A/N: So here is the sequel to Soulmates. You have to read that first, although in a sense this makes sense alone. You'll just understand it better if you read that. I obviously borrowed some (or more) lines from the original show, sticking more to canon than in the first installment. No copyright infrigment intended, I just wrote this for fun. :)
TV-speak is italicized, the text of the email is italicized and in bold.
The Valentine Filibuster
One teaspoon of salt, one cup of corn flake crumbs…
"I just wait here and do what?" Donna asked her husband when she stepped into his office. She was cold and a bit cranky, and although Josh was still hoping, she wasn't. They had tickets to the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Hannah Lyman and accompanied by Special Guest Star Yo-Yo Ma. Donna thought it was pretty romantic that Josh (who was otherwise romantically-challenged) wanted to bring her there on Valentine's Day. She was planning already what to do to make Josh feel appreciated.
"Well, wait here," Josh said, looking at her with a grin complete with dimples.
"And you are doing what exactly?"
24 shrimps yield approximately four to six servings…
"I'm waiting for the old curmudgeon to finish his filibuster so when it comes to the voting I can help CJ with spinning," Josh said.
"Maybe I could do something useful," Donna said, looking around in the office. She was thinking about asking the Director of FEMA to declare it a federal disaster area but she also knew that it wasn't her job to make order out of the chaos; Josh had an assistant for that.
"Donna, it's our night off, we don't have to do anything," Josh said, and Donna had to admit that he was right. They were both busy in these last weeks, and Josh was still not on top where his health was concerned. Donna knew that he was still getting tired more easily than before and the nightmares didn't help.
"Except waiting for the good Senator to get tired and yield the floor?" Donna asked then.
"Well, yes," Josh said.
"I really wanted to see my sister-in-law tonight," Donna said. Although they lived in the same city, they didn't meet as often as they wanted. With Yo-Yo Ma here she had to spend more hours at rehearsals than usually. And Donna's boss was hip deep in this Family Wellness Act; she promised she would help the White House with convincing other Representatives. As her Press Secretary, Donna had usually nothing to do with policy, but Congresswoman Wyatt noticed that Donna knew everything there was to know about the Act so she brought Donna with her to her meetings.
"Yeah, me too, but she will understand," Josh reassured her. "This is a very important bill. And we can see her tomorrow with the President."
"I wanted to go to the Kennedy Center without the usual entourage," Donna said with a sigh. It was Josh's Valentine Day's gift, and Donna really wanted to enjoy it without being surrounded by a swarm of Secret Service agents.
Six egg yolks, three cup of heavy cream, six tablespoon of sugar, two tablespoons of…
"Yeah, I know. But Yo-Yo Ma is going to be there tomorrow evening, just like my sister," Josh said.
"I know," Donna said with another sigh.
"You know what? I wanted to explain to my mother what a filibuster was while I was waiting for you to show up, you could finish the e-mail instead of me now," Josh said.
"Joshua, your mother wants to hear from you, not from me."
"I'm not so sure about that," Josh said with a grin. "I think she likes you more than me."
"Now, Joshua, you know that that is not true."
"Yeah, I know," Josh admitted. "Nevertheless, you could finish my e-mail to her."
"Okay, you already told her about the 'buccaneers?'" Donna asked.
"Yeah, and also about Strom Thurmond. But I didn't write about 'invoking cloture' and 'yielding the floor,'" Josh said with a smile. "You can explain those to her."
So your son worked his charm, Mom, and I have to tell you it feels pretty good that we are finally spending the big money on healthcare. But after the bill was closed, Senator Stackhouse sent me a message: "You're gonna meet with me or there's not gonna be a vote while I'm alive. STACKHOUSE." The message was pretty cryptic… like something you'd slip to a bank teller. And it was unusual to get it directly from a Senator, who'd normally dispatch an aide. Leo agreed, but was in no way concerned. He told me to go ahead, take the meeting, and not to sweat it, and under no circumstances give anything away.
So I headed up to the Hill… wearing, by the way, the new shoes you and Donna bought me, and which I'd never worn before. Yeah, I bet Donna already told you about that one. It was a humiliating experience, but Donna pointed out that it happened probably for a reason. She said it helped to deflate my ego after my success with the Family Wellness Act. I know you'll agree.
