An Excellent Rookie Season

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#003399" TEXT="#080000" background="03fc8c00erkjxk.jpg"> <div> <B>Spoilers: Anything up to Shutdown</B></div> <div> <B>Summary: A post-ep for Shutdown</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Disclaimers: Not mine. Never will be. That's probably for the best. I </B></div> <div> <B>just take them out to play when I'm locked in my office pretending to </B></div> <div> <B>work.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Thanks to Mary for taking me up on my challenge to write post eps. </B></div> <div> <B>Let's all encourage Mary to get back to writing more, more, more!!!!</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Thanks to Amy for assuring me I was on the right track. To Evelyn for </B></div> <div> <B>her usual stellar beta work. And to Annie for being the undisputed </B></div> <div> <B>research goddess. You guys rock. Everything good about this story is </B></div> <div> <B>because of them, the mistakes are all mine.</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#0066CC" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#99CCFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Smiles, Tears, & Happy Endings</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFF99" FACE="Arial" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#CC0000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT>  |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Smiles, Tears, Happy Endings"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Shelleys Stories"><U>Shelley's Stories</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Boomerang"><U>Boomerang</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="238 Days"><U>238 Days</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Proposal in Paradise"><U>A Proposal in Paradise</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Blood Ties"><U>Blood Ties</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Party Tricks"><U>Party Tricks</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Does Anyone Really Miss Her?"><U>Does Anyone Really Miss Her?</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id44.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="No Time To Be Shocked"><U>No Time To Be Shocked</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id45.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Love Always"><U>Love Always</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Desperate Times"><U>Desperate Times</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id106.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Finding Our Way Back"><U>Finding Our Way Back</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id107.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Roadblock"><U>Roadblock</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id108.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Finding The Treasure"><U>Finding The Treasure</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id110.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hey Baby, Lets Go To Vegas"><U>Hey Baby, Let's Go To Vegas</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id186.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Matter Of Trust"><U>A Matter Of Trust</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id209.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Pleasure Sure"><U>A Pleasure Sure</U></A>   |   <B>An Excellent Rookie Season</B>   |   <A HREF="id227.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Even Steel Magnolias Cry"><U>Even Steel Magnolias Cry</U></A></div> <div> An Excellent Rookie Season</div> <div> by Shelley</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Josh walked down the deserted hallway towards his office, fighting </div> <div> the urge to actually whistle. He was back in the game. And better </div> <div> yet, so was the President. No more second-guessing. No more </div> <div> compromises born out of a position of weakness. The bad times of the </div> <div> last few months were finally behind them. </div> <bR> <div> Sure, there were issues that still needed to be worked out. Josh was </div> <div> painfully aware that it hadn't been Leo's idea to bring him back in, </div> <div> and that if it had been left to his mentor, Josh would still be on </div> <div> the sidelines. He also knew that, someday soon, he and Leo would have </div> <div> to talk about what happened in the War Room--when Leo made it clear </div> <div> he expected Josh to back him up, and Josh didn't.</div> <bR> <div> He didn't because he knew the Chief of Staff was wrong about how to </div> <div> handle the budget crisis. Giving in on a 3% CR would have been like </div> <div> giving up. Admitting they weren't the ones running the country </div> <div> anymore. Playing to not lose instead of playing to win. Josh wasn't </div> <div> willing to spend the final three years of the administration like </div> <div> that.</div> <bR> <div> And it was nice to know Jed Bartlet wasn't either.</div> <bR> <div> Josh understood that he would have to hash things out with Leo. He </div> <div> wasn't sure if Angela was sticking around, if he was getting his </div> <div> entire portfolio back, if Toby understood why he had done what he </div> <div> had; but right now none of that mattered. All he wanted to do was </div> <div> savor the moment.