Chapter 16
"I'm sure he'll do fine in the debate." Vinick stated for the cameras. "Matt Santos is a
capable young man."
"Too young? Is that what you're implying?" a reporter asked.
"That's for the voters to decide." Vinick sidestepped it. "These are very serious,
complicated issues that we'll be discussing and we have very different opinions on how to
move forward from here. I'm confident that once the voters hear those ideas debated they
will know who is best suited to lead this country."
Santos turned the TV off with a snap of the remote. "Too young?"
"If that's the worst he can come up with, you're doing fine." Lou commented. "Ignore him
and concentrate on debate prep. We only have five days left, thanks to you."
"Thanks to me, we have a debate." Matt corrected her. "Are you really okay with her
talking to me like that?" he asked Josh
"Yep." Josh replied, not bothering to look up from the paper he was reading. "David!"
"It's almost finished." David shouted back from the adjoining room.
"Almost isn't going to cut it." Josh called back to him.
"Relax, Josh. I'm done for the night, anyway." Santos tells him.
"Then get some sleep, but he's not done until he finishes the ANSWER ON SOCIAL
SECURITY THAT I ASKED FOR AN HOUR AGO!" Josh raised his voice and voices are
silent for a minute before resuming again. "Go ahead, Congressman, we cut back on late
night schedule so you're rested for Sunday.
Just as the Congressman exited through one door another door slammed open and
Miranda Santos ran full to speed to Josh.
"Josh, Donna has a question." She told him. "When are we going to be in Nevada again?"
Josh smiled. Donna had been on the phone for almost an hour now with her mother and
sister about wedding plans.
"Tell her that boat has sailed." Josh replied but Miranda looked puzzled by his response.
"It means I'm not taking her to Nevada before Election Day."
Miranda ran back to deliver the message to her idol. Afraid he'd pay the consequences if
he didn't do something, he picked up his cell phone and called Donna on hers. When she
clicked over to answer she sounded annoyed.
"It took you long enough!" she answered.
"Sorry, I was doing actual, you know, work to get our guy elected President." It doesn't
even faze Josh when she clicked back to her family to make an excuse to get off the
phone.
"Here." David handed Josh an updated copy of the social security answer. Josh read it
quickly.
"First, let me say this is an improvement from the last one." Josh began and David
groaned and threw himself down on the couch across from Josh. Donna entered,
surveyed the tableau and accurately assessed the situation.
"David, go get some sleep and we'll start fresh in the morning." She instructed him.
"Donna, it's only 9:00." Josh complained.
"Everyone is getting a little burned out. And if they're burned out, nothing is going to go
right; including the debate five days from now." Donna reasoned. "Go get some food and
some sleep, David. We're meeting back here at 7:30." David reluctantly followed her
instructions. Donna took the papers out of Josh's hands.
"I'm not done, yet, Donna."
"Yes, you are. I made some plans for us tonight." She said enticingly.
"You did?" Josh looked intrigued by the idea.
"Uh-huh." Donna leaned towards him.
"I've got it, Donna. Did you tell Josh yet?" Miranda Santos, followed by her older brother
Peter, ran into the room carrying a board game.
"Tell Josh what, Donnatella?" Josh asked suspiciously.
"Why do you call Donna, Donnatella?" Miranda inquired. Josh noticed the kid asked
questions about everything!
"Because that's her name." Josh had found that keeping his answers short and sweet was
one way to satisfy Miranda's curiosity. "Tell me what, Donnatella?" he repeated.
"Matt and Helen need a little alone time so I said we'd keep the kids here for awhile."
Donna admitted.
"You just volunteered me?" Josh asked. "Can you do that without checking with me first?"
"You're absolutely right, Josh. I shouldn't have made an assumption about your
participation. You can work in the bedroom and I'll keep the kids in here with me." Donna
looked perfectly serious, but Josh was pretty sure there was a catch.
"It's just that I still have some work I need to get through."
"I totally understand." Donna replied and starting helping Miranda set up the game. "Go
ahead, we'll be fine." She assured him. "Peter, can you put the popcorn in the microwave?"
