"Hey Shortcake. What are you drawing?" Josh stood behind Audrey, who was coloring contently at Donna's desk, an extra chair pulled in as Donna typed a memo.
"It's the ocean, Daddy!" Audrey stood and Josh picked her up to hold her close. "The… The… Pacific Ocean!"
"It's very pretty," he assured her. "Did you learn about fish at school today?"
"Uh-huh," she nodded enthusiastically.
"But did you learn to make a fish face," he asked her, squeezing his own lips to mimic a guppy.
Audrey erupted in a fit of giggles and a big smile. "You're silly, Daddy."
Josh continued to make a fish face at Audrey, adding a little 'glug glug' sound effect. It wasn't long before Audrey joined in, making fish lips back at Josh.
Donna stood and walked to the file cabinet to double check a statistic, a warm smile on her face as she watched the exchange between father and daughter.
"Fishy Kiss, Daddy!" She turned to him and brushed her puckered lips over his.
"Fishy Kiss, Donna!" Donna was given the same treatment, stopping as she walked by with a file.
"Okay, now Daddy and Donna, fishy kiss!" Audrey clapped her hands lightly. They obeyed Audrey's order without thinking, simply turning to each other and brushing their lips together. But something in her eyes drew Josh in. Before he could even think about it he reached forward and gently cupped her jaw in his hand. The pull was magnetic, and all he wanted was to really kiss her. He leaned forward, tilting his head slightly, until Audrey broke the spell.
"My turn again! Fishy kiss, Daddy!"
Josh started slightly, and Donna quickly looked away, fidgeting nervously. It was a good thing the bullpen was empty.
Donna quickly made her way back to her desk and busied herself. She knew her face was flushed. Her heart was still pounding. She'd certainly felt something, and she wondered if he had too.
Josh watched her walk back to her desk, swaying a bit. He was weak in the knees and felt a little delirious. He mentally kicked himself but he also knew that it wasn't a good idea to kiss his assistant in the bullpen. And it certainly wasn't a good idea to kiss Donna in front of Audrey. She'd ask questions to which he didn't have the answer.
"Daddy!" Audrey was tapping insistently on his shoulder, still trying to get his attention. "Can we go to the 'quarium, Daddy?"
"Aquarium," Josh corrected her pronunciation. "And we'll see."
"Please," Audrey bat her eyelashes a few times at Josh and used her sweetest voice. "Pleeeease, Daddy?"
"Did you ask Donna?" Josh and Audrey both turned to look at her.
Donna glanced up from the memo she'd been typing to see both of them looking at her with eager anticipation. "I think you have a few free hours this weekend. You can work it in tomorrow morning," she smiled.
"Alright, I guess so," Josh told Audrey, who was still happily sitting on his hip before whispering conspiratorially. "And maybe some chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast."
"Joshua…" Donna gave him a warning tone as she went back to her typing.
"Okay, okay. We'll have some eggs, too."
She shook her head, a smile still on her face as she clicked print and spun around in her chair. "You've got a meeting in the Roosevelt Room in five minutes. You should be done in no more than a half hour," she told him. "Audrey and I are going to walk this memo down to Leo's office an then call in everyone's dinner order. We'll meet you in the Briefing Room for State of the Union practice?"
"Kay," he told her before turning his attention back to Audrey. "You going to hang out with Donna for a little while?"
She nodded her head yes.
"Be good," he kissed her forehead and put her down, heading off to his meeting. "And talk Donna into going to the aquarium with us in the morning while I'm gone."
"Kay," Audrey grinned.
"Not fair, Lyman," Donna called after him. "You play dirty."
"Oh, Donnatella," he turned and bounced on the balls of his feet, a smirk crawling across his face. "If only you knew."
OoooooO
"Can you show Margaret how you can count to ten in French?" Donna asked Audrey as she held her hand.
Audrey complied, rattling off the numbers as she fidgeted in place a bit. "Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix."
"That's very good," Margaret stated with a serious face.
