By two thirty Josh pushed his chair forcefully away
from his desk. He had to do it....he couldn't avoid
her desk forever. Somebody had to pack
away her things and send them to her mother....might
as well be him. He owed her that much.

As he stood and walked around the corner of his desk
Josh took several deep breaths then opened the door
and stepped into the hallway. Once there Josh moved
two doors to his left and plucked an empty printer
paper box from the storage room.

Margaret noticed him as he crossed the threshhold of
the bullpen. She quickly crossed the space between
them concern written all over her face.

"Josh? Are you all right?"Leo's assistant asked as she
saw him stare unseeningly at Donna's empty desk.

"Yeah, fine."Lyman replied quietly as he absently
twirled the box in his hands.

Margaret reached for the box. "Josh, I can do this for
you."

Lyman finally met her gaze. "Thanks, but I need to do
this."

Margaret nodded as she stepped back."Okay, you know
where I am if you need anything."

"Yeah."Josh replied as he slowly walked toward Donna's
desk. He set the empty box down on top of a pile of
paperwork that she hadn't been able to get to.

As he sat down in her chair Josh could feel the lump
start to rise in his throat. He swallowed hard and
shook his head to clear it. He reached
for the pictures that were propped against the
computer. There were four all together....one of her
family, one of the two of them with Sam after
the Democratic nomination, one of her brother's three
daughters, and one of just the two of them.

Josh's hand lingered on the last picture. He picked
the frame up and brought it closer as he tried to
figure out where it was taken. They were in a
resturant somewhere.....couples were dancing in the
background, heavy oak paneling lined the walls.

Josh leaned back in the chair as the fingers of his
right hand gently traced the outline of Donna's face.
She was smiling, her eyes sparlking with laughter. Her
dress was red, with thin straps, her hair was pulled
back in a french braid.

"Hey."Sam stated quietly as he came up behind Josh.

"Hey."Josh replied distractedly. "I was putting her
things away.....do you know where this was taken?"

Sam leaned over Lyman's shoulder to get a closer look
at the picture. "Looks like the Inaugural Ball."

"Yeah, that's right."Josh replied softly his gaze
never leaving the picture.

"Josh,we need to talk."Sam commented as he stepped
back from the chair.

"Think her parents will mind if I keep this one?"Lyman
asked quietly as he gently set the picture down on the
desk.

Sam shook his head as he placed a hand on his friend's
shoulder. "I don't think they'll mind. When you have a
few minutes we need to talk."

"Sure."Josh replied absently as he opened one of the
drawers on the left side of Donna's desk.

"Okay."Sam acknowledged as he turned and walked away.

Josh barely noticed his friend's exit....his gaze was
fixed on one of the items in the drawer.
It was the book he had given her for Christmas.
Josh tenderly traced the cover before gently lifting
it out of the drawer. He could still see her face
clearly as she read the inscription he had written on
the inside cover.

It'd barely been twenty four hours and he already
missed her terribly.....how was he going to make it
through the rest of his life without her? There were so many things that he never got a chance
to tell her.

Slowly Josh stood and placed the book carefully in the
center of the box. He turned and walked away from the
desk and headed toward Sam's office.