Part 25

I'm so curious as to where Josh has brought me. I'm kind of nervous as well but I don't know why. It can't be some place bad, that would just be plain silly. I tried to guess where he's taking me but I can't possibly think of anything. Oh well, it probably would be more fun if I don't have a clue anyway.

"Alright, I'm going to open your blindfold now." Yay!

Josh opens my blindfold and I take a few seconds to let my eyes get readjusted. Let's see, where has he brought me too?

Wow!! There are beautiful white lights everywhere and flower petals on the floor and….. What the…..What? This is…Why has he? How could he possibly know? Okay, I'm completely confused now. I turn to look at Josh. He's smiling away while I think I look like I have a hot potato in my mouth.

"Josh, what's going on? Why did you bring me here? How did you know about this house?"

"I bought this house." What?!

"What?!" What the heck is going on?

"I bought his house for us?" For us?

"How did you know about it?" How could he possibly….CJ!....Oh?! But why would she?

"CJ told you?"

"Come on. Follow me." My legs couldn't move but Josh pulls me with him. He goes up those magnificent staircase which now I can see is filled with white and red rose petals. Did he actually buy this house? THIS house? How could he possible afford it?

"Josh, how could you afford this? You'd have to give an arm and a leg for it."

"Shh." Josh places his finger on my lip. We are now at the top floor with my back leaning on the staircase railings to the side of the steps. Josh is in front of me. He owes me an explanation! I don't want him to buy this house just because CJ told him a loved it. That's so like him to do something completely out of his abilities just to make me happy. Does he think I need this? Does he not know I only need him?

"Josh, why did you do this? You don't…."

"Shh!!" Argh, again with the finger silencing me.

"Turn around, look down." Has he lost his mind? That's the only explanation. I should just amuse him and do as he says. I turn around and bend slightly over the railings to look down.

"What is it?" What does he want me to look at? Where does he…..oh…my…god! I can't breath.

The flower petals on the ground floor are arranged to spell out something. It says…MARRY ME !! Am I reading it right? There's got to be some mistake.

I should read it again….yeah, it definitely says MARRY ME. I hold on to the railing so I don't fall over which is all my brain has the capacity to think of. Okay, turn around Donna, you're going to have to eventually.

I turn around as slow as humanly possible. Oh, god! I should have stayed facing the other way. This is a whole lot more than I can cope with. Josh is in front of me….down on one knee!! I hold on to the railings with one hand as I don't trust myself to stay in balance. I can't think….Work, brain…Work!!!

"I'm no Sam Seaborne or Toby Zeigler but here goes….Donnatella Moss, you are the only reason I get up in the morning. You are the only reason I genuinely smile everyday. When hot lead was shot through my body, you were the reason I wanted to fight to stay alive. You have made me happier than I could ever imagine and I want to dedicate every day of the rest of my life making you feel the way I do."

Oh my god…..I'm think I'm shaking like a leaf. I can feel my eyes filling with tears. I have to bite my bottom lip to stop in from quivering.

"I want to have a family with you. I want to grow old with you. And I want to do all this in this wonderful home which I know you have completely fallen in love with and so have I. I want you to be mine forever and I, forever yours." Josh is reaching for his jacket pocket.

It's a jewelry box. He's takes my right hand and places the box into my hand. Grip it Donna, otherwise it will fall! The box does not look like a usual jewelry box. This one looks like a gift box only made with metal. The box is silver while the metal made bow on it is gold in color.

"Open it." I look at him and then at the box. I dare not open it but somehow I manage to do it anyway.

I gasp. Dazzling!! Sapphires and a heart-shaped diamond!! Oh, it's just so beyond words!!

"So, what do you say? Will you marry me?" His deep brown beautiful eyes are looking directly into mine.

I can't move anymore. I think I'm in shock. I still can't think properly. Focus Donna, the man you are crazy in love with for the longest time has asked you to marry him! Do I want to spend the rest of my life with him? Do I want to share my hopes and dreams, my ups and downs in time to come, with him and only him?

"Say something or I just might get an anxiety attack." Without a doubt, Joshua Lyman. I'll marry you without a doubt.

I open my mouth to answer him but nothing comes out. I try again but I think my throat is completely dried out or just stuck.

"Donna?" I look into his eyes again and I could see the uncertainty and fear in his eyes. Oh, my sweet Joshua, do you think I could possibly say no to you?

I fold my lips in and tears start running down my cheeks. Damn my tear gland! I honestly thought I've had it under control now. Well now I have no hope of getting a word out.

I nod vigorously indicating 'yes' to Josh. I see his eyes light up with hope.

"Is that a yes?" I nod again.

