REPORTER 1 [VO]
...Two navy carrier groups as well as the 32nd marine tactical division have been
put on
heightened alert.
REPORTER 2 [VO]
...Secret Service agent Ron Butterfield, head of the President's Secret Service
detail,
who was shot in the hand during the attack.
We see Ron and Gina outside the waiting room in the G.W. Hospital. Inside, Mrs.
Landingham
has her hand over Donna’s. They are silently sitting next to each other.
FADE TO: INT. JOSH’S OPERATION ROOM - NIGHT
Busy surgeons surround the unconscious Josh. Bartlet and Leo looks through the
window.
BARTLET
Look what happened.
*********************************
“I have Mrs. Lyman here. She’s been ID’d. Where would you like me to bring
her?” A Secret Service Agent asked somebody Ruth Lyman can’t see or hear.
After a moment, he addressed her again. “Right this way, Mrs. Lyman.” He began
walking through the hospital entrance which was being guarded like Fort Knox. “I’
ve been asked to tell you that your son is still in surgery and that you’ll have an
update as soon as someone from the surgical staff can be spared to give it to
you.”
Ruth nodded her thanks for the information, but the truth was that she couldn’t
get any words out right now. She’d already buried her daughter, her parents, and
her husband. She didn’t know how she could possibly survive if she had to bury
her only son.
She was ushered into a waiting room and she recognized several faces, the most
familiar of which was Sam Seaborn’s.
“Ruth!” he cried and enveloped her in a hug while he tried to reassure her. “His
surgery is going well so far. No one is as tough as Josh. He’s going to be fine.”
“Thank you Sam.” She replied and smiled at his perpetual optimism. Several
other friends/staffers came to greet her and share their prayers and good wishes.
Ruth just wanted to see her son. She was about to voice her request when the
First Lady entered the waiting room.
“Mrs. Lyman? I’m Abby Bartlet.” Abby introduced herself.
“Of course, Mrs. Bartlet.” Ruth had the presence of mind to respond.
“Please call me Abby.”
“My son has taught me too well for that, Ma’am.” Ruth told her. “Is it possible…I’d
like to see my son. Can I do that?”
“Of course. Come with me. You can see Josh from the observation area and have
company while you do.” Abby led her from the waiting room. “Donna is there
now.” She explained.
Ruth smiled. She had been surprised not to see Donna in the waiting room. Now it
made sense. Donna was keeping watch over Josh while he was in surgery. When
Abby opened the door, Donna turned to see who was joining her. When Donna
spotted Ruth, both women burst into fresh tears and embraced.
“Ruth. He almost died. He’s on bypass right now. I wasn’t even there!”
“Shhh, Donna. Slow down. I know my son is convinced you’re endowed with
special powers, but just what do you imagine you could have done if you’d been
there?”
“Something…” Donna knew she was being illogical, but tonight it was all about
emotion and logic flew out the window hours ago. Ruth patted Donna’s back and
her gaze was drawn down to the operating theater. The shock of seeing her son’s
chest cracked open nearly had her legs buckling.
Dr. Bartlet, who had been watching Ruth Lyman carefully, eased her down into a
chair and began to explain the procedure in as simple terms as she could come
up with. When she was done with her spiel, Ruth Lyman’s eye’s met hers.
“What are his chances, Dr. Bartlet?” she asked quietly and Donna gasped.
“They get better with each passing minute, Ruth.” Abby told them both. “Is there
anything I can get either of you?” Both women shook their heads ‘no’, but Abby
noticed they were tightly gripping each other’s hands. “They’re giving me updates
every half hour. As soon as I get them, you’ll get them.”
“Thank you Dr. Bartlet.” Ruth told her. “I’m so glad the President is going to be
fine. Josh will be so glad to hear that when he wakes up.”
“Yes, he will.” Abby agreed. “I’m going to check on Jed now. I’ll be back soon.”
As soon as the First Lady left Ruth and Donna alone, both of them turned their
attention back to the surgery proceeding below and directed all their energy to
the man they both loved so dearly.
*************************************
“It’s been 13 hours.” Donna noted. “They said it would take 12-14 hours. Is it a
bad sign that they’re not done yet?”
“Not at all, Donna.” Abby reassured her. “It’s a very delicate and complicated
surgery. The 12-14 hour timeline is just a best guess. You shouldn’t read
anything into how long it’s taking.”
“Once they’re done, what will happen next?” Ruth preferred to focus on a positive
outcome and plan for the next step.
“He’ll be moved to the ICU for recovery. Once he’s settled in there, he’ll be able to
have one visitor at a time in there with him.” Abby answered. “Donna, why don’t
you lie down for awhile? I can come get you when they’re done.”
Donna shook her head ‘no’ but didn’t take her eyes off the unnaturally still form of
Josh Lyman below them. “I’ll lie down when he’s in recovery.” Abby let out a loud
sigh, but didn’t push it.
“They’ll take him off bypass soon.” Abby remarked. “That’s a big step. They think
they’ve been able to repair the damage from the bullet and when they take him
off bypass they’ll get a definitive answer.”
Please God, let it be an answer I can handle, Ruth prayed. Then she glanced
over at Donna. The young woman looked like a zombie and was very pale. She
was almost swaying in her effort to stay upright. Ruth was becoming very worried
about what might happen to Donna if she didn’t get some food or rest soon. She
shared a concerned look with Abby and Abby nodded her understanding of Ruth’
s nod toward Donna.
Abby had already made arrangements to take Donna, forcibly if necessary, to get
some rest as soon as Josh was out of surgery.
After another long hour, they finally rolled Josh Lyman out of the operating room
and took him to the ICU. Ruth Lyman and Donna Moss followed closely behind.
When they got the ICU, they were joined by Leo and the President. Abby held
Donna back from the others as Leo held Ruth in a protective embrace.
“Time to get some rest now, Donna. He’s only going to be allowed one visitor at a
time for awhile, and right now that’s going to be his Mother.”
“But when she needs to rest, I can take a turn.” Donna protested.
