How long is he gonna stay?” Josh groaned, taking the stairs two at a time, wishing he‘d remembered to go to the gym a little more regularly.

Donna waited on the other end of the phone, staring at her newly painted pink nails, silently waiting for him to come around to her way of thinking.

“What’s wrong with a hotel?” He tripped and had to grab the rail to stop himself from landing on his face.

“We have a spare room. He’s your best friend.”

“Debatable.”

“Ok, because CJ asked you.” Donna smiled as she heard his silent acknowledgement.

“Ok. But only for a few days.”

“CJ’s just worried about him rushing back to New York and over doing it. He needs to take it easy for a few days then I’m guessing he’ll go home. Or move back here permanently.”

“Not even funny.” From his recollection of campaign stops Toby wasn’t a great room mate. Add in a trio of boisterous boys and it would be something resembling his relationship with Mandy.

“Josh, I’m just glad one of us could help,” Donna said, sighing, her thoughts returning to Annabeth and Hannah.

“I know. Anyways I’m there.“

“Any yet you still have your cell on,“ she chastised.

He groaned. “’k. Switching off. I’ll give Hannah a hug from you.” Josh looked through the window and his heart leaped into his stomach. It took a few minutes of deep focused breathing before he could look in again.

Annabeth appeared a few seconds later. “I thought it was you. How are you?“

“I’m ok. I should be asking about you.“

She shrugged. “I’ll survive.“

“How’s she doing?” he asked, studying Annabeth rather than the small child beyond the window.

“Sleeping a lot and sick,” Annabeth said softly, watching her little girl through the window. “But her test results are rebounding.”

Josh gave her a mischievous grin. “Unlike our approval rating.”

“Problems?” Annabeth asked, suddenly aware of the outside world again. For weeks she had been focused on Hannah and her needs, work and politics were far from her thoughts. The sudden realization brought her to reality.

“Not yours.” He handed over the sealed bag. “Donna sent a bear.”

“Thank you.” Annabeth gently squeezed the bear and began to study her shoes as if it was the first time she had ever seen them.

Josh‘s senses, so usually blind to everything, heightened. “Anything you need?”

“My resignation will be on your desk first thing Monday morning,” Annabeth announced, staring through the window at her daughter, knowing that she should have done it so much sooner.

“What?” Josh asked, his face showing his confusion.

“It’s gonna take a while for her to get better and I wanna be there.”

“Annabeth.” He took her hands in his own. “I’m putting you on a leave of absence. Take six months, a year, whatever you need, but as long as I’ve got a job, you’ve got a job.”

She opened her mouth to protest but he shook his head.

“I may call on you for advice from time to time, nothing major, you know, what tie I should be wearing, whether the President‘s slouching in Press conferences. The job comes with health insurance. You need it. And it means I can check in on you from time to time for lunch and stuff.” There was so much more to it than that, and it wasn’t what sons did for old friends of their fathers, it was about family and the man he looked upon as a father. They were both too emotional still to talk about it and he knew that the chances of the two of them ever talking about Leo and not crying was so remote that they would ignore the subject forever. Part of him still wished it was him who had found Leo to save her the pain, instead he had set his mind to protecting her from pain for as long as he lived.

“Thank you,” she whispered, squeezing his arm.

“Donna sends a her love and a hug and .. .I guess you should get back. She’s waking up.”

Annabeth turned and nodded. “I’ll catch you later.”

He watched through the window as she washed her hands and slipped on the gown before making her way over to the bed, feeling a little intrusive as she gently kissed her daughter. He, more than anyone, knew what the gesture meant - is this real?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Toby pressed a hand against the window pane and stared through the glass. He was finally getting out after two days of confinement and CJ’s witty humour, Hannah unfortunately was going to be staying for a while.

Hannah looked so frail and delicate, her skin almost translucent, that he briefly wondered how she was going to make it through.

Annabeth looked up and smiled. Leaning in, she whispered something to her daughter and Hannah waved at him, her own smile weak. But he knew then that she would make it, her father’s determination in her face.

It was going to be a long road to recovery, Toby knew. The chemotherapy had been bad enough, her long blonde hair beginning to thin, her weight plummeting, and now she had the post-transplant to deal with.

He’d wanted to sit with her, telling her stories and playing chess with her but he knew the risk of infection was too high, instead he’d sent in books and tapes and DVDs to make the days ahead slightly more bearable. And he planned to phone every day and tell her stories down the line. When he had received the call to say he was a perfect match he had promised himself that he would be more than just a donor, and that he wouldn‘t let her down the way he had so many others. The poor child, he suspected, would end up hating him but at least he would have tried.

The next two weeks to a month would be the most critical. With a compromised immune system the last thing any of them wanted to do was to give her an infection. She was going to have to endure a cocktail of antibiotics and blood transfusions, which involved needles and swallowing pills the size of oranges, well not quite, but certainly nothing Toby wanted to endure . Then there would be the daily blood samples. Finally, if she showed signs that the engraft was working and producing normal blood cells, the pills would diminish and she could go home. It was the day, they were all waiting for, and they only had eight weeks to wait.

Toby waved back at them as Josh appeared beside him with his bag.

Josh pulled a face an the little girl rolled her eyes. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” Toby replied.

They both blew a kiss through the glass before ambling down the corridor like the two grumpy old men they were.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Toby!” Donna threw her arms around his neck.

“Hey.”

She took his bag ignoring his protests. “I’ve put you in the guest room. There’s extra bedding in the closet, towels on the bed. The bathroom’s next door and we’re the other end of the corridor if you need us.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Throw any laundry in the machine and help yourself to anything in the fridge,” she continued, leading him up the stairs.

Josh pouted.

“You can stop looking like that. Your laundry ends up on the bedroom floor.” She turned back to Toby and smiled. “Make yourself at home. Dinner will be in an hour.”

“Can’t we just order take out?” Josh begged, giving Toby a panicked look.

Donna folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes.

Toby, being the wise man that he was, stepped over the threshold of his new home. “I’ll be in here if you need me.” He glanced once more at Donna and decided Josh was definitely on his own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On days like today, CJ missed Washington, not that she had really gotten to enjoy Washington while she had lived there, but it brought back more happy than sad memories. Elsewhere in the country, winter was yet to turn into Spring, but here the sun was out and everyone was starting to come out of their winter funks.

She walked along the side walk, enjoying the warm may evening, a renewed vigour in her step. Earlier, she’d checked in with Annabeth and things looked to be going well. It was still early days but Hannah was responding and showing no signs of rejection. Annabeth seemed more positive than she had in weeks, although a little hesitant still to leave her daughter for more than a moment. It was a sentiment CJ could appreciate, so often apart from her son.

