A/N: Here's the next chapter! The main event will be Ellie's high school graduation, but first, we are treated to another long-awaited event. I hope you enjoy, please read and review!

Chapter 10: Pomp and Circumstance

On an evening in early April, just three days after the kiss, Josh was heading to the diner for his usual post-shift cup of coffee when he walked in to find CJ and Donna alone in the space. "Evening, ladies."

"Oh, hi, Josh." CJ said. Donna smiled shyly, blushing a little. Ever since their unexpected kiss a few days earlier, they hadn't yet talked out their feelings. Donna was still dealing with the fallout of her horrible relationship with Brian, and Josh-well, Josh was too afraid of screwing up the relationship. But he was ready to change that once and for all.

CJ made her excuses and left, leaving Josh and Donna to talk. She wanted them to work things out more than anyone.

"So…" Josh began awkwardly. "Hi."

"Hi." Donna replied.

They were silent for another minute before Donna said, "All right, out with it."

"Out with what?"

"Whatever you came here to say."

"Okay." Josh replied. He stuck his hands in his pockets, nervous, then took them out again. "Look, what happened the other day...I don't think that was an accident. And I know you don't think that, either."

Donna dipped her head, avoiding eye contact, before looking him straight in the eyes. "No, I don't." She answered, her voice barely audible. "Do you want it to be?"

Josh paused before shaking his head. "No, I don't. Let me prove it to you. Go out with me Saturday night."

Donna cocked her head. "Is that an order?" She began busying herself with the condiments on the counter. Josh could tell she was nervous, because she kept fumbling with her hands.

He (wisely) rephrased his question. "Would you like to go out with me Saturday night?"

She froze. Josh could see she was trying to formulate an answer, but was unsure what that answer would be until she turned around.

"Sure." She replied.

Josh was unsure if he had heard her right. "Come again?"

"Yes." Donna agreed. "I'll go out with you. But not here. A real date where you pick me up, take me out somewhere, and bring me home at the end of the night. Deal?"

"Deal." Josh smiled, surprised at how little effort it had taken.

Two days later, Josh stood outside the door of the loft apartment, working up the courage to knock on the door. He raised his fist, only for the door to swing open.

"Oh, hi, Josh." Donna said, and Josh's mouth dropped open.

"Wow...you look great."

Donna smiled bashfully. "Thank you." Grabbing her coat, she yelled to CJ that she was leaving and joined Josh on the stairs.

They went to a local Italian restaurant in Hanover, and what began as awkwardness turned into a full-fledged romantic dinner. Josh told Donna all about his life growing up, about his parents and his sister, who had died when Josh was still a little boy. Donna found herself responding to Josh's questions with similar ease. Eventually, they got around to discussing how they wanted their relationship to proceed.

"Josh, I don't know how ready I am to be in a full-fledged romantic relationship again. Es[ecially after what happened with…" She trailed off; even after all this time, she still had trouble saying his name.

"It's OK." Josh said, reaching across the table for her hand. "You were in a horrible relationship, and I can understand why you would never trust another guy again. But I'll wait."

Donna's mouth parted, and she started to cry. "Josh…are you sure?"

"I will wait," Josh repeated firmly, "because you are the strongest, bravest, most caring, brightest, and most desirable woman that I have ever met. And I want you to know that this thing we have between us, this thing we're doing, I'm in. I am all in."

Donna nodded emphatically, tears in her eyes. "Okay." Then, both leaned over the middle of the table at the same time as their lips softly met. It might take them a while to get off the ground, but it seemed their relationship was here to stay.

…

Two months later, it was a beautiful spring day in Liberty, and Ellie was on the bus, heading home from an arduous graduation rehearsal at Central Academy and reflecting on how her life had gone so far. She looked out the window at the passing trees and was suddenly faced with a long-forgotten memory. A memory of reaching for the trees outside the window, on a bus very similar to this one, as she and her father were on their way home from somewhere.

