Subject: In So Many Words

Four Little Words Pt. 1B

A/N: Originally I was not planning to flesh out the visit to Josh's parents, but after such nice

feedback, I didn't want people to go away unhappy. Sorry it's taken so long, but I had to

create the scene in my mind first! Hope you like it! K PS – all mistakes are solely mine. ;)

Disclaimers & such in Pt 1A

Westport, Connecticut

The Lyman house

As planned, Leo orchestrated a brief but pleasant afternoon visit with the Lymans. The drive to Westport passed without incident. Leo had commandeered one of the larger vans for the trip so everyone was relatively comfortable. CJ and Donna were discussing a potential window-shopping expedition on Michigan Avenue during the swing through Chicago at the end of the month. Sam and Toby were hashing out remarks for the governor's next stump speech. Leo had appointed Josh chauffer which suited him just fine. It had been months since he'd been able to swing a visit with his parents. Having to concentrate on the traffic kept him from bouncing off the walls which probably spared everyone's sanity and possibly Josh's life. Toby still hadn't forgiven Josh for the road trip in Des Moines – Josh was hypered up on caffeine and kept breaking into song, which wouldn't have been quite so bad had Josh actually known the words to all the showtunes he was attempting to sing. Leo was content to ride shotgun and passed the time discussing sports and other nonpolitical subjects.

When the van pulled into the Lyman driveway, Noah and Ruth were waiting on the porch enjoying the glorious morning. Josh killed the engine and jumped out of the van as if his pants were on fire. He raced up to the porch and enveloped his parents in a fierce bear hug that none of them was quick to end. Leo watched the reunion with a heart divided – he was happy to see this family together again, but saddened by the knowledge that Noah's condition was getting steadily worse. Leo signaled to the others and led the group up to the porch to make introductions. Sam leaned in for a hug from Mrs. Lyman, a privilege earned by virtue of being one of Josh's oldest friends. As Leo introduced Donna, Noah's ears perked up – this was the one who was changing his boy's life.

As they shook hands, Noah noted that her handclasp was firm but not overzealous like that barracuda's had been. This was good.

Once the introductions were concluded, Ruth invited everyone to make themselves comfortable on the porch while she stepped inside to retrieve the refreshments. Noah and Leo quickly fell into a quiet discussion about the economy, while Sam, Toby and Josh began a rather boisterous conversation about baseball. The enormous flowerbeds in front of the porch caught CJ's eye so she dragged Donna off the porch to go inspect them. When the door swung open upon Ruth's return, the girls scampered back up the steps to help her serve the drinks.

"Mrs. Lyman, let us help you with that." CJ offered.

Ruth was pleased to see that these young women had been raised sensibly. Donna was already taking the pitcher off the tray that CJ was gently but insistently taking from Ruth's hands. The two younger women then set about filling glasses with iced tea and passing around a delectable selection of cookies and brownies. Ruth was left with nothing to do except take her seat next to Leo on the porch swing. Leo leaned over and whispered to Ruth, " Aren't they something?"

Ruth nodded her head. She remembered the last time Josh had been able to visit, he had brought that Mandy girl. What kind of name was "Mandy", anyway? Too fake, too artificial, although it did seem to fit the girl. While Mandy had been nothing short of totally gracious towards Noah and Ruth during the visit, it was plainly evident in the way she acted toward Josh that they were at odds about something. Watching CJ and Donna attend to the others' needs and then help themselves was refreshing indeed. While CJ did seem to be more worldly than Donna, a little more polished perhaps, her ability to "mother hen" was just as evident to Ruth. A nurturing soul, that was CJ to Ruth.

Ruth turned her attention to the young blonde woman. Donna was sitting next to CJ, drinking her tea and watching the guys as they continued to bicker about the Mets and the Yankees. CJ leaned over to Donna to whisper in her ear. Whatever was said was enough to send Donna into the giggles, a condition that intensified when the three men turned in her direction with puzzled looks. CJ's attempt to maintain her composure failed spectacularly when Josh dared to open his mouth.

"CJ, what's wrong with Donna?" Josh asked warily.

"Oh nothing, I just made an observation, that's all." CJ replied with a snorty laugh.

"Which was?" Josh said, not totally sure he wanted to hear the answer.

