Title: Extra Credit
Author: Cathy Miller
Email: cam7192003@yahoo.com
I do not own any of the West Wing characters.

This is an AU fic where Joanie never died in a fire and Noah is still living, battling cancer. Donna never came to New Hampshire for reasons that will be revealed later in the story. Joanie teaches graduate studies at Georgetown and we are at the end of season 1 in the Bartlett administration.

"Joshua Lyman, you owe me...."

"Just how do you figure that?"

"Do you really want to do this? Okay, let's start with the decapitation of my Barbie's..."

"Barbie's? You can't go back 30 years and bring your Barbie dolls into this! There is such a thing as a statute of limitation, you know." Josh responded hotly.

"If you were a real lawyer, you would know that there is no statute of limitation on murder." Joanie replied.

"One can not murder inanimate objects, and I am a real lawyer." Josh argued.

"They were real people to me and there were multiple counts. Would you like me to have Dad give you a call with some precedence?" Joanie said without missing a beat.

Dad! Josh thought to himself, Dad is my ticket out of this.

"Yeah, give him a call. Hey, since you'll be talking to him about this anyway, he would be the perfect person to guest lecture to your grad students." Josh congratulated himself on the smooth segue.

"Nice try, little brother, but if you paid any attention to what I tell you then you'd know that a) Dad already did a stint as a guest lecturer and b) the topic for the class is collaboration in Government. Dad is a fabulous lawyer, but he doesn't work in the Government. Come on, Joshua, it's only 2 classes and think of all the ego stroking you'll get out of it."

"I resent your implication that my ego needs stroking. I am the third most powerful person in this administration and I am very busy running this country. I simply don't have time to explain Government 101 to your students."

"They are grad students, Joshua, and you've been Deputy Chief of Staff quite a while now. Surely, you've learned how to handle your job well enough that the country can spare you for a couple of hours for two nights." Joanie persisted.

"What two nights are we talking about? My speaking engagements are usually booked months in advance as I am in high demand. Oh, and what did you say the speakers fee was?"

"You're going to need to waive the fee. I'll take it as `in kind' payment for the damage done to my property over the past 30 years, starting with the Barbies" she countered. "As for the dates, that would be next Tuesday the 3rd, and the following Tuesday the 10th."

"Oh, I'm afraid I am completely booked on the 3rd. In fact, I have a late meeting that night, and then a third date with the lovely Kimberly Andrews from legislative affairs. Sorry, big sister, you have to find another sucker. There is nothing you can say or do that will persuade me to change my mind. Got it?" Josh put all his effort into sounding resolute.

There was a long pause and Josh could smell victory. He hardly ever won a fight with his sister, but maybe this time he could squeak one out.

"Okay, I'm sorry I bothered you, Joshua. I just had to give it a shot, you know...Hey, do you want me to give Mom a message for you? I have to return her call in a few minutes." Joanie answered innocently.

"Mom?....No, no message. I'll talk to her soon I'm sure. You don't have to mention me at all." Josh started to panic and Joanie smelled blood in the water.

"It's no problem. She loves to hear about her only son. I know! I can tell her about your third date with Kimberly Andrews. Sounds like it might be getting serious. She will be so happy to hear you're ready to settle down with someone. Hey, is Andrews a Jewish name? Mom will probably want to know..."

And that's how they do it in the NFL ladies and gentlemen, thought Josh.

"What time does the class start on Thursday?' he asked resignedly.

"It runs from 6 to 8, and remember, the topic is collaboration in Government. Thanks, little brother. You're the best!" Joanie replied.

"I think you just proved who is best. Now I'm hanging up before you have me grading papers or something." Josh groused.

"Don't be ridiculous. You aren't remotely qualified to grade grad school papers. Love you!" Joanie hung up.

Josh blocked out the time on his PDA and slumped in his chair. One of these days he was going to outsmart his sister...

Tuesday, April 3rd, 4:30 PM

Sam popped his head inside Josh's office. Josh was thoroughly engrossed in a report he was working on for Leo.

"Hey, want to go down to the mess to grab something to eat before you head to class?" Sam enquired.

Josh looked up, confused by the question.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your sister's grad school class. You're guest lecturing tonight, right? That's what you told me on Saturday." Now Sam looked confused.

"Tonight?" Josh squeaked. He sorted through papers and files on his desk until he located his PDA. Sure enough, it was tonight at 6. Shit.

"Rebecca!" Josh bellowed for his assistant. She reluctantly appeared in his doorway.

"Yes, my master." Rebecca didn't know what was coming, but she knew from the tone that it wasn't good.

"Why the hell didn't you remind me about the lecture I'm doing tonight."

"Well that's because I didn't know about the lecture you are giving tonight."

"Why didn't you know about the lecture tonight? It's your job to stay on top of my schedule. I can't keep this all in my head. What am I paying you for?"

"My staying power perhaps? You don't pay me, and let me just take a stab at the schedule thing...Was this lecture something you might have scheduled on your own?" Rebecca asked, her patience strained.

"Scheduled it myself? Why would I possibly schedule something myself? Everyone knows I am completely hopeless about schedules...except yeah, I might have scheduled it myself when I was on the phone with my sister..." Josh trailed off.

"Will that be all, sir?" Rebecca asked pointedly. It really wasn't a wonder this man goes through assistants on a regular basis, she thought.

"Yep, that'll do it." Josh sighed. He then looked at Sam "Okay, this is not a problem. You can whip up a two hour speech for me can't you buddy?"

"Right. Let's set aside the fact that you need to leave for Georgetown in an hour, and skip right to the part where I don't know what you're supposed to be speaking about. What's the topic supposed to be?" Sam asked.

"Topic, topic, yeah that would be good to know. I think she told me... wait a second, it will come to me."

"I hope for your sake it will come to you soon. As I have already pointed out, you have about an hour to prepare."

"Well, it's a Government class. We'll just do a generic Government speech."

"And by `we' you mean `me' right?" Sam grinned as he caught Josh in the act of pawning the speech off on him.

"You are the speech writer, and a very talented speech writer at that. Tell you what; I'll split the fee with you. Let's go get something to eat, and we'll knock out the speech on the way there."

"Wait. Now I'm going too?"

"Of course. You're my wingman, Sam. I can't go into battle with grad students without my wingman. Besides, they may wish to show their appreciation for my excellent oratory and your excellent writing by, you know, buying us beers afterward." Josh reasoned.

"When you put it that way...let me get my coat."

"Excellent"

The lecture hall was larger than Josh had expected, but this didn't bother him. After all, he had given many speeches to much tougher audiences than a bunch of grad students. Sam took a seat in the back of the hall next to the door and surveyed the class. There seemed to be a wide range of students in this class and about an even mix of men and women. There was a picture of Josh next to the podium, introducing him as the Deputy Chief of Staff.

Josh himself was chatting up some attractive grad students in the front row who were hanging on his every word. Sam just chuckled. `Let's see how impressed they are after the speech' he thought. Sometimes Josh was just too cocky for his own good.

As the clock struck 6, Josh took the podium, and the room quieted down. Just as he was about to begin, the door banged open and a tall blonde woman rushed in and hastily took a seat a few places away from Sam. She mumbled an apology to the class in general as she took out her notebook. Josh introduced himself as Dr. Lyman's better looking, more intelligent, much younger brother. Everyone chuckled. He then launched into the hastily constructed speech he and Sam (mostly Sam) had put together on the way over.

The group seemed engaged as Josh described his position and what it was like to work in the White House. His "groupies" in the front row were certainly entranced. So it was interesting to Sam that the woman seated closest to him seemed to be getting more and more agitated as the speech continued. Finally, she raised her hand, saying "Excuse me" loud enough to interrupt Josh. He looked startled for a moment before responding to her.

"I'm sorry, did you have a question?"

"Yes, I am wondering what this humorous anecdote has to do with the subject of tonight's class which is supposed to be "Collaboration in Government". The blonde woman asked.

Collaboration in government; that was it! Josh mentally smacked his head. This was okay, he told himself. I can spin this. He turned his dimpled smile on the blonde woman.

"Well, Miss...?"

"Donna Moss, Mr. Lyman."

"Please, it's just Josh. I will get to the collaboration in government soon, Ms. Moss. I just thought some background information and humorous anecdotes would help us ease into the more complex subject of collaboration in government" he smiled again. Ms. Moss seemed impervious to his charm.

"It's very kind of you to ease us into the topic of tonight's speech, being that we are all simpletons here in the masters program for government studies, but since we only have one hour and 10 minutes left of class, is it possible we could move on topic?" she inquired.

"Certainly, certainly. Let me ask you this; what specific questions do you have about collaboration in government?" Josh hedged.

"Let me ask you this; don't you have a lecture on the subject already prepared? I would hate to jumble up your lecture after you went to the trouble of preparing a grad level presentation." Sam turned his laugh into cough and some of the students twittered nervously.

"Of course I have prepared a lecture for you. One of the most important parts of my job is being appropriately prepared for all my meetings and events." Josh smoothly replied.

"Really? I thought the most important part of your job was spin." Donna replied. Now it was Josh's turn to laugh. "Okay, Ms. Moss, I'll see if I can refrain from spin for the duration of this class, it you'll be kind enough to give me a starting point for our topic this evening." Josh's brown eyes met Donna's blue ones and they warred silently for a moment before Donna conceded.

"I can't speak for all my peers, but I am particularly interested in how the White House collaborates with special interest groups." Donna answered.

"Then let's start there. Special interest groups are prevalent in Washington. It is estimated that there are approximately 23 lobbyists for each member of Congress. So how do they insure their issues are being addressed?" Josh began.

Sam noted that Donna Moss took a lot of notes, sometimes nodding and sometimes looking skeptical. When Josh paused in his answer, Donna interrupted again.

"That sounds a lot more like intimidation and manipulation than collaboration, Mr. Lyman" She noted.

"That's about as close as you get to collaboration in D.C., Ms. Moss. Now when the White House wants to move their agenda in Congress - "

"But isn't that exactly why there is so much gridlock, Mr. Lyman? We send our representatives to Washington with the understanding that they will further the issues their constituents care most about. Lobbyists, though paid more directly, have specific goals in mind. The White House wants to push their issues. However, instead of finding a way to help each other and work together, it becomes a game where `I win, you lose". Where does the average voter who is passionate about a certain issue get to put their two cents in if everyone else is busy trying to beat the others?" Donna stopped suddenly.

Sam noted that Josh had now moved away from the podium and walked halfway up the aisle in the seating area.

"What is it that you're passionate about, Ms. Moss? Governmentally speaking, of course." He smirked.

"I feel passionately about collaboration in government, Mr. Lyman, and that your President could get a lot more accomplished for the people who voted for him if his staff would practice a little more collaboration." She responded.

"He's your President too, Ms. Moss, and are you one of them?" Josh asked.

"One of them?" Donna repeated.

"Yes, one of the people that voted for President Bartlett." Josh asked, never breaking eye contact with Donna.

"I believe my vote is private, Mr. Lyman." "Certainly, but I think-" Josh was interrupted by Sam coughing urgently. He finally broke eye contact with Donna and looked quickly over at Sam. Reading the signals Sam was sending him, he quickly changed his tactic.

"Since I seem to be the expert in circumventing collaboration, I think I'll use the remaining time to talk about obstacles to collaboration in government." He walked back to the podium and picked up a dry erase marker. He then began to write out various avenues of collaboration on the board and the obstacles to them.

The rest of the class passed quickly and uneventfully. Josh thanked everyone for their participation and people began to pack up to leave. Sam turned to Donna.

"I have to say, Ms. Moss, not many people can hold their own against Josh Lyman. If I were to get some money together from the senior staff, do you think you could repeat the performance? I think Leo McGarry alone would put up a bundle to watch." Sam attempted some humor.

"I hope Bartlett's pit bull is more prepared for his work at the White House than he was for tonight's class." Donna responded as she packed up her belongings.

"Tonight was an aberration. Things got a little crazy at work, so he wasn't as ready as he should have been. Still, he got it together at the end, don't you think?" Sam covered for his friend.

"Funny about that. Initially, his style was much smoother and poetic than at the end. It's almost like two different people wrote his speech. In fact, for the first 1_2 hour it seemed like Bartlett himself was speaking...I know who you are, Mr. Seaborne, tell your colleague -"

"Tell me what?" Josh interrupted coming up behind her.

"That next week you should write your own lecture instead of having Mr. Seaborne do it for you. It's a lot easier to speak with conviction when the words are your own." Donna answered as she started to leave.

"Wait! Some of us are heading over for some beer. Why don't you come with us and you can criticize me and the Bartlett administration to your hearts delight?" asked Josh, dimples showing again.

"My criticism isn't personal Mr. Lyman-"

"Call me Josh."

"but just getting to class takes a lot of effort my part, and I don't appreciate having my time wasted with humorous stories or canned speeches because you couldn't be bothered to prepare for our class. Now I need to go, so if you'll please excuse me." Donna said pointedly and looked him in the eye until he stepped aside and let her through to the exit.

"Oh, SO busted buddy!' Sam laughed.

"Maybe, but the canned speech crack was all you." He replied.

"Only because you gave me one hour to pull something together on a topic you couldn't remember." Sam defended himself.

"Excuses, excuses...I wonder what her story is?" Josh mused out loud.

"Don't think you're gonna find out, my friend. Why don't we concentrate on the females who seem, you know, interested in our company in some way and don't actually loathe us or anything." Sam suggested.

"Good plan. I have it on good authority that the bar down the street has a wide selection of free beer."

"Free beer?" Sam asked skeptically.

"As predicted, some of the students would like to show their appreciation for spending my valuable time with them. Shall we?" Josh smirked.

"It would almost be rude not to." Sam decided.

Later on, Josh would wonder if it was the beers that dulled his observational skills. It was over an hour before he noticed that one of the servers in the bar was none other than Ms. Donna Moss herself. He watched her laugh and smile at the patrons as she filled orders, but she moved with a sense of urgency throughout the evening. After keeping tabs on her for an hour or so, he intercepted her at the bar.

"Ms. Moss, I can't tell you how glad I am to find out you were rushing to work instead of rushing away from me." Josh opened.

"Mr. Lyman, how can you be certain it wasn't a little bit of both?" she teased back.

"Hope springs eternal in the human breast." Josh rejoined.

"Pope also said, `A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he us wiser today than he was yesterday'. I was a lit major once upon a time."

"Of course you were. I'm just batting a thousand tonight aren't I?" Josh chuckled. "You're right. I should have just admitted to the class that I screwed up on the dates of the lecture rather than try to bullshit my way through it. How is that for admitting I was wrong?"

"Pretty good for a politician." Donna admitted with a small smile.

"Why are you in a government studies masters program, if you have such little respect for government and politicians?"

"I may not have much respect for it as it is, Mr. Lyman, but I do have hope for it. Hope and ideas."

"Come sit down with us and tell me about it. Sam can vouch for the fact that I have listening skills in addition to of talking all the time." Josh promised.

"I work until close. Then I need to get home; I have a long day tomorrow. I'm working on my thesis project."

"Let me help you with it?" he asked holding her in place by her arm.

"I'm sorry?" Donna asked confused.

"I can help you with it, to make up for wasting your time tonight (he said with a self-deprecating grin). I have meetings on the hill until 1, but I could meet you at my office after that."

"Your office at the White House?" Donna appeared stunned.

"That IS where I work." Josh insisted. "Take my card. If something changes give me a call, otherwise I'll see you around 1:30." Josh began to retreat back to his group before she could protest further.

"You don't even know what my thesis is on." She shouted as he continued to move away.

"Doesn't matter, I am an expert on all areas of the government." He proclaimed.

"And modest too, evidently."

"Donna Moss, are you really going to turn down an opportunity to visit the White House and get first hand information for your thesis?" he provoked her. "If it's my character you're worried about, rest assured there's plenty of security in the building. Hey, you don't have any felony convictions, do you? That could be a problem."

"No, I am felony free although there have been times I've been tempted to commit one."

"Then we're all set. See you tomorrow at 1:30." He turned and went to join Sam at their table. Donna's eyes followed him there as she contemplated his offer. There was undoubtedly an ulterior motive for his invitation, that's how men like Josh Lyman operated. That didn't mean that she couldn't get something from him that might help her, did it? She quickly came to a decision and slipped the card in her back pocket. No...she wasn't going to turn this opportunity down.

At precisely 1:30 Rebecca called to Josh on his intercom to announce that Donna Moss was here to see him. Josh shouted his thanks through his open door while Rebecca mumbled something about wasting intercoms on Josh Lyman.

Josh quickly checked his appearance in the mirror before hurrying out to the lobby to meet Donna. When he spotted her, he paused a moment to take in her appearance. Gone was the sweatshirt and jeans she had been wearing the day before. She was wearing a skirt and sweater that gave her a more professional appearance. Josh noticed she was glancing around a bit nervously. He knew this building could do that to people. He hurried forward to meet her.

"Donna, I'm glad you came. Come on back to my office. Or did you want a nickel tour first?"

