Title: Santa Danny Strikes Again
Author: soft lite.
Characters: Danny, Josh, Tal, CJ, Walken, Toby, Carol, Abbey, Jed, and Bernice (minor oc.
Rating: G.
Disclaimer: Characters from "The West Wing" are not mine.
Spoilers: Season 5 through "Abu El Banat." Archive: If you want to.
December 17, 2003
"Hey Josh."
Josh quickly peeked out his door, saw no one around, and closed it. "Danny! Where are you? It's, like, midnight."
"You're in your office at midnight and I'm already in my motel room and it's only 9 here in Utah."
"What are you doing in Utah?"
"You know, pursuing a story."
"Right. Any chance you'll be back here, you know, doing your job in the Press Room any time soon?"
"I dunno. I'm just not sure I'd be welcome."
"I keep telling you, no one blames you for putting the Shareef story out there. Even Walken and his people blamed CJ, not you."
"Gee, thanks Josh, I feel so much better now."
"You're welcome. Now why are you calling me at midnight?"
"I want to give CJ a Christmas present, but I know it can't be too big or too personal, and given that she took whatever the punishment was for the Shareef story, I'm not sure she'll accept anything at all. I've come up with and discarded a dozen ideas. You have any suggestions?"
"Her punishment was fixing his tie while he mused about your incredible timing. But I think your read on gifts is right. Are you planning to be here for Christmas?" Josh began to pace.
"The Concannon family is gathering in Michigan, but we celebrate Christmas Eve, not the day, so I could conceivably get on a plane."
"Wait a minute. I'm getting an idea." Turn. Walk.
"Don't hurt yourself."
Josh stopped. "Ha, ha. Did you want help or not?"
"Okay, I'm being patient now."
Josh resumed pacing. "Okay, this is probably not at all what you had in mind. It's big but not expensive. And if you do it right, CJ will never even know you were involved. But it will make her happy."
"Sounds ideal. What do I do?"
"Spend Christmas Day with her dad at the hospital in Dayton."
"CJ's dad is in the hospital?"
Josh stopped, rubbed his forehead with his free hand, and continued slowly and quietly. "It's an Alzheimer's care unit – no one around here is supposed to know except me and Toby and, I guess, Carol."
"None of his family will be there?"
"CJ has to be here. The rest of her family is going to Napa. There's a stepmother in Dayton, but apparently she hasn't visited him since before he moved."
"Well, isn't that nice."
Josh leaned heavily on the guest chair. "Yeah. She says her brothers figure that since Tal won't recognize them for part or all of their visit, and will probably forget that they did visit pretty soon after they leave, they don't see much point in going."
"Ouch. So is the staff going to give me any trouble about visiting him?"
Josh pushed off the chair and resumed pacing. "Nope. The only thing they seem capable of remembering about Tal's family is that they all have red hair, so they won't even blink when you ask to see him. I'll get you the address, the room number, and the visiting hours."
"Thanks."
"And aside from, you know, being someone to spend some time with Tal, you need to make sure that when they're serving turkey – which he hates – to everyone else, he gets to eat the vacuum packed ham that CJ sent."
"You don't think the staff will remember to give it to him?"
"They wouldn't come anywhere near agreeing to make sure he gets it on Christmas Day." Josh gestured angrily. "And CJ's all upset because, evidently, he didn't eat anything after breakfast on Thanksgiving since there was turkey and everything else was covered in turkey gravy."
"Got it. Visit Tal and make sure he eats CJ's ham. Is he going to be disturbed to have a total stranger spend time with him?"
Deep sigh. "He might not know the difference. And he might be relieved that he doesn't need to try to remember who you are."
"Plus, if I go in a Santa suit, he'll figure I'm just some anonymous do-gooder, and he won't say anything to CJ that will give me away."
"Sounds perfect."
"Thanks, Josh."
December 25, 2003, 10 a.m.
When Danny arrived at the care unit, he was surprised to be able to walk right to Tal's door without any of the staff stopping him. They looked overworked. Or maybe understaffed because of the holiday. As he was about to knock on Tal's door, he was interrupted by a young woman whose name tag identified her as Bernice. "What do you think you're doing?"
Danny pulled aside some of the fluffy white hair, "I've brought some presents for Tal and wanted to spend the day with him."
As he spoke, he could see Bernice taking in his red hair and reference to Tal, and she broke into a smile. "How nice that Tal has a visitor. Let me check on him for you." She quickly knocked on the door and led Danny in. "Good morning, Tal. How are you?"
Tal was standing at the window and quickly turned upon hearing his name, "There was something I wanted to do outside today."
"Maybe later, Tal," Bernice suggested in a comforting voice. "Look, right now you have a visitor! This is . . ."
"Santa," Danny supplied.
"Isn't it nice that Santa's come to visit you, Tal?" asked Bernice, looking only slightly surprised that the visitor had not supplied his real name.
Tal gave Danny a penetrating look, "Isn't Santa supposed to be flying around the world delivering presents to children right now?"
"Well, yeah," Danny admitted. "But it's mostly ocean between the 135th and 180th meridians, so I always finish early."
Bernice quietly slipped out of the room as she saw Tal grudgingly break into a smile, "You're a clever young man. Do I know you?"
"No, sir. But I thought you might like some company on Christmas."
"That's very kind of you, son, please sit down." After Danny and Tal sat down in the two chairs at the small table in Tal's room, he asked, "How do I know that red bag of yours isn't for making off with all my priceless possessions?"
Danny correctly perceived that this was a bit of dry humor and offered, "Actually it contains some presents for you sir, and you will be welcome to inspect it before I leave." Tal's eyes lit up at the mention of presents, and Danny, with a smile and, "Ho, ho, ho, merry Christmas," began unpacking the sack.
Once the three parcels were on the table between them, Danny gestured to Tal who asked, "Which should I open first?"
"They're your presents, so you can choose," Danny smiled and sat back.
Tal selected the heaviest package first, and, after seeing that the card said only, "To Tal, From Santa," he ripped the paper. "Five books of math puzzles!"
"I know you used to teach math, and for fun I didn't know if you'd like easy puzzles or hard, so now you can choose according to your mood."
"Thank you, Santa! I used to love math puzzles. Haven't tried them in ages. And each of these books has my name in it."
"Oh, right," Danny pulled something small from his pocket, "I had this ink stamp of your name made. Thought it might come in handy."
"Thank you." Tal's eyes wandered back to the wrapped presents. "Let's try the other rectangular prism next." This turned out to be a framed, full-color picture with caption clipped from a newspaper. "That's my daughter, CJ, and her boss, President Bartlet!"
"Yes sir."
"And the caption has their names, right there, along with those other fellows she works with." Tal stood the picture up and admired it for a moment more before turning to the last package. "And finally the short cylinder." The cylinder was plastic, and inside, "Cherry pie – it looks homemade!"
"Yes sir. Yesterday when they heard what I had planned for today, my mom and sister offered to help me bake a pie for you."
Just then, the door opened, and Bernice came back in. "Tal, it's time for lunch. Santa, why don't you join us for lunch. There's plenty of turkey."
"That's very kind of you, Bernice. But first I want to find the ham that CJ sent for Tal to eat today."
With this reminder, Bernice quickly located the ham, and Danny carried it to the dining room, where Bernice reappeared with an empty plate.
December 25, 2003, afternoon
Danny made quite an impression on all the staff at lunch, partly because he tried to eat with the Santa beard on, partly because they enjoyed his easy-going manner and sense of humor, partly because the children who were their visiting relatives swarmed around Danny and pulled a seemingly endless supply of tiny candy canes from his pockets, and partly because the only other visitor Tal had had in months was his doctor. Danny had eventually pulled the Santa beard under his chin so he could eat, and all of the staff concluded from his red hair that he must be a relative of Tal's. Danny remained evasive about his name, but the staff assumed this was just a game he was playing.
