Again I want to thank you for the feedback I have received, it is really and truly lovely to read what you have to say. So thank you.

Just quickly (not though anyone has mentioned it) I'm from Australia, so I write in Australian English (unless it's in dialogue), I would change it to American but Word always changes it back, and I need it for when I do assignments. Anyway just thought I'd let you know. Just in case it was bothering anyone, I apologise for that.

Enjoy :)

The three of them walked back to Josh's office after lunch the next day. Josh liked walking with them through the campus, as it meant his students were much less inclined to come up to him, not to mention he liked the company. He liked his colleagues at Yale, but they just weren't to the same calibre as his friends at the White House.

"Can you come in for a bit, I have something to show you?" Josh asked as he reached the door to the department's faculty lounge.

"Okay," Donna replied as she followed Josh in.

Josh waved to the people in the lounge, and then led Tilly and Donna into his office. He pulled an extra seat over for Tilly, and then went around his desk. Although his desk was a mess, he easily found what he was looking for.

"How do these look?" Josh said, as he handed Donna a dozen or so pieces of paper. They had discussed what Donna was looking for house wise over dinner last night, and Josh had gone home and checked out the current listings online. He knew Donna wouldn't have had a chance to, what with driving back to the motel, and getting Tilly to bed, and working out the budget they could live on. Not to mention they had been texting pretty much all night.

Donna flipped through the papers, she didn't look at the pictures first, but the price, and although she hadn't shared with Josh how much she was willing to spend these were all in or near her price range. He did well.

"I want to see," Tilly said, and Donna handed her almost half the stack.

"These could work," Donna surmised as she scanned the details. All had two bedrooms, all were in Westport, some were missing two to three things, but that was to be expected.

"I like-," Josh said leaning over and taking the papers out of Donna's hands. he flipped through them, but the one he wanted to show wasn't there, and he handed them back. "Til, can I look at those for a sec," Josh asked, and Donna liked that he was already comfortable enough with her daughter to shorten her nickname. Tilly passed him her pieces of paper and he quickly searched for the one he was looking for, and then handed all but that one back to the little girl. "-This one," Josh said as he showed the paper to Donna.

This house was down the block from his place, they would have gone passed it yesterday while the were walking around. It had a backyard which he thought Tilly would like, and a patio that he thought Donna would love during the summer months. And she already knew she liked the neighbourhood. "This is good," Donna said as she read the description for a second time.

"There's an open house on Saturday, want to go?" Josh asked.

"Sure," Donna replied. She was surprised Josh wanted to spend so much time together, that had plans to see each other nearly every day since she arrived. She thought he would be sick of her by now. But then again, she wasn't sick of him yet, it was quite the opposite, in fact.

…

On Saturday, Donna and Tilly drove down to Westport, went over to Josh's place, and then she, Tilly and Josh walked down to the house together. Donna liked that Josh wanted to come to the inspections, it meant she wasn't alone in this. Which was something she was sure she would have been feeling if she was still in Madison.

The exterior of the house looked just like the pictures, and that boded well for the rest of the house. Angles were everything in real estate, and with a good photographer you could make a broom closet look like a walk-in robe.

They were a couple of minutes early, and they seemed to be the first ones there. Donna wanted to take that as a good sign, but there was a little part of her that was worried that the inspection had been cancelled or that they had already rented out the place.

"Are you here for the inspection?" A man said as he came out of the house.

"Yeah," Josh replied, before Donna could.

The man told them that they could come through, and that there was no harm in starting early. As Donna walked in she could tell she was going to instantly fall in love with this place.

Each bedroom had a feature wall, the first one- a deep turquoise, and the second- a light lilac. It was nice to see the house with furniture already in it. I showed the potential the place held. She could also mentally tick off what went and what didn't. She wasn't an interior designer, but she knew how décor worked.

The lilac room was already set up for a little girl, it was near exactly how she would have the room for Tilly. Even down the colour of the wall. The room was big enough for a single bed, wardrobe and still had space to play. Tilly would love it. The turquoise room really only had room for a queen bed, but there was built in, so, much room wasn't really necessary.

The rest of the house was open-planned, well aside from the bathroom and laundry, and Donna L.O.V.E. loved it. There were marble countertops, a rangehood, and an island bench. It eliminated the need for a dinning table, which would double the living room space. Donna could have a work desk, and Tilly another play area, as well as a sofa and a tv cabinet.

There were floor-to-ceiling glass doors that looked out on to the patio and back yard. And Donna could just imagine the summer breeze that would be able to flow through the house at night.

