the show!
     
    Findswoman likes this.