Note:

Got called back from our much-needed kid-free vacation when someone hit my mother's car with all three kiddos in it. Everyone is okay, car has superficial damage but may still be totaled thanks to so much bodywork. Seeing the unexpected hit count on this story has been a bright spot for me, so thank you to everyone reading!

Make Them Remember You

The two of them were barely through the door before President Bartlet walked around from behind his famous desk to examine them over his reading glasses.

"Donnatella?" He spoke in a fatherly tone that Addy suspected meant he was in a good mood, but she didn't quite trust that instinct.

"Present," Donna said impishly, seeming to guess the same.

Bartlet looked toward Addy.

As he opened his mouth to speak, she said in a rush, "Sir, if I promise not to use your full name, will you promise not to use mine?"

The President was completely derailed for a few seconds, during which Addy saw Ziegler lift a hand to vigorously scratch his beard. His shoulders were shaking.

"You have a pact, young lady," Bartlet said, his tone shifting to academic as he added, "Now, I was doing my taxes last night, and I decided to do a little research into-"

Donna raised her hand. "Mr. President, is this a long one? Can I go pee?"

"Sit down," Bartlet said in a tired professorial voice. "You too," he said to Addy.

The occupants of the second couch scooched to make a spot for her next to Zeigler, so she squeezed in. There wasn't room for their arms, so she twisted to rest hers on her lap and Zeigler rested his across the back of the couch, a gesture that felt uncharacteristically welcoming.

"As I was saying, I did a little research, and it appears, Donna, that you are poised to break the law."

"What? I promise you, I'm a citizen, I have all the necessary-"

"Donna," Josh groaned. "A little less with the projecting insecurities?"

"Right, right."

"Moving on," Bartlet said, eyes widening just a touch. He explained that Donna had inadvertently put herself in legal jeopardy with the first name pool, but that he had a solution. Ostentatiously, he reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and drew out a twenty-dollar bill. "You'll note I didn't do the thing from The American President, where he managed to forget he didn't carry money anymore."

"You don't carry money anymore," Leo said.

"Yeah. I had to steal this from Abby," the President admitted. "All right, you've got your notebook and your lockbox there. What I want you to do is record the name I'm predicting Ms. Blair will say. The rest of you are witnesses to the fact that I plan to donate my prize money to charity, this charity," he said, holding up a folder with a logo Addy didn't recognize. Everyone else in the room smiled or nodded, so she assumed it was familiar to them. "Once my entry is collected and noted, Ms. Blair will say the name, I'll win the money, and then immediately donate it. Now," he rubbed his hands together and stepped closer to the couches, looking pleased with himself. "Whose name isn't listed? I don't plan on splitting my winnings."

"Well," Donna said, paging through her notebook until she reached a list of names with tally marks. "Your name isn't-"

"No," both Addy and President Bartlet said, at the same time. "Smart girl," he added.

"Looks like it's between Charlie, the First Lady, and a bunch of Secret Service agents," Donna finally said.

"I pick Mr. Young, because I value my life and its trajectory," Addy said firmly. She'd never met Charlie Young, but she'd heard nothing but good things about him.

"You see? That's the kind of attitude I like. You're a true team player, Ms. Blair."

"Self-preservation," Josh coughed into one fist.

"If it is, you're missing that instinct, Josh," the President said with a sidelong glance his way. "Write down Charlie's name, would you, Donna?"

"Wait, maybe I should swap. Isn't Mr. Young in college part time? Seems cruel to exchange so much money in association with his name without him getting any benefit from it!" Addy burst out without thinking. As soon as the words left her mouth she pressed her lips together in abject embarrassment. Questioning the President? Here? Thanks to their proximity, she felt the way Zeigler tensed up beside her. She didn't dare look over at him, caught by the surprised expression on Bartlet's face.

"No money has changed hands yet," Sam pointed out.

"I wrote it down already. In pen!" Donna whispered.

"Why are the new ones always troublemakers?" the President asked, narrowing his eyes at her. Addy caught her breath. She had the oddest sensation that this was a teasing statement, rather than an angry one, but no force on Earth would compel her to test that hypothesis.

"There's nothing stopping you from making an equal donation to Charlie, sir," Zeigler reasoned. "After all, the five hundred in the lockbox is one thing, but it's not really your money, is it?"

