The nurse helps Donna back into bed after her shower, and Donna immediately holds open her arms for Lulu. I place a kiss on her forehead and place her in her Mom's arms.

"You look amazing." I thought she looked incredible when she's all dressed up for a ball. Nothing compares to this, a nightgown, a freshly washed face, her hair up in a knot, and our baby in her arms.

"Excuse me," an aide enters the room, "there's a Mrs. Lyman out in the hall wondering if she can come in."

"Mom's here?" Donna looks up at me smiling, "go get her!"

I hate to leave Donna and Lulu but I pop out into the hallway. And see my Mom standing there with a small rolling suitcase, and her purse over her arm. I don't know how it's possible but I suddenly love her even more. Maybe it's the process of becoming a parent, the last 18 hours have changed me, and now I can appreciate my own Mom in a new way.

She opens her arms and I wrap mine around her small frame. "Ima, I'm so glad you're here." I give myself just a few seconds to absorb some of her strength, then pull back. "Come meet my daughter."

I lead her through the door and see Donna's face light up. "Mom! Come meet Leonora!"

It's the first time Donna's used Lulu's whole name. I like hearing how it sounds on her lips. Totally natural. It makes me feel better about choosing it. I was a little worried that I was being selfish picking my favorite. Donna must like it or she wouldn't let me choose. She probably just wants to be able to make me the bad guy if Lulu hates it when she's older. She's a smart one, my Donna.

Mom is leaning over the bed, placing gentle kisses on the baby's forehead, then doing the same to Donna. My heart feels like its going to explode. I might burst out crying.

"Would you like to hold her?" Donna asks my Mother in a soft voice.

"Yes, please." Mom hands me her purse then washes her hands and comes back for Lulu. Once she has her securely, she makes her way over to the easy chair and starts murmuring in Yiddish. She's been patiently waiting for this moment a long time. Donna and I both watch her with smiles, but then Donna yawns.

"Darling, you must be exhausted. Why don't you close your eyes for a little bit? I won't let anything happen to this angel."

"Okay, Mom. Thanks." Donna closes her eyes and her breathing quickly evens out.

Then Mom looks at me. "Joshua, did you bring a change of clothes with you?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Why don't you take a shower? You'll feel much better. I'll keep watch over your family."

"Thank you, Ima." I roll the bassinet over to the chair so it's close by in case she wants to put Lulu down. Although from the looks of her, I'd say that's highly unlikely to happen in the fifteen minutes it'll take me to shower and shave. Then I lean down and place a kiss on her cheek. And then a kiss on Lulu's forehead.

"Be good for Savta while I'm in the shower Lulu."

I get out of the shower feeling like a new man. A Dad. I get dressed quickly. I have some things to accomplish. When I come out of the bathroom, Donna is still sleeping and my Mom is still bonding with Lulu. It's an amazing sight.

I take a seat next to Mom and she looks up at me with tears in her eyes. "Thank you so much. I had almost given up hope of ever feeling this way again."

Tears come to my eyes too. "I'm sorry I waited so long."

"Oh, posh, the two of you got here. That's all that really matters." We both quickly blink back our tears. Neither of us is comfortable with gratuitous exhibitions of emotion.

"Are you good for a few more minutes? I need to step out in the hallway and make a couple of phone calls."

"Of course, Joshua. Take as long as you need. Little Miss Lulu and I are perfectly content."

I give each of my three ladies another kiss before I leave the room.

Out in the hall, I struggle for a minute deciding who to call first. In the end, I know it has to be the First Family. They know we came in last night, thanks to Operation Baby-on-the-way. In fact, they may even already know that Lulu has arrived, but I still want to call them myself.

The switchboard puts me through to the Residence, and it's picked up on the first ring.

"Hello. This is the White House, Miranda speaking."

Well. That is about the cutest thing ever. I hope her parents know she's answering the phone and that she has very good phone manners.

"Miranda, it's Tio Josh."

"Tio Josh! Is Lulu here? Mommy said you went to the hospital and the baby was coming, but it's been a long time."

"Yes Miranda, Baby Lulu was born this morning. Can I talk to your Mom or Dad?"

"Can I come see her?"

"I have to talk to your Mom or Dad first. It's up to them."

"Okay then. . . MOMMY TIO JOSH IS ON THE PHONE!"

Well, maybe she needs to work on her phone skills a little, because I'm pretty sure she didn't move the phone away from her mouth before she yelled directly into my ear.

"JOSH!" Helen sounds excited. "Is Lulu here? Is Donna okay? What are all the stats?