Since Dad's not here to do it, I think it's my job to bore you with history now. The filibuster has been part of parliamentary strategy in this country for over a hundred and fifty years (I'm sure you remember Strom Thurmond filibustering the Civil Rights Act in 1957). Now, the reason we weren't sweating Stackhouse is that Stackhouse isn't someone you sweat. He's been around forever, but he has little influence, little power, and few friends. So, Dad would want me to tell you where the word 'filibuster' comes from. It's from the Dutch 'vrijbuiter,' which translated literally means 'freebooter.' But what they meant was, 'buccaneer.'
Oh, Donna will be soon here, Mom. We are planning to see Yo-Yo Ma and Hannah at the Kennedy Center tonight, but you know about that. Anyway, I didn't think much about the meeting with Stackhouse afterward. There are always going to be people who don't get what they want. I was thinking about other things.
"Okay," Donna said and started typing the moment she finished reading Josh's lines.
"I will go to the Mess, see if I can get anything edible," Josh said.
"You do that," Donna said absent-mindedly.
"And while I'm down there I might think about my new career as shortstop for the Mets," Josh teased her.
"Yeah," Donna said, clearly not paying attention to him.
"I could also think about you in a bikini on the sandy beach of Hawaii," Josh went on.
"Red bikini or blue bikini?" Donna asked after turning back to him with a mischievous smile on her face.
"Well, there is a thought that's gonna occupy my mind," Josh murmured and left his office, leaving a smiling Donna behind.
Hello, Sarah, it's Donna here. Josh went down to the Mess to see if he could find anything for us to eat. I don't think we will be able to see Hannah tonight, but there is always tomorrow. I just wish that we could have a nice evening without the President's entourage. Anyway, your son's thinking about playing for the Mets again. Where he gets these ideas, I don't know.
So back to the filibuster. The Senator already imparted his wisdom about deep fried shrimp but I'm going to spare you that, also the secret of the Virginia green apple pie. Anyway, Josh took the meeting with the senator, but he couldn't do anything for him. He couldn't open up the bill, it was a Christmas tree bill already, one more amendment and it would have toppled. Of course Josh wasn't exactly satisfied after the dealing and wheeling but he seldom is. For all his political savvy, your son remains an idealist who thinks that Representatives should serve their constituents and keep their pork barrel requests at a minimum.
Donna paused, looking up at the TV set in Josh's office. She flipped to CNN where the newscaster was talking about Stackhouse and they showed some footage with the Senator from some campaign events. Donna smiled when she saw him with his grandchildren.
Also in the news at this hour, parliamentary procedure in all of its glory, as a Senate filibuster watches day turn to night, and possibly back into day again. 78-year-old Minnesota Senator Howard Stackhouse stands alone tonight in the well of the Senate chamber as his colleagues somewhat impatiently wait for a vote that was scheduled to take place more than nine hours ago. Stackhouse, a five-term senator who once…
"I'm holding the Press Corps hostage," CJ said, entering Josh's office while Donna was watching the news.
"And me and my husband," Donna said with a grin.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that."
"Don't worry about it; we'll go tomorrow with the President and the First Lady, he invited us when Josh told him about our planned evening tonight."
"I'm writing an e-mail to my father," CJ announced, probably noticing that Donna was writing an e-mail too.
"Yeah, I'm writing to Sarah, explaining the rules of the filibuster," Donna said.
"It's Democracy at work," CJ said with a resigned sigh.
"Yeah," Donna said, turning her eyes back at the television. "They keep playing that B-roll with Stackhouse over and over again."
"Yeah, he is big news right now," CJ said.
"Hey, you never told me how your statue-quest went," Donna asked her.
"Well, I still didn't find the chance to tell the President that I broke his statue."
"When is Hassan Ali coming?"
"Monday," CJ said. "I really don't know what to do."
"Well, unless you find a pretty good replacement I think you have to go with honesty."
"Yeah, I guess so," CJ said, leaving Josh's office again.
Donna watched the footage again and then sprung up like she had been stung by a bee.
"Hey, Jenny," she called out to Josh's assistant when she stepped outside. The TV sets were turned to C-SPAN, where the Senator finished reading David Copperfield.
Let's move on to the rules of cards…
Donna, and probably the rest of the Operations staff, had to suppress a groan.
"Hi, Donna," Jenny greeted her with a slight smile. "Plans fell through?"
