Title: And Maybe Just a Little Bit of Love (1/1)
Disclaimer: Not mine, please don't sue.
Rating: Fluff
Feedback: Love it as always
A/N: This is the third and (yes) final in my little mini-series, but
they stand alone. It's the sequel to In the Beginning and There was
Friendship (See what I did with the titles there? Sometimes, I'm so
clever...) You can see it on my website at
www.geocities.com/annemflynn

Inauguration Night
January 2000

"Motorcades wait for no one!" Josh shouted to Donna from his spot on
the couch where he was impatiently flipping through the channels on
the t.v.

"It waits for the President." she called back from the bedroom.

"Okay. It waits for one man." Josh acquiesced.

Donna emerged from the bedroom putting her earrings in. She was
wearing a long emerald green, stain gown that was low cut and fell to
the floor. Her neck was free from jewelry and her hair was up.

"You look nice in a tux." she complimented from her position in the
bedroom doorway. Josh looked up at the sound of her voice and smiled
to her where she was slipping her heels on.

He stood up and continued to smile at her. "You look enchanting." he
replied. "I think I can get used to you dressing like this."

"Well, this dress was incredibly expensive, so hopefully I won't have
to dress like this too often."

"Still..." he shrugged.

"Are the pockets on the tux jacket sewn shut?"

"What? No."

"Okay. Here's the thing." she said walking over to the couch and
opening her tote bag that was there and digging around. "I don't have
a purse that matches this dress, and even if I did, I hate carrying
one around. So, you win." She held out his hand to him and he walked
over confused.

"What the hell is all this?" he demanded as she moved his wool
overcoat out of her way to access the pockets on his jacket.

"My cell phone, lipstick, driver's license and house key." she
explained. "All stuff I need, but don't have anything to carry it
in."

"So, you're going to load down MY pockets all night?" he asked
incredulously.

"Yes." she said in all innocence, dropping the contents of her hand
into the pocket of his tux jacket.

"How am I supposed to explain lipstick in my pocket to Sam and Toby?"
he demanded.

She shrugged. "Is the truth just not manly enough?"

"They're going to wonder who's in charge."

Donna laughed and picked up her black wrap off the back of the
couch. "They already know who's in charge, Josh."

Josh gave her a look that clearly said he was trying to figure out if
that meant they thought he was in charge or she was in charge, before
turning his attention to the wrap she was presently draping across
her shoulders.

"THAT'S what you're wearing over that dress?" he sighed. "Donna, it's
like 30 degrees outside, you'll freeze your ass off in that flimsy
thing."

"It's what I've got that matches the dress." she replied. "We're just
running down to the cab now, later we'll be going from a nice warm
motorcade into the ball rooms. At the end of the night, I plan on
stealing one of your two coats."

Josh arched a skeptical brow in her direction. "That's quite a well
thought out plan you have here, Donna." She shrugged and smiled at
her, and he thought then that she truly did look enchanting tonight.
She walked over to switch off the lamp near the couch and they made
their way toward the door.

"Maybe if you didn't make the inauguration in the middle of freaking
January." she scoffed.

"I didn't make it in the middle of January, the Constitution did."

"We should change that."

"It takes an act of Congress to do that."

"I think Congress can agree that standing around in the middle of
January outside is stupid."

"Congress can't agree on anything."

"Maybe we should move the next one to Hawaii where it's warm in
January."

"Can't move the inauguration out of DC."

"As long as it's held in the 50 states, who cares where it is?" Josh
couldn't think of an immediate response to that. "Who's going to be
the first President brave enough to try?"

"Not this one."

"You didn't say what you thought of my new place."

"I did say when you took me to look at it the first time." Josh
reminded. "I think it's in one of the crappiest neighborhoods in the
city. I'm going to have a stroke thinking about you walking around
here on your own at night."

"It's all Carol and I can afford." Donna replied. "Pay me more and
I'll move to Georgetown."

"I'm buying you mace." he announced as they left the building and got
into the waiting cab. "I notice you're not talking about meeting
interesting men tonight." Josh quipped as they rode to the venue of
the first ball of the evening.

"You don't think that's rude to do in front of my date?" she smiled
to him.

"It is." Josh confirmed. "Men don't like to hear their dates talk
about being on the prowl for other men."

"See, I'm just trying to be a polite date." she said.

