Author's Note: This story is in response to a challenge posted on A Conflict of Interest, the CJ and Danny website. The challenge was to write a story featuring CJ wearing a football jersey, cinnamon and vanilla scented candles, Josh Lyman, Goldfish crackers, ribs and it could not take place at the White House. Since the Super Bowl is approaching I thought I would place this during the 2001 Super Bowl, which featured a game between the Giants and the Ravens. Please forgive any football misrepresentations as I don't really follow the game. As always, reviews are encouraged and appreciated.
Super Sunday
CJ collapsed onto the couch in her living room and thought about how wonderful it felt to just sit and enjoy the silence. It was a Sunday, but no ordinary Sunday, not in the world of sports anyway. It was, in fact, Super Bowl Sunday and CJ, not knowing that there was a difference between the Colts and the Spurs, not even knowing that they were two teams playing entirely different sports, was content to enjoy a little quality time with her couch.
The guys were all congregating at Sam's for a Super Bowl party. She was invited of course, but she decline. She wasn't really in the mood to bring the chips and salsa, nor heat the miniature hot dogs on sticks, or cook the chili that she would have to inevitably cook for them. She decided that this year she was going to lie on the couch and watch something completely inane like a movie on Lifetime or something on that station that played soap operas all the time. It didn't matter that she didn't know the characters. She was happy with the solitude and the relative silence.
Before she settled in for her afternoon lying on the couch she lit a few cinnamon and vanilla candles. The scent helped her relax and feel like she was getting ready for a day of absolutely nothing important. Just as her body was starting to make a perfect indent in the couch she heard a knock at the door. CJ looked at the door as if it had made an offensive comment. She lay silently hoping that the unwanted visitor would retreat.
"CJ," Danny called. "I know you're in there. Open up."
"Danny?" she said sitting up and running her hand through her hair in an attempt to fix the matted look it taken while lying on the couch.
"Hurry up, let me in," he said.
"What's going on?" she asked slightly worried by his tone. She unlocked the door and opened it to find Danny holding a brown bag in one hand and a case of beer in the other.
"What's the emergency?" she asked when she saw that he was in no mortal danger.
"The ribs are getting cold and the beer is getting warm," she said simply starting to enter her apartment.
"Hey there Bucko," she said putting an arm across the threshold. "The ribs are getting cold and the beer is getting warm?"
"Yeah," he said simply. "I was hoping that you would surmise from my comment that I needed to enter your apartment so I could put the beer in the 'fridge and plate up these ribs before the kick-off."
"Kick-off?" CJ said confused and still unmoving. "What are you talking about? Did we have plans that I forgot about?"
"The other day I asked if you had plans for Super Bowl Sunday," Danny said.
"Yeah?"
"And you said no," Danny continued. "So then I asked why not and you said that you didn't feel like cooking chili."
"And I also said I was planning on sitting at home and enjoying the silence," she reminded him.
"Yeah, I remember. That sounded kind of boring. So, since I knew you'd be home and you wouldn't be in the mood to cook chili," she explained as he ducked under her arm and entered her apartment. "I took it upon myself, being the chivalrous man that I am, to pick up some baby-back ribs, coleslaw, red-skinned potatoes and a case of beer for us to eat and drink while we watch the game."
"So the fact that we didn't make plans has no affect on you?"
"Not really," he said smiling as he walked into her kitchen.
CJ knew that there was no hope of getting Danny out of her apartment now that he had gained entry so she sighed and closed the door behind him. She followed him into the kitchen and watched him unpack the brown bag full of delicious food. She had to give him credit for that. He may have been intruding, but at least he brought good eats.
"So Danny," CJ said casually leaning on the chair in front of her. "Don't you, you know, have anywhere else you could be today?"
"Yeah," he said. "My paper is throwing this huge bash downtown for the Super Bowl, my friend John is having a little get-together and Sam invited me over to his place."
"Sam Seaborn? He invited you to his party?"
