The trio discussed the idea of CJ and Toby as a couple for several minutes, highly enthusiastic at the thought of their closest friends being an item.

"How can we prove it though? I mean we need to get them to admit to being together." Donna piped up.

"They won't do that unless they're backed into a corner." Sam sighed.

"How can we approach it?" Josh wondered, now immensely feeling the same need for investigation that Donna and Sam had developed.

"I've got an idea…" Sam began and Donna sat beside him, urging him to continue.

"One of us can set CJ up on a date. It's completely innocent because we aren't asking anything of her regarding Toby. She'll probably go on the date to please us, but she'll get out of dating him further and somewhere along the line we can worm it out of her that it's because she's with someone else."

"Perfect!" Josh yelped. "Donna do you know anyone?"

"Hey, all my guys are losers." Josh glared at her and she smiled sweetly. "Not you, Joshua."

"Damn right." He declared; Sam and Donna rolled their eyes in unison.

Sam's eyes lit up in thought. "I think I have a guy."

"Really? Who?" Josh asked him curiously.

"Donna, remember ages ago when I told you about my friend Mark. You guys were going to go out but after explaining him to you, you said he was better suited for CJ?"

"When was this?" Josh wondered.

"Not the point." Sam mentioned. "So what do you think?"

Donna beamed. "Yes! How could I forget? I'm guessing you didn't set him up with CJ back then?"

"Nah, I went to Carol first and she didn't think CJ was interested in seeing anyone." Sam responded with a sigh.

"Actually, when was this?" Josh repeated. "She could've been with Toby then."

"It was well over a year ago. It's a possibility. Wait, would Carol know?" He replied coolly.

"I considered asking her, but she's too loyal to CJ to spill." Donna told them and then paused. "Will it work this time though? They're obviously a lot more serious now."

"Coming from you it would work." Josh decided and Sam nodded in agreement.

"Right then, let's go seek out CJ." She spoke, more to herself than the boys and headed towards the door.

"Now?!" Josh asked incredulously.

"The sooner the better." Sam nodded; the pair grinning as they followed Donna when she paced out determinedly and made for CJ's office.

"Hey CJ." Donna entered her office as Carol let her in.

"Donna, come on in. How can I help you?" CJ seemed cheerful, which was promising for the upcoming conversation.

"Nothing work related, don't worry." Donna smiled weakly and accepted CJ's invitation to sit.

"So what's up?" CJ wondered, placing her glasses on her desk.

"You're not seeing anyone are you?" CJ paused and shook her head no; 'very crafty', Donna thought.

"It's just there's this guy San wanted to set me up with. He was completely wrong for me, but I thought he'd be perfect for you."

"Really?" she relaxed in her chair, staring at Donna. "What's his name?"

"Mark Wright. He's a lawyer for Gilligan & Davidson and went to law school with Sam."

"Oh I've heard of them, good firm." CJ spoke up and then smirked. "Is he attractive? Please tell me he's tall."

Donna was curious at but also impressed by CJ's brilliant acting ability and answered based on what Sam had told her in their last minute preparations. "Yeah he's gorgeous, and he's about 6ft 3in."

"Brilliant." CJ sat back. "A tall man makes me feel more feminine."

"I figured you guys could go out to dinner or something, you know. I can call him and let him know you're interested?" Donna queried.

CJ nodded with a smile, "Yeah, sure. I think it'll have to be a Saturday though."

"No problem. Oh you'll love him CJ." Donna got up to leave. "See you later."

"Bye, Donna." CJ smiled to herself with a bemused expression, and waited until Donna was out of sight before walking along to Toby's office to share the news with him.

"Toby, Toby, Toby, darling." CJ breezed into his office and onto one of his guest chairs.

"What do you want?" he asked, leaning back in his seat.

"What makes you think I want something?" she crossed her legs, resisting a smirk at the way his eyes instantly travelled the length of them.

"You called me darling, you don't do that."

"No I don't. I don't want something either." She reassured him.

"Okay then." He sat up and continued to work.

She pouted. "Well I don't want you to ignore me."

"Remarks are waiting." Toby told her, barely looking up.

"I thought I should tell you Donna's setting me up on a date."

"What?" his attention was caught, his expression confused; CJ's lips turned upwards slightly in amusement at his reaction.

"Sam introduced her to this guy, but apparently he's more my type." CJ shrugged and observed the furrow of Toby's brow.

"And you're actually going to go?" he asked with exasperation.

"No, I'm going to walk up to Donna and go 'gee Donna, I can't quite accept that date because I'm living with Toby and we're very much in love, you see'." She deadpanned. "I thought we were going to stay a secret for as long as we could."

He shook his head. "You're right. Go out with the guy, I'm not happy about it though." Toby affirmed.

"Neither am I, sweetie." She smiled at him. "Although it'll be nice to go out with a guy who doesn't shun me for his precious remarks." She teased and got up to leave.

