"CJ?" A male voice exclaimed. CJ looked up, recognizing it right away.

"Yeah, Danny?" She replied. He leaned in and then came into the room.

"Go to dinner with me." He replied.

"No." She said.

"Why not?"

"I'm busy."

"Doing what?"

"Eating dinner."

"Okay. Eat with me."

"Okay." She replied as she looked back down at the briefing she'd gotten
from Josh that morning. Danny did a double take.

"Excuse me?" He asked.

"You heard me." She replied and made a note to herself in the margin.

"Did you say okay?"

"Yes."

"Sorry, my ears aren't work-"

"What time?"

"Pick you up here at five forty-five?"

"Sure."

"Great. Could you say it again?" He asked with a sly grin as he leaned on
the doorframe.

"Say what?"

"Just say the words, I will go out with you."

"See you at five forty-five, Danny."

"I'll be here." He replied and closed the door behind him. CJ looked up
and looked at the door as it shut. She smiled softly to herself and then
looked down at the paper once more. After talking to Josh and KD, she had
realized that regrets were not a good thing to have, and they were the one
thing that she would not allow herself.

"KD, I need to talk-" Leo stopped as he saw the familiar woman sitting in
KD's office. He gulped and stood dead in his tracks as he rested his eyes on
Jenny's slender frame, the frame of the woman he still loved.

"Hello, Leo." Jenny said softly. "KD just stepped out to talk to Josh
about the Environmental lobby." She gazed at him with her gentle blue eyes
and it nearly made him wilt.

"How have you been?" He asked weakly, stumbling a few inches further into
the room. Jenny sighed and shrugged.

"Kind of down, I suppose. Things are going kind of slowly." She replied,
watching him as intently as he watched her. KD hummed a little as she started
to walk into the room, but she stopped both actions immediately. With a
little smile, she started to back out of the room while closing the door.

"KD, get in here." Leo snapped, noticing her out of the corner of his
eye. She grinned a little wider and came in, moving to her seat.

"Catching up on old times?" She asked playfully as she dropped a file on
to her 'in' pile. Leo glared at her. Jenny laughed nervously and shrugged,
changing her gaze to fix on KD.

"Just talking. You almost ready to go?" Jenny exclaimed. KD glanced at
Leo who was trying not to look at his wife.

"I, uh, can't go. I'm sorry, Jen. This thing came up on the environmental
lobby and I have to stick around." KD exclaimed sorrowfully. Jenny frowned
and nodded.

"Well, another day then?" She asked.

"Of course. Another day. I feel so bad after I made you wait and
everything. I feel like maybe you deserve a lunch." KD exclaimed glancing at
Leo. Immediately, Leo gave her the "don't you dare" look. Jenny got the idea
as well, and flashed another look to KD.

"You guys both look hungry. Leo, I happen to know for a fact that you're
not busy." KD exclaimed. "Why don't you two go? There's a reservation at the
Alban for two, and even though I can't go, they get upset if people cancel
and it's a perfectly good restaurant." She added. Leo rolled his eyes and
tried not to groan. Jenny turned and looked at Leo, then back at KD.

"Okay." She exclaimed. KD grinned and Leo took a double take.

"Okay?" He asked. Jenny smiled and looked at him.

"Yes, okay. I'm hungry. Aren't you? That is, if you have the time." She
added.

"He has the time." KD interjected.

"I can speak for myself, thank you." Leo snapped softly. Jenny smiled.

"She's been saying quite a bit of stuff for you today, Leo." She
exclaimed. Leo paled. "All good, I assure you. I think you may want to hire
her as an agent." She added as she stood up and slung her purse over her
shoulder. KD smiled and turned a slight shade of pink.

"You guys both know the truth. I don't even have to say anything, but you
two know the hope that rests in your hearts. Things can't just be given up,
and sacrifices have to be made. Leo, your time and your job can wait. Jen,
you have to realize that the fate of the country lies in Leo's hands. Life is
about compromise, and you two just have to realize that you two belong
together, no matter who's running the country." KD exclaimed almost
absentmindedly as she began to pick through the pile on her desk.

