Author: Kristen (HisSong83@yahoo.com)

Archive: just let me know

Diclaimer: don't own em, just borrowing

Song: "Coral Castle" by Andrew Peterson off of his album "Carried Away"

Thanks: Lin, my 'beta'er

Note: just a short thing i thought up while my friend was playing this
song today. it's an amazing piece of music...

Happy reading!
Kristen, the feedback junkie

Coral Castle

Josh sat on his stoop, racking his hands through his hair. He would
have been crying, but he had no tears left.

"She said no," his voice cracking with emotion.

The realization hit him like a load of bricks.

"I told her I loved her and she said no. She denied that I loved her!"

'Josh, it's just the pain medication talking. You don't love me. Stop
talking like a crazy man.'

Her voice echoed in his mind.

'Oh my dear Donatella, my thoughts haven't been clearer in my life! I
love you, I love you, I love you. Marry me, Donna, marry me now.'

Ok, so maybe it was a little drunken sounding, but he was sincere.

With tears streaming down her face, Donna Moss had shook her head and
walked out of his life.

Two Weeks ago.

Fourteen freaking days ago.

He needed to do something.

He needed to move on with his life.

As he finished his beer and tossed it into the curbside garbage can, an
idea struck.

"That's it!" He exclaimed to no one in particular. "That's how I am
going to win back my beloved."

******************************
Late one night I had a notion
An epiphany would be a better word
So I stumbled in the dark down to the ocean
And I pulled my broken heart out of the surf

I had told her I did not have much to offer
And I had told her I would treat her like a queen
But I guess I wasn't worth what I would cost her
So the night has brought me to this coral reef

So down to the water I will come
To raise for her this castle with my hands
And steal away before the morning sun
'Cause I don't need her love to love her all I can
**********************************************8

Every morning, Josh rose at 5:30 and spent an hour on his declaration
of love for Donna. Though she was gone from the West Wing and he didn't
know where she was, he would find her. He had to. If groveling was
necessary, he would grovel. But hopefully, his creation would suffice.

************************************
So night on night and year on year
Well, I worked until my hands no longer bled
And I let the ocean bear away my tears
So that she would know that I could love her best

And a desert's just a sea without a shore
And a lonely man at worst is still a man
And I ain't gonna cry for her no more
'Cause I don't need her love to love her all I can
***************************************

Picking up the newspaper one morning, he saw it.

No. Please God, no.

Not Donna's engagement announcement.

No!

He resolved to keep working on his gift. His dream had not died. He
would work until he was finished.

***The following spring***

The garden was magnificent. The main features, of course, were the
roses. The White House Rose Garden couldn't hold a candle to these.
Gorgeous roses of all colors and sizes. There were other flowers, too.
Other flowers that reminded him of his love. Daises and tulips and
lilacs; the garden was a plethora of botanical loveliness.

It became the premier first date place in Washington. Romantic picnics,
lit by the luminaries that Josh had so lovingly constructed, occurred
nightly. Young couples came from miles around to visit the garden that
had mysteriously appeared in Georgetown.

The Deputy Deputy Chief of Staff's Garden.

Donna's garden.

**********************************************
I often dreamed I saw her face among the people
Who'd come to see the coral fortress I had built
But it may as well have been another seagull
And the castle is there waiting for her still

So down to the water I will come
To wander through this castle on the sand
And steal away before the morning sun
'Cause I don't need her love to love her all I can
***********************************************

Years went by. The Bartlett Administration was long over when Donna
Gates discovered the garden. Young widow, Donna Moss-Gates.

Josh took a year off after the end of his eight-year stint as Deputy
Chief of Staff. He spent most of his time in the garden. Tending to
it, loving it, just being in it. Once, he'd even been to his friend
CJ's wedding in it. It was well-accepted folklore around town that the
great Josh Lyman had built that garden. No one however knew why.

He'd followed the papers every day. Searching for some mention of
Donna's name. He saw the announcement for her wedding, the announcement
of the birth of her daughter a few years later and the tragic
announcement of the death of her husband and child in a car accident.
He never stopped loving her, and he never stopped looking for her in
the crowds of the garden.

Finally, he sat down and wrote the story of the garden. He mailed it to
his friend, Danny, who made sure it found it's way into the newspaper.

Donna made her way through the gates, clutching her tear-stained copy
of the article.

"Josh?" She called, "Josh Lyman?"

Not believing his ears, Josh wiped the dirt off of his hands and turned
towards the voice.

"Donna?" Standing and walking towards his dream, Josh felt the tears
well up in his eyes.

"Hi, Josh," Donna was crying now too, "I've missed you."

Walking slowly towards her, Josh said lamely, "I've missed you, too."

Waving the article, she whispered, "Is it true?"

Cupping his hand on her jaw, he replied, "Every word."

She placed her hand over his and closed her eyes. Opening them slowly,
Josh's eyes met hers with a look of absolute adoration, acceptance and
joy. "Josh," she said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was…"

"…exactly like I was so often? Donna, we both know how to be a jerk.
You were always so good at forgiving me, how could I not return the
favor?" They both smiled in understanding. "Donatella Moss, I love you.
I've loved you since the first moment I saw you in New Hampshire and I
will love you until my last moment on this earth."

"Oh, Joshua…"

"I built a garden for you, Donna, for you to gather your rosebuds while
ye may. I'll build a house for you to keep them in if you want me to."

"Josh…"

"Donna…"

"Shh." Donna gently placed her lips to his.

Pulling away, she smiled. "A kiss is a lovely thing, Josh. It stops
speech when words become superfluous."

Laughing, he pulled her into an embrace that would last for the rest of
their lives.

END