Murphy's Law Part Two
Murphy’s Law 7
“Find some damn gauze!” He screams at me.
“Do I look like a fucking nurse?” I toss back. The man’s already shot me, what more
can he do? Yes, I know, shoot me again, but at this point, if it would stop the
throbbing pain in my shoulder I might volunteer.
“Listen, if you want to live to see dinner, find the gauze and something for the
pain.” He orders.
“Like you’re going to let me live anyway.” I mutter.
“You’re insignificant to me. All I want is Sam Seaborn. I don’t care what happens to
you.” He tells me.
“Yes, that much has been made clear. Gauze!” I give a smile at my small triumph.
“What about the pain meds?” He demands.
“There’s nothing but Motrin here.” I report. “But there’s a few locked cupboards
here that might have pain medication. If only we had a key.” I deadpan.
“We don’t need any goddamn key.” Webb laughs and reloads his gun before
shooting the hell out of the locked cupboards. “They’re open now.”
“So they are.” I agree and cautiously open the cupboards. Ah, vicodin…my new
best friend. I open the vial and toss one back without even a drink of water. I’d love
to take two, but one will make me loopy enough.
“Hey!” Webb objects to me taking the pills first. Tough shit. I wouldn’t need the pills
if it weren’t for him. I toss him the vial of pills in the hope that he’ll be so focused on
them that he’ll fumble with the gun. No such luck. He just lets them fall and gives
me a nasty glare.
“Pick them up and put them on the counter, then step away.” He instructs me.
Bending over hurts like hell and I get a nice wave of dizziness too, but I follow his
directions.
Webb helps himself to a pill and then tosses me the gauze. “Wrap it around my leg.”
I’ve got to hand it to Mike. He got a good shot off; hit this asshole right through the
thigh, I’m guessing he was trying to get him down. I’m about to object again to
being relegated to nursing duties when I hear Mike’s voice.
“Aaron? This is Mike Casper. Are you okay?” What the hell? Aaron seems to be
confused by Mike’s concern as well.
“You shot me, you son of a bitch. What do you think?” Webb shouts.
“Do you need medical assistance? Does Matt? We can send somebody in there.”
“Right. I’ll just let you send in some agent to ‘help’ me. You think I’m stupid?”
“Well, you did take hostages in a Federal Building, so my guess is-“ I begin and get
backhanded for my trouble.
“Shut the hell up.” Webb orders.
“Aaron, you need to tell us what you need so we can end this thing peacefully.”
Mike attempts.
“I NEED Sam Seaborn’s ass over here now.” Aaron contends.
“We’re having some trouble finding him, Aaron. He went off campus after the floor
vote.”
“Bullshit. He had an appointment in his office.” Aaron shouts back.
“He had to cancel it when he was called to the White House. I could try to get him
on the phone for you.” Mike offers.
“I can get him on the phone, asshole. ANYONE can get him on the phone. I want
Seaborn right here where I can see him and he can answer for what he did to my
family.”
“This must have been horrible for you and your mom, Aaron. I can’t imagine the
pain you’ve been through.” Mike is all empathy now. Shouldn’t my taxpayer dollars
be paying for a professional negotiator? Like someone who does it routinely? Or is
it that when there’s a Democratic President and a Republican hostage…Nah…the
vicodin must be getting to me because I’m finding this whole thing pretty damn
funny.
“I want a real negotiator, Casper.” I shout out to him and laugh.
“Matt? You okay over there?” He asks me directly.
“He’s going to be dead if you don’t get Seaborn over here.” Aaron adds.
“You don’t want to do that, Aaron. If you shoot Matt, you’ll be out of bargaining
chips.”
“I can shoot him several times before I kill him.” Aaron points out and this strikes
me as funny too. “Get Seaborn.”
There’s a pause before Mike answers. “He’s on his way, Aaron. Is there anything
you need while we’re waiting?”
“I just. NEED. SEABORN!”
“He’s coming. He’ll be here shortly. Just hold on, Aaron. It’s got to be pretty hot in
there. Let me send in something cold to drink.”
“With some drug in it? No thanks.” Webb scoffs.
“I’ll take the drugged drink!” I offer. This is taking far too long.
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“Mike…” I call his name softly again.
“Shut. Up. Or I have my team haul your ass out of here.” Mike threatens me just as
several agents come out of my office accompanied by Josh and Donna.
“I told you to keep them in the office. Do you have trouble with simple directions
Agent Florez?” Mike snaps.
“He called the White House.” Florez lifts his arms up in a ‘what are you going to do’
gesture. I am so happy to see my friend safe, though obviously shaken, that I can’t
even find the words.
“The happy reunion is going to have to wait. I’m trying to get our last hostage out
safely.” Mike grouses. “We can’t get our sleep agent in there because he’s blocked
the air ducts and there are no windows to even get a sight line. We have to get him
and Matt out of that first aid room.”
“What can we use to get him out of there?” Florez asks.
“The only thing he wants is…” Mike trails off rather than say the word ‘Sam’.
“Then I go in after he brings Matt out.” I say simply.
”The hell you do.” Donna answers before anyone. “We’ll find another way to get
Matt out safely, right Mike?”
Mike doesn’t answer right away so I know he’s considering the pro’s and con’s to
the plan.
“Mike, you can’t let him do that.” Josh adds.
“Casper? Sinclair is on the line. He wants an update.” Florez tells us.
“Tell him we’re negotiating a hostage swap.” Mike answers looking me straight in
the eyes. “Here’s what we’re going to do.” He briefly outlines the plan for us. The
more interesting part of the conversation starts when he gets on the phone and
tells his boss that although their earlier intelligence was wrong and I wasn’t being
held by the gunman…now I’m about to be.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“Aaron. I’ve got good news. Sam Seaborn is here.” Mike shouts out down the hall.
“Send him in here.” Aaron commands.
“I can’t do that Aaron, until you send Matt out.” Mike says carefully.
“As soon as I send him out you’re going to storm the place. Send Seaborn in first,
then I’ll let this guy go. I don’t care about him anyway, all I want is Seaborn.”
“Let’s make a deal, Aaron. Come out of there WITH Matt, and we’ll make a switch.”
Mike suggests. “Sam’s right here ready to listen to you. Just come out with Matt.”
There’s a long pause before he responds. “I want everyone besides Seaborn out
of the hallway.” Webb stipulates. “I want to see Seaborn’s face.”
“I’m right here, Aaron.” Sam answers and Aaron slowly opens the door to the first
aid room. It let’s out an eerie squeak and I move up just a bit behind him, but Aaron
sees or senses the move and waves me back with the gun.
“Don’t do it, Sam.” I shout. “He’s not interested in talking to you.”
This seems to upset my captor and he shoots another bullet just to the right of me.
“SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!” This guy has now officially ventured over the
edge.
“Matt?!” Mike shouts for me.
“Yeah…” I shout back still keeping eye contact with Webb. After a tension filled
minute, he walked slowly back to the door and peeked through the crack in it. He
must have seen Sam because his face split into an evil grin.
“Here’s how we’re going to do this, Aaron.” Mike pipes up again. Sam’s going into
an office across the hall from you. You head over and once you’re safely through
the door, you let Matt go.”
“How do I know the office is empty?” Aaron asks.
“I’ve been straight with you so far. Sam is standing here just like I promised he
would be. Look in the office first, if anything looks off to you, then you and Matt go
back to the First Aid room.”
Webb looks truly torn. He really wants Sam, but he’s afraid he’s going to miss
something in grabbing for the brass ring here.
“I know Mike. He’s a straight shooter.” Oops, bad choice of words, I chuckle. Damn
Vicodin. “Hey, I’ll stick with you until you’re sure everything’s on the up and up.” I
promise. I’m not sure what the plan is here, but it seems to involve getting Webb
out of this room, so I’ll do what I can to help with that.
“Send Seaborn in first.” Webb requests.
“He’s coming now.” Mike announces and I hear footsteps in the otherwise silent
hallway, then a door opening and closing. Webb motions for me to precede him
into the hallway. Here we go.
