1 TITLE: Breaking the Rules 4
AUTHOR: Kansas J. Miller
PAIRING: CJ/Simon
RATING: G
SUMMARY: "This won't be easy…"
SPOILERS: The Black Vera Wang
***
CJ went to bed feeling uneasy, the fear of harm at the hands of a stalker forefront in her mind. And in the back of her mind, there was Simon.
She should never have asked him if he was coming in. She should have known it couldn't be so simple; Simon had gone further than he wanted to, and he'd only been sitting on her sofa for five minutes before realizing that nothing was allowed to happen.
It had hurt, even though CJ knew he was doing the right thing. And they really were being rash in even thinking about each other. But it was so nice to feel attracted to someone, and CJ hadn't allowed herself that luxury in many months. Of course it had to be now. She snorted to herself, sat up in bed, and searched the darkness for the remote. As she found it on the comforter and flicked the television on, CJ sighed upon thought of the inevitable awkwardness she and Simon would experience tomorrow in the West Wing.
***
With one of the agents on her tail, CJ made a point of stopping for her mail and newspapers before arriving at her office. She wanted to be distracted, consumed with work, totally unavailable for speaking with Simon. And he would be there, she knew, waiting to make sure she'd arrived. And he would be there all day, reminding CJ that there was so much to explore…and yet it was all off limits.
Paging through the papers with one eye and keeping the other on the hallway ahead of her, CJ even considered getting on her cell phone to delay interaction with Simon. This was ridiculous, CJ suddenly realized, folding the paper up. She was an adult, he was an adult, and they were actually acting like adults should. True, though hard to stomach, and as CJ walked into her office, she still kept her eyes turned down.
Carol appeared as CJ shed her coat, the conversation momentarily blocking out the sound of Simon's deep voice on the telephone. After Carol had gone, CJ realized that she could not succeed in avoiding conversation—he was looking right at her.
"Good morning," he offered, his manner completely as it had been the morning before. No hint of awkwardness on Simon's part, but all CJ could do was suck her breath in nervously.
"Hi…" she said slowly, her tone shy and a bit wary. Smiling in spite of herself, CJ turned and walked into her office, stopping suddenly at sight on her desk.
He was right behind her, and as CJ gasped, Simon felt immeasurable pleasure at her reaction. The three dozen red roses were the best he could do on short notice, but the need to send some kind of apology had overwhelmed the Secret Service agent all night. Flowers were not good enough for CJ, Simon knew, and if she would give him a chance to do more, he would.
CJ approached the obviously expensive arrangement with tentative admiration. Her immediate thought was that Simon sent them, and upon seeing the card, her guess was confirmed.
Slowing revolving around to face Simon, CJ pushed her lips together in efforts to remain composed. The note was incredibly touching and just the classy type of thing CJ had longed to receive from a man. She met his eyes carefully, thrilled deep down by this gesture.
He was saying nothing, only looking at CJ with reserved emotion. He didn't know what she would react with, and so Simon kept himself standing straight. But he'd given up trying to keep this professional; there was no way that their relationship would stand still, and he hadn't been able to bear the fact that he'd walked out of her apartment the night before.
"I don't know what to say," CJ finally managed, her expression intensely innocent and surprised. Simon smiled and looked down at his shifting feet. He picked up his head again before responding.
"This won't be easy," he stated, working to keep his tone level. And indeed this would not be even remotely easy. He could only love her certain hours of the day. It probably wasn't fair to CJ, and it probably wasn't fair to Simon, and it certainly wasn't fair to her protection and safety. But it was staring them both in the face.
CJ nodded, biting her lip to keep her smile in check. As she walked around to sit behind her desk, Simon saw CJ clutching the card happily in her hands. "I'll be around," he called, chuckling happily as he threw the comment over his shoulder.
CJ didn't even try to wipe the grin off of her face, as she sat down. Beaming at the thoughtfulness of it all, CJ took one of the sweet-smelling roses out of the vase and held it close as she looked down at the card.
