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Well, I promised myself I would never do it, but I wrote a story with a new character. I did put everyone back where I found them, though... Disclaimer: These characters (except for Margaret Halloway) do not belong to me and no copyright infringement is intended. Rating: PG, but just barely Pairings: Toby/new character, Toby/CJ Synopsis: CJ and Toby each have lunch with an "enemy". Lunch with the Enemy "You wanted to see me?" Ainsley hovered just outside CJ's office door. CJ looked up and nodded. "Yes." She said crisply. "I need someone to explain to me how this drug enforcement policy is supposed to work." "Okay." Ainsley came in. "I thought Lionel went over it with you." "He did." CJ agreed pleasantly. "And between waxing poetic about the elegance of the language and shouting about how it violates civil liberties and common decency, he managed to take the point and strangle it to death." "Lionel was in one of his hissy fits?" "That's one way to put it. Anyway, I can't do the press conference unless I can explain it clearly. Want to fill me in on the legal aspects of it?" "Sure." Ainsley shrugged. "I don't agree with it..." "I don't want to discuss the policy. I just want to know how the law is actually supposed to work." "Sure. I can do that." Ainsley nodded. "Listen, can we talk over lunch? I'm starved." CJ hid a smile as she got her coat; Ainsley's appetite was notorious. ** The restaurant wasn't far from the White House. Usually, CJ preferred to eat at her desk or go to the cafeteria, but the food during the run up to Christmas got a little strange. CJ wondered who allowed the cooks in the cafeteria access to food colouring and why they hadn't been fired yet. A dab of food colouring should not and did not change the taste, but CJ was deeply unsettled about trying to eat salad adorned with blood red salad dressing. Based on the number of people in the restaurant, she wasn't the only one to feel that way. She and Ainsley ordered and got coffee. Ainsley munched on a bread stick while CJ took out her notepad. "Okay, give me the high points." She said crisply. "Small words, please. The press corps are not very bright sometimes." Easily, Ainsley explained the legal implications of the policy for the police, lawyers and the courts. It was fairly straightforward and easy to understand once laid out in point form. By the time the food arrived, CJ had the information she needed. "Thank you." CJ sighed. "If Lionel had been as clear, I would have had this yesterday." "If Lionel was clear, he probably wouldn't be a lawyer." Ainsley responded with a smile. "It's not that hard to figure out if you know how lawyers talk." "I'm not a lawyer, so I have to ask." CJ nodded. "I feel like an idiot, needing to have it explained twice to me, but I feel like that a lot, so I'm used to it." "I could never do what you do." Ainsley said quietly. "I don't think I could keep up with all the stuff you have to know. I mean, I do fine if I have enough time to research, but give me a two minute deadline to remember something and I'm hopeless." "You don't have to compliment me, Ainsley." "I mean it." Ainsley said sincerely. "I'm good at what I do, but it doesn't mean I don't admire people who can do things that I can't." ** The food arrived and Ainsley dug in with gusto. CJ ate slower, wondering how anyone could possibly eat that much in the middle of the day. And how she could stay so slim while doing it. She looked around the restaurant for a moment, then went still, her eyes riveted to the couple who had just walked in. Toby and a slightly familiar woman about his age were just sitting down. Toby had helped the woman off with her coat and held her chair for her as she sat down. "Is that who I think it is?" CJ murmured. Ainsley looked up and over. Her eyes widened. "That's Margaret Halloway." Ainsley said in a hushed tone. Margaret Halloway was one of the most ardent Republican lobbyists on the Hill. She was also the most powerful women in the Republican party, and Ainsley's role model. "Why would Toby be having lunch with Margaret Halloway?" CJ asked in a low tone. "Is Leo insane?" "Not that I've noticed." Ainsley answered, in all seriousness. "You think Leo set it up?" "I can't think of any other reason Toby would be having lunch with her. This is a disaster waiting to happen." "It is?" "Ainsley, think about it. When Margaret Halloway disagrees with someone, she doesn't pull her punches. She grinds her opponents into the dust and spits on them." CJ explained. "Toby does the same thing. And they are diametrically opposed on everything. They are never going to agree on anything and will just push each other's buttons. Margaret Halloway and Toby Ziegler in a shouting match in public is just asking for trouble." ** "And I told Peter to stop being such an ass. He's making an idiot of himself and, by extension, of the party." Margaret shook her head as she perused the menu. "So he's going to shut up now?" Toby asked hopefully. "Is if that were