Title: Love Always
Summary: Josh's secret admirer may not be as harmless as he 
thinks...
Rating: Parts could be up to an R; This one is G
Spoilers: none


Feedback--You guys are the best ever with feedback. I had planned on
taking some time
off before starting my new story, but I got so many emails asking
about it, that I decided
to just go ahead and do it now.

Special thanks to Brandy who understands the power of an epiphany and
the need for a
place to store things!!

Props to Juliet, for all of her unswerving support and encouragement!!




"How did the meeting go?" Donna asked as Josh entered the bullpen and
headed towards
his office.


"Good, I think," he answered tiredly.


"Was Toby's friend able to help you?"


"Yeah, she was great. In fact, Toby is still over there with her,
getting some more
information. Lily Wharton knows where all of the skeletons are in the
closets of Big
Tobacco. I really think we're going to be able to use the stuff she
gave us."


Donna followed Josh into his office and closed the door behind them.


"That's good news," she said cheerily, reaching out and helping him
off with his jacket.


Josh looked at his watch, and then looked at Donna with pathetic puppy
dog eyes. "Any
chance I might talk you into staying for a while and helping me
organize all of this
material that Lily gave us?"


Donna hated the puppy dog eyes because she just couldn't say no to
them. "I suppose,"
she said with an exasperated sigh. "But only for an hour or so. I
need to get some sleep."


"It's a deal," Josh said with a smile, handing her the notes that he
had taken at the
meeting.


"It's going to be more than an hour, isn't it?" Donna asked, looking
at the stack of papers
in her hand.


"Probably," Josh laughed, "but you already said you'd help."


"You are impossible," Donna said with a smile in her voice.








As Josh approached Donna's desk the next morning, he saw her staring
in amazement at
a huge bouquet of mixed flowers.


"What's this?" Josh asked, trying hard to keep a teasing tone in his
voice,  "A new gomer
I haven't heard about?"


Donna smirked as she looked up, "They aren't for me," she
said, "They're for you."


"What?" Josh asked, wondering if Donna was playing a game with him.


"Nice flowers, Donna," CJ said as she walked up behind Josh, "Who are
they from?"


"They aren't mine. They're Josh's," Donna said, a small hint of
discomfort in her voice.


"Really?" CJ asked. "Is there something you haven't told us, Josh?"


"There must be some kind of mistake," Josh insisted, "I have no idea
who these are
from."


"Why don't you read the card?" Donna suggested as she pulled it from
the holder deep
within the flowers and handed it to him.


Josh opened the envelope and pulled out the small card. Donna and CJ
gave him their
undivided attention as he read,


          Joshua,
                I saw these flowers in the window of a shop and I just
               knew they were meant for you. I hope they brighten your
               day as much as seeing you brightens mine.
                                                       Love Always


"Love Always...who?" CJ asked impatiently.


"That's all it says," Josh said, eyeing the card in his hand
suspiciously. "There is no
name."


"Joshua?" Donna asked, arching her eyebrow.


"I have no idea what this is all about," Josh said defensively.


"Uh-huh," Donna and CJ said as they walked away laughing.








"I want you to sit in on the next meeting that Toby and I have with
Lily Wharton," Josh
said, as they sat in his office going over his schedule.


Donna stared at the flowers on his desk, appearing to barely hear a
word he was saying.


"Who do you suppose sent those?" she asked, her brows knit in deep
concentration.


"Donna," Josh said with an exaggerated sigh, "it's been two days and
you have asked me
at least a hundred times who sent them, and my answer is always the
same. I have no
idea."


Josh had put up with two full days of teasing from every person in
the west wing. "Guess
who Josh's admirer is" seemed to be everyone's new favorite pastime.


"They're beautiful," Donna sighed.


"Yes, they are," Josh answered. He cleared his throat, and tried to
find the right words for
the question that had been on his mind since the flowers arrived. "It
wasn't you was it?"
he stammered.


"Me?" Donna asked incredulously.


"Well, I just meant that...you know...maybe as a joke," Josh
sputtered. He had been
harboring a secret hope that Donna had been the one to send the
flowers, but he could tell
by the look on her face that he had clearly been wrong.


"That bouquet cost more than I make in a month," Donna snorted. "That
would be a
fairly expensive joke, don't you think?"


"I guess so," Josh sighed disappointedly.


Donna gathered up Josh's schedule book and headed out of the office.
As she reached the
door, she turned around and said quietly, "It doesn't mean I don't
agree with the
sentiment on the card though."


Josh looked into her eyes, unable to think of what he should say
next. She gave him a shy
smile and went back to her desk.








"Alright, I want to know who is behind this little game, and I want
to know now," Josh
demanded as he walked into the senior staff meeting the next morning.


"Excuse me?" Leo said.


"This!" Josh continued, holding up a basket containing several
bottles of expensive wine,
and two hand cut crystal wine glasses.


"Is that supposed to mean something to the rest of us?" Toby asked.


Josh glared back at him. "It arrived this morning with another
cryptic, unsigned note."


"What does this one say?" CJ asked, jumping up and grabbing the card
from Josh's hand.


The corners of her mouth curled in a smile as she read,


            Joshua,
                 Here's to hoping that we still have many good times
                 ahead of us and that we can enjoy these bottles             
                 together sometime soon.
                                      Love Always


"No signature, same as last time."


"Come on," Sam smiled, slapping his friend on the back, "you have to
have some idea
who these are from. This is some expensive wine. People just don't
send gifts like this on
a whim."


"I have no idea," Josh said, shaking his head.


"Well, it certainly wasn't me," CJ said. "For one thing, this is
imported wine, I would
have sent you something from California. I also wouldn't have wasted
nearly this much
money on someone with tastes like yours."


"Gee, thanks," Josh grumbled.


"I think we can safely rule out the members of your fan club, since
most of them aren't
old enough to buy liquor," Toby smiled.


"Very funny," Josh said.


"I think it's cool," Sam said, eyes dancing mischievously. "It's like
having a mystery to
solve...a love mystery."


Leo stared at Sam, his mouth set in a tight scowl, while CJ snickered
and Toby dropped
his head to his hands.


"You're a dork," Josh snapped, setting the wine basket on the coffee
table, and taking a
seat on the couch next to CJ.


"Are we through trying to solve the case of Josh's secret admirer?"
Leo asked pointedly.


"For now," Sam chirped.


"Good," Leo said, "then lets get on with the country's business."








"I can't believe all of this paperwork," Donna grumbled as she spread
out the notes from
the latest meeting with Lily Wharton.


"That's part of Big Tobacco's strategy," Toby said. "They bury you
under paperwork, and
hope that by the time you find what you're looking for, it's too late.


"Well, they seem to be very good at it," Donna sighed.


For the next several hours, Donna, Josh, and Toby worked in relative
silence. They were
busy scanning all of the new material, highlighting relevant facts,
and separating the
information into legal and medical related piles.


An hour into the project, Sam poked his head in to see how things
were going and was
immediately put to work.


It was nearly 10 PM when CJ entered the room with a huge smile on her
face. She was
carrying a large tray of assorted cheese and crackers.


"Did you bring us a little snack, CJ?" Toby asked warily.


"It's not from me," CJ smiled. "It's courtesy of Josh's secret
admirer."


"What?" Josh asked, looking at the tray as CJ placed it in the middle
of the table.


"When did that arrive?" Donna asked, unable to hide the irritation in
her voice.


"It just got here a few minutes ago. I figured you guys might need a
snack so I brought it
on down," CJ answered.


Josh reached out and snatched the note that was taped to the cover of
the tray.              


           Joshua,
                Please enjoy this variety of delicacies. Someday   
                soon, we will enjoy the finer things in life together.
                                                          Love Always


"I'll say this for her, she has exquisite taste," Sam said, as he
lifted the lid off of the tray
and sampled the Brie.


"Well, that's nice to know," Josh chuckled. "And she apparently
thinks that I am worth
lavishing money and attention on, so she must be very intelligent
also."


"Oh brother," Toby growled.


"Be nice to me or I won't let you share my delicacies," Josh teased.


"Just what you needed," CJ snorted, "Something to make your ego even
bigger."


The group spent the next several minutes tasting all of the various
gourmet cheeses on the
tray. They were all quiet, mostly attributable to the fact that their
mouths were full. Josh
noticed that Donna hadn't left her seat at the other end of the table
where she was busily
transcribing notes from the earlier meeting.


"Hey, Donna. Why don't you take a break and have a snack?" Josh said
lightly.


"No, thank you," Donna said coldly.


Josh was taken aback by her tone of voice and decided to try to kid
her out of whatever
was causing her mood.


"Come on," he said, "have some. You should get used to this kind of
thing since, being
my loyal and trusted assistant, you will be with me all the way,
sharing all of the spoils
bestowed on me in admiration by my secret admirer."


Donna's face dropped. "That's me," she said, tears pooling in her
eyes, "the loyal and
trusted assistant."


Everyone turned to face Donna, suddenly realizing how upset she had
been by the
onslaught of gifts Josh was receiving. Donna refused to look up, but
rather busied herself
gathering all of the notes together and jamming them into an envelope.


"I think I'll finish this at home, if that's ok," she said, still
refusing to make eye contact.


"Are you ok?" Josh asked, the concern clearly evident in his voice.


"I'm just tired," she insisted, "Is it ok if I finish these notes at
home?"


"Sure," Josh said, "if that's what you want."


"Great," Donna said, quickly moving towards the door, "I'll see you
tomorrow. I'll be in
early."


"I was only kidding," Josh said defensively after Donna had gone.


"I know," CJ said reassuringly. "Donna's just tired. She's been
working hard lately and
this whole secret admirer thing is starting to get to her."


"It's just a joke," Josh answered. "In fact, when the flowers first
arrived, I thought maybe
Donna was the one who had sent them. You know..maybe as payback for
the ones I sent
her."


"Did you ask her about it?" Sam asked.


"Yeah," Josh said softly, remembering the comment Donna had made in
his office, "it
definitely wasn't her."


Everyone in the room was well aware that Josh and Donna's growing
attachment to each
other wouldn't be able to be held at bay for much longer. Donna's
jealousy and Josh's
reaction to it were proof of that.


"I'll call her later and apologize," Josh said.


"Good idea," CJ agreed.








'Why did I react like that?' Donna thought as she walked towards her
car. 'Josh certainly
has a right to his own life. I should be happy for him.'


She sighed, 'I should be..but I'm not...I'm miserable. Who is this
woman? What if she's
someone wonderful and amazing...What if?'


Donna was so lost in her thoughts as she approached her car, she
didn't see the person
standing there, until she was almost on top of them.


"Hello, Donna," the voice said cheerily.


"Oh, you scared me," Donna said, putting her hand over her heart and
feeling it pound in
her chest, "I didn't expect anyone to be standing there."


"I'm so sorry. I wasn't trying to scare you."


"That's ok. Did you need something?"


"As a matter of fact, yes. I've realized that if I ever want Josh to
pay any attention to me at all, I need you
out of the way," the voice said, turning sinister.


"Wh..What are you talking about?" Donna asked fearfully.


"I really didn't want it to come to this," the voice said, raising a
hand, and bringing an
iron pipe down hard against the back of Donna's head.








