After what Donna was certain must have been the longest, loneliest night of her life, she was delighted when her cell phone rang, displaying Josh's number. She was already walking down the street towards the office, pleased to meet Josh in his office for his first day back. She'd only moved out of his apartment the evening before but after what felt like the loneliest night of her life she was eager to see him again. He must have felt the same way, she thought.
"Good morning," Donna chirped into her cell phone.
"Donna?"
She could immediately hear the edge to his voice and Audrey's loud cries in the background.
She stopped in her tracks, her face falling. "What's wrong?" Her pulse sped up and she felt a wave of panic wash over her.
"I'm sorry to have to do this," Josh began. "But she's just not having a good morning and she thinks I'm doing everything wrong... would you mind?" He didn't even have to vocalize that he needed her help. She could read him and knew what he meant.
Audrey let out another wail for Donna in the background and Donna immediately threw her arm up to hail a passing cab. "I'll be there in 10 minutes," she told Josh. "Is she already dressed? I put her outfit for picture day on a hanger in the front of her closet before I left last night."
"Yeah, thanks," Josh told her. "I saw it but she's not exactly ready to go and I have senior staff in 45 minutes-"
"Calm down," Donna told him. "Just let her watch a little TV and I'll get her ready and take her to school. I'll brief you when I get there."
"Kay," Josh told her. "See you in a bit."
When Donna arrived she wasn't sure who was more traumatized by the morning's events- Audrey or Josh.
Josh looked as though he was about to pull his hair out. "Hey," she gave him a gentle smile. "Need a hand?"
His relief was instant. Just her arrival calmed his fraying nerves.
Josh opened the door a little more wide and Donna stepped inside, handing him her cup of coffee. "You take this," she told him, her hands moving to start work on the tie hanging loosely around his neck. "And head to work. You've got senior staff at 3, the statistics you need for the NEA funding Leo wants to discuss are on your desk in the green folder. The information for the waterways bill is condensed to a one page brief in the blue folder. Your morning is open for us to go over a few things and then you have a meeting with the Speaker at 11. I'll take care of Miss Priss."
"You're a lifesaver, Donna." He walked over and kissed Audrey goodbye. "Be good for Donna," he warned the still huffy child. "I'll see you after school." He slipped into his suit jacket and overcoat. "Thank you," he told Donna sincerely. "I'd be lost without you," he kissed her softly on the cheek and head out the door.
Donna sat down next to Audrey who hardly acknowledged her when she entered the condo. Wordlessly, Audrey crawled onto Donna's lap and snuggled in close to her, hanging on to Donna as she continued to watch Sesame Street.
Donna pulled her in tight and kissed the top of her head. "What's wrong, Sweet Pea?" But Donna knew the answer. She'd wondered how Audrey would react to another major change in her daily life when Donna moved out, but Donna had assured herself that it wouldn't make a large impact. Clearly, she was right with her first assessment.
She waited the 7 minutes until the program was over before calmly shutting the tv off and taking Audrey to her room to get dressed. Donna perched Audrey on the sink and washed her tear stained face, relieved to see that her eyes were becoming less puffy from the morning's crying. And then Donna softly began to brush Audrey's curls- the hair, Josh had advised her, was the root of the issue that morning. Audrey had insisted that Josh just wasn't doing it right.
Donna tamed Audrey's wild curls and sectioned off a small portion to clip back with a bow on the uncharacteristically silent girl. "Okay," she took Audrey's hand, "lets go."
Donna grabbed their belongings and put Audrey in a coat, glad that Josh had left his car for them and taken a cab into the office.
They drove down the street to Audrey's preschool and Donna went inside and stood with Audrey in the photo line. "Give them a big smile, pretty girl," she leaned down and gave Audrey a tickle, trying to get a good photo out of her. But after the photographer was finished Donna didn't walk Audrey to her classroom, instead informing the school that they'd be back in an hour or so.
Donna drove them to a local diner for breakfast, ordering Audrey silver dollar pancakes and having a heart to heart with her. "I know things are different again," Donna assured her. "And I know that you and Daddy don't like it when things change. But Audrey, I want you to listen to me."
Audrey looked right at Donna. "I need you to be good for Daddy, okay? I know you love him and you know he loves you. So maybe if he doesn't do your hair like I do that's okay- he's trying his best. Do you understand?"
"Come home?" Audrey offered an option of her own. If Donna just moved back in, everything would be perfect again.
"Sweet Pea, we talked about this, remember? I have my own house and I have to live there now. You and Daddy live at your house, but I'll still come to visit. I promise."
"Miss you," Audrey looked crushed. She'd loved the time that Donna had spent living with them and she didn't understand why that had to come to an end. "Sleep in Daddy's room," she offered with bright eyes, wondering if perhaps she had just solved the whole problem.
