A/N: Here's the next chapter! Please read and review!

Chapter 12: The Big News

Two years later: May 2003

Fort Hood, Texas

Retired soldier Josh Lyman pulled into the Army base of Fort Hood like he did nearly every weekend. He had rented a small apartment near Fort Hood so he could be near Donna. Josh handed over his photo ID and got waved into the single-person housing area on base. He reflected and smiled as he drove along the base, looking around at the home of Donna's new regiment, the 1st Cavalry Brigade. It wasn't quite the close friendship she had enjoyed with the people on Fort Belvoir, but she had developed a good rapport with her soldiers. And, she had been promoted: she was now US Army Captain Donnatella Moss. Josh couldn't be more proud of her, working hard to serve her country every day.

The September 11 attacks on American soil had shaken her and her unit badly. And then there were the months of sitting around, waiting to hear if Donna would be called up to do a tour in Afghanistan, since the US had indefinitely extended their time there. But the call never came. Her CO explained that it had nothing to do with how fit Donna was for the mission; they simply needed her more back on base, training her unit for the inevitable invasion of Iraq that the President had been promising for some time. And then, two months earlier, the invasion had finally taken place. Donna's troops were still on the ground in Texas, however, and Josh was secretly grateful. He knew he was being selfish, but he wanted Donna to himself. Especially now that he wanted to take the next step in their relationship.

He pulled his car into a parking space, strolling up the walk to Donna's apartment building, a walk he had taken many times. He gleefully climbed the stairs to the second floor and went straight for the third door on the right. Taking a deep breath and making sure his grandmother's engagement ring (procured from his mother Rachel with a shriek of glee and an "It's about time!") was nestled safely in his jacket, he knocked.

The door swung open, and Donna appeared wearing a flowered cocktail dress that she knew was one of Josh's favorites.

"Hi." she told him, leaning in for a kiss.

"Ready to go?" Josh asked.

"Yep. Just let me grab my coat." Donna replied, reaching for her green Army coat and keys and pulling the door shut behind her in one swift motion. Josh draped an arm around her as she shrugged on her coat and they made their way downstairs.

They headed to a local diner that was a favorite of Donna's on post. As they sat down and ordered, they began lightly chatting about life in general.

Donna was nervous. She knew that what she had to tell Josh might alter their relationship. But at the same time, she knew her work in the Army wasn't done. The truth was, as her five-year commission came to an end, she had been toying with the idea for months about re-enlisting. She could only hope that Josh would be receptive of the idea.

"Josh?"

"Yeah?"

"I want to talk to you about work."

"Everything OK?" Josh asked. He wondered if she was having problems, or if something had happened.

Donna opened her mouth, and hesitated. "This is-this is hard."

"What is it, baby?"

She swallowed. "I'm thinking about re-enlisting."

Josh blinked. Maybe he had misheard her. "What?"

"I didn't say anything before, because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. But this invasion into Iraq-it's just about convinced me. I don't want to be done yet, Josh. There's still so much turmoil in the world, and they need good, qualified officers."

"You realize that if you re-enlist, you're basically asking to be deployed?" He hated the thought of being separated from his girlfriend for a year or more, particularly when he was preparing to take this big step.

"I know that." Donna told him. "It's not that I want to be separated from you, but right now, in this world climate, soldiers are being deployed almost everyday-this is what I feel like I need to do." She took a breath, then launched into the second part. "But there's a variable to this equation, Josh, and that's you."

"Me?" Josh repeated, surprised.

"These past two years, what we've had-it's been the best two years of my life. I love being a soldier, I love what I do, it's a part of me. But you're part of me, too. I want to stay in, but Josh, you are more important to me than the Army." She reached across the table for Josh's hands, and he took hers. "You gave up your Army career for me two years ago so that I could pursue mine. Now, I'm willing to do the same for you."