"I don't want to take up your time with a tour." Donna said nervously.

"Relax, Donna, I'm the same guy you smacked down repeatedly last night. Is it okay if I call you Donna or do you prefer Donnatella?" he asked trying to distract her.

"My Mother prefers Donatella, but how do you know my given name?" she asked suspiciously.

"I know a great deal about you Donnatella. They don't let just anybody in here you know. Now, I'm not going to lecture you at this time, but at some point you and I are going to have to have a conversation about what the phrase "No Parking" means." Josh teased as he ushered her into his office. "Do you want something to drink? Coffee, soda, water?"

"Coffee would be great, thanks; I'm still a little tired from my closing shift."

"Rebecca! Get us a couple coffees would you please?" Josh shouted through the door again. Donna's jaw dropped.

"Never mind, Rebecca." Donna called to Rebecca herself.

"What?" Josh asked.

"What?" repeated Rebecca from the doorway.

"I can't believe you would treat your staff that way." answered Donna.

"I said `please' didn't I?" Josh reviewed the conversation in his head.

"Yes, you did." responded Rebecca, "That was very polite for Josh." She assured Donna.

"First of all, it isn't your assistant's job to get coffee for you and it certainly isn't her job to get coffee for me. Secondly, you don't shout for people in another room, particularly in the White House. Were you raised in a barn or something?" Donna continued berating him while Rebecca's smile grew bigger and bigger. When Donna finished, Rebecca turned to her boss.

"This one's a keeper, boss. Try not to screw it up right away." With that, Rebecca went back to her desk.

"Maybe you could limit the dressing down in front of my staff while I am helping you with your thesis?" he suggested after Rebecca left.

"Sure, maybe you could limit the superior attitude and oversized ego while you are helping me with my thesis?" she replied.

"I don't know, that's pretty well ingrained." came a voice from the doorway. Josh looked up to see the President of the United States in his office. He hastily stood up, as did Donna Moss.

"Mr. President, may I present Ms. Donna Moss. Ms. Moss is working on her master's thesis at Georgetown in government studies." Josh supplied.

"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. President." Donna stated.

It's a pleasure to meet anyone who can put Joshua Lyman in his place, Ms. Moss. What are you doing your thesis on?" he inquired.

"How unfunded mandates adversely affect early childhood special education students Mr. President. I've been working on it for some time now, sir, and when Mr. Lyman guest lectured for my class last night, he offered to give me some assistance." She was starting to babble and she knew it. She clamped her lips shut.

"I would be interested in reading about that topic, Ms. Moss. When you are finished, be sure to give Josh a copy to pass on to me." He smiled.

"That's very kind of you, sir, but I'm not sure how valuable you would find any of the information I've put together."

"Well if not your thesis, then there was something you wanted to bring up to the President about collaboration in government, wasn't there, Donna?" Josh interjected. If looks could kill, Sam would be writing my eulogy right now, Josh mused. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why that tickled him so much.

"Sir, Mr. Lyman is quoting me out of context. Our topic in class last night was collaboration in government, and I simply pointed out that in this era of divisiveness, your administration could accomplish a lot more by engaging in strategies that build bridges rather than burn them." She shot Josh yet another dirty look. Bartlett observed the interchange with amusement, but seemed to consider her words carefully.

"I agree in theory, but as a practicality, it gets infinitely more complicated. Politicians would need to set aside their personal agendas, greed; not to mention their sheer stupidity. `Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage'" Bartlett quoted.

"H.L. Menken" Donna identified the quote. "I prefer Milton Friedman, `The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem.'"

"See that's what I was talking about! How can you want to be involved in government when you are so cynical about it?" Josh interjected. Donna smiled.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.' I told you, I have hope." Donna replied.

Bartlett observed that neither party even noticed he was still in the room. This was not a situation he was used to. However, the woman and the interchange with his Deputy Chief of Staff intrigued him.

"Joshua." The President sought his attention. When Josh gave it to him, he continued. "I just wanted to say `good job' on the bill revision for 226. It was a unique solution to the problem." Jed smiled.

"Thank you sir, but you didn't have to come down here to tell me that." Josh told him.

"Oh, I didn't. I came down to give Sam grief about the story about him in the Post this morning. You were just a bonus." Bartlett laughed at Josh's expression. "It was a pleasure to speak with you Ms. Moss. I hope we get another chance to talk again soon." He turned to leave as Donna mumbled her thanks, but turned back to them as a thought occurred to him. "Josh, you should bring Donna with you to the children's advisory council meeting. She can see first hand how you `collaborate'." Bartlett left.

"Oh my god, Josh." Donna looked a little pale and shaken. Josh led her back to the chair and sat her down.

"Sit down a minute. You must be shaken; that's the first time you slipped and called me Josh instead of Mr. Lyman." He smirked.

"Did I just criticize the leader of the free world to his face?...Oh my God!" Donna was getting more upset by the second.

"Don't worry, Donna, the President has great respect for people who can speak truth to power. Besides, you got his quote and that's bonus points for you, believe me. If you had offended him, would he have suggested you come with me to the advisory meeting?" Josh asked trying to reassure her. Donna took a calming breath.

"I guess not. I just never expected...I mean that was..That was the President! I never dreamed when I was volunteering at his campaign office that I would actually meet him someday." Donna stammered.

"You volunteered for President Bartlett during the campaign?" Josh inquired.

"I hadn't panned to work for any candidate at the time. Things were kind of hectic for me then, but I heard him give a speech at a town hall meeting in Arlington, and he really inspired me." Donna explained.

"Yeah, he has that effect on people." Josh mused thinking back to a town hall meeting in Nashua. "Let's get some work done on your thesis, okay? I need to go back to the hill for some more `collaboration' at 3." He joked. "Unfunded mandates for early childhood special education? I think we should start with the report from the secretary of education." Donna nodded her agreement and they got down to work.

A/N: Okay, one more chapter before the ball drops. Thanks to everyone who has sent feedback. It's especially nice since this is my first fic.

C.J. stopped by Josh's door and had to call his name twice before he looked up.

"What has got you so engrossed there, Joshua?" she asked.

"Did you know that there are 6.8 MILLION children receiving special ed services in this country? And not only that, but this projection report estimates that there are another 3 million who SHOULD be receiving services, but haven't been identified or referred. 3 million kids who need help but aren't getting it. What do you think the odds are that they'll even finish junior high? This is staggering!" Josh exclaimed.

"Do we have something coming up on special ed? I haven't heard anything in the press room."

"No, but we should. Set aside the educational imperatives, there is a fundamental economic principle at work here. Children, who do not graduate high school, are far more likely to be involved in gambling, drinking, drugs and theft. Instead of becoming productive members of society who contribute to the tax base, they drain money through the prison system, welfare, and health issues. Why haven't we fixed this? Do you think the President is aware of these statistics?" he finally looked up at her.

"Did you want me to answer any of those questions or are you practicing for a filibuster? What's lit a fire under you about this?"

"Someone brought it to my attention and I think we should be studying a way to improve these stats." Josh replied vehemently as Sam entered.

"What stats? Is Harrison giving us grief over the appropriations bill?" Sam asked

"No, Josh has his knickers in a twist over early childhood special ed stats for reasons passing understanding." CJ replied.

"Are you still on that? Donna gave you that stuff 3 days ago." said Sam.

"Who's Donna?" asked CJ.

"Donna is a grad student at Georgetown who seems to have the ability to flummox our Deputy Chief of Staff."

"Do tell..."

"She is tall, blonde, beautiful, and has a tongue that can lash Josh at fifty paces." Sam continued.

"I'm sitting right here, you know." Josh groused.

"The President invited her to an advisory meeting on Monday. You could stop by and take a peek for yourself." Sam ignored him completely.

"What time and where?"

"Do you need me for this conversation? Would you like me to step out? Oh, right, this is my office. You two can take your little hen party somewhere else. I have a briefing memo to put together for the President on funding for early childhood education." Josh turned his attention back to his report as Sam and CJ smiled to each other and walked out.

Donna was hurriedly stuffing items in Jacob's backpack on Monday morning. She did not want to be late for her appointment at the White House, but Jake was not aware of how important this meeting was and didn't seem to be in a cooperative frame of mind. She tapped him on the shoulder, again, and waited for him to look at her.

"We have to go NOW." Jake reluctantly put down is trucks and followed her to the car. She got him to her sister's house without further incident, kissed him goodbye, and hurried to the White House. Imagine her surprise, though, when it wasn't Josh who met her at the entrance, but the White House Press Secretary CJ Cregg.

"Ms. Moss? Hi I'm CJ Cregg."

"Yes, Ms. Cregg, I know who you are. Is everything alright? I was expecting to see Josh."

"Everything's fine. I just wanted a chance to meet you without Joshua hogging all your attention. You're meeting in the Roosevelt room this morning. I'll walk you over"

"That's very nice of you, but I'm sure you're very busy. I can just wait for Josh." Donna was unwilling to admit it but she was quite anxious to see Josh again. He had called several times since their meeting the previous Wednesday. Sometimes to just chat about his day, other times with a question about special ed programs. Those were the funniest calls. He would rattle off 2 or 3 quick questions, and hang up without even saying goodbye. Although he had a reputation for being a world class political operative, he had a lot of work to do in the area of social skills.

"Josh will meet us there I promise. So I hear you're almost finished with your Masters in government studies. What are your plans when you finish?" CJ asked.

"Ideally, I'd like to work in the Department of Health and Human Services." Donna answered as she followed CJ to the Roosevelt room. It was packed with people, including Josh Lyman, who kept glancing at his pager. When he finally noticed her, he excused himself and hurried to the door.

"Hey, Rebecca was supposed to page me when you got here." Josh complained.

"Ms. Cregg was kind enough to escort me back. "

"I bet she was. Thanks so much CJ." He said sardonically. "I got it from here."

"I thought I'd stay and listen awhile." She said innocently.

"I think we're pretty packed in here already. I'll brief you on the highlights later." Josh insisted.

CJ acquiesced, but watched the proceedings from outside the glass doors. She was fascinated by the body language between these two. From what Sam told her, they had only met a week ago, but the non- verbal language seemed much more comfortable, intimate even, than a new casual relationship would suggest.

Josh kept touching her; to get her attention, hand her a pen, whisper some comment or question into her ear. They leaned into each other even when their attention was focused on someone else. Very interesting. She went in search of Toby and Sam to share her observations.

Meanwhile in the Roosevelt room, the meeting was winding down. Donna was fascinated by the varied personalities and agenda present for this meeting. Once in a while, Josh would whisper some background information on the person speaking or asking her opinion about a comment offered. It was an amazing experience. Suddenly there was a commotion at the door. Security was motioning for Donna to come outside. Puzzled, but not yet alarmed, Donna exited the room quietly as Josh watched carefully from his seat.

"We're sorry to bother you Ms. Moss, but there is a woman outside with a small child who says she's your sister and claims she needs to speak to you immediately. Donna rushed to the entrance with the officers, oblivious to the fact that Josh made his excuses and followed behind her only moments later.

"Molly, what's wrong? Is Jake okay?" Donna asked even as she scanned her son's figure for any sign of illness or injury.

"No, Donna, he's fine. I'm sorry for scaring you. The school called and Tommy has been taken to the emergency room, they think it's appendicitis. Patrick is with him already, but I want to get there as soon as possible and didn't know what else to do with Jake." Donna nodded her understanding. Tommy was Molly's youngest child, and Patrick, her husband, would want her at the hospital with him.

"Go, go. Call me as soon as you know anything." Donna replied.

"I will if you turn on your cell. I've been trying to reach you for the last 30 minutes."

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. Go ahead." She waved her sister off and gathered her son to her in a hug. "Hey tiger. You had a little excitement today at Aunt Molly's, huh?"

"Donna?" Josh's voice interrupted Donna's reunion with Jake. She looked up to see Josh watching her with a puzzled look on her face. "Is everything okay? Who is this?" he asked.

"This is Jake. He's my son, Josh." Josh recovered quickly from the shock and spoke to the boy whose back was still facing him. "Hi, buddy. I'm Josh." He offered a hand to the child, but he did not turn around. There was a moment where no one moved or spoke. Then Donna began signing to the child. "Jake, this is my friend Josh. He's the friend who is helping Mommy with her homework. Can you say `hi' to him?" Donna explained.

Jacob turned around to face Josh and studied him for a moment before simultaneously signing and saying `hi'" He had curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes that waited for a response from Josh. He hesitated before looking back to Donna.

"I don't know how to sign. How do I say `hi' back?" he asked with his eyes back on Jake.

"You just did. Jake is beginning to read lips, but signing is still faster and more accurate for him." Donna watched Josh as he watched Jacob and realized this would change their relationship. It always did. Once a man found out that she not only had a child, but a child with a disability, they usually couldn't make tracks to the door fast enough. She didn't even get her hopes up when she met someone new anymore. She wasn't sure how Josh slipped through her defenses, but he had, which made the impending crash even more painful.

"We'd better go. My sister was watching him for me, but she's had a family emergency so I'm just going to take Jake home now." He handed her the purse she had left in the Roosevelt room still not saying a word to her, just staring at Jake. "Thank you so much for the opportunity to sit in on the meeting today, Josh. I learned a lot and it meant more than you know. Bye."

"Bye Donna" then he bent lower to meet the eyes of the child, and waved, "Bye Jake"

Okay, for those of you who love to hate Dr. Freeride this chapter should be your cup of tea.

When the doorbell rang, Donna was puzzled. Molly had called hours earlier to relay the information that Tommy's surgery had gone fine, and she couldn't think of anyone else who would stop by without calling...until she looked through the peep hole. Josh?! What was he doing here? For a split second, she considered playing possum and ignoring the doorbell. Then Jake began banging on the window next to the door and waving to Josh.

Thanks a lot, kiddo, she thought. Donna took a quick look in the mirror beside the door, shrugged and opened it to a smiling Josh Lyman.

"I called your work, and they said you were off today, so I took a chance and brought over some dinner." Josh, she could see wasn't nearly as confident as he appeared, which strangely made her feel more confident.

"I thought if I brought food, you'd have to let me in." he handed her the take out bags, "Hi Jake, are you hungry?" and to Donna's astonishment he signed as he spoke. Jake nodded and grabbed the kids meal leading the way to the kitchen.

"Josh," Donna said quietly, "What are you doing here?"

"I hope I'm having dinner with you and Jake." He answered looking into her eyes. "Am I?"

"Come on in. I imagine Jake has saved a place for you at the table."

Dinner with a small child was a much different experience than the dinners Josh usually had with a beautiful woman he was attracted to. For one thing, the fare itself was different. There was no steak with a glass of wine, but instead there were cheeseburgers and fries. Josh's burger wasn't even burnt as he preferred it, but he ate the whole thing with a smile on his face. Donna refused to take an order of fries for herself, claiming they were full of fat and salt, but Josh had caught her 3 times stealing a couple of his. When Jake noticed this interaction, he laughed. Not just a little giggle, but a full out belly laugh that Josh found to be infectious.

"Oh you think that's funny do you?" Josh teased as leaned over and tickled Jake before taking one of Jakes fries and eating it.

Jake looked up at him with shining eyes and solemnly offered Josh another French fry. Josh took it and ate it before signing "thank you". Donna's heart skipped a beat. What was going on here? Jake asked to be excused and ran out of the room.

"I'm sorry I left today without talking to you about Jake. Whenever Jake enters the picture, the guy I'm with tends to exit the picture. I guess I just wasn't ready for you to exit yet."

"I'll be honest with you Donna, I was too surprised to talk right then. Will you tell me about him now?"

"His Father and I lived together while I was putting him through med school. We planned to get married `down the road'. It was always `down the road' with Peter. I broke up with him when I found out he was cheating on me with another med student he worked with. A few weeks after I moved out, I found out I was pregnant with Jake." Donna stopped and took a deep breath.

"I knew the situation wasn't ideal, but with a baby in the picture, I wanted to try to make it work, so that Jake would have a Mom and a Dad. I moved back in with Peter, although he made it very clear that it would be much simpler if I just had an abortion."

She took another breath before she continued, "A week after I moved back in I got sick. Nothing serious, I thought, until a rash started to spread across my body. When I went in to have it checked out, the doctor told me I had contracted Rubella. Apparently there was an outbreak at the hospital where Peter was working and he spread it to me. Unfortunately, since it was during the first 20 weeks of my pregnancy, there was a 25% chance that Jake would be deaf. "

"That was it for Peter. He used it as an excuse that this was not meant to be. He insisted I get an abortion or move out...it took me all of 15 minutes to pack. My parents weren't interested in having their unmarried, pregnant daughter move back in with them, so I went to live with my sister Molly and her family.I did daycare for her and Peter while I started taking college courses to get my degree. Jake was born a healthy 7 pounds, had all 10 fingers and 10 toes, but he couldn't seem to hear or respond to my voice...He has profound hearing loss, but he works with a speech pathologist on reading lips and producing sounds."

