"Daddy?" Audrey peeked around the corner from her bedroom and saw that Josh was concentrating deeply on the morning newspaper. A mischievous smile, identical to her father's, broke out on her face.
She moved silently down the hall until she was peering into the kitchen. "Daddy?" She asked softly using the indoor voice Donna had instructed her to use in the mornings.
Josh quickly turned to the second page for the rest of the article in The Post, muttering in concentration as he did so.
She stood next to him and tugged lightly on his shirt sleeve. "Daddy!"
Josh practically jumped out of his skin in surprise at her presence, dropping the paper in the process. He'd been lost in thought since he'd woken up that morning and was truly surprised to find Audrey standing at his side, blinking up at him with her big brown eyes.
"Hi, shortcake," he greeted her once he'd regained his composure. "How'd you sleep?"
"Good," Audrey responded, wiggling around a bit. "Is Donna here yet?"
"Donna's not coming over this week, remember?" He'd been over this with her several times, still, Audrey asked for Donna every morning.
She popped her bottom lip out in a pout.
Josh sighed, reaching into the pantry and pulling out a box of Cheerios. "Hold this," he told her, moving through the kitchen to gather bowls, spoons, milk and a banana.
"But why isn't Donna here?" Audrey emphasized the why and looked at him expectantly, clutching the box of cereal that was nearly as big as she was.
The simple answer, Josh thought, was that Donna was taking meetings with a different group of constituents every morning that week. "She has to be in the office to take care of some things for me," he muttered. But in his heart, he knew that there was more to it than that. They just hadn't recovered from the diary incident, and Josh wondered if they ever truly would. Still somewhat lost in thought, he didn't even realize that he kept muttering to himself quietly, wondering how he was going to fix this. ((Wondering how he was going to go through life knowing she was out there that night a few weeks ago with some other man, and a Republican no less, and he'd been hung up on her for all of these years. What if this was a sign that she'd truly moved on from them.))
"Daddy!" Audrey pulled him from his own mind as his mind wandered place he refused to acknowledge. "Look at my face."
Josh turned to peer at Audrey, caught completely off guard by her request. It was a line that he was familiar with, Donna having used in on Audrey herself many times when she wouldn't listen. He attempted to stifle his laughter at his daughter's adultlike personality.
Audrey, still clutching the large box of Cheerios close, peered up at him with a straight-faced intensity he wasn't sure he'd seen before. "Do you need to say sorry to her?"
"Do I need to say sorry to her," Josh repeated the question, barely able to believe that this conversation was even taking place. He realized, though, that maybe they should talk about it. Maybe he should let her know that he truly wasn't mad at her. But he couldn't pour his soul out to his daughter, so Josh deflected. "Whos the adult around here anyway?" He cracked a joke and gave her a little smile, taking the box of cereal.
"Donna," she retorted without hesitation, making her way to the breakfast table.
OoOoOoO
Josh groaned in frustration as he continued to dictate the letter to Donna. "New paragraph. As always, your thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated. Also appreciated was the visit to the White House by some fifty of your constituents on board a bus that was chartered by your office. Their complaints were respectfully heard by my assistant and I regret that matters escalated to the point where she felt it necessary to call in the Park Police. You'll be happy to know that their bus has been refueled and that the seniors are on their way home, each having been allowed to keep their security tags as a souvenir."
"Look…"
"Signed…"
"I was just…"
"Do it."
"Excuse me," CJ peeked her head into Josh's office.
"Hey." Josh, though very much not in the mood for friendly conversation, was glad to have a distraction.
"You got a second?" CJ glanced around the room, the tension between Josh and Donna almost palpable.
"Type that," he ordered to Donna.
"Look, I was just…" she attempted to explain.
"Type it," he repeated himself.
"May I use your computer?"
"What's wrong with yours?" He was losing his patience.
"One of them poured Wheatena on the keyboard." She was attempting to keep her cool."
"Go ahead."
