Chapter Text
"Let me refill your water before I go.”
“I’m just going to have to pee again.”
“That’s gonna happen anyways, you need to stay hydrated.”
“I can get myself to the kitchen to refill my own water.”
From where Donna is sitting right now, reclined on the couch with her feet on the coffee table, Josh isn’t sure just how easy it would be for her to get to the kitchen on her own. He’s having serious doubts about going to work today.
“You’ll call me if anything feels off? Just text me when you have any cramps or Braxton Hicks.”
“If I go into labor today you’ll be the first to know.”
Josh gives a quick smile, leaning down to kiss her and then her belly, as had become his morning routine in the past month, except today he’s not following it up by helping Donna down the steps of their brownstone, he’s going to work, leaving her alone, at home two days past her due date.
“Do you want me to have lunch delivered?”
“I can order out for myself.”
“Can I do anything to make you more comfortable? Another pillow, change the AC?”
“Come home early enough for us to go for a walk, that’s supposed to help move things along. If that doesn’t work you’re going to have to have sex with me.”
“That’s not a problem for me.” Hope is clear in Josh’s voice.
Donna looks at him, exhaustion at the forefront, they’d tried a few days ago but Donna had ended it pretty quickly, too uncomfortable and sore and swollen to continue. “Let’s try a walk first.”
“I love you.” Josh presses another kiss to her temple. “I wish I could stay here.”
“This baby better be out of me before our mothers come.”
“You want Santos to make an executive order or something?”
“Would that work?” Donna rubs at a spot near her hip where she’s fairly certain she just got punched.
“I think fetuses and newborns are exempt from being compelled by executive order. Maybe we could arrange a constitutional convention to address that.”
“Or maybe you could just tell your child to get the hell out.”
Josh drops a final kiss to her belly “You heard your mother, what do you say? You make an appearance now, I get out of a meeting, the whole family wins.”
Donna pushes his head away and scoots towards the edge of the couch. Josh reaches out to help her but she waves him off, using both the arm of the couch and the coffee table on her way up, placing her hands on the small of her back and stretching once standing.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“You know what.” Donna walks towards the bathroom.
Josh takes the opportunity to make sure her water bottle is full in her collection of items on the coffee table, including a book, the tv remote, snacks, a cell phone, work documents, and their landline that he’d made sure fully charged last night.
Josh is standing anxiously by the couch when she comes back out. When she reaches him he offers a small smile and slight chuckle as he points towards the strap of her overalls, one side left undone.
“Gonna need to go again in 5 minutes, just figured I’d make it easier on myself.”
“I’m going to miss you today.”
“Sooner you go, sooner you come back?” Donna lowers herself back down to the couch, groaning as she moves her feet back to the coffee table and puts both hands on her bump.
“I don’t think that’s how the white house works.”
“You know when I was like twenty weeks and I was all ‘Now I really feel big’” Donna looks at Josh. “I was naive and stupid. If only that woman who said I looked full term could see me now.”
Josh is standing there, silently, a slightly shocked look on his face, as if he’s trying to find the right words to say. Instead, Donna continues speaking. “Go to work, I’ll call you if there’s anything you can do. But right now you should leave before I’m the one the secret service has to protect you from.”
With one final “I love you.” Josh nods and heads out the door.
From the couch Donna glares at the calendar that has her Friday due date circled. There’s a number of doctor’s appointments also listed on it, now that she’s overdue and having to go in every other day.
They’d spent the weekend excited, anxious for their daughter’s arrival, they’ve both been told by everyone in their lives that first baby’s can be unpredictable, and more likely to go overdue, but Donna’s doctor has implied that between the baby’s size, and her medical history, he’d expect somewhere in the range of her actual due date rather than too far beyond it. Once Saturday, her first official day of maternity leave, and also the first day past her due date, had passed with no signs of early labor, they’d gone to bed disappointed. Then Sunday came, and despite her maternity leave, they had both spent most of the day in the White House, holding clandestine meetings about legislation that would see guns treated more like cars, with licenses and insurance required for ownership, along with limitations on civilian use. It had been a good distraction, and they’d come home exhausted and slightly relieved nothing had progressed on the baby front.
But when she’d woken up this morning, still with no indication of labor starting, she started to oscillate between annoyed and worried. She spends the day excitedly tracking every cramp, twinge and braxton hicks with the hope that they would start to turn regular. But they never do, and when Josh comes home they lap around their block for a half a mile. Followed by a hot bath and back massage during the worst of cramps that continue to lack any pattern.
Tuesday, she feels better, having rested the day before and burned through some of her anxiety, with the hope that the doctor’s appointment will bring good news. But save for one hour where she feels braxton hicks every eight minutes, a pattern is never established and she and Josh repeat their evening walk. Their busy body neighbor, Mrs. Leighton, expresses shock that she hasn’t had the baby yet on their second lap, “Tell me about it.” Donna responds, with less bite than she wants, but more than she intended.
That night Donna has nothing to show for the walk but extra swollen ankles and a sweat stained t-shirt. “We need to go have sex.” She says as soon as they’re in the front door, out of earshot of the secret service agent who had looked at her with pity as they walked back in the house.
“Do you want to take a bath first?” Josh offers, worried about just how uncomfortable Donna is after their walk.
“Are you trying to get out of this?” Donna is at the base of the stairs, starting to take them one by one with one hand gripping the railing and the other rubbing at her lower back.
“I just want you to be comfortable.”
“Then you should help get this baby out.”
“Okay.”
When they’re done Josh looks satisfied and Donna looks angry. Her orgasm had been a brief moment of pleasure among the discomfort, but now, sweaty and still not in labor, she’s not nearly as pleased with Josh as she was ten minutes ago in the throws of climax.
“Maybe it takes a few minutes? I don’t think it’s an immediate thing.”
“I’m four days overdue and my doctor barely thought I’d go full-term. It shouldn’t be like this.”
