This story follows We've got tonight but I don't think you have to read that to understand this one.
I decided to put these two stories (and the ones that'll follow) under a series called Everything began with a song.
The song used in this one is Something about the way you look tonight by Elton John.
Set before 3x19 - The Black Vera Wang
Mingling and talking about politics and other mundane things was something she could usually do with her eyes closed, but not that night, not in that particular event. Her head wasn't in the game and that was something that, even if the people at the party didn't notice, her spin boys did.
Danny was in Europe. Most accurately, he was in Helsinki. He was working in a series of articles about different governments in Europe and, knowing she would be in Finland with the President, he had arranged his schedule so he could be there at the same time. What they didn't anticipated is that someone would threaten her life and she would have Secret Service agents following her everywhere. While talking to some foreign dignitary, she saw Simon watching her from a corner of the room and remembered she had to explain the situation to him. After excusing herself, she walked towards him.
"Ms. Cregg." Simon said. "Everything ok?" He asked when he saw the expression on her face.
"Yeah." CJ quickly replied. "Can I talk with you for a minute?"
"Of course."
"Can we go outside?" She asked him. He sent her an annoyed look. "I know, you prefer me being on closed spaces where you can control me and everything that goes around but this is kind of personal. I'd be more comfortable talking in private."
"I've got Flamingo. We're stepping outside." He spoke to his wrist.
"Thank you." CJ sincerely told him.
In silence, they abandoned the room and walked together to one of the balconies where they could be alone.
CJ was nervous and Simon noticed it. He tried to ease her with an smile but it didn't work as well as he hoped. "What can I do for you?" He finally asked her when she remained silent.
"Well... " She hesitated a bit. CJ took a deep breath and started explaining. "I have a ... A guest, tonight."
"Ok." Simon replied, knowing where the conversation was going.
"Nobody knows and I'd like it to remain this way." She said but before she could continue, Simon interrupted her.
"Ma'am, we're here to protect you, not to gossip. What you do with your private life, as long as you are safe, it's not our business."
"Thanks." CJ replied, smiling kindly.
"I'll need a name so I can do a security check."
"Danny Concannon." She told him. If he was surprised, he didn't show it. "Could you notify me when he gets there?"
"Of course." Simon said.
"Well, I suppose I should go back inside." She said, mostly to herself. "Thanks again."
"You're welcome." Simon replied. "Flamingo's going back inside." He spoke to his wrist.
"Is there something we could do about the damn codename? I hate it." She asked him.
"I'll see what I can do." He replied, grinning.
CJ was talking with her spin boys when Simon approached her and whispered something to her ear. She thanked him and went back to the conversation but her mind wasn't really there, she kept looking at the clock.
Ten minutes later, Toby called her on it. "Are you late for something?"
"What?" She asked, confused.
"You looked at that clock six times in the last ten minutes." Toby told her.
"I'm tired. I wanna go back to the hotel and fall asleep on that comfy bed."
"The President is saying his goodbyes right now." Josh observed.
"The Summit went pretty well." Sam said, changing the direction of the conversation.
"It could have gone better." Toby grumbled.
"Come on, Toby!" Josh exclaimed. "We made progress with the new Russian President, we talked about the next G8 meeting and the President didn't say anything that CJ would have had to rectify later. I call it a success."
"Whatever." Toby murmured.
"Who's riding with me?" Jed Bartlet asked from behind the group, startling them. Quickly, the Senior Staff played a round of Rock, Paper, Scissors right in front of him. Three rocks won CJ's scissors.
"You made that in purpose!" CJ complained. "It's not fair." She ended, resigned.
"Claudia Jean, your carriage awaits." Bartlet told her, offering his arm.
CJ took it and smiled. "Thank you, sir."
They arrived at the hotel and had an improvised five minute meeting at the lobby. They agreed to meet for breakfast at nine thirty in the President's suite. Bartlet said good-night and went to his room while the Senior Staff remained there.
