Boomerang
Author: Shelley
Summary: The return of the evil Mandy



It feels good to be back in DC. No matter where else
I've worked, nothing can match the excitement and the
raw energy of this town. New York and LA are nice
enough, but give me the nations capital any day.
     And besides, I have a little unfinished business
here. I have an old score to settle. I doubt if it's
what you think. I'm not going after some political
bigwig or some jackass of a congressman. I'm not even
going after my ex-boyfriend. No No No. I, Mandy
Hampton, plan to use all of my spare time while I'm in
town, to bring about the downfall of one Donna Moss.
     Josh's precious Donna. I can't find the words to
express how much I loathe her. Not for the reasons you
might expect. I don't believe that she had anything to
do with my breakup with Josh. I know there are a lot
of people who think she did, but trust me they are
wrong. Our relationship was a train wreck from the
very beginning. I knew that. I think we both knew
that. But the thing is, I was inside Josh's head. I
was calling all the shots. The relationship was going
to end when and where I said. Not a minute before. But
then Donna Moss walked into the New Hampshire campaign
headquarters and everything changed.
     From the first day, they became inseparable. Josh
tried to tell me that Donna needed "looking after" and
that he was just trying to help her get back on her
feet. But I knew it was something more. They would
spend hours together talking about the campaign and
the coming election. She never seemed to get tired of
listening to him rattle on. In fact, she seemed to
enjoy it. She always looked at him like every word he
said was a jewel. And before long, they were operating
like a well-oiled machine. When Josh was celebrating a
victory, he went to Donna. When he needed consoling
after a defeat, he went to Donna. When he was bored,
he went to Donna to perk him up.
     There was nothing romantic or sexual about their
relationship and, in a way, that made it worse. Sure,
he still came to me when he wanted a little physical
comfort. But when he needed emotional comfort-he went
to her. I was his lover, but she was everything else
to him. Soon, Josh started viewing everything in his
life in terms of how it was going to affect Donna.
     Once Bartlet was elected, everything just got worse.
I told him that he needed to fire Donna before the
inauguration. I told him that she wasn't going to be
able to handle life in the White House. I pointed out
that she had neither the education nor the experience
to handle the big time. He had a thousand other
qualified applicants to choose from. But Josh wouldn't
waver. He was keeping Donna Moss on as his assistant.
     And, of course, the little witch made a liar out of
me by thriving in the White House. Everyone in the
administration gushed on and on over what a change
Donna had made in Josh. How much more organized and on
schedule he was. How much easier he was to deal with.
And I hated her more and more everyday. Finally I made
the break and left town. I don't think Josh even
noticed I was gone. I wanted to take Donna down on my
way out, but revenge is a dish best served cold.
     So now some time has passed. I've had a chance to
formulate a plan. And I've realized there's going to
be a bonus in my destroying Donna. You see, if it's
possible, she and Josh have gotten even closer, even
more like two halves of a whole. So I am going to get
the satisfaction of seeing Josh watch her world fall
apart, and not be able to fix it. You see, just as I
was once inside his head, I'm now going to get inside
hers. And she is never going to know what hit her.








There are a couple of things to keep in mind when you are
crafting the ultimate
revenge plot. First, you need to attack on several fronts. If you
split your victim's focus,
you succeed in getting them running around in circles. They end up
looking like the plate
spinner at those tacky circuses that come to small towns in the
summer. I'm certain that
little Miss Small Town Wisconsin herself has seen many of those
circuses. How I wish I
were going to be able to experience her disintegration first hand as
my plot moves into
action. But I can't. Revealing my presence too soon would ruin
everything.
     And that brings us to the second thing you need to keep in
mind. If you can't get
close to the victim yourself, you need to find a source. Someone who
is close enough to
keep you updated. Preferably someone with a little bit of his or her
own axe to grind.
That brings us to Larry. Poor run-of-the-mill average Larry. He's one
of those guys that
people look at but never see. At least that's the way it was when I
worked with him. As it
turns out, Larry had a bit of a crush on Donna in the first days of
the administration.
Unrequited love can be a great motivator for revenge. And believe me,
I am grateful that
she never gave him the time of day. Otherwise, he may never have been
willing to tell me
about the Great Anniversary Flower Fiasco of 2001. I am definitely
going to be able to
use that little event as ammo. But that will have to wait for Phase
II. Phase I is just
getting off the ground. Frankly, I can't wait.



White House
7:15 AM


"DONNA!!!!!!!!!!!!"  


"Please Josh, not this morning, okay?"


"What's the problem Donna? Oversleep?"


"Well, it would have been difficult for me to oversleep this
particular morning when
there were two very large men pounding on my door at 5:00 AM to serve
me with an
eviction notice!!"


Donna's voice quivered as she finished the sentence. It was only then
that Josh noticed
her disheveled appearance and the obvious evidence that she had been
crying.
He put his arms around her shoulders and led her into his office. He
closed the door
behind them.


"What are you talking about, Donna?"


"I don't know. There has been some sort of huge mistake at the rental
agency. These two
men knocked on my door this morning and said that I was three months
behind on my
rent. They said I had five days to get out of my apartment."


"Well that's just ridiculous, Donna!! Did you show them your cancelled
checks?"


"I don't have any cancelled checks. I pay my rent over the Internet"
Donna said as she
started to tear up again.


"Well don't you have some kind of proof that you paid it?"


"Yes, I thought I did. Every time I pay, they give me a confirmation
number. I called the
rental place this morning as soon as they opened and I explained the
problem to them.
But when I gave them confirmation numbers, they said they had no
record of them."


"Well, obviously there has just been a mistake of some kind. Do you
want me to call
them?"


"No. I'll handle it. You have a meeting with Leo in two minutes.
Thanks for the offer,
though."


"Okay" Josh said grabbing some files and heading for Leos
office. "Just let me know if
there's anything I can do."


"I will. Oh and ...Josh?"


"What?" he said poking his head back in the office door.


"Do good in there."


He gave her one of those dimpled grins that made her heart soar and
just for a minute, she
forgot about how horrible her morning had been.


After another call to the rental agency that yielded no new
information, Donna decided
that the best course of action would be to go ahead and repay the
disputed amount, and
then give herself some time to straighten this whole mess out. It was
going to put a strain
on her already tight finances but she needed to get out from under
the five-day eviction
deadline. With the decision made, she resolved to go to the bank at
lunchtime.


The rest of the morning passed uneventfully and Donna even managed to
relax a little.
She was sure that this was just a little computer glitch somewhere
and she would be able
to get it rectified with a minimum of effort. She felt confident as
she poked her head in
Josh's office at 11:00 AM.


"Josh?"


"Hmmm?" he said not looking up from his file.


"I'm going to the bank now. I won't be long. Do you want me to pick
you up some lunch
while I'm out?"


"Sure, if it's not too much trouble."


"What are you in the mood for?"


"Whatever is on your way."


"Okay."


"Donna?"


"What?"


"Look--I don't want to stick my nose in where it doesn't belong."


"Since when?"


"Ha ha--its just that..I know you're a girl on a budget...and..um..do
you need me to
lend you some money? Just till this whole mess gets straightened out?"


"No thanks, Josh-I think I have it covered."


"But you promise you'll let me know if you need anything?"


"Promise."


"Okay."


"Be careful."


"I will. I intend to vanquish my rent problem and return with a
healthy meal," she said
with a laugh.



12:15 PM
White House


     Josh sensed Donna's presence in the building before he
actually saw her.
Something had gone wrong. The rent problem had not been easily
vanquished. An uneasy
feeling that had been hovering at the edge of his consciousness all
morning became
stronger. He looked up and saw her coming across the bullpen. Her
eyes were blinking
back tears, her lip was quivering and her hands were shaking badly.
She looked like she
was in shock. Josh was at her side in no time flat. It took a moment
for his presence to
even register with her.
     He put his arm around her shoulders and once again guided her
into the privacy of
his office.


"What is it, Donna? What happened?"


Josh's kindness unleashed the torrent of tears that Donna had been
holding back. He took
her in his arms and held her tightly till the tears subsided. Once
she had gotten back under
control, Josh asked again.


"What happened Donna?"


The words started spilling out all at once. " I went to the bank to
get the money to pay the
landlord, and they told me that my account was seriously overdrawn.
They closed it,
Josh. They closed my account. How can that be? Both my checking and
my savings
accounts are empty. I'm very careful with my money Josh!! How can
this have
happened?" With that question, the tears threatened to fall again.


"I don't know angel, but I promise you we are going to get this
straightened out."


"And I couldn't get you any lunch, Josh. Because when I tried to use
my credit card--it
got declined. And the man at the deli cut it up. It was humiliating!!"


"It's okay, Donna. Just try to relax. I'm gonna fix this. You have my
word."


"But...what am I gonna do? I'm being kicked out of my apartment---my
bank accounts
are empty---my credit cards are maxed out..."


"You just let me handle this, Donna. I'll get to the bottom of things."


"Oh,Josh..this really isn't your problem..I'll just..."


"Shush, Donna. Anything that upsets you is my problem."


"I won't let this affect my work...I swear...I know we have a busy
week and I'll..."


"Listen up. Here's what we're gonna do." Josh shifted quickly into
managerial mode.
"We'll get through all the stuff we have to do today so we can get
out of here at a decent
hour. Then we'll swing by your apartment so you can pack an overnight
bag and grab all
of your bank records. Then we'll take them back to my place and
figure out what the
heck is going on. I want you to stay with me for a few days till we
get this straightened
out."


"No Josh, I'll be fine."


"Forget it, Donna. I'm not taking no for an answer on this. Something
strange is going on
here and I don't want you being alone until we find out what it is.
In fact, I don't even
want you leaving this building unless I am with you."


"Josh..."


"I mean it, Donna." Josh realized that those words came out a little
more harshly that he
had intended. But suddenly, he was gripped with an unexplainable
fear. All he knew was
that he had to protect Donna at all costs. He didn't know what was
going on but he
intended to find out. Seeing the fear in her eyes was almost more
than he could take.



10:00 PM
Josh's apartment


"Where are those papers the guy at the bank gave you, Donna?"


"Right there under your left knee," Donna whispered as she continued
to listen intently to
the recorded message on the other end of the phone.


"Well that's the last one," she snapped as she disconnected and
tossed the phone onto the
couch. "Every one of my credit card accounts has been closed and
every card is currently
over limit. What the hell is happening?"


"I have no idea. These statements that you got today make absolutely
no sense."


They room was cloaked in a heavy silence for a few minutes.


"Josh?"


"Hmmmm?"


Suddenly she needed to ask the question that had been on her mind all
day.


"What, Donna?" Josh asked as he moved to sit on the couch. He motioned
for Donna to
join him.


Donna looked intently into his eyes then stared down at the sofa
cushions. "Do you think
this is just some ridiculous computer glitch or....do you
think.....well....someone
intentionally did this to me? I mean...who?...why?"


And suddenly Donna had put her finger on the fear that had been
stalking both of them
all day.


"I don't know, Donna. But whichever way it turns out, I'm not gonna
let anything happen
to you."


Josh pulled Donna into a tight embrace. He meant every word he had
said. He was gonna
fix this..he was gonna fix it for Donna. Josh tried to think about
who could possibly be
behind this. Dr Freeride? A spurned gomer? Who would have the clout
needed to pull
this off?


"You know what, Donnatella? I want you to try to eat something, then
take a nice long
bath, and then I'm gonna tuck you in so you can get a good nights
sleep. There's nothing
more we can do tonight. I want you to try to relax."


"Will you stay with me till I fall asleep?"


"Absolutely."


"Josh?"


"What?"


"Thanks for everything you've done today."


"No thanks necessary, sweetheart."


She couldn't help but smile at the way he called her sweetheart. It
made her feel warm
and tingly right down to her soul.


Donna finally fell asleep wrapped in Josh's arms. As her breathing
evened out, he was
finally able relax a little himself. Who,what,and why were questions
for tomorrow.
Right here, right now, he was content to know that Donna was safe. He
also knew that he
would do anything to keep her that way.



Across town a phone rings:


"Well, they left together. Just like you predicted. I heard him say
that she could stay with
him and that he would help her get things straightened out."


"Of course. It's Sir Josh to the rescue. So typical."


"What's next?"


"Well, while Josh is busy trying to save the fair maiden from the
fallout of Phase I, I am
going to be putting Phase II into effect."


"Phase II?"


"Oh yeah. I have to move fast. Have to get all those plates spinning
at once. You just
hold tight Larry, I'll let you know what to do next."


"Okay Mandy, I'll talk to you soon."


"Count on it."








The thing about a good revenge plot is that you can't rush
it. Timing is crucial.
You have to let it unfold at it's own pace. Watching the slow
downhill slide is half of the
fun. The other half is knowing just how far down the victim is going
to fall.
Phase I is already underway. Everything is proceeding on schedule.
I've left
Blondie dazed, confused and without a penny to her name. And just as
I had anticipated,
Josh has jumped on his white horse in an effort to save the damsel in
distress. But it isn't
going to work this time. How do I know this? I know it because, quite
simply, I know
Josh. I know him better than he knows himself. I know how he is going
to react in any
situation.
 He wants to be Donna's hero. His ego will keep him from asking for
any help. He
thinks he can keep all the plates spinning all by himself.  And that
is going to be his
downfall. Eventually, those plates are going to start crashing to the
ground. And he is
going to have to spend the rest of his life remembering the look in
her eyes. The one she's
going to get when she realizes that he can't save her, no matter what
he promised.
Whatever I have to do, I'm going to make sure that I'm there to see
that look. This
feels even better than I thought it would. And it's almost time to
initiate Phase II. You
see, Donna needs to pay for all her financial irresponsibility.
Someone needs to teach her
that she has to be more careful with her finances. This is about to
get really interesting.
 I am so glad I came back to DC.




5:50 AM
Josh's Apartment


Josh and Donna sat at the kitchen table drinking their coffee in
silence. Josh looked at his
cup, the wall, the table, the floor, everywhere but directly at Donna.


"Josh?"


"What?"


"Is there something on your mind?"


"Actually, yes."


Josh resumed staring intently into his coffee cup.


"Care to share?"


Josh hesitated for a minute more then began to speak. "OK, here's the
thing. We have no
idea where all this...this "stuff" is coming from. I've thought a lot
about it and I just don't
believe we're looking at a simple computer glitch here. I don't know
what is going on or
who is behind this, but I'm afraid we haven't seen the end of it."


"Gee, Josh. You sure know how to make a girl feel better." Donna
tried to smile but Josh
heard her voice quiver.


"Donna." His voice took on what he hoped was a more reassuring tone
and he
reached across the table and took her hand. "I just think that this
is too big for us to
handle alone. I think we need to talk to Leo today. Tell him what's
going on. CJ, Sam and
Toby too for that matter. We need as many heads working on this as
possible."


"But...."


"No buts, Donna. Let our friends help you. You would certainly be
there for any one of
them if they needed you right?"


"Yes, but....."


"What part of "no buts" are you having trouble with?"


"You all should be spending your time-oh I don't know-running a
country or something"


"We'll do that in our spare time till we get this problem
straightened out." Josh smirked
jumping up from the table with renewed determination. "Let's go or
we're gonna be late."



8:10 AM
Leo's Office


"If there's nothing else, lets get back to work." Leo said as he
moved back behind his
desk, signaling the end of the meeting.


"I have something of a personal nature I'd like to discuss if you can
all spare me a few
minutes."


"What is it, Josh?" CJ asked warily. "Have you made a mess that I'm
going to have to
spend the next week cleaning up?"


"No it's nothing like that."


Suddenly there was a soft tap on the door. Margaret stuck her head in
to say that
Ainsley had arrived.


"I asked her to join us." Josh said. "I'm thinking we may need her
advice."


"Why will we need the legal counsels advice?" Leo asked as he came
back around his
desk, eyes narrowing "What have you done?"


"Thanks for coming, Ainsley."


"No problem, Josh. What did you need to see me about?"


"Well I...we....actually Donna might need your legal advice."


"Every head in the room snapped up to look at Josh.


"What's wrong with Donna?" Sam asked ready to spring into action to
help his friend.


"What have you done Josh?" Toby growled. "So help me I'll......"


"It's nothing like that" Josh countered "Will you just let me tell
you the problem?"


"I suggest you get right to the point." Leo says


"Okay" Josh said nervously running his hand through his hair. "It all
started yesterday
morning...." And the story just tumbled out of Josh's mouth. He tried
not to leave
anything out. But  as he heard himself recounting the details, he
knew the story sounded
far-fetched.


"Josh." Leo said calmly. "Unfortunately these things happen sometimes
in a computer
dependant world. One wrong keystroke and you spend a month trying to
sort through the
debris."


"I know Leo. When Donna first told me all of this, I thought the
exact same thing. And
then I saw these." Josh waved the papers he had been nervously
rolling and unrolling in
his hands as he told Donna's story.


"What are those?" Toby demanded as Josh handed the papers to Ainsley.


"Those are the papers the bank manager gave Donna yesterday. They
show hundreds of
thousands of dollars moving through Donna's bank account in the last
few months."


"What?" CJ screamed. "That's ridiculous."


"I know. I know. But this is what makes me think that---whatever this
is---it isn't over
yet. In fact, it may be just beginning."


All of the sudden Ainsley, who has barely spoken a word since she
entered the room,
looked up from the bank records. "Well all I can say is that it looks
like someone is fixin
to take Donna down hard. Whether this is directed at her, or whether
someone is trying to
get to the administration through her, the bottom line is that Donna
is in deep-probably
over her head."


"Well then, what do we do?" Sam asked.


"We fight back" Toby said forcefully, rising from his chair. "We find
out who is behind
this and we take them out."


Josh couldn't help but smile to himself. Toby would never admit it
but a had a deep and
abiding affection for Donna. They had developed a special bond since
the night in the
waiting room after the Newseum. He was not about to allow anything
bad to happen to
her.


All of the sudden, Toby began barking orders. "Ainsley, I'd like you
to prepare me a
memo outlining the possible ramifications of the information in those
bank records
including any and all possible legal fallout. CJ-keep your ears open
in the pressroom and
see if any of the reporters are starting to sniff around this story.
Josh, you cover the
landlords angle. Find out everything you can about them. Sam-you
handle all of the credit
cards. Find out where all these phantom charges came from. I'll
handle the banking end
of this. I want you all to get back to me by early afternoon with
your preliminary
findings." He paused to glance at Leo. " Don't worry, we are all
accomplished multi-
taskers and we won't let this interfere with government business."


"Just keep me informed. I don't want to be blindsided by anything."
Leo warned.


"Will do."


Toby then turned to Josh. "Where is Donna now?"


"Waiting in my office."


"I need to talk to her. Let's go."


"I'm going back downstairs to do a little research." Ainsley said
distractedly "I'll have the
memo to you ASAP"


Sam, Toby, CJ and Josh all headed back towards Josh's office. They
entered and found
Donna trying to make some order out of the clutter of files on the
desk.


"Donna, Josh has filled us in on your situation." Toby said, getting
right to the point. "I
need you to listen to me very carefully. From this moment forward,
you do not leave the
building unescorted. You let one of us know where you are at all
times. You let Bonnie
and Ginger handle all incoming telephone calls. You don't sign for
anything-even
deliveries. And if anything at all out the ordinary happens, you call
me immediately. Do
you understand?"


"Yes, but........."


"No buts, Donna" Toby growled


"See, I told you so." Josh smirked


"We're gonna take care of this, Donna. Don't worry." Toby said in a
much gentler tone of
voice.


"Thanks." Donna replied trying to choke back her tears.


After everyone went back to their respective offices to start doing
their research, Josh
watched Donna  through his open office door. He knew that she was
embarrassed by the
fact that everyone knew what was going on. But he was glad that he
was able to sell her
on the idea of confiding in their friends. He had made the mistake
before of thinking that
he could handle things on his own, and it had almost destroyed him.
He wasn't about to
let that happen to Donna. Her safety and well-being were too
important to him. He was
gonna spare her as much pain and suffering as he possibly could.




Toby managed to touch base with everyone at some point during the
afternoon but it was
difficult for him to get a coherent picture of what was going on
without being able to talk
to everyone together. He decided that the best course of action would
be for everyone to
get together for a debriefing later in the night. They all decided to
meet at Josh's
apartment after work.



9:45 PM
Josh's Apartment


Josh and Donna were the first to arrive. There had been no major
incidents over the
course of the day and Donna had managed to relax a little. She
changed out of her work
clothes and into a pair of Josh's sweat pants and an old worn Harvard
t-shirt. They were
sitting on the couch sharing a beer and waiting for the others to
arrive.


"Are you ok sweetheart? You seem a little quiet."


"I'm fine. Just thinking."


"About what?"


"About who could hate me enough to go to all this trouble. I mean
what must I have done
to them to make them want to hurt me this bad?"


"Shush, Donna. You didn't do anything to deserve this. Don't even
think that."


Josh and Donna stared intently into each others eyes, both seeing a
depth of feeling that
they hadn't noticed, or hadn't allowed themselves to notice before.
Before either one
actually knew what was happening, they leaned in and found themselves
embroiled in a
passionate kiss. A kiss that spoke volumes of words they had never
allowed themselves
to say out loud. They were interrupted by a knock on the door.


"We'll finish this later?" Josh asked hopefully


"Definitely" Donna whispered.


Josh opened the door to find Sam and Ainsley juggling boxes of
papers. CJ and Toby
were just exiting the elevator after parking the car. They all came
in, grabbed a beer and
settled down to work. Everyone listened intently as Ainsley discussed
possible legal
ramifications.


"The way I see it, there are four possible legal ramifications
involved here. First, you
could be sued by your rental company for non-payment of rent and
possible breach-of-
contract for failing to fulfill your lease. That would be a fairly
easy one to take care of
though because the lessor can't demand anything more than the amount
that the contract
would have brought in."


"Meaning?" Donna asked


"Meaning they can't sue you for anything more than the back rent plus
the rent for any
remaining months left on the lease."


"Well, being as I have NO money, that could be a problem."


"Don't worry about it, Donna" Josh said "I told you before I'll lend
you the money till we
get this straightened out. Continue please Ainsley"


"Secondly, we have the matter of the credit cards. Each company will
deal with this  
according to their own policy. This actually puts you in very little
legal jeopardy as most
companies won't actually take you to court for an unpaid balance. The
effect it will have
your credit rating, however, could be devastating. But I would say
that this is one of your
smaller problems right now and can definitely be put on the back
burner."


"That's comforting."


"Thirdly, we have the matter of the checks that were returned by your
bank for non-
sufficient funds. Those are something that we will need to take care
of right away. You
could face charges on those ranging from theft-by-deception to fraud
depending on the
size of the check. There is some good news here though also. By law,
the people who you
bounced the check on must notify you by registered mail and give you
a chance to make
the check good. As soon as you get any notifications, we will take
care of them
immediately."


"I have to go to my old apartment to check my mail." Donna suddenly
remembered.


"Go to the post office first thing in the morning and fill out a
change of address form."
Toby suggested. "Have all of your mail delivered here. Is that all
right Josh?"


"Absolutely." Josh said looking at Donna. "We'll stop by your
apartment tomorrow
morning, pick up some more stuff for you, grab the mail, then stop at
the post office and
take care of having everything forwarded here."


Ainsley shuffled her feet a bit before she continued. "The last
possibility is by far the
most serious."


All the blood drained from Donna's face and Josh grabbed her hand. It
was ice cold.


"The problem is all of the money that bank records show has passed
through Donna's
account in the last 3 months. 948,118 dollars to be exact. All of the
money came in
through large cash deposits and went out the next day to offshore
accounts."


"But that never happened." Donna said, trying hard not to let any
tears fall.


"I know that Donna" Ainsley assured her. "We all know that, but the
problem is what is
written on these papers. I have to be honest with you, it looks bad.
If the police can trace
those offshore accounts, they can use this paper trail to connect you
to whatever illegal
activities the owners of those accounts may be involved in. This is
by far worst area of
potential legal trouble."


"Ok" CJ said emphatically. "Then this is the area we concentrate on.
First rule of being a
good press secretary is-put out the biggest fire first. So what do we
do?"


"We try to trace these deposits ourselves. If we can prove that they
either never existed-
or that Donna could not have possibly had any knowledge..."


Ainsley is interrupted by a knock on the door.


"Leo must have decided to stop by after all." Toby said getting up.
But when he opened
the door, what he saw instead of Leo was 5 uniformed DCPD officers.


"Mr. Lyman?" the officer asked


"No, my name is Toby Ziegler."


"I'm Lieutenant Stoebner from the DCPD. I have a search warrant. May
I come in?"


Toby stood back and let the officers pass. Josh stepped forward and
said "I'm Josh
Lyman. Can I see the search warrant please?"


The officer handed the warrant to Josh who glanced at it and handed
it off to Sam. Sam
and Ainsley quickly scanned the document looking for any glaring
legal mistakes that
would declare in null and void. There were none.


"I have a warrant for the arrest of a Miss Donna Moss."


"What are the charges?" Toby demanded


"Right now the charges are racketeering and money laundering.
However, the complaint
has been left open and other charges can be added later. Are you
Donna Moss ma'am?"
the Lt asked directing his attention to Donna.


Josh quickly moved to stand between the officers and Donna who was
still rooted to the
same spot in the living room, frozen in terror. "There has been a
huge mistake here" he
began. "You can't arrest her. You don't understand what's going on
here."


 Toby stepped forward and grabbed Josh's arm. "Please, Josh" he
begged. "Don't make
this any worse than it already is."


"Mr. Lyman, I can have you arrested also if you interfere with the
execution of either one
of these warrants." Lt Stoebner said.


That threat snapped Donna out of her trance like state. "No don't
arrest him" she said
"I'm Donna Moss. I'll go with you."


Two of the officers moved towards Donna. "Put your hands against the
wall please, Miss
Moss and spread your legs shoulder width apart." As Donna complied,
the female officer
began a none-to-gentle pat down search. Donna cringed. She prayed for
the floor to open
up and swallow her. This couldn't be happening to her. Not in front
of these people
who's respect she had fought so hard to gain. She wondered in her
heart if they would
ever be able to look at her the same way again.


Toby's firm grip on Josh's arm was all that was kept him from
launching himself across
the living room and tearing the female officer away from Donna. He
could see her
shoulders shaking and he knew that she was trying very hard not to
cry. A dull ache
began in his heart because he was sure that she was trying to make
this easier on him. She
didn't want him getting upset, or worse yet, saying the wrong thing
and getting arrested
himself. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer that she would
be alright, that she
could manage to hold on until he could figure out a way to get her
back home with
him.


Sam looked slowly around the room, taking in the entire scene. It all
seemed too surreal.  
He could see the wheels turning in Ainsley's head. He knew that she,
much like himself,
was already trying to formulate a legal strategy to help Donna. CJ
was already in the
press room in her mind, dealing with the reporters, trying not to let
Donna become just
another sordid tabloid story. It was going to take a lot of effort,
but she was determined to
help her friend in any way possible. Toby's eyes were burning with
rage. Sam knew that
he desperately wanted to do or say something to make this situation
more bearable. But
right now he couldn't, because right now he had all of concentration
focused on Josh,
determined to keep him from doing something stupid. Sam could barely
force himself to
look at Josh. He had never seen his friend look so utterly and
completely helpless. That
look tugged at Sam's heart and he knew that Josh would trade places
with Donna in a
second if he could.


"Are those handcuffs really necessary?" CJ asked


"Department policy ma'am. Let's go Miss Moss."


"Wait" Josh said turning to Donna "Don't say anything angel. We are
gonna take care of
this ok? I promise. Just wait for your lawyer to get there okay? And
we'll have you out of
there ASAP. I love you Donna. I'm gonna fix this ok?"


"OK, Josh. I love you too."


Those words rang in Josh's ears as he stood watching Donna and the
officers disappear
into the elevator. CJ grabbed the phone and called Leo immediately.
Sam and Ainsley  
were discussing who the best lawyer to call would be. Toby stepped
forward and stood
beside Josh.


"Are you ok?" he asked


"Why is this happening, Toby? Why Donna?"


"I don't know Josh. But I'm damn sure going to find out. And when I
do, whoever it is is
gonna pay."


"Exactly, but right now, we need to find a way to get Donna out of
jail"


"Agreed."



Across town Mandy was smirking while she talked on the phone.


"Yes Mandy, I'm sure. Donna has been taken onto custody."


"And Josh was there right? I mean he was right there when she got
arrested? And there
was nothing he could do about it."


"Exactly"


"Perfect Jim. Thanks a million. And keep me posted ok?"


"Sure thing"


Mandy disconnected the phone and sank back into the couch saying to
no one in
particular---"God I love this plan."








You know how sometimes you anticipate something so much-your
expectations
are so high-that there's no way the actual event can live up to it?
Well, that's not what's
happening here. The decimation of Donna Moss is even more fun than I
thought it would
be. I haven't felt this good since.....well since before the little
witch walked into the
campaign offices in New Hampshire. She's in jail now, facing enough
charges to keep
her there for the rest of her life. I hope it's horrible there. I
hope every ugly story I ever
heard about prison is true because I want her to suffer.
And you want to know the best part?  Josh was there when she got
arrested. He
was there and there was nothing he could do to stop it. I am so happy
I could sing!! I
must admit that there was one unusual thing though. Not only was Josh
there but so were
CJ, Sam, Toby and some blonde lawyer chick. That confuses me a
little. I know that Josh
wouldn't have asked for their help, so they must have had something
else going on.
Probably one of their ridiculous little birthday celebrations. Oh
well, it doesn't matter.
Phase II is right on schedule. She's in jail, now I just have to make
sure she stays there. I
just wish I didn't have to go to work today, revenge is much more
fun. But a girl has to
pay the bills. And this new job is better than politics, plus it has
certainly come
in handy lately.




11:15 PM
Josh's Apartment



     Josh's apartment became a flurry of activity almost as soon
as the police took
Donna away. CJ called Leo to give him a heads up. She was certain
that Donna's arrest
would hit the papers fairly quickly since all arrests are a matter of
public record. She was
determined not to let this story get ahead of her. This time it
mattered, it wasn't just spin.


     Toby stood in the kitchen talking in hushed tones on his cell
phone. He was
calling in every favor he possibly could in an effort to find out who
was behind this.


     Sam and Ainsley were huddled together, trying to decide who
the best attorney to
call would be. They needed someone good but also someone who could
drop everything
and start working on this case right away. They needed to find
someone who would make
this case their top priority. Someone needed to get to the police
station soon before the
police tried to question Donna.


     After Josh recovered from the initial shock of the look in
Donna's eyes as she was
being led away, he began making a mental list of things that needed
done immediately.
He needed to find Donna a lawyer, free up as many assets as possible
so that he could
arrange for her bail, get someone to pack up her old apartment and
bring all the boxes to
his place. His mental list making was interrupted by Ainsley tapping
him on the shoulder.


"I quit." She said. "Effective immediately."


The entire room went quiet.


"Excuse me?" Josh said, not certain he had heard her correctly.


"Look, I know that you aren't my supervisor, and I realize that I
should technically be
giving my resignation to Mr. Tribbey, but he's not here right now and
you are, so you'll
have to do. I quit. So please pass the word along and make sure you
note that my
resignation was effective as of 11:29 PM."


"Ainsley, what are you talking about? This really isn't the time."
Sam said moving
towards her.