"Yeah, we were supposed to go to the Kennedy Center. Hannah is conducting and Yo-Yo Ma is playing," Donna said with a sigh. "I was so looking forward to that."
"What can I do for you?"
"Could I get a dub of the B-roll they're showing on the Stackhouse story? It's three or four seconds, it's a campaign stop, and his grandchildren were with him. The voiceover's talking about his seven grandchildren."
"Sure, is there a problem?"
"No, I just want to check something," Donna reassured the assistant.
"I'll have it in a few moments; Communications records the news 24/7."
"Okay, thanks," Donna said, returning to Josh's office.
Donna was about to return to her e-mail when Josh stepped into his office a few minutes later.
"Hey, you finished yet?" Josh asked her.
"I still haven't explained cloture. How long until he collapses, Josh? We have to help him somehow," Donna said.
"I wish I could," Josh said just when Sam entered his office.
"Hey, Donna, you stuck here?" he asked.
"Yeah, where were you heading?"
"The Hamptons," Sam said with a tired sigh.
"Who in their right mind schedules a vote for Valentine's Day?" Donna asked but her question was met with a silence.
"You did this?" she asked her husband incredulously.
"I may have suggested it to the Chairman," Josh said.
"Why?" Donna demanded.
"Because I thought we had the Family Wellness Act. It was closed, we had the votes. I thought I could enjoy the symphony with you without having this on my mind. I thought I could leave this all behind and truly enjoy my weekend," Josh defended his decision.
"Well, you should have consulted Senator Stackhouse," Donna said with a bitter smile.
"Yeah," Josh agreed. "Come on, Sam, I need coffee. Donna can finish the e-mail to my mother."
"Could you bring me a cup too?" Donna asked him with a sweet smile.
"Sure," Josh said.
Josh is getting me coffee, I think we have an all-nighter to plan for. I was looking forward to the weekend, Sarah. I usually don't plan anything just go with the flow, since you never know with Josh's job, but I planned actually leaving the apartment this weekend. How foolish of me.
"Hey, Donna, here is the tape," Jenny entered Josh's office.
"Thanks, Jenny," Donna said, grabbing the tape. Before putting it into the VCR she took another good look at the Senator on C-SPAN. He was still reading the Rule of Cards.
To get cash for chips you have to go to the cashier's cage of the casino…
She counted the children three times and then shook her head. Senator Stackhouse was apparently an old-school gentleman with a big heart and even more stubbornness in his bones than Josh. After her discovery, she went looking for Josh but couldn't find him, however she found CJ.
"CJ?"
"Yeah?"
"Listen, I was looking at the B-roll they're showing on the Stackhouse story and there's something that struck me as odd."
"What?" CJ asked back.
"They show two different events during his last campaign and his grandchildren are next to him on stage. He's got seven of them," Donna told her friend.
"What's the problem?"
"There are only six in the shot. I don't think this is what you think it is. I don't think he's just being ornery. I think he's got a grandson who is autistic."
"Oh, holy hell! Tell Josh, find out for sure."
"Yeah," Donna said and went for looking for Josh. She found him and Sam in the Mess.
"Josh, I think I know why he is acting like this," Donna told him as she took a seat next to them.
"Stackhouse?"
"Yeah, they are running a footage on the news, and the voiceover says he has seven grandchildren. They show two events, there are only six children at either of them."
"He has an autistic grandchild?" Josh asked back dumbfounded. "But he should have told me something!"
"Yeah, he didn't. Listen, I've talked to CJ, she said we should find out for sure."
"Okay. Hey, here is your coffee, go easy on the mug's handle, it seems like it's ready to give in," he said, handing over her coffee, making Donna smile as she remembered their first meeting.
"Sam, you coming?" Donna asked him.
"Sure," Sam said, getting up. "I'll grab Toby; he is watching a basketball game."
"Basketball on Valentine's Day?" Donna asked back dismayed.
"Well, it's not like he has someone to spend Valentine's Day with," Sam said.
"Yeah, I know," Donna said, thinking about her boss, the Congresswoman Andrea Wyatt.
Josh and Jenny made some calls, and soon it was clear that Donna's suspicions were right, Stackhouse had an autistic grandchild.
"What are we doing to help him?" Sam asked them.
"We talk to the President," CJ said.
"Yeah, I'm calling Leo; I'll tell him that you and Donna are on your way to the Oval."
"Me?" Donna asked back.
