A/N: Here's another pair of episodes! I hope you enjoy, please read and review!

Chapter 11: First Day of School; Away In A Manger

Ellie stepped out of Gate 2-A at Lebanon Municipal Airport and took a deep breath. She was home.

It had been a crazy, whirlwind summer. Hoping to secure some type of summer work for her resume before starting at Dartmouth in the fall, she had made the rounds in the spring, only to find that no one was hiring. Luckily for her, Josh had an ace in his pocket-Leo McGarry, the White House Counsel. Josh placed a few well-strategized calls and Ellie had soon found herself in a work-study program being offered out of DC as part of the White House Press Corps. And so, three days after she graduated high school, Ellie had gotten on a plane and headed to Washington, DC for the summer.

The job had been way more fulfilling than she possibly could have imagined. Not to mention, the Deputy Press Secretary had been very impressed by her spirit and work ethic, telling her to let him know if she ever needed a letter of recommendation. Ellie had also made friends in the program and had exchanged email addresses with them before they all left DC. She had made her mark, and was ready to enter any college journalism department in the country. Her only regret about taking the internship? She would only have five days at home before leaving town again for Dartmouth.

Ellie walked down the escalator to the baggage claim, where she and Josh had agreed to meet. She was ready to make the most of the rest of her summer vacation.

Josh was waiting anxiously at the baggage area. Finally, he saw her.

"Ellie!" He called out.

Ellie turned slightly and saw him. Her face lit up. "Dad!" she cried. Running towards him, she jumped into his waiting arms.

Josh hugged her tight as if he would never let her go. "I missed you, kid."

"I missed you, too, Dad." She muttered. Josh set her down on her feet.

"Ready to go home?" He asked.

"You bet." Ellie replied.

…

They drove into town, and after dropping off her bags, Ellie headed straight to the diner, determined not to waste the next five days.

"Hey! The great journalistic mind returns!" CJ called out as she saw Ellie walk in.

Abbie Jean turned around from one of the diner tables where she was coloring and jumped up. "ELLIE!" The pair had always been extremely close. Abbie Jean idolized Ellie, and Ellie doted on the toddler.

Ellie crouched down to Abbie Jean's level and swept the little girl up in her arms. "Hey, peanut! You've gotten so big!"

"I thought you would be gone forever." And for good reason: since her birth two and a half years earlier, this was the first serious length of time that Ellie and Abbie Jean had been separated. "But you're home now!"

"That's right, I'm home." Ellie said. "But only for a little while. You know I'm going to college in a few days, right?"

Abbie Jean nodded reluctantly. "To Dar-mouth?"

Ellie laughed. "Actually, kiddo, it's 'Dartmouth'. But I'll come home whenever I can, and whenever I can't, I'll call you. How does that sound?"

At this, Abbie Jean's face remained slightly serious. "I guess that would be OK."

Ellie laughed aloud at her way of speaking and cuddled the little girl close. "I'm sure gonna miss you, Abbie Jean."

"Me too, Ellie."

Just then, Donna came over. "Hey! I saw you were back." She gave Ellie a hug, being careful of her daughter, who remained perched on Ellie's lap.

"Hi, Mommy." Abbie Jean said delightedly.

"Hi, baby." Donna replied, pressing a kiss to her daughter's hair. Then, she turned her attention back to Ellie. "So, how was DC?"

"It was...amazing. I really had a chance to do some good work for the first time in my life. I feel like journalism is what I was meant to do."

"I'm so glad to hear that." Donna told her, picking Abbie Jean, who reached for her, up off Ellie's lap and holding her close. "I only hope that someday Abbie Jean is as sure about her life path."

"Mommy's going back to school." Abbie Jean informed her.

"Yeah, I know." Ellie replied, tickling her feet. "When do classes start, Donna?"

"Monday." Donna informed her. She would be attending the University of New Hampshire, along with Charlie, in order to finish her Bachelor's degree that she had walked away from four years earlier.

"How many classes are you taking?"

"Four-calculus, intro to business, marketing, and economics." She had recently decided to major in business administration, with a plan to obtain a Master's when Abbie Jean was a little older.

