Posit a Mystery, Then Solve It

Addy was still in limbo about a permanent desk situation when Donna showed up to visit her 'old' desk.

Unusually, her friend commented multiple times on what she was wearing, a pleated skirt in pink with a cream colored blouse and pink matching blazer. Addy would be the first person to admit it was on the edge of what might be considered 'professional wear,' and probably the only thing that sent it over was the sensible shoes and hairstyle she always wore. By the third time that Donna complimented her blouse, Addy realized she had some kind of ulterior motive.

This was borne out when Addy finally brought up the elephant in the room. "Okay, out with it, I can't focus with you butterflying all over me without getting to the real point!"

"You caught me. Drop everything and come with me? This counts as networking."

All Addy managed to get out of her mouth was a "What-" before Donna rendered her speechless by neatly packing everything at her desk into Addy's nearby shoulder bag in two minutes flat. Something told her that her friend probably did the same for Josh at least once a week.

"It's Ambassador Day, and I need a wing-woman," Donna declared when she was finished, and that was how Addy found herself being guided through the halls and into a room that she definitely wasn't senior enough to be invited to. Each ambassador had to meet with the President in a particular order, and this room was where they waited for their turn. It was reminiscent of Leo's office, full of the kind of fancy furnishings and revolutionary charm that characterized the more ceremonial rooms of the White House. All of her instincts told her to leave. This was his world, not hers. Donna was still leading her forward, though, stopping in front of a couch with one occupant, a dark-haired man with the easy, feline grace of someone privileged.

"Ah, excellent!" the man declared when he saw them. His accent was unmistakably British. "Did you know, I was just sitting here wondering in despair what there was to do while I waited for the President's audience?"

"And now, here we are!" Donna said, smiling so coyly that Addy was afraid she might actually believe the innuendo that hovered under the surface of her words.

The man's eyes narrowed astutely as he looked at them. "Your friend appears to be worried about your sincerity." He leaped to his feet with aplomb and performed an elegant bow. "Lord John Marbury, delighted to make your acquaintance."

"Donnatella Moss," Donna said in a soft voice.

"Now, don't go corrupting my staff!" Leo bellowed from across the room.

Addy thought Leo had gone off to accompany the President for the speech everyone had been muttering about. She looked around as discreetly as she could to see whether he would come over, but was startled by an elbow to the side. Donna was being completely unsubtle, and Addy didn't feel at all guilty for the gasp she let out.

"You're supposed to introduce yourself," her friend hissed, far too loudly. "With your full name, of course."

"You really are relentless!" Addy whispered back. She looked over at Marbury. He had a look on his face that made her nervous; Lord John Marbury (this had to be the man Donna had been waxing poetic about at lunch) didn't seem like the kind of person who missed anything. Luckily for her, Donna was fixated on what she assumed Addy's secret was: her first name.

"Is there a mystery to uncover?" Marbury asked, his thick eyebrows lifting.

"There is!" Donna said in excitement. "This is my friend Addy Blair. She works with CJ." Donna waved her hand as though there was very little difference between her work as the Deputy Chief of Staff's assistant and Addy's work as a very junior staffer in the office of the Press Secretary. "Today, I found out that 'Addy' is, in fact, short for something."

"Breathtaking," Marbury said. It somehow didn't come across as insulting, even though it would have on the lips of pretty much anyone else. "What is it short for? Or, might I ask, is that our mystery?"

"It is!" Donna said, favoring Marbury with a proud grin.

"I declare myself intrigued," he stated, walking over to the mantelpiece nearby and resting a hand on it. He looked like a nobleman transported straight out of the English countryside, and Donna looked like she'd been transported into a romance novel. Addy wanted to be transported somewhere else.

"It's really not that interesting," she started to say, but Donna actually clapped one hand over her mouth and planted the other at her back, walking the two of them closer to Marbury.

"Are there hints?" he asked, breaking the mantel pose to turn toward them.

"Give the man a hint, Addy."

