A/N: I'm sure you all were beginning to wonder if I had given up on writing, and for a while I was contemplating if I would ever get this finished. I will let you know that if I follow the outline that Holly kindly helped me with, (she did it since I am horrible with them) this story should be done in about four chapters.

All that aside, I want to thank anybody who is still bothering to read my horribly updated story. I think if this story hadn't have been so widely accepted by everyone here, I would have not gotten past chapter five. With or without Holly pushing me.

Excuses for not posting sooner are as follows in no specific order. This is a weak chapter that I was never happy with. Also college started back up and I had to get ready for class. August is birthday month in my family and so had stuff to do. Working on the Kerry campaign and its time consuming to try and elect a guy. (If you are a US citizen eligible to vote and you haven't then GO REGISTER. Check out my website or go to schools and public buildings. Even businesses can register you now.) And lastly, I was suspended from fanfiction. Apparently, my dumb little ATTP Meet Room II violated some rules that I didn't know existed. My warning was to suspend my posting privileges for an unspecified amount of time. I think a slap on the wrist and a 'don't do it again,' would have worked on me, but I never lost any sleep at night over the thing. Kinda laughed...but yeah.

My Goodness, that's a rambly paragraph. On that note, read if you want and enjoy. Review if you like or email me if you want with any civisms.

I swear I am shutting up now. :-)

Chapter Twenty-four

Nervous beyond anything he had experienced since coming to the White House, Josh was ecstatic as he walked into work. Though showing it was the furthest thing from his intentions.

Unfortunately, he was known for his poker face-or lack thereof, to be more exact. He figured, though, that he had every cause to be happy.

He was going to be a daddy.

Josh would have been the first to tell anyone that he had no thoughts of children. It was one of those haggling points his mother and father had gone on and on about since the time he graduated law school. Though he knew how much it would please them, he also knew that actually doing what would please them would make him very unhappy.

Or so he had thought for a long, long time.

He had wonderful childhood memories. Playing catch with his dad in the back yard, Hanukahs and all the hubbub that went with it, and staying up late on summer nights so that he and Joanie could sneak out and compete over who could catch the most fireflies.

But there were a few bad ones,too. Joanie. That was the biggest one. Watching the house burn while knowing that over the raging fire his sister was crying out in need. He quickly switched his mind to lesser tragedies. Lesser pains like remembering his grandfather's death. Though not nearly as sorrowful, it hurt when he thought of the horrible years he had spent in German concentration camps.

So, he was scared of children. Not of kids themselves-though he could flash to Regan McNeil and tell a different tale. He was scared of having something so precious in his care-in his responsibility. Because he knew well that with his track record in love-and love was no question-he was bound to hurt it. Fail it to the point of death as he did with Joanie or simply drop it on its head.

He was nearly ashamed to admit that every time that he had dreamed since Friday, he had nightmares of hurting his baby. He dreamed of accidentally dropping it off the Truman Balcony, or accidentally leaving it on a park bench, forgetting to pick it up from baseball practice and of them burning up inside his mom's house because he left the pop-corn maker on.

But he would simply blame his prior reluctance to work. He figured that everyone could buy the fact that it would be crazy to start a family while working as the third most important person in the free world.

All of this and more of the same was rushing though his head when he saw Donna standing at her desk filing through phone messages. With his baby in her womb.

It was all he could do to not run over and rub her belly.

But then he saw the look on her face and decided that he was able to resist temptation. "Good morning, Donna," he said hoping to lighten the mood. "What's on the agenda?"

She followed him into his office and shut the door behind him. "Are you talking to Leo today?"

He sighed and played with the straps of his backpack. "I had planned on it." He had a feeling that 'play it cool' was now shot to Hell.

She bit her lip. "Maybe we should wait."

"Donna, you're over four and a half months pregnant. We wait much longer and we'll be inviting Leo to the bar mitzvah."

She pouted slightly. "We haven't gotten to religion yet."

He rolled his eyes. "Look, I set on doing this all weekend. We might as well do it now before I chicken out and you have to."

"Should I...go with you?"

He shook his head, and then thought the better of it. "I mean you can if you want, it might show that we're a united front in it all, but I think the first time in I will just go in there and state the case."

With a nod, she looked down at the messages in her hand. "You have to call the Speaker's office and Hennings wanted you to let him know when you find out where the White House is going to land."

"Yeah." He was getting down to business and taking essentials out of his backpack.

"And your mother called."

This piqued his interest once again. He stared up at her with a questioning look. "Oh?"

Donna let a smile creep onto her face. "She wanted you to remember that you have to call her after the sonogram."

"Oh no."

She still smiled. "She actually made me cry the way she was so accepting and sweet. I'm really glad that you told her the truth about it all."

"I had to or else she would kill me for not telling her four and a half months ago."

"And she doesn't want to kill me?"

