Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press

A/N: I already missed a day…so much for my chapter a day plan. It wasn't wholly my fault because I went to the shore (actually, drove through Delaware to almost Maryland before realizing we were supposed to be on 95N…ugh) Got home and tried to get the computer working, but apparently everything in this house hates me. I miss my college LAN. L Anyways, I hope everyone is enjoying the fic, plenty more to come!

Now, I started doing this on my Voyager fanfic because I got so many reviews and I really wanted to be able to respond to the comments and questions. I think it's a good way to show how much I appreciate everyone taking the time to review. You guys are so awesome!

Kelly: More you shall have!

Lu78: Yay! Thanks!

Netcord: Thanks so much! I worry about keeping everyone in character all the time.

Jazz- Wow! I'm so glad you like it!

Addezia: Glad it's different! I really wanted this to be a unique read.

GoddessAnjannee: Thanks for reading so many of my fics! I really appreciate your reviews!

Kursk: There're touches of Donna/Josh throughout this fic, but the real story of their relationship is being written by my friend Jen. If all goes well, the two stories should tie together and be all fun and good J

"Breaking White House News…to the White House"

CJ closed the door to her office, still rifling through her memories of events that were barely two weeks old. She told the senior staff that same afternoon…

"CJ, I believe you had some news you'd like to share?" The President certainly made it clear that she'd be sharing, whether she wanted to or not.

Josh, Toby, Sam, and Mandy all looked to her expectantly.

CJ took a deep breath. She'd survived Leo, she thought. "I tried to resign earlier today, and was met with…some disagreement." Before they could protest themselves, she continued. She thought briefly that she couldn't do it. They were all looking at her! "I'm pregnant…and," they were already gaping, oh hell. "Danny is the father."

Toby just stared, and swallowed his surprise. Mandy too seemed a little trance-like.

"Well….CJ….that's…" Josh stammered incoherently. "Congratulations," he finally got out.

"Yeah, CJ," Sam added. "Congrats."

She didn't feel like congratulations were in order. In fact, she felt like a failure and an embarrassment to boot. "Thank you," she replied without emotion.

"CJ told Leo and me earlier this afternoon. She wanted to take what she thought the noble way out, and spare us the pain of dealing with the presses. I told her I didn't think it'd be a problem."

"Sir, it will definitely be a problem," Mandy began. "What are we going to tell the public?"

"That she's having a baby," the President replied back, getting the agitation he wanted from her.

"But…" she began. "With the situation involving Danny…"

"That's for you guys to work out, actually," he told them.

"We can't come out that our Press Secretary has been sleeping with a senior White House correspondent!" Mandy declared, as that thought hadn't occurred to anyone else.

CJ felt very, very small as she listened to the voices around her. She was part of something; a group that depended upon her, and she was their most public face….and she had let them down. They were all scrambling now to cover her errors. Why hadn't they just let her walk?

Toby's voice broke the bickering. "We don't have to tell them," he said calmly.

"What?" Mandy snapped at him.

Toby looked at Mandy, trying to will her to take the edge out of her voice, for CJ's sake. "We don't have to tell the press who the father is. They can guess, they can accuse, but CJ doesn't have to tell them anything about her personal life. She doesn't even have to tell them she's pregnant."

"They're going to figure it out!" Mandy shouted.

"Yeah, they will. Which is why it's a good idea to tell them in advance…get the upper hand, sort of," Toby explained. "But they don't need to know Danny is the father, and we don't have to tell them." He looked at CJ. "You okay with that?"

She blinked. "Yeah…"

"Good, 'cuz it'll be a pain in the ass when they ask you about it everyday, but you have a right to privacy, and technically, this doesn't concern any of those bloodthirsty bastards. So stick to your guns okay?" She nodded. "That's how we're going to deal with this."

"Seems like it's settled then," the President said, dismissing them.

CJ left the room in a daze, and was snapped back to reality when Josh sidled up beside her.

"So…" he began.

"I know," she sighed. "It's bad."

Josh gave her a very serious look. "No it's not." When she didn't believe him, he stopped her and stared straight into her eyes, putting his hands on her shoulders. "CJ, it's not. It's a wonderful thing and you need to be happy about it."