Wednesday is full of painful cramps that never turn into contractions. Donna had spent the day walking circles around the living room, finding it too painful to sit or lie down for too long through the cramps, and not wanting to go outside in the D.C. summer heat. When Josh comes home she wants to yell at him, but instead just starts crying.
Josh has no idea how to make this better. He knows Donna has existed between various levels of discomfort and pain for the past two months, and the promise of an enddate had gone and passed nearly a week ago with no relief in sight. He wants nothing but to make this easier on her, but has no idea how. That night, they forgo the walk, and he draws her a bath, getting her settled before bringing a cup of tea and sitting down against the vanity to chat with her.
“This is nice.” Donna sighs out before tensing up at another Braxton Hicks contraction, adding “Or as nice as it can be.”
“Soon” is all Josh responds with,
“It was supposed to be a week ago and now our moms are both coming in two days.”
“We can tell them not to come, no problem.”
“I really don’t want to deal with that, I just want to have this baby already.”
By this point Donna is once again crying silently. She trusts her doctors when they say that induction isn’t indicated just yet. But she’d had a finely tuned plan, that she felt accounted for enough of the unpredictability of birth as to be reasonable, and each hour that passes without stronger cramps, without her water breaking, without finally getting to go to the hospital with Josh to meet their baby, she feels all the expectations and preparations that she’d carefully laid out for herself erode and she’s struggling with unpredictability of it all.
And on top of that, as each day passes, especially once the calendar ticked into August, a worry that was once only a passing thought grows, that their baby’s birthday will coincide with the worst of all their anniversaries. The one that goes unmarked on their calendar but she knows wears heavily on them both.
“I don’t want the baby to be born next week. I don’t want you to have to be at that hospital.”
Josh grabs her hand, squeezing tightly. “While I very much hope you don’t have to put up with this for another week, I think the excitement of meeting our baby will override any hardship of the anniversary.” He lets the words sink in, leaning forward before continuing “I can’t think of any better way to spend that day than with you and our newborn daughter, no matter if it’s at home or in a hospital room.”
By Thursday, Donna is fed up. That morning she doesn’t bother putting on the show of going downstairs, staying in bed and offering little more than a grunt when Josh helps her sit up to record her blood pressure, waiving off his offer of coffee when the thought makes her slightly nauseous. When she can’t fall back asleep she decides to try pumping, having been given the clearance by her doctor earlier in the week, but not ready to have Josh as witness. It’s uncomfortable, and she feels the baby start to wriggle aggressively with feet pushed into her ribcage as contractions start at the end of the session. “I know baby, this can’t be very comfortable for you either, can it? I’m doing my best to meet you soon, love. Maybe even today if we can work together. Do you think you’re ready to meet me?”
When Josh returns home in the early afternoon she greets him with a terse “This is fucking miserable.” The cramps had subsided shortly after her pumping session and she’d spent the rest of the day doing laps around the living room once again.
Josh sits on the couch next to her, leaning in to kiss her. “You’re beautiful” he pays a quick compliment, and Donna can’t quite bring herself to believe it, knowing her skin has a sheen of sweat on it, her face, hands, and feet are all swollen, and her shirt still has a tea splatch on it from where the baby kicked over her mug while she was using her bump as a table late this morning.
“You’re a good liar.” She responds, “Like any politician.”
“I’m not lying” Josh refutes, leaning in to kiss her again, “You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.”
“Really Josh, It’s okay. I know that this isn’t ideal right now. You don’t have to lie.”
“I’m not lying” Josh repeats, “Everything about you is beautiful, everything you’re doing for our family. It’s amazing.” Josh makes sure his hand is on her belly, that he’s looking right into her eyes. “You’re amazing, Donna.”
Later that night, when he’s loading the dishwasher and notices pump parts in the sink he turns to Donna, who’s scanning the fridge for a snack.
“If you say one word about wisconsin dairy.” Donna’s voice is tense as she slams the fridge shut and opens the freezer, grabbing a pint of ice cream.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Josh returns to loading the dishwasher.
“You have at least five jokes lined up.”
“Not one of which I’m sharing with you.”
“Keep it that way.”
Friday comes and Donna is wearing the pajamas CJ had gotten Josh seven summers earlier, being one of the few items that still fit her. Today she had let Josh help her down the stairs and to the couch before following his routine of making sure she had everything in arm’s reach, kissing her, kissing her belly, and double checking his cell phone was at full volume before leaving. Their mothers are both arriving today and he knows Donna isn’t thrilled about it but also wasn’t willing to tell them to hold off.
She’d spent the late morning at the third doctor’s appointment of the week, being told there was, still, absolutely no sign of labor or dilation, but all of her vitals were strong so induction wasn’t indicated yet. She’s thoroughly disappointed and frustrated, a week overdue with no sign of a baby.
When their mothers arrive in the late afternoon Josh is in the Situation Room, and Margaret had gently implied that his presence there was necessary unless Donna was in active labor. So Donna had ended up hosting both of their mothers without any interference or assistance from Josh.
When she answers the door for their moms, having taken the same cab from the airport she waves at the secret service. Her mom immediately pulls her in for a hug, it takes her a moment to lean into it around her belly, weary from the cramps that had been plaguing her all day.
Josh’s mom is waiting silently in the background, when it’s her turn she just squeezes Donna’s arm and offers a quiet “Oh honey, there’s not much that helps at this point, is there.”
Donna shakes her head, “Not really, no.”
“Donna, can I move all that baby stuff in the entryway upstairs for you?” Her own mother interrupts.
“No mom, we’re holding off until the baby’s here.”
“I’m happy to help.”
“We want to hold off. As soon as the baby’s here you’re welcome to move it upstairs and set it up.”
“Why not now?”
Josh’s mom is watching this unfold and not sure if it’s her place to step in. Donna steps up her defense before she can, “Because it’s Josh’s family tradition and we decided to follow it.”
“Oh, okay.” Both Donna and Hannah are watching the wheels turn over in Gabriella’s head. Hannah knows that she’s not antisemitic in the sense that she’s specifically upset that Donna has ended up with a Jewish man, but she also knows her family’s culture is entirely outside of Donna’s family’s frame of reference and there are bound to be growing pains here and there. She’s not sure if Donna specifically left out that the tradition is rooted in Jewish tradition and superstition intentionally.