When I get out past the door, I see an entire crew at the other end of the hallway,
most of whom have guns. “We’re coming out.” I warn them. God, just don’t shoot
me guys. We start moving forward, Webb’s left hand is around my injured arm,
guiding me to stay in front of him while we ease our way down the hallway.
Suddenly, he jerks me to a stop.
“Lyman!” He roars. “I want Lyman too!” Webb insists and I startle. Jesus, what is
Josh doing standing with Mike? Shouldn’t he be out of the building? Wasn’t getting
him out of here safely why I’m in this position in the first place? I shoot both of them
dirty looks.
“Josh isn’t part of the deal.” Mike shakes his head.
“He is now, isn’t he Matt?” Aaron asks me.
“No way, Lyman is completely useless.” I tell him.
“That’s a fucking joke. He’s the one who dug up those lies about my father and
convinced Seaborn to use them.” Webb insisted. The commotion brings Sam back
out the door.
“What the hell?”
“Josh Lyman is going to join our little party since this was his doing anyway.” Webb
informs him.
“NO!” Sam yells and tries to get Webb to focus back on him. “Josh just did what
campaign managers do. It was my decision to use it. It was my choice.”
“Which you’d never have been in a position to make, without his meddling!”
“He isn’t a part of this.” Sam continues.
“He is now!” Webb shouts back. “Lyman joins our little party or he can say good
bye to his friend here in 5…4…3…” Webb points the gun directly to my temple and
I close my eyes.
“NO!” I hear Josh’s voice. “I’m here.”
“JOSHUA!” Now it’s Donna’s voice I hear and I open my eyes to see Josh
advancing toward us while Donna is being held back by Mike.
“I’m right here. Matt had nothing to do with any of this. Let him go.” Josh keeps
walking toward us with his hands held up in a calming gesture, but all I can focus
on is Donna’s face as she sobs silently.
“Inside with Seaborn.” Webb tosses his head in the direction of Sam and walks us
both closer to the door.
“Fine. That’s fine, but let Matt go. Let him go!” Josh shouts when Webb doesn’t
respond to the request the first time. Webb nods toward the office again and Josh
nears the threshold. Webb kicks Josh through the doorway and pulls me after him.
Once we’re all inside, I can take stock of our surroundings. We’re in
Congresswoman Cameron’s office. I don’t know her all that well but her decorating
positively sucks. I fall more than sit into one of her chairs, holding my throbbing arm
and shoulder. Josh drops next to me.
“Jesus, Matt, are you okay?” He asks and takes a closer look at where I’ve
invented a makeshift bandage.
“Get away from him Lyman.” Webb threatens.
“Or what? You’re going to shoot me? Like that isn’t your plan already.” He mutters.
“This is going to hurt, but I need to tighten this, buddy.” He tells me and follows his
words with the actions that make me groan.
“You should be the one to help him I guess since it’s your fault we’re all here in the
first place.” Aaron sneers.
“It’s your father’s fault, not mine. He decided to take the bribes. HE decided to have
an affair.” I swear to God Josh is egging him on and that is not at all good in the
present situation. Normally, I enjoy watching Josh flay someone open with his
tongue, but this guy has a gun and I don’t think he’s entirely stable.
“Shut the hell up, you son of a bitch!” Aaron screams.
“Make me, asshole.” Josh gets in his face, I mean in his face!
“Josh!” Sam steps in between them, his eyes flashing and then it hits me. Josh is
having an episode. Oh, shit.
“No, let him make me.” Josh shoves Sam out of the way. “He’s not going to shoot
me; at least not yet. First, he’s going want us to apologize and beg for our lives,
right Webb?”
“You ought to!” Webb shouts. “You ought to beg for your lives.”
“You’re just as twisted as your old man and you’re going to end up just like him;
disgraced, forgotten, and dead.” Josh says simply.
“Josh.” Sam says quietly. “We’re going to do whatever Aaron says. He’s in charge
right now and you have an appointment with Noah when we’re done here.”
Josh blinks at the sound of his son’s name. He looks over at Sam curiously; like he
can’t figure out how he got there. I’m wounded and in no shape to physically help
my friends, we’re being held hostage by a deranged gunman who thinks my two
friends are responsible for his father’s suicide, and now Josh is having a PTSD
episode. Murphy’s Law anyone?
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“Noah.” I repeat my son’s name and pain goes searing through my body. Sam nods
at me. I shoot a nervous look toward the window. Sam signs ‘stop’ and ‘wait’. I’ve
got to get Matt out of here before all hell breaks loose.
“Look…I’m sorry. This is just a little overwhelming, you know?” I try my affable
smile, but Aaron looks more suspicious than appeased. “Matt is really hurt. He
needs medical care and you promised you’d let him go once we were here with
you.”
“Aaron. We made a deal and you’ve already altered it. Send Matt out now.” Mike’s
voice rings down the hall.
“He can just walk out all by himself.” Sam adds and I nod earnestly. “We’ll stay way
over here; far from the door.”
“Now, Aaron!” Mike sounds like he’s getting extremely pissed.
“Fine. He’s just dead weight now, anyway.” Aaron tells us. “Go on. Get out.” He
shouts at Matt, who keeps looking between me and Sam.
“Go.” I tell him. “Stay with Donna in case she needs you.”
Matt nods reluctantly and carefully gets to his unstable feet. He edges slowly to the
door and opens it, but keeps his eyes on Webb. In another instant, he’s gone and
the door shuts again closing us in with this lunatic.
I’m trying to concentrate but the siren sounds keep distracting me and pulling me
back to the Newseum. It’s like a dream where you KNOW that it’s a dream, but you
can’t wake yourself up and the knowledge doesn’t keep your heart from racing. My
mind swirls around to Donna and Noah. They help me stay focused.
“Aaron, I’m sorry about what happened to your father.” Sam is telling him. “I wrote
you a letter after the…election. Did you get it?”
“Oh, yeah…very touching.” Webb says sarcastically. “You felt terrible AFTER the
damage had already been done. Did you ever stop to think what you were doing
before you made your ‘revelations’? Did you even care what the human cost was to
me and my family?”
“I’m sorry.” Sam answered simply.
“Sorry’s not good enough, Congressman!” Webb waved the gun at him in his
apparent despair.
“It was my fault.” I interrupt. “Sam would have never even known about it if I hadn’t
dug it up. I forced him to release it.”
“I don’t doubt that you did, but HE had choices too.” Webb points at Sam with the
gun.
“It wouldn’t have mattered. I’d have released it anyway. It was me.” I keep talking
even as I see Sam signing ‘stop’. I move my two fingers and thumb together in the
sign for ‘no’ and tip my head toward the window.
“You think you’re so fucking superior, don’t you?” Aaron accuses me and I almost
laugh at the irony. Thinking I was better than Webb was what started all of this.
Thinking I was superior to Donna was what escalated things between the two of us.
Maybe it’s time I tried a little humility.
“I did. I absolutely did.” I admit. “I didn’t care about you, your mom, or even give a
moments thought to how your dad would react. All I wanted to do was win.”
Aaron sits down heavily. “It destroyed him. It destroyed all of us.”
“Aaron?” Mike calls out again. “We’ve got your mother on the line. She wants to
talk to you.”
“NO!” Aaron shoots to his feet and whips the door open. “Keep her out of this
Casper. Do you hear me?”
“She contacted us, Aaron. She wants to talk to you.”
“No. I’m taking care of this myself. This has nothing to do with her.”
“She thinks this is because of her. That you’re doing this for her and she wants you
to stop.”
“Shut the hell up!” Aaron slams the door shut again and paces back and forth near
it. I try to focus on the plan. Get him near the window. As if he reads my mind, he
walks over to the window, but he immediately pulls the shades closed. Damn.
“I want him to keep my mother out of this.” Aaron tells Sam. “Make him keep my
mother out of this.”
I know just how the kid feels. I want him to keep my friend out of this; my wife out of
this. But once you’ve got these close connections, there’s no keeping anyone out
of anything. At least Matt is safe.