Peter nodded and went to make the popcorn. Miranda was already talking to Donna a mile
a minute and no one seemed to care if he stayed or not, so he picked up his work and
took it into the bedroom. He spread it out across the bed and turned on CNN for
background noise, but 20 minutes later he found he couldn't concentrate. He could hear
Miranda giggling and smell the microwave popcorn they had made.
Peter was a quiet kid, or at least quieter than his sister, but Josh could still hear his voice
once in awhile. Truth be told, he thought Peter might have a bit of a crush on Donna; not
that Josh could blame him. He tried to block out the noise from the next room, but it kept
distracting him. Resigned that he would get nothing done while the Santos children were
in residence, he shut off his TV and walked back into the living area.
"Josh!" Miranda called out. "Can you play with us now? Are you done with your important
stuff?"
"It looks like the important stuff is out here." He replied and Donna beamed at him. "Hey,
you guys ate all the popcorn?"
"I can make some more." Peter volunteered.
"That would be great, thanks." Josh told him. "What are you guys playing?"
"Payday." Miranda informed him. "You can be the banker if you want." She offered.
"I could handle that." Josh replied and within minutes he was actively engaged in the game
and munching popcorn.
"How come you always call my dad sir?" Peter asked.
"It's just…a sign of respect. Members of Congress, well at least Democratic members of
Congress, are important people in out Government."
"Do you think he's going to win the election?" Peter pressed further.
"I hope so, Peter. I think he'd be a very good President, don't you?"
"Yeah, but if he wins we have to move to Washington, right?"
"You're family would live in the White House." Josh confirmed.
"And the Secret Service guys would be with us all the time, right?" Peter glanced over his
shoulder at the agent just inside the door to emphasize his point.
"That's to make sure you and your family stays safe."
"Did you really get shot?" Peter asked. Miranda's head shot up and Donna looked
concerned.
"Yes, I really did, but that was a long time ago. And the people who did that were caught
by the police and the Secret Service."
"Did it hurt a lot?" Peter asked quietly.
"Yeah." Josh answered.
"Peter are you worried about…staying safe?" Donna intervened and Peter shrugged. "If
you don't feel safe, you should talk to your mom or dad about it."
"Mommy doesn't like to talk about it." Miranda offered. "She yelled about all the new
windows in our house and Daddy said it was to keep us safe and then she cried."
Josh gave Donna a 'what the hell do we do now' look and she realized he would be very
little help.
"There are lots of changes for your whole family right now. I'm sure it's difficult to have all
these people following you around and staying in your house, but your mom and dad still
want to know if you feel scared." Donna tried to reassure them.
"Maybe it would be better if dad didn't win?" Miranda suggested.
"Honey, no matter what happens with the election, there are lots of people making sure
you and your family stay safe." Donna pulled Miranda into her lap.
"Even with the agents, President Bartlet still got shot…so did you." Peter addressed Josh.
"Yeah." Josh acknowledged. He had the feeling that Peter wasn't looking for the
assurances that his sister was. He just wanted to see if Josh would level with him. Peter
nodded back at Josh, sat next to him, and stuck his hand into the popcorn bag.
"Hey, I thought this was mine." Josh protested.
"I made it." Peter argued and scooped up another handful.
"Oh, that's right." Josh agreed. "Then you should have some more." He said as he took
another handful and threw it at Peter. Peter's eyes bugged out and Miranda shrieked.
"Joshua!" Donna exclaimed.
"I'm sorry Donnatella, did you want some too?" Josh pivoted and tossed a few kernels at
her, and Miranda, since she was still seated in Donna's lap. Donna's eyes narrowed, but
Josh just kept grinning.
"This means war." Donna declared quietly. "Get him Miranda." Donna passed her the
other bowl of popcorn. Miranda took aim and fired.
By the time everyone ran out of ammunition, the hotel room looked like it had been the
victim of a snowstorm with the white popcorn everywhere.
When Matt and Helen returned to retrieve their children, the first step they took into the
room resulted in a loud crunch of popcorn under their feet. The crunching sound alerted
Josh and Donna to their arrival.
Miranda was asleep on Donna's lap and Peter was sleeping on the floor at their feet.
