A Silence Full of Sound [hiatus]

6.1 - Ria: The Big Block of Cheese Day

When Ria walked into the White House for the first time, her immediate thought was, this place seems loud. Not that she could hear the commotion or the bustle of the people walking around the offices, delivering files and papers to staffers all over the building. She couldn't. But, if she could, she imagined it would be loud, especially with the number of people who brushed past her, their muttered "excuse me's" and "pardon me's" lost in turned away faces and non-readable lips. Roger had asked if she wanted him to come along. She'd said no, but when faced with this chaos, she wished she would've told him yes.

Under normal circumstances, this amount of people all around her wouldn't have bothered her. Maybe, simply because it was the White House, it seemed to get under her skin. She felt trapped there, as much as she felt awe. It was a beautiful building, and the entrance blew her away. Her gaze moved from the ornate tiles under her feet to the columns that extended from floor to ceiling. There was plenty of room there, but the sheer number of people made her want to scream and run away. She stood to the side as soon as she got her security badge and rummaged for a pen and piece of gum. She felt self-conscious about standing there, still as a statue save for her rummaging, when everyone else was on the move. Were people looking at her? What were they thinking?

She tried to ignore that barrage of thoughts as she finally found her gum, her usual cinnamon, and popped a piece into her mouth. The flavor erupted, sharp and spicy, and she focused on that and how it burned her tongue. Then she found her pen and a pad of paper, just in case she needed to talk to anyone other than the two security guards who cleared and checked her in. At least they had been understanding when talking to her, even if the beginning was plagued with a few misunderstandings. At least they didn't arrest her. That had happened at a government building before.

Her anxiety spiked, her heart pounding harder but, like everything else, she ignored it and headed down the hall to the West Wing.

Even though the ceilings were taller than she was used to, and the hallways were brightly lit, the place still felt like an inescapable labyrinth. It twisted and turned, ending in dead ends and looping corridors that confused her. Soon, even the taste of cinnamon couldn't mask the bitter taste in the back of her throat. She clicked her pen and focused on the vibrations of it instead, which seemed to help as she turned down another corridor and glanced at the numbers on the doors. None of them matched where she was supposed to be, and she huffed in frustration.

A tap on the shoulder pulled her out of her own thoughts and she turned to face a blonde woman with a perky smile. "You look lost."

Ria felt it as well as looked it, she was sure. "I am. I'm looking for Joshua Lyman's office?"

The other woman's smile widened and, for the first time in a few minutes, Ria felt relief beginning to settle in her chest. "It's right up the hall. I can show you."

"I would appreciate that, thank you."

The blonde woman motioned and began to walk. Ria followed and hoped that the woman wasn't attempting to converse with her. It would have been a hopeless endeavor.

At a breezeway, the blonde stopped to let some people go first, turning to Ria with an outstretched hand. "I'm Donna Moss."

"Miss Moss! Yes, my interpreter, Roger, confirmed the appointment with you." She shook Donna's hand with a smile.

"Interpreter?" Donna asked, but didn't give Ria time to answer. "You're deaf too! Josh is gonna love that."

"Has a thing for deaf women, does he?"

"He has a thing for women. Not that he ever acts on it," Donna replied wryly. "Don't tell him I said that."

Ria held up a hand. "I won't say a word."

Ria noted that Donna seemed to hesitate a bit at that like she didn't believe Ria would keep what she'd said a secret, but the other woman didn't say anything. Instead, she simply fell silent and, when there was a break in the bodies passing by them, she crossed the hall and stepped into the bullpen.

Ria's gaze bounced around as she tried to survey the chaos around them, but there was just so much to take in. The hallways didn't seem big enough to walk through, but she observed pairs of staffers side by side, talking, blue or manilla colored files in their hands or tucked up under their arms. Some carried Styrofoam cups of coffee, and even more were walking around with unwrapped sandwiches, taking a moment to eat while on the run. She had to admit, she was impressed, and the more time she spent in the chaos, the more she was getting used to it.

However, as time passed in the fishbowl around the assistants' desks, her jitters returned. She tried to hold it back by shifting her briefcase from one hand to another as Donna disappeared into an office behind her right shoulder. Ria resisted the urge to turn around and see what was going on in that office. Instead, she simply watched the staffers mill about and work. She didn't recognize any of them, which meant she wasn't in the presence of anyone super important, but she knew they were all cogs in a well-oiled machine. She was secretly impressed.

She was less impressed when Donna came out of the office with tense shoulders and a frown creasing her previously bubbly face. There was something wrong, and she knew it had everything to do with Joshua Lyman. He was a challenge, Stanley had warned her of that, and now she was beginning to understand the full implications of it. She could feel her own frown pulling her lips down as she stepped closer to the fishbowl and what she assumed was Donna's desk.

"Do I need to come back at another time?"

Donna glanced up at Ria, shook her head, looked down at a planner on her desk, then directed her gaze back to Ria. "No. He's not busy."

"But he doesn't want to see me." It wasn't a question.

"Dr. Brewer—"

"Ria."

"Ria. Right. Ria, he doesn't want to see anyone if he doesn't have to."

"He has to."

"I told him that."

"Okay, then."

Ria didn't wait for Donna to respond. Instead, she turned and marched straight into the office marked with Josh's name. When she strode in, it was obvious that the last thing he expected was for his new therapist to have moxie. Or maybe he wasn't used to being stood up to by someone who was a good foot shorter than he was and had breasts. Those were silly and kind of bitter thoughts, but they were still there as she stood tall, her shoulders back, back straight, in front of his desk.

He looked at her like she had two heads, and maybe she had, but the expression told her a lot about him in the first few seconds of meeting, even if they hadn't exchanged words. In addition, his body language was the easiest thing to read. Surprise, intrigue, frustration, and tension were in every line of his body. His shoulders were tight, and the muscles in his jaw and neck clenched and unclenched as he covered the mouthpiece of the phone he was holding.

"Can I help you?"

"Mr. Lyman," she extended a hand toward him. "I'm Dr. Ria Brewer, from ATVA. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You're deaf." He looked surprised, but then the surprise turned to annoyance and he didn't give her time to respond. "Yeah, look, I'm kind of busy right now."

"And your appointment with me is priority number one, Mr. Lyman. Mr. McGarry relayed that to me when he set it up."

Josh just stared at her, not moving to shake her hand. So, she retracted it and remained standing in front of him, her entire demeanor communicating intent and dominance of the situation. The gears in his mind started turning, she could see it in the way he regarded her, an eyebrow lifting slowly, curiously. He was also clearly amused.

He quickly returned to his conversation on the phone. She saw him tell the person on the other line that he would have to call them back, then he hung up and faced her more fully. She hadn't backed down, nor would she even dream of it. She knew political types. She knew his type. A challenge, Stanley had said. Well, let him be a challenge. Ria knew that Mr. McGarry was above Josh, and whatever Mr. McGarry told her was gold. Stanley relayed that information a few days prior, but she could infer it on her own. Leo McGarry was the Chief of Staff. Josh was only the deputy.