"He said something about male bonding," Danny said.
"So the reason you decided to come here instead of go to three different parties was?"
"No one should be alone on Super Bowl Sunday," Danny said matter-of-factly.
"I think that applies to Christmas and New Year's Eve, not Super Bowl Sunday," CJ informed him.
"Really? I thought it applied to the Super Bowl too."
"So why didn't you go to the actual Super Bowl parties you were invited to?"
"Maybe I like your company," Danny said sweetly.
She hated when he was like this. He was completely adorable and charming and CJ was seriously considering kissing his soft lips even though they'd stopped the kissing aspect of their relationship weeks ago. She was mulling over the idea of grabbing him and kissing him like she used to when Danny pulled off his coat and flung it over the back of the chair. CJ took in the sight of Danny Concannon, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, standing in her kitchen in a pair of ratty jeans and festive Giants' jersey. All thoughts of kissing him were immediately abandoned as she let out a gut-busting laugh.
"What?" he asked.
"You're not seriously wearing a jersey are you?" she asked between gasps for air.
"Of course I am," Danny replied. "It's the Giants CJ."
She tried to control her giggles and gave him a blank look.
"The Giants!" he exclaimed with the joy of a child on Christmas. "The New York Giants."
"Danny," she said regaining her composure. "I don't know football. I don't know sports. I don't care about the Super Bowl."
"We have much work to do," Danny sighed as he picked up the plates of food. "It's a good thing I came over."
He took the plates and walked around CJ and back into the living room. "Hey, can you grab us some beers?" he called.
"Sure?" CJ replied as more of a question than an answer. She walked over the refrigerator and pulled two cans out of the case. She couldn't understand how she'd agreed to watch the Super Bowl with Danny, but somehow she figured that the day might not be so bad.
She entered the living room to find Danny had made himself at home on the couch. He had set up their plates and the food smelled delicious. She put the cans on the coffee table and sat next to Danny.
"This smells great," CJ said.
"How can you smell it with these girlie candles burning? It smells like Thanksgiving in here."
"It's vanilla and cinnamon," CJ informed him.
"It's not a football smell."
"Well I'm sorry, but I don't have any candles that smell of testosterone and sweat," she said with a sarcastic smile. She leaned forward and was about to grab a plate of food when Danny stopped her.
"Wait," Danny said holding a hand out to stop her. "Before we partake in any of the delicious food I have so graciously supplied, you need to lose the shirt."
"Excuse me?" CJ said taken aback.
"The shirt," Danny said nodding toward her violet long-sleeved t-shirt. "Lose it. You're jinxing my boys."
"What in the world are you talking about?" CJ asked confused. At first she thought Danny was making some sort of advance toward her, but now she wasn't so sure. When he prodded her to take off her shirt again he wasn't even really looking at her. He was more concerned with the pre-game entertainment on TV.
"The shirt," he said almost impatiently. "It's purple."
"Your point?"
Danny finally turned his full attention toward her. "Sorry," he said. "I forgot you don't know the difference between the fifty-yard line and the half-court line."
"Excuse me," CJ said indignantly. "They're both half the size of the actual playing court…field…whatever."
"Very good," Danny said giving her a smile.
"Now can I have my food?"
"No," he said seriously. "I'm serious about the shirt. You have to take it off."
"I'm not taking my shirt off," she said firmly.
"Then you have to cover it up," Danny said.
"You still haven't explained why."
"Right," Danny said realizing he hadn't explained to her his distain for her shirt color. "See the New York Giants are my team. My dad and I used to watch the Giants every Sunday when I was little."
"Hence the jersey," CJ said.
"Right," he suppressed a smile. "Well today my beloved Giants are playing the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens. What kind of mascot is a raven?"
"A pretty ominous one if you're Poe," CJ quipped.
Danny shot her a look that told her that her traitorous comment might be a hanging offence.
"Sorry," she smiled. "Let me guess, the Ravens are purple?"
