A/N: Hey guys, it's me again! I think I'm hitting my stride with this whole writing pattern thing. It's always hard to settle into a new routine, but I think I've finally found some reliable times to write. Yay!

I'm so glad you guys liked the last chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it, too. This one moves things along a bit more, and adds in some of that drama I mentioned earlier. Please don't hate me ;)

As always, thanks so much for being such awesome readers and reviewers. I love you guys!

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It's mid-morning when Josh rejoins his staff on the campaign trail. He meets up with them in a hotel in West Virginia, and all the staffers watch him critically as he walks in. He's oblivious to their stares as he struts in, his usual rough appearance and tense expression all but gone. Hell, he looks content. He looks well-rested. A few of the staffers have trouble recognizing him.

"Hey, everybody." He greets jovially. He fails to notice their stunned expressions as he continues past them to set his bag down on a chair. He's practically whistling.

One of the communication staffers mutters to Ronna, "Is it just me, or does he look... Happy?"

A faint smile spreads across Ronna's face. She's one of the select few that actually knows the reason behind Josh's trip yesterday. "He does."

"And less pale."

"Yeah." She calls out to him as he rifles through the messages someone handed him, "Hey, Josh!"

"Hm?"

"You look good."

"What?" He says absently. "Oh, thanks."

"What happened to you?"

He can't hide the smile that creeps across his face. "I just got a good night's sleep for once, that's all."

She walks over to him and leans in conspiratorially. "And that wouldn't happen to have anything to do with having someone to spend the night with, would it?"

He snaps his fingers as if realizing something. "You know what? That might just be the key to it."

She smiles, too. She can't help it. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks."

"Just, be careful, okay?"

"I know." He goes back to sorting through his messages, his goofy smile still in place, and she starts to walk away again when he calls out to her. "Hey, Ronna."

She steps back over to him. "What's up?"

"I'm going to have a daughter. Isn't that amazing?"

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When Donna returns to the campaign mid-day, Will notices something different about her. She catches up to him in the hall with an upbeat smile and punches his arm. "Hey, boss, I'm back. Where do you need me?"

He's taken aback by how well-rested and calm she looks. No self respecting staffer on a presidential campaign ever looks well-rested or calm, but Donna has looked particularly out of sorts lately, so the transformation is doubly jarring. "Hey, it's good to see you."

"Back at you. I missed you."

"Really?"

"No." She says coyly.

He smiles. "You look like you got a full night's sleep last night."

She shrugs happily. "And then some."

"I'm happy for you. How did your appointment go?"

"Great." She enthuses. "We found out the sex of the baby."

"Oh, really?" His interest is piqued.

"Yeah. Do you wanna know?"

"Uh, yeah, of course. Isn't that something usually only the parents care about? You know, whether or not to find out the sex."

"You could've wanted it to be a surprise." She says with a lopsided grin.

He snorts. "Hit me."

"A girl. We're having a girl."

"Really? That's so great." He puts a hand on her shoulder as they slow to a stop in front of the elevators. "Congratulations, Donna."

"Thanks." She beams. "We're really excited."

He notices that she's using the word 'we' in regard to her pregnancy a lot more than she used to. It gets him thinking - about the thing he usually prefers not to think about. "How were things, with, um... Him."

He's further alarmed by the way she doesn't playfully make fun of his awkwardness, or correct him with a sarcastic 'you mean the baby daddy.' Instead, her thrilled smile fades and she refuses to make eye contact with him. Awkwardly, she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and stares determinedly at the numbers above the elevators. "Actually... Something kind of happened."

"Happened?" He repeats. "Are you guys okay?"

"We're okay." She reassures him. "More than okay, actually," she adds in a small voice.

"More than okay?"

She bites her lip, and he notices a faint blush glowing on her cheeks. "Actually, we, uh, got back together."

"You... Oh." Will says simply. Now he's staring determinedly at the elevator numbers, too. He wishes they'd hurry up. He knows he has no right to be affected in any way by this news, but something about it upsets his stomach. "Oh. That's... Good."

"I think so." She says softly.

"It's just..." Will starts, unable to help himself. He folds his arms. "You said you guys were done. You were so upset, when he proposed, and with everything that happened..."