"Excuse me," the security guard said, as he peeked his head in the
door of the Mural
Room, "Where is Ms. Moss?"


"She's already left for the night," Josh said, "Is something wrong?"


"Are you sure she's gone?" the guard asked.


"Yes," Josh said, "she left about half an hour ago."


"Well, I just got a call from the guard in the lot who said that Ms
Moss's car is there, and
that the drivers side door is open. He was going down to check it,
but he just wanted me
to be sure to let her know."


A cold chill ran up the spine of every person in the room.


"I'll go check your office," Sam volunteered, "I'm sure she just came
back in after
something."


"I'll check the ladies room," CJ offered, already on her way out the
door.


"She might be making plans with Ginger or Bonnie," Toby said, picking
up the phone on
the table and dialing his extension, "I'll check."


Several minutes of frantic searching assured Josh that Donna was
nowhere in the
building. Sam and CJ returned to the Mural Room, just as Toby and
Josh were headed for
the parking lot.


By the time they reached Donna's car, several security guards were
there, along with one
secret service agent.


"What happened?" Josh asked breathlessly as he came around to the
driver's side of the car with
Sam, CJ, and Toby right behind him.


He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight in front of him. The car
door was open, and
Donna's tote bag was sitting on the front seat. Her purse was lying
on the ground, the
contents spilled out onto the cement. Her car keys were laying
several feet away.


"Oh, God," Josh whispered as his eyes settled on a small puddle on
the ground, "Is that
what I think it is?"


"I'm afraid so, sir. It's blood."









As Donna moved back towards consciousness, she tried desperately to
sit up, but was
stopped by a blinding pain in her head. When she tried to bring her
hands up to find the
exact source of the pain, she realized they were bound with tape, as
were her feet.


She frantically searched her mind for a clue as to where she was, and
how she had gotten
there. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to make her
mind focus.


Slowly, her eyes came open, and she began to survey her situation.
She noticed sloped
ceilings above her head on both sides of the room, which led her to
believe that she must
be in some sort of attic. Much of the room's contents were covered by
canvas drop cloths,
and Donna could see dust floating in the beams of light filtering in
through the window
that was high up on the wall above her head.


As she continued to struggle, she realized that she was on an old
settee, arms and legs
bound with strong tape, and that she was being further restrained by
a thick chain which
was fastened tightly around her waist and anchored to a large bolt
sticking up out of the
floor.


A terrified scream rose in Donna's throat, but it couldn't escape
around the gag that had
been placed over her mouth. As her panicked mind began to focus, a
clearer picture of
what had happened began to emerge.


She remembered walking to the parking lot, reaching her car, and then
realizing that
someone was standing there waiting for her.


Donna's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps ascending
the attic stairs.
She turned slowly, her eyes wide with fear, just in time to see Lily
Wharton come into
view.


"I see you're finally awake," Lily snarled, as she moved towards the
settee.


Donna nodded, as she tried to ignore the pain in her head, and fight
back the tears that
were forming in her eyes.


"I have to go out for a while. Don't bother trying to scream, there
isn't a neighbor for
miles around, no one will hear you."


"Why are you doing this?" Donna asked, although her words were badly
distorted by the
material covering her mouth.


"I don't have time to talk to you now," Lily said disdainfully. "I'll
be back later."


As Donna watched her descend the steps, and heard the sound of a
heavy door slamming
and being locked, she fell back against the arm of the settee and
sobbed.








"Why didn't I walk her out to her car last night? Why did I let her
go out there alone?"
Josh asked for the thousandth time, as he paced from one end of the
room to the other.


The members of the senior staff were gathered in Leo's office,
waiting to hear if the
DCPD had come up with anything new.


"This isn't your fault, Josh," CJ said soothingly, "You couldn't
possibly have known."


"I knew she was upset," Josh snapped. "I should have walked her out,
and apologized.
Why did I say that I would call her later? Why was I so stupid?"


Sam looked helplessly at Toby as both men saw Josh's anger, both at
himself, and at
whoever had taken Donna, grow exponentially.


"Listen, Josh," Toby said sternly, trying to diffuse the
situation, "beating yourself up over
this isn't going to help anyone. Do you understand me? We need to be
focused on what
we can do here and now, not on what we should have done last night.
So lets keep our
heads in the game, alright?"


Josh's eyes flashed with anger, then Toby's words seemed to sink in.


"You're right," he said, his anger dissipating noticeably. "We need
to figure out a way to
get her back."


"And we will," Sam said, with more confidence that he actually felt.


Every head snapped up as Leo entered through the connecting door to
the Oval Office.


"Did you find out anything?" Josh asked anxiously.


"Just one thing," Leo answered quietly.


"What?" Josh asked haltingly, not really sure if he wanted to know
the answer.


"The blood on the ground...well...it's the same type as Donna's."


Josh sank down onto the sofa and hung his head. Until he heard the
words come out of
Leo's mouth, he had been able to cling to some slim hope that Donna
hadn't been
injured.


"It doesn't mean anything, Josh," Leo said, trying his best to
reassure his deputy, "It's a
small amount of blood. We have to believe that Donna is alive
somewhere, and that we
are going to find her."


"I know," Josh said, not raising his head, "I know."


"The Press has already gotten wind of this, and they want a
statement," CJ said. "We have
to decide what we want to say, and how we want to say it."


"Any suggestions?" Leo asked.


"I think we should use the Press as much as possible," CJ answered
honestly. "Get the
story out there, get Donna's picture out there. Maybe someone will
see it and call in with
some information."


"Josh?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow.


"I'm for anything that brings Donna home safely. If you think we can
use the Press, CJ,
then use them."


"The DCPD is interviewing anyone who might have seen anything last
night. They have
every available man on this case. They are searching Donna's
apartment, and anywhere
else they can think of," Leo said,  "We're going to find her."


"She might be hurt," Toby said. "Has anyone checked the hospitals?"


"They've all been contacted," Leo said. "If anyone matching Donna's
description shows
up, they'll call."


"Good," Josh sighed.


"Now, I know that we all would like to just spend the day sitting
here waiting for news,
but we do have a country to run. We need to try to get as much work
done as possible."


"I can pick up the slack and take some of Josh's meetings," Sam
said, "I'll have Bonnie
grab the schedule and do a little juggling."


"Is there anything...and I mean anything...that I could be doing
right now to help find
Donna?" Josh asked.


"No," Leo said gently, "everything that can be done is being done.
They'll let us know if
there is anything we can do."


"Then I'll take the meetings myself," Josh said, an edge of
determination in his voice.
"I'd rather keep busy. Plus, Donna will have a fit when she gets
back, if she thinks I've
been slacking off."


"Are you sure?" Sam asked.


"Positive," Josh answered resolutely.


"Ok, but just let me know if there's anything you want me to cover,"
Sam offered.


"I will," Josh answered with a look of gratitude in his eyes.


"We have another meeting with Lily on the tobacco thing," Toby said
to Josh.


"Where at?" Josh asked, trying to focus his mind on the task at hand.


"I called her this morning, and asked her if we could move it to my
office. That way,
we're within easy reach, if we're needed."


"Good idea. Thanks," Josh said. "I'll just grab a few things out of
my office, and be right
over."








Ginger waved Josh directly into Toby's office where he found Toby and
Lily hunched
over a pile of manila folders.


"Josh," Lily said sympathetically, as she stood up and enveloped him
in a tight hug. "I'm
so sorry. I heard about your secretary."


"Assistant," Josh said automatically.


"I'm sorry?" she said, loosening her hug, but leaving her arms draped
casually around
Josh's waist.


"Donna isn't my secretary, she's my assistant," Josh said.


"Assistant then," Lily said. "If there's anything I can do, anything
at all, please let me
know."


"Thank you, I will," Josh said, as he extricated himself from her
arms and perched on the
edge of Toby's desk.


"I only met her that one time," Lily said as she sat down next to
Josh and
placed her hand on his knee, "but from all of the times I've heard
you talk about her, I
feel as if I know her."


Josh managed a weak smile, then leaned over and picked up a folder
off the pile in
front of Toby.


"This city just isn't safe for a young woman living alone, is it?"
Lily asked.


"Are these the most current figures we have?" Toby asked, noticing
that Josh was getting
upset, and trying to steer the conversation to safer ground.


"1999 is as far as we have concrete numbers for," Lily said. "The
projections for 2000 are
in the green folder."


"Does Donna have a boyfriend?" Lily asked Josh. "Someone she might
have slipped
away with?"


"No!" Josh said forcefully. "Donna didn't slip away. She wouldn't do
something like
that. And she wouldn't leave her car, and her purse, and everything
else behind. She
wouldn't leave without telling me!"


"The two of you seem very close," Lily said flatly.


"We are," Josh said. "Now can we get down to work? There's a lot more
paperwork to go
through."


"Anything you want, Josh," Lily cooed. "Anything you want."








Donna shrank back against the settee as she heard footsteps stomping
up the stairs
towards the attic. She heard the lock turn, and then the door flew
open, banging off of the
wall behind it.


Lily Wharton appeared at the top of the stairs, hate blazing in her
eyes.


"It's all about you!" she hissed. "Perfect Donna. Wonderful Donna.
You're all Josh can
think about."


"You saw Josh?" Donna mumbled.


"What did you say?" Lily screamed, as she reached over and tore the
gag from Donna's
mouth, jerking her neck in the process, causing Donna to see stars.


"I asked if you saw Josh," Donna said timidly.


"Yes, I saw him," Lily raged on, "and he was completely distracted by
thoughts of you.
He barely even knew I was in the room."


"I'm sure that's not true," Donna said, trying to placate her captor.


"It is true," Lily shouted, walking across the room and opening a
small wooden chest.


Suddenly, she wheeled around and looked at Donna somberly. "You've
been a very bad
girl," she scolded. "It's not right for you to get involved with your
boss. You could hurt
his reputation. You could ruin his career."


"I'm not involved with Josh," Donna insisted.


"Don't lie to me," Lily cautioned.


"I'm not lying. I swear," Donna cried.


"I guess I can forgive him for having a weakness for pretty young
blondes," Lily said.
"Of course, once we're together, he'll have to give up that little
vice."


"You have to believe me," Donna pleaded. "It isn't like that. Josh
and I aren't involved
like that."


"I'm not stupid," Lily said angrily.


"I didn't say you were," Donna said, trying to make her tone as
conciliatory as possible.


"I can tell just by talking to Josh that there is something more than
friendship between the
two of you,"


Donna tried to protest but Lily just kept right on talking.


"although I can't imagine what kind of spell you've managed to cast
on him. Blonde and
pretty only goes so far. But at this point, I guess its blinding Josh
to the obvious fact that
you are not at all what he needs. He needs someone with breeding and
education.
Someone who will help advance his political career, as opposed to
causing a scandal that
might damage it irreparably."


"Please," Donna sobbed, "you have to believe me. Josh and I aren't
romantically
involved."


"Ever since the first time Toby introduced us, I've seen a spark in
his eye every time he
mentions your name. And then when you sat in on that meeting, I saw
how he lights up
when you're around."


Donna realized that Lily wasn't hearing a word she was saying. She
laid back and sobbed
softly.


"But I know that he can learn to adjust to you being gone," Lily said
matter-of-factly.
"He can find a new assistant, and I'll be there every step of the way
to help ease his
broken heart. You'll be gone and forgotten in no time."