"Oh, thank god!" He takes the ring box from my hand and slowly places the ring on my finger.

I take my hand and cover my mouth as the waterworks just became a whole lot worse now.

Josh kisses my palm and gets up. He gives me the warmest hug.

"Shh, don't cry my sweet Donnatella." He lets go of me and brings my face to look at his. He wipes away my tears and I finally get a grip on myself.

"I love you so much Josh. I can't believe you did all this. I would have said yes even if you asked me in…..in a dumpster." Josh laughs out really loud. I didn't mean it to be funny.

I slowly smile at him. He continues laughing and lifts me of the ground.

"Woah!!" He twirls me around.

"I'm going to marry Donnatella Moss!" I laugh as he puts my down and kisses me oh, so passionately.

"How….how did you do all this? When could you have possibly bought a house without me knowing about it?" I say as I pull away from his kisses.

"I have my ways Donnatella….." He leans towards me again. This will have to wait until I get my answer.

"Josh, come on! I'm dying with confusion here." I smile at him.

"Well, if you must know…..CJ wasn't house hunting for her brother, she was doing it for me."

"No way. It was all an act?" Now it makes sense why CJ kept asking me what I thought about the houses. No wonder she didn't even have any strong opinion on any of the houses and didn't bother to.

"I wanted you to be completely surprised. You're not mad are you?" Aw, look at his sweet face!

"No. I was absolutely flabbergasted though. Still am…but Josh how are you going to pay for this?" I neaten his collar and rub against the sides of his neck.

"Don't worry about it Donna."

"But I do. I don't want you to…."

"I used the money my dad left me."

"Oh." Did he use all his inheritance on a house I wanted?

"And left by my grandfather…..and some profit when my mom sold the house in Connecticut." He had to use all that money on one house?

"Did you use everything? Josh I don't need all this. You didn't have to spend all your inheritance for me."

"Donna, this is our house. The place we're going to live in for the rest of our lives. If I don't spend the money on this, what else is more important? Besides, I still have enough from that money to privately educated all our kids." Our kids? Oh, how incredible would that be?

"Donna, stop obsession about this. It is all more than fine. Trust me. Will you just enjoy the best moment of my life with me?"

"If I must." I stretch my arms over his shoulders and he holds my waist with such possession.

"I love you so much Joshua Lyman. You have made me so happy, you can't even begin to imagine. This was……. perfection. There's no way this could have been any better. So, this is actually our house?" I just wanted to make sure which evidently causes Josh to burst out laughing.

"Yes Donna, this is our house!!!" Josh shouts as he looks up still holding me.

I press my body against him and kiss him with all the passion I have in me. I think I caught him by surprise. It took him a fraction of a second before responding to my kiss.

Mmmm….mmmm…What the?!!

"Wha..what's that?"

"Josh, you're cell is ringing." Oh, I hope he doesn't have to go.

"Oh, right." He fumbles to reach his cell phone from his pocket.

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Who the heck is calling me? Who the heck is running my perfect moment with Donna?!

"Hello."

"Hi, it's me!" It's CJ. Damn it, I should have forbid her to call me when she said she would.

"What can I do for you?" Nothing I hope.

"What happened you dope?! Did she say yes?"

"CJ, could you possibly give me a break for once?"

"You owe me! You owe me big and you know it!" She's right. Oh what the hell.

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes! She said yes, CJ. Now could you leave me alone?!"

Is that a knock at the door? I look at Donna and I shrug my shoulders at her confusion. Who in the world could possibly be at the door?

"Ahhhh, that's so amazing!!!! I'm sooo happy!!" I hear CJ shout through the phone although I'm not quite listening to her.

Donna and I get to the door. "Who could it be?"

"Don't look at me. I'm as clueless as you are." I respond to Donna's bemusement.

She points at me to open the door and I do as she wishes.

"CONGRATULATIONS!!!

"MAZEL TOV!!"

"Oh my god, you guys!!" Donna exclaims when we see all our friends at the door. All of them.

Sam, CJ, Toby, Charlie, Margaret, Ginger, Bonnie and even Jane are here. We spend some time hugging and receiving congrats from everyone. The women are squealing away as they grab Donna's hand to look at her ring. They are all talking in very high pitch making it impossible for the rest of us to understand.

"We bring you champagne!" Sam says as he and Charlie pull out glasses and start serving.

"You better have if you're going to barge in on our personal moment like this. So, who was the blabber mouth? Sam, CJ or Charlie? I'm guessing Sam."

"Hey!" I think I hit Sam's nerve there.

"Well, it was me and Sam. We couldn't contain ourselves and wanted to celebrate with you guys as soon as possible." CJ explains.

