I don't own The West Wing and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
It took Josh and Donna years to finally get together but once they did, their relationship moved at warp speed. That shocked some people, but not those who were closest to them. The trip to Hawaii that Sam forced them (well, Josh) on practically jump-started the relationship.
Josh decided to go all in their last day in Hawaii. He and Donna had had their talk and were on the same page now. She observed her boyfriend's behavior and had to say something. "What are you planning?"
His hands shook and he laughed nervously. "I'm not planning anything."
"Joshua," she warned.
"Fine. Might as well do this now before I freak out any more." Josh got down on one knee and pulled out a ring.
Donna gasped. "Oh my God."
"Donnatella, I love you. And I had this whole speech planned out, but I blanked and can't remember any of it right now. Will you marry me?" Damn it, his hands were sweaty.
She nodded. "Yes!" She beamed when he slid the ring on her finger with shaking hands. Donna pulled her fiancée (holy shit) up and kissed him. "I love you so much."
"You want to get married here? Right now? It's the perfect spot." Josh suddenly didn't want to wait anymore. They had already wasted enough time.
"You don't want our families here?" Donna liked the thought of a small wedding, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to cut their families out completely.
He shook his head. "I want to marry you as soon as possible. We can renew our vows later if that's something you want. What do you think?"
She laughed. "Yes! I'll marry you now. But I'm pretty sure we need to get a license and someone to perform the ceremony." Donna hoped that wouldn't take too long or be a hassle.
"Then let's go! We shouldn't waste any more time." Josh picked up her hand and then led his fiancé (whoa, that was an amazing thing to think) to their rental car.
Fortunately for them, it wasn't too busy at the local courthouse and their marriage license was processed quickly. "Is there a judge free?" Donna questioned.
"And can they marry us on the beach?" chimed in Josh.
"Of course. We'll see if there's someone available." The clerk smiled at them and went to go check out schedules on the computer.
Josh tapped his foot impatiently, and Donna gently chided him. She felt like she was about to burst out of her skin. Within half an hour, an available judge (along with his assistant, who was acting as a witness) met them in the lobby and drove to the beach with the newly engaged (but not for long) couple.
"Would you like to come up with your own vows or shall we proceed with the normal ones?" the judge questioned.
"I think we said everything we needed to say a few days ago." Josh didn't think he'd make it through telling Donna all the things he loved about her again (they'd both end up in tears for the second time and that was something he hoped to avoid).
"He's right." Donna got lost in Josh's eyes and the swirling emotions of this wedding, but made sure to follow and repeat what the judge was saying.
Since neither had rings (they'd make sure to go jewelry shopping in DC), Josh and Donna skipped that part of the ceremony. They sealed their marriage with a kiss, and Donna pulled away from her husband in tears.
"Wow. You're really my wife now. Finally."
"Damn right. And you're my husband." Donna's body thrummed with excitement. She was so happy to be married to this wonderful, amazing man.
"Congratulations. We'll be sending you the paperwork in the mail." The judge smiled at the newlyweds and shook both their hands.
When Josh and Donna got back to DC, the first person they told (other than their families) was Sam. His mouth dropped open in shock. "Excuse me, what?"
"Thanks for sending me on vacation. Donna and I got married!" Josh couldn't wait to shock the hell out of their other friends. It was actually pretty fun.
"Wow. Well, I'm happy you two finally worked things out. Congratulations." Sam and Josh briefly hugged before they started talking about how the trip went (other than the impromptu wedding).
CJ squealed so loud when they broke the news that Josh winced. "Wow, I think people all the way out in California can hear you."
"I'm glad you two finally pulled your heads out of your asses. Took you two long enough." CJ was thrilled for them.
"We could say the same thing about you and Danny," Josh pointed out. Donna elbowed him and he backed off the subject.
"It took us way too long. But we happened when we were ready." Josh and Donna's happiness were infectious and CJ grinned.
"Well, I'll be giving you two a gift." CJ hugged them both and then headed back to work.
After Santos' inauguration, Josh and Donna danced together at all of the balls held that night. They were exhausted by the end of the night, but it was worth it since they had a lot of fun.
Donna woke up one morning in March feeling like shit. She took the day off work (Josh panicked, but she assured him she just had the flu) and was watching TV when she realized she had missed her period. "Oh my God." She called her doctor and made an appointment with her to confirm what she suspected. Fortunately, there was a cancellation and Donna was able to go in that day.
When Josh got home from work, Donna was waiting for him. "You're looking better," he observed.
Donna beamed at him. "I have something exciting to tell you. At least I hope you'll be excited. I'm a bit terrified, but I want this."
"Slow down and tell me."
Donna sat down and patted the couch. Josh joined her. "I'm pregnant."
He blinked at her. "Pregnant?"
She nodded. "I didn't realize until after you left, and the blood test at my doctor's confirmed it."
"Wow." Josh whooped and pulled her in for a kiss. "I am definitely excited."
"I'm glad you're happy about this." Donna had a feeling there'd be a freak-out or two before she had this baby, but she was prepared for them. And she was pretty sure she'd freak out herself at least once.
Josh doted on Donna as much as he could, and when he wasn't around, made sure her assistant made Donna take it easy. It irritated her, but she appreciated his support and concern. Pregnancy wasn't exactly glamorous, but Josh thought Donna glowed and told her so on numerous occasions (she didn't believe him).
The two of them ate dinner with Jed and Abbey Bartlet seven months into her pregnancy. "So how long have you two been together?" asked the former president.
Donna answered his question. "Ten months".
