Rock Me Gently
CJ/Danny
Rating Late Teen – married sex
Spoilers through end of series
Feedback and criticism always welcomed
Not mine, never were, never will be, but they consume my soul
April 8, 2016; 10:30 AM PDT; Santa Monica CA
"Wake up, sleeping beauty."
CJ's eyes were still closed but she knew.
She knew she was home, in her own bed.
She had a vague memory of getting off the Hollis jet late last night (or was it early this morning?) at the Santa Monica city airport.
She had a vague memory of kissing Danny and letting him help her into the car.
She had a vague memory of being carried into the house, where Frank Muñoz, who had been sitting with the kids while Danny was gone, laughed and made some guy-to-guy comment to Danny before heading home.
She had a vague memory of insisting on being carried into the kids' rooms, to see for herself that Caitlin, Paddy, and Destiny were sleeping peacefully and were in apparent good health.
After that, even her vague memories were non-existent.
CJ opened her eyes at the same time as her other senses began to check in with her brain. Other than the sounds of the outside world – seagulls and light traffic – there was silence. Looking down at her body, she saw that she was in the top half of a pair of cotton pajamas and realized that Danny had undressed her and put her to bed. Looking up, she saw the bottom half of the pajamas on Danny's body. It was the pair she had bought him for Christmas, with multi-colored goldfish on a white background. (Whenever possible, she and Danny tried to find each other little gifts that reflected Gail and the part she had played in their lives.)
Danny was holding a tray.
"Breakfast in bed," he said with a smile.
CJ smiled as she stretched.
"How sweet," she said, pushing herself up against the headboard as Danny bent down to set the tray across her lap. It held two cups of coffee, two glasses of juice, toasted bagels spread with cream cheese, some slices of bacon, and two bowls of raspberries.
"You missed me?" CJ asked as Danny sat down on the bed beside her.
"Maybe just a little."
"I know Paddy's in school, but Caitlin?"
"Is with Hank and Pammy. He took the girls to the studio with him. He's working on the new Colby Smathers movie and is doing fittings today. Hank knew that the girls would go crazy to meet her. Hank says that for a child actress, Colby is very well behaved, by the way, so she won't be a bad influence on our daughter. The fact that it gets her out of the house until mid-afternoon is just serendipity," Danny answered. "She and Paddy came in this morning to kiss you hello and good-bye, but you slept through it. I explained to them that you had been up for twenty hours yesterday and were really sleepy. I told them that we would have a special 'welcome home' this afternoon and that I was sure that you had brought them something really special from Montreal."
Maybe that explained the bits and pieces of the weird dream CJ remembered. She was a goldfish on the bottom of the ocean floor, with a bright purple octopus for a boyfriend, a boyfriend who slobbered all over her and hugged her with all his tentacles.
"I did. I also brought something special for you. But you have to wait, too, at least until I eat something. I'm still three hours ahead of you," CJ told her husband as she reached for one of the bagel halves.
After Christmas, CJ and Danny told Frank and Sarita Hollis that she would be willing to join the Hollis Foundation board after her committee had finalized the CFO selection. Frank welcomed her decision, but told her that the first meeting after that, the one in April, would not be in San Luis Obispo. The board members would be travelling to Montreal, to McGill. The California contingent would fly up from San Luis Obispo on Monday night. The board would meet with the Canadian scientists for three days and would leave Montreal at 8:00 PM. Rather than send the others home in limos, the jet would make stops in San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Monica, and Orange County before ending up at home base.
"If you'd rather wait, I'd understand," Frank said somewhat apologetically. "It would still be cold up there, not exactly tourist season."
But CJ was born and bred in Ohio and although she loved living in southern California, she sometimes missed the cold, missed the seasons. She told the couple that she was on board for the meeting and the trip.
CJ and Danny ate their breakfast and caught up on the past three days.