"Raising a child on your own has got to be tough enough. When you add in a hearing loss...how did you deal with it? Does Dr. Freeride have any contact with him? Help in any way?" Josh asked.

"Dr. Freeride? That's good (Donna chuckled). No, I haven't seen or heard from him since the day I left him. Molly has been a tremendous help. Jake and I lived with her family until his first Birthday and she watches him for me when I am at work or school. Finding a babysitter can be a challenge because they don't sign which is his primary way to communicate. He'll be four in August and he's becoming more and more independent every day."

"I did a little checking after you left. It seems that when Governor Bartlett did the town hall in Arlington, the major topic was universal healthcare." Josh prompted.

"Yeah, I originally went along with Molly to hear him speak because she wanted company and Patrick hates politics. Then when he started talking about the need for universal health care and taking care of the least among us, our children, he got me. I had to do something to help him get elected. I had no money, and little time with a special needs toddler, but I had to do something. I had been so disillusioned in so many ways, but after I heard Governor Bartlett speak I started to feel hope." Donna looked at Josh and saw understanding in his eyes. A tension filled the air and Josh was about to break it when Jake came barreling into the room signing furiously to Josh. Donna touched Jake's arm to get his attention.

"No, honey, Josh doesn't want to play Candyland right now. He's a very busy man and he's been here a long time already." Donna signed back as she spoke to her son.

"Wait a minute. Do I get a say in this?" Josh asked Donna while Jake watched the interplay between Josh and his Mother.

"Joshua Lyman, do you even know what Candyland is?" Donna turned a skeptical glance his way.

"Not exactly, but I'm betting it's a kid's game and as a graduate of Harvard and Yale, surely I can handle a simple kid's game." Josh responded. Wait a minute; Josh thought to himself, am I fighting for the chance to play a game with a 3 year old? I put in 15 hours at work today. Why am I not at home having a beer and watching a ball game? Then he looked over to where identical blue eyes were watching him.

"I know how to sign `I want', but how do I sign `to play'?" Josh asked and Donna's eyes lit up as she showed him. He repeated the signs for Jake, and Jake smiled before running to get the game.

"How is it that you didn't know how to sign `hi' this morning, and by this evening you can sign sentences?"

"I might have had Rebecca do a little research on sign for me..."

"You had your assistant do what?" Donna asked, her eyebrows raised.

"I asked very nicely... in person... at her desk... no shouting...plus I brought lunch back for her." Josh argued. Donna relented.

"Josh, we've only known each other for a week. I wouldn't blame you if you walked out of here right now and never looked back." Donna looked at her hands in her lap afraid to look in Josh's eyes and let him see the hope she had there.

Josh put his hand under her chin and lifted until she looked at him.

"I know this seems fast. I don't understand everything that's happening here, but I do know I am not at all interested in walking out the door right now. Can we just start there and see where it goes from there?"

"Yeah, I think I can handle that." Donna smiled as Jake dumped the Candyland box in Josh's lap. He signed something and Donna interpreted for Josh. "He says you're going down."

"Tell him it'll be a cold day in...Candyland when Joshua Lyman loses a board game."

Donna laughed and translated for Jake as he set up the game.

A/N: Here's where the fun begins. Didn't you always wish we could've met Noah Lyman?

"I'm sorry little brother, could you repeat that?" Joanie was having a hard time keeping her pop from coming out of her nose as she laughed. "Did you just accuse a 3 year old child of cheating at Candyland?"

"All I'm saying is the kid is really smart and it would be easy to stack the deck of cards in his favor, particularly when I am unfamiliar with the game." Joanie's laughter exploded again.

"Josh, you take being a sore loser to a whole new level."

"I'm going to teach the kid to play Chess. Now that's a real game. No gumdrop whatevers or lollipop thingamajigs." Josh groused.

"I think he may be a little young for Chess, Joshua. Maybe you could start with checkers." She teased. "Was it hard playing the game when you don't know how to sign?"

"I know a few signs, just not the ones for `stop cheating' and now I know all the color words too. I wonder if there are special signs for baseball. I should have Rebecca look into it." Josh wondered out loud.

"You seem to have a lot invested in a relationship that's only a week old. What happened to what's her name from legislative affairs?"

"I don't know. I haven't talked to her since I had to break our date to come lecture to your class." Joanie digested that information while she segued into her next opportunity to tease her brother. "Yeah, how did you think it went last week? I got some interesting information on the comment cards after the speech."

"While I may have gotten off to a bit of a rocky start due to the fact that I....

"Forgot the lecture topic?"

"...expanded on the original lecture topic, it all came out okay." Josh finished confidently.

"That was a nice bit of spin you did there Joshua. Was that like the spin you did for my class before Donna smacked you down?"

"I don't know where you got your information, but I would have characterized it as more of a lively debate than any kind of smack down. Your students must have misinterpreted the situation."

"Sam Seaborne said she smacked you down repeatedly." Joanie just smiled at Josh's vexed expression.

"He was just mad because she called his speech `canned material'"

"You mean, your speech, right?"

"Yeah, my speech. I meant my speech, he just helped me polish it a little on the way over."

"Uh-huh. Well can I assume that you are a little more prepared for tonight's class?"

"I am all set. It will be smooth as glass and all your students will be very impressed."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I ran it by Donna, and she thought it was very good."

"I see...well hurry up and finish the burnt burger you talked me into buying for you and let's go experience this great lecture."

"You're coming tonight? You didn't come last week!" Josh noted.

"Yes, and look at all the fun I missed." Joanie thought it best not too mention their Father was also coming to hear Josh speak. It will make a pleasant surprise, she reasoned.

A/N: I'm a little apprehensive about introducing Noah Lyman to this mix. He was obviously so well loved by his son and the people who knew him. I imagine that we all have an idea in our heads as to what he might've been like and I don't want to mess with that, but I couldn't resist the temptation to put him and Donna together. Keep an open mind and let me know if my image of Noah matches your at all. Thanks!

Donna arrived early for class this time, but still chose a seat in the back row. She thought it would be easier to objective if she observed Josh from a distance. The minute he took the podium, though, that theory was shot to hell. He radiated...something...that made it difficult for her to tear her gaze away from him. So it was no surprise that she took no notice of the gentleman who took a seat next to her as Josh began his lecture.

After a few minutes, the man turned to her and inquired "He's pretty good, don't you think?" Donna turned to face the man who was speaking to her. He was in his late 50's to early 60's, dressed in a business casual suit. He had expressive brown eyes, but his face had a white pallor to it as though he had been sick recently. Donna took him for a faculty member who was sitting in on an interesting guest speaker lecture.

"Yes, he is, although probably not as good as he thinks he is. He has a bit of an ego when it comes to his work. Anyway, it's a great improvement from last week."

"What happened last week?" the man looked concerned.

"He forgot the topic of the lecture and had a little trouble staying on topic." Donna chuckled. "It's great to have guest speakers who have experience in Government, but they still need to prepare, right?"

"Oh absolutely." The man agreed. He smiled at Donna and then settled back into his seat.

Josh moved swiftly though his prepared speech and Donna found herself fascinated on both a personal and a professional level. He actively engaged the students by asking thought provoking questions and gasked for their input on his comments. When the 2 hours were up, Donna joined the other students standing to applaud Joshua in thanks for his presentation.

As people got up to leave, she found it curious that the man next to her hadn't moved. She must have been staring at him because he immediately started to get up.

"I'm sorry did you need to get through here?" he asked.

"No, please sit. I was just going to wait for Mr. Lyman to walk back so I could tell him how much I enjoyed his speech. Though looking at the female fan club that has him surrounded down there, it might be quite a wait."

"It's the Lyman charm. Women have a hard time resisting it." The man smiled again.

"I'm sorry?" Donna had a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"My wife says it's the Lyman charm that she couldn't resist. I figure it's the same for Josh." The man is question had broken away from his fan club in search of Donna. When he reached her, she seemed a little pale. He was about to ask her if she was okay, when he noticed his Dad sitting next to her.

"Dad?! What are you doing here?" Josh asked as he pulled his Father into a bear hug. Donna would have found his open affection with his Father endearing if she hadn't been dying of embarrassment. What exactly had she said about Josh? She struggled to replay the conversation in her head, but that only made her more embarrassed.

Lord, first the President and now Josh's Father. Someone really should super glue her mouth shut!

"Well I was trying to pick up this beautiful young lady, but for some illogical reason she seems to have eyes for you." Noah teased both of them. "Although I should point out that her assessment of your ego is perfectly accurate." Donna wanted to sink into the floor.

"Just what have you been saying about my ego?" Josh joined in on the teasing.

"Not too much." Noah interjected, "She was too busy telling me about what an ass you made out of yourself last week."

"Mr. Lyman, I never said anything like that!" Donna protested.

"What have your Mother and I always told you about being prepared. Your wit and charm can only carry you so far, young man. You have to be willing to put work and sweat into it too, you know."

"Dad, I am the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President of the United States of America. I think I've proved I know how to work and sweat AND prepare."

"Can I just point out that I never said anything about Josh being an ass?" Donna tried to interrupt again.

"Oh, please you would never be in that position if I hadn't steered Leo McGarry in your direction and asked him to take pity on my poor, misguided son. John Hoynes, please! He was and always will be a two faced, womanizing-"

"Dad, you are speaking about the Vice-President of the United States, will you kindly keep your voice down?" Josh sounded weary; he had heard this speech before.

"You know what? I'm just going to say goodnight. You two obviously have a lot to talk about." Donna started to back away from the Lyman men.

"Donna, wait!" implored Josh. "You didn't tell me what you thought of the speech."

"She said you were almost as good as you thought you were." Noah turned back to Donna. "I got that quote right, didn't I?"

"Yes...." Donna gave up and sat back down in her seat. "Is there any chance I can be excused from this conversation?"

"No." both men said in unison.

"I was going to ask Donna to have some dessert with Joanie and me. Why don't you join us? We could go to that diner you like down the street."

"I think I would like that very much. I'll meet you there." Noah went down to speak to Joanie.

"Joshua?" Donna called his name from where she was sitting in her chair, head thrown back, and eyes closed. "Do you know what you forgot about just then?"

"The part where I ask if you want to join us?" he guessed.

"The part where you ask me if I want to join you." She affirmed.

"But see that was part of my plan." Josh reached down to take her hands and pulled her up until she was standing next to him and she opened her eyes. " Having already cleverly discovered that you're not working tonight-"

"You mean when I told you yesterday that I didn't have to work tonight?"

"It sounds a lot less clever when you put it that way, but yes, having determined that you do not need to go straight to work, nor do you need to rush to Molly's to pick up Jake, I decided to take charge of the plans for the evening." Josh concluded.

"Which would be all well and good except for two things; 1) You didn't ask me and 2) I just made a complete ass out of myself in front of your Father."

"My Father doesn't bother to tease people he doesn't like. And the `not asking part" is actually the most clever part of my plan. If I don't ask you, you can't say no. See how that works? I learned that working in politics." Josh started pulling her towards the door, but she held her ground and they came to a stop.

"Joshua..."

"I need to ask you." He stated simply.

"You need to ask me." She replied.

"Donna, would you consider joining me and some of my crazy family members for dessert this evening?"

"Will you protect me from your Father's teasing?"

"Come on, Donna, be reasonable. I can't even protect myself from my Father's teasing."

"Will you try?" Donna insisted.

"Yeah, I'll try. Will you come?"

"Yeah, I'll come." They walked out of the lecture hall hand in hand; a gesture that was not lost on Joanie or Noah from where they stood watching the entire interchange.

A/N: Short, but sweet...I hope.

After they finished dessert, Josh went with Donna to pick up Jake before taking them both home. He played with Jake a bit, crashing matchbox cars, before Donna declared it was past Jake's bedtime. He stayed while Donna tucked her son into bed. When she was finished she joined him on the couch; exhausted.

"I think it may be past your bedtime, too." Josh noted as he put his arm around her shoulders and she laid her head against him.

"Yeah, we both have early mornings tomorrow." Donna agreed, but neither moved.

"Is tomorrow book store day or waitress day?" Josh asked referring to Donna's two jobs.

"Bookstore day." She replied

"Good. I like you working there much better." Donna bristled. Josh had made it perfectly clear during previous conversations that he didn't like her waitress job.

"It's only for a few more months, until I complete my Masters. Then I'll get a safe, boring, government job, I promise."

"Okay, okay. I really need to go. I have senior staff at 7 tomorrow. Walk me to the door?" Donna nodded and followed Josh to the door, but before she could open it, he leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers.

"I couldn't help but notice that when you said `goodnight' to Jake, you gave him a kiss too."

"That is part of the standard `goodnight' ritual. Keeping a `goodnight' routine is very important to children. It establishes an emotional bond, builds trust, and develops a sense of order and predictability in their lives." Donna explained.

"Boy, I sure could use some order and predictability in my life." He hinted.

"I've seen your office Joshua. I think it may be too late for you." she teased.

"I think in the interest of scientific research, we should conduct an experiment to see if a goodnight routine increases order and predictability in my world."

"I really don't want to impede scientific discovery..." Donna tilted her head up until her lips met Josh's.

The first kiss was gentle and full of curiosity. Josh pulled back for a moment to read the expression in Donna's eyes. Finding the answer he was looking for, he leaned back towards her to kiss her with increasing passion. Soon, Donna felt herself being walked back into the family room and gently pushed Josh away.

"Josh, 7:00 senior staff; remember?" she reminded him and began walking back towards the door. This time she got it open before he leaned against it.

"That's all your fault too." He pretended to complain.

"How is an early senior staff meeting my fault?"

"When the President read my briefing memo on unfunded mandates in special ed programs, he insisted we get on it immediately, which means early staff." He explained.

Donna's mouth fell open as he revealed the topic of his senior staff meeting. Josh gently closed it before he dropped one more kiss on her lips and walked out calling, "Goodnight Donnatella."

A/N: Okay, if I did this right, you should need kleenex by the end of this chapter...fair warning.

She still hadn't recovered from dessert with Josh's sister and father, even though two weeks had passed, and now he wanted her to go with him when he met his parents for dinner. Was he nuts? He must be, since he wanted her to bring Jake,too. Hadn't he learned the hard way that dinner out with a pre-schooler was dicey at best?

To be fair, Josh was always patient with Jake. It's true that he laughed when Jake threw his food at the waiter stating, "The kids right. This place is pretentious and the waiter was being snooty. Let's get out of here."

He also tried his best to keep up with the signing conversation, even though he was depressed to learn finger spelling was wasted on Jake since he couldn't yet spell. Josh simply decided he would teach Jake to spell despite the fact that Jake hadn't turned 5 yet.

However Donna knew from experience that it would be a disaster to combine dinner out with Josh's parents and Jacob. In the end, they did as they always did, and reached a compromise. Donna would bring Jake to dinner with Josh's parents as long as they had it as Josh's apartment. Josh was okay having it at his apartment as long as they brought dinner in so no one had to cook or clean up afterwards. That worked fine for Donna and Ruth (Josh's Mom) since neither of them was stupid and knew Josh wouldn't be the one cooking or cleaning.

So everyone was pleased with the solution that had Josh opening his door to Noah and Ruth Lyman for dinner with Donna and Jacob Moss.

Josh hugged both his parents and ushered them into the living room as he got them something to drink. Ruth was happily surprised to see several pre-school toys scattered about the place. She had received reports from both her husband and her daughter about Donna Moss and heard about Jake from Josh himself, but this tangible proof of her son's relationship pleased her very much.

"Donna and Jake should be here any minute. I hope they beat the food; we ordered Italian tonight. Jake loves spaghetti. How was your trip out?"

"Fine, but we both agreed it's time for you to make the trip out to see us for a change." Noah replied.

"Why don't you have this conversation with Leo, Dad? I'm sure if you asked him, he'd arrange for some time off so I could make the trip."

"Good idea. In fact, I'll have your Mother call him. He could never say `no' to your Mother." Noah smiled as he concocted the plan. Ruth and Noah jumped as there was a loud banging on Josh's door. Josh just smiled and went to answer the door.

"Don't worry, we're not under attack. That's just Jake announcing himself." Josh told them as he opened the door.

Jake launched himself at Josh and gave him a hug before starting to sign to him. Donna followed cautiously behind her son. She was still a little nervous about this evening.

"Wow, slow down, buddy, you know I can't go that fast. What are you saying about your Mom?"

"He's telling you his mean mom wouldn't let him eat before we came tonight." Donna interpreted. "He wants to you to get him a snack because he's hungry."

Josh shook his head while he signed `sorry, no'. "Spaghetti will be here soon. Come with me, Jake."

He took Jake's hand and led him over to where his parents were sitting. Then he hunkered down so he was at Jake's eye level before he simultaneously signed and said, "Jake this is my Mom and Dad." Both Lymans smiled and said `hello' before turning to Donna. Ruth got up and met her halfway across the room.

"And this must be Donna. I'm Ruth, Donna, and I can't tell you how nice it is to finally meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, Ruth. Noah, it's nice to see you again."

