9.
JOSH’S POV
Cardinal Rule: Never assume that a secret kept at the White House will
stay that way. Okay. Maybe that one falls more under the Murphy’s Law
column.
California…well, it was a disaster. Plain and simple. We’re back in DC
now, sans Toby, who is staying out with Sam for a few weeks. Not that
Toby can do anything to save that campaign that I couldn’t, but at least
Toby will make Sam sound good on his way down.
Donna doesn’t look any better than she did in California, but now most
of the staff is paranoid that she’s carrying some form of the bubonic
plague. NO ONE wants a piece of this “flu.” She’s given a very wide
berth wherever she goes, Ainsley and I are the only ones who will eat
with her in the mess, and Ginger got a flu shot. That just might be my
favorite one.
I thought I was winning the battle of getting Donna to take a couple of
days off, but then I got that freaking fax from Amy. Now, I have to pry
Donna out of here at the end of the day. I think it’s a cross of Donna
being afraid Amy is chasing me again with the fact that she doesn’t want
to appear weak in front of Amy.
I will concede the Amy chasing me again fear. Amy constantly finds
reasons to come to my office, but I’m really good about delegating her
and directing her to the appropriate channels.
What’s just plain crap is Donna afraid to appear weak in front of Amy.
What Donna feels at any given moment on any given day is simply
astounding. She’s not throwing up, but she doesn’t have an appetite,
she’s exhausted, she gets headaches, she gets the shakes from not
eating enough. Yet, she gets up and comes to work.
Today she’s very sluggish though. She’s just not into it today. It’s
literally painful to watch her go through this. The day’s just about done,
and Donna’s about to find out she’s not coming in tomorrow. I’m about
to keep her out of work for the next few days to rest. I went down to
human resources and made it mandatory. To say she’s going to be
pissed is an understatement. Donna handles me, I do not handle Donna.
Except now I do.
This illness or complication, however you want to term it, scares the
ever living hell out of me. I absolutely do not feel like this is under
control and I really think it’s going to kill one or both of them soon. At
which point, I hope it somehow takes me with it.
The problem with Sam being in California is I’m left here with Will and
CJ. I’m currently trying to harangue some stray votes back to our side
on a stimulus package. Will’s too green and CJ’s a crappy politician.
She is. She can spin the hell out of anything and she’s unparalleled on
media issues, and, of course, she knows a lot about politics obviously.
But she sucks at playing the Capitol Hill game. She can’t make the deals
and threats that me, Toby or even Sam can. They just don’t take her
seriously enough. And so, we’re in her office now, and I’m doing most of
the work. Will’s in here “learning” and CJ, God love her, is trying, but
like I said, she’s just not good at it.
Donna comes in and hands me the latest whip count. She’s so pale I
can almost see through her.
Like every day since the day I met her, I can sense her presence. I’m so
accustomed to her orbiting me that I don’t break my attention from the
congressman I’m currently arguing with. I mean how hard is it? You’re a
democrat, you vote with the leader of your party. What’s this shithead
missing?
“Donna,” CJ says, covering the mouthpiece of her phone receiver.
“Could you ask Carol to bring me a briefing memo on the stimulus
package? I think I need a refresher.”
Yeah. I don’t think we’re going to put this one in the win column.
My back is to Donna, and I’m facing CJ’s desk on the phone.
“Donna?” CJ asks again.
“Hey, Donna, are you okay?” Will asks.
“Josh!” CJ shouts, and I turn just in time to catch Donna before she hits
the ground.
“Carol! Call the First Lady!” CJ directs.
“No, call 911!” I counter.
“Donna.” I say frantically, trying to maintain my cool and remember
where I am right now. “Donna, wake up.” I’m tapping her face, pinching
her, anything I can think of to stimulate her enough to wake up.
“Donnatella!” I shout louder.
CJ reaches down and takes Donna’s wrist. “I can feel a pulse.” She
says. “What the hell is going on here, Josh?!” CJ demands.
“Will, can you go tell the front desk that an ambulance is coming?” I say
as calmly as I can to Will.
Will takes the hint and shuts the door on the way out. Just before it
closes, I hear him direct Carol not to let anyone but the First Lady or the
Secret Service into the room.
