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 I wrote the bit about Leo in at the end before I realised that came after the episode and not before.
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.
This does contain a discussion about abortion, I am a pro-choice woman and I think we all know that CJ is the same from episodes where abortion is mentioned etc, or certainly that is what I think. If you don't like you don't have to read.
Please Read and Review and let me know what you think.
Perhaps Love
Chapter 2-Face The Strange
Jake is back at the White House as several things happen at once including a gun lobbying bill, the President giving a TV address to the nation and the arrival of Charlie Young. Also Leo isn't looking too good.
He came to the White House the night that the President was due to go on air. Such was the madness of everyone running around that he found himself in Josh's part of the West Wing trying to find his parents (who he had not seen since the plane had gone down) when he ran into a terrified looking man not more than three years older than him.
And that was how he met Charlie Young.
Charlie was utterly terrified, utterly confused and clearly desperate to bolt.
"You get used to that" Jake said after opening his packet of crisps and letting Charlie take a handful. They were sat outside of Josh's office in one of the two chairs that for reasons beyond comprehension where there probably for this plot device and Charlie sighed looking around as if he had fallen through a hole in the ground and Jake patted him on the arm after listening the to whole sorry tale that Charlie was willing to share if he got him out of this scenario that he had never prepared for and had no idea how he had gotten here.
"So your parents work for the President?"
"Yep"
"Do you ever get to see them?"
"Sometimes, actually Leo and the President are kinda great with that kind of thing, during the campaign they made sure my Mom and Dad had a day once a week to spend with me, granted they'd bitch about the Republicans but you learn a lot, the campaign was great honestly"
"You went on the campaign?"
"I was thirteen mate, I went on the campaign. Celebrated my fourteenth birthday in…Chicago I think with my parents and the primary just around the corner. Trust me, if you want this job Deana's gonna have to get use to not seeing you for a little while"
"Oh she'll love that" Charlie said confidently. "Deana's been chomping at the bit to be considered an adult for a long time, plus she's more responsible than me, does the shopping and the cooking herself just like my Mom…" he turned his head and swallowed furiously and the moment was broken by Josh who came racing out of his office looking harassed which was an odd thing because when Jake had walked into the office before he had been bemoaning that he had nothing to do.
"President's waiting. Jake your Mom and Dad are with them if you want to feed and water them?" was all he said by way of a greeting and Jake who was used to Josh and his ways by now stood up. Charlie remained sitting.
Jake turned and grinned, he remembered that feeling all too well.
It never went away.
"Come on" he said to Charlie, "The President of the United States will see you now"
Charlie got to his feet looking very much as if he was heading to the gallows but he got to his feet nonetheless.
Afterwards, after the press conference in which the President nailed it ("Again Jacob I wrote thirty paragraphs all he did was recite it") and they were in the Communications Bullpen (President having gone back to the Residency with Leo) and everyone had a shot of scotch (not Jake because his mother had shot Josh a look that promised death by a thousand press stories if he did), Charlie was looking a lot more happier. He had solved the mystery of the President's glasses, managed to get a promise on a major gun reform and gotten a well done and a cookie from Mrs Landingham which as Josh told him on the first day was a first.
"Is this normal?" Charlie asked him as the debate over take out began.
"Pretty normal" Jake said grinning. "Sometimes you gotta be the parents int his scenario, case in point"
And he raised his voice a little.
"Mom, Dad, hate to be the adult in the room but neither of you have slept in your own beds this week"
Both of his parents blinked at him blearily.
"Huh" his Dad said looking at Sam who for all the world would have probably sold Jake to the Russian's for a shot at more than an hour in a warm bed right about now.
"See" Jake said as his parents stood up. "Nice to meet you Charlie, I guess we'll be seeing each other quite a lot."
"Nice to meet you too Sir"
"Oh no" His Mom said before Jake could laugh. "No he's not a Sir Charlie, he's Jake, believe me he doesn't need the ego trip, takes after his Dad too much"
And she lead out a protesting Jake and Toby before anyone could do anything.
Charlie watched for a second before turning back to Sam and Toby who were wearing knowing looks.
"Are they…together?"
"No" Donna Moss said from her corner clutching her beer glass her shoes throw on the floor and her feet in Josh's lap. "They had a one night stand a while back and had Jake, but they should be together."
"One thing you will learn about working here with Toby and CJ, Charlie" Josh said shoving Donna's feet off him and getting to his feet with all the grace of a zen master about to lecture a pupil on the ways of the world.
"Toby and CJ have more sexual chemistry than the entire intern pool combined. But we don't comment on it. We just sit back, place our bets and like with the intern pool we let nature take it's merry course"
And yeah like Charlie was going to be able to pick his way through that loaded statement.
But he took the beer Donna offered him with a small smile and he let the cool touch soothe his still shaking hands.
Because for reasons beyond his comprehension he had gone for a job as a bike messenger and ended up Personal Aid to the President.
Deana was going to laugh for years.
"Five votes down" Toby snapped as they walked back to his office. "Five! And to make matters worse were gonna have to go to the Vice President for help as well" he shook his head throwing his bow tie down on the desk with far too much venom. CJ sighed. It was impossible telling Toby and Josh that they could claw this back quite easily when they were in this mood.
"I know"
"I mean it's only a bill to help us stop the sale, of among many other things a grenade launcher! I mean It's only a bill that helps us stop some neo-Nazi nut from taking a grenade launcher into our and everybody else's son's school I mean that's just comedy!"
"Toby I have to tell you your getting a little bit too shrill for comfort. Where's Jake tonight?"
