Donna wasn't sure what woke her from her restless sleep, but she figured that it wouldn't have taken much to do so. Her eyes blinked against the low light seeping in through the windows as she listened closely for any noises to indicate that Audrey was awake. The house was silent but she got out of bed anyway, peeking out her door to the living room only to find the couch empty. It was then that she saw him, standing in the corner of the sunroom staring out towards the mountains.

She moved towards him, though she gave him some space.

"Hey there. Something on your mind?"

He slowly turned to look at her, not startled by her presence but clearly not expecting her either.

"Did I wake you?" He asked, trying to act as if everything was fine.

"No." She moved to stand next to him, resting her head on his shoulder and yawning a bit as they both remained silent.

Josh was lost in his thoughts, and Donna knew from experience that could be dangerous.

"You can talk to me," she told him, knowing he had a lot on his mind. "You've always been able to talk to me, Josh. And that hasn't changed, has it?"

He looked over to her, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head. "No. It hasn't."

"You don't have to beat yourself up with what happened with your mom. She understands that this is difficult for you."

He raised his eyebrows and looked at her. There was a brief moment when he wondered how she knew what had transpired the evening before, but he quickly reminded himself that this was Donna and she knew everything.

He'd felt bad about the cross words he'd exchanged with his mother before she left for Florida, and he was beginning to see that he had no real check on his emotions.

"I really don't know how to express to you how much I regret everything I've put you through."

She pulled her face away from his shoulder and cupped his cheek with her hand. "Look at me, please."

He hesitantly met her gaze and she could see the building emotion in his eyes.

"You don't have to keep apologizing to me," she told him. "I know that this was never what you intended. But do you know that it's water under the bridge for me? Do you understand that I'm not going anywhere?"

His sad eyes cut into her and she realized in that moment, that perhaps he didn't.

"Oh, Joshua." She felt a catch in her throat. "I'm going to be right here. I wish that I had all of the answers, but I just don't. There's a lot that you need to work through, and I'm going to be right beside you when you do."

He pressed his face into the crook of her neck, feeling more complete than he had in ages with his arms wrapped tightly around her, but Josh knew he was barely holding it together.

"Can I say something?" She broke the silence a few moments later but didn't move from his embrace.

"Hmm?"

"Maybe it would be a good idea to give Stanley Keyworth a call."

Josh let out a shaky breath, but knew she was right. "Yeah. Probably."

She gently rubbed his back, closing her eyes and resting her head against his chest as he returned to staring out the window. "It's beautiful here," he admitted, taking in the scenery before him.

"I think so too," she told him. "And Audrey really likes it here."

"She seemed a little off today," Josh remarked.

"Yeah. Probably just getting used to your mom being gone."

Josh nodded his head in silent agreement. It was just another reason he needed to take things slow with Donna. He wanted to make sure that he was in the right emotional headspace, and that Donna really wanted this too, but they both agreed that they didn't want to throw more at Audrey than they had to.

"Josh?"

"Yeah?"

"What have you been doing during the day?"

He shrugged his shoulders. It was all the answer she needed. Josh had lived most of his life immersed in Washington politics, the hustle and bustle became a part of him. And though he hadn't been tuned to the pulse of the beltway for the last 10 months, he certainly had a structured day. Now, home in the cabin, he was drifting. The first couple of days allowed him to get his bearings, and having Donna, Audrey and his mother home with him served as a small distraction. But with Edith in Florida and Donna back to work for another week, he was growing fidgety. Though he would have loved to spend all of his time playing with Audrey, they all agreed that wasn't a good plan. She was a creature of habit and they didn't want to disrupt her routine, knowing she needed the stability of her preschool schedule as well as the socialization with other kids. Unfortunately, that left Josh confine to the cabin for 9 hours each day.

"How's the job hunt coming along," Donna asked. Josh had explained to her that a condition of his parole was steady employment, and while he hadn't been going business to business filling out applications, he was constantly trying to find a job.

"I think I've got something arranged. Danny's editor needs a freelance fact checker and someone to write an occasional editorial. It's nothing glamorous but I could work from here and remain out of the spotlight in the process."

"You'd be great at that. We could set your computer up out here."

"That'd be nice," he admitted. "I could be more involved at Audrey's school and go to her skating lessons. And our evenings would be free," he whispered huskily in her ear.

"Mmm, I like the sound of that." Donna's fingers intertwined in the curls at the nape of Josh's neck.

"Yeah?"

"Very much," she whispered, kissing him softly.

Josh gently ran his fingertips up and down her arms, practically lulling her into a peaceful state.

