Anniversary 2/2

 

Disclaimers, etc: See part 1

 

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Josh dragged himself through the lobby of the West Wing and headed in the direction of his office. He had just come back from a session with Stanley and wanted nothing more than to hide in his office and brood. Unfortunately, he had several meetings scheduled for that afternoon. He suspected that Donna had deliberately padded his schedule to keep him busy. She knew that the busier he was during the day, the less likely he was to brood. He also suspected that she thought if he worked hard enough and late enough, he would be able to get at least a few hours of uninterrupted sleep at night. In a way, she was right. He would get home, exhausted from the day, and manage to get several hours of sleep before being woken by haunting nightmares.

 

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“Josh, are you OK?” she asked quietly.

 

“Funny,” he said with a self-depreciating laugh. “I was about to ask you the same thing. Amy said you were upset earlier.” He looked at her questioningly, hoping that she would volunteer what was wrong without him having to ask.

 

She gave him a sheepish smile. “It was nothing, really. Just a little emotional at this time of the month, I guess.”

 

“Donna…” Josh made it clear that he knew she was lying.

 

She caved in and admitted what was wrong. “OK, I was upset. She mentioned your pajamas – the ones CJ gave you. I started to think about how May is such a horrible time and I got upset.”

 

 

“Are you OK?”

 

“Déjà vu. And shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?” she asked with a small smile as she tried to return to their usual bantering rhythm.

 

He seemed to understand her need to return to normal and answered her with a smile of his own. “Well, yeah, ‘cause I’m the poster boy for gun control.” And then he added with a small measure of seriousness, “But I think you need the sympathy more then me right now. You’ve had more to lose.”

 

“Yeah, but I didn’t. Mrs. L. is still in my heart. And you – you’re still here, with me.”

 

“And I’m still here, with you,” he agreed softly.

 

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~End~