Residual Scarring 11/? Author: natlski All Disclaimers apply

GW Hospital

Josh readjusted his oxygen mask. He shifted uncomfortably in the bed and heaved a sigh which set off a bout of coughing. He managed to push himself forward, but didn't have the energy to reach for the basin on the bed stand. His chest tightened painfully. He gagged on the phlegm his coughing raised and managed to move the oxygen mask before throwing up. Exhausted and humiliated, he sagged against the pillows and fumbled feebly for the call button.

The nurse was just finishing cleaning him up when Donna entered the room. Her smile was a forced one that didn't reach her eyes. "Hey! How are you feeling today?"

"Crappy." Josh croaked through the oxygen mask.

Donna settled in the visitor's chair as the nurse checked the I.V.

"You're all set, Mr. Lyman. I recommend you use the basin next time, or call for help." She patted his arm. Josh responded with a glare. The nurse smiled back sweetly and left the room.

Josh closed his eyes and settled deeper into the pillows. He listened to the sounds of the room: the wheezing of his own breathing, the quiet hiss of the oxygen, the beep of the heart monitor, and the quiet even cadence of Donna's breathing. When he opened his eyes and turned his head, he found her closely studying him. He met her gaze and tried to read her eyes.

"How are you doing?" His voice sounded hoarse and muffled.

Donna continued to regard him silently for a few minutes before answering. "Relieved. Tired."

Josh frowned, his eyes communicating the question he didn't have the breath to voice.

Donna looked away, tears welling up in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. When Josh reached out for her, she moved to sit on the bed next to him. He reached up and wiped away her tears, his fingers lingering on her cheek. After several minutes she met his gaze.

"I was afraid of loosing you." She caught her breath. "Not just physically." She dropped her gaze again. "I want this whole mess to be done with."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you have to go through this." Josh's breath caught, causing him to begin coughing again.

Donna helped him sit forward. He removed the oxygen mask with a shaky hand as she held the basin for him. When the coughing subsided Josh collapse against the pillows, his eyes squeezed shut against the pain. Donna put the soiled basin aside and began to gently rub his chest.

"God, it hurts, Donna." He gasped.

"I know, I know." She tried to comfort him.

West Wing of the White House

It was late morning when Donna made her way past security. As she entered the West Wing she met Toby, C.J., and Sam returning from a meeting in the Oval Office. Sam broke into a grin as he greeted her, his smile chasing away the exhaustion and concern that had been lining his face.

"How's Josh this morning?"

Donna fell into step with him, just ahead of Toby and C.J. "He's slowly improving. His temperature is almost down to normal. He's in a lot of pain and still coughing up a lot of gunk."

Sam grimaced at the memory of the day before, when Josh first awoke.

"Yeah," Donna made a face. "It's pretty gross. I talked with his doctor this morning. He said the scarring from the shooting and the surgery is making Josh more susceptible to fluid in his lungs. It's going to take a while for him to get over this; looks like he'll be in the hospital for a while."

"How'd Josh take that news?" C.J. asked as the four arrived in the Communications bullpen.

"He's pretty sick. They have him on pain meds in addition to the antibiotics. He's sleeping a lot and even when he's awake he's pretty out of it."

"We were going to go by and see him this afternoon." C.J. leaned against a door frame.

"You should still go."

"Oh, I plan to. I love messing with his head when he's drugged up." C.J. grinned wickedly.

"You are an evil woman, C.J.; evil."

"You can't deny me a little fun, Spanky."

Sam paled at C.J.'s nickname for him; her use of which never bode well for him. "Look, I just remembered I've got that thing." Sam motioned over his shoulder with his thumb.

C.J. and Donna chuckled as Sam made a hasty retreat to his office.
West Wing- Office of Press Secretary

Toby Ziegler shifted uncomfortably on the couch, crossing his legs and repositioning his notepad on his lap. He heaved a sigh and looked up at C.J.

C.J leaned back in her chair and regarded the Communications Director. The man was fidgety, a sure sign he was about to say something hard.

"We should make an announcement about his health."

"We will. We've given updates all along. Only you're not talking about his physical health. You want to announce to the press core that Lillienfield is right and that Josh Lyman is mentally unstable. You're a real pal there Tobias."

"I was thinking of something a little more eloquent. We pre-empt Lillienfield. We control it. We minimize the damage to Josh and to this administration. It passes quickly and becomes a non-issue."

