Disclaimer: I don't own anything here, just an idea, but trust me you can't get anything from that! Leave me to live in fiction

Summary: Donna starts working for the White house as the Press secretary. She had no idea that her first statement will have to be about her getting a job without proper education. She tells them a story. And Josh watches…lousy summary, just give it a chance.

Thanks to:

Teri – thanks a lot! Don't worry, Edie will get her share.

Kursk – I'm glad you love Helen more. I loved her actually in "Here today" episode. I hope you'll enjoy this as well.

mhcrose311 – I know this wasn't soon enough, but I've been really busy. However, i hope you'll enjoy this.

lady-peaches – hey, thanks for your review! Edie shows her face here again, so, here's a few more reasons to dislike her. :)

missjasadin () – I hope this answers your question. And i hope you'll enjoy this! Can't wait to hear who you will dislike in this chapter. :)

dietcherryemma – glad you understand my college problem. Really interfering. I hope you'll have the time for this!

actress43 – I hope you'll have the time to read this. Enjoy:)

soozy87 – I'm glad you liked it. Enjoy this as well!

kasluvsg1 – thanks!

Chapter 7 – It's our fault

Santos/McGarry headquarters

Both Matt and Josh looked at each other wondering what just happened there.

"Now, I know that woman looked a lot like my wife, however that is where the resemblances stop." – Matt said looking at the door, practically not blinking. He turned around towards Josh who remained quiet, thinking of appropriate things to say. He knew what he wanted to say, but he couldn't very well say to the congressman that he thinks his wife lost her mind. Instead, he chose diplomacy.

"Well…that was surprising."

"That's an understatement. It was crazy!" – Matt finished his though instead of him. – "We've been trying to involve her more in the political scene for months. And the event dedicated to women in politics was the one thing she wanted to avoid at all cost!"

Josh nodded agreeing on everything Matt said. Mrs. Santos really wanted to stay out of it, and she attended only completely necessary events. This event in the White house wasn't necessary, but it would make a good introduction to this type of world.

"I don't know if I should be relieved or really worried." – Josh muttered.

"Now, now, let's not get too paranoid." – Matt said, but Josh was a skeptic. He always fought some battles with Helen, and if he learned anything from Mrs. Bartlett, that was that politicians wives always have an agenda of their own. But, he wasn't going to say anything to his boss. Because, the other thing he learned was to never get in between a man and his wife. And he knew how defensive he got when Donna was involved. Suddenly, his mind had a trail of its own. He had no right to think of her that way, she wasn't his wife. But, he knew he would fight life battles for her. He did fight life battles for her, and because of her. He shook his head a little trying to get Donna out of his head, but ever since the conference she was all he thought about. He wanted to call her, congratulate her, but he didn't know if she would want that. She did well on her own, and he knew he had no right to interfere with that. But, he wanted to hear her voice, to hear that excitement in her voice, something he hadn't heard in a long time, something he missed. He woke himself up from daydreams and realized that Matt was looking at him expectantly.

"I guess we will see…" – Josh said.

"Exactly! We have a staff meeting in an hour, and I expect Helen to show up as well. We'll see what's going on. Maybe something happened that we weren't informed of yet."

"Nothing happens around here without me knowing it." – Josh muttered under his breath, causing Matt to smile. He was no fan of surprises.

"I'm sure it won't ever happen again, Josh." – he chuckled.

The White house

C.J. wondered around the West wing feeling very nostalgic. She was also thinking about today's conference. Even if her days in the Press room were over, she observed every one who followed her. She really meant what she said to Donna today; she really did well. Not a few people could do that good, especially when concerned topic was involved. She was worried that the subject will haunt them. Actually, she thought it will haunt them much before. But, it hasn't. Year after year passed bye and neither of them acted up on their emotions. They were both masters at dealing with bad stuff, but when good stuff were concerned, they gave up. They didn't fight. And now, with all the terrible things that happened, both of they became more careful. Even more; they were terrified of each other. It was a sad thought; two best friends afraid of each other. Thinking about them, C.J. found herself in front of Donna's office. Carol smiled at her former boss, but quickly she realized that C.J. was looking through her.

