Chapter 6
“What were you thinking?” Leo asked rhetorically. “What were you thinking?!”
“That Josh is our friend and our colleague and that someone in the White House
should stand up for him while he was too injured to stand up for himself.” Sam finally
answered while Toby remained silent.
“You realize that you’ve given her exactly what she wants. Instead of letting it die the
death of a non-story, you’ve given her a whole new set of new items to vent about for
the next several news cycles. How exactly does that help Josh?”
“It shows everyone that we’re willing to stand up against this religious based hate
speech.” Toby defended himself. “I’m tired of pretending that Mary Marsh, and
people like her, get a free pass because they invoke the name of God.”
“Excuse me, Toby, but we’ve been a little busy trying to manage a National
emergency.” Leo snapped at him.
“And I’m not indifferent to that, but we can’t just sit here while a member of our family
is attacked by anyone.” Toby concluded.
“It was the right thing to do.” Sam agreed. “Maybe we should have run it passed you.”
“Maybe?!” Leo repeated.
“Okay, we should have run it by you, but you’ve been up to your eyeballs dealing
with everything else. This is what we do; this is our job. I, for one, am not going to
apologize for it.” Sam said emphatically.
“No, I didn’t imagine you would.” Leo nodded. “So I’ve come up with consequences
appropriate for the deed. You’re going to sit down with C.J. and go over your
independent press release line by line and make sure you have a suitable reply for
each item when you’re doing the morning shows tomorrow.”
“God, no.” Sam pleaded.
“There’s no appeal process, I’m afraid. Do it now. She’s expecting you both. Toby,
tomorrow while Sam is doing his rounds, I want you to meet with Donna; help her farm
out Josh’s workload for the time being. I’ve signed off of the paperwork assigning her
to my office. Give her direct responsibility on anything you think she can handle on
her own.”
“Donna’s being transferred?” Sam asked.
“It’s a promotion she earned, don’t you think?” Leo countered.
“Well, sure, but Josh is going to be put back in ICU once he hears about it.” Sam
noted.
“Then you’d best let me tell him myself, and leave it out of any of your press
releases. Speaking of which, you might want to give Donna a call at the hospital and
have her keep the TV in Josh’s room off for awhile.”
“Got it.” Toby answered, pleased that Leo had taken his advice. When he went to
see Josh in the morning, he’d try to soften the ground on that subject.
*****************************************
“Are you sure you won’t come back with me, Donna?” Anna asked yet again.
“I really want to stay, Anna. I’ll go home tomorrow night, I promise.”
“You can’t help Josh if you don’t take care of yourself.” Anna reminded her.
“I will. Get some sleep and you can spell me in the morning.” Donna kissed Anna’s
cheek and watched the older woman walk wearily away from Josh’s room. When
Donna went back in to check on Josh she found him thrashing a bit; he seemed to be
having a disturbing dream.
“Josh?” she gently shook his arm until he startled awake. “It was just a dream. You’re
in the hospital.” She reminded him when she saw the confusion on his face.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice cracking.
“I’m fine. I wasn’t there, remember?” She watched him as the wheels turned in his
head and he realized they were both safe. The doctor had warned her that one of
the side effects of the heavy drugs might be confusion and disorientation. “Here, try
a sip of water. Your throat sounds dry.”
She held the straw to his lips and he attempted a sip, but even the small sucking
action sent him waves of pain and he pushed it away. She picked up the chapstick
and applied it to his cracking lips. Josh watched her carefully while she put it away
again and sat next to his bed.
“What time is it?” Josh asked her for the 100th time that day. She turned the digital
clock closer to him so he could see, but he just squinted his eyes at it.
“It’s nearly 10 pm.” She told him.
“You should go home; get some sleep.” He looked away from her.
“I can sleep here just fine.” Donna refuted and popped up again. “Do you want to try
some ice chips?”
“Donna, sit down. I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.” Donna argued.
“No, I’m not, but I’m as fine as I can be. You should go home.” He repeated.
“I’m not leaving you again.” She stated, but took her chair again like he asked.
“I think you’re going to have to eventually.” He smiled.
“Tomorrow morning, then.” She capitulated and tried to smile back, but the tears that
had been threatening all day finally spilled over.
“Don’t cry, Donnatella.” Josh told her.
“I can’t help it. I almost lost you, Joshua.” The tears came faster now. “You could
have died.”
“But I didn’t; don’t cry.” He asked her again, trying to lift his hand to touch her face.
Donna captured it in hers and held it to her face.
“I need to tell you something…” Donna began, but was interrupted by the nurse
doing her hourly check on Josh. She remained silent while the nurse went through
her routine and that made Josh nervous. When she finally left the two of them alone
again, Josh was chomping at the bit.
“What is it, Donna?”
“When Toby told me what happened in Rosslyn…I thought I was going to die. I couldn’
t breathe and my head was pounding…”
“Donna-“
“No, let me finish before I chicken out.” She implored. “I sat in the waiting room with
our friends and then watched you from the surgical observation room and thought of
all the things I should have told you. I promised myself that if I got a second chance I
would tell you those things.”
“What things?” Josh asked quietly. Donna took a deep breath.
“That I’m so glad you took a chance on me in Nashua. That I appreciate all the things
you’ve taught me. That my favorite book is “The Art and Artistry of Alpine Skiing”, but
only because of the words you inscribed in it. That I was terribly jealous of Joey
Lucas. That I really don’t mind spending so much time at work because I get to spend
that time with you. That sometimes I purposefully make my handwriting illegible so
you have to come and ask me about it. That I know you purposefully sabotage my
dates and that’s part of the fun in making them in the first place…and that I would
bring you coffee every day for the rest of your life if you would just wake up and talk
to me again.”
“That’s…quite a list.” Josh noted and Donna nodded unable to look him in the eye to
see his reaction to her confession. “Am I dreaming again?” he asked and that got
Donna to look at him.
“NO!” Donna was offended. She finally worked up the nerve to tell him how she felt,
and his response was, ‘Am I dreaming again?’.
“Thank God.” He smiled and it dawned on Donna what that response meant. “You’re
not the only one who’s been doing some thinking. You were the first person I thought
about when I was laying on that sidewalk in Rosslyn and you were the first person I
thought of when I woke up from surgery.” He slowly lifted her hand to his mouth and
placed a kiss on her fingers.
“Josh…” Donna was overwhelmed.
“I’m in love with you, Donnatella. I think I have been for awhile now; maybe since that
day in Nashua. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the coming weeks, but I know I
need you with me.”
“I’ll be here. I promise.” Donna assured him. “I love you, too.”
Josh tried to sit up but couldn’t manage it and let out a hiss of pain.
“Will you please lay still? Where’s your morphine clicker?” she looked around on the
bed, but Josh chuckled.
“Your little speech was better than any morphine.” He told her when she clicked the
button for more medication. “I’m supposed to be the one to do that. Now, I’m going to
fall asleep again.” He complained.
“That’s okay. I’ll be right here when you wake up again.” Now it was her turn to kiss
his hand. It was the last thing he felt before he slipped into sleep.
**********************************************
“Tell me you two idiots weren’t stupid enough to sign your names to this?” C.J.
entreated waving the copy of their response in front of them.
“We had to sign it.” Sam defended them. “It was a John Hancock moment.”
“Please don’t help anymore.” Toby told him.
“John Hancock signed his name in such big letters so that the British Government
could easily read it. He was telling them to ‘bring it on’. I’m not sure that’s what we
wanted to do in this case. This is going to keep the whole story alive for 3…maybe 4
more news cycles. And it gives Mary Marsh all kinds of ammunition.” She ranted.
“That’s fine.” Toby replied. “Bring it on. I’m tired of playing dead with that woman. She
doesn’t speak for the Almighty and I think it’s time someone told her that. Now the
gloves come off.”
“The gloves aren’t just off, my friend. You’ve slapped her in the face with one of
them. She’s going to be gunning for you too, now.” C.J. argued. “Just how are you
going to respond on the morning shows tomorrow? She’s all over the air waves,
blasting the two of you and the Anti-Christian White House you work in.”
“We were thinking you could help us with that.” Sam offered.
“Shut up.” Toby directed Sam.
“Shit. We need to call Donna. Tell her not to let Josh see the TV for awhile.” C.J.
reached for the phone.
“We did that already.” Toby explained and saw the Press Secretary sigh with relief.
“Well at least you got something right.” She allowed.
“We got lots of things right, C.J. That response was a work of art.” Sam stated. “Tell
me you don’t wish, in just a small part of that brain of yours, that your name was on
that release too.”
“There isn’t any part of my brain that wishes my name was on that.” She retorted.
“Now my heart, that’s another matter entirely.” She admitted and Sam smiled at her.
“You’ll help us?” He pushed just a little farther.
“I’ll do my job.” C.J. wanted that very clear. “We’re going to start with the fact that the
two of you will do the shows together tomorrow. Carol!”
Carol popped her head into C.J.’s office. “Yes, boss?”
