"Is it just me, or did you just scream at a US congressman?" Toby asked
softly. KD jumped a little and looked at him.

"Scolded would be a better word choice, I believe." She said softly, her
energy depleted. Toby nodded and moved over to her desk. He began to trace
his fingers along the edge of it as he often did when he had to say things
and he didn't know where to start.

"You're not feeling much better, I take it." He murmured.

"I'm fine. Truly." She retorted dryly and glanced at the piles of paper
on her desk.

"I talked to Leo about ten minutes ago."

"Yeah? Did he have anything to say?" She asked somewhat nervously as she
stood up and began to sort through some papers that were on her desk.

"I'm not going to walk away from you, Katy." He said. She stopped and
looked at her feet, a tear dripping down her cheek. He moved over next to
her, took her hands and pulled her into his arms. He clutched her tightly as
she buried her face into his chest, weeping very gently. He kissed her head
and tightened his grasp.

"I told him not to tell." She said weakly between soft sobs. He smiled
weakly and kissed her soft hair again.

"I pressured him into it." He replied softly.

"Damn you." She whispered, half playfully. Toby stepped back from her a
moment and gazed into her eyes.

"I don't want you ever to think you have to do anything alone. I'm here
for you, and I would be even if I weren't in love with you." He assured her
softly, taking her chin in his hand and wiping away a tear with his thumb. "I
may not know everything about your past, but I'm here when you want to tell
me, and I'm here, whenever you need me." He added in an almost whisper. She
smiled and turned her head a little to kiss his hand.

"I'm just so afraid I'm going to end up like my father." She whispered.
"In the long run, I wonder if that's a bad thing. I loved him, but he drifted
away from me . . . and I don't want to drift away."

"Then don't. Stay right here, with me, okay?" Toby replied, puling her
closer until their foreheads touched gently. She nodded, a final tear
drifting down her cheek, the flow turned off. She smiled as he slipped a hand
around her waist and kept his other hand on her cheek. He held her close as
they just stood there in her dark office, foreheads pressed against each
other. Slowly, after a minute, he leaned forward a little more and kissed her
gently. She kissed him back, slipping her arms up and around his neck.
Then, of course, the phone rang. The two broke apart and stared at the slim
black receiver. David had gone home for the day, so he wasn't there to screen
the call. KD stared at the phone carefully, a variety of thoughts and
emotions passing through her. Toby glanced at her and then kissed her cheek.

"Don't be afraid. I'm right here." He whispered. She smiled and turned
her head to kiss him. Then she stepped out of his arms and grabbed the phone,
bringing it up to her ear.

"KD Brody. Yes. Okay. I understand that. Yes, of course. I do. Thank
you." She exclaimed and then hung up the phone. The whole conversation lasted
less than a minute. Toby walked up behind her and slipped his hands around
her waist.

"What did he say?" He asked softly.

"The results are negative, for now. I'll have to be tested again in about
five years, just in case the genes are currently dormant." She replied
softly. Toby let go a sigh of relief and kissed her neck. She smiled weakly
and turned around in his arms. She slipped her fingers back around his neck,
brought him in close and kissed him. He kissed back passionately and held her
closer.

Jed Bartlet sighed and leaned back in the small armchair that sat in the
center of the oval office. It was early morning, earlier than he normally got
up. He had actually woken up at 4, roughly an hour ago perhaps, and for some
reason, he'd decided to head to the Oval office for comfort. It had annoyed
the secret service agent who was on duty, but what the President wanted, the
President got. With another sigh, he stood up and walked to the window.

"Jed?" Leo's soft voice exclaimed behind him. Jed twirled around to see
his best friend stagger in the door with red sleepless eyes and start the
seemingly long trip to the presidential desk.

"Leo? What are you doing here?" He exclaimed, stepping forward to meet
his friend halfway.

"Jenny went out of town for a business trip. I woke up early and started
thinking about KD, just wondering how she's doing." Leo admitted as he
collapsed into the same chair that Jed had just vacated.

"I know what you mean." Jed replied. "Things are going pretty well
between you and Jenny, eh?"

"Yeah. We've gotten a second chance." Leo affirmed, stifling a yawn.

"Well, KD probably will too. We've just got to be there for her now, like
she's been there for us in the past." Jed exclaimed as he sat down in the
opposite chair. Suddenly the door to their left opened as Abbey leaned into
the room. Jed stood up again and smiled weakly.

"Hey, love." He whispered. Leo finally let himself yawn and stood up.

"I've got to go . . . do something." He murmured and walked out of the
room. Abbey smiled, knowing Leo was just giving them the room alone. She
walked up to her husband and hugged him. He hugged her back and inhaled her
presence through his nostrils.

"I missed you." He whispered.

"I'm sorry. I did overreact a bit, and I missed you too." She replied
softly, her fingers sifting through strands of his short hair.

