Title: Little Things
Author: Rose [rosiethebug@yahoo.com]
Disclaimer: Nothing here belongs to me but the dairy
cows. Actually, they don't belong to me, either.
Feedback: Makes me want to sing, sing a song. Sing out
loud, sing out...you get the idea.
Summary: A hint of Josh's side of all this mess.
Follows 'Elevator'.
Notes: I'm not really sure I want to post this, but I
am anyway. I thought we needed to know what Josh's MO
is during Elevator, as if we hadn't already guessed.
**************
I am a determined man. I know what I want, and I do
everything in my power to get it. That’s probably my
finest quality as a politician.
<Well, it isn’t your diplomacy, that’s for sure,> I
hear Donna say as she smiles that little half-smile
that drives me absolutely-
I have to stop doing this. It’s not smart. Hearing
phantom voices and obsessing about my assistant are
not healthy things to do.
I’ve been really unhealthy lately.
It started out small. Little things, like the smell of
her hair and the way she said my name, would baffle
me. It started after Christmas, so I chalked it up to
an uncharacteristic bout of sentimentality. But these
little things didn’t go away. In fact, they attacked
with a vengeance. And their strategies were far
superior to mine.
Even I would never be so devious as to come up with
something like the ‘Panty Incident of 2001’. Only some
malicious supernatural force could stage that fiasco,
and the one that followed.
Joey Lucas. If I never hear Donna say that name again,
it’ll be too soon. I like Joey, but she has this
horrible effect on my assistant. Monogrammed bath
towels. That woman needs to be on medication of some
kind.
But back to Joey. She planted these little niggling
doubts in my mind about my relationship with Donna.
She told me that Donna likes me, which, while hardly
being new information, made me think. I don’t like to
think too much; it distracts me from my goal.
What the hell was my goal, anyway?
Like I said before, I’m a determined kind of guy. Some
(a certain blonde comes to mind) might describe it as
stubbornness, but I recognize it for what it really
is: purpose.
But I’ve been thinking too much lately. Unhealthy
thoughts. I did a lot of thinking while Donna was
frolicking with her dairy cows. I discovered that I
didn’t like her being anywhere that wasn’t near me. I
discovered that jealousy makes people incredibly
stupid. I mean, really. Sam? Like that would ever
happen.
So I knew that I needed her and that I, despite my
claims otherwise, was very jealous. But I still didn’t
know what I wanted, and I sure as hell wasn’t ready to
admit why these little things about Donna were
bothering me so much.
Which brings me to my point.
<And you say *I’m* long-winded.>
Shut up.
<Yes, master.>
Before I was so rudely interrupted, I was getting to
my point.
<Hallelujah!>
You’re fired.
<Impervious. Get to good stuff, Joshua. I’m bored.> As
milady wishes.
The point is: yesterday, I had a revelation.
A realization. An epiphany, if you will.
I was standing in my office with my back against the
wall. I had given Donna a long talk (she would
describe it as a rant, but I disagree) about opening
the door slowly. Even I know better than to expect her
to knock.
So I’m standing there, trying not to freak out over my
latest torturous meeting about the Family Wellness
Act. I was just relaxing when the door opened, missing
my face by less than an inch. Donna waltzed in and
began to shuffle through a stack of papers on my desk,
humming a tune I didn’t recognize.
Realizing that she thought I was still in the meeting,
I decided to spy on her a bit. Don’t give me that
look; it was completely innocent. I was just bored,
and, though I didn’t know why at the time, I like
watching her.
She worked, completely oblivious to my presence.
Organizing my files and straightening my desk--
normal, assistant-like things to do. I smiled,
studying her. She has this...this *something* about
her that is absolutely fascinating. I found myself
entranced, just watching the way she moved about my
office.
She tripped over something on the floor and muttered,
“Damn it, Joshua. What am I, your maid?” I stifled the
impulse to answer, “I wish,” and watched as she picked
my jacket up from off of the floor. Oops. She brushed
it off and laid it neatly across my chair, her hand
lingering over the fabric, gently smoothing the
collar.
That tiny, insignificant gesture snapped something
inside of me, and just like that I was lost. Lost in
the fact that somehow in the past three years I’d
fallen for this amazing, infuriating woman. All those
little things that I had ignored up until that moment
flooded my senses. It took all of my considerable
self-control to keep myself from flinging the door
aside and...well, do things that shouldn’t be done in
the office, much less with my assistant.
Completely unaware of my epiphany, she left and closed
the door behind her. Not long after that I asked her
to come watch a movie with me. Which just worked out
so well for me, as you can see.
Damned little things.
The End
******