"Wake Me Up When September Ends"

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last wake me up when September ends

(Pre- Runaway Train)

"I'm just saying." Nick kept his eyes fixed a head, Josh had a faint memory of this being unsettling once, but now it was just how it was.

"Aren't you supposed to be quiet?" Lyman leaned his head back against the seat of the car.

"I'm just saying, when you get her all worked up I pay for it too."

"So you want me to let the country and campaign go to pot so that you're wife has sex with you?" His voice lifted at the end.

"How longs it been for you?" Nick asked in irritation. "Go back a whole 'nother time? That's where I'm at."

"Wow."

"Yeah." Casnoff shook his head. "And not only do you send her to Omaha, but you get them all worked up."

"Your wife's job sent her to Omaha."

"No, you're best friends career goals made you send your wife to Omaha. Mine just has to go along." The man's flat tone echoed in the backseat of the car. "I'm just saying."

"Well shut up."

"Just do what Donna tells you for once."

"Or what?"

"I'll tell on you."

"You'll tell on me?"

"Perk of being married to my assignment's wife's agent."

"Is that all I am to you? Your assignment? I thought we had so much more." The edge of Nick's mouth rose slightly at his bosses snark.

"Shut up Josh." He sighed.

"I could have you fired."

"That would be a bad decision." Nick laughed.

"People should be lining up to jump in front of bullets for me." Josh teased. "You're very lucky."

"Sure." Nick's lip twitched into his cheek again.

"They should. I'm important." Lyman protested as the car rolled through the gate of their house. Josh looked at the sleeping children as they came to a stop. He fished Noah out of his booster seat while Nick joined the other agent outside before Dave poked his head in.

"Need help getting them in Sir?"

"No." Josh lied watching the other man pull away from the door. Nick stuck his head back in.

"See this is what I'm saying." He grumbled pulling Noah from Josh and starting towards the house. Lyman grabbed his daughter, lowering her into the stroller Dave had pulled around.

"Again with the talking." Josh muttered, trying not to let his limp seem so pronounced. In front of him Nick pulled open the outer door. Josh's phone rang.

"Yeah?"

"I have the Illinois number's from Joey Lucas." Peter announced.

"And?" Lyman waited.

"Not so hot." His assistant told him pessimistically.

"Southern?" Josh's voice broke.

"Cold." Peter sighed.

"Damn." Lyman tilted his head back and rolled the stroller across the marble tile of the entry way.

"Call Donna." The other man reminded.

"Yeah."

He looked at Nick for a moment before reaching out for Noah. Nick rolled his eyes at him.

"I'm fine. Go rest up for all the sex this weekend." He muttered, waving his his hands at his son. "I'm fine."

Nick reluctantly handed the boy over, watching Josh fumble with the phone, the stroller the keys and Noah.

He shook his head.

"Goodnight Sir." Nick said formally.

"Get out of here." Lyman grinned, before he heard Donna's soft voice on the other end of the phone.

"Joshua." He smirked at the faint hint of sleep in her voice.

"I think we messed up the Chicago thing. We should have gone the southern routes." He muttered trying to force the key into the lock of their front door.

like my fathers come to pass
seven years has gone so fast
wake me up when September ends

(Present)

Ana Casnoff lay haphazardly across her queen size bed. She knew by the look on Donna's face the tape showed what she known it would.

Gina had confirmed it on the drive home.

"They won't let me see it." She whispered softly.

"Good." Gina shook her head.

"Why?" She turned to her friend.

"Ana, it's your husband getting shot and killed."

"I was there."

"You were there as an agent. You'd be watching it as a wife." Ana considered that, looking out the window, watching the tree's slip past her.

"When you put Zoey in the car?" Ana swallowed hard. "Were you scared?"

"Terrified." Gina said softly after a few minutes.

"For her or yourself?" Ana listened to the silence before turning her head towards Gina.

"Her I guess." Gina decided.

"All I could think about was Donna." Ana admitted. "I didn't think about myself. Not once." She shook her head. "I didn't think about Nick. Just Donna."

"It's your job."