"I don't like it when we fight. Especially when it's about something we
both care about so deeply. KD may not be our daughter flesh and blood wise,
but we do love her as such." He exclaimed softly. Abbey stepped back a second.

"Honey. I apologized. Don't press it." She warned. He smiled and kissed
her. She kissed him back and chuckled as he wrapped his hands and arms around
her back, clutching her close.

"You still haven't told me why you got so upset." He murmured. Abbey
sighed and stepped away from him.

"I was scared, afraid for her, afraid for what life would become like if
she . . . if she had to go through this." Abbey trailed off.

"She would never have to go through anything alone. That was the problem
that Rob had. He pushed us away, and we let him. If KD pushed, we'd push
back. In fact, that's what we're doing right now." He assured her. Abbey
smiled weakly and nodded. He smiled and they hugged once more. Suddenly there
was a soft knock at the door and Leo leaned back in, looking slightly more
energized.

"Mr. President?" He exclaimed. Jed parted from his wife and glanced at
his best friend.

"Yeah, Leo?" He replied.

"I just got the morning report." Leo said with a hint of excitement,
stepping further into the room.

"What are you talking about, Leo?" Jed retorted. Leo grinned.

"KD's results were negative." He proclaimed. It took a second to set in,
but finally Jed understood, and once he did, a large grin broke out across
his face. He turned around and saw that his wife was smiling too.

"That's the best news I've heard today." The President exclaimed with a
laugh. Leo and Abbey laughed too. Their baby was okay. They didn't care
anymore what KD may or may not have thought. They just cared that for the
time being, she was okay.

It was a quiet spring day. May brought many of them. There was a soft
mist that perforated the air, not quite rain but more than fog. It was not
yet eight in the morning, and the silence was deafening. A soft clicking
suddenly burst through the morning air as KD walked across the gravel path.
She exhaled gently, watching the mist of her breath explode in front of her
while she moved straight through it. The green grass still held drops of
morning dew on their edges, and the newborn sunlight was streaming through.
KD didn't really notice as she turned off the path into the ankle high grass
and walked the extra thirty yards to one gravestone that was like all the
rest.

"Okay. I'm here." She whispered after standing in front of it for nearly
two minutes, not saying anything. The stone said nothing back. She knelt down
in front of it and traced the letters carefully. Robert Dylan Brody. Born
November 17th, 1935; died May 7th, 1979.

God she missed playing chess with him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Dad, why do you always do that?" KD asked as her father slipped his
knight around the last column and into a dangerous position. He smiled and
let go of the small black piece.

"Because it's fun to take risks, Katy." He replied.

"I'm going out!" Carolyn called before stumbling off of the front porch
and climbing into her big red Toyota. Rob glanced back behind his shoulder at
his wife and then back to his eight year old daughter who had already moved.

"She's always going out, isn't she?" KD thought aloud.

"It's just the way she is. She's an outgoing person." Rob replied.
"That's who she is." He added, realizing that he was making excuses again.

"Dad, are you crying?" KD asked. Rob shook his head, sniffled and wiped
his eyes in case he was wrong.

"No, I was just thinking about how big you're getting." He replied with a
smile. "It's not going to be long before you don't need me anymore." KD
grinned.

"I'll always need you, dad." She insisted.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"That wasn't a lie." KD whispered as she let her fingers fall off the
stone into the grass. Behind her, she heard a twig crack. She twirled around
and saw Toby standing behind her. She looked to the left and saw Leo walked
down the path with Jenny at his side. KD smiled weakly and stood up to meet
her boyfriend as he moved to her side.

"Sounds like he was a great guy." Toby whispered as he slipped his arms
around her waist.

"He was, and he's sorely missed." Leo exclaimed softly as the two
McGarrys arrived. "Jed said he'd be here if he could."

"He's here in his own way." KD replied, nodding her understanding.
"In the meantime, we're here for you." Abbey exclaimed as she walked up
behind Leo in a short black dress. KD smiled weakly as she saw Zoey approach
with her mother.

"Looks like I've got a family all my own." KD whispered as she leaned
into Toby's hold.

"That's right, and they're not even all here. There's a half a dozen more
people in the West Wing who have been worried about you for so long." Abbey
exclaimed as she slid a maternal arm around her daughter's shoulder.

"I know Charlie thinks you're great, and don't get me started on my dad."
Zoey added. KD smiled.

"The feeling is mutual. Charlie thinks you're great too and don't get me
started on your dad." She joked. Everyone laughed, lightening the atmosphere
if only a little bit.

"How you doing, Katy?" Jenny asked softly. KD sighed and nuzzled Toby's
neck before looking back at the others.

"I'm about ready, I think." She retorted.

"Ready for what?" Leo asked, raising a confused eyebrow.

"Ready to move on, I think." She replied. "Ready to face the world
again." She added. Around her, her friends smiled, and more importantly, her
family rejoiced. The sun stared to shine a little brighter, and together, the
small group of six glanced one more time at the dismal stone of the past, and
then walked away on to the path of the future.

The End