Audrey stood a little taller and looked up at Donna with a proud smile.
"Do you know why the French only eat one egg for breakfast?" Margaret continued.
"Why?" Audrey tilted her head a little bit and asked Margaret with genuine curiosity.
"Because one egg is un oeuf."
Audrey stared blankly at Margaret for a moment before turning her gaze back to Donna in curiosity.
Donna gave Audrey a knowing smile and swayed a bit, bumping her softly. "It's a joke, Sweet Pea."
Audrey grinned and let out a soft little giggle, still not understanding the joke but following Donna's cues.
"So, anyway," Donna began after a moment, "here's a copy of the memo Leo requested. We're going to head back and order everyone's dinner and I'll see you for the read through?"
"Sounds good," Margaret filed the memo away. "See you guys later."
"Excuse me, Miss Margaret?" Audrey was attempting to use her best manners.
"Yes?"
"Is Papa Leo in there?" Audrey pointed to the Chief of Staff's closed door.
Margaret nodded her head in affirmation. "Yes, he is. He's with Admiral Fitzwallace and Nancy McNally. Do you know who they are?"
Audrey looked curiously at Donna.
"I don't think you've ever met them before. But we'd better not interrupt Papa Leo's meeting."
But before Donna could even finish her sentence Margaret was on the phone. "Audrey Lyman is here to see you."
She sat the receiver back in the cradle and nodded to Audrey. "He will see you now."
Audrey, once again, looked up to Donna.
"Go on in," Donna confirmed. "Best behavior, please."
Audrey quickly made her way to Leo's door and reached up for the knob, letting herself into the office. She was over to Leo like a bolt of lightning, throwing her arms around her neck and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Papa Leo!" She exclaimed. Leo was most certainly on Audrey's list of favorite people.
"Heya, Smiley. What's new?" Leo's gruff facade faded quickly as he grinned at the toddler.
Donna couldn't help but to smile herself as she watched on from the door frame as Audrey climbed onto Leo's lap.
"Papa Leo, the ocean is dirty and it's bad for the fishies."
Nancy McNally stifled a smile. The little girl was pitching her agenda to the Chief of Staff and she didn't even realize it.
"Well, that sounds very important. We will have to see what we can do about that," Leo told her.
"I can write my name!" Audrey's face lit up, excited by her own announcement and pleased with her new accomplishment.
"Let's see it," Leo popped her up to sit on the edge of his desk and sat a pen and paper in front of her." His attention was now entirely focused on Audrey. The Chief of Staff wasn't afraid to put his meeting on hold.
She concentrated intently, her tongue sticking slightly out the side of her mouth as she stared at the paper. "A..." she narrated as she carefully drew each line. "U...D...R...E...Y...L...Y...M...A...N."
"Excellent work!" Leo beamed with pride.
"Ah, a little Lyman," Fitzwallace chuckled. "That explains so much."
OooooooO
"Uncle Sam, guess what?!"
"What?" Sam pivoted in his chair and leaned over with a huge grin, immediately stopping what he was doing to give Audrey is full attention when she walked through the doorway into his office.
"I get to stay here tonight and help!"
"You do? Well aren't we lucky," Sam grinned. The entire West Wing had been high strung all week and the preparation for the State of the Union was only adding to their stress. A visit from Audrey was always a welcome distraction to the Senior Staff.
"We're taking dinner orders, Sam," Donna chimed in from where she leaned against the door frame. "What would you like from District Deli?"
"Turkey club, please," Sam replied. "And a cup of whatever the soup of the day is."
"I'm having grilled cheese, Uncle Sam," Audrey offered as she climbed into his visitor's chair.
"Are you picking up dinner?" Charlie peeked into Sam's office to ask Donna.
"District Deli," Donna confirmed. "Put you down for a meatball sub?"
"Yeah," Charlie confirmed. "Extra cheese."
"Hi, Charlie," Audrey greeted from where she sat.
"Hey, Little Bit," he walked over and Audrey gave him a low five.
