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Chapter Text

George Washington University 
2002

Donna stood in front of the packed lecture hall. A year and a half ago she’d told Toby that teaching wasn’t her calling. But she had to admit that today, standing in front of a full lecture hall, she felt at home.

It had been Bruno’s idea to accept the offer. Visiting professor. She’d been ready to turn it down but after the months of bad press following the MS announcement and in light of the reelection campaign kicking into high gear, he thought that reaching out to college students directly might help bring out the youth vote. Votes that would almost exclusively go to the president. 

It may not have been her calling but a lecture hall was still a lovely place to visit. She recognized many of her former students as she surveyed the audience. The lecture hall was packed  

“Hello everyone” Donna smiled as the students scrambled to find their places, “welcome to American government 201 or as I like to call it, government in action or government inaction depending on how things are going on a particular day.

Her bad joke was rewarded with a light chuckle and she allowed herself a smile before continuing 

“Many if not most of you have expressed an interest in working for the government. Over the next semester I will endeavor to give you a glimpse into the inner workings of modern American government. Hopefully it won’t send all of you screaming for the hills.”  That earned a real laugh from the class even though it was the truth. 

“My Name is Donna Moss-Lyman. I have a PhD in American history and I’m currently a speechwriter and advisor for president Bartlet. And I wasn’t joking when I said people run for the hills. Leo McGarry once told me me there’s two things you never want people to see get made. Laws and sausages.”

“So are you telling us not to bother?” A young lady called out from the back of the class

“Yeah leave it to the slime balls” a young man from the front row called out 

“What? Guys like you?” His friend punched his arm lightly 

“It a dirty job but someone’s got to do it” he shrugged with a smirk 

“Actually by helping you to take the rose colored glasses off I hope to get more of you involved” Donna corrected him, “if you go into politics with no idea of how it actually work it’s likely you won’t last long. we need idealists. We just need them to go into it with their eyes open.”

“Are you really going to tell us it’s not all underhanded?” The young man. From the front row spoke up again, “this from someone who works for an administration who admitted it lied to the American public.” He crossed his arms

That stung. The MS revelation had almost caused Donna to walk out of the White House and never look back. Although she’d never admit that to anyone besides Josh. 

“I really am going to tell you that it’s not all underhanded” she answered, “I won’t lie to you. There are so many days where you can't imagine anything good will happen. You're buried under a fog of partisanship and self-promotion and stupidity......and a brand of politics that's just plain mean. But the fact is most people that I’ve worked with are smart, capable people who could being making a lot more money working almost anywhere else but they made the choice to work in politics because they believe in our system of government. They believe they can help the country change for the better. I know they say that politics brings out the worst in people... but I’m here to say that maybe just maybe… people bring out the best.” 

“That sounds a little too good to be true” a student said, a little wistfully 

“Yeah cite your courses professor moss” a former student smiled at her from the front row. 

“Professor moss- lyman” another former student corrected her friend 

“Cite your sources” Donna smiled, “A phrase you will learn well.” She chuckled, “how does a bill become a law?” 

“Seriously” the young man from the front row scoffed

“Seriously” Donna tilted her head at him, “This is an upper level class so I’ll assume you all have a working knowledge of American government, balance of power and the two party system

Donna turned on her computer and projector in preparation for her power point. 

“It’s not a trick question. You can sing me the school house rock song if you want” she smiled at the group to put them at ease, “You’re all students with a background in government, history, or law. How does a bill become a law?”

“Members of the House or Senate draft, sponsor and introduce bills for consideration by Congress” a young women spoke up from the back, “The bill is then assigned to a committee for study. If released by the committee, the bill is put on a calendar to be voted on, debated or amended.”

“And if the bill passes congress?” Donna asked 

“The bill moves to the senate In the Senate, the bill is assigned to another committee and, if released, debated and voted on.” A young man in the front row continued 

“And if the bill passes the senate?” Donna asked, pleased with the knowledge of her students

“A committee made of House and Senate members works out any differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The resulting bill returns to the House and Senate for final approval. The Government Printing Office prints the revised bill in a process called enrolling. The President has 10 days to sign or veto the enrolled bill.” Another young women finished 

“Excellent” Donna nodded at her students, “Sounds simple enough. Checks and balances to be sure but not overly complicated” Donna sat on her desk and cued up her power point, “if only that’s all it actually took to pass a bill. Ms Hooper please get the lights.” 

The student hopped up, pleased that her favorite professor remembered her name and turned off the lights and Donna clicked on the first slide.

“There are countless things that interfere with the ability to pass a bill. This story is about one of them. Many of you I’m sure, remember the filibuster last year. It was our first. And while I’m not a filibuster rules expert… wait… I am a filibuster rules expert” 

This earned Donna a laugh and the attention of the few students who weren’t already enraptured with her 

“The rules of a filibuster are simple enough. You keep the floor as long as you hold the floor. What does that mean? It means you can't stop talking, ever. You can't eat, and you can't drink, which is fine, because you can't leave the chamber to use the bathroom, either. But all that's nothing compared to this: you're not allowed to sit down. You're not allowed to lean on anything or, for that matter, anyone.” 

