"H'lo," she mumbled a muffled greeting into the phone, pulling her pillow onto her face. She didn't know what time it was but she certainly wasn't prepared to wake up.
"Donna?" A soft voice and a little whimper came through the phone.
"Audrey?!" Donna shot bolt upright in bed, flinging the pillow across the room and already rushing to get up and find her shoes and purse. "Sweetheart, what's going on? Where's Daddy?" A million worst case scenarios raced through Donna's mind.
"I'm right here," Josh's voice came through the phone, which was obviously on speaker, a little scratchy but strong.
Donna slowed down but continued to gather her things. She let out a deep breath of relief. "Oh, Josh. Thank God." She placed her hand over her pounding heart. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"We're okay, Donna. It's not an emergency."
She shoved a few things into a bag and grabbed her purse, heading out the door.
"Didn't mean to startle you," he croaked out. He could hear the panic in her voice. "But we're both just a little under the weather."
"I'm already on the way over."
"Donna it's 4:45 in the morning," he chuckled, listening to her racing around on the other end of the phone. "You don't have to rush over here."
"I'm already in the cab," she told him, moving the speaker on her cell phone away from her mouth to give the driver Josh's address, and tell him to hurry.
"But we could be contagious. You shouldn't-"
She heard Audrey interrupt with a grumble in the background. "I want Donna," she reiterated in an unusually grumpy tone.
"I know you do." Josh's patience too was wearing thin. Donna could tell he was borderline exasperated.
"How long have you two been up?" Donna was almost afraid to ask.
"Couple hours," Josh admitted somewhat sheepishly.
"Josh! Why didn't you call me?"
"It was the middle of the night, Donna! I can handle it!" Now he was getting testy.
"Donna! I want Donna!" Audrey repeated. She was right on the verge of a meltdown, an anomaly in the Lyman household.
"I'm almost there," Donna reassured her. "Josh? What are her symptoms. Should I stop and pick something up?"
"No!" Just blurted out a little too quickly. "I mean, please. I'd just rather you get here. I'll run to the pharmacy later this morning."
Donna sighed as Josh continued.
"She just has a mild fever. She can't sleep and she's cranky."
"No I'm not," Audrey insisted.
"I gave her some Tylenol before bed last night."
Donna's eyes widened. Last night?! This has been going on since last night
"And what about you, Josh?" She asked with soft concern.
"I'm fine," he grumbled. But she could easily tell he wasn't.
"Okay," she told him softly. "We'll see about that. I'm pulling in. I'll be right up."
Donna paid the driver and grabbed her bag, practically running up the stairs.
He was standing there, Audrey in his arms in the open doorway to his apartment waiting for her. Audrey immediately leaned out to reach for her and Donna pulled her close, seeing the tears in Audrey's eyes. Audrey clung to her.
"You're okay," Donna told her, kissing the top of her head. "You'll feel better soon."
It was obvious to Donna that Josh hadn't looked in a mirror lately. Sure, he was exhausted and clearly under the weather. But there was something else too.
He was immediately relieved to see her, even if it did strike him as odd that his assistant had just taken a cab in the early morning wearing pajamas and a fleece pullover and sporting some serious bed head. She was, Josh decided, the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.
She let out a little laugh, biting her lip as her face changed.
"What's so funny?" He asked, not at all amused with her ability to find humor in the situation.
She stepped forward and placed her hand on his cheek, thumb grazing across his stubble with a gentle sympathetic smile on her face. "Joshua Lyman, you have the chicken pox."
His eyebrows shot up to his hair line as he looked down, carefully examining his arms.
She moved her hand near a spot on his neck that was now home to a red bump, then giving a soft tug to the neckline on his tshirt to reveal another. She lightly directed him to turn around and she inspected his back.
Audrey watched on, pulling her pajama top up a bit to peer curiously at her own tummy.
"Uh-oh," she stayed, poking her finger at a spot. "Donna, I got one too!"
"I see that," she told her, moving towards the couch.
"How does she have the chicken pox?!" Josh was completely flummoxed. "Didn't she have the vaccines? We haven't missed any." Josh carefully examined Audrey's legs, forgetting his own illness completely.