"You too, Donna. You have a handsome young man here, Donna." The young man was currently half hidden behind Josh's legs. Donna, Ruth, and Noah all smiled at the picture that made.

If any members of Congress saw him like this, they might think Bartlett's pitbull had lost a few teeth. Then there was another knock at the door. Josh tapped Jake's shoulder and signed, `dinner is here'. Jake's face lit up and he ran to the door, pulling Josh behind him.

Dinner itself, was uneventful, though the area around Jake was pretty messy. When Jake was done with his spaghetti, Donna washed his face and took him into the living room to find something for him to play with while the adults finished their wine.

"Jake is certainly a charmer, Joshua." Ruth commented.

"Donna has done an amazing job with him; 2 jobs, school, and a child with special needs. That's quite a load to handle." Josh replied.

"A heavy load is always easier to carry when you have a partner, don't you think?" she asked innocently.

"Don't start, Mom. We're not there yet." Josh warned.

"I'm not starting anything, Joshua. You started this. There are toys in your living room, bibs in your kitchen, and you're learning sign language. I don't know what that adds up to in your alternate universe, but to a mother, it means-"

"I'm telling you it doesn't mean anything. Look, I enjoy being with Donna, who wouldn't? Jake is a great kid. I need to know some sign to communciate with him. That doesn't mean I'm ready for a family. The toys, the bibs, that's just about convenience okay?" Josh got up and started to clear dishes, getting more and more defensive as he built up steam.

"It's a pain to go out with a pre-schooler so mostly we hang out here or at Donna's. When we're here we need things to keep Jacob clean and entertained. It's that simple. Just convenience; it's all about convenience, got it?" he turned around from gathering dishes and found Donna standing in the doorway looking stricken. Josh's heart fell to his knees. "Donna- "

"I'm sorry Ruth, Noah, but Jake's getting tired and crabby. I think it would be best if I took him home now. It was really nice to see you both." Donna turned to collect Jake from the other room, where, Josh noted, he was playing quite happily with the checkers board Josh had purchased for him.

"Donna, wait, let me explain." he began.

"No explanation necessary, Joshua. We both agreed we would just see where this goes, right?"

"Please, Donna, let me take you and Jake home. We can tuck him and then you and I can talk this out."

"I drove my car here, Josh."

Donna walked past him and told Jake it was time to go. Jake protested, signing that Josh promised to play checkers with him after dinner. They argued back and forth, both their signs becoming more urgent and heated. Josh couldn't follow all of it, but he caught Donna signing the words `mom is sick" and finally Jacob capitulated.

Donna picked him up and headed for the door.

"Donna, you're upset. You shouldn't be driving. Leave your care here, and let me take you home."

"I'm sorry, Joshua. That just isn't 'convenient' for me." Donna opened the door and walked out without another word; Jacob waving goodbye to Josh over his Mother's shoulder.

Now Josh felt sick.

A/N: Time for AU world and cannon world to meet for a brief shining moment. Sorry that was cheesy, but it's 1:41 AM now.

Donna wearily got out of her car, exhaustion in her every step. She and Jacob had spent the night at Molly's, but she had no change of clothes for work today, so here she was at 7 AM looking like something that cat dragged in as she walked up the sidewalk to her townhouse. When she got there, she stopped short. Sitting on her front step was none other than the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, looking no better than she did.

"You're trespassing, Joshua. What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you, Donna. You have to let me explain." Donna started to contradict him. "Okay, you don't have to let me explain, but I would be so grateful if you would give me the chance to explain. Five minutes, Donna, then I'll leave without another word if that's what you want."

Donna hesitated, then walked past him to unlock the door and enter her townhouse. She left the door open, so Josh took that as an invitation to go in.

"How long have you been sitting there, anyway?" she asked as she made herself some coffee.

"Which time? The first time I came out was about an hour after you left my place. The second time was around midnight, and let me tell you panic began to set in by then, Donna. I had all sorts of images of you and Jacob helpless in a ditch somewhere because of me." Donna flinched at that image of herself. "After I called the hospitals and was assured you hadn't been brought in by ambulance, I finally wised up and called Molly. She told me that you and Jake were there safe and sound and that I should stay the hell away from you since she watched you cry yourself to sleep over the stupid things I said."

"I need to get ready for work, Josh."

"But she must have felt a little sorry for me, because she called me 15 minutes ago to tell me you were on your way here to get some fresh clothes. She also said I shouldn't make her regret giving me this heads up...God, Donna, I am so sorry. I didn't know what I was saying or why I was saying it. Mom started making comments about how serious things looked between us and I panicked!"

"Things have progressed quickly between us I guess, but the transition has been so smooth that I didn't realize how invested I was in this relationship until Mom started ticking off the points out loud. I was trying to get Mom to back off, so I downplayed what you and Jake mean to me. It was wrong, absolutely wrong, and I know I hurt you, but I need you to forgive me, Donna."

"You have to forgive me because as I sat here waiting for you to come home, as I called every hospital in the area, I realized that I'm way past the point of no return here. Donna, I love you. It's that simple. I love you and I love Jake and I need you both in my life." When Josh dared to look up at Donna, he saw tears running down her face and her hands were shaking.

"Joshua Lyman, you are without doubt, the most exasperating man I have ever met. You worm your way into my heart, and Jake's, when it was the last thing I wanted. Your ego is the size of a small planet, but it has to be somewhat justified, cause I'll be damned if there isn't a bill in the House of Representatives requiring full Federal funding for early childhood special education."

"You let my son beat you at Candyland, and pretend he knows how to play checkers because you know it makes him feel grown up and connected to you. You let me start to hope and fall in love with you and then you cut me off at the knees in front of your parents. You broke my heart, Joshua."

"I know and I'm so sorry. Will you please forgive me, Donna?" There was the longest pause in Josh's life, and then,

"Don't ever do it again."

At her words, he pulled her into his arms and rocked her where they stood. After a minute, Josh cleared his throat to speak.

"Donna, while we're clearing the air here, I think there's something you should know." Josh began and Donna pulled out of his arms to look at him.

"What is it?"

"I don't `let' Jake win at Candyland."

"Joshua!"

"I think he's figured out a way to stack the deck, Donna. Your son is cheating. No way someone `randomly' pulls double blue cards two times in a row."

"Joshua..."

"We have to stop this cheating behavior now, Donna, or he could grow up to be a Republican. How disastrous would that be?" Donna laughed as she poured them each a cup of coffee.

"I think we should get together tonight and confront him about the cheating, just lay the cards out on the table, so to speak."

"Well, I work until 5, but you could come over after that, at which time I will supervise a game of Candyland to determine whether or not there is a cheating issue that needs to be addressed."

"I can live with that...wait! Damn, I forgot all about the town hall meeting tonight. See how you distract me? We've been prepping for it all week; I don't know how I could forget about it."

"That's okay, Josh, I know your job is important. We can do something tomorrow?"

"I don't want to wait until tomorrow. Let's have dinner together before the thing. It will have to be in the mess, but at least we'll get to spend some time together."

"I don't like to bother you when you're at work."

"Come on Donna, bring Jake and have dinner with me. I don't have to leave for the Newseum to staff the President until 7. That gives us plenty of time. I could probably get you extra credit in your grad school class..."

"What makes you think I need extra credit, Joshua Lyman?"

"Okay, how about a job reference from the Deputy Chief of Staff?"

"How about you spring for dinner, and clean up Jake afterwards?"

"Deal."

Later, his friends would comment on the picture they made sitting together in the mess; how they had never seen Josh Lyman looking so happy and relaxed. There would be speculation about the effect this woman was having on the White House Chief of Staff and curiosity about when he learned to sign.

Rebecca would recount how her job B.D. (before Donna) had been a miserable position deserving of hazardous duty pay, but A.D. (after Donna) it was a pleasant and productive position to have. Josh got his own damn coffee, either used the intercom or came to her desk to talk to her, and always remembered to do something nice for her when she stayed extra late for a project or did something a little out of her job description.

Sam would recall Jake's laughter as Sam mangled the signs he was trying to teach him and how Josh's face filled with pride when Jake beat Sam at Candyland which Jake had brought with him to the White House.

C.J. engaged Donna in a discussion about the special ed bill and got some new insight into what this would mean to families who have children with special needs. She also got some insight into Donna's relationship with her friend. Donna was warm, bright, funny, and a joy to be around. C.J. wondered if Josh realized he was in love with her yet.

Josh headed to the Newseum in the Presidential limo and didn't even mind as the President talked on and on about the girls softball game that he would be watching after the town hall.

Donna felt like she flew home from the White House. She and Jacob went through their regular night time routine and both of them couldn't keep the smiles off their faces. Donna allowed Jake to `con' her into 2 stories at bedtime, before she finally turned off his light and kissed his forehead goodnight.

Since she wouldn't get to spend time with Josh tonight, she decided to catch up on the household chores she had been putting off. She cleaned the kitchen while she danced to the music playing on the radio. She scrubbed the floor, made out a grocery list and was just folding the last load of laundry, when the music abruptly stopped.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are interrupting our broadcast to bring you this breaking news: Shots have been fired at President Bartlett following his town hall meeting this evening. Witnesses reported hearing between 3-6 shots which appeared to be fired directly at President Bartlett and his staff. We have no confirmation on the President's condition at this time. As soon as we have more information, we will pass it on to all of you...

Donna slowly sat down on the floor; the clothes she had been folding still in her hands.

"Josh...."

A/N: thanks for your patience. The internet connection was down for most of the day so I was unable to post. However, I did keep writing, so I have a few chapters to post now. Thanks, too, for all the kind comments and feedback. You've really boosted my confidence!

Shit. Shit. Shit....Where is it? Where is it? He gave it to Jake and Jake gave it to me. I was wearing my tan pants, blue jacket, and had my small black purse, so it HAD to be in one of those places. No sign of it in the purse. Okay, what about the blue jacket? Nope, not in there either. That leaves the tan pants...Where did I put the pants...

Donna searched her room frantically looking for tan pants that might contain the business card Sam had given Jake earlier in the evening. It had been a bit of a joke... (flashback) "He says he knows Josh is more important that you, because Josh has a card with his name and all his phone numbers on it" Donna relayed her son's reasoning to Sam.

"Oh, yeah, well so do I, hotshot." and with that Sam presented his card to Jake with a flourish. Jake immediately handed the card to Josh for verification.

"It says `Sam Seaborne, White House Jester." Josh quipped which only confused Jake more. So instead of explaining, Josh began to sign each of the letters in Sam's name. He was so determined to teach Jake to spell. When they'd gone through it twice Jake handed the card to his mother, clearly unimpressed. Everyone had laughed, except Sam. Donna put the card in the front pocket of her pants.

(back to present) Donna was thrilled to have remembered where she put it until she realized she had thrown the pants in the last load of wash. Digging through the freshly laundered clothes she reached into the pocket of her pants, saying every prayer she remembered and pulled out a jumble of shredded paper that used to be Sam's business card. She started to cry. She wouldn't have needed the damn thing if Josh or anyone who worked for him would simply answer the damn phone. She has been in the bull pen. She knew there were tons of people swarming through the place constantly. Why did no one answer?

Suddenly, her home phone rang, and she made a dive for it, answering it before it could ring a second time.

"Josh?!" Donna waited for him to answer her, but there was only silence for a moment.

"Donna, it's Sam."

"Sam, are you okay? Is everyone alright? No one on TV seems to know anything and Josh isn't answering his phone. I'm sure it's chaotic there now, but what is the point of having a cell phone if you don't use it in case of emergencies-"

"Donna...." There was a long, emotionally charged pause as Sam struggled to find the right words.

"No. No, Sam. I'm glad you're alright, but I need to speak to Josh now. Please put Josh on the phone. He can go back to running the country in a minute, but I need to talk to him first, please."

"Donna, listen to me..

"No. no. no!"

"A car from the White House is coming to pick you up. They should be there any moment. Josh needs you to come down here to GW."

"Sam?"

"Just get in the car, Donna. I'll be waiting here at the door for you to make sure you can get through security."

"But Sam...Jake. What will I do about Jake?" Donna wondered aloud.

"Bring him with you, Donna. I'll take care of him once you get here. Just get you and Jake into the car as quickly as possible. Josh needs you."

"Okay, okay. I'll get Jake right now." she promised as she hung up the phone.

Just as Sam predicted, the car from the White House was waiting outside for her when she exited her townhouse with a sleeping Jake in her arms. The ride to GW was a blur and seemed to take forever.

Even after they arrived, it was going to take several minutes for the car to be cleared through the roadblocks that had been set up. Finally, Donna just opened her door and walked the rest of the way to the emergency room entrance with Jake on her shoulder. The voice inside her head kept saying, `Hurry, hurry'. She saw Sam the moment she stepped inside.

He took Jake from her and whisked her into an elevator. From there, they went down a long corridor past several more secret service agents and into a private waiting room. Still, Sam didn't say a word and Donna's heartbeat got faster and faster. She wanted to ask the question, but was afraid of the answer. Sam put Jake down on one of the couches and seated Donna next to him before he crouched down in front of her.

"Sam?" There were a hundred questions in that one word.

"Donna, Josh was shot in the assassination attempt tonight. It's very serious, but that's all I know right now. Dr. Bartlett was going to get an update for us; look, here she is now. Ma'am. This is Donna Moss. Can you tell us what you found out?"

"Donna, we have the best doctors in the region helping Josh right now. Take a breath, Donna. That's it. He sustained some serious damage from the bullet. It caused his lung to collapse, broke 2 ribs and nicked an artery in his heart." Donna gasped.

"The biggest issues right now are repairing the damage to his heart and stopping the internal bleeding. They will likely be operating for the next several hours. Is there someone who can pick up your son?"

"My...my sister Molly."

"Okay, maybe we can give her a call in a little bit."

"Dr. Bartlett, did they say...those injuries sound very serious. Did they say what his chances are?"

No, Donna." Abby lied. "Even if they gave us numbers, those statistics can't measure the single best predictor in these cases and that's the personal will of the injured person. Do you know anyone who has more personal will than Josh Lyman? I don't. So let's take it one step at a time and not think about all the `what ifs' okay?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Donna looked up at the clock as Sam took her hand in his. It read 11:43.

It was going to be a very long night.

It was less than an hour later that Leo McGarry led an obviously distressed Noah and Ruth Lyman into the private waiting room. Both parents looked like they had aged in the past few hours. Joanie followed behind them, eyes swollen from crying. It was Ruth that noticed Donna and Jacob and she gathered Donna in her arms.

"Donna, I am so sorry about our dinner the other night. It was completely my fault. I goaded him on purpose to try to get him to admit things and it backfired miserably. Josh and Noah insisted I not interfer, but I wanted so badly to talk to you."

"It's okay, Ruth. We talked everything out. Don't worry."

"He loves you and little Jacob, so much, you know." She looked Donna in the eyes.

"I love him too, Ruth. I'm just so scared that he...his condition is still critical!"

"You listen to me, Donnatella. There is no one on this planet that is more stubborn than my Joshua. He's going to come out of this surgery and get mad at the fuss we're all making over his `little scratches' you mark my words." Donna laughed for the first time she since heard the breaking news.

Noah and Joanie had joined them by this time, and hugs were exchanged all around. Dr. Bartlett approached them to say that secret service had cleared her to use the operation observation area so she could observe first hand what was happening with Josh. Donna turned to Sam.

"Will you stay with Jacob while I go see Josh?" Sam nodded his agreement.

"Donna, are you sure you want to do that? Surgery can be very...messy and they've had to crack Josh's chest open to begin repairs on his heart."

"I need to see him, Ma'am." Donna said simply. Abby nodded and led her to the observation area.

Donna stared in horror at the man she loved on the operating table below them. Tears flowed swiftly and silently down her cheeks. After a few minutes, she finally spoke.

"I didn't tell you before, Ma'am. I'm so glad the President is going to be fine. Josh would be devastated if something had happened to President Bartlett."

"In a couple days, the two of them will be trading war stories about the sacrifices they have made for their country and being totally insufferable." Abby tried to lighten the mood.

"I hope so Ma'am, I certainly hope so."

Time slowed to a crawl. Donna debated about whether to call Molly and have her come get Jake, but in the end she decided to wait until morning. Jake was sleeping peacefully, so there wasn't any need to wake her sister up in the middle of the night. Besides, if she were totally honest with herself, she would admit that having him with her gave her some comfort.

Donna and the Lymans took turns in the observation area, with Dr. Bartlett translating the medi-speak for them. When Jake woke up, Donna faced another hurdle; how to explain to Jake what was going on with Josh. At first, Jake was simply disoriented, waking up in a strange place with strangers around him. By the time Donna was alerted to the fact that he was awake and she got back to the waiting room, he was clinging to Sam and watching everyone else with wide frightened eyes.

"Good Morning, sweetie. You slept so well. We are at the hospital because Josh got hurt during the night. In a little while, Aunt Molly will come pick you up and take you to her house, okay? I am going to stay here for awhile and help Josh get better." Jake looked around and signed to his mother.