Her life had been, to her best assessment and despite the absence of her mother, a storybook childhood. Her earliest days were not remembered by her, but had been related to her by Josh or by Mrs. Landingham. She had been born in Connecticut, she knew, the product of an ill-advised fling between Josh and Amy, the latter his roommate's ex-girlfriend and fellow law classmate. When Amy got pregnant, she hadn't expected Josh to be involved, but Josh had surprised her by offering to let Amy move in with him. They had lived together for almost a year, a span of time that included her birth, before Josh had come home one day to find Ellie screaming and a note on the table saying that she was sorry, but she wasn't cut out to be a mother.

Josh, in a blind panic, had gone to his father's old friend, Leo McGarry, who had pointed him in the direction of his old friend Jed Bartlet. Here, Josh met Mrs. Landingham and the rest of Liberty, and the rest, as they say, was history.

Her heart ached as she thought about Mrs. Landingham. The woman had been gone almost a year, and Ellie still missed her every day. She wished she could be here today, to see what a wonderful young woman she had become and to watch her accept her diploma from Central Academy on Monday. And to listen to the valedictorian speech that she was sure would blow everyone away. When she managed to sit down and write it, that is.

She was thrown from her thoughts by a jolt as the bus came to a stop.

"All right, Lyman, this is your stop." The driver said, opening the doors.

"Thank you." Ellie said as she deboarded the bus and walked into town. She pulled out a sheet of paper with her graduation instructions and an envelope with her tickets. One line kept jumping out at her: "Each student at Central Academy is allowed nine tickets to graduation."

Who was she going to invite? Or, more importantly, who wasn't she going to invite?

Her father, she decided immediately, and the Bartlets with Charlie. Maybe Sam and Ainsley would want to come, too. CJ and Donna were also no-brainers. But that final, elusive ticket…

She knew that she should invite her mother. After everything she and Amy had been through over the last year and a half, up to and including her surprise pregnancy, Amy would probably be honored to be asked to attend. But would she want to? Or was their relationship permanently scarred?

…

"God, Ellie, this is great!" CJ said as Ellie handed her the engraved invitation. "I would love to come! Thank you so much for inviting me!" She grasped Ellie into a tight hug over the counter.

Donna wiped her hands on her apron and came over. "What's going on?"

Ellie smiled at her. "Would you like to come to my graduation on Monday?"

Her eyes bugged out. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. You're like my big sister, Donna. Not to mention my father's girlfriend. Of course I want you there. Oh, and I asked my assistant principal, and he said that kids under three won't require a ticket."

"So I can bring Abbie Jean?" Donna confirmed.

"Yep. You won't even have to worry about a babysitter."

"And I'm closing the diner that afternoon, so we can all be there." CJ told her.

"Oh! And I didn't even tell you the best news of all." Ellie said, pausing for emphasis. "Guess who is going to be the valedictorian for Central Academy's Class of 2002?"

CJ gasped. "Oh, Ellie, that is fantastic!"

"Congratulations!" Donna chimed in, pulling her in for yet another hug. "Have you written your speech yet?"

"No, but I'm going to." Ellie replied.

After a few more minutes of lively chatter, Abbie Jean began to make her presence known from upstairs, so Donna made her excuses and ran up to check on her. That left CJ and Ellie alone at the counter.

"So, who else are you inviting?" CJ inquired, her voice dripping with curiosity.

"Um...Dad, of course, Mayor and Dr. Bartlet, Charlie, Sam and Ainsley, and you two." She paused, trying to sound convincing. "That's it."

"What about Amy?"

Ellie sighed. "I don't know about her yet."

"You're not going to invite her?" CJ asked curiously.

"I didn't say I wasn't going to invite her, I said I wasn't sure. There's a difference."

"She's your mother." CJ pointed out. "I'm pretty sure she would be honored to come if you asked her."

"It's just-" Ellie cut herself off, took a breath, and continued. "Amy's only been back in my life for a year and a half, and we've had our ups and downs. I just don't want to cause a scene."

"Ellie...why don't we sit down?" CJ suggested. Ellie nodded slowly, before going to sit with CJ in the corner of the diner. Luckily, business was slow, and everybody in the diner had been served.

