Author's Note: I don't own the West Wing or the characters. This is just a little fluffy CJ and Danny story. Reviews are appreciated.
Observations of Forever
She's thought about him a lot over the years, since the day they first met, if she's completely honest with herself. She noticed him right away. Although there was a sea of people and new names to learn he seemed to stick out from the rest of the herd. Maybe it was the red hair or the secret smiles he'd shoot her. Maybe it was because she could feel him staring at her every so often. Maybe it was because she liked it.
There was something about Danny Concannon that had always made CJ felt desired and womanly. She very rarely felt giddy and girlish, more often than not she felt powerful and in charge. It came with the territory of being the ball-busting, six-foot tall Press Secretary. However, when she was alone in a room with Danny she felt unsure and nervous. She knew that even now, being alone in a room with Danny made her feel slightly off balance. It still surprised her after all this time.
CJ glanced over at the man who consumed her thoughts even though he was sitting in the same room. He was typing furiously and she knew, just by looking at him, that he was having a hard time phrasing his thoughts concisely. She knew because his forehead wrinkled and he unwittingly turned up his nose at his work. CJ knew it was only a matter of time before he'd furiously hit the backspace key. Highlighting and deleting a passage was beyond him just in case he changed his mind about the offending sentence.
She had a temptation to ask him what he was working on. He hadn't mentioned any big story and yet he'd been typing for over an hour with that stressed look on his face. He had bitten through two pencils and yet he had no notes to accompany his work. She thought seriously about asking him, but she knew that would result in a response of, 'hold on a minute.' Of course 'hold on a minute' would turn into five and CJ would be left hanging, waiting for him to finish an endless thought. So she said nothing. She turned her head to study the newspaper again.
"What are you looking at?" he asked suddenly not looking up from his computer and not skipping a beat on the keyboard. He had an uncanny ability to read her thoughts without looking up from his work.
"I'm looking at you," CJ said.
"Cause you're hot for me?" he asked seriously.
"Of course, I can't even concentrate on the paper when you're in the room," CJ replied sarcastically, although his comment had a grain of truth to it.
"I thought so," he said confidently.
"What are you working on?" CJ asked against her better judgment as she stood up and started to walk over to the couch.
"Hold on a minute," he said waving her off and turning his computer screen.
"I can't even see it?" CJ asked puzzled by his decision to turn the laptop away from her.
"No," he said shielding the screen as CJ approached him.
"This isn't about the president is it?" CJ asked wearily. CJ had just gotten comfortable with the idea of dating Danny. When she was Press Secretary it was strictly verboten, but now that she was Chief of Staff she felt more comfortable with it. Sure, there were things she kept from him, but she was under no obligation to reveal the information she had to him.
"No," he replied.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Fine," CJ replied dropping it. She took a seat on the chair across from Danny and studied his face to determine if he was lying. She found that for the first time she couldn't tell. She knew he looked nervous and that didn't bode well. It had been three months since he waltz back into her life and propositioned her, as he always did. CJ had never been happier in her life than she had in the last three months. It made her feel guilty knowing that she could have given into Danny's advances all those years ago and she'd have been exultant. She felt slightly sad for trading away years of her life, even if it was for the greater good.
Danny looked up and saw CJ looking at him again. "Just one minute," he informed her.
"You said that five minutes ago," CJ reminded him.
"Did I?" he asked playfully.
"Yes, and I'm in no mood to joke." CJ found herself getting irritated by his smug responses. She was curious about what he was writing before, but now that she knew he didn't want her to read it she couldn't help but wonder about it even more.
"Sorry," he said as his voice cracked slightly.
CJ chuckled slightly at the crack in his voice. "You're a little old for puberty don't you think?"
"You're making me nervous," he replied.
"Why? Are you writing about the president?" CJ asked seriously. Her greatest fear was that Danny was writing something hurtful about the president. She had been with him since the beginning and she had shielded him from so many stories. Some of them she couldn't save him from and she still remembered the sting when they went public. However, they were nearing the end. President Bartlet only had two weeks left in office and if Danny was writing some horrific article to taint his last weeks she couldn't take it.
"No," Danny insisted. "Why do you think I'm writing about the president? Is there something going on that my readers should know about?"
"No," CJ replied. "But you're nervous and evasive."
"I'm not nervous and evasive," he retorted.
"What are you writing?" she asked again.
"You know you'd have made a hell of a reporter in the Press Corp," Danny said. "You're like a dog with a bone."
"And you're being nervous and evasive," CJ replied crossing her arms across her chest.
"I'll give you evasive, but I'm not nervous," he said not looking at her.
"You're not looking at me," CJ said matter-of-factly. "You've bitten through two pencils, you've erased at least three paragraphs of whatever opus you're constructing and you've tapped your foot on the floor so consistently that I'm going to have to get new carpet."
Danny looked up from his computer and stopped tapping his foot on the floor. She lifted his hands from the keyboard for a brief moment before he replied.
"Just give me five minutes," he said.
