Hi. Sorry it's taken me so long to write something for this. I've been much more focused (if you can actually call it that – I've been slacking a lot) writing for "Valete," but I've taken some time off from "pluming the darkness" to write this fluff. I actually wrote this pretty strangely, because I wrote part of the middle section of it before this, well, beginning, and so I've got material and will run with it all. I actually had some trouble with this, but oh well. We're actually working towards an actual event! Hooray!

As always, (actually, I've never said this before, I don't think) thank you for reading. :)

"Donna and I are going to Wisconsin on Wednesday."

Sam looked up from his computer and laughed to himself, glancing at Josh's disheveled appearance. "Wisconsin, huh? Finally meeting Mr. and Mrs. Moss, parents of Donnatella?"

"And her two sisters, and her brother, and whoever else is coming for this hell hole of a holiday called Thanksgiving."

"Nice alliteration."

"Thanks." Josh walked in and took a seat in front of Sam's desk. It was rather funny to see Josh so stressed, his suit so rumpled, his hair showing the definite appearance of having his hands run through it many, many times in the past few days. Stifling the urge to laugh, Sam knew what this present occasion was: it was time, once again, to become Josh Lyman's Battles on the Hill, Fights with Co-Workers, Relationships, Etc. Therapist. "What's the problem?" Sam asked, beginning the session, as Josh with his eyes glazed over stared intently at the carpet.

"I'm scared to meet the family," Josh replied, still staring at floor.

"Well, naturally you should be. It's the first time you're going to be meeting them."

"Yeah. And there's, like, I don't know, there are a lot of Mosses, Sam. There's Donna and then her parents and then her brother and her sister and her other sister, and her cousins and their families and --- there are going to be a lot of people wanting to meet me --- and glare at me."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are they going to glare at you?"

"Thanksgiving is big in Donna's family."

"And so?"

"Where has Donna been the past few Thanksgivings?"

"Ah," Sam said, seeing the light. "In Washington. With you."

"Yeah, and it's not as if we were living together back then."

Sam's head jerked forward. "Wait, you and Donna are living together --- officially?"

"Yeah. We didn't tell you."

"No, you didn't tell me!"

"I know. I didn't say that as a question, I said it as a statement. We didn't tell you."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. We'd been sleeping at one another's places for days at a time. This is Donna's last month in her apartment."

"And then you and she are living in your apartment --- together?"

"Yeah."

"Josh, that's great," Sam said with a smile. "Is telling her parents that what is making you nervous, aside from the fact that you abducted Donna for a few Thanksgivings?"

"No."

Sam's face fell. He thought he had already solved Josh's problem. "No?"

"I'm asking Donna's dad for permission to marry her."

"WHAT?"

"It's not crazy or anything," Josh said, beginning to come back to his normal personality, albeit going straight from melancholy and paranoid to defensive. "You know how we've had a thing for a while and now we're officially together and… I don't know. I just think it's the best time to do this."

"To ask her dad's permission."

"Yeah. I don't want to do it over the phone. And, I know I don't have to do it at all, but I want to, so, I figure that I better do it now, while I can."

"But when are you going to propose?"

"I don't know."

"You just want the permission in your back pocket."

"Yeah."

Sam sighed. "Well, man, I say go for it."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"You sure her parents aren't going to kill me first?"

"No. I think you're making these twisted caricatures of them."

"I don't know, but you'll find out when Donna and I get back, if I survive."

"You'll be fine," Sam said, putting the closing note on the crisis. The two sat there, thinking, until Sam interjected, asking, "Have you gotten her a ring yet?"

"No. Not for lack of trying though. I've been sneakily running around trying to find one. I just haven't gotten it yet. I want to make sure it's perfect."

"You're going to buy one, not go the whole family heirloom route?"

"I don't know. I haven't really though of that. I guess I'm just more or less waiting for her dad's okay before I go any further."