She sighs. "I know. But, he's the father of my child. I think that's worth a shot, don't you?"

"Of course." Will agrees automatically. He takes some satisfaction in the fact that she might only be with him out of obligation.

"And... I don't know. It's complicated. We mean something to each other, and I think we owe it to each other to figure out exactly what that is."

Will clears his throat uncomfortably, wishing suddenly that he wasn't her most trusted confidant on the campaign. "Right."

Her blush is now bright red. She struggles to find the words to say, 'Oh, and he's the campaign manager for the opposition,' but they don't come.

Will strides forward and irritably gives the elevator button a couple more jabs. "How long can a goddamn elevator take?"

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Around five, Donna's cell phone starts ringing, and when she checks the caller ID, her face breaks out in a smile. "Hey, you."

"Hey. How are you?"

"I'm good."

"That's good."

"You?"

"I'm good too."

"Good."

"How many times do you think we can say good in this conversation?"

"A few more, probably. Last night was good."

"Good?"

"Good."

"That's good."

"I'm lying. It was better than good. It was great."

"That's good."

"Josh."

"I'm kidding. It was great. Better than great, actually. Somebody get me a thesaurus."

"I miss you." She says plaintively. "I know that's stupid, because it's only been a few hours, but-"

"I miss you too." He cuts her off.

She can tell by the sound of his voice that they're wearing the exact same expression right now. She loves how high school this feels, to have a love so exhilarating they're just sitting on their phones with stupid grins on their faces. "When can we see each other again?"

"Send me your schedule for the week. I'll work something out."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. I run this campaign, I can do what I want."

"I can't send you my exact schedule, you know."

"Right. Ethics, and all that."

"Don't pretend you wouldn't use it for your own gain."

"I would. But I think we've got different definitions of 'my own gain'."

"I meant politically."

"See, I didn't."

She shakes her head. "I'll send you some rough locations. Might change, though."

"Yeah. Keep me posted."

"I will."

"How's our girl today?"

Her sappy grin is back. The way he says 'our girl' sends waves of happiness through her. "Good. Certainly very lively."

"I see we're back to 'good'?"

"She can't keep still. Just like her dad."

She can hear his smile in his reply. "I'm proud."

"Don't be, she's annoying the crap out of me. Oh wait, she gets that from you too."

"Ha, ha." He says dryly.

She rests her chin on her hand contentedly, thinking about their family. "Do you think she'll have dimples?"

The question seems to throw him. "I don't know. Never paid much attention in genetics class."

"I hope she does." She can tell that his are out right now.

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Josh figures out that they'll both be in Denver at the same time later that week, and they make vague plans to meet up. Neither is sure when they'll be able to get away, or which hotel will be most convenient and discreet.

She calls him around eleven.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Are you busy?"

He steps out of the conference room and walks a ways down the hall. "Not extremely, but..."

"Good, because I'm on my way over."

"What?"

"I'm in a cab."

"Seriously?" His mood brightens considerably.

"I was going crazy."

"Oh yeah?"

"Hormonally, I should say."

A grin spreads across his face. "Really?"

"Do you think it's okay for me to take off my underwear in this cab to increase efficiency?" She asks. She lowers her voice. "Okay, the cab driver seems suddenly very interested in my conversation."

He laughs. "Don't do that. I want to undress you."

"Seems like that would take up time."

"What's the rush? We've got all night."

"Listen, normally I love the taking it slow thing. But right now?"

"Yeah?"

"I was hoping you'd just fuck me against the door of your hotel room."

Josh is suddenly robbed of his capability to speak. Never in all eight years of knowing her had he expected to hear Donna Moss utter the words 'fuck me.' It's having a powerful effect on him. An effect that might make it difficult for him to reenter the conference room inconspicuously. When he regains his ability to speak, his voice comes out deeper and more ragged than before. "That works too. That definitely, definitely works."

He hears her grin. "I'll be there in ten minutes."

An hour later, Josh pulls on his tshirt and pants from the day and leans in to kiss her once before he steps out.

"I feel like you're going to work."

"Ten minutes tops. I promise."

"Should've just ordered room service." She grumbles, snaking her hand into the back of his hair.

"When my campaign is a virtual cornucopia of free food? No way."

