"Nice," Danny said as Josh hit one off the backboard. He grabbed the rebound and dribbled clockwise around Josh, then hopped up and let the ball fly over Josh's outstretched arms. Nothing but net.

"Nice yourself. You've been practicing," Josh observed. He used his forearm to wipe sweat out of his eyes.

"A little," Danny admitted. "I have more free time than you do these days."

"Everyone in the world has more free time than I do these days, with the possible exception of the President," Josh said. He grabbed the ball, aimed, shot, and missed. Shook his head. "I think I'm fading."

"Yeah, me too." It wasn't entirely true, but Josh looked wiped, so...Danny watched the basketball fall to the floor, then kicked it into the corner of the indoor court. "Let's call it a night."

"'kay. Seriously, I owe you one for meeting me this late," Josh said. He grabbed his water bottle and towel, ran the towel over his head as Danny grabbed his own water and they headed toward the gym locker room.

"I told you, it's not a problem," Danny said. "One of the perks of being a writer is setting your own hours. I'll still have time to bang out a couple thousand words before bed."

"I still have to read a foreign policy briefing before bed," Josh said sourly. "I'd be happy to trade."

"No, you wouldn't."

"Nah, I wouldn't." Josh grinned, looking twenty years younger all of a sudden. It was entirely unfair.

Speaking of younger... "Hey, how's Donna?" Danny asked. "Didn't she just get back from Kenya?"

"Yeah. She brought back more carved wooden jewelry than I thought it was possible for one woman to wear."

"That doesn't even sound like her style," Danny said.

"It's not, which is what makes it so hilarious," Josh said. "It's just going to sit around and collect dust. But if I tell her that I'll get my ass kicked."

"You know, I think I'm about to kick our own asses for talking about jewelry," Danny said.

Josh cleared his throat. "Yeah. Let's...never speak of this again."

"Deal."

Josh looked at his watch. "Speaking of ass kicking, I gotta try to get that briefing read before Donna comes over tonight. We see each other outside of work little enough as it is, if I have my nose in a file all night she'll kill me."

"I know how that goes," Danny said. He paused. "Although to be honest, with me and CJ it's usually the other way around."

"That doesn't surprise me in the least."

"Were you casting aspersions on my manhood just then?"

"Absolutely."

Danny nodded. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

They reached the locker room and opened their respective lockers. "But since we're about to get in the shower, we should probably bring to a halt any and all discussion about your manhood," Josh said.

"You're not very secure in your sexuality, are you, Josh?" Danny said, pulling out his dopp kit.

"I'm very secure in my sexuality," Josh retorted, pulling out the last of his own stuff and slamming shut the locker. "I just really don't want to talk about your penis if I can avoid it."

"You'd be surprised how often I hear that," Danny said, deadpan, and headed for the showers.

****

"Well, this is an odd coincidence."

Donna turned to see Danny Concannon standing on line behind her at Starbucks. "Danny!" She gave him a quick hug. "How are you?"

"I'm good," he said, and he looked good. The beard agreed with him. "How are you doing?"

"Great," Donna said. "Why is seeing me a coincidence?"

"Because I was playing b-ball with Josh last night."

"Right," Donna said, remembering. "Sorry. Everything is a bit of a blur these days."

"I can imagine. Josh seemed a bit wrung out, to tell the truth."

Donna sighed. "What else is new. He's going to kill himself at the rate he's going, but every time I try to talk to him about it I sound like I'm nagging, so it's not very effective."

"I run into the same problem with CJ," Danny admitted.

"I'm not surprised."

"What is it with you two and the aspersions on my manhood?" Danny wondered.

"What?"

"Never mind," Danny said. He stuck his hands in his pockets and eyed her thoughtfully. "You know," he said, "maybe you and I should join forces."

Donna smiled warily. "What do you mean?"

"I mean maybe we should work together to arrange forced relaxation for our significant others in a setting that doesn't appear to be forced relaxation."

"I'm not following --"

"I think the four of us should go out."

Donna's brow furrowed. "You mean like a double date?"