</div> <bR> <div> The only drag on his mood was the fact that Donna hadn't hung around </div> <div> to share in the victory. He had headed for the War Room as soon as he </div> <div> left the Oval, but she was gone.</div> <bR> <div> He hoped she hadn't really thought anyone was going to call the Feds </div> <div> because she was in the building. He knew how much she had wanted to </div> <div> be there for the last four days. About as much as he had wanted her </div> <div> there. Which was a lot. Enough to face the odd looks Joe Quincy gave </div> <div> him when he made a special trip down to the counsel's office to see </div> <div> if there was any way Donna could come in and volunteer.</div> <bR> <div> *****</div> <div> "No," Joe answered with a bemused look, "It would be considered </div> <div> coercion."</div> <bR> <div> "I'm not coercing her, she wants to come in and work," Josh defended.</div> <bR> <div> "Knowing Donna, I'm sure she does," Joe answered </div> <div> patiently. "Unfortunately the law doesn't make a distinction between </div> <div> people who really want to come in and those who might feel pressured </div> <div> or forced."</div> <bR> <div> Josh cocked an eyebrow. "Have you ever known me to be able to force </div> <div> Donna to do anything?"</div> <bR> <div> Joe chuckled. "Good point. But the answer is still no."</div> <bR> <div> ********</div> <bR> <div> Just as he reached for his cell phone to call and tell her the good </div> <div> news, he heard her voice wafting out of his office.</div> <bR> <div> "I'm afraid breakfast is impossible. I can get you 15 minutes Monday </div> <div> at two, Senator. It's the best I can do. Excellent. I'll pencil you </div> <div> in."</div> <bR> <div> Josh smiled as he watched Donna disconnect one call and go </div> <div> immediately to another she had holding. </div> <bR> <div> "Sorry to keep you waiting, Congressman. I'm afraid tomorrow is out </div> <div> of the question. Tuesday is the earliest I can possibly get you a </div> <div> lunch appointment. That'll be fine. I'll take care of the </div> <div> reservations and get back to you with the details. Goodnight, </div> <div> Congressman."</div> <bR> <div> "What exactly are you doing?" Josh asked with barely concealed </div> <div> amusement as Donna penciled in appointments on his calendar.</div> <bR> <div> "I'm working on your schedule," Donna said in her 'stating the </div> <div> obvious' voice. "It seems suddenly everyone in town wants to meet </div> <div> with you right away."</div> <bR> <div> "What a difference a day makes."</div> <bR> <div> "Don't worry. I'm not making it easy on any of them," Donna smirked.</div> <bR> <div> "Good girl. I knew I could count on you."</div> <bR> <div> "That's something you never have to doubt, Josh. You'll always be </div> <div> able to count on me."</div> <bR> <div> "I'm not sure what I ever did to deserve that, but trust me when I </div> <div> tell you I'm thankful for it every single day. A lot of people who I </div> <div> thought were rock-solid in their support have proven to be anything </div> <div> but."</div> <bR> <div> "They'll come around."</div> <bR> <div> "I'm sure they will. That's not really the point. It's nice to know </div> <div> that there's someone who never needs to 'come around' because she </div> <div> never leaves in the first place."</div> <bR> <div> Donna blushed.</div> <bR> <div> "You know that goes both ways, right?" he asked quietly.</div> <bR> <div> "Yes," Donna said, blinking back tears.</div> <bR> <div> Josh felt a suspicious lump forming in his throat. He wasn't sure he </div> <div> was ready for an emotional moment. He cleared his throat.</div> <bR> <div> "So who told you that it was okay for you to come back to work?"</div> <bR> <div> "I had faith," Donna smiled. "Besides, I was getting tired of </div> <div> answering all of your business calls on my cell. I couldn't wait to </div> <div> get them rerouted back here. There are 18 voicemail messages that </div> <div> need to be returned and the phone still hasn't stopped ringing."</div> <bR> <div> As if on cue, the phone on Josh's desk rang.</div> <bR> <div> "Josh Lyman's office." Donna's eyes narrowed. "Senator Carrick. How </div> <div> nice to hear from you, Sir."</div> <bR> <div> Josh started to wave her off, but then realized Donna didn't need any </div> <div> help. She could handle things just fine all on her own.</div> <bR> <div> "I'm sorry, Senator. I can't possibly get you in before late next </div> <div> week. Yes, I'll tell him. Yes, I'm sure he knows, but his schedule is </div> <div> full. Okay. I'll pencil you in for next Friday. I'll let you know if </div> <div> something opens up sooner. Goodbye, Senator."</div> <bR> <div> Josh laughed. His first genuine laugh in weeks. "That'll show him."</div> <bR> <div> "Well that won't," Donna smiled slyly, "but when I call him next </div> <div> Wednesday and push him back another full week, that will."</div> <bR> <div> "I like your style," Josh beamed.</div> <bR> <div> "Not bad for a rookie," Donna teased. "Even if I am destined to toil </div> <div> in obscurity and forever be the unnamed footnote to Wilt </div> <div> Chamberlain's big night."</div> <bR> <div> "Everyone here has had a pretty firm handle on how valuable you are </div> <div> for a long time," Josh assured her. "We've just been bad about making </div> <div> sure you knew it. That's starting to change though. Everyone was </div> <div> impressed with your catch on the Social Security thing."