Smile

by: Kelley

Rating: TEEN
Category: A/U, general, Josh/Amy, [just for a little while], D/other, J/D
Spoilers: Anything through the first three seasons is fair game but I’ll try to stick to pre-"Stirred".
Disclaimers: I have absolutely no claim to these West Wing characters whatsoever, no matter what the voices inside my head say. As for any other references to pop culture I may make that I don’t own, I am a lowly high school student with a C+ average, no money, and a highly overactive imagination so please don’t sue! Emma Wilder, Ben Peterson, T.J. Moss, Nicole Moss-Braun, Lily Irving, Mena Falansio, and Dr. Michael Flynn are entirely my creation and I retain all rights to exclusively use them in my fics.
Feedback: I will shave a monkey’s uncle for feedback, baby!
Notes: The story starts after the Democratic National Convention, where the president was re-nominated and is pretty much A/U. There will be flashbacks that will be marked with *****. The president finally hired a replacement for Mrs. Landingham and he chose Donna. Since she, like the rest of us, can’t stand to see Josh with Amy she took the job. Also Bruno, Connie, and Doug never existed in this universe. Other than that, everything’s pretty much as is.

Donna’s Room: The Next Morning

"...And when her pre-school teacher called me that afternoon I simply told her exactly what you would have and that is that Emma is the most perfect of all God’s creatures and she could just shove it," Mena said proudly. She was talking to Donna’s motionless figure while Emma was in surgery. The pacing and silence of the waiting room had become too much for her and she retreated to the antiseptic safety of the ICU room, carrying on a one-sided conversation with her granddaughter.

"So I hope you don’t mind me coming in here for a little chat," she told Donna. "But I was slowly losing what little was left of my mind waiting in that room. Everyone was just pacing, looking at their watches, trying to make idle chitchat. It was enough to have driven your grandfather crazy and he was the most patient man I ever met." She sighed gently. "I wish you could remember him, you were so young when he past away. You would have loved him. Oh, he adored you kids so much. Spoiled you all rotten, no matter what your mother or I said. I remember this one Christmas; you couldn't have been more than Emma's age. Nicole was almost nine and T.J. was a newborn. Against the expressed orders of myself and your mother, your grandfather drove one hundred miles, both ways, in the middle of one of the worst snow storms of the decade to pick up a collection of antique dolls that he'd bought for you girls and a custom-made rocking horse for your brother. Oh we gave him such hell for that one. But that was who he was, such a kind soul. I still miss his smile, even after all these years." She glanced down at Donna’s body. Her face was still ghostly pale but Mena though she had just the slightest hint of color in her cheeks. Her chest moved steadily up and down, aided by the respirator. Dr. Flynn had told them before he’d brought Emma to the O.R. that Donna was spontaneously breathing on her own, which was a very good sign. It meant that her body was slowly coming out the coma it was trapped in. It meant she was getting better. It meant that they could hope that she’d be all right.

"Good men are hard to find in this world," Mena said to Donna. "I’m sure that’s something that you realized a long time ago. There aren’t many women in this world that are lucky enough to find their match. Just look at your sister as an example. She married Kyle after dating him for almost eight years and they’re divorced eighteen months later. There are never any guarantees with love, my little Bella. You don’t always get the chance for your happily ever after. Sometimes you just have to settle for a "nice to be here right now". But I don’t think you have to worry about that. You got yourself a good one this time."  She smiled at Donna. "Josh loves you so much. When he looks at you, talks about you, or even just thinks about you, he gets this look on his face. It’s just this look of such peace and calmness. You would get the same look whenever you spoke of him. You two are a good match for one another. And for Emma. I think Josh will be a good father to her, he already adores her after only a few days. Not that Emma isn't able to do that with anyone she meets but it’s a different story with Josh. He’s so protective of her, so gentle with her. Like he’s loved her for years. Maybe on some cosmic, spiritual level he has. You hold onto him, Donnatella Igraine. Love him, honor him, and protect him as best you can. Never, ever lose sight of your love." She laughed out loud. "God, here I am giving you this advice like its you wedding day and you and Josh aren’t even dating yet!"

"I’m sure it’s a foregone conclusion at this point," a voice quietly startled Mena from behind. She turned to find T.J. standing in the doorway, a cup of coffee in each hand. "I figured I’d find you here."

"Any news?" she asked worriedly.