---
After lunch, Danny and Tal found Bernice and invited her back to Tal's room for pie. Danny's sack contained paper plates and plastic forks, and they talked genially as they ate. As they each finished a slice of pie, Tal became confused, and Bernice suggested that Danny should return later.
By this time, Santa Danny was a recognized figure around the place, and he was able to give himself a tour without interruption. After about half an hour, he returned to Tal's room and found Tal and Bernice arguing over the phone. "You just spoke to your daughter, Tal, remember?" Bernice looked slightly desperate. "She wished you merry Christmas and was glad you enjoyed the ham she sent."
"Oh. Yes."
"Look Tal, Santa is here."
"Hi Tal."
"Santa, shouldn't you be back at the North Pole resting now?" Tal asked, his attention sharply focused on Danny. "Wait, don't I know you?" he added before Danny could answer.
"We met this morning, Tal."
"Yes, you brought the pie and math books and photo."
"Yes."
Suddenly Tal's attention turned to the window, "There was something I wanted to do outside today."
"Bernice, would it be okay if Tal and I took a walk outside?"
"You'll make sure he gets back here before he gets too cold?"
"Yes. Let's find your coat, Tal, and hat and gloves."
Danny and Tal walked around the courtyard, talking about what it felt like to walk on different kinds of snow, and what they could do with different kinds of snow. "Build a snowman!" Tal announced with excitement. "This morning I was watching the snow fall and thinking that this is the perfect type of snow for building a snowman! The last time I built a snowman was the last time my grandchildren visited, 2001, I think. Yes, because I joked about the book and the movie, and they had no idea what I was talking about. Too young."
Danny simply nodded because he didn't trust himself to talk given the giant lump now in his throat. Two years. Danny thought Josh had said Tal was diagnosed just in the past year, and he tamped down the snow as he tamped down his anger that the grandchildren would be kept away for so long.
As Danny and Tal worked on their snowman, other residents, their visitors, and some staff came out to help. Soon there was a community of various-sized snowmen, a snow penguin, and what appeared to Danny to be a snow goat. At least that was what it looked like before one kid hit another kid with a snowball, causing the first to fall onto the goat.
Eventually, everyone was too cold, and the staff ushered the residents and visitors inside and offered them hot cocoa and hot cider.
After cocoa, Danny and Tal returned to Tal's room, and Danny found Tal was sharper than ever, and determined to find out who Santa was.
For more than an hour Danny evaded Tal's questions about who he was and tried to distract him with other topics. But Tal was single-minded. By the time Bernice showed up to remind them to go to dinner, all Tal had accomplished was convincing Danny to remove the hat, beard, and hair. Tal was proud of this achievement and teased Danny about his long hair on the way to dinner.
Tal did not, however, make any more progress during dinner. And when they returned to Tal's room for pie after dinner, Tal pointed out to Danny that visiting hours would be over in less than an hour. "You're sure we've never met before today."
"Unfortunately not."
"Why unfortunately?"
"Surely you know what a fun kind of guy you are, Tal."
"I think you're being evasive and trying to drag me off topic. Will I ever see you again?"
Now Danny couldn't help but look down, "I wish . . . I hope . . . I . . . ." Danny finally looked Tal directly in the eye, "Probably not."
Tal seemed overwhelmed by the depth of sadness he saw in Santa's eyes. "I don't know what it is that you wish and you hope, but I wish that I could grant it. It means a great deal to me that you've spent this entire day – a holiday when you should be with your family – with me (apparently a total stranger), that you and your family baked a pie for me, that you brought such thoughtful gifts. These days, it means a great deal to me to be remembered. Son, you don't have to tell me your name, and you can come back here and visit me any time you'd like."
Danny's mouth smiled, but no hint of a smile reached his eyes, "I can't explain why, but I really can't come visit you any time I'd like." Slowly Danny stood up. "I shouldn't have come today. I've got to go. It was an honor meeting you, sir. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention my visit to anyone."
Tal appeared surprised by the suddenness of Danny's departure, but managed to say, "It'll be no problem keeping your visit a secret – by tomorrow either I won't remember that you were ever here, or else everyone will be perfectly comfortable with the idea that I've forgotten you, and hesitant to mention you for fear of upsetting me."
Danny turned in the doorway, and looked Tal in the eye one last time, "I'll never forget you, sir," and left.
December 25, 2003, evening
Danny went to the nearby hotel where he'd made reservations, checked in, and collapsed in his room. That had been much harder than he had expected it to be. It had reminded him too much of watching his grandparents' aging. He had been close to all his grandparents until they died.
His mother's mother had died when he was 8 – of an unexpected heart attack. By that time, he was already watching his father's father struggle with Parkinson's, a battle that ended when Danny was 12 and his badly weakened grandfather succumbed to pneumonia. A year later, Danny's mother's father had the first of his heart attacks, and the third took his life when Danny was 19. Soon after that, Danny's father's mother had the first of a long series of strokes that gradually disabled everything except her brilliant smile; she finally died of complications from the flu when she was 97 and Danny was 31.
Seeing people he loved struggling more and more each time he saw them was hard, but their love and the connections to family traditions and history made those times he treasured anyway. Danny had younger cousins who envied him the extra time he'd had with their grandparents, and as a result, Danny couldn't imagine keeping children away from their grandparents.
What made Danny feel even worse was that he was in love with this man's daughter but couldn't tell him.
Danny's thoughts were interrupted by his cell phone ringing. "Danny Concannon."
"Hey. It's Josh. Did you do it?"
"Yeah."
"He ate the ham?"
"Yeah."
"How long did you stay with him?"
"Almost through visiting hours. Ten to six-something."
Josh paused. "What could you talk about with a total stranger for over eight hours?"
"We didn't talk the whole time. And he's not a total stranger – he's CJ's dad." Danny paused, then continued, "Before lunch, he opened some little trinkets I brought for him. Then there was lunch. Shortly after lunch, he kinda freaked out and I left for a while. Then we went out and built a snowman. After that was cocoa. At this point he started hassling me to tell him who I was. Then dinner. Then more hassling."
There was a long pause. Finally Josh asked, "What are you not telling me?"
When Danny replied, his voice was low and coarse, "He misses his kids and grandkids – he hasn't seen his grandkids in 2 years, Josh."
Another pause, "What else?"
"I couldn't tell him, Josh. Not just my name, but that I . . . I can't do this right now, Josh. I'm going to hang up."
"Yeah."
Danny fell back onto the bed and wished and hoped and tried to sleep.
December 25, 2003
After lunch on Christmas, CJ picked up the phone, "Hi dad, how are you?"
"I'm fine, darling. How are you?"
CJ knew from his use of the term "darling" that he didn't actually remember her, but was using the cue "dad" to try to fake it. "I'm good. I just had turkey for lunch, how about you?"
"Santa reminded Bernice of the ham, so I ate that, and the cherry pie that Santa brought for dessert."
"Who's Santa?"
"You know, Santa Claus, Kris Kringle – didn't we go through this when you were, like, eight?"
"Dad, I know there is no real Santa, that's why I'm wondering who was in the Santa suit."
"I don't know – how could you expect me to know that?!"
CJ could tell this wasn't one of her father's better moments, "It's okay, dad. I just wanted to call to say merry Christmas and make sure you ate your ham."
In a much calmer voice, "Thanks darling. Merry Christmas to you, too, and I did."
CJ hung up the phone and sunk down on the sofa. She wished again that today she could be in Dayton with her father instead of alone in DC. Again. After taking some time to calm down, CJ dialed another familiar number, "Hello. Could you put Bernice on the phone? It's CJ Cregg, Tal's daughter."
When she took the phone, Bernice immediately launched into an apology about the phone call with Tal, until CJ interrupted her, "It's okay, Bernice. I understand, I caught him at a bad time. I was just wondering who –"
"I'm sorry, CJ. There's an emergency with one of the other patients and I have to go right now. Call me back later?" Click.
