Election Day was typical for the assembled group. Though Donna had technically been gone for a time, she was easily pushed back into the swing of things and did all of her duties just as she had the previous two times. The Josh and Donna banter was less, but overall, it was like old times.

"Lynne's coming by with sandwiches," Donna said, while walking past Josh on her way to their makeshift office in the back of the hall.

"Where are you going?" he yelled after her as he hung up his one cell phone only to grab his other one that was ringing.

"I'm calling Livvie," she called back. "Hurry up!" she encouraged. "You can say hi to her."

"Yeah," Josh said and quickly ended his exit polling call and jogged to the back in time to say a quick hello to his daughter.

After Josh and Donna chatted with Olivia, Donna spoke to her Mother, while Josh fiddled with a marker on the desk. "What?" Donna asked as she hung up the phone.

"Huh?" he asked, confused.

"What's up? Why are you still in here? Don't you have work to do, or something?" she asked with a smirk.

"Yeah," he smiled. "Yeah I do," he got up and looked at her. "I was just thinking how much I miss you and Olivia," he said. "That's all. Sorry. I've got to work," he nodded to the door. "I'll see ya."

Donna sat back down in the chair by the desk and sighed loudly as her head tipped back and her eyes closed. He was giving her a headache. "Donnatella!" Lynne said as she waltzed into the office with sandwich trays in hand.

"Lynne," she smiled and got up. "You didn't have to bring all this," she said gesturing to all the food.

"Josh fails to remember to eat," Lynne said.

"I know," Donna laughed.

"What's wrong?" Lynne asked.

"Nothing," Donna shook her head. "I just hate disappointing people."

"Who? What people?" Lynne asked.

"Josh, Olivia, me," she shrugged. "I don't know," she shook her head. "I have no idea what to do with myself."

"You love him," Lynne smiled. "And he loves you. "And you both love Olivia."

"Yes. But Olivia and I love Hawaii at the moment and he lives and breaths Washington."

"You need to be happy," Lynne smiled. "You need to find what makes you happiest and stick with it."

"I think that's what I told Josh at one point," Donna laughed at the irony.

"And he has that. This," she gestured out the door to the busy bullpen. "This is his happiness. This and you and Olivia."

"Yeah," Donna nodded. "I just don't know how to give him what he wants..."

"He wants you to be happy," Lynne shrugged. "So...be happy."

"It's that simple?" Donna asked.

"He'll hate that you go," Lynne told her. "He'll hate it. But," she shrugged, "he'll be happy you're doing what makes you happy."

"He's really happy here," Donna smiled. "I think he's finally in a good place in his life right. I think he's finally realized that his political destiny is in reach," she mused.

"He loves it here," Lynne shrugged. "Who knows why, but he's in love with this whole scene."

"I know," Donna smiled. "I don't know if I am anymore, though."

Lynne smiled and hugged Donna tightly. "Take a sandwich," she told her, forcing one on her. "I'm going to feed the rest of the hungry folks around here."

"I'm going back to Hawaii," Donna whispered as Lynne began to leave the room.

"I know," Lynne smiled sympathetically. "Josh knows too...deep down."

Donna sat in silence for a moment. She had just admitted to herself that she was going to return to Hawaii with Olivia. She just decided that she would abandon her friends and Josh again. She was going to Josh. Just then, Josh stuck his head in.

"Hey," he said with a couple of cans of diet coke in hand. "I see my wife brought you food," he smirked and sat down across from her and offered her a soda.

"I'm going back to Hawaii," Donna said in response and cracked open the can and took a long drink.

Josh looked up suddenly and was at a loss for words. He wanted to tell her she had to stay. He wanted to tell her that he deserved to see his daughter. He wanted to tell her he loved her too much to let her go....but that would be a lie. He loved her too much to force her to stay. He knew he could coerce her to stay in the tri-state area. He knew that she would eventually fall back in love with him and they'd live happily ever after in a brownstone in Georgetown. But there'd always be the 'what-if' factor and he couldn't live waiting for the other shoe to drop. So, he did what he could. He smiled, dimples and all, and looked her in the eyes, "When do you go back?"

"I....I don't know. Soon though. I don't want Olivia to be too disrupted or anything," Donna answered.

"Okay," he nodded. "Well," he sighed. I'm glad you came to help out."

"I came for you," she told him honestly.

"Donna," he sighed, not wanting to get into things.

