#sam seaborn x donna moss

[joshdonnas]

"As you probably know, the President does a regular Saturday morning radio address, which he records on Friday. The address is usually two to three minutes in length. When it's over, the President will be happy to stand for pictures. Uh, I'm gonna ask you to form a horseshoe against that wall. Not an actual horseshoe. That takes special training as a blacksmith."

'AND IT'S SURELY TO THEIR CREDIT' (2x05) THE WEST WING

[starship21zedna9]

I've started watching The West Wing for the first time since it aired. And I was in grade school when that show started. I always shipped Josh and Donna but Josh and Sam didn't occur to my young, foolish mind. Totally seeing it now though. And it doesn't take away from Josh and Donna. Josh has two hands etc. etc.

Also seeing some crazy tension between CJ and Toby that I definitely didn't notice when I was 8.

[fangirlinc]

i’ve been watching west wing since 2003 cuz of my parents and never understood any of it until 2015. i��ve seen it over 20 times in it’s entirety at this point. all of my family loves the west wing. family parties are literally just west wing quotes back and forth. i’m nuts and it’s clearly genetic.

[futurefemalepolitician]

does anyone know where to find the west wing logoless or a scene pack acc, I want to start editing for the fandom but have had zero luck finding scenes

[twwpress]

Weekly Press Briefing #72: November 5th - 11th

Welcome back to the Weekly Press Briefing, where we bring you highlights from The West Wing fandom each week, including new fics, ongoing challenges, and more! This briefing covers all things posted from November 5 - 11, 2023! Did we miss something? Let us know; you can find our contact info at the bottom of this briefing! 

Challenges/Prompts:

There are no open challenges/prompts that we know of this week. Do you have a challenge or event you’d like us to promote or know of one we’re missing? Be sure to get in touch with us! Contact info is at the bottom of this briefing.

This Week in Canon:

Welcome back to This Week in Canon, where we revisit moments in The West Wing that occurred on these dates during the show’s run.

Season 1, Episode 7: The State Dinner aired on November 10, 1999.

Season 2, Episode 6: The Lame Duck Congress aired on November 8, 2000.

Season 3, Episode 5: War Crimes aired on November 7, 2001.

Season 4, Episode 7: Election Night aired on November 6, 2002.

Season 5, Episode 6: Disaster Relief aired on November 5, 2003.

Season 6, Episode 4: Liftoff aired on November 10, 2004.

Season 7, Episode 7: Live Debate Episode aired on November 6, 2005.

Photos/Videos:

Here’s what was posted from November 5 - November 11:

Allison Janney posted a reel of Christopher Walken dancing (from a Fatboy Slim video) along with a message celebrating the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Amy Landecker posted photos of herself, Brad, and their former Transparent castmate Paula Newsome at the opening night of Alex Edelman’s show Just For Us. 

Bradley Whitord posted a promo image for Alex Edelman’s show Just For Us along with glowing praise. 

Dule Hill posted an announcement and celebration post about the SAG-AFTRA strike being over. 

Dule Hill posted a video of himself tap dancing on the helipad on the roof of the St. Regis Mexico City. 

Janel Moloney posted a photo of her beagle Ollie curled up on an outfit she had laid out. 

Mary McCormack posted a photo of herself limbering up before a day of walking the picket line, a photo of herself walking with her “WB warriors” Ever Carradine and Elizabeth Wachsberg, and a photo of herself with her “union strong sisters” (including Allison Janney) along with a message of solidarity. 

Peter James Smith posted photos from backstage/behind the scenes on Upload (3rd season now streaming on Amazon Prime): 1 | 2 | 3 

Donna Moss Daily: November 5 | November 6 | November 7 | November 8 | November 9 | November 10 | November 11

Daily Josh Lyman: November 5 | November 6 | November 7 | November 8 | November 9 | November 10 | November 11

No Context BWhit: November 5 | November 6 | November 7 | November 8 | November 10 | November 11

@twwarchive: November 9 

Edits/Artwork:

#ABBEYBARTLET: showing a little décolletage… by @livsbenson [VIDEO EDIT]  season 2 joshdonna you were everything to me!! by @nacejisbon [VIDEO EDIT]

Editors’ Choice: 

We are taking a week off and will be back with fresh recommendations next time! 

Fics:

Presenting your weekly roundup of fics posted in the tag for The West Wing on Archive of Our Own. 

