Author's Note: This one is a little longer than the other chapters. I hope you enjoy...

"10,001 Baby Names"

Danny was driving home when he heard his cell phone ring. Thinking it could be CJ he quickly answered and connected his hands-free device.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Danny?" Josh asked.

"Josh, hey," Danny said. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Josh said. "I'm just waiting for a vote."

"The gun bill?" Danny asked.

"You watch too much C-SPAN you know that?"

"Tell that to my wife," Danny smiled. "She can't get enough of it. You gonna win this one?"

"Barely, but yeah," Josh sighed.

"You sound a little battle scarred," Danny commented.

"You don't know the half of it," Josh said.

There was silence on the phone for a moment and Danny was slightly unsure of how to proceed. Josh had called him and yet he didn't seem that interested in talking all of a sudden.

"CJ and I are going to be out there Monday," Danny said finally.

"Yeah?" Josh said. "Good."

"Yeah," Danny said. There was more silence that hung over the airwaves. "Hey Josh did you need something or you just like to hear the sound of my voice?"

"Donna wants to move in together," Josh said grudgingly.

"Ah, so this is a man talk," Danny said knowingly.

Over the years Josh seemed to go to Danny for his relationship issues. He'd talk to Sam as well, but Danny always thought that Josh felt more comfortable talking to him because he was so far away. When Josh talked to Sam, he'd always have to follow-up. When Josh talked to Danny, they didn't have contact as often so it didn't seem as serious.

"Yeah," Josh confirmed. "Donna said I have two weeks."

"To decide whether you want to move in together?"

"Yeah."

"Wow."

"I'm freaking out a little here."

"Well you've been together for two years," Danny pointed out.

"But moving in together is a big step," Josh said.

"Yeah, but let me point out again, you've been together for two years. Don't you think it's time to take it out of neutral?"

"Do you?"

"Josh, come on," Danny said as if he should already know the answer to that question.

Josh picked up on his tone and understood that Danny thought he was being ridiculous. Josh felt the need to clarify his position a little more clearly.

"I don't think you fully understand my situation," Josh said.

"Oh yeah? Explain it to me," Danny countered.

"I work in the White House," Josh started.

"And so does Donna, go on," Danny interjected.

"Right, we both work at the White House. There's long hours and hard work and it's a once in a lifetime experience. I want to make sure I get every ounce of satisfaction from this experience."

Danny suppressed a smile as he drove down the road. He had heard this speech before, though this time he was happy it wasn't being given to him directly.

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Danny said. "You work for the president, Donna works for the First Lady. There's no conflict of interests there. You can pretty much talk about whatever you want and have no worries."

"I guess," Josh said.

"As for the once in a lifetime experience bit, this is your second go-round Josh," Danny pointed out. "You're young and you're an amazingly successful political operative. There's no reason to think you couldn't be back in the White House for at least one more president, so if you're handing me the once in a lifetime thing I've got news for you, it's not. You shouldn't put your life on hold to change the world. I mean, change the world, but make sure you're taking the time to enjoy the world you're changing."

There was silence on the line and Danny decided to forge ahead.

"Do you love her?" he asked.

"Of course," Josh said without having to think about the question.

"There's your answer man," Danny said. "I understand putting it off because you're scared, but if you love her, then you can't ask her to wait forever. She's waited and you waited and now it's time to move forward."

"Yeah," Josh said.

"I know it's scary," Danny said. "I think CJ equated it to base jumping. She was terrified, she was unsure and she finally just said to hell with it and jumped."

"CJ and I are alike in a lot of ways," Josh said.

"You have no idea," Danny said.

"So you think I should go for it?" Josh asked.

"No doubt," Danny said. "I bet CJ would tell you the same thing too."

"Donna basically gave me an ultimatum," Josh said.

"Yes she did, but people like you and CJ work best with a timetable," Danny reminded him.

"That's what Donna said," Josh agreed.

"Donna and I are very intuitive individuals. So you gonna go for it?" Danny asked.