"No, you can't see him right now. The doctors are helping him get better." More signing.

"Yes, I'm sure it would make Josh feel better to see you, but he can't see anyone right now. He's...sleeping. When he wakes up..." Donna's voice faltered for a minute. "When he wakes up I know he'll want to see you right away." Jacob paused for a minute, taking it all in. He signed quickly to his mom.

"No, I'm not sick. I'm just tired. Are you hungry? (Jacob nodded) There are some donuts and juice on the table. Go pick out something to eat."

Noah sat down next to her. "How you holding up, spitfire?" Donna laughed when Noah used the nick name he gave her the night they all went out together. It seemed so long ago now.

"I have to say I've been better, counselor. That son of yours is going to get quite a lecture about ducking when he decides to wake up."

"Yeah, the thing is, Donna, athletics were never his thing. He was always more successful arguing his way out of things. Now if he could have negotiated with those lunatic gunmen-" he broke off as Donna started crying again. Noah threw a quick glance at Jake and saw he was still making his donut selection. Noah took his silk handkerchief out of his pocket and dried her tears.

"Now cut that out before you get me in trouble. If Ruth or Jake see that I made you cry I'm a dead man." Noah told her.

"I'm sorry, Noah. I just don't think I can handle any more of this."

"Yes, you can. You are a strong, smart, woman, Donnatella Moss. When my son wakes up he's going to need that strength. Believe me when I tell you we Lyman men are full of bluster, but when the going gets tough, we lean on the women we love. I don't think I could get through a single round of chemo without Ruth by my side." Noah confessed.

"You're lucky to have each other. Just yesterday I was feeling so lucky too. God couldn't be that cruel, could he? He wouldn't take Josh away just when we finally found each other."

"Of course not. Josh has plans for you and Jake, Donna. He told me he's going to teach Jake how to spell and play baseball. He's going to stick around for that, I promise."

Donna nodded although Noah wasn't sure if she agreed with him or was merely humoring him. Jacob chose that moment to return with a huge chocolate donut with sprinkles on it. His mouth was covered in chocolate. He offered her a bite, but she shook her head no.

Jake looked at his donut another moment, then hesitantly offered a bite to Noah. Noah took a token bite and signed `thank you'. When Donna looked at him quizzically, Noah just shrugged.

"I asked Josh to show me a few sign so I would have something to say to Jake." He answered her unspoken question.

Molly arrived and checked on how her sister was doing before taking Jake to her house. Donna hated to see him go, but appreciated the fact that it freed her up to concentrate on Josh. She returned to the observation area and didn't leave it again until Josh was wheeled out of surgery; 14 hours after he had been wheeled in.

 

"I was so sure that I would feel better after he got out of surgery, but it's not better at all. It's just a different waiting room." Sam complained.

"Dr. Bartlett told us he wouldn't wake up right away, Sam. He made it over the first hurdle. We just have to concentrate on that until he's ready for the next one." CJ responded. "Donna, are you sure you don't want to lay down for awhile?" I promise to come get you if anything changes."

"I don't want to miss my turn with him in the ICU." Donna, Joanie, and Josh's parents were taking turns sitting with him in the ICU where he was allowed only 1 visitor at a time.

CJ and Sam exchanged worried glances. Donna was all but asleep on her feet. Molly was going to bring Jake by for a bit to see Donna and Josh before spending the night with his cousins.

Joanie came out of the ICU and motioned for Donna to take her turn. The others could see her through the glass as she sat next to Josh and took one of his hands in both of hers. After speaking to him a moment, she laid her head next to his and promptly fell asleep.

That's how Molly found her when she brought Jake to visit a few minutes later. She and Donna had talked about the wisdom of letting Jake see Josh in this condition, but Donna was adamant that Jake would feel better once he saw Josh with his own eyes. Jake wouldn't be allowed in the ICU, but he could see Josh sleeping through the glass.

Ruth helped Jake stand on a chair to see Josh and his mother sleeping in the other room. Jake, excited to see his Mom and his buddy, hit the glass with his open palm. The sound startled Donna awake. She looked around, temporarily disoriented until she saw Josh, then it all came flooding back. She tried speaking to him again. The doctors said the sooner he regained consciousness the better.

"Josh, I'm here. We're all here. Won't you just open your eyes for a minute? If you won't open your eyes for me, I'll have no choice but to send the First Lady in here and you do not want a piece of that." She thought his eyelids flickered for a moment but in her current condition she could have hallucinated the entire thing.

"Josh please. I need to know you're going to be okay. Can you hear me? Josh can you hear my voice?"

A loud banging from the glass behind her caused her to turn and see her son jumping up and down behind the glass. Donna waved and turned back to Josh, but the banging continued and increased in decibels and fervor. She turned back to the glass again to see everyone with animated expressions pointing to Josh's hand. Donna looked down, puzzled, until she realized what they were excited about. Josh's hand had formed the sign for `yes'!

"Josh! You can hear me?" again his hand moved to sign `yes'. "Honey can you open your eyes?" There was a small pause before he signed `no'. Donna laughed out loud.

"I guess I can cut you some slack seeing how you had a bit of a night. But if you could see your way clear to blinking a couple times, I might be able to get you some extra credit with the President and Leo. I've got that kind of pull now, you know." Donna watched as he struggled to comply. He was just so weak.

"That's okay, just rest now. Your body needs rest. I love you Joshua." His hand formed the `I love you' sign and Donna wept openly as she kissed his forehead and walked out to his family and hers.

"He's conscious! He's just too weak to speak right now. Can you believe he was signing to answer my questions?"

"Jake was the one who noticed it first." Molly announced.

"That's my little man!" Donna caught him up in a big hug and swung him around until they were both dizzy. Then she watched as Ruth Lyman went to sit with her son.

For the first time since she heard the news of the shooting, she allowed herself to hope.

 

Josh Lyman, when he was fighting Republicans for the greater good of the country was a pitbull. Josh Lyman, when protecting his friends or family, was a barracuda. Josh Lyman, when he was bored or sick, was simply insufferable.

There were several times as they were growing up that Joanie was tempted to smother him with a pillow, simply to stop the whining and the complaining. Today, she felt the violent urge return with a vengeance.

The first few days after the shooting, he'd been easy to be around. Of course he HAD been unconscious most of the time. The next few days, he was too weak to cause much trouble; he could barely say a word and mostly signed. But now, a week since the shooting, things had taken a turn for the worse.

Josh was far too injured to do anything but rest. However he was just well enough to be bored out of his mind which meant he complained... about everything; the blanket was scratchy, the nurses were mean, his liquid diet sucked, he was missing important work, and worst of all, he'd hardly seen Donna the last couple days. Where the hell was she anyway?

"I told you Joshua, she's working double shifts the next few days to pay back the waitresses who took her shifts so she could be with you after surgery." Joanie always said `after surgery' and never said `after the shooting". It was like if she didn't say it, it didn't happen and she could pretend he was here for a kidney stone or something.

That denial irked Josh almost as much as his snarky nurses and they irked him quite a bit.

"You don't have to stay here, Joan. I don't need a sitter, you know." he told her.

"But if I left, who would fetch your ice chips and be your whipping boy?" she said sweetly.

"You should be nicer to me. I almost died you know."

"You still could, you know!" Joanie lost it.

"Joanie Lyman what are you saying?" Ruth Lyman scolded her as she came in.

"Sorry mama, but you raised a jackass." Joanie didn't look sorry at all. In fact, Noah thought she looked madder than he had seen her in a long time.

"I did not raise a jackass. I raised a courteous, bright, young man. He chose to be a jackass after he left home."

"Thanks Mom. Did Donna say if she was coming by at all today?" he turned back to his sister. He knew he shouldn't have taken a nap. He always missed things when he took a nap.

"As I already told you, she's working a double and that includes the closing shift, so I highly doubt you'll be seeing her before tomorrow."

"I'll tell you something else; she should not be working closing shifts. That's too dangerous. I don't understand why she works there at all. The bookstore could have given her more hours."

"That's what I told her too, Joshua, and I told her I would represent her if she wanted to sue their collective asses, but so far she hasn't taken me up on the offer." Joanie and Ruth both winced, but Noah was oblivious to their reaction since he was looking at Josh. "Imagine firing a bright, hard working woman like Donna because she missed a couple shifts. There was an emergency, for God's sake. It's not like she'd ever had a problem like that before."

"Noah, we hadn't gotten around to filling Josh in on the particulars of Donna's employment issues yet." Ruth said gently as Josh just sat there stunned.

"Oh, well never mind then. It's not like Donna can't find a better job tomorrow, right? Anyone would be lucky to hire Donna. Hey, maybe the firm can hire her to do research. I'll give David a call and see what he thinks" Noah hastily left the room.

"Hit and run Lyman strikes again." Ruth commented. "Joshua, did you eat any of your dinner? Would you like me to run and get some soup for you?"

"Donna lost her job because of me?" Josh asked quietly.

"No, she lost her job because the manager of the bookstore is a complete idiot. She called in to tell him there was an emergency, but he said if she couldn't cover her shift, she shouldn't bother to come back. Can you believe that?" Ruth explained.

"I cost her a job, and not even the bad waitressing job, the good bookstore job. She must hate me. No wonder she hasn't come by today."

"Contrary to your opinion, little brother, the world does not revolve around you. Donna made the call about whether or not to go into work that day knowing what the consequences would be and she chose to stay with you! Why she chose you isn't exactly clear to me, but she did choose you. Now she hasn't come by today because, in case you hadn't heard, SHE'S WORKING A DOUBLE SHIFT TODAY AND TONIGHT!"

"Jeez, Joan, take a pill. You're going to blow a gasket or something." Josh responded.

"Joanie, why don't you go home and rest for awhile? You've been here all day and I am sure you're tired. Joshua, thank your sister for all her help today." Ruth told him

"Yeah, thanks Joanie." Josh wouldn't even look her in the eye.

Her children acted like such children sometimes, Ruth mused as Joanie smiled sardonically and walked out the door.

"You should be more appreciative, Joshua. Your sister is using her personal days to come take care of you." Ruth reminded him. "Plus she has your Father and I staying with her while you're in the hospital and I'm sure that's no picnic. Cut her some slack. It's not her fault she's not Donna." Ruth smirked at her son who smirked right back before it quickly faded from his face.

"Mom, what do I do about Donna losing her job?"

"You do nothing. I know that's a difficult concept for you Joshua, but even you can't fix everything."

"I happen to be a very powerful man. I am the White House Deputy Chief of Staff...at least I am for now." Josh mused. "I know! I can sic the IRS on the bookstore morons."

"Joshua, be serious. What do you mean you're the Deputy Chief of Staff for now?"

"Nothing, Mom. They wouldn't dare fire me now. It would make them look heartless and cruel after I almost died in the service of the President." Josh joked.

"Would you stop talking like that? How can you continue making jokes about what happened?"

"You mean the shooting?"

"Yes!"

"Then say "the shooting". It wasn't surgery, it wasn't a car accident, and I didn't trip down stairs. Why can't you and Joanie acknowledge what happened? Lunatic members of the Virginia White Pride shot me and I almost died!" Josh was shouting by now.

"Believe me when I say that no one know that better than I." Josh felt like a complete jerk as he watched his Mother cry as she left the room. A few minutes later, his Dad came back in.

"Wow, you made both the women in our family cry in under 20 minutes. That's quite a record, even for you. You practicing for when you're back on the hill?"

"Who says I'm going back to the hill?"

"I don't understand. Are you saying that you're thinking about resigning?"

"I'm saying that I don't think I'll have a choice about resigning."

"What are you talking about?"

"I had the whole team of doctors in here today. Do you know how long they're estimating my recovery will take? 4-6 months! In the meantime, I am missing meetings, crucial votes, new legislation, and I can't exactly be Mr. Productivity sitting here eating my Jello like a good boy."

"Josh, you're recovering from attempted murder. Maybe you can afford to take more than a week off. You're not going to lose your job over this."

"They may not have a choice. Mid-terms are coming up. They're going to have to replace me with someone to work the election then...Anyway, you may get you're wish and have your son practicing in your firm after all."

"No, Josh, that's my nightmare. You can not practice law with me. You can not practice law anywhere. You are NOT a real lawyer."

"Thanks, Dad, you really bucked me right up there."

 

More hospital unhappiness...

"What do you mean he's at pre-school?"

"What part of that sentenced tripped you up, Joshua. Are they sure you didn't sustain any brain damage?"

"Funny Donna. I haven't seen Jake for 3 days. He's gonna forget who I am."

"That's nonsense. We talk about you every day."

"You do?"

"Yeah, just this morning he asked me, `Mom, when can I go to the hospital and beat Josh at Candyland again?'"

"You're just a laugh riot this morning Donnatella."

"It's called sleep deprivation, Joshua. Working double shifts does that to you."

"Donna, Dad told me about what happened with your job at the book store. I'm really sorry."

"For what, getting shot?"

"Donna..."

"Josh...Relax, would you? I only took the job there because I got my textbooks at cost. Now that I only have my thesis left, I don't need cheap textbooks anymore. So the timing couldn't have been better. Besides, the manager was always snooty with me." Donna dismissed the whole thing with a shrug, but that last comment caused Josh to re- evaluate his decision about steering the IRS into an investigation of the bookstore manager.

"What did you have for breakfast?" she asked him.

"What did they serve, or what did I eat?"

"Josh, you have to eat breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day. How can you expect your body to recover without nutritious fuel?"

"Then they should serve something for breakfast that doesn't suck. Now if they served a nice Eggs Benedict I could get behind that, but it's all `soft boiled egg whites' and `dry wheat toast'. I'm telling you a dog wouldn't eat that stuff."

"Would I be correct in assuming that lunch here is equally distasteful to you?"

"That's just one of the things I love about you, Donnatella, you're so very astute."

"I will run down to the deli to get you some real food, if you promise to eat every bite."

"Scout's honor."

"Were you ever actually, you know, a scout of some kind?"

"I wanted to be, but they spend so much of their time outdoors."

"Yeah, nature can be such a drag that way."

"I knew you'd understand."

"I'll be right back." She dropped a light kiss on his lips and headed for the deli.

As she passed the nurses station, one of the nurses stopped her to say that Josh's attending physician wanted a word with her. Donna liked Dr. Phillips very much; he treated her questions with respect and explained everything in everyday language without being condescending. Donna suspected Dr. Bartlett might have cleared the path for her in that respect, but whatever the cause, she appreciated the effect.

"Donna, how is our patient doing?"

"Oh, same as usual Dr. Phillips. Did you know the food here sucks?"

"I may have heard a rumor...Josh's parents were enquiring about rehab facilities in Connecticut, so I put together a list for them. Could you pass it on to them when you see them? We always seem to miss each other."

"Um, sure. Connecticut though? I think that may be a mistake. Josh's folks live in Connecticut, but Josh is going to want to stay in D.C."

"Maybe I misunderstood. Did they find someone to provide at home care then?"

"He's going to be in the hospital another two weeks. Is he going to need that much help once he's discharged?"

"Donna, Josh is recovering very well, but his injuries were very serious, and their effects will be long term. His insurance will provide a nurse's visit several times a week, but that's only for an hour or so each day. Josh's mobility is extremely limited, his muscles are weak, and he needs to be under someone's observation who can keep an eye out for post-surgical complication; infections, breathing problems, etc."

"I hadn't realized... Would that care provider need to be a nurse?"

"Not necessarily, but they would have to be able to do some light nursing duties without getting squeamish and follow the nurses orders."

"Okay, thanks Dr. Phillips. I will talk this over with Ruth and Noah and get back to you."

Donna was mulling over several possible solution in her mind, none of which Josh was going to like; rehab facility in Connecticut? No. Staying with his Mom and Dad in Connecticut? No. Staying with Joanie? Definitely not. One of them would be lying in a pool of their own blood by the end of the first day.

Could they hire someone to stay with Josh at his place? Sure, but Josh wasn't going to like having a stranger staying with him all the time. What about all the steps at his place? There were 12 steps just to get up the front stoop. He'd never make it to the front door.

Too bad he didn't have a home more like her townhouse. If anything ever happened to her, everything she'd need was on one level. Wait, could Josh stay with her and Jake? Would he want to? She was certainly going to have to work out some details. She could call Ruth and Noah from her cell on the way to the deli. Between the three of them, she was sure they could work something out so Josh could stay in the city.

 

A/N: I forgot to thank Amy in my last post, for her professional medical information. It made a big difference in how I wrote the chapter and had the added bonus of being accurate medical information!

"Where are you off to in such a hurry, old man?" Noah asked Leo.

"I was just going to check on my deputy. Are things so bad in there that you've resorted to sitting in the hospital hallway?" Leo teased.

"Actually, Donna is here with Jake, so Josh is in a stellar mood. I was just waiting for you. When I called your office, Margaret told me you were on your way here." Noah looked around for a moment. "Could we take a walk outside?"

"Sure, lead the way."

They made small talk about mutual friends until they were outside and a block away from the hospital.