Donna's sobs got stronger as she pulled against her restraints to no
avail.


"Have you ever heard the joke about how you are supposed to break bad
news to
someone slowly, so they have a chance to prepare themselves?" Lily
asked.


"No," Donna sobbed.


"Ok," Lily smiled gleefully, "it goes like this.


     Joe was keeping an eye on his neighbor's house while they were
on vacation. The
neighbor called home to see how everything was going and Joe
said, 'Your cat is dead'.
    The neighbor said 'Gee, Joe. You could have been a little gentler
with the news. After
all, we love that cat.'
     So Joe said 'What do you mean?'
     The neighbor said, 'Well the first day, you could have told me
the cat was on the
roof', then after I had time to get used to that, you could have
said 'The cat fell off the
roof', then after that sunk in, you could have said 'The cat died'."


Donna stared at Lily in terror, certain that she was completely
delusional and not at all in
touch with reality. Donna wondered how this woman, who had seemed so
normal the first
time she had met her, could actually be so totally psychotic.


Lily continued,


    " Then the neighbor says, 'Well, how's the dog?' and Joe
says, 'The dog is on the roof'.
Get it!!"


Lily reached her hand into the wooden box and extracted something
shiny as she laughed
uncontrollably at her own joke.


"I asked you if you got it?" she said threateningly, as she walked
towards Donna.


"Not really," Donna admitted, as she tried in vain to back away.


"Well, lets just say," Lily cackled, "that Josh is about to find out
his assistant is on the
roof."


Donna's blood curdling scream echoed through the air, but the only
person close enough
to hear it was Lily Wharton, and she simply smiled.








"Josh, this package just arrived for you," Ginger said from the
doorway of his office.


"I'll look at it later," Josh said, not looking up from the report he
was reading.


"I think you need to look at it now," Toby said.


Josh looked up and saw Toby standing behind Ginger in the doorway.
There was a
security guard standing with them.


"Why?" Josh asked, "What's wrong?"


Just then Sam and CJ came through the connecting door from her office.


"What is it?" Josh asked again, alarm rising in his voice.


"This package arrived for you," Ginger stammered. "I opened it to see
what it was. I
wasn't trying to be nosey."


"It's fine, Ginger," Josh said, still not understanding what had
everyone so upset.


"There was this note," Ginger said, holding the small slip of paper
out towards Josh.


"Be careful handling that," Sam jumped in, "there may be
fingerprints."


Josh's heart began to pound and his stomach began to churn as he
realized the
implications of what they were trying to tell him. This was another
package from his secret
admirer, the person who he had laughed off as a joke. This was the
person who had taken
Donna.


Josh grabbed the note carefully by the edges and read,


            My dearest Joshua,
              You may not believe this right now but I'm doing this
              for you. She would only drag you down in the end. I
              know what's best for you, and I'll take care of her.
              Don't worry,
              I'll keep your name out of it. Soon she'll be gone
              and we
              can be together. I live for that day.
                                                      Love Always



"Did you open the box?" Josh asked shakily.


"Yes," Ginger said, as the dam broke, and her tears began to flow.


"The police are on the way," Leo said breathlessly, as he entered the
office.


"What's in the box?" Josh asked, holding out his hands to Ginger.


"Josh, there's no point..." Toby began.


"I want to see what's in the damn box!" Josh demanded.


Sam moved closer to Josh, and placed a supportive hand on his friends
shoulder, as Ginger
handed him the box.


He opened the lid slowly, and saw all of Donna's jewelry. The gold
locket that she
always wore with the picture of her grandparents in it, a simple gold
chain bracelet, a pair
of earrings shaped like roses, and two delicate rings. His breath
caught in his throat as he
ran his fingers over each piece.


Then he realized that there was something else in the box. He pulled
back the layer of
gauze and his blood ran cold.


What is it?" CJ asked, stepping forward. The room began to spin and
she clutched Sam
for support as she saw two pink fingernails, covered in blood, with
small bits of skin still
attached.


"It looks like they were pulled off with pliers," Toby said somberly.


"Oh, God," Josh said, as his knees gave out and he sank backwards
into one of his
visitors chairs.










Josh barely noticed the various police officers and Secret Service
agents moving in and
out of his office, gathering and cataloguing evidence. He sat quietly
in the visitor's chair
in front of his desk as the activity swirled around him.


No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't erase the memory of those
two blood-covered,
pink fingernails. The officers had quickly taken the box away, to
dust it for fingerprints, and
search for any other microscopic trace evidence that might be
present, but Josh could still
see them. It was an image that was burned into his mind. He could
only imagine what
kind of brutality would be necessary to commit such an act.


He closed his eyes tightly, and shuddered at the thought of what
Donna must have gone
through, the pain she must have felt as the nails were pulled off. A
wave of nausea hit
him, and he leapt to his feet and ran to the men's room.


As his head hung over the bowl, he asked himself the same questions
he had asked
over and over since the moment he looked inside the package. Who
could be doing this?
Wouldn't he know if someone had these kinds of feelings towards him?
Why hadn't he
taken this whole thing more seriously? Why hadn't he seen the
potential for trouble and
made sure Donna was protected?


He was unable to keep his mind from imagining what Donna had been
going through
since she was snatched from the parking lot. Alone, terrified, in
pain. A new wave of nausea
came over him as he imagined her, bleeding and frightened, trying to
deal with this
lunatic on her own.


When he finally managed to get his stomach under control, he returned
to his office. Leo
and Toby were standing in the corner, talking quietly to a DCPD
officer, while CJ and
Sam were standing at his desk, looking intently at his schedule book.


They all looked up when he entered.


"What do we do next?" he asked, trying hard to keep his emotions in
check, and focus on
the task of getting Donna back safely.


"We need to try to come up with a list of people who might be sending
you these notes
and gifts," the officer said.


"Believe me, I've been wracking my brains trying to think of who it
might be," Josh said,
unable to hide the frustration in his voice.


"Has anyone been acting unusually flirtatious around you lately,
finding excuses to spend
extra time with you, making unusual comments or suggestions?" the
officer asked.


"Not that I can think of," Josh said tiredly, as he dropped into the
visitors chair he had
vacated earlier.


"Any little detail, even if it seems minor, might help," the officer
reminded him.


"Don't you think I know that?" Josh barked. "Don't you think if I
could think of
anything, I'd tell you?"


"Josh," Leo cautioned, moving across the room and placing his hand on
Josh's shoulder,
"he's only doing his job."


"I know that, Leo," Josh snapped. Then he took a deep breath and
spoke again, the anger
in his voice replaced by guilt and helplessness. "This is all my
fault. Whoever took
Donna, did it because of me."


"No!" Toby said forcefully, "The person who took Donna did it because
they are sick
and twisted. What they are feeling for you isn't love, Josh, it's
obsession. There is no way that you could have anticipated this."


"But..." Josh started, before Toby cut him off.


"But nothing. The note clearly indicates that Donna is still alive.
The clock may be
ticking, but the fact is that she IS still alive. Lets concentrate on
that. Lets do
whatever we need to do to get her back."


"You're right," Josh said, "I know you're right."


"We've been looking at your schedule book," CJ said, trying to give
Josh a place to focus
his mind. "We've been paying specific attention to what you've been
doing since the
letters began arriving."


"Did you find anything?" Josh asked hopefully, mentally trying to
review his activities
for the last week or so.


"Not yet," Sam said determinedly, "but being as you have no social
life, and you spend
20 hours a day at work, it has to be here somewhere."


"Ok," Josh said, "then lets get to work and find it."








Donna leaned back against the settee, listening to the sound of her
heart beating in her
chest, and trying to block out the searing pain in the fingertips of
her left hand. She had
spent the last several hours trying to press her fingers against the
fabric of the settee, in
order to apply some pressure, and stop the bleeding. The pain,
however, made such a task
next to impossible.


The slightest bit of contact to the nail bed sent an excruciating
pain shooting up her arm
and throughout her entire body. Donna was trying desperately to
gather her thoughts, but
the constant pain was making it difficult.


She wondered how Josh had reacted when he opened the box. Lily had
made a major
production out of assembling her little surprise package right in
front of Donna, making
sure that she knew exactly what Josh would see when he opened it.


Donna sent up a quick prayer that Josh hadn't been alone, that
someone else had been
there to help him deal with the initial shock.


She knew that he would be feeling tremendous guilt, and that was the
last thing in the
world that she wanted. There was no way that he could have prevented
this.


Lily Wharton seemed, by all outward appearances, to be completely
normal. She was
bright, well educated, ambitious, and successful. Unfortunately, all
of those traits masked the fact that she was completely insane.


Donna knew that Josh would be doing everything he could to find her,
that all of her
friends and co-workers would. She worried about what would happen to
Josh if they
didn't find her in time. What would happen if Lily found a way to get
closer to him?


Donna felt an all too familiar clenching in her stomach as she
thought of Josh and Lily
together. She began to cry softly, as she finally admitted to herself
the reason that the
gifts from Josh's secret admirer had upset her.


She was in love with Josh, and she had been for a while. She wasn't
sure exactly when it
happened. Thinking back, she couldn't remember a time, since her
first day on the
campaign, when she hadn't been in love with him.


'I have to find a way to tell him,' Donna thought. 'Even if I don't
make it through this, I
have to find a way to tell him that I love him, and to warn him about
Lily."








The staffers had moved into the Mural Room after Josh had begun to
feel stifled in his
office. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the picture of
what he had seen in
that box out of his head. And inevitably, that picture was followed
by the picture of
Donna, battered and bleeding, that his imagination painted.


He was brought back to reality by the sound of Sam's voice.


"Tuesday, you had a meeting at Senator Specter's office. Was there
anyone new working
there that you can remember?"


"No, I don't think so," Josh answered, trying to think back.


"I'll call over there and check it out, just to be safe," CJ said,
scribbling a note to herself
on the pad in front of her."


"Why don't you get a list of any new staffers that have started on
the Hill in the last two
weeks. Then call down to Personnel and get a list of anyone new here
in this building,"
Leo suggested.


"I'll take care of it," CJ said, as she got up and started back to
her office. "I'm sure that
I'm going to have to roust someone out of bed, but those are the
breaks."


"So, what have we got?" Josh asked impatiently.


"Well," Sam said, glancing down at his notes, "not much, unless CJ
comes up with
something. The only new issue that you've been working on is the
tobacco thing with
Toby."


"That's right," Josh said dejectedly. "This is turning out to be a
dead end. There has to be
something, or someone, that I'm missing."


"Lets go back to tobacco for a minute," Toby said, the wheels in his
mind beginning to
spin, "Didn't CJ make a big deal to the Press that we were kicking
off this new
initiative?"


"Yeah, so what?" Josh said.


"It just seems very coincidental to me," Toby said, arching his
eyebrows.


"You think the tobacco companies might be behind this?" Leo
scoffed. "Come on,
Toby."


"I agree with Leo," Sam said. "I know they're capable of some dirty
tricks, but I don't
think even they would go this far."


"I don't mean the tobacco companies themselves," Toby retorted.


"Then what are you talking about?" Josh asked interestedly.