"I am happy, Josh, I'm just not too thrilled that Senior Staff has to spend the next few days cleaning up my mistake." She looked away from him.

"Is that how you see this, CJ? As a mistake?" Josh couldn't believe her. "I've seen you and Danny together for years. I've seen with my own two eyes the love that's there between you two. Can you honestly tell me you made a mistake by seeing him, or by keeping this child?"

Her eyes welled but she didn't let herself cry. "No…"

Josh had not intended to upset her. Putting his arms around her, he gave her a hug. "CJ, it'll be okay. We know how to deal with the press, and the country, and we're all gonna be here for you. Don't worry…"

It was either the hormones, or his words, or the fierce combination of the two, but CJ could not stop crying. Sniffling, she pulled away from him, lest she soak his suit. "Thank you, Joshua. You really are a sweetheart."

Josh nodded, knowing she'd be okay. "Just don't let word about that get around…I have a rep as both a man and a hard-ass to maintain."

CJ smiled and retreated to her office. Sitting alone, crying at her desk, her tears stopped when she realized what had just occurred. They didn't see it as damage control for a mistake she made. They saw it as defending someone they loved. Even Mandy and even Leo, who seemed to be the most upset, would claw the eyes out of anyone who told them she was unfit to serve in the White House. That thought comforted her greatly…

She thought about that now, knowing that Leo had come to terms with her decision, and knowing, that though he opposed the Presidents decision, he backed her now.

CJ remembered how easy it was to tell Carol and Donna after breaking it twice beforehand. She was actually getting good at saying the words, and each time they came out, she felt Josh's voice in her head, giving her confidence and pride.

She was proud, actually, to tell the people she loved that she was going to have a baby. No one expected it of her, and she couldn't for the life of her discern if that was good or bad. They didn't see her as a mother, but they were still happy for her, and surprised.

Donna cried and hugged her, exclaiming, "I knew that after all that time…I just knew it. It was there."

Always a romantic at heart, CJ thought, smiling…

Toby hadn't said much to her the day she broke the news to the West Wing. Instead he came to her office when she was alone to speak with her. More accurately, he found an excuse to hand deliver a report to her, and made it a point to stick around.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Toby paced her office, not knowing where to start. CJ just waited for him to say begin, pretending to be enthralled in the report he'd placed on her desk.

"I, uh, didn't get to say anything to you before," he explained.

CJ took off her reading glasses and looked at Toby, waiting for him to continue.

He sighed, angrily. "Okay, I'm really not good at this," he declared, coming over to where she sat.

"Toby, you don't need to…"

But he cut her off. "Do you love him? Because if you don't, there's no reason you should go through with this."
CJ nodded to him. "The President asked me the same thing…or at least, tried to ask if I'd considered aborting the baby. I told him that I'd considered it, but not for long, Toby. I couldn't," she paused, sighing as she confessed something she'd never even told Danny. "I couldn't do that to our child, because…I love him." As soon as the words escaped her, CJ realized how easy they'd been to utter all along. She'd only imagined that they sat there on the tip of her tongue, afraid to jump. "I love him, Toby," she whispered again, more for her own benefit.

Toby didn't look please with her at that moment, but he softened-as much as Toby Ziegler could soften. "Well then…you made the right decision." He paused and just let them share a silent moment before asking her, "How long?"

"The better part of four years…" she knew he'd be angry. He'd try to hide it for her sake, but she knew. "He chased me the first year of our administration, and I kept staving off his advances, but…I just…I fell for him, Toby. I'm human," her voice almost cracked.

Toby just nodded, quietly. "I guess if there hadn't been the little problem of Press Secretary/reporter, you might have been married right now and not had the Religious Right about to pounce."

It was more of a statement than a question. "No," she replied quietly. "I think Danny would want it, but even if we hadn't had issues, I doubt I would have been mature enough to get married."

"But you're mature enough to have his child, keep it secret, and face a whole lot of angry, religious whackos?" Toby snorted.

"I like to think so," she told him honestly. She'd spent a long time weighing her decision, and she was firmly entrenched in it by this point. "If I'm not, I'm sure I'll grow into it."

"Yeah…" Toby said, shifting to leave. "Oh, and congratulations, CJ."

"Thank you, Toby," she answered, meaning it.

To be continued…