After three days of confinement with a grumpy, stressed out, Toby, CJ was looking forward to a night out with Kate and a conversation that didn’t revolve around how Santos was screwing up the country. Of course she would have to check in with him before she caught her flight, but he had Josh now too, someone else he could learn to communicate with, and although Donna probably wouldn’t thank her, they needed time together.

“Hey,” Kate said, waving her over to the bar as she entered the tiny Georgetown restaurant. “Here.”

“Sorry I’m late.”

“No problem. The table will be ready in five minutes. Wanna a drink?” Kate waved her wine glass.

“A grasshopper.” As much as CJ would enjoy sharing a bottle of wine or two it didn’t seem the wisest course of action when she would spend most of the night on a plane.

Kate leaned over the bar and ordered the green concoction. “How’s Hannah?” she asked over her shoulder as she flashed the bar tender a little more cleavage and got his attention.

“So far so good?” CJ pulled out the empty stool. “She’s still throwing up and having blood transfusions but she seems to be getting the spark back in her eyes.”

“I thought I might send over some books.” Unused to buying for a seven year old she had walked into a book store and asked the clerk to pick out half a dozen books appropriate for the little girl. They still sat in a box in her hallway as she contemplated whether to visit.

“Hannah would like that,” CJ acknowledged. “I’m keeping Annabeth in chocolate and trashy magazines.”

The grasshopper appeared on the bar and CJ took a lengthy sip, feeling more relaxed than she had in days.

“How’s Toby?” Kate asked with a smile.

CJ opened her mouth to speak but the waiter appeared to show them to their table, effectively saving CJ momentarily from an awkward conversation.

“Would you like an appetiser?” the waiter asked, his pen poised over his notebook.

The two women looked at each and shook their heads. “No, thanks. Just a minute to study the menu.”

He slipped away, leaving them to scan the menu in companionable silence. Once he had reappeared and taken their orders, they returned to silence.

“Will and I have called it quits,“ Kate announced suddenly, wanting to unburden herself.

“Again?“ CJ hoped she didn’t sound as wary as she felt. Kate and Will had been somewhat of an awkward disaster from the beginning, not quite comfortable anywhere other than the bedroom. Their on-off again relationship was at times amusing, at others stressful for all parties involved.

“I think we’ve flogged that horse to death. Time to get out there and have a little fun.“ Her smile didn’t quite meet her eyes. The prospect of yet another failure in her life, at a time when she was fast running out of opportunities, was a little too depressing.

“He proposed again, didn’t he?“

She nodded mutely. “But we’re definitely over.

“I’ve heard that before.” CJ stared at her drink. “Generally each time one of you needs something the other doesn’t. He adores you.”

“Yeah, he adored Toby too and look how that worked out. They are barely on speaking terms.”

“I don’t think he felt quite the same way abut Toby. How did he take it?”

“He gave me that injured puppy look and asked why. When I told him that I didn’t feel that way about him, he left the restaurant.” Kate sounded resigned to the fact. She did love Will but it lacked the intensity she had witnessed in her friends relationships, and she had known for a long time that she never wanted to get married, she had just planned for the two of them to carry on the way they were avoiding the obvious fork in the road.

CJ nodded, the imagery and her friendship with Will enough to fill in the blanks. “He’ll get over it.”

“Maybe in the next lifetime,” Kate acknowledged.

The food arrived and the conversation turned to the rest of their friends and their respective jobs, the resigned atmosphere quickly replaced with light laughter.

“So what about Toby?” Kate asked, genuinely smiling for the first time all evening, as she finished her meal.

“What about Toby?” CJ asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.

“Are you two . . . Involved?” Kate queried with a smile. “Or is ignorance really bliss?” She missed their friendship, the ability to walk down the corridor and chat daily or to go out for drinks. The few times they did see each other each year helped maintain the friendship but it wasn’t as easy as it once had been. They were both equally at fault for that.

“We’re where we were five months ago,” CJ replied, staring into her water glass. “Good friends.”

“That’s not where you were five months ago. The two of you were barely on speaking terms. Are you ever gonna tell him?”

“No. Ok, so dessert or no?”

“Not very subtle.”

“What do you want from me?” CJ hissed. “Toby, I have these dreams about you getting naked, wanna make them reality?” She held her hands up in surrender.

“A little too subtle. Grabbing him and kissing him might be more effective.”

“Didn’t work out so well last time I did it,” CJ sighed, failure taunting her.

“I don’t know. You seemed to be having some pretty great sex for a while,” Kate teased.

“Well, yeah, that part was pretty good. But when you realise that there’s little more than sex there . . .”

“Or that you love someone else,” Kate interjected.

CJ rolled her eyes. “That’s not why we broke up.”

“I know. So are you going to see him later!” Her eyes danced as she picked up the tell tale blush on CJ’s cheeks. “I knew it.”

CJ waved her off, her friend’s teasing hitting the mark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CJ made her way up the stoop and knocked on the door, listening to the sounds of chaos beyond the door as she waited.

Seconds later the door flung open and Josh appeared.

“Hey you.”

“Mi amour.” Dropping her bag on the wooden hallway floor, she leaned up and kissed his cheek. “I came to say goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

“To Toby,” she shook her head in mock-despair.

“He’s upstairs, unpacking,” Josh explained, lowering his voice. “How long is he staying?”

CJ squeezed his arm, leaning in close. “I don’t know, Josh. But he needs to be here.”

Josh frowned, his body seemly to move towards her conspiratorially. He had wondered since she asked if there was something wrong, something that he should know, sadness and tragedy never far from his immediate thoughts. “Something I should know?”

“The guest room?” CJ checked, ignoring the question, not willing to voice her fears about how Toby was doing.

Josh nodded, his frown deepening as he realized she wasn’t going to be forthcoming, before heading back towards the kitchen.

The bedroom door was locked and CJ paused, preparing herself to say goodbye again. Her fingers lightly tapped the door before she pushed it open.

“You realize that you’re leaving me in a home for the mentally insane,” Toby announced by way of greeting.

“You’ll fit right in.”

“Funny girl.”

“Look, you and Josh . . .”

“For the record he’s not my type,” Toby grumbled, not in the least bit happy with CJ’s plans for him.

CJ rolled her eyes dramatically. “Spend some time together, figure out the book, your love life, his resume . . . I don’t care, but have a go at communicating.”