"Leo's letting you two go to Wisconsin?" Sam still couldn't get over the fact that with such little notice, Josh was able to leave.

"I know. I tried to convince him otherwise, but we aren't doing anything that's vital over the holiday."

"And so,"

"And so I fly off to the land of the Green Bay Packers, cheddar cheese, and cranberry bogs."

"Cranberry bogs?"

"Yes," Josh replied strongly in opposition to Sam's skepticism. "Wisconsin is only second --- or maybe it's the only one in front --- of Massachusetts in cranberry production."

"Wow. That's – good to know. Did you read a travel guide?"

"No. That was my version of the history of the yam in Latin for this year."

It took a moment for Sam to understand what Josh was saying, and then he laughed. "The President knows?"

"It's not so much that I don't want to meet Donna's parents, it's just that I'd like to have a little bit more preparation and be able to nail this asking for permission bit."

"So you appealed Leo's OK to the President."

"Yeah. Little desperate. No biggie."

Sam laughed again. "C'mon. We've got senior staff in a few minutes, let's get going." The two got up and began to file out of Sam's office. "When have you had time for shopping for rings?"

Josh sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "You know all sporadic meetings with Triplehorn's Congressional aide?"

"Yeah."

"Ring shopping."

"But what if Donna ever called?"

"It's okay. Matt owed me a favor, so we've got it covered."

"Well, that's a relief."

"I'll say."

------

Josh slowly opened his eyes. It was early morning, and the sun was already up, radiating through the cracks of the shades and giving the still-sleeping Donna's hair a white-gold glow. Josh closed his eyes again and rolled over onto his back. It was then that it hit him. Today was Wednesday. Wisconsin Wednesday. The day his life, for all intents and purposes, was over, save only if Douglas and Carolena Moss didn't murder him. He groaned and rolled over to his other side to get out of the bed.

"What's wrong?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you!" Josh replied quickly, rolling into the bed again towards Donna.

"What time is it?"

"Little before six."

"Really? We need to get up then." Donna lifted her arms above her head, stretched, and then turned her head to see Josh. "Have you packed everything for my parents'?"

Josh turned away and ran off the bed towards the bathroom.

"Josh?" Donna asked again, this time her voice more stern.

"Um, yeah," was Josh's meager reply.

"Josh," Donna moaned. "How much do you still have left to pack?"

"Only a few things."

"Okay, let me rephrase that: how much do you have packed?"

"My lap top's in its bag and I have a suit picked out for today and some socks for tomorrow--"

"JOSH!"

"What!"

"Why didn't you pack your bag!"

"Because---" Donna had come into the doorway of the bathroom and was glaring at him. "Because I never pack my bag… you always do it." She still glared. "I don't know what to wear! I want to make sure your parents don't think I'm a complete, I don't know, slob, and I don't have experience with knowing what they do and do not like!"

"So you want me to pick out clothes for you."

"Preferably."

Donna rolled her eyes. "How do you know I'm not going to put some ridiculous clothes in your bag and make you look like a freak in front of my family?"

"Because you want me to impress them and not embarrass you. And, you love me."

"Yeah," she sighed and turned towards the bedroom again, "whatever."

"Thank you?" Josh skeptically called out behind her.

"You're welcome."

------

One turkey pardoned and several hours later, Josh and Donna checked their bags, went through security, and sat at the gate waiting to board their plane.

"What were you doing in Sam's office all day?" Donna asked.

"Huh?"

"You were over in Sam's office a lot. What were you guys doing?"

"Oh. I was helping Sam with some work involving, uh, Senator Triplehorn."

"Is that why you've been working so much with Matt Markum?"

Josh hated straight out lying, but desperate times called for desperate measures. "Yeah."

"I like Matt. He's a nice guy. Asked me out a few times."

Josh violently exhaled, beginning to cough. "He did what?"

"Kidding, Josh. Kidding."

"You better have been."