Donna clicked on the next slide 

“I would be remiss if I didn’t bore you with a little history. The filibuster has been part of parliamentary strategy in this country for over a hundred and fifty years. The word 'filibuster' comes from the Dutch "vrijbuiter," which translated literally means "freebooter." But what they meant was, "buccaneer."

“That night the press was in the briefing room. The staff was in the West Wing. And CJ Craig was holding us all hostage because we’re all for bipartisanship but we wanted to get the credit where credit was due.”

“There have been, in my tenure at the White House stories that have captured the interest of the nation. The Stackhouse filibuster was one of those times. But in the White House you can always count on one thing. When the world is interested in one story… there’s about 50 other things going on on any given day. And this day was no exception.”

But I’m getting ahead of myself. 

On this particular week, we were dealing with trying to pass the family wellness act, Philip Sluman, who was the chairman of the Petroleum Producers of American blaming high prices on stricter emission controls instead of themselves where it belonged, the press uncovering the fact that two White House staffers had snuck off and gotten married without telling anyone, an unexpectedly high snow melt, senior staff attempting to take their first weekend off in… well ever. And of course an ancient curse”

Donna smiled at her class an clicked ot the first slide

“I'm betting when you hear this story, you're going to end up rooting for a Minnesota Senator named Howard Stackhouse.”

Because from the moment it started it was clear…this wasn’t any old filibuster.”

Chapter Text

Moss-Lyman Apartment 
Washington DC
2000

“I don’t get it” Donna stood in front of the mirror in their bathroom in her usual sleep attire of oversized t-shirt paired with tiny shorts. But this time it was his old Mets t-shirt and not a band he’d never heard of. She knew it drove him crazy in a good way when she wore his clothes. 

“It’s spring training” Josh packed his suitcase, “there’s not much to get.” 

“I thought they weren't playing yet.”

“It's an exhibition game.”

“You're flying to Florida to see the Mets play another team in a game that doesn't count?”

“Actually, it's an intrasquad game.”

“So you're flying to Florida to see the Mets play each other in a game that doesn't count.”

“We, Donna, we are flying to Florida.”  

“I don’t like baseball” 

“Yeah but you like sun and pools. The hotel will have both. I’ll buy you a new bikini.” 

“Josh” 

“It’s the honeymoon we never got to take.” He reminded her.” 

“You aren’t getting out of a real honeymoon that easily. I want a week”

“A week” he smiled at her, dimples exposed

“In Hawaii” she raised a well manicured eyebrow at him as he walked across the room, “not that we will have the time.”

“So a Florida it is…”

“For now” 

“On that note… do you think we should tell people we got married?” Donna sighed contently as he pulled her closer to him

“We told your parents, my mom and Sam. And your friends.” he kissed her neck 

“But we havnt told CJ, Toby, Leo or…”

“Or the president” he finished for her. Eloping seemed like a good plan until they realized how pissed people were to miss the ceremony. 

“People are eventually going to wonder why we aren’t planning a wedding.”

“Let them wonder a little while longer.” Josh kissed her cheek

“Ok ok” Donna agreed, she wasn’t ready to handle the fallout anymore then Josh was, “did you open the package from your mom yet?” 

“Yes” 

“What was in it.” 

“Shoes” he said quietly 

“Your mother sent you shoes?”

“Donna, please try and keep it…”

“That is the sweetest thing…” donnas eyes began to well up with tears. 

“She sent you shoes too.” He told her knowing full well that she wouldn’t be able to resist looking for them. “I put them in the closet.”

He watched as she practically shrieked with joy

“These are Christian Louboutin. With the Classic red soles.”

“So they’re nice shoes?” 

“There’re the most beautiful shoes I’ve ever seen.” She marveled at them, stroking them lovingly 

“Do they fit?” He asked, absentmindedly flipping through the channels, “A weekend at spring training. Mike Piazza is going to be standing in the batting cage. He's going to turn and see me. He's going to say dude…”

“He’s going to say what?” Donna stood in front of him in nothing but an oversized Mets shirt and black stilettos and his mouth fell open.

“I’m sorry my brain stopped working for a minute.” He scooped her up and deposited her on the bed. She pulled him down on top of him 

“That was the point” she grinned and kissed him deeply, “make love to me.” 

“Yes Mam” 

An hour later they lay on their bed, Donna snuggled into Josh’s shoulder, basking on the afterglow. Josh was looking at his wife and thinking about how long it would take him to be ready for round two when his admittedly dirty thoughts were interrupted by a loud banging on the front door.

“I may have forgotten to mention something…” josh pulled a shirt over his head and looked around the room looking for the rest of his clothes 

“What did you forget exactly?” Donna expertly grabbed Josh’s boxers with her toes and extended her long leg, holding them just out of reach and giggling 

“Donna! Josh!” Sam shouted from the other room, “I hope it’s ok. I used my key.”  

“I told Sam he could come to dinner” Josh admitted to Donna before shouting, “be out in a minute!”

“Ok” Sam called back uncertainly

“Josh!” Donna rolled her eyes and whispered loudly, “you could have said…”

“You’re the one who gave him a key.”

“He’s having a really hard time dealing with his dad and after that whole thing with Stephanie I just thought it would be nice to…”

“And now he’s basically moved into the guest room.” Josh reminded her, “which is fine but…”

“I brought Chinese food” Sam called out again 

“Hungry?” Donna asked pulling on a pair of leggings and a shirt in record time 

“I could eat” Josh shrugged with a grin before quickly getting dressed. 

