Josh was close to drifting off again in Sam's office with his head leaned back against the chair when the phone started to ring, shattering the comfortable silence between them.

"Yeah?" Sam answered quickly. His eyes flicked to Josh before he nodded slowly with a grimace.

"Yeah, okay." He hung up the phone and Josh looked at him expectantly.

"I've been called into Leo's office," Sam said with an apologetic smile. Josh nodded and looked down.

"I'll-"

"Go home, Josh," Sam said, cutting him off. The door opened and Donna shuffled in looking frazzled.

"Josh, I've been looking for you for an hour!" she said, exasperated.

"Sorry," Josh said innocently. "I've been here the whole time! I uh, I fell asleep."

"Donna, I think it's time to take him home," Sam said quietly.

"I can hear you," Josh growled. "I'm not a four year old you know."

Sam gave Donna a significant look before gathering his stuff. "I think he's getting cranky."

Donna allowed a snort of laughter causing Josh to look mutinous. Sam smirked at him one last time.

"Go home, Josh." He turned and left the office, shutting the door behind him.

"Come on, Josh," Donna said, kinder now.

"They're having a meeting about me," Josh said, his shoulders drooping. Donna nodded.

"Yeah." She held her hand out to him. Josh grasped it after a moment's hesitation and Donna helped hoist him up off the sofa. The movement after having been stationary for so long caused immediate ripples of pain to shoot through him. He had to steady himself with his hands on his knees for a while.

"You need to go home," Donna muttered. "We never should have kept you out this long."

Josh made to move forward, but at the sharp pain radiating from his chest he was forced to sit down again.

"Damn it," he muttered to himself. He avoided Donna's gaze.

"Josh-"

"Let's just wait here, Donna," Josh said quickly, desperately. "At least til the meeting's over, that way we don't have to come back if we don't have to." Donna saw the anguish in his eyes and knew he was in too much pain right now for the return journey home.

"Okay," Donna replied after a moment. She understood Josh didn't want to admit he couldn't make it back to the apartment.

"Let's at least go to Toby's office," Donna said lightly.

"Why?"

"He has a sofa," Donna said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. She tugged on Josh's hand again and they slowly made their way to Toby's office next door.

"Much more comfortable." Josh sat down gratefully, but still looked a little perturbed.

"Toby's as pissed as Leo. I don't know if this is even safe."

"Do you want to walk all the way to CJ's office?" Josh scowled and said nothing.

"So now what?"

"I guess we wait." Donna sat down next to Josh on the sofa and Josh turned his head to her.

"How're you feeling?"

"I feel like I'd just like this day to be over." Josh nodded in agreement, stifling a yawn.

"Why aren't you tired?" Josh asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought pregnant women were tired a lot. Isn't growing a person tiring?"

Donna laughed and leaned her head back.

"I'm tired." From the corner of her eye she saw Josh reach a hand towards her before pulling it back sharply. She straightened up and locked eyes with him. Josh's eyebrows rose shyly in question and she nodded. His fingers gently traced their way across the expanse of her belly until it finally rested right in the middle, covering most of it.

"Can you feel it yet? Moving and stuff?"

"Not yet."

A corner of Josh's mouth was quirked upwards as his eyes stayed on Donna's belly. He yawned again.

"Why don't you take a nap, Josh?" Josh scowled again at being coerced into doing anything. He pulled his hand back.

"Don't be a baby," Donna said after seeing that familiar look on his face. "Just do it. That way you'll have more energy after... you know."

Josh had to admit he felt exhausted. Exhausted to the point where he wasn't sure a nap would even make a difference. Seeing the pleading look in Donna's eye though, he relented.

"Fine."

"Good."

"You'll wake me up if something happens?"

"Sure."

"Donna."

"Yes." Josh nodded before slouching a little in his seat, letting his head rest against the cushions. He crossed his arms and within minutes he was fast asleep.

"We can't fire a guy who just took a bullet for the President," CJ was telling the room at large, her arms outstretched to emphasize her point.

"CJ, this is going to look-"

"We change how it looks!" CJ said quickly cutting off Toby. Everyone focused on her.

"We can control the story. We quietly move Donna to communications, then when someone finds out about them, we say we don't comment on the private lives of the staff, but we can give them the information that they aren't doing anything wrong since Donna has moved departments."

Nobody had a rebuttal for this.

"Josh isn't going to like losing Donna as his assistant," Sam said after a while.

"Well that's just tough," CJ said, shrugging. She turned to Leo.

"So Josh knocks up his assistant and he just gets away with that?" Toby asked grumpily from the sofa. CJ gave him a strange look.

"He already got shot, what else do you want?"

Toby scowled.

"What do you think Leo?" Leo had been largely silent the whole meeting. The news had thrown him completely off kilter.

On the one hand he was absolutely furious at Josh, as angry as he'd ever felt with him. He couldn't believe Josh had been so stupid, so careless. He was upset Josh would throw the administration into such a volatile situation that could backfire so easily. On the other hand though, this was the Josh Lyman that Leo has known since before Josh could walk. And Leo wasn't blind. He saw the almost telepathic connection Josh had with Donna. It had been like that since day one. He saw how happy being around her made him, even if he'd never admit it. Leo understood this situation wasn't one born from anything other than a place of genuine affection. He took solace in that.

