Minor Scandal
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me and no copyright
infringement is intended.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: None
Archive? Sure, just let me know where
Summary: Toby's past comes back to haunt him.
Notes: The idea for this story came from a couple of comments on
Mighty Big TV's West WIng forum. Extra points if you know who the
character of Paul is based upon.
Toby put a cup of coffee on Ginger's desk, turned to put the tray
for the coffee on Bonnie's desk, leaving hers in it. Taking his
own coffee and unfurling the Post, he walked towards his own
office.
"Hey, Toby." Sam Seaborn greeted his boss with a smile.
"Hey, Sam." Toby replied absently, flipping to the Arts section.
"I would like you to know that for the first time since we've
been in the White House, there is no emergency, no scandal, no
nasty editorial and nothing that needs to be fixed." Sam said
proudly. "Today, it's business as usual."
"I thought you just said there were no crises."
"Then it's business as it's supposed to be."
"It's only eight thirty." Toby reminded him, walking into his
office. Sam followed.
"Yes, but can't we enjoy the moment?"
"Sure." Toby said absently. "Whatever." Opening the arts
section, Toby scanned what was going on. Maybe if today really
was a slow day, he'd be able to get home at a decent hour and do
something other than read briefing notes. A small notice caught
his eye and he went still.
"I am actually going to go out to lunch today." Sam continued.
He often played this game, to see how much babble Toby would
tolerate before tossing him out of his office. "I wonder if
Mallory could meet me. She's off this week, you know. March
break."
Toby said nothing, which was highly unusual. Toby could, and
often did, concentrate on two or three things at once. One of
them was almost always a way to be creatively rude to Sam in the
morning. Sam leaned over and read the notice that had been
holding Toby's attention. He could read upside down, but there
was nothing particularly startling in the notice, just an
announcement of a performance of a folk singer with a small, but
active following.
"Katy Ashburn is coming to town." Sam observed. He knew the
name, but had no idea who she was or what kind of folk music she
played.
"I know." Toby said, surprising him.
"You know her stuff?"
"Yeah."
Sam laughed. Toby's tastes, as far as he knew, leaned classical.
"I never saw you as a folkie." Sam smiled.
Ignoring him, Toby picked up the phone and started to dial.
"Sam? You mind...?"
Sam took the hint and left, wondering what that was all about.
Toby was never that polite.
**
"Toby?" Katy Ashburn was a small woman, with long, straight
reddish hair and a big, bright smile. Toby nodded to her and
rose to pull out a chair for her. She had changed from what he
remembered; she had gained a little weight and she now wore
glasses. Then again, he had changed, too.
"Katy, it's good to see you."
"Obviously, since you tracked me down." She smiled. "You're
looking good."
"Thank you. So are you." Toby returned. "How are things with
you?"
"Well, I'm still working. I have a new album coming out next
week, so I'm doing the tour." Katy shrugged. "I haven't done a
North American full city tour in years, so I'm not too sure how
well it's going to go. Europe was fun, but the travelling time
is shorter."
"Is Paul with you?"
"He's joining me later today. He had some things to take care of
in Toronto." Katy replied. "He'd like to see you, if that's
possible."
"I'll see what I can do, but there may be a problem."
"Why? You can't make the time?"
"No, I can make the time, especially with the hours you two
keep." Toby sighed. "I just don't think it's a good idea right
now."
"You don't want your relationship to Paul made public." Katy
said flatly.
"It could be awkward."
"Who would care?"
"I work for the President of the United States."
"I know. But why would anyone even care? I mean, I haven't a
clue who works in the Prime Minister's Office and even if I did,
nobody would care about their personal life."
"We're not in Ottawa, Katy. Normally, it wouldn't matter, but
we're under a lot of scrutiny right now."
"You're gearing up for 2002." Katy shook her head. "Why can't
you people be sensible? The Prime Minister calls and election
and bam! Thirty six days and we're done."
"You don't elect your head of government directly."
"Neither do you, so don't sneer."
"Katy, can we not argue about bilateral issues, please?" Toby
pleaded. "This is serious. We've had a rough year and we need
to keep scandals to a minimum."
"I don't see why there would be a scandal, but I'm not going to
say anything." Katy nodded. "I can't speak for Paul, though."
"Could you talk to him?"
"He's a big boy, Toby. Talk to him yourself."
