One-liners by Kim
Disclaimers: Josh isn't mine, Donna isn't mine, Sam isn't mine, and
Ainsley isn't mine. I don't even think Aaron will let me have Larry
and Ed.
Spoilers: 17 People
Summary: A little piece from Josh's point of view following the
conversation in his office.
Feedback: feedback makes the world go round.
Archive: Sure!
Notes: Real life and school have taken over in the past week. Last
time I'm letting that happen. :-) For all those who are wondering,
I'm still not finished with my last little series. This just sort of
popped into my mind first. I've kinda lost my sarcastic edge this
week (which is really funny because that's a big factor in this new
FF) so it's tough to write the "Wrong name fiasco" which is all
sarcasm. Now that I'm done with term papers I know it's on it's way
back. :-)
**********
"If you were in an accident I wouldn't stop for red lights. Thanks
for taking me back. Oh, and the flowers are beautifull." She exits
my office and I'm left alone. Alone and staring at her walking down
the hallway. Alone and wondering how the hell she does this to me.
Few people in this world can leave me speechless. I've been to
Harvard and Yale. I've gone against some of the biggest political
giants in this world, and I'm the one who leaves them speechless.
Day after day I council the president on what's best for this
nation. Rarely am I ever left with out an answer or rebuttal to any
question put before me.
I am the king of comebacks. Say something to me and I've immediately
got a response. Just ask any staff member here, and the collective
members of congress. No one catches Josh Lyman off guard. Except
for maybe her. If I'm the king of comebacks then I think I've found
my queen.
When it comes to the sarcasm, though, I still think I've got her
beat.
"Hey...we need funny people."
"Yeah?"
"You know any?"
You gotta admit, that was pretty good.
However, when it comes to the more serious stuff, Donna's way in the
lead. Case in point, what just happened here. She managed to say
something, which quite frankly was the nicest thing a woman has ever
said to me. And what do I do? I let her walk by without
acknowledging what that meant to me. Not telling her how important
it is to know that someone cares for me enough to risk their own
safety.
Of course, all the options of a perfect response are jam packed in my
brain right now:
"If you were in an accident I wouldn't stop to pay tolls on the
interstate."
"If you were in an accident I think my entire world would come to a
stop until I knew you were okay."
"If you were in an accident I'd be scared to death that I'd never be
able to tell you everything I feel about you."
Or I could of just grabbed her and kissed her. Let's be serious, we
all know this is what I really wanted to do.
However, none of these things happened. I'm left standing here in my
office and she's off trying to think of good one-liners. She's back
in the Roosevelt room oblivious to the fact that she left me in here
thinking about what she does to me. How she leaves me breathless and
speechless at the same exact time.
I go back to the mess of papers on the floor that has only been
partly cleaned up by Donna and I. I sit on the floor, and I
automatically start thinking about how only minutes ago, Donna was
sitting across from me.
"Okay, what I need is for you to stop being, like, you for a second."
How is it possible that one stops being themselves? I've never
thought of changing to suit anyone's needs. I'm Joshua Lyman;
sarcastic and full of myself until the day I leave this earth.
Now I'm sitting here wondering what I can do to change. Change in a
way so she can realize why I do this. How the things I say to her in
a sarcastic tone can be directly translated into what I really mean.
When I ask her what kind of dumkes stops for a beer on his way to
pick up his injured girlfriend, what I really mean is, "What kind of
son of a bitch could ever leave someone as perfect as you, alone and
scared, not knowing that everything was going to okay?"
She asked me if this all made me feel superior. How can I feel
superior when he was the one who had her? He was the one who got her
to leave me to go back to him. Whenever he wanted to, he could hold
her, kiss her, and tell her everything he felt for her. Granted, I
doubt the bastard ever realized he had this opportunity, but still he
had it. I'm stuck here only dreaming of something that was once his
reality.
How he ever let her go is beyond me. Yes, she left him, but I would
have chased her by foot all the way to other side of the country if I
were him. Not stoping for passing cars, stop signs, or blisters
forming at the bottom of my feet.
How is this all so clear in my head but so difficult to say out
loud?
I gather all the loose paper and pile them up next to my desk. I've
got to get back to Roosevelt room before they send a search party out
to find me.
I leave my office and start back to meet the others. I pass by the
bouquet of flowers I sent Donna. It's not just gifts I have to give
her. Gifts only mean something if you know the representation behind
them. Donna has no clue what those flowers really mean.
I've got to start somewhere. I've got to stop making juvenile
comments about seeing her in a catholic school uniform, or knocking
on the complete lowlifes she chooses to date. Of course, they are
complete lowlifes, and I sure as hell want to see her in a catholic
school uniform.
What I need is just one chance. One opportunity where I don't blow
it with complete silence or an inane comment that leaves Donna
wanting to slap me. What I need, and it hits me how obvious this is,
what I need is a one-liner. Not a one-liner like the one about the
president's love of Latin. Something that will give her just the
slightest glimpe of what I mean. What she really means to me.
I walk into the room to find Sam and Ainsley standing at the other
side of the room. Larry and Ed are sitting at the table at the end
nearest them. Donna's sitting at the opposite side with her back
turned to me. I've entered the room to hear the end of a joke Sam's
been telling. By the look on Ainsley's face, it's a very long and
drawn out joke.
"…..then the president says, `I didn't mean to hit it, it just got in
my way."
He's met to groans and nasty glares from around the room.
"You talking about you and your prostitute friend again, Sam?"
Ainsley laughs and turns to Sam, "Now that's funny."
"Must you always have the sarcastic comment, Josh?" Sam asks.
If he only knew. Donna turns around in her chair and looks at me. I
look back over to Sam. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Ofcourse," Sam throws his hands in the air. "This country could be
under nuclear attack and we couldn't stop josh from making a
sarcastic joke."
Sam turns back to Ainsley and Ed who are working on some jokes Larry
has written down. Donna turns her back to me again and starts
writing on her legal pad.
I walk up behind her and lean over to her left ear. "If you were in
an accident I wouldn't stop to make a sarcastic joke."
Okay, so it's a start.