Title: Finding Our Way Back
Rating: May get as high as R, but this part is G.
SPOILERS:*****Even though this fic is basically AU, it takes place
after the events of
War Crimes, and there are certain general references to things, and
people, from that ep.
So to be safe I'll say all everything up to and including War Crimes.

Summary: Josh and Donna learn a few important lessons.

Feedback: Yes, please. It's been a while since I've posted one of
these long angsty ones so
I'd appreciate hearing whether or not you think I've lost my touch.

Archive: Just ask first, please. As soon as it's finished, it will be
posted at Brandy's and
my site:
http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/ram/690/

Special thanks go out to Juliet, for her unswerving support and
gentle nudging to sit down
and get writing.

And to Brandy who finally abandoned subtlety and said---When am I
gonna see a new
story from you? When? WHEN? Why aren't you writing? (insert Darth
Vader breathing
here) LOLOL

Cricket--you asked for a new story for your fortieth birthday--and
you said you didn't
mind angst--so here you go. HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

And lastly, to all of you who have been so wonderful in your support
of my past work--
and have been asking for more. Thanks so much for your interest.
You'll never know how
much I appreciate it. This is for all of you---especially Cheryl and
Tracy.

Wow--Those are the longest AN's I've ever written. I think Erin must
be rubbing off on
me. :)




Donna pulled her car onto the highway and headed out of DC. She was
at loose ends, and she thought that a nice long drive might clear her head.

Things had been unsettled since her deposition in front of the
Oversight Committee. Josh insisted that everything was alright, and he
*had* gone out of his way to help her fix things with Cliff, but
nevertheless...Donna got the distinct impression that he was still
upset with her. Or worse yet..disappointed.

Things just weren't the same between them. They tried to joke and
banter like before...but it seemed forced. They couldn't seem to get
back the easy rapport and rhythm that they had enjoyed ever since
their very first meeting.

Donna blamed herself completely. She was the one who had screwed up,
and she wasn't sure if Josh would ever be able to forgive her. If he
would ever be able to feel the same way about her again.

She wasn't sure how much longer she could continue to work at the
White House. It was getting harder and harder to face Josh every day,
and see the hurt and confusion in his eyes.

Donna blinked back tears as she began to mentally berate herself for
the mess she had made of things. She was determined not to cry. She
had shed more tears in the last few months, since Mrs. Landingham's
death, than she had in the previous ten years.

She was struggling with her emotions, trying to keep them in check,
when her eyes were drawn to the other side of the road.

The pickup in the oncoming lane crossed the centerline heading
straight towards Donna's car. It all happened so fast; she had no time to react.




"Ready to go?" Sam asked, as he and CJ entered Josh's office.

"Yep. Nothing here that can't wait till tomorrow," Josh said, closing
the folder he had been reading.

When CJ had mentioned that she and Sam were going out to grab a few
beers after work, Josh had jumped at the chance to join them. It had
been another long day in a seemingly never-ending series of long days.
He welcomed the opportunity to kick back, relax, and not think about
anything work related. It had been weeks since he'd allowed himself
that luxury.

He hadn't had a relaxing night out since...well...since  before
Donna's deposition, or "diarygate" as he had taken to calling
it...only in his own mind of course.

He had been shaken that Donna had lied, and even more shaken when he
realized the circumstances under which Cliff must have seen her diary.
It was something Josh wasn't prepared to deal with. Something that,
for reasons he couldn't quite place, made him quite ill.

He was having trouble sorting out all of his conflicting emotions
towards Donna. He wasn't angry with her; he knew that. And when she
had come to him and told him about the lie, he had known immediately
that he would do whatever was needed to help her find a way out of
trouble.

Donna was an attractive woman who had every right to her own personal
life. And for some reason he couldn't quite identify, Josh found that
thought very unnerving.

He hated the way things had been between them since the deposition.
He wanted to find a way to put things back to normal with her, or at
least back to as normal and he and Donna had ever been. But more than
that, he wanted to find a way to relieve the anxiety, fear, and
self-recrimination he saw in her eyes every morning.

"Is Donna coming?" CJ asked, breaking Josh out of his reverie.

"No," Josh said, "She's already left for the day."

"Is she ok?" Sam asked.

"Donna hasn't exactly been confiding in me lately," Josh said flatly,
busying himself with shoving papers in his backpack. "I'm not sure I'm
the best person to ask."

"Look," CJ said as she perched on the edge of Josh's desk, "I know
this is none of my business, and if you want me to butt out just say
so. I don't know exactly what happened between the two of you, but
it's quite clear that you're both miserable. Is there any way you can
put this behind you?"

"I want to," Josh answered sincerely. "I really do."

"Then find a way," CJ said gently.

The three of them headed out of the White House for a bar across the
street called Houlihan's. As they waited for the light to change,
Josh's cell phone rang. He glanced at the display and saw Donna's
familiar cell number.

Reading the look on his friend's face, Sam teased, "Well, it can't be
too bad if she is still finding time to check up on you and make sure
you aren't abusing your 'sensitive system'."

"She isn't checking up on me," Josh snapped. "She isn't my keeper."

"Whatever you say," CJ laughed, as she and Sam exchanged knowing
looks.

Josh wasn't sure where the defensiveness he was feeling came from.
For some reason, it was suddenly important to him that Sam and CJ
realize that he and Donna weren't joined at the hip. They weren't
inseparable. They certainly didn't know everything about each
other's lives. Her short liaison with Cliff Calley had made that fact
all too clear.

Josh looked at the smug smiles on the faces of his friends, and then
looked back at his phone. 'One more ring,' he thought. 'and it'll
switch over to voice mail.'

"Aren't you going to check in?" Sam teased.

"Let's go," Josh said, dropping his phone back into his pocket and
stepping off the curb.







"Ten minutes till staff," CJ called as Josh hurried past her towards
his office. "And don't forget, Leo needs the Williams brief."

"I know," Josh said, barely able to hide the irritation in his
voice. "Donna didn't call and wake me up this morning. I guess its
payback for me not answering her call last night. Have you seen her?"

"Not so far this morning," CJ answered, "But if I do, I'll tell her
you're looking for her."

"Please do," Josh said angrily. "I think it's time she and I get a
few things worked out."





By the time staff was over, Josh had calmed down considerably, and
had made a firm decision to talk to Donna as soon as possible. They
needed to clear the air and find a way to get over whatever
awkwardness there was between them, before it started affecting their
work.

As he and CJ entered the bullpen, Josh glanced at Donna's desk and
saw that her computer wasn't turned on. He also noticed that her coat
wasn't hanging on the rack in the corner. He quickly pulled open the
bottom right hand drawer of her desk, and saw that her purse wasn't in
its usual spot.

The irritation that he had been feeling all morning began to morph
into something entirely different. 'Surely she wouldn't have quit over
one unanswered phone call,' he thought. He felt a knot forming in the
pit of his stomach. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

"What is it?" CJ asked worriedly.

"Has anyone seen Donna this morning?" Josh asked loudly enough for
everyone in the bullpen to hear.

After he heard a chorus of "no", he walked towards his office,
pulling his cell phone out of his pocket as he went. He pushed the
button to hear his messages and pressed the phone to his ear.

He relaxed for just a second when he heard Donna's voice, but then
her words began to sink in.

"Hi....Josh. It's me. I was really hoping you'd pick up."

Her voice was distant and thready, and Josh knew immediately that
something was wrong. Fear and panic began to rise in his throat.

"I really need to talk to you. I've been in an accident....it's
pretty bad. I called 911 and the say that they're on the way. But it's
just...there's so much blood...I can't get out of the car...I don't
know if..."

Suddenly her voice broke and she started to sob.

"It's bad, Josh. I don't know if I'm gonna...well...just in case...if
I don't...I need you to know how sorry I am, Josh. How much I regret
what I did and all the trouble I caused. I never meant to hurt you...I
swear. That's the last thing I would ever want to do."

Josh could hear sirens approaching in the background and Donna
sounded as though she was barely hanging on.

"I'm sorry, Josh. I just need you to know that. I'm sorry. Please
forgive me."

Josh stood in the middle of his office, momentarily too stunned to
react. All of the blood drained from his face and his knees suddenly
went weak as he crumbled into the visitor's chair in front of his
desk.

"What is it?" CJ asked frantically.

"Donna," Josh choked out. "She was in an accident."

"What do you mean," CJ said, her own head spinning. "When? Was it
serious?"

"I don't know," Josh said, fighting to regain control as he tried to
figure out the best way to proceed. "I need to call the police right
away. I need to find out what happened. I need to know where she is."

"I'll call the hospitals," CJ said, heading for her own office.

'Why didn't I answer her call?' Josh's mind screamed as he picked up
the phone and dialed the DC Police.

It took 15 minutes, and three phone calls, for Josh to find out a few
sketchy details of Donna's accident. She had been struck head-on by a
pickup that crossed the centerline. It had been traveling at a high
rate of speed, and there had been no chance for Donna to get out of
the way.

The driver of the pickup had been pronounced dead at the scene of the
accident, and Donna had been airlifted by Life Flight helicopter to
Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Josh was out the door as soon as he had the name of the hospital,
with CJ close behind. She yelled a few last minute instructions to
Carol, and asked her to tell Leo what was going on, then dialed Johns
Hopkins as they headed for Josh's car, trying to get some news about
Donna's condition.

The hospital refused to give out anything but the most basic
information over the phone, despite CJ's repeated requests. She even
invoked her position as press secretary to try to intimidate the
nurses, to no avail.

She did learn that Donna had been brought into the ER at
approximately 10:15 PM via Life Flight, that she had been taken almost
immediately to surgery, and that she was now in the Intensive Care
Unit, where her condition was listed as critical.

She disconnected and threw the phone on the dashboard of the car in
frustration.

"They refuse to release any other information to anyone who isn't
family," she snapped. "They wouldn't even bend when I played the
'government official' card. I could call back to the White House and
have Leo try to shake a little information loose."

"I just need to get to the hospital," Josh said in a voice barely
above a whisper, staring out the windshield while his fingers wrapped
tightly around the steering wheel.

For the first time since they had found out where Donna was, CJ took
a second to really look at Josh. He looked like a man about to lose
control. He was pale, eyes staring straight ahead, barely seeming to
focus on the road. His knuckles were white where his fingers gripped
the steering wheel. His breathing was quick and shallow.

"She's gonna be ok, Josh," CJ said in as comforting a voice as she
could manage. "We have to believe that."

"I just need to get to the hospital," Josh repeated. "I can't allow
her to be alone. I need to be there with her. I need to tell her that
I understand. That she has nothing to apologize for."

"What are you talking about?" CJ asked softly.

"The message," Josh choked out. "Donna called me because she wanted
to apologize. She thought I was angry at her and she didn't want to...."

"She didn't want to what?" CJ pressed.

"She was afraid she wasn't gonna make it, CJ," Josh said, fighting
back tears. "She was afraid she was going to die..and all she could
think of was calling me and telling me she was sorry."

CJ sat silently, battling with her own tears.

"She was afraid she was dying, CJ. She wanted to talk to me...and I
didn't even pick up the phone. I had to prove what a big man I was,
how I didn't report to her. And I didn't pick up the phone. And if
anything happens to her, if she doesn't make it, I'll never be able to
forgive myself. Ever."

CJ watched as Josh lost the battle to hold back his tears and they
began to roll down his face. She knew that Josh might never recover if
Donna didn't make it. As they made their way out of DC towards
Baltimore, she sent up a quick prayer that they would never have
to face that eventuality.







After grabbing the first available parking space, one that was marked
Reserved for Dr. Danielson, Josh jumped out of the car and headed for
the main entrance. CJ struggled to keep up as he charged through the
door and headed straight for the admissions desk.

"What floor is the ICU on?" he barked at the young woman sitting
behind the desk.

"It's on the fifth floor but...."

Josh didn't wait for her to finish the sentence before he turned and
walked away. CJ mouthed a quick thank you to the young woman and
followed Josh to the bank of elevators on the other side of the lobby.

Josh punched the UP button over and over as though that would make
the elevator come faster. Just as he was about to turn and head for
the stairwell, the elevator door at the far end opened up.

He repeated the button pushing ritual once again as soon as they were
inside the elevator, first with the 'Door Close' button, and then with
the button for the fifth floor. CJ thought that Josh was very likely
going to have a stroke if they didn't get to the ICU soon.

When the doors finally opened, Josh and CJ stepped out onto the
Intensive Care floor and headed for the nurse's station.

"I need to see Donna Moss," Josh said desperately.

"Are you a member of the family?" the nurse on duty asked.

"No, I'm her boss. Josh Lyman. I need to see her right away."

"I'm sorry, sir," the nurse said calmly, "I can't allow you to visit
Ms. Moss at this time. We have a strict 'family only' visiting policy
on this ward."

"You don't understand," Josh said, his voice rising just enough to
attract the attention of the people around him. "She called me. I need
to see her. I have to tell her...."

"Please lower your voice, sir," the nurse said kindly but sternly.
She was used to dealing with people at emotional loose ends. It came
with the job of being an ICU nurse. She knew that she had to maintain
control of the situation. For her own sake, and for the sake of
everyone else involved.

CJ stepped forward and spoke in hushed tones.

"Look, we're sorry. It's just that we're trying to find out some
information about our friend. We know that she was brought in last
night after a serious car accident. We just need to know how she's
doing."

"Her condition is currently listed as critical," the nurse
answered. "That's all I can tell you."

"Then find someone who can tell us more," Josh growled, fixing the
nurse with a look usually reserved for political enemies.

"I'll see what I can do," she said, and headed off down the hall.






Josh paced angrily around the office of Dr. Warren Alcott, Chief of
Emergency Medicine. He and CJ had arrived 15 minutes earlier, after
being told that Dr. Alcott was the only man who could give them any
information about Donna. Josh's frustration level was just about to
reach critical mass, and he looked around the room for something to
throw.

Just as he was about to storm back to the ICU and straight into
Donna's room, Dr. Alcott arrived, carrying a chart. He was followed by
the nurse Josh had spoken with in the ICU.

"Hello, I'm Warren Alcott," he said, extending his hand to Josh.

"Josh Lyman," Josh said as he shook the doctor's hand, "And this is
CJ Cregg. We're here to see my assistant. Donnatella Moss."

"I believe that Nurse Harris explained to you that that won't be
possible at this time," Dr. Alcott said as he flipped open the chart
in his hand and began to review it.

"Look, I'm not sure you know..." Josh began.

"I know exactly who you are, Mr. Lyman," Dr. Alcott said
sternly, "and it doesn't make any difference in this situation. Our
policies are in place for a reason. They are what's best for our
patients, and for our staff. Ms. Moss is being well cared for, but
right now she can have no visitors outside of her immediate family."

"Her family is in Wisconsin," Josh said. "Have they been notified?
Are they on their way?"

Josh was determined to find a way to get around the rules and get in
to see Donna, but until he managed to do that, he didn't want her to
be alone. He wanted someone to be there with her.