"I've given you ten already," CJ replied.
"Please," Danny said sincerely.
CJ looked him in the eyes and there was something there that she couldn't explain. It was nervous and secretive, but somehow warm and comforting. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and she relented.
"Five minutes," CJ replied standing up and going back over to her paper.
"It'll be worth it," Danny said with a small grin.
CJ sat at the table and tried to concentrate on reading the news of the day. Things had definitely slowed down in the White House since the election. Her days now seemed to consist of trying to push through a few last minute policies and cleaning out her office. Her desk was half empty already and going to work each day made her feel slightly melancholy. Danny had been her happiness and anchoring force in the last few weeks and she found that she looked forward to coming home to him more than anything.
The strange thing about wanting to come home each night wasn't that she wanted to see Danny. It was that he didn't actually live with her. He spent nearly every night at her place and his things had slowly migrated, but they weren't officially living together. She was amazed by how his things managed to show up out of the blue. First it was a toothbrush and a change of clothes, and then it was his favorite coffee mug until finally she found the contents of his closet had magically appeared in hers.
CJ had never thought of herself as a serious relationship kind of girl. When she was in high school she seemed to be every guy's best friend. When she was in college she dated seriously, but the thought of marriage and children and a Norman Rockwell painting was just an image she could never conjure. But, things with Danny were different. She almost felt domestic when he was around. CJ laughed inwardly when she recalled the night she decided to cook for Danny. She had talked up a perfect meal for the two of them before she realized that she hadn't been to the grocery store in weeks. They ended up dining on salad and Ramen noodles set on a linen tablecloth with six-inch tapers. Say what you wanted about her cooking, CJ knew how to set a proper table.
She glanced over at Danny to see him run his hand through his hair three times before shoving a new pencil between his teeth. The nervousness he felt hadn't abated and CJ could suddenly sense it in the room. His fidgeting was making her nervous and just as she was ready to say something Danny stood up and took his laptop over to the printer. She watched him as he hooked it up and began to print his work.
"Watching me isn't going to make it go any faster," he said when he noticed her watching him again.
"Maybe that's not what I want. Maybe I'm a voyeur," CJ said.
"You're a voyeur?" Danny chuckled.
"Maybe I am. Maybe I have a whole life on the Internet you don't know about," CJ replied indignantly. For some reason she felt compelled to give him a hard time.
"I'd like to see that," Danny said shoving his hands in his pockets.
"I bet you would," CJ agreed.
Danny rocked back and forth on his heels and smiled at CJ while the last page of his paper printed. The only sound in the room was the hum of the ink jet until it whirred for the last time and deposited Danny's pages in the tray.
"Finished?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes," he said gathering the papers in his hands. "I was hoping you'd proofread something for me."
Danny walked over to where CJ was sitting and handed her the papers. "Stay right there and read and I'll be right back," he told her.
"You're letting me read this?" CJ asked surprised. Danny never let her read anything before it showed up in the paper
"Yeah," he said handing it to her. "I wanted your opinion."
"You sure about that?" she asked. "I'm a tough critic."
"I'm hoping you'll just tell me how wonderful it is," he said leaving her with the two sheets of papers and walking away. "I'll be back."
CJ turned her attention to the papers in her hand and she started to read:
Washington D.C. – Former White House Press Secretary and current Chief of Staff Claudia Jean Cregg wrapped up eight years as a top advisor to President Josiah Bartlet yesterday. Cregg, known for her witty remarks as well as her tough as nails exterior, was the only senior staff member to serve for the entirety of both President Bartlet's terms.
When asked of her future plans Cregg responded with her trademark wit, "I plan to find some sun and sand. In fact I fully expect the people of Puerto Rico to name a drink after me when I'm done."
"I notice you've taken some liberties with these quotes," CJ called.
"You can't possibly be finished reading that yet," Danny shouted back.
"Regardless, I didn't say that Puerto Rico should name a drink after me," CJ replied. "Although the CJ does have a certain ring to it."
"I was thinking they could call it the Flamingo," Danny joked.
"Tread lightly Daniel," she warned him.
"Keep reading," Danny yelled.
"I'm reading, I'm reading," she replied.
CJ continued to read about the ups and downs of the Bartlet administration. Danny had touched on so many things that had long been forgotten. He wrote about the early days of Bartlet for America. He had fabricated quotes from Leo and the President. He had included information about the death threats she had gotten all those years ago. CJ laughed at portions and she found her eyes misting up at other. It wasn't until she got to the last paragraph that she needed a minute to understand what she was reading.
As Cregg closes the book on one chapter of her life she is writing another. Her personal relationship with reporter extraordinaire Daniel Concannon has been jettisoned for far too long and they're now ready to take it to the next level.
"CJ is the love of my life," Concannon confided to this reporter. "It's taken me eight years, but I've finally worn her down." Concannon's face softens when he speaks of Cregg. "From the moment I saw her I knew that my life would never be the same. In the beginning she had a problem with the two of us dating and I knew not to push it, but I never stopped thinking about her."