“Crab ragoon?” Sam gave them both a knowing look as his friends emerged from the bedroom looking rumpled.

“Sounds perfect” Donna blushed as she walked to the kitchen to grab plates 

“you’re a lucky man” Sam told his best friend as he unpacked dinner 

“a fact I remind myself of every day.” Josh assured him 

“good” Sam said with a touch of sadness, before brightening up and asking, “hey, can we watch a movie during dinner?

“Dinner first” Donna told them 

“Donna” Josh whined slightly, “if we eat first Sam will fall asleep during the movie.” 

“he’s going to do that no matter what” Donna reminded him 

“true” Josh admitted

”I’m standing right here” Sam told them with mock offense

“Fine we can watch a movie during dinner” donna agreed, “but I pick the movie.” 

“well we walked right into that one” Sam told his friend glumly 

“well you have to admit it was somewhat predictable.” Josh shrugged 

”fair point” Sam chuckled and walked towards the couch with a large plate of food to enjoy a night of dinner and a movie with his friends  

Chapter Text

The White House 
2000 later that same week 

“We got the Family Wellness Act.” Josh strutted into the room and Donna tried to roll her eyes at his swagger but couldn’t help but beam at him. It was good to see him being more like himself again and swaggering was part of that. 

“It's done?” Leo looked at him 

“Yes, sir.”

“What'd we get, what'd we lose?” Leo asked 

“We got most of what we wanted in Title VII.” Josh told them 

“That's infant hearing loss?”

“Yeah, we got a hearing test for every child born in the U.S.”

“What about...?” Sam asked 

“We did not get mandatory tests for children not born in hospitals.” Josh admitted 

“We can live with that.” Sam nodded 

“The Special Needs Adoption Awareness program?”

“Right, this is a national campaign to provide information to the public regarding the  adoption of special needs children.”

“How'd we get it?”

“By agreeing to a provision that would require health care staff to give pregnant women information about adoption on an equal basis with all other courses of action.”

“The ‘pro-life’ party had to be convinced on the importance of special needs adoption.” Donna rolled her eyes 

“National Organization for Women's gonna hate that.” CJ reminded them 

“I know.” Josh of her 

“Women seeking abortions should not be required by law to be lectured at.” CJ told him 

“Yeah, but you're gonna help me out there, right?” Josh smiled at her 

“Yes, I will. I will once again and betray the sisterhood.” CJ shook her head, “Okay” pointed at several men in the room, “I saw you, you, you, and you roll your eyes.” 

“You weren't even looking at me.” Larry held his hands up 

“I felt you.” CJ shot back 

“We're done!” Leo looked at Josh proudly, “Josh Lyman, everybody.” 

Josh soaked in the applause from his co-workers  momentarily before catching Donna’s eye. He felt his chest swell with pride. Nothing in the world felt better than making Donna feel proud of him. He wistfully watched her walk towards her office. It took everything in him to not take his Donna’s hand and pull her into his office.  He was still lost in his thoughts about slowly undressing his wife when Sam interrupted his train of thought. 

“Nice job.” Sam smiled at him as they walked towards Leo’s office for their next meeting 

“I know, I'm thinking seriously about turning pro.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I got agents talking to me, telling me I could go high in the second round, maybe low in the first if I have a good postseason.”

“You don't want to stay in school, get your education?”

“Nah, I'm white, nobody's gonna mind.” Josh quipped as they walked into Leo’s office 

“Josh” Leo looked at his deputy, “this looks good. I mean, he stuck sunsets on a bunch of small-ticket items, but...

“That's the way it's gonna happen.” Josh told him 

“You just spent six billion dollars on health care. How do you feel?”

“I'd feel better if it meant just once I could go to a doctor without filling out something on a clipboard.”

“All right, what else?” Leo asked the group 

“Philip Sluman” Toby sighed, “who's the chairman of the Petroleum Producers of America, testified yesterday to the FTC that "the Bartlet administration's" - blah, blah - "relentless pursuit of emissions standards in the form of additives like MTBE is a big reason we've seen price hikes in some parts of the country."

“The Energy Secretary's got to respond.” Leo told him 

“The Energy Secretary's gonna respond and I'd like to mention that to the Vice President.” Toby responded 

“You want me to do it?” Leo asked 

“I got it.” Toby brooded 

“He's gonna be pretty unhappy.” Leo reminded him 

“Yep.”

“Anything else?” Leo asked his senior staff

“No...”

“Nope.”

“No sir, thank you” Josh walked out of the room in search of his wife. He found her lingering outside of his office. It was all the invitation he needed to pull her into his office. The moment the door was closed she grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him. 

He once again thanked the universe for helping him find a women who was turned on by passing a bill through Congress. 

It didn’t take long for them to start getting carried away. His tie was loose and his shirt untucked with Donna’s hands running up and down his back when the sharp knock on the door brought them both back to reality. 

“Josh?” Sam knocked again, slightly louder 

“Yeah?” Josh answered without opening the door as he tucked his shirt back in 

“Do you have Donna?”

