Chapter 3
“He can’t be tossing military personnel out of his room because they aren’t you.” John Hoynes
took a deep breath. “They are relaying important information that he needs to-“
“Excuse me, sir.” Charlie stepped into the room. “Josh Lyman is on hold for you.” President
Hoynes gave Donna a sardonic look.
“I took the phone with me.” She insisted and opened her large purse to show the proof of her
statement. Hoynes waved her purse away from him and picked up the phone, putting it on
speaker.
“Joshua…we need to talk about authorized briefers.” Hoynes began with more patience than
Donna thought he was capable of.
“I don’t want authorized briefers. They don’t know what I need and they don’t know how to brief
me.” Josh complained. “Just give it to Donna.”
“Donna doesn’t have clearance for some of this.” The President argued.
“Then get her clearance.” Josh insisted. “How hard can that be?”
John Hoynes rolled his eyes at Donna. “Pretty damn hard considering that this includes
classified military information. As much as we both trust Donna-“
“I didn’t ask for any of this!” Josh shouted. “I’ve got PT in 10 minutes and I can’t even process
this mess Commander ….whomever just handed me.”
“Josh….?” Hoynes took his time finishing his thoughts. “How are you feeling? Physically?”
Donna’s eyes dropped down to the floor; a move that was not lost on the President.
“I’m….okay. I’m okay.” The second statement had a little more power behind it but given Donna’
s avoidance of eye contact at the moment, Hoynes wasn’t buying it.
“I’m going to check in with Donna about a good time to visit and then I’m coming over to brief
you myself. I’d like to discuss some options with you.” Hoynes decreed.
“Yes, sir.” Josh intoned but it was followed by a fit of coughing that made Donna and the
President both wince.
“Bye Josh.” Hoynes hung up the phone. “How bad is he?”
“Sir, I’d feel more comfortable with you talking to his doctors.” Donna stated.
“Right. And how much is he hiding from them?” Hoynes asked shrewdly.
“Sir, he asked me to give you these with his notes.” Donna pulled out a briefing book from Josh’
s backpack and handed it over completely ignoring Hoyne’s question.
“Donna, I’m not asking you to betray your boss and…friend. I need to know if he’s firing on all
cylinders right now.”
“Sir, he’s in a tremendous amount of pain and just talking for a while can wear him out. On top of
that…he’s having…emotionally, he’s got a lot of his plate right now.” Donna answered carefully.
“He feels terrible about not being at the President’s funeral. He hasn’t had an opportunity to say
goodbye and-“
“What does he need, Donna?”
“Time, Mr. President.”
“That’s the one thing I can’t offer.” Hoynes grimaced. “Pick something else.”
“Sir-“
“I mean it Donna. Time, I do not have. I’d move him next door in a hospital bed if I wasn’t afraid
you and Dr. Bartlet would kill me in my sleep.”
“Not an unfounded fear…sir.” Donna tacked on.
“We need to upgrade your security clearance. Go see Leo about getting it done. I’ll brief Josh
today. When is his PT done?”
“It goes for an hour, but he’ll be useless to you after that until he get s a nap.” Hoynes sighed. “I’
m sorry sir, but PT is exhausting and he can’t push it either. He has his blood pressure to worry
about and he won’t take any of the heavy duty pain meds anymore so he’s sharp in case you
need him, sir.”
“Call me when he’s…available.” Hoynes decided. “And thanks for all your tireless work, Donna. I
hope Josh appreciates you.”
“He does, sir.” Donna answered quickly and exited to Leo’s office. She couldn’t pinpoint why his
compliment made her want to take a shower…but it did. “Leo?” She knocked briefly on his open
door. “Do you have a minute?”
“For you, always!” Leo smiled but his face clearly showed the stress and pain of the last 10
days. “The President wants to update your security status.”
“What does that mean to me?”
“More FBI interviews; with you and people you’re close to. Another round of background checks
and some 1 on 1 work with agents who will go over how to handle and transfer sensitive
documents.” Leo explained.
Donna let out a heavy sigh that Leo misinterpreted. “Donna, you don’t have to do this. If you’d
rather not-“
“No, Leo, that’s not it. If it will help Josh and help the President…I’m just wondering how much
time it’s going to take away from the hospital.”
“There’s no reason they can’t do the interviews there. You’ll have to come back here for some
of it, though.” Leo saw Donna’s eye overflow with tears. “Donna, I think you’re taking on too
much.”
“Everyone is; why should I be any different?” She smiled sadly. “I’m really worried about Josh,
Leo. He’s having nightmares and struggling so much with the PT. I don’t know what to do to help
him.”
“Yes, you do.” Leo countered. “You always do. Nobody knows Josh better than you do. Let’s put
our heads together and come up with a plan.”
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“Is our relationship about to change?” Josh teased and Donna gingerly placed him in the
passenger seat of his car.
“You wish.” Donna quipped.