"You're cold," he announced. "You should go back to bed."

"Do you wanna…" Donna had offered to give Josh his bed back multiple times, but Josh had declined. His highest priority was to make sure his family was comfortable and taken care of. Besides, he enjoyed the open feeling of the living room at this particular point in his life.

"Not tonight. You need to rest for work."

"Right." Donna nodded nervously, feeling dejected.

"I want to," Josh amended. "God, believe me, I want to. And it's not you. I just… not tonight, okay? I never want you to wonder…" he trailed off but Donna knew what he meant.

He never wanted her to wonder if he was just using her to kill the pain. She'd seen him do it with Amy, and it practically broke into pieces just to watch it happen. She was glad he had the awareness to wait for the timing to be right with them. It was the point of no return.

He walked her to her bedroom door and kissed her goodnight, returning ot his blankets and pillow on the couch for another restless night.

OoOoOoOoO

"Something smells good," Donna yawned, moseying out of the bedroom towards the fresh pot of coffee she could smell brewing.

"I'm making breakfast," Josh announced, spatula in hand, from the kitchen. "Eggs and toast. Do you have time?"

Donna grinned and took a seat at the table. "Of course. Thank you."

Josh sat two plates in front of them and poured Donna a cup of coffee. "What time do you have to be in the office, this morning?"

"8:30," Donna supplied routinely. "These eggs are delicious."

"Do you like your job?" Josh was trying to play it cool, but he really did have a lot of questions for her.

Donna paused for a moment and glanced over towards him, studying him closely before resuming chewing and swallowing hard. "It alright, I suppose."

"It's just… you've never really talked to me about it."

"I'm not exactly solving the world's problems, Josh. I'm working at a huge ski resort."

"I guess I don't quite understand why. You're exhausted when you get home, I can see it. You're about to drop when you walk through the door. The hours seem erratic and you don't exactly sound like you enjoy it. I can't help but wonder why you're working there."

"Why?" Donna's eyes widened.

Josh shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah."

She was becoming a bit annoyed. "Well, no, it's not my dream job. I work there because it provides me with a somewhat steady paycheck. And it's a check that's larger than most of the others in the area, given my skill set."

"Oh. I didn't mean to imply anything," Josh apologized. He realized he'd been bringing up sensitive topics and he'd seemed to press everyone's buttons, but he was just trying to get an idea of how the household functioned. "I was just curious since you said you would be picking up an extra shift."

"Audrey wants to ice skate." Donna stated simply. "Lessons and equipment are expensive. But I promised her she could pick one fun activity as long as she continued to work hard and behave. And she's just such a good kid. So, the extra shift every week should pay for the ice skating. It's more than worth it."

"Donna, I don't expect you to pay for Audrey's ice skating. Or anything else around here for that matter. What kind of expenses have you been taking on every month?"

"Nothing major, I suppose. Just the household stuff. I mean, as you know, we don't have a mortgage, and you had already paid for the land to be maintained for the year. So utilities, groceries, car insurance, that type of thing. Audrey's preschool and her day to day expenses. My job also offers a great healthcare plan, so she and I are covered for a reasonable rate. But to qualify, I do have to work 40 hours."

Josh stared at his plate of breakfast food. "What about the cash I left you?"

"It's in the safe. There's $6,500 left, should we have an emergency."

"So, Why isn't my mom paying for any of this?"

"What do you mean?"

"She has the money, Donna. This whole time I assumed she was taking on the bills. Why isn't she?" Josh was growing irritated.

Donna looked away. "I don't know."

"You don't know?!"

"It was all a little bit sudden, you know? Moving here was my decision so I just took care of it. She wasn't dealing with everything so well. I used some of the cash to get everything moved out here and the utilities started, and then I took a job at the resort. It was part time, but it was enough to get my foot in the door and pretty soon an affiliate was hiring full time so I was able to start there as well."

Josh sat his fork down and reached over to gently take Donna's hand. "You've been working two jobs to keep this household afloat? To provide for Audrey?"

"Well, yeah." It was the most natural thing in the world to Donna. She'd do anything to care for Audrey and Josh.

Another wave of guilt and pain washed over Josh. "Well you don't have to do that anymore. I'm sorry. I'll obviously take over the household expenses and I can reimburse you for the costs to date."

"Reimburse me?" Donna raised her eyebrows. "Josh, I'm not in this for the money. It's not my job to raise Audrey. I'm here because I want to be. Because she's my little girl, too, and I love her just as much as you do."

