A Privilege None The Less

by TessaSpencer

The walls of the President's Manchester house are VERY thin, and leave it to Josh and Donna to shake up CJ and Leo's relationship. COWRITTEN with Jayneysuk

Title: A Privilege None The Less

Pairing: CJ/Leo, and a few others thrown in

Rating: PG 13, though there are some... questionable scenes less suitable for the faint of heart.

Spoilers: Everything we've seen so far.

Feedback: and

Disclaimers: All the usual. They're not ours, and we've just gotten back from vacation, so any lawsuits would result in you assuming our debt. ;)

Authors' Notes: The following is what you get after a two week road trip, way too much nonsensical television and two very over-active imaginations. This was written mostly in bed, after long days sightseeing and many, many hours trapped in a car although some parts were also written while sitting on the floor in Ottawa International Airport, perched in front of Mel's laptop. And we don't apologize for any of it. The chances are this will be the first of many, tentatively titled 'On the Road'. We may also be slightly giddy from seeing Marine One land on the South Lawn, and meeting the cast of Law & Order. Again, we don't apologize; we just want to warn you of what might be to come.

1

Sometimes it seemed like the senior staff saw more of the West Wing than of their own apartments. In fact, since they had taken office six years ago, they had probably spent more nights in their respective offices than in their beds. Reality was, it would be no long stretch of imagination that they could forgo apartments and just live in their offices, had they better closets.

Having ushered in fall during the last weeks of September, October seemed to be bringing something a little more welcome: the possibility of enjoying a bit of the Indian summer.

The President had announced, as only he could, that he was taking a weekend off, and that his staff should do so as well. Surely after the stresses of the past year, let alone the five previous, they had all earned two days off in succession.

Leo had argued that it was not appropriate considering the nationwide commercial airline strike, but the President had shrugged. "It's up to the unions and the negotiators. I can't do anything. You can't do anything. So, why not enjoy a little leaf peeping? Besides, I can run a war from Manchester..."

In his wisdom, the Chief of Staff asked Angela to be the White House Liason to the unions and the negotiators, leaving him and all the rest of the Senior Staff to take advantage of some very much needed rest and relaxation. As much as he could relax, he realized, as he put a few more papers in his briefcase for the weekend.

By the time the President stepped on Marine One on Friday afternoon, the Senior Staff were all waiting with baited breath. As long as his feet were on terra firma, there was a chance that things could change on a moment's notice, and they all had plans that they wanted to see through.

As the propellers started and Marine One took off from the South Lawn, a collective sigh escaped the group. It seemed like their weekend off was really going to happen.

With one final wave (as much for them to watch the helicopter leave in the distance as much as for obligation) the crowd dispersed, unable to believe that they were actually on their own for three nights and two full days.

CJ was alone in her office, pulling together the last of her things for the weekend. Most of her time was spent taking briefing notes and binders out of her bag, as she was determined not to work over the weekend unless a war broke out, or the President rode himself into another tree.

Leo had told her to wait for him, and twenty minutes later he appeared in the doorway, assured that everyone else had gone.

"What are you doing?" CJ asked as he grabbed her hand and led her through the corridors.

The soft strands of a bluesy saxophone filled the air as he led her onto the portico. "I'm sorry, it's not the Willard but I really didn't want to share you with anyone."

It was pretty close to perfect, she had to admit. Candle light, music and warm rain, and Leo.

"I made a picnic," he admitted sheepishly, leading her to where he had carefully stretched out a blanket on the portico. "I went to Dean & Deluca and handpicked everything." For probably the first time in his life he hadn't relied on his assistant to do it. It was the prelude to what he wanted to ask her.

"What did Margaret have to say about that?" She teased lightly, leaning into his touch as he began to move to the music.

He shrugged indifferently. They got to do this so infrequently that he wasn't about to let thoughts of anyone else interfere. The next few days were going to be about them, and hopefully what the future had in store. Leo tightened his grip on her hand, pulling her close against his chest.

Several blissful minutes passed, their bodies swaying together, CJ humming along to the music melodically. It may have been her breath against his ear, or the way he was thinking about their weekend, but it took him several minutes to notice the silent darkly clad figure not far off in his line of vision.

"Telephone, Mr. McGarry," the man said.

Leo sighed. It seemed that his job was forever getting in his way.

CJ inwardly groaned as visions of a romantic, relaxed weekend disappeared.

Leo made his way to his desk, casting one more glance back towards CJ. Whoever it was on the phone, he hoped it was something important to justify the intrusion.

"McGarry," he said, groaning when he realized who was on the phone. "Yes, Mr. President...It's the first weekend everyone has had off in six years...what exactly are you talking about? And it has to be today? Does it? Right...ok, I'll phone everyone and get them on the road." He replaced the receiver and turned to find CJ staring at him, her features inscrutable. "He wants everyone in New Hampshire."

"He's not even in New Hampshire yet – he left like, fifty minutes ago!?"

"Well, apparently he had some great thought on the helicopter," Leo said, not entirely convinced himself.

"A moment of his inspiration usually filters down to me as trouble and a lot more work. And a very big headache. That is, you know, bigger than usual, because the rest of the time I have to deal with Josh, and Toby, and whatever they screw up."

"It wasn't a request," Leo said, running through his hair. His plans for the weekend were as good as gone.

"I'll drive," CJ grumbled. "Times like this make me thankful I keep an overnight bag in the office."

2

"You realize that I'm missing the Julia child exhibit at the Smithsonian for this," Toby growled, thoroughly unimpressed by the change in his plans. It had been perfectly planned for weeks, and suddenly at the drop of a hat, everything had been thrown into chaos. Now, he was stuck in a car with Josh, Donna and Margaret, heading towards the back of beyond with a sinking feeling in the pits of their stomachs.

"Suck it up, Toby. It'll be there on Monday," Donna retorted, lifting her head from Margaret's shoulder.

