ACT 3
INT. EAST ROOM - MID MORNING

"Good Morning, Ladies and Gentleman." Lester greeted the over flowing room. "Thank you for your patience. We'll be taking thirty minutes for prepared statements and then we'll open the floor to thirty minutes of questions. Now without further ado I give you President Matthew Santos and former President Josiah Bartlet."

The men took their places at the side-by-side podiums near the front of the dais to thunderous applause and the sound of whirring cameras as and explosion of flashbulbs lit up the room.

CUT TO:
INT. WALTER REED MEDICAL CENTER

"It's pretty wild having President Bartlet back and roaming the halls. He actually stopped by my office last night," Annabeth confided excitedly to Donna as they stood slightly away from Helen, watching as she sat talking with several injured soldiers.

"Did he?" Donna asked with surprise. "If he was in the East Wing I wonder why he didn't say hello to me."

Annabeth had since heard about Josh's wedding bombshell in the Oval Office. It dawned on her why President Bartlet might not have stopped by Donna's office. Everyone was afraid of spilling something they shouldn't to the surprise bride-to-be. "Oh, he probably intended to and got lost. With the construction everything is different than it used to be. Besides you know how… uh… he could never find his way around this place when he actually lived here," Annabeth attempted to explain before changing the subject. "So, do you think Bartlet going to Astana will work?"

"I sure hope so," Donna replied as she looked down at her information packet on the soldiers from Kazakhstan who were currently being treated at the hospital. "I hope all our soldiers can come home. And hopefully not to a hospital."

"Yeah," Annabeth agreed solemnly before deciding they needed to lighten the mood. She started flipping through the press material from the hospital when her eye lit on something that could prove to be a helpful distraction. "Hey, at least hospital stays aren't as bad as they used to be."

Donna glanced over at her curiously. "How so?"

"Room service. Who doesn't feel a little bit better when they can order room service?" She handed Donna the menu that the hospital representative had shown her earlier during their tour of the facility.

Donna laughed lightly. "It always comes back to food, doesn't it?"

"And cake." Annabeth pointed to the desert portion of the menu. "I could totally go for a piece of German chocolate cake right now."

"Not me, I'm all about carrot cake."

Annabeth smiled slyly to herself and made a mental note.

CUT TO:
INT. WHITE HOUSE RESIDENCE

"Thank you both for agreeing to help," a harried First Lady called over her shoulder to Donna and Annabeth. As soon as they'd returned to the White House they'd made their way up to the Residence at Helen's request. Although, it was a request Donna hadn't dared refuse since she knew the First Lady well enough to recognize an actual order when she heard one.

"That's what we're here for, Ma'am," Donna replied automatically. Pomp and circumstance weren't her favorite part of the job, but sometimes it was nice to let the heavier issues go and enjoy the fluffy details.

"This is the second batch of dresses that have been sent over for the New Year's Eve party. I just can't make a decision," Helen explained as Donna and Annabeth entered the dressing room where dozens of designer dresses hung off of movable racks.

"Wow." Donna was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of beautiful gown. "I forgot what this is like; I guess it has been awhile since I helped you select something for a big event."

"The Inauguration," Helen agreed.

Donna motioned to a rack of dresses that appeared slightly provocative, at least on the hanger. "See, I told you it wouldn't be long before we could get you into one of these. One year later and you've shed the dowdy dignified persona and taken the express train straight to sexy-town."

Helen laughed as Annabeth held a completely backless halter gown up to Helen's torso as if to demonstrate Donna's words. Helen shook her head as she observed, "I think this one would actually get me a seat on the tart-ville express."

Donna giggled at the joke and then murmured a soft "hmm" as she surveyed the room with interest.

"What?" Helen prodded jovially.

"They're all really…well, white."

Helen grimaced as if the revelation wasn't an entirely pleasant one to her. "They really are, aren't they? When I was first asked about a dress for the party, I thought I might want to wear a light color. They took me at my word, I see."

"You'll look great in white and with the President in his dark tuxedo you'll make quite the dashing pair," Donna teased.

"Maybe." Helen tapped her chin with her finger as if deep in thought. "But now I'm thinking I'd rather go with a brighter color."