"Ah, so you told everyone. What is Donna said no?!" I ask, only half joking.

"Josh, look at this place! If Donna was crazy enough to say no, hey I would have gladly jumped in her place." We all laugh at CJ.

"Ok everyone has their glass? Great! I can start with the toast. I've been preparing this for the last few days."

"Let's just hope you didn't forget to put in punctuations, Sam." We laugh at what Toby says.

Donna comes over towards me as the women finally let go of her. I place arm around her waist and pull her to me. Sam raises his glass and starts to speak

"Josh, you can imagine how flabbergasted we all are that you finally got a clue!"

"Thanks Sam." Everyone laughs at my expense of course.

"But seriously, you and Donna have gone through an incredibly long and hard road to get to where you are now. We have all watched you two together and know that no one else are more perfectly suited for each other as the two of you are. You found each other in the midst of all the madness that comes with running the country. We all envy you and can only hope that we would find the purest kind of love like you two have. I couldn't be happier that you have finally found your way to this point which is all that matters in the end. To Josh and Donna, may you relish this exceptionally blessed journey together."

"To Josh and Donna." Everyone says as we raise our glasses.

"Sam, that was so lovely. Thank you so much." Donna says to Sam as everyone else gets into their own conversations.

"I'm just so glad I had a chance to do this." Donna gives Sam a hug.

"Sam, I'm speechless. I've hear the President's speeches before but this was….I don't think I've heard anything that touched me this much. It was so sweet." Jane joins the three of us as she places her hand on Sam's arm.

Donna and I suppress our grins when we see Sam turn ten shades more red.

"Well, why don't Donna and I give you some privacy?" I say causing Donna to swat me on the arm as I pull her away from Sam and Jane.

"Who's cell phone is that? Turn down the music." I turn to see Toby instructing Ginger to turn the volume of the CD player.

We all check our cell phones. Oh, looks like it's mine.

"It's mine, guys. It's from the office." I say as I look at the number appearing on my cell. Everyone groaned at that, hoping our fun won't be cut short.

"Josh Lyman."

"Josh, it's Leo." I hope nothing is wrong. I'd hate it if anything was going to ruin this for me.

"So, did she say yes?" For crying out loud, they told Leo too?

"Ah, I see they told you too. Donna said yes." Everyone else started laughing and snickering at what I just said.

"That poor girl." I laugh at Leo.

"Congratulation, son. I couldn't be more proud of you. She's the perfect one for you." It means a lot coming from Leo. It sort of feels like that was coming from my dad.

"Thank you Leo. That means a lot to me." I say softly so the others won't hear it.

"There's someone else who'd like to congratulate you. Hold on." Great, who else did the guys share this information with?

"Josh?" Of course, how could I forget?

"Good evening, Mr. President."

"You told the President?!" I ask in a loud whisper to Sam and CJ who are looking ever so innocent.

"Josh, Leo just shared the great news. I couldn't be happier. I'm so glad I was a little responsible for this." He's not going to let that go anytime soon, is he?

"Yes sir. I owe you one."

"It's my pleasure Josh. My congratulations to you. Would you mind if I have a word with your beautiful bride-to-be?"

I signal Donna to come get the phone from me.

"Sure Sir. Here she is."

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Who would have thought that the President of the United States would call to congratulate me on my engagement. Especially less than an hour after I said yes.

"Good evening, Mr. President."

"Hello, Donna. So, I hear you agreed to marry this fool named Josh Lyman." I laugh out loud. Sometimes it's hard to imagine, this is the same man who is the leader of the free world.

"Yes sir. What can I say? He stole my heart."

"Well, in that case, I couldn't be more pleased for you. Congratulations from me and Abbey. She wishes she could join your celebration but considering she's in Tokyo now, I don't think that's very likely."

"Oh, thank you so much sir. And please convey my appreciation to Mrs. Bartlet as well. I'm so honored to receive this call from you sir."

"It's my pleasure. Hold on a second, Leo wants to talk to you."

"Hello Donna." Wow, I've never felt this special in my entire lifetime!

"Hello Leo."

"You're in for a rough ride." These people crack me up.

"I'm looking forward to it, Leo."

"I know you are. You two deserve all the happiness in the world."

"Thank you Leo. Thank you so much for calling."

"No problem Donna. Now we should leave you to your celebration. We would be there but you know, problems with security and all." Imagine that!

"Oh, that's quite alright." I reply to Leo.

This whole night has been so surreal. I still think I'm going to wake up and this would all  be just a dream. I sure hope I'm wrong.

CJ and I are taking the girls on a house tour while the guys are downstairs, I don't know doing what. I'm currently showing off my dream bath to the girls.

