They'd only been home from the hospital for a few hours but Josh was fading fast. Donna knew it would be an early night and she was glad she'd had the forethought to have an easy dinner planned.

Audrey was watching a movie as Josh took quick shower with the intention of crawling directly into bed for some rest.

Josh slowly dried off with a towel, hating how exhausted he was after a task as simple as quickly rinsing off. Donna sat perched on top of his bathroom vanity, quietly waiting for him. He'd protested but she insisted that she was nearby incase he became dizzy.

And while he hated to admit that he needed help with such a routine task, as always he was glad she was nearby. He grabbed the clean pair of boxers and sweatpants she'd lay out for him and quickly changed, Donna turning her back to him for some privacy.

"Kay," he told her when he was finished, tossing his towel into the hamper.

She popped down from where she was perched and watched him slowly, carefully, walk over to her. "Do you need to sit down?"

He grumbled a non-response.

"How ya doin?" She cocked her head to the side and watched him, hoping he'd give her a moment of honesty.

"I'm sore, I'm exhausted and this damn thing itches," he motioned to his chest incision.

She'd sat all of the needed supplies to cover his healing wound with gauze but she could see he was ready to just take a quick breather.

"Come on," she took his arm on his uninjured side and walked him to bed, helping him sit down as she returned to retrieve his bandage.

Donna heard the door to Josh's room, which was previously cracked, squeak on the hinges.

When she emerged from the bathroom she saw Audrey standing stock still in the doorway staring at Josh's scar.

"It's okay," he told Audrey softly, extending his hand.

She took a few cautious steps towards him, Donna watching on silently.

Once she was standing at Josh's knee she paused and stared at the incision a little bit more before slowly turning to Donna. "Make it better," Audrey told Donna in a timid voice, her eyes wide with concern.

Donna almost melted at the sentiment. She walked over to join them and sat Audrey next to Josh on the bed. Josh explained to her in the best way he knew how that he was healing and Donna was helping. Audrey watched silently and closely as Donna applied the bandage.

"All done," Donna tried to keep her voice chipper.

"See?" Josh turned to show Audrey the bandage before he put his shirt back on.

She studied it closely and moved to give Josh a gentle kiss on the cheek, mimicking his own actions to his daughter after scraped knees and bumps to the elbow. "All better," she said in her tiny voice.

Josh beamed at the sentiment. "Yeah," he agreed, kissing her forehead. "It really is."

OoOoOoO

On Monday night, Josh and Audrey both complained about the number of vegetables that had suddenly appeared in their diets.

On Tuesday, he stayed up late reading her stories and was a cranky with Donna when she woke him up for PT the next morning.

On Wednesday, he tried give Audrey a bath on his own, resulting in a crying toddler, an exasperated father and a soaked bathroom floor.

On Thursday, Audrey wanted a piggy back ride and Donna could see that he was actually thinking about it before she snapped him back to reality and put her foot down.

On Friday, Josh finally saw how worn down Donna was from trying to cook, clean, and care for him and a preschooler- especially when neither he nor the preschooler had shown much appreciation. He realized, though, that he had to do something- which lead him to the conversation he was currently having.

"4 pounds," Donna warned him. "The doctor said not to lift anything over 4 pounds."

Josh practically rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I was there. I heard him. It was only three days ago, Donna."

"I know you heard him," Donna continued, "but I'm not sure you were really listening."

"Donna. You're going to be down the block for what, twenty minutes? I'm not going to shatter into a million pieces while you're out getting groceries for dinner. Go."

She bit her lip. She had been reluctant to leave his side in the last few days but they really needed a few groceries. "It's just- maybe I should take Audrey."

"She's napping."

"Yes but I could wait for her to wake up and-"

Josh pinched the bridge of his nose. "Donna. You're going to worry yourself sick over nothing, I swear." She'd been running herself ragged taking care of both of them. The least he thought he could do was to keep things in check at home while she had a few minutes outside of the house. It wasn't exactly a spa day but sending her to the grocery store alone was all he could come up with.

She shifted her weight, clearly not comfortable leaving him.

"Look," he softened his tone, reaching out to touch her arm. "She will probably still be asleep when you get back and if not, she knows to be careful. You did a great job explaining that she can't jump and climb on me yet. And I promise, Donna, I'll call the second I need anything."

She nodded her head. "Okay," she finally agreed, albeit reluctantly, grabbing her keys and heading out.

Josh remained where he was on the couch, dozing lightly with the TV on for the better part of twenty minutes, until he heard Audrey wake up, soon followed by the rustling of toys in her room and her footsteps walking down the hall. He was so glad to be home, and he could easily tell she was equally as thrilled. But there was still a voice in the back of Josh's mind telling him that as happy as he was, he needed to think of the big picture.

He knew that she was as bored, if not more so, as he was cooped up in the house. "Bubbe used to take me swimming," she'd lament. "Bubbe took me to the park, Bubbe took me to story time at the library, Bubbe took me shopping." And lord knows Donna had gone above and beyond. But there was a limit to what one person could do- even Donna.

Josh stood up, knowing she always wanted a drink as soon as she woke up, and wandered into the kitchen to find a juice box.

When he came back around the corner Audrey was practically bouncing off the walls with her extra energy.

"Hey kiddo," Josh began, sticking the small straw into the cardboard box. "You thirsty?"

"Yeah!" Audrey exclaimed, jumping up from where she had crawled onto the couch. "Juice!" She jumped again, losing her balance in the process and tumbling towards the coffee table.

