A/N: Sorry about the long delay to all who have actually followed this.

I've had this part done for a while but there is a "Jo Jo" section in here that I was little worried about after I initially wrote it. If anyone who reads this can actually think of a legitimate cultural/literary reason why that genius Aaron Sorkin put it in, please email me and let me know so I can edit it out.

Again as always, a big thank you goes out to Holly for being my editor and catching all my stupid grammatical errors.

Chapter Two

"This is nice," Sam sighed as he took a sip of his beer. He didn't know how long it had been since he had gone out to lunch with his best friend.

"Yeah." Josh was distant. He couldn't help but wonder who was going to cover Donna's job for the rest of the day. The one day she was sick last year, everyone including the President himself made a pit stop by his office to help with file location. He didn't want to admit it, but he was dreading an afternoon without her.

"Is everything okay?" Sam sensed the drift.

"Huh?" Josh shook his head clear before turning to his friend once more.

"Is there something that you would like to divulge?"

"Oh, its nothing." Josh shrugged. "I gave Donna the afternoon off so she could buy her sister a baby shower gift."

"Really?" He was impressed. "You are growing up, little man."

"Shut up." The dark haired man was finding this more amusing than Josh would allow. "It's no big. I just felt like I was overworking her and she mentioned that she had the shopping to do."

"But how will you get by without her?" Sam was speaking with an exaggerated tone, but both knew that the question was guarding sincerity.

"I've gotten by before and I can get by again. I got by for over thirty-five years with out Donnatella Moss and I can get by for a measly afternoon without her. People forget that I'm a grown man. I've worked in Washington for years without a Donna checking my back. I was--"

"I don't need your résumé, Josh." He was waving at him. "Hi. Remember me? Your old pal, Sam?"

He sighed. His friend was right. There were three people he couldn't fool: the assistant in question, his mother, and Sam. "I told her to leave her cell phone on."

Sam smiled, but nothing more. Then the subject changed. "So I heard that you and Amy were on again. How many times have the two of you broken up now?"

He knew that Seaborn was just trying to give him a hard time, but the barb hit the mark. His relationship with Amy could be considered dysfunctional at best. Josh had met her in college and the two enjoyed the comforts of always having an ear to go to with insightful political debate. After college, they really didn't get intimate until she started at the Women's Coalition. That first relationship lasted about as long as her job did. From there, romantic ties seem to depend on the weather in Washington-when things are going good for women's rights, Josh was allowed the right of a woman.

Josh blinked. He had begun to drift again. "You asked about me and Amy?" The nod provided ample response. "Yeah. She has some free time now that she no longer works in the White House and I always prefer the women that I don't have to go out and find."

"Convenience? That's what I always want in a girl. Don't care if they love me or if they are good for me, but they damn well better come by my house once a month so I can say we have a healthy relationship."

Both men looked at each other wide-eyed. "Did I just say that?" Sam whispered moments later. All the other man could do as nod. "I'm so…that was awful Josh. I apologize."

He did make a couple of points that Josh was too man enough to admit. He had to get a zinger in for good measure. If anything, just to call even. "Well, we obviously know that you don't look at their occupations or social standing before you allow them up to the house for their monthly visit."

Sam groaned. He was tired of explaining himself there. "I didn't know! And…I went to her place."

"Good to know. Does that make her rates go down? No need to pay for the hotel."

"Josh." He was nearly growling.

The curly haired man threw his hands up in silent surrender. "Sorry. Guess we're even."

A few moments of silence occurred while both men drank their beers while purposefully avoiding eye contact. Sam, of course, was the first to speak. "You do know that I didn't sleep with her again after I found out?"

Josh met his eyes and determined that all was forgiven. "Really?"

"Yes." He sounded offended. He then said with lest conviction, "But one time while I was helping her study Supreme Court cases of the 19th century it got pretty hot. She ended up--"

"Whoa Buddy," Josh was laughing as he threw the hand up to halt any further discussion.

Sam turned red as he realized that Josh probably didn't want to know. "Yeah… guess that was a little more than you wanted to know."

"No." Josh pointed to his watch and standing up. "It's probably not something to gossip about in a nice restaurant downtown in the District."

"Yeah." Poor Sam was still crimson. He noticed that he had a meeting to get to in less than half an hour.

"Call me later," Josh said with a grin that said he was more than serious. "I wanna hear all about this."

No matter the age, boys will be boys.

*~*~*

Donna was miserable. She had headed to the first department store she could think of the second that Josh gave her the green light to go. From there, she had ventured to two more, but couldn't find the perfect gift that screamed 'Auntie Donna'. She decided that the best solution to her current problem was to take a break and get a bite to eat.

Of course, that was only a pipe-dream.

She forgot she was in a public place as she tossed her ringing purse down to the ground while standing in line at the deli. As she looked at the inquiring crowd around her, she smiled bashfully and recovered her belongings. "What?" She grumbled, sensing that he wasn't going anywhere.