Dr. Alcott glanced at the nurse who answered somewhat sadly, "I
talked to her family myself last night. They indicated that they
weren't going to come at this time, but they asked me to call with any
updates on her condition."

"So she's alone?" Josh choked.

"I assure you, Mr. Lyman, our staff here is very skilled. She's
receiving the best treatment possible."

"But she needs to have someone with her," Josh pleaded. "Someone to
talk to her. If I could just see her for a few minutes. Just to tell
her that everything is going to be ok."

"I'm sorry," Dr. Alcott said. "That isn't going to be possible at
this time.

Josh raked his hands through his hair in frustration. After the
shooting, Donna had made sure that he was never alone. She had spent
almost 24 hours a day by his bedside, talking to him, coaxing him back
to consciousness, giving him the strength to fight through the
pain. And now she needed him to do the same for her, and he couldn't.

"Could you at least tell us a little more about her condition?" CJ
asked.

The doctor looked at Josh's desperate statement.

"Ms. Moss suffered severe chest and stomach trauma. She sustained
damage to her liver, her lower bowel, and both lungs. She suffered
massive internal bleeding. Right now, she is on life support while we
wait to see how her body bounces back after the surgery. She also
suffered multiple contusions and lacerations, but those are
secondary at this point."

Josh stared at the doctor in stunned disbelief. How could he be so
mechanical? This was Donna he was talking about! How could he talk
about her like she was just another patient?

"What are her chances?" CJ managed to choke out.

"I don't give odds on a patient's survival," Dr. Alcott said. "Right
now, we're just waiting to see if she can bounce back from the trauma."

CJ stepped over and wrapped a supportive arm around Josh's
shoulder. "She'll be ok," she whispered. "She's a fighter. She'll make
it through this."

"Look," Dr. Alcott said, his voice softening slightly, "Leave a
number with Nurse Harris where you can be reached, and we'll keep you
updated on any changes in Ms. Moss' condition. That's really all I can
offer you at this time."

"Thank you," CJ said.

Josh pulled a business card from his wallet. He borrowed the nurse's
pen and scribbled his cell number on the back.

"Please call me if there's any change at all," he pleaded, "Or as
soon as she is allowed visitors."

"I'll do that," Nurse Harris said softly as she took the card from
his hand. She understood the reason that the hospital policies were in
place, but just this once she really wished she could make an
exception.







CJ drove back to the White House, realizing that Josh was really in
no shape to drive and knowing that another car accident was the last
thing they needed at this point in time. Josh stared silently out the
window, occasionally lifting his cell phone to his ear and listening
to Donna's message again.

"Don't torture yourself, Josh," CJ begged. "None of this is your
fault."

"I let her down," Josh said despondently. "I wasn't there when she
needed me. She reached out to me, and I wasn't there."

"You had no way of knowing," CJ consoled.

"I knew it was her on the phone," Josh argued. "But I had to prove a
point, so I didn't answer it. I wasn't busy. I wasn't in an important
meeting. I just chose not to answer the phone. She needed me...and I
wasn't there for her."

CJ turned her attention back to the road as Josh lifted the phone to
his ear, once again listening to Donna's words. She wished she knew
what to say to help Josh get out from under some of the tremendous
guilt he was feeling, but she couldn't find the right words.

Truth be told, CJ was feeling a little guilty herself. If she and Sam
hadn't teased Josh, he probably would have answered Donna's call.

The two friends spent the remainder of the drive lost in their own
thoughts, each trying to come to grips with their own feelings of
guilt and helplessness.







As soon as they returned to the west wing, Josh headed directly to
his office and closed the door, making it very clear he wanted to be
alone. CJ headed to Toby's office to fill him in on what was going on,
and to ask his advice on how to best handle the situation.

"Is he in?" she asked Ginger as she approached the office.

"Yeah," Ginger answered. "Leo and Sam are in there with him."

"Good," CJ said, "I wanted to talk to all of them anyway."

CJ knocked on Toby's office door, then opened it and stuck her head
in.

"Am I interrupting anything?" she asked.

"No, no, come in," Leo said. "How's Donna?"

"Well, her condition is critical. She suffered some very serious
chest and stomach injuries. She's on life support. The doctor said
it's just a matter of waiting to see how her body bounces back."

"Is Josh with her?" Sam asked.

"No," CJ answered, the frustration clear in her voice.

"Why not?" Toby and Leo asked in unison.

"Johns Hopkins has a strict visitation policy in the ICU. Family
only," CJ said angrily. "They made it perfectly clear there would be
NO exceptions."

"How did Josh take that news?" Leo asked.

"How do you think?" CJ asked sarcastically.

"Where is he now?" Leo asked.

"He's in his office," CJ said, "And frankly I'm worried about him.
He's feeling guilty because didn't take Donna's call last night."

"What call?" Toby asked.

"Last night," CJ explained, "Josh, Sam, and I were headed out for a
drink after work. Josh's cell rang and it was Donna. But Sam and I
teased him about needing to report to her, and how she would remind
him not to abuse his 'sensitive system', so he didn't pick it up, he
let the voice mail answer."

CJ glanced nervously at Sam and could see he was battling the same
feelings of guilt she was.

"And?" Leo asked impatiently.

"And Donna was calling from the scene of the accident," CJ said
sadly. "She was scared, and she wasn't sure she was gonna make it, and
she wanted to talk to Josh. There were some things she wanted to tell
him. She wanted to apologize for the whole Cliff fiasco. She wanted to
be sure Josh knew how sorry she was."

"Oh God," Leo said, shaking his head sadly.

"I'm going to talk to Josh," Sam said abruptly as he stood up and
moved towards the door.

"I'll go with you," CJ said.

After they left, Toby looked at Leo.

"I just hope that Donna recovers soon...or those three are gonna eat
themselves alive with guilt."







As Sam and CJ entered Josh's office, they saw him sitting at his desk
with his cell phone pressed to his ear. It took them a second to
realize that he wasn't talking to anyone; he was listening to Donna's
message yet again.

"Are you ok?" Sam asked.

"I'm fine," Josh answered flatly.

"Look, Josh...." Sam began.

"No, you look," Josh said, standing up quickly, "I don't want to hear
how none of this is my fault. How I couldn't possibly have known."

CJ and Sam stood silent as Josh raged on.

"I didn't answer the damn phone. She needed me and I wasn't there.
She needed to hear me tell her that she had nothing to be sorry
for...and I didn't pick up the damn phone. And now she's alone."

"I'm sure she knows you'd be there if you could," Sam said.

"She's alone," Josh said plaintively. "She needs someone with her,
someone to reassure her. I know she's terrified...I certainly was when
I was in her position. But I had her to hold on to, and now she has no
one."

"Josh...." CJ tried to interrupt.

"She needed me to be there for her but I was too busy having a beer
and relaxing," Josh said.

Suddenly, Josh's face dropped. He looked as though he was going to
be sick.

"What is it?" CJ asked worriedly as she stepped forward and grabbed
his elbow.

"Donna was in an accident, and I stopped for a beer," he choked out.

And the reality of his words hit him like a ton of bricks.



Josh stared blankly at the files spread out in front of him on his
desk. No matter how hard he tried to concentrate, he just couldn't
absorb any of the information. The only thing he could think about was
Donna, lying in a hospital bed, hurt and alone.

The ringing of his cell phone snapped him out of his daze.

"Josh Lyman," he said tiredly, scrubbing his face with his free hand.

"Mr. Lyman, I'm not sure if you remember me. My name is Sophie Harris.
I'm a nurse in the ICU ward at Johns Hopkins."

"Is something wrong with Donna?" Josh asked frantically as his heart
leapt immediately to his throat.

"No, no, nothing like that," Sophie said soothingly. "Your friend's
condition is still the same."

Josh put his hand to his chest and waited for his heartbeat and
breathing to return to normal.

"Is there something else I can help you with?" he asked after he
calmed down.

"Actually, I think there might be something I can help you with,"
Sophie answered.

"How so?" Josh asked, suddenly intrigued.

"Look, Mr. Lyman..." she began.

"Please, call me Josh."

"Ok, Josh....I'm so sorry that Dr. Alcott refused to bend the rules
this morning. I can tell that Ms. Moss is very special and that you
care about her very much."

"She is and I do," Josh said softly, "The problem is that I haven't
been very good lately about making sure that she knows that. That's
why I need to see her."

"I understand," Sophie said. "That's why I'm calling. You see...I'm
working double shifts this week. I'm covering for one of the nurses on
the night shift who has the flu."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Josh said, "but I don't really understand
what that has to do with me."

"The ward is much quieter late at night...say around midnight...and
there are a lot fewer people around. It would be much easier for a
person to sneak in unnoticed around that time," Sophie said, praying
Josh caught her meaning.

"Are you saying...." Josh asked hopefully.

"I'm not saying anything," Sophie answered, cutting him off. "I'm
just telling you about my work schedule."

"I understand," Josh said, feeling a sudden rush of gratitude.

"Good," Sophie smiled, "I'm glad. I'll make sure that you're updated
regularly on your friend's condition. Goodbye."

"Goodbye," Josh said, "and thanks...for telling me... about your work
schedule I mean."

Josh smiled his first genuine smile of the day. He was going to get
to see Donna after all.







"Well, if no one has anything else, I guess we're through," the
President said, calling an end to the afternoon meeting of the senior staff.

He was met with a chorus of 'thank you, sir,' as the staffers all
rose.

"Josh, could you stay behind for a minute? I need to talk to you
about something."

Josh remained as the others headed out to their own offices.

"Have a seat," the President said.

Josh took a seat on the couch and the President sat in the armchair
directly across from him.

"Leo told me about Donna. How is she doing?"

"About the same, sir," Josh answered. "It's still a matter of waiting
to see how things go."

"I've been married to a doctor for many years, Josh. Abbey has always
said that the waiting is the hardest part. But the human body is a
remarkable machine. It can heal itself in ways that can only be
described as miraculous."

"I know that firsthand, sir," Josh replied.

"Yes, you do," the President answered. "Now I understand that the
people over at Johns Hopkins are being sticklers for the rules and not
letting you visit Donna. That just isn't acceptable. She needs you
now. If you want, I can make a few phone calls."

"I appreciate it, sir," Josh smiled, "but I've got it covered. I'm
going to see Donna tonight."

"Excellent, then you didn't need my help after all. I should have
known that Bartlet's Bulldog would find a way."

"Thanks, but I actually owe this one to the kindness of a stranger."

Charlie knocked lightly and popped his head in to tell the President
that his next appointment had arrived.

"I guess I better go," Josh said, rising and moving towards the door.

"If there's anything Abbey and I can do to help, don't hesitate to
ask," the President said with a paternal tone in his voice, "We think
of Donna as a member of our family."







Josh arrived at the hospital just before midnight. He entered the
main lobby and was glad to see that there wasn't much activity. He
made his way up to the fifth floor and stepped off the elevator,
looking around cautiously.

He glanced at the nurse's desk and saw Sophie Harris talking on the
phone. She pointed at Donna's room, winked at him, then turned her
back and pretended to be engrossed in the charts laying on her desk.


Josh smiled at her gratefully and slipped quietly into Donna's room.
At first he was shocked by her appearance. He had never seen her look
so pale. Her face and neck were covered with small cuts that Josh
assumed must have come from flying glass. There were IV lines running
into both arms. A heart monitor beeped softly and steadily. The most
jarring thing was the large tube down Donna's throat. Josh knew that,
at this moment, it was keeping her alive by helping her breath, but
all he could think of was that Donna would hate it.

He used to make fun of her because she sometimes managed to gag
herself with her own toothbrush. She just hated having things that far
back in her throat.

Josh approached the bed slowly. When he reached her side, he leaned
over and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Hey, Donna. I'm here. I'm sorry it took me so long. It seems you're
an extra special patient and the folks around here aren't gonna let
just anyone in to see you. I had to pass muster with the staff before
I was deemed worthy of a visit," Josh teased.

He pulled a chair beside the bed and gently clasped Donna's hand.

"Seriously, I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner. And I'm sorry I
didn't answer my phone when you called. I was being an idiot,
Donna. It was all me. None of this was your fault at all. You have
nothing to apologize for."

Josh swiped at the tears that had begun to trickle down his cheeks.

"I handled the whole Cliff thing badly. I know that you would never
betray me. I've been acting like an ass because...well...I just wasn't
ready to admit that I was... It didn't matter that Cliff happened to
be a Republican, or that he happened to be on Oversight. I would have
been upset no matter who it was."

Josh closed his eyes tightly and tried to come up with the right
words.

"I was jealous, Donna. That's all there is to it. And I was just too
much of an idiot to understand that. But I understand it now, and I
want a chance to make all of this up to you. But in order for me to do
that, you have to wake up, ok? You have to get better and you have to
get out of this bed."

Josh leaned forward and caressed Donna's cheek softly.

"When you wake up, we need to have a talk. I need to tell you the
truth about why I acted the way I did."

"Please, Donna---just wake up."







"How is she? Did you get to see her?" Sam asked anxiously as Josh
entered the west wing the next morning.

"Yeah, I did," Josh said, his relief clearly evident. "She's in bad
shape, but she's hanging in there. The nurses said that if she has
another good day today, they might start weaning her off the
respirator."

"That's great news," CJ said as she walked up behind Sam and Josh.

"It sure is," Sam agreed. "Any idea when she might be able to have
other visitors?"

"Not yet," Josh answered. "Look, Sam, I know you want to see her, and
I'd try to sneak you in if I could. It's just that Nurse Harris is
taking a big risk for me and I don't want to do anything that might
jeopardize any future visits."

"I understand," Sam said.

"We just want her to know we're thinking about her," CJ added.

"I know. I told her that everyone here wishes they could visit," Josh
assured them. Suddenly he turned more serious. Getting to see Donna
had helped him tremendously, but he knew that he wasn't the only one
who had been affected by her accident.

"You guys have nothing to feel guilty about," he said resolutely. "I'm
the one who decided not to answer the phone. I'm the one who was
acting like a jackass. This is all on me. You guys have been good
friends to Donna and I know she appreciates it. I appreciate it too."

"But if we hadn't teased you..." Sam started.

"I would have been a jackass anyway. Come on-you know me."

"True," CJ agreed. "You very well might have found a way to screw
this up by yourself."

"Thanks," Josh smiled. "Your confidence in me is inspiring."

"Anytime," CJ smirked. "Just tell Donna we're thinking about her."

"And that we'll visit as soon as we can," Sam added.

"I'll do that tonight," Josh said as he checked his watch and saw
that it was 16 hours until he would be able to see Donna again.







Josh kept up the same routine for the next three days. Every morning
he went in to work and tried to keep busy doing the country's
business. He received hourly updates on Donna's condition from the
nursing staff at Johns Hopkins. He took every call from them, even if
he needed to interrupt a meeting to do it.