Frustrated again, CJ made another call, "Hi Josh."
"Hey CJ. How's your Christmas?"
"It pretty much sucks, thanks for asking."
"What happened?"
"I was having an okay, quiet day. Then I called my dad. He didn't remember me and tried to cover it up."
"Did they remember to give him the ham you sent?"
"Yeah, he says Santa reminded them to, and he got really defensive when I asked who Santa was."
"Didn't your folks have that talk with you when you were a kid?"
"Josh, he already did that joke."
"Sorry."
"I called back to ask the nurse he mentioned, but she was too busy."
"Probably understaffed on the holiday."
"I guess."
"What are you going to do now?"
"Lie around and wish things were different. Hope they'll be different soon."
"You could come visit the war zone."
"Nah, I'm too busy feeling sorry for myself today." After a long and comfortable silence, CJ finally asked the question that had led her to dial Josh's number, "Where do you suppose he is today?"
"Maybe with his folks?"
"In Michigan?"
"Could be."
"I wish he were here."
"I know you do. But sometimes being with family is more important."
"Are you trying to guilt trip me?"
"No."
"Okay. Thanks Josh. Bye."
CJ spent the rest of the afternoon keeping an eye on the news, calling her brothers, checking in at work, imagining what Danny might be doing with his family in Michigan, and preparing a turkey casserole for dinner.
After dinner, CJ tried calling Bernice again, but was informed she was off duty. The person on the phone didn't know anything about Santa, but told CJ when Bernice would be on duty again.
For CJ, the evening was not that much different from her afternoon. As it got later, CJ began to dwell on what ifs, to wish that she could tell her dad about Danny, and to hope that Danny felt about her the way she felt about him. Finally she went to bed and wished and hoped and tried to fall asleep.
December 26, 2003
Josh was waiting in CJ's office the next morning when she arrived at work. "Hi Josh. What are you doing in my office?"
"Waiting for you, of course. I wanted to know how your Christmas was."
"Didn't we do this on the phone yesterday?"
"Yeah, but there was almost half the day left then."
CJ smiled a little and shook her head, "It was fine, Josh. We have senior staff in 10 minutes."
"Yeah."
---
Despite nothing earth-shattering to deal with, it was a busy day, and afternoon arrived before CJ found time to call Bernice again. After a little confusion with getting the right person, "Bernice, it's CJ Cregg, Tal's daughter."
"Yes. CJ, I'm sorry I had to run yesterday. Tal had a nice visitor yesterday, and he did eat his ham. Well, some of it, the rest is in the fridge with his name on it, so he can have it when we serve other turkey dishes this week."
"Good. Listen, I was wondering who was in the Santa suit."
"Wasn't it one of your brothers? Or a cousin?"
"Nope. All my family are in California for Christmas. Can you describe him at all?"
"Well, he had fluffy white hair and beard that were slightly wavy, a red suit and hat with white trim, black boots, and when he went outside, he wore black gloves."
"Very funny. I've already been through this with my dad, who seems quite defensive about being asked to describe Santa. I meant the guy underneath the disguise, Bernice."
"We all assumed he was a relative of yours because he had red hair. Kind of wavy red hair with some gray. And a beard and mustache."
Santa Danny strikes again, CJ thought. "Thanks Bernice. He's a friend of the family, so that's fine. Goodbye."
After hanging up, CJ sat back and thought about what she'd just learned: Danny had spent Christmas day with her dad, had reminded the staff of the ham, and had tried to cover up his identity. A smile started to spread on her face, and a warm feeling through her body. Wait. How had he known anything about CJ's father? He had reminded the staff of the ham.
"JOSHUA!" CJ bellowed as she charged out of her office and towards his. She made it to his door before he did, entered, and shut the door behind her. "You told him about my father. You told him all about my father, the hospital, and the ham."
Josh looked quite uncomfortable, "Guilty."
"Why?"
"You needed help, CJ. Your father needed help. And he called and said he wanted to give you a Christmas present but was afraid you wouldn't accept anything. So I suggested that rather than give you a thing, he could do something nice for you, anonymously. He liked the idea, and he did it."
"Why?"
"He knew you wouldn't let him spend Christmas with you, and once I told him your family was going to California, he knew you would be worried about your dad being alone. And the ham being forgotten. He hoped it would make you happy, or at least less worried, to know that someone spent the day with your dad and made sure they gave him the ham you sent."
"And you told him the staff would assume he was my brother if he didn't tell them otherwise."
"Yup. Did it work?"
"Yeah."
"Did the other part work?"
CJ sighed, smiled weakly, and nodded, "Yeah."
"Then maybe it was worth it."
"Worth what?"
"You know that spending time with your father now isn't hard just because you're his daughter, right? And I think Danny kind of felt like he was playing with your dad's mind, refusing to give his name or say why he'd come to visit."
CJ paused to mull this over. "Josh, who are you taking to the Bartlet's New Years Eve party?"
"Probably no one. Amy and I are, you know. Plus she has her own invitation. Why?"
"Why don't you invite Danny?"
"Why don't you invite Danny, CJ?"
"Because the Press Secretary can't invite a reporter to a party that's supposed to be closed to the press."
"But the Deputy Chief of Staff could invite a buddy who happened to be a reporter, as long as he agreed it was off the record?"
"That's what I was thinking."
"And then what?"
"We could get away with one dance, I would think. And maybe even a kiss at midnight."
"I would think, probably."
"So you'll help me arrange a thank you?"
"He didn't do it expecting this. He expected you'd never know it was him."
"He's a good guy, Josh."
"Yeah. I'll set it up."
"Thanks."
December 29, 2003
Tal was having a very good day, and after breakfast, he took out the hardest of the math puzzle books that Santa had brought him. It felt wonderful and relaxing to work through the puzzles. He completed two puzzles with ease and was starting on the third when there was a knock on his door.
Bernice let herself in, asked how he was, commented on how happy he looked with his math books, and handed him a FedEx package, "It's from your daughter, CJ. Do you need help opening it?"
"Thanks Bernice, but these things come with zippers. And if that fails," Tal added, moving to his desk and opening a drawer, "I have scissors."
"Okay, I'll see you later."
Tal let his fingers linger on the desk – secretary, actually. It was small enough for his room, new enough and damaged enough to have virtually no antique value, yet old enough to have been handmade from good wood with nice features.
Tal's attention snapped back to the package, and he tugged on the zipper. A book. With an envelope sticking out. The envelope read, "Dad. Please do not let anyone else see the contents of this envelope." Intrigued, Tal opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.
Dear Dad,
The enclosed book is an autographed copy of the First Lady's biography, autographed by both the First Lady and the author, Danny Concannon. You can keep it on the shelf of your secretary. The Santa who visited you on Christmas Day was Danny. There's a picture of him on the inside back of the dust jacket. In a few days I'll send you a picture of Danny when he played Santa in the press room at the White House last year – please do not let anyone see this photo, either.
I'm sending you these things because someday you will probably be related to Danny, and I wanted you to know a little about him now. I met Danny shortly after joining the Bartlet campaign and realized that I'd fallen in love with him a couple years later. Because of our jobs, we can't have a relationship now. But I hope that when my work at the White House is over…
I love you, Dad, and miss you very much.
Affectionately,
CJ
Tal reread the letter several times and opened to the photo on the dust jacket. Sure enough, that was the man he had cajoled into removing the hat and wig. A nice looking man. Not the tall, dark and handsome type CJ usually favored, but he had never approved of her preference for that Clark Gable kind of strikingly attractive men. This man seemed like he had the combination of kindness, good humor, and charm that CJ deserved.
Tal read the letter one last time, then refolded it, replaced it in the envelope, and pulled out a drawer of the secretary. Setting aside the contents of the drawer, Tal turned it upside down, removed the bottom panel, set the letter down, and replaced the panel. Satisfied that no one would ever think to look there, Tal returned the contents of the drawer, and put it back into the desk.