"How's it going?" He lasted till three o'clock in the afternoon. They both were a bit impressed.

"Did lunch with Sam last that late?"

"I went a little over, but not really." He sensed the question that she wasn't going to voice. "I just waited until I have about five questions that demand your counsel."

"Oh." She sounded as miserable as she felt.

"No luck?" He expected her out buying shoes by now. He hadn't really done any shopping for baby showers, but he didn't assume it to be backbreaking.

"Do you really think I would sound like this if I had luck?"

"Point taken," he resigned. The next few minutes Josh simply listened to Donna's quiet frustration on the other end. He knew that there was more on her mind than a simple baby gift, but he hadn't the heart to ask. Finally though, he knew that he had to at least say something. "Donna?"

She had practically forgotten that a phone was to her ear. "Yeah? Oh…Hold on a sec." She pulled the phone away to muffle, "Frontega Chicken and a lemonade please." After completing the transaction she came back to him with a soft apology.

"Jo Jo, talk to me."

She had to smile. She hadn't caught on at first- she believed that it had to be around the time of the smoked Bullwinkle on Ebay incident- but she had questioned a day or two later.

"Jo Jo?" She said, stalking into his office. She knew that he was on the phone, but that really didn't stop her.

He didn't catch on at first. "On the phone, here." He was pointing to the receiver for further emphasis.

"On hold," She said mimicking his annoyed voice. "Jo Jo?" She asked again.

He blinked a second before remembering. Then he grinned and shrugged.

"That's all I get? No explanation?"

He opened his mouth as though he was about to come up with a quirky little retort, but then he closed it and shrugged. "It just seemed to…fit. If you weren't a Donna, I would name you Jo Jo."

Donna folded her arms across her chest. "This is after you come after me? I think my nicknames have much better merit. Deputy Downer. Bambi-Ass. Ahab." She paused to gauge his face. "I think that this means you learned a very important lesson."

He was now rolling his eyes. "Never to call you an endearment again?"

"No." She felt like a schoolmarm now. "Don't tease someone unless you have been in their shoes and succeeded. Unfortunately for you, you were in my shoes and you failed."

Just then the other party came back onto his line. She took the hint the moment he flashed his eyes at her. She nodded, but before she was out of the office, he whispered ever so softly, "Can you get me in with Leo, Jo Jo?"

She came back to reality just in time to hear them call that her order was ready. "Josh? Don't you have work to do?"

"My schedule is cleared for the next fifteen. All I need to do is look over these briefing memos. Get your food and talk to me."

She sighed, but realized that she needed a friendly ear more than she had previously considered. After she sat down once more, She began. "Trust me when I say, that elaborating on my problems would take longer that any time either one of us have today."

"Well…I at least said yesterday that I would hear a professional problem. Wanna rant about me a little?" He was trying to do his best to cheer her up.

"Actually, if I had a professional complaint, it would be that I feel that I have reached the highest point in my career as…well anything."

"Huh?" He wasn't expecting any of that.

"Well…I'm Deputy Deputy Chief of Staff. After these next four years, what am I going to do with my life? I can barely pay rent this month as it is. How am I going to go to college to become something purposeful when I don't have such a sound job?"

That was the curve ball that he just saw fly by his head as he looked on with utter shock and surprise. It took him a second to regroup, but the first words he stated were, "You know you can always work for me."

"And do what? Banter about getting you coffee?" Not the reaction he was going for. Honestly, Josh, we both know that I-" She stopped herself, taking a moment to gather her bearings. She had already made a fool out of herself at this deli today and crying wasn't going to add further.

"Donna?" He was really starting to worry about her. "D-Do you need me to come over there?"

"No! I don't need you to be my knight in shining armor, Josh!" Her mood swings caused even her own eyes to go wide. She took her voice to the other extreme now as she whispered into the phone. "Dear God, Josh. I'm so sorry."

"Which deli are you at?" She heard him scrambling around his office for what she presumed was car keys and cell phone.

She sighed and couldn't help but smile at him. The one thing that she could always count on was Joshua Lyman's need to always fix things. "It's OK. Too much stress and too little time."

"Really?" He was sounding anything but convinced.

"Yeah." She was giggling now. She was beginning to consider institutionalizing. She had no idea what thoughts were crossing his mind.

"Donna?"

"I'm just laughing at what thoughts must be crossing your mind about me."

"Well, let's just say that sedatives are playing a part."

"I'm just stressing out over nothing." Talking ones problems out loud is sometimes the best way to go. Unfortunately, Josh was being subjected Donna's therapy session as well. "I'll find something adorable and I'll buy it. I won't worry about size and I'll pay whatever shipping costs I have to. I'll suck it up and take out a loan if I need to in order to make rent at the end of the month. I will talk to people and find a new roommate and I'll worry about a new job in four years."

