Hi, so here is my first big story for this fandom and it's part one of a two part series! I hope that you enjoy this chapter and this story.

Now I love Danny/CJ. I love the character of Danny, I love how CJ and him got their happy ending at the end but there was always just something about Toby/CJ. The two of them just had such a connection and so this little monster of a plot was born.

This will cover Seasons 1-4 and will not be episode specific, certain episodes will be skipped. Dialogue will not be the same. If that's something you look for in a story then please don't start because you won't get it here.

Also in my West Wing Universe Sam doesn't leave and Ainsley joins full time.

Pairings are CJ/Toby (eventually) Josh/Donna, Sam/Ainsley, Jed/Abby.

Disclaimer-Nothing but Jacob is mine.

And on a side note, I like so many other Fanfiction Authors no longer receive notifications via email about reviews/PMs etc. So if you do send any it might be a while, if ever before I get back to you. Please keep that in mind for it is not intentional-If anyone has a fix please let me know.

There will be a second part that follows this...eventually. Each series should cover about seven chapters some chapters several episodes. Flashbacks included when needed.

Also I do not do Private Messaging anymore, any questions stick them in a review and I will get back to you next chapter note.

Also please be aware of a bit of a time jump between these chapters.

Also after much thought and consideration I have decided not to include Mandy in this story. She's there for like one Season and misses half of the episode and while she was an okay character played by a very good actress her disappearance and everything that follows is just too hard to write. So no Mandy. Ever.

And a couple of the episodes are mixed around here but please keep that in mind.

On this chapter and the next, I think there will be two more of the Season 1 arc so especially next chapter there will be some significant time jumps before we get to the end of Season 1. Please keep that in mind and I hope that you enjoy this chapter. I will try to bring the next one to you soon.

Italics will be the flashback to the episode, un italics writing will be Jake's presentation.

Perhaps Love

Chapter 5-Mothers And Sons

Jake has to tell a story for his oral presentation at school. He talks about a day at the White House, the last teacher training day he went there. It involves root canal, a secret plan to fight inflation and celestial navigation.

"Next up to tell us about what he did on his teacher training day is…Jacob Cregg-Zeigler"

Jake sighed and hauled himself to his feet. He hated oral reports with a passion that in his family was usually saved for instant replay in football and Republicans. Which was odd when one considered that with a father in speech writing and a mother who was a press secretary he was supposed to love them.

He just…he was just fifteen…he didn't do well in front of people.

That was the only way that he could describe it.

"Well" he began staring down most of his class and their parents with the same confidence his mother had once stared down the press—or what he hoped was the same confidence. This was one of those oral reports where parents were invited. The only saving grace for stuff like this was that he had parents who were too busy working for a living to come to stuff like this.

Never before had he been so thankful for that.

"I guess most of you know that my Mom and Dad work at the White House. This teacher training day I was there and…and I guess…it started out typical but to be honest a typical day there is usually blown to hell and back by nine fifteen. I was there until six and then I went home so I got to see it in action the whole day I mean…"

He paused and then looked down at his notes. He hated this, he hated this, he hated this.

And when he looked up again the smile was plastered on his face.

"I guess it started out typical but the bits I saw was Josh Lyman creating a secret plan to fight inflation, Sam Seaborn taking about celestial navigation—though to be fair I don't understand that bit because I don't get to find out anything that could be leaked to the press and the President working on two hours sleep and one cup of coffee so…I guess I'll just begin"

Jake stepped into the White House to see his Dad pacing in the bullpen. Seeing as Ginger and Bonnie were chattering in the corner looking remarkably unaffected he assumed it was a rant of no significance and his Dad was just ranting for the hell of it. His Dad did this from time to time.

Here the audience laughed.

"Dad?"

"She called him a racist, and she used cliché, cliché Jake can you believe it?"

"Who?"

"Deborah O'Leary, she called Congressman Wooden a raciest".

"Isn't he?"

"Yes but that's beside the point!"

"Okay"

"Why aren't you in school anyway?"

"Teacher training day"

"When was this?"

"I told you both yesterday, I sent you a message this morning and I got a ride with Harrison's Mom who works in the OAOB."

His Dad stared at him.

"Jake I need more than hints you know that"

"Where's Mom?"

"Dentist"

"Finally cracked did she?"