Josh/Donna

Errors and Omissions by Chinesepapercut | Rated M | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

Domestic Days by spooky_spacegirl | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

Come Back, Be Here by MatthewsMary | Rated E | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete [Editor’s Note: While this fic is listed on AO3 as complete, it has continued to update and appears to be a WIP]

On the Trail by Tyrols | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

it’s tough to feign indifference, baby by coldswaters | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete 

Other Pairings/Gen Fic

Getting Both by E_Rocc | Rated G | Christopher Mulready, Roy Ashland, Jed Bartlet (No Pairings Listed) | Complete

it started off with a kiss... now it ended up like this by imawkwardlysoc | Rated G | Sam Seaborn/Original Female Character | In Progress

right or wrong by helsinkibaby | Rated G | Ainsley Hayes/Leo McGarry | Complete

The Language of Tomorrow by silasfinch for justdreaming88 | Rated T | Ellie Bartlet/Original Female Character(s) | In Progress

PA Stories by pipisafoat | Rated T | Josh Lyman (No Pairings Listed) | In Progress

Two For the Road by onekisstotakewithme for miabicicletta, Luppiters, daylight_angel | Rated G | C.J. Cregg & Toby Ziegler (No Pairings Listed) | Complete

Breathe by GlitteringNiffler | Rated T | Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet | Complete

The Vice Presidency  by pipisafoat | Rated G | Leo McGarry/Original Female Character(s) | Complete

Come Apart by krazykitkat | Rated M | Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg | Complete

Multiple Pairings

War & Peace by miabicicletta for krazykitkat, onekisstotakewithme | Rated T | Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg, Josh Lyman/Donna Moss, Andrea Wyatt/Toby Ziegler, Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet | In Progress 

THE WEEKLY PRESS BRIEFING TEAM CAN BE REACHED VIA THE FOLLOWING METHODS:

Twitter: @TWWPress

Email: weeklypressbriefing@gmail.com

Feel free to let us know if we missed something, if you have an event you’d like us to promote, or if you have an item that you’d like included in the next briefing!

xx, What’s next?

[imawkwardlysoc]

i may or may not have forgotten to upload the links to the new chapters and posted them... but hey! chapters 23-30 are out now!

[atorturedpoet1989]

Sam would so cry… and when they have kids

do you think sam would cry at josh and donna’s wedding because i do

[twwpride]

Congratulations on finishing Day 4 of The West Wing Pride Week!

Today's works are listed below. Don't forget to leave love and support on everyone's work — community is what makes it all count!

Behind walls of regret by @fangirling-throughlife Prompt Fill: Pre-Canon, (M/M) Sam Seaborn x Josh Lyman

you’re so warm (oh, ritual) by rearviewmirror/@larsulrichburneracc Prompt Fill: Unconventional Relationships & Pre-Canon, (F/M) (M/M) Abbey Bartlet x Jed Bartlet x Leo McGarry

Fabricated Fairytales by @worldsofdreamers Prompt Fill: Unconventional Relationships & Pre-Canon, (Multi) CJ Cregg & Toby Ziegler

comfort crowd by sparrow_writes/@callixton Prompt Fill: Unconventional Relationships, (Multi) CJ Cregg x Toby Ziegler x Josh Lyman x Sam Seaborn x Donna Moss

[joshdonnas]

In which Ainsley makes an innocent question and gets subjected to The Joshdonna Show ™️ (featuring Sam).

17 PEOPLE (2x18) | The West Wing (1999-2006)

[singingaboutwishingx]

the sam/josh/donna we DESERVED

so, as we all know, canon neither confirms nor denies the existence of a josh/sam relationship

this, of course, means it happened.

and so when sam and donna find themselves in bed together at the beginning of year four, as attractive people tend to do, this becomes a problem for both of them

because the two of them had always been pretty close

(they were both individually closer to josh but had formed a friendship in their own right. donna had been sleeping in sam’s guest room at least once a month for a year before it happened)

but anyway, this closeness was partially born out of the fact that they both had feelings for josh

sam, as josh’s ex, would have taken him back in a second, and what began as a seed of a crush for donna soon blossomed into love

it’s nice to feel things with a friend, and they didn’t do it a whole lot, but it was definitely a bonding point for them

anyway they both knew that about the other and went “oh shit” when they woke up the morning after

because like,,, their feelings for josh absolutely had not gone away, but sam’s pretty goddamn, well, pretty, and donna more or less rocked his world

so they keep it up because, hey, josh is doing... whatever he’s doing with amy gardner right now, and it’s pretty obvious that he’s not interested in either one of them for the foreseeable future