“Have her?” Josh’s voice squeaked back 

“We have to stop doing this” Donna whispered breathlessly and she retied Josh’s tie effortlessly 

“Do you know where she is?” Sam asked, amused and clearly aware that Josh, did in fact, have Donna 

“Um” Josh stumbled over his words, “yeah”

“Just tell her Toby wants her in this afternoons meeting.”

“Really?” Donna opened the door to a grinning Sam, “I thought that was just directors and deputies?” 

“It is” Sam told her, “and you”

“Ok” she smiled brightly 

“Fantastic.” Sam told her, “meeting is in 5 minutes.”

“I have to go grab my laptop” Donna kissed Josh quickly on the cheek and he took her hand briefly and squeezed it before she walked out of the door

“You know” Sam said after Donna left, “If you keep running off like two people on a honeymoon people are going to figure out that you’re… well two people on a honeymoon” 

“We will tell people” Josh rolled his eyes

“When?”

“Soon”

“Josh”

“Don’t you have a meeting?” Josh reminded him 

“Shoot” Sam looked at his watch, “just… think about it.”

“I will”

Georgetown university 
2002

“So there it was, the Family Wellness Act, an omnibus health bill aimed at diseases that disproportionately affect children. This was a good day. Because something actually got done. The problem was that we only thought it was done.”

Donna shook her head and clicked to the next slide 

“If you ever have a free 8 hours and want to know what a filibuster feels like try standing up the entire time without leaning on anything and talking the whole time. You wouldn’t make. I wouldn’t make it. Stackhouse wasn’t supposed to last 15 minutes. He’s 78 years old. He had a head cold. The bill was going to pass. There was no hope and at that point we had no idea what he was even fighting for. 

“Well, somebody forgot to tell Stackhouse because that night we were all supposed to be getting ready to leave for the weekend and he was going into hour 8.” 

“Now what do you suppose might happen when the White House press corps is stuck at the White House on a Friday night without the story they were supposed to report on?”

“Well if you guessed they start poking around looking for other stories then you would be right. There were at that point in time large number of stories they could have covered that were of great importance to the country including saving the American people money by no longer funding certain reports, rising fuel costs and whose responsibility it is, and of course and actual filibuster occurring right in front of them. Literally living, breathing history occurring in real time. Did they want to write about any of those?”

“I’m guessing not” a young man from the back row  shouted 

“What did you think they wanted to talk about?” Donna asked 

“You said something about a curse” a student spoke up from the front row.”

“Forget the curse” another student shot back, “I want to hear about the secret marriage”

“Lucky for you they go together.” Donna answered with a smile 

Chapter Text

The White House 
2000 

“Donna, I need to talk to you right now.” CJ pulled her into the office 

“I have to get this to Toby” 

“Can’t you just email it?”

“Toby prefers a hard copy” Donna rolled her eyes at the idea

“So, we went to Cairo last year.”

“Not me.”

“Right.”

“I was teaching 3 classes and finishing my dissertation.”

“I should have gotten a PhD instead of being press secretary.”

“Are you in trouble?

“I may be in a spot of trouble, yes.”

“What happened?”

“Hassan Ali gave the President a gift, a small ceramic statue of Bast.”

“Bast. A cat goddess. She was the patron saint of Bubastis and rose to prominence during the period of the 22nd Dynasty.” Donna told her 

“How do you know that?”

“I read a lot.” 

“It is possible to actually have too much knowledge about archaic facts… anyway…The cats in the temple wore jeweled collars. They were treated royally. They thought cats controlled the movement of the moon. They had total authority over royal houses because of their ability to see in the dark. Anyone who killed a cat was put to death.”

“I'm sorry, C.J. I'm not..”

“I broke the damn statue. Not badly, but you know, in several pieces. And since it came out of his own collection, breaking the figurine would amount to a personal affront implying he had bad taste, and that the object was of little personal value to the President.”

“How did you break it

“The gift officer handed it to me. I tossed it in my suitcase.”

“You tossed it in your suitcase?”

“Do you have any idea how many pieces of crap gets stuck in the President's hands every time he leaves the building?”

“Didn't the gift officer know it was a priceless relic?”

“Well, apparently not, because she handed it to me with a couple of T-shirts and a box of baklava.”

“Donna!” Ginger ran up to Donna and handed her a note, “this is from Josh and here are your memos” 

“Thank you” Donna took the note and memo and turned back to CJ, “Why are you telling me this?”

“I thought maybe you'd have an idea.”

“Well, there's nothing really I can think of right now, except agree that you're monumentally screwed. I mean I hate to leave it at that.”

“But you're gonna”

“Actually no” Donna read the note, “Josh has a meeting with Stackhouse and is canceling our lunch  so after I give this to Toby I have 45 minutes to brainstorm.”

“Let’s go get coffee” CJ practically pulled Donna out of the White House after dropping the copies on Toby’s desk. 

“Don’t you think it’s weird he’s meeting with Stackhouse?” Donna grabbed both of their coffee and handed one to CJ.

“Donna”

“Josh said Stackhouse called himself. Isn’t that odd” 

“Donna focus.”

“Sorry” Donna nodded, “do you still have the pieces?” 

“I glued it back together.” 

“You glued it back together?” 

“Yes” 

“Ok”

“I’m screwed”

“Monumentally” Donna agreed, “CJ?”