"That or her tooth did" his Dad said grimly.

"Whose doing the press conference then?"

"Josh"

Jake very carefully did not laugh.

It was a hard sell however.

"Josh? Josh Lyman, Josh?"

Jacob do you know any other Josh who works in the White House…consider your phone privileges before you respond to that one by the way.

Jake rolled his eyes once his Dad's back was turned and then he followed him into the office.

"I have to do a report for school by the way. An oral one"

"Oh I love oral reports!"

"Why? Seriously there is nothing worse than me standing up in front of class talking to a load of kids and their parents, it's a parent one by the way, about my life"

"Yes because as the son of the White House Director of Communications and the White House Press Secretary your life is of course exceptionally boring"

Jake sighed dumping his bag on the couch and watching as Bonnie in the bullpen turned the TV on…apparently he was not the only one that thought Josh briefing the press was worth a look.

"Did Leo speak to her?"

"Yes and she will issue an apology"

Jake turned to look at him.

"Then why on Earth are you pissed at her?"

"Because she used and I quote 'if the shoe fits!' out of all the English that she could have used and she uses that cliché? Pathetic. If your going to insult a prominent Republican at least do it properly"

There was a bang on the door and Jake turned to see his mother standing there one side of her face inflamed like she had been punched in the face.

"Mom?"

"Wake I had rwot cwanel"

And Jake fell off the couch laughing.

And that was before he got to the briefing.

"So the briefing took place then" he said as everyone laughed again. "Now I should emphasise that despite what I am going to tell you Josh Lyman is one of the brightest political minds that this country has ever seen—"

If he was not mistaken he heard a snort from the back of the room but the lights on him meant that he could not see the back of the room. He paused before he carried on. Once he had started this thing he was going to have to get to the end of it no interruptions because that was the only way this torture was going to end.

"And he was instrumental in getting the President elected. So just…keep that in mind"

He looked down and decided that it probably wasn't a good thing to mention that Josh had this thing going on with Donna that nobody talked about but everyone knew it was happening. Stuff like that was too close to his own parents and pretty soon people would start making connections.

Even if the parents were dim his classmates were certainly not.

And so he began.

"Yeah that's right Danny, we have a secret plan to fight inflation"

Jake nearly choked on his cup of coffee. His Mom next to him was staring open mouthed and then she reached for her painkillers and took three dry. Sam watching from his office was wearing an expression that one would wear only when they had come across a brutal car wreck. Bonnie had her head in her hands. Ginger had her h hands over her mouth and his father looked as if one good hit in between his shoulder blades would send him flying. Ed and Larry were watching in silent shock by the other door both of them stunned by the shit show that they were being forced to watch.

Leo wasn't here but Jake would bet his life on him watching. He was probably booking himself into rehab again. That or he was ordering the largest cheesecake known to man.

It's what Jake would have done.

Speaking of which…maybe he should get some cheesecake for lunch? The Mess usually had some kind of cake option and cheesecake was in the President's top ten favourite deserts.

The entire communications bullpen had gone silent.

Jake just wished he'd had the sense to bring popcorn and a camera he really did. He had personally never seen anything so funny in his life.

He took another sip of coffee as Josh finally realised he was beat and staggered off the podium just in time for Carol with a look that spoke of 'why me?' shoved him out the door.

"Did he…did he just say…" his Dad said in a hushed whisper as if by keeping his voice quiet he could erase the last twenty minutes.

"A secret plan to fight inflation" Jake said just for shits and giggles into the silent room.

It was like he had dropped a hand grenade.

"WHERE IS HE?" he shouted and Jake put down his coffee cup and grinned. "Where is he?"

And he looked around as if he was half expecting Josh to appear to get his pasting.

"His office?" Jake suggested calmly and then both of his parents were off and he was left in the communications bullpen.

"You are trouble you know that?" Sam said though he was grinning.

"I know"

"A secret—the Presidents gonna hit the roof"

"Never mind the President…have you considered what Leo is going to do to him"

Sam pulled a face and then he reached back into his office to grab the phone and Jake decided that it was such a nice day he might go for a walk…

To Josh's office.

When he got there Josh was getting a pasting from all sides.