"I don't know yet," Josh said thinking, but already knowing in his heart that Danny had a point.

"The only advice I have for you is this: don't wait too long. You won't know how great it can be if you don't try. If you can avert wars, jump-start the economy and deploy peacekeeping missions around the world, I think moving in with Donna should be the easiest thing on your to-do list."

"Yeah," Josh said. "Good talk Danny."

"Anytime I can help," Danny said.

"Thing are good? How's CJ feeling?"

"Things are great," Danny nodded. "CJ hasn't been feeling so great, but the doctor said it'll pass. We'll be out in D.C. next week."

"Great, she's out to screw with my budget," Josh said only half-kidding.

"Probably," Danny laughed.

"You going to the farm?" Josh asked.

"CJ said it's time to tell them," Danny affirmed.

"They're gonna be so happy for you two," Josh informed him.

"Let's hope," Danny said. "We're not exactly spring chickens. I'm kind of waiting for Abbey to pull me aside and smack me in the head."

"Well, that's always a possibility," Josh replied. "Abbey likes to make a point."

"Thanks for the support," Danny said.

"Okay," Josh wound up the conversation with a yawn. "I gotta get back to the vote."

"Good luck," Danny offered.

"I don't need luck when I have skill," Josh replied.

"Oh right I forgot," Danny chuckled. Before he hung up the phone he added, "Hey Josh."

"Yeah?"

"Just think about how you feel when you're not with her," Danny said. "That'll tell you everything you need to know. Think about how much different it feels when she's there at the end of the day."

"Thanks Danny," Josh said.

"Yeah, bye," Danny said.

"See ya," Josh replied before hanging up the phone.

CJ came home from work after another long day and found the house eerily silent. She tossed her purse on the table and walked into the kitchen looking for Danny.

"Danny?" she called.

She heard nothing as she scanned the counter for a note of some kind. She walked over to the answering machine and found a solid light indicating that he hadn't left her a message. She tried to remember what he'd told her about his schedule for the week. Lately he'd been back and forth between the library and home while he wrote his latest endeavor.

"Danny?" she ventured again.

She took a quick glance into the den and the backyard and found that he was indeed gone. She finally opened the door and looked for his car in the garage. It was gone. Apparently she'd not noticed the lack of his car when she came in from work. She silently wondered if she was already slowly developing a mother's brain wherein obvious details seemed to escape her. She finally decided that she had just had a long day and decided to lounge on the couch for the evening. Her abbreviated timetable at work was beginning to make her weary. She felt lethargic a more than she used too.

CJ walked back into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. The thought of cooking dinner was not pleasant and so for the moment she decided to grab a glass of water and a few handfuls of Goldfish crackers to tide her over until she mustered the energy to decide on what she would cook.

She walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch, kicking her shoes off in the process. She leaned into the soft cushions and flipped on the television as she finished off the crackers in her hand quite quickly. "At this rate," CJ thought, "I'll put on a hundred pounds by October."

Lately her appetite had picked up. The morning sickness still plagued her at least once a day, but for the most part everything CJ ate she kept down and she was starting to notice how tight her pants were becoming. She lay there for a moment and zoned out while she contemplating getting up and bringing the entire bag of Goldfish back to the living room when she heard the door open.

"Danny?" she called.

"CJ," Danny replied.

She heard the sounds of Danny opening the door and entering the house. She also heard the distinct sounds of bags rustling as he walked. She turned as he passed by and caught a whiff of something delicious.

"You bought food?" she asked hopefully.

"I picked up some Chinese," he said. "I didn't feel like cooking today."

The smell of the food enlivened CJ and stood up quickly to follow Danny into the kitchen.

"Have I told you how much I love you lately?" she asked as she relieved him of the bag he was carrying which contained dinner.

"No," Danny said with a smile. "However, I'm beginning to think you're only using me for my uncanny ability to hunt and gather food."

"If there are egg rolls in here, you might just get lucky tonight my friend," she said only half-listening to him.

