Title: What Else?

Chapter 4: A Series of Unfortunate Interruptions

Author: AmandasArmada

Rating: Strong T

January 22nd, 2007

Years of waking up at the crack of dawn had taken its toll on C.J. Cregg, which was why she wasn't exactly surprised when she rolled over early the next morning and registered the time as reading "4:47 AM." That meant it was actually past 7:30 to her internal clock, which was late for her, but understandable given the lack of any alarm.

"Morning," she said blearily to Danny. "Shhh," he responded, leaning forward and kissing her quickly, not even opening his eyes.

"I can't get back to sleep."

"Yes ya can," Danny murmured, wrapping his arm more tightly around her. "C'mere." He kissed the side of her face gently, tracing down her jawline and the tip of her neck. "Just close your eyes...relax...snore a little..."

"I don't snore!"

"No, of course not," Danny yawned, his eyes still firmly shut. "C'mon Ceej. Shhhhh." He pulled the blanket more snugly over them, shifting in the bed a little as he did so.

C.J. started running her fingers up his chest. "Maybe I could sleep better if you tired me out," she said seductively.

The sound emitted from Danny's throat was halfway between a laugh and a groan. C.J. leaned over to kiss his neck. "Ahhh, C.J."

"Mmhmm," she replied, continuing to kiss his neck, more firmly now, her fingers toying with his chest hair.

"Ooookay," Danny muttered, grinning and opening his eyes. "But you understand we're not getting out of this bed until at least nine, right?"

"Understood," C.J. said softly, still working on his neck, and starting to run her hands over his shoulders. Danny rolled onto his back, bringing C.J. on top of him as she blew gently into his ear. His hand traveled up to cup her breast, the other wrapping around her waist. She brought her face back to his, brushing her lips against his. Danny zoned out for a moment, lost in the sensation of her silky lips and gentle tongue, edging its way into his mouth. Their hands continued to explore, gradually growing more and more urgent.

The familiar sound of Fur Elise blared suddenly through the bedroom, jolting them apart.

"Turn it off," Danny groaned, burying his face in her neck.

"It could be important," C.J. murmured, conflicted.

"They can handle it. And you're supposed to be handling me," Danny pouted.

The song looped, making Danny sigh as he closed his eyes, laying back.

"I got it," C.J. muttered, grabbing for the phone haphazardly as she resumed kissing his neck. She ignored the call without even looking at her phone, dropping it next to them on the bed and gazing at him seductively. "Where were we?"

DuhduhduhduhduhduhDUHduhDUHduhdudhduhDUH

"Answer it, get it over with," Danny sighed, feeling acutely aware of certain tense areas of his body.

C.J. grabbed her cell from next to her, staring at the caller ID.

"Donna?"

"Hey C.J.," said the familiar voice, tentative and apologetic.

"You know I'm in California now, right? And it's currently about five in the morning here?" C.J. asked sleepily, trying to keep the edge out of her voice. Danny had rolled out from under her and had pulled a pillow over his head.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Josh really needs your advice on something."

C.J. sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Josh does? Are his fingers broken?" She paused. "I thought you were past the stage where you had to do his dirty work for him."

"He thought you'd be less likely to hang up if it was me."

C.J. groaned. "Donna?"

"Yeah?"

"Has Syria launched nuclear weapons on us?"

"...No, C.J."

"Has President Santos just revealed that he has a debilitating illness that he has kept concealed hitherto now?"

"No, C.J."

"Okay then." C.J. rolled her eyes. "Donna, you know I adore you, but please tell Josh from me to him that unless it is a catastrophe – no, make that a catastrophe my advice could actively stop, 'cuz that Syria situation would be a stumper, I gotta tell ya – I am off the grid. There is an entire series of binders designed to help him transition, which I wrote and tailored specifically for him, not to mention whole boxes full of material he can study to give him ideas and guidance. Now-"

"C.J., Josh wants to talk to you himself," Donna interrupted apologetically.

C.J. groaned, hanging up the phone and pulling the battery out.

"Mood's kinda killed now, huh?" Danny asked her good-naturedly, peeping out at her from under his pillow.

"I can't say Josh has ever done much for my libido, no," C.J. replied, curling up next to him and stifling a yawn. "You wanna pick this back up in a couple hours?"

"More than happy to," Danny murmured, cuddling up to her and closing his eyes.

That afternoon.

It was unseasonably warm that day, and C.J. had managed to talk Danny into lounging by the pool, so that early that afternoon, they were stretched out under the sun in the courtyard at the bottom of Sam's building.

"Here, lie back," Danny said smoothly, in a considerably better mood after getting a full night's sleep and spending the morning with her, talking over plans for when the movers arrived.

C.J. stretched out onto her stomach, shivering and giggling as the cold lotion was slathered onto her back. "Blow on it!" she hissed, squealing.

"Sorry. How's that?" Danny breathed into her ear.

C.J. sighed contently, turning over to face him again. "Your turn." Danny stretched out obediently on the pool lounger next to her, and C.J. climbed on, straddling him as she squirted the lotion directly onto his back.

"C.J.!" Danny exclaimed, yelping a little. "Payback's a bitch," C.J. smirked.

"You just wait," Danny said darkly. "I know where you sleep." He pretended to glare at her as he rolled over, wrapping his arms around her as she sunk her body against him.

"This is very very nice," she breathed, leaning in. Danny grinned, kissing her as he let his hands roam up her sides. C.J. sighed happily as he pulled the clip out of her hair, running his fingers through it as they shifted slightly, then feeling him wrap his arms around her. The sun was warm but not hot, the pool area was deserted except for them, and Danny's tongue was pushing any lingering thoughts of Santos's first day in office far from her mind.