"She had one as a baby. The next booster is scheduled for the summer before she starts kindergarten."
"What?! Why didn't we move that one forward when she started preschool?"
"There was a lot going on at that point," Donna's stomach did a backflip just thinking about the reason Audrey had to start preschool early. "I'm so sorry, baby girl," she sat Audrey down on the couch, tears welling in her eyes.
"It's okay, Donna," Audrey consoled her. "Don't cry."
Josh placed his hand lightly on Donna's shoulder, chest welling with guilt at the thought that he'd just implied this was her fault. "Donna, I didn't- that's not what I meant," he stated softly.
"I know," she grabbed his hand with hers. "Okay," she strengthened her voice, standing up. "I'm going to run to the drug store. I'll be right back."
"No!" Audrey looked panicked again.
"Audrey..." Josh warned. But honestly, he wasn't thrilled about Donna leaving for an errand either.
Donna smoothed the little girls curls. "I'm coming right back," she promised, glancing at the clock. "You can turn on Mr. Rogers and I'll be back before it's over, okay? And then we can all have breakfast. But I need to go get a few things so you and Daddy feel better. Okay?"
"Okay," Audrey consented with a pout, sticking her lower lip out.
Josh half rolled his eyes. He knew exactly where she'd adopted that trait.
Donna hurried to the pharmacy, grabbing the items that she knew she'd need and making her way back to Josh's place as fast as she could. She called Leo's office on the way, leaving a voicemail explaining the situation and letting him know that Josh would call in for senior staff and Donna would be in the office to pick up some things to work on at home and forward their phones.
"I'm back," she announced, and Audrey was off the couch and to the doorway with record breaking speed. Donna immediately picked her up. She didn't care how big Audrey was getting, her little girl didn't feel good and she was going to tote her around if that's what she needed.
"I made you some coffee," Josh told her, taking the bag from the drugstore out of Donna's other arm.
"Thanks," Donna told him. "Don't scratch," she added as Josh absentmindedly itched his left arm.
Donna dug through the bag, placing several products on the counter and then feeling Audrey's forehead for a fever. It was still mild. She moved over and did the same to Josh, who was burning up.
"Okay," she let out a breath, trying to get a handle on things. "Josh, take this," she handed him a bottle. "Two of them with a piece of toast," she instructed, popping in a piece of bread and grabbing a cup of milk while she continued to tote Audrey around. "They're on the list of approved OTC meds from your cardiologist. We'll call when the doctors office opens and ask if they want to see you. Meanwhile, you have a senior staff call in 5 minutes."
She grabbed the toast when it popped and lightly buttered both slices, placing one on a plate for him and cutting Audrey's into quarters before giving her a bite, and following it with children's antihistamine and fever reducer and carting Audrey off for an oatmeal bath.
"This is yucky." Audrey scrunched up her nose in displeasure after only a few moments, looking up at Donna as she held her arms out of the oatmeal bath.
Donna sighed. She had a point. "I know. But we've gotta do it. It'll make you feel better," Donna explained.
"But... why?" Audrey blinked up at her. She was miserable.
"Because," Donna sat down on the edge of the tub, "you won't itch so much afterwards. It's oatmeal so it's good for your skin."
Audrey still wasn't amused with the entire situation but she said nothing, resigned to her fate for the moment. Though she wasn't nearly as sick as Josh, it was apparent that Audrey wasn't feeling her normal self and had no interest in any of her bath toys. Donna grabbed a towel and sat it on the lip of the tub for Audrey to rest her head. Donna brushed Audrey's hair out of her face and spoke softly, telling her a story.
"You know," she began, "I had the chicken pox once."
Audrey glanced up at her, barely moving. "You did?"
"I did," Donna nodded. "I was about your age."
"When you lived in Wisconstin?"
Donna smiled at the extra letter in Audrey's pronunciation. "Yes. When I lived in Wisconsin. It was cold and snowy and I was stuck inside all itchy and sick while my brothers and sister played in the snow."
"Did my Grammy Moss take care of you?"
"Yes, she did." Donna smoothed Audrey's hair.
"Like you take care of me and Daddy?" Audrey's eyes fluttered closed. She was fighting sleep but losing the battle to the antihistamine.
