Phone Calls 18/?
Donna’s POV:
“One last question.” I call out to the horde of press surrounding the Congressman. “We have
a plane to catch.” Groans meet my statement, but I don’t take it personally. They have got to
be as tired of all this hurry up and wait, stump speech 10 times a day life as we are.
The Congressman takes a follow-up of course, and I share a look of commiseration with
Helen Santos. She’s looking tired. I’ll see if I can’t make sure she gets some rest on the plane
back to D.C. I think about trying Josh again, but Otto said he was on the phone with the
President, and that could take forever; besides, we really have to get going here.
“That’s it everybody. See you on the plane. Congressman, Mrs. Santos?” I lead them towards
the exit and we get into our vehicles. The Congressman rides in the first car with Secret
Service and the Governor. I’m in the second car with Mrs. Santos and the Governor’s wife
and their security. I pick up the phone to leave Josh a message when I feel it…a rumble
underneath us.
I scream and drop the phone, falling to the floor of the limo. Security is literally on top of us.
The driver pulls the car over and Secret Service pulls us from the vehicle. Moments later, we
are pushed into the back of a windowless van that goes careening around the corner. When I
look up, I see the Congressman and the Governor have joined us. Helen is sitting in front of
me and I can hear her calling my name, but I can’t get my throat to work.
“Donna. Donna are you hurt?” she’s asking me. “Matt something’s wrong with Donna.”
“Where are we going?” Matt asks the agent next to him. “What the hell happened back
there?”
“There was an explosion, sir. We’ll get you details as we gather them. Right now, we’re
getting you to the airport. It’s the closest secure location.”
“Was anybody hurt back there? Killed?” he asks.
“No one traveling with us was injured, sir. Several people in the crowd are receiving services
from E.M.S.”
Congressman Santos pulled out his cell phone, but the agent took it away from him.
“No calls until we have everyone secured at the airport sir.”
“Yeah, alright. Helen, it’s going to be alright.” He assures her.
“I’m okay. It’s Donna.” Helen hasn’t let go of my hand since the van started moving.
“Donna. Listen to me. We’re all safe. We’ll be at the airport in just a few minutes, then we can
call Josh.” He tells me.
“Josh?” I manage. Josh should be here. He’d know what to do. I should call him; ask him what
to do. I reach down for my cell phone, but it’s not there. Where the hell is my phone? I need a
phone to call Josh!
“Donna, we can’t call Josh yet. Soon. Soon we can call him. Try to breath, honey.” Helen’s
voice is buzzing in my ears and I have one lucid moment before I pass out.
MVMVMVMVMVMVMVMVMVMVMVMVMVMVMVMVM
Josh’s POV:
“Josh, line 3!” Lou shouts at me.
“Josh Lyman.”
“Mr. Lyman, Agent Brooks, we have the Congressman and his party secured at the airport.
As soon as we get clearance, we’re taking off for D.C.” Thank God.
“Thank you Agent Brooks-“
“Josh line 4!” Lou shouts at me again. “It’s Donna.”
I unceremoniously hang up on Agent Brooks.
“Donna?”
“Josh, it’s Helen. I’ve got Donna right next to me. She’s shaking pretty bad. She needs to talk
to you….Here, Donna, it’s Josh.”
“Donna, are you okay?” Stupid question, I know.
“I…I…could feel the explosion. I can’t …stop…shaking…” her breath is coming in gasps and I
can hardly understand her.
“Listen to me, Donna. You’re safe now.”
“No…I’m…not..”
“You are. I swear you are.”
“I need you…please come…” I have just discovered new meaning to the term ‘helpless’.
“Baby, listen to me. The plane is taking off any minute; I can’t get to you there. I’ll be waiting
for you at the airport here. I’ll be there as soon as you land. I promise.”
“Josh!” she cries and I hear Helen telling her it’s just the engines starting.
“It’s just the plane, Donna. Everything’s okay.” I try to reassure her, but I’m not sure she can
even hear me.