The First Lady was now staring at him from the front cover of the book, and Tal decided that reading the book Danny had written would be as good a way as any to learn more about him.
Shortly before lunch, Tal picked up the phone and dialed one of the numbers posted next to it. A minute later, his call was put through, "Hi CJ, I wanted to thank you for the book you sent me."
"Dad, I'm glad you've received it."
"I've been reading about the First Lady, you know, before she became that. I really like this book."
"I'm happy to hear that."
"I hope you know, Claudia Jean, that you couldn't be doing anything to make me prouder of you than I am now."
CJ couldn't speak for a moment, but finally, "Thank you, Dad. It means a lot to me to hear you say that."
"I don't say it often enough. You've made me more delighted and proud than I can say. I just wish . . . I mean, I hope . . . . Well, you know."
In a rough voice, "Yeah, I know, Dad, I know."
Josh's fingers were worrying his tie yet again as he heard Donna, "Hey Danny, great tux. Who invited you to the party?"
"Believe it or not, Donna, Josh did."
"Ah," Donna remarked sagely as she led him to Josh's door, "He wants the consolation of another unattached guy because he knows Amy will be there tonight." Donna turned and looked in the office, "Joshua!"
Josh jerked at her scream, "What's wrong with you?!"
"Me?! I'm the one who has to retie your tie every time you untie it! What's wrong with you? You're acting like a nervous teenager."
"See you later, Donna. Come in, Danny." After Donna left and Josh closed the door, he continued, "There are a couple of things I need to tell you before we go. Uh . . . ." Josh looked around uncomfortably.
"Spit it out, Josh."
"It's sort of not me who invited you to the New Year's Eve party."
"I was on the other end of the phone, Josh. It was your voice. If you think it's unwise for me to go, just say so and I'll leave now."
"No, it's not that. It's just that." Sigh. "CJ asked me to invite you to the party. She found out from some nurse that the Santa who visited Tal was you, and she wants to thank you."
"She doesn't have to do that."
"I know that and I told her that."
"But she wanted to, and she didn't know when she'd be seeing me again, and she certainly couldn't invite me."
"Exactly." Josh paused to study Danny's face and give him time to object if he was going to. "For most of the evening, you'll have to avoid her. She may even chew out one or both of us for you being there, and lecture you about 'off the record.'"
"That's fine."
"But she will agree to dance with you once during the evening."
"Cool."
"And if you can find her very shortly before midnight, she will probably kiss you."
"Probably?"
"Yeah, well, you know, she's a little skittish."
"A little?"
"Hey, she's my friend, too, so don't give her too hard a time."
"Okay."
---
As they walked in, Josh saw the attention of the President and Mrs. Bartlet turn from the Senator they had greeted to them. "Good evening Mr. President, Mrs. Bartlet. You remember our senior correspondent?"
"My prodigal biographer," Mrs. Bartlet accused with a big smile as she took his right hand in both of hers and pulled him close enough to kiss him on the cheek.
"It's a pleasure to see you, Dr. Bartlet. You look stunning tonight."
"Any chance we could talk you into staying in DC for, I don't know, the next three years, Danny?" the President asked with a teasing smile as he shook Danny's hand.
"I don't know, Mr. President. I have this great idea for covering your next State of the Union from mid-America."
"We miss you, Danny."
"You don't spend nearly enough time here," the President put in, cutting off his wife. "I'll bet you haven't even met my new Vice President."
She continued, unphased, "And besides, I'm doing all sorts of interesting things that you should be paying attention to."
Josh was distantly aware of Danny saying, "I did when he was in Congress, sir, and I am, ma'am," as he watched Leo and CJ approaching from different directions.
"What the hell's he doing here?" CJ demanded, angrily looking at Danny.
The President and First Lady exchanged surprised glances while Leo looked on smugly. Josh answered, "I invited him," as he looked at Danny and was startled to see how appreciatively Danny was looking at CJ. Josh looked back at CJ, took in her plain gray silk dress, and remembered some years earlier hearing the First Lady describe it as about as frumpy as an evening gown could be. Josh didn't really agree with that assessment, but didn't think it was that flattering to CJ's figure, either.
"Great going, genius. Did it ever occur to you to consult the Press Secretary before inviting a member of the Press to attend a party that's supposed to be media-free?"
"I'm off the record tonight," Danny offered.
Leo grunted, but the President replied, "That's good enough for me. Which makes it good enough for my Press Secretary and my Chief of Staff. Everybody be nice to my fellow Notre Dame alumnus tonight."
Josh pretended to sneeze and used his handkerchief to cover up his huge smile at the thought of just how friendly CJ would like to be to Danny.
---
For over an hour, Josh circulated and gently (by his standards) applied verbal pressure to various Senators and Congresspeople while keeping an eye on CJ who was power-mingling and Danny who seemed to be having fun talking with whoever happened along. Josh was beginning to think that each had forgotten that the other was there, but then Danny slipped into the group CJ was talking with, and soon they were on the dance floor. He wished he could eavesdrop on their conversation, but contented himself with watching the way they looked at each other, the way they held each other, and their animated conversation.
After enjoying the view for about a minute, Josh began to look around to see who else had noticed and how they were reacting. Leo looked like he was about to blow a gasket. The President was oblivious, but Mrs. Bartlet was watching with a mixture of emotions on her face that Josh couldn't quite place – maybe surprise, insight, happiness, and conniving. Josh was astonished by how many people in the room seemed to have noticed CJ and Danny – immediately Josh realized that this probably would not amaze CJ, and this was probably why she was so reluctant to have any sort of relationship with Danny. More than a few Senators and Congressmen looked envious, but others just looked happy. Carol and Donna were talking with huge smiles pasted to their faces and their eyes glued to CJ and Danny. Finally the music stopped, CJ and Danny stepped off the dance floor and wandered off in different directions.
It was only as they were leaving the dance floor together that Josh noticed Amy across the room, watching CJ and Danny with fascination, her eyes following CJ as she and Danny parted. Before Josh had a chance to catch Amy and find out what devious plan was forming in her mind, the First Lady, who had CJ by one arm, took Amy, they collected some glasses and two bottles of wine, and left the room. "Uh oh," Josh commented to no one in particular.
---
It was about an hour before Josh saw them again, they parted, and he immediately approached Amy. "What was that all about?"
"The First Lady likes to get CJ and me drunk."
"Did she?"
"Do I look drunk to you?"
"I only asked because just before you went out, you and the First Lady had calculating looks on your faces. Like you had more on your minds than getting CJ drunk."
"You know Danny Concannon pretty well."
"Yeah."
"You invited him here tonight."
"Yeah."
"At CJ's request." Josh averted his eyes and tried to figure out how to evade or deflect the comment. "It's okay, Josh. CJ admitted it to us. And how she feels." Josh worked to keep his face as blank as possible, to avoid confirming any part of this that might be Amy speculating. "We told her to pretend to be getting drunk as the night goes on. So when midnight comes, no one will object."
"Leo might. And Danny might not appreciate . . ."
"You can tell him it's an act, he'll understand why. And, you know, when the time comes, he'll know she hasn't been drinking. As for Leo, the First Lady will handle him."
Before Josh could ask how, Amy disappeared into the crowd. Josh stood still, a bit stunned, until Danny came up behind him, "Hey Josh, you look distracted."
"Amy just told me that CJ confessed everything to her and the First Lady, and they advised her to pretend to get drunk."
"Do you think Amy was telling you the truth?"
"I don't know."
---
At just about one minute to midnight, Josh noticed that Danny had joined the group CJ was talking to. At 20 seconds to, everyone turned their attention to the countdown, and Danny was able to take the last few steps to CJ's side. And as everyone was cheering in the new year, CJ took Danny's face in her hands and gave him a kiss Josh was afraid might have to last them for three more years. Josh wished that he was wrong about that, and hoped that they could think of a way to be together and keep their jobs. But for tonight, he was happy they had this moment to enjoy.