“I need one last thing before you head home for the night; get a tape of Mary Marsh’s
statements about the release Toby and Sam wrote.”
“I’m on it.” Carol risked her boss’s ire and added one last comment. “That release
kicked ass, guys.”
Sam and Toby sent significant looks to C.J. who ignored them, but Toby swore he
could see her lips twitch from behind the paper she was re-reading.
******************************************
“Many people have expressed surprise at the strongly worded release issued by the
Communication Director and Deputy Communication Director of the White House. “
“I’m not surprised at all.” Mary responded. “This has Toby Ziegler’s fingerprints all
over it. Obviously, he needed to add Sam Seaborn’s name to make it look legitimate,
but this is his rhetoric. He’s obviously threatened by our Christian Agenda. He and
Josh Lyman have been able to run their playbook unimpeded until now.”
“I understand that Mr. Lyman is making a slow but steady recovery at G.W. right now.
Do you pray for him?”
“I pray for all non-Christians that they will recognize Jesus Christ as their savior.”
Mary replied. “It’s the only chance they have of getting into heaven.”
“Do you pray for Josh Lyman in particular though?”
Mary hesitated. “I pray for everyone who was involved in the shooting at Rosslyn.”
“Would you care to respond to the release directly? The opening paragraph reads,
and I’m quoting here, “People who use the name of God to further their own political
agenda and excuse the violent and destructive behavior of others, not only do a
disservice to people of faith everywhere, but prove that they do not have a true
understanding of the Holy book they profess to believe in.”
“I’m not going to be lectured to about the Holy Bible by Toby Ziegler. I wasn’t
excusing anyone’s violent behavior; I simply said I understand the frustration of
Christian citizens who feel betrayed by this administration.”
“Betrayed in what way?”
“Jed Bartlet sold himself to this country as a devout Catholic, but once he took office
he has made no move to instill those religious values in his administration or his
Government. In fact, he’s made several moves against those fundamental values and
the American people feel like they were sold a bill of goods.”
“Another part of the release reads, “Ms, Marsh and her compatriots feel compelled to
judge Josh Lyman despite the fact that the Bible tells us: There is only one Lawgiver
and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge
your neighbor?”
“It’s not my judgment, it’s God’s. The Bible also says that Jesus is the way, the truth,
and the life and that no one comes to the Father but through him. Just because I’m
voicing it doesn’t make it my judgment.” Mary refuted.
“Mr.’s Ziegler and Seaborn then give a laundry list of items on the President’s
agenda that they believe illustrates the moral values of their administration: health
care reform, education reform, assistance for the poor, gun control, a fast Federal
response to Hurricane Sarah, the appointment of a Supreme Court Judge, laws to
better care for our veterans, a negotiated peace between India and Pakistan, law
against hate crimes, etc, etc.”
“Which is all well and good except that it all came from political expediency, not moral
certitude. That is why, when the President had the opportunity to pardon a prisoner
on death row, he didn’t take it.” Mary interrupted.
“I thought your organization supports the death penalty.”
“We do, but the Catholic Church doesn’t. Nor do they support abortion under ANY
conditions, yet this President ignores his Holy Church because it is contrary to his
political base.” Mary spouted.
“What do you say to their allegations that this country was not founded on
Christianity? They referenced this quote from Thomas Jefferson: "Believing with you
that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes
account to none other for is faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of
government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign
reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature
should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”
“And yet, the first thing the Continental Congress did was to employ a chaplain.”
Mary added. “We’re not looking to establish a national religion, but we are looking to
help elect and support religious politicians who reflect the values of the plurality of
Americans.”
“Finally, they state that the ultimate proof of their moral leadership stems from the
fact that they are willing to forgive you for your comments about them. And I’m
quoting again: May all who love the Lord forbear and forgive one another, as God,
for Christ's sake, hath forgiven them. Psalms 133.”
“I can’t tell you how pleased I am that I was somehow responsible for those two men
reading through passages of the Bible. Nothing but good can come of it.” Mary
smiled.
“And there you have it; Mary Marsh’s rebuttal to the White House press release.” The
interviewer concluded and signed off.
******************************
“I’ve been completely cut off from the world. I need some news and information from
outside this room.” Josh explained. The fact that it was only 7 am and he was already
complaining did not bode well for the day.
“You’re also not supposed to get worked up or upset. I think the fact that the cable
isn’t working is God’s way of telling you that you’re not ready to see it yet.” Donna
replied, unwilling to admit that it was more her disconnection of the cable from the
back of the TV while he slept, than a divine hint.
“How long do you suppose the creator is going to try to protect me from the evils of
CNN?” Josh asked, looking suspiciously at Donna. She had the feeling that he knew
she had something to do with his malfunctioning television.
”We’re all going to protect you as much as we need to.” Donna answered neutrally.
“Donna…” he waited until she stopped moving and looked at him. “You don’t need to
protect me. At least, not from this. When I get back to work, you can protect me from
all the Republican members of Congress you want.”
“How can you talk about going back to work?” Donna asked him.
“Because thinking about going back to work is far preferable to thinking about being
stuck here for who knows how long. It gives me something positive to concentrate on.
Maybe when you go to the office-“
“No. Absolutely not.” Donna stopped him right there. “If I had my way you wouldn’t go
back there at all.” She muttered.
‘What are you talking about?”
“That job almost got you killed.”
“Bigots with guns almost got me killed. My job had nothing to with it. They weren’t
even aiming for me.”
“I just thought now, with all this time off for your recovery, might be a good time to
contemplate some other career options.” She suggested and Josh could see the
entreaty in her eyes.
“I have career options?” he tried to make light of it.
“I take your calls, Josh. I open your mail. I know perfectly well how many other job
offers you get every week.”
“None of them are at the White House.” Josh reminded her.
“None of them involve assassination attempts either.”
“You’re really serious about this?”
Donna merely nodded her head. “Will you just think about it?”
“What about your job?”
“They won’t miss me. Anyone can do my job. ”
“That’s not true.” Josh told her. “It wasn’t true before and it’s especially untrue now.
Leo is going to need your help with…everything.”
“I know and I will do everything I can to help, but I don’t want to be there. I want to be
here. I don’t want you there either. Please think about it?”
“It looks like I’ll have plenty of time for thinking.” He answered impartially. Donna took
that as a positive first step.
“The plan is to spend the morning in the office and the afternoon here. Your mom
should be here any minute.”
“Changing of the guard?” Josh suggested.
“Exactly.”
“Maybe she can get the cable to work.”
“I wouldn’t count on it.” Donna told him and leaned close to him to enjoy these last
few minutes before they’d be separated for awhile.
“Got to her too, did you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Donna played dumb. “Just rest, okay? They’
re going to want to try and get you moving later today and that’s going to require a
lot of energy.”
“I don’t think I have much choice.” He groused and Donna lay her head on his
shoulder. When Anna came in, she paused at the door a minute, taking in the scene
between Donna and her son.
“Well, good morning.” She called out to them. “You both look well rested.”
“Everyone slept well.” Donna reported. “I have to get to the office. Don’t let him talk
you into the newspaper he’s been asking for.” She stood up to go.
“Wait a second.” Josh protested. “When will you be back?”
“After lunch; I told you.”
“What time after lunch?”
“I’m not sure.” Donna replied.
“The sooner you let go of her arm, the sooner she can go, get her work done and
come back.” His mom said chuckling. Josh thought this through and apparently
agreed because he let go of her arm, but at the last second her grabbed her hand
and pulled her back to him.
Donna looked at him quizzically unsure of what he wanted. Then his eyes dropped
down to her lips and she shot a nervous glance toward his mother. Anna didn’t even
pretend she wasn’t watching this with great interest. Donna was about to pull away
and just go when she saw Josh’s signature smirk make an appearance. It was clearly
a dare; and he knew how she felt about dares.
“Fine. Goodbye.” She said right before she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “Bye
Anna.” She quickly retreated from the room.
“Bye Donna.” Anna called smiling. When she turned her predatory gaze to her son;
Josh realized his spur-of-the-moment kiss was going to cost him now.
*******************************
Toby had a severe headache, but he didn’t want to put this off any longer. The
morning shows had been full of conflict and emotion. Mary Marsh had refused the
opportunity to appear with him and Sam but plenty of her lieutenants had stepped up
to the plate. They made Toby tired and they made him sad.
He walked into Josh’s hospital room to Josh complaining; at least there was some
sense of normalcy here.
“I’m just saying that the cable works in the waiting room and it works in every other
room of the hospital.” He complained.
“Do you want me to read the Sports section to you?” his mother offered. He had tried
reading it himself, but it gave him a bad headache so he’d pushed it away.
“Toby!” Josh called out when he saw his friend. “Tell me you’ve got a paper on you.
New York Times? Washington Post? Anything?”
“The cable isn’t working.” Anna told Toby and Toby nodded in understanding.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize you didn’t have access to Newspapers here in a D.C. hospital.”