"Actually, I think it made her love you even more."

"I guess she has to love idiotic things if she had you."

"Hey," he snapped as he came around the desk and grabbed the papers in her hand.

As he walked toward the door, Donna took the papers back and handed him a file as they walked out of the room. "Sorry," she replied with false innocence. Then she added, "But please excuse the woman with the baby churning in her stomach."

He stopped mid-step and turned to face her. "Really?"

"You think they stay in one spot all the time?" When he shrugged, she groaned. "Josh, this is a small child. Do small children stay in one spot?" Then she leaned in whispered. "And think about yourself. Then reconsider."

He shrugged, but couldn't stop a small smile from coming to his lips. "I'm just saying that I never thought about it that way is all."

She shook her head and let him walk on toward the Oval.


"What happened on Friday?" CJ asked as soon as Josh walked into the room outside the President's closed office.

"Something," Charlie remarked as he took a long look at the bruise on the man's chin.

Josh shrugged. Toby cast a skeptical eye.

Luckily, the door opened just in time. As various people filed out of the room, the staff knew it was their cue to enter.

"Let's be quick," Leo gruffed. "Toby."

"Hennings gave me a call and I know he called Josh too. He wants to know what side we're going to take."

"Great," the President sighed as he sat down. He then turned his attentions to his Chief of Staff. "You said that we had time."

"I say a lot of things. I said we needed to put money into the missile defense shield."

"Well, you were wrong both times."

Leo ignored the man and turned to the others. "Have we decided yet?"

CJ spoke up. "I think we were all going to take a few more meetings, but for the record I'm leaning toward it."

"Okay," the elder man nodded. "Josh? Toby?" Both made disgusted faces faces. "Good enough."

Josh slapped his files against his thigh. "I just don't know if the pros outweigh the cons. Of course it's a good concept, but I don't know if we can afford it with everything else we want in the budget."

"It's simply amazing the decisions we have to make," the President mused. "Who would have ever thought that you would have to decide which is more important- feeding the children over here or saving the children there?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "Anything else?"

"Just the deal with Katie--"

The Chief of Staff interrupted the Press Secretary. "Hold off on that for the moment if you can."

"Sure."

"Sounds good. Take those meetings and decide quick what we want to do."

Sensing the end, Toby and CJ made their way to the door. Josh, however, continued to stand in front of the President's desk. "Josh?" The Commander in Chief questioned. "I think Staff is over."

"Yeah," he slowly replied casting a glance to his mentor. "Actually, I was wanting a word with Leo." When he saw the two elder gentlemen share a look, he amended. "It's nothing that can't wait a while longer. I'm sure there's, you know, work to do. I'll just--"

"For the love of--" Bartlet looked at his closest friend. "Talk to him. Now."

"Yes sir." Leo smirked as he and Josh made way next door. As soon as the door was shut and he took a seat on his sofa, he made his order. "Out with it."

"Well...I...This weekend."

"I know something happened in the bullpen Friday. One minute I see Sam dragging your ass out of the room and next I hear that punches flew and language fowl enough for sailors was being shouted through hall."

"Well..."

"And considering that I was nearly trampled by Donna when I came looking for you leaves me to think that it might have something to do with her and the baby."

"Sam isn't the father," Josh whispered in shame.

"Oh? Then who is?"

"Me."

The room grew unbearably silent as both waited for the other to speak.

"Can you repeat that?"

"Only if I can firstly say that large quantities of alcohol impaired both judgment and memory."

"You got Donna pregnant?" Leo's face was unreadable.

"Again I point out the facts that we were intoxicated and both at very emotional points in our-"

"And you didn't remember?"

Josh added softly. "Well, I do have a sensitive system. Delicate,even."

Leo took a deep breath and raised a hand for silence. "Let me get this straight. You and Donna got drunk together where you then proceeded to sleep together."

"Check."

The elder man cast a cold look before continuing. "Then Donna gets pregnant but doesn't tell you because you don't remember. Finally, Donna tells you--"

"Sam."

He looked up in surprise. "Sam? Donna didn't tell?"

"She had this whole lame-ass theory about protecting me and my career."

"You mean from scandals and the like?"

"Yeah."

"I want to be the first to say she failed."

"Leo?" Josh decided not to mention that he was at least the fourth person to make the observation.

"At least tell me whether or not the two of you are still going about like two grade-schoolers."

"We have talked and are getting along again."

"Now tell me what you're going to do about the baby."

"I plan on raising it. And being an active father."

"Good," Leo sighed. "Well, at least some good has come out of this. You are going to finally have a taste of fatherhood- which I know you'll love- and you and Donna have finally gotten together. We can worry about the rest as it comes."

"What?"

"You know, the scandals that might arise from you and Donna. But, I really don't see it as much of a thing. Maybe some of the right-wing making a deal about not being married, but honestly all of Washington knows that--"

"Donna and I aren't together."