"Sounds tough, but if anybody can do it, it's you."

Donna smiled warmly. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. You're majoring in journalism, right?"

Ellie found herself smiling back. "Right. I'm taking some communications and humanities courses. So, what else did I miss while I was gone all summer?"

"Well…Ainsley knows what she's having." Ainsley was five months pregnant with her and Sam's first child.

"Ooh! And?"

"And...Ainsley wants to be the one to tell you."

"Really?" Ellie asked. And as if she had been summoned, Ainsley popped into the diner. "Hey, Donna. Ellie, when did you get back?"

"Just in the last twenty minutes. How are you feeling?" Ellie said as she gave the older woman a gentle hug.

"I've been feeling pretty good. Less nauseous, more ravenous. Good thing I live near a diner!" Ainsley said, chuckling.

"Well, can I grab you something to eat, Ainsley?" CJ asked, having come around the corner to greet Ellie properly and stepping back into the diner owner role.

"Um...I know this is going to sound strange, given my sweet tooth, but I've actually been craving a salad all day."

"Not strange at all." Donna commented. "I can think of plenty of weird things I craved when I was pregnant with Abbie Jean."

"One salad, coming right up!" CJ said, heading back behind the counter.

Suddenly, Ellie remembered what she wanted to ask Ainsley. "Hey, Ainsley?"

Ainsley turned around. "Yeah?"

"Well...I was just wondering. Donna said you guys know what you're having?"

Breaking into a grin, she nodded. "We do."

Ellie gave her a look. "And?"

"And...it's a girl!"

"Ahh! Ainsley, congratulations!" Ellie squealed, pulling her in for a hug. "Another little girl in this town! How'd Sam take it?"

"Well," Ainsley began as CJ served her lunch. "It was funny, because the doctor actually thought it was a boy at first. Sam was so excited, he bought a miniature baseball glove and all this stuff for a little boy. Then, we went back the next week, and the doctor looked at us and went, 'Um, I may have been wrong last week. It looks like you're actually having a girl.'"

"Wow. How did Sam react?"

"Well, he was disappointed at first. I could tell he had had his heart set on that first baby being a son, ya know? But, once he got used to the idea and got over the shock, he warmed up to having a little girl really quick."

"Well, that's good," Ellie said. "Any names picked out?"

"We're still batting them around." Ainsley replied. "I really like the traditional names: Olivia, Charlotte, Rebecca. Sam really likes the trendier names, like Ashley or Lauren or Holly."

"I like Holly." Ellie commented. "That's a pretty name."

Ainsley placed one hand on her expanding belly. "You think?"

"Yeah, I do." Ellie said. "And she's due around Christmas, right?"

"Week before." Ainsley said. "Why?"

"Might be nice for that time of year."

"Yeah, maybe." Ainsley said, deep in thought as her unborn daughter started to kick. "Hey, you wanna feel her kick?"

"Sure!" Ellie said eagerly. As Ainsley placed her hand where Ellie could easily feel baby Olivia (or Holly, or whatever name they picked)'s strong kicks, Ellie realized how lucky she was to be surrounded by these people-and how heartsick she would be when she had to leave them.

…

Five days passed quickly-faster than either Josh or Ellie wanted. That morning, they ate breakfast at the diner as usual, where Donna was frantically trying to prepare for her first day of classes at UNH. CJ was eating breakfast herself before the breakfast rush, and making sure Abbie Jean was fed and stayed on her morning routine.

"Four notebooks, a calculator, my school books, a backpack…" They could hear Donna muttering to herself as she packed her things behind the counter.

"Donna, you're the most organized person on the planet." Josh said, coming behind the counter to envelop his girlfriend in a warm and necessary hug. "You're not gonna forget anything."

"But what if I...what if my teachers think that I'm not worthy because I didn't get my degree sooner?" Donna asked, letting out her biggest worry.

Josh sighed. For not the first time, if that ex-boyfriend of hers wasn't already dead, he wanted to kill him for tearing apart her self-esteem. "Donna...of course you're worthy of a degree. The only thing that stopped you before was a person that wanted to tear you down and make you feel unworthy at every turn. That's all in the past now, and you're more than ready for this. And another thing. Don't worry about what everybody else thinks. Think about how you are going to feel when you walk across that stage in two years and get your degree. That's who you're doing this for, okay? You and you alone."

