Disclaimer – I do not own these characters – they are the property of NBC, John Wells and the fabulous Aaron Sorkin. I do own Emma Lyman and any other characters I invent, but please feel free to borrow them. Just let me know what you're doing with them!

Rating – PG-13

Spoilers – this is a sequel to That Which Time Cannot Erase

Pairings – Sam/Donna, Josh/Ellie

Summary – Sam and Donna's wedding goes off without a hitch – yeah right, come on, how much fun would THAT be????

Donna collapsed into Josh's desk chair, twirling the phone cord around her finger while she waited for someone in the Syrian hospital where the Ambassador's daughter was being treated to give her some information on the girl's condition.

"Pick up!" she screamed into the phone.

"Miss Moss?" a heavy accent greeted her and Donna winced, sincerely hoping that this person hadn't heard her rant. "I have news for you on Jenny Davenport."

"Yes, thank you," Donna said, sitting up in the chair and tapping her fingernail nervously on the desk.

"Miss Davenport is in surgery now. She suffered a compound fracture of her left leg, and has second and third degree burns over most of her body. She is also bleeding internally, and the surgeons will be removing her spleen."

"Thank you for the information," Donna took a deep breath. "How long do the doctors expect the surgery to take?"

"You may call back in a few hours, Miss Moss," the woman replied. "I am not sure."

"Again, thank you," Donna said before replacing the phone in the cradle. She picked the phone up again, quickly dialing Josh's cell phone number. He didn't answer, and she dialed Carol instead, relaying the information on Jenny Davenport.

She reached for the remote and flipped the television on. C.J. was in the middle of her third press briefing in as many hours. Unfortunately, they didn't know much more than they had three hours ago and the frustration was display prominently on C.J.'s face.

Donna watched for a moment and picked up the phone again. She dialed her parent's hotel room and was surprised when she got an answer.

"'Lo," her father said.

"Hi, Daddy," Donna replied, trying to smile, even though she really felt like crying.

"Hello, honey," Will Moss answered, "We're watching that nice C.J. on television right now. What the heck happened?"

"There was a bombing at the embassy in Syria. The Ambassador's daughter was critically injured; she's in surgery right now. Other than that, you know what I know," Donna explained.

"Well, that's just terrible." Donna could hear her mother in the background. "Hold on," her father said, "You're mother wants to talk to you."

"Donna?" Sophia Moss asked tentatively.

"Hi, Mom."

"Donna? What are we going to do about the wedding? I've been watching the coverage and quite frankly, I just don't know how we're going to pull this off with you and Sam..."

"Mom," Donna said, swallowing a sob, "can we maybe not talk about it for just a minute?"

"Well, Donna," her mother replied, "I just assumed that's why you'd called. I mean, dear, the clock is ticking, dear, and there's still so much to do, and most of it we can't do without you and Sam and..."

"Sophia, for God's sake," Donna could hear her father's intervening, "leave the poor girl alone. We'll figure this out."

"This wedding is costing them a small fortune, Will, and..."

"Sophia!"

"Mom!"

"WHAT?" she answered exasperatedly.

"First of all," Donna began, not bothering to hide the irritation she felt, "I think I'm safe in saying that the security of the nation comes before my wedding. Second, I haven't talked to Sam, I have really no idea what's going on and..."

Sirens suddenly interrupted Donna's rant. "Not...happening!" she moaned, dropping her head onto the desk and sighing.

"Donna? Donna? Honey, what on earth is that noise?"

"Lockdown, Mom," Donna groaned, her face still on the desk, "Those are the sirens indicating a lockdown."

"What does that mean?" her mother demanded.

"That means that I have to stay in Josh's chair, in Josh's office until I'm told I can leave," she answered.

"But what about the..."

"Mom," Donna raised her face from the desk. "I have to go now. I'll call you when I can." She replaced the phone in the cradle and then replaced her head on the desk.

A Secret Service agent appeared in the door. "Miss Moss?" he asked over the din of the sirens. "Everything okay in here?"

Donna didn't bother lifting her head from the desk, but contorted her fingers into an okay sign and raised it for the agent.

"Yes, Ma'am," he nodded and left.

Her cell phone rang and she flipped it open. "Yeah?" she said irritably.

"Donna, baby, where are you?" Sam's voice was strained with worry.

"Josh's office," she answered, her words slurred by her face now resting in her palm. "Where I'll apparently be until the day I die."

"Nice attitude," he teased.

She rolled her eyes in response. "Is there something you needed?"

He laughed. "Just to tell you that I love you and to tell you what's going on. The NSA intercepted a threat – something specific to the D.C., area, we don't know anything more. They've locked down all federal buildings and the First Family is being taken underground."

"Is that all?" she responded sarcastically. "Did the threat give a timeframe?"

He didn't answer. "Sam?" she tried again.

"Seventy-two hours," he said quietly.

"WHAT!" she howled, instantly out of Josh's chair and pacing frantically. "We're getting married in seventy-two hours." She checked her watch. "Less than seventy-two hours, actually."

"Donna, you're going to have to calm down..."

"CALM DOWN?" she screeched. "You want me to calm down? The White House is going to be in lockdown for at least seventy-two hours, despite the fact that we are getting married in less than seventy-two hours, and..."

"Donna, we're going to have to postpone the wedding."

The tears she'd been holding back for hours finally began to fall. She collapsed into Josh's chair again, cradling the phone to her ear and sobbing. "I know," she sniffled, "I just didn't want to be the one to say it."

"Yeah," he said softly. "Donna?"

"Yes, Sam?"

"I love you, and I'm going to marry you," he said emphatically, "Whether it's in less than seventy-two hours from now or seventy-two days from now."

"You have no idea how much I needed to hear you say that," she replied, a weak smile forming on her lips.

"Probably as much as I needed to say it," he said, his voice lighter than earlier. "We'll get through this, baby, I promise."

"I'm holding you to that, Seaborn," she sighed.

"Josh is taking the girls to the Residence and then we'll head back to the office. He's taking me along for moral support. We all know how Ellie likes going underground."

"As much as I like my wedding being postponed?" she shot back.

"Yeah," he laughed bitterly. "I love you."

"Love you too, bye," she said, snapping the phone shut and resting her head on the desk again.

TBC...