"This is exactly the time Sam. You said it yourself. We need to find
an attorney who is up
to speed on this case. Someone who can hit the ground running. And
maybe most
importantly, someone who believes without a doubt that Donna is
innocent. And that
someone, is me. I can't work in the White House and be Donna's
attorney, it wouldn't be
allowed. So as of two and a half minutes ago, I am no longer employed
by the federal
government. Here is my ID badge. Please make sure it gets returned to
the proper
authorities."


"Are you serious? I mean---are you sure?" Josh stammered.


"Positive" Ainsley said stuffing a few papers in her brief case and
heading for the door.
"Now I'm off to the police station."


"I'll come with you." Josh said.


"No, Josh. You can't go." Ainsley said firmly leaving very little
room for negotiation.


"Of course I'm going. I have to see Donna. I want to make sure she's
ok."


"I know that, Josh" Ainsley explained slowly slipping into lawyer
mode. "But that just
isn't going to be possible right now. It's going to take a couple of
hours for them to
process her into the system. Then they aren't going to let anyone see
her but her attorney.
So there is really no use in you going." Her voice softened when she
saw Josh's sad eyes.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure she's ok. I'll make sure they do
everything by the book.


"But..I'm a lawyer...I could..."


"Forget it, Josh" CJ chimed in. "Your presence at the police station
would only add to the
media frenzy. It's already gonna be enough of a zoo as it is. Let
Ainsley handle it."


"Then what am I supposed to do?" Josh asked, the desperation slipping
back into his
voice.


"I'll tell you exactly what you are supposed to do." Ainsley
said "Find out who is behind
this. Use every contact you have, call in every favor you were ever
owed. Get me some
concrete evidence that I can show to a judge." With that said, she
turned to Sam. "I rode
over here with you but I really need a car right now. Can I take
yours?"


"No problem" Sam said pulling the keys out of his pocket. "I'll walk
you down."


When they reached his car, Sam opened the door for her and waited for
her to get in and
adjust the seat. Then he handed her the keys.


"We've got to fix this." He said in a voice barely above a whisper.


"We will, Sam. I promise."


Their eyes locked for a minute and Sam was surprised by the jolt of
electricity that shot
through him. Without thinking, he leaned over and kissed her
cheek. "Thanks for
everything, Ains."


Then he closed the door and she drove away. He stood watching the car
disappear into the night and wondered how it had all come to this.


As he was entering the building again, he ran into Leo.


"Fill me in." Leo growled as they headed for the elevator.


By the time they reached Josh's floor, Sam had filled Leo in on
everything that had
happened since the staff meeting. He told Leo about Donna's arrest
and that Ainsley had
resigned to work as her attorney. The door to Josh's apartment was
open and they entered
to find Toby and Josh furiously weeding through all the paperwork.
They acknowledged
Leo's arrival but didn't stop what they were doing.


"What about the press?" Leo asked turning to CJ "Where do we stand
with them?"


Well, I'm sure they're on the story." She said rubbing her forehead
trying to forestall the
headache that was about to explode behind her eyes. "I'd like to wait
till the morning
briefing in the hopes I'll have a little more information by then. I
want to stay ahead of
this story though, we can't let it spin out of control. I'm going to
head back to my office
and call a few people and try to get a feeling for how the press is
going to handle this. I'll
let you know what I find out?"


"Keep us informed." Leo said joining the other men in looking through
reams and reams
of paper. "I'll see you in my office before the press briefing. I
want to discuss exactly
what our response to the press is going to be."


"Ok. I'll see you then. Good luck guys."




2:20 AM
DC Police Station


Ainsley had been sitting in the squad room alone for over two hours
waiting for a chance
to see Donna. The officers kept insisting that there was a backlog of
prisoners that needed
processed but Ainsley got a feeling it was something else. They were
trying to intimidate
her. Trying to scare the bejeebers out of the little southern belle.
She smiled to herself. If
they only knew. She had spent the last year working in a den of
democrats. A few police
officers didn't scare her at all.


     It was almost three by the time she was finally allowed to
see Donna. The female
officer who had been at Josh's apartment earlier led her to an
interrogation room. Ainsley
slipped in the door and saw Donna sitting, back straight, with tears
in her eyes and a
piece of paper towel in her hands. She was desperately trying to rub
away the black ink
stains left from the fingerprinting. She was rubbing so intently that
she didn't seem to
notice Ainsley's arrival until she spoke.


"Donna? Are you ok?"


Donna raised her head to look at Ainsley but she didn't stop rubbing
at the ink.


"Ainsley? What are you doing here? They said my lawyer was here to
see me."


"That's me."


"But..but..you can't be my lawyer. You work at the White House...
they'll never let
you..."


"You're right, they wouldn't. That's why I quit my job."


"No no no..I won't let you do that."


"It's done now Donna. So lets get down to business." Ainsley said
sternly, effectively
ending any further discussion of the topic. "Has anyone tried to ask
you any questions
about the case?"


Donna's eyes went to the floor as soon as the question was out of
Ainsley's mouth


"What happened?? Tell me everything."


In the car on the way here, the detective said...well he said..."


"What did he say, Donna?"


"He said that it would really be better if I just confessed. He said
that if I didn't, they
would have to conduct a thorough investigation and that other people
close to me might
get hurt."


"He was just trying to scare you, Donna. You didn't say anything to
him did you?"


"No"


"Good"


"Ainsley?"


"What?"


"I can't let this hurt anyone else. Especially not Josh. I won't let
him get caught up in
this. I'll say I'm guilty before I'll let that happen."


"It wont come to that, Donna. I promise."


"Can you do me a favor? I'm not asking you as my lawyer, I'm asking
you as my friend."


"Sure."


"Will you keep an eye on Josh? Make sure that he eats and don't let
him sleep in his
office, ok?"


"Sure. But, believe me, it's not a job I intend on having for too
long. As soon as we get
you out on bail, he's all yours again."


"How long do you think that will be?"


"I need you to be prepared Donna. I'll try at the arraignment but it
probably wont happen.
We are going to have to wait till all the charges are in. A week
maybe-two at the most."


"OK" Donna said trying in vain to blink back the tears.


"They're going to take you over to the jail tonight. I've already
informed them that they
aren't to try to question you without me present but I will reiterate
that to them before I
leave. I'll meet you back here at 9:00 AM. Don't say anything till I
get here. Here's my
cell phone number, call me if you need anything at all ok?"


"OK"


"Anything else I can do for you tonight?"


"Yeah-tell Josh I'll get his shirt back to him as soon as they give
me something else to
wear. It's his favorite. I know he's gonna want it back."


Ainsley's brow creased. She worried that Donna was developing a mild
case of shock.
Josh's shirt should be the last thing on her mind right now.


"The only way Josh  wants that shirt back is with you in it."


"You think so?"


"I know so. Now you hold tight and I'll see you in the morning."



It was 3:45 by the time Ainsley arrived back at Josh's apartment. She
had no doubt that
he would still be awake., that they would all still be awake,
searching for the proverbial
needle in the haystack. Josh pounced as soon as he opened the door.


"Did you see Donna? Is she ok?"


"She's doing as well as can be expected Josh."


"When can I go and see her?"


"Not for awhile. I'm meeting her back at the station at 9:00 AM for
questioning. I'll find
out the details of the arraignment then. It wont be till after that."


"I want to see her ASAP Ainsley."


"I know that, Josh. But the best way to do that is to figure out who
is behind this so we
can get her released. Have you found anything out yet?"


"Not yet. We're trying to track down anybody that the bank, the
landlord and the
credit card companies might have in common. We are looking for the
common thread."


"Good luck," she said tossing Sam his car keys. "I just wanted to
check in. I'm headed
back to my place to do some prep work before I have to be back at the
police station. If
you find anything-and I mean ANYTHING-please call me immediately."


"OK. We're headed in to work for a staff meeting in a couple of hours
but we'll keep in
touch."


Josh stepped out into the hall with Ainsley.


"Ainsley?"


"Yes?"


"When you see Donna...will you tell her...tell her I love her ok?"


"Sure thing"


"Thanks."



Wee hours of the morning
DC Jail


If there was one thing Donna should have learned over the last few
days it was to never
think things couldn't get any worse. Just a few short hours ago, she
would have said that
getting patted down and arrested in front of her friends was the
worst thing that had ever
happened. Then she would have amended it to say that the humiliation
of  fingerprints
and mug shots was the worst. But none of that even compared to what
was happening
now. The thought of a full body cavity search had never entered
Donnas mind until the
female officers told her to remove all of her clothing. This was
beyond humiliation. This
was violation. This was too much for her brain to process.
     She didn't even remember getting dressed in a denim prison
jumpsuit. She didn't
remember the officers leading her to a cell. All she could remember
was the feeling of the
officers' hands and the noise. The roaring in her ears couldn't drown
out all the noise of a
prison at night. She lay down on the bare mattress and closed her
eyes. 'Please God' she
thought 'Don't let it get any worse than this.'




8:15 AM
White House Press Room


 After making a brief statement about the matters of the day, CJ
opened the floor up for
questions.


"Does the White House have any comment about the arrest of Donna
Moss?" half a
dozen reporters shouted at once.


"We are making no comment about the specifics of the case at this
time but we would
like to remind you that Ms Moss is innocent until proven guilty. We
stand behind her
100% and we believe that this will be proven to have been a giant
mistake."


"Any truth to the rumor that the investigation may widen to include
other members of the
staff?"


"We have no reason to believe that."


"Will Josh Lyman be making a statement considering that Ms Moss is
his assistant?"
asked Matt Wagner.


CJ felt her teeth start to grind. She hated Matt Wagner. He was an
ultra right wing
columnist out of Texas. He never missed a chance to take a shot at
the administration. He
was also one of those journalists who never let truth get in the way
of a good story.


"Mr. Lyman has no comment at this time except to say that he supports
Ms Moss and is
confident that she will be exonerated."


"Considering their long standing personal relationship, can we assume
that Mr. Lyman
might also be a target of investigators?" Wagner shouted as a follow
up.


Maybe it was the fact that she hadn't slept in 24 hours, or maybe it
was the fact that one
of her best friends was behind bars for a crime she didn't commit or
that another friend
was tearing himself up with feelings of helplessness. Whatever it
was, something inside
of CJ snapped.


"No Matt" she said with barely contained fury "We cannot assume Mr.
Lyman will be a
target of investigators. As I mentioned before, we have no reason to
believe that any
other staffer will be involved. But on a strictly personal level
Matt, and I reiterate I am
not speaking for the White House but rather for myself, you had
better be careful about
what you choose to write. I would lay off the tawdry references to
secret lives and
"longstanding personal relationships". Because when Donna is
exonerated, and I assure
that she will be, I will not only make you eat those words, I will
use a slingshot to shove
them so far down your throat that you will be picking smarmy innuendo
out of your colon
for the next year. Understand?"


And with that, she dismounted the podium and exited the room while
the reporters all sat
in stunned silence.




11:00 AM
West Wing


Josh, Sam had Toby had all rearranged their schedules and farmed out
as much work as
possible. There were however still meetings to be attended and
government business that
needed done. They got through their work as quickly as possible and  
were comparing
notes over burgers from the mess in Toby's office.


"Have you heard anything from Ainsley yet?" Toby asked


"Nothing"


All of the sudden, Sam's head shot up and he said "I think I have
something."


"What is it?" Josh and Toby said in unison.


"A computer security firm that the bank, the landlord and at least
one of the credit card
companies have in common. Simmons and West. It's a company right here
in DC. They
apparently help keep computer systems secure."


"Does that ring any bells Josh?" Toby asked


"Not off the top of my head"


"Do you know if Donna has ever dealt with them for any reason?"


"I wouldn't know why she would have"


"Well lets call and find out a little more about them" Toby said
reaching in to his top
drawer and pulling out a cell phone. "This one is unlisted" he
explained pointing to the
phone as he dialed "In case they have caller ID, there is no use in
letting them know who
they are talking to. It might tend to seal their lips."


When the receptionist answered, Toby explained that he was doing some
research on
computer safety and that he was looking for some information on the
kinds of services
that her company offered.


"Are you looking to hire us?" the receptionist asked in a confused
voice.


"No" Toby said with more patience than he was actually feeling. "I'm
just looking for
some information about your company and the kind of services you
provide."


"Hold on, sir. I'll put you through to the Public Relations
Department."


Toby didn't relish the idea of working his way through a whole string
of idiots just to try
to get the information he wanted. However, he didn't want to arouse
any suspicion. He
was trying to figure out the quickest way to get the information he
wanted when the voice
on the other end of the phone froze him in his tracks.


"Public Relations. Mandy Hampton speaking. Can I help you?"


Toby disconnected without saying a word and looked at Josh and Sam in
disbelief.


"What is it?" they both asked at the same time.


"Did either of you know that Mandy was back in town?"


And suddenly it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room.



11:15 AM
Simmons and West
PR office


Mandy slammed down the phone when the party on the other end hung up
without
speaking. 'Idiot' she thought.
She went on with her work without giving it another thought. She was
completely
unaware that at that very moment, on the other side of town,  the
boomerang of revenge
had turned and was heading back in her direction.








It's a beautiful morning here in the nations capital. Spring has
sprung and the cherry
blossoms will soon be in bloom. I sit on the balcony every morning,
like I'm doing now,
and just enjoy nature's rebirth. Maybe that seems a little overly
sentimental, but this
spring I have a lot to be happy about. And you know what the best
part is? Little Miss
Perfect is in jail. That's right-the slammer-the big house. And if I
have anything to say
about it, she will be there for a very, very long time. Forever even.
I would have given
anything to be there when she was arrested. To see the look on her
face. And the look on
Josh's face. I'm sure it was priceless. You might think I've gotten
everything I wanted
out of this deal. But you'd be wrong. Believe me when I tell you that
this far from over.
Blondie still has a lot more suffering to do. You see, prison is a
very dangerous place. By
the time I'm through with her, she's going to curse the day she ever
left Wisconsin.




Wednesday
9:47 AM
Police Headquarters


"Miss Moss" Lt. Stoebner continued in an exasperated tone. "You can't
possibly expect
me to believe that you masterminded this entire plot all by yourself
can you?"


"I have no idea what you're talking about" Donna said for what seemed
like the
thousandth time.


"Nearly a million dollars is what I'm talking about." The Lt. said,
his voice rising. "That's
a lot of money. It would take some real know how to move that much
money around and
keep it all straight."


"I told you, I have no idea how that money ended up in my account."


"So, are you saying that you aren't the person who actually made the
deposits?"


"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."


"Fine, then give me the names of your partners. If you were just an
innocent dupe I might
be able to help you out." The Lt. said.


"I don't have any partners. I don't know anything about the money."
Donna said holding
back tears.


"What do you think Miss Moss? Do you think that because your friends
work at the
White House I can't...I won't...find out the truth? It always comes out.
The past should
prove that. I assure you, I'll dig as far as I need to to find the
truth."


Donna stared at the floor as she felt Ainsley give her arm a
reassuring squeeze.


"Again, I have no idea what you're talking about." Donna said


"Fine, Miss Moss. We'll just have to keep digging till we find out
who was in this with
you. Since Mr. Lyman is your direct superior, he would be a logical
place to start."


"Leave Josh alone." Donna snapped


"Does he have something to hide" the Lt. asked leaning across the
table very close to
Donna's face.


"No, he doesn't and neither do I."


"Are you protecting him? Are you protecting someone else you work
with?"


"No"


Donna couldn't hold back the tears of frustration any longer. Why
couldn't she convince
the police of the truth? Why couldn't she find the right words? There
was one thing she
knew for sure. She wasn't going to let anyone else be hurt by this.
Not Toby, not CJ, not
Sam and especially not Josh. She would do or say whatever she had to
in order to protect
them. She wouldn't allow any of them to go through the horror she was
going through
now. She looked down at her hands. She could still see traces of the
black fingerprint ink.


"So Miss Moss" the Lt continued "who else at the White House is
involved?"


Before Donna could answer, Ainsley spoke up.


"This interview is over Lt. It has become quite obvious to me that
you don't really want
to hear the truth. You just want to my client to tell you what you
want to hear. And so,
she won't be saying anything else at all."


"As you wish Miss Hayes, but I'm only trying to help her."


"Oh, I'm certain you have Donna's best interest at heart." Ainsley
said sarcastically.
"Now please give us a moment alone."


The Lt. gathered up his papers and walked slowly out of the room,
slamming the door
behind him.


 As soon as he left, Ainsley turned to face Donna. "You look awful.
Did something
happen? Anything you want to talk to me about?"


Donna hesitated for a moment then spoke very softly. "Last night,
when I got to the jail,
before they put me in my cell, they did a body cavity search." she
said dropping her head.


"I'm sorry" Ainsley said with genuine concern in her voice. "I didn't
know."


"I wasn't expecting it. I mean, the thought never occurred to me.
They took me into a
room with all these hideously bright fluorescent lights. They made me
take off every
stitch of clothing. First they made me stand up perfectly straight
while they ran their
hands over my entire body, and through my hair. They made me open my
mouth and they
stuck their fingers so far in it made me gag.


"Oh, Donna" Ainsley said fighting back tears of her own.


"Then they made me lean over and touch my toes" Donna continued in a
voice barely
above a whisper. "and they used their fingers to....they said they had
to check for
hidden..." Donna dissolved in tears and couldn't go on.


Ainsley reached out and wrapped Donna in a tight hug." I'm so sorry,
Donna. I'll talk to
the warden and see if there is anything I can do."


"Thanks"


"Hey, I have a message for you from Josh." Ainsley said desperately
searching for a
way to alleviate the fear and pain in Donna's eyes.


"Really?"


The words had the desired effect as the mention of Josh's name made
Donna's eyes light
up.


"He said to tell you that he loves you, and that he will visit you as
soon as he is allowed."


"Is he ok? I mean really? Is he eating? You have to watch him or
he'll live on burgers
and fries. And make sure he sleeps-in his bed not at his desk."


"He's fine, Donna other than the fact that he misses you."


"Will you tell him when you see him that...I love him too....and I miss
him."


"Sure."


"When do you think I might be able to see him?" Donna asked trying
not to seem
desperate.


"I'll make it happen" Ainsley promised


"Okay thanks"


They were both startled by the sound of Ainsley's beeper. She studied
the display intently
and said "Speak of the devil. Josh needs to see me right away. Maybe
he has some info.
Let's keep our fingers crossed."


"I'll try but its kind of hard to keep a good thought with several
pairs of cold hands
roaming over your body. Most of the men I've dated have never touched
me in the places
those guards have." Donna said as the tears threatened to fall again.


"I'm really sorry Donna. I'll see what I can do. You be strong okay?"


"Ok. I'll try"





Wednesday
12:10 PM
Houlihan's Pub


Josh and Sam sat in silence in a corner booth near the back of the
restaurant waiting for
Toby and Ainsley to join them. Josh hadn't had much to say since he
had found out that
not only was Mandy back in town, but that she in fact working for a
company that was
looking more and more like it had a role in what happened to Donna.


Josh had  known that Mandy resented Donna's place in his life when
they were together
but that was years ago. Had Mandy really harbored a grudge for this
long? How could her
anger and hatred have gotten this far out of control. It wasn't like
they had been a happy
couple before Donna came along. They had always had a stormy
relationship. Donna
hadn't been responsible for their breakup in any way. He wanted to
find Mandy and force
the truth out of her. He quickly batted the thought away. He knew it
wasn't feasible. A
confrontation with Josh would only make her more determined. It would
also give her a
chance to cover her tracks. If she knew that they were on to her, she
would have a chance
to bury any evidence that might clear Donna so deep it would take
them years to find it.
He was lost so deeply in his own thoughts that he didn't see Ainsley
until she slid into the
booth beside Sam.


"How is Donna this morning?" he asked immediately.


Ainsley had tried to decide on the way over whether she should tell
Josh how upset
Donna was or not. She had finally decided to be as open with him as
possible, it would be
better for everyone in the long run.


"She had a bit of a rough night, Josh, but she is handling it as best
she can."


"What do you mean a rough night?" Josh was immediately alarmed


"Apparently when she arrived at the jail last night, the guards
performed a full body
cavity search."


"You've GOT to be kidding me." Josh screamed


"Ains was that really necessary?" Sam asked wincing


"Definitely not" Ainsley responded


"This is ridiculous" Josh continued "This is Washington DC not some
backwoods prison
movie."


"I intend to talk to the warden about it" Ainsley said "But
unfortunately it's completely
legal"


"Well they better be good and sure that they followed every rule
right to the letter" Sam
stormed "because if they didn't, I'll not only have their jobs but
I'll have them up on
assault charges."


"Donna's not some hardened criminal. How could they have done that to
her? WHY
would they have done that to her?"


"They are really tightening the screws on her. They want a quick
confession." Ainsley
said.


"What do you mean tightening the screws?" Josh asked growing angrier
by the minute.


"They are trying to intimidate her. Trying to convince her that she
needs to confess
before the rest of you get subjected to an investigation I've assured
her that they are
bluffing but they know that they are hitting a raw nerve. It's her
worst fear, hurting any
other member of the staff."


"Oh God, Ainsley. Is she o.k.....I mean really?"


"She's doing her best." Ainsley's voice softened as she saw the pain
in Josh's eyes." She
said to tell you that she loves you, she wants you to eat your
vegetables, and don't sleep at
your desk."


Josh smiled at the thought that, even in her darkest hours, Donna was
worried about
whether or not he was taking care of himself.


"We've got to get her out of there." Josh whispered.


"We will." Sam and Ainsley said almost in unison.


"So" Ainsley asked hopefully. "What did you find out?"


Just then Toby strode across the restaurant and slid into the booth.


"Well, we have a definite lead." Sam said "We found a computer
security firm that is
linked to the bank, the rental company and at least one of the credit
card companies.
We're checking the other credit card companies now."


"That's great" Ainsley said. "Any idea who at that company might be
involved?"


"As a matter of fact, yes." Sam said casting a sideways glance at
Josh. "We think it's
Mandy Hampton."


"Mandy Hampton?"


"Yeah. She used to be a PR consultant for the DNC. She also happens
to
be.....um...Josh's ex-girlfriend."


Ainsley's eyebrows shot up. "That's interesting."


"Very interesting" Toby said dryly. "Mandy Hampton is basically some
low level little
pissant with delusions of grandeur. I never trusted her, always
thought she was a bit off
balance but I certainly never thought it would go this far. But she
slipped up and now we
have our opening.


"So where do we go from here?" Ainsley asked.


"Well," Toby said "First we gather enough evidence to get Donna out
of jail. That has to
be our top priority. Then we make damn sure the illustrious Ms
Hampton gets what she
has coming to her.


"Amen" Josh and Sam muttered in unison


 "To that end" Toby continued "I just got off the phone with some
friends at Justice who
specialize in these types of cases. They recommended we hire someone
who can go at
this investigation in cyberspace. We are going to need to trace every
single transaction
back to its point of origin."


"Did they have any recommendations"


"As a matter of fact yes"


"I have a name right here. They aren't high profile, they tend to
operate mostly in the
shadows, but  they are the best in the business. They don't come
cheap but they produce
results."


"Great, call them. I'll get the money, no matter what it costs. Make
sure they know that  
we need them to get started right away." Josh said


"I'll set up a meeting sometime today. We will give them all the
information we have and
they can get started." Toby said



Wednesday
3:00 PM
DC Jail


Donna didn't know how she had managed to make it through the
violation of another
body cavity search. She thought maybe the shock wouldn't be as great
the second time
but it was. The officers seemed to be being intentionally rough and
several times Donna
had to bite her lip to keep from crying out in pain. The pat down
portion of the search
was much rougher than the first time. Donna's breasts had been
squeezed with such force
that she was certain there would be bruising. When the other officer
once again told
Donna to bend over she did with a glint in her eyes. "I guess this is
a long fall down from
the White House" she said as she used her entire hand to probe the
most intimate parts of
Donna's body.


 She had been glad half an hour later, when the guard had come to
tell her that it was time
for her shower. She wanted to try to wash all of the ugliness off of
her body. When she
reached the shower room, her stomach fell. A large leering male guard
stood outside of
the stall. The stall with no curtain. There was no privacy of any
kind. Donna hesitated
until the guard said. "Hurry up goldilocks, you have 5 minutes."


Donna kept her back to the guard as she undressed. She stepped into
the shower and tried
to let the warm water relax her a bit, but that wasn't really
possible with a stranger
standing 5 feet away. Donna could feel his eyes on her body. She
showered as quickly as
possible, towel dried herself, and slipped back into her clothes, all
without making eye
contact with the guard. She was led back to her cell where she
promptly lay down on the
bed and cried.



Wednesday
6:00 PM
Ainsley's Apartment


The knock on her door initially startled Ainsley. She looked through
the peephole to see
Sam juggling multiple containers of Chinese takeout.


"Hey Sam."


"Hi there. I thought you might too be busy to get yourself any dinner
so I grabbed some
Chinese. Are you hungry?"


Ainsley laughed


"Yeah. I guess that's a stupid question." Sam said


"Have a seat" Ainsley gestured to the living room as she moved toward
the kitchen. "I'll
get some plates."


Just as they began to eat, Ainsley's phone rang.


"Ainsley Hayes....Donna? Is that you? Okay slow down....I can barely
understand
you...hold on....listen Donna, is it okay if I  put you on speakerphone?
Okay hold
on..."Ainsley said as she transferred Donna to speakerphone.


"Sam is here with me" Ainsley said


"Hi Sam"


"Hi Donna. Everything okay?"


"Well..." Donna hesitated " I just called to see if Ainsley had gotten
a chance to talk to
the warden about the body cavity searches." Donna choked out unable
to hold back the
tears. "I know I'm gonna have to leave here for the arraignment and I
was just hoping to
avoid....I mean I can't go through....today was worse than the first one."


"Try to calm down" Ainsley said trying desperately to soothe her
friend "Tell me what
happened"


Sam shot up off the couch and began pacing. Ainsley thought that he
looked as if he
wanted to hit something..or someone.


"They were just very rough. My breasts are bruised and....well I'm so
sore that I can
barely sit down." She said hoping that they got her meaning and she
wouldn't have to be
any more graphic. "I think they did it on purpose."


"What makes you say that?" Sam asked


"The guard who was.." Donna hesitated "well the one who was
conducting the "internal"
search" Donna's voice broke again, "she made a comment about it being
a long fall from
the White House."


Sam and Ainsley were trying to desperately to digest this new
information. Sam made a
mental note to check on any connections Mandy might have with anyone
at the prison.


There was a click on the line." Oh, my time is up. I have to go.
Could you talk to the
warden Ainsley, please?"


"I promise Donna. I'll do what I can."


"Thanks. Bye"


"No problem." Ainsley said looking warily at Sam


"Bye Donna" Sam said "Listen, you hang in there. We're gonna take
care of this."


"Okay, bye"


Sam and Ainsley sat listening to the buzz of the dial tone for a
minute after Donna hung
up. They were both lost in their own thoughts, both afraid to share
the fear they felt for
Donna.


"This is getting out of control" Sam seethed


"I agree" Ainsley sighed



Wednesday
7:00 PM
Josh's office


Toby had managed to get an appointment with the "cyber sleuths" for
6:00 PM. Josh
wasn't able to attend because he had a meeting on the hill. Toby had
taken copies of all
their records and had promised to report back.


Josh had been pacing in his office for 20 minutes when CJ walked in.


"Ainsley called." she said "The arraignment has been set for
tomorrow."


"Okay thanks. What time?"


"8:00 AM. Have you eaten dinner yet?"


"Don't start ,CJ"


"I'm just saying Josh you have to eat, because I'm not willing to
face the wrath of Donna
when she gets back here if you haven't been taking care of yourself."


Josh smiled, picturing Donna admonishing them all for not taking care
of themselves
when she returned. Just then Toby strode in.


"How did it go?" Josh asked


"They're going to start working on it right away. Top priority."


"Great. Did they say how long till we heard something?"


"It's not an easy process, Josh. It could take awhile but they are
going to move as fast
as they can. They are going to put a full team on it. Work round the
clock. We'll know as
soon as they get anything."


"How much, Toby?"


"Don't worry. It's taken care of."


"How much?"


"One hundred thousand retainer against final expenses."


"I'll need some time to liquidate a few things but I'll get it to
them."


"I said its taken care of Josh. Don't argue with me. You haven't
slept in 2 days. Now go
home and get some rest. There's nothing here that can't wait till
tomorrow."


"Toby I....."


"I said go home Josh."


"Ok -but you'll call me if there's any news right?"


"Absolutely"


After Josh left, CJ and Toby adjourned to the couch in her office.
They sat quietly for a
long time until CJ finally broke the silence.


"A hundred grand is a lot of money, Toby"


"Yes it is"


"Why did you do it?"


"Who says I did?"


"They had to get the money somewhere Toby. They don't sound like the
kind of
company that carries a lot of accounts receivable."


"You want to know why CJ? Honestly?"


"Yes I do."


"Because Donna isn't like the rest of us. She hasn't had time to
become jaded, politics
hasn't made her cynical yet. Or maybe she is just stronger than us
and hasn't let it make
her cynical. She still believes that good always wins in the end and
she still believes that
any righteous battle is worth fighting. And seeing her everyday helps
me believe those
things a little too. It helps me remember why I got into politics in
the first place. And I'm
not ready to give that up without a fight."


"You really are a very sweet man Toby Ziegler"


"Yeah well-don't spread it around."



Wednesday
11:00 PM
DC Jail


Donna lay on her bunk staring at the ceiling and wishing for just a
few minutes of
quiet. All night long she could hear the various shouts and moans of
her fellow inmates.
'Her fellow inmates'. The phrase made Donna cringe. How had it gotten
this bad, this
fast.


 Worse than anything, she wanted to see Josh. She wanted him to tell
her that
everything was going to be ok.


 Her stomach twisted in knots. She couldn't remember the last time
she had eaten. It must
have been yesterday-or maybe the day before. She hadn't even bothered
to take any food
tonight in the cafeteria. She knew she would never be able to keep it
down.


 She wondered where Josh was right now. She sent up a silent prayer
that he was all right.
She hoped that Ainsley would keep her promise to look after him. She
thought back to
the kiss they had shared  on his couch. Had that only been a little
over
24 hours ago. It seemed like an eternity. She wished that she could
turn the clocks back
and live in that moment forever. But the noise from outside her cell
brought her back to
reality and the tears began to flow as she stared at the ceiling
while the minutes and hours
ticked by,



Thursday
1:00 AM
Josh's Apartment


Josh lay staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Every time he close
his eyes he pictured
what Donna must be going through and it tore him up. He knew how much
Donna
enjoyed her friends and her job and he was sure that being cut off
from them was torture
for her. As strong as Donna was, he was certain that she was
terrified. Anyone in her
position would be. He tried not to picture what the body cavity
search must have been
like, tried not to picture strangers violating her body.


 What had she done to deserve this? How could Mandy possible hate her
this much? Josh
knew Mandy well enough to know that she only went after the person
she intended. At
first he had pondered the idea that this was all about getting back
at him in some way but
he quickly dismissed that. He couldn't think about Mandy now.  He
knew that Toby was
right.  His first concern had to be getting Donna out of jail then he
would make sure
Mandy got what she deserved. She was going to pay for every tear that
Donna shed over
this. He would see to it personally.


