A/N: Here's the next chapter. It's also pretty sad, but I just wanted to write out the immediate aftermath (Josh's phone call with Donna, Sam's statement to the press, how Josh tells the kids, etc). I promise there will be lighter moments as the old Bartlet team gets together and reminisces about the good times. In fact, this chapter starts with one of those. Please read and review!

Chapter 3: He Was a Good Man

In the immediate aftermath of the CNN alert, Sam was on the phone, trying to get through to the Bartlet farm. When Sam finally got through, he reached Charlie, who assured both him and Donna that he would relay funeral arrangements to Donna as soon as they had them. Sam also had a chance to talk briefly with Abbey, who understandably was still in shock. Donna offered brief condolences, promising to call them later and check in. Ainsley, who had arrived in the Oval five minutes earlier, was perched on one of the couches, and Donna was standing near the President's desk, talking to Sam and trying to remain professional.

"The news will be expecting some sort of statement from you. I can have Scott start working on some of the language, and I'll have Madison work on shelling out some airtime."

"Sounds good, Donna." Sam said. Donna was surprised; Sam usually argued over being able to write speeches himself.

Ainsley had tears in her eyes. "I can't believe President Bartlet's gone. Seems like just yesterday he was at the inauguration."

Sam chuckled. "Seems like just yesterday the two of you met."

Ainsley, against her better judgment, smiled. "Which time?"

Sam smirked. "Does 'Blame It On the Bossa Nova' ring any bells?"

Ainsley's face went red, and she hid her head in her hands.

Donna was confused. "What happened?"

Sam explained. "So, Ainsley was nervous about meeting President Bartlet, and I thought it might be easy if we just dropped in on her unexpectedly, and I had asked the President to give her a little pep talk. But what I didn't realize was that Ainsley had sat in paint accidentally, and she hadn't changed her clothes. So, the President and I walked in, and there she was, in a bathrobe, singing along and dancing to 'Blame It On the Bossa Nova'. She turned around, saw the President and screamed. But the President, he just looked around and said, 'I didn't realize we had a nightclub down here!' But it gets better. The President starts giving the speech I told him to give-verbatim-except now it's in a whole different context: 'Ainsley, I wanted to say hello, and to mention that, you know, a lot of people assumed you were hired because you were a blonde Republican sex kitten, and well, they're obviously wrong. Keep up the good work.'"

"While I'm wearing a bathrobe!" Ainsley shot back.

Donna started laughing. "Oh, no!" She could totally picture that. Suddenly, she cleared her throat and sobered. She had to get back into professional mode, and get Sam back into professional mode.

"So, Mr. President, I'm going to go ahead and run the condolence list off, and get Madison on the phone with the networks." Donna said.

"All right." Sam agreed. "Is it alright if I add some names to the list after I finish the required names?"

"Of course." Donna said. "Who did you want to call?"

"CJ. And Toby. I-I just want to check in and make sure they're okay."

Donna smiled softly. "Yeah."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the dividing door, and Ryan entered. "Pardon me. Donna?"

She turned to him. "Yes?"

"I'm so sorry to interrupt. But do you have a few minutes? Josh is on the phone. He saw the news, he's worried about you."

Donna's heart grew light, then faded slightly. "Um...I can take it in my office." She turned to Sam. "Mr. President, can I.."

Sam nodded. "Absolutely. Take all the time you need."

Donna headed back into her office, seeing immediately the blinking light signaling a call holding. She picked up the phone and hit the lighted button. "Hello?"

"Donna?" Josh's voice sounded far away. Her heart broke into a million pieces. She knew he had lost yet another father figure in his life.

"Yeah, I'm here. I'm right here, honey." They rarely used terms of endearment in the office, but Donna couldn't help herself.

"I'd ask how you were doing, but that would be a pretty stupid question." He wryly chuckled.

"I'm just trying to handle everything for today. Make sure Sam's OK, get the condolence lists..well, you remember how it is." Donna sighed. "I can't believe he's gone."

"I know." Josh said. There was a pause. "I don't suppose you know what time you'll be home tonight. We're gonna have to talk to the kids."

