Nightmares

by SharonS

A passionate night leaves Josh dealing with more than he can handle on his own. WarningAdult themes.This story immediately follows And So The Adventure Begins...

Nightmares

The following morning Josh woke at the absurd hour of four-thirty. After slamming his alarm clock off, he lay in bed thinking ahead to his day. He hadn't scheduled any senior staff meetings while the President and Leo were in Florida. Senior staff meetings were Leo's creation. Leo felt it easier and more constructive for him to meet with the President, when he was in town, and the senior advisors all at once. When the president was in town, the meeting was held in the oval office, and usually their Commander in Chief lorded over Leo's meeting as well. Josh understood Leo's reasoning for such meetings, but felt it an unnecessary task for the few short days Leo would be gone and just planned to find some time during the day to sit with Toby, Sam, and CJ individually. He was bound to have some extra time given the fact that Leo wanted him to remain in the west wing as much as possible during his absence. That meant taking as many of his meetings in his office instead of on the hill as he could.

He finally lumbered out of bed twenty minutes later stumbling to his kitchen. He hurriedly put on a pot of coffee, then went to his bathroom for a warm shower. After drying himself off he quickly walked into his bedroom and found a pair of boxers to slip into before working his way back into the kitchen to make his coffee. Once his coffee was made he came back into his bathroom to finish preparing for work which included brushing his hair, his teeth, shaving and putting on some after shave. He carried his coffee into his bedroom got dressed and made his bed before venturing back into the kitchen to make a toasted western sandwich.

He contemplated walking to work but decided against it when he remembered his dinner with Senator Lobell and his wife was scheduled for seven o'clock that evening at Seasons on Pennsylvania Avenue. Arriving in the lobby of the west wing he stopped at the security desk and signed the book sitting on it. "Morning, Joe." He looked up at the man sitting behind the desk as he scribbled his name.

"Morning, Mr. Lyman. You're early this morning." Joe replied.

Josh replaced the pen and took his security pass out of his pocked, swiping it through the machine at the side of the desk. "Have a good day." He called over his shoulder.

Before heading to his office, he strolled down to the mess hall to grab a muffin for later that morning. Once settled behind his desk he worked for approximately an hour and a half before realizing he was going to need a file from Leo's office. Leo had asked him to meet with a couple congressmen regarding the up coming budget. Leo had asked the congressmen if they could reschedule the meeting, but the duo had said that with all do respect, it was busy time of year and they'd rather meet with another senior white house official than reschedule. Leo had brought Josh up to speed letting him know what was acceptable and what was not in terms of letting go or adding. Josh asked Sam if he'd join him, so he wanted Sam to have access to the file before their meeting after lunch.

When he reached Leo's office area he was surprised to see Margaret already busy working at her desk. She looked up as he rounded the corner, a little shock registering on her face, but it didn't stop her from greeting him.

"Oh, hi, Josh."

"Morning. I need a file from Leo's office. Is it locked?" he asked.

"Yeah, I've decided to keep it that way, if I need anything I have a key. If you need anything and I'm not here, Leo told me he gave you a key, too."

"Uh, kay."

As he passed her desk, Josh felt an abrupt smack at his hand and suddenly the muffin he'd been carrying was gone. Looking down at his now empty hand he heard the muffin making a gentle thudding sound as it landed at the bottom of Margaret's garbage can.

Josh looked into the red heads face, he found it mirrored his own shock, "What…"

"Oh my, god. I'm sorry, Josh."

"You threw my muffin away!"

"I'm sorry, here let me…" she reached for her purse and pulled out her wallet.

Josh, realizing she was about to give him some money stopped her, "Margaret, don't worry about it."

She looked up from her wallet, her eyes as big as saucers and added, "I'm sorry, I just…"

"Threw out my muffin! Why'd you do that?"

"Habit. I don't let Leo eat them. The fat content and calories aren't worth the risk."

"I work out." Josh defended.

"Let me buy you another one." She begged.

"No, it's okay. I'll get another one later. I'm gonna go get that file now." Josh pointed at Leo's closed office door with the key between his fingers. He quickly got what he was after and hurried down to Sam's office to see if his friend had made it to work yet. Reaching the door to the Deputy Communications Director's office Josh was happy to see he had.

"Hey."

Sam looked up from his desk. "Morning."

"I brought you Leo's file on the thing." He waved the folder through the air.

"Great."

"Margaret just threw out my muffin."

"Is that some sort of weird euphemism I should know about?" Sam smirked.

"No, she grabbed the muffin right out of my hand and threw it in the garbage."

Sam couldn't help but laugh, "What is it with her and muffins?"

"Beats me." Josh pouted. "Let's get together at lunch and go over this." He placed the file on Sam's desk.

"Okay." Sam answered watching Josh's retreating back.

The rest of the morning flew by with Josh not leaving his desk, let alone his office. At eleven thirty the TV started to project CJ's voice into the room. He looked up and saw her face greeting the White House Press. Corps. He felt relieved to see she looked well rested. He still felt badly at having left her place the night before. He sat listening for a few minutes before his phone rang. He picked it up with his eyes still glued to his TV.

"Josh Lyman."

"Hey, kid, how's it going?"

"Hey, Leo, fine for the most part."

"What part isn't?" Leo asked concerned.

"Margaret threw my muffin in the garbage."

"Yeah, maybe I should have warned you about that."

"You think?" Josh replied noticing his stomach was growling.

"Okay, enough with Margaret. Everything else okay?"

"Yes, Leo. What about your end?"

"Fine, we're making some headway."

"Great, listen, I have to meet Sam to go over the thing. How's Donna?"

"Fine, she'd doing well."

"I figured she would. Say hi to everyone for me."

"Will do, and Josh, don't overwork yourself."

"Leo, I'm okay."

"Bye."

"Bye."

WW

The rest of the week went by without a hitch. Josh managed to keep the place running smoothly with the help of Leo's ever-loyal assistant. He also managed to not piss anyone off, which was considered a minor miracle by all. He found he liked the job of White House Chief of Staff and quickly learned that you could only look competent in the role by making sure you picked your staff carefully, as you were only as good as those under you.

Friday morning found him coming into work at his usual time and sitting in the oval office for the regular eight o'clock senior staff meeting. Leo and the president went over their meetings in Florida, which was an unqualified success. The president thanked Josh for his work on the file as well as keeping the offices back home running without incident while he and Leo were out of town, he even threw in a remark about his having not burned the place down.

Josh glanced at CJ, who he found was looking back at him. The two hadn't managed to spend any time together over the past work week. Josh had just been too busy, by the time he got out of work it had been past midnight each night. With the exception of Monday when he met with Lobell for dinner, but even then, he'd taken some work home and had stayed up until twelve-thirty working. On Wednesday, Margaret had found him sleeping at his desk at eleven o'clock on her way out and had woken him, shooing him out the door as well. He'd watched CJ's morning press briefings each day, run into her during the course of their regular work hours, talked on the phone a couple nights, he had even tried to talk her into coming as his date to the Lobell dinner, but she'd balked. The evening before however, while having a late night telephone conversation they'd decided to go on a real honest to goodness date scheduled for this very night.

They were going to leave work at a decent hour and go out for dinner at a real restaurant. Maybe they'd even dance a little, who knew. Josh had worked his magic and managed to get last minute reservations at a high-end restaurant on Prospect Street called 1789. He was looking forward to spending time with her. He couldn't believe how quickly he began to miss her socially when she wasn't around. Seeing her roam the halls some days at work proved to be harder than he'd anticipated and he wondered if she felt the same. The two had agreed they wouldn't necessarily hide their relationship but they weren't going to openly flaunt it while at work either. They hadn't told anyone yet either, but he planned to change that today.

When senior staff was dismissed he was asked by Leo to join him in the older man's office. The two walked through the Chief of Staff's private entrance through the oval office and Leo closed the door behind them. The meeting was quick with Leo asking how things had really gone. Josh explained a few bumps in the road that had come up, nothing series, but they were things he also wasn't going to share with the entire senior staff either. Leo must have known some of the little things that were bound to go wrong during the course of those days and that's why they found themselves where they were. Josh didn't move when Leo excused him.

"Can I talk to you a minute?" he asked instead of leaving the room.

"Sure, somethin' serious?" Leo asked.

"No, not really. Can I close the door?" Josh glanced towards the open door leading to Margaret's desk.

"Yeah, go ahead." Leo frowned. He never knew what to expect from closed-door meetings with Josh. Sometimes it was serious stuff while at other times it just turned out to be something that was bothering the younger man.

After closing the door Josh turned to his mentor. "I just wanted you to know that CJ and I have been seeing one another. I've already looked up sexual harassment laws and we're okay."

Leo had to admit this was the last thing he'd expected. He quickly thought through the legal ramifications and decided he could trust Josh's research regarding the matter. He then thought about the President and what his reaction would be and quickly decided that President Bartlet wouldn't care if his Press Secretary and Deputy Chief of Staff were dating, as long as they weren't having sex at work.

"Okay." Leo finally managed when he saw Josh just staring at him. "It's not a problem. I'm sure I don't have to warn you about you know…in the White House."

"Of course not. CJ's a bit nervous about anyone knowing about us, so if you could, you know, keep this to yourself for now."

"Yeah sure. How long?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Pardon?"

"How long have you two been seeing one another?"

"A couple weeks." Josh replied.

Leo just starred at Josh for a few minutes before a smile formed on his mouth, "The mystery of the flowers revealed."

Josh didn't blink an eye, "Yeah."

"Nice. Now get out."

"Kay." Josh opened the door and walked out of the room with Leo watching him as he went. Margaret sat at her desk and looked up at the Deputy.

"Oh, Josh. Thank-you for the flowers, they're beautiful." Margaret nodded towards the dozen pink roses sitting in a vase on her desk.

"You're welcome, Margaret thanks for all your help this week." He responded before adding over his shoulder to Leo. "Don't even think it." As he walked away Josh could hear Leo's chuckling.

Leo returned to his desk, pondering what action he should take with this startling bit of news, if any. Meaning should he tell the President or not that his Press Secretary and Deputy Chief of Staff were sleeping together, assuming of course that CJ and Josh were indeed sharing a bed. If they weren't now but continued to see one another then it was probably a fore gone conclusion that sex would be involved, they were after all both mature adults in their forties. No, he decided he wouldn't tell Jed just yet. There was no reason for it.

"Leo, Ainsley's here." Margaret stood just inside the door.

"Show her in."

WW

Josh made it back to his office to find Donna rummaging through his small refrigerator, she looked up at him slamming the door shut as he walked in. "I'm thirsty." She complained.

"Have a water."

"You're out." She pouted.

"Go to the mess."

"I'm too busy."

"I'll go."

"Really?"

"Sure. I'm craving a muffin, maybe a coffee." He replied.

"Great. I'll take an apple, too."

"I thought you were thirsty?"

"I am, but since you're going."

Josh walked out of his office leaving Donna talking into the air regarding the fact that despite all fifty states grow apples, only six of them, Washington, New York, Michigan, California, Pennsylvania and Virginia produced over eighty-five percent of the nation's apple supply.

When he reached the communications bullpen he noticed a tour guide standing talking facts with a group of young teens. A frown took over his face but only until he reached CJ's office. He glanced in and smiled when he found her prancing around her office singing she was too sexy for her shirt. She stopped short when she turned around and saw him starring at her.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that." She stated placing a hand to her chest.

"I was just heading down to the mess, wanna walk with me?"

"I'm busy."

"Yeah, I saw." He smiled.

"I am, are you coming right back though, cause I could use a coffee."

"Sure, you do know the coffee pot at the coffee maker out here is half full, right?"

"Yeah, but Toby made it hours ago."

"Okay, I'll get you one. By the way, I thought the tour guides didn't bring tours through the west wing when the president was in the oval?" he questioned while nodding his head towards the bullpen.

"They don't, but this isn't just any tour, it's the grade eight classes from St. Andrew's Middle School in Charleston."

"Oh."

"If I'm not here when you get back, I'll be in the briefing room with them."

"Kay."

"Are you busy right now?" she asked.

"I'm going to the mess."

"When you get back?"

"No."

"Why don't you join us?"

"Sure."

"Great."

When he turned to leave he was face to face with the young tour guide. Well not face to face, but she was standing right before him. "Morning." He looked down at her.

"Good morning." She smiled at him. "The kids are scheduled to meet with Ms. Gregg." She explained.

"Sure, I'm just leaving."

"Okay, does anybody know who this is?" the guide asked her group while placing a hand on Josh's chest as a signal for him to stay rooted where he was.

Three girls on the left started to giggle, Josh's eyes moved to them and the giggling just grew. He looked at a few of the adults gathered around them, looking for an explanation, but none came. A tall dark haired man came to the front of the group and extended his hand.