“Where are you most comfortable, honey, you don’t need to be standing.” Gabriella quickly changes the subject.
“I haven’t been comfortable in three months, but I was going to try to walk around the block. The doctor said that should help get things moving but it hasn’t exactly been working. You could join me?”
Hannah and Gabriella chat pleasantly throughout the walk and Donna tries not to be too upset at the situation. Once they’re back, Donna lays down on the couch, stuffing a throw pillow between her knees trying to find a position that doesn’t make the consistent cramps she’s feeling worse.
“This isn’t going to work if you two just keep staring at me like that. It’s not going to help me go into labor.”
“What can we do then?” Her mom asks.
“Why don’t I go pick us up some food from that deli down the street.” Hannah attempts to make herself scarce.
She can tell Gabriella is debating if she’s going to go with her or stay with her daughter. She ends up staying.
Once Hannah has left Gabriella leans down to Donna, kissing her forehead, “May I sit with you?”
Donna nods and shifts her head up so her mom can sit down, placing it back on her mom’s thigh. Her mom combs her hands through her hair in a soothing fashion, sometimes rubbing her shoulder gently. “You always used to like this when you were a little girl.”
“I remember.”
“Not too long until you’ll be soothing your own baby.”
“Not soon enough.” Donna groans, rubbing a hand over her belly.
“What’d the doctor say this morning?”
“There’s no signs of anything, absolutely nothing to indicate labor’s starting except for the fact that I’m 41 weeks pregnant.”
“But you and the baby are both healthy and okay?”
“So healthy she won’t even think about inducing for another week unless something changes.”
“Is it possible the due date is wrong?”
“No.”
“With you they moved it a couple times.”
“There’s no question about the gestational age, mom.” Donna feels weird sharing this with her mother, her only hope is that she’s not as refreshed on gynecological happenings and doesn’t put it together than it means ‘We know exactly what sexual act put us in this situation.’
“Other than walking, what have you tried?”
“Everything on the internet list that the OB said was safe and the most I got was bad cramps and indigestion.”
Her mom barrels through Donna’s earlier discretion. “You know that sex can help kickstart labor.”
“It was on the list.” Donna says curtly, really not wanting a conversation about her sex life with her mother, even though evidence of it is shifting firmly and painfully against her pelvic bone at that very moment.
Donna yawns suddenly and settles back into her mom’s leg. “The baby’s gonna come whenever they decide to, I’ve just got to stay sane until then.”
“I’m right here if you need me.” Her mom keeps combing through her hair until she hears Donna’s breathing even out.
When Hannah walks back in forty five minutes later, food bags in hand, Donna stirs at the commotion and then comments on the smell as she struggles to shift herself back up to sitting. Exhaling loudly once she’s upright, before heading to the bathroom.
When she comes back out she looks far more rested than when Hannah had last seen her an hour ago, and she makes her way back to the couch. “Thanks for picking up lunch.”
The rest of the afternoon is pleasant. When Josh walks late that evening he finds Gabriella washing the dishes in the kitchen while Donna leans over the back of the couch swaying her hips. He gets his hopes up that Donna is working through early contractions when she looks over at him and says “Just cramps and braxton hicks for now.”
“You already kicked my mom out?” He asks, not seeing her anywhere in the room.
“Why would you think that?” His mom’s voice rings out from the stairwell, “I was just grabbing something from upstairs. You think I’d get myself kicked out in the first few hours?”
“Hi mom.” he backs up. “How was your flight?”
“It was good, thank you dear.” Hannah accepts a hug and kiss on her cheek from her son before continuing. “Gabriella and I were going to grab some dinner out, make sure we’re not totally taking over your house. We’ll have our phones on us if there are any updates.”
“Thanks Mom.”
Once they’re gone Josh turns to Donna, “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”
Donna waves him off, “Margaret explained, you had to save the world or something.”
“Something like that.” Josh jokes.
“Are you up for a walk?” Donna asks, feeling recharged from her nap, and the relief that swaying over the couch brought to her lower back.
“Or something?”
“I’m still getting cramps from the last time.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Our moms think we should.”
Josh winces at the thought of that conversation, “They’ve been okay, right? Mine can be out of here no problem. I’ll kick yours out too if you just say the word.”
“They’ve been okay. You’re the one I’m most upset with right now.”
“Me? What’d I do? I haven’t even been here all day?”
“You did this to me.”
“You were there too!”
Donna drops her head on his shoulder, “I think the baby dropped today.”
“That’s a good sign, right?”
“It basically doesn’t indicate anything but the baby’s getting closer to the position they need to be in.”
“Does it hurt?”
“There’s just a lot of pressure everywhere but I can breathe easier now.”
“Are you sure you’re up for a walk?”
Donna nods while grabbing his hand and leads the way, watching her move, her bump does look lower and her waddle more pronounced than it was this morning.
This time they’re notably slower than they’ve been the last few walks, while Donna doesn’t have to pause to catch her breath as often, the ache in her hips and lower back has her asking to turn around after just a few minutes.
Saturday goes much the same, with a few short walks and Donna forcing Josh out to a late breakfast, saying she’ll go crazy if she spends one more day in the house. When they come back they make sure to avoid the pitying glances from the busy body neighbor who has learned not to comment, and the secret service, who are ready to snap into action every time the front door opens. They, too, appearingly more than ready for the baby to be born.
That night, Donna feels like a zoo animal with three sets of eyes trying to anticipate her every need and be the first to respond to it. She knows that Josh has felt similar pressure under the eyes of his mother and mother-in-law, making sure he’s being appropriately attentive to Donna’s needs, when the thing she wants most is to be left alone by all of them.
