Hi, so I have buckled down and got this done which is a huge sigh of relief for me so I am just going to post it in one swoop. Just a couple of things to consider-due to my wanting to end this story on a happy note I have decided that I am not going to kill Leo off. Just keep that in mind.

Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.

Please Read and Review.

Future Perfect

Chapter 25-Promised Land

With their son moving out CJ and Toby have to consider what they want in life. Part 1 of a 2 part handler. Will include flashbacks.

Too much gin.

Seriously one would have thought that she had learnt that lesson a long time ago but when she woke up with a headache she had to admit that she had not. Here she was at the back end of forty and she was still as hungover as a teenager.

And then the previous night hit her.

Oh holy hell.

She had slept with him again.

Toby.

Fuck.

The only good thing that came from his was that CJ was about ninety percent sure the window had disappeared for her to get pregnant. And she was glad…very, very glad of that, she was not going to be one of those old mothers, she'd had her child and she'd had her career and she was very happy doing it without the wedding ring on her finger and the man asking her where his drink was.

But the man in her bed…eh…that would be nice she had to admit.

She sat up and laid back against the pillows and took in Toby in his robe staring out the window.

"Hey."

"Hey" he said turning around. "I got the coffee on and I called Margaret. She's rearranging your morning, I think in the interest of great auditory it's best you don't deal with plebs when your hungover."

"Thanks"

"Two days to election night"

"I know"

"Are we gonna talk about this or not?"

"Not"

"CJ, it's been three weeks. Three weeks and we've been sleeping together, we can't blame it on booze and we can't blame it on Jake being at Dartmouth anymore. He's going to go soon, the President is going to go soon and we need a plan in place. If you want this…if were doing this then we need to have a plan in place"

"What does Andy say?"

"I don't tell Andy about my sex life CJ"

"You know what I mean?"

"I don't know. She's neck and neck at the minute and that worries her. If she loses she won't stay in Washington."

"And if she wins?"

"I don't know if she wins. She's never ran as a Congresswoman with twins before. Last time she was pregnant and she's made it work by depending on her mother but she's tired, I can see it in her, she's been doing this for four straight terms and she's tired and though she won't admit it I know and she knows that Gaza took a lot more out of her than she wants to admit, coming that close to death did that. She's not jeopardising those twins for anything. So I don't know what happens with Andy. But I do want to know what happens between you and me"

She stared and then.

"I think I missed the window."

"Oh for the love of God"

"I think I did Toby. I'm good at this, I'm good at working, I don't know what's gonna be better than this but I know what the package is gonna be. A ridiculous amount of money to sit on a board meeting once a month and own shares in a company I can barley pronounce and that's…that's not me. I don't know how to be that person."

"You think I don't know that? You think I know how to be that person? CJ I did the whole white wedding I wasn't looking to do it again, what I don't want is us to not be together. I want you, I want you to be you, I have no interest in being the man that my father and grandfather was. I don't want a woman in her best serving supper every night. I just want you, I want us to have a comfortable life together with Jake, with Huck and with Molly. And if that's us working then I want that too"

"Have you been getting offers?"

She knew that it was a play for time and she knew from the look on his face that he knew it too but she played for time nonetheless.

"The usual. Only one I am interested in if I'm being honest"

"What"

"UC Berkley"

"Really?"

"They want me to do a course on politics. Some lectures, it's teaching, it's…I like the sound of it, I want to write for pleasure, I don't want to write for policy. I want…I want to be able to have an opinion that is not tied to the new guy in the office, I want to listen to the State of the Union and not stress over pauses and breaks. I want to feel sun on my skin too. Washington is too damn cold and before you do something ridiculous and mention religion need I point out that there are a lot of Jews living in California too"

For a second she paused and then she smiled. The coffee maker shut off and Toby went to pour her a cup and she sighed leaning back in the bed. She didn't know what this was going to look like and that frightened her. She knew a lot of other parents in the country were going through this panic of the empty nest syndrome and she also knew that she was different because unlike most working mothers battling this she was also going to lose her job.

Toby came back with her coffee and she sighed taking it and wondered what kind of magic Margaret was doing so that she had kept her phone dead for this long. Toby sat down next to her and then.

"I do want this to work" she said softly. "I always have. You know my feelings for you have never changed, you get me in a way a lot of other people don't. And I know that you would never try to change me, I know that you would keep being you and I know that you would let me be me. I just…I don't know how to switch off the part of my brain that keeps telling me that there is more."

"More than me?"

"No. More than this job. I mean how the hell is there going to be more than this?"

Toby nodded.

"Well you think about" he said and there was a hint of sarcasm in his tone that she didn't fully like. "And when you know…you come and find me."

And with that he got up and got dressed and left here there in the bed holding her cup of coffee and wondering how on Earth her life had started to feel like a runaway train that was spiralling rapidly out of control.

Jake was boxing up his stuff with a smile that she couldn't quite place.

"What are you thinking about?"

"About my first teacher training day for work experience since we worked in the White House"

"Since I worked—"

"Yeah that"

"And what did you say?"

"It was the day Sam decided to use Celestial Navigation"

"I didn't hear that one, I think I was too doped up after my root canal"

Jake smiled at her and turned to grab some books and dumped them in a box.

"Do you wanna hear the story?"

"Yes" CJ decided. God knows anything was better than dismantling her son's life.

Jake smiled and began to talk.

"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…"

"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.

"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.

CJ laughed. She couldn't stop herself.

"So the briefing took place then. 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—"

"You said that?"

"Yes Mom I said that"

His mother cackled.

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

"Oh I bet Josh loved that"

"Well hear comes the bit you remember the most"

"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"

His Mom smiled though there was a tinge of something in her eyes.

"Mom?"

"I missed that bit"

"Hey I missed the Presidents reaction so…"

"No I just…I missed…Jake I gotta go do something?"

"Something to do with Dad?"

She smiled and her son grinned.

"Yeah" she said standing up. "Something to do with your Dad."

And there you go.

Next Chapter-With their son moving out CJ and Toby have to consider what they want in life. Part 2 of a 2 part handler. Some flashbacks included.