"And you've been married how long?"
"Nine months." Josh smiled at him as he started eating.
"And you're seven months along. Wow, took you two that many years to get together and then you move like lightening." Jed wasn't surprised, though, and was actually amused.
"Jed, leave them alone," Abbey scolded, but she was smiling.
"Well, we are another set of grandparents, am I correct?" He considered these two part of his family and hoped they felt the same way.
Josh nodded. "Of course, Sir."
"As this baby's grandma, I order that you leave Josh and Donna alone." Abbey grinned at them and started eating herself.
Donna was three weeks away from her due date when she went into labor while talking with Helen Santos about work. "I'm sure that you can handle things without me, but call if you need me. I'll try to be available as much as I can."
"Donna, I'm going to miss you, but it's only for a few months. I'm sure we'll be fine here." Helen smiled at her as they walked down the hall.
Donna suddenly groaned and grabbed onto the edge of a desk. She looked down in horror when her water broke. "Oh God."
Helen called for an assistant and told her to get Josh. "Wow, this hurts. Why didn't I listen when people warned me?" Donna whimpered.
She laughed. "I'm sorry to tell you, but it's only going to get worse."
Josh skidded into the room, clearly panicking. "I'm here. The driver's here too, so we'll take you to the hospital."
"Josh, calm down. Everything's going to be fine." Helen patted his shoulder and watched the two of them walk away.
Three hours later – everyone was surprised by the short labor – Josh and Donna welcomed Joanna Christine Lyman. "All that pain was actually worth it." She couldn't resist counting the baby's fingers and toes again.
Josh was proud of his wife. "You two mean everything to me," he whispered. Joanna whined, but settled into her mother's arms.
"I know." Donna already loved motherhood and couldn't wait to take the baby home. She wanted to see what Joanna was like. She wanted to find out about her daughter's personality.
Josh and Donna liked being parents and adored Joanna, but parenthood wasn't exactly easy at first. There were definitely some bumps in the road.
And then six weeks after the baby's birth, Josh and Donna received quite a shock when she went in for a routine check-up. "How are you doing with Joanna?" the doctor questioned.
"Really well. She's keeping us up at night, but that's okay. We don't mind." Donna smiled at her sleeping daughter.
"Mr. and Mrs. Lyman, have you had sex at all in the last six weeks?"
Donna and Josh exchanged a confused look. "Yes," he finally answered. Neither of them was sure why he wanted to know that.
"Why are you asking?" They had had sex three weeks ago because they couldn't keep their hands off each other. That's probably why they had conceived Joanna so quickly.
"There's a reason we advise patients to wait six weeks. Women are more fertile after they give birth. Congratulations, you're having another baby."
"Excuse me?" Donna's voice had never been so high-pitched in her life.
"But she's only six weeks old." Josh couldn't quite believe it.
"Well, it's happening. You're healthy and recovered from the birth, but we're going to set you up with some prenatal vitamins. Make an appointment to come back in a few weeks." The doctor smiled at them and walked out of the room.
When Josh and Donna got home, they sat down to discuss the news. "Can we handle two babies so close together in age?" She was slightly terrified they wouldn't be able to.
"Maybe my mom can come and stay for a while. Or your parents." Josh had resisted when his mother offered to stay after Joanna's birth, but he was open to the idea now.
"That might be a good idea. Two babies less than year apart, Josh!"
"I know. Don't be scared. We got this." Josh smiled at her.
But that wasn't the last of it. The two repeatedly panicked about having babies so close to home, and Donna was in her sixth month of pregnancy when Josh came home to find his wife and daughter in tears. "What happened here?"
"I couldn't get her to stop crying and then she set me off. Josh, how are we going to do this? I can barely handle one."
He sat down on the couch and he hugged and kissed her. "I feel guilty I got you pregnant again."
"It takes two to tango, Josh. It's not only your fault – we were idiots." She sniffled.
"But you are an amazing mom, Donna. You just had a bad day – these things happen. I'm going to be there. We'll be fine." Josh was grateful when she stopped crying. "I love you."
"I love you too." Donna leaned into her husband as breath hitched. She slowly calmed down and after Josh was sure she was okay, he sent Donna to bed after that and took care of Joanna so the baby didn't wake her mother.
Just ten months after Joanna was born, Alena Vivienne Lyman made her entrance into the world. "We're done having babies for a while. Two kids in ten months are enough." Donna adored the hell out of both her daughters, though.
"I know. Don't worry." Josh didn't want to put his wife through this again if he could help it.
Introducing Joanna to Alena was an interesting experience. Joanna stared at her little sister in confusion. "Mama?"
"It's okay, Jo. She's not going to hurt you." Donna was irrationally worried that Joanna would resent them for having another baby so quickly, but her worries melted away when her oldest leaned down and kissed Alena on the forehead.
Alena's eyes opened and her tiny finger grabbed one of Joanna's. If Josh hadn't been holding the baby, he would have snapped a picture.
Having two kids ten months apart was an interesting experience. Josh's mom moved in with them – an idea he came up with after he came home and find Donna crying - and took charge. She was a pretty big help that both of them appreciated. When Donna went back to work, Rachel Lyman stayed.
Josh and Donna knew their relationship had moved at warp speed, but they didn't care since they had spent so much time ignoring their feelings. They were happy and in love now and had two beautiful daughters. Son Hayden Noah – their last child – joined the family four years later. Moving at warp speed had worked out for well for them in the end and they never regretted any of their decisions (even when two crying babies kept them awake all night).