When they go to bed that night Donna has a series of braxton hicks that has them almost convinced she’s in labor, but they taper off enough for her to fall asleep. She wakes up again at 3am with cramps strong enough to wake her, but still falling short of contractions. Josh draws her a bath, hoping the sound of the water doesn’t wake her mother in the nearby guest room. Over the course of the next few hours the cramps slowly become contractions, and Donna exhales a huge sigh of relief that labor is finally there, settling in for a long and painful day.
By seven in the morning Donna is back in the bed, this time with a towel laid underneath her and Josh frantically offering her all manner of different things. She’d accepted a heating pad which was positioned at her lower belly, along with a pile of pillows that allowed her leg to propped up in a manner she’d been told encouraged the baby to get into position.
She’s glaring at him through her hair, and he can see her wince through a contraction that is both longer and stronger than the one she’d experienced a few minutes ago. They’d been ten to fifteen minutes apart, but this was only five minutes after the last one, and Josh is starting to think it’s time for the hospital.
“These seem different, you couldn’t talk through that one”
“I could talk through them if I wanted to.” Donna’s voice sounds pained in a way it hasn’t previously, even just an hour ago when they were walking around the room trying to bring Donna some relief, but Josh makes the decision to trust her. “I don’t want to go too early and have to come back here.”
Josh can see Donna’s face brace as another wave of pain seizes across her belly “See. Talking” she gets out through gritted teeth.
“That was barely two minutes, I think we need to go to the hospital.” Josh brushes hair out of her face. “They’re not going to turn us away with the secret service in tow, even if it’s on the early side. But I don’t think it is”
“There’s no pattern to them, once they’re consistently a few minutes apart we’ll know. But at this rate this baby is never getting out of me.”
“The last two were pretty close together.”
Tears start to form in Donna’s eyes, a not uncommon occurrence these days, and Josh makes sure to squeeze her hand, he resists the urge to reach out to her belly, knowing the skin is tight and sensitive, and the extra touch is uncomfortable for her.
“I love you.” He’s clear and direct to her, “You’re the strongest person I know.” He brushes the hair out of her face and cups her face, “I think it’s time to go to the hospital.”
Donna can’t respond before she’s grimacing through another contraction and Josh is positive now, watching her whole body tense and shake in more pain than he’s ever seen her in, that it’s time to head to the hospital, despite what Donna keeps saying. He lets her squeeze his hand as she tries to demonstrate her ability to talk through grunted syllables.
Once it’s over they look at each other, daring the other to speak first. Neither gets the chance as Donna’s face squeezes in pain just a few seconds after she relaxed from the previous contraction. This one catches her off guard and she can’t catch her breath during it, suddenly desperate to be in a different position but unable to move with the bulky pillow trapping her. Josh starts counting, a coping mechanism he’d learned when handling bandage changes and new PT exercises. Donna shakes her head and tries to say “shut up” but the effort just leaves her more out of breath and she starts reaching for him, unable to ask for help turning over through the pain.
As the pain subsides and she starts panting to catch her breath, clawing her way to all fours and looking at Josh hoping he’ll know what to do.
“Honey, your water broke” Josh is staring at the damp sheets under Donna, noting that that would also explain the quick escalation in pain she’s experiencing. “Let’s get you dressed and in the car.”
Josh stands up from the side of the bed, rubbing her back before quickly turning to her dresser. Before he can fully turn away Donna grabs his hand and pulls him back “stay” and Josh’s concern rises at the realization that is struggling to form full sentences between contractions.
“Do you want to stay where you are?”
Donna shakes her head as another contraction starts, this time she’s able to breathe through the exercises that are supposed to help manage pain but don’t seem to be doing anything for her.
Once the contraction has eased enough for her to move she scoots to the edge of the bed, hoping Josh can understand that she needs help standing up. Josh does, but instead of allowing herself to be lifted up into his arms, she crouches down to the floor just in time for the next contraction to set in, leaning against the bed.
For the first time, Josh realizes they may not make it to the hospital, that he’s been watching her suffer not through early contractions but advanced labor. “I’m calling an ambulance.”
Donna doesn’t protest, she doesn’t say anything but a long and low moan, grabbing at their sheets in pain.
He grabs his cellphone before realizing he can delegate this to one of their moms, and as he runs out of the room he finds them looking worried in the hallway.
“Donna’s in labor, it’s moving fast, you need to call an ambulance.” He doesn’t say anything else as he shoves his phone into his mom’s hand and grabs Gabriella’s hand dragging her into the room, assuming Donna would prefer her to his mom at this moment.
He’s not sure if Donna is even aware that he’s back in the room, or of her mom’s presence at all. He can hear her trying to speak, not able to make out what she’s saying but he sees her trying to gesture to her underwear so he moves them down her legs the best he can.
Her mom leaves to the bathroom while asking question after question that Josh can’t process. He kneels down next to her squeezing her hips together with all his strength, something suggested by the birthing coach a few weeks ago. If it brings Donna any relief, she can’t indicate it.
Suddenly her mom is beside him, frantically unwrapping the cheap shower liner Donna had insisted they keep as back up, and placing a stack of towels next to Josh. She also seems to have found a hair tie and is fussing with Donna’s hair before placing a damp towel for Donna to rest her head on.
Josh can’t tell where one contraction is starting and the other is ending anymore, and he’s fairly certain Donna can’t either. He can see his mom in the corner of his eye, talking to a 9-1-1 operator and asking permission with her eyes to bring the phone to him. He nods and sees an agent trailing her.
“Josh, talk to the operator, they’ve got a paramedic looped in. And Agent Michael here was a medic in the military.” She hands the phone to him before realizing exactly how far things have progressed in the ten minutes since Josh had given her instructions.
They’d had a birth plan, not one that tracked minute to minute or didn’t allow for medically necessary deviations, but he knew that Donna wanted to walk around between contractions, for the room not to be crowded. He knew that she wanted to feel in control and have the decisions run by her. She didn’t want to be squatting next to their bed at home with their moms and secret service detail watching everything, unable to communicate.
Donna’s mom has taken over putting pressure on her back, while Josh is turning to the phone trying to figure out where to begin, but he hears a sound come from Donna that’s unlike any of the other grunts or moans she’s vocalized yet. Low, guttural, almost primal, and he turns back to her, seeing her reaching down.
