"Now, here's the fun part. You two are facing a long and winding road
together. It's a painful journey sometimes, as I know you've discovered time
and again. Lord knows, both of you are strong individuals. Stubborn also, but
strong too." Jed said with a grin.

"Amen!" Someone shouted. Toby glared in that direction, seeing only Sam
and Josh trying to hold straight faces. KD laughed and pulled his attention
back to the President.

"An onslaught of gifts are going to be hailed upon you tonight, Katy, but
first, Abbey and I wanted to take this moment to address you both." The
President continued.

"We want you to know that we wish you the very best, and that you remind
us of, well, us when we were young, so long ago." Abbey said as she leaned
against her husband. "I see great things for you two, and Toby, I always
liked you, but I love you now that I see how happy you make Katy. Katy, thank
God you came along or he would have killed everyone in the White House." The
First lady added to the uproarious laughter.

"Am I ever going to get a break around here?" Toby whined.

"Yeah, I can think of a volunteer." KD retorted before moving into him.
Toby grinned like an idiot.

"Okay. I can live with that." He said softly. Many people chuckled.

"Okay, everyone pay attention to me and my wife. Come on folks." Jed
exclaimed. "It's not like they're the guests of honor or anything." He added
with a grin. More laughter.

"Well, get on with it then, Joss. We can't wait forever, you know? We're
going to be married by the time you finish your next sentence." KD exclaimed
playfully.

"I'm doing it, I'm doing it. But normally I have your boyfriend to write
my speeches for me. It's hard to think for myself, you know?" Jed retorted.

"Poor leader of the free world. Danny, that was off the record!" KD
called. Danny laughed and raised his glass.

"No guarantees." He joked. CJ slapped him playfully in the gut.

"Mr. President, I'd say we're in trouble." Josh exclaimed.

"Well, at least I didn't invent a secret plan to fight inflation." Jed
retorted.

"If you did, you'd have supported it at least." KD added. Josh blushed
and looked at his feet.

"But of course." Jed chorused.

"Can we get back to your gift, Mr. President?" Josh pleaded.

"Yes, I'm dying of curiosity." Toby admitted. "Especially since it's for
me too, right?" He asked playfully.

"Thirty four years ago, I married the most wonderful woman in the world.
She still holds that title, but we've decided to ignore that for a few
moments to hand you two the spotlight." Jed said, starting again. "Don't get
used to it." He added as he stepped back to reveal Abbey walking forward with
a small wrapped box. She put the box in Toby's lap, patted him on the
shoulder and walked back to her husband.

"Ooh, it's almost like it's my birthday." KD murmured. "Oh, wait, it is."
She added as she helped Toby take the wrapping off.

"Of course, Toby would be Mr. Meticulous." Sam muttered.

"Come on, just rip it off!" Josh called. KD laughed and tore the paper
down the middle, much to Toby's distress.

"Hey." He said softly. KD laughed and pulled the box into her own lap.
Toby slipped his arm around her and watched as she pulled the lid off of the
box. She looked down and then up again at Joss and Abbey.

"Guys. . ." She said slowly. "Is this . . ." She didn't have to finish.
Toby peered at the old book in the box and gently took it out. It was an old,
somewhat raggedy journal and opening up it, Toby could see several kinds of
handwriting. Some was the President's, some Abbey's, Leo's and then there was
KD's. It was almost as if they'd shared a memory of the lifetime.

"This is the icing on the cake, babe." Joss said softly before the crowd
parted to show a small writing desk sitting in view. Charlie and David stood
to the side looking very tired, having just carried the desk into the room.
KD saw it and gasped.

"That's the. . ." She started.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present a desk that has been in my family at
least one generation." Jed said loudly, getting everyone's attention focused
on the Queen Anne writing desk. "And it is also the desk that our young
Kathryn Dylan Brody did her homework on back in the old days." He explained
as KD walked up to the desk and ran her hands over the top.

"Probably worth a fortune." Josh muttered.

"KD, Toby, this desk is yours now for whenever you want to pass it on to
your children. In case you didn't know, that was a subtle hint." Jed added
with a grin. Everyone laughed and the President got a grin from his wife.

"I was wondering when the subtle hints were going to start." KD admitted
as Toby joined her next to the desk. He saw the look in her eyes and knew
that the desk meant a lot to her.

"Now, Toby, I was met with a lot of angry people telling me that I should
do what I'm about to do, but I know how you are and I thought that this would
be a good thing for you, so handle this with care." Jed exclaimed as he
handed Toby a long small box. Toby opened it up and smiled weakly at his boss.

"Sir, this has got to be at least twenty-five years old." He said softly
as KD peered into the box to see a dusty bottle of Bordeaux.

"Twenty-seven." Jed corrected with a fond smile. Toby blinked and nodded,
looking at the wine bottle and back.

"Thank you, Mr. President." He said softly, his throat choking a little.

"What good is wine if you can't drink it?" Josh called. Donna chuckled
and playfully slapped him on the stomach.

"Guys, in all seriousness, congratulations." Abbey said softly as she
raised her glass again. Everyone raised their glasses towards the happy
couple once more and clapped as Toby pressed his lips to his fiancée's. KD
blinked back tears and just let Toby hold her.

"Guys, this is too much, but thank you, thank you all." Toby started.
"You're right, it is about time." He said with a smile before looking down
into KD's eyes. Then he looked up again. "I think I can honestly say this is
the happiest I've ever been in my life, standing here with the woman I love
and my . . . well, my friends. I know I'm not the friendliest of guys, but I
just want to say that I really appreciate all that you've ever done for me
and for us." He finished softly, his eyes looking nervously to his feet.
There was soft applause from those that loved him and knew him to shy with
his feelings. KD kissed him gently on the cheek and nudged him with her nose.

"Wow. I never thought I'd end up this way." KD started slowly. "It took a
long time, a lot of switching around, a few personal disasters," She said,
looking towards Danny and then back at the group. "But here I am. It feels
good, standing in this room and seeing all of you, not just because I see all
the presents on the table over there." She added with a smirk as everybody
laughed. "Honestly, I'm glad to have you people, not only as my friends and
co-workers, but also as my family. I'm so very happy to know all of you and I
can see all the people making love eyes at their partners or falling asleep,
so I'll just say thank you and let you go where you want." She finished.
Everyone cheered jovially and clinked their glasses together. Toby and KD
kissed again and moved for the tables as the night continued on into a
playful and happy one. For one night, members of the West Wing enjoyed each
other as a family.

The End