Josh was taken aback. "Donna-"

"Hear me out." Donna said abruptly. "If this isn't what you want, then I'll get out of the Army."

Josh sat back in contemplation. He didn't want to put his girlfriend in the position to choose between her career and her love for him. No, he decided. He had decided weeks earlier that if Donna wanted to re-enlist, he would support her all the way.

"Josh?" Donna asked anxiously.

He sat forward. "Donna, I would never ask you to choose between me and your career. I know how important it is to you. Which is why I'm saying right now that if you want to re-enlist, I will be behind you the whole way. In fact, I was going to wait until later, but I think this is the perfect time." He pulled the engagement ring out of his pocket, secretly a little glad that this conversation had given him a better segue than, "Pass the salt, and by the way, will you marry me?"

He slid out of the booth and down on one knee, popping open the box. Donna gasped, and her eyes filled with tears. "What are you doing?"

"Donna...I don't know what's going to happen these next couple of years. But what I do know is that I don't think I can live another second without you by my side. So, I guess I'm asking now: Donnatella Moss, will you marry me?"

Donna nodded vigorously. "Yes, of course I'll marry you."

Josh stood up, swept her up into his arms, and kissed her, oblivious to the cheers that had broken out in the crowded diner. Donna grinned as they broke apart, and he slid the ring on her finger.

"I love you." Josh told her.

"I love you too." Donna replied. This had not been what she expected that night, but that didn't mean she was any less thrilled to be connected to Josh Lyman for the rest of her life.

…

Once they left the restaurant that night, there were phone calls to make to their family and friends. Everyone was beyond thrilled for the couple. Although Donna's parents were surprised when she told them she was re-enlisting, they ultimately accepted her decision. Josh went with Donna when she filled out the re-enlistment paperwork and officially signed on to five more years in the US Army. Their parents were especially excited for the engagement, and immediately began trying to plan the wedding. Only after two headache-inducing months of wedding planning and a threat from Donna to elope at the nearest City Hall did their parents back down. With both sides working together with Josh and Donna, the wedding began to take shape. An outdoor wedding in October in Killeen was soon set. Josh called and asked Sam to be his best man, and Donna called and asked Carol to be her maid of honor. It would be a wedding on the smaller side, but they were fine with that. They didn't need a huge wedding with all the pomp and circumstance, just each other.

Little did they know that something would happen in July of that year that would slam their wedding plans in reverse gear.

Donna was sitting in the administrative offices at Fort Hood. She had no idea why she was there, just that General Eric Baker wanted a word with her. About what, she couldn't imagine, but she was prepared for anything.

"Captain Moss? Will you come in, please?" She stood up in her everyday work uniform and walked into the General's office, where he was standing to greet her.

"Please have a seat." he gestured to the chair opposite his desk after they saluted one another.

General Baker did not beat around the bush when it came to why she was there. "Captain Moss, we think you've been doing outstanding work with your platoon. Those soldiers have been whipped into shape and are ready for anything."

"Thank you, sir." Donna said gratefully, though she was still confused.

"You've been working so hard with them that we think the unit's ready to go overseas."

There it was. The elephant in the room since she had been transferred to Fort Hood was now staring her in the face as a painful reality. She nodded once, acknowledging reception of the information.

"I would be deploying with the unit?" She knew it was a stupid question to ask, but she had to.

"Yes. I assumed you knew that was a given. You've done marvelous work with the troops out here, we want to see that continue in combat."

"Yes, sir, of course. I just wanted to be sure."

"You'll be receiving a packet of information this afternoon regarding duration and completion of the mission. Your platoon will be receiving their orders at about the same time."

"When can we expect to move out?"

"Two weeks."

The news hit her in the gut. Two weeks. She had two weeks to prepare for the possibility that she could be separated from Josh for anywhere between six months or two years. Once she was dismissed from the meeting, she wandered around base, letting the information sink into her head. She knew she had to tell Josh, but she wanted to wait until she had complete information.

