Title: Jericho (1/1)
Disclaimer: Not mine; no copyright infringement intended
Rating: G
Category: Fluff
Feedback: Yes, please!
A/N: Un-beta'd

A/N: Mary, in quite a sneaky way it should be noted, issued a
challenge or maybe it was something of a request. There were a few
items in the background of the offices she wanted someone to write
about. One of them was the Jericho March poster on Josh's office
wall. So, this one is for Mary (who apparently doesn't like to be
mentioned in A/N's). I hope it's what you were looking for! ;0)

Bartlet for America
Fall 1998

~DONNA'S POV~

I walk past Josh's office in the campaign headquarters and wince
slightly. Josh and Leo are having a rather heated argument.

"I said NO, Josh." Leo barks.

"It's my right, Leo. And you can't tell me I can't go."

"I CAN tell you, you can't go. You want to know why?"

"Yes, enlighten me please, Obi Wan." Josh snarks. Leo shoots him a
glare but opts to ignore Josh's snarkiness. Josh and Leo speak to
each other differently than the rest of the campaign senior staff
does. Apparently, Leo was an old friend of Josh's father and they
know each other well.

"Because when we win this election, you're tapped for Deputy Chief of
Staff. You're supposed to be one of the best minds in the party. You
tell me how it would look that the new Deputy Chief of Staff, a
position, by the way, that's pretty high up there on the pecking
order, went and marched on the White House to protest the U.S.'s
detainment of political prisoners weeks before the Presidential
election."

Josh mumbles something, but I can't make it out.

"What was that, Josh? I didn't quite hear you." Leo says
sarcastically.

"Pretty bad." Josh says louder and with all the maturity of a
rebelling 14 year old.

"Now, do you want to be the Deputy Chief of Staff under the next
President of the United States or be a hippie?"

"They're not hippies, Leo."

"What do you want, Josh?" Leo replies.

"Deputy COS." he says blowing out a breath and dropping his head back.

"I'm not saying you can't have your opinions, Josh." Leo says
softening his tone a bit. "And I'm not saying that you can't even
voice them to me or the Governor, who will hopefully be the next
President. I'm saying you can't do it where there are television
cameras and press."

Josh rubbed his hand down his face and sighed deeply.

"I take it your friend Billy is going?"

"Yeah."

"Remember Josh, there's being outspoken and making your grievances
known, but then there's being a pain in the ass and hindering
progress."

"Detaining prisoners for twenty-five years because they didn't drink
the government's Kool Aid doesn't really seem to be hindering
progress, Leo." Josh shoots back.

"You don't have to tell me that, Josh." Leo says shaking his
head. "You can't go. I'm sorry. We're all going to have to make
sacrifices, Josh. YOU'RE going to have to make sacrifices that are
going to be tough to swallow. You can probably kiss your personal
life goodbye." Josh snorts in response to this. This is because
according to Josh, he hasn't had a personal life since high
school. "The image is more important now. What you do will reflect on
the President and you'll be a visible guy around here."

"I know." Josh reluctantly acknowledges dropping his chin to his hand
and leaning his elbow on his desk.

"I don't know if I can truly impress upon you, Josh, how your life is
about to change and I can't do this without you."

Josh looks up at Leo now and looks a little awed.

"I'm with you, Leo. I am." Josh nods sitting up.

"I know you are. But, I also know you're disappointed."

Josh shrugs and looks down to his lap.

"I'll see you in the morning." Leo says. I duck out of sight by a
file cabinet and wait until I know he's gone before going into Josh's
office.

"Hey." I say leaning up against the door frame.

"You're still here?" he asked surprised looking up.

"I was just coming back to tell you I was leaving. I overheard you
and Leo."

"Yeah." He says, pulling a file in front of him and rubbing his eyes.

"What can't you do?" I ask, pushing myself off the door frame and
moving to an empty chair in his office.

"It's no big deal."

"Sounded like it was to you."

"The Jericho March is tomorrow. They're marching on Washington."

"Seriously?" I asked amazed. I don't see Josh as a protester. But
then again, I haven't known him long, and I certainly haven't found
out all I could about him yet. We talk a lot, and I know him a hell
of a lot better than I know the rest of the staff.

"Yeah. Doesn't look like I'll be joining them." He takes the flyer
and drops it in front of me.

I have to admit. I don't really know what it is. I've never heard of
it. I did follow politics back in Wisconsin. I watch CNN, I read the
papers. I'm mostly up on current events. But I'm not as in touch as
Josh is. Josh has lived in Washington since he graduated college. He
knows everything that's going on around here. When he's Deputy Chief
of Staff, it'll be his job to know more than everything that's going
on around here. Talk about having your finger on the pulse point.

"I'm sorry, Josh." I say quietly, picking up the flier and reading
through it.

"Seriously, it's no big deal." But he sounds so defeated. It's not a
tone of voice I want to get used to hearing from him. "I should have
thought it through."

"Still..." I say quietly.

"Yeah, still...."

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

January 2000

~DONNA'S POV~

"So, you guys put quite a show on today." I smile, leaning up against
Josh's office door.

"You're still here?" he smiles looking up at me. "I thought you went
home to get ready for the balls."

"I'm going in a couple minutes." I nod. "Are you gonna swing by and
get me?"

"I can't. You've got to get back here to go with the motorcade."

"How much time do I have?"

"About an hour."

"Good thing I brought my dress with me." I mumble.

"You did?"

"CJ suggested I run home and get it after the ceremony."