"Hello Helen. Yes, Leonora Moss Lyman arrived this morning at 10:42 a.m. She weighed 6 lbs 7 oz and is 20 and a half inches long. She got a 9 on the APGAR test. She and Donna are both doing excellent."

"Can I talk to Donna?"

"She's sleeping. It was a long, rough night."

"Can we come visit?"

"You'll need to talk to Ron about security, but we'll be here until tomorrow afternoon. Maybe this evening would be okay."

"Okay. Thanks for calling Josh, and Congratulations."

Sam and Ainsley are next. I hit 3 for Sam's cell.

"Hey buddy." He greets me.

"Hey Man. Where are you?"

"I'm in your office. Where are you?"

"I'm at the hospital. Didn't Margaret tell you that?" Margaret was a key component of Operation Baby-on-the-way.

"Yeah, she did. I'm just teasing. So do you have good news to share?"

"Is Ainsley there too? You could put me on speaker."

"Ainsley's not but let me get Margaret."

"Hey Josh."

"Hey Margaret."

"Okay, give us the details."

I fill them in, and I'm pleased with both of their delighted gasps at Lulu's name.

"I need a favor from both of you."

"Sure, boss." Margaret is quick to reply.

"Margaret, can you call the furniture store and have the items delivered today if possible. Sam can you be there to let them in and set up the nursery? I'm going to call Charlie and Toby next and see if they can help. I'd like it to be all ready when we get home tomorrow. There's a pile of shower gifts in Donna's office too."

"We're on it, Josh. No worries."

I'm not worried. With Margaret in charge, I'm sure the nursery will look perfect.

I call Charlie next.

"Hey Josh, what's up?"

"Is Zoey there too?"

"She's right next to me."

"Great. Put me on speaker."

"Hey Josh."

"Hey Aunt Zoey and Uncle Charlie!"

"Is the baby here?" Zoey squeals.

"Yes. Leonora. 10:42 this morning. 6lbs 7oz. 20 and a half inches long."

"OOOOHH Congratulations! Can we come see her?"

"Um, actually, can I ask a favor first?"

"Sure."

"In the Jewish tradition, we didn't set up the nursery. Margaret's arranging for the furniture to be delivered. Can you guys help set it up?"

"Of course! That'll be fun."

"Thanks, just call Sam or Margaret for the details. When you are done, let me know. Donna's recovering right now, but I think she'll be up for visitors later."

"Have you called my parents yet?"

"No. So don't spoil it for me, okay squirt?"

"Okay. I'll give you until midnight, then all bets are off."

"Okay." Toby's next on my list, then I need to find out if Donna's parents are on the way.

Toby is gruffly pleased both that Lulu arrived safetly and that we followed tradition on the nursery. Unfortunately, the Twins have colds, so he thinks it's better if he doesn't help with the nursery and they hold off on visiting until everyone is healthy. I appreciate his thoughtfulness.

After that, I call both of Donna's parents' cell phones. They both go straight to voice mail so I am assuming they are probably in the air right now.

One more call for now, I've been away from Donna and Lulu long enough.

"Bartlet Residence."

"Abbey? This is Josh."

"Hello, Joshua."

"Lulu is here! She arrived this morning."

"Oh, Josh, Congratulations! How's Donna?"

"It was pretty rough, ma'am." I feel myself choking up a little and I clear my throat. "But she's fine. She's sleeping now and my Mom's holding the baby."

"Well, what's her name? What are her stats?"

I fill Abbey in and she reassures me that everything is okay. Then she says-

"Well Grandpa Jed and I are going to want to meet that little angel. We'd love to have you up to the farm for Thanksgiving. You can come with Zoey and Charlie. They don't want us to come down there because they think we don't know that they are living together."

"Ahh..." I'm not sure what to say. Normally I'd take Charlie and Zoey's side but now I'm a parent. I suddenly feel aligned with the Bartlets. I look to get out of the conversation without confirming or denying anything. "I'll check with Donna but Thanksgiving sounds nice."

"Okay. Remember Josh, you can call me any time. Give Donna my love."

"Yes, ma'am, I will."

Now that the calls are made, I head back into the room.

"Wash your hands." My Mother immediately instructs me. I was going to! I listened to the nurse.

As soon as I'm done drying them, Mom stands up. "Now sit down." I immediately obey and she transfers my daughter into my arms. It's an amazing feeling. I'll never get enough of this.

Mom sits in the chair next to me. "Now, Joshua. When did you last eat?"

