Later that day sitting in his office

Later that day sitting in his office, Noah dialed the number he knew by heart and waited for the person at the other end to answer.

"Ziegler...speak."

"Nice phone manners you have there, Kate," he answered. He had a hard time remembering a time in his life before Kate Ziegler entered his world. He'd first met her at the funeral of Leo McGarry soon after CJ and Toby had brought her into their lives as a frightened, belligerent foster child. Kate had already been moved through a half dozen foster homes in the three years since her mother had died in a car accident. Her social worker had been out of ideas and out of options when she'd sent the troubled girl to the Zieglers. The social worker knew that Toby and CJ wouldn't 'put up with her crap' as Kate had later told him.

All of the former Bartlet staffers had been devastated at Leo's loss, former President Bartlet most of all. Because of his illness, Jed Bartlet had expected to be the first to go, mentally if not physically, but that wasn't to be the case. The MS, still in remission, hadn't stolen his mind from him yet, but Leo's death had stolen an important piece of his heart.

He remembered the murderous glare Kate had worn as she followed CJ and Toby into the Lyman home in DC the night before the memorial service at the National Cathedral. The two adults had looked as distraught as his own parents, and one look at Kate had convinced him that she was doing her best to make things worse.

After dinner that night he'd found her sitting outside on the steps of their home.

"Hi," Noah had greeted her.

"Go away," she'd grumbled.

"Look, I know you don't want to be here..."

"What makes you think that?"

"Who you trying to kid? Just...I know you don't know CJ and Toby very well, but why are you giving 'em such a hard time?"

"I just...the social workers are just going to pull me out again. I'm tired of getting attached to people only to have them give me back," Kate had admitted.

"I don't think Toby and CJ want to give you back."

"Why wouldn't they? I'm a pain in the ass. I have a smart mouth. I talk back..."

"Unless it's escaped your attention...you've just described Toby and CJ," Noah had pointed out.

"Yeah...I guess I am a lot like them. Doesn't change the fact that I'm too old for anyone to want to adopt me."

Noah didn't know what to say to that. Grandpa Jed would know though Noah had told himself. "Just...don't get mad at them right now, 'kay? Leo meant the world to them...to my parents too. They're dealing with enough right now without you making trouble. You remember how you felt when your mom died, don't you?"

"I don't wanna talk about it!" Kate had growled at him.

"Leo was like a father to them."

"How do you know all this stuff?"

"My mom and dad worked for him in the White House too. Mom's been crying since Aunt Margaret called her, and Dad...he locked himself in their office, but I could hear him crying too," Noah admitted. It was a frightening thing for a twelve year old boy to find his father crying, and he wanted to do whatever he could to make the sad, haunted look in his father's eyes go away. If all he could do was talk this angry girl out of making trouble, that was what he'd do.

"What's going to happen tomorrow?" she'd asked.

"There's going to be a memorial at the National Cathedral," Noah had told her. He'd explained everything he knew about what would happen the next day at the cathedral including what to do and say to the various politicians who would attend just as his parents had explained it to him. "Grandpa Jed is coming."

"Grandpa Jed?"

"President Bartlet...you'll get to meet him. Leo was his best friend. Then there will be a bunch of people coming back here. Grandpa Leo left a tape that he wanted them to watch together....it's sort of a will," Noah had explained.

Kate must have taken his words to heart because the next day she had been on her best behavior during the service at the Cathedral. He had noticed her carefully watching CJ and Toby as they grieved. Kate had indeed met Jed Bartlet and his family. Noah had seen to it that his Grandpa Jed heard all about Kate, her problems, and her fears. He'd asked Kate to ride back to the Lyman home with him alone. Even his wife was asked to ride with their daughter in the second Suburban. He didn't know what Kate and Bartlet had spoken of during that car ride. Only Kate did, and she spoke of it to no one. He remembered how nervous CJ and Toby had been leaving their delinquent foster child alone with the former President of the United States. When the car had pulled up at the curb and Kate and Jed Bartlet had stepped out there'd been a tiny smile on his face.

"Daughters are God's punishment for being born men, Toby" Bartlet had told him. "You live in fear that one day they'll start dating someone just like you."

"That's alright, sir" Toby had replied. "I don't intend to let Kate date until she's thirty...maybe not even then."

"You can't lock our daughter up until she's thirty, Toby," CJ had argued.

"Like Hell I can't. I'm not letting some testosterone crazed teenager out alone with my baby girl."

"Our baby girl can take care of herself."

The tears had slipped unnoticed down Kate's face as she finally let herself believe that CJ and Toby were indeed committed to being her parents. She'd glanced quickly at Bartlet who'd smiled back and told her to call him 'Grandpa Jed'.

When the Zieglers had left the next day, he'd given Kate his e-mail address. The first message had arrived the next day. There'd been other meetings, of course, many at the Manchester home of President Bartlet. When their Grandpa Jed had died six years later just after Noah had turned eighteen they'd comforted each other through a second memorial at the National Cathedral. When they'd both been accepted to Harvard, the choice for both of them had been obvious. Leaving home had been much more bearable being together, but during all those years of growing up and later college, they'd never seen each other in a boy-girl sense. It wasn't until he'd watched his sister grow large with child and thoughts of having children of his own filled his mind that his feelings for Kate had begun to change. In all the fantasies he'd had the last few months of having children of his own, it was always Kate who was the mother of those children. Now if only he could convince his best friend to be more than friends.

"What's up, Lyman?" she asked.

"Is that job offer still open?" he asked in return as he motioned Sara into his office where she dropped bonelessly into one of the chairs opposite his desk. She'd convinced their mother that driving all the way to Manchester just so Ellie could take a look at three broken ribs was a waste of time, and so Sara had been seen by a doctor at GW after their visit with Jodi and baby Jed. She'd left with a prescription for painkillers and orders to take it easy for a few days. Sara had snorted upon hearing that order causing her mother to glare and threaten dire consequences if she didn't do exactly as the doctor had ordered.

"Yeah..." Kate drawled out. "I thought you were working for your mom though?"

"Long story. I'll tell you when I get there, if the job's still open?"

"So what? You don't get the job; I don't get the story?"

"Something like that, yeah," Noah smirked.

"Alright. Let me talk to Dad," Kate agreed.

"Listen, Kate. I'm going to need a place to stay until I find an apartment. Can I crash with you for awhile?"

Sara had been listening with half an ear during his conversation until that point as she slouched in one of the visitor's chairs. Sitting bolt upright she grabbed a pad of paper and a felt pen from his desk and hastily scribbled a note in bold capital letters before holding it up to him. 'ARE YOU NUTS?!' the note read.

"Sure, mein liebchen" Kate replied using the pet name she'd given him during high school when she'd been learning German. She'd always gotten a kick out of her mother calling his dad 'mi amor', and this was her way of carrying on the tradition.

Noah smirked knowing Kate had no idea that he meant to convince her that he really was her 'liebchen'. "I'll be waiting to hear from you. Take care," he told her just before he hung up.

"Can I crash with you for a while?" Sara parroted him. "Do you want to get kneecapped that badly, Noah? 'Cause Mom wasn't kidding when she told you CJ's going to break 'em if you hurt Kate."

"Have some faith, Sara" Noah quipped.

"You, brother dear, are a train wreck waiting to happen," Sara declared.