"Look, Ellie. I'm not gonna tell you what to do. But, if I may, I'd like to offer you some advice." I know your relationship with your mother hasn't been the greatest, but don't shut her out of one of the most important days of your life. If you do, you'll regret it later." She hesitated, knowing she was about to open a can of worms that she normally kept hidden. "I'm gonna tell you something that I don't normally talk to people about."

Ellie nodded for her to continue.

"You know that I came to live with the Bartlets when I was 16, right?"

She nodded.

"Well, I lost my mother when I was ten, and my dad a few years later." She took a shuddering breath. "I would've given anything to have them at my high school graduation."

CJ squeezed Ellie's hand. "Look, like I said, I'm not telling you what to do. Just...think about it, okay?"

Ellie was left alone at the table as CJ went to go help a customer. Slowly, she began to realize that CJ was right. She knew that she might regret it later on if she didn't at least ask Amy to come to the graduation. Clutching the single ticket in her hand, she reached a decision.

…

The next morning, a Saturday, Ellie drove over to Hanover. Luckily, she remembered where Amy's apartment was. She jogged up the stairs of the fifth-floor walkup and knocked. She could hear the sounds of Justin crying and Amy trying to soothe him. She knocked again, louder this time.

The door swung open, and Amy's harried look was replaced by a surprised one.

"Ellie?" She asked in confusion. "What are you doing here?" As far as she knew, Ellie had never come to her apartment in Hanover on her own free accord.

"Can I come in?" Ellie nervously requested.

"Um...sure." Amy said, pulling the door open wider and bouncing Justin gently on her hip to get him to stop crying.

Ellie stepped into the apartment and looked around. It looked...lived in. Homey, almost. Photos and baby toys were scattered everywhere. She suspected it was mostly Scott's doing, but maybe Amy had turned a little domestic as well.

She was brought out of her thoughts by Amy's voice. "Ellie? I asked if everything was all right."

"Oh, yeah, everything's fine." Ellie assured her.

"Your dad, school, it's all good?"

"Yeah, yeah, um…" Suddenly, she really looked at Justin for the first time since he had been born, realizing with a start that she hadn't held him since that night in the hospital. "I wanted to see Justin. And I wanted to ask you something."

"Oh. Okay." Amy said. She gestured to the couch. "Would you like to sit down?"

"Sure." Ellie replied, settling onto the couch. She gestured to her now five-month-old brother. "Can I hold him?"

Amy looked from Justin to Ellie, as though momentarily forgetting their connection. "You want to hold him?"

"Yeah, I do." Ellie told her. "I mean, I may not mean anything to him now, but...he's still my little brother."

Amy nodded, understanding where Ellie was coming from. She smiled slightly. "Of course you can." As she lifted her son off her lap, she commented, "He can be a little fidgety around people he doesn't know."

"Amy, that's OK, really." She nodded in understanding.

Justin whined a little as he was transferred from Amy to Ellie, but the second Ellie adjusted him in her arms, he settled down. He looked up at her as if to say, "Who are you?"

"Hi, Justin." Ellie cooed. "I'm your big sister, Ellie."

Justin, of course, said nothing, but gave her a toothless grin in response. Ellie grinned right back.

"Wow." Amy said, impressed. "He usually doesn't warm up to new people that quickly."

"I'm not just anybody." Ellie replied. "I'm his sister."

Amy nodded before the pair settled into an uncomfortable silence. Suddenly, Ellie felt emboldened to say what she had come to say.

"Amy...I know we've never had the best of relationships, but you are my mother. And it feels like I should ask you this." Ellie took a breath. "Will you come to my high school graduation?"

Amy's mouth dropped open in shock. Never in a million years did she expect that she would be invited to such a milestone of her daughter's life, especially after everything they'd been through. To her great surprise, she felt tears spring to her eyes.

"Yeah." She said, quickly nodding. "I'd love to come to your graduation. When is it?"

"Monday afternoon at 3." Ellie answered. "You really want to come?"

"You really want me there?"

