Title: Dulles to LAX, Indirect.

Chapter 4: Christmas Present

Pairing: CJ/Danny
Author: Array

Rating: PG-13 (adult themes)
Disclaimer: They're all Aaron's
Author's Notes: Between Requiem and Institutional Memory

Reviews: Oh yes... like candy...

It's Christmas Eve and he's in her office offering food to Gail; reaching his fingers into the water for the goldfish to nibble on. He hears her coming through the outer office before he sees her.

"Okay Margaret that's it, we're done, go home."

"There's someone…"

"I'm not dealing with anything else today. I'm going home for a long hot bath," she throws over her shoulder as she enters the office.

"Sounds good to me," he says suggestively.

"Margaret!"

"I tried to tell you…."

She sighs. "Oh never mind Margaret, just go home. Enjoy Christmas with your family"

She looks at him. They are both silent, waiting for Margaret to leave. He pushes the door closed.

"You don't think she suspects anything do you?" she asks.

"Oh no. Of course not. No one knows a thing. I mean that's why Steve and Katie have both called me every day this week to ask what's new. That's why Chris asked me to coffee yesterday and casually asked why I wasn't doing any White House stuff."

"Are you serious?"

"Hey. It doesn't matter. There's only a month left. It's Christmas, then New Years, they've got no time 'til January, and really everyone's more interested in Santos. I can hold 'em off."

"You think?"

"Well no, but if you're willing to believe me I have a very good deal on the Washington monument." He smiles at her. "I actually came by for a reason."

She takes a step towards him. "And what would that be?"

"You know how I said you and Josh and Donna should come for dinner about five tomorrow?"

"Mm hmm."

"I was wondering if you could come by a little earlier"

"Sure, when?"

"I was thinking now."

"Danny, I….."

"And I'm on kind of a short timeline here, because there's a lasagna in the oven that will be done in…" he looks at his watch " about 50 minutes, so if we can just skip over the fifteen minutes of discussion where you outline all the reasons you can't come and I counter each argument with a reasonable suggestion of why that makes no sense so we can get to the you saying yes part and us going to your apartment to pick stuff up so we can get to my place in time to take it out of the oven before the smoke alarm goes off that would be good"

"Okay"

"Because we just don't… what?"

"I said okay"

"Really? Well let's go then."

*******************

He's sitting at the kitchen table in her apartment with a glass of scotch. She's in her bedroom packing.

"You know one really good thing about dating Chief of Staff" he calls to her.

"We're not dating"

"Okay. Sleeping with the Chief of Staff"

"Danny …."

"Well what do you want me to call it?"

She sticks her head out of her bedroom to look at him. "We're not talking about this now."

"Right."

She goes back to continue packing.

"Anyways the benefits of… whatever this is...'

"Danny…"

"You never have to worry about a designated driver"

"Are we dressing for dinner tomorrow?"

Well Josh and Donna are coming, so I'm thinking yeah, we should be dressed."

"You know what I mean."

"I don't know…whatever you like."

"I'll bring something."

"Bring something you can wear to mass"

"What?"

"For tomorrow. Bring something you can wear to mass. We'll probably go to the cathedral."

"Danny, you go to mass?"

"Only on Christmas and high holy days"

"You're serious."

"CJ my last name is Concannon, I went to parochial school, then Notre Dame. You figure it out"

"I haven't been to mass for about a million years."

"Yeah, well I go once a year whether I need to or not. But it's okay… I don't go to confession, so you're safe……Anyways if I don't go tomorrow then I'll have to lie to my mother when she calls, and she can always tell. So I'm going anyway, and you're welcome to come along"

"I don't know…"

"You've been seen in public with me before," he teases.

"Well it's not just that…the cathedral tomorrow is probably too hard for the secret service…"

"Well, we can ask them, we'll see...."

"I'm just going to make a phone call, and then we can go."

"You can phone from my place."

"No, I need to do it from here. There's an incoming restriction on the line."

He can hear her through the half open door.

"Hi Dad. It's Claudia. ……..No Daddy I'm not, I'm in Washington. .…………I don't really need anything, I just wanted to talk to you…..Well it's Friday Daddy and I usually call you………..No Daddy it's Claudia………well I'm not usually on TV anymore Daddy I don't have that job anymore……no Daddy they didn't I'm still here at the Whitehouse…….Did Paul come to see you today Daddy? Paul and Hogan?.......Are you sure Dad, he said he was going to. Hogan's there this weekend……Paul's daughter Daddy, Hogan. ………. No, Dad this is Claudia……No I won't be there this weekend Daddy I need to stay in Washington. I can come in a week Dad…. No Daddy, its Claudia……. No I was just calling to see how you are…….Daddy, I have to go now, I'm going over to a friend's house……….. No, we won't. You can call me on my cell if you need me dad. I'll see you next week Daddy. Goodbye"

There is a long silence. He goes into the bedroom and she's sitting on the bed with her head in her hands. He sits down beside her, and puts an arm around her.