“Only if you get some rest yourself first.”
“No, Ma’am. I need to wait a little longer.”
“Donna, you need to rest now, or you won’t be able to help Josh when he wakes
up.” The President tried to reason with her, but Donna just became more
obstinate.
“No, sir. He needs me now.” She argued. “I wasn’t with him last night and just look
what happened!”
At that point, Abby decided to take the bull by the horns and gave Donna an
injection.
“Oww!” Donna cried. “Dr. Bartlet!”
“Goodnight, Donna. We’ll watch Josh for you. Get some rest.” Leo and one of the
nurses on duty each took and arm and guided Donna to the bed in the empty
room next door to Josh’s room.
“She is going to be supremely pissed when she wakes up.” Jed commented.
“I can take her.” Abby replied.
“I have no doubt.” Jed smiled. “Mrs. Lyman, how are you holding up?”
“I’ll be better once Joshua opens his eyes, Mr. President.” She told him. “I’m so
glad that you’re doing fine yourself, sir.”
“I was very lucky.” The President said. “Josh will open his eyes soon. He’ll insist
on seeing me eye to eye when he lectures me about stopping for rope lines. Go
in and sit with your son. If there’s anything you need, or anything we can do, just
let the staff know and they’ll contact us.”
“Thank you Mr. President.” Ruth needed no further encouragement. She joined
the nurse waiting for her, and went through all the scrubbing/washing procedures
before she was allowed to enter the ICU and hold her son’s hand.
*****************************************
“I leave the room for five minutes and he wakes up and talks to you?” Ruth asked
dumbfounded. “What did he say?”
“He asked ‘what’s next’.” Leo told her and smiled at the President. “It’s kind of a
code around here. It means he’s ready to move on.”
“By God, so am I.” Ruth smiled. “How did both of you get in his room, anyway? I
thought the rule was one person at a time.”
“When you’re the President, no one calls you on the rules much.” Jed admitted.
“I bet they don’t sir.” Ruth agreed. “Has anyone checked on Donna? The girl
looked like a ghost.”
“Abby and one of the nurses are checking on her periodically. We’re hoping she
sleeps a little longer.”
“Okay. I’ll go back in with Josh. If she wants a turn when she wakes up, just let me
know.” Ruth re-entered Josh’s ICU room.
“You should get some rest too, sir.” Leo advised.
“Okay, okay. I’m going.” Jed shuffled off to his own room and Leo decided to go
get some sleep himself.
It wasn’t long before Abby joined Ruth in Josh’s room.
“Don’t tell me. They don’t care about rules when you’re the First Lady, right?” she
asked.
“They don’t give a damn about the First Lady, but the fact that I’m a Doctor can
get me anywhere I want to be around here. How’s our boy?”
“Leo and the President told me he said a few words to them. He’s thrashing
around a bit, but I haven’t seen his brown eyes yet.” Ruth worried.
“Very soon, Ruth, I promise.” Abby murmured and sat next to her. Almost as if her
words were prophetic, Josh’s eyes fluttered.
“Donna?” his voice was raspy, but neither woman had trouble understanding him.
“Donna’s sleeping Josh.” Ruth replied.
“Mom?”
“That’s right, honey. I’m here and you are in some kind of trouble, mister. Can
you look at me Joshua?” Ruth asked quietly.
Josh summoned his strength and looked over at his Mom. “You look like hell.”
Ruth gave a watery laugh. “You think so, do you? Then maybe you shouldn’t
keep your poor old Mother up all night worrying.”
“Sorry.” Josh muttered and closed his eyes again. “Where’s Donna?”
“She’s sleeping next door. I’ll bring her in as soon as she wakes up.”
“Typical. Sleeping on the job.” He replied and winced.
“Are you in pain, Josh?” Dr. Bartlet asked him.
He looked at her like she was nuts. “I was shot!”
“Fair point.” Abby adjusted the morphine drip. “This should help with the pain and
put you back to sleep. Get some rest.” His eyes closed within seconds.
Ruth had tears sliding down her face. “Do you think he realizes how much he
loves her?”
“He’s a man, so I’m guessing not, at least not consciously.” Abby laughed.
“Can I ask you something, Dr. Bartlet?”
“If you call me Abby. It’s just the two of us here, Ruth. Here we’re just wives and
Mother’s. Call me Abby.”
“My son seems to think it would cause trouble for the President, for the
administration, if he were to become involved with anyone he works with. Is that
true?”
“I guess it would depend on how it was handled.” Abby answered. “If you’re asking
me, it would be a minor annoyance at best.”
“Josh will never acknowledge how he feels about Donna if he thinks it would be
trouble for the President.” Ruth noted.
“And Donna will never acknowledge how she feels about Josh unless she gets
some kind of signal from Josh that he feels the same way.” Abby chimed in.
“A signal he’ll never give because he’d be afraid he was crossing several ethical
lines.” Ruth added. “What a complicated mess… Abby, if I’ve learned anything, it’
s that you can’t count on having a tomorrow to tell the people you love, that you
love them. Look at what almost happened here.”
“We both could have lost our men last night, you’re right.” Abby looked over at
Josh again and mused. “The problem is that you don’t always see things that way
when you’re young. I think what these two need is some help seeing the big
picture from people who have a little more life experience. What do you think?”
“Drag my son kicking and screaming into reality? Sounds like a tough job.” Ruth
smiled.
“Donna won’t be an easier.” Abby chuckled. “Sounds like woman’s work to me.”
Ruth smiled her agreement and the two women held hands and made a silent
pact.
***************************************
Chapter 2
Donna woke with a start, sitting straight up. Her movement alerted Dr. Bartlet who
was sitting in a chair nearby.
“Donna? You’re okay. You’re at G.W. and you’ve been sleeping for awhile. How
are you feeling?”
“If I were speaking to you, I’d say I was feeling pretty pissed…Ma’am.”
Abby’s lips twitched. It wasn’t often that anyone talked to her like that anymore.
“Then I don’t suppose you’d be interested in what I have to say about Josh’s
condition?”
