DISCLAIMER: The characters arent mine..they belong to NBC and The
West Wing....blah blah blah, you know the drill. Enjoy and remember
I love comments!
Danny Concannon awoke and rubbed his eyes as he took account
of his surroundings. It was still quite dark out, but the reporter
knew he was sitting in a hospital room, the same place he had been
for the better part of the past seventy two hours. Turning his head
slightly, Danny saw CJ's sleeping form in the nearby bed and
again
thanked his lucky stars that she hadn't been shot and had only
suffered a broken ankle and a serious concussion.
Noticing his grumbling stomach, Danny decided to go down to
the cafeteria for some breakfast. As he sat down Danny heard a
familiar voice call out his name, causing him to look up.
"Hey Josh, how's it going?"
"I guess under the circumstances things aren't too bad."
Josh said as he sat down. "Leo's taking care of things in the
West
Wing while I'm here keeping an eye on Sam and Toby."
"How are they doing?"
"Are they okay?"
"Toby's got some bruises and a broken arm, he got trampled
pretty bad, but he'll be fine in a few weeks."
"How's Sam?"
Josh took a deep breath before he spoke again.
"He had some shattered glass in his shoulder and was in
surgery all of yesterday morning. We won't know how he's
doing
exactly until he wakes up. Does CJ know? You know he practically
saved her life."
Danny shook his head. "She hasn't woken up yet. The doctors
say its not too serious; just a broken ankle and a concussion."
Josh nodded and glanced at his watch.
"I better get back, maybe I'll stop by later to see CJ."
"Okay," Danny said as Josh got up and left.
A few minutes later Danny finished and headed back to CJ's
room. Much to his surprise, she was awake.
"Hey," he said, causing her to look up.
"Hey." What are you doing here?"
"Keeping an eye on you," Danny explained as he helped her to
sit.
"How long have I been here?" CJ asked as she lightly touched
the bandage on her forehead.
"About seventy-two hours."
"Talk about catching up on sleep. You mean you've been
sitting here for the past three days?"
"Yeah," Danny replied as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"Well, thank you."
"Welcome. How do you feel?"
"Like I've been hit by a truck."
Danny smiled "That's what you get when Sam Seaborne falls on
top of you.
CJ smiled lightly. "Have you heard anything about the
others?"
"Yeah, I saw Josh this morning. He said Toby's pretty
banged up and Sam was in surgery yesterday to get some glass out of
his shoulder, but he should be fine."
CJ nodded. "That's good. Well, the doctor says I can get
out of here tomorrow afternoon," she said brightly.
"That's good. But I think it would be a good idea if you
took it easy for a while."
"Oh, and who's going to make me, you?"
"Okay."
CJ smiled up at Danny, just as Josh walked into the room.
"Hey, am I interrupting something?"
CJ glanced around Danny and smiled.
"No. Now's a great time," CJ said as Josh walked over to hug
her.
"That's quite a bump you've got Claudia Jean."
Danny stood from where he sat on the edge of the bed.
"I'll leave you two alone to talk."
CJ smiled appreciatively at Danny before turning her
attention to Josh. As the two discussed the other members of the
senior staff, Danny wandered out into the hall and decided to go home
to change and shower.
Later, after Danny had finished his shower, he walked to the
kitchen for a snack, pressing the play button on his answering
machine as he passed. There were several messages on the tape. The
first from his sister who had seen footage of the shooting on CNN,
another from a colleague who wanted to know if they could get
together for lunch. Danny didn't pay much attention to the first
two
messages and went about making his sandwich, but the third message
really caught Danny's attention, nearly causing him to smack his
head
on top of the refrigerator as he turned back towards the machine
It was his editor calling to say that he wanted to see Danny
in his office and he didn't sound too happy. Danny called into
the
office and said that he would be in first thing in the morning, then
he called the hospital and was happy to find out that CJ was sleeping
comfortably in her room.