“Donna and my mother have conjoined in some unholy alliance to rob me of all news
and information. Something about my blood pressure…”
“Yeah, it must suck to have people who love you so much they try to keep you
healthy.”
“You’re taking their side?”
“For the moment.” Toby agreed. “But you shouldn’t take that for any concern on my
part for your well being. I’m just scared of the two of them.”
“Then I’ll just take my intimidating self for a walk outside for a few minutes. Maybe get
some lunch.” Anna picked up her purse to go.
“I’d go out an alternate entrance.” Toby advised and Anna sighed. She had had to
walk the gauntlet of press coming in this morning. She was beginning to agree with
her son’s assessment of the free press. She gave her son a kiss on his forehead and
gave Toby a smile and went to find an alternate route in and out of the hospital.
Perhaps one of the Secret Service agents President Bartlet had assigned to her son
could help her.
“What’s going on in the West Wing?” Josh pounced immediately.
“Dealing with the fallout from Rosslyn; mostly.” Toby replied. “The D triple C is
fielding some candidates for the mid-terms.”
“I talked to Greg Thompson in the Florida office, you should-“
“Josh. We’ll take care of it. You just concentrate on…well, whatever Donna tells you
to.”
“Not you, too. Seriously, Toby, I can discuss work without any physical damage of
any kind.”
“Maybe without any physical damage to you, but Donna printed out these rules at
work, and they were pretty specific about the physical damage she would do to
others who broke the rules.” Toby admitted.
“Rules?” Josh questioned. “What are these rules?”
“I can’t remember them all; there were a couple pages…”
“A couple pages?” Josh’s eyebrows shot up.
“At least. Your mom looked like she was in a pretty good mood.” Toby tried to change
the subject.
“Yeah, well, she thinks …never mind.” Josh faded off. “How’s Leo holding up?”
“He was closeted in with Donna when I left to come here. He seems to think it’s going
to take some work to make up for your absence. I assured him you really don’t do
that much.”
“Nice.” Josh replied. Toby noted that Josh was grimacing with every movement and
trying to hide his discomfort with humor. “Donna’s not too enthused about being at
work right now. Maybe you could check in on her when you get back?”
“Sure.” Toby agreed. “Her portfolio is about to explode. I’ll make sure she has
enough help.”
“Thanks.” Josh said quietly. Toby imagined it was hard for a take charge/constant
motion guy like Josh to be unable to move out of his bed or take care of the people
he cared about. “I don’t suppose you could take a look at the TV and see if you can
re-connect the cable Donna unplugged, could you?”
“Not for a million dollars.” Toby told him and watched his friend’s face fall; a face that
was growing more pale by the minute. Toby stood up. “I should let you get some rest.
If you behave yourself, maybe Donna will let me bring you a few issues of “People
Magazine” next time I come.”
“Doubt it.” Josh’s replies were even getting shorter.
“She only does it because she cares about you so much.” Toby ventured.
“I know. I care about her, too.” Josh admitted and watched Toby’s face to see his
reaction to his confession.
“I know.”
“How do you know?” Josh asked.
“You told me before.” Toby explained.
“When?” Josh racked his brain for a memory of having that type of a discussion with
Toby when he only recently figured it out himself.
Toby cleared his throat. “The night of the Town Hall in Rosslyn.” Toby sat back down
next to Josh. “We were waiting for the ambulance. You were in and out a lot; you’d
lost a lot of blood. Then you snapped back in for a minute and made me promise I’d
take care of Donna for you. You told me…you told me to tell her that you loved her.”
Toby added the last sentence in a low, intense voice.
“Toby, I never-“
“I know. Don’t you think I know? I didn’t say anything to her, because I wanted it to
come from you. It should come from you Josh.”
“It already did.”
“Okay, then.” Toby cleared his throat again, clearly uncomfortable with this line of
discussion. “Some things are going to have to get shuffled at the office. Don’t give
Leo grief about it.”
“If I don’t give him grief, he’ll think something’s wrong with me.” Josh smirked and then
grimaced again.
“Will you take the damn morphine?!” Toby practically shouted.
“I want to wait until Donna gets back.”
“She’s going to be a couple more hours at least. Take the morphine now and it will be
wearing off by the time she gets back.” Toby was growing impatient. Strangely, his
impatience and sharp tone did more to reassure Josh he was going to be okay than
anything else had.
Josh picked up the morphine clicker and lifted it for Toby to watch him press the
button.
“Like you’re doing me a favor with that?” Toby groused. “Get some sleep, would you?
I’m only covering for you at work for so long.” And without another word, Toby Zeigler
left to go back to the White House. He gruffly told the press gathered outside that
Josh was almost at 100% and that he’d be down shortly to kick all their asses if they
bothered his mother anymore. That made Toby feel much better.
Chapter 7
A/N: I have searched and searched but could not find the name of the Speaker of the
House during this time in the Administration; so just to make it fun, I’m assuming it’s
Glenallen Walken.
The next several days seemed to follow in the same pattern. Donna spent until 2 or 3
at the White House, then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with Josh at the
hospital. The only thing that seemed to change was that other visitors from the White
House slowed to a trickle. Sam had stopped once and so had C.J., but phone calls
had replaced visits and Josh was getting cranky about the lack of direct information
from his friends and colleagues.
Donna had finally capitulated on the cable and Josh was soaking in as much as he
could. If he started getting…aggravated…as Donna called it, she would turn the
station to PBS until he got back under control. This was annoying enough in and of
itself, but it was especially annoying when PBS was showing Sesame Street instead
of the latest British Comedy.
Donna was late getting to the hospital today and Anna was paying the price.
“Just call her and find out how much longer she’s going to be.” Josh asked his mom.
It reminded her of when he’d had pneumonia when he was young. He was too sick to
get up and do anything, but just well enough to realize everything he was missing
and resent it.
“I tried already Joshua, and Ginger said she was still in with Toby.”
“That was 30 minutes ago.” Josh protested.
“It was ten minutes ago and I’m not going to bother that poor woman again.” Anna
refused.
“Then please hand me the phone.”
“She’ll get here as soon as she can, Josh.” Anna assured him. As if on cue, Anna’s
cell phone rang and she saw from the ID that it was Donna. She put Donna on
speaker.
“Thank God. My son is about to burst a blood vessel.” Anna answered. There was a
slight pause.
“Is he okay?” Donna asked worriedly.
“I’m fine and I’m not deaf.” Josh chimed in. “Did you get the numbers for the Illinois
District?”
“Sorry, Donna, I should have warned you that you are on speakerphone.” Anna
noted then remained silent.
“The numbers, Donna?” Josh repeated.
“Toby said not to worry about Illinois.” Donna replied.
“He can’t do it by himself. Who’s going to handle it? It’s an important District.”
“Leo’s from Chicago, Josh. I think he’s probably capable of-“
“Leo shouldn’t be doing that. It shouldn’t be on the Chief of Staff’s desk.”
“Well, the Deputy Chief of Staff is out of commission right now, so-“
“Only because you say so.” Josh interrupted her.
“Me and your doctors; all 7 of them, including the First Lady of the United States.”
Donna replied hotly.
“I don’t understand why everyone thinks I’m going to self-destruct from reading
papers from the office.”
“Gee, Josh, it’s hard to fathom why anyone would think you’re impatient and prone to
losing your temper.”
“And you were supposed to be here hours ago! What the hell is taking you so long?”
he snapped.
“I’m going to assume that you’re tired and cranky from PT and so I’m going to forget
that you just swore at me Josh Lyman.” Donna said in a low flat voice that had Anna’s
eyebrows meeting her forehead. “There is a ton of work here that constantly needs
to be farmed out and I’m doing my level best not to drop any of these balls. I haven’t
seen my apartment except to get changes of clothes for almost a week! I’ve been
sleeping in the chair in your hospital room and eating crap from the hospital
cafeteria, so cutting me a little slack here wouldn’t be out of line.”
“Yeah…I’m sorry.” Josh said quietly. “I’m frustrated, and bored, and in pain.” There
was silence at the other end for a moment.
“I know.” Donna sighed. “Please try to be patient. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Right. Bye, Donna.” Josh told her and his mother snapped the phone shut.
******************************************
“Giving you a hard time, is he?” Toby asked after hearing her end of the
conversation.
“His whole life has been work for how many years? You can’t expect him not to
flounder and be frustrated when he’s cut off from it cold turkey.” She defended Josh.
It almost made Toby smile. Donna could rip Josh a new one, but let anyone else try
and look out!
“I don’t expect him to.” Toby stated. “Still, it can’t be easy when he takes it out on
you.”
“He doesn’t…usually. He had a particularly difficult day yesterday. On top of PT they
got him up and into the shower. I think it scared him when he realized how weak he
was and how much help he needed.”
“He’ll get stronger each day. He won’t be satisfied with anything else.”
“Which is usually a good thing, but in this case pushing too hard, too fast, could
actually set him back in his recovery.”