This place was perfect. Too perfect. There had to be a catch.

"So, we have tenants in here for another month, we just wanted to get a jump start on showings. Obviously, all the furniture is theirs and does not come with the house," the realtor said coming up behind them.

And there it was. A month. Donna and Tilly couldn't wait a month. But the realtor kept talking. He told them how the owners were looking for a family just like there's, with a young child. And if they sent in their application he could move it to the front of the pile. And all these other things, that Donna thought really didn't make a difference. A month was still a month, no matter where her name came in the stack.

"You want to talk it out?" Josh asked as they exited the house. He sometimes needed someone to be a sounding board for him when he was trying to work something out. Donna had played that role at least a couple of hundred times, it was about time he returned the favour.

"Can we?" Donna asked, as if she was scared of imposing, even though Josh had offered.

"Sure," Josh replied as if it was a given.

Instead of leading them back in the direction to his house, he started walking them to the park that Tilly had had her tantrum at a couple of days earlier. Tilly was in a good mood, it seemed, so he wasn't expecting a repeat performance, and he assumed Donna could use some time to think without having 100% of her attention on the child. The playground could provide that in a way Josh could not.

When Donna realised where they were headed, she was actually surprised Josh had thought of it on his own without any input from her. She was glad they had ended up here. Tilly needed a good run around and a chance to play properly.

After finding a free bench with a clear view of the playground, the pair sat and watched the little blondie run off. "So, you liked it?" Josh asked. He already knew the answer, he could read Donna pretty well at times, and she hadn't been hiding behind her poker face at the inspection.

"I did. I really did. I loved it," Donna replied. It wasn't her dream house by any means, but it was damn near perfect for what she needed for right now. "And I know Tilly liked it," she added, the kid had made her feelings very obvious.

"It's a 'yes' then on going forward?" Josh asked, slightly surprised it had been that simple.

"It's the first one we've looked at though. You're not meant to fall for the first one you see, you're meant to look around," Donna replied, as if Josh was crazy for even suggesting that.

"Hey, I know from experience that looking around is pointless when what you need it right in front of you," Josh said, and the way he was looking at her, Donna knew he was referring to something other than looking for a house to rent.

"Thanks," she smirked.

"For what? I was talking about Linda, my assistant after you left," Josh replied and coyly smirked. Though if he really thought about it had the girl who replaced Donna even been called 'Linda'? Had his assistant even been a girl? He had tried not to get too close to any them, because he had been certain Donna would have been back at any moment.

"Uh huh, sure you were," she retorted. She knew Josh well enough to know he had undoubtedly gone through a dozen assistants before finding one he could tolerate and one who could tolerate him.

"I was," Josh locked his eyes on to Donna's, it was a showdown of who would back off first. He couldn't let Donna be right, even though she so clearly was. Donna laughed and broke off their staring contest. It was not worth the hassle, they both knew the truth, that was what was important.

"There's a month until it's move-in ready, I don't want to live in the motel for any longer than I have to," Donna said starting back on the conversation they were meant to be having. "Which mean's I should keep looking and find something that's ready now, right?"

"A month isn't that long," Josh argued.

"It is if we have to live in that room the whole time. I want to be able to cook a proper meal for my daughter," she said. There was no way she was going to let Tilly live on takeout for the next thirty days. "And, I'll need to find a preschool somewhere in town, and I can't drive back and forth everyday I'm out looking for a job," Donna explained.

"Find a new motel?" Josh suggested.

"I already looked into it. Everywhere in town is too expensive if I want to have enough for first and last month, new furniture and childcare," she said.

"Okay, so if all those things didn't exist, this would be the house for you?" Josh asked.

Donna looked over to Tilly who had just made her way down the slide. Tilly waved happily as she saw her mother watching. Donna smiled because Tilly had genuine joy spread across her face. This was the life she wanted to give her daughter. "Yeah, it would be," she replied.

"I know I joked about it when I first saw you, but come stay on the pull out," Josh offered.

"I can't," Donna replied, it was an automatic reaction.

"Why not? You already know I have a kitchen," Josh continued, dismissing Donna's rejection. "It's in a great location, and it'll be the cheapest motel you'll find," he said, hitting all the points she had stated were reasons to keep looking for different place.

"Josh," Donna breathed out. It was such a nice gesture, and she really wanted to take him up on it, but I would be inappropriate, she couldn't abuse his hospitality like that. A month was a long time to spend together, especially as they had no idea if they could even be able to handle each other for extended periods of time anymore.

