Wow guys, I'm so happy you seemed to like this story so far. I wasn't sure how active the fandom was, but I was blown away by your responses, and I just had to write the next chapter quickly to thank you. So thank you so much.

Enjoy :)

"You're really here, right? I'm not just having a mental breakdown and imagining it?" Josh said as he let go over Donna. He looked her over quickly. She really was here in the flesh, and damn did she look good.

Josh had always thought she would come back. He had given it a month. He assumed she'd come knocking on his door after she realised that Madison had nothing to offer her, and neither did that douchebag she called a fiancé. And when she didn't, he gave it another month.

He finally gave up hope the day they left the White House. He toyed with the idea of going to find her, but he couldn't stomach seeing her with a life that didn't involve him. He could see her happily married, maybe with a kid, in a job that offered her more money and responsibility. The life she had always wanted. A life without him.

"Yeah, I'm here," Donna couldn't contain the smile on her face. She really hadn't been looking for him for that long, and she got extremely lucky bumping into Charlie, but it didn't mean she wasn't over the moon to be standing where she was.

"You look great," he said, not being able to keep it to himself any longer.

"Thanks, so do you," she said honestly, but Josh didn't think she was telling the truth. He was sure his hair line had receded at least two inches, the bags under his eyes were too puffy, and he wasn't wearing his normal suit and tie. But Donna couldn't see any of that. He was as handsome to her as he was the night he threw snowballs at her window.

Josh looked down at Donna's ring finger, but there was nothing to see. Did that mean what he thought it did? There was always the chance that she didn't wear a wedding ring. However, from what he remembered she wore an engagement ring when she left, so it seemed unlikely.

"Sit, sit," Josh said as he motioned for the chair in front of his desk.

"I actually can't stay too long," Donna said. And although she wanted to, she didn't feel comfortable leaving Tilly outside by herself. And it wasn't that she didn't want Josh to meet Matilda, or that she was hiding her away, quite the opposite in fact, she just didn't know how to bring her up.

"Oh," Josh let out, thinking he understood the situation completely. She was just passing through. She'd be gone again before he even blinked. She tended to do that. She'd burst into his life and be soon gone not realising the damaged she caused when she did. "That's all I get? A quick 'hi, bye', and then you're gone again."

"No," Donna quickly replied. The tone Josh had just used frightened her, was that really what he thought of her. Did he really think she would come into his life again just for a two second conversation? "I'll be here for at least a couple of days," she explained.

"Why?"

"You, actually," she said honestly but she was still scared of the repercussions. He could still slam the door in her face, say 'bad luck, you came all this way for nothing' or tell her he never wanted to see her again. But she had to take his reaction come what may. "I really want to sit down and have a proper conversation with you. Just not here, or now," she added.

"Just tell me something. Is he here?" Josh asked. He was sure he was going to give Donna what she wanted, he always did. But if he had to see that good for nothing piece of crap that took her away from him, he wasn't sure that was a possibility.

"No," Donna answered. It was so quick Donna didn't see the smirk that crept at the edge of Josh's mouth. Donna then went across to his desk, found a spare blank piece of paper and wrote down the address to the motel she and Tilly were staying at. "This is where I'm staying. If you want to see me. Come by whenever works for you," she said as she handed the paper to Josh. "Please," she added as she let go. Josh didn't say anything as he watched her walk out the door.

And just like that she was gone again. But she didn't have to be. Did she want him back in her life, or was this just a trip down memory lane? Sure, he loved the fact that potentially that dick wasn't in the picture anymore, but how much did that really matter now?

Donna waved goodbye to the other staff members who were surely wondering who she was, but it didn't bother her. As she exited the lounge she was glad to see Tilly was still on the bench where she had left her. It was every parent's nightmare that they'd turn around for a minute and never see their child again.

"Was he in there?" Tilly asked as she saw her mother come back. Donna hadn't told Tilly all that much about Josh, just the basics. That they used to work together, and they had been really good friends. There was no point telling a child about a person they used to know, if that person wasn't going to make any impact on their life. And until Donna knew for sure, that's how things were going to stay.