Josh instinctively reached out and grabbed her, preventing any harm to his baby girl. But the second he grabbed her he felt the pain shoot through him.

Josh practically doubled over, managing to place Audrey gently on the floor.

"Daddy?" She watched him closely after he'd stifled a groan. "It's okay," he muttered. "Daddy's okay."

But Josh didn't move, leaning where he was on the couch. "Audrey, go get my phone." He could see it resting on the table at the opposite end of the couch, just out of reach.

He was trying to figure out what to do next when he heard her key in the lock and Donna jostling some bags as she came through the door.

"Donna..." he tried to keep his voice level but he was having to speak through gritted teeth.

"Hi guys," she announced, closing the door behind her and depositing the bags in his kitchen. "What have you been-" her causal questioning stopped when she turned the corner. "Josh?!" She was instantly by his side. "What happened?" She asked softly, studying him to try and determine what the problem was.

"I- I just pulled something," he told her as she took his arm and helped him sit down.

"Audrey, why don't you go pick out a toy to play with in your room," Donna suggested, distracting her for a minute so she could figure out what was wrong with Josh.

Josh recounted the whole story and Donna carefully pulled his shirt up lightly touching the areas that were causing him pain.

"Your external stitches aren't broken, I think someone needs to check you out. Come on. Let's go to the hospital."

"No," he flat out refused, shaking his head.

"Josh you could have ruptured something internally. Or the artery..." she was getting a frantic look on her face.

"I'm not going back to the hospital," he grumbled with more intensity than he'd intended to use.

"I can call the First Lady if you'd prefer," she offered.

Neither of those options struck Josh as particularly appealing but he knew that Donna wouldn't relax until he was checked out. "Fine," he consented, "I'll see a doctor. But don't bother the First Lady."

Donna, after a very convincing phone call, was able to get Josh in at his cardiologist before the doctor went home for the night.

They were assured that everything was fine- he'd simply pulled a muscle near his incision.

Josh buttoned his shirt up and Donna grabbed her purse, thankful that Toby was able to pop by and stay with Audrey while she took Josh to the doctor.

They made their way back to the vehicle, both relieved that nothing more serious had resulted from the incident that afternoon.

"Toby's staying for dinner," Donna broke the silence. "We can stop by the bakery and pick up a pie if you'd like."

Josh nodded that he would. He didn't know how he was going keep his wits about him cooped up inside his apartment for the next months. And he certainly wasn't going to pass dessert if Donna was offering.

She parked the car and ran in while he waited, emerging a few moments later with a peach pie and a mini cupcake with pink frosting and sprinkles for Audrey.

She handed him the bakery box, which he held on his lap.

"You're right." Josh stared out the passenger side window of the moving car. "It's time."

Donna didn't say a word. She knew what he was thinking- it had clearly been occupying his mind since she'd brought it up, and she could see that he realized that she made a valid point in the doctor's office. But this was something he had to decide on his own. She wasn't going to push him.

"Only if you're sure," she told him. "We can make it work."

"It will be good for everyone. You can't be at my place 24/7, I can't be alone with her and she needs the interaction with other kids."

Donna had recommended enrolling Audrey in preschool several times but Josh had always fought her on it. He wanted to find a way for her to stay at home with him. But he was seeing the light after the events of that afternoon.

"I'm going to assume you've done the research on all of the best preschools and Montessori's," Josh continued. "So we can review them together tonight and pick one."

"Okay," she told him lightly, not wishing to gloat. "We'll try it and see how it goes."

They returned to the apartment and had an enjoyable dinner with Toby, who after 90 minutes alone with Audrey was so exhausted he didn't even return to the office. They put Audrey to bed without incident and as soon as she was out Donna saw Josh yawning.

They both changed into pajamas and Donna grabbed her trusty notebook and all of her information on preschools, knocking softly on his door.

"Do you want to wait until tomorrow on this?" Truth be told, she was as tired as he was.

"No," Josh spoke while yawning. "Let's get started while she's asleep." He pat the spot next to him on the bed and after only a moments hesitation Donna crawled on top of the covers and handed him the information on preschools. Josh smirked a bit when he found a color coded index card paper clipped to each brochure. She was prattling on about her favorite options while he read over the highlights, weighing the pros and cons of each program, school location and times.

Her sudden silence caused Josh to look over and see that she'd fallen asleep practically mid sentence. He smiled at her sleeping form and cleared the bed of all of her research material, stacking it on the nightstand before pulling his comforter over her and clicking out the light. He smoothed her hair softly and whispered goodnight. He was just glad she was actually getting some sleep- and that maybe she'd given up the pretense of sleeping on his uncomfortable fold out couch. He too was asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

At some point in the night Josh woke up to a soft rustling sound. He was pleasantly surprised to find Donna snuggled in close to him, fitting perfectly into the crook of his arm with her head on his shoulder as she slept peacefully, her legs intertwining with his at some point in her sleep

The noise, he quickly realized, was Audrey, huffing a little bit as she tried, and eventually succeeded, to climb onto Josh's bed with Walter the Bunny tucked under one arm.

"Shhh," Josh placed his finger to his lips to keep her silent. She was so sleepy it wasn't necessary and Audrey immediately scoot over and curled up next to Donna, who stirred slightly and subconsciously pulled Audrey closer, both of them falling back into a deep slumber.

Josh swore he could lay there forever a happy man. But before he knew it he was asleep too.