"Josh," she said forcefully. "I love you, Josh," she smiled and ducked her head a little, as if she needed to gain her bearings. "I've loved you for so long," she paused and giggled. "I almost can't remember a time when I didn't love you. And I know I'll love you forever," she smiled fully. "I just don't know how I can make decisions based on you anymore," she said shrugging. "I think I'm at a point in my life where I need to do things for me, ya know?"

"Donna...." he sighed.

"Josh," she smiled and grabbed his hand and squeezed. "I love you. I just wanted you to know that. That's all," she said as she got up and round the desk. She tucked her hair behind her ears and lowered herself down and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I need to go to work," she whispered as she grabbed her sandwich and drink and sauntered out of the room.

"That woman is confusing as hell!" Josh yelled in a fit of frustration as he hurled the unopened can of soda across the room.

"You might wanna wait to open that or something," Sam smirked walking into the room. "Tough day?"

Josh shook his head. "No," he sighed. "Just Donna....she's saying she's going to move back to Hawaii with Livvie and stuff. And that she's made too many decisions based on me in her life," he shrugged. "And that she loves me and stuff."

"Huh," Sam sighed, slumping down in the chair near Josh. "Are you going back with her?"

"I can't," Josh shrugged.

"Why not?" Sam asked.

"Work," he sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Don't hide behind that," Sam said. "You could find compelling work in Hawaii."

"I love DC, Sam. If you didn't give me a job I would have found something here. I need to be involved in the process. I crave it. Hawaii is for beach bums and vacations....and for Donna," he shrugged. "She's always wanted to go there, ya know? She'd ask all the time for me to send her there or take her there or whatever," he smirked. "It was kinda sweet. And now look....she's gonna end up living there!"

"Not forever!" Sam said.

"Maybe not," Josh shrugged. "But who knows, right?"

"You could be a consultant for me," Sam suggested. "We could have conference calls and exchange emails and what not. Constant communication is totally possible."

"I like the atmosphere here better than anywhere else in the world," Josh answered honestly. "I love Donna and Olivia, but I love my life too. I need to be entirely happy with myself and my choices so that I can be a good father and someone that Donna can love and respect," Josh professed.

"Donna already loves and respects you," Sam objected.

"Maybe," Josh shrugged. "But it doesn't matter. I still need to do this."

"You're going to let her leave?" Sam asked, shocked. "Again?"

"It looks that way," Josh sighed and got up and left Sam alone in the room to contemplate their conversation.

"You're going back to Hawaii, aren't you," Leo said, coming up behind Donna at around 6 o'clock that evening.

"Leo," she smiled and kissed his cheek. "How are you?"

"Answer me," he said.

"Yeah," she nodded and looked away. "Yeah I am. I have to," she told him.

"Okay," Leo shook his head.

"You're not going to lecture me or tell me to consider Josh's feelings or anything?" she asked, thinking about the conversations she'd had earlier Toby and Will and Sam and even CJ.

"Nope," Leo shook his head and smiled. "You're a big girl and Josh isn't your responsibility."

"You I'm going to miss," she laughed and hugged him.

"I'm just a phone call away," he smiled. "You know he loves you, right?"

"Yeah," she allowed a slow smile cross her face. "I know."

"Okay," he smiled. "As long as you know."

"This is a me thing," she tried to explain.

"Donna," Leo smiled. "You're a good girl. You need to do what you think is right."

"He's going to win this thing," Donna smiled changing the subject.

"Yeah," Leo nodded. "And in four more years he'll be back in the White House again," Leo beamed with pride.

"He loves you, too, you know," she smiled at the older man.

"I know," Leo smiled. "He's a great kid."

"He's really good at this," Donna smiled as they watched Josh on the phone getting the latest numbers and doing all that he could not to do cartwheels.

"Best I've ever seen," Leo agreed.

"I'm in awe of him," Donna sighed.

"Me too, usually," Leo admitted. "But if you repeat it – I'll deny it."

"Deal," she laughed.

---- 9 PM, EST ----

"What's going on?" Donna asked as she came into the big room where the group was watching the returns on television.

"We're doing okay at the moment," Josh said. "But the numbers are just starting to surface."

"Ah," Donna sighed as she leaned into the wall to rest for minute.

As the minutes dragged on, no one spoke much. People were on hushed phone calls and frantically writing down numbers and information.

"Can I see you for a minute?" Josh asked Donna as he moved toward her.

"Yeah," she smiled. "What's up?"

"Not here," he said and took her arm and moved her toward the hallway and then into his office.

"What?" she asked as he closed the door.