"He was," Donna said. She didn't even tell Tilly that Josh was the main reason for their trip. What kind of message would that be sending the young girl?

"Good," Tilly smiled as she got off the bench and handed her mother back the phone.

"Yeah. Let's head back to the motel, Sweetie," Donna said taking Tilly's hand in hers and leading them both back out the way they came.

Donna wanted to be in their room if and when Josh came over. She also didn't know what there was to do in New Haven. For all her googling that was something she had yet to look at. So, that was her plan for the next few hours. She would do her research while Tilly played with the toys she had packed.

From what it seemed there wasn't much to do in New Haven, which wasn't all that surprising. Everything was mostly relating to Yale. There was a museum, but she was quite sure Tilly had currently used up her interest in museum's while in D.C. She'd probably end up taking Tilly to a park tomorrow. She needed a good run around, after being hauled up in the car for the last few days.

But then she also didn't want to leave the motel room. What if they were gone and Josh came by? What if that happened and he took it to mean that she no longer wanted to see him? What if she would lose her chance if they couldn't time it correctly. Course, she could leave a note outside the room in hopes Josh would find it, but then couple that with a cleaning lady walking passed or the wind blowing it away, it was unlikely to end up in Josh's hands.

Sesame Street played at a low volume in the background as Donna read one of the books she had packed. This was actually feeling like a vacation of sorts. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd been able to lie down in bed with a good book. It was probably one of the last months she was pregnant with Tilly.

There was a knock on the door, and Donna didn't want to get her hopes up that it was Josh, but who else could it have been? Rolling out of bed, Donna padded over to the door. She looked through the peephole and was overjoyed to see that curly haired man standing on the other side.

It hadn't been more then a few hours from when Donna had left Josh's office, but she was so glad he hadn't left it too long. "Hi," she smiled as she opened the door. If Josh looked into the room he would have seen Tilly on the floor, but he didn't look passed Donna.

"I bought Chinese," Josh said as he held up the bag of food. He still remembered exactly what Donna ate, and he'd gotten their favourites. Josh hadn't even thought twice about going over to Donna's motel. He would have followed her out if he hadn't had to give a lecture. She had put the ball in his court and he was sure as hell going to use it.

"There's really not any sitting room, but come in," Donna said as she held the door open for Josh.

"If I knew you were staying here, I would have offered you the pull-out sofa at mine," Josh said turning back to Donna as he walked passed her. He still hadn't lost that protective instinct over Donna. And sure, the motel wasn't half bad, but that meant it wasn't half good.

"I don't think that would be a great idea," Donna replied, though she thought it was nice of Josh to offer. She just didn't think Josh would like to have a young child mess up his house, though thinking back that wasn't really a problem.

"Mmm, yeah, my girlfriend probably wouldn't like it," Josh said as he turned around. Donna should have had some feelings about Josh having a girlfriend, and she probably did deep down, but that wasn't why she had come here.

"Probably not," she added.

Josh came to a standstill when he saw the little blonde girl lying on the floor colouring in. "There's a child in here," he said not keeping the shock out of his voice.

"Yeah, this is my daughter, Matilda," Donna said as she came to stand by Josh. "Tilly, say 'hello' to Josh," she instructed.

Tilly looked up, she hadn't even noticed Josh come in. She assumed this was the man that her mother had gone to see earlier, but she couldn't have been sure. "Hello," she smiled.

"Hi," Josh replied. Tilly's smiled filled him with warmth. She was such an adorable girl, and he thought she looked a near splitting image to what Donna would have looked like when she was young. And he could tell that even from just one word that she was happy, bright, and bubbly, just like her mother.

"Josh bought us some food, so can you go wash your hands, please," Donna asked, and Tilly got up straight away and ran into the bathroom. "I probably should have mentioned her before," Donna said, a little too embarrassed.