Damn, he picks up quick.
“Donna!” I call out again.
Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.
Abbey busts into CJ’s office as CJ and I move Donna to the couch. She
drops her medical bag down and checks Donna’s pulse, then her
breathing, then pulls open her eyelids.
“Tell me about this, quote unquote, flu, Josh.” Abbey directs pulling out
a blood pressure cuff and a stethoscope. I should have known we were
getting anything past her.
“She’s pregnant.” I finally confess. There’s no way around it in this
situation. “I think she’s 14 weeks now. When she was in the hospital a
few weeks ago, she was diagnosed with hyperemis gravidarum.”
Abbey’s head snaps up to mine.
“What the hell is that?” CJ demands.
“Well, it’s not good.” Abbey says. “It looks like she’s dehydrated.”
“Josh!” CJ shrieks.
“She’s on medication, I forget the name, and it’s held the nausea at bay
but nothing else.
Carol opens the door and admits two paramedics and a Secret Service
agent. They don’t seem the slightest bit phased by the presence of the
First Lady as they go through their quick exam and move Donna to a
stretcher.
Abbey starts issuing orders, including starting an IV and getting Donna
on fluids, and the paramedics follow Abbey’s orders to a T. They
seemed to have missed that big article in the paper that talked about
Abbey voluntarily giving up her medical license.
The paramedics start moving Donna out into the corridor, where it’s the
parting of the Red Sea by the Secret Service. I charge ahead to my
bullpen, grab Donna’s bag and coat and my coat and keys. I hit the
lobby right before they do and head right outside to the ambulance.
“Josh!” CJ says trying to stop me right before I hop into the back of the
ambulance.
“Not now, CJ.” I dismiss. “Do me a favor. Go down and talk to Ainsley.
Tell her what happened and tell her I sent you to her. She knows what’s
going on.”
“Ainsley!?” CJ shrieks.
“Yes.” I say simply as Donna’s loaded in still unconscious next to me. “I’ll
call you.”
I know those seem like terrible words to leave with someone. CJ’s our
friend and all she’s got is that Donna’s pregnant and has some crazy
illness with a name that took me weeks to remember.
Since CJ and Donna are friends, CJ naturally knows Donna isn’t seeing
anyone and hasn’t been for quite some time. CJ is also about to find out
from Ainsley that that little bit of information is simply not true.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
CJ’S POV
Cardinal Rule: Never believe Josh Lyman has a terrible poker face. That’
s just simply wrong.
He’s IN the ambulance with Donna. He’s not following in his car, he’s
actually in it and looking incredibly freaked out.
Looks like one and one got together and made three.
I may not be the best politician, but I’m a pretty damn good press
secretary and I’ll tell you this. I have NO idea how this is going to play
out in the press.
DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF HAS AFFAIR WITH ASSISTANT.
It’ll probably be below the fold. It will definitely be written as a scandal,
but Josh isn’t married and neither is Donna, so it’s not like it has the
potential to be a big explosion.
I’m heading down to Ainsley’s office as fast as I can without all out
sprinting. An ambulance came to the White House, for crying out loud,
and the unconscious senior assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff was
taken away with a very frantic Deputy Chief of Staff at her side.
That’s the kind of thing that the press corps tends to notice.
But that’s, by far, not the worst of it.
My very good friend Donna is quite obviously very sick. My two good
friends are having a baby together and it sounds like things are not
going well.
Did they create quite the mess?
Yes.
Am I the slightest bit surprised they got together?
No. And no one else will be either.
But I am going to have to do another press briefing today and someone
I’m sure will ask me about it.
Ainsley looks surprised by my abrupt entrance.
“Donna just got taken away by ambulance.” I huff, dropping down into a
chair. “Josh told the First Lady she’s pregnant. Then he told me to
come down here and tell you to tell me what you know.”
Ainsley’s eyes go real wide. “Is Donna okay?”
“I don’t think so. She was unconscious and Josh couldn’t wake her up.”
“Oh my.”
“Indeed. Spill. What’s going on with my friends?”
“Um…well, yes, Donna is pregnant.”
“Am I correct in assuming the baby is Josh’s?”
“Yes.”
“How is it you know all this?”
