CJ tumbled down the marble stairs, the papers she was holding flying from her grasp as she attempted to break her fall. Carol gasped, trying to grab her but missing and almost falling herself.
"CJ!" she exclaimed, hurrying down the stairs after her falling boss. She reached the bottom not long after CJ's somewhat less graceful descent. "Oh my God, are you alright?"
CJ groaned from where she lay in a crumpled heap. "Ow." She moaned.
"I'm getting Dr. Bartlet. Don't move." She ran for the nearest phone, dialling the First Lady's office. "Put me through. CJ fell down the stairs." She waited momentarily before being transferred. "Ma'am, its Carol. CJ fell down a flight of stairs. I'm not letting her move. She fell pretty hard and the stairs are marble…Thank you. The marble staircase by the press office. Yes." She hung up the phone and hurried back to her boss. "CJ?" she asked again, crouching down and putting a hand to CJ's arm.
"Yeah?" CJ murmured.
"You okay?"
"I hurt."
"Dr. Bartlet's on her way. Stay still."
CJ nodded, wincing as pain shot across her scalp. "Can you help me sit up?"
"Yeah." Carol supported her under the arms as she helped CJ manoeuvre into a sitting position. CJ leaned against her for support.
"My head hurts."
Abbey arrived just then, shadowed by two agents. "Claudia Jean?" she asked, "How did you manage this?" she moved to kneel beside her new patient.
"I wasn't paying attention." CJ mumbled.
"Evidently." Abbey raised an eyebrow. "Now. What hurts?"
"My head, my left ankle and knee, and my right wrist." CJ informed her, lifting a hand to her head to show Abbey where she had hit it. Her fingers were bloody when she pulled them away.
A look of concern crossed across Abbey's face, and she moved in behind CJ, pulling her hair away from the area to reveal a sizeable cut. "Hmm. We're going to need supplies. Carol?" she turned to CJ's assistant, who nodded. "Can you go to the residence and ask for my bag, please?" Carol hurried off.
Abbey probed gently around the cut. CJ winced. "Tender?" Abbey asked, noticing CJ tense. "There's going to be some bruising, but I don't think it's big or deep enough to warrant stitches."
She moved around in front of CJ. "I'm just going to do a quick exam to check if you're disoriented. There's a risk you have a concussion." She held up a finger in front of CJ's nose. "Follow my finger." She directed, moving it up and down, side to side. "Good." She nodded. "What's the date?"
"Wednesday, March 4th, 2004" CJ replied.
"Good. Where are you?"
"The West Wing."
Abbey nodded. "I think you're in the clear." She smiled. "Let's have a look at everything else before Carol gets back with my stuff." She removed CJ's shoe on her left foot. "Tell me when it hurts." She flexed the foot in different directions and then rotated the ankle. CJ winced the whole time. "Hmm…probably sprained. It'll swell a bit. I'd recommend icing it in your office. She moved CJ's skirt so the slit was over her leg, displaying it up to the thigh. CJ blushed. "Don't be silly, Claudia Jean." Abbey winked at her before starting to probe CJ's knee delicately, flexing it up and down. "Just bruised, I think." She moved on to CJ's wrist, picking up the slender hand from where it lay in CJ's lap. CJ laid her aching head against the banister, closing her eyes. Abbey looked up, startled. "Claudia??"
"Mmm?" CJ responded. She really wanted to go to sleep.
"Stay awake. Stay with me, okay? Claudia?" Abbey's voice was sharp. "Open your eyes." CJ did. "I'm going to take you over to the residence." Abbey informed her. "I want to keep an eye on you."
"I'm fine." CJ insisted. "I'm just sleepy, that's all."
Abbey ignored her. "If I support you, do you think you can walk?" CJ nodded, wincing at the pain it caused in her head. "Okay." Abbey half-stood, wrapping an arm around CJ's back. "One, two, three." She helped pull the other woman upright. "It's not too far." They proceeded slowly towards the closest exit, running into Carol.
"We're going to the residence." Abbey informed her. "CJ's going to be taking the afternoon off." She took the bag from CJ's assistant. "Can you ask Amy to have my stuff sent over and my calls redirected?"
"Of course, ma'am." Carol headed off towards the East Wing, while Abbey and CJ proceeded slowly towards the residence.