"Yes," Danny said. "You wearing purple jinxes the whole game. You need to change your shirt."
"But this is my most comfortable shirt," CJ whined. "It's my weekend shirt. It's my shirt that signifies a relaxing day."
"You don't have to take it off," he compromised. "Just cover it."
"What if I want to root for the Ravens?"
Danny almost choked on his coleslaw. He cleared his throat loudly. "You're not serious," he told her.
"What if I am? I like purple. I like ravens."
"CJ you cannot root for the Ravens," Danny informed her.
"What fun is it if we're both rooting for the same team?" CJ asked. "I don't know what's going on, but I always pick the team with prettier uniforms in the pool at work."
"It's football, the uniforms aren't supposed to be pretty," Danny said.
"Yes they are," CJ insisted. "How do you think they get women to watch? The uniforms are tight and pretty. They make the players cover their faces so they had to add the pretty, tight uniforms for the female demographic."
"You're serious?"
"Absolutely," CJ nodded.
"Fine, root for the Ravens," he grinned. "But can you at least cover your shirt with something?"
"With what?"
Danny put his plate on the table and quickly slipped his jersey off over his head. He smoothed out the Giants t-shirt he was wearing underneath and handed his jersey to CJ.
"Here," he said handing it to her.
"I'm not gonna jinx the jersey by rooting for the Ravens?" she asked.
"I'm hoping the jersey will counteract your cheering," he said.
"How about if I don't cheer out loud?"
"Sounds good," he replied as she slipped on the jersey.
"Hmm," she said as she pulled the jersey down around her. She took in the smell of Danny all around her and she noted that she could still feel the warmth of his body in the jersey. He smiled as he watched her put on his oversized shirt and he handed her a plate of food.
"Thanks," she said.
"Don't get any barbeque sauce on it," he warned her.
"I have eaten ribs before," she reminded him.
"Just be careful," he said.
"I will," she said patronizingly. Just as she put a forkful of potato in her mouth there was another knock at her door.
"CJ," Josh called through the door. "I've come to kidnap you and take you to Sam's."
CJ looked at Danny and she put down the plate of food as she chewed quickly.
"We need you there," Josh continued talking through the door.
"You're a popular girl today," Danny said as she stood up. "Tell him you're rooting for the Ravens. They won't want you over there then."
CJ swatted Danny's shoulder as she walked to answer the door.
"I know you said you don't understand football," Josh continued talking through the door. "But we like having you there. You make those really good mini hot dogs. And you make the cheese for the nachos just runny enough. And you're a great beer bi--"
He stopped talking when CJ finally opened the door.
"Beer bitch," she finished for him.
"You said it, I didn't," he replied feebly. "I was sent to take you to Sam's against your will."
Josh entered her apartment without really noticing the football jersey she was wearing. It wasn't until he was inside the apartment and CJ had closed the door that he realized Danny was sitting on the couch.
"Hi Danny," Josh said slowly looking between CJ and Danny. It was then that he realized that CJ was wearing a Giants jersey.
"Hi Josh," Danny replied.
"Nice jersey," he told CJ through stilted laughter. "I didn't know you knew football let alone owned a jersey."
"It's Danny's," CJ said. "I was told to cover my purple shirt."
"Well yeah, on today of all days purple is off limits," Josh said.
"Thank you," Danny said sensing a feeling of brotherhood with Josh on the topic of the Ravens.
"I happen to like the Ravens," CJ walking behind Josh.
"Yeah? Who's their quarterback?" Josh asked.
CJ stood mute trying to come up with a name she was certain was associated with football. "Barry Sanders?" she guessed.
Both Josh and Danny laughed at her expense. "Shut up," she said to both of them. "So I don't know the quarterback."
"Or even any quarterback," Josh commented.
"Barry Sanders wasn't a quarterback," Danny informed her.
"Personally I would've gone with Dan Marino in a pinch," Josh told her.
"Well thank you very much," CJ said. "Are you leaving?"