"Don't be hasty, there are some really beautiful gowns here," Donna said wistfully. Annabeth and Helen immediately shot each other triumphant glances.

"Absolutely," Annabeth agreed. "Ma'am, it would be a crime to let all these magnificent dresses go to waste."

Donna had lovingly pulled down an elegant but simple ivory slip dress with slinky spaghetti straps. "At least try one on, this one is exquisite."

Helen took it from her. "It is, isn't it?" A moment later Helen was handing it back. "You know, I think I'd prefer… uh… a different neckline. Hey, why don't you try that one on… in fact you too, Annabeth, we'll all try on a dress… or three."

Donna began to protest but Annabeth instantly slid behind a rack of dresses and started changing, so Donna ended up shrugging and doing the same.

Annabeth and Helen were both taking their sweet time changing so Donna was the first to emerge from behind the rack wearing the elegant slip dress. When the other ladies saw her they were both a bit overwhelmed at the sight. "Oh Donna," Annabeth cried in sentimental tones. Helen shot her a death glare.

Thankfully, Donna was too distracted by the dress she was wearing to notice the out-of-place-for-merely-choosing-a-party-dress emotion coming from Annabeth. "It's really pretty," Donna sighed as she turned in front of the mirror. The dress fit as if it were made for her. It hugged her curves in all the right places, but the effect was sexy and flattering, not trashy. There was nothing frilly or over-indulgent about the gown, it was simple and elegant and perfectly Donna.

"That dress is beautiful on you," Helen remarked as she and Annabeth finally came to stand next to Donna. They had both purposely chosen dresses that wouldn't suit them—an easy task for Annabeth since most of the dresses didn't fit her diminutive stature-- so it was easy to turn the attention on Donna, even if Donna wasn't having it.

"You look lovely in that, Ma'am," Donna enthused when she saw Helen in a strapless gown in the palest rose.

Helen emitted an inelegant snort. "Don't mess with me, Donna. This just confirms that I definitely should wear a darker color. But you know what…" Helen brightened as if the thought had just floated into her brain right at that second. "You should wear that to the party."

"What?" Donna asked with a bit of wide-eyed embarrassment.

"Seriously, I really have changed my mind and am leaning towards something in maybe a bright red or violet and you said yourself it would be a shame to let all these beautiful dresses go to waste."

"I couldn't!" Donna was shaking her head as she vehemently refused.

"Of course you could. What were you going to wear?"

"I don't know. I haven't had time to shop, something from my closet I suppose."

"Well then it's settled. You'll wear this dress… then at least the people who sent them over won't have gone to all the effort for no reason."

Donna looked back towards her reflection. She really did love the dress. Longing was written all over her face and Helen silently declared victory.

CUT TO:
INT. WEST WING HALLWAY

"You needed a date. I got you a date," Bram stated firmly as he and Otto twisted their way through the halls being careful not to knock over any of the garland and other Christmas decorations that narrowed their normal path.

"I don't need a date," Otto returned quickly.

"You've been moping since before Christmas."

"I have not."

"You really have. Do you need me to list the reasons your crush on Lou is a bad idea?"

"My crush? You think I have a crush on her?" Otto scoffed at the notion.

"Yes, crush."

"Enlighten me."

"One, it makes you mopey."

"I'm not mopey."

"Not for you to decide. You're mopey. Two, it freaks me out."

"It freaks you out that Lou and I had s-"

Bram continued quickly before Otto could finish his thought. "Three, it's not good for office morale."

"You're blaming low office morale on me sleeping with Lou? Besides I haven't noticed anything wrong with office morale."

"I should have been more specific. It's my morale that's low."

"Your morale?"

"Yes! I'm still traumatized by witnessing your couch gymnastics in the subbasement. I didn't even know we had a subbasement until a week ago and now you've completely ruined it for me."

"I've ruined the subbasement for you?" Otto chuckled as if pleased that he could accomplish such a task as ruining a subbasement.

"You did. So to make it up to me you will go to the New Year's Eve Party with Sierra's friend."

"Sierra?" Otto asked with a crinkled brow. "The hooker?"