"Wow. That was foresight on her part."

"Yeah. Thank God." I smile.

"What do you think of the office?" He grins.

"It's definitely smaller than I would have pictured."

"It's all about location. I'm closer than Sam and Toby."

"You outrank them."

"I know." He smirks. "You should say that tonight around them."

"You're incorrigible."

"Whatever."

"Listen, I got you something." I say abruptly before I lose my nerve.

"You got me something?" he stops short and looks at me.

"Yeah."

"Like a present?"

"I guess." I shrug.

"You got me an Inauguration Day present?"

"More like a congratulations on the new job kind of present."

"Are you expecting something from me?"

"You got me a job in the White House."

"Okay, well, if you're counting that, I'll take it. What'd you get
me?"

"It's for your office." I say. I pull the picture frame up that was
leaning against the wall in the corridor and bring it in.

"Okay."

"It's not in a very expensive frame or anything. I'm on a budget.
This is one of those it's the thought that counts gifts."

"Donna," he says softly. "What is it?"

I pull the frame up and prop it up on the desk, holding it up so he
can see it right and peek out at him from behind it. He's wide eyed
as he looks at the framed poster from the Jericho March in the fall.

"I went." I confess. He's silent. "I looked it up that morning and I
researched it a bit and I thought if you couldn't go and it was that
important to you, I'd go for you. So, I did. And I met Billy Molina
and it was really cool."

He's still silent. His eyes move from the poster to me.

"You hate it, don't you?" I say plucking the frame off his desk and
leaning it on the floor. "You think it's dorky."

"No!" He says quickly, lifting the frame back up. "It's just..."

"Just what, Josh?"

He smiles softly and lowers his voice. "It's just that nobody's ever
protested for me before. I don't really know what to...think about
it."

"Oh, well..." I drift off.

"Thank you." It's so soft I almost wasn't sure I heard it. He looks
up at me with an unreadable expression and the air in the room seems
almost charged. I'm reminded of the hug we shared when the networks
called the election for President Bartlet. I remember thinking how
well we fit and how we seemed to almost fold into each other.

I hold his gaze for a moment. Then, something weird happens. I
remember the conversation he had with Leo that night before this
march. But oddly, the only part that seems to jump into my mind is
the part about sacrifices.

"Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his
eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his
sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are
you for us or for our adversaries?" He said, "No; rather I indeed
come now as captain of the host of the Lord." And Joshua fell on his
face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, "What has my lord
to say to his servant?" The captain of the Lord's host said to
Joshua, "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you
are standing is holy." And Joshua did so."

I jump at the sound of President Bartlet's voice. God! He just snuck
up on us then! Or did he? Was I just so caught up in that moment that
I totally missed the entrance of the President of the United States?
He's standing right next to me, peering at the framed poster.

"You're in a position of power now, Josh. You can get things done."
the President says looking up to Josh.

"Yes, sir."

"You have the ear of the President of the United States."

"I hope so, sir."

"Are you for us or for our adversaries?"

"I serve at the pleasure of the President, sir." Josh says
immediately and with full conviction.

"That's got a nice ring to it." the President smiles and winks at me.
I am, as always, awed by his presence and this giant of a man before
me.

How did I get here?

"I think so, too." Josh smirks.

Oh, that's how. Josh let me come with him.

"We don't have long here in the grand scheme of things, Joshua. Be
true to yourself and use your time well."

"I will, sir."

The President leaves his office and I look over at Josh with my jaw
dropped. "That was nuts!" I say with a half amazed laugh.

"Yeah." He nods. He takes the frame from me and turns around and
leans it up on his credenza.

"You can take it home, Josh." I say. "I don't want you to get in
trouble for it."

He turns around and looks at me surprised. "I'm hanging it on the
wall, Donna."

"Really?"

"You heard what the President said."

"Yeah, but..."

"Donna, if I can't exercise the First Amendment in the White House,
what's the point?"

"Okay." I smile. I'm touched that he likes the gift so much. And my
head is still reeling from the encounter with the President.

He gives the poster one more glance before turning his attention to
me. "Some day, huh?"

"And now we have nine balls to go to." I say a little overwhelmed and
lean up against his desk.

"At least you don't have to wear nine different dresses." He says,
coming around his desk to lean on it next to me.

"Except I can't wear the same dress for the next four years. This one
wasn't exactly cheap."

"You'll be fine; you'll figure something out."

Something catches his eye out in the bullpen and he elbows me gently
and points out the door. I straighten up and look out the door and
see a man putting a vase of flowers down on my desk. I walk over to
my desk, sign for the arrangement, then pluck off the card to read it.

"Donnatella, Congratulations on your new job. I couldn't do any of
this without you. Joshua."

I feel the tears sting my eyes and look over at Josh where he's
standing in his doorway. I could swear he was blushing right now.

"You got me an Inauguration Day gift?" I toss his words back at him.

"I'm a man of occasion." he shrugs. When I start to walk towards him,
he sees the tears in my eyes. "Oh, come on, Donna. Don't cry. This is
the White House, for crying out loud. Try and be professional."

I can't help it. I throw my arms around his neck and though he
protested a second ago, he hugs me anyway.

"Thank you." I whisper.

"You're welcome."

I pull away and smile. "You're going to do good things here."

"WE'RE going to do good things here."

"It's a little humbling, don't you think?" I ask turning around and
looking up. "When you think of all the people that came before us."

"It is humbling, Donnatella, for the place where you are standing is
holy."

THE END