Addy looked over at him in shock. He had a small smile playing on his mouth, his chin lifted as he locked eyes with the President.

"Nice," Leo remarked with a big smile in his voice. "If you like, sir, I can handle the necessary paperwork for a one-time gift."

"I thought it was four eighty, with the President's twenty?" Josh broke in.

All at once, she realized what Zeigler was doing: angling for more money for Charlie. As a lively discussion about the funds started up around her, Addy fumbled for her wallet, grabbing the twenty dollar bill she'd tucked in there for emergencies. Gathering up her courage, she leaned over to offer it to Donna.

"What-"

"I'm the only one who hasn't contributed," she said, the words echoing louder than she had anticipated, as the rest of the room fell silent just as she spoke.

"Well done," Zeigler murmured.

"This is the problem that comes from hiring smart people," President Bartlet said, gesturing towards the lot of them. He walked over, pulling the twenty from Addy's fingers and adding it to his own. Taking the lockbox from Donna, he placed them both inside. "It's a good thing Charlie isn't in the room. He'd probably strong-arm me into donating his five hundred to someone else."

Beside Addy, Zeigler moved his arm down from behind her, the action pulling up the sleeve of his suit to reveal his watch. He turned his wrist so she could see the time, and she nodded her acknowledgment.

"Since he's not here, please give Charlie my best. Hopefully all of this hasn't messed up your schedule or his too badly?" she said, standing.

"There it is!" Josh said. There was a mini ovation as everyone else got up and started making their way out.

"You did good, kid," Leo said to her as she paused to put her wallet back away. The words didn't make her heart leap like they might have even a week before, but Addy didn't have time to process that right now. All she could do was smile at him before the President walked over.

"Yeah, you'll do," he told her. The severe tone turned warm as he added, "Excellent work on that speech, by the way. Keep it up."

"Thank you, sir," Addy managed.

Zeigler was standing by the door. "It's a little hard to close," he said, gesturing for her to precede him through the slightly curved doorway.

"I'd call you a knight in shining 'expensive suit brand,' but alas, I have failed to do the proper research," Addy told him as she stepped out of the Oval. "Scandalous, no?"

He frowned. "If you ever see me in a shiny suit, inform the Secret Service there's an imposter on the loose." With that, he started walking away from her, pausing after a few paces to see if she was following him. Addy felt a strange little thrill as she rushed to catch up.

88888888

The next few weeks were busier than some campaigns in the lead-up to election day, all centered around the State of the Union address. She loved every minute of it, even though her muddied desk assignment issue meant splitting her time hand-writing at a desk-share in the bullpen only to transcribe all of it at her old desk computer near the Press room. The compromise was worth it, though.

Simply put, the big speech took precedence, and Addy understood that. As the SotU drew closer, her work on Zeigler's side project slowed, not the least of which because she'd chosen something outrageous.

Addy had written Zeigler a position paper against free speech.

She'd gotten the idea when Sam Seaborn joined their table at lunch one day. He'd sat down late, eaten quickly, and left early, but one of the things they'd talked about (strategically brought up by Addy) was position papers. Donna's eyes had lit up, and Margaret had groaned. The three of them told Addy about an explosive incident regarding Leo's daughter and a position paper against school vouchers Sam had written. Addy didn't know much about Mallory O'Brien because she'd deemed learning about McGarry's family too close to lovesick stalker territory, but by the look on Sam's face, Leo's daughter was a spitfire. He'd let her believe he was against school vouchers (apparently, Leo had deliberately given her his position paper against them!) for days before admitting the truth, even after discovering that she was a teacher.

This convinced Addy that she could construct something for Zeigler along the same vein, with the added benefit that she wouldn't be overstepping her bounds, policy-wise. She was riding a high with her new duties and getting to meet the President. Choosing free speech was a risk, but one she felt comfortable making, if only to see Zeigler's reaction to it.

To avoid dwelling on that thought, Addy saved the document and shut the computer down, making sure she saved the file on the thumb drive she took with her everywhere. The staffer she desk-shared with spent her afternoons on the Hill, and it was 1:00, time to swap over.

