"CJ, can you verify a report that Sam had a complete and total meltdown before the address?" Danny asked.

"I'm not sure of the exact term you'd use for it Danny, but I like to say he pulled a Sam," CJ said, wrapping up the post-speech briefing on the plane. "But that wasn't really a surprise, was it? Of course, at this point, he's walking around like he's just won an Oscar, but a few short hours ago, he was indeed, some might say, a little apprehensive about the address."

"Any chance he'd want to comment?" Danny teased.

"Not on anything other than why the speech was brilliant and he was never worried," CJ said with a lopsided grin. "That's it for the plane, folks. Wheels down at Andrews is 4:10, we'll have the next briefing at 6."

Carol motioned toward the corridor and CJ turned her head just in time to see Donna hurry past. Most of the White House Press Corps were respectful enough to keep their distance, but Donna still wanted to avoid them if she could, especially with the week anniversary.

CJ and Carol's thoughts, however, were on an entirely different subject. "Let's go," CJ said.

"Donna," they were behind her, trying to keep up with her breakneck speed.

"Wait a minute," she said quietly.

"Why?" CJ asked. Donna gave her a pointed look and nodded over her shoulder. CJ glanced back toward the press cabin. "Oh. Donna, none of them are going to be that stupid. I mean, to do it right here in front of me?"

"Well, there's always the possibility of the occasional report that I was visibly shaken aboard Air Force One," Donna whispered sarcastically, ducking around the corner.

"He's taken care of, Donna," Carol said.

"He is," CJ said. "Winkie got a talking to he won't soon forget. But we have something to talk to you about."

"Yeah?"

CJ stopped Donna with a hand on her shoulder and gently but insistently pushing her against the wall. "We heard you made a little purchase in New York," she said, a sparkle in her eyes.

Donna did her best to look innocent. "Charlie took me to Angelo's. I bought a calzone, which Josh is going to eat all of instead of the half I told him he could have if I don't get back."

"We heard the calzone story," Carol said. "That's not what we're talking about, and you know it."

Donna did her best to maintain her wide-eyed, innocent expression. "What are we talking about?"

"The dress," CJ said in a singsong tone. "We want to see it."

"How do you even know about it?"

"Charlie," they said in unison.

"It's just a dress," Donna said as she squirmed out of CJ's grasp. "I saw it and was smitten. It was an impulse buy."

"An impulse buy that momentarily stood between Charlie and the calzones and nearly made you late for the President's address," CJ said. "We have to see it."

"Oh, fine," Donna said as they approached her seat again. Josh was on his laptop, and her half of the calzone lay untouched on the tray table. She smiled to herself but didn't let Carol or CJ see.

"In two minutes the other half of this calzone gets eaten," he mumbled without looking up as she reached over the back of her seat and grabbed her work bag.

"Gotcha," she said, as she turned and herded Carol and CJ back toward a more private area of the plane.

**************

"Oh, my God," Carol breathed.

"I know," CJ said.

"I mean, seriously, oh, my God," Carol said.

"I'm saying, I see it. I know," CJ said.

"Well, for what I paid, it ought to get that kind of reaction," Donna said as she pulled it from their collective grasp. She shook her head, admonishing herself quietly as she slid it back in the plastic garment bag and folded it loosely. "I shouldn't have spent so much."

"What are you, nuts?" CJ said as she snatched the dress out of her grasp again. She lifted the plastic to look at the dress once more. "It's like…the exact same color as your eyes. I mean, it almost looks like…like…"

"Like the silk was custom-dyed for you," Carol cooed.

"And it only smells a little like calzone," Donna said sarcastically, eyeing them both warily. "OK, you know what? Let's try this. I think the two of you are a little fixated on the dress. It's a dress, a really nice dress, one that I maxed out my credit card to get. You don't need to stare at it until you memorize every detail, because for what it cost I'm going to be wearing it until it falls off of me in pieces. Now. Give. It. Back." She snatched it away from CJ again.

"Hey, we're just trying to pay proper homage to a good shopping find," CJ said.

"Hey, look at it this way, Donna, you have a new hot date dress," Carol said. "You can retire the red one."