"I thought you were watching a bunch of chick TV today," Josh asked her.
"I was," she said looking pointedly at Danny.
"I kind of ambushed her," Danny admitted. "She didn't know I was coming over."
"It's a good tactic with her," Josh agreed. He walked over to the back of the couch and leaned forward as he spoke to Danny. "The less time she has to process the better."
"That's a good tip," Danny said. "I'll have to remember that."
"Hello? I'm still standing in the room with you," CJ said.
"Barber has to be on his game tonight," Josh said to Danny ignoring CJ completely. They both watched the television as the announcers were giving their opinions on which team might win and why.
"Yeah," Danny agreed. "It's his time to shine."
"Hey, do you two want to be alone together or is it okay if I'm here?" CJ asked.
"You're fine," Danny said smiling at her.
"Thanks," she said grabbing her plate off the table and standing to side while she ate. Josh and Danny were highly engrossed in the pre-game show and her presence was almost forgotten.
"Oh, I have to get to Sam's," Josh said at a commercial break. "Are you two coming?"
"I'd actually like to stay here," CJ said.
"You sure?" Josh said nodding his head down at Danny.
"As much as I love seeing you guys seven days a week I think I'll stay in," CJ said.
"Okay," Josh said hesitantly.
"Hey," CJ said as Josh was getting ready to leave. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure," Josh said.
"We'll be right back," CJ said to Danny as she ushered Josh into the kitchen.
"Don't keep him too long," Danny reminded her. "He'll miss the kick-off."
"Yep," CJ called.
Once she felt that they were safely in the kitchen she pulled Josh to the farthest corner and pulled him close. "This isn't what it looks like," CJ whispered quietly.
"You don't, like, want to make out with me right now right?" he asked feeling slightly uneasy because of CJ's close proximity to him.
"No," she said slugging him. She stepped back a little. "I mean you coming over here and Danny being here and me wearing his jersey. I have a shirt on under this you know. It's purple. I'll show it to you if you want."
"CJ," Josh said cutting her off. "It's fine."
"But you're gonna go tell Toby and Sam about this," CJ said. "And Toby is gonna freak out because he already thinks I favor Danny and he'll get suspicious."
"Toby won't get suspicious," Josh insisted.
"He's already accused me of leaking stories to Danny on purpose," CJ informed him.
"Really?" Josh said surprised.
"Really."
"Well," Josh started speaking as he thought. "I just won't say anything then."
"Really?"
"Yeah," he smiled.
"This is just between you and me?" she asked hopefully.
"You and me," he nodded.
"Okay, see now I could kiss you," CJ teased him.
"I think Danny Boy might have a problem with that," Josh pointed out.
"There's no kissing," CJ assured him. "I mean, there was, at one time kissing, but now it's strictly professional."
"Yeah," Josh agreed. "Danny just stops by with beer and ribs and you wear his jersey and it's totally professional."
"See?" CJ whispered loudly. "I don't want people to think that."
"I'm teasing you Claudia Jean," Josh said.
"You are?"
"I am," Josh said patting her on the shoulder. "Have fun today. Don't worry about it. This is a you and me thing. No one else knows. Well, except maybe Donna."
"Because you have a big mouth," CJ said.
"And because she's been planning your wedding to Danny since the inauguration."
CJ rolled her eyes. "You don't keep her busy enough," she said.
"Look I'm gonna miss the kick-off," Josh said looking at his watch. "It's bad luck for the Giants if I miss it."
"Go," CJ said. "I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, wait, take these."
CJ walked over to her kitchen cabinet and pulled out a package of half-eaten Goldfish crackers. She handed them to Josh with a smile.
"This is to make up for the lack ofmy runny cheese," CJ said.
"Gee thanks," Josh said.
"It's either the Goldfish crackers or a half-eaten bag of rice puffs," she said.
Josh surveyed the box and sighed. "Half-eaten Goldfish crackers it is."
