"Lowkey"

CJ was stretched out on the couch in Leo's room. She was the only one there and she was reading through the hundreds of newspaper articles she had to catch up on. Her legs were stretched out across the couch and one foot was elevated on a pillow. She'd slipped on some ice earlier in the day and she hoped that the swelling wouldn't get much worse. She didn't have time for a trip to the emergency room.

She sat with a highlighter and two piles of papers. She'd have to pass them on to Toby, though she knew he was probably already up to date on just about everything. He was annoying that way. She chuckled out loud to an article written by Danny Concannon. He sure had a way with words. Josh entered the room to find her there alone, laughing to herself.

"Have you finally cracked?" he asked as he walked in.

CJ turned her head. "Something like that," she replied. She handed him the paper she was finished with and pointed to the article she was just reading. "Danny Concannon has a pretty unique description of Hoynes' last speech."

"Better not let Toby hear you say that," Josh teased her. "He might think Danny's ready to run off with you."

Josh had been fighting with himself regarding his feelings for CJ and it was easier for him to tease her about Danny. He was ready to admit that he liked her; he liked her more than he thought he could, but ever since he had a fleeting thought that it could be something like love he felt self-conscious.

CJ gave him an agreeable grin and Josh took the paper and walked around the coffee table to sit on the couch next to CJ. She hadn't moved her legs, so Josh simply picked them up and set them back down on his lap as he read. CJ was already on to the next paper before she noticed that there were two empty seats in which he could have sat, yet he chose to move her legs and sit next to her. It made her feel good for reasons she didn't like to think about too deeply. It had only been two days since their quick tryst and CJ found herself looking forward to every moment she got to spend alone with Josh.

Josh finished the article with a laugh as well. "I'm going to have to compliment Danny on that one," Josh said. "Aren't journalists supposed to be objective?"

"It was pretty veiled," CJ replied. "You had to want it."

"Which we did," Josh said knowingly.

CJ gave him a look over the bridge of her glasses that said she concurred without words. She handed him another paper. "You might want to read page seven," she said.

Josh took the paper and opened it before he asked, "What's up with the Marie Antoinette pose you have going here?"

"What?"

"Feet up, reading papers," Josh said. "Where are the bon bons?"

"I have a meeting in fifteen minutes," she informed him. "Besides, I twisted my ankle getting off the bus this morning. I need to keep it elevated."

"You did?"

"Yes."

"Where was I?"

"About 50 feet ahead of me," CJ said.

"It hurts?" Josh asked glanced down at her foot.

"It's swollen," CJ admitted.

"Do you need to get it checked out?"

"I'll be fine."

"Okay," Josh said. He scooted a little farther away from her so that her feet her resting on his thighs. "A slightly higher elevation."

CJ grinned at him. "Thanks. Page seven," she instructed him pointing to the paper.

Josh opened the paper and began to survey the articles on the page. He noticed that it was the page across from the editorials and CJ had highlighted something in practically every article.

"Anything in particular here?"

"The article about trade," she said.

"You know, a highlighter is for highlighting important pieces of information, not 700 word articles," Josh told her.

"Thanks for that," CJ replied. "Being a complete idiot, I wasn't sure."

She smiled at him to indicate she was teasing him and he suppressed a grin back. There was something about her that made him grin like a goofball. She turned her attention back to her paper and Josh started to read the article she pointed out. He absently ran his free hand over her shin a few times while he read; neither seemed to notice.

"Josh?" Donna called from the hallway.

"In here," he hollered back without looking up.

Donna made her way into the room and surveyed the scene of CJ and Josh sitting on the couch. Although they were each sitting there silently reading, she felt like she interrupted something intimate. Maybe it was their posture of familiarity, or the way Josh's hand ran over CJ's leg, but she felt her cheeks flush lightly. She hadn't known either of them that long and she didn't want to intrude.

"Sorry," Donna said.

"For what?" Josh asked not quite done reading the article and therefore not giving her his full attention.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," Donna said.

CJ finished her article and looked up. "We're just reading," CJ assured her.

Josh put is paper down and handed it back to CJ. "I wouldn't worry about it," he said.

"Do we have a line about trade?" she asked.

"Sure," Josh replied.

"And that would be?"

"Toby's got it," Josh said.

"Should we talk about this at the next meeting?" CJ pressed him.

"Yeah," Josh nodded. "We'll talk it over with Leo. What's up Donnatella?"

"Leo needs you," she said. "He's in the governor's room."

"Okay," Josh said.

CJ glanced at her watch. "I should get going too," she said.

Josh stood up, gently moving her legs. Once he was up he put out a hand to help her from the couch.

"I'm not feeble Josh," CJ said, but she took his hand anyway. Putting pressure on it wasn't fun, but it wasn't as bad as she was expecting.