"C.J.!"

"What! Jesus, Carol! No need to announce my presence to the entire world!" – C.J. tried to catch her breath.

"Sorry, you seem a little distracted."

"I was just thinking about sacrifices this job caused."

"Well, that is a cheery topic. What caused that?" – Carol smiled sadly. She knew that even C.J. kept her harsh appearance; she still cared for everyone who worked with her in the past years.

"Ah…well, you know…" – she shook her head and leaned on Carols' desk. The list was long.

"Actually, I do." – Carol knowingly smiled at her nodding towards Donna's door. C.J. looked up and stared at the closed door for a second before speaking.

"How is she?"

"You know. She's Donna."

C.J. tried to gather some thoughts that were going through her mind.

"Hey, let me ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Do you think we share our part of the blame?"

Carol looked confused. Normally, she knew what C.J. was thinking and how her mind worked. But, honestly now, she had no idea.

"Whose fault? At what?"

The look that C.J. had was best described as frustrated.

"All of this! We're standing at the same place for years. We mess with people's lives, and don't look back." – she paused calming herself a bit, seeing she was drawing attention from the rest of the staff. – "I mean, sometimes I think we lost it! Instead of helping people who are close to us, we mess with their lives. We always looked for the greater good." – she sarcastically emphasized. Carol knew what she meant, but she decided to let her continue.

"But, we rarely succeeded; to keep a secret, I mean. To protect someone. It all bit us in the ass. In the end, none of that matters. We lose if we don't leave anything positive behind. This is a job. JUST a job. We made enemies, but we made friends as well. And the most ridiculous thing is that we though of each other as gods. We underestimated people. We thought they wouldn't recognize true love when they see it. We took something beautiful, that wasn't ours to take and turn it into a shame. And that is why we lost." – she finished quietly, looking at the floor.

"Whoa…Sam would have been proud. Good speech." – Carol smiled. She paused a bit waiting for C.J. to look at her. – "But, you're telling it to the wrong girl."

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just that it gets me frustrated."

"Yeah…" – Carol left things hanging in the air. – "But, you know…you can still do your part. Why don't you go inside and talk to her? I think she needs someone."

"She needs Josh." – C.J. was blunt causing Carol to loft her eyebrow. – "Don't look at me like that. We both know that's the truth. Pure truth."

"Well, he's not here. And you're her friend."

"I don't think I have a saying in this. I messed up things between them once…"

"Go inside, C.J. You need this as much as she. And, yes."

"Yes, what?" –C.J. was confused.

"Yes. It was our fault as well."

C.J. simply nodded standing up. She took a deep breath before knocking at Donna's door.

Santos/McGarry headquarters

Helen walked around the headquarters trying to avoid her husband and josh. She knew she dropped a bomb telling them that she wanted to attend the event.

"Hey, that was what they wanted me to do anyway." – she thought and smiled. She had her assistant to call the White house and confirm her attendance. She didn't know much about it; only it's going to be in honor of all women in politics. Of course, Helen wouldn't care about that, but she knew Donna was going to be there as well, and she wanted to meet her in person. After all, she was the only woman who left Josh speechless. She glanced at her watch and decided to go back to the meeting room. It was still empty, but passing, she saw Leo getting there first.

"Well, this is luck. I can thank him for the tapes."

She entered the room causing Leo to look up.

"Well, I didn't know you were joining us today?" – he asked, but there was a dose of mock in his voice. Annabeth already told him about Mrs. Santos's surprise of the day.

"Yes, I am. And I know you knew I was going to join you." – she chuckled. Leo surprised her once today, but now she was prepared.

"So, I presume you watched the tapes?"

"I did." – now she was the one making Leo wonder.

"And? Did you satisfy your curiosity?"