“The head’s crowning” her mom says, and the secret service agent steps forward, pulling out a pair of gloves, but before he can put them on and step in place, Josh can see Donna push the head all of the way out, feeling a bit woozy at the blood and other matter that comes with it.
“You need to breathe through it and support her.” Her mom has a hand on his back now, making sure he doesn’t keel over, and he takes two seconds to take a deep breath before turning back to Donna, who is pushing again, this time with a moan that sounds more like relief than pain, and suddenly she’s holding their baby.
It’s not like a flip is switched, but Josh can see a subtle shift in Donna’s face as pressure and pain subsides and she becomes more aware of her surroundings, she’s lifting the baby up and letting the secret service agent and her mom help her turn so she’s sitting against the bed, their newborn cuddled into her chest with the cord still attached.
Josh is still kneeling next to her, this time looking intently at the baby, reaching his finger out to her little hand.
“No more heartburn” are the first words Donna says, not quite all back, and Josh can’t help but let out a loud laugh as he looks at her.
“You’re the most amazing person I know.”
Donna’s still coming back to reality. “I had the baby.” She seems surprised to be holding the baby in her arms.
“Yeah, you did. This agent is a medic and is going to help you now, is that okay?”
Donna stares at him. “Easier to breathe now.”
Josh laughs again, “I bet it is. She didn’t make it easy on you these last few months did she?”
“She’s here” There’s still an element of surprise to Donna’s voice, “When did that happen?”
Josh cups her face, “A few minutes ago, you did so good, but now the agent needs to make sure you’re both okay.” Josh repeats.
Josh takes a look at the paramedics who just arrived, in addition to two other secret service agents and their mothers all there, and he wants to clear the room a bit to create space for Donna. “Mom, could you get the hospital bag out of the car? Gabriella, maybe some water? And the agents could step into the hallway?”
The paramedics help Donna deliver the placenta and do some quick exams of the newborn, declaring her healthy pending larger assessment at the hospital. By the time they’re ready to get her into the ambulance she has mostly registered the events of the last hour and is trying to nurse the little girl.
Two hours later, in a hospital that feels far less chaotic than their bedroom a few hours ago, Donna is breastfeeding their newborn while Josh looks on, relishing the peace after their medical team had insisted on being in and out of the room constantly.
“Do you still like Sophia Joanie for a name?”
“Yeah, I called her Sophia when I got to hold her on the way here, I think it fits.”
“I was thinking I’d file my own name paperwork when we’re already dealing with the birth certificate for her.”
“Yeah? What did you settle on?” It’s not the Josh doesn’t have an opinion on Donna’s name, he’d love for her to take his last name either as a standalone, or hyphen, but he also isn’t going to tell Donna what to do, and he certainly doesn’t want to undermine her professionally after all she’s built under Moss.
“Moss-Lyman.”
“Ainsley’s going to have to get us new towels.” Josh smiles at her, “I guess she did anyway after this morning.”
“We’re gonna need a new rug in the bedroom, aren’t we?”
“I think your mom might have saved it actually, good call on keeping the extra shower liner around, and they’re getting the nursery set up.”
“Everything between me telling you it was too early to go to this hospital and holding her is kind of fuzzy.”
“Things escalated pretty quickly.”
“I do remember being really scared trying to get off the bed and that you were there helping me.”
“That’s when I got a little scared too.”
They’re interrupted with their secret service agent bringing in the lunch tray that was dropped off. Unlike the last time he had offered her hospital food, this time she nods eagerly at the thought of eating, until she sees the offering Josh is holding up, something that at one point in time may have resembled an egg salad sandwich.
“You’re a very powerful man, could you get someone to bring something else?”
“That could be arranged.” Josh kisses the top of her head, resisting the urge to disrupt the baby’s feed, knowing that it had taken a few minutes to get a good latch going. “Sushi? Lox? Brie?”
“All of the above?”
“Done.”
“It’s gonna be nice to eat without heartburn immediately after.”
Josh lets out a quick laugh, dropping a kiss to her head before texting a junior assistant to add lunch to the various documents and briefings he knows the white house will be bringing in an hour.
“Can I trade you the baby for the food?” Josh asks an hour later as he unpacks the brown bag onto her tray and can tell that after her efforts this morning, she’s long overdue for a meal. “Or should I just feed you bites?”
“Are you making fun of me?” Donna shifts the newborn in her arms.
“I don’t know yet, you’re considering the offer, aren’t you?”
“You shouldn’t be allowed to make fun of me while I’m going through wild hormone swings from giving birth to your child.”
“I do solemnly swear to keep our baby in your line of vision.”
“Now you’re making fun of me.”
“I’m really not.” Josh is undoing his shirt buttons, preparing for skin-to-skin when he holds the baby.
“We’ll be right here in arms reach.” Josh looks to her for final permission to lift the newborn from her arms for only the second time in her short life.
“The least you could do is spoon feed me while I hold her.”
Josh gently takes the baby and sits as close to the bed as he can. Donna’s face scrunches a bit but she works through the emotional pain of being separated from her baby. Josh could tell from her tone that she was joking, but he does take care to make sure she can see the baby as he sits back in the chair.
Once Donna’s finished lunch and has the baby safely settled back in her harms Josh reads the press release draft aloud, it’s perfectly fine, accurate and short, without being overly familiar. He’d learned from lemon-lyman that informal press releases created a sense of friendship that he doesn’t necessarily want the public to have with his family. “Joshua Lyman, White House Chief of Staff and Donnatella Moss, Chief of Staff to the First Lady, welcomed a healthy baby girl this morning. The family wants to thank the George Washington Medical Center for the high quality care they’ve received along with the public for respecting their privacy.”
“Is that okay with you?”
Donna nods, readjusting the baby in her arms “I think it’s time to try feeding her again.”
Josh hands Sophia back, tracing a figure down her cheek once she’s settled back in Donna’s arms. He goes to their hospital bag and grabs the camera Donna had given him for Father’s Day, silently asking permission before he starts snapping photos.