At midnight each night, Sophie Harris turned her back while Josh
slipped quietly into Donna's room. They never spoke when Sophie came
in during the night to check on things, or adjust an IV; they just
exchanged knowing smiles. And Josh was always careful to slip out
around 5 AM before the morning staff began to arrive. He was grateful
for what Sophie was doing and he didn't want to get her in trouble.

Things were going well. Donna's condition was improving steadily. In
the days since the accident, she had been weaned off of the respirator
and was now breathing on her own. Her vital signs were getting
stronger by the hour. The doctors felt certain that she had turned a
corner in her recovery.

Josh looked at his watch as he sat gently stroking Donna's hair.

"I'm gonna have to go soon," he said sadly. "It's almost time for the
morning shift to get here. But I'll be back tonight. And I'll pick up
some of those magazines you like so much on the way. I wouldn't want
you to miss a Cosmo quiz while you're in here."

He leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"You're doing great, Donna. Really great. I just know you're gonna be
up and around in no time. Now you just keep getting better and I'll
see you in 19 hours. Ok?"

He brushed Donna's hair back and placed a soft kiss on the tip of her
nose.

"Have a good day," he sighed. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Just as Josh reached for the doorknob he heard a soft sigh from
behind him, then a small, scratchy voice said, "Please don't go yet."

Josh wheeled around quickly and was met by the joyous sight of
Donna's big blue eyes.


Josh was back at Donna's bedside in no time flat. The grin on his
face stretched from ear to ear, and his dimples were out in full
force. In all of the hours since the accident, he had prayed to see
Donna's beautiful blue eyes again, and now he was staring into them,
and
he felt as though he could get lost there forever.

He reached out and caressed her face softly, never breaking eye
contact. Donna pressed her cheek into his hand.

"Hey there," he said softly, "Welcome back. You really had me worried
for a while."

"What happened?" Donna asked groggily, trying to acclimate herself to
her surroundings.

"You had a car accident. Don't you remember?"

"Kind of," Donna answered, trying to shake the cobwebs out of her
head, "It's a little blurry."

"That's ok," Josh said, brushing her hair back off of her face. "You
just relax. It will all come back to you."

"I'm thirsty," Donna said, as she attempted to sit up. Suddenly her
face contorted in pain and she dropped back to the pillows.

"Are you ok?" Josh asked, trying not to panic.

"I think so," Donna said, clutching her stomach. "It just hurts. I
shouldn't have moved so fast.

"I'm going to get a doctor," Josh said hurriedly. "You just hang on,
I'll be right back."

Donna nodded in agreement, still trying desperately to fight off the
pain as Josh headed out the door towards the nurse's station.







Two hours later, Josh was on his way back to Donna's bedside. He had
been pacing nervously in the waiting room while the doctors ran a
series of tests. When they were done, the nurse on duty informed Josh
that he could go back in. He didn't stop to question why he was
suddenly cleared to visit; he was too anxious to check on Donna.

When he entered her room, he was surprised to see how much better she
looked. Her bed had been raised up until she was almost in a sitting
position. She was still pale, although some color was beginning to
return to her cheeks. She smiled at Josh when she saw him. It wasn't
her brightest smile, but it definitely made his stomach do a
cartwheel.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, as he approached the bed and took
Donna's hand in his.

"Much better," she said, gently rubbing her thumb over his knuckles.

"Much better, indeed," Dr. Alcott said, entering the room carrying
Donna's test results. "In fact, I'd say you're just about ready to be
moved out of ICU."

"That's great," Josh beamed.

The doctor fixed Josh with a gaze that clearly showed he wanted to
know how he had managed to circumvent the rules and get in to see
Donna in the ICU. Josh simply stared right back at him with a look
usually intended to strike fear in the hearts and minds of wayward
senators. The two men seemed to reach an unspoken agreement as the
doctor
turned back to Donna.

"All of your tests look good, Ms. Moss. I couldn't be more pleased
with your progress. We'll be moving you down to a regular ward today,
and if you continue to heal at this rate, we should be able to release
you within a few days."

"Thank you, Doctor Alcott," Donna said sweetly.

"Don't thank me," the doctor said sincerely. "You're obviously a
fighter."

"Yes, she is," Josh smiled, bringing Donna's hand to his lips and
placing a kiss on the palm.







After Donna was settled in her new room, Josh finally saw the chance
he had been waiting for to talk to her. He sat on the edge of her bed
and twisted his hands nervously.

"Donna, do you remember calling me after the accident, before the
ambulance came?" he asked.

"Vaguely," Donna answered, a small frown creasing her face. "I
remember that I wanted to tell you how sorry I was. That I wanted to
try to explain..."

"Shhhh," Josh placed his fingers against her lips to quiet her. "You
have nothing to apologize for, Donna. I was the one who was acting
like a child."

"But...the whole thing with Cliff. I never should have seen him the
second time. And I never should have lied about the diary," Donna said
as her eyes began to tear up. "You took a huge chance fixing things
for me. I could have gotten you into a lot of trouble over that."

"I straightened things out with Cliff because I wanted to," Josh
assured her. "There was no way I was letting him make trouble for you.
Not after the way he treated you."

"But ever since then we've been...I don't know...different. I mean,
you've been acting....different...kind of distant. And I
know that you must still be angry with me."

"Listen to me," Josh said, choosing his words carefully, "I was never
angry with you. I've been thinking a lot about this in the last few
days and I've come to realize something. I acted the way I did because
I was...."

"Donna!" Sam and CJ exclaimed as they burst through the door.

"Sam! CJ!" Donna said, obviously pleased to see her friends.

"How are you?" they asked as they enveloped Donna in a hug,
remembering to be careful of her injuries.

"I'm feeling better, thanks. The doctor said he's pleased with my
progress. He might actually let me go home in a few days."

"That's great," CJ said, "Everyone at work will be happy to hear
that. We've all been worried about you."

"I appreciate that," Donna said, swiping at the tears threatening to
fall from her eyes. "So...tell me what I've missed."

CJ and Sam spent the next hour filling Donna in on everything that
had been going on at the White House in the last few days. They
carefully avoided any talk about her accident, sensing that that was
something she was still working through.

Josh sat in a chair beside Donna's bed, occasionally joining in the
conversation, but mostly just enjoying the sight of Donna talking
happily with CJ and Sam. He had initially been upset about being
interrupted right on the verge of telling Donna everything he had
wanted to tell her since the accident, but seeing her smiling and
happy more than made up for that. They would have plenty of time to
talk later. Right now he was just reveling in the sound of her voice.

After a while, Donna's eyes began to drift closed.

"I think we better go," CJ said, "You look tired, and I have to get
back for the afternoon briefing."

"I guess I'm not back to full strength yet," Donna yawned.

"Just give it time," Sam said comfortingly. "It'll come back."

"Do you need to go with them?" Donna asked Josh, as Sam and CJ walked
towards the door.

"No, I'm gonna stay here with you today," he said softly.

"Are you sure?" she asked worriedly. "Aren't there things you need to
be taking care of at work?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" he teased.

"Not a chance," she said, suddenly looking down at the bed, afraid
that her eyes were giving too much away.

CJ and Sam said their goodbyes and promised to come back and visit as
soon as possible.

"I'm glad they could come by," Donna said as she closed her eyes and
snuggled down into her pillow.

"Me too," Josh agreed, reaching behind him and lowering the blinds to
darken the room so Donna could sleep more easily.

"What were you saying right before they came in?"

"We can talk about that later, Donna. Right now you need some sleep."

"You're sure you want to stay?" she asked tentatively. She wanted him
too, but she wanted to give him an out if he was looking for one.

"Positive. I'll be right here when you wake up."

Donna drifted off to sleep with her hand in Josh's, and a smile on
her face.




She was awakened several hours later by the ringing of Josh's cell
phone.

"Lyman," he said quietly, moving to the corner of the room in an
attempt not to disturb Donna.

He listened intently to the person on the other end of the phone.

"When? How? How many?"

Josh scrubbed his face in frustration and cast a look at Donna,
seeing that she was now wide awake.

"I'll be right there."

He moved over to the side of the bed.

"I have to go. There's a crisis at work. Something about trouble at
one of our embassies."

"I understand," Donna said. "Go. They need you."

"Ok, but I'll be back as soon as I can." He gave her hand a squeeze
and kissed her quickly on the cheek.

Donna was momentarily stunned, still celebrating the feeling of his
lips on her cheek, when Josh reached the door, threw one last dimpled
smile over his shoulder, and was gone.





The next few days were a blur. Donna continued to get stronger,
healing faster than anyone could have anticipated. She completed all
of her physical therapy plus some. Nurse Harris stopped by several
times to check on her progress and was impressed by how quickly Donna
was healing.

The uprising at the embassy was ongoing, so Josh didn't get to visit
nearly as much as he wanted to. It seemed as though every time he was
about to make it out of the west wing, some new fire erupted that he
needed to put out.

When he did make it over, it was usually late at night. Donna would
struggle to stay awake and wait for him, but it was a battle she
usually lost. Then she would wake up at 4 AM and find him asleep in
the chair next to her bed, his head resting on her mattress.

They hadn't been able to find a minute to finish their discussion.
Donna realized that they had both spent a lot of time assuming they
knew what the other was feeling after the situation with Cliff. And,
for the most part, they had both been wrong. The conversation
was going to have to wait until the crisis at the White House was
resolved.

Josh spent his time either in briefings, strategy sessions, or on the
Hill trying to put together support for the President's plan to deal
with the situation.

He talked to Donna several times a day on the phone, and each time he
did, she insisted that he not waste the two hours round trip driving
to the hospital, when he would be better off using the time to sleep

"You don't want to see me?" he pouted teasingly.

"I don't want to see you fall asleep driving and end up in a bed up
in the ICU," she admonished with a laugh. "Nurse Harris might not like
me as much as she likes you, and I wouldn't get any late night
visiting privileges."

Josh laughed, and thought how good it was to do that with Donna again.

But despite her pleas, he usually made the trip anyway. He simply
felt the need to see her, to touch her hand, to assure himself that
she was ok. The few hours he managed to spend with her recharged his
batteries, even if she was asleep most of the time. Just being near
her helped energize him.





It seemed like no time before Dr. Alcott told Donna that she would be
able to go home, as long as she agreed to twice daily drop-ins by a
visiting nurse, just to check and make sure that everything was going
ok.

She had intended to go back to her own apartment, but Josh had been
insistent. He wanted her at his place. He argued that it was closer to
both the White House and to GW. If anything went wrong, she would be
better off there.

Besides, he reasoned, with his place being so much closer to work, he
could slip away for visits more often. Donna argued half-heartedly for
a while, insisting she could take care of herself, but she finally had
to admit that the idea of recuperating at Josh's apartment had a
definite appeal. Eventually she gave in, which made Josh
extraordinarily happy.






Josh had planned to be there to take Donna home from the hospital,
but he ended up tied up in a briefing with the National Security
Advisors. He called to ask Donna is she could wait a few more hours
for him, but she assured him that she would be fine taking a cab. He
protested vociferously, but she insisted. She was anxious to get
out of the hospital and to get settled in to a real bed. Josh finally
acquiesced, albeit grudgingly.

Ten minutes later, Sophie Harris entered Donna's room.

"Are you ready to go?" the nurse asked.

"Almost, I just need to call a cab," Donna said, zipping her duffel
bag.

"No, you don't. I'm driving you," Sophie said matter-of-factly.

"No, no, no. I can't ask you to do that. That's far too much trouble.
It's no problem. I'll get a cab."

"If I let you go in a cab, that boyfriend of yours would have my
head," Sophie chuckled. "He's the one who 'suggested' I offer you a
ride to begin with. He can be very persuasive."

"I'm so sorry about that," Donna said, shaking her head in
embarrassment. "He's just being a worrywart. He feels badly because he
can't be here himself."

"I got that impression," Sophie said dryly.

"Oh, and he's not my boyfriend, he's my boss."

Sophie smiled, using all her energy to hold back an outright laugh.

"What's so funny?" Donna asked.

"Ms. Moss, it probably isn't my place to say this. But I know people.
I see them at times in their life where worry and fear makes it
impossible for them to hide behind whatever masks they usually wear. I
saw Mr. Lyman when he first arrived here after the accident. And I saw
him every night afterward. And I saw how you looked at him when you
first woke up-and how you light up every time you hear his name."

Donna blushed as Sophie continued.

"Trust me-what you two share is a lot more than a typical
boss/assistant relationship. And you two are the only ones who can't
see that. Now lets get you home before your 'boss' starts wondering
where we are and sends out the FBI."

Donna smiled as she picked up her bag---still trying to wrap her mind
around Sophie's words.

'Oh yeah,' she thought, 'As soon as this crisis is over, we
DEFINITELY need to talk.'



Donna was settled comfortably into Josh's guest room by the time the
crisis at the embassy finally came to an end two days later. Josh
called more or less every hour, and managed to get over to check on
her in person three times. The final time, he had been so tired that
he had headed back to the White House without his backpack.

Donna was about to go stir crazy, with nothing to do but play
solitaire and watch CNN, so she decided to organize Josh's papers. It
was about as close to getting back to work as she was going to get, at
least for a few days.

She made short work of the papers, throwing out 2 week-old message
slips and arranging the rest into nice neat folders. She was about to
load everything back into the backpack when she realized that there
was still something in the bottom. She chuckled as she reached in and
found Josh's cell phone. She checked and saw that the ringer was
turned off. She wondered how many people were trying to get in touch
with him and
wondering why he wasn't answering.

She glanced at the display and saw that there were 12 messages. She
decided to check them, then call and let Josh know if there was
anything he needed to take care of right away. She grabbed a pencil
and began to take note of each call. None of them seemed urgent, but
she figured that she would call and pass them along anyway--just in
case.

Donna got to the last message and froze. It was her voice. She
listened carefully as the words she had said the night of the accident
drifted back to her. She closed her eyes against an onslaught of
terrifying emotions. She was suddenly having crystal clear flashes
of the moments after the accident. How scared she had been. How
uncertain over whether or not she would live. And how desperately she
wanted to talk to Josh.

She was still sitting on the couch lost in thought two hours later
when Josh came through the door.

"Hey there," he said as he noticed her sitting on the couch, "Why
aren't you in bed? You need your rest."

"I was just organizing your backpack," Donna said, forcing herself
out of memories of the past and back into the present.

As Josh moved towards the couch, he saw that Donna was clutching his
cell phone tightly in her hand. It only took one close look at her
face for him to realize what had happened.

"Are you ok?" he asked softly as he took a seat beside her on the
couch. He gently lifted the phone from her hand and placed it on the
coffee table.

"I'm fine," she assured him, "It was just...kind of...a shock, you
know?"

"I'm sure it was," he said, mentally berating himself for not getting
rid of the message earlier.

"It brought some memories into clearer focus."

"Are you ok?" Josh asked, his voice full of concern.

"Yeah," Donna said, managing a small smile that wasn't entirely
convincing.

Josh shifted uncomfortably in his seat, uncertain if this was the
time to proceed with the conversation he had wanted to have for so
long. Finally, he decided that there was no time like the present..

