Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine. Whedon and Sorkin's only.
Summary: The First Daughter is missing, California's collapsing, the Slayers are having dreams, the First Family is falling apart in the mix... and CJ broke her favorite mug. Can the Sunnydale crew keep the Bartlet administration afloat?
A/N: And, after two grueling days believing my devilish computer had eaten my work... it has been recovered: both this, entire piece and a partially completed Buffy crossover with Harry Potter, which I am quite excited about. Praise the Disk Warrior program! And without further ado....
Chapter Five — Forging and Breaking
The metropolitan police were now on the lookout for a dozen teenagers wearing black masks who'd attacked two cars of stranded motorists outside of a cemetery, in addition to the constant search for President Bartlet's daughter. Bandaged and sated by Chinese food, the Sunnydale crew, the White House staffers, and Sam sat planning in Josh's small living room soon after dawn. Giles waved his chopsticks around to emphasize his point. "So, if we can use a spell to locate Zoey's whereabouts, we can attack before sunset, thereby keeping the vampires cornered in whatever dark reaches they've sequestered themselves."
"It sounds like it'll work, and you've got all the vampire killing knowledge and all... forgive me for asking, but how are we going to turn in Zoey without making ourselves appear to be vigilantes?" Josh asked. While he wasn't looking, Donna snagged one of his egg rolls. "We've got to be thinking about this stuff. You aren't in California anymore — you're in the District, and the media never sleeps."
"And Danny's gonna kill us for destroying his van," CJ muttered. Sam opened his mouth to speak, and CJ reached over to smack the back of his head. "Preemptive strike," she explained.
"I wasn't going to say anything dirty!" Sam protested.
From CJ's expression, it was evident she didn't believe him. "Anyway. I know we've been awake for about a week straight — well, Josh, Donna and I have been up since the VP resigned — but things have to happen today. It's almost seven in the morning. I should show up at work for at least a few hours. I think Josh is clear for the day, especially if you call Leo and plead insanity or something. And Donna — if Josh isn't around, I'm sure Leo will let you skip, especially considering the state of your leg."
"I can't lie to Leo," Josh murmured. "CJ... he knows me better than anyone. He'll know."
"You should have today off anyway, if you really had an attack. Panic attacks like that cause serious problems to your body." CJ picked at her food, trying to ignore the hurt expression on Josh's face. "Besides, Zoey's life is on the line. I think lying to Leo is nothing compared to a few hours of sleep in order to save the President's daughter, who also happens to be a friend."
Donna shifted in her chair, grabbing her crutches to keep them from falling. Her left leg had been ripped open on the glass of Josh's windshield badly enough that she'd been put on an impressive amount of painkillers. Bustling around the halls of the West Wing wouldn't be an option for a while. "So how does this locator spell thing work? I don't know much — well, anything — about magic."
"Kennedy will be my anchor: basically, she sits there and makes sure I don't lose control. I cast a circle and then recite the location spell from a spellbook — actually, I have it memorized from using it so much. The spell requires a map, which will light up with the location of every demon in the area. Since so few frequent the District, it should be relatively easy to locate the group keeping Zoey Bartlet captive. They should be very near to the cemetery." Willow shrugged. "It's kid stuff. Just give me a map, twenty minutes, and a dark room and we'll have a location."
"Well, if they're near the cemetery... we could pretend we went back to the scene of the crime to find someone's cell phone and claim we heard yelling." Sam shrugged. "It's simple, but it could be the only way to keep from looking like vigilantes."
CJ shook her head. "Don't forget — we'll have taken out the vampires holding her captive, by then. The police will show up to find no one there."
"We'll decide on that course of action later," Giles put in. "At this moment, locating Zoey Bartlet and releasing her before the evening arrives is our highest priority. When do you plan to be at the White House tomorrow, Ms. Cregg?"
"I can probably get back here by two or three in the afternoon. Why? When are we leaving?"
Giles shook his head. "Not leaving. I'd suggest trying to be ready to attack the group by six or seven in the evening, while there's still light out. I was just hoping to continue your education as a Slayer; to bring you up to speed with what Lindsay and Kennedy have already learned. Slaying is instinctual, but acting like a Slayer is learned."