Donna scrambled to get out of the bed.
“Hold on, Donna. You may still be a little woozy from the medication and the fact
that you haven’t eaten in God knows how long.” Abby warned her. “Josh’s
condition has been downgraded from critical to serious. He even woke briefly to
speak to us.” Donna started crying. “He’s not out of the woods yet, but things are
moving in the right direction and we’re all optimistic.”
“I should have been in there with him.”
“His Mom has been at his side, but I bet she could use a break about now. Would
you like to go sit with him?” Donna nodded. “Then here’s the deal. I’ll take you in
to give Ruth a chance to rest for awhile and while you’re in with him, you eat
something for dinner.”
“Dinner? How long have I been sleeping?” Donna asked.
“Almost 7 hours.”
“Dr. Bartlet!” Donna practically shouted and had the Secret Service detail outside
poking their head in the room.
“The medication I gave you only lasts about 4 hours, Donna, the rest of the time
was your body taking what it needed. Let’s go see Josh.”
Abby didn’t have to tell her twice, she walked quickly next door and when Ruth
saw them outside the room washing up, she came out to meet them.
“Donna, you have a little more color in your face. I’m so glad you were able to get
a little rest.”
“I really didn’t have any choice.” Donna complained.
“Good. You needed some rest. Lord knows I do. I’m going to leave my son in your
capable hands and take your spot next door for some sleep. You’ll come get me if
you or Josh need me?” Ruth requested.
“Of course, Ruth.” Donna hugged her briefly before moving in to Josh’s room.
He looked so still. With the exception of the operation, Donna had never seen
Josh so still. He too, had a little more color in his face, and the steady rise and fall
of his chest as well as the rhythmic beat of the heart monitor went a long way in
making her feel better. She put her hand over Josh’s and spoke to him.
“I’m right here Josh. I never left. I just experienced some…enforced rest. We’ll be
discussing that later, I promise you. You look better today. They’ve downgraded
your condition. Everyone was so worried but I told them what a stubborn fighter
you are. Do not make a liar out of me Joshua.”
Donna’s voice broke and she took a minute before she could continue. She sat
next to him and ran her hand up and down his arm.
“It would really help if you could just open your eyes and talk to me for a minute.
Maybe we could turn your T.V. on to CSPAN and catch a Republican floor
speech. Even unconscious, I’m sure you’d respond to that.” Donna let out a
watery laugh. “I just need to hear your voice, Josh, but take your time and I’ll wait
right here until you’re ready.”
Donna spent the first hour watching Josh’s face for any sign of movement. When
that made her too anxious, she started reading to him. Headlines from the paper,
articles from Newsweek, anything she could get her hands on. She kept her deal
with Abby and ate the soup that was delivered to Josh’s room and drank several
glasses of pop. Despite the influx of caffeine, physical and emotional exhaustion
again took over and she fell asleep with her head resting on Josh’s hand.
She woke when she felt movement beneath her cheek. Her momentary
disorientation dissolved immediately when she heard Josh’s voice.
“Donna?”
“Yes, I’m here Josh. Hey, you’re awake.” His eyes looked bleary, but he seemed
lucid and kept eye contact with her. “Can I get you anything?”
“Thirsty.”
“Hold on. I’ll just get…Here, can you take a sip with the straw?” Josh took a small
sip but winced from the pain even that small movement caused. He shook off an
offer for some more. “Should I get the nurse? Or Doctor Bartlet?”
Josh shook his head ‘no’. “The President?”
Donna chuckled. “He’s doing fine. He’s up and around. He came to see you
earlier.”
Josh closed his eyes and nodded his relief. “You’re going to need…to farm some
things…out from our office.”
“We’re on it.” Donna assured him although she knew no such thing personally.
“Don’t worry about work right now. Just rest. You’re only job is to heal.”
“Who…who shot at us?”
“They were members of West Virginia White Pride. They were trying to hurt
Charlie.” Donna couldn’t bring herself to use the word ‘kill’. “The Secret Service
took the two shooters within seconds of the attack. They arrested the guy who
gave the shooters the signal during the night last night.”
Josh shook his head in disgust. “Charlie…?”
“He’s fine. There was another woman who was shot in the leg, but she was the
only other victim.” Donna saw Josh’s face contort in pain. “I’m going to call your
nurse. She’ll be able to give you something for the pain.”
“I don’t want…makes me sleep..”
“That’s what you need right now, Joshua. It will be better to sleep through some of
this.”
“Just…talk to me.” he requested.
“You must feel awful. Usually you’re begging me to shut up.” She tried to joke.
“Just teasing you…” His response made fresh tears well up in her eyes.
“I know…Oh, Josh, I know that.” She assured him. “Hey, there’s a great editorial
about the President’s town hall meeting. I could read that to you.” Josh nodded
and closed his eyes as Donna began to read.
That was how Ruth Lyman found them a short while later. She had been able to
take a short nap, but found herself anxious to get back to Josh. She walked into
Josh’s room and saw Donna perched at Josh’s side reading various articles to
him and adding her own editorials. Josh had his eyes closed, but would
occasionally smile or grimace at something she said. His hand rested on Donna’s
arm. Despite the circumstances it made Ruth smile.
“Look at this. He’s got you working already.” Ruth commented and Josh’s eyes
flew open.
“Mom.” He managed a smile for her and it made Ruth’s heart pound. She had
come so close to losing him.
“Donna, did you get something to eat?”
“Yes, Dr. Bartlet sent something in earlier. Have you eaten?” She returned the
inquiry.
“I had a bite earlier but I could stand something more.” She leaned closer to her
son. “If you’ll promise to behave yourself and not make any more trouble for me
or Donna, I’ll go get a snack.”
“Promise…I’m sorry, Mom.”
“Stop it Joshua. You’re overactive guilt gene is acting up again. You have no
control over crazed bigots.” She kept her eyes on Josh until he closed his eyes
again. She exchanged a weary look with Donna. “Would you like me to bring
anything back for you Donna?”
“I’m fine, thanks.” Donna answered and waited until Ruth left the room again.
