"I'm very sorry. We lost her on the table, there was just too much internal bleeding, we couldn't get it under control."The doctor finished.

"What?" Danny couldn't believe what he was hearing. His head was spinning.

"Your wife passed away a few minutes ago." The doctor repeated, sadly.

The room seemed to empty of air. No one dared breathe. Denial hit Danny hard as he stared through the doctor who had just broken the news. It seemed like hours, but only a moment passed before he felt Jed Bartlet's hand on his shoulder. He turned toward to teary eyed group who was also just taking in the news.

Kate and Will looked stunned. Donna and Abbey were hugging and sobbing softly. Toby had sat back down and was staring at the floor, head in his hands. Josh also reached out to Danny muttering, 'I'm sorry.' Danny staggered back into a seat, his legs unwilling to hold him anymore. He finally broke, hunching over and weeping.

The rest was a blur. President Bartlet had told him not to worry about anything, that they would take care of everything. Danny knew this meant getting his wife back to California for a funeral. He nodded and mumbled a thanks. Donna and Abbey had followed him back to their hotel room where they had planned to spend the night. Nothing had been unpacked except for a few toiletries that C.J. had used to freshen up before they left for the Dedication. Danny packed them slowly, rolling the lipstick tube between his fingers before placing it in the bag. He found it unbelievable that she had used it only a few hours ago and now she was gone.


Arranging to have his flight moved up, he was taken to the airport, accompanied by Josh. He knew he was being passed around from one person to the next so he wouldn't have to be alone and he appreciated it, but he had nothing to say to anyone. Josh was a wreck as well. Both men sat in the back of a black limo, eyes red, vacant faces, and silent. At the gate, Danny turned to Josh.

"Nothing could have been worse than this." Josh said, softly.

"No." Danny agreed.

They shook hands and Danny went through security in a stupor and finally sat in his seat. Five hours and a lot of pretending to sleep and even more concealing of tears, Danny was on the ground in Los Angeles. He found his car where they had parked in on the way out that morning. It was dark now as he packed up the car, he wasn't sure what time but he knew it was late. Even so, he sat in the driver's seat and called the Nanny.

"Hi," He said when she answered groggily, "Hi, Mrs. Stone, it's Danny, sorry to wake you. I'd like to pick up Alice."

"Mr. Concannon, you're home early." She yawned.

"Yeah, came back early. I'll be there in an hour to get Alice."

"Of course."

Danny hung up the phone. He drove straight to Mrs. Stone's house and she was waiting for him. His eight month old baby was already ready to go in a car seat asleep. The sight of he and C.J.'s baby daughter made his heart ache for his wife and he was short with Mrs. Stone in order to get home quickly. He kissed her cheek and rushed away, placing Alice in the seat next to his. The home he had made with C.J. wasn't far. Pulling into the driveway, he turned the car off and got out. He was breaking again. The evening noises of chirping insects and rustling leaves were a small comfort. Leaving the luggage inside the car, he took his daughter their daughter inside.

Placing the carrier on the bed, Danny found himself staring at C.J.'s side of the bed, knowing very well that the sheets would still carry her scent. Just twenty four hours previously, they had made love in this room. The memory was almost crippling.

She had come home late bringing food from their favorite Chinese place. The house was quiet, the baby at the Nanny's. Slipping off her heels in their bedroom she gave him a coy smile. He knew the signs of invitation and smiled back. Pulling her into a passionate kiss, his hands worked at the zipper in the back of her dress. They parted long enough to shed their clothing and fell onto the bed in the embrace of the other. Her contagious laugh sounded when he hit his head on the headboard.

He chuckled, rubbing his sore noggin but didn't pause long. He could only keep his hands off of his nude wife for a very short amount of time. Danny found that his hands were shaking as he replayed the memory. Never again, he thought, captured in a spiral of gloom. The once warm home now felt desolate.

He unstrapped his daughter from the car seat and she began to fuss as she woke. He lifted her into his arms and took a seat in the rocking chair that faced the sliding glass door leading to the porch. Rocking his daughter, he spoke to her gently.

"Shh, it's ok, baby." The fussing quieted and he kissed her forehead several times, rocking her back to sleep. Things would be very different now and Danny had never felt so alone. Being careful not to disturb the sleeping baby, he pulled out his cellphone and pressed the speaker button. Pulling up voicemails, he pushed play.

C.J.'s voice suddenly filled the quiet room, "Hi, it's me. I'll be here for another hour or so and I was hoping you could drop Alice at the Nanny's. I'll get some take-out and we'll make a night out of being babyless. See you in a couple hours. Bye."

Danny could barely breathe as the sound of her voice filled his senses. He pushed the play button again.

"Hi, it's me. I'll be here for another hour or so…"

Bowing his head, he wept over his precious sleeping daughter.

THE END

p.s. Alternate ending coming soon!