Bram stopped on a dime to glare at him. "You know she's not a hooker."

"But we thought she was a hooker."

"Funny, that's not the same thing as actually being a hooker. She's smart and sweet and sexy and… and I'm pretty sure her friend is almost as hot as she is." Bram gave him one appraising glance and decided it was time for the truth. "Besides Lou is not giving you the time of day and it's getting embarrassing. Yes, you had sex, but she's your boss and you need to move on."

Otto thought about that for several seconds before he grudgingly agreed. "Alright, I'm in."

CUT TO:
INT. CHIEF OF STAFF'S OFFICE

"How much?" Josh practically shrieked at Margaret.

"You heard me correctly the first time," Margaret answered without flinching.

"But you must be mistaken."

"No, that's how much the dress costs. And I'm told Donna's own word to describe said garment is `exquisite.' Isn't Donna having an exquisite gown worth any price? Besides, you're getting off easy with the party doubling as your reception and I believe the designer is giving you the sample price so you really shouldn't be complaining about money."

Josh took a deep breath. "No… no, of course not. I don't mind spending the money. One of the only things Donna said she wanted was a great dress so I want her to have that. I just… I didn't know any article of clothing could actually cost the same as a compact car."

"Yes, it costs the same as a compact car if that compact car is a Yugo circa 1982," Margaret replied in her usual deadpan manner.

Josh turned slightly narrowed eyes on her. "What else?"

"The travel arrangements are all settled. Your mother and her boyfriend, as well as the Moss's, will both be arriving mid day on New Year's Eve."

"Great." Josh sagged further into his chair with relief. If family was the most important detail to Donna, then it was the most important detail to him as well.

"The cake is ordered, carrot." Margaret continued down her checklist.

"Good, that's Donna's favorite."

Margaret dropped her pad and glared at him. "You don't say? Glad to know you already had that information and could have just told us."

"You didn't ask!" Josh defended as if on the hot seat. "I've never planned a wedding before. I don't know what information I have that's relevant to… anything."

"It's okay, calm down, everything is under control. Donna seems to like traditional flowers so we've gone with simple red roses for her bouquet." Margaret looked down her checklist once again. "Oh, here's something. Who's going to perform the ceremony?"

Josh's eyes widened. "I have no idea."

"What about the denomination of the ceremony? Maybe Donna has a minister or you have a rabbi you'd like to call…" Margaret trailed off at the look on Josh's face. "Of course you don't. Give it some thought." She glanced at her watch. "You have a little over 24 hours before this thing is scheduled to take place. No hurry."

As she left the office she met CJ and Sam at the door. "He's in a mood," she whispered as she passed them.

"I heard that!" Josh shook his head and then taking a deep breath he bellowed her name.

Like magic, Margaret materialized back in his doorway.

"Margaret, thank you very much for your help." Josh's manner could only be described as sincere.

A surprised, but very pleased, smile graced her face. "You're very welcome, boss."

Once she left he waved his hand at CJ and Sam motioning for them to enter. "For the record, I'm not in a mood."

"I'd be in a mood if I was supposed to be getting married tomorrow and still hadn't popped the question." Sam grinned widely as he settled back in one of the visitor's chairs.

CJ took the seat next to him. "I have to admit, Josh, you have an interesting all or nothing game plan when it comes to romance."

Josh ignored the dig and changed the subject. "So you've spent the day in meetings, have you been convinced to join the team? We need you to keep an eye on President Bartlet. Without your influence he might start thinking too big, like convincing the Chinese to abandon communism."

"And that would be a bad thing…" CJ challenged as she raised an eyebrow at him.

"That would be biting off more than we can chew this week," Josh replied practically before shooting her a pointed look. "Have you made a decision?"

"Not yet," CJ replied enigmatically. "So are all the details falling into place for tomorrow? Is the guest list complete?"

Josh started fiddling nervously with the phone cord on his desk. "There isn't an actual guest list per se. It's more of a word-of-mouth type thing."

"A word-of-mouth wedding?" CJ asked with traces of horror in her voice.

"Bad idea?" Josh asked in all seriousness.

