Abbey Bartlet made her way into the hospital under immense Secret Service
protection. She was ushered to the secluded waiting room where she saw her
daughter and Charlie huddled in a corner and CJ and Toby talking quietly on
a couch. Everyone else had pretty much gone home, she'd assumed. Zoey
looked up when she heard the clicking of the door.
"Mom," she whispered and ran over to her and threw her arms around her neck. "How's Daddy? And Sam and Mal? And Will? And Leo?"
"They're fine. They're all safe. Everyone's fine," Abbey assured her daughter as she kissed her forehead. "What happened?" she asked the room when she noticed their obvious discomfort. "CJ?" she asked, walking in front of the Press Secretary who was still huddled closely with Toby. "Is Danny okay?" she asked, suddenly worried.
"Ma'am," Toby stood up. "Danny's fine...he had to have surgery to remove bullet fragments, but he's gonna be just fine," he said, smiling a little at CJ when he announced that.
"And everyone else?" she asked.
"Michael...he was killed," CJ whispered, holding Toby's hand for support.
"Oh my God," Abbey gasped as she sat down. "Where's Donna? That poor, poor girl," Abbey cried. "Zoey? Have you seen her, sweetie?" she asked through her tears.
Zoey shook her head and began to cry again.
"Ma'am," Charlie began. "Donna had a concussion and some bleeding. She was in a room for observation. Josh went down to give her the news. He was upstairs for Michael's surgery. He wanted to be the one to give her the news," he said, quietly.
"How is Josh?" Abbey asked Toby.
"I..He...I don't really know," Toby answered honestly. "He seemed together - I guess, when he went to Donna's room. But," he glanced at his watch. "But that was over an hour ago," he sighed. "I haven't seen him since."
"Where's her room?" Abbey stood up and moved to the door.
"I'll take you, Mom," Zoey told her. "Charlie? You want to go back to the White House? Check on Dad and Sam for me maybe?"
"You'll come there when you're through?" he asked, worried.
"I won't be long," she promised him and kissed him on the cheek. "Mom?" she asked. "Do Sam and Mal mind us crashing at their house tonight?"
"I doubt it," Abbey smiled at her daughter. "I think they're happy for the company, honey." And then Zoey led her mother out of the waiting room by the hand.
"I'm gonna go check on Danny," CJ announced as Charlie was putting on his coat. "Be care leaving, Charlie," she cautioned.
"If he's awake," Charlie said. "Give Danny my best."
"Of course," she smiled. "Tobus? You coming?"
"For a bit," he sighed. "Then I want to get home. I want to see the kids," he said with a sad smile and a shake of his head.
"Yeah," CJ smiled and they walked to the elevator hand-in-hand.
Zoey and Abbey found Josh slumped in front of Donna's door. His clothes were a mess. His face was stained with tear tracks. He hand blood splotched all over him. His hair was more out of control than usual. And his eyes were puffy and red. He was clutching a handbag in his hands and stroking it absently. He didn't even notice that he had company.
"Josh?" Zoey whispered as she crouched down next to him. Her cool hand met his warm face as she attempted to smooth his hair back. His eyes met her's and he registered recognition. He tried to smile at her worried face and then noticed her mother standing there.
"Ma'am," he said, as he struggled to stand up.
"Joshua," Abbey said. "You've had a rough night," she observed.
"We all have," he corrected her.
"How is Donna?" Zoey asked.
"She," Josh looked back to the door where he could see Donna staring off into a corner. "She has a concussion. There was a little bit of blood loss from her fall," he continued. "She's little banged up...no permanent physical damage."
"Well, thank God," Abbey sighed, relieved.
"But...I don't know," he sighed, turning about to stare at her through the glass pane.
"She just kind of shut off when I told her about Michael. She didn't want me in the room. And she cried," he started to cry thinking about her sobs. "She cried so loud and so hard. It damn near killed me," he whispered as he felt Zoey squeeze his shoulder. "Why couldn't I save him?"