88888888

It was already 3 PM when Toby got back from the Hill, a full hour and a half longer than he'd wanted to spend talking to the pair of senators whose proposal they were considering including in the SotU. He was tired, grouchy, and hungry as he walked toward his office, wholly regretting not ordering food to be waiting there when he arrived.

"One of these days Addy is going to need an actual desk of her own over here!" Donna Moss was saying. Toby paused, noting that despite the blonde's words, Addy was seated at a desk. Donna was sorting through printed papers, addressing Sam, it looked like. He stayed still; Sam would want to talk to him about the extended meeting, but Toby wanted to write a few thoughts down before he got into it.

Someone tapped his arm; it was Bonnie, who handed him some messages. He nodded quiet thanks and listened in on the trio in front of him as he looked through the 'sorry I missed yous.'

"You know, they make these great things called 'erasers,'" Sam was saying as he tapped two fingers on Addy's desk.

"Yeah, well, I don't carry extras with me, and this one's all gone," Addy retorted, holding up her pencil. It was barely four inches long and the red eraser tip was nonexistent.

"Why don't you just grab another one? There's got to be one in there," Sam said, reaching over to pull out the wide, thin drawer in the middle. Addy stopped him.

"It's not my desk, Sam! I'll use the chair and flat surface, but I draw the line at stealing their office supplies."

"What, that's not your husband? I'm scandalized!" Sam joked, pointing to a picture frame out of Toby's view. "Seriously though, how long has it been?"

"Six weeks exactly!" Donna called out from over by the printer.

"Somebody ought to get on that," Sam said, disappearing into his office.

Toby was planted in place by surprise. He thought sure he'd- Hadn't Addy worked at that desk for weeks now? As he mentally sorted through the few administrative emails he'd sent recently, Donna's voice broke through Toby's mild panic.

"You see what Sam just did? That's why you're still stuck in limbo. You have to take it up the chain, Addy! Bug Toby!"

Addy was faced away from him, so he didn't get to see the look on her face at the suggestion, but it was time to stop dallying. "Bug me about what?" Toby asked, walking over to frown at the pair of women.

"Addy still doesn't have a desk assignment over here!" Donna said, snatching something out of Addy's hands to wave at him. "She spends her afternoons hand writing in this, because she won't ask to have a login at Maryann's desk!"

Toby reached out to take the notebook, but Addy grabbed it away before he got a chance.

"It's a shameful waste of productivity!" Donna pronounced, crossing her arms to glare at him.

"No one got you a desk?" he asked, not because he didn't believe Donna, but because Addy was still faced away from him, her body language frozen as though she expected to be reprimanded. Toby waited until she slowly turned to face him. As he'd expected, she had a wary expression on her face. He held out a hand that brooked no refusal. "Can I see that?"

A tiny smile haunted her lips, but she nodded and produced the notebook.

It was the same one he'd given her the night of the President's surprise speech, and all but a few pages were full of her distinctive, elegant script. Toby held it up. "This is all from here? No grocery lists?"

As he'd hoped, her smile bloomed. "I write those on my hand, sir."

"See?" Donna wheedled. "She's our people, Toby. She belongs over here."

He wholeheartedly agreed, if not for some of the same reasons as Donna's. Addy's comment was the perfect mix of sass and facts, and it was unknowingly generous of her, since finding her distracting was probably why her desk request fell through the cracks. She hadn't complained about it, just made do, as he would have done. Toby respected that, even as he recognized his culpability. This time, instead of shoving those problematic thoughts away, he would do what he should have done weeks ago.

"I'll see what I can do," he said, heading straight for his office.

"I'm not that bothered, honestly, and you're busy-"

"No, this was on me," he told her over his shoulder. "It's important."

The request was in his drafts. Toby sent it and spent a few seconds wishing he could shut his office door just by willing it to close. Fuck, Addy Blair's existence was wreaking havoc on his mental state, but Donna was right. She was 'their people,' and the situation would just have to be his cross to bear.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he filed away the look of respect and gratitude she'd just shot him, adding it to the same hidden spot he'd put the memory of her garters. Maybe working alongside him for a few years wouldn't destroy that, and he might get the chance to ask her to-

A knock at his open door startled Toby enough to knock over an unkempt stack of folders at the edge of his desk.