"Not yet," he shook his head. "I noticed that you disappeared before, so I figured I’d go looking for you to kill some time. How long you been here?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "A half hour or so," she answered flippantly. "I just couldn’t take it in there anymore."

"I hear you," he agreed. He indicated with his head towards the hallway. "You want to head back? I’m sure there’s going to be an update soon."

"Fine," Mena said. She brought Donna’s hand to her lips and pressed a kiss to it. "Get strong, my dear. We need you. I’ll be back soon." She got up and followed T.J. out of the room, removing her ICU issued attire and taking one of the steaming Styrofoam cups from him. They started back down the hallway going towards the operating wing of the hospital where the rest of their group was gathered.

"So how much did you hear back there?" Mena asked her grandson curiously as they slowly walked back.

"Not too much," he admitted. He paused as if he wanted to add something but chose not to."

"What is it?" she asked him.

"Nothing. Just...nothing.

"T.J. please, tell me. You know you can say anything to me."

"Anything?" he questioned.

"Absolutely anything."

"Anything I want?"

"Anything your little heart desires."

"I don’t think that Josh is right for Donna," he spat out.

She frowned at him. "You could’ve said anything except that."

"Mena," he said softly.

"Not don’t ‘Mena’ me, young man," she retorted sternly.

"I’m just saying..." he tried to get in.

"How can you say something like that after all he’s done for Donna in the past few weeks?" she asked incredulously. "After all that he’s done for your niece? How can stand there and say...?"

"What, how a year from now he might not even be in their lives anymore?" he exclaimed angrily.

The two of them stopped walking and Mena turned to look at grandson, a bewildered expression on her face. "What the hell are you taking about, T.J.?" she asked him softly, surprised by the apparent irritation in his voice.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Josh depends on her for work," T.J. started. "He needs her to keep his schedule on track, to help him get research, to attend certain events with him, to be his emotional outlet, to help him run his life," he finished, emphasizing the last point. "Is it me or does this sound just a little bit too familiar for anyone else?"

She shook her head, finally catching his point. "You think he’s gonna turn out to be like Ben, don’t you?" she stated.

"Yes I do," he answered her. "I always have, since the moment she started working for him. That's why I was so glad when she came home the first time. He doesn't deserve what she gives to him and since I seem to be the only one in this family who can see past his charm or whatever it is that's got you guys acting like he's the second-coming of Sinatra, I'm gonna say it." He paused to take a breath. "And don’t think that you can change my mind about him because you can’t." The two of them started walking again.

"I can see that," Mena admitted. "Can I ask what you plan to do about this situation when your sister gets better? I mean it’s not like you can go and beat him up if you suspect he’s doing something wrong to Donna, like you’ve done with almost every other boyfriend she’s had since high school that treated her badly. I have a feeling that President Bartlet would not be pleased with you attacking one of his closest advisors." 

"I don’t know," he shrugged. "I just know that if he hurts Donna or Emma in any way I’m not gonna be held responsible for my actions."

"Well that’s very mature of you, T.J.," she said sarcastically. "Putting your own feelings first and completely disregarding that of Donna and Emma’s. Really, I’m very impressed."

"I’m an adult now, Mena," he said. "I’m allowed to be a selfish jerk every now and then. Besides, the only reason your defending him is because you think he’s cute," he teased.

"And whatever made you think that?" she asked him smiling, glad that the seriousness of the conversation was gone for the moment.

T.J. turned to his grandmother with a sly grin. "You better be careful what you and Lily talk about in private," he warned her. "You never know what little munchkins are lurking behind partially closed doors."

"Ah, my great-granddaughter," she replied. "An eavesdropping little troll if there ever was one." She reached over and squeezed his shoulder. "Just like her uncle. Who, no matter what man his sister ends up with, will always be his niece’s favorite playmate," she assured him.

They finally reached their destination and noticed that their group had expanded. Josh, Lily, and Nicole were still there and they were now joined by some of Josh and Donna’s co-workers. The attractive speechwriter, Sam, was standing with Josh in a corner, trying to talk him but not having much success. Sitting with Nicole were some of Donna’s fellow assistants, the redhead who never seemed to stop talking and the one who worked for CJ. Lily, ever the flirt, was talking with a group of men. Charlie, the young one, and two others, Ed and Larry, although Mena couldn’t tell you which was which if her life depended on it.