possible." Margaret rolled her eyes. "I'll sit on him." "That's damned generous of you." "Oh, I'm not doing you guys any favours." Margaret said hastily. "As far as I'm concerned, Leo McGarry can get hung out to dry with his ass flapping in the wind for all I care. But Leo's a huge target and Peter needs more ammunition than innuendo to bring him down." "And Leo admitted his problem." "Yes." Margaret sighed. "That pulled the teeth on Peter's innuendo for a while. It was bad for Leo, but good for the rest of you. At least none of the rest of your little band of Bartlett faithfuls got tarred with Peter's brush." "We're not that stupid, Peggy." Toby pointed out. "Sometimes I wonder. Your deputy and a call girl was a bit much." "He got reamed for it, believe me." "Oh, I believe you, Toby." Margaret smiled and touched his arm. "It was so stupid. Were you ever so innocent as to pick up a girl in a bar and not consider all the possibilities?" "I was never innocent." Toby replied. "No, you weren't. What I don't understand about that whole incident is why he picked her up in the first place. Anyone as pretty as Sam Seaborn doesn't need to pick up professional girls." "Sam didn't know she was a call girl." Toby explained. "He didn't find that out until later." "I would have thought that any man in Washington knows who she is." "Sam is new to Washington and, as you said, he doesn't need to know who all the call girls are." "Did you know who she was?" "Yes." "Personal experience?" "Of course not. I'm not that stupid." "And you still hanker after Andrea." "Don't go there, Peggy." "You still wear the ring, Toby. Are you still married to her or are you using it to keep women from throwing themselves at you?" "Peggy..." "Toby..." Margaret mimicked his tone. "It's none of your business." "I really do want to know, Toby." Margaret said calmly. "After all, I'm not getting any younger. I want to know what my chances are." "Peggy, are you hitting on me?" Toby asked suspiciously. "And if I am?" "You've gone crazier than usual." "It's crazy for me to find you attractive?" Margaret blinked in mock surprise. "Peggy... I..." "Toby Ziegler, speechless." Margaret laughed. "I wonder how many of my colleagues would pay good money to see that. Then again, you always get a little tongue tied when it comes to your personal life." "There's a reason for it, Peggy." "Yes, I know." Margaret relented. "Still, if I were to hit on you, what would you think?" "I'd think it was another fine example of the Republican Party trying to screw this administration." Toby retorted. "God, you're impossible." "So are you." "Yes, but can you just picture the look on Leo McGarry's face if you and I did go out?" ** CJ tried not to look over at the table while she ate. Ainsley was trying not to as well, but she didn't succeed as well as CJ did. "I wonder what they're talking about." Ainsley said softly. CJ didn't answer. She was watching Margaret touching Toby. It seemed like she was constantly reaching to touch his arm or his hand. She was flirting. And Toby didn't seem to mind. Margaret Halloway was an attractive woman, she thought miserably. She was smart and funny and charming, which is what made her such a dangerous political opponent. And she was turning on the charm with Toby. She felt her heart sink when she heard the two of them burst into laughter. When had she last seen Toby laugh like that? Toby didn't laugh nearly as much as he used to, back when he and Andrea were happy together. CJ closed her eyes. Toby was a smart man, one of the smartest men she knew, but, like many smart men, he was dumber than a bag full of hammers when it came to romance. He was also curiously vulnerable and very lonely. Did Margaret Halloway know that? And was she using that as a way to score points? She wasn't above using her looks and charm to get her own way, but CJ had never heard of her going so far as to start a personal relationship with someone for purely political purposes. Then again, she was a widow and perhaps lonely as well. Toby was one of a handful of men in Washington who was her intellectual equal and he was now single. And, CJ admitted to herself, Toby was attractive in his own way. "CJ?" Ainsley's soft voice interrupted her thoughts. "Are you okay?" ** "Not to mention what CJ would say." Toby said, as the laughter died down. "So even if you were to confess undying love for me, I'd have to say no. It would be a PR nightmare." "For both of us." Margaret nodded. "A shame, really." "Peggy, why did you ask me to lunch? To practice flirting?" "I just wanted to see you, that's all." Margaret shrugged. "I haven't had a proper argument since Eric passed on. I miss it." "I was sorry to hear about Eric." "I got your note. I didn't think it would have been wise to reply. Too many questions as to why I was writing you." Margaret replied. "I was surprised to hear that you and Andi split up." "So was I." Toby said wryly. "I wanted to see you mostly to assure myself that you were all right. I do care about you." Toby looked at her carefully and