"Spill my guts?" KD repeated inquisitively.

"What happened with you and Toby before?" CJ asked with a mischievous
grin. KD smiled shyly and shook her head as she picked through the papers on
her desk for the packet she'd outlined for CJ.

"Absolutely nothing." She replied softly.

"Yeah, right. Come on, tell. Did he actually do something that could be
considered human?" CJ probed playfully. KD flashed a glance, an equally
playful smirk on her face.

"I'll tell you the day you tell me about Danny Canconnon." She retorted.
CJ stopped and looked elsewhere.

"That really is nothing." She replied.

"Sounds like a regret to me. Here we go." KD exclaimed as she dragged out
the thin blue folder.

"You and Danny know each other, right?" CJ asked. KD nodded.

"Ahem. Very well." She affirmed, almost nervously.

"How well?"

"About as well as you'd like to know him, perhaps?" KD said with a grin.

CJ rolled her eyes.

"So not very well at all?" She retorted. KD sighed and sat down on the
couch next to her friend.

"I'm not one to tell you anything you may or may not already know, but
CJ, it's so rare that we as human beings can find a person that we care
about. I can tell you right now, if Danny were your such person, you'd be a
very lucky woman." KD exclaimed as she lightly tapped CJ's arm with the
folder. CJ glanced at the younger woman and raised an eyebrow.

"That sounds like a regret." She murmured. KD paused.

"Nothing hurts more than looking back on the past and saying 'I should
have done this instead of that', and that is a regret, yes." She replied as
CJ took the folder from her.

"Why didn't things work out between you two?" CJ asked, wanting to know.
KD sighed and looked at her friend.

"What can I say? Irreconcilable differences, I guess. We've both moved
on, and we're both very good friends." She replied softly. "Beyond that, I'm
not even sure either of us knows."

"Right." CJ murmured.

"CJ, just remember what I said. Nothing hurts more than remembering a
should-a, could-a, would-a, especially with something like this." KD
repeated, looking her colleague in the eye and being sincere.

"I understood you the first time, kid. Don't make me feel too stupid
here." CJ added with a grin. KD chuckled and stood up, walking back behind
her desk and sitting in the extremely comfortable chair Leo had gotten for
her.

"I'm not trying to make you feel stupid. I'm trying to make sure that two
of my best friends can find happiness when it bites them in the ass, or the
heart, whichever the case may be." She retorted as she looked for her
highlighter. CJ laughed and stood up.

"Maybe you should remember that as well next time you see Toby, eh?" She
retorted. KD paused and looked up at her.

"Got a black ballpoint pen?" She asked. CJ smiled and shook her head.

"Nope, but I'll see if I can't get Carol to send one over." She retorted
and moved out of the office.

It was such a beautiful sight to see the sun come up. A golden sphere of
intense light and fire suddenly appears over a dark horizon, lighting up
everything within its reach. The sky would turn a gentle purple as the
nighttime slowly faded away. If Leo could miss that breathtaking sunrise
every day of his life, he would, if only to get one hour more of sleep.
In his newly designated bachelor's life, he'd come to realize how truly empty
life was without someone to share it with. Jenny had left, and for good
reason. Jed had told Leo not to let her go, but things can't change that
easily. Jenny had left, so now Leo was alone. Now he got to wake up every
morning, bright and early, and he got to watch the sunrise, lighting up the
sky, as he got ready for the workday ahead of him.

And the day did begin. With a sigh and a moderately secure blue tie, Leo
drove his car through the gate, as he did everyday and parked it in the same
spot that he always did, the one marked Chief of Staff. He climbed out,
grabbed his briefcase and hauled it to the elevator. As he waited for the
doors to open, he glanced to the side and saw that Toby was not yet in. This
was rare, for Toby seemed to always be in. In fact, Leo sometimes wondered if
the communications director lived in his office.

The elevator opened its doors to reveal an empty car. Leo stepped in,
pressed the corresponding button and checked his watch. It was nearly eight
am. He was running a little late. The doors opened up and allowed him to step
out into the hallway where nearly a dozen people were already running around
like chickens with their heads cut off. Leo rolled his eyes and started
moving his way through the various runners and dodgers of the daily life at
the White House. Finally he reached his assistant's office and pushed his way
through the doors, and he happened to find that Margaret had not yet checked
in.

With a sigh, he moved into his own office, placed his case next to the
desk and unbuttoned his jacket. He checked the memos on his desk and then
moved back out into the hallway. He stepped down to the small hub where Josh,
CJ, and now KD held their offices. He nodded hello to Donna Moss and then
leaned into Josh's office to place a copy of the day's schedule on his desk.
He then moved to KD's office and leaned in the door, finding KD already at
home in her chair and yakking on the phone. She saw him, smiled and pulled
him in with the simple twist of a finger.