 His thoughts drifted back to Donna again. He wanted to be strong for
her the way she
had been strong so many times for him. He wondered why he had denied
his feelings for
so long? What had he been afraid of? Why hadn't he realized that her
love was worth any
of the repercussions that might come from it. He knew that it would
take some time for
Donna to recover from this once they got her home, and he made a vow
to himself as he
stared at the ceiling, that he would be there for her every step of
the way.



Thursday
8:00 AM
Courthouse


As the officers escorted Donna down the hall towards the courtroom,
she saw Ainsley in
animated conversation with the prosecutor. Her hands were balled into
fists and she was
obviously upset. When she saw Donna approaching, she came to meet her.


"What's wrong?" Donna asked , not really sure if she wanted to know.


"They've added some charges." Ainsley said angrily. " They traced one
of the offshore
accounts to a Columbian drug lord named Ramon Rodriquez and now they
are trying to
link you to him."


"Oh my God" Donna said with a look of shock on her face. "What does
this mean?"


**********************************************************************
**
CJ, Sam, Josh, Toby and Leo were all gathered around a television
monitor in Leo's
office watching a live feed of the arraignment. Josh's heart jumped
when the camera
caught Donna and Ainsley entering the courtroom. Ainsley was
whispering intently and
Donna had a stricken look on her face. This couldn't be good news.
Josh's stomach
began to constrict.
**********************************************************************
**
Suddenly the bailiff said:


"People vs. Donna Moss Docket number 45230A"


Donna and Ainsley stepped up to the podium. The prosecutor stood at a
similar one five
feet away.


"The people would like to point out that we have filed amended
charges within the last 30
minutes your honor. We have provided the defense with a copy and we
have a copy for
the bench also."


"What are the charges?" the judge asked


"Miss Moss is charged with cocaine trafficking, conspiracy to
contribute cocaine, money
laundering, illegal use of bank facilities, criminal conspiracy and
racketeering."


"How do you plead?" the judge asked.


"Not guilty on all counts" Ainsley said as she recovered from the
shock of hearing the
charges read out loud." We request bail your honor" she said even
though she knew it
was useless.


"The state strongly objects your honor. The defendant quite possibly
has a large amount
of cash hidden somewhere and she also has connections with powerful
people who could
easily facilitate her disappearance. We feel this makes her a strong
flight risk."


"Your honor, I respectfully disagree." Ainsley said ready to launch
into what she knew
was a futile argument.


"Forget it Miss Hayes" the judge interrupted "Bail is denied. Well
move forward as
quickly as possible. I'll hear preliminary motions three weeks from
today. Next case"


And with that, the officers led Donna from the courthouse.
**********************************************************************
**
A stunned and angry silence fell over Leo's office.


"This is unreal" CJ screamed "What the hell is going on?"


"Obviously" Toby said through clenched teeth "we underestimated
Mandy. I think it's
time to take the gloves off and get down to business." he said as he
stalked off towards
his own office.


Sam looked nervously at Josh who had been frozen to the same spot
since he heard the
charges . "Are you okay?" Sam asked putting his hand on his friends
shoulder.


"No" Josh responded "Not even close"



Thursday
9:30 AM
Josh's office


The morning press briefing had been a zoo, and CJ was hiding in
Josh's office trying to
escape the chaos for a few short minutes. News of the added drug
charges had created a
media frenzy. As she mentally planned how she was going to handle the
rest of the day,
CJ looked at Josh. She could see the pain clearly etched on his face.
He was shuffling
papers around on his desk and doing his best to pretend he wasn't
simply waiting for the
phone to ring. Finally it did.


"Lyman" he barked into the phone


"Hi Josh, its Ainsley"


" How's Donna?"


"Doing as well as can be expected. I think hearing all those charges
read out loud
shocked her, actually I think it shocked both of us. She's on her way
back to the jail now"
Ainsley sent up a quick prayer that her talk with the warden about
strip searches had been
successful and that Donna didn't have to endure another one upon her
return.


"When can I see her? You said we could arrange it after the
arraignment."


"I will Josh. I'll set it up for tomorrow. That's the best I'm going
to be able to do. I'll get
back to you with a time."


"Okay. Thanks"


Friday
1:45 PM
DC Jail


Josh waited  impatiently to clear the security checks needed before
he would be allowed
to see Donna. Sam had decided to accompany him but  Josh barely
noticed his
presence. They passed through a metal detector, emptied the contents
of their pockets and
answered an endless series of questions about past criminal history
etc. They were finally
admitted to a small room with a series of glass partitions and
instructed to sit at the first
one.


Josh tapped his hand impatiently waiting for Donna to arrive. When
the door opened and
he saw her-his heart jumped. Then he noticed the way she looked. Her
shoulders were
slumped, her eyes were downcast, her entire posture was in defeatist
mode. When she
looked up and saw Josh, her eyes lit up. Not the typical Donna Moss
wattage but there
was definitely a light. She moved quickly to the other side of the
partition.


"15 minutes" the guard said as he pushed Donna down into the
chair. "And don't touch
the glass."


"Donna, honey. Are you ok?" Josh asked leaning as close as possible
to the glass. He
wanted to look at her, to know for sure that she was ok.


"I'm fine Josh." Donna said tying to smile. "Are you ok?"


"Don't worry about me" he said


They stared deeply into each other's eyes. Sam realized that they
were communicating
things that mere words could never convey. Finally Donna broke the
silence.


"Ainsley said that you had a lead. She said that you might know who
was behind this.
She wouldn't tell me who though. She said you wanted to tell me
yourself. Who is it
Josh? Do you know?"


Josh hesitated. He had begged Ainsley to let him be the one to tell
Donna about Mandy.
He wasn't sure how she was going to take the news. And now sitting
here looking at the
circles under her eyes and her sad, tired countenance, he wanted to
shield her from the
pain once again. But he knew he couldn't.


"We think the damage is coming from a computer security firm called
Simmons and
West" he said. "They are a company right here in DC. And their PR
chief is....Mandy
Hampton"


"What?" Donna asked with a look of disbelief on her face. Mandy?.
Why? What had
Donna ever done to her?


Josh watched Donna eyes as she processed the information. It was
almost more than he
could stand. She looked unhappy-distant somehow-like it was all
becoming more than
she could handle.


"Listen Donna. This is good news. Now that we know the source, we can
trace things
back and find a way to get you out of here," Sam said, speaking for
the first time since
they had arrived.


Donna momentarily took her gaze off of Josh and looked towards Sam.
The expression
on her face was one of pure terror. She turned back to Josh.


"Donna, what is it? Please say something."


But Donna couldn't say a word. She was struck dumb with fear. Mandy
had powerful
friends. She had the clout to make this stick. All along she had
harbored the hope that this
was the work of a low level psycho. But for the first time she
realized just how serious
this had the potential to be. She realized that Mandy could take
everything that mattered
away from her forever, her friends, her job, her freedom and most
importantly the man
she loved.


"Donna talk to me" Josh said louder and with more panic than he
intended.


"I'm ok" Donna said trying to look confident. She had to help Josh.
She was worried
about him. She wondered if he was next on Mandy's list. God she hoped
not. She loved
him so much, she didn't want him to get hurt.


"This is good Donna. Really. I'm gonna get you out of here. I
promise. We have people
working right now to track all of the transactions back to their
source. It's only a matter
of time. You believe that don't you"


"Yes" Donna said as the guard yelled "5 more minutes"


"Donna please tell me you're all right." Josh begged. The look on her
face was making
his heart ache.


"I'll be fine"


"You look tired. Are you getting any sleep"


"Some"


"You need to take care of yourself Donna"


"I know"


"How are things at the office?"


"Don't worry about the office Donna. You'll be back there soon
enough."


"I hope so" Donna whispered.


And all too soon the fifteen minutes was over. The guard approached
Donna to take her
back to her cell. "Josh leaned in and said "I love you Donna."


"I love you too" she said.


As soon as they were gone, Sam put his hand on Josh's shoulder. "Lets
go" he said But
Josh couldn't seem to stand up. His legs didn't want to work. It had
all gone by so fast.
He wanted to yell-to make the guard stop-to say that he wasn't done
yet. There was so
much more he wanted to say. Finally, wordlessly, he stood up and
followed Sam out of
the room.



Friday
5:00 PM
Josh's Apartment


Josh and Sam sat drinking scotch when Ainsley arrived. Sam had called
her and asked
her to meet them there and she could tell by his voice that the visit
had not gone well.
Sam let her in and she immediately crossed to the couch.


"Are you ok Josh?" she asked as she watched him down what was left in
his glass in one
swallow.


Josh couldn't find the words to describe how he was feeling. The look
in Donna's eyes
when she found out about Mandy had been devastating. It was like she
lost hope. And
that was the one thing Josh couldn't abide.


"We have to get her out of there."


"I know Josh"


Josh got up wordlessly and went out to the balcony to stare at the
city below. Ainsley
started after him but Sam said "Let him be alone for awhile. The
visit this afternoon was
really tough on him."


"I can imagine. How about you Sam-are you ok?"


"I don't know. I mean, seeing Donna this afternoon, in that place, it
was awful. She looks
so frightened. I know that place is horrible and it breaks my heart
that she is there. And I
also know the effect this is having on Josh. It's killing him to see
her like that. Josh and
Donna have been through so much lately, and now this. It makes me
want to just find
Mandy and strangle her. I hate myself for feeling that way but I do.
As soon as we get
Donna back here where she belongs, I'm personally going to make sure
that Mandy
pays."


"I know Sam. I'm going to do everything I can to help Josh and Donna.
And I've never
even met Mandy Hampton but she seems like a woman in desperate need
of a trip to the
woodshed, as my daddy would say. And I would be honored if you would
allow me to
help you."


"Deal. I just hope we get it done before there is any irreparable
harm."


"We will Sam. I'm far from defeated yet. These people don't know what
they're dealing
with here."


"Thanks"


"No problem"


Ainsley suddenly had a realization. She didn't know Mandy Hampton and
could never
hope to understand her motivations. So she would leave the sleuthing
to Toby and Sam
and Josh. She would let them track down the information that would
set Donna free. She
would let CJ handle the press since she did it better than anyone.
Her role was to make
sure that Donna came through this intact, with as little damage as
possible. And that was
precisely what she intended to do.



Saturday
9:45 AM
West Wing


Toby, Sam, Josh and CJ were sifting through all of the new papers
that have been faxed
to them, trying to connect Simmons and West to as many of the
companies in question as
possible when the phone rang.


"Josh Lyman. Oh hi Ainsley, what's up?...Really?....Are you sure it's
ok?...Definitely.....I'm on my way.....I'll meet you there."


Josh looks up at the others in the room as he grabs his coat and
smiles. "Ainsley has
arranged for me to have another visit with Donna today. I've got to
meet her at the jail
right now."


"Oh that's wonderful" CJ beamed "Would it be ok if Toby and I came
too. Just so Donna
can see we're all behind her."


"I don't see why not"


"Send her my love" Sam said "I saw her yesterday so I'll stay here
and keep going
through these records."


"Thanks buddy" Josh said as he slipped out the door with Sam and CJ
close behind.


Saturday
10:30 AM
DC Jail



Josh sat in the same place as he had the day before and  waited for
Donna to enter the
room. CJ and Toby sat nervously beside him. All three of their hearts
dropped as soon as
Donna entered the room. She looked like she hadn't slept in days. She
had enormous dark
circles under her eyes and her skin had taken on a gray pallor. She
smiled when she saw
them but it wasn't very convincing. Josh just wanted to jump over the
glass partition and
wrap his arms around her and tell her that everything would be ok.


As she moved across the room and sat down in the chair on the
opposite side of the glass,
Josh noticed  a large purple bruise on her cheekbone.


"What the hell happened?" Josh choked out.


"I'm fine" Donna said with a vacant look in her eyes. "It's nothing.
I'm fine.


"Donna, where did you get that bruise?" Josh thundered. Suddenly he
felt CJ's hand on
his shoulder and he realized that his anger and fear weren't helping
Donna at all. He
calmed himself down before he spoke again.


"Sweetheart" he said more softly "Tell me what happened"


"I didn't move fast enough this morning at breakfast when someone
told me too" she said


"What do you mean?" he said trying hard to maintain control


"Don't worry, Josh. I can handle it" she said trying to alleviate
some of the worry in his
eyes.


"Did you see a doctor?"


"It's nothing. I'm fine. Can we please not talk about it?"


"Okay" Josh reluctantly dropped the subject but made a mental note to
talk to Ainsley
about moving Donna to a more secure location.


"You look tired. Are you sleeping?" Josh asked though the answer was
written all over
her face.


"Some" she hesitated then continued "Listen Josh I've been
thinking....if I just say that I
did it...and I tell them that it was all me......"


"What are you talking about?"


"Josh, I saw the paper today. They were talking about starting an
investigation of you. I
can't let that happen. I'll say it was me."


"What paper did you see Donna?" CJ asked making a mental note to
destroy whatever
reporter wrote it.
"I'm not sure which one it was. Someone cut the article out and left
it in my cell when I
was at breakfast. I won't let that happen Josh. I won't let it happen
to any of you. I don't
care what anybody says."


"Stop it Donna" Toby growled, finally unable to control his boiling
anger any longer.
They all turned to look at him. "Josh isn't going to get investigated
and you are not going
to plead guilty to something you didn't do and we're going to get you
out of here before
you end up with any more bruises."


"But Toby........"


"No buts Donna. I mean it. We are very very close to getting to the
bottom of this."


"I just don't want anybody else to get hurt."


"No one will" except for Mandy Hampton he thought to himself, and she
was most
definitely going to hurt


Suddenly Josh leaned towards the glass and his voice got very
serious. "Do you trust me
Donna?"


"With all my heart and soul."


"Then trust my word. I'm going to get you out of here and it's going
to be soon. Do you
believe me?"


"Yes I do" Donna said with tears flowing down her cheeks. "I'm sorry.
I know you're all
working as hard as you can. I'll try to be stronger."


"You are plenty strong Donna. This is a horrible situation. I just
need you to hang on for
a little while longer."


"I will"


The guard started to move towards Donna and Josh knew their time was
up. He locked
eyes with her and said "I love you"


"I love you too" she said "And I really do trust you"


"Good" he said


She turned to Toby and CJ and said "Thanks for coming"


"We'll see you soon" Toby said



Saturday
7:00 PM
Josh's apartment


Josh had returned from the west wing to find the entire contents of
Donna's apartment in
his living room. The furniture belonged to the landlord, so Josh had
only had to worry
about getting Donnas personal belongings out. He had luckily been
able to find a moving
company willing to do it on such short notice. He reached down and
opened a
box marked bathroom and was staring wistfully at an amazing array of
shampoos and
body washes that helped to create the scent that was singularly
Donna. He was broken out
of his reverie by a knock at the door. He opened to find Ainsley
carrying an armload of
Styrofoam takeout containers.


"Let me help you with those" Josh said "What's in them anyway."


"A healthy meal from Antonio's and you're going to eat it." Ainsley
said stubbornly. "I
promised Donna I'd watch over you till she gets back and I don't
break my promises."


"I'm gonna pass on the obvious "read my lips" joke here Ainsley
because I appreciate
you getting me an extra visit with Donna."


"Gee thanks. How was she today?" Ainsley shouted to the kitchen where
Josh was
getting plates and silverware.


"She's holding on but just barely. She has a nasty bruise on her
face. She won't say
exactly how it happened but I have a pretty good idea. I need you
talk to the warden
about the security in that place."


"I will" Ainsley promised. "First thing in the morning"


"Is this all Donna's stuff?" Ainsley asked gesturing at the boxes


"Yeah, I had it packed up. The landlord was threatening to throw it
out on the street so I
just had it brought here. I never liked the neighborhood Donna lived
in anyway. This will
give me an excuse to insist she get a new apartment in a better area."


"Like this neighborhood perhaps?" Ainsley asked with a knowing smile


Josh's eyes told the whole story as he looked back at Ainsley.


"I'll keep my fingers crossed" she said


As soon as Josh had eaten his entire dinner, he carried the dishes to
the kitchen. When he
returned to the living room Ainsley was gathering up her things and
getting ready to
leave.


"Now the second part of my promise to Donna. Go to bed Josh. Get a
good nights sleep."


"I will Ainsley, thanks. Do you want me to drive you home?"


"No, I'm fine. I think I'm gonna stop by Sam's and discuss some legal
strategy"
she said trying to sound nonchalant. When she looked up she caught a
definite twinkle in
Josh's eye.


Good luck with that" Josh smiled. "I'll keep my fingers crossed." He
said as he winked at
her.


She ducked her head on the way out the door hoping Josh didn't see
her blush.



Josh turned back to the boxes until he located the ones labeled
bedroom. He searched
through them until he found Donna's pillow. As he removed it from the
box, he heard
something fall to the floor. His heart lurched when he looked down
and saw Donna's
campaign ID. He didn't even realize that she had kept it. His
thoughts drifted back to
New Hampshire. She had been so uncertain of herself then. Dr Freeride
had robbed her of
all of her self-confidence. She had been so frightened, yet so
determined to find a new
start. Her optimism and her love of life had shown through even then.
Josh wasn't going
to let that part of her be destroyed. He grabbed the pillow and  
moved back to the
bedroom and threw it on the bed. After he had showered, he crawled
under the covers and
pulled the pillow close to him. It still smelled like Donna and he
could almost imagine
her laying there with him.


"Soon Donnatella" he whispered. "Soon"



Sunday
10:45 AM
DC Jail
Recreation Yard


Donna stood against the wall of the building all by herself. She
couldn't even manage to
enjoy the spring air. She just wanted to retreat to her cell. The
noise of the yard was going
through her head like a knife through butter. Suddenly a large group
of  women
approached her.


"Hey Blondie, why so unsociable" one of them asked as they closed in
on her effectively
pinning her to the wall.


"No reason" Donna stammered. I'm just not feeling well.


"You think you're too good for us Miss White House?" another of the
women asked.


Donna's heart was now pounding in her ears as she looked around for a
way to escape.
"No, as I said, I just don't feel well."


"Well, we just want to make sure you know missy. We don't care who
your old boss was.
This is our yard and we run things around here." As she finished her
sentence, her fist
connected with Donnas jaw. Donna's head snapped back and she saw
stars. Before she
could think, she felt another fist slam into her stomach. She was
gasping for air. She
couldn't get enough breath to call for help. Blood was pouring from
her nose and mouth.
Where were the guards? She wondered. Donna's panic became as intense
as her pain. She
was leaning over trying to protect herself when she felt a knee rise
up and make contact
with her forehead. The world started to spin but not before Donna
felt another fist slam
into her stomach. As she lost consciousness, she was vaguely aware of
feet slamming into
her back and head. And then there was just darkness.




Sunday
12:25 PM
Josh's apartment



Josh, Sam, CJ and Toby continued to try to make sense of all the
papers strewn about
Josh's apartment. Since their visits with Donna, they all seemed to
be attacking the task
with a renewed sense of determination.


Sam had yet to tell Josh everything he knew about Donna's second body
cavity search.
He couldn't get the pain in Donna's voice out of his head. She was
like the little sister he
never had. He loved her, and he knew that Josh loved her too. Telling
Josh what he knew
would only make an already bad situation worse.


CJ and Toby had waited until they were alone in his office before
they discussed their
visit with Donna. The bruise on her cheek had been a jolt to both of
them. It brought the
entire situation into sharp focus. Mandy was playing a very dangerous
game, one that
could have tragic results if they didn't move fast.


 They had even convinced Leo to help them on the belief  that every
extra set of hands
helped.


The "cyber sleuths", as they had been nicknamed, were continuing to
move along with
their investigation and the staff was attacking it from a different
angle. They were trying
to document Mandy's involvement with Simmons and West. Once the
transactions were
traced back, they would need to find a way to attribute all this
chaos to Mandy.


Ainsley was furiously taking notes as they yelled facts back and
forth hoping that she
would find something she could take to a judge to convince him to
give Donna bail.


At the sound of a cell phone ringing, everyone looked for his or hers.


"It's me" Ainsley says as she flipped her phone open. "Ainsley Hayes.
Oh no. Oh no. Oh
my God. All right. I'm on my way. I'll be right there. Tell her I'll
be right there.
Goodbye."


"What is it?" Josh asked with panic rising in his voice "Is it Donna?"


"Yes" Ainsley said trying to remain calm as the whole room on full
alert." There was
apparently some kind of altercation. She is in the prison infirmary."


"I'm going with you" Josh said


"Josh..." Ainsley started but she knew it was no use.


"Look, I'm a lawyer, too. You can get me in." he turned to Leo and
said "I'm sorry Leo
but I quit."


Leo waved him off. "Josh, this isn't the time."


"But White House policy forbids...."


"Forget policy right now Josh just go"


"I'll work something out" Ainsley said "I'll make sure you get to see
her Josh."


And with that they disappeared out the door almost at a dead run.



Sunday
12:50 PM
DC Jail


Ainsley had been in whispered conversation with the warden since they
arrived. It
seemed innocent enough but Ainsley had a look in her eyes Josh had
never seen before. It
almost seemed as if she was threatening him. Maybe claiming that his
guards were
negligent in allowing this to happen. Josh really didn't care what
her argument was. He
just hoped she was successful because he had no intention of leaving
here without seeing
Donna. Suddenly, Ainsley moved toward him and said "Let's go". Josh
didn't need to be
asked twice and followed her immediately.


As they approached the infirmary, Josh saw Donna through the window.
She was lying
on the bed with her head propped up and her eyes closed. He felt the
anger welling up in
his chest but he knew that he had to control it. Donna needed him to
remain in control.


He approached the doctor who was studying her chart. Ainsley was
right on his heels.


"How is she? Is she alright?" he demanded


"Who are you?" the doctor asked.


Ainsley stepped around Josh and extended her hand. "Ainsley Hayes
doctor. I'm Ms
Moss's attorney. Mr. Lyman is also an attorney." She said hoping the
doctor didn't push it
any farther. "How is she?"


"Her condition is stable. She has a fairly serious concussion but we
don't believe that her
skull is fractured. We will be watching her carefully for the next 48
hours. She has four
broken ribs and an assortment of contusions. Her jaw was dislocated
but we have put it
back in place. I am  waiting for more x-rays to come down from the
lab. I believe that she
has a broken left arm and several broken fingers on her right hand.
She will be in a
considerable amount of pain for awhile but I have every reason to
believe that she will
make a complete recovery."


Josh could barely breathe. He hadn't taken his eyes off Donna's still
form the entire time
the doctor had been speaking. Suddenly he wheeled around to face the
warden.


"How did this happen? How did you allow this to happen? Don't you
have guards in this
place? Don't you..."


"Josh" Ainsley cut in and stopped him before he went any
further "This wont help
anything."


"I want her seen by a specialist. I want her moved to the hospital."
Josh said


"We can't allow her to be moved at this point" the warden
said "However, I'll certainly
help in any way I can if you would like her to be examined by an
outside physician."


"That's exactly what I want" Josh snapped


"I'll make the arrangements right away" Ainsley said


Josh's eyes turned back to Donna "Can I see her?"


"She's not conscious right now" the doctor countered.


"It doesn't matter" Josh said "I need to talk to her. She'll hear me."


The doctor shot a questioning look at the warden who said "Two
minutes Mr. Lyman"


"Thanks" Josh said moving immediately towards the door to Donna's room


"Hi sweetheart" he whispered as he lifted her hand to his mouth and
planted a kiss in the
palm. "I only have a few minutes. I just wanted to tell you that I
love you. We all do.
We're gonna get you out of here, I promise. You just hold on, okay?
I'll be back to get
you soon. I love you, Donna" he said as he planted a soft kiss on her
lips.




Sunday
2:35 PM
Josh's apartment


Josh charged back into the apartment barely containing his fury with
Ainsley close
behind.  


"How's Donna?" Sam asked


"Not good" Josh said "The doctor said he expects a full recovery but...
I mean she
looks...and she's so pale.." Josh couldn't continue and CJ enveloped
him in a tight
embrace.


"She has a concussion" Ainsley said "broken ribs, a broken arm and
some broken fingers.
Her jaw was dislocated but it has been repaired. They are watching
her closely for signs
of brain swelling or internal bleeding"


"Oh God" CJ whispered into Josh's shoulder "Poor Donna"


Sam couldn't stand to hear anymore. The descriptions of Donna's
injuries were more
than he could take. He liked to think he had a good legal mind. And
yet he couldn't find
anyway to help Donna. He couldn't think of any strategy to get her
out of this horrible
situation that threatened to destroy her. And Sam knew for certain
that anything that
destroyed Donna would surely destroy Josh too. There had to be a
solution. Sam just
prayed he could find it before it was too late, before Donna ended up
damaged beyond
repair either physically or emotionally.


Toby moved back to the piles of paperwork stacked on every flat
surface in the living
room. His jaw was clenched in anger. He knew that he needed to keep
himself together.
He needed to channel his anger. He had never felt this helpless in
his entire life. He was
wordlessly searching through Donna's bank records for some kind of
clue when CJ
approached him.


"We have to find a way out of this" CJ said angrily. "We have to get
Donna out of there
before something even worse happens."


"Don't you think I know that CJ" Toby snapped "Don't you think it is
driving me crazy
that we know who is behind all this and can't prove it? Don't you
think that I would give
anything to be able to fix this right now? Don't you think I would
trade places with her
right this second so she didn't have to endure any more pain?"


"I'm sorry Toby. I know you would. I'm just so angry I could spit.
Donna and Josh have
been through so much in the last year. They deserve a little
happiness. I'm just afraid that
this is going to set them both back."


"Here's what we have to do" Toby said loudly enough to get the
attention of everyone in
the apartment. "We all have to find a way to channel our anger to a
more positive end.
We need to buckle down and find what we need to free Donna by any
means necessary.
Because the sooner we do that, the sooner we can make sure Mandy gets
what's coming
to her."


With that, he went right back to sorting through records  and was
soon joined by Sam and
CJ.


Ainsley thought to herself how wrong her initial impression had been
of these people.
She was proud to stand beside them. Proud to call them friends. She
felt as though she let
them down by not getting Donna out on bail. She made up her mind to
find a way to get
Donna home.


Josh surveyed all of the activity around him. He knew how lucky he
was to have such
good friends, and how lucky Donna was. He knew that between all of
them, they would
be able to find a way to bring Donna home. He just prayed that it
wouldn't be too late.
That Donna would still be whole both physically and emotionally. He
was scared because
he felt her slipping away from him. She was trying to be strong but
this situation was
quickly becoming unbearable. He had to get her out of that place.
Bring her home where
he could take care of her and help her heal. Nothing he had ever
accomplished in his life
would mean anything if he couldn't save Donna.




Sunday
8:00 PM
Mandy's Hotel Room



"Excellent. That's even better than I hoped for. I guess the girls
got a little carried away.
Tell them I'll make sure they get duly compensated" Mandy said with a
laugh.


"Will do, Ms. Hampton. Is there anything else I can do for you?"


  "I'll let you know as soon as I'm ready to take the next step."


"Ok, I'll talk to you soon then."
Mandy disconnected, threw the phone on the bed, and walked to the
balcony to enjoy the
beautiful spring night. The calm of her hotel room was in direct
contrast to the frantic
activity across town at Josh's apartment.








I'm getting really tired of hiding. I've been trying to keep a low
profile ever since I got
back into town. It's best if Josh doesn't know I'm here-yet. I'll
reveal myself when the
time is right. When I've won. But for right now I have to be content
to watch from a
distance. To watch the slow and steady decline of Miss Donna Moss.
And to watch
Josh's reaction when he realizes that his white horse has come up
lame this time. I always
knew that hero complex of his would get him into trouble.  







Monday
6:30 AM
Prison Infirmary


Donna awoke, scared and confused by her surroundings. It took her a
moment to realize
where she was. She tried to sit up but was stopped by sharp pain in
her chest and
abdomen.


Suddenly, all of the memories came flooding back. The altercation in
the prison yard, the
doctors, the pain. She remembered hearing Josh's voice and wondered
if she had dreamt
that. She could almost feel him touching her hand. She closed her
eyes and tried to focus
on Josh-to forget the pain.


She tried desperately to push down the fear and the despair that
enveloped her. She
wanted to be strong. Josh had asked her to trust him, and she did,
but she wasn't sure how
much longer she could hang on. She felt the fists and the feet of the
other inmates in the
yard, she felt the rough hands of the guards during the body cavity
searches. She
wondered if she would ever be able to get past this. Would Josh ever
be able to love her
after this? Would he ever want to touch her again and would she ever
want to be
touched? There would always be people who believed that she was
guilty no matter what.
Would she become a political liability? Was she going to have a job
to go back to?


Oh, God. Even if she did get exonerated was her life ruined? Had
Mandy won? Was that
the plan all along?


Suddenly Donna clutched her chest, the pain becoming more intense.
Her heart was
pounding like a drum. She was having trouble catching her breath. She
searched
frantically for the call button as she felt dizziness begin to take
over. Her hands were
shaking badly, but even if they hadn't been, her injuries made
pushing the small button
difficult if not impossible. She wanted to scream-but no sound would
come out. Her
vocal cords were frozen with fear. She suddenly wondered if this was
what going crazy
felt like. Her world was suddenly a very disturbing place.


The nurse entered the room and saw Donna's distress. She left and
returned a few
minutes later with a syringe, which she injected into Donna's iv tube.


"This will help." she said


But somehow Donna had her doubts.




Monday
9:00 AM
Toby's Office


Josh had been quiet, verging on silent, since his return from the
prison last night. Toby
knew that he needed to talk about his feelings. They had all learned
the hard way what
happened to Josh when he kept his feelings bottled up. Toby
understood Josh's fears. He
knew helplessness was the worst feeling in the world for a man like
Josh-a man who was
used to being a problem solver. He picked up the phone to call
the "cyber-sleuths" for the
third time that morning. He desperately wanted a piece of good news
to give to his friend.




Monday
9:15 AM
Josh's office



Josh heard someone rap on his doorframe and looked up to see Toby
standing in the
doorway.


"Come in."


"Josh, I may have some good news for you." Toby said cautiously


"I could sure use it, Toby."


"The "sleuths" may have a lead."


Josh's head snapped up, "Really?"


"Don't get excited yet. They don't have anything concrete but they
feel they are very
close."


"How long until we know?"


"Two days-three tops."


"Oh God Toby, I hope you're right. We have to get her out of that
place."


"I know."


"I can feel her slipping away," Josh said running his hands through
his hair "And there's
nothing I can do about it. I feel utterly helpless. She was there for
me when I needed her
and now I'm letting her down."


"You're not letting her down, Josh. She knows you're doing everything
you can."


"Unfortunately, that's not enough" Josh said wryly


"Now you know how she felt after you were shot. She wanted to make
you well right
away. It almost killed her to watch you suffer through the early
stages of your recovery.
But she came to understand that she couldn't snap her fingers and
make everything
better. There was a process that needed to be followed. And now
you're finding out the
same thing. Donna is going through something very frightening, it
isn't going to
disappear overnight."


"What if I'm not as strong as her? What if I can't save her the way
she saved me? What if
I fail?"


"You won't fail, Josh."


"How can you be so sure?"


 "I wont let you" Toby stated matter-of-factly. Then he turned to
leave.


