Getting Back There
They'd been laughing all morning on the plane.
"We're using your office." Donna announced pushing Josh playfully out into the corridor. "The president has his own."
Deana handed her a stack of mail.
"She's kicking me out of my office." Josh told Charlie's little sister.
"This surprises you how?" Dee muttered looking back over her shoulder at him.
"I hate your assistant." He teasingly told Donna.
"Josh?"
"Huh?"
"Get out."
"It's my office."
"Yes and I'm using it." She looked quickly into the presidents office. "Ma'am we can use Josh's office."
"Your boss has her own suite on this plane." He reminded his wife as Helen Santos slipped past him and sat at his desk.
"Yes and my husband has an office that he's not using. Now go." She pushed him into the Presidents office.
"Sir."
"Josh did you just get beat up by our wives?" Santos chuckled.
"What's new?"
"Whatta ya got?" Matt nodded again with a chuckle.
"Lou wanted you to go over the campaign speech for tonight." The President held it up. "Annabeth's been getting questions about your view on 23-416."
"What's my view on 23-416?"
"Not a big fan Sir." Josh said blowing air through his lips.
"Okay what else?"
"The secret service needs to go over some things with us about the Disney World trip and the kids. I'm gonna farm out my parental duties to Donna.. you wanna-?"
"Yeah what makes you think my wife will go for that? Your kid is two. Mine are eleven and nine. I'm gonna have to use the Dad voice."
"Yeah.. I farm that out to Donna too." Josh teased. "Oh and we have to go over the New Hampshire trip. We'll be staying with the Bartlett's in Manchester. You and the first family are welcome."
"We're going to stay at the Governor's Mansion. This is your family reunion Josh, not ours. Tell President Bartlett thank you."
Josh nodded.
"Mathew!" Helen Santos' panicked shout rang out across the plane.
The president had started out from behind his desk by the time Deanna had made it to the doorway.
"Josh. They need you next store. We're going to need Ron Butterfield on the phone."
Josh moved quickly past Dee and into his office. He met Donna's wide eyes as Matt moved in behind him. One of Helen's agents sat quietly beside Donna on the couch.
"What?"
"We got a death threat." Helen said as another agent carefully removed the letter from her hand.
"Someone threatened to kill you?" Santos asked his wife softly.
"It's not uncommon. It's only uncommon that the letter reached you Ma'am. Someone had your pass code for-." Josh began.
"No." Helen said firmly as Santos reached for the now bagged letter. "Not me. Donna."
Josh stopped breathing and looked at his wife. She starred back blankly.
"Oh my God." Santos grimaced as he read the words.
"Let me see it." Josh whispered.
"I don't think that's a good-." Santos began.
"She's gotten threats before.."
"Not like this.." Donna whispered finding her voice.
"What did it say?" He made his way over to the couch and sat down on her other side. "Donnatella?"
"It's very graphic." Matt whispered.
"It says how they'd kill us." Donna told him.
"You and me?"
"No." Matt's voice croaked out of his chest.
"Me and Noah." She swallowed hard and wiped her tear filled eyes. Josh stopped breathing.
"What kind of psycho describes in detail how they'd kill a two year old boy?" Matt grumbled.
Donna clapped her hand to her mouth and ran towards the bathroom door. Josh shook off his shock and slowly got to his feet to follow her. Matt Santos put his arm around his wife and looked at agent Sullivan.
"Savannah, I want extra protection on the kids. I want an agent so close to Noah that he has baby food on his jacket, got it?" Matt shouted, wincing at the sound of Donna's sobbing and retching from the bathroom. "Get this out of here before Josh tries to read it."
"Who says they're going to cut off a baby's toes?" Helen breathed from under his arm. Santos swallowed not wanting to know the answer to that question. He turned to see Edie standing in the doorway. "Get a medic in there to check on Donna please." He whispered at her. Josh opened the door just enough to stick out his head.
"Dee, will you go get Noah and take him to Sam please?" He asked softly. She nodded and he closed the door.
"Fill him in." He told the agent with the note. "Deanna tell him to stay with Noah and we'll meet him in the conference room."
Josh laid Donna on the bed in his office, thankful for the sedative. She'd stopped throwing up long enough to fall asleep.
"Josh?" Deanna's soft voice called into the dark room. "They're waiting for you in the conference room." Josh looked back at Donna. "I'll stay with her."
"Thanks Dee." He said softly putting his hand on her arm as he wandered through the plane.
He knew Sam had read the letter the moment he saw him. The man's forehead creased into two angry wrinkles and his lips pressed into a white line. He was holding Noah's sleeping form tightly against him. It was obvious if you were going to look at this kid the wrong way you were going to have to kill Sam Seaborn first. Josh smiled at how Noah had buried his face into Sam's neck.
His eyebrows went up when Josh walked intot he room. He moved over to the couch and Sam met him there. Lyman peeled his son away from his best friend and kissed his forehead.
"What do we have?"
"We're compiling a list of all those who have access to Donna's postal code." Sam told him softly.
"You read it?" Again he knew the answer when Seaborn swallowed and ran his hand up Noah's back.
"You shouldn't." He choked.
"Is this about me? About being my wife?" He asked. "Or about being Helen's COS?"
"It's not clear. There was no issue mentioned. There was only a reference to what it would do to your sanity. No grievance." Agent Savannah Sullivan shook her head as she spoke. "Just a graphic detailed description of how they were to be tortured and killed."
Josh rubbed his face.
"Josh, Ron Butterfield here." Lyman looked at the phone on the desk.
"Ron what do we do?"
"We've contacted the first families school and doubled security. We've doubled the agents on Donna and The First Lady as well as all three children."
"Thank you."
"We sent an agent to pick up your mother and bring her to the hotel. We decided you should stay there this trip instead of with her."
"I called her Josh. I told her there was a threat made on you. I didn't have the heart to-." The deputy chief of staff shook his head.
"Thanks Sam." His voice was muffled against Noah's brown curls. "Ron? I want Gina on Noah's detail." Gina was Zoë's old agent. She was the best there was.
"Done." Ron said simply.
"What about Deana? When I got threats they'd take Donna home at night and check her place."
"It's all set up Mr. Lyman." Savannah said softly. Josh nodded and leaned back against the couch listening to Santos dismiss the meeting and the group file out.
"Okay?" Sam said softly. "What's are plan?"
"If he's not in the White House he's with one of us at all times." Josh said firmly. "You, me or Donna.
"Exactly what I was thinking." He sighed. "I called Peter and had him send someone over to upgrade your security system."
"Did you call Ainsly?"
"Yeah. Ron recommended a private agency to get someone for Leo." He shook his head. "My six month old needs a body guard Josh."
"My two year old gets death threats." Josh kissed his son.
"When this is all over? I mean when our eight years are up of course.." Josh met his gaze. "You're not roping me into another one Josh. Not after this." Sam's eyes broke away as Josh nodded and landed on Noah's peaceful face.
"I don't even want to take him off the plane."
"Yeah." Sam pressed his forehead into his palm. "How's Donna?"
"Sedated."
"Yeah I figured after.." Josh looked at him pleadingly as his voice trailed off.
"No Josh." He shook his head. "No."
"How can I comfort her if I don't know what it said?"
"You read that? You'll do something stupid. Or worse you'll have a major melt down and Donna will have to take care of you. Josh trust me you don't want to read it." Sam absently stroked Noah's chubby toes. "I wish I hadn't. You don't want to know."