"How's your ankle?" Donna asked. She had been behind her getting off the bus.

"It's okay," CJ said. "I don't think I'll be running a marathon anytime soon."

"I gotta go," Josh said giving CJ a look that silently asked if she was really fine.

CJ returned the glance in the affirmative. "We're talking about trade at the next staff meeting," CJ reminded him as he left the room.

"Yeah," Josh called as he left.

CJ started to gather up the papers she needed to take to Toby. Donna helped her put them in a pile. She looked like she wanted to say something, but CJ didn't want to push. She'd only known her for a few weeks and they didn't have that easy rapport quite yet.

"CJ, can I ask you a question?" Donna asked.

"Sure," CJ replied lifting up a stack of papers.

"How long have you and Josh been together?" she asked.

"What?" CJ asked. She knew her eyes widened at the question and she quickly repositioned her face. She'd been asked surprising questions before, but this one really took her aback.

"Sorry if I'm prying. I was just curious," Donna said. "I've heard people tease him about someone named Mandy and I wondered if that bothered you."

"Donna, I'm not…we're not…Josh and I aren't together," CJ said. She thought she caught the tiniest sign of relief on Donna's face when she said they weren't together.

"I'm sorry, I just thought…oh god, CJ, I'm so sorry," Donna said. She felt her face flush again.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it," CJ assured her. "Out of curiosity, why did you think that we were together?"

"I just assumed. You two are together a lot."

"We're all together a lot," CJ pointed out.

"It seems like you're just really comfortable with each other. I'm really sorry."

"Don't worry about it. We are comfortable with each other," CJ replied. You don't know how comfortable. "But we're just friends."

"Josh said you haven't known each other that long," Donna said.

"I guess not in grand scheme of things," CJ replied. "But we've spent about 18-hours together every day for a few months, that kind of bonds people, like Stockholm Syndrome."

CJ let out a nervous chuckle to take the focus away from the fact that she was mentally freaking out. Obviously she and Josh were putting out some kind of vibe that Donna picked up on that there was more to their relationship.

CJ thought she picked up on a vibe that Donna was giving off herself. Part of her question was out of curiosity, but CJ thought she sensed something else.

"CJ, could we keep this between us?" Donna asked. "I feel so embarrassed that I even asked. I wouldn't want Josh to think that I was prying."

"Josh won't mind," CJ said. "He'd probably think it was funny."

Donna gave CJ a pleading look. "I won't say anything," CJ lied.

"Thanks," Donna said gratefully. CJ immediately felt guilty because she knew she had every intention of telling Josh what had happened. They needed to keep things a little more quiet if they had any hope of keeping their little liaisons a secret.

A few hours later CJ heard a rap on her door. She wondered if Zoey had forgotten her key. They had changed hotels and Zoey was back on the campaign trail. She stood up and walked gingerly over to the door. Her ankle didn't hurt until she put weight on it after a long period of sitting. She worked out the kink and opened the door to find Josh standing there. She really was trying to keep things casual, but she couldn't help but smile every time she saw him.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," he replied with the same goofy grin she wore. "Is Zoey here?"

"You're looking for Zoey?" she asked as she shut the door behind him.

"No, I was looking for you," Josh said as he walked into the room. "I just wondered if Zoey was here."

"She's out to dinner with Abby and the governor," CJ informed him. "What brings you by?"

"Toby wanted me to tell you that we're meeting for the movie at 8:30pm," he said. They had the night off and they had all decided that seeing a new independent documentary playing at the art theatre in town would be relaxing. It was amusing what they found relaxing if Josh really thought about it.

"So you stopped by?" she asked walking closer to him.

"I was walking past your door," Josh shrugged. "I thought I'd stop in."

"I'm actually glad you did," CJ said.

"Why's that?"

CJ took one step and bridged the gap between them. She leaned forward impulsively and placed her lips against his firmly. She quickly felt Josh's arms circle her back and pull her closer to him as he returned the kiss. It deepened quickly until CJ pulled her head back just slightly.

"I've wanted to do that since this afternoon," she said.

"Really," Josh said.

"Yes," CJ chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"You always seem surprised when I kiss you," CJ said.

"I'm not surprised," Josh said. "It's just…"

"What?" CJ asked him.

"Maybe I am surprised," he said finally. "There are very few rules to this whole thing with us, maybe I'm surprised that it's still happening; I should also add here that I'm very, very happy about it."

CJ smiled at him and they broke their hold on each other. "Me too," she agreed. "Although we might have to be a little more careful."

"Careful about what?"

"About this."

"Why? Did somebody say something?" Josh asked. CJ could see the alarm on his face. As much as she didn't want anyone to know about what was going on between them, she could tell Josh felt the same way. She wasn't sure if she should feel happy about that or slighted that he wanted it to stay hidden too. Such was the brain of a woman.

