Sent You Away~ A Good Year For the Roses

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#003399" TEXT="#080000" background="03fc8c00erkjxk.jpg"> <div> <B>First Installment in the "Sent You Away" series</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#0066CC" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#99CCFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Smiles, Tears, & Happy Endings</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFF99" FACE="Arial" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#CC0000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT>  |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Smiles, Tears, Happy Endings"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id196.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Little Of Each..."><U>A Little Of Each...</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id197.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Murder On The Campaign Express"><U>Murder On The Campaign Express</U></A>   |   <B>Sent You Away~ A Good Year For the Roses</B>   |   <A HREF="id201.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sent You Away All You Can Be"><U>Sent You Away~ All You Can Be</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id202.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sent You AwayLet Me See What Spring Is L"><U>Sent You Away~Let Me See What Spring Is Like</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id203.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sent You Away Water Sports"><U>Sent You Away~ Water Sports</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id204.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sent You Away Blood of Kings"><U>Sent You Away~ Blood of Kings</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id205.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sent You AwaySilence Is Golden"><U>Sent You Away~Silence Is Golden</U></A></div> <div> Sent You Away~ A Good Year For the Roses</div> <div> When Michelle (cat@hiley.demon.co.uk) wrote "Personal Assistant's </div> <div> Plan/West Wing Assistant's Game" she speculated that Donna had disposed </div> <div> of Mandy, hiding her body so effectively that nobody even noticed she'd </div> <div> gone. Separately, Shelley (kuebsr@yahoo.com) wrote "Does Anyone Really </div> <div> Miss Her?" in which Donna managed to enlist Mandy in the Israeli Army. </div> <div> We obviously saw this the same way. A writing partnership was born.</div> <bR> <div> The Sent You Away series is a number of little fun ficlets, by Shelley </div> <div> or Michelle, each with a basic premise. How did Donna dispose of Mandy? </div> <div> Motive? She might have several, but love for the Dimpled One is probably </div> <div> reason enough.</div> <bR> <div> By the way, these stories are pro-Donna. We both adore her, and our </div> <div> sympathies are very much with her in this.</div> <bR> <div> "I sent you away, oh Mandy." - Barry Manilow.</div> <bR> <div> Characters belong Aaron Sorkin, story is mine please ask before </div> <div> archiving. First posted 21st August 2001. Thanks to Shelley for reading </div> <div> this through, and to Brenda for archiving it.</div> <bR> <div> Sent You Away: One.</div> <bR> <div> A Good Year For The Roses.</div> <div> by Michelle Hiley.</div> <div> cat@hiley.demon.co.uk</div> <bR> <div> Donna was considerate, afterwards. The White House cleaning staff didn't </div> <div> get paid that much, and their lives were hard enough as it was. She was </div> <div> careful to clean the mud from her shoes, so as not to dirty the carpets. </div> <div> It took several trips, in the dark, to clear a large enough hole, and </div> <div> she did most of it by touch, not wanting to risk a light. Security </div> <div> wasn't paying much attention though. They were watching the perimeter, </div> <div> for people coming in, not worrying too much about the activities of the </div> <div> support staff already inside. She had to delay a few times, to answer </div> <div> the phone, but at least she didn't have Josh asking awkward questions. </div> <div> He was still recovering in the hospital, and a lot of the focus was on </div> <div> him right now. Rosslyn had upset Donna, but it was a golden opportunity </div> <div> to make a few changes before anyone noticed.</div> <bR> <div> The package itself was heavy of course, but Donna had been brought up on </div> <div> a farm, and was a lot tougher than she looked. She could have sawed it </div> <div> up, but that would have created too much mess, so in the end she </div> <div> borrowed an old rug from Josh's office, and used it. If any of the night </div> <div> staff saw Josh's assistant, walking around with a rolled up carpet </div> <div> balanced carefully on her shoulder, they'd probably assume she was </div> <div> rearranging the office, or helping to set up a meeting room. Donna had </div> <div> long ago found she could order things to be moved, couches, desks, and </div> <div> nobody asked her why, as long as the items didn't leave the general area </div> <div> of the White House.</div> <bR> <div> It hadn't been a problem. Working late, ever the dutiful assistant, </div> <div> she'd hardly even seen anyone. She'd met a guard on the way back, who'd </div> <div> asked her how Josh was, and offered to carry the now empty rug. Donna </div> <div> had given him a grateful smile. Josh was getting better, thanks. And </div> <div> thank you, she could use the help. He'd dumped the rug back in the </div> <div> office, and once he'd left, Donna had checked it for stains. Just a few </div> <div> small ones. Fastidiously, Donna removed them. Josh liked this rug.</div> <bR> <div> The postcard from California, addressed to CJ, had surprised everyone, </div> <div> but they all thought it for the best. Given the embarrassment of the </div> <div> memo, they understood why she'd opted to leave without saying goodbye. </div> <div> And it was a very pretty apology. CJ had been meaning to stick it on her </div> <div> wall, but it had somehow accidentally got thrown out with the trash. </div> <div> Donna thought that best. The handwriting had been hard to copy, and she </div> <div> wasn't as gifted a forger as Margaret was. She'd thrown herself into </div> <div> caring for Josh, and ate at his place most nights, seeing as how she was </div> <div> a girl on a budget. Return flights to San Francisco were expensive. </div> <div> There wouldn't be new clothes for a while.</div> <bR> <div> And so the months rolled on. Josh slowly got stronger, and she stayed by </div> <div> his side. Christmas was difficult, but they pulled together, and Josh </div> <div> started to heal mentally as well. She continued her friendships with </div> <div> Margaret, with Sam, and blossomed into new confidence. When Toby trusted </div> <div> her, over Sagittarius, she felt humble and honoured. Toby was right. He </div> <div> could trust her to do what was best for the administration. She had </div> <div> couches moved to the basement, and tried to ease the burden, as a good </div> <div> assistant should.</div> <bR> <div> Everyone commented on the sheer beauty of the Rose Garden that summer. </div> <div> It was a difficult time, with the investigations into 'MS-Gate', and the </div> <div> pressures of preparing for what would be a hard fought election. Many </div> <div> staffers took pleasure in occasionally slipping outside for a short </div> <div> break, to admire the outstanding display of blooms. The President sent a </div> <div> personal note to the White House gardeners, complimenting them on a job </div> <div> well done. 'In Style' magazine did a well-received photo shoot of the </div> <div> First Lady surrounded by blossoms, which gave CJ a brief positive piece </div> <div> to read, when she needed encouragement.</div> <bR> <div> Donna thought that was nice. They'd finally found a place for Mandy to </div> <div> be useful.</div> <bR> <div> *****</div> <bR> <div> As you turn to walk away</div> <div> As the door behind you closes</div> <div> The only thing I have to say</div> <div> It's been a good year for the roses. - Elvis Costello.</div> </td> </tr></table></body>