The next morning, Danny went in to see his editor who wasted
no time in telling him that he was fired. A few hours later, a very
worn-our Danny walked through the halls of the hospital until he came
to the door of CJ's room. He was surprised to see her dressed
and
standing close to the bed as she spoke to a nurse.
Danny walked into the room, passing the nurse on her way out,
as he watched CJ pack the bandages into her bag. She finally looked
up when Danny was nearly at her side.
"Hey, I thought you would have been here hours ago," CJ said
as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"I would have, but I had some personal business to take care
of. How are you feeling today?"
"Much better. Nothing like a good few days rest," she said
with a smile.
"Well you're starting to look like yourself again." CJ
smiled as she zipped up the bag beside her.
"Thanks. Josh stopped by my place last night after
you left and picked up a few things."
"Okay. Ready to go?"
"Yeah. Get me out of this hell-hole so I can get some real
food."
Danny watched as CJ slid off the bed, then was quickly at her
side as she toppled over and fell into his arms. The two found
themselves in a somewhat, yet comfortable position. They had fallen
so that CJ's arms were wrapped around Danny's neck and his
arms were
anchored protectively under her back. It was several moments before
either of them spoke.
"I guess I'm just a little weak from being in bed for the
past four days. Would you hand me those?" CJ asked pointing to a
pair of crutches leaning against the wall.
Danny handed her the crutches and placed a protective hand
across her back as she stood and balanced herself on the crutches.
"Ready to try this again?" Danny asked as he picked up the
bag.
CJ nodded as they left the room.
Later on, the two arrived at CJ's apartment.
"Okay, you need to rest," Danny said as he led CJ to the
couch.
CJ smiled and shook her head as she stretched out across the
soft cushions.
"Gee Danny, I'm not sure I like this controlling side of you."
"That's too bad because you're going to have to get used to
it for the next couple days," Danny retorted as he began to change
the bandage on her forehead.
"Hmmm. I think I could get used to this kind of thing."
Danny smiled as he continued to work." "You know I can cook
too. Okay all done," Danny said as he finished then planted a light
kiss on her forehead.
CJ smiled then attempted to stand.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?"
"I just wanted to get something to drink. God Danny, I'm not
an invalid."
"I just don't want to be responsible if you fall and hit your
head. I'll get it. Here, you see if there's anything good
on,"
Danny said as he tossed her the TV remote before heading into the
kitchen.
"What do you want?" Danny asked.
"Anything you can find will be great," CJ called back.
Danny quickly returned with two glasses of soda to find CJ
watching Josh do a press briefing on TV.
"Oh my God. Leo, what were you thinking?" she muttered as
Danny set the glasses on the table and grabbed the remote from her.
"Okay, that's enough of that," he said as he changed the
channel.
"Hey, quit hogging all the space, would ya?"
CJ smiled and lifted her legs so Danny could sit, then rested
them across his lap as Danny flipped through the channels.
CJ took a drink from her glass then attempted to grab the TV
changer from Danny.
"What?" he asked as he held the remote from her reach.
"Go back to that last channel. I wanted to watch that movie."
"Fine," Danny said as he changed the station.
The two watched the movie in silence, and as the end credits
began to roll Danny looked over to find CJ fast asleep. He smiled as
he gently moved as so as not to wake her, then carefully lifted her
into his arms. He could feel his heart pounding as he watched her
snuggle more comfortably against his shoulder. Danny then carried
her to the bedroom, laid her on the bed and covered her warmly with
the blankets. He then leaned over and planted a light kiss on her
cheek, his lips hardly touching her skin before he left and headed
back to the living room where he quickly fell asleep on the couch.
The next morning CJ awoke feeling better than she had in
weeks. She slipped out of the bed and walked into the living room
where she was stopped by the sight of Danny asleep on her couch.
Remembering how much he had done for her the night before, CJ just
smiled and watched as Danny began to stretch as he awoke.
