Connected

Part 2 - Slow Dance

As Leo watched the couples on the dance floor he suddenly wished Jordan had come them. Admittedly, he wasn't too sure how he could justify bringing his lawyer on a trip to Georgia on Air Force One, but next time they have a party to attend, he'd find a way. He saw Jed stood talking to their host and walked over. "Mr President, Geoff."

"Hey, Leo," Geoff smiled, shaking Leo's hand and then glancing across the room. "I think my wife's trying to get my attention," he told them. "If you'll excuse me."

"Something I said?" Leo asked Jed once they're alone.

"Think yourself lucky," Jed smiled. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

"Okay," Jed agreed indulgently. "I see the staff are enjoying themselves. Will's dancing with Joey over there, although I guess that means Kenny's probably alone, ah no look," Jed nodded across the room, "he's with Margaret. Toby and Andi are getting along well. It's a pity CJ hasn't come. But I guess we'll have to be the only guys dancing alone."

"You know I'm not sure CJ would like being called a guy"

"You think?" Jed grinned. "Josh is over there, but I don't imagine he'll be alone for long. And Abbey is embroiled in some plotting with Amy and a group of women from the quilting club."

"I think they may be the local Town's Women's Guild," Leo smiled.

"So that just leaves you and me," Jed continued.

"Sir, you're not suggesting we dance together are you?"

"You don't think we'd make a good couple?"

Leo shook his head with a faint smile and turned back to the dance floor. The last dance had just started and it was a slow one. Will and Joey had gone to sit down, as had Kenny and Margaret, Leo wasn't too impressed to see Josh and Donna on the dance floor in each others arms.

Jed followed Leo's gaze and smiled to himself. "Leave them."

"That doesn't look good, Sir."

"Maybe, but at least let them have the dance."

Leo watched unhappily as Josh and Donna get far too close for his comfort. He could have been mistaken, but it looked like they were staring into each others eyes. As soon as the dance drew to an end, Leo headed over to interrupt his deputy and assistant. "Josh, I need your help with Dizaei."

Josh had been so caught up in the moment, that he'd forgotten where he was. "Now?" he asked irritatedly.

"Yes," Leo replied sharply.

"Yeah, okay." Josh suddenly realized how it would have looked had he kissed Donna, as he was about to. As he walked away with Leo though, he was silently cursing him.

Once the party had ended and all the pleasantries had been exchanged, Jed and his staff headed for home. Air Force One took off only thirty minutes late, giving the staff a chance to rest for a few hours on the flight, before starting the work they'd brought with them. Josh walked back into the senior staff cabin and sat down next to Donna, handing her a sandwich and a drink of coffee. 

"Thanks."

"S'okay."

"About earlier," Donna began, "on the dance floor."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to mention that."

"We'd both had a lot to drink," Donna continued. "The dance was slow and I think we just got caught up in the moment there."

"Yeah," Josh agreed. "So we should just forget it happened. Not that anything did happen, so we should forget it."

"Yeah, that's probably best," Donna agreed, trying to sound like she meant it.

Half an hour later Josh was sat reading a magazine, while Donna slept with her head on his shoulder. He knew after what happened earlier he should move her, but he didn't want to. Besides which she often fell asleep on him on long flights and if they were suppose to be forgetting about the almost kiss, about the obvious chemistry between them as they danced, then there was no reason Donna shouldn't be asleep like this - was there?

"Hey." Toby sat quietly down across from them. "How'd it go with Dizaei?"

"Fine, he just wanted to make sure we understood his position, but it's sorted."

"Good."

Josh put the magazine down and gave Toby an amused look. "You and Andi looked to be having a good time tonight."

Toby smiled, thinking that Josh could hardly comment there. "Yeah, things are going okay. I don't think she'll ever agree to marry me, but at least we can be friends and the twins can have two parents around."

"So friends is enough for you then?" Josh was genuinely curious.

"Is it enough for you?" Toby asked, glancing at Donna.

"It'll have to be."

Further down Air Force One, Amy was sat thinking about what she'd seen earlier in the evening. Their meeting with the Town's Women's Guild had ended just as the last dance started. Amy had seen Josh earlier by the bar and she scanned the party trying to find him, hoping to get the last dance. He wasn't at the bar, he wasn't sat with Will and Joey Lucas, he wasn't stood with Leo and the president. And then she'd looked at the dance floor and there he was, with Donna in his arms. Amy had to fight the urge to walk across and interrupt them. It appeared she wasn't the only one not too happy to see Donna and Josh dancing so closely, and she was amused to see Leo walk up to them as the dance ended. She wasn't so amused though by what she could tell Josh had been about to do. 

Amy looked out of the window at the darkness and silently seethed. She knew exactly what she would find if she went to the senior staff cabin, she'd seen them like that before, her asleep on his shoulder. She'd never felt jealous like this about anyone and she hated him for it. Well maybe not hate, but it annoyed the hell out of her. Maybe she should go to them and ask Donna the question again, but what would be the point? 'Are in love with Josh?' what a stupid question, of course she was, and it made Amy feel kind of stupid. 

