---- The West Wing ----

"You're here early," Leo commented as Josh made his way down the hall.

"I could say the same thing about you," Josh smirked, pausing to talk to his friend.

"Yeah," Leo nodded. "But I wasn't drinking myself into oblivion last evening."

"Touché," Josh scoffed and sat down in front of Leo.

"Need to talk about anything, Josh?" Leo asked.

"Why do you ask?" Josh questioned, as he toyed with the straps on his backpack.

"You rarely come in this early – even when you're not hung-over, and you almost never sit down in here until I invite you to," Leo commented.

Josh stiffened. "I'm sorry, Sir," he said, standing up.

"Sit," Leo commanded. "What's on your mind, son?"

"I need help," Josh admitted. "I really need help and I don't know where to get it or if it's possible to find."

"What's wrong?" Leo asked.

"I love Lynne," Josh sighed. "She's beautiful and driven and smart. She helped me through one of the most difficult times in my life."

"That's a good thing since you asked the girl to marry you," Leo smirked.

"But Donna," he sighed. "She still has the book I gave her like seven years ago."

"She's a bit of a pack rat?" Leo suggested.

"No," Josh shook his head. "It was some silly thing I bought her our first Christmas in office. She'd wanted to go skiing or something," he recalled. "She liked the equipment or something quirky like that."

"And you bought her a book?" Leo asked.

"Yeah," Josh answered like it was an obvious conclusion. "It was on the art of skiing or something. And I wrote her a note. It was the note she liked," Josh smiled recalling her hugging him and crying.

"She's sentimental like that," Leo answered.

"I know," Josh smiled. "That's why I gave it to her. And I was right, too. Years later and she still looks at the damn book. She would've tossed the skis by now."

"Okay," Leo waited.

"We got into a fight...again...last night," Josh explained. "Lynne mentioned us suing for custody – which we're not," Josh emphasized with eye contact. "But she mentioned the idea in front of Donna who totally jumped to the wrong conclusion and then she stormed out of the room."

"Did you explain yourself?" Leo asked.

"I gave her time to cool down and then I let her know that I'd never take Olivia away from her," Josh said, firmly. "I couldn't ever do that to Donna – no matter how pissed I get at her at times. When I went to her room," he sighed. "I noticed the book. It was on the nightstand," he said with a grin. "Even though she was furious with me," he shook his head. "Even then, she wanted to remember a time when she thought I was an okay person. Of course she tried to say that she didn't have many books or whatever, but she's got a whole shelf – I helped her set it up."

"So," Leo said. "You love Lynne and Donna doesn't hate you all the time," Leo wanted to make sure he'd gotten it all right. "That's it? That's your problem?"

"No," Josh said getting up and beginning to pace. "I saw Donna – this morning, before work. We were both in Olivia's room. I think we – I don't know – connected or something. I invited her to work for lunch. I figured it was about time for the President to meet my daughter," Josh smiled proudly.

"That's it?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I miss her," Josh admitted, sitting back down and running his hands through his hair.

"Who?" Leo asked, playing dumb.

"Donna!" Josh exclaimed. "I miss her yelling at me. I miss her not bringing me coffee. I miss her sending flowers and baskets to all those that I piss off. I miss her filing system."

"You miss your assistant?" Leo asked.

"No!" Josh yelled. "I have an assistant – a damn good one. I just don't have a Donna!"

"You have a Lynne," Leo reasoned.

"I know," Josh sighed. "I don't have a Donna – that's my problem."

"You miss Donna," Leo surmised.

"I miss everything about her," Josh admitted. "Do you know how many times – how many times I begged her to come back? I pleaded with her to tell me where she was so I could go to her. She always turned me down," Josh laughed sadly. "And then...then I do what she wants. I find someone who makes me happy and she goes and has our baby! I mean – what are the chances on that? I'd have to guess pretty slim," Josh both questioned and answered himself. "And now," he shook his head. "Now I see her every day. Every freaking day I see my Donnatella Moss. Multiple times a day, mind you, and never alone. She almost always makes sure that someone is there with her – like I'd hurt her or something," he shook his head in disgust. "She knows me better than that – she knows that I could never even think to hurt her in any way."

"Yet you do it," Leo said, clearing his throat. "Every day you do it."

"Do what?" Josh asked, looking Leo in the eye.

"You hurt that girl day in and day out. You force her to live with you and your fiancé. You force her to see you every day. Do you know how much it hurts her? She must get sick sometimes," Leo shook his head.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Josh asked, clearly confused.

"She loves you," Leo said, bluntly. "It's obvious. Seeing you with Lynne must make her die a little each day," he said, shaking his head. "It's gotta be a living hell for her."

"Leo," Josh shook his head. "She left me!"

"Yeah," Leo shook his head. "For your career or whatever," Leo said. "Not for lack of Lyman love," he laughed. "It's what Will and Sam call it," Leo offered with a grin.

"I deserve to see my daughter grow up," Josh insisted.

"You do," Leo answered.

"I can't watch her if she doesn't live with me," Josh explained.

"Couldn't you just visit every day? I mean – Donna would allow it, I'm sure," Leo suggested.