"Hey," Danny said when he saw her watching him from the hall.
CJ smiled and limped towards the couch.
"How are you feeling today?" the reporter asked, watching as
CJ sat on the couch beside him.
CJ sat quiet in thought for a moment. "Actually pretty
good. So good in fact that I think I'll try going into work
today."
Danny smiled. He was happy that CJ was seeming more like her
old self as time passed.
"Okay, great. Want a ride?"
CJ smiled at him. "That'd be nice."
"Good. You got get dressed then we'll go."
CJ sat for a moment just looking at the handsome reporter
before she finally got up and headed back into the bedroom.
When she came out a half an hour later, Danny was happy to
see CJ wearing a clean dark blue blazer and pants suit with a white
blouse, which was as usual open partly, giving her a casual, yet
professional look. Her freshly washed hair was brushed out neatly
with her bangs covering the remains of a slightly reddened bump on
her forehead.
"Are you ready?" Danny asked as he watched her move across
the room on her crutches.
"Yeah, lets go."
Later that day, Danny went into the back of the press room to
gather his things. As he looked around the darkened room, Danny
realized that he had given up the one thing that he loved for
something else he had come to love even more, then he wondered if CJ
would even know this as he left the room.
Later, the reporter knocked lightly on CJ's office door
before entering.
"Hi," he said as he walked into her office.
"Hey" CJ responded from where she sat at her desk. "What's
that?" she asked, noticing the box he carried.
"Nothing."
CJ looked at him, knowing that Danny wasn't telling her the
truth. "Danny. Come on."
Danny took a deep breath and then said, "CJ I want to talk to
you about something."
CJ got up and moved to the couch where Danny had sat after
putting the box on her desk.
"CJ, after the shooting, you know I stayed with you, only
because right then you were the most important thing at the time."
CJ looked down at her hands and began to blush
slightly. "Danny what are you talking about?"
Danny continued. "Hold on, I'm not finished. The whole time
I was with you I neglected to…..write about what might be the
biggest
story of my career. My editor called me and…."
"Oh God, Danny. They fired you, didn't they? Danny I'm so
sorry. This is all my fault."
"Hey," Danny interrupted as he rested his hands on her upper
arms. "This isn't your fault. If anyone's its mine. I had a
job to
do but it didn't get done."
Danny smiled slightly as he spoke. "Maybe I'm learning that
my work isn't the most important thing in my life anymore.
CJ looked up at Danny for a moment before pulling away. "I
think you should go, I've got a lot of work to get done."
Danny took a breath before standing and watching CJ move back
towards her desk.
"Okay, I'll see you later," Danny said as he picked up his
box and walked to the door.
"Danny," CJ said as he began to turn the door handle.
"Yeah?"
"How about taking me out to dinner tonight? You know I still
haven't had a good meal since I left the hospital yesterday?"
Danny smiled. "Okay, see you around six?"
CJ smiled at him and nodded.
"Good."
Then Danny left the office, leaving CJ to her work feeling
better than she had in months.
As she expected, Danny was at the office door right at six.
He gently helped CJ into his car then the two rode in silence as they
approached an area of town with many restaurants.
"Where are we going?" CJ asked as they stepped onto the sidewalk.
Danny pointed to a blue brightly illuminated sign in the
window.
CJ looked at the sign and scrunched up her nose in a
disgusted manor.
"Fresh Catch Café?"
Danny looked at her. "What's the matter? Don't you like
seafood?"
"Sure I do, its just that….Danny if you had spent the last
two days eating what tasted like cat food you would want something
else too."
"Fine. Where do you want to go?"
CJ moved her head in the direction of the restaurant next
door.
Now it was Danny's turn to make a face.
"Hal's Hamburger House? CJ you've got to be kidding."
"Nope."
"So you're saying you'd rather eat dead cow then dead fish?"
