CJ & Danny's bedroom 11.15am
Danny peered into Imogen's crib before turning his attention to CJ's breathing pattern.
"You're not really asleep, are you?" he asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"Did he believe me?"
"He didn't question it. You made a pretty compelling case about new mothers needing to nap when their babies nap. Especially ones who had a few drinks the night before."
"I needed to buy some time," she said with a sigh. "I don't know if I'm ready for this conversation."
"Chances are he's not ready for it either, but the only way out of this conversation is through it," he said gently. "Did the talk with Donna get to you?"
She rolled over partially to look at him and said, "you know about that?"
"Yes," he said as he laid a hand on her shoulder and caressed it.
She turned away from him, and Danny bent down to kiss the back of her head before standing up.
"I'll leave you to marshall your thoughts," he said.
Her hand snuck out and snagged his wrist before he could move.
"Stay." She turned and sought the reassurance of his arms when the mattress dipped under his weight. "I feel like such a horrible person."
"You're not," he said matter-of-factly.
"There's a but in there somewhere, isn't there?"
"Not so much a but as .."
"Don't ask me to put myself in Josh's shoes again .."
Danny tried to repress the grin threatening to take over his face.
"Why are you smiling?"
"I don't know. It's just .. men get defensive when someone has a go at their woman," he said with half a chuckle.
"How is any of this funny?"
"It's not. I'm just thinking of times I was pissed with you in the briefing room but couldn't stand to hear everyone else hound you."
"How many acts of genocide constitute a genocide?" Mark O'Donnell asked.
"I don't know. Danny?"
"What's the weather report for Sunday?"
"Two below with the wind chill. That's a full lid. Good night."
CJ looked up at him with disbelief in her eyes.
"You helped me shut that briefing down because you wanted the answer yourself. And you wanted to pound me about Shareef some more."
"At some level, sure. But I genuinely couldn't stand it when people pushed you."
"Never mind that you were the one pushing hardest and most often …"
"Yes, never mind that. We were fresh off your little display in the copier room, too, and I still couldn't stand it. Maybe we're genetically predisposed as men. Hardwired to respond."
"You've lost me here, Danny."
He paused for a moment and then said, "can I ask you something?"
"Have I ever been able to stop you?"
There was the defensiveness that he had been trying hard not to trigger, so he asked his next question with wariness in his tone.
"Is there a chance that you and Josh butted heads, or had a difference of opinion, over Donna, before that night in your office?"
"What do you mean?"
"Remember the night my editor dropped the Jack Reese quote into the article?"
"Yes."
He felt her tense up, and knew she didn't like where this was going. But he pushed on, regardless.
"As a matter of form, he tells them what I'm writing about. CJ, I don't know who he talked to."
"I sent you to Donna when you asked."
"I'm saying it wasn't necessarily Donna. I mean, in a million years, do you think Donna."
"And then she called."
"My question was, did you and Josh have a difference of opinion over it?"
"Oh God .."
"A researcher gathering background spoke to three people, one of whom was Donna, because your office is one of the places that keeps breakdowns of how Pentagon staff are detailed to the White House. The researcher was giving an unprompted quote, which he gave to Danny's editor, who put it in the piece."
"What was the quote?" Josh asked.
"Everyone's very loyal to everyone else around here, unless you wear a uniform."
"I know it sounds like it was Donna 'cause of the situation with Jack, but there's no way she gives that quote to a reporter."
"She didn't think she was on the record."
"There's no way Donna said that."
"She did. She just called me and told me she did, which I give her credit for."
"You do?"
Danny angled his head.
"You were very quick to believe, and keep believing, that Donna was in the wrong. Admittedly she helped, and if I hadn't brought a clipping of the article to Josh at the inaugural ball I'm not convinced any of you would have taken the time to figure it out, but that's beside the point. The point is -"
"He was in love with her even then."