There was a long moment of silence before Josh's voice was on the lie once more. "Did that help any?"

She thought a second before declaring: "I believe it did." she looked at her watch. "Josh! You were supposed to be in the Oval over fifteen minutes ago!"

"Shit!" She heard him scrambling for different reasons now. "Just…" He had forgotten all about the five problems he was having before. "Just…" He sighed. "Have a good day and call me later if you want to have phone therapy."

"Bye." She had to hurry him off the phone so she would have time to talk call his temp before buying the best Auntie Donna present she couldn't afford.

*~*~*

"Here's the list," were the first words Donna heard when she walked through the door of her apartment that night. Her roommate then proceeded to hand her a piece of paper with half a dozen women's names and phone numbers on it. "Sorry I couldn't find any more than that."

Donna offered a small smile. She had to admit that her roommate was being more considerate than the one she had in college. Donna had the unpleasant experience of coming home one night to find that she was living on her own. Her current one gave her two weeks notice and a handful of other women who might want to live a little closer to the home of the Commander and Chief.

This was not to say that Donna considered her apartment anything special. There had been no murders in her building for a couple years and there wasn't too many drug busts, but it was nothing compared to her other friends-otherwise called her colleagues.

"Are these people…" Donna didn't want to bash any of her roommate's friends, but there had been a few parties that wouldn't be leaving memory anytime soon.

"Only one was at that party that the cops almost busted. She left early too."

Good. That made things a little better. She wished that she had her own names to consider, but everyone she new already had ample living conditions. She also wished that her roommate would stay, but she'd decided to take the plunge and move in with her long-time boyfriend.

Her roommate was now eyeing her bags. "So, whatcha end up getting?"

Donna had to smile. She had gone all out. It didn't necessarily look like much, but her budget felt the blow. "I bought the niftiest set of crib sheets." She held up little sheets with little lambs all over them. "I thought that lambs weren't gender specific. And I also bought a big fluffy lamb." She took it out of a bad and gave it a little hug before setting it aside. She pulled the final item out of the bad. Going along with the theme, she pulled out a mobile that had little lambs, stars, and moons dangling down. "Check this out." She turned a switch where it began playing a version of Brahms Lullaby.

"That's adorable. But what about the shipping?" The mobile looked like it might be hard to pack.

Donna shrugged. "I made sacrifices." she looked at the list again. "Well, I better get started on this. And again, thanks."

*~*~*



Josh wouldn't know until later how happy he was to see the light of dawn. Amy was staying the night, but pleasantness would not be found. Over the past few days, he had been considering if he really wanted a relationship that was for nothing more than political gain. He had always felt more than fine to have title of power dater, but he wasn't feeling all too powerful at the moment. In fact, he was beginning to feel like life was spinning out of control.

Joshua Lyman was too unconcerned to care tonight. The worst that would happen is that he and Amy would breakup-again. He had to admit that there wasn't much surprised and was beginning to see that neither one of them really had the proper time to carry on a relationship. He hated when power dating became unprofitable.

They had eaten most of dinner before the she started in.

"You know that there are going to be human rights issues up the President's ass if he doesn't work on the sanctions agreements, right?"

Josh had already dealt with a long day. If Donna hadn't called back the temp, he probably would have killed himself by five. "First, let's not talk about what's up the President's ass. That just isn't right on any grounds at the dinner table. Second, yes. Toby and I knew the implications."

She was rolling her eyes now. "Josh. I mean it. Not me, not women and certainly not the First Lady is going to take to you pushing it over."

"Pushing it over?" He slammed his fork down on the table. "What the hell?!?" He tried to stop himself from yelling, but he was just too exhausted to force that much discipline on himself. "We've spent the last three days 'pushing it over'! We'll probably have to spend the next three days 'pushing it over'. In our 'pushing', we've guaranteed stricter child labor laws. We've worked on tougher guidelines for child abuse."

"What about the women, Josh?" Now she was yelling. If for nothing, to be heard over his tantrum.

"Dammit! Sorry if it couldn't be perfect, Amy. Let me go back tomorrow and say, 'By the way, United Nations, my girlfriend insists that we toughen the women's protection clause. I know I've been going on for three days, but I hope her input changes your opinion.'"

"Go to Hell."

"Already here," he snapped as he threw his napkin down and got up from the table. He decided that he couldn't spend another minute arguing. He grabbed his coat and keys and headed toward the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know. I don't care. I figure that I'll have to hear you bitch about this later so why go through it twice." Probably not the right thing to say to your girlfriend, but he wasn't in the mood for pleasantries at the moment.

"Goodnight, Josh," Amy spoke in annoyance as her boyfriend slammed the door shut.

He had no idea what he was going to do now.

He got in his car and started to drive. He would find something even if it was nothing at all.