Sam was supposed to keep him placated and near the window where the
sharpshooters would have a shot at him, but so far I’ve drawn him away from the
windows (where the shades are drawn), Mike turned off the air as part of his
negotiating tactic so it’s damn hot in here, I got him pretty riled up on my own, and
now Mike’s pushing his buttons with Mrs. Webb. It can’t possibly get worse.
Then the lights go out. Damn Murphy’s Law.
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
8.
The second the lights plunge off, the door bursts open. Sam and I grab each other
and hit the floor as the shots ring out and the sirens in my head get louder. The
whole exchange lasts about 15 seconds.
“CLEAR!”
“CLEAR!”
“Target’s down.”
The lights come on and there’s three agents there with rifles and night vision
goggles.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
I watch the agents kick the door in and the shooting immediately starts.
“God no!” I scream. I clutch my head and sink to my knees sobbing.
“It’s okay, Donna.” Matt says next to me with one arm around my shoulders. “They’
ve got the night vision goggles on. The agents won’t get Josh or Sam.”
I can feel my breaths coming in quick breaths now and know that I’m
hyperventilating. I can’t take this happening to Josh again. I barely survived it the
first time.
“Jesus Christ, Matt. I said take care of her.”
I’m released from Matt’s arm to an embrace I know well and I truly come to pieces in
his arms. I just can’t take anymore of this day.
“We’re okay.” He softly croons in my ear. “Sam and I are okay, I swear to God,
Donna. Open your eyes and look.”
I clutch his shirt with my good hand and open my eyes to see him smiling at me. He’
s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
I kiss him softly and then pull away and punch him in the stomach.
“Oophf.”
“Joshua, you idiot! I can’t believe you did that! How DARE you take a gamble with
your life like that without discussing it with me! How dare you put me and Noah in a
position of possibly having to live without your dumb ass!” As he’s doubled over
from my punch, I start smacking him repeatedly in the shoulders. I’m vaguely
cognizant of Mike and Matt’s laughter.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” he’s finally able to get upright and after a brief struggle, pins
my arms behind my back and I drop my head against his chest in defeat. His arms
come tight around my back and it’s a good thing they do because that’s when
everything goes dark.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Shit!
And I thought I was the basketcase today. Donna just fainted dead away. I catch
her immediately and bring her to the closest office and lay her on the couch. Mike
and Sam are by my side. Matt’s getting stabilized by the paramedics.
She immediately comes to and starts to sit up, but gets woozy and grabs my arm.
“Whoa.” I say gently and ease her back down.
“You okay, Donna?” Mike asks.
“Yeah.” She nods.
“All right. I’m going to get back out there.”
Mike leaves the office and Sam and I stay with Donna.
“Are you really okay?” she whispers to me.
“I really am.” I smile.
“What about the thing?”
“I’m probably going to need to fill a prescription.”
“Kay.” She says, taking my hand. “Sam?” she asks looking over to him.
“Yeah.”
“How are you holding up?”
“I’m…well, I don’t know…I’m… I’m guess I’m pretty freaked out… that guy …yeah, I
don’t know… I think it’s going to take me… you know what? I’m going to sit down.”
He rambles before finally dropping into a chair.
“Maybe you should call Ainsley.” Donna suggests gently. “She’s probably very
worried about you. We need to check on Noah anyway and make sure he’s not
giving her a hard time.”
“Noah.” Sam says. “And Ainsley. Yeah, I’ll call them. I’ll do that.” He pulls out his
phone and begins to dial.
“Donnatella,” I say turning my attention back to my wife. “we really need to get that
hand taken care of now. There are medics here who can splint it correctly and take
us to GW.”
“Me.” She replies.
“What?”
“Take ME to GW, Josh. You need to go get Noah.”
“Noah’s at the WHITE HOUSE, Donna. There’s plenty of people there with the
parental experience to watch him for a little while, while I go with you.”
“Josh, I think an emergency room is the last place you should go today.” She says
calmly. “It’s a broken wrist and I’ll be there for hours while it gets x-rayed and set…”
“Donna, I can’t not be with you right now.” I blurt as I hear Sam talking on the
phone. It sounds like he’s talking to the President.
Donna smiles at my words and caves immediately. “Okay.” She agrees softly. Her
instincts are always to make sure I have what I need and right now I need her and I
have no problem shamelessly exploiting that.
“God, Donna, I was out of my mind when you were with Sam and that guy was
looking for you guys.”
“I’m sure you weren’t half as nuts as I was when I discovered you were actually in
the room with him!”
“I’m just…I’m so sorry, Donna. I’m so sorry about our fight this morning. I was
horrible.”
“Josh, so was I.”
“But I know there’s not always a tomorrow and I don’t ever want our last words to
each other to be in anger.”
“Um…Josh? I appreciate the sentiment and all, but this is us and we fight.”
“I know that.” he said. “In fact, I don’t think I’d like us very much if we did always get
along, but I think we should just make an effort to never part mad, never leave it
unresolved.”
“Sounds like a good plan.” She smiles. “And for the record, I’m sorry, too.”
“Ma’am.” A paramedic interrupts us. “I really think we need to splint that wrist now.”
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
I’m President of the United States and for the life of me I don’t know how I end up in
situations like this.
Sam is rambling incoherently on the speakerphone in my one ear, and Ainsley,
God love her, is rambling in my other ear at my side. They seem to be rambling to
each other THROUGH me. I’m the Commander in Chief of the most powerful Army
in the history of the world. How did I get stuck in the middle of a love-whatever?
“Okay. Hold on.” I finally order holding up my hand. “Sam and Ainsley, you will get
to gush at each other. First, I’m looking for details. Sam, who’s hurt?”
“Matt Skinner was shot in the shoulder and they’re taking him to the hospital;
Donna broke her wrist when we took cover during the initial gun shots and the
paramedics are splinting it now and they’re going to take her the hospital, and I
know that the shooter was hit, but I don’t know his condition.”
“What about you and Josh?” I ask.
“Well, physically we’re both fine, if you know what I mean, sir.”
I do know what he means and I look over knowingly at Leo. I think we’re going to
lose our DCOS for a few days. Well, I don’t think it, I know it. Both Donna and I will
make him take a few days off after this.
“And he was after you? Why?”
“He was Chuck Webb’s son.” Sam says quietly.
“Somebody’s having some issues.” Leo pipes up.
“No kidding.” I say.
“Sir, I’d like to be able to talk to Ainsley if I could and Josh and Donna want to
check on Noah.”
“Sure, Sam.” I say standing upright. I press the extension and hand Ainsley the
receiver so she could have some privacy. She immediately gets on the phone and
starts gushing. Something about father’s not really hating Democrats or something
like that.
I walk over to Leo and we give each other a meaningful look.
“Sounds like your deputy is having a difficult time over here.” I say to him.
“Donna’ll take care of him and he’ll be back in a few days, I’m sure.”
“Maybe.” Is all I say in return.
Maybe.
TBC
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Murphy’s Law 9
“I’m just wondering, Agent Casper, if there is any rule in the book you haven’t
broken or bent in this operation.” Sinclair drawled.
“There’s a couple I’ve left intact, sir.” I answer a little flippantly. I’m exhausted;
physically, mentally, and emotionally.
“We hire, train, and depend on agents whose only job is to handle hostage
negotiations, you know.”
“I’m aware, sir, and had one called to the scene. However, by the time she had
arrived, I had already established contact with Webb and we both felt it would be
detrimental to change horses mid-stream so to speak.”
“What’s Webb’s current status?”
“He’s in stable condition, being treated for three gunshots to the leg, and arm.” I
report. I would have loved to simply take the bastard out, but I followed procedure
and incapacitated him.
“And the rest of your crew?”
“Not a scratch, sir. Congressman Skinner was wounded before we were on scene,
and some of the other people in Congressman Seaborn’s office have cuts or
bruises, but that’s the extent of the human toll.”