"We're going to ignore that," C.J. whispered a second later when the familiar tune filled the air.

"Okay," Danny said softly, his lips enveloping hers.

"I think I could probably get it into the pool from here," C.J. murmured, as the ring persisted merrily.

"Don't give me ideas," Danny grumbled, running his hands over her back as he continued to kiss her.

"I seem to recall you telling me I wasn't the busiest girl in the world anymore," C.J. breathed pointedly a moment later, her eyes smugly reminiscent of the words "I-told-you-so."

"Seems I shouldn't speak just from wishful thinking." Danny nodded to the phone. "Go ahead, I know you want to, it's okay."

C.J. hesitated, then grabbed the phone, finally silencing the infernal ringing.

"Hello?"

"C.J.!" Sam Seaborn's upbeat voice rang out.

"Oh, hey," she replied, sitting up. Danny started rubbing slow circles on her back, leaning forward to kiss her side.

"How's the condo working out?"

"It's great, we're loving it," C.J. said honestly. "Thanks for arranging it for us."

"My pleasure, please, stay as long as you want. You deserve a real vacation before you dive into all the rigmarole of moving."

"Thanks," C.J. smiled, looking down at Danny and playing with his curls. "How's the first day going?"

"Ah, well, that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I've got the whole communications staff working with interims, but I'd love to pick your brain more on candidates for a proper press secretary."

C.J. sighed, settling in, shooting Danny an apologetic look. "I'll keep it short, I promise," she whispered to him. He nodded, looking frustrated but understanding. She kissed his cheek quickly, vowing to make it up to him later as she launched into the discussion.

Two hours later.

C.J. hopped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself and padding into the master bedroom, finding Danny laying on the bed, already fully dressed in jeans and a button-up plaid shirt, his hair still damp with Jacuzzi water.

"I was thinking an easy day today," Danny said casually, his eyes betraying his attempt at cheerful nonchalance as they followed C.J.'s progress to the closet. "Sit around, maybe take a drive along the coast later."

"Sounds good," C.J. said, dropping the towel as she faced the closet. Danny choked on the bottle of beer he'd been in the process of sipping from.

"You wanna come help me pick out something to wear?" C.J. asked innocently, looking at him over her shoulder.

Danny quickly rolled off the bed, coming up behind her and gently resting his hands on her waist. "You know, you look great already, don't feel like you have to put anything on at all," he growled into her ear.

C.J. turned around, giving him her toothy grin.

"I'd feel kind of lonely, being the only one with no clothes on," she purred, tracing the buttons on his shirt. He leaned in to kiss her, raising one hand to comb his fingers through her hair.

DuhduhduhduhduhduhDUHduhDUHduhdudhduhDUH

They sprung apart, both groaning.

"I'm starting to hate Beethoven," Danny commented, looking over his shoulder towards the direction of the noise.

"Hold on. Subtle hints never really were Josh's strong suit," C.J. muttered, wrapping the towel back around herself and grabbing her phone from the bedside table.

"Hello?" she demanded.

"Hey, C.J. What was with this morning?" Josh's voice was curious, completely oblivious to any hint that he might be interrupting something.

"What do you think, Josh? What's the matter?" C.J. asked impatiently. Danny sighed, sitting down next to her on the bed and running his hand over her shoulder wistfully. C.J. smiled, batting him away.

Josh cleared his throat innocently. "I've got a call with the prime minister of Kazakhastan in less than an hour. I was wondering if you had any advice for me."

C.J. rolled her eyes, pushing a strand of hair behind her ears. "Josh, there is literally a page on every head-of-state I've ever had contact with in one of those binders."

"I know, I read it," Josh said, sounding a little defensive. "I just wanted to know if there was anything you left out, I figured those were more of summaries than actual reports. Besides, I wanted your take on the development this morning in southeast Asia-"

"Josh, you are completely prepared for anything today throws at you. You're a big boy, you don't need me to hold your hand," C.J. interrupted, gently but firmly.

When he replied a moment later, he sounded tired. "You're the best, C.J. I know it, Leo knew it...It's hard not to look to you or wonder what you'd be doing if you were here."

C.J. sighed, allowing herself a small smile. "That's very kind of you, Joshua. But I have to separate myself from this life if I'm going to be able to move on. That was kind of the point of leaving."

Josh sighed, resigned. "Yeah, I guess."

C.J. closed her eyes, thinking. A moment later she opened them, exchanging a quick glance with Danny. Danny nodded, understanding. "I'll tell you what. You get one phone call, 10 minutes or less, or an email every day for the next month. But that's it, Josh. And that goes for anyone in the White House, so pass it on to Sam. You have to pick your battles, Chief."

She heard Josh exhale excitedly. "C.J., you are a goddess. An honest-to-god genius with a heart of gold, and this administration appreciates every moment of your time you're willing to offer," he babbled happily.

C.J. rolled her eyes, smiling. "I think that about covers it. Time to quit while you're ahead."

"Thanks, C.J. I'll call you later, okay? Tomorrow," he added quickly.

"Fine," C.J. smiled. "But I mean it, Josh. I'll change my number if I have to."

"I know, C.J." Josh said, his voice more serious now. "Hey, say hi to Danny for me."

"I'll try to fit that in," C.J. said, mostly to herself, as she hung up and leaned back, laughing as Danny started kissing her bare shoulder.