“If you need to go now, I can finish this up myself.” He offered.
“You’ve got enough on your plate already; everyone does trying to their job and Josh’
s too. If you wanted to do something though, you could stop by and see him
tomorrow. He’s feeling very much out of the loop.”
“I’ll see him in the morning.” Toby promised.
*************************************
Mary Marsh was pacing the conference room in the office of the Speaker of the
House.
“Without our support, you’ll have trouble making it through the mid-terms.” She
threatened.
“What do you want from me Mary? The White House has an approval rating of 81%.
Jesus Christ himself would have trouble fighting against that.” Speaker Walken noted.
“That’s not a real number and you know it.” Mary refuted.
“It’s real enough to me; and you’re only making it worse.” He countered.
“86 % of the people in your District identify themselves as Christians-“
“And I’m one of them, but we’re not getting anything done before mid-terms.”
“Because you choose not to fight.”
“Because I choose to fight another day.” Walken contradicted her. “Mary, you’re your
own worst enemy and every time you open your mouth I want to take a shower. Go
peddle it somewhere else.”
“When the people in your district hear how you’ve responded to this, and believe me
when I tell you we’ll be mailing out brochures before end of business today, then we’ll
see if you feel like you’re in more of a fighting mood.”
“My District knows who I am and what I stand for. Send all the brochures you want.”
Walken grinned. “Maybe you should go talk to the Gentleman from Tennessee. I
hear he’s gonna have a mid-term fight on his hands and would probably walk your
dog for the PAC money you bring to him.”
“You think?” she said sarcastically.
“These are Democrats in the White House that we’re talking about, Mary; young
Democrats. They’re going to use these fluffed up numbers to push something too far,
and then we’ll be in a better position to push our agenda. Just wait.”
Mary fumed and stormed out of the conference room. Walken just shook his head.
God, he hated that woman.
***************************************
“Hi…” Donna said quietly, not sure if Josh was sleeping or just resting with his eyes
closed. Since he didn’t respond, she assumed he was really sleeping.
“Hi.” Anna whispered back. “Please don’t wake the sleeping giant.”
“Tough day?”
“I thought the days would start getting easier now that they’re getting him up and
around a bit.”
“In this case a little mobility may be harder on him than no mobility at all.”
“Just so you know the chief complaint today was that no one from the White House
has been by and he’s being systematically cut out of a job.”
“Joy.” Donna grimaced. “Why don’t you go home and get some sleep. I’ll here for the
duration now.”
“I’m worried about you, Donna. You’re doing too much. Just because you weren’t
shot doesn’t mean you don’t need rest, too.”
“I’m okay, Anna. I rest better here with Josh than I would if I were home and
wondering about how he was doing.” Donna smiled. “Go ahead. I’ll see you in the
morning.” Anna gave Donna a hug.
“I thank God every day that Joshua has you in his life.” Anna admitted softly. Her
sincere words brought tears to Donna’s eyes.
“And I thank God he’s in mine.” Donna replied. “Go get some sleep.”
Josh continued sleeping for another couple hours, though it appeared restless.
When the nurse came in to take his vitals, she frowned and that was enough to alarm
Donna.
“Is something wrong?”
“He seems to be running a little fever.” The nurse replied. “Has he complained about
not feeling well?”
“He’s been sleeping since I got here.” Donna answered. “Is it serious?”
“He’s a cardiac patient, so we take everything seriously.” The nurse told her.
“So, you’ll give him something for that? Tylenol or something?”
“Not at this point. I don’t want to mask the symptom if it’s a sign of infection. We’ll take
his temp again in an hour and see where we’re at. His other vitals are fine.”
“All my vitals are fine.” The patient himself spoke up.
“Josh? Are you feeling okay?” Donna asked with concern.
“No, I ache all over. That sadistic chick from PT tortured me for an hour this
afternoon. Did you bring the Illinois numbers?”
Donna blinked. Hadn’t they covered this already? “No, Leo’s taking care of it,
remember?”
Now Josh blinked. “Oh…yeah.” But Donna wasn’t convinced he was telling the truth.
“Toby’s coming by in the morning.” Donna offered when the nurse left them alone.
“Doesn’t matter.” Josh complained. Donna ran her head across his forehead. He did
feel a little warm.
“Doesn’t matter? You’ve been complaining for the last three days that no one has
been here to see you.”
“He won’t bring me anything to work on or look at. Looks like you’ll get your wish
Donna. They’ll have someone else moved into my office by the mid-term elections.”
“Stop it.” Donna had heard this before too. “No one is forcing you out of a job.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me about the promotion? Why did Leo have to tell me?”
“He asked me to let him talk to you about it. For some reason, he was concerned that
it might upset you.”
“It does upset me. He’s moving you out of operations to make it easier to move
someone else in.”
“He is NOT.” Donna repeated. “It’s a paperwork thing. Now I get my reviews through
him. I’d think you’d be relieved not to have to hear about my need for a raise
anymore.” She tried humor.
“I’m not.”
“I can see that.” Donna commented. “Do you want me to read you some of the Post?”
“Mom did already.”
“We could turn on C-SPAN and mock House members…”
When Josh showed no enthusiasm for that option, she felt his forehead again and
Josh pulled away from her.
“I have a nurse, you don’t need to take my temperature.”
“I don’t know what to do to help you.” Donna finally gave up.
“Me either.” Josh acknowledged. “I’m sorry. I’m having a really bad day.”
“Nobody is trying to push you out of your job. Everyone just wants you healthy
enough that you can go back to it.”
“Even you?” he asked doubtfully.
“If that’s what you want.” She agreed.
“I want to feel useful again; valuable.” He looked at her as he said the last word and
knew she was thinking about the time she desperately needed to be valuable.
“You’re valuable to me.” she told him. “And you’re valuable to everyone at the White
House, too. They just don’t want to put too much pressure on you and they’re
spending a ton of hours trying to stay on top of all the things you usually stay on top
of. I doubt you’ll be hearing any of them belittle your job anymore.”
“There’s that.” Josh noted, but he was falling asleep again. He hadn’t slept this much
since he got out of surgery. When the nurse came back for another temperature
reading, it had gone up another 1.4 degrees.
“Time to run some blood tests and page the doctor.” She announced. Donna was
tempted to call Anna, but she really didn’t know anything yet. She decided to let Anna
sleep until something definitive was known. Donna could worry enough for the both of
them.
Josh complained about the needle stick and turned green when he saw the blood.
Donna finally turned his head toward her to avoid looking at the procedure.
“Look at me, Joshua. Don’t even think about anything else.” She directed.
“I love you, Donna.” Josh whispered. “I’m sorry I’ve been such an ass today.”
Now Donna was really worried. Josh never apologized so much in one day before
and his eyes were glazed.
“I love you, too.” Donna replied. “Can you sleep some more?” Josh nodded and
immediately complied. Something was very wrong.
“I’ll take this to the lab and as soon as we have some results the Doctor on call will be
in to see you.” The nurse explained.
Donna sat next to Josh, still holding his hand, and waited.
Chapter 8
“I don’t understand. Are you saying it isn’t serious, or that it is serious?” Donna,
operating on little sleep, and lots of stress, grasped for some clarification.
“Any infection in a cardiac patient is taken very seriously, but it appears that we
caught this in the early stages. The antibiotic injection should stop it in it’s tracks. By
morning, we’ll have a good idea how the medication is working.” Dr. Eaton replied.
‘It appears…it should stop…’ Donna thought politicians had nothing on Doctors.
“What about something for the fever?” Donna asked.
“A fever is the body’s natural way to fight infection-“
“And it also makes him uncomfortable or unconscious.” Donna interrupted. She’d
heard the fever pep talk from the first Doctor who’d stopped by.
“It helps us gauge how well the medication is working and sleep isn’t necessarily a
bad thing right now.” Dr. Eaton continued. “I ran this by Dr. Bartlet and she agreed
with this course of treatment if that helps.”
The truth was that it did. “Okay, then.” Donna conceded.
“A cool washcloth will make him more comfortable when he’s awake.” Dr. Eaton
suggested. “Some juice or water will help keep him hydrated. I don’t want to start an
IV again unless we have to. It’s just one more place for an infection to take up
residence. I’ll be back in a few hours to check on him. If anything concerns you in the
meantime, have one of the nurses page me.”
Donna thanked the Doctor, thinking there was nothing better for getting excellent
medical care than having the First Lady of the United States consulting on your case.
***********************************
Donna was startled awake when Toby’s hand gently shook her shoulder. It had been
a long night with Josh feverish and sleeping restlessly, but by 4 am it looked like the
fever was breaking. Donna had decided at that point, that she would just rest her
head on Josh’s bed for a minute. That was the last thing she remembered before
now. A quick glance at the clock showed that it was 7:30 now.
Donna shot an anxious glance at Josh and saw that he was resting peacefully; his
face not as flushed as it had been during the night and she let out a long exhale.
“I hear it was a rough night?” Toby asked.