"Was there some sort of incursion?" Matt asked.
"No, just the usual antics of Joshua Lyman." Donna drawled. "You should thank God he
wasn't babysitting at your house."
Matt surveyed the room. "I guess so."
"I don't know. The kids look fine to me. Everything else can be vacuumed." Helen argued.
She and Josh had formed a bond ever since their private chat about her role in this
campaign. "Miranda, baby, let's go to bed." Helen crooned as she picked up her daughter
and thanked Josh and Donna for watching the kids.
"I guess that means I get Peter." Matt took a few more crunching steps towards his son.
"Congressman." Josh waylaid him. "Peter and Miranda both mentioned something tonight
about security. You might want to have another conversation with them."
"That was my fault. Peter saw some of the footage from Rosslyn when one of the news
channels did a sidebar on your career in politics. He's been asking a lot of questions since
then." Matt paused, unsure of how to continue this conversation. "I'm sorry if he said
anything or asked anything that made you uncomfortable."
"No, it wasn't like that." Josh guaranteed him. "Both kids seemed a little nervous about all
the security issues and I just wanted to make sure you knew that."
"I do, but thanks for mentioning it." Matt said sincerely before bending down to pick up his
son. "Damn, this child is getting heavy. Goodnight Donna, Josh. Thanks again."
After Matt Santos had left carrying his sleeping son, Josh felt Donna come up behind him
and wrap her arms around his waist.
"You did great with the kids tonight." Donna told him.
"Admit it. You thought I was gonna tank." Josh prodded.
"I wouldn't say 'tank'." Donna argued.
"What then? Falter? Crumble? Freeze?" Josh suggested.
"Maybe just stumble a little bit." Donna agreed. "But you didn't.
"No, I certainly did not." Josh said proudly.
"You did, however, create a huge mess." Donna noted as she looked around the room
again.
"Yes, but that's where my genius truly lies. We check out tomorrow after breakfast and this
whole thing is someone else's problem."
"That is genius." Donna told him and kissed his neck. "But in all seriousness, you did very
well with the kids." Josh turned around so he could look her in the eyes. "Especially
considering that I sort of sprung it on you."
"They're good kids." Josh remarked. "And we double teamed them pretty well."
"We did." Donna agreed. "It made me think we might want to give the whole kid thing some
thought."
"I already have." Josh responded and Donna looked surprised. "I like the idea myself;
especially if it involves a little girl with blond hair and blue eyes. But you know it takes a lot
more than thought, Donna. It takes lots and lots of practice." He explained patiently.
"Do tell." She smiled.
"I could, but I think it might work better just to show you." Josh decided. He kissed her and
began unbuttoning her blouse. "Come to bed with me Donnatella." He murmured against
her lips.
"We could make love right here, if the place wasn't littered with popcorn." She giggled
when his fingers tickled her side in retaliation for her remark.
"Nice. Come on then." Josh scooped her up in his arms and brought her to their bedroom
where he unceremoniously deposited her on the bed before joining her on it.
"I love you, Donnatella." Josh said sincerely.
"Prove it." Donna challenged him.
Chapter 17
"I'm not ducking this Josh." Matt Santos said over the speakerphone to his campaign
manager.
"I'm not asking you to, sir." Josh replied evenly. There was already too much emotion
in this scenario. "But neither can we wade into an ongoing investigation and
pronounce any kind of judgment. We need to proceed very carefully in these waters."
"You're just afraid of losing the 4 point bump we got from the debate." Santos
accused him.
"That's not inconsequential." Josh agreed. "But on top of that, there is a bigger
picture here. A young kid is dead. We need to give everyone a chance to evaluate
the evidence and come to a reasonable conclusion before anyone else starts
weighing in."
There is a long pause while Matt Santos rubs his face with his hands. Donna
watched him carefully and understood the push and pull he was feeling under the
circumstances, but she really hoped he would listen to Josh on this.
"Fine." Matt agreed. "I'll avoid Ronnie Burkes house, but I'm not canceling the rally
on Saturday or the church speech on Sunday."