"Yeah, okay. Lunch, then? Okay, that will be great. Okay. I'll see you
then, Jen." She exclaimed into the phone. Leo stopped in his tracks. "Okay.
Got it. Bye-bye." She added as she hung up the phone and wrote down an
address on her brand new legal notepad with a flimsy blue roller pen. It was
KD's third day on the job, counting her first four hour venue, and . The only
noticeable problem she'd had was that Toby seemed to be avoiding her in the
hallways.

"Who were you just talking to?" Leo asked quietly.

"Jenny. Your wife. Nice lady. We're having lunch." KD replied
nonchalantly as she finished scribbling. "Hey, listen, I think it might come
up eventually as to how the President wants-"

"You are having lunch with my wife?" Leo asked. KD looked up at him with
a curious smirk.

"Well, yeah. Just because you two are separated doesn't mean I don't get
to see her. She was, after all, one of my four surrogate parents. There was
Jed, Abbey, you and Jenny. Four." She retorted and looked back at the notepad
where she'd made various other scribbles.

"Yeah, okay, okay. I got it. Remind me to steer clear of your office
around lunchtime." He retorted as he stepped forward to hand her a copy of
the schedule that the entire senior staff got. She glanced it.

"Nice. I feel so comfortable here, a part of the family. Since when am I
a member of the senior staff?" She snapped, halfway between gracious and
overwhelmed. Leo grinned and nodded.

"When we said we needed you, we weren't exaggerating. Staff meeting at
ten. Be there." Leo said with a grin as he stepped out. Then he leaned back
in. "Oh, and we're sending a guy to you later. Name's David Beckwith. Treat
him nice, okay? It's his first day."

"Okay, then. What does he do?" KD asked as she flipped through her latest
project. Leo grinned.

"He's your new assistant." Leo exclaimed and then hurried away. KD
groaned and started out after him.

"No, Leo!" She called and then turned back into her office, whining.

"Don't need a damn assistant, don't want one. I hate this place. I hate this
place, I really do. They don't have any ballpoint pens here, damn it. I love
having stuff to do, I love the people, but I hate this place. I really do."
She murmured to herself as she plopped down into the chair.

"Josh." CJ exclaimed as she moved into his office.

"CJ." Josh replied, looking up from the paper he'd found on his desk,
more than obviously left by Leo.

"Josh." Donna started as she stepped into the office.

"Donna." Josh said.

"CJ." Donna said with a smile.

"Donna." CJ returned with a smile. Then both the women looked at Josh,
who had just gotten confused.

"Um, Josh?" He tried.

"Josh, the press briefing is at two today. Is there anything you need to
go into it? I just wanted to check before I head into the staff meeting and
get blown away by a few million surprises." CJ exclaimed as she tapped the
piece of paper that she'd received and that happened to be quite similar to
the paper he was reading.

"I just wanted to say hi, and that there are no banana nut blueberry
muffins today." Donna exclaimed as she put a few thin files on his desk. He
groaned and thunked his head on the desk. CJ couldn't help but chuckle.

"Did you ask KD? She always seems to have everything." The taller woman
suggested. Donna nodded.

"Where do you think I got mine?" She retorted and walked out of the
office. Josh growled and CJ laughed.

"Come on in, CJ. You're lucky enough to have gotten here before I got
busy. I think I might have the environmental cause somewhere around here. The
President is getting into the environment and medical research next, I think.
Of course, everything changes, every day." Josh exclaimed as he rifled
through all the papers on his desk.

"Don't you have a system or something?" CJ asked, laughing as she watched
him fish through the massive amounts of text.

"Yeah, yeah, I do. It's a very complex system, one that only I
understand. Donna has a lucky day every once in awhile." Josh retorted with a
grin. CJ smiled and sat down.

"Josh, do you ever worry about lost chances?" CJ asked after he fumbled
around another minute. He stopped and looked at her.

"What do you mean?" He asked. CJ sighed and looked at her agenda.

"I don't know. I've just been thinking a lot lately, and the topic seems
to come up so often these days when I'm talking to different people . . . Do
you ever wish you could change something you've done in the past? Maybe taken
a risk that you ended up avoiding?" CJ clarified. Josh sighed and found the
environment cause sheet he'd been looking for. He took it in both of his
hands and walked around the desk to sit in the chair opposite her.

"There are times, yes, that I wish things were different. I'm happy with
my life the way it is, but-" He was interrupted by Donna walking in through
the door and seeing a serious discussion.

"Oops. Sorry. I'll just leave this on your desk, Josh. I'm sorry for
interrupting." She exclaimed as she left a thin blue file on Josh's desk. As
she walked out, she patted Josh on the back in an endearing manner and then
disappeared, closing the door behind her.