“What?” He never was quite sure what she was on about and fixing a problem he and Josh didn’t have seemed a little extreme even for her.

“Be good to each other and I’ll come back next week and help you look for an apartment.”

He looked even more confused.

“Well I can’t imagine you and Josh as roommates for very long without killing each other and I love Donna too much to put her through that.” CJ gave him her most disarming smile that should have been enough to warn him.

“I have an apartment. Ah, this is part of your plan to sort out my life.” It was becoming clearer to him.

“You’ll find it so much easier to write here. And the twins are just down the road.” She patted his leg gently. “And it’ll give me somewhere to stay when I’m in town.”

Toby smiled to himself. The prospect of her organizing his life wasn’t a great one but them spending more time together was an improvement on recent years. “Doesn’t it feel a little strange sitting on a bed?”

“Like teenagers on a date.”

“You had some strange dates.”

“Still do. Anyways, I need to head out to the airport.” She leaned over on impulse and kissed his softly on the lips. “I don’t kiss all my dates.”

“I don’t let all my dates kiss me.”

CJ raised an eyebrow silently in question and inwardly growled. It hadn’t even occurred to her that he might be dating and she didn’t like it. Jealousy wasn’t one of her nicest traits and it was one she managed to stifle most of the time. Something told her it wouldn‘t be so easy in the future.

Toby rose to his feet. “I’ll see you out.” He placed his hand protectively on her back, guiding he through the door, wondering why he‘d said that, and ultimately whether he had imagined the fleeting look of envy cross her face. He could only hope it was real.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Toby’s short visit had turned quickly into a permanent arrangement.

Within three days he knew he wouldn’t be returning to New York anytime soon. There was something strangely comforting about living back in the close proximity of his friends, although he had no plans to admit that to anyone any time soon.

Within a week Donna calmly told Josh that Toby was relocating. His reaction could be classed as anything but pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t that he didn’t like seeing Toby again or arguing policy with him, it was more that certain aspects of his life had forceably been put on hold for the duration of his stay, namely Donna was withholding sex. That, and the fact his kids were spending more time with Uncle Toby than they were with their father, saddened him.

The arrangement itself seemed to work for everyone.

Donna and Josh would leave for work early in the morning, often long before Toby got up. Once the kids had departed for school, Toby had the house to himself. He loved the peace and tranquillity, CNN or Congressional TV playing in the background and the generous supply of pie Donna kept in the freezer for him. During the day he would write, often hours at a time, sometimes on his laptop, sometimes on scraps of paper in the bath. It was a strange existence but one that was proving productive and whenever writer’s block set in he phoned Hannah.

Two weeks in to his new rooming arrangement, Toby ended the lease on his apartment and arranged for his belongings to go into storage. Satisfied that their children were in the safest of hands, Donna and Josh found themselves working later in the evenings. Most evenings Toby would pick the boys up from school, cook them nutritious and balanced meals, the likes of which they had never seen before and put them to bed.

It drove Donna crazy that on the rare nights she had off Toby and Josh watched sports, munching on salty snacks and drinking beer while she tried to get the kids to bed. She liked having someone else to share custody of Josh with, if only because it meant she worried less.

It drove Josh crazy that Toby roamed the house at night drinking his beer and eating pie when he couldn’t write. He did, however enjoy the leftovers that frequented his fridge, edible and resembling actual food rather than Donna’s burnt offerings. More than that, he loved the long weekends he now got to enjoy with his kids and playing Uncle Josh to Toby’s twins. The one thing that had eluded him for most of his adult life now encompassed him daily - family.

The kids loved having Uncle Toby live with them. There was always someone there when they got home from school, they got to eat well and the baby could tug happily on his beard.

The Moss-Lyman phone bill doubled with the long late night calls to California.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ok, that’s it guys,” Toby announced, closing the book, his third one of the night, and rising to his feet. “Everyone into bed.”

“Does that include me?” she asked, stepping over the threshold into the chaos of the boys room.

He looked up sharply and failed to suppress a smile. “Hey.”

“I missed the story?” CJ asked softly, her lips quirking up into a smile at the scene she witnessed before her.

“Aunt CJ,” three little voices yelled in unison, tearing across the room and launching themselves at her legs, the smallest of which tumbling into her arms..

“Hey guys, how’s it going?” CJ asked, ruffling their hair and kissing the tops of their heads.

“I was trying to get them to bed,” Toby admonished gently. In truth he had been trying for over an hour, the warm bath and hot milk failing, two stories doing little to calm them down, instead he had read them his manuscript.

“Sorry.” She lifted up the youngest one and carried him back to bed. “Time for bed, boys.” At their groans she shook her head. “I’ll be here in the morning.”

“CJ, can we have another story?” they begged in unison, bouncing up and down on the bed.

Glancing at Toby, she shrugged. “One more, then bed.”

Leo patted the bed beside him and she settled herself next to him as Toby perched on the end of the bed, book in hand.

Ten minutes and two stories later, they had them all in their own beds and falling asleep.

“I didn’t know what time you were getting in,” Toby said softly, closing the bedroom door, checking as he went that everything was okay..

“I wanted to surprise you.” They headed downstairs.

“I see you found him,” Donna called as they entered the kitchen. “Coffee?” At their nods, she poured two cups and handed them to them. “It’s obviously going to be a little crowded tonight so I’ll let you two figure out who’s gonna take the couch.” Donna opened the refrigerator and sighed. “Chocolate cake, Toby? You spoil us. I’m going to take a bath and eat this before my deranged husband gets home.” She held up a generous slice. “See you in the morning.”

“Night, Donna,” CJ called after her, walking to the fridge and lifting out the cake.

“I’ll take the couch,” Toby announced, watching CJ lick crumbs from her lips and feeling an all too familiar stirring in his stomach.

“And have your back playing up for the next two days, no way.” Although she wouldn’t admit it, she also couldn’t handle Toby bemoaning his sacrifice to her at every opportunity.

Toby rolled his eyes dramatically, wondering just how they still managed to find something to argue about every visit. “Then what? I’m not going to let you slum it.”

“We can share, Toby.” She said it before she thought. They had shared rooms before, couches even, beds not so much and definitely not alone. She hoped they had reached a point where it wouldn’t be awkward or weird, although with Toby she wouldn’t guarantee it.

He had been considering offering himself but at the prospect of her saying no, he’d stopped himself. There was also the fact he wasn’t sure he would be able to sleep with her laying beside him.

“We’ll probably spend half the night sitting up talking anyway.” CJ gave him a small smile and helped herself to more cake. “So, what’s up?”