“Well yeah, but I was thinking later when I have a little more stamina.” Josh grinned and for the
first time in a long time, it reached his eyes.
“Very funny. Behave or I’ll take you back inside and directly to PT.” Donna reached around him
to clip on his seat belt, but when she moved back to shut the door Josh took her hand to hold
her close to him.
“I’m sorry. I was just…I don’t know what I’d have done without you since Rosslyn.” Josh looked
down at their joined hands for a second. “Way before that, actually.” He admitted.
“We’ll see if you still feel that way when we get back from our trip.” Donna said quietly and ran
her palm down his cheek before releasing her hand and shutting the car door.
Josh watched where they were going and it didn’t take him long to put together their destination.
It made him a little anxious, but he knew this was something he needed to do just the same. His
surprise came when he saw they weren’t the only ones gathered at Arlington. He was assisted
out of the car by Sam and Toby, while Donna, C.J., Leo, Margaret, and Mrs. Landingham waited
patiently for him. Then another car, complete with Secret Service pulled up and out came Mrs.
Bartlet and her three daughters; Zoey he hadn’t seen since Rosslyn. She looked even worse
than he felt, but he enveloped her in a hug.
“Hey, kiddo. It’s good to see you.” He told her quietly and saw her face dissolve in tears.
“Sorry. All I do lately is cry.” Zoey explained.
“That’s going around lately.” He replied and squeezed her hand.
“We thought it was time for a memorial for Jed.” Abby announced.
“I’d have thought you’d had enough of that, Mrs. B.” Josh said honestly.
“The State Funeral, the interviews…that was all about the country. This is about Jed and I just
wanted to include family.” She replied and took Josh’s hand in hers to walk over to the President’
s gravestone.
They all shared favorite stories and memories of the man they’d all come to be so close to. Leo
led the group in prayer. There was as much laughter as there were tears, so Donna concluded
the memorial was a success. One by one, people wandered off to get back to the important work
at the White House until it was just the Bartlet women, Josh, and Donna.
“Jed loved working with you…and teasing you, Joshua. You were a big part of why he was sitting
in the Oval office and he knew that.” Abby told him. “But he would NEVER want you to run
yourself into the ground, literally or metaphorically, in an asinine attempt to work out your
misplaced guilt.” Abby turned him toward her so they met eye to eye. “Do you understand me
Joshua?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Josh agreed.
“Good, because I can and will come back here to kick your ass if you don’t follow my advice.”
Abby warned him. “You have people counting on you sticking around for awhile, right Donna?”
“Uh, yes, ma’am.” Donna hurried to answer.
“Damn right. The girls and I are heading to Manchester later today. When you’re feeling up to a
visit, come and see us.”
“I will. Thanks, Mrs. B.” Josh hesitated. “I loved him very much, you know.”
“Of course I do. And he knew it too; never doubt that.” With a final kiss to his cheek, the four
Bartlet women left Josh and Donna at the gravesite alone.
“Donna…would you…I’d just like a moment alone?”
“Of course.” Donna agreed immediately. “I’ll wait over in the car.”
Josh waited a minute until Donna was out of earshot before he began his speech. “Good
afternoon, Mr. President. I’m sorry it took me so long to get here. I hope you don’t mind that I sit.
I’m pretty wiped about now.”
“I would give almost anything to trade places with you, sir.” Josh threw a guilty look over at
where Donna waited patiently in the car. “Donna doesn’t like me saying that, sir, but it’s the
truth. I have never been so proud of anything in my life as I was to serve you. It was an amazing
honor and I don’t know that I can continue doing the job for someone else. I had the chance to
work for Hoynes before and I left his campaign to work for you. It seems like it would be an
incredible let down.”
“Still, I don’t want to let him down when he’s already feeling overwhelmed and in desperate need
of help.” Josh reasoned. “I don’t know what to do, sir, on a whole host of different fronts.” Again,
Josh’s eyes moved, of their own volition, to Donna. “I feel like the plaque that rested on your
desk; Oh Lord, your sea is so wide and my boat is so small. I want to do what’s right, but part of
me just wants to pack up and go back to Connecticut and forget about politics.”
Josh took a deep breath. “God, I wish I could talk to you, for just a few minutes; get your advice.”
Josh let out a short laugh. “Of course, I hardly ever took it when you were alive so why should
you believe I’d listen now, right? You are most sincerely missed, Mr. President; most sincerely
missed.” Josh wiped the tears away from his face and got up. But before he walked back to the
car, he picked up a small stone from the ground and placed it on the President’s headstone.
Then he took a slow walk back to the car. Once he got carefully inside Donna handed him a
bottle of water and a pill.
“Donna…”
“Take it, or I’ll force it down your throat. This was way too much for you today and we both know
it.” Josh’s dimpled popped out and he swallowed the pill without further comment about it.
“Then why did you arrange it?” He asked. There was no doubt in his mind who had orchestrated
today’s event. Donna shrugged, but Josh pushed. “Why?”