"I'm just about ready," she says, but her voice is trembling.

He puts his other arm around her and hugs her close. Tears are streaming silently down her face. He strokes her hair. "He doesn't know it's Christmas," she says sadly. "Half the time he doesn't even know it's me. …..Last time I was there he thought I was my mother, and he spent the whole weekend mad at me for not letting him come home and see the kids"

He says nothing, because there's nothing to say. He just holds her and rubs her back gently. She looks at him damply, "He told me not to stay up too late talking to my friend."

"Not a problem. I wasn't thinking about talking much anyways" That earns him a watery smile. He looks at his watch."We've got about fifteen minutes to lasagna incineration… shall we?"

"Okay. I'm okay" she says as if to reassure herself.

********************

He wakes up and finds the bed empty. His robe is missing so he pulls on a pair of sweatpants and wanders out to the living room. She's standing at the window with a glass in her hand, staring out at into the night. He walks up behind her, puts his arms around her and looks over her shoulder at the moon shining through the window.

"Is that scotch?"

"I couldn't sleep," she says, "It was easier that warm milk."

He takes the glass from her and takes a drink. "How're ya doin'?" he says gently.

"You know it's hereditary."

"What is?"

"Alzheimer's"

"Not always."

"Often"

"It doesn't matter"

"Yes it does."

He puts the drink down on the windowsill and turns her around, his hands on her shoulders. Her eyes are full of despair. "Not to me," he says quietly. He kisses her and she tastes like warm scotch. She hugs him. "Come back to bed." She shakes her head. "Then come sit down." He leads her over to the couch, hands her the scotch and goes to pour himself one. He grabs a blanket from the closet and drapes it around his shoulders. He sits down and gestures her over. "Come here." She curls up against him and he wraps the blanket around them both. He rubs her arm comfortingly.

"Talk to me," she says, "Tell me about something… anything…something so I don't think."

He takes a drink. He talks in the quiet voice that he uses to put his nieces and nephews to sleep. He tells her about waiting up for Santa with his sister Meg. How they vowed to keep each other awake. How every year despite their best efforts they'd fall asleep, and be wakened by their older siblings' cries of "Get up Get up you guys, Santa came." He feels her relaxing into sleep. He wonders how long it will take her to forgive him for being there.

***********

He wakes up to her hands moving over his chest. There's daylight coming in through the window. He's not sure whether she is driven by distraction, gratitude or passion. Then she kisses him on the mouth, and does something with her hands that wipes every analytical thought from his mind.

They end up on the floor, where there's more space and more resistance, tangled in the blanket. He leans up on one elbow and looks over at her, smiling. "My mother's going to ask me what I did this morning. Now what am I going to say?"

"Tell her you were making pancakes."

He runs his hand down over her breast, along her belly to her hip. "Yeah, well I think I'll get up and do that right now…. I can probably get away with the sin of omission."

***********

He's sitting at the kitchen island with a glass of wine in one hand and the phone in the other. "Hi who's this?....... Hey Conner it's Uncle Danny, Merry Christmas…….Yeah?.......That sounds great buddy………Uh huh….Conner can you pass the phone off to someone else and go tell Grandma I'm on the phone……Thanks buddy. Who's this? Hey Sophie, how's Christmas so far?......It's Uncle Danny sweetheart……. Uh huh….no honey… don't put the phone down, just pass it to …..damn" he looks over at C.J ."She just put it down and walked away…I can still hear the pandemonium…Oh hey….Meg is that you? Connor's supposed to be getting mom for me and Sophie just ….. Yeah well it just didn't work for me this year,… maybe next year…….Who all is there? ….. I thought Callum and his family were coming….. Oh. Right………is what true?.... I wish you wouldn't read that internet crap Meg… it's just gossip….Is mom there yet?...Well did that little spawn of Satan you call your son actually go and get her, or is he playing video games again? Yeah, that's what I thought….." he smiles at CJ who's choking on her wine. "You okay?" he mouths. She nods, holding up one hand as she coughs. "Yeah Meg….You are? That's great how come? ….Do you need a place to stay? You know I have room….Jeff coming too, or just you?..... Why don't you email me the dates, that way I'll put it in my calendar, we can at least have dinner or something….Are you actually delivering a paper, or just attending the conference?... cool I'll… oh okay ….Hi mom, Merry Christmas…. Yeah I know, maybe next year. …Sounds like the kids are having a great time though…..Of course I did. Actually it was midnight mass last night, but that counts as today, doesn't it?.... St Anselm's Abby ….it's kind of smaller, not so crowded…….Benedictine. mmhmm. ….. Oh just hung around the apartment" he's desperately trying not to catch CJ's eye, but she's not making it easy. She moves in closer. "Had breakfast, listened to music…….No, I'm having friends over for dinner…. No I don't think you do……...Well sounds like you're needed back there Mom…..Give my love to everyone……... I miss you too Mom….bye"

"You, yourself are a child of Satan" he says to her.