"But the weekend crowd at the Smithsonian is different. But more importantly, I was meant to have the kids on Sunday. My ex-wife is gonna make my life hell for that."

"Geez, nothing new there then," Josh teased. "Still don't understand why I couldn't ride with CJ."

"They probably wanted some time together," Donna stated matter of factly.

"To talk about how to handle the airline strike?" He was still a little peeved that Angela had been left in charge, after all he was supposed to be the 'pit bull' but Leo was sending her in yet again.

Margaret rolled her eyes dramatically. Josh had to be the only one other than the President who didn't know about CJ and Leo's not-so-discreet relationship. "Yeah, 'cause you and Donna spend every Wednesday night discussing legislative agendas."

Toby turned the stereo up, allowing Patsy Cline to waft through the car, affording them an effective Josh-blocking device. He had long ago learned that a good Patsy Cline song would act as a pacifier, and Crazy seemed to sum up the car.

Twenty minutes later, when the supply of suitable Patsy Cline songs was well exhausted, Josh began to fiddle with the dial on the radio, oblivious to the effect he was having on Toby.

Toby pulled over on the side of the road and put the car in park. "Get in the back."

"Toby!"

"Josh, get in the back."

"But I wanna be in charge of the tunes," he whined, climbing out of the car, and doing a very good impression of a toddler having a tantrum. "We need driving music not Pavarotti."

"It's jazz, Josh, there's a difference," Margaret piped up, sneaking her way between Josh and the door, to settle herself in the newly vacated passenger seat and buckling up.

"Either way it puts me to sleep," Josh pouted as he crawled into the back seat, appearing dejected.

"Explain to me how this is a bad thing?" Toby laughed.

"Believe me, when you hear him snore, you'll know," Donna sighed.

Margaret's waggled her eyebrows in a mock tease. Ever the peacekeeper, she turned in her seat. "Josh. Toby. We'll compromise and take turns."

"Why should I take turns? It's my car," Toby argued.

"Toby, be a grown up," Margaret said sternly.

"No, it's my car! Why should I?"

"Suck it up," Margaret snapped, giving him a chilling stare. Even Toby would know better than to challenge Margaret when she was in that mood.

"I'll navigate," Donna offered happily, attempting to change the atmosphere in the car.

"Can I just say, 20 hours in Middle America and leave it at that?" Toby growled. "Why don't you all get some sleep? I can find my way to New York and after that there's got to be road signs."

"I need to pee," Donna said, seconds later, after things had finally calmed in the car.

"The White House has like thirty eight bathrooms. You couldn't go before we left?" Josh asked, looking at his girlfriend with narrowed eyes.

"Well if you hadn't lost your laptop, your briefcase and your palm pilot, which I still haven't found, I might have."

"We'll stop," Margaret offered, stealing a sideways glance at Toby. "Our tour guide could do with a caffeine fix."

"Did you know the Union Station is so big, you can lay the Washington Monument on its side, you know shove it . . ." Toby said, taking the role of tour guide a little bit too far.

"Toby!" Margaret said, admonishingly. Whatever little known fact he was going to subject them to, it wasn't going to sound so blatantly sexual. Not in a car with the two horniest White House staffers ever. "I'll get you some pie too," she offered in an attempt to appease him.

"What? I was just giving you the tour," he said sweetly.

"Except we passed the station a half hour ago," Josh laughed.

"You don't get coffee," Margaret chided.

"If I don't get coffee, Donna doesn't get a drink."

"Why?"

"Because you'll need to pee again," Josh rationalized.

"That's your fault."

"It's my fault you have to pee?"

"No, it's your fault that I didn't get to go before we left." Her eyes narrowed and she made sure he could understand just how frustrated she was feeling. Of course Josh was pretty dense sometimes, and short of holding up a sign and waving it in his face, there would be no way to know for sure that he understood the glare.

"You blame me, Donna, but you should be used to me by now. You've worked for me for how long and you expect me to be ready on time."

"You should drink more cranberry juice; you probably have a bladder infection. Too much sex," Margaret trailed off.

Donna ignoring Margaret's comment turned to Josh and stated resolutely, "Yeah, I'm a psychic, and I see in your future a very dry spell and much frustration."

Toby's face down-turned into a scowl. "Have you guys ever considered we know too much about each other, and when I say we, I mean I know too much about you and Donna? You don't hear me bragging about the last time I had sex, do you?"

"Toby, do you have something to share with us?"

Margaret flushed red as the car fell into an awkward silence.

"I'm just saying it's not like I need to know everything you guys do, but sometimes it feels like I do."

Donna grinned, "Toby, I you only knew everything you'd probably never come to work again. You'd probably never leave your apartment."

"Donna," Josh whined.

"I'm just saying my considerable talents have been called into question more than once in the past and they've stood the test of time. I've handled the deputy chief of staff's staff quite competently I feel."

"We're changing the radio station now," Margaret said, reaching for the dial.

"Why?"

"Punishment. It's the only thing I can think of."

"Kill me now!" Toby growled. "Make it quick."

"I bet Leo's not having these problems," Josh quipped.

"Have you ever been stuck in a car with CJ for seven hours because I can tell you stories...tales that would give your children nightmares." He paused and something flickered behind his eyes. "And we're not even going there."

Josh piped up, "I'm just saying if it comes down to being stuck in a car with Bonnie and Clyde, I'd be willing to take my chances with CJ."

"Look, a gas station," Margaret announced, pointing and hoping that Toby would take her direction. She really didn't want to be stuck in a car for six more hours, listening to Donna whine about how much she needed to pee and how it was all Josh's fault.

Toby must have heard the desperation in her voice, because he braked suddenly and pulled onto the off ramp, steering them into the service station.

3

"So when I asked you if you brought everything, I meant did you bring a map," CJ said, clarifying what she had said earlier. Apparently there had been a miscommunication somewhere along the way, because they were suddenly in the middle of nowhere with no signs of viable civilization.