"Donna, it was you who noticed something wasn't right," Toby said. "Take it to the Oval, CJ will be there."
"But Josh, you know I tend to…" Donna protested.
"Donna, it was you," Josh said. "The President should know. Now, go to the Oval."
"Okay," Donna agreed finally, and CJ and she made their way to the Oval.
"You could slip in there that you broke the statue," Donna suggested.
"After I told him about Stackhouse?" CJ asked her.
"Yeah, good news-bad news," Donna said.
"I'll try. Charlie?"
"He is just coming over," Charlie informed them.
"Thanks, can we wait?"
"Yeah, look, CJ, one of us is going to have to tell the President that the statue's broken," Charlie addressed CJ.
"It's not broken," CJ said adamantly.
"It is broken," Charlie insisted.
"She Krazy Glued it back together," Donna said.
"You Krazy Glued it?"
"I didn't know what it was. I needed a potpourri holder. I have the ancient curse of Bast on me, so get off my back, Sparky," she said indignantly.
"Okay, but when you tell him I'd leave out the Krazy Glue."
"And the potpourri, right?"
"Yeah, here we go," Charlie said as they saw the President on the portico.
"Good evening, Mr. President," they greeted him when they entered the Oval Office.
"Hey. Hey Donna, good to see you. I'm sorry your plans fell through, but you two are coming with us tomorrow night, right?
"Yes, Mr. President," Donna said with a smile.
"Is there something else I can do for you?" the President asked, returning her smile.
"Donna's the one who started sniffing around it," CJ imparted.
"CJ, that phone message was for real. He's not going to stop till he drops."
"He might," CJ remarked in a low voice.
"CJ, let me tell you something. Don't ever, ever underestimate the will of a grandfather. We're madmen. We don't give a damn. We got here before you and they'll be here after. We'll make enemies, we'll break laws, we'll break bones but you will not mess with the grandchildren."
"There was quite a bit of sugar in the crème de caramel," Leo remarked with a pinch of sarcasm in his voice.
"Yeah," CJ agreed a bit taken aback.
"CJ… If I told you to screw the print deadline what would you want to do right now?"
"I'd want to see if there's a way I could help him out," CJ said.
"Give him some dignity, right? And give him a rest. The guy's going to collapse out there."
"Yes, sir."
"Screw the print deadline. Leo?"
"Look…" Leo started, but the President cut him off.
"We will talk about the other thing later."
"I'm just asking how we're going to do this," Leo asked his boss.
"Excuse me?" Donna asked in an almost whisper. She was still in awe that she was in the Oval Office. Oh, she had been in the Oval Office before, but never with the President present.
"The Chairman's going to gavel him off if he stops talking or sits," Leo told the President.
Donna raised her hand, like in school, not knowing what else she should do. It's not like she could interrupt the White House Chief of Staff or the President of the United States. And she wanted to be polite.
"Excuse me?" she repeated a bit louder, but it was loud enough this time.
"What are you doing?" Leo asked her, seemingly taken aback that she dared to talk. Donna was so nervous but she had to do it. They all wanted to help the senator and she knew how.
"I didn't know if I'm supposed to…" she explained.
"We usually don't raise our hands," Leo remarked with a good-natured smile.
"Though it's not the worst idea in the world." President Bartlet looked at Donna with a gleam in his eyes.
"The Senator's allowed to yield for a question without yielding the floor," Donna explained, just like she explained it to her mother-in-law in the e-mail she was writing.
"What do you mean?" Leo asked her.
"He's allowed to yield for a question without yielding the floor," Donna repeated, not sure how else she could explain the rule.
CJ and Leo turned to President Bartlet, seeking his confirmation.
"I was in the House. I know nothing about Senate rules," he said, making Donna smile inwardly. The President was an endless well of knowledge and wisdom, but there were still things he didn't know about. It made him human, and Donna liked him even more because of that.
"Yes sir, but Josh does, and he likes to explain things, and, well, I let him," Donna said with a little grin. Yeah, Josh was very helpful with her studies, and she secretly loved it when he ranted about Senate rules, or when he talked about his early years in politics.
"I'm pretty sure it's true, sir," CJ said, making Donna grateful for her support.
"What time is it? Let's wake up a parliamentarian," the President ordered.
"Yeah, but the problem is the only people who ask questions are Senators," Leo warned them.