"Well I'm not sure how he would feel about that," Donna chuckled.
"Daddy is sad," Audrey quickly added. "Come home, Donna. Please, Donna? Please, Please, Please?"
"Audrey." Donna gave a warning tone of voice.
She pouted in defeat. They'd discussed this before, and Audrey and Josh had been twenty rounds on the topic that very morning.
"So are you going to be extra good for Daddy from now on?"
Audrey nodded her head vigorously.
"No more tantrums in the morning?"
"Okay!" Audrey told her enthusiastically.
Donna paid the check and walked Audrey back to the car, heading to the White House. She knew Josh and Audrey well enough to know that their morning would eat at both of them all day.
So when Josh rounded the corner into the operations bullpen after senior staff, already spitting fire and barking demands, he was shocked to say the least to see Audrey standing in front of his office holding Donna's hand.
"What are you guys doing here?" The question was clearly for Donna, to whom he shot a worried look.
"Audrey wants to tell you something," Donna supplied, letting go of Audrey's hand as Josh crouched down to her eye level.
Audrey threw her arms around Josh's neck and held on tight. "Sorry, Daddy," she told Josh softly, bringing a tender smile to his face.
He hugged his daughter tightly and gave Donna a thankful look. "It's okay, Shortcake. I love you so much," he told her before Audrey stepped away, both of the Lyman's looking to Donna for approval.
"Go get your coat, Audrey," Donna instructed. One she was out of earshot Donna turned to Josh. "I think she was just in a mood this morning. And I know you can handle this without me- you've been doing fine for years. But I don't see why this can't be a little easier on everyone... so how about I come over 3 mornings a week- when you have early start for Senior Staff and get her ready and take her to school. I just think it'll work better for everyone."
Josh stared at her. "You'd do that?"
She rolled her eyes. "Of course, Josh. When are you going to get that through your thick skull? There's nothing I wouldn't do for her. Or for you," she added softly.
Josh looked at her intently, trying to find his bearings. But the moment between them was quickly interrupted when Audrey found her coat and became anxious to get to school and Ed and Larry appeared with a stack of files for Josh.
OoOoOoO
"The doctor will be with you in a moment Mr. Lyman." The nurse jot a quick note on the clipboard and exited the room as Josh took a seat on the edge of a paper lined exam table.
"Take your shirt off," Donna told him, reaching out for his jacket so he wouldn't toss it down. She knew the cardiologist would need to see his bare chest- he had during all of the other appointments.
"Donna, we only have a few minutes. But if you insist..." Josh smirked at her.
Donna rolled her eyes at him. "That joke is just as funny as the last 7 times you've told it," she poked him in the arm, taking his dress shirt and then his undershirt.
"Cute bandaid, Mr. Deputy Chief of Staff. Did the minority leader know that you had a hot pink hello kitty bandaid on during your meeting?"
Josh glanced down at himself and saw the haphazardly placed bandage that Audrey offered up for his "owie" that morning. "I forgot that was there," he mumbled, picking at the adhesive sides to remove it. "And speaking of that meeting, you'll never guess who I ran into... Ron Butterfield's wife. She's working on The Hill. I didn't even know Ron Butterfield had a wife..."
A tender smile danced across her lips as he spoke.
"What?" He asked, wondering what she was thinking.
"Nothing. It's just- you're a really good Dad, Josh. I'm proud of you."
"Well you're a really good-" His face twisted in an odd way, almost as he caught himself in the middle of a sentence he wasn't sure how to finish. He knew what he was thinking but he couldn't quite say that to her. He swallowed hard. "You're a good... Donna."
Donna beamed at his words. They may not have been poetic, but just as she always did, she knew what he meant.
OoOoOoO
"Uh huh," Josh agreed, his cell phone wedged between his shoulder and his ear as he cut the crusts off of a PB&J and slipped each of the quarters into a ziplock bag. "But if you review the report from the Department of Labor it clearly contradicts that." He licked his fingers and stuck Audrey's sandwich into a lunchbox. He continued to listen to the call he was on with Leo and some economists while grabbing his backpack, handing Audrey her lunchbox and taking her hand to walk out the door. They made their way out of the apartment and into the car, Josh settling her into the backseat.
Becoming quite bored with the lack of conversation with her father she began to sing softly. "A, B, C, D..."
"All I'm saying," Josh continued, "is that we need to be sure of the number crunching before we make a statement either way..."
"...E, F, G..."
"...so double check the figures and I'll get with Toby and Sam..."
"...H, I, J, K..."
"...and we'll have something for you by the end of the week, Leo."
"...elemeno, P..."