Donna gave a soft smile. She always hoped she gave Audrey and Josh the type of loving care she always received from her mother but hearing it from Audrey in her own words choked her up a bit. She leaned over and gave Audrey a kiss on the forehead before draining the tub and getting Audrey situated in a pair of soft pajamas.
"Here's Walter," Donna handed Audrey her stuffed bunny before picking her up. "Do you want to lay down in your room or Daddy's room?"
"Daddy's, please," she requested using the manners that Donna had instilled in her since before she could talk.
Donna made her way to Josh's room, handing Audrey over to him as he wrapped up his call with Leo. She grabbed the bag from the drugstore and made her way back into his bathroom, running him a bath and adding the oatmeal.
"What are you doing?" He whispered at her, trying not to wake a now drifting Audrey. "No, not you Leo," he said into the phone.
"I'm running you an oatmeal bath," she told him.
"I'm not taking an oatmeal bath!" His voice went up several octaves as he held the phone away from his ear to speak to her, wanting to ensure the senior staff didn't get wind of this conversation.
Donna shot him a look that left very little room for argument.
"...or maybe I am taking an oatmeal bath," he muttered after seeing her face.
Josh returned his attention to the call once again, listening to Leo wrap up the meeting and send his staffers on the way.
"Donna will be in later to pick up a few things," Josh advised him.
"Great. I'm sure she'll take care of everything," Leo told him, sorting through a stack of memos. "Oh, and Josh?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't forget your rubber ducky." Leo was smirking in his office.
Josh groaned and ended the call, sure he would never hear the end of this.
And as much as he hated to admit it, he did feel considerably better thirty minutes later when he rinsed off and stepped out of the tub, patting his irritated skin dry as Donna had instructed him.
He slipped into a pair of pajama pants and cracked the door to see Audrey sound asleep as Donna watched over her protectively.
"Are you just watching her sleep?" Josh asked quietly.
Donna nodded her head that she was, in fact, doing just that. "Don't you?" She wondered.
"I do," he added quickly. "I just didn't know that you did."
"It's calming," Donna stated plainly, tucking a blanket around Audrey before she carefully stood. "Now," she looked at Josh. "Calamine lotion time."
Josh's shoulders slumped but he knew better than to argue this time as Donna grabbed the pink bottle from the nightstand and lead him back into the master bathroom. He peeled his shirt off following her instructions and stood as she gently daubed the pink lotion on each of the spots they had appeared on his body.
He flinched the first time, surprised at the temperature of the solution.
"What?" She asked, worry in his eyes.
"It's cold," he admitted somewhat sheepishly.
Donna leaned forward and blew gently on the spot, her warm breath hitting him and sending chills all through his body.
"Uh," he cleared his throat, trying not to completely lose his composure and shifting his weight from foot to foot somewhat awkwardly, "actually... never mind. It's fine. I'm fine."
Donna raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at him but said nothing of his reaction, continuing with the calamine lotion and shifting the topic to a recap of his call into the senior staff meeting.
She screwed the cap back on the bottle when she was all done, moving in front of him and placing her hand on his forehead. "You're still warm," she announced. "Let's go call then cardiologist. Someone should be in the office by now."
"We don't need to call the cardiologist for every little thing," he whined.
She could tell he was going to argue with everyone and everything this morning. He was always somewhat of a petulant child when he was running a fever.
They slipped past a still sleeping Audrey and Donna grabbed the thermometer and placed it in Josh's ear, waiting for a reading. Everyone else thought the ear thermometer would be a great tool for Audrey, but the reality of the situation was that the toddler would sit still and cooperate if asked but Josh couldn't stop squirming around and running his mouth long enough for Donna to get an accurate reading. So, yes, she thought. The technology was a lifesaver.
"101.8" Donna announced with a frown. "Maybe we should go-"
"No!" He interrupted. "I'm a grown man. I can handle a little fever."
"But Josh I just think that-"
"Donna, please. I'll call the cardiologist but I'm not going anywhere. I'm fine. Really."
She bit her lip but relented. She'd choose her battles today.