“Because you needed it. You can’t move on until you’ve had a chance to say goodbye and it
wouldn’t have been the same if it had just been you and me; you needed to grieve with your
family.”
“You always know what I need, don’t you Donnatella?”
“I’m tuned to you.” She smiled.
“Yes, you are, but don’t blow it off as a joke.” Josh insisted. “Do you know how rare it is to find
that?” He asked and ran a hand through her hair. “I honestly don’t know what I’ve done to
deserve you, but at this point I’ve decided that I don’t need to know as long as I’m not going to
take it for granted anymore.”
“No?” Donna nearly squeaked.
“No.” Josh repeated before he gently touched his lips to hers. “We have some talking to do,
Donna.”
“I guess so.” Donna agreed and started the car. “But this isn’t getting you out of your evening
PT.”
“Never doubted it for a minute, but if you’re there with me, I’ll get through it.” Josh grinned again.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“Toby! What have you got for me?” Josh asked with a renewed energy that Toby hadn’t seen
since the shooting.
“The…President asked me to run this by you.” Toby answered. “Didn’t even have me show it to
Leo.”
“You could’ve just given it to Donna. You didn’t need to bring it out here yourself.” Josh ignored
the question inherent in Toby’s statement.
“She was busy with something at the White House; an FBI interview?”
“Oh, okay.” Josh nodded when he remembered where Donna was at the moment. “This is great
work Toby. When does the President want to give it?” Josh indicated the short speech.
“Before the UN meeting on Thursday.” Toby replied.
“Sure.” Josh nodded again. It made sense; present the case to the UN before ordering the air
strike. It would be best if they had the backing of the UN. “It’s short, but it’s not like the entire
world isn’t familiar with our case already.”
“You’re on the inside with this, right?” Toby asked.
“Yeah…” Josh sighed. “I really can’t share anymore than what you’ve already-“
“No, I know that. I just wanted somebody I trusted on the inside. Hoynes’ people are running
roughshod over everyone in the West Wing.” Toby relayed. “It’s getting nasty.”
“What are you telling me, Toby?”
“I’m telling you that my days in the Hoynes administration? They are numbered.” Josh blinked in
surprise. “He says he doesn’t want to sound like Jed Bartlet; though I think he could do far
worse…”
“Toby, I think if you gave him a little time-“
“He’d what? Grow some integrity overnight?”
“Toby-“
“Tell me you don’t feel the same and I’ll shut up.”
“I don’t- Hell, Toby, you know how I felt about working for Hoynes.”
“Felt; past tense?”
“This is different. He’s the President now.” Josh tried to make Toby understand. “He’s asking me
to serve and I feel I owe that much to President Bartlet; to try and help with the transition. After
that, well, we’ll have to see.”
“With you as COS?”
“Leo’s COS.” Josh said firmly.
“Not for long.” Toby noted. “Look, you’re the logical choice. Hoynes knows you, you know the
job, you’re like the poster boy for a transition between administrations. I understand why he
wants you there and I even respect his political savvy in wanting you in that office, but I’m not
clear on why you’d want it; or at least not why you’d want it with him in the Oval.”
“I’m NOT sure, Toby, but until I am I’m going to try to help as much as possible.” Josh stated
clearly. “Help me do this. Not for Hoynes, but for President Bartlet.”
Toby lowered his head in defeat. Josh had played his hand well. “I’ll…try, but if things continue
to go south…”
“I’ll take it. Where’s everybody else on this? Nobody but Donna has been by for days.” Josh
groused and then though better of it. “I didn’t mean it like- I know things have to be chaotic. I just
feel cut off from everyone.”
“Then you’d better speak to Donna. She has some pretty detailed rules about work and access
to you.” Toby mentioned. “As for everybody else? Sam would stay if you asked him, but it would
be for you not Hoynes. C.J.’s already got a foot out the door. She can’t work with Hoynes.”
“She’s worked with Hoynes a million times.” Josh protested.
“Not like this. Not as a direct report and not so…closely.” Toby evaded.
Josh put two and two together; Toby’s lack of a direct response and Hoynes reputation with
women, and got five.
“Did he…?” Josh broke off and took a deep breath.
“No, at least not like you’re thinking.” Toby interrupted his line of thought.
“Then what did you mean by-“
“You should talk to CJ about this, not me.”
“You brought it up.” Josh reminded him.
“But I will not be expounding on a topic that was shared with me in confidence.” Toby explained.
“I just didn’t want you to misinterpret a resignation letter that might be landing on your desk very
soon.”
Josh recognized that Toby would not be commenting further and, as a friend, he appreciated
him keeping C.J.’s story confidential. But as the next COS, and as C.J.’s friend, he was going to
get to the bottom of this. He had resigned himself to the fact that he’d be stepping up to the
plate for Hoynes, but that would change in a heartbeat of Hoynes did anything like that to
disgrace himself and the office he now held.