The meetings at McGill were intense, and it took half of the first day for CJ to get back up to speed, but she found the process exhilarating and was more sure than ever that returning to the world of the Foundation was the right decision for her and the family. Matt and Helen Santos were doing a great job running "Road to a Better World". Bonnie told her that Jean-Luc would be taking over the chair of the French department again at the end of the academic year. Everyone asked about Nancy and the baby. Although the days were busy with meetings and presentations, there was still some down time and CJ was able to rent some skates and make use of the outside rink that was part of the resort complex where they were meeting.
Between assigning independent research and arranging for a guest lecturer, Danny had been able to spend the past three days, and today, at home. It was a cram course in being an at-home parent. He drove the kids to school on Tuesday morning, then spent the daytime hours with Caitlin, having a tea party and playing with her Barbies. On Wednesday afternoon, he helped out with Paddy's field trip to the Los Angeles Times, where his reporter past came in very handy. Of course, this was not the first time that he had done any of this; the life of a university professor allowed him to participate in the children's lives with more frequency than some of the other parents were able to do so. However, the other times were always seen as something to be worked around his other obligations.
"So, do you want me to ask Frank for a full-time job? Are you ready to retire from teaching after only three years?" CJ joked.
Danny assured CJ that he had no immediate plans to become a full-time house-husband. For one thing, he said teasingly, he liked "living the 1950's life with a little woman at my beck and call". Then he ducked to avoid the pillow that CJ threw in his direction.
CJ munched on another bagel and watched Danny as he told her of the other news of the block. Suddenly, she realized how lucky she was. Suddenly, she realized how much she loved this man, this man who had waited almost a decade for her, this man who had led her to realize that she could do anything she wanted, this man who supported her in whatever she wanted to do, this man who had given her the gift of motherhood. Suddenly, it hit her full force how close she had come to missing all this. Suddenly, it hit her full force that even now, this life could be taken from her at any minute. Suddenly, she realized that she needed the protection, the reassurance, that only this man could provide.
"Love me, Danny," she said in a hoarse whisper. "Please love me."
Danny's eyes darkened to a deep sapphire as he lifted the bed tray from her lap and set it on the floor. He pulled her into his arms into a big bear hug and crushed his mouth on hers.
CJ felt the warm strength of his arms envelope her into security and felt herself being drawn into the magic of his mouth, into the kiss that, from the very first time so many years ago, never failed to bring her to excitement and need, to cause her nipples to tighten and her genitalia to pulse.
Danny pulled the two of them to their sides on the bed. His left arm continued to hold her tight against him while his right shifted down her back. His right hand slipped under the back elastic of her panties, pulled them down and off her legs, and returning to her butt, moved between her thighs from the back and teased against her already throbbing center.
CJ continued to lose herself in his kiss and the comfort of his arm around her. She mewled in protest when his fingers stopped their dance against her, but sighed in ecstasy when, after pulling off his pajama bottoms, Danny thrust his rock hardness into her, touching every last millimeter inside her. Danny's right hand returned to her backside and held her tight against him, his upper leg scissoring between hers.
Danny's mouth continued its undulating seduction. His left arm continued its protective embrace. His right hand with its splayed fingers possessed her butt with authority, gentleness, and more than just a little sense of exotic sensuality. His gigantic silky steel expanded her more fully than ever, and his pubic bone gave her the hardness she needed to push and throb against for satisfaction.
For all its intensity, she felt cosseted and cherished.
"Rock me gently
Rock me slowly
Take it easy
Don't you know
That I have never been loved like this before"
She didn't know how old the tune was, only that she was in high school when it was a hit. But it encapsulated this particular sexual interlude with her husband so completely that, were her lips not so thoroughly under the control of Danny's mouth, she would have burst into song.
Then Danny clutched her even tighter to his groin and moved even closer into her. The two of them exploded into a mutual climax that left them both quaking into half-consciousness.
It took them a couple of minutes to catch their breath, to steady their racing hearts. CJ could feel Danny softening inside her and her face must have reflected some disappointment, because the hand that had been possessing her posterior moved over her hip and into her curls. The resulting fireworks were muted, but two gentle orgasms later, CJ sighed in contentment.
