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.

"C.J., there's word out of Dakar today that the government is rethinking plans for cooperation with U.S. operations in the area."

"If they don't want to cooperate, they might want to look into finding someone else to guarantee their security."

"You're saying the United States would fail to intervene...?"

"I'm saying we are who we are and if they don't want us there, that's fine, but changing their minds on short notice might not be all that prac...pra... ah...CHOO! Whoa! Well, that was not to be taken as a comment on international relations...."

"C.J., are you all right?"

"It was a sneeze, Erin. I've sneezed before and survived, and I expect I'll do it again."

"Yeah, but you're bleeding."

"Angie! What are you doing here?" Josh scrambled around his desk and offered her a chair.

"Are you going to try to pretend you don't know?" she said as she smoothed her skirt and sat down.

"No. Absolutely not. We actually thought about calling you in, but we weren't sure... God, I'm glad you're here!"

"Is it that much of a problem already? Well, we can take care of it right this minute if that's what you want."

"We can? Oh, God, thank you! The president is so pissed! Every time it comes across his desk again he fires somebody, and my turn was coming. He's going to want to speak to you, I know. Just let me...."

"His desk, Josh?"

"Well, yeah."

"Crawling around in the Oval Office?"

Something in her tone stopped him.

"We're not talking about the manufactured housing community insurance amendment, are we?"

"The what?"

"Never mind. What are we talking about?"

"We're talking about my stepdaughter that you've appropriated, and how you're giving her back to us."

"Stepdaughter?"

"Catherine. I'm told you call her Leonie?"

Danny sat with C.J. on her sofa and held an ice pack against her forehead while Abbey pinched C.J.'s nose with one hand and pressed her upper lip against her teeth with the other.

"Can she breathe like that?" he asked.

"I can breathe," C.J. said. "I can talk."

"Better if you don't until we get it stopped," Abbey said. C.J.'s office door came open. "I told you people to stay...."

"I'm not one of those people, I'm your husband," said the president, closing the door as soon as he and Leo were inside. "We saw the briefing. What's going on?"

"I godda dosebwee... oh, God!"

Danny handed C.J. another paper towel as she began to cough blood. Abbey let go C.J.'s nose and looked up at the president.

"We're on our way to the hospital," she said.

"No," said C.J. with another bloody sputter.

"Yes," said Abbey. "This isn't uncommon, C.J., but we need to get it stopped right now."

"Not uncommon?" asked Leo.

"We'll talk about it when we get back. Can we get the Suburban, please?"

The president leaned out the door for a minute and spoke to Carol. In the meantime, Leo hunkered down in front of C.J. and put his hands on her knees.

"Sweetie," he said, "is there anything...?"

"We'll talk when we get back," said Abbey with firm finality.