“He developed an infection, but it looked like his fever was coming down when they
were in last time.” Donna stood up and stretched. “You’re here early.”
“What better way to start they day than here at G.W.?” Toby shot back.
Toby’s voice roused Josh enough for him to see he had company.
“Toby…” he smiled. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to tell you to quit faking sick and get back to work. I’m tired of covering for
your sorry ass.”
“Somebody better cover yours. What were you thinking with that press release?”
Josh asked. “You two shouldn’t have done that.”
“It was simply a matter of principle. Sam wrote it and I put my name on it so he wouldn’
t get fired.” Toby maintained.
“Uh-huh.” Josh managed. “I especially liked the quote from Psalms about
forgiveness. When did you get so well versed in the Bible?”
“Kush meer in toches. Psalms is in the Tanakh.” Toby chided him.
“Excuse me?” Donna felt a little excluded in the conversation.
“Toby’s too scared to tell me to ‘kiss my ass’ in front of you unless it’s in Yiddish. The
Tanakh is the Hebrew Bible; the Old Testament.”
“That’s right we share that book, don’t we; Jews and Christians?” Donna looked up at
Toby.
“Already she knows more about Judaism than you.” Toby mocked him.
“Hey, I knew you said ‘kiss my ass’.” Josh tried to sit up more and immediately Donna
leaned in to help him.
“That’s knowledge about Yiddish, not Judaism.” Toby argued.
“Fair point.” Josh replied. “Tell me you brought something from work; a briefing book,
a memo, a phone message?”
“You’re not allowed to do work when you’re running a fever. You have enough
trouble when you have all your faculties.” Toby responded. He was more than a little
concerned about the appearance of both his friends. They looked very tired and very
depressed.
“Don’t mess with me, Toby. Donna told me you guys can’t function without me.”
“I deny any such statement. Don’t you have an 8 O’clock with Leo?” Toby asked
Donna.
“Oh my God.” Donna muttered. “Will you stay with him until Anna gets here?”
“I don’t need a sitter.” Josh noted.
“That’s debatable.” Toby replied. “Yes, I’ll stay. I’m clear until 9:00.”
“Keep sipping the juice.” Donna felt his forehead and was relieved to find it was
cooler than it had been during the night. “I’ll see you later.” What had started out as
a dare had quickly become routine, so Donna didn’t even think twice before planting
a kiss on Josh’s lips before she left.
Josh noted the expression on Toby’s face. “You look pretty serious for this hour of
the morning, Toby.”
“C.J.’s getting some questions in the room.” He began. “Questions about Donna.”
“Do they think we’re carrying on some sort of affair in the cardiac unit of G.W.?”
“No, and I think that’s all that’s saving this from becoming a major story; public
sympathy for you and the fact that you’re under close scrutiny from staff here.” Toby
took a breath. “A couple staff made comments about Donna’s level of…devotion, was
the word I think they used. I can’t understand it myself but-“
“Yeah…” Josh laid his head back against the pillow.
“We can blow off the daytime visits easily enough, but she shouldn’t stay here
overnight anymore.”
“I’ll tell her to go, but she won’t. If I tell her why, she’ll just march down to the press
camped outside and make it an even bigger story.”
“I can ask C.J. to talk with her.” Toby offered.
“No. I’ll deal with it when she comes back this afternoon.” Josh sighed.
“On a lighter note, Mary Marsh has shut up for the moment.” Toby noted.
“No one is going to take her calls while the President is at 81%.” Josh mused. “It’s
when the bubble bursts that we’ll need to watch our backs. I used to think I was her
favorite, but now I think it’s you.”
“Always a competition with you.” Toby replied. “I’d think this is one competition you’d
be happy to lose.”
“I live for the fight.” Josh smirked but Toby could see it was missing some of its’ usual
spark. Once Donna had left, Josh had dropped the pretense of feeling okay. “Can
you please throw me a bone? Bring me something from work to look at?”
“I’ll send something back with Donna today.” Toby promised and Josh accepted his
word. “Erickson is making a floor speech this morning. Should I turn on C-SPAN?”
Toby mentioned one of the Congressman Josh loved to make fun of.
“I don’t know. It hurts to laugh.” Josh replied, but he turned the remote control on
anyway. Entertainment was entertainment and he needed something to distract him
from the conversation he was going to have with Donna later.
********************************************
“Donna?”
“Good morning, Ma’am.” Donna stood up from behind Josh’s desk to greet the First
Lady.
“Sit down before you fall down, Donna.” Abby ordered and Donna immediately
complied. “Dr. Eaton said Josh’s fever is down this morning.”
“Yes, Ma’am, I think it is. He had a bad night, though.”
Which meant Donna had a bad night, too, Abby imagined. “He’s going to have some
of those, Donna. Are they still talking about releasing him at the end of the week?”
“They haven’t mentioned any change in plans, but I’m guessing that depends how
this infection progresses.”
“Post-op infections aren’t unusual with patients like Josh. His immunity is down and
his whole body is working overtime to recover. If the antibiotics are kicking in already
that’s a good sign.”
“That’s good to know, Ma’am.”
“Are you getting any sleep, Donna?”
“Not much last night.” She admitted.
“Do I need to walk down the hall and talk to Leo?” Abby threatened.
“No, Ma’am. Now that Josh is out of the woods I’m sure more sleep is on the horizon.”
“I’ll take your word for it for now, Donna, but I’m keeping an eye on you.” Abby told
her before she left.
“Great…” Donna muttered to herself while she went back to the job at hand.
*****************************************
“Is his fever gone?” Anna asked the nurse worriedly.
“Down but not gone yet.” The nurse replied.
“I’ll take down for now.” Anna muttered.
“And your alternative would be?” Josh asked amused.
“Getting ice from the ice machine down the hall and dumping it on you.” Anna
answered without missing a beat.
“Ah-kay.” Josh wisely shut up and turned the channel. CNBC was reporting on the
arraignment of the lone man that had been arrested in connection with the
assassination attempt and Josh sat transfixed watching the proceedings.
“Turn it off, Joshua.” His mother warned.
“I can’t understand it. I…can’t get my head around it. What makes a person hate like
that? I despise most Republicans, you know I do, but I could never conceive…”
“I know.” Anna confirmed sadly
“And the most incomprehensible part? They did it because the Bible tells them they
should.”
“It most certainly does not.” Anna replied heatedly.
“No, it does not, but they think it does, Mom. They honestly and truly believe it does.
How can people twist words of love, compassion, and forgiveness into hate?” Josh
shook his head. “I just don’t understand.”
“Faith can be twisted into something ugly, but it can also be a source of great
strength and comfort.”
“Haven’t you ever questioned your faith, Mom? After losing Joanie? After losing Dad?
After this?”
“Of course I have, Joshua. If you don’t have doubts, you aren’t human. But if you
persevere, if you continue on your path with God in spite of your doubts, it leads to
greater faith.”
“I believe in God.”
“I know that.”
“I just don’t like him very much sometimes. I don’t understand how he works.” Josh
admitted and Anna laughed.
“You’re not supposed to Josh. Sometimes I think your father and I did you a great
disservice by convincing you that you were brilliant enough to do anything and
understand everything. I hate to burst your bubble, darling, but God is beyond your
ability to comprehend and even if you ignore him, that doesn’t mean you’re in control
and he isn’t.”
“Well, damn…why didn’t you tell me that before?” he joked.
“I thought you’d figure it out for yourself.” Anna replied in the same vein.
Josh sobered. “Toby made a joke today; about Donna knowing more about Judaism
than I do. He’s probably right. I should change that.” He noted. “Does it bother you
that Donna isn’t Jewish?”
“Josh, I adore Donna. As a mother, all you hope for is that your child will find
someone who loves your child as much as you do. Donna certainly falls into that
description.”
“You think?” he asked lightly, but Anna could hear the seriousness behind the
question.
“I know. I watched her watch you through surgery. I’ve seen her take better care of
you than she has of herself this last week. It radiates off you both in waves. Just
promise me my grandchildren will know about their heritage and I’ll be very happy.”
“I promise.” Josh said solemnly. “I love you, mom.”
********************************************
Chapter 9
By the time Donna got back to the hospital, she was wiped. She’d had a knock down
drag out with Toby in front of Leo about bringing work to Josh. Both men felt he
would only improve with something to concentrate on while Donna just wanted him to
recover without any more pressure.
Détente was reached with the help of the First Lady who deemed Josh well enough to
do some reading and analysis for them, but he wasn’t to be making or receiving calls
from any members of Congress. If his blood pressure started climbing or he had
other adverse effects from the added workload, it would be completely cut off.
She hauled Josh’s packpack, filled with heavy papers, up to the 6th floor that housed
the cardiac care unit and opened the door to Josh’s room. She halted in her tracks
when she spotted Matt Skinner sitting back in the visitor’s chair, his feet on Josh’s
bed.
“Congressman, I didn’t know you were coming today.”
“I had some free time and decided to stop and see how our resident hero was
recovering.” Matt said jerking his thumb at Josh.