Josh and Donna attempted, with unmasked annoyance, to navigate his office and switch places with one another. It wasn't lost on either of them that, until a few weeks ago, they were perfectly in step with one another at all times.
CJ briefly pushed aside what she'd originally needed to ask Josh. "Are you two okay? You seem a bit… off."
"We're fine," Josh let out a breath as he spoke, looking off into the distance. He'd heard that same comment from seemingly everyone in the last few days. "We had a little problem earlier. What's up?"
But CJ wasn't going to let it go that easily. "It's just that you're usually so in sync with each other and for the last week or so it's been as if-"
"CJ," He interrupted her, his patience wearing thin. "That's not what I meant. What did you need?"
"Hmm? Oh." She began to discuss the majority leader's answer to the question but she couldn't help but to study him as she did. Josh was her friend, and she could tell when he was off his game. And if there was something amiss between Josh and Donna, she thought, lord help them all.
OoOoOoO
It was with a certain degree of dread that Josh had found himself in the WLC's office that morning. But he had to admit that his meeting with Amy Gardner had gone better than he'd expected it to.
So he was equally surprised when he found himself walking her back to her office that very same day. As a matter of fact, Josh had found himself rather… ensorcelled. She was the kind of woman that should be exactly his type, he thought. A well educated career woman and a power dater. A little voice in the back of his mind began to protest, telling him that's not what he wanted anymore, but Josh quickly silenced it.
And, Josh thought, the ballon animal thing was certainly a point in the plus column as well. That had to mean that she liked kids, right? But he was getting ahead of himself. For the time being he would keep Audrey far away from Amy and any arrangement he had with her.
He didn't need to plan their entire future out. In fact, the thought of doing so was making him sweat on a chilly winter night. No, no. He just wanted to keep things casual. But he was a man, and he had needs. Needs that Amy had seemed interested in satisfying. There was nothing wrong with that, he told himself. No commitments, no pressure.
Yes, this could work, he assured himself as he strolled down the street towards the office. Perhaps she was right- he did need to be hit over the head with it. And Amy Gardner seemed to be the exact opposite of Donna Moss in many ways. Perhaps that was just what he needed in order to move on.
OoOoOoO
"Audrey, quit dilly dallying. Pick your book and get into bed or there will be no story at all tonight," Josh warned.
"But Daddy, I'm not tired." Audrey whined.
"No buts, Audrey Joan. It's well past your bedtime."
Audrey scrunched up her face in discontent before selecting The Kissing Hand, one of her favorites, and handing it to Josh, who clicked on the nightlight in the corner. Donna purchased the book for Audrey before she started school, and the first time Josh had read it to her he'd become quite choked up.
Josh pulled the covers back on her small bed and Audrey climbed in, dragging Walter the Bunny behind her.
Josh tucked the blankets in around her, making sure that she was comfortable before sitting next to her. "What was your favorite part of your day, Shortcake?" He asked her every night and was always delighted to hear her answer.
"Making pancakes for dinner!" Audrey exclaimed with a grin. "I helped you, Daddy!"
Josh couldn't help but to smile back at her. "Yes, you did. And you did a great job."
"Walter's favorite part was watching the news with you," she said seriously. She'd situated her trusty bunny on the couch next to Josh that evening so he'd have some company as he watched a political commentary show on CNN and she busied herself coloring.
"Ah, well I'm glad to hear he enjoyed that," Josh responded, biting back a smile. After all, Walter the Bunny was a highly regarded member of the Lyman family.
Josh began reading the book, telling the story of Chester Raccoon and his first day of school. As Chester realizes his fears of being away from his mother, Mama Raccoon kisses his hand and reminds him that if he's lonely all he needs to do is place his hand on his cheek and remember that he is loved. It had since become a staple of their mornings. Without fail, Josh would kiss her palm before he departed for senior staff.
Josh continued to read softly as Audrey's eyelids became heavy and her usually abundant energy slowed. Soon, she was asleep and Josh closed the book, listening to her steady breathing and watching her rest peacefully.
He brushed a stray curl out of her face and kissed her forehead. "Sweet Dreams," he whispered, "I love you, baby girl."
