Chapter Text
INT. OVAL OFFICE
NEW YEAR’S EVE - DECEMBER 31st - 5:30 PM
"I didn't think the three of us would ever sit in this room again... together," President
Bartlet observed with a wistful smile as he accepted the drink that current President
Santos handed him.
“I will say there's a lot less tension this time around,” Secretary Vinick joked as he
stepped forward to receive his own glass.
"Very true,” Santos chuckled. “Not to mention the fact that this time we've got a
little better news to celebrate than the last time the three of us were gathered here.”
President Santos raised his glass in toast towards Bartlet. “Thank you, Sir, for
coming back to lend us a hand.”
“Oh, you both know you didn’t need me.”
“On the contrary, Sir, you’re the key that’s going to make this entire thing work.”
“Hear, Hear,” Secretary Vinick agreed as he raised his arm and the three men
clinked glasses.
CUT TO:
INT. WEST WING CORRIDOR – SAME TIME
"CJ!” Donna squealed with surprise as she turned the corner and came upon her old
friend wandering in the hall. “Weren’t you supposed to be on a plane… like two
hours ago?"
"Oh…uh… right… well, I decided to stay. That is… Danny and I decided to…uh…
stay." She motioned behind her in the direction of the press room. “He’s back there
getting into trouble I’m sure.”
"Oh... well I’m glad you’re still here, does that mean you’ve made a decision?"
"Not yet,” CJ hedged. “But our talk this morning really helped… I’m close.”
Donna watched her with a puzzled expression. “But if you haven’t made a decision,
why stay? I thought you two wanted to ring in the New Year Barbados-style?"
"Barbados, right, we did, that’s true, but... um... it's the clothes."
"The clothes?"
"Yes, I don't have much opportunity to wear fancy clothes anymore so we thought
we’d do the formal White House thing one more time.” CJ stopped sputtering and
for the first time since meeting Donna in the lobby truly took in the sight of her.
“Speaking of fancy clothes, you look absolutely lovely, Donna."
Donna glanced down at her dress. “Fancy enough for the President and First Lady’s
New Year’s Eve party?”
"I should say so,” CJ approved. “See, you in that fancy dress, me in whatever I end
up changing into, that’s why were here. It’s all about the clothes.”
“So they don't have fancy clothes in California?"
"Not so much, it's more flip flops and surf shorts."
Donna chuckled appreciatively as she started moving backwards. “I have to find
Josh, but I’ll catch up with you later. This should be some party."
CJ barely suppressed a huge smile as she watched her friend go. "Yes, it should at
that."
CUT TO:
INT. OTTO’S OFFICE –SAME TIME
“Are you sure she’s hot?” Otto asked Bram as he paced across his office.
“Yes.”
“How do you know? Have you met her?”
“Would Sierra have a friend who isn’t hot?” Bram asked as if it was the most logical
thing in the world.
Otto stopped in his tracks and yelped a very anxious, “Yes! Hot girls often have
friends who are not nearly as hot as they are themselves, or haven’t you ever fallen
on the grenade?”
“Huh? What grenade?”
Otto clarified, “Haven’t you ever gotten stuck with the least attractive girl in a
group?”
After a moment of thought Bram replied seriously. “No, I always get the hottest girl
in the group.”
“You’re unbelievable.” Otto shook his head before lamenting, “She’s going to be a
dog. Lou is going to see me at the President and First Lady’s New Year’s Eve party
with a dog and I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Bram scowled at him in mild disgust. “Even if she’s not as hot as Sierra, that doesn’t
mean she’ll be a dog. And it’s not nice to call a woman a dog. If you didn’t do that,
you might get the hot girl once in awhile. Besides, if this girl is only half as attractive
as Sierra she’ll still be a beauty.”
The truth finally dawned on Otto. “You like this girl, don’t you? You like the
hooker.”
Bram shrugged noncommittally but he didn’t deny it. He did however make a threat.
“If you call her a hooker one more time I’m going to tell Lou you had to rent that
penguin suit from the children’s section at Mr. Elegant’s.”
“Fine.” Otto glumly sat down in his chair. “I’ll be nice to Sierra’s friend no matter
what she looks like. I’ll show her the time of her life at the swankiest social event of
the year. But I’m not going to enjoy it.”
Bram glanced at him scornfully. “Don’t sit down; you’ll crease your pants.”
CUT TO:
INT. WEST WING LOBBY
“Hey, there you are.” Donna spotted Josh across the deserted lobby and headed
towards him. “Are you ready to go? Helen will kill us if we’re late to her pre-party,
dinner thing.”
Josh didn’t answer. He was too busy looking around the room.
“Josh?" Donna tried in vain to get his attention. "Josh, are you listening to me?”
“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. I was just-” His voice died as he finally turned and saw her.
“You were just what?” Donna asked with a smile as she came to stand before him.
“You…” He continued to stare at her with a slightly slack jaw.