"Katy..."
"Toby, just pick up the phone and call him." Katy rummaged in
her purse. "Here's his number in Toronto. His flight to
Washington arrives at two, so you have plenty of time to call.
If you can't get in touch with him there, he's staying with me."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome." Katy smiled. "I didn't come here to make your
life difficult, you know."
"I know."
"I do have a gig here." Katy continued. "If you want to come,
call me and I'll have tickets waiting for you."
**
Sam scanned the notice, but there was nothing in it that gave him
any idea why Toby found it so fascinating.
"What's up, Sam?" Josh dropped a folder on his desk. "Please
tell me something's up. I have nothing to do and Donna's
cleaning out my office, she's so bored."
"Did you find my mug?" Sam asked immediately.
"No." Josh replied, truthfully. The mug wasn't lost; Josh was
keeping it safe on his bookshelf. Eventually Sam would see it there
and reclaim it.
"Have you ever heard of a singer named Katy Ashburn?"
"No. Why?"
"She's playing in town tonight."
"You wanna go?"
"No, but I do want to know why Toby kept staring at the ad." Sam
replied, then filled Josh in.
"Maybe he likes her stuff?"
"Toby? Folk music?"
"Yeah, you're right." Josh nodded. "Maybe she's a spy or
something."
"Josh."
"We could look it up."
"Josh, she's not a spy. She wouldn't be allowed into the country
if she was some kind of undesirable."
"She's not from here, then."
"No, she's Canadian." Sam shook his head.
"Still, it would give us something to do."
Right." Sam agreed. "Internet search first?"
"Yep. Then we go to State to see if she has a file."
"Isn't that invasion of privacy?"
"She's appearing in the nation's capital. We can't be too
careful."
**
Toby tried the number in Toronto several times, but got the
answering machine each time. He left a message, frustrated in
not being able to get through. He was being a little
overcautious, he knew, but better safe than sorry. For all of
Katy's inability to understand why this could be a big issue, he
knew that it had potential to blow up spectacularly. Then again,
Katy didn't know Mary Marsh.
Since it was still a slow day, he logged on to the New York Times
website and scanned the headlines. Under the entertainment
section, he paused. Clicking on the article, he read rapidly.
An interview with Paul Ashburn, asking how the newest Celtic
music sensation felt about following in his mother's footsteps.
With a feeling of dread, Toby read the interview. Paul was
articulate and polite, well spoken and humorous. Wincing a
little, he printed out the interview and went in search of CJ.
**
"Okay, according to the unofficial website, Katy Ashburn is a
well known folk singer, who has given much of her time and energy
to various human rights causes." Josh told Sam. "She's never
been married and she's got a twenty three year old son."
"Which tells us nothing."
"I'm still looking." Josh protested. "I did download a piece of
hers." Josh hit the appropriate buttons and soft guitar strains
filled the room.
"Katy Ashburn?" Donna commented, coming to the doorway. "I love
her stuff."
"You've heard of her?"
"Of course I have." Donna looked at Josh as if he was an idiot.
"I have all her albums."
"She's playing tomorrow night here in Washington." Sam told her.
"Josh, I absolutely, positively cannot work tomorrow night."
Donna said fiercely.
"Okay."
"I mean it, Josh. No last minute meetings, no one last little
detail, nothing."
"I said okay."
"If there is a revolution and the White House staff is taken
hostage, I won't be here." She warned. "Do you know why?"
"Because you have the evening off."
"Right." Donna nodded firmly.
"If you're such a fan, why don't you tell me all about Katy
Ashburn. I know you want to." Josh leaned back in his chair and
had to catch himself from falling backwards.
"Are you making fun of me?" Donna asked suspiciously, looking
hurt.
"No."
"You told me not to talk to you today about inane things." Donna
said uncertainly.
"Since when has that stopped you?"
"Josh."
"Donna, this morning I saw Toby staring at the ad for the concert
and I've been trying to figure out what was so interesting about
it." Sam intervened.
"Ask Toby." Donna shrugged.
"Are you kidding? Ask Toby something personal? I'd rather pluck
my eyebrows with a chain saw." Sam looked horrified.
"Well, she's been arrested twelve times here in the United
States." Donna offered.
"What for?"
"Disturbing the peace, mostly. She's an activist for a lot of
causes."