"Do we have time for a nap?" CJ asked as Danny gently pulled away from her and shifted into his sleeping position.
"Hank said he would take the girls to lunch and would call before he brought them home. The man is a hopeless romantic, gay, straight, whatever. I think that if Destiny were capable of having a season, he would be looking for guy dogs for her."
3:45 PM
"I figured it would be best to wait until Paddy got home," Hank said. "I know three year-olds. Caitlin wouldn't be able to wait for Paddy before demanding her present. And then when her brother came home, she would forget and expect another present. The solution is for both of them to get home at the same time."
Hank explained why he had taken the girls on a ride after lunch, ending up at St. Monica's as the elementary school was dismissing for the day and then following Diana as she drove back to the block with the kids.
Danny thanked his neighbor as the two of them watched Paddy and Caitlin overwhelm his kneeling wife.
"Yes, I missed you! Did you miss me?"
"Presents?" Caitlin asked.
"Yes, I have presents," CJ laughed. "Thank you, Hank, for everything. Let's go to the family room. Daddy will join us as soon as he sees Uncle Hank to the door."
5:30 PM
"Well, I suppose I should think about putting together some supper," CJ sighed.
"No, you shouldn't. I've got everything under control," Danny answered. "I have some leftovers from earlier in the week."
"Pizza or spaghetti?" CJ asked.
"Neither. Would you prefer chicken or meatloaf?"
The two of them were on one of the chaises in the courtyard, CJ between Danny's legs and leaning against his chest. Paddy, wearing the Canadiens' jersey that CJ had given him, had improvised with a coaster and a broom and was shooting his "puck" past Destiny. The yellow lab didn't quite understand the game, but she was up for anything that involved chasing a fast-moving object. Caitlin had oohed and aahed over her new stuffed mastodon and, getting her other prehistoric plushy toys, was playing some sort of primordial hunting game. The volumes of Danny's books – the ones about Leo, the Prince of Wales, Fitz, and the Pope – in French translation sat on the side table where Danny had set them after expressing his thanks for the tomes. ("Maybe I should ask the Hollis' to send you to Germany next.")
"Chicken," CJ decided.
"Then you just rest here and drink your wine," Danny said, giving her a little push in order to stand. "Tomorrow is soon enough for you to resume your housewifely duties."
A half-hour later, the four of them were at the kitchen table.
"Danny, this is really good," CJ said. "You really made this? When you said 'chicken', I assumed you meant carry-out from KFC or the store deli." She put another forkful in her mouth. It was a chicken cutlet, filled with a packaged rice, broccoli, and cheese mix, and rolled up, with a cream soup sauce. It was the simple kind of thing you would find in a newspaper or a church cookbook, but CJ could see the possibilities – maybe raisins, almonds, and some scallion in the rice for the filling, maybe a cream sauce with sherry and nutmeg in place of the soup.
"It's a variant of something Mom used to make for us. She wouldn't have used store-bought cutlets or rice mix, but the idea is the same. I figured that with Caitlin finally out of Gerber's, maybe the kids would like the things I liked as a kid. When I called Erin for the recipes, she suggested the cutlets and the prepared rice," Danny finished with a smile. He looked over to Paddy. "And they seem to like it, don't you?"
"It's good, Mama. Daddy cooked real good for us this week. We had this on Tuesday and shrimp and spaghetti on Wednesday. Yesterday, he made meatloaf cake. That was special," Paddy answered.
"Meatloaf cake?" CJ looked at her husband.
"Mom would use her Jell-O mold to shape the meatloaf mix and then bake it on a rack. She would fill center with mashed potatoes and 'frost' the ring with them. Sometimes, she'd make a design on top with peas and carrots, but so far, both Paddy and Caitlin like their vegetables, so I didn't bother with that. But I did use half ground turkey and half lean ground beef, with some bouillon for flavoring rather than the beef, pork, and veal mix that Mom used."