“Hmmmm…” Sinclair is deciding whether or not to drop the hammer on me. Yeah, I
broke a few rules and it ended up putting Josh in jeopardy, but I’m guessing that
will result in some wrist slapping considering the positive outcome, and press, the
Bureau got here. “I’ll want your full report before you leave today. Then we’ll decide
exactly how far to stick your fat into the fire on policy.”
“Yes, sir.” See? Sinclair is all about the fair. He’ll tell the higher ups he chewed my
butt off and that will be the end of it. I make my way over to the hospital to check on
how my friends are faring.
“Matt, how ya’ doing?” I ask him.
“Great…great!” Matt is higher than a kite. “Getting shot isn’t that big a deal! In fact,
when I’m done with this term, I’m thinking I’ll sign up to be a G man.”
“I’ll write you a letter of recommendation.” I promise. “They going to keep you here
overnight?”
“Yep. They want to watch for infection or something.” Matt tells me waving his good
arm around like he’s conducting an orchestra. “I can go home tomorrow, though.
Donna said I can stay with them while I recover. Donna is SO sweet. I swear, if she
was my type, I would totally fight Josh for her.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing that you play for the other team.” I grin. “I’m going to
go check on the golden couple now.”
“Sure, sure…Tell them ‘hi’ from me.” He requests. He is so wasted. “Hey Mike? You
did good today. You saved all of us. I owe you one.” He’s tearing up and he’s going
to hate himself for this once he’s off the meds.
“You’ll find out when you start at the Bureau that it’s all part of the job, but you’re
welcome.” I tell him and leave him in his drug induced euphoria.
When I find Donna in her treatment room she’s alone and in tears.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Where’s Josh?” I figured it would take a Presidential order to
get Josh to leave Donna’s side.
“He’s with the specialist.” Donna tells me. “I’m just letting off a little stress, Mike. It’s
been a long day and I want my husband and son with me.”
“Ainsley is on her way over with Noah.” I assure her and take her in my arms,
mindful of the new cast on her wrist. “Your family will all be together soon.”
“Thanks to you.” She tells me, but I try to brush it off.
“That’s what the bureau does when-“
“Yeah, but it didn’t have to be you. It probably shouldn’t have been you since you
were personally connected to people involved. You must have requested the
assignment and that put you in harms way.”
“Would Josh have done anything less for me? Isn’t that why he wouldn’t leave the
scene with you even after we broke him out of his hiding place?”
“That doesn’t make your actions any less noble. And it doesn’t lesson my
appreciation in the slightest.” She tells me.
“Jeez, I get showered with praise and hero worship from a married woman and a
gay man. Where are the beautiful, single women, excited by my heroism?” I ask
looking around.
“My intern Lisa seems to think you cause the sun to rise and set.” Sam said from
behind me.
“You okay?” I ask him, ignoring the intern comment. She’s like 10 years old.
“Thanks to you and your team, yes I am.” Sam holds his hands out to show he’s
uninjured. “A few scrapes and cuts from the glass is all.”
“Glad to hear it.” I reply and take his offered hand in a handshake. “You did a very
good job of keeping your cool in a nerve racking experience. You handled Webb
with a lot of compassion.” I don’t mention it in front of Donna, but I know that Sam
has already hired an attorney for Webb. He’s a stand up kind of guy, Sam
Seaborn. Makes me wish I could vote for him.
We’re interrupted by the arrival of Ainsley Hayes and Noah Lyman, who literally
dives out of Ainsley’s arms and into Donna’s. Donna struggles to hang on to him
with one good arm and the tears are flowing down each of our faces now.
“Mommy’s here, baby. And Daddy will be here soon.” Donna croons and rocks
Noah back and forth in her arms. Sam and Ainsley just watch them, but Sam’s arms
are around Ainsley and they are obviously enjoying the reunion themselves.
Nothing like being a 5th wheel. I’m about to exit when something catches my eye on
TV; it’s the smitten intern giving her tearful account of the days’ events.
“Oh, it was horrible! I’ve never been so scared in my life.” She says and now she
has Donna’s attention. “We hid in a secret part of the closet in Congressman
Seaborn’s office until the F.B.I. rescued us.”
“Who was ‘us’?” Asks a reporter.
“Ummm.” God, I can see the wheels turning as she tries to remember Josh’s name.
“Josh Lyman. He works in the White House.”
“White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman was trapped in the office with you?
Why was he there?”
“He had an appointment with the Congressman and he was waiting in the office for
the meeting when the gunman stormed in. Mr. Lyman saved my life when he hid us
in the secret closet.”
“Was Mr. Lyman injured in the incident?”
“No…I don’t think so… but they said something about him having a PTSD attack. I
think it affects his breathing because he was having a hard time breathing most of
the time we were hiding.”
“P.T.S.D.?” The reporter confirms. “Who said the Deputy Chief of Staff has post
traumatic stress disorder?”
“His wife mentioned it.” Lisa offers. The reporters go wild shouting dozens of
questions at once until Lisa is able to disentangle herself from the crowd and
escape into a waiting car.
“That’s going to make things interesting.” I note. Donna is still staring at the TV set
with a deer in the headlights expression on her face. Sam looks ready to tear
somebody’s lungs out and keeps throwing worried glances at Donna. I thought our
headaches were over for the day.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
><><><><>
“How are we doing Mr. Lyman?”
“My name is Josh and ‘we’ aren’t doing anything at all.” I really can’t take anymore
of this perky nurse right now. The specialist on call moved me from the loud, busy,
emergency room to a quiet, dark treatment room, but I feel like I’m on the edge and
hanging on by my fingernails.
They took Donna to treat her wrist, but I need her here. She grounds me when I
have these attacks. I can focus better when she’s around. And damn it, where is
my son? Sam swore Ainsley was on her way down here with him. So where the hell
is he?
“The doctor ok’d some meds for you, Mr. Lyman. I brought you some water to take
with them.” She hands me the water and a couple pills and I down them without
even asking what they are. Anything that might bring me relief at this point is
welcome. I’m tired of my head and heart pounding; my stomach churning.
“I need to see my wife. Can you please see if she’s done with her doctor yet?” I ask
in a quiet respectful voice. Donna would be so proud of me.
“I don’t have that information, Mr. Lyman.”
“I KNOW YOU DON’T SO WOULD YOU PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, ASK
SOMEBODY?!” Okay, maybe not if Donna had heard THAT part, but seriously.
“I…I’ll go see what I can find out.” She rushes out like I threatened her with bodily
harm.
“You scared the hell out of Angela.” Dr. Mitchell tells me.
“I wasn’t even trying.” I admit.
“She’s on loan to us from pediatrics so she’s already outside her comfort zone.”
Mitchell explains. “Did you take your pills yet?”
“Just now. Do you know where my wife is?”
“I just got off the phone with her attending. She’s got a broken wrist, that they’ve
casted, and your son has just arrived. They’re on their way down.”
I let out a huge sigh of relief and tip my head back into the pillow.
“But if you have a hope in hell of going home with them we need to get your heart
rate and your blood pressure stable.” Mitchell is a killjoy. I’ve just decided that. “I
spoke to Dr. Keyworth. He asked me to tell you he’s available by phone anytime
you’d like to speak to him. After briefing him on your day, and your symptoms, we
agreed that you should be on the anti-anxiety medication for a few days and we’ve
upped your blood pressure dosage.”
“The anti-anxiety meds make me sleepy. That doesn’t work real well with my job.” I
point out.
“Then it’s fortunate that you’re going to have the next few days off, isn’t it?” He
smiles at me like this is good news.
“No, no. We’ve just had this crisis and we have a crucial floor vote coming up. I can’
t take a few days off.”
“This isn’t my directive. It comes directly from the President of the United States.”
Mitchell informs me. Well shit. “If I were you, I’d let someone else handle things for
a few days. Otherwise, you might find yourself out of work for a lot longer than that.”
This leads me to another area of concern. “Dr. Mitchell, I’m wondering exactly what
is being recorded in my chart about this.”