“She worries about you a lot.”
“I’m all she has left.” Josh muttered. The nurse chose that moment to come in and
check on him.
“How are you doing Mr. Lyman?”
“I’ve been shot.” He responded.
“Yes, I’ve heard.” The nurse smiled. “Have you been able to drink anything?”
“A little.” Josh answered.
“One sip.” Donna countered.
“Now you can shut up.” He muttered and the nurse chuckled.
“It was hard for him to sip from the straw.” Donna continued.
“That’s normal considering the surgery he just had. Try some ice chips, Mr.
Lyman. We need to make sure your kidneys are working properly.”
“Were they damaged too?” Donna asked.
“No, but when there’s been…a great deal of trauma to the internal organs,
sometimes it takes awhile to get everything working again.”
“I’m right here.” Josh reminded them drowsily. “More morphine?”
“I upped it just a bit. You need to rest, Mr. Lyman.” She told him and winked at
Donna. Donna watched as he drifted back down into unconsciousness. A few
minutes later, Ruth returned with coffee and cookies for both of them; she was
even able to get Donna to eat a few.
“Dr. Bartlet said the next few days are going to be pretty hard for him.” Ruth
remarked.
“Being forced to rest and being kept out of the loop at work will be far more
difficult, I promise you.” Donna drawled.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do Donna. I can’t possibly take care of him by
myself. He’s going to need all sorts of medical and physical help. I seriously doubt
he’d come back to Florida with me, but getting him up and down those
brownstone steps…I don’t know how we’ll manage.”
“You won’t be alone Ruth. I’ll be there too. We’ll take care of him together.”
“Donna that’s far too much to ask. It’s a huge responsibility and nowhere close to
your job description.” Ruth watched Donna’s jaw drop with hurt and shock.
“You think this is about my job?” she whispers.
“No, I know you care about Josh, too, but he has a long recovery ahead of him
and you have your own life to take care of.”
“Josh is my life…I mean, we work so much that I never really have time for
anything else. I’m going to go talk to the nurse and find out what Josh is going to
need once we take him home.” Donna decided and went out to start doing what
she did best; organizing the life of Josh Lyman and researching everything he’d
want to know when he woke up again.
Yes, Ruth mused, Josh is her life. And Ruth determined she would help Josh see
that Donna was his, too. She smiled at Donna’s use of the word ‘we’; once ‘we’
take him home. Maybe this wouldn’t be as hard as she and Dr. Bartlet first
surmised.
********************************************
Chapter 3
The next couple days were a blur for Donna as she tried to take care of Josh and
simultaneously handle the work piling up in the Deputy Chief of Staff’s office. She
conferenced with Leo and they came up with a plan. Or rather Donna came up
with a plan, and Leo rubber stamped it. Josh was spending more time awake each
day, but he was extremely cranky and difficult. His blood pressure had gone
dangerously high, so Donna took great care to keep anything from him that might
budge it higher.
Ruth spelled Donna when she needed to go to the White House or home to
shower and change. Ruth was amazed at the energy Donna was able to summon
when she knew how little sleep Donna was getting. Things came to a head on the
fourth day after the shooting. Josh had been downgraded to stable condition and
moved out of the ICU and into a regular private room.
Donna had returned from the White House a few minutes ago and Ruth had
taken Donna out into the hall to update the younger woman on the events of the
day, including the disastrous encounter Josh had had with his physical therapist.
Donna rubbed her forehead and sighed.
“Okay, I’ll take care of it.”
“You don’t need to take care of it, Donna.” Ruth corrected her. “I’m just warning
you that he’s in a particularly filthy mood this afternoon. I’m his Mother and I was
tempted to leave.”
“He just hates feeling helpless and dependent on everybody else.” Donna
defended him and Ruth was glad to see how well Donna understood her son. Still,
she didn’t want Donna to let Josh run over her either.
“I know, but that doesn’t give him a free pass to treat either of us like his whipping
post.” Ruth sighed. “I’m going back to Josh’s for some sleep. I’ll be back by 7 in
the morning, but call me if you hit the wall with him before that.” Ruth instructed
her and left.
“Good afternoon, Josh. I hear you’ve had quite the day.” Donna noted.
“I thought you said you were going to be back around noon?” he complained. “It’s
almost 5, Donna.”
“See, I knew I should have learned to tell time.” Donna quipped. “What have you
got on the menu tonight?” she asked as she looked over his dinner tray.
“The same damn thing that’s been on the menu for the past three days.” Josh
replied. “Jello and broth.”
“Which you haven’t touched.” Donna said.
“I don’t want any of this hospital shit.” Josh turned the channel with the remote.
“Once you’ve been able to keep liquids down one more day, your choices of
hospital shit improves dramatically.” Donna replied testily.
Josh didn’t even look at her. “Jesus, would you listen to this? I told Toby we would
get nailed on this, but as usual, Toby had to prove he was right.” Donna took the
remote and turned the TV off.
“You’re not supposed to be watching that. It makes your blood pressure rise.”
“There’s nothing to do in this place but watch television. You cut me off from
everything at work.” He said angrily.
A nurse came in. “We need to re-dress the incision, Mrs. Lyman, are you okay
staying here or would you prefer to step out?”
“She’s not my wife.” Josh corrected. “She’s the assistant from hell. She tries to
control what I eat, drink, read and watch. She can step out. In fact, I’d prefer it.”
The nurse blanched at her mistake and Josh’s vehement response. She looked
helplessly at Donna. “I’m so sorry…You’ve been here so much, and one of the
other nurses said something about Mrs. Lyman so I assumed..”
Donna didn’t hear any of her apologies. Her ears were still burning from Josh’s
hurtful words. She tried to smile her understanding at the nurse while walking
backwards out the door. Once she’d cleared the room she ran to the restroom
and sank to the floor sobbing. She was crying so loudly, that she didn’t even hear
Dr. Bartlet come in and sit down next to her. Abby gently grasped Donna’s head
and cradled it on her shoulder.
“I saw you running this way when I was coming to check on Josh.” Abby explained.