??
Characters: Danny, Josh, Tal, CJ, Walken, Toby, Carol, Abbey, Jed, and Bernice (minor oc.
Rating: G.
Disclaimer: Characters from "The West Wing" are not mine.
Spoilers: Season 5 through "Abu El Banat." Archive: If you want to.
December 17, 2003
"Hey Josh."
Josh quickly peeked out his door, saw no one around, and closed it. "Danny! Where are you? It's, like, midnight."
"You're in your office at midnight and I'm already in my motel room and it's only 9 here in Utah."
"What are you doing in Utah?"
"You know, pursuing a story."
"Right. Any chance you'll be back here, you know, doing your job in the Press Room any time soon?"
"I dunno. I'm just not sure I'd be welcome."
"I keep telling you, no one blames you for putting the Shareef story out there. Even Walken and his people blamed CJ, not you."
"Gee, thanks Josh, I feel so much better now."
"You're welcome. Now why are you calling me at midnight?"
"I want to give CJ a Christmas present, but I know it can't be too big or too personal, and given that she took whatever the punishment was for the Shareef story, I'm not sure she'll accept anything at all. I've come up with and discarded a dozen ideas. You have any suggestions?"
"Her punishment was fixing his tie while he mused about your incredible timing. But I think your read on gifts is right. Are you planning to be here for Christmas?" Josh began to pace.
"The Concannon family is gathering in Michigan, but we celebrate Christmas Eve, not the day, so I could conceivably get on a plane."
"Wait a minute. I'm getting an idea." Turn. Walk.
"Don't hurt yourself."
Josh stopped. "Ha, ha. Did you want help or not?"
"Okay, I'm being patient now."
Josh resumed pacing. "Okay, this is probably not at all what you had in mind. It's big but not expensive. And if you do it right, CJ will never even know you were involved. But it will make her happy."
"Sounds ideal. What do I do?"
"Spend Christmas Day with her dad at the hospital in Dayton."
"CJ's dad is in the hospital?"
Josh stopped, rubbed his forehead with his free hand, and continued slowly and quietly. "It's an Alzheimer's care unit – no one around here is supposed to know except me and Toby and, I guess, Carol."
"None of his family will be there?"
"CJ has to be here. The rest of her family is going to Napa. There's a stepmother in Dayton, but apparently she hasn't visited him since before he moved."
"Well, isn't that nice."
Josh leaned heavily on the guest chair. "Yeah. She says her brothers figure that since Tal won't recognize them for part or all of their visit, and will probably forget that they did visit pretty soon after they leave, they don't see much point in going."
"Ouch. So is the staff going to give me any trouble about visiting him?"
Josh pushed off the chair and resumed pacing. "Nope. The only thing they seem capable of remembering about Tal's family is that they all have red hair, so they won't even blink when you ask to see him. I'll get you the address, the room number, and the visiting hours."
"Thanks."
"And aside from, you know, being someone to spend some time with Tal, you need to make sure that when they're serving turkey – which he hates – to everyone else, he gets to eat the vacuum packed ham that CJ sent."
"You don't think the staff will remember to give it to him?"
"They wouldn't come anywhere near agreeing to make sure he gets it on Christmas Day." Josh gestured angrily. "And CJ's all upset because, evidently, he didn't eat anything after breakfast on Thanksgiving since there was turkey and everything else was covered in turkey gravy."
"Got it. Visit Tal and make sure he eats CJ's ham. Is he going to be disturbed to have a total stranger spend time with him?"
Deep sigh. "He might not know the difference. And he might be relieved that he doesn't need to try to remember who you are."
"Plus, if I go in a Santa suit, he'll figure I'm just some anonymous do-gooder, and he won't say anything to CJ that will give me away."
"Sounds perfect."
"Thanks, Josh."
December 25, 2003, 10 a.m.
When Danny arrived at the care unit, he was surprised to be able to walk right to Tal's door without any of the staff stopping him. They looked overworked. Or maybe understaffed because of the holiday. As he was about to knock on Tal's door, he was interrupted by a young woman whose name tag identified her as Bernice. "What do you think you're doing?"
Danny pulled aside some of the fluffy white hair, "I've brought some presents for Tal and wanted to spend the day with him."
As he spoke, he could see Bernice taking in his red hair and reference to Tal, and she broke into a smile. "How nice that Tal has a visitor. Let me check on him for you." She quickly knocked on the door and led Danny in. "Good morning, Tal. How are you?"
Tal was standing at the window and quickly turned upon hearing his name, "There was something I wanted to do outside today."
"Maybe later, Tal," Bernice suggested in a comforting voice. "Look, right now you have a visitor! This is . . ."
"Santa," Danny supplied.
"Isn't it nice that Santa's come to visit you, Tal?" asked Bernice, looking only slightly surprised that the visitor had not supplied his real name.
Tal gave Danny a penetrating look, "Isn't Santa supposed to be flying around the world delivering presents to children right now?"
"Well, yeah," Danny admitted. "But it's mostly ocean between the 135th and 180th meridians, so I always finish early."
Bernice quietly slipped out of the room as she saw Tal grudgingly break into a smile, "You're a clever young man. Do I know you?"
"No, sir. But I thought you might like some company on Christmas."
"That's very kind of you, son, please sit down." After Danny and Tal sat down in the two chairs at the small table in Tal's room, he asked, "How do I know that red bag of yours isn't for making off with all my priceless possessions?"
Danny correctly perceived that this was a bit of dry humor and offered, "Actually it contains some presents for you sir, and you will be welcome to inspect it before I leave." Tal's eyes lit up at the mention of presents, and Danny, with a smile and, "Ho, ho, ho, merry Christmas," began unpacking the sack.
Once the three parcels were on the table between them, Danny gestured to Tal who asked, "Which should I open first?"
"They're your presents, so you can choose," Danny smiled and sat back.
Tal selected the heaviest package first, and, after seeing that the card said only, "To Tal, From Santa," he ripped the paper. "Five books of math puzzles!"
"I know you used to teach math, and for fun I didn't know if you'd like easy puzzles or hard, so now you can choose according to your mood."
"Thank you, Santa! I used to love math puzzles. Haven't tried them in ages. And each of these books has my name in it."
"Oh, right," Danny pulled something small from his pocket, "I had this ink stamp of your name made. Thought it might come in handy."
"Thank you." Tal's eyes wandered back to the wrapped presents. "Let's try the other rectangular prism next." This turned out to be a framed, full-color picture with caption clipped from a newspaper. "That's my daughter, CJ, and her boss, President Bartlet!"
"Yes sir."
"And the caption has their names, right there, along with those other fellows she works with." Tal stood the picture up and admired it for a moment more before turning to the last package. "And finally the short cylinder." The cylinder was plastic, and inside, "Cherry pie – it looks homemade!"
"Yes sir. Yesterday when they heard what I had planned for today, my mom and sister offered to help me bake a pie for you."
Just then, the door opened, and Bernice came back in. "Tal, it's time for lunch. Santa, why don't you join us for lunch. There's plenty of turkey."
"That's very kind of you, Bernice. But first I want to find the ham that CJ sent for Tal to eat today."
With this reminder, Bernice quickly located the ham, and Danny carried it to the dining room, where Bernice reappeared with an empty plate.
December 25, 2003, afternoon
Danny made quite an impression on all the staff at lunch, partly because he tried to eat with the Santa beard on, partly because they enjoyed his easy-going manner and sense of humor, partly because the children who were their visiting relatives swarmed around Danny and pulled a seemingly endless supply of tiny candy canes from his pockets, and partly because the only other visitor Tal had had in months was his doctor. Danny had eventually pulled the Santa beard under his chin so he could eat, and all of the staff concluded from his red hair that he must be a relative of Tal's. Danny remained evasive about his name, but the staff assumed this was just a game he was playing.