"A case like this brings the crazies out of the woodwork. It could be
someone who is
associated peripherally with tobacco, or smoking, but not one of the
major players."


"But what's their angle?" Leo asked, willing to at least listen to
Toby's theory.


"Distract Josh. Focus his attention elsewhere. Throw us all off our
game."


"To gain what?" Leo asked.


"Who knows? The person is obviously crazy. They may not have a
specifically defined
goal," Toby snapped.


"But why Donna?" Josh asked.


"Maybe they knew that she was the perfect tool to use to get to you.
Or maybe it was just
a lucky guess. Or maybe just a crime of opportunity," Toby surmised.


"But the notes..." Josh began.


"What better way," Sam said, as the light bulb went on above his head
and he started to
see exactly what Toby was thinking. "Making this look like some kind
of crazed stalker
thing to send us off looking in the wrong direction."


"Do you really believe that?" Josh asked, looking from Sam to Toby to
Leo.


"I don't know," Toby sighed, "but right now, it's all we have."


"Lets pursue it and see if it leads anywhere," Leo said.


"Good," Toby answered. "Sam, you help CJ check out any names she gets
from
Personnel. Josh, why don't you and I swing by the police station and
talk to the detective
in charge. See if they got any identifiable fingerprints. Then we can
swing out to Virginia to see Lily.
If there are any crazies hiding in the woodwork of the tobacco
movement, she'll know
about them."


"Sounds good," Leo said, "Keep me informed."








"Well, isn't this an interesting little development?" Lily hissed as
she entered the attic
room, carrying a large length of rope. "I just got a phone call and
it appears we're going to have visitors. I guess I
better make sure that we're both prepared for company."


As she finished speaking, Lily began binding Donna to the settee,
constructing a virtual
cocoon with the rope.


"Please," Donna begged, "don't do this. Just let me go. I won't say
anything to anyone.
You can go far away from here, and no one will ever know."


"That's exactly what you want," Lily screamed as she backhanded Donna
across the face.
"That way you can have Josh all to yourself. Well, that isn't ever
going to happen! Josh is
mine; he belongs to me. And as soon as I can get you out of the way,
I know that he'll see
that."


Donna struggled against her restraints but it was no use. She lay
there helplessly as Lily
wrapped the rope tightly around her entire body. When she was bound
to the settee from
neck to feet, Lily picked up the gag that she had discarded earlier.


"Josh will never love you!" Donna screamed in frustration. Before she
could say another
word, Lily yanked her head upwards by the hair, and jammed the gag in
Donna's mouth using
her entire fist. Donna cried out as she felt a tooth snap off, and
coughed as the blood began
to trickle down the back of her throat. Lily tied the gag as tightly
as possible, cast an evil
smile in Donna's direction, and then headed down the stairs, locking
the door behind her.








"Come in, come in," Lily said as she opened the front door.


"We're sorry to intrude on your personal time like this, Lily," Toby
said apologetically,
"but we're working on a clock here."


"So you said in your phone call," Lily smiled, leading them into the
living room,
and motioning for them to take a seat. Toby sat in the overstuffed
armchair beside the
fireplace, and Josh perched on the edge of the couch, trying hard to
corral his nervous
energy.


"I appreciate your help with this," Josh said gratefully.


One floor above, in the attic, Donna's eyes popped open. Could it be?
Was it possible?
Was that really Josh's voice she heard coming through the air vent?


"Nonsense. I'm happy to do whatever I can," Lily chirped. "Can I get
you something to
drink before we start?"


"No, thank you," Toby and Josh said in unison.


"Then lets get right to it," Lily said, as she sat down next to Josh
on the couch. "What
exactly do you need me to do?"


"We need you to tell us about any crazies that might be lurking
around, trying to throw a
wrench into any legal actions against the tobacco industry," Josh
said.


Donna struggled as hard as she could against her bindings, but it was
no use. They didn't
give an inch. She gathered every ounce of energy she had and tried to
scream, but
no sound would come out. Tears began to stream down her face as she
realized that Josh
was one floor below her. She tried desperately to find a way to
communicate with him.


"Wow," Lily exhaled, "that's a tough one. The tobacco industry
encompasses a large and
diverse group of people, from the companies themselves, to the
growers, to the
processors, to just your garden variety whackos who like to align
themselves with the
cause dujour."


"We understand that," Toby said patiently, "but we need to know if
anyone stands out. If
any one person or group seems a little more dangerous than the
others. Time is of the essence on this one, Lily."


"Let me make a few calls," Lily said, "I'll let you know if I find
anything out."


"Thanks," Josh said appreciatively.


"Do you want to wait while I consult my database?" Lily asked.


"I don't think so," Josh said, as he fidgeted nervously. "I want to
talk to some of Donna's
friends, then go back and see if the police have turned up anything
new."


'No, no please don't leave!!' Donna cried inwardly. 'I'm right here.
I'm right above you.'


"Suit yourself," Lily said frostily.


"Look, Lily, I really appreciate what you're doing here," Josh said
quietly.


"It seems very important to you," Lily said, in a slightly accusatory
manner. Toby looked at
her oddly for a moment, before deciding that he had probably
misinterpreted her tone.


"It's more important to me than anything else in the world," Josh
said honestly. "I have to
find her, before it's too late."


"I'll do what I can," Lily said flatly.


Donna's tears flowed faster, and she had trouble catching her breath
through the gag that
was wrapped tightly around her face. She strained to hear every word
Josh said. His voice
began to fade, as they were apparently walking away from the vent,
and towards the front
door.


Josh believed that if Donna's abductor was involved with the tobacco
industry in any
way, Lily was their best bet at learning his/her identity. He wanted
Lily to understand
how much this meant to him, and so he looked her in the eyes, and
admitted something to
her that he had only just managed to admit to himself.


"I love her, Lily, with all my heart. I can't even begin to fathom
how I could live without
her. I need her, and I'll do anything to get her back."


Donna's heart soared as she listened to Josh's words. She had been so
afraid that her
feelings could never be returned, and now she knew that they were.
For one split second,
she was able to forget the horrible situation she was in, and just
revel in the knowledge
that Josh loved her as much as she loved him.


Lily's face flinched, almost imperceptibly. "You love her, don't
you?" she asked.


"Yes, I do," Josh said.


Donna laid her head back and tried to concentrate on Josh's words.
She was so
completely wrapped up in her own thoughts, she didn't hear Lily say
goodbye to Josh
and Toby. She didn't even hear the front door close.


Her happiness was short lived, however, as she was jolted back to
reality by the sound of
Lily's unmistakably angry footsteps stomping up the attic stairs.








Donna's heart pounded as she listened to the footsteps stomping
angrily up the stairs. Her
eyes widened with fear when Lily entered the attic, and  Donna saw
the large kitchen
scissors in her hand.


"How dare he say that he loves you!" Lily screamed furiously. "I
don't know what kind
of hold you have on him, but I intend to break it."


"Please," Donna implored, but her voice was muted by the gag tied
tightly around her
face.


Lily continued on unabated. "Lets see if he loves you after I'm done
with you. After I
have turned his little blonde Barbie doll into an ugly witch."


Donna couldn't take her eyes off the gleaming silver blades of the
scissors. In one quick
movement, Lily grabbed a handful of Donna's hair and began cutting
out large chunks.
Donna sobbed as the sharp blades moved towards her head, gouging
large sections out of
her long blonde hair.


"I'm going to make sure that when they finally find you, you'll look
hideous. I want
Josh's last memory of you to be an ugly one."


The floor around the settee was soon covered with piles of Donna's
soft blonde hair.
"Let's see what Josh thinks about you now," Lily hissed.


Donna stiffened, deciding that staying still was her best alternative
with Lily still angrily
cutting away at her hair.


After a few minutes, Lily stepped back to admire her
handiwork. "There," she said
triumphantly, thrusting the scissors in the air, "that's much
better."


She walked across the room and dug in an old trunk until she found an
antique hand
mirror. She held it up in front of Donna's face and sneered, "What do
you think?"


Donna battled back her tears, not wanting to give Lily the
satisfaction of seeing her cry.


"Wait! I want you to get the full effect," Lily laughed wildly, as
she reached up with the
scissors and cut away Donna's gag.


Donna cringed as she saw herself in the mirror. Her hair had been cut
out in large chunks,
and there was an angry red scrape above her left eye where her head
had hit the pavement
in the parking lot on the night she was abducted. One of her top
front teeth was gone
completely, and the other was broken off, and digging painfully into
her lip.


"What do you think of yourself now?" Lily taunted.


"You'll never get away with this," Donna spat. "You'll never make
Josh fall in love with
you."


"Oh yes I will," Lily cackled. "And Josh and Toby gave me the perfect
way to do it."


"What do you mean?" Donna questioned.


"They think that some whacko from the tobacco industry is behind
this," Lily laughed
derisively. "They came to me for help. All I need to do is give them
a few possible
suspects, and send them off searching in the opposite direction."


"You won't be able to fool them," Donna said defiantly, "they will
figure it out."


"No, Princess," Lily chuckled, "I'm afraid you're wrong there. No one
is going to ride in
to save the fair maiden this time."


Donna bit her lip and looked directly at Lily, refusing to cower in
fear. She would not let
this woman beat her. Somehow she would find a way to survive.


"Now I need to get to work," Lily said purposefully. "I need to find
someone to pin your
murder on."


Donna watched helplessly as Lily hurried down the attic stairs,
whistling to herself as she
went.








"There is a Lily Wharton on the phone for you," Bonnie said, as she
stuck her head in
Toby's open door. "She said it's urgent."


"Put her right through," Toby said.


Knowing that time was of the essence, Toby dispensed with the usual
pleasantries and
got right to the point. "Lily, did you find anything for us?" he
asked.


"Well, you didn't give me much time," Lily said defensively, "but I
did come up with
five likely candidates. These guys would seem to fit the description
of the kind of psycho
we are talking about."


"Any of them local?" Toby demanded, as much as asked.


"Just one so far," Lily said, "but these aren't exactly the kind of
people who put down
roots in the community. They move around a lot. There's really no
telling where they are
at any given moment."


"Then we better get started checking them out. Can you fax their
bio's over to me right
away?" Toby asked, already jotting down a list of calls for Ginger
and Bonnie to make as
soon as he had the names.


"Are you sure don't want me to bring these over myself? Maybe I can
spot something
you guys missed. Sometimes an objective pair of eyes can make all the
difference."


"I appreciate the offer," Toby said, "but we're all set. Information
gathering is one of our
specialties."


"It's really no trouble," Lily said, a slight whine in her voice.


"No, but thanks all the same," Toby said impatiently. "I really just
need you to fax the
information you have to me right away, so we can get to work. I'm
afraid we are starting
to run out of time."


"Fine," Lily said testily, "I'll send it right over."


Toby started to say thank you, but was cut off by the buzzing of a
dial tone on the other
end of the phone. 'That's strange,' he thought, as an indefinable
sense that he was
missing something began to stew in the back of his mind.








Donna's head was still spinning with possible methods of escape when
Lily returned,
carrying a small cardboard box.


"I've decided to let you say goodbye to Josh after all," she chirped,
as she set the box on
the floor beside the settee, and removed a small note card and a pen.


"What do you mean?" Donna asked warily.


