West Wing Fic: August Recess (1/?)
Title: August Recess
Genre: Post-admin, AU, romance
Rating: This chapter is PG. Others may be different.
Pairing: Josh/Donna, and a few other pairings that will be revealed as the story progresses.
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine.
Feedback: Yes, please!
Timeline: August of the first year of the Santos administration.
Note: This is AU in the following ways: Leo didn't die, so he is Vice President, and Donna is his Press Secretary. (She and Josh married quietly a little after Inauguration, and he is of course the President's Chief of Staff.) Mallory O'Brien never had the husband or child she had in later seasons of the show. Sam was elected to the Senate halfway through Bartlet's second term.
The phone rang, and Donna Moss mentally cursed the fact that she had left the portable handset on her nightstand the night before. Early morning phone calls were almost always for her husband, so she tried to make sure that the phone was on his side of the bed.
"H'lo?" she said sleepily as she grabbed it.
"Donna? It's Sam. I'm sorry, did I wake you? I figured you guys would be up by now." The voice on the other end of the line sounded slightly frantic.
"It's okay." Donna tried to clear her head. "It's just that the President and Vice-President are both away with friends so we figured we'd try to do something radical, like sleep until six."
"I'm sorry," Sam repeated. "But this is kind of important. Can I talk to Josh?"
"Yeah, here." Donna handed the phone to her husband, who had woken up while she was talking. "Sam," she whispered, and then curled up against his side. She had a feeling they weren't going to be getting back to sleep this morning.
"Sam? You're not the one who's usually waking me up at ungodly hours," Josh said into the phone.
"Well. I'm sorry to wake you, but I have something of a situation here, and I think I'm going to need your help."
"Do you need me personally or professionally?"
"Mostly personally, but probably both."
Josh sighed and tried to brace himself for whatever was coming. "Okay. Where is 'here'?"
"What?"
"You said 'I have a situation here.' Where is 'here'?" Josh repeated.
There was a pause. "Vegas."
"Oh, dear Lord. Samuel Norman Seaborn, what did you DO? And isn't it the middle of the night there?"
"Yeah. I wanted to try to talk to you before it hit the gossip sites."
"Sam . . ."
"I got married, Josh," Sam blurted out.
"You - WHAT? And no one noticed? You're a senator!"
"Now, believe it or not, a senator getting married with no one noticing is not actually the part of the story that's going to seem logistically difficult."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Don't you want to know who I married? Oh, and don't let Donna go back to sleep. She's going to want to get in on this conversation soon." Sam sounded slightly smug.
"Yes, of course I want to know . . . wait, logistically difficult? And Donna's going to need to get involved? SAM! Seriously?"
"Seriously." Josh could tell from his voice that Sam was grinning.
"Wait, and this is a good thing, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"We're spinning an unannounced wedding, right? Not a drunken mistake and quick annulment?" Josh asked. At the words "unannounced wedding," Donna sat straight up and began practically bouncing on the bed, desperate for details.
"Right. We didn't start drinking until after the ceremony. I asked one of her agents to make note of this, in case my best friend interrogated me later."
"Sam, it's my job. You know that."
"Isn't it more of Donna's job at the moment?"
"Well. Yes." Josh thought for a minute. "Are you SURE no one recognized either of you?"
"Well, I'm not seeing anything online," Sam said. "And don't you think someone would have called you or Donna if the news was out there?"
"Good point. That's amazing," Josh marveled. "I can't believe that the junior senator from California could run off to Vegas with the Vice President's daughter and go completely undetected."
"He did WHAT with the Vice President's daughter?" Donna shrieked. "Okay, give me the phone. This has officially become my problem."
Josh surrendered the phone without an argument.
"Sam?"
"Hi, Donna."
"I was supposed to have the day off, Sam."
"Sorry."
"So - why?"
"What?"
"Why? I mean, not why did you marry her, but - why now? Why like this?"
"Well, we'd been talking about it for a while, but she was worried about the press and political ramifications and everything."
"The press issue I get, but what political ramifications?"
"Well. Why would a senator want to marry a vice president's daughter?"
"Oh."
"Yeah. So . . . I don't know. It's August recess so I was home, and we were talking about it yet again, and she finally said yes."
"And you thought she'd change her mind if you didn't make it official immediately?" Donna teased.
"Something like that."
"Well, congratulations." Donna's voice softened. "This is going to make my life hell for a while, but I really am happy for you, Sam."
"Thanks," he said. "So I was wondering . . ."
"No," Donna said firmly.
