Author's Notes:

See Chapter I. The West Wing and its amazing characters are the creation of Aaron Sorkin and belong to him, John Wells, NBC, etc. The only items that I own are this story and all the characters you don't recognize.

Thanks again to Megan and Bex for all their input. I appreciate it, guys.

Donna Falls Into A Hole

Chapter II

"Oh? And you got a problem with that? I was almost blown up, and every day I come here and have to watch explosions cycle on TV. I think I'm entitled to feel a bit moody now and then, don't you?"

Office of the White House Chief of Staff

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Morning

"This is more than just being moody," CJ said. "You've lost weight, you've been neglecting your appearance – when was the last time you even showered?" And you're an ugly bitch – what's your point?

"You show up late to work," Charlie said. "And at least twice I saw you hung over." Who the hell asked you, pal? I'm not allowed to have a social life?

"I don't know you anymore, Donna," Josh told her. "You used to be so efficient. But lately, you've been making errors left and right – and you don't even care."

"I've been managing on four hours of sleep a night," she said. "We all have." She turned to CJ. "You've been sleep deprived. Why hasn't anyone accused you of being a junkie?"

"Because I haven't been seen walking around in a daze," the other woman answered. "Or with glassy eyes."

"You used to have such drive," Toby said. Nice of you to join the party, Tobias. "Now, there are days you can't put together a coherent sentence. And Annabeth …"

She smirked at the balding man. "I'm sorry, Toby, for not speaking to your grammatical satisfaction. But to tell you the truth, I couldn't give a flying fuck what you think."

His brow furrowed, obviously trying to locate the Old Donna, the Donna they had come to know and love. Donna's dead! Don't you get it? She was killed seven months ago. She knew the words spilling from her lips were pure lies; she cared very much what Toby Ziegler thought. When she had first met the man, she had been scared off by his gruff exterior. After the assassination attempt … Toby's voice breaking the dreaded news … sitting in GW waiting to learn whether Josh would live or die. … He had become someone she could count on for support, especially when Josh Lyman was acting like Josh Lyman. She felt inadequate with the senior staff, self-conscious. She was not nearly as educated or as intelligent as any of them, yet they treated her like she was one of their own. And now they were ganging up on her. Her life was under control, no matter what anyone here wanted to believe.

"And Annabeth caught you sleeping at your desk – during the Traffic Safety Bill."

"You people sleep at your desks all the time." Hypocrites! You people are all hypocrites.

"You walked into a wall yesterday," Charlie said.

"I'm a klutz – just ask Josh."

"We're not just concerned about your behavior," Bartlet explained. "We're worried about your health."

"My health is fine, thank you very much," she retorted.

"You were having heart palpitations!" Toby shouted.

Georgetown Hospital Emergency Room

Sometime in the Last Four Months

Toby Ziegler sat in the hard aqua-colored chair Georgetown Hospital offered for the benefit of patients and visitors in the ER. "Josh, sit down, you're making my head spin," he said to the nervous man pacing back and forth in front of him.

"What the hell is taking them so long?" Josh yelled.

Toby ran his hand across the top of his head, a sign to those who knew him best that he was exasperated.

The afternoon had started with Will barreling into his office to air his displeasure about Bingo Bob not getting enough of the spotlight. It had been close to a year since Will Bailey abandoned the Communications Department for whatever lucrative position the Vice President offered, yet Toby's anger still hadn't dissipated. As he berated his ex-Deputy, he tried reminding himself he was trying to reason with a man who had success in running a dead man's congressional campaign. Maybe Will's only able to work with deceased politicians. Bingo Bob's not dead, but he's so dull I can't tell the difference sometimes.

"Donna?" he heard Annabeth call out in a panic-laced voice. "Donna, what's wrong?"

Toby ignored his ex-Deputy and raced out of his office. A small crowd was gathered in front of CJ's – no, Leo's – office. As he got closer, he could see Annabeth Schott kneeling in front of Donna. She was sitting on the floor and leaning against the door with her hands on her chest. Her skin was pale, her eyes were squeezed shut, and she was breathing rapidly, trying to suck in air that didn't exist.