"Come on, it's the perfect solution," Josh said taking Donna's hand in his, whatever argument Donna could come up with he knew how to counter it. His debate skills were unrivalled.

Donna looked at him closely, she could tell he was serious, that he wasn't going to change his mind, or rescind his offer. He was in 100%. She should have thought twice before underestimating his willingness to help her out.

"So, if I say yes," Donna began, and Josh began to beam. "I'm not saying 'yes', but if I say yes, you have the right to kick us out whenever. And I assume you'll say no to any money I offer you," Donna said, and Josh nodded. "Therefore, if you want, I will cook enough food for you at dinner. I'll buy my own grocery's and clean up after us each day, you won't even know we're there," Donna said explaining her terms.

"But, I want to know you're there," Josh replied. He wouldn't have offered at all if he never wanted to see them. And he liked the idea of knowing for sure that Donna was safe and close by. He'd gone too long without knowing that, and he felt like he could finally rest assured again.

"Okay," she said, though this had to be against her better judgement.

…

"We're going to stay with Josh for a little while, until we move into our new home," Donna told Tilly as they were walking down the street to get back to Josh's house. Once Donna agreed to stay with Josh they called the realtor almost immediately and had gotten everything worked out, or as much as they could have while on the phone.

"It'll be a lot nicer than that crap-bag motel you're at now," Josh added. And he could say that, it wasn't like he hadn't seen the place.

"Josh," Donna scowled.

"What? It will be," Josh retorted. Donna gave up, knowing she couldn't explain what was wrong with what he had said. And with how he used to describe her apartment, the motel got off easy.

"What's a crap-bag?" Tilly asked, and Donna just looked at Josh with a 'See' expression. How could Josh not know kids repeat nearly everything they hear, especially when it's a curse word?

"Nothing," Donna quickly replied.

"Your motel room," Josh said at the same time as Donna.

"I don't want to stay in a crap-bag, Momma," Tilly said innocently.

"We're not, Sweetie. Josh shouldn't have said that, and now, he's not going to say anything for the rest of the walk. Isn't that right, Joshua?" Donna said with her stern Mom face, and he was a little intimidated. And possibly a little turned-on, he wasn't sure.

The three of them walked in silence for a short while. Donna was one of the only people he had been known to take orders from, so when she said, 'be quiet', he was going to do it. Except, "Laura!" Josh shouted in his own 'Eureka!' moment. Donna looked around, but there was no one who would have gone by that name in the vicinity. Particularly because they were on an empty street.

"What?" Donna asked confused, had Josh formed a strange type of Tourette's that caused him to shout out random women's names? "Who?"

"My assistant, her name was Laura, not Linda," Josh replied.

"Ah, I see she was very important to you then," Donna smiled. Josh not remembering his assistant's name only solidified her theory that she and Josh had had something special. Deep down she had known it then, but now with hindsight she knew for sure. It had been hard in the last few years to remember how great things between them had been, especially as it had been so tense by the end, but she was beyond glad that they were getting a chance to fix that.

"Hey hey, don't start thinking you were special because I still remember your name. I had to put up with you for a lot longer," Josh replied.

"How unfortunate for you," Donna quipped back.

"You were quite annoying," Josh replied.

"My Mom annoys you?" Tilly asked, and Josh had forgotten that she was able to hear him. Usually when they bantered with each other, the only people around were adults who could understand they weren't being serious.

"What? No. Your Mom's great, I love your Mom, she was the best assistant and friend I've ever had, we were just kidding around, it's what we do," Josh said, he felt it important for Tilly not to think that he thought any less of Donna than he did. Josh's words melted Donna, but she wouldn't let him know that.

"Do I annoy you?" Tilly asked looking up at Josh.

Josh stopped, which caused Tilly to, as she was holding his hand again. He bent down and picked Tilly up, he wanted her to hear his words. "Matilda Moss, you annoy me even less than your mother does," Josh said, as his arm wrapped around Tilly. From what Donna had told him, Tilly really hadn't had a male influence in her life, aside from her grandfather, and he really wanted her to trust him, to know he was a good guy, to know not all men were like David, and to know that she deserved better than that deadbeat.

"But you said Momma didn't annoy you," Tilly said a little confused.

"Exactly," Josh said, giving her a little wink, hoping Tilly would understand his words completely.

So how do you think staying with each other's gonna work? Do you think it's too fast? Was it a bad decision on Josh's part to offer, of for Donna to take him up on it? Are we feeling Josh and Tilly's relationship? Let me know what you think.

Please Review :D