Nuptials By Willow

Summary: Snapshots from Charlie and Zoey's wedding.
Spoilers/Episode: Anything up to season 6 2162 Votes
Characters: Ensemble
Rating: PG (slightest touch of angst, you know I can never resist)
A/N: For this fic I'm choosing to ignore the fact the leak is suspected to be a senior White House staffer because I wanted them all to be here, so instead I've made it Russell, who annoyed me in Babylon 5, Crusade and then annoyed me even more as Bingo Bob;-)

Part II - Bachelors & Brides

By the time Sam and Josh arrived at the bar, everyone else was already there. Toby looked irritatedly at his watch, "Where've you been?" he asked.

"Sam spilt coffee down himself," Josh replied. "Everyone," he grinned, "you remember Sam."

"The face is familiar," CJ joked. "Did you used to work in the White House?"

"Funny," Sam smiled. "It's not been that long."

"Over a year since you last visited," CJ replied as she hugged Sam. "We miss you, Spankey." She looked at Josh, "Both of you."

"It's a week since you last saw me," Josh pointed out.

"Wasn't what I meant," CJ replied.

"Hang on," Josh said as he looked at CJ, Donna, Mallory, Carol, Margaret and Charlie's sister, Deanna. "I thought this was a bachelor party? There shouldn't be women here."

"Well that's just plain sexist," Carol told him.

"Of course it is, he's Josh," Mal grinned. "We came to see Sam, we're leaving soon. Oh stop pouting," she told Josh, "We came to see you as well, but mainly Sam," she added.

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"What exactly is that?" CJ asked as she looked over Zoey's gifts at the party in the Residence.

Abbey smiled, "I find it's best not to ask those sort of questions, but I'm assured by Zoey that she won't need it, ever."

"Ah, no, I see what it is now. Oh, God, how do you turn it off?"

"You're asking me?" Abbey grinned. "Happily married for forty years, CJ, never had need of any kind of battery operated toy."

"Thanks for sharing that," CJ smiled as she finally managed to switch the dildo off. She placed it quickly back on the table. "What are the president and Leo up to tonight?"

"Football. Not playing you understand," Abbey smiled. "Jed has some tapes of Notre Dame against Michigan, with Notre Dame winning every one of course."

"Well that should be fun for Leo."

"I think he may wish he'd gone to the bachelor party," Abbey agreed. "The campaign's going very well."

"It is. I thought the thing with Russell would hurt them, but it doesn't seem to have any effect. You think Santos would make a good president?"

"I do, I like him. Jed had wanted to support him from the start, but everyone thought Russell would have a better chance of uniting the party, not so controversial."

"But Santos's speech at the convention made the president's mind up?"

"Yeah, it was the final thing," Abbey agreed. "He liked his education package and his stand on healthcare. Santos is honest and makes his own mind up about issues. And it didn't hurt that Josh turned down both Hoynes and Russell to run Santos's campaign."

CJ smiled, "And we all thought he'd committed professional suicide."

"We were wrong there."

"What about Leo though, health wise I mean?"

"Leo's loving it," Abbey replied. "Can you really imagine Leo retiring quietly to a place in the country to write his memoirs? He'd fade away without the challenge and the fight."

"Mom," Zoey called, "stop hiding out here, it's time for the cake."

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Three hours and four bars later; Ed, Larry, Charlie and Sam were playing a drunken game of pool, while Josh and Toby sat and watched. "They're hopeless," Josh commented.

"Yeah," Toby agreed. "Where are your minders?"

"One's outside, one's over in the corner."

Toby looked across the room. "Not very inconspicuous."

"I guess that's the idea."

"So what are the threats?"

"You know the kind of thing," Josh shrugged. "You get the letters as well."

"Not so bad that I get an escort wherever I go."

Josh looked uneasy. "They got worse a month ago." He stared into his drink. "I was sent a bullet," he admitted. "Secret Service think it's the same people sending the letters, they stepped up a gear."

Toby stared at him. "Who?"

"Dunno, there's plenty of choice out there, take your pick."

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Josh?"

Josh squirmed under Toby's gaze. "The bullet shook me up a bit, but I'm fine now. It's funny you know, these people," he shook his head, "they don't have clue do they?"

"I don't..."

"I mean, they send this stuff hoping to get rid of us, hoping that we'll hide ourselves away or go back where we came from."

"I'd say that's their plan," Toby agreed.

"Dun't work," Josh said. "Makes me more determined to win in November, made me more determined to be here this weekend."

Toby frowned. "They don't like you being Charlie's best man?"

"I think it's more Charlie and Zoey marrying they don't like." Josh studied Toby for a few seconds, wondering whether to tell him, in the end he knew he had to. "They wrote to remind me what happened to me last time Zoey and Charlie were together, they included the bullet as a small memento."

Toby sat and stared at Josh. He could feel the anger building inside him and didn't trust himself to speak. Finding Josh at Rosslyn was something that would stay with Toby for the rest of his life. There were still nights when he woke in a cold sweat, with the image of Josh bleeding to death engraved in his mind.

Josh could see the emotions, the anger and fear, in Toby's eyes. "Yeah," he agreed. "That's about how I felt."

Part 3 - Get Me To The Church On Time >>>