"Hey Toby?" Josh called as he reached the door


"Yeah?"


"You really are a good person, you know that?"


"Don't spread it around" Toby said realizing that this was the second
time he had been
told that this week. As soon as Donna was safely home, he thought, he
was going to have
to dispel all the myths about his nice-ness.





Monday
10:00 AM
Prison Infirmary


 Ainsley slipped into Donna's room and was immediately shocked by her
friends
appearance. It wasn't just the bruising or the cuts; it was the look
in Donna's eyes and her
entire demeanor. She looked-for lack of a better word---terrified.
Fear seemed to ooze
out of every pore in her body.


Ainsley approached the bed slowly. When she placed her hand on
Donna's arm, Donna
recoiled pushing herself as far away as she could without tumbling
off the other side of
the bed.


"Donna are you ok?" Ainsley asked, even though the answer was quite
obviously no.


"Sure, I'm fine" Donna said vacantly


"Is there anything I can get you?"


"No"


"Listen, Donna. I talked to the warden. He has agreed that it would
be best if we placed
you in isolation for a while. It will be safer for you there."


Donna stared at Ainsley, her fear growing even more intense. "I'm
going to be here for a
long time aren't I?"


"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that I think it would be best
for now"


"Okay" Donna said "Whatever you want"


"Donna, look at me! We haven't given up. We can beat this. It's just
going to take a little
time ok? Don't give up hope."


"I'm not." Donna said even though her eyes told a different story.


"I'm going to try to arrange for everyone to come and visit you as
soon as you're out of
the infirmary. Ainsley said hoping to raise her friend's spirits.


"Really? I'd like that." Donna said. Then the insecurity and fear
that she had managed to
forget for a brief moment returned. "But I know that everyone is busy-
you know-
running a country and all. If they're too busy-I understand."


"Don't do this Donna" Ainsley begged "Don't give up on us now."


"I'm not. I'm just being realistic."








Wednesday
8:00 AM
DC Jail


Two days passed before Ainsley could get the warden to agree to her
plan for a large-
scale visitation. She wanted everyone to visit at the same time,
hoping that, as a group,
they would be able to bolster Donna's spirits. It had taken equal
parts of cajoling and
threatening but the visit was finally arranged.


One of Ainsley's hard won concessions was that the visit could take
place in the
minimum-security visitation room. They would still have to deal with
a glass partition,
but at least the room offered a little more privacy.


The guard opened the door in the rear of the room and Donna shuffled
in. It was obvious
that she was in pain. But the thing that struck Josh, in fact the
thing that struck them all
was the look in her eyes. It was fear, pure and simple. There was no
escaping it. She
inched over to the chair directly across from Josh and sat down.


"Donna?" he asked tentatively "Are you ok sweetheart?"


"I'm fine." she said "Are you ok? You look tired-have you been
getting enough sleep?"


"Don't worry about me Donna. What did the Dr. say?"


"He said I'm fine. Just a concussion, no fracture."


"Donna, I still want you to be seen in a real hospital. I'm gonna
try..."


"NO!" her scream startled everyone in the room.


"Donna? What is it?"


"No hospital visits. I won't go. I won't leave here because when I
come back they will do
another...another search." she said as she struggled to hold back her
tears.


At that precise instant, Josh knew what it felt like to have your
heart break. He was
completely overcome with feelings of helplessness. He peered deep
into Donna's eyes
looking for some trace of the light that used to reside there. He
could still see it, well feel
it more than see it, but it was buried under so much fear and pain
that he wondered what
it was going to take to get it back again. Whatever it took, he knew
he was willing to do
it.


"Ok, Ok. Whatever you want." Josh said soothingly and Donna seemed to
calm a little.


"Listen Donna" Toby said stepping towards the window. He desperately
wanted to give
her something to hold on to. "The cyber sleuths think they have a
solid lead. They are
close-very close. So I just need you to hold on for a little while
longer. Then we can get
you back to work because frankly, we're all tired of trying to handle
Josh without you
and the temp pool has barricaded their door and they are refusing to
send anyone else
up."


A small played on Donna's lips.


"Do you really think I'll be back soon?" she asked earnestly.


"I know you will" Toby said trying to impart some of his confidence
to Donna


"But after everything that's been said, everything that's been
written in the paper...I'm
not sure the President will want me to come back.."


"Don't even say that" CJ jumped in "I'll handle the media. Everything
will be fine. I have
a list you know" she whispered conspiratorially "Its of all the
people who have pissed me
off by the way they handled this story. I'm gonna start at the top
and work my way down
and by the time I'm done, there are gonna be writers crying over
their laptops from one
end of this country to the other."


"Oh goody. I haven't seen CJ decimate the press corps in quite
awhile." Sam said, hoping
that his light-hearted tone might brighten Donna's spirits.


The warden came in to signal that the visit was over.


Josh leaned forward, not caring anymore about the rules, and placed
his open hand
against the glass. Donna looked at him with tears in her eyes and
placed her hand on the
other side desperately trying to feel his touch through the glass.


"I love you," he said


"I love you too"


"Hold on, Donna. I'll be back soon"







Wednesday
9:45 AM
West Wing


The ride back to the White House was silent. Each staff member was
lost in his or her
own thoughts. Each trying desperately to think of a solution that
would get them out of
this nightmare. When they finally made it back to the west wing, they
scattered.


CJ was surprised when Carol poked her head in to say that Ainsley was
here to see her.


"Send her in," CJ said


"Am I interrupting something?"


"No, not at all. I'm just getting ready for my next briefing. I
didn't expect to see you
here."


"I won't keep you. I was just here to clean out my desk."


"Have a seat"


"CJ, I just wanted to ask you about what Toby said. I mean...is it
true? Are they really
close to finding some evidence I can use or was he just trying to
give Donna some hope."


"Both I think. I know Toby's been pushing hard so I think they should
have something
soon."


"They better" Ainsley said, "I don't know how much longer Donna can
hold on."


"Listen, Ainsley. I appreciate all of the sacrifices you've made and
everything you've
done for us so far and I know this is asking a lot but...."


"What?"


"Well, you realize that getting Donna home isn't the end right?


"How so?"


"Once Donna's home and safe, I want to-no I NEED to-make sure that
Mandy gets
what's coming to her"


"Amen. Just let me know what I can do."


"Well its up to we members of the sisterhood to police our own ranks.
We have to deal
with troublemakers in our own way."


"Count me in"


"Excellent"




Toby walked into Leo's outer office and Margaret motioned for him to
go right in.


"How'd it go?" Leo asked without preamble


"Not well," Toby said as he sunk down into a chair. "Not well at all."


"Anything I can do?"


"Just help me find a way to get her out of there Leo. And then turn
your head while I
obliterate Mandy Hampton from the face of the earth."


"It really got to you didn't it Toby?"


"It's the look in her eyes Leo. Like she's drowning. Like she's
flailing away in the
middle of the ocean. And as long as she's in that place, no one can
reach her. And the
only way we can fix things is to get her out of there"


"Then that's what we have to do."


"I know." Toby said as he headed back to his office to call
the "cyber sleuths" yet again.


"Hey Toby." Leo called after him


"If you're planning on telling me I'm a nice person Leo skip it, I
never want to hear those
words again." He said without turning back to see the smile on Leos
face.




What do you know about body cavity searches? Josh asked as soon as
Sam walked into
his office.


"Why?" Sam asked nervously


"I just want to know. I mean-if the search that Donna went through
the night she got
arrested was bad enough to make her not want to leave that place to
go to a hospital for
fear of going through it again----well----I want to know Sam."


Sam bit his lip. He knew that eventually Josh would find out about
the second search and
decided it was better to hear it from him.


"Josh, sit down."


"Why?"


"Just sit down."


"What is it Sam?"


"There was a second search, Josh."


"What? When? Why wasn't I told? And why do you know about it and I
don't?" Josh
thundered.


"Calm down. I was at Ainsley's apartment when Donna called her."


"When was this Sam?"


"It was the day of the interrogation. After they brought her back
from the police station.
She knew she had to leave again the next day for the arraignment and
she wanted Ainsley
to make sure she didn't have to go through another search."


"What did she say?" Josh asked, no longer able to mask his fury


"She said that she thought they were trying to send her a message
with the second search"
Sam tried to choose his words wisely knowing that Josh was about to
blow up. They were
rough...there was bruising..."


A loud crash interrupted Sam's words as Josh swept everything off of
the top of his desk
and sent it sailing. It was quickly followed by all of the books
being tossed off the closest
shelf of the bookcase.


"What the hell happened?" CJ asked as she and Ainsley ran through the
door. They were
greeted by the sight of Sam's eyes as wide as saucers and Josh,
standing in the rubble,
looking for something else to throw.


Suddenly Toby appeared breathlessly in the doorway, not even pausing
to notice the
carnage around him.


"They did it," he said as all eyes turned to him "They found the
evidence."


"Really?" Josh asked stepping over the piles of books and papers "Are
they sure?"


"We're meeting them at Houlihan's in 30 minutes." Toby said grasping
his shoulders.
"This is it, we're gonna get her out."


"Then what are we waiting for. Let's go."


With that Josh and Toby bolted from the office with Ainsley right
behind.


"Call us as soon as you know anything" Sam called after their
retreating backs as he and
CJ leaned over to pick up the mess and try to restore order to Josh's
office.







Wednesday
11:30 AM
Houlihan's Pub


Josh looked nervously from Ainsley to the "cyber sleuth" whose name
he had found out
was Chad (no last name just Chad) and back again.


"What exactly do these records prove?" he asked anxiously.


"It's actually quite simple" Chad said with an elusive smile. "We
were able to track each
of the cash deposit records back to a single source. In other words,
each deposit was
made from the same terminal meaning that the same teller information
was used for each
one."


"What are the odds" Toby asked "that a person would use the same
teller every time they
went to a bank that size?"


"Astronomical" Chad replied "But we can actually do better than that.
We can prove that
even though these deposits occurred over a four-month span according
to Ms Moss' bank
records, they were all actually entered on one of three dates within
the last three weeks."


"What are you saying?" Josh asked.


"Someone deliberately altered the records after the fact. We have
absolutely irrefutable
proof. Now if you need to know who did it, that will take awhile
longer."


"We know who did it" Toby growled. "And believe me she will pay
dearly."


"So do you want us to keep digging?" Chad asked


"Absolutely" Toby said, "I want every single transaction from the
bank, the landlord and
the credit card companies tracked. I also want some concrete proof of
the source of all
this destruction."


"Will do." Chad said. "If you don't need anything else I'll get back
to work."


"Thanks, Chad," Toby said, "I'll be in touch."


"Thank you," Josh said standing up and shaking Chad's hand "You may
literally have
saved a life."


As soon as Chad left the table, Toby and Josh both turned expectantly
to Ainsley who
was studying the printouts that Chad had given her.


"Is it enough?" Josh asked. "Can we get her out?"


"Well, it's certainly enough to get me another bail hearing" she said
rising from her chair.
I'm on my way over to the DA's office and I'll set up a hearing from
there. I'll call you
as soon as I have the particulars.



Wednesday
4:45 PM
DC Courthouse


Josh sat nervously in the last row of seats in the courtroom. He was
both thankful and
amazed that Ainsley had managed to get a bail hearing so quickly. He
was grateful to her
for the way she had come through for Donna. Josh knew how hard it had
been for
Ainsley to quit her job at the White House but she had done it
without a word of
complaint. He made a mental note to talk to Leo after this was all
over about hiring her
back; she had certainly proven her loyalty to all of them. Not bad
for a republican, he
thought.


Finally the bailiff called the case and Josh's heart was in his
throat.


"People vs. Donna Moss docket number 45230A"


"Didn't I already hear this one?" the judge asked.


"Yes sir," Ainsley said seizing the reins "We are here to reopen the
matter of bail. I
believe that the new evidence before you, your honor, casts serious
doubts on the
prosecutions claims that Ms Moss has a large hidden stash of cash
which she will use to
escape. The evidence in fact proves that no such cash ever existed."


"We're not trying the case here Miss Hayes, we're only talking about
bail. And why isn't
your client present?"


Ainsley continued undaunted. "My client, sir, is currently recovering
from serious
injuries she received inside the prison walls and is therefore unable
to attend. I realize
that we are not trying the case here, however, the prosecution
contends that Ms Moss is a
flight risk because she has access to a large cash reserve and the
fact that such a reserve
never existed means the risk of flight moves from likely to minimal."


"I'm sure that your honor is aware that the defendant is employed at
the White House. I
would say that she would therefore have connections which would still
make her a flight
risk." The prosecutor said


"Oh come off it" Ainsley said losing just a bit of her southern
charm "I hardly think that
the president is going to smuggle her out of the country on Air Force
One."


"Still...." The prosecutor began but Ainsley cut him off


"Your honor. We do not agree with the prosecutions assessment of Ms
Moss's flight risk
but we are willing to agree to electronic monitoring in order to ease
their mind."


"Your honor, we still contend...


This time it was the judge that interrupted the prosecutor. "Miss
Hayes makes a good
case here counselor. So I'm going to try to make both of you happy.
Miss Moss can have
bail under the following conditions: 250,000 dollars cash or bond and
24 hour electronic
monitoring with daily "in person" check-ins. Anything else?"


"No sir" the prosecutor mumbled.


"No sir, thank you sir" Ainsley beamed.


"That's all then" the judge said


Ainsley turned around and bounded to the back of the courtroom and
gave Josh a huge
hug.


"We did it," she said jubilantly.


"Thank you" he said brushing back a tear. "Now how do we go about
getting her out?"


"You arrange for the bail. Its 250,000 cash or bond. That means
you'll have to come up
with 10% in cash and collateral for the rest. Can you do it?"


"No problem. I'll find a way."


"Good. While you're doing that I'll go and make the arrangements for
the electronic
monitoring. We should be able to get her out first thing tomorrow
morning."


"Ok then, lets get to work" Josh said


"Hold on Donnatella, for just a few more hours," he whispered as he
ran out of the
courthouse towards his car.




7:00 PM
Mandy's Hotel Room


"What do you mean she's being released on bail?" Mandy screamed into
the phone.


"Just what I said." The voice on the other end answered. "They
presented new evidence
to the judge, and he thought it was compelling enough that he granted
her bail."


"What new evidence?" Mandy asked with just a hint of fear inching
into her voice.


"I'm not sure but I'll let you know as soon as I find out."


"You do that-and soon" Mandy hissed as she hung up the phone.


So Josh, she thought, you're a little smarter than I gave you credit
for. You've managed
to score a temporary reprieve for the fair maiden. But I haven't come
this far just to give
up when I hit a little snag. I just need to do a little revising of
my plan. But trust me-this
isn't over.








I can't believe that little witch made bail. New evidence they said.
That's why she got
out---new evidence. What the hell evidence could they have found? I
covered my tracks
well. I know I did. This no time to panic. There is no way I can ever
be tied to any of this.
In fact, I've managed to find the perfect dupe. Poor, stupid Larry.
He called me last night
and told me that he wanted no part of the plan anymore. He said that
he was starting to
have second thoughts. He claimed that he didn't realize how serious
this was, he thought
that I was just going to give Donna few minor inconveniences. HA.
Well, this is what it's
like when you play in the big leagues Larry. And if you try to back
out now, this whole
thing is going to land right in your lap. Because you see, I've
finally found a use for that
little piece of info you gave me about the great anniversary flower
debacle of 2001.
Donna may be getting out today, but I have one more trick up my
sleeve before she goes.
They say it pays to know people in high places-but sometimes it pays
to know people in
low places too.






Donna was stunned when Ainsley called her with the news that she was
getting out. The
judge had granted her request for bail. She had no idea where Josh
had come up with that
much money but she was grateful that he had. All she had to do now
was be fitted with an
electronic monitoring device and she could be on her way. She wasn't
happy about the
idea of someone being able to track her movements 24 hours a day, but
if it meant getting
out of this horrible place, she would find a way to handle it.


Two unfamiliar guards led her to a room, ostensibly to be processed
for release. She saw
the electronic "ankle bracelet" lying on the table. It was smaller
than she thought it would
be. Maybe it would become a fashion statement. She smiled as she
wondered how it
would look with three-inch heels. Suddenly one of the guards crossed
to the door and
locked it. Donna immediately felt uncomfortable.


"What's going on?" she asked backing away.


"Didn't they tell you?" the guard asked not even bothering to attempt
to hide a smile.
"We have to do a search to make sure that you aren't smuggling any
contraband out of
the prison. We have had prisoners who tried to hide electronic
scramblers on their body
so that we couldn't calibrate the monitoring equipment correctly. We
have to be sure we
do this right because we certainly don't want to lose track of you
Blondie."


"No you can't do this" Donna cried. "I'm going home today. I want to
see my lawyer.
You can't do this."


"As long as you're still a prisoner here, we can do anything we want.
Now please remove
all of your clothes or I'll do it for you." the guard said, taking a
menacing step forward.


Donna sobbed as she fought to get her clothes off. Her hands were
shaking and the splints
on her fingers made dealing with the buttons almost impossible. She
couldn't lift her
arms over her head because of the pain from her broken ribs.
Suddenly, the guard stepped
forward and yanked the prison jumpsuit from Donna's shoulders. Donna
screamed out in
pain. All she could think of was that Josh was waiting for her, she
was going home, and
she couldn't believe this was going to happen again.


"Maybe if you're good," the guard leered "I'll send you flowers next
year to
commemorate our anniversary, but I'll make sure that I get the date
right."


Donna's head swam. How did the guard know about the flowers Josh had
sent her?
Suddenly it was all very clear. MANDY. She was behind this. Somehow
she had
arranged for this search. Donna began to shake uncontrollably.
Someone in the west wing
must have told her about Josh's flowers. But who?


The search itself was almost unbearable and made worse by the fact
that Donna knew
that it had been arranged simply to hurt her. She winced as the guard
roughly patted her
broken ribs. Donna's already bruised and battered body couldn't stand
any more
punishment. She cried out several times unable to stand the pain.
When the guard forced
her to lean over and grab her ankles, she very nearly passed out from
a mixture of pain
and humiliation.


As the brutal search continued, the guard leered at Donna. "Well, I
guess we won't be
seeing you around here anymore Blondie. Unless of course you're
starting to like this"


After the search was over, the guard tossed Donna a paper bag; inside
were the clothes
that she had been wearing when she was arrested and said, "Put these
on."


 Donna opened the bag. The sight of Josh's Harvard t-shirt made her
cry even harder. She
stared at the wall, sobbing, until a technician entered the room to
attach the ankle
bracelet. Donna didn't hear a word he said as he explained the rules
she had to follow.
She just took the papers that he handed her and continued to stare at
the wall.
**********************************************************************
**
Ainsley stood waiting impatiently for Donna at the release desk.
After what seemed like
an eternity, she spoke to the officer on duty.


"Could you kindly tell me what is taking so long?" she asked


The guard peered at Donna's paperwork and said, "It looks like they
have her scheduled
for a final search and the attachment of the monitoring device. She
should be out any
minute."


"What do you mean a final search?" Ainsley voice rose sharply "That
can't be."


"Its policy ma'am." the guard said. "We do a final search to make
sure that nothing is
being smuggled out of the prison. We also make sure that the prisoner
is not hiding any
item that may be used to block the signal of the monitoring device.
If we don't get the
frequency right the first time, the device is useless. I assure you
ma'am, it's all perfectly
legal."


"Get me the warden RIGHT NOW." Ainsley screamed trying to fight the
rising panic in
her stomach. She had to stop this. She couldn't let it happen again.
Not now, not when
they had finally arranged for Donna to be free. The warden had
promised that this
wouldn't happen. Ainsley still knew very little about Mandy Hampton,
but somehow she
knew that she was behind this. Her rage burned white hot as she vowed
revenge against
this woman she had never even met.


As the guard at the desk picked up the phone to summon the warden, a
door down the
corridor opened and Ainsley heard the sound of a Donna sobbing. She
wheeled around
and saw Donna emerging from the room in near hysteria. Ainsley ran to
her. She tried to
speak to Donna, tried to comfort her but she was battling tears of
her own. She looked at
the guards standing in the doorway and said, "you haven't heard the
last of this. I assure
you of that."


Ainsley led Donna to the desk where the guard shoved an envelope
containing her
personal effects at her and said, "you'll have to sign for these".


Donna could barely hold the pencil let alone sign her name. Between
her taped fingers
and her wracking sobs, her signature came out as nothing more than
chicken scratch.
Ainsley placed her arm around Donna's shoulder and said, "Let's go".



Josh and Sam had been pacing outside for over 45 minutes. Josh was
just about to go in
to see what was taking so long when the door opened and Ainsley and
Donna appeared.
Josh tensed immediately when he saw Donna crying. Crying wasn't
really an apt
description, her entire body was shaking and she seemed to be having
trouble catching
her breath. Josh ran towards them with Sam hot on his heels.


He placed his arm around Donna's shoulders and felt her
recoil. "Donna honey, what's
wrong?" he said softly into her ear. She turned to look at him and he
was overwhelmed
by the fear and sadness in her eyes. There was a fresh trickle of
blood coming from one
of the cuts on her lip.


"What the hell happened?" he asked Ainsley through clenched teeth.


"They did another search," Ainsley screamed no longer able to control
her own anger
"those sons of bitches did another search. I swear I didn't know they
were doing it until it
was over. I would have stopped it. Somehow I would have stopped it. I
had an agreement
with the warden. Mandy had to have gotten to someone. It had to have
been her."


Sam surveyed the people in front of him and knew he had to make a
quick decision
before the situation became totally unmanageable. He could see that
Donna was clearly in
terrible condition. The last thing she needed right now was to be
confronted with any
more anger. He mentally agreed with Ainsley's assessment, this stunt
had Mandy written
all over it. Worse than anything, Sam wanted Mandy to feel some of
the pain that he saw
in Donna's eyes right now. However he had more immediate problems to
deal with, as
both Josh and Ainsley seemed to be bordering on losing control. He
stepped over beside
Josh and placed one hand on Ainsley's shoulder and one hand on
Donna's elbow. He
cringed when Donna let out a small yelp. He pulled his hand back. He
wasn't sure
whether he had caused her physical pain or emotional pain but either
way, it broke his
heart. "Its ok, Donna." He said as soothingly as he possibly
could "It's gonna be ok now,
we're gonna take you home."


"You two take Donna to my place." Josh said through clenched
teeth. "I have something
to take care of. I'll meet you there as soon as I can."


"Josh wait" Sam said grabbing his friends arm "this isn't going to
help anything".


"I'm gonna find Mandy, Sam-and I swear I'm gonna make her pay."


"You can't do that Josh."


"I have to Sam. I can't let her get away with this."


"She wont get away with it-you have my word." Sam said trying to find
a way to deal
with the blind fury in his friend's eyes.


"Listen to me Josh" Sam said in a stern tone that he couldn't
remember ever using with a
friend before. He grabbed Josh's shoulders forcing him to look him in
the eyes. "Listen to
me" he repeated "This is it buddy. This is the big test. This is
where we separate the men
from the boys. Donna needs you now. Are you gonna be there for her,
or are you more
concerned about Mandy and the idiots inside that building. Who is
more important Josh?
You have to decide. Because you're not gonna get two chances to make
the right
decision."


"But look at her Sam. I can't let Mandy get away..." gesturing towards
Donna and
battling with his own rage at the same time.


"She won't." Sam said. "I promise. But we will take care of her
later. Right now Donna
is our main concern."


"You're right. I'm sorry. I just lost my head for a minute." Josh
said returning his
attention to Donna.


 He wrapped his arms lightly around her shoulders and steered her
across the lot to Sam's
car. Sam unlocked the doors as they approached. Josh opened the back
door and helped
Donna inside. She was still sobbing and shaking. Josh winced as he
saw her gingerly sit
down. He secured her seat belt before carefully closing the door. He
went quickly around
to the other side of the car and slid in beside Donna as Sam and
Ainsley got into the front
seat. Donna was doubled over with her head on her knees. She was
still sobbing and was
taking in breath in large gulps. Josh leaned his head close to her
ear and spoke in tones as
soothing as he could muster. "Its ok, Donna. You're safe now. Try to
breathe deep. Try to
calm down angel. You're making yourself sick. Please try to calm
down."


"I'm sorry, Josh." she sobbed. "I'm sorry."


"SShhhhhh. You have nothing to be sorry for. Everything is going to
be ok now. I know
it might not feel like that right now but it is. I promise."



They rode in silence for several minutes, everyone in the car
struggling to regain control.
As they made their way toward Josh's apartment, he leaned over and
stroked Donna's
hair. "I love you, Donna." he said softly  "I'm sorry about this, but
I won't let anyone
hurt you ever again. I promise. I'm so sorry this happened angel."


Donna raised her head up off of her knees and looked directly into
Josh's eyes. " This
wasn't your fault Josh, you have nothing to apologize for." she
said, "You promised me
that you would get me out and you did. This isn't your fault. I love
you, too. I just
can't...I mean right now...it just hurts so much." she said dissolving
again into wracking
sobs.


"I know." Josh said "Its ok. You just tell me what you need. I'll
take care of it for you."


"I don't know what I need," she whispered


"Well then we'll figure it out together," he said




By the time they reached the apartment, Josh and Ainsley were calmer
but only
marginally. They helped Donna, who was still crying but had managed
to calm down a
bit, inside and sat her on the couch. Josh immediately sat down
beside her. He wanted
desperately to take her in his arms but he had a sense that being
touched right now was
not what she needed. Ainsley appeared with a glass of water and some
pills that the
prison doctor had prescribed for the pain.


"Take these," she said, "they'll make you feel a little better."


Donna reached for the pills but was unable to grasp them because of
the splints on her
fingers. Her frustration was evident.


"Let me help you." Josh said as he reached up and gently placed the
pills in Donna's
mouth. He lifted the water glass to her lips as she drank just enough
to get the pills down,
wincing at the pain that the newly opened cut on her lip was causing.


"Those should help her get some rest." Ainsley said to Sam


Sam hoped that was true because he knew that Donna needed to sleep,
but he also knew
that both Josh and Ainsley needed some time to pull themselves
together. Ainsley
signaled to Sam to join her on the terrace. Once there, she pulled
out the cell phone and
began angrily punching numbers.


"I'm not letting this go, Sam." she said, "This is unforgivable".


 It only took her a moment to get CJ on the line. She quickly
recounted the mornings
events growing angrier by the minute. "We need to start avenging the
sisterhood." Sam
heard her say "and we need to do it right now. I need you to get me
all available
background info on Mandy- I have some digging to do."


As Ainsley disconnected the phone she turned to Sam and said. "My
daddy always said
you should know your enemy well-and that's exactly what I intend to
do."




"Are you tired, angel?" Josh asked. "Maybe you should lay down and
try to get some
sleep." He hoped that sleep might give Donna some much-needed relief
from the pain.
Even if it was only temporary.


"Ok." Donna said curling up into a very tight ball on the corner of
the couch.


"Wouldn't you be more comfortable in bed?" Josh asked


"I don't think so."


"Ok, I'll get you a pillow and a blanket."


"Thanks."


Josh returned with her pillow, the one he had been sleeping with
since her things were
delivered to his apartment, and a blanket. He lifted her head gently,
trying hard not to
hurt her and placed the pillow underneath her. He then covered her
with a blanket.


"Josh??" she said sleepily, trying hard to fight the effects of the
pills she had taken.


"What?" he said.


"Is everything really going to be ok?"


"I promise." he said meaning it with every fiber of his being. "Now
you sleep, and I'll be
right here when you wake up".



When Donna awoke several hours later, Josh was sitting in the chair
across from her
thumbing through a file. She watched him for a moment before he
glanced up and
realized that she was awake.


"Feeling better?" he asked dropping the file and kneeling on the
floor in front of her.


"A little." she said trying to sit up but being stopped by both the
pain and the dizziness.


Josh placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her and felt Donna's
entire body tense.


"I'm sorry." he said, "did I hurt you?"


"No" she said "its just..."


"What?"


"Oh God. I'm sorry."


"What? Tell me."


"Its just that.... every time I feel a hand on me... I get taken right
back to those horrible
searches and..." Donna trailed off as she tried to hold back the tears.


"Its ok, sweetheart. Its just gonna take some time that's all."


"I'm sorry, Josh- I know that you're not them but..."


"I understand, Donna." he said, "We'll find a way to work this out".


Josh looked deeply into Donna's eyes searching for some sign of which
direction he
should go. He wanted so desperately to do or say the right thing. He
knew that the old
Donna spirit was still in there, he could feel it, he just needed to
find a way to help her get
it back. A knock on the door broke the spell. Josh looked out the
peephole to see Toby
and CJ carrying a pizza box and a six-pack of beer. He opened the
door and welcomed
them, at the same time shooting them a look that clearly said that
Donna was not yet in a
party mood. Sam had already filled them in, so they were prepared.


Donna rose from the couch and tried to welcome them with a smile. She
knew that they
had worked very hard to get her released and it was important to her
that they realize how
much she appreciated it. She knew how lucky she was to have such good
friends.
Unfortunately, her fear and anger were preventing her from allowing
herself to feel the
comfort that they wanted to give her.


 She began to feel an increasing sense of panic as the noise level in
the apartment rose but
she kept reminding herself that these were her friends, not the other
inmates at the jail.


Soon they were all settled comfortably in the living room. CJ noticed
that Josh was sitting
very close to Donna on the couch, but was avoiding touching her as
much as possible.
She gave him credit for understanding. It was going to be a tough
road back but at that
moment, when she saw that Donna's comfort was more important to Josh
than his own,
she knew that they would find a way to make it through. She looked
over at Toby and
when their eyes met, a small smile crossed his lips and she knew that
he was thinking
exactly the same thing. 'He really is a nice person' she
thought 'Even if he won't let
anybody see it.'


Josh went into the kitchen and returned with a can of soda for Donna.
He knew that she
shouldn't have a beer because of her pain medications. He had managed
to scrape up a
straw from somewhere, probably left over from a takeout meal long
forgotten. He retook
his seat on the couch and held the can out towards Donna.


"Thanks." she said


"No problem." he said not removing his hand from the can when she
grabbed it between
hers, but rather casually leaving it there to steady the can while
she took a drink. He then
placed the can on the table and handed her a piece of pizza, which
she refused. She knew
that she couldn't possibly eat it without help and she refused to be
fed like a child.


"You need to eat something," Josh said


"I'm just not hungry now-maybe later." she said


She rose unsteadily off the couch and said, "I'm going to use the
powder room. I'll be
right back."


A few minutes passed and Donna called for CJ, who stood up and bolted
back to the
bathroom.


"Everything ok?" she asked as she slipped in the door.


"I can't get these sweat pants retied." Donna said as two tears
slipped down her face.


"No problem." CJ said. "We'll get you fixed right up."


When the women returned to the living room, Josh and Toby were both
sitting in an
awkward silence. They were both dealing with the same guilt, even
though neither one
knew of the others feelings. They were each thinking that they should
have done
something sooner. They should have found a way to keep Donna out of
jail altogether,
and then she wouldn't be suffering like this. They noticed Donna's
red eyes but neither
one commented.


Donna couldn't believe what was happening to her. She had worked so
hard to win these
peoples respect and now she was reduced to being like a three year
old in front of them,
unable to complete the smallest task without help.


"Donna," Toby began " Leo and the president would like to see you as
soon as possible,
maybe even tomorrow if you feel up to it".