“Yeah?”

“Josh and I got married” she blurted out 

“What? When? Why didn’t you tell us”

“Right after Sam and Josh almost burned down the White House” she admitted 

“That was months ago!” CJ shouted 

“I know” Donna whispered 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” 

“We thought people might get mad that we did it without inviting anyone” 

“You think?” CJ raised her eyebrows 

“CJ” Donna sighed, “trust me when I tell you that our moms are pissed enough for everyone.” 

“Do you have a plan for telling people?” CJ shook her head, “the press I going to have a field day. Be prepared for people to assume you’re pregnant and that’s why you eloped… wait you’re not…”

“I’m not pregnant.” She assured her, “and our plan was kind of just to tell you and well…”

“Have me come up with a plan?”

“Yeah” Donna admitted 

“Well this confirms that I’m cursed” CJ sighed, “ok”

~~~~~~~~~~~

 “How did your meeting go?” Donna smiled at the sight of Josh lyman himself standing on her office doorway 

“He wants an amendment added to the Family Wellness Act that'll allocate money for autism care and research.”

“And we don't want to?

“This is what's called a "Christmas tree bill." Everyone hangs amendments on it. We just closed it this morning. We try to hang a star on top...”

“The tree topples over, and it doesn't pass.”

“Yeah, Stackhouse isn't really someone who has a lot of muscle on this, so…”

“That’s sad”

“What’s sad?”

“He probably has a reason for wanting to add autism care and research to the bill and it’s not going to happen because he doesn’t have enough muscle.” 

“Donna” Josh pinched the bridge of his nose 

“I’m just saying…”

“It’s weird though…” josh told her, Donna’s words as usual, were getting to him, “he didn’t send an aid. He called himself. He went to the meeting himself.”

“You think something else is going on?” Donna asked 

“Leo said not to sweat it. He said not to give anything away.”

“Josh”

“Leo calls the plays.” Josh told her exasperated 

“Ok” Donna told him but she couldn’t quite hide her troubled expression 

“It’s going to be fine”

“I know” 

“The bills closed” 

“I know” 

“I’m ordering dinner” he told her

“IM ordering dinner” she countered. “There’s only so many burgers a man should eat in a week.” 

“Or…” Josh smiled at her, “I have a novel idea.”

“You do?”

“I was thinking, the bill is closed and everything on my desk can wait until tomorrow how about you?”

“Same actually.” She checked her watch, “and it’s only 8 pm”

“If we leave now we can actually eat dinner in a restaurant probably not enough time for dancing but still…”

“A date”

“Yes”

“It’s a deal” she took the clip out of her hair and let her flaxen hair fall around her shoulders. Next she removed her blazer, revealing a black dress that showed off her well formed shoulders. “Ready?”

“How did you do that?” He looked her up and down in amazement 

“What?”

“Go from being ready for a long night at the office to a night n the town in 2 minutes?”

“Women’s magazines have a shocking number of articles about taking looks from day to night. A skill I’ve never had to utilize until now. Do you like?”

“Do I like…. Well now I’d like to take you home.”

“Dinner first and I promise you… you’ll like the way the evening ends.”

“It’s a deal” he walked across her tiny office in two and a half steps and kissed her quickly, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Donna tapped her fingers on her desk, “Josh?” 

“Yeah” he answered distractedly 

“I told CJ we got married” 

“You… seriously?”

“Yeah”

“Why is she not in here ready to take my head off?”

“She’s distracted by the ancient curse of bast.”

“She’s distracted by… actually is this something that I actually need to know about?”

“No” she smiled at him, “Josh?”

“Yeah?” He asked softly 

“Take me out” 

“As you wish” he grabbed her hand and they rushed out of the west wing before anyone could ask them to do any more work that night. 
———————
The next morning CJ walked into the White House only to find a visitor waiting for her. 

“CJ” Danny smiled at her broadly while standing outside her office 

“Danny” CJ sighed, a reporter being this pleased while standing outside of the press secretary’s office was not a great sign.

“Invite me into your office” he told her quietly 

“Danny, it’s not a good time.” She shook her head, “we’ve got a lot going on and there’s this curse…”

“A curse” he asked, confused

“Never mind about the curse. It’s just not a good time.” 

“Not for nothing…” he said quietly, leaning towards her, “but I feel like I should tell you that my paper is aware that two members of the White House staff, one of whom is senior staff, eloped a few months ago. Would you ask me inside if that was the case?”

“Come on in Danny” she opened her office and let him follow her in. Closing the door behind him 

“Who has it?”

“At my paper?”

“Yeah”

“I do”

“Oh”

“Marriage records in DC are public, CJ” Danny reminded her, “anyone can look them up.”

“Only if they know to look, what made you…”

“I’m a reporter CJ I had a hunch.”

“You had a hunch?”

“I’ve known josh a long time CJ. He’s got a terrible poker face…” he shrugged

“Danny” she said warningly 

“I ran into them at that trivia night thing they go to sometime…  and they were wearing wedding rings” he admitted, “they must take them off for work. I didn’t ask and he didn’t tell but I looked it up. It wasn’t hard to find. You have to get head of this.” 

“And you’re telling me this out of the good of your own heart?”

“If I bring my paper this story I get leverage the next time I want to write something they aren’t wild about. That’s how it works.” 

“What do you want?”

“An exclusive with Josh and Donna.” 

“No”

“Hey, I noticed that Hoynes really stepped up on oil”