He just looked at her as she dug through the bag as if it contained diamonds or gold. He shook his head and smiled at her. By the time he placed his laptop case on the table CJ had opened the pint of pork fried rice and was digging in with a fork.

"No plates tonight?" he asked.

"Nope," CJ said taking a seat at the table and putting her feet up on an extra chair. "You're gonna have to fight me for this rice."

"I thought you claimed the egg rolls?"

"I'm a pregnant woman," she reminded him. "It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind and it's a pregnant woman's prerogative to want both."

She gave him her classic toothy grin before shoveling another forkful of rice into her mouth.

"So noted," he said. "How was work?"

"Long," she replied in between bites.

"You tired?"

"A little," she admitted. "It's going to be a lot of work these next few weeks."

"Which you'll give your all to when you're at work, but when you're home," Danny started.

"I know, I know," CJ cut him off. "No work at home. Rest at home."

"Sometimes I worry you'll forget. You're pushing yourself too hard."

"I promise I'm not," CJ said looking at Danny in the eyes as he took a seat next to her at the table. He took CJ's egg roll out of the pint of rice and put it on a plate. He also handed her a knife and napkin.

"Thank you," she said with her mouth full.

"You're welcome," he laughed at her.

"So how was your day? What's that bag?" CJ asked surveying a white plastic bag that Danny had placed next to his laptop case.

"Well I did a little shopping today," Danny said reaching across the table. "I thought we might need some light reading material for the trip to D.C. next week."

"Oh yeah? We've already got What to Expect When You're Expecting," CJ said reaching over for the bag.

Danny pulled the bad back and placed it under his chair where she couldn't get to it.

"Hey," she said.

"It's an after dinner thing," he informed her.

"Danny if you pull the Pregnant Kama Sutra out of that bag I may kill you," she said seriously.

"Sounds kinky, but no," he said. "I didn't cruise the sex and relationship aisle at the book store."

"What is it?"

"Finish your egg roll."

"Danny," she whined.

"CJ," he mocked her.

"You're not being very nice to the person bearing your child."

"You're not being very patient with the father of said child."

She looked at him a moment and then stuck her tongue out at him before digging back into the container of rice.

"Can I get in on that rice or have you claimed eminent domain?" he asked.

"I suppose you could have some," she replied pulling his plate over and dishing some of the rice onto it. "By the way, I don't think I said a proper hello to you."

CJ leaned over the table and placed a quick kiss on Danny's lips.

"It's okay," he said kissing her once more. "You were hungry."

"Famished is a better word," CJ corrected him. "Famished and tired. I was about ready to make a bag of crackers my dinner until you came in."

"You're getting to bed early tonight," Danny informed her. "You're gonna be dealing with jet lag next week and I don't want you getting run down."

"Yes Dad," CJ said smiling at him.

"I'm serious," he replied.

Danny had made it his personal mission to make sure CJ was getting enough sleep and relaxation just as he warned her. He made her keep her cell phone in another room when she got home and she was only allowed to check for messages every two hours. He made sure she got to bed at a decent hour, and, above all, he tried to keep her stress level down because it affected her blood pressure, which was slightly higher than Dr. Wilson would have liked.

"I know and I appreciate that," she said sincerely finishing her food.

CJ wiped her mouth and pushed her plate forward on the table.

"You're done?" Danny asked incredulous.

"I've found that five smaller meals work better for me keeping the food down," CJ said.

"Three egg rolls and a pint of pork fried rice," Danny nodded. "That seems small enough."

"Hey you had some rice," CJ reminded him.

"You're absolutely right," Danny placated her. "So you're not just finished with dinner because you want to see what's in the bag right?"

"What bag?" CJ feigned ignorance. "Oh the secret bag that had to wait until after dinner. Hmm, you know I wasn't even thinking about it."

"Right," Danny said grudgingly. "You win."

He reached down under his seat and pulled out the bag. He handed it to CJ and she opened it quickly.

"10,001 Baby Names," CJ said reading the title.

"I thought we could start perusing," Danny said.