</div> <bR> <div> "I was kind of surprised when both Angela and Will commented on it," </div> <div> Donna blushed. "How did they all hear about it in the first place?"</div> <bR> <div> "I told them. It was a nice save and I wanted to make sure everyone </div> <div> knew exactly who made it. And Toby may not have said anything out </div> <div> loud, but he was impressed too. I could tell when I was filling him </div> <div> on the details of your solution."</div> <bR> <div> "Thanks, Josh. But you didn't have to do that."</div> <bR> <div> "Yes, I did. You've been making a lot of good saves lately and it's </div> <div> time you started getting the recognition you deserve."</div> <bR> <div> "And I thought anonymity was just the fate of us unsung rookies," </div> <div> Donna sighed.</div> <bR> <div> "Let's get out of here," Josh said. "The President and Mrs. Bartlet </div> <div> are having dinner in the Residence. He told us all to get a good </div> <div> night's sleep and start fresh in the morning. Let's let the voicemail </div> <div> answer the phone and we'll go get something to eat."</div> <bR> <div> "Sounds good," Donna said, closing his schedule. "I'm starved. Are </div> <div> you in the mood for anything in particular?"</div> <bR> <div> "Anything but fast food. That's all I've eaten for the last four </div> <div> days."</div> <bR> <div> "Same here. If I see one more piece of pizza this week I'll scream."</div> <bR> <div> "At least you got pizza. I was eating McDonald's."</div> <bR> <div> "Yuck. And drinking Nyquil out of the bottle, I see," Donna said, </div> <div> indicating the open container of thick green liquid on his desk.</div> <bR> <div> "I didn't feel safe taking the heavy-duty stuff without you here to </div> <div> keep an eye on me," Josh smirked.</div> <bR> <div> "Lets go, Nyquil boy," Donna said as she gathered up her things and </div> <div> headed towards the door. Josh grabbed his messenger bag and fell into </div> <div> step right beside her. "I did manage to get some grocery shopping </div> <div> done while I was on my forced 'vacation'. I could probably throw </div> <div> together a home cooked meal."</div> <bR> <div> "OUTstanding," Josh said enthusiastically. </div> <bR> <div> "What was that?"</div> <bR> <div> "What?"</div> <bR> <div> "That voice thing you did."</div> <bR> <div> "It's my new positive attitude voice."</div> <bR> <div> "Don't use it anymore."</div> <bR> <div> "You don't like it?"</div> <bR> <div> "It freaks me out."</div> <bR> <div> "Margaret didn't like it either."</div> <bR> <div> "I can imagine."</div> <bR> <div> As he walked the halls of the West Wing, bantering with Donna, Josh </div> <div> smiled to himself. It felt good to finally be getting back to normal.</div> <div> ************</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Within an hour, Donna had managed to throw together a delicious </div> <div> grilled chicken meal and she and Josh sat comfortably on the couch in </div> <div> her living room enjoying the food and sharing a bottle of wine. </div> <bR> <div> They had been talking almost non-stop since they'd left the White </div> <div> House. Josh was eager to hear every detail of what Donna had done in </div> <div> the four days they'd been apart. They had talked on the phone </div> <div> frequently, but those had been mostly business conversations. He knew </div> <div> Donna had been focused on getting him back into the game and as such, </div> <div> had avoided relaying any of the more gossip-y tidbits. He often </div> <div> teased her for expounding on every little detail of her life, but as </div> <div> he listened to her describe the atmosphere of the shutdown party, all </div> <div> of the people that were there, what they were wearing and who they </div> <div> were talking to, he realized that he simply loved to hear her talk. </div> <div> Loved that she wanted to share everything about her life with him. </div> <div> And was completely delighted to realize he wanted to hear every </div> <div> detail. He also realized that things he had considered idle gossip </div> <div> were so much more than that. Donna simply noticed more about people </div> <div> than he did. She got more involved in their lives, and the little </div> <div> details were just part of that involvement.</div> <bR> <div> "So did anyone hit on you?" he teased.</div> <bR> <div> "No one had a chance," Donna pouted, "My cell phone rang every five </div> <div> minutes."</div> <bR> <div> "Gee," Josh smirked, "That's too bad."</div> <bR> <div> Donna swatted playfully at his arm. "So tell me all about how you </div> <div> beat Haffley and his crafty minions at their own game."</div> <bR> <div> Josh could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't teasing him; </div> <div> she really did want to hear. He wondered if she loved hearing him </div> <div> talk as much as he loved hearing her. He really hoped she did. He </div> <div> told her the whole story, from the minute Leo came to his office to </div> <div> tell him the President wanted him back in the War Room till the </div> <div> minute they walked out of the Capital Building after Haffley kept </div> <div> them waiting. He didn't leave out a single detail.</div> <bR> <div> Donna's attention never wavered and her eyes were filled with equal </div> <div> parts joy and pride.</div> <bR> <div> "What?" Josh asked as she stared at him, smiling.</div> <bR> <div> "I knew I'd be back at work within a day as soon as I saw you on </div> <div> television."