Helen smiled warmly nodding. The scenes flashed through her mind, and she couldn't help but experience the same wonder like she did when she saw them the first time.

"I did. In a way." – she sighed. – "I still can't believe that was the same person. He actually laughed in some scenes. Ad don't tell Matt, but he has cute dimples."

Leo laughed from heart.
"That is what most women notice about Josh."

"Well, all I noticed was his arrogance." – she snorted.

"And now?"

"I don't know…there's still a lot to learn."

"Well, from what I've heard you'll have the perfect opportunity for that in a few days. I heard you're going to attend Mrs.Bartlett's event."

"I will. You know, I still don't feel comfortable in those kind of events. Everyone act like it's the easiest thing to do, being the candidate's wife and all, but it's not."

Leo knew from the moment he met Helen Santos, that she's not the regular politicians' wife. In a way, she reminded him of his daughter a little; always wanting to stay out of that scene.

"Well, don't worry. I'm sure you'll be fine. And Joey should be here for the meeting as well. I'm sure she'll attend, so you'll have someone there."

At that time people started to enter the room in a hurry.

"Well, I guess Josh left his office. No other explanation for this kind of behavior." – Helen remarked causing Leo to chuckle. – "What? Oh, sorry, old habit."

"Well, come on, people, we don't have all day:" – Josh exclaimed as he entered the room which caused Helen to look at Leo pointedly, saying: what did I tell you?

"OK, what's first!" – Josh looked down at his papers purposely avoiding Helen's look. They took 20 minutes for ordinary things; like press statements, campaign trail, Santos's TV interviews, before Matt decided to refer to the most interesting subject of the day.

"Now, I don't know if you noticed my lovely wife here sitting, pretending like she actually cares what we say around here. But, there's a reason for that."

Helen smiled at her husband with a threatening look. She was a master of facial threats, after all. Josh shuddered at the scene, because that awfully reminded him of him and Donna. He always knew what she was thinking, even if she never said it. He tried to get that image out of his head concentrating on the conversation.

"Well, you also know how we wanted to include her in the campaign, but she refused. That situation is different now. She's going to be attending the Women's event in the White house."

The commotion filled the room and Helen looked around surprisingly.

"Dear Lord, like he said I was enlisting. "

"Anyway!" – Matt continued through the noise. – "She will be attending and since it was going to be her first big event I want her to be prepared."

He stopped waiting for a reaction, but the rook stood silent. Josh waved his arms practically yelling.

"Now you can talk!"

The staff he had was good, but sometimes he thought he was working with children. He was used to a very well rehearsed routine and he wasn't used to give simple instructions like: now you can speak.

Helen was the first one.

"Well, I have to say that I'm a little scared. However, I decided that I can't be selfish anymore. This is a serious thing and I have to do my part." – she smiled to her husband, who was still a little confused with this sudden change.

Edie was troubled with the announcement from the beginning. Sure, she just met Mrs. Santos, but she thought of her as a woman of principles. Like someone who wouldn't give up on their points of view. And since her little scam, she was a little paranoid. She didn't want Helen attending that event.

"Excuse me, but why you changed you mind?"

"I thought I just explained myself." – Helen answered.

"You did. It's just…well, I hope you didn't' feel pressured into going. I mean, from the staff."

Josh's eyebrows lifted up. Edie was never a woman who would put principles in front of her own agenda. And the agenda now was to get Matt Santos elected. Helen held Edie's look with hers for a few seconds before answering.

"No one forced me into going. I just realized that Matt deserves my full support. And if that means I have to stand in the cold for two days, I would do that. This event will be a piece of cake." – she smiled at her husband who was obviously touched. She looked over at Josh who was starring at her without shame with a blurry look. – "What?" – but Josh didn't answer.

Matt noticed the change as well and looked over at Leo who simply shrugged.

"Josh, you OK?"

He looked at him and nodded.

"Fine. So, what do we need to do to instruct Mrs. Santos?"