“Okay. Thanks for the heads up.” Josh acknowledged. “And thanks for bringing this over
personally.”
“They’re going to spring you in a few days?” Toby repeated the rumor he’d heard through the
grapevine.
“Monday, unless I nosedive before then.” Josh joked, but the humor fell flat on the Director of
Communications. He often forgot how superstitious Toby could be. “Which, of course, I won’t.”
He quickly amended.
“Thank you.” Toby rolled his eyes. “Do you…need someplace to stay when they kick you out?”
Josh nearly laughed at the ‘please don’t take me up on my offer’ expression on Toby’s face.
“Unless something really bad has happened since I checked in to the Shangri La here, I own an
apartment nearby.” Josh cracked a smile.
“Yes, but you really can’t stay there alone, can you?” Toby asked. He knew Josh’s mother had
gone to her home the day before.
“Well, I could but it was going to be awfully hard.” Josh sobered again. “I will gladly take you up
on your offer to come stay with me for awhile, Toby. It means a lot to me that you would even
offer.”
“I…didn’t exactly mean that I…But if you really need somebody…” Toby stammered.
Josh couldn’t keep the straight face anymore and started laughing. “Donna…Donna’s going to
stay with me.”
Toby sighed in relief at the reprieve and then thought better of it. “Do you think that’s a good
idea? Donna staying with you?”
“I think it’s an excellent idea.” Josh continued to smile.
“Josh…since the…thing…there have been a lot of rumors floating around about you and
Donna.”
“There’ve always been rumors floating around about me and Donna.”
“Things may have been kicked up to another level since, you know, the constant vigil during
your surgery and her, rules, and such now.” Toby noted.
“Toby, that’s just not on the list of things I choose to care about today.” Josh sighed.
“But it may be on your list tomorrow and then it will be too late.”
“Toby-“ Josh’s voice had risen considerably and he took a second to bring it back down again.
“There has been only ONE good thing to come out of this. One tiny sliver of silver lining; and
that’s what I’ve found with Donna. I am not giving that up for King and country, nor especially for
John Hoynes. Are. We. Clear?”
“Crystal.” Toby answered quickly. Josh’s mood swings were still unpredictable. They had been
ever since Rosslyn, but Toby figured if anyone was entitled to some mood swings it was Josh
Lyman. In the meantime, he’d huddle with C.J. on press strategies in case the need arose. And
it would arise.
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“I can’t make it.” Josh complained to the sadistic Physical Therapist.
“Once more up and down the stairs.” He insisted. Bastard.
“I. Can’t.” Josh repeated and slowly sank down to the floor.
“Sure you can. I’ll help you.” The familiar voice shocked Josh out of his self pity and he looked
up into the eyes of Jed Bartlet who was offering Josh his hand.
“Mr….President?” Josh nearly stuttered.
“I think that title is currently held by someone else. You should call me Jed now.”
“Right…sir.” Josh mumbled, worried about his mental state.
“You’re perfectly sane, Josh. Or at least as sane as you ever were.” Bartlet chuckled. “Now let’s
get to work on the stairs.”
“It doesn’t matter if I do the stairs. I’m obviously dreaming. They’re just dream stairs.” Josh
insisted although he took President Bartlet’s hand and let the older man help him to his feet.
“Then you should practice them anyway.” Bartlet countered. “Did you know that in a scientific
experiment on the power of the mind-“
“Oh, God…” Josh moaned.
“Shut up and listen, Joshua.”
“Yes, sir.”
“The children who practiced shooting hoops for an hour did only slightly better than the children
that simply closed their eyes and imagined shooting perfect baskets for an hour? The kids who
physically practiced for an hour made, as all humans do, mistakes. So they were practicing
imperfectly. The children who used their imagination made the basket perfectly every time,
never missed. And when they got up to physically make the shots, their bodies knew what to do.
Isn’t that fascinating?”
“Not so much, sir.” Josh admitted. “Was there a point to this story? Not that there has to be…”
“Of course there’s a point, Josh. Even if this is a dream, it’s good to practice.” Jed urged him
forward and walked the steps with him. “And it’s nice to have a partner to help you.”
“That guy?” Josh pointed to the PT standing below them. “He’s obnoxious and far too young to
be any good at this stuff.”
“Maybe. But I once thought that about this team that Leo assembled for me to help me run for
President.” Jed smiled at Josh rolling his eyes.
“That was different. We all had experience before that.”
“Yes, and it was very impressive. Toby had steered exactly none of his candidates to victory.
Sam was…what was it again? Oh yes, protecting oil companies from law suits. C.J. was pimping
Hollywood movies. And you? You had the best record of all. You almost got Hoynes the
nomination.”
“But I chose to work for you.” Josh reminded him.
Jed stopped climbing the stairs and turned to face josh. “I know that. And while I may not have
shown my appreciation sufficiently at the time, I thought I’d made it clear later on.”