"Enough," Abbey told him. "Josh - you're not Superman," she lectured. "No one blames you for what happened. It was the asshole who thought it'd be a good night to shoot at the new President and his friends. Not you. Michael was proud to be here tonight with Donna. With us. Donna was proud that he came with her. She was feeling like her two worlds were finally coming together. You were a big part of that for her," Abbey smiled as she talked to him. "Michael respected you. If he were here, he'd tell you it's not your fault."
"I just...it's so hard," he whispered. "I can't quite focus," he admitted. "I see tonight and I see Roslyn. I can't tell the difference sometimes," he murmured. "I don't know if I did all I could. I got Donna down. I got myself down. He was right there..." he trailed off.
"What's with the purse?" Zoey asked suddenly, just noticing him fiddling with it.
"It's...Michael was holding it," he said. "It's Donna's," he smiled. "It matched her dress," he recalled her modeling it all excited that she actually purchased the entire outfit and cut the tags off. "She tossed it to him just before it happened. She was fixing a strap on her shoes and she couldn't hold...she needed someone to hold it," he sighed. "I laughed at her and told her that I wasn't gonna help her 'cause she was silly enough to wear such ridiculously high shoes," he murmured. "You know...typical banter shit," he sighed. "And...Michael...he took the bag," he took a deep breath before continued. "He...when they brought him in...here...he was still gripping it," he got out. "I wanted to...I mean...it's her bag," he sighed. "She needs to have it back," he reasoned. "I wanted to give it to her...but she doesn't want to see me right now," he said shaking his head.
"Josh," Zoey breathed, reaching around his shoulders and hugging him tightly. "She's just in shock," she told him.
"Joshua," Abbey told him. He straightened up and turned to face her.
"Yes ma'am," he said, sniffing.
"She needs some time to get over this," Abbey said. "She just lost her fiancé. She's had a day," Abbey simplified the situation.
"Mom," Zoey rolled her eyes. "It's not that simple."
"No, dear. It is. Donna's gonna need to deal with this. She'll get through it. She has friends that love her. She'll be fine," Abbey said confidently. "She just needs time and our support. And Josh," she cautioned. "You need to give her time and you need to be there for her just like she was there for you."
Josh looked at her with sad eyes. "I don't know if I can. I don't know how to do this. I just learned how the hell to function without her with me on a daily basis...I don't know how to do this."
"You'll do it. You don't have a choice. This is your hand Josh. Play it. Get your ass in there and give that girl back her purse. Then you're going to go home and get a shower and a nap. I don't care if you go to the White House or your apartment...but you need to get some shut eye and cleaned up," she ordered. "Then you're going to go to work and then you're gonna help Donna."
"Yes ma'am," he said.
"I'll wait for you," Zoey smiled.
"I'll go in to see her when you're done," Abbey told him.
Zoey smiled and held her mother's hand as Josh took a deep breath and entered the room.
"Donna?" he asked, quietly when she didn't acknowledge his entering.
Her eyes moved from her corner and focused on him.
"I...I just wanted to...to give you...to...give you your purse," he offered it to her.
She looked at her tattered bag and then back at him, but she made no motion to take the bag from his hands.
"Remember?" he tried again. "You were fixing your shoes and you couldn't hold onto it," he told her.
"I gave it to Michael," she said in a monotone voice.
"Yes," he encouraged.
"Why do you have it?" she asked.
"I...I mean...Michael gave it to me before he went into surgery," he answered her honestly.
"You talked to him?" she asked.
"Ah...yeah," he said, sort of distracted. He remembered talking to Michael. He remembered it vaguely, but everything was so jumbled in his brain at the moment.
"What did he say?" Donna asked, suddenly focused.
Josh's mind went blank. He knew they talked. He remembered that. But....what did they say? He kept hearing Toby asking him if he was okay? But that was from before...that was from Roslyn, wasn't it? He shook his head and covered his face with his hands and scrubbed his eyes.
"Joshua?" she asked in a whisper.
"Donna - I don't...I mean...I can't....I don't know what to say," he whispered.
"Are you okay?" she asked, worried.
Josh laughed bitterly at her question. "I should be asking you that," he said.
"Josh...I know this is hard on you too," she reasoned.
"Stop being that way," he ordered. "I'm fine."
"Okay," Donna sighed, toying with her blanket corner. "It's just easier sometimes to worry about others, I guess."