After snapping a few more he puts the camera down and goes back to Donna’s side. “The announcement will go out tomorrow morning, we should make the calls we need to make before then.”
“I’m sure half of Madison knows by now, even though we asked my mom to stay quiet.”
“I’m sure the secret service has read the President in, but we should call them too. And I’ll call Bartlet’s secretary.”
“And Lou will circulate the news to staff tonight so they’re not finding via press release?”
“Yes.”
Josh gets settled onto the bed behind Donna, making sure she can relax into his chest before putting his phone on the lunch tray, with the Oval Office’s line pulled up. “Ready?”
The calls to the current and former president go smoothly, with Santos suggesting that Helen would appreciate a few pictures as soon as possible, and Bartlet quoting a latin phrase that Josh will forget to translate later.
When those are finally done, and Josh has sent a text to both their moms for the third time that day, reconfirming that both Donna and the baby are fine and they’re settling in for the night, they finally breathe out and Josh buries his face in Donna’s shoulder.
“I can’t believe she’s finally here.”
“She certainly took her time, didn’t she?” Donna muses.
The baby starts mouthing at Donna’s breast, as if asking to feed again. “Want me to take her after she’s done so you can get some sleep?”
While Donna is focused on nursing the baby Josh takes the stack of paperwork the hospital had dropped off earlier and continues filling it out.
“Sophia Joanie Lyman” Donna muses as his hands run over the name section.
“Moss-Lyman?” Josh suggests.
“I just thought, you know, it’d invite public conversation. Would you be okay with that?”
“I don’t think the public’s feelings on our baby’s name should be a consideration.” Josh starts writing Moss in the last name section.
“Wait. You sure you’re okay with it?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You’d be the only person without a different last name.”
“Lyman’s in there, I think I’ll survive.”
“Hyphenated names can be a pain in the ass. What if she wants to hyphenate when she gets married?”
“She’s never dating so she’s never getting married. Problem solved.”
Donna looks up at Josh. “Because locking a daughter in the castle has never backfired before.”
“Aren’t these parenting conversations for like, 20 years from now?”
“Sophia Joanie Moss-Lyman.” Donna looks at Josh, as if asking for final approval.
Josh continues writing Moss-Lyman in the section and continues on with the paperwork. Most of it is easy, and when he gets to Donna’s birthplace he pauses for a moment before writing in “Warroad, MN”
Donna, still watching on, “Not Canada?”
“I looked into it right after that, someone who was born in the Soviet Union would list the USSR, so you should still list Minnesota.”
“You looked into it?”
“I wanted to know what it was going to mean for you.”
Donna makes a sound to confirm she heard him, but lets Josh continue filling out his section of the paperwork.
Donna laughs a bit when Josh reaches the section to register her height and pre-pregnancy weight. “Go on, then.” She watches him squirm for another beat before sharing her best guess, “Not a lot of scales on the campaign trail.”
Just then the baby unlatches and looks up at Donna, and Josh pushes away the stack of paperwork to turn his attention back to his family.
Donna lets out a loud yawn that serves as a reminder of his previous offer, so he slowly removes himself from Donna’s hospital bed, lowering it back down and making sure Donna can find a comfortable position before removing his shirt once again. He pauses as he’s lifting Sophia up so Donna can kiss her head “I love you so much Sophia, I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Get some rest, Mom.” Josh kisses Donna’s cheek himself, before bringing the infant to his bare chest, taking a seat in the rocking chair and covering them both up with a baby blanket.
“Can’t believe I finally get to be the one holding you, kiddo.” The baby sniffles a yawn and bubbles up some of the breast milk. Josh suppresses the urge to let his anxiety spin out, having watched Donna wipe away spit up two times earlier in the day, and he takes the edge of the blanket and gently wipes the spit up off her face. “Guess that’s what all the washcloths they tell you to buy are for, huh.” The baby doesn’t respond, but she does snuggle further into chest and Josh lets himself be comforted by the warmth of her body and the sounds of Donna’s even breaths from the bed, and lets himself relax into the feeling of being surrounded by his family.
*****
Epilogue - A year later
“Congrats Buddy” Josh pats Sam on the back as he walks back towards the hotel suite where his wife and daughter are. Sam’s wedding had been scheduled for the same week of Sophia’s first birthday, so most of their found family was currently staying at a golf course in coastal northern California.
Josh nods at the secret service at the entrance to the bank of cottages where he, President Santos, and the cabinet secretaries deemed worthy enough to be invited are staying before opening the door to his family’s suite where Donna is playing with Sophia in her high chair, while his mom is reading a book on the couch.
Sophia holds out a cheerio for him, distracting from her game and yelling “Dada, Dada”
“For me?” His eyes go wide as he accepts the cheerio, “Thank you sweetpea.”
“Up?” Sophia holds her arms out, telling him to lift her up.
Josh picks her up in a well practiced motion, and Sophia quickly tucks her foot into his side and nuzzles her head into his shoulder as his hand holds her back steady. He walks her over to the couch where his mom is sitting, giving her a quick hello.
His mom had spent most of the past year in D.C., offering relief to their nanny on nights when they’d had to stay late, or the date nights that Josh had insisted be at minimum, a monthly occurrence. It’d been an adjustment, for sure, having her presence day in and day out, but once they’d established routine, and in many cases, boundaries, her help had been invaluable to making their household run.
“Thanks for making the trip with us, Mom.”
“Wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
“I can’t believe she’s going to be one tomorrow.” Josh’s focus is entirely on his daughter, who reaches up to tug at his hair and makes sounds at him, which he would usually claim were new words, but today, he chooses to listen intently and chase her hands around as she’s exploring his face and hair, sometimes asking her questions about her day and nodding at the be babbled answers.
Sophia’s eyes go wide when Josh grabs one of her hands midair, and when he releases it a moment later she pats his cheek, a move no doubt learned from watching Donna. “What’d I do to get so lucky as to be your dad?”
