This Time - West Wing - Toby & Andy
Title: This Time
Author: sixpence1969
Fandom: The West Wing
Pairing: Toby/Andy
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Season 4
Disclaimer: They're not mine, they belong to Sorkin
Written for: soaked_in_stars
Bath prompt: Shower Door
Optional prompt: Pinning against aforementioned door (I sort of got there)
Distribution: Sure, just let me know
Thanks to (I think) my flist in general, for being rubbish at talking me out of this, to the magnificent em_meredith for bubblefic and everything else, and most of all to the incomparable alto2, for her unstinting encouragement and enthusiasm, not to mention her patience with my paranoia, English spellings and slightly eccentric punctuation!
Andy couldn’t sleep. She’d known she wouldn’t; it was almost part of the plan. She felt Toby twitch next to her and heard him mumble. She reached out and stroked his forehead, “Shhh there Pokey, it’s okay”. Unwillingly, she found herself thinking about how they’d been four years ago: married, trying to win that election, trying to have a baby, somehow assuming that if one happened the other would follow.
And then they’d won, and they should have been invincible. But the baby didn’t come. Just when they needed to spend time together, when there were appointments to keep and conversations to have, she was Congresswoman Wyatt, and he was Communications Director of the White House, and there was no time. He’d told her that it wasn’t the right time for him to have to deal with fertility specialists and thermometers and “every damned acupuncturist and witch doctor east of the Rocky Mountains”, and she couldn’t make him understand that there was no other time, that time was precious, that the only time was now. She’d gotten angry with him, and scared that perhaps it didn’t matter, maybe this was something that was just never going to happen regardless. There weren’t many fights, just exhaustion and the growing certainty that it wasn’t working. It just got too hard. In the end they barely noticed the trial separation, because neither of them were ever home anyway.
She looked at Toby in the dim light creeping through the curtains, and glanced yet again at the bedside clock. 4 45, not time, not yet. She slipped under his arm so she could lie on his chest, her hand resting lightly in the hair on his belly. As she closed her eyes she felt his arm tighten round her. For everything they’d gone through, everything they’d put each other through, everything that might yet come, right now she felt safe. This worked now. Being with Toby without having to be with him all the time. Grabbing quick lunches, catching up in dark bars after long days on the Hill, arguing late into the night about policy, and falling into bed. Dating. These days she didn’t have to deal with angry, sad, frustrated Toby, and she got to remember why she’d fallen in love with him in the first place. As she felt his heart beat beneath her she was pleasantly surprised to find she was dozing off.
What felt like moments later she heard the phone ringing. Toby grunted and moved under her to reach for his cell. It was only when she heard him say, “I’m on my way”, that she really woke up. This was not what she’d planned. He wasn’t supposed to be going anywhere this morning. She’d even checked with Ginger, as discreetly as she could. She needed him to be here this morning, needed them to have some time together. Well, she might need him this morning…
Toby snapped his phone shut and turned to her, sleepily running a hand over his face and through his hair. “Josh. There’s a thing”.
“You have to go to work”. It wasn’t even a question.
Toby was already out of bed and pulling stuff out of “his” drawer in the dresser, “I’ll just grab a shower, and then I’ll... ”, he stopped and looked at her, “Sorry.”
Suddenly she knew she couldn’t wait any longer, plan or no plan, she had to do this now. “Yeh, um, can you hang on, let me go in the bathroom first, I need to…”
Toby gave her a confused look, “You were asleep 20 seconds ago, Andrea, ”
“Yes, and now I’m awake because you took a phone call, and I need to pee”. Toby waved at her and turned back to the wardrobe, “OK, go, pee, and you know, you should feel free to take your time because I only have the leader of the free world waiting”.
Andy grabbed her robe from the back of the door and practically ran out of the room. Toby sat back on the bed and dialed home to check for messages. There weren’t any, there never were, but he still felt strangely awkward being alone in Andy’s bedroom, and it felt better to have something to do.
What was taking her so long? He stuck his head out of the bedroom door.
“Andrea!”
“OK, OK”. There was an irritated sigh from the bathroom as the door flew open and she rushed past him.