"Anything new?" Mena asked as she stepped into the room. Everyone shook their heads. "Is anyone hungry?" Again, everyone responded by shaking their heads. "Do any of you want to go for a quick walk?" Once more, a collective shaking of their heads. "Okay," she said. "Does anyone in here want to go into the closet for a quickie?" Everyone started to shake their heads but immediately snapped them back up when her words sunk in. The group all looked at her with a mixture of puzzlement and horror. "Humor," she stated. "Too much tension in one room will drive people crazy. But if anyone's interested..."

"I think I speak for everybody when I say I'm, personally, immensely flattered, but I'll have to pass," Josh answered, smiling at her despite his near-ulcer like worry.

"Hey speak for yourself," Lily retorted. "I'm all for experimentation." Everyone started laughing quietly and that was the condition that Dr. Flynn found the group in when he walked into the room a few seconds later. The laughter stopped as soon as they noticed he was in the room. He didn't say anything for a moment and he wasn't smiling, so everyone immediately assumed the worst.

"What happened?" Nicole finally got brave enough to ask.

Dr. Flynn surveyed the group in front of him, all anxious with worry and fear. His eyes finally rested on Josh, who had a look of sheer terror in his eyes, before he started to speak. "It looks good," he told them. "It was a by-the-book procedure and it looks really, really good. We're bringing the marrow down to Donna's room now and if all goes according to plan, we should know something soon."

"When will we know if it worked or not?" Sam questioned.

Dr. Flynn thought for a moment. "It could be anytime," he explained. "It could take a few hours or a few days. Maybe even a week or so. With the improvement in her vital signs, I believe we should know something by today."

Everyone heaved a collective sigh of relief. Mena and T.J. hugged on another, Lily let out a great shriek of excitement, Nicole began shedding tears of joy, and Josh released a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. He let Sam slap him lightly on the back and took in the scene around him before he turned back to the doctor.

"And Emma's fine?" he asked hurriedly. The celebration was briefly aborted to hear the doctor's answer.

"Emma's perfectly fine," he reassured them. "A little sore and tired but she'll be bouncing around her room in no time." Another celebration was started at hearing that good news. "She was, however, requesting one thing when she was coming out of the anesthetic."

"What?" Josh asked quickly. "What does she want?"

Michael pointed his finger at Josh. "To see you."

"Really?" Josh asked, more than a bit surprised. He assumed that she'd want to see her Nana or her aunt and uncle when she woke up. "Is...is it okay if I go see her now?"

"Of course it is," Dr. Flynn told him. "She'll probably go back to sleep in a little while but you can talk to her for a little bit if you like."

"Well yeah, sure," Josh said excitedly going over to get his jacket. Then he remembered Emma's family. He turned to them. "I mean, unless you guys want..."

Mena went over to him and forcibly turned him around back towards Dr. Flynn. "Go see my great-grandchild," she ordered, "And tell her that Nana loves her and that I'll see her very soon."

"Same here," Nicole instructed. She turned to her brother. "Right T.J.?" He didn't answer her right away, just stared at Josh with an unreadable expression for a few seconds. "Right T.J.?" she repeated, raising her eyebrows at him. He didn't answer her, just turned and walked out of the room. Nicole sighed. "God, he hasn't changed a bit since kindergarten."

"He'll come around," Mena told Josh. "Eventually. He's both blessed and cursed with his mother's stubbornness. But don't mind that now, Emma's waiting for you."

Those seemed to be the magic words. As soon as he heard them, Josh met Michael at the door and followed him out to Recovery. They walked past a series of rooms until they reached Emma's. They walked in and saw the little girl staring groggily at the wall to her right. She looked to them when she heard them enter and her tired eyes immediately lit up when she saw Josh.

"Josh!" Emma hoarsely exclaimed. She reached up out of the blankets she was nestled in and lifted her arms up weakly.

"Hey sweetheart," he said as he walked over to her and enclosed himself in her arms, neither noticing that Dr. Flynn quietly excused himself from the room for a moment. They just stayed like that for a minute, holding onto to one another, each feeling a little safer wrapped in the other's embrace. Josh finally pulled back to place a kiss on her cheek. "How you feeling?"

Emma scrunched up her face. "Icky," she moaned out. "I feel super icky."

"Super icky, as opposed to sort of icky?" Josh teased her lightly. He was rewarded when she started to smile. "Or kind of icky or even just really icky?"