“It would be irresponsible not to chart your blood pressure and heart rate stats as
well as all medication you’re taking.” Mitchell tells me point blank. “However, many
drugs have multiple uses. An anti-anxiety medication, for instance, may also be
prescribed for blood pressure patients. The other symptoms you’re experiencing
are concerning, so I’m noting that you follow up with your regular doctor as soon as
possible.”
“Thanks, Doc.” And I mean it to. The last thing I need is for some $10 an hour
records clerk to make copies of my medical record pages and shoot them across
the hill.
“Doctor? Mrs. Lyman and her son are outside. Is it okay for them to come in?”
Angela asks.
“Absolutely. They might be the best medicine yet.” Mitchell answers and watches
as Donna flies into the room with Noah held in her good arm.
“Are you a sight for sore eyes.” I tell them.
“Dadadada” Noah babbles and I almost lose it right there. He reaches his little arms
to me and leans away from Donna just trusting that I’ll catch him; which I do. I hope
I never let him fall.
“You still look pretty pale.” Donna notes.
“I’m okay.” I lie and I know she knows it, but even that is comforting.
“Mrs. Lyman, I’m Dr. Mitchell. We’re going to be keeping your husband here for
observation for awhile; just until his stats are consistently back to normal. I’m
guessing you won’t be leaving here until he is, so make yourself as comfortable as
possible. You need to take it easy too.”
“We’ll make sure she does.” Sam promises from the doorway.
“We can take Noah home with us too, if that would help.” Ainsley offers.
“Thanks.” Donna answers. “But we’re going to stick together for awhile.”
“You doing okay?” Sam asks me.
“Mostly.” I shrug. “You?”
“Yeah. Mike had to head back but he stopped in for a bit to check on everyone. He
said Matt is looped on pain meds and talking about joining the bureau.” Sam relays
and the doctor takes his cue to leave. “Mike went on and on about just doing his
job and it being no big deal. Can you believe that guy?”
There is something off here. Sam is trying to lighten my mood, I get that, but there’
s something forced about it. I see a worried look pass between the women and my
suspicions are confirmed. I haven’t employed misdirection for all these years
without learning how to spot it myself.
“What’s going on?” I ask the group at large but I focus on Ainsley. She’s going to
be the weak link here.
“We’re just glad to see your blood pressure is coming down.” She smiles. “Noah
has been asking for you over and over. The President even learned some sign to
talk with him.”
“Uh-huh. Ainsley, what aren’t you telling me?” I ask.
She shoots a panicked look at Sam who in turn shoots one to Donna.
“I really don’t have the patience for this people. Just spit it out.” I direct them.
Donna sits on the bed with me. “This story has garnered a lot of press, as you can
imagine. Our intern, Lisa, the one you were trapped with got totally blindsided
outside the hospital when they released her.”
“And?”
“And when she was relaying the events about how your fast thinking saved her life,
she also mentioned that you have PTSD.” Donna explains. “She must have
overheard me telling the EMT’s about it. It’s all my fault, Josh. I’m so sorry.”
I dismiss her apology with a wave of my hand. The EMT’s needed to know about
my diagnosis and with everything that was going on during those first few crazy
minutes after our liberation I’m frankly surprised the intern caught that bit of
information. Now, however, it puts the whole President ordered rest in a different
light. Is this a medical necessity or a political reprieve? There’s a third possibility;
they may be softening the ground work for my ‘resignation’ due to medical issues.
Leo told me that as long as he had a job, I had a job. But that was before my
personal life created havoc on this administration and way before a member of the
senior staff was found to be hiding his psychological condition.
What happens now is anyone’s guess. And my blood pressure just ticked up again.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
10.
The paranoia seems to be setting in. I’m quietly pacing next to the hospital, trying
not to wake Donna. We kept Noah here for a few hours with us, but my blood
pressure hasn’t come down, so since we’re still here and it’s bedtime, Sam and
Ainsley took him back to our place.
Yes, yes, I know. Pacing is not helping the heart rate. But I can’t help it. It’s how I
think.
“What’s wrong?” comes a mumble from the bed. Guess I did a pretty shotty job of
not waking her up.
“Nothing.” I immediately lie.
“You’re pacing and obviously don’t care that it’s not going to help your heart rate to
go down so you can come home, so something’s eating at you, Josh.” She says
sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
“I’m okay. Go back to sleep.”
“Josh…”
“Why do you think the President gave me three days off?”
“Because you were in a shoot out and he’s worried about you.” She answers simply.
“Do you think it’s because of what Lisa said on t.v.?”
“No, I absolutely don’t.” she says after a moment.
“How do you know?”
“I don’t. But, Josh, if that were an issue, don’t you think it would have been an issue
two years ago? If he were going to fire you for it, he would have done it then.”
“Nobody knew about it then.” I counter deftly.
“He did. And nobody knew about his M.S. either, and when they found out, the
American public didn’t fire him.” She expertly replies.
“Valid point.” I say.
“Joshua, I’m begging you, PLEASE come and lay down. You have to try and
unwind.”
“I’m restless.” I say. But when I turn and look at her, it’s the hamster face. Shit. I
climb into the bed next to her, even though I feel like I’m going to explode out of my
skin. Why aren’t any of these freaking meds working!
She adjusts herself so she can run her fingers rhythmically through my hair. I close
my eyes and try to push everything else from my mind and concentrate solely on
her touch. After a few moments, I open my eyes and look up at her, only to find her
staring down at me.
“How are you?” I whisper.
She shrugs. “I think I’m still kinda in shock. I lost it a bit earlier, but now I feel kinda
ambivalent. I imagine my next step will be a breakdown.”
“You’ll tell me when that happens, right?” I ask. She nods. I don’t believe her. “You
won’t try to hide it because you’re afraid of freaking me out?”
“Sure.”
“Donna…”
“Josh, I think talking about a shooting while you’re having a PTSD episode is
probably not the best medicine.”
“What do you think I do with Stanley?”
“Fair point, but neither one of us is…” she trails off. “Why don’t we just cross that
bridge when we come to it.”
It’s the best I’m going to get for the moment, so I close my eyes again and
immediately start to fidget. After a few minutes, Donna gets frustrated.
“I think we should drug you.” She announces.
“What!?” my eyes fly open. “I already AM drugged.”
“Something to help you sleep.” She qualifies.
“If I sleep, I’ll have a nightmare.”
“Well, maybe not if it’s a drug induced sleep.”
“If it’s a drug induced sleep, I won’t be able to wake myself up.”
“I’ll be here for you.” She says softly.
“That’s great, Baby, but I won’t be able to wake up to avail myself of your attempts
to calm me down.”
“I just really think you need to rest and you can’t shut your mind off long enough to
do it.”
I run a hand down my face. I’m frustrated right now, but it’s not her fault. She’s only
ever seen bits and pieces of one of these episodes. She’s never witnessed the
entire thing.
“All right, but drugging the shit out of me isn’t going to make it go away, Donna.” I
say. “These things, unfortunately, have to run their course. You can’t put me to
sleep for the duration of it.”
“That’s not what I want to do, Josh.” She says softly. “I am more concerned about
your heart rate right now than all the other stuff. You HAVE to calm down, Josh, or
they’re going to keep you even longer.”
I’m not convinced this is the best course of action, but if it’ll make her feel better to
try it, then I’ll do it.
I sigh and nod. She kisses me then rings for the nurse.
I’m not worried about my heart rate. Yeah, it’s high, but I think it’ll go down when
this episode passes. For crying out loud, ANYONE’S heart rate would be up after
the day I’ve had, but Donna’s freaking out, and I can’t have that.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Margaret must not be at her desk because she’d kill me for picking up my own
ringing phone, but since I’m the one that’s supposed to be in charge…
“McGarry.”
“Tell me right now you’re not firing Josh.”
“What?”
“You told him as long as you’ve got a job, he’s got a job. Swear to me you’re not
firing him, Leo.”
“Donna?”
“Who the hell else would it be?!”
Okay. I’ll give her that. She got shot at and she doesn’t work for me anymore.
“I’m not firing Josh.” I drone.
“Is the President?”
Oooh. Is she a politician’s wife or what?
“No.”
“You promise?”
“Yes.”