Inwardly he groaned, knowing that by talking she meant trying to fix everything that was wrong in his life and that would no doubt take all night. He rose to his feet and set about making more coffee.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Josh opened the refrigerator and lifted out a carton of chocolate milk.

“Good morning, Joshua,” CJ said, her lips pursed as she waited for him to turn.

“CJ? What are you doing here?” he squeaked, almost drenching her in milk.

“Thanks for making me feel so welcome,” she teased, dropping into a chair. “Love the new look by-the-way.”

Josh glanced down and inwardly groaned. He wasn’t used to having guests and the idea of having to dress before he walked around his house was foreign to him. Hence the fact he was wearing his boxers. “I wasn’t expecting guests.”

“CJ’s not a guest, she’s family,” Donna announced, bustling into the kitchen, already dressed in a blue pant suit. She removed the carton of milk from Josh and handed him juice in it‘s place. “You’ve found the coffee. Do you want some breakfast? I have yoghurt, freshly made.”

“I’m fine, thanks.”

Donna side stepped Josh and began to remove food from the fridge. “The kids will be down soon. Josh, get dressed.”

He continued to look between them, confusion evident on his face.

“I came to see Toby.”

“Oh, stop doing your goldfish impression, Josh. CJ is helping Toby look for an apartment. I suggested your place.” Donna laid out breakfast on the table and made herself a cup of coffee

“My place?”

“Unless you’re gonna do me a favour and move back there.” She smiled sweetly as her cell rang. “Donatella Moss. . . Good morning, Ma’am. . . .Of course. . . Twenty minutes.” She returned the phone to her bag. “I need to go. The First Lady needs me.” It made a nice change, she had to admit, from Josh disappearing at important moments on the whim of the President.

“What about the kids?” Josh whined, seeing his carefully orchestrated day dissolving before him.

“I’m sure they’ll help you get ready.” Donna stuck her tongue out at him. “And if not I have faith in CJ and Toby.”

“Faith in me for what?” Toby asked, entering the kitchen and giving CJ a smile that made Donna wonder how long they’d been sleeping together.

“CJ will explain.” She kissed Josh’s cheek and rushed out of the kitchen. “CJ, treat the place like your own. I‘ll be home early tonight and we can have dinner.” As she passed Toby, she said, “The laundry basket is over flowing. Powder’s in the cupboard.”

Toby shrugged and headed towards the laundry, humming as he went.

Josh glanced over his shoulder at Toby and back at CJ, his face scrunched up in consternation.

“It isn’t what you think,” CJ explained.

“See now I actually have the image in my head,” he complained, rising to his feet. “I’ll be upstairs, getting the kids dressed.”

“We’ll be down here, making breakfast.”

He rolled his eyes. “Maybe Toby should move into the apartment.” The idea of Toby and CJ as anything more than his friends was way too much for his sensitive system, especially before he’d had coffee and bagels.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It hardly seemed like two weeks since she left and CJ was back in DC. After years of barely visiting her friends once a year she seemed drawn to the city that had shown her tragedy and love. Part of that draw she knew was concern for Toby’s state of mind and Hannah’s health. Mostly it was because she wanted to see Toby.

Her boss, who she saw infrequently, allowed her the freedom to plan her own hours, to schedule meetings and trips without checking with him first. Franklin Hollis was no Jed Bartlet but he was a good guy and his money was being put to good use, and she felt better about herself each time she travelled to Africa and saw a little progress on their project.

In ten days she would again fly out to the Sudan and oversee the construction of an infrastructure but for a few days at least she had some downtime. In the three days since she had arrived she had sat in on three meetings on the Hill, spent a whole afternoon watching Sesame Street with Hannah, had dinner with Toby twice and helped him move into his new apartment.

Which was probably why they needed some time apart. Working together for fourteen hours a day was bad enough but they had their own offices to retire to. Sharing a room and then an apartment was proving a little claustrophobic for both of them, hence today they were taking a break. They weren’t even dating and she felt the need to escape him.

Leaving him to write and unpack his forty packing cases of books, CJ had headed over to Arlington and a much needed visit with Leo. She missed him, his guidance, his love, his caustic humour in the face of tragedy. Today she just missed his presence.

Abbey held her arm as they climbed down from the tour bus and walked the hundred yards to his grave. The older woman seemed to have aged in the months since Jed’s death, no longer so confident and self assured and it wasn’t until she picked her up from Zoey’s apartment that CJ realized how frail she had suddenly become.

CJ stooped and laid the bundle of gardenias on the grave. It hadn’t been until after his death that she had even known that his favoured flower was a gardenia. He had always sent her roses or lilies in apology or celebration, sometimes just because, and she had never sent him flowers. It seemed important that she didn’t know that fact. Then there were so many things about him that she had not learnt until after he was gone, things that they could have shared. Her mouth moved but no words were uttered aloud as she expressed her feelings for him and told him about her days.

Abbey gently bobbed beside her, running her fingers over the granite and saying a prayer.

While the tourists wandered the well treaded paths looking for famous names, the two women quietly visited their old friend. They stood side by side in silence for a moment, emotions running high before Abbey cleared her throat and reminded her it was time to go.

Their next stop was to pick the boys up from school. Donna and Josh were working late again, the President‘s upcoming trip to Russia weighing heavily on their schedules so CJ had offered to take the boys and give the nanny an afternoon of freedom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Tidal Basin was busy, tourists enjoying the scorching Summer weather, government workers taking advantage of Congress being out of session to indulge in a little sunbathing, and children on school trips enjoying some downtime between monuments.

Abbey and CJ were stretched out on the grass, sharing a picnic as the boys playing Frisbee near by.

“How are things going with you and Toby?” Abbey asked casually, her eyes studying CJ.

“We’re fine.” CJ watched the boys with one eye and Abbey with the other. The idea of a picnic had been Grandma’s idea while she was in town. Toby had called off, announcing that his muse was in town, which CJ suspected was a lie, his way of avoiding spending an afternoon with CJ and Abbey.

“Really?”

“Abbey!”

“CJ?” Abbey mimicked.

“Auntie CJ?” Joey called. “He won’t throw the Frisbee.”

“Boys,” she warned in a tone that seemed to come with motherhood. “Play nicely or we’ll go home.”

The two boys pulled a face.

CJ handed the baby a cookie and turned back to Abbey. “I like him, is all.” It was an admittance on her part or at least part of one. Her feelings for Toby ran deeper, bordering on something she couldn’t quite identify.

“So what’s the problem?” Abbey asked with a smile, wanting her girls to be happy, seeing a simple solution to every problem.

