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Poker nights were a common occurrence with Jed Bartlet’s staff- after a particularly long day, or a particularly slow day, or someone’s birthday… Logically, technically, Kate was aware of this, but as an NSA agent, she’d never really been invited to one.
Even now, as she hesitated outside the door to Leo’s office- the designated ‘poker room’, as close as they could make it to the Oval Office without actually being inside the room- she had to admit she wasn’t altogether sure that she was supposed to be there. After all, CJ had mentioned it after dinner a few nights before, entirely off the clock and without any of the other senior staff around. It had certainly felt like an invitation at the time, but hearing Josh and CJ laughing together through the door, she suddenly felt unsure.
After all, she and CJ didn’t spend time together in the office. They worked together, sure, on occasion, and some things couldn’t be helped- eyes locking across the Oval Office, a shared laugh at Josh’s antics or Will’s tomfoolery- but the time that actually mattered never happened in the White House. It was dinner at midnight in CJ’s apartment, drinks at a bar downtown that stayed open late just for government employees. Stolen kisses at four in the morning when Kate’s pager woke them after five and a half hours sleep.
But an after-hours poker night, when the staff had their guards down and actually got to spend time together as human beings, rather than the senior staff of the Bartlet administration? Kate didn’t quite know what to do with that. Didn’t know how far to let her guard down, who to trust, what to say-
“Oh, Kate!” Suddenly, the door in front of her was swinging open, and Kate Harper was face to face with a grinning Will Bailey. “Didn’t know you were joining us. I was just headed for the bathroom, maybe you can take my hand. Probably couldn’t do worse than I have been, anyway.”
He sidled around her, and she sidestepped around him into the office. “I wouldn’t bet on it,” she joked, already feeling a little bit better. Will might not be her favourite person in the world, but he was friendly, and that was already helping. “I’m not much good at poker myself.”
As she stepped fully into the room, she glanced at the table. Josh was studying the cards in his hand, a frown on his face, as his assistant- Donna, if she remembered correctly- leaned over his shoulder, pointing at one of the cards and whispering something in his ear. Next to them was Toby, cards facedown on the table in front of him. He glanced toward her and raised an eyebrow in what she assumed was a greeting- he’d never been super chatty with her, but it didn’t seem rude, anyway. Leo barely glanced up from the paperwork in front of him- he had a hand of cards on the table, but Kate couldn’t even tell if he had looked at them yet- and next to him were Debbie, Charlie, and the president, who seemed to be in the middle of lecturing Charlie about the history of poker. CJ, still half standing with the deck she had clearly just dealt, shot Kate a grin and patted the seat beside her, presumably the one in which Will had been sitting.
Kate’s shoulders relaxed a bit at CJ’s smile. Regardless of anything else, CJ was happy she was here- that had been a real smile, and it boosted her confidence enough to find her way around the table and take a seat.
“How far behind is Will?” She asked as she scooped up the cards on the table in front of her. She squinted a little, studying both the cards and the people at the table- some part of her was still convinced that, just because they were in the same room together, everyone could tell that she and CJ were together, and as much as she didn’t mind, she knew that CJ wanted to keep it mostly under wraps.
“Not that bad,” CJ replied, still smiling as she nodded toward Will’s chips. “Josh, it’s your call.”
The deputy chief of staff’s muttering to his assistant dropped off as he looked up. “Check,” he said, putting his cards facedown in front of him, then making eye contact with Kate. “Wait, hang on- are we sure letting NSA agents into our semi-illegal poker games is a good idea?”
“As long as the nuclear codes don’t end up on the table, I think you’re fine- or, as fine as you can be,” she added, nodding toward Josh’s dwindling chips. She grinned as friendly laughter erupted around them. Under the table, CJ nudged her leg against Kate’s leaning just a little bit closer. Kate’s smile widened, and she hooked her ankle around CJ’s, settling in for a night of games with her partner and her friends.