"I'm going to let you write a note to your precious boss," Lily said
scornfully. "It will
make your death that much more poignant."


"What if I say no?" Donna asked rebelliously.


"You won't," Lily said confidently. "You might hate me, but you would
never pass up
the chance to say goodbye to the man you love."


Donna's anger flared hearing Lily talk about the feelings that she
had for Josh. She made
up her mind then and there that she would find a way to warn him.
Even if she lost her
own life, she had to find a way to save his. Her mind began grasping
at any and every
possible idea.


"So what's the verdict?" Lily asked, in a patronizing tone that made
Donna's skin crawl.


"I'll write the letter," Donna acquiesced, keeping her voice as even
as possible,
determined not to do anything that might spoil her only chance at
getting a message to
Josh.


"I knew you would," Lily said with a smug grin. She reached down and
began loosening
the ropes from around Donna's upper body. "Now don't try anything
stupid, Princess.
I'm going to untie your hands for a few minutes."


After she had removed the ropes, Lily roughly cut away the tape that
was binding
Donna's wrists. Donna looked down at the fingers on her left hand.
The nail beds, where
the fingernails had been removed, were bright red and oozing. She
still suffered
excruciating pain each time anything came in contact with her
fingertips, both of which
were swelled and warm to the touch.


"Good thing you're right handed," Lily sneered as she placed the note
card and the pen
down beside Donna.


Donna flexed her right hand in an attempt to get the circulation
back, and then reached
down, and awkwardly picked up the pen.


'Please, Josh," she thought. 'Please read between the lines.'


"No tricks," Lily growled, as she began gathering up the hair off of
the floor and putting
it in the box. "And hurry up, I don't have all day."


Donna thought for a second longer, then made her decision, and began
to write,


   My dearest Joshua,
        Please don't worry about me, Gulliver.
        Whatever happens, I'll be all right, as
        long as I know that you are safe.
        I love you, and no matter what happens,
        I always will. Be safe and be happy.
                                          Donna



She carefully folded the note card and laid it beside her on the
settee.


"Let me see that," Lily said scornfully. She perused the note
quickly, and then looked at
Donna with a raised eyebrow.


"Gulliver?" she asked.


"It's my nickname for Josh," Donna said evenly. "That way, he'll know
that the note is
really from me."


"Gulliver?" Lily repeated.


"It's because I consider him a giant among men," Donna said, thinking
on her feet.


"Isn't that adorable," Lily hissed. "Well, we'll just put the note
right here in the box
where Gulliver will see it."


Donna watched, with tears in her eyes, as Lily gathered the last of
the hair off of the
floor, placed her note in the box, then taped it closed. She then re-
taped Donna's wrists,
making sure to cause as much pain as possible to her inflamed
fingertips, and rebound her
upper body with rope.


"I have to go now," Lily said lightly, "but I'll be back. And when I
return, it will be time
for you to meet with your untimely demise."


Donna held back her tears until she heard the door at the bottom of
the steps lock, and
then she began to sob, as she sent up a silent prayer that she had
given Josh the
information he needed to find her.








With the help of Ginger and Bonnie, Toby had managed to track the
whereabouts of three
of Lily's five possible suspects in less than two hours. He gathered
up all of the
information and headed for Josh's office to fill him in.


Halfway across the bullpen, he ran in to Sam and CJ.


"Find anything?" he asked, as all three headed towards Josh's office.


"There are about 25 new employees all together. We're checking
backgrounds on all of
them now," CJ answered. "How about you?"


"So far dead ends, but we have to keep trying," he said, the
determination clear in his
tone.


As Toby entered the doorway to Josh's office, he stopped suddenly. He
saw Josh sitting
at his desk, intently studying a series of folders spread out in
front of him.


Lily was leaning in tightly over his left shoulder, brushing her arm
lightly against his, as
she pointed out various details.


"What are you doing here, Lily?" Toby asked, a little more sharply
than he had intended.


"I came by to go over this list of possible suspects with Josh," Lily
said, as her hands
began to massage Josh's shoulders.


Josh seemed completely oblivious to her, as he stared intently at the
names and faces in
front of him. If one of these men had Donna, he wanted to find out
everything there was
to know about them.


"I just felt so helpless sitting at home," Lily continued, without
removing her hands from
Josh's shoulders. "I thought that I could be more help here. Besides,
I wanted to be here
for Josh, in case he needed someone to talk to."


That annoying feeling in Toby's brain that told him he was missing
something began to
pick up steam. As he was trying to decide whether or not he was
making a mountain out
of a molehill, Bonnie appeared in the doorway.


"The front gate just called, they have a package for Josh," she said
breathlessly.


"Oh, God," CJ whispered, as Sam squeezed her hand supportively.


"Call Leo. Then tell the gate to send the box up with a security
officer right away," Toby
said to Bonnie. As she turned to go, he grabbed her arm lightly and
lowered his voice,
"Tell them to ask the delivery boy to wait. I may need to talk to
him," he whispered.


Josh jumped up from behind his desk and began pacing frantically.
Toby watched him
protectively, and then he noticed Lily out of the corner of his eye.
She was sitting
serenely in Josh's chair, smiling happily as she ran her hands over
his leather desk
blotter.


Minutes later, an officer appeared with the package, and Josh
snatched it from his hands
immediately.


"Be careful..." the officer began.


"I know," Josh said angrily, "Preserve the evidence."


He carefully began to unwrap the box, trying hard not to disturb any
possible clues. He
knew that there would be no fingerprints, just as there hadn't been
on any of the previous
packages. They were dealing with someone who was far too clever for
that.


But there was something different about this package. There was no
note taped to the top
like there had been on the others. Josh pulled back the tape
carefully, and gently lifted the
lid. When he saw the contents of the box, he let out an audible gasp.


His eyes welled up with tears as he looked at Donna's beautiful hair.
His heart began to
beat angrily when he spotted a lock in the corner of the box that was
caked with dried
blood.


"Oh, God," he said, as he picked it up and turned it over in his
hands.


"Lets not jump to any conclusions," Toby said calmly, as he moved
over to look into the
box. CJ and Sam joined them, and they all stood staring wordlessly at
Donna's blonde
locks.


What's that?" Sam asked, as he spied the corner of the note card.


Josh reached in and pulled it out. He flipped it open, and
immediately recognized
Donna's handwriting. "It's from Donna," he said, quickly scanning the
words.


His heart leapt to his throat as he read Donna's declaration of love.
His voice cracked and
his eyes filled with tears as he repeated the words she had written.


As he read them aloud, Toby noticed that Lily hadn't moved from
Josh's chair. She was
running her hands slowly up and down the arms of his suit jacket,
which was hanging
over the back.


Leo entered the office followed by a secret service agent; several DC
police officers
entered minutes later. As the office became a flurry of activity,
Toby pulled Sam, CJ and
Josh aside.


"What do you suppose that note meant, Josh?" he asked.


"What do you mean?" Josh asked, the confusion clear in his voice.


"Gulliver? Why did she call you Gulliver?" he asked more sternly,
trying to get Josh to
focus.


Josh just kept staring at the flakes of dried blood on his hands and
trying to fight back
another wave of nausea. "I don't know," he said distractedly, "she
probably just wrote it
absentmindedly. I can only imagine how scared she must be."


Josh's hands began to shake as new images of Donna, bruised, bloodied
and terrified
flooded his mind.


Something in the back of his mind just wouldn't let Toby accept that
explanation.


"Can we step outside for a minute, Leo?" he asked, as the police
began to question Josh,
CJ, Sam and Lily about what, if anything, they had seen.


"What is it?" Leo asked, sensing Toby was on to something.


"I can't be sure," Toby said, "it's just a bad feeling."


"What, Toby?" Leo demanded.


"The note," Toby said. "Donna called Josh, Gulliver."


"So?" Leo said.


"Have you ever heard her refer to him as Gulliver," Toby asked.


"No, but like he said, she's under a lot of pressure," Leo reasoned.


"This is Donna we're talking about," Toby said decisively. "Have you
ever known her to
use words carelessly?"


"I guess not," Leo agreed.


"Gulliver. He was a giant," Toby said, trying desperately trying to
remember the story.


"And he was held hostage," Leo said, the wheels beginning to turn in
his head also.


"By the Lilliputians," Toby said, as all of the pieces slid into
place. "That's the message.
Donna was trying to tell Josh she was being held hostage by..."


"The Lilliputians?" Leo asked.


"The Lily-putians," Toby said angrily.


He wheeled around quickly and screamed for Bonnie. "Tell the front
gate to escort the
delivery boy to my office right away. I want to talk to him." Then he
turned back to Leo
and said, "Whatever you do, don't let Lily Wharton leave this
building!"











"My name is Toby Ziegler, and I have a few questions to ask you. I
need you to answer
as quickly and as accurately as possible," Toby said hurriedly as he
entered his office.


The young delivery boy stood frozen in terror, wondering what he
could possibly have
done to warrant being summoned to the office of one of the White
House senior staffers.


"Ok," he stammered nervously.


Toby noticed the fear in the young man's voice. He softened his
delivery and began
again.


"I need to know about the person who hired you to deliver the package
to Mr. Lyman."


"Am..am I in trouble? Was there something illegal in the box?" he
asked.


Toby decided to change gears, hoping that it might relax the boy and
help him get the
answers he wanted more quickly.


"What's your name?" Toby asked.


"Daniel Owens, sir."


"All right, Daniel, let me assure you that you are not in any trouble
at all. Unfortunately,
someone else is, and that's why we need your help."


"Ok," Daniel said, relaxing a bit but still clearly unnerved by the
entire situation.


"I need you to tell me everything you can about the person who hired
you to deliver the
package."


"Well, it was a woman," Daniel began. "She approached me when I came
out of the
OEOB on another delivery. She said she needed a package delivered to
Mr. Lyman
as soon as possible. She said that she would be willing to pay me
cash, and that my boss
never had to know about it."


"And you agreed?" Toby asked.


"I agreed to deliver the package," Daniel said defensively, "but I
called my boss when I
was on my way over here, to tell him that I picked up another
delivery. I wasn't trying to
rip anybody off."


"I'm sure you weren't," Toby said confidently. "What can you tell me
about the woman?


"She was pretty tall," Daniel said, trying to recall as many details
as possible.
"She was thin too. I can't really say what she looked like because
she had on sunglasses
and a baseball hat. She was wearing a ratty old denim jacket."


"Would you recognize her if you saw her again?" Toby asked.


"I'm not sure," Daniel said apologetically. "Maybe if she still had
the hat and glasses on.
I just can't guarantee anything."


"Would you be willing to sit down with a police artist and do a
sketch?" Toby asked.


"Sure," Daniel answered eagerly, "if you think it would help."


"It can't hurt," Toby sighed. "Come with me."


They began walking towards Josh's office so that Toby could find an
officer to take
Daniel to the police station. He was careful to keep the boy out of
Lily's sight though; he
didn't want to tip his hand too early, in case his suspicions were
correct.


As they got closer, a voice rang out above all of the chaos.


"Why can't you people stop asking your silly little questions, and go
out and actually do
something?" Lily demanded haughtily.


"That's her! That's the woman!" Daniel said excitedly.


"Are you absolutely sure?" Toby asked.


"I'm positive," Daniel said.