"You know the story of what happened when we showed up at Donna's apartment .. "
"I can't believe that you were involved in that, or that I didn't know anything about it until the wedding."
"We damn near woke the whole neighbourhood," Danny said with a laugh. "You really shoulda seen him. Preening and showing off for her. And he didn't care if we saw it, either."
"I still don't understand why nobody said anything at the time."
"Guy thing. Although I might have told you if the Shareef situation hadn't put a wedge between us back then."
She pressed a little closer, pushing the memory of those unhappy days between them from her mind.
"To your point, you think that my lack of faith in Donna over the article triggered a bigger response when the conversation in my office came up?"
"He probably understood that you were doing your job, but I'm just giving you the male perspective here. We really can get very defensive. And protective. We hold on to a lot, subconsciously."
"When I think back about that conversation with Donna .."
"Yeah?"
"Oh I don't even know what I'm trying to -"
She trailed off in frustration, and Danny let the silence hang in the air before saying, "is it possible you were projecting some of your own feelings that night?"
"I hate to admit it, but probably. Yes," she admitted after another moment's thought.
"If it comes up, say that."
"How did the conversation with Donna become the focus of this pep talk? The last time we talked about this it wasn't even a factor."
"We weren't aware of the ripple effect, then. It may not be as big a deal as we are making it out to be, but it can only be a good thing that you know at this point."
"Even if I want to hide under a rock just thinking about it?"
"Yes. Look at it this way, it's given you and Donna a chance to clear the air. That's something, right?"
"Right."
"I know it's easier to play happy families, CJ, but there's an opening here. Don't be afraid to take it. Hey .." he angled her face towards his and ran his eyes over her face. When she looked back at him with misty eyes he smiled tenderly at her. "Pesky hormones, huh?"
"Yeah."
"It's going to be okay."
"Okay."
CJ took a deep breath and was reaching up to kiss him, when a plaintive little cry drifted their way from the crib. "We'll pick this up later," Danny said as he brushed his thumb across her lips. "In the meantime, how about Imogen and I give Donna a tour of the neighbourhood? Give you guys some space."
The guest room 11.50am
Josh loitered next to the armchair in the guest room as Donna slipped into a pair of walking shoes.
"I've been wondering .." he said as twirled his fingers around her ponytail.
"Oh God, not again. We are not moving the timeline up and having a baby."
"How do you know that's what I was going to say?" he protested weakly.
"Because you're a basket case, Josh," she said. "You've been a basket case ever since you got here."
"Well it's not what I was going to say."
"Good." Donna moved to study her reflection in a nearby mirror. "So what were you going to say?" she asked as she pulled a pair of earrings from her make up bag and checked them against her outfit.
"I've been wondering about why they didn't invite me to be Imogen's godfather."
"Maybe because you're Jewish and they're Catholic?"
"Canon law requires only one godparent. I could have been the spare."
"It probably depends on the parish, but .. did they actually baptize her? Wouldn't there have been photos? Maybe they're lapsed Catholics and they've decided not to bother."
"Nah. Danny's mother would have his head."
"So you think they baptized her in secret and didn't tell anyone .."
"I don't know. I just think - "
"You know what I think?" Donna asked as she turned round and placed her hands firmly on his shoulders.
"What?"
"I think you're coming up with all kinds of nonsense -"
"Nonsense?"
"Stalling tactics, then" she amended. "To avoid thinking about this conversation with CJ. Maybe they didn't ask because they thought you'd say no. Maybe there's a whole line of brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and cousins, all chomping at the bit to be godparents, and they have to go with blood relatives. Mend your fences and then ask her about it."
She gave him a peck on the cheek and started to walk away. When she reached the doorway she turned around with a mischievous gleam in her eye.
"Josh?"
"Yeah?"
"If you haven't sorted this out by the time Danny and I get back, I'm calling President Bartlet in to mediate."
She flashed him a smile and disappeared into the hallway before Josh could formulate a suitable response.