“I hear he’s been a first class jack-ass today.”
“He said…I was…the assistant…from hell.” Donna hiccupped.
“That’s our Joshua.” Abby shook her head. “You know he didn’t mean any of that.”
“He sure SOUNDED like he meant it.” Donna replied.
“I’m sure he did. No one does rage quite like Joshua.” Abby smiled. “I remember
when he had the Claypool deposition about drugs in the White House. Jed
showed me a copy of the transcript. I swear I thought my fingers would burn from
the fury in his words on the pages. There is no more loyal friend or feared enemy
than Josh Lyman.”
Donna sniffed. “The last few days it’s been like he’s distancing himself from me.
He doesn’t want to be my friend anymore.”
“That’s simply not true, Donna. He’s just scared.”
“Of what?” Donna asked incredulously.
“Of everything.” Abby replied. “This brilliant political thinker, whose whole life is
his job, has had that job taken away from him.”
“It’s just until he gets better and-“
“He’s had no work, nothing at all to distract him from the facts that he almost died,
and the constant reminders that it will be a long, long while before he can go back
to work again. He may even doubt that he’ll EVER be able to go back to work
again. He’s in there thinking that he’s filled his whole life with work and without it
his life is completely empty and meaningless.”
“So how to I help him?” Donna asked.
“First, you go home.” Abby laughed at the expression on her face. “You need
some sleep. You’ve been working double shifts between your work at the White
House and spending nights here. Besides, it will do the jackass good to see that
you will walk away if he’s going to act like that.” Now Donna smiled.
“Yeah, except Ruth already went home. If I leave, he’ll be alone all night.”
“He’s not 6, Donna. He’s a grown man with a competent medical staff at his
fingertips. Maybe a little alone time is just what the doctor ordered. Go home.”
Donna felt the push and pull of her warring emotions. Finally, she nodded her
agreement and went home. Abby took a deep breath and went to see the patient.
“Hello, Josh. How are you doing today?’
”Great. Where’s Donna?”
“Your assistant from hell has left for the evening.” Abby announced.
Josh had the decency to flush, but only said, “Great, she gets here 5 hours late
and then doesn’t remember to give me the papers I asked for.”
“Listen up, jackass. If you don’t start appreciating all that the women in your life
are doing for you, you’re going to be spending a lot of time alone while you
recover.”
“She’s always telling me what to do and when to do it; who I can see and who I
can talk to. She’s trying to control me!”
“She’s trying to look out for you, moron.”
“I need her to do her job. I don’t need her to look out for me,”
“I think we both know what a lie that is.” Abby said simply. “That woman has been
running your office by day and caring for you by night for the last four days. She’s
hit the wall Josh. She sat in the observation area for all 14 hours of your surgery
and refused to budge until you were in recovery, then I had to sedate her
because even then she refused to sleep until you woke up.”
“You had to sedate Donna?”
“I’m not finished. She sat at your side, fed you ice chips and held your hand while
you slept. Then she went to the White House and coordinated with Leo in farming
out your legislative portfolio so nothing would fall through the cracks while you
were out. She’s been taking meetings with senior staff and Congressional aides
so she could keep you apprised of everything going on. She’s spooned broth into
your mouth when your hands were too shaky from the morphine to do it yourself.
And she’s put her entire life on hold to be here with you so you weren’t ever
alone. NONE of that, Josh, none of it, is part of her job description as assistant to
the D.C.O.S.”
“I guess I went a little overboard with her.” He said quietly.
“I guess.” Abby agreed. “I sent her home so she could get some rest and you
would have time to put together a suitable apology.”
“He’s been alone in a secured hospital room. Who could he have possibly
offended now?” asked Jed Bartlet.
“Mr. President.” Josh acknowledged.
“Let’s see there’s his nursing staff, the physical therapist, the nursing assistants,
his doctors, and most importantly his Mother and Donna.” Abby answered her
husband.
“That’s quite a list, son. We’d better spring you from here before you declare war.”
“I think I already did, sir.” Josh admitted.
“Wouldn’t surprise me in the least.” Jed sniggered. “I came by to see how you
were doing, but I wanted to ask you about some issues that came up today. Are
you up to a Presidential chat, Josh?”
“Does it include anything about National Parks, sir?”
“Funny boy. Abby, will you excuse us for a bit?” Abby nodded and kissed Josh on
the forehead.
“It’s going to get better and easier Josh. Be patient with yourself and those
around you.” She advised and left the patient in the capable hands of the
President.
***********************************
Donna wasn’t sure what to expect when she walked in the hospital the next day
around noon. Ruth would only say that he was more subdued today.
“There’s our beautiful Donna.” Ruth beamed. “You look much more rested today.
How are things at the White House?”
“Busy.” Donna answered but she noticed Josh still hadn’t looked at her. The hell
with this, she thought. If he was going to act like this, she would go back to work.
At least there she felt appreciated.
“I am dying for some sugar from the cafeteria. I’ll be right back.” Ruth promised.
“I brought the bill Jenkins is taking out of committee, but it’s quite a doorstop, so I
brought note cards too.” She mentioned as she dropped the huge bundle of
papers on his tray table. “Is there anything else you need before I go?”
“Yeah. I need to apologize.” Josh said and finally looked at her. His eyes looked
glazed and it was the saddest expression Donna had ever seen on his face
except for when his Father died. “I didn’t mean those awful things I said
yesterday.”
Now Donna looked away. “Okay.”
“No, it’s not okay, Donna. You’ve been the best friend…you’ve completely worn
yourself out taking care of me and my office and I treated you like shit…in front of
some stranger.” Josh bit his lip. “I’m really sorry. I just hate being here. I hate that
I can’t do anything for myself. I hate the constant pain and I hate knowing I’ll never
be the same again.”
“Shhh. It’s okay. You’ve been through a lot. We all have been through a lot.”
Donna reminded him and took his face in her hands. “I can’t even imagine how
hard-“ she stopped mid sentence. “Josh, you feel really hot. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I just feel bad about how I treated you. I wouldn’t blame you if you left
again…but please stay?”