"Would have bought extra spring rolls," Josh said as if the revelation of Donna having a daughter hadn't fazed him. And it hadn't. Donna had always wanted kids, it was one of the reasons she had moved back to Madison. After all it had been five years, and the math stated she could have had a lot more children by now.

Josh passed the bag to Donna and she took it over to the only surface in the room. On a plastic plate she had bought for Tilly she chopped up a spring roll into quarters, a dim sim in half, and gave her a little helping of one of the entrees.

Tilly had come back out the bathroom by time her dinner was served. There was no where to eat but the beds and the floor. Donna passed the plate to Tilly and instructed the girl to sit on the floor to eat.

It was funny, Josh and Donna were once very comfortable in a hotel room together. Many a night were spent going over the next day schedules or working on campaign strategy when they were on the road. But right now, Josh stood awkwardly in the doorway, not sure where to stand, or if he was really welcome in the room.

Donna walked back over to Josh, handing him one of the containers, a pair of chopsticks, and then she sat on her bed, her back to the headboard. Not wanting to seem out of place, he took a seat on the corner of the same bed. They started to eat in silence.

"You want to swap?" Donna asked after a few minutes of neither of them saying a word. Josh looked over to her and held out his half-finished dish. "You can make yourself comfortable," Donna added as they switched food.

"I know," Josh said as he scooted back a little more on to the bed. "Why do those things look familiar?" He asked in reference to the television.

"They came to the White House once," she replied, knowing he'd probably never watched the show when he was a kid. Seeing Big Bird and Elmo was one of the last things she remembered from her time in the White House, not the actual last, but one of them.

"Ah," he said and then continued eating. He had so many questions for Donna, and yet his mind couldn't come up with any of them. She had that effect on him.

Donna hoped that whatever this lack of talking was would be over soon. She had made such a big gamble coming here, that if what was once there no longer existed then it would all be for nothing, and that terrified her.

"So, you wanted to talk?" Josh said after they had finished their food.

"I did," Donna said. "You wanna go outside?" She asked as she looked over to Tilly, who was happily colouring away again.

"Sure," he said, and got off the bed and followed Donna outside.

They found a bench that faced the motel room. Josh didn't say anything as he waited for Donna to start, which meant there was silence between the pair for a minute or two as Donna tried to work out where to begin. There was so much to explain, so much Josh didn't know, or wouldn't understand.

"You know how I left to look after my parents, right?" Donna began.

"It was among the reasons, yes," Josh replied. He tried to pretend he wasn't still bitter about her departure. He understood why she felt the need to go, but he just wished things had worked out differently.

"So, a little after Matilda was born, my mom passed away," she explained.

"I'm sorry," Josh said, he now felt a little bad for hating her for taking Donna away from him. If Donna hadn't left when she did, she might not have been able to spend any more time with her mother, and he knew what it was like to regret not spending more time with a parent.

"Thanks, and about a month ago, my dad also died," she said, and before Josh could give her his condolences again, Donna continued. "And I realised there was nothing keeping me in Madison anymore. I had nobody and nothing, I mean aside from Tilly. But I want more. And I kept thinking about when I last felt like this, and how I found you, and my whole life changed. So, I was determined to find you again, and possibly get some semblance of my old life back. And I know that's not fair. You don't owe me anything, and you can't keep being my knight in shining armour, especially after all this time," she said, the emotion obvious in her voice. "But I want my best friend back."

"What happened with David?" Josh asked, he didn't know how to respond to the other stuff, and he really wanted to know this.

"He left me," Donna revealed, though slightly embarrassed as if the wounds were still raw, even though it had been four years. "Before Tilly was born. He didn't want to be a father," she explained. Although it hurt her, she was glad that he left before Tilly could come to know him, she didn't need to know anybody like that.