"Like what?"
"Nuclear disarmament, abolishing capital punishment, gay rights,
that sort of thing."
"A hippie left wing rabble rouser?"
"Actually, her positions are quite reasonable. She's not stupid
or politically naive." Donna warmed to her subject. "She's not
one of those annoying people who think that you can snap your
fingers and things will be fine. She's written lots of articles
about human rights and offers short and long term remedies for
change."
"So she's a smart radical." Josh shrugged.
"So's Toby." Sam said, thoughtfully. "Maybe he's a secret
admirer."
"Donna, can you pull some of those articles for me?" Josh asked.
"You're asking me to research something I actually am interested
in?"
"Yeah. Don't get used to it."
**
"CJ?" Toby found CJ sitting at her desk, reading a magazine.
Based on the cover photograph of Mel Gibson, it was not, strictly
speaking, professional reading.
"Did you know that Roger finally made a decent movie?"
"Who's Roger?"
"The idiot producer who got me fired in California." CJ dropped
the magazine on her desk. "He finally made a movie that actually
had some merit. So exactly how are you going to ruin this
wonderful day?"
"I brought you an interview." Toby handed her the printout. "I
marked the pertinent passage."
"I see I'm not the only one who's reading entertainment
articles." CJ mused as she picked up her glasses. "I didn't
know you were a fan of Celtic music."
"Just read it."
"Paul Ashburn comes from a musical family. His mother, Katy, is
a legend in Canada, with her deceptively simple melodies and her
extraordinary voice. He claims his paternal grandfather is a
noted violinist from New York. When asked about his father,
Ashburn laughs and says that his father is a high powered
Washington political operative who works for the President." CJ
read aloud. "'He isn't a musician. Of course', Ashburn adds
with a sly grin, 'I could be just making that up to sound
important.'"
**
"Josh, I think I know why Toby was so interested." Donna came
into Josh's office half an hour later. Sam was still there,
writing something.
"Why?" Sam looked up.
"Well, I did some research and found this." Donna presented a
fax to him with a flourish. The fax was grainy and hard to read.
It was a copy of a birth certificate, from the Nova Scotia
government.
"What is this?"
"Paul Ashburn's birth certificate." Donna smirked. "They were
very helpful when I explained that I was calling from the White
House."
"You lied to them?"
"I was calling from the White House." Donna protested. "I
didn't lie. I just sorta hinted that we were thinking of
inviting him to play here and we needed to do a background
check."
"What does this have to do with anything?"
"Just read it."
Josh picked up the paper and peered closely at it.
"Damn, Donna. It's harder to read than your handwriting."
"Let me see." Sam took the paper from Josh. "Oh, my."
"What?"
"Under 'father's name' it says Toby Ziegler."
**
"Toby, what is this about?" CJ dropped the article on her desk
and took off her glasses.
"Come on, CJ. You aren't that slow on the uptake."
"No, I'm not. You're Paul Ashburn's father?"
"Yes."
"Obviously his mother told him."
"She didn't have to. I've stayed in touch with Katy and I used
to visit Paul whenever I could." Toby sighed. "I've never
denied it. I just never said anything about it."
"Were you and Katy Ashburn married?"
"No. I offered, but Katy refused."
"Fathering a child out of wedlock isn't going to look good."
"I know."
"I was a long time ago. I don't see it being a that big a
problem." CJ said thoughtfully. "You were right to warn me,
though. If it becomes an issue, we can deal with it. You were
young... There's no need to act ashamed."
"I'm not ashamed of Paul. Katy decided not to identify me, since
there wasn't any point in bringing any publicity on me or Paul."
Toby said. "It's the rest of it that might be a problem."
"Rest of it?" CJ echoed. "There's more?"
"Yeah. When Paul was conceived, I was in Canada illegally and
living on a commune just outside Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, in a
relationship with a fifteen year old runaway."
**
"Whoa. Toby?"
"Yup." Donna nodded. "He's Paul Ashburn's father and that's not
all."
"There's more?"
"Katy Ashburn was fifteen when she had Paul, so he was sleeping
with her when she was underage."
"Toby got caught with jailbait?" Sam blinked. "Good God."
"Donna, is any of this public information?"
"Not that I know of." Donna replied. "I mean, the birth
certificate is in the public archives, but who's going to look?"