"I know." He quickly stated, giving her hand a squeeze. "And I didn't mean to imply otherwise. I just hate the thought of you working long hours and trying to juggle everything with no help."

"Well it wasn't that I didn't have help," Donna quickly explained. "Your mother was a tremendous help with Audrey. And all of our friends have bent over backwards to make sure she knew she was loved and that we were supported."

"I just meant financially," he assured. "I'm sorry that it went on this way for so long. If I'd have known I would have figured something out."

"It's not your fault," she assured, remaining even keeled in her emotion. "You left us with everything we needed. We're all doing just fine, okay? Besides, I like having a job."

"Alright. Well, just remember if you're unhappy you have the option to walk away. And I'd like to see more of you, you know. So maybe if you're comfortable, you'd consider something closer to 40 hours a week?"

She smiled, touched by his sentiment. "I'll think about it," she agreed. "Maybe we can revisit this conversation once you're settled in."

He nodded his head slowly, trying not to push the topic. "Alright. All that I can ask is that you think about it."

He changed the topic to lighter conversation, enjoying his breakfast next to her and a few minutes of alone time before Audrey groggily made her way down the stairs.

"Why did you eat eggs without me?" She asked with a pout.

"Because Donna has to go to work," Josh explained. "And she needed to eat breakfast before she left.

"But I go to school when Donna goes to work and Bubbe isn't here."

"Usually, yes," Josh conceded. "But I'm home now, so you're going to stay with me today, okay?"

"Really?" Audrey perked up at that.

"Yep. Just a Daddy and Audrey day." Josh picked her up and kissed the top of her head. He was looking forward to some one on one time with his little girl. "Let's start with some cartoons while I make you some eggs and Donna gets ready for work, okay?"

"Okay!" Audrey readily agreed.

Josh whipped up a scrambled egg and a piece of toast for Audrey, situating her at the breakfast table just as Donna walked out of the bedroom, ready for work.

"Love you, Sweet Pea. Be good today." Donna kissed the top of Audrey's head.

"Bye, Donna. Love you too." Audrey smiled sweetly as Donna grabbed her coat.

Josh wandered over to the door, standing awkwardly as Donna looped a scarf around her neck. "I'll take your Mom's car today," Donna told him. "Keys to the Audi are in the drawer. There's stuff for grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch and I'll be home by 5:30 to make dinner."

"Alright."

"She knows where things are and I'll be able to check my phone so you can call if you need me."

"We'll be fine." He gave a soft smile. "Anything I should do around here?"

"No, just take it easy."

"Have a good day," he told her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and glancing over to see if Audrey was paying attention. When he saw that she was absorbed in a television show, he leaned in and softly kissed Donna goodbye.

"Bye." She grinned from ear to ear in response, feeling weak in the knees as she grabbed her keys and headed to work.

OoOoOoOoO

"Audrey, I'm not going to tell you again! Put your blocks away and wash your hands! Lunch is on the table getting cold."

Audrey huffed and stamped her foot, a move that did not please Josh in the least.

"One…" Josh gave her a warning look and Audrey crossed her arms, staring him down. "Two…"

They were interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing, and Josh fished it out of his pocket to see Donna's number scroll across the screen.

"It's Donna," Josh announced. "Are you going to pick up your toys or am I going to have to tell her you're not listening?"

Audrey quickly began to put her blocks into the basket. Josh wasn't precisely sure when he'd lost his leverage, but at this point he'd use any tactic that would work.

"Hey." He answered, stepping aside to pour a glass of milk for Audrey.

"Hey yourself," he could practically hear her smiling. "How's it going?"

"Oh," Josh sighed. "It's going. When did she get so grown up? And where did the attitude come from?"

Donna chuckled softly. "Do you really have to ask?"

"What do you mean?"

"Joshua!" Donna laughed outright. "She's a little ditto of you in that department! Every day is an increasingly strenuous negotiation about something."

"Well she certainly straightened up when you called. Have a second to say hi?"

"Of course," Donna softened.

Josh handed the phone to Audrey, who grabbed it eagerly with both hands.

"Donna? Hi Donna."

"Hi, there. What are you up to, Sweet Pea?"

"Donna, are you coming home?"

Josh furrowed his brow as Audrey spoke, noting the look of concern on her face.

"Well, not right now," Donna gently explained into the phone. "But I'll be home tonight after work."

"Promise?"

"Of course. Audrey, is something wrong?"

Audrey paused for a moment and Donna could tell she was considering the question. "I want you to come home and have lunch with me and Daddy. Please?"