"Donna," he breathed. "Are you gonna be okay?" he asked as he noticed her eyes filling with tears.
"No," she answered honestly. "I don't know how to do this," she breathed.
"Neither do I," he told her.
"Okay," she said.
"I have to go," he told her.
"Okay," she said.
"You'll be okay?" he said.
"No," she shook her head sadly.
"Donna," he sighed.
She tried to smile. She tried to get him to leave thinking that she'd be sad, but still relatively okay. She just couldn't. She cried instead. Then he held her in his arms and stroked her hair until she fell asleep. Then he left. He had to get out of there. He couldn't breathe.
He left the room and looked at Zoey, who was still standing at the door with her mother waiting for him, just like she promised.
"You gave her her purse?" Zoey asked.
"I just left it by the bed. She was too upset I guess," he murmured.
"Go," Abbey ordered. "Take a shower. Get a couple hours of sleep. Go and see your boss."
"C'mon, Josh," Zoey begged, leading him down the hallway as he continued to glance back at Donna's door.
Abbey watched her youngest daughter order the Chief of Staff of the United States down the hall. She smiled sadly and shook her head. He didn't look powerful at that moment. In fact, she thought, he looked like a lost little boy. She composed herself and nodded to her agent as she slipped inside Donna's room and held her hand while she slept.
Josh took Zoey to the White House. She needed to see her father and he needed to see Leo...and his boss. Jed hugged Zoey tightly when they arrived in the Oval office and she clinged to him for dear life. Then she pulled back and noticed Charlie in the corner.
"You should get some sleep," Charlie told her with a small grin.
"Excellent idea," Jed agreed while Sam and Mal were hugging her.
"Go to the Residence," the President told her. "We had rooms made up late last night."
"Thanks Sam," she whispered, kissing his cheek. "I'll see you guys later," she told them. Before Charlie led her out of the Office, she hugged Josh tightly. "Come get me if she needs something...or if you do," she whispered and he nodded his response.
"Josh," the President started. "You should really go take a shower or something. Then get some sleep," he told him.
"Sir," he said standing up and clearing his throat. "What have I missed?"
"We caught the guy that did this. It was a crazy fundamentalist organization's plot. He's being detained in maximum security. It's under control," the President explained.
"I should have been here, Sir," Josh said, shaking his head. "It won't happen again."
"Josh...stop with the 'Sir' shit right now," Sam pleaded.
"I tried that with Leo," Jed smirked and Leo chuckled. "It's not gonna happen," they both said, trying to lighten the mood.
Mallory cleared her throat and stood up. "How's Donna?" she asked. "We heard about Michael."
"She's upset," Josh said, trying to sound detached. "She just lost her fiancé."
"Did you see her?" Leo asked, coming to stand by the man who he had long considered his son.
"Yeah," he voice cracked as he tried to hold back tears. "I had...I had her purse," he started to say and then he shook his head. "I saw her," he said instead. "She's tired and upset." He rubbed his eyes fiercely, trying to remain steady. "Your wife, Sir," he said, nodding to Jed, "is with Donna now. She wanted to sit with her I guess," Josh said. "CJ and Toby were checking on Danny's progress when I left, I think. He had a successful surgery, though," he reported. "If that's all," he said, looking from Leo, to Jed, to Mal and then to Sam.
"Are you okay?" Sam asked him seriously.
"I don't know," he answered honestly. "I need to clear my head...and then I need to get back to normal. I need to work," Josh said convincingly.
"I have a room made up for you at the Residence," Sam told him.
"No," Josh said, shaking his head. "I'll grab a shower in the locker room and then I'll get a short nap on the couch in my office. I have a change of clothes here, so it'll be fine. That way I'll be able to get working quicker," he explained. "Good night, Sirs," he said nodding to the men. "Ma'am," he said nodding to Mallory.
He left and they all looked in shock. Josh was a wreck, and they all could see that. But Mallory sat down and huffed. "What is it?" Sam asked joining her on the couch.
"I'm too young to be called 'ma'am'," she said. "Are people gonna call me that?" she asked looking at her husband and then to her father.