"Super-duper icky," she clarified. Then another thought besides the level of her ickiness entered her brain. "Is Mommy better yet?"

"Not yet," Dr. Flynn said, reentering the room, with someone behind him. "But we're going to get working on that right now. First, though, there's someone here who wants to meet you."

"Who?" Josh questioned suspiciously. He didn’t think that Emma was up to having any new visitors right now. And he sure as hell didn’t think she should be meeting strange people that he didn’t know. "I thought she shouldn't be having too many visitor right now?"

"Oh come on Josh," a booming, familiar voice said from the doorway. "I just want to meet the kid, I'm not going to quiz her on Constitutional law or anything." Josh's eyes bugged out and he hastily rose to his feet as the President and two agents entered the room. "Do you have a problem with that, Josh?"

"Uh, no Sir," he stammered out, a little bit unsettled.

Emma looked up from her bed at the new man in her room a bit curiously. He looked very familiar but Emma couldn't remember where she'd seen him before. "Who are you?" she asked him bluntly.

Jed looked at the child and chuckled lightly. "You'll have to excuse me," he told her. "It's just been a long time since anyone's asked me that. My name is Jed Bartlet, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Hi," Emma answered weakly. "I'm Emma. It's nice to meet you Mr. Bartlet."

"Mr. Bartlet," he repeated, looking at the other men in the room, all of them smiling. Even the agents were holding back grins. "Again, something I'm not used to hearing. So I understand that you're feeling a little..."

"Icky," Josh supplied. "But not a little icky, Sir. She feels super-duper icky."

"Oh, I’m sorry to hear that," the President told Emma.

She shrugged her shoulders as best she could. "I don’t mind," she said. "I just want my Mommy to be better."

"I second that," Jed replied. She really was a sweet child. "So do you mind if I sit with you for a little bit?" She shook her head no. "Well okay then. Now where are you from, Emma?"

"Madison, Wisconsinion," she stumbled. "With my Nana. And Mommy lives there too sometimes."

"Does she?" Jed commented. "Can I ask why you with Nana and not Mommy."

"Sir," Josh started. "I don’t think we need to know that right now. Maybe later we can ask but now..."

"Josh," the President interrupted him. "Am I mistaken or did you just tell me I couldn’t do something?"

"Um, uh, no Sir," Josh fumbled. "I just meant that, uh, Emma’s tired and now is probably not the best time to be, you know, questioning her about her life and..."

"I live with Nana ‘cause Mommy doesn’t have time for me to live with her 'cause of her work," Emma said benignly. The two men looked at her strangely.

"I’m sorry?" Josh croaked out.

"Mommy has to work," Emma explained. "And ‘cause she works so hard, she can’t have me live with her ‘cause she’s never home. But Nana is home so I live with her." She hadn’t meant to hurt anyone’s feelings when she said this but Josh instantly felt terribly guilty. He had inadvertently kept Donna from raising her daughter. He couldn’t remember a time recently when he’d felt worse. The President was bearing a bit of the burden on himself as well.

"Well that’s going to have to change," Josh promised her. He sat down next to her on the bed and pulled her into a hug. He bent and kissed the top of her head. "I think you’re going to need to come live up here, with Mommy, when she gets better."

"Really?" she breathed. "I can really live with my mommy?"

"Why don’t we just take things one step at a time," Jed gently advised, enjoying the sight of seeing his deputy C.o.S snuggled up with a small child who clearly adored him. "But first things first, I have a special delivery for you, Emma."

"A present?" she asked excitedly, even in her tired state.

"You bet," the President answered her as he motioned for one of the agents to bring something in. "A little bird told me that there was something that you wanted after you woke up today and I made it my mission to get it here for you." The agent returned, holding a bowl of what looked to be ice cream. Emma’s eyes shined like a Christmas tree. "I believe the young lady requested peppermint ice cream if my information is correct." He winked at Josh, who still had his arm around Emma. "I don’t know though, Josh. Should we let her have it now or should we wait a few hours for the ice cream to get all warm and melted."

"Now, now, now!" Emma chanted, shouting before she remembered how much her throat hurt. She put on what Aunt Nicole called her, "Angelic Kitten", face. "Please?" she whispered hoarsely.

"Oh boy," the President groaned good-naturedly, handing Emma the bowl and spoon. "Joshua Lyman, you don’t know what kind of trouble you’ve gotten yourself into, my friend."