“Our resident hero developed a fever and an infection overnight and he shouldn’t be
taking visitors.” Donna glared at Josh. “Where’s your mom?”
“She went to get me some decent soup.” Josh responded. “And can I just say that I
didn’t know Matt was stopping by?”
“What’s the big deal about me stopping by?” Matt asked curiously.
“You obviously haven’t received a copy of the rules.” Josh muttered.
“What rules?” Matt asked.
“I didn’t distribute any copies to Republicans; who would guess that any of them
would even WANT to talk or visit with you?” Donna came back.
“The rules that Dr. Moss compiled to save me from myself.” Josh muttered again.
“Well, you can use all the help you can get.” Matt replied.
“Nice.” Josh shot back, then he spotted his backpack. “Hey, did you bring me work?”
“I brought some things for you to look at, but if you get all worked up about any of it, I’
m tossing it out the window.”
“I don’t have a window.” Josh shot back.
“I’ll find one. Promise me that you won’t get worked up about it.” Donna stated.
“I can’t promise you that, Donna, I don’t even know what’s in the bag?”
“Promise me, Joshua…or I’ll give it to the Congressman to look over.”
“You are just being mean.” Josh said in a low voice.
“I’m sleep deprived. Promise?”
“I promise.” He said solemnly and his fingers literally itched while Donna opened his
backpack.
“You can start with the candidates the D triple C wants to back with White House
clout.” Donna announced and handed him the relevant papers.
“Not in front of the Republican.” Josh protested.
“The Republican has to go anyway.” Matt told him. “Some of us have to go to our
offices. Take care of him, Donna.” Matt squeezed her hand as he walked by. Josh
dove into the papers like they were a cool stream on a 90 degree day. He was so
immersed in them that he didn’t pay attention to Donna. Donna took advantage of his
lack of attention by sitting in the chair Matt had just vacated and put her feet up on
the bed as he had. Within minutes she was sound asleep.
“Donna?” Anna hesitantly woke her. “It’s supper time. Would you like some of the
soup and sandwiches I brought back?” Anna hated to wake her, but she didn’t want
her to sleep now and be wakeful later.
“Oh…sure. That would be nice.” Donna looked over at Josh and saw he had access
to his backpack, right next to him on the bed. He had a highlighter in his left hand,
and was scribbling notes with his right hand. “Do you need me to make cards for
you?”
“Nah. I’m just jotting a couple things down for Toby and Leo.” He replied looking over
at her. “You look beat. Go home and get some sleep for a change.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re really not.” Josh countered.
“I really am, and you still need to have someone stay with you at night.”
“Yeah, they’re called a medical staff. Go home and sleep.”
“I mean someone who stays in your room and just looks out for you. What if your
fever spikes again?”
“The nurse who comes in here every hour will catch it. Besides, I have someone
coming to stay with me; Sam.” Donna blinked and Anna looked up from where she
was dispensing the carton of soup into small bowls for each of them.
“Sam is coming to stay with you tonight?” Donna asked.
“He said he felt bad he hadn’t had a chance to stop by lately, but the only time he
had free was the evening. Then he mentioned how tired you’d been looking and
offered to stay overnight.” Josh smiled.
“Well…that’s nice.” Donna noted.
“He’s a good friend. I have lots of good friends.” Josh added and focused on his
papers again.
“Have some soup Joshua.” His mother ordered and even though she didn’t say it out
loud, Josh could hear her thoughts as clear as day. ‘Put some soup in your mouth
instead of your foot.’ He ignored her words; both spoken and unspoken, and
continued to write notes.
“So I’m just dismissed?” Donna asked.
“Not dismissed. Sent home. You need to go home for awhile.” Josh told her.
“Uh-huh. And then when Sam isn’t available tomorrow night, I’m to resume my normal
nighttime schedule?” Josh sensed a trap in there somewhere, but couldn’t make out
where.
“Nooooo. C.J.’s going to cover tomorrow night, Toby the next night, and then
hopefully I get to break out of this prison.” Josh answered carefully.
“But I want to stay the nights.” Donna said quietly.
“I know, and I appreciate it, I really do, but you need a break. You’ve been taking on
so much between covering for me at work and taking care of me here. You need
some down time. Go home; take one of those bubble baths you love so much. Get
some sleep before you fall to pieces.”
“Fall to pieces?” Donna returned, her tone strident. “I’m not falling to pieces. I’ve got
it all together, mister, and that’s more than you can say at the moment.”
“Donna, I just meant-“
“That I’m overloaded? That I look like hell? Thanks, but I’ve already heard it from
every quarter.”
“Then maybe it would be to your advantage to listen to the people around you, go
home, and get some God-damned rest!” Josh shouted and immediately regretted it
when he saw her face.
Anna shook her head. “Donna, have some soup, honey, before you go home.”
“No thanks, I’m not hungry anymore.” Donna said quietly. “And I’m not that tired.
Since you don’t seem to need me here, I’ll just go back to the office.”
“You will not go back to the office. You will go home and get some sleep.” Josh said
in a more even tone.
“I answer to Leo now, so I’ll go home when HE tells me to go home. Bye Anna.”
Donna grabbed her purse and fled.
“What?” Josh asked when his mother continued to glare at him.
“You are such an idiot.” Was the summary of her position.
***********************************************
“Donna, have you seen Sam?” C.J. asked her.
“Not for awhile. He might have left for the hospital already.” Donna added.
“Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.” C.J. turned to look at Donna. “Hey, you don’t look so
good.”
“Thanks. I appreciate the pep talk.” Donna replied.
“Maybe there’s more than one reason for you to be relieved of night duty. Maybe
now you can get some sleep.” C.J. commented and started to walk away but Donna
stopped her.
“What do you mean more than one reason?” Donna persisted.
“I just meant that on top of cutting off the tabloid press at the knees about you and
Josh, this has the added advantage of letting you get some well deserved rest.”
“The tabloid press?” Donna repeated.
“You really are exhausted, aren’t you? Do you need a ride home?” C.J. replied.
“The press has been asking about me and Josh?” Donna confirmed and C.J. felt a
sinking feeling in her stomach.
“Yeah…Toby talked to Josh about it this morning. Josh said he’d discuss it with you
this afternoon. I’m gonna take a wild leap her and guess that wasn’t what happened?”
“Not. Quite.” Donna bit out. “Are we in trouble, C.J.?”
“No, I think now that you’re cutting out the overnights, things will be fine. It’s just that
on the heels of all the Mary Marsh/indecent behavior/immoral White House stuff, we
don’t want to give them any more ammunition.”
“Of course not.” Donna agreed and picked up her purse while shutting down her
computer. “And if anyone had bothered to explain that to me, maybe I could have
added my two cents.”
“But Donna, the nights are covered now. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Yes, there is. He’s being discharged in a few days. He’s going home and he can
barely get out of bed by himself. Who’s going to stay with him there?”
“Ummmm…his mom?” C.J. ventured.
“Maybe for awhile. Then what?” Donna shot back. “He has twelve weeks of recovery
ahead of him C.J. with Dr. appointments and physical therapy appointments to keep.
Who’s going to take care of all that? Who’s going to take care of him?”
“Ummmm…you?” C.J. offered.
“Damn right; me.” Donna started to walk out.
“You’re going to go hurt him now, aren’t you?” C.J. asked.
“Don’t worry; he’s in a hospital. I’m sure they have some kind of first aid treatment
there.” Donna threw over her shoulder.
“Shit.” C.J. muttered and picked up the nearest phone to warn Sam about Hurricane
Donna.
*******************************
“Hi, Donna. I bet you’d like a moment alone with Josh.” Sam said as soon as she
entered the room.
“Sit down, you coward, whatever I have to say, I can say it to both of you; it’s all
among friends, right?” Donna said to Sam but kept her gaze on Josh.
“Donna, I think I understand why you’re upset.” He began.
“Oh do you? Good. That’s helpful. Don’t you find that helpful Sam?” Donna asked
rhetorically. “Then I don’t have to waste my breath explaining how much your casual
dismissal of me earlier today, hurt me.”
“I could just go get some coffee or something.” Sam ventured but was ignored by
both parties.
“I knew if I asked you not to stay, you’d ask why, and when I told you why, you’d flip
out over it.”
“You knew that did you?” Donna nodded. “How wonderful for you that I’m so
amazingly predictable.”
“Or I could get some ice cream for all of us. They have several flavors downstairs I
noticed.” Sam tried again.
“Donna, I just didn’t want the fight, okay?” Josh replied tiredly. “I don’t want the fight.”
“Neither do I, Josh.” Donna agreed. “But sometimes that’s what happens in personal
relationships.”
“Yes, that’s been my experience.” Josh noted.
“Are you…having second thoughts about us?” she asked tentatively.
“Seriously, I’m going to go now. I’ll be back, you know, later.” Sam got by Donna this
time and threw his friend a cautious look when he left.
“That’s not what this is about.” Josh said solemnly.