"I'm Mr. Cummings. We're here from Charleston, our grade eight classes are currently studying the White House residence and the west wing and it's inner workings."

Just then Josh heard a girls voice say, "Josh Lyman," followed by some more giggling.

"That's correct. This here is Joshua Lyman, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff." The guide answered.

"Well, Mr. Cummings, I'll get out of your way so CJ can continue your tour." He glanced back at CJ saying, "coffee still?"

"Yeah, briefing room."

"Kay." Josh quickly got out of the way and was joined by Ainsley. "Morning." She drawled in that accent of hers.

"Hey."

The two walked to the mess together and then parted ways as Ainsley veered off to her office, leaving Josh to make the rest of his short journey on his own.

He quickly went to his office and handed Donna her bottle of water and an apple. He then dumped the coffee cup carrier in the garbage and carried his and CJ's coffees to the Briefing room. As promised, CJ was standing at her podium while the kids, their teachers, and chaperone's sat in the seats normally occupied by members of the press. She was answering questions regarding her roll and that of the press in a democratic society.

CJ caught a glimpse of him while answering a question from one of the parents who had accompanied the class, she decided to pull him into the discussion.

"Oh, look, Mr. Lyman has decided to join us." She turned her body toward him and held out her arm pointing towards him.

Josh just grinned while walking to stand beside her. He could hear the girls giggling again as he handed CJ her coffee.

"Thank-you." She said while taking the cup from him, "Do any of you have any questions for Mr. Lyman?" she asked.

"Yeah, how much money do you make?" hollered a boy in the back.

"Well, I don't think that's a question Josh is going to answer, but you can find the answer on the official White House web page. All dollar earnings for senior White House staff are listed there. You can also find that answer at the Library of Congress." CJ smiled.

"And for the record, in this room, if you have a question you raise your hand and wait to be called upon." She smiled again.

Josh looked at his watch. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to partake in this thing, but he had some time to kill before he had to leave for a meeting on the hill and so decided this could help pass the time. Besides it allowed him to spend some time with CJ.

"Yes, you in the red shirt." CJ pointed to one of the girls who had been giggling earlier.

"Are you married?" She asked Josh.

CJ smiled and lowered her head before starting to answer, but Josh beat her to the point. "No." Was his simple reply.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Yes."

"Again, not an appropriate question. Let's try to keep our questions pertaining to the White House or the West Wing or democracy in general." CJ replied, knowing full well that this line of questioning could only lead to embarrassment, although she wasn't sure for who and didn't want to find out.

Forty-five minutes later, Josh excused himself from the group and nodded his head for CJ to follow him. CJ excused herself telling the crowd she'd be right back.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I just wanted you to know that my meeting with Hoynes has been moved to five, instead of four, you still on for dinner?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure. It's Friday, it doesn't really matter how late we are."

"Kay, have fun." He nodded his head back into the room towards the grade eight classes from Charleston.

"I'm sure I will. They're going to stick around to see the press briefing in action. Although I'm sure a few of those young girls would rather join you in your meeting." She smirked.

"The gigglers, what's up with them?" he asked.

"Josh…they have a crush on you."

"Oh." With that he left the room.

WW

As seven-thirty rolled around, Josh was back in his office after having a meeting on the hill and another one with Vice-President, Hoynes. Sitting behind his desk he turned his chair to his right and went about shutting down his computer for the night. He straightened up his desk and was soon shoving files into his backpack. Remembering he wanted to look through his book on the Bartlet 4 America campaign to help gear up for the President's re-election he reached up to his bookshelf and took the huge reference book down placed it too into his bag. He then grabbed his coat, turned off his light and closed his door.

"Are you staying?" he asked Donna.

"For a bit. You're leaving?"

"Yeah. You need anything from my office or can I lock it?"

"You can lock it."

"Kay, have a good weekend."

"You too." She smiled, still trying to figure out how come Josh was leaving so early.

He reached CJ's office to find it empty. He took a seat on her couch and patiently waited.

CJ was currently in the ladies room turning her boring work suit into more appropriate date attire. Knowing she and Josh were going out for dinner right from work that night, she'd chosen to wear a simple sleeveless black dress with a jewel neckline. Once she threw her suit jacket over it in the morning, it looked as though she'd been wearing a black skirt and black high end t-shirt beneath her jacket. She slipped her jacket off and placed it on a chair just inside the door. She leaned over the counter and freshened up her make up. Just as she was finishing, Margaret walked into the room.

"Oh, hi, CJ. Wow, you look great."

"Thanks, Margaret. Have a nice weekend." She added as she reached for her jacket and exited the room. She walked back to her office and was a bit surprised to find Josh there.

"Hi." She smiled.

"Hi." He mostly whispered taking in her appearance.

"I'm ready." She replied trying to ignore his stare as she reached behind her door for her over-coat. Before she knew it he was on his feet and helping her into it.

They quickly left the building and decided on taking his car to the restaurant. They didn't have to wait for a seat when they reached 1789 a few minutes before their eight-thirty reservation time. They were seated at an intimate table for two, a candle glowing between the two place settings. CJ had been to the restaurant once before a few years back and remembered how amazing the food had been. She'd shared a dinner with Tad Whitney and then the two had ended up at her apartment for the night. She and Tad had been an item for a while until he'd stopped calling so nothing serious had come of it, as she knew it wouldn't. A brief smile formed on her mouth when she remembered he'd been the reason she'd declared in the oval office one day that she was good in bed. She quickly removed the smile knowing she wasn't about to share that story with Josh. Just as she didn't want to hear if he'd ever brought Amy or Mandy here.

They shared a leisurely dinner with more conversation than she'd ever remembered having with Josh. They discussed his mother's move to Florida since his father's passing and how he just couldn't bring himself to think of it as home. He explained he knew it was irrational and silly, that home should be where ever his mother was, but home would forever remain the house where he grew up in Connecticut. CJ informed him she understood his feelings, as she would forever think of California as home and the house she grew up in.

CJ shared her father's failing health with Josh and as was always the case when she was thinking nostalgically about her father, her eyes had quickly brimmed with tears, but she'd remained in control and hadn't allowed them to flow. Although she'd come close when Josh reached across the table and took her hand in his, rubbing his thumb across the top of her hand.

She was amazed at how quickly the time had flown by and how they hadn't once talked about work or the upcoming re-election campaign. She honestly hadn't thought Josh had it in him to go a whole two hours without discussing politics. Despite this facet there were only two moments during their entire dinner when she remembered she was on an actual date. When she'd opened her menu to discover no prices listed and when the check came and was immediately placed in front of Josh. Josh had thrown a credit card on the little tray, which was whisked away and promptly brought back for his signature. CJ knew it futile to even suggest they go dutch so she sipped her glass of wine while Josh signed the white slip of paper. He made no movement to get going so she continued to sip her wine while he finished the last of his only beer.

When they were each finished, he once again helped her into her coat and placing a hand on the small of her back guided her out of the building. When they reached the door, he held it open for her and soon her hand was cradled in his as they walked to his car. CJ welcomed these small courtesies wondering if Amy had found them irritating, Josh may be a strong supporter of women's rights and equality of the sexes, but he was still a man raised by well off parents. Not rich, but well off, therefore he'd been taught manner's and despite what a lot of women these days viewed as insulting, CJ knew was the result of breeding. Those things included simple gestures, such as holding a door open for a woman, paying for a dinner, opening a car door for a woman, and a man getting to his feet when a woman came to or left a table. Something CJ had seen Josh do time and again at State dinners.

When the valet had retrieved Josh's car, he didn't have time to open the door and close it behind CJ, as Josh did so before the man had made it out of the vehicle and had come around to the passenger's side. Once the door was closed for her, CJ saw Josh tip the man and then get in the car himself.

"You wanna go home or come to my place?" he asked.

"Your place is good, you live closer."

It took longer than the twenty-minute drive to get to Josh's place as they stopped at the local all night drug store. They'd made the decision of CJ spending the night at Josh's and she wanted to pick up some needed supplies instead of going to her place to pick them up. Plus, Josh had informed her, he wasn't sure if he had any condoms at home and they both knew they were going to need at least one if not more once they reached his place. Within forty-five minutes of leaving the restaurant they walked through the door to his brownstone. He threw on the lights and placed his backpack and the plastic bag from the drug store on the floor before turning to CJ and taking her coat from her. Once it and his were hanging in the closet he turned to find CJ sitting on his couch.

"You want anything to drink?" he asked while dispensing with his tie.

"No." CJ eyed him, finding the simple act of his loosening his tie sexy. She thought back to their previous encounters, trying to figure out if this was new to her or if possibly it was the wine she'd consumed during the evening. Yeah, probably the wine she concluded as he sat down beside her, after all it was just a tie. But then again it could be the condoms in that plastic bag, she thought to herself.

"It's early, we could go back out if you want." He suggested.

"No, I'd rather stay here." She replied in a suggestive tone.

Josh wasn't a fool he knew that tone and was immediately growing hard. Placing his arm along the back of the couch he began to play with the bottom strands of her hair. "Kay." He replied.

CJ turned to him, loving what she saw. She'd always found Josh's face expressive, but until a few weeks ago she hadn't been on the receiving end of his cloud covered, droopy-eyed, lust induced stare. Despite the fact that it gave her butterflies each time, she loved it. She swore if he began to talk dirty to her with that look he could bring her to orgasm without even touching her. Not that she was going to tell him that. His ego would never take it and then allow it to drop.

"I think I'd like to clean up." She informed him before getting up and grabbing the bag sitting beside the door. She'd been to his place a few times over the course of their working relationship and knew there was a small half-bath off his living room and started to head towards it.

"There's one off my bedroom," he nodded his head towards the doorway on the other side of his kitchen, which was in between his living room and bedroom.

"Kay." She disappeared through the door in which he'd nodded.

Wanting to give her time to do whatever it was she wanted to do, Josh set about locking his apartment for the night. He also went into his kitchen and grabbed a couple bottles of water. Shutting off his living room lights, he too walked through the door leading to his bedroom. Noticing CJ was still in his bathroom he placed a bottle of water on each of his nightstands and then removed his suit jacket placing it on a hanger and was hanging it in his closet when his bathroom door opened and CJ walked through. She was still wearing her dress but he noticed had removed her makeup.

Before retreating into the bathroom himself, he removed his cell phone from the clip of his belt and placed it on his nightstand beside his water. He then removed his belt and walked to his bathroom door, "I brought you a water bottle in case you decided you needed one after all."

"Kay." She looked at the item on the nightstand. Once he'd vanished CJ glanced around the room, taking inventory. Not surprisingly it was masculine in its appearance and décor. His furniture was solid mahogany, consisting of a highboy dresser, matching nightstands on either side of the bed each with two drawers and a headboard for the bed. This was made up with a duvet; its cover colored in shades of brown, beige and mahogany. The walls were painted a soft shade of green. Yep, definitely male she smiled.

Remembering the decision she'd made while brushing her teeth in the bathroom, CJ quickly removed her clothing and climbed onto Josh's bed and waited. Her stomach was twisted in an array of knots, as she'd never really done what she was about to do before, but she'd made up her mind and she was going to go through with it. When she heard the doorknob being turned she charged ahead with her plan although she was feeling more vulnerable than she ever had before in her life.

Josh came out of his master bathroom wearing only his boxer shorts. He stopped short at the vision before him. He'd always respected CJ's no nonsense, let's get the job done approach she took towards her job, but he hadn't realized how far the woman was willing to run with this attitude. He did now; hell now he couldn't help but love the woman's fortitude.

There, on his bed, lay the White House Press Secretary, fully naked, legs spread slightly apart, with her hand caressing her womanhood. All Josh's blood immediately ran to his until now, semi-hard erection. He tore his eyes away from her hand and looked into her face. He'd expected her to be flat on her back, eyes closed, mouth slightly open and a look of ecstasy splashed across it, but he was wrong. Instead he found she had piled his pillows in an arrangement behind her back which elevated her upper body comfortably. Her eyes were open, looking straight at him with what looked like an amused look on her face and definitely a twinkle in her eyes.

"You got impatient." Josh drawled.

"Yeah. You gonna come help?" she asked.

Josh leaned his shoulder against the bathroom doorframe shaking his head; "Looks like you have it under control."

"You sure?" she purred.

Josh's eyes lowered to her nether region once again. CJ now had her index finger deep inside herself, by the movements of the rest of her hand he could tell she was slowly wiggling it back and forth.

"Positive." He replied, crossing his arms across his chest.