"It's L, M, N, O, not elemeno," Josh told Audrey in a gentle aside.
"What?" Leo asked from the other end of the phone, completely thrown off.
Audrey concentrated for a moment before repeating very clearly, "L, M, N, O."
"I was talking to Audrey," Josh muttered. "I'll see you in 30 minutes, Leo."
Leo grunted a goodbye to Josh and added a softer, "say good morning to Audrey for me."
Josh clicked off the phone and closed the door to the car, heading towards the White House.
OoOoOoO
Donna stood in Josh's office fixing his bow tie and prattling on about a book she'd read on the history of Modern Greece.
It may not have been standard procedure to take your assistant to state dinners, but no one even blinked when Josh inevitably showed up with Donna on his arm. It's just the way those two were.
Josh escorted her to the ballroom and watched with pride as she mingled with guests and stood confidently with foreign dignitaries. Josh was pulled away for a moment, lending his opinion to Leo for a development in the situation room, and Donna shifted quickly back into work mode, never missing a beat.
By the time they arrived back to the party, dinner was concluded and the guests had made their way to the dance floor.
Donna sighed.
"What?" Josh looked over to her, waiting for an answer.
"I was hungry," she admitted. "And dinner looked good."
"Yeah…" Josh glanced around the room woefully, trying to determine if there was any way to snag a plate. It wasn't looking too good. But he didn't want Donna to be hungry- especially if they were going to spend the better part of their night in his office waiting for word from the situation room. Josh dug around in his coat pocket, pulling out Donna's lip gloss, a small purple bow that Audrey had taken off at an inconvenient time, and finally, his cell phone. Speaking softly Josh ordered a double cheese pizza and a garden salad to be delivered to the front gate.
Donna grinned but didn't tease him. She was famished and she knew the gesture was mostly for her benefit.
"It'll be here in twenty minutes," Josh announced. "And I'll share on one condition."
"Oh?" Donna tilted her head towards him playfully.
"Dance with me?" Josh extended his hand to her and they made their way to the center of the ballroom.
He pulled her closer than an assistant would typically dance with their boss. But then again, these two were anything but typical. He knew, without a doubt, that he was crazy about her. But he was her boss and his ethics always thwarted any plans for happiness his mind could dream up. He'd wait, he told himself, until he could do this right. He owed her that at the very least- if, he tempered his optimism, she even felt the same way.
They sway softly to the music and Josh, just for a moment, allowed himself to breathe her in. He'd missed her more than he would ever have imagined. The nights since she'd left had been increasingly difficult on him, and the simple act of having her close enough to smell the lavender and vanilla in her hair did wonders for his soul.
He more. He wanted everything. But to do this right, to make sure everything was perfect for Donna, he could wait. He had to.
OoOoOoO
"Hi, Donna."
"Hi, Cindy." Donna had struck up a friendship with Audrey's preschool teacher almost immediately. It was nothing above and beyond but Donna was an easy person to get along with and she felt better knowing more about the teacher with which Audrey spent 8 hours of her day.
"Donna!" Audrey crashed into Donna's legs, wrapping around her with a wide smile.
"Hi, Sweet Pea," Donna smoothed her curls. "Ready to go?"
Audrey nodded that she was and ran over to the cubby with her name on it to wait while Donna grabbed her belongings.
"She has an art project to take home today as well," Cindy told them. "They're on the table in the hallway. They should be dry by now."
Donna zipped Audrey's coat up and put her backpack on, taking her hand and exiting to the hallway, quickly finding the arts and crafts project with the Audrey L. scrawled in the bottom corner.
"Did you make this? You did a great job!" Donna bent over and looked at the Thanksgiving turkeys created out of Audrey's two small palm prints and adorned with various feathers and craft supplies.
Audrey nodded eagerly, beaming at Donna's approval.
"And a list of what you're thankful for," Donna read out loud, pointing to each item on the list that the teacher wrote neatly in the corner of the page for each student.
"Audrey is thankful for... Daddy & Donna, Bubbe, Walter the Bunny and Cookies."
Donna pulled Audrey close. "I'm thankful for you, too, Sweet Pea," she became a little choked up. "You have no idea how thankful," she kissed her forehead and stood up, composing herself and handing Audrey the paper. "Hold onto this so you can show Daddy when we get to the office."
Donna held Audrey's hand as they walked to Josh's car and Donna fastened her into her seat.
Audrey talked and talked about her day. A trait that Josh joked she picked up from Donna. They stopped by to pick up carry out for senior staff and made their way back to the White House, Donna carrying a huge box of food under one arm and Audrey with the other. As soon as they were through security Donna dropped dinner off in the Roosevelt room and she and Audrey set out to round up the senior staff.