(they’re both absolutely oblivious, but they are kind of right—neither of them will get involved with josh anytime soon)

they throw a few real, outside-of-sam’s-apartment dates into the mix

it’s clear pretty quickly that this isn’t a fluke. they’d enjoyed each other’s company before, but donna very much likes sitting on sam’s lap instead of next to him at a respectable distance, and sam certainly isn’t complaining about it, either

it’s a few months before anyone significant finds out

(at this point, the only people who know are donna’s roommate and sam’s doorman)

there’s a knock on sam’s door one saturday morning as he and donna lay in bed

sam reluctantly goes to answer the door (“couldn’t i just pretend i’m not home?” he pulls her closer. “sam, what if it’s important?”)

when josh calls sam’s cell phone, sam doesn’t get a word out before josh starts “sam, come open your door. i’m outside.”

donna and sam are Very Stressed about this

it’s fine, though. as long as donna stays in the bedroom, quietly, josh doesn’t need to find out

and so sam goes to open the door, but decidedly does not invite josh in

“sam, what’s goin’ on? you got someone here or something?”

“um, yeah.”

“oh. you could have just said so.” josh’s eyes wander past sam to the coffee table. “is—is that... donna’s purse?”

sam’s eyes widen. shit.

needless to say, josh did not take it very well.

sam calls donna out of the bedroom, and the way the too-big sweatshirt she’s wearing—unmistakably sam’s—drapes over her goes straight to josh’s heart.

sam and donna sit on the couch while josh paces in front of them

“so, let me get this straight. my—my best friend, and my... other best friend are sleeping together and they didn’t tell me for months?”

josh has been rubbing his temples for so long that donna’s afraid he’ll rub his skin off

he’s not not happy for them, but donna and sam aren’t the only ones with feelings for their coworker and their ex

and that’s just kind of how it is for a while.

donna and sam don’t exactly hide, but they try their best to keep it on the down low for both press reasons and josh reasons

mostly they just order takeout and eat it on sam’s couch because neither of them really has the energy to do anything else

josh never, ever asks either one of them about it. he can’t. the less information he knows, the better.

he genuinely can’t stand it because it just doesn’t feel right to him. sam and donna? really? (no of course he doesn’t have feelings for either one of them he doesn’t he doesn’t he doesn’t)

unfortunately for sam and donna, the little routine they’ve settled into comes to a screeching halt in november, when sam pulls donna into his office and tells her he might have to move across the country because he’s running for the california 47th? why the hell didn’t you tell anyone?

and listen, cj and leo have simultaneous aneurysms, but that’s nothing compared to the way donna’s and josh’s hearts just shatter

josh doesn’t really talk to sam about it. he’s afraid he’ll just break down, and he really, really doesn’t have time to cry, especially in front of sam. he just... he can’t do it

donna doesn’t really know what to do. she and sam talk about it, of course, and decide to maybe stop seeing each other, but what does she say? “i broke up with my boyfriend”? they were hitting the stops of dating, she supposes, and they would occasionally refer to each other as their boyfriend/girlfriend in public, but really only for the benefit of others

(donna preferred the way ginger would put it, which was “donna, how’s your man?” she liked that better. “boyfriend” felt too formal, too established. she and sam were a little more casual than that, she thinks)

(and she loved him, she did, but there was something (josh) keeping her from really feeling like sam was her boyfriend)

but anyway, they leave it kind of open-ended (which is how sam ends up in donna’s hotel room when the senior staff goes to california)

smash cut to march 2007: josh and donna are a pretty established couple, and sam is two and a half months off another broken engagement

sam’s thrilled for them because, seriously, they danced around that thing for years. they deserve to be together in broad daylight.

his feelings for the both of them never really went away, but he knows they’ve both moved on

(they had not, in fact)

unsurprisingly, it’s donna who brings it up to josh

“so, we both dated sam.”

“...yeah?”

“i don’t know about you, but... now that he’s back in dc, i wouldn’t be opposed to seeing him again.”

“i... donna, are you trying to break up with me?”

“no—no, of course not. what i’m trying to ask is if you would be opposed to... seeing him with me. together.”

“oh.”

josh stares into the distance for so long that donna starts to worry

“josh?”

“sorry, yeah?”