CJ hadn't been sure how Josh would react when he finally came out of the bathroom to find her like this, but she figured her actions would bring about two possible outcomes. Either Josh would join her in bed and probably take over, or like many men, he'd like to watch her play with herself. When she'd decided to jump into this she wasn't sure if she could continue if he chose the latter outcome, but now, seeing the total and immediate lust that filled his eyes, she was spurred on. She pulled her finger out of herself and moved her hand up to her clit. She took it between her thumb and forefinger rolling it. The sensation between her dry thumb and her newly moistened finger created a warm stirring that ran down the length of her abdomen, down her legs to the tips of her toes. She was surprised by the moan it elicited from her throat.

Josh closed his eyes briefly and she saw his adam's apple raise up and down. She could tell by the look on his face that he was having a hard time staying rooted to his spot.

Not only was Josh having a hard time remaining in his spot, he was having an even harder time not reaching down into his boxers and joining CJ in her masturbation feast.

When he re-opened his eyes he found CJ now running the thumb of her other hand across one of her nipples, brining it to attention. A groan finally escaped from between his lips, but he stood his ground, watching in total fascination, knowing CJ was performing this act for him, giving him some very arousing visual foreplay. Her lower region was now squirming under her own ministrations.

He would have known by her movements alone that she was getting close to an orgasm, but he could tell by the pleasurable sounds that were now emanating for her also meant she was reaching her climax.

"God, CJ, you're gonna kill me," he growled looking into her face.

She was continuing to stare back at him, biting her lower lip. "Josh!" she managed to pant.

He lowered his eyes to her breast and looked back up into her face, "Roll it, CJ. It'll help."

She complied with Josh's instructions and was surprised to find it did help. Of course this was not the first time she'd ever masturbated but it was certainly the first time she'd ever done it with someone in the room, and absolutely the first time ever she was doing it for some else's benefit. Now she was getting instructions as well. When she'd started her performance she hadn't expected it to feel quite as pleasurable as it was turning out to be. When she did as Josh had suggested and began to roll her nipple between her fingers it was as though a string tied between it and her clit had been pulled taut.

"That's it, God, you're hot. Come for me, CJ." Josh groaned.

Hearing his voice alone would have pulled her closer to losing it, but the words he spoke seemed to have a magical affect. No sooner had he finished his sentence then her orgasm slammed through her. As much as she wanted to continue holding eye contact with him she instinctively closed her eyes, threw back her head, and rode the waves of ecstasy washing over her.

Josh groaned once again at the sight before him and wasted no time removing his boxers all the while not taking his eyes off of CJ's withering body. His own body was harder than he'd ever remembered it being. He lost all self control as he strode toward the foot of his bed and her.

CJ let out a yelp of surprise when she felt Josh take hold of her ankles and slide her down to the end of the bed; she found herself stopping when her bottom reached the end. She opened her eyes, locking once again with his lust clouded ones just as he entered her. It had been an easy entry, not only because of her recent orgasm, but also with the sticky secretions at the tip of Josh's penis acting, both as lubricants.

Josh couldn't seem to control his actions as he continually slammed into CJ's warm wet core knowing there was a total lack of gentleness in his actions but unable to reign in his desire. He reached down and fondled her breast hoping it would help her if he was being too rough. He was rewarded when she arched up towards him. The action allowed his conscious to relax somewhat, if her body hadn't reacted, he probably feel sick to his stomach, because he doubted he'd be able to stop his desires even then. Looking into her eyes he saw his own desires mirrored. As a matter of fact, what he saw was pure raw lust swimming in her eyes, he felt her legs wrap around his hips. With his free hand he reached down and began to stroke her clit. He knew he was close to losing it with CJ's legs hugging him and and he wanted her with him.

CJ could tell by looking into Josh's face that he was close to coming. She couldn't help but wonder how he was managing to stay on his feet while pounding into her. Now that he was stroking her core and playing with one of her nipples, she too was close to reaching her peak. Reaching up she took her other nipple between her fingers and mimicked Josh's movements. That final sensation was all it took as her body began to pulse and convulse sporadically. Just as she called out his name, Josh, too, fell over the edge as his orgasm rocked through his body and he called out her name.

CJ seemed to recover before Josh. With her breathing returning to normal, she unclasped her ankles, letting her legs drop and dangle over the edge of the bed, with Josh recovering a few seconds later. They both seemed to realize the full depth of their encounter when Josh pulled himself completely out of her, as they were both left with a mess, a mixture of CJ's secretions and Josh's semen. Having acted on his baser instincts, Josh had failed to put on a condom. Once again they locked eyes but neither one spoke. Seeing the apology in his eyes, CJ stopped him when he opened his mouth to speak.

"Josh, don't."

"CJ…"

"Josh, we're adults. I think we can handle this without having to apologize or feel guilty."

"Okay." He replied while retreating to the bathroom. Before he washed himself though, he grabbed a wet warm facecloth, a towel, and the box of Kleenex off his toilet tank and returned handing them to CJ whom now had her knees pulled up and her feet resting flatly on the edge of the bed. After managing a quick clean she joined Josh in the bathroom, depositing the soiled Kleenex into the toilet and flushing, and throwing the face cloth and towel into a laundry basket sitting on the floor under the lone window in the room.

They stood at the sink, staring at each other's reflection in the mirror. "I've been tested, I'm clean." Josh finally spoke.

"Me too."

"Good."

"Yeah."

"What about…you know…" Josh stumbled over his words worrying about the answer he so desperately didn't want to hear.

"Birth control." She added for him.

"Yeah."

"No such luck, I'm afraid."

"Oh." Was all he could say.

"Yeah," CJ didn't know what to say. Since coming to her agreement with Josh she'd made a doctor's appointment to go back on the pill, but her appointment wasn't until next week. So here she was, a woman afraid of commitment who'd just had unprotected sex with a guy she'd only been seeing for a week and a half. She gave herself a mental head slap before giving Josh a smile. After all, he looked as uncomfortable as she did with her answer. He smiled back but she could tell it was forced.

"So…" she managed.

"So…what do we do now?" he asked.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think it's best if we relax and not worry."

"Okay." He turned and walked into his bedroom. He walked over to his dresser and opening a drawer, he pulled out a pair of pajamas and offered them to CJ who had followed him into the room.

"I just need the top." She reached out and took the article of clothing.

Josh pulled on the matching bottoms, turned off his light and joined CJ in his bed. When she didn't automatically snuggle up to him he started to worry. God, what had come over him? He hadn't had unprotected sex since he'd been in college! The threat of aids had always made him act responsibly, but the sight of CJ bringing herself to an orgasm had had him acting on impulse alone with no rational thoughts entering his brain.

Speaking of his brain, it kept going over the fact that they'd both been tested and were clear for such an act, but what if CJ ended up pregnant? What would happen then? He had no idea, except that he wouldn't shirk his responsibility, either financially or otherwise. He would also support her in any decision she made, hopefully she'd allow him to have his say in the matter as well, but it was after all her body. But he was getting ahead of himself here, he was brought out of his internal turmoil when he heard CJ take in a deep breath.

"Come here." He spoke as he lifted his arm allowing her access to snuggle up to his chest. She responded immediately.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"I didn't hurt you did I?" he asked remembering for the first time how roughly he taken her.

"No."

"You sure, I was kinda rough." He continued.

"No, I'm fine. I kinda liked the rough." She admitted. "It's not something I'd want all the time, but that was hot."

"Sexy." He added planting a kiss on the top of her head remembering how hot she'd looked playing with herself.

She looked up, allowing the two to lock lips. What started as an innocent exchange quickly gave way to something more passionate. When they broke apart, CJ continued to show his throat some attention. Josh felt his penis twinge, which surprised him. It was awfully soon after having an orgasm and yet here his body was acting like it was twenty years old again.

CJ too had noticed the slight movement below and reached down with her hand, slipping it into his pj's and ran her finger tip along his length. The thought that she could have such an affect on him thrilled her. He was after all a man in his forties, this wasn't suppose to happen so quickly after finding satisfaction. Finally, as he began to become firmer and firmer under her touch, CJ wrapped her hand around him and began to pump it up and down his shaft.

Josh rolled onto his side, allowing him access to CJ's body and started to undo the buttons on the pajama top she'd put on only minutes before. Once it was undone he unfolded the material bringing her breasts into his view. Sure it was dark in the room but his eyes had since adjusted, he ran his knuckles across a breast, bringing its center to a peak. He lifted his head to hers and once again they were kissing. This time there was a gentleness to it that pulled at CJ's heartstrings. Josh never failed to surprise her. His earlier actions had been rough and almost self indulgent, but not quite. As he'd had the presence of mind to take the time to allow his hands to pay attention to her, helping her reach her pinnacle, now, not even an hour later, the same man was touching her with such tenderness she though she might cry. She loved both of the evening's offerings, even when her brain registered his gentle actions at the moment were probably some sort of strange apology for their earlier mishap.

When they parted lips she saw the clouded look in his eyes and knew he was close. His penis, although stiff, wasn't as hard as a normal Josh Lyman erection, but she knew it was hard enough to enter her center.

"You have those condoms?" She asked.

"Still in the bag in the bathroom."

She quickly got what they needed, although truthfully, they probably didn't need it at the moment, it was just a formality at this point since his seed was still currently swimming inside her. When she returned to the room she found Josh had not only removed his bottoms, but had switched on the lamp sitting on his nightstand, casting a soft glow throughout the room. She ripped the foil wrap taking its contents out and quickly sheathed Josh who was now lying on his back. She found the actions of her sheathing him made him even harder, thrilling her to some extent. She slid her panties off and removed her top all together. Josh sat up but CJ placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed him back onto his mattress. She straddled his hips taking him into her hand and slowly lowered herself onto him. Once he was fully encased she stopped and then slowly lifted herself up. Josh reached up and took her hands into his, intertwining their fingers, allowing her to use his arms for balance.

For the second time that evening Josh found the sight of CJ extremely erotic. Enjoying CJ's having total control over this encounter, he lay on his back and soaked in the sight of her riding him. The pace was slow and even. Her hair was swaying back and forth and her eyes held his for a long while. He finally broke contact and watched her breasts gently bobbing up and down. His eyes slid lower to her apex, her fingers began to grip his hands tighter as he watched her sliding up and down his shaft, he knew her harder grip meant an impending orgasm. His eyes traveled back up her body to find her still looking at him.

Her body began to convulse simultaneously when he said, "God, you're beautiful, Claudia Jean."

Josh took over the thrusting when CJ lost her rhythm, he quickened the pace when he felt his own body begin to react. Hands still clasped together, he hadn't noticed CJ had tightened her grip even more until she started to loosen it as she regained her senses. He was surprised he could even notice such a detail as his orgasm continued to coarse through his body.

When he'd finished, CJ lowered herself to him giving him a gentle kiss. Their hands were still locked together, now lying on either side of Josh's head. Once she'd given him a lavish kiss she lowered her body even more so her breasts were now flush against his chest. He untangled their hands and began to gently caress her back while CJ unraveled their lower regions and now lay completely on top of him from head to toe.

"I don't think I'll ever get enough of you." He commented as CJ arranged herself so half her body was now on the bed and the other still on top of Josh. She absent-mindedly began to caress his scar tissue with her right hand. Josh kept one hand on her back while the other lost contact and began to caress the arm that was now lying on his chest.

"Me too. We're good." She replied.

"Very good."

They lay that way for another half-hour or so before Josh removed himself from the bed in order to take the condom off. He returned to bed and neither of them got back into clothes. When they woke the next morning it was with their bodies spooned just as they had woken that first morning after they'd slept together. CJ still found she could get very used to the feeling. Being in Josh's arms always made her feel oh so feminine, delicate even. No other man had ever been able to make her feel that way. The funny thing was Josh wasn't exactly a macho guy, not even a man's man, or a ladies man, but he was all male. Something he never seemed to notice or just didn't think about.

The thought that she could get used to waking up with Josh splayed against her every morning was frightening. It made her pulse quicken just thinking about it.

"Morning." She heard him mumble into her hair.

"Hey." She smiled.

"You sleep okay?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, better than I have in a long time."

"It's my bed, much better than yours." He teased.

"Could be, but something tells me it had nothing to do with the bed."

"Right, you really did a number on yourself." He continued to tease.

"Listen, Lyman, you're not going to get anymore of a compliment than I've just given, so give up." She replied; glad she wasn't facing him as her face began to burn remembering her performance the night before.

Josh rolled onto his back and stretched the kinks out of his body. He glanced at his alarm clock and was shocked to find it was nine-thirty. Despite the teasing he'd been doing, he had to agree with CJ. He always seemed to have his best sleeps after making love to her. To sleep in past six or seven o'clock in the morning was almost unheard of for him.

When CJ turned onto her side he looked over at her, liking the disheveled look of her. She was always so well put together knowing that he'd helped make her look so messed up gave him a kick.