“I’ll stay.” She assured him as she hit the button for the nurse. The nurse
appeared seconds later. “He feels hot to me. Can you check his temperature?”
“Sure.” She agreed and placed the thermometer in Josh’s ear. She waited for the
beep and checked the readout. She frowned and took his temperature again.
Then she got on the phone and asked for the Doctor on call to come to their
room. “It’s 101.6, I’ve called the doctor, but I’m pretty sure he’ll want to start Mr.
Lyman on some antibiotics.”
“Does that mean it’s an infection?”
“Most likely.” The nurse answered while she reviewed Josh’s chart. “We’ll want to
run some tests though to be sure. Have you been able to eat anything today, Mr.
Lyman?”
“Not really. I’ve been feeling pretty nauseous.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” Donna scolded.
“I just thought it was because I was feeling so bad about yesterday.” Josh argued.
Ruth returned just as the doctor came in. He examined Josh and ordered the
tests the nurse had predicted. Donna kept a cool cloth on his head while they
waited for the results. It seemed like forever before the nurse came back with
broad spectrum antibiotics and took his temperature again. Donna positioned
herself so she could see the readout; 102.8.
Josh had closed his eyes and was acting very lethargic.
“How long before the antibiotic will start to kick in?” Ruth asked.
“We don’t know the source of the infection yet, so the doctor has ordered broad
spectrum antibiotics to start. Once we have more information, we’ll be able to give
him an anti-biotic to fight the specific infection he has.” The nurse told them
before she left.
“Am I the only one who noticed she never answered your question?” Donna
asked Ruth.
“No, dear, I picked up on that too.” Ruth responded. “Maybe we should call Dr.
Bartlet?”
Donna nodded and picked up the phone. She was still on hold when a nursing
team came in and starting dismantling Josh’s equipment.
“What’s going on?” Ruth demanded.
“We’re moving your son back up to ICU.” One of the nurses replied. “He’s
contracted a form of Staph infection that is highly resistant to anti-biotics. He’ll
have a much better chance fighting it in a sterile environment. You can join him
again, one at a time, once we have him settled up there. He’ll be in room 3208.”
Donna and Ruth held onto each other as Josh’s bed was efficiently wheeled out
of the room. Now Donna pulled out her cell, despite the rules about using them
there, and tried the First Lady again. “Tell her it’s urgent.” Donna instructed.
By the time Abby got on the line and Donna had finished explaining what they
knew, she and Ruth had reached Josh’s new floor. Abby told the anxious women
that Staph infections were relatively common in patients that had surgery,
admission to the ICU, or medical devices that penetrated a patient’s skin. Josh
had hit the tri-fecta; having had all three. She also told them that the trip back to
the ICU was most likely precautionary, but that she would check in with the Doctor
on call and get back to them.
It was going to be a very long afternoon…
************************************
Chapter 4
Ruth Lyman stared at her son’s face, which was bathed in sweat, and wondered
how much more of this she could take. She ran the cool cloth over his face and
down his neck while she had a little talk with her boy.
“This is enough of this, Joshua. I know that you enjoy poking at all of us and
making us jump through hoops, but Donna and I are getting quite tired and we
could use a break. So how about you stop all this infection nonsense and let
everyone get their heart rates back to normal?”
“I love you Joshua.” Ruth whispered in his ear. “I need you to fight this infection
and get better now.”
While Ruth was lecturing Josh, Donna sat in the waiting room with her head in her
hands, but her eyes were open which is why she was able to see the black wing
tip shoes that walked into the waiting room…all 3 pair.
“Dr. Bartlet, you didn’t need to come down here.” Donna said without looking up
at the First Lady or her Secret Service detail. Donna knew she should stand up,
but it simply wasn’t in her at the moment. Abby sat next to her and rubbed Donna’
s back. Donna knew it had to be bad if the First Lady came here in person.
“He’s got a strain of Staph that is resistant to anti-biotics. That means-“
“It means that patients who contract that form of Staph have a 43% higher rate of
mortality and morbidity. They’ll limit his visitors and pump up his intravenous anti-
biotics as well as re-dress his incision sites more frequently.”
“Damn, Donna, what the hell did I come here for?”
“I’m not sure Ma’am. The one thing I can do while I wait is research. They have
him on vancomycin which has the best track record in fighting MRSA Staph. I read
that they sometimes choose to drain the Staph abscess instead of using the
vancomycin because patients can become resistant to that too. Why aren’t they
trying that with Josh?”
“He’s particularly vulnerable right now and the team feels his body isn’t strong
enough to fight the infection on its’ own while they drain the abscess. They’re
going straight to the hard stuff.” Abby explained.
Donna nodded. “This is very bad, isn’t it?”
“It’s not good, Donna. Josh could have easily done without this.”
“Me too.” Donna noted with a smirk. “No one will tell us how long it will take before
we know if the Vancomycin is working.”
“The infection has spread pretty fast and we can’t know whether that is because
the infection is so strong or because Josh is so weak.” Abby told her. “My best
guess is that we’ll know something definite by morning…What your research
might not have told you, is that the fever is likely to get worse before then, even if
the Vancomycin is working, so don’t let that alarm you.”
“His last reading was 103.1, how much higher can it go?” Donna asked
rhetorically.
Abby chose not to respond. It didn’t matter. Ruth came out and sat on the other
side of Donna.
“Would you mind staying with him awhile, Donna?” Ruth asked her. “I’m just so
tired.”
“I’d be happy to. Take as long as you need.” Donna squeezed her arm and left to
go through the process of decontamination which would be critical for Josh in the
next few days.
“Why Josh?” Ruth asked. “Has my child not been through enough already? I am a
woman of faith, Abby, strong faith, but I would be lying if I said I understand why
Josh has to fight yet another life and death struggle.”
“I think it’s just proof that God is a man.” Abby opined and Ruth laughed. “I gave
your son a piece of my mind last night. Railed all over him for how he treated
Donna yesterday. Now I can’t help but wonder if it wasn’t partly the infection
messing with him.”