"She really hates living with us that much, huh?" Josh asked.

"She hates that you're going to marry Lynne and that she doesn't have the right to complain," Leo offered.

"I'd miss her if she left," Josh admitted.

"You're being selfish," Leo told him. "Think about Donna..."

"That's the damn point of this whole thing! I don't want to think about Donna. I think about Donna way too much as it is," Josh yelled in frustration.

"You're in love with two women at the same time," Leo surmised with a sad, apologetic smile.

"I love Lynne," Josh stated, firmly.

Leo smiled, sadly. "Keep telling yourself that, there son. If it helps you, keep telling yourself that."

"I'm getting married," Josh whispered.

"Yeah," Leo smiled. "I got the save the date card on my corkboard," he said gesturing to his left.

"Maybe if I get Donna her own place – maybe then it'd be easier," Josh said, thinking out loud.

"I doubt it," Leo shrugged.

"No! It would be a good thing. Donna'd be happy, Lynne would be happy and I'd get some clarity," Josh decided.

"Sometimes absence makes the heart grown fonder," Leo warned.

"You're crazy," Josh said, shaking his head.

"I miss Jenny like crazy," he said. "More and more each day – and it's been years."

"But you were like married forever," Josh sighed. "It's not the same thing."

"You were in love with her for years," Leo accused.

"Not true," Josh scoffed. "We only dated a few months!"

"I said you'd loved her for years," Leo repeated himself.

"I have to go to work," Josh sighed.

"I'll stop by the mess this afternoon," Leo told him. "I want to see your daughter and Donna," he explained. "I've seen enough of your mug for one day."

Josh got up and shook his head. He walked out the door and paused for a moment, then smiled. "Thanks Leo," he said quietly, without turning around to face him.

"No problem, kid," Leo answered and went back to the overnight faxes.

---- Later that morning -----

"No," Donna sighed into the phone. "He wants to show Olivia off to the President," Donna laughed. "That's all it is...nothing more."

"Don't be so sure, Miss Moss," Sam said with a grin. "I happen to think that Lynne is starting to wear on his last nerve."

"Enough, Samuel," Donna said firmly. "I need to get past this. I need to get past it if I am going to be able to concentrate fully on Olivia. I can't be constantly fawning all over a taken man."

"I think that you're giving up too soon, my dear. That's all I'm saying," Sam smiled. "So what time are you coming over today?"

"We're going to have lunch around 12:30 I think," Donna said, biting her lip a bit. "I haven't been back there in so long," she sighed.

"It's still the same," he said reassuringly. "It's just that Josh his daily intake of coffee now so things are a little less hectic in the bullpen."

"Ah," she smiled. "Maybe I'll have to talk to someone about that," she said with a grin.

"It's like ten now," Sam observed looking at his watch. "I should let you get ready."

"Yes," Donna smiled. "I need to get Olivia up from her nap and dressed and try to duck out of here before the fiancé from hell starts to ask questions."

"She's working from home today?" Sam grimaced. "Does she do that a lot?"

"I think she does more often to simply piss me off," Donna remarked. "It works."

"Go get ready," he ordered with a smile.

"See you soon," she smiled and hung up.

---- About Noon...in the foyer ----

"Where're you going?" Lynne asked, arms crossed across her chest.

"Livvie and I are going to lunch," Donna answered with a smile as she fussed with her daughter's coat.

"With?" Lynne pressed.

"There will be a bunch of people there, I suppose," she mused.

"Where are you going?" Lynne asked again.

"It's your business how?" Donna asked, trying to keep her tone civil.

"I just think Josh would like to know where you're taking his daughter," Lynne replied with a fake smile.

"Well, she's our daughter," Donna smiled sweetly. "And he'll know where we are because he'll be there."

"He's working," Lynne stated the obvious.

"Yes," Donna smiled. "He's invited us to lunch at the White House – I think he wants to show Livvie off to the President."

"There'll be press around," Lynne said, immediately thinking of Josh's career and how it would look.

"I didn't even think about that," Donna said, pausing for a moment to rethink things.

"That seems to a problem for you," Lynne sniped.

"Enough," Donna said, rubbing her temple. "I need to think."

"That'll be a first," Lynne got in one last dig and left the foyer.

Then Donna's phone rang. "Yes?" she asked frustrated.

"You two on your way?" Josh asked with a grin.

"I don't know," she sighed.

"Why not? The President is excited," Josh told her.

"The Press, Josh," she said tersely. "I didn't go through all this to screw you over this close to the end."

"Donna," he sighed. "We're eating at the Residence. Will thought of the Press already. Sam, Will, Leo, the First Lady, you, me, Livvie and the President are going have a quick lunch over in the Residence," he assured her. "I promise it'll be alright," he told her. "And when you take the baby around to show her off to the assistants," he sighed. "I won't tag along," he told her with a grin. "It'll be fine. When you're in the West Wing she's your daughter. When we're not and we're among friends, she's ours."

Donna smiled and wiped a tear from her cheek. "I'm going to be late," she told him.

"Then get moving," he laughed and disconnected.