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From The Past

Horsey Game:

Josh looked at Leanne through the mirror in the bathroom as he brushed his teeth. He spat the toothpaste into the sink before turning to face her.

"I should come..."

"You haven't got time." She replied, applying some make-up.

"I can make time."

"No, you can't." She rolled her eyes, kissing his cheek lightly as she pushed past him.

He watched as she started to tidy the bathroom up.

"But you're going to look at daycares for Jackson." He pointed out. "I should be there."

"Josh, he won't be starting for another year or so." She replied. "I'm just checking out a few..."

"But..."

"Look, you're a busy, busy man." She stated as she left the bathroom, his eyes followed her as she moved around the bedroom. "So, I'm going to check out a few of the local daycares and I'll work out which are the good ones, so that when it's time to decide, you wont have to waste your time on the bad ones."

He leaned against the doorframe, sighing.

She stopped what she was doing and loosely put her arms around his neck.

"Besides, it'll give me chance to discover Washington." She added. "I've been here two weeks and I don't know where anything is."

He smiled slightly. "I could show you around..."

"Josh." She groaned, burying her face in his chest.

"What?"

"You've got work."

"I can ditch it."

She laughed. "I'm sure The President wouldn't mind at all."

"I think he'd understand." He tightened his arms around her.

"You've got to go to work." She said again, pushing herself away from him. "You've got a country to run."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that."

She rolled her eyes and stepped back. "I'm going to make sure that Jackson's getting ready and not playing."

"You going to take him with you today?" Josh asked, starting to tie up his tie.

"No, I'm going to drop him off at Tina's for a few hours."

He frowned a little. "You sure he'll be okay?"

"She's my cousin's best friend, besides I've known her for years."

"I just meant, he said he didn't feel well last night."

She laughed a little. "Aw, look at you...You're so cute."

"What?"

"You actually believed him."

"Well, yeah. He said..."

"He wants us both to stay at home with him." She explained.

"He was trying to play me?"

"Yeah."

"Damn."

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"Is this like the 'no candy before dinner' thing?"

"Yeah, a little."

He sighed. "Someone really needs to write a help book for this kind of thing."

She let out another small laugh as she left the bedroom. "You really are cute."

He was about to reply when he realised he was alone in the room. He quickly grabbed his jacket and backpack.

He stopped when he saw Leanne trying to convince a pouting Jackson to go and get dressed. He smiled; he couldn't believe this was his life. He never had a relationship where he'd gladly give up his job to spend the day with a girlfriend.

"Josh!"

"Huh? What?" He snapped back to reality.

"You're going to be late." She pointed to the clock. "What is it with you two today?"

He shrugged, flashing her a smile as he put on his jacket.

"I'm leaving right now." He assured her.

"Can I come?" Jackson asked, hopefully.

"Sorry, buddy...I've got a lot of work to do." He replied, wishing he could take Jackson with him, but he knew it wouldn't be a good idea. There would be nothing for him to do and he'd get bored, it also didn't help that only The President, Leo, Sam and Mallory knew about him.

"Aww!" He folded his arms and pouted again.

"Leave while you can." Leanne whispered teasingly as she kissed him goodbye.

"You'll really be okay?" He asked, as he hesitated by the door.

"Go!" She pointed to the door.

"Okay, okay..." He held his hands up. "See ya."

XxXxX

"I'm just saying you told me five days ago, you've known yourself for nearly two weeks." Sam stated, sitting in the visitor's chair in Josh's office, whilst he was trying to read a report.

Josh glanced up at him, uninterested in the conversation. "I'll tell them."

"When?"

"In an hour."

"Really?"

"For a day... A week...A month..." Josh continued to read the report. "Maybe I can hold off until I send him off to college?"

"Y'know, I think you're messing with me." Sam concluded.

"Yeah and I think you should be doing something...Like I don't know...Work maybe?"

"Don't change the subject."

"Sam!" He groaned, rubbing his eyes. "What do you want from me?"

"I want for Toby and C.J to find out from you and not from a question in the briefing room...Which I'm surprised hasn't already happened since you've moved the two of them into your apartment."

Josh sighed, leaning back in his chair. He wanted to tell everyone about Jackson, particularly Toby and C.J, but he knew how they'd react. They'd shout and there was a possibility that C.J would throw things. For the moment, he was enjoying getting to know his son and being in a relationship with Leanne.