"Donna! You don't even know what I was going to say."
"You were about to ask me to tell the Vice President."
"Okay, maybe you do know what I was going to say. Please?"
"NO," Donna repeated. She thought for a moment. "I will try to soften him up a little. You know, tell him that Mallory has some big news and I think it's great, but she's nervous about telling him. But I need to talk to her first."
"She's sleeping."
"Well, I'm not going to wake the Vice President up with this, because that certainly wouldn't help his mood. So let your wife sleep for an hour or two, but then I'm calling back. Make sure she's ready to talk to me."
"Okay," Sam agreed. "Thanks, Donna."
"Do you need to talk to Josh again?"
"Not at the moment. I'm sure we'll be talking plenty."
"I'm sure." Donna chuckled and hung up the phone.
"Crazy kids," she murmured to Josh as she snuggled up against his chest.
"Yeah, well." He absentmindedly started stroking her arm. "You're going to wait a few hours to call Leo?"
"I can't think this will go better if I wake him at six while he's on vacation," Donna pointed out.
Josh shifted slightly so he could look at her. "So what's the plan, Ms. Press Secretary?"
"Well, I'm happy I'm not working for Sam right now, I can say that much," Donna mused. "His people will have a harder time. I can claim the moral high ground - Mallory's a private citizen and she didn't do anything illegal, so there's really no story."
"Of course there's a story, but I get your point," Josh agreed. "It sounded like Sam was saying something about political ramifications?"
"Yeah. He's concerned that people will think that a senator's reasons for marrying the Vice President's daughter would be . . . less than entirely romantic."
"Ah."
"And if it were anyone else, maybe, but in this case, I'm really not worried," Donna continued.
"Why not?" Josh looked confused.
"Josh, seriously. Who do you think would have an easier time getting access to the President, the Chief of Staff's best friend or the Vice President's daughter's husband?"
"Oh!" Josh said. "You're brilliant, you know. That's why I married you."
Donna pouted. "I thought you married me because I'm witty and beautiful."
"Well, that too," Josh agreed as he snaked a hand up her side. "I can think of several reasons . . ."
"Oh?" Donna prompted.
"We have a few hours before we can really get to work. How about a . . . demonstration?" Josh suggested in a low voice.
Suddenly Donna sat up.
"Hold that thought." She ran into the bathroom and threw up.
Genre: Post-admin, AU, romance
Rating: This chapter is PG. Others may be different.
Pairing: Josh/Donna, and a few other pairings that will be revealed as the story progresses.
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine.
Feedback: Yes, please!
Timeline: August of the first year of the Santos administration.
Note: This is AU in the following ways: Leo didn't die, so he is Vice President, and Donna is his Press Secretary. (She and Josh married quietly a little after Inauguration, and he is of course the President's Chief of Staff.) Mallory O'Brien never had the husband or child she had in later seasons of the show. Sam was elected to the Senate halfway through Bartlet's second term.
The phone rang, and Donna Moss mentally cursed the fact that she had left the portable handset on her nightstand the night before. Early morning phone calls were almost always for her husband, so she tried to make sure that the phone was on his side of the bed.
"H'lo?" she said sleepily as she grabbed it.
"Donna? It's Sam. I'm sorry, did I wake you? I figured you guys would be up by now." The voice on the other end of the line sounded slightly frantic.
"It's okay." Donna tried to clear her head. "It's just that the President and Vice-President are both away with friends so we figured we'd try to do something radical, like sleep until six."
"I'm sorry," Sam repeated. "But this is kind of important. Can I talk to Josh?"
"Yeah, here." Donna handed the phone to her husband, who had woken up while she was talking. "Sam," she whispered, and then curled up against his side. She had a feeling they weren't going to be getting back to sleep this morning.
"Sam? You're not the one who's usually waking me up at ungodly hours," Josh said into the phone.
"Well. I'm sorry to wake you, but I have something of a situation here, and I think I'm going to need your help."
"Do you need me personally or professionally?"
"Mostly personally, but probably both."
Josh sighed and tried to brace himself for whatever was coming. "Okay. Where is 'here'?"
"What?"
"You said 'I have a situation here.' Where is 'here'?" Josh repeated.
There was a pause. "Vegas."
"Oh, dear Lord. Samuel Norman Seaborn, what did you DO? And isn't it the middle of the night there?"
"Yeah. I wanted to try to talk to you before it hit the gossip sites."
"Sam . . ."
"I got married, Josh," Sam blurted out.
"You - WHAT? And no one noticed? You're a senator!"