"Tell everyone I said hello," CJ said.
"I will. Have fun," Josh said rushing out of the kitchen as CJ followed him. "I hope the Giants kick your ass. Bye Danny."
"Bye Josh," Danny yelled from the couch. "Go Giants!"
"Men," CJ said taking a seat next to Danny on the couch.
"Just wait," Danny told her. "When the Giants are kicking your ass at half-time we'll talk."
"So how did you know I wouldn't kick you out if you came over?" CJ asked Danny.
"I knew I just had to get a foot in the door," he replied. "You can't resist me. Plus, I figured the smell of the ribs would be helpful."
"I can cook you know," CJ said almost defensively.
"I heard," Danny nodded. "Josh said something about mini hot dogs and runny cheese."
"You can be such an ass sometimes," she said shaking her head good naturedly.
"That's what you love about me," Danny said. "It's part of my charm."
"That's an interesting theory."
"You really gonna root for the Ravens?" he asked her.
"Yep," she said snuggling a pillow under her arms. "They're gonna kick your ass."
"I doubt that," he replied. "But do you want to make it interesting?"
"Intriguing," CJ commented. "Continue."
"If the Ravens win you get something," Danny explained. "If the Giants win I get something."
"What do you want?" she asked him suspiciously.
Danny chuckled at her hesitation. "Relax, it'll be within reason."
"Okay," she said extending her hand. "Deal."
"Deal," Danny said shaking her hand. "You're gonna regret this when you're wearing a Giants jersey on the next trip out west."
"Not as much as you're going to hate wearing a Ravens hat to a week's worth of briefings my friend," she said.
"The entire room knows I'm a Giants fan," he informed her.
"Then you'll have no trouble explaining that when you're wearing your 2001 Super Bowl Championship hat featuring the lovely purple Ravens," she replied.
Danny smirked at her and CJ couldn't help but return his grin. She thought that the two of them probably looked quite silly, but she didn't care. Once again there was a palatable tension between them. No matter how hard she tried to ignore it or how many times she attempted to deny it, she knew that there was something about Danny that made her feel slightly off-balance. Part of her screamed to just kiss him and get it over with, but being as though they were at her apartment and not the White House it could be a dangerous thing to start. The other part of her knew that kissing him would be disastrous for her. Although Danny didn't seem to think they had a conflict of interest she didn't share his conviction and so, this is the type of relationship they had. One minute they were attracted, the next they were working against each other and there seemed to be no happy medium.
Danny picked up on the tension between them and as much as wanted to act on it he decided to look away.
"You want another beer?" he asked standing up.
"Sure," CJ replied. She watched him walk out of the room and pulled the pillow over her face and groaned into it. She pulled it away quickly and sighed. It seemed that things would never get any easier for them and she resolved to just focus on the game when it eventually started.
"Heads up," Danny said as he tossed her another can. She caught it expertly and Danny was surprised.
"You catch pretty well for a girl," he said cracking open his beer and taking a long sip. It was easier to dull the feelings he had for her than to act on them inappropriately.
"Thanks," she said cracking her beer over the floor so she wouldn't get any beer on Danny's jersey. It was slightly hard to concentrate when his scent surrounded her, but a long sip of her beer helped to dull the aroma.
"Here we go," Danny said turning up the volume on the television.
"Bring it on," CJ said happily.
Both CJ and Danny were shouting loudly at the television as both the Ravens and the Giants scored on their first possessions. Danny groaned and hollered at his team to get it together as CJ did her own end zone dance when the Ravens scored again. Danny had to admit that for someone who had relatively no knowledge or interest in football she was certainly entertaining to watch when "her team" scored.
They stuck to watching the game until half-time when they decided to talk about their lives and not about work, which was hard for both of them to do. CJ found out that Danny's favorite city in the world was Vail, Colorado. She teased him endlessly because he was so well-traveled and yet his favorite destination was Colorado. CJ told Danny a little more about her family and her father's frequent memory lapses. Aside from Toby she hadn't really ever opened up about her family life and she'd only ever really shared the information with Toby because he'd met her father. Although the game resumed the mood in CJ's apartment was quieter. It was getting late and the game was turning into a blow out.