Jed laughed a bit. "I'm going to join my wife at the hospital," he told them. "And, Ma'am," he said with a smirk to Mallory. "You'll get used to it," he assured her. "I didn't adjust to 'Sir' right away."
"Mom," she whispered and ran over to her and threw her arms around her neck. "How's Daddy? And Sam and Mal? And Will? And Leo?"
"They're fine. They're all safe. Everyone's fine," Abbey assured her daughter as she kissed her forehead. "What happened?" she asked the room when she noticed their obvious discomfort. "CJ?" she asked, walking in front of the Press Secretary who was still huddled closely with Toby. "Is Danny okay?" she asked, suddenly worried.
"Ma'am," Toby stood up. "Danny's fine...he had to have surgery to remove bullet fragments, but he's gonna be just fine," he said, smiling a little at CJ when he announced that.
"And everyone else?" she asked.
"Michael...he was killed," CJ whispered, holding Toby's hand for support.
"Oh my God," Abbey gasped as she sat down. "Where's Donna? That poor, poor girl," Abbey cried. "Zoey? Have you seen her, sweetie?" she asked through her tears.
Zoey shook her head and began to cry again.
"Ma'am," Charlie began. "Donna had a concussion and some bleeding. She was in a room for observation. Josh went down to give her the news. He was upstairs for Michael's surgery. He wanted to be the one to give her the news," he said, quietly.
"How is Josh?" Abbey asked Toby.
"I..He...I don't really know," Toby answered honestly. "He seemed together - I guess, when he went to Donna's room. But," he glanced at his watch. "But that was over an hour ago," he sighed. "I haven't seen him since."
"Where's her room?" Abbey stood up and moved to the door.
"I'll take you, Mom," Zoey told her. "Charlie? You want to go back to the White House? Check on Dad and Sam for me maybe?"
"You'll come there when you're through?" he asked, worried.
"I won't be long," she promised him and kissed him on the cheek. "Mom?" she asked. "Do Sam and Mal mind us crashing at their house tonight?"
"I doubt it," Abbey smiled at her daughter. "I think they're happy for the company, honey." And then Zoey led her mother out of the waiting room by the hand.
"I'm gonna go check on Danny," CJ announced as Charlie was putting on his coat. "Be care leaving, Charlie," she cautioned.
"If he's awake," Charlie said. "Give Danny my best."
"Of course," she smiled. "Tobus? You coming?"
"For a bit," he sighed. "Then I want to get home. I want to see the kids," he said with a sad smile and a shake of his head.
"Yeah," CJ smiled and they walked to the elevator hand-in-hand.
Zoey and Abbey found Josh slumped in front of Donna's door. His clothes were a mess. His face was stained with tear tracks. He hand blood splotched all over him. His hair was more out of control than usual. And his eyes were puffy and red. He was clutching a handbag in his hands and stroking it absently. He didn't even notice that he had company.
"Josh?" Zoey whispered as she crouched down next to him. Her cool hand met his warm face as she attempted to smooth his hair back. His eyes met her's and he registered recognition. He tried to smile at her worried face and then noticed her mother standing there.
"Ma'am," he said, as he struggled to stand up.
"Joshua," Abbey said. "You've had a rough night," she observed.
"We all have," he corrected her.
"How is Donna?" Zoey asked.
"She," Josh looked back to the door where he could see Donna staring off into a corner. "She has a concussion. There was a little bit of blood loss from her fall," he continued. "She's little banged up...no permanent physical damage."
"Well, thank God," Abbey sighed, relieved.
"But...I don't know," he sighed, turning about to stare at her through the glass pane.
"She just kind of shut off when I told her about Michael. She didn't want me in the room. And she cried," he started to cry thinking about her sobs. "She cried so loud and so hard. It damn near killed me," he whispered as he felt Zoey squeeze his shoulder. "Why couldn't I save him?"
"Enough," Abbey told him. "Josh - you're not Superman," she lectured. "No one blames you for what happened. It was the asshole who thought it'd be a good night to shoot at the new President and his friends. Not you. Michael was proud to be here tonight with Donna. With us. Donna was proud that he came with her. She was feeling like her two worlds were finally coming together. You were a big part of that for her," Abbey smiled as she talked to him. "Michael respected you. If he were here, he'd tell you it's not your fault."