Donna held Audrey on her hip as they navigated the corridors of the west wing, Audrey proudly clutching her artwork
They rounded the corner to see Josh pouring over some notes with CJ. "Daddy! Look!" Audrey held her painting up for him.
"Wow, very nice!" Josh fawned over the artwork and leaned in to kiss Audrey's cheek hello. "Turkeys?" He asked Donna in quiet aside.
"Yeah," she nodded her head, understanding why he was struggling to place what exactly was on the paper as she had never personally encountered any purple crayon turkeys within neon pink feathers glued haphazardly to their bodies.
"We will hang that on the fridge when we get home," Josh assured her. "Did you have a good day at school?"
Audrey nodded enthusiastically. "Donna picked me up!"
"And," Donna interjected, "dinner is here. It's in the Roosevelt room if you want to head that way. We'll grab Sam and Toby and say hi to Ginger if she's still here if you'll let Leo know."
Josh agreed, grabbing a binder off of his desk and heading down the hall as Donna and Audrey wandered to communications.
Audrey became completely captivated by a sheet of paper and some new fluorescent highlighters at Ginger's desk so Donna popped in to Toby's office.
"Glad you stopped by," he stood with a sheet of paper. "I need a fresh set of eyes. Third paragraph," he told her.
Donna read carefully over the document and began to discuss the finer points with Toby when she felt Audrey tug at her sleeve. Donna reached down and picked her up, never missing a beat in the conversation as Audrey squirmed around slightly and then carefully reached for the antique silver locket hanging around Donna's neck.
She fumbled with it for a few moments, occupying herself with the shiny piece of jewelry that Josh had given Donna the night she had moved back into her own apartment. It had been his grandmothers, he'd informed her in the card, and he wanted her to have it. Leo, who was walking by, entered the room when he overheard Donna's commentary, and placed a gentle hand on Audrey's back while he listened, but she was hardly phased.
A mystified gasp escaped Audrey's lips a few seconds later when she accidentally opened the clasp to the locket. The three adults glanced over to her but continued with their conversation.
"It's me!" Audrey exclaimed as soon as she saw the photo inside. "And Daddy!"
Leo and Toby glanced towards the locket, which contained a photo of Josh, Donna and Audrey on her first day of school and another of Audrey sporting a huge grin.
Donna softly took the locket out of Audrey's hands and closed it, laying it to rest carefully on her sweater. Toby gave her a gentle smile. He'd always had a soft spot for Donna, and he loved watching her find happiness, albeit unconventionally, with Josh and Audrey.
Leo, too, gave a grin, placing his hand on Donna's shoulder and giving her a soft squeeze. "Good girl," he told her. "Now, let's get this meeting started before dinner gets cold."
OoOoOoO
Josh and Donna were sitting together on the couch after Audrey was finally down for the night.
"You're quiet." Josh said, tilting his head and studying her. His eyes cautiously roamed over her, looking for any sign that the date went worse than she'd previously indicated. He didn't like to admit it but one of his deepest fears was that something will happen to her on one of these dates. He could never quite breathe easily until she stopped by with a slice of dessert and a life lesson for Audrey so he could see for himself that she was fine. Safe and sound where she belonged- with him.
"Something odd happened tonight."
Josh's heart skipped a beat. Did he miss something when he was finishing off the last of the girls' apple pie a la mode? He looked her over again and tried to clear his throat as if to sound casual. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah," though she was speaking to him she seemed somewhat lost in thought. "I got my wallet out because he asked for your card, and when he saw Audrey's picture, he freaked out a bit."
"What did he say?" Josh was on full alert now that this gomer had brought his daughter into it too. They'd come back around to the fact that this idiot was asking Donna for a political favor on a date.
"He said 'Is that your niece?' and I said 'No, it's my Audrey.' Then he said, 'What the hell? You have a kid?' And I tried to explain that she was yours but then he was freaked out that I keep a picture of my boss' daughter in my wallet. Am I weird, Josh? Is this whole situation weird?"
"NO!" He responded a bit more defensively than he'd intended. "He was just a jerk." Josh tried to distract her. "Which picture was it?"
She picked up her purse and flipped the wallet out to show him.
"Hey?! Are these the new school photos? I don't have one yet. How'd you get this?"
"I have my sources, Josh," she smirked. "They're in my desk at work. You were in that meeting with Barryhill and then you left early. I was going to update your wallet tomorrow."
Josh grinned at the photo, and Donna moved a little closer and craned her neck to look too.
"She looks just like you in this one," Donna remarked proudly. "Look at those little dimples."
"She really does, doesn't she?" Josh was amazed.
But what really never ceased to amaze him was Donna's unwavering love for his daughter.