Apologies to Lexi for posting these without sending it to you. My email is being a jerk and freezing when I try to send stuff. Again, if you notice anything off, let me know. I may not do anything about it but yeah. 

Thank you everybody for your wonderful support of my next fanfiction path. I'll be sure to have this Care Bears story up as soon as possible. (I'm getting nauseous too just thinking about it)

Technically, this is the last chapter of the story. Chapter 10 is more of an epilogue. So I'm hoping that I wrapped up most of the loose ends in this chapter. If I forgot anything, keep your trap shut, I don't want to hear it! Heehee. I'm posting chapter 10 today too. It's a pretty quick one and I'm hoping it's a decent ending for the story.

Alright, enough of my babbling, on to the story!

CHAPTER 9

"Hey, CJ!"

Josh jogged along the hall to catch up with her. "September twenty-third, keep your calendar clear." He said.

"Why?"

"Big block of cheese day."

He walked off, whistling buoyantly as CJ stared after him.

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"Well, Patrick, welcome aboard."

Donna reached across her desk and shook hands with the new Senior Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff. He smiled nervously. They had been talking for a little over an hour now and Donna could tell he was perfect for the job. He was quiet, patient, and well-educated. Pretty much her complete opposite. She had shared some of her experiences on the job, telling him about some of the nightmare assignments Josh had sent her on. That started him silently wondering what was in store for him.

Donna brought him on a tour of the west wing. When they stopped by Gary's office, he and David were in there. Donna was a little hesitant as she introduced everybody. She knew that David had liked her. How would he react to Patrick? But he just held out his hand, distractedly saying, "Nice to meet you" as he scanned what he had just written.

Next they went to Josh's office. He gave Patrick a once-over, then beckoned him behind the desk. Donna watched curiously as Josh put an arm around Patrick's shoulder and whispered something to him.

"So what did he say to you?" she asked as the two of them walked out. Willa was on the phone and she shot them both a dirty look as they passed.

"He said, 'Don't bring her coffee.' I have no idea what he meant by that."

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"Yeah, Charlene, I see what you mean. No, no it's not Billy. It's just—"

Willa paused as that Donna woman and her new boy-toy assistant passed her desk. Donna was talking loud enough to completely drown out what Charlene was saying. Willa glared at them and Donna shot her a look right back. Then she turned and left with her nose in the air.

Willa really hated her now. That was it. She couldn't take this anymore. Willa was as important to this group as any of them. Mr. Lyman would have to choose right now.

"Listen Char, I gotta go. Kisses."

She hung up and went over to the open door. "Mr. Lyman," she said sharply, "I need to talk to you."

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Charlie read the letter silently. Debbie watched the smile slide across his face. "What?" she asked.

"Listen to this: 'Dear Mr. Young, You have been selected by a majority vote of the Capitol Restoration and Memorial Committee to be a part of the panel of judges who will choose the design of the memorial to be erected and dedicated to those who were killed. If you accept the position, contact us at our headquarters and we will begin sending you designs. Yours sincerely,' a whole bunch of names."

"So you get to choose the design?"

"Me and some other people."

Debbie thought for a second. "Pick one with a waterfall." She said, "Waterfalls are nice."

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The staff was gathered in the Oval Office. Though the fight had been weeks ago, Donna didn't say anything. She watched and nodded as the others discussed their plans for the next few months. Fryer had decided not to run for re-election so everything they wanted to do had to be done soon. A few of Fryer's ideas were not met with much enthusiasm from the staff and vice versa, but this time nobody wound up screaming at anyone else over them.

"So Donna," Fryer said after they were finished discussing business. "I heard you got your final grades."

"Yes sir." She said quickly, ducking her head.

"Tell him what you got." Gary said.

Donna looked up and smiled. "A in Presidential History, B-plus in American History 101, A in Political Science—"

"So As and Bs in everything?" Fryer asked.

"Yes sir."

Fryer shook his head, grinning. "I should damn well think so." He said, "Such a great politician, I wouldn't expect anything less."

Donna blushed. "I think about that night and I don't know what I would've done without you, Donna. You're an invaluable part of this team and I'm sorry for anything I did to make you feel less than that."

They all sat in a comfortable silence for a moment. Then Josh said, "Maybe the great politician can tell me what the hell I'm going to do now that I don't have an assistant."

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WhiteCamillia – Thanks much. And what you said in your review of chapter 7, yes Bradley Whitford won the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for the second season. Not a surprise because he's absolutely amazing in it. And I think what they're doing is jumping a lot in time. Like that episode in the second season that went through about 3 months. I'm guessing they'll do something like that.

Queen C – You're not alone. I think the idea came to me in a nightmare.

Laurie Beth – Sorry about the bad images. I'd try to blame someone else for them but the blame lies with me and my warped imagination. Bad me.

Kursk – You'll see in about thirty seconds if you read the epilogue.