"It's a stupid job." Ana whispered feeling the sting of tears in the coner of her eyes."A human being would have thought about her husband."

"Ana."

"Donna would have ran across a mile of glass to get there." She shook her head. "All she could think about was-."

Gina pulled the car over abruptly and grabbed her friend's arm.

"It's your job." She reminded her sharply. Ana turned her eyes to the other woman, slowly searching her face.

"It's a stupid job." She'd whispered again.

Now in the dark she tried to face what was on the tape. Her mind wrapping around the thousands of scenarios, she knew which one it was though. She knew.

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are

Ron Butterfield looked a Josh Lyman's worried face.

"What the hell happened?" He asked.

"He froze Josh."

"No." Lyman rubbed his face. "Nick's always.. was always two steps a head.."

"Maybe he didn't see them. Maybe he wasn't-." Santos shook his head.

"Sir." Butterfield pointed his finger at the screen. "This is called defensive posturing." He watched for a second as the president studied the way Nick had positioned himself around Josh. "He saw them." Josh rubbed his head. "Protocol here calls for him to initiate the response mode. He needs to alert the other agents to the firearm. Then, secure his assignment. His role now becomes facilitator first. He has to initiate the system. He didn't do that."

"Sam said Josh was being argumentative." Santos raised an eyebrow as the people on the screen reacted to the shots being fired.

"Irrelevant." Ron told him, watching the stillness of the scene as the smoke cleared.

"So what your saying is?" Santos slipped off of the edge of his desk and looking studiously at the monitor. People started to move now. Matt watched them slowly roll Nick off of Josh.

"He was distracted." Butterfield paused the tape.

"By?" Ron took a deep breath and looked that the President.

"Them." Josh's hand came up, pressing his finger into the corner of the screen, were you could just begin to see a wisp of long green dress and a bare foot.

Santos cocked his head as the tape started again and the barefoot became Donna, Ana flanking her from behind.

as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when September ends

(three years ago)

"I think it's cute."

"Cute?"

"Yes."

"You think me walking in on our agents doing it is cute?"

"Josh they were not 'doing it'. They were kissing. Has it been so long since we've-."

"Hey!" He poked her pregnant stomach with his index finger. "It hasn't been that long."

"I'm six months pregnant Josh. You really think that speaks well of your-."

"Stop!" He grimaced. "First I walk in on Romeo and Juliet going at it in the-."

"Josh!"

"He had his hand up her..." Lyman gestured at Donna's skirt.

"How?" She leaned back against the desk.

"What do you mean how? She was.. and he was.." Donna grinned at him and he shook his head.

"I'm still confused, maybe I need a visual." She told him innocently. Josh looked at his wife in with a mixture of amusement and irritation as she pulled his hand to her knee. "Like this?"

"More like this." Josh said pushing his hand up the smoothness of her pantyhose. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders leaning her forehead against his.

"You poor baby." She said soothingly, kissing his lips gently.

"It was horrible." He breathed, moving his hands to her hair and kissing her.

"They did that too?" She asked softly. Josh nodded his forehead against hers before kissing her again.

"How long has it been?" Josh asked as his lips moved down her neck.

"A week, four days, three hours and-" She glanced at his watch. "Forty minutes."

"Too long."

"Yes."

"I. Have. One. More. Meeting." He told her, punctuating each word with a kiss.

"I'll meet you in my office." She whispered pushing him back from her.

summer has come and passed
the innocent can never last
wake me up when September ends

(three years ago again)

"And it couldn't have been Donna. Donna would have understood. No.. it has to be Josh." Nick grumbled leaning against the wall outside of Donna's office.

"It's not that big of a deal." Ana lied from her spot by the door to the outer office."It was just a kiss."

"We could get reassigned over a kiss." Nick reminded.

"Then we wouldn't have to sneak around."

"No then we'd never see each other."

"We'd see each other."

"When was the last time you saw anyone but Savannah for more than an hour?" Nick asked bluntly.

"I see Gina."

"And how often are you and Gina alone in a room long enough to.." Nick's voice trailed off as his eyebrows rose.

"Liking that visual?" Ana asked rolling her eyes at him.