He didn't say anything at all. Donna stood awkwardly near the wall and her body shifted under Josh's stare. He came closer and Donna's eyes rose to meet his. She tried to smile, but she felt very self-conscious all of a sudden. "What?" she asked.

Josh shook his head and smiled. "You're amazing," he said simply.

"Am I?" she asked with a hint of amusement.

Josh moved directly in front of her and his mouth met her own and she allowed her eyes to close and her hands immediately framed his face. Her lips parted to accept his kiss and she let out an audible sigh.

After a while, Josh's mouth left Donna's and began to make a trail of moist hot kisses down her neck. "We shouldn't do this," Donna managed to get out even as her hands began to tangle in Josh's locks.

"At this point, I doubt that matters," Josh told her honestly. "I'm not going to stop unless you want me to." Josh moved his mouth back up to her own and claimed her lips once again in a deep kiss. "Do you want me to?" he asked in a low, husky voice and she shivered as his lips vibrated against hers.

Her fingers answered his question as they immediately began loosening his tie and her mouth began kissing his collar bone. "The door doesn't have a lock," he mentioned as his hands reached under her shirt and pulled it over her head.

"You should have thought about that earlier," she told him as his shirt joined her own in a pile on the floor.

"I wasn't planning this earlier," he moaned as he felt her cool hands move down his stomach and rest on the waist of his pants.

"You didn't want to sleep with me once more before I go?" she asked with a pout as she managed to get him out of his pants.

"I mean...I did...but I didn't want to assume....or," he stammered trying to figure out what exactly to say.

Donna helped him out, though. She removed her skirt and the rest of their clothes and moved him down to the floor. She leaned up and kissed him forcefully on the mouth. "I've missed you," she whispered as her hand ran down his chest.

"I want you so much, Donnatella," he muttered before he began making love to her on the floor of his unlocked office.

"We won!" CJ shouted as she hugged Toby and high-fived Sam.

"We did it!" Will beamed as he called his step-sister to brag.

"Where's Josh?" Leo asked, looking around the room as he went outside to call the President to inform him that it was time to make his congratulatory phone call.

"I haven't seen Josh," Toby recalled, looking around. "At least not for a while."

"Where's Donna?" CJ asked as Lynne came through the front door.

"Hey! Where's the man of the hour?" Lynne asked with a smile.

"We've lost him," Will concluded, looking around again. "Here, Joshy, Joshy, Joshy....Here, Joshy."

"Did anyone check his office?" Sam asked. "Maybe he needed a nap or something..."

"I'll go," said Kelly, one of their volunteer interns. "You want him out here if I find him?" she asked.

"Yes," Toby ordered. "We must celebrate our day of jubilee together!"

"Whatever," she groaned as she made her way down the hall. She reached Josh's office and turned the knob without really looking at anything. "Mr. Lyman?" she asked quietly, still looking at her feet.

"I'm in a meeting," came a muffled voice from behind the desk. "It's an extremely important meeting."

"You just won the Election, sir," she told him. "Mr. Ziegler is looking for you."

"Tell him," Josh said, trying to even his voice. "Tell him that I...mmmm..." he paused when Donna's mouth met his for a kiss. "Tell him I'll....I'll see him....mmmm..." he paused again for more kissing. "Go away!" he said instead of trying to formulate coherent thoughts.

Kelly left the office and made her way back to the group. "I found him in his office. He said he's busy and told me to go away. He's weird. I didn't even see him. He was behind the desk or something," she shrugged.

Everyone paused and took notice of their missing friends. They waited a few moments and made their ways down the long hallway to Josh's office. They noticed the door was ajar and they let themselves in quietly. Once there, Lynne was the first with enough courage to step around the desk. She smiled and her hand covered her mouth as she fought to hold back a sigh. She gestured for the others to look as well.

They gathered around one of the loveliest sights in the world. Josh and Donna curled up under his overcoat. "That's so beautiful," Lynne whispered.

"It's unfortunate," Sam shrugged. "She's leaving."

"I know," Lynne nodded. "That makes it more beautiful I think. It's so heartbreaking."

"When does she leave?" Toby asked.

"She's coming to the party later," Lynne offered.

"I think she said something about tomorrow night or something," Will said, clearing his throat.

"Let's go get ready for the party," CJ suggested.

"Shouldn't we wake them?" Lynne asked.

"Let them be," Sam smiled. "They deserve this time."

One by one, they filed out of the room and went to prepare for their victory party.