“You did, sir.” Josh told him sincerely. “Believe me, you did. That’s part of the reason it feels
so…”
“Disloyal?” Jed prompted.
“Yes, disloyal.” Josh sighed. “To work for Hoynes now.”
“It’s not.” Jed observed the look of disbelief on Josh’s face. “Josh, I swear it’s not. It’s not like you
resigned from my administration and went to work for him. This was not a choice. This was a call
to service. Your President needs you. I’d be the last one to deprive anyone sitting in that office
of the help they so clearly need at a time of national crisis…Well, maybe a Republican, but
probably not even one of them.” Jed joked. “It’s a very difficult job and John Hoynes is clearly
not as brilliant as me-“
Josh chuckled.
“-so he needs you even more than I did. And I needed you quite a bit.” Jed sobered. “Besides,
we had quite a bit of work we wanted to finish, right? I’m counting on you to finish that for us. To
complete my legacy.”
“Sir, I-“
“You can do it. I have faith in you, Joshua.” Jed used Josh’s full name intentionally. “Now
practice the stairs.” He ordered and Josh felt his body shaken awake.
“Josh?” Donna’s concerned voice brought him fully awake.
“Yeah.” He answered and sat up carefully. He was still sore from PT earlier.
“You looked like you were having a dream.” She noted.
“I was, but it wasn’t a nightmare. It was…just a dream.” Josh wasn’t yet comfortable with the
dream himself let alone sharing it with anyone; even Donna. “You’ve brought more work for me.
Joy.”
“That depends. What was your last blood pressure reading?” Donna asked.
“Why?”
“I have a high blood pressure pile and a normal blood pressure pile.” She announced. “Let’s
take a reading and see which one you get.” Donna hit the button on the automatic blood
pressure cuff and smiled while it did its job. “This is fun. Kind of like a game show.”
“Fun for you. You get off on this kind of power trip, don’t you Donna? I never knew that about
you.”
“I would try to avoid getting aggravated while you’re blood pressure is being taken.” Donna
replied non-plussed.
“Is it the same kind of high you get out of instituting this list of ‘rules’ I’ve been hearing about?”
He teased, but she turned a lethal glare on him.
“No, Joshua, the rules were instituted in some stupid attempt on my part to try to keep you alive
and healthy.” She snapped and turned away.
“Donna…Donna, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to- I’m sorry.” Josh managed to get the pressure cuff
off his arm and get himself out of bed, walking over to her during his apology.
“It is NOT like a game show. It is NOT funny!” Donna shook him off. “I watched over you in
surgery for 14 hours, not to mention the hours in post op and ICU. President Bartlet had died
and I couldn’t bring myself to tell you because I knew it if hurt ME that much, it would be nothing
to the pain it would cause you.”
“I know. I know that.” Josh told her. “I just…I wanted some normalcy again and bantering with
you…that’s normal and it brings me…comfort. I didn’t mean to hurt you or make light of all you’
ve done, I swear.”
Donna sniffled again but nodded an acceptance of his apology. “I’m sorry too. I guess I’m a little
sensitive about…everything right now.”
“I think it’s lack of sleep.”
“Oh, you do, Dr. Lyman?” Donna gave a watery chuckle.
“Don’t mock me with the doctor thing. My mom begged me to be a doctor, still does as a matter
of fact. Then there’s the whole Dr. Freeride thing and the doctors currently torturing me. It’s a
very painful subject.”
“I see that.” Donna nodded again. “Then as a…friend, what would you suggest I do about my
lack of sleep?”
“My prescription would be to lie down with me and watch a movie…maybe drift into sleep for a
short nap.” He saw her gaze drift over to the backpack filled with files. “They’ll still be waiting for
us when we wake up. Besides, the one thing nobody gives me shit about right now is taking time
to recover from attempted murder.”
“There is a silver lining.” Donna drawled.
“More than one.” Josh murmured, recalling his conversation with Toby earlier. “And you know I’
ve always been a glass half full kind of guy.”
“You’ve NEVER been a glass half full kind of guy.”
“I’m turning over a new leaf.”
“Since when?”
“Very recently.” He touched his lips briefly to hers. “Come rest with me.” He invited her and
pulled her gently with him to the bed.
“What if someone comes in?” She asked.
“I don’t care.” Josh assured her and had her tucked into his good side within moments. As
predicted, Donna was asleep within minutes of starting the movie, which gave Josh plenty of
time to contemplate his strange dream.
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Chapter 4
“Hey, have you been sneaking down here to practice while I’ve been gone?” The Physical
Therapist accused Josh the next day.
“No, I’ve just been practicing in my head.” Josh answered before he thought about how that
might sound.
“Practicing in your head? I wasn’t aware that was an accepted medical practice. I could have
saved myself quite a load of cash on therapy stairs.” The PT joked.
“There was a study done…I heard about it somewhere.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, it was about kids practicing basketball versus kids that imagined practicing basketball.”