"Exactly. You're not cheating me out of a good, normal
meal. Come on." CJ said as she started down the sidewalk. Danny
just smiled and followed her into the small restaurant.
Both Danny and CJ enjoyed their meal and each others
company. No pressure, no expectations. Just two friends having
dinner. They never even talked about work, just spent hours
discussing life and themselves.
It was quite late when the two finally returned to CJ's
apartment. CJ laughed as she opened the door and moved inside. She
leaned against the wall as she dropped the keys into her purse then
looked at the handsome reporter.
"I had a wonderful time tonight, thank you Danny."
"So did I. We should do it again sometime."
CJ nodded as the two endured the silence that followed.
Suddenly Danny leaned in slowly and kissed CJ's lips gently.
After a few moments, the two parted but didn't speak.
"Well I better go. Are you going to be okay tonight?"
"Yeah I think so," CJ said softly.
"Are you sure?" Danny asked noticing that her face was quite
flushed and that she seemed a little unsteady on her feet. "Listen,
why don't you go get changed and I'll get you a glass of
water."
CJ nodded then turned towards back to the bedroom as Danny
headed for the kitchen.
After filling a glass with water, Danny walked down to the
hallway to CJ's closed bedroom door and knocked lightly.
"CJ?"
CJ opened the door, now dressed in a pair of satin blue
pajamas.
Speechless, Danny just handed her the glass.
"Thanks."
Danny watched her take a drink before he spoke again.
"Well I really better go now, Its late. Goodnight CJ."
Danny leaned in and kissed her again, but this time much to
Danny's surprise, CJ deepened the kiss.
"Danny, please stay with me," she whispered against his mouth.
Danny pulled away slightly. "No, CJ not tonight, I think
its…."
"I know ," she whispered. I just want you to hold me
tonight."
Danny looked into the eyes and seeing she was serious,
finally answered her.
"Okay." he said softly just before they kissed again.
Danny lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom
where he gently set her on the bed then walked around to the other
side and lay down. CJ smiled as Danny opened his arms to her and she
snuggled against his chest.
"Comfortable?" Danny asked as he hugged her close.
"Mmhmm," CJ whispered as she closed her eyes.
"Good. Sleep now," he whispered as he began to let his
fingers run through her hair.
The next morning CJ awoke in Danny's arms. She turned and
smiled at him.
"Morning."
"Hi."
"What time is it?"
"Six thirty."
CJ rolled on her side and groaned. "Oh its too early."
Danny smiled and rubbed her shoulder. "Come on sleepy head.
You've got to get to work. Come on," he said as he pulled her
from
the bed.
"Go get dressed. I'll make some coffee."
CJ smiled before she gave Danny a quick kiss then disappeared
into the bathroom.
A Couple Hours Later
Toby found Josh waiting in the small room outside the press
room.
"Josh, where is she?"
Josh shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. She looked a
little weak yesterday maybe she decided to take the day off."
Toby nodded. "Yeah, but she would have called wouldn't she?
I mean CJ's not the kind of person to…"
"Hey," Josh interrupted with a slight smile. "Look."
Toby looked up to see CJ moving towards them on her crutches
with Danny protectively at her side.
Toby took a deep calming breath as Josh put his hand on
Toby's shoulder. "Come on," Josh said as he pulled Toby out of
the
room.
CJ took a deep breath as the press corps finally settled into
their seats.
"Are you okay?" Danny asked, wrapping an arm around her back.
CJ looked at him and gave him a reassuring smile. "Yeah,"
she breathed.
"Good." Danny hugged her close and planted a kiss on her
forehead. "Now get out there."
CJ smiled at him then moved up the stairs and began to move
on to the podium to begin the briefing when Danny stopped her.
"I love you," he told her.
CJ smiled then walked to the rest of the way onto the
podium.
As Danny watched CJ answer the questions from the press, he
knew that she was going to be okay; they both were.
THE END
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