Since Mallory had shouted at her Dad, Leo had been supportive and even offered advice. The President had asked about Jackson and Leanne, telling Josh that he wanted to meet them both soon. His Mom had somewhat calmed down, showing a little interest in Jackson but still insisted Josh got some proof. It was Sam and Mallory who had been the most help. On the evening that Josh had told Sam about it all, his friend had turned up at his apartment with a pizza, wanting to meet Leanne and Jackson. Mallory also made an effort to reform her friendship with Leanne, which Josh was relieved about, since she didn't know anyone in Washington.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm so over the moon happy for you..." Sam claimed, after a few seconds of studying Josh. "I think, you've changed over the past two weeks...You're happier...You're working normal hours... And it's because you've fallen head over heels in love."

Josh turned his eyes from the desk up to Sam, a small smile on his face "Yeah."

Sam returned the smile, shaking his head slightly, not used to seeing Josh like this.

"They're going to be a little pissed at the way you've handle this, but they'll get over it because at the end of the day, they're your friends as well as your colleagues and they just want the best for you."

"I'll tell them soon." Josh said quietly, after a few seconds of silence.

"Good." Sam stood up. "I really should do some work today."

"Yeah, might be a good idea."

"I'll see you later." He walked towards the door.

"Sam? Thanks, yeah..."

Sam just gave him a small nod before leaving.

XxXxX

"Josh?" Donna appeared in his doorway later that day.

"Hmm?"

"Security just called...There's a woman down there that's asking to see you."

"She a nut job?" He asked, still concentrating on what he was typing on the computer.

"I don't know, but she's got a kid with her, who is crying pretty loudly down there so..." She started.

Josh spun around in his chair to face her. "A kid?"

"Yes..."

"And he's crying?" Getting to his feet.

"Well, I don't know if it's a he, but yes..." She followed him out of the office, confused. "Josh?"

"I'll be right back." He called over his shoulder.

Donna watched him disappear down the corridor before retaking her seat behind her desk, rolling her eyes at her boss' strange behaviour that was becoming quite common lately.

As soon as Jackson saw Josh, he tried to free himself from Tina and run to him, but she kept hold of him. He was grateful that she did, noticing the unsure looks they were getting from the guards. Although he couldn't help but smile that Jackson wanted to run to him.

As soon as he reached them, Jackson launched himself at him and Josh automatically picked him up.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked, concerned when Jackson buried his face in his shoulder, still crying.

"I'm sorry..." Tina sighed. "I tried to get hold of Leanne but I couldn't..."

"It's fine." He told her, more worried about his son. "What happened?"

"He was sick..."

"Sick?" He repeated.

"Only a little, I don't think it's anything to worry about." She assured him quickly. "But he's quite upset and I couldn't settle him."

Josh leaned back a little to look at Jackson, placing his hand on his forehead.

"Josh, relax, kids get sick." She stated. "I just came by to see if you knew how I can get in touch with Leanne. He'll be fine but he's upset..."

"It's okay, I'll take him."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'll call Leanne and get her to come by here to pick him up, until then he can hang out with me."

"You're not busy or anything?"

"Sure I am." He grinned at her. "But it'll be fine."

"Well, if you're certain."

"Yeah, thanks for today. We appreciate it."

She smiled, reaching out and ran a hand through Jackson's hair. "Well feel better soon, Kiddo."

As she disappeared from sight, he looked back down at Jackson.

"So, you don't feel so good?" He asked.

Jackson shook his head. "Can I stay with you?"

"Yeah, until your Mom gets here." Josh assured him. "But it means I've got a lot of explaining to do."

He looked up at him for the first time since being picked up. "Are you in trouble?"

"No, well…Not really."

"Because whenever I do something bad, before I get told off... Mommy always says 'you got a lot of explaining to do'... Is it like that?"

Josh couldn't help but laugh. "Kind of."

"Oh...Well, I always say sorry and then give Mommy a kiss." He told him.

"Does that work?"

"Yep."

"Hmm." Wondering who that would work best on, Toby or C.J. Shaking his head, trying to get the image of their reactions out of his mind. "Come on, let's go meet some new people."

"Okay."

"You wanna walk?" He asked, moving to set him back on the floor but he just tightened his hold on him.

"No, I'm okay."

Josh smiled slightly and headed back for the West Wing, trying to ignore the curious looks he was getting. He didn't care; his son would rather be carried by him then walk on his own. He saw that as a good sign for their relationship, hoping the next step would be for him to stop calling him Josh and start calling him Dad instead.