"See me?? For what? Are they going to fire me?" she asked unable to
hide the fear in her
voice.


"No." Toby said, "It would be a cold day in hell before I'd let you
lose your job over a
bitch like Mandy. They just need to discuss the special arrangements
for your electronic
monitoring while you are inside the White House".


Donna automatically looked down at the intrusive black box around her
ankle and
attempted to pull the leg of her sweat pants down.


"Special arrangements?" she asked.


"Yes." Toby answered. "For security reasons, the signal on your ankle
bracelet will be
jammed when you are inside the White House".


"Does that mean I cant go back to work?"


"No, but it means that special arrangements have to be made. The
President himself
called the judge and worked out the details. I'm not exactly sure
what they are but I'm
sure the he will explain it to you when he sees you."


"Along with all pertinent trivia related to the subject." CJ snorted
trying to lighten the
mood.


"Was there any special time he wanted to see me?" Donna asked


"He said that he could fit you in first thing in the morning if you
felt up to it."


"I'll be there."


"Are you sure Donna?" Josh asked "I think it might be a little soon.
Maybe you should
wait until Monday."


"No I'm sure. The sooner I can get back to my normal life-the better.
Besides I didn't
say I was coming back to work-I mean-look at me-I can hardly type. I
just want to
try to get back to my normal routine ASAP."


"Ok-but its gonna be a short day. And if you get tired, you let me
know."


"Deal."



After a few hours, Toby and CJ departed for home to try to get much-
needed good nights
sleep. They were both glad they had come though. They had needed to
see Donna, to
convince themselves that she was in fact home. To see that the tide
had turned and that
Mandy was no longer calling the shots. They both knew that they would
somehow need
to take an active role in her recovery. But as they looked at her and
saw the destruction
that Mandy had caused, each of them began to formulate thoughts of
revenge.


 Josh carried the dishes to the kitchen and threw the empty bottles
in the recycling. Then
he came back in and sat down beside Donna.


"Tired?" he asked knowing that she needed to catch up on her sleep.


"Kind of." she said "But what I would really like is a nice hot
bath." Donna couldn't help
but remember the humiliation of the guard watching her while she took
showers. It would
be nice to have a little privacy.


"Ok." Josh said remembering the box marked bathroom from her
apartment. " I even
know exactly where all that stuff you use is."


"Stuff?"


"You know-all that girly stuff."


A small smile crossed Donna's lips. "How did all of my stuff get
here?" she asked
noticing for the first time the stacks of boxes in the hallway.


"I had it brought here because your smarmy landlord was threatening
to throw it out on
the street."


"Did you pack it up?" she asked.


"No I hired a company."


Donna blanched at the thought of perfect strangers going through her
belongings.


"Is that ok?" he asked eyeing her warily " I would have done it
myself but I just couldn't
find the time. Between going through the records trying to find some
evidence and trying
to keep up with work...."


"It's ok." Donna said, "Don't worry about it." but she made a mental
note to wash all of
her clothes as soon as she got a chance.


"Ok-I'll run a bath for you." he said.


As the hot water began to flow, Josh added the contents of a bottle
and watched as the
bubbles filled the tub. He turned around and saw Donna standing in
the doorway behind
him. Her hands were crossed over her chest. She looked very ill at
ease. She seemed to be
waiting for him to leave before she entered the room.


"I'll be in the living room if you need anything." he said looking
down.


"Thanks." she said


After a few minutes, Josh heard Donna struggling. He hesitated at the
door before
entering.


"Can I come in?" he said trying to respect her privacy. Then he heard
her softly crying
from the other side of the door. He poked his head in and saw her
sitting on the edge of
the tub. Her sweat pants were thrown over the towel rack and she was
struggling to get
her socks off. Her fingers had swelled from the activity of the day
and were unable to
remove the remainder of her clothing. Josh froze momentarily not
exactly sure what to
do. He took note of the helpless look in her eyes and knew exactly
how she felt. It was
the same way he had felt after the shooting. He knew he needed to
find a way to help her
without making her feel even worse.


"I can't even get my stupid clothes off so that I can take a bath
myself" Donna spit out
angrily.


Josh reached behind her and shut off the water, which was threatening
to overflow. Then
he carefully knelt down in front of Donna and removed her
socks. "It's just going to take
a little while." he said "This is your first day home, don't put too
much pressure on
yourself." Then he took Donna's hand gently and stood her up. He
proceeded to remove
the remainder of her clothes as gingerly as possible and without
breaking eye contact. He
then steadied her while she stepped in to the tub and sank down in
the relaxing water.


"Thank you." she said turning her eyes to the wall.


"No problem," he said "just call me when you're ready to get out. I
don't want you to
slip."


Tears stung Donna's eyes. She hated being this helpless. She was used
to being the strong
one, the caregiver. She hated feeling weak and out of control. She
laid her head back and
wondered when this nightmare was going to be over. By the time water
began to turn
cooler, Donna's muscles had loosened up considerably. She managed to
get out of the tub
herself and put on Josh's robe. She emerged from the bathroom and
almost ran straight
into Josh who was leaning against the wall just outside the door.


"You scared me." he said as she crossed the room and stood against
the opposite wall.
She looked down and noticed that her hands were trembling. "Please
don't do that
anymore."


"Is something wrong?" he asked


Donna's tears began to fall again. 'God, I'm sick of crying she
thought to herself.' "The
shower in the prison didn't have a curtain on it." she said suddenly
needing to try to share
the horror of her ordeal with him. "There was a guard standing right
outside of it
watching the entire time I took a shower. It was awful." she said


" I'm sorry." Josh said,  "I didn't know. I just wanted to be close
in case you needed me.
I'll never do it again. I'll respect your privacy, I promise."


"Thanks" Donna said. She wanted to so badly to reach out and hug him
but she just
couldn't bring herself to do it. She knew that Josh was only trying
to help. He was really
being very sweet. She wondered if he had felt this helpless after the
shooting. He had
been so angry during those first few weeks and she wondered if that
anger was anything
like the anger she was feeling now. Was it fueled by the same kind of
feelings of
helplessness?


"Well the bath did the trick." she said "I'm really tired now."


"Good." he said "I put the boxes marked clothes in the bedroom so
maybe we can find
you a pair of pjs."


"Um...I really don't want to wear any of that stuff until I wash it."
she said " I'm
probably overreacting but I can't stand the thought of a strangers
hands all over my
things...." She said choking back tears.


"I'm sorry. I never thought of that," he said. "Do you want me to
grab you some sweats
to sleep in?"


"That'd be great thanks," Donna said as Josh went to the dresser and
tossed a pair of
sweats on to the bed.


"Um ...Josh, "she said nervously". I can't...I mean I just don't feel
comfortable.... I
mean its not you but..."


"I understand," he said moving to stand beside her but not touching
her. "I've already put
my stuff out on the couch. You sleep in here where you'll be more
comfortable."


"I'm sorry," she said looking down at the ground.


"Not a problem." he said "You'll call me if you need anything?"


"Absolutely." she said as Josh retreated to the living room.


Josh waited a while until it sounded as though Donna had managed to
get settled and he
took his pillow and blanket and stretched out on the floor in front
of the bedroom door.
He wanted to be as close as possible in case she needed him. When
sleep wouldn't come,
he began formulating a plan to get back at Mandy.



Donna arose in the morning, still looking haggard but having
definitely been helped by
her best nights sleep since the ordeal began. She dug through the
boxes of her clothing
carefully looking for something to wear to work. She found a spring
sweater set and a
pair of pants that were still sealed in dry cleaning bags and so she
decided to wear those.
She tried valiantly to dress herself but once again her sore and
swollen fingers didn't
want to cooperate. Josh helped her willingly, trying to be as
nonchalant as possible. She
tried to control it, but every time his hand brushed her skin she
flinched. She just couldn't
get the memory of the guard's hands out of her mind.


"I'm sorry," she said "its not you, its me."


"Please stop apologizing." Josh told her "You just tell me what YOU
want, what YOU
need."


"I just wish I could turn time to before this all started."


"Me too." Josh said as he finished tying her shoes. "Are you ready to
go?"


"As ready as I'll ever be." she said as Josh picked up his backpack
and they moved
towards the door.




Donna perched nervously on the edge of a chair in the oval office as
Leo and the
president explained the internal monitoring procedures to her. She
would be under the
direct supervision of the assigned security guard. She would need to
report her
movements to him as well as check in with him personally several
times a day. Under no
condition could she leave the premises without him knowing. Donna
felt like she was
back in prison. The thought of someone having to know her whereabouts
every minute
disturbed her.


"I know these rules seem harsh Donna," Leo said "but it's the only
way. Without these
concessions, you wouldn't be able to come back to work."


"I understand," she said somewhat bitterly.


"Look Donna," the president spoke softly as if addressing one of his
own daughters
"what happened to you isn't fair, and it certainly wasn't your fault,
but we need to just
play by the rules until we can get the whole thing straightened out."


"I know sir, and I appreciate all your help. Both of you." she said
indicating Leo "I'm just
grateful that you aren't firing me."


"Firing you?" the president asked incredulously "Where would you get
a crazy idea like
that?"


"Well I just thought that after everything. I might be..you know..a
liability."


"You are no such thing, Donna and I don't want to hear anymore talk
like that. This is all
gonna work out fine."


"Go home, Donna and enjoy the weekend. Get some sleep and spend some
time healing.
Start back fresh on Monday morning-if you're ready." Leo said


"Ok thanks, I think I will"


Just then, Mrs. Landingham poked her head in to say that the senior
staff was waiting
outside. As they filed in, Donna pulled Josh aside and told him that
she was going to go
back to the apartment.


"I'll call and check on you in a little bit." Josh said as she turned
to go




Josh called two hours after Donna got home with the news that there
was a hostage
standoff at a courthouse in Illinois. He didn't know how long it was
going to take to
resolve but it looked like it might be awhile. He said that he was
sending someone by to
pick up a few things.


"Do you want me to ask Bonnie or Ginger to come by and stay with
you?" he asked.


"No that's ok, I'll be fine." she assured him thinking that she could
actually use some
time to herself. "But will you promise me that you'll try to get a
little rest?" she added


"I'll do what I can," he said. "I'll call you as soon as I get a
chance."


"Ok."


Donna sat in the apartment mentally replaying the events of the last
few weeks in her
head. Was there anything she could have done differently? Was there
any way she could
have seen it coming? How could she not have seen the depth of Mandy's
hatred?


Josh finally arrived home late Saturday night and found Donna sitting
in the darkened
living room crying. He rushed to her side.


"Donna, are you ok? Did something happen?"


"I ran out of laundry detergent." she sobbed.


Josh smiled. "Well Donna, that's hardly worth crying over. We'll just
go the store and get
some more tomorrow."


 "That's just my point." she said "I went to the store to get it, and
I was almost in the
checkout line before I realized that I couldn't do it. I don't have
any money, I don't have
a bank account, I can't write a check and all of my credit cards have
been cancelled. I
can't even go to the store and buy laundry detergent." she sobbed.


Josh continued to smile, mostly a smile of relief that this was an
easily fixable problem.


"Do you think this is funny?" Donna said, "Does this amuse you?"


"I'm not laughing at you." Josh said suddenly sensing that Donna was
taking this very
seriously. "I'm just glad that it wasn't something more serious you
were upset over."


"Well it may be a simple thing to you but it isn't to me. It took me
all morning to get the
laundry unpacked and separated. I worked really hard at it. Then I
realized I can't even
go to the store and buy detergent!!" she said as her voice escalated.


"I know, Donna. I'm sorry that I laughed." Josh said trying to calm
her all the while
trying to push down his own feelings of dread. The old Donna-his
Donna-would never
have been so thrown by such a minor detail.


"Listen," he said,  "When you get your next check, we'll open a new
account for you so
you'll have a checkbook. We'll get your credit cards straightened out
eventually. And in
the mean time, I'll give you a little money to tide you over."


"You don't have to do that." Donna said, drying her tears.


"I want to." Josh replied. "And you just let me know if there's
anything else you need
ok?"


"Ok." Donna said with a sigh that said more than her words ever could.




Donna was feeling a bit better by the time she walked into the west
wing on Monday
morning. Josh left the apartment very early so she came in alone.
Though she had
managed to get dressed by herself, she was wearing no jewelry because
she absolutely
couldn't handle the clasps by herself. She wore a small amount of
makeup, which had
taken her nearly an hour to apply.


She walked out to the bullpen to find Larry standing beside her desk.
He took one look at
the bruises on her face and the cast on her arm and all of the color
drained from his face.


"Larry?" Donna asked, "Are you ok?"


"Fine" Larry said as he fled the bullpen without a backward glance




Donna glanced at Josh's schedule and saw that he was conducting a
tour for the
Georgetown interns right before lunch. She noticed that the rest of
his day was fairly light
and she thought that she might be able convince him to go home early
since she was
certain that he hadn't got much rest all weekend.


A shadow crossed over Donna's desk and she looked up to see a
uniformed guard
standing over her. Donna recognized him; she had seen him around the
grounds many
times. Despite that, her heart was racing and her hands began to
shake. He introduced
himself and said that he would be in charge of monitoring her
movements while she was
in the White House. He assured her that he anticipated no problems
and didn't want to
intrude on her work activities. He asked her to simply make sure she
let him know when
she intended to leave the building etc... Donna could barely hear him
speaking over the
roaring in her ears. There was something about his uniform that sent
her mind flying back
to those guards...those horrible guards.


"Are you all right?" he asked


"I'll be fine," she said




By the time that Josh returned from his meeting, Donna was sitting at
her desk trying to
regain control. He motioned for her to follow him into his office and
closed the door
behind them.


 "Are you ok? Are you sure you're ready to come back?"


"I'm sure," she said, giving him a small smile to show that she
appreciated his concern.
The writing in your schedule book will be even more distinctive than
usual for a while
though. At least until I get these stupid splints off."
"Don't worry about that." Josh said crossing to stand in front of her
but being careful to
give her some space "If there's anything you can't do, anything you
need help with, you
let me know ok?"


"Ok." She said switching quickly into assistant mode "The interns
will be here any
minute. Is there anything you need me to do while you are giving them
the tour?"


"You could get me some research on the transportation thing if you
feel up to it."


"Ok."


"But don't over do it Donna. Take it slow."


"Yes boss."


Donna was sitting at her desk when it began. Toby and CJ were
standing just outside of
her office arguing over how to best handle a rogue senator from
Texas. Josh and Sam
were showing a large group of interns the way the bullpen system
worked. The noise
suddenly became overwhelming. All of the sudden Donna's heart began
to pound like it
was going to explode. Her hand went instinctively to her chest. She
wanted to get away-
needed to escape but she couldn't make her legs work. Suddenly she
couldn't catch her
breath. The room began to spin and Donna felt sick to her stomach. CJ
was the first to
notice.


"Donna are you ok?" she said "Donna-say something!!"


Donna tried to speak but no words would come out.


"Donna!!" CJ said loudly enough that she caught Josh's attention
across the room. Josh
looked up, saw the fear in Donna's eyes and immediately ran to her
side."


"Donna, are you ok?" he asked in a panicked voice but there was still
no answer.


"Let's get her in your office." Toby said trying to keep the
situation from spinning out of
control.


"Get a Dr." Josh said to Carol as he lifted Donna from her chair and
steered her towards
his office.


Once inside the office, away from the crowd and the noise, Donna
seemed to calm down
a little. She said she was all right but Josh still insisted that the
staff Dr. check her over.
Sam managed to pass the interns off to a junior staffer and made his
way over to Josh's
office in time to hear the Dr. say that he believed Donna had
suffered a panic attack.


"Has this ever happened to you before?" the Dr. asked


"Just once," Donna admitted  "the morning I woke up in the infirmary."


"Well it's not an unusual occurrence for a person who has been through
what you've been
through" the Dr said. "Still, its nothing to take lightly. If it
happens again, you will need
to see your physician immediately."


"Thank you Dr. I will"


After the Dr left, the office was silent for a few minutes then CJ
spoke.


"Donna, I think you need to talk about what happened to you in
prison. You can talk to
us, or you can talk to a professional but you definitely need to talk
it out. You're holding
it inside and it's starting to eat you up."


"I'm fine CJ."


"You're not fine Donna. That's quite obvious."


"It's just the noise. It threw me that's all."


"Well noise is something you can't escape around her Donna" Toby
said, "if you're
having trouble dealing with it, then we need to do something about
it. Maybe talking to
someone would be the best thing."


"I told you, I'm fine! Can we please just forget this and get back to
work?"


"No, Donna" Toby said, "We can't just pretend everything is normal.
It isn't"


"So you're saying that you think I can't handle it?" Donna asked as
tears began to flow
down her cheeks "you think I can't do my job anymore?"


"No one said that" Sam said stepping in to try to restore calm. "We
just think you might
need to talk to someone. Let's not forget the lessons we learned
after Rosslyn. Holding
things in only leads to trouble Donna. Were just trying to head it
off at the pass."


"What about you?" Donna wheeled around and faced Josh "Do you think I
need help
too?"


"I think that you are very frightened right now Donna. And I want to
give you what you
need but I'm just not sure what that is. I just don't want you to be
in this much pain
anymore. I've been in that place Donna and I know how lonely and
scary it is. I want to
help you get out of that place. And if I can't get you out-I want to
find someone who
can."


"I'm going home," Donna said turning on her heels. "Obviously you
don't think I can do
my job so I may as well leave."


Josh chased after her and caught up with her in the hallway.


"They---we----all of us-----we're only trying to help you Donna. We
all want you to feel
better. I'll do anything to make you feel better. I just need you to
figure out what you
want so you can tell me"


"I understand that Joshua, but right now I just don't feel like I can
talk to anyone."


"I felt that way too Donna. But once I talked to Stanley, things
started looking up. I want
things to start getting better for you before you put your hand
through a window?"


"I appreciate that."


"Good, let me grab my stuff and I'll take you home. After this
weekend I deserve to get
out of here early."


Donna felt somewhat silly by the time she arrived back at work on
Tuesday. She knew
that the others were only trying to help her. She had very little
time to think about it
though.


The day became a swirl of activity when a few key house members
decided to withdraw
their support of the president's newest crime initiative. Sam, Toby
and Josh all spent the
biggest part of the day running back and forth to the hill trying to
marshal support.


 They found themselves in the mural room at 10 PM comparing notes.
They all felt
confident that they would be able to get the votes they needed and
the mood began to
lighten, another crisis averted.


Josh and CJ were bickering over the way that the entire situation
should be spun to the
press. Toby was watching CNN trying to gauge the opposition's
response to the day's
events. Sam began singing some silly show tune to try to annoy Toby.
Toby responded
by increasing the volume on the TV. Suddenly Sam grabbed the remote
and began
flipping quickly through all of the channels. He began taunting Toby
by holding the
remote just out of his reach. CJ joined the fray yelling, "Boys, lets
show a little decorum"
and trying to wrestle the remote away from Sam.


Finally, Donna snapped. "Stop it. Just stop it." she yelled as she
began picking up cans,
folders and anything in sight and throwing them at Sam and Toby  "Why
do you always
have to act like children? Can't you just behave like adults for
once? I am so tired of
this..."


There was a dull thud as an unopened can of soda made contact with
Sam's head. His
hand flew up to feel the spot and when he pulled it back, he saw a
small spot of blood. He
turned to stare at Donna.


"What is happening to you?" he asked incredulously


"What is happening to me?" she screamed  "Do you really want to know
what is
happening to me?" she said as she resumed the search for something
else to throw. Her
eyes landed on the remains of the Chinese food that had eaten for
dinner. Suddenly, she
began throwing the containers at the wall.


 Josh jumped up and grabbed Donna's arms but she continued to flail
away.


"Calm down Donna" he said but she continued to rage on unabated.


Finally Josh had to restrain her in a bear hug." Donna stop" he said
over and over "they
were only kidding. Stop" but she continued to struggle to get free.


CJ stepped directly in front of her. "Donna, you need to calm down.
Everyone here is
trying to help you. Just tell us what we can do."


"We want to help you" Toby said standing up "but you have to tell us
what you need."


Donna returned her eyes to CJ. "They can't possibly understand," she
said indicating the
men in the room. "They can't know what it feels like to have every
inch of your body
violated by total strangers. They can't know how it feels to have
your breast squeezed so
hard that they end up bruised. They can't know what its like to have
a stranger stick their
entire hand into the most intimate corners of your body. To have
swelling and bruising so
bad that you can't sit down. To know that the whole event is being
looked on as a source
of amusement. You say you want to help me? Well how come you couldn't
help me
then? How come you couldn't help me to avoid those searches? Where
were you when
those guards had their hands all over me? How am I supposed to get
over that CJ?" she
asked, begging for an answer. "How am I ever supposed to forget
that?" Donna said as
she collapsed in angry sobs.


All three of the men in the room were stunned. None of them had ever
stopped to
consider the physical realities of a body cavity search. They
suddenly realized that what
Donna had been through amounted to rape, and it had happened to her
three separate
times. They would never know what she had felt like during those
searches. But each of
them could see how deeply it had affected her and each wanted nothing
more than to take
away her pain.


"You just don't understand. You have no idea what it was like" she
said breaking free
and fleeing out the door and towards the ladies room.


A silence hung over the room, everyone trying to deal with what had
just happened.


"We have to get her some help" CJ said "and I mean NOW, Josh. She
can't get past this
alone."


Josh was having trouble speaking. He was still trying to come to
grips with Donna's
anger and her fear. He didn't know how to fix this. He didn't know
what to say. She was
right in that he would never be able to know how she felt during
those horrible searches.
He had to find someone who could help her through this.


 "This is bigger than any of us knew, Josh." Toby said, "She looked
like a caged animal.
I've never seen that much fear in one person's eyes before. We need
to get her some
help."


"Josh, I love Donna. We all do." Sam said. "And that's why we are so
worried about her.
We need to take care of this before she really hurts someone-or
before she really hurts
herself."


Sam's words hung ominously in the air.


"I'll talk to her about it tonight" Josh said grabbing his things and
turning to go


Donna was in no shape to discuss seeing a therapist. She stared out
the window of the car
and sobbed all the way home. As soon as they entered the apartment,
she collapsed on the
bed without a word and was sound asleep in no time. Josh sat on the
sofa all night
contemplating his next move. He decided that he would call Stanley in
the morning and
get Donna an appointment. She might resist at first but he knew that
it would be the best
thing for her.



When Josh and Donna arrived in the bullpen the next morning they were
greeted by
complete silence. Donna felt every eye in the place watching her for
any sign that she
was about to have another meltdown. Leo appeared outside of her
cubicle only minutes
after they arrived.


"Donna. My office. Now." Leo said.


Donna turned and looked at him.


"NOW." he repeated.


Josh began to walk down the hallway towards Leo's office but Leo
stopped him with a
glare. "I want to talk to her alone." he said


Josh began to protest but quickly realized it was no use. "Please
Leo, take it easy on her.
I'm gonna get her an appointment with Stanley as soon as I can."


Once they were inside his office, Leo turned to Donna and his voice
softened a bit.


"Donna, I heard what happened last night. I don't want you to think
that anyone was
tattling on you, they are simply concerned. You need to get yourself
some help," he said.
"I can't allow anything like that to ever happen inside this building
again. I want you to
take some more time off. Do whatever you need to do. If you want to
talk, I'm here. If
you need professional help, I'll find someone for you. But you need
to do something
Donna. I don't want you back at work till you've done something."


"Are you firing me?" she asked


"I hope it doesn't come to that" Leo said solemnly "but I can't have
you working here in
your current condition. I think maybe you should consider an
inpatient care facility."


"What?" she screamed.


"Just for an evaluation, Donna. Just so you can get a handle on this
thing."


"Fine" Donna said as she fled the office. She didn't even bother to
return to the bullpen
but rather headed straight for the door. She headed off down the
street not having any
idea where she was going-and not really caring.


She wasn't sure how long she had been running when she finally found
herself in a little
park. Her feet hurt and she was looking for a place to sit down. The
monitoring device on
her ankle banged into the bench and she suddenly remembered that she
had left without a
word to the security guard. She wondered if anyone was looking for
her. She sat down on
the bench and buried her head in her hands. She had no idea what to
do next. She was
suddenly unable to see any options. Leo thought she was crazy. Sam,
CJ, and Toby
probably did too. She didn't even want to think about what Josh
thought of her after last
night. They had barely spoken a word since the incident. Maybe they
were all right-
maybe she was crazy. Maybe they would all be better off if she wasn't
around anymore.
She was desperately trying to clear her head and figure out what her
next move should be
when she looked up and couldn't believe who she saw. Standing almost
right in front of
her was ----MANDY.


"Hello Donna" she said flatly.


"Wh..wh..What are you doing here?"


"Why Donna, you don't seem happy to see me!!!" Mandy said in a mock-
wounded tone


Donna stood her ground." Why are you doing this to me? What did I
ever do to you?"


Mandy threw her head back and laughed derisively." Don't play
innocent with me" she
said. "I knew my days were numbered as soon as you walked into that
office. All of the
sudden it was Donna this and Donna that. Everyone thought that you
were so refreshing
and so wonderful and so delightfully quirky."


"What are you saying Mandy? How could you have been jealous of me?
You had
everything. An education, power, influence and a man who loved you"


"Josh never loved me. We had a relationship yes, but it was never
love. And he barely
noticed me after you arrived."


"That's not true"


"Oh but it is. And deep down you know it. I worked hard to be a
player in politics. I
thought I'd finally made it. I was going to have the ear of the
president and a major role
in his administration. But you took that all away from me. And now
I'm going to take
everything away from you"


As Donna looked at Mandy, she couldn't believe how cold her eyes
were. It was as if
something inside of Mandy had died. Donna recoiled at the thought
that her eyes might
someday look like that.


Suddenly, like being hit by the proverbial lightning bolt from the
sky, it all became
perfectly clear to Donna. Mandy was only winning because Donna was
letting her. She
was playing right into Mandy's hands. She was letting her anger;
fear, frustration and
confusion cloud her own better judgment. CJ, Sam, Toby and Leo
weren't the enemy.
They were her friends. They had fought hard to get her out of jail.
They cared about her
and they wanted her to be happy. They were only trying to look out
for her best interests.
She probably did need to see someone-someone who could help her find
her way out of
all this fear and anger.


 And then there was Josh. She loved him with all her heart and yet
she continued to keep
him at a distance. She had been doing everything she could to push
him away ever since
she had gotten released and he had been nothing but patient and
supportive. She had
waited her whole life for someone to love her like that. She realized
with amazing clarity
that she had a long way to go to get back to normal,  but running
away from her friends
and the man she loved was definitely taking things in the wrong
direction.


Donna looked back at Mandy who was still talking, then turned and ran
back in the
direction off the White House.


They had searched the west wing top to bottom to no avail. There was
no sign of Donna.
They were desperately trying to convince the security guard to give
them more time
before he reported her missing.


 All of the sudden, they heard a commotion and turned to see Donna as
she came sailing
across the bullpen, tears streaming down her face and directly into
Josh's arms. He was
momentarily shocked by the move but quickly wrapped his arms around
her.


"Its ok." he murmured in her ear "its ok."



She pulled back but left her arms wrapped around his neck. "I'm so
sorry" she said " the
words tumbling out of her mouth like a waterfall " I shouldn't have
shut you out.
Shouldn't have pushed you away. I was so confused. There is just so
much pain and so
much anger. I didn't know how to deal with it. I'm still not sure I
know how. I know that
I need to talk to someone-a counselor of some kind- but I also know
that it will be easier
if I let you help me."


He looked into her eyes and to his great delight; he saw that the
light was back. It wasn't
full strength by any means but it was back. He knew that Donna was
ready to fight and
that she was determined to win. He pulled her back into his embrace
and said, "I love you
Donna. Everything is gonna be ok."


"I love you too," she said, crying tears of happiness and relief.


Suddenly, she turned to Sam, Toby and CJ. "I owe you all an apology"
she said, "I'm
sorry for the way I've been acting. I should have had as much faith
in you as you had in
me. I'm so so sorry."


"Its ok." CJ said wrapping Donna in a warm embrace  "We were just
worried about you."


"I know."


Donna turned towards Toby and said, "I appreciate everything you've
done for me. You
deserved better treatment. Can you ever forgive me?"


"It's already done. You can see the right path now and that's all
that matters." Toby said
opening his arms and giving Donna a nervous hug." Now that that's out
of the way" he
growled " I will be reverting immediately to the nasty cynical man I
used to be."


"Sam" Donna said taking his hand and looking sadly at the bruise on
his head. "thanks so
much for everything you've done. You're a good friend and I'm sorry
if I don't tell you
that enough."


"Seeing the light starting to come back to your eyes is all the
thanks I need," he said
as he kissed her on the forehead.


"Where's Ainsley?" Donna asked. "I need to thank her too"


"She's working on a bit of a project," Sam said casting a nervous
glance at CJ. "She'll be
by to see you later.


"Ok."


"So," Josh asked pulling Donna back in his arms, and pressing his
forehead to hers, "Not
that I'm complaining but what brought on this change of heart?"


"I saw Mandy in the park today" Donna said


"WHAT????" they all said in unison




Mandy's Hotel


I can't believe that little witch walked away from me! I was right in
the middle of a
sentence and she just turned around and ran. Who the hell does she
think she is? I saw the
look in her eyes when she came in to the park and saw me-it was pure
fear. God, I love
that look. The one that tells you that you are in charge because the
person you are looking
at is too scared to challenge you. But that wasn't the look she had
on her face when she
left. She looked like she had just realized something. Like a light
bulb had just gone on. I
wonder what the hell was going on in that little blonde head of hers.
Well, since my
presence here isn't a secret anymore, I guess it's time for me to
prepare to confront Josh
and whomever else he might have dragged in on his little project. Oh
goody-this should
be interesting!!








OK Fine. I know that I may have made a slight tactical error by
approaching the little
witch in the park. But I just couldn't resist. You know what I mean?
I just wanted to see
the look in her eyes. Up close. The panic and the disappointment. And
I did see that, for a
few minutes. But then everything changed. A whole different look
cropped up and I have
to say that I can't exactly put my finger on what it was. But,
whatever it was, it won't
last. I didn't get into this battle to lose it. I still have a lot of
fight in me. So if Blondie
thinks she's in the clear, she's sadly mistaken. I just need to drop
back a little and rethink
my strategy. But I'm not worried, I still have the upper hand.




CJ looked at her watch as she hurried towards the door of Josh's
apartment. She had
promised to meet everyone there as soon as possible but a press
briefing, which ran long,
had held her up. As she rounded the corner and looked down the hall,
she saw Ainsley
about to knock.


"Hey, what's up?" she asked.


"Not much. I've just been going over all of the information you gave
me about Mandy."


"Find anything interesting?"


"Not yet, but I know it's there. I can feel it." Ainsley said as she
knocked on the door.


"You can feel it?" CJ asked with a smile. "I thought lawyers needed
something more
concrete than feelings to go on."


"Ok." Ainsley chuckled "Let's chalk it up to women's intuition."


As Josh opened the door he heard them say in unison "Long live the
sisterhood". He just
rolled his eyes and motioned for them to come in.




