Hey, here's a new series that won my last poll!!! Haven't given up on my other stories. There will be updates really soon!!! A big thanks to Cathy for her help!!! Please review and let me know what you think!!!

Enjoy!!!

Thanksgiving From Hell

"Hey, Josh. You got a minute?" Sam asked, walking into the Deputy Chief of Staff's office.

"Uh, yeah sure," Josh turned away from the computer to face him. "What's up?"

"What's your plans for Thanksgiving?" Sam asked, sitting in the chair in front of the desk.

"The normal, catching the football game and drinking beer," Josh replied. "It's just Donna and me. You're welcome to join us."

Josh and Donna had been together almost two years now. They had started dating at Christmas. Josh had been struggling to deal with the shooting and turned to Donna for help. No one had been surprised when Josh admitted his feelings for his assistant and everyone, including the President, was happy for the couple. There had been a few rumbles from the Press about it but C.J handled it expertly, stating that they were both single adults and were doing nothing wrong. Within a week, the press found something else to be interested in. Their relationship seemed to get stronger and stronger each day and on their one year anniversary, Josh had proposed and Donna accepted.

"Actually, I was going to invite the two of you to my thing," Sam said.

"What?"

"Dinner," he told him. "Turkey, stuffing, gravy…The works."

Josh raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. "You're cooking?"

"What? God, no…We're going out."

"Who's we?"

"Mallory and I."

Josh smiled slightly. "You're spending Thanksgiving with Mallory?"

Sam sighed. "It's not a big deal."

"No, of course not…"

"Will you come?"

"I'll check with Donna but wouldn't you prefer to spend it alone?" He asked.

"Leo's coming."

"What?"

"Leo's coming too," Sam explained. "Mal thought it would be nice for the three of us to spend some time together without having to worry about work."

Josh stared at him for a few seconds before he laughed.

"Josh!"

"I'm sorry…" He managed to get out. "But…You're spending Thanksgiving not only with your girlfriend's father but your boss too."

"You're supposed to be my best friend!" Sam exclaimed.

"And?"

"And you're supposed to help me!"

"Okay, fine…I'm sure Donna won't have a problem with it," Josh told him. "Go tell Mal you've got two more guests for dinner."

"Great, I owe you." He stood up and headed for the door.

"Sam?"

"Yeah?" He stopped in the doorway and turned back to face Josh.

"I've known Mallory since we were kids…She's like a little sister to me…"

"Yeah," Sam said slowly, nodding his head slightly, unsure what Josh's meaning was.

"What makes you think I'll be on your side and not Leo's?"

Sam stared at Josh for a few seconds, thinking about what he just said. "Huh."

Josh laughed slightly and shook his head as he watched Sam turn and walk away, completely bewildered.

XxXxX

Josh glanced across the table at Donna as they ate dinner in silence. They had finished early and were having a night in together but Donna had been quiet all night and Josh wasn't sure whether it was something he had done. She was fine that morning and he hadn't seen her much throughout the day. When they had decided to start a relationship, Leo had moved her to another department which neither of them was too happy about but it had worked out. They still worked closely together and Donna had been given a bit more responsibility but there were days when they didn't see each other.

"So, this is nice," Josh commented, breaking the silence.

"Yeah."

"I mean, when was the last time we finished work before 7pm?" He continued, pushing his empty plate to the side a little and reaching for the wine bottle. He re-filled his glass and went to pour her some more when he noticed her glass was still full. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah, fine…" She replied. "Just tired."

"Oh, okay…" He frowned a little but decided to let it go for now. "So, Sam came to see me today…"

""Yeah?"

"Yeah, to invite us to Thanksgiving dinner."

"Sam's cooking?"

"Nah, he's spending it with Mallory and Leo so they're going to some restaurant," Josh told her. "Sam's a bit nervous about it…Could be fun to watch Leo mess with him."

"I suppose…"

"We don't have to," he said quickly. "If you want it to be just the two of us…"

"No, it's not that…" She started but then sighed. "It's just…"

"Just what?"

"My Mom phoned today." She put her fork down and looked up at him. "She wants the whole family there for Thanksgiving."

"You want to go to Wisconsin?"

"I don't know."

"You can if you want," he told her. "I mean, they're your family and you haven't seen them in a while…"

"Josh?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not going without you."

"You want me to go?!" He exclaimed.

"You think you could get the time off?"

"Donna…" He whined a little. "Your parents hate me!"

"That's because they don't know you."

"They don't want to get to know me either," he replied. "What happened to not talking to them until they accepted our relationship?"

