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.

"Can I ride with you, C.J.?" asked Ainsley.

"Sure," she answered. "I think Annie and Hogan have kidnapped Julie for the time being, anyway, and Liz is putting the others up to something."

"Your niece wants to be a pilot?"

"It's in the genes."

"How did you escape it?"

"I'm a mutant, Ainsley. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Do you know who Paul Bostitch is?"

"No, I've been working in Washington for six years now, and I never heard of him. I almost bought a dartboard so I could put his fascist face on it. What about him?"

"He's the presumptive Republican nominee for president."

"You gonna work for him?"

"He wouldn't have me."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I haven't applied, but I've been told that the women who do, or the gays or those who otherwise conform but hold some noncanonical opinion... I've been told that they don't even get interviews."

"That sucks."

"You're not the only one who thinks so."

"So what's going to happen to the Republicans that get read out of the party?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. President Walken feels...."

"You talked to Walken about this?"

"He came to see me. He feels that the options for a moderate Republican are to go home and shut up for eight years, or to find another candidate."

"And do you have a preference?"

"I'm not sure yet. I don't believe I have a full understanding of the situation at this point in time."

"But...?"

"...but President Walken asked me to speak to you. He said that you could get him the information he needs to persuade moderate Republicans...."

"You keep saying 'moderate Republicans.' Since when are you a moderate?"

"Since Paul Bostitch. C.J., President Walken wants you to help him find a suitable moderate Democrat, someone who's good on some, not all, but some of our issues. If there were such a candidate, President Walken feels...."

"Walken told you this?"

"Yes."

"And that's all he told you?"

"He sent me to you, specifically. How much more does he have to say?"

C.J. took one deep breath, then another, and then turned back to Ainsley, but still she said nothing, as if she were afraid to break the spell, to put into words what she was sure they both knew.

"Affirmative action," Ainsley continued. "Death penalty. There's a degree of common ground, there."

"Not a lot on women's issues."

"Janet Ritchie refused to meet with Bostitch's wife. President Walken says she's afraid for her daughters if Bostitch is elected, and she didn't want to lend him any semblance of legitimacy."

"What would it cost?" C.J. asked.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You're talking about Republican support for a Democratic presidency. What's it going to cost us?"

"I believe President Walken is still assessing the feasibility of such a course of action, but I imagine it would involve a number of Republicans serving in the administration."

"I just bet it would. I don't know, Ainsley. I'll have to talk to some people."

"I'll inform President Walken."

"You're coming back, though, right?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Whether we do this bipartisan thing or not, you're still... I mean...."

"If I should be called upon to do so," said Ainsley, "I would as always serve at the pleasure of the president."