Josh went all in. This punk wasn’t likely to look it up, and on the off chance he did, Josh would
claim he never told the story in the first place. He could experience memory problems; all the
doctors said so.
“Well, it’s hard to argue with the results. You’re definitely moving better today.”
“Maybe I’ve just found better motivation.” His eyes locked on Donna’s where she was sitting on
the floor watching him.
“As motivations go? I’d say that’s a pretty good one.” The PT whistled and Josh glared at him.
“For you, obviously. I meant a good motivation for you.”
Josh let him off the hook because the kid was right. She was exceptional motivation. And the
glare had been enough to scare him off so he didn’t have to duel with the kid or anything.
“Hurry up, Joshua, you have a conference call in twenty minutes.” She called to him.
“Yeah…I’m…on my way.” Josh promised and got his best time yet on the stairs. After his last
set, Donna met him at the bottom with a kiss.
“Not only handsome and powerful, but strong as well.” She whispered before she kissed him
quickly. “Well done, Joshua.”
“Amazing. I have conquered the stairs.” Josh said sarcastically.
“That’s no small feat.” Donna pointed out. “It’s been less than two weeks-“ She broke off in
frustration. “It’s no small feat.”
“Okay, okay.” Josh got it. Less than two weeks ago, they weren’t sure he’d make it through the
night. When looked at from that perspective… “After my conference call we can celebrate my
accomplishments in PT.”
“I’ll even order the pizza.” Donna told him.
“Deal.” He kissed her again and then held her hand for the walk back to his room. She’d brought
over a secure phone so he could be part of the conference calls from the Oval. She’d rather he
skipped some of them since they tended to raise his blood pressure, but that, as he’d told her,
was not her call. Since his blood pressure returned to normal within an hour or two, she had
chosen not to fight him on it…for now.
Donna got the papers he’d need out from her locked case that she now carried instead of Josh’
s more comfortable backpack. When he was all set up, she left the room, standing outside his
room to prevent anyone from entering while he was on the phone. When she came back in, his
expression was grim.
“Can you talk about it?” She asked.
“Not really.” Josh shrugged but held out a hand for her to take. “I’m just out of my element
advising on things like this.”
“Wasn’t Leo on the call too?”
“Yes, thank God.” Josh chuckled humorlessly. “My concern is what’s going to happen when Leo
isn’t on the calls anymore.”
“By then, you’ll have gotten your sea legs on this stuff and you’ll be fully recovered.” Donna
predicted.
“Oh, okay then. Problem solved.” Josh said sarcastically. Donna didn’t like it when she saw him
like this. She didn’t know if it was a result of the surgery or the increased pressure he was
feeling about taking the COS job, but it concerned her.
“Yep and I have an even bigger decision for you to make.” Donna ignored the sarcasm. When
he’s gotten like this before, she’d found that ignoring, coupled with some light humor, could
usually bring him back to her. “What’s going to be on our pizza and who do we order it from?”
Josh’s moth twitched. “There will be NO vegetables, that’s for damn sure.”
“Vegetables are excellent fuel for your healing body.”
“So are beef, cheese and pepperoni.” He countered.
“Uh-huh.” Donna drawled.
“Come on, Donna. We’re going to the UN tomorrow to muster support for a retaliatory strike. I
need red meat.”
“I can see that this is important to you Josh.” Donna noted. “If we’re going with your choice of
toppings, then I think I should pick where we order it from.”
“No. Way. You’re going to pick that place on 24th street. They suck. You might as well put
vegetables on it.” Josh protested.
“That would be great as long as you don’t object.” Donna agreed happily.
“I DO object. I most strenuously object.”
Donna laughed. “Is that something they teach you in law school? I don’t remember ever seeing it
on LA Law.”
“You weren’t watching LA Law for the legal maneuvers.” Josh noted.
“No, but it was an educational sidebar to Victor Sifuentes.” Donna grinned.
“Cute. Very cute. Not the place on 24th.” Josh was practically begging.
“I might be persuaded to order from another location.” Donna hinted.
“In exchange for what?” Josh asked warily.
“I don’t have anything in particular in mind at the moment. We can just say you owe me a favor.”
“You want an open ended favor in exchange for ordering pizza?” Josh said in disbelief.
“In exchange for ordering pizza with your preferred toppings at your preferred location.” Donna
corrected him.
“You drive a hard bargain, Donnatella Moss, but I REALLY want that pizza, so you’re in luck.”
Josh shook her hand to seal the deal. During dinner, the last of his dark mood evaporated and
he did some humorous imitations of some of the brass he’d been dealing with of late. Maybe he
just needed some more time to deal with the changes in his job and the loss of President Bartlet.
Maybe.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“Ceej!” Josh greeted her enthusiastically. He’d spoken to her on the phone many times, but he’d
wanted to have this conversation in person. C.J. being the bright woman that she was, and Josh
was sure, tipped off by Toby had done everything in her power to avoid this meeting. The final
straw came when she tried to tender her resignation to Leo, and Leo refused to accept it until
she met with Josh. So here she was.