Settling in to his dinging room table she called the doctor and left a message with the answering service to speak to the cardiologist as soon as he arrived. She then began some quick internet research on chicken pox and fevers in adults. Was she over reacting.
Midway through her reading she heard Josh shuffle over from the couch to stand behind her, reading over her shoulder as his fingers absentmindedly played with her hair.
"Rash, fever," he read out loud, muttering the side effects of the virus in a bored tone. "Headache, aches and pains, STERILITY?!" He almost gasp, his voice shooting up two octaves. "Donna! Do you see what that says?!" His face was scrunched up in abject panic. "It could make me... I could be..." he waived his hand around, completely flustered. "You know...!"
"Sterile?" She offered, trying to suppress a smirk at his reaction to the rogue possibly.
"Yes!" He ran his hands roughly through his hair. "It's not funny, Donna!"
"I'm sure you'll be fine. You're very virile, Joshua," she placated him. The article clearly stated that the chances of that were slim to none, but Josh hadn't bothered to read that far before panicking.
"But what if I'm not. And then I can't..." he trailed off before he finished the sentence. He realized at that he'd come very close to uttering the phrase 'what if WE can't have more kids.'
"Do you want more children?" Her voice had soften. She was no longer kidding around.
"Well... yeah." His tone matched hers. "I mean, maybe not tomorrow but... if I had a, you know..." Josh gulped, suddenly feeling nervous. "Wife."
"Right." Donna's heart beat quickly in her chest. "Well, I'm sure everything will be fine," she deflected, feeling the tension rising in the room.
"Yeah," he agreed, wishing she hadn't broken their gaze.
"Besides. You're already the luckiest dad in the world. You have this little pumpkin," Donna added in an overly chipper voice, glancing around Josh and opening her arms for Audrey, who wandered down the hall and climbed directly into Donna's lap.
"Well that didn't last long," Donna gave Josh a smile. Audrey had never been big on naps.
Josh just chuckled.
Once Audrey was situated on the couch with a video and Josh was reading briefing memos next to her Donna slipped out to grab a few things from the office and check in with Leo.
She grabbed the folders she needed and placed them into her oversized bag, thumbing carefully through the stacks of items on Josh's desk. Donna's intent was to slip in and out of the office as quickly as possible but as word quickly spread of her arrival, she ended up being in the White House for nearly an hour. Several staffers dropped by with files for Josh's review, requests for Donna's opinion and well wishes for Audrey. There was no doubt that the little girl was loved by all.
She gathered her bag and locked the door to Josh's office behind her, turning around and almost bumping into Leo.
"I heard you'd stopped by," he stated. "How's the patient?"
"The baby's a little fussy," Donna stated, shifting her heavy bag, "but Audrey's handling it all like a champ." She let herself smile at her own joke.
Leo smirked. "That doesn't shock me at all." He reached out and took her bag, walking with her to the front doors. "You'll let us know if you need anything?"
Donna nodded that she would.
"And Edith was already scheduled to be back from Florida on Sunday evening?"
"Correct," Donna confirmed. "Josh will be back in the office on Monday morning."
"Abbey said you can call her at any time. Same goes for me. You're a good girl, Donna." He rest his hand on her shoulder and paused for a moment, letting the sincerity of his words sink in before waving down Larry to carry Donna's bags to her car.
She picked up lunch on the way and once she arrived back to Josh's apartment she was pleased to find the man himself on the phone to the doctor. He ended the call shortly after her arrival, assuring her that the cardiologist didn't foresee any complications with they way they'd proceeded with medications that morning, and to keep on the same course for the time being. Audrey had immediately found her way back onto Donna's hip and Audrey silently rest her head on Donna's shoulder as she moved around the kitchen putting their lunch onto plates.
After a small lunch and another round of medication, Josh and Audrey were both dozing off again. Much to Donna's surprise they both agreed to relocate to Josh's room, Audrey quickly passing out snuggled in close to Josh as he faded out while CSPAN played softly in the background.
Donna covered them both with a blanket and moved a little closer, feeling Josh, mostly asleep, wrap his arm around her and pull her close. Life may have thrown them another curve ball, but she'd make sure they were all fine in the end. She always would.