Fandom:

The West Wing AU

Pairing:

C.J./Danny

Rating:

PG-13 for topic

Distribution:

How much do I owe you for hauling it off?

Spoilers:

Up to and including Full Disclosure, from which the series follows on

Email:

exfilia at livejournal dot com

Disclaimer:

if I owned them, they'd have a lot more fun

Warning:

mentions nonconsensual sex

Note:

Hoynes lovers should probably be hitting delete right about now.

She woke in a dark room that wasn't hers with an urgent need to find a bathroom. When she sat up, she discovered Danny Concannon asleep in a chair beside the bed, his laptop open on a tray table in front of him. Okay, that she could deal with in a moment. The first door she tried led to a closet. The second was the one she wanted. Somehow she took a wrong turn after washing her hands and found herself in another bedroom, where a familiar couple slept curled together like exhausted kittens.

So now she knew where she was. She tiptoed back through the bathroom, closing both doors behind her, and grasped Danny's shoulder. His eyes flew open, and he might have screamed if she hadn't laid a hand over his mouth.

"Danny, what are you doing here?"

"Where?"

"You can't be here! You're a reporter!"

"I got a pass!" He groped across his chest, still groggy, found the card in his pocket and held it out. C.J. took it, ran her fingers around its sharp new edges and looked back at Danny.

"Where did you get this?" she asked.

"Oh," he said, coming a bit more awake, and nearer coherance. "Yeah, while you were, you know, out, I kind of changed jobs."

"Why's that?"

"Because I love you."

"Danny, that doesn't make sense."

"Yeah, it does. It makes more sense...."

He looked at her as if he were offering up his heart for her approval. She wanted to hug him, or hit him, or sink into his arms and hold him and cry, but she shook her head and made herself concentrate.

"Do you know where we are?" she asked.

"First Lady's bedroom. The one she doesn't use."

"Why?"

"She says her feet get cold."

"I mean why are we here?"

"Do you remember anything at all about yesterd... okay, it was the day before yesterday, but...."

"How long was I asleep?"

"What time is it?" He looked at his watch. "All day, and almost all night. She said you've probably been piling up a sleep deficit since the beginning of the administration and it would do you good to catch up."

"The First Lady?" C.J. felt a memory niggling around the edge of her mind. "She gave me something, didn't she? She gave me a shot?"

"You were pretty wrung out."

"Who did the briefings?"

"Josh."

"Are we at war with anybody?"

"Poor guy. He tried to get me to do the last one."

"You can't; you're a repo... okay, this is going to take some getting used to."

"Tell me about it."

"Danny? Why did you, really?"

"I found something I'd rather be than a reporter."

"What's that?"

"Yours."

This time she did reach for him. As soon as she moved, his arms went around her waist and he pressed his face against her. She held him for a second, enjoying the warmth, and then realized that he was crying.

"Danny? What's wrong?"

"I was afraid you wouldn't...."

She tilted his face up until she could see his eyes.

"You were afraid you'd do all this and I wouldn't want you?"

"Just that you...."

"Come here." She pulled him over to side of the bed and sat down beside him. "Now listen, okay? I'm not a reporter and I'm not a speechwriter and I'm not really good at saying these things, but I feel like everyone I've ever met, kissed, everyone I've ever thought I loved... they were all just practice, okay? Practice for you, because you're the one real thing in all the world."

"I love you so much."

She took a deep breath, and said it:

"I love you, too. Oh, God, you're crying again."

"So are you."

"Are we supposed to cry?"

"I won't tell if you won't. C.J., come away with me."

"Where?"

"I don't care. Alaska, Montana, Timbuktu. Anywhere but here. Just leave it and come away."

"That's so tempting."

"I have a cousin who runs an advertiser in this little town in North Dakota. He wants to sell out. We could add some editorial content, turn it into a real weekly...."

"You're serious."

"Yeah. This is about to get really ugly, and... just come away, okay?"

She kissed him, taking her time, relishing his dream, but then she heard the phone ring in the other bedroom.

"Wakeup call," Danny told her.

"Yeah. Danny, I can't leave," she said. "I have to finish what I started. There are things that no one else can do. It'll only be for a little while longer, I promise."

"Yeah."

"Will you stay with me?"

"For as long as you want me."