Donna smiled softly. "Thank you." She kissed Josh on the cheek before hugging him tightly. Pulling apart from him, she turned her attention to Ellie. "Hey. It's gonna be pretty lonesome around here without you."

"I'm not going to Europe, you know." Ellie said with a smile. "Dartmouth is in Hanover, 20 minutes away. I'll come home whenever you guys want me to. Within reason."

"I know." Donna said as she hugged the teenager. "I'll just miss you, that's all. Abbie Jean will, too."

Right before Donna and Ellie pulled apart, Ellie whispered in her ear, "Just take care of my dad, okay? Make sure he doesn't miss me too much."

"I will." Donna promised.

After Ellie had said her goodbyes to everyone in Liberty (including a tearful goodbye with Abbie Jean, who had clung to her leg and begged her not to go), she and Josh made their way to Hanover. She was quickly assigned to her dorm, and the pair of them spent the day unpacking furniture and making sure all of her things were where she wanted them to be. Finally, it was time to say goodbye.

As Ellie hugged her father, she said, "I'm not ready to say goodbye."

"Then we won't." Josh replied, his hand on her cheek. "We'll talk on the phone tonight, and this'll just be, 'Until we meet again.'"

"Okay." Ellie agreed. "Okay, we won't say goodbye, but I'm going to miss you so much, Dad."

"I'm gonna miss you too, kiddo." Josh replied softly, kissing her. Neither father nor daughter appeared to be ready to let go.

"Dad…" Ellie said. "We're gonna have to let go sometime."

Finally, Josh let go. "Yeah, you're right." He headed for the door and waved, just like he did when Ellie was little.

And Ellie waved back.

…

The next few months passed slowly for Josh and the rest of Liberty, but incredibly quickly for Ellie. She quickly settled into college life, joining the school newspaper (The Dartmouth) and the debate team. She thought of joining the school's humor magazine (the Jack O'Lantern), but quickly realized she wasn't witty enough. Still, she decided to try anyway-and was accepted. Now, she was a full-fledged fiction and non-fiction writer, a selling point she could use for jobs out of college.

Things in Liberty were also moving quickly. Josh and Donna were now boyfriend and girlfriend, officially, and spent most of their time together. While CJ often watched Abbie Jean while the two went out on dates, she often came along with them, and Donna relished in seeing the relationship between Abbie Jean and Josh.

Ellie had kept her promise. She came home at least two weekends a month for a few hours apiece. But for Christmas break, she would come home for an entire week, and everyone couldn't wait for her to arrive. She had exams but planned to arrive on Christmas Eve.

That morning, in the loft apartment, Abbie Jean was singing to herself while deftly coloring a Christmas tree. "Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh, Over the fields we go, laughing all the waaaay…"

"Sweetheart, could you hold it down? I'm trying to study." Donna asked her. Donna was three days away from taking her final exams to close out her first semester at UNH. Calculus was particularly stressful.

"Sorry, Mommy." Abbie Jean said quietly. "But it's almost Christmas!"

"Yeah, I know it's almost Christmas." Donna replied, coming over to where her daughter was sitting. "Are you excited to go to Grandma and Grandpa's?"

"Yeah!" Abbie Jean cheered. The pair would head to Madison that evening to spend Christmas with her parents, per the deal they had made after Donna's trial and subsequent reconciliation with them. "Mommy, can I go downstairs to see Aunt CJ?"

"Sure, baby." Donna said, kissing her daughter's head and setting her on her feet. "Just remember not to bother her if she's with a customer, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy!" The little girl agreed happily, as she bounced down the stairs one at a time.

Abbie Jean jumped down the stairs and landed on the floor of the diner. She quickly found CJ working behind the counter and promptly tugged on her apron.

CJ looked down and broke out into a grin. "Well, hi there, little miss!" CJ picked her up and settled her against her hip. "Do you wanna watch me cook?"