"I've been there a thousand times," Leo defended.

"You've flown there a thousand times. How many times have you driven?"

"When we get to New Hampshire, we're gonna talk to the President about highway maintenance. You'd think they could put more reasonable signs up. One sign every twenty miles isn't exactly sufficient, no matter how you spin it and the ones they have in between are little pictures. And you'd think there'd be somewhere decent to get a cup of coffee."

"We're not talking about that right now. We're talking about you not having a map," she stated categorically.

"It's always about what I'm not dong right."

"Sometimes it's about you doing nothing at all."

"And once again we're back to that," he sighed, resigned to the fact that this was a fight he couldn't win.

"See, you say it like that and I wonder."

"We only have three hours left so there probably isn't enough time to list my faults or belittle the fact I haven't got a map. So why don't we just follow what few street signs we have until we get there."

"If we get there," CJ corrected, not entirely sure that they were even headed in the right direction, let alone on the right roads. All she wanted was a map, and it didn't seem like that much to ask.

"Do you want me to drive?" Leo offered.

"Do you want to walk?" she snarled.

Leo rubbed his forehead and wondered where it had all gotten away from him. He'd blame his best friend for once more ruining his life. Of course, CJ wasn't one for making things easy.

"Of course it's gonna be too late to get a hotel when we get there. So we're gonna have to stay at the farm."

"Yeah," he hesitated.

"And that means separate rooms." She glanced his way. "And we wouldn't need separate rooms if you'd tell people."

"Maybe I'd tell people if we'd discuss things occasionally, instead of fight. But of course that's reasonable."

"Are you implying I'm not reasonable?'

"No," he said, knowing that he wouldn't be able to back track fast enough.

"You're saying I'm unreasonable," she accused.

"Women," he muttered, under his breath, remembering why he got divorced.

"Oh, so unreasonable is a female state, now? I'm not supposed to disagree with you?"

"Not again," Leo groaned.

"Bite me."

If only he could, he sighed. Any hope of nibbling her flesh, especially that little spot just below her ear, anytime soon had disappeared.

"You know, screw it, get out," she yelled, screeching to a halt.

"You've got to be kidding me," he whined, looking out the window and seeing nothing but the dull glow of a Mobil sign down the road. Even that seemed at least a mile out, and the rain was coming down harder than it had been before.

"No, get out."

"You realize you're yelling, right, and crazy?"

She glared at him as he climbed out and the rain drenched him. Seconds later she sped away leaving him standing on the side of the road in a rainstorm.

"Bloody men," she said, pushing her Bird York CD into the player. Seething she pulled back onto the highway.

Trust him to fall in love with a deranged woman. He had hoped she would come back immediately. Twenty minutes later when he finally made it to the Mobil he'd tried to use his phone to call Toby the stern look on the cashier's face reminded him too much of Abbey and he'd finally switched it off.

Defeated, he settled in for the duration, hoping that she'd come back for him, though not hedging his bets. She had always come back for him before, though this was the first time she had ever left him in a rainstorm on the side of the road. Normally she just stomped out of his office, though from time to time she had stomped out of his hotel room. This was the first time she had ever left him abandoned somewhere, and definitely the first time he had ever found himself lost and at the mercy of a gas-bar attendant.

He dreaded the idea of calling Manchester and telling the President that he and CJ had a fight, let alone that she had kicked him out of the car. It would all come back to what he had done, and that was a conversation too complicated to get into on a pay phone at four dollars a minute. He may have been a rich man, but he doubted there could be that many quarters at his disposal.

4

"Have you seen a well-dressed, sandy-haired man?" CJ asked as her eyes darted around the gas station's rather large convenience store. It still confounded her that they could be so far from civilization and yet find a small department store-like gas bar.

"Honey, you'll need to give me a little more to work with," the middle aged woman said, her expression deceptively neutral considering the tone she had used.

CJ fought the urge to describe him as incredibly sexy with a smile that you couldn't help but notice. "He's a little older. Has a bit of a limp and is probably drenched..."

"Oh. Him. He's been counting the rows of stamps on the back wall for the past few minutes. Just walk down the aisle on the far left, past the cat food." Turning her attention back to the television facing the pumps, fading into the background pretty easily, the attendant didn't seem at all surprised to see CJ wander in, in search of Leo.

It wouldn't be so far fetched, CJ thought, that she had seen many lovers' quarrels. Being so far from a big city, and the only stop for miles, people probably were running pretty hot by the time they got to the station. Still, she doubted that many of the people who passed through were wearing Armani suits with Cartier watches.

CJ crossed her fingers as she made her way towards the back, hoping he'd had enough time to cool down. If the tables were turned, she would have been so much more than pissed at him. Then again, she knew that if the tables were turned, he wouldn't have kicked her out of the car, which only made her feel worse.

Seeing Leo propped up against a set of milk cartons, CJ felt horrible. Worse than horrible, she realized, if only she knew of an adjective that would describe that.

"Did you know people randomly glue their old postage stamps to the wall here?" He'd seen her approach out of the corner of his eye and didn't want another round of fighting. If it came down to it, he felt fairly confident that Erma the gas-bar attended would side with him, but that was one chance not worth taking.

"Randomly? Just anyone?"

"I guess. I've already counted over 100...Maybe it's the time factor. Nothing else to do around here," his voice trailing off, Leo's eyes focused more intently on her. Why couldn't he stay mad at her? She could be so impossible sometimes and yet it seemed more endearing than trying at the end of the day.

"So," CJ began, "I was thinking... I may have been a little unreasonable earlier."

"I'm not allowed to say that for fear of starting a new wave of suffragette movements," Leo said calmly, enjoying the fact that she was talking to him AND apologizing.

"Well, I can say it, and I have. I'm sorry," CJ said, her hand lightly touching the sleeve of his jacket.