"Like I said," Josh said softly, staring at the door that had just closed
on him. "There are some things that I wish were different, but I made some
decisions and I have to live with them." He continued softly, watching the
spot where Donna had disappeared. CJ smiled weakly, getting an understanding
of Josh she'd never gotten before.

"So maybe you and I should start taking more risks in order to be happy?
What do you say?" CJ exclaimed, leaning forward and patting Josh on the arm.
He smiled and handed her the cause sheet.

"You're my surrogate sister, not my mom." He retorted. "But it sounds
good to me." CJ laughed and nodded, standing up to leave. Josh stood up as
well and watched CJ as she stepped out of the room. Another moment later,
after he had moved back behind his desk to his chair but before he sat down,
Donna stepped into the room with an apologetic look and another small stack
of papers she needed to sort him through.

"I'm sorry again. I hope I didn't interrupt anything too . . . heartfelt.
Well, look who I'm talking to." Donna joked as she wound her way around the
desk to him. He smiled and looked at her.

"What are you doing tonight, Donna?" He asked. She looked at him, a
little shocked, and fumbled.

"Uh, I'm going home to feed my cats." She replied.

"Want to get a drink with me?" He asked. She turned a slight shade of
pink.

"Josh, I-"

"It's just a drink. No pressure. You don't have to if you don't-"

"I'd love to." Donna exclaimed. "But first we have to get through all
this." She added and put the pile on his desk. He smiled and nodded.

"Okay then. Sounds great." He replied as he leaned down to do what she
needed him to. As he leaned down, Donna watched his head with a confused
sense of wonder, and a brand new sparkle in his eye.

"Excuse me, Miss Brody?" A young male voice exclaimed. KD looked up and
saw a young man with sandy blond hair leaning in her doorframe. She was
standing up and writing on her desk, something she did quite often already.
She didn't seem to like sitting down all that much, and was often found
standing over her desk while writing, or rather, scribbling a few more notes
down on her legal pad. Now she stood up straight and stared straight into the
young man's sparkling blue eyes. He smiled weakly.

"Yeah, who are you?" She exclaimed. He tried not to cower. She could tell
he was nervous.

"My name is David Beckwith. I'm-" He started.

"Oh, yeah. You." She interrupted. "Come on in. I won't bite you just
yet." He smiled weakly and moved in.

"Mr. McGarry warned me that you're not exactly receptive to the idea of
having an assistant." David admitted as he closed the door behind him.

"Hmm. We both work for him now, I suppose. You got a desk outside,
right?" She asked. He nodded. "Well, I've been thinking about it, and I'm
going to put you on what I call the star system."

"The star system, sir?"

"Don't call me sir."

"No, um, ma'am."

"Don't call me ma'am."

"What do I call you?"

"Try boss. That'll work. Anyway, the star system is this little game of
positive and negative reinforcement. There will a series of goals and you'll
have to reach those goals over time." She exclaimed, opening a drawer and
rummaging through it.

"How do I do that?" David asked, a little confused. She tossed him a
packet of colored star stickers.

"Every time you do something I like, you get a blue star. You do
something I really like, you'll get a silver one. You do something that is
truly excellent, you'll get a gold star. A certain number of stars will reach
a certain goal." She retorted. He stared at her.

"Sounds demeaning to me." He retorted. She smiled and nodded.

"Good job. You just got a gold star." She retorted right back. He glared.

"This is something kindergarteners do. It's unfair and you can't honestly
expect me to agree to this." He exclaimed.

"Well, the way I see it, and you are right, I'm being completely unfair,
I don't need you, and you need a job. The star system is just to keep track
of how much I like you, or tolerate you or whatever." She replied and sat
down her chair. He looked at the stickers and then at her again.

"You're nuts." He murmured. She nodded.

"I know. Second gold star."

"How many stars per goal?"

"Three blue stars are equal to one silver. Three silver are equal to one
gold. Thirty gold equal a goal." She explained.

"What are the goals?"

"Tolerance, acceptance, embrace, friendliness, excitement and normalcy."
She replied. He laughed.

"Whatever. What are the red ones?"

"Whenever you do something bad, I give you a red star. It's equivalent to
subtracting a silver star from your total."

"You're extremely nuts."

"I know. You get another gold star."

"This is nuts, and it's demeaning."

"I'll let your first goal be ten gold stars."

"I'm not five years old."

"I am." To this, David couldn't help but laugh again. KD grinned and
stood up. "What do you say?" She asked.

"I say that as long as it's not the principle focus, if it's just
something that's there, why not? It's an easygoing way to start." David
replied with a resigned grin. KD smiled and nodded.

"Great. Your desk is right outside, but you know that. Do you happen to
have a black ball point pen?" She asked as she shifted though the papers on
her desk. David tossed her a black ballpoint and stepped outside to his desk.
She looked at it, smiled, and then sat down to write on her legal pad.

To Be Continued . . . .