“A real promise or a politician’s promise?”
“Donna…” I warn.
“Leo, he thinks the Presidential ordered time off to soften the ground for his
resignation.” She blurts.
“It’s not.” I assure. “It’s just time off because he went through a stressful
experience. One that’s stressful enough for people like you and me, but Josh
reacts to this stuff differently. If he was going to have a problem, the President
wanted him to be in the safety, comfort and privacy of his home with his family and
not going back and forth to the White House. He made the decision before what’s-
her-name went on t.v.”
She pauses there. I think she’s surprised I explained myself so much.
“Will you tell him that?”
“Put him on the phone.”
“I can’t right now. He’s finally sleeping. When he wakes up again, I’ll have him call
you.”
“All right then.” I pause for a minute before continuing. “How is he?”
I feel a little weird discussing this kind of stuff with Donna. I mean, I’ve always used
her as his barometer, but it’s still kinda weird. We’ve always had a different
relationship with him and to be honest, Donna’s a sweet girl, but I don’t always
know how to relate to her. Her first loyalty is and always has been to Josh. Not
good when you work, or worked in her case, for the President of the United States,
but on some level, I’ve always respected that in her.
“Well, he’s afraid he’s going to lose his job, but otherwise he’s hanging on.”
“Is he?”
“He could really use these few days off, I won’t lie to you.” She says. “But he’ll be all
right when he comes back.”
“If he needs more, Donna…”
“I know.”
“And if the needs anything at all…”
“I know, Leo. Thanks.”
“Take care of him, kid, and keep me posted.”
“Okay. And thanks, Leo.”
I hang up the phone and smile a bit. I may not always know how to relate to Donna,
but ever since Noah died, I’ve had a soft spot for her. She’s just always read Josh
so well. He’s a lucky guy.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Chapter 11.
“Dadadada” I wake up groggily to the sound of my son calling for me. It puts a smile
on my face before I even open my eyes. Then I feel his wet kiss on my cheek.
“Noah…” I put my arms around him and just enjoy the feeling of him in my arms.
When I get my eyes open I see Donna watching us with tears in her eyes.
“Morning.”
“Morning. How do you feel?”
“Sleepy.” I smile wanly. “And happy to be holding this one.”
“Ainsley said he’d been signing for us since he woke up.” Donna tells me. “She and
Sam are downstairs getting some breakfast.”
“How are you?” I ask her. She’s cradling her arm in a strange way.
“Okay. It’s throbbing a bit…my wrist.” She adds like I don’t know what she means.
“Are they giving you something for it?” I ask. Duh, we’re in a hospital and she has a
broken wrist. Why is our conversation so stilted?
“Yes, I’m on pain meds. My heads a little fuzzy from them.” She admits but her eyes
skitter away from mine.
“Donna? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She’s quick to smile. “Your blood pressure and heart rate are both back
to normal.”
“That’s quite a feat considering I was sleeping.” I say sarcastically and Noah signs
for food. “Noah’s hungry. Is there anything here for him?”
“I have a sippy cup with some milk. Sam and Ainsley are bringing up some food for
us.” Donna calls Noah’s name and that signs ‘wait’ to him. She’s fidgeting again.
“Donna, what aren’t you telling me?” I ask point blank. I’m really too exhausted to
play these games right now.
“I don’t want you to get upset.” She prefaces her comment. Great, I can already
feel the tension rising.
“Please just tell me.” I request.
“I called Leo.” Donna begins. “I just wanted him to confirm that you were not being
shown the door; so you could relax about it.”
“Donna!” My loud response startles our son. “Sorry, buddy. Donna, why did you do
that?”
“You were so concerned about it and that made me all concerned about it. I
thought if I just got the straight scoop from Leo, everyone could relax.”
“Do you know how…pathetic that makes me look? That I had my wife call the White
House to beg for my job?”
“That’s not what I did.” She insists. “I didn’t beg for anything! I simply asked Leo if
this was a ploy to soften the ground for your resignation. Now do you want to hear
what he had to say, or are you just going to lie there and pout?”
“I do not pout.”
She just continues to look at me with her eyebrows raised.
“Fine. Tell me what he said.”
“He said sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”
“And I’m the cigar in this metaphor?” I ask in confusion. I adore my wife. I truly do,
but sometimes her conversational leaps could win an Olympic medal.
“No, the 3 day leave is the cigar. They just want to give you the time you need to
get back on your feet without the added stress of work. In fact, the President gave
the order for you to take the leave BEFORE Lisa the moron made her impromptu
announcement. I ran into her this morning, by the way. She wants me to thank you
for saving her life and I’m also supposed to tell you that she didn’t mean to out you
on national television. That’s a direct quote.”
That makes me laugh. “Of course it is. I’m not trying to tell you how to run Sam’s
office, but she really needs to go, Donna.”
“She’s on a flight back to Orange County later today. Apparently, interning for a
Congressman wasn’t quite what she expected it to be.”
“Good news all around. If only she’d left yesterday as soon as we got out of there.”
“Josh…You have the President and Leo behind you. It’s going to be okay.” Her
solemn eyes tell me she’s confident about this, but I’ve seen more politics than she’
s read about. I’m going to be eviscerated and then I’ll be useless to the President.
Maybe I can hit Sam up for a job. “Josh?”
“About time you got up Sleeping Beauty.” Sam says from the doorway. “I come
baring gifts of breakfast and emails.”
“Emails?” I repeat.
“Turns out you’re quite the hero; risking life and limb to protect Matt and me.” Sam
waves sheets and sheets of paper at me. “Matt gave an interview last night, on
pain meds I might add, and he was waxing pretty poetic.”
Noah grabs a couple from Sam and starts waving them around in delight. I manage
to pluck one out of his little hand and I’m astonished by what I read. This guy,
Martin from Ohio, wrote that his brother came back from serving with PTSD so he’s
seen first hand how debilitating it can be. He wants to commend me for my courage
in saving the intern and putting my life on the line for my friends. Hmmmm.
I trade that paper for another one in Noah’s fist. It’s crumpled now, but I can still
read it. This one’s from Jenny in Michigan, who interned on the hill last year. She’s
telling the President that he better not even consider accepting my resignation
because the kind of valor I showed yesterday was inspirational and she only wishes
there were more public servants like Sam and me. Then she goes on to say nice
things about Sam too, but I skip over that part and move on to the next one, and
the next one, and the next one.
Noah is now happily munching on the breakfast that was delivered to him. I read
email after email before looking up at Sam.
“We’re going to weather this.” He tells me and I smirk.
“Is that the royal ‘we’?” I ask.
“It’s the collective ‘we’ you dumbass.” He mutters just as the doctor comes in.
“Well, Mr. Lyman, you seem to be doing much better this morning.” He says. “Think
you’re ready to go home?”
Noah seizes on the word and signs ‘home’ over and over.
“More than ready.” I tell him.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
I can’t believe I’m standing out here nervous about knocking on the door of my
Deputy Chief of Staff. Maybe it’s because I’m not coming here as his boss.
Anyway, I let out a deep sigh before I ring the doorbell and wait the agonizingly
long seconds before Donna answers the door.
“Leo!” She exclaims. “You made it. Come on in.” She sends me a look of concern
and I try to convey that everything’s fine with my expression, but it falls short
because her forehead just gets more scrunchy. Just then, Noah comes careening
around the corner and runs full blast into me. He’s walking, er running I guess,
early, but then this kid being an overachiever is really no surprise.
“Whoa! Where are you in such a hurry to go young man?” I pick him up in arms
that haven’t held a child this size in quite awhile. “Where’s your dad?”
“Dadadada.” Noah responds and wiggles to get down from my arms. Once on the
ground, he goes tearing through the house, presumably in search of his father.
“Just follow the rocket man. Josh is out on the porch reading the paper. I’m going to
grab some lemonade. Would you like some?” She asks.
“That would be great, thanks.” I do as she tells me and follow Noah’s trail to the
back porch. They’ve got a real nice place here. It’s got a fenced in yard with
mature trees. It looks like they’re in the middle of a preserve even though they’re
still technically in the city. It’s very calming. This is what home and family have
brought to Josh; peace.
