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 26-Make Me, Kiss Me, Love Me

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.

CJ banged on the door and he opened it. .

For a second they stared at each other as the Secret Service did their checks and then once she was allowed inside she was inside.

Toby followed her looking bemused and then.

"Jake told me a story"

"Oh"

"About Celestial Navigation"

"Oh Christ"

"I missed that one"

"Well you were pretty doped up"

"What do you remember?"

"The next day when he was talking about Mandatory Minimums"

"I don't get why he wants to see me" Jake said and not for the first time. CJ shook her head as they exited the car, if truth be told she didn't know why Leo wanted to see her son either but Leo had for reasons beyond her comprehension invited them all for breakfast at one of the nicest places in town and had not only invited Margaret, but Donna and Jake with them.

"I don't know either but he did and so we are going to have pancakes and waffles and eggs okay?"

"Mom It's Saturday"

"Oh and you had so many things to do this Saturday did you?" his Mom asked sarcasm in her tone and Jake wanted to point out that perhaps he had been looking forwards to a day in bed doing absolutely nothing but it wasn't worth the headache that was going to come from it.

And besides…he wanted pancakes. The fluffy kind, with loads of toffee sauce.

Leo was already wating for them with Margaret decked out in black sunglasses like some mafia secretary. Donna was sat on the other side of Josh eyeing up the menu.

"Morning Jake"

"Morning Donna"

"Don't you think Josh looks lovely today in his special suit for Joey Lucas?"

"DONNA!"

"You got dressed up for some guy name Joey?"

"Joey Lucas is a woman, she's a polling expert from California, she's also deaf and she's coming out to help us set out this English is the national language—"

"Wait are you saying—"

"Jake" his Dad said heavily dropping into his seat next to Sam. "Don't poke the bear. We are not getting into the bizzarro Republican crap that is being spewed by the opposition today. Order your damn pancakes and Leo why is my son here? Does he have any input on Mandatory Minimums"

"Other than the fact that they are racist and wrong?"

"Jacob"

"Dad they are. You make one wrong decision and suddenly that's it, bang, over, and nine times out of ten the people in those situations are black and they are slinging much less product than white teenagers who sling more but because it's a higher class of drug get less nine times out of ten because they roll over for their dealer to avoid prison—or a college suspension."

There was a pause and when he looked up it was to see half the table (bar Leo and Margaret) looking at him with a mixture of pride and alarm.

"What?"

"See the liberal left of the party is going to be well stocked" Josh muttered though not in a bad way. He caught his Dad's eye who nodded giving him permission to move in for the kill, the gift so to speak that just kept on giving these past few months.

"How's the secret plan to fight inflation going?" Jake deadpanned back and Josh spluttered out his mouthful of water while everyone laughed even Leo.

"That's why I asked him here" Leo said pointing at Jake. "He knows things that you don't"

"To be fair Leo it's a point we've all made in the past" Sam said quietly mixing sugar into his coffee.

"Yes but Jake knows the dangerous leap that comes when you are a teenager and the drugs are right in front of you"

"I really don't" Jake began because both of his parents were looking at him in highly unflattering ways that told him that a drugs lecture was just around the corner (not that he needed one) but before he could comment Donna had chimed in.

"I think I should change my order to the waffles. I'm beginning to regret getting the waffles"

"I am beginning to regret hiring any of you" Leo stated just as the food arrived. Jake was too busy in pancakes, whipped cream, banana and toffee sauce heaven to care all that much.

She laughed and Toby nodded and then she wiped her eyes.

"We got so lucky didn't we?"

"Yeah we did"

She sat down on his sofa arm and he stood there watching her.

"I didn't think that we would get this lucky"

"Well he's had his moments"

"He has indeed."

"Give me another one Toby please."

"Well there was when he defended you to me when I criticized you about Danny"

"When?"

"Pakistan and India"

CJ took his wine glass of him. "He did what?"

"Yeah" Toby said quietly. "It went a bit like this."

"Dad?"

"Jacob"

"GERALD?!"

Leo who had been using his office as a hide out which Toby considered unfair groaned.

"Hey Leo"

"Jake"

"You want a butter cookie?"

Leo eyed the cookie for a second wondering if he should push it.

"GERALD"

Screw it.

"Pass it here Jake"

Jake passed him the cookie and then.

"You know there's a lunatic Brit in the hallways screaming for a guy name Gerald right?"

"Yep" Leo said viciously nibbling the cookie and wondering if he could order a box and get it past Margaret and her sharp and beady eyes that monitored his calory and caffeine intake more than his doctor did.

"His name is Lord John Marbury he's a British Lord here to help us with India and Pakistan" Toby said.

Leo had to admire the kid's nerve. He took that sentence on the chin. He looked out at the bullpen and then…

"You know he's drunk right"

"Yep" Leo said nibbling the cookie again.