Donna's heart broke at the sound of Audrey's request. "I wish I could, but I have to stay at work today. I'll be home tonight and we can all have dinner together, okay?"

Audrey nodded her head and answered with a somber 'yes' before saying goodbye and handing the phone back to Josh, and then immediately clinging to him.

"What's going on?" Josh asked Donna, scooping Audrey up.

"Things are busy here today. I'm going to be a little late getting home, but nothing crazy. Maybe 7:00? Anyway, I was thinking I could pick something up on my way? Are you in the mood for pizza?"

"That sounds incredible."

"Double cheese and a six pack?"

"God, you're incredible."

She smiled. "So are you. Have fun this afternoon. See you around 7."

OoOoOoOoO

"I'm home!" Donna balanced dinner and a small bag along with her purse and a duffel as she made her way into the cabin, shaking off the snow.

"Donna!" Audrey crashed into her legs. "You're home."

"Of course I am," Donna laughed off Audrey's relief, but it didn't go unnoticed.

Donna sat the pizza and small bag on the counter and shrugged out of her coat as Audrey grabbed her hand and began to tell her about all that they'd done that day, and Lucy the Beagle hopped around in excitement at Donna's feet.

"Hi, Luce. I see you," Donna cooed, giving the dog a quick scratch on the head.

Josh moseyed over, allowing his daughter to thoroughly greet Donna, stealing a soft touch hello when Audrey wasn't paying close attention.

Donna quickly changed clothes and returned to the kitchen where Josh and Audrey were setting the table.

"Thanks for doing the laundry," Donna lightly touched Josh's arm, grabbing a few napkins and a bottle of salad dressing from the fridge.

"Yeah, no problem. I just put yours in the hamper and left it in your room."

"And how was your day, Little Miss?" Donna turned her attention to Audrey.

"It was good," Audrey answered in a sing-songy voice. "We played with blocks and watched a movie and made snow angels. How was your day, Donna?"

A full dimpled grin crawled across Josh's face at Audrey's considerate question. She was turning into such a young woman, he could hardly believe it. It felt like just yesterday that he held her swaddled in a soft pink blanket in Westport.

"It was fine, thank you. I'm sorry I was late getting home tonight, we were pretty busy at work and then I needed to go slow on the icy roads."

"Gotta be careful so you don't slip," Audrey agreed.

"And how about you," Donna turned her attention to Josh. "How was your day?" She moved her hand under the table and gently rest it on his leg.

"It was nice." He smiled. "Getting a little nicer all the time."

The three ate their dinner with an upbeat conversation, and Audrey helped to clear the table without complaint.

"Donna? Will you color with me?" Audrey asked in her sweetest voice.

"Okay. We have a few minutes before bedtime. Go get the crayons and pick our pages. I'll be right over."

"Yay!" Audrey cheered, running over to her neatly stored coloring book and yanking our two pictures.

Josh stood behind Donna in the kitchen, handing her their shared beer. "It's strange," he remarked. "She's been argumentative all day. Everything I've said to her has caused a borderline meltdown."

Donna shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe she was just having an off day."

"Maybe," Josh remarked. "But I'm not so convinced."

Donna furrowed her brow, watching Audrey begin to carefully select crayons out of the small school box where Donna stored them. "Did you say something to her?"

"I asked her what was wrong. And I was met with foot stamping and crossed arms."

"That's not like her."

"I know," Josh sighed. "But maybe she's just still adjusting to all of the changes."

"We just need to be patient with her. If something else seems off, we can re-examine our strategy. I'll get her ready for bed tonight and ask her about it again."

"Ok," Josh agreed hoping they hadn't completely thrown Audrey off over the last few days, but understanding if they had. It was a lot for any of them to process and he hoped he wasn't doing Audrey a disservice. "CJ is on Wolf Blitzer tonight. I'd like to watch the interview."

"I'll do bath duty and you can come up to read a story when it's over," Donna agreed.

"Can we watch Lucy?" Audrey interrupted, shouted from the living room.

"We have time to watch one episode," Donna advised. "Pick it out and Daddy will put the tape in."

"What?" Josh was confused.

"We have a few VHS tapes of I Love Lucy. We've been watching them in the evenings," Donna explained.

"Ah." Josh understood, and then lowered his voice again. "I, um, talked to my mother today."

"Good." Donna nodded. She'd been concerned with Edith's departure but with everything she'd been juggling, she hadn't had too much time to step in. Besides, she knew Edith and Josh had their own way of dealing with each other.