"I like the red one," she said as she put the dress backing her work bag. "But it's definitely getting downgraded."

"So…" CJ said. "When are you gonna wear it first?"

Donna shrugged. "First occasion I have, I guess. I haven't really thought about it."

************

She smoothed the dress down and couldn't help but let a small self- satisfied smile cross her face. She'd left as soon as Haffley had arrived for his meeting with Josh, and had gone home and picked up a few things to complete her ensemble. The dress now smelled more of Febreze and her own perfume than calzone, which was the best she could do without time to get it dry cleaned

She'd told Josh on the plane ride back she was going to stay at her apartment tonight. He'd told her to play it by ear, but it had been clear from his tone that he was going to defer to her wishes. Hmm. First time for everything.

She'd already thrown most of her things in the two duffels she'd carted over to Josh's in the last week. She frowned a little as she dropped Jack into the larger duffle, his head still sticking out of the top. She'd gotten very comfortable here. At the very least, her place was going to be lonely without Josh to talk to. Without anyone to talk to. It isn't as if it had to be Josh. She'd just gotten used to having someone around all the time.

She snapped a delicate dress watch on her left wrist and fastened the clasp of a silver bracelet around her right wrist, her frown deepening. She'd forgotten about her wrists when she decided to wear the dress. The halter neck was fine with her stitches out…but there was nothing on her arms. The watch and bracelet didn't completely hide the bandages, but the cuts, she'd decided, looked worse, even though the were healing nicely. She'd swept her hair into an easy updo to emphasize the neckline of the dress. Black strappy heels and a black pashmina weren't her ideal accessories…she would have loved to have had some shoes dyed to match. But on this kind of notice, it would do just fine.

Her mind drifted back to that afternoon as she did her makeup in the full-length mirror on the back of the bathroom door. "So…when are you gonna wear it first?" CJ had asked. She'd suffer an aneurism on the spot if she could see Donna now, getting dolled up for dinner with Josh in this brand new, ridiculously expensive dress. Because of what it looked like. CJ, and apparently Carol of late, were very concerned with what things looked like. They'd probably misinterpret this as some sort of pining on her part, some sort of unrequited, completely inappropriate thing that poor, pathetic Donna had developed for her boss. The only thing pathetic about that was their characterization of her. 1789 was a formal place where such attire was more than appropriate, and tonight was a treat Josh had planned for her. She'd had one of the worst weeks of her life, and she deserved a new dress and night on the town. The difference between Josh and everyone else was that he knew her well enough to recognize that and do it for her. Carol had been right about one thing…for all his blustering and attempts to prove otherwise, Josh really could be very sweet when he wanted to.

"Hey!" he called as he came in the front door.

"Hey," she said into the mirror.

"Where are you?"

"Doing my makeup in the bathroom mirror…don't come in here, you'll knock me over," she said, placing a handle on the knob momentarily.

"What the hell are you balancing on that I'm gonna knock you over if I open the door?" his voice was much closer now.

"Nothing, I'm using the mirror on the back of the door," she said, bracing one foot against the bottom in case he tried to test the theory while she applied a coat of mascara.

"Ahkay. Our reservations are at 8:30," he said. "So we don't have that much time."

"I'm almost ready," she said.

"I've gotta change, this suit's seen better moments," he called. "Don't come busting in the bedroom trying to fulfill some fantasy as to what I look like without--"

"Exactly whose fantasy is that?" she deadpanned through the door.

"Every woman's," he quipped. "I can't help it, Donna. But you're gonna have to control yourself for a few minutes."

She heard the bedroom door shut behind him and allowed herself a small smile. She could never allow him to think so, but when he said things like that it tended to be both funny and adorable.

The next few minutes passed in silence until she heard the doorbell. She busied herself putting her makeup back in its bag, thinking Josh would answer the door. The bell rang again. She cracked the bathroom door open. Depending on who it was, she didn't necessarily need to be answering the door like she owned the place.

"Josh? Did you wanna get that?" she called, softly enough that she hoped whoever it was hadn't heard her. "Josh?"