Toby looked after her in bemusement as he went into the bathroom. Pulling off his t-shirt and boxers, he stepped into the shower. He caught himself smiling as he saw the shelf packed with her shampoos and shower gels. Methodically, he started working his way through, sniffing the bottles, ostensibly to find something that wouldn’t give CJ an obvious heads up that he’d spent the night with a woman, but mostly because they smelled of Andy. He really did not want to leave her this morning, but then he never had. He leaned back and raised his head to the steaming water and let it run down his face.
Just as he rubbed the shampoo into his hair he thought he heard her calling him.
“Toby!”
He stopped shampooing for a moment and listened.
“TOBY!!”
And now she was hammering on the shower door, and even as he turned off the water and reached for the door, she’d yanked it open.
Something was wrong, very wrong; he stepped out, wiping the water and lather back from his eyes.
Andy was standing in front of him, with the strangest look on her face.
“Toby...” this time she was saying it very softly, and her lip was trembling.
“Andy, what is it? What’s wrong?”
She didn’t say anything; Toby couldn’t figure what was happening; it was half past five in the morning, and he’d been hauled out of the shower by a crazy woman who now wouldn’t speak to him?
“Andrea, I am wet and naked here, is the building falling down?”
She still didn’t speak, just slowly raised her hand and held out a piece of white plastic.
“Andy, what is that?” As he said it, he knew it was a stupid question. He knew perfectly well what it was, had seen enough of them, had held her too often while she cried over the damned things. He reached out to stroke her hair, and tipped her face to look at him.
“Andy?”
“I’m pregnant”, she whispered.
He was hearing things. Or dreaming. Or mad. Any or all of the above. He held her by the shoulders and looked at her carefully. “You’re..?”
“Pregnant”. Although the tears were streaming down her face, she sounded more confident now, and there was the beginning of a smile.
Toby wordlessly pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. As he held her, leaning back against the shower door, the silk of her robe darkening against his damp skin, he told himself that he wasn’t crying, it was just the shampoo in his eyes.
Andy pulled back and looked up at him, her fingers brushing away the suds and tears from his face; “Hey, you’ll be late.” Toby looked back at her and paused, then gave her his most serious smile; “Andrea,” he said, deliberately, “I have time”.
Author: sixpence1969
Fandom: The West Wing
Pairing: Toby/Andy
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Season 4
Disclaimer: They're not mine, they belong to Sorkin
Written for: soaked_in_stars
Bath prompt: Shower Door
Optional prompt: Pinning against aforementioned door (I sort of got there)
Distribution: Sure, just let me know
Thanks to (I think) my flist in general, for being rubbish at talking me out of this, to the magnificent em_meredith for bubblefic and everything else, and most of all to the incomparable alto2, for her unstinting encouragement and enthusiasm, not to mention her patience with my paranoia, English spellings and slightly eccentric punctuation!
Andy couldn’t sleep. She’d known she wouldn’t; it was almost part of the plan. She felt Toby twitch next to her and heard him mumble. She reached out and stroked his forehead, “Shhh there Pokey, it’s okay”. Unwillingly, she found herself thinking about how they’d been four years ago: married, trying to win that election, trying to have a baby, somehow assuming that if one happened the other would follow.
And then they’d won, and they should have been invincible. But the baby didn’t come. Just when they needed to spend time together, when there were appointments to keep and conversations to have, she was Congresswoman Wyatt, and he was Communications Director of the White House, and there was no time. He’d told her that it wasn’t the right time for him to have to deal with fertility specialists and thermometers and “every damned acupuncturist and witch doctor east of the Rocky Mountains”, and she couldn’t make him understand that there was no other time, that time was precious, that the only time was now. She’d gotten angry with him, and scared that perhaps it didn’t matter, maybe this was something that was just never going to happen regardless. There weren’t many fights, just exhaustion and the growing certainty that it wasn’t working. It just got too hard. In the end they barely noticed the trial separation, because neither of them were ever home anyway.