Abbie Jean nodded eagerly. Just then, Ainsley came into the diner with a sore expression. She was three days overdue and feeling every bit of the pain that came with pregnancy.

"No baby yet, huh?" CJ asked sympathetically.

Ainsley shook her head. "And I just heard on the radio about this blizzard that's coming in. I sure hope we're not snowed in!" She sat down heavily on one of the chairs.

CJ looked down at Abbie Jean, remembering another snowy night from almost three years ago that turned into an emergency delivery. "Well, I hope not, either."

Just then, Josh and Sam burst in. Their coats were covered in snow.

"Josh!" CJ exclaimed. "You look frozen to bits!"

"Yeah. We had to dig out this couple's car at the inn." Sam explained. "You guys hear about this blizzard?"

"Yep." They all said.

The phone rang then, and CJ ran to answer it. "CJ's Diner, Merry Christmas. Who is this?" Then her face lit up. "Ellie! How are you? We all can't wait to see you!...Wait just a minute, I'll put him on. Josh?" CJ called, holding out the phone and covering the receiver with her hand. "Your daughter's on the phone!"

Josh ran for the phone and grabbed it. "Hey, baby, what's up?...What's wrong?" Josh's face fell. "What do you mean you can't make it? The roads aren't that bad yet...Really? Oh, well, we'll miss you. Everyone was really looking forward to having you home for Christmas. Yeah, we'll see you in a few days." He hung up, then turned to face the group. "Bad news. Ellie's not coming."

"At all?" CJ asked incredulously.

"At least not for Christmas." Josh explained. "The roads are getting pretty bad, and her car doesn't have snow tires."

Everyone settled into silence, trying to think through this unexpected development. Abbie Jean said nothing, but could feel the way the room had suddenly changed. Suddenly, Sam stood up.

"I'll pick her up."

Josh's head whipped around. "What?"

"I said I'll pick her up. My truck has snow tires, and you're tied up at the inn tonight. With all this snow, we're packed to capacity."

"Are you sure?" Josh asked skeptically.

"Wait, what about me?" Ainsley asked, and for good reason. Their baby daughter was literally due any day.

"You'll be fine." Sam assured her. "You can stay with CJ and Donna. Right, CJ?"

"Well...sure!" CJ said immediately. "Ainsley can crash in my bed, and I'll take the couch."

"CJ, I don't want to put you out." Ainsley protested.

"You're not. I insist you stay with me. At least until Sam gets back, which may very well be before too late."

"Well…" Ainsley said reluctantly. "Okay."

"All right. I'm heading to Dartmouth." Sam said. He headed to the door before turning on his heel and pressing a kiss to his wife's lips. "Don't worry, okay? I'll be back before you know it."

"Love you." Ainsley called out.

"Love you too." Sam called back as the door to the diner slammed behind him.

Meanwhile, Ellie was sitting in her dorm room, trying very hard not to feel sorry for herself. Her roommate Bella had gone home for the holidays the previous day, and Ellie had thought that even with the snow, she could make it. But without snow tires, there was no way she could make it on these roads. Sighing, she got up and opened one of her books, and began to read. She would make the best of spending Christmas morning alone, but deep down, she was hoping for a miracle.

Her solitude was interrupted by a knock on her dorm room door. When she opened, she was greeted by a snow-covered figure.

"Hey, Ellie." The figure greeted.

At first, Ellie was baffled. Then, she realized she recognized the lanky young man with glasses. "Sam?"

"I'm here to take you home." He explained.

"Wait...home?" This was far beyond what she had ever imagined. "But the roads…"

"Are still passable. And my truck's got snow tires, so we can be safe. What do you say?"

"You really think we can make it?" Ellie asked skeptically.

Sam nodded. "Come on, what have we got to lose?"

Ellie soon found herself nodding along with him. "Yeah, let's go!" She grabbed her bags and headed out the door. She was going home for Christmas after all.

…

The diner was packed for CJ's traditional Christmas Eve meal. CJ always cooked a special Christmas Eve dinner for the townspeople and whoever wanted to come, and everyone always chipped in with potluck dishes. Everyone was sitting at tables scattered throughout the diner, trying not to notice the absence of Sam and Ellie.