"Right," Josh said. "That's enough of that. I don't care. I'm gonna go call Leo, let him know about the high school gang excuse and tell him Donna and I won't be around today. You Sunnydale people — the third door on the right is a guest bedroom. You can all bunk in there?"
Willow nodded. "That sounds fine. Do you mind if Buffy just sleeps on your couch?"
Josh frowned. "Why?"
Willow pointed to where Buffy had dozed off while tending to the patient. "I think she and Mr. Bailey are out for a few hours. But hey, that's one less body in your room, too."
"Yeah," Josh drawled, glaring at the pair. "There better not be any funny business on my couch."
+
Dawn light was creeping between the blinds when Buffy jerked awake to find Will Bailey peering out the window. "Mm? What's going on? Where is everyone?" She rubbed at her eyes. "Damn, did they leave without me?"
Will shook his head and shushed her. "Check the clock. It's about 6:30 in the morning. Josh and CJ will probably be getting up in a half-hour or so. Your friends are in Josh's guest room."
"They didn't wake me up when they went in to bed," Buffy muttered. She supposed she shouldn't have been too surprised — after all, it had been only five days earlier that they'd kicked her out of the house. Caleb and the First had forced a quick forgiveness... but slights weren't forgotten, by any means. She pulled herself off the couch and crossed to fuss with the bandage around the White House staffer's neck. "How's this feeling? You need painkillers?"
He brushed her off. "I'm fine. Really. I just... I really got bitten by a vampire, didn't I."
It wasn't a question, but Buffy answered with a shrug anyway. "It gets easier to believe, as time goes by. You'll have a nice scar there. You can tell everyone a thug stabbed you with a pen, twice. That's what we told the doctors."
"A pen?" he scoffed. "It's a war wound. An illustration of my fight with purest evil."
She rolled her eyes. "Grabbed, bitten, passed out. You weren't fighting, you were food." Buffy plopped into a chair near his window vigil. "Whatcha lookin' at?"
Will shrugged and drew the curtains apart. Josh's apartment had a nice cityscape view, but it was nothing to write home about. "I miss palm trees," he admitted. "My sister was here helping me get settled in, but she's back in L.A. now. Somewhere out in that hellhole, Zoey Bartlet is being held captive by actual vampires, and even though all my coworkers know her and are in pain over her disappearance, I've only met her once, for five minutes at an Inaugural Ball. And last week, CJ, Josh, Toby, and Donna all went out for drinks after work and forgot to invite me." He shrugged. "I sound like a five-year-old, whining about being left out of the play group. Sorry. I just needed to get that off my chest. Not that you care."
"I know how you feel." When Will looked skeptical, she smacked his shoulder. "Hey, you don't have a monopoly on being an outsider. Two days before closing the Hellmouth at Sunnydale for good, I got thrown out of my own home by the people who accompanied me here — my best friends, not to mention my little sister. They didn't like my attitude." She shrugged. "Compared to that... I think I win."
Will snorted. "When did it become a competition? Hell... I don't belong here. This is Sam's job, not mine. Toby likes me, I guess. I think he's the only one... Josh and Donna and CJ all want Sam here. I think Leo keeps expecting me to react in a way Sam would. I'm just... just a fill for the spot, and I don't quite fit, you know?"
"Yeah. Like it's not a job you ever thought you'd hold, and one you never really wanted, but poof! It's like it's... it's fate, or something, dragging you down into it. And then it's your job and you're expected to do it, even if you'd rather run off to Mexico and drink margaritas with your boy. Girl. Whatever." Buffy shrugged. "I think they're expecting me to be the one to pull all the Slayers together and make something of them. I never wanted to be a teacher, though, and that's what I'd have to be."
"I wanted to write screenplays for Hollywood. I don't think I'm far off," Will said wryly. "What were you planning on doing?"