"I feel a sudden, powerful pity for your boss," Addy said to her, extricating herself from Donna's iron grip. Donna just glared, and Addy could hear Leo's voice in conversation with someone else just a few feet away. She didn't want him to come over, not while Marbury was nearby. He seemed like the kind of scholar of body language who could guess her feelings in under five minutes.

"Humor us, please, Miss Blair?" Marbury begged her, actually stepping forward and clasping his hands in a pleading gesture.

"It starts with A."

"Addy!" Donna whined.

"No, no, that's useful. For example, she could have been named after a Naiad, a water nymph."

"Still. That's a bad clue," Donna told him, her voice a little breathless.

"It has an actual translation," Addy said. "Though, something tells me that's probably too much of a hint for you, sir, because you look like the sort of man who knows many, many languages."

Marbury's face broke into a slow, satisfied smile. "You are quite right. I do believe I know what it is, now that you've said that."

"Ooh, tell me, please?"

Addy watched the way Marbury's expression changed with Donna's coy begging. His gaze shifted to meet hers, and the look carried a hint of apology to it, as though they built a bridge of understanding in those few seconds. Donna, who clearly had a crush on Lord John, would not much appreciate it if he said Addy's full name aloud.

She could solve that by removing herself from the equation. Addy positioned herself to casually scan the room, looking for a door she could reasonably expect would lead to a place she was permitted to be. Her mind was instantly changed when she saw that Leo was on his way toward them. Against her instincts, she decided to wait just long enough to see his smile. They hadn't spoken since the speech.

"Ahh, Gerald!" Marbury crowed.

"Oh, no! I didn't mean to start a name thing," Addy let out.

"Oh that? It's just affection," Leo said. His easygoing tone told her he was employing some diplomacy of his own.

"Indeed it is," Marbury said expansively.

"We were just trying to guess what Addy's first name is. She says it's unusual," Donna told Leo.

"I just assumed it was Adelaide or something," Leo said, looking at Addy. He lifted his eyebrows, and it took her a few seconds to realize that was a guess. She shook her head, and he shrugged. "Does it matter? We know who she is. Doesn't much matter if my name is Leo or Leopold."

"Or Gerald," Marbury teased. "It depends on the person, but often for a man, simple is best. I confess I am grateful my parents didn't light on their first choice, which was St. John!"

He pronounced it 'Sinjun,' which Addy recognized from reading Jane Eyre. Just like that titular heroine, she felt it was time to leave and started to drift backwards, angling for the door and safety. She had almost succeeded when Marbury leaned her way, catching her eye from slightly behind Leo.

"All is well?" he asked her quietly.

Without meaning to, her eyes shot over to Leo before nodding, and when she looked back at Marbury, she could see the glint of understanding. "Of course," she said. He was silent for a moment before holding up a finger for her to wait.

"Donnatella, did I forget to tell you? I'm certain that I've ferreted out what your friend Addy's first name is."

"You looked it up?" Leo asked absently. He was already scanning the room for the next group he'd need to favor with his attention.

"Not at all, simple deduction."

Addy murmured something polite and turned to leave, hoping Marbury understood that she meant to flee in as demure a manner as she could. Leo certainly wouldn't mind, and Donna was 'bewitched by possibility,' as she'd joked about Marbury at lunch. Behind her, Addy could hear Leo and Lord John's voices, muddled as they were by the sounds of other conversations in the room.

She was only ten feet from the door when she heard her name, her full name, obviously called out in an attempt to get her to respond. It was Marbury, and Addy decided that she was allowed to pretend she couldn't hear it, that she was too focused on leaving the room to hear him. Then Leo said it, loud enough that conversation paused, and quite a few people looked over.

"Adora?"

Addy froze. Leo sounded pleasantly surprised, as if he'd been expecting something 'handsome,' like Margaret had guessed at lunch. Reluctantly, she turned toward the group she'd just left, painfully conscious of how many people were now looking at her.