“Because that’s what it seems like this is about.”
“It’s not.” He assured her. “I don’t want you and I to become some cheap story. Mary
Marsh may be silent at the moment, but give her any ammunition…I don’t want you to
get dragged through that.”
That took the wind right out her sails. “And you don’t think if you had told me that this
morning, that I would understand?”
“I guess not.”
“You should have trusted me, Joshua.” Donna said sternly.
“I don’t want you to get hurt, Donna.” Josh said simply. “You think the Right was
coming after me before? Just wait until they get a hint about us.”
“Then we should probably get out in front of it.” Donna noted and Josh smiled.
“That’s kind of like getting in front of a runaway cart.” He told her.
“I think an experienced politician such as yourself ought to be able to figure
something out.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Maybe not, but it seems to me that a President sitting on a 81% approval number
and his Lieutenant, who was almost killed in his service, could use their clout for
something like this.”
“You make it sound like I dove in front of the bullet.” Josh teased.
“It’s called spin, Joshua. I haven’t hung out with C.J. all this time for nothing.” Donna
replied haughtily. “We haven’t done anything wrong. We haven’t done anything at all.
I’m not going to let Mary Marsh and her minions dictate how we live our lives. Are
you?”
‘When you put it that way…” Josh took her hand and tugged her closer to him. “No,
we won’t let her dictate how we live our lives.”
When Sam came back with a variety of ice cream, Josh was talking and Donna was
taking notes.
“I don’t see any blood.” Sam noted.
“No blood.” Josh confirmed. “We’re just making some plans.”
“Plans for what?” Sam asked.
“Plans for answering a few of these press requests.” Donna said. “Josh has decided
he has a few things he wants to share.”
Sam’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? ‘Cause Josh hasn’t done all that well with the
press in the past.”
“Thanks.” Josh replied. “Can you set something up with Danny Concannon for
tomorrow?” he asked Donna.
“I’ll take care of it.” Donna agreed. “Oooh, ice cream. Thanks, Sam. You boys have
fun with your slumber party tonight.”
“Don’t you want to stay for awhile?” Sam asked.
“No way. Can’t you see how tired I am?” Donna teased before she kissed Josh
goodbye. “I’m going home to sleep.”
“Women are very confusing.” Sam noted after she’d left.
Chapter 10
Silver Lining By Danny Concannon (Op-Ed)
In the interest of full disclosure, the reader should be aware that I have been friends
with Josh Lyman for many more years than either of us might care to admit. This
friendship has continued even though I am a reporter and he works as the White
House Deputy Chief of Staff. It even continued after I baited him shamelessly about
his ‘secret plan to fight inflation’, so I’ll admit to a little bias.
However, my personal friendship with Josh Lyman has also given me some insight
into the man who holds the third most powerful position in Government. One of those
insights is that he hates giving interview; about himself anyway. He’ll talk ‘til he’s blue
in the face about the latest policy his President is promoting or a candidate that he
feels is emblematic of the problems in the District. But talk about himself? Not likely.
So you have to imagine my shock when White House Assistant Donna Moss called
me to arrange an interview with him on the day he was being released from the
hospital.
When I met him at his home, he’d barely beaten me there from the hospital, he
appears tired but obviously excited to be home for the first time since the shooting at
Rosslyn. He’s upbeat when he talks about getting back to work and part of me can’t
help wondering why anyone that has been through what he has would ever want to
go back to the White House. He answers that with a quick grin. “I have to get back.
The place can’t run without me.” Senior Assistant Donna Moss rolls her eyes at his
humor.
When I ask him how he’s feeling, his confident grin falters a bit. “I’ve been fighting off
an infection the last few days and physical therapy sucks, but I walked into my place
by myself today, so that’s pretty exciting.” This answer is very typical of Lyman. He
manages to see some silver lining despite his personal tragedies. He lost his sister
Joanie, at the young age of eight, to a house fire; barely escaping with his own life.
He lost his father to a Pulmonary Embolism while he was fighting to bring Jed Bartlet
to the Democratic nomination. Now, because he was standing in the wrong place at
the wrong time, he has 12 long weeks of recovery ahead of him and that’s not the
end of it.
Josh Lyman will have a lifetime of complications; heart problems, blood pressure
issues, and chronic pain. Yet, when we talked about these issues, he’s very
pragmatic about it. “You can’t go through something like this without re-evaluating
the priorities in your life.” He tells me. “Yeah, I’m going to have to watch my health a
little more closely. Yeah, I’ll probably be on blood pressure medication the rest of my
life. There are lots of people who have to deal with a lot more than I do. I have a job
that I love, I’m surrounded by friends and family, and I am out of the hospital! I have a
home that’s paid for, health insurance that will ensure I get the medicine and
treatment that I need, and paid medical leave. Starting 12 weeks from now, I’ll be
back at my desk working to make sure every other American has those opportunities.”
He won’t do it alone, of course. The President and the White House staff form a
cohesive team that pulls on the oars together, but Josh Lyman’s biggest critic and
cheerleader is Senior Assistant Donna Moss. They started working together in
Nashua, New Hampshire during then Governor Bartlet’s Presidential campaign. They
instantly clicked and have proven to be a formidable team. After Rosslyn, however,
they discovered something else.
Josh Lyman described for me, in great detail, the thoughts that had been running
through his head while he lay bleeding on the sidewalk outside the Newseum. At one
point, when he was sure the ambulance would never get there in time, he realized the
one person he wanted with him more than anyone else was Donnatella Moss. When
he woke up in the hospital after 14 hours of surgery, she was the first person he
asked for. When he was finally able to talk with her, he found that she had had
similar thoughts while she was waiting out those long hours in the surgical
observation room.
Donna Moss now works under the purview of the White House Chief of Staff.
However, Donna Moss and Josh Lyman will continue to work together when he
returns to the White House; the Senior staff and their assistants all work very closely
together. Until he returns to his office, she is splitting her time between helping to run
Lyman’s office during his absence and helping Josh with his recovery.
There have been, of course, numerous columns written about the events at Rosslyn
and I’m sure that there will plenty more to come. What was the motivation behind the
shooting? Were there others involved? Why that night? Why that event? Why Josh
Lyman? All of these questions are philosophical at best and academic at worst. Josh
Lyman doesn’t know if he believes that everything happens for a reason, and he
sure would have liked to forego the events of the last week and their repercussions,
but he does see a silver lining in all of this.
“Professionally, I see this as a way to open up a dialogue about the racial issues our
country faces. Obviously, we are nowhere near where we should be as a nation and I
think there are things we can do as an Administration to help facilitate that growth.”
He pauses then and for the first time during our visit I see a little of his normal spark.
“Personally, I feel very lucky to have discovered something special that was right in
front of me all along. The politician in me worried that political enemies might try to
use our relationship and turn it into something ugly, but I’m not going to worry about
that anymore. If nothing else, I’ve learned that life is too short for that. Nothing they
can say or do is going to tarnish what I’ve found since I woke up from surgery.”
They, of course, are the very vocal members of the Christian Right who have been
busy beating the war drums over what they maintain is an Anti-Christian White
House. Mary Marsh, one of the leading members, has fought battle after political
battle against Lyman. I have no doubt that she will see this development as another
piece of evidence in her case against the White House. But the funny thing about
evidence is that how it’s interpreted depends on the context it’s in.
Some, Ms. Marsh included, may look at two co-workers who are personally involved
and see nothing but immorality. Others, may look at the same situation and thank
God that Josh Lyman lived through the events at Rosslyn; maybe even envy him a
little for having found something that many of us spend our lives searching for. In that
relationship we see beauty, joy, and love.
Josh Lyman will undoubtedly have some difficulties ahead of him; personally,
professionally, and medically. But now he has a partner to help him face and
overcome those difficulties. Maybe that’s his silver lining.
**************************************
“You wanted to see me?”
“Yeah, shut the door, will you?” C.J. requested and Danny complied.
“Look, I know you would have preferred a heads up on the op-ed, but that was one of
Josh’s conditions.” Danny defended himself.
“I know. He told me.” C.J. admitted and got up to walk around her desk. “I wanted to
say thanks for how deftly you handled the piece. It will go a long way in silencing
critics and it meant a lot to Donna.”
“I’m crazy about Donna.” Danny smiled. “Maybe they’ll get their happy ending now.”
“That would be nice.” C.J. agreed. “I really liked what you wrote at the end; about
being envious of them? It made me feel a little better about my envious feelings. I
thought I was alone in that.”
“You’re not.” Danny assured her and moved a step closer.
“It’s just that there seems to be so many obstacles so much of the time.”
“Yeah, but you know what? Something Josh said really struck home with me. He said
that when he waiting for that ambulance, all he could think about was how stupid and
insignificant all those perceived ‘obstacles’ really were.”
“Josh Lyman, romantic philosopher. Who’d have ever thought it?”
“I think near death experiences do that to you. If you’re very lucky, you can learn
from other people’s near death experience and not have to go through it yourself.”
