******

Toby breezed into the meeting, late and flustered. He dropped his case on the desk and looked around the room.

Leo was standing at the top of the table, staring at him patiently.

It was then that Toby remembered what day it was, Big Block of Cheese Day.

“I can continue?” Leo asked, staring at him over his glasses. “Andrew Jackson had a two ton block of cheese.”

A collective groan went around the room, but Toby missed it as he watched Margaret circling the table and coming towards him.

She smiled at him and he knew in an instant, it wasn’t going to be good. Margaret handed him an assignment and moved quickly away.

Toby opened the cover and read the front page. He looked up and back down again. “Margaret?”

Leo stopped talking and shot him a glare. “What now?”

“I can’t do this?” Toby growled. “It should be CJ or Donna or someone.”

“What exactly is your problem with it?” Margaret asked sternly and every head in the room turned to look at her then back towards Toby.

“Margaret!”

“Toby, Margaret spent hours making the assignments,” Leo offered, his lips turning up slightly at the corners.

“They needed someone grown up,” Margaret said, grinning. “I had visions of Josh asking for a demonstration.”

Every head shot back to Toby.

“This is punishment,” he whined. “I forgot to do something, didn’t I?”

Josh grinned and leaned back in his seat to watch the action. “This is better than Wimbledon,” he whispered to CJ.

“Shut up, “CJ hissed. “I’m missing the action.”

“I wouldn’t be that petty,” Margaret snorted.

“What’s the assignment?” Sam asked. “Maybe we could swap.” He didn’t really want to deal with a group of treasure hunters who thought they’d discovered Blackbeard’s treasure off the coast of Bermuda and wanted a government grant to dive there.

“The Breast Feeding Mothers of America,” Toby growled.

Sam made a face and held his folder against his chest. “I’ll stick with what I’ve got.”

“You’ll all stick with what you’ve been assigned,“ Leo boomed.

It was then Toby realized Margaret hadn’t been the one to make his assignment.

He rubbed his temples with his hand and wondered who had the community bottle of Advil.

The meeting over, the staff shuffled out of the room.

Toby was just gathering his belongings when Leo appeared at his arm.

“Toby.”

“Yeah,” Toby grumbled, wondering what else was going to land on his desk.

“The President would like a few moments with you today. I asked Ginger to schedule it for four o’clock.” Leo sounded far too smug for Toby’s liking.

“Why don’t you just kill me now?” Toby pleaded.

“Because torture is so much more fun,” Leo smirked, walking away and humming.

*******

Ginger knocked on the open door and took a tentative step inside. “Toby?”

“Yeah,” he growled, not looking up from his laptop.

“Your assignment is waiting in the Mural Room.”

Toby thought for a second then looked up at her. “Give me ten minutes in there, then knock and say there’s an emergency.”

Ginger frowned and shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Because Leo told you not too,” Toby grumbled, throwing his hands in the air. “What did I ever do to deserve this?”

“Shacking up with his assistant might have something to do with it,” Ginger mumbled under her breath, before disappearing.

Toby slowly rose to his feet and picked up his notepad.

He reached the Mural room door and opened it. His face turned a deep shade of crimson as he took in the scene.

Ten women, breasts uncovered, feeding babies.

“Mr. Ziegler?” one of the women asked, shifting the suckling infant to her other breast.

“Yeah,” he growled, focusing his eyes on the wall and rubbing his forehead.

“I’m Gillian,” she informed him. “And this is baby Joshua. On my right is Kathy and her son Samuel.” She continued to introduce the other moms and babies but Toby was staring at baby Sam, eyes closed, latching on to his mother’s breast.

“Does this make you uncomfortable?” Kathy asked, sweetly, covering her chest with a blanket.

“My deputy is called Sam.” He didn’t want to vocalise the images going through his head right that second. Sam and breasts always caused him anxiety. “So you’re the Breast Feeding Mothers of America?”

“Yes. At least a representative of the DC branch.”

“And you would like the President to. . .?“ he trailed off, trying to find something benign to look at.

“Are you a father, Mr. Ziegler?” one of the mothers asked, lifting her baby onto her shoulder and giving him a glimpse of her naked breast.

His eyes rolled shut as he considered all the ways he was going to be nicer to Margaret later. “Not yet, no.”

“Ah.” The women collectively nodded. “Despite legal motions to enable women to breast feed in public, many mother experience difficulties when they return to work.”

“My boss wouldn’t let me express milk at the office,“ Kathy explained. “And when I slipped to the washroom, he constantly called me back to my desk.“

Toby glanced down at his legal pad, thankful for the notes Margaret had slipped into the file that morning. “Certain states mandate that employers must accommodate breastfeeding mothers. Connecticut, Hawaii, Minnesota and Illinois.”

“But many others have no such mandate.” Gillian smiled at him. “Would you like to hold Josh?”

Toby did a double take and shook his head. His eyes drifted to the floor and back up again.

The mothers were all staring at him expectantly.

“He’s really very good. Just hold him over your shoulder and rub his back. Joshy be nice for the man.”

The child snuggled against his shoulder much to Toby’s surprise.

Toby, having spent very little time with his nieces and nephews as babies, held him awkwardly as he stroked his back. The image of burping Josh was going to hang around him for weeks.

“We are here to ask this Administration to pass a federal law mandating all employers to accommodate breast feeding mothers,” Gillian explained, grinning.

“Okay,” Toby said, bobbing his head unconsciously.

“It has been proven that women who continue to breastfeed once they return to work miss less time from work because of baby-related illnesses, and have shorter absences when they do miss work, compared with women who do not breastfeed. Another study indicates that worksite lactation programs can increase breastfeeding rates among employed women to a level comparable to rates among women not employed outside the home.”