“You changed the subject so fast I have whiplash” CJ told him

“Care to comment on that?”

“Danny” she pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Right now giving the Washington post an exclusive on Donna and Josh is starting to sound like a good idea isn’t it.” 

“I can’t just give them to you”

“Sure you can” Danny told her, “Josh is smart enough to do what you tell him to do… well maybe not. But Donna is” Danny smiled as he walked out of her office, “talk to them and let me know.” 

———————-
White House
2000 later that same day 

“What’s going on with Hoynes?” CJ asked as she walked into Toby’s office 

He looked at her and cleared his throat in an attempt to come up with a witty retort before giving in 

“I don’t know.” He admitted, “he’s up to something but I don’t know what is it is yet”

“Yeah well Danny is poking around. I’d rather he didn’t find out before we do” 

“What does he have?”

“He didn’t tell me. I doubt he’s got more then a bunch right now. But the more he digs the sooner he will find something. I think I can get him to back off for a little while.” CJ sighed

“How?”

“He offered a trade of sorts. He’ll stop poking around on Hoynes if we give his paper an exclusive with Josh and Donna”

“Josh and Donna?”

“The lifestyle section”

“Why would they want an exclusive with Josh and…” Toby paused as the realization hit him, “What did they do?” 

“They eloped.”

“They…” Toby giggle slightly before quickly stifling it, “they eloped.” 

“A few months ago”

“A FEW MONTHS AGO!!??” 

“Toby” CJ said warningly 

“Give him Josh and Donna” Toby told her

“Toby I can’t just…”

“I don’t think we have much of a choice” Toby sighed 

“I know” CJ pursed her lips, turned and left, heading straight to Josh’s office where she found him reading, leaning back in his chair, with his feet up on his desk

“Got a minute?” CJ asked him

“Not really” Josh made notes in the margin of a memo and picked another one up off the desk

“Oh I think you will make time” CJ crossed her arm and raised an eyebrow

“I feel like I’m in trouble.” Josh put down his memo and stared at her expectantly 

“Ya think” 

“Can you give me a hint as to what I did at least?” 

“Trivia night. Last week. You ran into Danny”

“It’s a small town I run into Danny all the time. Our team crushed his team by the way.” 

“That’s great but you and Donna wore your wedding rings and it didn’t go unnoticed.” 

“Oh” Josh looked deflated, “that’s… not good”

“Yes Josh” CJ stepped towards him, “that’s not good.” 

“What do we do?”

“I’m glad you asked” she smiled at him, “you and Donna are going to sit down with Danny later today and give him enough details to write a little fluff piece for the Washington Post.”

“CJ” Josh wined as he let him face fall into his hands

“Suck it up. It will be good press. Besides it will get buried when we pass the bill anyway.” 

“Fine” he grumbled 

“Meet me in my office in one hour to plan what you’re going to say.” She walked out of the door

“Do I get a say in this?” Josh called after her

“No” she replied 

Chapter Text

Josh paced back and forth in front of Mrs Laninghams desk. 

“You look nervous dear” she looked at him over her glasses

“No. Not nervous just…” he struggled ot come up with another word for nervous 

“Would you like a cookie?” She asked kindly

“No… yes” he nodded and took the offered cookie, feeling better the moment he bit into it. That is until Charlie emerged from the Oval Office 

“He’s ready for you” Charlie looked at Josh sympatheticly 

“Josh” the president looked at Josh over the top of his reading glasses, “you needed to see me?”

“Yes sir.” Josh cleared his throat, “I um…ok so the thing is…”

“Josh?”

“Yes sir?” 

“Not that I don’t enjoy our conversations but I have 3 meetings scheduled for the same twenty minutes.” 

“You know what? Don’t worry about it.” 

“Josh” the president said warningly

“Donna and I got married in January.” He said quickly before he could lose his courage. 

“Josh” the president grinned and stood up from his chair and walked over to shake Josh’s hand, “well I think that’s just about the smartest thing you’ve ever done” 

“I agree.” Josh grinned back and him and accepted the offered hand shake 

“Congratulations”

“Thank you sir…”

“What took you so long to tell me?” The president asked, genuinely curious. 

“I was worried you would be upset that we didn’t…”

“Have a big White House wedding?” 

“Yeah” 

“Son” the president face was kind but serious, “I don’t know everything that you went through over Christmas and  the months before that. I know there’s details that you don’t want to share with everyone and I respect that. But I know that it had to be unimaginably hard. And I know that Donna was a big part of the reason that you got through it. You wanted to be married to her and you didn’t want to wait another moment. Am I right?”

“Yes sir.” Josh answered, relieved 

“In that case I understand.” 

“You do?”

“I mean I would have preferred you had at least had a small ceremony, maybe in the rose garden and you know my wife and Zoey are going to have something to say about it but… yes Josh. I do understand.” 

“Yes sir” Josh nodded 

“Im guessing your mothers are upset enough already. You don’t need me adding other that.” He laughed at the thought 

“Well you’re right about that.”

“I assume there’s a reason you’re telling me now?”

“CJ is making us sit down and talk to Danny.” Josh admitted 

“It’s going to be good press” the president reasoned 

“Yeah. I know.” He grinned sheepishly 

“Be prepared for everyone to convince you that you have to have a lavish reception at the White House”

“Yeah” Josh said quietly, suddenly nervous 

“You don’t have to you know.” The president reminded him, “people plan weddings and they tend to lose sight of the fact that the marriage is more important than the wedding could ever be.” 