"Are you insane? Something like this doesn't blow over for some one in Josh's position. This is going to destroy his political career. To be honest, I don't know if he's strong enough to handle the stress that it would cause."

"Look at the big picture, C.J. Josh has PTSD as a result of being shot while in service to the President of the United States. Right now he is in the hospital with pneumonia, a condition exacerbated by having been shot. We present all the facts. Sympathy for Josh will over-ride the political damage. It will work to his advantage."

C.J. stared at him in disbelief. "Toby!"

"Think about it. What's the alternative?"

"Lillienfield holds a press conference and Josh is destroyed politically as well as emotionally." C.J. paused, mulling over Toby's proposal. "How can you be sure our announcing it won't have the same effect? I'm not so sure that I want to be the one responsible for ending a brilliant political career and hurting one of my best friends."

"We can control it; keep the damage to a minimum."

"I'm not convinced we can." C.J. held Toby's gaze until he dropped his eyes.

He stood, clutching his notepad tightly in his hand, and hovered in the doorway for a moment. "I want to take this to Leo."

"You'd better talk to Sam and Donna first, although I'm pretty certain I know what their opinion will be."

"Yeah." Toby answered softly. He looked up at C.J., who was startled to see agony mixed with anger smoldering in the dark eyes. "I want to get Lillienfield. I want to make him pay. And I want to save Josh." He then turned on his heal and exited the office. C.J. remained still for a long time, staring at the empty doorway.
West Wing- Office of Deputy Communications Director

Sam looked up from his computer to see his boss hovering in the doorway to his office. He pulled off his glasses and leaned back in his chair. "I don't have the speech done. In fact, I just started it and I have another week before it needs to be completed."

Toby hesitated briefly before stepping in to the office and closing the door behind him. He lowered himself into a chair across from his deputy. He crossed his legs then tapped his notepad against his knee several times before speaking. "I think C.J. should make an announcement about Josh's illness. We should pre-empt any announcement Lillienfield might make."

He looked up to see Sam staring at him, mouth slightly open in disbelief. "You can't be serious."

"We've been spending all this energy trying to stay a step ahead, trying to keep them from showing their hand. Why not just rip the cards away from them and layout their hand for all the world to see?"

"You want to play poker with them?"

"Sam."

"This is Josh we're talking about!" Sam dropped his glasses onto his desk and shook his head. "I can't believe you're even suggesting this."

"It worked with the MS."

Sam clenched his teeth. "Did it?"

"Sam."

"No, Toby. We may not even survive this thing and you want to add more?"

"I think it will work."

"Have you talked to anyone else about this?"

"Yeah, C.J., and her response was remarkably similar."

Sam gave a cynical chuckle. "I'll bet."

"I want this to go away as much as the rest of you. But it's not going to. We have to deal with it."

"And now is the time to do it? We're still recovering from the loss of Mrs. Landingham, the President has announced he's running for re-election, we're facing a Congressional investigation, and you want to play poker with Lillienfield?"

Toby held Sam's gaze, but didn't respond. Their staring contest was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Yeah?"

The door opened to reveal Donna with a stack of files. "Sorry to interrupt, guys. Here are those files of Josh's that you needed." She crossed the room, aware of the tension, and handed the stack to Sam.

"Thanks. Hey Donna." Sam held his boss's gaze while he spoke. "Toby thinks we should announce Josh's PTSD."

"Excuse me?" Donna looked from Sam to Toby in confusion.

"We should pre-empt Lillienfield; hold our own press conference. We educate the public and capitalize on their sympathy." Toby finally dropped his gaze.

"How dare you?" Donna exploded, fighting to control her anger. "Don't you realize what this will do to Josh? It would destroy him!"

"He's strong. Why should he have to hide from this? Why should he have to apologize? He was shot because he works for the President. He was traumatized while in the service of his country. How many sympathy cards did you answer last year? How many has he received since C.J. first announced he was back in the hospital?"

Donna shook her head. "It would destroy Josh." Her eyes flashed in anger, challenging Toby to continue his argument. "You can't do this to him."

Toby once more dropped his gaze. "I really think it will work." He mumbled, standing his ground.

"And if it doesn't?" Sam's question hung in the air for a moment before he spoke again. "Are we ready to pay the cost?"

Toby looked up to meet two pairs of angry, blue eyes and shifted uneasily under their intensity.

~~tbc~~