Title: Toby's Book Club
Rating: PG
Originally published: Dec. 13 2013
Notes: This is a sort-of sequel to Less Travel By (story id 6248149). While you don't necessarily have to have read that one first to understand what's going on here, it's so much better (and funnier) if you read them in order. Trust me. You'll want to know what "Josh's perfect book dedication" was before you start this. Go ahead. We'll wait here while you do!

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C.J.'s reaction to his gift was everything Toby could have hoped for. For the first time, he regretted not letting his teaching assistant show him how to use his camera phone. Of course, he would then have to admit that a camera phone could be something other than a nuisance and he wasn't prepared to accept that a world like that could actually exist.

"Noah Moss, Toby?"

"I thought we could start a book club."

"You've actually read this crap?"

"You haven't?"

"No, I haven't. I have standards."

"No, you have prejudices."

"Oh, come on, Toby. You can't tell me you like this stuff like this."

"Why would I get you a book I didn't enjoy myself?" Toby sounded so perplexed that C.J. suddenly realized that he wasn't joking.

"You've read this?" she asked with growing astonishment.

"Yes."

"Seriously?"

"YES! I've read books by Noah Moss before. I read them even before I knew who Noah Moss was."

"You know who Noah Moss is?"

"Yes."

"TOBY!"

"What?"

"Nobody knows who Noah Moss is!"

"On the contrary, I can name at least three mutual acquaintances who know his identity. And so would you if you'd bother to read the dedication."

In a flurry of motion, she turned to the title page in the most inefficient way possible. Toby had school himself not to laugh out loud.

"JOSH?!"

"Didn't think he had it in him either, did you?"

"Josh... Our Josh wrote a book?"

"Yes."

"A book in which he quite literally killed off members of the Republican party?!"

"Yes. Aren't you glad you're not Press Secretary anymore?"

C.J. narrowed her eyes.

"You approve of this!" she accused.

"He killed off Will Bailey in The Character Assassination!"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"And quite possibly in The Usual Scandals too, but he didn't admit to that. Granted we didn't have a lot of time to discuss it."

"So someone feeds your apparent thirst for the blood of Will Bailey and you're happy?"

"Of course not. I've deeply enjoyed the many ways he's murdered Jeff Haffley too." C.J. just stared at him for a moment.

"He would, wouldn't he?" she said finally, with a hint of a laugh.

"It is Josh we're talking about."

"Josh wrote a book," she stated, more to herself than to Toby.

"Yes. More than one."

"A book called String Theory Conspiracy."

"Yes."

"That really should have given the whole secret identity thing away right there and then, don't you think?"

Toby burst out laughing. He had forgotten about Josh's somewhat brief obsession with theoretical physics.

"Well, that and his choice of last names."

C.J. raised her eyebrows as she realized which of their mutual acquaintances was born with that surname, but refrained from commenting.

"Come on, C.J. Aren't you the least bit curious?" Toby urged. C.J. quirked her mouth and he knew that he had her. Now all he had to do was wait for the next explosion. It wouldn't be too long. Josh had an easy writing style and the ability to tell an addicting story. Toby was certain that C.J. would finish the whole book before his trip was over. He was also certain that it wouldn't take her nearly that long to figure out who Jane Rogers actually was.

In fact, it only took her a couple of hours…

"I will KILL Josh Lyman!" C.J. announced, her low voice (so as not to wake the baby) slightly at odds with the way that she had stormed into the room where Danny was trying to connect Toby's ancient laptop to their temperamental wi-fi.

"He asked you not to. Quite nicely too, I might add," Toby replied, completely unfazed. Danny, for his part, just looked confused.

"Could he have made it anymore obvious?" C.J. demanded.

"How far along are you?"

"Chapter 5."

"Really? I didn't figure it out until Jane got pushed into a pool during Chapter 12."

"He didn't."

"Of course, he did."

C.J. just rolled her eyes in response, which probably meant she wasn't that all that upset. Not that she would let Josh know that any time soon.