CJ calmed herself enough to answer.

"I asked if she could imagine the three of you as 7 year-olds in short pants, on a playground squabbling over whose turn it was at marbles." CJ burst into laughter once again, while Donna continued to giggle, tears now streaming down her face.

The three men in question were a sight to watch. Simultaneously their jaws dropped at what they had just heard. Noah, Ruth and Leo had now joined in the laughter, their imaginations all running amok at the mental picture CJ had painted for them.

Josh swung around towards his mother when he heard her laughter. "Mom! Whose side are you on? Help me out here?" he begged.

Ruth just shook her head. "Sorry, son. CJ's right, and I have actually witnessed you in such a situation. Remember Tommy Mendelssohn?" Her mirth bubbled over as she remembered the ruckus her son caused on the playground that day.

CJ's interest escalated at that comment. "Mrs. Lyman, please tell us this story." Her eyes were gleeful at the prospect of potential blackmail material where Josh was concerned.

Josh closed his eyes and groaned loudly. "Mom, please, I beg you, don't tell them that story." He hoped she would give him a break this time, but he wasn't going to hold his breath.

Ruth studied her son intently. There he sat, the breeze dancing through the untamed mass of curls on his head, eyes silently begging her not to embarrass him. What she found particularly interesting was that he had managed to slide over next to Donna at some point during her giggling fit. It was an enlightening scene. Donna had finally conquered her laughter and was enjoying watching Josh squirm. And squirming was exactly what Josh was doing under his mother's scrutiny. Ruth chuckled and decided to let him off the hook, for now anyway.

"Well, let's just say it was one of Josh's more memorable episodes, CJ." Ruth replied.

"Mrs. Lyman! That's not fair, I need details!" CJ groused good-humoredly.

"Well, CJ, it just goes to show that Mom likes me better than you." Josh stuck his tongue out in CJ's direction. His reprieve was short-lived however.

"That's only because she hasn't been around you for the last six weeks, Joshua. If she had been, she might have sent you to your room by now." Donna interjected sweetly. Toby, Sam and Leo were all grinning – they knew exactly what Donna was referring to – they knew that Ruth would most likely be giving Josh the third degree at the earliest opportunity. Josh had the good grace to blush at Donna's words – the incident in question was something that he really wanted to forget. He looked at Donna, trying to sway her with the dimples and the puppy dog face that usually was effective on most women. This time around, though, Donna wasn't buying it.

"No, Josh, the 'face' won't work this time. It was not my fault that you broke the window in your office, the only operable window may I add, in your office. And how did you break it again? Wasn't it because you forgot that the window opened into the office and not the other way? So you decided that brute force was required and tried to pry the window open with a screwdriver and a hammer. So now, here we are, in the middle of a freak New Hampshire heat wave and your office is hotter than an oven because the parts for your window are on backorder. As a result, you've been a cranky putz constantly foraging for ice cream at all hours of the day, which wouldn't be so bad if you wouldn't leave the half-eaten carton to melt on top of the latest polling numbers or any of the other many important papers that currently reside on your desk." Donna finished her recitation with a smirk, while the other staffers worked hard to conceal their enjoyment of the smack-down that Josh had just received. Noah and Ruth raised their eyebrows at their son, who gulped nervously under the scrutiny.

"May I just say that it was an honest mistake?" Josh asked hopefully.

"You could, son, but we've known you long enough to know better!" Noah laughed, enjoying his son's discomfort just a little.

"Although, I must admit, Josh has been generously sharing the ice cream with me, so it hasn't been all bad." Donna explained helpfully, deciding that Josh had suffered enough for today.

Josh shot her a quick look of gratitude and then the conversation turned to other topics. After a time, Ruth, Donna and CJ went inside to prepare lunch. A substantial bounty of food greeted the men when they were summoned to the backyard. It was a content and overstuffed group of people that gathered on the front porch in the afternoon as the time for leaving approached. Josh stood off to the side with his folks for a time, promising to keep them informed on the progress of the campaign. Ruth admonished him to do a better job of eating properly while traveling and Josh sheepishly confessed that he did need to work on that. All too soon, it was time to leave. Ruth hugged Donna and CJ, and then handed them a care package of the leftovers from lunch, admonishing them both that they were too skinny. The women nodded earnestly and vowed to follow her advice. Leo and Noah shared a hug, Leo wincing as he remembered how robust Noah used to be. Toby and Sam shook hands with Noah, and then turned to Ruth and each gave her a kiss on the cheek. Josh was the last to leave the porch, not wanting to leave but knowing he had to. He promised to call from Chicago on primary night as soon as the results were in. At last everyone piled into the van to start the drive back to Manchester.