A knock finally moved her to step toward the front door and look out the peephole herself.

Josh stood outside, looking down at something in his hands. She laughed out loud and pulled the door open.

"Did you lock yourself ou—"

She stopped short when he held out the bouquet of pink roses wordlessly. She just stared at them, unmoving.

"Happy Appreciation Day," he said finally.

"Josh…" she breathed.

"Donna, it's just a gesture," he said, pushing the roses further at her and stepping inside, shutting the door behind him.

"Just a gesture? A dozen roses is just a gesture?"

"Well…I just…I wanted to do flowers, and I don't know the names of all of them like I'm sure Sam does, and with Valentine's Day, they were all over the place, so, you know. It's not a big deal."

"Valentine's Day? Oh my God, it's Valentine's Day tomorrow!"

"What's the matter, have a hot date?" Josh asked, reaching into the coat closet.

"Nope. In fact, I am without a Valentine. I just didn't realize…it snuck up on me," she said, noticing what he was wearing for the first time now that his back was turned. He was wearing that taupe suit she loved. Did he know that she liked that suit? He always looked so good in it.

"Well, the world will keep turning, Donna," he said as he pulled his coat and hers out of the closet. "Are you ready?"

"I…yeah, I just need to do something with these very thoughtful flowers…"

"Donna…"

"…that are certainly no big deal."

"Thank you," he said.

"How did your meeting with Haffley go?" she called from the kitchen.

"Well, at certain points, I wavered between jumping out the window and making a run for it or jumping over my desk and tackling him," Josh said. "I figured the Secret Service would…"

Donna was standing in the living room again, now gathering up her purse and pashmina.

"Would what?"

"You…you look great. I had no idea you would…I mean didn't expect…you look really good," he finally managed.

"Really?" she pretended to be astonished by his compliment. "Thank you. It's good to know that endangering my job and Charlie's was worth it."

"What?"

"This is the reason we ran late getting back," she said. "I saw this dress on the way to the calzone place and just…I don't know, I just couldn't walk away." She dug through her clutch, making sure she had everything she needed.

"Good call," Josh mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"Uh…" the silence lingered for longer than he would have liked. "You took Charlie dress shopping?" A devilish grin spread across his face.

"Not one word," she said. "He was very sweet and he will not be made fun of for it. Let's go." She leaned up and kissed him quickly on the cheek as she passed him on her way to the door. "Thank you for the flowers."

"The, um…the flowers are just the opener," he said, reaching for his coat and trying to shake the moment off. "Welcome, Donnatella Moss, to your Evening of Appreciation."

"Oooh," Donna said, eyes twinkling as she wrapped the pashmina around her shoulders. "What comes after the opening act?"

"You'll see," he said. A scowl crossed his face. "No way is that what you're wearing."

"What?" she said. "I thought you liked it."

"The um, the dress? I do. I mean, it's very nice. Looks very nice on you, I mean," he said, clearing his throat in an attempt to return his voice to its normal octave range. "But no way is that little…scarf thing all you're wearing out there tonight. You'll freeze."

"No, I won't," Donna said. "It's not that cold."

"It's February, Donna," he held out her coat for her.

"No, Josh, it will ruin the whole look I've got going on here," she insisted.

"Donna, you'll be as blue as that dress by the time the night is over," he said.

"We'll see," she said. "But I'll tell you what I do need. I packed my stuff up…like we talked about…"

"I saw," Josh said, a tinge of disappointment coloring his voice. "You're still set to do it tonight?"

"I've gotta do it sometime, Josh," she said.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know," he disappeared into the bedroom and came back with both duffels hoisted on his shoulders.

"I can take one…" she reached for the smaller duffle.

"You don't think I can handle these two little duffel bags?"

"You never seem to be able to handle your own luggage, why would I think—"

"The Evening of Appreciation is a full-service deal," Josh said, motioning her out the door. "Besides which, you still need to watch that sh—hey, what about your shoulder?"

She was grinning ear to ear when she turned her left shoulder toward him. "The First Lady took the stitches out on the plane."