"It's been a long stay here, CJ," Leo pointed out. "Might we be able to continue this in the car? Erma's been lecturing me on federally imposed gas taxes and to be honest, I'm not even sure there's anything to be done differently."

"Erma? The woman at the cash?"

"Yeah," he said, taking one last look at the stamp wall.

"So they just randomly put stamps on the wall?"

"Uh huh."

CJ shook her head in a state of disbelief. "People do crazy things," she muttered.

Silently, Leo had to agree.

6

When CJ and Leo had arrived, the President and Abbey had been sitting around the kitchen table, cups of tea in hand, bantering back and forth about how he had spoiled their weekend.

CJ only felt all too familiar with that sentiment.

Being ushered in to seats around the table, CJ was seated between the President and Abbey, and Leo across from her. Probably best, she thought. Ever since the gas station, things had been...strained, to say the least.

After suffering through a little more than a few minutes of pointless conversation, CJ felt the need to escape. She was feeling somewhat trapped, and less than hospitable. "I'm not trying to be rude, Abbey, but it's been a long drive and I have a headache," CJ said, avoiding Leo's eyes. "So, I'm going to bed, if you don't mind."

Abbey appraised her as only a woman would and sensed there was so much more to it. She shot Leo a look and decided that with CJ out of the room, she was going to get more out of Leo. "Sure, honey. As soon as the others get here, we're heading up too."

CJ made her way upstairs and barely unpacking was asleep within minutes.

Bleary eyed, CJ didn't know what had woken her up. At first she thought it was a door slamming, but it didn't sound quite right. She wondered if it was a dream, but then she heard the noise again. She must be going crazy, because be damned if she couldn't hear bleating.

The first assumption was that Leo had fallen asleep with the Learning Channel on again, but then she heard the noise again but there was no annoying (but distinctive) narrative. The noise was definitely coming from the room next door, but bleating of all things? It had only been once, so CJ tried to convince herself that she was hearing things; her imagination was playing tricks on her.

It wasn't until she heard Josh's voice strangle out a "oh, God, Donna..." that she realized it was her worst nightmare coming true.

She covered her head with a pillow as soft braying noises emanated through the walls and her first concern flew to PETA and how this would play out in the media. Her second concern was that she couldn't make out who was doing the braying.

It seemed that this would be the low point of her night until she heard Donna call out. "Do that again." Seconds later a soft meowing followed.

She prayed it wasn't Josh meowing, at least.

Pinching herself once and then again, hoping to awake herself from the nightmare, she realized this was it. She couldn't run screaming from her room.

"Ride me baby, ride me...Who's your cowboy?"

It was like bad porn and suddenly contempt for Leo crossed her mind. He was down the corridor and soundly asleep across the way while she listened to Buffalo Bill.

"Who's a bad boy then?"

"Woof."

CJ pulled the duvet up over her head, wondering if there was anything she could smother herself with. She would rather a quick death than the circus going on next door.

Silently she wondered if this was God's way of punishing her for her lapsed Catholicism, but she decided it was probably more her sexual escapades of late.

"You know if you do that I'm going to... ooh, ohh..." the sound of her best friend's assistant's whimpering in his bed was not something she wanted to hear at 2 a.m. Scratch that, it wasn't something she wanted to hear at any hour.

It wasn't that she didn't know that they had sex, because God knows that the goofy grin on Josh's face wasn't courtesy of political maneuvering as much as other maneuvering, it seemed.

And it wasn't that she didn't have good sex, but it was just like hearing your baby brother have sex...in your parent's house no less.

"Bring it in the barn, oh yeah...come on...mmm...Bring it in," Donna managed.

It was at that moment she heard a groan, and not the usual kinky one from the room next door. She wasn't alone in her nightmare; Toby could obviously hear them too.

Voices hushed and all she could hear was panting and the occasional whimper. But Josh couldn't keep his mouth shut for long.

"I'm cumming, Donna. I'm cumming, Donna...I'm..."

"Don't shout, Josh," Donna scolded.

The moment wasn't hindered for long, because pretty soon thereafter, CJ heard a long moan which she was certain was Josh proving himself.

"OH yeah," Donna mumbled, satisfied.

"Who's da man? I bring home the bacon, eggs, and the milk," he bragged.

Minutes later, after she was certain that there would be some semblance of normalcy to what was left of her night, CJ heard what sounded like a pig snorting and she braced herself for another round of old McDonald's little farm.

Thankfully, it was only Josh snoring.

Unfortunately, it wasn't likely to fall asleep soon and chances were that she would be the next one in need of therapy.

7

For the first time in several weeks, Leo and CJ were in the same building but not sharing a bed. That alone was enough to keep him from sleeping, but he was also chilled through from his time at the gas station not to mention the hour he sat in the kitchen, in dripping wet clothes, avoiding the questions of the President and his wife.

Several hours of cross puzzling had done nothing to warm him up, as recently he had become quite addicted to other means of stimulation. The means was down the hall, long asleep, he assumed.

Instead of wallowing in pity, he channel surfed for a while, until he realized that the sludge that was on in the middle of Friday night was no better than wallowing anyway.

Turning out his light, he tried to doze. Only a couple of hours of uninterrupted, peaceful sleep were all he was hoping for.

His hopes were quickly dashed when he heard a noise from down the hall and he realized how thin the walls were.

All romantic notions disappeared as he heard a moan. "Ride me bareback, baby." In the haze of semi-consciousness, the voice sounded vaguely familiar. Sitting up suddenly he heard a less than timid voice say "for a brilliant man, you get distracted very easily."

To say he was freaked out was an understatement. After all, he didn't want to imagine his best friends doing that.

Then he heard a less than docile tone whine. "That's not how Amy did it..." The primal scream that followed was one which Leo could only hope was not indicative of his deputy being disemboweled. Then again, once CJ found out, chances were that castration was more likely. After all, she'd already promised to stick a motherboard up there.

