Title: Broken Glass

Author: Suzy

Rating: YTEEN/MATURE/ADULT (each part is rated)

Category: Drama/Angst/Romance

Characters: Josh/Donna

Follows: Beginning of Season 5, after “Disaster Relief”

Spoilers:  Everything up through a “Disaster Relief”

Summary:  A traumatic event for Donna is Josh's wake-up call.

E-mail address for feedback: sektwwp@earthlink.net

Archiving permission: If you want to, contact me and we’ll talk.

Disclaimers: The West Wing and its characters don't belong to me, never will.  Aaron Sorkin, Warner Bros, NBC and Co. thought of them first. I just like to play with them and see what happens. I do this out of a love for the show and no infringement is intended.

As always, I want to thank my stellar, splendiferous, wonder-beta, and all-around awesome friend, Shan. This fic is dedicated to her.  She kicked me to finish this story.  If she hadn’t, I’m guessing it would still be languishing on my computer. She keeps me honest, focused, polished, and on track. Thanks, Shan. YOU ROCK! This one’s for you!

AUTHOR’S NOTE - PLEASE READ

At it's heart, this is a story of trauma and a story of healing. It deals with sexual assault, attempted murder, emotional trauma, childhood sexual abuse, and their aftermath. I have tried not to make it gratuitous or needlessly explicit but I have also tried to not gloss over it. Each chapter is rated accordingly. I've also done everything I can to see to it that it is not, what I call, a "torture" fic.  I promise although there are some difficult times for the characters in this story, there is laughter to go with the tears and things do get better.

I am not a therapist and I do not claim to be an expert. I have tried to do a great deal of research so things are as accurate as possible.  I invite you to explore these topics with me with the understanding that I do not have all the answers. If you are a victim of sexual assault or abuse, I encourage you to seek help.

Now, that said, I hope you enjoy Broken Glass.  -   Suzy