"I just...it's so hard," he whispered. "I can't quite focus," he admitted. "I see tonight and I see Roslyn. I can't tell the difference sometimes," he murmured. "I don't know if I did all I could. I got Donna down. I got myself down. He was right there..." he trailed off.
"What's with the purse?" Zoey asked suddenly, just noticing him fiddling with it.
"It's...Michael was holding it," he said. "It's Donna's," he smiled. "It matched her dress," he recalled her modeling it all excited that she actually purchased the entire outfit and cut the tags off. "She tossed it to him just before it happened. She was fixing a strap on her shoes and she couldn't hold...she needed someone to hold it," he sighed. "I laughed at her and told her that I wasn't gonna help her 'cause she was silly enough to wear such ridiculously high shoes," he murmured. "You know...typical banter shit," he sighed. "And...Michael...he took the bag," he took a deep breath before continued. "He...when they brought him in...here...he was still gripping it," he got out. "I wanted to...I mean...it's her bag," he sighed. "She needs to have it back," he reasoned. "I wanted to give it to her...but she doesn't want to see me right now," he said shaking his head.
"Josh," Zoey breathed, reaching around his shoulders and hugging him tightly. "She's just in shock," she told him.
"Joshua," Abbey told him. He straightened up and turned to face her.
"Yes ma'am," he said, sniffing.
"She needs some time to get over this," Abbey said. "She just lost her fiancé. She's had a day," Abbey simplified the situation.
"Mom," Zoey rolled her eyes. "It's not that simple."
"No, dear. It is. Donna's gonna need to deal with this. She'll get through it. She has friends that love her. She'll be fine," Abbey said confidently. "She just needs time and our support. And Josh," she cautioned. "You need to give her time and you need to be there for her just like she was there for you."
Josh looked at her with sad eyes. "I don't know if I can. I don't know how to do this. I just learned how the hell to function without her with me on a daily basis...I don't know how to do this."
"You'll do it. You don't have a choice. This is your hand Josh. Play it. Get your ass in there and give that girl back her purse. Then you're going to go home and get a shower and a nap. I don't care if you go to the White House or your apartment...but you need to get some shut eye and cleaned up," she ordered. "Then you're going to go to work and then you're gonna help Donna."
"Yes ma'am," he said.
"I'll wait for you," Zoey smiled.
"I'll go in to see her when you're done," Abbey told him.
Zoey smiled and held her mother's hand as Josh took a deep breath and entered the room.
"Donna?" he asked, quietly when she didn't acknowledge his entering.
Her eyes moved from her corner and focused on him.
"I...I just wanted to...to give you...to...give you your purse," he offered it to her.
She looked at her tattered bag and then back at him, but she made no motion to take the bag from his hands.
"Remember?" he tried again. "You were fixing your shoes and you couldn't hold onto it," he told her.
"I gave it to Michael," she said in a monotone voice.
"Yes," he encouraged.
"Why do you have it?" she asked.
"I...I mean...Michael gave it to me before he went into surgery," he answered her honestly.
"You talked to him?" she asked.
"Ah...yeah," he said, sort of distracted. He remembered talking to Michael. He remembered it vaguely, but everything was so jumbled in his brain at the moment.
"What did he say?" Donna asked, suddenly focused.
Josh's mind went blank. He knew they talked. He remembered that. But....what did they say? He kept hearing Toby asking him if he was okay? But that was from before...that was from Roslyn, wasn't it? He shook his head and covered his face with his hands and scrubbed his eyes.
"Joshua?" she asked in a whisper.
"Donna - I don't...I mean...I can't....I don't know what to say," he whispered.
"Are you okay?" she asked, worried.
Josh laughed bitterly at her question. "I should be asking you that," he said.
"Josh...I know this is hard on you too," she reasoned.
"Stop being that way," he ordered. "I'm fine."
"Okay," Donna sighed, toying with her blanket corner. "It's just easier sometimes to worry about others, I guess."
"Donna," he breathed. "Are you gonna be okay?" he asked as he noticed her eyes filling with tears.
"No," she answered honestly. "I don't know how to do this," she breathed.
