You know what DU needs? FANFIC! (Steph/Russ)

Steph and the Senator (working title -- I'm just making this up as I go along)

"And that's all for us. I'd like to thank executive producer/boi toy Chris LeVoie, voice deity Jim Ward, see you on Monday!" Steph tossed aside the headphones with a heavy sigh and smiled as the "on air" light went dark. "Oh, man!" she cried to the studio. "That was the GREATEST!"

In the booth next to her, Chris grinned. "He was something, though, wasn't he?"

"Mm-hm," Steph sighed. Her heart was hammering. It was one thing to profess her undying love for Senator Feingold day in and day out (complete with music drops), but it was quite another to actually speak to him. Quite apart from her admiration for his political leadership, Steph had to admit she felt a bit of a fluttering just at the sound of his voice. She was quite surprised she had held it together as well as she had.

"...or Chipotle? I'm in for Mexican, myself."

It took Jim's boisterous voice to bring her around, and Steph realized she'd been daydreaming. She jumped. "Lunch! Lunch! Right. Sounds good." She made a lunge for her purse when she noticed the intern in the doorway.

"Um, Miss Miller?" Her voice was a little shaky. "Phone is for you."

"Show's over!" Steph rolled her eyes.

The intern's eyes were big. "It's... not a call-in."

"'What-EVER!'" Echoing the sound-board favorite, Steph sidled over to the wall phone. "Yeah, this is Steph?"

"Stephanie?" came a low, smooth voice. "This is Russ."

"...Huh?"

"Feingold. We just spoke?"

Steph's knees turned to jelly and she sank to the floor, phone in hand. "S... Senator. Thanks for the intercall, I mean, the phoneview." She was vaguely aware of Chris and Jim staring at her like she'd grown a second head.

"That's what I wanted to say." The voice was like warm smoke. "It was a great call." His Wisconsin 'A' was as flat as Steph's Buffalo one, and it sounded familiar and funny all at once. "And, um, I had a look at your Web site."

Oh my God! The Photoshop Fun section! was all Steph could think. "Look, um, we joke a lot, but um, it's not..."

"Look, ah..." the Senator paused. "You gave me a compliment a while ago..."

"That's an understatement," Steph laughed. "I gushed over you."

"Hah. True." He chuckled. "But among the gushing, there was a comment about my looks."

The blood rushed to Steph's face. Had she offended him? "I didn't mean... it was just..."

He interrupted. "I just wanted to return the favor."