Josh grinned down at the little girl, who was happily shoveling scoopfuls of ice cream into her mouth, oblivious to everything. "I can handle it," he assured his leader with a smile.

Jed nodded towards Dr. Flynn. "So he says now. Let’s see how well he handles it when she’s sixteen."

"Excuse me, Dr. Flynn," a young nurse said from the doorway, casting a strange look at the men who were detaining her. "You have a phone call from the ICU, regarding a patient. They said it's urgent."

Dr. Flynn sighed tiredly. "A doctor's work is never done," he said getting up. "Which patient was it?"

"Donna Moss," the nurse told him.

The doctor paused for half a beat. "Stay here," he instructed the two men silently. "I'll have you called down when I know something." With that, he turned and hustled out of the room

The two men in the room were completely at a loss for the next few minutes. Neither of them came out of it at first and Josh remained frozen in his spot next to Emma, who thankfully hadn't picked up on the exchange. He was torn between what he should do. Should he stay here and make sure Emma was fine or should he go and see what had happened to Donna? His instinct told him to go to Donna but he was reluctant to leave Emma alone. The President picked up on his dilemma and made the choice for him.

"Emma," Jed said to the little girl. "Do you mind if I stay here and talk to you alone for a minute. I need to talk to you about something very, very important. But the thing is, you’re the only person I can talk to it about. No one else can be here."

"What about Josh?" Emma asked, wiping some ice cream off her chin.

"Well," Jed explained, "Josh has something very, very important that he needs to do right now. But I promise, as soon as he’s done and as soon as we’re done discussing our super-secret important stuff, he’ll come back here to spend time with you, I promise."

"Okay," Emma conceded grudgingly. "But you can’t stay away for too long," she instructed him.

"Oh, I won’t be too long," Josh promised, hugging her to him. "You just be a good girl and keep the Pres...Mr. Bartlet company. Okay?" She nodded her head and let him get out of the bed. Josh bent back down to give her one more kiss on her head before he hurried out of the room with a nervous glance towards the President.

He saw Dr. Flynn rushing down the hallway and he began to follow him. There wasn't any other thought in his head except that something had happened to Donna and he needed to get to her. Before he knew it, he was running down the hallways, heading for the stairs in his haste to get to Donna.

When he finally arrived, he saw a small crowd of doctors and nurses around her door and in the room itself. Sitting on the bench, he spotted Mena, bent over sobbing into her hands, with Nicole's arms wrapped around her. He couldn't see Nicole's face but he could tell by the heaving of her shoulders that she was crying as well. Next to them, he saw T.J. with his arms wrapped around what looked to be Lily, who seemed no better than the other two women were. Only T.J. wasn't openly shedding tears, but he looked like he was about to. In Josh's mind, a scene like this could only mean one thing.

"No," he whispered. "No. Please, please no." His mouth felt like he'd swallowed a mouthful of cotton and his legs felt like a quivering mass of Jell-O, which caused him to slump against the nearest wall. There were spots popping into his eyesight and breathing suddenly felt like a weight his chest couldn't lift. This could not be happening. He looked into the window of the room to try to see some sort of activity near Donna but he could find none. The doctors and nurses were crowded around her bed and Josh wasn't even able to make out her figure.

'This can't be happening,' was the only thought flashing in his mind. 'This can not be happening to Donna.' He struggled to breathe but no one else seemed to notice him, each caught up in their own feelings at the moment. All of Donna's family was there, save her father and... 'Emma' he thought. "Oh my God, how do I explain this to her? How do I tell her that her mommy isn't...' The concept was just too much for Josh to deal with, considering all the other emotions coursing through him right then.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity but was really no more than a minute or so, Dr. Flynn emerged from the room, followed by most of the other doctors and nurses who had been gathered in the room. There was an expression of what looked to be shock on his face. He finally spoke to them when he noticed them all.

"Um," he began. "I...I can't believe it. I really can't believe what's happened."

And with those words, Josh felt the last of his hope slip away. "You sonofabitch," Josh spat out quietly. Everyone turned to look at him, as if noticing him in the area for the first time. "What the hell gives you the right...?"

"Now Josh," Dr. Flynn tried to cut in. "Let me explain..."