"The bar's still open. One last round?" Josh asked his colleagues.
"Yeah." Sam and Toby answered.
"I'm going to bed." CJ told them.
"Oh, come on CJ!" Josh exclaimed.
"For once, I want at least six hours of uninterrupted sleep." CJ replied. "Have fun and don't cause too much trouble."
"We won't." Toby assured her.
"Good night, guys."
"Night CJ."
Smiling, CJ went to the elevator that would take her to her room, and to Danny. Simon walked right next to her. In silence, they rode to the fifth floor. When the doors opened, they stepped out of the elevator. Another agent was waiting just outside her door. The other agent spoke to his wrist. CJ tried to open the door but Simon stopped her.
"Scream if you need us." He teased her.
"Yeah, right." CJ said, unamused. Simon began to walk away but she called him. "Simon!" He turned around to look at her. "Thank you." She told him, sincerely.
"You're welcome." Simon replied before he continued walking.
"Good night Mike." CJ told the agent outside her door.
"Good night, Ms. Cregg."
CJ got into her room and closed the door before resting her back on it. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, and walked to the bedroom. There, laying on the bed, and watching something on the TV, was Danny, wearing jeans and a Notre Dame t-shirt and looking as handsome as always. He was so absorbed in what he was watching that he didn't notice her there.
CJ, grinning, leant on the doorframe and spoke to gain his attention. "Do you understand anything that's being said?" She teased him. "I didn't know you spoke Finnish."
"I was getting bored." He replied, turning off the TV and getting up from the bed.
"I'm sorry." CJ said. "I tried to get out early but you know the President."
"Hey, don't worry. I know." Danny told her. "Come here."
Slowly, she approached him. He extended his hands and she gladly grabbed them. They spent a few seconds watching each other, reassuring themselves that they were really there, together, for the first time since their night in San Francisco, six months ago.
"You look absolutely stunning." Danny whispered.
"Thank you."
Danny pulled her to him and tenderly embraced her, immersing himself in the feeling of her body being close to him once again. CJ hugged him tight, enjoying the closeness and his strong arms around her waist. Then, she raised her head from his shoulder and gave him a chaste peck on the lips. Danny, expecting a lot more, captured her mouth in a passionate kiss. They both moaned at the contact of their lips before their mutual desire got the best of them and their hands began to explore each other bodies. Without breaking the kiss, CJ found the hem of Danny's t-shirt and her hands got under it to gently caress his chest. Danny, not wanting to be left behind, carefully unzipped her plum colored dress. They broke the kiss and while she helped him get out of his t-shirt, she also let her dress fall to the floor. Quickly, CJ unbuttoned his jeans and pushed them down. Clad only with their underwear, they kissed once again. CJ, with her back to the bed, let herself fall back on the soft mattress and pulled Danny on top of her.
Few words were exchanged during the first round, they weren't too focused and, even if it went too fast for their taste, they enjoyed it enormously. They laid close, facing each other, catching their breaths while they shared little kisses. The second time was slower and more intense. They took the time to really rejoice in the act, savoring the reactions of their bodies and experimenting with new positions: they were Daniel and Claudia once again.
Later, exhausted from the activities of the night, Danny was laying on his back with CJ nearly on top of him, resting her head on his shoulder and with an arm across his chest. Her hand ran up and down, her nails slightly tickling him. Danny began to laugh while he tried to stop her but he wasn't entirely successful. He grabbed her hand and held it close to his heart. Then, out of the blue, he began to sing softly.
"And I can't explain but there's something about the way you look tonight, takes my breath away, it's that feeling that I get about you, deep inside." He sang. CJ bursted out laughing but he continued anyway. "And I can't describe but it's something about the way you look tonight, takes my breath away, the way you look tonight."
"With a smile, you pull the deepest secrets from my heart." CJ continued, still laughing. "In all honesty, I'm speechless and I don't know where to start."