The scene in the living room brought a smile to both of the women's
faces. Sam and
Toby were sitting, relaxed and comfortable, over a slew of Chinese
takeout containers.
Josh returned immediately to his place on the couch next to Donna,
who was eating an
egg roll, which she was managing to hold on to despite the splints on
her fingers. It was
good to see everyone so relaxed for a change.


Ainsley grabbed a plate and a fork and dug into the Kung Pao chicken.


"Hungry?" Sam asked with a smile


"Bite me, Sam." Ainsley shot back.


"Hey!! You've been spending too much time with CJ!!"


"Long live the sisterhood." Ainsley laughed


"Amen." Donna added.




Donna leaned back against Josh, as he placed his arm lightly around
her shoulders. The
noise level in the apartment was rising but she kept reminding
herself to breathe and to
remember that these were her friends. The feelings of panic, while
still present, were no
longer threatening to overwhelm her.


 As soon as everyone had settled in, she recounted her meeting with
Mandy in the park.


"She really didn't say that much. It was more the look in her eyes.
They were empty and
ice cold. I've never seen pure hatred before but I have now. I've
never seen anything like
it. It was quite scary, really." she said as her voice broke,
remembering the way she had
felt in the park, talking to Mandy. Josh squeezed her forearm
reassuringly.


"Did she admit anything to you about what she had done?" Toby asked.


"Not directly." Donna said. "All she really said was that I had taken
her job away from
her. She said the President was her big chance to be a major player
and that I had taken
that away from her by forcing her out. It really didn't make any
sense."


"Well, what she's doing certainly doesn't make any sense so I'm not
sure we should be
looking for logic in her actions." Sam said


"She didn't threaten you, did she?" Josh asked worriedly.


"No." Donna said, smiling at the concern in his voice.


"Regardless," Toby said "I still think it's best if you observe extra
caution until Mandy
gets what she has coming to her. Don't go anywhere alone etc...."


"Okay, I'll be careful." Donna promised


"So..." Sam spoke up "Speaking of getting what she deserves, where do
we stand on
that?"


"I have a meeting with Chad tomorrow to go over what he has found so
far." Toby said,
"Then we will make a decision as how to proceed from there. It's only
a matter of time
but I just want to make sure we do this right every step of the way.
No way I'm letting
her slip through our fingers."


Sam glanced at CJ and Ainsley who were both staring intently at their
plates. "Does the
sisterhood have anything to report?" he asked with a barely concealed
grin.


"Not yet but we're working on it." Ainsley said. "We need a good
codename though. You
know..Operation.....??"


"Why do you need a codename?" Toby asked derisively.


"All good operations have a codename." Ainsley countered. "We need a
good one. I'll
think about it and let you know what I come up with."


"We'll be waiting with baited breath." Toby growled as everyone else
in the room
chuckled.




Sam gathered up a few dirty dishes and carried them to the kitchen.
Donna excused
herself and followed him.


"Sam?" she said as he stood at the sink with his back to her.


"What?" he said turning around.


"I wanted to say again how sorry I am for...well for...my behavior the
other night." She
said pointing to the bruise on his forehead as tears sprung to her
eyes. "I really don't
know what came over me."


"It's okay, Donna. Don't worry about it. I know that you were under a
lot of stress. I
should have been more sensitive to that. I'm the one who should be
sorry."


"No." she said. "It wasn't your fault. I just couldn't get past the
anger and the pain. I took
it out on you when it wasn't your fault at all."


"That's ok." he said, "I'll tell you what, I'll make you a deal".


"What?"


"I'll volunteer to be the target of your anger anytime if it helps
you to feel better. If you
need to get some things off your chest-I'm your guy. You can yell at
me, you can
scream at me-----just stay away from the full soda cans ok? Empties
only!!"


"Deal." Donna said with a smile.


"It's good to see you smile again." Sam said sincerely dropping an
arm around her
shoulders.


"It's good to smile again," Donna said as they returned to the living
room to join the
others.




After everyone left for home, Josh carried the dishes and the empty
takeout containers to
the kitchen and sat them on the counter.


"I'll take care of this stuff tomorrow." he said with a yawn


"Tired?" Donna asked.


"A little." he shrugged "I think everything is just finally catching
up with me".


"You need to get a good nights sleep."


"We both do."


"Josh..." she said hesitantly. "I feel like I had a real breakthrough
this afternoon in the
park, but I'm still not ready to...."


"I understand." he said, "Don't worry about it. I'm just gonna tuck
you in and then I'll
sleep on the couch."


"I could sleep on the couch." she said "I feel bad kicking you out of
your own bed."


"It's not a problem, Donnatella."


"Thanks."


Donna went into the bathroom and slipped into Josh's worn Yale t-
shirt and a pair of
boxers. Even though she had washed all of her own pajamas, she still
enjoyed sleeping in
Josh's clothes.


"Are you sure you don't want me to take the couch tonight?" she asked
as she reentered
the bedroom.


"Positive".


"Thank you Josh," she said looking deeply into his eyes. "Not just
for sleeping on the
couch but for understanding, for being there, for everything."


"You're welcome," he said wrapping his arms around her
waist. "Anytime."


Josh was so relieved to see the light back in Donna's eyes. There
were moments
over the last few weeks when he was worried that he would never see
it again. He found
himself completely hypnotized. He leaned forward and placed a gentle
kiss on her
lips. He closed his eyes, reveling in the feel of her lips on his and
thought how he could
stay right here, in this moment, forever. Donna wrapped her arms
around his neck. The
kiss quickly deepened. After a few minutes, Josh reluctantly pulled
away. He knew that
Donna wasn't ready, either physically or emotionally, to escalate
their relationship. The
last thing he wanted to do was rush her into something she wasn't
ready for. He was
willing to take it as slowly as she needed to.


"I love you.," he said placing his forehead against hers but not
removing his arms from
her waist


"I love you too." She sighed.


"Now let's get some sleep" he said turning to pull back the covers on
the bed.


Donna climbed in and Josh pulled the comforter over her. He leaned in
and gave her a
kiss on the forehead.


"I'll be in the living room if you need anything." Josh said as he
turned out the lamp on
the bedside table.


"Okay." she said.


Within 10 minutes, they were both sound asleep.




6:30 AM
Josh's Apartment


"What time is your appointment with Stanley?" Josh asked for the
tenth time.


"9:45."


"And you're sure you don't want me to go with you?"


"Positive."


"Ok, but you'll call me as soon as you're done right?"


"I promise."


"Be careful. Remember what Toby said about taking extra precautions."


"I'll call a cab, Josh and I wont leave the building till I see it
out front."


"Ok-I'm not trying to be a nag but...."


"I understand. Now get to work before you're late for the staff
meeting."


"Slave driver."


"That's right."


"I love you," he said leaning in and kissing her on the lips.


"I love you too. Now go." Donna said literally pushing Josh out the
door. He stood in the
hallway for a few minutes until he heard Donna latch the locks and
then he walked down
the hallway towards the elevator, happier than he had been in weeks.




6:45 AM
Sam's office


Sam's head jerked up at the sound of a knock on his door. He thought
he was the only
one in this early on his end of the building.


"Come in." he said eyeing the door curiously.


"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Larry asked hesitantly


"Sure, Larry. What's up?"


"Well-it's about everything that's been going on lately...with Donna."


Sam suddenly sensed the edge in Larry's voice and asked, "Do you know
something
about what's been going on?"


"Yes" Larry said in a voice barely above a whisper. "In fact, I'm
pretty sure I contributed
to it. But I certainly never knew it was going to go this far when
she contacted me."


"When you say "she" I assume you mean Mandy?"


"Yes." Larry said sheepishly


Sam listened as Larry spilled out the details of his initial meeting
with Mandy. How he
thought it had been a coincidence when he had run into her the night
that they had tried to
fix the speech for the correspondent's dinner. How she had invited him
to breakfast at an
all night diner across town. How they had spent the night gossiping
about what had
happened in the White House since her departure. How she had asked
nonchalantly about
many people including Josh and Donna and how he had recounted the
story of their
argument earlier in the night over the flowers."


"Did she tell you what she was planning?" Sam asked unable to hide
the anger in his
words.


"Not exactly." Larry said staring at the floor.


"She said that she wanted to have a little fun, to pay Donna back,
she didn't really say
what for. She asked me if I could get her some information from
Donna's personnel file
like her social security number and her date of birth."


"And you did?"


"I never guessed that she was gonna do something this serious. I
swear."


"But why?" Sam asked, "Why would you even do anything like that?"


"I don't know. I asked Donna out a few times when we first got to the
White House. She
turned me down. I guess I still hold a little grudge. But I swear Sam
I never thought it
would go this far. I'm really sorry."


"Well it's a little late for that now isn't it?" Sam said angrily as
he realized that he needed
time to think. "I think you need to take a few days off Larry."


"I'm fired, aren't I?"


"Right now, I can't even think about that. I'm going to have to talk
to Toby. I just need
you not to be here today, ok? I'll call you when I decide what I'm
going to do."


"Ok." Larry said heading for the door. As he reached it he turned and
said " Sam?"


"Yeah?"


"I am really sorry Donna got hurt."


"I believe you, but it doesn't change the fact that she did. And not
only Donna, but a lot
of other people as well."


"I know" Larry said as he turned and left the office.


 Sam pounded his fist on the desk. Larry!! One of his own employees.
He tried to decide
how and when would be the best time to tell Toby about this.




8:00 AM
The Capital Diner


Toby spotted Chad as soon as he entered the diner. He was sitting in
a booth in the back
nibbling on a bagel. Toby crossed the room and took the seat directly
across from him.


"Just coffee please" he told the waitress as she approached with a
menu.


"What have you found out?" Toby asked getting right down to business.


"Well, we're getting much closer." Chad said not disturbed at all by
Toby's brusque
manner. "We have managed to track about 50 percent of the transaction
so far back to
their source. But it isn't Simmons and West like we thought. They
only served as a
clearinghouse. The transactions seem to have originated with a
company out of New
York called Foster Group Ltd. As far as I can tell, they are pretty
much of a shell
company."


"Any idea who owns them?"


"Some big time marketing and PR firm called Lennox Chase."


Toby laughed out loud.


"Are you sure?" he asked


"About 90 %" Chad said "Is there something funny about that?"


"Just that I can't believe that Mandy was stupid enough to try to
hide this stuff behind
Lennox Chase. She used to work for them so she must have a working
knowledge of their
computer system, which helps explain how she managed to do it. But
somehow I don't
think the brass over there is going to relish the idea of being drawn
into this scandal.
Something tells me I wont have much trouble convincing them to
cooperate" Toby said
with a smile. "Do you have copies of everything you've found?"


"Yep. Here they are" Chad said handing Toby a thick stack of computer
printouts. "I'll
get the rest to you as they come in."


"Thanks a million, Chad" Toby said as he got up and through some
money on the table.
"Breakfast is on me."


"Thanks." Chad laughed "I'll get more info to you soon."


Toby smiled to himself as he walked out of the diner. This was going
to be even more fun
than he had anticipated. He was looking forward to calling the folks
at Lennox Chase.
'You've made a major tactical error, Mandy' he thought to himself,
and I'm going to take
full advantage of it.




11:50 AM
White House


Josh was surprised when he looked up and saw Donna standing in the
doorway of his
office.


"Hey," he said, "What the heck are you doing here?"


"Gee, Josh. That's the kind of greeting every girl dreams of
hearing." she said
sarcastically


"I just meant..."


"I know what you meant," she said with a laugh as she dropped into
the visitor's chair.


"So how was you meeting with Stanley?"


"Good. Really. I'm glad I went."


"So you're going back?"


"Yep."


"Wanna talk about it?"


"Not right now."


"But if you do?"


"I know where you are."


"OK" Josh smiled. He knew that dealing with what had happened to her
in prison would
be tough for Donna, but he could see that her old spirit had
returned. She was ready now
to fight the demons. He marveled at how strong she was. He was just
about to tell her
how impressive he thought she was when CJ came through the door.




"I thought I saw you come in here." She said as she crossed the room
and gave Donna a
hug. "How are you today?"


"Good thanks. I had an appointment with Stanley this morning. I still
have a long way to
go but it definitely helped."


"Great." CJ said with a smile. She was glad to see Donna taking
control of her
life again.


She suddenly remembered what she had come in for in the first place
and turned her
attention to Josh. "I just wanted to drop off this information for
you before you went over
to the hill to have lunch with Matt Skinner. I thought you might be
able to use it to
convince him."


"Thanks, CJ"


"So I guess that means you can't have lunch with me?" Donna pouted


"No, sorry I can't. I really need to try to get Matt's support on
this."


"That's ok."


"Hey" CJ piped up "I'm meeting Ainsley over at Houlihan's for lunch.
Why don't you
join us?"


"Maybe I will." Donna said actually relishing the thought of a nice
leisurely lunch out.


"Is this a meeting about Operation whatever?" Josh asked with a
smirk. "Has Ainsley
come up with a name yet?"


"Not yet" CJ said shooting Josh a warning glance "But don't jest,
Josh".


"I'm not. I swear."


"I'll see you later" Donna said moving around the desk and leaning
over to brush a quick
kiss across Josh's cheek.


"OK have fun-and be careful"


"We will."


"Good luck with Matt Skinner." CJ called over her shoulder.


"Good luck with Operation whatever." Josh called back.


"Don't mock the sisterhood, Josh" Donna warned.


Josh just rolled his eyes and watched them walk across the bullpen.





12:20 PM
Houlihan's Tavern


Ainsley was already halfway through an order of potato skins when
Donna and CJ
arrived.


"Donna!!" she said obviously happy to see her friend. "I wasn't
expecting you. How are
you?"


"Good thanks. Very good as a matter of fact."


The waitress came to the table to take CJ and Donnas drink order and
Ainsley said, "You
better bring us more potato skins."


CJ and Donna exchanged amused smiles.


"So," CJ said getting down to business "You have a very enigmatic
smile on your face
Miss Hayes. Could it be that you have discovered something?"


"Why yes, Ms Cregg. I believe I have."


"Do tell."


"Ok. But first, I've decided on a name."


"A name?"


"For the operation."


"Ok what is it?"


"Operation Porter." Ainsley said with a flourish that indicated she
had put quite a bit of
thought into the selection of just the right moniker.


"Operation Porter?" CJ and Donna said simultaneously.


"Yes. Porter. You know....that's the name of the guy Mel Gibson played
in that movie."


"What movie?"


"Payback."


"Aha. Now I get the connection."


"But that was a terrible movie." Donna said


"But Mel looked good." Ainsley offered


"True," they all agreed, "Nice eyes...nice ass...Operation Porter it is."


"Ok." CJ said, "Now that that's settled, tell us what you found out."


 "Well I've been doing a little digging into Mandy's bank records."


"Really? Where did you get a hold of her bank records?" Donna asked


"I have some powerful connections of my own." Ainsley answered


"You had Mel's twinkle right there." Donna observed


"What?"


"In your eyes. When you talked about having connections. You had that
Mel Gibson
twinkle. I think Operation Porter is the perfect name."


"Why thank you." Ainsley beamed.


"You're quite welcome."


"So," Ainsley continued. "Would you be surprised if I told you that
Mandy Hampton has
an off shore bank account in the Cayman Islands?"


"Really?" CJ said, "That's very interesting."


"Oh, that isn't even the interesting part of it." Ainsley said
positively bursting with news.


"Do tell." CJ said.


"It's a joint account. And would you like to know the other name on
the account?"


"Yes"


"Senator Lloyd Russell" Ainsley said unable to hide her glee any
longer.


"Are you kidding me?" CJ and Donna asked in unison as they both
stared at Ainsley
trying to absorb this new information.


"And there's more." Ainsley continued "Would you like to know how
much money is in
it?"


"How much?"


"7.5 million dollars!!"


"No" CJ said smiling as she considered all of the possible
implications of this news.


"Yes." Ainsley replied happily.


"Kind of makes you wonder where all that money came from doesn't it?"
Donna asked


"It certainly does." CJ said


"And more to the point, why they need to hide it offshore." Ainsley
wondered.


"I think we have a little more digging to do." CJ said. "And I think
I know just where to
start. Do you have the name of the offshore bank involved?"


"Right here." Ainsley said passing her a slip of paper. "And that's
the account number."


"Great. I have a friend at justice who should be able to help us get
some more
information."


"In the meantime, Donna, can you go through the financial disclosures
from the last few
years and find out if there is any explanation for how all Senator
Russell came into all
this money."


"Sure thing." Donna said. "As soon as I talk to Leo and make sure I
still have a job."


"You do." CJ said "Don't worry. Leo was just concerned about you. Now
that he knows
you're seeing Stanley, everything will be fine."


"I hope so." Donna said


"I guarantee it." CJ said


"Well good. Then as soon as I talk to him, I'll get right on this."


"And I am going to do a little digging in Mandy's tax records."
Ainsley said. "Something
tells me she may just have forgotten to mention any of this money to
the IRS."


"Something tells me, there may be a lot of things about this story
that Mandy has
conveniently forgotten to mention." CJ said. "And I intend to find
out every single one of
them."


"Let's toast" Ainsley said "To Operation Porter"


They all laughed as they clinked their glasses together.




Josh returned from his meeting with Matt Skinner and found that CJ
and Donna weren't
back from lunch yet. He glanced at his schedule and saw that, aside
from a few phone
calls that needed to be made, his afternoon was basically free. He
made a quick decision.


He reached his destination fairly quickly through surprisingly light
afternoon traffic. As
he approached the receptionist, he tried to think of the best way to
handle the situation.


"I'd like to see Ms. Hampton." he said


"Is she expecting you?"


"No"


"Can I tell her your name?"


"Actually" Josh said leaning in and flashing the receptionist a full
dimpled smile, "It's
kind of a surprise. I'm an old friend of hers. I'd like to just pop
back unannounced if I
can."


After hesitating for a moment, the receptionist said, "Well, I'm sure
it will be ok. It's
down that hallway, the last office on the right."


"Thanks." Josh said as he walked away.



"Come in." Mandy said in an irritated voice as she heard the knock.
She hated
unannounced visitors. Suddenly the door flung open.


"Hello, Josh" she said "I've been expecting you."


It took every ounce of strength Josh had to keep from launching
himself across the office
and strangling the life out of Mandy. He wanted nothing worse than to
wrap his hands
around her throat. To make her feel some of the pain, the fear and
the panic that he knew
Donna must have felt during those hideous searches. But he knew that
he couldn't do it.
He knew that he had to maintain control, for his sake, as well as for
Donna's.


"You were expecting me?" he asked in a measured tone.


"Of course." Mandy said turning to look out the window. "I figured
that eventually you
would have to ride your trusty white steed over here to defend the
fair maiden against the
evil witch."


"What in the hell are you talking about?" Josh asked.


She turned and lashed out at him, anger blazing in her eyes.


"Don't play games with me. You know exactly what I'm talking about.
You're only here
because of HER. You've only lowered yourself to speak to me again
because of HER.
You're just dying to be HER hero. Well, too bad. You're not going to
get that chance, I'll
make sure of it. You can just sit there and watch her go down in
flames."


Josh fought hard to control his rising anger, determined to hold his
temper. He kept
reminding himself that Mandy was only baiting him.


"Donna's not going down in flames, Mandy. You should be able to see
that. We
obviously found enough evidence to convince a judge to give her bail.
We know what
you did, and we know how you did it. It's just a matter of time until
we prove that Donna
is completely innocent."


Mandy was momentarily taken back. She was surprised by his references
to other people.
"We" found enough evidence and "We" know what you did. She had been
so sure that
Josh would want to handle this alone. Had he really allowed other
people in to help? The
old Josh, the Josh she knew, would never have admitted he needed
help. He would never
have admitted that there was any situation that he couldn't handle
himself.


"We'll just have to wait and see, Josh." she said breaking herself
free from those
troubling thoughts. "This isn't over by a long shot."


"Then let's end it, Mandy. Right here. Right now." Josh yelled,
losing his grip on his
emotions for a split second before pulling himself back
together. "Tell me what this is
really all about. Tell me what all of this pain and suffering has
been about."






Margaret wasn't at her desk when Donna entered Leo's outer office.
Through the crack in
the door, she could see him poring over files. She took a deep breath
and knocked lightly.


"Leo?" she said sticking her head in just far enough so that he could
see her.


"Donna, come on in." he said with a smile, rising and crossing over
to meet her.


"Do you have a minute?"


"For you? Anytime." He said motioning for her to sit on the couch.


Donna perched nervously on the edge of the cushion and Leo sat down
in the overstuffed
armchair facing her. She stared intently at the floor, her hands
shaking slightly.


"What's on your mind?" Leo asked attempting to put her at ease.


Donna lifted her eyes to meet Leo's. "I wanted to apologize for what
happened in the
Mural Room the other night. And also for the way I behaved yesterday
here in your
office. I know that you were only trying to help me, Leo and I'm
sorry. I overreacted. I
don't know what was going on in my head. I'm really sorry..." she said
sniffling back
tears.


"Don't worry about it. It's already forgotten." Leo said handing her
a box of Kleenex.


"I want to assure you that nothing like that will ever happen again.
I promise."


"Okay, then." Leo said. "Did you talk to Stanley this morning?"


"Yes, how did you know?"


"Josh mentioned that he was going to get you an appointment. Did it
help?"


"Yes it did. I know that this isn't going to go away overnight. I
know that it's going to
take a lot of work. But I think I'm back on the right track now. I
know that I was focusing
my anger on the wrong people, on the people who were trying to help
me. I won't be
doing that anymore."


Leo looked in her eyes and he knew that she was telling him the
truth. She had turned a
corner, and while it was still a long way back, she was at least
headed in the right
direction. With the help and support of the people who loved her, he
knew she would
make it back. Just as he had.


"Good." he said, "That's all I wanted to hear."


Donna hesitated, looking for the nerve to ask the next question.


"When would it be ok for me to....well....um.....would it be ok for me to
come back to
work?" Donna stammered, afraid that he was going to tell her that she
no longer had a job
there.


"As soon as you feel up to it." Leo said patting her knee gently.


Donna's body relaxed immediately. She exhaled deeply as she dried her
remaining tears.


"I was just worried about you, Donna. We all were. I want you to
realize that. When CJ
and Toby came to me about what happened in the Mural Room, their only
concern was
your well being. They saw that you were in pain and they wanted to
help. And when I
told you that you needed to seek treatment, your welfare was my only
concern. It was
never my intention to make you think that your job here wasn't
secure. It is."


"Thank you." she said softly.


"Anytime." he said. "Now let's get back to work."


"Ok." she smiled.


"Donna?" he said as she reached the door.


"Yes?"


"You know that my door is always open right? That you can come to me
if you need to
talk?"


"Yes I do," she said "and I appreciate it."


Donna smiled as she walked back down the hall towards the bullpen,
thinking how very
lucky she was to have these people in her life, and how close she had
come to letting
Mandy take it all away from her.





"You know exactly what it's about." Mandy hissed.


"No, I really don't." Josh said. "Why don't you enlighten me?"


"It's all about her. Donna. And the fact that she took everything I
wanted away from me.
Right when it was within my grasp, she yanked it all away. And now
I'm going to do the
same thing to her."


"What did Donna take from you, Mandy?" Josh asked no longer able to
contain his
anger. "Because the way I see it, you willingly gave it all up. You
ended our relationship,
you quit your job, you left town. How is any of that Donna's fault?"


"It's all her fault, Josh. She took you away from me and you took
everything else with
you when you went."


"Donna didn't take me away from you, Mandy." Josh exploded. "Our
relationship was
never going to work. You've said that yourself a million times. We
were like fire and
gasoline. It was only a matter of time until the explosion came."


"That's right." Mandy said crossing over to stand directly in front
of Josh. "But I was the
one holding the match. I was supposed to be the one to decide when
the explosion came."


They were standing face to face now, screaming at each other.


"So it's all about the fact that you didn't get to control where and
when the relationship
ended?"


"No it's not about that. Don't kid yourself into thinking this is all
some elaborate plan to
get back at the man who broke my heart. Our relationship was never
like that. It was
never all hearts and flowers. I needed you for something else,
something much bigger.
Bartlet was my ticket to the top Josh. My chance to be somebody
important. My chance
to make a name for myself. To be a real player. I was going to have
the ear of a president.
And everybody would know that. They would all have to go through me
to get whatever
they wanted. I was right on the threshold of feeling real power Josh.
But I needed you to
get there. Because Bartlet may have been my ticket to the top, but
you were my ticket to
Bartlet. You were my in. I knew that if it came down to the two of
us, he would keep you
around over me. I needed to keep you close so that I could stay close
to him. But the day
you met HER, it all started to fall apart."


"You can't think that's true. Not even you are that delusional." Josh
said clenching his
fists at his side.


"It is true Josh and you were the only one who couldn't see it. You
may have convinced
yourself that you took her in for purely professional reasons but you
sure as hell never
convinced anybody else."


"I'm tired of this argument Mandy. Donna had nothing to do with the
end of our
relationship. I've told you that a thousand times."


"A thousand more and I might actually believe it-more to the point
you might actually
believe it yourself."


"There was nothing between Donna and I during the campaign."


"There's been something between you and Donna from day one. But you
know what?
That isn't even the point. You could have screwed your secretary on
the side for all I
cared. I could have lived with that. But I needed you for what we
could have
accomplished professionally."


"I'm not having this argument again Mandy. That's not what I came
here for."


"What did you come here for Josh?"


"I told you-I came here to end this-once and for all."






Sam entered Toby's office just as Toby was hanging up the phone. He
couldn't help but
notice that Toby looked very pleased and wondered if now was the best
time to break the
news to him about Larry.


"Good news?" he asked.


"Indeed." Toby said making a few final notes on the paper in front of
him. "That was
Jack Harmon from Lennox Chase. He was quite surprised to hear that
one of his
companies was apparently involved in what happened to Donna. When I
told him that we
believed that Mandy was behind it, he told me a little story of his
own. One of
approximately 3 million dollars systematically pilfered from various
Lennox Chase
accounts over the last 2 years. He's faxing all of the information
they have over to Chad,
as we speak, to see if we can make any connections." Toby leaned back
and clasped his
hands behind his head. "We're close Sam. I can feel it. It won't be
long now. And I'm
going to be the one who tells her she's been nailed. I want to see
the look on her face."


"Well you deserve to enjoy that moment Toby. You've certainly earned
it."


"I just want to make sure she gets what she has coming Sam. I want to
see her pay for
what happened to Donna. She can't be allowed to get away with it."


"And she won't"


Sam cleared his throat and shuffled his feet uncomfortably.


"Was there something you needed?" Toby asked


"Actually, yes" Sam said sinking down onto Toby's couch and trying to
decide where to
begin. "I had a conversation with Larry earlier."


"Speaking of Larry, where is he? I haven't seen him all day."


"I sent him home." Sam said.


"Is he ill?"


"No."


"Then what, Sam. Spit it out." Toby said impatiently, wanting to get
to the point so he
could move on to other things.


"Larry told me this morning that he is the person inside the White
House who has been
feeding Mandy information."


"What?" Toby said, convinced that he had misunderstood Sam's
statement.


"Larry was the one who gave Mandy Donna's social security number and
personal
information. He is the one who told her about the flowers."


"When? Why?" Toby screamed.


"He ran into her the night we stayed late trying to punch up the
speech for the
correspondent's dinner. He said he had no idea what Mandy was up to,
how bad things
were going to get. He just wanted to pay Donna back for a little case
of unrequited love."


"Well, this is quite a little payback isn't it?" Toby thundered.


"I know. Look, I didn't know what to do. I sent him home and I told
him we'd call him
when we knew what our next step was going to be. I know it doesn't
mean much now,
but he definitely seemed sorry. I think Mandy really manipulated him.
I know that
doesn't excuse his behavior."


"No, it doesn't." Toby growled.


"So, what are you going to do about him?"


"I'm not sure yet. I need time to think. But the first thing he is
going to have to do is
apologize to Donna face to face. Let him look her in the eye and see
what he's done.
After that, we'll decide."


"Ok. I'll call him."


Sam walked back to his office to call Larry. He would have to get
with Donna to set up a
time for them to talk. He wasn't sure that hearing Larry's confession
was exactly what
Donna needed right now but better that she hear it from him than that
she pick it up off
the grapevine.


He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts when he entered his office
that he didn't see
Ainsley sitting on the couch.


"Hey" she said causing him to jump a foot in the air. "Sorry, I
didn't mean to startle you.
Cathy wasn't at her desk so I just let myself in. Is everything ok?"


"Yeah, everything's fine." Sam said regaining his composure. "To what
do I owe the
pleasure of this visit?"


"I just got back from having lunch with CJ and Donna and I thought
I'd stop by to see
how you were doing."


"Well, I'm better now that you're here." he said.


Ainsley felt a slight blush creeping up her face.


"So how goes Operation??. Have you come up with a name yet?"


"Operation Porter."


"Porter?"


"Yes. In honor of the character Mel Gibson played in Payback."


"OK" Sam said with a grin.


"Don't make fun of the codename Sam. I worked very hard on it. It's
completely fitting."


"Ok, I'll take your word for it. So has Operation Porter dug up
anything?"


"Oh yes, quite a bit."


"Really. Like what?"


"Like an offshore bank account with over 7 million dollars, which is
jointly held between
Mandy and Senator Lloyd Russell."


"Are you kidding me?"


"No. CJ's getting all of the details now from someone she knows at
justice."


"Well that's very interesting considering that Toby just talked to
the people at Lennox
Chase and they are missing over 3 million dollars."


"Do they think Mandy was involved somehow?"


"They do now. They are sending the information to Chad and he is
going to try to see if
he can come up with anything more concrete."


"This is great Sam. We're closing in." Ainsley said with a satisfied
smile.


"I know. This nightmare might be about to come to a close."


"I wish it was all going to be that easy, ending it I mean. I think
we're close to nailing
Mandy and exonerating Donna, but we will be dealing with the fallout
from this for a
long, long time."


"I know."


"Including the fact that I need to start thinking about what I'm
going to do for a job. It's
expensive living in DC, a girls gotta work."


Sam noticed the sad look in her eyes that she attempted to hide
behind her glib statement.


"I'm so sorry. I know how much you gave up to help Donna and I can't
even begin to
express how much I appreciate it. How much we all appreciate it ." he
said as he sat
down beside her on the couch and took her hand in his.


"I know. It's fine. I did it because I wanted to. I don't have any
regrets it's just...."


She was interrupted by a knock on the door.


"Come in." Sam said without removing his hand from Ainsley's.


"I heard you were in here, Ainsley" Leo said as he stepped into the
office. He couldn't
help but notice their linked hands. He made a mental note to tell
personnel that they were
not to hire anymore leggy blondes.  They seemed to weave some kind of
magical spell
over the male members of his senior staff. The thought that he might
some day have to
watch Toby swoon like Sam and Josh were was too much for him to
handle. 'Brunettes it
is from now on' he said to himself.


"Was there something in particular you needed from me, sir?" Ainsley
asked breaking
him out of his reverie.


"I just wanted to see how your vacation was going?" he said


"I'm sorry?"


"Your vacation. I wanted to see if you were getting the personal
problem straightened
out."


"I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you are talking about." Ainsley said,
no longer able to
mask her confusion.


"Josh told me that you needed to take some vacation time to deal with
a personal matter."
Leo said with a twinkle in his eye. "I just wondered when it might be
cleared up and
when we might be getting you back here working for us?"