"No, you let me explain for once, you bastard!" Josh shouted, frightening everyone near him. "She was everything to me! Everything in this whole godforsaken world! And you just let her...just let her..." he trailed off, not even able to say the words. How could this have happened? "Why?" he begged desperately. "Why'd it have to be her? Why couldn't it have been someone who deserved it?"

"Josh please listen for a moment," Dr. Flynn tried again. "I'm trying to tell you..."

"I need to see her," Josh suddenly proclaimed. "I need to see why this happened to her." With that, he launched himself from his spot near the wall towards the door to Donna's room. He needed to see what had happened to her, what death had done to her. He was in the room before he knew it and readied himself to collapse into tears the moment he saw the lifeless figure on the bed. Instead, the sight he saw laying on the bed stole what little breath he had left in his lungs.

"Hey," Donna faintly whispered to him from the bed, where a smiling nurse was taking out a certain IV bag from the pole and replacing it with another. Her face was still pale, her hair was hanging limply around her, and her voice sounded horrible. But her eyes were shining bright and luminous right at him. "Did I miss anything good?"

"Donna?" he breathed, not believing what was in front of him. His eyes scanned her body, her face, her chest rising and falling; trying to commit it all to memory in case she was to disappear into thin air in the next minute.

"Excuse me," Donna said, turning her head to the nurse. "Would you mind terribly getting me a camera?"

"A camera?" the nurse inquired, confused.

"Yeah," she said, looking back at the stunned expression on Josh’s face. "This is the first, and probably only, moment I’ve ever seen him speechless. I want to record it for prosperity."

Josh breathed in deeply. "Oh my God," he said quietly. "It’s really you. You’re...you’re here."

"Yep," she confirmed. "Can’t get rid of me that easily."

He stepped into the room as the nurse excused herself. "Not too long," she whispered to Josh as she past him, closing the door behind her. He walked slowly up to her, looking at the reddish liquid from the IV bag that was slowly making it's way into her body.

"Is...is that the marrow?" he asked hesitantly, not being able to think of anything else to say.

"Yeah," she answered. She gave him a soft smile as she reached out her hand for him. Much like Emma had been the night before, Josh was tentative in taking it in his own. "It's okay," she told him. "I won't break. I actually feel better than I have in awhile."

"Yeah?" Josh responded happily. She nodded slowly at him. "That's great," he replied, happier and more relieved than he could remember ever feeling. "Listen, when you're feeling stronger, there's some things we gotta talk about. I don't know if you remember but before the coma I told you that..."

"I love you too, Josh," Donna immediately cut in. She giggled at the dazed expression on his face. "I remembered," she explained. "And if I hadn't, you've told me you loved me everyday that I've been in here. I could hear you; I could feel you; sometimes when you weren't even here. But if even if you hadn't been here, you still would've been with me because I love you and I would've found a way to have you near me." She brought her hand up to his face and stroked his cheek. "Besides," she said seriously, "if I hadn't told you that just now, my grandmother would have been on you like white on rice." He let out a burst of laughter at that comment and she giggled right along with him. "I take it you've been informed of her infatuation with you."

"Yeah, I got wind of it," he told her, kissing her hand. "Speaking of your family, I should probably apologize to them and to Dr. Flynn. I kind of..."

"I heard," Donna interrupted. "I'm sure they'll get over it. We've probably only got a few more minutes before my family takes me hostage again. You probably won't see me awhile when they get their hands on me. I'm amazed they haven't stormed in here already."

"Well they probably went to go check on Emma," Josh informed her. Her happy expression instantly faded away and Josh could make out the beginnings of tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "Donna, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"She's here," Donna cried. "They really made her come here, even after I begged them not to."

"Donna, it's okay..."Josh tried to assure her but she wouldn't listen.

"God I didn't want her to see me like this," Donna moaned. "I mean she's not even five yet, I think. I mean I'm not sure of the date but..."

"No, Emma's still four but her birthday's only about three months away. I was thinking about the Bartlet’s farm for her birthday party. It’s really nice up there in the fall and she could have a horse up there and..."

"And you know about her?" Donna asked stunned. "Oh my God, I was going to tell you I swear I was. But when you hired me, things were so hectic and I didn't want to piss you off and then the White House...Most mornings I forgot to brush my teeth and working fifteen hours a day while taking care of an infant couldn't have worked so...