I’m very envious of him in a lot of respects. I blew it with Jenny and there were
plenty of reasons for that, but one of them was that there was no balance in my life.
Josh has discovered balance already. And Donna is there to enforce it. They’re a
good team.
“Bah. Bah!” Noah shouts.
“We just played ball, buddy. Let Daddy finish this op/ed and then we’ll play some
more. Wait.” He signs without looking up. “Donna, did you see what this blowhard
Davis wrote in the Times?”
“I don’t pay any attention to Davis. You shouldn’t either.”
“Leo!” Josh gets up to greet me and I’m enveloped in a man’s version of a hug.
“This is a surprise.”
“Well I was going to stop and see you in the hospital yesterday, but by the time I
was able to get over there, you’d already been sent home.” I explain but he waves
it off.
“They were just keeping an eye on my stats. I’m fine.” He hastens to assure me.
Noah throws a ball that ends up beaning his father on the head. I stifle a chuckle. “I
told you to wait, you little stinker.” Josh picks up his son and tackles him onto the
loveseat before tickling him crazily.
“Ball. Say ‘ball’.” Josh instructs him.
“Bah” Noah echoes.
“Close enough.” Josh laughs and hands the Nerf ball back to his son. “Let’s play
ball.” Josh sits him on the floor and they throw the ball back and forth in what
appears to be a very familiar activity.
“What did I say about the ball in the porch?” Donna asks as she comes in with a
wheeled tray filled with glasses and a pitcher of lemonade. I get up to help her
push it across the room to save her from the trouble of pushing it one handed.
“Aw, come on, Mom.” Josh teases.
“Mamamama” Noah echoes again.
“Not on the porch.” Donna remains steadfast.
“It’s just a nerf ball.” Josh points out. “You’re so mean.” Josh makes a mad face
and crosses his arms in front of his chest. Noah mimics the move perfectly. This
time my laugh slips out and I earn a glare from Donna.
“We have a wonderful backyard for playing ball. Not in the porch.” Donna repeats
and hands me a glass of lemonade.
“Thanks Donna.” I tell her and take a sip.
“You’re welcome. Now Master Noah, it is time for you to take a rest.” Noah both
shakes his head and signs ‘no’. I imagine there are times they regret teaching this
child how to ‘speak’ before he can say a word. “Yes, it’s time.” Donna insists. “If you
come with me now, we can read ‘Go Dog, Go’.”
Noah scrambles to his feet and takes the bait like a starving trout. Donna leans him
first toward Josh and then me, for him to give us a kiss goodbye. The kid is damn
adorable; the spitting image of his father at that age. God, the bragging Noah
Lyman senior would be doing right now…Which leads me back to Josh.
“What’s up, Leo?” He asks quietly and takes a sip of his lemonade, wishing, I’m
sure, that it was a cold beer instead.
“Donna told you about our conversation the other day?” I ask out of form. Of
COURSE she told him about our conversation already. He nods. “I thought it was a
topic the two of us should cover face to face.”
“Look, I didn’t ask her to call you, Leo.” He hastens to add.
“Do you think I don’t know that already?” I laugh. “You’ve never been one to hide
behind anyone’s skirts; and certainly not about something like this. Still, I think we
ought to talk about it.”
“If the President wants me to resign, I’ll write it out right now.”
“God, would you stop that? Nobody’s talking about you resigning except you.” Leo
lost his patience with his Deputy.
“Then I’m the only rational one in the bunch.” Josh retorts. “The wave of public
opinion is riding high right now because everyone is relieved this story had a
happy ending.” Josh stops and leans forward toward me, his arms resting on the
top of his legs. “But when the bubble bursts, as they always do, then the reality that
the President has a Deputy Chief of Staff suffering from a mental/emotional
disorder is going to sink in, Leo. You know it is. Then how am I going to do the
President’s business on the hill? Who’s going to want to work with me on
anything?...The Republicans are going to line up to take whacks at me and they
will continue the beating until there is nothing left. It’s only a matter of time.”
“Listen to me, son. Your boss has a record of drug and alcohol abuse. His boss
had M.S. and didn’t tell anyone. You think a little thing like PTSD is gonna be the
death of us? Your father would kick your ass right now for even talking like that.”
Josh jolts at the mention of his father. Good, I hope it jolted him right out of this
negative tailspin he’s in.
“Now that doesn’t mean we don’t have work to do.” I warn him. “You’re right. The
bubble will burst so what we want to do is shore up support now. Get as many
members of Congress, on both sides of the aisle, on the record in support of your
staying in the post the President appointed you to. C.J. is working on that, but part
of her plan is going to require that you do some press events. Are you up for that?”
I watch his face carefully as he mulls the idea over. “You’re banking on the fact that
if I’m sitting across the table from them on Meet the Press or Capitol Beat they aren’
t going to be able to question my abilities because my positives are so high right
now.”
I nod. Does this kid know his stuff or what? “Not just you. Sam and Matt have
already signed up.” Now he grins a devilish grin.
“Of course they have.” He acknowledges.
“Speaking of which…” This is going to be the tricky part. Getting Josh to do the
political roundtables and fight the good fight is a piece of cake; although
sometimes he turns into a loose cannon there. Getting him to talk to ANYONE
about personal issues, well, besides Donna, is like herding cats.
“No.”
“You haven’t even heard what I have to say yet.” I protest.
“I’m not doing any ‘woe is me’ weepy interview with Barbara Walters.”
“Is it simply the Barbara Walters part you object to cause I was thinking more like
Mike Wallace.” I offer and he chuckles.
“Leo…I’m not going to lie to you. The last couple days have been rough; really
rough. If I didn’t have Donna and Noah…It’s not simply that I don’t want to do it. I
don’t think I can do it.” He tells me. Well hell.
“All of us think it could go a long way to helping the public understand PTSD better
and by putting a human face to it, we’d rob the Republicans of their opportunity
use it as a weapon.”
“Are you ordering me to do it?” He asks. What? Does he think I’m some kind of
heartless son of a bitch?...On second thought, I’d better not ask him THAT.
“I’m your boss in political matters, Josh. I’m not going to order you around in your
personal decisions.” He gives me a sardonic grin. “Generally, I try to stay out of
your personal decisions…except when you screw them up…or bring them into the
White House…and a few other times I guess.” Now I’m grinning too.
“Well, as long as we understand each other.” He says.
“A sit down on 60 minutes, with you, Matt, Sam, and Donna.” I flush it out.
“Whoa! Nobody said anything about Donna.” Josh literally stands up for her. “She’s
not a part of the deal. She doesn’t even work at the White House anymore.”
“She works for Sam and was involved in the hostage crisis. And who knows better
than Donna what the effects of the PTSD are?” I point out.
“No!” Josh slashes his hand through the air between us. “That’s not negotiable.
Donna isn’t going to be dragged through this again because of me.”
“Don’t you think that’s a decision for me to make, Joshua?” Donna asks from the
doorway. The woman is stealthy, I swear. I think my work here is done.
“I won’t take up any more of your time. The President wanted me to tell you that if
you need more time, you’ve only to let him know. He wants you back in your office,
but he doesn’t want you there until you’re ready. I’ll see myself out.” He nods at me
but he’s looking at Donna.
“Thanks for coming by, Leo.” She tells me and kisses my cheek. I just want to get
out of here before the shit hits the fan. Professional politics is one thing. Marital
discord is quite another.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
I wait until I hear the front door close, and then I take a leisurely seat next to Josh
and pour myself some lemonade.
“So…” I let it trail off and wait for him to jump in. It doesn’t take long.
“I’m not subjecting you to some soul searching interview about what we went
through and how PTSD affects our lives.”
“You’re not subjecting me to anything, besides your male chauvinist pig
tendencies.” I take a sip of the cool drink.
“It’s chauvinistic to want to protect my wife?” See how he’s trying to reframe the
argument. Damn, he’s good. He can’t quit his job.