"Are you serious Leo?"


"Ainsley, listen to me. As soon as you get your personal matter taken
care of, you start
right back to work here. If you want to that is."


"If I want to?" Ainsley squealed, "Of course I want to."


"Great." Leo said. "When do you think we might be seeing you back?"


"Well, if things continue down their current path at their current
speed, I should be back
from "vacation" within a week."


"Great, see you then." he said as he left Sam's office closing the
door behind him.


"I still have my job!!!" Ainsley squealed as she impulsively wrapped
her arms around
Sam's neck.


"Yes, you do." Sam said, enjoying the feel of her in his arms and
suddenly having to fight
back a very strong desire to kiss her. 'Oh yeah,' he thought to
himself. 'I definitely have a
lot of thinking to do'.





Mandy glared triumphantly.


"Well you don't have the power to end it Josh. This is between Donna
and me. It doesn't
end till I say it ends."


"I'm warning you right now Mandy. You leave Donna alone. You stay
away from her.
Because if you don't, it'll be the biggest mistake you ever made."


"Aren't you cute when you're lovesick?"


"I mean it Mandy."


Suddenly, she found herself wanting desperately to broach the one
topic that she had
promised herself she would stay away from, that she would never bring
up with him
again. Why her? Why Donna? What was so special about her? Why had she
been able to
have this effect on Josh's life that no one else could. She simply
couldn't stop herself
from asking the question even though she dreaded the answer.


 "You know there is one thing I'm curious about though. What is it
you see in her? It's
obviously not her education, her breeding, her class....what is it? I
mean there are a lot of
pretty faces in the world, why her?"


"You have no idea what you're talking about. You don't know Donna.
You don't know
the first thing about her. And I'm certainly not going to stand here
and defend her to
you."


"All I can say is---she must be one hell of a lay." Mandy said
needing to believe that
Josh's attraction to Donna was that basic-that elemental.


Suddenly Josh realized why Mandy was asking.


"I wouldn't know." he said


He watched as Mandy digested those words. Her eyes widened. She
couldn't believe it.
Couldn't believe that they had never slept together. All that
attraction-all that chemistry.
She had been so sure that they had acted upon it during the campaign.
But she could see
that Josh was telling the truth. She had always been able to tell
when he was lying.


"Oh my God." Mandy rasped. "You really do love her, don't you?"


"Yes, I do."


For some reason that she couldn't explain, that revelation rocked her
to her very core.
This wasn't a fling, wasn't some tawdry affair. Josh really loved
Donna. In a way that he
had never even come close to loving her.


"And I guess I should really thank you for making me realize that."


"What are you talking about?"


"I'm saying that there is one good thing that came out of all this
Mandy. It made me
realize how much I love Donna. I was buried so deep in denial before
any of this
happened that it's doubtful I would have ever dug my way out. And
even if I had, I'm
sure Donna would probably have given up on me and moved on long
before it happened.
So I guess I really should say thank you."


Mandy's mind was reeling. She couldn't believe what he was saying. It
wasn't possible.
He couldn't possibly mean that she had been responsible for bringing
them together.
Since the day she had met Donna, she was only focused on keeping them
apart. On
getting Donna out of Josh's life. The thought that she might actually
have brought them
closer together made her nauseous.


"Fuck you, Josh" she screamed.


Josh knew her well enough to read the look in her eyes. He had
devastated her, and he
was glad. Let the others handle the legal revenge. He had done his
part. He had come
here to see hurt in Mandy's eyes and now he saw it. He wondered why
he didn't feel bad
about it. He had cared about her once after all. But then he
remembered the look in
Donna's eyes that night in the Mural Room. And he knew that the pain
Mandy was
feeling now was nothing compared to what Donna had gone through.


He turned and walked out the door. Just as it closed behind him, he
heard Mandy begin to
throw things against the wall.





"Donna?" CJ said as she entered the bullpen. "I need to see you,
Josh, Toby, Sam and
Ainsley."


"Did you find something?"


"I think so. I have to check on a few things first. I also need you
to do a little digging for
me. Find out as much as you can about the balance in Senator
Russell's reelection fund.
Ok?"


"Sure thing."


"See if you can get everybody to my office in an hour, ok?"


"Will do."





Josh shot the receptionist a full dimpled smile as he sailed past her
towards the elevator.
He could tell by the horrified look on her face that she had heard
the screaming.


As he stepped out onto the ground floor, his phone rang.


"Josh Lyman." he said


"Donna Moss." came the reply.


"Hi there. How was lunch?" he asked


"Good. Where are you? CJ wants to see everyone in her office in an
hour."


"I had an errand to run but I'm on my way back now. I'll be there in
plenty of time."


"An errand?"


"I'll tell you all about it when I get there."


"Ok. See you in a bit."


"Donnatella?" he said, "I love you."


"Love you too, Joshua. Hurry back."


Josh found himself actually whistling as he walked through the
parking garage to his car.





"I talked to Mark Wilkins at the Justice Department." CJ said as soon
as everyone was
assembled in her office. "He was very interested to hear about the
off shore account for a
variety of reasons, not the least of which is that it is illegal for
a US Senator to be a party
to such an account."


"I would think so." Toby snorted.


"Did you find out anything about his reelection fund, Donna?" CJ asked


"Yes, I did." Donna said proudly. "As a matter of fact, within the
last week, several very
large chunks of cash have been withdrawn, ostensibly to pay
consulting fees, however, as
far as I can tell, the money never made it to the consulting company."


Josh could tell by the look on Donna's face that there was more to
the story. She had
another piece of news that she was just dying to share. He decided to
give her the opening
she needed.


"Who is the consulting firm involved?" he asked.


The gleam in Donna's eyes was blinding. "Lennox Chase," she said with
a smile.


"Amazing." Sam said. "I can't believe she thought she could pull it
off."


"Stealing from Lennox Chase and the Senator's reelection fund? How
did they think they
would get away with it?" Ainsley asked.


"Lack of confidence was never Mandy's problem." Josh said derisively.


Toby's phone began to ring and he stepped out in to the hallway so
that he could hear
better. When he came back in, he was wearing the biggest smile anyone
had ever seen
Toby wear.


"We've got her!" he said, "Dead to rights."


"Really?" Donna asked standing to face Toby. "Are you sure?"


"100%." he assured her.


Donna sat back down on the couch and wrapped her arms around Josh. As
the tears fell
down her face she said, "It's over. It's really over."


"Not quite," CJ said with a grin. "We still have to confront Ms
Hampton with the
evidence."


"Exactly." said Toby  "This is going to be the fun part".








The mood in CJ's office was jubilant. Josh and Donna sat on the
couch, arms wrapped
firmly around each other, finally allowing themselves to believe that
this nightmare might
actually be close to an end. Sam wrapped Ainsley in a big bear hug
and whispered, "We
did it, we really did it," over and over again in her ear while she
giggled gleefully. CJ and
Toby locked eyes across the office and shared a wry smile, each
understanding exactly
what the other was thinking and wanting to savor this moment. This
was what they had
all been working so hard for. This was the moment in which they knew
they had won.
Mandy would not be successful. And not only that, but she would pay,
and pay big for
what she had done to Donna.


Toby wanted the moment to last forever but he knew full well that
there was still a lot of
work to be done. "I'm going to meet with Chad to collect hard copies
of all of the
evidence he dug up." he said, "Then I'm going to call Jack Harmon
back and give him
the news. I think he will be very happy to know that we have located
the money missing
from the Lennox Chase accounts."


"Good idea." CJ said. "As soon as you get your hands on the proof, we
need to get it over
to Mark Wilkins at justice. We also need to get him everything we
have on the
irregularities with Senator Russell's re-election fund. Do you have
printed copies of the
information you dug up this afternoon, Donna?"


When she didn't get a response, CJ glanced over at the couch and saw
that Donna was
still wrapped in Josh's arms. She could tell by the shaking of her
shoulders that Donna
was crying, but for the first time in a long time, CJ was certain
that they were tears of
happiness. Josh was stroking her hair and gently rubbing her back all
of the while cooing
softly in her ear. CJ hated to interrupt but she needed the
information.


"Donna?" she asked again more softly.


"Yes?" Donna said looking up but not removing herself from Josh's
arms.


"Do you have copies of the information that you got on Senator
Russell's campaign funds
this afternoon?"


"Yes, I do." Donna said, picking up the stack of papers lying beside
her on the couch.
"All I need to do is make a few more phone calls to confirm some of
these numbers..."


"Why don't you let me do that?" Sam said gently, reaching out and
taking the papers
from her hand. "I think you need to go home and get a little rest.
It's been a long day."


"No, really. I'm ok..." Donna protested as she wiped the tears from her
face.


"Please," Sam said softly. "I want to do this. I'll make a few calls.
It's not a big deal."


"Thanks, Sam." Donna said, "I really appreciate it."


"No problem," Sam assured her.



"I need to get copies of all of the information you get from Chad
ASAP." Ainsley said
turning to Toby. "If the evidence is as iron clad as he claims it is,
I should be able to use
it to convince the DA to drop all of the charges against Donna."


"Thank God," they all said in unison.


Toby noticed that Josh hadn't said much since entering CJ's office.


"Josh?" he said eyeing his friend warily. "You've been awfully quiet
this evening. Is
anything wrong?"


"Not really," Josh began, pausing momentarily trying to decide the
best way to break the
news. "The fact is I went to see Mandy this afternoon."


"You what?" Five shocked voices asked in unison.


"I went to pay Mandy a visit," he said. "I had a few things I needed
to clear up with her.
A few things I wanted to say to her face to face while I had a
chance." Josh said.


"Is she still alive?" Toby asked with a smile.


"She was when I left." Josh smirked. "Although it sounded as though
she was hurling the
entire contents of her office against the door as I was walking down
the hall."


"What were you hoping to accomplish by seeing her? CJ asked.


"I needed to look her in the eyes and ask her why she did this. I
needed to hear her
answers for myself. And most of all, I needed to see her face when
she realized that she
had failed. That Donna was strong enough to survive and that we would
get through this
together."


Josh tightened his grip on Donna as he continued. "I also told her
that in some twisted
way, I owed her a thank you. She finally forced me to admit how I
really felt. I might
have stayed in denial about my feelings for Donna forever. And heaven
knows she
probably would have given up on me and moved on long before I wised
up."


"I would never have given up on you." Donna said as she planted a
kiss on his cheek.


Josh smiled at her, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was going. It was
kind of a spur of the
moment thing."


"That's ok," Donna said. "I understand."


"So how did she react to the news?" Sam asked.


"Well, like I said," Josh laughed, "She was throwing things when I
left."


Toby couldn't help smiling. He was glad that Josh had gotten his
chance to have his say
with Mandy, but now it was time to put the rest of the plan into
action.


"Okay then," he said. " It's time to finish the job that Josh has so
ably begun for us. Let's
get to work. We have a lot to do before morning. Ainsley, I'm on my
way to meet with
Chad, would you like to join me?"


"Definitely," Ainsley said gathering up her things and following Toby
out of the office.
"Let's go get the evidence we need so I can go to the DA."


Sam rose from the chair "I'll make these calls from my office." he
said, "I'll let you
know what I find out, CJ."


"Thanks." CJ with a mischievous grin "I have a few phone calls of my
own to make."


"Are you up to something?" Sam asked warily.


"Always." CJ said


"Long live the sisterhood" Donna said without lifting her head off of
Josh's shoulder.


Sam rolled his eyes as he left the office mumbling something to
himself about Operation
Porter.




CJ looked at Josh and Donna sitting on the couch. They both looked
exhausted. "Hey,
why don't you two call it a night? I think we have everything under
control here. Go
home and get some rest. I'll let you know was soon as there is
anything to report."


"Excellent idea." Josh said without putting up even the smallest
argument.


"Are you sure?" Donna asked, "Isn't there something I should be
doing? You are all
doing so much for me-I feel like I should be doing more."


"Nonsense, Donna. The only thing we want you to do is to take care of
yourself. So go
home, let Josh buy you a nice dinner, then just relax. Tomorrow is
going to be a big day."


"If you're sure." Donna said, secretly loving the idea of going home
and putting her feet
up.


"I'm sure." CJ said.


"Ok." Donna agreed. "But you promise you'll call if you need
anything?"


"I promise," CJ said "Now go."


Josh went to his office to collect his things and on the way back
through the bullpen he
grabbed Donna's coat and bag. Meanwhile, Donna lingered in the
doorway of CJ's
office.


"Thanks, CJ." she said "And I mean for everything. You've been a real
rock through this
whole ordeal and I will never be able to tell you how much I
appreciate it."


"No problem," CJ said, "Just defending the sisterhood."


"No," Donna said, "It's gone way above and beyond that. I don't know
how I can ever
thank you."


"No thanks needed. Now you go home and get some rest ok?"


"OK. Goodnight."


Josh came up behind Donna and slipped an arm protectively around her
waist. "Ready to
go?" he asked.


"Yep." She said as smiled up at him with a look of absolute adoration.


"Goodnight CJ," they said in unison as they headed across the bullpen
arm in arm.


"Goodnight," CJ said watching them leave with a wistful smile.







Toby and Ainsley spotted Chad sitting in a corner booth as soon as
they entered
Houlihan's. In front of him, on the table, sat a large stack of
computer printouts.
He was so engrossed in what he was reading that he didn't notice them
until they were
standing right beside him.


"Oh, hi," he said


"Hello." Toby answered. "Tell us what you've got."


By now, Chad was used to Toby's habit of getting right to the point.


"Well, I was just sitting here marveling at the absolute brilliance
of it. She almost pulled
it off. It was just simple mistake that brought the entire thing
crashing down."


"It usually always is." Toby said


"True." Chad replied


"Pardon me for being slow," Ainsley said "But which little mistake
was it that tripped her
up?"


"Answering her own phone." Toby said with a smile while Chad laughed
in agreement.


"Let me lay it all out for you." Chad said shifting in his seat and
flipping through the
paperwork in front of him. "Mandy was very familiar with the computer
system at
Lennox Chase from the time she spent working there. She knew that
there was a soft
spot."


"A soft spot?" Ainsley asked.


"Yes," Chad explained. "A portal where she could get in past the
security system. She
used the knowledge she had to get in and to siphon money slowly out
of their so-called
"soft-accounts." Accounts that she knew would draw the least amount
of attention. Then
she entered in a few dummy entries to make it look as though the
money had disappeared
legitimately."


"Wouldn't those dummy entries eventually be discovered?" Ainsley
asked.


"Of course they would," Toby said. "But my guess is that by then, she
intended to be in
the Cayman's keeping her money company."


"You're probably right," Chad said.


"Ok, please continue." Ainsley said.


"All right," Chad went on. "After she had the money out of the Lennox
Chase accounts,
she set up an off shore account in the Cayman's. That wasn't
difficult at all I'm sure. The
reason people choose the Cayman's is because they have a very
liberal "don't ask/don't
tell" policy about where the money came from. Then it was a simple
matter of getting the
money there."


"So that's where Donna comes in." Ainsley said as the whole plan
began to be very clear
to her.


"Exactly." Toby said, "She saw a chance to kill two birds with one
stone. She could get
back at Donna and make herself rich at the same time. She used
Donna's bank account as
a front to move the money off to the Cayman's."


"Right." Chad said, "Except she made a very important mistake. She
ran all of the money
through Ms. Moss's account during a very short period of time. Three
dates to be exact.
And three dates that just happen to coincide with dates on which
large sums of money
disappeared from Lennox Chase accounts. Then she went back and
altered the bank
records to make it look as if the transactions had taken place over a
longer period of time.
She assumed, apparently correctly, that the police and the DA would
simply follow the
flow of money out of the accounts without really looking to closely
at where it came in."


"Was someone at the bank in on it with her?" Ainsley asked


"I don't think so." Chad said. "The bank was a customer of Simmons
and West. I think
she simply used her position there to get a hold of their password
information. She then
broke into their system and used a particular teller's information to
complete the
transactions. She was very careful to use the same teller information
every time. No
doubt she thought that, even if someone did manage to track the
deposits, the police
would simply assume that the teller was Donna's accomplice."


"No doubt." Toby said.


"Once she had the bank misinformation in place," Chad continued, "she
started on the
credit card companies and the landlord. Making it look like the rent
had never been paid
was fairly easy. The landlord only offered online payment as a
convenience. It was a
secure site but far from impenetrable. She simply got into the system
and deleted the
confirmation numbers. She left the money in the landlords account.
She knew that
eventually they would realize that the money was indeed there, but
she figured that by the
time they did, it would be too late."


"Amazing." Ainsley said shaking her head. "Absolutely amazing."


"And don't even get me started on the credit card companies." Chad
said shaking his
head in disgust. "Those computers are an absolute cesspool. They
can't see a mistake if
it's staring them right in the face. She just got in there and
overloaded the system with
fake transactions The credit card providers are notorious for being
easy to hack in to."


"But you managed to get it all tracked right?" Toby asked. "We need
to be able to prove
that every one of these entries is fake."


"Don't worry." Chad said patting the stack of papers in front of
him. "It's all right here.
Every single transaction."


"But I still don't understand how Mandy answering her own phone was
her downfall."
Ainsley asked quizzically.


"Simple," Chad said. "You see, she was very good at covering her
tracks. When we first
followed the evidence back to Simmons and West, we assumed that
someone had used
them as a pass through. As a front. They would have been an obvious
choice because of
the kind of business they are in. Who knows how many blind alleys we
would have gone
down trying to figure out who was behind all this. Searching for this
kind of evidence is
like looking for a needle in a haystack. That's why the damage that
comes from cyber-
crime is so devastating. The shear volume of misinformation that can
be perpetrated in a
few seconds is mind-boggling. Mandy made it much easier on us by
giving us a place to
focus our search. If she hadn't answered her own phone that day, we
might still not even
know she worked there."


"Well then, thank heavens she did." Ainsley said.


"Amen," Toby answered.


"So, here you go" Chad said pushing the files toward Toby. "This
should be everything
you need. I've laid it all out step by step so no one should have any
problem following it.
You're going to take it to the police I assume?"


"Eventually," Toby said. "But first I have a little plan of my own
for Mandy."


"Well, I'm gonna take it to the DA first thing in the morning. It
should be plenty of proof
for him to drop the charges against Donna."


"Good," Chad said, "If anyone has any other questions or if you need
anything else, Toby
knows how to get in contact with me."


"Thanks again," Toby said as Chad stood up to leave. Suddenly he had
an idea, "Would
you like to be there when Mandy goes down?"


"Just let me know where and when," Chad said, smiling as he walked
away.


"Are you headed back to the White House?" Toby asked Ainsley as he
took some money
from his wallet and dropped it on the table.


"Yeah, I need to talk to Sam." She answered.


"Ok then, let's go."







CJ knocked lightly on the door then poked her head into Sam's office.


"How's it going?" she asked.


"Great." Sam said with a broad smile. "I think we have just about
everything we need.
I'm just waiting for one more fax to come in. Then we will have
irrefutable proof that
there are over 4 million dollars missing from Senator Russell's
campaign fund."


"Great" CJ said "Because my friend at justice has been tracking the
influx of money into
Mandy's Cayman's account. All we need to do is match up the dates and
we will be set."


"Well, that's good to hear" Toby said, as a startled CJ jumped
backwards almost falling
into his arms. "Because between that and what we have, I'd say its
time to drop the net."


"So, I take it the two of you had a successful meeting with Chad." CJ
said after she
regained her composure.


"Very much so. I think we're ready to go. I say we close in
tomorrow." Toby said
triumphantly.


"Can't be too soon for me," CJ said.


"Amen," Sam and Ainsley agreed.


"I have to go call Jack Harmon and fill him in. Then I'm going to
talk to your friend over
at justice, CJ. When we have a firm plan in place, I'll let everyone
know."


With that, Toby turned and walked towards his own office.


"Great," CJ said. "And I suggest that we all go home and get some
rest. Tomorrow is
going to be "our day of jubilee" and we should all be awake enough to
enjoy it."


"Good idea." Sam said. "I'll be heading out as soon as my fax comes."


"I'll wait here with you," Ainsley said "Just to make sure I have all
the available facts to
present to the DA."


"OK" CJ said rolling her eyes. "I'll see you both in the morning." As
she turned to leave,
she saw Sam and Ainsley, eyes locked, grinning shyly at each
other. 'Oh great,' she
thought, 'Here we go again.'







"That was yummy." Donna said as she carried the dirty dishes to the
kitchen.


"Yes it was," Josh said "And to think, I ordered it all by myself."


"Oh my," Donna laughed. "You must be worn out from the exhaustion of
it all. Maybe
you should go rest on the couch while I finish cleaning up."


"No, no. I'll help. I just wanted to make sure I got credit for all
my hard work." He
smirked.


"You're a saint." Donna laughed as she set the dishes in the sink. "I
don't deserve you."


 When she turned around Josh was standing directly in front of her
with a look that
Donna found impossible to read.


"Don't say that." He said firmly. "Don't ever say that you don't
deserve me. I'm the one
who isn't deserving Donna. I want you to always remember that."


Donna's first instinct was to make a smart remark but the look in
Josh's eyes were so
intense that she didn't dare.


"Why would you say that, Josh? Why would you ever say that you don't
deserve me?"


"Because it's true, Donna. You could do much better than me."


"There is no one better than you, Josh." Donna said sincerely.


The look in Josh's eyes told her everything she needed to know. It
erased any doubts she
might have had about his feelings for her. She leaned in and placed a
sweet gentle kiss on
his lips. She knew that she was ready to take their relationship
farther. She also knew that
Josh was holding back because he didn't want to push her. She decided
that she would
have to take the lead.


"I don't think you need to sleep on the couch tonight," she said
softly.


"Are you sure?" he asked. "I mean are you really sure, Donna. I don't
want to rush you
into anything."


"I'm sure." She said breathlessly.


Slowly, they turned and walked towards the bedroom, turning out
lights as they went.
Josh sat on the bed while Donna went into the bathroom. He knew what
he wanted, he
had no doubts. But he didn't want to rush Donna. He wanted her to be
ready. She was
finally making some real progress and he didn't want to do anything
that would interfere
with that. Suddenly, the bathroom door opened and Donna stepped out.


"What in the hell did you do?" Josh asked staring at Donna's right
hand.


"I took my splints off. I couldn't stand them anymore."


"Put them back on! The Dr. didn't say you could take them off."


"I'm fine, Josh. Look, they can bend and everything." she said
flexing her fingers. "And
they hardly hurt anymore."


"Donna, please" Josh said moving over to stand directly in front of
her. "I want you to
take care of yourself. You shouldn't take the splints off till the
Dr. says it's ok."


"I'm fine, Josh. Besides," she said seductively "I need this hand."


"For what?" he asked unable to control his curiosity.


"For this," she said as she grasped the back of his head and pulled
his lips down to hers.
The kiss started out softly but quickly deepened. When they came up
for air, Donna
began planting a line of kisses across the bridge of his nose and to
his ear.


Josh shuddered when Donna began to nibble on his ear.


"And for this," she whispered as her hand moved down and found its
way under Josh's
shirt.


The feel of her warm hand on his bare chest made Josh moan. His sense
of resolve was
fading quickly.


"Donna," he moaned. "Are you sure?"


Donna didn't answer but simply moved her hand lower yet until she
reached the front of
Josh's pants.


"And for this." She said as she ran her hand over Josh's arousal.


"Oh, God" he said wrapping his arms tightly around Donna and moving
her towards the
bed. "I love you, Donna."


"I love you too, Josh."








"I don't care what he's doing" Mandy screamed into the phone, "You
tell Senator Russell
to call me back right away or he'll be sorry!! Do you understand me?"


She disconnected the phone and hurled it at the wall.


'This isn't happening' she thought. 'There is no way this is going to
fall apart. I will not
be left holding the bag. It won't happen. I had this all planned. How
could it have gone so
wrong? My plan was foolproof. Except for the one thing I never
counted on, the one
variable that I never even considered. It never crossed my mind that
Josh really loved the
little witch. I wasn't even sure that Mr. Wrapped-Up-In-Himself was
capable of those
kinds of feelings. I certainly never dreamed that he would pull out
all the stops to save
her, that he would get so many other people involved.'


She reached for the room's phone book and looked up the number she
wanted.


'Well they aren't going to get me. I've got everything I need waiting
for me in the
Cayman's. All I need is a couple of days to wrap things up here and
then I'm off. I'll
never have to deal with these idiots again. Let Josh live happily
ever after with the bitch.
See if I care. I'll be sitting pretty in the Cayman's with all the
money and well built pool
boys that a girl could ask for.'


The ringing of the phone startled her back to reality. She had to go
to the other room
since she had hurled the phone from the living room against the wall.


"Hello," she barked.


"Hello, Mandy" came Lloyd Russell's tight voice over the phone.


"Well, hello Lloyd," she said sarcastically "How nice of you to get
back to me so
promptly."


"I need to see you," he said wanting to avoid a long dramatic
conversation. "In my office
tomorrow. 1:00 PM.


"I'll be there." She said and hung up the phone.


Lloyd Russell hung up the phone and turned to the man standing across
the desk from
him "It's done. She'll be here," he said.


"Perfect," Toby said. We'll be waiting for her.







Josh and Donna were lying naked and content, wrapped in each other's
arms. Both of
them knew that they had to get up and get going, but neither wanted
to leave the bed.


"Josh?" Donna said without raising her head off of his chest.


"Hmmm??" he said.


"Shouldn't we be getting up?"


"No."


Why not?"


"Because I don't ever want to get out of this bed." He said kissing
the top of her head.


"As much as I like that idea, there is still that pesky matter of a
country to run."


"True."


"So we're getting up?"


"No."


"You're impossible."


"And that's why you love me?"


"No."


"What?


"I only put up with you being impossible because I love you." Donna
said as she leaned
upward and placed a kiss on Josh's lips. "Now let's get up."


"Ok," Josh said rewarding her with a full dimpled smile. "But only on
one condition."


"What's that?"


"We agree to meet right back here in say...12 hours?"


"Deal."


Josh leaned in to seal the deal with a kiss but was interrupted by
the ringing of the phone.



"Josh Lyman," he growled.


"Josh, it's Toby."


"Hey, what's up?"


"We have a meeting today at Senator Russell's office at 1:00 PM. Can
you and Donna
make it?"


"Oh don't worry, we'll be there. But do you think the Senator's
office is the best place to
do this?"


"It's the perfect place. I'll fill you in on all the details when I
see you."


"Ok, we'll be there in an hour."


Josh leaned over and kissed Donna on the forehead as he disconnected
the phone.


"That was Toby." He said trying carefully to gauge her reaction. "We
have a meeting at
Senator Russell's office at 1:00. Is that ok?"


"If that's what Toby thinks is best," Donna said.


"Are you ok, Donna? Because if you aren't we don't have to go."


"No, I want to be there."


"But if you change your mind, you'll tell me right?" Josh said.


"I promise," she said


"Ok then, we'd better get ready."


"Did you tell Toby we'd be there in an hour?" Donna asked with a
glint in her eye.


"Yeah, why?"


"Well, then in the interest of time, I think we better share a
shower." Donna said with a
wicked smile as she dropped the sheet from in front of her naked body
and headed for the
bathroom.


Josh stared at her back for a few seconds before he could will his
legs to move. When he
finally got his breath back, he bounced all of the way to the shower.






"Go right in," Margaret said as Josh entered Leo's outer office. "I
think they've already
started."


Josh entered the office and saw that everyone else was, indeed,
already present.


"Morning, Josh. Glad you could join us." Leo said sternly.


"Sorry." Josh said


"You don't look very sorry." Sam said with a snicker.


"Well," Leo said, "Can we discuss Josh's obvious happiness later. We
have a lot to cover
this morning. Just because the President is out of town doesn't mean
that we have a free
day."


The staff meeting drug on for close to 90 minutes. Just as it seemed
to finally be
wrapping up, Margaret tapped lightly on the door.


"Yes?" Leo asked


"Ainsley Hayes is here."


"Send her in." Leo said.


Ainsley burst through the door grinning from ear to ear.


"I'm sorry to interrupt, sir," she said with barely concealed glee.


"Well, Ainsley. You look nearly as happy as Josh this morning."


"I am very happy, sir. You see I'm starting back to work today, if
that's all right with
you."


"Starting back? So are you telling me that your little problem has
been cleared up?"


"Yes, sir it has"


"Completely cleared up?" Josh asked rising from his seat on the couch.


"Completely cleared up" Ainsley beamed. " I had a breakfast meeting
with the DA
himself this morning. All of the charges have been dropped. Donna is
completely in the
clear."


Josh gathered Ainsley up in a huge hug. "Thank you" he said "Thank
you, thank you
Thank you."


"My pleasure." Ainsley said.


"Does Donna know?" Josh asked anxiously


"I called her as soon as I knew for sure. As a matter of fact, the
technician is here right
now to remove the electronic monitoring device."


Josh looked at the door then back at Leo.


"Meeting dismissed." Leo said with a smile. "Get going."


Josh ran down the hall towards the bullpen with Toby, Sam, Ainsley,
and CJ close
behind. As they approached her cubicle, they saw the technician
leaning down in front of
Donna removing the bracelet. She looked up as she heard them coming.
As soon as the
technician finished Donna jumped up and wrapped her arms around Josh.


"It's really over" she said, "They dropped all the charges. It's
over."


"Well this part is over." Josh whispered into her ear. "But the good
part is just
beginning."



"Well," Toby interrupted. "As much as I'd like to stay and celebrate,
we have a lot to get
done before if we want to get out of here this afternoon"


"Very true," Sam said. Then he turned to Ainsley and held out his
arm. "May I escort you
to the steam pipe distribution center Miss Hayes?"


"I'd be honored." Ainsley giggled.


They could still hear Sam and Ainsley giggling and talking excitedly
as the exited the
bullpen.


"I have a briefing to get ready for. CJ said as she strolled away.
I'm definitely going to
enjoy making the announcement that Donna has been cleared. More than
a few reporters
will be eating crow this afternoon."


"I have some phone calls to make," Josh said as he headed back to his
office.


"Are you coming?" he asked when he realized that Donna wasn't
following him.


"I'll be right there," Donna said.


Josh nodded as Donna followed Toby back the hall towards his office.


"Toby?" she said.


"Yes," he said stopping and turning back to face her.


"I just wanted to say thank you again for everything you've done."
Donna said. "There is
no way I'll ever be able to repay you."


"Donna, its fine," Toby said. "I'm glad I could help. Knowing that
you are in the clear
and on the road to feeling better is all the thanks I need."


Donna impulsively threw her arms around his neck. At first, Toby
froze but then he
awkwardly returned the hug. When they broke apart, Donna said, "Well
I guess I better
get back."


"Me too," Toby said.


He watched her walk back towards the bullpen and smiled. Seeing her
this happy
reminded him of exactly why he had done everything he had done.


'Oh yeah,' he thought 'Making Mandy pay is going to feel good.'





The entire staff, with Chad in tow, arrived at Senator Russell's
office at 12:30. They
wanted to make sure that they were there well before Mandy.


"Are you ok?" Josh asked Donna.


"I'm fine," she said "I just can't believe that it's really
happening."


"Believe it," Josh said squeezing her hand "Mandy is finally going to
pay."






 The Senator sent his entire staff out to lunch with orders not to
return until 2:00 PM.