"I'll be here pretty late. Sam's giving a TV address sometime this evening. You may have to talk to the kids without me." Donna paused. "The girls may know something's up already."

"I hadn't even thought about that. Do you think I should get them from school before they hear about it from someone else?"

"No, I don't know if that'll do any good, it'll just worry them. Do you think you'll be able to work the rest of the day?"

"I might go home. I'm not going to be able to get any work done the rest of the day, and the rest of the office knows that." He paused. "Do-do you need me to come up to the White House? I don't know if I'll be able to be of any help, but I don't really want to be alone right now."

Donna smiled softly. "If you want. We're all going to be pretty busy, though."

"I get that, I do. Tell you what, how about I just bring you up some lunch? I'm not particularly hungry right now, and I'm sure you're not either, but you're going to be at 6:00. You can save it for your dinner."

"That's really sweet, honey, thank you. That would be great."

"I'll bring something for Sam and Ainsley, too."

"I think they'd like that." Donna said. There was a pause on the other end. "Josh? Are you still there?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm still here." Josh's voice was hoarse. "Someone just dropped off the DNC's statement on President Bartlet's death, apparently they want me to read over it. Ironic, isn't it? I abandoned Bartlet his last year in office, and yet everyone seems to want to know what I think."

"Oh, Josh. He knew you didn't abandon him. He told you that a lot of times. He was proud to see you working for Santos."

"Yeah, I guess. Listen, I'm sorry I just called like this. I know you're busy. I just-I guess I just needed to hear your voice."

Donna swallowed, trying to keep her voice from breaking as she felt tears gathering in her eyes. "Honey, you don't have to apologize for calling me, especially after this. In fact, if you hadn't called me, I was gonna call you."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Ryan poked his head in. "Donna, sorry to interrupt. But Zoey Bartlet-Young's on the other line."

"Okay, thanks." The prospect of talking to President Bartlet's grieving youngest daughter set a knot in her stomach, but she did want to talk to Zoey and see how she was holding up. "Josh, Zoey's on the other line. I need to-"

"Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Give her my love, all right?"

"All right, I'll see you in a little while, and Josh?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, baby. More than anything."

They said goodbye and hung up. Donna sat for a few seconds, collecting her thoughts, before clicking over to the other line.

"Zoey?"

There was a cough on the other end. Then she heard, "Hey, Donna."

Zoey sounded just as lost and heartbroken as Josh did. "Zoey, I am so, so sorry." Donna said.

"Thanks. We knew he didn't have much time left, but we just didn't expect to wake up one day and find him..you know."

Donna sighed. "I know. Did Charlie tell you that the President extends his deepest sympathies?"

"Yeah. I still can't believe Sam's the President. To me, he's still the guy that my father made babysit me at a bar when I was just starting at Georgetown."

Donna laughed at that, then paused. She didn't really want to hear the answer to what she was about to ask, but she had to know-not just for the President, but for herself. "Zoey..what happened? How did he get so much worse so fast?"

"I wish we really knew. You knew obviously that he was declining, because my mom told you at Thanksgiving. The truth is that my dad has been living with a diagnosis of primary-progressive MS for about 8 months."

Zoey paused to let that sink in. "He's held steady, but only really started getting bad in the last 2 to 3 months. That's why we weren't sure if he would be well enough to make the trip for the inauguration. After the inauguration, he actually seemed more..peaceful. He had seen all of you, he felt like he had done what he set out to do in life. Everything's just been a blur, it feels like. This last week was when he really started to go downhill physically, but he always recognized us and we were able to see him and talk to him. Then, this morning my mom went to get him for breakfast, and.." Zoey broke into a small sob.

"Oh, my God." was all Donna could say. "How's the rest of the family? How's.." She couldn't even bring herself to say Abbey's name.

"Everyone's been holding up OK, considering. Charlie's been a real rock, just handling the press and all the calls coming in. Liz has been here all day, trying to get Dad's affairs in order and helping Charlie with the funeral arrangements. Ellie, Vic, and Melody are still en route from New York. Annie and Gus have been a huge help with the younger kids, keeping them distracted, but they're pretty devastated." Zoey sighed. "That leaves my mom. I wish I knew what was going on in her head. She's barely spoken since we all got here, I think she's still in shock."