read the utter sincerity in her words. He also saw something else in her eyes. He took her hands gently in his own. "Peggy, when you asked about the ring..." Toby said slowly, fumbling a little on the words. "I haven't let go of Andi. I'm not sure I ever will. Even if we weren't on opposite sides of the fence in this town, I would still say no. I'm sorry, Peggy." Margaret traced the ring on his left hand with the tip of her finger. "Okay." She nodded, not looking at him. "I'm sorry, Toby. I had to try." ** "They look awfully friendly." Ainsley said quietly to CJ, almost in awe. "Yes, they do." CJ replied absently, unable to take her eyes off the clasped hands on the table across the room. "What does she see in him, anyway?" Ainsley wondered artlessly. "He's not that good looking and he's so... cantankerous." "There's a lot more to Toby than meets the eye, Ainsley." CJ replied shortly. "I think any woman would be lucky to have him." Ainsley opened her mouth to say something else, but the spark of anger in CJ's eyes stopped her. CJ stopped as well, wondering where that came from. She liked Toby a lot, even if he did drive her crazy. But until the words came out of her mouth, she hadn't realized how true they were. For her. ** Margaret and Toby made a pretence of finishing their lunch, but it was clearly over. "I have to get back to my office..." Margaret muttered, rising. She couldn't look at him. Toby rose as well and helped her on with her coat. "It was good to see you, Peggy. Really it was." "Yeah. It was good to see you, too." She finally raised her eyes to his. After a moment, she leaned forward and kissed him. Toby returned the kiss warmly and embraced her gently. "Be happy, Toby." She whispered to him, then pulled herself away and walked out. ** CJ gasped when she saw the kiss. It was painful to watch; actually, physically painful. She dropped the napkin onto her plate and rose. "We should be getting back." CJ told Ainsley. Ainsley nodded and scrambled to her feet. "Yes, we should. I'll get this." Ainsley pulled her wallet from her purse and signalled the waitress. CJ stood there and watched as Toby signed the credit card slip for his lunch and put his coat on. She was starting to get angry. Toby knew that having lunch with a prominent Republican was not a good idea. And he sure the hell knew that kissing said prominent Republican in a public restaurant was incredibly stupid. She had half a mind to go over there and rip him up one side and down the other. No. She would take it up with him at the office, nice and professional. Maybe by then, she could stop this idiotic shaking. Ainsley paid the bill, watching CJ out of the corner of her eye. So CJ likes Toby, she mused. Well, no accounting for taste. ** "You wanted to see me?" An hour later, Toby was at CJ's office door. "Yes." CJ snapped. "I didn't think I'd have to say this to you, Toby, but I am your first phone call. Got that?" "Why am I supposed to call you?" Toby frowned. "Your alarm clock is broken?" "You had lunch with Margaret Halloway." "Yes. She called me and asked to have lunch with me." "And you didn't tell me?" "I'm supposed to tell you who I have lunch with?" Toby echoed blankly. "Okay. I'm having lunch with Paul Fenris tomorrow." "Toby." CJ glared at him. "I was in the restaurant today, too. You had lunch with Margaret Halloway. Fine. But you kissed her in a public place." "To be strictly accurate, Peggy kissed me." "Peggy? You call her Peggy?" "Ever since ninth grade." Toby admitted. "Wait a minute. You knew Margaret Halloway in ninth grade?" "Peggy and I dated in high school." Toby said. "I thought you knew that." "I didn't know you... Hold on. Peggy is Margaret Halloway?" CJ looked surprised. "Peggy, the girl you dumped for Andi? Peggy, the girl who sent a live rat to Andi so she'd have a matching pair? That Peggy?" "Yeah. She was a little upset about the breakup." "Why did she want to have lunch with you?" "She wanted to get back together with me." Toby admitted, after a long pause. "And?" CJ forced herself to ask. "I turned her down." Toby said quietly. "If there's questions, tell the truth. She's an old girlfriend of mine and we were just talking about old times. Peggy will back it up." "Will she?" "She's grown up a lot since high school, CJ. I think we can behave like adults now." "You kissed her." CJ said suddenly. "Old friends are allowed, don't you think?" "I'm an old friend. You've never kissed me." "Would you like me to?" "Toby..." "Well, it would be unfair to treat Peggy better than I treat you." Toby smiled at her. He stepped close and kissed her lightly on the lips. CJ froze in panic. She didn't mind Toby kissing her, not at all; but she saw Leo at the doorway. Toby turned just in time to see the Leo's expression and nearly lost it. Peggy was right; the look on Leo's face was worth it. Before Leo could say anything and before the laugh that was lurking in his beard could emerge, Toby escaped. END -- Adrienne ar895@freenet.carleton.ca
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