If only she could get her blush to fade before Marbury could see it and be certain of her unspoken confession! Addy had no such luck, but when she saw Leo's attentive smile, she realized it would have returned with a vengeance anyway. He looked exactly like the brilliant elder statesman she'd found so attractive in college.

"Yes, you've got it."

"'S pretty. Suits you." Leo nodded approvingly at her before turning back toward Donna and Marbury.

No force on Earth could have prompted her to face Marbury after hearing such a thing, as bittersweet as it was. That moment was the most she could ever hope for and, she realized, all she really wanted. He'd acknowledged her, approved of her, and maybe now she could finally close that chapter of her life. Addy squared her shoulders and spun back around, her movement vehement enough to make her skirt eddy around her.

She'd studiously avoided looking at anyone, so Addy was shocked when she lifted her head and made eye contact with Zeigler, who was standing still in the doorway. His face was mostly expressionless, but something in his eyes told her he'd observed the whole interaction about her name, including her reaction to Leo saying it aloud in front of everyone.

For some reason, Addy felt guilty, like she ought to explain to him that what he'd just seen wasn't the start of something, but rather the end of it. Instead, she walked toward him, and instead of giving way for her, instead of stepping inside so she could pass, Toby Ziegler turned on his heel and walked back the way he'd come.

Shaken by every single interaction she'd had in the past ten minutes, Addy went straight to her desk and packed up to go home.

88888888

Toby didn't sleep well that night. Though he tried to blame it on Sam's displeasure with him regarding the GMO speech, he knew deep down that was only half of the problem. Unbidden, the delighted, miserable look on Addy Blair's face when Leo said her true name kept floating up for him to analyze and reexamine.

The worst part was the resignation he'd seen in her expression. It was easily interpreted: she had told Toby the truth the day they'd first met. Addy had no intention of ever pursuing a relationship with McGarry, and had in fact likely never expected to hear him say her name at all, much less in a situation where he'd be able to identify it as belonging to her. That knowledge festered inside his own foolish heart as a twisted form of hope.

At least he'd mended things with Sam. With the State of the Union fast approaching, the two of them would need to work closely together, and this year, he had faith in the people who would be picking up his slack. He also didn't plan to spend much time with one of them in particular, which he hoped to hell didn't mean his heart would grow fonder.

No, he told himself on his way to Senior Staff, Addy Blair was an obsession of the past, and it was time to move on.

Unfortunately, that lasted for twenty whole minutes.

Instead of his signature 'What's next?' after Leo hit all of the day's business with typical efficient brevity, the President said, "Josh, you have a problem."

"We can agree on that," Josh agreed. "Which one today?"

"Your assistant has done something that's likely going to cause trouble down the-"

"To be honest, sir, you're going to have to narrow it down," Josh laughed, leaning back against the couch and rubbing both hands over his face and up into his hair, mussing it wildly.

"Well I would, but you seem to like interrupting me in my office. It's very rude," Bartlet said, lowering his glasses onto his nose. He held up a hand to stop Josh before he could launch into an apology. "She's got some kind of a pool going, I understand- but I read something the other day when I was starting my taxes-"

Toby couldn't help it. "Sir, it's still January."

"Do you see what I have to put up with?" Bartlet asked, as an aside to Leo. "I was saying, I happened to notice something that might be a problem. As I understand it, she's holding multiple 'donations' of twenty dollars until the new speechwriter, what's her name?"

"Addy Blair," Sam said, before Toby could form her name in his mouth.

"Until such time as Ms. Blair slips up and uses someone's first name, at which point the people who chose that name in the pool split the winnings, yes?"

"Yes," CJ said. "It's not considered a political donation, is it?"

"Oh shit," Josh blurted out. "She's considered an informal bookkeeper, isn't she? It's a bet."

"Bingo!" Bartlet said with a clap of his hands. He really was the perennial teacher, even when the lesson was unpleasant.

"She's got records. I'll tell her to give everyone's money ba-"

Bartlet interrupted Josh's hoarse protestation. "Won't solve it. We've flipped the calendar into a new year."