"Congressman Jake Mitchell—"
"OUR SON JACOB YOU TWIT"
"Oh…" it was worrying CJ thought that he had to think about it before he answered but God help him she loved him for it and his resemblance to their son was suddenly very, very shockingly clear. Jake gave that look too usually when CJ asked him where his report card was.
"Oh he's at mine"
"Sports package?"
"Hey we both think there shouldn't be instant replay in football"
CJ opened her mouth to make sports reference but shut it again. This was not the time and besides the last time she had tried she'd gotten baseball and basketball mixed up and Josh had, had to lie down in his office for several hours.
"We need to get these five votes back" Toby said as they started to do that walking and talking thing one did when one was in the West Wing. "We need to get them back CJ this vote is off national importance and I want you to hammer that down in the press and—"
"I will"
"You want to come to mine?" he asked and she nearly skidded down the hallway.
"Beg pardon?"
Because surely he couldn't be…he couldn't be asking? Could he?
And hey CJ was all for scratching that itch (and by God was Toby good at—well—you know) but the walk of shame in front of her son was not something that she was looking forwards too. She was still not a hundred percent sure that Jake didn't know about Hoynes and…
Well.
"No it's past two he's probably still asleep"
Neither one of them commented on the very real possibility Jake was on the computer in some liberal chat room arguing tonight's speech with such a skill and language it would make his father blush.
Somethings after their day to day job were just best not to think about.
"We need to get the bill CJ" Toby said turning to her and CJ was presented with the full of force of him which as she stood there in a grey Donna Karen dress exhausted but yet somehow pumped and alive was real trouble. Toby just…did things to her even after fifteen years of near constant friendship and co-parenting brokered by two one night stands (three if you counted that time on the campaign but they had chalked that down to stress, the lack of nothing to do now the country were casting their votes and Toby on a mission to prove he was better than the soon to be Vice President). They had been friends, fallen into bed together while they had been working on their first campaign before Jed Bartlett had even been a twinkle in the pollster's eyes and that had given her Jake. Two months later on a whim sitting in a hotel bathroom crying her eyes out and wondering what she should do.
She had known the best thing for her, for her career, for her life was to have an abortion, she was a pro choice woman, she had been raised by a pro choice woman and CJ would take Mary Marsh on bare handed before she ever let that be taken away from her. She would machine gun the entire Supreme Court if they ever took Roe from her and the first thing she had checked when Toby had said come work for Jed Bartlett was that the man's Catholicism wouldn't get in the way of progress moving forwards for woman.
But at the same time she had been scared to have an abortion, scared to give up this chance. CJ had always been on the fence about having children but now that she was here and she was having one she found it hard to let go of it.
She was in the best place of her life she had been financially secure (more so) she had her name and her reputation, she had the ability to ensure childcare and she had not officially known it but she had known that Toby would be in the child's life so before she could chicken out she had walked across the hallway into his hotel room, snapped at his friend Andrea to leave and had told him that she was pregnant.
Toby had resembled a goldfish for several minutes but then when she had told him what she had wanted to do he had nodded.
"Okay then"
"Okay?"
"I'm Dad CJ. I'm not some uncle who turns up at Christmas with presents, I'm Dad. I have the same rights you do and we share custody. No matter what"
And that was an easy caveat to accept because there was never going to be a situation where she would deny Toby those simple rights.
Sure there were hard times, of course it was painful and messy. Childbirth was no joke and CJ had, had to do it naturally because her blood pressure had screwed up any hope of drugs that she was hoping of having but at the end of the nightmare from hell there was a little brown eyed, brown haired boy in her arms and that had been the end of any regrets that she might have had.
"You have a name in mind?" she had asked Toby who had been staring at his son with a furrowed brow as if he didn't know what to make of him.
"No. You?"
"Jacob"
"Jacob?"
"Yeah"
She had not know where it had come from the second she had seen him though she had known that Jacob had been at the top of her mental list.
(Not that there had been one but still.)
"Jacob" Toby had said quietly and then he had smiled at her as if she was the only woman in the world and CJ bleeding, aching and sweaty and naked from the waist down (and she reckoned she looked a right fright to begin with) suddenly felt like she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
It was Jacob officially but from the age of six it had been Jake since her son had come home and announced it over their Friday dinner stabbing a potato with venom and saying there was nothing Rabbi Gelding could do about it he was going to be Jake from now one.
And she had Toby…they'd done rather well.
But damn if she didn't feel the craving for him somewhere deep within her. She had barely enough time to sleep and with her son sleeping next door orgasms even of her own making were strictly controlled and down to a brisk ten minutes if she was lucky but still…despite the eyes of George Clooney and the chest of Tom Cruise, it was always Toby Zeigler that one way or another she came back too.
If you thought about it that said a lot about her as an individual.
"CJ?" she was pulled out of her mental doze to see that Toby was at the door holding it open and Mark one of the security guards was looking at her as if she had lost her mind.
Which wasn't a totally unfair estimation when you thought about it.
"Yeah?"
"You coming?"
"Oh…yeah"
And she went to follow him out of the White House.
Yeah like that was a sentence that ever got old.
"Hey" she said as she stepped towards her car. "Did you notice Leo looked a bit—"
"No"
"Okay"
And so it went, so it goes, so it was.
Motto of Claudia Jean Cregg's life.
Beats fuck the press anyway.
And there you are, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, see you for the next one.
Next Chapter-It's Christmas, the West Wing want to put a guy on the bench, a Congressman says the staff are all on drugs, Toby's coat gives a Marine the send off he deserves and CJ battles for a hate crimes legislation when the victim reminds her too much of her own son. Time jump and multiple episodes for this one.