First in the bedroom and now in the kitchen, her husband was full of surprises. Which, after a decade of togetherness, could only be a good thing.
"Staying home all day; driving the carpool; cooking real meals. Are you sure you don't want to be Mr. Mom, honey?"
"Full-time and forever, no. But when you're off for Hollis stuff, yes. I may not be able to do it every time, but I wanted this first time with you away from them to be one with a parent here for Caitlin most of the time and for Paddy when he wasn't in school. It's part of the advantage of teaching in a university setting. I guess I see this as the pattern for the future, at least while the kids are both in college. You and me sharing the roles. I told you we'd get good at new things and we did. Now I'm telling you that we're still doing it."
Dessert was store-bought – ice cream with more of the raspberries – but then dessert usually was.
After the meal, the four of them played Candyland and several cutthroat hands of Go Fish.
By 8:30, CJ was yawning more than the kids were. The past three days were extremely full and she was still adjusting from Montreal time. This night, CJ was able to walk with the kids to their rooms and tuck them into bed and she was able to get into her nightshirt and her bed under her own power. By the time Danny had read to Caitlin, had removed the open book from a sleeping Paddy's chest, and returned to the master suite, CJ was sound asleep.
Danny sighed to himself. He was in his fifties, he had enjoyed a very intense encounter with CJ ten hours earlier, and he was confident that there would be another act of intercourse within the next day, but it had been half a week and he was more than halfway desirous of arousing and being aroused. Maybe if he got to bed early, the two of them would have time before the kids awoke in the morning. And there was nothing scheduled for tomorrow until late afternoon and the weekend gathering over at Jesse and Nancy's place. He hadn't had any leaded coffee since breakfast and he did drink several glasses of wine this afternoon and evening. And if he couldn't sleep, he could review his next lecture in his head.
Danny carefully slipped into bed and spooned himself behind CJ, nestling himself against her fanny and settling his nose and mouth against her hair. His wife murmured in contentment but did not wake up.
April 9, 2016; 6:15 AM
Danny was lying in an open field, surrounded by baby bunnies. One of them came up to his face and rubbed its ears against his mouth.
"Wake up sleepyhead."
Rock Me Gently
Words and Music by Andy Kim
Ain't it good, ain't it right,
That you are with me here tonight.
Music playin' our bodies swayin' in time.
(In time, in time, in time.)
Touching you so warm and tender,
Lord I feel such a sweet surrender.
Beautiful is the dream that makes you mine.
Mmm-mmm-mmm.
Rock me gently, rock me slowly.
Take it easy don't you know,
That I have never been loved,
Like this before.
((Baby, baby, rock me gently, rock me slowly.))
((Take it easy, don't you know,))
((That I have never been loved,))
((Like this before.))
Oh, my darlin', oh, my baby,
You got the moves that drive me crazy.
And on your face I see a trace of love.
(Of love, of love, of love.)
Come hold me close, don't let me go-oh,
I need you, honey, I love you so-wo.
You were made for me by the stars above.
Mmm-mmm-mmm.
[ Find more Lyrics on /c5 ]
Rock me gently, rock me slowly.
Take it easy don't you know,
That I have never been loved,
Like this before.
And ((baby, baby,))
((Rock me gently, rock me slowly.))
((Take it easy don't you know,))
((That I have never been loved,))
((Like this before.))
[Short instrumental break.]
Rock me gently, rock me slowly.
Take it easy don't you know,
That I have never been loved,
Like this before.
((Ain't it good, ain't it right,))
((That you are with me here tonight.))
((Rock me gently, rock me slowly.))
((Take it easy don't you know,))
((That I have never been loved,))
((Like this before.))
Baby, baby,/(Come and rock me.)
Rock me gently
(Come and rock me.)
Rock me slowly.
[Fade.]
((Take it easy don't you know,))
(Come and rock me.)
That I have never been loved,
(Come and rock me.)
Like this before...