“what do you think?”

“i don’t think... sam’s fresh off an engagement. i’m not sure he would be in the headspace for a one-time thing with two of his exes. quite frankly, i’m not sure i am, either.”

“oh, i didn’t mean a one-time thing. i was thinking more... long term. if that’s something both you and he would be into.”

josh looks back at donna, the smile on his face growing

“oh. well, yeah, i... i think i’d be into that.”

and so they set up a dinner. they ask sam to come over to their place, telling him that the three of them need to talk. it’s nothing urgent, they tell him, just a long-overdue catch-up.

(and really, it is—the transition and first two months had been too busy for the three of them to sit down, regardless)

so they have dinner, and afterward, they send sam to sit on the couch in the living room while they bring down the dishes

when they finish, donna perches on the arm of couch above sam, and josh sits next to him

she starts stroking his hair, and sam, too touch-starved to think about it, just leans into her. they’d always been platonically affectionate (and donna’s kind of like that with everyone, anyway), so he’s not particularly worried.

“sammy,” josh starts, and now sam does start to worry.

josh only ever called him “sammy” when they were dating—why bring it back now?

josh keeps going. “donna and i have been talking for a while now about making a change.”

“we both love you, you know that?” donna picks up, continuing to run her fingers through sam’s hair. “and we know you love us.”

sam still can’t figure out what’s happening for the life of him

“yeah, i know,” he says quietly. “and i do.”

josh smiles at him. “we were talking, and donna reminded me that we’ve both dated you at one point or another. and the funny thing is that neither of us really ever stopped having feelings for you.”

oh, sam thinks.

“and we were wondering,” donna says, “if you might still have feelings for us.”

sam stiffens up a little bit—he’s spent so long trying to find anyone that held a candle to either of them, and now...

donna notices. “sam, honey,” she says gently (and, god, donna calling him “honey” just does something to him), “we don’t ever want to make you feel uncomfortable. you’re our friend first. if this isn’t something you’re interested in, short-term or long term, we’ll drop it and we don’t ever have to speak about this again.”

“no,” he says, maybe a little too quickly. “i would definitely be interested. short-term, or long-term, or whatever you guys want.”

josh and donna share a grin that seems to say we got him.

donna stops stroking his hair. “i think we’re both very glad to hear that.”

sam almost can’t breathe when donna tips his head up and kisses him, and when she pulls away, he just stares at her until josh puts a hand on his cheek

when josh then leans in to kiss him, sam is pretty sure he’s died and gone to heaven.

and when they go to bed that night, donna’s head lays on sam’s chest, her arm stretched out over his body so she can hold josh’s hand, who’s curled up on his side, his face buried in sam’s shoulder.

the collective love in the room could power the entire city of washington, d.c.

needless to say, this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

bonus:

their first call is cj because, even though she’s no longer responsible for presenting their lives to the press, they know that nobody else but her would really know what to do

when they tell her, she’s silent for a second before she says “josh, i didn’t think you were the type.”

(danny passes by and sees the shit-eating grin on her face and she just mouths “later”)

josh, of course, is very offended

“i—cj—what do you mean, not the type?”

“well, sam and donna, maybe. i can see that for them, but you seem too possessive to share.”

sam and donna look at each other and burst out laughing

“cj,” donna says, “just imagine josh but with two partners to worry about.”

they all have a nice, long laugh at that (well, not josh)

“i’m breaking up with both of you. and i’m revoking your friend card, cj.”

“oh, josh,” sam says, kissing his cheek, “you love us too much for that.”

“i was only teasing, mi amor. i’m very happy for the three of you, and i really can’t say i’m surprised,” cj’s slightly staticky voice comes through the phone.

while she does advise them to keep it discreet, she tells them to just own it if it comes out.

when they hang up, the three of them feel lighter. they told someone and it went fine.

they’re going to be okay, they think.

bonus bonus:

they take turns sleeping in the middle of the bed because equality of affection is very important to them

donna absolutely loves to call them “my men” and josh and sam call her “our girl”

they love each other. they really just love each other so much.

