Chapter 7

Donna was hurriedly stuffing items in Jacob's backpack on Monday

morning. She did not want to be late for her appointment at the White

House, but Jake was not aware of how important this meeting was and

didn't seem to be in a cooperative frame of mind. She tapped him on

the shoulder, again, and waited for him to look at her.

"We have to go NOW." Jake reluctantly put down is trucks and followed

her to the car. She got him to her sister's house without further

incident, kissed him goodbye, and hurried to the White House. Imagine

her surprise, though, when it wasn't Josh who met her at the

entrance, but the White House Press Secretary CJ Cregg.

"Ms. Moss? Hi I'm CJ Cregg."

"Yes, Ms. Cregg, I know who you are. Is everything alright? I was

expecting to see Josh."

"Everything's fine. I just wanted a chance to meet you without Joshua

hogging all your attention. You're meeting in the Roosevelt room this

morning. I'll walk you over"

"That's very nice of you, but I'm sure you're very busy. I can just

wait for Josh." Donna was unwilling to admit it but she was quite

anxious to see Josh again. He had called several times since their

meeting the previous Wednesday. Sometimes to just chat about his day, other times

with a question about special ed programs. Those were the funniest calls. He would

rattle off 2 or 3 quick questions, and hang up without even saying goodbye. Although

he had a reputation for being a world class political operative, he had a lot of work to

do

in the area of social skills.

"Josh will meet us there I promise. So I hear you're almost finished

with your Masters in government studies. What are your plans when you finish?" CJ

asked.

"Ideally, I'd like to work in the Department of Health and Human

Services." Donna answered as she followed CJ to the Roosevelt room.

It was packed with people, including Josh Lyman, who kept glancing at

his pager. When he finally noticed her, he excused himself and

hurried to the door.

"Hey, Rebecca was supposed to page me when you got here." Josh

complained.

"Ms. Cregg was kind enough to escort me back. "

"I bet she was. Thanks so much CJ." He said sardonically. "I got it

from here."

"I thought I'd stay and listen awhile." She said innocently.

"I think we're pretty packed in here already. I'll brief you on the

highlights later." Josh insisted.

CJ acquiesced, but watched the proceedings from outside the glass

doors. She was fascinated by the body language between these two.

From what Sam told her, they had only met a week ago, but the non-

verbal language seemed much more comfortable, intimate even, than a

new casual relationship would suggest.

Josh kept touching her; to get her attention, hand her a pen, whisper

some comment or question into her ear. They leaned into each other

even when their attention was focused on someone else. Very

interesting. She went in search of Toby and Sam to share her

observations.

Meanwhile in the Roosevelt room, the meeting was winding down. Donna was

fascinated by the varied personalities and agenda present for this meeting. Once in

a while, Josh would whisper some background

information on the person speaking or asking her opinion about a

comment offered. It was an amazing experience. Suddenly there was a

commotion at the door. Security was motioning for Donna to come

outside. Puzzled, but not yet alarmed, Donna exited the room quietly

as Josh watched carefully from his seat.

"We're sorry to bother you Ms. Moss, but there is a woman outside

with a small child who says she's your sister and claims she needs to

speak to you immediately."

Donna rushed to the entrance with the

officers, oblivious to the fact that Josh made his excuses and

followed behind her only moments later.

"Molly, what's wrong? Is Jake okay?" Donna asked even as she scanned

her son's figure for any sign of illness or injury.

"No, Donna, he's fine. I'm sorry for scaring you. The school called

and Tommy has been taken to the emergency room, they think it's

appendicitis. Patrick is with him already, but I want to get there as

soon as possible and didn't know what else to do with Jake." Donna

nodded her understanding. Tommy was Molly's youngest child, and

Patrick, her husband, would want her at the hospital with him.

"Go, go. Call me as soon as you know anything." Donna replied.

"I will if you turn on your cell. I've been trying to reach you for

the last 30 minutes."

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. Go ahead." She waved her sister off

and gathered her son to her in a hug. "Hey tiger. You had a little

excitement today at Aunt Molly's, huh?"

"Donna?" Josh's voice interrupted Donna's reunion with Jake. She

looked up to see Josh watching her with a puzzled look on her

face. "Is everything okay? Who is this?" he asked.

"This is Jake. He's my son, Josh." Josh recovered quickly from the

shock and spoke to the boy whose back was still facing him. "Hi,

buddy. I'm Josh." He offered a hand to the child, but he did not turn

around. There was a moment where no one moved or spoke. Then Donna began

signing to the child.

"Jake, this is my friend Josh. He's the friend who is helping Mommy

with her homework. Can you say `hi' to him?" Donna explained.

Jacob turned around to face Josh and studied him for a moment before

simultaneously signing and saying `hi'" He had curly blond hair and

bright blue eyes that waited for a response from Josh. He hesitated

before looking back to Donna.

"I don't know how to sign. How do I say `hi' back?" he asked with his

eyes back on Jake.

"You just did. Jake is beginning to read lips, but signing is still

faster and more accurate for him." Donna watched Josh as he watched

Jacob and realized this would change their relationship. It always

did. Once a man found out that she not only had a child, but a child

with a disability, they usually couldn't make tracks to the door fast

enough. She didn't even get her hopes up when she met someone new

anymore. She wasn't sure how Josh slipped through her defenses, but

he had, which made the impending crash even more painful.

"We'd better go. My sister was watching him for me, but she's had a

family emergency so I'm just going to take Jake home now." He handed

her the purse she had left in the Roosevelt room still not saying a

word to her, just staring at Jake. "Thank you so much for the

opportunity to sit in on the meeting today, Josh. I learned a lot and

it meant more than you know. Bye."

"Bye Donna" then he bent lower to meet the eyes of the child, and

waved, "Bye Jake"