Buffy gave a faint smile. "Before I found out I was the Slayer? Well... I was fifteen when I was Called... but I think I wanted to be a rock star, or a cheerleader for the Lakers. Then I found out that the Slayer, when there was only one, was the one warrior for the Light in all the world and generally didn't live for more than two or three years. At that point, all I wanted to do was survive."
Will was silent for a long moment. "With however many superhero Slayers running around now... that means you have a choice. You could retire?"
A laugh. "I'd probably get antsy. I tried not slaying for a while, and it makes me bored. But to move to a less active area... get a real job, and a boyfriend, and watch my little sister go to high school without a fear of her dying in a horrible attack by vampires... maybe get married and have kids... It always seemed like too much to hope for." She met his gaze for a moment before examining the backs of her hands nervously. "I don't do relationships well. I've had three boyfriends — two are dead, and one ran off to South America, or something. The third, already an ex by that time, gave his life willingly so the rest of us could escape the Hellmouth. I told him I loved him... and he didn't believe me, and he died."
"I'm sorry." Will sighed. "It's not enough, but I am. Hey, are you — are you alright?"
Buffy was sniffling, rubbing at her cheeks with the heels of her hands. "I didn't mean — I haven't had a chance to really grieve yet, you know? I'm sorry, I'll try to hold off until we find Zoey Bartlet -"
"It's only worse if you hold the grief off until later," Will said knowingly. "Let it out." He held out his arms and she broke into tears and finally grieved for a man who'd loved her without question — the only one who stood by her side in the end.
+
"... and every state in the Union has issued Amber Alerts, generally used in the event of a minor being abducted or disappearing. Though Miss Bartlet is an adult, it is felt that the Amber Alert will allow the Administration to reach as many people as possible. Now, then... the Secret Service has revised the estimated time of the kidnapping to a ten minute window from the moment Miss Bartlet was observed entering the women's restroom to the moment her agents realized she was no longer in the building. The exact window will be released at the next briefing — the police and secret service are working together to compute the furthest distance a car could reach during that period of time to coordinate search procedures." CJ shuffled her cards, making sure she'd hit every point. "Alright, then, I've got a few moments for questions."
As expected, the reporters burst into a roar of "CJ! CJ! Over here!"
"Mark," she called, pointing.
He nodded. "CJ, we have unconfirmed reports that more than one ransom note has been received. Can you comment on the validity of any of the notes?"
CJ risked a glance to Leo standing at the back of the room, who nodded. "We've received a total of six notes at last count. I'd like to note right here that, in high-profile abductions like this one, multiple ransom notes are often received from a variety of terrorist organizations, each wishing to claim the attack as their own. At this time, the White House cannot comment on the source of any note, as the Secret Service, the CIA, and the FBI are researching the validity of each. Next question — Louise."
"CJ, the Times has received intelligence suggesting that President Walken has deployed a task force of aircraft carriers to the waters just outside of Qumari control. Will the White House comment?"
From the look in Leo's eyes, CJ knew it was the truth — but one they'd been hoping to keep from the public. However, she hadn't been told a thing. It was likely the doing of the sexist, sizist Republican that she'd been denied access to the information... but it stung, and couldn't be shown to the reporters, or they'd jump like a pack of rabid dogs. She would rather face an army of vampires, she mused. "I'm afraid I can't comment, Louise. One more question — Danny?"
She was hoping he'd say something slightly light hearted to end the press briefing on a high note. "CJ, did you total my van?"
CJ froze. Leo froze. Danny grinned maliciously, as the pressroom went from eerily silent to bustling with demands for information. That bastard — he'd gotten his revenge for agreeing to withhold the Shareef story at last. "That has nothing to do with White House goings on — but for your information, yes, Danny, your van's smashed to bits. It stalled in Maryland, and we were jumped. Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman and his senior assistant, Donna Moss, came to jump the van with Josh's car. I'm fine, just a little shaken. Of those involved in the incident, Donna Moss and the Deputy Communications Director, Will Bailey, received minor injuries. Both will be back at work here shortly. Don't forget to ask Will where he got his lovely scars; I'm sure he'll be just dying to answer. And Danny — we need to chat. Alright, that's a full lid. I'm going home for the afternoon and Carol will handle the evening briefing."