[fangirlinc]

i bet every toby ziegler loving girlie or guylie loves mr. darcy too

[iceman-maverick]

behold, the long awaited "x-coded, y girl" west wing alignment quiz

take the quiz here

i spent a STUPID amount of time on this. based on the og chart i made like 3 months ago lmaoo

[donnajosh]

THE WEST WING 4.07 – “Election Night”

[twwpress]

Weekly Press Briefing #66: September 24th - 30th

Welcome back to the Weekly Press Briefing, where we bring you highlights from The West Wing fandom each week, including new fics, ongoing challenges, and more! This briefing covers all things posted from September 24 - September 30, 2023! Did we miss something? Let us know; you can find our contact info at the bottom of this briefing! 

Challenges/Prompts:

The following is a roundup of open challenges/prompts. Do you have a challenge or event you’d like us to promote? Be sure to get in touch with us! Contact info is at the bottom of this briefing.

@callixton hosted The West Wing Pride Week (@twwpride here on tumblr) September 17 - 23. More details here, and you can check out the AO3 collection here! 

This Week in Canon:

Welcome back to This Week in Canon, where we revisit moments in The West Wing that occurred on these dates during the show’s run.

Season 1, Episode 2: Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc aired on September 29, 1999.

Season 4, Episode 1: 20 Hours in America Part I aired on September 25, 2002.

Season 4, Episode 2: 20 Hours in America Part II aired on September 25, 2002.

Season 5, Episode 1: 7A WF 83429 aired on September 24, 2003.

Season 7, Episode 1: The Ticket aired on September 25, 2005.

Photos/Videos:

Here’s what was posted from September 24 - September 30:

Bradley Whitford posted a photo of his wife Amy Landecker along with a sweet message for her birthday. 

Marlee Matlin posted a photo of herself with her daughters in honor of National Daughters Day. 

Marlee Matlin posted a photo of herself and her sister getting their hair done together over FaceTime. 

Marlee Matlin posted photos of herself with her sons in honor of National Sons Day. 

Marlee Matlin posted photos of herself out on the ice for an NHL game. 

Rob Lowe posted a throwback photo of him swimming underwater in the ocean. 

Donna Moss Daily: September 24 | September 25 | September 26 | September 27 | September 28 | September 29 | September 30

Daily Josh Lyman: September 24 | September 25 | September 26 | September 27 | September 28 | September 29 | September 30

No Context BWhit:  September 24 | September 25 | September 26 | September 27 | September 28 | September 29 | September 30

@twwarchive: September 24 | September 25 | September 26 | September 27 | September 28 | September 29 | September 30

@bestofcjtoby: September 24

Editors’ Choice: 

Because it premiered this week in 2005, we’re rounding up some of our favorite fics that take place during or after the events of The Ticket (Season 7, Episode 1). 

I don't wanna miss you like this (come back... be here) by WitchyPrentiss | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | This starts as the part in the rom-com where everything feels like it won’t end up okay and some sad song is playing as the leads go about their lives without each other - but bare with me because every rom-com has a happy ending. Post the ticket, pre the Al Smith dinner Title: Come Back Be Here by Taylor Swift

As Swords Go by thefinestmuffins | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | After his disaster interview with Donna, Josh gets some advice from Leo and does his best to makes amends with the help of emotional vulnerability and Chinese takeout. Post-Ep Fix-It for The Ticket

see right through me by itwasit | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | Lou shoves him into the room with her and he’s not prepared. He doesn’t have his folder full of her quotes to remind him of why he can’t miss her. He doesn’t have his memories prepared, in the front of his mind, of the specific ways her leaving hurt.

taylor swift song fic (josh's version) (the archer)

Spoiling for a Fight at Midnight by LizaCameron | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | Josh and Donna finally fight it out, post The Ticket

You're Gonna Die Bloody (and All You Can Do is Choose Where) by onekisstotakewithme for daylight_angel, miabicicletta, Luppiters, hondagirll | Rated T | Danny Concannon/C.J. Cregg  | Complete | The hearings will turn over every rock in her life, every email, every phone call – and of course they’ll see Danny’s name – but she can’t drag him down any further. 

Chianti by TheBreakfastGenie | Rated G | Josh Lyman & Toby Ziegler, C. J. Cregg & Toby Ziegler,Josh Lyman/Donna Moss, Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg | Complete | The bag hits the ground with her, and the bottle breaks, spilling dark wine all over the driveway. He stares at the dark liquid spreading over the ground, staining the ice. It’s more purple than red, but it might as well be blood. make

an honest stand by jazzjo | Rated G | C. J. Cregg/Kate Harper | Complete | Oliver Babish asks her, once, then again after a dizzying go-around, if she trusts Kate. She does; she trusts Kate Harper with her life.