“What about me? The dress?” Donna looked down and smoothed the fabric. “It’s a
loaner for the evening. Helen insisted I wear one of the dresses she rejected, I never
imagined wearing someone's cast offs could be such a good deal. Is it okay?”
“It’s..." Josh took a moment to catch his breath. "It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect.
You look amazing.”
Donna cheeks flushed becomingly, as much for the way he was looking at her as for
his complimentary words. “Thank you, and you look very handsome in your
tuxedo.” Almost by rote she reached up and started to straighten his bow tie.
Josh nodded and quickly started looking around the room again.
Donna’s brow crinkled slightly. He’d been acting oddly jumpy for days, maybe even
weeks, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it. She tugged on his sleeve. “So are
you ready to go up to the residence for cocktails?”
“Um, not yet, do you… uh… wanna go outside for a minute?”
“Outside?” Donna asked with a bewildered chuckle. “It snowed earlier today and
it’s hovering just above zero. This slip of a dress is a Richard Tyler. It also happens
to be white, so not only do I have to worry about being cold; I have to worry about
getting it dirty. It’s dirty outside. Why would we go outside?”
“To… uh… experience the delights of the Rose Garden?”
“There are no roses in winter and personally I’ve always thought the delights of the
Rose Garden are over rated. We should probably just head up to the residence for
dinner.”
“Oh… so that’s a no?” Josh asked with growing anxiety. Obviously his ploy to
follow Sam’s suggestion and get her to the magic and wonder of nature wasn’t
working.
“Josh, what’s going on?”
Quickly he swiped the back of his hand across his brow. He was just the slightest bit
worried that he might be experiencing flop sweat and he knew that flop sweat was
the last thing he needed at the moment.
After one last desperate glance around the lobby he was finally hit with inspiration.
“You’re Christian.”
“Yes, I am.” Donna’s voice was laced with amusement. “Thanks for remembering.”
“You like the tree?” He pointed to the majestically beautiful Christmas tree that
dominated the center of the lobby. Most people had deserted the West Wing in
order to get ready for the party so they were the only two in the area.
“I hope so. I spent the better part of a week helping Helen decide on the decorations
for this thing. That tree is placed perfectly in the center there due mainly to my
influence. Don’t swell too much with pride at my massive contrib-”
“Come here.” His interruption of her self-deprecating joke was rather breathless.
He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the center of the room and the sparkling
pine giant.
“Josh-“
Once he got to the tree he stopped for a moment with his back to her. His breath
coming in rapid, ragged succession as his fingers fumbled numbly for the ring box in
the pocket of his tux jacket. Finding it he flipped it open with one hand, a move he’d
been practicing for over a month, and then turned around to face her.
“Jo…” His name died on her lips as the object he was holding registered with her.
There might have been 2000 twinkling white lights on the tree next to her, but they
paled in comparison to the brilliance of the ring he was holding.
Josh felt his blood rushing through his veins and his heart thudding almost painfully
against his chest. “Donna…”
"Josh..." Her voice was barely above a whisper and she felt dazed, like she was
floating. In the recesses of her mind it flitted past that this must be what an out of
body experience is like.
"Donna..."
"Josh..."
"Donna..."
She swallowed hard as she tore her gaze from the ring and looked up and met his
eyes. Despite her own whirling emotional state she immediately registered how
obviously nervous he was. A smile stole across her lips. "Okay, we have to move
beyond the name thing.”
He nodded in agreement, not trusting his voice, besides the fact that the speech he'd
been planning for over a month had completely deserted him.
With her eyes glittering brightly with tears and emotion, Donna looked back to the
ring and broke her own rule by sighing, “Oh, Josh,” once again before continuing
with a slight stutter, “Is… is this why you've been acting a little weird lately?"
The word “probably” left his lips in a rushed whisper as he felt himself sink down
onto one trembling knee. The marble floor of the lobby bit deeply into his kneecap
but he didn’t notice the pain.
Donna’s heart had tripled its pace and she brought one hand up to her chest as if she
could still it. She couldn’t, nor did she really want to. "Oh my God… you're really
proposing."
"Actually,” Josh paused a second to strengthen his hoarse voice by clearing his
throat, “I'm not asking you to marry me, Donna."
Her face fell as her mind tried to compute the situation. With much confusion and
unmasked disappointment she asked, "You're not?"
"No." He swallowed hard. He also really hoped she wouldn’t notice his slightly
shaking hand as he held the small velvet box out in front of her.
Donna composed herself and surveyed him with a critical, if still watery, eye.
"Because you're in a tuxedo, holding a black velvet box with the most beautiful
diamond ring I've ever seen and you're down on one knee."
Josh nodded a couple of times before he was able to continue. "Yes, yes I am."
Donna was silent and didn’t dare so much as breath as she waited for him to
continue.
"I'm not just asking you to marry me, Donna." He inhaled sharply and then with his
voice slightly harsh with emotion he continued. "I'm asking you to marry me tonight."
SMASH CUT TO OPENING TITLES