"They're my parents, Josh."

"I know but…If I'm there then it'll just ruin your Thanksgiving." he replied, thinking back to when Donna had called to tell them the news of their engagement they had told her how much they disapproved of their relationship. He remembered having to hold her for hours while she cried herself to sleep on what was meant to be one of the happiest nights of their life. "I just don't want you getting upset."

"Things change," she said quietly, looking down.

"What things?" He asked but didn't get a reply. "Donna? What things?"

She looked up slowly and opened her mouth but no words came out.

"Donna?" He stood up and walked around the table until he was by her side. "What's happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm pregnant."

Josh stared at her for a few seconds, his eyes widening. "Pre..pregnant?"

"Yeah."

"With a baby?"

"Yes."

"My baby?"

"Josh!"

"Right, s-s-sorry…" He stuttered, reaching down and picking up her untouched glass and taking a big mouthful of wine. "Wow…A baby?"

"Yeah, a baby," she stood up and took the now empty wine glass out of his hand, placing it on the table. "Our baby."

Josh dropped down into the chair she just vacated and tried to get his head to stop spinning.

"Is this for real?" He asked, looking up at her. "I mean, this is certain?"

"I've done three tests," she nodded slightly. "All positive…"

"We're going to have a baby?"

"I guess so."

"I'm sorry," Josh after a few seconds of silence.

She looked at him quickly. "What for?"

"For not knowing what to say," he stood up and put his hands on her waist.

"But not for the baby?"

He frowned a little. "Well, no…We talked about kids."

"But we were going to wait for another couple of years, though," she pointed out.

"Yeah…" He said slowly, nodding a little. "But we can handle this, right? This is a good thing?"

A small smiled spread across her face. "Yeah, it's a good thing."

He tightened his hold on her as she placed her head on his chest.

They were going to have a baby… He was going to be a father…What if he wasn't ready to be a father?

XxXxX

"Leo, Josh wants a minute," Margaret told him from the doorway and then disappeared when Leo nodded it was okay.

Leo put down the file he was reading and took off his glasses as his deputy entered the room and closed the door.

"What's so important it couldn't wait till staff?" Leo questioned.

"Uh, it's kind of personal…"

"Kind of?"

"It's about Thanksgiving…" Josh started. "I was wondering…I could do with some time off…"

"Time off?" Leo repeated. "Mallory told me you were joining us."

"Yeah, things have changed…"

"Your mom decided she wanted to spend Thanksgiving with you?"

Josh sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Donna wants to go to Wisconsin."

"And you want to go with her?" He asked in surprised.

"No."

"Yet you're here asking for time off anyway?"

"That's what future husbands do, isn't it?"

"I guess…"

"So, can I?"

"Josh, Thanksgiving is a few days away," Leo sighed.

"Yeah."

"It's a bit short notice…" Leo replied.

"Well, there's nothing happening…" Josh argued. "And it's not like it's in Australia."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Thanks because I didn't realize that."

"Is there something happening?" Josh asked.

"It's just…" Leo started but then paused for a second. "I'm just curious to why you suddenly want to spend a holiday with Donna's family…I thought they disapproved."

"They do which is one of the reasons we're going."

"One of the reasons?" Leo asked.

"Yeah…Donna's…"

"Donna's what?"

"Uh, nothing…" Josh replied, remembering Donna had said it was bad luck tell during the first 12 weeks.

"Josh? Donna is okay, isn't she?" Leo looked at him in concern.

"She's fine…"

"Are you okay?" He asked. "You look like you haven't slept at all…"

He rubbed his tired eyes again. "I'm fine too."

"Josh."

"Donna told me last night…" He started, deciding it might help if he talked about it.

"Told you what?"

"That's she's having a baby," he replied, quickly before he could change his mind.

Leo stared at him in shock. There was no way he was expecting Josh to walk in here and tell him he was going to be father.

"We're not telling anyone yet…something about bad luck."

"Wow."

"Tell me about it."

"This is why you're going to Wisconsin?"

"Yeah, it's important to Donna."

Leo gave a small nod. "Let me talk to some people…see if I can free you up."

"Leo, if something big is happening…"

Leo held up his hand to stop it. "It's probably nothing…I'll give you an answer by the end of the day."

"Okay, thanks…" Josh hesitated slightly, his mind going over all the possibilities it could be. "Right, I got some stuff to do before staff…"

"Josh?" Leo called before his deputy could open the door. "Congratulations."

