"Josh Lyman's office." Donna hit the speakerphone button and continued to scribble a note from behind Josh's desk.
"Donna?"
"Edith?" Donna stood up, immediately tuned in to the sound of Audrey wailing in the background. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong, dear," the older woman offered quickly. "Audrey and I are just having a little... disagreement. We're at the Town Centre Mall, could you possibly come over here?"
Donna heard the borderline exasperation in Edith's voice as she attempted to calm Audrey down.
"But she's alright? You're sure? What happened?"
"She's fine, Donna. Really. I promised her she could get her ears pierced for Hanukkah and we were halfway through the process..."
"Say no more. I'll be right there," Donna told her.
As soon as Donna ended the call and glanced up she saw Josh, frozen in the doorway with his jaw set.
"Get your coat," she told him, needing him to get into gear rather than launch into the tirade she knew was coming. He could do that in the car. Donna grabbed her purse as Josh muttered something under his breath. Once inside the vehicle, Josh's mood didn't lighten.
"How long have you known about this," he snapped at Donna, making a sudden lane change and accelerating past several vehicles.
Donna raised her eyebrows and stared at him. "About thirty seconds longer than you have, Joshua."
He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and stared straight ahead at the roadway.
"What's wrong there, Rambo?"
"I just can't believe she would do this," he was growing more irate by the minute. "I mean, she didn't even ask us!"
"And you're vehemently opposed to pierced ears?" Donna was trying to pin down the source of the problem before their arrival at the mall caused a scene. He'd been unusually high strung, even for Josh, the last few days.
"Yes!" Josh blurted out. "Well, no," he then admitted, confusing even himself. "I don't know. That's not the point. The point is that she didn't say a word about it. She just made the decision and went out to have it done. What, did she think we wouldn't notice when we picked her up tonight?"
"I don't know about any of that. But she probably didn't think it would bother you like this," Donna offered.
"She's too young," Josh continued his rant. "She doesn't need to look like a teenager with, with... earrings! What if they get infected? What if she pulls them out!"
"Josh, plenty of little girls, even babies, have pierced ears. It's a rite of passage. And you know I'm not going to let anything get infected," she reached over and lightly touched his arm as they found a parking space. "Just try to stay calm, okay," Donna offered. "We're in a public place and your mother and Audrey are upset, too. You don't want to say anything you'll regret later."
As they made their way through the crowds of holiday shoppers, Jingle Bell Rock playing overhead, Josh and Donna found Edith and Audrey exactly where they'd been for the past 40 minutes. They were both relieved to see the tears had halted completely.
"Daddy!" Audrey shouted from where she sat on the bench.
"Hi, Shortcake," Josh crouched down in front of her. "What are you doing here?" Josh tried to keep his tone light and playful.
"Shopping with Bubbe," Audrey offered, swinging her feet a bit. "We got you new shoes," Audrey stated, unable to keep a secret regarding Edith's holiday gift purchases. "And a sweater for Donna. It's purple like my room."
Edith shook her head and chuckled quietly at the ruined surprises.
"Audrey Joan," Josh faked confusion, "what's on your ear?" He pointed to the tiny silver stud on her right ear.
"It's an earring, Daddy." Audrey was borderline exasperated that he even had to ask.
"An earring, huh?"
Audrey sat up tall and turned her head slightly so Josh could get a better look. "Don't I look pretty, Daddy?"
"Well, I think you looked pretty before, baby girl," Josh offered.
Donna stood next to him, watching her normally off the rails boss transform into the calm, stable presence in front of his daughter. She lightly placed her hand on his shoulder in quiet support.
"Okay," Josh reached forward to tuck Audrey's hair out of the way. "Time to take it out."
"Noooo," Audrey protested rather loudly, moving away from his touch. "Bubbe promised! She said I could have pretty earrings for Hanukkah! I'm a big girl!"
Josh leaned back a bit. "Well, if you want earrings you have to get the other one pierced."
"No, Daddy, it hurts!" Audrey protested.
Josh sighed. "Well, it has to be one or the other," he told her.
"Joshua," Edith began, "maybe we should just give her some time. She was quite upset earlier and..."