Ruth laughed again. “Oh Abby. He’d love to use the excuse, I’m sure. But the
truth is, I spent the day with him too, and he was just behaving like a spoilt child
because he hates feeling helpless and weak. He took it out on Donna and me
because he knew we’d let him. I’m glad you took him to task. He needs people in
his life to hold him accountable. He told me the President came by last night. Was
that your idea?”
“Jed wanted to see him, but I also figured Josh would be feeling pretty out of the
loop by then. They spend a few minutes talking policy and politics; and that’s like
a double dose of anti-biotics for someone like Josh.”
“After Josh’s Father died, I tried to get him to leave the campaign.” Ruth admitted
and Abby’s eyebrows rose. This wasn’t a story she’d heard before.
“How did that go over?”
“Like a lead balloon.” Ruth replied. “I tried guilt, logical reasoning, and even
begging, but he wouldn’t budge. He was determined to get back to the campaign
and get Jed Bartlet elected President. I remember thinking then that it was a
mistake; that Josh needed family at that point in his life. I didn’t realize that he had
found another family with all of you. Thanks for taking such good care of my son.”
“Honestly Ruth? That was much more Leo and Donna than it was me. I mostly just
laid into him when he went too far.”
“Isn’t that what Mother’s do?” Ruth asked.
“I guess it is.” Abby stated. “You need something to eat. Let’s go down to the
cafeteria and I’ll fill you in on how ‘Operation East Wing’ is going.”
“’Operation East Wing’?” Ruth questioned as she rose to walk with Abby and her
detail.
“We did decide this was woman’s work, and women run the East Wing. Why
should Jed get to have all the cool code names?” Abby reasoned.
“Okay. But how did you manage to make any progress at all with my son mostly
unconscious?”
“Ruth, I think with men that may be the best time to reason with them.” Abby noted.
**************************************************
Score one for Abby, Donna thought to herself as she looked at the thermometer
reading. 103.6! She’d finally filled a bed pan with ice cubes and water to try to
keep the washcloth cold enough to give him some relief. It was a losing battle.
She and Ruth took turns in Josh’s room since the Doctor wouldn’t allow anyone
else in to see him. It was her third turn and the room was pitch dark except for the
monitors.
She dozed on and off and each time she woke again, she had her hopes dashed
when Josh didn’t respond to her voice or her touch. The door opened and Abby
came in.
“His temperature is still going up.” Abby told her.
“I warned you it would, Donna.” Abby reminded her.
“I was hoping you’d be wrong, Ma’am.”
“You and Jed; forever hopeful.” Abby joked. “We’ll know something soon. They
took another blood draw a few minutes ago and that will tell the tale.”
Abby settled herself on the other side of the bed and waited with Donna for the
results. When Dr. McKenna finally came in, both women stood up.
“I just spoke to Mrs. Lyman, outside.” He smiled. “The anti-biotic is starting to
work. We’re going to keep him in the ICU for the next couple days and continue to
limit visitors, but he should be over the worst of it now.”
“Thank you.” Donna told him as she shook his hand. “Thank you so much.”
“With such a devoted wife and mother, I don’t think Mr. Lyman had any choice but
to get better.” Dr. McKenna added.
“Oh, I’m not his wife.” Donna laughed. It wasn’t the first time someone had made
that mistake since he’d been hospitalized. “I’m his assistant.” The Doctor blinked
and Donna realized that probably sounded strange. “And…a very good friend.”
She added.
“He must be a good man to have such devoted friends, then.” Dr. McKenna
recovered smoothly.
“He is; a very good man.” Donna agreed. “Only we try not to tell him that on
account of it makes his ego swell to unnatural proportions, even for him.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Dr. McKenna smiled. “Dr. Bartlet, I left a copy of the latest
report at the nurse’s station, per your request. You should see some
improvement in the fever and lethargy by noon or so.”
“Thank you, Dr. McKenna. I appreciate the extra effort.” Abby smiled and Dr.
McKenna left them alone again.
“Did you hear that, Joshua? You’re getting better.” Donna told him.
“You better hope he didn’t hear it.” Abby noted. “Besides the danger to his
swelling ego, he might have heard Dr. McKenna call you his devoted wife and that
could put ideas in the man’s head.”
Donna blushed a bit. “If he’d heard that, I have no doubt he’d have risen from the
dead to correct the Doctor. The last thing Josh Lyman wants is a wife; especially
an opinionated and stubborn one like me.” she joked.
“And yet, people keep assuming that’s exactly what you are.” Abby noted. “I
wonder why that is?” she left Donna to ponder that question while she went to get
the report Dr. McKenna had left for her.
*****************************************
“Donna, will you please stop?” Josh asked weakly. She kept trying to get him to
take a little more broth. She’d reasoned that since he’d missed several meals, it
was dinner time now, he had a lot to catch up on.
“Just one more bite.” She cajoled and Ruth laughed.
“That didn’t work when he was a little boy, Donna. I doubt it will work now.”
“Please, Josh?” Donna turned on the pout. “Just one more bite.”
Josh obediently opened his mouth and took the spoonful of liquid even though it
made his stomach roll a bit. He was rewarded by Donna’s bright smile and
sparkling eyes.
“Thank you.” She told him and Ruth watched astonished as her son smiled back.
Then just as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone.
“What’s been happening in the world while I’ve been out of it?” he asked her.
“Johnson was doing some saber rattling over the missile appropriations this
morning on the floor.” She told him. “I called him and told him you knew exactly
where you’d stick the missile if you heard another word about it from him.”
“This morning? I wasn’t even conscious this morning!” Josh protested.
“Did you want me to tell him something different?” Donna asked.
“Well…no, but that’s not exactly the point here, Donna.”
“Oh? I thought the point was to get him to shut up about missile appropriations.”
“It is.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“You…you spoke for me without talking to me first!”
“Like I didn’t know what you were going to say.” Donna muttered.