"I wanted to talk to you about that night, Donna," he began haltingly.

"What about it?"

"Well, things had been so awkward between us," he began.

"I know. But that was all my fault..." Donna interrupted.

"No, it wasn't," Josh insisted. "It was no one's fault really. We
we're both dealing with an unfamiliar situation and neither one of us
was handling it very well."

"I should have explained to you..." Donna continued.

"You don't owe me any explanations," Josh said, softly but
firmly. "The fact of the matter is that I was denying my own feelings,
and that was causing me to take things out on you that I had no right
to."

Donna sighed and looked in Josh's eyes. She could see so much pain
and guilt there. She wanted to get to the heart of the problem so that
they could get past this.

"That night?" she asked, trying to bring the conversation back around
to where it had started.

"Right," Josh said, taking a deep breath. "That night, CJ and Sam
asked me if I wanted to stop for a beer with them on the way home. It
had been so long since I'd relaxed. I jumped at the chance. I figured
a night of abusing my 'sensitive system' might be just what I needed."

Donna smiled, "Go on."

"We were on our way to Houlihan's when my cell rang." Josh's voice
dropped, and his face clouded over. "It was you."

"And you decided not to answer," Donna said quietly, suddenly
understanding the source of Josh's guilt.

"CJ and Sam started teasing me about you checking up on me. And I
couldn't deal with all of the feelings I had about that, and about the
realization that you might not always be around to do that. And so I
acted like an ass, and I passed the call on to voice mail," Josh
said guiltily.

He dropped Donna's hand and stared at the couch. He couldn't bear to
see the hurt and the anger that he was sure were in her eyes. He was
wondering if he should go into his bedroom and leave her alone to
think when her hand reached over and took his.

"It's ok, Josh," she said sweetly.

"No, it isn't. What if things had turned out differently?" he
shivered involuntarily as he considered the possibilities of what
might have happened.

"But they didn't," Donna said calmly. "I'm here. Everything is fine."

"Thank God," Josh sighed.

Donna placed her other hand against Josh's cheek and forced him to
look at her.

"You didn't know about the accident, Josh. There's no way you could
have anticipated that."

"Still..." he said, unable to let go of the guilt.

"I used to do it all the time you know," Donna said, her voice
holding a little guilt of its own.

"What?"

"Duck your phone calls."

"Really?"

"Yep. If you called late at night, or on a Sunday morning. When I saw
your number on the caller ID I would ignore it, because I didn't want
you to ask me to work," she confessed.

Josh smiled slightly, then realized what she had said. "You said you
used to do that. You don't anymore?"

"No," Donna said resolutely.

"Why did you stop?"

"Rosslyn."

"Oh."

"I realized that we never know what's going to happen next. I vowed
then and there to never take for granted that there would be a
tomorrow," Donna said.

"I know the feeling," Josh agreed.

"Looks like we may have both learned the same lesson the hard way,"
Donna said, looking deeply into Josh's eyes and seeing that there was
something else there. Something he had yet to tell her about. "What is
it, Josh? What else is bothering you?"

"Donna..." Josh said, grasping for words, still unable to shake the
one thought that had plagued him since he found about the accident.

"Tell me," Donna pleaded.

"I...I...I stopped for a beer," he said as he looked at her
helplessly.

Like a flash, Donna knew exactly what he was talking about. She
squeezed his hand tightly.

"You're not like him, Josh. Not at all."

"But you were in an accident. You needed me. And I stopped for a
beer," Josh said, giving voice to his guilt.

"There's a huge difference," Donna said gently. "He knew about the
accident and he stopped anyway. You didn't know."

"If I had picked up the phone I would have known."

"But you didn't pick it up and there's nothing we can do to change
that."

"I just..." Josh continued to torture himself over that night.

"Can I ask you a question?" Donna said, realizing that Josh had
beaten himself up long enough, and wanting to put this issue to rest
once and for all.

"Of course," Josh choked out, anticipating any harsh words she might
have to say.

"If you had picked up the phone, if you had known about the accident,
would you still have gone to the bar with CJ and Sam?"

"Of course not," Josh answered adamantly.

"And that's how you are different from him," Donna said with a
smile. "You cared, but you didn't know. He knew, but he didn't care."

Josh smiled as he realized that Donna meant every word she was saying.

"We still need to talk about why things were so strained between us
after the night you told me about Cliff," he said.

"I know. But there's time for that later," Donna said tiredly,
leaning over and laying her head on Josh's shoulder.

"Donna, I have to tell you this. I realize now that I wasn't angry
with you. I was jealous. Jealous that you were going out with anyone.
His party affiliation and committee assignment just kind of
exacerbated the situation," Josh said as the words tumbled quickly out
of his mouth. He wasn't sure that this was the best possible time for
his
confession, but he felt better for having said the words.

Donna lifted her head and looked at Josh. "I don't know why I even
accepted the date in the first place. I was so tired, and we hadn't
really talked in weeks because you were so busy. I just needed a break
and..."

"You don't have to explain it to me," Josh said softly.

"Well, I want to. The problem is that I'm not sure I understand it
myself. I'm not sure I even know why things happened the way they did."

"All I know is that I don't want to go through that again," Josh said
as he leaned back against the couch and pulled her to his side,
finally able to relax for the first time in weeks.

"Amen!" Donna said as she snuggled into his side.

"Look, Donna, I want to do this right. I don't want to rush you.
This...what we have between us..is too precious for that. I want to
nurture it and let it grow at it's own pace," Josh said, planting a
kiss on the top of her head.

"I agree," Donna sighed.

"So would you consider having dinner with me some night?"

"Why, Joshua," Donna smiled into his shoulder, "are you asking me out
on a date?"

"Yes," Josh smiled back, "I guess I am."

"I'd love to." Donna said emphatically.

"Excellent! Unfortunately, it may have to wait a few days. I need to
play catch up at work on all of the things that got shoved aside while
I was dealing with the embassy thing. Then Leo told me today that he
is sending Sam, CJ, and me out on a tour of some areas of the Midwest.
They're having some real flood control issues. We're going to meet
with local leaders and see what the administration can do to give them
some help finding a way to prevent the damage, instead of just
stepping in to clean it up after the fact."

"Will you be gone long?" Donna asked, trying to mask the
disappointment in her voice.

"A couple of days," Josh answered.

"I guess I can wait," Donna said, as she felt Josh's arm tighten
around her shoulders.





A week later, Donna went back to work after having received
permission from Dr. Alcott. He made her promise to take things easy,
and to rest as often as necessary, but said that he saw no reason why
she couldn't start back.

Josh had balked, wanting Donna to stay home until after he returned
from his trip. He was afraid that she would overwork herself if he
wasn't there to keep an eye on her. But Donna was adamant. She was
getting bored sitting in the apartment and was ready to get back.
Finally, Josh relented.

At the morning staff meeting, Leo handed Sam, CJ, and Josh a copy of
their itinerary for the trip. He wanted to try to get as much done as
possible in the short period of time available. Not only was it an
issue that the President really cared about, it was a chance to
shore up some much needed support for the upcoming reelection battle.

"Looks good," Josh said as he perused the list of activities.

"They're having some real problems with flood water down there," Leo
said. "The President wants to take a serious look at overhauling the
levy system in this country."

"We'll see what we can find out," CJ agreed.

"I think it'll be fun," Sam chimed in.

"You would," CJ and Josh said in unison, rolling their eyes.

"Listen, Josh, do you think Donna's up to joining you on the trip?"
Leo asked.

"Well, her doctor cleared her to come back to work but I'm not sure
she's up to traipsing across the tops of levies and dams," Josh said worriedly.

"I wouldn't think so," Leo said, raising an eyebrow, "and I wasn't
intending on asking her to do that. I just found out that Zoey is
going to be making this trip with you, and I thought it might be nice
if she had someone along to keep her company. She's a little nervous
about making public appearances, but she wants to do it to help her
father. She's going to meet with a few student groups, have some
pictures
taken...that sort of thing. I know that she gets along with Donna, and
I thought it might be nice for her to have someone along that she
could talk to."

"Sounds good," Josh said, glad to have the opportunity to have Donna
close enough to him that he could keep an eye on her.

"She's going as a traveling companion for Zoey, Josh," Leo
warned.  "Not as your assistant."

"I know," Josh said defensively.

"OK then, talk to her about it and let me know. You guys hit the road
tomorrow morning at 7AM."





As Josh approached Donna's desk, he saw her typing away furiously.

"I need to see you in my office," he said matter-of-factly.

"Can it wait? I'm kind of swamped here," Donna said without looking
up from her typing.

"Let the temp handle it," Josh said.

"You didn't get a temp while I was out, Josh," Donna reminded
him, "None of them wanted to come up here and work for you. That's why
all of this stuff piled up. It's gonna take me forever to get this
place in order."

"Well, we can get a temp up here while I'm gone," Josh offered.

"I'll be here while you're gone," Donna said, trying to hide her
exasperation.

"No, you won't be," Josh said teasingly.

"Josh, we've been over this..." Donna argued, thinking this was going
to be another conversation about her returning to work too soon.

"You won't be here," Josh said, cutting her off, "because you'll be
gone too. Leo wants you to make the trip with us."

"But I thought you said no assistants," Donna said excitedly.

"You won't be going as my assistant. Zoey is going along, to make a
few appearances, and Leo wants you to keep her company. You know...so
she has somebody to talk to. In case she gets nervous or anything."

"And he wants me to do it?" Donna asked, ecstatic that Leo would
consider her for such a job.

"Yep," Josh beamed.

"You mean I get to make a trip, and I don't have to work? I just get
to be there to support Zoey and keep her calm?" Donna asked again,
disbelievingly.

"That's it," Josh smiled. "Are you interested?"

"Sounds like fun," Donna said animatedly. "When do we leave?"

"First thing tomorrow morning," Josh answered, "But I want you to be
careful. You're still recovering. If it gets to be too much for you,
you tell me. These trips can be stressful, and sometimes not all that
enjoyable."

"I know," Donna said, swatting him on the arm, "But it's only three
days. How bad can it be?"

Donna leaned her head against the back of the seat and closed her
eyes. They weren't on Air Force One, since the President wasn't
accompanying them on the trip, but the first-class cabin of a
commercial airliner was still nothing to sneeze at.

'Working at the White House definitely has its perks," she thought.

Josh's voice broke her out of her reverie.

"Donna, could you..."

"No," CJ said from across the aisle.

"I was just gonna ask Donna if she could..." Josh continued.

"I said, NO!" CJ repeated.

Donna smiled to herself, enjoying the exchange.

"CJ, I was just..."

"I know what you were doing, Joshua, and I want you to stop right
now. Donna is not along on this trip as your assistant, she's here to
help Zoey," CJ said sternly.

"But Zoey isn't here right now," Josh pouted. "And since she's meeting
us there, I think I should get to use Donna until Zoey needs her."

Donna turned her head towards Josh, who was seated beside her, and
raised an eyebrow disapprovingly.

"Well..I didn't mean use..."

Donna smiled and patted his hand. "I knew what you meant."

Josh beamed.

"No!" CJ said from across the aisle. "Leo was very clear about this.
Whatever you need, you're gonna have to take care of it yourself."

"Fine," Josh said as he opened his laptop.

"I'll help if you really need me," Donna whispered.

"I heard that," CJ scolded.

"Thanks," Josh squeezed Donna's hand lightly, "but I don't want to
get you in trouble with Cruella DeVille."

"Do you realize that I'm only sitting a few feet away from you,
Joshua?" CJ asked incredulously. "And that I can hear every word
you're saying?"

"Don't you have any puppies to hunt down?" Josh shot back.

"Bite me," CJ answered.

"That's enough children," Sam said, looking up from the folder he was
studying. "Some of us are trying to work."

"Brown nose," CJ huffed.

"Hey, what did I do?" Sam asked.

Donna couldn't hold back anymore and she laughed so hard she snorted.

"What?" Sam, CJ, and Josh asked in unison.

"Nothing," Donna chuckled, "I just missed this while I was away.
That's all."

"Well, we're glad to have you back," Sam said sincerely.

"Thanks," Donna said. She frowned slightly as she noticed everyone
grow quiet. "Now lets not get maudlin. I'm fine, everyone's fine. Lets
not dwell on the bad things."

"Look, Donna," CJ said, clearing her throat, "I just wanted to
say..well Sam and I both..we feel bad about teasing Josh that night.
If it hadn't been for us, he probably would have answered the phone."

"That's right," Sam chimed in, "If it hadn't been for us, things
would've been different."

"It's ok," Donna assured them, reaching across the aisle to place her
hand on CJ's arm, "I understand. Josh and I have talked about this.
You had no way of knowing what was going on."

"Still," Sam said.

"Still nothing," Donna insisted. "It's done and over with. Everything
turned out fine. Now we all need to forget about it and move on."

"I'll move on," Sam said, shaking his head, "But I'll never forget
about it. I learned a valuable lesson that night."

"Me too," CJ agreed.

"There seems to be a lot of that going around," Donna said, as she
turned and smiled softly at Josh, who smiled softly back.







By the time they landed, it was raining fairly hard.

"Great," Josh said sarcastically, "This is the perfect weather to be
traipsing around levees."

"Yeah, that isn't gonna be any fun at all," Donna said
sympathetically.

"Tell me about it," Josh said grumpily.

"Glad it's not me," Donna smiled brightly.

"Nobody likes a smart ass," Josh pointed out.

"At least I'll be a dry smart ass," Donna laughed.

By the time they rounded up their luggage and made their way to the
hotel, Zoey had arrived and was waiting for them. They quickly checked
in, freshened up, and met back in the lobby.

While Donna and Zoey headed out for visits to a senior center and a
job-training program, the rest of the staff set out for a day of
meetings with various political powerbrokers and potential campaign
donors.

They met back at the hotel around 5 PM, just in time to change and
head out for a town meeting that would give local residents a chance
to air their concerns and complaints, and also to offer suggestions
about ways to revamp the levee system.

The staffers paid careful attention, knowing full well that the
people who lived closest to the problem were the ones who could
probably offer the best suggestions for fixing it. After the question
and answer portion of the evening, there was a chance for some
one-on-one discussions.

The residents were impressed by the sincere interest of such high-
ranking members of the Bartlet administration. They expressed their
thanks, and were assured that the problem would receive immediate
attention. Zoey and Donna circulated through the crowd, shaking hands,
and making sure to remind people to vote in the upcoming election. All
in all, the evening was a rousing success.

Everyone was exhausted by the time they made their way back to the
hotel through the heavy rain that seemed as though it was never going
to let up. They said their goodnights and headed off to try to get
some sleep.

Josh walked Donna to her door, "How did you enjoy your day?" he
asked.

"It was a nice change," Donna told him, "But I don't think I'd ever
want to make it permanent."

"Really?"

"No," Donna said smiling, "I missed my regular boss."

Josh pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. "I missed you,
too," he murmured in her ear.

Donna stood still,  enjoying the safety and security of Josh's arms,
breathing in the scent of his cologne. Finally she said, "We better
get some sleep. Tomorrow is another busy day."