“You mean other than it’s the craziest notion I’ve ever had.”

“Why?” She sipped her water as if they were talking about the weather.

“I’m too old to be having feelings for an old friend. I’ve known him for nearly thirty years, why now? We live on opposite sides of the country. He’s Toby for Christ’s sake. And I’m not entirely sure that he even knows I’m a woman.”

Abbey rolled her eyes. “He noticed you were a woman the day he met you.”

“Let’s talk about something else.”

“Maybe now is the right time. There’s nothing and no one to complicate matters. And using geography as an excuse is lame.”

“That’s changing the subject?” CJ asked dryly.

“When’s he moving into Josh’s old apartment?”

CJ rolled her eyes. Abbey obviously wasn‘t going to let up about Toby, more than that, she seemed to light up at the prospect of a romance. “He did. Yesterday.”

Abbey nodded. “How’s the book coming?”

“Painfully.” CJ had tried to help but he had made it clear that she wasn’t really helping. It was all too apparent though that he needed assistance. She glanced at her watch. “We should get them back.”

“When are you flying home?”

“Tomorrow. Six am.”

“Do you have to go back so soon?” Abbey asked as they packed up the picnic and began to walk back to the car.

“It’s my week to have Thomas and I need to get back to work. Why don’t you come with me?” CJ urged. “We can go to the beach, grill, maybe drive up into the hills.”

Abbey shook her head. It sounded like a great idea but she wasn’t sure she could handle the flight or being so far away from home or Jed.

“Then come for a visit soon.”

“Maybe.” She choked back a sob.

“Abbey?” She stopped what she was doing and turned to face her friend. “What’s going on?”

“I can’t go on without him,” she sobbed, finally breaking down. “I want Jethro.”

CJ wrapped her arms around her friend and held her close, allowing her to cry. “You’re not alone, Abbey. I know we can’t replace him and we wouldn’t want to but you have a lot of caring people who love you and want to be there for you,” she whispered. “Night or day you can call and if you need us, we’ll jump on a plane.”

“I’m sorry.” Abbey swiped at her eyes. “I didn’t mean to dump this on you.”

“That’s what friends are for. Really, call me anytime. I’ll bring Tom for a weekend.” She stole a glance at her friend. “Come on, let’s stop and get a coffee. I‘ll order the boys ice cream and we can talk some more.”

“Isn’t it their bedtime?”

“I don’t think it matters for one night.” CJ replied taking the baby’s hand again. “The longer we keep them occupied the more likely it is they’ll go to sleep.”

“They’re Josh’s kids. Do they ever go to sleep?” she laughed weakly, taking Leo’s other hand, relieved finally that she had someone to unburden herself to, knowing that there was light at the end of the tunnel however long the tunnel might be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Josh! Josh!” Donna whispered urgently, nudging him with her arm.

“Yeah?”

“There’s someone in the house.”

He rubbed his eyes, trying to comprehend what she was saying. “What do you mean there’s someone in the house?”

“Noises. Downstairs.”

“Toby?”

“He moved out yesterday, moron.”

“Maybe one of the kids is getting a drink.”

She shook her head, her hair falling across her face. “Yeah, ‘cause they’d do that. They’re asleep.”

Reluctantly, he threw back the covers, his libido surfacing as he caught sight of her naked body before she pulled the covers up around her. “You coming?”

“I’m naked.”

“Yeah, I’d noticed,” he grinned, his smirk slipping as there was another bang coming from downstairs.

The house was eerily quiet as he made his way across the landing and hovered at the top of the stairs. The noises continued as he made his way downstairs. Josh scanned the hallway in search of an object he could use to defend himself, and came across a softball bat.

The sounds were definitely coming from his study, where the safe was hidden. Inching his way forward, he fleetingly wondered if Donna was phoning the police, just before a figure emerged in the darkness before him.

Josh swung his bat, catching the intruder squarely across the chest, winding him. He tumbled backwards, grabbing at furniture as he hit the ground, pulling Josh with him. They landed in a tangle of limbs, the bat flying across the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Georgetown apartment resembled the aftermath of a tornado, or at the very least a visit from Josh and his boys. The kitchen counter was covered in dirty dishes and take out boxes while yesterday‘s and probably the day before‘s clothes littered the bedroom floor. It wasn‘t how Ainsley liked to live but the last few weeks had been a little hectic.

There had been a mad rush to push through legislation before Congress adjourned for a Summer break, then had come the West Wing‘s monthly ‘Big Block of Cheese‘ day, at Josh’s instigation, and the President‘s Summer party before he headed out on vacation. Sam and the President had squeezed in a quick two state stump for the Democratic nominee, and the West Wing was in hyper convention mode. In the middle of which had come the midnight call from Donna to say Josh was in the emergency room.

Sam had jumped out of bed with such velocity that Ainsley had almost fallen out of bed. His spluttered explanation had had her in her sweats grabbing her keys within seconds. That had been ten days ago and Josh’s forced stay in the emergency room had increased Sam’s workload tenfold.

“Would you like to have dinner tonight?” Sam asked, buttoning up his crisp white shirt while he studied his hair in her mirror.

“Are you not having dinner with the family to celebrate Josh’s anniversary?” Ainsley wandered into the bathroom and began the intricate process of styling her hair. “Would you like me in my lunch break to stop by the drug store and pick you up some Regaine?”

“No.“ He leaned forward and extracted a grey hair that he was sure hadn’t been there two weeks ago. “I’d like you to be my date.”

“I don’t understand.”

Sam stuck his head around the door. “We’ve been slipping in and out of bed for six years, Ains. I’m practically living here. Isn’t it about time we start going public.” Not that they were exactly indulging in a clandestine relationship - most of their friends knew and his staff at least suspected.

“But I am and always will be a Republican. You are Deputy Chief of Staff to the President.“

“Who you work for.“

“Yes. But there are people on both sides of the water who would have a problem with us involved in any sort of relationship. People who would vocally and publicly question my credentials and how someone such as myself was privileged enough to get this position. The media would see it as a valid excuse to investigate every part of my private life and publish it. I would be accused of unorthodox sexual practices.“

“Eating muffins and cupcakes after we make love isn’t . . .”

“Sam!“ she squeaked, tossing a hairbrush at him. “I cannot be put under such public scrutiny. I saw what it did to Donna when she and Josh began dating.”

“It would not be like that. And the media got over it. They married like seven months later,” Sam said, rooting through his bag for a tie.

“Yeah and she gave birth five months after that.”

