Unfortunately I don't own these characters or the world that they live in.

It's almost like magic.

The last thing C.J Cregg wanted to do this morning was a brief briefing. Tired, cranky and with her stomach performing nauseating flips she wished nothing more than to be lying in bed with a heat pack and some Tylenol. Because although working for the President had it perks, days off were unfortunately not one of these and despite the flu that she believed to be coursing through her body she still needed to brief. She laid her head on the table hoping for a few more moments of solitude before she was needed to address the hungry pack.

"C.J, I hate to rush you but it's 9:15 and the gaggle is getting restless," Carol warns her as she walk into her boss' office brandishing her with a folder of the days top news. News that C.J, despite her headache and rolling stomach, is expected to repeat and then be interrogated on by fifty different reporters. Carol, picking up on how her boss is feeling starts making alternative suggestions. "I mean, I could send out a press statement if you really are too sick. I just hate to do that because of the Lydells are co-"

"It's fine. Really, I'm fine. I'll go now." The room spun as she stood up but determined to feed the clamoring horde that is the White House Press Corp she gave her body a moment to settle before grabbing the folder off Carol and making the short distance from her office and the podium.

It has all been going fine until the Lydells were mentioned.

Her stomach had stayed quite for the first ten minutes and although her head was still pounding she had managed to joke with the room and respond to Danny with the kind of wit that she hoped would fool her audience. Suddenly though, as if to punish her for the mere thought of coming out here despite her bodies protest her stomach started to roll more violently than it had all morning. Quickly swallowing back any bile she turned her head to address Steve. Apparently though she had moved her head two quickly and it began to spin again. Not wanting to be the story of the week and knowing how embarrassing it would be if she displayed what she ate last week for the entire Press Corps she let Steve finish confirming the attendance of the Lydell's before discreetly motioning to Carol that she needed to wrap up.

C.J's body only protested more though as she stepped back from the podium with black dots warping her vision. Her arms reached out for something, anything, to steady herself but with nothing but air available, she fell.

-

When her eyes flutter open she's not surprised to see Abbey Bartlet looming over her. In fact, she's more surprised to see that someone has obviously moved her to her couch than anything else.

"One of my Secret Service men, Hal," Abbey said as though she could read C.J's mind. "I assume you wanted to know how you got back here? Hal carried you."

"That's… embarrassing. Well, at least it's not as embarrassing as if it was one of the three stooges that I work with," C.J comments. It was bad enough that she had blacked out in front of the Press Corps let alone the image of Josh lifting her off the ground. "Thank Hal for me, would you?"

"I will, although you probably should know that those three stooges you mentioned certainly saw everything that happened. Josh looked like wanted to carry you." Abbey admitted as she got out of her bag several medical instruments.

"You really don't need to do this Abbey," C.J protested as Abbey checked her temperature. "A mixture of the flu and extremely bright lights did me in. I promise I won't allow it to happen again."

"It definitely won't be happening again, young lady. You'll be looking after yourself. Especially with the condition that you are in now," Abbey demanded, "Actually, I really would feel better of we went to the doctor."

"Abbey, I really think that you are over reacting. I have the flu." All she wanted to do was ask Abbey to leave, turn off the light, pull up the blanket that always hung on her couch and fall asleep.

"How long C.J are you going to call it the flu?" Abbey asked, acting as if she was trying to conceal some horrid ailment.

"I don't know Abbey. Until it goes away. Why are you being weird?"

"Because C.J you don't have a fever."

"Seriously, I don't have a fever. That's why you are worrying? I'm no medical expert but I'm pretty sure that's a positive sign."

"It's also not how the flu works. You have the flu and you should have a temperature. Are you sure it's not something else?" It seemed to C.J as though Dr. Bartlet had known the answer coming in and was giving C.J the space to figure it out.

"Something else, like what?"

"Are you…? Could you possibly be pregnant?"

C.J laughs until her eyes meets Abbey's and she realizes that the First Lady did not mean that as a joke. "No Abbey, I'm not pregnant. You actually have to have sex to get pregnant and that's been at least a month for Me."

"So?" Abbey doesn't seem any less convinced of C.J fertility.

"Abbey, that's insane. I'm not with child." And she wasn't. She couldn't be. It just wasn't true.

"Insane perhaps, but not impossible. When was your period?"

All of a sudden, C.J froze. When was her last period? She had been so caught up in the State of The Union and the President's flu that she hadn't really been paying attention. It had briefly crossed her mind once but she blamed it on all the stress from work. But no, she couldn't be… pregnant? It was a one-night stand and she had been careful. Her hand instinctively went to her stomach as if check that her stomach hadn't suddenly doubled in size.

"Much too long ago."

-

I hope you have all enjoyed my first chapter. I will admit that I can be a slow updater but reviews both remind and encourage me so feel free to do so.

Love to you all xoxo