Two hours later, there was a knock on her apartment door, and an Army messenger delivered the packet. Her hands shook as she opened the information and scanned it. Aside from the classified information of what she would be dealing with and where exactly she was going, she also got the information she needed. Destination: Baghdad, Iraq. Estimated time of deployment: 12-14 months.

She stood up from her kitchen table, pulled on her coat, and headed out to Josh's office. She needed to share this news with him before she told anyone else. Josh had been doing well for himself since getting out of the Army. Putting his degree in Public Policy to good use, he had gotten a job at a local political office as a legislator/lobbyist. Donna pulled up to his office and watched him through the picture window for a few moments, knowing she was about to rock his world.

She stepped through the door to the office, waving to a few of his co-workers as she walked over to his desk. He was hunched over, writing out paperwork. When he looked up, though, he couldn't stop the grin from spreading on his face.

"Hey, baby." he greeted Donna, standing up from his desk to kiss her cheek. "What are you doing here in the middle of the day? I thought you'd be working late?"

"Actually, can we talk?" Donna asked him, not wanting to have this conversation in the middle of the busy office.

Josh nodded. "What's up?"

She bit her lip. "Not here. Let's go outside for a few minutes."

Confused, he led her outside to one of the benches that lined the park across the street from his office building. He looked at her carefully and noticed that she looked worn out, like she had gotten bad news.

"Everything OK?" he asked her as they sat down. Deep down, he knew what was likely happening, but he shoved it down because he wasn't quite ready to deal with the possibility.

Donna took a deep breath, knowing this would be one of the toughest conversations they had ever had as a couple, but knowing it had to be done. Finally, she spoke. "General Baker told me today that the unit's ready to deploy."

Josh's expressive face fell. His worst fears had been confirmed. Donna was leaving.

"How long?" he quietly asked.

She knew there was no use beating around the bush. "Twelve to fourteen months."

"Iraq?"

"Yeah." Her voice was shaking.

Josh shook his head, then ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't believe this."

"You knew it was part of the job, Josh."

"I did. I just didn't expect-we're supposed to get married in October!"

"I know. I'll call the venue and see if we can get our money back. I'm sure they have plenty of couples around here who end up having to postpone."

"It's not just that. We lose our deposits or whatever, I don't care. What I care about is having to wait an entire year to be married to you."

"What do you suggest, Josh?" Donna snapped, irritated. "Eloping in the two weeks before I have to leave?" She quieted. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bite your head off."

"No." Josh said, slightly interrupting her. "That's actually not a bad idea."

Donna looked up. "Josh…"

"Think about it. Because of the time constraints, we can do exactly what we wanted in the first place. A small, quiet ceremony in the judge's chambers."

"Josh, when I threatened to elope at City Hall, I was half kidding."

"But I'm not." Josh said, kneeling before her. "We get our parents out here this weekend. We call Sam and Carol and ask them to be witnesses. You said if you had your way, you would wear your dress uniform instead of a white dress, so we'll do that. We can go out and buy rings tonight. We can write our own vows. So...what do you think?"

Donna was quiet. In a way, it sounded perfect. Get married without the hassle of a big ceremony and still be married before she goes overseas. But, there was still a lingering question.

"I just want to make sure we're not rushing this because you don't want to be left out of the loop if something happens to me."

"That's part of it." Josh admitted. "But the bigger truth is, more than anything, I want to be married to you. And I don't want to wait another year."

Donna was quiet, then smiled slowly. "What's the waiting period on a marriage license in Texas?"

Josh grinned. He knew he had her. "I don't know but I'll find out."

"We'll call everyone tonight?"

"Absolutely. Let's do it, Donna. Let's get married."

Donna smiled brightly for the first time since the deployment news. "Let's get married."

A/N: Okay, next chapter's the wedding, then what Donna's deployment looks like for the couple. Please leave a review, let me know what you thought!