"Now, believe it or not, a senator getting married with no one noticing is not actually the part of the story that's going to seem logistically difficult."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Don't you want to know who I married? Oh, and don't let Donna go back to sleep. She's going to want to get in on this conversation soon." Sam sounded slightly smug.
"Yes, of course I want to know . . . wait, logistically difficult? And Donna's going to need to get involved? SAM! Seriously?"
"Seriously." Josh could tell from his voice that Sam was grinning.
"Wait, and this is a good thing, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"We're spinning an unannounced wedding, right? Not a drunken mistake and quick annulment?" Josh asked. At the words "unannounced wedding," Donna sat straight up and began practically bouncing on the bed, desperate for details.
"Right. We didn't start drinking until after the ceremony. I asked one of her agents to make note of this, in case my best friend interrogated me later."
"Sam, it's my job. You know that."
"Isn't it more of Donna's job at the moment?"
"Well. Yes." Josh thought for a minute. "Are you SURE no one recognized either of you?"
"Well, I'm not seeing anything online," Sam said. "And don't you think someone would have called you or Donna if the news was out there?"
"Good point. That's amazing," Josh marveled. "I can't believe that the junior senator from California could run off to Vegas with the Vice President's daughter and go completely undetected."
"He did WHAT with the Vice President's daughter?" Donna shrieked. "Okay, give me the phone. This has officially become my problem."
Josh surrendered the phone without an argument.
"Sam?"
"Hi, Donna."
"I was supposed to have the day off, Sam."
"Sorry."
"So - why?"
"What?"
"Why? I mean, not why did you marry her, but - why now? Why like this?"
"Well, we'd been talking about it for a while, but she was worried about the press and political ramifications and everything."
"The press issue I get, but what political ramifications?"
"Well. Why would a senator want to marry a vice president's daughter?"
"Oh."
"Yeah. So . . . I don't know. It's August recess so I was home, and we were talking about it yet again, and she finally said yes."
"And you thought she'd change her mind if you didn't make it official immediately?" Donna teased.
"Something like that."
"Well, congratulations." Donna's voice softened. "This is going to make my life hell for a while, but I really am happy for you, Sam."
"Thanks," he said. "So I was wondering . . ."
"No," Donna said firmly.
"Donna! You don't even know what I was going to say."
"You were about to ask me to tell the Vice President."
"Okay, maybe you do know what I was going to say. Please?"
"NO," Donna repeated. She thought for a moment. "I will try to soften him up a little. You know, tell him that Mallory has some big news and I think it's great, but she's nervous about telling him. But I need to talk to her first."
"She's sleeping."
"Well, I'm not going to wake the Vice President up with this, because that certainly wouldn't help his mood. So let your wife sleep for an hour or two, but then I'm calling back. Make sure she's ready to talk to me."
"Okay," Sam agreed. "Thanks, Donna."
"Do you need to talk to Josh again?"
"Not at the moment. I'm sure we'll be talking plenty."
"I'm sure." Donna chuckled and hung up the phone.
"Crazy kids," she murmured to Josh as she snuggled up against his chest.
"Yeah, well." He absentmindedly started stroking her arm. "You're going to wait a few hours to call Leo?"
"I can't think this will go better if I wake him at six while he's on vacation," Donna pointed out.
Josh shifted slightly so he could look at her. "So what's the plan, Ms. Press Secretary?"
"Well, I'm happy I'm not working for Sam right now, I can say that much," Donna mused. "His people will have a harder time. I can claim the moral high ground - Mallory's a private citizen and she didn't do anything illegal, so there's really no story."
"Of course there's a story, but I get your point," Josh agreed. "It sounded like Sam was saying something about political ramifications?"
"Yeah. He's concerned that people will think that a senator's reasons for marrying the Vice President's daughter would be . . . less than entirely romantic."
"Ah."
"And if it were anyone else, maybe, but in this case, I'm really not worried," Donna continued.
"Why not?" Josh looked confused.
"Josh, seriously. Who do you think would have an easier time getting access to the President, the Chief of Staff's best friend or the Vice President's daughter's husband?"
"Oh!" Josh said. "You're brilliant, you know. That's why I married you."
Donna pouted. "I thought you married me because I'm witty and beautiful."
"Well, that too," Josh agreed as he snaked a hand up her side. "I can think of several reasons . . ."
"Oh?" Donna prompted.
"We have a few hours before we can really get to work. How about a . . . demonstration?" Josh suggested in a low voice.
Suddenly Donna sat up.
"Hold that thought." She ran into the bathroom and threw up.