“Josh never was very patient.” He wandered back into the bathroom and wrapped his arms around her waist. “There’s only gonna be a few of us, my friends, our friends there.”

Ainsley sighed, relaxing against his chest. “Is Josh up to it?”

Sam fell silent, staring at the mirror but not really seeing anything. The night of the break in, he’d rushed to his hospital and found Donna bordering on hysterical. His own demeanour had paled at the sight of Josh, blood gaping from his head, his complexion greyer than usual. He hadn’t been aware at the time that Josh’s calmness was due to the sedative the paramedics had given him in the ambulance or that it was Donna who had by some small miracle saved her husband’s life.

“Where are we eating tonight?” Ainsley asked, seeing his retraction into something he refused to talk about.

“B Smiths.” One of her favourite restaurants, he knew.

“Really?“ Her face lit up.

He smiled to himself, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to resist some good old southern cooking. “Shrimp Lafayette. Lemon Pepper Catfish. Cajun Chicken Maque Choux.” It was going to take a good few hours at the gym, hours that he didn’t have, to work off those calories, although a few nights with Ainsley might do the trick.

“Peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream and chocolate Bayou Voodoo cake.” She licked her lips and he wanted to jump her there and then. “It really doesn’t sound like somewhere Joshua would chose.”

“He didn’t. Donna did.”

“Is she pregnant?” Ainsley queried, wondering why Donna had suddenly changed food preferences. Sam was looking at her strangely, she knew, but it was one of those things women noticed. The only time Sam would notice a problem was if she stopped eating altogether and there was no chance of that.

“What the ?”

“Don’t worry about it.” She turned around and kissed him. “We should go. Your car will be here shortly.”

“Need a lift?” he asked, heading through the house to find his jacket and brief case.

“Yeah, because us arriving together will definitely be a conduit for misdirection.”

Sam shook his head. “’K, see you there.” He slipped on his jacket and headed out the door, humming as he went.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I still can’t believe Donna picked a restaurant named after a fashion model,” Toby grumbled, pulling out a chair and waiting for CJ to sit.

“I think it was the food she was more interested in.”

“And it’s in Union Station,” he said with distain.

CJ turned in her chair to look at him. “I know you worry but I’ll only be away a week.” He’d been in a foul mood since she’d arrived the night before. As much as he was happy to see her, the drop-in about her upcoming trip to Darfur had sent him into one of his dark moods.

“Can’t you hire someone for that?”

There were times CJ had to remind herself she loved him. This was proving to be one of them.

“Sam brought the Republican?” Toby suddenly hissed in her ear, his eyes widening as Sam guided Ainsley through the restaurant, his hand on her back, or at least in the vicinity of her back.

“Yeah, and I brought a convicted felon,” CJ replied, putting distance between her and Toby and fixing a smile on her face.

“Technically I’m not. I was pardoned.”

“Splitting hairs.” She waved at Sam. “Anyhow, be nice. They’re together.”

Toby looked shell-shocked.

“You didn’t know!” she exclaimed. “It’s like the worst kept secret ever.”

“Since when?” He looked around for a waiter and motioned for another glass of scotch.

“They got hot and heavy when he returned to DC.” She heard him groan and mumble something about too much information as he rose to his feet and shook Sam’s hand.

“Toby. CJ. Sorry we’re late,” he babbled, kissing CJ’s cheek.

CJ waved him off. “The guests of honour haven’t arrived yet. Little Leo wouldn’t go to sleep and Bruno forgot to pick up Jamie so Margaret was running late.”

Sam was just sliding in next to CJ when there was a commotion and Josh and Donna headed across the restaurant.

“Just don’t go there, Josh. It’s hard enough for her as it is,” Donna bemoaned. “When you win the father . . .”

“Sorry we’re late,” Josh apologized, shooting Donna a look that told her they could continue bickering late.

A chorus of ‘Don’t Worry’, ‘It happens,’ followed as everyone exchanged greetings.

Ainsley hovered, waiting for Donna to notice her then she stepped forward. “Thank you for being so kind as to invite me,” she said, shaking Donna’s hand.

“You’re practically family.” Donna gave her a warm smile and leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Besides with your appetite I’ll get to taste most of the menu.”

“You’re looking well.” Her eyes drifted to the slight swell of her friend’s stomach. “Pregnancy obviously agrees with you. It gives you that eternal glow.”

Josh came to a standstill, staring at his wife. “Donna?”

The table fell silent, Sam’s eyes rolling as he realized his friend didn’t know, which knowing them both for years, shouldn’t really have surprised him.

“Oops. Have I possibly made a faux pas?” Ainsley said, pulling a face.

Donna shrugged. “I was going to make the announcement tonight anyhow.” She turned to Josh and grinned. “We’re pregnant again, Josh.”

His jaw gaped open, his eyes widened as his heart beat a little faster and he fell into a chair. It wasn’t possible. He had to be hearing things. They really couldn’t be having another baby. He had always wanted a daughter but after three boys he’d declared defeat and practically gone broke. Now they were going to be parents again.

Toby waved frantically at the waiter, indicating a beer for Josh and another scotch for himself. He had a feeling Josh’s sensitive system was going to take a beating that night and he planned on blocking out what was going to be an excruciating evening himself.

“Josh,” Donna said urgently, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“Huh?”

“You ok?”

Josh nodded, oblivious to everything and everyone as he tried to absorb his new reality.

“Congratulations, Donna,” CJ said, getting up and hugging her.

Her face lit up. “Thank you.” She continued to watch Josh, slightly fearful that another baby would send his paranoia into overdrive.

“So I hear the food’s good here,” Sam commented, trying to draw attention away from Josh.

“The food’s great.”

“It’s food, Ainsley, you’re hardly an unbiased opinion.”

The waiter hovered silently waiting as the restaurant began to fill.

She stuck her tongue out at Sam and pursed her lips.

“Guys, I think he wants us to order.”

“I’ll have the seafood cheese grits, bread on the side, the Cajun Chicken Maque Choux with fries and green beans,“ Ainsley announced, barely studying the menu.

“Is that everything?“ Sam asked, his voice full of teasing.

“I think that will be sufficient and should that not fill what is undoubtedly a large hole, I can always help myself to yours.“

“A girl after my own heart,“ Donna conceded. “Soup. And the lemon pepper catfish with rice.”

“Don’t suppose you do a steak?” Toby grumbled.

“In a cajun pepper sauce, Sir.”

“Yeah, fine.”