Leo glanced at the clock. It was 4 a.m. and they'd all be getting up in an hour or two but judging by the bleating noise echoing through the walls, some of them were already getting it up.

For the first time in his life, he envied Josh. Leo couldn't imagine what it was like to be yourself with the person you loved. Josh and Donna, on the other hand, didn't seem to have any problems with being themselves. Their relationship was a White House secret that never quite made it past the gates. But inside the White House, it was common knowledge and nobody thought anything of it.

Leo hoped that when the time came, they'd receive his relationship with CJ as well as they had Josh and Donna.

It made the desire to tell the President about him and CJ that much greater. For the first time in a long while, work wasn't foremost in his mind. He didn't spend his showers working through plans for the office. Now it was about how he was going to let the President down gently and making plans with CJ.

CJ fixed herself coffee, fully prepared to indulge in some alone time. Of course, that idea flew out the window as Josh and Donna entered the kitchen, giggling.

"I didn't expect to see you up so early," CJ said flatly, her eyes never leaving the cup of coffee in her hand.

"Oh, I was up much earlier than this," Josh said, oblivious to the underlying sexual connotation.

Donna coughed, "It's a beautiful day. I couldn't sleep."

"My,my. We are bright eyed and bushy tailed..." She could have kicked herself. "Damn I didn't mean to say that."

Josh helped himself to coffee. "It's a beautiful morning, a great day, embrace it."

"Shut up Josh," CJ interjected. "It's not as if I got any sleep last night. Then again, I doubt any of us did."

Donna raised her eyebrows and her grin widened. "Oh?"

"Well I didn't know the President kept livestock on the farm. Sheep, I think."

"Sheep?"

"Yeah, I could swear I heard meowing or baaing last night." She kept her tone level, though really she could have strangled her friends for their actions. Most of her frustration stemmed from them getting more action than her, she thought, but no matter what, she didn't want to hear the evidence of their nocturnal acrobatics.

Donna flushed pink. "Er, CJ."

"No, don't try explaining. I don't want to know, but if you ever put me in that position again I'll make your life a living hell." She made a mental note to make sure that on the next trip her room would be as far from the rest of the staff as possible. Just on the off chance, of course, that her and Leo managed to sneak a night together. She hated the idea that everyone would know what they were up to. Not that she imagined that they were that loud, but she certainly got into the moment.

The color drained from Josh's face as realization hit. She had heard them having sex, not jut sex but the kinky sex Donna always wanted when he'd been an idiot. What was wrong with that picture? Of course no one else could have heard, could they?

"Good morning all," Jed boomed entering the kitchen in a pair of jeans and a casual shirt. "Hope you all slept well. Abbey will be down to make breakfast shortly." Looking over his staff, he noticed that there was an unusual tension in the room. "You're looking a little tense there, Josh."

"We're fine, Mr. President," CJ said, with her first smile that morning. "We were just trying to find the best way for Josh and Donna to learn more about alpacas."

"Alpacas," the President asked, a little confused.

"Yeah, they've expressed an interest in the last few days. We wouldn't want them to miss out." Watching her friends' faces register sheer shock, CJ grinned. Oh, this almost made up for the lack of sleep she got the night before.

"Great idea, CJ. We could take a tour, all go together, I know a little about the subject."

Josh groaned knowingly. CJ would probably never let them live it down. As Leo appeared in the doorway, looking freshly showered and immaculate in a deep navy suit, Josh was oddly thankful that his arrival took the attention off of him and Donna.

"Good morning." His eyes lingered on CJ and his smile appeared to widen. "Everyone looks so glum."

"The President is taking us all on a tour. Because we have so much free time right now." She had meant to sound more enthusiastic, but she had never intended on being roped into the punishment of touring the alpaca farm. That was a treat to be reserved specifically for Josh and Donna, but somehow it had backfired on her.

"CJ?"

"Yes, Mr. President?"

"Do you not want to go on the tour?"

"Yes, Sir. I was just saying we have so much free time," she reiterated.

"So you really, really want to go on the tour?"

"Of course, Sir," she muttered between clenched teeth. About as much as she wanted to go to the dentist again, she omitted, knowing that would only get her in to more trouble.

Leo grinned as the President reeled his girlfriend in. "As much fun as it is watching you torture your staff, Sir, are you going to tell us why we're here?"

Jed settled himself in a chair and folded his hands on the table. "Yes, yes but we just need to wait for Toby. He's on the phone." His face lit up. "He's talking to his wife."

Josh grinned. "Anyone want to place bets? Five bucks on him yelling in the next five minutes," he said, reaching into his pocket for his wallet.

"Silly, silly boy," CJ crowed as all attention turned to her. "He's feeling so bad right now he's going to come in with his tail between his legs. Ten bucks."

"You can't double the bet," Josh whined.

"I just did, dear."

Leo shook his head. "If I was you, I wouldn't take her on."

"That's twice in two days someone's told me that. I don't know why you're all so scared of CJ." Puffing out his chest like a defensive animal, Josh tried to feign bravado.

"If only you knew," Leo muttered, remembering his time at the gas bar. That would be something he'd keep in his memory banks for future problems, and as a reminder of just how much power she does have over him.

Seconds later Toby appeared in the doorway, his hands clasped at his side, his expression that of a child who had lost his puppy.

"Good morning," Josh snickered.

"Josh," CJ warned.

"I wouldn't be quite so peppy there, Old MacDonald."

"Alright children, settle down. I brought you all here for a reason." He watched as various people's expressions shifted, as if to challenge him. "The sooner we get it over with, the sooner you can all get back to enjoying what's left of your weekend..."

A collective groan escaped the group. They were all smart enough to know that they would be delusional if they thought they'd get any of their weekend to themselves.

"I've been thinking, it's nearly the end of our term and we haven't decided what our legacy is going to be. I bought you all here to decide."

"Oh dear God," Leo muttered under his breath. "It's going to be the only Presidency where the President is assassinated by a member of his staff."