"Fun," CJ said as she started flipping through the book.

"It will be fun," Danny said leaning forward and looking through the book with CJ. "We've got 10,001 names to choose from."

"10,001," CJ noted. "Which leads me to the question-"

"Why did they have one name left over?"

"Exactly," CJ said. "See that's what I love about us."

"I wonder how many parents pick name 10,001?" Danny mused.

CJ flipped quickly to the back of the book and took a look at the very last name in the book.

"Zulu," CJ stated.

"Well I suppose if the parents were big Trekkies," Danny surmised.

"I think it's safe to say that we may have started with 10,001 to choose from but I'm going to take that one off the list."

"I concur," Danny said. "I was thinking it might be fun to make some lists and compare where we are with names."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," CJ said. "Meet in the living room in an hour?"

"Sounds good," Danny said. "But I get time with the book first."

"Alright," CJ said pushing the book back toward him. "I'll try to be a little more creative with the names. You know, come up with something more snazzy than Jane."

"Jane isn't so plain," Danny assured her.

"No, it just rhymes with it."

"Good point," he said standing up and bussing their plates. He gave CJ a quick kiss on the head as he walked by. "I'll see you on the couch in an hour."

"It's a date," CJ smiled already scribbling down some names on a scrap of paper.

An hour later Danny and CJ reconvened on the living room couch to compare their list of names. In truth CJ had been floating a few names through her mind since she found out she was pregnant. Danny, although he'd never tell CJ, had also started to look at names a little differently. Being a writer he'd come across many names, but lately he seemed to take note.

"Okay," Danny said. "You ready?"

"Ready," CJ said scanning her list.

"Boys or girls first?" Danny asked.

"How about boys?" CJ suggested.

"'Kay," Danny smiled. "How do you want to do this?"

"How about you read me your list of ten and I'll see if my list overlaps anywhere," CJ suggested.

"You expect us to have overlap on 10,001 names?"

"Maybe," CJ said pulling her legs underneath her and settling in.

"Okay," Danny said. "My first name is Patrick."

CJ said nothing. She just looked at him. Danny tried to read her reaction but he got nothing.

"Good, bad, indifferent?" he asked.

"Not on my list," CJ replied. "Next."

"You're not gonna comment?"

"Do you want me to?"

"I don't know," Danny said. "You're uncharacteristically quiet."

"How about if you hit me with all ten and then I'll comment?"

"Okay," Danny smiled. He felt slightly self-conscious because of CJ's silence.

"In no particular order my list is: Patrick, James, Colin, Joseph, Gregory, John, Henry, Thomas, Jacob and Cregg, spelled C-R-E-G-G, for obvious reasons," Danny said. "So?"

"Hey, we did pretty good," CJ said glancing at her list. "You went traditional. Thank you for Cregg by the way."

"You're welcome. They seemed like good names," Danny said giving her a small grin as if he was happy she liked his choices.

"So there was really only one overlap and that was Thomas," CJ said. "I had Jameson though and you had James so that was pretty close."

"Jameson?" Danny asked. "Went a little untraditional did you?"

"Not on all of them," CJ said.

"So what's your list?"

"Well I had Thomas and Jameson," CJ began. "I also had Ethan, Bradley, Zachary, Christian, Luke, William, Andrew and Todd."

"Todd?" Danny asked surprised.

"Yeah I know," CJ said. "It seemed cute at the time I put it on my list."

"So what do we do now?" Danny asked.

"I think we make a list together," CJ said. "Thomas obviously makes the list, as does James or Jameson."

"I like Jameson," Danny said. "It's different."

"Okay," CJ smiled. "I also liked Colin."

"I think Ethan might be a keeper."

"I liked Henry too," CJ said. "As long as we don't call him Hank."

"Noted," Danny said looking over his list. "How about Gregory? I thought that one was pretty good."

CJ had hoped that Danny would have left that one alone.

"No, I veto Gregory," CJ said not giving him a reason.

"Why? It's a good name," Danny persisted.