"Ginger!" Toby yelled. She appeared almost immediately and Toby
said, "Please escort
Daniel back to the front gate, and make sure that you get his phone
number so we can
contact him later."


Then he turned his attention back to Daniel and said, "I can't thank
you enough. You may
have just helped save someone's life."


As Ginger guided Daniel out of the bullpen, Toby stuck his head in
the door of Josh's
office and caught Leo's attention. He cocked his head and motioned
for Leo to meet him
in the hall.


"What's up?" Leo asked.


Toby's eyes blazed with unrestrained fury. "It's her," he hissed.


"Are you sure?" Leo asked, although the look on Toby's face left no
doubt.


"Positive," Toby fumed. "The delivery boy recognized her voice."


"What do we know about her background?" Leo questioned.


"Not as much as we'll know in a few minutes," Toby said
purposefully. "I'm going to
call my contact at the FBI."


"Call from my office," Leo said. "I'll meet you there."


Toby headed down the hall, and Leo went back into Josh's office. He
grabbed one of the
officers and said, "I don't want anyone leaving this office right
now, especially Ms.
Wharton. Do you understand me? If anyone has a problem with that, you
call me right
away."


"Yes, sir," the officer replied, as Leo headed out the door.


Thirty minutes later, Leo and Toby stood staring impatiently at the
fax machine. They
were waiting for Lily Wharton's FBI dossier. Toby's contact,
understanding the
seriousness of the situation, had agreed to expedite matters, and
send the file over
immediately.


Suddenly, the fax machine began to hum. Toby grabbed the first page
and began
reviewing it, as Leo read over his shoulder. By the time page three
arrived, they knew
what they had to do. Leo headed off down the hall.








"I'm very sorry, Lily," Leo said as he entered Josh's office, trying
desperately not to let
his true emotions towards her show, "but I need to borrow my staff
for a few minutes.
Something has come up."


"Well, I should go anyway," Lily said, "I have a few things to take
care of."


"No, I need you to stay here," Leo said adamantly, searching for a
reason to make her
stay without arousing her suspicions. "I'm calling in an expert from
the FBI. He is going
to want to interview everyone who was here when the package arrived."


"Alright," Lily said resignedly, as she sat back down in Josh's
chair. "I'll wait here then."


"This shouldn't take long," Leo assured her as CJ, Sam, and Josh
followed him into the
hall.


"What..." Sam began.


"My office, NOW!" Leo said.








"What's going on?" Josh demanded as they entered Leo's office.


Leo looked at Toby, then motioned for him to begin.


"I think I have a lead that may help us find Donna," Toby blurted out.


"What?" CJ and Sam exclaimed in unison.


"Then what are we doing standing around here? Where is she? Is she
ok?" Josh asked
excitedly as he moved across the room and stood face to face with
Toby.


"It's not what we thought, Josh," Toby said slowly. He knew that
Josh's reaction to the
news would be volatile. He wanted to find a way to help Josh keep his
emotions in check,
as much as possible, until they actually found Donna. He couldn't
even begin to imagine
what his friend was feeling right now, but he knew that having Josh
fly off the handle
wouldn't help the situation at all.


"What do you mean?" Josh asked warily, his eyes narrowing.


"It isn't a complete stranger," Toby said. "It's someone we know."


"Who?" Josh asked, the decibel level of his voice rising dramatically.


"Lily Wharton," Toby said.


CJ let out an audible gasp, while Sam stared incredulously at Toby.


"It appears to be true," Leo agreed.


"What in the hell are you saying?" Josh thundered.


"Listen to me," Toby said, battling his own growing sense of
panic, "the delivery boy
positively identified her voice as the voice of the person who gave
him the package."


"And that's all you have to go on?" CJ asked.


"No, there's more," Leo said as he came around his desk to place a
restraining hand on
Josh's shoulder.


"The timing fits," Toby continued. "The letters started right after I
pulled you in on the
tobacco initiative."


Toby began to pace, as the thoughts that had been haunting his mind
began to spill out.
"There was something about her behavior towards Josh that bothered
me, but I just
couldn't put my finger on it, until tonight."


"Are you sure about this?" Josh asked, his tone full of measured fury.


"Then there was the clue in Donna's note," Toby continued, as if
trying to convince
himself that there was no flaw in his logic. No matter how many times
he traced the
clues, they always brought him to the same conclusion.


"What clue?" Josh asked, confusion evident in his voice.


"Gulliver," Toby said. "I knew that there had to be some meaning
there. I've never
known Donna to throw words around carelessly. She uses them in
exactly the manner she
means to use them."


"What do you think she was trying to say?" Sam asked.


"Gulliver was held hostage by the Lilliputians," Josh snapped. "Why
didn't I see that?
How could I have missed it? Donna was reaching out to me for help,
and I overlooked
it."


"You're under a lot of pressure, Josh. It isn't important who figured
it out first," Leo said.


Josh continued to mentally berate himself, while Toby explained the
rest of his reasoning.


"After I got confirmation from the delivery boy, I made a quick call
to my contact at the
bureau. He faxed over her file," Toby said, holding up the fax. "It
seems Lily has a
history of disturbing behavior."


"She's done this before?" CJ asked incredulously.


"We've only gotten a cursory glance," Toby answered, "but it seems
that there have been
instances of obsessive behavior in the past. Nothing could ever be
proven though."


"Where is Donna?" Josh asked, in a tone so measured it was
frightening.


"I'm not sure..." Toby began.


"Well, I'm about to find out," Josh fumed as he barreled out of Leo's
office and down the
hall towards his own, with the rest of the staff in hot pursuit.


Josh stormed through the door to his office, then froze in his
tracks. The security officer
was lying on the floor, Josh's shattered desk lamp in pieces around
his head.


"Oh, God," Sam said as he kneeled down and felt for a pulse. "He's
alive," he said with
relief in voice as he felt the man's heart beating.


Josh bolted out the door and across the bullpen without a word.


"Call the police," Toby said quickly, "Tell them to meet us at Lily's
house in Virginia.
The address is in my Rolodex." Then he turned and headed out after
Josh.












Lily raced up the attic stairs with a wild look in her eyes, and
rushed towards a terrified
Donna.


"This is it!" she screamed maniacally, "You are dead!"


"What happened?" Donna asked desperately.


"They think they're smarter than me," Lily spat, "They think I'm
stupid. Well, I'll show
them."


"Tell me what happened," Donna pleaded. "Is Josh ok?"


"Your friends just signed your death warrant," Lily cackled evilly.


"Is Josh ok?" Donna asked again, more insistently this time, trying
as hard as possible to
control her own panic, and somehow break through Lily's madness.


"You make me sick," Lily said disgustedly. "I've just told you that
you are about to die,
and all you ask about is Josh! Well, forget Josh. He can't help you
now."


"Listen to me..." Donna yelled.


"NO!" Lily screamed even more loudly. "The time for listening is
over."


She reached down and began to unwind the rope that bound Donna to the
settee. When
she was finished, she glanced at her nemesis, still bound by heavy
tape at the wrists and
ankles, and secured to the floor by a chain.


Lily began to talk in a singsong voice as she undid the padlock and
yanked Donna into a
sitting position. "I can't kill you here, it would make such a mess
in the attic. I guess
we'll have to go somewhere else."


Lily grabbed the piece of material she had been using as a gag
previously and tied it
tightly around Donna's eyes.


"I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for you," Lily said
excitedly. "I want to keep you
guessing. I wonder what that feels like? Knowing that you are going
to die soon, but not
knowing exactly when, or even how. Maybe I'll shoot you, maybe I'll
stab you, or slit
your throat, or push you out the window." Lily continued on
animatedly, as though she
was making her Christmas wish list.


Donna began to think that there was no way to escape her fate. She
silently prayed, for
herself, for Josh, and for her friends.


"Time to go," Lily commanded, "because as soon as I'm done with you,
I have to take
care of Josh."


"What do you mean?" Donna asked desperately. "I thought you loved
Josh. I thought you
were going to make a life with him."


"He betrayed me!" Lily screamed. "I offered him everything, but he
was too blind to see
it. All he could see was you. So I've decided to give him what he
wants. I'll let the two of
you be together in Hell!!"


From somewhere deep within, Donna found an unexpected strength, and
an unbreakable
will to survive. She raised up her legs, her feet still bound
together, and shoved Lily
backward with all her might.


The sounds of Lily careening into a pile of boxes obscured the sound
of a car screeching
to a stop in the driveway. As Josh and Toby jumped out, they could
hear the sound of
approaching sirens.


They ran through the front door and were immediately greeted by the
sounds of a scuffle
coming from the attic. They both raced towards the stairs.


"You bitch!" Lily said viciously, as she advanced on Donna.


"Donna!!"


"Josh!!"


Suddenly, there was a large crash and the sound of a woman screaming
filled the air.












"Donna!" Josh screamed as he raced towards the attic.


He opened the door just in time to see a body hit the landing at the
bottom of the stairs.
He exhaled with relief when he saw the brown hair, realizing for
certain that it wasn't
Donna. He looked desperately up the stairs, and it was then that he
saw her.


She was teetering dangerously close to the edge, unable to catch her
balance because her
arms and legs were bound. The blindfold over her eyes left her
completely unaware of
her current position. Josh hurdled Lily's body, even as she began
struggling to get up, and
raced up the stairs.


He grabbed Donna just as she was about to fall. She struggled against
his hands, trying
desperately to get away.


"Donna, it's me," Josh said, trying to ease her panic. "It's ok, I'm
here."


"Josh? Is it really you?" Donna sobbed.


"It's me," Josh assured her, as he made no attempt to control his own
tears.


"Oh, thank God," Donna said as she leaned against his chest. "I was
afraid I would never
see you again."


"I know," Josh said soothingly, "but I'm here now. Everything is
going to be ok."


He held Donna tightly as her whole body trembled uncontrollably and
she sobbed into his
chest. "It's ok, you're safe now," he repeated over and over, as he
rubbed her back
rhythmically in an attempt to calm her down.


After a few minutes, Donna's heartbeat began to slow down and she
began to bring her
breathing under control.


Josh lifted her into his arms, and carried her back into the attic
room. He couldn't help
but shudder as he looked around and saw the signs of the struggle
that had taken place
there.


He placed Donna gently on the settee, then knelt in front of her. He
carefully removed the
blindfold, and took her face in his hands.








"Oh no you don't," Toby growled, grabbing Lily's ankles as she tried
to claw her way
back up the stairs.


"You stay out of this. It doesn't concern you," she hissed, as she
struggled to get free.


"That's where you're wrong. Anything that concerns my friends
concerns me."


"Let me go!" she screamed. "I have a job to finish. I'm going to take
care of that little
princess if it's the last thing I do."


"You're going to shut your mouth and leave Donna alone, do you
understand me?" Toby
snapped.


"You can't stop me," Lily spat, as she twisted her head sideways in
an attempt to bite
Toby's wrist.


Something inside of Toby snapped. He pulled Lily up off of the stairs
and slammed her
against the wall. He placed his hand around her throat.


"I have never in my life harmed a woman," he raged, "but there has
never been one who
has given me as good a reason as you have."


"Are you threatening me?" Lily asked.


"I'm just saying give me a reason," Toby said coldly.