Just than Annabeth walked in smiling from ear to ear. She had a previous meeting so she was a little late, but she was informed of everything.

"You don't need to do anything, unless you suddenly became an expert in wardrobe."

"Ha?" – Josh asked feeing very confused. Like he did most of the time when he spoke with Annabeth. He had problems following her thoughts.

"Well, Josh, I will be attending the event as well, so no need for worries. I will be Helen's guardian angel." – she smiled at Helen who was having trouble keeping a straight face. She really liked Annabeth.

"Well, than it's settled. No worries!" – Matt concluded before turning his attention to more important things. However, Edie wasn't done.

"Excuse me, Congressman, but there's one more thing."

"What is it, Edie?" – Matt sighed.

"Well, we are forgetting how the Press will see this. I mean, we're forgetting Vinick. I mean, he doesn't have a wife, and I'm afraid that maybe the reporters will make this into something else. Like we're pushing Mrs. Santos to the position of the next First lady."

Everyone looked at each other. On one hand, Edie made a good point, however Annabeth dismissed that problem.
"They can't make this into something that it's not. It wasn't our fault that Mrs.Vinick died. And I got my hands on the guest list. There will be several guests from Vinick campaign as well, including his campaign manager, Sheila." – She proudly said causing Leo to chuckle. – "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. Just you asking for the guest list, that's all. You really like to be prepared."

"Well, it's not like it's a secret or anything. Anyway, Joey is invited also, but she still didn't confirmed. I guess she still doesn't know if she will return in time." – she waved with a piece of paper that obviously contained a list of names. Josh squirmed in his place trying to see the list of names. Without looking, Annabeth handed him a paper.

"Here, don't pull a muscle."

He smiled bitterly, and grabbed a paper. We went through it, seeing it was a typical list. No need for worries. Of course, with one name he had a problem, but he couldn't do anything about it.

"Great. Can we move on please?"

"Yup. Let's move on:" – Matt said and turned his attention to his papers.

When the meeting finished, Helen was the first one out of the room.

"Now, I would rather stand in the cold for two days, than to go through one of those meetings again." – Helen thought rubbing her eyes. Just than she remembered that she wanted to ask Leo something, but when she turned around she found herself face to face with Edie.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Santos."

"Yes, Edie."

"I just wanted to apologize for what I said in there. I never meant to suggest you're not a woman of your principles. I just knew how you were pressured into similar events, and I thought this was one of them."

Normally, Helen would appreciate Edie's concern, but there was something fake about it. She couldn't pinpoint what it was, so she simply smiled.
"Thank you. But, no need to worry. Now, if you would excuse me, I need to find Leo."

"He's still in the meeting room, I think."

"Thank you." – Helen smiled once again and left. Ronna was watching the interaction from her desk, and she was very surprised with Edie's actions. Somehow, she knew something happened during that phone call with Donna. But, she didn't want to sound paranoid and she didn't want to point any fingers. Edie was, after all, still Josh's deputy. However, one thought bothered her.

"Why didn't she mention the phone call in the meeting?"

Helen found Leo sitting in the meeting room going through some papers.
"Hey, we meet again!" – she smiled and sat next to him.

"I thought you would never enter this room again. You looked like you're going to be sick during the meeting." – Leo chuckled removing his glasses.

"I was getting there. However, I was still looking better than Josh."

Leo agreed nodding. He as well noticed his change during Helen's little speech.

"You know why, don't you?"

Leo took a deep breath before standing up. He gathered his papers and glasses and went to the door, Helen's eyes following him.

"Leo?"

He looked at her and smiled sadly.

"You just pointed out to him what a woman does for a man she loves. See you later."

Leo left the room leaving Helen to think.

AN – Anyway, I'm so glad you liked Helen's character. Normally when I write I concentrate on main characters, however, I loved Helen from the beginning, and in "Here today", so I decided to expand her character a bit. Of course, there will be interaction between Josh and Donna soon. Stay tuned!