Josh had been having a shitty dream, full of faces from home and anxiety that he couldn't shut up. He'd gone to the rec room to sit up and read a bit, but the second he'd sunk into the couch, the jukebox had kicked in with that song again, from all those weeks ago.
Two hearts fading, like a flower And all this waiting for the power For some answer to this fire Sinking slowly, waters higher Mmm-- desire, desire
He'd gotten out of there pretty quickly, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans and going for a walk. He shuffled down the familiar paths, the moonlight clear and bright on his face. He turned a corner and stopped dead. Her hair shone, her face turned up, eyes closed against the bright light of the moon. His breath caught in his throat, and he swallowed hard, staring. God, it had gotten so bad he was hallucinating.
Then, she started talking.
His eyes fluttered, and he hitched in a breath. "Josh, Toby..." No. No way. She was looking around her, looking exhausted and unamused, and, of all things, beautiful. He let
( ... )
Donna turned toward the sound of his voice. Head tipping back, she exhaled heavily. She was relieved enough and it was dark enough that, if anything was different about him, she didn't yet see it. She wanted to be home, not lost in some jungle. Even the office was preferable.
"There you are," she said, walking over, her shoulders slumping briefly before she pulled them back, posture erect again. Giving him a little shove, she looked at him with lips slightly pursed, brow furrowed, as thankful as she was still concerned. "God, Josh, you scared me for a moment. Where'd Toby go? Where are we?"
He stared at her blankly, watching her roll her shoulders, her blonde hair falling past her shoulders as she heaved a sigh. She walked toward him and he just stared. She pushed his shoulder and his torso swayed back, his eyes glued to her face.
"Jesus, Donna, how--" He reached out slowly, his hand lightly going to her bicep, to just see if she was real. "Are you--" His eyes scanned her face, and his other hand went to her other hand, his fingers seeking her wrist, her skin, a pulse. "I'm not dreaming, am I?" If he woke up from this, he was finding that damn moonshine and getting wasted, even if it was seven in the fucking morning.
Donna stared back at him, bewildered. He was acting so strangely, looking at her like he was seeing some kind of a ghost, like she wasn't supposed to be real. She tensed when he took her wrist in his hand, but didn't pull away. Instead she shook her head slowly, eyes running over his expression.
"Josh, what's going on?" she asked. "Why are you looking at me like that? Where are we?" The combination of confusion, worry and his fingers on her skin had her adrenaline up, heart double-beating. Swallowing hard, she tore her gaze from his and glanced around them at the trees obscuring most of the light. There was no way they were anywhere near D.C.
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'm afraid to say that no one is laughing," Anthony said as the woman appeared - literally - on the path in front of him. He had spent the day reading and working on some final lecture notes, as usual. There may have only been four students to see to, but with the end of the island school term in the visible distance it almost felt like proper exam time. For the first time in his career that put him in a good mood.
So he was, for once, somewhat sympathetic towards the new arrival. "Can I help you?"
"I -" Donna stared uncertainly at the man, glancing around herself again before taking a couple short steps toward him. "I lost my boss... and my city. That sounds crazy." But it was patently true. There was nothing to be seen of Josh or Toby or the White House, no city lights, scarcely any clear sky with those trees crowding overhead. Somehow she'd lost her way and ended up somewhere that was completely not D.C.
"A little bit, yes," Anthony conceded dryly. "But it is a feeling you should likely grow used to as quickly as you can manage."
He knew he didn't make a very good welcoming committee, and even as he continued to present a picture of distant British politeness, he did not attempt to soften the blow. "I am afraid that you're no longer wherever you were before."
"Then where am I?" It was evident enough that this wasn't DC, but that didn't make it any clearer why she was in a jungle or where the jungle was. The lack of information made Donna increasingly uncomfortable. She needed to get back and right then.
Several years on the island and more spent in Ankh-Morpork, a city that was home to Unseen University, and it was still a bit of an odd sight. But then, William supposed, that was as much because it was impossible to predict as anything.
Donna looked at the man who had spoken, more than a little startled. Beyond the appearance of unfamiliar trees and a jungle that hadn't been there a moment ago or the disappearance of her bosses, some guy turning up to welcome her somewhere was just strange. "To where?" she asked, blinking as she took a few steps toward him.
"Er, well, that's a little complicated," William said. She wasn't panicking, which he took as a good sign, but it was early, yet. "It's probably going to sound somewhat strange, depending on where you're from. You're not dreaming, and you're not hallucinating, and you're not mad. You're now on an island and not wherever you were a moment ago. Er, that last part was probably obvious."
He considered this. "Unless you were in a jungle. Although if you were I have to question your choice in footwear."
Donna blinked at him for a few moments, then looked down at her shoes. At least they weren't heels, but she had to concede the point. "I was in Washington, DC," she said, her tone turning plaintive again. "After many, many hours of working very hard to get back, involving" She sighed, hands falling against her hips. "at least ten different modes of transportation, I was in Washington, DC. And now I'm on an island? You're sure I'm not hallucinating?"