"Are you ok?" Josh asked as he looked deeply into Donna's eyes.


"I think so," Donna said, "but my hands hurt."


Memories of the fingernails in the box came rushing back to Josh and
his stomach
lurched. He looked around for something to take the tape off with,
and spotted the
kitchen shears lying beside the settee. Donna shuddered involuntarily
at the sight of them.


Josh moved around behind her and began gingerly cutting the tape off
her wrists. He
removed it as gently as he could, not wanting to cause her any
further pain. When he was
finished, he knelt in front of her again and removed the bindings
from her ankles.


Donna held her hands out in front of her and examined the damage. The
nail beds on her
left hand, where her fingernails had been removed, were still red,
and they were oozing
worse than ever. Her wrists were red and swollen where the tape had
been.


Josh looked at her hands, and the anger and guilt inside him began to
grow. For a few
minutes, he couldn't bear to look her in the eyes.


"Josh?" Donna said softly.


He looked up at her face, and the guilt spilled over into his eyes.
If only he had seen what
Lily was like. If only he hadn't brought Donna to the meeting. If
only he had figured it
out sooner.


Donna mistook the guilt in his eyes for something else and she
recoiled, pulling her hands
away. Maybe Lily had been right. She was hideous looking, and Josh
couldn't stand the
sight of her.


"I'm sorry," she sobbed.


"For what?" Josh asked, reaching for her hands again.


Now it was Donna's turn to stare at the floor. "I didn't want you to
see me like
this...looking like this...I'm sorry..."


"What are you talking about?" Josh asked incredulously.


"I saw the look on your face..." Donna began, before she broke down
sobbing.


It took a minute for Josh to realize what Donna was talking about.
When he finally did,
his heart ached. The only thing that upset him at all about the way
she looked was that he
knew what kind of pain she had suffered through, and how frightened
she must have
been. He needed to make her understand that her safety was all that
mattered to him.


"Donna, look at me," Josh said softly.


When she continued to look at the floor and sob, Josh placed his hand
under her chin and
lifted her head up until their eyes met.


"What are you talking about?" he asked her softly.


"I know what I look like," Donna sobbed. "I saw myself in the mirror."


"Well, I don't know what you think you saw," Josh said
sincerely, "but what I see is the
most beautiful sight in the world."


"What?" Donna asked, looking into his eyes.


"You are beautiful, Donna," Josh said, trying desperately to convey
his deepest feelings.


"Oh, Josh..." she said, as she saw the love and sincerity in his
eyes. She realized that he
hadn't been repulsed when he looked at her; she had simply been
projecting her own
insecurities onto him.


"I was so afraid that I would never see you again, Donna. The thought
of going through
even one day without you made me feel completely empty. If anything
had happened to
you, I would have lost my whole life, and I would have lost my will
to go on."


Tears were running down his face as he continued. "Seeing you again
is the answer to my
prayers. I don't love you because of what you look like; I love you
because of who you
are. You are the most important person in the world to me."


He reached up and placed his hand on her cheek. "I love you, Donna."


"I love you too," she said as she placed her forehead against his.


"I'm so sorry," Josh whispered, "This is all my fault.


"Don't say that," Donna insisted. "You couldn't possibly have known
that Lily was
crazy."


"But I should have..." Josh started to say, but he was cut off by
Donna's lips softly
touching his.








"We're in the attic," Toby yelled as he heard the officers enter the
house. Seconds later,
the room was flooded with half a dozen members of the DCPD. They
cuffed Lily and led
her up the stairs to the attic.


Toby whipped out his cell phone and quickly dialed Leo's private
number.


"What's happening?" Leo asked as he picked up on the first ring.


"We got here in time," Toby said, the relief evident in his
voice. "Donna is ok, Josh is
with her now. The police have Lily in custody."


"Thank God," Leo said.


"How's the security guard?" Toby asked.


"He was conscious when the paramedics took him away. But the press
got wind of an
injury in the West Wing and this is all about to hit the fan."


"I'll be back there as soon as I can," Toby said. "I'll fill you in
on all of the details then.
Can you give Sam and CJ the news?"


"I'm on my way to do that now."


"Thanks, I'll be there soon," Toby said as he disconnected the phone
and stuffed it back
in his pocket.








"Are you alright?" one of the officers asked as he approached Josh
and Donna.


"I think we're going to be just fine," Josh said with a soft smile,
as he sat down next to
Donna and placed an arm protectively around her waist.


"Do you need to go to the hospital?" he asked, noticing Donna's
ragged appearance.


"Yes," Josh said, "we need to get her to a doctor as soon as
possible."


"I'll call an ambulance," the officer replied, reaching for the radio
hanging on his belt.


"I don't want to ride in an ambulance, Josh," Donna said, her voice
growing shaky. "It
brings back too many bad memories. Please, can't we find another way?"


Josh looked at her trembling lips and said, "It's no problem,
sweetheart. We can go in my
car."


"Thank you," she said softly.


"We'll give you an escort," the officer said. "Just let me know when
you're ready to go."


"Isn't that just adorable," Lily snarled from across the room.


"Shut up!" Josh snapped, standing up to face her. "No one wants to
hear anything you
have to say."


"I can't believe you're keeping up the charade, Josh."


Josh began to turn away from her, refusing to play whatever twisted
game she had in
mind.


"The only thing she had ever had going for her was her looks. She
isn't educated, she has
no class, and she's totally beneath you."


"I said SHUT UP!" Josh snarled.


"How long are you going to pretend you still care about her, just so
people think you're a
nice guy?"


Josh had heard all he could stand. He stalked across the room until
he and Lily stood nose
to nose. His hands were balled in fists at his side. He wanted
nothing worse than to wrap
them around her neck, but he resisted the urge.


"You have no idea what you're talking about," he said, fury blazing
in his eyes. "Donna
is one of the smartest people I know, and she has more grace and
class in her little finger
than most people could ever dream of having."


Lily laughed derisively.


"And what I feel for her has nothing to do with how she looks," Josh
continued. "It has to
do with the fact that my life is empty without her, that she is the
best part of my
existence, that without her, I would only be surviving, not living."


"You're a fool," Lily snorted.


Josh turned and walked back towards Donna. He knew that trying to
have a rational
conversation with Lily was an exercise in futility.


"I'll get her one way or the other," Lily taunted, "This isn't over
by a long shot."


Josh wheeled around and Toby saw the rage in his eyes. He took a few
steps forward and
placed a restraining hand on Josh's chest.


"She isn't worth it," Toby said as calmly as possible.


"You're right," Josh agreed as he allowed Toby to guide him towards
the opposite wall.


"All I can say is, it's too bad those gunmen didn't have better aim,"
Lily yelled.


Toby and Josh stared at her incredulously.


"What did you say?" Donna demanded, still sitting on the settee.


"I said that those white supremacists should have killed him when
they had the chance."


The rage that had been building inside of Donna since the night she
was abducted in the
parking lot began to boil over.


"How dare you!" she cried, glaring at Lily.


"It's true," Lily said smugly.


As Donna clutched the settee in anger, her hand fell on the chain
that had been fastened
around her waist.


"I wish you had died on that sidewalk," Lily screamed at Josh.


In the blink of an eye, Donna grabbed the chain with her right hand
and swung it as hard
as she could. It flew through the air, and the padlock caught Lily
square in the mouth.


Blood and pieces of tooth sprayed everywhere. Lily leaned forward,
choking, and pulled
against the handcuffs, which were keeping her from bringing a hand to
her mouth.


For a second, everyone stood frozen in shock. Then Josh and Toby
rushed to Donna's
side.


"I couldn't let her say something like that," Donna said
defiantly. "I don't care if she is
crazy; I couldn't let her ever say something like that."


"It's ok," Josh assured her as he place a kiss on her forehead.


"Actually, I wish I had been the one to do it," Toby said.


"That bitch assaulted me," Lily screamed, as the blood continued to
flow out of her
mouth. "I'm going to sue. You're all my witnesses."


"I didn't see a thing," Toby said flatly.


"Me either," Josh agreed.


"How about you, Officer? What did you see?" Toby asked the officer
standing nearest to
him.


"As far as I can remember, Ms. Wharton's mouth was bleeding when we
arrived. I have
no idea how it happened."


All of the other officers nodded their heads in agreement.


Lily tried to say something else, but her words were muffled when one
of the officers
placed a towel over her mouth.


"Simply trying to help stop the bleeding," he said with a wink.


"I appreciate that," Toby smiled.








It took three policemen to force Lily down the stairs and out into
the waiting police car.
As soon as they had driven away, Josh turned to Donna.


"Ready to head to the hospital?" he asked.


"I guess so," she sighed.


"I'm going to catch a ride back to the White House with one of the
officers," Toby said.
"I want to fill everyone in on exactly what happened and help CJ
prepare for the
onslaught of questions from the press."


"Thanks, Toby," Josh said, "I mean for everything."


Toby held up his hand and waved off any further comments. Josh made a
mental note to
talk to him later, and tell him how grateful he was for everything
that Toby had done to
help get Donna back safely.


Josh placed his arm around Donna and began to lead her towards the
stairs. She stumbled
slightly as they were halfway there.


"Are you ok?" Josh asked worriedly.


"I guess I'm just not used to walking," Donna said.


Josh swept her up in his arms and began heading towards the door.


"You can't carry me all the way to the car," Donna protested.


"I would carry you anywhere," Josh smiled as he started down the
stairs. He didn't put
Donna back on her feet until they were standing beside his car.


"I'll put on my lights and lead you in," one of the officers yelled
as he got into his
cruiser.


"Thanks," Josh answered.


He opened his car door and helped Donna inside. As soon as she was
comfortable, he
reached over her and fastened her seat belt.


"I love you," he said, placing a soft kiss on her lips.


"I love you too," she said breathlessly.











"Is there anything I can get you?" Josh asked, after the last of the
doctors finally left the
room, and he was alone with Donna.


"No, I'm fine," she said tiredly.


"Are you sure?" he asked, sitting down on the bed beside her.


"I am now," she smiled as she wrapped her arms around his waist and
laid her head
against his chest.


Josh sat quietly, savoring the soft sound of Donna's breathing and
the feel of her body
against his.


"You should get some sleep," he whispered, reluctantly breaking the
silence.


"Uh-huh," Donna mumbled, never raising her head from his chest.


"Come on, lay down," Josh chuckled, "You need your rest."


"Are you leaving?" Donna asked anxiously.


"No way," he said as he leaned back against the pillows, pulling her
with him.


"I'm glad that CJ and Sam could get away for a few minutes to come
over and visit. It
was good to see them," she said.


"I'm sure they'll stay longer tomorrow," Josh assured her, "They've
got a lot to do
tonight trying to deal with...you know."


"I know," Donna said softly. "I wish Toby had come though. I wanted
to tell him thank
you for everything he did."


"I'm sure he'll be by tomorrow," Josh said.


"I hope so," Donna said, as she snuggled in closer and wrapped her
arm around Josh's
waist.


"Josh?" she said.


"Hmmm?"


"You can't be comfortable trying to sleep while you're dressed like
that."


"Donna," Josh said with exaggerated shock, "are you trying to talk me
out of my
clothes?"


Josh," Donna admonished as she blushed furiously, "I'm just saying..."