"Leo, Josh seems to be concerned that he may not be able to keep his position as Deputy COS. He thinks that you'll have to find someone to replace him on point for mid-terms and by the time he is able to walk back into the White House he'll be so out of touch with the day to day operations that he'll be useless to you."

"Noah, you can't possibly believe that I would replace Josh because he had the bad luck to get shot while he was working for the President?"

"I don't, no, but Josh does. Maybe since he does, it would be easier to nudge him out."

"Excuse me? Are you asking me to fire your son?"

"Of course not. I just thought with him being out for several months, it might be a good time to transition him into the private sector. Between getting Bartlett elected President and the hero's status he's presently enjoying he could write his own ticket."

"Noah, you can't tell me this is about money because I know the trust fund that boy is sitting on. If he never worked another day in his life, he could live quite comfortably. So what is this really about?"

"This whole thing put Ruth and me over the edge. We want him to move back to Connecticut so we can spend some time with him. As long as he's working at the White House, we'll never get to see him and he'll never have a chance to get a life outside of politics."

"Bullshit."

" Leo - "

"Bullshit Noah. If you're mad at me because of what happened to Josh, fine. If you blame me for bringing him into the White House to begin with, fine. But we've been friends way too long for you to waste your breath blowing smoke up my -"

"Blame you? What, are you drinking again? Why would I blame you for what some racist pigs did to my son? This has NOTHING to do with you!" Noah stopped walking and shouted full blast at Leo.

"Then what IS this all about, Noah?!" Leo yelled at Noah.

"The cancer is back!" Noah shouted again. Then more quietly, "The cancer is back, Leo."

"God, Noah. Why didn't you say something? What does your oncologist say?"

"Nothing good. Look, I didn't want to bring it up at all. It's only relevant in that I want more time with my son, Leo. I want more time with Joanie and Josh. Joanie has a relatively flexible schedule, but Josh...I'm lucky to get an email from him. When he was shot... it just made me realize that I need to get my priorities straight."

"Nothing wrong with that, my friend. But it won't mean anything if your time together is based on a lie. Talk to him, Noah. Tell him what you need. I know there is nothing he wouldn't do for you." Leo pleaded.

"We asked his doctor to put together a list of rehab facilities in Connecticut. We thought he could recover with us at home. Then Donna came to see us with another idea. She wants Josh to stay with her and Jake until he can stay on his own. She's convinced Josh wouldn't want to leave D.C. What do you think?"

"I think she's right. But I also think Donna Moss is a woman who has too much on her plate to begin with to add, excuse me Noah, a very high maintenance patient."

"He doesn't seem to be high maintenance to Donna."

"Ah, to be young and in love." Leo smiled. "Talk to Josh, Noah. Ask him what he wants and tell him what you want."

"Let's go talk to your deputy." They walked back to the hospital in a comfortable silence.

At the door to Josh's hospital room they heard Jake's laughter and Donna's voice chastising Josh.

"You're the one who keeps playing Candyland with him."

"I thought he'd feel too sorry for me to beat me again. Jacob Moss, can't you see how sick I am?" he signed to Jake. Jake's reply apparently upset Josh.

"I am too, sick! What do you mean, I don't look sick?" Again there is an exchange of signs. "Your Mom is wrong. I am not sick because I eat bad food and drink too much coffee. Donna!"

"I didn't say you were sick because you eat junk and drink coffee, I said you wouldn't get well if you kept eating junk food and drinking coffee." Both adults signed as they spoke to keep Jake included in the conversation.

Jake laughed again at his Mom and Josh. He loved being with them. They always smiled when they were together and that made him feel good too. Jake loved being with his Mom, but being with Josh was different. Josh crashed cars and wrestled. He wasn't too fast with signing yet, but he was getting better. Josh taught him about checkers and spelling and he taught Josh about signs and Candyland.

Jake saw a movement at the door and pulled on Josh's hand before pointing to the door.

"Dad, Leo, come on in. You can save me from this board game hustler." He tousled Jake's hair. " Hey, look what he learned today." Josh signed as he asked, "Jake what do we think of Republicans?" Jake stuck out his tongue and shook his head like he had tasted something nasty. "Perfect buddy; high five!" Jake gave Josh a high five and jumped off the bed, signing to his Mom that he was hungry.

"We'll walk down to the cafeteria and get a snack." Donna replied. Jake asked Josh if he wanted something to eat.

"No, thanks; I'm full." Jake headed out with his Mom in tow.

"Leo, when am I going to get some work to look at? It's been 3 weeks. I'm going to lose my mind."

"That's not what it looked like to me, just now, but you'll get some work to look at when your blood pressure goes down and I get the high sign from Dr. Phillips." Leo looked at Noah, and then at Josh. "In the meantime, we'd like to talk to you about some things..."

 

It had been a great visit today. Josh and Jake were both in great moods. Josh was even bearable during his physical therapy session. She and Jake had sat on the sidelines and watched as Josh was put through his paces. She would cue Jake when to cheer for Josh and Jake took this job very seriously. The physical therapist seemed glad they were there too. He mentioned that their presence toned down some of Josh's less than sterling qualities.

So as Donna and Jake half walked, half skipped back to Josh's room after spending a 1/2 hour eating in the cafeteria she felt happy and content with how things were progressing. Maybe it was because she was feeling so good that the change in the room temperature was that much more dramatic.

At some point, Dr. Phillips had joined Leo and Noah in Josh's room and all four men were silent and tense. Donna said hello to the gentlemen while she detoured Jake from getting onto Josh's bed. She set him up at the table to color and overheard some of their conversation.

"No one is saying you have to make a decision right now." Noah was telling him. "We just thought you should be aware of all the options. You have lots of choices." Josh laughed.

"Yeah, lots of choices..." Josh pretended to agree. He cast a surreptitious glance at Donna and Jake. Donna was pretending not to listen.

"You are continuing to make good progress, but recovering from injuries this severe takes time. Pushing yourself not only doesn't help in situations like this, it will actually slow things down. You push too hard, too fast and it will do more harm than good." Dr. Phillips explained. "So there is no way to shorten the rehab and recovery schedule."

"What Dr. Phillips is saying..." Noah began.

"I understand what he is saying, Dad. The list of my injuries doesn't include neurological damage!" Josh snapped and saw Donna's head pop up and around to stare at his rude response.

"I think we should table this for now. Josh has another week here before he has to make any decisions." Leo offered. He had not said a word for the past few minutes but had been watching his Deputy's face carefully. He had seen Josh's face go from happy and optimistic to angry and finally to withdrawn. Josh was shutting down.

"If you have any other questions, have one of the nurses page me, Josh." Phillips offered.

Leo and Noah said goodbye and left Josh alone with Donna and Jake. Josh turned his head away and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, he felt Donna's hand stroking his arm.

"Are you okay? That was quite the pow wow you had going there." she started.

"I'm really tired, Donna. Maybe you and Jake should leave." Donna recoiled like he slapped her.

"You want us to go?" she clarified. "I thought you wanted us to spend the day with you?"

"I also wanted you to be honest with me, but that didn't happen either." Josh replied.

"What are you talking about?" Donna was confused.

"Move in with you, Donna? Did you think you could just arrange it without asking me? Without even discussing it with me? Did you think I would want to be completely dependent on you? You probably figured if you can handle a special needs child then adding a cripple to the picture couldn't be much harder. Nothing is too hard for Saint Donna, right?"

"Where is this coming from? I discussed POSSIBILTIES with your parents, Josh. Nobody made any concrete plans for you. I just wanted you to have some options and yes, I want to take care of you. That's what you do when you love someone; you take care of them."

"Not like this. You didn't sign up for this. You don't need to be stuck with some unemployed cripple."

"Josh!"

"You need to go."

"Josh, did Leo ask for your resignation?"

"He didn't have to. I've been in politics for 20 years Donna. I know how it's done. He's encouraging me to `explore my other options'. He even brought my Father with him!"

"Joshua, that doesn't mean-"

"You don't know anything about how this works. You can't COLLABORATE with everyone, Donna. You need to leave. You need to leave NOW!" Josh slapped his hand against the bed rail to emphasize his point and either the motion or the vibration startled Jake into looking up.

"Does it hurt?" he signed to Josh, but Josh turned away.

"Yes, it hurts a lot I think." Donna answered for him. "We're going to go home now and let Josh sleep."

"We want to play checkers first." Jake announced.

"Not now, Jake. Say goodbye to Josh and pack your bag." Donna picked him up so he could lean over the rail to kiss Josh's cheek goodbye. Josh nodded his goodbye to Jake.

"Get some rest, Josh." Donna offered, but left without kissing him goodbye. She didn't know if he would accept one. He didn't think she wanted to give him one.

She walked out into the hallway and observed Leo and Noah in a heated discussion.

"Noah, you need to tell him the truth. He's in there right now thinking he's being eased out. I could see it in his eyes." Leo was adamant.

"Not until he's better, Leo. He doesn't need to deal with any more stress." Noah was equally determined. When Noah broke eye contact with Leo, he noticed Donna.

"Hi, guys. Care to share with the class?" "Donna. Josh was sure happy to see you two today." Noah started.

"He's not so very happy now, gentlemen. Leo McGarry, how you can even consider asking Josh to resign after all he's done for you is reprehensible! He is struggling through day after day of painful therapy trying to recover form attempted murder and you dangle his job in front of him? What kind of weasel - " Donna's tirade was interrupted by Noah.

"Hold on there, spitfire." Noah took a quick glance at Leo and noted that stunned expression on his face. Noah imagined the White House Chief of Staff wasn't accustomed to this kind of dressing down; particularly when it wasn't his fault.

"This isn't Leo's fault, Donna. He isn't asking Josh to resign. Would it be okay if I came home with you and Jake? I'd like to talk to you about some things. Joanie can pick me up later."

Donna looked from Leo to Noah and back again before agreeing. "Sure. That would be fine. Josh doesn't want us to stay anymore. We can leave now."

 

Donna was speechless and that was an unusual condition for her. Tears started to slide down her cheeks. Noah wordlessly took his silk handkerchief out of his pocket and dried her eyes just like he'd done the night Josh was shot.

"You have to tell him Noah. You have to." Donna implored.

"Not now. He has too much on his plate already, and I don't want him to make a decision based on the fact that my cancer- I want him to be free to make his own decisions based on what he wants to do." Noah argued.

"And what he wants to do may change when he knows all the facts. Noah, he'll never forgive you if you don't tell him everything." Noah's head dropped to his chest.

"You are a very smart young woman, Donnatella. That's what Josh calls you, right? Donnatella?"

"Yes, but I'm become partial to spitfire." She smiled through her tears. "You need to have a family meeting; you, Ruth, Joanie, and Josh. A united Lyman family is a very powerful thing. Use it. Let Josh be there for you. Promise me you'll talk to him."

"I promise...Will you be there for Josh?" Noah asked. Now it was Donna's turn to look down.

"I will be there if he wants me to be there. I think he's feeling a little overwhelmed right now." "Be patient with him Donna. Josh hasn't had a lot of experience with personal setbacks. Usually his passion and tenacity can carry him through anything. This is different for him. He can't fix this by himself. You should have seen his face when the doctor explained the kind of help he's going to need when he's discharged. I honestly think he believed he could go home and resume life as usual."

"He's a strong man, Noah. He gets it from his Father...along with a few other things I'm guessing." Donna smirked.

Noah went alone to the hospital that night to talk to his son. Ruth and Joanie had offered to go with him, but he refused them both.

"Leo is afraid he left you with the wrong impression this afternoon. That you might be thinking you're being ushered out the door. That's simply not true, Josh, and I didn't want you to go on thinking that. I asked Leo to present other options to you."

"What? Why would you do that?"

"I needed to know if you were still as invested in your job as you were when you started. I thought maybe you might be ready for a change. I mean there's Donna and Jake, and now this. ..I thought maybe..."

"Dad, I know this must have scared you and Mom. Scared is probably an understatement; I get that. It would be a lie if I told you it hasn't made me re-evaluate some things, but my job wasn't one of them. I need to do my job more now than ever. I have the opportunity to change things with President Bartlett. I can't walk away from that just because a couple bigots were bad shots."

"Joshua..."

"It was just a fluke, Dad. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But if the last three weeks have taught me anything, it's that I need my work. I'm going crazy knowing there's stuff on my desk and I can't get to it."

"Can't they bring `stuff' over to you? I know they don't want you to overdo, but surely a little reading..."

"This is what I've been saying, but Donna has joined in some unholy alliance with Rebecca, and now Rebecca won't even give me messages. Something about my blood pressure, blah, blah, blah. I ask Leo for some work and he says he'll ask Donna about it. Not the doctor, Donna. She also took the phone out of my room. Just took it!" Josh was getting all upset just talking about it.

"Yeah, I can see how you're the model of rest and relaxation, son. She only does it because she loves you, Joshua. We all do and yes, you scared us pretty good. Try not to do that anymore, okay?"

"Yeah. I'll do my best. What I don't get is how you enlisted Leo in your little scheme."

"Well, that's the other thing I need to talk to you about..."

When Donna walked into his hospital room a couple hours later, Josh had the TV on, but he was staring at the foot of the bed.

"Hi there."

"Donna? What are you doing here this late? Where's J-"

"Jake is over at Molly's. She's keeping him for the night. I don't know what I would do without my sister. Family is the best and the worst all at the same time aren't they?"

He met her eyes and knew that she already knew about his Dad.

"I thought he won this battle already. Now he has to fight it all over again? Against worse odds than before? Why can't he catch a break?"

"Oh, Josh, he did. He has a devoted wife and children, a career he loves, and the best medical care there is."

"What I can do to help him right now? I can't even take care of myself."

"One thing at a time, Joshua. First you need to get better yourself. Every day that you get stronger, makes him feel stronger. That means that before anything else happens, you need to get some sleep. So scoot over so I can lay down with you."

"You're staying the night? After the rude way I treated you this afternoon?" Josh lifted a skeptical eyebrow.

"I can't tell you how glad I am to know that you can recognize when you're being rude. Let's just chalk it up to your thinking that you were being fired." Donna pulled the blanket up over both of them and turned the sound down on the TV. "Now be quiet and let me sleep so I'll be well rested for my first day at my new job tomorrow."

"Donna, tell me you didn't take another waitressing job." Josh rubbed his hand over his face.

"Not only didn't I take another waitressing job, but I quit my old one, too. Isn't that great?"

"What?!"

"I thought you'd be happy about that. You're always complaining about my terrible waitressing job."

"I am. I'm very glad about that. It's just...what is this new job, then?"

"I'll tell you, but I want you to keep in mind how much you hated my waitressing job."

"Donna..." Josh had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Remember, you said it was dangerous, back breaking work, where people treated me poorly?

"Donna..."

"I got a job as a research assistant."

Wait, thought Josh, that's a good thing.

"A research assistant? That's great. Where?"

"Well this is the thing..." Donna hedged.

"Where Donna?"

"The Republican council's office."

"WHAT?!" Josh tried to sit up, but Donna was more or less laying on him.

"Just kidding. I'm working for your Dad's law firm. But didn't that Republican thing put it all in perspective for you?"

"You're working for my Dad?"

"Your Dad's firm. And the best part is I can do it mostly from home; between the internet, faxes, and emails, it will almost be like I'm right there in the office."

Josh thought about his Father and Donna joining forces; in constant instantaneous contact, making plans, checking up on him...

"I've died and gone to hell." Josh mused, but he put his arms around Donna and fell asleep within minutes.

 

A/N: Okay I am attempting to incorporate Toby, but I am doing it reluctantly. He is hard for me to write for.

Discharge day. Donna didn't know you could feel so happy and so nervous at the same. After preparing a logical, research based briefing memo on the advantages of staying at her place, Josh finally acquiesced. However, before Josh was discharged, she made sure she had a detailed list of the things she would need to do for Josh; his therapy schedule, his nursing schedule, and how best to help him recover. It was overwhelming.

Donna was the type of person who needed order and Josh was the biggest black hole of disorder she had ever met. There were going to have to be some changes in both their lives for Josh's health as well as her sanity. This is when the rules were born.

She typed them up all nice and professional; Josh claimed her handwriting was illegible and she didn't want to give him any excuses. `Oh, I'm sorry Donna. That said `no coffee'? I thought it said `no coughing' He would try it too, she knew. So they were typed up, reviewed, and distributed to the Lyman family as well as the West Wing staff with the help of Rebecca.

Josh complained that he was being released to a parole officer. He said he didn't need any juvenile rules; he was a grown man! He told anyone who would listen that his overprotective girlfriend had gone `round the bend; but in the end, he signed his agreement to the rules before Donna brought him home.

Jake was initially delighted, of course. His buddy Josh was coming over to sleep over. How cool was that? They could race cars, play games, and eat junk food all the time. Josh always had junk food at his house. Jake was sure he wouldn't come over to sleep over without bringing treats. Now that Mom had a new `work from home' job, they would all be home together. He was quickly disillusioned.