---
After lunch, Danny and Tal found Bernice and invited her back to Tal's room for pie. Danny's sack contained paper plates and plastic forks, and they talked genially as they ate. As they each finished a slice of pie, Tal became confused, and Bernice suggested that Danny should return later.
By this time, Santa Danny was a recognized figure around the place, and he was able to give himself a tour without interruption. After about half an hour, he returned to Tal's room and found Tal and Bernice arguing over the phone. "You just spoke to your daughter, Tal, remember?" Bernice looked slightly desperate. "She wished you merry Christmas and was glad you enjoyed the ham she sent."
"Oh. Yes."
"Look Tal, Santa is here."
"Hi Tal."
"Santa, shouldn't you be back at the North Pole resting now?" Tal asked, his attention sharply focused on Danny. "Wait, don't I know you?" he added before Danny could answer.
"We met this morning, Tal."
"Yes, you brought the pie and math books and photo."
"Yes."
Suddenly Tal's attention turned to the window, "There was something I wanted to do outside today."
"Bernice, would it be okay if Tal and I took a walk outside?"
"You'll make sure he gets back here before he gets too cold?"
"Yes. Let's find your coat, Tal, and hat and gloves."
Danny and Tal walked around the courtyard, talking about what it felt like to walk on different kinds of snow, and what they could do with different kinds of snow. "Build a snowman!" Tal announced with excitement. "This morning I was watching the snow fall and thinking that this is the perfect type of snow for building a snowman! The last time I built a snowman was the last time my grandchildren visited, 2001, I think. Yes, because I joked about the book and the movie, and they had no idea what I was talking about. Too young."
Danny simply nodded because he didn't trust himself to talk given the giant lump now in his throat. Two years. Danny thought Josh had said Tal was diagnosed just in the past year, and he tamped down the snow as he tamped down his anger that the grandchildren would be kept away for so long.
As Danny and Tal worked on their snowman, other residents, their visitors, and some staff came out to help. Soon there was a community of various-sized snowmen, a snow penguin, and what appeared to Danny to be a snow goat. At least that was what it looked like before one kid hit another kid with a snowball, causing the first to fall onto the goat.
Eventually, everyone was too cold, and the staff ushered the residents and visitors inside and offered them hot cocoa and hot cider.
After cocoa, Danny and Tal returned to Tal's room, and Danny found Tal was sharper than ever, and determined to find out who Santa was.
For more than an hour Danny evaded Tal's questions about who he was and tried to distract him with other topics. But Tal was single-minded. By the time Bernice showed up to remind them to go to dinner, all Tal had accomplished was convincing Danny to remove the hat, beard, and hair. Tal was proud of this achievement and teased Danny about his long hair on the way to dinner.
Tal did not, however, make any more progress during dinner. And when they returned to Tal's room for pie after dinner, Tal pointed out to Danny that visiting hours would be over in less than an hour. "You're sure we've never met before today."
"Unfortunately not."
"Why unfortunately?"
"Surely you know what a fun kind of guy you are, Tal."
"I think you're being evasive and trying to drag me off topic. Will I ever see you again?"
Now Danny couldn't help but look down, "I wish . . . I hope . . . I . . . ." Danny finally looked Tal directly in the eye, "Probably not."
Tal seemed overwhelmed by the depth of sadness he saw in Santa's eyes. "I don't know what it is that you wish and you hope, but I wish that I could grant it. It means a great deal to me that you've spent this entire day – a holiday when you should be with your family – with me (apparently a total stranger), that you and your family baked a pie for me, that you brought such thoughtful gifts. These days, it means a great deal to me to be remembered. Son, you don't have to tell me your name, and you can come back here and visit me any time you'd like."
Danny's mouth smiled, but no hint of a smile reached his eyes, "I can't explain why, but I really can't come visit you any time I'd like." Slowly Danny stood up. "I shouldn't have come today. I've got to go. It was an honor meeting you, sir. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention my visit to anyone."
Tal appeared surprised by the suddenness of Danny's departure, but managed to say, "It'll be no problem keeping your visit a secret – by tomorrow either I won't remember that you were ever here, or else everyone will be perfectly comfortable with the idea that I've forgotten you, and hesitant to mention you for fear of upsetting me."
Danny turned in the doorway, and looked Tal in the eye one last time, "I'll never forget you, sir," and left.
December 25, 2003, evening
Danny went to the nearby hotel where he'd made reservations, checked in, and collapsed in his room. That had been much harder than he had expected it to be. It had reminded him too much of watching his grandparents' aging. He had been close to all his grandparents until they died.
His mother's mother had died when he was 8 – of an unexpected heart attack. By that time, he was already watching his father's father struggle with Parkinson's, a battle that ended when Danny was 12 and his badly weakened grandfather succumbed to pneumonia. A year later, Danny's mother's father had the first of his heart attacks, and the third took his life when Danny was 19. Soon after that, Danny's father's mother had the first of a long series of strokes that gradually disabled everything except her brilliant smile; she finally died of complications from the flu when she was 97 and Danny was 31.
Seeing people he loved struggling more and more each time he saw them was hard, but their love and the connections to family traditions and history made those times he treasured anyway. Danny had younger cousins who envied him the extra time he'd had with their grandparents, and as a result, Danny couldn't imagine keeping children away from their grandparents.
What made Danny feel even worse was that he was in love with this man's daughter but couldn't tell him.
Danny's thoughts were interrupted by his cell phone ringing. "Danny Concannon."
"Hey. It's Josh. Did you do it?"
"Yeah."
"He ate the ham?"
"Yeah."
"How long did you stay with him?"
"Almost through visiting hours. Ten to six-something."
Josh paused. "What could you talk about with a total stranger for over eight hours?"
"We didn't talk the whole time. And he's not a total stranger – he's CJ's dad." Danny paused, then continued, "Before lunch, he opened some little trinkets I brought for him. Then there was lunch. Shortly after lunch, he kinda freaked out and I left for a while. Then we went out and built a snowman. After that was cocoa. At this point he started hassling me to tell him who I was. Then dinner. Then more hassling."
There was a long pause. Finally Josh asked, "What are you not telling me?"
When Danny replied, his voice was low and coarse, "He misses his kids and grandkids – he hasn't seen his grandkids in 2 years, Josh."
Another pause, "What else?"
"I couldn't tell him, Josh. Not just my name, but that I . . . I can't do this right now, Josh. I'm going to hang up."
"Yeah."
Danny fell back onto the bed and wished and hoped and tried to sleep.
December 25, 2003
After lunch on Christmas, CJ picked up the phone, "Hi dad, how are you?"
"I'm fine, darling. How are you?"
CJ knew from his use of the term "darling" that he didn't actually remember her, but was using the cue "dad" to try to fake it. "I'm good. I just had turkey for lunch, how about you?"
"Santa reminded Bernice of the ham, so I ate that, and the cherry pie that Santa brought for dessert."
"Who's Santa?"
"You know, Santa Claus, Kris Kringle – didn't we go through this when you were, like, eight?"
"Dad, I know there is no real Santa, that's why I'm wondering who was in the Santa suit."
"I don't know – how could you expect me to know that?!"
CJ could tell this wasn't one of her father's better moments, "It's okay, dad. I just wanted to call to say merry Christmas and make sure you ate your ham."
In a much calmer voice, "Thanks darling. Merry Christmas to you, too, and I did."
CJ hung up the phone and sunk down on the sofa. She wished again that today she could be in Dayton with her father instead of alone in DC. Again. After taking some time to calm down, CJ dialed another familiar number, "Hello. Could you put Bernice on the phone? It's CJ Cregg, Tal's daughter."
When she took the phone, Bernice immediately launched into an apology about the phone call with Tal, until CJ interrupted her, "It's okay, Bernice. I understand, I caught him at a bad time. I was just wondering who –"
"I'm sorry, CJ. There's an emergency with one of the other patients and I have to go right now. Call me back later?" Click.
Frustrated again, CJ made another call, "Hi Josh."
