Hi, so here is the sequel to Perhaps Love! I am so excited to get this out and finish Season 5-7.
So...the usual. This 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. Will is in the story...so far...Mandy is not and never will be. Andy had Toby's babies via embryo's not by sex. Also Jake is bisexual.
Pairings are CJ/Toby (eventually) Josh/Donna, Sam/Ainsley, Jed/Abby.
Disclaimer-Nothing but Jacob is mine.
It is advised that you read Perhaps Love before you read this.
And this is 28 chapters long.
And there will always be swearing in this story. If this offends you then please don't read.
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.
And look...I don't like Amy. I don't like her. Nothing against the actress but as a feminist, pro choice woman (and damn proud of it) she was so annoying. In Season 5 I skip her scenes because she doesn't get it. No disrespect to anyone who likes her but she was wrong for Josh and wrong for the show. Sorry, not sorry. That's just my opinion, you are of course completely entitled to yours.
Future Perfect
Chapter 2-Pick A God And Pray
In which CJ and Toby try to rebuild their lives as does everyone else after the kidnapping. Amy sticks her foot in it massively by starting fires and fights including a stupid one with CJ that has life altering consequences.
The days after the kidnapping was fraught with tension. Even Jake could pick up on it. The obvious thing was that Abby Bartlett had taken her child far away from the Jackals that was the press and away to New Hampshire and that she was so pissed at her husband that it was better for them all round to stay apart.
In some ways Jake couldn't blame her. The knowledge of the Assassination, the breath taking disregard for international law had been staggering. Even the die hard fans of the President had thought that he was reaping what he was sowing and you didn't need to be a political operative to know that the Republicans had, had their taste of the White House and they could smell blood in the water.
He didn't say this to his parents though, already they were ragged.
He spent time with his brother and sister. As far as babies went they were cute, Molly and Huck could now be told apart and they were very cute. He didn't know how to feel about it, he was used to being an only child and so babies were so far out of his comfort zone when Andy slipped one into his arms he didn't know what to do with himself.
And then that was before Amy.
Fucking Amy.
"OH Joshua!"
Josh did a pivot and walked back down the corridor. When CJ used that tone of voice you turned and went at a run.
"Claudia Jean"
"Amy"
Josh shut the door. "CJ…"
"Josh it's not about pushing through the radical woman's agenda and using the First Lady—"
"It's not radical"
"Yeah well according to the Speaker it is and he's prepared to say so publicly"
"Oh boy"
"Yeah, I don't want to walk down the corridor and tell the President that his wife who probably hasn't slept in three weeks has been accused of using a national crisis to kill babies"
There was a pause where Josh thought on that image and then he winced.
"Yeah fair enough" he said sitting down. "But she won't listen to me. I don't…were not…it's been a bit awkward since Zoe. She was so convinced that they were going to legislate and then…I don't know…I didn't want to believe her and she took that the wrong way and…and I won't deny that she's turning Mrs B's agenda far more radical than I think she's aware I mean…there's always been domestic violence reform and we've always managed to get it up the field with Republican support. Abortion is a tricker one again always has been and funding for woman's issues but Amy…hell I don't blame her, she's running the second biggest office in the country and she's been given free reign to do what she wants. Of course she's pushing through an agenda. God knows I would"
CJ put down her pen.
"Josh I do not want to have this conversation with the President and I am quite sure that you do not want to have this conversation with the President either. So talk to Amy—"
"Mom?"
"Hey kid"
"Talk to Amy"
"Hey Josh what do you want to talk to Amy about"
Jake was stood there in jeans and an old flannel shirt. CJ looked at him and wondered weather or not he was auditioning for some cowboy contest or something like that because he seemed to be dressed for modelling farm machinery or something like that.
"Yes Joshua, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Jake shuddered winking at her as he stepped aside so Amy could come in.
"I am gonna go" he said pointing back towards the communications bullpen. "And find Dad I think…"
"Coward" his mother called after him.
"What's the problem then?"
"You can't keep trading on the Presidents wife's name and agenda when she's not here to help"
"She gave me instructions—"
"Amy she can barely tell the time" CJ said flatly. "You don't know what it's been like"
"What because I'm not a mother?"
"CJ didn't say that—"
"No I didn't say that Josh your quite right but Amy the reality is that Its true. You don't understand where her head is at. Believe—"
"And what you do?"
"I understand she can barely get out of bed in the morning yeah. Remember my son was nearly killed during a mass shooting."
There was a pause as Amy's jaw worked furiously for a second and then.
"CJ she is the First Lady of this country, she is the number one woman. And her husband whatever I think personally has just taken what a lot of people in this country consider to be the easy way out of a hard situation. Presidents had children that died while they were in office. You think JFK would have ever turned over his seat to the Republicans so he could sit in his house and grieve? She has to be out there defending woman and the mandate that she was elected too. It wasn't just the President that was elected and if she can't understand that then she needs to say so, so we can give her a graceful exit"
Maybe it was the way that she had phrased it, maybe it was the attack on Abby, or maybe even it was that she was a little bit right but the entire thing had CJ's hackles rising. She was not a woman to sit down and take bullshit.
Josh knew it too if the look on his face was anything to go by. Deeply fond of Abby he was too.