As CJ watched them order dinner and banter it reminded her why they so often ordered take out Chinese food. It took little decision and they always had enough for everyone. It was also the only way they could get Leo to eat with them. Looking back she wondered how he ever managed to put up with them.

“And to start?” the waiter asked with a fixed smile, oblivious to Toby’s distain.

“Soup. With a cajun twist, I guess,” he retorted.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Leave room for dessert,” Ainsley whispered to CJ. “They make cakes to die for.”

A few seconds later they had all ordered and the waiter disappeared.

“So what’s the news?” Donna asked, leaning forward in her seat with a wry smile on her face.

Desperate to avoid anything remotely incriminating the banter soon turned to old times and even older stories. Two empty bottles stood lined up on the table and coffee had arrived before there was finally a lull in conversation.

“How you doing?” CJ asked, catching Josh’s eye. He’d barely touched his meal and although he was joining in with the conversation, he was hardly the life and soul of the party.

“Ok.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Better. I’m sleeping a little each night.” In truth he was still petrified, and once again the Secret Service hadn’t saved him. He should really take that up with someone. Except it had been his decision not to have a detail or to have them check the security on his house. Mrs Santos and Donna had rectified the situation while he was in hospital.

“Donna said they caught the guy.”

It would have been amusing if not for the circumstances. Burglar gets knocked on the head by a thousand dollar vase, which smashes and knocks him out. He regains consciousness and escapes only to collapse and get taken to the ER. Poetic justice. “Georgetown Hospital were a bit suspicious about the ceramic shards in his skull.” The ironic thing was that James Mason, and that really was his name, was now waiting trial in the company of a few of the people he rather disliked. DC prisons weren’t renown for their religious segregation.

“We’re going to check out the bar,” Josh announced, rising unsteadily to his feet, effectively ending the conversation.

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” Donna asked quietly, fully aware of Josh’s downward mood.

“CJ wants something interesting so Toby and I are going to check it out.”

Donna looked unconvinced but let it go.

The two men stood at the bar, not actually speaking, staring at the rows of optics for what seemed like an eternity.

Josh waited, wondering how he was supposed to approach something like this, wondering if there really was a good time. “Man, if anything happens, if I don’t get to see my kids grow up, if I can’t be there. Will you take care of them?”

Toby turned to look at him. “Josh,” he said dismissively, not wanting to indulge Josh’s apocalypse now mood.

“He was gonna kill me Toby,“ Josh said urgently. “Not because I worked for the President, or because I discovered him in my house. He was planning to kill me and my family because I was Jewish. How sick is that? And after everything we‘ve seen, that is saying something.”

“I thought he was robbing your safe.” Everything began to fall into place. The urgent phone call for Toby to go to the house, Josh’s insistence that he stay with Donna and the boys, and the constant fear in Josh’s face.

“That’s what I had them tell Donna.” He wetted his lips. “I didn’t want her to panic. And after the news tonight, I know that was the right decision.”

“Congratulations on that by the way.”

“Thanks. My contribution was minute.”

Toby growled inaudibly. “Too much information.”

“No, I mean. I . . . Ok, I’m just going to go back to my wife and make her feel better. You coming?”

“In a minute.”

Josh paused momentarily. “I mean it. I know you don’t like these conversations but I needed to say it. I want you to take care of my family.“ He headed back to his family not giving Toby a chance to argue or thank him or comment in any way.

Toby watched Josh go out of the corner of his eye. Josh needed help, probably more than he could give as a friend, but he obviously wasn’t ready for that yet. They also needed to talk. Taking care of Josh’s family would never be a problem but it wasn’t something Toby knew how to do. Instead of following he waited for her to approach, knowing that she would eventually.

CJ pressed a hand against Toby’s back and leaned in. “Is he okay?”

Toby stared at his glass, watching the amber liquid swirl around. “Yeah.”

She didn‘t believe him, knew instinctively that he was lying. Twenty years of friendship also told her he would tell her when he was ready. “Would going home and making out with me make you feel better?”

“You’d do that for me?” he asked, trying to forget the look of absolute terror on Josh’s face.

“Yeah.” Her lips quirked upwards into a smile as he turned to look at her, eyebrows raised. “When he needs you, Toby, I’ll be here for you,” she said softly.

“I don’t know how to take you,” Toby said softly, staring into her eyes, still not completely sure why their relationship had lasted as long as it had.

“How you’ve always taken me.”

He hesitated, wetting his lips as he tried to structure his words. “Something’s changed.”

CJ nodded, acknowledging that they were both moving onto the same page. ”I’m not sure either of us is ready to go there.”

Turning until his back was to the bar, Toby stared at his friends for a moment before he spoke. “I have never envied Josh anything. Not his job, his success, his ability to win. But I wish we could have what they have.”

CJ turned to face the table. “We do, Toby,” CJ offered wistfully. “We’ve had it for nearly twenty years. We just didn‘t realise it.”

“CJ?” He meant more than the connection between two people but something in her eyes told him she meant more too.

“Let’s just go home, open a bottle of scotch and pretend it’s twenty years ago.” Her fingers played gently on his arm. They were both slightly tipsy and it really wasn’t the night for the conversation they needed to have. There were also things she needed to do before she’d take the chance with him.

Toby smiled a rare smile and nodded. “We’d better say goodnight.”

Josh walked around the house, checking the window locks then the doors, sliding each bolt out then back in before he opened the alarm panel and punched in the code.

Donna watched from the top stair, her concern for her husband growing each day. Since the burglary he had been acting strangely. His nightly ritual becoming more and more intense. Even Donna had been a little paranoid since the intrusion, insisting on a new alarm system, but Josh was taking it to extremes.

She had finally had enough, secretly phoning the farm and making arrangements for them to spend the weekend at the farm. There she hoped he would finally sleep rather than spend hours laying awake listening for sounds that weren‘t there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CJ peeked around the curtain and felt the all too familiar butterflies in her stomach. The convention centre was packed to the roof awaiting her speech, and that of the other seven prominent people the Bone Marrow Registry had asked to speak. She ducked back down the corridor to find Toby.

Replacing his phone in his pocket, he glanced up at her. “Donna sends her love. They‘re off to Manchester for the weekend but she said to wish you luck.”

It barely registered with CJ as she thought about the crowd and wondered not for the first time why she had agreed to do it.

“You’ve done this a thousand times,” Toby said, watching as she paced the room. He had awoken at six to find her drinking coffee and taking lengthy strides around his bedroom. Why she had been in his room and not in the guest room or the living room had never been in any way explained but since then he had been trying to reassure her.