"I guess you're right," Josh sighed, placing his forehead against
hers.

"Goodnight," she said, planting a soft kiss on his lips.

"Goodnight," he answered.

Donna slipped her keycard into the door, and Josh waited until he
heard the locks fasten before he headed off to his own room.





The next morning, the staff gathered for breakfast in a small
conference room that had been set aside for their use. Not only had
the rain not let up overnight, it seemed to have intensified, adding
thunder and lightning into the mix.

"Can you believe this weather?" Zoey asked as she grabbed a muffin
and some fruit and took a seat at the table.

"I'm thinking that maybe we should brush up on our ark building
skills," CJ said dryly.

"If you call my dad, I'm sure he can tell you exactly how one builds
an ark," Zoey giggled.

"I think I'll pass," CJ chuckled.

"The thunder was so loud last night it actually shook the windows in
my room," Donna yawned. "I hardly got any sleep."

"Why didn't you call me, or come over to my room?" Josh asked. "At
the very least, I could have kept you company."

"I didn't want to wake you," Donna stated, "You needed your sleep."

"I wouldn't have minded," Josh said, catching her eye and smiling.

"The thunder kept me awake too, Josh," CJ teased, "Would it have been
ok if I had called you at 3 AM?"

"You know, CJ," Josh laughed, "I'm seeing a not altogether attractive
side of you on this trip."

"Bite me," CJ answered, draining her coffee cup and setting it on the
table with a thud.

"See?" Josh laughed.

"Actually, during a major rainstorm is the best time to inspect the
levee system," Sam chimed in. "It's when they are doing the job they
were designed to do, therefore, we can get a better understanding of
their value, and of their shortcomings."

"Brown nose," CJ muttered, her mouth half full of blueberry muffin.

Just as Sam was about to launch into a diatribe about how it was
always best to be prepared, there was a knock on the door, and a
member of Zoey's protection detail entered with a man outfitted head
to toe in rain gear.

"Hi, I'm Greg Hill, form the Army Corps of Engineers," he said,
reaching out his hand towards Josh. Josh shook it, and quickly
introduced everyone else in the room.

After the introductions were completed, Josh asked, "Should we really
be out walking along the tops of levees on a day like this?"

"Actually, a day like today is the perfect time to do the
inspections,"  Greg said cheerfully.

"I told you so," Sam said, beginning to gather his things.

"Did you all bring raingear?" Greg asked.

"I did," Sam chirped.

"Yes," CJ answered grudgingly.

"I..um..." Josh said, panic rising in his voice.

"I packed it for you," Donna said, picking up the bag sitting beside
her chair.

"Thanks," Josh said sheepishly.

"You're welcome," Donna answered.

"Well, I guess that's it then," Greg said, "Lets get out there and
see what's up."

Josh leaned over and spoke softly in to Donna's ear. "Thanks for the
rain stuff. You have a good day and I'll see you later."

"See you later," Donna smiled.

She watched as Josh made it all the way to the door, then turned back
with a broad smile and winked. The last action wasn't lost on Zoey.

"I'm sure you'd much rather be spending the day with me than with
them, right?" Zoey teased.

Donna looked at her and smiled.

"Lets go," Zoey said. "The quicker we do this, the quicker you can
get back here to see Josh again."







Zoey had been asked to speak at the local high school, and had
happily accepted. Donna smiled as she watched the first daughter
interact with the students. 'There stands the next generation of
Bartlet politicians,' she thought to herself.

The students were eager to hear everything about the White House,
having a father who was President of the United States, and living in
Washington DC. Zoey eagerly answered every question, explaining that,
even though she no longer lived full-time in the residence at the
White House, she visited often and still had a bedroom there. She
told the students about college, and the importance of getting a good education.

When talk turned to the President's illness, Donna was impressed by
both the intelligent, compassionate way the students phrased their
questions, and the mature way that Zoey answered them. The talk was
scheduled to last for one hour, but actually stretched to a little
over two.






Meanwhile, Greg Hill was taking the senior staffers around to some of
the levees that had caused problems in earlier flood situations. He
explained how commercial development in the flood plains and wetlands
was overtaxing a levee system already strained to its limit.

He explained that, although overhauling the system would be an
expensive proposition, it was nothing compared to the loss of life,
property, and farmland that accompanied a catastrophic flood. He spoke
passionately about the persevering attitude of the people who lived in
the shadow of the levees. He wanted to find a way to help them feel
confident that there families and property would be safe and
protected.

He was in the middle of explaining how rising waters in the
Mississippi River, and other waterways, had a direct affect on all of
the areas downstream when his cell phone rang. He listened intently
for a few seconds, then disconnected and looked at Josh, CJ, and Sam.

"There's a little problem upstream," he said, his brow creased with
concern, "The Connor's Bend levee appears to have sprung a small leak.
You might get to see the problem up close after all."

"Lets go," Josh said, raising his voice a bit to be heard over the
beating of the rain.

With that, the four of them headed back across the levee towards
Greg's car.





The principal of Adams Regional High School, Dr. Bill Lewis, escorted
Zoey, Donna, and two members of Zoey's protection detail into his office.

"I just want to thank you again for coming, Ms. Bartlet," he said
excitedly.

"It was my pleasure," Zoey said. "Thank you for the invitation."

"I'm sorry that the weather has been so awful during your stay," Dr.
Lewis said, "I think you would have enjoyed getting a chance to see
our beautiful town."

"I'm sure I would have," Zoey agreed. "It reminds me very much of
Manchester, the town I grew up in. Maybe I can come back some day for
another visit, and bring my parents."

"That would be wonderful," Mr. Lewis beamed.

"My father is a big fan of small towns," Zoey continued, "As soon as
we get back to DC, I'm going to tell him how well we were all treated
here, and that he definitely has to try to find time to visit your
lovely town and see for himself."

'Yep,' Donna thought, 'That girl is a born politician.'

"Thank you again for allowing me the chance to meet your students,
Dr. Lewis," Zoey said, "But I'm afraid we really have to be on our way."

"I understand completely," the principal said. "Could I trouble for a
quick moment to meet some of our staff that couldn't make it to the assembly?"

"I'd love to," Zoey said.

As they stepped out into the school office, Donna asked, "Would you
mind if I use the phone for just a second? I'd like to call and check
on the other staff members."

"No problem," Dr. Lewis said, indicating the phone on the desk to his
right, "Just dial 9 for an outside line."

Donna picked up the phone and quickly dialed Josh's cell, while Zoey
chatted with the office staff.

"Josh Lyman," the voice on the other end answered, although Donna was
having trouble hearing it over the sounds of the storm.

"It's me," she said, "I just wanted to see how things were going."

"Well," Josh said honestly, "we're getting a close-up look at some of
the problems the residents were talking about last night. One of the
levees has sprung a leak, and everyone who lives in the vicinity is
trying to sandbag it before things get any worse."

"Is it safe out there? Are you guys alright?" Donna asked worriedly.

"We're fine," Josh assured her. "We're going out with Greg to check
on some of the levees further upstream. We'll be back before you know
it. How did things go at the school?"

"Great! Zoey had them eating out of the palm of her hand."

Suddenly the horrific sound of shattering glass and people screaming
filled the air.

"Donna! Donna!" Josh shouted frantically. "Donna! Answer me!!"

After the noise had passed, Donna found herself lying on the floor of
the office, amongst chards of broken glass and pieces of wood. There
was pain shooting through her ribs, which she had banged on the desk
when she fell.

She immediately searched for Zoey, and found her surrounded by secret
service agents, but apparently unharmed. Everyone else who had been in
the office seemed to be fine except for a few assorted cuts and
bruises. A large part of the office was taken up by a tree, which had
apparently been struck by lightning, and had fallen through the
window,
shattering glass and splintering the window frame.

As soon as Donna realized that there were no serious injuries, she
began to relax. Then she remembered that she had been talking to Josh.

"Are you still there?" she asked breathlessly after she had managed
to retrieve the phone from the rubble.

"Donna! Thank God. What the hell happened? Are you ok?" Josh asked
frantically.

"I'm fine," Donna said, trying to make her voice sound as calm as
possible. "Everyone is fine. A huge tree just blew through the window
of the office. It scared the crap out of all of us, but we're ok, with
the possible exception of a few minor cuts and bruises."

"Zoey's ok?"

"She's fine," Donna assured him.

Josh saw CJ signal that it was time to go as she, Sam and Greg headed
for the car to check the levees upstream.

"I gotta go," Josh said. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine, Josh," Donna said. "Really."

"OK. I want you and Zoey to head back to the hotel. Her detail will
make sure you get there safely. Once you're there, I don't want either
one of you leaving for any reason. Understood?"

"Understood," Donna concurred, "But what about you? I think you
should all come in too. It sounds like it's getting dangerous out there."

"We'll be there soon, Donna. Don't worry. You and Zoey just get back
to the hotel, and we'll be there before you know it."

"I'm gonna hold you to that, Josh," Donna said, unable to keep the
worry out of her voice.

"You do that. I'll see you in a little while," Josh said softly.

"Be careful!" Donna pleaded.

"We will. You too," Josh said. "Bye."

"Bye," Donna said as she stared at the receiver in her hand, feeling
an unexplained chill start to race up her spine.

The Secret Service hurried Zoey and Donna into the waiting SUV's to
head back to the hotel. Donna couldn't believe how badly it was
storming. The rain and wind had been constant since their arrival, and
it seemed to be intensifying with each passing hour. She hoped that
Josh and the others were headed back to the hotel and not stuck out on
some levee in this storm. She stared out the window and watched the
rain nervously, all the while absent-mindedly rubbing her side.

She was brought crashing back to reality by the sound of Zoey's voice.

"Donna!"

"What?" Donna asked.

"Are you ok?" Zoey asked worriedly. "You seem to be a million miles away."

"I'm fine," Donna answered unconvincingly.

"Does your side hurt?" Zoey continued.

"What?"

"Your side. You've been rubbing it since we left the school. Is there
something wrong?"

"Oh, no...not really. I just bumped it on the desk when the tree came
through the window. It's nothing."

"Are you sure? Because we can make a stop at the hospital if you need
to."

"No, thanks. I'll be fine. It's nothing to worry about."

"Ok, but only if you're sure. Josh would never forgive me if I let
anything happen to you," Zoey smiled.

"Hey," Donna teased, "I thought I was supposed to be the one looking
after you--not the other way around.

The two women laughed, and Donna managed to forget the feeling of
dread in the pit of her stomach for just a moment. Then a huge clap of
thunder hit, so loud that it actually rocked the SUV. Donna turned her
face towards the window, trying desperately to hide the fear and panic
she was feeling.

"We'll be fine," Zoey said reassuringly.

"I know," Donna answered without turning her head.

"Josh and the others will be fine too."

Donna turned to face Zoey, rapidly losing her battle to hold back the
tears.

"I hope you're right, Zoey."

"I'm sure I am. In fact, they'll probably beat us back to the hotel
and be sitting there all warm and dry, laughing at us because we were
stuck out in this storm."

The image of Josh sitting in front of the fireplace in the lobby of
the hotel, coffee mug in hand, waiting for them to get back, put a
smile on Donna's face. She was beginning to relax a little when the
agent in the front seat turned around and spoke to Zoey,

"There's been a flash flood, and the road up ahead is covered with
water. We're going to have to turn around and try a different route.
Nothing to worry about. We just need to approach the hotel from the
high side. We'll be there in no time."

Zoey thanked the agent and smiled reassuringly. Donna tried to return
the smile, then turned her head back towards the window, watching the
raging storm and sending up a silent prayer for Josh's safety.







Josh stared intently out the window as the Jeep made its way along
the muddy road. As hard as he tried, he could never remember seeing so
much rain fall in such a short period of time.

During the drive, Greg had grown increasingly quieter, focusing all
of his concentration on the road ahead. CJ and Sam were sitting in the
back seat, trying valiantly to make small talk about levees and their
usefulness.

As they turned off the main road and approached the Connor's Bend
levee, the radio on the dash crackled to life.

"Greg, are you there?" a voice asked through the static.

"I'm here," Greg answered, picking up the mouthpiece, "What do you
need?"

"What's your current position?" the voice asked.

"I'm just arriving at Connor's Bend. What's up?"

"We've got big problems upstream from you. Signs of major stress at
at least three locations. I need you to get up here ASAP and take a
look. We're sandbagging, and moving in as much fill as we can, but it
doesn't seem to be helping."

Greg closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to decide on the
best course of action. He had a duty to the citizens of the area to do
everything he could to prevent disaster, but he also had to consider
the three members of the President's senior staff, whose safety he
was currently responsible for.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Greg said into the microphone
before replacing it on the dash of the Jeep. He drove the car along
side the levee for a few minutes, not saying anything, and then came
to a stop in front of what looked to be nothing more than an elaborate
tree house. He turned in his seat so that he could see all three of
his passengers at the same time.

"We seem to have a little situation developing here," he began.

"A situation?" CJ asked. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"The conditions upstream are very unstable. I need to get up there
right now and take a look to see what we can do to avoid a system wide failure."

"Then let's go," Josh said determinedly.

"I can't take you with me," Greg answered.

"Why not?" Sam asked, reaching out and taking CJ's hand.

"It's just too risky. You'll be safer here. This is the Corps base
station. We use it to observe the levee under conditions just like
this. You can stay here, and I'll come back to get you as soon as the
crisis passes."

CJ craned her neck to look out the window and up at the station. "Is
this safe?" she asked skeptically.

"Perfectly safe," Greg assured her. "I'll take you guys up and
familiarize you with the place, then I have to get going."

All four got out of the Jeep and one by one they climbed the ladder
to the platform. Greg first, followed by CJ, then Sam, then Josh. The
base station consisted of a single small room, no more than ten feet
square, and an observation deck of approximately the same size. They
moved inside, and Greg opened a small footlocker in the corner and
took out three life vests, tossing them to the staffers.

"What are these for?" Josh asked.

"Better safe than sorry," Greg insisted. "This is your radio," he
said, pointing to the setup against the far wall, "You'll be able to
reach me if you need anything at all. Give me a call if there are any
problems. Other than that, just hang tight, and I'll be back as soon
as I can."

Josh stared, a bit disbelievingly, as Greg started back down the
ladder towards the Jeep. Then he turned and looked at Sam and CJ.

"Well, I guess this is what you call getting a close up view of the
situation," he chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'd say so," CJ agreed.

Sam looked around, "You know, this place is pretty cool."

"You would think that," CJ said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah," Josh agreed, egging Sam on. "I think we missed our callings,
Samuel. We should have joined the Corps of Engineers."

"Or better yet, the National Park Service," Sam said excitedly. "We
could have become park rangers."

"Oooh yeah," Josh agreed, "We could have had really cool hats, and
lookout posts, and everything."

"And you both could have worn cute uniforms, with shorts that showed
your bony knees," CJ chuckled.

"True," Sam said dejectedly. "I forgot about the uniforms."