He stood close so he could look at the blemish on her skin, which just barely peeked out from under the halter neck of her dress. "Hey, look at that." He reached up and pushed the neck of the dress to the side just a fraction of an inch without thinking. "It's just a little pink."

"And raised," Donna moaned. "There's gonna be a scar."

"Not a bad one," he said softly. Donna almost jumped when he put his fingertips on her shoulder next to the scar. "I mean when you consider what it could've…you know…"

"Yeah," she breathed.

He cast his eyes sideways and found she was looking at him. He pulled his hands back and cleared his throat. "Well, you're full of surprises, today, aren't you?"

"As are you," she said, holding his gaze.

He eventually tore his eyes from hers and stepped back. "Ahkay, we've gotta go."

"Yeah."

******************

A brief afternoon rain shower had left the streets and sidewalks reflective. Water whooshed on the pavement with every car that went down the street. A warm front had left the air a little less biting than usual for February in Washington.

"It's nice out," Donna said as Josh dropped her duffle bags into the trunk next to the bag he'd packed the night before.

"Yeah," he said. "You haven't been here before, have you?"

"Huh uh," Donna said. "How far is it?"

"Just a couple of blocks," he said, coming around and unlocking the car door. "If it was warmer we could almost walk it."

She looked at him. "Let's walk it. It's pretty warm out."

"Donna, I mean if it was spring or something, no way can you walk all that way with only that little scarf thing."

She put her hands on her hips. "I'm comfortable."

Josh scoffed. "Sure you are."

"OK. I see what this is. You're too cold. You can't take the cold. That's fine. I understand. Go ahead and drive if you want to. I'll meet you there." She turned and began to cross the street.

"Donna! You're being ridiculous, you know that?"

She turned around as she approached the curb. "Josh, it's OK, you don't have to be embarrassed that you're too wimpy to walk a couple of blocks in this weather. It's just you and me."

He stared at her for a second, then closed the door and jogged after her.

**************

They'd talked about what they were going to have for dinner, what they had to do at the office the next day, and Donna's New York adventure in their short walk over.

When they arrived at the nondescript old building that now housed 1789, the outside sidewalk was crowded with diners waiting on tables.

"I think everyone had this idea," Donna said.

"Everybody thought they'd be smart and beat the Valentine's crowds tomorrow," Josh said. "Come on."

"I'll just wait here," she said, snatching up a spot on the sidewalk while one still remained.

"We have reservations, Donna," Josh said. He could see she was shaking a little against the cold, despite her insistence the entire way over that she was fine.

"We're about five minutes late," Donna said, glancing at her watch. Josh noticed the bandages on her wrist for the first time. "And look at this crowd. They still might be running a little behind."

"We're not gonna have to wait, Donna."

"I know you made reservations, Josh, but sometimes these things can't be helped," Donna said, wrapping the pashmina tighter around her. "Just go check. I'll be right here."

Her teeth were just barely beginning to chatter. He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her close to him so the crowd standing around couldn't hear.

"On the other hand," he said lowly, flashing his dimples, "I'm a very powerful man. You've said so yourself. Donna, these people know me by name. We are absolutely, positively, NOT going to have to wait."

***********

"Yeah, we're gonna have to wait a few minutes," Josh said as he came back over to her. "Someone appears to be dawdling at our table."

"But, how can that be?" Donna asked with mock surprise as she snuggled deeper into the pashmina, even though they were inside. "Did you not tell them that you're a very powerful man?"

Josh rolled his eyes. "Apparently they don't respect the power the way that they should. But it's alright. I'm feeling benevolent tonight."

"Maybe the guy just didn't understand the way you told it to him. I'll just double check to make sure—" she pretended to step around him toward the maitre d'.

"That's enough," he said grabbing her by the arms and steering her in a different direction. "I got us a seat at the bar."

"Wow. You really are a powerful man," Donna groused.

Her skin felt like ice beneath his hands. "You're freezing, Donna. You're gonna get sick."

"I am not. We'll warm up in the bar."

"I bet you will," he jabbed at her gently. "You're gonna like this place, Donna. I've been looking forward to this all day."

Special thanks to Ro, who provided me with some great details about 1789.