Lisa's TWW Fan Fic Archive Home
Post Ep | Romance | General | Drama
Working in the White House
Okay, that was a total disaster. I called him ‘Mr. Justice.’ Then I called him ‘Mr. Bartlet.’ What was I thinking? He is the President, for crying out loud. I couldn’t get that right?
I feel like killing Toby right now for calling attention to the whole Congressional thing. Mr. Mcgarry did not look too pleased when he saw how unprepared I was. This is turning out to be one big mistake. How could Sam think that I, William Bailey, be good enough to work here, in the White House? With Toby Ziegler?! He must have not been thinking clearly.
I walk back into my... Sam’s office. I smile a little at the bicycles that are in there. I don’t blame them for not wanting anyone to take this office. It does belong to Sam, after all. I am just a seat-filler. I sit down at the desk and try to work on that speech. Maybe I should try calling Elsie. Maybe she has a few good ideas to put in here. Or at least a funny sentence here and there. No. I can’t make this speech funny. That would be horrible.
I sigh as I try to come up with something... Anything. It is not working. Maybe I should ask Toby. I look through the window that connects his office with this one and see that the lights are off. He must have left. Wish I could. I look up when I hear a knock on the door. “Yeah,” I say.
“Hi... Will, right?” A woman with blondish/reddish hair asks.
“Yes, that’s me.” I stand to shake her hand.
“Ginger.” She smiles a little.
“Oh, you must be Toby’s assistant.” What a dumb thing to say. Every time I come to see Toby, she is there. Of course she is his assistant.
“Yeah, but now that you are here, I am also your assistant.”
Wait, hold everything. My step-sister is my assistant... I think. “Oh. They told me that Elsie would be coming in and...”
She nods. “Yes, well until she does, I’m your girl.”
“I see.” I smile a little. She seems nice. “So you work for Toby.”
“Yes, I do.”
“How?” Oy, I have done it again. Why can I not stop asking dumb questions?
“You get used to it. Slowly but surely, you get used it.” She smiles again. “I read your speech you wrote in California. It was very good.”
“Thank you,” I say. I can feel that I am blushing.
“How do you like working here,” she asks as she sits down in the chair in front of my... Sam’s desk.
“Well it’s really only my first official day here, so it is kind of hard to say.”
“So far?”
“So far it has been a complete disaster. I called the President ‘Mr. Bartlet.’”
She cringes. That cannot be good. “I think I may have yelled at him once, thinking he was someone else. So you are not alone.”
Phew. Thought I was going to get slammed into the wall for a minute there. “So, have you worked here since the beginning of the administration?”
“Yep, I was hired the day everyone moved in. I helped a little with the campaign, but that was about it. Then they decided that Toby needed an assistant, so now I am here.”
“Okay.” I smile again. She seems nice. Maybe working here won’t be as horrible as I imagined.
“Well, I should be going. It is snowing pretty hard out there. I need to get home before they close all the roads.” She stands up to leave, but turns around. “You should probably get going too, if you want to sleep in your bed.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” I smile. “Have a nice holiday.”
“You too.” She smiles and leaves. I really should go home. I mean, it’s not like I have anywhere to go. I look at the phone for a moment. I pick it up and dial her number. One ring, two rings, come on, answer the phone already.
“Hello,” replies a sleepy voice.
“Elsie, it’s me.”
“Willie!” She suddenly sounds wide awake.
“Please, I told you not to call me that.”
“Sorry. So how is it going out there?”
“Well my first day was a disaster. I don’t know if this was the right thing to do.”
“You keep saying that. You know it was the right thing to do. Sam said so himself, remember? Plus, he knows you can do it.”
I shrug, “I guess. How is the campaign going?”
“Pretty well. Listen, I hate to say this, but it is 11:00 here. I am really tired. Mind if we talk tomorrow?”
“Sure. Talk to you later.”
“Love you.”
“Love you too.” We hang up. I take a deep breath and look around at my surroundings. This is it. I am really working in the White House.
END