"What happened?" he asked Annabeth. "Get back to work!" he ordered the crowd. "She needs some space." They obeyed and began to disperse.

"I don't know," she replied. "She just sat down. Said she couldn't breathe." She lifted Donna's wrist and checked the other woman's pulse. "It's too fast."

"Bonnie!" Toby yelled. As soon as the Communications Aide acknowledged him, he said, "Call the Infirmary. Find out who's on duty and tell them to get down here." I need a doctor over here. I need some help!

"And find out where Josh is," Will added from behind him. "He'll want to know what's going on."

"What do you mean, 'Josh'll want to know what's going on?'" Toby turned his head and saw the Deputy Chief of Staff standing by the doorway into the Communications Bullpen.

"It's Donna," Will said. That one name was enough to make Josh Lyman break into a run and barrel towards Leo's office. "We think she's having some kind of panic attack."

Annabeth, Toby, and Will moved away to give Josh and Donna some room. He sat on the floor and rubbed his hand up and down his assistant's back while whispering words of comfort over her strangled gasps. "It's gonna be okay, Donna," he cooed. "You're having a panic attack. I want you to focus on the sound of my voice, alright?" The woman nodded. "Breathe in one … and relax. … Breathe in two … and relax. … Breathe in three … and relax. … Breathe in four …" She leaned forward and vomited all over her boss's shirt. Instead of commenting, Josh stayed focused on the task at hand.

" … Breathe in eight … and relax. Breathe in nine … and relax. Breathe in ten …"

It never ceased to amaze Toby how much Josh Lyman and Donna Moss cared about each other. One of the hardest things he ever had to do was inform the young woman that Josh had been shot at the Newseum. She was in such shock that her response was With what? No matter what anyone said, she refused to leave the ICU. It was Donna who first brought Josh's PTSD issues to their attention. And when the Codel was bombed in Gaza, he watched as Josh fell to pieces until Leo gave him permission to fly to Landstuhl to be at her side. Toby was aware that Josh would do anything for Donna. In fact, he was sure there were issues he wasn't even aware of between the two of them. So it was no surprise that Josh was the only person able to soothe the distressed woman.

" … Breathe in seven … and relax. … Breathe in six … and relax. … Breathe in five … and relax. …"

A Navy lieutenant entered the Bullpen, two paramedics in tow with a gurney and medical gear. Everybody cleared out except for Josh, who clasped Donna's hand. "My name is Lieutenant Virgil Granby," the officer introduced himself. "Can you speak?" Donna shook her head. "What's her name?"

"Donna Moss," Josh answered for her. "She had a pulmonary embolism when she was in the hospital in Germany. Could this be related?"

"Why don't we get her looked over first," Lieutenant Granby suggested. He checked Donna's vitals. "When did the palpitations start?"

So here they were, in the ER at Georgetown Hospital, waiting for a doctor to tell them what the hell was wrong with Donna.

Finally, a doctor approached them. "Is there a Joshua Lyman here?"

"I'm Josh Lyman," Josh said. "This is Toby Ziegler. Is Donna okay?"

"My name's Dr. Ken Stryker. We gave her something to help with the chest pains," Dr. Stryker informed the two men. "But we want to keep her overnight, just to be on the safe side."

"Can we see her?" Toby asked.

When they went into Donna's room, they saw her lying on the bed, her face covered with an oxygen mask. Josh pulled up a chair. "Hey," he said. "How are you feeling?"

She lifted the mask and turned her head towards her boss. "I've been better." For the first time, she noticed exactly where she had gotten sick earlier. Her usually pale cheeks turned bright red. "Oh god, Josh," she gasped. "I'm so sorry."

He grinned at her. "Do you know how many years I've waited for this moment?"

Toby, taking his cue, quietly stepped out of the room.

Office of the White House Chief of Staff

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Morning

Donna placed her hand on the back of Toby's chair and addressed the room. "Anything else you want to accuse me of?"