"Oh, Donna, if you have a second CJ said she wanted to order something too. She's in her office," Charlie added. "See you guys later."
"Alright, kiddo, let's go." Donna instinctively reached down to fix Audrey's hair, re-clipping the small lavender bow that matched her outfit.
"Uncle Sam?"
"Hmmm?"
"What does lather mean?" Audrey looked at Sam curiously.
"Lather?" Sam glanced up from his laptop at the odd question, trying to figure out how to explain the definition. "It means sudsy. Like what soap does when you wash your hair."
"Oh." Now Audrey looked completely stumped.
"Why?" Sam was curious. So was Donna.
"Cause Daddy said Uncle Toby would be… working in a lather tonight."
Sam laughed, softly and just once at first and then increasing in volume and frequency. "Work himself into a lather? Yeah, that's probably an understatement." Sam shook his head, glad for the distraction, stifling his continued laugher when he saw Donna's face.
Donna bent down to Audrey's eye level. "What are our rules, Audrey Joan?" She asked very softly.
"Be kind, be safe and don't fib."
"That's right," Donna agreed. "And that is not a very kind thing to say."
Audrey's eyes widened in regret.
"I know you didn't know what it meant," Donna continued without missing a beat. "And it's always okay to ask Uncle Sam a question, or to talk to me or Daddy. But in the future let's not say that, okay?"
"Okay," Audrey responded softly. "I'm sorry, Donna."
"It's okay, Sweetie. You didn't know." Donna stood and took Audrey's hand. "And Uncle Sam knows a lot of cool words, doesn't he?" Her voice became chipper again, swinging everyone back into a good mood.
Audrey nodded eagerly.
"He was a good person to ask," Donna commended Audrey for that. "But waive goodbye and we'll see him at dinner. Thirty minutes in the Roosevelt Room, Sam."
"Bye Uncle Sam," Audrey called, skipping along beside Donna.
Sam just smiled and shook his head as the two walked away. He was fairly sure that his best friend was oblivious to the fact that Donna loved both Josh and Audrey with her whole heart. Sam just hoped that Josh would decide to let her.
OooooooO
Audrey sat in a chair in the briefing room, coloring intently as Senior Staff mingled.
The side door opened and the President stepped inside, the latest draft of the State of the Union in his hand.
Audrey quickly sat her coloring aside and scrambled to her feet.
The little girls proper use of protocol wasn't lost on anyone in the room, particularly the Commander in Chief himself.
"Good Evening, Miss Lyman," he smiled.
"Hello, Mr. President," she greeted him confidently.
Josh and Donna exchanged little glances with each other, both of them proud of the way Audrey carried herself without instruction.
"Will you be assisting us this evening?" He leaned forward to speak to Audrey.
Audrey nodded her head. "Yes."
"I see. And just what is your assigned job for the night?"
Audrey didn't hesitate. "To color. And eat my apple slices."
"Very good." The President stood up and put on his glasses. "It's about time we got some decent help around here."
President Bartlet wandered over to Leo as Senior Staff grabbed their notepads and settled into their spots with stopwatches.
"Did you see that?" President Bartlet whispered to Leo. "Do you suppose that Donna's been working with Audrey on protocol? It feels a little odd to have her feel like she has to follow those kinds of rules. She's so little."
Leo glanced over at his surrogate granddaughter. "Mr. President, I doubt she's been forced into standing when you enter the room. That little girl is just very bright. She watches and absorbs everything. She's the best of Josh and Donna combined."
"Yes, I'd imagine you're right about that. You know, sometimes I forget that she's not actually Donna's daughter."
Leo gave a crooked smile. "Who says she's not, Mr. President?"
President Bartlet glanced over to see Donna situating Audrey with a few activities and a snack, kissing her on the head as she gathered the files Josh needed her to review. "Well, touché."
He took the podium and began to read from the prompter, the agreement being that he'd make it through each section once, and then they'd each begin to argue their relevant points on that particular topic. He paused at the end of the environmental portion of the speech, removing his glasses off and perching on a stool behind the podium for feedback. "Alright," he took a drink of water. "Seaborn, start us out."