"I don't think so," CJ said.

"Gregory Concannon," Danny said. "'Hey that's Greg Concannon over there.' It's a pretty good name."

"Danny, it's not okay? It's really not."

"Okay," Danny said skeptically. "I'm not saying we have to name the kid Greg, I just thought it should make the short list."

"Fine," CJ said scribbling the name on the list. She couldn't figure out how he could be so oblivious. "It's on the short list, but I can tell you now that I'm never naming our son Greg."

Danny looked at her for a moment and then it dawned on her. Greg Brock. How could he be that stupid? He felt his face flush slightly when he realized his mistake.

"You know what? Take it off the list," he said. "I forgot. I'm sorry. I just forgot."

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Definitely," he affirmed.

There was a tension hanging over the room now and Danny cursed himself for forgetting the sordid tale of Greg Brock. CJ and Greg had gotten close, maybe a little too close, during her Chief of Staff years, when Danny wasn't around. He ended up in jail, CJ ended up the subject of an investigation and Danny was never 100 sure what happened between them. However, he knew Greg had always been fond of CJ and it always irked him. He shook his head at his mistake.

"Hey, let's leave the boy list and do girl names now," he suggested.

"Okay," CJ said breathing a sigh of relief to forget Greg Brock.

She had put that part of her life in the dark recesses of her brain. She didn't like to think about that last year very often. It made her feel sad. It made her feel ashamed in many ways for things she did and didn't do. She was grateful for the subject change.

"You want to go first?" Danny ventured.

"No," CJ smiled. "I'll soak in your list first."

"Okay, here goes nothing," Danny said. "I've got Katie, Greta, Mona, Agatha, Ruth, Gail, Constance, Stella, Julia and Sarah."

"Oh Danny," CJ sighed with a horrified look on her face.

"What?" he asked alarmed.

"What? That is seriously your top ten list of girl's names?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Why? Where do I even begin?"

"What's wrong with these names?"

"Okay, well Mona, Agatha and Ruth? Did you think I was giving birth to an 80 year old woman or a baby?"

"Ruth is my grandmother's name," Danny reminded her.

"I rest my case."

"What's wrong with the others?" he asked.

"Danny," CJ said in disbelief.

"No really, I want to know."

"Okay, Gail? You can't name our daughter after our fish. Katie is cute but it reminds me of Press Room Katie. Connie Concannon is too cutesy. Sarah was a girl who tormented me in middle school. Greta is way to Sound of Music and Stella? Honestly Stella is way too Marlon Brando screaming in the night for a little girl. Julia is the only one on that list that is in any way usable."

Danny took in her comments. While he understood her issue with the names she deemed "grandmother," he did take issue with her veto of the others.

"Okay, well what have you got then?" he asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"Gretchen," CJ started.

"Hey, how is Gretchen any less Sound of Music than Greta?" Danny interrupted her.

"It just is," CJ replied not letting him derail her list. "Carrie, Carly, Belle-"

"Belle," Danny scoffed interrupting her.

"Ferris," CJ continued.

"As in Ferris Wheel? Oh no, our kid would not be mocked mercilessly," Danny mocked her.

"Berkley," CJ tried again.

"As in University of California at Berkeley? CJ, sweetie, are you having a flashback right now? It's not 1978 anymore. Next thing you're gonna tell me moonbeam is on the list."

CJ quickly glanced down at her list and quickly crossed off a name on her list.

"Oh no," Danny laughed leaning forward trying to see the list. "No, that's too good. Tell me moonbeam wasn't on the list."

CJ tried to protect the sheet of paper and she clutched it close to her chest as Danny inched in to get a better look.

"Moonbeam?" Danny asked.

"It wasn't moonbeam," CJ laughed as Danny tried to pry the paper out of her hand. He had her legs trapped under his hands and it was hard for her to get out of his grip.

"What was it?" Danny asked as he inched forward backing CJ into the armrest of the couch as she tried to move in the other direction.

CJ took her list and shoved it quickly in the waist of her pajama pants.