She looked at Toby in the dim light creeping through the curtains, and glanced yet again at the bedside clock. 4 45, not time, not yet. She slipped under his arm so she could lie on his chest, her hand resting lightly in the hair on his belly. As she closed her eyes she felt his arm tighten round her. For everything they’d gone through, everything they’d put each other through, everything that might yet come, right now she felt safe. This worked now. Being with Toby without having to be with him all the time. Grabbing quick lunches, catching up in dark bars after long days on the Hill, arguing late into the night about policy, and falling into bed. Dating. These days she didn’t have to deal with angry, sad, frustrated Toby, and she got to remember why she’d fallen in love with him in the first place. As she felt his heart beat beneath her she was pleasantly surprised to find she was dozing off.
What felt like moments later she heard the phone ringing. Toby grunted and moved under her to reach for his cell. It was only when she heard him say, “I’m on my way”, that she really woke up. This was not what she’d planned. He wasn’t supposed to be going anywhere this morning. She’d even checked with Ginger, as discreetly as she could. She needed him to be here this morning, needed them to have some time together. Well, she might need him this morning…
Toby snapped his phone shut and turned to her, sleepily running a hand over his face and through his hair. “Josh. There’s a thing”.
“You have to go to work”. It wasn’t even a question.
Toby was already out of bed and pulling stuff out of “his” drawer in the dresser, “I’ll just grab a shower, and then I’ll... ”, he stopped and looked at her, “Sorry.”
Suddenly she knew she couldn’t wait any longer, plan or no plan, she had to do this now. “Yeh, um, can you hang on, let me go in the bathroom first, I need to…”
Toby gave her a confused look, “You were asleep 20 seconds ago, Andrea, ”
“Yes, and now I’m awake because you took a phone call, and I need to pee”. Toby waved at her and turned back to the wardrobe, “OK, go, pee, and you know, you should feel free to take your time because I only have the leader of the free world waiting”.
Andy grabbed her robe from the back of the door and practically ran out of the room. Toby sat back on the bed and dialed home to check for messages. There weren’t any, there never were, but he still felt strangely awkward being alone in Andy’s bedroom, and it felt better to have something to do.
What was taking her so long? He stuck his head out of the bedroom door.
“Andrea!”
“OK, OK”. There was an irritated sigh from the bathroom as the door flew open and she rushed past him.
Toby looked after her in bemusement as he went into the bathroom. Pulling off his t-shirt and boxers, he stepped into the shower. He caught himself smiling as he saw the shelf packed with her shampoos and shower gels. Methodically, he started working his way through, sniffing the bottles, ostensibly to find something that wouldn’t give CJ an obvious heads up that he’d spent the night with a woman, but mostly because they smelled of Andy. He really did not want to leave her this morning, but then he never had. He leaned back and raised his head to the steaming water and let it run down his face.
Just as he rubbed the shampoo into his hair he thought he heard her calling him.
“Toby!”
He stopped shampooing for a moment and listened.
“TOBY!!”
And now she was hammering on the shower door, and even as he turned off the water and reached for the door, she’d yanked it open.
Something was wrong, very wrong; he stepped out, wiping the water and lather back from his eyes.
Andy was standing in front of him, with the strangest look on her face.
“Toby...” this time she was saying it very softly, and her lip was trembling.
“Andy, what is it? What’s wrong?”
She didn’t say anything; Toby couldn’t figure what was happening; it was half past five in the morning, and he’d been hauled out of the shower by a crazy woman who now wouldn’t speak to him?
“Andrea, I am wet and naked here, is the building falling down?”
She still didn’t speak, just slowly raised her hand and held out a piece of white plastic.
“Andy, what is that?” As he said it, he knew it was a stupid question. He knew perfectly well what it was, had seen enough of them, had held her too often while she cried over the damned things. He reached out to stroke her hair, and tipped her face to look at him.
“Andy?”
“I’m pregnant”, she whispered.
He was hearing things. Or dreaming. Or mad. Any or all of the above. He held her by the shoulders and looked at her carefully. “You’re..?”
“Pregnant”. Although the tears were streaming down her face, she sounded more confident now, and there was the beginning of a smile.
Toby wordlessly pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. As he held her, leaning back against the shower door, the silk of her robe darkening against his damp skin, he told himself that he wasn’t crying, it was just the shampoo in his eyes.
Andy pulled back and looked up at him, her fingers brushing away the suds and tears from his face; “Hey, you’ll be late.” Toby looked back at her and paused, then gave her his most serious smile; “Andrea,” he said, deliberately, “I have time”.