"I mean he's…like how is he standing drunk?"

"Yep" Leo said again. He was intimately acquainted with that feeling after all.

"Okay…Dad…did you demean Mom?"

Toby spluttered. "I did not demean her"

"Oh, so you didn't say that nobody trusted her not to lie to the press because she was sleeping with them"

Leo inhaled the last of the cookie.

"Oh Toby you didn't?"

"No I did not. Let me be clear I did not do that. Except…well…I didn't say in so many words"

"Oh dear God In Heaven"

How was it that he was the one staring down the divorce?

"Look I didn't want to demean her I just…I just…"

"Opened your mouth and hand grenades fall out"

Toby didn't have an answer to that.#

She laughed and Toby smiled.

"I didn't know that he said that" she said quietly. "I really…Christ he was brave back then wasn't he?"

"He's brave now"

"I know I just…I know"

There was a pause and then.

"He finished it with this…well…Leo did"

"Toby go and apologise"

"Sam said not to".

"Since when did you do what Sam said?"

"Leo—"

"Dad your not going to win this so don't even try."

CJ nodded.

"He was right"

She took a sip of wine and then.

"I don't want to work at the White House. Josh has been hinting that if Santos wins I can have whatever I want in terms of position but I don't want it, maybe it took this greatest hits trip but I don't want it. I want to work but I want to be able to take a day off now and then without it being a national crisis, I want to turn my phone off at night and no that the world will not be falling apart when I turn it back on in the morning, I want to watch you with your children and I want to watch our son live his best life. I don't want to live in fear anymore. I know now what people can do with each other and I know there is always a chance that some lunatic is going to drop a bomb but I want to go back to being ignorant of it. That's what I think was getting to me. I didn't know how to switch that side of me off"

"You think I do?"

"I think you know it better than I do."

"Yeah cause I haven't seen the things that you have had."

"True"

"To be fair I have had a distressing kind of day, I found an old copy of the Constitution and I think somewhere along the lines there's been a typo"

CJ who had taken a sip of wine snorted and nearly spat it back out.

Seriously what the fuck was she supposed to say to that?

"Oh dear"

"Yes"

She swallowed and then.

"Can we talk some more?"

"About what?"

"About anything"

"About our son's greatest hits?"

"He does have a few doesn't he?"

She smiled and Toby smiled too.

"Our little boy's all grown up"

"I'm just proud, just so, so proud"

"You two dimwits do know that CJ and I are Jake's parents right. Not you two?"

That was said to Josh and Sam both of whom had their noses pressed up against the window of the office looking down the corridor at Jake and Anna who were sat talking over what looked like hot chocolate and popcorn.

"You know her Dad is one of the finest brain surgeons in the country and before he retired to open up his own business her other one was a mechanic in the Navy, worked on the planes and—"

"CJ did you swipe that file from the Secret Service?"

"Doesn't it bother you he didn't tell us about her?"

"No" Toby said though he supposed it did. To be honest between David up in space and the answer on Cuba that Sam still had not writtenhe had given up all of his attention. Jake and his first crush could be something that they could deal with tonight when they got back. Depending or not on whether he would have to shit Shiva for his brother.

"It doesn't?"

"Okay yes it does but which one of us doesn't keep their first crush a secret? Tell me CJ did you tell your mother and father about your first crush?"

CJ paused and then nodded closing the file.

"Fair enough, take this from me before I violate any more of her civil rights"

Toby did just that.

For a second they were all silent and then Josh gave a long lamented sigh.

"They grow up so fast"

"Joshua!"

It descended into chaos as it always did but Toby took the opportunity to sit down next to CJ.

"He's fine" he said quietly and she turned and smiled at him.

"I know" she said though she sounded a little sad. She saw the look on his face and elaborated.

"I just…he really is growing up fast isn't he?"

"Yes" Toby said quietly. "But what a good kid he is yeah?"

"Yeah" CJ said still holding his hand.

They were still holding hands when the plane landed in Rosslyn.

Everybody noticed but nobody said anything.

It was just the way.

"Anna" Toby said grinning. "Back when we thought it was Anna"

"Yeah. Not that I minded I just…I didn't think of him as a man until then"

"I didn't think of him as a man until much later."

CJ opened his mouth but then her phone rang.

"Give me a second"

She answered it and gave a short reply and then rolled her eyes.

"Charlie and Zoe"

"Back together?"

"And caught in the West Wing"

"So that's two couples now."

"Three, Sam and Ainsley"

"Oh yeah."

There was a pause and then.

"I want to hear you talk" CJ said quietly.

"About anything?"

"About anything."

He grinned.

"I got one more story to tell…about our son and then…then we are done talking"

CJ took a sip of wine and smiled.

She knew that they weren't.

And there you go.

Next Chapter-PENULTIMATE CHAPTER!-In which we have some more flashbacks as Toby and CJ define their future.