“Lactation?” Toby asked, as he made faces at little Josh.

“Expression of milk.”

“Right, you can use a pump for that.”

Ten women looked at him with renewed admiration.

His ears flushed pink. “My, er, partner is pregnant. We’re, er, reading up,” he mumbled, bouncing Josh up and down.

“That’s wonderful. Will she be returning to work?” Kathy asked, strapping Sam into his car seat.

“Knowing Margaret, yes.” He inwardly groaned as he realized that the White House was immune from workplace laws. That was going to be yet another thing he’d have to sort.

“Well congratulations.”

He waved his hand and grimaced. “I think Josh may have had an accident.” Which he concluded was entirely possible considering who his namesake was. He held the baby up in the air.

Gillian crossed the room and removed her child from his arms, only to drop to her knees and roll out the changing mat.

It was at the moment the double doors opened and the President stepped into the room.

Jed glanced around and grinned, ruffling the hair of the nearest child. “Hello Toby.”

“Mr. President.”

“So, what are we discussing?”

Toby flushed pink and rocked on the balls of his feet. “We’re discussing breastfeeding in the workplace,” Toby muttered, his eyes trained on the carpet as if it was the most fascinating thing he had ever seen.

“Really, that’s interesting,” Jed grinned, glancing at Leo beside him.

“I thought Toby was the right man for the job,” Leo smirked.

“Definitely. Ladies,” Jed said loudly, causing the babies to jump and start wailing. “There are a number of bills up for consideration this session with regard to this issue. I’m sure Toby will give them his utmost attention. Toby?”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

Jed nodded and grinned around the room at the babies. “Well, I have things to attend to. Nice to meet you, ladies. Toby, don’t forget our little meeting.”

“How could I forget?” Toby muttered under his breath, as the smell of Josh’s dirty diaper permeated the air.

“That wasn’t very nice, Josh,” Gillian said, lifting Josh’s dumpy legs in the air.

Leo looked at Jed, shook his head and motioned for them to exit quickly.

*****

Toby escorted the women to the lobby, juggling their various bags and boxes in his arms. He was just returning to his office when Margaret apprehended him.

“Toby.”

He inwardly groaned at the look of determination in her eyes. “Hey honey.”

“Try not to say something to piss him off,” she said sternly. “Just listen to what he has to say and nod in the appropriate places.”

“What do you think I’m going to do? Yell at him?” He stopped as she raised an eyebrow and frowned at him. “Okay. Wanna come with me?”

“I’d rather have a pelvic exam,” Margaret stated. “I need to find Josh. See you at home.” She walked off leaving him staring after her.

“You’re going to be late,” Ginger moaned, sneaking up behind him. “And I don’t want the grief.”

Toby turned to stare at her. “Okay, so I know what’s got Leo’s goat, but what have I done to you?”

“You haven’t got time,” she sighed, turning on her heel.

Toby shrugged, confused, and headed in the direction of the Oval office. He wondered if maybe the women were picking up on Margaret’s hormone surges.

The door to the Oval was open and Charlie was missing from his desk.

Toby shuffled inside and cleared his throat. “Mr. President?”

Jed looked up from his papers and smiled, a smug smile that could only mean trouble. “How did your meeting go?”

“Very good, Sir.”

“You realize that it was Leo’s way of punishing you.”

Toby groaned, and drummed his fingers against his forehead. “It had crossed my mind.”

Jed’s grin widened and he gestured with his hand to the visitor’s chair. “Take a seat.”

Toby approached tentatively, settling himself in the chair. He crossed his legs and scanned the room for exits. Instead he found himself trapped.

“So are you looking forward to being a father?”

The rare smile that lit up Toby’s face was enough to make even the President do a double take. “Very much, Sir.”

“And how is Margaret?”

“We’re going for a scan in a few weeks, but apart for a craving for saltine crackers, she’s very well.”

Jed nodded. “Abbey had a thing for cider and yoghurt. Three a.m., she would prod me and whine.”

“Mrs. Bartlet whined?” Toby asked, filing that particular comment away for ammunition later.

“Of course by the second trimester, she was. . .um,” he fumbled for the right word. “Horny, is that the word you use today?”

Toby flushed pink and stared at the paper weights on the other side of the desk. “Yes, Sir.”

“You have it all to come. Foot rubs, midnight ice cream runs, then of course diapers and feeds.” Jed looked almost wistful as he remembered how simple family life had been then.

“It’s all worth it though, isn’t Mr. President?” Toby asked. He made a mental note to stop off in the grocery store on the way home.

“The minute you hold your child in your arms and see the look on your wife’s face. . ., yes, it’s worth it.” He cleared his throat and looked Toby square in the face. “So, have you and Margaret set a date?”

Toby growled and covered his eyes. He knew it was coming, he only wondered what had taken so long.

“You are going to do things properly?” Jed pushed, stifling a grin as his Communications Director rolled his eyes and fidgeted with his hands. Leo had been right, Toby was going to be so easy to torment.

“We’ve decided to wait until after the baby’s born,” Toby replied, hoping against all odds it would be left at that.

“And how does Margaret feel about that?”

Well, she bawls her eyes out at pictures of brides and she keeps muttering about meringues versus biased cuts, Toby wanted to say, but thought better of it. “With the move and the campaign we feel it’s the best thing.”

“You can go now,” Jed announced, his eyes drifting back to his papers.

Toby looked confused for a second. It was far too easy. He inwardly groaned as he realized that there was going to be more. Silently, he made a note to be better prepared next time.

“Yes, Sir.” Toby was out of his chair and across the room before Jed looked up again.