“Please…don’t hang up.” She begs me.
“No. No, I won’t hang up.” I tell her over and over. “I’m right here, baby. I’m right here with
you.” I hear someone else’s voice in the background, then Helen’s voice loud and clear.
“I don’t give a shit what your regulations are, she needs to stay on the phone right now.” I’d
laugh if there weren’t already tears on my face. Way to go Helen!
“I want to come home…Joshua…” she whispers.
“You will be home. In just a little while, you’ll be home again. It’s a short flight, Donnatella. Just
hang in there…So, how was the speech?” I ask, desperate to change the subject. I think I
heard a choked laugh.
“Fffine…How was the…President?” Now it’s my turn to laugh and I can because I hear her
breathing start to even out.
“I’ve brought shame to the family…he wasn’t very impressed with the details of my proposal.”
“Neither...was I.” she tells me.
“Then it’s your lucky day, because you get a do over proposal.”
“You can’t have a…do over proposal.” She admonishes me.
“Sure I can. In fact, we should have a rule; I get to do over anything that I screw up the first
time.” I like that idea.
“What about when you screw up…the second time?” There’s my Donnatella.
“Then you’ll have to come up with a suitable consequence.”
“I’ll…work on that.” She tells me. “I love you Joshua.”
“I love you too. I’m going to hang up now, so I can get to the airport, okay?”
“Yes, okay.”
“See you soon.” I reluctantly break the line and grab my keys. Half way downstairs, I decide
to cab it. I really don’t think I should be driving right now.
It takes forever for the damn plane to land. But once it does, and the doors open, I am
fighting my way through the crowd to find her. I spot her immediately; Helen still glued to her
side. When Helen sees me she step back and I pull Donna with me to sit down in one of the
first few rows. Helen is crying, but gives me a wink before she disembarks with the rest of the
staff and crew.
I simply hold her for a few minutes as she sobs on my shoulder.
“You’re okay. Everything’s okay.” I whisper to her.
“I’m so glad you’re here. I don’t think I could go another minute without you.” She pulls back
from my arms so I can see her face. I use my sleeve to wipe the tears off her cheeks.
“Me either.” I pull her back onto my lap and hold her. I don’t know how long we sit there, but it
must be awhile because the plane is almost completely deserted now.
“We should go, too.” Donna notices the stillness for the first time.
“In a minute.” I tell her and reach for the box I’ve been carrying with me for the past two days.
“I think you said you preferred privacy for this.” I open the box and withdraw the ring I had
help picking out. “Donnatella Moss, will you marry me?”
“Yes. Yes, I will.” She kisses me as I slip the ring on her finger. “That was a pretty good do
over, Joshua.”
“Let’s go home.” I decide.
“But what about-“
“Let’s go home.” I repeat. She sees the determination in my face, and wisely chooses not to
argue with me.
“Okay, let’s go home.”
*******************************************************
Phone Calls 19/20
“After a full investigation, we feel confident that all perpetrators involved in the bombing in
Philadelphia are in custody.”
“You feel confident. Well, alright then.” Josh repeats. The Congressman sends him a look of
warning.
“I assure you, Congressman, that our investigation was exhaustive, and that additional
precautions are being taken even now as election results come in.” The Special Agent in
charge related. He did not bother to address Josh Lyman. In his limited dealings with him, he
found Mr. Lyman to be…hostile.
“Thank you. Ron Butterfield has signed off on this?” Santos confirms.
“Yes, sir. But if you have any additional questions or concerns, please bring them directly to
me.” He added as he left the hotel suite.
“Yeah, cause I only ALMOST got you blown up last time I ran your detail.” Josh said
sarcastically.
“I trust Ron Butterfield…you told me to trust Ron Butterfield.” Santos reminded Josh. “You got
to trust someone, Josh.”
“No, I don’t.” Josh contradicted him as he turned the television back on. “Finally, they call
Minnesota!”