She looks at him, wide eyed and innocent. "Why what could you possibly mean?"

"Hands to yourself, when someone is on the phone!"

She smiles at him seductively. "And what internet crap is your sister not supposed to read?"

He's caught. "There's a teaser on one of the blogs."

"About us?"

"About us."

"Oh great. That's just what we need."

"It's nothing."

"It won't be for long"

"There's too much stuff going on for anyone to pay attention to it. It was Friday yesterday. It's the Christmas weekend….it has no legs"

"We went to midnight mass together!"

"Did you see any press?"

"It doesn't matter if we saw them or not…..oh god…. is the limousine out front?"

"Relax Beautiful…. I told them they could garage it. Stop freaking out."

"Too late for that now, isn't it? "

The phone rings, Danny picks it up.

"Hello. Oh, hi Meg. Weren't we just speaking? ……Well yes I will I'm sure that's just what she needs... Oh yeah." He's grinning, "Okay. … You know you are a real pain in the……If you do I'll tell her about you and Andy Jacobson in 10th grade, so just keep that in mind Maggot…… Yeah, I love you too. See you in a couple of weeks." He looks up at her. "My sister says Merry Christmas, and she's glad you're here." He smiles guiltily.

"How does she know I'm here?"

"She heard you cough. She read the blogs. She listened to my voice…..She's a good guesser, and she just goes with her instincts." He glances at her, "It's kind of a family thing."

"Oh good, so your sister in Lansing can figure it out, and Steve, Katie and Chris won't?"

"Oh C.J.! Who cares?"

"Well I know it's never mattered for you…" she turns to walk away.

He grabs her by the hand. "Hey! You are what matters for me. I don't care about the rest of it, and neither should you anymore. There's no reason that this needs to be secret, but it's also no one's business but ours….. You know that."

She pulls her hand away. "I have to go."

"Wow! This fight or flight thing is really strong for you, isn't it." He says bitterly.

She turns around angrily. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you'll do whatever it takes to avoid actually talking about what's going on for you."

"That's not true!"

"I think we both know that it is… Look, we don't have to talk about the future right now if you don't want. We can save that until after the inauguration. But this…" he gestures with his hand, "Now, this is easy. In fact I had this ready for yesterday, so sit down and we'll go through it." There is a moment. They both stand staring at each other. He raises one eyebrow and gestures at one of the stools at the kitchen island. Slowly she sits down, and he sits across from her.

"Did Leo have a relationship when he was Chief of Staff?"

"Well, he was married."

"At first, yeah…."

"Well Jordan….. Annabeth…. But that was later really."

"Ever have to make a statement to the press?"

"No. But they weren't a conflict of interest."

"Well, technically neither am I at this point, and I think there's an argument to made about Jordan, but let me use another example. How about Josh and Amy…. Political operatives. Any compromising?"

"I don't know Danny! It didn't really come up."

"That's my point!"

"You weren't here for the witch hunt when they decided I was a lesbian."

"What did you say?" He knows the answer.

"No comment. That it was none of their business."

"There ya go!" They sit looking at one another. "So here's the final question. If….. and I think it's a big if…there's someone out there watching, what's the bigger story….You leaving now…. Or later… with Donna and Josh… or even tomorrow morning…. Besides.. and here's the real kicker… I actually think if there's anyone really interested in the romantic intrigue going on.."

"Is that what this is? Romantic intrigue. Wow! Who knew?"

He pushes on. "In the romantic intrigue going on at the Whitehouse that Josh and Donna are a way bigger story." She is silent, but he can feel the tension dropping. He smiles. "You want to take a minute? You go sit in the living room and think. I'm going to start getting dinner ready."

"You're giving me a time out?"

He grins at her. "Whatever you want to call it, baby."

She reaches across the counter and cuffs him. He writes on an imaginary document, "Does not play well with others."

She shoots him a look, then picks up her wine glass and walks out to the living room.

He silently lets out a long breath and closes his eyes.

"Put some music on, will you?" he calls after her.

*************

He comes up behind the sofa and puts his hands on her shoulders. She leans her head back to look at him and he slides his hands down over her breasts.

"So does the fact that you didn't leave with Josh and Donna mean you're staying here tonight, or do we need to call the guys and get your car?" He smiles down at her.

She reaches up to trap his exploring hands. "It's against my better judgment, but I'll stay."

"You have no better judgment," he teases. "You're all about desire, baby…. Owww! Let go! I didn't mean it!" She releases his hair. He slides around the end of the sofa, and wraps his arms around her and kisses her until she starts to get that deep unfocussed look in her eyes that he loves. His tongue is in her mouth and she moans in the back of her throat. He kisses down along her jaw line to her ear and whispers "I did mean it. You are so all about desire."

"And you're not?" she asks softly.

"Uh uh. I'm a guy" she can feel his smile, warm against her skin, "I'm all about gratification."