"Ummmm. . . we had Chinese food around 7 yesterday."

"And when did you last sleep?" She gives me a knowing look, so I don't try to pull a fast one on her.

"I got up at 5am yesterday morning, and I slept an hour after Donna got her epidural."

"So you're well over 30 hours with virtually no sleep."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Okay. I'm going to take the baby back. You are going to lean back in that chair and close your eyes. Hopefully, you can get another hour of sleep before the Mosses get here. Please tell me that you called the Mosses."

"Yes, Ima. I called them right after I called you, and I tried again a few minutes ago, but I didn't get an answer."

"Okay then." She takes Lulu from me. "Close your eyes. When you wake up, I'll have something for you to eat."

I open my eyes to the sound of Jim Moss's booming voice. "My daughter's in there and I want to know what's going on!"

I stand up and stretch. Donna's waking up too. Her eyes are wide. I'd better hurry and get this resolved. I rush over to the door.

"Jim! Lottie! Come in." I turn to the agent. "It's okay, these are Donna's parents." Too bad it wasn't one of the agents that was with us at Easter.

Jim and Lottie Moss enter the room excitedly. They've each got a small rolling suitcase too. It occurs to me that I probably need to make some hotel reservations. I wonder if I can have Margaret do that?

"Donna!" Lottie cries out rushing over to her. Thank Goodness, my Mom was wise enough to give Donna the baby before her mother walked in. That could have been awkward.

"Hi Mom, Hi Daddy. Come meet Leonora."

"Oh baby, she's beautiful."

"Congratulations, Josh!" Jim reaches out to shake my hand.

"Thank you, sir. I tried to call but you must have been in the air already."

"We called when we landed but no one answered." I look at my phone.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize that our phones were on silent. We've just been napping a little. It was a long night."

Lottie is sitting in a chair next to Donna holding the baby. Ewww. I don't think she washed her hands. Can I make her give the baby back and do it now?

Out of the corner of my eye I see Donna shift and grimace. "Are you okay?" She nods a little but she doesn't look like she's okay.

"Really, what's the matter?" I'll kick everyone out of this room if she wants me to.

"I have to go to the bathroom."

"Come on, I'll help you up."

"Hey Jim, can you do me favor? Can you wash your hands before you hold the baby? Thanks!"

I slip into the bathroom with Donna before he can say anything.

"Wow, honey, that was pretty brave." Donna giggles. Until she tries to go to the bathroom, then she cries. "Ohmygod, this hurts."

"Should I get the nurse?"

"No, she told me what to do. I'm suppose to use that little squirt bottle instead of wiping. Can you fill it with warm water? And then there are some witch hazel pads that I'm supposed to put over the stitches that will help."

I fill the water bottle and give it to her. Then hand her the witch hazel pads when she's ready.

"My God, the things you women have to endure. You are amazing creatures. I'm so sorry you're suffering, but our baby, she's amazing Donna. She's so amazing."

Once Donna is done, we both wash our hands and she shuffles back to the bed, obviously still in pain. I need to find a nurse and ask her to bring some pain medication. I think we also need to get some food.

"Josh, can you get the camera? I think we need to get some family pictures."

We spend the next fifteen minutes getting every combination of photo. And then, finally, Donna is satisfied.

Donna's Mom asks how the birth went and Donna gives her a sanitized version. I don't know if Donna even realizes how bad it was between 1am and 7am. Leonora may be an only child. I don't think I can put Donna through that again.

"Donna, did they bring you a lunch tray?"

"No, they asked but I wasn't hungry."

"Are you hungry now?"

"Yeah."

"Jim, Lottie, Mom, did any of you get lunch?"

"We ate in the airport before our flight took off." Lottie announces.

I'm pretty sure my Mom didn't though. She was here before lunch time.

I'm trying to think about how to make this work, when Margaret walks in with two big bags.

"Margaret! What are you doing here?"

"Your Mom called me and asked me to bring sandwiches from Wisemiller's"

"Joshua, I told you I'd have food for you when you woke up, didn't I?"

"Yes, Ima. . . . Thank you, Margaret."

"No problem, Boss. Can I meet the baby?"

"Yes of course, wash your hands first."

Lottie reluctantly gives Lulu to Margaret, who immediately coos "aren't you the most precious thing? Yes, you are princess, and Auntie Margaret is going to spoil you. I'm going to keep all sort of yummy things for you at my desk so anytime you visit, you can come to me for a snack."