Josh didn't bring any treats with him and whenever he asked Josh to get some, his Mom would remind Josh about rule #4: no junk food. Josh was still too sick to get on the floor and play and Mom wouldn't let them run race cars on the furniture; rule # 11. Then there were the naps. Instead of getting to skip naps and stay up with his buddy, they BOTH had to take naps...every day...sometimes twice; rule #1. Jake agreed with Josh; the rules sucked. But so far, everyone was abiding by them. Then one afternoon, about a week after Josh was discharged, the doorbell rang.

Donna was irritated because it was `rest time' (Josh hated the word nap) and with both her guys `resting' she could get some work done without being interrupted. She really didn't need some guy selling magazine subscriptions bothering her right now. Nonetheless, she put a polite smile on her face as she opened the door.

"Yes?"

"Hi, I'm Toby Ziegler. I need to see Josh for a minute." Donna tilted her head in a silent question. "I work with him at the White House." He added.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ziegler, but Josh is resting."

"It's 2 in the afternoon."

"Yes, and from 1-3 Josh rests. Didn't you get a copy of the rules? Rebecca has them."

"I got a copy. I just thought they were a joke of some kind."

"They're really not, but I'll tell him you stopped by."

"Wait! I really need to talk to him."

"And he really needs to rest."

"You don't understand. Johansen is holding up our bill in committee and Josh knows how to bring him around. This is time sensitive. I need to talk to him now. I tried to call, but there was no answer."

"That's because I took the phone off the hook so he -"

"Could rest, yes, I get the idea. Could you just see if he's awake? Then I could just speak to him for a couple minutes. Surely, we could bend the doctor's rules just a bit. I mean, you've seen that list. Some of those rules are just dumb."

"The rules are mine, Mr. Ziegler, and they are not dumb. I'll tell Josh you stopped by." Donna shut the door on a slack jawed Toby Ziegler.

"Well, that could have gone better." Toby decided as he walked, frustrated, back to his car.

At 3:01 the phone rang, and Donna had no trouble guessing who it was.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's Toby Ziegler. I waited until after 3. Could I speak to Josh please?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Ziegler, but Rebecca hasn't cleared this call."

"Pardon me?"

"Dumb rule #6; all work related calls must first be cleared through Josh's assistant Rebecca."

"I have to get permission from an assistant, to talk to the deputy COS about Johansen?"

"Well, you have to clear all work calls through Rebecca, yes, but if it's about Johansen, I doubt she'll clear the call."

"And why not?"

"Rebecca says talking to or about Johansen makes Josh's blood pressure rise 10 points. It's already too high today. Maybe if it's lower tomorrow...."

"You're just playing with me now, aren't you Donna? Could you please make an exception, just this once?"

"Maybe if you hadn't said the rules are dumb. Good bye Mr. Ziegler" Donna hung up the phone.

"You really shouldn't mess with Toby like that, Baby."

"He shouldn't have called my rules dumb."

"No doubt that's not a mistake he'll make twice."

Jake came in and asked Josh to play with him.

"Sorry, Jake. I have work to do. We'll play later."

"Mommy works, you work, nobody plays." Jake complained and he moped into the other room.

"He looks so sad." Josh looked over at Donna. "I bet a little ice cream would pick him right up."

Donna neither looked up nor stopped typing, "Rule #4, Joshua."

"Right."

 

July was a tough month. Noah had started chemo again and was both physically and emotionally drained. Although it was hard for Josh to see his dad like that, he tried to stay upbeat and positive.

Josh himself continued to recover, but at a far slower pace than he was comfortable with. His work load, done from home and conference calling, had gradually increased, but he had to admit it was leaving him exhausted. His spirit was willing, but his body couldn't keep up. He was going to be in better shape than ever; between physical therapy and Donna's enforced exercise time (rule #8).

Donna had appeared anxious and stressed the first couple weeks they lived together, but now, a month into it, she seemed much more relaxed. She and Toby had entered into a truce of sorts and he was even allowed to come over and watch baseball with Josh and Jake.

Josh had found a special book on signing which included sports words and with that, he introduced Jake to baseball and the New York Mets. Jake was hooked. He asked Josh so many questions that Donna was afraid Josh would get exasperated. However she found that when it came to imparting baseball wisdom, Joshua Lyman was patience personified. His patience paid off one day when he discovered Jake had a unique `baseball related' talent.

Jake was on the couch between Josh and Sam watching the Mets game on cable. Josh was attempting to sneak in a little work conversation while Donna was distracted in the other room.

"Did you talk to Griffith about making a statement about the new diet pills?" Josh asked.

"She's coordinating it with CJ."

`the first pitch is high and outside' the TV announced.

Jake signed to Josh.

"No, not a fast ball. It was high and outside." Josh replied. "What did the President say about the majority leader's comments yesterday?"

"I can't repeat it in front of the minor child."

`and it's a fast ball over the plate. He couldn't touch it.' the announcer continued.

Jake pulled on Josh's arm and signed `curve ball' to him.

"Okay, I know you know a fast ball from a curve ball. We've been working on this..."

`and it's a curve ball. Strike 2' said the announcer.

"See, that's a curve ball." Josh explained.

"Uh, Josh..." Sam was watching Jake with and odd expression.

Jake signed `fast ball' again.

"No, that time it was a curve ball." Josh was perplexed and Jake looked frustrated.

`...he puts another fast ball across the plate and that's strike 3.' came the TV audio.

"Josh..." Sam tried again.

"Hey, did he just..."

"I think he did." Sam confirmed. "He's reading the signals."

"Jake, that's awesome!" Josh gave him a high 5 to Jake's delight. "Donna, our boy is a genius!"

Donna came around the corner from the other room. "What did you say?"

"He figured out the pitching signals all by himself! I said, our boy is a genius!"

Donna was looking at him with a strange expression on his face, and when he turned to Sam to see if he knew what was wrong with Donna, he saw that Sam's expression was goofy too.

"What?" he inquired still looking at Sam.

"You just said `our boy'..." Sam supplied helpfully.

"Yeah? So?" Josh was still stumped and when he turned back to Donna he saw tears in her eyes.

Finally, the shoe dropped for Josh. He had just claimed Jake as his own and he hadn't even noticed or thought it was strange.

"Yeah, well he is a genius, and he is ours, right?" Josh looked up at Donna who was now standing next to him.

"Right." Donna leaned over and kissed him. "You're absolutely right, Josh." And she kissed him again with more passion.

"Now that's a phrase you don't hear every day." Sam quipped, as he signed to Jake `let's go get something to drink' and led Jake out of the room.

Josh took that as his signal to deepen the kiss and pull Donna onto his lap. Her hands massaged the back of his head and neck while his hand slipped under her shirt to roam across her bare back. After a moment, Donna tried to pull away.

"Josh, we can't..." Josh continued kissing her neck.

"Sam could take Jake to the park...or maybe for a long walk..." he said between kisses.

"Maybe I should rephrase that; you can't." Donna reminded him. "The doctor said-"

"I beg you; do not bring Dr. Phillips into this conversation. Plus, I reviewed the rules carefully. There is not one word about refraining from-"

"Actually, it's covered under rule #2; follow the doctors orders, and the doctors orders specifically state-"

"Shut up and kiss me. It's not going any farther right now and you know it; not with the kid in the other room...and Jake is in there too." Josh smiled at his little joke and Donna gave in and kissed him.

"Okay, Jake, carry the lemonade very carefully to you Mom." Sam said very loudly from the other room, trying to give Josh and Donna a heads up to their entrance.

"Uh, Sam? Jake is deaf." Josh reminded him.

"Then what the hell. Get your hands off each other, we're coming back in."

Josh and Donna both smiled as Sam and Jake brought them lemonade. Donna was still sitting in Josh's lap, and their hands weren't completely off each other, but it was as close to innocent as Sam was going to get.

 

A/N: Just a few more chapter now...

Taking the train to Connecticut had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now Donna was rethinking the whole thing. Josh had never traveled with a small child before and when he saw the pile of luggage that Donna had in tow, his eyes bulged out.

"Baby, you've got to be kidding me." He implored. "You know we're only going for a week right? This isn't a permanent move."

"Josh, you're going to have to trust me on this one. All these bags are completely necessary. The car service will take us to Union Station and the driver will be handling the bags. You are not to lift any of it."

"I can lift some luggage Donnatella. Dr. Phillips said I was good to go." Josh reminded her. "I even got it in writing."

"Yes, Joshua, you're da man. But why push yourself? That's part of the reason for taking the train. We can stretch out and relax, get up and walk through the cars, or even take a rest."

"I already agreed to the train, Donnatella. The tickets are purchased and we're packed and ready to go. So, let's go."

The first hour of the ride was a bit frenzied as Jake ran from car to car, checking out everything and everybody on the train. During hour two, Donna got him to sit still and color for awhile on his tray table while she and Josh worked on their computers. Finally, half way through the trip, Jake couldn't keep his eyes open any longer and drifted off to sleep on Josh's shoulder. This had two advantages: 1) Jake would be well rested by the time they arrived in Connecticut 2) It forced Josh to sit still and rest as well.

Donna watched them and could tell by his breathing that Josh was not asleep, but he was resting which was just as beneficial. After a few minutes of studying her men in repose, Josh broke the silence.

"Whatcha thinking about Donnatella?"

"I can't believe my baby is four already." She replied honestly. They had celebrated his Birthday two weeks ago, with a small party of friends from pre-school at the National Zoo. Jake hadn't stopped smiling and laughing the entire time.

"Can I ask you something?" Josh asked hesitantly, his eyes still closed.

"Sure."

"Except for your sister, you never talk about your family. Don't you miss them?"

"At first, I sent them letters with pictures of Jacob every week like clockwork. I knew they were angry and disappointed with me, but I thought if they could see their beautiful Grandson, maybe they would... maybe they would want to see us. But they never responded, not once. After his second birthday I stopped writing...yeah, I miss them; so much it hurts, but I can't make them forgive me."

Josh's foot reached across the seat and rubbed up and down her leg.

"We can share mine. They already like you better than me."

"That's only because I come with Jake."

"I don't think that's the only reason, but it is a rather large point in your favor."

"Are you ready to go back to work next week?" Donna changed the subject.

"More than ready; also more than a little nervous. I haven't stepped foot in the White House in almost 4 months. I'll be lucky to find my office."

"I'll ask Rebecca to leave a trail of bread crumbs for you. It's just half days to start."

"Yeah, but it's just six weeks until the mid-terms and there's so much I've missed."

"You'll be fine, Joshua. It's not like you've been cut off from civilization for the last four months. There have been phone calls, faxes, emails, and pages flying back and forth for weeks."

Josh nodded but didn't look convinced. Donna closed her notebook computer and closed her eyes. She might as well take a rest too.

"Donna come in, come in. There's our boy! How are you Jake? We have a birthday present for you." Jake's eyes lit up when Ruth mentioned a present. "Let's go get it. It's in the other room with Noah." She took Donna and Jake by the end to bring them to Noah.

"Hi, Mom, it's good to see you too. I'll just tell the driver where to deposit the bags, okay?

"Don't be sarcastic, Joshua. It's not attractive." Ruth called over her shoulder.

"Right..." Josh and the driver brought their not insignificant pile of luggage into the house. When he joined the rest of the family, Jake was sitting in Noah's lap opening the second of three birthday presents.

"I thought you said `a' present, Mom."

"I got him `a present' Joshua. Your Father, however couldn't decide between two things, and settled the problem by getting them both." Ruth explained.

"Hey, Dad, nice hat you've got there." Josh tapped the bill of the Mets baseball cap on his Father's head as he leaned in to give him a hug. He was surprised how weak his Dad's arms were.

"Damn chemo has robbed me of my handsome head of hair." Noah groused.

When Jake finished ripping the paper off his presents he jumped off Noah's lap to show his treasures to his Mom. Ruth had given him a CD ROM for the computer called "Paws Signs and Stories; a collection of stories and games that used sign. Noah had given him an electronic light game `Simon' where the players had to memorize and copy the light sequences. But the gift Jake was most excited about was a child sized fishing pole.

"Can we go now? I want to fish now." He begged his Mom.

"Jake, it's dark outside. We can't go fishing when it's dark."

"We can fish tomorrow." Noah signed slowly and clumsily, but Jake got the tomorrow part and he wasn't happy about it.

"I know. Let's fill up the Jacuzzi tub, and you can practice your fishing tonight." Ruth suggested and Donna translated. Jake jumped up and down with excitement. Before he could run out of the room with Ruth, though, Donna stopped him with a look he knew well. He then ran to Noah to give him a hug and kiss of thanks before repeating the performance with Ruth. Then Ruth took his hand to go practice fishing with Donna right behind them.

"That was inspired, Dad. He'll love fishing with you. Are you sure you're up to it though?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, but make no mistake; you're coming too."

"Yeah, `cause we both know what a great outdoorsman I am. Jake can learn what not to do from me."

"Let me tell you something, Joshua. Being good at something isn't nearly as important as being there when they're doing something. It's the shared experiences that mean the most."

"Yeah, that's what I remember most. You always made time for us, Dad; me and Joanie and Mom. I hope I can be as good a Father to Jake as you have been to me."

"Joshua, are you trying to tell me something?" Noah asked smiling.

"You told me to let you know when I wanted you to give me Grandma's ring. Well, I want you to give me Grandma's ring. I want to ask Donna to marry me."

"I'll get it out of the safe right now." Noah walked over to the wall safe and opened it. "She's a wonderful woman; this will make your Mother and I very happy."

"Thanks, Dad. That means a lot to me."

"Don't waste a moment, Joshua. Every moment is precious and you never know how many you've got, so don't waste a single moment."

Josh took the ring from his Father and they hugged for a moment. Now Josh just had to figure out how he would ask her...

 

Saturday dawned bright and sunny and Noah declared it to be a perfect fishing day. So the men took off, leaving Donna and Ruth to spend some time alone together. Donna adored Ruth; she was warm and welcoming and made Donna feel like she was part of their family. Even more importantly, Ruth accepted Jake and treated him just like her own grandchild. It made Donna's heart swell.

"How are you holding up, Ruth? You look more tired than last time we saw you."

"I'm feeling old Donna. My energy isn't what it used to be, and it's harder to watch Noah fight the cancer this time. He doesn't have the fight in that he used to."

"I'm sorry. Maybe we shouldn't have come. We don't have to stay all week."

"Oh Donna, no, I didn't mean it like that. He gets a spark in his eyes when you all come. He is so proud of Josh and to see him so happy with you and Jake has brought him great joy. Please don't even THINK about leaving early. He'd be crushed."

"Okay, then. What can I do to help around here?" Donna asked.

"You know what I'd like? I'd like to go to lunch; just us girls, maybe do some shopping and have fun. Are you up for that?"

"Am I up for shopping? Only for you Ruth, only for you." Donna laughed as they gathered their purses for their trip.

When they returned late that afternoon, Jake came running to the car to tell them all about their fishing adventure. Jake caught 3 fish, Noah caught 1, and Joshua caught none at all. Donna suspected it was more about Josh trying to avoid having to clean fish than anything else. After giving his summary, Jake ran back to where Noah was cleaning their catch. Josh met them coming up the sidewalk and convinced Donna to walk around the lake with him.

"It's beautiful here. Why did you ever leave?"

"I tried to get them to move the Federal Government to Connecticut, but I've had no luck so far." Josh responded.

"It sounds like Jake enjoyed the fishing trip. It was so nice of Noah to take him."

"Hey! What about me? I took him too." Josh argued.

"And I'm sure it was a supreme sacrifice, but it was your Dad's idea and he got Jake the pole."

"So I get no credit here? I spend half the day outside, on the water, in a small boat, and I get no credit?"

"Not for that, no. But you get extra credit for taking me on a romantic walk around the lake." Donna offered.

"Well, that's alright then...You and Mom were gone quite awhile. We got back a couple hours ahead of you."

"Poor Joshua. Were you bored without us here to entertain you?"

"A little bit, but then I booted up the computer."

"I thought you weren't going to work while we were here."

"It wasn't work...I was doing research. I've gotten better with research since you came into my life and I discovered some pretty interesting things today."

"Good for you, Josh. What did you find out?"

"Lots of things. For instance did you know there are over 50 Inn's within a 45 minute drive of here?"

"I can't say that I did, but then since we're staying with your parents, I didn't give it much thought."

"Well how about this: Did you know that the State of Connecticut has no waiting period for getting marriage licenses?"

Once the sentence registered in Donna's head, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"You don't say." Donna sputtered out trying to read Josh's expression which was deceptively casual.

"It's true. So if somebody decided they wanted to get married, say, this Friday, there would be no legal obstacles whatsoever." Josh risked a look at Donna's face and saw her eyes filled with hope. It was the only cue he needed.

"My Dad said something to me last night about not wasting a single moment and the more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn't want to waste another moment without having you as my wife... Donnatella, will you marry me?"

"I would be honored to marry you, Joshua Lyman."

"Friday?"

"Any day."

Josh caught her up in a kiss that told her how happy he was with her answer. Suddenly he pulled away.