"David's been working around the clock on the speech for the church, but I'm not
sure he's got it yet and the rally is 3 days away." Josh told them. "We might want to
think about bringing in some help."
"I think I'd like to take a crack at it myself." Santos noted and had Donna and Lou
exchanging concerned looks.
"Ah-kay." Josh reluctantly agreed. "But I'm going to make a couple calls and see
what I can do at this end. Mrs. Santos and the kids will be meeting you on Friday
night for the dinner and then the rest of the weekend events."
"Yes, I got the schedule changes. That's it for me." Matt told them and got up to walk
to the back of the campaign bus where he could have a bit of peace and quiet.
"Josh? We may need to rethink the event on Saturday." Donna announced. "The
atmosphere in here has gotten to toxic levels of stress. This whole Burke/Martinez
situation is really affecting him."
"That's nothing to the stress he's going to be dealing with when he wins this, Donna.
He needs to figure out a way to deal with it all." Josh countered. "Lou, I'm sending
Lester out there with Mrs. Santos and the kids. See what his read is on the situation."
"And Lester's read is more accurate than mine or Donna's because…?" Lou
questioned.
"Because he's African American, while you and Donna are most decidedly not." Josh
explained simply.
"Well that's blatantly racist." Lou tried to pick a fight.
"I think there are enough charges of racism this week without adding your voice,
Lou." Josh responded. "Donna, what are you getting on the ground there in terms of
this story?"
"My phone sheet is a mile long. Everyone wants a statement of support from the
Congressman. The trouble is; any move he makes is going to alienate him from two
thirds of the audience he's trying to play to. It's a field of land mines."
"Right. Well depending on how things progress over the next few days, I may be
coming out with Lester. I've got to go now. Check in with me later." Josh instructed.
"We should get the hell out of dodge and cancel the weekend events." Lou
pronounced after Josh had hung up.
"He'll be accused of ducking the issue entirely and piss off three thirds of his
audience." Donna replied.
"Not if he's called away on something urgent. We can issue a statement that he's
had to change his schedule do to a…I don't know, a family emergency of some kind.
Then we note that the Congressman has every confidence that justice will prevail
after a thorough investigation is completed."
"Take it to Josh, Lou."
"I thought you could take it to Josh." Lou suggested.
"Josh respects your political opinion a lot more than mine, Lou." Donna drawled.
"Maybe, but he's given you a lot of responsibility on this campaign and I can't help
thinking that he might look more favorably upon this option if you're the one to
present it to him…under the right circumstances." Lou said matter-of-factly.
Donna took a couple breaths before she responded. She tried to remember that
although Lou's political experience rivaled Josh's, Lou was also his equal in personal
communication skills. "I'd like you to think about what you just said and then re-
phrase your request in a way that doesn't make me feel like I need to shower."
Donna could literally see the wheels turn in Lou's head as she replayed the
conversation and saw the moment when Lou saw how she had insulted Donna.
"I didn't mean that you should use your personal relationship inappropriately to
further my agenda." Lou began but stopped going down that track when she saw the
look of disbelief on Donna's face. "Okay, maybe I did a little bit, but it's not like I'm
asking you to pretend to like a guy that you don't like to further my agenda."
"That really didn't sound much better, Lou, I have to tell you."
"You could just present it as one of the options next time you talk to him." Lou tried
again. "Do you really see another way out of this situation without pissing off a lot of
people?"
"No, not yet, but we've got a little more time before we get out there. Let's see what
we can come up with by then." Donna ended the conversation by leaving.
Donna returned to the hotel with the Santos family after their dinner event Friday
night and tried not to rush to the hotel room where the rest of their team was
meeting to make decisions about the weekend events. Things had continued to
deteriorate in the controversial Burke/Martinez situation, and Josh had flown out
himself to get a read on the local landscape.
Donna knocked twice on the hotel room door before Edie let her into the room. Josh
looked up as she entered and she saw a small smile reach his eyes before he
brought his focus back to what Lester was saying.
"I think things are too hot for him to keep the rest of the weekend events." Lester
said.
"How do we get him out of here without looking like we're running away from this?"
Edie asked.