"The bad luck's piling up," Leo said, making no effort to help. His dour expression gave Toby a bad feeling.

"Don't tell me…" he dangled, bending down to pick everything up. In his mind's eye, the State of the Union was similarly shedding their hard-fought paragraphs.

"Just got a call. Your afternoon wasn't wasted, but my morning was. It was a long shot anyway, but we'll have to rule out the commission unless Sam can pull off a miracle tonight. I got him a last-minute ticket to the fundraiser those two vultures are scheduled for. Don't suppose you'd like to-"

"Absolutely not," Toby interrupted, snatching the last pages from the floor and depositing himself back into his desk chair.

"Thought as much," Leo sighed. "Mallory cleans up nicer than you do, anyway. If he drops the ball, I might have to ask you to call in a favor."

Toby nodded, knowing Leo probably meant Andie. He glanced at the door, again willing it closed. The way various players were posturing themselves didn't bode well for re-election. It was almost as though their most astute opponents knew something he didn't. Given the rumor that Hoynes' office was doing polling, certain variables were adding up to a result that didn't look good for their boss.

He needed to get to the bottom of it, and that probably meant out of hours socializing.

"What's with the face?" Leo asked grimly.

"Multiple people are acting like he's not going to run."

Leo's eyebrows didn't shoot up as far as Toby would have expected. "Both sides?"

"That's what I want to find out."

McGarry's expression was grim as he started for the door. "Keep me posted."

88888888

When Addy got to work two days later, her desk was bare but for a single sheet. She rushed over to snatch up the note, which was from Donna, telling her that her things were 'in their rightful place at your new desk, and don't you dare go looking for it without me!' That the message was from Donna told Addy this was the result of pulled strings and unusual machinations, but she was grateful. What she hadn't expected was the thrill of excitement that ran through her when she realized she'd probably be working even more at the heart of things now. She'd be working closer to-

"You were worried?" the lady at a desk nearby interrupted her reverie with a little chuckle. "You're hardly ever here!"

The woman's phone rang before Addy could respond. Focusing on where she'd be working (rather than who she'd be working with), she left the room, catching a glimpse of a familiar figure. Danny Concannon lifted his coffee mug in a sort of salute that told her he already knew why she was leaving. Addy tipped her head toward him and rushed away before he could glean any more intel from her demeanor.

Donna was in the middle of a lecture to Josh about the misuse of her tax dollars when Addy got there. Her back was turned, and she kept moving the stack of papers he was reaching for and demanding he answer her questions, much to his frustration and Addy's amusement. As soon as he caught sight of her, though, Josh pointed her out and used Donna's distraction to grab the pages out of her fingers. Addy would have expected him to disappear into his office immediately afterwards lest his assistant snatch them back, but Donna gave a happy little shimmy when she saw Addy. Josh stood stock still and watched her for a few seconds, shaking his head as if to clear it and stepping away in a daze.

"Follow me!" Donna said before rushing off, oblivious. The bullpen area outside of Sam and Zeigler's offices didn't look any different when they got there, but Donna marched over to the cluster of file cabinets. They looked slightly different than Addy remembered, and that was because there was a small desk wedged between them, near Sam's office door. The desk was completely taken up by the computer, a box with Addy's things, and a brand new notebook just like the one Zeigler had given her.

Addy reached over and lifted the cover to see a sticky note on the blank first page.

Just in case.

Toby '

Reading his first name made Addy's blood catch fire in her veins for a second. She'd never called him that, even though she'd adjusted to using everyone else's first names since the President had ended the name pool with such dramatic fanfare. Looking closer, she saw that there was a little mark next to the 'Toby' that could have been the start of 'Zeigler,' if he hadn't stopped himself. She didn't know what to think, but it felt like trust, somehow. A kind of permission.

"You're happy, right?" Donna asked.

Addy looked over and saw uncertainty in her friend's eyes, enough to lean over and hug her friend. "Very happy!" she promised. "I don't even know what to say," she added, nodding to the more cramped file cabinets. "Are you sure this won't-"

"Bonnie!" It was Zeigler yelling from his office, the sound much louder than it had sounded from her desk-share across the room.

"You'll get used to it," Bonnie said. She smiled in a long-suffering but amused way before rushing off.