"The press, if anyone finds out about it." Sam said slowly.
"We need to talk to CJ."
**
"Thanks for coming, Ms. Ashburn." CJ said politely, after
somewhat self conscious greetings were exchanged between Katy and
Toby.
"Glad to help." Katy said slowly. "How much of a problem is the
interview? I told Paul to be careful, but he's not sure why
we're concerned."
"Where is Paul?" Toby asked. "I thought he was coming with
you."
"He went to have his fiddle restrung. He needs it for tomorrow
night and I thought it would be better if I explained things
without him there. There are parts of my past he doesn't need to
know just yet."
"Ms. Ashburn, if you could give me the whole story...?" CJ said.
"Sure. And it's Katy." Katy smiled briefly. "When I was
thirteen, I ran away from home. Don't get me wrong, my parents
are good people, but I was young and wild and rebellious. I
joined the commune a year later, when I hooked up with Ian. It
sounded so good. We were going to live off the land and in peace
and harmony with our environment and each other."
"Sounds nice." CJ commented encouragingly.
"It wasn't." Katy replied harshly.
**
As she spoke of the commune, Katy recalled with the perspective
of over twenty years life experience.
The commune was the answer to her adolescent dreams. She was
tired of running on the streets of Halifax, tired of the smoke,
tired of the dirt and tired of the hopelessness of the people who
lived on the streets.
Ian was a fiery speaker, inflaming her imagination with the
ideals that she firmly believed in. She packed up her belongings
and followed. It wasn't quite what she had imagined. The old
farm house was cold and empty, the farm running to seed. Still,
with a lot of work, it could be a paradise.
That winter brushed the bloom off the dreams, but she still held
onto the ideal. Ian, she now realised, was far more interested
in talk than action; his preferred activity was to smoke as much
dope as possible. He surrendered the leadership to Alec.
Alec frightened her with his bossy ways and insistence on sharing
everything. Including her fifteen year old body. Although at
the time, Katy didn't call it rape, that's what it was.
The winter was cold and harsh and snowy, but thanks to Daniel and
Meghan and Tom, they had food and shelter and firewood.
In the spring, things were looking up. The plants that they had
so carefully planted the year before were coming up and the
berries were plentiful. The sweaters and handicrafts that had
occupied her hands through the winter brought in enough money to
keep the commune going.
And then the American came. Katy didn't know why he was there,
but he was and she was glad. He was an interesting guy, in his
twenties, and strong. He seemed to be drifting along, looking
for something. Alec agreed he could stay, once he knew that the
guy was willing to work.
At first, Toby had not been willing to talk much. He just seemed
grateful to have a place where there were no questions. He
pitched in with the work and, between he and Daniel, they rebuilt
much of the house, and helped with the garden.
Katy liked him a lot. He was willing to talk to her about places
he'd been, the many things he knew, and, to her delight, about
music. She loved music and he encouraged her to practice.
Within a week, Toby stopped being so silent and started to stand
up to Alec and his autocracy. Alec was furious, but he backed
down in the face of genuine opposition.
That summer was the happiest she could remember. Gradually, Tom
and Daniel and she and Toby created their own little place and it
was perfectly natural, at the end of a long day, to crawl into
Toby's bed, revelling in the gentleness of his strong, work
hardened body.
She wasn't unhappy to find she was pregnant. Alec hadn't dared
come near her since Toby arrived and they had their ideals and
their dreams to banish any fear of the future.
**
Toby listened to Katy talk, reliving the long dead past through
her words. He had come back from a two year stint in 'Nam
without knowing where to go or what to do with himself. He
thought seriously about going to college, but he was too restless
to stay in New York over the summer. He decided to hitchhike
around for a while, before starting school in the fall.
He wasn't sure how he found himself in Bridgewater or how he
found the commune, but he liked the beauty of the Nova Scotia
countryside. It was very different from South East Asia and very
different from the streets of New York.
The commune came along just when he needed somewhere to find
himself. The prospect of physical labour didn't bother him; it
would feel good to do something productive.
The work helped pull his head together and he liked being part of
the little idealistic band. He didn't have much use for Ian and
he despised Alec, but Meghan and Jim were good people. Lisa,
Colleen and Pete were nice, too, but he found true friendship
with Tom and Daniel and young Katy.
