It had been a long flight. But at the end of it, like she had told Josh, was Danny. C.J. saw him first as he stood by the gate scanning the crowd. He gave her a big smile when their eyes met and she returned it.
Once she was out of the gate, Danny approached and took the bag that was slung over her shoulder, "Hi." He cupped her cheek in his hand and they kissed.
It all seemed so surreal. It was difficult to take in, but her life had already changed completely. She could barely believe that she would not be going to the White House in the morning, that she was almost three thousand miles from the White House.
"How was the flight?" Danny asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"I haven't been on a commercial flight for years. Compared to Air Force One, it's a Nazi regime of sitting down and buckling your safety belt. A bad merlot and some peanuts made it bearable though." She gave him a sideways smile.
"Wait'll you see the apartment." Danny said as they walked outside.
C.J. noted how much warmer it was and realized the scarf she had on would be useless now, as would her winter coat. They hitched a cab and were at their new doorstep in a half hour. Boxed lines much of the walls, but Danny had clearly worked hard to make it livable. A glass fish bowl sat on the kitchen counter, C.J. smiled, looking at the white pebbles and palm tree inside.
Danny grinned, seeing that she had found the bowl, "For Gail when Josh ships her to us."
"She should be here tomorrow." C.J. told him.
"I thought I'd get us some take-out and I bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate." Danny began, "But first, let me give you the tour." He took her hand and showed her around, leaving the bedroom for last as the only furnished room in the place so far.
A beautiful queen sized bed was placed by a window with blue curtains. Two dressers were already placed as wells as an area rug. C.J. gave him a fond look, "Danny, you've been here for two days, how did you manage-"
"I wanted you one thing to be right when you got here. We've got three days before you meet up with Hollis again and since I think we'll be spending a lot of that in this room…" he let his suggestion trail off.
She gave him a look of feigned irritation and led the way into the bedroom, admiring. Turning back to him, she said, "Thank you for taking care of this." It was odd for her not to do everything herself.
He almost said something to the effect of 'that's what partners do', but she had been squeamish enough of that phrase that he kept silent, "Are you hungry?"
"Mostly tired." She said, apologetically, "Would you be vengfully angry if I fell asleep two bites into dinner?"
Danny smiled, "Of course not."
He left the room, leaving C.J. to start unpacking. Smiling down at the empty drawers, she filled them with the contents of her bag. She sat on the bed, slipping off her heels and lying back. Danny was back by then with two Chinese take-out containers. He handed her one with chopsticks sticking out as she sat up, "Thanks."
A couple bites in, Danny offered, "We could crack the champagne."
"Sure." She said with a smile. Her phone began to ding and she groaned as Danny left the room again to get champagne. Putting the food container on the night stand, she plucked the phone out of her purse and her breath caught in her throat when she saw Molly's name on the display, "Hello?"
Danny had a little pep in his step as he prepared two glasses with sparkling champagne. Seven years was a long time to wait and now things had changed so quickly that he could barely take it in. With a little smile on his face, he took the two glasses into the bedroom, only to see C.J. filling up her bag again.
"What's going on?"
C.J. turned to him with a stricken face, "I have to go." She was dialing on her phone, clearly fighting off tears.
"C.J.…"
"I have to go home." She said, her voice small and wounded, "Yes, I need the next flight to Dayton, Ohio." She said into her phone. Glancing at her watch, Danny saw her panic rise, "Alright." As she rattled off her information on the phone, she continue to try and pack. Danny set the glasses down and stepped in, looking for a way to help.
She hung up, "I have to go."
"I know." He said.
"The flight's in an hour. I'll never make it."
"Let me pack some things and follow later on, you go now." Danny offered.
Once again, she was a bit taken aback by the fact that she didn't have to take care of everything herself. It was a pleasant feeling.
"Is your dad…?" Danny began, afraid to know the answer.
"He had a stroke," She managed, grabbing her purse, stuffing her phone back inside and rushing toward the door.
Danny followed with her coat, "You'll need this." He said, handing it to her.
"Thank you." With that she was gone as quickly as she had arrived.