"Hey CJ. How's your Christmas?"
"It pretty much sucks, thanks for asking."
"What happened?"
"I was having an okay, quiet day. Then I called my dad. He didn't remember me and tried to cover it up."
"Did they remember to give him the ham you sent?"
"Yeah, he says Santa reminded them to, and he got really defensive when I asked who Santa was."
"Didn't your folks have that talk with you when you were a kid?"
"Josh, he already did that joke."
"Sorry."
"I called back to ask the nurse he mentioned, but she was too busy."
"Probably understaffed on the holiday."
"I guess."
"What are you going to do now?"
"Lie around and wish things were different. Hope they'll be different soon."
"You could come visit the war zone."
"Nah, I'm too busy feeling sorry for myself today." After a long and comfortable silence, CJ finally asked the question that had led her to dial Josh's number, "Where do you suppose he is today?"
"Maybe with his folks?"
"In Michigan?"
"Could be."
"I wish he were here."
"I know you do. But sometimes being with family is more important."
"Are you trying to guilt trip me?"
"No."
"Okay. Thanks Josh. Bye."
CJ spent the rest of the afternoon keeping an eye on the news, calling her brothers, checking in at work, imagining what Danny might be doing with his family in Michigan, and preparing a turkey casserole for dinner.
After dinner, CJ tried calling Bernice again, but was informed she was off duty. The person on the phone didn't know anything about Santa, but told CJ when Bernice would be on duty again.
For CJ, the evening was not that much different from her afternoon. As it got later, CJ began to dwell on what ifs, to wish that she could tell her dad about Danny, and to hope that Danny felt about her the way she felt about him. Finally she went to bed and wished and hoped and tried to fall asleep.
December 26, 2003
Josh was waiting in CJ's office the next morning when she arrived at work. "Hi Josh. What are you doing in my office?"
"Waiting for you, of course. I wanted to know how your Christmas was."
"Didn't we do this on the phone yesterday?"
"Yeah, but there was almost half the day left then."
CJ smiled a little and shook her head, "It was fine, Josh. We have senior staff in 10 minutes."
"Yeah."
---
Despite nothing earth-shattering to deal with, it was a busy day, and afternoon arrived before CJ found time to call Bernice again. After a little confusion with getting the right person, "Bernice, it's CJ Cregg, Tal's daughter."
"Yes. CJ, I'm sorry I had to run yesterday. Tal had a nice visitor yesterday, and he did eat his ham. Well, some of it, the rest is in the fridge with his name on it, so he can have it when we serve other turkey dishes this week."
"Good. Listen, I was wondering who was in the Santa suit."
"Wasn't it one of your brothers? Or a cousin?"
"Nope. All my family are in California for Christmas. Can you describe him at all?"
"Well, he had fluffy white hair and beard that were slightly wavy, a red suit and hat with white trim, black boots, and when he went outside, he wore black gloves."
"Very funny. I've already been through this with my dad, who seems quite defensive about being asked to describe Santa. I meant the guy underneath the disguise, Bernice."
"We all assumed he was a relative of yours because he had red hair. Kind of wavy red hair with some gray. And a beard and mustache."
Santa Danny strikes again, CJ thought. "Thanks Bernice. He's a friend of the family, so that's fine. Goodbye."
After hanging up, CJ sat back and thought about what she'd just learned: Danny had spent Christmas day with her dad, had reminded the staff of the ham, and had tried to cover up his identity. A smile started to spread on her face, and a warm feeling through her body. Wait. How had he known anything about CJ's father? He had reminded the staff of the ham.
"JOSHUA!" CJ bellowed as she charged out of her office and towards his. She made it to his door before he did, entered, and shut the door behind her. "You told him about my father. You told him all about my father, the hospital, and the ham."
Josh looked quite uncomfortable, "Guilty."
"Why?"
"You needed help, CJ. Your father needed help. And he called and said he wanted to give you a Christmas present but was afraid you wouldn't accept anything. So I suggested that rather than give you a thing, he could do something nice for you, anonymously. He liked the idea, and he did it."
"Why?"
"He knew you wouldn't let him spend Christmas with you, and once I told him your family was going to California, he knew you would be worried about your dad being alone. And the ham being forgotten. He hoped it would make you happy, or at least less worried, to know that someone spent the day with your dad and made sure they gave him the ham you sent."
"And you told him the staff would assume he was my brother if he didn't tell them otherwise."
"Yup. Did it work?"
"Yeah."
"Did the other part work?"
CJ sighed, smiled weakly, and nodded, "Yeah."
"Then maybe it was worth it."
"Worth what?"
"You know that spending time with your father now isn't hard just because you're his daughter, right? And I think Danny kind of felt like he was playing with your dad's mind, refusing to give his name or say why he'd come to visit."
CJ paused to mull this over. "Josh, who are you taking to the Bartlet's New Years Eve party?"
"Probably no one. Amy and I are, you know. Plus she has her own invitation. Why?"
"Why don't you invite Danny?"
"Why don't you invite Danny, CJ?"
"Because the Press Secretary can't invite a reporter to a party that's supposed to be closed to the press."
"But the Deputy Chief of Staff could invite a buddy who happened to be a reporter, as long as he agreed it was off the record?"
"That's what I was thinking."
"And then what?"
"We could get away with one dance, I would think. And maybe even a kiss at midnight."
"I would think, probably."
"So you'll help me arrange a thank you?"
"He didn't do it expecting this. He expected you'd never know it was him."
"He's a good guy, Josh."
"Yeah. I'll set it up."
"Thanks."
December 29, 2003
Tal was having a very good day, and after breakfast, he took out the hardest of the math puzzle books that Santa had brought him. It felt wonderful and relaxing to work through the puzzles. He completed two puzzles with ease and was starting on the third when there was a knock on his door.
Bernice let herself in, asked how he was, commented on how happy he looked with his math books, and handed him a FedEx package, "It's from your daughter, CJ. Do you need help opening it?"
"Thanks Bernice, but these things come with zippers. And if that fails," Tal added, moving to his desk and opening a drawer, "I have scissors."
"Okay, I'll see you later."
Tal let his fingers linger on the desk – secretary, actually. It was small enough for his room, new enough and damaged enough to have virtually no antique value, yet old enough to have been handmade from good wood with nice features.
Tal's attention snapped back to the package, and he tugged on the zipper. A book. With an envelope sticking out. The envelope read, "Dad. Please do not let anyone else see the contents of this envelope." Intrigued, Tal opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.
Dear Dad,
The enclosed book is an autographed copy of the First Lady's biography, autographed by both the First Lady and the author, Danny Concannon. You can keep it on the shelf of your secretary. The Santa who visited you on Christmas Day was Danny. There's a picture of him on the inside back of the dust jacket. In a few days I'll send you a picture of Danny when he played Santa in the press room at the White House last year – please do not let anyone see this photo, either.
I'm sending you these things because someday you will probably be related to Danny, and I wanted you to know a little about him now. I met Danny shortly after joining the Bartlet campaign and realized that I'd fallen in love with him a couple years later. Because of our jobs, we can't have a relationship now. But I hope that when my work at the White House is over…
I love you, Dad, and miss you very much.
Affectionately,
CJ
Tal reread the letter several times and opened to the photo on the dust jacket. Sure enough, that was the man he had cajoled into removing the hat and wig. A nice looking man. Not the tall, dark and handsome type CJ usually favored, but he had never approved of her preference for that Clark Gable kind of strikingly attractive men. This man seemed like he had the combination of kindness, good humor, and charm that CJ deserved.
Tal read the letter one last time, then refolded it, replaced it in the envelope, and pulled out a drawer of the secretary. Setting aside the contents of the drawer, Tal turned it upside down, removed the bottom panel, set the letter down, and replaced the panel. Satisfied that no one would ever think to look there, Tal returned the contents of the drawer, and put it back into the desk.