"No." She quickly shook her head and then smiled at him. "I wouldn't have you do it any other way, Josh."

"Well, I think almost everyone who should be invited has heard." Josh frowned suddenly and his demeanor became slightly broody. "It's really unfortunate that Toby can't be here."

CJ felt her cheeks flush at the mention of their old friend. "He understands, you know he does."

They sat in silence for a moment, as if out of respect for their missing compatriot. Sam broke the quiet a moment later. "I should call Andi. I'm sure she'd love to be here."

"For that matter, isn't Charlie still knocking around Washington as well? You should call him," CJ suggested.

Sounding grateful for their input, Josh agreed. "It would be great if they came. I know Donna would really like it if they were there."

"You know if you'd just propose Donna could help you with some of these details." Sam leaned forward and propped his elbows on Josh's desk as he spoke. "Even make a few decisions herself about her own wedding."

"Actually she's making all the decisions, she just doesn't know it."

"Still, exactly how long is this all going to be a secret from Donna?" CJ probed.

"Just until I propose."

"Which is going to be when?" CJ kept pushing him. "Time is quickly dwindling away and the more people who are invited and find out, the more chance it has of getting back to her."

"I know. I know. I know!" Josh came perilously close to shouting the last `I know' as he rubbed both eyes with the heels of his palms in frustration. "I'll ask her tonight. The plan is to ask her tonight."

CUT TO:
INT. JOSH AND DONNA'S APARTMENT – LATER THAT SAME NIGHT

Josh took stock of the bedroom one last time. Everything seemed perfect, or as perfect as it was likely to get at this late juncture. Two glasses of wine sat on the nightstand and he'd moved all of the candles—the candles that had magically appeared all around the apartment when Donna had moved in permanently-- to their bedroom and lit them. The tiny flames were the only light in the room and cast just the romantic spell he desired. Donna had left work before him and when he'd gotten home she'd been in the bathtub. It had given him the perfect opportunity to prepare for his proposal. When she returned from the bathroom he would do it. He would ask her to be his wife.

When Donna entered the bedroom she immediately halted at the all-together surprising sight of their darkened bedroom aglow with candlelight. After a minute spent getting her bearings, she approached Josh's side of the bed where he had obviously been sitting and waiting for her. She put one hand on the side of his face and caressed his cheek lightly before speaking. "I love you so much, and you are so sweet to try and seduce me tonight, but I have such a headache and the bath didn't help. I think it's a migraine," she whimpered softly as she leaned over and pressed her lips to his forehead. "I promise you it's not an excuse to get out of sex. You know I don't do that, especially when you're so sweet and go to all this trouble, but tonight I'm really not up to it."

Josh was momentarily stunned; he obviously hadn't been expecting that at all. For a moment he didn't know what to do, mostly because more than anything he hated when Donna was in pain. And she clearly was. After a second, he motioned for her to lie down on the bed.

And just like that Josh temporarily abandoned his plan to propose and instead busied himself with lightly rubbing her temples until she was finally able to drop off to sleep.

DIP TO BLACK, FADE UP TO:
INT. EAST WING - DONNA'S OFFICE – NEW YEAR'S EVE MORNING

"Hey Donna!" CJ chirped expectantly when she popped her head into Donna's office.

"Oh, hey, CJ…" Donna looked up from her computer with a smile. "Good morning."

"Sooooo… how are things this morning?" CJ asked in anticipation of hearing news of the engagement.

"This morning…" Donna crinkled her brow. "Oh, did you talk to Josh?" When CJ nodded enthusiastically Donna continued, "He's so sweet to be concerned, but I feel fine today. Great, even. It's amazing how a good night's sleep can cure a migraine."

"A migraine?"

"Yeah, but I'm all better now."

CJ's eyes went wide as she realized what must have happened and she cursed herself for almost ruining the surprise. However, she didn't have much time for self-flagellation before Donna remembered CJ wasn't supposed to be there at all.

"Hey, what are you still doing here? Aren't you and Danny supposed to be on your way to Barbados today? Not that I'm upset you're still here, especially since I left a bit early last night and didn't get a
chance to say goodbye."