"Wait a second." Josh interrupted. "Just wait. We're not there yet. How did it go
tonight?" He asked Donna. Lou sent her a warning look that Donna didn't appreciate.
"He did great. They all did." Donna said simply. "They handed out the awards,
enjoyed the performances and looked great doing it."
"But…" Lou interjected.
"But, the Congressman got hammered by the press covering the event. All they
asked about was Ronnie Burke." Donna admitted. "Since this was a highly
structured, intensely scripted event, we were able to hold the vultures off until the
Santos family left the building, but they won't have that luxury at the rally tomorrow."
"We have to cancel." Lou added when it became clear that Donna wouldn't.
"I hate to agree with Lou, but it's going to get ugly if they stay. He's still going to have
to make a statement about the situation, but it may help to diffuse the impact if he
makes it from somewhere other than Ronnie Burkes neighborhood." Lester threw in.
"Where is the Congressman on this after getting a lay of the land tonight?" Josh
again directed his question to Donna.
"If you're asking me whether or not you could get him to agree to run away-" Donna
interpreted his question.
"It is NOT running away. It is a strategic retreat." Lou insisted.
"Whatever." Donna shook her head. "He isn't sure how he wants to respond to all
this, but there is no way he'll cancel these events…in my opinion."
Josh nodded his head. "I'm going up to speak to the Congressman. Thanks for all
the hard work this week, people." Josh closed his notebook and walked to the door.
"Walk with me." he told Donna as he passed her. She immediately got up and
followed him out into the hall. They walked in silence to the elevator.
"You look tired." Donna finally broke the silence and Josh picked up her hand and
brought it to his lips.
"I'm getting too old for this." He quipped.
"Gut feeling, Josh. Are we going to do more harm than good if we stay?"
"It's hard to get a read on the political repercussions when I don't know which side
the Congressman is planning to come down on." He looked closely at his fiancé's
face. "What's going on between you and Lou?"
"A difference of opinion. That's all." Donna looked away.
"Donna…"
"Don't. You have enough on your plate." Donna insisted. "People disagree on
campaigns all the time."
"This doesn't seem professional, it seems personal."
"Since when did you become observant about personal relations?" Donna tried to
joke her way out of it.
"I haven't. But I can read you, and you were/are personally pissed about something
with Lou."
"Why don't we do this?" Donna suggested. "You manage the, you know, actual
Presidential campaign, and I can take care of any personal problems that surface."
"So you're admitting there's a personal problem?" Josh inquired as they reached the
Congressman's hotel room door.
"I'm admitting that I can handle any personal problems on my own. Go talk to the
Congressman." Josh hesitated a moment since the Secret Service was stationed
outside the door, but desire won out and he stole a quick and passionate kiss before
he entered the Congressman's suite. "I'll be waiting up for you." She promised.
The rally occupied 4 city blocks and although the place was swarming with security,
Josh couldn't erase the anxious feeling in his gut. He decided to accompany the
Santos family to the rally himself, sending Donna and Lester to the church they were
scheduled to appear at the next day to finalize the schedule there.
"Why are those people yelling at us?" Miranda asked Josh while they walked behind
her parents and brother.
"They want your Dad to say that a police officer did something wrong." Josh tried to
explain.
"Did he?" Josh laughed at the simplicity of the question and the complexity of the
answer.
"We don't know yet. You Dad wants to wait until we know for sure before he says
anything about the police officer."
Miranda looked again at the group of African American's holding signs and shouting.
"Are we going to know soon?"
"I certainly hope so kiddo." Josh said fervently. He didn't expect Miranda, at age 8, to
differentiate between the groups of shouting protestors, but he could clearly see the
Latino groups edging closer to the African American groups both wanting Santos to
denounce the others.
Miranda pulled on Josh's hand and he stopped walking for a second to bend closer
so he could hear what she was saying over the shouts and cheering.
"What Miranda?"
"I don't want to go there." Miranda repeated in his ear. "It's too loud and they look
really mad." She pointed to a group across the street. Josh caught just a glimpse
before all hell broke loose. There were several popping sounds and Josh found
himself on the ground covering Miranda while Secret Service covered both of them.
His heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest and Miranda was
screaming.
"Move, move!" the agent closest to him screamed while he and two other agents
tried to pick up Josh and Miranda. Josh ended up with Miranda in his arms running in
the direction the agent pointed in. Moments later, they were pushed into a van that
went careening around the corner and sped away from the rally. Miranda was
sobbing and calling for her Mom.
"Where's Mrs. Santos?" Josh demanded while he held Miranda tightly to his chest
and rubbed her back in a futile attempt to calm her.
"They're in the van in front of us." He answered.
"Why isn't SHE in the van in front of us?" Josh indicated Miranda.
"We fell too far behind them. We got everyone out as quickly as possible."
"Can we call Mrs. Santos? Let Miranda talk to her?"
"Not until we have everyone secure back at the hotel." The agent responded.
"But everyone in the van in front of us is fine…right?" Josh asked urgently.
"I believe so."
"Let's confirm that little bit of information shall we?" Josh suggested forcefully. The
agent got on his wrist unit and exchanged information with his counterparts in the
other van.
"Miranda…Miranda, listen to me. The agents are talking to your Mom and Dad right
now. We'll be with them in just a couple minutes. Everything's okay."
"No. it's. not." She wheezed out between sobs. Josh found it hard to argue with her.
Then his cell phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket. The agent next to him
prevented Josh from answering it.
"No unsecured communications until we're back at the hotel." He ordered. Josh was
double frustrated when he saw it was Donna calling. He was about to argue with the
agent when the agent simply removed the phone from Josh's hand. Since Josh
figured there was no way he could forcibly retrieve his phone from a trained Secret
Service agent he decided to expend his energy trying to calm Miranda down. She
was still calling for her Mom and it was breaking Josh's heart.
He knew first hand what it was like to be panic stricken at that young age, to be
scared for the safety of your family while being physically cut off from them. He
pushed his own emotional trip down memory lane aside and started talking quietly to
Miranda.
"Miranda, everybody's fine, I promise." Josh's eyes met the agent's and he nodded a
confirmation that what Josh was telling her was the truth. "We'll be back at the hotel
in just few more minutes and your Mom and Dad and Peter, will all be waiting for us."
"I want Mommy now!" Miranda insisted.
"I know how you feel kiddo." Josh heard his distinctive ring tone coming from the
agent's pocket and blew out a frustrated breath. Donna was going to be freaking out
pretty good by now. "Hey Miranda. What's that game you're always playing with
Donna?"
Miranda sniffed as she processed Josh's question. "You mean 20 questions?"
"Yeah, that's it. You think you can stump me on 20 questions?" Josh challenged her.
"I don't want to play 20 questions." Miranda cried.
"I bet I can beat you at 20 questions before we get back to the hotel."
"You suck at 20 questions, Josh." Miranda pointed out. The child had a point. Josh
hated the game, and whenever Donna suckered him into playing with them, he'd
purposely ask idiotic questions until they ejected him from the game.
"Does that mean you're too chicken to bet?" Josh threw down the gauntlet. Miranda
shook her head. "Okay, then, is it person, place, or thing?"
Miranda took another breath and wiped her eyes with the heels of her hand. "Place."
She answered quietly. Josh smiled for the first time and hoped he could keep her
distracted until she could reunite with her family.
"It is in the United States?" Josh asked and Miranda nodded, ticking up a finger to
keep count of his questions. "Is it Disneyworld?" he asked next and Miranda rolled
her eyes.
"You can't guess the place on the second question. You have to ask more questions
first."
"I can guess on the second question if I want to; I know the rules." Josh responded.
"Fine, but you just wasted your question." She answered him and it reminded him so
much of Donna, he pulled her close and kissed her forehead. When she looked at
him puzzled, he just smiled and asked another question.
"Is it the White House?" was his next guess.
"You really suck at this you know." Miranda shook her head and ticked up a third
finger.
They were on question number 18 when they pulled into the underground parking
lot beneath the hotel they were staying in. As soon as the door swung open Helen
Santos descended on them and plucked Miranda right off Josh's lap. Matt was right
behind her holding Peter's hand. The young boy looked pretty shook as well.