"Neither do I," he told her.
"Okay," she said.
"I have to go," he told her.
"Okay," she said.
"You'll be okay?" he said.
"No," she shook her head sadly.
"Donna," he sighed.
She tried to smile. She tried to get him to leave thinking that she'd be sad, but still relatively okay. She just couldn't. She cried instead. Then he held her in his arms and stroked her hair until she fell asleep. Then he left. He had to get out of there. He couldn't breathe.
He left the room and looked at Zoey, who was still standing at the door with her mother waiting for him, just like she promised.
"You gave her her purse?" Zoey asked.
"I just left it by the bed. She was too upset I guess," he murmured.
"Go," Abbey ordered. "Take a shower. Get a couple hours of sleep. Go and see your boss."
"C'mon, Josh," Zoey begged, leading him down the hallway as he continued to glance back at Donna's door.
Abbey watched her youngest daughter order the Chief of Staff of the United States down the hall. She smiled sadly and shook her head. He didn't look powerful at that moment. In fact, she thought, he looked like a lost little boy. She composed herself and nodded to her agent as she slipped inside Donna's room and held her hand while she slept.
Josh took Zoey to the White House. She needed to see her father and he needed to see Leo...and his boss. Jed hugged Zoey tightly when they arrived in the Oval office and she clinged to him for dear life. Then she pulled back and noticed Charlie in the corner.
"You should get some sleep," Charlie told her with a small grin.
"Excellent idea," Jed agreed while Sam and Mal were hugging her.
"Go to the Residence," the President told her. "We had rooms made up late last night."
"Thanks Sam," she whispered, kissing his cheek. "I'll see you guys later," she told them. Before Charlie led her out of the Office, she hugged Josh tightly. "Come get me if she needs something...or if you do," she whispered and he nodded his response.
"Josh," the President started. "You should really go take a shower or something. Then get some sleep," he told him.
"Sir," he said standing up and clearing his throat. "What have I missed?"
"We caught the guy that did this. It was a crazy fundamentalist organization's plot. He's being detained in maximum security. It's under control," the President explained.
"I should have been here, Sir," Josh said, shaking his head. "It won't happen again."
"Josh...stop with the 'Sir' shit right now," Sam pleaded.
"I tried that with Leo," Jed smirked and Leo chuckled. "It's not gonna happen," they both said, trying to lighten the mood.
Mallory cleared her throat and stood up. "How's Donna?" she asked. "We heard about Michael."
"She's upset," Josh said, trying to sound detached. "She just lost her fiancé."
"Did you see her?" Leo asked, coming to stand by the man who he had long considered his son.
"Yeah," he voice cracked as he tried to hold back tears. "I had...I had her purse," he started to say and then he shook his head. "I saw her," he said instead. "She's tired and upset." He rubbed his eyes fiercely, trying to remain steady. "Your wife, Sir," he said, nodding to Jed, "is with Donna now. She wanted to sit with her I guess," Josh said. "CJ and Toby were checking on Danny's progress when I left, I think. He had a successful surgery, though," he reported. "If that's all," he said, looking from Leo, to Jed, to Mal and then to Sam.
"Are you okay?" Sam asked him seriously.
"I don't know," he answered honestly. "I need to clear my head...and then I need to get back to normal. I need to work," Josh said convincingly.
"I have a room made up for you at the Residence," Sam told him.
"No," Josh said, shaking his head. "I'll grab a shower in the locker room and then I'll get a short nap on the couch in my office. I have a change of clothes here, so it'll be fine. That way I'll be able to get working quicker," he explained. "Good night, Sirs," he said nodding to the men. "Ma'am," he said nodding to Mallory.
He left and they all looked in shock. Josh was a wreck, and they all could see that. But Mallory sat down and huffed. "What is it?" Sam asked joining her on the couch.
"I'm too young to be called 'ma'am'," she said. "Are people gonna call me that?" she asked looking at her husband and then to her father.
Jed laughed a bit. "I'm going to join my wife at the hospital," he told them. "And, Ma'am," he said with a smirk to Mallory. "You'll get used to it," he assured her. "I didn't adjust to 'Sir' right away."