"We're going to get one of them to walk in there," President Bartlet told him and then yelled, "Charlie!"
"The Senate wants to go home. They want a vote," Leo told them.
"Yes, sir?" Charlie entered the office.
"I want to call Senators. We'll start with our friends. When we're done with those two, we'll go on to the other ninety-eight," President Bartlet said, and Donna had to suppress a chuckle.
"Yes, sir," Charlie said and stepped outside.
"Charlie!" CJ called after him.
"Yes, ma'am?" Charlie asked back.
"Start with the grandfathers," CJ suggested.
"Yes, ma'am."
"There's no damn holiday for us either," President Bartlet said looking at Donna with an apologetic smile.
"We'll be in the dining room," Leo said, ushering the President back to the Residence. Apparently they were in the middle of an important conversation.
"CJ," the President said, turning to his Press Secretary, "no kidding, make this happen."
"Yes, sir," CJ promised him and then added quietly, "Oh, and I broke your statue."
"I don't think he heard you," Donna remarked with a grin as she leaned closer to CJ.
"No," CJ agreed and then turned to her friend. "We'll make this happen."
Everybody gathered in the Communications Bullpen, Mom. We hoped that Senator Stackhouse knew as much about rules and procedures as Donna. And guess from whom she knew about them. We were staring at those 14 television sets, calculating in our head how much time it would take Senator Grissom to walk from his office to the floor. We stood there frozen while the Senator went on about the rules of blackjack. And then it happened. Even President Bartlet and Leo joined us in the bullpen, Mom; and the President stood there, his arm around Donna's shoulders, encouraging Stackhouse to yield for the question. We cheered and everybody was cheering for Donna. Mom, you should have seen her! You would have been so proud. Dad would have been so proud. I know I was proud.
"What are you writing about? And why aren't you finished?" Donna asked her husband as she watched the coverage. Grissom was still reading his questions. "I love Senator Stackhouse."
That's an incredible one in 500 Americans afflicted with this disease, which leads me to part two of our question…
"That's good to know," Josh said absent-mindedly, taking a sip from his beer. "I'm writing about you, honey," he said then, handing her the bottle.
I'll go back to the Conference Chairman to open the bill and we'll see to it that Senator Stackhouse's amendment gets attached. But I plan to fully enjoy this weekend with my brilliant wife, Mom. There are so many days here where you can't imagine that anything good would ever happen. You're buried under a black fog of partisanship and self promotion and stupidity and a brand of politics that's just plain mean… But tonight we saw a giant and we saw 28 Senators ready to help him. And life is good, Mom. Your loving son and daughter, Joshua and Donatella.
"I want to work for Senator Stackhouse," Donna told him when they exited the White House.
"You would leave Andie?" Josh asked her taken aback.
"I don't know. I love working for Andie, but Senator Stackhouse is my hero tonight," Donna said.
"What about me?"
"You are my hero on the other 364 days, Josh, don't be greedy," Donna admonished him.
"Yeah, okay. You want me to talk to his Chief of Staff?" Josh offered.
"Josh, no," Donna said. "I didn't accept your offer first, I won't accept it now either. It's not like I don't appreciate it, but I want to do it alone. Besides, it's not like I already made a decision."
"Why not? You usually make quick decisions," Josh asked her, referring to the fact that she made a quick decision when she decided to leave Madison to work for the Bartlet for America campaign. She also made a quick decision when Josh asked her to move to D.C. on Election Day. Donna agreed almost immediately and moved to Washington where she found her current job as Andrea Wyatt's Press Secretary. Her other quick decision came next year, when she said yes immediately after Josh asked her to marry him. They didn't marry right away, but she said yes without any delay.
"And they are usually good decisions, but this is something else. I want to get my degree and I want to work in the White House one day, that's for sure. I would like to think about leaving Andie's office, but right now I'm not sure whether it's not just because of the heat of the moment. I'll let you know and you can be sure that I'll want to talk about it with you later."
"As long as we talk about it," Josh agreed.
"I'm not the brooder one in this marriage, Joshua Lyman," Donna told her.
"Yeah, I know," Josh admitted with a self-deprecating smile.
"It was a good night," Donna said, changing the topic.
"I was so proud of you," Josh said. "You did good tonight, Donatella."
"Thank you, Joshua," Donna accepted his praise and they walked home hand in hand.
THE END
So tell me what you think? Was it worth reading?