Title: Recycling is a good thing – a tiny Toby tale Toby was stuck on a word. He knew the word he wanted. He just couldn’t think of it. And for a man whose job depended on words, it was annoying as Hell. Without even realising he was doing it, he threw a rubber ball against the door of his office. Several times. Hearing the repetitive sound, Sam realised that Toby had taken to heart his pleading that his boss not throw the balls against the wall dividing their offices. He looked across his office to the cupboard which had never shut properly until he’d jammed one of Toby’s annoying balls into the gap between and finally been able to walk past the thing without having to avoid catching his leg on the half-open door. Walking past, Josh heard the sound and smiled. Toby was thinking. Unconsciously, as he walked towards Leo’s office, he reached into his pocket, gently squeezing the small rubber ball several times until he felt his stress level drop a few notches. Leo rolled the rubber ball across the smooth sand, knocking over almost all of the paper clips he’d jammed upright in the few inches of sand. Someone had given him the thing, which Josh had explained was a Zen garden, consisting of a layer of sand, a couple of pebbles and a small rake. He’d gotten rid of the pebbles and the rake when Josh had accidentally dropped one of Toby’s balls into the sand, scattering the paperclips which Leo had stuck in, and they discovered that his Deputy had invented a miniature bowling alley. Bartlet sat at his desk waiting for Charlie to come back with his coffee. He threw the rubber ball across the room, dropping it into a large china bowl on the floor. It bounced out and he frowned, reaching into his desk drawer and pulling out another ball, this time throwing it much more gently and it bounced up but stayed in the bowl. Leaning back in his chair, lacing his hands behind his head, Bartlet allowed himself a self-satisfied smile. Danny sat at his desk, typing into his laptop. ‘Ow!’ He rubbed the back of his head, turning in his chair to see CJ standing in the doorway of the room. She laughed. ‘I’m getting better.’ Scowling, Danny grumbled: ‘Couldn’t you go practice your aim on someone else?’ ‘No. I chose you.’ ‘Thanks.’ Sam knocked, and without waiting for an answer, opened Toby’s door. The rubber ball hit his chest and bounced off into the outer office. ‘Sam! That was my last one. If we can’t find it, I’m gonna have to go out and replace it. I must have lost a dozen in the last month. It’s a conspiracy.’ Sam was about to answer when Toby banged his hand on the desk. ‘Conspiracy. I knew it’d come if I thought hard enough.’ Completely lost, Sam closed the door and turned to look for the lost ball. End Home Send me feedback on this fic Return to the X-Files Fic Index Return to the West Wing Fic Index