All notes and disclaimers are in the previous seventeen parts. Yes,
archive it if you want, but let me know so I can tell all my friends
where to find it! :D
**
Toby was sitting in a chair by himself, nursing a drink and glowering
at the rest of the room. But mostly he was glowering at Josh and Sam.
He and CJ were still speaking to each other, mostly because she had
started yelling at Sam when she found out about the memo and because
he had not yelled at her when she got back from Raleigh.
"Hey." CJ said as she sat down with him. "I feel like a Republican at
the Democratic National Convention."
"So do I." he said. "We should be nicer to Ainsley now that we know
how she feels. Did she get to Raleigh all right?"
"Yeah." CJ said. "Danny called right before I came here. He's pretty
down. The court refused to move the hearing to Washington, so now he
has to request another leave from the Post."
"As annoying as I find him personally, there isn't a reason they
shouldn't give it to him." Toby said. "Were you able to stay for the
funerals?"
"Yeah. I flew out right afterward." she said. "It was a nice funeral.
I half-expected the sailors and the Marines to start going at it, but
it was all very formal and serious. They were military, you know."
"Danny's brother and sister-in-law?" he asked, surprised.
"Yes." CJ watched as Leo and the President started talking in
earnest, low tones. "Danny was a little better once Ainsley arrived.
I'm almost positive she'll get Megan for him."
"She took a few volumes of cases to study on the plane with her."
Toby said, then looked up as the group consisting of Donna, Margaret,
Ginger, Bonnie, Cathy, and Carol suddenly became animated. "I wonder
what's going on over there."
"Well, they're not all pissed at each other, for one thing." CJ said
sarcastically. "Toby, I really didn't mean to stay in Raleigh so
long, but I didn't feel right leaving until I thought Danny was
okay."
"You don't have to explain yourself to me." Toby interrupted her
gently. "You might think you do, but you don't. I've been an ass
about this entire Danny Concannon thing and I'm sorry. There really
shouldn't be a reason why you and he couldn't date if you wanted to."
"I wish Josh, Sam, and Leo had the same change of heart you did." CJ
grumbled. "It's bad enough I had to put up with the press's questions
about Sam and Ainsley today, but then I have to put up with the three
stooges telling me what I can and can't do."
"Excuse me, you two." Leo approached them, but before he could say
anything, Ron Butterfield came into the room, leading a tall dark,
thirtiesh, guy into the room.
"Excuse me, Mr. President." Ron said. "This man had a pass?"
Jed took a look at the pass, then looked at the man. "Oh, you're
Ginger's young man. Welcome to the White House."
The man shook the hand that Jed stuck out. "Thank you, Mr. President.
I'm Mick Slater, by the way."
"Mick, it's good to meet you." Jed said, taking an instant liking to
the Aussie.
"Who the hell is that?" Toby asked Leo, nodding in the President's
general direction.
"That's Mick Slater." Leo said sarcastically. "Apparently, Ginger
invited him. And apparently, she's thinking about accepting his
marriage proposal."
"Keep him away from me, Leo." Toby warned. "Unless you want a sticky
situation on your hands. And try to keep him away from Ginger as much
as possible."
CJ raised an eyebrow. "Dare I ask why?"
Toby nodded. "He hits her. I've seen the signs and I have no idea why
she takes it from him, but I swear, Leo, if I get the chance, I'll
kill him."
"Mick!"
Leo, CJ, and Toby watched as Ginger hugged her boyfriend. Mick kissed
her, then touched her eye.
"Healing nicely, I see, love." he said, apparently very satisfied
with himself.
Toby half-rose from his chair, quaking with fury.
"Toby..." Leo warned.
"Come on." Ginger tugged Mick's arm. "I want you to meet everyone.
Excuse us, Mr. President."
"By all means." Jed excused them, then headed over to Abbey and Sam,
who were still deep in conversation.
"Oh, wonderful." Leo groaned, seeing that Ginger was leading Mick
straight over to them.
"Mick, this is my boss, Toby Ziegler, the Director of Communications
for the Bartlet administration." Ginger said, hanging onto Mick's
arm.
"Hey there, mate." Mick shook Toby's hand. "Ginger's told me a lot
about you. I hope you'll excuse her lateness the past few months.
We've been rather busy remodeling the apartment and whatnot, but I
promise, I'll see that she's at work on time from now on."
Toby managed a sour grimace, all the while staring at Ginger, who was
making it a point to *not* look at Toby.
"Ginger's told me absolutely *nothing* about you." he extracted his
hand from Mick's. "I hope you know what you're doing, *mate*." he
snapped the last word as if he was cracking a whip.
"Oh, yes." the clueless Mick replied. "Remodelling's really a snap if
you know a contractor who's willing to help you out."
"I'm Leo McGarry." Leo shook Mick's hand. "I must say, you're a lucky
man." he winked at Ginger fondly.
"Oh, don't I know it." Mick replied.
CJ was busy staring at Mick and taking him in. 'My God!' she
thought. 'Look at the size of him! He could break her in half without
even trying!'
"Ginger, could I speak with you alone?" Toby asked pointedly. "It's
about the memo situation."
Ginger looked at Mick.
"It's okay." Leo said gently. "We'll take care of him."
"Go on, love." Mick kissed her cheek. "We'll be fine."
Ginger hesitated for a split second before following Toby into the
hallway. "What's wrong?"
"Well, for one thing, you brought that son of a bitch over to
introduce him like he was--" Toby stopped immediately, forcing
himself to remain calm. "Ginger, why?"
"I wanted him to meet you." Ginger replied quietly.
"Well, I don't want to meet anyone who brutalizes a woman when he
claims to love her." Toby hissed back. "Ginger, my God, he looks like
he could kill you without even trying!"
"Toby, I'm fine." Ginger said. "I can make this work."
"How can you make it work when he hits you?" Toby demanded. "It isn't
working when a man hits you!"
"Toby, he loves me!" Ginger said.
"Ginger, he strikes you." Toby said, taking her by the shoulders. "I
want you to take a good look at yourself in the mirror. If you saw
what I see, you'd see I was telling you the truth."
"Toby, I can't let this fail!" she cried.
"Fail? What the hell are you talking about?" he asked. "You're
staying with him because you don't want to fail?"
"I am a failure." Ginger hissed at him viciously, tears rolling down
her cheeks. "Everything I've ever done has been a failure. Every
relationship I've ever had has failed. I'm a failure as a daughter, a
sister, a lover, a person, a secretary... This is the first time I
haven't been written off and discarded as a second-rate model!"
Toby stared at her as she hid her face in her hands. "Ginger, no,
that's not--"
"Mick wants to marry me!" she informed him. "That means forever! That
means he wants to be with *me* forever. I've never had forever, Toby!
In another two to six years, everyone here will be gone as if they'd
never been in my life. And you--" she suddenly stopped, her tears
drying.
She walked back into the room, leaving him staring after her.
TBC
Part 19
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