Remembering the water next to her CJ rolled onto her back and reached over for it. She was startled when Josh followed her over and lay half his body on top of hers. She recognized the stiffness in his lower region and knew it wasn't a normal early morning erection, but hormone induced. Just barely after registering his erection his lips met hers. Still holding onto the water she wrapped her arms around him. She loved his early morning greetings. This too she could easily get used to. The man truly couldn't seem to get enough of her when they were alone. It filled her with a strange sense of happiness. She knew it was silly, but it was what it was. After all, many single women her age were starting to wonder if they were still desirable to men of their own age or younger. As it seemed they could easily get the attention of an older man, so Josh's attraction to her, and his sexual appetite for her, pleased her for many reasons beyond the obvious.

After a final lingering kiss, Josh rolled off of her and out of bed. Knowing from their previous early mornings that Josh was not one for lingering in bed once he was awake she climbed out after him, unscrewing the top of her water bottle and taking a long pull. She was parched, not only from just waking up, but from the previous night's activities, she'd wanted to have a drink then, but had been too tired to worry about it. She quickly made his bed and picked his pajamas off the floor, folding them and placing them on a chair sitting beside his closet.

When she heard the shower water turning on CJ decided to join him. She knew he'd noticed her come into the room and she could tell he was surprised when she opened the glass shower door. "Need any help?" she asked.

"Definitely." He growled his member growing as he spoke and his eyes clouding over.

She quickly joined him and soon they were plastered against one another, arms wrapped around each other as they locked lips, this time taking turns exploring each other's mouths with their tongues. CJ moaned when she felt both of Josh's hands beginning to knead her breasts. She loved his hands. They were soft and uncallused, but strong. Soon, one of those great hands was sliding over her torso and abdomen, not stopping until it took claim of her womanhood. She threw her head back as his fingers seperated her folds and penetrated her.

"Oh, Josh." She moaned.

"Hmm." Was his only response to her.

Her hands gripped his shoulders when his thumb began to rub against her center's nub. She could hear herself but didn't recognize her own voice. Josh seemed to bring out some deep rooted animal sounds from her. When her orgasm ripped through her she leaned into him, feeling her legs turn to jelly knowing they would fail her.

The hand that had been rolling her nipple stopped and Josh wrapped his arm around her, "I've got you, CJ." He murmured softly into her ear.

When the tension had been relieved from her body she asked, "You're a marvel. How do you do that?"

Shrugging his shoulders he replied, "I don't know." And then he opened the shower door and left but soon returned while rolling a condom onto his erection. He closed the gap between them taking her into his arms while placing soft kisses along her throat.

"Hmm, Josh, just take me." She commanded not wanting to wait another second for him to enter her.

He reached down, lifted one of her legs up and wrapped it around his waist. His tip found her opening and pushed inside. It was a slow process but soon she had taken his entire length into her and he gently pushed her against the shower wall.

He reached down and grabbed her other leg lifting it off the shower floor and wrapping it around his other hip. With her against the wall he was able to support her weight and began to thrust in and out. For the first time in their short history together, he came before her. It had taken him by surprised and he silently cursed himself as he continued to thrust into her. He took one of her nipples into his mouth and began to lavish it with special attention. When he took it between his teeth and gently pulled CJ lost it. She exploded around him. Her walls were constricting his already softening member. He prayed to whatever god had been watching over them. The thought of her not having an orgasm would have bothered him all day, or at least until the next time he could make her come undone. As they both came down from their hormonal high Josh noticed the water pelting down around them had lost some of it's warmth. He leaned over and turned the water off while CJ began to let her legs unwrap from around his waist and slowly slide down his legs until they reached the floor.

WW

Over the following weeks CJ and Josh seemed to slide into a routine that worked for them both despite their busy work schedules. During those first two weeks together they'd only seen each other on weekends, but now they had agreed it didn't feel natural or like it was enough, so they decided that Josh would stay at CJ's on Tuesday evenings and CJ at Josh's on Thursday's. If their schedule permitted it they would also have lunch together in the mess on Wednesdays. They still spent their weekends together and it had been decided to alternate those between their homes. Somewhere along the way however, they both realized that Josh slept better in his own bed and CJ's sleep patterns didn't seem to get interrupted by changing beds frequently so they'd spent the last couple of weekends at his place.

They'd also fell into the typical arrangement between couples who lived apart of making room for one another's belongings at each other's home.

On one particular Friday morning Donna walked into Josh's office to find him asleep at his desk. When calling out to him didn't wake him she walked over and placing a hand on his shoulder gave him a nudge.

"Josh, wake up."

His only response was a groan.

"Josh!"

"Wha…"

"Wake up, you have senior staff in five."

"Yeah, yeah, okay. Stop pushing me." He complained as he lifted his head off his desk.

"You didn't sleep here last night, did you?" she asked.

"No." he rubbed his hands over his face.

"Good. You okay?"

"Yeah, I didn't get much sleep last night, that's all."

"Kay. You need to get going."

Josh greeted Charlie and Nancy with a smile before entering the Oval office. Everyone but the President and Leo had already arrived. He sat on a couch beside Sam with a friendly greeting.

"Morning."

"Hey, Josh. You look like hell." Sam threw his best friend's way.

"Thanks."

"I mean it, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Had a rough night, that's all." He threw a glance at CJ who sat opposite him on the other couch.

He noticed the concern in her eyes but chose to ignore it. As much as he hated seeing it, it was better then the fright he'd seen during the night. They'd both been sleeping in his bed, she soundly, he restlessly, when at three-thirty he jerked upright, shouting out incoherently.

CJ bolted up, at first unaware of where she was and what was going on. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dark though and she recognized Josh's bedroom, she'd also begun to hear him beside her. His breathing was shallow, when she turned to look at him she instinctively knew without touching him that his heart was racing. It was his breathing and his racing heart, combined with the thin film of perspiration covering his chest and face that alarmed her. At first she thought he might be having a heart attack.

"Josh, what is it?" She'd asked.

Her voice seemed to startle him. He turned to her, his eyes wide but his breathing now slowly returning to normal.

"Nothing, I'm fine." He lied.

"No you're not, Josh. You want some water or something?" she asked.

"Yeah, water." He honestly was thirsty, but had asked for the drink more to get her out of the room than to quench his thirst. His eyes followed her departure; once she was out of the room he lowered himself back onto the bed and closed his eyes. Her concern he could take, but not the fear that was splashed across her face. He just didn't want to see that right now. At the moment he just wanted to be alone, so he could try to analyze what his nightmare had meant. Of course, it didn't take long for it to sink in and not like what he'd come to discover. He also knew that with the return of this dream he needed to see his psychiatrist.

CJ walked back into the room carrying a bottle of water with her. She sat down beside him on his side of the bed as he sat up. He took the bottle from her and downed most of its contents in one swallow. CJ just sat watching him. Her fear had dissipated since she'd gotten up and made herself useful.

"Feel better?" she asked, mostly to fill the awkward silence.

"Yeah, thanks."

"You wanna talk about what just happened?"

"No."

"Okay." She decided not to press the issue; knowing Josh well enough that if she did, he'd freeze her out completely.

Putting the cap back on the bottle Josh replaced it on his nightstand and slid over to the center of the bed, allowing CJ to lie down beside him on his side of the bed. She shimmied over to him, placing her head in the crook of his shoulder and her arm across his chest. They lay not saying a word, she listening to the rhythm of his heart returning to normal, he running his fingers softly up and down her spine. The action lulled her once again into a deep sleep.

A couple of hours later at five-twenty Josh's alarm clock went off, waking her. She opened her eyes to find she was alone in the bed, rolling onto her side she reached up and turned off the alarm clock managing to pull herself out of bed and into the shower.

With her shower complete, she got dressed, applied her makeup and made Josh's bed before walking out into the kitchen to find Josh sitting at his table drinking a coffee and looking over a brief he'd brought home the night before. Seeing he was already dressed for work she assumed he'd already had a shower as well. He must have been awfully quiet because she hadn't heard a sound.

"Morning." She greeted while fixing herself a coffee.

"Hey." He smiled, though CJ noticed it didn't reach his eyes.

When no conversation followed, Josh went back to pretending to read his briefing papers. He'd started with the intention of actually reading it, but had found he'd been unable to concentrate enough to absorb the material.

He'd been unable to fall back to sleep after his nightmare, so once CJ had drifted into a slumber he'd quietly gotten out of bed and readied himself for work. It hadn't been the first time he'd relived the moments at Rosslyn while sleeping. Lord knew the months immediately following the shooting had been filled with nightmare's, but last night's dream had been different. Normally, the dream was a slowed down version of the events that had taken place on that night, as he remembered them anyway.

They'd all been walking out of the building together, chattering on and discussing the President's successful town hall meeting. When they walked out of the building he remembered being assaulted by the warm humid air, the chattering grew heavier now that they were outside and could hear the crowd's buzzing and droning voices. Then, in a split second pandemonium broke out. The spoken buzz gave way to high pitched screams as what seemed like an endless barrage of gunfire filled the air.

The dream was always vivid; he could feel the impact of the bullet hitting his chest. His hands always rose to the wound and he could feel the air being sucked out of his lungs. He'd opened his mouth to call for help, but no sound was ever produced, no that wasn't true, he could hear himself wheezing. That's when the burning sensation would set in. His chest feeling like it was on fire, then he'd feel dizzy and he would feel himself falling into a fence face first, grabbing the railings on either side of him. He'd continue his descent until he was on the ground. Then he'd somehow managed to get into a sitting position and raised his hand to his chest, once again trying to call out to somebody, anybody for help. Just as he started to lean to one side, his eyes would see Toby standing before him. He'd actually heard Toby before seeing him, he'd been calling Josh's name, but Josh had been unable to answer, but it didn't matter because Toby had found him. He remembered hearing Toby screaming for help, he would never forget the panic he'd heard in the Director of Communications voice as he lowered himself to the ground, catching Josh's head in his hands just as Josh passed out.

The dream always ended there, or more accurately, that's when Josh always woke up. This time however, the dream had been different. It started out the same, until the gunfire sounded. This time however, Josh hadn't been shot. It wasn't until he'd crouched down trying to hide from the gunfire that he felt a panic start to raise in his chest and he'd called CJ's name. He frantically scanned the crowd looking for her, spotting her lying on the ground covered in blood. He rose to his feet and ran to her. When he reached her CJ's tear stained face looked up to him and said, "She'd dead, Josh. They shot her, our baby's dead."

When he looked closer, he noticed for the first time CJ holding a baby in her arms. Their baby she'd said. That's when Josh had woke up unable to breathe.

He was pulled out of his trance when he heard the voice of the President offering them a friendly greeting. "Good morning, everybody." President Bartlet called out with Leo walking in behind him.

The group rose to their feet and replied to their boss in kind and senior staff got under way, the President informed them all that he would be flying to Indiana that afternoon and returning Sunday evening and CJ and Sam would be joining him. So much for talking to CJ this weekend Josh thought to himself.

He'd decided on the walk to work that morning that he and CJ were going to have to talk about their lack of using birth control during that evening together a few weeks before. He knew enough about himself to know that his dream had been his brain finally dealing with those thoughts, thought's he hadn't allowed himself to think about during his waking hours. That little indiscretion had taken place weeks ago not to mention he and CJ had been seeing one another for close to six weeks now. Not once during that time was he aware of her having gotten her period. He knew that quite possibly it might not mean anything. Perhaps it was short and she'd gotten it in between their initially sexual encounter and their second weekend together, or maybe she wasn't very regular. He just had no way of knowing unless he asked her. He'd already tried to fool himself into believing it possible that CJ was in early menopause, but ruled that out when he remembered asking her if they were okay birth control wise and she'd responded negatively. If she were menopausal wouldn't she have said they were okay birth control wise, that there was no need to worry? Then, if she had managed to hide the fact that she'd gotten her period between now and that night, wouldn't she have let him know this or at least let him know they were out of the woods so to speak? So now with the Presidents news, he was going to have to wait until at least Monday to have this discussion with her.

When he returned to his office he asked Donna if she could make a doctor's appointment for him either that day or early the following week. He didn't need to explain to her what doctor, he never asked her to make appointments with his family doctor, only his psychiatrist.

Of course she'd immediately said she would and gave him that look of hers. The one that told him she was worried about him and was going to mother him for the rest of the day. She'd make sure he was eating properly, she'd tell him to calm down if he got into a snit and started yelling while walking around the bullpen. Like a little elevated blood pressure was going to be his demise for crying out loud. What did she think happened while he was having sex?

He should have seen the signs coming. He wasn't sleeping well, his temper was short, and now the dream had appeared. These were all symptoms that he needed to talk with someone and not just anyone, but a professional. Oh, the nightmare had been normal after the shooting, Stanley had told him that it was his minds way of dealing with it and compartmentalizing it. Whatever the hell that meant. But since being diagnosed with PTSD he knew the dream only came to him when he was trying to ignore something he shouldn't. And if he didn't sit down and talk to someone it wouldn't go away on it's own. It would start to come more frequently and his stress levels would grow until he did something stupid again.