"You were vague, you were hostile, you were belligerent"

His mother really shouldn't speak while she had root cannel he thought as his Dad entered Josh's office and Josh began to look like the kid who had played both Mom and Dad against each other and had been caught. Speaking as a kid who had more than once tried that Jake knew the feeling.

"Have you fallen and hit your head on something hard?"

Jake grinned. God he loved this, he loved that he got to see this, he loved that he got to see this side of American politics.

Sam came skidding into the room then.

"We've got a problem"

"No kidding"

"Its' not Josh"

"Praise be"

Jake handed his second coffee cup to Donna who took it with a wink.

"Believe me Sam the only thing that can make this worse is if Roberta Mendoza got involved"

There was a delicate pause.

"Didn't your doctor advise calm?" Jake said when he saw his Dad ratchet up to explode.

"My Doctor doesn't work here"

There was another laugh and he grinned.

"Then there was the matter of telling the President, now I wasn't here for that but I think the words used was 'herd of bison' and 'gushing blood'. Make of that what you will. The point of this is that…for what it's worth the life I lead is messed up, I don't get to see my parents a lot, I am independent because I have to be and believe me security and threat assessments and the fact that some guy in Kentucky whose part of a group that wants woman muzzled thinks getting at me will hurt my Mom is a drag but the truth is…I love it. I love that I get to see it, I love that my parents are doing this, shaping the Presidents message. I love that people tell me that my Mom is the reason why they have decided to go into politics or journalism or that my Dad speaks crap but he writes it really well…"

There was another laugh there.

"It's mad and it's crazy and it's fast necked but I love it. My teacher training day was spent at the White House watching a debate on weather or not a secret plan to fight inflation should be created. And…and that's something I'm always gonna be able to tell my kids about".

He thought he finished it a bit lamely, but the applause he got was well worth it.

To be honest he had not been expecting it to be that good.

When he sat down his cheeks were flushed and warm.

Though that might have something to do with Anna Grey looking at him like that.

"Darling that was wonderful!"

"Mom?"

His Mom was holding a cell phone and she folded him into her arms cell phone above her head and she was grinning her eyes bright and Jake pulled back in surprise.

"I didn't realise that you were coming!"

"And miss that? That was fantastic, that was so well written and you did so good, I can't believe that you were nervous about it!"

"Is Dad here?"

"On the phone" ,

Jake took the phone.

"Dad?"

"Hey kid, you did so good tonight! Wish I could be there to see it but Sam and I are in Connecticut, but I listened to it and I thought it was great"

"Was that you snorting when I said Josh was the best thing to hit the White House?"

"No that was me" his Mom said grinning. "But Sam nearly crashed the car into a pole"

"Does our friendship mean nothing to you Jake?"

Yeah was definitely Sam alright. Loud and clear.

Jake grinned.

"Sorry Sam. Why don't you create a secret plan to find aliens on the moon and then I can mention in the next one?"

"Celestial Navigation" his Dad said but Jake didn't understand that. "Listen Bud I gotta do something here but when I get home we can all go for breakfast if you want. Celebrate a very easy won A?"

"Sure" Jake said grinning. "I'm glad you both liked it."

"See you soon bud, dead proud of you"

And then his Dad was gone. He hung up the phone and snapped the cover shut and then he passed it back to his Mom. He caught sight of Anna Grey looking at him and she waved her hand from where she was standing with her own fathers. Jake waved back feeling himself blush and hating himself for it because he didn't understand why and yet at the same time he did.

"Oh" his Mom said softly and when Jake turned to look at her she was grinning that big and wide grin that had made him feel special as a child.

"Mother" he warned.

"Son" she warned back. "Come on, let's get some Thai food and we can talk more about what your father is doing. Believe me you won't believe what celestial navigation means"

"Is it some kind of code?" he asked as they walked out of the school and too her car.

"No" she said opening the door and he slid inside as she did the same. "No darling, this is one of those times where the truth is more funny than anything that I could spin"

Jake looked at her but she didn't elaborate.

He found out the story the night that Roberto Mendoza was elected to the bench. It was a good thing really that he didn't find out that night.

He thought his ribs might have cracked from all the laughing.

Next Chapter-A significant time jump. Jake meets Andy again (his Dad's ex-wife don't you know) and Sam's call girl get's caught alongside Sam. Jake has just come because Leo asked him if he wanted free waffles. Also apparently he wants his input which is just...bizarre.