OoOoOoO
Josh's door buzzed, pulling him from his sleep only moments before his alarm was set to go off. He clicked the button to open the door, assuming Donna had left the house without her keys. Why she was so early today, he didn't know. But after a busy week of taking his early meetings at The White House they were all ready to get back to their normal schedule.
He was somewhat surprised to see Amy, but was too exhausted to show almost any emotion. They argued back and forth for a few moments, Josh slightly annoyed that she felt this conversation was appropriate at this time of day.
"Josh, you and I spent four nights with each other. I didn't break up with him for you. I'm not pathetic-stalking-woman who, you know... does things." Amy rolled her eyes
"We spent six nights with each other." It was early, but he was always up for a little playful back and forth. He was ensorcelled.
"What are you counting?"
"I'm counting them all.
"It was four."
"Daddy?" A tired little voice called out from down the hallway.
Amy froze and Josh cringed a bit. He somehow felt like he'd been caught. He fixed his face back into neutrality as he rounded the corner and crouched down to Audrey's level, smoothing her bed head.
"Hi, shortcake. What are you doing up?"
Audrey rubbed her eyes and clutched her trusty stuffed bunny. "I heard a noise," she yawned. "Is Donna here?"
"No, baby," Josh kissed her forehead. "Donna's not here yet. Why don't you go back to bed and I'll be in to check on you in a minute?"
Audrey stuck her lip out to pout and Josh shook his head, a little smile coming across his face. There was no question as to where she'd learned that little maneuver. She was the master's apprentice. "Back to bed," he told her, standing up.
Audrey looked up at him, blinking her big brown eyes and then ran by him with a giggle, heading directly towards Josh's king size bed to see if she could talk him into cartoons. She stopped dead in her tracks halfway through the living room and stared at Amy.
"Hello," the Amy drawled, unsure how to address the little girl in this somewhat awkward situation.
Audrey looked over at Josh for reassurance before politely greeting Amy and pulling her bunny closer. She stood in the uncomfortable silence for a few more beats before padding into Josh's room and crawling under his comforter and falling quickly back to sleep.
"So," Amy began, staring at the door to Josh's bedroom, unsure of how to continue.
"That's Audrey," Josh stated the obvious.
"She's cute," Amy offered.
"Thanks."
"She's quiet, though," Amy supplemented. "She doesn't get that from you."
"She's shy around people she doesn't know."
"Does your assistant usually show up at your apartment in the middle of the night?" Amy directed her attention back to Josh, asking the question that was truly on her mind.
"She's little, Amy. She didn't check her watch before she came out here, she just thought it was time to wake up."
"And your assistant is usually here when she wakes up?"
"Donna takes her to school in the mornings so I can get to senior staff on time. Plus, I'm not very good at the whole fixing her hair thing."
"You're sure you're not dating her?"
"Amy-"
"I just want you to at least acknowledge that this arrangement that you have with her isn't normal, J."
"For some reason, I don't think I'm going to take advice from you on this today," He handed her her jacket and practically ushered her out the door. "I'll talk to you about the other thing in thirty seconds when you call me on your cell phone."
XxXxXxX
A/N: First of all, thank you SO MUCH for the warm response to this fic. Your comments and reads mean so much to me. I am having such a blast playing in this universe and it's so much more fun to know that you guys are enjoying it, too.
STOP READING NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT SOME MILD SPOILERS: I know the last few chapters have been a departure from the fluff that this story started out with. And I know that a lot of you guys were hoping that the Amy arc would be skipped altogether, but I think that Josh and Amy are important. To me, in the show, he sees through Amy that the type of woman he 'thinks' he should want is the type of woman he doesn't want at all. However, I do promise to keep this arc brief. That being said, this chapter signifys the end of cannon for our characters. There will be some re-working of ideas as well as a major plot twist or two. If you've read my other stories you know I typically throw something unexpected at you. But I will promise you this- In the world I've created, there is ALWAYS a happy ending.