Glancing at the clock, he grabbed a file from his desk and hurried to the Roosevelt room where he was to sit in on a meeting with Toby and some representatives from the Trade Unions. The meeting lasted for most of the day, they'd broken up for lunch but resumed afterward and now it was going on two o'clock. He knew the presidential motorcade would be leaving for Andrew's at two-thirty so he quickly left the room in search of CJ. She wasn't in her office so he poked his head into Sam's office.

"Hey, Sam, you seen CJ?"

Sam looked up from his computer, "I think she went home to grab some things for the weekend. She should be back any minute. I'll let her know you were looking for her."

"Kay, thanks."

He left the communications area and went back to his office. Donna was in his office looking for a file.

"Your doctor couldn't fit you in until Monday afternoon at two. Is that okay? If not, he said you could meet with one of his colleagues."

"That's fine, Donna. Thanks."

"You okay?"

"Yes. Don't pester me."

"Josh, I'm just tying to be helpful. I worry."

"Well stop. You're not my mother."

Knowing the tone of his voice meant he was stressed and knowing he was in need of speaking to his psychiatrist, Donna backed off not wanting to add to his worries, what ever they were.

WW

Monday morning CJ arrived at work and decided against her normal workout. Instead she headed for the coffeepot and made herself a cup taking it with her to Josh's office. His door was open; he sat behind his desk, not really looking like he was doing much, just staring into space. She worried she had caused this. She didn't want to worry him further, but also needed to speak to him so she'd called him just before eleven o'clock the night before after arriving home. She'd told him she needed to speak to him and the sooner the better. Despite his urging, she insisted they talk in person and not over the phone.

"Hey." She said in a low voice, not wanting to startle him.

"Hi." He smiled and she noticed once again that it didn't reach his eyes.

"You busy?" she asked.

"No. You wanted to talk." He got up from behind his desk.

"Yeah." Was all she said, but she closed the door behind her.

Josh took the coffee mug out of her hand and reaching back placed it on his desk. He'd been patiently waiting for her arrival, they'd decided on the phone the night before that she would come to his office to talk to him once she'd arrived at work, but once his eyes took in her appearance, he needed to hold her. He didn't care about what she had to say anymore. Didn't care that he had some questions he felt he needed to ask her as well.

He folded her into his arms and kissed her sweetly, until they were lost in each other and deepened not only their kiss but their embrace as well. "I missed you." He groaned while starting to place kisses along her neckline.

"Me, too." She closed her eyes absorbing him.

Josh began to run his hands along her back until he reached her bottom. Once there he started to pull on her skirt until it was bunched up at her hips. "Josh." She felt the need to say.

"Shh." He replied.

Placing his hands underneath the now clustered skirt he felt her bare legs, realizing she hadn't worn pantyhose. Once again he groaned knowing that this fact was entirely too tempting for him to ignore. He lowered his right hand to the juncture where her leg and thigh met slipping his index finger underneath the elastic of her panties.

"Josh." She practically panted this time.

"CJ." He moaned while pushing her lightly up against his door and pressed himself against her. He pushed her underwear aside and commenced his exploration of her center.

CJ realized she'd lost control of her body when she involuntarily spread her legs further apart for him. Somehow knowing what they were doing was terribly risky increased her enjoyment of his actions. Donna could knock on the door at any minute, and then of course there was the fact that the door she was currently pressed against wasn't the only entrance into his office. She did hope that the other one was at least locked. The minute Josh's finger dipped into her, all thoughts scattered from her brain. She was moaning and actually thrashing slightly.

Josh knew he shouldn't be doing this in his office, after all they were at work and Leo had warned him about this, a warning he thought he hadn't needed, but somehow the minute he laid eyes on her he knew he had to touch her. It was a need deep within him he didn't know where it had come from. He hadn't even really meant to go this far, he'd really only wanted to tease her, let her know what she'd missed over the weekend and yet give her something to look forward to at a later time. But once he'd found her warm and wet he couldn't stop.

Feeling her body's tension he knew she was close and began trailing kisses along her throat once again. He worked his way up to just below her ear and stopped there whispering, "I never realized I have an addictive personality until you, CJ. But I'm definitely an addict and you're my drug." As he finished his words he ran his thumb across her clit.

She wasn't sure whether it was his newest action, his words, or the timber in his voice but something pushed her over the edge. She knew she was being far too loud for their environment but she couldn't control it. Josh however seemed to understand and placed his mouth against hers, absorbing her cries of pleasure. When she'd come down from her climax Josh stopped his ministration and removed his hand while placing his forehead against hers.

"Welcome home." He smiled and this one definitely reached his chocolate brown eyes.

"With a welcome like that a girl could make up reasons for leaving." She panted.

They were brought out of their private moment when Donna knocked on the door. "Josh?"

"Yeah, hang on a minute, Donna." He called while releasing his body weight from against CJ and turned to walk behind his desk. The last thing he wanted his assistant to see was the bulge between his legs with CJ in his office.

For her part, CJ lowered her skirt and straightened her blouse. "Josh, before she comes in here I need to tell you something and I get the feeling it's gonna be a busy day."

"Yeah, sure okay, hang on." He said to her before hollering out to Donna, "Can you give me a minute, Donna."

"Sure, but you have senior staff in a minute."

"Kay." He looked at CJ who had stepped up to his desk.

"This is probably really bad timing, not to mention not exactly the right place for this but it's important. I'm late."

"Late for what?" He asked before the full impact of her words hit him. "Oh." He replied before she could answer his question. They stood staring at one another not really knowing what should come next, before CJ broke the silence.

"Five days."

By this time he managed to gain control of his brain again, "What do we do now?"

"Take a test I guess." She replied.

"Josh." Donna knocked before she opened the door. "Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were in here, CJ. You guys are gonna be late for senior staff." Donna looked at CJ who had turned her body to look at the other woman.

"Thanks, Donna. I guess that's our cue to leave." CJ looked back at Josh who by now was sitting in his seat, a stunned looked on his face. Boy, that really was rotten of me she thought to herself before adding, "Uh, thanks for the update, Josh." She wanted Donna to believe they had been at least conducting constructive business.

Josh seemed to come out of his trance, "My pleasure, CJ, anytime." He said while watching her leave the room.

"Josh, you need to get going." Donna warned.

"Yeah, there's something I need to take care of first." He replied. CJ's announcement had had an affect on him but not enough, there was still a slight bulge in his pants and there was no way he was going to enter the oval office with it.

CJ slipped into the ladies room on her way to the meeting, hoping to straighten up her appearance. She was sure she must look a little disheveled. After all she'd just experienced a mind-blowing orgasm seconds before heading to a staff meeting in the oval office with the president.

When she walked into the office the British Ambassador, Lord John Marbury, of all people, greeted her. "CJ, you look radiant." He walked up to her and gave her an affectionate hug, much to the displeasure of Leo.

"Thank you, Mr. Ambassador." CJ smiled.

"Well, I should be off, I have a staff meeting of my own I should be at." He explained while starting to leave the room, he ran into Josh who was on his way in, taking his hand and shaking it wildly. CJ couldn't help but wander if Josh too had slipped into the washroom before coming to the meeting, to wash his hand at least. Watching as the two men's hands dropped to their sides, she realized the idea of her musk still lingering on Josh's fingers excited her.

"Josh, you look terrible. I think you need more sleep." He advised.

"I'll take that into consideration, Mr. Ambassador." Josh replied.

"CJ, whatever changes you've made to you're beauty regime, keep it up." With that the rather eccentric man was gone.

Senior staff was over quickly with the president making sure everyone was aware of the presidential motorcade's departure that morning. They were all making the trip with the president that morning; he was delivering a speech at the Ritz. When the meeting was over Josh followed Leo into his office. "Can I have a minute?" he asked the older man.

"Only a minute. I've got a phone call to make before we leave." Leo informed Josh.

"I'm gonna need a couple of hours out of the office this afternoon."

Hearing the words, Leo, who had been rummaging through files and papers on his desk, shot his head up to look at the younger man, "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Josh nodded his head up and down while slipping his hands into his pant pockets.

"Kay. Anything I need to take over?" Leo was asking him about any meetings that Josh might not have been able to reschedule on such short notice.

"No, got it covered."

"Okay." Leo didn't need to ask any questions about why Josh needed some personal time. They'd made an arrangement after Josh had received treatment for his PTSD that if ever Josh felt he was close to having a breakdown all he needed to do was let Leo know he was going to be out of the office for a couple of hours. Leo would know that meant Josh was meeting with his psychiatrist. No further explanation would be needed. Since coming to this agreement, Josh had only ever needed to say those words to Leo once before.

"Anything I can do?" Leo asked before Josh exited his office.

"No."

"Kay."

WW

Hours later after the President had finished his speech, had accepted the cheers and accolades from the crowd, with Abby at his side the presidential entourage began its trek out of the building. The President, First Lady, and Leo walked side by side, immediately followed by Toby, Josh, and Charlie, with CJ and Sam bringing up the rear. The secret service agents as always walked around the small group with their own precision.

Walking through the galley style kitchen the president and Abby smiled at and shook hands with some of the staff members currently working in the room. Once, near the end of the quick jaunt a teenage girl working in the kitchen on a student program yelped and ran towards Sam, a secret service agent quickly stepped in front of her blocking her path. The girl immediately realized her mistake and apologized to the burly agent, explaining that she had just wanted to shake the speechwriter's hand.

During the walk through the halls and corridors Josh was only slightly aware that he wasn't hearing what the people around him were saying, the words sounded more like a loud murmur. Charlie, walking on Josh's right hand side thought it odd that the Deputy Chief of Staff hadn't joined the conversation he and Toby were having about the New York Yankees. He kept looking at Josh but left him alone, figuring he was strategizing something. That was one thing Charlie had come to learn about the man who had hired him for his current job, Josh's mind never seemed to rest. He was always thinking about angles or spins for something the President had said. So he chalked Josh's quiet mood to that.

His opinion was quickly proven wrong however when an agent opened the front door of the lobby for the president. The buzz of people talking, shouting, and clapping outside, mixed with the low murmur of the secret service agent's constant chatter informing each other of the president's movements, hit Josh like a ton of bricks.

Haunting memories flooded over him, screaming, gunfire, Toby's hollering for help, suddenly Josh was paralyzed with fear and came to an abrupt halt. Sam who had been walking directly behind him collided into his back and quickly realized his best friend was about to fall over. He wrapped his arms around him.

"Josh, you okay?"

Hearing Sam's voice cleared the cobwebs from Josh's head, but his fear remained.

"I can't go out there!" He answered shaking his head back and forth pushing against Sam's chest.

Realizing something was wrong Toby called out for the best help he could think of, "Mrs. Bartlet, we need you're help."

Hearing her name, Abby, as well as her husband and Leo turned around just before walking out the opened door. Abby immediately slipped into doctor mode upon seeing her husband's staff. All looked worried and concerned, except for Josh who looked terrified. She quickly made her way to the group with Jed and Leo close behind.

Meanwhile, Sam continued to embrace Josh, more out of comfort than anything else, as Josh continued shaking his head and pushing against him.

"I can't do it. Don't make me! CJ?" Josh continued.

"I'm right here, Josh." CJ walked into his line of sight just as Abby arrived on the scene. He reached out and grabbed CJ's wrist.

"Don't make me go!"

"I won't, Josh." She replied looking to Abby for confirmation.

"Josh, look at me. Can you do that for me?" Abby took charge of the situation. "That's it." She smiled when he trained his unfocused eyes on her.

"Josh, everything's okay. You're safe. No one's going to hurt you." Abby commanded.

Josh continued to stare at her but she could tell he was trying to focus. "Okay, Josh, I'm just going to talk to the president for a minute. I'm not going anywhere, but CJ and Sam will stay right here with you while I do that. Then you and I are gonna stay here while everyone else goes back to work."

Jed, looked lovingly at his wife and, appreciating her concern for his deputy, welcomed her approach, "Panic attack?" he asked.

"Looks like it," she confirmed.

At this point Leo piped up, "Abby, Josh had an appointment with Stanley this afternoon."

"Okay, that's good to know."

Leo ignored the somewhat shocked look the president was giving him and left the Bartlets alone while he gathered the rest of his staff.

Meanwhile, Abby and Jed filled in the first lady's secret service detail on her change of plans at not returning to the White House just yet.