Sam read over his notes on the section, most of which were met with unanimous agreement.
"Very well," the President nodded. "Ziegler?"
Toby outlined some notes about pausing for emphasis but stopped short of critiquing the content of the speech as he'd drafted that portion himself.
"Lyman?"
"Turtles eat trash but it's bad for them so that's a reason why we can't litter," Audrey stated all at once, never looking up from her coloring book.
Josh's head spun over to Audrey, his eyes widening. This, he supposed, is why he didn't make a habit of carting Audrey along to staff meetings.
"Oh, thank God," the President softly muttered.
"Sir?" Josh looked up, curious.
"Were just all so relieved that she takes after Donna instead of you," President Bartlet smirked.
"Believe me, Mr. President," Josh smiled and smoothed Audrey's curls. "No one is happier about that than I am."
OooooooO
"I wouldn't believe it unless I'd seen it with my own eyes," CJ slid into the empty seat next to Josh as the President took a short break for a drink of water. "But Toby is sharing his pie."
Josh raised his eyebrows in interest, glancing behind him to the rear portion of the room where Toby had been quarantined during State of the Union practice. And there, on the seat next to Toby with her own plastic fork, sat Audrey. She was swinging her feet and grinning wildly, a smear of cherry pie on her face, eating directly out of a pie tin.
"Don't let Donna see you doing that," Josh called out.
Toby cleared his throat. "Thank you for that piece of obvious information. Neither I nor Audrey were born yesterday," Toby replied, passing the pie tin over and holding it while Audrey scooped another bite.
"You've been warned," he smirked, returning to his notes.
OooooooO
Josh leaned back in his chair as far as he could, craning to see. He finally made eye contact with Ginger and summoned her over with a jerk of his head. Audrey was sleeping soundly in his arms.
"Grab Donna, will you?" Josh whispered.
Ginger nodded and exited the room and it was only moments before Josh felt Donna's presence as she silently slid in next to him.
"She's out," Josh stated in a soft whisper, stating the obvious.
"I'll take her home," Donna responded just as quietly, brushing Audrey's curls out of her face as she slept peacefully against Josh.
President Bartlet, mid speech, watched the scene in front of him unfold. "Let's call it a night," he announced out of the blue causing everyone to look around. "We've all had a long week. And the only person in this room who has agreed with everything I've said tonight is asleep. See you guys tomorrow."
Josh and Donna gathered their respective things and Donna slipped Audrey's jacket over her for warmth.
Josh loaded Audrey into her car seat and Donna deposited both backpacks in the backseat floorboards. Audrey stirred slightly as Josh clipped her in, eyes fluttering over to Donna.
"Shhhh," Donna softly cupped her little cheek. "Go back to sleep, Sweet Pea," she whispered and Audrey did that, leaning slightly into Donna's hand.
Josh and Donna closed their doors as stood on opposite sides of the car.
"Goodnight," she offered over the roof of the vehicle.
"What?" He furrowed his brow. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"
"Home? The President said we could all leave."
"Yes, and how do you plan to get there?"
"The Metro..."
"I don't think so. Get in the car."
"Josh. Audrey's asleep. You need to get her home."
"I need to get you home first. No way are you taking the Metro this late."
"But I-"
"Donna!" He looked somewhat terrified.
"Fine." She rolled her eyes and climbed in to the passenger seat. Of course, it gave her a warm fuzzy feeling when he did stuff like this. It made her feel cared for. Loved, even. She just had to keep reminding herself that they are just friends. Of course he worried about her- He worried about everyone.
She thanked him politely when he pulled up in front of her building and waved to him just before she closed the door as softly as she could manage.
He waited until he saw the light in her apartment flip on and she passed in front of the window.
As he pulled away he looked in the rear view mirror, back at the still sleeping Audrey.
"One of these days, Audrey, taking her home is going to mean taking her to our home. I just don't know when."