Josh forced a smile but Leo could see it was a fake one.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing… it's just… nothing."

"Josh?"

"Kids were meant to come later," he claimed. "I'm not ready now."

"If everyone waited until they were ready…"

"I don't know how to be a Dad…" Josh continued.

"You'll be fine."

"How do you know?"

"Because I know you…" He shrugged. "When you really want something, you don't stop until you get it."

"Yeah…" Josh replied quietly but said no more. He didn't want to tell his boss…the man he looked up to, who had been a second father to him, that he wasn't sure if he wanted this baby at all.

Leo watched him for a minute, trying to work out what was going through his mind.

"Anyway…I'll see you in a bit." Josh replied, breaking the silence and leaving the office.

XxXxX

Josh was sitting at his desk, deep in thought. It felt like his head was going to explode. Donna was pregnant. She was going to have a baby; his baby. He couldn't get his mind around that. He loved Donna and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her but he wasn't sure if he was ready for this. They had talked about having kids and Josh did want to have a family but not now…not before they were married. His job was crazy and he felt guilty enough when he didn't spend as much time as he should with Donna…Now there was going to be a kid added to the equation.

"I've solved the problem."

"Huh?" Josh looked over at the door and saw Sam stood there.

"I've solved the problem," he repeated, stepping fully into the room.

Josh ran a hand over his face and sat up straighter. "Problem?"

"Yeah, the Thanksgiving problem." Sam sat down in front of the desk. "I've invited Toby to dinner."

Josh stared at him for a few seconds before shaking his head slightly. "You want to start from the beginning?"

"About you coming to Thanksgiving dinner with me, Mallory and Leo," Sam replied. "I invited Toby to join us so I can have someone on my side."

Josh sighed. "About that…It looks like we're not going to be able to make it."

"What? I thought you didn't have any plans."

"We didn't but then I talked to Donna about it and it seems that she has her heart set on going home."

"Home?" Sam repeated. "Wisconsin home?"

"Unfortunately for me, yes."

"You know what this is, don't you…" A smile slowly spread across his face. "This is karma."

Josh raised an eyebrow. "Karma?"

"For laughing at me," Sam explained. "This is the universe's way of getting pay back."

"You really need to stop reading all those girly magazines."

"I'm just saying that at least Leo likes me, kind of…" Sam replied. "Donna's parents hate you."

"Yeah, thanks for clearing that up for me."

"You're seriously going?"

"Looks like it unless Leo can come up with a good excuse to get me out of it." Josh replied, his mind drifting back to his conversation with Leo earlier. He couldn't quite work out what was going on but he was sure something was happening.

"Well, I suppose this is a good thing," Sam continued, not noticing Josh had stopped paying attention to him. "I mean, if the two of you are going to spend the rest of your lives together, then I guess you should try and get along with her family."

"What?"

"Were you even listening to me at all?"

"Not really, no."

"See, now I'm not going to help you."

"You were going to help me?" Josh raised an eyebrow.

"Not really, no," Sam replied and walked out the office.

Josh sighed and looked back down at the file on his desk.

XxXxX

Later that day, Josh was called into the Oval office. He was surprised to see Ron Butterfield stood with the President and Leo.

"Ah, Josh come on in and sit down," The President said as he walked around from behind the desk and moved towards the couches. Once the President was seated, Josh, Leo and Ron followed suit.

"Leo tells us you're thinking about spending Thanksgiving in Wisconsin," The President looked over at Josh.

Josh glanced across at Leo before looking back to the President. "Yes, Sir…Donna's mother wants to have the whole family there and according to Donna, that includes me."

Jed laughed lightly. "Well, I guess you'll have to get used to that. Once you're married, you'll be a part of the Moss family for life."

Josh smiled a little. "Yes, Sir."

"When do you need to leave?" Leo questioned.

"Uh Tuesday evening," Josh answered. "And we'd be back late on Sunday."

Leo looked over to Ron, who gave a small nod.

"I'm sorry but can I ask what's going on? I mean, if it's a problem then…"

"It's not a problem, Mr. Lyman." Ron spoke for the first time.

"Then what's all this about?"

Jed sighed. "There have been some letters."

Josh paused for a moment. "Threatening letters?"

"Yes."

"To whom?"

"To me," Leo told him. "And to you."

"Just us?" Josh asked and Leo nodded. "What do they say?"

"Don't worry about that…"

"Leo, what do they say?"

"Death threats, mainly," Ron told him causing Leo to glare at him.

Josh leaned back against the couch, trying to get his head around all of this.