She charged off the podium and pulled Leo aside before Danny could catch up, using her significant Slayer strength to make sure the Chief of Staff followed her into a secured room. "Alright, spill. What's Walken up to?"
"CJ — you weren't here. I don't like the man, but he's doing the best he can with the information we have." Leo brushed off her grip and adjusted his suit. "Besides, you were sitting in the police station when the decision was made."
"But we don't know who did this!" CJ blurted. "I don't think it was the Qumari government! This is a mistake!"
Leo shook his head. "CJ... it's most likely payback for Shareef. The CIA thinks that, of the six notes, the Qumari group and those wackos from Louisiana are the most likely to have pulled it off. If we don't find her soon..."
"We'll find her, Leo," CJ promised, ignoring his skeptical eyebrow-raise. "We're going to find her, and Walken will back up, and President Bartlet will be reinstated. And things will go back to normal... you can meet the women who escaped the earthquake in Southern California; they were here for a competition that got cancelled. We'll have her back."
He looked at least thirty years older than the afternoon of Commencement, when she'd teased him about the gift he'd chosen for his goddaughter's graduation; a pen. "If we don't find her, he's going to take back the Presidency just long enough to appoint a Vice President. Then he'll resign for good," Leo muttered. "Don't spread it around, CJ — but this is what we're working with. Whoever did this didn't cripple the country. They crippled a single family."
"She'll be back. I have a feeling," CJ assured him. "She'll be back and we'll have a President."
+
Toby and Danny were both waiting in her office when she returned from speaking to Leo, perched on opposite ends of her couch and glaring at each other through slitted lids. In unison, they jumped to their feet as she entered. "CJ? Are you alright?" Toby demanded, while Danny shouted, "How the hell did a bunch of high schoolers total a bullet-proof van?"
CJ snorted and rounded her desk, tossing her notes down and taking a seat. "I'm just fine, Tobus, but stay right there. Danny? Don't you have insurance?"
"Plenty, but I doubt it covers high school hoodlums. And how did the thing break down? I just had it inspected!" he groused. Toby took a seat again, while Danny paced up to the desk and leaned forward over it. "C'mon, CJ. High schoolers?"
CJ gave her best press secretary smile. "The police think they were on PCP. Several of them had crowbars... trust me, your van's in better shape than Josh's car. Josh and Donna were nearly killed."
Danny's eyes narrowed. "Then how the hell did you scare them off? How many were there? Why did they attack while you were all inside the van?"
"I don't know how we scared them off — you know me, I'm just a tall, scary woman," CJ deadpanned. "There were about a dozen of them, and I suppose the van seemed like an easy target. We weren't exactly in the middle of a well-lighted area when your van gave out. Here -" she dug through her desk and pulled out a slip of paper. "This is where your van is. If your insurance doesn't cover, I'll pay for it. Alright? Now get out of my office."
Danny paused, as if readying himself for another question, before giving CJ a look, one that silently screamed, "I'm not done with this yet." Then, he turned on his heel and stormed out, pausing only long enough to acknowledge the Band-Aids on Carol's face before he was gone.
"He's cheerful," CJ noted dully, looking back to her notes. "Now then — how's the kids, Papa Pokey?"
Toby grimaced. "Huck spit up on me. It was a learning experience. CJ — are you sure you should be in today? Yesterday was a traumatic day for you, and I'm just thinking maybe a rest should be in order -"
It was all CJ could do to calm herself enough to not snap the pen in her hands clear in half. "Toby, I'm fine. Now drop it." She put down the pen to resist temptation. "Now then — have you talked that girl into marrying you yet? And... have you thought about whether or not you really want to remarry her? Are you doing this out of some chivalric sense of right and wrong? Because Andi can do just fine on her own, and you'll always be there for them."
