Ainsley had been out in the ungodly heat -- really, whoever thought this was a good climate to live in, much less enjoy? -- when she found Donna Moss on the path and all she could do was blink once, then twice, then wonder if she were hallucinating herself.
She didn't know the woman very well. Mostly that she was Josh's assistant. But still, if it was her, Ainsley would very much like to think that people from back home would start flooding the place. Even if that meant Sam. "Donna?" Ainsley asked hopefully.
Donna turned her head to the side, squinting into the darkness, her brain scrambling for some logical explanation why she was in a jungle alone with the Associate White House Counsel. "Ainsley," she said, moving toward the other woman. "What's going on?" The last she'd known, she was on a bridge and there weren't any jungles in Washington.
"Well, I could go into a lengthy explanation as to the why's and the wherefore's, but then you'd probably look at me with that 'she's being a crazy Republican' look in your eye," Ainsley babbled anxiously, being that she'd never had to do this, really, before. At least, not with someone who she was aware of. "But the gist of the situation mostly is that you're here. And I'm here. And we're in a crazy jungle on an Island and there is absolutely no explanation for how you got here.
"And also, the government is run partially by aliens," she added as an afterthought.
For several long moments, Donna simply stood there, staring at Ainsley, her expression worn and mildly despairing. "Ainsley... is it possible that you might be drunk?" she asked. It was a distinct possibility. "I know Josh is a little weird, but I don't remember any aliens in the White House." The rest of it, about a jungle on an island with no explanations or whatever was a little too much to process, and Donna let it slide over her for the moment, responding to the little she could understand while she waited to figure out the rest.
"I can easily swear that I have not got one single drop of alcohol in my system," Ainsley swore, hand over her heart. She didn't color at the very mention of Josh and to Ainsley, that said a lot about her. Really, though, it just made her wonder why Josh wasn't here taking care of the explanation. "The other part of that whole thing about me-looking-crazy is the part where the White House is really far away. Really. Like, you're-never-getting-back-there far."
"Now you're just freaking me out," Donna said. It was almost a protest. She'd just wanted a hot bath. There was going to be a few hours in the office and then she'd be home, probably running the risk of falling asleep in the bathtub. Republicans were crazy, sure, but they were usually a different kind of crazy that didn't involve mass hallucinations. "What do you mean, never getting back? I was just - I could see it! I could see the White House, it was right across the bridge."
"Well, you might get back," Ainsley amended, seeing as..."See, CJ and Sam were both here," she provided, with that forced smile on her face that often came from talking about Sam and the way he just...vanished. "But they both left and one can only assume they went right back to the White House, but for the most part, we're stuck. I mean, I, personally, have been here for nearly two whole years now and I can only imagine how out of date I am with current laws, politics, and all the other variety of things that would keep me working."
"No," Donna said, shaking her head. "No, you're not making any sense. You can't have been here two years. You're in the Counsel's office." Nothing about that seemed reasonable. Ainsley was a little odd, but she wasn't stupid and she wasn't crazy and she wasn't, in the end, all that much stranger than anyone else -- just in different ways. This had to be some kind of bizarre dream, some exhaustion-induced fantasy.
"I am, really?" Ainsley asked brightly, her eyes actually lighting up with the sight of laws and rights (or at least, that's how she envisioned it looked right about then). "That is really odd. I mean, it's really good news," she assured Donna, hand to her chest. "But really...really odd."
Donna just stared at Ainsley, shocked, then shook her head suddenly, blinking quickly as if waking from a daydream. "How did we get here?" she asked. "Where is here?" She was just shy of stamping her foot. The lack of answers was really freaking her out.
"Well, I personally walked out of my office in the Steampipe Trunk Distribution Venue and found my way into a hallway in a place called a Compound," Ainsley explained, sounding rational and reasonable. "But really, there's no dancing around the fact that we're on a tropical, magical Island. Which makes me sound drunk," she realized as she said it.
"It does, a little bit," Donna agreed, nodding. "I just... I was right there, and Toby was next to me and Josh was there, and I could - I could see the White House, and I don't understand how I was there and now I'm in the middle of a jungle." As she spoke, she pointed, clearly trying to work out where the hell she'd misstepped to put herself in the Twilight Zone.
"Logic doesn't exactly apply here," Ainsley offered weakly, seeing as she entirely knew how it sounded. "When I first got here, I thought I'd gone and had myself an aneurysm after my first day or something."
"Your first day?" Donna asked, shaking her head. This made less and less sense with everything Ainsley said. "I really... Ainsley, I really don't understand. Why can't we get back?" There was supposed to be a bath and sleep in her future, not this.
"I wish I knew how to explain," Ainsley admitted, sounding more than a little lost. "But the truth is, I really don't. I mean, for all I know, this is wacky green-party shenanigans, but really? Really, I don't know what the truth of it is. I'm so sorry, so absolutely sorry, that you're here and I only hope I can somehow make it better."
"This can't be happening," Donna said, shaking her head. She pressed a hand to her temple briefly, fingers squeezing lightly, then she brushed her bangs back behind her ear, hand dropping. "This can't be we're in the middle of an election, Ainsley. I can't be stuck in a jungle in the middle of nowhere. Josh is gonna kill me."
She didn't know the woman very well. Mostly that she was Josh's assistant. But still, if it was her, Ainsley would very much like to think that people from back home would start flooding the place. Even if that meant Sam. "Donna?" Ainsley asked hopefully.
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"And also, the government is run partially by aliens," she added as an afterthought.
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