Shared Memories Part Five ‘Toby, got a second?’ ‘Er, yes Sir.’ Toby hadn’t even made it to his desk before Bartlet was in his office doorway. He followed the President into the Oval Office, relieved that Leo wasn’t in the room with them. ‘Toby, I don’t want you to leave. But neither do I want a repeat of the last few days. Leo doesn’t mean…’ Regretting not having worked out what he was going to say in advance, Bartlet sighed. ‘I understand he wants to protect you and the Administration, Sir. But I’m not doing anything wrong.’ ‘Yeah, Toby you are.’ Toby felt a flash of anger. ‘Sir?’ ‘You’re having a good time. Leo isn’t. Jenny’s dating a Senator. Leo’s not happy.’ Toby struggled for a reply. ‘That isn’t my fault Sir.’ ‘No Toby. But you might wanna think about it.’ ‘He was rude to Rebecca.’ ‘Yeah, he was.’ ‘And me.’ ‘Yeah. And believe me, I yelled at him.’ Calming a little, Toby smiled. ‘I heard Sir.’ ‘Toby, you understand that I’m telling you about Leo’s situation in confidence. As far as I’m aware, no-one else knows, and I’d like to keep it that way.’ ‘Yes Sir.’ Bartlet smiled. ‘So, can I shred this?’ Bartlet held the envelope Toby hadn’t noticed had been taken from his desk. Toby stared at the envelope for several seconds. ‘Yes Sir.’ ‘Okay. Now go write me something mind-blowing on the subject of farm loans.’ Toby groaned. ‘Yes Sir.’ The two men laughed for a couple of seconds before Leo walked in from his own office, looking from Jed to Toby. He nodded curtly. ‘Toby.’ Toby looked at the President. ‘Leo.’ Jed held up a folder, waving it as he walked out of his office. ‘Farm loans, Leo.’ Leo groaned almost as loudly as Toby. ‘How the Hell do you make loans for tractors sexy?’ Toby smiled. ‘Leave it to me.’ Leo sighed. ‘Toby, listen…’ Toby shook his head. ‘Forget it Leo.’ Leo frowned, sure the was more. ‘Yeah?’ Toby nodded. ‘Yeah.’ Leo dropped onto the couch. Apparently not. ************** ‘Hi.’ Rebecca looked up, hiding her disappointment that the man standing over her wasn’t Toby. ‘Hello.’ Leo sensed the hostility, but decided to sit down. ‘Lunch break?’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘Look…’ ‘Mr McGarry, you don’t know me. But you don’t like me. Fine, you don’t have to. But you were rude to me. I’d rather you sat somewhere else.’ Leo looked around, wondering if anyone else had heard Rebecca’s angry outburst. Apparently not. ‘I came over to apologise.’ ‘Why?’ ‘What?’ ‘Why now? A week on? Why not the same day? Or the next day?’ ‘I’ve been a little busy.’ ‘Interfering in someone else’s life?’ Leo got up and put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. ‘Forget it.’ Rebecca looked up, her voice low. ‘No, Mr McGarry, I can’t. You might be able to, but I can’t.’ ‘Maybe you’re not cut out to be a White House guide.’ Rebecca was shocked at the turn of the conversation. ‘Are you threatening me?’ Keeping calm, Leo said evenly: ‘I’m making an observation.’ ‘Okay. My turn. You have way too much power for someone so mean.’ Rebecca got up and walked quickly away, leaving Leo standing alone. ‘I’d like to see Mr Ziegler please.’ The Agent who stopped Rebecca as she made her way over to the West Wing looked at her ID, realised she wasn’t West Wing staff, and shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, I can’t let you any further.’ ‘Why not?’ ‘I’m sorry.’ ‘Call him. Tell him Rebecca’s here. Please?’ The Agent paused for a second, taking in the young woman’s obvious effort not to cry, then spoke into his wrist mike. ‘Ask Mr Ziegler to come down to the main lobby please.’ Toby ushered Rebecca into his office, offering her his handkerchief. ‘Rebecca, what happened?’ ‘Leo McGarry threatened to have me fired.’ ‘What?!’ If the sight of Toby’s young girlfriend in his office wasn’t enough, his angry exclamation made everyone look up. Including the President who was walking across to Josh’s office when he heard Toby’s outburst. ‘McGarry.’ ‘Leo, I need to see you. In my office. Now.’ ‘Toby…’ ‘Now, Leo!’ Reluctantly Leo walked across to Toby’s office. Bartlet followed him in, closing the door behind him. ‘What’s going on?’ ‘Tell the President what you told me Rebecca.’ Rebecca looked at the floor. ‘Mr McGarry threatened to fire me.’ Eyes fixed on Leo, Bartlet frowned. ‘Why?’ ‘Because I wouldn’t let him apologise for being rude to me the other day.’ ‘What?’ Bartlet didn’t believe what he was hearing. ‘Leo?’ Leo shrugged. ‘I was making an observation.’ ‘You were making a threat.’ ‘Hang on!’ Bartlet stood between them, looking from one to the other. ‘Okay, this has gone far enough. Come with me young lady.’ Bartlet opened the door and waited until Rebecca was outside. ‘Charlie!’ ‘Yes Sir?’ ‘Go with Charlie. He’ll get you a coffee. Charlie, when you’ve got the coffee, please show Miss Martin into my office.’ ‘Yes Sir.’ Rebecca looked anxiously at her watch. ‘Mr President, I have to get back…’ ‘Mrs Landingham, call down and tell whoever is in charge of tours that Miss Martin is with me for the rest of the day.’ ‘Yes Sir.’ Sighing deeply, Bartlet closed the door and walked round, closing the blinds. ‘Right, this stops now! We are gonna resolve this here. Toby, take your best shot. Leo, don’t move.’ Toby’s alarm showed on his face and in his voice. ‘Sir, I can’t hit Leo.’ ‘Sure you can. You want to, right?’ Surprising himself, Toby admitted: ‘Yeah.’ Leo took a step backwards. ‘You’re not serious.’ ‘Why not? You insulted his girlfriend. This is a traditional way of letting Toby have his revenge.’ ‘This is stupid.’ ‘Maybe, but it’s gonna happen.’ Leo began to laugh. ‘You think I’m just gonna stand here…’ ‘Either that, or go and apologise to Miss Martin.’ ‘No way.’ Nodding at Toby, Bartlet shrugged: ‘Okay then. Toby?’ ‘I can’t Sir.’ ‘Why not?’ ‘Because… it isn’t…right…’ ‘He insulted your girlfriend.’ Toby nodded. ‘Yeah.’ ‘So?’ Toby’s hand rubbed his scalp. ‘I’m not gonna hit Leo, Sir.’ ‘I would. I mean, you love her, right?’ ‘Yes Sir.’ ‘Okay then.’ Toby and Leo stood a few feet apart for several seconds. Eventually Bartlet smiled, shaking his head and walked between them. ‘What would you have done if he had hit you Leo?’ ‘Hit him back Sir.’ Bartlet laughed. ‘Now that would have been worth seeing. Two of my senior staff scrapping on the floor.’ Both men looked at him. ‘Now, can we get on with this please? Leo, go. And make it a good one. Upset her again, and Toby might just be angry enough to hit you.’ Toby’s voice caught Leo as he stood with his hand on the door. ‘Upset her again Leo, and I’ll be more than angry enough.’ Bartlet dropped into the chair in front of Toby’s desk. ‘Talk to me about farm loans Toby. That ought to fill the time until Leo comes back.’ Toby made a pained face and sat slowly down. ‘Yes Sir.’ ‘It was awful. He didn’t want to. And I didn’t want him to unless he meant it. Did you really almost hit him?’ Toby sat back and nodded. ‘Yeah. But I decided I’d rather let him apologise to you.’ Rebecca sipped her coffee, stroking the cat which lay across her lap as she lay on the sofa, cradled in Toby’s arms. ‘Why does the President keep him on.’ ‘They’ve been friends since childhood.’ ‘He’s mean.’ ‘Yeah.’ Toby lifted Rebecca off him to answer his cell phone. ‘Toby Ziegler…okay…no…I’ll be there as soon as I can.’ ‘What?’ ‘I have to go.’ ‘Where?’ ‘To the office.’ ‘Now?’ ‘Yeah. Sorry.’ ************* ‘Em, where is she?’ Toby saw Andrea’s assistant sitting in the waiting area outside the curtained-off cubicles. ‘She’s through there. The doctor said…’ She saw Toby’s anxious face and fought for self-control. ‘He said she might…oh Toby.’ Toby walked quickly to the desk. ‘I’m Toby Ziegler, you have my wife here.’ The receptionist looked at the screen in front of her. ‘Mr Ziegler, yes. I’ll ask one of the doctors…’ ‘Can I see her?’ ‘I’ll ask one of the doctors to come and speak to you. They’re working on your wife right now.’ Toby sat quietly in the waiting room, head down until Emmie came over. ‘Toby, I have to get back. My baby-sitter must be going crazy. Will you be okay?’ ‘She hit a truck Em…what if…’ Toby couldn’t even finish the sentence. ‘Toby, don’t think about that. The nurse told me the doctor would be out to see you as soon as they had Andi stable. I have to go. Call me, okay?’ ‘Yeah.’ ************* ‘Here.’ Toby looked up, taking the coffee from Leo, who stood over him. ‘How is she?’ Too dazed to wonder how Leo knew Andrea had been in a car accident, Toby shook his head. ‘They’re still working on her…’ Several minutes later, a doctor approached Toby. ‘Mr Ziegler? I’m Simon Marshall. We’re still working on your wife. She was badly injured in the crash, and several of her injuries were severe. However, she’s responded well. We’re going to be taking her up for further surgery in a few minutes. Would you like to see her? She is in there somewhere, under all the tubes and stuff. She’s drifting in and out, but she can hear you.’ Leo waited outside the room, looking in through the glass panels in the door. Andi lay on a trolley, hooked up to a number of monitors and machines. After a few minutes, a doctor lead Toby out. ‘She’s gonna be in surgery quite a while. You should go home, get some sleep, and leave a number where we can call you. If you hang around here, the waiting’ll drive you crazy. Are you a friend?’ The doctor looked at Leo, who nodded. ‘Take him home. We’ll call as soon as she’s out of surgery. Leave a number at the desk.’ Leo nodded. ‘Thanks. Toby, come on.’ Stubbornly, Toby said: ‘I want to stay.’ ‘Yeah, I know. But the doctor’s right. You can’t sit here. Come on.’ Toby allowed Leo to push him towards the exit and he waited while Leo left the receptionist both Toby’s and his own cell phone numbers. ‘You wanna go to Rebecca’s?’ Toby shook his head slightly. Leo sighed. ‘Okay. You can crash at mine.’ *********** ‘Leo McGarry…oh, yeah, hang on please.’ Forcing himself awake, Leo walked into the sitting room. Toby was already awake, sitting up on the couch. ‘It’s the hospital.’ Toby took the phone from Leo. ‘This is Toby Ziegler. Yeah…thanks…I’ll come straight over.’ He folded the phone closed. ‘She’s gonna be okay.’ Leo smiled. ‘Get dressed. I’ll drive you over.’ ‘I can get a cab.’ ‘I’ll drive you. Get dressed.’ ************* When they arrived at the fifth floor, Leo dropped into a chair a little way down the corridor. ‘You go on in. I’ll stay here.’ ‘Thanks.’ Leo nodded. ‘Yeah. Go on.’ ************ Toby followed the nurse from the desk into Andi’s room. She was still hooked up to several monitors and other machines Toby couldn’t identify, but she was waking up, her hands moving on the bedclothes. As she felt the hands covering her own, she opened her eyes, focusing slowly. She licked her dry lips and managed a soft: ‘Toby…’ Toby leaned down and kissed her gently. ‘Hi.’ ‘How did you know..?’ ‘Emmie called me.’ Andrea sighed. ‘I’m sorry.’ ‘Hey, don’t apologise. Is there anything you want me to do?’ ‘Yeah. Call my parents.’ ‘Sure. Anything else?’ ‘Can you stay?’ ‘Yeah. I’ll be right back.’ Toby walked out of Andi’s room. Leo got up. ‘How’s she doing?’ ‘Okay. Listen, Leo, I know it’s asking a lot…’ ‘You want me to call Rebecca.’ Toby nodded. ‘Hey, she’ll understand. You were married to Andi.’ ‘I lied about where I was going last night.’ Leo took a deep breath and let it out slowly. ‘You want me to tell her?’ Toby nodded. ‘Yeah.’ Leo put a hand on Toby’s shoulder. ‘I’ll take care of Rebecca. You get back in there.’ ‘I need to call Andi’s parents. I can’t remember…’ ‘Will her office have the number?’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘Okay. Don’t worry about it. Go sit with Andi.’ ************* ‘Rebecca Martin.’ ‘Hi, it’s Leo McGarry. Listen, I need to come over. Are you gonna be in?’ ‘Why?’ ‘Because I need to see you.’ ‘Yeah, I’ll be here.’ Leo hadn’t missed Rebecca’s angry tone. He rang the bell for her apartment and noticed she didn’t even answer, just pressed the buzzer to unlock the door. ‘Hey, I’m sorry to bother you on a Sunday morning. Toby asked me to come over.’ ‘Is he okay? He left last night and he hasn’t called.’ ‘Toby’s fine. Look, I don’t know what he told you about his past.’ ‘He was married.’ Slightly relieved, Leo nodded. ‘Yeah. Andi was in car accident last night. That’s where Toby went.’ ‘He told me he had to go to work.’ ‘I know.’ ‘He lied.’ ‘Yeah. Um, look, I’m not getting in the middle of you two. I’m just here so you don’t worry if you don’t hear from him for a day or two.’ ‘I appreciate your concern.’ Leo smiled. ‘No, you don’t. But I’m here anyway. I need to get him a change of clothes and a toothbrush and stuff. Can you pack some stuff up?’ As she walked round the bedroom, picking things out of closets and drawers, Rebecca turned to Leo who stood in the doorway. ‘You must be really enjoying this.’ ‘No.’ ‘Liar. You’d really like it if Toby left me and went back to Andrea.’ ‘You’re wrong. Toby’s been happier these past few months than I’ve ever seen him. That’s down to you, not Andi. And when she’s better, he’ll come back to you. He loves you, not Andi.’ Ignoring him, Rebecca zipped the bag closed. ‘There. A couple of days worth of stuff. He doesn’t live here, so I don’t have much more.’ ‘Thanks.’ As she stood on the doorstep of the apartment building, Rebecca called out: ‘Tell him I hope she gets better soon.’ ‘I will.’ ************** ‘Hi.’ ‘Toby.’ Rebecca looked at Toby, who was obviously nervous. Which was only fair. Three days after he left her apartment, lying about where he was going, he was back on her doorstep. She had forgotten she’d given him a key, and he was sitting on the sofa when she walked in. ‘I came to apologise.’ ‘Go on then.’ ‘I thought you’d be upset if I told you the truth.’ ‘Whereas finding it out from Mr McGarry didn’t make me at all upset.’ ‘I’m sorry.’ ‘Toby, why didn’t you tell me?’ ‘Because I knew how you’d react.’ ‘You thought I’d be jealous? She was your wife Toby. It’s only human to be worried about her if something like that happens.’ Toby got up. ‘Is there anything of mine left here?’ ‘Not much. I gave most of it to Mr McGarry. You can have a look if you like.’ ‘Okay. Thanks.’ ‘Are you back together?’ ‘Who?’ ‘You and Andrea?’ Toby shook his head. ‘No. We’re over with. We were a long time ago. I thought maybe…no. We’re not.’ ‘So why are you leaving me?’ Toby looked uncomfortable. ‘I thought you’d want me to.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Because I lied.’ ‘Yeah, you did. And I was upset. But not as upset as I was when you sent that awful man over here to collect your things. You didn’t even call me, Toby…’ Rebecca began to cry and Toby walked across the room, tentatively hugging her to him. She pressed her face into his sweatshirt, breathing in the hospital smell in his clothes. ‘I thought you didn’t love me any more.’ Toby kissed the top of Rebecca’s head. ‘I thought the same.’ Rebecca’s sobs lessened as she cautioned: ‘Don’t lie to me in future Toby.’ ‘I love you.’ ‘That’s a start.’ ‘I’m sorry.’ ‘You already did that one. Try something else.’ Toby paused for a moment. Then, pushing Rebecca away, he held onto her shoulders until she looked up at him. ‘Will you marry me?’ Rebecca hardly paused at all. ‘Yes.’ Home Send me feedback on this fic Return to the West Wing Fic Index

The End…?