"Figures," Josh said, not bothering to hide the spite in his voice. He couldn't believe anybody would leave such a beautiful child or leave Donna. He didn't like that man the moment he had met him, but right now, he despised him. What kind of man could do that to a woman he claimed to love? Or abandon their child for such a pathetic reason? And all Josh could think to answer that question was that David wasn't a 'man' at all, but the literal scum of the Earth.

"You want to know what's worse?" she began, but she didn't wait for Josh to respond. "He said he would have stayed if Tilly had been a boy," she admitted.

"Okay, where is he? Because his face needs to meet my fist as soon as possible," Josh said, and Donna could see how angry that had made him. Which was understandable. She was pretty pissed off when David had told her that too.

"Don't," she said. There was no use having Josh worked up over this, it was years in the past. "See, knight in shining armour," she smiled, and that had always been enough to calm Josh down.

"I want to help, you know I do, I don't know how though. It's not as if I have a job to give you this time. I think you're a little over qualified to be my assistant. But I don't think you'd want that, even if I could offer it to you," Josh said, and Donna understood.

"I don't need help getting a job, my resume speaks for itself. What I want is a home base, somewhere to put down roots, and to feel like a belong again. So, what I want to know is if it's alright if that's here, near you," she said, she felt like she had just asked for the moon.

"I think that's a great idea. Except…" He said, and Donna's heart dropped. "I don't live in New Haven. Nobody lives in New Haven," he joked, but was completely telling the truth.

"Where do you live then?" Donna asked.

"Westport, it doesn't take that long to drive here," Josh answered.

"Makes sense," Donna said, and of course it did. Westport was where Josh grew up, it was his home. Donna was trying to find a home, and Josh had already found his. "You'd probably have to leave soon," she said realising that the sun had already set, and drive would still take some time.

"Yeah, soon," though he didn't really want to. He had only just gotten Donna back, he couldn't leave her yet. "I could help you find a place in a good school district, if that's what you wanted," Josh added. He was determined to help her. It seemed that she had had a hard life the last few years, always taking care of someone, he wanted someone to care of her. It was what she deserved.

"Why'd I ever leave you?" She asked rhetorically.

"I was a jerk at the end," he said. He always blamed himself for her leaving, he was so dismissive with her before she left, he never took anything she said seriously, he even laughed when she told him she was engaged. She had a legitimate reason to leave, but he helped by pushing her away.

"No more than usual," she said as she nudged him in the side, to let him know she didn't really believe him or think that.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Josh asked after a brief silence.

"I don't have anything planned yet," she replied. "Why?"

"I have the day off, thought maybe you'd want to come down to Westport. Take a look around, see if it'll be a good fit. I think you'll like it. Plus, I've been told I'm a great tour guide," he said a little too smugly by the end.

"By who?" She joked.

"People," Josh said, though the both knew the truth. Deciding to cut this part of the conversation off as quick as possible he tried moving them along. "So, is that a 'yes'?" He asked hoping for an answer in the affirmative.

"I think it's a great idea," Donna said standing up, but not before she watched as Josh's dimples began to show. God, how she had missed them. "And you've got my number now, so you can use that fantastic tour guide ability of yours and find a place to meet and let me know when you get home."

"You trying to get rid of me?"

"No, I just got to get Tilly to bed," Donna explained.

"Right, right, of course," Josh said jumping up, scared he had overstayed his welcome.

"Thank you for dinner," Donna said, giving Josh a hug. "And thank you for coming over tonight," he would have no idea how much it really meant to her.

"No problem, thanks for inviting me," he said. He didn't want to let her go. He had missed her so much. He missed her smile, her laugh, her wit, even her smell. How had she been gone for five years? It seemed as if only yesterday she had left him, and yet also that a thousand years had passed.

They both reluctantly pulled away, and Donna started walking back to her room. She turned back, to see if Josh was still there. He was. With a quick wave goodbye Donna headed back inside, and Josh went back to his car.

I hope you liked it. Do you think Donna will like Westport? Do you think Josh and Donna will be able to bury everything so easily? Or is there an explosion of sorts imminent?

Please Review :D