"That's very thoughtful of you."

"Even though I am." she quipped and smiled when he laughed at her
response.

When they arrived at the first ball, they checked their coats and
made their way into the ball room. They got about ten feet into the
room before they were surrounded by CJ, Sam, Toby, Margaret and
Ginger. CJ unceremoniously thrust a glass of wine into Donna's hand
and dragged her away closer to the stage, where U2 was currently
performing. Sam, Toby, and Josh moved over to the bar where they
spent most of their time at that ball.

"Say, who is that that Donna's dancing with?" Sam asked later while
he, Josh and Toby stood at the bar of their fourth ball that evening.
Josh turned around and followed Sam's gaze to the dance floor and
laughed when he saw her dance partner.

"What's so funny?" Sam asked. "Who is that?"

"It's Joe from Advance." Josh laughed.

"I guess he got her after all." Sam said.

"Not while there's a breath in my body." Josh replied. "She can go
out with whoever she wants, but not that guy."

"You can't control who she dates, Josh." Sam said.

"Watch me." Josh replied. Sam rolled his eyes at Toby as they watched
Josh walk away and make his way over to the dance floor, where he cut
in on Joe and Donna. Donna was all smiles as she moved into Josh's
arms.

"Who knew you were such a good dancer?" she noted as they gracefully
moved around the floor.

"It's not the first one of these I've been to." he countered.

"Still, it's impressive to this farm girl from Wisconsin."

"I have to say, your parents farm looked an awful like a condo when
you dragged me over there to meet your parents." Josh replied.

"They wanted to meet you." she said.

"I'm fine with that." he replied. "I'm saying your parents live in a
condo complex, not a farm, where they said they've lived all your
life."

Donna shrugged and looked up at the stage. "There are farms near
where I live."

"You mean there are farms in Wisconsin somewhere." Josh countered.

"Yes."

"Dairy farms."

"Yes."

"Where they make cheese."

"All right, enough." Donna said. "Lay off the cheese jokes for one
night."

"I'm not sure I can."

"Summon the restraint from somewhere." The song came to an end and a
new slow one began, but neither one of them seemed inclined to leave
the dance floor yet.

"Have you met any interesting men yet?"

"None that are as handsome and powerful as you are."

"I like the sound of that."

"Yeah? Good. I'm working on my buttering you up skills."

"I like the sound of being buttered up, too."

"Sickie."

"It's hard for you to be talking about butter and me not make a
Wisconsin joke, Donna." he said moving the conversation to safer
terrain.

"You can do it for just one night, Joshua." she replied. "I believe
in you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that's nice of you to say." he said softly. "Is that you
sucking up again?"

"No." she said shaking her head. "I do believe in you. We're going to
do great things together."

"I think you're right."

"I am right." They danced in companionable silence for a minute or so
before Josh broke the silence.

"So, Joe from Advance?" Donna rolled her eyes, sighed dramatically
and dropped her forehead onto his shoulder.

"You want me to go find you a woman right now? I'm sure your fan club
is outside panting and waiting for you to come back out."

"I got a date at the moment." he replied. "And I don't need you to
get me a woman. I do just fine on my own."

"Someone you can have a meaningful relationship with, Joshua." Donna
countered. "Not someone who just wants you for sex."

"There are worse things in this world than a woman who just wants me
for sex."

"Yeah, diseases."

"Don't be jealous." he laughed.

"Don't be an idiot."

"Not jealous?"

"Nope."

"Not even a little bit?"

"Absolutely not. Well, maybe a little. No, not at all."

"Kay." he laughed as he twirled her out and back in to him.

"You're like Gene Kelly!"

"He's got nothing on me." he said as the song ended and she took a
step back. "I think Joe from Advance is eyeing you up again. Looks
like he's about to head this way."

"So then you and I better move faster towards the bar." He smiled and
moved her back to the bar where Toby and Sam were standing, however,
as soon as they got back there, Sam asked her to dance and she and
Sam walked away.

"I'll take a scotch." Josh ordered from the bartender. Toby arched a
brow in his direction. That was not Josh's normal drink. "It cures
what ails you." Josh said to Toby's unasked question.

"And what exactly is ailing you tonight, Josh?" Toby asked.

Josh looked out in the direction of Donna and Sam and back at Toby.

"A broken heart."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~