"Huh?"

"Donna and I aren't in a relationship. I mean, yeah, we're friends and we both work together. We both plan on raising the baby together, but we aren't in any romantic relationship." Leo furrowed his brows. "Why would you think that?"

"I don't know, Josh. When a man comes in and tells me that he's made a baby with the woman he's been in love with for the past five years, I assumed you had taken your head out of your ass and admitted it to her." He saw the look of shock on the younger man's face. He shrugged carelessly and leaned back in his chair. "My mistake."

"Leo--"

"Go." He waved his hand in dismissal. "Tell Donna that I'm not going to demand she resign. We'll weather this. Though tell her that it sounds like she had a really stupid plan. Again, nothing this White House can fire people for."

"Yeah," Josh smiled as he stood up. He felt more relief than ever before.

"Oh, and Josh?"

"Yeah?"

He walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Congratulations."


"He's not mad?"

"Nope. Not about that, at least."

"Hold on," Donna demanded, holding up a hand. "He's not mad?"

"He thinks your plan was stupid, but no, he's not mad."

"And he doesn't want me to quit. Or to fire me himself?" She was so shocked that she set her salad down.

"No. He thinks that this is a fight that we can easily weather." He took her distraction as prime opportunity to retrieve his long-stolen cheese fries. "He's right. We'll get it from the Republicans that like to use anything to stir up trouble. And the religious groups might make a deal about not being married." He paused to eat a few fries. "Then we might get some ACLU crap about you being my assistant. But that's about it."

"That's all?" she doubted that everything would be that easy. She had from the start.

"Whatcha mean?" he asked through a mouth full of food.

"Josh, that's a lot. That's another blow to the President and then another blow to you. Both can only take so many. And then there's Leo and CJ will have to do all the spin, which will inevitably drag her in it by association. We have bills to fight and initiatives that we always wanted to get through. His presidency is running out and there's so much left undone."

He knew she was right, he just didn't know what to do about the situation. "You're right, Donna. I just don't know what you want me to do about it."

"And besides all of the political fallout, we still have a relationship to mend and a baby to raise. I don't want this child growing up and thinking that it's the reason his daddy and the President were laughed out of Washington. The reason why a whole presidency was turned into a great big lame-duck."

He cleared his throat and reached for his water. "You don't think you might be exaggerating just a bit there?"

"Josh."

"Sorry." He sighed. "Look, I know what you're saying, but in the perspective of things this child couldn't undermine a whole presidency."

"Josh!"

He couldn't help but laugh. She was adorable when she fretted. "It will all be okay. We can all get through this. Besides, I really don't think that it'll be that big of a deal."

"Famous last words. If anything, you just jinxed us."

"My darling Donnatella," his voice rang with sweetness. "What the hell do you want me to do?"

"Maybe it would be best if I resign before it all breaks."

The world came to a complete halt. Time froze and suddenly he couldn't breathe. As he saw the conviction on her face, he swore he would pass out due to lack of oxygen.

"Breathe, Josh."

Another moment passed before he finally was able to gasp the air into his lungs. "You're serious?" he panted.

"I can get another job and this way everything here will smooth over quickly. You can get another assistant and you and I can separate work and everything else for the sake of the baby."

"But...you can't quit! You are my Donna!"

Tears welled in her eyes. "Josh, we have to think about what's best for everyone. I love this job with all my heart, but I think it might be best."

"Not for me!"

"Think about it."

"I don't want to." Now he felt like he might cry. Right when he was about to declare that things were going right, they messed up again.

"You can find someone else. Maybe even someone better. At least they won't talk your ear off all the time."

"But you remember everything. You've even memorized what kind of gifts work best for the Congressional leadership." He didn't want to add that he didn't mind when she talked his ear off, but decided he would if he had to.

Donna blushed at the compliment. "You'll find someone else."

"But what about....I wouldn't see you anymore."

Her eyes grew wide. "Hello! Baby here!"

"Yeah," he flushed with amusement and frustration. He took a moment to think before firing with, "What about you? This is your career. What are you going to do if you give it all up?"

"I know," she sighed. "You know as well as anyone how much I love this. How much I love working here-for you." She took a moment to look at him. "But this is what's best. Unless you can come up with something better." She waited only a second for response. "So I will find another job until I can't work anymore. Then..." God, she hadn't thought that far ahead.

Donna sank in despair. She was going to have a baby, pay rent and bills and get all necessary supplies to make her life fit for motherhood on unemployment. She couldn't. And she wouldn't ask her parents for help. She wouldn't demand that...

"We'll make it work."

She met his gaze as he reiterated with as much conviction as she had ever seen in his eyes. "We'll make it work."

And suddenly, despite everything else, believing him had never been easier.