Donna had started to cry. "Is there anything that I-that Josh and I can do?" She wanted Zoey to know that she was reaching out not as Chief of Staff, but as a friend.

"Actually, there is something. I think my mom could use some distraction. How do you think Josh would feel about bringing the kids down a little early, like tomorrow? It looks like the funeral's going to be this weekend."

"I think that Josh would love to do whatever he can to help. As long as you're sure the kids aren't going to be in the way?"

"No, no. Honestly, I think my girls could use the distraction too." Zoey and Charlie were the parents of three daughters: Michelle (8), Deana (5), and Leah (3).

"That sounds good!" Donna said. She paused to gather her thoughts. "Zoey, I just wanted to say that your father really did mean a lot to me. We're all going to miss him."

"Thanks, Donna." Zoey said quietly. There was a voice from far away. "Donna, I have to go. Liz and I have an appointment to meet with the funeral home director."

"Okay." Donna said. She glanced at her watch. Josh would be there in a few minutes. "Thanks for calling."

"'Bye, Donna. See you in a few days."

"'Bye, Zoey."

…

The rest of the afternoon seemed to fly by. Donna was on the phone most of the afternoon with different people in DC offering condolences, in between checking in with Scott to make sure the TV address would be ready by 7:00, when Sam would address the nation. Josh came by about 15 minutes after she had hung up with Zoey.

Ryan barely had time to announce Josh before he walked in, a bag from Subway in one hand. He put it down on the desk and before Donna had had a chance to come all the way around the desk, he enveloped her in a long embrace.

"It's OK, I'm here." He whispered in her ear, soothingly rubbing her back as she allowed a few tears to escape.

They pulled apart, and Josh cupped one hand on her cheek, simultaneously rubbing her cheek with his thumb and wiping away her tears. He gestured to the bag of food.

" I didn't know what you would be hungry for, so I brought one of everything they had. You, Sam, and Ainsley can pick what you want, and we can freeze the rest."

Donna kissed him gratefully. "I think the President and First Lady went to the Residence if you want to say hi."

Josh followed her out the door to the Portico, and then to the Residence, where Sam and Ainsley were trying their best to console four-year-old Ava, who was home from morning pre-k.

Ava ran to them as soon as they walked in with the food. "Auntie Donna, Daddy told me Grandpa Jed's in heaven now."

Donna smiled sadly at the little girl. "That's right, he is." She held the little girl tight for a moment, looking forward to the moment when she could hold and comfort her own kids.

Meanwhile, Josh had gone right over to Sam. "How are you holding up, my friend?"

"All right." Sam sighed. "You know how it is trying to deal with a loss like this."

Josh hugged him. Just then, Donna spoke up. "Who's hungry? Josh brought subs from Subway."

"That sounds good." Ainsley said. They all headed over to the table, where Sam and Ainsley picked out a cold cut and an Italian meat sub, respectively. Josh took one with black forest ham, and Donna took a small meatball sub to save for later.

…

After lunch, it was back to work for Sam and Donna. Josh headed back to the townhouse to start preliminary packing for the next day; Donna had told him what Zoey had suggested, and he thought it would be a good thing for all of them.

As soon as the Lyman kids arrived home from school that afternoon, it became Josh's duty to tell them what had transpired.

"Okay, kids," he said, the kids all lined up on the couch. Anna and Abby sat one on either side of Josh, Matty on the other side of Anna, and Leo on Josh's lap. "I need to talk to you about Grandpa Jed."

"Is something wrong, Dad?" Abby said.

"Well, yes, there is." Josh hesitated. "This is it. You know how Grandpa Jed's been sick for a really long time, since before your mom and I even met, right?" The older three nodded. "We've explained that he's had this long illness and that he would probably get worse?"

Abby began to catch on before the others. "Dad, did something happen to Grandpa Jed?"