"I'm just saying.." Nick banged the back of his head against the wall.

"I get it. I don't think that they'll tell any-." A loud beeping interrupted her sentence. "Shit."

Nick turned towards the door quickly knocking once.

"Sir! Is everything-?" He shook his head as Donna's panic button started firing again, stepping back and busting the door open with his foot.

ring out the bells again
like we did when spring began
wake me up when September ends

(still three years ago)

"So we're even." Josh mumbled as he and Nick started back to the West Wing.

"I don't believe my pants were around my ankles." His agent mumbled.

"Hey, you're the one who broke down the door!" Josh whined.

"Donna's alarm went off!" Nick retorted.

"It was.. she must have.. leaned against it."

"Yes. Twice. In rapid secession." Nick snorted.

"She's my wife." Josh looked back over his shoulder. "Ana is your coworker."

As usual Nick's eyes were scanning the area, but he glanced quickly at Josh before they slipped into silence.

"So.. you're planning on..." Nick said finally.

"No." Josh told him quickly. "It's none of my business."

"It won't interfere with-."

"Stop." Josh mumbled. "I'm not your father."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are

(Present)

"Knock Knock." Donna called softly.

"Ma'am." Ana moved off of the sofa and stood up.

"I'm here as Donna." She held her hands up. "I'm just Donna the Campaign Staffer now."

"Your not going back?" Ana walked towards her.

"No." Donna looked at her feet. "I'm done. Besides Zoey's doing a great Job and Deanna's going to do the job while she's on maternity leave. Ainsley wants her to have the practice for when..if.. you know." She wasn't about to jinx this campaign.

"I thought you didn't believe in bad luck?" Ana grinned.

"My opinions may have changed." Donna swallowed hard as the smile slipped from Ana's face.

"You saw it?" Ana whispered as Donna nodded. "They won't let me. It doesn't matter anyway. He saw us."

"You knew?"

"He was.. he was..." Ana shook her head, turning around and walking back to the window. "looking at me.."

as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when September ends

"We comment once. We say something like this is a delicate situation and we-. Ow!" CJ stopped walking and rubbed at her stomach.

"Are you alright?" Ryan asked quietly.

"Yes. I'm fine." She snapped.

"Are you sure?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"You try running a campaign with someone kicking you in the ribs all day." She looks down in irritation. "Just come out already!"

"No No No!" Sam growled coming through the door and heading for CJ's stomach, leaning down until he's facing it. "November sixth. You stay in until November sixth. After that? All clear."

He pulled back up to his feet and gave CJ a warning glance before grabbing Ryan and starting out of the room.

"What's wrong with her?" Ryan grumbled.

"You try running a campaign with someone kicking you in the ribs all day." Sam muttered.

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when September ends

"Lift to here." The physical therapist held her hand out about a foot above Josh's outstretched leg. Josh watched his foot shake. "Stop looking."

"I can't do it unless I look." He grumbled.

"Yes you can." She told him simply. "Concentrate. Try to remember what it feels like to lift it."

"What are you now some kind of new age guru? I'm supposed to imagine my way to.." He stopped mid sentence when he felt his toes make contact with her palm, blinking in surprise at his raised leg.

"Nice. Other leg." She said simply.

like my father's come to pass
twenty years has gone so fast

"Four weeks three days."

Ainsley grinned into the phone.

"It's my long lost husband"

"Four weeks three days.. yes or no.. we're done campaigning."

"How are you?" She asked, trying to hide the weight behind her question.

"I'm fine." He told her softly. "I miss you."

"Leo and I are wrapping things up here." She told him. "We'll be in Des Moines by Monday."

"Did he pick a Halloween costume? Because we won't have anytime to-."

"He did. He wants to be a Kangaroo." She interrupted. "But don't tell Josh."

"What?"

"I'm gonna ask Donna if it would kill him to tell him Leo's insisting on being Dumbo for Halloween." She snickered.

"You're evil."

"Yes."

"I love you."

"You do." She confirmed.

"Ainse." He moaned softly.

"Four weeks three days..." She told him softly.

wake me up when September ends
wake me up when September ends
wake me up when September ends