“Yes sir”

“When is your meeting with Danny?”

“Now” Josh admitted

“Nothing like waiting until the last minute.” The president laughed and sent him out for the room with a wave

Josh walked through the hallway to CJs office relieved that he’d finally told the president and nervous about what Danny had in store for him. He shouldn’t be, he reasoned. He’d known Danny longer than almost anyone else in Washington. He knew that Danny didn’t want to be interviewing Josh anymore then he wanted to be interviewed but still he was nervous. 

“It’s about time” CJ rolled her eyes at Josh when he opened the door to her office 

“I would like to point out that I’m doing this interview under duress.” Josh sat down heavily, “that’s off the record.” 

“I assure you that I want to be writing a puff piece about you and Donna even less then you want to be a part of it…” Danny told him 

“But we are going to put all that aside for a moment and give the people what they want” CJ told them both sternly

“Yes” both men grumbled acceptingly 

“So…?” CJ asked 

“So what?” Josh asked as he became momentarily distracted by the sight of his wife walking into the room 

“Ever notice that his brain stops working when Donna walks into the room?” Danny whispered loudly to CJ 

“So spill” CJ told them, “start at the beginning. When did you decide to make my life harder by eloping instead of having a beautiful White House wedding just in time for reelection.” 

“Isn’t Danny supposed to be asking these questions?” Josh raised his eyebrows 

“I like her question just fine” Danny grinned at his old friend

“Well it was right after Sam and Josh almost burned down the White House…” Donna smiled at Danny, “but I’d appreciate if you leave the burning the White House down part out of it…”

———————

Several months before…. Right after Sam and Josh almost burned the White House down because they didn’t bother to read a plaque…

Josh and Donna trudged up the steps to their condo. It was a long day and Donna swore her favorite hat still smelled a little bit like smoke but any day when they were able to walk in the door together was a good day by her standards

They didn’t talk as they changed, brushed teeth and climbed into bed. They didn’t need to. 

Donna was falling into a blissful slumber as Josh pulled her close to him. 

“Did you know DC doesn’t have a waiting period to get married?” Josh yawned loudly 

“They don’t?” Donna struggled to sound casual as she suddenly found herself to be wide awake. 

“They don’t.” 

“And you know this…”

“Research” he answered quickly 

“Research?” 

“I keep thinking that maybe when things calm down we will start planning the wedding but the more I look at the upcoming few months… I don’t see slowing down happening. Before you know it it’s time for reelection then hopefully wining and then it’s hit the ground running and the first hundred say and 4 years go by and we’re still engaged” joshs voices started to speed up as he spoke and his words ran together, “ I know our moms want a big wedding but that would have to wait until after the election and I don’t want to do that. I mean we can if you want to. But I looked it up and we could go right to the court house tomorrow and get married. And as much as I’d love to see you in a puffy white dress…I really don’t want to spend another day not married to you.”

“Josh are you asking me to go to a court house and marry you tomorrow?”

“Well. Um. Yes.” He kissed the top of her head, “if you want.” 

“I think that’s an excellent idea.”

“You do?” 

“I do” she brushed her fingers gently over his lips and smiled 

“I like that sound of that.” He closed his eyes and fell into a peaceful sleep with Donna following soon after 

—————————————
Being the deputy chief of staff had its perks. One  of them being that within 12 hours of deciding to elope, Josh was able to find a discreet judge and a clerk able to bring all necessary paperwork to the judges chambers at noon in the middle of a busy DC courthouse. 

“You brought George, Marny and Joe?” Josh asked, amused as he watched donna best friends hurrying down the hall. 

“We need witnesses.” She shrugged 

“We need two witnesses” he reminded her, “and I brought Sam.” 

“Who is running late.” She crossed her arms, “which is understandable since we work at the White House so I brought back up witnesses.” 

“3?”

“there’re all my best friends. I couldn’t choose between them.” She finally admitted 

“I’m glad there’re here.” 

“Really?” 

“Yes”

“I’m going to change” she kissed his cheek and disappeared into the bathroom with a dress hanging over her arm and Marny trailing behind her. 

“Thank you for coming” Josh smiled at Donnas friends as Sam came running down the hall.

“Sorry I’m late” Sam looked at Josh, “are you going to tell me what this all about?”

“You don’t know?” George asked him, amused 

“I have my suspicions. It’s not every day that my best friend tells me he has an emergency at a courthouse that requires me to meet him at noon without any warning. Either he needs a lawyer or a witness.” 

“Well I don’t need a lawyer” Josh confirmed and Sam pulled him into a hug 

“Well then let’s get you married before senior staff.” Sam checked his watch, “in 56 minutes.” 

“Plus we’ve got the budget meeting for the state of the union.” Josh reminded him 

“State of the union?” George asked 

“Yes” Josh confirmed 

“The state of the union that the president will give to Congress and well…the entire world ” Joe shook his head, “I love how you talk about it like it’s a totally normal work day.”

“Ready?” The judges clerk stuck her head out of the door and motioned them inside 

“I see we’ve got everyone but the bride” the judge looked the group over