Donna stared at him as he walked past her desk and into his own office.

"Josh?" She got up and followed him.

"Hey." He turned to face her.

"Josh... You um... You're...You've got a child in your arms." She stared at them both from the doorway.

"Yeah."

"Does his mother know you've got him?"

"No, I should probably call her..." He sat down at his desk, picking up his phone as Jackson started playing with his tie.

"Josh?!" Her eyes widened.

He looked over at her, suddenly remembering that she didn't know anything about this. He placed the phone back down, sighing and rubbing his eyes before standing up and walking over to her again.

"Okay, Jackson...This is my friend, Donna Moss." He turned him a little in his arms so he was facing her. "Donna, this is Jackson Joshua Lyman."

She looked at Jackson and then to Josh quickly. "Lyman?"

"This is my son."

"You're… You have a..." She stuttered.

"Donna..." He started as Jackson buried his face in his chest again and he automatically tightened his arms around him, protectively. "It's a long story, which I don't really have time to get into right now..."

"Okay, okay." She held up her hand. "Do you need anything?"

"I dunno...Can you get a juice for him or something?" He asked.

"Yeah." She nodded, but didn't move and continued to stare at the little boy that looked so much like Josh.

"Donna?" He gestured to the door.

"Oh right, yeah." She stuttered before turning and leaving the office.

"How you doing, Kid?"

"Can we go home?" Jackson asked.

"Not right now, but your Mom will come by soon and take you home."

"Are you coming?"

"I've got to stay here for a bit and work." Josh replied, picking up the phone again and calling Leanne to tell her what was going on.

Just as he hung up, his door open and Sam walked in.

"Have you seen Toby?" He started but stopped when saw Jackson. "Well, I can see this is shaping up to be an interesting day."

"He got sick and the babysitter brought him here. Leanne's on her way over." Josh explained.

"It's going to be a conversation starter."

"Yeah, it already has been with Donna." Josh got up, placing Jackson on the floor. "You remember my friend, Sam?"

"Yeah, he brought the pizza and played the horsey game with me." He replied, just as Donna walked back into the room.

"The horsey game?" She repeated, looking at Sam. "That sounds fun."

"Except I was the horse."

"My Mommy showed me how to brush him!" Jackson exclaimed, turning to face Donna. "And then we fed him carrots and sugar cubes!"

Donna covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.

"Mallory took pictures." Josh told her.

"Thank you, because me on my hands and knees with a pillow strapped to my back as a pretend saddle, is just the photo that I want to be past around." Sam shot Josh a look.

"Oh, God, I've got to see them now!" Donna laughed loudly.

"Great, just great." He threw his hands up in the air.

"Relax, it's not like we're going to hand them out to the press or anything..." Josh started; taking the juice that Donna had brought back and handed it to Jackson before picking him up and sitting him on his desk. "Unless..."

Sam pointed at him. "Don't even think about it!"

"What's it worth?"

"Josh..."

"I'm kidding..." He assured. "Besides, I'm going to need your help."

Sam looked at him unsure for a moment. "With what?"

"You have to stop C.J and Toby from killing me."

"Well, telling them sooner rather then later will actually help you, you know."

"I'm going to tell now."

"You said that earlier."

"But Jackson's here... There's probably going to be some questions."

"Maybe one or two."

"Am I in trouble?" Jackson asked quietly, causing Josh to quickly turn his attention to him.

"No, buddy...Of course not." He assured him.

"Are you in trouble?"

Josh smiled. "Everything is fine."

Jackson didn't need a lot of convincing and turned to Sam. "Can we play the horsey game again?"

"Umm..."

Josh smiled, glad that Jackson had got over his shyness around his best friend so quickly. Knowing it probably had something to do with ice cream, Sam had sneaked him after the pizza when he thought Leanne and him weren't looking.

"Okay, Jack, you stay here with Sam and Donna. I'll be right back."

"Where you going?"

"I have to go talk to someone..."

"Can I come?"

"I thought you wanted to play the horsey game with Sam."

Sam shot Josh a glare as he made his way out of the office.

"If you're making me talk to Toby and C.J then you're going to be my son's horse for a while." Josh whispered as he passed him.

Sam sighed and looked down to see Jackson grinning up at him. He placed his hands on his hips. "Okay, fine but this horsey doesn't like carrots."

"Okay." Jackson shrugged grinning wider as Sam knelt down on the floor.

TBC

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