"It may be silly to you guys, but it's occurred to me that I don't want to leave office and be the guy no-one remembers," he continued, ignoring the grumbles and rumbles around him.

"All due respect, Sir, it's never bothered you before."

"We're leaving office, Josh and we've done none of the things we promised."

"Well Jethro, if you don't care what you're remembered for, why don't we dress you up in one of my frocks and send you down Main Street," Abbey chimed in from the doorway.

Silence fell over the staff as they realized this was one of those moments you didn't speak to the President. It was one of those typical Abbey/Jed moments that they'd all come to appreciate, and to see it now, when it had been so rare since Zoey's kidnapping, was even more refreshing. Even if it did have to come at the expense of their weekend off.

"It's not that I don't care, it's just that we seem to be dragging our heels. Now's the time. And we have the most brilliant minds in America in this room, well, and Josh," the President teased.

"Seriously, Sir, you do have a legacy with the first female Supreme Justice."

"That was meant to be CJ, it wasn't something we did," Jed brushed it off. "We've raised the level of debate in this country, now's the time to bring it to fruition. There are too many children in this country who can't get the care they need, the education they want, and the right start that they so richly deserve. There are too many urban ghettos, too many wastelands, too many weapons and metal detectors in our schools. For all the things we have too much of we still don't have enough teachers, we don't have enough doctors in the poorest areas, and we don't have affordable medication if they do get seen by a doctor. For supposedly being the country of opportunity all I'm seeing is a lot of missed opportunities on our part. At the rate we're going this is the generation who won't have social security, they'll have to do it on their own, let's invest in them while we can. It's time to hand every child the American dream, we only have a year to do it," Jed announced, picking up his coffee and heading out of the kitchen.

"You know, it's hard to stay pissed at him when he said things like that," CJ commented dryly.

Leo shrugged. "How do you think I feel? We've been friends for thirty odd years, and every time I get mad at him, he comes out with something like this."

CJ nodded understandably, looking between her friends. "So we break down into teams and each take a subject. But I'm not working with Josh."

"Hey," Josh whined.

"Fair's fair," CJ said, grinning. "Leo? Toby? Who wants to play?"

Leo bit back a comment, knowing that it would be so easy to say something that would get him in trouble. "Toby and Josh play so well together. It'd be a shame to separate them."

Toby silently cursed, mumbling that his day hadn't been bad enough.

Abbey smiled, "I guess we're going to need more coffee. Maybe some pie?" The troops seemed to rally at the suggestion of pie. "Glad to see that went over well," she laughed, as she made her to the fridge.

8

How are you planning on funding it?" Leo asked, his voice laced with skepticism. "You're talking about adding an extra ten dollars for each child."

His phone rang and he flipped open the cell. "McGarry."

"Hey, Angela. What have you got for me?'

Josh concentrated on his legal pad, though he secretly hoped that things weren't going quite so well. If they sent him in to fix the problem, it would be one more instance of Josh saves the day, or at least the very first.

"Really. And they're definitely settling on six percent the first year? What did the airlines have to give them?" He nodded, his face betraying little of the workings going on in his head. "So we live with it. At least the planes will be flying again for the holidays. No, no, you don't need to fly up. We're almost done here, and at least one of us should be able to enjoy the weekend." The last thing he wanted was another person thrown into the mix, another point of consternation for Josh. "We should be back tomorrow night, and then the real work begins." After a moment of pause, Leo smiled. It was obvious to Josh that Leo was pleased with the outcome. "Hey, Angela...Thanks again. You did good." He returned the phone to his pocket. "Strike's over."

"Thank God," Toby sighed, thankful that the car on the ride home was going to be less crowded.

Josh just kind of shrugged. "Took long enough, didn't it?" He hadn't meant to be so whiny, but it was just so damn frustrating watching other people get the job done.

"Well, it's done. That's all that matters. It means I don't have to worry about Toby killing you on the drive back. And it means that Margaret might actually get ten minutes of peace." CJ smiled as she looked over to Leo. It also meant that they wouldn't have to separate Josh and Donna by means of adding one of them to their car.

"Alright folks, let's get this going then. We need CJ to brief the press about the airline strike. We need Josh and Donna to book their airline tickets so we can not only prove that the planes are back in the air but so you both walk away alive, and I fully intend on enjoying some of my weekend." Jed looked over his staff, pleased with the weekend.

Everything had pulled together pretty well, surprisingly enough, and it seemed like they were going to head into their last year with the oomph that he believed the American people deserved.

9

It had been a long day, not by White House standards but because they had all been cooped up in the dining room all day. After the initial euphoria after Angela's phone call, CJ had been tied up on the phone to most of the major media outlets while the others continued to hash out the details of their new agenda. She returned an hour later to find herself in the middle of what she could only describe as a hockey brawl.

Most of it stemmed, from what she could gather in between feral grunts, from Toby's inability to compromise and Josh's lack of tact. Perhaps it wasn't the best course of action for Josh to call Margaret's suggestions inane, or Toby to refer to Donna as Josh's girl Friday. But then the President wasn't helping matters by launching into long tirades, on what CJ couldn't gage, but it continued long into the night and just watching the scene proved exhausting.

CJ had finally had enough, slipping away after dinner (and numerous fights that all boiled down to boys being boys) to take in the night air on the verandah.

After listening to Toby and Josh yell at each other all day, the peace of the Manchester farm came as a relief. It was moments like this that made working in the White House bearable. Leaning against the banister, CJ fought back a groan as she heard the screen door open and close; so much for enjoying the peace by herself.

"What ya doing?"

She fought the urge to smile. As much as she was mad at him she had missed him too much over the weekend.

"Counting stars," CJ replied. "After last night's performance I'll never be able to count sheep again."

Leo laughed, "At least they're making the most of their weekend even if it's torturing the rest of us." He moved closer to her, his hand resting lightly on the small of her back. "I'm sorry our weekend couldn't be more what I'd planned."

