I meet someone the other day
It's good to see her face again
She's the one who got a way
Way back when
Showed photos of her family
Soon to marry mum to be
She used to want all that with me
And she smiled and I laughed
Toby sat at a bar, whose name he'd already forgotten, in O'Hare airport. He was nursing a scotch, and his mood was more grumpy than usual due to flight delays. He looked around the bustling airport, watching the crowds and maybe missing Air Force One a little. He caught sight of a figure that seemed oh so familiar, heading in his direction.
Toby stood up, sliding off his barstool and winding his way into the crowd, trying not to jostle people with his luggage. He caught sight of her again and called out,
"C.J.!"
She heard him above the din and turned to face him. They stood, perhaps fifty meters apart, and her face broke into a genuine smile.
They made their way through the crowd towards one another, then hugged instinctively but awkwardly.
"What a surprise to see you here, I thought you were in New York," C.J. greets, looking more beautiful that he remembered.
The dark circles under her eyes and 'White House tan' replaced by a real Californian bronze, a glow and peace about her that he hadn't seen for years.
"I'm on my way back from visiting David's wife and kids in Houston. Andrea wants Huck and Molly to know their Ziegler cousins, not just her sister's kids."
C.J. studies him for a moment, he's greyer and older than she remembers even though it's only been a few years. She knows, after so many years of friendship, the things he isn't saying. She knows him well enough to read between the lines. Trying to be a better uncle, keep his brother's memory alive despite the way he died, still trying to be a good dad to the twins despite living nearly three hundred miles apart.
He takes the initiative, "come and have a drink with me, maybe some food," he gives her an out just in case "unless you're about to board?"
She grasps the offer. "A drink and some food sounds good. I've got a couple of hours to kill until my flight back to LAX."
They go back to the bar where Toby had been minutes before, ordering soda's, club sandwiches, and fries.
"I understand congratulations are in order," he notes, smiling and indicates her sparkling engagement ring.
C.J. blushes, an act which surprises him, "thank you." She hesitates for a moment, then adds, "actually, I'm pregnant too. We're only just starting to tell people."
Toby is silent for a moment, processing the new information, but smiles genuinely happy for her. "Congratulations again then," he says awkwardly, still a little stunned.
The waiter brings their food, and for a moment Toby is lost in thought. Wondering what his life, their life, would have been like if he and C.J. had stayed together all those years before. Flashes of a life that could have been passed before him, no Andie, no Huck and Molly, but him and C.J. together, winning President Bartlet's campaigns, perhaps a child or two, though the C.J. he knew then was different from the C.J. sitting in front of him now. Together, married, happy. No shuttle leak, no lying, no grand jury, no pardon. An excellent political team and loving couple.
C.J. breaks his spell by asking, "How's Columbia? Donna said you were teaching political science."
He mock grimaces, trying to keep a good mood going, "their writing is appalling, but they learn fast and we have some good debates. Next semester I'm teaching a new class about the power and influence of speeches in politics."
Toby relaxes as he talks about his academic life, the townhouse he lives in and shares with Huck and Molly on selected holidays.
Before they know it over an hour has passed.
"Flight UA174 to La Guardia is now boarding at gate 23. I repeat Flight UA174 to La Guardia is now boarding at gate 23."
"They're calling my flight," Toby explains and stands. He throws some notes onto the table, enough to cover their meal.
"It's been good seeing you Toby," C.J. says, words not quite expressing how she really feels. They hug again, less awkward than the first time.
Toby walks away, head and heart filled with thoughts, images, memories, the experiences they'd shared; the life they could have had, nearly had; her happiness now but mostly, the life that could have been.
Lyrics at the start © to A1, their song "The Life That Could Have Been".