"Hey Kathy." I greet Donna's agent with a smile as I enter the suite. "I guess that means she's still here. Everyone else gone?"

"Yes, sir. Karen came out around 5:15 and left. She said that Donna was going to lay down on the couch for a bit."

Well that explains why she didn't come to my office like she usually does. I bet she's asleep in there. I open the door quietly. Sure enough, she's stretched out on her couch sound asleep.

I move quietly to a chair and take a few minutes just to watch her. She's gorgeous, but I'm a little concerned by the dark smudges under her eyes. I bet she didn't get enough sleep on this trip. I glance down her body. I can't quite tell but it looks like her pants are a little loose. If she's been vomiting this whole time, I'll bet she's losing weight. The book said that it's not unheard of in the first trimester, but the sooner we can get to the doctor, the better I'll feel. My whole world is laying on that couch right now and I'm going to do everything in my power to take care of it. Even if it means being a little bossy.

I'm beyond thrilled that were expecting. It has occured to me that perhaps we should have waited a bit, maybe at least gotten past the first 100 days, but the truth is I'm not getting any younger. I'll be 45 by the time this baby arrives. Not ancient. But still. I want to enjoy our children, and I want to have at least a hope of seeing grandchildren. Speaking of which, my Mother is going to be over the moon. I wonder how long we have to wait to tell her.

I glance at my watch. It's 6:45. Hopefully she got at least an hour's nap. I think it's time to wake her up, take her home and get some food into her.

I kneel beside the couch. My knees protest a little but I ignore them. Like I said. Not ancient. But still.

I run a hand lightly over her forehead, then give her a gentle kiss. "Baby," I whisper, softly smiling to myself at the term of endearment. I didn't expect to use that one, but more often than not, it's the one that slips out, and she has never complained about it. "Baby, it's time to wake up."

Her eyes flutter open and she smiles at me. My soul literally leaps within me. I can't explain how after 9 years of knowing her and four and a half months of marriage, she still effects me like this. When she smiles at me, I know I can do anything. But right now all I need to do is take her home and take care of her.

"Hey, did you have a nice nap?"

"Um, yeah. How long have I been asleep?" She looks at her watch for the answer. "Wow. Almost 90 minutes. Sorry I didn't come down to your office when I was through here."

"I'm glad you were sleeping." And I'm really glad Kathy was standing guard. The Ulitimate Gomer is locked away, but I still feel better knowing that Donna has protection.

On the way home, Donna snuggles into my side. She still looks tired. The book said that fatigue is common, but I wonder if this is normal. Maybe that trip was a really bad idea. I do want to hear all about it though. I expected her to be chattering non-stop about it. Maybe during dinner.

When we walk through the door, the smell of dinner hits us. I smile at Donna. I'm sure she's going to be really happy that I made something. She's probably sick of restaurant food.

I found an easy receipe for Chicken and Dumplings in the Crock-pot. I can't wait to see her face. I look over at her. Her eyes are wide and her hand is over her mouth. She sprints to the bathroom.

"I don't know why they call this morning sickness." I mutter as I rub her back with one hand and hold her hair back with the other. She doesn't respond as she heaves into the toliet, again. I can't help but notice not much is coming out. What was the last thing she ate?

When she's finally done, she sits up and smiles at me.

"Wow. That came on kind of sudden. But I feel much better now." She stands up and uses her hand to cup some water from the bathroom sink then rinses her mouth out. "What are you making for dinner?"

"Donna. Have you been like this the whole time you were gone?"

This is way worse than before she left. She had only thrown up a few times in the morning before then.

She nods sheepishly.

"That's it. You're seeing the doctor first thing in the morning."

"Josh. It'll probably take a couple weeks to get an appointment. I'm only about 6 weeks along, all they would do is confirm the pregnancy. Using the same type of test I already took!"

"You can see the White House doctor in the morning. I want him to make sure that all of this" I wave my hand vaguely around her body. "is normal. I'll call your OB and get an appointment as quickly as possible. I bet I can get you in within 24 hours." I smirk at her. I can be very persuasive.

Donna laughs at me. "Oh no, mister. You aren't calling my OB's office. I like my doctor. I don't want her to drop me as a patient. If you call, my file is going to end up with the "neurotic husband" flag."