"I mean like four adults going out for a civilized evening of socialization," he said. "A chance to relax, blow off some steam. In fact," he said, as if something just occurred to him, "I'm supposed to be picking up tickets for me and CJ to see Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the National Theater. How about I pick up two extras while I'm at it?"

"You're quite crafty, you know that?"

"I prefer to think of it as wily."

"Okay," Donna said. "Let's put Operation Virginia Woolf into effect. Except, wait, she killed herself. We should probably come up with a better name."

"How about just calling it next Friday night?" Danny said dryly.

Donna tilted her head. "I suppose that would work, too."

*****

"Hey, I got the tickets for the thing," Danny said. He finished chopping onions and threw them into the pot of chili simmering on the stovetop.

"For Virginia Woolf? Thanks," CJ said. She took another sip of pinot noir and leaned back in her chair, enjoying the view of her man cooking her up a meal. "Next Friday, right?"

"Yeah." Danny stirred the chili. "I got four tickets, actually."

"Four? This isn't an elaborate scheme to ambush me with your parents, is it?" CJ lived in eternal fear of just such a scenario for reasons she couldn't quite articulate.

"No, but it's interesting that that was your first irrational conclusion," Danny said. "I thought we could ask Josh and Donna."

CJ blinked. "Josh and Donna?"

"Yeah, you know, your friends, my friends. I thought maybe they'd like to come along."

"You mean like a double date?" CJ asked. She had a sudden vision of the four of them sitting in a vintage Cadillac at a drive-in movie, and shuddered.

"I mean like four adults going out for a civilized evening of socialization," Danny said. He turned from the pot to look at her. "Do you not want to? It's totally up to you. I just thought it might be, you know, fun."

Bizarre was more likely the word she would have used, but, as usual, she was helpless in the face of his enthusiasm. "It's a lovely idea," she assured him. "I'll give Donna a call tomorrow."

"Great." Danny gave her an odd smile and turned back to his chili. Inscrutable man.

****

"Josh."

"Yo." Josh shuffled a pile of folders on his desk without looking up at her.

"That's quite the professional greeting you have there," Donna said, walking over to him.

"I knew it was you," he said defensively.

"I just got a call from CJ," she said. "She and Danny want us to go see Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with them at the National Theater next Friday night."

Josh squinted at her. "Like a...double date or something?"

"Like four adults going out for a civilized evening of socialization," Donna said. She sat on the edge of his desk. "I checked your calendar, and you're free that evening. As am I."

"So you're saying that on a night when we both have off, instead of having lots of sex at my apartment we should put on uncomfortable clothes and sit through an overwritten melodrama with Danny and CJ."

"I think it would be fun," Donna said with a hint of a pout in her voice. "It's not like you ever take me anywhere."

"We just went out to dinner last night," he protested.

She gave him a look. "A burger and fries at the Irish pub around the block from your apartment doesn't count."

"Fine," he said, re-opening a file. "Let's go to the sock hop with Pinky Tuscadero and the Fonz."

"We can still have sex afterward, you know," she said as she got up from the desk and headed for the door.

"You're damn right we can!" he called after her.

****

"Thanks again for inviting us to come out with you guys," Donna said as the four of them filed into their assigned row in the crowded theater. "I can't even remember the last time I went to a play." It was all so civilized; she felt like a grown-up for a change. Even if CJ's outfit did cost twice what her own did. She smoothed her Banana Republic skirt self-consciously.

"You're very welcome," Danny said, flashing her a secretive grin.

"Wait," CJ said, from her position on the aisle, and all four of them froze in place. She looked at the seats, then at Donna. "Do we really want the two of them sitting next to each other?"

"We really don't," Donna said. She tugged at Josh's sleeve and made him switch seats so that he was on the end and she was sitting next to Danny.

"What the hell?" Josh yelped. "What do you think we're gonna do, throw spitballs at the stage?"

"In all fairness, we did do that once at a Nationals game," Danny pointed out.

Josh looked at him. "You're not helping."

"Sit," Donna said, and the men obeyed. CJ grinned and took the aisle seat. Donna sat down as well, then raised an eyebrow at Josh, who was fidgeting in his chair. "Why are you fidgeting?"

