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 reading this chapter and for adding to the Nerf Bat Beating. I know you've been waiting, so here it is....

The next morning, Donna strode into Josh's office with two cups of coffee in her hand. "Good morning," she said brightly, handing one cup to Sam.

"You got me coffee?" Josh asked incredulously, staring at his assistant with wide-eyed amazement.

Donna rolled her eyes. "Perish the thought," she said with a scoff, "you are perfectly capable of getting your own coffee."

"So is Sam," Josh said under his breath, tilting his head back down to the security memo he'd been reading when she came in.

"I heard that," Donna replied, plopping down on the couch beside Sam. "So, what's the good word?"

"Well," Josh said carefully, taking a deep breath before continuing, "the lockdown is officially over..."

"Great!" Donna exclaimed, bounding off the couch and heading for the doorway. "I'll start calling around and..."

"Donna!" Josh and Sam said in unison. She spun around to face them, her eyes lit up with happiness – breaking both men's hearts.

"Yes?" she asked curiously.

The men exchanged nervous glances, silently daring the other to be the first to speak. Josh figured that it would be better for her to be mad at him instead of Sam, so he spoke first. "Donna, the wedding is still off," he said quietly.

"But..." she stammered, her tone confused. "You just said that the lockdown..."

"The threat to the embassies is still imminent," Josh explained.

Sam continued, trying his best to use a calming voice. "The president will..."

"-He'll need our help still, I know," she said, her voice cracking with the tears forming in her eyes. She turned to Sam, her eyes pleading. .

He diverted his eyes to the floor. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

Donna turned back to Josh. "Josh?" she asked quietly, hanging her head in defeat.

Josh stood from his desk and crossed over to her. He attempted to wrap his arm around her shoulders, but she pushed his hand away. "Yes, Donna?"

"Bat, Joshua," she said angrily, holding out her hand. "Now."

Josh nodded silently and opened his closet door, leaning in to retrieve the Nerf bat and then handing it to her. Donna took a deep breath and turned to face him. She raised her hand and Josh braced himself for the impact. She took a swing, connecting with his arm in a loud thud.

"Ow!" he howled, rubbing the spot where the Styrofoam had connected. "That hurts!"

"It can't hurt," she yelled, beating him repeatedly over the back with the bat. "It's a Nerf bat!"

"Yeah," he replied, trying to duck the blows, "but you're like...vicious!"

She popped him once more on the shoulder and then began taking her frustrations out on his desk. "I hate this building!" she exclaimed, slamming the bat down on the hard oak desk with a fury neither man had ever seen before, "I hate this job!" she said, hitting Josh's bookcase with the purple Styrofoam, causing a large law book to fall on her boss's head. "I just wanted a normal wedding!" she cried, the tears in her eyes finally spilling down her cheeks.

Sam had seen enough and stood from the couch, crossing over to his fiancée and wrapping his arms around her waist, removing the bat from her hands and laying it on the desk. Donna began to sob, allowing Sam's strong arms to hold her up while she let the tears fall. "Everything's ruined," she cried, resting her head back on Sam's shoulder.

"I know, but our love will never be ruined." he said softly, trying to soothe her.

Donna managed her words between sniffles and sobs, "That...is one of the... corniest things I've ever heard, Sam." She continued to rest on her fiancée.

"Donna," Josh began before being cut off by a furious glare from his assistant.

"Shut up, Josh. Don't talk to me," she warned, suddenly looking up from Sam's shoulder.

"But, Donna, I was just going to say..."

She picked up the Nerf bat and popped him over the head with it. Emma squealed with delight from the doorway as her father rubbed his aching head. "Daddy! Booboo?" she said brightly, holding out her tiny chubby arms to him.

Josh took his daughter into his arms. "No booboo sweetheart. Anyway, Daddy deserves it."

"I didn't know you had a Nerf bat," Ellie said with an amused tone, watching Emma giggle wildly. "We need one of those at home."

"That's specifically why we don't have one," he said with a raised eyebrow, taking her into his arms and holding onto both Ellie and Emma for dear life, if only for a moment. He kissed his wife lovingly, touching their foreheads together before showering his little girl with affection.

Ellie crossed the length of the office and enveloped Donna into her arms while she cried. She stroked Donna's hair and whispered something the men couldn't hear to her friend. Ellie's words seemed to soothe her, and Donna smiled softly. Ellie then turned back to Josh. "Leo needs you, Honey."

"Why didn't he call?" Josh asked curiously, disentangling his daughter's hand from his tie.

Ellie shrugged. "Probably because I passed him in the hall and he knows I'm capable of delivering a message to my own husband."

"I wasn't..." he stammered. "I wasn't implying...oh never mind," he sighed, turning back to Sam and missing the flash of a smile crossing Eleanor's features. "I'll be back," he said quietly, following his wife down to Leo's office. He stepped inside, surprised to find the President, the First Lady, Zoey Bartlet, Charlie, C.J., Toby and Leo all in attendance. "What is this?" he demanded.

"First of all," the President began, "surrender my granddaughter and second, shut the door."

Josh did as he was told and leaned against the closed door with his arms folded across his chest.

"We're planning a wedding," Abbey Bartlet explained, handing each person in attendance a sheet of paper. "On this sheet are your responsibilities in this little swaray. But, so everyone knows what the others are doing, I'm going to spell it out for all of you."

Josh raised his hand. "Can I ask a question, here? Who exactly are we planning this wedding for?" His questioned was answered with a hard swat to his chest from his wife.

"Josh," Jed said with a shake of his head, "you remember what your teacher said in school about there being no stupid questions?"

"Yeah." Josh replied with a grin.

"She was just building your self esteem." Jed answered with a straight face.

Josh stood tall. "Well, it worked didn't it?"

The president swayed his head knowingly. "Much too well."

"Now that we've cleared that up," Abbey said with a wave of her hand, "Jed, you're in charge of finding someone to make this all legal; Leo, you'll gather the families and sneak them here; Josh, you're calling the travel agent and remaking all their honeymoon plans, or just book them someplace else fabulous, Jed and I are paying; Toby, you're going after the tuxes and their rings; C.J., you're in charge of picking up the dresses from Mrs. Kellogg and getting the bouquets; Zoey and Charlie, you're on distraction patrol – don't let Sam or Donna anywhere near the Rose Garden or the Ballroom; and finally," she said with a mock deep breath; "Ellie and I are doing everything else – food, ambiance, you name it."

"Are you going to make us synchronize our watches?" Josh inquired.

Abbey spun around and glared at him – one eyebrow raised in exasperation. "I hear Donna was beating the hell out of you with a Nerf bat. Keep it up – they'll be one in every White House office and every room of your home."

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied, swallowing hard and wishing everyone in the room would wipe the smirks off their faces.

"Okay," she continued, "you all have your jobs, so get with it. This wedding goes off tomorrow night, people."

"You heard the woman," Jed said, heading for the Oval Office door with Emma still cradled in his arms. "We have a wedding to put on!"

TBC...