EPISODE 8.16 - Written by Mdrgrl1
ALL THAT GLITTERS
TEASER
INT. DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF'S OFFICE
Even the roaring of a vacuum in the hallway didn't rouse Sam from his slumber. His head was cradled on his right arm, which had long ago fallen asleep, but he was too tired to do anything about it.
"You like to scare me right out of my skin, boy!" came a booming voice from the doorway.
Sam shot up, glasses hanging from one ear.
The stout cleaning lady put a hand on her hip. "That's twice this week I've caught you sleeping in your office. Don't you have a bed at home?"
"Sorry, Charlene." He removed his glasses, then rubbed his tired eyes. "What time is it?"
"Time for you to start spending more time at home." She walked into the hallway and unplugged the vacuum, carrying the long cord back into Sam's office.
Ignoring her, Sam looked at the clock on his desk, a gift from President Bartlet. "It's 6 o'clock?"
"I'm running late today." Charlene spun the vacuum around and plugged the cord into a socket. "You should've seen the mess in Mr. Lyman's office. That man needs to hire his own cleaning service."
Sam grinned. Josh had changed quite a bit since he and Donna started dating, but one of the things that remained constant was the unkempt state of his office. Despite Margaret's attempts to clean up and her idle threats, he couldn't keep the space neat.
"Is he still around?"
Charlene lowered the arm of the vacuum and was about to turn it on. "Is who still around?"
"Josh."
"He hasn't shown up yet." Her expression changed as it slowly dawned on her. "I think you're confused. It's 6 o'clock in the morning, not the evening."
Sam raised his eyebrows. "It's 6 a.m.?"
"Yeah," Charlene said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
He stood and looked out the window. The sun was peeking over the horizon, and there was a light frost on the lawn.
"I knew that," Sam pretended.
"Whatever you say." She shook her head. "You know, you should really sleep in a bed. That hunched over thing can't be good for your back."
"Thank you for that sage advice." He grinned.
Charlene began her five-minute sweep of the deputy chief of staff's office.
Sam adjusted his tie, tried to brush the wrinkles out of his white shirt, then slipped his glasses back on. He was glad she'd only caught him sleeping at work twice. Truth was, he'd slept there four nights in the last two weeks. He had a lot of work to do, and he had no problem getting it done in the wee hours of the morning. Besides, he didn't have anyone to go home to any more.
The vacuum noise faded as Charlene unplugged the cord and began walking towards the door. "Don't let me find out you slept here again tonight."
"Why not?"
Charlene smiled. "Tomorrow is Thanksgiving."
"Oh." Sam raised his eyebrows. "Right. Thanksgiving."
CUT TO:
INT. PRESIDENTIAL BEDROOM
The steward had already brought in a carafe of coffee while Helen was in the shower. Her husband, propped up against the headboard, sipped a cup as he read the headlines in The Post.
"We can still go to
The President regarded his wife. "We're going home. It's done."
"This isn't going to be a PR thing?"
He smiled. "If it is, Lou and Lester can handle it."
"The kids might like
Matt set the paper on his lap. "Weren't you the one who convinced me to go to
Helen didn't respond.
"We haven't been home in six months, Matt," the President mimicked his wife's voice. "Why can't we go to
For that, the First Lady jumped on the bed and tackled him.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
When she effectively pinned him down, she looked him in the eyes. "If this becomes a public relations issue, don't blame me."
He kissed her on the nose. "Never."
CUT TO:
INT. JOSH AND DONNA'S BEDROOM
A sliver of light crept through a crack in the curtains and cast a Vline like a sword across Josh's face. He blinked a few times beforeVopening his eyes. He was lying bare-chested on his side, and the blanket was draped over his hips. Josh rubbed his eyes, then ran a hand over his stubbled chin. The little grunt that escaped made Donna stir, but she didn't wake. He inched up a bit so the light wasn't directly in his eyes. Instead, it formed a perfect diagonal across her chest, illuminating a string of freckles that looked like glitter.
This had become his favorite time of day. Because of the autumnal time change, the sun rose almost exactly when it was time for him to wake up. Donna had asked him to shut the curtains completely so she wasn't blinded by the morning light, but he always left the tiniest crack for exactly this reason: he watched the day begin on her body.
Despite it being daylight, Josh referred to her freckles, at least in his own mind, as a constellation. It was difficult for him to refrain from tracing a line across the light path, connecting the little marks. He swore he could see Orion somewhere above her left breast.
There were mornings like this when he'd reflect upon the woman lying next to him—one arm across her stomach, the other flung back, palm up and fingers gently curled. He'd never been "that guy"—the one who noticed the position in which the woman next to him slept or how the light from the window looked on her skin. He was the guy who bolted out of bed as soon as he woke so he could prepare for the most important part of his day: work.
Donna moved again, startling him from his reverie. She tilted her head and made little smacking noises with her mouth. He pulled the covers a little higher on her chest, but not high enough to cover her freckled palette.
Josh ran a hand through his disheveled hair and wondered when things had changed. It was a complete paradigm shift that had happened faster than he would've thought it might. Never in a million years would he have imagined a life where staying in bed with the woman he loved would be better than going to work—where he wanted to see Donna's smile before reading the headlines in The Post. And where he'd gladly forgo his first cup of coffee in favor of a lengthy make-out session in the shower.
When Donna shifted this time, the sliver of light jumped to her neck.
Her long, pale, gorgeous neck.
It took all of his strength not to touch her. Most mornings, he'd be able to hold out for two minutes tops before kissing her chin or running a hand down her arm. But this morning...this morning was different. He was content just watching her, but his fingers twitched. Like a runner making a false start, Josh lifted his hand. He didn't want to wake her just yet, so he settled for rubbing a piece of long blonde hair between his thumb and forefinger.
He let out a long breath as he took in the sight of her. There was no part of Donna that he didn't love. A physical sensation spread through his chest not unlike the first sip of brandy on a cold winter's night. He found it a little disturbing that as he stared at Donna's slowly waking form, his eyes became glassy. Blinking back tears, Josh realized something that had been buried beneath a ton of baggage, questions and fear: He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
"Morning," Donna said as a slow smile spread across her face.
"Morning." Josh ran a hand over her chest, up her neck and to her cheek, mirroring the path of light. He meant to lean down and kiss her, but he couldn't take his eyes off her mouth.
"What's wrong?" Donna asked.
"Nothing." His voice was rough after a long night of sleep.
She turned on her side and rubbed his back. "You're sure?"
"Positive." He caressed her cheek with his thumb.
"Then kiss me."
Josh's face cracked into a wide grin before capturing her lips with his.
Yes, he thought. I'm going to marry Donnatella Moss.
SMASH CUT TO TITLES