Jeannette

Iluvg33ks@imabadlittlegirl.com

After The Oval Office

CJ/Danny

Two years after the Bartlet administration is up, CJ gets another chance with Danny.

None of these are mine. They're all Aaron Sorkin's.

Archive anywhere, just tell me

*****

"Yes, it's right on schedule, no news of what's wrong with Mr. Goodman, but we were ahead of schedule anyways, and we can work things around him." She sighed as she hung up the phone. She got up and walked around the cramped office. She looked at the small fishbowl "Hey Gina." She smiled at the goldfish. She had grown so used to having a fish in her office that even once Gail had died, she had bought a successor for her. But the fishbowl was a painful memory for her. A memory of the past that she had left behind, on another coast.

Even though it had been two years since she had been in the white house, she still missed it. Even with her new job keeping her occupied, she still went to do a press briefing occasionally, still went to call her assistant Carol rather than Stephanie, still expected to see Sam, or Toby, or even-she had trouble even thinking the name-Danny, peeking in to her office. She loved her new job though, and found it to be much less taxing on her, both physically and mentally. The hours were nearly totally steady, and she wasn't required to research for a briefing every single day. She also didn't have to worry about having the news of the free world relying on her.

But as much as she loved being the head of PR for a movie production studio back in Hollywood, she missed the white house. She missed bantering with the press corps. She missed the constant hustle and bustle, and most of all, she missed Danny. She had a chance with him now; she had had one over the last few weeks of the Bartlet administration. He had even asked her. But for reasons that she couldn't comprehend, she had turned him down. And every morning she kicked herself for it. The phone on her desk rang, and she sighed and picked it up, collapsing into the chair behind her desk once again. "CJ Cregg, Cosmic Nation productions, how many I help you?" She felt like a goddamned secretary. Even though her secretary had the same spiel, she still had to say the same thing when she had to pick up.

"CJ, can you do a conference today? We've had 30+ reporters call wanting to know what's happening to john, and when this stupid film's going to be released." Her boss, the founding producer of Cosmic Nation, Robert Gleason sounded on edge.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Whatever you want, you're the PR chick, do whatever you need, just tell them that it's going to be released on time!" She smiled, glad he couldn't see her. He was great at writing and producing blockbusters, but he wasn't too great when it came to people. That's where the former white house press secretary came in handy. She handled all the premieres for him, handled writing his acceptance speeches at various awards shows, handled doing interviews for him for magazines.

A few quick phone calls to some of the local papers and a few national ones and she had the reporters all scheduled for the next afternoon. She sighed. It's been a while since she'd done a press conference. She loved and hated them at the exact same time. She loved being up in front, giving the answers, bluntly, with her wry sense of humor, but she hated the memories they had. Every time when she got up, even with the knowledge of the new job, even knowing that this had nothing to do with the white house, she still looked to Danny's spot, she still look at that section near the back.

The rest of the day passed quickly, as did the next morning. Even though she had the chance to go out and have a life, 5 out of 7 nights she would simply work out, eat dinner, and go to sleep. Friday and Saturday were her days to go out if she had a date, or sit in if she wanted to. Tomorrow, Friday, she had a feeling that it was going to be one of those nights that she would sit in. Press conferences had a tendency to wear her out these days. The toll on her emotions and the toll on her mind, having to answer questions from at least 25 reporters tired her.

She found herself in the press room that next afternoon, preparing for the conference. The first reporters were starting to trickle in. One caused her breath to catch. Someone who looked exactly like Danny had just walked in; only they had no beard, and were undeniably a woman. The same curly red hair, fighting through the obvious attempt of straightening, the same round, youthful face, and the same blue-hazel eyes. She stood there gaping for a minute, before she composed herself. She made a point of introducing herself to each reporter, saving the Danny look alike for last. "CJ Cregg." She said extending her hand.

"Doreen O'Shaungessy. I saw you looking at me earlier. Do I know you?" CJ could feel a slight blush creeping through her cheeks.

"You look like someone I used to know." Doreen grinned.

"I probably do. My entire family looks alike. Well, my mom's side at least. And half of us are reporters. You've probably met a cousin of mine or something."

"That's probably what happened."

"Yeah, there's hundreds of us, about 40 of us on my mom's side look exactly alike. George Lucas doesn't need fancy special effects for the next star wars movie. If he needs a clone army, just call up the Concannon clan, and there's forty of us." CJ swallowed hard. Concannon. That meant she was related to Danny. Well, it would explain their close looks. And her perceptive abilities. "So, which one of my cousins was it?" She said, noting CJ's expression.

"What?" Doreen grinned at her. She even smiled like Danny. A vibrant, youthful grin.

"Which one of my cousins did you fall for, and what happened with him?" CJ looked around and realized that most of the other reporters had showed up.

"I have to go start the conference." Doreen kept grinning as CJ stalked away, introducing herself to a few other reporters before stepping up to the podium to let them all know that they were on schedule, despite the lead actor having a heart attack, and the fact that the budget had just doubled from 3 million dollars to 6 million. She fielded the few questions there were, mostly on the condition of John Goodman, then put the lid on the whole thing. She walked to the back where there were coffee and donuts, and poured herself a glass. It was then she was accosted by Doreen yet again.

"So, are you going to tell me which one of my mom's nephews it was? Or are you going to reply the way you used to, 'no comment?'"

"I opt for no comment." Doreen grinned.

"Fine, be that way, but I'm even more persuasive than my cousin, one certain former white house press correspondent." CJ almost choked on her coffee, stopping herself from spitting it in the other woman's face at only the last second.

"Former?"

"Yes, he quit shortly after the Bartlet administration left office. He's now a freelance political author." CJ couldn't think of anything to respond with. "I'm sorry." Doreen said when she realized what had happened. "I shouldn't have brought him up."

"It's fine." CJ lied.

"No, it's not. I'll make it up to you, its 1 pm, have you had lunch? There's a great little place not to far from here." She nearly dragged CJ out from the building, only allowing CJ to shout to her secretary that she was going out to lunch.