"Ma," Josh stood, "I really don't want to get into it right here. It's one or the other."
Donna sat down on the bench next to Audrey as Josh and Edith began a tense conversation in hushed tones.
"Hi, baby girl."
"Hi, Donna," Audrey gave her a huge smile. "Do you like my earring?"
"It's very fancy," Donna told her.
"It hurt," Audrey admitted to Donna. "Like a punch but worse."
"I know it did," Donna assured, smoothing her hair as Audrey leaned in to Donna's side. "But it only hurt for a minute or two, right? It's better now?"
Audrey thought about it for a moment, realizing that she was no longer in pain and nodding in agreement to Donna's assessment.
"That's right. I remember when I got my ears pierced," Donna offered.
Audrey looked up at her in awe. "You do?"
"Of course. I was in the third grade. It was a Christmas gift, just like yours is a Hanukkah gift."
"Were you scared?" Audrey asked.
"A little bit," Donna assured. "But I really wanted to wear my new earrings. And I knew I had to be brave or I couldn't wear my new earrings."
"Maybe I can try to be brave," Audrey told Donna.
"Do you want to go back inside and pick out a pair earrings while you think about it," Donna offered.
Audrey nodded her head in confirmation and took Donna's hand following her into the store, and catching Edith and Josh's attention.
Edith moved to follow them but Josh motioned for her to stay outside with him, looking on into the store as Audrey pointed out what she wanted to Donna, and then crawled onto Donna's lap and sat patiently as she let the attendant pierce her other ear.
Donna kissed her on the forehead and told her she'd done a great job, paying for the petite purple butterfly earrings Audrey had selected and returning to join Edith and Josh outside the store.
"All done," Donna announced. "Now, we've all had a rough afternoon, so why don't we all head over to find some ice cream?" She didn't leave any time for response. "Come on," she told them, looping her arm around Josh's and toting Audrey with them as she gave Edith a warm smile.
When they rounded the corner inside the mall near the ice cream shop, Donna continued to handle the situation. "Audrey and I will get the ice cream," she announced. "You two find a table."
Josh and Edith stood in silence for a few moments, Josh's foul mood very noticeable to Edith.
"Talk to me, son."
Josh glanced over to his mom but he gave his head a slight shake 'no,' and scowled. He was upset, and he was concerned about saying something in anger. Truthfully, he knows just how much his Mother does for him. He could never raise Audrey on his own. But still . . . . she should have asked him.
"Joshua David…" Her tone of voice compels him to respond.
"You want to talk? Alright. Let's talk," he sat down with a huff. "That's my little girl. And believe me when I tell you, Mom, that I know couldn't raise her alone. And I really do appreciate all you do for us. But at the end of the day, there are some things that are up to me."
"And this was one of them?" Edith was truly amazed at Josh's reaction to this. She didn't think this was that big of a deal.
"YES! God, Mom, of course I want to be involved in things like this! She's growing up faster than I can comprehend anyway, I don't want to miss out on raising her. I'm not saying that I would have said no or fought you on it, just… run it by us next time."
"Wait a minute, Us?" His Mom gets an evil smile. "And who exactly is this 'us' I need to run it by next time? Hmmm?"
"Mom, I'm not getting into this right now."
"Avoidance, Joshua. You refuse to ever 'get into it.'"
"That's not true."
"Maybe you should start with admitting to yourself how you really feel."
"I'm not in denial, Mom. I just... can't. There's too much at risk."
"You really are blind."
"I'm not," Josh whispered harshly. "I'm not," he repeated, softening his tone as he watched Donna bend down and fix Audrey's hair. "I just... there's a lot going on right now. Things I can't tell you. Things I can't tell her. Things I can't tell anyone."
"Joshua, you don't have to take on the weight of the world."
His face wore a sad smile. "I may not have a choice."
But before Edith could continue to question him, Donna and Audrey returned with everyone's ice cream and Josh plastered on a bright smile.