"I've shunned them enough for you already." He chuckled. "Get out of here."

"Fine, I'm leaving." She held up her hands in mock defence and exited the office.

Meanwhile…

"So how was it?" Josh interrogated instantaneously on Donna's return, Sam at his side.

"She's doing it." Donna grinned. "CJ's an incredible actor; you know I don't think we take enough credit for that."

"How so?" Sam wondered as Josh ushered them into his office and closed the door.

"She was so damn calm when I was asking her if she was seeing anyone and stuff. She's so figured out. I'd crack in an instance if the roles were reversed." Donna sighed.

"CJ's a pro." Josh contended.

"So Sam, get Mark on the phone and make this thing official." Donna pressed excitedly.

"Oh yeah." Sam's eyes widened and smirked. "Do we have any date preferences?"

Donna responded while trying to organise some notes on Josh's desk, much to his dismay. "Dinner on a Saturday evening is all she said."

"Donna…" Josh moaned.

"What?" she replied.

"Stop with the file shuffling, we need to get to the logistics of this date. Sam, get on the phone to Mark." Donna was impressed with Josh's attitude towards their plan, she never had expected him to take it seriously like this.

Sam quickly pulled out his cell and moved to the corner of the room, leaning on the wall with one arm.

"Mark, hey. It's Sam. Look, I know this is random but I have a woman I think you'd really like." he began and listened intently to the other line.

"Yeah. Yeah. CJ Cregg." he turned and smiled towards Josh and Donna. "I was thinking dinner. She's free this Saturday night. Ooh good idea. Thanks, Mark. See ya."

"That was quick." Josh noticed as Sam moved back towards his desk.

"He's eager; he's seen CJ on TV and thinks she's a stunner."

"Who wouldn't?" Josh mused and Donna rolled her eyes as to say 'men', although she secretly agreed that CJ was incredibly beautiful.

"Anyway, we need to plan how we're approaching this." Sam told them, hands clasped in enthusiasm.

Donna ran a hand through her hair, wheels turning in her brain. "Do we tell Mark it's a set up to reveal her relationship with another man?"

"Nah, we can't do that." Josh mentioned. "Plus if anything went wrong, Mark might get vicious and expose CJ and Toby to the press."

"I doubt it, but worst case scenario yeah." Sam muttered back.

"So no on the telling Mark part?" Donna declared and the others nodded in confirmation.

"This is going to be brilliant." Sam sang and laughed as the others shared bemused looks at his tone.

"So CJ, we hear you have a hot date this weekend!" Josh exclaimed as he bounced into senior staff the next morning.

CJ glared and went to respond but Sam interrupted as he followed Josh.

"You excited? Mark's a real nice guy. You can get all dolled up and everything." he beamed.

"Boys, I'd shut it if I were you." She spoke up from where she was sitting, Toby in silence beside her.

Sam and Josh made sure to observe his reaction as they continued their baiting.

"Oh come on CJ, let us have a little fun. It's not like you have much of a love life these days, none of us do." Josh grinned.

Sam watched Toby's grip on his coffee tighten and smirked to himself before replying. "Exactly, I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say we're going to be living vicariously through this development. Right, Toby?"

"Right, Sam." he commented sarcastically.

"Are you jealous, Toby?" Josh dared to ask and Sam and CJ both looked shocked but CJ luckily composed herself before Sam.

"Why would I be jealous, Josh?" he looked up, face neutral. Definitely well played, both Josh and Sam thought.

"That CJ's getting some and you aren't." Toby merely frowned in Josh's direction.

CJ struggled to keep her lips from quirking as she replied. "And who says I'm getting some, Joshua? It's one dinner date."

"But that could lead to another date and another, and then you guys could get together and I'm sure by then you'd be getting some." Sam said gleefully.

"Hold it there, Spanky. I haven't even met the guy yet." she warned and was grateful for Leo's interruption to start the meeting.

"Did you notice Toby's face when we were questioning CJ?" Josh asked Sam enthusiastically after senior staff as they strode through the West Wing.

"Yes! We've got him right in the workings of jealousy." Sam replied and decided to follow Josh to his office.

"Hi Donna!" They beamed in unison.

"You two are happy," she observed and then it hit her. "Any more developments out in the field?"

They ignored her weird wording of the comment and Sam answered her. "We teased her a bit, raised some questions, I think Toby's trying to control his jealousy."

Donna looked up at the pair with a smile on her face, this was going well. "Yeah?"

"You should've seen them, Donnatella, and this is just the start!" Josh sang and waved off Sam who headed back to his own office.

"Remember Josh, you and Toby are meeting with Congressman Caldwell and Congresswoman Turner on the Hill before lunch." she reminded him, following him into his office after seeing off Sam.

"Yes we are. I'm going to play him a bit, work on progress." Josh told her as he collapsed into his chair.