“Hey…you’re looking good.” She smiled sincerely and gave him a hug. “No Donna?”
“She’s at the office. You did well with the briefing this morning.” Josh began.
“I thought you had PT at 8?” C.J. asked in confusion.
“Donna records it for me.” Josh smiled.
“That woman really deserves some kind of medal, or you know, a shoe shopping spree.”
“She truly does.” Josh agreed. “I’m working on a Presidential Proclamation for her.”
“That would work.” C.J. replied. “So…um, Leo said I need to talk to you about this.” She handed
her written resignation to Josh and he didn’t miss the fact that her hand was shaking. “I guess he’
s handing things over to his successor now.”
“Actually, I asked him to pass this on to me if it came up. I was hoping it wouldn’t.” Josh said
honestly.
“Josh…”
“The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable C.J., and I’m not asking to be nosy, but I’
m concerned about a couple different issues here. The first of which is; are you being pressured
to leave?”
“Josh, no.” C.J. assured him. “I simply can’t work with President Hoynes.”
“If I put another layer between you and the President?”
“How could you do that? Why would you do that?”
“To keep you with us.” Josh replied. “You’re the best person for the job C.J. and we’re going to
need the best in the coming months. You’ve got an established relationship with the press
corps, you think fast on your feet. You are witty and exceedingly bright.”
C.J.’s eyes welled up with tears. “I’m really not.” She admitted quietly. “I’ve made some pretty big
mistakes. One of them was with John Hoynes.”
“Is there anything I can do to fix it?” Josh asked.
C.J. simply shook her head ‘no’. “I have to go, Josh.”
Josh accepted her statement at face value. “Do you have something lined up?”
“You know, I don’t.” C.J. laughed. “It’s been pretty stressful lately. I thought I’d take some time off
and figure out my next step…later.”
“Sounds like a plan, Claudia Jean.” Josh smiled. He’d really hoped that sitting down with her,
face to face, he could convince her to stay; if only for a little while. But now, sitting down face to
face, he saw the pain in his friend’s eyes and he couldn’t selfishly ask her to endure that just to
make his job easier. He cared about her too much for that. “If you need anything to help you get
settled into a new job…or decide to come back to your old one, just let me know?”
“Highly unlikely.” C.J. told him. “But thanks. Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Are you sure YOU can work for Hoynes?”
“I’m going to give it my best shot.” Josh answered.
“Okay…can I ask you something else?”
“I guess.” Josh said chuckling.
“When are you going to wise up and marry that woman?” She teased. Josh didn’t pretend not to
know who he was referring to.
“You think I should?” He asked glibly.
“I have ever since I first watched you two in New Hampshire.” C.J. replied. “I say you should
move on it as fast as humanly possible. Who knows when she’ll figure out you’re not as great as
you tell her you are?”
“Fair point.” Josh laughed. “I’ll get right on it then.”
“You should, before you new job swallows you whole. It has a tendency to do that to people, you
know.”
“So I’ve seen.” Josh nodded. “I’m moving as fast as possible given my current medical
condition.”
“You look really good.” C.J. told him again.
“Better every day.” Josh declared. “I still have a ways to go though. You set for your post UN
briefing?”
“Is HE ready for the UN speech?”
“He is.”
“Then so am I.”
“Thanks for coming by C.J.” Josh ended their conversation.
“Thanks for listening.” C.J. hugged him again. “And good luck…with everything.” She winked
and left his room.
<><><><><><><><><><>
“He did well.” Donna remarked and Josh nodded. “He laid out our case very succinctly and our
course of action logically. That last part didn’t sound like Toby or Sam, though.”
“I don’t think the object is for the speech to sound like Toby or Sam.” Josh noted.
“You know what I mean.” Donna replied. “He used someone else for the last two pages. How’d
that go over with the Communications Director?”
“Not. Well.” Josh admitted. “Plus, I think Toby would have responded better to the whole thing if
he’d heard it directly from the President instead of from me.”
Donna winced at how that must have gone. “They’re still getting used to one another, I guess.”
Josh rolled his eyes. “At times, your ability to pick something positive out of something negative
is absolutely endearing.”
“And now?”
“Not so much.” Josh drawled. “I can’t be playing middle man between the President
and…everyone else on his staff.”
“It’s been a very short amount of time.” Donna reminded him.
“Yeah.” Josh muttered as a knock came at the door. Donna’s face turned curious as to who the
visitor might be. “It’s Danny. He wanted a one on one with me for a few minutes.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t give me the tone, Donna.” Josh pleaded. “It’s just a few minutes, and it’s Danny. What
could go wrong with that?”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure that’s where the Secret Plan to Fight Inflation came
from.” She quipped as she answered the door.
“Hey, Donna!” Danny greeted her with a brief hug.