"We can't let that stand in the way of our true calling, my friend.
I, for one, have no shame of my knees. I shall wear the shorts
proudly," Josh said as he raised his hand to his forehead in a mock
salute.

"Same here," Sam said, casting a defiant look at CJ. "I have fine
looking knees.

"You two need professional help," CJ said as she finished donning her
life vest, and settled into a chair in the corner to watch the rain.







After several changes of direction, the Secret Service finally
managed to get Zoey and Donna back to the hotel safely. As they
entered the lobby, Donna looked around, hoping against hope to see
Josh and the others. They were nowhere to be seen.

Within minutes, the agents assigned to protect Zoey were talking
animatedly with the manager of the hotel.

"What do you think is going on?" Donna asked Zoey as they watched the
conversation from across the lobby.

"I don't know," Zoey answered, "Lets find out."

Zoey and Donna crossed the lobby and approached the group.

"Is everything ok?" Zoey asked pointedly.

"Everything is just fine," the manager assured her. "I was just
telling the agents here that the hotel is completely safe. We are well
above flood level."

"That's good to know," Zoey said.

"We're just being cautious," one of the agents assured her.

"I know, and I appreciate it," Zoey said.

Donna looked nervously at the manager, "Do you really think the
flooding is going to get that bad?"

"It's bad alright," a young man said as he approached the group. "I
almost had to ditch my car and bring my fishing boat to work."

Donna's face went pale. "But our friends are still out there. They
were going out to inspect some of the levees. They should be back by
now," she said, panic rising in her voice.

"I'm sure they're fine," one of the agents said calmly. "They're
probably somewhere warm and dry just riding things out."

"But they should be back here," Donna insisted. "This was supposed to
be a simple fact-finding mission."

"Listen," Zoey said, "why don't you give Josh a call on his cell?
You'll feel much better once you know everything is ok."

"Good idea," Donna said, pulling out her cell phone and dialing the
familiar number.




As his cell began to ring, Josh glanced at the display and saw
Donna's number.

"Hey beautiful," he said with a smile as he answered.

Donna breathed a sigh of relief to hear his voice. "Is that how you
always answer your phone?" she teased.

"Only when I know it's you," he laughed.

"And what if I had loaned my phone to Zoey?" Donna asked.

"Then I guess I'd have a lot of explaining to do," Josh laughed. "Are
you back at the hotel?"

"Yeah," Donna said. "I was hoping you guys would be back by now too.
The weather is getting really bad out there and it's starting to flood."

"We know," Josh said, trying to keep the tone light. "We just got a
little hung up. We'll be back as soon as we can."

"Where are you?" Donna asked, sensing there was something Josh wasn't
telling her.

Josh hesitated. He didn't want her to know that for the last hour,
he, Sam and CJ had watched in horror as the small leak in the Connor's
Bend levee began to grow. They had used the radio to report that
information to Greg Hill, who had promised to send a team down as soon
as one became available. Right now, the Corps had its hands full
fighting a battle to save the levees upstream. They knew that if one
of the larger upstream levees collapsed, it would cause a catastrophic
domino effect.

"Well, that's actually a kind of funny story," Josh said. "We're
sitting in the observation station out here at the Connor's Bend
levee. Greg had to go ahead and take care of some other business so he
left us here to hold down the fort."

"He what?" Donna screamed.

"I'm just teasing you," Josh assured Donna. "Greg had to take care of
a few things so he left us here. He said that it's perfectly safe."

"I don't like this, Josh. I don't like this at all."

"Really? Because Sam and I are having the time of our lives. We're
considering changing careers and becoming forest rangers."

"Yeah," Donna said dryly. "At least in the woods you don't have to
worry if the flue is welded shut. What about CJ?"

"She's mocking us," Josh answered.

"I'm sure you deserve it," Donna said, trying but failing to hide the
fear in her voice.

"Everything will be fine, Donna," Josh said soothingly. "We'll be
back before you know it."

Without warning, the noise level outside the station increased
exponentially, and Sam and CJ yelled, "Oh my God!" in unison.

"What's wrong?" Donna screamed into the phone.

Josh turned quickly and looked out the window, just in time to see
the levee give way.


"What happened?! Josh, please tell me what happened?!" Donna screamed
into the phone, immediately attracting the attention of everyone else
in the hotel lobby.

"The levee let go!" Josh said, battling to keep his voice as calm as
possible. "The water is just pouring right through it."

"Oh my God," Donna sobbed. "This can't be happening."

"Calm down, Donna. It's gonna be ok. We've got to get on the radio
and let Greg know what's going on."

"How are the three of you gonna get out of there?" Donna asked, her
panic not subsiding at all.

"Greg said that this station was perfectly safe. The water is rising
but it isn't up to our level yet," Josh said soothingly.

"Are you sure?" Donna asked. "You're not just saying that to make me
feel better are you?"

"No, Donna. We're ok. Sam is radioing Greg now to update him on the
situation. I'm sure he'll know exactly what we should do."

"Just be careful," Donna begged, "All of you. Please."

"We will," Josh said softly. "You still owe me a dinner date and I
don't have any intention of missing that."

Donna smiled. "And I have no intention of letting you."

Sam turned back from the radio towards Josh and CJ, a small look of
concern creasing his brow.

"What is it, Sam?" Josh asked, as Donna held her breath on the other
end of the line, praying that Sam had good news.

"Greg said that the situation upstream is critical. They've lost one
levee already and they're fighting tooth and nail to save the ones
that are still standing. He said we should just hold tight and he'll
send someone to pick us up as soon as he can."

CJ turned and looked out the window at the raging water outside. The
water that was inching closer to the level of the station with each
passing moment

"What's that supposed to mean?" Donna sobbed, no longer able to hold
back the tears. "Why can't they send someone out to get you now?"

"They're doing the best they can in a bad situation, Donna," Josh
answered. "Everything will be fine. A week from now we'll be laughing
about this."

"I hope you're right," Donna said.

"I am," Josh assured her as he moved over to the edge of the room to
gain a little more privacy. "Listen, Donna, I just wanted to tell you..."

"Tell me what?" Donna asked softly.

Suddenly the line crackled with static.

"Donna? Donna?" Josh yelled.

"Josh? Are you still there?" Donna shouted.

After listening to the static for over a minute, Josh and Donna both
disconnected.

"Is everything ok?" CJ asked.

"We just lost the connection," Josh said dejectedly.

Meanwhile back at the hotel, Zoey crossed the lobby and placed her
arm supportively around Donna.

"What happened?" she asked.

"The line went dead, and they're stuck out there all alone, and the
levee let go." Donna sobbed.

"I'm sure they'll be alright," Zoey said.

"I hope you're right," Donna answered, as the sky lit up with
lightning.







Donna had been pacing the lobby nervously for almost two hours,
refusing everyone's suggestions that she should go up to her room and
try to get some rest. The electricity in the hotel had gone out about
an hour before, and the lobby was illuminated by nothing more than
candles and a fire in the fireplace in the corner. The lightning
flashes outside cast weird shadows on the wall and did nothing to
improve Donna's deteriorating mood.

"Donna, this really isn't helping anything," Zoey said gently as
Donna paced past the couch where she was seated with a member of her
security detail.

"There has to be something we can do," Donna said as she raked her
hand through her long hair.

"I'm sure that everything that can be done is being done," the agent
seated beside Zoey said.

"No, it isn't!" Donna snapped back angrily. "Someone should be on the
way out there to rescue them and bring them back here. We should be
doing something-ANYTHING-other than just sitting here."

"There's little we can do in this storm," the agent said calmly,
understanding that Donna was upset, and not wanting to make the
situation any worse. "We can't get anyone to them in this weather, the
cars can't make it through, the choppers can't go up in a storm
like this. For crying out loud, we'd need a boat to get out there."

Donna spun around angrily and went back to her pacing. As she moved
towards the other side of the lobby, she saw the young man whom they
had talked to earlier sitting behind the front desk, with a number of
other employees. Suddenly, she had an idea.

"Hi," she said approaching him, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name
earlier."

"It's Zach," the young man said looking up.

"I'm Donna."

"Is there something I can help you with?" Zach asked.

"I hope so," Donna answered determinedly. "Is there somewhere a
little more private we can go to talk? I mean...can you take a break?"

Zach looked at the manager questioningly and he nodded. "Sure," he
said, moving around in front of the desk and motioning to a small
kitchen off to the left.

"What can I do for you?" Zach asked as they entered the room, and sat
down at a table the employees of the hotel used for lunch.

"Well.." Donna hesitated, before deciding that there was no good way
to ask this other than to just spit it out, "Earlier, you said that
you almost abandoned your car and brought your boat in to work. Were
you kidding about that?"

"Only halfway, why?" Zach asked cautiously.

"Because three people who are very important to me are stuck out at
the Connor's Bend levee..."

"But that levee gave out," Zach interrupted.

"I know," Donna said, choking back tears. "They are in the Army Corps
of Engineers Observation Station right now. But the Corps can't get
anyone out there to save them, and I'm terrified that something bad is
going to happen."

"What do you want from me?" Zach asked, pretty sure he knew the
answer but wanting to hear the words anyway.

"I want you to take me out there to pick them up," Donna said
resolutely.

Zach glanced out the window at the pounding rain and said, "I don't
know."

"Please," Donna begged, "If it's money--I can pay you."

"It's not money," Zach said, slightly insulted. "I just don't know if
we can make it. It's pretty treacherous out there."

"I'm willing to try if you are," Donna said.

Zach looked into Donna's eyes and saw total desperation, then he
turned and looked back out at the weather.







"Is the water getting any higher?" CJ asked from her seat on the
opposite side of the room. She had moved away from the window when the
sight of the swirling water began to make her seasick.

"Hard to tell," Sam answered, "I think it's about the same."

"Well, that's a good sign," Josh said.

Sam went back to staring sadly out the window.

"What's wrong?" Josh asked.

"Come here," Sam answered, motioning for CJ and Josh to join him at
the window. As soon as they did, they saw immediately what Sam was
looking at. They watched helplessly as bikes, lawn chairs, children's
toys, and other assorted household items floated by. They could only
imagine the devastation that had already been caused in the lives of
so many people. They all hoped that Greg and the others could shore up
the
levees upstream before things got any worse.

Suddenly, the room was filled with the sound of creaking wood.

"What was that?" Josh asked, cocking his head to the side.

"I don't know but it didn't sound good," CJ answered, an edge of
worry to her voice.

Without warning, another large crack filled the air and the station
shook violently. Josh grabbed onto CJ to help keep her upright as Sam
held tightly to the window frame.

"Wait here," Josh said sternly as he headed towards the door. Once
out on the observation deck, he peered over the edge trying to see
through the rain. At first he saw nothing, but as he leaned over the
back edge he saw a sight that made his heart leap into his throat.
One of the four posts holding the station up had snapped in half.
Josh quickly gathered his composure and went back inside to face Sam and CJ.

"What is it?" Sam asked, immediately sensing that something was wrong
by the look on Josh's face.

"I think we may have a little problem," Josh said.

"Oh my God, what's wrong?" CJ asked.







"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'll do it," Zach said, shaking
his head.

"Really?" Donna asked in amazement. "Thank you. I can't tell you how
much I appreciate this. Can we go right away?"

"I'll have to ask my boss, but I don't see why not. There's nothing
for me to do around here until the electricity comes back on."

"Great," Donna said. "I'll go tell Zoey that we're leaving."

"She can't come with us," Zach insisted nervously. "This is a stupid
enough idea, and I can't believe we're doing it. There's no way I'm
taking the President's daughter along."

"Don't worry," Donna said, "The Secret Service would never let her
out of their sight long enough for us to get out of here. I just want
her to know what's going on."

"Ok then," Zach said, "I'll meet you at the front door in a few
minutes."

"Deal," Donna said as she headed out to find Zoey.

A minute later, Donna had pulled Zoey into a corner so they could
have a conversation without the Secret Service overhearing. She laid
out her plan as quickly as possible.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Zoey asked when she finished.

"I can't just leave him out there. Any of them. If there's a chance I
can go bring them back...I have to take it."

"Ok, what can I do?" Zoey asked.

"I just need to keep the agents busy until after we're gone. It's not
like they could stop me from going, I mean I'm not their
responsibility, but still...they could call Leo and delay things..and
I need to get out there as soon as possible."

"I'll do it," Zoey said, taking notice of the desperation in Donna's
eyes. "You just need to promise me that you'll be careful."

"We will," Donna said, breathing a sigh of relief, "We'll go out and
get them and be back here before you know it. I just need you to do me
one other favor."

"What?"

"Will you please keep trying to call Josh?" Donna asked, pressing her
cell phone into Zoey's hand. "There's no way I'll be able to do it
with this rain coming down. If you get a hold of him, tell him I'm on
my way. Tell him to hold on, I'll be there soon."

"I will," Zoey said, giving Donna a quick hug.

They both turned at the same time and saw Zach standing by the door.

"I'd better get going," Donna said, "Thanks for all your help."

"You're welcome," Zoey said. "I just want you all back here safe and
sound very soon."

"I want that too," Donna said solemnly.

"Ok, then let's do it," Zoey said, winking at Donna.

She began to walk back towards the waiting agents, then unexpectedly
pointed towards the far end of the lobby, "What's that?" she said,
alarm in her voice. When the agents turned to look, she mouthed, "Go,"
to Donna, and watched as she and Zach slipped out the door.








Josh, Sam, and CJ worked together, trying to prepare themselves for
the worst. CJ was on the radio, trying to reach Greg Hill and let him
know about the new developments. Sam and Josh found a long rope in one
of the footlockers and were out on the observation deck, securing it
to the largest tree in sight. With each successive creak and crack,
their
movements became more urgent.

"Did you get through to him?" Josh asked as he and Sam came back into
the station.

"I'm not sure," CJ answered, "The reception was bad so I couldn't
tell if he actually heard me or not."

"All we can do is keep trying," Josh said with more confidence than
he really felt. "I'm sure everything will be ok."

"Explain to me again what the rope is for," CJ said nervously.

"It's for..well..in case the rest of the posts give out," Sam said,
"We'll need to hang on to this so we don't get carried away by the
current."

"Oh," CJ said solemnly.

They all fell silent, lost in their own thoughts, until they were
startled back to reality by the ringing of Josh's cell phone.

"Donna?" he said, pressing the phone to his ear.

"No, Josh. Its Zoey," the voice on the other end answered.

"Zoey? Is everything ok? Is Donna ok?" Josh demanded.

Zoey took a deep breath. She knew that what she had to tell Josh
wasn't going to make him very happy, but she had made Donna a promise
and she intended to keep it.

"Donna is on her way out to get you," Zoey said hurriedly.

"She's what?!" Josh screamed.

"She's on her way out to get you. One of the hotel employees has a
boat and he's bringing her out."

"How did this happen? Why didn't someone stop her?" Josh thundered.

"We're talking about Donna here, Josh. Once she found out that there
might be a way she could help, there was no stopping her."