Josh jerked his head toward the man in the seat next to him. Donna peered over to see a touristy-looking type in a t-shirt and khakis -- eating what appeared to be a pastrami sandwich. And now that she could see it, she could smell it, too.

She recoiled in disgust and looked at Josh, who gave her an "I know!" face.

Well. This was unacceptable. She refused to spend a rare evening out feeling like she was in some greasy delicatessen. She leaned over Josh. "Excuse me, sir," she said sharply. "There's no eating allowed in the theater."

"Oh my god," Josh muttered, and sank further in his seat.

The man frowned, his face turning pink. "Mind your own business," he said gruffly.

"Your eating a smelly contraband sandwich in my row is my business," Donna said. "Could you please either eat it outside or throw it away?" She thought she heard Danny give an amused snort on the other side of her, but she kept her eyes on Mr. Sandwich.

"I'm gonna eat it right here," the man said, and took a big bite out of the sandwich just to spite her. The nerve.

"Then I'm just going to have to inform security and let them deal with it," Donna said with false sweetness.

The man rose from his chair. "Listen, bitch --"

"Oh-kay," Josh said, getting up and facing the man. "Either take the sandwich outside, or my friend and I will take it outside for you." He glanced back at Danny, who was still seated, and cleared his throat meaningfully.

"Right," Danny said, a beat slow on the uptake. He stood up and puffed out his chest. "It's your call, buddy."

CJ stood up, too, which, considering that she was wearing heels and was therefore taller than all three men standing, was an impressive sight of its own. Donna considered standing up as well, but decided it would be overkill. "Sir, please don't make a scene," CJ said in her best Chief of Staff voice. "Take it outside and then afterward we'll all just sit quietly and enjoy the show."

The man glared at CJ, then looked back at Josh, who was standing toe to toe with him. The man was wider than Josh, but Josh had an inch or two on him. Josh didn't blink. He did so love pretending to be macho. She had to admit that while it was a bit humorous, it was also kind of hot.

"Fine," the man finally snapped. He gave Donna a final glare and stomped away, smelly sandwich in hand.

"My hero," Donna said as Josh sat back down. "All three of you," she added.

"I was closest," Josh said, looking for credit.

"And very dashing," Donna assured him.

That mollified him a bit. "I don't know why you have to go and start scenes like that," he grumbled, but she could tell he was trying not to smile.

"We don't have to smell pastrami any more, do we?" Donna pointed out.

"Yeah, but that guy's gonna come back and I'm still gonna have to sit next to him," Josh said.

"Do you want to switch seats?" Danny asked.

"No," Josh said quickly, switching back to macho mode.

"Well, I didn't know he'd be such a jerk about it," Donna said defensively.

"Don't apologize, Donna," CJ said. "You had every right to say what you did."

"Thank you, CJ." She gave Josh a defiant look; he shook his head resignedly.

But as the house lights dimmed and the curtain pulled back, he took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

****

"I can't believe that guy never came back," Donna said as the four of them walked out of the theater after the show.

Josh's walk shifted to a swagger. "He knew he was outmatched," he said confidently.

"Outnumbered is more like it," CJ said.

"Yep, he was scared. Couldn't handle the competition," Josh continued with a sniff.

CJ looked at Donna. "I don't understand how you put up with that," she said.

Donna grinned. "It's a mystery to me as well."

"I'm standing right here, you know," Josh said, but he slung his arm around Donna's shoulders as he said it. She leaned into him with a smile and reached up to grab his fingers.

Sickening, CJ thought, but then, she often thought that about herself and Danny, too. Speaking of which... "You're awfully quiet," she said, giving him a nudge.

"I'm absorbing the play," Danny said. "Unlike the rest of you, I moved on from that whole pastrami sandwich thing about an hour ago."

"Well, aren't you just so much more literary-minded than the rest of us," CJ said.

"It so happens that Albee's dialogue has a cadence to it that I find stimulating," Danny said. "And," he added as CJ opened her mouth, "I know you're about to mock me, and I'm okay with that."