"Wait, you're telling me that Josh based a character off of C.J.?" Danny laughed. "I might have to read this book."

"The character that he based on you is murdered at the end of the second chapter," C.J. stated, dryly.

"Me? What did I do?"

"It's not a bad thing. Josh doesn't only kill people that he dis…" Toby trailed off, sighed and tried again. "Charles Rogers is noble, admirable and everything good. When he is murdered, you spend the rest of the novel raging for justice to be done."

"Much like Jane does," C.J. added, raising an eyebrow when Danny took the book out of her hand and started to read.

"Was that what gave it away? You recognized Charles as Danny and realized that made you Jane?" Toby asked, wanting to know what clue he had missed. It was actually a little annoying how fast C.J. figured it out.

"No. Other way around, actually. Remember when Josh was still on bed rest and he wanted me to lead with an announcement about the Theory of Everything?"

"Psychics at CalTech."

"Exactly. That scene where Jane and Alex talk about Grand Unified Theory? That was our conversation before I went in the Press Room."

"Verbatim?"

"As best as I can recall. Though clearly his memory is much better than mine."

"Well, he was stuck in a bed and wasn't allowed to watch C-Span for more than an hour a day. He had nothing better to do."

"We should have gotten him a Game Boy or something. Danny, give me back my book! You can read it later!"

"I read faster than you do! You're only on Chapter 5."

"Tough. It's my book."

As the two squabbled, it suddenly occurred to Toby that it might be a little awkward if either C.J. or Danny realized on whom Alex Stein was based. Maybe he should have gone with The Character Assassination instead, even if it wouldn't have had Josh's perfect dedication. Well, it was too late now and he always could just blame Josh, if need be.

Later that night, as he was getting ready for bed, he decided that he was worrying for nothing. After all, he hadn't recognized himself until Josh specifically told him that he was the inspiration for the man that ultimately wound up with C.J.'s Jane. In fact, it seemed that nobody else had made the connection, either. (Andy and his T.A. were both big fans of the book and neither would have let him hear the end of it if they had suspected.) It was a little depressing, now that he thought of it, because Alex Stein was Toby at his softest and most protective. It wasn't that pleasant to think that anger and annoyance were his most defining traits, so much so that he was unrecognizable without them, even to himself.

The next morning, the house was quiet. Having worn to bed the earplugs his hosts had thoughtfully provided and strongly urged him to use, Toby assumed that C.J. and Danny had had either a late night or early morning. (Possibly both.) So, he set about making a pot of coffee and reading the paper. He had made it through both the National and World News sections and was about to turn to the Sports page when C.J. appeared.

"I thought I smelled coffee. Bless you."

"I do what I can."

She sat down next to him and smiled at Toby's look of surprise when she reached for the Lifestyle section first.

"I'm too tired to deal with anything that would possibly make me want to throw stuff," she offered as explanation. Toby nodded.

"The baby's asleep?"

"For now. I did managed to finished Josh's book last night before the town crier started in."

"That was fast."

"It was hard to put down. Danny just started it."

"Are you sure… that's a good idea?" Toby asked.

"I already told him that Jane winds up with someone in the end. He liked that Josh gave me a happy ending. As for who was the inspiration for Alex Stein, I don't think that's really going to be an issue."

Something in her tone made Toby looked up. C.J. was smiling at him softly and he found himself grinning back, rather bashfully.

"Josh is really a hopeless romantic, isn't he?"

"I didn't realize it myself until very recently," Toby admitted. "Right after he told me about Alex, to be honest."

A companionable silence fell between the two old friends as they returned to their coffees and papers. The mood was finally broken when C.J. rose for a second cup.

"I guess I won't kill him after all," C.J. said as she returned to her seat.

"Donna will appreciate that."

"Donna Moss?"

"You know, I forgot to ask if she took Lyman as her last name."

"They're married?! I didn't know they were even talking again!"

Toby laughed, as he prepared to launch into the story about how C.J.'s book had come to be signed. Yes, this trip to C.J.'s was proving to be endlessly amusing.