The long talks during work or while sitting around the fireplace
rekindled his own ideals, ideals that he thought had died in
Vietnam. He found that his new friends challenged his
assumptions, forced him to think about why things were the way
they were. Tom and Daniel were both well educated and taught him
a great deal. Katy, although less educated, was intelligent and
well spoken.
He felt a little guilty about his relationship with Katy, which
had easily and quickly had become sexual. She was so young.
Then again, they all were from his perspective.
Katy's pregnancy was a wake up call. They had been like
children, playing at life, but this was real. Although he knew
there would be immigration problems, he offered to marry Katy, to
give her some stability. She laughingly refused. He would have
pushed the issue with her, but he was poignantly aware that he
really had very little to offer her, except for his love and
moral support.
Now, from the perspective of over twenty years, he wondered if he
had ever really been in love with her. He loved her, even now,
but it wasn't the kind of love he and Andi later experienced.
He stayed much longer than he had intended, but he wasn't going
to abandon the girl who was carrying his child. Once the baby
was born, maybe they could go back to New York and set themselves
up for the future. He knew Katy would not like the idea; she was
fiercely patriotic and didn't want to move to America. But he
could change her mind; he was sure of that.
**
"How long did you stay at the commune?" CJ asked Toby as Katy
stopped for a moment.
"Until Paul was born." Toby replied.
"Not quite." Katy corrected. "We left when I went into labour.
Meghan and Lisa were so excited about the birth and were all
ready for me to have Paul at home. Toby didn't like that idea
one little bit."
"Katy, none of us knew anything at all about childbirth." Toby
argued. "And you were in a lot of pain."
"Yeah." Katy grinned suddenly. "You were shocked at the words
coming out of my mouth."
"You were screaming bloody murder and cursing me." Toby smiled.
"I thought getting you to a hospital might be a good idea."
"It was an hour and a half drive to Halifax." Katy smiled as
well. "And we didn't have a car."
"What did you do?"
"I, uh, hotwired the neighbour's truck." Toby admitted.
"Would now be a bad time to point out that there is a perfectly
good hospital in Bridgewater itself?" Katy asked him brightly.
"We didn't have to drive all the way to Halifax."
"You could have told me at the time."
"I was a little distracted. Besides, anyone with half a brain
would know that."
"I'm not from Nova Scotia, Katy."
"That's okay. You're an American." Katy nodded forgivingly.
Toby rolled his eyes, recognising the subtle insult.
"So you got to the hospital." CJ prompted.
"Yes. And that's when Toby found out how old I was." Katy
grinned. "I pulled out my health card and he nearly had a fit
when the nurse verified the particulars."
"I knew you were young, but I didn't think you were that young."
Toby added.
"In driving me to the hospital, Toby saved my life." Katy said
quietly. "And Paul's life. Neither of us would have survived if
we hadn't been in a hospital. He also did something else that
saved me."
"I called her parents." Toby said slowly. "I thought Katy was
going to die, so I asked the nurse for her parent's number. They
were there within the hour."
"Mom and Dad were surprisingly good about the whole thing." Katy
picked up the narrative. "They didn't say anything to me about
the last two years and they didn't lay into Toby, either. They
offered us a place to stay until we worked things out."
**
Katy held her newborn son in her arms, crooning softly. How
small and fragile he was. There was no way she was taking this
small creature back to Bridgewater. She was a mother now; she
had responsibilities. No matter how much she chafed against the
restrictions of living at home, she needed her parents now. They
had been so kind, so understanding and so helpful. Thank God
Toby had called them.
She kissed Paul's head and rested her cheek gently on the spot.
She wondered what Toby was going to want to do. He had spoken
about going back to New York with her and the baby. His people
would help get them started.
She didn't feel good about that. Why leave Nova Scotia when her
people would do the same thing? They could still get married and
Toby would be able to get Canadian citizenship, if he agreed to
stay in Canada. He could go to Dalhousie University; he was so
smart he could get in easily and Mom and Dad would help out.
If Toby wanted to stay. Katy frowned and snuggled Paul a little
closer. She wasn't sure he wanted to stay here. She had seen
how well he had gotten around the bureaucracy of the hospital
regulations. She had heard his passionate and educated arguments
over late night discussions. Toby did not belong in the
backwoods of Nova Scotia. He belonged in a city, where there was
culture and education. He belonged in a city like New York.