Please hold while we reblog with this week's fics!

[imawkwardlysoc]

chapter 18 is out! beware of a congresswoman karen in this chapter

[bartletforamerica]

How the Bartlet Administration Reacts to COVID-19

Abbey: is not taking any chances. After losing the fight to get the President to retreat to the farm or Camp David, she gets him to agree to limit himself to the oval office and the residence, with as few in person meetings as possible. Even before they’ve pulled together a White House task force, she’s made sure that everything is being disinfected and that her entire schedule is either canceled or made virtual. Her staff is the first to be working from home (and oh boy does she scold if she finds out any of them did something she thinks is foolish), with most of the rest of the White House staff following shortly after. She makes it her mission to do PSAs on what people should be doing and even does a virtual Sesame Street collaboration to teach kids how to wash their hands.

Zoey: Is not super pleased to be stuck in the Residence 24/7. She’s doing classes from her bedroom, so yay to not having to get out of bed early, but she can tell people are super disappointed that her camera is set up so that she has only a blank wall behind her [it turns out the secret service is very touchy about where you take video calls]. She also gets officially hired and given a security clearance for the sole fact that she’s one of the only people allowed to be near her dad who is tech-literate. She ends up doing some of her reading on the couch in his office so that she's on hand for when he's supposed to be skyping with the senior staff and can't figure out what link to click. She spends a lot of time worrying about Ellie, who helping do research about the virus, and texting her friends.

The President: is not happy to be closed up away from people. He also thinks that Abbey is overreacting where he's concerned. He misses actually getting to be around the younger staff. He and Zoey do a cooking from home video at C.J.'s suggestion, so that the country can see he's alive and to encourage people to not go out. They make chili and fight over whether it needs more cumin or oregano while Abbey records it and pipes in from behind the camera. The country is treated to a history of chili and a diplomatic incident nearly happens because apparently Mexicans deny having any association with it, even though most food historians say it has Mexican roots. The flaming debate doesn't stop a second episode at Thanksgiving where the country is treated to the history of the yam and all the secret spices that go into the President's stuffing. A large portion of the country gives him flack for putting Oysters in his stuffing. [In a small bedroom in an Illinois apartment a woman finally figures out why Joe Bethersonsen sounded so familiar.]

Leo: moved into the Residence because there was no way he was going to talk the President off ledges via skype for however long this lasted. He can only do so much. Zoey helps him learn to use Skype and he finds himself missing Margaret desperately even when he spends most of the day with a computer dedicated to having her on Skype so he can turn to it and ask her questions. She insists he get exercise and eat healthy (something he thinks she’s collaborating with the first lady on behind his back—they say very similar things much of the time). He skypes with Mallory on Sunday mornings over breakfast in his room and they pretend they’re at a hotel having a fancy brunch.

Charlie: is not particularly happy. He got sent home with everyone else because he’s not particularly necessary to have on hand if the president isn’t going anywhere. He’s still getting paid and he does do some work (the most important bit being hanging out on the phone with the president so he can ramble about history so Zoey can get her own reading done, Leo can browbeat the staff, and the first lady can do her own job) but he’s been ordered by the president and first lady to focus on getting extra school done while he can.

Donna: started freaking out the first day there was a rumor of a new disease in China. Then the White House shut down and even senior staff got sent home unless they absolutely needed to be in the building (basically just C.J. and some of her staff). And her roommate (not the one she'd really liked, who had a cat, but one she hopes is only temporary) works for a GOP congressman who thinks the whole thing is a hoax and bans masks in his office, so Donna is not at all happy and spends time she should be working cleaning things her roommate touches and that's sixty percent of how she ends up living with Josh.

Josh: is struggling with not being allowed to leave the house on pain of the first lady taking him to task (something about his lungs and the bullet). Even when he was putting his nose to the grindstone to make it through college and law school, he liked being around people while he studied, so he was usually in the library or a cafe rather than his room. He works best when he can bounce ideas off people and take in new ideas. When he was grounded after surgery it absolutely sucked and that was why he drove everyone crazy calling them all the time. Yeah he was bored, but he was also lonely. Plus he's not the best with technology. He very nearly went on national tv with his boxers showing, if not for Donna skyping him beforehand and making sure he fixed the camera. Between needing not to be alone and needing his assistant to be able to actually help him, the invite for Donna to stay with him slips out when she's complaining about her roommate. She shows up two hours later with two suitcases of clothes and two suitcases with pasta, toilet paper, and flour.