Though appearing troubled by the change of topic, Toby answered anyway, averting his eyes the way he always did when sharing something personal. "I want to be there to read them a bedtime story. I want to be there when they wake up at midnight, and 2 am, and 5 am. I want to feed them baby food and end up with it stuck in my beard. I don't want to miss a minute of them laughing, or rolling over, or sitting up. I can't do that if they don't live in my home, and I can't have them living in my home if I'm not married to their mother." His eyes flickered over to meet hers for a brief moment. "They're my kids, CJ. They're my kids every moment of every day, not just on weekends or for two months in the summer, or whenever the court says I can have them, if and when Andi marries somebody else."
CJ nodded. "That's answer enough to me. So... why don't you tell her that?"
"What?" Toby blanched at the mere thought. "I couldn't. I just — maybe — I've barely gotten the chance to spend any time with her since they were born."
"You've been here," CJ stated. "When this is all over and Zoey's home, I think you should take some family leave. You should cherish this time."
"I will," Toby promised. "I've got to be here until then, though. I think I'm the only one brave enough to go within ten feet of the Big Man. And that includes Leo — he's spending most of his time in the Residence."
CJ winced. "How are the President and the First Lady doing? Mrs. Bartlet tried to get into the press room yesterday early morning — to make a statement, beg for Zoey to be brought home — but Amy and I stopped her."
"Charlie's with them. Amy's in there, too, though she's probably not the best choice of confidante for the First Lady." Toby sighed. "The President asked to be sedated last night. I haven't heard since... CJ, is there any way Donna could get in here to be with the First Lady?"
"She's on crutches, at Josh's, with Sam and his guests. And Will, too, I think. Will's probably still sleeping off blood loss." CJ shrugged. "If someone sends a car around... but she might still be in a lot of pain. The guy climbed right up on the hood of Josh's car, destroyed the windshield with a crowbar, and dragged Donna out through the broken glass. I didn't catch much of it until I got out of my car... but I'm surprised she's even got a leg left."
Toby gave a deep sigh and nodded. "Alright, then. I'll leave her be... and Will's alright? The police report on my desk said he was stabbed twice in the neck... with a pen?"
"In this case, the pen is mightier than the sword," CJ smirked, anticipating Toby's snort of exasperation. "But yeah. We got out of the car to help Donna and Josh. One of the guys grabbed him. Buffy — the martial arts coach from the quake epicenter — managed to take out the guy. Several of the other group leaders and a champion student were there, too, as Sam's guests. I suppose their presence scared off the gang."
"Give them my thanks," Toby said. "I wouldn't want to be searching for yet another deputy. Will's been doing a fair job."
"I miss Sam," CJ countered. She grabbed up her purse and checked the clock. 4:30 p.m. — the group should be spread out over the city by now, gathering what was needed for the spell and the end of the fight. "Walk me to my car, Pokey? Why don't we go over and see if Leo will let you out for the rest of the evening... your kids need you..."
Toby waved her off. "I'll do that. Why don't I meet up with the lot of you later at Josh's? Andi's not being released until tomorrow."
"Josh's?" CJ froze. Would telling Toby be the right course of action? "Um — it's kinda full there, with the sickies and the California guests bunking."
He was halfway out the door, and it was too late. "I'll just stop by to check on Will!" he called back.
"Crap," CJ muttered. She was tempted to follow — but at that moment, her cell phone rang. "CJ Cregg," she answered.
"It's Sam," came the voice on the other end. "Willow, Kennedy, Giles, and I are at Donna's place, though Donna's sleeping off her pain meds at Josh's still. There's more space here and her roommate's away for a while. Josh took Lindsay to go find weapons of some sort. They took the subway and said they'd meet you at the Home Depot in Alexandria, since Josh's car is totaled. Will was complaining of dizziness when we left Josh's place; Buffy offered to take him back to his place, but she doesn't know the roads. Oh, and can you stop at the grocery, too? Willow needs, umm... Rosemary? And Donna's all out of milk."
Reduced to drudgery. "Fine. Rosemary and milk. I'll meet them there," CJ grumbled. "Why don't I pick up some Chinese while I'm at it?"
Sam didn't seem to catch her sarcasm. "Ooh, that sounds nice. And some more chopsticks, while you're at it? Who knows how many vampires we'll have to dust tonight?"
Toby was going to Josh's. It sounded as if he'd be missing all the fun.