“No, that part’s sweet. It’s chauvinistic to make decision for your wife without
consulting her because you think you know best.” I correct him.
“I do know-“ He starts.
“Ah, ah, ahhhhh.” I wag my finger at him. “That’s how the trouble started the other
day, remember?” I can see that he does because he immediately looks contrite. If
we hadn’t felt bad before about our pre-hostage fight, the life threatening
experience we went through drove it all home…for both of us.
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” He says.
“Could you wait until I get my camcorder and then repeat that, please?” I ask and
set the lemonade down on the side table. He takes my hand and pulls me to him
until I’m snuggled into his side with my arms around him.
“Smart ass.” He mutters. “I am sorry, Donna. I guess after so many years of being
partners, it just kills me to be on opposite sides of an issue with you.”
“I’m not on an opposite side from you, Josh. For that matter, neither is Sam. This
isn’t personal, it’s professional. We both need to take care that we don’t mix those
two up again. When those shots rang out and I realized you were in the building, all
I could think about was that the last words I spoke to you were in anger. I don’t ever
want to be in that position again.”
“You’re telling me.” He drawls and I punch his shoulder for old times’ sake. “I’ll try to
separate the two. But I’d like to point out that I made an appointment to see Sam
just like you asked me to, and I had lunch reservations for us that day to try to
make it up to you.”
Now I smile even though he can’t see my face. Josh has really come a long way. He’
s an amazing father and he’s getting the hang of the marriage dynamics…most of
the time.
“So noted. Now about the group interview.” He moans but I ignore him. “I’d like to
do the interview, but if you feel that strongly about it, I won’t.”
“Why?”
“Because I respect your opinion.”
“No, why do you want to do the interview.”
“Because as scary as the whole episode was, I saw you and your friends stand up
for each other and risk life and limb for each other over and over. I saw the man I
love, despite his personal demons, stand between his friends and a gunman, and I
want the world to know that story.” There’s a long pause while I let that sink in.
“You’re just worried that if I lose my job, we’re going to have to live on your salary,
which will mean considerably less shoes for you, right?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m worried about, Josh. How perceptive of you.” I tell him
sarcastically. He chuckles.
“I’ll think about it. We should both think about it some more before you go ahead
and agree for both of us anyway.” Josh tells me and now I chuckle.
“Deal.” I seal the deal with a kiss and he seems to like that form of deal sealing
because it continues for quite awhile. “You know…I’m sure Noah is sound asleep
by now.”
“Not that I’m averse to your implication, but with your wrist…”
“I’m so good, I only need one hand.” I assure him and his eyes bug out. “But if it
makes you feel better, you can do most of the work.”
“Anything for you Donnatella.” He smiles and proves that he can take the
responsibility.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
You know, I will admit to a certain amount of geek like qualities, not so loud for
Donna or Sam to hear it, but between you and me they exist. I mean, I went to
Harvard and Yale, I didn’t date in high school and college because I wanted to do
this, and so I spent a lot of time studying, and I’m okay with that. Especially, since
look at the girl I got in the end.
But the reason I bring it up is because I’m about the say something to you that is
reflective of the biggest geek around.
The President.
I have to say, between you and me, that one of the sounds I love is laughter
between friends. Despite the absolute hell of the last week, here we are sitting
around a table having dinner and laughing. It’s mostly Matt and Mike making fun of
me, but I’m okay with that. They’re telling Donna, Sam and Ainsley stories.
It’s getting pretty late, but Zoey’s hanging out with Noah, probably at the White
House by now, if the President had his way, and with the White House Deputy Chief
of Staff and two Congressmen sitting at this table, 1789 isn’t about to kick us out.
Every restaurant in D.C. that’s half-way decent wants to able to boast that it’s a hot
spot for who’s who in Washington and Donna loves the joint, so I’m here a lot.
We just did that ridiculous joint interview for 60 Minutes. And yes, I let Donna do it,
too. So now we’re here at dinner, making fun of what everyone said. Mike and
Ainsley weren’t in the interview because the FBI doesn’t let it’s agents take curtain
calls, though Mike really should, but they were both there watching.
I for one don’t know how it’s really going to play, but I’m not really concerned. Mike
may not have been on the set, but Donna didn’t stop talking about him. The story
Donna told was very different than what Matt, Sam and especially I talked about.
Donna talked about the things people do for their friends and how in her life, she
never before witnessed such devotion and loyalty between friends. Right there in
the Rayburn Building, in the middle of the most bi-partisan place on the planet
were Matt and I doing all sorts of stupid things to try to get the other one out safely.
It actually sounded relatively heroic, if I do say so myself.
Mike said that he’s glad he wasn’t on camera because it made it sound like I was
gay, too. Matt just rolled his eyes. I think the public perception is stilted of me at the
moment anyway, so I don’t particularly care.
Donna links her hand with mine under the table as she knocks back the rest of her
glass of wine. She smiles brightly and me and throws a glance over to Sam and
Ainsley and then back at me. I look over at the couple in question and they’re
heads are close together, carrying on a conversation of their own.
Sam told me that he was planning to propose to Ainsley at Christmas; Donna
immediately followed that up with the fact that it was her idea. He wanted to do it
now because he was given yet another strong reminder that sometimes you might
not have as much time as you think you do, but he was afraid Ainsley’s
ultraconservative father would think they weren’t together long enough. Sam’s got
an uphill battle there, so I don’t blame him.
“Will you come dance with me?” Donna leans over and asks me softly.
“No. I want to see you go out there and slow dance by yourself.” I smirk.
“Jooossshh…” she pouts.
“Of course I’ll dance with you, Donna.” I laugh.
I stand up before she does and gently pull her chair out for her, then take her
uninjured hand in mine. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. I’m such a freaking gentleman.
Donna loves this shit. Let it go.
We join the other couples on the dance floor, of which there aren’t many, and I pull
her close. She lays her head on my shoulder and closes her eyes, sighing
contentedly.
“It went well today.” She says.
“We’ll see.” I reply.
“What do you think about getting away for a little while?” she hedges.
“What do you mean?”
“A vacation.”
“When?”
“I don’t know. Soon. Talk to Leo and tell me. We’ll go away for a week; we’ll go
wherever you want.”
“Why wherever I want?” This is a surprise.
“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “I just want to go away with you, it doesn’t really matter.”
“We could take the time off and stay home.”
“There’s still the chance of getting…interrupted.”
Translation: I’m too accessible in D.C.
“Okay. Let’s go to Boston.” I say on a whim.
“Boston?” she scrunches up her face. “Any particular reason?”
“I like it.” I shrug. “You said I could choose. Every time we go there for anything you
always say you wish you could see more of it.”
“True.”
“I’ll show you my parents’ house in Connecticut.”
“Your mother lives in Florida.”
“But the house is in Connecticut.” I counter.
“Why don’t we just…stay there?” she asks.
“We could.” I say after a moment.
“Yeah?”
“Sure.” You know, now that she’s saying it, I really want her to see that house. I
suddenly want to show her all my favorite places in Westport. Ever since my mother
moved, I hadn’t been that inclined to go to Connecticut. I mean, it’s just a big empty
house, but as soon as Donna showed an interest, suddenly I’m determined to bring
her and Noah there. My sister and my father are buried up there and I have been
to “see” them in a while.
“Kay.” She smiles. “It’ll be fun to see where you grew up.”
“I think you’re going to be surprised.” I say cringing a bit. I had a bit of a pampered
upbringing that I’m told you’d never know about me unless you really knew me,
which Donna does.
“I’m glad you want to go home, Josh. I really want to see it.”
She drops her head on my shoulder and I kiss her forehead. “You’re my home,
Donna.” I whisper softly.
Strange how I’ve lived in this city for about 20 years now and it never felt like
“home” until Donna came into my life. It was where I lived, but I never thought I had
a life here until she became a part of it.
Most of my life has been lived according to Murphy’s Law. It just always seems to
follow me. If it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.
But as I hold this amazing woman in my arms and know that she’s mine and always
will be, I can’t but think…
Sometimes things go right, too.
THE END