They sang the chorus together, a bit out of tune, and laughed together when they finished. CJ kissed softly his lips and let her head reclaim the previous position.
"If tomorrow rains it's gonna be our fault." She told him.
"Maybe." He replied. "Or, maybe, we can blame it on Josh singing in the shower."
"Better." CJ said, sighing. "You're very sweet." She stated, looking at him.
"I try to be." Danny told her. "You know why?"
"Why?"
"Because I love you, Claudia."
"I love you too, Daniel."
The next morning, Danny woke up first. He looked down at CJ, still sleeping with her head on his shoulder and an arm and a leg over his body. He spent a few minutes, watching her, admiring how peacefully she rested. His hand found its way to her back and he began to slowly draw little circles on her skin with the tip of his fingers. His doings woke her up.
"What time is it?" She asked before she yawned.
"Seven thirty." Danny answered after looking at his wrist watch.
"We still have time." CJ told him, closing her eyes again and snuggling closer to him. Then, her leg made contact with something that made her open her eyes, widely, and raise her head to look at him. Danny only grinned. "You woke up very happy this morning, Mr. Concannon." CJ teased him.
"Happy to have you by my side, Ms. Cregg." He replied while his hand moved to caress her below her back.
"Maybe I could take care of that." She told him, using her hand to gently stroke him.
"I'm yours, Claudia."
CJ got on her knees and then, carefully, straddled him. She leaned down to kiss him while Danny positioned himself. They were about to begin when a loud knock on the door stopped them.
"Fuck!" CJ cursed out loud. She would have continued swearing if Danny hadn't put his hand over her mouth to silence her. The knocking continued. CJ, after removing his hand, gave him a peck on the lips before getting up from the bed and going to the bathroom to grab a robe to put over her naked body. Tying the belt so nothing could be seen, she walked to the door and opened it, giving a death glare to Josh who stood there way too happy for her taste.
"You look pissed." Josh told her. Not the smartest thing to say, he realized seconds later, when he saw the look on her face.
"I was sleeping, Joshua." She lied. "What do you want?"
"Toby and I are going to Sam's room to talk about the New York trip." Josh explained.
"Do you guys ever sleep?" She thought out loud. "Don't answer." She warned him.
"We'll see you there?" He asked.
"No, leave me alone." CJ replied, shoving him away from her door.
Josh, puzzled, walked away and entered Sam's room. CJ went to close her door but saw Simon's smirk. "You're having too much fun with this." She told him.
"Good morning to you too, Ms. Cregg." Simon said, grinning.
"Simon."
"Don't worry. Operation sneak-out-the-boyfriend will begin when you leave the room." He told her, easing her doubts.
"Thank you."
CJ closed her door and quickly returned to Danny's side. She struggled out of the robe and threw it to the floor before climbing onto the bed and on top of Danny.
After their passionate encounter they showered together, where they became distracted once again. They had to get dressed quickly so CJ wouldn't be late. They both put on jeans and shirts. Danny wanted CJ to wear her high-heeled boots and reminded her that she could change her shoes on the plane. She complied, if only to make him smile.
CJ grabbed her cell and beeper from the table and clipped them to her belt. Once they both were ready to go, Danny sneaked up behind her and put his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him and kissing her neck.
"I hope to be back for Christmas." He whispered to her ear.
"I'll politely decline the Bartlet's invitation to spend Christmas in Manchester." CJ told him.
"And your family?" He asked.
"They'll be in Napa. My brother and I had an argument last time I was there so I'm not in the mood to go there." She explained before turning herself around to look at him. "Candle-lit apartment, Chinese take out, pajamas and, if we're lucky, two whole days to spend in bed."
"Sounds perfect." Danny replied after kissing her.
They knew their time together had come to and end. After a long deep passionate kiss and an emotional embrace, CJ kissed him once again before leaving the room.
THE END