Wednesday, August 21

Toby walked down the corridors of the White House West Wing whistling. Cathy looked up, expecting to see Sam. Her mouth opened slightly in surprise.

``Good morning, Cathy,'' he said, smiling at her.

``Hi Toby,'' Cathy replied a moment later. ``You sure are in a good mood today.''

``Yes, I am.''

``Something I should know about?''

Toby just smiled and walked into his office.

A few minutes later, C.J. walked into Toby's office.

``Hey, Toby, I needed to ask you about the...''

``Good morning, C.J. You look very fetching today,'' Toby said, a small smile on his face.

C.J. looked down at her standard gray suit and then back up at Toby with a puzzled look on her face.

``I'm confused, Toby, did somebody forget to tell me that we got another nominee on the Supreme Court? Or that we managed to get some important piece of legislation through Congress? Oh, wait, it's August.''

``You're not going to ruin my good mood, C.J.''

``Well, that is good news. And I take it that this good mood is not work-related?''

``You would take it correctly.''

``Now I am really curious.''

``What is it you wanted to see me about?''

``Oh come on, Toby! You're not going to tell me anything?'' she prodded but Toby stood there silently. ``Does this involve a woman?''

``It does indeed,'' Sam announced as he waltzed in Toby's office. Toby glared at Sam but didn't speak.

C.J. grinned devilishly. ``Oh, Toby, I didn't think you had it in you,'' she said and laughed.

Toby looked at her. ``You can both leave now.''

``Toby, you gotta expect us to have a little fun with this,'' C.J. said, smiling. ``Who is it? Do I know her?''

``It's Alanna,'' Sam volunteered.

``Alanna?! Leo's sister?!'' C.J. asked, incredulous.

``Sam, you're not winning any points here,'' Toby remarked.

``Does Leo know?''

``I'm guessing no,'' Sam said.

``Sam,'' Toby said curtly, hoping he would just shut up.

``C.J., I need to talk to Sam now. I'll stop by your office in a few minutes,'' Toby said, dismissing her. ``Please try not to spread any rumors,'' he added as he escorted her to the door.

``Toby, I am highly insulted that you would say that to me,'' C.J. said, feigning hurt feelings.

``Goodbye, C.J.,'' he said, closing the door and turning back to Sam.

``You had to open your big mouth?''

``Well, it's not like you can keep it a secret for very long.''

``How did you know?''

``Cathy told me you were in a good mood.''

``And?''

``And what?''

``And you gave Alanna my address last night.''

``I did not!''

``Sam, it's okay, Alanna told me.''

Sam began to sputter denials but Toby interrupted him.

``It's okay. And thanks.''

``Really?''

``Yes, really.''

``I see. Well, I'm glad. Although Alanna promised she wouldn't tell.''

``Well, actually I guessed,'' Toby said, winking. Sam wondered for a moment if aliens had taken over Toby's body.

``So tell me what happened,'' Sam said, feeling well within the comfort zone as he sat down in a spare chair.

``Sam, don't push your luck,'' Toby said, glaring at Sam. ``You still have damage control with C.J.''

Sam jumped up. ``Uh, right, sorry,'' he stammered and headed out into the hallway.

Toby followed him into the hallway. ``By the way, Sam, don't ever give out my address again or I won't be quite so forgiving next time.'' He turned toward the bullpen, ``Ginger, can you call C.J. and tell her Sam will be there in two minutes.''

``Sure, Toby.''

``And tell her I will be there in 10 minutes.''

When Alanna stopped by the offices about an hour later, Toby away from his desk.

``You promised not to tell him,'' Sam whined when he saw her.

``Was he mad?'' she asked, sounding surprised.

``Actually, he thanked me.''

Alanna smiled.

``But still...''

``He guessed! And I just sort of agreed. I'm sorry.''

``Well, are you going to tell me anything? Obviously things went well last night.''

``They did indeed, Sam.''

``What happened?''

``A lady never tells,'' Alanna said, smiling. She remembered waking up in Toby's bed that morning. Toby was already in the shower but she could still smell his wonderful scent on the sheets and on his pillow.

``I see. I guess I'll just use my imagination. Or better yet, maybe I won't.''

``Where's Toby?''

``Leo's office.'' A panicked look came over Alanna's face.

``What?'' Sam asked.

``I just thought of Leo. He doesn't know. And I'm not sure it's such a good idea to tell him.''

``Why not?''

``Well, Sam, Leo has a tendancy to be overprotective.''

``Yes, I do recall that.''

``What do you mean?''

``Well, he pulled a couple of stunts when I was dating Mallory.''

``You dated Mallory?!''

``Well, actually, I didn't. We never went out on an actual date. Leo kept interferring.''

Alanna laughed. ``Now you know what I mean.''

``Yeah, but I doubt he'll be as overprotective with you. You're not his daughter, Alanna.''

``I'm 16 years younger than he is, Leo. He does often treat me like a daughter.''

``Well then, you can wait until the day you leave to tell him,'' Sam suggested.

``Hmm. There's an idea.''

Just then Toby walked into Sam's office and seemed surprised to see Alanna there. He said hello and fought the urge to pull her into his arms. ``Sam, excuse us. I need to talk to Alanna for a moment.''

Alanna nodded and followed Toby into his office. She waited as he closed the door and shut the blinds. He walked over to her and she slipped into his arms easily. ``Good morning,'' he said, smiling and then pressed his lips against hers. Toby's kisses were both tender and hungry at the same time. Alanna began to get very warm and found her self-control waning as Toby's hands caressed her back.

``Toby?'' she whispered, their lips still brushing together.

``Yeah?''

``I think we need to stop before I do something that might embarass both of us,'' Alanna said, giggling.

``Is that a threat or a promise?'' he asked, giving her one more kiss before pulling his lips away from hers. He took her hands in his.

``Mmm,'' she said, still tingling from their contact. ``Definitely a promise.''

Toby shook his head, as if willing his excitment and desire to go away. ``You need to get out of here or I'm not going to get any work done.''

Alanna nodded and gave Toby a chaste kiss on the cheek. ``I'll stop by later.''

Toby looked at her fondly and nodded. He watched her walk down the hall and then called to Sam.

``Yeah?''

``Time to get back to work.''

``Yeah.''