</div> <bR> <div> "What do you mean?"</div> <bR> <div> "As soon as I saw you walking to Haffley's office with Angela and the </div> <div> President, I knew. I could see it in your eyes. I knew Haffley didn't </div> <div> stand a chance. I don't care how good a poker player he is, he's no </div> <div> match for you."</div> <bR> <div> "I wish everyone had as much faith in me as you do."</div> <bR> <div> "The President does," Donna pointed out. "And now that the budget is </div> <div> out of the way, everyone else will come around."</div> <bR> <div> "I hope you're right."</div> <bR> <div> "Aren't I always?"</div> <bR> <div> Donna knew there was still a long way to go to heal the relationship </div> <div> between Josh and Leo. But she didn't want to think about that </div> <div> tonight. Josh had had a rough few weeks and he deserved a night of </div> <div> celebration.</div> <bR> <div> "The women at the shutdown party couldn't take their eyes off you," </div> <div> Donna teased. "They were all talking about your sexy swagger and your </div> <div> cute dimples. They kept yelling at the TV screen telling the </div> <div> cameraman to pan away from the President and focus on you."</div> <bR> <div> "Really?"</div> <bR> <div> "Absolutely. They were all going on about your curls. And your hot </div> <div> sunglasses. They really liked your hot sunglasses."</div> <bR> <div> "Well, they clearly have good taste."</div> <bR> <div> "I was considering getting their names and phone numbers to give you </div> <div> so that you could put them in your 'Private' file."</div> <bR> <div> Josh smiled. "That's not the kind of thing I keep in that file," he </div> <div> said quietly.</div> <bR> <div> "I know," Donna assured him, taking his hand in hers.</div> <bR> <div> "Seriously, I'm not trying to keep secrets. I'm just not quite ready </div> <div> to talk about it yet. But soon."</div> <bR> <div> Josh didn't like to think of himself as the kind of man to keep a </div> <div> diary. When he had first come to the White House, he had begun making </div> <div> notes, believing full well he would someday write his political </div> <div> memoirs. He wanted to have all of the information at his fingertips </div> <div> to help refresh his memory and insure accuracy. As the years went by, </div> <div> he had noticed his daily entries taking on a more personal tone. All </div> <div> of the pertinent political information was still there, but there </div> <div> were frequent mentions of his personal life and feelings too.</div> <bR> <div> During his time on the bench, he had read back over the last few </div> <div> months' entries, trying to find out where it had all gone wrong. In </div> <div> doing so, he realized how much his writings had changed over the </div> <div> years. How he had gone from mentioning Donna only in her role as his </div> <div> assistant to talking much more about what she said, what she thought, </div> <div> and how she influenced him.</div> <bR> <div> He squeezed Donna's hand, then let go. "Dinner was great. Thanks. But </div> <div> I really should get going. We both need to get some sleep. Tomorrow's </div> <div> gonna be a long day."</div> <bR> <div> He stood up and headed to the kitchen with his plate. Donna followed </div> <div> him.</div> <bR> <div> "It'll be good to get back," she said, sensing Josh wanted to change </div> <div> the subject. "It'll be nice not to have to spend my day running back </div> <div> and forth to Kinko's and keeping a cell phone plastered to my ear."</div> <bR> <div> Josh turned to her, suddenly serious. "I really appreciate all your </div> <div> help, Donna. I might have survived without you for those four days, </div> <div> but it would have been a lot harder and a lot uglier than it was. Not </div> <div> to mention the fact that we'd be spending the next few weeks dealing </div> <div> with 11 million very angry Social Security recipients."</div> <bR> <div> "It was my pleasure. Even though I couldn't be there to help with the </div> <div> budget mess, I like to think I contributed in some small way to the </div> <div> victory. I guess that's what it means to be the rookie."</div> <bR> <div> "Don't minimize what you did, Donna. You made a substantial </div> <div> contribution. I'm proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself. </div> <div> And personally, there's no rookie I'd rather have backing me up than </div> <div> you. "</div> <bR> <div> "Thanks. That means a lot coming from Wilt Chamberlain."</div> <bR> <div> Josh grinned.</div> <bR> <div> "Well, I do have a certainly star quality," he boasted teasingly.</div> <bR> <div> Donna rolled her eyes. "Be careful getting home Mr. Star-quality. The </div> <div> nameless rookie will call you in the morning."</div> <bR> <div> Josh gathered his coat and backpack and headed for the door. He and </div> <div> Donna said their goodbyes and Donna watched as he made his way down </div> <div> the hall. Suddenly he stopped and turned back.</div> <bR> <div> "William Kennedy."</div> <bR> <div> "What?" Donna asked, puzzled.</div> <bR> <div> "William Kennedy. That's the name of the rookie. I've never forgotten </div> <div> it."</div> <bR> <div> Donna smiled as Josh waved one last time before heading down the </div> <div> stairs. All things considered, she was having a pretty good rookie </div> <div> season.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> The End </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>