"Cute kid,"
"Huh?" John looked up from the file he
was reading and saw the
Congressman looking at the photograph of
Joel. CJ had given it to
him a few weeks ago after he had returned
from Texas. Joel was
lying in his crib, dressed all in white,
looking up at the camera,
his eyes shining. John knew his son was
too young to be smiling but
he liked to think that he was doing
just that. A smile just for
him.
He put the file down on
his desk and stood, walking over to the
Congressman. "Yeah,
he's really cute," John agreed, taking the
picture from him
and placing it back on the desk.
"Whose is it?"
"HE,"
John answered, emphasizing the word, "is my so…sister's
little
boy." John hated lying. Hated having to deny his son.
He wanted
to show off to everyone, tell them that the beautiful
boy in the
photograph was his son but he knew that it was out of
the question.
In fact, he was finding it nigh-on impossible to
even get a quiet
moment to spend with Joel. After spending longer
than intended at
the ranch, he had a lot to catch up on and John
had found himself
busy with work night and day.
But this
was something John was determined to rectify. "So,
Congressman
Miller," John said, ushering the Congressman to the
door,
"I'm sure I can put my faith in you to bring me those
five
votes."
"Absolutely, Mr Vice-President."
John shook the Congressman's hand before
subtly guiding him out the
room and shutting the door firmly
behind him.
He quickly walked back over to his desk, pulling
out his cell as he
did so. He punched in the buttons and sat down,
waiting for the
call to connect. "Hi…we need to talk. Can
you come over?"
"Mr Vice-President, I don't
appreciate being at your beck and call.
Don't you know I have
important things to attend to?" CJ announced
loudly as John
opened his office door to her.
"As do I, Ms Cregg,"
John answered seriously, as she swept past him
into the room. He
motioned for his assistant to hold all calls and
closed the door,
turning to see CJ settling herself on his
couch. "You do
realize, CJ," he began, joining her on the
sofa, "that
my staff knows about Joel's parentage. You didn't have
to make a
scene for their benefit,"
"It wasn't for their
benefit. It was for the two junior aides who
were sitting out in
the waiting room. I assume they don't know,"
CJ said
sardonically.
"I didn't see them," John admitted,
apologetically. "Thank you," he
added and was relieved
to see the frown on CJ's face disappear.
"It's ok. So,
let's get this little guy out of his chair," CJ said,
as she
reached down to unbuckle the seat's straps.
John placed his hand on hers and she stopped, looking up at him.
"May I?"
he asked, a smile creeping over his face when CJ nodded.
He
unclipped the straps on the seat and carefully scooped Joel up
and
into his arms. "This is what it's all about," he whispered,
as
Joel stirred in his sleep and snuggled closer against his
father's
chest.
"He just gets more and more like you," CJ said, smiling.
"I couldn't before but I can totally
see it now," John agreed,
gently smoothing back Joel's soft
dark hair. "Not seeing him all
the time…the changes…the
little things…I miss out on them,"
"John, I…" CJ began but John continued.
"Please, let me say this.
The two weeks at the farm, getting to
know Joel, it was fantastic.
Changing his diapers, bathing him,
holding him until he fell
asleep, God, CJ, I really felt like I was
part of something. Over
those two weeks I really bonded with him
and even though it's only
been a short time since I last saw him,
I'm constantly worrying
that the bond will disappear, that he'll
forget about me."
"Oh,
John," CJ let out a soft sigh and placed her hand on John's
arm.
Looking into his eyes, she saw such sadness and she felt a
lump
rise up in her throat.
"And what happens if I'm the next
President? Four, maybe even eight
years of secret meetings. Days,
weeks, months without being able to
visit him, just so that I can
maintain my reputation and avoid
scandal."
"We've
known all along that it was going to be this way,"
CJ
reasoned.
"Maybe, but I didn't know it would feel
like this," John
admitted. "I didn't realize that I
would love him so completely the
moment I set eyes on him."
CJ
smiled. "It's an amazing feeling, isn't it." She moved her
hand
from John's arm to hold her son's tiny hand.
"It
really is. Which is why I'm handing in my resignation to
the
President this evening."
"You're what?!"
CJ exclaimed, jumping up from the sofa and startling
Joel who
promptly began to cry.
John shifted the distressed infant to
his shoulder and rubbed
circles on his back in an attempt to
soothe him. CJ reached out her
arms to take the baby but John
shook his head. "Ssh, baby," he
whispered into his son's
ear and after a few moments, Joel's cries
were reduced to
hiccups.
CJ sat back down beside John and took a moment to
regain her
composure so as not to upset Joel again.
"You can't quit, John, we've already been through this."
"It's
what I want. It's been at the back of my mind for a few weeks
now
but today I'm sure that it's the right thing to do."
"You'd really give up a lifelong dream?"
"Absolutely. I
want to be a proper father to my son. I want to be
a family,"
John turned to CJ who was staring back at him, her eyes a
mixture
of admiration and confusion and something else John couldn't
quite
place. Leaning over, he moved closer to place a kiss on CJ's
lips
but before he could, CJ moved her head away. John moved back
and
sighed.
"John…"
"I know…I know…I keep making that mistake. I'm sorry,"
"It's not a mistake," CJ said.
John looked at her, surprised. "It's not?"
"No. I'd really like to try explore whatever
this is that's going
on between us but I want it to be right.
We've kinda done things
backwards and I think maybe we should try
having a proper date
before we go any further."
"That would make sense," John laughed softly.
"So, my place? I'll cook," CJ offered.
John was silent and CJ
understood his hesitation. "Look, if you're
worried about
someone seeing, don't be. If you are going to resign
then what
does it matter?"
"I guess it doesn't," John
said, suddenly feeling lighter than he
had in months.
"And
maybe if it was found out…accidentally on purpose…for
appearances
sake it would be better if it looked as though we've
been a couple
all this time,"
"You really are the Queen of Spin," John laughed.
CJ smiled. "Oh yeah,"