"You can shut up now, KD. We're gone already." Leo exclaimed as he took
Jenny by the arm and began to lead her towards the door. KD grinned and
watched them leave. They still looked like they belonged together, and
watching them walk out together just felt right.

Once outside, Leo gently let go of his wife's arm. She turned and looked
him in the eye, which was enough to make him half-wilt. He opened his mouth
to talk, but the words wouldn't come out.

"What is it, Leo?" She asked softly.

"You don't have to do this . . . If you don't want to. I'd very much like
to, but you don't have to." He said softly. She smiled and gently grasped his
arm.

"If you have the time, I'd very much like to also." She whispered. "If
not just to catch up on old times." She added. Leo smiled and nodded.

"Well, then, right this way." He retorted, regaining some of his nerve.

"David, give this to Margaret, will you?" He added nonchalantly as he dumped
a file on to the younger man's lap and walked away. David looked at it and
then jumped to his feet to do what he was told.

"Full house, queens over sevens." KD exclaimed as she tossed over her
cards. Everyone groaned and threw their cards in. Jed just chuckled and
pulled the cards into a solid deck again for another hand while KD raked in
the chips to her pile.

"For your first poker game, you're not being very merciful." CJ murmured
as she made herself aware of her own losses. CJ had had a good day, until now
of course. Danny had picked her up at 5:45 and they'd gone to a very nice
restaurant that was relatively close. At seven fifteen, they parted ways
because Danny had a deadline in the morning and he felt he had to cut the
night short. CJ kissed him gently and then got in her car and drove to the
White house where she knew the staff poker game was already in progress.

"I can't imagine what kind of hell Jed could put you through on a good
night." KD retorted as she made a few neat little piles out of the massive
amount of chips she'd just raked in. Jed chuckled and shuffled one more time
before dealing on a hand of seven-card.

"Hey, this little brat taught me how to cheat. Blame someone, blame her."
He proclaimed as the cards slid across the table.

"I already do. That's why we hired her, to blame her." Josh retorted.

Everyone chuckled. Josh had had a good day too. After work, around five
thirty, he stopped by Donna's desk and took her to a nearby bar, an elegant
one, and they'd shared drinks over conversation. Josh loved Donna very much,
but he'd often wondered what kind of love it was. With Joey Lucas in the
office around the corner, he pondered what he was getting himself into. He
and Donna had fun that evening, but they were both left with a feeling of
confusion. It was assumed that Josh had a thing for Joey, and Donna didn't
want to interfere with that. Perhaps it was a mistake that they'd had that
drink, but without all of the afterthought and the leftover emotions, the
drink was simply a fun event.

"Deal me out." Toby said softly as he stood up and walked into the other
room. Everyone glanced out after him and then turned to the cards each had
been dealt. KD stared after him for an extra few seconds before glancing at
the cards that were before her.

"Six. Eight. Another Eight. Three. Jack. Dealer gets a king. Dealer bets
five." Jed exclaimed as he tossed his chip in.

"In." CJ agreed.

"Yep." Josh said as he tossed it in.

"I'm in." Sam said as he peeked one more time.

"Me too." Leo exclaimed. KD glanced at her pair of jacks and sighed.

"I'm out. Give you guys a break." She added with a wry grin as she tossed
her cards into the discard pile and scooted away from the table. All pairs of
eyes followed her as she moved towards the door that Toby had just gone
through and then stepped through it.

"I thought he hated her." Sam murmured.

"Maybe they're trying to make nice." Leo retorted. CJ, Jed and Josh all
kept their eyes on the door before glancing back at the game.

"Uh, let's see. Here we go. Four, Seven . . ." Jed continued as he dealt.

"Hey, are you okay?" KD asked as she leaned against the door she'd just
come through. Toby sighed and stared at the rain outside the window. It
drizzled down through the night air and pattered against the cement. So many
thoughts ran through his head, so many questions. He didn't know what he
wanted, and he didn't know how he felt. He heard KD move across the floor
behind him. He turned about ten degrees to his left to see her stop at the
small table in the middle of the room and lean against it.