By fourth quarter it seemed that all hope for Danny's Giants was lost. The Ravens were waging a decisive battle and Danny had begun to give up hope. For her part, CJ was beginning to fall asleep on the couch. She clutched a throw pillow in her arms and her head was beginning to droop to the side and it finally fell on Danny's shoulder. He could smell her shampoo and he moved his body so that she could sleep a little more comfortable next to him. He looked down at her sleeping so peacefully and somehow being with her like this was the happiest Danny had felt in years. He would never tell her that of course. She was always shooting him down and even though he thought it was a case of 'the lady doth protest too much,' he was never really certain so he didn't push anything further than she would allow, partly because he knew she wouldn't like it and partly because he was afraid that she might actually be uninterested. But, it was moments like this, when she was completely comfortable in his arms that he felt a renewed sense of hope.
The game ended and just as CJ as predicted the Giants were crushed by the Ravens. Danny felt CJ lean into him further and he almost didn't have the heart to wake her. He wanted to stay in the moment for as long as humanly possible. But, as always, his clearer head prevailed and he woke her gently with a small kiss on her forehead.
"CJ," he whispered.
"Hmm," she mumbled moving her head.
"CJ, the game's over," he said softly.
"Already?" she said starting to open her eyes.
"Yeah," he said sitting up a little straighter. He knew if she noticed how she'd fallen asleep that she would recoil from his arms quickly and he attempted to wake her gently so she might not notice.
"Did I win?" she said sitting up and running her hand through her hair.
"Yeah," he said. "You kicked my ass just like you told me."
"I'm very good at predicting things," she said starting to wake up. "Did I fall asleep on you?"
"Just for a little while."
"I'm sorry," she said starting to wake herself up. "I've been a bad hostess."
"Nah, you didn't even know you were going to be a hostess," he told her.
"That's true. What time is it?"
"Almost midnight."
"Really?"
"Yeah," he said. "I'm gonna get going."
Danny stood up and CJ rubbed her eyes a few times in an effort to wake up.
"Don't get up," he said. "I'll let myself out."
"No, don't be silly," she said. "Thank you for the food and the beer and the afternoon."
They walked to the door and Danny threw his coat on.
"Oh wait, your jersey," CJ said starting to remove it.
"Keep it," Danny said stopping her. "It's officially jinxed now. It looks better on you anyway."
"You sure?"
"Definitely."
"Well thanks," she smiled.
"You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bright and early," CJ replied.
She walked Danny to the door and locked the door behind him when he left. She scanned the living room and decided to clean up after their little Super Bowl party tomorrow after work. She walked into her room and pulled out her pajamas, but had second thoughts. She scanned the length of the jersey and decided to pull off her jeans and climb into bed. She wouldn't admit it to Danny or anyone else but that night, between her nap on the couch and sleeping in Danny's jersey, she had the best sleep she'd experienced in years.
"Carol," CJ said rushing in to her office. "I need a Raven Super Bowl hat, preferably before the morning briefing."
"Any particular reason?" Carol inquired.
"I'm dating the quarterback," CJ replied sarcastically. Carol gave her a look that said she wouldn't drop the inquiry. "It's a gift for a friend."
An hour later CJ walked into the press room and quickly scanned the crowd. She noted that Danny was wearing the hat that Carol had procured for him and she suppressed a grin.
"Good morning everyone. Before I forget the President has pushed back his meeting with Speaker of House to 2:30 p.m. Also, it looks like we have a Ravens fan in the audience today. Congratulations on your team victory Danny," she said mischievously.
Danny smiled and nodded as CJ took the first question of the day from Katie. He scribbled furiously, but not before adjusting his cap and recalling one of the most enchanting days of his life.
The End.