Right, she thought, because if she were hallucinating, the best person to confirm or deny the fact was someone in the hallucination.
Having spent most of the day and all of the day before looking after Max, Lucy was exhausted, and it showed. There never were many times she'd want to be with her boyfriend over her brother -- that was what caused all sorts of problems back home, after all -- but now was one of them. A warm bed sounded perfect, right about then; besides, she didn't want to let herself get the cold Max had, and the only way she saw to do that was to get herself plenty of rest.
She was mid-yawn when she heard a voice from a ways away, and she rubbed at her eyes sleepily. From the sound of it, the woman was new, or she might've not done anything. Instead, she took a deep breath before approaching. "Hi," she began. "I'm, um, not Josh or Toby" - she sounded almost apologetic for it - "but...let me guess, you weren't here a minute ago, were you?"
Donna turned to see a young girl standing there. She shook her head. Unless a jungle had sprouted up in the two seconds her eyes had been closed, she was a long, long way from DC. "No," she said slowly, "I wasn't. How did you - where am I?" And the girl was a long, long way from being either Toby or Josh, which was confusing, disappointing and upsetting at once. If she was going to be shuttled off to some surprise jungle, she didn't see why she had to be sent off alone, unless she'd been even more tired than she'd thought and this was some kind of coma hallucination.
Lucy nodded slowly, biting her lip through a rueful grin. "Didn't think so," she said, and took in another deep breath. It was just her luck to get caught having to explain this all to a new person now; ordinarily, she didn't mind it at all, but half-asleep, she figured she'd be terrible for the job. "Okay, first of all, this is going to sound completely crazy, but I'm not insane. I swear."
That said, she paused, shoving her hands in the pockets of her jeans. "You're on an island," she explained, still sounding regretful about it. "It's...really bizarre, but, basically, people show up, like you did, from all different times and places."
"...different times?" Donna echoed, and then she spun away from the girl, walking in a little half-circle of bewilderment. "No," she said, almost to herself, "no, no, no, no, I can't be on an I was in DC, I have to get back to work, I can't be on an island." She wasn't even sure she wanted to know what the girl meant, different times and places. One different place was bad enough. The part where she, too, was half-asleep really wasn't helping.
Comments 138
Two hearts fading, like a flower
And all this waiting for the power
For some answer to this fire
Sinking slowly, waters higher
Mmm-- desire, desire
He'd gotten out of there pretty quickly, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans and going for a walk. He shuffled down the familiar paths, the moonlight clear and bright on his face. He turned a corner and stopped dead. Her hair shone, her face turned up, eyes closed against the bright light of the moon. His breath caught in his throat, and he swallowed hard, staring. God, it had gotten so bad he was hallucinating.
Then, she started talking.
His eyes fluttered, and he hitched in a breath. "Josh, Toby..." No. No way. She was looking around her, looking exhausted and unamused, and, of all things, beautiful. He let ( ... )
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"There you are," she said, walking over, her shoulders slumping briefly before she pulled them back, posture erect again. Giving him a little shove, she looked at him with lips slightly pursed, brow furrowed, as thankful as she was still concerned. "God, Josh, you scared me for a moment. Where'd Toby go? Where are we?"
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"Jesus, Donna, how--" He reached out slowly, his hand lightly going to her bicep, to just see if she was real. "Are you--" His eyes scanned her face, and his other hand went to her other hand, his fingers seeking her wrist, her skin, a pulse. "I'm not dreaming, am I?" If he woke up from this, he was finding that damn moonshine and getting wasted, even if it was seven in the fucking morning.
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"Josh, what's going on?" she asked. "Why are you looking at me like that? Where are we?" The combination of confusion, worry and his fingers on her skin had her adrenaline up, heart double-beating. Swallowing hard, she tore her gaze from his and glanced around them at the trees obscuring most of the light. There was no way they were anywhere near D.C.
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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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So he was, for once, somewhat sympathetic towards the new arrival. "Can I help you?"
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He knew he didn't make a very good welcoming committee, and even as he continued to present a picture of distant British politeness, he did not attempt to soften the blow. "I am afraid that you're no longer wherever you were before."
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"Um, hello," he said. "Welcome to Tabula Rasa."
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He considered this. "Unless you were in a jungle. Although if you were I have to question your choice in footwear."
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Right, she thought, because if she were hallucinating, the best person to confirm or deny the fact was someone in the hallucination.
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She was mid-yawn when she heard a voice from a ways away, and she rubbed at her eyes sleepily. From the sound of it, the woman was new, or she might've not done anything. Instead, she took a deep breath before approaching. "Hi," she began. "I'm, um, not Josh or Toby" - she sounded almost apologetic for it - "but...let me guess, you weren't here a minute ago, were you?"
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That said, she paused, shoving her hands in the pockets of her jeans. "You're on an island," she explained, still sounding regretful about it. "It's...really bizarre, but, basically, people show up, like you did, from all different times and places."
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