"Almost there." Abbey eased CJ onto the bed in one of the guest rooms. "Okay. Let's get that cut cleaned up, and then I'll take a look at your wrist." She removed her shoes and climbed onto the bed behind CJ, opening her bag. Abbey arranged swabs, pads, and the open bottle of alcohol beside her, and spread out a piece of plastic on the other side before pulling on latex gloves. "This will sting." She informed CJ, pouring alcohol onto a pad and searching through the press secretary's hair for the wound. It had already begun to clot as she wiped the blood gently away. CJ cringed. "You're going to be in pain for a while." Abbey informed her. With the blood gone, she could see the bruise beginning to form on CJ's scalp. She dipped a swab into the alcohol and cleaned the cut even more thoroughly. CJ sighed.
"Why am I so clumsy?" she asked rhetorically, still sounding drowsy. Abbey smiled.
"All done." She announced, placing the swab on top of the plastic and throwing her gloves in the middle, gathering the whole thing into a ball and putting it in the trash under the bedside table. "Now, that wrist." CJ moved so she could lie back on the bed, closing her eyes again. Abbey gently manipulated her wrist, feeling each of the bones in her hand to make sure it wasn't broken. Finally she laid it back on the bed, and stroked CJ's cheek gently. "I think you'll survive, Miss Cregg." She informed CJ gently. CJ smiled.
"Good. Can I sleep now? I'm so drowsy."
Abbey smiled. "All right." She settled down on the bed beside CJ to wait for her work to arrive. "I'll be right here keeping an eye on you." She stroked the Press Secretary's hair gently.
"Mmm." CJ was already almost asleep. She turned on her side so she was facing Abbey, curling into her warmth.
An aide arrived, carrying folders for Abbey. She put a finger to her lips as she saw him at the door, and gestured for him to come in and hand them to her. She smiled once more at her friend who was fast asleep before opening one and starting to read.
CJ awoke some time later, in quite a bit of pain and found herself face to face with Abbey's skirt. Abbey felt her stirring and looked down from her reading.
"How do you feel?" she asked quietly.
CJ tried to prop herself up and cringed in pain. "Awful." She admitted, sinking back into the bed. "my whole body hurts."
"Hmm…I think you should stay here tonight." Abbey decided. "You were pretty disoriented earlier, and if you're in a lot of pain, I'd like to keep an eye on you." CJ was in no mood to argue.
"Alright." She agreed. "That's probably sensible."
"Are you hungry?" Abbey asked. "I'll grab you some ibuprofen and then we could order some food."
CJ shook her head. "Ibuprofen sounds wonderful, but I'm not hungry." Abbey frowned.
"Well, I'll get you the ibuprofen and we'll see how you feel when it kicks in."
"Okay." CJ closed her eyes again. She hurt all over.
Abbey helped her to sit and swallow the pills, keeping her arm around CJ's shoulders to help her stay upright. "If you aren't any better tomorrow morning, I want to take you to the hospital for tests." She informed CJ.
CJ nodded slowly. "I'm trusting your judgment on the medical stuff." She smiled faintly at her friend. "Thanks for taking care of me."
Abbey reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind CJ's ear. "I'm enjoying getting to play doctor." She admitted, smiling back. "Especially with such a docile patient." She joked. "Do you want to lie back down?"
CJ nodded, and Abbey helped her to lie back down on the bed, this time underneath the sheets, and proceeded to go back to sleep.
The next time she woke, she found a pair of pyjamas on the bed beside her alone with Abbey's files, but no Abbey. She sat up carefully to find her head more painful, but less dizzy than before. Tentatively, she slid from the bed and made her way into an upright position. That accomplished, she changed the silk pyjamas for her wrinkled suit, and hobbled from the room in search of her friend.
She found Abbey on the phone in the living room. Abbey smiled to see her up, and gestured for her to sit while she finished the phone call.
"Hungry yet?" she asked as she hung up the phone. CJ discovered that she was.
"Yes, actually."
"Good. Me too." Abbey came over to sit beside her. "I'm glad to see you up and about." She commented, her hands automatically searching through CJ's hair to check on the cut. CJ leaned against her lazily. "Hmm…you're pretty bruised. What do you want to eat?"
"Anything, really."
"Okay." Abbey went to the phone and ordered something for them both.
She came back to sit beside CJ. "You had me worried for a while there, Claudia Jean." She murmured gently, hugging her tightly. CJ hugged her back.
"I'm sorry, Abbey. I'm just really clumsy."
"My clumsy Claudia." Abbey joked. CJ smiled.
"Indeed."