"I know how she can be. It's just that...it isn't safe for anyone to
be out in this."

The line began to crackle with static.

"I can't hear you anymore," Zoey shouted over the noise. "I just
wanted to let you know what's going on."

"Thanks," Josh shouted back, "I appreciate it. I'll talk to you soon."

"Something wrong?" CJ asked as Josh slipped his phone back into his
coat pocket.

Before Josh could answer, there was a loud crack, the floor underneath
them gave way, and he found himself suddenly plunged into the cold
water.


Donna stared out the window at the rain and lightning. All she could
think about was the fact that Josh was trapped out there, along with
Sam and CJ. She prayed that Zoey had managed to get a message through,
and that Josh knew she was on her way there. She hoped that knowledge
might give him, might give all of them, the strength to hold on a
little longer.

For the hundredth time since they left the hotel, Donna sent up a
quick prayer of thanks that Zach drove what she laughingly referred to
as a monster truck. It had a custom paint job and all sorts of fancy
accessories, but most importantly it had a lift kit, and huge tires
that enabled them to navigate through streets that were beginning to
flood. The rain didn't seem to be letting up, and all Donna could
think about were Josh, Sam and CJ stuck somewhere next to a levee that
had given way.

"Are we almost there?" she asked anxiously as Zach made his way down
a maze of residential streets.

"Almost," he answered, never taking his eyes off the road.

Within a few minutes, they turned into the driveway of an attractive
split-level home with a detached garage.

"Wait here," Zach said as he jumped out of the truck and ran into the
house. Donna fidgeted nervously, anxious to get going. She couldn't
think of anything but getting to Josh, Sam and CJ and bringing them
home safely.

A few minutes later Zach reappeared with another man, slightly
younger but with very similar features. The two of them ran quickly
into the garage, and emerged a few minutes later carrying a small
fishing boat on their shoulders. They lifted it carefully into the
back
of the truck, then a few seconds later, both of the truck's doors
opened.

Donna quickly slid to the middle of the seat as the two young men
climbed in.

"This is my brother Matt," Zach said.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Donna," Donna said, extending her hand to the
young man sitting beside her. "Are you coming along?"

"No," Matt answered. "I'm just gonna go with you out to put the boat
in the water, then I'm gonna take the truck back home."

As they pulled out of the driveway, the brothers debated the best
place to put the boat in the water in order to make it Connor's Bend
as quickly as possible. Donna just hoped that, wherever they were
going, they got there soon.

"How long will it take to get there?" Donna asked nervously.

"It depends," Zach answered. "We're gonna try to head upstream as far
as possible before we put the boat in the water. That way we'll
approach Connor's Bend from above and we won't have to fight the
current all the way in."

"That's good," Donna said, looking anxiously out the window at the
storm.

After close to an hour of navigating the water-covered roads, Zach
finally pulled the truck into a parking lot. At least, Donna thought
that it looked like a parking lot. It was hard to tell with 6 inches
of water lying on top of it. At the end of the lot, Donna could see
what looked like a boat slip, though again it was hard to tell.

Zach saw Donna nervously eyeing the current in the river.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" he asked skeptically.

"Positive," Donna answered resolutely.

"Ok then, let's go."







It took a few seconds after the initial shock of hitting the cold
water for Josh to regain his senses. He pushed himself to the surface
of the water and frantically began searching for Sam and CJ. He
finally saw them, clinging to what was left of the collapsed
observation
post. He reached out and grabbed a hold of the remnants of the
observation deck and pulled himself over to where they were.

"Are you two ok?" he asked breathlessly.

"I think so," Sam answered.

"Well, I'm sure a man of your considerable sailing ability would
probably spend plenty of time overboard," CJ teased.

"Even under these circumstances, you choose to mock me?" Sam asked
incredulously.

"I have to do something to take my mind off the fact that this water
is damn cold," CJ smiled.

"Well mock Josh then," Sam pouted.

"Don't worry, there's plenty of mocking to go around," CJ assured him.

"Oh goody," Josh said sarcastically, "In the meantime, I'm gonna get
the rope and we're gonna find something to secure the other end to."

"This post seems pretty solid," Sam said, indicating one of the posts
that had been supporting the observation deck. The deck itself had
given way under the onslaught of water, but the post seemed to still
be standing strong.

"OK, we'll use that then," Josh said as he set off towards the tree
that they had attached the rope to earlier. He was glad that Greg had
made them all put on life vests, and he was doubly glad that it was
only a short swim to the rope. He didn't think he would have been able
to make it much further in the cold water, fighting against the strong
current.

He retrieved the rope and then let the water carry him back to where
Sam and CJ were still clinging to the rapidly deteriorating building.
Between the rushing water, the rain, and all of the debris, it took
nearly fifteen minutes to get the rope secured to the post. As soon as
it was done though, they had something to hold on to to help them
fight the current. Josh would much rather have been up higher, out of
the water, but there was no way to accomplish that at this point. They
just had to hope someone came along soon to rescue them.

Thoughts of rescue snapped his mind back to Donna, and the fact that
she was out somewhere in this storm in a boat trying to rescue him.
'Why couldn't she just stay at the hotel like I told her to?' Josh
thought. But even in his own mind he knew that was a silly question.
Donna wasn't the kind of woman who sat around and waited for things to
happen; she was the kind of woman who made things happen. There was
no way she would sit at the hotel and do nothing if she thought there
was anyway she could help her friends.

"Josh!" CJ said.

"What?" Josh said, turning his attention back to the situation at
hand.

"Where were you? You seemed like you were a million miles away," CJ
said.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something," he said.

"Or someone?" Sam teased.

"Actually, I didn't get a chance to tell you," Josh said seriously,
"Zoey told me that Donna talked some guy who works at the hotel into
bringing her out here in his boat to try to get us."

"What?" Sam and CJ asked in unison.

"Apparently she got tired of waiting and decided to take matters into
her own hands," Josh said. "One of the hotel employees owns a boat, so
they're on their way out here."

"In this weather?" CJ asked.

"Yeah," Josh said as he looked at the sky worriedly.

Before he could think about it anymore, there was a loud crack as a
nearby tree splintered. They all turned and covered their heads as
pieces of wood rained down around them. When they lifted their heads
again, Josh and Sam both saw blood running from CJ's forehead.

"Oh my God, are you ok?" Josh asked as he pulled himself along the
rope to get closer to her.

"I think so," CJ answered, a bit stunned. She reached her hand up to
touch her forehead, and it came back covered in blood.

"It's bleeding pretty badly," Sam said, his voice laced with concern.

"Gee thanks, Sam. That's encouraging," CJ scowled.

"You know how head wounds are," Josh said, shooting Sam an
admonishing look, "They always bleed a lot. I'm sure it looks worse
than it really is."

Josh reached up under his life vest and tugged until he managed to
tear away a piece of his shirt, which he then pressed against CJ's head.

"That should stop the bleeding," he said.

"Thanks," CJ answered, squinting against the wind and rain, "I just
hope someone gets here soon."








Donna knelt in the front of the boat, desperately scanning the
horizon for any sign of the observation station. The pounding rain
made it difficult to see more than a few yards ahead. In her hands she
held one of the boat's oars. It was normally used to navigate the boat
short distances when the motor was turned off, but Donna was using it
to try to push debris out of their path. Every scrap of wood and tree
limb that floated by made Donna's panic more intense. She didn't know
how anyone could survive in these conditions for long. She just prayed
they got to Josh, CJ, and Sam in time.

At the back of the boat, Zach was using the other oar to keep debris
out of the propellers of the motor, all of the while trying
desperately to spot any familiar landmarks.

"Are we close?" Donna yelled against the howling wind.

"I think so," Zach shouted back. I recognize those trees over there
from when my dad and I used to fish this part of the river. We should
be about 5 miles upstream of the Connor's Bend levee."

"Good," Donna said, returning to her task with renewed determination.

Within seconds, a large piece of debris headed directly towards the
boat. Donna reached out and shoved it aside with the oar, then let out
a yelp of pain and grabbed her side.

"Are you alright?" Zach shouted.

"I'm fine," Donna grimaced.

"You don't look fine," Zach observed.

"I hit my ribs on a desk earlier. It's nothing," Donna said, trying
to catch her breath.

"I think maybe you better get them looked at," Zach said loudly.

"I will," Donna promised, "As soon as we find my friends and get them
back safely."







"I can't take this much longer," CJ said, adjusting her grip on the
rope.

"Sure you can," Josh said with more confidence than he really
felt. "You don't want me to have to call you a girly-girl, do you?"

CJ laughed despite the pain in her head and the frigid water swirling
around her body. "I wouldn't recommend that unless you want me to kick
your ass."

"That's the CJ we all know and love," Josh smiled back.

"She has a point though," Sam said through chattering teeth, "This
water is really cold."

"I know," Josh agreed, "But we just have to hang on for a little
while longer. Someone is bound to be here soon."

"Do you think Donna will make it all the way out here?" CJ asked.

"I don't know," Josh said quietly. "I really wish she would have just
stayed at the hotel. I hate the thought of her being out in all of
this. It isn't safe. I just wish she would have listened to me."

"First off," CJ said in as comforting a voice as she could
manage, "when does Donna ever listen to you?"

Josh laughed and nodded his head in agreement.

"Secondly," she continued, "there is nothing Donna wouldn't do to
save you, Josh. I'm not at all surprised she found someone with a
boat. If she hadn't found anyone, she probably would have stolen one."

"I really don't deserve her," Josh said sincerely.

"Yes you do," CJ said, "The two of you belong together. Although
you've had more than your share of emergencies lately. You need to
settle down to a nice boring life together."

"I don't think that'll ever happen," Sam said dryly. "The two of them
seem to be magnets for excitement."

"Yeah, well, if this is excitement," Josh said, "I could use a little
less of it."

"You and me both," CJ chuckled.







"The levee should be straight ahead," Zach said, as he turned the
boat around to face the other direction.

"What are you doing?" Donna screamed frantically. "Why are you
turning around?"

"We need to let the current carry us in backwards," Zach yelled
back, "Otherwise we'll sail right past them."

"Oh," Donna said sheepishly. She was no stranger to boats, having
spent many afternoons fishing with her brothers. She should have known
that they would need to use all of the power the small motor had to
try to fight the current. She moved to the back of the boat and
resumed scanning the horizon.

Off in the distance, she saw a flash of yellow. She strained her eyes
to try to make out what it was. Then it moved again.

"I think I see them!" she screamed excitedly, pointing towards the
horizon.

"Where?" Zach asked.

"There. Look. Do you see the yellow? Doesn't that look like a person
to you?" Donna asked eagerly.

"It's hard to say," Zach answered, focusing his eyes where Donna was
pointing. "Lets go have a look."

As the boat moved closer, Donna began to be able to make out three
distinct life vests. She was convinced it was Josh, CJ, and Sam. She
began screaming their names but it was useless. She couldn't be heard
over the howling wind.

When they were about 500 yards away, Josh spotted the boat.

"Look, a boat!" he said, pointing excitedly behind them. "I told you
someone would find us."

The three of them began waving at the approaching boat, and finally
they saw someone waving in return.

Zach moved the boat towards them slowly, battling the currents and
the debris.

"Grab the mooring line," he said to Donna.

Donna moved to the front of the boat and quickly grabbed the rope
that was attached there.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked as they continued to drift
closer to Josh and the others.

"I'm gonna maneuver over near one of those trees," Zach said. "I need
you to tie the rope around one to help keep us in place."

"But we aren't there yet," Donna protested.

"This is as close as we can get," Zach insisted, "Otherwise we chance
having the current drag us right into them and having someone get
sliced up by the propeller."

Donna's face paled at the thought.

"They'll have to swim to us," Zach said.

As he moved close to several trees, Donna tossed the rope around one
and began to tie a knot.

"What if this isn't tight enough?" she said worriedly.

"Use one of those clamps to help hold it," Zach shouted. "I'll be
using the motor to help fight the current. We should be ok until we
can get them to the boat."

Once the boat was securely anchored in place, Donna moved as close to
the back of the boat as she could and began shouting.

"You're gonna have to swim over to us."

Josh, Sam and CJ couldn't really make out the words but they knew
what Donna was saying. They were going to have to swim against the
current to make it to the boat.

"OK," Josh said, "We'll do this one at a time. Sam, you go first. CJ
will follow, and you'll be there to help her into the boat. I'll come
last. Sound like a plan?"

"Sounds good to me," CJ said, "Anything to get out of this freezing
water."

"OK, here we go," Sam said, letting go of the rope and starting to
move towards the boat. They all watched as he fought hard against the
current, making slow but sure progress. He would move forward a few
yards only to lose almost as much ground to the current. Finally,
after about 15 minutes of intense effort, he made it to the boat.

Donna reached down, grabbed his hand, and pulled as hard as she could
to try to get him into the boat. She cried out as a pain shot through her side.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"Nothing," Donna said, brushing him off as she signaled for CJ to
start over.

It was even slower going for CJ. Several times she was forced to duck
out of the way on oncoming tree limbs and pieces of wood. Each time,
she seemed to lose more ground than the time before. The pain in her
head was getting worse and her entire body was shaking from the cold.

When she was within a few feet of the boat, Donna held out the oar
for her to grab onto, as Sam reached over the side of the boat and
managed to get a hold of her collar, which he then used to help her
into the boat.

With the added weight of two more people in the boat, the rope around
the tree began to let go. Donna looked at it with terror in her eyes,
and then turned back towards Josh.

"Hurry!" she screamed. "The rope won't hold for much longer!"

Josh couldn't make out her words but he could hear the panic in her
voice. He let go of the rope and began swimming towards the boat as
quickly as he possibly could. Every time he lifted his head to check
out how close he was to the boat, he saw the scared look on Donna's
face and it made him fight the current even harder. He just wanted to
get in the boat and put his arms around her. Assure her that
everything was ok.

Donna looked frantically from the rope, to Josh, and back to the
rope. The friction of the boat pulling against the tree was causing
the rope to fray at an alarming rate. If it let go, not only would
Josh be stranded in the current, there was a good chance that he would
be
cut up by the boat's propeller.

'Please,' she silently prayed, 'Please let him get here in time.'

"He's gonna make it," Sam assured her quietly. He wrapped his arms
supportively around Donna's shoulders but she wouldn't look at him,
she refused to take her eyes off Josh. She was silently sending him
every bit of strength she had. Trying to will him into the boat before
the rope broke.

When Josh finally reached the side of the boat, Sam and Donna reached
down and hauled him in. He stumbled over the side and right into
Donna's waiting arms. She held his shivering body as close as
possible, trying to warm him up. She placed a soft kiss against his
forehead, and then a gentle one on his lips, which were starting to
turn blue.

Ten seconds later, the rope helping to hold the boat in place snapped.

"We'd better get out of here," Zach said, quickly revving the boat's
engine and heading off.

"Are you ok?" Donna whispered worriedly in Josh's ear.