Josh nodded. "Yes, sweetheart. This morning, we learned that Grandpa Jed died in his sleep last night." He turned to Leo. "Leo, do you know what that means?"

"It means he's not alive any more?"

"That's right, son."

"It means he's in heaven, right, Dad?" Matty interjected.

"Yes, it does. It means that Grandpa Jed's in a better place where he's not in pain anymore and where he'll be happy."

That seemed to be easy for Leo to accept. But Josh knew the real test of how much he understood would come later when they went to the farm and he would ask where Jed was.

Meanwhile, both twins had begun to cry. "Poor Grandma Abbey. Everyone must be so sad."

Josh sighed. "Everyone is going to be sad, and it's going to be a sad few days. But we can all be happy because you guys had the chance to really know him, and we'll all have special memories of him that we'll have forever in our hearts."

All four kids nodded. Josh knew the best thing he could do at the moment was to hold on to his kids and be grateful that he had so many blessings in his life.

…

Three hours later, Sam was ready to give his address to the American public. Donna and Ainsley were with him in the Oval, going over last minute details.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay out there?" Ainsley asked her husband of 11 years, a hand on his arm.

"Yeah." Sam said. He took a breath.

There was a knock on the door, and Madison entered. "Mr. President, they're ready for you."

Sam started to head out the door to the pressroom, then doubled back. "Donna...I don't know if this is what the public will expect. It's not some great oration, it's just something I wanted to say from my heart." Sam had consulted and re-consulted with the speechwriters in the hours before his speech to make sure it reflected his personal thoughts.

Donna smiled softly. "You can't go wrong with what's in your heart, Mr. President."

With Ainsley by his side, Sam entered the pressroom. Donna entered behind him and found a spot on the side. Madison announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States."

Sam approached the podium, laid his speech down, and began to speak:

"Good evening, my fellow Americans. My wife Ainsley and I were distressed this morning to learn of the passing of an American giant. Jed Bartlet was a strong leader for our country, and set the bar for all who followed. As some of you may know, I began my career over twenty years ago as the Deputy Communications Director for the Bartlet Administration. In the four years I spent in the White House, I never knew a more generous and more noble man, and he bravely fought his battle with MS to the bitter end. The choices he made during his Presidency may not always have been popular, but I can say from personal experience that he made each decision with the country's best interests in mind. Ainsley's and my thoughts and prayers go out this evening to his wife Abigail, his daughters Elizabeth, Eleanor, and Zoey, and his six grandchildren: Annie, Gus, Melody, Michelle, Deana, and Leah. A beacon of light in American politics has gone out tonight, but his spirit will always burn bright, and his memory will live on in his family and in those who served with him. God bless Bartlet, God bless his family in this trying time, and God bless the United States of America."

The press and other assembled guests applauded. Donna had tears running down her cheeks; Sam had said exactly what she had been thinking the whole day. Two hours after the speech, she finally pulled into her driveway. After getting in the house, she immediately went up to her kids' rooms.

She entered the twins' room first. She straightened the covers, then softly kissed them both. As she pulled away from Anna, her heart broke as she saw tear tracks on her daughter's face: she had obviously been hit hard by the news.

She followed a similar pattern with both boys. Leo stirred when he felt his mother kiss him, but she was able to soothe him back to sleep before he ever really woke up.

Finally, she walked into her own room. Josh was sitting up, watching muted post-coverage of the President's speech.

"Hey." Donna said, surprising herself by how tired she sounded. The events of the day had obviously taken a toll on her physically as well as emotionally.

Josh looked up. "Hey." he said, his voice gravelly.

Donna leaned over and kissed him. "How did it go with the kids?" she said as she walked over to the bathroom to change.

"The girls were upset, obviously, but I think Abby kind of just accepted it. Matty always been inward, you know that, so I don't really know how he's doing. Leo seemed OK, but then again, I don't know how much he actually grasped."

"I know." Donna said, coming out of the bathroom. Josh rolled over, sat up and held out his arms. Donna crawled into bed next to him, laying her head on his chest, allowing herself to fully give into her emotions for the first time that day. Josh held her as she cried, and the awful day came to a close. Nothing more needed to be said.