He was thinking of Noah. Wondering how his old friend would be feeling right now. Elated, surely. The way Josh had thrown himself headlong into politics from such a young age had always worried Noah and Rachel that Josh would never get round to giving them grandchildren.

Before Noah had died, he'd asked Leo to try and look out for Josh when he could and Leo had promised to do his best. Right now he felt like he was failing his old friend. In that hospital waiting room that sticky night in August, all Leo could think of was how he let his friend down. And now, after they'd all made it out of Rosslyn alive, how could he even think of throwing Josh out in the cold when he needed Leo's support the most?

Yet his responsibilities to the President and to this administration as the Chief of Staff kept reminding him how bad this would look, how much damage it could cause the President. There was nothing he took more seriously than his position in this White House and he had a responsibility to look at this situation from the eyes of someone who hadn't watched Josh Lyman grow up.

"I think," Leo began slowly. "It's a gamble to assume everything will go off without a hitch in that plan."

"Leo, we can't fire him," CJ stated again. "I'm not saying this trying to defend Josh, I'm saying this from a PR standpoint. Josh has been all over the news for weeks. He's been in magazines, all over the news, people know his face. He's become America's Sweetheart. If we fire him, people are going to be outraged and think we're heartless."

Leo looked up at her.

"And maybe we would be," CJ finished.

"Is he still here?"

"Josh?" Sam asked. Leo rolled his eyes.

"No, Queen Elizabeth, Sam! Of course, Josh." Sam reddened.

"I told him to go home. He was looking pretty tired."

"Will someone check if he's still here or not?"

"Yeah."

"I'll come," CJ said, following Sam out of the room.

It didn't take them long to locate Josh and Donna in Toby's office. They found them curled up on the couch together. Donna was resting her head against the arm of the sofa, her hands cushioning her head while Josh had his head resting against her shoulder. His hand was dangling close to Donna's stomach.

CJ rolled her eyes.

"They're adorable. It's disgusting."

Sam smiled and shook his head.

"It's only going to get worse from here."

"Yeah," CJ said sobering. "I hope so." She and Sam exchanged meaningful looks before turning back to the pair.

"Donna?" CJ knelt down and shook her shoulder lightly. Donna's eyes immediately fluttered opened. She looked surprised to see Josh sleeping on top of her. Rubbing her eyes, she pushed herself into a sitting position with a quiet groan, moving Josh with her as she went. She steadied him against the back cushions and looked at CJ.

"Leo wants to see Josh."

Donna nodded. Josh hadn't stirred at being moved.

"How long have you been asleep?"

"A while." Donna shook Josh's shoulder. "Josh?"

There was no response. CJ moved to rest on Toby's desk.

"Josh, wake up. Leo wants to see you." Still nothing. She glanced at Sam and CJ worriedly; who exchanged looks with each other.

"Josh!" she shook harder this time. He was still out cold. "Josh!"

"I'm calling Leo," Sam said, worry creeping into his voice. He grabbed the phone behind Toby's desk, watching as Donna continued trying to wake Josh.

"Leo? Something's not right with Josh." CJ got on the floor next to Donna and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be fine, Donna."

"Leo's sending Mrs. Bartlet," Sam announced.

"What?" CJ turned to him in surprise.

"Leo was in the Oval with her and the President."

Mrs. Bartlet was walking into the office a minute later and immediately made a beeline for Josh.

"We keep trying to wake him up, but nothing works," Donna said, her voice quivering with fear. Mrs. Bartlet put one hand on Josh's forehead and the other on the side of his neck, feeling for his pulse. She closed her eyes for a moment to focus and then nodded.

"Help me get him on his back," she instructed to Donna. The pair moved quickly and situated him. Mrs. Bartlet then moved to lift Josh's feet so they were raised up on the arm of the sofa. Donna didn't miss the brief moment in which Mrs. Bartlet's yes flickered over her belly.

Josh's eyes fluttered open briefly for a few seconds before closing again.

"Josh?" Mrs. Bartlet asked calmly. His eyes didn't reopen again.

"How long has he been here?" Mrs. Bartlet asked, turning to the group.

"A while," Sam answered regretfully. "We tried to send him home but-"

"Has he had anything to each or drink while he's been here?"

Everyone looked at each other, silently wondering if anyone took the initiative to ensure Josh was eating. They all shook their heads, guilt piling on their shoulders. Mrs. Bartlet sighed.

"Mrs. Bartlet?" Donna asked, her voice still not all together shaky.

"He's probably dehydrated," Mrs. Bartlet explained. "His body must be exhausted. Why on Earth was he here for so long?"

Donna glanced at Sam and CJ who shook their heads as subtly as possible.

"You'll be finding out soon enough I'd imagine, ma'am," CJ explained. Mrs. Bartlet hit her with a withering stare, but didn't press CJ for more details.

"We need to get him to the hospital and get him properly checked out, get him the fluids he needs."

Seeing the horror on Donna's face, Mrs. Bartlet grabbed her hand.

"It'll be fine, Donna."

Donna didn't look convinced.