“I was down here in my office one afternoon working and they had come
down arguing. They didn’t know my office got moved, so they thought it
was deserted down here, and I overheard them. They got as far as Josh
reminding Donna that he had just as much say in the baby as she did,
and I came out to tell them I was there. I told them I wouldn’t say
anything, but Josh called me later to tell me everything. He said he’d
rather me have all the information than half a story.”
“So, do you know what’s wrong with her?”
“Yes. It’s a condition known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum. I looked it up
after he told me about it, and it’s pretty much morning sickness gone all
to hell. He told me then that if she didn’t improve, and now I’m assuming
she hasn’t, that she’d be on bed rest. First they tried to change her diet
and give her medication, but it seems that didn’t work.”
“This is all why Josh left Sam’s campaign.” I conclude. It wasn’t a hard
leap to make.
“Yeah.” Ainsley nods. “I feel awful, but I was sworn to secrecy.”
“Of course.” CJ says. “Josh would never let her go through this alone.”
“No. It seems he didn’t want to go to California originally after he found
out, but she somehow forced him to and he came back at Christmas.”
“When the shit then hit the fan.” I nod.
“Pretty much, yes.”
“Thanks, Ainsley.” I smile standing up. “I’ll let you know what happens
when I hear from Josh.”
“I appreciate that, CJ.”
I leave Ainsley’s office and wander back upstairs. I’m going to need to
talk to Leo. It really should be Josh doing this, but Leo’s going to
demand answers. One of this staffers was just rushed to the hospital
and Leo’s never one to take that too well. Not to mention, the First Lady
knows, as well, and I’m not sure whether or not she’d spill the beans to
the President anyway. Probably not, given the situation, but there’s still
the Leo factor, so that doesn’t matter anyway.
I smile a bit as I think of Josh and Donna and the commitment they’ve
just made to each other. Deep down in places I don’t speak from at the
podium, I’ve been rooting for them.
But I can’t help but be saddened by the difficulties they are about to
face.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
JOSH’S POV
“Did I jinx this, Josh?” she whispers from the bed.
“What?” Did she just ask what I think she asked?
“In the beginning, when I didn’t want the baby, do you think I jinx it?”
“No.” I say quickly and sit down next to her on the bed. The look in her
eyes right now is so incredibly heartbreaking. “No, Baby, you didn’t do
anything like that. If anyone’s the jinx here, it’s quite obviously me.”
“Josh.” She groans a little bit and closes her eyes. “How would it be
you?”
“I’m a walking jinx. I’m a curse.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Well, I don’t believe you’ve done anything to jinx the baby.”
“I didn’t want it.”
“That is unequivocally not true.” I say firmly. “And I don’t want to hear
you say anything like this again, Donna. You’ve never not wanted this
baby, you were just trying to protect me. You’re doing everything the
doctors tell you. It’s just a crappy circumstance.”
“Crappy circumstances?”
“Yes.”
“So, then you’re not a jinx or a curse?”
Damn. That was well played. “I don’t accept the premise of the
argument.”
“Of course.” She smiles lightly and holds her hand out to me and I take
it immediately in mine.
I lean forward and kiss her lightly. Before I pull away, her arms come
around my neck and I give her the hug we both so desperately need. “It’
s going to be all right.” I whisper.
“How do you know?”
“Because I won’t have it any other way.”
“As egocentric as that sounded, I actually believe you.”
I pull away and smooth the hair back from her face. “Good, because it’s
true. I love this baby as much as I love you, Donna, and I’m not going to
let anything happen to either one of you.”
Her hand comes up to side of my face and she smiles. “I love you, too,
Josh.” Her voice is getting more and more hoarse, so I know I’m going to
lose her soon to the exhaustion that’s been overtaking her and the
medication they’re giving her.
“I’m scared.” She says as her eyes drift shut.
“I know, me too. But I’m going to stay right here with you.” I vow and she
finally succumbs to sleep.
I’m terrified. I am so out of my element right now that I’m completely
terrified. I have absolutely no control in this situation and I tell her it’s
going to be okay until I’m blue in the face, but when it comes down to it, I
can’t do anything if it goes the other way. I’m absolutely powerless to do
anything other than hold her hand. I did manage to tell her I loved her
though, so I guess that’s something.