"Hey Donna, we've got a surprise for you." Bonnie says as she pulls out a gift wrapped box from her bag.

"Guys? You didn't have to." They are all so sweet. I unwrap the box excitedly.

"We know this is more suitable for your bachelorette party but we thought you should stay in this house just for tonight before you officially move in here. So you could use this tonight." Hmm, I wonder what Ginger is getting at.

"Woah!" It is a sexy black lingerie. The satin material feels so smooth. It is short with slim straps, lace trimmings and slits on either sides.

"Well, we thought you'd enjoy it." Margaret says.

"I think I will. Thank you guys."

"Oh, you can thank us by telling us all the dirty details on Monday." CJ has to ask, doesn't she?

"Yeah, that's going to happen."

"Also, I packed you some of your toiletries, perfume and breath mints and stuff. You know, just to make your night more pleasurable." CJ winks at me as she hands me the small bag she brought.

"Hey, these are all my stuff. How did you manage to go to my place?"

"I have my ways Donna." She sure does.

The rest of the night was a blast. I'm so overwhelmed, in a good way. We finally said our goodbyes to the rest of the gang as they all leave a few at a time.

"Ah, finally we are alone." Josh shuts the door and comes towards me

"I know." I lean on him and hug him as I place my head on his chest. I'm so glad I can be finally alone with him again not that I didn't totally appreciate what the others did for us. They are all so thoughtful.

"So, I was thinking maybe we could spend the night here. Just for tonight,  before we start the big move."

"You so read my mind."

We head to the bedroom with me still leaning my head on his chest. I could stay like this forever.

"I'm going to the bathroom to freshen up. CJ mysteriously packed a bunch of my stuff for me." I smile at Josh as I know he has something to do with it.

I touch up my make up and spray perfume on myself and chew some breath mints as I change into my new sexy lingerie. I hang around the bathroom a while just to marvel at how extravagant it is. I still cannot comprehend that this is all mine now. Mine and Josh's and our future children. Can life get any more perfect?

I step out the bathroom and just when I thought there could not possible be anymore surprises, I'm proven wrong. Josh had lit up the fireplace and all the candles above it. He also placed more candles around the room. I turn towards him

Oh my god! The bed! It is spread with a beautiful maroon silk sheet and there are a bunch of square and rectangular pillows on it.

"Josh! This is amazing! It's breathtaking." I walk towards the bed on which he was laying on. I touch the comforter which was partially spread on the bed. Ah, heavenly…it was mink!

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"Breathtaking? The room and the bed are breathtaking? You're the one who's breathtaking!" Donna looks so alluring and sexy with that little black silk lingerie. I have a feeling CJ had something to do with this. I should remember to thank her tomorrow.

She climbs into the bed next to me. I pull her closer to me and I am able feel the silk material on her. It is an indescribable feeling!

"Ooo…these pillows smell like potpourri." She pulls the pillows and sniffs them as I try to kiss her.

"Okay, maybe I shouldn't have done the bed thing."

"CJ told you didn't she? Did you ask her to report back every detail that I uttered?"

"Yes." I lean towards her again to catch her lips.

"Donna!!" She pushes me away again.

"Josh, I just wanted to say how much I love you. This has undoubtedly been the best day of my life. And I know there would be more incredible days like this as I will be spending them with you. Our relationship has been through such turmoil and you have been so supportive, patient and understanding towards me throughout everything. I want you to know how much I appreciate it. You make me feel so grateful and lucky despite everything that has happened to me. You mean the world to me and I can't wait to be your wife."

I think I'm getting a little misty here. She's so amazing. No one has ever said such wonderful things to me before.

"Donna, what I did was nothing compared to what you have done for me. I wouldn't have survived anything if it wasn't for you. The presidential campaign, Rosslyn, all of it. I wouldn't be alive to even experience this if it wasn't for you. If I had one purpose to be on this earth, it is to be with you. There's nothing more I need in my life now that I have you. I too cannot wait to be married to you, the most beautiful and remarkable person. I love you so damn much, Donatella Moss, aka future  Donnatella Moss-Lyman."

"I like the sound of that. In fact I love it." She places her magnificent body on top of me and kisses me with so much fervor.

Just when I thought life cannot get any more perfect….. Boy, was I wrong!

THE END!!!

PS- Thank you all so much for reading my fic and giving me feedback. I'm so glad you all enjoyed the ride and I hope you love the ending as much as I loved writing it. I may write a sequel about the wedding later on. Would you guys like that? I'd love to get some feedback/reviews!!!

Also, Donna's black lingerie is on my photo album in the "more pics" folder. Go to :