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????

A/N – Continuing thanks to Bartlegg for beta-ing this chapter and adding some marvelous (and very funny) insights!

A/N 2 – Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed this piece! Your comments, suggestions and thoughts mean so much to me!

Sam sat quietly at Josh's desk, scribbling notes for the television address the President would give in a few hours. He scratched his head and blinked quickly several times to relieve the blur in his eyes. A moment of writer's block overtook him, and he surrendered, glancing up at Donna, who was in one of Josh's visitors' chairs, proofing a section of the speech he was relatively happy with.

She tapped her foot to a tune only she could hear and Sam smiled, his eyes traveling up the long legs draped over one chair into the other, to the hem of her gray skirt, to her small waist, up to the soft pink top she was wearing, finally settling on her face.

"You're staring," she said softly, not bothering to divert her eyes from the speech.

"Not my fault the view is so spectacular," he answered with a dimpled grin.

Donna blushed slightly, a smile forming on her lips as she continued to peruse the sheets of yellow legal paper. "This is really good, honey," she complimented with an enthusiastic nod.

"Thanks," he replied, standing from the desk and crossing over to her. He knelt down beside her and pressed light kisses up her bare arm.

"What are you doing?" she asked with an amused tone.

"Kissing your arm," he replied with a shrug.

Donna leaned her head back slightly and allowed the sensation of his lips on her skin to wash over her. "I can feel that," she said breathlessly, "but why are you kissing my arm?"

He shrugged and rose up on his knees, trailing his kisses over the soft fabric of her blouse and onto her neck. "Writer's block," he answered.

"We're in Josh's office," she gently reminded him.

"Don't care," he shot back, moving the blonde hair off her shoulder to get better access to her soft neck. "He's in a briefing." His lips reached hers and he captured them in a searing kiss.

"Oh for the love of God!" Josh exclaimed from the doorway, interrupting the moment, "Get a room, will you?"

Donna could see Josh gaping at them and it made her blood boil. "We have one!" she exclaimed, stretching out her free foot to slam the door in her boss's face.

As Donna remained disturbed in her seat, Sam pulled away from his bride-to- be and opened the office door. Josh walked in without a word.

Donna cast an irritated glare at her boss. "Where did this gift of yours come from, Joshua?"

Josh tossed his files onto his desk and glared back. "What gift would that be, Donnatella?"

"Your gift for making my life miserable!" she exclaimed, shaking the speech in her hands out of frustration.

"Oh, yeah, Donna, I so planned this," he shot back, his own tone growing heated. "See, I didn't like the way I looked in my tux, so I arranged for someone to bomb the embassy and threaten the White House. It's all part of my plan to take over the world and make your life a living hell!"

"Don't get cute with me Lyman," she said angrily, on her feet and poking her finger at him. "I just had to cancel her entire wedding – a wedding, which by the way, I worked on for eight months. I am not a happy camper at the moment."

"And I am?!" he shrieked. "At least you're here with Sam. I don't have the foggiest where my wife and kid are! At least if the White House blows up, you two will be together. I've got to face Ellie and Emma going on without me!"

Donna's face fell and she sat down hard in her chair. Sam patted her knee sympathetically and glanced up at his best friend. "Okay," he said quietly, "now that that's out of your systems, we should all get back to work."

"Yeah," Josh answered, his jaw still set firmly and his hands still planted on his hips.

"Yeah," Donna echoed quietly, rising from the chair again. She turned without another word and made her way back to her desk.

Josh turned to Sam. "I know she's angry, Sam, but there's no reason to take it out on me."

"I know," Sam nodded, "she's just frustrated, and you're the closest target."

Josh rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Actually, you are the closest target."

"Yeah," he replied with a grin, "but she loves me."

Josh snorted. "She is so marrying you for your money, dude," he said jokingly.

"Maybe, but I'm getting a really hot wife out of the deal," Sam shot back with a laugh, tapping his hand on the doorframe and stepping out of Josh's office.

He crossed over to Donna's desk and leaned on the wall. She swiped her eyes with a tissue and then blew her nose. "I shouldn't have said that," she sobbed quietly, "I know this is hard for him too. I just..."

Sam knelt down beside her and took her left hand in both of his. "You're just tired and frustrated and upset, honey, he understands."

She nodded weakly and Sam stood, pulling Donna out of her chair and into his arms. "I love you so much," he said into her hair, inhaling the scent of her vanilla shampoo.

"I love you too," she said quietly, resting her head on his shoulder.

Josh rounded the corner of her cubicle and stopped just inside the doorframe. He held out another of the chocolate cupcakes Donna had been eating before. "Peace offering," he said with a dimpled, lop-sided grin.

Donna laughed and stepped out of Sam's embrace and into Josh's. He brought a hand up to her hair and squeezed her tightly. "Donna," he said quietly, "you are one of my best friends and if taking it out on me makes this easier for you; then...I'll give you my baseball bat."

"The wooden one or the Nerf one?" she asked with a soft smile of her own.

He pulled away and grinned. "The Nerf one, Donna. I'm trying to be sympathetic, but I'm not a complete idiot."

She tilted her head to one side and considered his offer. "I think I'm okay right now, but I reserve the right to request the bat at any time."

"Deal," Josh nodded and pointed back to his office. "I'm gonna go back in there and try to get some work done. Would you mind calling Syria again about Jenny?"

"Sure," Donna said, already sitting down at her desk and lifting the phone from the cradle.

"Thanks," he answered, turning to Sam.

"I'm gonna grab a desk over there," Sam pointed to a dark corner of the bullpen, "and keep working." He started to step away and then turned back to Josh. "By the way, where in the hell is Toby?"

"You're on your own at the moment," Josh shrugged. "Toby's on the outside looking in, desperately trying to find a fax machine. He'll call you when he finds one."

"Where is he, exactly?" Sam questioned with a frown.

"Last I heard," Josh said with a sly grin, "Starbucks."

Sam was incredulous. "Starbucks has a fax machine?"

Josh snickered. "They tried a telephone, but people complained they talked to fast."

"Marvelous," Sam deadpanned, shaking his head in dismay. "So, I'm gonna finish this speech and then start on the one explaining how and why the White House Communications Director went insane inside Starbucks."

"Yeah," Josh answered, turning on his heels and heading back to his office, leaving Sam to sigh heavily and head toward the empty desk.

TBC...