The First Lady was now staring at him from the front cover of the book, and Tal decided that reading the book Danny had written would be as good a way as any to learn more about him.
Shortly before lunch, Tal picked up the phone and dialed one of the numbers posted next to it. A minute later, his call was put through, "Hi CJ, I wanted to thank you for the book you sent me."
"Dad, I'm glad you've received it."
"I've been reading about the First Lady, you know, before she became that. I really like this book."
"I'm happy to hear that."
"I hope you know, Claudia Jean, that you couldn't be doing anything to make me prouder of you than I am now."
CJ couldn't speak for a moment, but finally, "Thank you, Dad. It means a lot to me to hear you say that."
"I don't say it often enough. You've made me more delighted and proud than I can say. I just wish . . . I mean, I hope . . . . Well, you know."
In a rough voice, "Yeah, I know, Dad, I know."
Josh's fingers were worrying his tie yet again as he heard Donna, "Hey Danny, great tux. Who invited you to the party?"
"Believe it or not, Donna, Josh did."
"Ah," Donna remarked sagely as she led him to Josh's door, "He wants the consolation of another unattached guy because he knows Amy will be there tonight." Donna turned and looked in the office, "Joshua!"
Josh jerked at her scream, "What's wrong with you?!"
"Me?! I'm the one who has to retie your tie every time you untie it! What's wrong with you? You're acting like a nervous teenager."
"See you later, Donna. Come in, Danny." After Donna left and Josh closed the door, he continued, "There are a couple of things I need to tell you before we go. Uh . . . ." Josh looked around uncomfortably.
"Spit it out, Josh."
"It's sort of not me who invited you to the New Year's Eve party."
"I was on the other end of the phone, Josh. It was your voice. If you think it's unwise for me to go, just say so and I'll leave now."
"No, it's not that. It's just that." Sigh. "CJ asked me to invite you to the party. She found out from some nurse that the Santa who visited Tal was you, and she wants to thank you."
"She doesn't have to do that."
"I know that and I told her that."
"But she wanted to, and she didn't know when she'd be seeing me again, and she certainly couldn't invite me."
"Exactly." Josh paused to study Danny's face and give him time to object if he was going to. "For most of the evening, you'll have to avoid her. She may even chew out one or both of us for you being there, and lecture you about 'off the record.'"
"That's fine."
"But she will agree to dance with you once during the evening."
"Cool."
"And if you can find her very shortly before midnight, she will probably kiss you."
"Probably?"
"Yeah, well, you know, she's a little skittish."
"A little?"
"Hey, she's my friend, too, so don't give her too hard a time."
"Okay."
---
As they walked in, Josh saw the attention of the President and Mrs. Bartlet turn from the Senator they had greeted to them. "Good evening Mr. President, Mrs. Bartlet. You remember our senior correspondent?"
"My prodigal biographer," Mrs. Bartlet accused with a big smile as she took his right hand in both of hers and pulled him close enough to kiss him on the cheek.
"It's a pleasure to see you, Dr. Bartlet. You look stunning tonight."
"Any chance we could talk you into staying in DC for, I don't know, the next three years, Danny?" the President asked with a teasing smile as he shook Danny's hand.
"I don't know, Mr. President. I have this great idea for covering your next State of the Union from mid-America."
"We miss you, Danny."
"You don't spend nearly enough time here," the President put in, cutting off his wife. "I'll bet you haven't even met my new Vice President."
She continued, unphased, "And besides, I'm doing all sorts of interesting things that you should be paying attention to."
Josh was distantly aware of Danny saying, "I did when he was in Congress, sir, and I am, ma'am," as he watched Leo and CJ approaching from different directions.
"What the hell's he doing here?" CJ demanded, angrily looking at Danny.
The President and First Lady exchanged surprised glances while Leo looked on smugly. Josh answered, "I invited him," as he looked at Danny and was startled to see how appreciatively Danny was looking at CJ. Josh looked back at CJ, took in her plain gray silk dress, and remembered some years earlier hearing the First Lady describe it as about as frumpy as an evening gown could be. Josh didn't really agree with that assessment, but didn't think it was that flattering to CJ's figure, either.
"Great going, genius. Did it ever occur to you to consult the Press Secretary before inviting a member of the Press to attend a party that's supposed to be media-free?"
"I'm off the record tonight," Danny offered.
Leo grunted, but the President replied, "That's good enough for me. Which makes it good enough for my Press Secretary and my Chief of Staff. Everybody be nice to my fellow Notre Dame alumnus tonight."
Josh pretended to sneeze and used his handkerchief to cover up his huge smile at the thought of just how friendly CJ would like to be to Danny.
---
For over an hour, Josh circulated and gently (by his standards) applied verbal pressure to various Senators and Congresspeople while keeping an eye on CJ who was power-mingling and Danny who seemed to be having fun talking with whoever happened along. Josh was beginning to think that each had forgotten that the other was there, but then Danny slipped into the group CJ was talking with, and soon they were on the dance floor. He wished he could eavesdrop on their conversation, but contented himself with watching the way they looked at each other, the way they held each other, and their animated conversation.
After enjoying the view for about a minute, Josh began to look around to see who else had noticed and how they were reacting. Leo looked like he was about to blow a gasket. The President was oblivious, but Mrs. Bartlet was watching with a mixture of emotions on her face that Josh couldn't quite place – maybe surprise, insight, happiness, and conniving. Josh was astonished by how many people in the room seemed to have noticed CJ and Danny – immediately Josh realized that this probably would not amaze CJ, and this was probably why she was so reluctant to have any sort of relationship with Danny. More than a few Senators and Congressmen looked envious, but others just looked happy. Carol and Donna were talking with huge smiles pasted to their faces and their eyes glued to CJ and Danny. Finally the music stopped, CJ and Danny stepped off the dance floor and wandered off in different directions.
It was only as they were leaving the dance floor together that Josh noticed Amy across the room, watching CJ and Danny with fascination, her eyes following CJ as she and Danny parted. Before Josh had a chance to catch Amy and find out what devious plan was forming in her mind, the First Lady, who had CJ by one arm, took Amy, they collected some glasses and two bottles of wine, and left the room. "Uh oh," Josh commented to no one in particular.
---
It was about an hour before Josh saw them again, they parted, and he immediately approached Amy. "What was that all about?"
"The First Lady likes to get CJ and me drunk."
"Did she?"
"Do I look drunk to you?"
"I only asked because just before you went out, you and the First Lady had calculating looks on your faces. Like you had more on your minds than getting CJ drunk."
"You know Danny Concannon pretty well."
"Yeah."
"You invited him here tonight."
"Yeah."
"At CJ's request." Josh averted his eyes and tried to figure out how to evade or deflect the comment. "It's okay, Josh. CJ admitted it to us. And how she feels." Josh worked to keep his face as blank as possible, to avoid confirming any part of this that might be Amy speculating. "We told her to pretend to be getting drunk as the night goes on. So when midnight comes, no one will object."
"Leo might. And Danny might not appreciate . . ."
"You can tell him it's an act, he'll understand why. And, you know, when the time comes, he'll know she hasn't been drinking. As for Leo, the First Lady will handle him."
Before Josh could ask how, Amy disappeared into the crowd. Josh stood still, a bit stunned, until Danny came up behind him, "Hey Josh, you look distracted."
"Amy just told me that CJ confessed everything to her and the First Lady, and they advised her to pretend to get drunk."
"Do you think Amy was telling you the truth?"
"I don't know."
---
At just about one minute to midnight, Josh noticed that Danny had joined the group CJ was talking to. At 20 seconds to, everyone turned their attention to the countdown, and Danny was able to take the last few steps to CJ's side. And as everyone was cheering in the new year, CJ took Danny's face in her hands and gave him a kiss Josh was afraid might have to last them for three more years. Josh wished that he was wrong about that, and hoped that they could think of a way to be together and keep their jobs. But for tonight, he was happy they had this moment to enjoy.
??