Would Halifax be enough?
**
Toby held his small son in his arms, feeling content for the
first time in months. Only with Paul in his arms did the
increasing homesickness abate for a little while. He wanted
desperately to go home, but Katy and this little guy held him
with unbreakable bonds. He had already outstayed his intent by
many months; he had needed this time to get his life back in
order. Now it was time to go home and take up the threads of his
life again. The only question was when he would be able to take
his wife and son with him.
Katy was still refusing marriage, but if they went to New York,
they'd have to get married so she could stay in the US.
He let Paul grasp one of his fingers in his tiny hand and sighed.
Katy didn't want to go to New York. Katy didn't belong there;
she would find it hard to fit in with his large and boisterous
Jewish family. She would feel as out of place as he did in this
city. Was it really fair to ask her to leave her home?
**
"I stayed in Halifax for about a month after Paul was born."
Toby told CJ. "I had to go home and tell my family that I was
okay and about Paul."
"How did they react?"
"Not too well." Toby shook his head. "David didn't understand
and my mother cried every day for a week, she was so disappointed
in me. My father was a lot more understanding."
"Toby came back a month later and we had a long talk." Katy
added, after a moment. "We agreed that we weren't going to stay
together and worked out what to do about Paul."
"Paul stayed with Katy and her parents, but I could see him
whenever I wanted to. I could not take him across the border
without Katy's permission. We'd both pay for his future
education, but Katy refused child support."
"You couldn't afford it. My parents felt it would be a burden to
you, since you were going to college in the fall." Katy said
gently. "Toby kept in touch with me by phone and letters. He
would visit when he could and, when he couldn't, he'd send Paul
letters. He's been a good father."
**
"Excuse me?" A young man stopped Donna in the hallway. He was
oddly dressed, wearing a t-shirt and Doc Martens with a kilt.
"Yes?"
"I'm looking for Ms. Cregg. I was told to come back here."
"Oh. This way." Donna nodded as soon as she spied the visitor's
badge clipped to the sleeve of the shirt.
"I'm Donna Moss." She offered on the way.
"Paul Ashburn." He smiled shyly. "Nice to meet you."
"You're Katy Ashburn's son." Donna smiled brilliantly. "I'm a
big fan of hers."
"Thank you. So am I, actually."
"Josh." Donna passed Josh's office and waved to him. "Come and
meet Paul Ashburn."
"Hi. I'm Josh Lyman. This is Sam Seaborn." Josh pulled Sam out
with him. Both of them looked at Paul with speculative interest.
Paul fidgeted slightly.
"Hello." He said, uncertainly. Donna continued along, with Sam
and Josh following, making Paul very nervous.
**
"Mom?" Paul looked relieved to see his mother. Katy rose and
tiptoed to kiss her tall son on the cheek.
"Come on in, Paul." She said, taking his hand. "This is the
White House Press Secretary, CJ Cregg."
"Ma'am." Paul nodded. He glanced at Toby, unsure, then at his
mother.
"It's okay, Paul. You can say hello to your father."
"Dad." Paul, relieved, gave a grin and embraced him briefly.
CJ watched with interest. Paul was a little taller than Toby,
but had the same slightly stocky build. His hair held the same
reddish tinge as his mother's, but it curled. His beard was
exactly the same as Toby's, except for the colour. He had not,
thank goodness, inherited Toby's nose, but his eyes were the same
dark brown.
"We've just been telling CJ about your father and I." Katy said.
"With the publicity you're getting, Toby may get caught in the
crossfire and Ms. Cregg had to know the whole story."
"Why would anyone care?" Paul asked blankly. "I mean, it's a
private matter."
"Around here, nothing's private." Josh opined from the doorway.
"And it may get ugly."
"Because my parents aren't married?" Paul asked, with a frown.
"Some Americans are prudes, dear." Katy smiled. "And they'll
use anything to create a scandal."
"Oh. Um. Sorry." Paul said to Toby.
"Not to worry." CJ assured them. "We can handle it."
"How are we going to handle it?" Josh looked at Toby.
"Tell the truth. All of it." Toby shrugged. "It's a twenty two
year old scandal and there isn't anything we can do about it
now."
"And it happened in another country." Katy added. "On the up
side, it should help album sales."