James Reid, the head of her detail, quickly informed those under his command about the change in plans. When all the details were secure, the president, Leo, Charlie, Sam, and Toby left the building with the presidential security detail. Leaving CJ behind with Abby and Josh. Abby had noticed Josh's death grip on CJ's wrist and had talked Jed into allowing her to remain behind as well. It took some doing and she wasn't truly convinced he would have allowed it, if not for Leo agreeing with her. This piqued Abby's already curious interest in Josh's action.

Half an hour after Josh had begun his attack; all his vital signs seemed outwardly to have returned to normal. The secret service had asked the hotel management if the First Lady could be provided with a room just after the President left. One had been secured within minutes. Agent Reid not only wanted Mrs. Bartlet in a more secure environment but, figured it was probably safe to assume the President would appreciate his Deputy Chief of Staff being given some privacy during his turmoil. Not to mention the office Josh Lyman held alone should be given its due respect.

Abby had managed to get a hold of Josh's doctor and she agreed with Stanley that Josh would be more comfortable going home rather than being transported to the doctor's office or the hospital. Stanley said he would meet them at Josh's place.

Within an hour of the onset of Josh's attack, the First Lady, CJ, and Josh were at his home. Stanley arrived moments later and he and Josh disappeared into his bedroom for privacy.

Abby took the opportunity to call Jed, informing him they were now at Josh's, Stanley was present and she and CJ both planned on sticking around for a while. When she hung up the phone she took a look around Josh's home, realizing for the first time that in the years these very diverse and wonderful people had worked for her husband, she'd never set foot in any of their homes. She looked around Josh's thinking although it was rather different in its layout; Josh had managed to make it a home despite spending very little time here. Then she remembered of all the senior staff, only Josh and Toby had lived in Washington prior to working at the White House.

She once again looked around taking inventory. When you walked into the brownstone, it was immediately into Josh's living room. He had a big comfortable leather couch, a matching chair, where CJ currently sat quietly, and another older looking recliner. There was a wooden coffee table and matching end table, his TV sat on an antique table against a wall. The room was an L shape, obviously meant to be a living room/dinning room, but Josh was using the smaller dinning area as an office. A large oak desk sat against one wall with a big comfortable chair was the focal point. A lamp, a printer, and some miscellaneous items adorned the desk. Seeing no monitor Abby assumed Josh used his laptop here. There was another smaller chair, a floor lamp in the corner, and a bookcase filled with books and an occasional nick nac, she also spied a five by seven framed picture of Josh and Sam, they looked entirely too young so she decided it must be from their college days.

The living room lead into the kitchen, seperated by glass paneled French doors, which currently stood ajar. On the other side of the kitchen was his bedroom, again seperated by glass paneled French doors. These ones closed of course as Stanley and Josh were currently talking in the only bedroom.

Abby took a seat on the couch turning to CJ she asked, "You okay?"

CJ sat for a long while before she spoke, Abby had given her that option, "Oh, god, Abby. I…we…is he okay?"

"He'll be fine. It was a panic attack, and mild at that. It can be scary to witness, especially when its happening to someone you care about."

At that moment, Stanley entered the room, "Abby, thanks for calling me. I'm sorry I couldn't squeeze Josh into my schedule on Friday as he requested."

"Pardon me?" CJ asked.

"You must be, CJ." He held his hand out to her, recognizing CJ from tv.

CJ took the doctor's hand into hers, "CJ Gregg, nice to meet you."

"Josh told me who you were." He left it at that.

"You mentioned something about Friday?" Abby asked.

"Yes, Josh's assistant called my office Friday morning asking for the earliest appointment he could have. We were suppose to meet this afternoon."

"So he knew this was coming." Abby asked.

"Yes."

"How is he?" CJ asked.

"He's fine, CJ. While panic attacks can have serious physical affects, that's not the case here. If Josh had been forced to leave that building, we'd have a very different outcome; he probably would have turned violent though. Right now, he's just tired. Abby, I gave him a mild sedative. He should sleep for a few hours. I can't stay, but I'd like someone to be here when he wakes up, you know, to make sure he eats, that sort of thing."

"Some one will be here." Abby confirmed.

"Do you know why he had this attack?" CJ wondered.

"CJ, Stanley can't talk about…."

"It's okay, Abby. Josh has given me his permission to answer any questions you and CJ might have." Turning back to CJ he explained, "As you know, Josh suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."

"I thought that had been taken care of?" she said.

When the psychiatrist took a seat, the two women made themselves comfortable. "It's not a disorder that goes away Ms Gregg. It's something you learn to deal with. Josh will be dealing with it for the rest of his life, something he's been doing extremely well since the shooting. His PTSD specialist did a marvelous job, and between the two of us we've managed to keep Josh on an even keel. Since his Christmas breakdown, he's only come to see me once before now."

Stanley continued, "He's learned to recognize when he's in trouble. For Josh, he relives the shooting…"

"A nightmare." CJ announced.

"Yes. He told me he'd had two in the last month or so. The first time he woke up and didn't remember the dream. He just remembers waking up on his couch. He says he was cold, felt alone, and afraid. The other, he had the other night. That's why he called me."

"So how come he needed to see you if he knew it was coming? Doesn't he have exercises or something he can do?" CJ continued with her questions.

"Yes he does, but once he has the dream, he knows he has to see me. His feelings and stress have gone beyond the point where he can deal with them on his own. The dream is his brain's ways of sending him a warning, and Josh has learned to listen to his body. What he needs to do more than anything is to learn how to deal with personal stress. He's become very good with work stress which given the position he holds is a good thing. Well, I've gotta run ladies, I have appointments at the office."

Abby walked the doctor to the door thanking him for coming. Then she walked to the kitchen to find out if Josh had any tea. CJ was already in the room reaching into the fridge. She pulled out a bottle of water and opened the doors leading to Josh's bedroom. Abby didn't say anything but continued her search. CJ returned a few seconds later without the bottle and closed the door behind her.

"What are you looking for?" CJ asked.

"Tea."

"Third cupboard over."

Abby found what she was looking for and set about making her tea while thinking about Josh and CJ. Something was definitely going on and she was going to use this time alone with the Press Secretary to get to the bottom of it. Once she had a cup made for each of them, she returned to the living room to find CJ had taken up residence on the couch.

Abby handed the younger woman a tea, "CJ, you may not want to talk to me, but I do consider us friends. What's going on?"

CJ looked into the face of the first lady and wondered how exactly she should respond, she really didn't want to discuss this but she was confused. She was feeling physical pain as well as guilt. She somehow knew this was partially her fault, but didn't want to deal with it.

"Mrs. Bartlet…Abby, I…" CJ's eyes filled with tears.

"Josh sent those flowers didn't he?" Abby asked gently.

"Yes." CJ admitted.

"Why all the secrecy?"

CJ took a sip of her tea willing the warm liquid to sooth her worries. "At first, we didn't say anything because well, it didn't mean anything…"

"How can something like that not mean anything? That's the kind of answer I would expect from one of my girls, CJ. Certainly not you."

"No, Abby, I didn't mean it that way. Of course it meant something. It's just, we both thought it was a one time deal, nothing more."

"But it wasn't." Abby stated.

"No, as it turned out, it was a lot more." CJ actually cracked a small smile.

"I'll ask once again, why the secrecy?"

"At first, when we thought it was a one night stand, Josh wanted to tell Leo, but I panicked and said no. Then you asked about it and mentioned sexual harassment and that scared me. So I had Josh look into it, still wanting to tell Leo."

Before CJ could continue with the story Abby broke in, "Oh for heaven's sake, what's wrong with you two?" She chuckled. "Honestly, CJ, it's a wonder you two even managed to sleep together! What with you worrying about the political fallout and Josh, well he is Josh. Who knows what goes on in his brain at any given moment." She continued to chuckle shaking her head.

"Anyway," CJ continued ignoring the first lady's chiding, "When we decided it was more than a one time thing, Josh still wanted to tell Leo and I continued to balk. But, Josh pushed and told Leo anyway. Josh said he wasn't going to do this if we had to hide behind it. We finally agreed that we wouldn't hide our relationship but we wouldn't necessarily flaunt it either. I don't think Josh liked that plan either but agreed for my sake."

Abby stared at her friend, knowing that CJ hadn't gotten to what she wanted to say yet, but allowing her friend to set the pace.

Knowing the first lady was waiting for more, CJ dug deep and continued on, "And now look where we are. I had no idea this was going to be the result of it all, but deep down, Abby, I knew something was wrong. I knew he was bothered by not letting our relationship be more out in the open."

"CJ, I don't understand what you're talking about? How is Josh's episode related to you two? I think you need to back up a bit."

"He doesn't like secrets, Abby. He's a politician after all; he knows all too well how secrets end up coming back and biting you in the ass. Not to mention he's actually a very honest person to begin with. I'm talking in circles."

"Yes." Abby smiled and reached over patting CJ's hand. "Let's talk about Josh's panic attack. Why is this your fault?"

"This could get a little personal, are you comfortable with that?"

"CJ, I'm a doctor, I've heard many accounts of other peoples personal lives. I think I can deal with this. Now spill it."

"Okay, a while back, we had unprotected sex." CJ ignored the frown that briefly crossed the first lady's face and continued on, "It was kind of an accident, but not really. Anyway, afterwards, we both admitted to having been tested for Aids and we were both okay. As for the possibility of getting pregnant, we didn't really discuss it in depth. I think Josh wanted to but he let me set the pace and followed it. I'm late, Abby. I told him this morning."

"I see, so you naturally want to take the blame for what happened this morning." Abby stated.

"You heard, Stanley. He said Josh needs to learn how to deal with his personal stresses, I think my telling him I'm late qualifies for personal stress." CJ pointed out.

"Yes, but he also said Donna called last week to make this appointment. So you're announcement this morning only added to his stress, CJ. Don't try and shoulder all of the blame. Obviously he was struggling with something before this mornings events."

"Abby, we both knew there was a possibility I might be pregnant. You don't think that was weighing on his mind?"

"Possibly."

The two women sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, each sipping their tea and contemplating their own personal thoughts. Finally Mrs. Bartlet broke the tranquility.

"So, you and Josh huh?"

CJ couldn't be sure, but she thought she heard amusement in the first lady's question. When she looked up and saw Abby's face, she knew for sure there had been amusement there. "Yes, it's a bit shocking, isn't it?"

"On the surface perhaps."

"Meaning?" CJ asked.

"Meaning, at first glance you two would seem all wrong for one another. After all, most people believe opposites attract, and you two are certainly not opposites. You're both very strong opinionated people, who often clash during working hours." She took a quick breath before continuing on.

"But that's on the surface. Underneath all that is what's important. Although you might often clash, you guys respect one another immensely, and I might add, care deeply for each other, too."

"I'm actually not all that surprised. You two always seem to gravitate towards one another. Whether it's to comfort or to badger each other. To be honest, I think you two hooking up might just have been inevitable. All that passion bubbling under the surface had to come to the top sooner or later. May as well be in bed." Abby smirked her last words, loving the almost look of embarrassment on the press secretary's face.

"Mrs. Bartlet…"

"CJ, please don't insult me and say there's no passion there. I've heard my staff discussing the men who walk the halls of the west wing and I think they're crazy or maybe just inexperienced. There seems to be a mind set that Josh Lyman wouldn't be all that good in bed?"

This time, Mrs. Bartlet's words seemed to shock CJ. "Ma'am. I…um…"

"Oh, CJ. For crying out loud, we're both adults."

"Yes, but, well, why would your staff discuss such a thing?" CJ asked knowing herself that the women of the west wing had had very similar conversations themselves. However, knowing the women at the other end of the White House had drawn the same conclusion as them about her now current boyfriend was slightly weird. Knowing that the first lady was privy to such a discussion was down right unnerving.

The whole thing did make CJ realize for perhaps the first time since President Bartlet had taken office that the two wings of the White House weren't really all that different from one another. Making her realize that Mrs. Bartlet's staff had the same kind of history and friendships as CJ and her co-workers.

"As I was saying CJ, I don't believe that for a minute. In many ways Josh reminds me of Jed. You know, they're both opinionated, bullheaded, stubborn, egotistical jackasses, but that's rounded out by their intelligence, compassion, sweetness, and generous natures."

"Often times the needs of this country, our home state, or the electorate have come before mine, CJ. But never, ever have my physical needs been given a back seat, if you get my drift."

CJ smiled, "Yes, Abby, I know exactly what you mean. Let everyone else think what they want about Josh's abilities, you'll never hear me complain."

"That's what I thought." Abby smiled back. "And in many ways CJ, you and I are a lot alike. So if you and Josh are anything like Jed and myself, there's a lot of fireworks going off in your bedroom."

CJ decided not to respond to this statement feeling more than somewhat uncomfortable, discussing the first couples sex life went way beyond her job description. She knew the first lady thought of them as friends and that was a nice thing, but the woman and her husband remained her bosses.

