Disclaimer: Nope, don't own them. Suing will get you nothing.

Summary: See Chapter #1

Author's notes:

""= Dialogue, ''= thoughts

C.O.S.: Change of Scenery

Responses to reviewers:

Sorry if it seems like nitpicking: corrections have been duly noted.

Kursk: Thanks for the encouragement.

Chapter #2:

I was asleep, but somewhere in the back of my mind I could hear a phone ringing.

"Donna, get that would you." I said out loud. It still kept ringing, and I woke up enough to notice my surroundings, "and here I thought this was the dream," I whispered. I told her I'd be right back, then left to take the call.

"Hello?" I said rather groggily.

"Hi Josh, how is she?" Leo asked me.

"Still asleep. She's going to be sleeping for a while. How are things there?"

"There's good and bad." Leo told me.

"Good and bad..." I left off waiting for Leo to continue

"Good that everybody is operating as a cohesive unit. And things are going bad because that cohesive unit is riding on the President's response to this latest thing. And the president wants a peaceful solution, but both sides are stubborn making him frustrated. " Leo explained. I chuckled to myself fully knowing what a frustrated Bartlet could do to his staff.

"I've asked about Donna, now what about you?" Leo asked.

"You know it makes it easier knowing that I'm here for someone, it keeps me sane somehow. But I'm all right." There was a pause.

"Actually Leo, I'd like you to look into an free-lance photo-journalist. He was often seen in her company at meetings. How about you, anything you would like me to do on this end?" I asked wanting to be as useful as possible.

"No, not for now, but Toby will be in touch later. Oh and Josh, one last thing. The first lady is on her way."

"Thanks for the head's up Leo." I responded.

"Bye Josh."

"Bye Leo." Then I hung up the phone, and re-entered Donna's hospital room, and sat down beside her bed, and took up her hand. I sat back again, in a few moments I was asleep. I was awakened maybe an hour later with the sound of loud voices by the nurses station.

"I'm going to take this opportunity to remind you that I have security clearance..." She began

"The same level as the C.I.A.." The nurse responded.

"Actually the same level as the President who is also my husband, who is also your commander-in-chief." She finished.

"That's all well and good, but we can't give out any information to someone that either does not hold the power-of –attorney, or is not on related to a patient. You see ma'am." The nurse responded, as she helplessly shrugged her shoulders. I had come and was standing in the doorway throughout the whole exchange, and chose this moment to speak up:

"It's okay. She's a doctor, and I trust her. More importantly than that, she can get your butt fired with just one phone-call." There was a nervous pause.

"I was kidding." I smiled showing my dimples to back up the joke.

"He really was," the First Lady agreed with me, and began walking towards me. We continued down the hall, the two secret service personnel directly behind us. We reached an open door to an empty lounge. She turned to her guards and asked them to wait outside, then walked into a waiting room. I had sat down on a chair, and had my head in my hands. She settled into a seat beside me, taking time, gathering her thoughts.

"I bet you are wondering why I am here. To all appearances she's a staffer, nothing more than an assistant to you, a glorified secretary if you will. Well in the last few years we have been through a lot. The President, as well as I have come to look at you more like family than as staffers, and that includes the assistants as well. You need a support system here Joshua. You cannot keep sitting here in this hospital room, day in day out, it's not healthy. So I'm here to provide that for you." The First Lady finished.

"Does the President know?" was my first question.

"He does. He's pretty frustrated with the whole situation right now. Both Israelis and the PLO are being stubborn, and he's just... Well let's just leave it at you know what a frustrated Jed will do to his staff, not to mention pretty much everyone else that comes in contact with him." Abby told me. I smiled again, and then sat back, my relaxation level increasing steadily. The First Lady has always intimidated me, so that the fact that I could relax in her presence at all is a huge achievement. But as much as she was intimidating, she could also be protective. It was the protective mode I could sense she was slipping into.

"So how are you feeling?" Dr. Bartlet asked.

"Alright I guess. I only threw up once- when I first got here and was speaking to her doctor. The nerves bother me sometimes. It's that whole hospital feeling. It always reminds me of what happened in Rosslyn." I told her part of the truth. I dearly hoped she wouldn't press further.

"And you're tired, you've been sleeping in one of those awful hospital chairs. That can't be good for your back Joshua. " She admonished me. Actually come to think of it, my back wasn't feeling too good, and I could use a hard bed.

"Oh and by the way, you look 20 years older than you usually do. The cure for all this is simple: go to the hotel, get some sleep, eat something and take a shower. I'll call you if anything changes." Dr. Bartlet told me.

"Okay." I had taken out my cell phone to glance at it.

"Oh, and I'll take that from you as well." She took my cell phone. I really was too tired to argue with her, and knowing the First Lady to be a formidable woman I didn't. I got up and she followed me out.

"Now go, I promise you I will call you when there's something to report." Dr. Bartlet assured me. I started walking toward a cab waiting outside. I paused as I remembered Toby: "Toby's supposed to call and check in later today."

"Don't worry, I'll handle him." She assured me, and she watched as I got in my cab and it drove me to the hotel.

I got out and walked in, my first stop being as per doctor's orders, the restaurant. I ordered a cheeseburger and fries, with a diet coke. As I ate, I remembered a time when she was with me. The rest of the staff was there, it was late at night, and we were all hungry. We all had just ordered, and Donna insisted she wasn't hungry. Our food came, and we began eating. I had left the table to take a call and when I came back in time to catch her eating my fries.

After I finished eating my dinner I made my way up to the room I had rarely seen the inside of. I lay down and fell asleep instantly. I don't remember dreaming anything, but I did sleep surprisingly well. I got up and made my way into bathroom where I showered and shaved, before changing my clothes and checking for messages. There were two, one from Toby, telling me to call him- he didn't say what it was about, typical Toby fashion, neurotic as ever.

And one from Dr. Bartlet. I glanced around for my cell phone, then remembered that she had it. I dialed the nurses station on Donna's floor, which in turn was able to get Dr. Bartlet for me.

"Just come Josh, I'll tell you when you get here." That was all she said.

Immediately I ran downstairs and got in the first cab I could find. I resisted the temptation to tell the cab driver not to stop for any red lights. The cab drove up, and I paid him, and ran to Donna's floor. As I got there, I had an empty feeling that something had happened. I saw Dr. Bartlet standing outside her door.

"Donna's in surgery."

"Oh, I replied." I really didn't trust myself to say anything else.

That's it for this chapter. Please read and review. I see I already have 3 reviews for it. Now let's try for one more for this chapter.

-A.B.