The Illinois primary – Tuesday night, a few weeks later.

After the visit to Westport, the campaign slogged on. After several crucial wins in key states, it was time for high noon in Illinois, as CJ put it. All day the staff had feverishly worked the phones in an all-out effort to score a big win. Sam and Toby spent most of the day crafting the victory speech, discarding section after section in relentless pursuit of perfection.

Early in the afternoon, Josh was bouncing around the suite, literally pouncing on whatever exit polling data was available. Towards evening his attention was divided as he listened to the local TV pundits with one ear while trying to reach his parents on the phone. Josh knew that his dad was scheduled to have a chemo treatment that day and he wanted to check in with his mother for an update. It was a little unusual for them to not be home by now. Josh was hanging up the phone when Leo came to share the information from Stark and Rock Island counties. At the same time, Gov. Bartlet came storming out of the other room waving a sheaf of papers, ranting about the wording at the beginning of the speech.

Leo went to placate the governor, and minutes later, the TV anchor was declaring Josiah Bartlet the winner of the Illinois Democratic primary.

Someone punched up the music on the stereo as the staff erupted into a frenzy of high fives and hugs. Josh was feeling almost euphoric and grabbed onto Donna.

But Donna wasn't so euphoric.

"Josh, your father died."

Four simple words, that's all it had taken to get Josh's attention. Donna guided Josh back into a quieter room and then went to find Leo.

Leo walked in to find Josh just sitting in a chair, dazed. He touched the young man gently on the shoulder. Josh turned to Leo with a lost look on his face. Donna had returned with Leo, and had quietly stepped to the desk and set about calling the airline to make the necessary arrangements. She had already spoken to Josh's mother Ruth and knew what had to be done. Toby was already working on those details specific to the Jewish faith. Between them Josh would be ready for his father's funeral, in spite of his current state of shock.

Leo sighed, Noah would have been so proud of the work Josh had done in Illinois, as well as the entire campaign. Now he has to bury his father, another family tragedy for the Lymans. Christ, the things this family's been through, thought Leo. He heard footsteps approaching and turned to find Donna standing there.

"Yes, Donna?" Leo spoke softly.

"Mr. McGarry, I've made the arrangements for Josh – there's a United flight to LaGuardia that leaves in just over an hour. There's also a rental car reserved in New York and his overnight bag is ready – Toby packed for him."

"Thank you, Donna." Leo exhaled tiredly.

"Mr. McGarry…" Donna began hesitantly.

"Donna, please call me Leo. You are part of the team now. What is it?"

"Well, I'm probably the most familiar with Chicago, would it be all right if I take Josh to O'Hare?"

A shadow of a smile crossed Leo's face. Margaret had been right about Donna – she was quite a find, and already this slim young woman was proving to be valuable to them all.

"I think it would be more than all right, Donna. Josh will have too much time to think on the plane. I think we should do what we can to show our support. Did you give Mrs. Lyman the emergency phone numbers so she can contact us if needed?" Leo asked.

"Yes, and I also gave her the hotel information for California. Josh's ticket is an open return so he can help his mom as much as possible before returning to the campaign." Donna informed him.

"Good girl." Leo replied. Donna arched an eyebrow but said nothing. The look wasn't lost on Leo however – he'd gotten the very same look from Margaret more than once. He winced and gave Donna an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Donna, force of habit. Anyone under the age of 70 is fair game."

"Even Mrs. Landingham, Leo?" Donna asked with a devilish grin.

"No, there are exceptions to every rule, Donna. You think I have a death wish?" Leo jibed.

"No, sir." Donna replied impudently.

Leo nodded. "That's my girl. Now you'd better go get Josh and get to the airport. We don't want him to miss that flight, do we?"

"No worries, Leo, I'll get him there. He's only got a carryon." Donna assured the older man quietly.

Leo nodded and said simply, "Go."

TBC