"Now, CJ. Explain to me how you accidentally had unprotected sex." Abby asked emphasizing the word accidentally.

Abby became even more curious to hear the answer to her question when CJ visibly blushed. A sight Abby thought she'd never see in her lifetime. "Oh come on, CJ. You can't possibly keep this to yourself." She smirked.

"I…we…Josh just sort of acted without thinking one night." CJ managed.

"I see, and you didn't have something to do with his actions?"

"Possibly." CJ smiled.

"Okay. Back to you. Have you taken a pregnancy test?"

"No."

"Well, why don't you take a trip to the drugstore and buy one right now." Abby suggested.

"I don't know." CJ replied while glancing towards Josh's bedroom.

"Don't worry, CJ. I'll stay with him."

"Actually, would you mind if I went to the grocery store as well?"

"No, not at all. Take your time, do whatever you need to do. Lilly has cleared my schedule for the rest of the day. I can stay as long as I'm needed."

"You won't let him chase you off if he wakes up will you?"

"He's stuck with me until you return. Now go."

Josh woke to a dark room. From the feel of the mattress beneath him he knew he was in his own bed. Instinctively he looked toward his night table and noticed the time was five-thirty. He also noticed a bottle of water sitting beside his clock and reached for it. Wondering how it got there. He remembered coming home and talking with Stanley. He also knew he hadn't brought a water bottle into the room.

That's when he remembered he'd come home with CJ and Mrs. Bartlet. That's when he noticed an aroma drifting through the air. Spaghetti, yes definitely spaghetti sauce. His stomach growled at the realization that food was being cooked in his kitchen.

He sat up and swung his legs out of bed placing his feet on the floor. With the balls of his hands he rubbed his eyes before reaching for the water bottle and opening it. He took a huge swallow and lifted himself off his bed. He wore only his boxers so reached into a drawer and pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms before slipping into the kitchen.

He stopped at the pot on the stove, lifting its lid and stirring it while taking in its aroma before continuing into the living room. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed his guest. He'd expected to see CJ only to find the First Lady sitting on his couch reading a magazine. She looked up when he cleared his throat out of nervousness.

"Oh, you're up. How ya' feeling, Josh?" she smiled.

"Um…huh…okay I guess, Mrs. B." he stammered.

"Come over here, let me take a look at you." She motioned to the couch.

"I…um…" He involuntarily looked down at himself.

"Oh for heaven's sake, Josh. I'm a doctor, I've seen more than a bare chest in my life time." She chided.

Josh tentatively sat down beside her.

"Don't look so worried, Josh. I'm not going to hurt you."

"I'm not worried, I guess I was just expecting someone else."

Taking pity on the younger man, Abby smiled, "CJ had some errands to run. She'll be back soon."

"You don't need to stay, Mrs. B."

"Yes, I do. Stanley's orders, now how do you feel?"

"Okay, a little groggy."

"That's the sedative. It should wear off soon enough. Anything else?"

"No, I don't think so." He leaned against the back of his couch. "A little embarrassed maybe." He amended.

"Joshua Lyman, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. The stresses in your life caught up with you and combined with circumstances and your brain dealt with it all in the only way it could. It's called survival mode, Josh. None of us are in a position to judge you, well maybe my husband, but trust me, that's not going to happen."

Josh didn't respond, just closed his eyes and tried to block out the memories of having a panic attack in front of his friends. While trying to forget the feel of Sam's arms wrapped around him, he felt the First Lady take his wrist between her fingers feeling for his pulse.

After a few moments he asked, "Am I gonna live, doc?"

He opened his eyes to find her staring at his chest as she replied, "Afraid so," while letting his wrist fall to his side. She looked into his eyes and realized he'd seen her starring. "I'm sorry, Josh."

"It's okay, sometimes I stand in front of the mirror and stare at it too."

"It's just I haven't seen it since you were in the hospital. It's healed nicely." She cringed at how ridiculously trivial that sounded.

"Yeah." Josh replied in an almost inaudible whisper.

The two remained silent for only a few moments before Mrs. Bartlet spoke again, "Josh, if ever you need to talk to someone, I'm just a phone call away."

When he went to reply, his body language gave away his certain negative response, Abby held her hand up and continued on. "I know I'm not a psychiatrist, hell I'm not even a certified therapist, but I did have to take sociology courses in order to become an M.D. and most doctors will tell you we use all that learned knowledge far more frequently than we ever thought we would."

Josh took in the first lady's facial expressions and realized he wasn't about to win any battles against her on this so he nodded his head. "Okay, thanks."

"I mean it, Josh. It doesn't have to be related to this either." At this point she actually placed a hand on his chest covering some of his scar.

He looked down at her hand taking in its warmth. He'd always had great respect for the first lady and had developed a strange relationship with her. Most of his co-workers admitted to being afraid of her. He wasn't. When he'd first met her he leaned in that direction, but then one day early on in the presidential campaign she confronted him and suggested if he needed someone to kick around, he should use her and not her husband.

Josh had loved that moment. In one sentence, Mrs. Bartlet had shown Josh the depths of her love for her husband, who at the time was still Governor Bartlet. It was the sort of thing his mother would have done for his father, so in an odd way he had found comfort in that act. Mrs. Bartlet was a strong woman who shouldered many burdens for her husband and now she was willing to shoulder some of Josh's as well.

"Thank-you." He replied with total serenity this time. When he looked up into her face, he realized she had turned her head slightly, hoping to avoid his gaze. But there was no mistaking there were tears in her eyes. Not knowing what he should say or do, he relied on instincts and placed his hand on hers squeezing it. "Mrs. B, don't cry."

Abby looked into the younger man's face, and slowly removed her hand, which had been sandwiched between his chest and hand. She used it to wipe away a single stray tear, which had managed to escape and start a trail down her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Josh. It's just, I try not to think about that day too often." She gave him a weak smile.

"You of all people should know you can't ignore it."

"I know, guilty as charged, but I don't like remembering how scared I was. My husband had been shot. That's all I was told."

"It must have been shocking. I'm sure you were worried for Zoey as well. It couldn't have been easy."

"No, it wasn't. Here I was a surgeon and I felt incredibly helpless. When I realized Jed's injury was superficial I began to relax. We didn't know about you at that point."

He nodded his head, encouraging her to go on. Nobody ever seemed to want to talk about that day he'd nearly lost his life and he had certainly never heard the first lady's account of it.

"So as I said, I began to relax just a bit, after all, he was still undergoing emergency surgery."

"Sure."

"Then a commotion exploded into the ER, paramedics yelling vital signs, I remember hearing the words bullet victim, no exit wound. I knew that wasn't good. It would mean a lot of internal damage. I expected it to be someone from Rosslyn, but not one of you guys. Maybe someone from the crowd. When I saw Toby, CJ, and Sam trailing along with the gurney it still didn't register, but then I saw your face under the oxygen mask and I remember feeling my body turn ice cold. Words like collapsed lung hit my ears and fear gripped me yet again."

"I mean, you didn't sign up for this Josh, that's what I remember thinking. When you're the wife of the president, you know there's always the danger of an assassination attempt, but never once had I contemplated the fact that all of you guys are usually within close proximity of him. It never entered my mind that one of you could be in the line of fire. I immediately felt guilty about that, and then of course my thoughts turned to Jed and how he was going to deal with his own guilt no matter what the outcome was. And of course then thoughts of your mother came."

She stopped there feeling somewhat relieved to have finally spoken the words to him.

"Well, I'm here, and for the most part, doing well, Mrs. B, so there's no need to feel guilty or anything else for that matter." He smiled at her hoping to reassure her. "You know, plus you were there for me today." He continued.

"Josh, why do you call me Mrs. B?"

"I don't know." He shrugged, taken back a little by her change of subject. "Does it bother you? I can stop."

"No, no, not at all. I kind of like it. Doctor and Mrs. Bartlet are so stuffy, and I can't tell you how much I hate ma'am. Makes me feel a hundred years old. Then there's the dreaded First Lady, how formal is that?" She chuckled, placing a hand to the side of her face.

"Mrs. B reminds me of the Fonz calling Mrs. Cunningham Mrs. C. It seems fitting actually." She smiled again.

"Really?" Josh asked surprised, as he'd never thought of himself in Fonzie like terms.

"Yes. The Fonz was the smart-ass, wise crackin' tough guy who allowed his sweeter, softer side to shine through to Mrs. C. It's what made that character likeable."

"Oh." Was Josh's only response to her statement.

"You, Josh, are this administration's smart-ass, wise crackin' tough guy. It's nice to know you have redeeming qualities." She smiled.

Josh returned her smile in kind. "Why do woman seem to pick up on the sweet?" he asked.

"I don't know if I'm at liberty to say." She smirked.

Josh just starred at her, trying to read her face, "Not at liberty? What kind of crock is that?" He replied, automatically sliding into Josh Lyman, Deputy Chief of Staff mode.

"It's an oath I took." She said, loving how easily they could fall into flirtatious negotiation style.

"What oath is that exactly?"

"The female one."

Josh rolled his eyes pondering his stupid luck. Why did she have to pull out the female trump card? How was he supposed to get around that? He barged forward anyway.

"You know, I wish I could pull that out of my back pocket once in a while. Think about how easy it would be to push our way around the Republicans. When the Speaker sends his cronies over next time, I'll just slip into 'I'm not at liberty to say due to my female oath.'"

"And who exactly is going to give you this honorary oath card?"

"I don't know. I'll find some unsuspecting female and use my powers of persuasion and charms on her." He shrugged.

"Oh please, you're not going to find such a creature."

"Oh, I don't know. I'm sure I could find someone young and impressionable, someone who, might be roaming the halls of the west wing occasionally. Looking for her father perhaps."

"You leave Zoey out of this!" Abby feigned anger.

"All's fair in love and war, Mrs. B."

"This is not love, Josh."

"No, but it bolds well for war doesn't it?"

Abby allowed silence to fill the air before replying, "You wouldn't dare."

Josh rose his eyebrows at her, "Wouldn't I?" he challenged.

At that moment the door swung open and CJ walked into the room carrying a couple of paper bags. Josh immediately rose to his feet and took the bags out of her arms, carrying them to the kitchen.

"You're up." She followed him into the room.

"Yeah."

"How do you feel?"

"Fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes, mother. Oh shit, is there any chance my little nutty is going to make it onto the news, CJ?"

"I'm not sure, why?"

"Because I should call my mom if there is."

"Oh. I never thought of that. Maybe you should call her just in case."

"Right." He retreated into his bedroom, closing the doors behind him.

"You get everything you need?" Abby asked when she came into the room.

"Yes."

"Good. I should get going, leave you two alone."

"No, don't go, Abby. At least stay and eat. Looks like you've been busy." CJ glanced towards the stove.

"It's the mother in me." Abby smiled, "When crisis hit feed everyone."

"Please stay."

"Okay. But I leave after dinner. You two need to sit down and talk, CJ, otherwise it'll never work."

"I know."

"Okay, lets get some noodles on the go."

After sharing a relaxing dinner and conversation, the first lady announced it was time for her to leave. Part of her wanted to accept Josh's pleas to stay, as she'd found she'd had an enjoyable time, but she knew it would be best for all if she left.

CJ and Josh walked her to the door, with Josh moving directly to the door while the two women hung back a bit. The first lady placed both of her hands on either side of CJ's shoulders.

"Don't stay up to late. You need to get up for work in the morning. Take care of him and call me if he gives you a hard time. Indulge yourself, take care of that little issue of yours and remember you can talk to me no matter the outcome."

"Yes, ma'am." The two women embraced.

And you, Abby turned to Josh. "You get as much rest as you can."

"I need to get up for work too, so don't you worry."

"No, you don't."

"Pardon me?"

"Joshua Lyman, you are under executive orders to take the next couple of days off, understood?" Abby left no room for argument when she let it known with the word executive who was giving the orders.

"Yes, ma…Mrs. B."

Abby walked up to him taking him in her arms, leaning in she whispered into his ear, "Take care, Josh. Thank you for your shoulder earlier, I feel better getting that off my chest. And look after CJ. Despite being a strong woman who can take care of herself, it's always nice for us strong ones to be pampered and being given the option to let down our guard every once in a while."

"Understood." He replied before adding, "Thank-you for everything, Mrs. B."

After opening the door and making sure the first lady was securely delivered to the secret service officer who had been standing in the hallway, Josh closed and locked the door. When he turned around CJ was no longer in the room. He could hear movement in the kitchen so chose to investigate. He found her running water into the sink.

Silently the two worked side by side washing the dishes and straightening up the room in general. With the task complete CJ set about making herself a cup of tea. With the kettle whistling she finally turned to Josh who sat at his small table watching her. "You want a tea?"

"Sure."