"Baby, are you okay?" Helen did a visual inspection of her daughter as she ran her
hands over her child checking for injuries.
"I'm okay Mommy." Miranda assured her. "Why did you leave without me?"
Helen burst into tears. "We though you were with us until the van door closed
sweetie. I never wanted to leave without you, I swear. They told us you were safe
with Josh right behind us."
"Ma'am, we really need to get everyone back upstairs." The agent began physically
moving the Santos family toward the secured elevators. Josh following along. "Mr.
Lyman, we're going to have to cancel the rest of today's schedule until we get some
answers about the incident today."
Josh nodded his understanding, but said nothing at all while they were hustled
upstairs. When they got to their floor, the Santos family was whisked into their suite.
Josh proceeded to his room and actually got this key card to work on the first try.
Once inside, he stood with his back against the wall until he felt his knees start to
buckle. Then he simply slid to the floor and put his head in his hands.
That's exactly how Donna found him when she entered their room 10 minutes later.
Once she arrived at their floor, one of the agents on duty had confirmed that
everyone was safe and unharmed, but Donna knew that not all injuries could be
visually detected.
She knew he had heard her enter, but he didn't look up at her.
"The Secret Service confiscated my phone until we got back here." He told her, still
not looking at her. "I'm sorry I couldn't answer when you called."
Donna sat next to him on the floor against the wall. "So…how was your day?" she
asked facetiously and got a chuckle out of her fiancé.
"Miranda and I fell behind the rest of your family a bit. She was asking me questions
and we…we just fell behind. By the time we got up and moving again, Matt, Helen,
and Peter were already in the first van leaving the site. We got thrown into the
second one and Miranda just sobbed for her Mom."
"Oh, Josh." Donna sighed and her head went back until it made contact with the wall.
"I don't know who was more freaked out at the at point, me or Miranda." He admitted
and finally looked Donna in the face. "I can't begin to tell you..." he broke off as the
emotions choked off his words.
Donna took his face in her hands and kissed him like a mother kisses a child when
they're hurt. Then she took his hand and led him to the bed. She sat him on the
edge of the mattress and removed his shoes and jacket. She joined him on the bed
pulled him down to lie next to her and placed his head on her stomach. She slowly
stroked his hair while she spoke to him.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there." She told him. "It hurts me to think you were going through
all that alone."
"I wasn't alone…I had Miranda." Josh noted and Donna smiled.
"Still; I wish I had been with you." Donna maintained. "They've cancelled the rest of
the day."
"Yeah." Josh confirmed. "We'll be staying put for a little while."
"Good. You're going to rest awhile and then you're going to call Stanley Keyworth."
Donna informed him.
"I don't need to call Stanley, Donna. I wasn't hurt. No one I was with was hurt." Josh
explained. "I just need a little time to convince my nervous system of that."
"And you'll have it…and then you'll call Stanley." Donna repeated. "That's not open
for debate."
Josh didn't respond he just blew out a breath. He wasn't up to fighting about it at this
point. "Miranda was crying for her Mom and all I could think about was getting to
you."
"Me too." Donna admitted. "But I don't think that's all you were thinking about."
"It was mostly what I was thinking about." Josh corrected.
"Rosslyn didn't figure into your thought process?" Donna pushed.
"Honestly? No." Josh told her and Donna stopped stroking his hair.
"What then?"
"I was thinking how I was Miranda's age when Joanie died. I was thinking that I knew
how it felt to be scared and alone, just wanting your mom." Donna tried to hold back
the tears his words evoked but they silently slid down her face. She couldn't find her
voice for a couple minutes.
"Miranda was lucky to have you." Donna finally spoke. Josh must have heard the
tears in your voice because he turned his head to face her. He wiped the tears off
her face with his fingers.
"Don't cry Donnatella." He told her. "I can't take it if you start crying for me."
"Not you. You I can comfort and help. I'm crying for the little 8 year old boy who was
alone and scared." That brought tears to Josh's eyes. "You'll call Stanley, Josh."
"Yeah…I'll call Stanley." Josh promised and gathered Donna in his arms so they
could comfort each other.