"Leaving you last night was a mistake, and I don't intend to make any more…"
AUTHOR: Kansas J. Miller
PAIRING: CJ/Simon
RATING: G
SUMMARY: "This won't be easy…"
SPOILERS: The Black Vera Wang
***
CJ went to bed feeling uneasy, the fear of harm at the hands of a stalker forefront in her mind. And in the back of her mind, there was Simon.
She should never have asked him if he was coming in. She should have known it couldn't be so simple; Simon had gone further than he wanted to, and he'd only been sitting on her sofa for five minutes before realizing that nothing was allowed to happen.
It had hurt, even though CJ knew he was doing the right thing. And they really were being rash in even thinking about each other. But it was so nice to feel attracted to someone, and CJ hadn't allowed herself that luxury in many months. Of course it had to be now. She snorted to herself, sat up in bed, and searched the darkness for the remote. As she found it on the comforter and flicked the television on, CJ sighed upon thought of the inevitable awkwardness she and Simon would experience tomorrow in the West Wing.
***
With one of the agents on her tail, CJ made a point of stopping for her mail and newspapers before arriving at her office. She wanted to be distracted, consumed with work, totally unavailable for speaking with Simon. And he would be there, she knew, waiting to make sure she'd arrived. And he would be there all day, reminding CJ that there was so much to explore…and yet it was all off limits.
Paging through the papers with one eye and keeping the other on the hallway ahead of her, CJ even considered getting on her cell phone to delay interaction with Simon. This was ridiculous, CJ suddenly realized, folding the paper up. She was an adult, he was an adult, and they were actually acting like adults should. True, though hard to stomach, and as CJ walked into her office, she still kept her eyes turned down.
Carol appeared as CJ shed her coat, the conversation momentarily blocking out the sound of Simon's deep voice on the telephone. After Carol had gone, CJ realized that she could not succeed in avoiding conversation—he was looking right at her.
"Good morning," he offered, his manner completely as it had been the morning before. No hint of awkwardness on Simon's part, but all CJ could do was suck her breath in nervously.
"Hi…" she said slowly, her tone shy and a bit wary. Smiling in spite of herself, CJ turned and walked into her office, stopping suddenly at sight on her desk.
He was right behind her, and as CJ gasped, Simon felt immeasurable pleasure at her reaction. The three dozen red roses were the best he could do on short notice, but the need to send some kind of apology had overwhelmed the Secret Service agent all night. Flowers were not good enough for CJ, Simon knew, and if she would give him a chance to do more, he would.
CJ approached the obviously expensive arrangement with tentative admiration. Her immediate thought was that Simon sent them, and upon seeing the card, her guess was confirmed.
Slowing revolving around to face Simon, CJ pushed her lips together in efforts to remain composed. The note was incredibly touching and just the classy type of thing CJ had longed to receive from a man. She met his eyes carefully, thrilled deep down by this gesture.
He was saying nothing, only looking at CJ with reserved emotion. He didn't know what she would react with, and so Simon kept himself standing straight. But he'd given up trying to keep this professional; there was no way that their relationship would stand still, and he hadn't been able to bear the fact that he'd walked out of her apartment the night before.
"I don't know what to say," CJ finally managed, her expression intensely innocent and surprised. Simon smiled and looked down at his shifting feet. He picked up his head again before responding.
"This won't be easy," he stated, working to keep his tone level. And indeed this would not be even remotely easy. He could only love her certain hours of the day. It probably wasn't fair to CJ, and it probably wasn't fair to Simon, and it certainly wasn't fair to her protection and safety. But it was staring them both in the face.
CJ nodded, biting her lip to keep her smile in check. As she walked around to sit behind her desk, Simon saw CJ clutching the card happily in her hands. "I'll be around," he called, chuckling happily as he threw the comment over his shoulder.
CJ didn't even try to wipe the grin off of her face, as she sat down. Beaming at the thoughtfulness of it all, CJ took one of the sweet-smelling roses out of the vase and held it close as she looked down at the card.
"Leaving you last night was a mistake, and I don't intend to make any more…"