"You're still my mom. And I don't want you to have to miss this."

"Okay." Amy agreed. And then in a move uncharacteristic even for her, she reached out and hugged Ellie. "Thank you for inviting me."

And as her relationship with Amy Gardner reached new heights, and her baby brother was nestled in her arms, Ellie suddenly knew what she wanted to write about.

…

The day of Ellie's graduation had approached bright and early, and Ellie decided to take a walk around town to calm her nerves for her speech. Suddenly, as she approached the town square, she saw Ainsley go furtively into the doctor's office.

She knew Ainsley hadn't seen her, but Ellie covered her mouth in apparent surprise. What was Ainsley doing at the doctor's office so early in the morning?

Meanwhile, Ainsley Hayes-Seaborn sat nervously on the exam table, waiting for the doctor to come in. She had been having nausea for the last week and wanted to make sure it wasn't some mysterious stomach ailment.

Abbey walked into the room. "Hello, Ainsley, how are we doing this morning?"

"Well, Dr. Bartlet, thank you for asking." Ainsley replied cheerfully.

"So, what can I do for you this morning?"

"Well, I seem to be having some nausea. Nothing major, but it's been going on for a week, so I thought I would double-check with you to make sure it's not some mysterious stomach ailment."

"Hmm. Well, let's take a look." She checked Ainsley's vitals and asked her some questions. "Any other symptoms?"

"I have been feeling tired recently. Is that anything?"

"Could be." Abbey replied. The truth was, she had a pretty fair idea of what was causing Ainsley's stomach problems, but she just had one last question. "When was your last period?"

Suddenly, Ainsley's eyes widened. "Um...I don't know. I guess I've missed a couple?"

"Really?" Abbey drawled. "Ainsley, while it is entirely possible this is the flu, I'd like to run a pregnancy test, just to be sure."

Ainsley's head shot up. "Are you sure?"

"I assume this isn't a planned pregnancy?"

"Well, obviously it's planned, Dr. Bartlet, but not now. We didn't want to even consider having kids for at least a year after we were married."

"Ainsley…" Abbey said, coming around to sit in front of the younger woman. "If you are pregnant, it might not be the time or the way you planned it, but for what's it worth, I think you'll be a fantastic mom."

Ainsley made eye contact with her. "Really?"

"Really."

"Well, okay." Ainsley said, laughing a little. "I guess I'm gonna have a baby."

…

Later in that afternoon, all nine ticket holders from Liberty (including Abbie Jean) arrived at Central Academy for Ellie's graduation.

Josh was talking to Donna when he suddenly saw Amy out of the corner of his eye. He politely excused himself and walked over.

"Amy." He greeted politely. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Ellie asked me to." Amy said.

Josh could tell she was feeling awkward. "Would you like to sit with us?"

"Um, sure." Amy agreed. They walked over, and she sat next to Josh, to Abbey's right.

"So, how's Justin?" Josh asked.

"He's great, thanks for asking." Amy replied.

Meanwhile, Sam was waiting out front for his wife. When she finally walked up, he could tell something wasn't right. He thought maybe her nausea had been worse today. But when she got closer, he could see she was grinning.

She kissed him soundly upon approach. "Hi." she breathed.

"H-hi." Sam said, surprised. "I take it you're feeling better?"

"One hundred percent better, Sam."

"I don't get it. What changed? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine." Ainsley assured him. Suddenly, she got an idea. She took his hand and flattened it against her stomach. "We're both completely healthy."

Sam gasped, the news hitting him like a thunderbolt. His eyes began to water. "A baby? We're having a baby?"

Ainsley nodded, a grin lighting up her face. "We're having a baby."

Sam said nothing, but wrapped her up in a hug. "I love you so much, Ainsley."

"I love you too." she replied. Suddenly, the band began to tune up. "We better get back to our seats." she said.

As "Pomp and Circumstance" began, Sam and Ainsley slid into their seats, still grinning like madmen.

"What is with you two?" Josh asked.

