Title:Six O'Clock News
Author:VegaWriters
Fandom: The West Wing
Rating: Teen
Characters: Will/Donna
Disclaimer: The West Wing and all its characters are a property of Aaron Sorkin, John Wells Production, Warner Brothers Television and NBC. No copyright infringement is intended. In other words, all West Wing characters are owned by NBC, Warner Brothers, John Wells, et al. I have absolutely no rights at all regarding them. I make no money with the characters that Aaron Sorkin created, or with the characters that were later created by John Wells.
A/N: Originally posted to my now defunct geocities site. Written for: alaira tww_minis



She laughed as he came up behind her, gently sliding the scarf away from her neck. He did it to tease her, to play with her, to toy with his own half-fulfilled fantasies about this amazingly intelligent woman. He knew on a conscious level, that was why he’d hired her- her skills, her abilities to manipulate the system and the people inside the system. Someday he might admit it was because he was a sucker for blondes with beautiful smiles. But as a liberated liberal, he knew better than to admit that his libido ever drove anything he did.

“What do you have for me?” Donna rescued the scarf from Will’s probing hands and set it aside. On a conscious level she knew she’d sought him out because at the time, he’d been working for the best hope for the Democrats. The man was one she didn’t believe in – but Will was a miracle man and if he could get dead men elected then he could maybe find a way to have Bingo Bob Russell taking the Oath of Office in January. Someday she might admit that she’d sought him out because she liked his glasses and she was a sucker for smart, yet humble guys. But, as a feminist, she would never admit to anyone that she let her sexuality make the choices on occasion.

“You’re going to be the talking head on the six o’clock news tonight. All four networks, ABC has you at 6:05, NBC at 6:13,” he handed over the schedule, “CBS at 6:22 and Fox for thirty whole seconds at 6:28.”

“Push the message?”

“Push the message.” He confirmed with a smile before ordering a cheeseburger with fries and a coke. When Donna ordered her salad, he felt a bit like a pig, but when she stole half his fries as they talked he felt better. When her fingers brushed his on more than one occasion, he couldn’t help the lump in his throat. He wanted her to like him. Was that too fifth graderish of him? He contemplated sending her a note, leaving it tucked into her scarf when she snuck away to use the ladies room. Will you go out with me? Check yes or no.

The walk back from the ladies room allowed her to watch him watch her scarf. She found it adorable; her neck still tingled where he’d touched her as he pulled the fabric from her body. Donna wondered, for just a minute, what it would feel like to have him pull the rest of her clothes from her body. But she pushed the fleeting feeling aside, she had a job to get back to and that they’d lingered at all in this dingy motel restaurant only meant more work for both of them before they collapsed into their separate beds later tonight. Maybe, if she was lucky, she could manage to be in bed by midnight. She placed her bets on one.

He jumped as her hand connected with his shoulder and they shared a smile as she snagged the bill and signed it to her room. Will rose, ready to leave, but he stopped and reached for the scarf, taking the time to wrap it around her neck. “Stick to the message, Donna. That’s all I’m asking. You know the message, you know the platform. I trust you.”

The words sent her heart racing. He trusted her. “Thanks, Will.” She smoothed the scarf down over her shoulders. “I won’t let you down.”

He watched her as she walked away, back to the insanity of the War Room. He knew, no matter what happened in the end, that she never would. The feeling of the scarf lingered on his fingers and he smiled softly and let himself hope that maybe, next time, he’d have the guts to place the fifth grade note in a place she could read it. Hopefully, she’d check yes.