"You're a strange little man, Danny Concannon," she said.

"So everyone keeps reminding me."

"What's next?" Donna asked. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving."

"Must have been all that talk about sandwiches," Danny observed.

"What about that new place on Massachusetts?" CJ suggested.

"The bistro type place?" Donna asked.

"Yeah."

Josh wrinkled his nose. "Sounds French."

Donna raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with that?"

He shrugged.

"Josh, would it kill you to eat something other than a hamburger for a change?" she said in disgust.

"It's entirely possible," he said.

"I'm willing to take that chance." She looked at CJ and Danny. "Let's do it," she said over Josh's wordless mumbled grumbling.

"Fine with me," Danny said amiably.

They reached CJ's car first; she and Danny got in while Josh and Donna made their way to Josh's car a few rows down. CJ put on her seatbelt, inserted the key into the ignition, turned it.

Nothing happened.

Her stomach sank. "Don't even tell me," she said. She tried again. Dead.

"What's the matter?" Danny asked.

"The engine won't start," she said. "It sounds like the battery's dead."

"Did you leave your lights on?" Danny asked.

"No." Wait a minute. She'd turned on the overhead light to check the best route to the theater...had she...? She looked up; it was on. Shit. "I'm an idiot," she said.

"You're not an idiot," Danny said, then jumped out of the car.

"Where are you --" She broke off when she realized he was running to catch Josh and Donna before they pulled out of the parking lot. She stayed in her seat and ran through as many insults to herself as she could come up with while the three of them converged on her car. She opened the car door a crack. "Sorry, guys," she called out. "I'm an idiot."

"Do you have jumper cables?" Danny asked. "Josh doesn't have any."

"I don't think so," CJ said. "I'll pop the trunk and you can check." She did so, waited for Danny to walk around and peer inside. But she knew there weren't any in there.

"Nope," Danny confirmed, shutting the trunk. "What's the matter with you people that you don't have jumper cables?"

"I'm from Connecticut," Josh said, as if that explained everything.

CJ got out of the car. "I don't believe this. Now what?" she asked. "Should I call triple-A?"

"And spend the rest of the evening sitting around and waiting for them?" Danny said. "No."

"Then..." CJ felt a headache coming on. She so didn't need this.

"Don't panic. Here's what we'll do," Danny said calmly. "Josh can drop us off at my place, and in the morning we'll bring my car back here and give yours a jump. It's an attended lot, it'll be okay if we leave it here overnight. We'll check with them to make sure."

"Do you guys mind?" CJ asked.

"Of course not," Josh said. "Hey, isn't there a brewpub across the street from your apartment?" he asked Danny.

"There is indeed. And they make a great burger."

"Let's do it!" Josh said, clapping his hands together.

"Unbelievable," Donna said.

****

"So then he says, 'I was referring to the prime minister.'"

Josh laughed and choked on his beer until Donna had to pat him on the back to make sure he wasn't dying. "What did you say back to him?" he finally managed to spit out.

Danny grinned. "Nothing. I turned tail and got the hell out of there."

"Sometimes the better part of valor is, you know, cowardice," CJ observed.

"That's what I'm thinking," Danny agreed.

"You've led such an exciting life, Danny," Donna said enviously. "I can't even imagine."

"Says the woman who just got back from Kenya."

"A diplomatic sortie doesn't really count," she demurred. "That was a state visit, not an adventure."

"Wasn't Gaza enough of an adventure to last you?" CJ said, then covered her hand with her mouth. "Oh my god, Donna, I'm sorry. It's the beer."

There was an awkward silence while Donna smiled stiffly. "It's okay," she finally said.

"It's not okay," CJ said. "Please forget I said anything."

"Really, CJ, it's fine," Donna said.

"It was certainly an adventure for me," Josh said, to deflect attention away from an increasingly uncomfortable Donna. "I had to have that top secret spy meeting, remember?"

Donna cracked a genuine grin at that. "How could I forget. I was convinced you were going to start an international incident," she said.

"So was Kate," he said.