At college Josh had been her boyfriend's quiet roommate, always studying. He'd intrigued her, there was something about him, but she couldn't get close. When he'd started pursuing her last year, in his own clumsy way, she'd been pleased, but there was a voice at the back of her head warning her about Donna. Now she was angry, because when they broke up he'd said he wasn't ready for anything serious, he wasn't ready for commitment and she'd believed him. She'd even thought it had been partly her fault for pushing him to move in with her, but that little voice was still there saying, 'Donna'. 

Amy looked back into the cabin as the first lady walked through. "Can I help ma'am?"

"No, Amy, go back to sleep I'm hunting for my husband."

Amy smiled at Abbey and turned back to the window. She wondered what Abbey would say about Josh and Donna, more to the point, what would the president say?

Abbey knocked gently on Leo's cabin door and opened it slightly. "Leo, have you seen my husband?"

"He's meeting with the transport secretary."

"Okay." Abbey walked into the cabin, helped herself to a drink and sat down across from Leo.

"What's on your mind?" Leo asked with a knowing smile.

"Now that's just what I was going to ask you," Abbey replied. "I saw you make a beeline for Josh and Donna earlier."

"I needed Josh to talk to Dizaei."

"Of course you did," Abbey smiled indulgently. "So you won't mind that he's in the senior staff cabin with Donna asleep on his shoulder."

Leo sighed, "They always do that." 

"I know. But you don't like it."

"He's her boss, it looks wrong."

"They're not doing any harm, Leo. They're both single, no one will get hurt."

"It still looks wrong."

Abbey sighed and shook her head. "Do you think, ethically, that a lawyer should date a client?"

Leo gaze hardened. "That has nothing..... it's completely different."

"She's your lawyer," Abbey stated. "I'm not criticizing. I like Jordan, plus she can handle you," Abbey smiled. "Then there's Toby and Andi."

"They were married, they're bringing up the kids together, there's nothing wrong with that."

"I'm not saying they've done anything wrong. I'm saying that if it's fine for you to date your lawyer, if it's fine for Toby to get his ex-wife pregnant, then why isn't it fine for Josh to date Donna?"

"She's his assistant. It'd look like he was taking advantage of her."

Abbey laughed, "I don't think anyone who knows them would ever think that Josh could, or would, take advantage of Donna."

"Yes," Leo sighed. "But what about those who don't know them? What about the press? What about the Republicans?"

"I know," Abbey agreed. "But I think it may be a problem you're going to have to face sooner rather than later."

"I could move Donna," Leo suggested, knowing full well that neither of them would never agree to that. "Yeah, I know, dumb idea."

"Maybe you could talk to him." Abbey saw Leo's look of horror and laughed. "Yeah, scrap that. You should talk to CJ though."

"CJ?"

"Yes, she already has a plan roughly worked out for if anything did happen between them."

"Why would she do that?"

"Leo, she's the Press Secretary. You don't think she has a plan for most eventualities. Why do you think she drums it into all of you that she's your first call."

The following morning, after spending the night thinking about his conversation with Abbey, Leo went to see CJ. "Do you have a minute?" he asked her.

"Sure, Leo, what's going on?"

Leo closed the door and sat in the visitor's chair. "I wanted to ask you something. Abbey seems to think you'll have some idea about this and I'm not sure. I've never really thought about it before, ridiculous as that now seems."

"Leo," CJ smiled, "you're rambling."

"Yeah." Leo was beginning to have second thoughts about this whole conversation. "I wanted to ask about Josh and Donna."

"Has something happened?"

"No. But it was pointed out to me that something probably should."

"And you want to know what the press would think?"

"Yeah."

CJ considered that for a moment. "The White House Press Corp have been expecting something to happen between Josh and Donna for years. However that doesn't mean it'd be easy to spin, especially with those elements of the press who don't like us. And then there's the Republicans, not to mention some of our own party." She smiled, "I'm not helping am I?"

"It's okay, you're confirming what I already know. If something did happen between them, would it be impossible to spin?"

"No." CJ watched Leo, "If nothing's happened, why are asking?"

Leo looked a little embarrassed, much to CJ amusement. "I could have sworn he was about to kiss her last night."

"So this is more than the usual Donna Josh thing?"

"What usual.....?"

"You know very well. Her asleep on his shoulder. Sharing each others food. Staying at each others apartments after a night out. The banter, the looks..... You really haven't thought about this before have you?"

"Oddly enough I have bigger thing to think about than Josh's love life."

"Well you did, until last night," CJ smiled. "Welcome to my world. Nothing will happen you know."

"How would you know if it did?" Leo asked.

CJ's smile faded, "Okay, well great, now I'm worried too."

Part 3 , Sleepless.......