"We talked through a few things," he said vaguely. "And she'll be back in a week."

"And you're okay?" Donna questioned, studying his face.

"Yeah." Josh nodded. "I'm okay."

"Good," Donna touched his arm, moving as close to him as possible, and quickly stealing a kiss on the cheek when she knew it was safe to do so. "I'm glad to hear it."

Josh grinned as Donna picked up her mug of tea and made her way into the living room, Audrey sitting next to her as they colored. Josh popped in I Love Lucy and sat mostly quietly, watching the two color pictures of animated looking farm animals. He couldn't believe he'd been so lucky as to end up with both of them in his life. His heart swelled.

Audrey finished coloring a horse with a glittery, purple crazy just as the credits rolled. She did as Donna asked, picking up her things and not fighting her bedtime routine.

Audrey didn't balk about picking up the few toys in her room, or whine when a drop of no tears shampoo went into her eyes.

"Donna?" Audrey asked timidly as she stood at the sink, having her hair combed. "Was I a good girl today?"

Donna paused briefly, thrown off by the question, but recovered quickly as to not concern Audrey.

"You tell me," she responded. "Were you good for Daddy while I was at work?"

Audrey hung her head but didn't speak.

"Did you do what you were told?" Donna tried an alternate route.

Still, Audrey remained silent.

"I think you know the answers to those questions, Audrey," Donna told her softly, putting the hairbrush down on the vanity counter and moving to face Audrey as she crouched to eye level. "And I also think that you're a very smart girl, so you know how to correct your actions. Is that true?"

Audrey nodded her head vigorously, a look of guilt washing over her face in a way that broke Donna's heart.

"I appreciate you listening well tonight. And being so polite," Donna added. "Do you want to tell me why you didn't listen to Daddy during the day?"

"Because…" Audrey stared into the other room.

"Because… why?"

"Because." Audrey answered cryptically.

"Well, I think you know why."

"I'm sorry, Donna." Audrey looked up with tears eyes.

"Don't apologize to me. Your apology is for your Dad, isn't it?"

"Yes." Audrey spoke at barely above a whisper.

"Ok. Well, tell him. And I'd like for you to think about why you acted the way that you did, and you call tell either of us about that when you're ready, ok?"

"Kay."

"Alright." Donna picked up the brush and resumed combing through Audrey's curly, auburn hair.

In the quiet of the upstairs bathroom, she could hear Josh, situated downstairs watching CJ on CNN, reacting poorly to the news coverage. He was retorting gruffly to the line of questioning, and Donna distinctly picked out the sound of the remote slamming down on the coffee table.

"Let's pick a book," Donna suggested when Audrey met her eyes in the mirror, startled at the sound.

Audrey carefully considered the options on her bookshelf as Donna pulled back the comforter on the small bed.

"Audrey?"

"What?"

"Did Daddy get mad today? While I was at work, I mean."

"No," Audrey replied without hesitation. "Why is he mad now?"

"He's not mad," Donna assured. "He's just…" Donna wasn't sure how to answer. She was fairly certain that Josh was working himself up over the coverage of his story in the days leading up to the election.

"Did the Mets lose?" Audrey asked.

Donna let out a genuine laugh. "Maybe that's it, sweet girl. Grab your book and Walter and get in bed."

Audrey quickly chose a few of her favorite books, and Donna called down the stairs for Josh who jogged up the stairs and put a smile on his face as he read his daughter as many bedtime stories as she requested.

Closing the door behind them, Donna didn't hesitate to turn to Josh and kiss him thoroughly as soon as the coast was clear.

He smiled softly at her. "Hi."

"Hi." She blushed.

"I missed you today," he told her.

"I missed you too," she grinned, before continuing with the honesty she felt. "You know what else?"

"Hmm?"

"I really liked that when I came home tonight, you were here."

"That was pretty great."

"I don't have to go in until 2 tomorrow, so we can stay up late and have a little bit more adult time if you'd like," she offered.

He grinned wildly. "Split another beer? And maybe you can fill me in on the last season of Friends?" It was his guilty pleasure show. She never missed an episode, and when she'd lived with him the fall after Rosslyn, he'd found he enjoyed it too.

"I'll do one better than that," she offered. "I taped them for you. AND I have some leftover Halloween candy stashed away that I'd be willing to share with you."

He let out a soft laugh, careful not to wake Audrey as they walked down the stairs, Donna hurrying ahead of him to grab a few snacks from the pantry. "Oh, Donnatella," he whispered so softly he was sure she couldn't hear it. "You're my lobster."