“I know we joke about you being the Deputy Deputy Chief of Staff, but you
understand it’s not like the Miss America pageant, right? If for some reason the
Chief of Staff is unable to perform his duties, the Deputy Deputy Chief of Staff
takes over.” Josh lectured.
“I think that’s so cute that you know how the Miss America pageant is run. Wait ‘til
I tell Toby about that.”
“Donna!”
“And that part about ‘performing his duties’? Very hot, Joshua. I can see why you
have that adolescent fan club now.” Donna said. “Get some sleep and I’ll see you
in the morning after senior staff.”
Donna hugged Ruth and went on her way. It wasn’t until she got out in the hallway
that she stopped, stood against the wall, and took a deep breath. She wasn’t sure
what that look was that she and Josh exchanged, but she knew it meant worse
things for her than it did for Josh.
***************************************
Chapter 5
Abby had hoped her words would have an effect on Donna, but she had no idea
how much they’d effect Donna, nor did she realize that they would end up
pushing Donna the opposite way she had intended. But Abby’s question about
why people thought she and Josh were together kept Donna up all night that
night.
She had worked very hard to hide her feelings for her boss. Now Abby’s question
made her think that she hadn’t been as successful as she thought. She’d have to
put a little distance between them; keep more of a professional atmosphere. She
probably shouldn’t spend so much time at the hospital either. But how could she
avoid it? Ruth needed help taking care of Josh.
She was still pondering that complicated question after senior staff the next
morning when Toby approached her.
“You doing okay, Donna?” he asked her. “You looked half asleep in the meeting.”
“I’m just a little low on sleep these days, Toby. Did you need something?”
“I wanted to ask you about visiting Josh. Do you think he’d be up to visitors after
work?”
“I’m sure he’d love to see you, Toby, but the Doctors are limiting his visitors until
he’s out of the ICU in a couple days.”
“Will you let him know I wanted to stop?”
“Of course.” Donna answered. “I’ll let you know as soon as he’s cleared for more
visitors.”
Donna dearly wished Josh could have other visitors when she entered GW an
hour later. It would take care of her promise to help Ruth and her desire to avoid
Josh. Well, she would just have to wing it until then.
“Good morning.” She said brightly to Josh. “You’re looking better this morning.”
“Thanks. Did you bring me some coffee?” Josh asked quietly.
“I know they have you on a liquid diet, Joshua, but I highly doubt that’s the type of
liquid they’d like you to have. How about I get you some juice?”
“Fine, we’ll start with juice and work our way up to coffee.” Josh compromised.
“You’re unusually complacent this morning.”
“I figured I owed you a day or two of complacent after being such a bastard to you
before.” He noted but he looked down while he made the confession, so he
missed the look of surprise in Donna’s eyes.
“That’s okay, Josh. It’s been a lot for you to deal with.”
“It’s been a lot for you and Mom to deal with too, and you didn’t take it out on me.”
Josh argued.
“That’s not the same thing Josh. Neither of us were shot. Neither of us are dealing
with constant pain and surgical complications.”
“I’m not so sure about the pain part…Abby told me…she said she had to sedate
you after the surgery.”
“Yes, and I’ll be speaking to the medical ethics board about that. She had no right
to do that without my permission.”
“The President said you wouldn’t leave at all during the surgery and even
afterwards they couldn’t get you to go eat or rest.”
“It sounds silly now, I guess, but I was afraid something bad would happen to you
if I wasn’t watching you. After all, I let you go to one Presidential event alone and
look what happened?”
“I don’t think I was ever so scared in my entire life; but it’s kind of blurry now. I do
remember lying on the sidewalk with Toby, though, and thinking it was good you
hadn’t come with us that night or it might have been you… I was glad you weren’t
there.”
“I’ll go get your juice.” Donna knew it was a cop out, but she didn’t know what else
she could say that wouldn’t telegraph her feeling for him. When she returned to
his room, Ruth had arrived.
“Morning, Ruth. Our patient is trying to con someone into bringing him coffee this
morning. Don’t fall for it. He can be sneaky. Here’s your juice Joshua. Oh, and
Toby said to tell you he’ll stop by as soon as you’re cleared for visitors. Everyone
at the White House stopped me this morning to tell you ‘hi’ and that they’re
sending their thoughts and prayers your way.”
“Tell everyone thanks for me.”
“I will.” Donna promised. “I have to head back to the White House. If there’s
anything you need me to bring down here, just call. Otherwise, I’ll see you
tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Josh questioned. “I thought you’d come back after work tonight.”
“I can try Josh, but there’s a ton of stuff that needs to be handled and I’m already
woefully behind. Better not count on seeing me before tomorrow morning. Ruth,
call if you need anything.” Donna instructed as she quickly exited.
Donna was able to keep up the in and out routine going for the next two days until
Josh was cleared for more visitors. Then it became infinitely easier. Everyone
from work wanted to go see Josh. Josh wanted all kinds of things from work; a file,
a bill, a memo. Sometimes, Donna thought he called and asked for things just for
the hell of it since none of it seemed particularly urgent or important.
Nonetheless, each time he made a request, she found another volunteer to bring
it down to GW for him. She didn’t see him at all for 3 days straight before Ruth
caught a whiff of something being off.
Josh was getting crankier by the minute and he’d started PT again this morning.
He was biting heads off left and right so when he left the room for an x-ray, she
took the opportunity to call Donna.
“Josh Lyman’s office.”
“Donna, it’s Ruth.”
“Hi, is everything okay?” and by everything, Donna meant Josh of course.
“We’re having a bit of a day. Josh has been getting…edgy. I know you’re very
busy, but he hasn’t seen you for a few days and I think he’s feeling out of the
loop. Could you stop by for awhile?”
Guilt assailed Donna and she closed her eyes as if to block it out. “I’m sorry,
Ruth, it’s just hard keeping up with things here without Josh. I thought if I sent
some other people to help, that would do the trick.”
“Oh, he loves to see his friends from work, Donna. But each time they come in
and tell him you’re not coming, I can see his face drop. He really misses you.”
“I’ll be there in an hour.” Donna promised.