Somehow she thought that before this night was out Amy might be unemployed and single.
Personally CJ could not think that it would happen to a nicer woman.
And that was before she spoke.
Jake returned back to the main corridor and breathed in against the wall as his phone pinging.
It was Harrison. It was a simple X but it was enough to remind him of what he had come here to do.
Dinner with his parents and then drop the whole I have a boyfriend bombshell on him and the bisexuality thing. He had to drop that on them too. But as Jake reasoned. It was 2003 and they'd just won an election and survived a national crisis and he was the son of two political operatives…there were worse things that he could be.
He could be a republican.
If he ever came home and said he was turning into one of them his father might just disown him.
Thank God Harrison was as self admitted democrat just waiting to vote. It made the whole thing a lot easier when you thought about it.
He nodded to himself and placed both his hands on the wall. He knocked his fingers against them the way he had once seen the President do when he was getting ready for the State of the Union and then he nodded to himself again pushing himself up from the wall and then turned to walk down the hallway to see if his Dad was in his office just as Leo and the President came out with Sam.
"Jake"
"Morning Mr President"
"Sam's having a daughter"
"Congratulations Sam"
"Thanks" Sam said blushing. "You wanna see the scan Jake?"
Jake had learnt with Andy the only correct answer to that was yes. He took the photo and stared at it.
"Nice"
"Not a clue have you son?"
"Not really" he said passing it back to Sam as Leo laughed. "Glad to see your looking…better Mr President"
"Better?"
"Human" he said quietly. "Last time I saw you, you looked like one good hit between your shoulder blades would do you in"
That was an understatement all things considering but Jake really did not know what you were supposed to say when you saw the President of the United States sans his sabbatical and his daughters kidnapping. Hell Jake didn't even know what they were calling those four days where the world fell to hell and back again.
The President stared at him quietly for a second and then. "Your not wrong" he said finally and then just as he was about to say something else there was a shout from the bullpen that he knew was his mother and Amy.
"YOU KNOW WHAT AMY I DO CARE ABOUT WOMAN'S RIGHTS, I HAVE BEEN ON MORE MARCHES THAN YOU—I HAVE FOUGHT FOR THINGS THAT YOU COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND AND IF YOU BRING UP MOTHERHOOD AGAIN I WILL TAKE MY SHOE AND RAM IT SO FAR UP YOUR ASS YOUR BE CHEWING LEATHER OF A MONTH!"
"Oh boy" Jake said quietly.
"DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT MOTHERHOOD CJ! YOU'VE NEVER HAD TO MAKE HALF OF THE DECISIONS MOTHERS HAVE TO MAKE IN THIS DAY AND AGE AND IF I WANT TO DO SOMETHING TO MAKE IT BETTER FOR THEM I WILL AND I WILL DO IT BY ANY MEANS NESSECARY AND NOT BECAUSE I HAVE A POINT TO PROVE!"
"A POINT LIKE WHAT?"
As one the crowd of people including the President and the Deputy Chief of Staff moved towards the bullpen his Dad including with the two secret service agents who both looked as if they would rather take bullets than be here listening to the two woman fight.
"A POINT THAT I AM A GOOD MOTHER! "
"WHAT BECAUSE I WORK?"
"NO—"
"AND I AM A GOOD MOTHER I WOULD BE WEATHER OR NOT I WORK OR NOT. STAYING AT HOME DOES NOT MAKE YOU A BAD EXAMPLE FOR WOMANHOOD"
It was like it was happening in slow motion. The second his mother said that Jake knew what was going to happen and he suddenly felt a fear the likes of which he had never known.
"OH YEAH?"
"YEAH"
"PLEASE CJ YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW YOUR SON IS GAY"
There was a sudden hush in the bullpen and then a smacking sound and Jake knew what had happened before anyone else did.
Why you ask?
Because he knew his Mom.
Amy came out the office holding her face. Josh slipped out edging back against the wall like he had been caught in the crossfire and his mother was furious. It seemed to make her even taller but Jake didn't care. All he could see was peoples eyes on him. Donna was looking at him, his Dad was looking at him, hell the President of the United States was looking at him.
And Jake still wasn't saying anything as his mother turned to stare at him suddenly aware that he was in the room.
"I…I'm not" he said weakly. All of the courage he had once possessed came tumbling out of him by his shoes. The conversation he had planned to have with his mother and father was now gone.
Christ even being outed by the Press would have been better than this surely?
Right?
"Please" Amy muttered. "In the middle of a national crisis you were on top of your best friend in the Blue Room with his hand down your pants and your tongues doing the twisted tango Jake what would you call that"
There was a pause and then.
"ENOUGH"
It was the President and he didn't shout but the word reverberated around the bullpen. Jake stared at Amy for another long moment and then he knew that the tears were coming, he knew that it was building in the swirling mist of panic and terror that was threatening to engulf him. He was aware that everyone was looking for him, aware that his parents were looking at him and then he was gone.
He was running and he didn't know where.
Just away.
Just…just far away.
And there you go. The ramifications from this one is most of Season 5 btw. Because Season 5 is a hard one for me.
Next Chapter-Leo (not for the first time) wonders why he took this job. And then finds the kid in his office hiding in the corner.