Donna and Josh: are handling the pandemic much better now that they're together. Josh can bounce ideas off Donna without it tying up his phone line. And she can listen in on his calls to the various members of congress about the stimulus package that they're working on. It's an even better look at Josh's job than she had before, and while it makes some of her work harder to focus on, she feels like she understands some things better than she ever has before. Josh even starts listening to her about how to sway certain congressmembers to their side. When they're not working, Donna forces Josh to cook with her so they're not entirely subsisting on delivery. They tried making bread and managed to spill half a bag of flour on the floor in the process but they ate all of it, even though it tasted pretty bland. Josh finally got Donna into baseball when it came back. Toby spit out his beer when he was on speakerphone with them and he heard Donna accurately yelling at the Mets for screwing up. Donna wears Josh's clothes more than her own, since she doesn't have to be on camera most of the time. They're platonically sharing a bed because they haven't found a convertible sofa for his living room that they like, they say, and it doesn't make sense for one of them to sleep on the couch, which they say has a spring that makes it uncomfortable to sleep on, even though Donna lounges on it all day with no problem. They are absolutely not dating and so they tell all their friends.

C.J.: spends five minutes laughing every time she gets off the phone with Josh or Donna. She loves her friends but god they're so completely in denial. It does, however, give her a much needed break. Her job has always involved a lot of people and knowing what venue to meet them in to ensure that she gets or passes on the information she needs. COVID protocols mean no more one-on-one meetings with journalists in her office, no more gaggles following her through the halls. The press corps were not happy when they moved all briefings outside and insisted on face masks and shields in addition to everyone sitting six feet apart. She gets asked about the president's health at least once a day and they start doing weekly waving from the balconies just so the press corps can get footage of him, healthy and shouting down to Danny and some of the others. Someone makes a cartoon of the president in the tower, with Abbey as his dragon keeper and though no one is willing to justify a cartoon with a comment, privately C.J. thinks it's accurate. She's always admired Abbey's fierce protectiveness of her family, even when she doesn't agree with every way it expresses itself or when it interferes with C.J.'s job. She has to come up with new ways to push the White House agenda (keep the economy afloat, stay home, no, don't listen to the GOP governors or those running for the primary, those ideas are not good, go the fuck home and stop having parties) and while some work, others bomb. It would help if everyone would stay on message and not screw up.

Sam: would like to make it clear that he did not know how many people would be at that gathering. He thought he was going for an outdoor meal with just a few old friends who could help raise money for the democratic party, not a fifty-person birthday party. The media fallout nearly gets him fired. Instead he gets yelled at by C.J., then by the First Lady. Mallory even sends him a card about how stupid he was. He's pretty sure that having Donna around is the only reason that Josh hasn't made the same mistake by now. It had to have been a toss up as to which of the two of them would screw up. Sam just isn't lucky enough to have a Donna (Sam is very happy that Josh has a Donna, Sam just wants Josh to realize that he talks about Donna the same way most men talk about their wives, because it's really hard not to respond to "why do I put up with finding her hair clogging the shower drain" with "because you love her and can't live without her, stupid"). He instead has adopted a cat for company. It tries to scratch him every time he tries to pet it. Sam spends his days trying to find a way to say "fuck the economy until we've beaten the virus" in a way that is palatable to the American people while trying to remind Toby that they can't actually say that outright. This is not an easy task.

Toby: would like to tell most of the American public to shut up, stay indoors for two months, pretty much nobody excepted, and if you don't, then you get tossed out to sea. He's come within an inch of telling anti-mask people they deserve to get sick on the record and is strongly advocating that the federal government figure out a way to mandate that every person in the country, minus those with legitimate medical exceptions, get the vaccine as soon as possible. He is also about to get evicted because it turns out his neighbors do not appreciate having rubber balls bounced against the walls for hours on end. Apparently, the thud is rather annoying. He worries about everyone, though this is delivered brusquely. Out of everyone he's taking the new work from home situation the best. No one can pop in to distract him, or comment on his eating habits. And if he doesn't want to talk to someone, he can always turn his phone to silent and pretend not to have seen they called. He's not pleased the Yankees lost to the Rays (necessitating rooting for either the Dodgers or the Rays, one of which beat his team and the other which betrayed New York), but he can at least take solace in the fact that the Mets didn't even make the playoffs.