"But now since you're not going to be working fifteen hours a day anymore, I don't see why Emma couldn't come live with you. Or why you could not brush your teeth, an issue we’ll return to later. Of course you can’t live in your apartment, not in that dump you call a home but we can fix up the spare room at my place for Emma. We could do like a whole sports theme for the room, I’ve already started teaching her in the ways of Mets’s fanaticism. I'm also in a better school district than you are plus Bonnie's brother-in-law is a great pediatrician and his office is only twenty minutes outside of DC, we can get her records over to his office soon..."

"Wait a second," Donna interjected, motioning with her hand for him to stop talking. She paused to take a breath and absorb all the information Josh had given her while she was rambling on. She looked at him hopefully. "You're okay with all this? With Emma and...?"

"Not really," he admitted. Her face immediately fell. "I mean, she's in kindergarten and she can only read at a third-grade level. That doesn’t look good on her admission’s application for Harvard. She and I are gonna have to work on that." He laughed at her confused expression. "Donna, it's fine. Emma is... well there’s not a word in any language that can accurately describe her. But for our purposes here, she’s amazing. We bonded like this," he said, snapping his fingers. "She and I are great, don't worry about that. Worry about finding a wedding dress."

"Oh," she sighed in relief. Then she caught the last thing he'd said. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"Wedding dress," he explained. "You know, huge white blob of fabric that a bride wears on her wedding day. When she gets married..."

"I'm familiar with the concept," she said breathy. "Did you just ask me...?" She stopped as he reached into his pants pocket and produced a small, black velvet box. "Oh my God," she said. He opened the box to reveal a shining, tastefully cut triangular diamond wrapped in a gold band. "Oh my God," she repeated. "I...I...Oh my...you didn’t have this picked out for Amy and then just decide to...?"

"No!" he exclaimed, slightly offended. "I didn’t have this picked for Amy. If I did, I’d have to have gotten a sterling silver band instead...never mind," he said, noticing the fiery expression on Donna’s face. "It was a ring my father left me in his will. You see, he was gonna propose to my mom with this but he ended up losing it the night he proposed so he just used an old piece of fishing line he tied into a ring. This," he said, indicating to the box," he found about a month before he died. Coincidently, on the same day he first talked with you." He took the ring out of the box and held it between his thumb and forefinger. "So whaddya say? Will you marry me?"

Donna looked at him carefully, his smiling face and the raised eyebrows. He really was too cute for his own good. She smiled back at him and gave him the only answer she could. "Not right now."

Josh could practically feel the muscles of his face start sagging. The air deflated from his lungs like a balloon and he was fairly certain if he had a mirror, he’d look remarkably like a deer caught in the headlights. He wasn’t sure what the proper etiquette was in this situation. Should he leave quietly or make some grand, romantic gesture. After taking a second, he decided it was probably best for him to just go out with a little bit of his dignity left.

"Well...okay," he stated slowly, getting up from his chair. "I guess, I’ll see you later then." He walked towards the door in a daze, the ring in his hand, his mind still not contemplating what had just transpired.

"Josh," Donna gently called out to him. "I didn’t say I didn’t want to marry you, I just said not right now."

Josh shook his head and rolled his eyes. "It shouldn’t surprise you in the least to know I have no idea what that means," he complained.

"It means," she explained, "I’d like to have a first date before I jump into marriage. So," she looked around the small area. "Ask me to have a drink with you."

"Huh?"

"Just do it, Joshua," she moaned lightly.

"Okay," he said. "Donna, will you have a drink with me?" he asked, feeling like an idiot.

"I would love to," she told him. "Now, pour us some water.

"Okay," he repeated, catching on to her little game and going over to pour the water. "One for you," he said handing her a plastic cup. "And one for me," pouring his own cup.

"Cheers," Donna replied, lifting her cup as high as she could in her weakened state. Josh clicked his cup with hers and they both took a small drink. "There," she coughed out as she carefully swallowed. "Now," she looked at him expectantly, "I believe there was something you wanted to ask me."

He kissed her on the lips before he could stop himself before kneeling down on one knee and raising the ring up to her. "Donna Moss," he began seriously, "Will you marry me?"

She held up her hand for him to put the ring on her finger and smiled at him through the tears running down her cheeks. "Yes!" she happily told him, pulling him up for a kiss on the lips, neither noticing the shouts of happiness from their family and friends coming from outside the door.

The End. [For now!] 

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

| << back | send feedback | The National Library |