"Oh don't think I won't come in there and get it," Danny said.

"To tell you the truth I was kind of hoping you would," CJ said seductively.

"Ah, you're trying to distract me," he said.

"Maybe," CJ said wrapping her around his neck and pulling him closer to her. "Is it working?"

"No," Danny said as he slid his hands to her waist slowly. CJ started kissing his jaw line lightly until she worked her way to his ear. She could feel his body tense and she knew he was lying.

"Okay, so maybe a little," he said distractedly.

Finally Danny abandoned all hope of being able to concentrate long enough to find CJ's list. He decided he'd much rather concentrate on more important tasks. In all honestly it had been weeks since they'd been so intimate. It seemed like they found out about the baby and things changed overnight. CJ was tired or Danny was working. CJ was feeling bad because of the morning sickness or Danny on the phone with his editor. It was nice to have a moment where it was just the two of them concentrating on each other rather than the million things that needed to be accomplished before the baby was born.

"It's been a while," CJ said.

"Yes it has," Danny said taking a breath and moving back up to her mouth with his lips.

Danny scooped a hand under CJ's hair and pulled her head toward his. He kissed her passionately on the mouth and CJ returned the sentiment by inching her hands under his shirt and running her nails along his sides. She helped him remove the shirt quickly and he started to unbutton her blouse while he kissed her stomach on the way.

CJ sat up to remove her blouse but, just then a wave of nausea hit her. She continued to kiss Danny hoping it would pass, but it didn't seem like that was a possibility. She lay back down and willed her stomach to cooperate. Against all of her wishes she had to stop him.

"Danny," she said.

"Yeah," he replied in between kisses.

"Wait," CJ said.

"Huh?"

"Wait, stop," CJ said forcefully. She sat up straight and pushed him out of the way while she jumped off the couch and ran toward the bathroom with her hand covering her mouth.

"CJ?" Danny asked as she ran from the room.

He stood up and wiped his mouth with his hand while he heard a familiar sound. He rubbed his eyes and sighed before picking up his shirt with one hand and throwing it back over his head as he made his way down the hall.

"Hey," he said leaning again the doorframe.

He found CJ on her knees in from of the toilet. She turned her head and gave him an apologetic smile.

"See, a response like that would crush a normal man's ego," Danny said stepping in a taking a seat on bathroom floor.

"I'm so sorry," CJ said as her voice cracked.

Her eyes were watering and she looked miserable. Danny was about to respond when she turned toward the basin and retched again. He leaned over and rubbed her back gently as she got sick. When it seemed that the worst had passed she wiped her mouth and looked at him.

"Danny," she said with tears in her eyes.

"I know," Danny said pulling her into his arms and running his hand through her hair. "I know you don't feel well."

"I'm so tired of feeling this way," CJ said. "I thought tonight would be different. I thought maybe the worst was over."

"It will be."

"I'm so sorry," she said again.

"Hey," Danny said using his index finger to pull her chin up. He looked her in the eyes. "In case you didn't notice, I'm a pretty patient guy. You feel better and then we'll talk."

"Good things come to those who wait," CJ said trying to be optimistic.

"Well I got you didn't I?" Danny replied. "Are you feeling a little better?"

"Tired," CJ said. "I'm also hoping the Chinese food doesn't rear its ugly head again."

"You know, I was thinking," Danny said. "We've spent a lot of quality time in this room since you've been pregnant. Since Agatha and Ferris are still on the list I'd like to add Commode."

"Or Loo," CJ suggested with a giggle.

"Maybe Water Closet. Little Water Closet Concannon," Danny laughed.

"Oh, by the way," CJ said pulling the list out of her waistband. "It was Luna."

She handed Danny her list.

"Luna?"

"I figured that was close enough to moonbeam," she said with a shrug.

"I'd say so," Danny said looking over her list.

"We'd better hope this kid is a boy," CJ said glancing at her list again.

"Aw I don't know, I think Azure Concannon has a ring to it," he placated her.

TBC