“I can be patient; as long as they call it for us in the end.”
“You’re a better man than me, sir. DONNA!” Josh was pacing now, and Santos was watching
his campaign manager with amusement. Donna came in and exchanged a look with the
Congressman.
“I’m not coming when you call me like some dog, Joshua.” She told him primly.
“Yet you did, actually. Why don’t we have numbers for Texas yet?”
“Oh, let me think. I’m sure there was a reason of some kind…”
“Donna, you’re killing me here.” Josh cut her one woman play short.
“They’re not out yet. Come take a walk with me or something.”
“Are you kidding me? We’ve got all kinds of freaky Election Day numbers happening here
and you want to take a walk?”
“Or…something…” she gives him a look and Santos hastily moves over to the TV screen and
out of their direct line of sight.
“Ah-kay.” He reluctantly took the hand Donna held out for him. “I’ve got my-“
“I think he know how to reach you if he needs you, Joshua. Come with me.” Donna led him
from the room as Helen entered.
“Thank God for Donna, huh?” Helen says to her husband. “He is one mass of energy.”
“Strangely, though, his anxiety helps keep me calm. It’s like he worries for the both of us and I
can relax…I think this is going to be a long night.”
“I think it’s going to be a good night.” Helen countered.
“It’s going to be REALLY close…Josh said so.” Santos smiles.
“He also said you’re going to win.” Helen kissed him. “What do you think about that?”
“Josh is pretty conservative in his predictions, so I have to say it scares me a little. What if I
can’t do this?”
“It’s a little late to be worrying about that now.” She teases. “Let’s eat some dinner until the
second act of the Josh Lyman show starts.”
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“We are now calling the State of Texas for Congressman Matthew Santos.”
Shouts of excitement rip through the Santos war room and Lou pops the cork on the
champagne. Everyone is celebrating but Josh. He is still watching the electoral map intently,
as if he can color in the remaining two states blue by the power of his mind. He feels her
hand on his back and speaks to her without turning his head.
“I should have moved more money to Nevada last week.”
“That will teach you not to leave your crystal ball at home.”
“We have to win both states now, Donna, or it’s game over.”
“I do understand how an electoral map works, thanks professor.”
“I’m just saying…”
“Have a little faith, Joshua.” She reminds him and he turns to look at her.
“I’m not so good with that.”
“I’ll help you with it.” She promises and drops a kiss on his mouth.
It was another agonizing hour before they got the final update and Donna was about to have
Josh sedated. All that was left was Nevada.
“CNN news is now prepared to call the election for Congressman-“
The rest of the announcement was drowned out by victory cries in the war room. Josh
slumped down into the nearest chair and noticed Leo was sitting across from him.
“This is all your fault.” He accused Josh and smiled. “You did this.”
“We did it.” Josh corrected as he pulled Donna into his lap and kissed her soundly.
“Dance with me Josh.” She purred and he was swept up by the giddy relief and unbridled
excitement. The music was fast and loud, but Josh and Donna continued to sway slowly to
music all their own.
The President and Vice-President elect made their victory speeches and went to bed. After
receiving orders to take the morning off, the rest of the staff gradually wandered towards bed
and well deserved sleep.
Josh was in the middle of a very pleasant dream involving Donna and a beach when the
distinctive sound of his ring tone woke him up. 7:12 AM?
“I have a note written by the President-elect of the United States giving me permission to take
the morning off. Go away.” He answered.
“Josh!” It was Mallory. “It’s Dad. They’re taking him to the hospital; Methodist hospital…on
Fannin street.” She was clearly distraught.
Josh sat up suddenly and startled Donna awake. She looked at him with concern.
“What happened, Mal? What’s wrong?”
“It’s his heart. He’s had another attack. I found him in our sitting room when I got up this
morning. Please come.”
“We’re on our way, Mal. We’ll be right there.” He assures her as he searches for clothing.