“Yeah? Anything this important?” CJ had to admit that she was more nervous than her first day as Press Secretary although it was on a par to the President announcing her as Chief of Staff. It was probably the most important thing she had ever done, the only time she had really put a public face on her personal life, the first time she had permission to voice her opinion in public.

“You’re gonna do just fine.” He took a deep breath. “You‘re making me dizzy.”

“You do that to me all the time.” She had decided at some point in the middle of the night that if they didn‘t sleep together soon the window would be gone. The problem was he was too much of a gentleman to make the first move and with her experience at relationships she wasn‘t very good at making her intentions clear.

“And I wrote the speech so it’s damn near perfect.” He gave her a self satisfied grin.

“Way to go, Uncle Toby,“ Hannah said, announcing her presence and hi-fiving him, Annabeth trailing in her wake. “Hey, Aunt CJ, knock their socks off.”

Hannah was, and it had become increasing obvious who he was over recent months, her father’s daughter. After being discharged from hospital, Hannah had continued her recovery at home. Three months on, she was still recovering and would be for some time but she was getting stronger each day. She had spent the first few weeks sleeping, watching TV in bed and occasionally padding around the house. On good days Toby would visit, reading her stories and playing games with her. On bad days CJ would take calls from Annabeth in tears. Donna and Margaret accompanied them on every hospital visit, texting and emailing everyone to make sure they knew how things were going. Despite everything the kid was a fighter.

“CJ, your on in five,” the floor director announced, sensibly sticking her head around the door and leaving just as quickly.

CJ took a deep breath and gave Hannah a reassuring smile.

“Anyway, it could be worse,” Hannah offered happily.

“Yeah?” CJ wasn’t convinced.

“You could have a little piece of Toby in you.” She stuck her tongue out at her favourite Uncle, earning herself a mock-scowl in return.

If wishing made it so, CJ thought, making her way to the stage.

Staring out at the audience CJ had to remember how to breathe. Glancing at the wings she caught sight of Toby hand on his heart and she knew that it was going to be okay.

She placed her glasses carefully on her nose and stared at the teleprompter. “Last year, more than seventy five hundred people underwent Bone Marrow transplants nationwide. Although Bone marrow transplants now save thousands of lives each year, each year in the U.S., 10,000 to 15,000 people are unable to find a suitable bone marrow donor among relatives or from the national bone marrow donor registry. The odds are 1 in 20,00 of identifying an unrelated compatible marrow donor . . . Much higher for patients of minority heritage. With over fifty diseases including the leukemia, aplastic anemia, sickle cell anemia and radiation poisoning needing treatment by marrow transplant this is a major health crisis.”

She took a breath and looked at Toby. “It took a personal crisis for me to understand what this means. A young girl, who is like a god daughter to me, was diagnosed earlier this year with aplastic anemia. Luckily a donor was found among our family and she is now on her way to making a full recovery. Not everyone is so lucky and yet it is so simple to help. All it takes is a blood test at your local medical center to see if you’re compatible, not the most pleasant of experiences but not painful, a follow up test to check the extent of compatibility and finally a needle stick to harvest the bone marrow. It doesn‘t cost anything to you and if you‘re not a match you can go on the donor registry and maybe help someone else. I‘m here today to ask you to please get tested.” She smiled as a small figure appeared in the wings.

“Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce a young lady with a great deal of courage, an inspiration to us all. My god daughter, Hannah Schott.“

Hannah climbed up on the stage and grinned. Carefully she positioned herself by CJ. “Four months ago I underwent a bone marrow transplant. My mom wasn’t a match, nor was my sister. We had to look beyond my natural family and luckily Uncle Toby was a match. He’s my hero. He gave up his time and got tested and underwent the operation. A former President once said that it’s a time for American heroes and we should reach for the stars. Toby and the fifteen thousand people who joined the Registry last year are all heroes, who by such a small gesture, did a really big thing, and because of them I can reach for the stars. If you do nothing else today, get tested. Thank you.”

“She wrote it herself,” Annabeth whispered to Toby, squeezing his arm. “I just helped her draft it.”

He grinned back at her. “I think it’s time that little lady and I start spending more time together.”

“She’d like that.”

“I’ll make a writer out of her yet.”

CJ held Annabeth’s hand tightly as they exited the stage to applause and joined the others.

“Wow. Awesome,” Hannah exclaimed. “Cool.”

Toby shook his head, lifting her up and grinning. “We’ve created a monster.”

“When can I do it again?”

Annabeth took her daughter and began to carry her away. “When you’ve had some rest. Say goodbye now.”

“Bye. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t,” the young girl called, waving frantically.

CJ looked at Toby after they had gone and shrugged. “I‘ve no idea what she means. You fancy grabbing dinner?” she asked as they gathered their belongings and left the Convention Centre.

“You don’t have to be somewhere?” He was getting used to her visits and her jam packed schedule. His time with her with precious but he didn’t begrudge her time with her friends and for her cause.

“You don’t want to grab food?”

“Just us?” Toby asked, waiting for her to announce Sam and his Republican were joining them or worse, Margaret.

“No, I was thinking of inviting the entire audience.”

“Not very intimate.”

“Intimate would be take out at your apartment.”

“Works for me.”

“Trying to seduce me, Toby?” she asked, parting her lips seductively and wondering if he would finally have the courage to try it.

“Is it working?” The fine line they had walked for years seemed to be slipping further and further into obscurity but never really disappearing enough for him to know what to do next.

CJ stopped walking and turned to stare at him.

“Am I about to step over that imaginary line?”

“Way over it, mon ami.”

He stared back at her, his face devoid of expression.

“So, Chinese? Pizza? Thai?”

“Chinese.”

“Ok, then.” she started walking leaving him staring after her. “Toby,” she called over her shoulder.

He shook his head, perplexed, and started to walk.

“After dinner if you want to seduce me, you can.”

A smile lit up his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Toby threw the Chinese cartons in the garbage can and turned to find her hovering in the doorway. “Hey.”

“I’m going to bed.”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” she smiled. “And I should tell you, your seduction technique needs a little work.”

“I bought you dinner. I plied you with alcohol.”

“I’m a girl with slightly greater needs.”

“That I know.” He grinned back at her, not really sure what she was expecting. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He hovered, rocking from side to side, before he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed her lightly on the lips.

CJ kissed him back gently. “Much better.”

“I aim to please.” Toby released her, ducking his head to look her in the eyes. “Sleep well.”

“Good night.“ CJ closed her bedroom door and leaned against it. It was there, she knew it or she had to do was make sure he knew it too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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