"Bring back pizza. Pepperoni."

"You got it."

"And try to look less like you just had sex."

He smiles, and brushes one final kiss against her lips before getting off the bed. "Noted."

Josh wanders back down to the conference center, trying to look as though he never left. He meanders to the back wall, which has a spread of food, and begins piling two plates with everything he can find. He's mostly unnoticed, only incurring a couple questions from junior staffers. As he attempts to make his escape, something on the white board that many of the upper level staffers are gathered around gives him pause.

"Did you give that state's delegates to us?"

Bram, Ronna, and Ned all look up in surprise. "It's just a projection."

"You can't give all their delegates to anyone. That's a proportional state."

"They... Oh." Bram realizes his mistake.

"Amateur hour," Josh mutters, shaking his head. He starts to walk away again, satisfied that his campaign can function for another few hours until Donna falls asleep. At least, he tells himself that he'll come back down once she's out, but he knows the allure of sleeping beside her might be too much to withstand.

"Wait a minute." Ronna calls after him. "Where are you going?"

"Um, my room? These are generally what people refer to as the sleeping hours."

"Not your sleeping hours." She counters. "And, say, where have you been for the past hour?"

"Um, here?"

Bram starts to smirk as well, cottoning on to what Ronna's implying. "And where's your shirt?"

"I spilled something."

"And you have two massive plates of food for what reason?"

"Can't a guy be hungry?" He starts to back toward the door.

His staffers roll their eyes. "Give Donna our love."

"You bet."

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The following week, things are less easy to coordinate. Just when their schedules seem to align, an event is added at the last minute that draws them apart again. This only serves to compound Donna's horrible mood.

It seems that over the course of the week she's become past the point of no return pregnant, in which her bump is big enough that it seems to finally settle the internal "pregnant or gaining weight" debate many of her coworkers have been having. As such, everyone on the campaign seems to feel more and more comfortable asking her about her pregnancy.

"When are you due?"

"A boy or a girl? Oh, don't tell me, I can just tell it's a boy! My face rounded out just like that when I was pregnant with my son."

"What's her name?"

"How does your husband feel about you being gone all the time?" A swift glance down at her left hand. "I'm so sorry. Your boyfriend."

If she has to tell one more nosy coworker that no, she hasn't settled on a name yet, and no, their input isn't really necessary on that, she's going to tear her hair out.

In addition to her coworkers' increased interest in her personal life, Will has also been weird and distant to her all week. He's the one person who might've been able to help her through this, by interrupting his subordinates' inquiries, or even by rolling his eyes or laughing with her in commiseration. But he hasn't been doing any of that. In fact, she's almost certain he's limiting his interaction with her as much as possible. He pretty much only deals with her on matters relating to the campaign.

She's pretty sure she can trace it back to when she told him she'd gotten back together with Josh - though, of course, he didn't know it was Josh. She thinks that maybe she'd disappointed him in some way by getting back together with the father of her child, as if it was a display of weakness or corrosion of principles. She can understand how he'd think that, as she's previously presented a very one-sided account of the story that didn't make Josh look so good. She'd been holding on to so much anger and fear back then. She wishes she could explain to him that that's not all there is to it, but she doesn't know how to do that without revealing that it's Josh she's been talking about this whole time.

The longer she waits to tell him, the harder it gets. The secret itself is starting to pale in comparison to the fact that she's kept it from him for so long. She doesn't just fear a fracture in their professional relationship, or even the loss of her job, but a fracture in their personal relationship. Will has said and proven many times over how much he trusts her. She doesn't want to see that trust broken. She's grown to really like Will over the course of the campaign, and hurting him is the last thing she wants to do.

Either way, she misses him. And she's having a truly shitty week.

Come Thursday, all she wants is to see her boyfriend, but it looks like even that might not happen.

"That's what, forty-five minutes away from here?"

"Yeah," Donna confirms miserably.

"Shit."

"Tonight's another bust, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry." He says genuinely. "We can try again next week."

"It's okay. It's not your fault."

"I know." He sighs. "There's just so much to do, and I know it's not any better on your end, and..."

"It's okay." She repeats in a small voice. To her mortification, tears are threatening. "I just really wanted to see you, that's all."