Donna, having gotten the gist of the conversation from Josh’s end of the call, started handing
him his clothes and shoes while she gathered her own. She picked up the hotel phone and
requested a cab to take them to Leo. They dressed and left in record time. Josh had called
the President-elect with a promise to call with an update as soon as they had one.
Secret Service directed them to Mallory who was pacing in the waiting area.
“No one will tell me anything!” she complained as Josh pulled her into his arms.
“I’ll see what I can find out. They may not have answers yet, Mal.” He passed her to Donna
and went in search of someone who could give him information. It took another painful 10
minutes before he brought a doctor to Mallory.
“We have him stable at the moment, but he is still in serious condition.” She told them. “We’re
going to keep him in the cardiac ICU for the time being.”
“Can I see him?” Mallory asked tearfully.
“Right away, but only one visitor at a time.” She stipulates.
“Tell him we’re here, okay Mal?” Josh requests and she nods.
“We’ll be waiting here. Let us know if you need anything.” Donna added.
When the phone rings, Josh is surprised by the name on the caller ID.
“I’m surprised to hear from you so early in the morning, Bob.”
“I just heard. What do you know?”
“Stable but serious condition. How are they playing it?” Josh asks.
“Tragic events cast a pall over the electoral victory of-“
“Yeah. I should call Lou again.” Josh notes.
“You should call Sam.” Toby corrects. “You’re going to need him.”
“I’d prefer to do that one in person. Will you call him and give him the update?”
“Sure. Keep me in the loop?” Toby asks hesitantly.
“We will.” Josh tells him. “Thanks, Bob.”
“For what, exactly?”
“For the advice, the calls, and especially the help with the ring.”
“That was for Donna, not you.” He groused.
“Of course it was. Talk to you soon.” Josh told him as he hung up.
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Josh’s POV:
When Mallory takes a break, I get a turn to sit with Leo awhile. He’s asleep, but I’m so
relieved to see his steady heartbeat and even breathing that consciousness seems too much
to ask for. I watch him for 20 minutes before his eyes flutter open.
“Hey, boss. Don’t think you’re getting out of transition this easy. A note from your doctor isn’t
going to work with me.”
“It’s your headache this time.” He tells me.
“It sure is.” I wait for him to make eye contact with me. “Donna said she promised you the first
dance at our wedding, so you’ve got to get back on your feet soon.”
“You need to talk to Matt…about replacing me.” He’s having trouble staying awake.
“You can talk to him yourself when he comes later, but I can guarantee the conversation won’
t be about replacing you.” I squeeze his hand. “As long as I got a job, you’ve got a job.” I see
tears in his eyes that must match mine, and since neither of us is completely comfortable with
that kind of display among men, I get up and release his hand. “I’ll go get Mal.”
I find Mallory and Donna in the waiting room playing with Mallory’s 6 month old baby boy. He’s
pretty cute and Donna looks cute with him. I allow myself a minute to imagine her holding our
child and the thought doesn’t scare me as much as I imagined it would.
“Hey, Mal. He’s awake.” I tell her and her face lights up.
“Go ahead, we’ll watch Max.” Donna tells her and I raise my eyebrows at her. “I’ll watch Max.”
she corrects herself. Mallory laughs at the byplay between us and goes to see her father.
“Come here, big guy. You need some time away from all these women don’t you?” I ask him
as I take him out of Donna’s arms. Now her eyebrows go up in surprise.
“I can handle a baby.” I act all insulted.
“Since when?” she demands.
“Since…now, plus I’ve played with Huck and Molly before.”
“At the office, while I was holding them, until they cried, or spit up, or-“
“Okay, okay, but I’m a graduate of Harvard and Yale. Surely I can handle a six month old
child.” I insist and bounce the kid on my knee to prove it. He giggles and I feel a great sense
of satisfaction.
“Yeah, ‘cause Harvard and Yale provide such a great preparation for infant care.”