**
"Mr. President?" CJ went into the Oval Office at Mrs.
Landingham's nod, looking for Leo.
"Ah, CJ." Bartlett greeted her effusively. "I was just telling
Leo that the term 'time immemorial' is an actual legal concept in
British jurisprudence. Do you know what it means?"
"No, Sir."
"It refers to any date after the ascension of Richard the
Lionhearted to the throne of England in 1189." Bartlett informed
her.
"That's very interesting, Sir." CJ said, carefully timing so she
caught him while he was taking a breath. "But I need to speak to
Leo for a moment."
"Thank God." Leo looked relieved. "Is there some kind of
emergency?"
"Leo, do I detect a note of eagerness in your voice?"
"Perish the thought, Mr. President." Leo assured him. "CJ,
please tell me there's a crisis of some kind."
"Yes and no."
"Well, let us in on it." Bartlett encouraged.
"Well... Sir..."
"Is this something I'm not allowed to hear?"
"No, Sir." CJ shook her head. "It's a thing that may or may not
hit the press and I wanted to let you know about it."
"What is it, CJ?" Leo gave her his full attention.
"Do you know of a folk singer by the name of Katy Ashburn?"
"The pain in the ass activist who screamed at me for twenty
minutes straight a few years ago about the Democratic Party's
platform on capital punishment?" Leo asked.
"Yes."
"What about her?"
"She and her son Paul are playing in Washington tomorrow night
and..."
"And she's organising a protest."
"No. As far as I know, she's doing a concert."
"What does that have to do with us?"
"Paul gave an interview to the New York Times and it was
published in this afternoon's edition." CJ explained. "He
mentioned that his father works for the White House."
"And does he?" Bartlett looked interested.
"Yes, Sir."
"In what capacity?"
"Communications Director."
"Toby?" Leo exploded.
"I would assume so, since he is Communications Director."
Bartlett looked to CJ. "Paul is - what? - in his early
twenties?"
"Twenty three, Sir." CJ confirmed. "I've spoken to Ms. Ashburn
and she told me the whole story. It may not be picked up, but if
it is, I'm prepared."
"Is Ms. Ashburn here?" Bartlett inquired.
"Yes. She and Paul are in Toby's office."
"Bring 'em here." Bartlett told her. "I want to meet anyone who
can tell Leo to his face that he condones murder and get away
with it."
**
"Mr. President." Katy seemed perfectly calm about meeting the
President of the United States. "It's an honour to meet you,
Sir."
"Likewise, Ms. Ashburn." Bartlett smiled. "And you must be
Paul. Toby, he's a lad to be proud of."
"Thank you, Sir." Toby said quietly as Paul shook hands. Paul
was trying to imitate his mother's confidence, but he wasn't
succeeding.
"Well, this is quite a little family reunion." Bartlett
continued. "Ms. Ashburn, you must have been very young when you
had Paul."
"Yes, Sir. Much younger than Toby realised at the time." She
responded.
Leo, in the meantime, was doing some simple math and frowned.
"CJ, perhaps we'd better rethink this." He said quietly. "Going
public could be... difficult."
"Not really." Katy turned to Leo. "There's no way Toby can be
charged with statutory rape or whatever it's called now."
"No? You were underage."
"Age of consent in Nova Scotia is fourteen."
"It wasn't then."
"No, it was eighteen." Katy said composedly. "And if the
defendant took reasonable steps to ascertain the age of the
person in question, they can't be charged. I told you I was
overage, you believed me and that's that."
"I don't recall you saying anything about it."
"It was a long time ago. Memory fades after a while. Besides,
anyone who was that shocked at finding out how old I was at the
hospital when Paul was born believed I was overage." Katy
replied. "As far as witnesses who could contradict my testimony,
I doubt you'll find any. Ian was too doped up most of the time
to remember his own name. Alec is sitting in Dorchester Pen for
assault with a deadly weapon and everybody else would back me
up."
"So, other than the perception, there isn't really a problem."
Bartlett stated. "So we wait to see if anyone picks it up."
"No..." Toby said suddenly. Everybody turned to him. "No, I
don't want to wait for a shoe to drop at the worst possible time.
Katy, would you mind going public with this?"
"No. I have nothing to hide. Paul?"
"I don't care." Paul shrugged. "It's ancient history."
"CJ, what do you think?"
