I guess this could be seen as another transition chapter, but I think it's remotely interesting. I don't know whether or not I think it's really that well written and plotted, but whatever. Oh, and obviously, this is alternate universe.

REALLY IMPORTANT: I have to warn you. The ending to this thing is utterly cheesy and stupid. Oh well.

"Well, who'd have known," Sam mumbled to himself as he watched CNN.

"C.J., you didn't hear anything about this?" he asked, as the press secretary hurried around in a flurry of chaos.

"No, Sam, I didn't." She shot a dagger glare at him. "You'd be wise to stop nagging me about it, because I know absolutely nothing, am completely unprepared to brief the press corps, and haven't slept more than four hours a night in the past week."

"I'm sorry." He replied. "I just can't believe that no one knew anything about this. It's just one of those developments that people generally don't hear about until the person's been dead for twenty years."

"Yeah, well, someone's got it."

"I'll say."

"No one knew about this. I mean no one, not even Leo or the President?" Toby screamed, running into the room.

C.J. threw down her file. "No. Let me repeat this, once again, for the hundredth time in the past ten minutes since the story broke, no one knew anything."

"This had to have been the best kept secret in politics for the past ten years." Toby said. "Not even one leak to the media until today, to some reporter. Who's getting the credit for this story, because, you better believe it, if this thing turns out to be true --- which I think it will --- we're looking at a Pulitzer Prize for that guy."

"I've heard that it came from a reporter from a Southern paper," said C.J., "but I have no idea which one. We could be talking about a guy from some radical right paper that circulates in about three counties in Georgia, for all I know."

Toby rocked back and forth on his heels and C.J. continued to search for information, with aides running in and out of her office every second.

"You know what this story means though, don't you?" Sam asked.

"That you think you've known a political figure who has been around forever and yet you don't?" Toby said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"No, among other things, it means that Josh and Donna are off the hook."

C.J. looked up. "What do you mean? Because of this story, you think their news cycle is completely over?"

"Yeah," Sam replied, pacing slightly. "No one's going to bother to write about the fact that the White House Deputy Chief of Staff is dating his assistant when there's a huge story with a high-ranked politician. They're basically saved, C.J., not that there was much of a problem to begin with."

"I'm not so sure, though. Yeah, this is big news, and so Josh and Donna might become a sidebar for all the national papers, but they're going to be tabloid fodder for months."

"Who cares about the tabloids?"

"Surprisingly, many people, as they sell quite well." Toby chimed in.

"I don't know," Sam said, beginning to smile. "I think that they timed this perfectly. I mean, there's no way they could have done it, but the two of them certainly have some good intuition."

"Speaking of Josh," Toby grumbled, sitting down on C.J.'s sofa, "does anyone know if he has heard the news yet?"

Skillfully dodging all of the aides, Josh sprinted in.

"The Speaker of the House had a child with another Senator's wife five years ago, and now another Congressman's wife is coming forward?" he said, breathlessly.

"Do you have super sensitive hearing or something?" Sam asked. "Toby just asked if you had heard the news."

"If I had heard it? Seriously, you asked that?"

"Yes," Toby said.

"The biggest shock story in politics since the President's MS and you think I would be ill-informed?" Josh squealed, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Of course I heard it. And, come on, C.J., you know there is no way that this is going to die down slowly. The Republicans are in for a big hit. Their most likely candidate for president has just been blown to smithereens!"

"And he was one of the biggest family values advocates in Congress," Sam remarked. "The poor guy is ruined. And, even more so, Josh's right, the whole party is going to be under scrutiny."

"Yeah, but the President isn't going to want us to make a huge deal out of it," C.J. replied. "You know how he reacted when he had to deal with that situation with Ken Cochrane and his wife."

"We don't need to make a big deal out of it and hurt the wife." Josh said excitedly. "The press will take care of it."

Sam extended his arm and pointed at Josh. "You know that this means that the Child Care Legislature will have to go through. We really have gotten handed a gift here."

"Yes." Josh said, pumping his fist a little bit and falling on to the sofa next to Toby. "This is going to work out well for us."

"It's going to work out especially well for you." Toby said, sitting himself up.

"What do you mean?" Josh was dumbfounded. He was a big supporter of the Child Care Legislature, but how else could the news help him?

C.J. sat down in her chair and sighed. "The story about you and Donna," she said, pushing back in her seat and removing her glasses, "has basically become a non-story. Sam thinks it's completely obsolete, but I'm still worried about the tabloids."

"No way." Josh said, jumping up. "C.J., this is... terrific! I mean---" Josh stopped, putting his hand on his head and looking down at the floor. He looked up smiling. "This is, just, great news. It's such a relief."

"You're very lucky, my friend." Sam said, putting his hand on Josh's back.

"I gotta go tell Donna."

"Yeah, you do." C.J. replied with a laugh.

Josh gave a great big smile and jogged out the door, running back a few seconds later to remind Sam and Toby to start working on the legislation.

"We've got it covered," they both replied, as Josh ran off to find Donna.

Zipping through the crowded hallway, Josh ran to her desk. "Donna!"

"What?"

"We're -- off -- the hook." He panted, out of breath.

Donna's face lit up. "You mean, the relationship going public? We don't have to worry about it?"

"No." Josh kissed her on the top of her head. "We've got one unfaithful Speaker of the House to thank for that. Our story is a sidebar, it's a non-story."

"It's a non-story," she said airily, repeating him. "A non-story. Something we've been worried about for months. A non-story. Josh, it's a non-story!" Donna started hitting his arm.

"I know!" Josh pulled her up out of chair, hugging her. "We're lucky," he whispered into her ear.

"Don't I know it."

"I love you, Donna."

"I love you too."

And even in the middle of the bullpen, it was okay for them to be in each other's arms. The relationship between the White House Deputy Chief of Staff and his assistant was public, and, most importantly, for the good of the administration, and for the good of the couple, a non-story.