"Caldwell?" she questioned, handing over a report.

"No, Toby!" he flashed a grin. "I didn't expect this to be so enthralling, Donna. Two of our best friends together! It's so fun."

"Jeez, Josh. You're worse than me about this." She stared at him in disbelief, although still glad he was happy to help her investigate; his input and Sam's was now crucial.

"Love is a wonderful thing you see, Donna." He declared and Donna shook her head as she left him alone in his office.

Later that morning, Josh paced through the bullpen and into Toby's office.

"You ready?" he asked, shuffling in the doorway.

"Yeah hold on." He gestured to his computer.

"Hi Josh," CJ beamed up from the couch and he jumped back.

"Oh hey there, CJ." He grinned to himself and made a mental note to tell Donna of this little meeting. "Didn't notice you there."

"Gee thanks. I'm off anyway, see you boys." She flashed a wide smile at Toby before patting Josh on the shoulder as she left.

Josh particularly noticed the way that Toby glanced after her, admiring her figure as she walked out.

"Can we go now?" he asked.

"Yeah." Toby grabbed his briefcase and headed out of the bullpen with Josh.

The walk to Capitol Hill was slow, the guys being early for once. Josh decided this time was perfect for teasing Toby about the upcoming date and relished the opportunity.

"So, CJ going on a date…" Josh began.

"Yeah, good for her." Toby sighed back, not meeting Josh's eyes.

"You're not jealous?" he piped up playfully.

"Why would you insinuate that?" Toby finally turned as they continued to walk.

"I don't know, man. I thought you had a thing for each other." He shrugged nonchalantly and enjoyed the scowl that grew on Toby's face.

"Some ridiculous ideas run through your brain, Josh. You know that?" Toby's voice was calm, but he appeared agitated nonetheless.

"Yeah, yeah. So do you think we've got a shot over here?" Josh changed the topic back to their meeting, ideas spinning in his mind about how to approach the subject later on.

Toby and Josh's meeting went rather well until a few minutes towards the end that considerably improved things on Josh's part.

Congressman Caldwell was taking a call outside, leaving Josh and Toby to talk freely with Congresswoman Turner.

"So Toby, I take it you enjoyed Belatinis last Saturday evening?" she wondered in her friendly tone.

Josh's face changed in bewilderment. "Belatinis? Is that the new Italian place near Dupont Circle?" he asked casually. The thought shouting in his mind was could Congresswoman Turner have seen Toby on a date with CJ?

Toby smiled. "Yeah it was brilliant."

"Who did you go there with?" Josh wondered, a perfectly normal question.

Unfortunately, Congressman Caldwell returned and saved Toby from answering Josh.

"Gentlemen, thank you for your time. I'm sure Congresswoman Turner will agree with me that we'll definitely be taking on board your advice regarding these bill changes." He beamed.

The foursome exchanged farewells and handshakes, Toby and Josh leaving feeling content with the progress.

"Leo's going to be pleased with this." Toby enthused as they walked back towards the White House.

"Definitely. I didn't expect them to be so co-operative." Josh said, surprise in his tone.

"Caldwell knows it's good for him and I think Turner has her own ideas, but it's a step in her direction." Toby explained and Josh was suddenly sick of the meeting talk.

"Yeah. Hey do you fancy lunch in the mess? We'll grab Sam and CJ on the way down?"

"Sure." Toby replied and they made their way to the West Wing in silence.

On their return, they bumped into Sam almost instantaneously.

"Hey guys, how'd it go?" he beamed, falling into step with them.

"Good, both are on board." Toby told him plainly. "Lunch in the mess with us and CJ, you coming?"

"Yeah, I saw her with Carol and Donna just now. They were discussing her hot date." He laughed and Josh was appreciative for the mention; it reminded him to relate to Sam their talk with Congresswoman Turner.

"Oh we should bring them too!" Josh suggested and Sam's face split into a wide grin.

"Excellent…" Toby grumbled as they approached the three women.

"Hello ladies." Josh said as he sauntered over, "Care to join us fellas in the mess for lunch?"

"Sure, Josh." Donna smiled but Carol politely declined.

CJ shook her head with a lazy smile. "You're being smooth today, Joshua. Good meeting on the hill?" she opened the question to Toby too who was the one to respond.

"They're both on board, appreciative of the advice. Turner may be more hesitant later as the changes aren't in line with her initial ideas but we think she's going to accept it as a step in the right direction regardless."

"She might use it as leverage then?" CJ wondered as the staffers made their way down to the mess.

"Most likely, yeah." Toby replied as he walked beside her.

"Hey Josh, CJ was telling us she went to Belatinis at the weekend. That place is meant to be so nice!" Donna mentioned, and Josh glanced over to CJ and Toby ahead of them with a look of sheer happiness on his face.

"She did huh?" he answered coolly, full of anticipation for the lunch they were heading to.