“You have ten minutes, or until his blood pressure hits 139/80, whichever comes first.” She
replied.
“Oooookay.” Danny agreed looking over at Josh.
“Hey, 80 is still normal!” Josh protested.
“Fine, 139/81.” Donna countered and Josh made a face at her.
“The President’s speech went over well. The last couple pages didn’t sound like Toby or Sam.”
Danny mentioned and Donna sent a saucy grin back at Josh. Danny observed the interactions
with great interest. He’d been hearing things, but then he’d always heard things about these two.
“The point isn’t for the President to sound like Toby or Sam!” Josh shouted at both of them.
“Oh, look at that! Already 130/76. This might be over sooner than I thought.” Donna noted while
Josh growled. He took two deep breaths and waited a minute before he continued.
“The President and his speech writing staff are still acclimating to one another; finding a voice
that works for him. I think it would not be out of line to give them more than two weeks, under
incredibly tense circumstances, to get adjusted.”
“Seems reasonable.” Danny agreed. “He got a very warm reception at the UN, whichever voice
he used.”
“We were the victims of international terrorism and our President was assassinated. It’s bad form
not to support us right now.” Josh pointed out.
“True enough.” Danny acknowledged. “I suppose it would be pointless to ask when to expect the
airstrike?”
“What air strike?” Josh asked.
“That’s what I thought.” Danny grinned. “But you can’t blame a guy for trying. How is the senior
staff adjusting to a new Commander in Chief? It has to be incredibly stressful right now.”
“There are certainly adjustment issues. Everyone has worked tirelessly to support President
Hoynes while giving him room to choose his own staff as time goes on. Inevitably, there will be
changes in positions, but everyone is banding together to do what’s best for the country right
now.”
“Would you like to elaborate on some of those inevitable changes?” Danny inquired.
“No.” Josh smiled. “But off the record, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have dinner with the Press
Secretary. You might be able to glean some additional information from her.”
Danny digested this information and turned to see Donna’s eyes sparkling at him. Yeah, he’d be
giving C.J. a call.
“Rumor is that Leo McGarry will be stepping down as soon as President Hoynes is ready to
name a successor. You’re the favorite in the betting pool for that position. Would you take it if
he offered it to you?” Danny asked.
“I would do my best to serve the President in any capacity that he thought might be valuable to
him.”
“He has a long way to go until he’s physically able to return to the White House in any capacity.”
Donna reminded them both.
“Thank you, Donnatella.” Josh smirked. “She likes to remind me that I’m completely dependent
on her.”
“Not completely dependent, just mostly dependent.” She smirked back.
“Can you give us a minute?” Josh asked Donna.
“Sure. But I’ll be at the nurse’s station so I can keep an eye on the blood pressure.” Donna
promised.
“Of course you will.” Josh groaned but waited until she left the room to continue his conversation
with Danny. “I need some help, Danny.”
“I kind of figured.”
“I’m woefully out of the loop what with being here instead of the White House and Donna has all
these rules…”
“What do you need Josh?”
“I need to know what you know, what you’re hearing, on a regular basis until I’m back in the
building.”
“When is that likely to be?”
“It will be a couple of months before I’m back; full time at least.” Josh grimaced.
“I can help you.” Danny agreed. “But I’ll need something in exchange.”
“Such as?” Josh drawled.
“An interview, on the record.” Danny stated.
“Isn’t that what we’re doing now?”
“With art.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Come on Josh, the whole country wants to see how you’re doing.”
“How about an exclusive with the new Chief of Staff when the time comes instead?”
“Nah-uh.” Danny shook his head ‘no’. “You just told me that could be months away.”
“Danny…”
“Okay, the exclusive months from now, with art, and the story now, without, and-“
“And?” Josh bellowed.
“Hey, what you’re asking me to do is so far removed from my job-“
“And what, then?” Josh demanded.
“And I want the scoop on what’s happening with Donna.”
“Sure, Danny, cause that’s exactly what the country needs to focus on right now; my relationship
with my assistant.” Josh drawled.
“That isn’t for public consumption!” Danny protested. “I’m your friend. I’ve watched you two circle
around this thing between you this whole time. There seems to be something different now.”
“Is it that obvious?” Josh asked with wide eyes.
“Just to people who know you well.” Danny offered. “When did this start?”
“In Nashua, New Hampshire.” Josh shrugged and Danny grinned.
“I guess so.”
“There’s really nothing like a brush with death to make you prioritize things in your life; people in
your life.”
“I guess so.” Danny repeated. “And can I just say that it’s about damn time?”
“You can.” Josh stated. “I feel the same way. But for this I want a report after your dinner with C.
J.”
“What, are we women now?” Danny teased.
“Strong men who have a soft spot for a couple of women in particular.” Josh admitted.
“Is this going to complicate things when you two are back at the White House?” Danny asked
cautiously.
“Undoubtedly.” Josh noted. “But it will all be worth it.”