The baby pats his cheek again in response, giggling to herself and looking back at her mom who’s walking towards them with a comically large sunhat. Donna kneels down to look between Sophia and Josh, giving them matching pecks on their cheeks before fitting the sunhat to her daughter’s head, “We should start walking towards the welcome lunch.”
“Sit with us for a moment.” Josh drags her to the couch, securing Sophia with one arm while the other pulls Donna into his side.
Donna indulges him for thirty seconds, until Sophia starts trying to take her hat off, and she pushes herself up with a “We should really get going, this is Sam’s week and I don’t want to take too much attention away from him.”
It had been a fleeting concern, when the Save the Date cards for Sam’s wedding came, with Sophia’s birthday listed in gold embossed lettering. But they’d quickly decided that a small family celebration would be sufficient on the day itself, and all presents would be handled in D.C. the following week. There’d already been discussions with everyone that today and tomorrow were strictly about Sam’s wedding, and any discussion of Sophia’s birthday was limited to Josh and Donna’s wing of the cottage.
By the time they arrive at the lunch, it’s clear from the increased secret service activity that President Bartlet is already there, and that certainly has half the crowd distracted, but they quickly find their seats with other Bartlet era staff and friends.
Josh knows that once he hands Sophia to Zoey, who is currently making the strongest effort to get her, that she’s unlikely to be passed back to him for a while, so he double checks with Donna before relinquishing her and being dragged to wedding party responsibilities, her nod silently acknowledging that she’s the parent with eyes on her until they pass off responsibility again.
With Zoey and Sophia in the corner of her eye, Donna slides into the spot next to CJ and across from Danny, “I can drink half a glass of wine in the next hour without totally messing up her nursing schedule, want to join me?”
CJ’s reluctant nod has Donna changing her offer, “Or you could watch me down half a glass of wine while you drink your seltzer.”
“I’m not” CJ starts. “Well, I don’t know. We did another transfer, we’ll know in a few weeks.”
“Seltzer it is.” Donna confirms. “And maybe I’ll wait a bit to down this.” She slides her wine glass to the middle of the table.
Sophia and Charlie are engaged in a hand clap game when Sam and Josh return, Sam yelling out “I heard there was a birthday girl here” and reaching to pick her up from Charlie.
“I’ve gotta-” Donna gestures to the commotion.
Josh is doing his best to limit the chorus of happy birthdays that Sam had started, unknowingly giving permission for everyone else to start celebrating.
“We were trying to keep that lowkey, give you and Allison your day.”
“Nonsense” Sam says, tickling Sophia’s belly and watching her laugh in her arms, “You only turn one once, the more celebrations this week the merrier.”
Donna and Josh’s mom both notice Sophia starting to get overwhelmed with the attention, but Donna moves in first to collect her before it’s a full on breakdown.
“Andy’s got the twins in a quiet spot inside, I think she just needs a moment to calm down.”
Instead of Andy, she finds Toby doing a puzzle with his twins.
“Hey there, stranger.”
Toby quickly gets up to offer her a hug, giving a quiet hello to Sophia, who’s calmed down substantially. “Avoiding the chaos?”
“Just for a bit.”
Once seated Donna reclines back and helps Sophia get comfortable on her chest, burying her nose into her head. “Can’t believe she’s going to be one tomorrow. I’m not ready.”
“It’s happening whether or not you’re ready.” Toby helps Molly fit a piece into the puzzle. “Josh could have done more with the school nutrition stuff.”
“He knows.” Donna smiles. “We traded no increase in the subsidies for the insurance requirement in gun reform. So at least our kids will get to live, even if we can’t all feed them.”
“The republicans are some real bas-” Toby cuts himself off when Molly and Huck look at him, curious what insult will be lobbied at republicans today “Buttheads.” He continues.
The laughs from all three of his audience startle Sophia, whose eyes go wide and look at her mom for reassurance. “Hi baby girl” Donna looks down at her, “You’re okay.”
“Can I hold her?” Molly asks.
Toby looks at Donna, who nods. “But you need to be sitting with me or your dad.” Molly quickly scrambles to her dad’s side, who holds her in place as Donna places Sophia in her arms.
Just then Josh walks in. He’s had to keep his distance from Toby, even after the shift in public opinion and Toby joining the Columbia faculty, but chatting in the children’s section at his friend’s wedding seems low risk, even if pictures were to get out.
“Nice work on that gun reform bill.” Toby greets Josh, far different from his greeting to Donna. Josh looks surprised at the compliment, he responds with a curt nod, sitting down next to Donna and looking over to Molly and Sophia.
“I see she’s making friends.”
“Always.”
“Can I hold her now?” Huck asks, shoving the pile of puzzle pieces to the center.
“Come here, buddy.” Josh picks him up and plops him down between himself and Donna, mirroring Toby’s arms around Molly.
Molly whispers “Bye Sophia” as Donna picks her up and moves her to Huck’s arms.
Donna leans over to whisper to Josh “You look good with two kids in your arms.”
Josh can’t hide the look of surprise that crosses his face. “Yeah?” He asks with raised eyebrows. Neither he or Donna had discussed a second kid in explicit terms, beyond having a IUD placed at her follow-up doctor’s appointment six weeks postpartum, and a quick comment that it could be removed at any point in time.
Sophia brings them right out of that moment when she starts scrunching her face, and Donna leans over to lift her out of Huck’s arms. “I think she needs a new diaper.”
“Gross.” Molly and Huck both say, and Toby moves to re-interest them in the puzzle.
“I’ll go grab the diaper bag from my mom.”
*****
“Our baby’s going to be one tomorrow.” Donna looks up at Josh, skin slightly sunkissed from the round of golf he played with Sam and President Santos earlier, leaning over the crib that’s been added to their bedroom in the cottage and picking her daughter up, before shoving her shirt up and helping the baby latch.
“About that thing you said earlier.” Josh’s eyes skirt between Donna and his nursing daughter.
“Telling you you looked good.”
“Yeah, that.”