Josh picks up on her change in tone and sits forward in alarm. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She assures him, trying to get herself together. "Just a crappy week."

"Invasive coworkers, right?"

"And some other stuff, yeah."

Josh runs a hand through his hair, weighing his options. "You know what? I'll come over."

She blinks in surprise. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. I think I can swing it. It'll be late, though."

"That's okay." She says immediately.

"Okay. What time is best?"

"The lobby will probably be clear by two."

"Perfect. I'll see you then."

She smiles, spirits lifted. It might just be the first time she's really smiled all day. "Okay. See you."

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Will Bailey is having one of the worst nights of his life. He'd settled in for the night and decided to treat himself to a rare four hours of sleep, when noises from next door pulled him away from the welcoming arms of slumber. Not only is he being kept awake on one of the few nights he actually has the opportunity to sleep somewhere that isn't a bus or a plane, he's being kept awake by the unmistakeable sounds of intimacy coming through the wall between his room and the next.

What's worse? He knows the room next door belongs to none other than Russell campaign spokeswoman, Donna Moss. And, as much as he's trying not to listen, he can still definitely tell that it's her, having a seriously good time.

He tries everything. He puts his pillow over his head and presses down, trying to deafen the sounds. It doesn't work. He tries playing some music from his laptop, to no avail.

He finds himself growing irritated at the continued moans and giggles from next door. She has to be up at six too, for god's sake! And she's pregnant, she needs her rest. That's another thing - what's her boyfriend doing flying out from DC in the wee hours of the morning to have sex with her, and then presumably leave before she has to work? Doesn't he know better than take away her precious few hours of rest?

He knows he's being unfair. They probably hardly see each other. But still.

Normally Will enjoys having the room next to Donna's, as they can easily go back and forth when they think of things in the middle of the night. Usually the brainstorming sessions will taper off into casual conversation about nothing. It's nice. He misses their little talks - he's been keeping his distance from her lately, as something about their conversation last week had unsettled him.

What's happening right now certainly isn't helping matters. He can hear her a little too clearly, and unbidden images rise in his head, the most innocent of which is the wicked grin he's seen on her more than a few times.

He squeezes his eyes shut. That's it. I'm not about to be turned on by the sounds of my pregnant subordinate and the father of her child, Will tells himself firmly. He gathers his laptop and a couple other things and leaves to get some work done in the lobby. Hopefully he can find a cup of coffee.

As he hurries past her door, he keeps his eyes down and tries to block out as much sound as possible. He shakes his head in disdain at himself. It's easy to forget on the campaign trail how lonely you are, because nearly everyone else is lonely too. But, God, it's been a while. Hell, if he wasn't everyone on the campaign's boss, he'd consider "coming on board" and having a campaign fling.

By the time he returns upstairs an hour later, a half empty cup of coffee in hand, Will feels much better. Working had helped him to calm down and had distracted him from what was going on a few floors up. He tries not to think about why it had bothered him so much in the first place.

He walks down the hallway, pleased when he doesn't hear anything. Maybe he'll finally be able to get some sleep.

He's a few yards away from her door when it cracks open. He hesitates. He won't pretend he's not curious to see who emerges.

From inside, he hears someone speaking softly. "I'll call you in the morning, okay? Get some sleep. Alright. Bye."

Donna's guest backs his way into the hallway, a content smile on his face. He has his suit jacket in one hand, and his shirt is buttoned only halfway over his undershirt. He's so lost in his own thoughts that he doesn't notice Will's presence until he turns around to leave.

He stops dead in his tracks, a floored expression on his face. He gapes at Will for a good ten seconds, and Will gapes back. Eventually, an awkward smile creeps hesitantly across his face. "Oh. Will. Hi."

Will tries to maintain a neutral expression. "Josh. Funny seeing you here."

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Gahh I'm sorry! It had to happen sometime. Will's in the story summary after all, he has to feature pretty heavily. I've missed him these past few chapters. For those of you concerned about the fate of poor Will, don't worry too much. But, that being said, things might get worse before they get better. And as for our favorite couple? Can they handle whatever hurdles life's about to throw at them? Stay tuned to find out!

Lol. But seriously, thanks for reading. Let me know what you think!