"It's ok," she shrugged. "Thanks for trying." It was a half hearted attempt at making him feel better just as he had tried by attempting to get them hotel rooms. The President unfortunately was having none of it –he liked the idea of having them all there for a glorified slumber party.

"I'm guessing you enjoyed the trivia quiz over dinner as much as I did," Leo groaned, his fingers moving softly over lightly covered skin. "I promise next weekend we'll do something special."

CJ nodded, knowing that next weekend there would just be something else to distract him and the last thing she wanted to do was get her hopes up only to have them dashed by a Presidential order or some variety of crisis. "Are Toby and Josh still fighting it out over nursery school programs?"

"Don't know for sure. Last check Toby wanted them all to wear little hats and one piece jumpers. He was muttering something about protecting their innocence. I think I can still hear Josh grumbling."

"What was Josh's problem with it? Aside from the fact that it's a stupid idea?"

"Something about a Yakima? There must be some sort of trauma from his childhood he's still not dealt with," Leo reasoned. "Margaret even has concerns with the plan."

CJ laughed. "Because it's stupid," she asked.

"No, because she's worried about the kids who can't afford the hats."

"If this is to be the legacy, can I just say there's no good way to spin this?" Wrapping her arms around her body, CJ tried to warm herself.

"I have to agree with you, but it's keeping them busy," Leo defended.

"'Cause we're not busy enough," CJ added, feeling like that was really her 'signature line'. It seemed that everyone else thought they had nothing but time, when in reality, every free minute was a luxury. "Anyway, I'm going to head up to bed before Josh manages to knock some sense into Toby and he begins tonight's exhibitions. I might be able to get a few hours sleep."

The thought of CJ going to bed alone had Leo inwardly groaning; more than anything he wanted to go inside and tell everyone about his relationship with her but he didn't know what she wanted.

As wonderful and remarkable of a woman as she was, CJ was also incredibly difficult to read. It seemed that she had endured enough public relationships that had gone badly in the end and that sometimes she just wanted the discrete 'thing' they had. Other times, times which led Leo to wonder if they were mostly in his imagination, it seemed she wanted something more normal—something much more difficult for him to give her.

Taking the uninterrupted moment and a chance, he leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

She gave him the goofy grin she reserved just for him. "Goodnight Babes."

"'Night sweetheart," he managed, watching her walk away.

The thud coming from the next room awoke CJ from her slumber. A second thud had her sitting up in bed. It was beginning again. If sex was an Olympic sport, she imagined Josh and Donna would sweep the gold in every category. If the activities next door were anything to go on agility was not a problem and neither was endurance, though the freestyle competition had her worried.

Realizing she was giving their sex life serious thought, she decided enough was enough. Grabbing her shirt from the floor, she padded out onto the corridor fully prepared to knock on their door.

Leo's words from earlier changed her mind. Instead, she found herself opening his bedroom door and creeping inside. Expecting it to be pitch black, she was surprised to find the curtains parted and moonlight illuminating his face as he slept, his trademark grin etched across his features as he dreamed, although of what she had no idea.

The shirt landed in a pile on the carpet as she slid in beside him.

Feeling arms snake around his waist and a warm body next to his, Leo drifted out of his slumber. He had been having the most exceptional dreams and felt vaguely robbed until he realized whose body it was. "CJ," he asked, his voice still groggy from sleep.

"You have many other women crawling into bed with you at night."

Rolling to face her, Leo smiled. "You're definitely the only woman I need."

"Damn straight," she whispered, her lips trailing kisses across his cheek.

"You shouldn't be in here," he muttered half-heartedly. "What if the President or Abbey walk in and find you here?"

"You get a lot of midnight visitations in your bedroom from the President and his wife?" She teased.

"Well, no, but knowing our luck, he'll have come up with a surefire way to provide every kid with free milk until puberty. And God knows he can't wait," Leo grumbled.

"Well, he's going to have to learn," she purred, her hand drifting lower.

"Er, CJ...What are you doing?"

"If you're asking I'm obviously doing it very very wrong."

"It's the President's house."

"Well, I'm not having sex with the President," CJ quipped.

The moonlight illuminating her face made her intention clear. It was an expression he had grown quite fond of.

"Still, shouldn't we wait until we get back to DC?" Leo asked, his mind on where her hands were heading.

"And be the only people in this house not having sex tonight? Nuh uh. Dr. And Mrs Dolittle are having a grand ol' time over there, and I don't even want to think about what Abbey and the President are doing." She shuddered, only too aware of Abbey's mood at dinner. "Margaret and Toby are probably still talking about babies and hats. No, Mr. McGarry, you're not getting rid of me that easily."

Leo rolled to embrace CJ only to see a stuffed Koala bear staring back at him. "Uh, CJ," he groaned.

"Oh, what now, old man?" she teased, hearing the hesitation in his voice. If she couldn't feel his interest in her, she'd have a serious self confidence issue.

"There's some kind of koala bear staring at us," he pointed out.

CJ laughed. "This place may sound like a zoo at night, but a koala bear?"

"A stuffed one, like a toy," his voice was low, probably out of embarrassment.

"Oh for the love of all things holy," she grumbled, making her way out of bed and towards the stuffed animal. Grabbing it and stuffing it in the closet, she smiled. "Any other spectators going to spoil our fun?"

"All clear," he grinned, giving the room one last once over.

"Good, because Josh and Donna have a good head start on us," she laughed, plodding back towards the bed.

"We'll make up for it. What we lack in boisterousness we make up for in creativity." Watching her walk towards him, his breath caught in his throat. He still didn't know what she was doing with him, but he wasn't going to let her go very easily. "So, sweetheart, if I make you purr tonight, do I get breakfast in bed?"

CJ just laughed affectionately, as she climbed back on top of him.

Toby leaned back in his chair as CJ walked into the dining room, greeting them all with a grin and making her way to the side table. He was sure he recognized the shirt. His eyes trailed over her chest, noting with satisfaction that it was in fact a man's shirt.

