Josh whistled to himself as he exited his meeting with the Japanese Ambassador. One thing he'd learned from years of listening to Jed Bartlet's trivia was economics. Not that he hadn't understood it before, but when you're being lectured to by a Nobel laureate in his chosen field of study, you listen. The Japanese were finally being taken to task for their unfair trade tactics; something Josh thought should have been done years ago.
"Josh!" Danny Concannon called to him as he hurried to catch up.
"Danny, what can I do for you today?"
"Can I have a comment on why you and Senator Lyman left the State Dinner last night in such a hurry?" Danny asked.
"Coming out of retirement, Danny?" Josh asked with a smirk. "I thought you were the Washington bureau chief these days. An editor and all that."
"Yeah, I got left shorthanded last night when my protégé's wife went into labor unexpectedly so I'm going to have to cover for him for a few days until his replacement gets in from Hong Kong," Danny replied the twinkle in his eyes matching the grin on his face. "Now do you have a comment for me?"
"Senator Lyman and I were called away to GW Hospital where our eldest daughter, Representative Jodi Gaerte, had gone into premature labor. Mother and baby are fine. If you want more information than that you should contact my daughter's office. I'm sure they'll be happy to tell you," Josh told him as they continued to walk back towards his office.
"Ok, off the record now. The guys at the Post want to know who won the pool."
"Josiah Leopold Gaerte....born sometime around midnight, weighed around 6 pounds. Doctor's keeping them a couple days until Jodi's blood pressure evens out some more. He's got Matt's dark hair and Jodi's face," Josh told his friend as he pulled the photos Donna printed that morning from his jacket pocket.
"Jed, huh?" Danny asked as he studied the pictures as they walked. Josh grabbed him by the shoulder guiding him around a potted plant in his path. "Thanks," Danny mumbled.
"Yeah."
"So how's it feel to be a grandpa?" Danny asked as he followed Josh into his office.
Josh shut the door before turning around to face Danny. "We still off the record, my friend?"
Danny noticed the serious way in which Josh asked the question and was curious. "Off the record."
"Last night Donna and I started talking about trying for a change of address in three years."
"Oh?" asked Danny. "Do you mean the address that I think you mean?"
"Yeah."
"So. What did Donna think?"
Josh chuckled. "She was fine with it until I told her I thought I'd make a pretty cool 'First Husband,' then she flipped."
"You're serious?" Danny asked with wide eyes.
"Yeah."
"You're serious?" he asked again.
"Yes, Danny. I don't want it. I'd make a lousy President. I've mellowed over the years, but not that much. Donna though...the country's ready for a woman as President. Why not Donnatella Lyman?"
"Now that's a campaign I'd like to cover. On second thought, that's a campaign I'd like to be part of."
"Going to write your next Pulitzer prize winning novel, Danny?" Josh asked tongue in cheek.
"Yeah, I think I am. Got a problem with that Mr. Lyman, First Husband, sir?" Danny laughed.
"Nah, I think I can handle that," Josh replied. "Seriously now, Danny. As Matt's boss, what do you think would happen to his job?"
"The suits wouldn't let him stay on the White House Press Corp or the Washington beat for that matter."
"You think he'd take a speech writing job with us?"
"Yeah. Hell, I know those two have socked away enough money for Matt to take a year or so off work to write. I could use a co-author on this new book I'm thinking of writing."
"Can I mention that as a possibility to them?"
"Sure," he agreed before asking, "How are you going to get rid of Nora and Matthew?"
"You heard the Wicked Witch had descended huh?"
"Oh yeah. Matt was hiding in his office last night when Beth called to say Jodi was being taken to GW."
"They're staying with us. Matt and Jodi don't need the stress right now. We'll send 'em back to our place to sleep or something. Matthew's pretty cool, but Nora..."
"I remember the wedding," Danny assured him.
Josh winced at the memory. "She wasn't too happy about the name. Said Jed was a hillbilly name."
"And she's still alive?"
"Amazingly lucky isn't she," Josh agreed. "Donna was holding the baby at the time, and Jodi was still pretty out of it."
"What's your excuse?"
"I was saving my strength to fight the nation's battles," Josh quipped.