"You're missing all the excitement in there. Jed's counting cards again.
Boy, do I regret the day I taught him that." She said with a weak smile. He
smiled too, but had already turned back to the window so that she couldn't
see it. She sighed and glanced back at the poker room before gazing at him
again. Toby squinted as he watched a few more raindrops fall and then he
relaxed his brow once more. He was still thinking, hard.

"I can tell you're thinking about something. I don't pretend to know what
it is. You've been kind of dark ever since . . . I don't know if you want to
talk about it, or even if you will talk about it with me . . . I know that
something happened between us, but we're not really . . . officially
anything. If you regret what happened, you should tell me because I . . .
Well, because I don't know." She said, as if she were going to say something
else. Toby turned around and looked at her. She looked back, a sparkle of
curiosity in her eyes. He slowly began moving towards her, a slight, almost
invisible smirk on his face.

"I just thought maybe you'd like to talk about it, whatever it is." She
said slowly as he got closer. "You don't have to, but it might make you feel
better . . . to get it off your chest."

"Hmm. Might." He said softly as he reached a point within two feet of her
and still kept moving. She smiled as she saw the mischievous twinkle in his
eye. She shifted a little in her stance.

"So do you want to talk about it? I mean, I'd like to think we've grown
somewhat closer recently . . ." She started as he arrived within an inch of
her body. He nodded and slipped his hands around her waist, gently pulling
her the rest of the way. She smiled and moved with his touch. Slowly, he
kissed her on the lips and found her kissing back.

"Hey, you guys coming b-Guess not." Josh corrected himself as he scooted
back out the door he'd just leaned through. "Gotta stop doing that." He
murmured to himself. Then he looked at the poker table and couldn't resist
the urge to grin.

"They coming back?" Leo asked. Josh shook his head as he moved to sit
down. Leo raised an eyebrow.

"They're, uh, in the middle of a . . . heated discussion." Josh exclaimed
as he checked the cards he was being dealt.

"What about?" Jed asked as he counted his winnings. Josh paled slightly.

"Uh, well, I only got the gist of it, ya know?" He tried to reply.

"So what's the gist of it?" Jed asked as he peeked at the cards CJ dealt
him. CJ and Leo glanced at Josh, then at each other, each with their own
little all-knowing smile. Sam caught on quickly too.

"Um, well, they're, heh, talking about . . ." Josh started.

"I happen to know that they've been indulging in the debate . . ." Sam
tried to save his friend, but then got lost along with him.

"About the issue of, um . . ." CJ joined in.

"Conflicts and interplay . . ." Leo added.

"In the workplace." Josh finished finally as if nothing would odd about
the whole conversation and checked his hand. The others followed suit. Jed
stared at the four of them incredulously.

"What is this, a chorus? What the hell is the damn issue of interplay .
. ." He started, but trailed off as it dawned on him. "Oh. OH! Oh, boy. Okay.
Um, heh, um, who's bet?" He asked, making a mental note to talk to KD later
about, well, about Toby.

"Not mine. I've got to go." Leo exclaimed as he slid his chair away from
the table. Everyone stared at him, somewhat stunned.

"Leo, it's only 7:30. Where you going?" Jed asked, feigning hurt
feelings. Leo smiled and shook his head.

"I've got an appointment to keep. An important one." He replied.
"The work day is over, boss. What are you doing making appointments after
dark?" Josh asked carefully.

"That's none of your business, Josh. It's not a professional meeting."
Leo retorted as he walked over the coat rack to get his jacket.

"Oh, my god. Leo has a date." CJ teased. Leo smiled as he slipped the
jacket on. Jed grinned.

"I think you're right, CJ. Who with, Leo?" He chirped. Leo stopped at the
door and looked back at them.

"My wife. Good night everyone." He said simply as he walked out and
closed the door behind him. Jed turned back to the table and found that the
others were sharing the soft yet overjoyed smile that he felt was plastered
on his face. It felt good to hear news like that.

The End