"Wait! I forgot...Damn I knew I'd screw this up somehow...This was my Grandmother's ring. I'd like you to wear it if you like it."

"Like it? I love it! I would be proud to wear it." Josh kissed her again.

"Let's go tell Jake." Josh announced.

"And your parents, too. We're going to need their help if we're going to get this done by Friday."

 

 

A/N: This chapter is a little long, but I didn't want to break it up.

By Thursday, they had accomplished almost everything on their to-do list. Josh had found a romantic Inn nearby for their wedding night. Donna and Ruth had found a beautiful dress for Donna to wear and a darling suit for Jacob. Noah had enlisted the help of a friend of his who was a judge to perform the ceremony, and Ruth was in charge of making the Wedding cake.

Despite the fact that everything seemed under control, Josh and Donna were both unaccountably nervous. At least, it was unaccountable to everyone else. Josh and Donna each, privately, had very good reasons to be nervous. Jake was thrilled with the news that Josh was going to stay with them always and that Noah and Ruth were now Grandma and Grandpa. He was also given the very important job of holding the rings, so he felt like he was part of the ceremony.

Friday morning, Donna sought Josh out and asked him to come sit with her in the backyard. The ceremony wasn't scheduled to begin until 3, so they had plenty of time to get ready. Ruth and Donna had an appointment in a couple hours to have their hair and nails done, but for now, they were all casual and relaxed. Well, at least they were trying to be.

"Josh, I wanted to give you something special on our Wedding day, but I really can't give you anything you don't already have or couldn't get for yourself. There is one thing I thought of, though, that might be able to express to you how much I love and trust you, so I had some papers faxed here yesterday." She nervously handed them to Josh.

Puzzled, he looked down at the papers and began to sift through them.

"Donna, these are adoption papers."

"I know. I contacted Peter on Tuesday and after I explained the situation, he agreed to give up his parental rights to Jacob. If you want to, you can adopt Jacob and make him your son legally. He's already yours in my heart and his."

"Donna, this is the most precious gift I've ever received. Of course I want to adopt Jake. Thank you for doing this. I know it couldn't have been easy to contact Dr. Freeride. "

"It was easier than you think." Donna smiled.

"I was going to ask you if it was okay for him to call me Dad after we're married."

"I imagine you could get him on board with that idea."

"I love you so much, Donnatella."

"I love you too."

When Donna and Ruth returned from the hair salon, there was a strange car in the drive. Donna assumed it was the judge arriving early to catch up with Noah. So nothing could have stunned her more than to discover her parents seated at the kitchen table with Noah, Josh and Jake.

"Donna?... I brought your parents here for the Wedding. You gave me a family and I wanted to give you yours....Donna?" Josh's words barely registered with Donna.

Her gaze was transfixed on the two people who were now standing in front of her.

"Mom?" Donna was openly crying now and Jake was getting alarmed. Josh moved to him to explain and reassure him that his Mom was okay. Josh hoped he was telling him the truth. Had he made a mistake? Overstepped his bounds?

"Oh, Donna...You look so beautiful. Josh has been telling us all about what you've been doing; your work, your Masters, and this precious boy of course." Her Mother began. "We'd like to stay for the Wedding, but we'll understand if you don't want us here."

"We've made mistakes, Donna. We were trying to do the right thing. We thought Peter was the right thing, but obviously we were wrong. After you moved in with Molly our pride got in the way and we let things go too long....Your Mother and I would like to try to start again if you'll forgive us." Her Dad looked unsure of himself. Donna couldn't ever remember a time when Timothy Moss has ever looked unsure of himself.

Not trusting her voice, Donna merely nodded and launched herself into their arms. Josh let out a breath of relief. Things were going to be fine.

Just then the doorbell rang and Ruth went to admit Judge Feinstein and his wife Gloria into the house. Introductions were made all around and while the parents of the bride and groom got to know one another, Donna walked to Josh's side.

"You are an amazing man, Joshua Lyman. That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me."

"Okay, but don't go spreading stuff like that around when we get back to D.C. I have a reputation to uphold and there's no way I'm going to be able to strong arm Republicans if my wife is going around telling everyone how sweet I am."

"Your wife? I like the sound of that. Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." Donna kissed him soundly until the Judge cleared his throat.

"I think it's time we get these two married." He declared.

Donna went upstairs to change and put Jake into his new suit. When he was ready, she sent him down to the Grandparents while she finished fastening her dress. She'd just finished when there was a knock on the door. She opened it to find Noah on the other side.

"My son's eyes are going to pop out of his head, spitfire." he assured her. "I have some things for you." He handed her several items. "The old is the garter your Mother wore at her Wedding, the new is the necklace from Josh and Jake, the blue is the blue bow Ruth made to put on your dress, and the borrowed...." He handed her the last item; the silk handkerchief Noah had used on several occasions to dry her tears. Donna tucked it inside her sleeve and kissed his cheek.

"I have something for you too." Donna went into her drawer and pulled out a thick document. It was her completed thesis. "I wanted you to be the first one to read it since you gave me so much help on it over the last few months...I couldn't have done it without you, Noah."

"Sure you could have. You can do anything you set your mind to, Donnatella. Thank you for making my son so happy, and keeping his ego in check."

"The latter is more difficult than the former." Donna joked.

"I'll go get you Father and tell him you're ready for your walk down the aisle."

The ceremony went without a hitch and Donna found out Noah had picked this Judge for a very special reason; his wife Gloria knew sign language and signed everything that was said so Jake was included in every moment. He looked so proud as he handed the rings to Josh and Donna and he positively beamed when the Judge declared them to be a family.

They enjoyed a relaxing dinner and Ruth's delicious cake together before Josh whisked Donna away for their Honeymoon. Donna's parents accepted the Lyman's invitation to stay at their home for the weekend in order for them to spend more time with Jake.

When Donna and Josh returned on Sunday, Donna feared that Jake would have a rude awakening after having had the undivided attention of 4 Grandparents for 3 days. Thankfully, he was so excited to go back home with his Mom and Dad, that their departure was painless.

What wasn't painless was getting Josh up for work Monday morning. He was more than content to cuddle with his wife now that they were finally sharing a bed. When reminding him of the time didn't help. Donna got out of bed and made coffee. When the aroma of coffee didn't work, she went for the big guns and sent Jake in to wake his Dad. Jake decided the best way to accomplish this task was to jump on his Dad's unsuspecting back. Laughter and wrestling ensued, but Josh still didn't get out of bed. Donna watched from the doorway and hated to break up the fun, but it was time.

"Joshua Lyman, don't make me call Leo McGarry your first day back in the office."

"I'm going, I'm going, but you and Jake will meet for lunch at 1, right?" he asked as he turned the water on in the shower.

"I will pick up Jake from pre-school and meet you at 1 for lunch. That should give us plenty of time before your P.T. appointment at 3." She tried to slip that one by him, but she should have known better.

"Donna, I don't need P.T. anymore, I am in great shape!" Josh argued.

"And if you want to stay in great shape you need to keep doing your physical therapy. You haven't had any the whole week we were gone. Do I need to get the rules out to refresh your memory?"

"Please God, no. I'll go for now, but if the doctor says I can cut down or quit, that's what I'm going to do."

"I can live with that. And if you do a good job in therapy today, you'll earn extra credit."

"Just what, exactly, can I redeem all this extra credit for?"

"I'll show you when we get home." Donna kissed him before going to get Jake ready for pre-school.

 

Josh Lyman swaggered back into the West Wing like he owned it. Rebecca met him at the door with a cup of decaf coffee and a bright smile.

"You look great, boss. Welcome back!"

"Thanks Rebecca, it feels good to be back. What have you got for me today?"

"You have a full schedule until 1 and then physical therapy at 3. Senior staff starts in 10 minutes."

Rebecca continued to brief him on his appointments while Josh looked around the building to see what had changed. Not much, he surmised. Life appeared to go on just fine without his presence. He wasn't sure if he was glad or disappointed about that. Then he ran into Sam.

"Hey, man. You're back!" he engaged him in a male back slapping type hug. "How was Connecticut?"

"Amazing. I'll tell you about it later. What's up for senior staff?"

"Brady's going to re-introduce health care. Toby thinks we can get on board with it with a few adjustments, but you know him better than anyone else so we need to get your input. I put a draft of the Presidents remarks to the AMA on your desk, you probably won't have time to get to it today, but CJ wants you to look at it and make sure the policy implications aren't going go get legislative affairs hot under the collar. See you in staff in a couple minutes, okay?"

"Okay." Josh chuckled. So much for not feeling needed. "Okay...Rebecca, what's next?"

********************************************************************

"We need to get Layton on board. Once we get her, Brady will be more willing to let us tweak the bill, but we need to have a concrete list of the changes we want because we won't get another bite at the apple." Josh explained.

"Once it gets introduced on the floor, we want to be behind it or have a very good reason why we're against improving health care initiatives." Bartlet interjected.

"That's right, sir." Josh agreed.

"Then you better get Layton on board." The President commented.

"Yes, sir. I'll have Rebecca set something up right away." Josh started to rise, believing senior staff was being dismissed.

"I read a fascinating book over the weekend..." the President began as groans were heard around the room. "CJ, did you know that in ancient times wedding rings were made from hemp or vine and replaced when they became worn?"

`Oh, so busted' thought Josh. CJ just shook her head no, confused by the topic change.

"Yes, it wasn't until the Roman times that wedding rings were made from steel to symbolize the strength of marriage." The President continued. "And the cake, Sam, was originally included in the ceremony because grain was a symbol of fertility."

"Okay, well that's good to know I guess, sir." Sam was looking at him strangely. This was a very odd segue, even for the President.

"Seeing a lamb, spider, frog, or a rainbow before the wedding is considered good luck. Did you see any of those things on Friday, Joshua?" Bartlet asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

"No, sir, I didn't" Josh smiled back.

Toby was the first to put it together and look at Josh's left hand.

"You got married on Friday?" Toby exclaimed.

"Yeah, we did." Josh admitted.

"You got Donna to marry you? What did you do, drug her?" CJ teased.

"Yeah, and I have some left over if you wanted to try it out on a reporter of some kind." Josh teased back.

"Congratulation, mi amore." CJ hugged him. Congratulations and good wishes were bouncing around the room. When Josh got to the President he paused.

"Let me guess...my Mother?" Josh asked.

"She called Leo on Wednesday. She said it was to give us a heads up in case it hit the media somehow."

"Right, because that was likely to happen." Josh replied.

"Don't give your Mother a hard time, son. You've made her wait long enough for this day." Leo put in his two cents. "Now get back to work."

"Yes, boss." Everyone scattered to their offices.

By noon, Josh found himself checking the clock every few minutes, anxious to see his family. By 12:45 he gave up all pretense of work and stopped by Rebecca's desk to tell her he was going to the lobby to wait for Donna and Jake when she took the wind out of his sails.

"Sorry, boss. Leo needs you in the mural room. He just called."

"But- Yeah, okay, I'm on my way." This was not going to be a problem he assured himself. 15 minutes was plenty of time to take care of whatever Leo needed and still be on time for lunch with Donna and Jake. He practically ran to the mural room and only gave a perfunctory knock before opening the door.

"Surprise!" came from all over the room as he entered. Wedding shower decorations were everywhere and as Josh looked around the room, he saw friends, colleagues, members of Congress, and his family seated right in the center of it all.

He smiled his appreciation and began to walk toward Donna. A hand grabbing his arm stopped him and turned him around.

"Congratulations, little brother." Joanie told him.

"Hey, you're back!" Josh exclaimed as he hugged his sister.

"You couldn't wait until I got back to get married?"

"It's not my fault you decided to go to a conference in London when I finally got the nerve to get married." Josh replied.

"You're lucky I'm too happy for you to be pissed at you. Besides, now you're going to owe me for the rest of your life." Joanie told him.

"How do you figure that?"

"You would never have even met Donna if it wasn't for me."

"Then I owe you more than I can ever repay." He replied honestly.

"Go circulate, Joshua. Your bride is waiting patiently for you."

"You knew about this?" Josh accused as he met Donna and kissed her to the delight of the crowd.

"Margaret called me on my cell Thursday morning." She confessed.

Calls were made for a speech and Josh reluctantly obliged.

"I'm sure Donna would want me to thank all of you for your thoughtful surprise, but since I know you better than she does, I know there is an ulterior motive here. You just want a chance to tell her embarrassing stories about me."

"We don't have that kind of time, Josh." Toby quipped.

"Thanks pal. However, seeing as there are many voting members of Congress present, I was thinking I could take this opportunity to address the reasons you should vote for HR 352..."

There were cat calls and boo's throughout the room.

"Okay, okay. Seriously, thank you for this party, thanks for covering for me while I was gone, and most of all, thanks for your friendship and support throughout this ordeal. We are very lucky to have such wonderful friends." Josh said sincerely.

"Kiss her already!" Sam called.

"I second the motion." Leo joined in.

"Without objection." Josh replied. He pulled Donna up next to him and kissed her like they were alone in their room. Everyone applauded, led by Jake who was watching while sitting on the First Lady's lap.

 

A/N: It's done! This was sure fun for a first fic experience. Thanks to everyone who took the time to send me notes of praise and encouragement. It meant a lot to me. I hope you like the ending.

Thanksgiving Day
Manchester Farm
8 years later

Jed and Abby Bartlet were waiting for the Lymans on their porch when they drove up. Jake was the first one out of the car and rushed up to greet the Bartlets. He was followed by his 6 year old sister Sarah who was holding the leash attached to their dog Madison. Joshua grabbed a couple of their bags while Donna got 2 year old Noah out of his car seat.

It had been very hard on all of them losing Josh's Dad the previous year, but Josh was grateful that his Dad had fought long enough to meet his namesake. There was some consolation in that his Dad had a chance to see him happily settled with a family of his own. That was just one thing he was grateful for on this Thanksgiving Day.

"Are we the first ones here?" Josh asked the President.

"Mallory, Sam and Leo are inside while Laura is taking a nap. Danny, CJ and their brood won't fly in for another hour. Toby, Andi, and the twins are driving up tomorrow. MY girls have abondoned me for their repsective in-laws. Come on in and get settled." Jed led them inside. "The kids are getting so big."

"Yeah, Jake is in junior high. He's going to hit you up for help in his social studies class, so be prepared. They're studying the middle east peace conference." Josh replied.

"I think I may be able to handle that." Jed chuckled. "Have you been doing your homework?"

"Let's save that until the rest of the gang arrives." Josh hedged.

By Friday evening, pandemonium reigned at the Bartlet farm. After all the games they played and sugar they ingested, it took a long time to settle the kids down to bed. Once they had accomplished that, the adults gathered in the family room to share some wine and catch up. At the first lull in the conversation, Joshua brought up the subject Jed had alluded to earlier.

"I got confirmation from Jorgenson before we left home. He is NOT going to seek re-election in the Senate." Everyone turned to look at Sam for his reaction.

"Guys, I've only been in Congress for 6 years. I'm not sure it's-"

"It's time Sam." Josh interrupted.

"It's time Samuel." CJ confirmed. There was a long pause.

"You're unusually silent, Toby." Sam noticed.

"Don't try to write your speeches yourself, Robin. If you want a hand, I could take a leave of absence from Columbia for a year."

"Okay, first of all, would you lose the Batman references? And secondly, this is it? This is all the debate we're going to have about what amounts to a huge move in my political career?" Sam asked incredulously.

"You're the only one who seems to need convincing." Mallory responded. When Josh had initially talked to her about the idea she was a little hesitant. Not because she thought her husband might not be ready, but because she thought she might not be ready. It was thoughtful of Josh to come to her first; unusually thoughtful, which made her suspect Donna was behind it. Regardless, she was ready now.

"This is what we talked about, Sam." Bartlet added. Sam looked at his former boss and mentor in the eye.

"And if I do this, you're all in with me?' he asked the group at large.

"Every last one of us." Donna promised.

Sam looked around the room again, taking in the faces of his friends and colleagues. They had been through so much together, and yet their hardships had only cemented their relationships further. Maybe they were right, maybe it was time to reach for the next level. Whatever the future held, he couldn't possibly have assembled a better dream team than the one sitting around him right now.

"I may regret this...but okay, let's file for the Senate seat." Sam announced.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, a toast to Senator Seaborn." Jed proclaimed. Everyone toasted and immediately broke into strategy conversations.

"You ready for this?" Josh asked Donna. Running Sam's campaign for Senate was going to impact their lives dramatically too.

"I think it's perfect, and paving the way the Mallory first was particularly inspired."

"That wasn't my idea. That was yours." Josh corrected her.

"That's right, it was... I think I should get extra credit for that."

"You know, I do too." Josh smiled and kissed her.

The End.

Site Name: Crossroad Awards
Owner: Devin
Design: Standard Lines
Online Since: 08/01/08
Season: Two
Stage: Nominations

March 28, 2009
Nominations Start

April 30, 2009
Final List of Nominees Announced

May 01, 2009
Voting Begins

May 16, 2009
Winners Announced

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