"Oh, Joshua, the things Kate said about you afterward," CJ said, looking relieved at the shift in subject. "Did you really ask her if you should carry a piece?"

It was Danny's turn to choke on his beer.

"I just wanted to be prepared!" Josh said, and winced when his voice cracked.

"A piece?" Danny repeated as he gasped for air.

"What, you don't think I could have handled one?" Josh asked defensively.

Everyone at the table stared at him.

"Okay, fine," he said. "Next subject."

"I'm going to go to the ladies room before I put my foot in my mouth again," CJ said, getting up from the table.

"And I'll get us another round," Danny said. He eased himself out of his seat and made his way over to the bar.

When they were alone, Donna turned to Josh and gave him a quick kiss.

"What was that for?"

"For being sweet," she said. "That's the second time tonight you've come to my rescue."

He was the man. "I'm going to get a much longer and more pornographic thank you later, right?" he asked with an affectionate leer.

She met his gaze. "Damn straight," she said huskily.

It was really quite amazing, the way his mouth instantly went dry.

CJ returned and sat back down across from them. "Did I miss anything?" she asked.

"Not a thing," Donna assured her. "I think the next round will be our last, though. Josh has a long night ahead of him."

"Work, huh?" CJ asked sympathetically.

Donna put her hand on Josh's thigh. "In a manner of speaking."

Josh frantically gulped more beer.

****

"Well, that was certainly an...interesting night," CJ said. The four of them were lingering in a cluster on the sidewalk outside of Danny's apartment building.

"Come on, it was fun," Danny said, determined for the rest of them to admit it.

God, he really was a mother hen. His college girlfriend was right.

"I thought it was a lot of fun," Donna said loyally.

Danny smiled at his partner in crime. "Good. We should do it again sometime."

"Sure," Josh said, but he looked uncomfortable saying it. Then again, that could just be Josh being Josh. Sometimes it was hard to tell whether he was actually uncomfortable about something specific, or just discomfited by life in general.

"Maybe next time we can get mugged or something," CJ said. "Just to maintain the excitement quotient."

"Okay, so it wasn't a perfect evening," Danny conceded. "I still had a good time."

"That's sweet. You've got a good guy there, CJ," Donna said.

CJ smiled. "I do, don't I."

"Hey," Josh said, protesting.

CJ rolled her eyes. "Donna has a good guy too."

"That's more like it," Josh said.

"He's just a bottomless pit of need, isn't he?" CJ said to Donna.

She snorted. "You have no idea."

"Hey, standing right here," Josh said for the second time that evening.

"Come on, Sunshine," Donna said, tugging at Josh's arm. "Let's go home."

There was a flurry of girly kisses and manly handshakes, then Josh and Donna got in Josh's car and pulled away from the curb. Danny turned to CJ. "You did have a good time, right?" he asked.

She smiled. "I did. I really did. Despite nearly getting involved in a brawl, breaking my car, and inadvertently insulting one of my closest friends -- it was more fun than I've had in a while. So thank you, sir, for suggesting it."

"You're welcome," he said, feeling pleased with himself. "Care for a nightcap?"

"If by nightcap you mean sex, yes," CJ said, starting for the door of his apartment building.

"You're insatiable," Danny said with a grin, hurrying to catch up with her.

"Aren't you lucky?" CJ asked.

"More than you'll ever know," Danny said.

*****

"How are you feeling?" Donna asked as they entered Josh's apartment.

"What do you mean?" Josh shut the door, tossed his keys on an end table.

"I mean about tonight. Did you have a good time? Despite the near-throwdown with Pastrami Man?"

He scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah. I guess. Sure."

"Are you just saying that?"

"What? No," he said. He took a step closer to her, put his arms around her waist. "It was good. I will admit, it was kind of nice to spend an evening with people who don't want anything from me other than my stimulating conversation and boyish charm."

"Oh, but I do want something from you," Donna said. She reached for his belt buckle.

"Insatiable woman," Josh growled.

"And you love it," Donna said tartly.

He gave her a smile that she was happy to recognize as relaxed. "You know I do."

End.