A/N: I had a hard time writing this chapter, I don't know why. I'm sorry it's so short but I hope you enjoy it anyway!
Sara's legs still felt like jelly and her heart was pounding in her ears. The scene kept replaying in her mind - hearing Toby outside of the door, jumping up off the couch in Josh's office, rushing to put her clothes back on properly - over and over and over again. She couldn't remember the last time she had moved that fast. Overcome with embarrassment, she roughly brushed past Toby and ran straight for the bathroom, unable to look him in the eye.
Catching her breath, she went over to the sink and splashed cold water on her face. Her cheeks were still flushed and her hair was a complete mess. She took it out of the clip and ran her fingers through it, trying her best to fix it and make herself look presentable.
She felt as though she could fall through the floor; shame, embarrassment, and fear were overtaking her. She had no idea how she could show her face to Toby or anyone else in the West Wing again.
Taking a few deep breaths, she left the bathroom and headed back towards her boyfriend's office.
Josh put his arms behind his head, leaning back in his chair. His heart was still racing, his entire body still on edge from having almost been caught having sex in his office, in broad daylight. He was trying, but failing, to act natural and casual.
"So, that memo…" he trailed off.
"I'm here to talk about our four o'clock meeting," the Communications Director said. That was odd; Josh was usually on top of his game.
"Right, right," he sat up and opened a file on his desk. "The Minority Committee."
"We're meeting with the Minority Committee to discuss new guidelines for inner-city schools." He looked down at his own file. "Free lunch programs, non biased testing-"
There was a knock on the door. The two men turned towards the sound to see Sara standing in the doorway, her shirt wrinkled.
"Hi," she said sheepishly. "Forgot my sweater." She entered her boyfriend's office and reached over the back of the chair Toby was sitting on to get her previously discarded sweater. She met Josh's eye and turned beat red, Josh scratching his eyebrow nervously. Toby looked at Josh, and then back at Sara, his eyes narrowing. As she turned to leave, he stopped her.
"Wait," the older man said. He got up and closed the door. "Something's going on with you two, you're both acting weirder than usual."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Josh said quickly.
"What do you mean?" Sara asked at the same time.
"That's exactly what I'm talking about," he said. "I'm not stupid; something is going on, and it involves you two."
They looked at one another warily, as if asking each other "Should we tell him?" Sara looked down at her lap and Josh sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair. They were both unsure about what to do, whether or not their jobs would be put at risk if they told anyone. But Toby was trustworthy, they both knew their secret would be safe with him. More importantly they also knew that he wouldn't leave until they told him what was going on.
Josh stood up and leaned on the corner of his desk.
"Sara and I are in a relationship," he was scratching his eyebrow again.
Toby's eyebrows went into his hairline, his eyes widening.
"You're serious?" He asked. Sara nodded. "How long?"
Josh glanced over at his girlfriend. "About six months."
He made a noncommittal noise.
"You're the only one who knows," Sara chimed in. "No one in the Press Corps knows."
"I haven't even told Donna," Josh told Toby. "Or Leo, for that matter."
"I'm surprised you've been able to keep your big mouth shut," he said. "But you're going to have to tell Leo at some point."
"Oh there have been some close calls," Josh started. "Just before you almost walked in on-" Sara looked at him in shock.
"I-I don't wanna know," Toby cut him off. "And frankly, I don't care.".
"He's not going to fire Josh, is he?" She asked.
"As long as we keep doing what we're doing and keep things professional while we're here," Josh started. "We're fine."
"There could be a slight conflict of interest," Toby interjected. "You're a journalist, Sara. Josh, you're privy to all sorts of classified information… what if you tell her something that she's not supposed to know? What if she decides to use it in a story?"
Josh let out a deep breath. "That's something I didn't think about."
"I would never use anything without talking to Josh first," she said. "I would never go behind his back like that."
The Communications Director shrugged. "Regardless, Leo might make you agree to a non-disclosure."
Josh folded his arms over his chest.
"For both of us?" Sara asked.
"Probably just Josh," Toby replied. "Just be careful." He looked at his watch. "Our meeting starts in ten minutes, we should probably get going."
"Right," Josh said. He gathered a couple of files and walked out from behind his desk. He moved closer to her and Sara stood up. "I'll talk to you later." He leaned down and gave her a small peck on the cheek. The two men let her go out first, Josh placing his hand on the small of her back as he followed her out.