"Donna said something," CJ said.

"Donna my assistant?"

"That's the one," CJ said.

"What did she say?"

"Right after you left to go talk to Leo she asked how long we'd been together," CJ informed him.

Josh was puzzled by that information. He tried to recall if he had talked about CJ more than anyone else. He might have. He found that lately she consumed more of his thoughts than she should have. He was fully concentrated on his work, but in normal conversation, he found his thoughts turning to CJ. He wondered if Donna picked up on it. Women were always more perceptive than men.

"What did you tell her?" he asked. He was curious about how CJ would respond to the question. Part of him wanted her to tell Donna the truth because if he was honest with himself, he felt like this thing with CJ was more than what they'd initially agreed upon and it would nice to have it validated in some small way.

"I told her we weren't together," CJ replied. "I asked her why she thought that we were."

"What did she say?"

"That we hang out a lot," CJ informed him.

"We work together," Josh defended them.

"I told her that. She said we seem so comfortable with each other that she assumed we were together," CJ shrugged.

"I do feel comfortable with you, but I feel comfortable with Donna too. We spend hours together every day."

"I dismissed it," CJ assured him. "I just think we might want to be a little more low-key is all."

"How are we supposed to do that?" he asked.

"Well, maybe when there are two open chairs in the room, you shouldn't sit next to me with my feet on your lap."

"I was being helpful," Josh whined.

"I know," CJ said leaning in and giving him a quick peck on the lips. "And I appreciate it, but it made Donna suspicious."

"I don't understand why she's singling us out," Josh said. "Sam fell asleep with his head in your lap last week!"

"Jealous?" CJ asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No," Josh said unconvincingly.

"I think it's fine now, but there is one other little thing," CJ said.

"What?"

"I hate to even bring it up," CJ said feeling foolish before she even said anything.

"Tell me," Josh said.

"She's young Josh," CJ said.

"Who?"

"Donna."

"Okay."

"She's young and she's just gotten out of a relationship and she idolizes you."

"She does not. I've only known her a few weeks."

"You don't see it."

"So this your way of saying what exactly?"

"Be careful there," CJ said.

Josh just looked at CJ, incredulous to what she was saying. Donna didn't have a crush on him and she was very unlikely to develop one as far as he could tell. Josh thought about it for a moment and then smirked.

"Jealous?" he asked.

"You such an ass," she replied good-naturedly. CJ wanted to say more, but something told her to let it rest. She did sound jealous and there was no reason to be. She wasn't Josh's girlfriend after all.

"How's your ankle?" he asked as she sat on the edge of the bed. He sat down next to her.

"It's still there," she said.

"Let's see it," Josh said pulling her leg up on his lap again.

"You're a doctor now?" CJ commented.

"I am as a matter of fact," Josh replied.

CJ willingly gave him her ankle and said, "Abby doesn't think it's broken. She told me to ice it and stay off it as much as possible for the next few days."

"It's a little swollen," Josh said after looking at it.

"That's your expert opinion?"

"It is. How did you manage this again?" he asked as he set her foot down.

"I was coming off the bus and it was icy," CJ explained. "I let go of the handrail, my foot slipped and I fell flat on my ass. You'd have loved it."

"I probably would have," Josh admitted.

"Toby was laughing so hard I think I saw tears," CJ said.

"How did I miss this?"

"I have no idea," CJ said.

Josh leaned over and ran his hand along CJ's backside and she rolled toward him. "Checking out my ass now?" CJ whispered in his ear.

Josh felt a shiver run down his spine at the feel of CJ's breath in his ear. "As a doctor, I'm sure you want my medical opinion," he said before he buried his lips in her neck. He felt her wrap her arms around him. She laid back and Josh covered her body with his own.

"Mi amour," she sighed before she pulled his face to hers and found his lips.

Josh's kisses were intense and insistent. CJ felt his fingers graze over her chest and reach for the buttons of her blouse. She sighed lightly as she pulled herself closer to him. CJ felt herself respond to Josh's touch and kissed him harder and more deeply causing his hips to grind against hers but then she heard a noise and pulled back.

"What's wrong?" he asked, a little breathless.

"Zoey could be back any minute," CJ reminded him with disappointment in her voice.

"Right," Josh replied as he propped himself up on his elbows. He ran his hand through his hair to help pull him back to reality.

"Right," he said again. He reached out his hand and placed it behind CJ's head, pulling her lips to his quickly one last time. "You're sitting next to me at the movies."

CJ chuckled as she reached out and ran her fingers over his lips gently. "You think you'll be able to cop a feel in a dark theatre?" she asked.

"I can only hope," he said with a mischievous grin.

"So much for low-key," CJ chuckled as Josh stood up and walked towards the door.

"I'll see you at eight-thirty," Josh reminded her.

"Yes, you will," CJ agreed.

TBD