“And the maid of honor” Marny walked in the room, “she’s ready when ever you are 

“I’m ready” Josh nodded and watched as Donna walked in the room, “wow”

She wore a cream colored dress with delicate straps and still had her favorite pink stocking hat perched onto of her head 

“I forgot a change of shoes” Donn blushed as she looked down at her snow boots 

“I don’t think anyone’s going to be looking at your feet.” Josh told her honestly 

Donna walked quickly to Josh and he took her hand and pulled her into a deep kiss

“We will get it that part in a few minutes.” The judge joked as they finally stopped kissing, “It’s not often that I get to perform weddings. Most of you probably think I’m doing it because the deputy chief of staff for the White House called me at 8am to tell me he wanted to get married today but the truth is that I’ve known Josh since he was a little boy and this is what people do for the son of one of their oldest friends. We are all busy people so how about we get the show on the road?”

Josh and Donna nodded enthusiastically and the judge opened a book and began

“Josh Lyman will you take Donnatella Moss to be your wedded wife, to love her, comfort her, honor her, and keep her, forsaking all others, for so long as you both shall live?”

“I do” Josh squeezed Donnas hand 

“Donna, will you take Josh to be your wedded husband, to love him, comfort him, honor him, and keep him, forsaking all others, for so long as you both shall live?”

“I do” Donna squeezed Josh’s hand back 

“Do we have the rings?” The judge looked at Sam who miraculously produced two rings form his pockets 

“How did you…?” Donna looked at him in wonder 

“Your ring is the one that goes with your engagement rings. I’ve been holding onto it since you said yes and Sam knows a guy.” Josh smiled at her

“Josh, repeat after me.”

“I give you this ring as a symbol of my promise to love you forever for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward.”

He repeated the vows and found himself grinning as he put the ring on donnas finger 

“And now Donna repeat after me”

“I give you this ring as a symbol of my promise to love you forever for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward.”

Donna repeated after the judge and put the ring on Josh’s finger 

“I now pronounce you husband and Wife and now you may kiss the bride.” 

Josh pulled his bride into a deep embrace before they broke apart to quickly sign the papers and make there way back to the White House. Josh grabbed Donna’s hand as they made their way down the courthouse steps. 

————————-
Back in CJs office 

“You just went right back to work?” Danny asked incredulously 

“We had meetings.” Donna and Josh explained in unison

“The people’s servants.” Danny shook his head with a smile, “if the American public ever realized… I mean actually realized the amount of sacrifice public servants make I think you’d have a much easier time getting things done. I think I have enough for my story.” 

“Then we have actual you know, work to do.” Josh shook Danny’s hand and led his drive out of the office 
————————-

Public Service: a love story 
Danny Concanon 

In all of the late night talk show jokes about Washington insiders and Sunday morning news show rants about “draining the swamp” a simple fact gets lost. That for all of the admittedly deserved vocal criticism about politics and politicians, we forget about the quiet majority of dedicated public servants who are devoted to making the world a better place for all. A group of people dedicated to the idea that government can be an instrument of good. 

Most of them would prefer to stay out of the spotlight but Washington’s thirst for gossip makes this impossible. One particular couple has been living, reluctantly in the spotlight due to the public’s inexplicable fascination with the White House deputy chief of staff. While Washington speculated wildly for months about the possibility of a white house wedding, one couple took back control of the narrative in a delightful way. 

On January 26th Joshua Lyman and Donnatella Moss walked hand in hand through a quickly falling snow to city hall and quietly married. The bride wore a cream silk dress, snow boots and a hat her grandmother knitted for her to celebrate her college graduation. 

The groom wore his regular Tuesday suit. 

“I like it so far.” Donna looked up from the paper at her husband fondly. They sat on their slightly worn sofa as the morning sun shone into their condo. It was the first Sunday morning they been able to spend at home in months. 

“That’s because you sound adorable and I sound like I have assigned my suits days of the week.” He whined

“You do” she raised her eyebrows, “there’s another page and a half.” 

“At least that’s a good photo.” Josh admitted reaching out to take the paper from her to admire the photo. It was a quick snap shot. Black and white and taken by Donna’s best friend Marny who’d insisted on taking more photos than they could count during the ceremony and after. This one was Josh’s favorite. Donna looked beautiful in her silk dress and stocking cap. He in his Tuesday suit, both grinning ear to ear as they leaned in for a kiss. 

There were plenty of photos that hadn’t made the cut. 

“Oh just keep reading” he smiled at his bride 

“I can think of something I’d rather do” she tossed the paper aside and pulled him into a deep kiss 

“I like where this is going” Josh groaned and pulled her on top of him 

“How long until we have to go in” Donna asked slyly as she pulled her t-shirt over her head 

“I don’t know” 

“You don’t know?” She teased him 

“My brain shuts off as soon as you take your top off.” He admitted, “but I think we’ve got time.” 

“ we’ll have to make it quick.” She pulled off his shirt 

“I think I can make that work.” He kissed her deeply