With both cups made to their individual tastes they returned to the living room and sat side by side on the couch. CJ finally braved the waters and asked, "How are you really feeling?" She turned to face him.

Josh saw the worry in her eyes and decided against the flippant remark that sat on his tongue, instead he replied, "CJ, honestly, I'm okay. Even the grogginess I'd been feeling when I first woke up is gone."

She inhaled a deep breath, "Are you okay with telling me what the hell happened today and why?"

"Are you saying you won't believe me if I say nothing happened, no big deal." He smiled.

"You got that right, mister."

"Kay." He answered in his low voice that CJ knew was his no joking around serious tone. If the circumstances weren't so serious she would have been turned on. She'd always like that timber when he'd used it around work, it was his voice of surrender and it always made him sound younger and vulnerable.

She straightened when he continued, "I think it started the morning after we first slept together. I hated having to leave the way I did."

"Josh…" she started to tell him she understood and didn't hold it against him but he cut her off.

"CJ, let me finish. Then when I got to work I couldn't concentrate. I kept thinking about holding you in my arms or more accurately making love to you. Thinking about that wasn't necessarily what was bothering me; it was more the fact that it was taking over when I should have been working on the Stackhouse thing. I mean those thoughts lasted all week, I couldn't rid them from my mind. So I started snapping, mostly at Toby."

"Then came your questions about sexual harassment. Boy that came out of nowhere and worried me, not for me, but more for you. Then the night of the First Lady's fundraiser when we danced I knew what I was feeling for you ran deeper than I had anticipated. I also realized that night that on some level I've always been attracted to you and started trying to figure out how to go about wooing you."

If CJ hadn't been so blown away by what Josh had just admitted to her, she would have jumped all over him for having used the word woo. The man was too cute.

"Don't say it, CJ."

"Say what?"

"I can see the sparkle in your eye. There's some sort of teasing going on in that head of yours."

She just smiled at him.

"That night my temper flared a little again but I ignored it. But later that evening I had my first nightmare."

"What it Rosslyn?"

"It always is."

"I had no idea." She spoke softly.

"Well, it's not like I show up at work say 'hey, guess what everyone, I had a dream about the shooting last night.' That would be a real downer don't you think?"

"No. We're all friends, Josh. If you came to work and announced you had a dream, all of us would be there for you. You know that, right?"

"I guess. I'd be uncomfortable with it though. Anyway, I thought I'd managed to handle whatever was bothering me when you and I came to our understanding involving the two of us together. I won't lie, I wasn't completely happy with our arrangement but compromise isn't beyond me. Well, then came that night."

CJ breathed deeply, knowing exactly what night he was talking about. "I'm sorry." She resigned herself to say.

"No, CJ, don't be sorry. This isn't about placing blame. And man; don't ever be sorry for turning me on like that. That was hot!" His smile was genuine.

"If we could have sex that hot every time I'm sure I'd end up in the cardiac ward."

"It was pretty hot," she smiled back. "We were both extremely in the moment." She explained.

"Yeah. Anyway, the fact that we had unprotected sex wasn't even the issue really. It was the way we dealt with it."

"That I regret." CJ sighed. "If I could, I'd go back and change that. I just didn't know how to deal with it really. I've never really been in the position of really worrying about pregnancy before. Believe it or not, there's never been a broken condom, a forgotten pill, nothing like that in my life. So with the very real risk of pregnancy I'm treading in new territory."

"Me, too." Josh responded. "And given the fact that our relationship is so new, I'm totally lost, CJ. I've been worrying and fretting over this since that night. When it comes to your cycle I'm clueless. I don't even know if you still have one."

Hearing Josh's admission, CJ felt terrible. Of course he wouldn't know about her cycle. They'd been dating a very short time. She'd been naïve enough to think that not talking about it would lessen his worry. Instead it had had the exact opposite affect, and given Josh's medical history, it probably had been the worst possible plan of action she could have taken. They truly needed to start being more open from here on out. That's why she said what she did next.

"I bought a home pregnancy test while I was out."

"You did?"

"Yes."

"You wanna' do it now?" he asked.

"The instructions say doing it in the morning is best."

"Okay. CJ, I want you to know that the thought of your being pregnant isn't what was freaking me out, it was what you'll do if you are."

CJ felt a pull on her heart. From the moment she'd realized her period was late she'd been more worried about what Josh's reaction would be more than how she'd deal with a pregnancy. Knowing he felt the same was a huge relief and burden lifted off her shoulders. She should have known that's how he'd feel. He was after all used to dealing with issues straight on. He was a take charge and get the job done kind of guy.

Finally she asked, "So the other night, you had a dream again?"

"Yeah." He looked down at the floor this time. Making CJ realize there was more to it.

"And?" she asked.

"The dream was different this time." Blowing out air from his mouth he scoffed, "Calling it a dream is kind of a joke. It's a nightmare, CJ. It's like reliving it all over again. It's extremely vivid, the sounds, the smells, and the feelings. Anyway, normally I just relive it all up until I see Toby and I pass out. This time however, it was different."

"How so?"

"This time, I wasn't shot. I just ran around looking for you." He stopped for a bit when he heard CJ's intake of breath. He looked up and saw her holding a hand to her chest. "You sure you want to hear this?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"I finally found you and you were covered in blood, but you weren't shot either. You were cradling a baby in your arms. You looked up at me and said they'd killed our baby."

"Oh, Josh."

"So I knew that my brain was finally making me deal with thoughts I was pushing aside during my waking hours. I knew I had to deal with it, but as it turned out you were going out of town with the president, so tried to make an appointment with my shrink. I wasn't able to get in until some time this afternoon. This morning, you broke you news to me and then at the Ritz this morning, it was just too similar to Rosslyn for me to deal with."

"I want you to know, CJ. No matter what the outcome of your test, I'm not going anywhere."

"Thank-you, Josh. I want you to know that if it turns out positive, you'll be a part of whatever decision is made."

"Thank-you. You spending the night?" He asked.

"I'd like to." She admitted.

"You wanna' go to bed?"

"It's a little early, but I understand if you're feeling tired." She replied.

"I wasn't planning on sleeping." He rose to his feet and held his hand out for hers.

"You sure?"

"Positive."

After retreating to his bedroom, removing their clothes and climbing into bed, Josh reached into his night table and removed string of condoms. He was determined not to repeat the blunder from weeks before.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" CJ asked as Josh pulled her into his arms.

"CJ, it's not like I just had major surgery or anything. I had a little nutty, that's all."

"You're not too tired?"

"Look, if you don't want to just say so, otherwise let me make love to you, CJ."

"How could a girl possibly say no when a man uses the term make love instead of have sex." She smiled at him. She no sooner had the words out of her mouth before Josh captured her lips with his. It was a soft gentle kiss sending a shiver through her.

He wasted no time and slowly began to tail feather light kisses down to her breasts and took one of her nipples into his mouth. CJ arched her back up off the mattress pushing her peak further into his mouth. They both moaned in unison. He began to flick his tongue across it making CJ's entire body squirm.

"Oh, Josh!" She moaned.

He traveled across her breastbone to capture her other nipple lightly between his teeth and pulled. Again she arched her back and moaned his name. She lifted her hands and began to comb them through his hair. With him lying half on top of her she could feel his hardened member against her hip and began to gyrate.

"A little impatient are we?" Josh smiled against her breast.

"Josh." Was her only response.

Knowing he was feeling a little impatient himself, Josh decided to speed things up a bit and started his descent to her lower region. When he placed a kiss on her clitoris, CJ whimpered. He'd only ever performed oral sex on her during their first time together and feeling the warmth of his mouth on her sex reminded her how fantastic that experience had been and she automatically opened her legs to him.

Josh took the hint and with his fingers peeled back her folds, giving himself even better access. He gently ran his tongue from vagina back up to her clit, taking it into his mouth and sucking gently. CJ responded with a moan and pushed herself closer to his mouth. He ran his flat tongue back down to her opening and slowly stuck it in and began exploring her depths.

"God, Josh. Oh, don't stop." She panted and began to rotate against him.

Josh loved the reaction he was receiving, CJ was always so responsive to whatever he was doing to her, and it turned him on in earnest. It was partly one of the reasons that she was so good in bed; she was always in the moment.

He could tell by the heaviness of her panting and stirring that she was getting close to pinnacle. He once again slowly ran his tongue up to her waiting erect nub. He took it into his mouth and began to suckle fervently while slipping a finger into her center. It didn't take long for her to reach an orgasm.

While riding the waves of pleasure that overtook her CJ could hear Josh moaning against her. She loved the pleasure he derived from giving her an orgasm. And if truth were known, the orgasms she found herself having with Josh were far more intense than any others she'd had in years. As she felt herself coming down from her high she could feel Josh's movements slowing. When she finally had all her faculties back Josh's lips were on hers again.

"That was great." He said.

"You're telling me." She grinned.

He just grinned back while reaching over and grabbing the package of condoms. He quickly began to roll one onto his erection only to gently swat CJ hands away as she decided to help. Once he had it on he looked down at her with a sheepish look on his face.

"I hope I'm not about to ruin the moment, but I really need to feel in control right now."

"Why would that ruin the moment?" She asked.

"I don't know. I guess I just expect you to go all feminist on me."

"Joshua, I understand where you're at right now and I'm okay with it. Not to mention one of the things I like best about you and me in bed is our total lack of battle of the wills."

"Kay."

"Now stop talking and get back to making love to me."

"That kinda sounded like an order."

"It was."

"Kay." He smiled as he positioned himself above her. He nudged her thigh with his knee, spreading her further apart. He lowered himself until his tip was touching her core. He stopped waiting for a moment, when she pressed herself against him he slowly entered her with a grunt.

Together they reached a slow deliberate rhythm. He lowered the rest of his body down to hers and placed his lips to hers. Still smelling and tasting herself on him, CJ thought those facts combined with the slowest pace she'd ever made love to was also the most sensual. With each thrust she her thoughts cleared until all she thought about was the feel of Josh's girth inside her and the pleasure building inside. Suddenly her breathing quickened and she felt an urge to match their thrusts to it. But Josh wouldn't allow it. It kept the pace slow and steady.

Knowing she needed air, Josh stopped kissing her lips. Instead he lifted his head and looked into her eyes. He could tell by their heaviness that she was close. He could also tell the slow pace he was setting was teasing her, but that didn't let that persuade him to rush to her release. He needed to feel a connection deeper then any he'd ever felt before and this slow sensual lovemaking was doing it.

"That's it, Claudia Jean. Really feel it, ride it out."

"Josh, god that feels good."

"I know, just keep riding it. You're beautiful." He started to pant.

"Oh, Josh. That's it, oh, I'm coming. Oh yeah." She closed her eyes as her orgasm hit. She'd expected him to quicken the pace once her orgasm came but he didn't, still he kept with the slow. The feeling was almost overwhelming. It was making her toes curl.

Just as she opened her eyes Josh began his release. His eyes closed and his head went back. "CJ."

CJ having regained her faculties began to tighten and loosen her inner walls around him. He actions were met with positive results.

"Oh man you're hot, Claudia. Oh don't stop."

Not only did she not stop but also she reached up with her head and began to nibble on his neck, remembering from many times previously how much he liked it. She was rewarded with moans and groans. Just as she began to suckle gently just below his ear his thrusts stopped and he lowered his head to rest just beside hers.

WW

The following morning Josh woke to the sound of CJ roaming around in his master bathroom. He clamored out of bed and rapped on the door before entering. He found her brushing her teeth in nothing but a matching pair of bra and panties.

"Morning." He greeted her with a smile full of dimples.

"Hi." She managed with the toothbrush still in her mouth. "You sleep okay?"

"Like a baby. You?"

"Very well." She replaced her toothbrush to the holder and rinsed out her mouth. She took a brief glance to her right.

Josh noticed and took a look to see what had grabbed her attention. "That's it?" he asked seeing a dipstick like item sitting on the counter.

"Yeah."

"You do it already?"

"Yeah."

"Do we have an answer yet?"

"No."

"Do we have to wait long?"

"A few minutes." CJ turned and starred at the object in question.

Josh slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her back into his embrace. He nozzled her neck. "We could find something to occupy our wait."

"We don't have time. I've gotta get to work." She replied while allowing her body to mould into his. Realizing he hadn't slipped into any clothes when he gotten out of bed.

Josh heard the disappointment in her voice and was pacified by it. "I wanna come to work." He whined.

"You're under presidential orders to rest."

"I know. The problem is I don't know how to other than taking my lady to bed."

"Joshua!"

"I know, I know, no time."

"Speaking of time, it should be ready now." CJ picked the dipstick up, butterflies swirling around her stomach, and looked into the small window for their answer. Josh tightened his grip on her waist and she her him take a deep breath.

TBC….

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