Right on schedule, Mandy entered his outer office. She didn't
immediately react to the
fact that it was deserted. She knocked on the Senator's inner office
door and barged right
in without waiting to be invited.


As she entered the office, she froze. She was shocked to see Josh,
Donna, CJ and Sam
sitting there, along with some scruffy guy she had never seen before
and an attractive
blonde.


"What the hell is going on?" she asked as she began to back towards
the door thinking
about making a quick escape.


"We're all here to see YOU." Toby said stepping into the office
behind Mandy and
blocking her access to the door. "You weren't thinking of leaving
were you? We haven't
had a chance to talk yet."


 Mandy's eyes began darting around the room. "What's this all about,
Lloyd?" she said
focusing her attention on the senator.


"Well, Mr. Ziegler and his friends have been filling me in on the
details of a very
interesting story, Mandy. The story of a large amount of money
missing from my
campaign fund. Money that was apparently redirected to an offshore
account in the
Cayman Islands."


Mandy's eyes narrowed with fury as she looked at Lloyd Russell. She
realized in a flash
that he was going to try to deny any involvement. That son of a bitch
was going to hang
her out to dry. After everything she had done for him.


"Don't get cute with me," she spat "You're in this just as deep as I
am."


"I have no idea what you're talking about. I had nothing to do with
any of this." The
senator said. "These people have just been filling me in on the
details and frankly I'm
shocked.


Mandy began to panic. There was no direct evidence linking any of
this to the senator.
She had made sure of that. She had decided she couldn't take a chance
on the plan
blowing up too soon due to the diligence of some oversight committee.
She had even put
his name on the account in the Cayman's without his signature. Now it
would come down
to her word against his.


'This isn't happening,' Mandy thought.


"It seems that they have proof, Mandy. It's all here in black and
white. I can't believe you
would do something like this to me."


"You won't get away with this," she screamed. "None of you."


She wheeled and faced Donna, "I hate you," she hissed. "I've hated
you since the first
day I met you. You may think you've won but you haven't. You're still
going to do time
for this."


"That's where you're wrong, Ms. Hampton." Ainsley piped up. "All of
the charges
against Donna have been dropped. The DA knows that she is completely
innocent."


"Look toots," Mandy said derisively, "I don't even know who you are
but I really don't
need to hear your opinion on anything."


"Oh how rude of me," Ainsley said drawling even more than usual. "My
name is Ainsley
Hayes. I'm an associate White House Counsel, who also served as
Donna's lawyer. But
that was when Donna needed a lawyer, which she doesn't anymore." The
glint in
Ainsley's eye was unmistakable.


"White House counsel?" Mandy asked incredulously. "What is blonde
hair a new
requirement for getting employment in the Bartlet administration?"


"Knock it off," Sam jumped in. "This isn't about Ainsley, it's about
you Mandy. We
certainly had our differences through the years, but this is over the
top, even for you. I
was there the whole time Mandy. From the first day Donna started with
the campaign.
You and I both know that whatever problems you had, you brought on
yourself."


"That's not true, Sam" she hissed "Everything was fine until the day
SHE showed up."


Finally CJ couldn't hold her tongue any longer.


"That is the biggest load of crap I've ever heard, Mandy. You and
Josh were never really
happy together and you know it. And as far as your work on the
campaign goes, we
tolerated you because you managed to get the job done. You were never
as close to
power as you thought you were. You were never going to be in the
inner circle. And the
only thing that happened when Donna came to work with us, is that
Josh got a chance to
see what it was like to spend time with someone who was supportive
and caring.
Someone who wanted to build him up as opposed to tearing him down."


"I don't have to stand here and listen to this," Mandy said "You have
absolutely no
proof."


"Oh that's where you're wrong" Toby said still standing in the
doorway. "We can pin
everything on you. All of the money missing from the Senators
reelection fund, all of the
money missing from Lennox Chase, all of the false transactions at
Donna's bank, her
landlord and her credit card companies. It can all be traced directly
back to you."


"You're lying," She spat. "And worse, than that you're lying to
protect this two bit piece
of trash...."


"Shut up.." Toby screamed as something inside him that he had managed
to keep under
control for a very long time snapped.


"You don't get to talk anymore, do you understand me? We have heard
quite enough
from you and we don't intend to hear anymore. I can't even begin to
fathom what you
were thinking, Mandy. How in the world you thought you could get away
with this. You
underestimated Donna and more importantly you underestimated her
friends. She may
not have your breeding Mandy or your education, but she's 100 times
the person you ever
were or ever will be. She is kind and decent and smart and loyal. She
is too strong to
allow herself to be destroyed by the likes of you. She not only fits
in at the White House
but she is an integral part of all we do there. I am proud to call
her my friend. I hope she
feels the same way."


"I do," Donna said, tears coursing down her cheeks. "Thank you, Toby."


"Well that's just fine and dandy," Mandy said. "You can all just hang
around here and
talk about how wonderful Donna is but I have things to do."


With that she turned and stalked out of the office. Toby let her pass
and the entire
assemblage followed her out into the hall. Just as she was leaving,
three DC police
officers stepped into her path.


"Madeline Hampton?" Lt Stoebner said.


"Yes." Mandy hissed


"I have a warrant for your arrest ma'am. Please turn and place your
hands against the
wall and spread your legs shoulder width apart."


"What the hell are you talking about? What are the charges?" Mandy
screamed.


Lt. Stoebner began to tick off the list. "Embezzlement, theft by
deception, money-
laundering, fraud, harassment, and electronic fraud to start with."


All activity in the hallway ceased as everyone turned to stare at
Mandy. As she looked
over the policeman's shoulder, she saw the unmistakable glare of
television cameras.


"What the fuck are they doing here?" she screamed.


CJ looked around triumphantly. "The reporters are here courtesy of
Operation Porter,"
she said. The staff broke out into wide grins.


"Say it," CJ said.


"Long live the sisterhood," they all muttered.


"Damn straight," Donna said as she put her arm around Josh.


"Please step against the wall," Lt Stoebner said again.


Mandy turned around and looked. There was no avenue of escape.


"You did this," she said as she lunged at Donna. Josh stepped
protectively in front of
Donna, as did Toby.


The uniformed officer grabbed Mandy and pushed her against the wall.
She then
proceeded to pat her down as hundreds of people gathered to watch and
the television
cameras whirred.









"I think that's a great idea. I'll see you as soon as we land then. I
love you. Bye." Josh
smiled as he hung up the phone on Air Force One.


He turned to Sam who was half asleep in the seat across the
aisle. "Donna and Ainsley
are going to meet us at the airport."


"Excellent," Sam said


"So is tonight the night that you tell Ainsley how you feel about
her?" Josh asked with a
smile. It was the same question he had asked Sam almost daily for the
last month.


"I have no idea what you're talking about, Josh. Ainsley and I are
friends. That's all."


"God, you sound just like I did, you know that?"


"Again, I have no idea..." Sam began before Josh cut him off.


"Look, all I'm saying is that I know denial when I see it. I stared
at in the mirror for three
long years. I'm just hoping that you don't waste as much time as I
did."


Sam just closed his eyes, put his head back and tried to go back to
sleep.


"Denial..." was the last thing he heard Josh say before he drifted off.







"Can I talk to you for a minute?" a tentative voice asked.


Donna was taken aback when she looked up and saw Larry standing in
front of her desk,
shifting his weight and looking at the floor.


"Hello, Larry." She said. "Can I help you with something?"


"I just wanted to say thank you again, Donna." he said nervously.


"That's not necessary." Donna assured him.


"Yes it is. I really owe you big. I know that Toby and Sam both
wanted me fired, and I'm
pretty sure that Josh wanted me dead. I'd be out of a job right now
if it hadn't been for
you. I think I got off easy with 60 days unpaid suspension and a
transfer. It's a better deal
than I deserved."


Donna looked at him sympathetically. She didn't blame Larry for what
had happened.
She knew that he had been used. If Mandy hadn't gotten the
information from him, she
would have gotten it somewhere else.


"It's ok," Donna said. "I know that you were manipulated. It doesn't
excuse what you did
but I know how Mandy can play mind games. I just don't want to see
her hurt anymore
people than she already has, and that includes you. Let's just put
this behind us and move
on."


"Thanks."


"Have you gotten your new assignment yet?" Donna asked, eager to stop
talking about
the past and start talking about the future.


"Yeah, I start Monday in the Travel Office. I was just down there
filling out some forms.
I think I'll like it there."


"Good. I hope everything works out for you, Larry."


He continued to shuffle his feet as he glanced nervously at Josh's
office door.


"Do you think Josh is ready to hear my apology yet?" he asked.


"I don't know. He may need a little more time. Anyway, he's not here
right now but I'll
let him know that you stopped by."


"Will you at least tell him again how sorry I am?"


"Yes I will. And don't worry, Larry, he'll come around."


"I hope so. Well, I guess I'll be going now. See you around."


"Bye, Larry."


As Larry exited the bullpen, he ran smack into CJ who was walking
hurriedly with her
head down. When she looked up and saw him, she fixed him with a
steely gaze.


"Larry." She said.


"Hello, CJ." He said as he shuffled down the corridor, wondering why
it was that all of
Donna's friends were so much less willing to forgive him than she
herself was.


"What was HE doing here?" CJ asked as she flopped down in the chair
beside Donna's
desk.


Donna sighed. "He came to apologize yet again, and to thank me for
saving his job."


"Yeah, well he ought to thank you," CJ snapped. "I still can't figure
out why you
wouldn't let Toby fire him-or have him arrested-or both."


"I told you, CJ...." Donna began.


"I know. I know." CJ said waving her hand in surrender.


"There is no way I'm going to let Mandy do any more damage than she
already has."


"You're a good person, Donna." CJ said sincerely.


"Yeah, I'm a regular saint." Donna snorted.


"Did you eat lunch today?" CJ asked in an abrupt change of topic.


"Um..yes." Donna laughed. "Why are you asking? It's almost 6:00."


"Well Josh has called me at least twice a day for the entire week
he's been gone and he
always seems inordinately interested in your food intake. Is Donna
eating lunch? Did
Donna have dinner? So I know that when he calls me before they land
he's going to ask
and I just want to have an answer prepared."


Donna couldn't help but smile at Josh's concern. "It's the first time
we've been apart
since...you know." She said quietly.


"Yeah, I know." CJ said. "I actually think it's kind of sweet.
Nauseating but sweet."


Donna smiled and swatted CJ on the arm. "Well at least they'll be
back tonight so you
won't have to worry about my eating habits anymore."


"Speaking of eating habits," CJ said with a smile as she saw Ainsley
approaching.


"Hey guys," Ainsley said. "Are we talking about food, because I'm
starved."


"Gee, that's a switch." CJ laughed.


"Are we still headed out to the airport this evening?" Ainsley asked
Donna.


"Yep." Donna answered.


"Great. Maybe we can grab something to eat before we go."


"I really want to change out of my work clothes. Maybe we can swing
by the apartment
and just order some takeout?"


"Sounds fine to me." Ainsley said.


"Can you join us CJ?" Donna asked.


"Thanks but no. I have a pile of work on my desk. Besides, touching
reunions make me
want to hurl." She snorted as she rose and headed towards her office.


Donna and Ainsley both smiled. They knew that despite her cynical
exterior, CJ was
really just a romantic at heart.


"What sounds good to you?" Ainsley asked. "And when will you be ready
to go?"


"Anything -you pick." Donna answered. "And how about right now?"


She looked at the work on her desk and momentarily considered putting
it in her
tote bag to take home. She decided against it. Josh had been gone for
an entire week and
there was no way that they were going to work tonight.






They arrived at Josh's apartment about 15 minutes later. Donna still
couldn't help but
think of it as Josh's apartment, even though she had been living
there for two months
now. At first, she had assumed that she would find a new apartment as
soon as her
injuries were healed. Her old landlord had even offered to let her
have her old place back,
along with several months free rent to make up for the mix-up. But
Josh seemed reluctant
to have her move out and she had to admit, she didn't relish the idea
of living alone
again. Actually what she didn't relish was the idea of not living
with Josh. She was quite
happy exactly where she was thankyouverymuch. She needed to start
thinking of this as
"their" apartment as opposed to "his apartment." Donna began to
ponder the possibility
of them finding a new place together. A place that could both think
of as home. A place
without the memories of Josh's recovery from the shooting, or her
recovery from her
prison ordeal hanging over it. She made a mental note to talk about
it with Josh this
weekend.


"Help yourself to something to drink." Donna said as she moved
towards the bedroom to
change out of her work clothes. "There's all kinds of stuff in the
fridge. I'm pretty sure
there's even a Fresca. I'll call Wong's while I'm changing."


"Ok great," Ainsley said heading to the kitchen.


Donna emerged a few minutes later looking much more relaxed and
casual in a pair of
jeans and a cropped t-shirt. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a
bottle of water before
joining Ainsley in the living room.


"So?" Donna asked. "Anything new on the Sam front?"


"The Sam front?" Ainsley laughed. "That sounds like some 70's radical
group."


"You know what I mean." Donna said. "Has he made his move yet?"


"Not yet. I don't really think he feels that way about me..."


Donna laughed so hard that water came perilously close to shooting
out her nose.


"What's so funny?" Ainsley asked.


"Nothing. You just sounded exactly like-well, me---when you said
that. I sang that song
for three long years. And it took something as horrible as what
happened to me to get
Josh and I to admit our feelings." Donna's face suddenly got more
serious. "Don't let that happen to
you. Make the first move yourself if you have to. Just don't let it
go as long as Josh and
I did. Sometimes I want to cry when I think about all the time we
wasted."


"I know." Ainsley sighed. "But you guys have figured it out now and
that's all that
matters."


"True." Donna smiled.


The doorbell startled them both out of their private thoughts.


"That was fast!" Ainsley said.


"The delivery people all know us." Donna chuckled as she grabbed her
purse.


When she opened the apartment door, she froze. There in the hallway,
holding two bags
of Chinese takeout, stood Mandy.


"I met the delivery boy on the way up and told him I'd be happy to
bring this up for you."
She said.


Donna moved quickly to close the door but Mandy shoved her way in. It
wasn't until
then that Donna saw the gun in Mandy's hand. Mandy dropped the food
in the entryway
and pointed the gun at Donna.


"Now that wasn't very nice, Donna." She said. "This is an awful lot
of food for one
person, and since I know that Josh is out of town, I wonder who is
here. Let's go in and
see shall we?"


Donna was frozen to the spot. She couldn't move until Mandy pressed
the gun against her
side and began to force her into the living room. Her senses were
overloaded with the
memories of the aftermath of Josh's shooting.


"Did they remember....." Ainsley stopped mid sentence when she saw the
two women
enter the living room. She couldn't actually see the gun but by the
look on Donna's face
she knew it was there.


"Well, well Miss Hayes," Mandy hissed. "It's so nice to see you
again."






CJ needed a break from the endless stack of paperwork on her desk
that never seemed to
get any smaller. She knew that Toby was still in his office and she
needed to get some
notes from him on the President's schedule for next week. She decided
to walk over to
his office instead of calling. Maybe, if she was lucky, he would let
her play with one of
his stress balls.


"Hey," CJ said as she entered through his open office door.


"Hey, yourself," he answered barely looking up from the folder he was
reading.


"Do you have a copy of next months schedule?" she asked. "I need to
get the info to the
press corps."


"I have it right here," he said reaching for a folder in his out
box. "I was going to have
one of the interns bring it over to you."


"That's ok, I needed the break." She said sinking into his couch and
closing
her eyes.


"Why can't you take a nap in your own office?" he growled playfully.


"Your couch is more comfortable," she countered.


The ringing of the phone roused CJ just as she was about to drift off.


"Toby Zeigler," she heard him say. "No, I don't think she's here
right now. Hold on."


He punched the hold button on the phone and turned to CJ.


"The switchboard says they have an urgent call for Donna. Do you know
where she is?"
he asked with a somewhat nervous tone. He hoped it wasn't bad news.


"She and Ainsley are headed back to Josh's place to get some dinner,
then they're going
out to the airport to meet the plane."


Toby punched the hold button again and said, "She's not in the
building. Have they tried
her cell phone?"


The growing look of concern on Toby's face caused CJ to sit up and
pay attention.


"Put him through to me." he said.


"It's the warden from the prison," he said to CJ as he quickly
switched the call to
speakerphone.


"Hello?" came a voice from the other end of the line.


"Hello, warden" Toby said. "This is Toby Zeigler. I have you on
speakerphone and CJ
Cregg is listening also. How can I help you?"


"It's very important that I reach Ms. Moss as soon as possible. We
are having a bit of a
problem here at the prison."


"A bit of a problem?" Toby asked.


"Well, the truth is....." the warden stammered.


"Get to the point, warden," Toby said in the tone that left little
doubt that he wanted a
straight answer NOW.


"Well, the truth is, it seems we came up one prisoner short at the
roll call this evening."


Both Toby and CJ knew what he was going to say next before the words
were even out of
his mouth.


"The missing prisoner is Madeline Hampton. Ms. Moss is on the list of
people to contact
in case an escape ever happens."


His words hung in the air for a split second before either Toby or CJ
could react.


"I've also been trying to reach Mr. Lyman," the warden continued. "I
can't seem to locate
him either."


"He's on Air Force One right now, on his way back from California.
They should be
landing in about 60 minutes." CJ said.


"Could you possibly get word to him and let him know what's going
on?" the warden
asked.


"Yes," Toby answered gruffly. "Have the police been notified?"


"We are following our usual procedure in these cases."


"Have the police been notified?" Toby screamed.


"Yes," the warden answered defensively.


"Fine," Toby continued. "We will try to reach Ms. Moss from here.
We'll notify you
as soon as we find her. Please keep us informed of any new
developments on your end."


Toby punched the button and disconnected the phone without waiting
for a reply.


"I'm going to head over to Josh and Donna's place and try to head
them off. You better
call Lt. Stoebner and ask him to meet me there. Then call Josh and
give him a heads up
before some reporter gets the story off of the scanners and gets to
him first." Toby
barked.


"Ok," CJ said reaching for the phone. "Be careful," she yelled at his
receding back.



CJ quickly called Lt. Stoebner and filled him in on what was
happening. She gave him
the address of Josh's apartment and he promised to meet Toby there
right away. She
quickly tried both Donna and Ainsley's cell phones praying one of
them would answer.
When neither one did, she took a deep breath and dialed Air Force One.


"You have a phone call, Mr. Lyman." The porter said as he placed the
phone on the table
next to Josh.


"Who is it?" Josh asked.


"Ms. Cregg," the porter answered as he backed away to give Josh some
privacy.


Josh picked up the phone and said, "Hey CJ, what's up?"


"Josh, we have a little problem here." CJ said trying to decide the
best way to break the
news to him.


"What kind of little problem?" Josh asked as the tingle of fear began
to dance up his
spine. "Is it Donna?"


The mention of Donna's name combined with the look of rising panic on
Josh's face
caught Sam's attention. He came over and sat directly in front of
Josh.


"Is something wrong?" he mouthed.


"The warden from the women's prison called." CJ said. "Look I'm not
going to beat
around the bush. Mandy has escaped."


"WHAT?" Josh screamed. "HOW?"


"I don't know the details," CJ continued trying to be as calm as
possible. "He called here
looking for Donna because she was the first person on the list of
people to be contacted in
case something like this happened. I tried to reach both Donna and
Ainsley and they
aren't answering their cells. As far as I know, they were going to
your apartment to order
some dinner and then they were heading out to meet you. Toby is out
trying to retrace
their steps right now."


"Oh my God. Oh my God." Josh muttered, seemingly unable to form a
coherent thought.


"Josh, are you ok?" CJ asked.


"I need to try to call Donna," he said methodically.


"Listen, Josh. At this point, we have no reason to think anything bad
has happened. I'll
keep trying to reach her too. I'll call you as soon as Toby finds
them."


"Fine," Josh said.


"Toby will find them, Josh."


"Ok," he said as he hung up.


"What's wrong?" Sam asked.


"Mandy has escaped." Josh said, the shock he felt evidenced by his
shaky voice. "The
warden of the prison called the White House looking for Donna. He
said that she needed
to be notified. She and Ainsley were supposedly headed for the
apartment to get some
dinner before they came to the airport."


Josh looked at Sam, letting the words he had just said sink in. He
knew he had to tell
Sam the rest.


"Neither one of them are answering their cell phones," Josh said in a
choked voice that
came out barely above a whisper.


Sam and Josh both sat stunned for a moment before instinctively
reaching for their
phones. Each dialed a number they knew by heart. And each looked at
the other, their
countenance dropping when the voice mail picked up. Each man looked
at his watch and
had the exact same thought. 45 minutes till landing.








"Why are you doing this, Mandy?" Donna asked as she and Ainsley stood
side by side,
backed up against the glass doors to the balcony. "Haven't you had
enough yet? Since
you obviously managed to escape, why didn't you just run? Why did you
come back
here?"


"You know the answer to that." Mandy said with a deranged smile. "I
told you this
wasn't over. I told you that I wouldn't rest until I know that you
have been destroyed."


"Fine," Donna said trying to remain calm. "Your problem is with me.
Why don't you and
I just go somewhere? Leave Ainsley here. You can tie her up so she
doesn't call for help.
And we can settle this once and for all."


"My, my aren't you noble Donna? Trying to bargain to save your
friend. Well sorry, it
isn't going to happen that way. I'm sorry Miss Hayes got caught up in
this. I guess we'll
just have to consider her as an unlucky victim of circumstance. Just
in the wrong place at
the wrong time."


Donna's mind whirled as she tried to formulate a plan. She looked at
her watch. Less than
an hour to go till the plane landed. If they weren't at the airport,
Sam and Josh would
come straight to the apartment. She couldn't let that happen. She had
to think of a plan.
The simultaneous ringing of two cell phones broke her reverie.


"Isn't that a coincidence? " Mandy snarled as she snatched the cell
phones off of the
living room table. "Sam and Josh deciding to call at exactly the same
moment. Something
tells me that my escape has been discovered. They must have heard the
good news. And
they're calling to see if you both are safe. Isn't that sweet? Too
bad that they are going to
have to find you both dead when they get here."


Ainsley stifled a sob and grabbed onto Donna's arm for support. She
wanted nothing
more than to be able to see Sam one last time. To admit her feelings
to him. She
wondered why she hadn't listened to that advice when Donna gave it to
her. She closed
her eyes and said a silent prayer for strength.


"You see," Mandy continued. "I want to see the look on Josh's face
when he realizes that
he's too late. I considered waiting till he got here and killing you
in front of him, but I
think that this will be much more tortuous for him. Let him think
about what you were
thinking in your last moments. Rob him of the chance to say any final
words."


"I talked to Josh a little while ago." Donna said, forcing herself to
look Mandy in the eye.
"Our final words to each other confirmed our love. You'll never be
able to erase that. No
matter how badly you want to."


Mandy's face contorted with rage. She lifted the gun to Donna's eye
level and pulled
back the hammer.






Toby reached the front door of the apartment at the same time as the
DC police.


"I know they're in there," he said to Lt. Stoebner as they entered
the front door of the
building. "Donna's car is out front. But they aren't answering the
apartment phone or
their cell phones."


The men approached the apartment in relative silence. Lt. Stoebner
motioned for Toby to
stand back. He approached the door and knocked. Once. Twice. No
response. Suddenly
the sound of gunshots pierced the air followed by the sound of
shattering glass. The
lieutenant reared back and kicked the door in. He had no time at all
to react. All that he
saw was the glint of the pistol as it turned in his direction. He
fired one shot, hitting
Mandy in the right shoulder and knocking her backwards. The gun flew
out of her hand
and landed with a thud on the ceramic tile. She looked at him,
glaring, before finally
falling to the ground. He moved towards her, keeping his gun trained
on her chest. She
was conscious but in obvious pain. With his gun still pointing
towards her, he pulled out
his cell phone and called for backup and an ambulance.


"Don't move a muscle," he growled "Or I swear I'll kill you."







After being momentarily paralyzed with fear, Toby moved into the
apartment. He saw
Donna and Ainsley on the floor by the shattered window and moved
quickly towards
them. He saw blood on Donna's shoulder and began to panic. By the
time he reached
them, they had both managed to stand up and were staring, wide eyed,
at the scene in
front of them.


"Are you two okay?" Toby asked as he reached their side


"I think so," Donna said.


"Just scared to death," Ainsley replied. She looked at Donna and saw
the bloodstain
spreading on her blouse. "Oh God, Donna you're bleeding."


"It's just from the glass," Donna assured her trying to remain as
calm as possible.


"Are you sure?" Toby asked.


"Positive." Donna said grabbing a pillow off of the chair and using
it to apply pressure to
her wound.


A plethora of backup officers arrived almost immediately. After they
read Mandy her
rights and rearrested her, they took her away in the ambulance. Lt.
Stoebner crossed the
apartment to speak to Donna and Ainsley. He noticed the pillow that
Toby was now
helping  Donna hold to her cut.


"Are you injured Ms. Moss?" he asked.


"Just a cut from the flying glass," Donna assured him. "Of course, it
would have been
much worse if you hadn't gotten here when you did. Thank you."


"Don't thank me," he said modestly "thank Mr. Zeigler and Ms Cregg.
They're the ones
who tipped me off to where you were."


"Thanks Toby," Donna said as she slung her good arm over his shoulder
pulling him to
her side. "You saved me again."


"Yes, thanks." Ainsley added.


Toby blushed and rushed to change the subject. "I think we better
make a call to Air
Force One before Sam and Josh have strokes." He said. "Then I think
we better get you
to the emergency room to have that shoulder looked at, Donna."


"Ok," Donna said. She considered arguing but the pain in her shoulder
was getting more
severe and she thought a trip to the ER might be a good idea.





Josh's cell phone was the first to ring.


"Lyman," he barked into the receiver.


"Josh?" Donna said softly.


"Oh God, Donna. Are you ok? Is everything ok?"


"Everything's just fine here, Josh. Are you ok?"


"I am now that I hear your voice."


Donna smiled. "Listen," she said. "I'll fill you in on all the
details later. Right now I have
something to tell you and I need you not to freak out. Can you do
that?"


"Gee, Donna. That kind of setup just invites a freak out don't you
think?"


"Please Josh."


"OK, I promise."


"OK. I'm going to the emergency room....." That was all the farther
Donna got before
Josh cut her off.


"Why? What's wrong? You said you were ok."


"Josh," Donna said, raising her voice to get his attention. "I am ok.
I'm talking to you
aren't I? I just have a little cut on my shoulder that I think might
need stitches. It's not a
big deal."


"Are you telling me the truth, Donna?"


"Yes I am."


"Ok then. I'll meet you at the ER as soon as the plane lands."


"Deal," Donna said. "Now I better get going. I'll see you in a little
while."


"Ok." Josh said reluctantly, not wanting to hang up. "I love you,
Donna."


"I love you too, Josh. I'll see you soon.





As Josh disconnected, he saw Sam sinking down into a chair as he
answered his phone.
His eyes were blinking back tears of relief.


"Are you sure you're ok?" he asked her for the third time.


"Yes, Sam I'm sure." Ainsley answered. "I'm going to the ER with
Donna to get her
shoulder stitched."


"But you're both ok right?"


"Yes, Sam." She said as her heart soared at the sound of such intense
concern in his
voice. "Will you meet us at the ER?"


"I'll be there," he said.


"Ok. See you soon." She said


As Ainsley hung up the phone and walked back towards the broken
window, Toby
looked at his watch.


"If I leave now," he said "I can get to the airport in time to pick
up Sam and Josh and
keep them from hijacking the presidential limo."


"That might be a good idea," Donna laughed.


"Are you ok getting to the hospital by yourselves?" he asked Donna
and Ainsley.


Without giving them a chance to answer, Lt. Stoebner assured Toby
that he would get
them there safely.


"I'll call CJ from the car and let her know what's going on." He
yelled over his shoulder
as he left the apartment.


"Thanks," Ainsley and Donna yelled in unison.







Thirty minutes later, Donna was sitting in the curtained area of the
ER, waiting for
someone to stitch her shoulder. A very distinguished looking female
Dr. walked in. She was
wearing a black evening dress under her lab coat.


Hello, I'm Dr. Wagner. I'm the chief of Emergency Medicine here at
GW." She said


Donna couldn't help but be taken aback. "Is my little cut that
serious?" she asked only
half joking.


"Well," Dr. Wagner smiled. "When I get a call directly from the
President of the United
States asking me to forsake my orchestra tickets for Tosca to come
over here and look at
your shoulder, what am I supposed to say?"


"Oh, I'm so sorry," Donna said hanging her head in embarrassment.


"It's ok," the Dr. smiled. "I'll just catch it next time. And in
return for this evening, I
expect to see it while sitting in the presidential box."


Donna laughed.


"Now Mr. Lyman is a different story," she continued as Donna
cringed. "He has called
me four times in the last 30 minutes to ask me if I had arrived and
looked at your
shoulder yet."


Donna smiled. "I'm sorry Dr.. It's just that we've had a rough couple
of months....."


"No need to explain. I read the paper. I wish all of my patients had
someone who cared
about them as much as he obviously cares about you."


There was a sudden racket and raised voices outside of the curtain.


"I want to see Donna Moss right now." A male voice demanded.


"Speak of the devil" said Dr Wagner as she peeked her head out of the
curtain and said
"This way, Mr. Lyman."





Sam spotted Ainsley across the waiting room. She had her back to him
and was fidgeting
nervously. He waited until he was less than five feet away before he
called her name. She
turned around and flung herself into his arms.


"Oh, Sam. Oh, Sam" she said over and over. "I was so scared."


"I know," he said rubbing her back gently. "but its ok now. You're
safe."


Ainsley pulled back and looked in Sam's eyes. She gathered her
courage and decided to
take Donna's advice. She had never been very good at this kind of
thing. The right words
always seemed to desert her.


"There was one thing I was terrified I was going to die without
getting a chance to do."
She said staring intently into his eyes.


"Me too," Sam said with a shy smile.


Suddenly each one realized that the other was thinking the same
thing. All of their
surroundings simply faded away as their lips moved towards each other
and met in a very
sweet but unmistakably passionate kiss.







Later that evening, Josh and Donna sat on the living room couch
staring at the plywood
that had been put in place to cover the shattered window until it
could be replaced. Her
head was on his shoulder. He had his arm wrapped securely around her
waist and was
using his free hand to hold an ice pack on her sore shoulder.


"The landlord is going to start charging us a deposit for all the
broken glass," Donna said.


Josh laughed but he also saw his opportunity to bring up a subject he
had been thinking a
lot about as of late.


"Donna," he started "How would you feel about us getting a new place?
Something we
pick out together, that can be OUR home?"


Donna looked up at him with tears shining in her eyes. "Really, Josh?
Because I was
thinking the same thing earlier today. But are you sure? I know how
much you love this
apartment."


Josh leaned in and kissed Donna gently on the lips. "No, I love you,"
he said. "This is just
an apartment. I want a new place. A place where we can start our life
together without all
of the ghosts of the unhappy past hanging around. So what do you
think?"


"I think I'm the luckiest girl in the world." Donna sighed.


"No, I'm the lucky one" Josh said as he leaned down and captured her
lips in another
kiss. A kiss that held the promise of a lifetime together.



THE END




E-Mail me: kuebsr@hotmail.com