"Alright," Donna narrated her actions as she passed out the ice cream scoops while Audrey climbed into a chair beside Josh. "Peppermint for me, sugar free butter pecan for Edith, birthday cake with sprinkles for Audrey and a hot fudge sundae with extra marshmallow and no nuts for Josh."
The four ate and chat, Audrey giving an over the top description of what she'd seen in the toy store window. Feelings were repaired with every passing minute. Somehow, Donna always knew exactly what they needed.
"Okay," Josh looked at his watch. "We better head out." He kissed his mother on the cheek and Audrey on the forehead. "I'll see you later, Shortcake. Be good for Bubbe."
He picked up his remaining portion of sundae and strolled leisurely towards the exit, Donna in perfect step beside him. As they reached the exit he took one last bite and moved to discard his small paper bowl.
"Wait!" Donna interjected, immediately blushing at her own outburst.
Josh wore a smug grin on his face. "Yeeessss?" He drawled. He knew what she wanted, but he was going to make her ask for it.
Donna reached towards him, but he pulled away, still grinning.
"Can I have it?"
Josh contorted his face as though he was confused.
"Jooosh…"
"Oh, would you like my cherry, Donnatella?" He was practically bouncing as he bantered with her. "Because I could, perhaps, be persuaded to share. For, say, a trade."
She gave him a playful pout. "You don't even like cherries."
"But you do. And I, therefore, have the upperhand. You see, Donna, that's an important tactic in politics."
Donna rolled her eyes at him.
"I'm being serious," he told her, acting intentionally pompous to get a rise out of her. "It's all about the upper hand when you negotiate. That and catching them off guard. I'm a master negotiator, Donna."
"What do you want?"
"Get me out of my 3:00 meeting with Bob Slattery early."
"Deal," she reached over and snatched his maraschino cherry, popping the entire thing into her mouth.
He raised one eyebrow as he watched her stand there, staring him down with a mischievous look on her face as her cheeks contorted for a quick moment before Donna produced the stem of the cherry, tied into a perfect knot.
Josh's jaw dropped. His mind went to places he tended not to let it.
Donna casually dropped the knotted stem back into the small plastic ice cream cup he was holding as she walked away, intentionally putting an extra sway into her hips, as she left Josh standing where he was, shell shocked.
"Come on, Joshua," she called over her shoulder. "You can teach me more in the car."
Josh gulped. God, he'd like to. If only she knew.
OoOoOoOoO
"He's going to be fine," Donna came up behind Josh and rest a hand on his shoulder, placing a warm mug in front of him. "It's Leo. He's built out of granite, Josh."
"I'll think of something," Josh muttered. "I have to think of something."
"What you have to do," Donna interrupted his thoughts, "is finish reading this memo so you can meet with the President in twenty minutes and then get to your Mom's house for dinner."
"Yeah." He scrubbed his hand over his face. He'd been consumed with finding a way to spare Leo from having to testify before the House, but he was currently at a loss. He had a few stall tactics in mind, but he wasn't sure they would be enough.
Donna remained where she was, her hands gently grazing across his shoulders and neck, back and forth, gently relieving the tension that currently resided inside of him. "You'll talk to me? When you're ready and if you can?" It was all she could offer him, but she wanted him to know that she was there for him. She always was. And she was tuned to him. She knew something was happening. Something about Leo's deposition had gotten under his skin and it was festering.
Josh reached up and gently clasp her hand where it rest, giving it a gentle squeeze. He couldn't currently find the words that he needed but he hoped his actions conveyed his emotions. "Always, Donnatella," he stated simply. "Thank you." Josh stood and grabbed the folder he'd need to brief the President, kissing her on the forehead. "You're coming to dinner?" he confirmed.
She nodded softly, her hand moving down from his shoulders and gently rubbing his back before he stepped away.
And in that moment, Donna was particularly glad that their relationship had recovered from the tumultuous events of the last 6 months. They'd moved on from Cliff and Amy. Neither had any place in their life. She and Josh were friends again, and if anything their friendship was even stronger. And she never felt more confident in her place in Audrey's life. Co-parenting with Josh fulfilled her in ways she'd never imagined. They'd weathered this storm. And if something else was brewing, well, she'd stand beside him through that, too.