"Claudia Jean!" Jed declared as she passed by Jed and Abbey's table. "I declare that this Christmas meal is the best Christmas meal I've eaten in a long time!"

"Thank you." CJ responded. "No family this year?"

"They're all coming in tomorrow." Abbey explained. "With the snow being the way it is, they didn't want to risk being caught on the roads."

"Yeah, I hear you." CJ said. "Speaking of which, where are Sam and Ellie? Josh, have you heard from-"

"No, I haven't." Josh said. Suddenly, Ainsley cried out.

CJ, Donna, and Abbey whirled around.

"Ainsley, are you all right?" CJ asked.

Ainsley started to nod, then shook her head. "Um...how passable do you think those roads are?"

CJ looked outside. "Passable enough. Why?"

"Because I'm pretty sure my water just broke."

After the initial moment of shock had passed, everyone jumped into action. CJ immediately helped Ainsley into her truck. Donna took over hosting duties at the diner. Abbey sped off in her car to meet them there, even if it was more for moral support than anything else. And finally, Josh grabbed the phone off the wall. He had to call Sam.

Meanwhile, Sam and Ellie had gotten caught in typical Christmas Eve traffic. There was a traffic jam that looked like it would take hours to weave through. So much for getting home in time for the Christmas Eve festivities. Sam's phone rang as he was driving. Knowing the dangers of talking on the phone while driving, he asked Ellie to answer his phone.

"Hello?" Ellie said.

"Ellie, can I talk to Sam?" It was her father.

"Um...sure. Sam? It's Dad."

"Hold it up to my ear." Sam ordered. When Ellie had done that, Sam said into the phone, "Josh, it's gonna be a while. We're stuck in traffic."

"Sam, Ainsley's in labor."

"What?! When?"

"Just in the last couple of hours. CJ took her to the hospital, and Abbey's with them, but you need to get here."

"On my way." Sam said immediately, without thinking about the logistics. When he hung up, though, he had a sudden release of what this would probably mean. He hit the steering wheel and cursed.

"Sam, what's wrong?" Ellie asked.

"My daughter's being born ten miles away from me, I'm stuck in traffic, and there's nothing I can do."

"Ainsley's in labor?" Ellie asked, flabbergasted.

Sam nodded. "I'm a horrible father already, and a horrible husband."

Ellie shook her head. "No, you're not."

"And how would you know that?"

"Because! You love Ainsley! And you love this baby too, I can see it. You may not be there when she's born, but you'll be there for everything else that counts."

Sam nodded slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess you're right." And the more he thought about it, he knew Ellie was right.

"Now, we still have time." Ellie said. "Plenty of time. So what do you say we give ourselves the best shot possible?"

"Okay." Sam said. "Okay, let's do it." He pulled ahead of the cars, ignoring the angry honks. Luckily, there were no police cars nearby. As fast as possible, he sped to Dartmouth-Hitchcock.

…

An hour and a half later, Sam was holding his daughter in his arms. Ainsley was laying in bed, staring at him lovingly.

"She's beautiful." He breathed. "Absolutely beautiful." He pressed a kiss to Ainsley's hair. "And you did an amazing job."

"Thank you." Ainsley whispered. "Hey, Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"What are we going to name her? We couldn't decide before, but suddenly, I want her to have a name."

"Well…" And then suddenly, Sam remembered that it was Christmas Eve, and how it was a season of miracles and of joy. And suddenly, the perfect name popped into his head.

"Holly." He whispered. "She's definitely a Holly."

A smile grew across Ainsley's tired face. "It's a beautiful name. What made you think of it?"

"It's Christmas."

"Yeah." Ainsley said. "Let's go with Holly. What about a middle name?"

"Well," Sam said. "What about Elizabeth?"

Ainsley was surprised. "You want to name her after-"

"I do." Sam replied, his voice serious. "She's the person who made me see that I was ready to be a parent."

"All right, then." Ainsley agreed. "Welcome to the world, Holly Elizabeth Seaborn."

"And Merry Christmas." Sam added reverently.

A/N: And there's another kid in Liberty! I hope you still like this story and where I'm taking it. Please let me know what you thought!