Once Cregg was promoted to Chief of Staff their personal relationship changed. "The day CJ said she would finally go out with me was one of the happiest days of my life," Concannon said. "We've been through a lot together. There were days when I thought I'd never see her again. Her life was threatened and constantly on display and I worried for her." Concannon's eyes seem to glaze over as if the thought of losing her is one he doesn't like to entertain. "When I'm around her my life seems brighter. If you've never experienced a smile from CJ Cregg then your life is a little less fulfilled."
CJ felt her eyes begin to water as she read Danny's declaration of love for her. He waxed poetic on her character, her beauty and her intelligence. He wrote things that he'd never told her before and she was shocked by his passion. She wiped a few of the tears that had rolled down her cheek and finished the remaining paragraph of the paper.
The evening prior to the President's last day in office Concannon proposed to his long-time love. He'd always been a wordsmith but the ability to articulate his feelings seemed more difficult than he imagined. Instead of the traditional approach to proposing Concannon wrote an article for his paper and asked Cregg to proofread it. The final line of the piece asked for her hand in marriage.
"Claudia Jean Cregg," Concannon wrote, "will you do me the honor of being my wife, best friend and partner in life?"
CJ replied…
CJ looked up from the paper and saw Danny kneeling in front of her with a small velvet box. He opened it slowly and revealed an exquisite ring.
"Well?" he asked nervously. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest. He wasn't sure how she would respond. They had been together about three months, but Danny had loved her for much longer.
"Danny Concannon," she said through her tears. She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling. The look in his eyes was hopeful and innocent, but in her usual fashion she hesitated.
"I love you CJ," Danny said scooting forward on his knees. "I've loved you for the last eight years of my life and I don't want to live another day without seeing you. I know you love me and I know you're scared, but I'm pretty damn scared right now too. I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve and I'm telling you that if say you'll marry I won't ever let you regret it."
"Danny," CJ said pushing the chair back and kneeling in front of him on the floor. "I do love you and I am scared, but there isn't one thing I can think of that I want more than to marry you."
Danny's eyes opened a little wider as his brain slowly recognized her response was affirmative.
"I'm saying yes Danny," she whispered.
"You're saying yes," he smiled, almost shocked. Although he wanted her to say yes, he hadn't truly prepared himself for the possibility that she actually would.
"Yes," CJ smiled when she realized she had shocked him. "I'm saying that you are the sweetest, kindest man I've ever known and if you marry me you won't ever regret it."
Danny took the ring out of the box and gently slipped it on her finger. "We're getting married," he said as they both looked down at her finger.
"So it appears," CJ smiled. She threw her arms around his neck and clasped her waist with his hand. He placed his lips tenderly on hers and they met with a passion they had not yet experienced.
"Cregg responded to Concannon's proposal with an enthusiastic yes and a kiss that made him remember what it was to be a man," CJ said after their lips parted.
"Really?" Danny laughed. "I don't know if it was that good, but I will say that you have a potential future at my paper if you can type fast on a deadline."
CJ playfully smacked the back of his head with her hand. "Ah, now there's the gesture of love that I used to wait for," he teased her.
"You love it," she replied knowingly before she pressed her lips to his again. The force of the kiss caused them to topple over on the floor. "You're a wonderfully romantic man Danny Concannon."
"Just don't spread that around," he said seriously. "I'm known for my hard-hitting White House commentary."
"I'll do my best," CJ said. "Did you ever think we'd be here?"
"In a heap on the floor of your dining room? Not really."
"No, I mean, us. Did you ever really think we'd be engaged one day?"
"Yes," Danny said confidently.
"You did not," CJ said looking him in the eye.
"I did," he insisted. "I've loved you for a very long time CJ. I knew that eventually, once the job was over and the crisis's averted and the time was right that we'd be together."
"And you waited," CJ said sympathetically.
"I waited very patiently," Danny reminded her.
"Patience is a virtue," CJ reminded him.
"Yeah, that was my mantra for the last eight years," he grinned.
"I really love you Danny," CJ said seriously. "I mean it. I know that I denied my feelings for you and I put you off and I hit you, but I really, deep down in my soul love you."
"I really deep down in my soul love you too," Danny said taking her by the waist and pulling her toward him. They sealed their engagement with a kiss that seemed to last hours.
CJ would never admit it, but she knew from the moment she met Danny that he was The One. There were many stops along the way, other distractions, other men, but in the back of her mind it had always been Danny. That was the reason it had taken so long. Her feelings for Danny scared her and she didn't know how to deal with them. Until one day, when CJ was feeling entirely alone, he called her. They hadn't spoken in months and he told her he just had a feeling that she needed someone to talk to. He couldn't have been more right and that was the moment that CJ let her guard down and decided to let the feelings she felt for Danny bubble to the surface and consume her. CJ was lying on the floor of her dining room kissing a man she knew would be with her until forever and she couldn't have been happier.
The End.