“I’m doing just fine here, Donnatella.”
“Yes, yes you are.” She agrees.
“Besides, I think maybe I should practice a little…for when we have kids.” I throw out there. I
am the master of subtlety.
“You planning on having these children soon?” she asks as she hands Max her keys to play
with. Hey, he really likes them! I’ll have to remember that trick.
“Relatively soon.” I inform her and make a face at Max. He likes that, too.
“Okay.” She replies and we share a smile. “Oh, Sam called while you were in with Leo. You
should really give him a call and talk him into coming here. Maybe going to see him would be
better…”
“Great idea.” I chuckle. No, if I told her I already thought of that, it would only start trouble.
See how smart I’m getting about relationships?
Phone Calls 20
“I can’t believe you’re calling me about this right now! You’re getting married tomorrow.”
“I can’t believe your people are pulling this crap at the 11th hour.”
“First of all…my people? Some Republicans may be taking advantage of a time in which they
perceive you may be distracted by other things, but not me, or ‘my people’.” Matt Skinner
objects loudly.
“Whatever. I’m in New Hampshire, not Mars. I can get back to D.C. and kick whatever asses
need kicking in the time it takes them to-“ Josh doesn’t get to finish his threat.
“Please. Settle down. Sam is getting them back on the reservation as we speak. You ought to
trust your deputy a little more.” He goes for teasing, but it falls flat with Josh.
“I trusted the House Republicans when they sat in my office and gave me their worthless
collective word that this bill was going to fly. Sam shouldn’t have to be getting anyone back
on the reservation at this point.”
“It will be fine. I promise. Go spend some time with your bride.” Matt figures getting him to
Donna will help calm the Chief of Staff. He figured wrong.
“I’m not allowed.” He mumbles in reply. Matt laughs.
“What do you mean you’re not allowed? Aren’t you both at Bartlet’s farm already?”
“I’ve been sent to the guest house. All the women are in the main house, and I’m not allowed
over there until after the wedding…tomorrow!”
“Yes, I know when the wedding is. I’ve been invited.”
“You won’t be allowed in if this bill doesn’t pass today.” Josh gets back into his threatening
posture.
“You’ve had a pretty smooth 6 months, my friend, I think the honeymoon may be over…so to
speak.” If Matt couldn’t send him to Donna, he could at least distract him from that fact with
some Republican rhetoric.
“We’re just getting started, Matt, and you can pass that on to all your Republican pals.”
“If you think we’re going to roll over and beg just because your guy is at 57% approval, you
are SO mistaken.” Matt kicked back and got into it with his old friend. By the time they hung
up, he was sure Josh had temporarily forgotten he had been exiled to the guest house.
MNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMN
“You’ve got the rings, right?” Josh asked again.
“Yes, Josh. Would you like to see them...again?” Sam was a patient man, but he was about to
haul off and hit his best friend. First, Josh cons him into coming back to be his deputy, and
then Josh flatters him by asking him to be best man. To be completely fair, he figured that
Josh would be a little nutty by this time, just a few minutes before the ceremony, but he hadn’t
anticipated this level of nutty.
“No, if you say you’ve got them, then you’ve got them, right?” Josh replied. Sam waited a
beat for the inevitable. “Yeah, let me see them again.”
Sam pulled them out of his pocket and held them in front of Josh’s face. Josh nodded and
Sam put them back. Sam looked surprised when he heard Josh’s phone.
“Josh Lyman.”
“You promised no phone Joshua.” Donna accused.
“I must have accidentally slipped it in my pocket, babe. Just an honest mistake.” He
maintained.
“Uh-huh. Hand the phone over to Sam or I’m taking the lovely limo parked outside to the
nearest airport by myself.” She threatened. Josh tossed the phone to Sam who caught it
neatly.
“Can we get started before your fiancée blows a circuit?” Sam inquired.
“I’m on my way down.” Donna confirmed.