"Where are you going with those?" Josh asked, gesturing wildly at the two laden plates in her hand.

"Leo won a bet."

"What sort of bet?" he asked innocently.

"The sort you don't ask about." She stuck her tongue out at him playfully. With that she waggled her hips and left.

"They didn't," he muttered. "They wouldn't." His face scrunched in consternation. "No. That's like finding your parent's stash of KY jelly."

"And it's not bad enough knowing you and Donna have acrobatic sex every night?" Toby asked. "At least they had the decency to keep it quiet."

"Oh my God," Donna whined.

"Well, you were practically swinging from the chandelier," Margaret commented, her face straight.

Something flickered behind Donna's eyes; her best friend's room was on the other side of the building. She couldn't possibly have heard from there.

"I don't know, Margaret. Josh isn't exactly what one would refer to as a chandelier—remember, we shared a room during the campaign," Toby deadpanned, poking fun at his friend's manhood.

"Hey," Donna and Josh whined in unison.

Margaret grinned. "Evidently it's more than enough to keep her happy," she said non-chalantly. "And that's all that matters."

The group was stunned by the normally sedate Margaret's comment.

"I swear, we're all going to hell," Toby moaned.

"At least Josh and I'll have fun on the way," Donna said, straight faced earning a round of laughter from everyone, Toby included.

10

Abbey knocked on the sitting room door and hovered in the doorway.

"Hey, sweetknees," Jed greeted, turning from his staff.

"Do you have a minute?" It was more of a statement than a question.

The others lapsed into silence, watching as Jed followed Abbey into the hallway.

"How much longer are you going to keep them here?" she asked, her voice betraying that she thought they had been there long enough.

"Is everything done?" he replied, his smile lighting up his face. "Did you take care of everything?"

She nodded, her own grin widening. "One widescreen television, one wet suit, a kitten, a Tiffany bracelet, skis and a touring bike." It may have seemed a little cruel to bring the staffers to Manchester but it seemed the only way to sneak into their apartments and show their appreciation. The next weekend the staff would finally get the time off they deserved. "And hopefully their new gifts make up for the torture you've subjected them to this weekend."

"They've surprised me, yet again," Jed said, with affection. "They amaze me, every time. If we can pull this off my legacy will truly be something to be proud of."

"So send them home," she said.

Jed made his way back into the sitting room, Abbey at his side. "We can pick this up tomorrow. Get your sorry asses back to DC."

Leo frowned. "Sir?"

"Go, enjoy the rest of your weekend." He wished he had a camera to capture the look of surprise on their faces. "No arguments."

"You'll get no argument from me," CJ said with feeling. There wasn't much time left to the weekend, but at least she'd be able to fit in an evening with Leo, a movie and maybe if she was lucky a bubble bath.

"We're done," Margaret asked, half heartedly. She was mid-sentence when the President interrupted and she didn't want to leave anything half-finished.

"Close enough. We'll fit in a few meetings this week, and make the most of staff. Hell, for once we might even keep on topic." Jed smiled at his staff, all still sitting with a dazed look on their face. "Of course, if you'd rather stay here..."

"They really wouldn't," Abbey said, having plans of her own for the evening.

"Alright, well, then, make yourselves scarce. I'll see you at Staff."

Choruses of 'see you tomorrow,' rang throughout the sitting room, as everyone gathered their bits and pieces. Even in light of a seven hour drive home to come, they would have more of their day left than they normally would. Things were shaping up.

It was remarkable just how quickly everyone had managed to get themselves ready when they put their minds to it. It seemed that within the half hour everyone was packed and the men were doing 'as men do' and loading up the vehicles.

With a final round of hugs and handshakes, CJ and Leo piled into their car, both heaving a sigh of relief that they were really escaping with that much of their day left. That was, assuming the President didn't have another brainstorm and call them back before they hit the New Hampshire border.

"He's up to something," Leo said, "this was too easy."

CJ shook her head. "Whatever he's up to, it includes us getting this evening to ourselves. Are you going to complain?"

Remembering the gas station incident, he vehemently shook his head. "No complaints here."

"Good, good," she grinned, giving one last wave over her shoulder, noticing that the President and Abbey stood on the verandah, still waving the staffers off. She had to admit, they had a look on their faces that was indescribable, but definitely mischievous.

He still didn't understand how he and Margaret had been voted the couple to drive Josh and Donna to the airport, but Toby was mildly relieved that it had gone so well.

Josh and Donna had sat in the back, relatively quietly, and kept their little 'cute comments' to themselves for most of the ride, only once or twice causing Toby to raise his voice.

Now that they were officially free of the demented duo, Toby could breathe again. It seemed that at least for a little while, he would be free of Josh's antics and the strange noises he had been party to for the past two nights.

"Toby?" Margaret asked, as they pulled away from the airport.

"Yes, honey?" He was, indeed, in a good mood. A very good mood, even.

"You probably don't care but you realize that we've left Josh and Donna alone?" The worry etched across her face didn't register with Toby.

"And? It's not as if they can get into that much trouble on there," he said with conviction.

"I say to you Air Force One bathroom." She tried not to remind him of moments from the past when Josh and Donna had been ridiculous, but he did need to remember this one.

His face scrunched up as images flashed behind his eyes. "Call the airline...Get us patched through to the cockpit!"

"Don't you think that's a little extreme?"

"I'm talking to Josh..."

Margaret laughed. "Because pulling him into the cockpit so you can tell him not to screw his girlfriend on the plane isn't the least bit extreme?"

"The alternative is crazy-gluing all the bathroom doors closed. You make the decision," he said, mortified by the possibilities of the trouble they could get into at 20,000 feet.

"Then you explain it to CJ," Margaret said sweetly.

That was yet another conversation Toby didn't want to have. Seemed that these days there were a lot of those.

The End