"Nothing." Sam replied quickly. He turned to Ainsley, who quickly nodded. They would share their news later, when it wouldn't take away from Ellie's big day.

…

"I now invite forward this year's valedictorian. She came to us as a second-year transfer, after she had excelled beyond all expectations at her local high school. Here at Central, she graduates with the highest honors, holds an acceptance to Dartmouth College, and is a decorated member of Model UN, the school newspaper, and the debate team. Please welcome to the stage, Elizabeth Lyman!"

The crowd politely applauded, with a little more cheering from the student section, as well as from where her family was sitting.

Ellie approached the podium nervously. She didn't know how well her speech would go over, or if people would like it. It was just some things that she felt needed to be said.

"Good afternoon, fellow graduates, faculty, family, and friends. Thank you to Headmaster Richardson for selecting me for this honor. Today, we will walk across the stage one by one to receive our diplomas, which represent four years of study, critical thinking, and intelligence that led us to our common goal. My time here, though it has been shorter than the time my classmates have spent here, has taught me so much about the world and about learning, and has given me friendships and mentors that I will not soon forget. Leaving Central means leaving a community, but Central Academy is just one of the communities in which I have resided in.

I live in two worlds. One is a world of books, of great political minds, and of great thinkers. I have been a kindred spirit with Anne Shirley of Prince Edward Island, have lived in a treehouse with the Swiss Family Robinson, discovered a dystopian future with George Orwell, solved mysteries with Sherlock Holmes, fallen down a rabbit hole with Alice, and lived in the mind of Elizabeth Bennet. I have learned the great words of Abraham Lincoln, of Franklin Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela, and Albert Einstein. They have taught me about love and friendship, but most of all, forgiveness."

Josh looked at Amy, who held her breath. She knew Ellie was talking directly to her.

"Forgiveness is a key pillar in life. If you cannot forgive others who have wronged you, then you cannot learn to forgive yourself. Forgiveness can go a long way towards making someone else feel loved.

My second world, a far superior world, is populated with characters slightly less eccentric, but very much real, filled with love, encouragement, and are blessed with inspiration that I have considered my guidepost in life. Jed and Abbey Bartlet, CJ Cregg, Sam Seaborn, Donna Moss, and Delores Landingham-these are just a few of the men and women that I have considered to be my pillars, without whom I cannot stand. I am proud to consider them my family. But my ultimate inspiration comes from the man who has raised me and given me everything life has to offer: Joshua Lyman."

Josh began to cry, listening to his daughter speak.

Donna looked at him, her eyes also shining. "You're not crying, are you?"

"I'm-I'm not crying!" Josh protested in a whisper, then subtly looked down the row to see that none of his friends had dry eyes.

"Though my natural mother was not in my life, my father did everything he could to make sure that I didn't feel her absence, and never gave me any indication that I couldn't do whatever I wanted to do or be whomever I wanted to be. He filled our home with books and music and laughter and love, never ceasing to give me role models from Jane Austen to Elizabeth Blackwell, from Margaret Thatcher to Carole King. But as my father skillfully guided me through these 18 years, I don't think he ever realized that the person I most wanted to be was him."

Her voice wobbled at the end. Josh and the others were now full-on crying.

"Thank you, Dad. You are my guidepost for everything." She took a moment to recover, then continued. "As we prepare to leave these hallowed halls today, I hope you will take with you the skills you have learned, as well as those facts of life that you will not find in a textbook. Don't be afraid to go out and change the world with your bold thoughts and your unique perspectives. The great anthropologist Margaret Mead once wrote, 'Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.'" The audience chuckled a little. "Congratulations, everyone, and thank you for listening."

The audience applauded mightily, and gave Ellie an instant standing ovation.

…

Thirty minutes later, the group watched with bated breath as the headmaster got to the "L"'s.

"Elizabeth Amelia Lyman." Headmaster Richardson read out.

Everyone cheered as Ellie crossed the stage to receive her diploma, while Josh stood and applauded with tears running down his face. This had been well worth the 18-year wait.

A/N: Ellie's graduated high school-onto college for three of the main characters! Please let me know what you thought!