Just then, Josh's cell phone rang. "Who is it?"

"C.J.," Josh replied, tapping the screen, and, in an obviously strained happy tone, greeted the Press Secretary with "Hello, Claudia."

"JOSH LYMAN!"

Something was wrong. C.J. wasn't supposed to be yelling. He hadn't done anything.

"Is C.J. yelling at you?" Donna questioned, thinking she had heard Josh's name said pretty loudly --- and angrily.

"Uh, wait a minute, Donna, I'll be right back," Josh said, getting up and walking away from Donna. "C.J.?"

"YOU'RE PROPOSING TO DONNA!"

"No," Josh replied, mentally noting to hit Sam over the head for mentioning this to C.J. before anything actually happened, "I'm just asking her father for permission to marry her."

"SO… so you don't have a ring."

"No."

"Okay. Well then," C.J. said, her tone completely changing, "there is no longer a problem at hand."

This had all gone over his head. "What?"

"Sam told me that you and Donna were flying out to Wisconsin to spend time with her family and to simultaneously become engaged."

"No, I never said that. All I said was that I was asking Mr. Moss for his blessing for his daughter's hand in marriage."

"Aw, Josh. That was so nicely phrased."

"Thanks."

"So you don't have a ring?" C.J. was hung up on the diamond factor.

"No, I don't." Josh shifted his feet where he was standing in the middle of the airport. "Why's this so important?"

"Because. Well, I mean, I need to know when you're going to propose exactly."

"I can tell you when I'm thinking of doing it."

"Okay, good. But --- but I want to make sure the ring you have is appropriate."

"Appropriate?"

"Yes."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means she wants to approve the ring and help you shop for it!"

"Toby?" Josh didn't know that there was someone else with C.J.

"Give me the phone," Josh heard Toby say in the background and heard the phone passed from hand to hand. "Hey, Josh."

"Toby, shouldn't you be at your brother's right now?"

"Yeah. Let's not talk about that."

"Okay."

"You're asking Donna's dad to let her marry you?"

"Yeah."

"That's pretty stupid."

Was it just another Toby moment? "I'm sorry?" Josh questioned.

"You should be. You didn't ask me for help with this."

"I asked Sam."

"Yes, but Sam's not as knowledgeable about this as I am."

"He was engaged to Lisa."

"And you saw how well that worked out."

"They broke up, but what does that matter?"

"I became engaged and got married," Toby stated in an obvious tone.

"And then divorced," Josh countered.

"Yeah, but at least I made it down the aisle."

"Are you and C.J. both just jealous I didn't ask you for advice in this whole situation?"

Toby paused. "Maybe."

"Oh, come on. I didn't ask you because I assumed you'd be negative about all this, and C.J. because she'd be too excited and spill it all to Donna."

"Josh claims the reason he didn't tell us is because I'm negative and you'd tell Donna," Toby said to C.J.

"I wouldn't tell Donna!" C.J. whined. She grabbed the phone again. "Josh, just promise me that you'll let me help with ring selection."

"Fine. What does Toby want?"

"Toby," C.J. said, "what do you want to tell Josh?"

Josh could hear him sigh before he began to speak. "You don't deserve to know these helpful hints, but you should come bearing gifts."

"Bearing gifts?"

"Yes. It makes it seem like you care."

"I do care."

"Then bear gifts."

"You did this for Andy?"

"Yes. And it worked well. The Wyatts liked me. Still do, actually."

"And for whom did you buy gifts? Just her parents?"

"No. The whole family."

"The whole family!" Josh screeched. "Toby, Donna's family is, like, huge!"

"Then figure out what you're going to do."

"I'm in an airport."

"They have gift shops."

"You're serious about this?"

"Yes. Go buy something."

"Fine."

"Good luck," Toby said, before handing the phone to C.J. who added a serious "Call us every few hours with details!"

Josh hit the end button and put his phone back in his pocket. He had some serious shopping to do.