Margaret is handling Lulu like a pro, and once again I wonder about her daughter. There is one lone picture of her tacked to Margaret's bulletin board, half hidden by some papers. And she never, ever mentions her. I don't know her name. In fact, I don't really even know if she's a girl. I'm just making an assumption based on a pink outfit.

While Margaret's got the baby, I start handing out food.

"Oh, this is so good!" Donna exclaims after her first bite of Corned Beef. "Thanks, Mom and Thanks, Margaret."

"Oh and Josh, take Margaret's picture with Lulu."

I hand the bag of food to my Mom, and get out the camera.

"Jim, Lottie, there's plenty here and these really are the greatest Corned Beef sandwiches ever." My Jewish Mother isn't going to be happy until she feeds Donna's parents. I would think her Italian Mother should understand that.

"Okay, thank you." Lottie finally agrees. "We'll just split a half."

After she gets her picture taken, Margaret says"I've got to get going. I've still got the thing to finish."

"Okay, thanks Margaret."

"I'll take the baby!" Lottie offers rushing to the sink to wash her hands.

When Margaret does the hand off and leaves, I follow her out.

"The furniture is going to be delivered tomorrow morning. We've almost got everything else done."

"Thanks Margaret, this is above and beyond."

"Hey, that's what friends are for." She smiles oddly and nods her head once. Then scurries away.

As I head back into the room, I survey the scene. Jim is standing behind Lottie, who still has the baby. Mom looks tired. Donna looks like she's still in pain.

It seems rude to kick them out. But Donna's health is the most important thing.

All of our parents are retired. They don't have anything urgent to get back home to. If they are staying in town a week, they don't need to stay in this room with us all day. I think it's time to find out what everyone's plans are.

"Mom, did you book a hotel?"

"No dear, I just got the flight and came straight here."

"How about you?" I ask Jim.

"We booked a room at the same place Lottie stayed last time. What was that called?"

"Georgetown Suites, dear."

"Are you staying all week?"

"We have a Friday afternoon flight home."

"Okay, that's good. . . Mom do you want me to book you a room there? We don't have the extra bed anymore, just the pull out sofa. But I'm not going home tonight, so you can have our bed tonight if you want it."

"If it's okay with Donna, I'll go back to your place tonight."

"Yes, of course, Mom, that's fine with me." Donna answers with a loud yawn.

"You're tired, dear." Mom gets up and gives Donna a kiss on the forehead. "Maybe you should take another nap. I think I'll head to your place and do the same. I'll call you later and see if you'd like me to come back here tonight." She walks over to Lottie and gives Lulu a kiss on the forehead, then gives me a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks for everything, Mom. I'll talk to you later."

Shortly after Mom leaves, a nurse comes in with Tylenol for Donna. "I think it would be a good idea to have visitors clear out for a little while. Mama and baby could use some rest. Looks like Daddy could too."

"Oh." Lottie says. "I guess we could go check in at the hotel."

"That's a good idea." I respond. "Why don't you give us a few hours and then check back. My phone's not on silent anymore."

"Okay, that's fine, Josh. Just call us if you need us. We'll see you later tonight. Or tomorrow."

Lottie walks over to Donna and gives Lulu back. "She's a beautiful baby. Congratulations."

"Thanks, Mom. See you later, Dad."

"See you later, pumpkin."

"Just the three of us at last!" Donna says softly, smiling at me. Then she lowers her gown and puts Lulu to her breast. I'm mesmerized. Lulu opens her eyes and moves her mouth for a few seconds, but then falls back asleep.

Donna sighs a little and pulls her gown back up. "The nurse said to try every once in a while, but it's pretty common for babies to be sleepy and not really hungry the first day."

Donna yawns again.

"The Mommies too?" I tease gently. Then I kiss her forehead. "It's okay. Close your eyes, get some more rest."

"Okay."

I take Lulu from her, and Donna closes her eyes. It doesn't take long for her to fall back asleep. I know I probably could fall asleep too, if I tried but, I'm pretty content holding my baby. I walk over to the light switch and shut it off, then I open the door, while still cradling Lulu in one arm.

"We need at least an hour with no visitors. Obviously let medical staff in the room." The agent nods solemnly. I hope the President doesn't drop by without calling first.

Finally, I make my way over to the window and stand looking out over the University. In the quiet, I hear my Dad's voice somewhere in my mind. I know he's not really here with me, but I swear, I can feel his presence.

So son, I guess you finally grew up? I look down at the baby girl in my arms, smile and whisper back, "of course, I just needed one good reason."