Sorry I've taken so long to get back to this one, but as usual I've bitten off more than I can chew. Hope you like it.
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Faith & Facing Fears
by Lyda Mae (RavenDove) Huff
Chapter Two: The Morning Before
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8:00 a.m. Tuesday Morning
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Donna Moss walked through the maze of offices that was The West Wing. Her boss Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman had sent her to deliver some files to the office of Chief of Communications Toby Zeigler.
She found Toby in his office with his jacket draped over the back of his chair. His hand was poised above a blank legal pad and there were many crumpled sheets of yellow paper in or near the wastebasket. He looked up from his lost train of thought. "I've got nothing." he said.
"What's the problem?" Donna Asked.
"Sam needs subjects for remarks on the Utah trip, but Mormons are a tough crowd." Toby said with a sigh.
"What's so tough about Mormons?" Donna asked.
Toby stood up and stretch as he reached for the files in Donna'a hand. "Everyone knows that voting Democrat is grounds for excommunication from the Mormon Church."
Donna shook her head, "I doubt it's really that bad." She looked at the wall that separated Toby's office to Sam's. "Where is Sam anyway?"
"He had a doctor's appointment this morning."
Donna thought a moment and bit her lip. "I'm pretty sure Josh will want to speak to him when he gets in."
Toby opened the first file of the stack he'd been given and began reading. "He should be in by ten."
Donna nodded and turned to leave.
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8:47 a.m. Tuesday Morning
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Sam walked into the dinner took one look around and almost turned around to walk right back out again. It was a grease pit, and after what his doctor had just told him about his cholesterol level, eating here looked like a bad idea.
The thing that stopped him from following that impulse was the simple fact that he probably wouldn't be able to find anything better in the time he had. He'd skipped breakfast in order to make his appointment on time only to be kept in the waiting room for nearly an hour. His stomach was more empty than a women's rights rally in Qumar.
He took a seat at the counter near the register and a young red headed waitress in an old style pink uniform dress handed him a menu. He looked at her name tag as he opened the well used menu. "Bindy?" he asked.
"It's from Australia." she said with an unfamiliar, but defiantly American accent. "My mother thought it sounded exotic, but it just means girl in Aborigine."
"What name would you have chosen?" Sam asked. "If you don't think it's to forward to ask."
"Kait." she answered.
"Kate isn't exactly an original name either." he said.
"Not Kate, K, A, T, E, Kait. K, A, I, T." she said as she placed a glass of water in front of Sam.
Sam shook his head and looked at the menu. "I'm sorry I asked."
Bindy grabbed a pot of coffee and headed to give police officer at the other end of the counter a refill.
The counter had a forty-five degree bend and Sam had a good view of the police officer, who was an older man with thinning salt and pepper hair. Sam thought he must have just come off shift because his uniform was rumpled. the officer was in the middle of a conversation with an even older gentlemen in the seat next to him that was leaning against the back wall.
There was a pimple faced waiter in black slacks and a shirt the same institution pink that Bindy wore. He was placing an order in front of two dark haired women and a little girl about five years old who sat at one of the front booths.
Two booths farther away from Sam was a blond woman with a lap top, a camera and a half eaten bagel. She was searching through a stack of compact flash cards. When she found the right one she inserted it into the reader and continued eating her bagel.
Sam looked back down at the menu and cringed. When Bindy came back he ordered a short stack without butter or bacon, orange juice and coffee.
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