"They don't give a reason why it's the two of you and not anyone else in the administration…" Ron continued. "And so far, they've been anonymous and haven't given us a clue who they're from."

"You're taking this seriously, though?" Josh asked before realizing what a stupid question that was. Of course they were taking it seriously, otherwise they wouldn't be telling him about it. "I mean, does this mean you don't want me to go Wisconsin?"

"I'm not going to lie and say it wouldn't be easier if you stayed here but it's not going to be a problem for you to go."

"You'll take a few agents with you…" Leo started.

"Oh come on, you're kidding me," he whined.

"Josh…"

"Leo, I'm trying to get Donna's parents to like me. They already think I'm some egomaniac snob!" Josh quoted what Mr. Moss had called him when he found out about their engagement. "How good do you think it'll look if I turn up for Thanksgiving dinner with the secret service?"

"Maybe the agents will make you look more important." Leo replied. "Or failing that, they'll actually stop any of Donna's family trying to kill you."

"While that is a good point there's also the fact that, we're supposed to be staying at Donna's parent's house," Josh replied. "There's barely going to be enough room for Donna and me. It'll be madness if there are agents there too."

"That might not be an issue," Ron informed him. "We've done a quick scan of the area that Miss Moss' family lives in and we've found a property where we can base our agents."

"Would we need to stay there too?" Josh asked.

"Not if you're willing to have a panic button on you at all times and you make regular calls to check in," Ron told him. "We'd also need a list of people that you will be staying with and spending time with."

"Right, okay," Josh sighed, running a hand over his face. "Are you sure this is safe? That I'm not putting Donna or anyone else in danger?"

"We'll post an agent to watch the Moss' house at all times and we'll be able to get you out of there within seconds." Ron said. "You'll be fine. Trust us; it's our job to keep you safe."

Josh looked over at Leo and the President, trying to work out their thoughts on this. He'd never forgive himself if someone was hurt because he had made the wrong decision.

"Why don't why leave it there for the time being," Leo suggested. "Josh, get the list of people together and give it to Ron then we'll discuss it some more once we've got everything in place."

"Yeah, okay…I'll talk to Donna about it. I should be able to get the list to you within the hour."

"That would fine" Ron replied. "Was there anything else, Mr. President?"

"No, that's all. Thanks Ron."

"Thank you, Mr. President." Ron stood up, glancing at Leo and Josh, then turned and left the office once he saw they had nothing to add.

"Ron wouldn't let you go if he didn't think you'd be safe," Jed tried to reassure Josh.

"Yeah, I guess," Josh replied, still sounding unsure. "You really have no idea who's behind this?"

"There have been a total of 3 letters. The first two were aimed at me, the third was at you," Leo told him. "Ron has put a top time together and they'll find out whoever is behind this."

"What if we stay here?" Josh asked. "We wouldn't need the Secret Service with us?"

"Josh, this is a creditable threat," Leo replied. "You'll be getting protection whether you are."

"Yeah, okay." Josh sighed.

"You'll get Ron that list?"

"I'll talk to Donna." Josh replied, taking his cue to stand up.

"Was there anything else, Sir?" Leo looked over at Jed as he stood up too.

"No, we're done."

"Thank you, Mr. President," Leo said, moving towards his office, gesturing for Josh to follow.

Leo closed the adjoining door behind Josh and turned to watch his Deputy for a moment before speaking. "You really will be safe, you know."

"Except we don't know that," Josh replied. "We don't know what this maniac has planned."

"It'll fine," Leo told him. "Don't worry about it."

Josh ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah."

"Besides, you've got more important things to worry about, like how you're going to tell your mother that I knew she was going to be a Grandmother before she did." He teased lightly.

"A few hours ago, my biggest worry was that I'd never be able to find time to be a father." Josh said slowly. "Now I've got to worry about how to keep a baby safe from crazy people who hate me."

Leo paused trying to decide what might be the best thing to say. He could tell that Josh was having a hard time adjusting to the idea of being a father. He didn't want to make things worse.

"You don't need to worry about it. That's what the Secret Service is for." Leo replied. "Besides, maybe getting away for a few days and spending some time with Donna will do you some good."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Josh replied. "I guess, I should go find her and get that list."

"Okay, let me know if you need anything."

Josh nodded a little before turning and leaving. He slowly made his way towards his office, trying to decide how much he should tell Donna. He didn't want to freak her out. They hadn't left for Wisconsin and it was already the worst Thanksgiving ever.

TBC

Please review and let me know what you think!!!