"Do they really have those?"

"I wouldn't be surprised!" She grins at me. It's nice to see her with a little spirit. Just like in my office earlier, the bantering seems to give her a little energy.

"Alright. You can make the call. . . On one condition."

"What's that?"

"You try to eat some of this fabulous dinner that I cooked as a special welcome home."

"Okay."

"Okay." She follows me into the kitchen.

"I see you finally got over your fear of the crock-pot."

"Shhhhh... it'll hear you." I don't know why but that thing does not like me. It always works for Donna but half the time it doesn't start when I program it. I really should just buy a new one.

"So what's this called?" She asks once we are seated at the table. I'll admit the glob doesn't really look that appetizing. The picture on the internet looked much better.

"Um, chicken and dumplings?"

"And this would be a dumpling?" She pokes the lump of biscuit with her fork. It's rock hard on top, but not brown at all. I'm not sure it's edible. The stuff underneath it looks okay though. The chicken is cooked thoroughly and the veggies and gravy seem fine.

"Would you rather have some cereal?"

She laughs and takes a bite. "This is actually pretty good. Thanks, babe."

I take a bite myself. It's alright. It won't kill us, but I don't think I'll try this again.

"So" I ask once she's taken a few more bites, "how was the trip?"

"It was great! Helen was fabulous. I know she was nervous about speaking to the National Education Association, but she really did a great job. I think sending her out there with the "Mom" perspective really helped. She really sold the parent-teacher partnership angle. I think it bought the administration a lot of good will."

"That's great but I meant, how was it for you traveling so much? Did you get enough sleep? I'm worried that you didn't eat enough. When did you find out you're pregnant? Does anyone else know?"

"I didn't tell anyone else! I wanted to tell you first." She looks a little hurt that I would ask.

"I didn't mean . . . I just thought someone might have guessed, you know since you were throwing up so much."

"Oh. Okay. Well, yes, I guess it's possible that Helen suspects. She quizzed me on my symptoms on the second day, but then just smirked every time I threw up after that. She also stopped suggesting that we get drunk in the hotel room each night after that." Well thank god for small favors.

"When can we start telling people?" I want to shout it from the roof-tops. I did my job as a man and got a very nice girl pregnant!

"Why? You planning on taking out an ad in Roll Call?"

"Well, the thought did cross my mind. I was thinking "Josh Lyman procreates; Sign of End Times."

She laughs and smacks my arm lightly. "You'd better tell your Mother first!"

"Can I? Passover is next week. She's already planning to come cook Seder for us. Is it too soon to tell her then?"

Donna gives me a gentle kiss. "We can tell your Mother first. I'd love for us to do it in person. A lot of people choose not to tell anyone until after 12 weeks, but it's not a hard and fast rule. It's just less likely for something to go wrong after then."

I feel my heart start to pound. I can't imagine. I already love this baby. What if something goes wrong? What if this pregnancy is too hard on Donna? What if she throws up the whole time? What if she gets diabetes? What if her blood pressure gets out of control?

"Hey . . . . earth to Josh!" Donna's squeezing my hand. Once I made eye contact with her she smiles gently at me.

"Hey. We're going to be fine. I promise. I'll take care of myself and the little bean. Even better, I'll let you take care of me and the little bean. Okay? Don't let yourself go down the scary road."

"Okay." I lean over and give her a kiss. Sometimes it's freaky how she can read my mind and sometimes it's really reassuring.

"So we'll tell my Mom this weekend and your family next weekend?"

"Ugh. Can't we wait the 12 weeks to tell my family?"

"Do you want to cancel the trip? We knew these three weeks would be a whirlwind with the First Lady's trip, My Mom coming for Passover, then going to your parents for Easter."

"I don't know. The thought of traveling again isn't very appealing but I really want to see Baby Kate."

"Plus won't your Mom's feelings be hurt if we tell my Mom but don't tell her? If we are already going to be there it seems like a good time to share the news."

"I guess you're right. Finn and Julie will be excite for Kate to have a cousin so close in age."

I still can't believe they named the baby Kate. Kate Moss. Good grief. We are going to be a lot more careful about baby names.