“You think so?” C.J. asked seriously.
“I do.” Danny confirmed. “Maybe we could discuss it further over dinner?”
“I think that would be nice.” C.J. agreed. “You’re a hell of a writer, Danny. Thanks for
being so good to my friends.” She kissed him on the cheek before heading out the
door for her afternoon briefing.
************************************
“I’m bored, Donna.” Josh announced.
“Why don’t you call Sam?” she suggested
“Sam’s still pissed at me.” Josh stated.
“What did you do?” Donna asked.
“What makes you think I did something?”
“Experience.”
“Well…okay, but I don’t think that was very nice.” Josh complained. “I sided with Leo
about pulling support for the friend of his he recruited to run.”
“Ouch.” Donna grimaced. “That had to be a hard conversation for him.”
“We couldn’t support him anymore, Donna. It would have seriously affected black
turnout all over if the White House even tacitly supported someone alleged to be
engaged in racist practices.”
“Was he involved in racist practices?”
“Doesn’t matter anymore. The perception is that he did. And public perception-“
“Is political reality. You’ve told me.” Donna came to sit on the arm of his living room
chair. She leaned down and kissed his head. “I really don’t think Sam’s pissed at
you.. He’s just stuck in a bad position right now.”
Josh took advantage of her proximity to pull her down into his lap. He ran his hands
up and down on her back when she tucked her head under his chin. Eventually, he
tipped her chin up to his and kissed her. She sighed softly. The past few weeks had
been filled with ups and downs. While she was enjoying this new intimacy with Josh,
the fact that it couldn’t go anywhere had caused no end to the frustration on both
their parts. She knew she should stop this now, before things progressed any further,
but she just couldn’t.
Josh, sensing her capitulation, moved his hands under her shirt to stroke her warm
skin. When he moaned, she melted even further into the kiss.
He had just begun to work the buttons on her shirt, when she pulled back.
“That’s…not a good idea.” She moved to get off his lap.
“Donna…” Josh whined.
“We’ve covered this before, Joshua. Nothing is happening until you are cleared by
your Doctor.”
“That’s not for another week and I feel fine.”
“As soon as you show me your medical degree, we’ll be all set.” Donna countered.
“Donna, I only want to hold you.”
“That’s not the only thing you want.”
“Okay, it’s not. But there are other activities we can enjoy without making love.”
“Oh really?”
“Really. I can pull out the sex ed report we commissioned. There were a lot of
detailed instructions as I recall.”
“You are too much.” Donna accused but she noted that he was stalking her around
the apartment now and he wasn’t showing the exhaustion that he usually experienced
after physical therapy. These were all very good signs; maybe he was well
enough…No, she would never forgive herself if anything happened to him. She could
wait for one more week; they both could.
At the entrance to his kitchen, she let him catch her and rewarded his effort with
another kiss.
“You’re moving pretty good there, Mr. Lyman.” She noted.
“You have no idea how I can move, Donnatella, but I’ll be happy to show you.” He
teased and again attacked her buttons. “Let me show you, Donnatella.” He coaxed.
She let him unbutton her shirt and unhook her bra because she so desperately
wanted his hands on her. His mouth was doing incredible things on hers and she felt
herself floating along with him when his buzzer sounded.
“Josh? It’s the door.”
“Who the hell cares?” he murmured as he continued to kiss his way across the flesh
he had uncovered.
“Josh!” Donna laughed and ducked to escape his hold and grab her shirt.
“What?!” Josh nearly shouted into the intercom.
“We’ve come bearing pizza and poker chips.” It was Sam at the door and Josh hit his
head against the wall. “Josh?”
“I’m pretty tired tonight, Sam. Maybe I can take a raincheck?” Josh asked.
“Joshua.” Donna admonished him as she reached past him to buzz his friends in. She
was completely dressed by the time they reached his front door and Josh opened it
to admit Sam, Toby, Mike Casper, Matt Skinner and Chris Wick.
“What a surprise.” Josh noted unenthusiastically. “Did you at least bring some beer?”
Sam held up a 6 pack. “One each.”
Josh sent a scathing look at Donna. “One beer?”
“You haven’t had alcohol for 7 weeks Josh, and you had a sensitive system to begin
with.” She argued, but saw she was getting nowhere with it. “You can have as much
pizza as you want.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Come on, Josh.” Mike cajoled. “Let’s play some poker and have our beer.”
“Fine.” He took a seat at the table while Donna got plates for everyone.
She watched the group of friends play from her perch on the living room couch. It
made her heart lighter to watch them bitch at and tease one another just like old
times. After a couple hours she could see Josh’s energy draining. His head actually
bobbed a time or two. After sending Sam a previously agreed upon signal, he got up
to leave.
“I am wiped and I have an early meeting tomorrow. Who wants a ride home?” he
asked the group at large. They all packed up and were out the door within minutes.
The fact that Josh hadn’t protested their departure told Donna he knew he was very
tired.
“You arranged that, didn’t you?” he accused.
“You needed some time with your friends.” She explained. “Now you need some
sleep.”
“Fine. Then come and lay down with me.” he coaxed. Donna reluctantly followed him
into his bedroom. On the one hand she thought they were playing with fire sharing a
bed, but on the other hand she could justify sharing a bed because he sometimes
needed her help during the night. Well, not physical help anymore, but his
nightmares were concerning her. The Doctor had assured her that experiencing
nightmares was not an unusual side effect of having survived a trauma, but they
seemed to be getting worse and more frequent.
This night, however, passed peacefully enough, and she woke in Josh’s arms rested
and relaxed, to find him watching her.
“What?” she asked sleepily.
“Nothing.” He answered. “I just like watching you.”
“Okay…” she closed her eyes and cuddled closer to him. “What time is it?”
“Just after 6.” He responded stroking her arm gently. “Blow off work today. We’ll have
a long weekend. Take a trip.”
“A trip, huh?” Donna smiled. This conversation was coming up more and more often.
Josh would suggest skipping work in favor of something else and the suggestions
were becoming more and more outrageous. She couldn’t wait to hear this one.
“Where to? Italy? France?....I know, Hawaii…”
“Those are tough to work our for a weekend trip. I was thinking Vegas.”
“Vegas?” Donna chuckled. “You have a yen for more gambling and some showgirls?”
“I have a yen to marry you, and Vegas seems to be a popular destination for that.”
Donna stopped chuckling abruptly. “I’m sorry, did you say you want to marry me?”
“I did.” Josh replied somberly.
“Is this about Mary’s media madness?” Donna pushed. Mary had picked up where
she’d left off shortly after Danny’s op-ed. She was careful not to mention Josh and
Donna by name, but she referenced their situation and no one was in any doubt as
to who she was referring to. She was now implying that Josh and Donna’s personal
relationship was not as new as they would have everyone believe. She noted all the
travel they did together and the hotel rooms paid for by taxpayers that they stayed in.
She neglected to mention that they stayed in separate hotel rooms, a fact that C.J.
was quick to point out at her briefing. Mary wasn’t a major problem, but she was a
distraction to be sure. “Is it?”
“I thought we agreed that we weren’t going to let that woman ( he wasn’t speaking her
name anymore) dictate how we live or the choices we make.”
“And yet it seems that we are.” Donna noted.
“Marrying you couldn’t be my idea? Couldn’t be because I don’t want to wait any
longer to marry you? Have a family with you?”
“Is it?”
“It most certainly is.” Josh assured her. “People are going to say what they’re going
to say; getting married now isn’t going to stop them. This is about us. What do you
say, Donnatella?”
“I am NOT getting married in Vegas.” She stated and Josh’s mouth twitched.
“Does that mean you’re open to getting married somewhere else?” He clarified.
“It means, that should someone ask me to marry them, I would give him serious
consideration, explore my options, and make a decision at that time.”
“You’ve been hanging with the politicians too long, woman.” Josh complained.
“And I’m spending more time with them yet today. I need to take a shower.” Donna
announced. “Don’t forget you have a conference call at 9:30.”
“So Vegas is out for the weekend then?” he called as she started the shower.
“I’m afraid so.” She called back. “But I can bring home some dinner from Vito’s.”
Josh was tired of take out at his kitchen table. At first, he’d relished the privacy he
and Donna had when he was released from the hospital. They were in their own little
bubble once his mother returned home, and although he had still been struggling
physically, emotionally the solitary peace was perfect. The last week or so, though,
he’d been getting increasingly restless. He supposed that was a sign he was getting
better; but right now, it was just depressing him.
The mid-terms were a little over one week away and it was killing him that he wasn’t
actively involved in it. Yes, he was taking conference calls, and Donna was bringing
more and more work home for him to look at, but he still felt cut off. Something had to
give.
He’d kept his word to his mother and was taking time to explore his faith and his
personal beliefs. He’d become nearly obsessed with the Theory of Everything; at
least that was Donna’s opinion. But part of him was still searching for the answers
Danny had posed in his article all those weeks ago. Why?