"I'm fine," he assured her through chattering teeth, "But as soon as
we get back on dry land you're going to explain to me why you didn't
stay put at the hotel like I asked you to."

With that, he wrapped his arms further around Donna and hugged her as
tightly as possible. She tried to hide the wince of pain but Josh
noticed it immediately.

"What's wrong?" he asked, pulling back to look her in the eyes.

"It's nothing. Really."

"You let me decide that. Tell me what's wrong," Josh insisted.

"I hit my ribs earlier when the tree came through the window at the
school. I think I just bruised them, that's all."

"Let me see," Josh said.

"Josh..." Donna started.

"Now, Donnatella!"

Josh, Sam, and CJ all gasped as Donna lifted her shirt to reveal a
large purple bruise covering most of her left side.




"Sit down," Josh said softly but insistently.

"Josh, I'm fine," Donna said, trying to hide her labored breathing.

"Please. Sit down," Josh repeated, not able to conceal the worry in
his voice.

"I'm fine. It's just a bruise," Donna said, reaching for the oar she
had been using earlier. "Besides, I need to help Zach move the debris
away from the front of the boat."

"I'll do that," Sam volunteered, grabbing the oar from Donna's hand
and stepping past CJ to the front of the boat.

Donna glared at Sam, then turned and looked at back at Josh who was
staring at her expectantly. Deciding to try another tactic to take his
mind off of her injury, she reached out and placed her arms around his
waist, snuggling against his chest.

"I'm so glad you're safe. I was so worried," she said gently.

Out of the corner of his eye, Josh caught CJ trying to stifle a laugh.

"It's not gonna work, Donna. I still want you to sit down."

Donna huffed, and then took a seat next to CJ.

"Tell me what happened," Josh said, kneeling down in front of her.

"I fell against the desk this morning at the school when the branch
came through the window. I just bruised a rib, that's all."

"I think it's more than that, Donna. You can hardly breathe."

"I'm fine. I think it's just a combination of the wind and the
exertion. Give me a few minutes to catch my breath and I'll be fine."

"We're taking you to a hospital to have your ribs looked at," Josh
said adamantly.

"Josh, I'm fine. I don't need to go to a hospital," Donna said, her
voice right on the edge of whining, "Let's just go back to the hotel."

"We need to go to the hospital anyway," Josh said, holding his
ground. "CJ needs to have the cut on her head looked at."

"Hey, how did I get dragged into this?" CJ asked.

"You're both seeing a doctor, and that's that," Josh said, making it
perfectly clear that he was not willing to compromise.

"Well, I've been told more than once that I needed to have my head
examined," CJ chuckled, "I guess now is as good a time as any."







Fighting the current back up the river proved to be slow going, but
Zach knew it was the only safe way out. If he tried to go with the
flow of the water, they could very easily be swept away and end up
crashed against the trees or tossed about with all of the other debris
in the water. Going back the way they came was definitely the best
route, but it was taking quite a bit longer than he had expected.

Josh had grabbed a tree limb that was floating by and was helping Sam
move debris out of the boat's path. Suddenly he heard a small yelp,
and turned to see Donna grab her stomach and double over in pain.

"Donna!" he said as he leapt immediately to her side, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Donna said, fighting back tears. "All of the sudden,
the pain just got a lot worse."

Josh wrapped her in his arms and began rhythmically stroking her
hair. "It's ok. You're gonna be ok," he cooed.

Donna buried her head against his life jacket to muffle her sobs.

"How much longer till we get back to town?" Josh shouted to Zach.

"Shouldn't be long now," Zach shouted back. "No more than thirty
minutes or so."

Josh lowered his head to the crook of Donna's neck. "Hang on,
Donnatella. We're almost there."








It was close to an hour before they could manage to reach a spot
where they could safely get the boat out of the river and get
themselves back on dry land. By the time they did, everyone was soaked
to the skin, and freezing. The pain in CJ's head was intensifying, and
everyone on board the small boat was suffering the effects of the
cold water and brisk winds. It was Donna, however, whose condition was
deteriorating most rapidly.

She was having more and more trouble breathing as time went by, and
her lips were beginning to take on a slightly blue-ish cast. As Josh
held her against his chest, trying to shield her from the wind and
rain, he could feel her heart racing.

"We need to get to a hospital," Josh said, turning towards
Zach, "Where is the closest one?"

"About four blocks that way," Zach answered, pointing up the hill
directly in front of them. "My girlfriend Katie is a nurse's aide there."

"Can you make it?" Josh asked Donna worriedly.

Donna nodded her head resolutely, and the group set out in the
direction of the hospital. Halfway there, CJ swayed dizzily.

"I've got ya," Sam said as he wrapped his arm around her waist. "It's
not much further now."

"It's just this damn headache," CJ winced.

"Well, maybe you're not as hard-headed as I've always thought you
were," Sam joked.

"Oh, I see, you wait until I'm in a weakened condition, and then you
mock," CJ said incredulously.

"You know what they say about payback," Sam smiled, as he tightened
his arm around her waist and continued to help her up the hill.

About a block from the hospital, Donna's knees buckled. The weather
and the exertion simply became too much.

"Hold on," Josh pleaded as he swept her into his arms and began
heading towards the ER as quickly as possible. Within minutes, they
made it to the entrance, and were greeted by the sight of an
overflowing waiting room. Josh searched frantically for a doctor.

The nurse handling triage had seen them coming and approached Josh,
followed by two orderlies pushing a gurney. Josh laid Donna down
gently, but kept a firm grip on her hand. Another orderly approached
quickly pushing a wheelchair, which he carefully helped ease CJ into.

"We need to see a doctor right away," Josh said frantically.

"Don't worry," the nurse said in a soothing voice, "We are on full
alert. We have all of our personnel here. We'll get a doctor for both
of your friends right away."

As if to prove her right, a doctor appeared immediately. He
introduced himself as Dr. Burke. He instructed the orderlies to take
CJ to Room 3, and to page Dr. Watkins to take a look at her. He then
turned his attention to Donna.

"What seems to be the problem, young lady?" he asked, keeping his
tone as light as possible.

"I think I bruised my ribs," Donna managed to get out between gasps
for breath.

"She was just released from the hospital a few weeks ago," Josh
jumped in, "She had massive internal injuries in her chest and
stomach. She banged her ribs on a desk earlier, but her breathing has
been getting more labored for the last hour, and her heart started
racing about 30 minutes ago."

The doctor lifted up the side of Donna's shirt. A look of concern
creased his brow when he saw the large bruise. He pulled out his
stethoscope and told Donna to remain as quiet as possible. After
listening to her chest for a minute, he looked back at Josh.

"What hospital was she treated at?" he asked.

"Johns Hopkins in Baltimore," Josh answered, brushing the hair out of
Donna's face.

"Do you remember her doctor's name?"

"Dr. Alcott."

"OK. Let's call them and have them fax over her medical charts right
away," Dr. Burke said.

"I'll take care of that, " the nurse who had initially approached
Josh said as she headed off towards a phone.

Josh watched worriedly as another nurse placed a hospital bracelet
around Donna's wrist.

"Patient's name?" she said, looking at Josh.

"Donnatella Moss," Josh answered, never breaking eye contact with
Donna.

"Let's get her back to Exam Room 1," the doctor ordered. "I want a
chest x-ray and arterial blood gases, STAT."

Josh watched helplessly as they wheeled Donna away.

"I'll let you know as soon as we have more information," Dr. Burke
said as he followed the gurney towards the exam room.

As Josh looked up he saw Zach approaching them with his arm around a
young nurse's aide.

"This is my girlfriend, Katie," he said.

"Nice to meet you," Josh said. "We owe your boyfriend a huge debt of
gratitude."

"We certainly do," Sam agreed.

Katie beamed at Zach, then turned back to Josh and Sam. "Would you
like me to get you some scrubs so you can get out of those wet
clothes?" she asked.

"Yeah, that'd be great," Sam said appreciatively, as Josh turned once
again to stare off in the direction that Donna had been taken.








15 minutes later, Josh and Sam were seated in the ER waiting room.
Their hair was still wet and they were still quite chilled, but at
least they were now dressed in dry clothing.

"She'll be fine," Sam said reassuringly, "They both will."

"She never should have been out on that boat," Josh said, "It's all
my fault."

"Well..yeah...sure," Sam said, "Being as you knew that the levee was
gonna collapse, and we were gonna be thrown into the icy river."

Josh glared at Sam. "You know what I mean. She should have stayed at
the hotel and..."

"Listen to me," Sam interrupted. "None of us knew what was gonna
happen out there today or we wouldn't have gone. But once the worst
did occur, there was no way you would have been able to keep Donna
from coming out after you. Just like, if the circumstances had been
reversed, nothing would have kept you from going out after her. It's
called being in love."

"I know," Josh sighed. "And I need a chance to tell her that."

"You'll get it," Sam assured him. "She's gonna be fine. But so help
me..if you don't tell her exactly how you feel, and I mean right away,
I'm gonna take matters into my own hands."

"I'll tell her, Sam. I promise. But she has to be ok so I get a
chance."

Twenty minutes later,  Dr. Watkins approached Sam and Josh.

"Are you gentlemen here with Ms. Cregg?" he asked.

"Yes, how is she?" Sam asked anxiously.

"She'll be fine. I put five stitches in the cut on her forehead. She
appears to have a mid-grade concussion. We're gonna keep her overnight
for observation, but if all goes well, we'll release her in the
morning."

"Can we see her?" Josh asked.

"In a little while," Dr Watkins answered, "I'll send a nurse down to
get you as soon as we have her settled in a room."

"Thanks," Sam said.

"My pleasure," the doctor answered with a smile before turning and
heading off to see his next patient.

"Now let's just hope the news about Donna is as good," Josh said.







An hour later, Sam returned from calling Leo to fill him in and
stopping off for a quick visit with CJ to find Josh pacing the floor
in the waiting room.

"How's CJ?" Josh asked.

"Pretty good. She's a little tired. They gave her some medication to
help her sleep. She wants us to let her know as soon as there's any
information on Donna."

"I just wish I knew when we were gonna hear something," Josh said
agitatedly.

Ten minutes later, Dr. Burke entered the waiting room.

"How is she?" Josh asked, pouncing immediately.

"Your friend is going to be fine," the doctor said reassuringly, as
he led Josh over to one of the plastic waiting room chairs, and took
the seat opposite him. "She suffered a traumatic pneumothorax, which
is essentially a collapsed lung."

"Oh my God," Josh gasped.

"Calm down. That isn't as bad as it sounds. According to the doctors
at Johns Hopkins, she suffered a similar injury in the initial
accident. Once you've suffered a pneumothorax, you are far more
susceptible to it happening again. About 50 % of patients suffer a
recurrence."

"Will she need surgery," Josh asked worriedly.

"I don't think so. We're cautiously optimistic. We need to remove the
air from the pleural spaces in her chest so that her lung can
re-inflate. Many times, given the right circumstances, the body will
heal itself. We think that there is an excellent chance we can manage
Donna's condition with rest and medication. We'll keep her here
overnight for observation, but I'm optimistic we won't need to insert
a chest tube."

"Can I see her?" Josh pleaded.

"We're moving her to a room right now," Dr. Burke said, "In fact,
we're a bit short on bed space due to the flood, so we're gonna put
her in the room with Ms. Cregg. You can head on up there. She'll be up
very shortly."

"Thank you, Dr. Burke. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this,"
Josh said happily.

"My pleasure," Dr. Burke smiled.






Twenty minutes later, Sam was sitting placidly beside CJ's bed while
Josh fidgeted nervously, looking at the door every few seconds.

"Just relax, Josh. She'll be here soon," CJ said.

"Josh is nervous because he has something he has to tell Donna," Sam
teased.

"Oh really?" CJ said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep," Sam continued, "Because if he doesn't, I will."

"Back off, Sam. I'm not gonna jump down her throat and tell her I
love her as soon as she comes through the door."

"There's no time like the present. Time's a wastin'. Tick tock," Sam
said.

CJ chuckled out loud as Josh glared. "I think this is payback for the
mocking," she said.

"I didn't mock him, you did!" Josh insisted.

"But you didn't defend me, and now you must suffer the same fate as
the mocker," Sam
said.

Josh was about to protest when the door swung open and an orderly
pushed Donna into
the room in a wheelchair.

"Hey there," Josh said, moving immediately to her side, "How are you
feeling?"

"I'm fine," Donna said, grasping his hand and managing a small
smile. "Just a little sore, that's all."

"Well, the doctor said you'll be up and around in no time."

"I hope so," Donna said sincerely.

"Tick tock," Sam said in a singsong voice.

"What did you say, Sam?" Donna asked.

"Just ignore him," Josh said dismissively, while Sam smiled like a
Cheshire cat.

Donna had the feeling she was missing something, but decided to let
it pass for now. She'd make Josh tell her all about it later. Instead,
she turned her attention to CJ.

"How are you feeling, CJ? she asked, as she climbed out of the
wheelchair and into the hospital bed, grimacing only slightly from the
pain.

"I'm fine," CJ answered. "My headache is almost gone. In fact, the
doctor said it was ok for me to walk around a little. Sam, let's you
and I go and get a cup of coffee."

"I'm not sure you should be having coffee," Sam admonished. "What did
your doctor say?"

"Sam," CJ said, trying to convey a message with her eyes.

"I'm just saying. I'm not sure whether caffeine is good for
concussion patients."

"SAM!" CJ hissed. "I was just trying to give Josh and Donna a little
time alone. Now help me out of this bed and let's go get some coffee."

"Oh," Sam said apologetically, "Right. Coffee. That sounds good. I
could really use a cup."

Josh shook his head and laughed as he sat down on the side of Donna's
bed.

"Sam can be a little dense sometimes," he laughed.

"Maybe his brain is still thawing out from the cold water," Donna
joked back.

"Maybe," Josh said, then his face suddenly turned very serious.

"Is everything ok?" Donna asked.

"I was just so worried about you. That's all."

"I'm fine," Donna said, taking Josh's hand and placing a kiss on his
palm.

"I know but if..." Josh said sadly.

"Shhhhh. Let's not play the what if game," Donna said.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I was afraid I might never get a chance to
tell you..." Josh started hesitantly.

"Tell me what?" Donna urged.

"Tell you how much I love you," Josh said, searching Donna's eyes for
a reaction. He wasn't sure she was ready to hear his declaration yet,
but there was no way he could go another minute without saying it.

Donna's heart melted when she saw the insecurity in his eyes. Her
love was the last thing she ever wanted him to be unsure about.

"I love you too, Joshua," she said, "I have for a long time. Don't
ever doubt that."

When Josh looked in to Donna's eyes, the depth of emotion he saw
there blew him away. He knew without a doubt that she shared his
feelings completely.

"Thank heavens you didn't have to hear it from Sam," Josh smiled.

"What?" Donna asked confusedly.

"Never mind," Josh sighed as he took Donna tenderly in his arms,
careful not to hurt her sore ribs, and placed a soft, gentle kiss on
her lips. A kiss that was full of promise for the future.



THE END