"I'm not sure how to approach the topic." CJ frowned.
"Maybe if Katy played the White House?" Josh offered, with a
look at Donna, who had followed him in.
"Excellent." Bartlett smiled. "Leo, go through the official
channels to invite both Paul and Katy to play here. CJ, you can
drop as an FYI that Paul is Toby's son. You know how that goes."
"Yes, Sir." CJ smiled.
"Mom?" Paul said quietly to his mother.
"Yes?"
"Did we just get a gig at the White House?"
**
"You okay with this?" CJ asked Toby after Paul and Katy left.
"I suggested it."
"Yeah, but are you okay with it?"
"I'm not thrilled with my past being splashed all over the
papers, but I'll survive."
"Toby lived on a commune!" Josh's chortle could be heard all the
way down the hall. Toby winced.
"That, I may not survive."
"Does Andi know about Paul?"
"I told her before we got married. But thanks for the reminder.
I'll have to call her."
**
"CJ?" Sam popped his head around CJ's door a few days later.
The announcement of the concert and, incidentally, of Paul's
parentage, had gone out that morning.
"Shh."
"What?" Sam whispered.
"I'm waiting." CJ was staring intently at the phone, counting
under her breath. A few seconds later, it rang and CJ smiled.
"What?"
"It's Mary Marsh. Right on schedule." CJ replied, then picked
up the phone. "CJ Cregg."
"I'll talk to you a little later." Sam mouthed, dropping some
papers on her desk. CJ nodded.
**
"How did it go with Mary?" Sam asked when CJ came looking for
him.
"About as well as expected. Did you know Toby is a pervert?"
"Yes. I thought everybody knew that." Sam replied.
"Mary is demanding a response to the immorality of the White
House Communications Director fathering a child out of wedlock."
CJ commented. "The appropriate response being to fire him."
"Tarring and feathering being ecologically unsound." Toby added,
coming up.
"Mary spoke to you?"
"At length."
"What did you tell her?"
"I invited her to the concert." Toby replied, taking the folder
from Sam and looking at it.
"You what?"
"I invited her." Toby gave a small, malicious smile. "I want to
hear her say to Katy what she said to me."
**
"Paul, are you regimental?" Katy asked, as they got ready for
the concert. She was dressed nicely in a long skirt and blouse,
but Paul was in his usual Docs and kilt. At least he put on
proper kneesocks and a nice shirt. She could scarcely ask for
more.
"Of course." Paul grinned, taking out his fiddle. "Want to
check?"
"I gave up checking on the status of your underwear or lack
thereof when you were eight, my lad." Katy told him. "However,
be very careful tonight. No high kicks."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Now, let's go out and knock 'em dead." She said, handing him
the bow.
**
Mary Marsh looked disapprovingly at the entire gathering, her
most scornful looks directed towards Toby, who was talking to
Paul.
"Is it my imagination or does the room get cold about two feet
around Mary?" Sam asked Josh.
"It isn't your imagination. She's got an icicle up her butt."
"At least she hasn't said anything." Sam said happily.
"No, thank God. I think the show's about to start." Josh nudged
Sam and they both watched as Katy and Paul went to the front of
the room.
**
Katy's voice was as sweet and clear as Toby remembered from long
ago days, but added maturity and experience had improved it. She
sang two songs, then yielded the stage to Paul.
Paul bowed and lifted his bow to the fiddle. From the first draw
of the bow across the strings, his talent was evident. He played
a rollicking tune, making the feet of most of the audience
twitch. As he played, he got more and more into the music,
cavorting wildly around the small dias, like a mad Celtic
dervish.
"Oh, dear." Katy whispered to Toby.
"What?" Toby pulled himself away from the magic of the music
with an effort.
"He's going to do it."
"Do what?"
"Watch."
Toby watched as Paul danced to the music of his fiddle. He
turned to the audience and Toby suppressed a smile. He was right
in front of Mary March, who was trying not to tap her toes and
keep her sour expression.
Her expression changed as Paul, with a flourish, gave a high kick
and, incidentally, exposed himself to the entire audience.
Toby could only see the surprised sputter from CJ, the
appreciative whistle from the First Lady and the utter shock and
disgust on Mary Marsh's face.
"Regimental?" Toby asked mildly. Katy nodded.
"Yep."
END