"I know what you're saying," Josh smiled as he removed his shoes, his
tie and his belt
and placed them in a pile beside the bed. He then removed his wallet
from his back
pocket and placed it on the bedside table along with his watch.


"That's better," Donna said as she once again snuggled against Josh's
side, burying her
head in his neck.


Josh smiled happily as he felt Donna's breath against his neck.


"I love you," he said, planting a kiss on the top of her head.


"I love you too," she sighed happily.








"Knock, knock," CJ said, as she entered the room carrying a huge
bouquet of roses and a
dozen balloons.


Donna was sitting on the bed, picking disinterestedly at her
breakfast tray, while Josh sat
in the chair beside the bed skimming the morning papers.


"Hi, CJ," Donna said cheerily.


"These are from everyone," CJ said, as she sat the gifts on the
bedside table. "The others
wanted to come, but they're scrambling to try to convince our
supporters that the tobacco
initiative is still in good shape."


"Josh," Donna said, turning to face him, "you should probably go to
the office."


"As a matter of fact," CJ said hesitantly, "Leo wanted me to tell you
that he needs you to
take a few meetings on the hill this morning. He wants you in his
office in 45 minutes."


"Can't Toby or Sam cover them?" Josh asked.


"They both have their hands full," CJ answered. "It has to be you.
Leo said he needs that
'special touch' you have with certain members of Congress."


Donna snorted. "You better go, apparently there are a few arms that
need twisting. I'll be
fine."


"Are you sure?" Josh asked. "I don't like the idea of you being here
alone."


"I'll stay," CJ said. "I've cleared my schedule till the afternoon
briefing, and I told Carol
to call me here if anything important comes up."


"Thanks, CJ, I appreciate it," Josh said.


He turned back towards Donna, then leaned in and gave her a soft kiss
on the tip of her
nose. "I'll be back as soon as I can."


"Take as much time as you need," Donna assured him. "I'll be fine."


"I love you," he said.


"I love you too," she smiled, placing her hands on his cheeks and
pulling him in for a
kiss.


"Ahem," CJ said after a minute, clearing her throat dramatically.


"I get your point," Josh chuckled, as he pulled away and moved
towards the door. "I'll be
back as soon as I can."


As soon as he was out the door, CJ turned to Donna. "Now that he's
gone, we have things
to do."


"What things?" Donna asked, confusion clear in her voice.


"Well," CJ said with a mischievous grin, "I made a few calls, applied
a little gentle
pressure, and managed to get a dentist AND a hairdresser to come here
this afternoon."


"Really?" Donna asked excitedly.


"Yes," CJ said triumphantly.


"But how..." Donna started, before her tears choked off her words.


CJ sat down beside her on the bed, and wrapped her arm gently around
Donna's
shoulders. "When I came by last night, I noticed how self-conscious
you were about your
injuries."


"It's just that..." Donna said, as she nervously tugged at the ragged
edges of her hair.


"Look," CJ said emphatically, "none of us care what you look like,
least of all Josh. But I
know that that doesn't just magically make everything better, so I
decided to get things
fixed up for you as soon as possible."


"Thank you," Donna said quietly.


"We members of the sisterhood have to stick together," CJ said. "The
men just don't
understand what it's like."


"But how did you get them to agree to come to the hospital?" Donna
asked.


"You don't want to know," CJ laughed.


Several minutes later, there was a knock on the door. "Come in,"
Donna called out. The
door opened slowly, and a man wearing a white lab coat entered
carrying an armload of
equipment. He was followed by his assistant who was also loaded down
with supplies.


"Dr. Winters," CJ said, "thanks very much for coming."


"Well, when I get a call from the President of the United States at
3:00 AM asking me for
a personal favor, it's hard to say no."


Donna looked at CJ with a shocked expression on her face and CJ
whispered, "I told you
you didn't want to know."


Ninety minutes later, Donna had been fitted with two temporary caps
and the doctor had
promised to have the permanent ones ready as soon as possible. As
Donna checked out
his handiwork in a small hand mirror, there was another knock on the
door.


"Come in," CJ called.


The door opened quickly and CJ's own hairstylist entered.


"Jake, thanks for coming," CJ said sincerely.


"My pleasure, dear," the man said slyly. "The middle of the night
phone call from the
President wasn't really necessary. I would have come anyway."


"I was working on a deadline," CJ said sheepishly, "I just decided to
go with the big guns
right out of the gate."


"I noticed," Jake laughed as he crossed the room and stood next to
Donna. "Well, let's
get on to what I came here for. I see that psycho bitch I heard about
on TV did a real job
on your hair."


"Yeah," Donna smiled, amused by the way Jake described Lily.


"Do you think you can fix it?" CJ asked.


Jake looked at her as though he had never heard a more stupid
question in his life. "Of
course I can. Now lets make magic."








"Hey," Josh said as he entered Toby's office and flopped down on the
couch.


"How did the meetings go?" Toby asked.


"Fine. They're all still on board. There won't be any problems," Josh
assured him.


"That's good to hear," Toby said, looking nervously at the papers on
the desk in front of
him.


"Is something wrong?" Josh asked.


"No, what makes you think that?" Toby said.


"Well, maybe it's the fact that you haven't looked me in the eyes
since I came in, and that
you didn't come by the hospital last night to see Donna."


"I wasn't sure she would want to see me," Toby said. "I wasn't sure
you would either."


"What are you talking about?" Josh asked incredulously.


"Come on, Josh," Toby snapped. "I'm the one that brought Lily in on
the tobacco project.
I didn't vette her as well as I should have. She had an impeccable
reputation in the field,
and I just took her at face value. If I had done my job, none of this
would have
happened."


"Don't beat yourself up over this, Toby. There was no way you could
have seen it
coming. You asked the questions you thought needed asked," Josh said.


"I should have asked more," Toby insisted.


"And I should have taken the whole situation much more seriously when
the first package
arrived," Josh countered. "So I guess there's plenty of guilt to go
around."


"Still..." Toby began.


"Still nothing," Josh said with finality in his voice. "this was a
tragic accident. Thank
heavens we managed to get to Donna in time. No one is to blame. In
fact, I owe you a
huge debt of gratitude."


"How so?" Toby asked quizzically.


"If you hadn't figured things out when you did," Josh said as a dark
shadow crossed his
eyes, "there's no telling what might have happened. I didn't see the
clue that Donna sent,
but you did. You very likely saved her life, and there is never going
to be enough I can do
to thank you for that."


"No thanks are necessary," Toby said.


"If you have a little time this afternoon," Josh said, "I know that
Donna would love to see
you."


"Really?" Toby asked.


"She asked about you this morning," Josh assured him.


"Well, I have some free time now, maybe I'll run over to the hospital
for a visit," Toby
said.


"I'm sure Donna will be thrilled," Josh said. "I have to meet with
Leo and brief him on
this afternoon's meetings, then I'll be right over. Tell Donna I'll
be there soon."


"Ok, I will," Toby said.








"CJ, this is just wonderful. I can't thank you enough," Donna said as
she looked at her
new haircut in the bathroom mirror. It was still quite a shock seeing
her hair short, but
Jake had done a great job giving her a cut that she could live with
while she waited for
her hair to grow out.


Donna was walking back towards the bed when the door opened, and Toby
peeked his
head in.


"Toby!" she said.


"Hi, Donna," he said quietly.


Donna took a few steps forward and wrapped Toby in a tight hug. Toby
stiffened at first,
then loosened up and returned the hug warmly.


"Well, I have to run," CJ said. "I've got a briefing in an hour. I'll
stop by later."


"Thanks for everything, CJ," Donna said.


"My pleasure," CJ answered as she breezed out the door.


"So," Toby said nervously, "you look great."


"Thanks," Donna said, "CJ arranged for a dentist and a hairdresser to
come by today.
Actually, I think she made the President call and ask them."


"That sounds like her," Toby laughed.


"So is everything ok with the tobacco initiative?" Donna asked.


"Yeah, fine," Toby said. "Josh worked his magic over on the Hill this
afternoon. He's
filling Leo in on all the details, but he said to tell you he'll be
here soon."


"Good," Donna said. "Before he gets here, I wanted to thank you for
everything you did
during...you know...everything that went on."


"You certainly don't owe me any thanks, Donna. I was the one who
brought you and Josh
into contact with Lily to begin with."


"Don't blame yourself," Donna said soothingly, "she had us all
fooled."


"But..." Toby began.


"No buts," Donna said. "Josh told me that you were the one who
figured out the clue in
my note."


"Gulliver---very clever," Toby smiled.


"It was the best I could come up with under the circumstances," Donna
grinned. "But the
point is, you figured it out. Thanks to you, I'm here today."


"It was my pleasure," Toby smiled.


"And," Donna said taking his hand in hers, "I wanted to thank you for
looking out for
Josh while I was...away."


"Donna, I didn't do anything special," Toby said.


"Yes, you did," Donna said certainly. "I'm on to you Toby Ziegler. I
know your secret."


"What secret is that?" Toby asked curiously.


"That you are a sweet, caring man. And that you have a very big
heart," Donna said
softly.


"Well, lets just keep that between you and me, ok?" Toby said. "I
have a reputation to
uphold."


"It's a deal," Donna said, as she wrapped him in a tight hug. This
time, he returned the
hug wholeheartedly. Donna was probably the only person who he would
allow to get
away with calling him sweet. There was something so pure and
unspoiled about her spirit
that it never failed to make Toby feel a renewal of his own.


"Would you like me to come back later?" an amused voice asked from
the doorway.


"Well, Josh, now that you mention it.....," Toby joked as he pulled
away and winked at
Donna, who laughed out loud for the first time since the ordeal had
begun.


"Very funny," Josh grumbled as he turned his attention to
Donna. "Hey, you look great,"
he said.


"Thanks," she answered cheerily.


"Well as much as I'd love to stay here and listen to you gush at each
other all day, I have
to get back to the office and crack the whip so we can get a few
things done. Donna, by
the time you get back, I'm sure Ginger and Bonnie will be brimming
over with stories
about what a slave driver their boss is," Toby grumbled.


"I'm sure they will be," Donna smiled, "so I won't say anything to
ruin your image."


"I appreciate that," Toby said, smiling broadly as he moved towards
the door.








After Toby had gone, Josh and Donna lay curled up together on the
bed, watching as
CNN dissected the ins and outs of the administration's new tobacco
policy.


"It's going to be a hit," Donna said excitedly.


"Yes, it is," Josh agreed, placing his hand on Donna's cheek and
turning her face towards
his. He slowly ran his fingers through her new hairdo.


"It'll grow back," Donna said shyly.


"I told you before, sweetheart," Josh said, "I don't care about your
hair. I don't care about
your looks at all. I only care about you. I love you no matter what."


Donna looked in to Josh's eyes and saw a depth of feeling that
rendered her speechless.
After a few moments, she regained her voice.


"I love you too, Josh," she whispered. "I'm just sorry that it took
something like this to
make me admit it."


"Me too," Josh said, "but you'll never have to worry about that
again. I'm going to tell
you how much I love you ten times a day, everyday, for the rest of
our lives."


"I can live with that," Donna smiled as she leaned in and captured
his lips in a deep,
passionate kiss.



E-Mail me: kuebsr@hotmail.com