C.J., as the matron on honor, preceded Donna down the aisle and gave Josh a wink when
she drew up next to him. When Josh finally saw his bride he would have sworn his heart
literally stopped. Her Father took her hand from his arm and gave it to Josh. Josh was
surprised to note that his own hand was shaking. Here, in front of all his friends and family, in
front of a past and current President, he was joining his life to Donna’s.
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court had readily agreed to perform the ceremony, stating
she owed her current position to Josh and Donna. The civil ceremony was thankfully brief,
but as they walked back down the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Lyman, Josh was shocked to see
Toby Ziegler seated alone in the back of the gathering. Toby quietly said, “Mazel Tov.”
Josh stopped then and there smiled his thanks. President Bartlet’s last act in office had been
to pardon Toby, but Josh never expected that Toby would come to Jed Bartlet’s farm for the
wedding. Maybe this was a sign that things were healing between the former President and
his once trusted advisor.
As promised, Donna broke with tradition and danced the first dance with Leo McGarry. He
was taking things easy with reduced hours, but Josh teased him that being Vice-President
was really a demotion from Chief of Staff anyway.
Sam gave his toast, which mostly poked fun of Josh, but there was no way President Bartlet
was going to miss the opportunity to give a speech.
“That was a lovely toast, Samuel.” He began. “I suppose it would be appropriate to talk about
the history of the toast at this point…” Most of the crowd moaned. “But I shall refrain from the
history lesson and instead simply convey my love and best wishes to these two exceptional
people. Josh, never take Donna for granted. Donna, please exercise patience; lots and lots
of patience.”
“Hey!” Josh protested.
“You took a long circuitous route to this point in your lives, and that route had plenty of
hazards. May the rest of your route be filled with peace, love, and joy.”
“Thank you, Mr. President, for the good wishes, and the brevity.” Josh replied.
“To Mr. and Mrs. Lyman…” The President lifted his glass and drank to the toast along with
the rest of the party.
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Phone Calls Epilogue:
“Yes, Joshua?” Donna asked, trying to remember President Bartlet’s plea for patience. She
didn’t realize it would be put to the test so much within their first year of marriage.
“How did you know it was me?” Josh asked.
“Lucky guess.” Donna deadpanned. “What is it?”
“Huh?”
“Why did you call me a mere 10 minutes after I left your office where we had lunch together,
Joshua?”
“I was…just going to see what time you thought you’d be done tonight.”
“The same time I said I’d be done tonight when I was in your office 10 minutes ago.” Donna
tried to keep her temper in check. It wasn’t good to get all worked up.
“Oh yeah…Okay, then. I guess that’s it.” Josh mumbled.
“Josh, you have to stop this.” Donna’s voice was getting tight and low. Josh knew that wasn’t
good.
“Stop what?” he tried for innocent, but he should have known better.
“Stop checking up on me every 5 minutes. I’m pregnant, not impaired.” Donna explained
once again.
“But you’re very, very pregnant, Donna. I’m really not convinced you should even be here.”
Josh went straight to defense.
“My doctor told you it was fine for me to continue to work. The Surgeon General told you it
was fine for me to continue work.”
“He’s a quack.” Josh contradicted her. “Did you hear his speech on alternative medicine?
The guy’s a loon.”
“Josh…”
“Yes?”
“If you call over here one more time today, you will not live to see your child born. Do you
understand me?”
“When you say ‘call over there’, do you mean you specifically, or anyone in the East Wing?”
Josh asked for clarification.
“Josh…” Donna dropped her head on her desk in frustration. “If I promise to leave early, will
you leave me in peace for the rest of the afternoon?”
“What time is early?” Josh wanted specifics.
“5:00.”
“3:00.” He retorted.
“It’s 1:30 now, I’ll never get this done by… How about 4:30?”
“Done.” Josh quickly sealed the deal and hung up. There would be no more phone calls
today…at least not to Donna. He wondered what Sam was doing…
The End.