Josh started tugging at his tie to loosen it. "Okay, but, you're the President, can't you pull some-"

Toby cocked his head to the side to look at Josh in the same way everyone else in the room was: incredulously. Leo even raised his eyebrows.

"I- Please tell me I don't have to fire her? I'm not sure I even know my own social security number at this point," Josh gulped.

"Don't worry, son, I found you a loophole. Someone go fetch her, will you? Toby?"

Toby clenched his fist in his lap, the nervous action hidden by the fabric of his suit jacket. "Which 'her?' Donna? Addy?" Everyone's incredulous looks transferred from Josh to Toby at his use of her first name. He frowned at them with particular vigor.

"Both," Bartlet said, walking over to his desk, where he sat and picked up a folder to peruse with his glasses perched low on his nose. After looking over them critically at Toby, the President said, "I'll wait. So will they."

"Mr. President," CJ started.

"We must do this right, and I need witnesses. Trust me." He gestured vaguely at the couches. "Just… sit and confer. Toby will be right back, won't you, Toby?"

The look on the President's face was feral, but it wasn't knowing, so this was about giving the curmudgeon the dirty job, not about exposing something sordid.

"Do you need me to walk in with one of them on each arm, or-"

"Get going, Ziegler. They won't bite."

"They won't, but he might," Leo laughed.

Sighing in resignation, Toby got up and walked right out, closing the door behind him. "Mrs. Landingham?" he asked, stopping at her desk.

"That's quite an expression you're wearing, Toby. What can I do you for?"

"Can you call Donna Moss's extension and tell her to report to the Oval with the lockbox of pool money?"

The older woman's eyes glowed. "Ooh, she said a name then, did she? It wasn't the President's, was it? The two of us were some of the last hold-outs, or so I hear."

"Just call her? I'll be right back, tell her to wait here, if you would," he said, hoping he was convincing enough. Moss would rush over if she was under the impression that the pool was up in the Oval Office, of all places. With any luck, she'd make it in the same amount of time it took him to swing by Addy's desk, cutting out half the walking.

He'd have Mrs. Landingham call Addy's desk phone too, but in a move that was pure White House bureaucracy, her promotion had led to a desk requisition form, which had triggered a deactivation of her current number assignment, despite the same actions failing to result in a new desk assignment.

Addy didn't notice him right away, which he supposed made sense in such a busy environment.

"Oh, Mr. Ziegler! Good morning," Addy said. Her smile was warm, and he was warmed by it.

He hadn't practiced what he was going to say to her, which had seemed unnecessary as the Communications Director of the White House, but what came out was less than ideal.

"I need you to- Oval Office, now. Please." He then turned around and stalked out, angry at himself for his attraction to her, angry at her for being all of the things he was looking for in a romantic partner at exactly the wrong place and time, and angry that, for all his power and privilege, there was no positive outcome to those problems that he could see.

Addy caught up to him a few paces from the door. "I'm sorry, did you say Oval Office?"

"The President wants to talk to you," Toby said flatly. Instinct had him stopping to look her way, and sure enough, she was standing flabbergasted in the middle of the hallway. "You see, this?" he said, allowing himself to chuckle as he gestured to her. "This is exactly the wrong instinct. When the President says run, you run!"

"No, when the President says 'run,' you ask him in which direction, so you don't give him more problems to deal with," Addy said, starting toward him. Her confidence healed his unsteadiness, which was disconcerting enough to start another round of it, stopping him in his tracks. She walked past only to pause and ask, "Which direction, by the way?" Her eyes gleamed with amusement to have gotten one over on him.

"Don't milk it," Toby instructed sardonically. "Those land better if you don't look like they're the first time you've ever made a clever quip." He led her to where Donna was chatting with Mrs. Landingham, making a 'come along' head jerk and opened the door to the Oval.

"Ahh, Donna, Addy, come in!" the President boomed from inside.

"If I die of fright, I'm coming back to haunt you in particular!" Addy said to Toby with wide eyes. She then followed Donna through the door, her head held high.