“It wasn’t a ‘I want to start trying.’” Donna is very clear. “But it was a ‘The idea of a second isn’t as terrible sounding to me as it was a few months ago.’”
“You want to revisit it in a few months?”
“Sure” Donna says, looking back at Josh. “Thanks for this past year. It’s been better than I ever could have imagined.”
“She’s the best thing I’ve done with my life.” Josh’s gaze is intent on the baby.
“And you’ve gotten two men elected president.” Donna jokes back at him.
“So have you.”
“This is the last time I’m going to nurse her before she’s one.” The sadness is clear in Donna’s voice.
“Are we turning into those parents?”
“The first day you went back to work you came home and swore she was bigger than when you left. We’ve been those parents.”
*****
“How’s the first nurse of our one year old going?” Josh asks as sits next to Donna, coffee cup in hand.
“I swear she’s bigger than she was last night.” Josh can’t tell if Donna is mocking him or making genuine commentary.
“I suppose she’s going to be even bigger in a year. I hear it’s what all the babies are doing these days.”
Josh’s mom comes out of her own room, greeting them with “How’s the birthday girl?”
“Just finishing up here.” Donna points to the baby. Nursing in front of her had been one of the earlier points of concern with Hannah’s presence in their lives. It had taken a few awkward afternoons of Donna taking Sophia upstairs before nursing her, or using a cover if Hannah was in their living room. When Sophia was five weeks old, Josh had to stay late at the White House, leaving Hannah and Donna together for most of the day with Sophia cluster feeding. By 11am, and the fourth time Donna had made an excuse to go upstairs, Hannah had sat her back down “If you’re uncomfortable nursing in front of me, you need to tell me to leave the room. I’m not doing you or her any good if me being here makes it harder for you to parent.” Donna had stared at her for a moment processing, but moved to the big armchair and started nursing while Hannah picked up the adjacent room and refilled Donna’s ever present water bottle. Just two days later, this routine had stuck.
“I’ll get the cake set up.” Josh volunteers, leaning over to kiss Donna and tickle the baby’s foot before standing up.
“Sugar before 9am, we’re getting a little lenient with this whole parenting thing.” Donna removes Sophia from her breast, standing up to join Josh at the dining table, letting Josh take her for a second, knowing he hasn’t had the opportunity to hold her yet this morning.
“Happy Birthday baby girl.” He whispers to her and Donna can’t make out the rest of what he says, as he kisses her cheek and makes her laugh, but finally he puts her in the high chair, securing a plastic bib around her neck. The three adults look to one another to ensure they’re all ready for her first birthday cupcake. In the end, Sophia mashes most of it with her hands before grabbing Josh’s hair and smearing the cake and frosting throughout.
Donna can’t contain her laugh, and makes sure to capture a few photos of Josh, still in his pajamas, with cake tousled hair.
“I think it’s time for her first bath as a one year old.” Donna lifts her up and looks over her husband, “And your first shower as a father to a one year old.”
“Will you join?” He whispers to Donna, making sure his mom can’t overhear from the kitchen sink, where she’s cleaning off the high chair.
Donna makes quick work of Sophia’s bath, wrapping her in a goldfish towel that had been in the giant gift basket from Danny and CJ, before securing a fresh diaper on her and passing her off to Josh’s mom.
When she returns to their room she finds Josh over the bathroom sink, trying to rinse off the cake stained undershirt and having made a clear attempt at rinsing some of the cake out his hair. “You put her up to that, didn’t you.”
“She’s loved pulling your hair since she developed the motor skills to do so, you should have seen that coming.” Donna strips off her own pajama top and pushes her flannel pants down her hips. Josh doesn’t hide his leer at her body as she undresses, faded stretch marks visible just above her hips, widened slightly with her pregnancy, and slightly bigger breasts.
“You’re so beautiful.” He says, abandoning the shirt in the sink and walking over to meet her mouth with his. “I love you.”
Donna pushes his boxers down his hips and pushes them both into the shower.
By the time they’re out of the shower it’s officially time to begin getting ready for the wedding, so Donna makes quick work of blow drying her hair while Josh relieves his mom from childcare duty, knowing she’s taking the lionshare of the work later while they’re at the wedding.
Hannah and Sophia are sitting together on the couch, cardboard book in hand, and Josh brings over two cups of coffee, setting one on the table while keeping his own in his hands.
“You’ve done so much for us this past year, we probably don’t say thank you enough.”
“You say thank you plenty, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be.”
“Well, I just want you to know that we don’t take you for granted.”
“I didn’t think you did.”
“Mind if I take over this story?”
Hannah hands her granddaughter to her son, watching as Sophia settles into his lap and points at the book, silently asking Josh to start making animal sounds like her Bubbe had been minutes before.
Once the book is done Josh brings Sophia back to their room, plopping down on the bed with her and watching as Donna slips into her dress.
She joins them on the bed a minute later, make-up half done. “We’re not terrible parents for going to a giant party without her on her first birthday?”
“I don’t think that's what the therapist bills will be for in a few decades, no.” Josh doesn’t look up from his daughter.
“I feel bad.”
“She’s going to be two hundred yards away, with my mother, and we already have a plan to check-in on her like twenty times. It’s going to be fine.”
Josh leaves Sophia in the middle of their bed, chewing on her favorite stuffed donkey, and pushes them up, zipping Donna’s dress up and pushing her back towards the vanity. “One of our best friends is getting married, come on, we’re allowed to have fun every now and then.”
“It’s her birthday.”
“And she got a cupcake at 9 in the morning, got to spread it all in my hair, then she got storytime with Bubbe, now she’s chowing down on her favorite toy. She’s having a good day.”
“When did you become the sane, reasonable one?”
“You think I’m sane and reasonable?” Josh puts her eyeliner back in the make-up pouch. “Can I go get that camera and get that on the record.”
“No.” Donna spritzes some finishing spray on before zipping up the pouch and pushing Josh out into the bedroom. “Come on, we’ve got to go to the wedding of the third man you’re going to get elected president.”
“Third man that we’re going to get elected.” Josh corrects.