Pairing: CJ/SS
Spoilers: Post-Episode for Dead Irish Writers.
Disclaimer: Aaron Sorkin, Warner Brothers Television and NBC own everything West Wing. I own my imagination. Don't sue.
Where You Lead
And he might look good in a tuxedo but she looks good in burgundy. It's all relative, she tells herself and maybe it's the wine or the cork in the wine, or maybe its just time… but she wants to see his expression after she kisses him. Wants to see if it's expected or startling, maybe then she'll know, for herself, what it is.
At the party Sam is nowhere to be found. She feels disappointed, wonders if she should make a pass at Donna instead, since they've both been abandoned by her spin boys tonight, but she doesn't think her father would approve if she brought home a Canadian.
As she stands next to Abbey, rubbing her forehead and trying not to fall down in a drunken stupor, Sam approaches. He leans close to her; she glances at him and smiles. He smiles back. He's won something over Senator Enlow, she can tell. He gets a look, similar to Josh and Toby when they have secured a political victory. It's in his eyes, no room for anything else and in that moment she realizes that she won't kiss him tonight but the wish is still there, still strong. So when he asks her to dance she accepts.
And there's something in the way his palm grazes her back, the way he feels her every movement as they sway.
"C.J." he says gently.
"Yeah?" she replies.
"I think I figured something out, about you but I'm not sure 'cause according to Dr. Millgate I was never any good at physics."
C.J. looks at him with puzzlement. "Okay."
Sam shrugs. "I'm just saying – I could be wrong, just because I don't know off-the-bat what function a Superconducting Supercollidor has, doesn't mean that - "
"Superconducting Supercollidor?"
"Yeah."
"What is it used for?" she asks curiously.
"Nothing really, just furthering scientific innovation. Which is where my realization about you comes in - "
She looks disconcerted. "You're 'realization' about me came to you whilst contemplating furthering scientific innovation?"
He laughs. "In an obscure kind of way, yeah."
"Sam?"
He gazes at her. "You can wear an evening gown," he says appreciatively.
"I know."
"I know you know."
"That's your realization?"
"I was just saying."
They smile at each other. Her head feels heavy, so she rests it on his shoulder, he holds her closer and they continue to dance in silence.
The End